Week Four Already!

I find myself surprised ... Nay! ... stunned that we are already on Week Four of the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. The weeks certainly are rocketing past.

This week the theme is Layers and I decided to get busy with an Ikea Shadow Box Frame! Unfortunately ... my camera does n't want to play ball and actually getting a picture of my layers has proved nigh on impossible! So ... once finished ... I had to dismantle the frame ... just to show that I was n't fibbing and there were indeed lots of layers included! It does look quite effective in real life ... erm ... honest!

Blimey ... if you kept up with that little lot ... well ... quite frankly ... you are doing better than me!

I am destined for a crafty day with Dan today ... we might even squeeze in a bit of shopping and some refreshments too ... who knows? So what are you up to? C'mon spill!

Whatever it is ... I hope you have a good time doing it!

Laters!

Sunday Snippets!

Seeings as you guys asked so nicely ... here is how I made yesterday's heart. Please note that this technique is as old as the hills ... so apologies if you are hugely disappointed with the simplicity of it ...

1. I stamped the heart in Jet Black Archival onto white card and cut it out
2. Then I coloured the heart with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink
3. I turned the heart over and shaped it by making small circles with a ball tool
4. I added some 3d foam pads
5. Finally ... I stuck it in place and covered it with Glossy Accents
6. The I set it aside to dry and tada .... a dimensional heart!

The heart is a Lord Tim of Holtz Stamp ... you know Tim ... the man that can fly faster than the speed of sound without an airplane and make a 1" scale model of Concord with just a Mustard Seed Distress Re-inker and a Craft Sheet!
I am off to get ready for the imminent arrival of Dan and tomorrow's Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge ...
Laters!

Sunny Saturday!

To be fair ... it's not so sunny now ... in fact it's raining ... again ... but it was sunny when I made this tag and card set!

There are few things I like better than crafting on a Saturday and I was working my socks off until late last night preparing tags and beer mats and stuff ... so today when I got up ... I was surprised that I was still in tag mode! I have been asked in the past what I do with all the tags and to be honest ... I hang them on a book ring and leave them laying about for inspiration ... until I get bored with them and they end up in the rubbish!  Sometimes I will like one enough to use the deign to create cards for friends and family ... This is one of those times.

The stamps are from the Stampers Anonymous Rockstar sheet from Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can sing like an angel while creating the sound of an entire orchestral movement with just the lid off a Distress Ink and a pair of Tonic Studio Non Stick Scissors. I am on his Blog Roll ... Have I mentioned that before ... at all????

You will be pleased to know that the card is n't wonky ... it is just my camera ... or ... it could be me :0)

Righty Ho then ... I am off to have me tea! Have a lovely Saturday evening people.

Laters!

Where is that Friday Feeling?

I have been a busy bee today ... working on my product list for The Paper and Co show in Buthiers in November!

I still can't quite believe that they have asked me to teach there ... sooooooo exciting!

So which of you lovely bloggy people are coming ... nice trip to Paris in November ... a weekend of paper crafting ... all the lovely sites ... romantic places ... it will be mine and John's 11th anniversary while I am there ... What a shame he is n't invited :0)

So ... the piccies today are sneaky peeks of one of the three two hour workshops that I will be doing ... Making Mini Memories ... as soon as I have had the nod from the organisers and sponsors ... well ... I will share the completed project with you!

All of these sneaky peeks include some Ranger product or ... some Lord Tim of Holtz product ...  you know Tim ... the man that can speak to beings from an entirely different solar system while roller skating across the Grand Canyon with just an adage ticket and an elegant flourish!

Anyways ... let's get back to the title of this post ... I am sadly lacking in the whole Friday Feeling department today ... so much so ... I keep thinking it is Thursday ... Is it just me? Or does it feel like Thursday today to you as well?

Have a lovely holiday weekend ... whatever you are doing!

Laters!

Inside the Suitcase!

It has been quite a day here in soggy Cambridge! I have had a great time making stuff with my craft buddy Hels and ... drum roll please ...

My next set of classes have gone on preview at LB Crafts ... that will be my third set ... does n't seem like five minutes when I was panicking that no one would book the first ones ... and here I am two seasons later ... and ... erm ... still panicking :0) You can see all the classes here including some truly breathtakingly fabulous classes by the wonderful Lin Brown. Booking will commence at 10am on Saturday 4th September ... all very exciting and a little bit scary!!!

