I’ve been busy this week working on a project that I’m not yet at liberty to share with you, so the relevant part is blurred out in this photo of my desk!
Also on the desk you can see some of my Daler Rowney pearlescent acrylic inks (gorgeous stuff!), some gel mediums, some Pebeo fluid acrylics, distress ink, ink dusters, heat gun, dirty paint water (yes, again…), palette, and general detritus.
I promise that I shall be blogging about this project as soon as the person has received it! She is going away, so it may be a while.
Faux Mother of Pearl
For this project, I have been working on producing some convincing faux mother of pearl. I have done a blog post about this. It’s taken a long time but by trial and error, and using different materials in different sequences, I have finally managed to produce a result I am happy with.
Cutting Machine
Yesterday the new support tables for Sheba arrived. Since I resurrected my Cougar cutting machine, I’ve been having a few problems with uneven cuts, and following some recommendations from people on the cutting machines forum, I ordered some of the support tables which keep the mat absolutely flat as it goes in and out of the machine. Without this, it tends to droop downwards and this can alter the distance from the blade, making the results unpredictable. I have been given a few other suggestions too, so hopefully things should improve from now on.
The clear plastic support tables have a layer of white protective film on them, and I have decided to leave this on, because it is all too easy to knock the clear tables when you don’t see them out of the corner of your eye. I am glad that there is still room for my Windows laptop in front of Sheba. I am looking forward to trying her with the new support tables.
Health Update
We turned up for my physio appointment last Friday, to find that they had no knowledge of it! After they had dug around for a while, they discovered that I should have gone in on Wednesday. There was some mix-up with the online message, and so they gave me a new appointment, the old-fashioned way, hand-written on an appointment card! It is for 10.30 a.m. today. We may be going out later, depending on the weather, so I may not be able to visit any desks until the evening.
My frozen shoulder is very much better and I now have more pain in my neck than my shoulder! I think this may be due to the use of unaccustomed muscles, and perhaps from tension due to the pain in my shoulder. I shall discuss this with the physio. I expect she will give me some exercises to do, to keep everything moving and to prevent a recurrence of the problem.
Have a great week, everybody, full of creativity and fun. Happy WOYWW.
Hey Shoshi! Hope your appointment went well! What a palaver going there only to find that there has been a mix-up! Loving those pearlescent inks I've been eying those for a while! Great study for the mother of pearl look! It's always fun to experiment - sometimes more so than creating! Hope you get the results you're looking for with your Cougar. It can be extremely frustrating when something doesn't work the way we want to! (PS. I think you forgot to link to WOYWW! - I thought of doing it for you, but then on second thought it occurred to me that maybe you're delaying it for a reason, so I didn't.)
ReplyDeletelove all the colours on your desk. Hope the new appointment goes well.
ReplyDeleteTake Care
Christine
aka Bishopsmate #30
Great that you sussed the mother of pearl, hope the physio helps. BJ#9
ReplyDeleteTook me a while to see the burred are on your desk, such is my eyesight and my expectation - I was looing for something bigger; no idea why!! Love the investigations for the mother of pearl effect, and your gorgeous handwriting.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to come back and read your Mother of Pearl blogpost when I have more than 2 minutes. Want to get the in-depth version :-) but I do love the thought you put into the process and making the notes as you go. I know that is time consuming.
ReplyDeleteHope all goes well at your appt. today. yes, using muscles you've not used in awhile can make you feel something in areas you would not think would be affected. Strange how our body works.
Sorry I've not been around the past couple of weeks. hard to make the rounds when Hubby is home. We are always on the go.
Creative Blessings! Kelly #38
Shoshi, I recognize those Pearlescents right away! I have both of those and have been using them a lot lately! They are some of my fave "go to" products! Love your faux mother of pearl! You will have to share how you did it with us! I hate when appointments get mixed up, it's such a hassle to begin with, or at least it is in the States, especially when they try to make out like "we" are the ones who flubbed it up! LOLOL I hope it all turned out well and you had a good report! Hope you get some needed PT!! Blessings, Felicia #34
ReplyDeletehow very annoying about the appointments! makes you grrrr!! hope it went well today and you get on well with your new Sheba. Helen #4
ReplyDeleteEvening, Shoshi. Looks like you are well back in creating mode now! Well done. Hope the supports work to make better cuts.
ReplyDeleteTake care. God bless.
Margaret #17
Hi Shoshi, the MOP experiment looks lovely. Glad that you are getting some help with your shoulder- I read the post above- I have nothing but good things to say about my physio. Love & hugs to you both. Shaz #7 xxxx
ReplyDeleteYep - hubby is almost right. The mug trees did indeed come from a charity shop - £2 a-piece! I just thought they looked a bit of fun. Thanks for the visit - yes, when I find some rings and sew them on the tiebacks, then I will photograph them in situ. Of course, that means I must hem the kitchen curtains....
ReplyDeleteMargaret #17
Oh I can't wait to see what you cut out with your machine.
ReplyDeleteApril #24
So glad to see your desk looking to busy and you in full creative mode! I love the MOP effects you are trying out, I just read the previous post and they look fascinating - thank you for sharing your experiments. I also just read you next post about the physio - it's great that you had it explained to you so clearly and they have given you lots of advice, you are now well armed if anything flares up again, fingers crossed it won't, of course!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a lovely week,
Diana x
Looks like you are having fun trying out new techniques. Sturdy tables are definitely a good idea. Hope your shoulder eases soon. Thanks for sharing. Take care Zo xx 25
ReplyDeleteGreat shot of your desk. The previous post is definitely one I'll need to come back to to try some of those techniques myself. Love mother of pearl. Have a great week. LisaDV #23
ReplyDeleteHi Shoshi. Sorry I'm a bit late getting round, it's just been a busy week. Aren't they all! I hear you say. I'm well behind with everything this week as I've joined the Gym too with a friend and we've been going there three times a week. I know it's a good thing but it's just as well I'm going with her or I might be tempted to stay at home and craft! I must find your post re. the Mother of Pearl as it looks really good. Thanks for the visit to mine and have a great weekend and happy crafting, Angela x 12
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