The Duchess Takes a Bow!

I know ... I know ... I got the whole time thing wrong and this post is late for the Simon Says Stamp Challenge this week ... and as Challenge Site Director ... well to be honest you would expect much more from me ... more organisation etc., ... the truth is ... I am from the UK ... who knew that in the U.S... there are different time zones depending on which state you are in!!!

Anyways ... the theme this week is love ... in readiness for Valentine's Day don't ya know and the prize is a stonkingly good $50 gift voucher for Simon Says Stamp! ... Talking of which ... I saw Heidi today with her order book out at CHA ... boy does that girl know how to shop ... she has a whole lot of lovely new goodies on the way!


The highlights from CHA today were ... THE Wendy Vecchi ... whom I LOVE ... Lord Tim of Holtz ... You know Tim ... the man that can turn bath water into Champagne while rescuing abandoned Penguins in the Arctic with just a dollop of Glue n Seal and a inch square of Sticky Backed Canvas!

The other highlights were the DCWV booth ... LOVED their display and also LOVED the Ice Resin Display ... rather a lot!

Finally I had the honour of attending Suze 'The Duchess of the Melt Pot' Weinberg's retirement bash on the Ranger booth ... I wish you the very best of everything Suze ... and all in your jammies ... if you please :0)

Okay people ... That's all from me for now ... it has gotta be my bedtime in at least one state ...
Laters!

CHA - Day One ... The Highlights!

A really busy day today guys ... we must have walked miles ... and erm ... miles ... but boy oh boy was it worth it! You get piped into CHA with Bagpipes ... I never knew that ... Did you????
 I got to see THE Wendy Vecchi in action ... I LOVE Wendy ... I also saw Lord Tim of Holtz doing his thang... you know Tim ... the man that can illuminate the darkest of places while saving the white Tiger from extinction with just one Distress Stain and a Manilla Tag!
I have a whole heap of piccies to show you ... I saw our very own Dyan Reaveley strutting her stuff on the Ranger booth and a very fine job she was doing too! The new circus and Pierrot ranges from Graphic 45 ... are simply stunning! We saw all Tim's and Wendy's new stamps, Art parts and dies etc., I just cannot wait! I was Mrs Sceptic when I first saw Distress Stains ... Now I totally get them!!!!
I will be back with more as soon as I get a minute ...
Laters!

Registration!

It's official guys ... I am registered ... and they are actually going to let me in tomorrow morning! I have my CHA 2011 pass ... with my name on and everything! So after registering .... which took a matter of minutes to be honest ... we filled the rest of the day with ... erm ... more shopping :0)

Went to the Grove first which is a gorgeous little shopping place with a Tram ... oh yeah ... and an Ugg shop and if you are reading this John ... yes dear I did need another pair ... they were a bargain ... only cost me a tenner :0)
Then we went to Rodeo drive ... you know the one ... Pretty woman!!!! Guess how many times people stopped and asked me if I was The Julia Roberts :0) Go on guess!
I am just about to put my camera on charge .... plan on taking a gazillion photos of all the stands etc., for you guys tomorrow ...
Laters!

Quickie Update!

Here we are ... in downtown L.A
We landed safe and sound yesterday afternoon!
Managed to avoid any jet lag ... we shopped through it :0)
Got some lovely stuff from Michaels ... we liked Michaels ... a lot!
As for the photo ... an armchair in the car park ... you would n't get that in the U.K!
We are collecting our passes for the show in the morning ... Very exciting!
Laters!

At the Airport!

Well here I am ... At the airport and testing out the whole blogging from an IPhone jobby wotsit! Can you hear me???? Huh??? Can you??? Sorry you can't see anything yet ... That will come later! Apparently the sun is shining in L.A and the shopping is good! The wendy Vecchi and Lord Tim of Holtz are already there ... You know Tim ... The man that can wing walk without an airplane while plumping up clouds with just a pair of non stick scissors and a piece of tissue tape!
Well That is it for now folks ... Realise this is an extra short post ... But ... As promised ... There will be regular updates for those of you that don't tweet.
Laters!

Not Long Now!

I am so excited ... only a couple more sleeps and we shall be jetting off for L.A! CHA here I come!

Now down to business ... there is a new theme up at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... this week we are asking you to stamp and show your childhood memories. My childhood memories are all very recent ... as you all know ... so thinking back did n't take long ... my tongue is placed firmly in my cheek at this point. Oh! Oh! Oh! This week's prize is indeed a very generous $50 gift voucher donated by Simon Says Stamp ... I shall be meeting up with all the girlies from Simon Says Stamp at CHA ... how cool is that ... it will be fabulous to see Heidi again ... remember Heidi ... and the Gesso at Ranger U!

