Winter Wimp ...

I am loving the whole Summer of Colour 2013

and the fabulous colour prompts for this week are Purple and Lime Green

which are suitably summery and bright which is extra wonderful

as it is a rather chilly winter here in Queensland, Australia

and the colours are injecting some much needed bright spots

they are almost enough to create the illusion that I am not freezing my butt off

although if cold weather did actually shink my butt by freezing it I may start to be a fan

but until that magical butt shrinking day comes... not a fan people

of the weather that is... love the painting and SoC... 

just not a fan of painting with freezing fingers

 I don't do cold weather well

actually that is an understatement, I am a winter wimp in a big way

I hate cold, any cold, even Queensland cold, which by most standards isn't cold at all

but it is enough to see me wearing bed socks at all times,

 contemplating staying in pajamas until 2 pm,

comforting myself by dipping my chocolate biscuits into hot chocolate

which is why the butt shrinking freeze thing would be handy

 and sending me cowering under duvets and blankets 

while declaring I am not getting out of bed again until September

What really annoys me about cold weather though

 is the very same dog that has to lie all over you when it is 5 million degrees out

won't come and be a little furry heater when you need him

oh no... he has his mangy little polar fleeced butt tucked up in any bed he can find

and if he can't burrow under the covers then he buries himself under mounds of pillows

and doesn't move until he is deathly hungry, or his eye balls are swimming

the traitorous little mutt does exactly what I would like to be doing this cold, windy afternoon

which is why I am now going to put my cold hands on him to get him to move

and then jump under the blankets myself

happy week 3 all ...xx

My last post links are here ...

Cuppa Round Up ... 

Whoopee Cushion Wars ... 

Cuppa Round Up ....

Day 22 Jehanne @ Jehanne's Doodles

the Cuppa With Friends project I am doing in conjunction with ICAD is coming along

though I must come clean and say this week was a bit tougher

some weeks you just paint like crap and none of it comes easily

so even though the results are still there every single bloody card was a struggle

on one it was the card started to dissolve a bit under the watercolours

which wad the case with the card above... it took two goes to get it sorted

another day it was a super wet and miserable day so it just wouldn't dry and the colours ran

another was just a super busy day so no time, then I was too cold to think 

and on one shocking day I found the the house was devoid of chocolate

Day 23 ... Lisa Wright @ The Write Stuff

So the big question this Sunday morning was how to turn it around

I luckily found a stash of chocolate which I took as a good sign

then got in and cleaned and sorted the studio a bit, well cleared a path to my desk at least

and decided it was time to paint up the card I had been planning for Lisa Wright

I have had this photo of Damon from the Vampire Diaries above my desk

in preparation for Lisa's card as we are both sadly in lust love with Damon

 and we both watch the show and email each other after episoides to discuss his loveliness

totally embarrassing in women of our age, but he is just too sexy pretty to be ignored

so I spent a glorious hour or so painting him up and adding little cut outs of the painting I did of her tea cup... suddenly life is better

I used a lightbox to get all his features in place on some handmade paper 

because drawing people is my absolutre least favourite thing to draw and paint

and if I had had to draw him freehand he may have ended up resembling some weird creature

but after a good old fashioned perve and paint for an hour or so the world is set to rights

Day 21... Leigh @ Bead Original

I enjoyed doing this delicate cup sent in from Leigh

even though it is a touch wonky 

but it was painted without chocolate so I am cutting myself some slack there

and the one below was painted for Ken who I have known for 25 years

which is a bit freaky in itself but as it was his birthday on that day

  and he is a mad bridge guru and so it seemed that I was meant to paint it

Day 20 ... Ken Dawson

The next two were both done when I was short of time and I was super rushed

 but I was pleased with how they turned out and they were both such lovely mugs

that even the awful painting weather didn't annoy me too much

Day 19 Fiona Darling 

Day 18 ... Cynnie from Galerie 46

 The final mug for the week was from Alicia Araya 

and it gave me a few moments as the patterning was quite subtle,

but it was worth the moments of angst as it was just so lovely

Day 17 ... Alicia Araya

So there are the 7 cups and mugs from the week

and below are a few of the pages of the illustrated journal

which I am trying to keep as I am going along

have to say I am getting quite behind but after the injection of chocolate

and a better painting morning I am ready to attack and catch up some more pages ...xx

Links to my last posts ...

Whoopee Cushion Wars ...

Rice Paper Jelly Babies ... 

Whoopie Cushion Wars ....

