Afternoon all!

Well as usual, a day went by and I didn’t get everything finished…..er including Part Two of ‘War and Craft.’  Anyway, here I am with the concluding part of this marathon tale of daring craft and falling trees……Totally bodice ripping stuff, I can tell ye!……Well pinny ripping anyway!

So!….where did I leave off then??…..Ah yes…that Blo-dy tree.  Well it is three weeks down the line now, and I still suffer nightmares.

Reet then, onward and upward we go.  Firstly, I can’t tell you how exited The Boss is at what will be coming your way in the next few months.  She has been locked away in Mission Control with her trusty pencils and pens, and has come up with an almighty selection of new images which we are at the moment sorting into potential stamps.  One set in particular is so mega, that if I was to tell you…I would have to kill you all….and then myself, leaving no-one to get them, and no-one to tell you about them anyway.  There are also loads of new goodies in the pipeline which she is working on as I type.

However, next Saturday (the 25th) will see The Boss down at C&C for another session of shows featuring some new, very floral and colourful stamps, of which I will be starting some peeks of next week.  As usual, we have the ‘Inkiods’….The new official title for Sheena’s Design Team, at full speed ahead with these new sets, so again, as usual, you can expect an multitude of cards and samples heading to a blog near you next week as well.  Talking about the DT, Sheena had them up to The Ravensworth Arms, our local workshop venue, for a two day retreat, with all of the new goodies as well as a bit of playing, last week.

There they are, with their prisoner numbers…….er, I mean some finished work that they were doing on the second day.  Now take a good hard look, and remember these faces, and if seen, stay well clear…..You have been warned!   From left to right we have Wor Karen, Wor Caroline, Wor Diane, Wor Fiona and lastly, but not least, Wor Lisa.  The other member of the team could not came along this time, but we will be holding more of these sessions, so you will get the chance to meet them all then.  A splendid time was had by all apparently,even though yours truly had to head off to watch the match…….I mean get on with the running of Douglass Towers……which is no mean feat in itself…..Honest!

Which almost gets us up to date.  I will be getting a date sorted for the Special Pebeo Workshop next week, a which looks as though it will be now in July, as we are almost 3/4 of the way through May…….MAY!!……Noooooooo!  The nights’ll be starting to close in before we know it.

The Pebeo stuff, I have to say, has given us and the workshopees, some of the most fantastic results, which is why we have been asked to come up with a Pebeo only workshop.  This will be a one off, at least at the moment it is a one off, and will be held at the Ravensworth.  One of my favourites at the moment is the Gilding Wax.  It comes to you in three colours…Two golds and a silver, and is simply amazing……and rather than being metal colourd wax, it is actually real metal, which polishes up to an amazing sheen.  You may have seen Sheena demo it on one of her recent shows, beginning with something like this……

…which is an old porcelain ornament.  As you can see, part of the figure has been coloured using some Pebeo Black Gesso, which covered in just one coat….

Once the whole figure has been coated in black, you are left with this effect……..Erm!…..Black, surprisingly!

Now then,  you can see that Sheena has added a coat of brown to the surface.  This gives a warmer finished look to the gilding, especially if you use either of the golds, in this case ‘Empire Gold‘.  Once blackened, make sure that the figure is dry, then dip your finger into the wax, and apply in soft gentle strikes.  You don’t need much on your finger to get this effect…….leaving you with a totally changed ornament…..

…which has gone from porcelain to bronze in two little steps……Dead easy.  Once applied, you can polish to wax coating leaving this shiny metalic effect.  I’m off down to the garage to dig out some old boxes of ornaments, ‘cos as well as it changing  the look of them, its great fun to see what you come up with.

Reet then.  Now that we are back on track with the bloggerage, Moi will be back next week with the run down to next weeks shows, including some peeks at the new stamps, and hopefully a date for the Pebeo Workshop.

Unteel zen, ah am off for some din, and to listen to a wonderfully happy sounding Blackbird as I chomp on me Gruel Salad

Bye for now

Gopher (The)

Evening All!