Anyways ... my friend's Grandmother used to have a decorated Cigar box filled with Postcards, photographs and letters from her sweetheart. I used to love listening to her stories. So I thought it would be nice to decorate a cigar box and fill it with envelopes ... I plan to journal lots of memories and pop them in the envelopes with some piccies ... maybe some day I will have a few Grandchildren to tell stories to!

The stamps are THE Wendy Vecchi. Paper is Lord Tim of Holtz ... coloured with a water wash of Raw Umber ... The Ornate  Plate is also Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can tiptoe on a high wire while carrying several tonnes of paper and sing Puff the Magic Dragon backwards with just a Philosophy tag and a single brad.

I must away ... I have packing to do and a load of other very dull but necessary stuff before I leave.

Laters!

Can You Tell What it is Yet?

Did you think I was Rolf Harris then? Huh? Did you? Ah well ... never mind ... he is from the wrong continent anyway!

Oh yes folks ... my third and last January page has been dedicated to all things American ... seeings as that is where I will be when I write in it ... cannot wait ... only seven days to go now and the wonderful Lin has a whole list of fab shops in the vicinity of our hotel ... and we have a couple of days spare ... so I guess we will be hitting those pretty hard ... rude not to really :0)

This page was made using Adirondack Red Pepper; Cranberry and Denim Colorwash ... the new bottles are an absolute dream to use! The paper is indeed Lord Tim of Holtz and the little white star is stamped using Snow Cap dabber and his little star stamp. You know Tim ... the man that can create total darkness  by pushing the moon across the face of the sun while communicating in an unknown language with the guys that live on Mars with just a grain of Ultra Thick Embossing Powder and a swipe of Archival Jet Black Ink.

The blue part of the page is indeed a pocket ... well it is an envelope really ... but it is destined to house my CHA pass ... Did I mention ... I CANNOT WAIT!

I am getting right into this journal and even though I know I will probably look back at these pages at some date in the future and shudder ... right now I am having a ball doing them!

Having said that ... I have other stuff I need to be making so February will just have to wait!

Laters!

The Same But Different!

This page may look very familiar to some of you ... that is because this is my second attempt at this page. I enjoyed doing the first one so much ... in one of my ... erm ... practice journals ... well I changed it slightly and redid it for my 365 journal.
First of all I covered the pages with Emerald with a frame of Fountain Blue Eco ink ... then I sprayed over a stencil with Dylusions Lime ink spray ... I was rather pleased that the spray highlighted the Blue Border even more.
Then it was over to THE Wendy Vecchi's leaf stamp ... once again using it just as an outline to colour with a Black Pitt pen before doodling over each leaf with the Ranger White Gel Pen.
The journaling patches are from one of Lord Tim of Holtz's paper stacks ... you know Tim ... the man that can blow glass into a life size and instantly recognisable model of Tower Bridge with one puff while water skiing with just a dob of Studio Multi Medium and a Lavish Trim. Talking of paper stacks ... Have you seen Crowded Attic ... OH MY!!! NEEEEEEEEEEEEED IT!!!!
Anyways ... if you are wondering about the stars obscuring some of my journalling ... well that is because ... much as I have nothing to hide from all you lovely people ... there are 'others' out there on the World Wide Web who would completely misunderstand my fetish for rubber and indeed get completely the wrong idea about my obsession for continually using a pokey tool!
Right ... I am off ... I may even start Page Three ...
Laters!

Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

The weekend sure did fly by! I spent a lovely day with a great group of ladies at LB Crafts on Saturday doing the last of my Alcohol Ink Masterclasses ... then on Sunday I went back for another day doing ...

actually I cannot tell you that ... if I tell you I would have to kill you ... which would be a real feat in itself ... because as soon as the words left my lips ... or indeed my fingers ... either the wonderful Lin or Leandra would indeed kill me first!

Anyways ... the weekend has been and gone ... and a new week means a new theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show. The theme this week is Polka Dots ... LOVE that word ... it's a good word to say out loud ... go on ... try it :0)

The prize this week is indeed another $25.00 shopping spree at Simon Says Stamp ...

