Fiddlesnips!

Gauche Alchemy DT CALL and SALE

2012-03-05T17:09:00.000Z

Over at

Gauche Alchemy

they're looking for 3 special

people to join the team.

Those Gauche gals are great fun, really supportive,

and, it has to be said, ever so slightly bonkers ;D

Their goal is to support and encourage creative

thought and expression by providing materials that help

artists of all types think differently about their

creative pursuits. They are all about

inspiration, helping you to embark on that next

big project. They're into

upcycling,

recycling

but probably not unicycling (although

I wouldn't put it past them).

Ask yourself this:

Are you creative?

Are you dedicated?

Are you enthusiastic?

Yes, yes, yes?

Read on, my friend.

They need a blog writer,

a newsletter overlord

(what a great title. If I was a newsletter overlord

I would have to have a badge saying so,

or a sash, yes, definitely a sash!),

and a videographer.

What's in it for you?

In their own words, "You will be kept flush

with goodies to inspire your creations and you

will occasionally be assigned tutorial topics

that they'd like covered."

You will also receive a discount in the store

along with a generous Alchemist kit,

filled with Gauche Alchemy greatness.

Mmmmmmm, yummy.

All the details are on the Gauche Alchemy blog,

including details on how to apply.

Just click the big Gauche Alchemy

pic at the top of this post.

***

While we're talking about Gauche Alchemy,

I should also tell you that

they're having a **SALE**

in honour of

National Craft Month.

10% has been taken off everything

(apart from ACME kit subscriptions).

Click HERE to go and have a look-see

at their crafty goodiness.

XXX

Darcy's Postcard Challenge - Cuba and Switzerland

2012-03-04T20:44:00.000Z

I've been lagging behind with

Darcy's Postcard Challenge

but with these 2 I am now up to date.

First of all,

the country Darcy set was

CUBA.

Thank you for all your suggestions

(I could only think of cigars and Fidel Castro),

and I decided to go with a car theme.

A big old retro car,

which has been totally grunged.

I used the peeled paint technique,

except my pot of Vaseline has gone for a

walkabout so Luke suggested I used

his petroleum based hair gel,

which kinda worked (and smelt lovely!).

(Cuba)

Dear Ken,

Hmmm, by now you

will have discovered

Auntie Nerys' secret

garden of cannabis

plants. Poor old dear

does suffer with

dreadful arthritis.

The plants are nothing

to do with me and

have no link to my

present location!

Regards, Lord James.

Oh dear, has Lord James got himself

mixed up with drugs?

Next, the country is

SWITZERLAND.

And the first thought in my head?

Yes, Toblerone.

I know, I'm not very sophisticated, am I?!

(Switzerland)

Lord Forsyth,

Strange, your Auntie

Nerys clearly has no

knowledge of the

cannabis plants.

My enquiries have

led me to Switzer-

land and to a

deposit box kept

in a bank vault. I

believe it to be

yours. I wonder

what I will find?

In anticipation, Kenneth

(dramatic music) Duh duh DUH!

What will Ken find in the safety deposit box?

Will there be a connection with Lord Forsyth

and the drugs industry?

Will Auntie Nerys prove to be an

unlikely drugs baron?

Will our Ken get a step closer to catching his prey?

XXX

What's Rocking My World This Friday! + Tag Tuesday 'Books'

2012-03-02T13:33:00.000Z

Hello,

thank you for dropping by to read

my Friday Rocking post when

I end my week thinking happy thoughts :o)

***

The sun came out yesterday

and I really enjoyed sitting in the sun

while I had my lunchtime sandwich.

Luke, who is working in a barber's shop,

is being used as a guinea pig for one of the

stylists who enjoys doing hair 'sculpture'.

Last week Luke was wearing music all

over his head. This week, stars.

Luke has always been rather a shy lad

so it makes me happy for him to have the

confidence to wear his hair like this and

cope with the various reactions that it gets.

I returned to Zumba this week,

having had a few weeks off

(I'd simply run out of excuses!).

It was hard work but great fun.

Cally-Cat.

Her miaow's are getting louder and louder

and boy, does she have a lot to say!

I did this photo collage of Cally-Cat

running up and down the stairs.

She gallops around the house now!

Remember, this is the pathetic creature

that couldn't get herself through a cat flap

when she first came home to us.

I can REALLY RECOMMEND this stuff;

It's for dogs and cats,

and has made all the difference to Cally.

Rosie Mae has the same stuff in tablet form

and again, it's been great for her creaky old bones.

It's my DH's Grant's birthday tomorrow.

His 'special dinner' request is steak and chips,

which is easy for me to do so I'm happy too.

Oh yes, and of course there'll be CAKE!

We're going to take Rosie Mae for a walk this

afternoon and, while we're walking,

hopefully make a final decision on

whether or not I can give up a day

a week at work.

Keep your fingers crossed for me

(he'd love for me to give up work altogether

but someone's got to pay for my ink habit!).

