Work not in progress.....

Drat! Isla seems to have decided that now she is (a week away from turning) 2, she no longer needs her afternoon nap. Hmmmm, how on earth does she expect me to get any work (read: blogging) done?

As a result, my flock of birds which I was so close to finishing, have stalled a bit...but they will be up in the shop soon!

I did a bona-fide afternoon's work on Friday, a bit of freelance work for another local stained glass company. They have a vast amount of 1960s church windows which need refurbishing, so I'm doing a bit here and there for them. Felt quite odd working on large heavy windows again having spent the last little while tinkering about with small-scale pieces, but nice to be getting my hands properly dirty again.

The rest of the weekend was magnificent, with aunts and grandmas and nieces and nephews to stay - so there was much beach action, along with camp-fire sing-songs, carboot sales and lots of lovely cake.

But this was the real highlight of the weekend:


In fact, it was "Oliver James" that really took the biscuit, but couldn't find any footage of that.

A Tag

Righty-ho then, here is the (rather edited version) of The Other Flora's tag:

What is your current obsession?
Hmm, not really the obsessive type, but I guess I do come over a bit giddy when it comes to children's books with lovely illustrations. For this reason (among others) I do like to visit Nath's blog...



pics from here

What are you listening to right now?
The plaintive cry of an abandoned baby seagull who is wandering about in next door's garden. Oh sorry, you mean musically...still got a thing for Alela Diane - that Headless Heroes album was pretty darn cool.


What do you think of the person who tagged you?
I think we would get on very well if we met in real life! I also think she is kind, generous, friendly and funny. And she has to wear Spanish pop socks for work...

What is your favourite quote?
It's more of a ditty really. Not one that many people would know:
"It goes, it goes away. It goes, it goes away. You wait a while and you will find, it goes, it goes away". From a brilliantly eccentric Belgian who runs the most fantastically rustic campsite/gite in the foothills of the Pyrenees. I have applied this simple wisdom to many things in life. It always helps.

Do you admire anyone's style?
I do think that Audrey Tatou (either as herself or Amelie) just about rocks my world.

Favourite Movies?
See my profile - there's a whole load in there! Having kids has opened up a whole new avenue of films which I would have previously dismissed.

Favourite Book?
I'm not a big reader, I'm ashamed to admit. So I'll say the Oxford English Dictionary, because I am a big fan of Scrabble.

Favourite fruit?
Cherries. Definitely. Not just for the taste, but for the look of them - they're just really cool aren't they? And don't you love that little "tug" as you pull the stalk out?

Favourite smell?
Sleepy-head Isla when I wake her up from her afternoon nap. A warm, sweet, fresh bread smell that I find intoxicating.

What do you look forward to when you come home after being away?
Just generally being back in my town, which I love, and the people in it.

My question is:
What word do you overuse (alright, I know I've nicked that from the Saturday Guardian, but it's always the most insightful answer somehow)
"Erm..."

I'll tag:
Umatji
Omi
Cathy
Nath
Francesca (although she probably won't have the time, what with that new baby and all)
Alex

And the winner is....

Yes yes, I know you can choose your winners using this site, but it doesn't make for a very interesting blog entry, so I dusted off the Fez for the occassion and roped in my glamorous assistant.







OK, this time in focus...


So there you have it! Congratulations to Peonies & Polaroids. I've posted on your blog to let you know the good news. And what a lovely blog it is too...I have been admiring some heart-fluttering photos of your recent camping trip. The bird will be (quite literally - ha, and indeed, ha) winging it's way to you asap!

I Heart Amazon + Last Chance Saloon

Apologies to the other Flora (who is very kind and lovely and not some freakish Coraline version of me with buttons for eyes...did I mention I saw the film recently ;o) for STILL not having done her tag. It's coming, honestly! But I want to spend a bit of time on it rather than a hastily done post (erm, like this one).

Anyway, in the meantime, look at the lovely things I have bought from Amazon!