This week I decided to decorate a hinged frame ... after I had smothered it in THE Wendy Vecchi Polka Dots ... I got a bit carried away with the Grungepaper flowers ... so added a few more dotty butterflies for good measure. Every iddy biddy bit of stamping is done with THE Wendy Vecchi stamps ... all of the embellishments are Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can balance 481 plates on a pencil on his head while doing an Irish jig with just a tiny attacher and a blade protector from a pair of Tonic Studio Scissors. If you tilt your head to the right and squint your eyes ... you should be able to see some Ranger Black Enamel Accents too.

I must away ... I need to go buy a wheeled trolley bag wotsit ... I may be some time!

Laters

This and That!

I started off with really good intentions tonight ... the plan was to clear my desk ... tidy away all the debris that has accumulated and generally  have a good sort out!

I have a little pot ... that I throw stuff in ... you know the stuff ... the little bits and bobs you get out and don't use then cannot be arsed to put away again properly. The little pieces of card that you have cut away from a bigger piece of card ... but it is inked and stamped and that little voice in your head says ... 'NO! DON'T WASTE THAT' ... oh yes people ... my little voice shouts.

Anyways ... the little pot was overflowing so ... there I was going through said  bits and bobs and the little voice is still screaming at me NOT to put stuff in the bin ... so I kind of convinced myself ... that using them was kind of tidying ... BIG mistake ... HUGE!

I have now made about five necklaces ... and my desk is more untidy than it was when I started! The necklace up top used about a 2" square scrap of inked and stamped card ... add to that the clock stamp I had to get out ... the facet was already in the pot ... but the jump ring was n't ... and the Idea-ology spinner and sprocket ... Okay Okay ... I had to get them out too ... Hey-Ho ... maybe I will try again tomorrow!

The card is from my Take Three Masterclass ... it was n't in the pot either ... just thought I would share :0)

Laters!

No Right and No Wrong!

I began a new journal on the 01.01.11 ... decided that it did n't have to be perfect ... just an opportunity for me to play really ... and definitely no right and no wrong. If I am honest the blank pages terrify me ... I don't really consider myself as an arty sort of a girl ... and typically .... it is the really arty journals that I like the best.
I know you are not supposed to start on the first page of a journal ... far too daunting ... and that sounds decidedly like a rule ... but try as I may ... I just could not bring myself to start anywhere other than the first page ... it was the 1st of the 1st after all!!! Anyways ... I took three ink pads and just swiped them all randomly over the page ... very pink ... not a good start from where I was standing and mentally ... at that point ... my journal became another practice journal ... that is what I call the other 6 gazillion that I have started!!!
I then decided that the very pink page was just far too scary to free hand doodle on as planned ... so I merrily stamped some Studio 490 flowers ... at that point I was right back in my comfort zone ... if you are like me and find free hand doodling tricky ... The Wendy Vecchi stamps are definitely the way forward. I filled each flower with a different design ... that part was the best fun ... and so relaxing. Then to join them all ... I drew grass ... and coloured it in. Date wise ... it was about the 4th by now and I still had n't decided how I was going to make the title ... this worried me no end ... but I kept going with my daily entries. The title finally went in on Sunday ... the 9th ... Lord Tim of Holtz papers were the perfect shade to stamp on and then ... well I just had to add the stars! The star is also a Lord Tim of Holtz stamp ... cannot leave stars off anything at the moment to be honest ... you know Tim ... the man that can suspend himself from the Grand Canyon by a thread while rescuing a baby Donkey with just a Sharpie Marker and a spritz of Perfect Pearls mists.
As for the journal page ... I have now established about a hundred rules for my next page ... that probably says a whole heap of stuff about me ... and Do I like my first page? ... well ... the jury is still out on that one ... More to the point did I enjoy doing it? ... Hell Yeah! As for No Right and No Wrong ... Do ya want a list :0)
Laters!

Mirror, Mirror ...