I apologise to those of you that are sick to the back teeth of looking at my suitcase ... but several of the more curious among you wanted to know what was inside ... well it is indeed a mini book ... all bound using the fabulous Bind-it-all ... it fits nice and snugly in the case and is just begging to be filled with tickets and keepsakes and tales and piccies of a journey ... not sure which journey ... but a journey all the same. The suitcase was completely inspired by Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can walk on hot coals for gazillions of miles at a time while preparing a ten course meal for the Royal Family with just a single Idea-ology keyhole and one brad!

The request for me to do something with one of the suitcases did in fact come from one of my wonderful workshoppees ... the lovely Hilary ... so Thank you Hilary ... I had a fab time making it!

That is me for today ... I am off to make ... erm ... more stuff ... will see you tomorrow no doubt ... Have a lovely evening all!

Size Matters!

I will get onto the whole size thing in a minute!

First up is my desk ... call it messy ... creative ... artistic ... busy ... whatever you like ... the truth is ... from a work perspective ... it is now what I class as a contaminated area ... and decontamination needs to start pretty sharpish... I can bear it no longer!

So WOYWWers ... I may even come back and show you a tidy desk later today ... actually ... you and I both know that aint gonna happen ... I don't even know why I thunk it ... or typed it out loud ... it will take me all day to visit you guys :0)

So ... the whole size thing??? ... well lots of people ... when I say lots ... you guys know me well enough to know that I mean two or three people ... wanted to know the size of my suitcase ... it is 5.5 inches by 4 and a bit inches ... Hands up who thought it was full size! See I told you it mattered!

I am off now to do a spot of photography ... have a fab WOYWW ... and if you have no idea what I am talking about ... Julia ... the overseer of tidy and messy desks the world over will tell you all about it ... here!

And the Winner is ...

Sorry guys ... I was just getting into bed when I realised I had forgotten to draw a winner ... oops!

Anyways ... without further ado ... Drum roll please ... Mr Random Generator thingy has chosen...

 

 

Devon said... Wow, thank you for the chance to win this amazing prize :) I have added your candy to my blog and am following you. Thanks again x

If you want to email me your details Devon I will contact Steph at Simon Says Stamp and let you know what you need to do to claim your prize!

Thank you so much to everyone that entered and for leaving such lovely comments while I was away!

Hi Honey ... I'm Home!

That is n't actually the suitcase I took away with me ... in case you were wondering :0) Case??? Geddit???

And where do the words "Hi Honey ... I'm home" come from? Was it a  film or a TV series ... I can hear them ... but I can't work out who said them!

That is n't why I am here either by the way! No ... I am here to tell you that there is a new theme over at The Simon Says Stamp and Show blog and this week the theme is ... drum roll please ... Anything Lord Tim of Holtz inspired!

Oh Yes ... I picked the theme ... You know Tim ... the man that can bungee jump off the side of Mount Everest without a bungee while building a 1 in 100 scale model of St Paul's cathedral with just a dab of Broken China Paint Dabber and a Stickle from a pot of Rock Candy Stickles.

My project is indeed an altered suitcase ... don't forget to check out this week's prize ... fabulous it is ... Simon Says Stamp donate the coollest prizes!

Finally ...I have very very exciting news ... I am not going to tell you what it is ... but if you click here and read down the right hand side ... well guess who made Lord Tim of Holtz's blog roll????? Only little ole me!!!! I don't think I am ever going to sleep again ... I am just toooooooo excited :0) Doh! I told you :0)

Have a great Monday everyone ... I will be back later tonight with the results of the blog candy ... still time to enter if you have n't done yet and Thank you guys so much for all the lovely comments!

Laters!

**Blog Candy $50 Shopping Spree Now Closed! **

Just a quick note to let you all know that I will be taking a mini Blog Break ... I am going away and I have a gazillion things to do before I leave!
With that in mind ... I wanted to Thank you all for popping in and seeing me ... even thought I am not actually here! Sooooooo ...
I am in possession of a $50.00 shopping spree at Simon Says Stamp and as a Thank you to all you lovely people for following me and reading my nonsense I am offering it as blog candy.
All you need to do to be in with a chance to win this fabulous prize is ... leave a comment on this post ... then post a link on your blog about the candy and on my return on Monday 23rd August 2010 I will select a random comment to win the prize.
Actually Mr Random.Org will probably work his magic ... but you know what I mean :0)
If you don't have a blog ... leave a comment and a way I can contact you and I will pop you in with the entries too!
Take Care everyone! I am waving franticly at any WOYWWers passing by ... gonna miss all your desks this week guys ... but I shall be back in time for next week :0)
Oh yeah ... and if you have any gossip ... put that in the comments too ... I hate to miss out on these things :0)
Laters!

