Drawn out days until Christmas

Hello everyone and hope you are all keeping warm in this seasonally cold weather...it took a while to get Wintery this year but I think we can definitely say that it's arrived. I'm sitting on the sofa with the Christmas tree lights twinkling away, waiting for the daylight to get a little stronger so that I can start work without straining my eyes. 

I really do enjoy putting up the decorations and especially the trees. I have this one in the lounge and a really old one in the window of the Doo Lally Pip room. The star of the "lounge tree" this year is my new traditional glass snowman which was an early gift from Heather.

I think he's adorable!

Well, after all the long hours of work I put into getting things made for my stall at the Poulton Christmas Festival the morning finally dawned when I had to get myself wrapped up like Scott of the Antarctic! It was a 7.30am start to be ready in time...there were tables to be brought out from Church, a gazebo to be erected and then the job of setting out my wares and hoping that the forecasted rain would stay away - it didn't! It was quite windy too...the worst combination of course - so I had to lash the gazebo to the benches that were behind me to stop it from being carried away on a strong gust. Thankfully the rain came in short bursts so it was a case of hurriedly moving things to protect them from the wet which I mostly managed to do.

I was against the Church wall which gave me a bit of protection at least. It was a cold day of course, but not quite as freezing as I'd feared it might be, although there was a rather surprising hailstorm in the afternoon with large stones that covered everywhere in seconds!

I was there until 6.30pm so it was a very long and tiring day - aching feet and legs for a couple of days afterwards and I fell asleep very quickly that night! It looked very festive as the sun went down and we had the lighting of the Crib at 4pm with carols and the Churchyard tree also being lit.

You can see how many layers I had on beneath my coat...I struggled to bend in the middle!!!

It was a really enjoyable day and, thankfully, my creations sold well. I had a surprise visit from Jacqui and Christine who had travelled over for the afternoon...lovely to see you ladies! Heather came for a few hours too and manned the stall while I nipped for a "comfort break"!

I didn't have a great many of my mixed media pieces left but I've put what I didn't sell on the day onto my Etsy shop shelf now. Here are a couple of them...

 A butterfly wall hanger and a framed mirror....

 ...sorry about the reflections of my conservatory net curtains in the mirror!

Speaking of my mixed media techniques, Christina from A Maze of Memories sent me the link to show me what her customers had been up to in their scrap club. You can see their results here. I love what they've done using the white backgrounds!

On Saturday I had planned to do the neglected housework and give everywhere a good "Spring" clean before putting up the decorations. I was so tired when I woke though (I must have looked a charming sight, shuffling around with stiff ankles and leaning my head back so that I could peer through my half closed eyes!) that I decided to have a lazy day instead. However, after a strong coffee and warming up a bit, I gave myself a kick up the rear and set to work. The Doo Lally Pip room had become a disgrace....

....shocking mess!!! But, after some determined tidying, it looked like this....

 ....and then I added the old tree....

I gave everywhere else the same treatment but I will say that nobody is going to be allowed to look into the spare room until after New Year! Lol!

Sunday was a madly busy day too as I was on duty at the 8 am service at Church which meant another early start and then I stayed for the 9.30 am service which is the one I usually attend. The Sunday school children were performing a play for us so you may imagine that there were some extra smiles all round! Then it was coffee with friends from Church and some much needed grocery shopping which I had to carry home through yet more hailstorms....it was very crunchy underfoot! I warmed up and confess to a small snooze (!) before it was time to walk back to Church for the lovely Christingle service....

...myself, Jane and Rebecca holding our Christingle oranges. In case you don't know, the orange represents the world, the cocktail sticks represent the four seasons, the sweets and fruits on the sticks represent God's gifts to us, the candle is the Light of the World and the red ribbon around the orange represents the blood of Christ. 

We all made a big circle around the pews in Church and then our candles were lit from one to another...such an atmospheric service.

Yesterday, apart from adding the items to my Etsy shop (which took quite some time) I decided to have a really lazy day and just sat on the sofa watching Christmas films with the company of Thomas and Tara. I didn't even feel guilty!

