The day I saw Peter...

I've had such a nice day. This morning I caught up on some much needed sleep and then this evening I went to go and see Toy Story with a friend (it is really good, go and see it). This secret is my favourite from March. When I created this secret I also made a few plain postcards with a similar rainbow coloured design. I have one left and the rest have been used to make thank you notes for various people (and another AI). This remains one of my favourite secrets because it expresses a variety of different meanings in the simple message. There are so many moments I don't ever want to forget, experiences that have shaped the person I am now. There are people who mean so much to me that I know had I never met them I would be a far less interesting individual (not that I am all that interesting). There are so many things and people that have yet to happen to me - and I really can't wait to find out what and who they are. This secret initally represented a particular memory but over time has come to symbolise so much more to me. Enjoy!

The day I gave blood...

Here is my favourite secret from February, remember this one? I worked again in the charity shop this morning - I am really enjoying volunteering every Friday. I then went out to lunch with a friend and gave blood this afternoon. I almost fainted twice so I am feeling a little bit fragile, then tonight I am going babysitting. Busy busy busy. This secret is one of my all time favourites because so many people have told me that they love it. I really do have the best friends and it became particularly apparent to me during the tough time I was having a couple of months ago. It is so nice to know that there will always be people there to look after you, not that I need looking after too much of the time. Enjoy!

The day my clock broke...

This is my favourite secret from January - I still love this secret (the way it looks and what it means) and even after a year the number of secrets I have still surprises me. Admittedly there is enough low level drama in my life to keep me going, but most of the time I have to draw on deeper, more personal secrets in order to create them. I remember when I posted this some very kind reader responded by saying it looked like a patchwork and that my blog was essentially a patchwork of secrets. That idea has stuck in my head ever since and always makes me smile when I see this AI. I love the comparison because it is so accurate. As a whole a patchwork quilt can look a bit messy, the squares don't totally go together but when you look at it closer the work that has gone into each individual piece is so very personal. Is this how you see Amelia Is... too? Enjoy!

The day we started our diary...

This is my secret from December. I wonder if the secrets I have been choosing as my favourites are also your favourites? This secret is one that always sticks in my mind partly because of what was happening when I made it and also in part because of the lovely comments I received when I posted it. I don't think I believe in soul mates - maybe it is sad but I think most relationships develop into marriage as a result of time and age. Even so the romantic in my believes there is someone out there looking for me, someone who could make me completely and totally happy. Whether he will find me is a totally different story. Enjoy!

The day we made magnets...

This is my favourite secret from November. I don't think there is anything nicer than someone telling you that they consider you to be one of their best friends. I made this AI for my cousin who is not simply my best friend but my family and basically like a sister to me. We have always been really close and I love that. She is the person I would tell my secrets to (although obviously you are too), she is the person I would want to comfort me and she is the person who knows what I really need and want. I hope I can be that person for her too. Enjoy!

The day I tried...

This is my favourite secret from October, I hope you like it. I know this may seem weird but this was one of the hardest secrets to create for me. Obviously I love my parents but this remains an unspoken thing in our family. We don't hug, kiss or express our feelings for each other in any way and really I like it that way. You may think that sounds awful but I guess it works for us. Showing my mum this secret is probably the closest I have ever got to telling her I love her - and there is something quite beautiful about that (even if it is a little bit fucked up). This secret has long been one of my favourites because although is expresses something that any reader can identify with it also taps into a feeling with is totally personal. I think children always have this feeling that they don't want to become their parents and I was probably the same. Now I think I would be extremely lucky to share any qualities with my mother. Maybe one day I will tell her some of this, but I wouldn't hold out hope. Is this an AI that you related to your own life? enjoy!

The day I watched...

This is my favourite secret from September of last year. I think this secret was popular with so many of you because of the time and effort that went into creating it. It takes about a month to press flowers and even then they can be so delicate. I really love this secret because it was one that I think so many people connected with. When I asked people to choose their favourite secret after a year of blogging an overwhelming number chose this one. I also love what it represents to me as a secret. I have been told that I come across as someone who is confident and self assured and really this couldn't be further from the truth - hopefully my secrets have shown you that. To admit that you are not as strong as people think you are is really difficult...especially when you are like me and don't like expressing your emotions to other people. This AI, as a result, is an extremely important one for me and hopefully one that you can still connect with. Enjoy!

The day I remembered you...