Well,  its been so long since these itching little digits of mine have graced the bloggery, that I almost forgot how to start.  Yes Folks!….its actually me….I have returned after what seems like weeks…………In fact it is weeks….almost five to be exact, so once again I find myself catching up with all of the news from Douglass Towers.  There’s rather a lot to report, so you’d better get the kettle on and a pile of bickies, ‘cos this is gonna take some time.  I have workshops, new goodies, a fallen tree, cars and plenty of news…………….and yes!… I did say a fallen tree.  Luckily I was there to cushion its fall, but more of that later.

So the Spring Workshop Tour came to an end in Perth after over a month of crafty Pebeo‘d fun, with a host of new faces willing to put themselves through a whole day of techniques and abuse at the hands of our hero.  These where based on Pebeo products, and we all had an absolute blast over the day long sessions.  We have had so much feedback about Pebeo, that The Boss is thinking of a one off date in June, highlighting the versatility of the range with loads of ideas and techniques using only Pebeo, so keep an eye open for details once she has sorted a date.  Even I might join in on that one.  The Perth date included a new larger room at the hotel which was needed due to the amount of bookings we took.  Sheena usually keeps to around 20ish for a workshop, but we were completely overwhelmed this time around and had to add a second date to The Ravensworth, and the larger room at The Queens Hotel in Perth, which meant that we could add extra places.

Here we are in Perth, ably assisted by Wor Gill, and with enough room to swing a couple of hundred cats……if we wanted to that is!

I think that we now have a fantastic set of venues for the workshops, with each one having its own ‘thing’, so with that in mind, I think we will try to put together a Christmas Workshop Tour for November and December……Santa and all!

Now then, as most of you will recall, The Boss has been having a bit of bother with her trusty ( or Not ) Craftmobile.  Room was definitely at a premium, as she is carrying ever more stuff down to C&C.  It was beginning to be like a game of Tetris, trying to make everything fit into the boot and back seats. Well fear not, ‘cos she has now taken delivery of her new Craftmobile Par Exellance, in the form of a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso.  Bit of a mouthful, mind, but a cracking set of wheels capable of fitting in everything including the kitchen sink…….and the bath if we needed to.  Got to say that we had fantastic service and help from both Amy and Anne at our Local Robins and Day garage, who have now threatened to decorate half of the showroom in Sheena’s stamps and techniques.  The practicalities are there for all to see as she went from this……

…See the problem with space for boxes and all her crafty goodies???…..

….to this……

Very comfy and fantastic on fuel….love it!… I may even move out of me cell and into this if I can find somewhere to store the ‘Gruel Surprise’.

On the subject of cars, I have to report that The Springermobile is now all legal and up and running.  A bit battered and well used, it’ll do just nicely to transport them wherever they want to go.  So not only have the girls taken over the house and everything in it, they now have their own transport for those trips into the muddy woods and fields.  I bet its not them who have to clean it out though…..Oh No!

…And as if by magic, there is one of the Monster Springers getting ready for another adventure in the woods.

I am as I type, trying to knock up a ‘Springermobile’ sticker using Sheena’s Cameo machine, which will adorn said vehicle as soon as I can finish it, so yet more noteriety?? for the little bu-gers!

This was them this morning……..at just after 7am……Thats right folks……SEVEN A.M.

and here……

If I could harness a fraction of the energy these two kick out, I’d be sending the gas and electric suppliers packing thats for sure…..

Little Darlins!!

Ginny has just discovered the wonders of one of those keep fit balls…..Well we arn’t using them!!!, so she has now gone from the small tennis balls to this mega one…

This was her last week, when I attempted to tire her out…………….However after a couple of hours, she came in the house and proceeded to start with her tennis balls, and finally decided that it was time for a kip at around 9 o’clock at night…….I was ready for bed at around three in the afternoon after throwing that thing around all morning.

And now on to The Tree…..Ah yes!, The Tree.

