Another craft fair cancelled

due to sheets of ice about the place, but it's beginning to thaw today. I took these yesterday when the stream by us froze over.

I tried to print out some pics of ice to make some photo cards for the craft fair (before it was cancelled) but I'm obviously not using the right paper as they totally loose the wonderful punch you can see on the screen. I've been successful before using Matt heavyweight but not with the ice. Any ideas? Glossy photopaper perhaps?

Ben Sgritheal looking lovely in the sunset.

Not often you see a frozen high tide line.

We've reached the time of year when there's only 1 1/2 hours of sunlight (if it's out at all, of course) in the house & garden. I'm lucky enough to see it across the bay & it only lasts a couple of months or so before it's high enough to peep over the hills at the back mid Januarry, but I'm keen to be here on a sunny day, at lunch time so I can feel what sun there is in my home.This is one of the deer fence posts at the back of the garden (protecting the fields behind the house) showing the level of the sun on the left hand hill at 12.30 pm.

So, I'm up on stock (& down on cash!) due to the cancellations but at least I'll be around on Sat while my eldest & 'dil' are here, getting thru from Edinbro yesterday despite the weather, here for their early Christmas visit. The middlest & youngest are raging at the fact there is no snow here & feet of it everywhere else causing chaos! So, I'm still making one or 2 things as I have the opportunity to keep the table of the last craft fair for a week without haviing to be there. If people can get out of their homes, it should be good.

Some pics of the kind of collage which I started to make last year when I saw  Di Wells on Talking Threads. She used tissue paper, I used thicker paper that I already had with some fine chiffon type fabric. I love stitching thru paper with fabric, you can actually hear it...or maybe that's the poor blunted needle?!  I  like to make my garden work for me too ;) I'm pretty keen on this use what you have ethos, I was already one to use what you're about to throw away, anyway! This year, as last year I have only bought in the silver spray paint for my decorations tree & some inexpensive notebooks. Last year I completely covered them with fabric or paper, very labor intensive, this year I made a square or oblong to attach to the book. (I am still making squares, they're just for sale! )I will search out some more sketchbook like notebooks for next year. These are all stocking filler recession busting prices, something for everyone!

I quite like the reflections, they remind me of digital layers!

Decorations blowing in the breeze

Last but not least, last week I received Lorna's 'everyone's a winner' gift of a day of the dead atc. Scary, but I love it! Thanks so much, you must have had a sewing frenzy!