I've given in!

Hi folks, the eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted the large "F" on the left side of my blog. Yes, I have finally caved in and gone onto Facebook...mainly to shut certain people up who have been pestering me about it for ages now! I'm still finding my way round it...probably offending people by not replying to things that I don't even realise they have sent to me!

Anyway, there we are. I shall still be blogging and trying to make sure that I don't get too caught up in this social media lark. As I only use my lap top for all this stuff and don't have a smart phone I certainly won't be on Facebook all the time.

So, I've had a mixed few days. Monday was a drawing day and then yesterday I went into town to meet my sister, Heather, as we both had M&S vouchers to spend from our birthdays. Heather found a top that she liked but I didn't see any clothes that took my fancy so I spent my vouchers in the homewares department. Two "owly" purchases...a retro biscuit barrel to keep my crackers in and a cushion that has an owl with the most appealing expression....he kept looking at me and I had to bring him home with me!

I keep looking at him now, so I know it was a good choice!

This morning it was a really fresh start to the day, that is to say, it was cold! So much so that Tara plonked herself in front of the fire and stared at me until I switched it on! 

Must admit that I needed the warm up myself too! I should also say that I don't normally have photos and canvasses on the floor, but things have been temporarily moved around to accommodate things I've recently made...I like to hang them up so I can look at them for a while and make sure I'm happy with them.

Once I'd got warmed up and, after a bit of prevaricating about what to do first (!), I went into the slightly chilly Doo Lally room and got to work on a few things. Thankfully, once the sun got a little higher in the sky it turned into a pretty warm day again, so I was able to ditch the socks and the sweat shirt that I'd bundled myself into!

This owl is a variation on the canvasses and mirrors that I've been making recently. I've given him cog eyes and used various dimensional patterns and textures for his wings, body and beak. He's about 4 1/2" tall and he is free standing.

I needed to be patient with these....

....they will be fully cured by tomorrow morning and I had to use all my will power not to keep poking my fingers into them to check if they were set! Why do we do that? The pieces will be being turned into jewellery once I can handle them without leaving fingerprints in the resin!

Then it was time to plant a few bulbs in the garden. I have lots to plant but I hate the job, so I just do a few every day when I can. trouble is, I forget where I've already put them!

Now my eyes are really straining to close so I think it's time to get to bed. Another work day at home tomorrow and then I will be at Church in the evening for puppet rehearsals...in readiness for the Harvest Festival services. Busy, busy, busy!!

Sunday....my favourite day of the week

Yes, I really do love Sundays. It's the day to recharge my batteries and I'm always up bright and early so I can enjoy a leisurely coffee before strolling into the village to the sound of the Church bells calling everyone to the family communion service. 

This morning was also a Baptism service - for a very sweet little boy who was the only baby that didn't cry during the service, even when he had three very generous dishfuls of water cascading over his head.Our Vicar doesn't hold back when it comes to the water! The little chap got a round of applause and then the Vicar carried him round the Church so that everyone could welcome him. A lovely service.

After Church quite a lot of us go for coffee together...this used to be in the Church hall but it's been closed for some months now as there were too many problems with the building. Hopefully, it will be re-opening before too long once it's been overhauled. Meanwhile, we go to the local pub for coffee...too many of us for the little local cafes! It's a good chance to have a catch up and today I took some of my garden produce to give away. Just like last year, I found a huge marrow lurking under one of the courgette leaves and it was far too big for me to eat...not only that but my last attempt at cooking a stuffed marrow was a disaster!

Hard to tell from the photo but it really was a bit of a monster! It went to a good home though as did the lettuces that I took with me...crikey, not only enough for veg for me but a surplus! Of course, it will be harvest festival in a few weeks and in times gone by that would have been an ideal time to give some produce away. Unfortunately, as with most things, modern harvest donations have to be tinned or dry goods - just as much of a gift but not quite as evocative as the days when I remember all of us schoolchildren carrying baskets of fruit and vegetables into Church.