Over the last few weeks we have been in the midst of a Whoopie Cushion War in our house

I stupidly got Phantom a new Whoopie Cushion as part of her birthday present 

which has set in motion a chain of events that could be best described as magnificently juvenile

over the years we have accumulated quite the collection of these little pillows of mirth

and the arrival of a new one has sparked a war of epic proportions

 every time you sit down there has been a good chance you will be whoopied

from the car in the morning, to the sofa in the evening, to the dinner table and even bed

no where and no one is safe

It may be childish, but it is all sorts of fun and is nothing new

we have had these wars in the past although after the last one I declared no more

when the poor dog was reduced to a nervous wreck

due to being constantly whoopied and laughed at 

though can I say he is cruising through this campaign with no problem

and even seems to be quite enjoying the soft landings the cushions are providing him

 That aside I take full responsibility for the latest skirmish

I got Phantom a zombie survival kit as part of her birthday present a few weeks back

which included necessities such as

A Walking Dead t shirt, dog tags and fake mustache for camouflage,

 hand wipes because they zombies nasty smelly things

a Rubik's cube lip gloss so she could look both smart and cute at all times

a walking, light up eye ball to act as a distraction in case she needs to make a get away

and of course the whoopie cushion

because I couldn't think of anything funnier than a zombie sitting on a  whoopie cushion

It was a genius present in lots of ways even if it did ignite a resumption of the war

I am the most common victim, well next to the dog, and I was getting a touch tired of it all

until yesterday when I got to take the war to a whole new level

Aimee from Artsyville put me onto an app for my iphone called Whoopie Cushion 3000

and the odds were suddenly tipped in my favour

I shamelessly and mercilessly made use of this gem

 from the time Phantom got into the car at pick up to the tune of a Medium Fart

through to Sinus being greeting home from work with a chorus of noisy farts

I even threw in a couple of belches and a polite fart or two for good measure

it was payback of the highest order and for a brief moment I ruled the Whoopie Cushion Wars  

it is without a doubt the greatest 99 cents I have spent in a long time

Of course by this morning both husband and child have installed the app so my edge is gone

but it was glorious while it lasted

and I have the added bonus of having a light up walking eye ball on my desk to keep me amused while I work on the illustrated journal I have been keeping for

The Cuppa with Friends Project... 

things can't get much better than that on this Paint Party Friday can they....xx

My last two posts have been ...

Rice Paper Jelly Babies ...

The Slightly Shameful Mugs And Friends ...

Rice Paper Jelly Babies ....

There was unseemly excitement around the studio yesterday afternoon

when I saw the colour prompt of hot pink and orange for week 2 of the Summer of Colour

because I have been wanting to paint up this rice paper roll packet for some time

because it is often a nice bright spot on the kitchen bench

as I make a lunch for Phantom to take to school

and bright spots are needed because I am usually at it at about 6 am

 which is ridiculously early but not unexpected as I stupidly married an early riser all those years ago and he passed this gene onto our only offspring

he also passed on his love of fart jokes

which accounts for a rather mad number of whoopie cushions in our house

but that is another post all together...

Now before you start thinking I am some mad mother who has Martha Stewart tendencies

 lunch bags are the norm rather than the exception here in Queensland

I must also point out that my rice paper rolls are never Martha worthy

in fact they usually end up looking oddly like mutant jelly babies,

but hey at 6 am she is lucky she doesn't get a lump of coal and a smelly sock in her lunch box

and Phantom does only get them on days when I am feeling particularly capable

they still look like jelly babies... but on a bad day they look like some unspeakable blobs

so I have learned to assess whether I am feeling up to the task before embarking on it

12 and a half years of lunchboxes and I am only now waking up to this

but again.... 6AM PEOPLE !!!!

 It is a miracle I can even talk let alone fill and roll these puppies

I am still holding out that Phantom will suddenly decide to buy lunch at school and save me from the last 60 or so lunches remaining before she graduates, but it isn't likely

The school canteen, which we call tuckshops over here

no clue why we call them tuckshops but they have always been called that

anyway her tucky is appropriately flash befitting her posh girl's school

 with greens and veg sourced from its own gardens, and fresh sushi and noodles and the like

and as a senior she has the dubious honour of sitting at the tuckshop tables

so it is right there... she only has to walk like 2 metres

but will Phantom buy her lunch... not likely Mikey

once back in Grade Three she ordered lunch and it wasn't delivered to her room

and with that my breaks from lunch making were done for

Phantom never again trusted the tuckshop ladies

she has a memory that makes an elephant look forgetful and forgives like the a Mafia don

there is no going back once crossed and sadly for me the tucky did its dash 10 years ago!!!!

But on the plus side I got to paint these up for the challenge

and we will just pretend I didn't sort of ignore the orange side of the challenge

I tried to make up for it by using an orange tea cup, and pink infuser

and my blog notebook is orange so we will call the challenge met

Hope everyone has a creative week I am off to tackle the latest tea cups for my Cuppa With Friends Project...xx

If you want to catch up on what i have been up to here are the last few posts...

The Slightly Shameful Mugs and Friends ...

