The Party's Over....

It's the last day of the school holidays - back to the day job tomorrow.  Sigh...
But for a last day, it has been pretty good - I've achieved a fair bit today so far, including clearing out three cupboards (which was about five years overdue), mowing the lawn, ironing a week's worth of clothes as well as the usual chores. 

I also managed to make another gnome bracelet last night - this time in shades of red.  It will be going into my Etsy shop shortly.

These bracelets have given me a bit of an inspiration boost - the idea of creating mini-scenes on a crochet band has got my creativity working overtime.  I have a vast collection of beads and a lot of them are little birds or animals, so the possibilities are endless.

I received a notification today that one of the paintings I entered into the Artists & Illustrators Artist of the Year 2013 competition has been featured on their website.  See it here. That's encouraging - if they think my work is good enough to be picked out for show already, I might stand a chance for a place later on.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

My Dream Car...

No, really, this is what I dream of owning one day - you can keep your brand new gadget-filled cars, I would love an old battered American pick-up truck.

This is a watercolour painting I did using a photo of a truck we saw at a car show earlier this year and then putting it in an imaginary meadow. It's the first time I have successfully painted any kind of motor vehicle - it even passed muster with my other half who restores classic cars for a living. I think it's the closest I'll ever get to my dream..