Today though, it's back to work and I have lots of drawing to get on with in readiness for new stamps designs. So, as I think it's as bright as it will ever be today, and as I've warmed up a bit now, I had better get started!

Free Spirit

Hello all, and a special hello to everyone that I saw in Kendal on Saturday at the Paper Warehouse craft event which was really busy. The team there look after us all very well and keep us topped up with drinks and snacks all day so we can just concentrate on being creative.

I was working with my Zendoodle stamps and pens from the Artline range - all Christmassy I'm afraid! Here's one of the cards that I made which also featured papers by Teresa Collins....

....again, quite a simple card as I wasn't using all my favourite spritzy inks and sprays!

As I like to occasionally share a photo or two from "this day last year" I thought I'd jump back to 2012 and share a couple from this time two years ago. One is a card that I made using my Hopeful Harriet Doo Lally Pip stamp set....

....and the second is a gardening, well, building photo.....

...two years since I rebuilt one of the walls in my garden! Can't believe it's so long since I finished that job but I'm pleased to say that it is still standing! 

I haven't been out and about much since I was in Kendal, except for Church on Sunday, as I've been holed up in my Doo Lally room creating canvasses and hangers for my Etsy shop. I've been working in stages on several pieces at once but here's one that I finished this afternoon....

My poor fingers are every colour of the rainbow now - as well as thick black paint! I'm now working on a much bigger canvas, so I'll share a photo once it's finished.

Well, it's been a gloriously sunny and warm day today but I've been too busy to get into the garden, I might just spend half an hour on my bench with my book now though, to make the best of the evening before the sun fades. I do have loads of bulbs to plant but, I confess, it is a task that I always seem to struggle with. I think it's because there is no immediate reward as there is when putting plants into the garden - everything looks exactly the same when you've finished and it's a bit of a bore to do! However, I'm trying to focus on the prospects of Hyacinths, tulips, daffs, narcissus and crocus in a few months time to spur me on!

Meanwhile, the fields adjacent to me got their first haircut in years at the weekend. Everything had got rather jungle like and as the grasses and weeds were cut back there were rabbits running all over the place as well as much interest from the gulls and crows.

Yesterday evening I spotted this chappie....

....it's the first time I've seen a heron here, so, another one to tick off my list!
Well, I'm off to get into the garden for a while, so will sign off. Hope the weather's good where you are too.

Long day

Evening everyone, well, late evening....night really! I woke up feeling very tired this morning, partly due to the fact that Thomas has developed a fondness for sleeping stretched out along my arm and shoulder, purring very loudly right into my ear. It's like having a heavy hot water bottle on top of me all night and no matter how many times I move him he just keeps creeping back!

Anyway, a couple of coffees got me gradually perked up and then I was straight to work in the Doo Lally room. I had prepped some pieces to carry on with this morning.......

 ....this one is a canvas with lots of cogs and textures, all painted black ready for the next stage. I had several other pieces to build up to the same point, which takes quite a time, including this heart with the word "smile".

The next part is my favourite as I really enjoy adding the layers of colour to create the depth of lustre. The metallic paints and waxes look different depending on which angle you view them from and the light.

Here's the canvas all done and dusted!

I've been working on different pieces all day and finally tidied away (!) at past 8pm. I've added the four new finished pieces to my Etsy shop now so that's me finished for the day at last and hopefully Thomas will give my shoulder a rest tonight!

Quickie!

Hello everyone, just a very short and fast post this morning. The sun is blazing down now after, of course, a very wet and cold Bank Holiday Monday - typical! Not that it really mattered to me as I was inside, working, all day, but I did resent having to put the heating on, albeit for not very long, in August!!!

Anyway, no photos this time, but just to say that I've added a couple more items to my Etsy shop....a canvas and heart shaped hanger....photos can be seen here.

Thank you for all the lovely comments and messages via phone, text and email, all of which are much appreciated.

Back to the Doo Lally room for me now and a day of making samples for this Saturday's event at The Paper Warehouse in Kendal. Hope to see you there!

