Today I opened a shop for paintings and a couple of new pieces on Folksy.
I'm gearing up to eventually move all my stuff from Etsy as I'm fed up with the fluctuating exchange rate, it's just too time consuming.
Looks like I have a few new year's resolutions to make - and keep!
After a really great Christmas with the family - ate too much - yesterday I had a completely self-indulgent day and I can't remember the last time I did this! I spent half the day in bed with the third book of the 'Twilight' trilogy. I spent the whole day in my pyjamas and felt no guilt at all!!! Ate chocolates, had snacks, I wasn't going to cook anything - great!
Hope you all had a great day too!
Well I thought I'd write a couple of very funny quips but I can't remember the punch line - some things never change!!
Have a fabulous Christmas everyone!!
I wonder if I can bear to put my art stuff away so as to be tidy for Christmas. I get withdrawal symptoms when I go more than a day without doing something creative. But I suppose I must.
I've been making some 'munsters' and have listed a few new items including some paintings on folksy and here's a sample:
I have actually started to clear the decks for xmas - but what happens is I seem to be moving stuff and making mess somewhere else! One thing's for sure, I need a bigger house but that's not going to happen 'cos I love it here.
It has started to snow in the suburbs this morning and it's supposed to start in the city this afternoon - can't wait!!
Yesterday I put up lights and tinsel and it looks so pretty that I might just keep them up all year!! Can 't find my camera ....
I'm getting ready for another Xmas market on Sunday - all ticketed and raring to go!
Here are a couple of new paintings:
...Stampington's Art Quilting Studio due on the news-stands tomorrow. I'm so happy and honoured to be included in this magazine. I've scanned some pages so you get an idea of what it's all about.
Painterly Compositions
I've been sewing some really nice shopping bags that are built to last and can be used again and again. They're on ETSY where you can find out more about them. Here's a sample:
Today I was at a friend's birthday lunch and had a lovely time eating scrumptious food and the bubbly wasn't bad either!!
To give you an idea of the present I made, I've scanned the image - a lined pink cloth bag with a stitched 'burdie'. I need to practise freemotion words more!
I realized ,after I*'d said I was reading this book and couldn't put it down, that it's a teenager cult movement - but I don't care - must be a young at heart grandmother! and I have all 3 books!
I've been busy at the sewing machine getting ready for another Christmas Market. It's housed in a converted church in the heart of the Grassmarket in Edinburgh called the LOT. Hope to see you there!
I've been developing a new line - these are A6 notebooks with a fabric jacket which is re-usable. I've started listing them on etsy and here's a sample:
"life is short, eat dessert first" "dranunculus"
"you always have a friend in me"
The 3-day Christmas Market ended yesterday after a really well-attended event. The venue was an art gallery. I was very fortunate to have sold some top-end paintings and lots of little things too.
Here's a picture of part of my table:
I 'm not feeling the best today - a dizzy head and it's only 4 days till the Christmas Market I'm in. So I've decided to go back to bed hoping that'll help.
I started reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - didn't realize when I bought it that it's a bit of a cult book - and I can't put it down!!!
Till later.....
I've literally just finished reading 'The Sensualist' by Barbara Hodgson - a mysterious illustrated tale for all the senses - a remarkable story. I've read some of her other books which are always first class but this is one I'll definitely read again.
Some of the reviews say "Are you ready to use all of your senses ... captivating and compelling, this book will hold you hostage" New Woman, and "Enigmatic and spine-tingling..." Cleveland Plain Dealer.
I made a cuff for myself to wear at the preview night of the Frugal Cool Eco Crafts Market. The cuff is black leather and black lace with a tiny bit of red, and a beautiful vintage diamante brooch - my lovely grand-daughter Alice modelled it.
I seem to be in a black lace mood and have found a really lovely dress with gloves to match - all in black lace! Will I be brave enough to wear the ensemble???
By the way, would you call this a cuff or a wristlet?
I'm taking part in an Eco Crafts Market to celebrate Frugal Cool's 1st birthday with a 3-day showcase of eco crafts and design.
Everything is a one-off, upcycled from found objects and textiles or made from natural materials. All products – from 14 makers and designers.
Original artworks and handmade textiles will also offer visitors a glimpse of the creative talent within our community and the value of ethical design at Loretto Gallery, Musselburgh (near Edinburgh).