To cut a long story very short, we have had a tree in the front garden for over 40 years.  It grew and it grew until everyone wanted it taken out.  So, relenting, we decided that it would happen three saturdays ago…..You know the one…..it was sunny and warm, so you can easily narrow it down to one of only three this year.  Anyway, we got started and one by one, the branches were removed, then it came to the trunk.  OK, so this is where it happened……John, the neighbour with the chainsaw, was cutting through one of the large trunks at the base of the tree.  The immortal words  ” If you hear a crack, get out of the way fast” are still ringing in my ears, because …

A.  I did hear a crack….and

B.  I didn’t

So there I was pinned under this 200 foot tree…..well ok, I exagerated a bit, after performing a quite respectable Starsky and Hutch roll to try and get out of the way.

One of our other neighbours was out in the garden with his wife.

” It’s down”, he told her

” Where’s Russell ? ” she asked….

“He’s under it” went the reply

At least Sheena saw the funny side……Having a crack at ‘ He’s a Lumberjack and he’s OK”, as I lay prone under the tree.

Anyway, I eventually got my own back, ‘cos this is what is left of the killer tree…

The bit with the criss cross on it is the actual trunk that fell in my direction, and could have been seriously damaged if I hadn’t dampened its fall it in time…..What a shame !!

Anyway, that is one of my lack of bloggery excuses and i’m sticking to it.

Now I have just looked back at this little post, and can see that your tea might be getting a tad cold by the time you reach the end, and the sarnies may have just started to curl at the ends in a vain attempt at becoming tomorrows sausage roll, so I think that I will make my return into a two parter…….hightening the drama and anticipation somewhat.

So what I will do, is have myself and my ever so tender backside ( Having landed on that area under that tree ) a break, and return with part two tomorrow just in time for the weekend.

….or else I might be here until midnight.

It’s good to be back in the bloggy saddle, though, so hang on tight’ cos there is a lot more heading your way, including shows a week on Saturday ( the 25th )

Adieu for the noo, and see you tomorrow.

Missing in action Gopher (The)

Well there’s yet another week gone in a flash, as we head into a weekend of research, development and the first of the two Ravensworth Workshops for this Spring.  Then, as if that wasn’t enough, The Boss will be hot footing…….OK hot tyreing down to C&C next week for another day of arty shows, this time on Thursday the 18th.  This will feature the ‘Angel’ set of stamps, and all of the crafty goodies that go along with them.

Now you can pop over to The Gallery for a host of ideas and techniques, but just for today, I will show a peek from the gallery, until Our Hero gets some new ones finished….

…How colourful is this tag come book mark?  Plenty of Distress Inking going on here, as well as the Wings from the ‘Devine Inspiration’ stamp set.  A bit artylicious, these stamps, with plenty of variety in the subject matter.

And talking of variety, as I mentioned, we are half way through Sheena’s Spring Workshop Tour, with the first of two Ravensworth dates creeping up on us this sunday.  So from Milton Keynes, then to Port Sunlight near Liverpool, we now land on home turf for the next two weeks.  You can’t get any more variety than that!!  We had to book a second date as this sunday booked up within a couple of days.  Then, for the last date, we are shooting up to Bonny Scotland, and a day in Perth on the 5th of May.  The workshops are always loads of fun, with plenty going on, and have even been known to get visits from famous personages such as Santa and the odd reindeer.  Not this time though, but we are looking at a Christmas Workshop tour to all of our venues this year, and will keep you all in the picture when we have dates arranged.

So, on to another peek…even though it is not really a peek, ‘cos you have already seen most of them in the gallery….

This is simply beautiful.  The image is from the ‘Majestic Oak’ set.  I could just be sitting under that tree…………except that I would probably get a bit fost bitten, which is not a good thing for a growing boy!

Well thats about it for today.  Not a lot to tell really, but after this week of drawery and product testery, I might have some news of some shows at the end of the month.  Oh!…and those pesky vids are almost ready and edited for posting, so watch out next week……

Bye for now…

I’m gowwwwnnnn!

Gopher (The)

Yes, just as I thought, me birthday creation has hit home, with me being unable to leave the safety of Douglass Towers without being mobbed by hosts of screaming crafters.  Now I know how Tom Jones feels, ‘cos I even had a young lady throw her samples my way ( No pun intended ) yesterday at Port Sunlight.  Even The Boss fills up when she looks at the card, which is great praise indeed.

