Where did everyone go?

After a crummy night's "sleep" on Monday, I decided on an early bed last night (with fresh sheets - lovely!) and slept right through. So I was up at the crack of dawn this morning...well, at around 6.30am anyway! This was the sight that greeted me.....

......thick fog, hence my post title - although the photo doesn't really show just how foggy it is. I took this one of the same view from the back of my house, last night, just before bed time when the fog had begun to crept in.....

.....it made me think of a John Carpenter film that David and I used to enjoy watching...The Fog. It used to amuse David no end how it made me jump every time, even though I knew what was coming! Here's another view from last night that somehow reminds me of paintings by one of my favourite artists, John Atkinson Grimshaw who was a Victorian painter born in Leeds.

He painted a wide range of subjects, but he's probably best known for his atmospheric night time town scapes. He was a very experimental artist too, using sand and other materials mixed with his oil paints, to get different effects. Sadly, he died from cancer at a relatively young age, but not before he'd left a wonderful legacy of work. If you don't know his paintings, do click the above link for a real treat.

Well, I decamped into the conservatory again yesterday to make the most of the sunshine while I worked. I was finishing the second display board of flowers made from the Sizzix Susan's garden dies, ready for the four day show at the NEC next week. 

Some of the flowers on the left board have got slightly crushed in transit after being trolled around in my case! My favourite set of the new (to me) ones is probably the Pansy and Violet which I really enjoyed adding the shading to. They're all lovely though and many are very versatile in that you can change the colours and how you shape the petals to create different blooms.

Of course, before the NEC, I am visiting A Maze of Memories in Long Crendon this weekend, where I'll be demonstrating and hosting some make n take sessions using my new Zendoodle stamps. (Click on the link for more information about the day). Here's a sneaky peek of the make n take project!

When assembling the Sizzix flowers I've been using one of my all time favourite adhesives, Art Glitter Glue, which was designed to be used with ultra fine glitters as it's really strong and grabs the pesky glitter so it doesn't shed. It also dries clear which makes it perfect for the glitter under acetate technique. I hadn't done this for ages, so I felt it was time to revisit an old favourite! I'd got one of the ultra fine tip attachments for the glue, so, once I'd stamped my Zendoodles Fungi (CICSA6196) onto acetate, I began filling in with glue and glitter one colour at a time. The conservatory needed a good hoovering when I'd finished! This is the back of the design.......

....showing the glitter over the stamped image. I left it to fully set overnight and, once I've finished this post, I'll be turning it over to see how it looks from the front, with the glitter encapsulated beneath the acetate. I'll show you the finished result next time! Unfortunately, I already know that the central toadstool has got a splodge of turquoise/lilac glitter where it shouldn't be, as I managed to dink it with the top of the glitter pot as I was sprinkling...gggrrr!
So, I'll be off first thing tomorrow for the four and a half hour trip to Haddenham and Thame. Christina, who owns AMOM is taking me into Oxford for the afternoon which I'm really looking forward to, having only been through it before. I hope the sunshine comes back! I've got a new tote bag too, from Advantus, so I'm giving it it's first test run on this trip. It's not roomy enough for the excursions when I need to take large Sizzix dies with me, but I'm managing to get all my stamping paraphernalia in it quite nicely and it seems very comfy to pull along.
Time to get some work done now. The coffee is drained, the fog is gradually lifting and I've got some last things to put together for my trip tomorrow. I'm off out this evening too, popping up to church for puppet rehearsals and a new piece that we are starting on based around the story of Lazarus. I've no idea what character I'll be playing yet, and I'll get my first look at the script tonight too. Thankfully, we don't have to learn the lines by heart as we have them pinned up behind the screen - he he!
Before I go, here are two close ups of my best pals, taken in the conservatory yesterday....

....my big soldier, Thomas, and the little madam herself........

.....big nose...er...I mean Tara! They both loved being in the conservatory with me yesterday. I had the door open and they were happily wandering in and out of the garden secure in the knowledge that I was keeping an eye on them!
And, just to finish, I thought it would be fun to add a new element to my blog posts. So, this occasional feature is called "This time last year...". I like to look back at photos for the same date from a year ago to see what I was up to, what the garden looked like, anything interesting (or not!), so here is a picture from this date in 2013.....

....a huge crow that visited the bird table in the front garden (well, under the table really) and spent quite some time picking out crumbs from between the gravel. I love these massive birds with their imposing beaks as they are surprisingly shy considering how powerful they are.
So, next time I post I'll share a photo from "this time last year" - if there is one of course!
Have a great weekend everyone.