Yay the kitchen is coming out!!!!

This is our Kitchen , lovely you say! NO! NO! NO! ..... its horrible, we moved in nearly 7 years ago and I hated it then and I hate it now. We had tried to spruce it up.....the doors were suppose to be antique pine, but they just looked dirty all the time so I painted them with laminate paint, we also had new work tops put on and changed the sink as both were damaged and split, we also put in the new cooker and cooker hood. This was all good and has lasted us ok for 6 years. But its all looking very grubby and tired and the paint is chipping off the doors. We did look at replacing the doors but as they are not standard size, it wasn't as easy or as cheap as we first thought. We now also realise the cabinets, especially the top ones are incredibly small. The breakfast bar takes up a lot of space and although the work top is useful we never sit at it and it becomes a bit of a dumping ground. For a large kitchen it looks really crowded. It needed updating and so we decided we may as well go for a complete redesign and change the whole thing.

Anyway to cut a long story short we went to Homebase and B&Q and were shocked at prices. They didn't really design what we wanted and for a very basic design they wanted thousands. Even if we had the money I would not have gone with them and I felt pressured. So we down loaded the Ikea kitchen planner, wow what fun I have had with that...... we have explored some really silly ideas but have opted for a very basic black and white design. Slick and simple......just like us haha. More importantly easy to fit as we are doing the work ourselves ( well apart from a few technical things like the gas)

So yesterday we ordered our first cabinets to be delivered just before easter and so let the chaos begin...

We are going for a 2 pronged attack, do the cooker side first and them move over to the other side.

Here we have just taken out the breakfast bar! Yay!!!

Tiles are off ( one of the few things I actually liked) on the cooker side and we have had the gas pipe moved ( only a few feet but vital for our new plan)

Watch this space for more updates!!!

Turtle obsession

Turtle

Baby Turtle

Folksy Friday - Turtles

My latest painting is of Lily the turtle, we saw her when we were lucky enough to visit Lily beach in the Indian Ocean, They had a conservation project to protect these wonderful creatures until they were of a size to survive in the wild, Lily would still come back daily to join in the feed even though she had been released many years previously.

So I thought I would show you all the lovely turtles available on Folksy.

You can also see how I painted Lily on You tube

Step by Step watercolour painting of a turtle by Janice Ashworth

Turtle Watercolour Painting

Wellydoggallery

100% Cotton Muslin comforter-Hanpainted-Turtle

Lillyscrafts

Japan Appeal Item! Turtle Scene Mixed Media Picture

NOfkantsCurios / Natalie Ofkants

fused glass turtle pendant

blue daisy glass

Turtle Earrings

Lovely Treasures Handmade Jewellery

Sheldon the turtle

Foxglove Cottage Crafts

Art Sale

My work will be in this Art Sale starting on 2nd April and running until the 10th April . If you are in the area come and have a look

Japanese Tsunami appeal

I will donate 50% of all sales from both my shops to the Japanese Tsunami appeal through the Red cross

or please just donate at www.redcross.org.uk/JapanTsunami

http://www.folksy.com/shops/Wellydoggallery
http://www.folksy.com/shops/wellydogdesigns

SeaScapes

I love the sea, I always have , it's by the coast I really feel relaxed and calm and I love the sound of the waves. There are the ones that crash on pebbles and make a huge bang then as the waves roll out you hear the stones settle down again with a gentle plopping noise. But my favourite is the gentle rolling in and out on soft sand when all you can hear is the sound of the water.

Waves on Folksy

Waves on Etsy

Original Art work verses prints???

I am thinking about how to advertise my art work better and so am wondering why mass produced prints are so popular as apposed to original art work in peoples homes

So I wondered if you would give your views and consider whether

- people worry originals will be to expensive?

- Or do you think they think it will be expensive to frame an original?

-Or is is the size and scale of the prints people might find in ikea for example that is appealing?

Or do you have any other suggestions?