Blimey ... where did that week go! One minute is was Monday and I had big plans to blog regularly again ... and the next minute ... well ... it was Monday ... a week later!
I say it was Monday ... it is actually Sunday night ... but I am scheduling the post ... so have exercised poetic license ... or something along that line!
Busy weekend here ... The lovely Karen ... wonderful Lin and I had a busy day at the shop yesterday when the classes went on sale! I was on telephonist duty as the usual telephonist ... marvellous Mark was indeed on studio duty! It was great talking to so many of you by the way albeit for just a very brief moment in most cases as the phone was going bonkers for the best part of the morning :0)
Righty ho ... more about the mirror ... yes ... it is indeed a mirror ... I stuck a bit of black card over the mirror bit so I could photograph it a bit better ... and to ensure you did n't get a glimpse of my unmade up face ... which to be fair ... can be a little scary ... I know many of you may think that about my made up face ... but I would be eternally grateful if you could keep those thoughts to yourself!
The mirror is this week's submission for Simon Says Stamp and Show where this week's theme is some masking and the prize is a wonderful $25.00 shopping spree. I used Lord Tim of Holtz's mask and Lord Tim of Holtz's stamps and Lord Tim of Holtz's Distress Inks and Lord Tim ... okay ... you get the picture huh??? You know Tim ... the man that can balance on a 60 metre high tightrope with his little finger while resuscitating a small white fluffy kitten gasping for breath with just a single fragment and a one inch square of Grungepaper.
Talking of Grungepaper ... I used THE Wendy Vecchi's stamps for the flowers!
I won't bore you with the fact that I only have 15 more sleeps before flying out to CHA ... or indeed mention that Lord Tim of Holtz and ... THE Wendy Vecchi will there :0)
Have a good week y'all!
Laters!

Back to Business as Usual!

I dunno ... that Christmas malarkey does n't last nearly long enough for the amount of effort we all put in ... here we are on the 3rd of January and before you know it ... well ... we will be into double figures.

Not that I am complaining you understand ... only 20 some odd sleeps and I will be at CHA with THE Wendy Vecchi and Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can move the planets with just a tap of a pokey tool and a single dot from a bottle of Ranger Black Enamel Accents. Of course the wonderful Lin will be there too :0)

I shall do me best to make sure you guys get to see what we see while we are there ... I say that ... I am not sure if there is some secret handshake thingy wotsit that prevents you from spilling the beans ... but have no fear ... if there is ... I shall just make it up :0)

Course ... after CHA ... it will be Stitches ... then ArtsyCrafts ... you know the one ... be still my beating heart!

Blimey ... don't I go on!

The frame in the piccies started life as one of those Ikea cheapo jobbies and I have altered it using THE Wendy Vecchi Stamps and Grungepaper ... oh and some Graphic 45 Botanicabella paper ... the theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show is Stamp and show your newest stamp ... please join us ... and don't say you don't have any new stamps ... even if Santa did n't bring any ... and you have n't been shopping for an age ... I am guessing that most of you will have a new and unused stamp somewhere ... or is that just me :0) The lovely site sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp ... is giving away another delicious $25 to spend on stash!

Okay ... that's me ... take care all ....

Laters!

Cupcakes and Castles!

I have been well and truly shown up by a nearly nine year old today ... my little crafting buddy came to play ... we had great fun ... and she managed to finish about 1900 projects compared to my ... erm ... one! And I can't even show you that because it is my submission for tomorrow's challenge over on Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge blog ... yes ... we are back tomorrow ... after our little Christmas break ... don't forget to come join us ... oh ... alright ... you twisted my arm ... I will show you a little peek ...

Anyways ... today we decided that shrink plastic is the best thing EVER ... Kakey ... had n't seen it before ... so it was a real treat to watch her excitement making teensy tiny cupcakes and castles ... what a fab name for a shop that would be ...  the cupcakes and castles bit ... not the teensy tiny bit ...

Righty-ho ... I have another two blog posts to type before bed ... are you watching my countdown clock? Are you? Huh? Are you? ... not many more sleeps to my first ever CHA .... I am soooooooo excited ... watch out L.A ... here I come!

Have a great week you guys ...

Laters!

Happy New Year!

I LOVE Christmas ... a lot ... and I LOVE each New Year nearly as much! It is that feeling of starting afresh ... with a clean slate ... and a whole year ahead of the unknown ... So Happy New Year everybody ... I hope 2011 is your best year yet.

It is also a time for reflection and to think that this time last year I had just finished designing my first season of classes and was a tad nervous ... to say the least ... about whether they would sell or not! How far I have come ... I have just finished designing my fourth season of classes and I am still a tad nervous ... to say the least ... about they whether they will sell or not :0)

I would like to Thank each and everyone of you that have stopped by just to visit or leave a message of encouragement ... you all make this whole blogging thing very very special for me ... and I am truly grateful.

I have been tidying rather than crafting today ... so here are a few peeks at the classes I have planned ... the others can be seen on the LB Crafts web site ... they are on preview until next Saturday.

I must away ... more tidying for me ...

Laters!