Have you seen the size of my baubles...???

Ha ha , look at the size of these beauties...!!! Every one in the studio today has said,

"Ooh I didn't realise they were that big..!!!"

So here's a photo that hopefully puts them in proportion. You wont fit many of those on your tree will you, lmao


And will you all stop panicking about painting them. I wouldn't attempt to teach you all if I didn't think you could manage it, now would I...?? Its like everything else, easy when you know how... I have already drawn the patterns for you, you just need to trace them and you can all manage that cant you..???

Those attending the Annual Art from the Heart Scrap Attack weekend in Macduff - yes you get baubles....yes you get sledges....yes you get mini book....yes you get Christmas patchwork...Yes you get beeswax... yes you get canvas... and many of you get Art Journaling as well. Yayy...!!! hows that then. Hope you are all getting suitably excited as its not long now.

Forgot to tell you all that the Great Northern Papercrafts Show at the Showground, Harrogate is early this year. Me and the Goddess have a mad dash back from Scotland to unload the van, reload it and set up our stand..!!! The dates are 12th and 13th Sept, and you can pre order tickets HERE. I am teaching a breakfast workshop as usual. This year we will be using paints and mediums from Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Line. Now you all know I just love this range and so here's your chance to try it. We will be making a whimsical collage tag, with a resist technique on sticky back canvas You will also have a chance to play with Grunge Board. Yes as usual a jam packed workshop from me. There will be no chance of a snoozy morning, that's for sure, AND you get a goody bag, drink and muffin. Just be warned the last two shows my workshops have been a sell out, so you need to get in and book early. Hop over HERE to place your booking. You pay a deposit and bring the remainder with you on the day. Please, please, please bring the correct change with you on the day and we will love you for ever more.... There are other workshops going on as well and you will find those details as well.


Another eventful workshop today. Oh yes the lights in the shop blew and tripped again. Great, just what we need. I don't really know whats going on with the leccy because we have never had much of a problem before. Anyway nice leccy man came back to fix it but gorgeous thoughtful sexy man was now where to be seen, damn. Was he just a figment of my imagination...???

Class was great, I worked them fast and furious, lol. It was sticky, messy, painty, stampy, grungy riot. Very therapeutic...exactly what you need on a Sunday. We also had cakes and cream cakes coming out of our ears..Yayy..

Here's another entry for the Queen challenge, from Maggie who states that she was totally out of her comfort zone. Cant see it my self, I think she has done a cracking job, just love the fact that she has used one of my adverts in the back ground.

And more journal pages, again straight from the beach..!!!

Got to get my arse into gear tomorrow and finishing designing my new stamps. The Goddess and the Resident bit of Glamour have left these shores today for Aya Napa, so it is just me and our Ben holding the fort. I might be putting a plea out later in the week for volunteers to pack kits etc. The pay's crap, as in non existent, but you get choccie biccies, blue lollipops and lots of laughs. I even let you make tea..!!! Don't all rush at once.

Right need to get moving as I have been msning for the last hour and my bath will now be stone cold..!!! Sees ya tomorrow peeps.

Enjoy xx

You hum it and I,ll play it.....

OK here we do with another installment of the soap opera that is actually my life..!!! I know people think I make these up, but this is honestly how I live. I just seem to lurch from one crisis to another, lol. After Maisie left this morning ( its like sleeping with a cross between am octopus and a kling on.!!! ), I headed into work. Caught up on all my emails, twittered, did my 20 min dancing, slapped my face on and got ready for the class. The Goddess and the class arrived and I was just serving up tea when I caught a whiff of a funny smell. At the same time our Ems shouted me into the shop, also because of a smell. The shop stunk as though it was on fire. You know that smouldery electrical smell..?? Well we went round and round the shop, couldn't find anything, the smell was getting worse. Soon all the ladies were in investigating. Still couldn't find anything, didn't know what to do, but I wasn't happy, so I ran upstairs to the Tai Kwondo studio to see if Stuart was in. He wasn't but this rather gorgeous specimen was. Never seen him before, lol. I garbled my tale and he came to investigate. Round and round we went, couldn't find a thing, smell getting worse.



