Fun and funky

I'm loving this new batch of yuzen papers, there are some fantastic patterns! This one is particularly cool, I nearly didn't list it but it's in my etsy shop if someone wants it before I change my mind!

Sanctuary

You know when there are days you have so much on you just don't see daylight? Ok that's an exxageration, I see plenty of daylight but I just don't get time to go out and enjoy it as much as I would like. We have been in our new little house 4 months today and the sun is getting warmer and the garden is starting to bloom and I am getting itchy feet. As anyone who knows me will attest to I am not the domestic type - although my family is well cared for I am not one for baking and gardening and housework in general. I do it because it has to be done, I would much rather be making things with paper than eggs and flour.

But there is something about this house that reminds my of my own childhood, hours spent at my nan's baking fairy cakes, the taste of fresh veg that my dad grew (except for the marrows, never understood why he insisted on growing marrows ugh), memories that I want my own children to have. As I grew older I quicky lost interest in these kind of things, I wanted to move away and go out with friends, but now find myself in possesion of a beautiful garden and no idea what to do with it!

So although I have no expectations of suddenly transforming myself into a domestic goddess I do feel the need to enrich our lives a little more and give my children an understanding of the world they live in, eating our own vegetables (no marrows kids, I promise) and seeing if I can actually grow a few flowers without killing them! After a wander round our local garden centre I came out with these two pretty little hydrangea, a book on attracting butterflies to your garden and an indian cookbook. Nigella watch out!

Wander

Think I am slowly perfecting my technique - I've found if you get the timing right between drying layers and the consistency of the gel medium is not too thin, not too thick you can overlay transfer on top of transfer and build up the layers to get wonderful depth and textures. I love playing around with layers on photoshop but there's nothing like producing a real painting.

(Oh and thanks to Bunny for the use of her photo, you can see the original here and while you are at it go check out her wonderful shop!)

Oops!

Time ran away from me and I forgot to most my valentine swap postcards - so sorry, they are on their way!

New books are being added to Chalk Hill and my etsy shop - go see!

Linen

Mmmm 12 sumptuous metres of sheer natural linen to go up at our windows. A very good reason to road test my new sewing machine :D

In the Garden

We haven't really touched the garden since moving in last October and it was starting to look a bit sorry for itself with a lot of dried and dead foliage filling the borders, so we got our gardening gloves on and got stuck in.

I must confess to having very little gardening know-how so it's possible I pulled up things I shouldn't but it's looking much better, even our family of robins and blackbirds flew in after we'd gone back in to warm up and started foraging for worms which they were never able to do before.

I am really looking forward to the next few weeks when we can start to plan what veggies to grow in the greenhouse and I also want a little wildflower patch somewhere. We did uncover a few little gems already growing amongst the weeds and dead stuff, two large blacurrant bushes, a gooseberry bush and this pretty little iris. Who'd have thought last october, with all the stress and worry we were coping with, in just less than 6 months we would be owners of such a gorgeous home. Life is good.

Happy Valentine's Day!

In need of a new home

I brought these back from the COS gallery where they have been residing for quite a while now. I was pleased to have sold a few unframed collages there, these are some that made it back. I have decided to rework a few but those that I am still happy with are going in my etsy shop to see if we can find them a new home.

It's always interesting to look back at old work. I go through a real love hate relationship with mine - I love it when I create it then about a week or two later think it's awful but I don't have time to do anything about it (or don't know what to do about it), so it goes where it was intended as it is and I just cross my fingers the recipient likes it (which thankfully they always do) or just hangs around and eventually gets put away in the 'to deal with later pile'.

But I think if you have had long enough away from it you can dissasociate yourself and see it on it's own merits. I am usually too close to my work to tell if it works or not, if it is good enough or not.

White Ice

Crochet wire and beads, for sale on Up With The Lark.

90 Day Challenge

Well I started the 90 day challenge with good intentions before we moved last year but it all fell apart once we got here, trying to write an article a day proved to me more taxing than I could have imagined, but I have picked it back up again over at the Chalk Hill Blog - go see!

(The gorgeous glass pendants are from luckygirltrading.etsy.com, yum!)

Odd Jobs

Today is one of those odd job days where you finally get to catch up with all those little unimportant tasks that you put off until tomorrow (whenever that is), such as collecting all the carrier bags full of wool that are distributed around the house and actually put them all together in one place. Then you suddenly realise where you put those size 3 needles you were looking for the other day.

Emails are being answered, magazines sorted, letters sent off, small projects finished and cups of tea drunk right to the bottom of the cup. A good day's work.

Snugglies

As most artists will know, trying to do anything creative with cold hands is impossible so I treated myself to a ball of 100% Twilleys wool and knitted myself these little wrist warmers, perfect for keeping my hands warm and still leaving my fingers free to work. Love em. And so do the kids so looks like I will be making more to stop them from stealing these!

New Items on Etsy

Two of the latest additions to my etsy shop, a lovely accordian photo album for 5 x 7 prints and the valentine prints below which won't be around for long!