Muz Saves The Day ... Again ...

The Slightly Shameful Mugs and Friends ...

Carmen @ http://whoopidooings.blogspot.com.au/

Maybe calling this mug shameful is a bit harsh

because the mug is actually all sorts of amazing and wonderful

and is the perfect subject for Day 16 of the Cuppa With Friends Project and ICAD

the shameful part is that I feel like I am cheating on my beloved Vegemite just by painting it

you see I love Vegemite... it's black salty disgustingness is one of the great joys of life

I have even painted and written about it here in a previous blog post

and for years have cast aspersions on anyone who eats Marmite, or even worse Promite

they are both lily livered imitations of the main man

but Carmen sent me this mug and I really really wanted to paint it because it was wonderful

and if I am honest I wish Vegemite would make one just like it

but the whole time there was a mild tinge of betrayal wafting around the studio

I'm sorry dear Vegemite... please forgive me this transgression....

Aimee @ http://artsyville.blogspot.com.au/

I am thinking all this is not helped by my Day 15 subject from Aimee

which qualifies as slightly shameful mug number 2...

because I am a devoted tea lover and here I am celebrating coffee

but it isn't as bad because I do occasionally drink coffee

and Aimee feels about coffee the way I do about tea

and let's be honest a coffee mug bought at a truck stop in Arkansas should be celebrated

even if the colour is a bit dull

which is the only down side of the cards I am using

they seem to absorb the brightness out of my watercolours... not hugely

but enough to sort of annoy me at times....

Giggles @ http://happytiler.blogspot.ca/

 Day 14 is a fab mug from Giggles though, and caused no angst at all

It was fresh and bright just like its owner, and a pleasure to paint

because let's be honest we are all Goddesses

even Nigel... who provided Day 13 and challenged me magnificently with this one

Nigel @ http://freebird795.blogspot.com.au/

Nigel is often the lone male voice out there in blog land

and despite the fact that he usually stands up for Sinus way too much for my liking

he has a car called Vivian and is wonderfully off beat so he is always forgiven

and the mug was fabulous if a bit challenging for half an hour

 and I can't help but think he will be disappointed that I didn't curse him mightily while doing it

 in fact Nigel I loved it, so your evil plan didn't work out quite as you were hoping....

Rita @ http://soulcomfort.blogspot.com.au/

Day 12 was the lovely Rita and this amazing teacup

I used the handmade paper as a base again as it gives such a soft look

which I think suits the older cups, and used white acrylic paint which I tinted with watercolur to get the colours... and finished it off with some micron pen and metallic twinks

it was the toughest paint of the week and took way longer than the 30 mins

but was totally worth sacrificing washing the floors to gain the extra time needed

Serena @ http://artbyserena.blogspot.com.au/

Day 11 was from Serena who lives here in my home town

mind you to get to her place I would almost need two packed lunches and tank of gas

but this mug sums up her work and her personality perfectly... it was a joy

So there is the week's cards people

I am loving this project more and more

and every day I am still getting extraordinary cups and mugs

and am loving the support and inspiration I am getting from it

turns out this was one of my better ideas!!!!

My last two post links are here ...

Muz Saves The Day ...  Again ...

Turquoise and Citron ...

Muz Saves The Day ... Again

Today is going to be a great day

 not just because it is a Friday and the sun is finally out

 but also because my beloved Sinus Man is planning no home repairs this afternoon

Sinus has many talents... seriously...

he is the flat pack furniture construction guru, he irons clothes like a dream,

 he can sleep anywhere, can fart on cue and can't tell jokes for the life of him

which of course makes the lamest joke hilarious because he mucks it up so gloriously

Sinus also makes a bed like no one I have ever met

 it is like sleeping on a cloud after he has fluffed and shaken the bejesus out of everything

and he attacks projects with all sorts of enthusiasm, which is great most of the time

but when it comes to home repairs, not so much

so on arriving home last Friday with new taps tucked under his arm and that gleam in his eye

Phantom and I were feeling a touch concerned

We heard all sorts of ominous clatters and grunts, and the dog came bolting to sit between us

closely followed by Sinus announcing he finally had the bloody things out of the packet and he was off to turn off the water... I have to say I was worried at that stage... really worried

10 mins later and a veritable symphony of mutters, squeals and scary tool type noises

Sinus declared he in fact didn't have the right tools  

and hadn't been able to do anything but remove the old taps and would attack it another day

and he was off to meet the boys for their weekly drinks and gossip

There were sighs of relief from Phantom, the dog and I and we figured we had dodged a bullet

until the water was turned back on and we suddenly had old faithful in the bathroom 

I tell you water was shooting straight out with quite an impressive gush

slightly scary... but impressive none the less

the water was turned off again and I was having visions of us having a rather smelly weekend

but I was assured he had it in hand... yeah right...

he waded back into the inadvertently pressure cleaned bathroom 

 there was a a bit of head scratching and comments about being stronger than he thought

but he eventually admitted defeat and a call for help was sent out

Luckily for all of us his mate Muz arrived with the correct tool in hand to sort it out 

which meant more mutters, grunts and truly scary noises

 but bless his tool wielding little heart, Muz saved the day as he always does 

 though he possibly undid his good work because he then spent the next ten minutes walking around the house pointing out future projects for Sinus

is the man mad.... why is he encouraging him... 

