Treasure everywhere....

Hi there... no new artwork I'm afraid, which is very frustrating.  I've been having a busy time in the 'day job', I was ill for a couple of days last week  :o(  and, I'm fighting the husband every evening to get a go on t'internet (as we fondly call t'world wide web here in the wilds of West Yorkshire) because he has been busy nearly every evening working on assignments for his Social Work stuff.  He wins - his work has to take priority at the moment, but hey, here I am having a sneaky half hour catch up (before I have to leave him with the machine, in peace again).

I am however, just about ready to list some items for sale at last on Etsy, just photographs to take now and hopefully I'll get that done tomorrow.  This has led me to spend some time browsing the wonders of other peoples Etsy shops and oh the stuff I have found (and wish I could afford!!) - I thought I'd share some with you here.

Polar Bear wood carving by Sandra Healy

Well, I can't deny the polar bear obsession at the moment and I think this guy is lovely - and I'm sure the piece would be really tactile too.  He could have a spot on one of my shelves anytime.

'A three legged dog bit me' by Paul of Navarone

I just love the humour behind this one, and the 'bumf' that Paul of Navarone has put down as the blurb for the piece really amuses me!  Very 'Pythonesque'.  I see that he is based in Glasgow, say no more, my husband and his lovely family are all Glaswegian.  I think there is something in the water.....  :-)

'Beetles and Weevils Collection No 1' by Golly Bard

OK - this is just plain cute!

Last but not least.......

Birch bark cuff, Plumberry by Bettula

I think this is just lovely, and so original, birch bark is just beautiful, have you ever looked at it closely?

So, there you are, just a few pretties that have taken my fancy recently.  A bit of virtual window shopping.  I should do this more often. 

Be back soon with my own online shop news hopefully and an EDM I've been trying to complete for a few days!

xx

Drum roll.....

..... I just interrupted my husband during his stint of gardening so that he could pick the winner for my giveaway!

..... and the winner is......

Yey!  Thank you everyone who joined in this bit of fun.  It's lovely to be sharing something finally.  Now I must send an e-mail to Revelle and ask her to pick her pic!

Back soon with lots of new stuff, I'm having a very productive day so far..... x

Dance to the music

A quick post of a picture that represents something I need - inspired by the EDM group challenge:

Yep, for me it's music...  I always have it playing and, since I saved up for my first Sony Walkman (1983 - remember?) I've always had a selection to take with me whenever I'm out and about.  My husband and I finally upgraded all our music systems a couple of years ago - we'd been running on a system made up of elements of my old Hi-Fi set and his, both well over 20 years old  :o) ...overnight we changed this to the best new digital stuff we could afford and also bought a really lovely new turntable because we have hundreds of albums still on vinyl (which we still regularly play) as well as all the CDs and digital downloads.  In fact we are about to start digitising all the vinyl so we can upload it to our iPods.  Oh my little iPod how I love it!!  I carry it everywhere with me, play it in the car; plug it into computer speakers when I work alone in the library in school holidays etc,etc.

This is a very quick sketch, rough around the edges but it conveys the message well enough.  The album it is set on (I had been listening to) is 'Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes' by TV on the Radio if your'e interested - great played loud!

I never properly learned to play an instrument, though can play lots of them by ear, but I just can't get beyond the most basic sheet music.  My husband is a musician though, he plays a bass.  Played bass, he hasn't been in a band for a while now.  When I first met him he was in a band called The Keep.  Amazingly a video of them playing their song 'Sit Down' has turned up recently - filmed back in 1989!!!  Where did the time go?

I will be making the draw for my giveaway on Saturday.... do leave a comment at this post if you haven't already - if you'd like the chance of receiving one of the items!

TTFN, L x

First ATC swap....

Just wanted to share my first ATC swap with you.  I am a member of UK Handmade and a lovely lady called Kella set up an ATC swap group that I decided to join.  I have never done anything like this before but, ever up for a creative challenge I though it would be a great idea.  The theme for the swap I joined was 'songs'.  This seems to have been approached from lots of angles, I've have just noticed on the Flickr group that one lady has done 'the dawn chorus'... well you can't really get much lovelier music than that can you?

The card I received was from Jane who makes the most beautiful crocheted items and her 'card', I don't really want to call it that because it's made of the most gorgeous golden silks and velvets and beads, is inspired by the most recent album by Corrine Bailey Ray...

Lovely isn't it?

I had to send my ATC to Kella (check her beautiful craft work here) this time.  I think I have mentioned the group Eels before, there isn't an Eels album I don't like and many of their songs I absolutely love.  So I chose, without even realising I was chosing to illustrate yet another Wild Thing, the Eels song 'I Like Birds':

On the back I collaged lots of astronauts and a rocket launch, an auto-car and lots of little birds which I then covered with a layer of tissue paper with my details written on in bestest, neatest handwriting...