I said "is it my eyes or is it getting hazy in here..?". I couldn't work out if I was just tired from no sleep. Peculiar and peculiariar..!!! lol. Then the gorgeous man and our Ems both looked up at the same time to see smoke start to pour out of one of the light fittings. I quickly turned all the lights off and we were plunged into darkness. So there I am , just starting a workshop, no lighting and a shop full of stinky smoke. Is electrical smoke different from fire smoke..?? Because the smoke alarm that is sat next to the fitting didn't go off and it was only tested a fortnight ago. Weird. Anyway one phone call to the landlord, via his wife who had to go and get him because he was mowing the lawn, lol, and an electrician was duly dispatched. One mug of tea later and it was all isolated, we had light..!!! Apparently it was a freak incident. Wtf..?? How many incidents can be freak before they become normal. Surely no one can have as many freak incidents as I do, lmao.



Anyway 5 mins later, new never before seen gorgeous man from upstairs came back down to check I was ok before he left. Aww thoughtful as well as gorgeous, must be gay, damn..ha ha .

Maybe we should have another "freak" incident next weekend same time then we could investigate more..!!!



Well, here's what I,ve been up to. Remember the giant baubles I bought yesterday..? Here's what they look like now.

How gorgeous is that little "menage et tois"..?? I just frikkin lurve them. Lets introduce them to you individually.
First we have Mortimer, hes not sure whether hes coming or going really. Hes a bit gullible and can be easily led, lol.

Then we have Sally, a sassy little snowball. She knows exactly what she wants and how she's gonna get it. She plays dirty, but states "that all's fair in love and war"..!!

And last, but by no means least, we have Angelica. She's the baby of the bunch and a real girly girl. Always up with the latest snowball fashions, and never to be seen without her false eyelashes.

Grunge Paper holly leaves and sparkly gems are this seasons must haves, and of course, Angelica's are in the latest and hottest colours of the catwalk.

Here's Mortimer and Sally proudly showing off their latest tattoos.

Ha ha , yup I think the strong Egyptian sun has addled my brain. I would consider upping my medication but I quite enjoy living in la la land. Plus they know me well here, so I feel at home..!! lmao. These snowballs will be featuring in one of the Winter workshops where you will have the chance to give birth to your own little character. I will also be making and selling personalised snowballs, so if you want one commissioned for someone special , then drop me a line and I will aim to oblige. Oh and a little hint for the Macduff retreat ladies, the snowballs could be heading your way shortly..!!!!!

I also painted one of the 72 sleighs that I bought. Here is the design based out.

The main images painted in.

And the shading and details added.

Ooh, love it, love it, love it...!! That's right I just frikkin love it..!!!

This is also going to be a Winter workshop, so I hope you are up for it. There is going to be lots more painting in lots of the Winter workshops and I know you are all capable of it, despite what you think, lol. I taught painting classes for a great deal of years and I,ve never killed anyone yet, honest. The best thing about classes like this is they are so obviously me, and cant really be pinched and passed off as someone elses. Yes it is still going on, my work being taught all over and others getting the credit. Well I,m getting tough now, my work, my drawings, my designs and my IP (Intellectual Property ) are MINE and are now copyrighted. If you want to teach one of my classes you will need to ask me, otherwise you will be infringing my copyright..!!! Now before some of you start geting on your high horse ( generally those who are doing the ripping me off in the first place, lol ) I feel that it is fair. As I have said before I spend days designing and finalising workshops. Working out the easiest and best way of teaching it, timing it to fit the time available, costing it out, and working what to put in the kits. Surely all that time and effort needs to be respected..??? Manners cost nothing, so if you want to teach my stuff, please, please give me the courtesy of asking me first. I always get to find out anyway, lol. People can't wait to come and split on you and karma works in mysterious ways...