***

That's all for now, folks!

I'll be posting this with Virginia

and later on I'll catch up with my fellow Rockettes.

Wishing you a great weekend.

XXX

TAG TUESDAY's

theme this week is 'Books'

so I made a bookmark out of a book spine.

The book, a French-English Dictionary,

was in a bad state of repair (missing the back cover)

so it was a good way of using what was left.

It was quite a challenge keeping the collage flat

and to not add bumpy embellishments,

so I added texture with the gold mesh.

OK, who knows what

'ma signet' means?

(Susie, please tell me I got it right,

I looked it up in a translator thing!).

XXX

I'd better go now,

I'm running behind with my Darcy's postcards

(I've got Cuba and Switzerland to do)

I've got to finish my March calendar pages

AND

I've got to get on with my next

Gauche Alchemy project.

Don't Panic, Mr Mainwaring!

2012-03-01T16:16:00.000Z

(hands up who knows who this fella is?!)

Ok, here's the thing:

**Google Friends Connect

is stopping kinda soon**

I don't really understand what it's all about,

because I'm far more interested in paint,

glue, scissors and Colin Firth.

However, from what I can gather,

it's going.

Soon.

So, if you want to carry on following

my blog (and I really hope you do)

just click on the

Bloglovin' Gal

on my

left hand sidebar.

(she looks like this)

Thank you,

XXX

Mail Art for 'The Meal'

2012-02-28T07:40:00.000Z

My photo of

'The Meal'

is printed off

and ready to go to the

Art House Co-op

in the USA.

Last night I did some simple

mail art

to send it merrily on its way.

The picture seemed appropriate!

XXX

'February' ATC

2012-02-27T07:46:00.001Z

(the snowdrop)

Penny at The Linen Shelf

is running a monthly ATC 'challenge' in which

the participants produce an ATC a month

which, for them, sums up that month.

So this is 'February',

not my favourite month, it has to be said,

being only marginally better than January.

But, at least February has

SNOWDROPS!

How sweet they are, heralding

the promise of the start of Spring.

My ATC includes part of the poem

'The Snowdrop' by Coleridge.

I'll link this up with Penny

and then go and see the ATC's

created by the other ATC'ers

(I've sneaked a peek at Penny's,

Susie's and Jewels' already and

they're GORGEOUS!)

How about you join in too,

the more the merrier!

XXX

'The Meal' and Tag Tuesday 'Poetry and Prose'

2012-02-26T18:00:00.001Z

'The Meal'

was a collaborative project organised by

Art House Co-op

(the Brooklyn Sketchbook people).

On 24th February at 12pm EST

participants were to take a

photograph of our meal.

Thousands of people from around the world

joined in the sharing of a meal together.

Fun!

12pm EST was 5pm GMT,

and just Hope and I were at home.

Luke and Grant were not due to be home

until 7pm, when we would have our evening meal.

Hmmmmmmm, I don't usually eat at 5pm,

what to do?

Ahhhh, I know.

I made some double choc chip muffins,

and I sat in the late afternoon sunshine in

the conservatory with a freshly

baked muffin, a mug of Earl Grey tea,

Rosie Mae at my side and a book.

Rosie is not usually allowed on the

furniture but she IS allowed on the

sofa in the conservatory.

Can you see what's grabbing her attention?!

Hope took the photograph for me

before scooting off, with a muffin in hand,

to do her homework.

I'll get the photo printed off tomorrow

and then I'll pop it into the post to go

to the Brooklyn Art Library, USA.

They are going to set up an exhibition

of all the self portraits submitted.

***

I've missed out a couple of weeks of

TAG TUESDAY

due to there just not being

enough hours in the day

:o(

But I really wanted to join in this week.

The theme is

'Poetry and Prose'.

I haven't done either, really,

but instead chose a song!

Poetry with a tune,

you could say.

(You are my sunshine)

I used a cute image from Artchix

(I LOVE this sheet full

of photobooth children),

along with the words from the song

by Oliver Hood and Jimmie Davis.

I have a personal and sentimental

connection with this song.

I used to sing it to both my children,

both when I was pregnant with them,

and also when they were little.

I also wrote the words around

the top of the walls of their playroom.

Luke and Hope really are my sunshine :o)

XXX

Altered Choc Box and Safe Travels

2012-02-25T10:18:00.000Z

My latest

Gauche Alchemy

project is an altered choccy box :o)

(He ate ice cream while he rested)

My inspiration for this piece was the retro picture of

the young boy, day dreaming while he has a rest

from his chores (from the GA vintage text pages).

The pictures around the boy give an idea of the

things he's dreaming about.

I started off with an empty chocolate box

(the chocs were yummmmmmm!).

I liked the inner box because of the broad rim,

giving the effect of a frame.

(This photo was taken before my major clean up.

You can see how little space I had to work in!)

I liked the quote by H Wadsworth,

which seemed to sum up daydreaming;

Sit in reverie and

Watch the changing colour of the waves

That break upon the idle seashore

Of the mind.

