Bits and Pieces!

Well ... I did n't get chance to play with my new Timmy stamps as hoped ... but I did have a wonderful time at the second of my screen workshops on Saturday at LB Crafts. So a big Thank you to Alex, Helena, the two Sues, Mel, Geraldine and Pauline ... I hope you girls enjoyed it as much as I did. Bearing in mind I was an hour from home ... it was a complete surprise to find out that I actually went to school with Mel!

The piece of chip in the top picture is my artwork For the Bubbly Scrumptious blog today ... details of all products and destructions can be found here. And if you like this ... have a good dig through the rest of the posts on the blog ... there is some truly amazing inspiration from the other very talented design team members.

This last picture is of a mini book cover that I made for the front page of UK Scrappers as part of the Happy Daze design team. There is a downloadable PDF with instructions available here.

I did warn you in the title that this was all bits and pieces ... righty ho ... I need to get to the post office and get my kits ready for tomorrow's class and then ... fingers crossed ... I will get my new Timmy stamps out and have a play ... mind you I have ironing to do too ... maybe ... erm ... that will just have to wait :0)

Oh yeah ... and finally ... I just neeeeeeeeed to tell you my most exciting news ... in 13 more sleeps I am going to see Tim ... the man that can turn water into A Tequila sunrise with just one flat backed gem and a piece of ball chain ... in the flesh ... oh yes ... I am soooooooo excited :0)

That Friday Feeling!

Blimey ... Where did this week go ... actually it all felt quite sedate until Wednesday night ... then Thursday flew and I cannot believe it is Friday evening already!

I thought you may like to see the tag I created for Creativity boutique over on the Kreative Kaboodles blog ... there is a little competition going on too ... so do join in the fun ... you may win a small prize :0)

I had an exciting delivery today ... I may even play with it in a minute ... it is the new Timmy stamp ... you know Timmy ...the man that can paint synchronised rainbows world wide with just a distress re-inker and a one inch square of grunge board. I am not telling you which one it is ... suffice to say ... it is a controversial choice ... you either love it or you hate it and I definitely love it!

So ... enough about me ... what sort of week have you had? ... What new Timmy stamps do you like - dislike??? Are you going to buy any and which ones? Have you bought any crafty stash this week? Are you glad it's Friday? I could go on ... but I shall leave you in peace ... and Thanks to Brenda ... I will get my Dixon of Dock green impression right tonight ...

Evenin' all :0)

WOYWW?

I am soooo late with this post today ... my camera did n't want to load the piccies and ... erm ... 3 hours later ... Ta Da!

I have lots to show the WOYWW coven ... I think they may wish they had n't asked this week ... but they did ... so here goes. My work desk today was at my Chip 'n Bling class at L.B Crafts in Olney and on my work desk were 9 sets of inky fingers :0)

My ladies kindly provided the photos for your perusal and entertainment. This was a very busy class ... great fun and very messy ... but with lots of elements so we could have really done with an eensy bit more time :0)

Look at all the fab colours in use though and the lovely Karen, Kerry, Carol, Di, Susan, Hilary, Chris, Liz and Allyson produced beautiful art work and all with my favourite Wendy Vecchi stamps ... favourite distress inks and favourite Maya Road chip ... what could be better!

If you are wondering what they were making ... well it is a chip 'n bling hangy piece ... so called because there is lots of chip and lots of bling ... cleverly named huh??? :0)

Not only did we talk and laugh and get inky and messy but they made constant reference to my art work in Craft Stamper ... which was very funny and very kind :0) They even let me show them the article more than once ... and ... I of course ... lapped it up :0)

Some of my ladies wanted pictures of the project so they could finish off at home ... So I have included all the bits  ... sorry I am later than anticipated girls ... click on each picture for a closer look and Thank you all soooooo much for another great day :0)

As for the WOYWW ... if you don't know what on earth that is all about ... visit our industrious leader where you will find all that is necessary so you can take part too.

