Late night post

Hello all, it's almost 11.30 pm and I should be getting to bed really, but I'm just winding down after friends have left so it seemed a good time to touch blog base. This evening I hosted another viewing of the film Les Miserables (my fourth time now!) ahead of the course that starts tomorrow night. I can really recommend the film if you haven't seen it but you need the tissues handy!

Tomorrow morning I'm off to my dentist again when he's going to get my new crowns started - hoorah! I may have my smile back in a couple of weeks! My numb jaw is beginning to get feeling back so I may not have to see the neurologist after all with a bit of luck. Another hoorah!

Meanwhile I've been busy getting things ready for my all day workshop at Daisy Jewels and Crafts in Coventry on Saturday. We'll be making several projects including cards, a tag and a wall plaque and we'll be working with all sorts of lovely things like Dylusions ink sprays, Distress Paints and inks, Inca Gold waxes, Zendoodle and Doo Lally Pip stamps amongst other things! The class runs from 10.30am - 4.00pm and costs £35.00. I know there is still room on the workshop so, if you fancy joining us, please contact the shop directly. You can find contact details on the above link or phone them on 07779 110813.

Here's a sneaky peek at some of the elements that will feature in our projects...

....shiny and colourful! There again......

.....frayed and distressed! But also....

.....some funky stripiness!
(stripyness....stripeyness...stri....?!?!) Just a little peek as I said and there will be more besides.

Well, it's now almost midnight...why does posting take so long? Or is that just me?

Here's another of my "this day last year" photos, this time of a card that I made for a workshop project....

....I notice some Graphic 45 papers in there as well as stamps from one of my 2013 Doo Lally Pip releases "Steamed Up".

Well, I really should make a move to get ready for bed now. It's been another lovely day here and I still have the front door wide open to let the fresh air in. Time to round up the two terrors which should be fun....when it's warm outside they do like to run me ragged at bed time and they'll speed off just as I think they are coming in - Tara, especially, thinks it's a really jolly game!

Down tools!

That is to say my pencil, pens and paper. Yes, it's that glorious moment when I have carefully packed new stamps designs ready for posting tomorrow....always a tricky moment when I hand them over at the Post Office counter....will they look after them, will they bend or even...fold my package? 

Yesterday I started first thing and worked right through till around 7pm and I'd been cooped up inside so long that I went straight into the garden and did some weeding. Well, it was more like grabbing armfuls of Mare's Tail, Sticky Willie (yes, I know, but that's what it's called!) and dandelions. I think I filled about seven bucketfuls and only stopped because my green recycling bin was full. When I came inside I was shocked to see that it was 8.30pm! Beautiful day though, so at least I'd had some sunshine at the end of it.

It didn't even seem that dark when I went to bed - don't you just love these long, light days? I was up at six this morning and, after a quick cup of fruit tea, straight back to work in a last push to get things finished.

So, all done and I am having a day off tomorrow...yaaaaayy! I'm meeting Heather for lunch in Blackpool and then we're meeting up with one of Heather's friends at the Grand theatre to see the Joe Orton play "Entertaining Mr Sloane". I saw the film with Beryl Reid, Harry Andrews and the very dishy Peter McEnery many years ago but I don't remember too much about it except that Peter McEnery was half naked for much of the time! So, it remains to be seen if we'll need the smelling salts tomorrow!

After the theatre I have to hot foot it to the station to get the local train (miles faster than the bus) and then dash home in time to get ready for the second of two film nights I'm hosting. We'll be watching Les Miserables (my third time in a month!) in preparation for our study course that starts next week. The tissues will be on hand again along with the sausage rolls, crisps and cakes!

So, a busy sort of day off but at least my eyes will be getting a rest from all that close work.

It's absolutely scorching here and very muggy too. I've just given everywhere a tidy and quick once over in preparation for tomorrow evening and I'm exhausted now! So, time for a cool shower I think and then couch potato night.

It didn't look quite so summery in the photo from this date last year! Look at that little mischief maker....

....not sure if she was having a swift drink or waiting for the main meal to fly in! 

On Saturday I'll be back at Dainty Supplies in Washington, Tyne and Wear from 10.30am. I'll be using a selection of stamps, Viva Decor products and lots of Ranger inks including Dylusions sprays. Do pop in and say hello if you're in the area.

Right, time for that shower now and then it's a chicken salad for dinner...no home grown salad yet...in fact I haven't even planted the lettuce yet! Must get that job done this weekend.

Enjoy the weather everyone but remember to hydrate and try and stay cool....I keep mini misters filled with cold water by my bed at night when it gets muggy - gives Thomas a bit of a shock but it does the trick!

