Simon Says ...

I can't quite believe it has been a week since I posted the last Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge theme ... time is certainly flying! So here we are ... another Monday and another theme. This week the theme is Simon Says Stamp and Show your Favourite Stamp.
I had no trouble with this one I can tell you! My favourite stamp ... erm ... stamps are Lord Tim of Holtz's Mona ... the very first Lord Tim stamp I ever bought ... you could only get them on wood back in the day and it changed the way I would craft forever! You know Tim ... the man that can ice sculpt a leaning tower of Pisa with water while single handedly saving the world from Alien attack with just a one inch piece of ball chain and a spot of Glossy Accents.
My other favourite stamp is indeed The Wendy Vecchi's mini butterfly from Make Mine Mini Art ... it is my go to stamp ... LOVE LOVE LOVE it! But then you knew that already ... right???
This was in fact a fat canvas about the size of an ATC which went horribly wrong a long long time ago! It has been sat in my unfinished and unloved box ... the one that things get thrown in when I don't like them ... but I have usually formed some kind of attachment :0) Anyways ... I got it out the box and slapped black paint all over it ... it works well as a base on which to add some chip and some Grunge paper.
The whole piece is coloured using Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint Distress Ink and was really simple to make.
Don't know about you ... but I plan to spend the entire Bank Holiday in my craft room ... actually if you are planning to do the same thing ... then grab your favourite stamp and enter the challenge ... you could win a $50 shopping voucher from Simon Says Stamp for your trouble.
Right ... well I am away ... hoping that Mr Blogger is going to behave himself this week ... Last week ... I could n't post ... could n't comment ... talk about withdrawal!
Have a great day everyone ... whatever you may be doing ...
Laters!

Very Nearly Two!

It's true folks ... I find it hard to believe too ... Julia's brainchild WoYWW is indeed two next week ... Many Congratulations Julia ... who knew this little piece of fun would become so BIG!
Anyways I thought this was a good time to reminisce ...  so here goes ... I lurked for a while before taking the plunge ... I found the whole prospect of joining in with the whole desk thing a little bit daunting ... but join in I did ... this is not my desk today ... Oh No! I thought it would be fun to dig through my archive and without further ado ... this is my very first WOYWW ... we did n't need Mr Linky back in the day I can tell you :0)


OK! This is the deal ... this is my compromise!
If this is really a secret hand shake ... well I can hide it in the depths of my blog archive and no one will mind ... hopefully!
The day is Wednesday 19th August 2009 ... it is 12.53pm and my work desk looks like this!
Now don't go feeling sorry for me ... my craft room is 15ft by about 12 ft and there is more than enough room to put things away! I have a friend coming to play tomorrow and I really need to tidy up!
My third altered CD has gone horribly wrong ... look at this girl's teeth and my daughter's birthday is on Friday and I have n't made her a card yet ...
Oh my god ... this is like therapy ... I am going to stop before I tell you my deepest darkest secrets ...

Anyways ... that's me for today ... back to the present and I can't actually show you anything on my desk ... it is all secret squirrel stuff ...
Enjoy your desk hopping!
Laters!

Perfect Pearls!

Well people … you will be pleased to hear that I got through the rest of Monday without drama and boy did I sleep well last night! So this morning I am full of the joys of Spring!

Which leads me nicely on to my rather Spring like card! Did you see what I did there? With the link? You know like one Spring to another! I may have discovered a new talent … for links … I am thinking a job in breakfast TV maybe … sat on the red sofa with Bill!!!

This card was THE BEST FUN to make …The stamps are indeed THE Wendy Vecchi … with lots of sprays and stains … the Lord Tim of Holtz variety of course … you know Tim … the man that can give the Pied Piper a run for his money while driving the US Presidents car over lumps and bumps in the road without banking it with just a spritz of Perfect Pearls Mist and a swoosh of Distress Stain. I know the card looks a bit dark in the picture … but that was the best way to photograph it to get the Perfect Pearls mist to show up!

It is a good job I blogged today … I cannot be the only one that loses track of the date … had I not blogged I would n’t have realised it is my friend’s birthday tomorrow … that has added a few items to my to do list I can tell you … I have n’t even got her present yet … worse still … I have no clue what I am going to buy! Anyone got any ideas? … she is n’t crafty … which is a huge shame … because then I would know exactly what to get!