Good Night all! I said that like Dixon of Dock Green ... well I did n't quite ... because he was a chappie and I can't actually remember what he sounded like ... but if you can ... that was my intention :0)

Sweet dreams!

Give Me Moonlight and Roses ...

... and love and romance ...

No ... I am not going mad ... Romance is the theme of this week's Gingersnaps challenge launching today ... it has been sponsored this month by the Artistic Stamper and this is my entry!

I am very lucky to be one of the first to get my grubby little mitts on the new stamps launched this month ... my favourite being the sequin waste stamp and the heart background ... oh yeah ... and the heart border and the heart outline ... sorry I am fickle don't ya know!

Vintage photo distress ink was used for my background ... I stamped the heart background with water and then added the sequin waste with more vintage photo. The heart border was placed behind some film strip ribbon and the heart outline stamped onto a page from ... get this ... a romantic novel and cut out :0)

The rose is made of grunge paper stamped with the middle size flower power stamp ... coloured with fired brick distress ink and spritzed with some perfect pearls and vintage photo re-inker.

Finally the very red heart is made from Poppy red UTEE in the melt pot and cut with a cookie cutter.

Phew ... that has fair wore me out ... well it is 5am ... I am now off to look at the Ginger Snaps DT work ... it's always stunning ... course you can follow me :0)

Oh and those of you in search of my desk ... it is going to be a late reveal from me today ... a different desk ... a different county ... I will return :0)

It's Not Always All About Me!

For those of you that tuned in for work desk Wednesday last week ... you will recognise the papers and be amazed and astounded ... I am sure :0) ... that I actually finished the second mini book I was working on! Mind you ... the Bind it all does make it quick and easy ... so I can accept that you may not be amazed as well as astounded ... possibly just one or tother :0)

I am right hooked on making these 6 X 6 albums ... I just need to get hooked on decorating the pages now! Having said that I have a supply of the Zutter moveable page protectors and they are fab ... you just stick them in the book where ever you want and you can put piccies in etc., and move them around when you feel like it ... well I am using mine to store stash for pages ... so I am well into the planning stage :0) I shall just adjust my halo before continuing :0)

This book is a very late gift for a lady I used to work with ... she had two Granddaughters in quick succession last year and I promised her I would make her a book ... well life took over ... I was made redundant ... almost a year ago now ... and she probably thinks I have done a runner with her piccies ... so I am going to get stuck in over the next few weeks and hopefully get it delivered shortly :0) The grunge roses are definitely Wendy Vecchi this time and I have coloured them using Worn lipstick distress ink ... you know the ink that Tim ... the man that can snow board down a sheer drop with no board and no snow ... named especially for me :0)

Right ... I am off to wake the chef from his night shift slumber ... not because he has had enough sleep ... but because my tummy is starting to rumble :0)

Another Day and Some More Chip!

Morning everyone ... just popped in to say Hi and Thank you all for the lovely messages of yesterday ... I am still doing a happy dance and am even more chuffed that some of you kind folk did some dancing with me :0) And that you liked the tin :0) The people up my road were not nearly as excited and the dog food delivery man just looked at me like I was bonkers when I thrust the magazine under his nose while I was signing for the food this morning ... I mean ... me ... Bonkers ... really!

I have just posted this project on the Bubbly Scrumptious blog ... so if you want to know about the products ... all the details are here!

I have a full afternoon and evening of crafting ahead of me ... well if I tidy up a teensy bit first ... because I don't actually have any work space available at the moment!

Righty ho then ... I shall leave you in peace to enjoy my note ... Can you guess which Tim I mean? Can you Huh? Can you? Oh yes ... that will be the Mr Tim that can jump on clouds with his bare feet and a selection of Idea-ology charms!

Have a good Monday ... I will see you tomorrow!

What a Day!

