Hello to everyone out there, I am new to this but wanted to share something that has happened to me lately with you. Don't worry its not bad, its just one of those things that I always wanted to do and never got round to. I thought I would be OK at it, I even thought I might be quite good at it. I am quite particular and always been creative although it was not considered a proper route by the family so I went for the traditional 'proper job' as it was referred to ! I love painting, always have but the family didn't understand that I wanted art to be my main career. They thought art was for the weekend or after work. I have secretly painted for years and decided it was time to display my work. I searched for a course that would help me with display. I eventually found a great website and a few calls made it easy for me to book on, at a time and at a venue that was easy for me to reach. I was a bit nervous having never really shown anyone my work before but I was there to learn how to mount my work and how to frame so it was more about that than displaying my art. I just wanted to write about this as it was such a big thing to go there. The weekend turned out to be fantastic, I learnt so much in two days of what a difference a frame makes and how to properly mount using all the correct materials that are not going to damage my artwork. I feel so passionate about it, that I have bought all the entry tools and materials to start making my own mounts and frames for my artwork. I have even started mounting and framing my friends work too for them. What I really want to say is that if anyone wants to do something they should just go and do it. Don't wait for someone to say its OK or arrange it for you. Find it and do it, the internet makes it so easy these days that anything is possible ! My thanks to my new friends at www.diyframing.com and for their encouragement that has made a huge difference to me. I am even considering starting my own framing business. I will keep you all informed of any progress. I am collecting some more kit tomorrow from diyframing at their Beaconsfield outlet as they are actually cutting the frames for me so it makes it even easier to assemble. They call it a 'chop' service just getting into all the lingo ! I am getting so confident that I have booked on a canvas stretching course in February ! Will keep you all updated.....heres to a good 2008 ! Rebecca