So general moan over and done with ( its my age, suddenly turned into one of those off the telly, in Grumpy Old Women ) I quite like it really , might start having a blue rinse and talk about the good old days when it took me 15 hrs to walk to school and all we ate was bread and dripping... Actually I used to love bread and dripping, took it to school every day. Ha ha everyone thought I ate it cos we were really poor, but it was my favourite food for years, especially with some of the jelly on it and lashings of salt. And it always had to be on processed white sliced, getting the crust was a major achievement in our house. My Dad said it would give you strong hair and curly teeth..!! You see and you wonder where I get it from. It's all inherited..!!! From the people who christened me Angela, eventually went off it and changed it to Diane, but spent years actually calling me Lottie bartatus...!!! And they wondered why I,ve never conformed, its cos I haven't a clue who I'm actually supposed to be, lol. At the age of about 7 I decided to change the spelling of it to the way it is now, after the actress Dyan Cannon, and then the real fun began. Suddenly every one at school started to call me Dylan. No matter what I said at the start of every term the teacher would shout out "Dylan Stead". I tried to argue the name was Dyan but it just seemed to be a lost cause and continued all through secondary school and for much of my working life, People still ring up the studio and ask Ben if they can speak to Dylan...!!! A while ago I got a slating on the smack blog and one of the comments was " and she suddenly is known by the name Dylan. Well how "suddenly" is 39 years...??? Hilarious isn't it. Officially I am Angela, as that is the name I was christened by, so my passport, driving license, credit cards, anything "official" are all in that name. If I go to the doctors or dentist, I always have to answer to Angela. Best laugh was when I got married and every one was looking around the church to see who Angela was... People who know me really well call me Dy, most others call me Dyan or Dylan. I am sure there are plenty other names that I must get called as well in our "friendly" industry, lol. I hope that when I eventually go to meet my maker that there isnt some jobsworth on the door going, " if your names not down, you aint coming in"...!!!!

Any how enough of that utter drivel that I spout so well, here's another journal page from Egypt.

Workshop tomorrow is the the Mini A - Z journal. Its a busy class and it will be non stop. They have to stick, dismantle, collage, gesso, paint effect, stamp, Alphabeticalise ( oops made up word, lol), doodle, journal and add hardware. Ha ha Not a chance in hell..!!!! But I did warn everyone that this was to be an "ongoing" project, to be finished in their own leisure. So how many different names do you think I,ll get called tomorrow. Answers on a postcard to

Angela, Diane, Lottie bartatus, Dyan, Dylan, Dy, mum, Mama, Bitch etc, lol, to the usual address.

Enjoy xx

Me and my girl...!!!

Our Tom,s out tonight so it's just me and Maisie against the world. She went for tea at the girlies flat and then I picked her up. IO asked her what she fancied doing and got the reply "lets go to Asda and get some new pyjamas"... WTF..??? Shes barmy that one. Anyway that's what we did, went to Asda and got some Minnie Mouse pyjamas. Unfortunately they didn't have any in my size, but Maisie says I can borrow hers..!!!
So shopping over with we came home to play and stick and draw and paint and whatever. We then got our jammies on and took supper up to my bedroom.

I took this photo of Maisie.

So she returned the favour by taking this one of me. Thanks a bunch, babe..!!

We feasted on Chocolate Weetos, Bubbly Aero Bar and toasted Cinnamon and raisin bagels with Philadelphia cheese, washed down with Cherry Diet Coke. But if her Dad asks we had a glass of milk and a Rich tea biscuit, OK..??

This was our selected reading matter for the evening...

And I,m in the middle of reading this. My hairdresser lent me it and its fabby. It is written so well that I can visualise the main character in my mind. This is another must have read.

Now you all know I have a bad shopping addiction, and I was making a big effort to conquer it and get it under control. Well not sure what happened today, I had a slight blip, lol. Don't panic it wasn't the usual culprits, shoes and swanky underwear. No I purchased 40 file index books, 120 8inch Christmas baubles, 48 grey tassels and 72 wooden sledges. Yes you heard me correctly and No don't ask lol.

Maisie was trying to predict the future with this one, lol

So now onto some journal pages.

And here's another Queen entry from the lovely Emma. How cute is this canvas..??

Nearly as cute as this..!!!