Alls well that ends well I suppose and Sinus headed off to drinks with the boys

where he no doubt regaled them with tales of his home repair mastery

 I do wonder if he came clean with needing the rescue from Muz

 probably did though... Sinus has no shame

we are talking about the man who went for his walk this morning in his pajama shirt... seriously... he figured it was dark so why change and he was saving me doing extra washing

sort of makes sense in that male brain sort of way

but his PJ shirt... really... what would Muz say about that I wonder...

Happy Paint Party Friday all ...xx

My last two post links are here ...

Turquoise And Citron ...

 Cups Of Fun ... 

Turquoise and Citron ....

Summer of Colour is finally upon us

and it is a much needed shot of colour and brightness

as we descend into what has to be the greyest wettest winter on record

so instead of my winter days being full of the normal Turquoise and Citron Green

there are no beautiful clear skies and the garden still lush from the summer rains

instead I am stuck in grey mists rubbish

and the garden has become a slightly scary overgrown thing

Now I am going to come clean and say I had already half painted this bag up

I only finished it yesterday, but it was partially done last week

and I did try to add some citron green with some paint

but it would appear the grey days have seeped into my very soul

and the colours turned out muddy and it just looked bloody awful

so I used Picmonkey and added the touches of citron

which totally saved my sanity, not to mention I didn't have to start again

which would have resulted in me needing to eat about three blocks of chocolate

which my ass does not need

so yay Picmonkey and your ass saving paint splatters

As a form of redemption I will show a  couple of pieces that are the suitable colours

from the last few weeks sketching and drawing

I have to admit this is a colour combination that I love

and I am so excited to see what everyone has been up to

not to mention finding new blogs, and visiting old favourites

Happy Week 1 all ...xx

My last two posts links are here for you ...

Cups Of Fun ...

The Good, The Bad And The Decidedly Weird ....

Cups Of Fun ....

Dion @ http://www.diondior.com/

I had it all planned and sorted to do this post yesterday

but in typical fashion I got distracted

and I sailed through the day with a nagging feeling there was something I was going to do

I considered it may have been things like put fuel in the car, wash the floors

or buy food for the devouring hordes that my family have become

of course I did none of those things either, but for the life of me I couldn't think what it was

which is not uncommon given the hamster wheel circus that is my brain

but it was mildly annoying none the less

Corrine @ http://www.sparkledaysstudio.com/

It didn't even twig this morning when I was in the studio finishing up the last touches on yesterday's mug from Corinne

which turned out to be surprisingly tricky given the simplicity of the mug

and it didn't twig while tackling today's tea cup from Dion

which is probably fair enough as it was nerve wracking in the extreme 

because Dion had kindly sent me photos and explained it was her grandmothers

and has told me how much it means etc etc... and I adore Dion so I wanted to do a good job

not that I don't want to do a special job on them all, I really do

but I wanted this one to do justice to the time she had taken in photographing it from a heap of angles and the stories she shared with me

Stacey @ http://poppylocke.blogspot.com.au/

Which has been one of the lovely things about doing ICAD

 and the Cuppa With Friends Project

because people are sending me their mugs and cups

and many have been telling me about them 

and it really is like having a cuppa with them and getting to know them

in short it is freakin awesome so far

Linda @ http://heartfullyinspired.blogspot.com.au/

So I finished off Dion's in the half hour I have allotted

and was mightily relieved that it came up so well in such a short time

and was about to post it to facebook when it finally hit me

blog post... and link up... and blog visits

so I freaked out at being late to the link up,'

 then got crazy excited because

and I can't wait to get to know new blogs,

 and visit old friends as well of course

but basically I just want to have a good old stick beak at what people have been doing

Maria @ http://cozydoodle.blogspot.ca/

So here are my latest... a wide variety and all of them lots of fun

my biggest problem at the moment is not sitting and doing about 20 at once

because there are just so many fabulous ones... some are gorgeously delicate and detailed

and others are magnificently and gloriously kooky

but they all have personality and are inspiring

Of course if you would still like to send me a photo I am always happy to receive them

and just click up here for all the details...

happy ICAD wrap up all...xx

my last blog post and last ICAD wrap up posts are here...

The Good, The Bad, and The Decidedly Weird....

My Cup Runneth Over ...