About Me

I'm a freelance artist, designer and demonstrator and have been involved in arts and craft my whole life in one way or another. I design stamps for top British company Personal Impressions, under the "Lindsay Mason Designs" brand, as well as papers, templates and other crafting products. I'm a certified Ranger Educator and my first book,"Stamping", was published in 2009. I also design regular projects for Crafts Beautiful magazine and have made guest appearances from time to time on QVC. I've recently joined You Tube under the name of LindsayMason1000 where I'm posting short technique videos and you can buy my paintings and hand crafted pieces from my Etsy shop. My work takes me all around the country demonstrating stamping, papercrafts and general inkiness! When I'm not working, I love gardening, church & community activities, nature watching, journalling, music and theatre and just relaxing at home. Email me at: ljm.design1@virginmedia.com

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Working on the house

Not the house I live in though, rather the house that I've been creating for the Masterclass that I'm teaching at the Craft Barn Extravaganza in June. Here's a sneaky peek of the project....
....and here's the link to the Craft Barn where the Masterclass details can be found - Bijou House Masterclass. It will be on Friday 6th June and is a full day workshop with lots of inking, painting, stamping, shrinking and general messy fun!
I'll then be demonstrating at the Extravaganza on the Saturday and Sunday (7th  and 8th June) where I'll be using my latest stamps as well as all sorts of other goodies. I'm really looking forward to the trip as I had to cancel at the eleventh hour last year due to my late brother in law's illness. So, hoping to see lots of you there for what will be a fantastic few days of creative inspiration from 27 demonstrators over the weekend.Some will be there for one or either day - others, like myself, will be there for the whole weekend.
Last Saturday I was up in Barrow in Furness where I was teaching and having a fun day with a group of ladies who fund raise for the Macmillan charity and the local hospital. They each made three projects and then there was a raffle as well me having the onerous task of judging their card competition!
Here are some pictures from the day....
 ...we were in a lovely community centre, really bright and spacious. The first project was using a Sizzix Birdhouse die. Some of the ladies had the fun idea of using one of my "funny owls" behind the little circular hole in the birdhouse!
The ladies said they normally make cards, so they really enjoyed doing something a bit different. We did make some cards though, using my Doo Lally Pip characters....
We finished by making wall hangings but, for some reason, I didn't get any piccies of those. 
The ladies had prepared a lovely buffet lunch so we were well fed and watered throughout the day! Here are the cards that I chose as the three winners, though it was a tough choice! The theme was cards for men.
This was the third placed card which had glass painted acetate boats and I liked all the different textures and surfaces like the vellum waves....
Second place went to this detailed folding card that had so much going on and such a lot of detail.....
...a great deal of work went into it that's for sure.
My first prize choice jumped out at me as it was like a painting and just had that certain something that appealed to me....
Well done to all of the ladies though, as all the cards were great.
We've had some glorious weather here and yesterday I was able to walk to the village and back with no jacket on - that feels good doesn't it?! I've not had much time to get into the garden, but have managed to get a few extra plants in, including two Ivies that I've planted at the foot of the fence panels in the hopes that they will strengthen them as they grow over them. 
Thought you might like this rather comical picture of Tara. Every morning she and Thomas go outside before breakfast but it isn't long before I see a little face with such a pleading and desperate expression that you'd think she had been locked out all night!
Ha ha! What a little comic! 
Well, not a very long post tonight as I am going to have a shower, put my PJ's on and get some dinner in time to settle down to watch Masterchef - Heather and I both love watching it and discussing the various culinary triumphs and disasters the next day!
I'll be posting on my other blog (My Rambling Spirit) as soon as I can squeeze in some extra time - all about the lovely Easter week that I had with my friends from Church. So, I'll sign off for now and get those PJ's laid out ready!

Sunday 27 April 2014

A day with the stars!

