Scenery photos!

Well, as promised, here's a few pictures of the scenery I've been working on. The photos aren't brilliant, because the work has been done to look best on stage under stage lighting, and camera flash just burns out the dark bits and highlights the light bits, but you get the general idea! It's also pretty difficult to get pictures of the set while you're still painting it, with crew getting in the way (hence the step ladder!) and once people are on stage, especially if you're a cast member yourself. I might be able to get a few more done at some point in the next week, if not, I'll have to buy the professional pics!

Basically, the panto is Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, and what you see below are a couple of bits (the sunset cafe, and the arch) from the market place in Baghdad scene, and then the balustrade inside Ali's palace at the end.




This is what the balustrade looked like before I started on it....



and then when I'd finished....




and then on stage with the backcloth:



I have to confess that I had absolutely nothing to do with the backcloths - they were all hired from a professional scenery company in Newport, and they are absolutely fantastic!

More photos soon I hope!

Time flying.....

Well, it's all been busy busy busy here at Morti Mansions. We're in the final throes of Panto rehearsals (I'm in Ali Baba, in case I hadn't mentioned it before), and this weekend is being spent setting the theatre up ready for the final rehearsals this week (up till now we've rehearsed at a local hall) and finishing the scenery. I've discovered a new talent - I've never painted stage scenery before, but have found out that I have a knack for it. Well, at least I think everyone else thinks so - what else is one to think when the stage manager and the Director come up to you and ask your opinion and your assistance on a tricky item? I don't think I've done anything particularly clever or special, but they seem to! Can't quite figure that one out! Tomorrow I'll take my camera and get some photos, and you guys can let me know what you think....

Craft wise I've not reported much, so I ought to do so, shouldn't I?

I've had four CJs cross my desk over the last couple of months. One I have yet to do anything to, as technically it should only have arrived today. The first one was my own, the second belonged to Magickdiva (Fi) and the third to T Ann (Tracy). The last one which I've yet to do is Happy Daze's (and for the life of me I can't remember her name right now without going and checking... LOL). It's another UK Stampers CJ, and this time, rather than picking a colour AND a stamp, it's just one stamp. Although you can use others...

First up was my own , and I picked a rather ornate key... I'd go into more detail, but I did it back in November and I've slept since then. So you'll have to make do with pics...

First up, the front cover...


Then the first page...


and the rear of the first page...


Next up are my pages from Magickdiva's CJ. She chose a lovely Christmas tree where the shape of it is made up from Christmas greetings in several languages. Fi asked us to journal about our favourite Christmas memory; mine is tinged with some sadness, as it was the year our cat died on Christmas Eve, but in my memory is a great sense of light and brightness, as if it was somehow special that he passed away then. OK, so I was only 3, but I will never forget that particular Christmas Day.







I basically tore paper to use as a mask for hills, and french blue cats eye chalk ink, some holographic embossing powder, and some Stamp Tapestry stamps for the firs at the top of the page.

Lastly is T Ann's. Tracy is a novice stamper, so provided us with a stamp of some ornate gates, and asks us to do a technique, explaining the hows, whys and wherefores of what we've done, so she can use it as a record. I think it's also a really inspiring way of seeing what different things can be done with one stamp. I'd hate to be the last person in this CJ though, having to think of something that the previous 11 haven't!!!

I won't go into great detail as to what I've done - click on the picture of the writing and it's all written there for you!








Whew! Mammoth post that. I hope to get back here soon and blog some more. I've got numbers to make for the 40 thieves, plus invitations for the "party" in the panto, and on top of that, 110 Wedding invitations and 60 orders of service to do. Some are needed like, now, and the Wedding invites are needed ASAP (middle of Feb at the VERY latest! Ulp!) but the Orders of Service aren't required until May 22nd. At least I have a bit of time for those, eh?

TTFN!

Goodbye '09, Hello '10....

Well, there it was and here it is.

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all have had a great Christmas, and haven't over-indulged too much? This she says, stuffing yet another mince pie in her mouth because they need using up and it's an after lunch treat!

We spent Christmas here, as usual, and the folks came to see us. Mother announced that Christmas next year is at her's in London. Eek. Not too daunting a prospect other than wondering where we're going to walk the dogs....safely.

Santa was kind to me in '09, bringing me a Bind It All, and various other craft goodies along the lines of Cosmic Shimmer products and Paper Artsy stamps, all of which I look forward to playing with this year. I've spent a couple of days bushwhacking my way into my craft room which became a general dumping ground while we redecorated the lounge and dining room. I can now see my desk, and once I move the pile of magazines off my chair, will actually be able to sit down and do some work. Top of the urgent list is a CJ which must, nay WILL, be done today, so I can post it tomorrow. I then have some pink beads to make for a certain someone which I promised months ago. I haven't forgotten! I also have to make an altered matchbox for one of my friends who seems to be acquiring dead bees. Sounds odd, but go with it for a moment. She doesn't actively collect them, nor does she keep them, she just seems to find them. Don't ask me how. So I promised to make her a "B" box. LOL.

Well, must run. We are, in theory, taking the decorations down today, a few days early, because the weather is cold and dry and ideal for removing the outside lights and packing them away, and He Who Must Be Obeyed suggested that it would be a good time to do the tree as then we can put everything away in the loft at once and have done with it. Bah Humbug I say....

PS. No news from Dr Geek yet.........

Computers suck.

I hate computers at the moment with a passion. And yet, here I am, sat at a laptop, blogging about it!