Lovely Saturday

Hello all, I've just downed tools (pencil, pen and paper) for the day so I thought I'd do a post before I get dinner ready. A stir fry with noodles tonight and some of the veg that is ready to be picked from my plants. Friday night was my first home grown meal (well...almost all of it anyway!)....

...onions and cherry tomatoes from the grocer! The courgettes, sugar snap peas and chard were mine though! Just popped onto a tin plate and drizzled with olive oil, sprinkle of salt and pepper and roasted in the oven for about twenty minutes - they were yummy! The tin plate needed a good scrub though after the spitting oil!

Saturday morning saw me setting off to Burnley for my visit to The Craft Range for their craft demonstration event.It turned out to be something of an "old school reunion" (well, workshop reunion!) as there were so many familiar faces there. So, a big hello to Gez, Kath and Elaine, Jacqui and Christine, Brenda, Mary and Chris...and apologies if I missed you off the list! Chris, Jacqui and Christine...

 ....I was kept well supplied with hot drinks! As I was in the corner, I had to crawl under the table every time I wanted to come out from behind...good thing I'm not very tall!

It was such a busy day that I had no chance to see what everyone else was up to let alone take any photos. Mark Gould and Andy Skinner were in a separate room so not much chance for a catch up there! John Glossop was adjacent to me with some great altered art pieces. There were also demos from Clare representing Indigo Blu and also Wow powders and Crafter's Companion. So, a full house really!

As well as featuring stamps I was making lots of backgrounds using Distress inks, Dylusions ink sprays, stencils and Viva Decor Inca Gold. This was a simple scrunched black card tinted with Dylusions (using the opaque white spray makes the colours visible on dark card) which I then rubbed the Inca Gold over. Simple but effective!

I've become a bit obsessed with backgrounds like this one at the moment.....

....Dylusions sprayed onto my craft sheet and picked up onto white card with a little water spritzed over the surface. I then sprayed the white ink through a Tim Holtz stencil and then flipped the stencil over to use the ink that was on the surface. That way you get the positive and the negative images.

I've really gone mad with colour lately! I don't think you could get much more colourful than this really....

 ....subtle it's not! The die cut flowers were scrunched, wet and then spritzed with inks. Once dried I added touches of Inca Gold and some MME brads.
The day went by in a flash and I was soon on the train back home. I walked back through the park and saw something teeeeny dash across the grass to the right of me and then disappear behind a tree. Thankfully my camera was close to hand so I crept up slowly and found this little sweetie....

 ....altogether now.....aaaahhhhhh! (That's aaaaaahhhhh NOT aaarrrggghhhh! by the way!) It was a cute little woodmouse and he was as bold as could be. Of course, being me, I had to scrabble in my bag and break off a bit of samosa that I had just bought! I threw him a crumb and he sat there having a good feast whilst I took more photos.....

....oh yes, you can tell I'd had a good day of demonstrating just looking at the colour of my fingers! I was really thrilled with this little wildlife encounter. After he'd had a few more morsels he sped off back into the bushes with a twinkle in those big beady eyes!

It's all out there - you just have to keep your eyes open!
Right, time to get into the kitchen now and then a quiet evening (avoiding the dreaded World Cup!) before another day of drawing tomorrow.

A wander in the garden

Another quick coffee break post this morning. Then I'll be packing my bags ready for my trip to Burnley in the morning for the demonstration event at The Craft Range. There will be lots of demonstrations to entertain and inspire, including my great friends Andy Skinner and Mark Gould. I don't get to see the guys that often and now it will be twice in a fortnight!

So, hope to see lots of you over in Burnley on Saturday...I'm sure it will be a fantastic day.

I don't have any photos of my latest creations to share this morning as I've been working on new stamp designs all week and they are obviously "top secret"! I'll take my camera tomorrow though so will share pictures of the day next week.

Thanks to those who asked how I'd got on at the dentist on Tuesday. I'd been scheduled to have another root canal treatment (!) but, having discussed it with the dentist, we decided that it would be better to just whip the tooth out - it's quite far back and not that noticeable. Anything to avoid the complications of the last experience! I was in and out in no time...as was the tooth! No after effects either. I still look like a pirate though as I'm still waiting for the new crown - then I'll be all done and dusted. I also got my hospital appointment to see the neurologist about my numb face so that was much quicker than expected - hoorah!

Well, I don't like to do a post with no photos so here are some of the jungle that I'm surrounded by at the moment! The first of the courgettes is just about ready for the roasting dish now - yum!

A strawberry! I've decided that I probably won't bother with these again...no wonder they are so expensive when the yield is three or four berries per plant!