Back again....just like the buses....nothing for ages and then two in quick succession! Just a few more photos to share before Fargo starts in an hour or so. I've been planting some seedlings in the garden, potting on some tomato plants, tidying the area at the back of the conservatory (which Tara insists is her personal loo despite my efforts to dissuade her with chicken wire, sticks and pepper!), reseeding some patchy areas of the lawn and planting some Geraniums and Bellis to brighten things up.
I went into the garden at around 4.30pm and came back in thinking it would be about 6pm - only to find it was 7.30pm! Crikey! Time flies when you're having fun!
Speaking of having fun, Heather and I spent the morning at Madam Tussaud's in Blackpool on Tuesday. One of Heather's long time friends is an artist there and he arranged a private visit for us. We had a great time with some behind the scenes glimpses at what goes into making and maintaining the wax figures.
I especially enjoyed the photo opps though! Here goes......
 .....rock climbing with Bear Grylls. We thought this figure was one of the best ones.  And giving one of my heroes a cuddle.......
 ....in case you can't tell - it's David Attenborough! Not one of the best figures I'm afraid, but I couldn't pass up the chance to pose with Sir David!
Love this photo though......
 .....on the winner's podium with Mo Farah. It's really interesting to see the sizes of the figures. They are all life size and some are much smaller than you imagine. Others are taller than you'd expected, like.....
 ....the King of Pop himself who I really imagined to be much more diminutive than he was. I don't think much of my efforts to emulate the moves!
There were also some fun "heads through holes" scenes....I had to try every single one of course! This is me as Lady Gaga......
 .....wish I really had a waist like that!
And posing on the throne whilst trying (and failing) to look regal!
 Another heads through holes scene. This one was a bit grisly! The really tiny figure is of Madame Tussaud herself.
 Of course, as I'm one of the official puppeteers at Church, I couldn't miss the chance to perform with Sooty and Sweep.......
 ....I loved them when I was a child. Sweep was my favourite with his mischievous antics and squeaky voice (which I was convinced I could understand), Sooty was okay but Sue was a real drip!!!
Finally, someone very tall.......
.....think my expression says it all! And there's Alan Carr behind me - better watch myself with those two lively characters!
Right, just time to grab a bite to eat and a coffee before Fargo starts, so I will sign off for now. If you'd like to see more photos of our day at the wax works, just check out Heather's blog.
I have more tales and pictures to share in my next post, so do call back again soon!

Back again

Hi folks, and special welcomes to new followers. Apologies for the lack of posting recently....er....weeks! It's the usual reasons of lots of time spent prepping for workshops and demonstrations as well as lots of Church activities over the Easter period, gardening while the sun has been playing ball and some days out spent with my sister too.All my good intentions to blog before bed time have gone awry as my eyelids have been closing and the bed has been calling!
So, as I was up at daft o'clock this morning I thought I'd at least make a start on a post before I leave for Church. There are lots of photos to share so I'll do so in several posts rather than writing my own version of War and Peace!
Where to start since I last posted? Well, I'll go back through photos in date order, pick some random ones and see where that leads! The lovely sunny days have given me chance to get into the garden more (though I'm now behind with potting up seedlings and planting out young plants) and I've been getting further along with the area around the mini pond, adding some height with rocks that had been hidden beneath mature Heathers elsewhere.
 In the background are the lawn edgings that I've lifted out. I'm turning them over so that the flat sides are uppermost which will be much more practical when mowing. It's a pig of a job though, digging out thin, deep troughs at the edges of the grass and then hammering them in with a heavy mallet and a block of wood, trying to get them (reasonably) level. It's all looking a lot better though, and I've added some grasses which my neighbour kindly donated when he was also having a change around! A few extra shrubs should hopefully give a more structure and the bark chippings do help to make everything look neater.
Elsewhere in the garden, the signs of approaching Summer are all around. My little Cherry tree has been in glorious bloom. Short lived but gorgeous blossoms that are now falling like snow at the slightest breeze.
I've been busy decorating another Zendoodle top to wear at demonstrations. This time a plain white T shirt which I've simply been doodling onto using a fabric pen....
 ....very much a work in progress at this stage! I'll keep adding to this one as and when I can - need to get a new pen now though, as I managed to get through all the ink in the last one. Maybe I should just take the fabric pens with me when I go to demonstrations and get everyone to add a doodle as I'm sitting there?!
It may not show up too well here, but I really enjoyed creating the very subtle shading effects on this image (using my Zendoodle Flower stamp) with a pencil....