As you know it was my third class yesterday ... and yes it did snow! ... I left home at 7.00am and by 7.03am ... I was sliding sideways across a main road into a roundabout ... no damage and I was able to continue with my journey ... but what a hairy start. Luckily about 20 miles outside Cambridge there was very little or no snow ... so things improved! I did tell you that snow, cars and me ... well we just don't get on!

So I get to LB Crafts and I realised I have left a few supplies at home ... luckily the lovely Karen was there to sort me out ... then I went to collect some cut n dry foam off the window sill where I had left it to dry ... stood up and whacked my head on the window recess ... solid brick ... and you know when you get a big lump and you have to keep feeling it to check it still hurts ... well that was me! Luckily only mildly concussed ... and you know me ... I like to exaggerate :0)

The great thing was my ladies were all fab as usual ... some new faces and some return visits ... so I have n't frightened anyone away yet ... we got straight on with our metal magic class and things picked up!

Boy! ... did they pick up on a grand scale ... the lovely Lin Brown popped in with exciting tales of things to come for this year from CHA ... can't wait to get my grubby little hands on loads of the new stuff ... and it was great to have her back ... and ...

Get this ... I am sooooo excited ... honoured ... shocked ... happy ... delirious ... chuffed ... excited ... doh! ... I have said that already ... but I made the front cover of Craft Stamper ... did I tell you I was excited :0) I am sure a better piccie of the cover will be available shortly ... but for now ... mine looks like this :0) It is a packed and fabulous issue ... with some great projects from Lin too ... I am sooooooo excited :0)

I am off to do my happy dance some more and consider reasons for knocking on every door in my road ... just to start up a conversation where I can slip the magazine in :0)

Have a good Sunday everyone :0)

Just Time for a Quickie!

Cor Blimey! I was up with the larks this morning with a whole list of things to do and guess what ... it's the afternoon again and I am not even half way through! Time is flying so it follows that I must be having fun :0)

This is the tag I have made for the Kreative Kaboodles blog today. And as I am being entirely honest ... see yesterday's post ... well I have literally just made it ... how dis-organised I have become and soooo soon into my new regime of organisation! Note to self ... must try harder.

If you would like to know how I made this or the colours and product I used ... just click here and you will be magically transported to another time and another continent and ... erm... the same tag :0)

The weather is blooming awful. It is cold and wet and there are threats of snow ... which I need like a hole in the head because I am off up to L.B Crafts in Olney at the crack of dawn for another class ... very very excited I might add ... but driving and snow do not make a safe journey with me at the controls :0)

Anyway ... I can't sit around here chatting ... I have erm ... blog hopping to do ... and no ... it's not on my list ... but :0)

Something a Bit Different!

Oh yes ... definitely something a bit different for me anyway!

It's a 6X6 mini book scrapbook album jobby! I loved making it too ... still have all the pages to fill ... but I have started planning them and the pages are all covered ready to be adorned with memorabilia of days gone by of mostly me and a bit about John ... if there's room :0)

Talking of John ... he read the wording ... shook his head in a knowing kind of a way and smiled ... trust me ... he knows how lucky he is *LOL*

I used Zutter 6X6 covers; 1" black Owires and some very sturdy black card ... all covered with Rusty Pickle papers that I have stroked for quite long enough! I even doodled ... very brave me thinks and of course I am entirely incapable of making pretty much anything without a grunge paper rose or some grunge paper on the project somewhere. Do you know I love Mr Tim? ... the man that can traverse large cities mid air with just a piece of craft wire and a paper tag ... not even a manilla one! I used the Studio 490 rose stamp** and I spritzed the rose after it was made with glimmer mists ... I quite like that slightly blown look that gazillions of people think you should avoid ... just shows that it takes all sorts!

Hey Ho! Laters X

EDIT: Good grief I have had to return because I have lied ... I did n't use **Wendy V's rose stamp at all ... I wanted a smaller rose so I used the Artistic Stamper Flower Power middle sized flower stamp ... sorry everyone ... I shall wash my mouth out and try not to lie again :0)

Cause and Effect!