PS If you pop over to my sister's website, here, you can see the mirror that I made for her birthday...she dropped some very heavy hints!!! Lol!

Waxing lyrical

Well, waxing creatively anyway! After the lovely response to the pictures of the mirror that I made for my Etsy shop last week, I decided to make some more pieces. Apart from items for Etsy, I need to be getting stocked up for my stall at the Christmas Festival here in Poulton-Le-Fylde in December, which I was invited to be part of....being involved with the Church leads to all sorts of things!

So, I've been gluing, creasing, painting and waxing over the last couple of days. I've added two of my creations to my Etsy shop - both have the word "dream" as it happens! One is a little box canvas that can either hang or stand......

 ....it's a mixture of colours but they don't show up very well I'm afraid.The butterfly wings and the letters have each got some irridescent glitter added for extra sparkle - again, you wouldn't know from the photo!

I decided to make the effort to shake off my favourite colours for the next piece, another mirror. So, after adding all the dimension and textures, I restricted myself to reds, pinks, bronzes and golds. It does make for a very warm look and the finish almost looks like leather - albeit lustrous leather!

Here's a close up of one area.....

I've finished for the day now and am about to remove my scraggy nail polish that now has everything from black acrylic to metallic paint encrusted on it! Then it's a shower and time to make something for dinner - not sure what yet. I've plenty of home grown produce to choose from though, including the sweetcorn that is now ripe for harvesting. I had the first cob last week and it was just delicious - I got the water boiling before going into the garden so the corn was in the saucepan within a minute of being cut! I've had tons of salad leaves and tomatoes as well as courgettes and green beans so not a bad haul!

I'm on duty at Church tomorrow (so I really need to get all the paint off my hands!) and then Heather is meeting me and we're going out for lunch for her birthday. So, a nice day to look forward to and then, next week I will be getting things prepared for my demonstration at Paper Warehouse in Kendal on the 30th.

Have a great "rest of the weekend" folks!

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Hello everyone, and a special hello to all the ladies who came to see me at Card-io on Saturday. It was a really fun day, very busy and lots of enthusiasm for the stamping, spritzing and spraying that I was doing!

I don't know about you, but I've felt quite sick and depressed all day after the hearing the dreadful news this morning of horrible events in Syria....it makes you wonder if humans will ever be able to just talk, agree to disagree on certain things and learn to rub along. I somehow doubt it. Especially when the news bulletins keep giving the same details about awful events, it's really hard to shake off dwelling on them and I get mental pictures that I just can't shift.

Sometimes all the horrors are just too much to take and the only thing to do is to switch off in order to keep sane. That's how I feel anyway. So, I kept the news at arms length for the rest of the day and listened to cheerful music while I worked instead.

Here's a photo of what I was working on today.....

.....looks really miserable I know! Ignore the slightly odd middle which was just a scrap of paper to protect the mirror beneath it. I began by spreading white glue over the front of the frame, one side at a time, before placing old book paper on top and scrunching it up to create some nice texture.

Next I added the dimensional elements....two burlap pieces which I chopped and shredded a little, some Grungeboard squares laid in checkerboard style, die cut flowers and leaves that I stacked for extra depth and some letters and hearts. Everything was firmly glued into place - I'm using Art Institute glue these days as it's really strong and sets nice and quickly too. Once stuck, I painted the whole thing with Black Soot Distress Paint. Great - no brushes to have to clean afterwards! 

I next used Wendy Vecchi black embossing paste to give extra depth and texture. I added more paste through a TH stencil to gave raised patterns to the plainer areas on the frame. Then came the worst part.....having to wait for the paste to set! I left the frame in the sunny conservatory while I had my coffee and toast! More waiting and then I was able to continue.

I brought out my two boxes of Viva Decor Maya Gold and Inca Gold and brushed the Maya Gold over some areas - some quite heavily and some using the dry brush technique. Then it was fancy finger time! Well, my fingers looked pretty fancy by the time I'd finished! I rubbed lots of colours of Inca Gold over the various textures, blending them as I went. More colour rubbed along the sides and just round the back of the frame and then I finished by adding a piece of TH paper to the back to neaten everything up.

