Normal service is resumed...I hope!

Many apologies for the looooooong time since I last posted on my blog. Unfortunately it's been nigh on impossible due to some sort of ad page that has been coming down over the screen whenever I've tried to add anything here. Gggrrr! No matter what I've tried it has just kept blocking my view of my page and made it a nightmare to try and post. Fingers crossed though (sshhhh...) it seems to have righted itself at the moment so I am hoping that I can resume normal service.

Well, lots has been going on here since my last post of course! So, as it would take way too long to give a detailed round up of the last three months (!) I will share some photos and just a few highlights....

I've been busy with my Studio Workshops...those of you who know how often I travel long distances, lugging heavy bags around, will guess what a nice change it is for me to be teaching from home! Above are Karen and Sandra during a recent class - getting messy with DecoArt Media Misters...my studio walls have been getting the odd spritz too!

Below are Linda and Cindie sanding back Chalky Finish for Glass which they had painted onto textured glass candle jars...just one of the projects they completed during the day.

More details of my Studio Workshops can be found in the sidebar on the left.

Back in April I was confirmed in Church. Although baptised (both as a baby and then again as a teenager!) I had never been confirmed so this meant a great deal to me. It was a very moving experience and one I shall always treasure. As well as the children, there were four other ladies and here we are with Bishop Geoff...

....we feel we have a real bond of friendship now.

The Summer seems to have taken a while to get going doesn't it? I haven't had many chances to sit in the garden, or even to do any gardening really...in fact, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't even had time to grow any vegetables this year and there are more weeds than flowers at the moment. Oh well, I can't fit everything in and there's always next Spring to think about. I think that will be a New Year's Resolution that I might be able to keep! There have been a few chances to enjoy the sunshine though...the garden bench is a lovely spot to sit and draw....

It's also Thomas's favourite sun spot and he loves nothing more that sitting beside me there. Here he is guarding my knitting for me!

Unfortunately, just as I got into knitting, I had that nasty bump to my head at Stitches trade show and, since then, I've found that I can't knit without it bringing on vertigo and nausea! Weird. However, I have taught myself to crochet (which is a minor miracle) and this doesn't have the same ill effects. Here's my first completed project....

....I'm only up to simple shapes, but that's okay...scarves, cushions, shawls and throws will do! Talking of throws, I did manage to finish the one I was knitting, and decided that it would look just right on the back of the sofa. Tara agreed and also assumed that I had put it there just for her! Needless to say, it is looking more like a felted blanket every day as she delights in paddling her claws up and down in it....never mind!

....How could you resist her charms? You could? What if she threw this look at you.....

......see what I mean?!?

As well as my usual work, I've been busy doing more with DecoArt products as I'm on the International Design Team. This is the latest project that I created for the Mixed Media Blog which has step by step photographs that you can find here. It's a great blog which is well worth bookmarking - regular projects with great instructions from a range of designers.

These are a couple more pieces that I created recently using DecoArt products. This card features Media Misters, Interference Fluid Acrylics and an Andy Skinner stencil....

This is a canvas that I recently added to my Etsy shop - also featuring the brilliant Media Misters.

I really loved the way the colours came together on this one.

I've been enjoying watching the local wildlife of course. The birds, bats and other creatures that I'm lucky enough to have a wide range of in the surrounding area. I was happy to see this big, healthy hedgehog a couple of weeks ago. He is obviously doing well on slugs, snails and worms as he ignored the cat food that I put down for him. Thomas was rather interested in him too, as you can see....

....Mr Hedgie was quite unworried by either me or Thomas and just snuffled on his way into the garden!

Well, this is a very random post I know! I've just picked a selection of photos and moments from the last few weeks, but there have been lots of other things happening too. I was the after dinner speaker at a local Tangent ladies group a couple of weeks ago, which was great fun...a few funny reminiscences as well as some simple demonstrations....it seemed to go down well! Design work has been ongoing of course, as well as demonstrations and workshops around the country.

A friend asked me to create a card for her to give to a male relative and I came up with this one....

...it's a card within a folded frame which allows it to be free standing. I used a Tim Holtz paper for the frame and then realised that the word "poison" was very obviously plastered across the top! Some Tim Holtz random rubs came to the rescue and did the job of disguising the offending word - you can see them at the top right above the aperture!

I was at Samuel Taylor's in Leeds a couple of weeks ago, teaching a mixed media workshop, This was the project that we created....

....a really lovely day and I'll be there again teaching another workshop on the 18th July - again, details of what I'm up to can be found on the left.

Well, this has taken a while but the blocking ad thing seems to have left me alone. I basically had to stay away from the blog so that whatever it was assumed that it was no longer worth pestering me I think! Hopefully it's done the trick and I shall resume normal service.Meanwhile,I do also have a Facebook page which is a public one, so you can always check that if I go missing again!