This DVD which is some serious eye-candy...I bought it on the pretext that it was for the girls...of course, it's just for me really. The 1922 Cinderella is STUNNING (beautiful and a little bit creepy, just the way I like it!)



And I got This Book for Mike for Father's Day (he's a big fan of the grotesque and burlesque...well, he would be in his line of work). Again, some incredible images, taken with a lot of warmth and humour.



Oh, yes, and I got this card from Etsy to send to some friends who have just given birth to their first baby - a girl. A very sweet sentiment I thought:




OK - this is your last chance to enter my Giveaway! Just click on the link and leave your name and a comment. Easy!

A Magical Garden

Let me show you something rather wonderful. In an allotment, tucked away behind a barbed wire fence and some nettles, is a little corner of delights. Amongst orderly rows of cabbages, makeshift sheds and tangled runner beans legging it up bamboo wigwams, somebody has created the loveliest garden you can imagine. Rambling Roses form lopsided arches, Red-Hot Pokers vie for attention with Oriental Poppies and Salvias gracefully sway their purple heads.



As we walk home from school we are treated to a daily glimpse of this secret garden...I pointed it out to Nelly the other day, and when she saw it she gasped and said "Mummy, it's just like the garden in Coraline!" (which if you haven't seen yet, you absolutely should - even if you don't have kids)

We'll just have to keep a look out for The Other Mother...

Don't forget, there's still plenty of time to enter my Giveaway - it's open to regular listeners and first-time callers alike, so do leave a comment here if you want to go in the hat.

Giveaway #1

I'm very pleased to offer this little bird to a good home...he's very easy to look after and will cheer up the drearest of days. This is a proto-type I made a few weeks back. The glass is hand-painted using kiln-fired paints and enamels in soothing shades of duck-egg blue and sage green. I added some copper wire to make the crest on the head, which I think looks rather dapper. However, it's a bit too labour intensive to do, and I wanted to be able to sell these birds on Folksy and Etsy at a really affordable price, so the rest of the flock will be bald of pate.

If you'd like to put your name in the hat to win this little fellow, just leave your name and a comment, and to make it more interesting, let me know what creature you'd like to see made in stained glass...I might even get inspired ;)
This is open to anyone and everyone - overseas people welcome!
I'll choose a winner next Tuesday (23rd June).


...and here's a rather gratuitous shot of our cosy (but messy) tent from our weekend's camping in glorious Purbeck. Magical.

The next stage....

...is to paint each piece of glass by hand, using traditional kiln-fired glass paint. I like to get a production line going when I'm doing painting, especially for repetitive designs. And then in the kiln they go for a good roasting - about 2 hours at gas mark 20 (up to 650 degrees Celsius) should do it, then leave to cool down in their own time.

Right must dash, there is much to do. We are going camping tomorrow - yippeee! Bit of a blow that our lovely VW campervan is still having its makeover (major rust surgery) so we're under canvas instead.


Hope y'all have good weekends and the sun ain't no stranger.

Birds of a feather / Scenes from my garden

I had a lot of positive response about this bird (which has now sold on Folksy - yay!)


So I'm in the process of creating a whole flock in bright, boiled-sweet colours:


Meanwhile, our garden is looking especially luscious at the moment (and is also teeming with fabulous creepy crawlies to keep the girls entertained for hours):


More excitingly, the cherry tree we only planted this Spring, is bearing the most amazing Disney-esque fruit - red, shiny, plump and JUICY!


It's a shame the same can't be said for the Conference Pear, which looks a little bit sorry for itself with no fruit at all and slightly black tinged leaves :(
We had such high hopes for it too, the blossom was so beautiful back in April:


Finally, I've been spending a lot of time hanging around this blog, not just because she's got a really cool name (heh heh), but for beautiful images like this, this and this. Plus she has possibly the most photogenic pregnant bump I have ever seen!