Don’t forget to check out the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week if you get time … we are doing an Ode to THE Wendy Vecchi’s style … I have seen a few comments where some are worried they cannot enter because they don’t have any THE Wendy Vecchi stamps … as shocking as that is to me to hear … I can confirm that you really can do The whole Wendy thing with any stamp you like!

Right … I am away …

Laters!

The Wendy Vecchi Style!

Do I look stressed to you? That is because I am! It is now 3:42am … my internet has been down for hours … I have had umpteen conversations with BT … I finally gave up trying to blog this week’s Simon Says Stamp challenge at about 3am … called me mate Dan … bit of a night owl is Dan … I did n’t wake him up honest … then … Internet came back on! Phew!
So I am now typing at a ridiculous hour in the morning … the birds are already singing and I am a tad concerned how I will function on approximately 3 hours sleep … Hey-Ho!
Anyways … this week’s challenge theme is Simon Says Stamp and Show Some Wendy Vecchi Style! I had a lovely time filling my 7Gypsies Printers tray with The Wendy Vecchi Art Parts and stamps.  Not forgetting Lord Tim of Holtz’s Idea-ology … you know Tim … the man that can function for a whole lifetime with no sleep while talking to all the animals with just a Sprocket Gear and a Game piece.
Our Challenge sponsor Simon Says Stamp has donated another $50 shopping spree … so do join in if you get time … the winner could be you!

Okay then people … I am going to leave it there for now … I desperately need my bed … I will pop back in the morning to load a few more detailed pictures and answer any questions you may have … I will tell you the whole project is coloured using only Fired Brick and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks …
I am back ... normal service is now resumed ... I am a tad lethargic this morning after such a small amount of sleep ... I have to admit my 7.30am breakfast duty was very difficult ... I put forks and spoons out instead of spoons and knives and bless my language students ... they used forks on the butter and the marmalade ... probably think it is some strange English thing :0)
I was going to give you all the details regarding my tray ... but I did n't do such a bad job in the wee hours after all! So I have just uploaded a couple more pictures and now I am away to make stuff!
I hope you have a great week!
Laters!

Art Squared!

I had a lovely day yesterday doing the wonderful Lin Brown’s “Up My Street” workshop … a great project and lots of fun! After a quick clean up we had our fish and chip supper … more of a sausage and chip supper really before moving on to the ArtsyCrafts samples. Oh My goodness … I came away … having learned something new and very exciting … so inspired …

Anyways … I obviously cannot tell you anything more on the subject … because before I had even pushed the publish post button … the ArtsyCrafts security police would be after me … and being a bit of a woos … never had a fight in my life … well … enough said!

So … I thought I would make the effort with my camera and take some better pictures of my Art Squared Workshop. A 12X12 Canvas art board … spritzed and sprayed with Ranger Colour washes … and then stamped to within an inch of it’s life with PaperArtsy Stamps … embossed with powders … embellished with TSS metal … it is a triple layered affair to give the impression of floating sections. I am still not sure I have done the best job of the photos … but I really tried! 

This is probably a good time for me to say … If you like the sound of any of that … there are indeed places left on the workshop on the 3rd June at LB Crafts in Olney … you just need to ring the wonderful Lin or the lovely Karen on 01234714848 and they will book you in.

How many of you are surprised that we are still here this morning??? According to Harold Egbert Camping, 89-year-old founder of Family Radio, a Christian broadcasting network heard in 61 languages around the globe … the world was expected to end at 6pm Saturday evening. That was indeed 2am GMT so it was a bit of a relief waking up this morning for Mrs Harold … I bet!

I am knee high in Ranger Products today … beavering away with lots of The Wendy Vecchi stamps and Lord Tim of Holtz product. You know Tim … the man that probably anonymously saved the world on May 21 while Pilot Whale whispering in a loch in Scotland with just an acrylic block and a jet black archival re-inker.

So … What you up to? What sort of week do you have planned? Not much in the way of excitement planned for me … I am working myself up to sorting out my craft room … yes I know I said that months ago … but this time I really mean it … I think!

Right … that’s me then … have a good time whatever you are doing …

Laters!

Crackling Up!

