Baby Ava day 4

Day 4 

Well things are hopefully getting better.

Baby Ava is now off the CPAP machine and out of the incubator.

She is in a proper cot now and dressed in her own clothes even though the premature baby clothes bury her lol.

Baby and mother both doing well

Thanks for all your kind words over the last couple of days.

Ava Update

Mother and Daughters First Cuddle

For those of you that are interested I will keep you updated on Ava's progress.

For those of you that are not, I understand but please let us drivel on like the proud grandparents we are lol.

Due to Complications and problems with Ava's Breathing,  she had to go straight into a ventilator post caesarean

Leighann had her own problems and went straight to HDU.

That meant that this was their first cuddle.

36 Hours after Birth.

The picture below I'm sure will be a common sight at our place now

new born babies are tiny but early babies are really tiny.

New Addition to the Family

Welcome

I would like to introduce you to baby Ava-Drew she is the newest member of the clan .

Delivered on Saturday by C-section

Weighing in at a mighty 5lb 13ozs and 4 weeks premature

she is guaranteed to be spoiled by Granny H.

Steampunk Assemblage Finds

Steampunk Assemblage Finds

by John Glossop

Hello again, I recently picked these up in a Flea market. I don't know about you but I find them cool.

I think they are Paraffin lamps. They are a great size and shape, ideal for steampunk assembly/did-assembly.

They have some really cool component pieces and a great patina.

they are both in a state of disrepair, which means I don't feel so bad about breaking them up.

I am going to put these in the for sale category until I get round to using them.

If you are interested send me a message.

Do you have anything like this?

Thanks for looking.

More Floating Tea Cups

Another Sample

In preparation for some up and coming workshops, I have been working on my techniques and trying to improve on my initial piece.

My biggest problem seemed to be counter balancing the weight.

I have overcome that the second problem I encountered was, the glue sticks.

I am a great believer in you get what you pay for and this was obviously the case here.

I am quite happy with this finished floating cup/cascading cup project.

Powertex Garden owl by Heather Center

Three Dimensional Owl

Its that time of year when crafting takes a step outside. Heather and I decided we would have a go at a couple of projects out of the animal kingdom book by Brigette Grade.

This is Heathers Finished project.

A lovely Stone art clay 6" diameter Garden Owl wall plaque.

With the clay that was left Heather managed to make a couple of fridge magnets as well.

Keep watching to see what my project was and what I came up with.

Recent Treasure Haul

Some Recent Finds

Being a mixed media artist, I am always on the look out for interesting objects that have the potential to become part of a project.

Deep down in my mind I have usually formed an attachment with the object I have found before I have even bought it.

The downside or upside, whichever way you look at it, is that I accumulate a lot of inventory.

So, from now on everything I buy is for sale until it is used, if there is anything in these pictures you are interested in, just let me know.

In this week's haul

We have a pair of vintage French binoculars,

A lovely vintage clothes brush in a cool leather case,

2 x vintage travel irons,

a small collection of terracotta ewers,

An old Dunlop tyre repair tin,

and lastly a cool ornate sliding door catch.

Powertex Delightful Dozen

The Delightful Dozen

What a fantastic selection of finished Powertex Statues

These are the finished statues from Saturdays workshop

All the ladies started out with the same bag of goodies with the exception of the head which I had allowed them to pre-order.

How different they all look

I am really impressed by how they all turned out

Well done ladies you did a great job.

11 Become 22

A Full House

A great turnout for my last Powertex statue workshop. The venue this time was Craftstation in Kirkby in Ashfield.

This shop is by mutual consent my Powertex base. Helen the owner stocks almost all the Powertex products plus much more.

This Saturday I had 11 ladies booked in to do the Powertex statue workshop and what a great time we had.

11 ladies and 11 lovely statues.

Just getting started

Coming along nicely

Nearing completion

****WARNING POWERTEX IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED****

"The Reapers Moon"

And now for something completely different

Under the bed

In your head

Demons lay in wait.

                     

  Black dogs howl,

Air turns foul,

The stench of cornered bait.

Reaper Appears,

Fear of fears,

He's here to seal your fate.

"Floating Fauna"

Cascading Teacups

Hope you are all well, This is one from our next range of craft workshops.

I know this isn't something new but I have been asked if I could do this as a workshop.

I love this idea and concept and my mind is already racing with the possibilities.

These projects were done with fabric flowers and this first example is one made by Heather.

