New Stamp

What a glorious day it has been.  Woke up to sunshine and blue sky.  I felt better just for seeing the sun, and seeing that the chilly wind had gone.   I packed a lot into the first couple of hours, two loads of washing, spot of hoovering...  I had a nice surprise when I got dressed, decided it was time to get some of the summer gear out, some of my trousers had been a bit snug but, not this time,  it looks my trim bike routine is working!   I keep it in the living room, so when the news is on I 'cycle' for 15-20 minutes,  try to do at least an hour a day, not all at once I should add. It means no strain on the joints, and I'm getting some exercise.

So it was garden centre, which is where the craft shop is,  but I also wanted some bedding plants.  First stop the craft shop,  but it was looking a bit depleted,  the assistant said that they'll be getting loads of new stock next week, phew. 

Was going to settle for stocking up on some basics, but then spotted this cheeky chappie,  he jumped into my basket,  I also picked up an oval wooden plaque, and an alphabet die, along with the glue.  This is the stamp side, it is nicely detailed, and has been well cut, it is from the Urban range by Papermania, he's also a decent size, 3.5 inches, and perfect for decoupaging.

This is the alphabet die I picked up, by X-cut, I liked that it had both upper and lower case letters.  I'd say the capital letters are about an inch high.  This is something I've been wanting for a while, but not seen any I liked, or in my price range, this was £12.99, which I thought was reasonable.   I'm glad to be using the Calibur because it has meant that the TH dies are mostly off limits,  I like the TH stamps but not the prices. 

I cut the alphabet, then looking at the remmnant I realised it would make a good mask. 

I've already started on the plaque, gave it a good sanding first,  then a layer of white acrylic,  glue and pale blue, to get the distressed effect. I kick started the drying process, then left it in the sun.  I'll finish it tomorrow.  

In the meantime I stamped Mr Owl on 3 different pieces of paper/card.    My small round punch is just the right size to punch out the eyes.  I used my versamark pen to highlight his eyelashes and nose with blue embossing powder.   I could have done the same with the spots,  something for next time I think.  This would also make a great picture for children to colour in. 

I also managed to have the wardrobe removed from the flat by one of my neighbours,   just needed it moved outside so the council can pick it up next week, for some reason they won't remove anything from inside a house or flat, it all has to be left outside.  They don't even seem to make any allowances for anyone who is disabled.

The flat is almost 'mine',  I've done a huge amount of decluttering, and that includes my stash. Just the hall to do,  ideally I'd like it to be re-wallpapered,  but I can't find anything I like, so guess it will have to make do with a lick of paint.

I hope the weather is just as good wherever you are.  All for now.