I wrote a long post yesterday about my efforts to be green so I’ll try to keep this one a bit shorter!

I mentioned that I make my own stay-wet palettes, and if you also use acrylics on a regular or even semi-regular basis, these may well be helpful to you too.  You can buy them in the shops, but a home-made version is much cheaper, and you may well have everything you need already - even better!  Using these palettes, it won’t matter if you accidentally squeeze too much paint from the tube - it will keep fresh and useable for at least a few weeks - often longer.

You’ll need:

• a plastic container: I use takeaway containers which you can buy in packs from pound shops and kitchenware departments (although if you want an excuse for a sweet and sour with egg fried rice I can think of none better or more bizarre!).  If you’re using a pre-used container, do make sure it’s washed thoroughly first as the oily residue will affect your paints.
• some absorbent paper: the best I’ve found is Plenty kitchen towels - they won’t shed tiny bits of paper into your paint like some others will.
• a small piece of greaseproof paper. 

container and paper

Fold the kitchen paper to fit the bottom of the container

folded paper

Place the paper in the container and wet the paper so it’s damp all over, then cut a piece of greaseproof paper to sit on top of the folded wet paper.

stay wet palette

That’s it! Just add paint

mixing paint

It makes a good tub for mixing colours - and you have the exact colour for several weeks if you need to touch up any smudges.

mix your own colours

stay wet palettes

I had a lovely chat this morning with Dawn from www.decoratedshed.com  who is working on writing something on her blog about working from home.

I thought her recent blog post about homeworkers saving money and being greener was excellent - she obviously recognises what working from home is all about!  Read more here: www.decoratedshed.com/blog/article/10_Ways_Working_From_Home_Saves_You_Money

If you are thinking about working from home, or if you already do and are thinking of expanding into your garden space, do have a look at www.decoratedshed.com - their garden buildings really are amazing: stylish, modern, substantial and lots of choice too!

curved lodge garden building

I want one for an office!!!  My garden studio (a heavily disguised garage extension!) is a fab place to work but because it’s built from concrete blocks, my phone and internet are not at all happy in there.  I do have a back-up plan - I’m going to build an office at the back of the (brick-built) garage - oh, but how lovely would a separate office with lots of glass be?  It’d be (almost) like working in the garden!!

garden office

I know I’m a bit of a virtual peeping Tom when it comes to looking at other people’s workspaces, and I know from what other people tell me that I’m not the only one.  You can see my workspace if you click here: http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/creating-the-garden-studio/ (or click on the Creating the Garden Studio link on the right hand side).

Here’s a link to another workspace - that of Lizzy from Lavender and Lime: http://thelavenderandlimecompany.blogspot.com/

I would’ve loved to have seen it before the three hours of tidying up!  Mr 1st Unique bravely ventured into my studio over the weekend - I use the word bravely as he is such a tidy soul, and I am not.  My workspace gets gradually worse and worse until a craft fair or event, and I (usually) tidy it up afterwards.  So I don’t really recognise Lizzy’s “calm before the storm” - for me, the calm is after the storm! 

But I love her baskets, all laid out in readiness for a fair.  Just gorgeous.  Here they are looking very tempting:

If you’re waiting for an order, I’m hoping to get them all sent out soon!  I am working on them as hard and as fast as I can.   If you ordered at the Cheshire Show, I’ll be posting your order out on Monday or Tuesday the 13th or 14th.  If you ordered at Capesthorne Hall Hot Air Balloon Show, I’ll be posting your order out on Thursday or Friday the 16th or 17th.

orders waiting

Your order will be sitting amongst this little lot, but I have made a start on all of them, believe it or not.  It can be a time-consuming business because everything I paint needs at least a few layers of paint and maybe varnish.  I tend to work in batches, doing all backgrounds, or all detail, at one time.

I may see you at the Stockton Heath Festival tomorrow (11th July 2009) - it should prove to be an excellent event.  Let’s hope for sunny weather!

Sometimes I am making something to a specific customer request and love what the customer has asked for, even though I wouldn’t have thought of it that way myself.  It’s one of the good things about being able to sell dirctly to people, without a middle-man, at art and craft shows, parties at schools/playgroups and on the website.

Here are a couple of examples of what I’m talking about:

I love these colours

Colour choice for alphabet name canvases:  I love the colours used as a background on these canvases - bright red and green, with a pale blue.  It works so well.  I wish the colours showed up a bit better in the photos, but the green and red are really bright.  Each colour sets the others off so well.

the lettering being painted

the last letter is nearly done

close up of canvases

The pictures above show me painting the letters in onto the backgrounds.  I use two layers of paint for each background, then two layers of paint for each letter.  For these particular ones, I’ll add spots in different colours onto each letter.  Each spot will most likely have two coats too.  The customer requested these colours specifically, and I love them much more than I thought I would.

There aren’t many pictures of work actually happening in my studio, but it does definitely happen! My 16-year-old has just finished her GCSEs and was hanging around with not much to do when she took these ones today.

Unique Gift for Teachers:  My computer is on a bit of a go-slow at the moment, so I shall wait till tomorrow to upload a picture of a clock I’ve started which a customer has planned as a gift for teachers to put in their staff room.  I thought it was a fab idea, as it will have a message on, and be a lasting reminder of a child for all the teachers, as well as a lovely way to say thank you.

If you are interested in your own bespoke or custom designs, I’ll happily make the order up for you to view online before you pay.  If you have your own ideas, you can request a bespoke design here:

http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/customdesignform.html

If you’re following this blog, you’ll know I’ll be back tomorrow, having signed my life away on Nation Blog Posting Month.  I shall be posting a blog update every day in July. 

Seeing as I’ve got nothing else to do… (er, joke!)  Now, where’s that prom dress that needs finishing off?

I’m so excited!

The reason for my excitement is that my new workshop/studio is being built.  When it’s done, I’ll have a fabulous space to work which is just a few steps from my back door.  1st Unique Gifts will have a proper home.

This is the progress so far:

this is the starting point

No walls yet!!

Still no walls!

The concrete footings have gone in (and it snowed):

footings in place for walls

It will be kind of an L-shaped building (plus a sticky-out bit)  wrapping itself around an existing garage.  You can get an idea of that from this picture, now that the concrete floor is in place:

A floor in place

 I’m not sure as to what I will do with the floor.  I need a cost-effective (i.e. cheap) option.  I thought about just painting the concrete floors, but don’t know how my aching joints would hold up.  I suppose I could try it, maybe with a few rugs where I stand or sit the most.  I don’t want flooring that I’ll be worried about splattering with paint: I am a messy painter!

And now there are walls:

the studio has some walls!!

And even windows:

And now the studio has a window

And a door:

The door is in place

I managed to save the tree at the corner of the building, although it did have to lose a few branches.  I’m sure it will provide some much-needed shade in the summer (although given our unpredictable climate, I won’t predict in which summer the shade will be necessary - maybe not the upcoming one??  We can only live in hope).

I am sure the local wildlife will be grateful for every tree I save.  The garden was sorely neglected and very overgrown (and obviously attractive to birds, squirrels, cats, frogs, etc), although the two greenhouses, well-filled compost heap and myriad trees and shrubs attest to it being a well-tended garden at some point in the past.  The years of neglect mean though, that some trees are overgrown, in the way and even dangerous.  So, the chopping down has started - which must be a bit of a blow for the birds and squirrels.  It will be a slow process, though, which may mean it’s less of a shock for them, as I want to reuse as much of the wood as possible: chippings for pathways, logs for the woodburning stove I haven’t yet got, rustic stools and benches perhaps?

More later!