Prizes, a Poppy, and Painted Shoes

Okay, first things first! The Blog Giveaway was drawn tonight, and the first name out of the pumpkin bowl was Maggie Summers! Check out her great blog A Latte A Day . Maggie, you need to let me know your snail mail address. You can email me at dbarlowart@aol.com

Congratulations! You know, that was really good fun to do - though I feel terribly guilty about people who didn't win. Thankyou so much everyone for taking the time to leave a comment. I think I will make this a regular thing, maybe monthly?

Secondly, here is a quick ACEO for this week, entitled Luna Hare. Up for auction on ebay later tonight.



And finally - the real reason I haven't done much work this week! I'd been having one of 'those' weeks - you know the sort, where everything that can go wrong does, culminating in a shopping trip to Exeter. I haven't been shopping for about six months, partly because there is never a penny to spare, and partly because I hate shopping, with a passion. Nevertheless, the girls REALLY needed some tights for school, so I steeled myself for a trip. Once tights were sorted, I wandered round a bit, as I have had a burning desire for a pair of red shoes for a couple of years. I saw a couple of pairs, just the shade I wanted, but at £60 each, I just couldn't justify it. I got steadily grumpier throughout the day, and came home and threw everything out of my wardrobe, all the old clothes that I don't wear because they no longer fit, or I just don't like them, and then Da Da! I found a pair of handmade shoes that I no longer wear because they were a rather unpleasant shade of yellow. Well, a trip to Bowdens ( the best shop in the world - but that must wait for another post) turned up a cherry red pot of shoe polish, and an hour later, with as much shoe polish on my hands as on my shoes , I have a pair in just the shade I want! This has led to a flurry of mending and making do, and upcycling old clothes.

A rummage through my fabric boxes has provided a gorgeous selection of fabrics, and I have added a strip of this beautiful striped fabric to the bottom of a red knee length skirt (which made me look even shorter and squatter than usual) to make a great full length skirt. I also dyed a nasty grey parka a lovely chocolate brown ( had to boil it up in my enamel bread bin as none of my pans were big enough), and I'm now going to jazz it up with these fabrics. My absolute favourite is the printed needlecord in the centre which I got at a garage sale in the village. So this might mean not much painting for a few days. But you know, there are times when a girl's just GOT to have some new clothes!