....I used my fineliner (0.05mm) pen to create the main doodled lines and then a pencil to add shadows and depth. As I said, it's quite subtle and looks a whole lot better in "real life".
We had a visitor a couple of weeks ago. An unexpected and uninvited one at that! I came back from a walk into the village and said hello to a rather lovely pussycat at the top of the road. When I opened my front door I realised he had followed me and he calmly walked in and made himself at home as you can see....
....claiming a catnip toy as his own! Needless to say, Tara was very worried by the intrusion and Thomas was not impressed whatsoever. Lots of hissing and spitting went on, hackles and tails bushed up - although the gorgeous intruder ignored all the protests and carried on regardless! I had to hold Tom back and then manouvre the handsome Persian out of the door. This did not deter him though and he spent the next forty five minutes coming into the garden and trying to get back into the house. Even squirting water at him was not a deterrent - which I hated doing but I really didn't want fur flying!
Eventually Tom pounced and some fur did fly so I had to get the hosepipe onto them fast! Having been told by a neighbour that the pusscat lived a few doors down, I picked him up and took him home where he was greeted by an exasperated owner who told me she has only had him a couple of weeks and he's been visiting everyone! He apparently visits his neighbour's house by opening the door himself! His name is Teddy (how cute) and he has visited a couple of times since, though only in the garden this time. Thomas has been seen in Teddy's garden too, so I think they may be edging toward being friends....or, at least, not mortal enemies!
Well, that's all for the moment. I'll post this wehn I get back as I must dash now or I'll be late for Church. We'll call this catch up part one and I'll work on part two as soon as I can!

Thursday 10 April 2014

Doodling in the sunshine

It's been such a beautiful day here. I started the morning with a trip to the Doctor's to have a blood sample taken. It was mainly to check that I don't have an under active thyroid after I told the doctor that I keep feeling cold. It  didn't hurt, though the nurse did take five phials of blood....I felt like Tony Hancock with his "very nearly an armful" line! I felt a coffee and a toasted scone in the nearby cafe was in order to get my corpuscles back up to speed after that!
Anyway, a little food shopping next and I got a charity shop bargain top which I am hoping to slightly alter...ooh er...get me! Well, all I'm planning is to cut off the row of elastic around the bottom ( I really don't like elasticated hems) and turn up a small hem. Not exactly GBSB standard, but I will be very pleased if I can manage it neatly!
Once I got home I settled myself into the conservatory with all my pens and pencils and set about some doodling. I'd already stamped everything in readiness so I could just sit quietly and draw - very relaxing. Tara and Thomas had a great time pottering in and out to the garden and back, though a certain someone did insist on plonking himself on top of all my work from time to time!
This first card is an example of using black, white and one other colour....well, aside from a little grey that is. I stamped my Zendoodle Flower and then added all the patterns with my black fine line pen. I also drew three weeny Ladybirds as you can see. 
 
