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!

A Birthday Collage

My D was 50 last week, so I made him a collage of my interpretation of Ben Sgritheall (pronounced 'screel') Quite daunting doing it considering he has painted it beautifully loads of times! It's the beautiful hill we can see on the mainland from the very edge of our property, & as you walk around the bay it follows you & changes shape. This is my first pic of it, but I feel about it a little like the guy did in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' , kept looking at it, thinking about it seeing it from different parts of the peninsula, almost wanting to ask it "what do you want from me?!". (I didn't actually ask it)

That's when, about a year ago I decided to climb it, & then I could say, ha, got you! So I did, thanks to a supportive family after about 6 months gentle training - lots of fast walking, flat & up little hills - I hadn't climbed a Munro (a hill over 3,000 feet) for 20 years. So it was a big thing for me, especially as most of my joints ache a bit most of the time, & thanks to the practice of yoga, again, just gently & sheer determination, I whouped it! Did a bit of fundraising, too, thought I might as well while I was up there & gave it to 2 places who are really good at enabling others.

The hill enabled me in all sorts of ways (once I had recovered & could walk properly again!) & so now, I can just make a collage out of it. Simple. I'll probably make one again.