(GA jean rivets keep the parachutist suspended)

Note to self: must eat more chocs,

the boxes are great!

***

As mentioned in yesterday's Rocking Friday post,

Katie (from The Red Tin)

and I did a postcard swap -

she sent me a GORGEOUS canvas board

postcard (which I showed yesterday),

and I sent her a card postcard.

Katie's arrived safe and sound

and hooray, now so has mine!

(I am amazed by you)

I had fun making this card for Katie.

I'm going to try sending a

canvas board one next......

***

I still haven't made this week's postcard

for Darcy's Postcard Challenge.

The country is Cuba.

Cuba???!

All I can think of is cigars

and Fidel Castro.

Hmmmmmm.

XXX

What's Rocking My World This Friday!

2012-02-24T16:33:00.000Z

(Click the pic to join in)

This week's precious Flake moments

of grateful reflection are;

***

Saturday

Quick trip to East Grinstead with DD Hope;

she wanted a trolley dash round New Look, and

I popped into The Works and bought a

couple of 'essentials', such as......

(Also available from Amazon, click here)

this book for £4.99

(original price £16.99),

and a pack of these....

More about why I wanted these in a mo.

Sunday

Cally-Cat

went out into the garden

for the first time since we got her

and enjoyed some early Spring sunshine.

It was a precious moment, and she's

been chatting about it ever since!

We watched the first episode of the

new Channel 4 drama,

'Homeland',

starring Damian Lewis.

This is, apparently, President Obama's

favourite tv drama, and I enjoyed it too.

The second episode is on Sunday night.

Monday

An evening of 'arting', bliss.

My latest Gauche Alchemy project finished.

Onto the next one!

Tuesday

Pancake Day!

I made gazillions of pancakes

which were enjoyed by us all with freshly

squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar.

YUM!

Wednesday

Coffee with my friend Lyndsey,

we do have a giggle.

Thursday

DH Grant had the day off

and this was the first day off together that

we'd had for a while. We had a lovely day,

drinking coffee, chatting, etc etc and the

sun came out which made it feel like

a lazy summer's day.

We discussed the possibility of me

dropping a day at work.

We're still negotiating.......!

Friday (today)

I received this GORGEOUS

canvas postcard from

Katie at The Red Tin.

Katie posted on her blog that she'd

been sending out some canvas card postcards.

I commented, wondering how they were surviving

the postal system. She suggested that we

conducted an experiment and she sent one to me

while I sent her one of my 'normal' postcards.

The postcard arrived in perfect,

tip top condition,

and it's absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you, Katie.

It has taken pride of place on my

dresser in the dining room :o)

That's why I bought the canvas postcards

from The Works........... ;o)

***

So there you have it,

at least one thing a day that

has brightened up my little life.

I'll post this with Virginia, top Rocker

(and bionic scrapbooker!) before

visiting the other Rockers.

You're welcome to join in too......

Wishing you all a safe and happy weekend.

XXX

What's Rocking My World This Friday! + Postcard Challenge, Wales

2012-02-17T17:07:00.000Z

Darcy's Postcard Challenge

is at the end of this post.

What's been good for me this week?

What's made my week 'rock'?

Well.......

***

Half term holiday,

in which I've....

*had a trip to London with DD Hope,

going to the David Hockney exhibition.

*trolley dashed round Hobbycraft

(why does Hope see the empty basket/trolley

as a challenge?!).

(I just had to buy this little army of chickies, didn't I?)

*bought Hope walking boots for her

Duke of Edinburgh hike

(and they actually weren't quite as

expensive as I was fearing,

although they cost enough, believe me).

*enjoyed time together

doing not much

(isn't that the best time?).

Valentine's Day.

A sweet understated event for us;

a cosy Marks and Spencer meal for 2

exchange of cards

and then all 4 of us watching

Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

Oh my goodness,

the palm tree and pineapple dresses!

Grant really appreciated the heaps of

heart shaped confetti I sneaked into his

bag of breakfast pain au chocolats,

which he opened and then scattered in front

of a team of big roughty-toughty police officers!

My beautiful bracelet from Grant

arrived today and,

Livewire Jewelry

just like in Cinderella,

it fits!

I'm happy to have signed up for the

free 6x4 swap being run by the

Sketchbook Project people,

Arthouse Co-op.

The email came out about it,

I thought about it for an hour or so,

went back to sign up

and I was 700 and something

out of 1000 available slots.

It's full up now, so I'm glad I didn't

think about it any longer.

Lenna and Maggi

are also joining in.

What are the odds of us getting

one from each other?!

You can, however, still sign up for

the meal.

Again this is free (and fun!).

Click on pic for details.

I've tidied up my ~~conservatory~~ studio.

It was a MAJOR job

and it meant that while I was tidying

I couldn't be arting

but it NEEDED to be done.

I present you with a 360 degree view

of my arting area....

(and remember, these are the AFTER photos!)

