Bit of a catch up

It's been a busy time here in Doo Lally Land! I was at A Maze of Memories in Long Crendon a fortnight ago which was, as always, a really great weekend. I was there for two days this time, with a workshop on the Friday and then a demonstration and Make n Takes on the Saturday. Lots of fun with all the ladies who make my trips there so special. Here are a few pictures from the weekend....

 ....lots of concentration here!

 ....adding colour to the book boxes that everyone was creating.

 ....Make n Take day!

....more concentration on Saturday!

I got back late on the Saturday night after a fairly straightforward journey and then it was a busy week ahead filled with all kinds of events. Church on Sunday of course, which always inspires and settles me for whatever is coming up. On Monday evening I was one of the "St Chad's Four" team for the Town Quiz which saw lots of teams competing for the annual trophy. We didn't win but we didn't do too badly either...my history and sport knowledge were pretty useless but I redeemed myself in the Colours and Music rounds!

Tuesday evening was taken up with a meeting of the PCC and on Wednesday I was back at Church for part four of our Lent course where we've been talking about the plight of Christians in the Eastern countries - quite an eye opener at times. 

On Thursday morning two of my good friends treated me to a trip to a garden centre that's a bit further out than the one I normally manage to get to. The displays there are always gorgeous and they had lots of Spring like colours and themes in readiness for Easter of course. I loved these lambs and sheep!

And I couldn't resist posing with King Kong outside in the garden area....

I can't imagine what Tara and Thomas would make of him if I'd brought him home for our garden!

This week has been a little quieter on the social front, but I've been enjoying the glorious weather and have been making a (very slow) start on getting the jungle outside looking more like something resembling a garden. I've been making myself getting at least one job done out there every day so I cleaned out the mini pond and refilled it on one afternoon, pruned all the roses and the big lavender bush another day. The lavender has, unfortunately, largely died,so I was very sad to have to cut away large parts of it where it had just become dry and woody. I'm hoping that the rest of it will fill in the bar patch as it always makes a fantastic display in the summer and is noisy with bees for months on end.

I was amazed when looking through my photos to realise that by this time of the year I have usually got trays of seedlings filling the conservatory. Ooops....I appear to be way behind! Partly for this reason, and partly because I really don't want to turn the conservatory into a full time greenhouse again, I've decided to just buy trays of young Sweet Peas and tomatoes etc this year. I bought one or two last year and they did really well, so it will mean less mess and more time to spend on getting the garden tidy as a whole.

I also put up a new arch over my garden bench as the original one was very flimsy and blew down in the strong winds. Thomas decided to enjoy the sunshine after I'd tied all the climbing roses onto their new support and I joined him with my knitting as it was such a gorgeous day!

Talking of knitting....Heather has, somehow, managed to get me totally obsessed with it! She brought some odd balls of yarn and needles and I decided to start a throw made up of six inch squares. My skills stretch no further than plain knitting and I don't do increasing or decreasing either (!) so I'm pretty much left with squares or scarves! The one on the bench is a scarf in progress and here are the piles of what I've been creating in the last couple of weeks or so....

....the beige squares at the back are actually quite a bit bigger and are for cushion covers - there will be four squares per cushion front but I haven't decided yet whether to have the backs also knitted or to use a natural linen fabric instead. The two colourful piles are the ones for the throw - plain and random patterned to alternate. My ongoing scarf and the latest square are at the front. I'm really enjoying it and it's something that I can do in the evening or when I'm on the train...the cushion squares were all done on my journey to, and from, Oxfordshire!

I decided to get a throw for the sofa last week too as, although it's really sturdy and comfortable, the fabric was almost threadbare in places and looking really scruffy. David had been part way through re upholstering it (there was no job he wouldn't tackle - and do well) and it's not something I could do - I certainly didn't inherit my mum's sewing skills! I ordered the throw online and it turned out to be a rather more limey shade of green than the one I'd expected! Never mind, it's bright and cheerful and Thomas seems very happy with it....

All my new stamp sets are in the shops now and mine arrived at the end of last week....

....quite a lot as you can see! I just need to make samples with them all now! Talking of samples, here is a sneaky peek of what we'll be creating at my workshop at Craft Range on 11th April...

....it's a canvas using the Deco Art Media range of paints and pastes. I'll show the full canvas at a later date!

