New designs and roses for Miss Burton.

Hi everyone
weather is lovely and bright today - blue sky and sunny - not sure how cold !!  I have my Jan 2012 list of stuff which will go into the shop = lot of work between now and full shop but the list is developed and wriiten up. I have the right to change things but there are 10 areas for development - the plan is closer to the original idea (when I opened the shops)  x number of lines with 5 items in each collection - I devised this about two years ago and it did'nt quite get there. However, I do feel I have more of a 'design to work to product' process and I'm resonably confident I can get them all going. (1) Miss Mitchell is in there (of course) but in a range of different ways. Some familiar and some new.

Miss Mitchell

Miss Burton

Christmas Wood Cottage

  (2)Miss Burton (another old friend - not yet developed). (3)Developemnts on 'the cottage' from the Christmas Wood and a (4)Valentine thing - not yet seen on this blog (but a blast from my past) - no pictures yet.
So, thats the first of four ideas for the new collections. I will reveal more as the days go by and share my developments. Most items will be developed From Scratch (staying true to what I do) and will find their way into my shops on Etsy and Folksy.
After my success with making ring roses a few days ago, I mentioned ordering some ring findings to help show the roses.

The findings have arrived, so will try them out. Hopefully, I will have some of these styled roses attached to one of the lines - my initial idea was Miss Burton - she is fond of roses, as you can see from the picture.
Must get on .
Bye for now.

Shopping and sketch buildings.

Hi anyone
weather been great today - cold and a bit cloudy but no rain. Been busy with family things - it is a weekend !!
We simply got going this morning and had a shopping session with the boys after lunch.
We live in a very nice area with lots of lovely shops - loads of ideas collected for my creative developments, in the shops, I also bought a book I,ve been watching it for ages

 - its about buildings - lots of great sketches - they will find their way into my paintings this week.

We spent this evening eating a lovely meal and watching an old James Bond movie - great !!!!
Still no ART created - I live in hope - perhaps tomorrow.

Bye for now.

Rings and food - connections ?

Hi Everybody
weather is great today - very bright and a little frosty. Am feeling a bit better today (am suffering from shingles) - its a slow process of getting strong after regular episodes but I'm optomistic - as ever!
I spent lots of time yesterday, looking for and finding some inspiration (for anything). I also 'prepped' some small wood pictures for a few ideas that came throughout the day. As a result, I'm ready to do a little painting today.

my rose

 initial efforts with scrap paper

Kirsty's ring

I also had a go at the Kirsty Allsop Rose ring. I've mentioned this ring idea a few times in my blog and have thought about having a go many times. I received Kirsty's latest craft book as a christmas gift - so it was something I looked at today (in my search for inspiration). For my first attempt, I used scraps of paper from the bin  - will keep going with this idea and am thinking of using some prints of my pictures. The 'rose' is very simple to make and almost instant.

Its all in the paper and perhaps embellishments ie a centre bead or stone and a finish for the petals - perhaps a glaze ? I need to get some ring findings to see a wearable item. I'm quite taken with the idea.

mince pies to eat - straight from the oven (plus glass of port !)

Here is a picture of my mince pies  - I did promise to give recipe and more pictures - will get these up during the week. I'm thinking of having a little food thing going on in my blog - food is quite a big part of our life - we do spend time at weekends enjoying cooking and trying out new recipes. Will give this more thought.

Bye for now.

Here's looking forward to 2012

Hi everybody and Happy New Year
so sorry for not being around - I'm a little unwell at the moment (and have been so for about a week) so didnt get my mince pies stuff up here and all the other little bits of information I promised. Will try and get up to speed asap.
Its all back to normal ish- kids back at school and me half back to work. Weather is quite kind again today - we have had a bumpy few days with rain and very windy. Looks quite good outside just now - blue sky and a little late afternoon sunshine.
I've been making plans for new stuff and am reviewing the last few months to take stock of ongoing projects. I have my initial list - some editing needed ! My first task (while I do edit) is to get a few (new) simple scenes painted for new collections. Will start a little later today.
I always feel a 'bit at odds' after a holiday - especially Christmas - it seems so much planning goes into a week or so and then what ? - I'm reading all my back mags with ideas for my next phase and everyone in the blog world is reviewing so theres lots out there to keep me on track and stop longing for another weeks holiday. I have had the best year ever with thepapersac and here's looking forward to 2012 - I have big plans. Just need a week or so to get well and get all my energy back.

Bye for now.

Beach and 'Great Inspirations' plus mince pie recipes !!

Hi Everyone
weather been mixed today - cold but sunny this morning and now very wet and colder. Its been a busy week of socialising and family. Its a few days since  my last blog and the christmas break is moving at a pace. Soon it will be back to work normal phase. Not sure what I feel about this - I know I will get to find more time for creating but will miss having the freedom to spend time with my family and friends. We had our annual christmas walk with friends today followed by a pub lunch - excellent food and lots of fun chat.
A few days ago, I promised some pictures of the beach  and did not get them up here at the time. Our system has been upgraded and hopefully will be better to use. At last, here they are :

The sun was quite bright behind the boys and there was no wind at all - very mild. It could have been a summers day - amazing. This was about 2pm but looks much later.

Also, here is a picture of the christmas cake we made (talked about this too - last week)  - I did think it was completely over the top - but its actually rather nice - the boys were responsible for all the stuff other than the actual snow scene icing (which I did). The cake has almost been eaten - its one of my better versions.

On another matter - last night we watched the latest Great Expectation on TV - it was quite impressive and has inspired me to do something in the style of Miss Haversham and her house - as well as the period generally (portrayed by the clothes and furniture) it was quite breathtaking. This picture (towards the end of the drama) is a little taste of what I mean - very, very shabby chic. It was a really good watch.

Thats it for now - hope to be back tomorrow. I'm planning to make more mince pies - I use a lovely almond pasry and a fantastic little baking tray. Will share my recipe/method and pictures tomorrow.

Bye for now.