The sugar snap peas are just outside the conservatory door so I just pick them as I go by and eat them straight off the plant!

 One of the three tomato plants that are outside is coming along very nicely and I've got another five inside!

Unfortunately, although I adore Nasturtiums, and they are so easy to grow, I may have to restrict my love of them next year as they do attract these little monsters....

...Cabbage White caterpillars! I really love having the butterflies in the garden, but the caterpillars just make short work of my plants. Bless them! Thankfully this patch has escaped the munching beasties and are providing a lovely splash of hot colour.

My micro pond is in there somewhere.....

...everything has burgeoned and even one of the pond plants has flowered. Guess I'm doing something right! The fairies are almost completely hidden now. Sadly I've had no visiting frogs or anything larger than hover flies and wolf spiders - maybe they will still come. The only residents in there are....mosquito larvae...oh joy! I'd better stock up on citronella candles for when they emerge!

I'm thrilled with the fogloves.These three are by the pond and there are more around the garden. I grew them all from seed that my late brother in law, Graham, gave to me. That's one of the very special things about gardens isn't it...they can hold so many memories and as things grow they keep those memories alive. Every time Iook at the foxgloves I think of Graham.

By the way, the lawn was in need of a haircut when I took this (still is!) but I just haven't had time to get it done this week. There are also masses of that darned Mare's Tail weed everywhere too which I get courtesy of the fields that you can see in the background...a small price to pay for the views and the wildlife though.

All the roses are blooming now and I'm planning to plant more every year - as I've said before, David thought a garden should be filled with them, so that's what I'm doing. These are "Little Rambler" and are so dainty. They shade from palest pink right through to a deep rosy colour and the blooms just spring forth in masses - gorgeous.

The last picture is one of the flowers on the "Moment in Time" rose bush that I got in David's memory. It would have been his favourite as he loved red roses best of all. For some reason I find that my camera doesn't really like photographing reds and the details are always slightly lost (any ideas folks?), but you can still see what a lovely rose it is.

Well, I must away now to continue filling those bags for tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone!

How to rescue a bee!

Hi folks, another quick coffee break post...well, it's a fruit tea break actually, blood orange and cranberry to be exact. I had a rather late night as the Les Mis film night didn't end till after midnight (chatting!) and then I spent an hour or so winding down before bed.

I thought you might like to see a picture of the bee that I rescued yesterday! Poor thing was in my kitchen, lying on his back and obviously struggling. Bees need sunshine to warm them up enough to fly and, of course, it's a well known fact that, in theory, they shouldn't even be able to fly being so heavy in relation to their wings. Time for some emergency treatment then!

I got him onto a piece of card and placed him outside on the grass. Next job was to dissolve sugar in a cup of warm water which I took outside and used to soak a tissue. The bee looked completely lifeless but when I placed the tissue next to his face he instantly began to lap up the sugar....

...he really had a feast and I had to pour more sugar solution on for him!

After about ten minutes of sunshine and sugar he had the energy to move around and then he gave his wings and legs a few stretches and was off, buzzing around the flowers very happily! Success! 

Really easy to rescue a bee and they need all the help they can get.

An extravagant weekend

I'm just having my coffee break so it seemed a good time to post a few pictures from the Craft Barn Extravaganza weekend. My day is going to be a rather sporadic one anyway as I have to go to the dentist again later this morning and I've some grocery shopping to do before I come home...when you walk everywhere you don't waste a trip into the village! This evening I have friends from Church coming round for a film night. We are beginning a study course based on "Les Miserables" (the version with Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe) which should be really interesting, so we have to start by watching the film - I have already seen it and next week there will be another group coming round to watch it, so I'll have seen it three times then! As I cried buckets the first time I am getting the tissues ready for everyone tonight!

In between times I am getting on well with new stamp designs...always good to see those blank sheets of paper starting to get covered with images! I usually don't have much idea what I am going to draw when I pick up my pencil, I just let it hover over the paper until something starts to form. Pretty much the way I work when I am creating projects too!

So, last Thursday morning I set off for Surrey which involved trains to Preston, then Euston, underground to Victoria and then another train to Redhill. Thankfully everything went to plan and all the trains were pretty much on time....the only blip being at Preston where, with less than four minutes to departure time, the platform for the London train was changed. It wasn't even announced but just came up on the screen - good thing I noticed a few people dashing past me! So, I had to run with my case up the stairs, across the bridge and down the other side. As I was still not fully recovered from the flu like symptoms of the post root canal infection (!) and as my case was heavy enough to feel like my shoulder was being wrenched from its socket, this was not what I needed! Less than a minute later an announcement was made that the London train was now going from the original platform where we had all just been! *!!#** (insert whatever you feel is appropriate!). I looked at the stairs and thought "okay, you can do this"....and then a knight in shining armour came to my rescue and asked if he could carry my case. Now, Janet Street Porter et al would tell me that I should have given him a withering look and lugged the case myself....no thank you....I am more than happy to be helped by a strong man! Not only did he carry my case but he hoisted it over his head which really made me giggle inside as he was obviously enjoying being the hero of the hour for me! (Another reason why I would never decline an offer of help). 