Here's the finished mirror frame........

....the picture doesn't really show up the lustre of the colours too well but you can see the general effect. The piece has now been added to my Etsy shop, where you can also see some close ups.

Well, whilst posting this I stopped midway to watch Bake Off and then Operation Wild. Both programmes have lifted my mood from the black gloom that's been hanging over me today. If you haven't seen Operation Wild I can't recommend it highly enough. Spoilers ahead here! Tonight featured a dolphin who lost 75% of her tail through an infection and who consequently struggled to swim or jump. She had more or less isolated herself and her quality of life was pretty poor. However, one man was determined to fix her and kept making prosthetic tails, none of which had so far worked. The latest one though....amazing! She was waving it in the air to show it off, she began to swim  really fast and then was able to leap out of the water - yay!The most moving story for me tonight was Champer the Moon Bear who was born with Encephalitis making her half blind and in constant pain. The veterinary team at the bear sanctuary in Laos operated to relieve the swelling on her brain and insert a tube to keep liquid drained away....brilliant. She's now a happy bear!

Needless to say, I have spent the whole hour very teary eyed - good tears though! It's just what I needed to restore my faith in human nature again - seeing the lengths that the vets will go to to help the animals. Wonderful.

Well, I had better go and let my two critters in as it's sounding a little rainy out there now. Tara is almost beside herself as I roasted a chicken this evening...her very favourite thing in the whole wide world! Once the aroma of a roast hits her nostrils she parks herself in front of the glass door of the oven and stares at it! Very funny!

Pheasant and courgette...

....though that's not what I had for dinner! I sometimes draw a blank thinking of snappy post titles and that was the best I could come up with tonight. The pheasant in question was actually a whole family that emerged this morning from the overgrown field at the back of the house. They make such a distinctive noise so their presence is always heralded by shrieks and fluttering wings.

However, today there was not just the male and female but two (or it may even be three) youngsters...rather drab like their mum and equally poor flyers. Now I know that they're there I'll try and get a photo of them and I'll have to keep an eye on Thomas who will chance his arm, or his paw, with anything he thinks he has even the slightest chance of catching.

No, dinner was a juicy Sirloin steak that my sister brought for me yesterday...a rare treat indeed, though I don't like my steak rare! My idea of relaxed cooking went awry though, as I was watching the Andy Murray v Vergasco tennis match and decided to get dinner between sets in case it went on for hours. So, onions fried in the pan before adding red wine and vegetable stock followed by mushrooms and a dot of butter. I moved everything over to make room for the steak and cooked it fast with just some black pepper on top. Then it was into the garden with my knife to cut the courgette....

 ....look at that whopper! (no rude comments at the back please!) I sliced it and fried it in a separate pan with just a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil. While that was softening I took the steak out to rest and thickened the pan juices with a dash of cream and a knob of butter. A few spoonfuls of mash - yes, I cheated and used instant (I know, but it's not bad and quite low carb comparitively) and that was dinner made very quickly. It was delicious too, though I nearly gave myself indigestion through eating it whilst watching the tennis....I won't give the result in case I spoil it for anyone, but I felt quite wrung out by the end of it! 

That was my recipe for today anyway - lol! I've been listing a few more items onto my Etsy shop today which you can see in the thumbnail photos on the left or by clicking my Etsy banner. However, here's a quick look at them anyway! This is a canvas called "Mischief".....

...and I checked for naughty words in the background this time as I previously managed to cover a canvas with a dictionary page with the word "excrement" all over it! Charming! After all this time I still forget to read the words sometimes!

I've also listed one of the pendants that I made a few weeks ago using Ice Resin....

....but this might be a better photo of it.
Finally, another of the paintings that I did a few years ago when I specialised in detailed flora and fauna pictures. This one is simply called "Porcelain Mushrooms" and they are the white ones on the fallen tree stump.....