It's another warm and sunny day here and, after doing some drawing in the Doo Lally room I decided that I really couldn't stand being inside and missing out on the sunshine for the whole afternoon. I sat on my garden bench with my book for a while and then lay on the lawn to just enjoy a peaceful half an hour. I did the same yesterday and was quite surprised when somebody flew right over in a microlight aircraft - I wondered what it was at first! He circled and went over again, even lower....so low in fact that I waved at him as I lay on the lawn...and he waved back!

No microlights today but there was an even bigger surprise and (for me) much excitement when I decided to come back inside, went past the teeny tiny micro pond and saw this.....

......yes, I nearly shrieked (well I did actually!) when I saw a little frog sitting there quite happily on top of the tiny clay pot in the pond! I ran in to get my camera and, thankfully, he was quite relaxed about me taking his picture. I can't tell you how happy that one little amphibian has made me today! The idea that my old washing up bowl has become an attractive enough habitat to tempt a frog into it.....wow!

Cute or what?!

He dived into the depths (well, such as they are!) after I took his photos, but I popped out later and he was back on top of the pot again. Hopefully he'll make short work of some of the slugs that have started appearing again this last week or so.

Anyway, that's all for now...I'm just off to look at the pond again....

Fluttering days....

The days are fluttering by in more ways than one here....can any of us really comprehend that it is September? How did that happen? And there seems to have been a resurgence of butterflies....Large Whites, Peacocks, Painted Ladies....all are flitting about my garden once again attracted by the late flowering nasturtiums and the lavender. I was working in my Doo Lally room yesterday when a butterfly of a species that I hadn't seen before danced into the room. It really did appear to be dancing...skitting about by the windows and tipping its wings in a very dainty fashion. I managed to get a few photos in the moments when it settled.........

.....this made it much easier to identify it from my insect book later. The photo doesn't do it justice as it looked much prettier and the colours were certainly brighter than they look here. It turns out to be a Speckled Wood butterfly of the Satyrid family and it may well have been dancing, in a rather soporific fashion, as they apparently have a penchant for imbibing the juice from over ripe blackberries - of which there are many along the edge of my fence!

Yesterday evening I got the binoculars out so I could watch a Kestrel that was perched on a fence post in the field behind the house. He was being bombarded by brave little birds that were trying their utmost to get him to scoot but he was completely ignoring them and staying put!

I hope you're having the same fabulous weather as here in Lancashire. The sun has been beaming down through hazy skies with not a breath of wind - just lovely. It makes it all the more of a shock when it starts to go dark so much earlier now - oh to have more of the long evenings!

Looking at my "this day last year" photos for today, it seems that it wasn't quite as lovely as there are pictures of a very foggy morning and wet grass! I did like this photo though and I can remember going around the garden that morning and seeing lots of spider webs glistening from the morning mist....

In between all this "country diary of an Edwardian lady" stuff I have been doing some work too - honestly! As I have a couple of weeks without doing demonstrations I've still been busy making things for my Etsy shop and the stall that I'll be having in December. I'm looking forward to that as I'll be part of the Christmas Festival market which we have in Poulton square and part of which is the lighting of the nativity crib with carol singing followed by coffee and mince pies in Church. I'll miss out on the refreshments this time as I'll be manning my stall out in the (probably) very cold weather!

Here's a large canvas that I created this week......

....one of several that are adorning my walls at the moment like an ever changing gallery! I have a long list of things to be made for my December stall.....cards, bookmarks, canvasses, paintings.....anyone know where I can buy a few extra hours in each day?!? Thankfully I do like getting up before 6am when the light is decent, so I have been making a head start!

Tara likes to keep an eye on what I'm doing when I get the camera out - she's looking at the soil that I managed to knock out of one of the tomato plant tubs here though I think!