Apart from the usual rudeness of people travelling on the underground everything else went fine and I was at the Craft Barn after about four hours. I was able to have a wander around the shop, the Priory Farm nursery and the farm shop and then it was off to nearby Godstone where I was staying. This is a tiny village with a lovely duck pond and just a few little shops including one selling antiques and curios  that I had a wander round for a while. I then spotted a sign for the parish Church and this led me up a long public footpath at the side of a nature reserve where I saw Grebes, Tree Creepers and all sorts of butterflies and other birds. I also came across this fallen "tree" that was really more like a mass of tangled roots...

...I'd love to have this in my garden!

After a good stroll in the sunshine it was time for dinner and then some relaxing in front of the TV before a good night's sleep. Next day was my Bijou House Masterclass and I got everything set up in the marquee adjacent to the Craft Barn. There was a lot to get through but the ladies applied themselves and everyone managed to finish - well, we decided it would be better to stamp out the flowers for the outside of the house so they could be coloured and cut out at home rather than rushing them. So, lots of alcohol inking, shrinking, distressing and embellishing produced some great results. Michelle and Helen concentrating on painting their roofs......

....Chris using a glue stick to add embossing powder to the seams of the walls and Anne preparing to stick the roof to her house.....

 ....by the end of the day we had some great houses.....

...and we only overran by half an hour!

Another quiet evening in Godstone and it was soon Saturday morning and the start of the demonstration weekend. We were all hoping that the forecasted thunderstorms would keep away! The marquee was all set up with tables and chairs and everyone busied themselves making eyecatching displays. This is when I envy those who travel by car and can bring shelf units and dressers with them! Here are some of the tables....

This was Di Oliver's display....see what I mean about the shelves?! Amazing creations. And here is part of Jane Gill's table...Jane's usual eye for detail in her beautiful creations.

 Here's Julie Hickey's calm, pastel display...it looked so fresh in the heat of the marquee.

 You may well recognise the work of the mediums master himself....Andy Skinner of course!

Here's Pauline Wheeler's lovely array of scrapbook pages and more - as you can see, Pauline was enjoying the Extravaganza experience!

 Lots of fantastic pieces to look at on Neil Walker's table.....

 And here's my, "it all came in a suitcase" display! Needless to say that it didn't stay this tidy for long!

It was an amazing weekend and a big hello to all the lovely people that came to see us. Your comments were so uplifting and it makes all the hard work worthwhile. I didn't get a chance to take a picture in the midst of the bustle of the two days but I did snap a view inside the marquee near the end of Sunday when people were starting to drift away and I could finally take a breather!

This was just one half of the marquee!

Here's one of the cards I made on Sunday using Dylusions sprays and a Crafter's Workshop stencil for the background. I used my Zendoodle Hearts stamp set and another CW stencil for the word love - simply using a white gel pen to draw through and my fine black pen to add a shadow. I think the heat was making me go for really vivid and bright colours!

I loved these bags that two of the ladies had made. Needless to say, the one on the left was the one I would have snaffled being in my favourite colour combination!

Another card that I made at the show, this time using my Dreams have Wings stamps which proved to be a popular set. I drew the ricketty fence with my black pen and added the grassy tufts at the base by swiping a Memento dew drop ink pad up from the bottom of the card.

I do love the richness of colours that can be achieved with the Dylusions sprays. I tend to keep my cards very simple really - just letting the images do all the work.

Every table had one of these on it by the way....

...a very thoughtful gift from the Craft Barn team - all hand made of course and filled with sweeties!

Well, I really should get back to the drawing board now and then it will be time to walk round to the dentist and see what he's planning to inflict on me today! My face is still numb so I'm still finding it tricky to put my lipstick on straight!

Oh yes, I have picked the first starwberries from my plants in the conservatory...all two of them! They were lovely but I'm guessing you need a heck of a lot of plants to make it worth bothering! There are two courgettes that are almost ready for cutting off and I've been picking the sugar snap peas and eating those straight from the plant. The tomatoes are tiny as yet, but there are more appearing daily so I'm looking forward to some scrumptious veggie meals soon.