Awwwww....

Enjoy xx

Weird but wonderful..!!!

I,ve been in my element tonight, combining two of my favourite things, painting and Christmas... I did warn you all the other day that I was on a mission to get you all painting..!!! So here's one of the workshops in the next brochure. Awww...don't you just love it..???

I,ve always had a thing about snowmen and about 5 years ago I used to spend every evening painting and creating them, I think I can now paint them in my sleep, lmao. Bezzie Su has put in a request for one to go with the trees on her front room wall. Hey , I 've just had a cracking idea. I can paint all four walls, she can get her hubby, the gorgeous How, a new red suit..!!!, and we could turn it into a grotto...Sorted..lol. Please form an orderly queue...

Some of you are panicking already at the thought of painting them. You will be fine honest, trust me, I have faith in you all..!! And don't worry if you cant draw, I've done it all for you. So there you go, no excuses left, have you...???

This journal page was done on the beach. I had stuck down the image, and the way she was posing made me want to do a page about emerging from a sleep, or re awakening from a chrysalis into a Butterfly. As I was wondering what to write an young Italian couple asked me if I would mind taking their photograph, so I duly obliged. They packed up their stuff and headed back indoors. As they were walking away the girl bent down and picked something up from the sand, turned and ran back to me. This is for your writing book, she said, and handed me a glittery plastic butterfly..??? Perfect for the page I was doing, how weird was that..??? Of all the things to find on an Egyptian beach, a glittery butterfly is the last thing you would expect, isn't it. It made me feel as though I was in the perfect place for me at that time, and that someone was letting me know they were watching over me.

Enjoy xx

New downloads...yayy....

Oooooh exciting news tonight, the gorgeous patty from lisas altered art has agreed to judge the Queens competition for me. Yayy, cos there was no way I was gonna do it. I wouldn't know where to start, the standard was so high I would have had to declare you all winners. Anyway the heat is off me now, and Patty doesn't know any of you all so it will be really fair.. I will be keeping the competition open till next Tuesday and then it will be judged. If you haven't entered yet, c,mon get your arse into gear now. If you have no clue what I am on about, here are the rules...
1 hop over to the website HERE purchase one of the Queen download sheets and make something using one of them. Anything you like..

2 send me a photo of it to put on the blog before next Tuesday evening.

3 stand back and cross your fingers..!!

So c,mon what are you waiting for..???

Got a lovely surprise from Patty this evening. She sent me some of her NEW, yes that's right NEW, downloads...Check these little beauties out..

This is a Domino sheet, just love it..

Bottle caps, I think these will be ace under 7gypsies clear acrylic buttons...

Halloween bottle caps. I,ve never been that struck on Halloween before but Patty is slowly converting me with these ace images..

And these slides are a must, its the law...

They can all be found on her website HERE last one there's a sissy, lmao. OOh check out $1.00 Wed as well, that has to be a must have. Must remember to order that one myself..lol.

Got a few new journal pages to show you, both done in Egypt.

I managed to slip in part of my boarding card on this one.

altered book page and doodling.

That was the first page done on Egyptian soil, well in the hotel room, , and I was feeling a little scared and fragile, lol.

This was the 2nd one, done on the beach at 7am. This one is about my faith and the fact that my God was looking out for me. He was everywhere I looked, the sand, the sea, the sky. It was a week when I just needed to let myself relax safe in his capable hands.

Ha ha , Yes it is actually pink..!!

You can always tell when I am taking the photos in my room at night, cos they always come out yellowy, lol. Michelle you asked for tips on making your photos looked good - you asked the wrong gal.. I am a point, shoot and hope for the best, lmao... One of these days I will invest in Photo shop, but for the moment I,m happy that at least they are on..

The girlies have been round tonight, They go off on holiday on Sunday to Ayi Napa, and so were on a bit of a scrounge. Its a good job I,ve just been on my jollies cos I now have no suitcases, bikinis, dresses, suncream, nail polish and toiletries...!!! By they are getting really good at this lark, lol.. Ah well, that's what Mum's are for..

Enjoy xx