I am really indulging myself this week ... playing with all manner of things ... and not worrying too much about what I make either ... of course that does mean I have n't actually done any of the things I should have done ... but hey ho ... it has definitely felt like a few days off which is what I was trying to achieve!

Today's play was all about the PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze ... I have had it ages ... and never tried it before! I discovered that it does work with other paints ... someone asked us that in the shop on class release day ... so on this tag I have used both Kaiser and Eco paints ... the product specialist at LB Crafts ... that will be the wonderful Lin Brown ... thinks I may have held my heat gun too close which is why I have bubbles as well as crackles ... which is Okay ... as long as you have no plans to stamp on that bit! And she was so right too ... to be fair she aint often wrong ... because when I did it again ... holding the gun further away ... I just got crackles without bubbles!

This has to be THE BEST crackle product I have ever used ... no waiting time ... instant gratification ... which is the kind of crafting I like best!

Changing the subjects completely ... Is anyone else finding the whole placement of photos thing in Blogger very annoying ... or is it just me ... because ... to be perfectly honest ... it is driving me bonkers! It took about 3 weeks to get these pictures where I wanted them in the post! Grrrr!

I am doing a class tomorrow ... Woo Hoo! I get to do a Lin Brown class in Olney ... I am soooo looking forward to it ... then after the class ... and after our usual Fish and Chip supper ... we will be making the ArtsyCrafts samples ... so I get to make what all you lovely people booked on ArtsyCrafts will be doing! Cool Huh! I am ... of course sworn to secrecy ... but you won't have to wait much longer now anyways ... so that is alright then! If you are not booked ... I think there are a few places left ... you just need to go to the LB Crafts Website and download a form!

Stamps I used on the tag are indeed PaperArtsy ... and the token is Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can Hippo Whisper in South Africa while single handedly repairing the Ozone with just a jump ring and an Edge Distresser!

Don't forget to share your plans for the weekend ...

Laters!

Warts and All!

I had a great time yesterday ... mainly hopping ... and a bit more journalling ... but more of that in a mo! I feel exonerated ... loads of you would spread Korean Tea on your toast ... so my crispinacupofhotwater saga looks a little less daft now does n't it :0) Of course ... Sharon goes right to the top of the class for her comment! She said "It's Citron jam .. In Korea, it is used to create yujacha, a type of Korean tea. The fruit is thinly sliced (peel, pith and pulp) and soaked or cooked in honey or sugar to create a chunky syrup. This syrupy candied fruit is mixed with hot water as a fragrant tea, where the fruit at the bottom of the cup is eaten as well. Often preserved in the syrup for the cold months, yujacha is served as a source of fruit in winter. :) and it is way yummy iced too :)". Which is indeed what it is! Way to go Sharon!

Now I need to warn you that today ... well I feel quite nervous posting this ... for all my bravado on Tuesday ... of how I was going to do whatever in my journal and blog it regardless ... well ... it is actually a whole lot harder to blog it then I realised! I have no idea what you are going to make of this page! Do I like it? Not really! But I totally loved doing it ... I felt totally at peace doing it ... so that makes me really want to like it ... and it is all part of the journey ... one day years from now ... maybe I will look back and laugh at how naive the page is ... and lets be honest ... Picasso I aint! But then I already knew that ... they would n't let me do "O" Level art at school ... Mr Nix said I just had n't got the "required level of skill" ... I am guessing Picasso was in the top set! Not the same year as me I hastened to add!
Anyways ... That is Lord Tim of Holtz's weathered clock ... let's hope Kay has the right glasses on ... and of course his gadget gears ... you know Tim ... the man that can cycle to the Moon in his lunch hour while reciting War and Peace with just an ornate frame and a blending tool!
Okay ... so now I am begging you ... don't leave me hanging ... love it or hate it ... say something ... I am pushing publish post ... erm ... Now!
Laters!
P.S Kirsty Wiseman is having a raffle for the best of causes ... click here to read all about it!

Ye Days of Olde!

A long time ago on a desk not far from here ... OK ... it's the same desk in the same place ... but I am going for effect here ... *clears throat*
A long time ago on a desk not far from here ... before the wheel was even invented ... I used to pay weekly homage to Julia of Dunnit ... the illustrious leader of the desk march. Time passed and I lost my way ... I was trapped in a blinkered busyness that forbade me to enjoy the weekly desk perusal and the curse of guilt of not being able to return visits kept me trapped for a very loooooooong time! *Dims lights* Luckily I left a trail of Bedazzles and I managed to retrace my steps ... and here I am!