I loved making this and can't wait to have a go at another!  Keep an eye out now for the little sparrow - he'll be turning up in jewellery very soon!

Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment on my previous post to be entered for the giveaway!  Ta ta for now, x 

Update and giveaway!!!

Hi all! I have meant to post an update about my Mail Me Art 2 envelope for the last few weeks now but kept forgetting! Oops!

Basically, I found out just before Easter that my piece had arrived safely at its destination, and hadn’t in fact been dropped on a leafy lane to be buried under falling leaves, lost forever..... You can see my effort and the hundreds (literally) of other fabulous Mail Art pieces if you follow this link:

http://mailmeart.com/going-postal/gallery/mail-me-art-two/?album=1&gallery=14

It doesn’t matter whether or not my effort actually finds its way into any new book that might get published. I just really enjoyed being inspired by the other artists and making the effort to take part. This design by Michael Hacker (http://www.michaelhacker.at/) was the winner for the month of January (when my envelope was received by them):

.....and quite right too! Simple and fun, a great design, I love it!!  It's of an animal though - I'm biased!!

Now, finally.... the GIVEAWAY I have been promising forever!!!

Just leave me a comment here, and on Saturday, May 8th at 1pm (GMT) I will draw a name out of a hat to win one of these:

Sorry, the detail in the photograph isn't brilliant - the polar bear looks a bit washed out here, but the original paintings feature in my previous post so you can get a better look there.  These pendants are 2" square, the pictures are prints of the original paintings, printed on Bockingford Inkjet 190g/m paper and treated with protective spray that protects from UV damage etc.  The reverse has hand coloured paper where I have signed and numbered the piece.  I am sticking to limited numbers of five of each piece, these are the first of each run for these images.  The prints are sandwiched between two sheets of glass that are sealed with lead-free, silver content solder.  If you win you can choose either the polar bear or the wolf and I will finish it off as either a pendant attached to a silk ribbon necklace OR a miniature for you to hang on a wall somewhere.  If you decide to take the polar bear I think he'd make a lovely Christmas tree decoration.  Anyway, it's up to you - I am happy to post anywhere - not just the UK. 

Good luck!!

Oh, and sorry the giveaway has taken so long - hope you think it was worth the wait!   :0)  x

Oh, oh!!  Etsy shop to look out for real soon.....

I've been waiting for tomorrow all of my life...

Pushing two weeks ago I promised a giveaway and I have to apologise because I still can't post it, because I haven't been able to finish it, because of the mess up with the computer (see earlier rant) which had led to several unforseen knock-on glitches...... grrr!

Deep breath...... and...... relax.

I've been putting all my positive energies into more sketches and paintings though, and have been really enjoying myself.  The enforced delay has also made me look at another (and I believe hopefully better) way of finishing off the jewellery pieces so, of course, there's a good side to all the glitches....  and hopefully, as soon as I can post my long-awaited giveaway you might think it was worth the wait  :o)

My obsession with all things bear like continues.  Why?  I don't know but I'll run with it.  I need to perhaps visit a wildlife park to see some in the flesh,  do some sketches from life, though I'm not sure where I would go.  Here is my new polar bear picture... I'm going to turn the image into cards I think and adapt elements of it for the jewellery:

I sketched the bear after watching a beautiful National Geographic documentary about Russian wildlife.  The same programme also inspired this picture:

Tell me why is it that bears and wolves (and lots of other animals) look like you should be able to walk straight up to them and sink your hands and face into their fur without having your face ripped off?!!! 

I'm going to have my dinner now - and blast out 'Soul Mining' by The The - one of the few 80s bands I still listen to! xx

Come on baby, and rescue me!

I am not posting as regularly as I'd like to, but just to tide over the next couple of days until I get my 'giveaway' organised I decided to share this story....

My friend sent me one of those e-mails - you know the type, one that goes around the world and no one knows where it started.  This is just a fabulous story though and I'm sure you'd enjoy it too.  So here are the pictures and the words that came with them.  I don't know where they originate from, but whoever took them and shared in the first place, a great big thank you!  Oh, being in the UK I had to Google the location, so in case you weren't sure - like me - Donner Summit is in California.

"A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40) at Donner Summit, on Saturday when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge (see unbelievable photo, below) and pulled itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help Saturday night so they returned Sunday morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge.

After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell into the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.

There is a moral to this story you know.  This old bear made a wrong move and found he was hanging by his nails.  Somehow he was able to pull himself up onto the ledge where he saw he was in a very bad, impossible situation and what did he do?  Yep, he took a nap and sure enough the situation took care of itself while he was asleep.  The moral is that when confronted with a bad situation sometimes the best solution is take a nap.  So next time you see someone asleep at work, they could be just problem solving!!"

Right, I've got lots of work I should be cracking on with now..... think I'll go for a nap xx