I used a grey Promarker around the whole design, fading it to dots on the outer edges, before colouring the Ladybirds with a red pen. Just a couple of plain mats of red and black kept it simple and clean.
Here's the same image but with a different effect. This time I stamped and doodled one complete flower and then stamped and doodled the petals and leaves a second time. I used yellows and greens to colour the flowers before cutting out the flower head (minus the tendrils) and leaves from the second image.
I positioned the flower head over the original one, but turned it through 45 degrees to give a layered effect. The leaves were stuck down just where they meet the stem. I then stamped a third flower and doodled the border around the central circle before colouring it and stamping the greeting into the centre.The message is one from my friend Paula Pascual and comes in the set Sentiments Everyday Messages CICSA6141. I cut round the circle and added it to the flower with 3d foam. Again, a couple of straightforward mats and a ribbon bow just finished off this card.
The image below shows a slightly different way of filling in the plain Zendoodle stamps.This one is the Mushrooms set CICSA6195. Rather than doodling in black and then adding colour, I used coloured fine point pens to create the infill patterns. Once I'd completed all the doodling I used Promarkers to add pale colours over the designs in toning shades.
Finally, for tonight, here's a tag that I had fun making. It's a swooshy Distress Inks and water spattered background and I decided that one of my Zendoodle Fish might look at home swimming around on there. Once I'd dried the tag I began drawing swirling lines of "seaweed" with my black pen which I then infilled with stripes of black and white.
I doodled and coloured the fish and popped him into place before adding three pearls and an inked ribbon.
I've kept everything simple here as the samples for my demonstration this weekend are to showcase the doodling aspect of working with the Zendoodle range of stamps. I'll be at Samuel Taylor's in Leeds on Saturday, so hope to see some of you there.
It's amazing how much better everything photographs on a sunny day like today...the colours really pop.
Before I retire to bed, you might be amused to know that Tara almost fell into the pond yesterday! Considering that she probably wouldn't even fit into it, it would have been quite some feat! I was having ten minutes in the sunshine, sitting on my garden bench, when Tara came tip toeing across the lawn and then decided to take a detour.....she promptly walked over the pebbles around the pond, whereupon they began to shift, some fell in to the water and Tara did one of those amazing acrobatic moves that only cats (even fat cats) can do! I don't think she'll be trying that again in a hurry, though she has been chomping on the new pond grass...gggrrrrr!
Yesterday I bit the bullet and mowed the lawn! Yayyyyy! It looks awful as it was so overgrown and it's very bumpy and lumpy, but I'm sure it will bounce back now it's had a haircut. The wet weather and, to be honest, my slight trepidation at using the new electric mower, had meant it had really gone awry.Once I got cracking though, I actually enjoyed it so I'll be giving it a closer cut in a few days and then I need to sort out the edging. The lawn has stone edges that have arched tops - not very practical when mowing! So, I've taken them all out and my next big job is to dig down further so I can turn the edges over with the straight (bottom) edges facing upwards, level with the turf. Think it may take a while!
I've also been moving more rocks around to create another rockery area adjacent to the pond which I hope to get sorted tomorrow. I spent over two hours yesterday just forking over one small patch of soil and removing a mesh of grass roots. What a horrible job and I was aching in places I didn't know could ache! So, I'd better get to bed and a good night's sleep in preparation for some more slogging in the morning.

Monday 7 April 2014

My little pond!