Yup WOYWWers ... remember me ... I am back! Well for this week any road! I have promised myself plenty of time to visit/nosey/heckle/envy my fellow deskians and I am unnecessarily excited about the whole prospect!
So ... fan fare please ... in true WOYWW style ... On my desk ... apart from the usual mess is the beginnings of a journal page and all the gubbings that I needed to get that far on said page! Obviously I have taken a break to chat to you lot ... but I may come back later if I get it finished!
I also have a little game for you guys to play ... see this glass jar ... gift from Korea ... and after the whole Green Tea Crisp fiasco ... if you missed it ... you can read all about it here ... I thought I would ask you ... What you think you should do with it! Answers on a postcard ... or just in the comments ... Yeah ... see ... this whole gift thing can be a bit of a minefield!
It really is good to be back ... look forward to seeing all your desks... and if you have no clue what I am on about ... all will be revealed here!
Have a good Wednesday ...
Laters!

A Bit of This and an Itty Bit of That!

I have had a bit of a play today ... Well you have to sometimes ... don't you! At the airport in Holland I found some fantastically priced Moleskine notebooks ... it would have been rude not to get them ... and the paper is just so lovely ... well to be honest ... several A6 and a few A5 just fell in my basket!

So this morning ... I decided to follow Dina Wakley's advice from an art journalling magazine ... basically she starts her pages with no agenda or set idea ... and lets the page talk to her! I have found my journalling style just does n't really flow ... I have to do that whole plan the page before I begin thing ... and as a card maker ... well ... it is actually really difficult to let go! But today ... well let go I did!

I promised myself that however the page turned out I would blog it ... I struggle with that too ... but the plan was to basically let it become what it was ... no set plan ... and no necessity to like it ... just a fun thing to do! I had so much fun ... I even did the whole journalling thing ... discovered stuff in my head that I had no idea was there ... and now I feel like I have admitted it ... So I can go do stuff about it! Sound like I have got the bug? I think I have! Today I finally actually "Get it!"

Anyways ... enough with my ramblings ... the page was taped down the centre with masking tape to stop any colour bleeding through the spine ... I gessoed it all with a credit card ... dried it with a heat gun ... happily accepting the lines and the bubbles. Then I gave it an Antique Linen Distress Stain wash. Once that was dried I used a Crafty Notions 12 X 12 stencil and coloured with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Finally to complete the background I used Faded Denim Distress Ink and a Prima corner stencil.

Next was the really fun part ... stamping ... I used Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions stamps ... LOVE the spider ... LOVE the toadstalls ... actually it is probably quicker to tell you the ones that I don't love ... erm ... that will be none of them then :0) Lord Tim of Holtz's Itty Bitty Grunge set was used too ... you know Tim ... the man that can beat the land speed record on a pair of roller skates while modelling the latest fashions on a catwalk with just a Jet Black Archival Re-Inker and a 1" square of Cut and Dry Foam.

The best thing about the whole process is that I now have about another ten ideas I want to try ... best I get started before I forget what they are!

Oh yes ... I have a Korean gift that I need to show you ... let's see if you can all guess what you do with it! Actually ... I will save that one for tomorrow ... Have a great evening people ...

Laters!

A Stitch In Time!

Did you miss me? I missed you guys ... what with Mr Blogger throwing his toys out of the pram last week ... then losing all my comments from the last post ... I thought I would leave it a few days ... so everything settles down before I posted again!
Monday morning it is and as always there is a new theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... this week we are asking everybody to share old wive's tales! Hopefully you can tell what mine is without me even telling you ... but just in case ... it is "a stitch in time saves nine!" But you knew that right?
Our ever generous sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp has once again popped a $50 shopping voucher into the mix ... so if you get chance  ... make sure you join in!