I've not blogged for a couple (ok, maybe three) weeks because the main pc is down. It is so down, it's with Dr Geek for repairs. In fact, he's actually trying to resurrect by donating a few internal organs to bring it back to life. First we had the small matter of the nastiest virus on the planet (I'm stil not convinced we totally managed to get rid of it) then the PC threw a total wobbly and now I have to use the laptop. No email. Well, aside from my yahoo account, which makes me feel like I've had a leg cut off.

On the crafting front, I've finally made it back into the craft room. Well, I did once I'd squeezed myself past a load of junk out of the lounge, and had a cursory tidy of the desk. The next UK Stampers CJ has started, and mine is now winging its way to Sarah (Flo), and I've received one from Fi (Magickdiva, of the Inchy by Inch blog). I might even take the plunge and get back into doing some of the online challenges.

Unusally enough for me, I've kind of lost my Christmas mojo - not least because all my "prepare for Christmas" gubbins is on the main PC (sorry, WAS) - and I'm therefore totally unprepared, and missing a load of address which were ALSO on the main PC. Ergo, if you don't get a card from me this year and you normally do, that's the reason why. Sigh....

We're decorating at the moment. A chance remark by myself about the state of the carpet in the dining room (trust me, cheap carpets and peppadew peppers stuffed with cream cheese don't mix!) led to DH researching laminate floor, and one thing kind of led to another. Result - dining room now decorated and we FINALLY have our maing dining table and six of the chairs in there. However, we now have all the bookcases in there as well, out of the lounge, as there is an archway between the two and the laminate floor has to run all the way through the two rooms. So we are now furiously painting and sanding and soon laying laminate, so that it's ready in time for Xmas and the impending Vist from Mother.

Other Family notes - my beloved mother in law, Betty, had to be evacuated from her retirement flat in central Cockermouth. Luckily, she lives on the second floor, and they were evacuated due to the power cuts (high rise living for the Octogenarians without a lift being a no-no), so the only losses she suffered were the contents of her fridge and freezer. She's back in again now, complaining just a very little about the fact that she had fun in her temporary residence because it meant they all had to socialise a little more (I believe she was in a retirement home for the duration).

That'll do for now - will be back again soon with some photos of the CJ. Once I work out how to get them onto the laptop instead of my usual PC, that is! Boo hoo....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Whaddya mean, it's October????

Ok, so who turned over the pages in the calendar when I wasn't looking?

How the heck did two and a half months pass in the blink of an eye?

I mean, we went and did Robin Hood at Hawkstone (weather good, we even had our own pub for the week), then went and did Robin Hood again, at Caldicot (weather good after the first downpour while folks were trying to set up) and THEN did Medieval at Michelham. And THAT was a month ago!

Ahhhhh - I know. I got some B@$&*#!d virus which seriously killed my computer for like, ages....

Well I'm back

and I'm blogging

so watch out.......

Robin Hood time again

Hey folks

Where has the last week gone?

At least the sun is out for a change!

Anyway, just popped on to say that it's THAT time of year again, and we're heading on out to the wilds of Shropshire tomorrow, to Hawkstone Park & Follies near Weston-Under-Redcastle, to do a 7 day stint of Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

If you recall, last year the weather looked like this....



and this....



Once it was like this...



Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me that the weather may be marginally better this time. Anything better than last year will be an improvement. That means, little or no rain.

We're taking the laptop and the camera, so I'll try (can't promise) to log on at some point and blog an update midweek. And Tweet, of course.

Ciao for now!

The Lionman - and a Tiger Card

Ok, so I've not been around for a bit - I've been busy! It's re-enactment season, and I've a lot on.

Anyway, onto something important! I have a cause I support - The Lionman aka Craig Busch. Those of you that have Sky TV will have either heard about or seen a TV show by the same name. I absolutely love this TV series, and I love the rapport that Craig has with his animals. What many people don't know is that he no longer works at his own park, Zion Wildlife Gardens. There is a long story behind all of this, but it is best that I point you in the direction of his Facebook page, where it is all explained. The recent tragedy at ZWG where one of the keepers (Dalu) was killed by a white tiger (Abu) brought Craig's troubles to my attention, and his fans on Facebook have more than doubled since the end of May when Dalu and Abu died.

There are people who are pro-Craig, and others who are anti-Craig. Should you, the reader, choose to go to the Facebook page, I will leave you to make your own mind up as we are all individuals, and I would not want to force my opinion on you. Suffice it to say that I support him, and want to do all I can to help.

To that end, a few weeks ago I promised that I would make some cards to sell, on an animal theme. I've been rather busy, so have only just got around to making any (I've also had to wait for stamps to show up!). So here is my first card. I thought I would do a white tiger card as my first one, in memory of Abu. I have put this up for sale on Ebay . All monies raised from the sale of this card will go to Craig to help get him back into ZQG.

Sketch Saturday - Goddess

I don't often get the time to do the Sketch Saturday sketches - but I do love them!

The lastest one was another lovely sketch, and here is my effort!



I think the stamps are by third coast rubber, but I'm probably wrong, and someo
ne will come along and correct me soonest! Background stamp is the crackle background by Craft Individuals, and the swirls stamp is Hero Arts (old faithful!)

Inks used, Azurite cats eye chalk ink, and Impress silver.

And the Cuttlebug divine swirls too...

Celtic Inchy

Having finally got my mojo back, I thought I would start my blogging off with a Celtic Inchy I did for the last challenge on the Inchy by Inch blog.

Background was done with pearlescent inks, stamping with Azurite Chalk ink, a white Sakura pen for the outline, and a small word added courtesy of Stonehenge font at 6pt.



I did 7 of them in the end, to comply with a swap we're doing over on Auntys....




I have more art to blog later.....