Right, I will away and hope you haven't fallen asleep whilst reading this looong post!

Going underground

Well, I will be tomorrow. My favourite form of travel...the London tube....not! I did have a look at getting down to the Craft Barn without going through London but the journey time went up to over seven hours - gulp! So, Euston and Victoria it is and I shall just have to try and stay upright with my case as the regular commuters shove past me on the escalators, tutting loudly as they do so - or worse!

I'm just having a quick coffee beak before I carry on with last minute putting together of a few more samples - I won't tell you what time I started this morning but David would have called it "daft o'clock"! So, I thought I'd take the chance to sign in and show a few piccies from the last week.

On Saturday I was at Sir Stampalot in Peterborough...no photos as I didn't take my camera. Had a great day though and a big hello to everyone who came along to the demo. A special thank you to Linda for the lovely plant that you brought me...I got it home safely and it's now happily planted in one of my tubs. A big hello to Stephanie too, and thank you for your lovely email. And I have to mention Margaret who attended my workshop at Cutting Edge Crafts in Skegness and who came to Sir Stampalot to see me again. She told me off as I'd cut her head off in a photo I posted here, so, I promised to make amends in my next post! So, Margaret, especially for you....

....complete with your finished wall plaque....and face!
I've been working in the conservatory this week, which is becoming increasingly tricky due to the amount of space being taken up by the jungle which is growing inches by the day!

The large leaves at the front are on the courgette plants which I have three of...should be enough for me, Heather and a few friends too!At the back are a couple of the sweetcorn which I think will have to go outside before too long. 

Of course, if I'm in the conservatory I'm never alone as one or both of my furry friends will be keeping me company. If I put any kind of box or bag on the floor it's only a matter of time before Tara has to try it out for size and she was quite impressed by the laundry basket but even more by one of my pens! Not really helping there Tara!

Thomas was happier just to lie around napping...poor Tom had worms last week - ugh! However, some drops from the vet sorted him out in double quick time and he's absolutely fine again now.

Mind you, he is sulking a bit....he always knows when I've got a trip coming up no matter how hard I try not to give any clues!
Here are some pictures of what I've been up to with my stamps and inks! This first one was made using two layers of corrugated card that I scruffed up a bit, painted and buffed with Viva Inca Gold wax. I used some burlap (from a brilliant DCWV burlap stack) which I frayed and generally duffed up! The figure, heart and words are from my "Frayed Around the Edges" Doo Lally Pip stamp set.The heart was stamped onto some linen which I cut out and frayed a little. I've coloured some nylon ribbon with Dylusions inks and heated it so it went curly wurly!

 Next is another Doo Lally Pip character who's proved to be my most popular from the latest releases. He, his dog and the words are from the "Sartorial Elegance" set. I used a Kraft card blank which I used a Crafter's Workshop template to stencil through with Vintage Photo Distress ink before cutting chunks out and sanding the edges for a really scruffy look.

 I still had one of the little frames that Heather gave me last year, so I decided to use my "Dreams have Wings" set to create a picture. The background is just white card lightly sprayed with Dylusions inks...Squeezed Orange, Cherry Pie and Slate Grey - the grey is a fabulous colour. I simply stamped the birds in Archival black and then overstamped with just the twigs and leaves without re-inking to give some depth. I used a white gel pen to add highlights and the moon. The frame looked too plain so I stamped the extra bird and the words, again using Archival.

Well, I'll have these, and much more, with me this weekend at The Craft Barn, so hope to see lots of you there. Looking forward to the all day workshop on Friday too....if you're on the class then make sure you get a good night's sleep as we'll be hitting the ground running with lots of techniques and processes to get through!
Christina from A Maze of Memories sent me this link to the AMOM blog, featuring some of my Zendoodle designs...thanks Christina! When you stop and think, how amazing is all the technology that allows us all to keep in contact, share ideas and photos....quite mind blowing really.....well, to a non techy person like me anyway!
A big thank you to everyone who showed concern over my post root canal problems. The latest update is that I saw the dentist again yesterday and they are now referring me to a neurologist as half of my face is still numb - it feels very strange and putting lipstick on when you can't feel half of you lip is pretty tricky! I may have to wait up to two months for an appointment and the problem may, hopefully, right itself before then. Fingers crossed.
I was glad to see the end of May with all it's sad memories. Again, thank you for the lovely messages that were sent to me last week, they were really appreciated.
Well, I had better get back to that pile of card, stamps, inks and general mess in the conservatory! The coffee has been drained so I'm sure the caffeine will be kicking in shortly and will keep me going! Looking forward to a really busy and fun weekend and hope everyone enjoys whatever it is that you're up to over the next few days.