This example is mine and isn't quite as delicate as Heathers.

                                                    

I loved doing this and look forward to teaching it.

Well there they are, I am sure lots of you will have done these.

If you have what have you used as well as Flowers. I would love to know.

Introducing Cheadle to Powertex

Crafty Urchins, Cheadle

What a fantastic day 10 lovely ladies all being introduced to Powertex.

The morning session was an introduction to Powertex bronze hardener and powercolor.

The afternoon session was an introduction to Powertex ivory hardener and Bister.

Every one of the projects turned out brilliant and every one of turned out unique especially in the afternoon when we were freestyling on the bottles.

Solar powered Powertex bottle bling using Powertex ivory hardener and Bister.

Garden Plaques using Powertex bronze hardener and powercolor

Never Too Old To Powertex

Powertex Workshop at Crafty Corner

A fantastic day in South Shields at Crafty Corner. The Powertex project this time was a Mini Statue 3 hour workshop with 7 Attendees. The oldest of these was " Peggy", 91 years old and Powertexing. I would be very interested to know if anybody has come across a Powertexer older than "Peggy". I must admit all the finished statues put mine to shame, they all did very well and I look forward to going there again soon. 

A big thanks to Dave for hosting the event and keeping us supplied with coffee.

170 year old Tiny Teacup!!

Who'd have thought it??

On a recent visit to a car boot sale Heather and I found this cool little Tea cup and saucer we bought it ( I'm not disclosing the price I might need to sell it on later ) just because it was dainty and rather attractive. It is made in Bavaria and is apparently a Demitasse cup and saucer with a gilt courtship scene by Jean-Honore Fragonard. It is from the mid 19th century and valued at approximately £45. how cool is that? If you see any on your travels be sure to pick them up for me.

Are you a Crafter and a Nature Lover??

Then These May Appeal to you

We are pleased to announce that we have attained exclusive rights to the two latest releases of clear stamps from mixed media artist and designer Kate Collins. The "colour me" range of  stamps are hand illustrated by artist and designer Kate and look great with a simple wash detailed colouring techniques can also be applied to suit your taste. The size is A6 and they are made from clear polymer. Kate recommends that that you condition your new stamp. This can be done by stamping several times onto copy paper. The only place you can get these stamps other than through Kate herself is through us here at Rosie McStone Studios. We are pricing them at £7.99 which includes delivery to a UK mainland address. We have a limited number of these stamps and a few designs have already sold out.

( hopefully back in stock soon).

Here is a sample to show you the quality of the artwork.

As ever I would be interested in your feedback .

One Republic/ Timbaland - 'Apologise' (YL&M - Cover)

My Sons Bands Latest Cover

Hi, this is a cover of One Republic's Apologise.

Check this cool version. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. This great bunch of lads are my son and is band. Watch it to the end.

                

Mini statue Verdisgris Experiments

Experimentation with Verdigris

I have recently been working on mini statues with a patina feel to them, as I like to work with Powertex Bronze liquid hardener it made sense to try and master my Verdigris technique. I think I have pretty much nailed it. I must admit I am quite happy with the feel although it is a lot paler/brighter than my usual fabric statues.

This  plaster head is a new one to us at Rosie Mcstone Studios. We have been casting and using it in workshops quite a bit I love her she has a classic feel to her.

Red Dimple vases

Ideal for Future Projects

I bought these a little while ago, the intention was to use them for sumo bodies ( Powertex users will know what I am talking about).  I am now thinking maybe eyes for a fly or some mutant being? Whatever I decide, you can be sure you will be the first to know. I maybe go back to the original idea of Sumo as they are the right shape and have flat bases for stability.

The Dawn of a New Era

A New Chapter

It may or not be common knowledge but I have decided to move on from Creative Expressions.

It won't come as a big shock to some people. I handed my notice in on the 1st of May because of the situation there . I felt that my creativity was for want of a better phrase " being stifled". I officially finished on the 29th of May but have been using up my holidays and drawing up plans for the future. I must admit these are very scary and exciting times. I have done this before so am not completely unprepared for the future. I am now working with some really talented people and together I hope we will bring some great new products to you.

To all my crafting friends and  Associates happy crafting and I will hopefully see you soon.

To the people I have worked with at Creative Expressions over the years I wish you all the best in the future.

I will continue to work alongside the great team at Powertex UK and will be out and about doing workshops.