It may look chaotic,

but I now know where everything is!

Hope made me the 'Be Happy'
bunting for Christmas :o)

That corner is stuffed with things 'to alter'.....
Can you see Clifford in her run in the garden?

Duck (on the sofa) has been waiting for
his leg to be sewn on since Luke was
about 6 years old. I either had the duck
but not the leg or vice versa.
Now Duck and leg are finally reunited :o)
But I suspect 17 year old Luke
won't want him back now :o(

Doesn't everyone has a saxophone playing
Christmas reindeer on their book shelves?
Mmmm, that can of air freshener
needs to be put away.

***

I'll go and post this with Virginia.

Thank you for reading!

XXX

Darcy's Postcard Challenge this week is

WALES.

Wales,

the land of music -

Tom Jones, Charlotte Church

and errrm, Harry Secombe.

Here is my postcard for Wales,

sent this week by our sleuth,

Detective Supt Kenneth Clarke

to his quarry, Lord Forsyth.

(Oops, I had a problem with her hands, she appears to have
six fingers on her left hand - I managed to remove an extra
one from her right hand. Although I guess extra fingers
might be handy when playing the harp!)

This slightly demonic looking lady

is wearing traditional Welsh costume,

while happily strumming on her harp.

Lord Forsyth,

I visited your Auntie Nerys

at her sheep farm in Denbigh.

We had a lovely cup of tea,

over which we had a very

interesting chat. She said how

you pop in and see her quite

regularly and that you always

check on her outlying barns.

Now, I wonder why you

would be so concerned about

her 'empty' barns? I'm

getting a warrant to find

out.....

Yours sincerely Kenneth Clarke (Det Supt)

What will our Ken find in the barns?

Will they be stuffed full of treasures

from Lord Forsyth's criminal endeavors?

Or not......?!

XXX

Altered Matchbox

2012-02-15T13:19:00.000Z

For my next

Gauche Alchemy project,

I decided to alter a beaten up old

matchbox that has been in my

'things to alter' basket for a gazillion years

(or should I say, one of my many

things 'to-alter' baskets?!).

Come on up, little matchbox,

at last your special moment is here!

This matchbox is a larger matchbox

(6.5cm x 11cm).

First of all I covered the outside of the box

with the top layer of a GA paper napkin.

This one is a stunning peacock feather design

which inspired my colour choices for this project.

Once the glue was dry,

I stuck on a layer of black net

this was not very easy

and had me grinding my teeth a bit).

I neatened up the edges with thin black ribbon

(you know the pesky ribbon that comes in new

clothes that I think is for easier hanging

but then always hangs out of the clothing?).

I then glued a piece of GA Punchinella onto

a corner (I loved the dark petrol colours),

onto which I stuck a GA paper flower

(tinted with ink and edged with glitter glue).

I stuck an old diamante button

- with the shank removed -

into the middle (it's missing a couple of gems

but I rather liked that, giving a

feel of faded glamour).

While that was drying I covered the outside

of the inner tray with black Staz-on ink

and painted the inside with black acrylic paint.

Also on the inside I added a light layer of

glitter glue to give a dark shimmer.

I lined the floor of the tray with mirror card

(from my stash, saved from some

underwear packaging - the packaging turned

out to be better than the underwear!).

I used two types of tape to adhere the film

negative with the film star image (from stash).

I took a GA paper flower (again tinted with

ink and edged with glitter glue), and then

I stitched a GA black bead into the centre of

the flower and stuck it into the box.

Another piece of the mirror card was stuck to

the front of the drawer and a found earring

became a drawer pull.

Finally, onto the bottom of the box

I stuck 4 GA jeans rivets,

so they are now little feet :o)

Thank you for looking!

XXX

Lucian and David

2012-02-13T21:15:00.000Z

So, I've been a real

'culture vulture'

as my friend Dawn said

(she'd just been to see the new Muppet Movie

and felt our experiences might have been

rather different!).

Firstly, I went with my friend Louise to the new

Lucian Freud exhibition: Portraits

at The National Portrait Gallery

in London.

(source)

I enjoyed this exhibition.

It was arranged chronologically

and it was so interesting

to see how his style developed over the years,

from the 1940's through to his death last year.

He continually pushed himself creatively

and his artwork was becoming increasingly textured.

I particularly liked his earlier artwork,

such as 'woman with a daffodil'

and 'man with a feather'.

By the end of the exhibition

the paintings were HUGE!

I found a great website which has a good

number (probably all) of his paintings

http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=a&s=du&aid=1606

Having enjoyed the exhibition,

Louise and I had a light lunch in the cafe

in the basement of the Gallery

and then we went to the

Taylor Wessing

Photographic Portrait Prize 2011

which was in the last few days

of being shown.

This exhibition was fascinating.

We could have looked at those photographs for ages.

The subject matter was diverse;

sometimes shocking, sometimes comical;

and sometimes just plain odd.

But ALWAYS interesting.

I'll definitely be going back next year

for the 2012 version.