Or should I say my really little pond?! After some more work this evening I'm fairly happy with the results, although I still have a lot of weeding, digging and planting to do in the surrounding bed.
Heather and I went to visit our mum this morning and then went to the garden centre for a few supplies. I ended up getting another bale of bark, more compost - neither of which seem to go very far - and a real bargain of a bag of cobbles for just £2.00!
I also plumped for some herbs...Thyme, Hyssop and Dill as well as a lovely Alpine plant whose name escapes me! A tray of Sugar Snap Pea plants and a Tumbling Tom cherry tomato plant completed the trolley load! However, we then ventured into the Aquatic section and I chose a tallish grass and something with pronounced leaves, both of which are marginal plants and were recommended for the teeny space they will live in. 
Heather got some bunches of weed for her much larger pond and I pursuaded her to get a tomato plant too!
It was really grey and rainy and I felt cold all day but it brightened up after we got back and this evening brought the warmest few hours. So I decided to crack on and began by placing the two pond plants into the washing up bowl in their "ready to go" pots and securing a strand of pond weed (nicked from Heather's bunches!) into the gravel at the bottom.
Still looks like a washing up bowl though!
However, once I had added the cobbles around the perimeter and planted the herbs and the Alpine, it started to look more natural.
I added a couple more little plants lifted from elsewhere in the garden and moved the fairies into their new positions......
I've also planted some Foxgloves that I grew from seed last year. They should provide some shade as they grow - in case we have a red hot Summer! I'm really happy with how it looks now, though I still have the daunting task of getting the surrounding bed sorted. Surely a little frog might find it appealing? I hope so anyway.
I think I'm going more towards little rockeries dotted about to try and make keeping the garden tidy a little more achievable.
When Heather and I had got back this afternoon there was a little visitor waiting by the front door for us! He's a gift from my neighbour who looks after Thomas and Tara when I'm away. I think he looks very sweet sitting beneath the Rowan tree where the fairies used to reside. Once the Bluebells come fully into bloom he'll look even cuter. Not sure what my two will make of him though!
Well, all of that kept me busy for a couple of hours this evening!
On Saturday I was at the Leigh show - hello to everyone that I saw there and apologies to those of you who missed out on the stamps...again! I don't have much to share with you, picture wise, as I left my camera at home- duh! Everyone liked this tag that I made using my "Dreams Have Wings" stamp set and a drippy, Distress inked background.
I used my black Archival ink pad swooshed up from the base of the tag to create some tufty effects and then added more fine grasses using a black pen. I painted a circle of water for the moon which I blotted with tissue to bleach the colour out before emphasising it with a white gel pen. I added white highlights to all the stamped images which completely transforms the look.
I'm still having some much needed "me time" though yesterday I was pretty busy in the morning. A phone message when I got home on Saturday evening was a request for me to do a reading in Church next morning which I was happy to do. I was also puppeteering along with Lynne. Our little production was for the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead...the twist being that I was playing the funeral director who Lazarus calls on to ask for his money back! 
It went down very well although it could have been a disaster as I got quite dizzy when I stepped on to one of the slightly squashy kneelers that I have to stand on (being such a short house!). For a moment I feared I was going to go crashing through the screen and I had to hold on to it to stop the whole thing from tippling over - oh dear! Thankfully, both Lynne and I managed to retain our composure and all was okay.
I think there was something in the air yesterday though as none of the microphones in Church were working, our organist forgot that we were omitting a couple of verses from one hymn and carried on playing after the Curate had started the next part of the service and the wrong service sheets went out! 
Watching the University boat race just confirmed that the stars were misaligned, the moon was waning or some such astronomical effect was creating negative vibrations....I'm sure that Cambridge thought so anyway! Then there was the marathon in Sheffield that was stopped before it started due to the water not turning up.....definitely a strange day all round!
Time for a coffee now I think. I've had my dinner courtesy of Heather who made a chilli last night and brought me a portion round today...delicious! I still feel chilly though (no pun intended) so a cuppa is definitely what's needed and then it'll be a fairly early night as I'm up first thing tomorrow for a Doctor's appointment - just a medication review so I hope it's less pills rather than more on the menu!

Friday 4 April 2014

Outdoor days

Morning peeps! It's very misty and murky here this morning. The rain has kept the Saharan dust away overnight but there's more of a smog hanging low in the sky than there has been all week. Peering into the mist first thing I spotted this visitor trotting about in the field behind my house.....
 ....the deer are quite regular visitors at the moment, probably due to the refurbishments on the nearby railway lines that are disturbing them. You might have to look more closely to spot him/her this time!
Well, I'm hoping the drizzle clears up before too long as I had planned a third day in the garden. I've been very busy getting all the necessary jobs done whilst I've got a slightly less hectic diary to deal with. Of course, being busy with work has meant that weeding has gone from a reasonably straightforward task to a real slog of a job! Lots of grassy weeds have taken hold and created matted roots that are a nightmare to get up. So, to break up the relentless task, I have been treating myself to more enjoyable projects along the way.

