No talking shop

Well that it Art from the Heart are on an official 5 day holiday. No work and no talking shop allowed, ok. I am determined to live a normal life over these next few days and will report back on my progress. Today I lolled in bed till lunch, loved it sooooooo chilled, went accessory shopping and then to the pub for a girly chat. Fabby!!

Any guesses what I spent last night doing...?? lmao

Yes that's right I won, woop woop!!!

I am now sat in bed reading this weeks Grazia magazine and nibbling on Scooby Doo cookies that Maisie made especially for me. Gorgeous xx

All good things come to an end ...!!

OMG its the end of the world as we know it. Wednesday is fire alarm testing day. Not just any old fire alarm testing day, but fire alarm testing day by the gorgeously hunky fire alarm tester. Short test of the alarm means sorry Dy I,m running late, long test of the alarm means , get your ass down here for a chat and a giggle. Today was long alarm test, so I duly trotted off for my weekly glimpse of totty (think Diet Coke ad), to find - Shock ,Horror. He has been replaced with a weedy, balding alternative. Wednesdays will never be the same again. I was quickly on the phone to say "what happened , where are you???" And apparently he has been let go out of the blue, just before he has been working for them a full year. Doesn't seem fair does it. He has no job and I have no one to ogle. Not sure which is worse, lmao...

Any way need to show you my pressie the lovely Ann brought me on Sunday. Ooh look at the size of that..!!! Seeing as I will be at home all Easter I can risk the upset stomach and devour it lol. Thanks darling xx

Bezzie Su came to class last night in her altered Dockers and as promised here are the photos.

Cool eh..?? Check the pink tights. And yes, it is hard to believe she is a professional woman..!!

Doesn't the Organza ribbon just finish them off..??

Haven,t done shoe watch for a while. The sun came out briefly this morning so it was thick socks off, Uggs in the cupboard and hello toes, its been a while...!!

OK chicken stir fry tonight , yes I am cooking twice in one week..!! Off to the shops now for the ingredients, whats the betting I forget the chicken again. lmao xx

From previews to bare bottoms. . .

Yup that's right all the workshops are up online ready for you all to book. We already have some classes near sellout just from the preview day!!! It was great to see lots of people that I taught at the Breakfast Workshops at the Harrogate Show., which was lovely. Its always great to have new students as well as regulars. Also had some surprise visits from some students from a while ago.Sunday as usual was quieter but still very productive.

Ben was in charge of the Preview as I was teaching the Art Journals class. We had a great time, discussing colour theory and the effect it has on our emotions. Although there was a lot of blank looks to start with , most of the class seemed to come round to the theories. And some even understood it fully lol.

Su brought along an old pair of dockers that she wanted to alter. So out came the alcohol inks. How cool are these now. ??

Shes going to wear them to class tomorrow, fully complete with Organza ribbons!!! Don't worry they will be featuring on shoe watch...

As promised some of the pages from my Colour Art Journal. Some are finished and some are works in progress,

Spent the day at home waiting for the Sky Engineer. He was amazed at the state of the cables and quickly sorted it for me Yayy!! I cleaned the house from top to bottom, so decided to spend the night on my painting. I,m working on a large collaged and painted piece and its really coming together now. Look at the state of me as usual lmao

Did a bit of courting last night. Went to the Cinema to see Bronson. I have a thing about prison films. I fell in love with Ray Winstone in Scum when I was a teenager and I have never looked back lol. You name the film I probably own it and love it, From Papillon and Cool Hand Luke to The Shawshank Redemption. This film was a cracker. Its all about the infamous British prisoner Charles Bronson. The lead role is played fabulously by Tom Hardy, and he deserves an award. And I have to tell you his bare bottom is a sight to behold. . !!

Colour me Happy

Well preview weekend got off to a great start today. Thanks to everyone who turned out. Its always nerve wracking hoping you will love the projects I have created and a great relief when you do.
The lovely Michelle came to the Harrogate Show and was wearing a beautiful knitted corsage. I really admired it and much to my joy she made me one specially. Thanks babe. xx

Preview is still going on tomorrow as well for those who couldn't make it today. Also tomorrow is the Art Journal class. Theme tomorrow is colour. We will be talking about the meaning and effects of colour and how to use it effectively in you art journalling. I decided to make a journal that was purely based on colour. I,ll show you some of the pages tomorrow. But I will show you the covers.