Here's a segment of the press release for me:
This artist's paintings show an exuberant and dynamic personality. She works with random unplanned blocks of colour and develops her paintings intuitively into a structured conclusion. Acrylics are the mainstay along with ink, pencil, tissue, and mark-making objects. She likes to build layers of paint which can be scraped back into revealing the mystery beneath. Evie lived in Florence for many years and was influenced by the beautiful chalky frescoes in all their distressed beauty.
I went looking for a winter coat yesterday and came home with a painting! Had to take a taxi home because it's five feet wide. If I tell you it took me 4 hours to hang it, would you believe it?
It was hard to screw the hangers onto the back - tiny Philips screws and no leverage on the screw driver and my battery powered screw driver's tip was too big.
I don't know why but I must have measured wrongly (3 times) to place the hooks on the wall and ruined the wall full of holes - just as well the picture covered that up.
And this great big bulky painting was finally ready to hang. Do you think I could get the hooks onto the rings ..... I was tired and had aching arms but I persevered and at last got it up. What a day!!!
I've already taken over 2 rooms in my house for art and I have to be firm with myself because it could get worse! I just turn a blind eye....
I'm buzzing at the moment and my muse has moved in!! I've just listed another painting on etsy and here it is:
Sometimes paintings get stuck and I have to stop working on them and go and do something else till my muse pops in! So it was so nice to have gone full steam ahead with this and no waiting.
It's on ETSY !
I had a really good time at the scrap store - very fine wool in olive green, fabrics, sewing supplies, and on and on... having to find space to put it all away made me have a clear-out of stuff I'll never use again and I have a big bag ready for the charity shop.
And I finished a painting which I listed on ETSY it's an expressionist look at seedlings:
... a scrap store today. I always feel excited when I go there, you never know what you can find. I'm a bit of a magpie and rummaging is what I love and I can easily spend a couple of hours there. More later!!
It's here ETSY if you'd like more info. I was amazed to see Christmas cards in the shops already - people must be buying them. So I've started listing my Christmas Holidays art quilts, the first is here on ETSY and more to come.
Just back from the beautiful island of Sardinia and a few days in Florence where I used to live. It was nice to go round my old haunts and do a bit of shopping.
I was interested to see the Autumn fashions and pleased to find that shoulder pads are back, but not the exaggerated power shoulders of old. Lots of sleeveless coatees - very chic!! Knitted long socks over the knee with a band of stretchy lace at top - a kind of 'bordello' look.
Here are some photos I took in Florence:
Here's a photo taken at my birthday tea on Saturday - and I'm off to Italy tomorrow, so no news for a little while.
I've just finished reading 'The Lives of Shadows' an illustrated novel by Barbara Hodgson. It was spell-binding. It is a most unusual story with beautiful pictures which deepen the mystery. I give it 5 stars!
I'm doing an ATC swap themed 'nature'. I made three and asked my swap partner to choose one 
I've been so busy with creating art for a street market on 13 August, pricing, taking photos, buying wrapping paper and paper carriers, and all the rest when today's email has left me speechless.
The street market has been cancelled 'due to lack of interest' - I can't believe this is the real reason as Edinburgh is buzzing with visitors here for the International Festival of Arts and I'm sure people like me who make art would have given their eye teeth to have a stall in the middle of the city.
And now all the local craft fairs up to the end of the year are full. So I'm desperately looking for an outlet, wish me luck!
I had one of those days where lots of things appealed to me at the charity shops. I couldn't resist this gorgeous coffee set in apple green china with gold inside. It was probably a wedding gift and displayed in a china cabinet and never used. But I will certainly use it and enjoy it lots.
I was browsing the charity shops today and I found the most adorable cabinet painted lilac. The funny thing is that it has identical doors at the back?? What could that have been for?? And the inside has slotted in dividers painted fuchsia with gold edges - it's beautiful and guess how much I paid for it -- £3 -- what a bargain!! And did I mention the lovely handles....
I was searching for large cellophane bags on the internet and I ended up buying beautiful paper carrier bags with rope handles in a variety of sizes and the prices were very affordable. I'm doing a street market mid-August during the Edinburgh International Festival and just felt that I had to give my artwork a trendy send-off - can you tell I'm feeling very optimistic!!