Meanwhile, my Studio Workshops are filling up, so here is an update on them:

Tuesday 5th May - fully booked
Thursday 7th May - one place available
Wednesday 20th May - fully booked
Wednesday 3rd June - three places available
Thursday 11th June - two places available
Thursday 25th June - three places available

These are full day Mixed Media workshops in my studio. They are small classes of no more than three people so lots of personal tuition.The cost is £50.00 per person per day, which includes all materials, refreshments, lunch and a goody bag to take home. Please just drop me a line on ljm.design1@virginmedia.com or PM me through Facebook if you're interested.

Right, back to work for me now. I'm working on a new range of stamp designs and a couple of commissioned canvasses so lots to get on with!

An aMAZEing weekend!

Sorry about the rotten pun in this post's title but, unless you're new to my blog, you should be used to my penchant for them by now!

Well, I was down at A Maze of Memories on Saturday and I travelled down to Thame on Friday where I was met by the lovely Christina and we set off to Waddesdon Manor which was built by Baron Rothschild in the French chateau style. As my train journey was several hours long, we only had a few hours to enjoy our visit, so we didn't go into the house but, instead, walked around the grounds and gardens which was just the job after being sat down for so long.

It's a very grand house as you can see!

We were just in time to join the guided tour of the aviaries and were really impressed with the conservation work that is being done with a relatively small set up. I didn't manage to get any decent pictures but Christina sent me some of hers, including this one of a Bali Mynah bird which were, at one time, so endangered that there were only five left in the wild.

Between the aviaries was an art installation that was mesmerising to look at and completely intriguing as to how it was done. At first it looked like a curtain of water droplets pulsing down at intervals to form a sort of flat waterfall effect but, as we got nearer, we realised that there were random words forming in the water drops. We were both taken aback when, as we watched, the name "David" appeared for a moment (these moments do give me goosebumps) but then, even more so when the name "Paul" appeared a few moments later...which is the name of Christina's husband. It was quite strange as the words are apparently randomly taken from the internet and we didn't see any repetitions. Somehow, in all the mad clicking that I did, I managed to coincide a snap with a word on a couple of occasions....

 ...it's very hard to convey how clever this work was.

We managed to get someone to take a few pictures of the two of us on the steps with the magnificent house behind us....

....and this one shows the sheer scale with the fantastic fountain in the foreground....

...the patterning on the left tower, by the way,is formed from climbing plants trained into the latticework design!

We had a couple of cream teas to finish the afternoon and then spent a relaxing evening at Christina's ahead of the busyness of the following day. I made a new friend....

 ....meet Topsy - Christina's gorgeous house rabbit. She was just lovely and so gentle...with a very twitchy nose!

Next day we headed over to A Maze of Memories in Long Crendon where I was demonstrating as well as hosting make n take sessions. As you can see, it was very busy! Everyone was having a great time either working on their card project or watching me getting very colourful, inky fingers!

You can see more photos of the day and what everyone made by going to AMOM'sblog where Christina has posted lots of images http://s187244897.websitehome.co.uk/2014/10/11/thank-you-lindsay/ I didn't get chance to take a single photo!

Thank you to everyone who came along to the demo day and a big thank you to Christina for her hospitality and brilliant organisational skills. Thanks too to Alli, Carolyn and Libby for keeping me (and everyone else!) supplied with drinks...as well as the very naughty cakes which had been baked specially for the day.

It was a fantastic weekend and I look forward to my next trip there.

After a very long train journey home it was really late when I got back and I had to be up early on Sunday morning for Church duties followed by going to our sister Church in nearby Carleton where Lynne and I were performing as Mabel and Mary the sheep again in our harvest puppet performance. As my fridge, cupboards and (most importantly!) cat food supplies were just about non existent, I had to get some shopping on the walk home and hiking four heavy carrier bags back really did wear me out! So it was time to put my feet up for the evening and just relax at last!

This week I'm getting things made in readiness for my demonstration at Time 2 Craft in Chesterfield next Saturday, where I'll be focussing on mixed media techniques. Hope to see you there!

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.

There and back again...and off again!

Fellow Tolkien fans will recognise "There and back again" as the alternative title for The Hobbit, and I certainly feel quite Bilbo Baggins like with all my travels lately! It seems I'm no sooner back than I'm off again....well, tomorrow anyway.

