WOYWW 199

Here we are again, Wednesday comes around so quickly and we're still waiting for Spring to arrive!  I suspect Spring is procrastinating ... just like me at the moment!   I have some projects I need to complete for an event at the end of April (more news on that later) and I just can't seem to get my head around it.  I made a start on Monday (kind of) but yesterday was a no-no!  Consequently my desk is tidy ... cos what do you do when you're avoiding something?  Tidy up of course!  Guilty as charged : (

So, once I'd tidied up (I even hoovered!!), I still didn't get on with my projects.... I found some paints I was given years go that I'd never got around to trying and decided that definitely now was the time to try them!  See what I mean ... avoidance at it's worst!   Good news though, I really loved the paints, so may have to use them more often.  They are the Atelier Absolute Matte range, and the finish is gorgeous, just like pastel.  And they're easy to write over too!  You can see the fruits of my labours ... more faces!  Thanks Dina Wakley, you have unleashed my creative soul : D

Thanks as always to Julia for hosting this fab blog-fest and here's a Happy Wednesday to all you Woyww-ers!

Thanks for visiting and for all your lovely comments.  I shall pop over and see you soon.

Happy painting ...

Liz x

Trees ... Trees ... Trees ...

I posted a while ago about my wardrobe makeover, where I painted some old pine fitted cupboards with a tree design ...

... well, I went one stage further and also painted some canvases to match ... perhaps I should added snow to them!

Now I just need to get around to hanging them on the wall ... add that to the list of other jobs!! 

Hope you're all well and keeping warm and cosy in this lovely Spring weather we're having!  A good excuse to stay in and paint I say ...

Happy painting ...

Liz 

Woyww 198

Just a brief one as I've just posted about my fantastic time with Dina Wakley (see '2 Days of Awesomeness') and all I have to show on my desk is a 'bit' of shopping!  Woohoo ... new toys to play with ....

There are some new stencils from The Crafters Workshop including some of Dina's own designs, tags, sticky-backed canvas, Inktense blocks and a dinky little bag from the Tim Holtz collection to keep all my stuff in.  You can see some of the faces I've created, and a fab little book of gelli prints to the left, on top of one of my own creations.  A great bonus to our workshops with Dina, she showed us how to make 2 little books too!

Unfortunately, no Percy Pigs today ... they all got eaten on the long drive!  Will have to go and stock up!

If you want to join in this fun blog-hop, go to The Stamping Ground and visit Julia, she'll tell you alllllll about it!  Huge thanks to everyone who comes to visit me and for all your lovely comments, it really means so much to me.

Until next time ... Happy Woyww!

Liz x

2 Day of Art Awesome-ness ...

This is the first of 2 posts today, I meant to do this one yesterday but the day ran away from me ... might be something to do with a certain 'Gelli-Plate' lol .... read more to find out!

I have just returned from 2 whole days of 'Art Awesome-ness' that is Dina Wakley at Art from the Heart .  Having got up at the crack of silly o'clock on Sunday to drive 3 hours to Harrogate, I was worried that I might be snoozing by mid-afternoon, but I had no need to worry ... I was too busy having the best fun to possibly feel tired!  Ever had that feeling?  The problem is that you tend to crash and burn about 3 days later... errr that will be today then!

Anyway, I had booked on Dina's workshops on Faces and the Gelli-Plate.  She has been teaching there for almost a week, and I would have loved to have done more, but in all honesty I think I could only take so much awesome-ness!  Photos are below, but all I can say is that Dina is simply the best teacher.  I've learned sooooo much and she is great fun, inspirational, encouraging, hugely knowledgeable and an all round lovely person.  I had the best time ... *contented sigh* ... come back soon Dina!

Faces Workshop

Faces Workshop

The Incredible Hulk ....

The Fabulous Dina ... showing us how it's done!

Gelli-Plate Printing

Dina, Me & a whole lotta paint ...

Watch out more for more of this loveliness as I hit the studio to play ....

Happy painting ...

Liz x

WOYWW 197

It's Wednesday and that means a bit of blog-hopping around some fabulously talented artists and a sneaky peak at what they're up to!  Confused?  Just visit Julia at Stamping Ground and see what it's all about.

So, what am I up to today ...