Anyway, as usual, the Port Sunlight workshop was fantastic.  This place is so pretty to walk around, and only a couple of miles from loads of industrial units……But you would never know.

There we all were, in the old school hall, getting down with our bad crafty selves, with Wor Fiona in there as Sheena’s Little Helper….

…..together with a lot of regular faces being joined by a few new ones…..You would have thought that someone would have warned them!

However, the day nearly got off to a nasty start, when I went into the small annex room that I used for the shop.  Now bear in mind that this place is old……..I mean really old.  Right, so there I was unloading the car, and getting things ready, when I went into the room to set up.  I flicked the three old brass switches, and the lights began to flash on…….when I caught a glimpse of this in the corner……

……..Bleed-n Hell!………I almost tunneled through the wall on my way out, I can tell you.  Now I have left a note with Port Sunlight about it, and if they come back to me and say that there isn’t a figure in the room……….er…….the next workshop is off!! .

So, apart from that, the day was great fun, and, as is the case with the workshops, went over far too quickly, and we were heading back home.  Not before we managed to pop into the local pub, for a Muddy Puddle and Diet Coke.  Muddy Puddle??  One of Fiona’s suggestions, from down south, which is Grapefruit juice and Coke.  There now, be honest, theres not many crafty blogs where you get recipes and drinking suggestions,…come on!!

Hic!!

Anyway, all this talk of workshops and drinking isn’t getting me down to tomorrows shows, which are at 8am, 11am and 6pm.  The Boss left mid afternoon, so will be down there for about 7ish, ready to unload all of the samples for tomorrow.  This is almost a repeat of the 4DD shows from January, which sold out in about a day and a half, so its really another chance to see the ‘Floral’ and ‘Wording’ stamps, as well as some Fantasy Fusion.

So for todays peek, I give you……

using the ‘Flower Power’ set on this old leather bag……And no!…it’s not mine…….deary!

….And here is closer look at the finish..

…beautiful peacock blue colours

Here’s a quick sample of the Fantasy Fusion paints…

…painted onto a plain glass vase…..Very Springy….unlike my view from Mission Control, which looks positively Arctic.

Okey Dokey, that just about it for today, other that to say that my fan club will be up and running as soon as I can, and i’m now off to see about a couple of securuty guards, ‘cos I need to pop down to Asda at some point tonight…

Bye for now

Gopher (The Crafting God Known as The)……..Steady Girls!

….and welcome to Sheenie’s birthday.  Now I have been reliably informed by my cousin, that Sheena is NOT 59 today, and apparently I can take ten years off that……Well how was I supposed to know???  Anyway, good job that I waited until this morning to finish my very own, hand made, card for our hero…..

….and here it is….

As you can see, I have watched and learned a lot from The Boss, and have used a host of new products in the creation of this miracle of card making…..

…beginning with her new age printed out in feathers from the ‘Falling Feathers’ stamp set.  Then I have skillfully coloured the individual feathers with the Pebeo acrylic paints.  After adding a sprinkling of glitter to lift this masterpiece just a little further, I then cut out the numbers in the shape of a heart, as you can see from the finished sample.

I then mounted the age onto a contrasting coloured card, and added a topper in the shape of some red cheese, ‘cos everyone has cheese on their birthday….A nice touch, I thought.  The ‘Happy B-day’ legend, was written in liner, then in-filled with some Fantasy Fusion paint.  I also managed to comb that funky pattern into the body of the card, using some modelling paste and one of the new knives.

The whole thing was then creativly put together using a bit of acetate to hold it all together, with a beautifully self-composed verse placed at a jaunty angle inside the card….

…Thus…….I’ve always been able to use words well.

Now I know that most of you will be itching to get the run-down on how to make this card for yourselves, so to that end, I have filmed a seventeen hour vid, showing every detail from going to the shop to get some tea, up until I actually presented this to The Boss, and everything in between.

I’m sure that you will agree that I have obviously taken in so much from watching Sheena and her techniques.

I have to say that I was humbled by her response, as a flood of tears seemed to just come from nowhere when she opened the envelope.  She hasn’t even been able to speak to me at all this afternoon.

