Weekend starts with a bang

Just a quick post tonight then I'm going to relax for an hour or so before bed and an early start tomorrow for my trip to Carlisle. If the "red sky at night" theory holds, then it should be a nice day going off the view down the road this evening.... ....just beautiful. Well, I'll be at Houghton Hall tomorrow - it's a massive place and the flagship branch of the Strikes/Klondyke garden centres. Good thing I'll be loaded up with all my dies and stamps etc otherwise I'd be coming home with an assortment of bulbs, plants and assorted pots!
Speaking of gardening, I finally completed the rebuilding of the low wall. It's not exactly great, but it is strong and I'm happy with it. It was tricky because it was brick on one side with thick concrete on the other side. Once it all got broken it left gaping gaps that had to be filled, so I had to do a mosaic and balance all the pieces whilst they set. Here's the mosaicy side anyway!

I was missing one of the top pieces too, so had to build up the cement there. I just need to scrub all the loose flaky bits off now and then will paint the top as it once was, so it should look okay then. Heather and I picked up (well, we tried!) two more bags of bark for me to complete that whole area and then I'll be able to get on with the fun part of planting bulbs and adding pots around the place. It's all being done on a tight, cheap as I can do it budget, so I'm making do with bits and bobs that are around the place and using them in different ways.
Anyway, as I was saying, I'll be in Carlisle tomorrow, so hope to see some familiar faces there. I've got some nice techniques to share and plenty of samples. I'll be doing a double shuffle to catch my train to Leeds for Sunday's dabble day at Samuel Taylor's, so look forward to seeing you there if you're booked onto the event.
This evening I heard some very loud rumbling and banging noises and went out to find out what it was. Thomas and Tara both came flying in like 100 metre finalists! Turned out to be fireworks miles away on Blackpool promenade but there is a good, if distant view from the back of the house. A neighbour and myself wandered down the lane to get a better view - both in our pj's....one of the nice things about this area is that you can wander outside in pj's without worrying about being seen by lots of people! I tried taking some photos, but it really was a case of "a long shot" and I didn't manage to capture the fireworks. However, I did like the way this picture came out. Very atmospheric.That's a boring telegraph pole on the left though it looks like something more interesting here. You can see all the orbs created by midges etc too. Speaking of which, I woke up with two more bites this morning, gggrrrr! I have been spraying insect repellent everywhere but the perishers still keep coming back. I think they have taken to hiding until I go to bed and then they come out and bite me - little vampires!
Just watching the third episode of Parade's End which I am enjoying, though it's somewhat spoiled for me by the muffled dialogue - I really like Benedict Cumberbatch but he does seem to be mumbling in this series and I'm struggling to catch everything. Still, it looks wonderful and the atmosphere is sublime. I enjoyed the Bletchley Circle last night too - a bit far fetched, but good actresses including the wonderful Anna Maxwell Martin and the beautiful Rachel Stirling, daughter of the late Diana Rigg. Two ladies who have perfectly modulated voices!
Well, I'd better say goodnight. Not sure how good a night's sleep I'll get tomorrow night as I'm staying in the heart of Leeds city centre so suspect it may be a little noisy! Have a good weekend everyone.

WOYWW

Well, as Hazel has been sharing her enviably tidy table with everyone for the last two Wednesdays I decided to follow suit.....although you'll see that a/ mine is incredibly untidy and b/ it isn't exactly a worktable! I very often work on the floor as in this picture, where I was prepping some samples for my demonstration at Heart of Craft in Carlisle this Saturday.

Hazel, I can relate far more to your workroom with the dodgy drawer! In case anyone hasn't seen the pictures on various blogs, WOYWW means "What's on Your Worktable Wednesday" (I hope that's right anyway!) so, a bit of fun for everyone to share their mess with the world!

As you can see, I had been making a Grungepaper flower, which proved trickier than it should have done as I discovered I had no paper clips! I had one bulldog clip and David provided his fingers and thumbs to hold the other elements for me as they set!

I have promised to do a post about advice for anyone thinking about designing rubber stamps because it is probably the thing I get asked about the most in emails and when I am chatting to people. I have been a little delayed in doing it, but it will definitely be my next post!

Anyway, hope my shockingly messy "workfloor" has made some of you feel less guilty about your own untidy work areas! Lindsay

The busiest time of the year

I know, it's been over a week since I posted.....dreadful! Still no new photos to share at the moment either, but it really is the busiest time of the year and everything that I'm working on is under wraps for now. I will take some pictures at next Saturday's demonstration though, so will have some images to make this blog look more interesting! I'll be up in Carlisle at Heart of Craft, which is in the town centre, using my favourite Distress inkpads, alcohol inks, grungepaper, stamps....and a few other bits and pieces! Hope to see some of you there - especially Helen who sent me a beautiful card this week...thank you Helen, it was a lovely surprise!

I got my belated Christmas gift from my sister Heather this week - check out her blog if you didn't see the pictures and guidelines as to how she created the Guardian Angel lantern which is now hanging from a ribbon in a corner of my bathroom (I know it seems an odd place to put it in, but it's the most relaxing, and least cluttered room here!). I have to say that it looks even better in "real life" and is a very special piece of work...I keep saying this, but she is getting just too good!!!

Well, as Dawn mentioned this on her show on Wednesday, I can say that I'll be going back onto QVC in February. What is more is that it is going to be a really special craft day with lots of very special guests including Tim Holtz and Suzie Weinberg. First of all is the big three day trade show, so I am snowed under with making samples for the workshops and demonstrations that I'm doing there...I always really look forward to this show as it's extremely busy and I get to spend time with all the people that I rarely see. Then straight after the show we will be travelling down to London for QVC, so I am also making lots of samples for that too. I'm not allowed to say anything about what is on the shows, and I don't even know everything that is on, but I can say that I have been using some great products this last couple of weeks! It's really going to be a cracking day!

I'm also working on more stamp designs and pulling my shoulder (which I did on Friday....by sneezing - I kid you not!) has not helped! Ah well, these are the little obstacles that life throws up and they just have to be worked through.

Thank you so much for the emails that I've had since my last post (that sounds ominous!) asking if I was okay - they are much appreciated. Yes, I'm fine, just too many things to do and only one pair of hands! Lindsay