Service resumed

Hello folks and, yet again, I'm starting with an apology for being absent from blogland for a few weeks. This has been partly due to me being weighed down with show prepping work - I'm going to be at forthcoming Event City show this Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then Stitches trade show for four days the week after that, so, loads to do.

Alongside this, our mum developed a chest infection which, combined with her ongoing illness, meant that she was very, very poorly. So much so that we warned to expect the worse.We have had a very worrying time and, you may imagine that other things have taken a back seat. Thankfully, I'm happy to say, that mum has amazed everyone and has bounced back yet again. She really is a remarkable lady and my new name for her is Duracell! We know that we still have to take things a day at a time, but, for the moment, mum is out of the woods. Needless to say, Heather and I have been feeling pretty stressed again and it's been quite hard to concentrate on work.

I have been doing my best though and I'm ready for the first show at least! So, I'll be on the Card-io stand again at the Event City show near the Trafford centre in Manchester. I'm concentrating solely on Sizzix dies this time, so I've been making a whole selection of dimensional projects, including flowers made using the Susan's Garden range of Thinlits dies. Here's a wheelbarrow made using a Bigz XL die which I've then filled with flowers made from card stock that's been inked and shaped. I cut slivers of green card on my trimmer to create the filler - I didn't have any of the stuff you can get from the florist which would have been quicker if not as creative!

I'm especially fond of the Poppy die which comes together beautifully. I used a heavy card stock to make the wheelbarrow which I then coated with black gesso. I used the same technique with another Sizzix die - the watering can......

....I used my pallette knife to spread the gesso quite thickly to give plenty of texture. It takes a fair while to dry, but if left in a warm spot the surface will cure faster and then a heat gun can be used to gently finish the drying process - with care though, so as not to make the gesso bubble up.

Once fully dry I use DecoArt Metallic Lustre to create the finish by simply rubbing it over the surface with my finger. I used Silver Sparkle on the watering can.........

...the left hand example was just cut from basic card stock which I inked to give some definition. The watering can creates an open box effect, so it's easy to add flowers etc.

The weather has been pretty cold, wet and windy here and, on Friday, we had some snow......bbbrrrr! Thankfully, it turned to sludgy sleet so it didn't stick...

....anyway, a combination of the icy temperatures and having a tidy entrance to the house over Christmas made me decide not to fill the Doo Lally room up with work again. I really do like coming in at the front door and not being confronted by piles of card and an inky mess everywhere! It's much nicer when people call round too - especially if they don't know what all the mess is about! So, I decided to go back to the way I used to work back in our flat in Manchester - that is, on the floor! I know it wouldn't suit everyone, but it has lots to recommend it....I'm warm for a start, by the fire in the lounge. It also means that I can spread things out around me, all easily on hand. When I'm die cutting it makes things simpler too with so much more space than working on a desk. 

I have a small table with wheels that I put everything I'll need onto and then I can simply push the day's materials into the lounge in one go. I "tidy" it away when I've finished for the day, though it's not very tidily put away at the moment whilst I'm so busy. The spare room (which is already minus a bed - given to my nephew!) does look rather like a dumping ground just now but at least I can close the door and get away from it in the evening. And I don't mind working on the floor - I'm always the one sat on the carpet when there are more people than chairs!

Thank goodness the evenings are gradually getting a little lighter. I don't know about you, but I'm really fed up with the dark mornings and short days. It's been really sunny here today and that, coupled with seeing Spring bulbs poking through the ground really does help to lift the spirits. I don't know where my snowdrops are though - I know I planted some! I had to go into the village today and I walked through the park where the gardeners were laying tons of bark chippings on all the beds. It looked and smelled wonderful and really made me want to get cracking in the garden again. I'm afraid my garden really does look shocking at the moment, so I'm desperate for the warmer weather so I can get it sorted.

No time at the moment anyway of course - especially when this box arrived last week....

...my new stamp sets! They are pre production rubber versions and I can't share any of the designs with you as we haven't released the images yet. You may be able to get a sneaky peek if you enlarge the photo though! So, you can see there's a lot to go at there - and all to be done by the end of next week.

When I'm working (on the floor!) I usually have my lap top nearby so that I can regularly check for emails, stock numbers of products etc. I thought you might find this picture quite amusing........

......I got quite a surprise when I looked up! Thomas has a habit of plonking himself beside the laptop when he wants my attention, but I think he just decided it would be a nice way to warm his bum this time! Needless to say I shooed him off there pretty sharpish and, thankfully, the laptop survived his ton weight and tendency to dribble!

So I'd better share a piccie of Tara as well, just to even things up, and she does look very pretty in this one...

....the little worried expression is her default setting!

Well, now that I've said hello again, I'll sign off and hope to share pictures from this week's show after the weekend. Also hope to see lots of you there for, what I'm sure, will be a very busy and interesting event.