Oh yeah!…..The Monster Springers had to get in on the act as well, ‘cos this is what they gave her this morning.  I thought that i had heard a lot of activity during the night, so now I know what they were doing…

They are passing it off as their own work, but i’m sure that I have seen this somewhere before…..

…and i’m pretty sure that their chubby little paws couldn’t have done this….Mmmmmmmm!

Finally, I have to report that I managed to get a Onsie, and as I type, The Boss is sitting in the lounge watching tv, and looking very Tinky-Winky ish.

OK, thats me for today.  I will be packing the car for tomorrows trip to Port Sunlight and the second Workshop date of this spring.

Back on monday

Gopher (The)

I have just gone through my last few posts and have detected a definite lean towards a foody theme…Easter eggs….then more eggs, and now Fish and Chips.  Well it is friday after all, and I do enjoy a good battering of cod.  In other news, I have been hard at work finalising all of the prep and stock for sundays Port Sunlight workshop, while The Boss has been completing some new stamps.  No wonder this week has vanished into thin air….We have never stopped.  However, I did take an hour or two off last night to watch the mighty Toon in action in Portugal.  Er, actually ‘in action’ might not quite be the phrase I am looking for……as their European adventure looks to be well and truly over…..’Missing in Action’ is probably more fitting.

Anyway, next week looks like it will be as busy as this one.  Sunday is the workshop, then on monday, Sheena is heading back down to C&C to do the shows that were postponed when her wheels broke down last month.  This one is another chance to see the 4Day Deal products, that were featured in January.  It actually only lasted for a day and a half, as they all sold out, so we were asked to bring it back.  So, to that end, I have a couple of peeks for you from those stamps…….

….Here goes…..

…Remember these ones??  Very florally and at the time of the shows in january, a vision of what we were expecting by march……Instead we got Snow, Ice and frostbite……Eughhh!

This one oozes heat and summery colour, and I stand here in my stretch fleece Polar Bear thermals, and promise that we will be looking out at a garden full of these colours very soon………’Cos i’m gonna paint the fence with these stamps…..What did you think I meant……Real Flowers???

Have you been outside in the frozen wasteland recently???

No!….painting is definitely the way to go with flowers, mark my words.

Then after that, its full speed ahead towards the 14th, and the first of two Ravensworth workshops….Then I might stop for breath and a bowl of my best gruel.

Right then, I am off out tonight down to the Metro Centre, in search of a pressie for Birthday Girl, tomorrow.  I have already constructed my own skillfully crafted card, so at least I don’t have to get one of those.  I might even show it off for tomorrows peek.  Other than that, I have had a hint or two for some birthday goodies…..but if anyone has any good ideas of what to buy for Sheena’s 59th birthday, let me know.  Yes I am a Toy-Goph….At least until she reads this post. Then I will experience a different type of batter.

Tally-Ho then me crafty pals, and see you back here tomorrow……

Bye for now

Gopher (The)

THURSDAY??  Where the h-ll has this week gone to??  I even missed the WOYWW.  These Bank Holidays really need to be stopped, ‘cos they mess with me heed too much……..I’m going to get a letter of to the PM about it today….That’ll put a stop to them……….Only joking…He He He!  ( Nervy little laugh there )

Anyway, where have I been over the past few days……..Just about everywhere, man!  The Sheena-mobile search is still on-going, but we have one or two narrowed down now, so its nearly time for test drives and colours.  While The Boss has been hard at the drawing table, I have almost edited down the vids, so that they will be ready for Youtube by the weekend.  We are also heading to Merseyside this weekend for the second od Sheena’s Spring Workshops, at the beautiful Port Sunlight, so yours truly has been to all points of the compass bringing together the kits and materials that will feature on sunday.  My tiny fingers have been worked to the bone…..It’s slavery I tell you.  At least The Boss has upped my hot gruel times to three times a week, from just two, so at least I am only freezing me bits off on four nights of the week.  These cells can be bitter in the winter you know.