Yesterday I created the micro pond using an old washing up bowl. First I dug the hole that it would fit snugly into.......
 .....adding a layer of grit at the bottom to stabilise the bowl. I part filled the bowl with water to make sure it was level before removing it and giving it a really good wash and rinse.
 After sieving horticultural gravel with water, to wash away any dust, I added a thick layer to the bowl and then began setting pebbles into it.
 I carried on adding larger stones to create steps - on the off chance that anything does decide to pay a visit and needs to climb out! Some tiny pots are there for mini shelters. I laid more pebbles and stones around the outside surface.
Then it was time to fill the bowl with water - some from the hose but some that I've been collecting when it's rained.
 I decided to put a broken pot in the corner too (not sure about this yet, so I may get a terracotta one and smash it!) I also decided to move my little fairies from under the tree where they are completely hidden for most of the year. I think they look rather happy looking into the water!
The water has settled nicely now and all the cloudiness has cleared. Of course, it still looks just like a washing up bowl sunk into the soil at the moment, but once I've put one or two pond plants into it, added some more rocks around the edges and planted some small flowers between them, it should look a lot more natural! I'll show you a picture or two once I'm further on with it. Now it's just a case of waiting to see if I get any little visitors!
I did smile last night as Thomas was in the garden and I spotted him taking a good look at the new feature before tentatively dipping a paw into the water....don't think he was too impressed and he rapidly withdrew it, shaking it vigorously before running back inside!
I plan to make a few rockery areas in the garden, partly because I've always loved Alpines and partly to make the large garden a little easier to maintain. Looking at the price for lumps of rock though....crikey, they're expensive! So, I decided to start by recycling what I already have. Beneath the large Lavender bush there were a couple of biggish rocks that really couldn't be seen where they were, so I hoiked them out and then foraged about for a few smaller bits and pieces that might work.
I also decided to use a really old gnome who has seen better days....he had been broken off from his base, so he was perfect to plant firmly into the soil. I detest garish, painted gnomes, but this aged one is very characterful. 
Once I'd decided what to put where, I dug the soil and firmed everything in. I need to get some Alpines now (what a treat!) but, for now, I've just transplanted a few little cuttings. There's also a stone toad that has been transferred from another corner of the garden....you can just see him creeping in from the right....
The rockery is just below my front window and I planted up three tubs yesterday too to brighten everything up. The miniature daffodils are gorgeous and there are bulbs and plug plants that will add more colour as they grow.
Yesterday my new fence panel arrived and, as the delivery driver was too mean to help me to drop it in, I used my feminine charms (?!) and asked the two men who are removing rubbish from a garage across the road! They were only too happy to help (there are still some gentlemen around!) and after a lot of pushing, shoving and bashing the concrete posts with a mallet, they managed to get the panel in place. It's as solid as a rock now, so I can crack on with putting a deeper edging around the bed, adding more soil and then getting my three climbing roses in. Looks like the drizzle may be dissipating now, so I may be able to make a start soon.
Well, this has been very much a gardening post but it is my week off after all! I'll be back at work tomorrow, starting with the Leigh Show on the Card-io stand. If you haven't been to this event, you can find all the details here. I'm only there on the Saturday but it will be a busy couple of days.
On Sunday I am performing in one of our puppet shows at Church. Last rehearsal was yesterday evening and, hopefully, everything will go smoothly on the day. 
When I looked at photos from this day last year I remembered what I'd been up to.....

.....make n takes with the local WI group! We made bookmarks using alcohol inks and Darkroom Door stamps.
Well, I am going to take a chance on the weather now and get my gardening gear on - two pairs of old leggings, one of David's old sweatshirts and my old boots. Plus my hair in pigtails...and what did I say before about using my "feminine charms"?!

Tuesday 1 April 2014

If it's broken...fix it!

