Inspired Naturally – Kate MacAndrew, artist and school workshop leader based in Derbyshire

Hi everybody! I’m rather excited about this post because I am officially announcing I am now taking on fine-art commissions alongside my mixed-media commissions! As you may have seen in earlier posts, I have recently completed a painting of my beloved cat Smudge and lots of people have asked if I’d consider painting other people’s pets…

So here it is, I am offering to paint your favourite animal addition to your family! It will be on a first come – first serve basis as the nature of these types of paintings require lots of time and dedication to be the best they possibly can. I am more than happy to discuss time frames, sizing, costs and anything else you would like to ask, just send me an email and I’ll get right back to you!

Of course, if you haven’t got a furry friend, but know someone who has who might like a portrait please forward this message along to them! (thanks!)

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Bye for now

I’d hoped to blog again sooner than this but the following photos had to wait be taken in between torrential rain and the like! I have been wanting to show you the new bags I  have available (including an extra tote bag design) but I now have Craft/Peg bags too! (I have only ever had one design of these available before) and I’m now pleased to offer 3 more designs to choose from! Here are 2 of the 4 new Craft/Peg Bags:

The new Hedgehog Craft/Peg Bag:

 The new Frog Craft/Peg Bag:

I love these bags because they are made from thick,durable cotton and just the right size for putting either small craft items like pens,pencils,wool,ribbon,knitting things etc or pegs to be used as a clothes peg bag. Similar to my tote bags, they can be machine washed on a cold setting after it has been hand washed the first couple of times. They have a braid handle measuring approx 100cm (approx 30 cm drop when carried) The bags themselves measure approx 34cm x 31cm. They are super affordable and lovely as a gift or a treat for yourslef!

And here is the new hedgehog tote bag:

To take a proper look at my new bags (and the easiest way to view them all) is to click on my ‘shop’ tab and choose either Folksy or Etsy, depending on where you are in the world!

In other news I signed up today to take part in Susannah Conway’s ‘Unravelling’ e-course - I am so excited about it and can’t wait to get started! If you haven’t already found Susannah and her fantastic work head over to her website – you are in for a treat!

It’s been a while since I have updated you about my tomatoes, chillis and peppers so I thought today I would share with you their progress. I have to say, growing these fruit and vegetables from scratch has been one of the most rewarding things I have done. There is something so satisfying about nuturing something very small and watching it grow and produce things you can eat! It’s also a comfort to know exactly where they have come from and how they’ve been looked after. As you can see, my beefeater tomatoes are coming on extremely well. They are getting quite heavy now and I’ve had to give some of them extra support with additional stakes! 

 The Scotch Bonnet peppers (below) are starting to pop up everywhere on their plant. These little ones haven’t got much longer before they’ll be ready to pick!

 The red pepper below has been the only pepper on this plant for some time and then when I was watering the plant yesterday I noticed at least 7 smaller peppers starting to appear from their flowers. So I’m very pleased I will be getting some more of these.

 Finally, my other tomatoes are coming on brilliantly. I have two of these plants and there are dozens of tomatoes, all of varying sizes, on both f them. I am enjoying watching their growth and am hoping it won’t be too much longer until they start to turn red!

Have any of you been growing your own fruit and veg? Is it your first time? This is my first attempt, and I have had them outside ever since the last frost in May. I was a little aprehensive about whether or not I would be successful with growing my own food but if you just take time to water and care for them daily it’s very easy to do! If you haven’t yet and are thinking about it I would definitely give it a go next growing time!

As promised, more photos from Scotland! The bottlenose dolphins were the main reason for us going to the Black Isle and they didn’t disappoint! They are one of my favourite animals and I was eager to see them in their natural habitat. Chanonry Point was the place to be to see them, about an hour and a half after low tide, when they come into the bay to catch the salmon. I managed to get quite a lot of dorsel fin shots (like the one above!) but also some ones with them breaching, which was fantastic to see.

The photo below was taken when the dolphins were quite a distance away, probably a mile or more away from the shoreline. It was still fantastic to see and through my camera’s lense and the binoculars you didn’t miss any of their spectacular displays! There were times when all you saw were dorsal fins and then suddenly, out of nowhere, they would jump and leap about for a few minutes, giving us all a great show and (hopfeully) a good photographic opportunity!

I’m back from Scotland with lots of stories and photos to share and updates from the garden. The Black Isle was wonderful, with lots to see and do. It was a break I very much needed!

However, since getting back, for reasons out of my control, Archie, the kitten I was due to have didn’t work out so the last few days have been very upsetting for me. I thought I’d briefly mention it because I know a few of you have seen photos and knew I was due to collect him soon. It will take a while to feel better about it but I have lots to distract me with work etc, and I often think things happen for a reason – so back to the rest of the post!

I would like to share photos of all of the different parts of my holiday – we visited lots of different places so I think I will organise them into these visits/days etc and show you something different over a few posts.

One morning was spent at Dunrobin Castle, 50 miles north of Inverness. It  was a very impressive Scottish Castle and they have daily falconry shows, which I will share photos of once I’ve got round to sorting through them!

The castle had some very impressive fireplaces and armour on the walls – it felt like you were stepping back in time.

The grounds were also impressive, with lots of smaller gardens and hidden areas. The falconry displays took place here, on one of the many lawned areas. (What you can’t see from the photo below is that the sea is literally just on the other side of the gardens!)

Another favourite trip of mine during the holiday was to probably the most famous of all the lochs……Loch Ness! It is the first time I have been and it was stunning.

We drove around the entire stretch of it, stopping off at one point to walk down a tiny path to it’s edge. It was like a hidden beach and had more beautiful views. It was also very quiet, except for the odd boat or canooist – I’m not sure whether I’d be happy ontop of the water for fear of what might be lurking underneath!

 I’ll post more pictures next time and some of those will be a selection of the best dolphin photos we took – the highlight of the whole trip for me! Until then, take care everybody!