Then today DD Hope and I went to

The Royal Academy of Art

in London's Piccadilly

for the new

David Hockney exhibition:

A Bigger Picture.

I was so glad we'd been able to get advance tickets

because the queue outside snaked around the

forecourt of the Royal Academy

and although I heard a member of staff saying

the queue would take more around an hour,

I think it would have been more like 2 hours

judging by the speed it was moving.

Phew!

Funnily enough, I think I've enjoyed this

exhibition more than I thought I did at the time.

At the time I was amazed at the size of the

artwork (often on many canvases), I LOVED the

colours, which ranged from the literal to the

surreal, and I was impressed with Hockney's

continuing creative development

(his ipad artwork was really rather good

and an exciting new medium)

However, it is only afterwards,

having got away from the crowds,

that I find myself really relishing the paintings.

My favourite painting is the one

shown in the Exhibition flyer above -

such wonderful colours, simplicity of line

and yet complication in detail.

Brilliant.

While we were there,

I signed up to be a 'Friend' of

The Royal Academy.

For a £90 yearly membership fee,

I can go to any exhibitions there

as many times I like,

and take someone with me,

such as Grant or Hope or another

family member. Neither I nor my guest

will have to pay another penny.

The Hockney tickets for today were refunded,

and I also got a good discount on the

David Hockney 'A Bigger Picture' book

which made it cheaper than Amazon.

I might go back to the Hockney exhibition again,

once the school holidays are over and the

crowds have diminished.

XXX

Altered Box

2012-02-11T12:27:00.001Z

This is my first project as

Alchemist (designer) for

Gauche Alchemy,

and it's an altered box

in which I store the postage stamps

I use in my arting.

I bought the plain basic box from a charity shop

ages ago and have never done anything with it.

But then I received the Gauche Alchemy goodies!

The arrow of inspiration struck!

(top of lid)

First of all I covered the box with torn strips of

paper from the GA Foreign text pack.

I particularly wanted to use foreign text

because the little box houses stamps from

all over the world.

I know what you're thinking,

"But you can't see any of the text!"

Well, actually I can, it's not obvious but

it's there!

After covering the box I brushed gesso over it,

wiping off the excess.

I then lightly sanded the edges to give

a greater distressed look and also to allow ink

to 'take' more in those sanded areas.

(front of box)

I dragged Distress Inks round the edges giving

a distressed and vintage look.

Once all this was dry

I cut a strip of

GA Punchinella (sequin waste)

and stuck it to the top of the lid.

I smeared this with gesso to dull the shine

and once dry dabbed gold acrylic

dabber over the central area.

(clasp and rinchie)

Over this I carefully stuck the image of the bird

cut out from the top layer of a paper napkin

from the GA Paper Napkin pack.

I found some foreign stamps

to stick on the lid,

muting the vivid colours with a smear gesso.

(back of box)

After this I printed out part of a poem by

Robert Louis Stevenson

'As in their flight

The birds of song

Halt here and there

In sweet and sunny dales.'

onto tissue paper

(thank you Carmen for top tip).

Carmen is able to just tape tissue paper to

her printer paper,

but my printer is far too fussy,

so I have to spray a sheet

of printer paper with repositional adhesive

spray and then put another sheet on top

and peel off a couple of times to take

away the extreme stickiness.

Next I put a piece of tissue paper on top,

trim to size and then I can print the text/image.

Once stuck onto the artwork,

the tissue just seems to disappear.

Magic!

(in use!)

I finished off the box with charcoal rubbed on the edges

and a bit more Distress Ink here and there

to make sure it was as grungy as I wanted it to be!

For the clasp hook and charm;

I took a precut rinchie (round inchie)

and used gold acrylic dabber on the back and edges.

I cut another bird's head from the same paper napkin

and stuck it on the rinche.

I used a Big Bite for make the hold

and then put in the metal hole thing

(what ARE they called??!!).

I cut out the word 'stamps'

and stuck it on and finally

made the hook out of a bit of rusty wire.

It was immediately put into good use!

Pop along to

Gauche Alchemy

for inspiration and the link to their shop

(so you can buy their inspirational goodies!)

XXX

What's Rocking My World This Friday! + Postcard Challenge France and Belgium

2012-02-09T23:26:00.001Z

Darcy's Postcard Challenge
is at the end of my
Rocking Friday post.

(click the pic to join in)

I'm writing this on Thursday night

because I'm hoping that today, Friday,

I'll be going to London

with my friend Louise

(it's her birthday so we'll eat CAKE!).

But it's snowing.

Quite heavily.

And it's settling.

And more snow is forecast overnight.

:o(

(source)

We're booked to see the new Lucian Freud

Portraits Exhibition

at the

National Portrait Gallery.

Keep your fingers crossed for us.

So onto my Rocking list for this week.

***

It's the half term holiday!

The dark months of January and February

are such a slog to get through.

Getting up in the dark,

getting home in the dark.