Guess Who Picked This Theme :0)

Okay ... yeah I know ... it was pretty obvious ... and yes it was me! The theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show this week is indeed Stamp and Show your ... THE Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 style! Now before you start groaning and saying you can't take part ... trust me ... you can ... half of the DT did n't have a Wendy Stamp to their name and NO ... I was n't sharing mine :0) ... so they managed with just what they had in their stash ... please go look ... it truly is quite amazing!

Thank you to all you lovely people that joined in last week ... you did me proud everyone and I am truly very grateful!

We have another fabulous prize this week donated by Simon Says Stamp and don't forget that much sought after top three blinkie!

I totally indulged myself with this challenge too ... I took inspiration from The Wendy Vecchi's Stamp Binder covers and made my own ... Not a Distress Ink in sight!!! Oh no ... and don't Adirondack inks work a treat on the Grungepaper. The backing paper is Retro Grunge from Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can sleep on a cloud while playing the harp along side the other angels with just a Watermark Resist Pad and a Inkssentials gel pen ... in white of course!

So ... tell me ... what sort of week do you have lined up??? I am off for a weekend away to Sunny Hunny ... looking forward to that I can tell you ... it's been ages since I have had hot doughnuts by the Sea!

Oh ... and I did n't come back with me shopping yesterday ... because apart from a few spacer beads I bought exactly ... erm ... zilch!

Have a good one people ... laters!

Sunday Snippets!

Morning all! A quick one from me today as I am off to shop and chat at Stamperama in Stevenage! Yup ... that's right no working ... just shopping! If you play nicely while I am out ... I may pop back and show you what I buy :0)

Okay ... so here we go with this week's questions ...

Will you be doing another class featuring the laced album thingy? I 've never managed to get on a class yet!

I think the picture shows the thingy you are referring to and I have no plans to re-do this class this time around ... however ... that is not to say ... I won't do it again in the future!

When you fill the aperture on the bookplates with glossy accents how do you get it to stay in there? Mine always cracks and comes away from the bookplate and then starts to break up!

Okay ... this is where more is definitely more ... I put the bookplate in place ... just with the brads ... then I make sure I am on a very flat surface ... I fill the whole book plate so the Crackle Accents is rounded over the top. The Crackle accents will self level and if you leave it over night ... you should have a wonderful cracked effect by morning!

Wondering how you get your metal pieces so red? With Alcohol ink?

Yup ... that is right ... I use alcohol ink ... Red Pepper on this one ... but I use the nib of the bottle as the applicator and literally go direct to the metal ... if you are planning on trying it ... make sure you do it on your craft sheet and it does take a few moments longer to dry ... but the colour is much more intense!

Well that is me people ... Have a wonderful Sunday ... whatever you are doing ... I shall either see you later with my shopping or tomorrow with the new Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge!

Laters!

Getting out the Iron!

Don't panic ... I did n't need a ladder ... I am not tackling the Everest like mound that is my ironing pile!

Nope ... that can wait for ... erm ... another day! I have in fact been ironing a card!

Another card that made it through the whole yes/no X Factor style audition process for my up and coming B Line card class is this one! Well I think it has made it ... if you guys don't like it ... well I shall have to think again and then perhaps let it down gently!

Once again ... only B Line stamps used with plain white card stock... not including the plain black ... obviously :0) Amazing what you can achieve with a few Lord Tim of Holtz Distress Inks and some embossing powder ain't it? You know Tim ... the man that can skate on unfrozen ice while painting real rainbows with just an Adage Ticket and a blob of Glossy Accents.

The beautiful Butterflies are from the Collections Elements range and what a treat when you open that pack I can tell you ... it looks like one sheet of butterflies for a bargain price ... and when you get it open ... well it has FOUR sheets ... I LOVE surprises like that ... Don't you??? And in case you are wondering ... they are not on Lin's web site yet ... but they will be at Stamperama on Sunday :0)

Right ... I am off to do a spot more class designing ... What are you doing ????

Laters!

Creating Cards!

I know ... cards by moi! I have been sat here today and playing ... playing with B Line stamps and card designs. I could n't be more relaxed if I tried! Loving every second of it I am! Better than a holiday in the Caribbean ... Ok ... that may be taking it a bit far!

I now have a little stack of handmade cards ... certainly a few more than is needed for the class I am designing and I just need to decide which ones are in and which ones are out!

I think this one may stay ... it does n't look that great in the photo but it is oodles of fun to make and proper inky messy play into the bargain ... just the way I like them!

The background involves plain white card ... lots of Distress Ink Blending ... some gold embossing ... a bit of stamping ... some Lord Tim of Holtz tissue tape ... you know Tim ... the man that would have knighted David Beckham and had real angels singing in chorus while he thanked him publicly for his debt to his country before announcing that he was too old to play and all the way throughout these proceedings building a scale model of Wembley Stadium with his feet using just two matchsticks and an edge distresser.