Anyway, changing the subject somewhat, how about a look at a Fantasy Fusion project sent in to us by Wor Pal Julie Redfern, one of our esteemed Fusioneers out there in Craftyland……..

Feast those peepers on these little gems…..

A bit of the old Clarice Cliff going on here, taken from a cross-stitch pattern or two….

These images absolutely lend themselves to the Fantasy Fusion range of paints, and have been so expertly created by my new best friend Jules.  I love the colours, and the fact that she has managed to match up the finished pictures with a nice double frame…….Beautiful art of the highest standard.

And talking of all things Arty, what a Saturday Sheena had, down at C&C.  Basically the stock for her two shows, was gone in around 30 minutes, so once again, an huge thank you from us.  I am so pleased that you enjoyed the shows, and the new goodies available, as she put a awful lot into researching them.  One thing for sure, though, is that the Pebeo products are of the highest standard possible, and will without doubt enhance your crafty stash to the n’th degree, with loads of techniques and finishes in the pipeline.    And I did warn you about having a large letterbox, as those of you who managed to get the paints will be finding out about now .

Reet then, folks, thats about it for today, but I will be back tomorrow, with the start of the sneaky peeks for next weeks shows on the 9th.

Thanks again to Jules for her fantastic take on Clarice, and also to everyone who made the shows such a success.

Bye for now

Gopher (The)

….and Happy Easter to one and all.  Well I have just seen off The Boss on her way down to C&C for tomorrows shows.  The car resembles a mobile Art Gallery, what with all of the framed arty bits and pictures, as well as some interesting box decoration.  The Arkansas Chuggabug is back, but we didn’t want to risk it on such a long journey, so Sheena stuck a pin into a list of cars, and hit a Vauxhall Astra, so that is what she is driving down in today.  One thing for sure, hiring a car is a good way to see if it works for you before you get one, so we will be trying one or two more in the next week or two, including next weekends trip down to Port Sunlight, for the second date in her Spring Workshop Tour.

Anyway, on to todays Peek of the day.  Actually it is Peeks of the Day, as I have a couple of samples for your delectation and delight this afternoon……

The first is this decorated wooden case.  Apart from the very dark colour on the case itself, you can see that it has been stamped with one of Sheena’s ‘Little Bit Floral’ stamps….The Dahlia.…….Wrong!!!!  Yes I was fooled by that one as well.  What she has done, is use one of the new products to create a rubber-ish image of her stamps.  Once the medium has gone off, you can peel it from the stamp, and use it as relief on your projects.  This particular one has also been enhanced with a coat of another new product, some beautiful Guilding Wax.  Now this is the best wax that we have ever seen or used, and gives an absolutely spectacular finish to your projects and cards.

The cured image is also extremely bendy, and can be moulded to any shape, as you can see from this pic, with the leaf following the corner of the box.  I can tell you that I have hardly seen Sheena for almost two weeks now, ‘cos she has been totally engrossed with these new goodies, so I hope that you like them as much as she does….I’m sure that you will .

Now then, for Peek number two, I thought that I would send you up the wall…..No!, not actally up the wall, or round the bend even……..up the wall with a bit of wall art in the form of this little hanging…..

….made using the canvas boards, also featured in tomorrows shows.  These ones are 10cm x 10cm, but there will be a multi-pack of various sizes in the shows.  Once again the ‘Little Bit Floral’ stamp range has been plundered, with the one used here coming from the ‘Lily’ set. The background is a mixture of newsprint and stencil, giving a soft base to the colourful flower.

Here is a closer look.  I like that textured linen look to the boards, which come in both a natural colour and white.  The lily has been stamped onto some acetate, then painted with the brand new paints, which will also play a starring role in tomorrows shows.  They come in an enormous set of 40 colours and shades, with an outstanding range of metallics, and are so versatile in their application, that I want some for meself…….Some hope!!

So, there we have another week, and blog up and gone.  I have got me beady eye on a couple of well placed Easter Eggs, so guess what i’ll be doing this evening.  Even The Monster Springers have managed to get in on the act with an Easter Egg each, from our local pet shop.  They are better looked after than us.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend, and enjoy the shows if you get the chance to watch. Here are the times once again….