But we're through the worst of it

and the evenings are starting to get lighter.

Next week,

I'm looking forward to going up to London

(again) with DD Hope.

(source)

We've got gold-dust tickets to the new

David Hockney Exhibition,

WEEEEEEEEEEE!

I am thankful that my travelling about this

week has been safe and I've got to my

destinations without any problems.

The roads have been treacherous with

black ice and freezing conditions,

and the car park at school has

turned into an ice rink.

Cally-Cat

has finally ventured into the sitting room.

It's taken her 4 weeks

but she got very brave and

just went for it!

We also had a proper pretty girl

'miaow'

from her the other day.

She's since reverted to her favoured

baa-ing sheep noise,

but it was such a sweet miaow and

I'm hoping she'll do it again soon.

I've been very grateful for our

electric blanket this week!

It's very posh with different temperature

settings for each side of the bed

and timers so we can keep it on

over night.

It's wonderful!

Btw, it's washable,

how can that be right?!

Ok, that's about it for this week.

It's been a week of hunkering down,

keeping warm,

keeping safe,

snuggling up

and

waiting for sunnier days.

I'll post this with Virginia

when I get back from my day out.

***

Darcy's Postcard Challenge.

France

I'm late with my

France postcard,

sorry.

(Mona Lisa, displayed at the Louvre)

This is my interpretation of Mona!

Believe me, she's a little minx to

get down on paper.

Would she stop smiling?

No!

The background is Twinkling H20's

and I drew Mona onto paper,

sticking her onto the background once

painted with water soluble wax crayons.

Detective Superintendent Clarke

decided to send Lord Forsyth

a postcard of

Leonardo da Vinci's

Mona Lisa.

He had reason to suspect that

Lord Forsyth was planning to

steal the famous painting

of the unnamed enigmatic lady,

which is displayed in the

Louvre Museum in Paris.

On the back is written,

Lord Forsyth

Following my lengthy conversation with

'One Eye Jack' I decided to recommend

the removal from display of the 'Mona Lisa'.

You have been seen at the Louvre, making notes

nearby this wonderful painting.

I suspect you had placed her on your wishlist!

Sorry to spoil your fun.

Det Supt Clarke

Belgium

(Belgian Chocolate)

All I could think of for

Belgium

was

CHOCOLATE,

mmmmmmmmm!!

The background is copper acrylic paint

smeared onto the card.

I drew the face and hand holding the chocolate

on a separate piece of paper and stuck them

onto the background once painted with

water soluble wax crayons

(I love using them).

On the back is written,

Oh my dear Ken, can I call you Ken?

You really are too funny.

Do you not think that I know that One Eye Jack

cannot keep a secret? I fed him all the information

about the Mona Lisa, knowing he'd tell you.

Why was I at the Louvre?

I was admiring the great Master, Leonardo da Vinci,

and perfecting my sketching skills.

Try harder man!

Yours Lord Forsyth

PO BOX 63 BRUGES BELGIUM

Poor Det Supt Clarke.

He's been made to look a fool again.

Especially when you notice that Lord Forsyth

has carefully stuck the

warthog postage stamp right over

Det Supt Clarke's name.

I think he's making it clear how he feels

about the police officer, don't you?!

XXX

Thank you for looking,

over the next few days

I'll do my very best to visit all

the other 'Postcarders' and see how

their story lines are progressing!

TAG TUESDAY - Lace

2012-02-06T22:33:00.000Z

Phewee, I just scraped in with

TAG TUESDAY'S

theme this week,

which is

'Lace'

You remember the HUGE stack of postcards

I bought from Oxfam last week?

Well, amongst them was this postcard

of a very solemn lace making lady.

She was begging to be made into a tag.

I cut the postcard into a tag shape

and painted around the outside of the lady

with my very ancient

Twinkling H20's.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

I started to paint using the H20's

but the old postcard sucked up the paint

like a sponge in water

so I had to paint the surface with

clear gesso to seal it.

THEN, I painted round the lady with

the Twinkling H20's!

I lightly tinted her face and hands with chalk.

I stamped curling leaves randomly

around her and edged the tag with

gold acrylic dabber.

I found the

'Lace, and how to put it on'

in an old needlework book.

It seemed appropriate because

the lacy lady looks like she's advising

us on how we should wear our lace.

Joylessly.

***

Coincidentally,

amongst the postcards was this one

of lace workers in Gozo, Malta.

There is no date visible on the card.

I wonder how old the child is

at the front of the picture?

Thank you for looking!

XXX

Another charity shop wonder

2012-02-04T17:18:00.000Z

I have certainly been in the right place

at the right time recently.

I went into the Oxfam where I bought the

huge pile of retro postcards

mentioned in yesterday's post and

found this vintage beauty.

For just £14.99 (about US $23).

The book clasps are beautiful

and the pages are edged with gold.

Inside are many original cabinet cards,

and they all seem to be from the same family.

Yes, they've got names!

I got so excited when I saw they had names.