I think we pretty much established last week that WOYWW is now a cult ... has a huge and growing population and we are now in need of a forum ... What about an annual get together? ... Julia ... hunny ... pull your finger out :0)

What we did n't establish is the effect it has on your crafting life ... oh yes people ... it just is n't Wednesdays ... don't ya know.

As a result of having a nosy at what others have on and around their crafting areas ... well I now have a plastic duck ... that I plan on altering or just talking to ... oh yes ... you know who you are ... this week I have started two mini books ... eyed up every die I can find ... tidied stuff in an orderly fashion ... had my sewing machine out ... and put it away again ... seriously ... the list is endless!

You have just got to join in ... Don't be shy ... Julia is rather lovely ... although she does make us wear a silly hat ... but no one can see us ... or is that just me?  :0) Come on ... it's Wednesday ... What's on your work desk? ... and if you have been joining in for a while ... What is the effect this wonderful group of people is having on you?

Second Class!

Today was my second class and from this moment forward shall be known as Ribbon Gate ... I could do with some ... da da da music here for impact! Oh yes ... it is now a well known fact that I have a complete inability to measure anything remotely fabric connected ... but luckily I suffered from the same inability when I ordered the ribbon so there was plenty of spare :0) They are all now officially Hilary lengths too ... so don't panic if you are on the next round of this class. Ribbon Gate will not be rearing it's ugly head again. As you can see from the picture ... it was quite an important element of the project! I realise most of you are going to think I have gone completely mad ... but basically I misjudged the whole ribbon thing on this project ... the timing ... the length and sadly we ran just a little short of time!

There was definitely nothing second class about the lovely people I spent today with though ... we laughed ... we chatted ... we worked hard and ... erm ... we laughed :0)

Did I love it as much as my first class? ... you can bet your bottom dollar that I did! I was in my element talking about Tim's ... the man that can build a house ... on sand ... with just a bottle of glossy accents and an edge distresser ... grunge paper.

So a big bloggy shout out and a big Thank you to ... Di, Kerry, Carol, Dot, Hilary, Ann, Carol and Jill ... I had a fab time :0)

So now it's your turn ... What you been up to?

One World One Heart Giveaway!

This is exciting stuff ... you guys have all gotta join in ... it is gonna be soooooo much fun. Lisa will explain all here. But basically you make some art ... blog it .... give everyone that leaves a comment the chance to win what you make. Easy peasy! And if you have n't got time to join in ... that is n't a problem either ... just check out the blog links here and leave a comment! Told you it was easy :0)

So this is the piece I have made with the theme of magic carpet ... the Maya Road chip is kinda carpet shaped and the colour and pattern are just like the carpet of a family I used to babysit for ... when I was ... erm ... about 14! Blimey that is going back a bit!

So you can either join in ... by making your own art and visiting here ... and following the simple instructions ... or just leave a comment on this post ... a winner will be drawn on the 15.02.09 and the comment chosen at random will receive this hangy piece.

Do you know ... the minute I typed that I realised that no one may want it ... leave a comment anyway ... you will be helping my self esteem and I will bung in a pack of sweeties too!

I am happy to mail it anywhere in the world ... Have a great week ... and Good Luck :0)

First Class!

Thank you all so much for the all the wonderful comments and emails about my first class ... I can now say ... that it went without any major incidents and I really really really enjoyed it ... a lot :0) I am hoping my ladies did too ... they looked like they were :0)

There was plenty I learned ... but then I rather knew I would ... it being my first time ... my first demo was a bit unstructured ... so I can work on that ... I made the awful mistake of answering the ringing phone ... that was for the shop ... and then I could n't put the caller through ... luckily it was Karen's daughter ... and Karen was really lovely about it ... actually from now on she will be known as the lovely Karen ... because she was fabulous ... as always!

