Autumn Toadstools

This week I entered a small painting into a 'Blog Challenge' over at The Crafty Network, I didn't win but I was Runner up which I'm really pleased with, I'm also pleased with the painting and I'll be taking it with me at my next craft fair.

The brief for the challenge was Autumn. This is how the painting started to develop, I wrote down all the colours I used as I went along and started building up layers, do you like my uber sophisticated palettes?

Autumn Toadstools, the beginning..

Toadstool Painting

The Challenge is held fortnightly by Linda, she is a great networker and we all know how important that can be, anyone can enter as long as the item is handmade, you can enter jewellery, sewing, knitted items or anything else handmade. There isn't a 'prize' as such but everyone gets exposure on the Crafty Network blog, on facebook and on twitter. So if you want to give it a go then follow the link to The Crafty Network facebook or Blog.

I'm linking this post to Handmade Harbour.blogspot so pop over and have a nosey at all the other great blogs that are taking part in Handmade Monday.

Before I go I would like to thank you for all your kind words regarding my cortisone injection, it is starting to feel a lot better, I was told that it is not a 'miracle'cure for my wrist pain but I didn't realise that it would hurt so much in the first few days, but thankfully, now it is starting to do it's job and I'm glad I went ahead and got it done.

Best wishes

Jan x

Welcome

I hope you are all well and are keeping warm and dry, it's certainly a bit cooler of late and you can definitely tell that we are quickly galloping into Autumn.

I thought I'd show you one of the new Welcome Plaques I painted......

Welcome Plaque

and a bit of a tease photo of my sock monkey's with a difference.... the biggest difference is they are not monkeys any more....

This is a very short post from me this week, I've had a Cortisone injection in my wrist and it's slowed me down, hopefully not for too long and I'll have more to show you next week.

It's Handmade Monday time and I have linked this post to Handmade Harbour's linky party, I will make an apology now in case I don't get around to commenting on all of your posts this week, although I will read them all :)

Take care

Jan x

Chalkboards for Halloween (& dare I say it... Christmas)

Busy, busy, busy, at the moment I'm making lots of stock ready for The Pumpkin Patch Fair. This event is nice and local to me and lots of fun, I only attended one weekend last year, you can read about it HERE, but this year I'm attending every weekend in October, phew 8 fairs in one month!!......my hubby Pat and my son are going to help out and it is close enough to be able to pop home for short bursts, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather.

My chalkboards were very popular last year, both the Halloween and the Christmas ones.....

Pumpkin Chalkboard

Scull & Crossbones Chalkboard

Christmas Chalkboard

I will be putting these into my Folksy Shop  and my WowThankyou Shop  and as some of you may know, I have a few of my items in a local Bricks & Mortar Shop, mainly my Fairy Doors and Diary/Book Covers, I wrote a bit about it HERE as a guest blogger, well, things are doing well, quite a few items have sold (I had a nice cheque in the post) and I've happily taken more stock to the shop, I'm going to pop in with a couple of Chalkboards next week so wish me luck that they will be accepted to display.

I've also been busy making some zombie and monster type items for Halloween but they are not ready to show just yet so watch this space.

I mentioned being a 'guest blogger', it was great to do, so if you would like to be a guest blogger then pop over to Jill at Christmas Pie Crafts, I'm sure that she'd love to hear from you.

Once again it's Handmade Monday Time so this post is linked to Wendy's Handmade Harbour

Wishing you all a good week

Jan x

The bunny that wasn't really there

Do you see things that aren't really there? No I don't mean ghosties or spooks, I mean pictures in the cloud formations or faces in the flame of a fire. I do, I send my hubby crazy sometimes with comments like, 'can you see a dog in that shadow'? or 'oooh, look at that face in that wallpaper pattern'.

A few days ago I was gazing out of the kitchen window while waiting for the kettle to boil, I was thinking that I really need to get out and do some weeding when I spotted a bunny rabbit, or possibly a hare, it's disguised as a weed, it's about 18 inches tall to the tip of it's ears and I'd swear it appeared overnight.

Bunny Weed

Can you see it?, ok, take a step back from the screen, can you see it now?, if you still can't see what I can see, screw your eyes up and make the picture a bit fuzzy, surely you can see it now. Aren't they magnificent ears?

So using this image as inspiration I jotted down a few sketches....

Quick bunny sketches

Bunny disguised as a weed

I'll pop these with my other sketches of 'things that are not really there'. Yes I really do have a folder called 'Things that are not really there'
So next time you are out and about see if you can find something that isn't there, you may even find a bunny.

Happy hunting

Jan x

This post is linked to Handmade Harbour's linky party, pop over and check it out.

Jungle Name Plaques for Frankie & Bobby

Hello to my new and my regular readers of this little corner of the blogasphere, I've had a bit of time off from blogging and promoting during August but I've still been crafting, mainly fulfilling orders but I have also been sketching, painting, sewing, and experimenting, or as my husband says, 'playing' with fimo.

One of my recent orders was for a couple of Name Plaques for twin boys, these were such fun to do.

Jungle Theme Plaque

Jungle Name Plaque

Close up of Jungle Themed Name Plaques

Well, it's September already, I can hardly believe that the summer holidays are coming to an end and the children will be back at school, my grandson is starting nursery on Tuesday, he seems so small and young, he's still a baby, but, I was reminded that my own two children were his age when they first went to nursery. I remember bawling my eyes out when mine started nursery, but I must admit, it did give me a bit of free time to myself.

It's time for the for the Handmade  Monday linky party so I'm linking this post to the Handmade Harbour Blog, don't forget to pop over.

Take care

Jan x