I haven't taken the photos out yet

to see if there's any more information

on the back but I will soon.

Their clothes are just wonderful.

It would appear that poor Rev Milligan drowned.

I hope Anne Parkinson had a sparkling personality....

This one seems to have been tinted,

and on the back and it has been dated 1863.

In total there are 33 cabinet cards,

with just 3 named but empty pages throughout the book.

I'm going to have to do some research on this family,

don't you think?!

Btw, don't for one minute think that I am

going to tell you which Oxfam these treasures

were found in!

XXX

What's Rocking My World This Friday!

2012-02-03T22:25:00.000Z

(click the pic and join in)

I'm just about scraping in on time with my

Friday Rocking list.

***

I do so LOVE charity shops.

From Oxfam I bought a HUGE stack of postcards

from all over the world, some used, some not,

mostly from the late 1960's- 1970's.

I've only had a chance to flick through them but

what made me giggle is that on the British

postcards the writers ALWAYS refer to the

weather as being

'disappointing',

'raining all day',

'raining all week',

'cool breeze',

'not bikini weather' etc.

When will us Brits ever realise that our summer

weather is USUALLY rubbish!

Warm sunshine is the exception rather

than the rule.

And then look at this one.

Who takes their car on a plane,

especially in the 1960's/70's?

Well, apparently 'Mummy' does,

who tells her daughter Ruth that

"This is what the car looks like going

on to the plane."

Some of the postcards are really funny,

both the picture and the message on the back.

I might show you some others in due course,

unless that would be too tedious of me....?

I'm thinking of doing a journal,

incorporating the best postcards

and comments.

I've received such a lovely welcome from the

Gauche Alchemy girls.

Thank you for popping over to

Gauche Alchemy and leaving your lovely

comments about me. You know who you are

(Carmen, Jewels, Lenna and Trish!).

I've really got to get on with making 'stuff' now.

Cally-Cat is making us laugh with her obsession

for the shower room!

If she catches sight of anyone going in there, she's

up those stairs faster than greased lightening

(what's happened to the elderly cat that could barely

drag herself through the cat flap?!),

so desperate is she to be in there too.

DS Luke had to physically stop her getting in the

shower with him this morning,

so she just sat and watched him.

He said he felt quite self conscious showering

under her unwavering gaze!

I will take some more photos soon,

should she stop moving for long enough.

I don't want to take a photo of her sleeping

in her cupboard under the stairs, that seems unfair.

She's put on quite a lot of weight

and is lovely and fluffy.

I can't believe we've had her for just 3 weeks,

she's such a precious little thing

and we all love her.

Rosie Mae

continues to be so good with Cally

and we're so proud of our darling girl.

Oh, apart from one little blip when she

took advantage of Cally's door being left open and

scoffed Cally's fish 'n' chicken dinner.

Cally was NOT impressed!

My sweet Valentine

bought me a beautiful gift today.

He doesn't know it yet,

I'll tell him later.

This GORGEOUS bracelet is named 'Starshine'

and is made by the so talented

Sharon Borsavage from

Livewire Jewelry.

It was love at first sight when I saw it on

her blog a few days ago, and then today

Sharon announced she was

offering a whopping 25% discount until February 5th.

Thank you, Sharon

and thank you,

my sweet Valentine.

Starshine is SO much better

than chocs and roses!

Click here for her etsy shop.

I enjoyed coffee with my friend Sue today.

Coffee, cake and catch-up.

Lovely.

***

OK, that's my Friday Rocking list finished

and I'm now starting the weekend on a high.

I'll post it with Virginia

and visit the other Friday Rockers.

Thank you for dropping by,

wishing you all a lovely weekend.

XXX

February Calendar Pages

2012-02-02T18:01:00.000Z

Carrying on with the super challenge set by

Kate at The Kathryn Wheel,

these are my February calendar pages.

The background is smeared acrylic paint,

first red and then duck egg blue.

I liked the overall dark purple colour

and so cut out squares of dark purple cardstock

for all the days of the month etc.

I heat embossed the pattern round the edge

with Heat It Up (Cranberry).

Finally, to show how jolly chilly it is,

I spritzed the pages with

Ranger's Perfect Pearls Mist.

The quote for February is,

"If Candlemas is fair and clear

There'll be two winters in one year."

Candlemas Day is on February 2nd (today)

and guess what?

It was fair and clear!

The pages in the book are old and brittle

so they're held together with black duct tape.

Not very attractive but it does the job.

Also, unfortunately some red paint from

my February pages managed to get on

my January pages (it looked like there'd

been a massacre!), so I'll have to have a

bit of a clean up there :o(

XXX

It's Official.....

2012-02-01T17:00:00.000Z

It's official......

.......I'm a Gauche Girl

and I've got the badge

to prove it!

The girls over at

Gauche Alchemy

invited me to join their Design Team.

(Thank you, Carmen,

for pointing them in my direction).

Yes, I know, ME?!

