Väderstad Centralkonditori

I've just come back from hanging my paintings in Väderstad Centralkonditori. Such a lovely old fashioned café. My exhibition is upstairs in one of the rooms. A fantastic atmosphere- the walls are painted in a strong petrol colour and the furniture is upholstered in bold colours to fit in with the style. My paintings fit in perfectly.






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The iphone

Its funny isn't it. For years now I've watched while everyone changes to iphones and they go on and on about how fab they are, bla, bla, bla I've thought to myself. And then I have my 54th birthday and that's what my husband buys me. I'm a complete novice of course when it comes to the technical side of it all but I humbly ask for help from those in the know (daughters). This afternoon I downloaded my first app. Its a big thing, I tell you. Hipstamatic. Now I've taken pictures of the cats - particularly the very photogenic Senap who poses so coyly for every shot. And now I've been gluing in some collage pictures in my sketchbook to paint from. I was very pleased with myself by the time I'd finished and decided to hipstamatic them. So here's the result. Makes me feel very pleased with myself. /Jacqui

Exhibition! Utställning!

I'm so excited! I've been painting for several weeks now and trying out new techniques - and next week I'm going to exhibit my paintings in a popular café in Väderstad outside Mjölby. I'll be there from 2nd June to 2nd July, and there in person 2nd-3rd June. Do come and visit! And they say the cakes are fab in the café!

Det är så roligt! Jag har målat nu i flera veckor och provat några nya tekniker - och nästa vecka ska jag ställa ut mina tavlor i en populär konditori i Väderstad utanför Mjölby. De kommer att hänga där från 2 juni - 2 juli och ska vara själv på plats 2-3 juni. Kom och hälsa på! Och de säger att kaffebrödet är underbart på kaféet! /Jacqui

Birthday card

Yesterday Peter and I went to Linköping to celebrate his big sister's 70th birthday. Heidi had made a plant arrangement with a Christmas Rose and so I made a card to go with it...

Can you see the little felted "stone" which Heidi had made in the same colours? I brought home a felting needle from the Knitting and Stitching show in Stockholm last week and we've all been having a go at making felt stones... /Jacqui

minus six celsius and a beautiful effect

After Syfestivalen, I've been watching my DVDs and reading my books and now I'm seeing inspiration everywhere!!! Got up early and watched one of the DVDs - then I noticed as it was getting light outside how incredibly beautiful the trees were in the frost! So had to take some pictures - now I want to paint!!! /Jacqui

syfestivalen

I'd completely forgotten that it was Syfestivalen (Knitting and Stitching Show) this weekend up in Stockholm, until I met my neighbouring shop owner across the street as we were locking up on Friday evening. She reminded me and encouraged me to go. So on Saturday morning I persuaded Peter to take a day out and off we belted to Älvsjö. There's an indescribable feeling of excitement and joy flowing through your veins when you are faced with colour in all its forms. I met a wonderful lady called Ingrid who owns a shop called Canvas in Göteborg, and whose stand I could have easily emptied if my credit card had allowed it! Wonderful books on every subject of textiles, dying, painting, embroidering, you name it. I ended up bying dyes, books, dvds and a very interesting papery fabric called Lutradur which I'm going to paint on and shrink with heat from a heat gun - can't wait!! Here are some of the fabulous colours I spotted there.... / Jacqui

weddings....

All last week I worked on projects for the Wedding Fair where Gredelin was going to be exhibiting this past Sunday in Bankkyrkan on Drottninggatan here in Norrköping. I'd already decided to have a colour scheme of white, off-white, oyster and dark burghundy, and the style was going to be vintage. We started on Monday when Heidi (my daughter, who is a florist) and I sat and produced invitations and little gift boxes, the kind you use beside every place setting at the reception table. Heidi is so brilliant at design - so I made the boxes and she decorated them. They looked like little cakes so I displayed them on this cake stand.

Then I worked on two scrapbooking layouts, using photos from my parents' wedding in northern England, during the war, and from my big sister's wedding in southern England in 1965 when I was a bridesmaid (aged 8). I used our Sizzix Big Shot machine which cuts out leaves and flowers, and dies from Tim Holtz and Magnolia (who have beautiful old fashioned dies, laces, doilies, flowers, leaves and so on) - distressed the edges of everything with Distress inks in colours: Old Paper and Pumice Stone. The large and medium sized roses I made using the Tim Holtz die Tattered Florals and then painted them with Gesso and sprayed them with inks diluted with water in a spray Mini Mister. Haven't had so much fun for ages - took the whole of Friday to do them both but it was heaven! My youngest daughter Gabbie was a model for a hairdressing salon who were also exhibiting and she was made up as an Ice Princess with white make-up and amazing curls and chandelier hair decor and necklace/Jacqui