There was a sticky place when I realised I had n't bought the correct leaf stamp for the beer mat project ... but I did ask if anyone wanted to march out, complain and demand their money back ... but my ladies were so lovely they just used the other leaf stamps I did have.

The truth is ... they were all wonderful ... so a big Thank you to Jo and Helena ... Helena's daughter Alex, Jean and Emma ... you really were fantastic to work with ... I could n't have asked for better. They all left with finished projects ... and me ... well I can't wait for the next class on Tuesday!

Have a great week everyone!

Wish Me Luck ...

I am rather late posting today ... had me hair done and that sort of thing already for tomorrow :0)

I have made another lurve beer coaster hangy thing for my contribution to this weeks Kreative Kaboodles blog ... so if you want to know the products and how to's etc., ... it is all here.

I don't think it has stopped raining all day and it is flippin cold too ... I tell ya!

Do you know the very second I typed that ... it stopped ... how spooky is that? ... Maybe I should have posted earlier after all!

So come on ... spill ... What have you got lined up for the weekend? ... A crafty relaxing one? ... Or are you working? Or entertaining? ... Or off somewhere for a romantic break? ... I know I am nosy ... I like to know these things!

I shall need all the luck you can muster while you are leaving full details on your weekends ahead ... I shall be teaching for the very first time at L.B Crafts and I am sooooooooooooooooo excited! I can't believe the day is nearly here already ... I am all packed up and raring to go ... If everyone lets me ... I shall take piccies and fill you all in on the details tomorrow ... of course if it all goes horribly wrong ... I may just go into hiding ... but the lovely Karen is in the shop to keep me on track ... so it should n't come to that :0)

Well that is me .. Just a quickie post from me tonight ... I need luck ...

Now don't forget :0)

Passing the Purple hat to you!

I don't "do" chain emails as a rule ... but today I have made an exception ... So for all the lovely people that pop in and visit my blog ... this is for you!

In honour of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who wrote this after she found out she was dying from cancer.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle..
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later... Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.look at it and really see it . live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!
Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what
Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us...

Still Miss Organised?

Erm ... well ... no ... more mis-organised! I know that is not a word ... but it was my attempt at fooling the wonderful people at WOYWW. It did cross my mind to lie about the state of my desk ... just reproduce the wonderfully organised picture that I took way back at the start of the year ... I say way back ... coz that is how it feels ... but I just know the eagle eyed Julia would suss me instantly. My desk is full of inks and bits from projects as far back as Saturday ... so much stuff in fact ... I may have to start making inchies very soon due to the lack of space!

The tag on my desk is using only Wendy Vecchi plate 3 ... Art from the Heart and I have used the snowcap resist thingy and lots of embossing. But not the 962 coloured distress inks that are laying on my desk!

Joining in on WOYWW really does focus the fact that I am rubbish at rubbish really ... you know like clearing it up ... I am not going to give myself a hard time or anything ... much more  important things in life to worry about ... but I do feel a bit like I am drowning in a sea of unfinished jobs ... so today I am going to start finishing things and crossing them off the never ending list. After I have visited you lot obviously ... which will probably take the best part of today ... there is so many of us now and it is such fun! Are we a cult yet do you think? And if you are not part of the cult ... if we are one ... go on ... visit Julia ... follow her fabulous instructions and get joining in ... you really do meet some great people along the way!

Someone Stole Tuesday too!

Oh yes siree ... the person or persons that stole Monday morning have only gone and nicked Tuesday too! Why do they do that when you have a list of stuff to do as long as your arm? I say ... your arm ... and I don't actually know how long your arms are so I shall be more precise ... John has very long arms ... abnormally long ... in fact I think he is only one evolutionary step away from the monkeys in terms of arm lengths. Well my list is as long as his arms ... oh yes ... both of them :0)

This card is a double whammy challenge wotsit ... tis my entry for Sunday Stampers which is celebrating it's 2nd birthday and the challenge is a birthday card. It is also my entry in today's Passion for Promarkers challenge where the theme is girls.