This is my AI from August of last year. It is so nice to look back over the secrets I have made and consider how many things have changed in a year. This is a secret that always changes - for most people loneliness comes and goes and often you feel most lonely when you are surrounded by people. I think it has more to do with whether you are connecting with people...being alone isn't always the issue. This secret isn't true of how I feel at the moment but I'm sure the feeling will come back again. Part of what I like about the secret is that it reminds me that loneliness can be a beautiful thing too. Sometimes I look back on the periods where I have felt this most acutely and they have been the times when I have made the most important life decisions. I am lucky to have such great friends...because however upset I might be feeling I always know there is someone I can talk to. What do you think about loneliness? Enjoy!

The day I showed you...

As part of the celebration of my year of secret I would really like to go back over some of the secrets I have made and the thought process (and creative process I guess) behind them. I have chosen a favourite secret from each month that I have been blogging - and two from July as that is when I started and finished. This is my favourite secret from the first month I started last year. This secret was created by using a beautiful postcard from the V & A that I had been keeping for ages and had not really found a use for. This secret may be a year old but the message is still true to how I feel now - a very rare thing for me to find. I have always known that I want a family and for me a husband is an important part of that. It has long been a concern of mine that I won't find anybody and that my plans for a family will have to be put off. Equal with that worry is the thought that I might just settle for someone in order to have the family I want and later find that our marriage won't work. I suppose you just can't know with these things and ultimately is it really worth worrying about? Honestly...I still don't know. Enjoy!

The day I reached a year...

This is the final secret of my one year project - I hope you like it. I am so happy to have reached a year of blogging but for me the real celebration is that I have made a secret every single day for a year. I am so grateful to everyone who reads this, sends me lovely comments and is supportive of what I have achieved over the last year. Blogging each day had helped me connect not only with family and friends but also with complete strangers about some of my most difficult secrets. It has also given me a chance to rediscover my love for art and to actually use so many of the different things I hoard. More than anything this project has encouraged me to discover things I didn't even know about myself. I have so many more secrets than I ever thought possible and this whole process has been like a year long therapy session for me. I have learnt to come to terms with each secret - and in most cases to let go of them, forget them or even accept them. Each secret acts as a little gateway back to a certain feeling or situation and I am so lucky to have a whole year of them to reflect on. Thank you again for all the support and kind words over the last year - you really are the reason why I think I have been able to keep this up. My plan for Amelia Is... now is to keep on blogging but to make secrets as and when they come to me rather than a single secret every day. I hope that this will give me a bit more freedom and probably allow me to do a little bit more creatively. This week I plan write some more about the last year and what has been going on - so watch this space. I hope this year has been as exciting for you as it has been for me, enjoy!

The day I wanted to come back....

This is my secret from yesterday. I created it by cutting up some sequins. Enjoy!

The day I didn't do it...

This is my secret for Monday, I hope you like it. I created this secret by using some yellow paper and bits from a magazine. I love mixing different patterns and I think these look great together. As you may know today is my blogiversary - it has officially been a year! I have made a secret every day for a whole year and I can't even begin to explain how amazing the experience has been. Enjoy!

The day we talked...

I have a bit of a ritual when it comes to reading my own secrets. I really like to spend an hour or so going through all the secrets on my laptop or in their books and thinking about what each secret means (or meant) to me. Sometimes it can inspire me to write a response to a particular secret where the situation has changed - this secret is exactly that. It reminds me a little bit of the thorns that grow around the castle sleeping beauty is imprisoned in. Enjoy!

The day I saw Henri...

I haven't seen my cousin Henri for such a long time - both of us have been completely rushed off our feet so we have barely even spoken in the last month or so. Unfortunately her Grandmother passed away recently and I can see that the strain of losing someone so important could massively effect everything in her life at the moment. I decided on Saturday to go and see her for as much time as I could spare between her finishing work and me babysitting in the evening. I spent about three hours with her but it was so lovely to catch up and just enjoy being together. Enjoy!

The day I read about Bluebell...

This secret is from Friday. My favourite colour is green and I think the different tones in this secret are so beautiful together. I have been babysitting so much recently that I really haven't found the time to make secrets with the detail and precision that I like. I would much rather be a week late blogging than create rubbish 5 minute secrets - which is why I have only really been blogging every weekend. Enjoy!

The day it was late...

This is my secret for last Thursday. I have been giving some thought to what I might do for my blogiversary and I have a few ideas that might work. It really seems to have crept up one me - this is partly my fault because I haven't had the time to blog every day. Anyway, I can't believe it has almost been a year...and I can't believe I have managed to keep this up. Enjoy!