The deal is this;

they send me their 'stuff',

I make my 'stuff' with it.

What's not to like?!

Especially when their stuff

is everything I just happen to LOVE -

vintage/retro ephemera,

random embellishments

(the more random the better

as far as I'm concerned!),

found objects, fabrics, punchinella

and mixed media materials.
Their kits are pure inspiration in a bag.

So if you're into mixed media,

scrapbooking, cardmaking

and/or any other 'arting'

you should pop over to see what

the Gauche Alchemy gang have to offer.

Click here for inspiration,

and then

click here for the shop.

Or you might want to go to the shop first,

there's plenty of inspiration there!

We've mutually agreed an initial 3 month term

so I'll be making quite a few

mixed media bits 'n' pieces in that time.

I've already got a couple of projects

'in the bag' and I'll show them to you

in due course.

XXX

Life Book Week 2

2012-01-31T19:43:00.000Z

The task set for Week 2

is to create a 2012 Dream Board,

visually representing my thoughts,

hopes and dreams for the year ahead.

We were encouraged to dream BIG,

but, for me, this exercise just crystallized the feeling

that I really do not have any BIG ambitions.

I want to continue to;

be important to my family,

make time to catch up with friends,

maintain my inner contentment

and health

(sorry if that sounds smug),

read,

cook,

enjoy the garden,

marvel at nature,

discover new places,

cherish family pets,

go on a holiday (preferably one with sunshine),

visit UK beaches (I'd LOVE to own a beach hut).

The only 2 different-to-now

items on the wishlist are;

keep chickens,

get published in Somerset Studio.

Oh, and I'd love to give up work

but that isn't going to happen any time soon

(maybe I should visualize a lottery win!).

XXX

2012-01-29T16:04:00.000Z

I'm lovin' Gotye right now.

"Somebody That I Used To Know'

is fab,

both the song

and this video

that goes with it.

I'm off to make fruity flapjacks,

bye for now.....

XXX

Darcy's Postcard Challenge - China

2012-01-28T21:54:00.000Z

I'm having such fun with

Darcy's Postcard Challenge.

I haven't got a clue where my story is going,

either with the plot or geographically!

(China)

The country that Darcy has set us this week is

CHINA.

I wanted my postcard to capture the rich

colours and history of China.

Blended paper background, gessoed and

coloured with water soluble wax crayons.

I gold heat embossed the bamboo background.

On a separate piece of paper I drew the

ancient artefact of the horse on the swallow

which I coloured this with Inktense pencils,

cut it out and stuck it on the background.

I outlined the horse with dark crayon.

Finally, I edged the card with

gold acrylic dabber.

On the reverse:

My dear Det Supt Clarke (with an e!),

Well, I find myself in China admiring this original artefact.

I think it would look perfect in my library, don't you?

It's a bit out of my price range but that has never stopped

me before, ha!

Yours,

Lord Forsyth (with a Lord)

Oh no! I suspect Lord Forsyth is planning

another robbery.

Can Det Supt Clarke stop him plundering

the treasures of the world?

XXX

TAG TUESDAY - Vintage (on Saturday)

2012-01-28T08:00:00.001Z

(Player)

I didn't do much for this week's Tag Tuesday tag ;o)

Luke gave me a Ralph Lauren tag from his new top.

I liked this tag because it already had a vintage look to it,

both in it's style and also it was a bit bashed up

(that's TK Maxx for you!).

I stuck torn dress pattern paper to the tag

and then did a gel transfer of the young sporting man

(I have the original photograph too).

Unfortunately it didn't work because both the photo

and the background were too dark, grrr!

Ok, so then I gessoed over the botched transfer

and stuck another copy of the image on top.

I tinted his clothes with Distress Inks

and added his cheeky pink cheeks.

The 'Bleecker' label,

which was originally stuck on the reverse of the tag,

was brought round to the front

and onto it I stamped 'PLAYER'.

Does this mean he is a 'player' in

the meaning of sportsman

or a 'player' with

the lay-dees?!

You choose.

Thank you for looking!

XXX

Fiddlesnips!

**Gauche Alchemy DT CALL and SALE**

Darcy's Postcard Challenge - Cuba and Switzerland

What's Rocking My World This Friday! + Tag Tuesday 'Books'

Don't Panic, Mr Mainwaring!

Mail Art for 'The Meal'

'February' ATC

'The Meal' and Tag Tuesday 'Poetry and Prose'

Altered Choc Box and Safe Travels

What's Rocking My World This Friday!

What's Rocking My World This Friday! + Postcard Challenge, Wales

Altered Matchbox

Lucian and David

Altered Box

What's Rocking My World This Friday! + Postcard Challenge France and Belgium

TAG TUESDAY - Lace

Another charity shop wonder

What's Rocking My World This Friday!

February Calendar Pages

It's Official.....

Life Book Week 2

Darcy's Postcard Challenge - China

TAG TUESDAY - Vintage (on Saturday)

Gauche Alchemy DT CALL and SALE