My sample was made using THE Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts and Lord Tim of Holtz's Weathered Clock die. You know Tim ... the man that can travel through time while herding hundred's of elephants through the thinnest of ravines to a place of safety with just a Charm Clip and an Idea-Ology numeral! Have you seen his new line of bags and journals??? ... Oh my ... I cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on some of those beauties!
Back to the sample ... The clock is painted with Claudine Hellmuth's yummy black paint ... and the middle part of the clock is stamped ... then padded with wadding and stitched! Which is hilarious considering I have never sewn anything before in my life ... if I lose a button ... it stays lost quite frankly! The idea for this came from the wonderful Lin Brown and Leandra Franich's ArtsyCrafts arch project ... I shall remain forever gutted that I never got chance to attend that one!
Talking of sewing things ... I never told you about the whole Holland class ripped trousers story ... luckily my Ranger U apron was on hand to cover my modesty or I may have been scarred for life!
Righty-Ho ... it is way past my bedtime ... don't forget to let me know if you knew what the Old Wive's Tale was ... before I told you ...
Have a great week people!
Laters!

**Halo Alert**

It's true people ... today I will mostly be wearing a halo! I banned myself from my IPhone this morning ... and my lap top ... all technology really ... in a bid to get through a load of things on my to do list ... and on the whole I was quite successful and I am feeling rather smug!
If I am entirely honest ... most of the jobs I have crossed off said list still need the I's dotting and the T's crossed but a big chunk of them is now done!
So before I snuggle down to watch some TV ... I have taped the first two episodes of The Apprentice ... so don't tell me what happens ... I thought I would indulge in a spot of blogging!

The stamped flowers on the card are Dark Room Door and they are coloured with Lord Tim of Holtz's Wild Honey and Vintage Photo Distress Stain. You know Tim ... the man that can walk to the Moon while performing three kidney transplants on kitten triplets with just a Tiny Attacher and a Fragmented Doll!
I even got my Martha Stewart punch out on this card ... I have n't done that in a while! Yeah ... I know ... I should stop now because I am just rambling ...
Righty-Ho then ... I think that is me ...
Laters!

Those Elusive Photos!

If I had any complaints about Holland at all ... it would only be the slow internet connection in the hotel! To be honest even that was fine until you tried to add a picture then I really did lose the plot!
I am now back home and can share the last of my pictures!
On Sunday we spent a lovely day out with Lia, Joan and their wonderful families,  taking in the sights near Amterdam. The morning was spent at the Keukonhof ... a beautiful collection of spring gardens and then we had a delicious lunch on the beach and found time for a paddle. The water was a bit nippy ... but lovely all the same!
So ... here I am back home ... with a to do list as long as your arm ... and not enough hours in the day! I am just about to finish making a little something I have been playing with ... so I may be back later ... if not I will see you tomorrow!

Configuring with The Wendy Vecchi!

A very good Monday Morning to you all! Today I will be on my way back to Cambridge after spending a wonderful weekend with Lia and Joan and their families in Holland. We spent the day yesterday at Keukenhof and the beach! Who knew the North Sea could look so good from the other side and be so warm and lovely in May! But more of that later! First up ... it is Monday which means there is a new theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show and this week's theme is anything goes! Oh yes ... anything ... so there really is no excuse not to join in! As ever ... our wonderful sponsor Simon Says Stamp are giving away a $50 shopping voucher to a randomly drawn entrant!
I had such a great time on the smallest Configuration a few weeks ago that I could not wait to try my hand at another one! This time I grabbed me grunge and my The Wendy Vecchi stamps and set about creating a completely different look!
Of course I just had to use some Lord Tim of Holtz Idea-ology bits and bobs too ... you know Tim ... the man that can leave one country by air with no airplane and land in another ... ten hours before he left with just an Itty Bitty Grunge Stamp and a smidgeon of Matte Medium!
My plan was to show you more about Keukenhof at this point ... it is an amazing collection of Spring gardens splattered with art ... in Amsterdam ... but sadly the hotel internet has other ideas and the 750 hours it took me to get this far was rather tiring!
We then went to the beach for lunch and a paddle before setting off back to Ede for a BBQ at Joans.
Joan lives in the most amazing location ... with rabbits and donkeys and all sorts of other livestock for neighbours ... she also has a very lovely little treasure island near by... but you can't see that at the moment either :0)
I hope you have all had good weekends too ...
I look forward to hearing all about them in my comments ... note the very subtle hint ... I am off to slap sme cream on my sun burn ...
Laters!

The Workshop; Pancakes and the Wall!