The day I cancelled...

Here is my secret for last Wednesday. I created this secret by using some coloured glue and various coloured pens. I will blog the rest of last week tomorrow and then on Wednesday I will have a special celebratory post for the one year anniversary of my blog. Enjoy!

The day I moved in with Matthew...

My parents have gone away for two weeks so I have been looking after the house. I created this secret by using some different coloured glue and a silver pen. How has your week been? enjoy!

The day after the party...

Here is my secret for last Monday. I created this secret by using some old wrapping paper given to me by my grandfather. I love how when you look at this is seems as though the pieces might form a whole picture. Enjoy!

The day they left...

This is my secret for last Sunday - I hope you like it. I created this secret by using a letter stamp and a gold marker pen. I love the effect on this, it looks really beautiful because it shimmers. My blogiversary is coming up this Wednesday (I am so excited) so look forward to a really exciting post. Enjoy!

The day I went to Oxford...

This is my chosen postsecret from the selection today at www.postsecret.blogspot.com. There is something so wonderful and so sad about this secret. It is something I would love to be told and I would love to tell many people - but a secret that so many of us keep. Can you relate to this? enjoy!

The day I made a decision...

This is quite difficult to read because of my scanner - it says 'tell me'. I created this secret by using some coloured and glittery glue and some sequin letters. It actually looks really beautiful in reality it is just a shame you can't see that. I hope you have had a great weekend (booo Spain). Enjoy!

The day I recovered...

This is my secret for Friday - I hope you like it. Friday was the end to an incredibly busy 5 weeks - It will be lovely to have a break. How is your summer going so far? enjoy!

The day I finished...

This is my secret for Thursday. I have been wondering is anyone else out there shares my strange fascination with women like Heidi Montag. I don't know what it is but I find her really interesting. Enjoy!

The day I painted...

On Wednesday I painted props for the show at school. When I left the woman in charge of the play wrote me a card to thank me - she even said I had a superb talent, who knew? Anyway, enjoy!

The day I taught...

On Tuesday I taught a lesson at the school I have been working at. It was very stressful but it went really well I think - I got great feedback anyway. How has your week been? enjoy!

The day I went to school again...

My second week at school involved a lot of running around and helping out with anything I could. The last week of term is crazy. Enjoy!

The day I relaxed...

Here is my secret for last Sunday finally uploaded. Hope you like it, enjoy!

The day I finally had a break...

The weekends are really the only downtime I have been having recently. This is my favourite postsecret from last Sunday - check them out at http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/. I am going to upload my secrets for the week but I am having a few porblems with blogspot at the moment...watch this space I guess. Hope you've had a good week, enjoy!

The day I wanted you to call...

This is my secret for today - finally caught up! I am babysitting this evening and then hopefully getting some sleep. Tomorrow is postsecret so look forward to that, enjoy!

The day I worked at QEF...

It is only about a month before my blogiversary. This is pretty exciting for me because I have only been blogging for a year. Every secret that I have created is part of who I am and represents a thought or feeling specific to the time I created it. I have a couple ideas for how i might celebrate my one year of secrets so you will just have to watch this space. Enjoy!

The day I met Sophie...

This is something not many people know - and probably one of those secrets that won't be shared by all my readers. In theory dogs are fine, I love cats and generally most animals. However, I think there is something terrifying about dogs, they make me extremely nervous and I don't think they smell very nice. Some dogs that I know are fine but I can't see myself owning a dog at any point in the future. Dogs...which side of the argument are you on? enjoy!

The day I slept...

I created this secret by using some yellow paper, purple sequins and some purple letters- I love this pattern. What do you think? enjoy!

The day left early...

On Tuesday I left school early to go and pick up the kids I look after from their school. It is nice to be getting a lot of babysitting at the moment but I definitely need to catch up on sleep, enjoy!

The day I started at Shrewsbury...

I have started a new period of work experience at an all boys prep school. It has been an interesting week (and I have another one to go) but I feel exhausted from doing this and all the babysitting too. Hopefully after next week things will die down a bit and I will have a chance for a rest. Enjoy!

The day I came home at 3...

I am a bad blogger, right? Well here is another week of secrets that I haven't had the time to upload. This is my secret for last Sunday. I got an offer this week from Roehampton so I must spend some time thinking about my options. How has your week been? enjoy!