 ....you wouldn't believe how long it would take me to complete a painting like that. This one is quite a large picture so I'd have spent weeks working on it off and on. I think my eyes were a bit better then too!

Personal Impressions new Christmas stamps (including mine of course!) look to be on track to be coming into stock very soon, and I have earmarked the next few weeks for working on lots of festive samples which I'll share with you as and when of course. So, not much travelling out and about whilst I concentrate on the new projects, one of which will be a Doo Lally Christmas sweatshirt of course!

Tara has been a much happier little girl today. She can be a grumpy little minx at the best of times, but she's been very out of sorts indeed as she somehow managed to get a big clump of her fur into a real matted mess on her back. Being the snarly, spitty, scratchy little monster that she is (think Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil) it was proving very tricky to get it sorted. However, they both went out early this morning and got rather damp and because her fur was wet I was able to see the problem more easily. I had to keep her bowl topped up with munchies whilst I quickly snipped away at the offending fur. I think she finally realised that I was actually trying to help her because she didn't attack me or run off!

So, I managed to cut the matted patch off and, although she has a rather bald looking area now, she's much happier and spent much of today rubbing her face against me and purring very loudly. The fur will grow back very quickly and she'll be back to her pretty Princess Tippy Toes self! I think I may have more success with her diet now too as a conversation with my neighbour has revealed that, when I'm away, she has been feeding them twice the amount of food that they're supposed to have due to a somewhat dramatic misunderstanding in communication somewhere along the line! 

I picked up two absolute bargains yesterday whilst I was out with Heather. As with most bargains, I wasn't actually looking for them.....when you are looking you never see anything do you? Anyway, one was a Laura Ashley black velvet skirt...almost full length with an assymetrical hemline....that cost the grand sum of £3.00! I spent a little more on the next item - a very smart three quarter length black jacket from Debenhams for all of £5.95! It's perfect for when I'm on church duties. The sleeves, as usual, are a little long for me, so the only downside is that I will have to alter those and have yet to decide the best way to do it as it's a very well made jacket with a lining (pink!) and I don't want to mess it up....sewing is not my forté!

I bought both items from two charity shops in the village - oh I do love a bargain! Whenever David and I went anywhere new I could always guarantee that he would make a bee line for all the charity shops before anything else - so I guess it's stuck with me.

Last night I decided to sew the canvas that Heather gave to me onto the rotating frame so I've started stitching the design now. It isn't a tapestry as I first thought, but is a cross stitch with wool on printed canvas...basically doing a tapestry twice really! I'm sure it will take me forever to complete, but I'd forgotten just how relaxing it can be and I'll enjoy the process. When it's finished I'll turn it into a cushion and T and T will be barred from sitting on it!

Well, a rather random mix of things in this post! I'll sign off now and it's time for a relax on the sofa.

What a lovely weekend

My trip down to Colemans Craft Warehouse in Rushden on Saturday was really enjoyable and was among several things this weekend that gave me a much needed boost. There were several demonstrations besides mine, including beading, Fimo sculpture and needle felting, though I really didn't get a chance to have a proper look as I was kept busy all day - just how I like it!

Thank you to everyone that spent time at my table and for all your lovely comments. Most artists and designers have moments of self doubt, the negative thoughts that creep up unawares from time to time, so a day spent with people who give such positive and appreciative feedback is just the right tonic.

For some silly reason I forgot to pack my camera, so I don't have any photos from the day, but I doubt I'd have had time to take any really so not to worry! I hope that we will be able to arrange another date for me to return to Colemans, so I will keep you posted.

We were all well looked after on Saturday too, with a constant supply of hot drinks and lunch laid on upstairs - just as well too, as my long journey home didn't contain any opportunities to buy anything to eat on the train. I had a few grapes with me so I made do with those and getting back at well past 10pm was far too late to be thinking about a meal! 

Sunday morning saw me on Sidesperson duties at church...welcoming people at the door with service leaflets, taking the collection and helping people up and down the steps during Communion...not just by myself, there are four people on duty at the Sunday service. I was trying to stop my tummy from rumbling, though it seemed to be timing itself to the quietest parts of the service!