Yesterday was not a good one regarding the pusscats in my household! In the morning I was stroking Tara when she suddenly decided to sink her teeth into my hand - she's not done this for a while and there was no apparent reason for it this time. Of course, she had to be told off so I told her she was "a very bad girl" and  tapped her bottom as she scooted off - and when I say tapped, I do mean the gentlest of chastising taps. Of course, being the softie that I am, I very quickly went to find her so we could be friends again. She was on the window sill in the bedroom and when I drew back the curtain she cowered away from me....you can imagine how terrible I felt. Tara was a rescue cat when mum and dad got her and she's always been grumpy and nervous of people so who knows what has happened in her past....certainly  my raised voice yesterday brought it rushing back. 

Needless to say that she had extra fuss made of her (including some treats of the fresh ham variety!) and  was soon perfectly okay again. I felt like the worst person in the world though - even though she had bitten me very hard!

In the evening I heard my neighbour across the road calling my name and I went out to discover that Thomas was in her garden growling menacingly at my neighbour's cat, Smokey, who is not only very elderly, but is the tiniest adult cat you could imagine. As soon as I tried to pick Thomas up he launched at poor little Smokey and it was like a whirling ball of cats until we managed to separate them! Poor little Smokey shot into the house and Tom sauntered off looking twice as big as normal with every hair on end - and he's about the size of a fully grown lion as it is! Lol! Talk about showing me up! I was very ashamed of him, especially as Smokey is female!

So, lots of feline stress one way or another. Thankfully they are both behaving themselves today - so far anyway!

Well, this has been a bit of a rambly post but I just wanted to sign in and say hello really. I hope everyone has a really great weekend. I'm having one of my rare treats of a Friday evening where I can really relax knowing that I don't have to up at daft o'clock to catch a train to who knows where! Lovely!

Free Spirit

Hello all, and a special hello to everyone that I saw in Kendal on Saturday at the Paper Warehouse craft event which was really busy. The team there look after us all very well and keep us topped up with drinks and snacks all day so we can just concentrate on being creative.

I was working with my Zendoodle stamps and pens from the Artline range - all Christmassy I'm afraid! Here's one of the cards that I made which also featured papers by Teresa Collins....

....again, quite a simple card as I wasn't using all my favourite spritzy inks and sprays!

As I like to occasionally share a photo or two from "this day last year" I thought I'd jump back to 2012 and share a couple from this time two years ago. One is a card that I made using my Hopeful Harriet Doo Lally Pip stamp set....

....and the second is a gardening, well, building photo.....

...two years since I rebuilt one of the walls in my garden! Can't believe it's so long since I finished that job but I'm pleased to say that it is still standing! 

I haven't been out and about much since I was in Kendal, except for Church on Sunday, as I've been holed up in my Doo Lally room creating canvasses and hangers for my Etsy shop. I've been working in stages on several pieces at once but here's one that I finished this afternoon....

My poor fingers are every colour of the rainbow now - as well as thick black paint! I'm now working on a much bigger canvas, so I'll share a photo once it's finished.

Well, it's been a gloriously sunny and warm day today but I've been too busy to get into the garden, I might just spend half an hour on my bench with my book now though, to make the best of the evening before the sun fades. I do have loads of bulbs to plant but, I confess, it is a task that I always seem to struggle with. I think it's because there is no immediate reward as there is when putting plants into the garden - everything looks exactly the same when you've finished and it's a bit of a bore to do! However, I'm trying to focus on the prospects of Hyacinths, tulips, daffs, narcissus and crocus in a few months time to spur me on!

Meanwhile, the fields adjacent to me got their first haircut in years at the weekend. Everything had got rather jungle like and as the grasses and weeds were cut back there were rabbits running all over the place as well as much interest from the gulls and crows.

Yesterday evening I spotted this chappie....

....it's the first time I've seen a heron here, so, another one to tick off my list!
Well, I'm off to get into the garden for a while, so will sign off. Hope the weather's good where you are too.

Long day

Evening everyone, well, late evening....night really! I woke up feeling very tired this morning, partly due to the fact that Thomas has developed a fondness for sleeping stretched out along my arm and shoulder, purring very loudly right into my ear. It's like having a heavy hot water bottle on top of me all night and no matter how many times I move him he just keeps creeping back!

Anyway, a couple of coffees got me gradually perked up and then I was straight to work in the Doo Lally room. I had prepped some pieces to carry on with this morning.......