More about other broken things later, but the broken thing I've fixed is my laptop! Since I got back from the NEC it has been behaving very badly or not at all and I've been getting increasingly frustrated by that little circle, endlessly spinning round with the dreaded words "not responding" coming up before the screen clouds over and everything grinds to a halt.....ggggrrrr! David was brilliant at getting things back on track, even though he was the first to admit that he was less knowledgable about computers than he was about engines and electrical appliances - he could even sew, and I once returned from a weekend at a show to find that he'd re-upholstered the sofa bed!
Anyway, I digress. Having always had to rely on David to fix the computer I've been dreading this sort of thing happening but last night I just got really cross and decided to have a go myself. Surely it can't be that hard I thought! I won't bore you with details (wake up at the back there!) but after a few hours I had cleaned up the hard drive, fracked it, or do I mean "defragged" it (!?) and generally given it a good service. I'm happy to report that it's now working better than it was before the problems started.....I'm available for £25 per hour if anyone wants me to take a look at their poorly laptop!!!!
Not so happy about the other break though : (   Last night one of my dental crowns split right down the middle! It's my nightmare scenario....right at the front and broken in half!!! So, I am now waiting for the dental surgery to open so I can, hopefully, get an appointment asap...otherwise, if you come to the Leigh show on Saturday, I'll be the one looking like a vampire! Even if I can get an appointment today it won't be a quick fix (or cheap) so I'm dreading the next few weeks. Should help with the diet though as I'll be struggling to eat anything! The surreal part is that Heather and I had a coffee and a bite to eat with two of my friends from Church on Sunday and the subject of crowns came up...I was saying how prone they are to breaking! Oh dear!
Anyway, moving on....I had a really wonderful day on Saturday at the Port Sunlight show. What a lovely setting the village of Port Sunlight makes, though I never get chance for a look around needless to say.

Thank you to the Happy Stampers show team who, as usual, made me very welcome and really looked after me. Thank you too to everyone who kindly brought me hot and cold beverages during the day - it was much appreciated. The feedback I had for the new stamps, especially the Zendoodle range, was just amazing and gave me a real boost. It's all very well sitting in front of blank paper, coming up with ideas and then drawing them - but unless people actually like the results it's a waste of time!
Well, here am I at my huuuge demonstration table, wearing the shirt of course! How I got through the day without spritzing ink onto it I will never know!
The character I was working on (above) ended up on this simple card........

.....basically machine stitched Tim Holtz fabrics and a piece of burlap from a new DCWV 12" x 12" pad (DCWV Real Burlap Fabric) that is made up entirely of burlap sheets, 15 in all. Each sheet is held within a cellophane wrap which makes it easy to cut into them without getting edges fraying - love it! 
The character is from a set called "Sartorial Elegance" from my Doo Lally Pip range. Speaking of which, thanks to Chris for letting me know that the Craft Barn are featuring my Doo Lally stamps this week on their blog. Neil Walker has created a fabulous canvas using my "Overhaul Needed" set....love it Neil!
Here are two more quite simple cards that I made for the Port Sunlight show. I kept them quite plain to just show the impact of the Zendoodle images. Two different approaches here though....
.....the left one features "Zendoodles Toadstools Ready to Go" stamped onto 300 gsm white card and left uncoloured. I then carefully painted Multi Gloss Medium over the image before blending Distress inks over the panel and buffing excess ink away from the image. Colour around a monochrome image works well with Zentangles.
The right one is the "Zendoodles Flower" stamped onto 200 gsm white card which I then doodled over using a Pigma Micron pen. I have added shading around the flower edges using a grey Promarker and also on various areas of the design. Very subtle but, again, it gives a great graphic effect. The greeting is one from my friend Paula Pascual  - to be found on her new "Sentiments Everyday Messages" set.
So, a really wonderful Saturday with so many happy people around, all enjoying the show. I had a rather dramatic start to the day though! I boarded the train for Liverpool in the morning, where I was to connect to the Merseyrail train to Port Sunlight. A partially sighted gentleman with a lovely guide dog got on the train as well and he was sitting directly behind me. It was rather nice to be able to reach down and stroke his dog which was stretched out beneath the seats and kept nuzzling my legs.
The journey went on peacefully enough until I was aware of a movement across the aisle and a lady shrieked in surprise as a rather large dog jumped up at her in her seat. Very unusual to see a dog moving around a train compartment so we were all rather startled. Of course, said dog immediately noticed the guide dog and turned towards it whereupon the guide dog began to growl and bark...protecting his owner and also feeling vulnerable as he was cornered under the seats.
The poor owner of the guide dog was terrified, needless to say, as he had no idea what was happening. I was shouting "Whose dog is this?" but there was no response. The mystery dog was a burly Staffy type and, quite obviously, a full male so it was a worry that there was going to be a full on fight inside the restricted area of a train carriage. I grabbed his collar and pulled him away from the guide dog so the owner could move away into a safer place - meanwhile asking someone to find the guard...no guard I'm afraid - he was in the second part of the train that couldn't be reached through an internal door.
The dog jumped up and sat next to a rather surprised man - he wasn't being aggressive and had been wagging his tail...the dog that is - not the man! I then set off in search of an owner with no joy until a young woman said the dog had jumped onto the train at a station a few stops back! It seems he was a solo traveller and I stomped back to my carriage expounding loudly about the stupidity of irresponsible dog owners - I was pretty angry!!! The dog then compounded the situation by cocking his leg up by one of the seats!
As the train drew into the next station someone was alighting and said they'd inform someone on the platform at which point the dog jumped off and we told the guide dog owner that he was safe to go back to his seat now. Didn't last though, as the stray jumped right back on the train and the whole thing started over! Eventually a member of staff came on board and escorted the dog off and I'm afraid I don't know what happened after that. I felt very sorry for the dog who was, by now, miles away from home - his collar had no ID tags. I also felt very upset for the man and his guide dog who had been subjected to a frightening episode. 
When I left the train at Liverpool two separate ladies thanked me for helping as they both said they were terrified of dogs. It was very nice to be thanked, but it seemed a natural thing to do to step in and help someone in a vulnerable position. Dogs are certainly viewed with much greater anxiety than they once were - and mostly down to the type of owners that this dog obviously had. It was a pretty unusual start to the day though and I wish I knew what became of the travelling canine.
I've got lots of travels coming up....Scotland, Peterborough, Yorkshire, Surrey to name a few and also Skegness where I'll be spending two days at Cutting Edge Crafts on the 17th and 18th May. I'll be teaching a full day's workshop on the Sunday, details below.......