Saturday 30th March……11am and 3pm

Reet, i’m off!!

Bye for now

Gopher (The)

I have taken a little bit of time to have another go at this blog thing.  Russ gave me a shout at 1, with a very well made ham and tomato sarnie and some velvet muffin cake.  He said that he had made the cake as well, but the massive Costco price sticker kind of gave the game away just a little.  So before I head back into my craft room, I thought that I would be the one to pick today’s sneaky peek.  I have had such a great few weeks with these new products, and now that I am rid of most of my medication, I can actually remember most of what I have been doing every day.  As well as these new arty products, I have been mixing my days up a bit, with a session of drawing, then some painting, followed by filming, and then sleep.  And for the first time in a while it is in that order .

So, on to the Peek of the day……

These newbie goodies have meant that we can now spread our wings into larger wall art as well as cardmaking, and with the brand new paint set from Pebeo, that I have been playing with, you will have plenty of scope for colours and tones.  This picture was created using an 8″x8″ sheet of canvas board, one of the new products on saturdays shows, and a very summery pallette of colours from the paint set.  Once I had done the background, I used the text from the ‘Ageing Beautifully’ stamp set, together with the ‘Dahlia’ stamp from the ‘Little Bit Floral’ collection.  After painting the flower in, I re-stamped over the paintwork with the original stamp to give this sketchy look.  Finally I added a swirl from one of the stencils from a previous show, just to give a little bit of interest in the bottom corner.  If I get time, I will try to demo this one at the weekend, but if not, I will be posting some new vids next week, with a host of the techniques that were used here.

Here is a closer look at the detail.  Those Fusioneers out there will see that the leaves have been fusioned with these new paints, but softened slightly in order to push the flower heads out of the picture.  I can’t wait to show you them on the shows…..I hope that you have a wide letterbox though…….but I won’t elaborate until saturday.

Well my craft room is calling me, so i’ll head back in to complete the prep.  I’m not sure where The Gopher has got to, as it all seems a bit too quiet down there.  He has started to pack all of the samples though.  It’s like an art gallery in the dining room, what with all of the DT samples as well as mine.

See you all on saturday.

Sheena x

….and what an evening, nay day it has been.  Talk about gettin stuck in!  We were both into Mission Control at 7.45 this morning, powering away at this weekend’s shows.  Now before I start, can I make an amendment to the show times for saturday…..

Saturday 30th March…….11am and 3pm, so just two shows and not one at 7pm, which means that the boss will be well on her way back to Douglass Towers by 5 ish, and not 9 ish……Yayyyy!  She will be back before she would have left….Er, I think thats what I mean……….She’ll be back early anyway!

And so, on we go to this weeks WOYWW desk visit.

Now then, plenty of clues and red herrings regarding the shows here.  Check out those small tubes of paint lurking in the background there.  Then slowly move your baby blues down towards that half finished piccy.  Mmmmmm, interesting!!  To say that the new goodies featuring on the shows are good, is a gross understatements among gross understatements.  These things rock.  The DT samples will all be here by tomorrow, so in true Sheenie fashion, I will be posting a new gallery section at some point over the weekend, then you will get the chance to see some fantastic ideas and techniques……..Very, Very Arty.

As usual, you can always pop over HERE for more busy desky areas.

So on the subject of all things arty, here we go with todays Peek of the day……..

A tad on the Oriental side, this little beauty, created using some of the new paints and an image from Sheena’s ‘Little Bit Floral Magnolia’ stamp set.  How crisp and clean and fresh does this look?  All done with the help of a pallette knife and brushes, and one of the demos heading your way at the weekend.  I think that she based the snow and mountains on the view from the DT windows, ‘cos that is about all that we have seen for the past week or so…….White, white and yet more ble-din white.  Nice Picture though, Boss.

Hawlrightythen, that is me for yet another day.  The old body is ready for a shower and rest….Hang on!!….Yes, it is March, so I am due some hot water in my cell today, so off I go, and I’ll see you all tomorrow all clean and shiney.

Bye for noo.

Slightly soiled Gopher (A)