So that answers what I used to colour the very lovely Mabel Lucie Attwell image with ... the background is a dotty stamp embossed in white and coloured using old paper and worn lipstick distress inks. That is my favourite name ... ever ... for a colour of ink ... I bet Timmy ... the man that can walk across a tightrope with just one leg and a empty alcohol ink bottle ... named it ... in fact ... he probably named that one especially for me :0)

That's it then ... see you with my desk in the morning :0)

Where did Monday Morning go?

Seriously guys ... I think someone nicked it!

I had my breakfast at 7.20am ... made a couple of phone calls ... sent a couple of emails ... wrote a blog post ... and it is now 2.20pm ... so who do you think nicked it?

No surprises from me today ... I have blogged some more chip for the Bubbly Scrumptious blog ... Grey chip ... which I lurve and of course Wendy Vecchi stamps ... which I also lurve :0) If you fancy giving this a go ... click here and you can see a step by step of how I made it!

Colours are a bit brighter than normal ... not sure what's occurring ... I said that like Nessa ... well sort of ... if you don't watch Gavin and Stacey ... well you will have no clue what I am on about ... no change there then :0) I seem to be drawn to warmer colours at the moment ... Do you think it is something to do with the weather? ... or more optimism because we are at the beginning of a new decade? ... who knows ... and if you don't ... well it is no good looking at me ... I can't even remember the question :0)

Have a good one people ... I am off in search of coffee :0)

Simply Stamping!

I describe myself as a challenge junkie ... and these days nothing could be further from the truth! I used to complete a challenge almost every day and recently ... once every few months! So today I am going to start to rectify this misleading description and have taken part in the Allsorts challenge ... which is ... I think ... a good start.

The theme is brown and pink and since I have n't had Tilda or my Promarkers out for ages ... well I thought I would rectify that too. I had forgotten just how therapeutic colouring in is. This card was made using the snow cap dabber as a resist with the lovely Agapanthus stamp ... I still find it amazing what you can do with a few stamps some ink and a bit of white card! I actually left some ink on the white dabber too because for this card ... well ... the white was just ... in ya face!

On a different note ... Thank you for all your warming comments on Thursday :0) ... the heating and hot water was restored finally at 6.30pm and it seems to be working better than ever at the moment ... I did n't resort to putting my coat on ... just a few well timed ... do be quiet looks at John did the trick! Mind you ... when Mr Heating chappy left ... John said ... Blimey he could talk could n't he? Amazing! The poor chap was n't speaking to himself!

Brrr ... it's cold in here!

I know everyone is suffering with the cold in this abnormally white winter we are having ... but today ... I am bloomin' freezin'. The heater man is here to fix the boiler that has been broken since Christmas Eve. The heating was still working ... Thank the lord ... but the water was only running hot and cold ... did n't make for a pleasant shower I can tell you!

The heater man came once before already ... went away ... only for us to discover he had n't actually fixed anything.

Anyways ... he turns up today and he turns the heater off! I would n't mind ... but John and him sound like a couple of old fish wives ... John is keeping him nice and warm with cups of tea and endless chatter ... and two and half hours later ... the heating is still off ... deep breaths Linda ... stay calm!!!!

Well being cold certainly focuses the mind ... another tag ... this time only using white card ... distress inks and Wendy Vecchi sheet two ... Art rules!

I love how Tim ... the man that can fix any heating system in five seconds with just a pair of deckle edged scissors ... film strip turned out ... have stamped with fired brick and embossed with mustard seed distress embossing powder ... put a bit under the film strip and cut a few single flowers and placed them on top with mini brads ... I am liking it a lot!

Right ... now they are talking about local publicans ... I think I may just go and sit in the middle of them with my coat on ... hopefully they will get the hint!