After church I met up with Heather in Blackpool as there was a vintage and craft fair on at the historic Winter Gardens that we wanted to go to. We didn't buy anything, but we enjoyed having a wander and browsing through all the bric a brac, various crafts and collectables. We both found the vintage dolls exceedingly creepy! 

I was, by this time, feeling quite faint, having eaten nothing except grapes and a tiny breakfast cereal bar since midday on Saturday, so we made our way to a noodle bar and had a rather late lunch there. It's almost worth going without food for so long just to relish the feeling when you actually get to eat something again!

My treat last night was to watch Michael Bublé whose voice makes me turn to jelly inside! He can be a very naughty boy, with a really mischievous glint in his eyes but he somehow gets away with his sauciness. He sang "Sway"  - Dean Martin's song of course...a man with an equally sexy voice! I enjoyed the whole programme, though when he sang "Home" at the end I admit that it was back to the tears again as it's all about being away from the one you love and I used to sing it to myself when I was missing David while away on my trips. 

All in all I had a happy weekend though and today has been thoroughly wasted on doing just about nothing! I was so busy last week that I just wanted one day where I didn't feel guilty if I slouched about. So, apart from dead heading some pansies, Violas and Nasturtiums I've really done very little. I was able to watch the tennis at last - hooray! And Thomas and Tara have loved having their mum around all day.

The sunshine has been beaming here, and still is as I type, so I took a few pictures of the garden this morning. David's rose is blooming again now which really gave me cause to smile and I know that he'd have loved seeing all the vibrant colours that are really coming into their own now. The garden is somewhat haphazard, scruffy in places and the lawn certainly needs mowing (or scything!) but it is colourful.

 To think these were all tiny seeds a few months ago.......

 ....and Princess Tippy Toes checking out the pots.Unfortunately my Nasturtiums are being chomped by caterpillars but I haven't got the heart to "deal" with them and I reckon that even the Large White butterflies need a hand these days!

Love these Anemones. I've also had plenty more fresh veg, with more courgettes plumping up nicely and, so far, fingers crossed, very little sign of the nasty, slimy slugs that plagued the garden last Summer!

I've added some more items to my Etsy shop today too, including the little shadow box that I posted pictures of last week. You can see thumbnail pictures of the new items in my left sidebar, or click on them for a closer look. Here's a peek of the gold fish semi abstract painting though....

....this has gold highlights and I wanted to create a stained glass sort of effect.

Well, I've just got time to prepare something simple for dinner before one of my favourite programmes strats - Only Connect on BBC 4....it's a very tough quiz based on connections between things. A real brain trainer!

So, I'll say cheerio for now and head for the kitchen.

On the verge of new things

I'm just taking a quick lunch break from the Doo Lally room, so I thought I'd take the chance to post before I get back to my work table.

I'm all set for Saturday at The Happy Stamper's show in Port Sunlight. Really looking forward to it as it really is a "happy" show and I know I'll be seeing lots of familiar faces including a few that I haven't seen for a while - you know who you are! 

Meanwhile, just like the buses, everything comes along at once and I have a list of things to get done by increasingly looming deadlines...magazine articles, workshops to prep and samples for demonstrations to be made. It's usually made more stressful due to having to wait for new products to be sent to me in time! So, my little lunch break is most welcome...a hot turkey and stuffing sandwich...yummy!

I'm adding more things to my Etsy shop slowly but surely....I'm aiming for a varied range of items, styles and prices and it's given me a nice "kick up the bum"! Almost all of my creativity is channelled into work of course, so I like the idea of sitting down to make something for my own "shop". Here's a peep at a couple of the latest things I've added....

 ......there's a grumpy Goldfinch and below is a cheeky Red Squirrel.......

 .......just click on the link to see them in their entirety. Oh and this is another piece that I added a couple of days ago....

 .....some of you may have seen this one on the Darkroom Door blog as it's one of the projects that I made when I was their guest designer a few months ago.