So, last Friday I took three trains down to Haddenham where the lovely Christina from A Maze of Memories met me and we then drove to the park and ride to pick up a bus into Oxford. This was something that I had been really looking forward to and I certainly was not disappointed. What a marvellous day it was. The shiveringly cold weather that began the day had given way to cloudless skies and sun that actually felt warm and made me squint....who knew I should have taken sunglasses?!

On the way into Oxford I spotted something that made me look twice and is, I now know, a famous landmark.....

...yep, a shark in the roof of a house! I didn't take this photo, but I did want to share the delight that this gave me! Bet the birds like to perch on that giant tail!

However, as we rode further into the city, the sights became rather more traditionally breathtaking....

Once we alighted, Christina and I began our tour of the colleges, chapels and Churches. We climbed the 127 steps up St Mary's church tower...we were both huffing and puffing a bit (!) when we reached the top but it was well worth the effort...

....just one of the magnificent views. We spent some time gazing over the panorama and also at the various gargoyles and carved characters that adorn the tower....

....isn't he/she wonderful?! Not very often that you get so close to such lofty figures.

One of my favourite parts of the afternoon was looking around the Cathedral and college grounds of Christchurch. The walled gardens were just my cup of tea.

The Great Hall was one of the inspirations for Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, when he was writing Alice in Wonderland. As one of the expert guides told us, he was sitting by the great fireplace and the long necks of the firedogs on either side gave him the idea of Alice growing when she ate the cake! One of the stained glass windows has depictions of various characters from the book. The hall in the Harry Potter films was based on this room too.

 The walls are filled with portraits of former students - it must be quite intimidating for the current students as they dine at the long tables!

There were amazing windows and carvings in the Cathedral itself but I really felt drawn to this ancient tomb chest....

One of the bowler hatted guides was kind enough to take a picture of Christina and I in the grounds....

.....sadly, I do rather resemble a hobbit beside my elegant companion! We finished the day by having a much deserved plate of warm scones, jam and clotted cream....naughty but nice! I bought a small souvenir from Christchurch Cathedral....

.....a tiny Icon Diptych which will always remind me of a lovely day.

So, after a rather exhausting afternoon I slept really well (until 5.45 am, when other hotel guests decided it was perfectly okay to stand outside my room talking...ggrrrr!!!) and it was soon time to get the show on the road at AMOM. I was demonstrating my new stamps and there were also three make n take sessions. This was the sample that I had made to give the ladies their inspiration.

I used thick corrugated card that was coloured with Distress paints and then rubbed with gilding wax. The image is one of my Zendoodle stamps - the ladies had a choice of the three different toadstool sets in the collection. Once doodled and coloured it was adhered to the panel and then embellished with Tim's tattered florals.

Needless to say, everyone put their own spin on the project. This was Trudy's version....

...and here's some great colouring from Louise....

.....and here is a picture that shows what a busy day we were all having!

You can see more of the fabulous work that the ladies did by clicking here. So, I must give a wave to everyone that came along and especially to Diane for the treats for my two terrors and honey for me, also to Julie who I hope to see at the NEC and to Miriam, Mary and Christina for all their hard work in making the day so special.

Well, I've been busy getting ready for my next trip since I got back. I'll be leaving for Birmingham International rail station tomorrow ahead of the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC on Thursday to Sunday. The worst job was definitely trying to pack everything into something like a manageable amount of luggage to haul! Here's what I've ended up with....

One extraordinarily heavy suitcase (those Sizzix Bigz XL dies weigh a ton!), my Tim Holtz bag, filled with everything from socks to die cut flowers, and my canvas bag filled with my dimensional Sizzix samples. Wish me luck...I think I'll need it!

This morning the postie brought me a jiffy bag filled with these....

....my "Ready to Go" Zendoodle stamp sets complete with their new packaging design....

....the drawings around the edges of the insert are there to give some ideas for different Zentangle designs.

Wow, that was a rather picture heavy post! I'm going to get myself into my PJ's now so I can watch the Sewing Bee in comfort with a hot coffee and a yogurt (strange combination I know!). 

Thomas is already picking up on the fact that I'll be leaving them again, so he will be getting some extra cuddles tonight! Tara doesn't seem to worry as much so long as she gets her grub, although she always goes mad with excitement when I get home...Thomas usually lets me know that he's very annoyed with me!

I hope to see lots of you at the show over the next few days. I'll be on the Card-io stand where you can also see Wendy working magic with her own range of stamps. 

I'll report back after the weekend. Finally, welcome to my latest blog followers and hope you will enjoy my ramblings!

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.