The background is sparkling as a result of some carefully placed Rock Candy Stickles and finally I embellished with a Fragment ... distressed with alcohol inks ... placed over the water coloured stamped image!

Do you know ... reading this post back ... I actually sound like I knew what I was doing for a change :0)

Have a good evening people ...

Laters!

I Was Up with the Larks!

Actually ... when I say larks ... I have exercised literary license ... they were indeed pigeons and I have no clue what a lark looks like ... or sounds like ... so ... if they were present ... I did n't notice them!

So now you are wondering why it has taken me this long to post my WOYWW! Well ... I have turned into a techy computer expert person over night and first thing this morning ... I backed up my hard drive! That might sound very insignificant to several of you ... but this is a practice I have been doing for several months on a monthly basis and it was only this morning that I realised both plugs on the back up wotsit contraption had a purpose ...  so I had n't been backing it up at all previously ... yes you can laugh ... go on ... get it out of your system before you get to my comments and laugh in my face :0)

On my desk ... is lots of yummy shopping ... you can see the entire range of Julie Van Oosten's Collection elements ... I purchased them yesterday and the wonderful Lin will be selling them on her stand at Stevenage at the weekend ... get there quick though ... I am telling you this now because I guarantee that as a result of their complete yumminess ... they won't last long! There are spools and everything ... Yes ... Spools :0) Oh and if you are going to Stevenage ... it would be good to know ... just in case we bump into each other ... I may not recognise you without your desk!

I have also zoomed in on a wonderful book that my personal shopper the lovely Karen selected for me ... I have n't had a proper look at it yet ... but Zentangle is a form of meditation ... Who Knew??? Actually fellow WOYWWer Angie probably did ... she is terribly good at them.

I am off now ... but not before I install a blatant plug for our new challenge site Simon Says Stamp and Show ... Thank you soooooo much to all the wonderful people that responded to my rather desperate plea on Monday to join in ... and if you have n't ... joined in ... well there is still time and a wonderful prize is up for grabs. Don't look at me like that neither ... our wonderful leader ... Lady Julia of Dunnit said I could install that plug ... she used to be in a pop group don't ya know :0)

Have a great Wednesday ... I only got to 56 of you last week ... I promise this week I will be back to the week before's form and see you all ... no matter how many of you there are.

Laters!

A New Day ...

... A new week ... a new challenge.

I sooooo need you guys right now ... I told you all about the challenge site I had been asked to run by Heidi at Simon Says Stamp ... Well today's the day it all starts ... and I am a bit worried ... NO! ... scrap that ... I am completely terrified that no one will take part. So pleeeeeease get your challenge heads on and go and check out this week's theme "Things with Wings" ... otherwise ... what if no one takes part and I look like a right ole numpty! Yes ... I know ... but more than usual! Oh and don't go yet ...

Because not only am I spending a sleepless night worrying whether the challenge will appear on the right day at the right time and that we get some entries ... but I am also worried about my entry.  Does me Butterfly look like it is flying??? I do hope so ... this was one of those hard to photograph projects and the beautiful new Butterfly from THE Wendy Vecchi is in fact suspended on cotton ... I know you can see the cotton ... if you squint ... but does the butterfly look like it is adrift and fluttering mid air ... well ... maybe not quite that ... but you know what I mean!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sidney ... THE Wendy Vecchi's new spider ... Can you see him? ... embossed at the back ... in the clearing ... amidst the Lord Tim of Holtz foliage ... you know Tim ... the man that can control a raging bull while appeasing a small but angry child with just a bit of ball chain and a smidgeon of Sepia accents.

Right ... well I can't stand here gassing ... I need to get on with pacing the floorboards ... worrying about whether the Linky thing that I set up will indeed work ... or even appear! Who in the world thought of time differences??? Why can't Midnight be Midnight everywhere in the world??? Then I would n't have to wait and worry ... perhaps that would make a good Facebook campaign ... What do you reckon Anne? Yes I know it is not practical and someone would be eating their lunch in the dark ...  but Hey Ho ... they would soon get used to it :0)

Have a good week everyone and please please please please enter the challenge!

Sunday Snippets!

You guys are just too cool! Last week ... no questions ... but this week ... I have questions :0)

Still not as many as I imagined I was getting before I said I would answer them on a Sunday ... but hey ho ... I am happy with a few :0)

First one up is about last Sunday's journal page ...

1. Love the page your showing ... Tell me about the lettering!

The lettering was all done using the Crafter's Workshop Marquee Template (12X12) and Black Faber Castell Pit Pens in Fine and Brush.