Here's a sneak of the front. Painted tags onto a paint collaged background.

Inside back cover.

Back cover

And the front cover itself

I really enjoyed creating the covers and using such vibrant colours, and , no they are not Claudines paints. They are in fact Adirondack Dabbers.

Ok so hope to see you tomorrow either in the shop or on the workshop. Don't forget to bring your prettiest shoes. xx

The Prodigals return

Ooh what a treat yesterday. I was working from home making samples for the Preview this weekend. The sun was streaming through the windows and everything in my garden seemed rosy. I don't often see the sun as my studio has no windows and it does wonders for the soul. It was soooo nice that I spent the afternoon doing a bit of old fashioned courting. Twice around the Valley Gardens and off for a cup of tea, lol. I even broke out of my uniform of all black . Love this dress...!!

Suitably refreshed I tackled the supermarket. I had decided to invite all the kids home for a Mexican. I don't often get them all under one roof. In the last 3 mths there has only been Christmas Day and mums funeral. Amazingly they could all make it and quickly demolished the lot.

The Goddess tried to convince us all that this was sufficient, but she didn't convince any of us.

I was complaining about looking tired so she generously applied Nivea to all relevant areas. A few fall outs , lots of lip, table looking like a swarm of locusts have flown through, big kisses , loud goodbyes and they were all gone. Just like that. So house to myself, was it time to relax..?? Was it heck. The house looked like a herd of elephants had stampeded through, and strangely enough nobody seemed to remember to wash up. When exactly did I say I missed the all...?? lmao.

Got a lovely treat today, the Goddess came back from lunch with a cupcake for me. Now you all know I cant eat them, but this was no ordinary cupcake, it was a ring cupcake. How cool is that...??

Yup its a blue plastic bunny ring. Just me, lol

I,ve been having a bit of a running battle with Sky lately as Tom's multi room has stopped working. After promising to ring me back for the last 3 wks, I had had enough and played merry hell. Well apparently the reason his has not been working is it isn't connected directly to the telephone socket. What????? Its worked for the last 7 mths OK. Much to the operators amazement we do not have a telephone socket in every room of the house (does anyone??) and so an engineer was duly dispatched. I was phoned at work by our Tom going berserk about the wiring and this is what I found when I arrived home.

Yes that is a cable stretched across the top of a flight of stairs...!!!

And this is how it was left going into Tom's room. Now considering you can see the potty to the side of the wire, it is pretty obvious that there is a child in the house. So how health and safety conscious is that of Sky. So long phone calls again and yet again we are at the mercy of the engineers. And to cap it all it still doesn't even work. Aaaaaarrrgghhh.

Anyway onto preview. Yes its done without too many disasters. You can come along to the Studio and see April and May's workshops. Any classes booked at the Studio on these two days will receive a 10 % discount.

All workshops will go live on the website on Monday, and I will give you full pics here as well. So hopefully see you from 10am tomorrow. Kettles always on. xx

Beauty of a woman

Just been sent this in an email and I wanted to share it with you.


The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that sheshows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

sleep deprivation!!

Just a quickie tonight. I am desperate for some sleep and need to give in to it before the urge escapes me lol, Just wanted to show you some more pressies. This arrived in the post yesterday. Nice tag, bit of inking, masking and stamping...

And it was attached to this. Yayy!! a roll of metal tape. This was sent to me buy the lovely Annaliese . She attended the last Ranger weekend were I was moaning I couldn't get hold of any. Thanks babe xx

The lovely Ann sent me this lavender bag to help aid restful sleep. Lets see if it does the trick.

And the lovely Glynis became teachers pet on today's journal class with this cool mug.

Just another little sneak peek , ready for preview weekend.

Just wanted to mention that due to the lift fiasco, we are a little behind with some of the web orders. Also, the stock levels on the web are not very accurate at the moment. Because a lot of the stock was stuck in boxes in the van we have struggled to monitor what has sold out. Really sorry if you have ordered something and we have run out, but I hope you understand.

OK off to paint nails and then hopefully to a lavender induced sleep, lol xx