In non work related goings on, I was very honoured (and humbled) a few weeks ago to be asked if I would consider becoming the deputy Verger at church. As I'm one of the newer members of the congregation I did wonder if the Verger was having a joke with me, but he wasn't. So, after some careful consideration and talking it over with my sister, I decided that this could be an interesting new venture. I'm lucky in that my work is not a structured nine to five routine, so I'm able to shuffle things round as needed. As Heather said, it's the things we don't do in life that we regret, rather than the things we do. I will only have to stand in occasionally and it will mostly be preparing the church and welcoming people at weddings and funerals. Something completely different from my job that's for sure! Heather has made several references to the Vicar of Dibley already!

I'll sign off with a picture I took at the weekend of a couple of the (many!) Sweet Peas and Sunflowers that I've been busy transplanting into the garden. They were some of the ones that I planted into loo roll tubes - the idea being that you can plant the whole thing without disturbing the roots as the cardboard just rots down in the soil. When I looked at them though, I was rather astonished to see.......

 ......well, you can hopefully see the "flowers" that have printed themselves on the loo rolls! I'm not absolutely sure how this happened, but there were a few small fungi that sprouted in the potting compost that I used and I think it may be to do with those. I was almost tempted to keep the rolls, flatten them out and use them on a canvas! 

Right, sandwich chomped, coffee slurped and half a dozen grapes consumed, so I'd better get back to the Doo Lally room again. Oh yes, if you happen to be a Radio Times reader you will find a letter from me in the Feedback section of this week's issue!

Keeping my mind occupied with a new venture

Hello folks, I know it's been another week gone (flown) by, so it's definitely time for a catch up.

Last Saturday I was at Card-io in Pemberton where a great deal of fun was had by all I think! I was wearing my new Doo Lally sweatshirt of course...

 ...which seemed to go down well with everyone! It's always good to be at Card-io as I get to see lots of friendly faces and this timwas no exception, catching up with some old friends that I haven't seen in a while. Jacqui kindly brought me a beautiful scarf and a handmade notebook from her trip to India - how spoiled am I? I do love a blank book, so am still deciding what to fill those inviting pages with. 

I'll be seeing quite a few of Saturday's ladies again next weekend as I'll be at the Happy Stampers show in Port Sunlight on 11th May. I do know that tickets have sold out for this show, so hope all of you that wanted to go have managed to get your hands on them. It's going to be a busy day there!

Yesterday my friend Paul came over to visit me which was a treat. We spent the day wandering, nattering and catching up. Sadly, the beautiful weather of the previous day didn't materialise, so my plans for us to sit out in the garden to eat our sandwiches had to be shelved - I was looking forward to some company to share my bench with too!

Today has been a rare Saturday at home but I've been busying myself with a few things. Apart from getting on with putting together my workshop samples (which I can't share yet of course!) I've finally got my act together and opened an Etsy shop. I will happily admit that Paul helped me over the last hurdles yesterday as he is a bit of a whizz with all this technical stuff (!), though it turned out not to be anywhere near as tricky as I'd thought. Anyway, you can take a look at my efforts if you click on the Etsy shop link in my left hand sidebar. 

I've only put a few things up so far, but I will be adding more things on a regular basis, so do let me know what you think! I'm aiming for an "eclectic mix" and you never know, I may even put some Doo Lally Tee shirts on there!

Some of you may know that I was a wildlife artist in a "previous life" so there are a few of my paintings in my shop too....which has the very original name of "Lindsay Mason Designs"! 

It's a pretty tough time at the moment, with the anniversary of so many sad and frightening moments to go through. Today's been particularly hard and I've had a knot in my stomach since I woke up - hence me keeping myself occupied with the Etsy shop. David was really keen for me to get it started so it felt right to make the effort and finally do it.

Well, after all this time in front of the lap top I think I had better get myself some sustenance. I haven't eaten a thing all day, so I really need to make the effort and raid the fridge. The kettle and coffee jar will be the first ports of call though!