I'm working at a different desk today, so not quite so cluttered!  I'm indoors (rather than out in my studio) waiting for a friend to arrive and doing some doodling/sketching/playing with Inktense pencils and a calligraphy pen.  Great fun and easy to pick up/put down as you don't need lots of stuff!  I'm really into 'faces' at the moment and sooooo looking forward to going to Dina Wakely's workshop at Art from the Heart at the weekend.

Thanks so much for visiting and all your lovely comments.  I will try and get around more blogs today.

Happy Woyww

Liz x

PS  No Percy Pigs today!  And for those of you not in 'the know', they are a delicious strawberry flavoured sweet, shaped like a pig, from Marks & Spencers.  Very yummy and very addictive!

South-East Woodworking & Power Tool Show

Now this is something I really would not expect to find myself at, unless I was tagging along with the hubby!  But I was asked by the lovely Lynn Courtney of Flutterby Crafts to come along and demonstrate the Jo Sonja range of products to the Woodturners & Carvers who attend this big event in Maidstone.

Woodturners & Carvers are increasingly using Jo Sonja's acrylics to enhance their beautiful projects.  I put together a couple of sample boards of different techniques that I thought may appeal to them;

Faux Finish Techniques

Wood Stain Gels

Marbleising Techniques

We had a fabulous 2 days, with a constant stream of visitors of all ages!  Unfortunately it was so busy that I didn't get much of a chance to take any pics, or even visit some of the other stands!  So I have some quick pics here of Lynn demonstrating her stunning (and quirky) shaving foam technique with Jo Sonja's Iridescent Paints ...

And this is how the technique looks ...

Stunning eh?

We had a fabulous time playing with all the paints.  And they call this work ... ?!

Until next time, happy painting ...

Liz x

WOYWW 196

Hi Folks

Well, here we are again ... Wednesday always rolls around so fast!  So, here's another opportunity to see what's on my desk and see if you can spot those Percy Pigs?  Ha ha, sounds a bit like 'Where's Wally?' ...

Unorganised chaos .... and Percy Pigs!!

My desk is such a tip that I just had to do a 'before and after'!  It had become a dumping ground the past few days as I'd been sorting out stock to put in my shop (see yesterday's post).  You can still see my journal page from last week peeking out from underneath, some cute blank canvases ready for action, an oval placemat painted with a paisley design needing some finishing, and a big '0' which has a '5' underneath it (this was for my hubby's 50th birthday which I need to still finish, but as it was last month there's no desperate hurry!  Anyway, I think he's planning on celebrating all year anyway!).  The table and chairs were a present from my mum when I was about 7 from a trip to Spain.  I've painted them and will display them somewhere - I just can't bear to part with them!

Prepping demo boards for the weekend

The 'after' shot is preparation for the weekend when I'm demonstrating for Flutterby Crafts at the South-East Woodworking Show at the Kent County Showground.  Woodturners love to use Jo Sonja's Acrylics paints, so I shall be showing them lots of faux finish techniques, including tortoiseshell and fun stuff with irridescents.  I will post pics and details early next week.  I think we might be in a marquee so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a warm and dry weekend!

What a busy week.  Thank you so much to everyone for their lovely comments last week, and I'm sorry for not getting around everyone.  I will try and do better this week, even if it is a little bit late!  If you want to know more about this fun blog-hopping activity hosted by the brilliant Julia, then pop over the Stamping Ground and you can read all about it!

Until next time, happy painting ...

Liz x

Shop Re-Stock

I have spent a very enjoyable afternoon sorting through my stock, moving it all around and finding things I'd forgotten I had!  You know how it goes ... so I thought I would share the pics with you and point you in the direction of the Hertfordshire Craft Collective who have their Spring Open Day on Saturday 9th March.  Go along, browse the lovely range of Vintage & Craft lovelies and enjoy a cup of tea and a free cupcake!  What a lovely way to spend the afternoon...

Unfortunately, I won't see you there as I'm otherwise engaged demonstrating Jo Sonja's Acrylics at the South-East Woodworking Show nr Maidstone in Kent, so have a cake for me!

Whatever you're doing over the weekend, let's hope the sunshine continues and all the 'mummies' out there enjoy a lovely lazy day and get spoilt rotten!

Happy painting ...

Liz