2. Is the lettering Stamped?

See answer one above :0)

3. Where was the Lord Tim funny? ... I see some of his stamps were used on your project but no Sunday Snippet for Tim!

Trust me ... I would never miss an opportunity to big up Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim the man that can land a 747 jet on a matchbox while teaching 100 crafters with just an item of Foliage and a snowflake stamp. No siree ... I certainly would n't miss an opportunity like that ... so I am not sure what part you are looking at but there was no Lord Tim of Holtz's stamps ... maybe it was the sequin waste? ... or the numbers? ... think they were a mixture of Hero Arts and Technique Tuesday and certainly more stencils!

4. Do you go through people's bins for bean tins or do you just eat a lot of beans?

I don't eat an inordinate amount of beans ... I have good bean contacts ... you would be surprised how many people start arriving with washed out bean tins when they realise you alter them ... I have had a few Pea tins in my time too ... tinned peas ... Yuck!!! :0)

5. Loving this Linda ... What's inside?

This was referring to my Ding Dong book from yesterday ... Inside is full of paper covered pages at the moment ... but there is more to come ... so watch this space!

Not sure I have been particularly useful this week with my question answering ... I promise to try harder and if you have a question on a technique or something I have done ... just pop it in the comments and I will be back next Sunday with more responses.

Before I go ... check this little lot out ... it is a sneaky peek at the Simon Says Stamp and Show first week's prize ... The challenge goes up at a minute past Midnight Ohio time Monday ... and you gotta be innit to winnit :0) But don't tell anyone I showed you :0)

Remember ... questions are good ... so ask away! Have a good Sunday everyone!

Laters

Ding Dong!

Oh Yeah! A bit of early planning from me today ... well ... I say early ... this book has been in the planning stage for about three years :0) So although it is early for Christmas 2010 .... technically it is very late for Christmas 2008 or maybe 2007!

I am finally being brave and using up all my scraps of the Cosmo Cricket 'Be Good' papers! I LOVE those papers ... a lot ... and each year I look for something I am going to like more and each year ... I still LOVE the 'Be Good' range the most! Why ... Oh Why don't they make them any more??? I know I am not the only one that loves them ...

It's like when you fall in love with a certain lipstick or blusher ... it becomes your all time favourite but when you go in and try and buy some ... they have stopped making it! You get that ... 'Well nobody wanted it anymore' response from the counter assistant ... and there is a little voice screaming inside you saying ... WELL ACTUALLY I BLOOMIN' WELL DID!

Anyways enough of my moaning ... I had great fun making this ... I used the 6X6" craft covers from Zutter ... my trusty Bind-It-All ... the aforementioned papers ... Darkroom Door Christmas Stamps ... Ranger Distress Inks as water colours ... some ribbon and a few jingley bells ... so it even sounds like Christmas :0) Ooops I nearly forgot the PaperArtsy Poinsettias and the triple embossing but not the Lord Tim of Holtz Grungepaper ... you know Tim ... the man that can wing walk without a harness or a plane while making chocolate eclairs with just an ornate frame and one brad!

Right-Ho then ... I am away to make stuff ... not sure what yet ... but I am sure I will think of summink! What you up to???

C'mon spill ...

It's Bean a While!

Can you see what I did there??? Huh??? Can you??? Clever use of the word Bean ... seeings as this is an altered Bean can!!! Yup ... I thought so!

This little guy is going to sit on my desk next to my WOYWW anniversary calendar! Just in case you were wondering ... I do know it is n't the 25th of July today ... that was the day I made it :0)

The whole can is covered with Lord Tim of Holtz's Grungepaper ... you know Tim ... the man that can turn Nylon into silk on a whim while creating diamonds out of gravel with just the teensiest amount of Black Enamel Accents and the lid from a pot of Aged Mahogany Distressed Stickles.

The Grungepaper is painted with Claudine Hellmuth's deliciously black 'Charcoal Black' acrylic paint and bound using the Bind-it-all and some waxed cotton and beads! The flowers and butterflies are stamps by THE Wendy Vecchi and coloured with Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint Distress inks. The flowers were attached using the Zutter popper wotsits which means that instead of twiddling my thumbs ... I can twiddle me flowers instead.

The back label jobby wotsit is Tim's Sizzix label die ... with the ends chopped off ... very carefully of course ... I did n't harm them in the making of this piece!!! And finally the centre bit of one of Tim's key holes... also humanely doctored!

I still have n't managed to get around all the WOYWW desks this week ... but I am going to have another go today ... there is just sooooooo many ... I am also going to dabble in a spot of card making ...

Laters!