I've booked a place at an information day for sellers of craft next week run by the Cultural Enterprise Office. Hoping to glean some info to further and better my sales.
Last night I went to a private view of paintings by a Scottish artist, Ron Wilson (www.ronwilsonpaintingsgallery.com). It was a 30 year grand tour and what I liked most were the paintings of Venice with the characteristic striped poles and architecture. He is also a printmaker - loved these too.
He owns and runs an antiquarian bookshop in the old town of Edinburgh - great for a rummage!
Yesterday I went to a meet-up in Edinburgh of fellow Etsians - it was interesting and lively and we're talking about forming a new group with a view to doing independent craft fairs in Edinburgh.
If you'd like to join the general UK group, contact me and I'll send you an invitation.
I now have had three projects accepted for publication by a world leader in arts and crafts. Of course it's a secret and I can't post any photos yet. But for sure I'll let you know when.
I've been watching the world's best tennis players on TV and it's hotting up for the final on Saturday. It's wreaking havoc with mealtimes and I had some crisps and a glass (or two) of wine whilst a 4-hour match took place. But the added bonus is that I've lost weight LOL.
Going to make lunch for a dear friend who fell off a ladder and burst her knee - she's full of metal pins and a brace and crutches. I'm sure we've all done the stretching too far whilst up a ladder - makes you think!!
I've been experimenting with my artwork and have created some wallhangings using a monochromatic colour range - black, white and grey. I really like these a lot and it's very different from my previous work - so I'm hoping to be a leader and not a follower (if you get my drift LOL).
I've posted the first one APPLE TREE on Etsy - would love to hear what you think of it!
I've been on a shopping spree for new clothes for the holidays. I'm going to visit my daughter and grandson in Florence then we are all going to Sardinia by ferry. In that kind of heat, only natural fabrics work, so I've bought lovely cotton and linen clothing. The colours this year are very cool greys and stone and of course white. Hoping to be able to wear them at home too, Scotland has had some really hot days this summer...
I'm feeling such an adrenalin rush from a new line I'm developing. It hasn't even been in the pipeline, it just happened. You know how it is, one thing leads to another and bingo - I love these. I'll be posting pictures soon, so just keep me on your radar screen!!
Today was really disappointing - less stands than last year and really geared up for the cardmakers. I did buy a few rubber stamps just arrived from Canada and just a bit different. Decided I won't be going next year...
I was looking for a sepia inkpad and the nice man opened up 2 Staz-on pads to see which colour I liked best - what a lovely gesture!
The weather was so wild, gusts of wind, rain, and did I mention 'cold' - has the summer already gone??
... something different. I seem to have a fascination recently for seed heads and so I made pictures out of a mix of paper, fabric, and threads and some rubber stamping. These will be for sale at the street market at the end of the month - hope they sell!!
I haven't been posting much lately, I don't get half of the things done that I have on my list. I've finished my hosting of a tag book -home sweet home- for Art-e-Zine which will be up on the website soon. I felt sorry for one of the US participants whose tags never showed up but she still got her book and that's fine.
Here are a couple of my tags, the background is fabric with rubber stamping (a Zetti stamp):
I haven't made any ATCs for a long time and felt the urge, some of these will be for the Rubber Stamp Fair next month to swap. We're a gang of artists who meet up there and catch up on news and the highlight is the ATC swap. We're a lively bunch and some may refer to us as 'noisy'! Anyway here are the first few:
Yesterday, I had the best morale booster ever. I had arranged to meet a lady who runs an ethical website Frugal Cool to show her my artwork. Honestly, I've never had an experience like that in my life! She bought almost everything I had with me - what a result.
She owns her own PR company so knows how to promote and has many artists within a 30-mile radius including Edinburgh (where I am). Even better, it's local - couldn't wish for more!!
Take a flock of sheep, a smattering of sheepdogs and a group of scraggly farmers armed with film equipment and outlandish ideas, then step back. These Welsh shepherds and the flock of glowing sheep have become the latest internet sensation. The shepherds call themselves the 'Baa-Studs' but acknowledge that the sheep were the real stars in this well managed production. The dogs answered orders, drove the sheep where needed and, from afar, you can see amazing moving art, the recreation of the masterpiece Mona Lisa with a fireworks show providing the finale. You really have to watch it to believe it. To enjoy the video, go to
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