School holidays sap your strength (and everything else)

Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my children ( I mean some time - not all the time) but school holidays sap the creativity right out of you.  It's not that I haven't had time, it's just that I haven't had the inclination to do much of anything.  I haven't been completely idol though.  

It's my sister's 40th birthday in a few days time and I wanted to maker her something special. This is about the fourth version of this piece.  I had disaster after disaster so ended up starting afresh and I'm pretty happy with the finished article. Of course it won't make it in time for the big day (but then my presents never do, I'm hopeless).


I also found time for shopping (of course):

The bits in the middle tray are an old ink bottle and some vintage lipstick cases.  Here's a closer look:

I've also continued experimenting with resin.  And by experimenting I mean ending up tearing my hair out in frustration at my ability to pour just up to the top rather than over it. Here are some bits that actually worked OK.

The bezel in the middle is filled with tiny screws. I know there are lots of air bubbles but I like the effect in this piece.  The  bezel at the back right has a picture of a bug I found in an old encyclopedia (just had to use spell check to get encyclopedia right, doesn't it have an a before the second e though?).


Now I just need the children to go back to school ....