Trying again

I was determined to get the barge picture right,  luckily I woke up early and since I couldn't get back to sleep I switched on CnC, and by luck they were repeating Barbara's show!     I watched very carefully,  then sketched my picture,  just so I knew where everything was going to go. 

I was going to get out the craft stuff early, but mum remembered that her prescription was due, so had to go get that.  It turned out to be a wasted journey,  even though I'd phoned to make sure it was there it wasn't ready when I went to pick it up.  I was annoyed cos I'd just had to wait 20 minutes in the queue,  there seemed to be one chap on the pharmacy and he seemed determined to ignore everyone.   I definitely needed something to cheer me up so went to see if there were any crafting mags that I liked, nope, not a one!   I did have some shopping to do but after nearly colliding with four people,  one who had a trolley,  I started to get angry,  people in the village are so damned ignorant,  I remembered why I don't like shopping there because they have  no manners and a a bunch of snobs!   So I headed home,  found mum in a tearful state so had to calm her down,  made her some lunch and she said she felt better.   Could I now start crafting?   Almost...    Eventually I was able to sit down with all my stamps,  I checked my sketch, worked out where everything was going to go and got stuck in!  I think this is a much better result than the first one,   yeah I know the horse isn't attached to the barge,  he is now as I have drawn in the rope!    I also got a much better effect with the water, used BG's trick with the crumpled up paper,  and used a light and then a dark blue.  I really did take my time with this,  not quite sure the reeds are right, but just a little bit of tinkering I think!    So after that success decided to use the Duck.

I used an A6 piece of card.  Made another sketch,  and a mask of the duck.  Then set about building up the picture.   I used the bigger reeds this time,  think they need to be a little closer together.   Just added a hint of the river bank at the very front,  just tore some paper to get an uneven line.    Did the water same way as before,  you just need to lightly spin the roller a couple of times across the card,  not too much otherwise you lose the definition of the pattern.  The mask protected the duck the blue and the reed stamp. 

Felt very pleased with myself.  I can see why BG loves it so much,  you are creating small works of art,  well sort of!   I'm not quite at that standard yet,  but I am  enjoying practicing.    BG's first class seems a long way off,  it isn't until the end of March.  I really enjoyed them last year and it was a good idea to have Nigel work along side her,  it offered a more realistic view of what you could achieve,  his work was very good.  Babara is also a very good teacher, she doesn't rush,  isn't patronising,  makes it fun and is very clear in her instructions. 

Probably more of the same tomorrow!  Crafting that is,  don't want a repeat of the emotional upset with mum,  just a quiet day will do. 

Stay safe and keep warm.