 ....this one is a canvas with lots of cogs and textures, all painted black ready for the next stage. I had several other pieces to build up to the same point, which takes quite a time, including this heart with the word "smile".

The next part is my favourite as I really enjoy adding the layers of colour to create the depth of lustre. The metallic paints and waxes look different depending on which angle you view them from and the light.

Here's the canvas all done and dusted!

I've been working on different pieces all day and finally tidied away (!) at past 8pm. I've added the four new finished pieces to my Etsy shop now so that's me finished for the day at last and hopefully Thomas will give my shoulder a rest tonight!

Unseasonal apologies

I know it's still only August, though you'd be forgiven for thinking it was almost October after the crummy weekend weather we just had, so I feel I should apologise for posting festive images this early. It's the nature of my work, of course, to be always a few steps ahead of the calendar and it's Christmas products that I'm using on demonstrations at the moment. Only a couple to share tonight though and quite straightforward ones at that - I'll be at Paper Warehouse in Kendal on Saturday and they prefer clean and simple cards there. I find them harder to make than my usual messy style!

Anyway, I've been working with my Zendoodle range of stamps today, both the ready doodled versions and the plain ones. Although the idea with the plain ones is that you can fill them in with Zentangle patterns, they are also perfect for paper piecing. As I'm using some Teresa Collins papers on Saturday too, I thought it was a perfect way to utilise them. This one is an ultra simple card using my Zendoodle Tree stamp...

...told you it was simple! Just a few adhesive gems and some Stickles (oh yes, and I get a bit of sneaky distress ink in there with a little water spattering!) to add some sparkle.

Next is my Zendoodle snowman and I made the background directly on a folded A4 white card using a Crafter's Workshop stencil (Aspen Trees) and Weathered Wood Distress ink, just blended more softly as I went further down.

The sentiment is from my Inspirational Christmas Quotes set. I must admit that I did enjoy cutting out and piecing all the snowman's clothes - for a change anyway! I finished off with Aged Mahogany Distress ink smudged round the edges and some baker's twine wrapped round the spine.I stuck little circular stickers, from the Teresa Collins paper pack, back to back at the ends of the twine. Simple but I quite like this one!

I was looking back at my "photos from this day last year" but, as they happened to be of a ginormous spider, I decided not to put them up here! Tomorrow will be a year since Tim Holtz and the Ranger team came over to the UK for the weekend event with Personal Impressions - where has the time gone?! This was what I was doing at the event....and it was fun to be on the other side of the table for a change!

Heather and I spent some time together for her birthday - it was very low key but that was what she wanted, so the birthday stripper had to be cancelled....no...I'm only joking! We just went for a Sunday lunch and both felt like we never wanted to eat again! If you haven't seen Heather for a while you'll get quite a surprise next time you do as she has lost over three stone to date and looks great.

Well, it's only just past 9pm and it's dark already...how depressing is that?! Worse still, Blackpool Illuminations are switched on this Friday (by Peter Kay this year) so that's that! Time to wash the dishes and make a coffee I think so I'll say goodnight. 

Oh, if you read my previous post and went to look at the canvasses on my Etsy shop - they're not there anymore! I'll be adding some new items very soon though. Right, off to the kitchen now - night all.

Quickie!

Hello everyone, just a very short and fast post this morning. The sun is blazing down now after, of course, a very wet and cold Bank Holiday Monday - typical! Not that it really mattered to me as I was inside, working, all day, but I did resent having to put the heating on, albeit for not very long, in August!!!

Anyway, no photos this time, but just to say that I've added a couple more items to my Etsy shop....a canvas and heart shaped hanger....photos can be seen here.

Thank you for all the lovely comments and messages via phone, text and email, all of which are much appreciated.

Back to the Doo Lally room for me now and a day of making samples for this Saturday's event at The Paper Warehouse in Kendal. Hope to see you there!

PS If you pop over to my sister's website, here, you can see the mirror that I made for her birthday...she dropped some very heavy hints!!! Lol!