.....looking forward to it!

Well, it is now several hours since I wrote the previous part of this post! I had to down tools this morning as the dental surgery rang me back to say there had been a cancellation so I had to dash round there. Unfortunately I have to wait almost a month for my next appointment and my tooth won't even be fixed then! So, I'm feeling pretty fed up about it...my split crown is being held precariously by a bit of cement which I am sure won't last until I see the dentist again. I'm also struggling to eat as the cement is stopping me from biting and chewing properly. I've a lovely long list of things the dentist has planned for me too...some root canals, replacing another crown that he's not happy with and a filling....can't wait! I think it will be around July when he actually fits the new crowns for me so, if you see me meanwhile, please forgive the less than dazzling smile! I have always said that God made a brilliant job of creating us until he got to our teeth and then he obviously ran out of time!

This was the view from the back of the house first thing this morning and, though you can't see them, there were rabbits hopping around the field. A bit of wildlife watching is a great start to the day!
After the dentist, I met up with Heather and we went down to her house for a while before going to a nearby garden centre. I was after a five foot fence panel to replace the one that blew down a few weeks ago. Unfortunately it seems that half the country also needs to replace their fence panels and they are like hens teeth.....ouch....why did I mention teeth!?!
Well, I didn't waste our outing and got myself some bark chipping, some top soil, three climbing roses (all at a special reduced price!), two pots of miniature daffodils, four plug plants and a packet of Rainbow Chard seeds! On the way home with that little lot we stopped off somewhere else and I got some wooden edging to lay along a border where the fence panels are - I'm going to build up the soil depth so I can plant the roses there along with my usual Sweet Peas and Nasturtiums. I've managed to locate a fence panel now too, so that will be arriving on Thursday and then I can get on with my little project!
I've decided to make a mini pond too - and I do mean a mini pond! Just a big bowl sunk into the soil and with gravel and pebbles for any little creatures to use as steps. It won't be big enough for anything major, but I might attract some dragonflies!
Here's a random piccie for my "this time last year" spot......
.....I might well make a couple more of these canvasses using some of the new Doo Lally characters!
Well, this was a rather looong post! Think I will get to be now as I am planning a day in the garden tomorrow...just hope it's as sunny and warm as it was today. Night night folks!