A Mysterious Invitation

On Friday, something rather curious happened. I was browsing children's books in a charity shop (I'm looking to find some nice chapter books to read to Nelly now she's moving on from picture books) and I happened upon one by Allan Ahlberg - "The Better Brown Stories". The title caught my imagination and as I am a big fan of his stories for younger children, I picked it off the shelf to have a flick through. As the pages fluttered through my fingers, something slipped out and fell to the floor. A bookmark left by the previous owner perhaps? I picked it up and turned it over. This is what I saw:


In case you are struggling to turn your PC around to read it, it says "Bumped your head and in a spin? Lost and all at sea? Just find the party in the woods and have a cup of tea" Can you imagine my excitement at finding such a deliciously mysterious offer? There was nothing on the back of the card to suggest where these woods might be, so alas I was unable to join the party. There is a suggestion of Alice in Wonderland about it, isn't there - especially when you look closely and see the little tiny tea-cup in the middle:


So if anybody out there can shed any light on the provenance of this rather charming yet elusive invitation, I would be most grateful!

Tea Party Update!
I think I've solved the mystery - the previous owner of the book was also a big Ahlberg fan...I think it came from here!....one of the few books of his we haven't read yet...but I'm off to Amazon right now!

Show and Tell

I went out to my workshop last night to get stuck into a good solid 3 hours work. I was all set. The girls were in bed and asleep by 7.30pm, the kitchen was spotless and Mike was in his workshop working on his latest figure. Ah, bliss, uninterrupted progress was being made! Within 40 minutes though, the distant strains of "muuuuuurrrrmmmmmmmmmyyyyyy" could be heard emanating from the baby monitor, and it soon became all too apparent that Isla had decided to come down with the tonsilitis that Nelly had only just recovered from. Sigh.

Anyway, I thought I'd show you a picture of the contents of my kiln waiting to be fired, before I was forced to put my mum hat back on...


Next up are the tools of my trade...well actually it was the mess on the workbench that I spent 10 minutes tidying away before I started painting last night, but it shows most of the tools that I use for cutting, breaking and grozing (nibbling) glass, and my lead knives for cutting, er, lead. The one with the curved blade I actually don't use to cut - it's a bugger to keep really sharp as the blade is too thick, although it is probably the type that most stained glassers use. I use it for about 150 different things (it has a weighted end) and it is my favourite of all my tools - with that lovely smooth "fits-snug-in-your-hand" feeling that old tools acquire.
I'm not quite sure what the rainbow pencil and kid's paintbrush are doing there though...


Last up is a completely brilliant paper doily that I bought from one of my favourite shops in the world, Frosts. It's a vast cavern of Everything You Could Possibly Need...part old-fashioned stationers, part newsagent, part hardware store, part toyshop and part craft shop. It is so long and thin, no-one has ever reached the very far back of the shop, which may in fact be a portal to another land where people are incredibly organised and never run out of anything, ever....
Anyway, I digress. The doily is a lovely item in its own right, but I am tempted to try to use it as a stencil over glass to try some different effects. As soon as the tonsilitis has gone, I might get back in the workshop and get busy!

It's all about...

...green and white today.

Things started off very well, when it was another gloriously hot and sunny day - which meant I could wear this super-duper skirt that I love with all my heart (and it only cost me £1.50 from a charity shop - you'd never believe it was from Primark originally would you?)

They then took a rather surprising and fabulous turn for the better when I received a message from Lucie at lusummers/Summersville/blu-shed saying I had won her giveaway of a piece of her totally cool hand-printed Avenue fabric! I was perhaps a tad over-excited by this news [blush]. I'm a huge fan of her designs (and her blog).

Finally, I spent an idyllic afternoon with the girls in a glorious meadow by the river, paddling and searching for old bits of broken pottery (we are hoping to make a mosaic with them one day - something like this would be good!), and eating strawberries. It's funny, I'd never noticed how lovely the green part of a strawberry is before...