It has been a great day in Ede today! This morning was Make and Takes and this afternoon was my Stampotique Screen Workshop.
Before I tell you more ... I should clear up a small matter regarding the handbag! Yes ... I used artistic licence when describing the graveness of the whole bag incident and now feel compelled to clarify that ... well ... okay ... is was n't really ten karats of diamond that Anneliese destroyed ... or ... erm ... actually ... erm ... the bag at all ... it was a £4.99 hand bag charm that I had added to the strap and the Fossil bag is indeed in tact! But if you are reading this Lin ... another trip to the Fossil shop sounds like a plan regardless :0)

Okay ... onward and upwards as they say ... the workshop went very well ... a really great group of ladies ... I had a fab time and everyone finished and were very happy with their projects!
We distress stained ... sprayed and Perfect Pearled happily  and by closing time I was even feeling brave enough to tackle the wall! Thank you for your fabulous suggestions... I ended up going with my own ... yours were definitely  better ... but using my own words seemed more appropriate in the end!
Once everything was tidied away we set out for Pancakes ... oh my goodness ... I have one word ... Yummy! We are talking proper pancakes ... the size of a small dining table ... I had Peaches and it took me every last ounce of effort to eat it all ... but eat it all I did!
Next it was off to the town centre to sit outside some lovely little bars to chill and chatter and generally unwind!
So that is all for now folks ... we are off out in the morning to do the whole tour with Lia and Joan ... I will hopefully be back with piccies tomorrow night ... but if not ... I will see you first thing Monday with the new theme for Simon Says Stamp ...
Laters!

Oh What Fun We Had!

Okay people ... not as much Twittering or Face Booking going on as I had planned ... but that is because we had a very busy and fun time with Lia and Joan in De Craftorij.
First up ... you need to know ... well ... to be fair ... you probably don't ... but I did!!! De Craftorij is pronounced De Craftory ... it is made up from Craft and Factory ... like Craft-Tory! Second up ... and it's highly likely that I am the only person on the planet that pronounced Ede ... Ede and it is in fact pronounced Ada! See not only am I having fun but Lia is doing her best to educate me as well! Get this ... I am fluent in Dutch greetings too ... Hello is Hallo!

So ... today we have been demoing and making Make and Takes and tomorrow is a day of workshops ... then pancakes ... and they call this work ... I say they ... that is what I tell John I am doing :0)
Just a couple of quick demo tags to show you tonight ... and a few of the lovely crafters that I have met! As you can see ... we played with The Wendy Vecchi stamps and oodles of Ranger goodies with Lord Tim of Holtz stamps ... you know Tim ... the man that can land a Jumbo Jet on the top of a playing card while performing Ice Sculpture to music in the Sahara desert with just a charm clip and an Adornment!
The atmosphere in Lia's shop is very laid back ... everyone either shops or just comes in for coffee ... from Lia's very posh coffee machine ... even the husbands come in and sit and read their newspapers ... a real family affair ... so no complaints at all!
Apart from a whole bag incident ... it pains me to speak of it really ... but I have the BEST handbag ever ... it has history and provenance ... a real conversation piece ... I LOVE it ... maybe a bit more than is entirely healthy ... but hey ... it's my bag! Busy working away I was ... went to said bag and I could n't pick it up ... the glorious bag charm which displayed the handcrafted princess cut ten carat diamond was right under the table leg ... said table loaded with stash ... so really really reeeeeally heavy and I could n't lift it. Joan to the rescue ... bag ... well frankly it was tainted and ruined ...

Does a certain Miss Anneliese Bates look at all sad or sorry that she picked the entire table up and dropped it on my bag???? ... seriously she said she was sorry ... but look at the pictorial evidence and you decide!
I am off to lay on the floor outside her room and snore ... but that's a whole 'nother story!
Have a good weekend!
Laters!

Hello From Ede!

Okay ... so here was the plan ... I give you the most amazing tour of Lia's new shop in Ede with pictures and everything! Sadly ... best laid plans and all that ... it is taking 924 hours to upload the pictures on the hotel internet ... so ... I shall just fill you in on the news so far and hopefully blog again with more pictures as soon as we get to the shop in the morning!
Flight was good ... no sooner on the plane than off it ... who new you could fly to Holland in less than hour ... I am sure it took longer to get to Paris ... Go figure??? It was not without drama at the Stansted end though ... some poor guys passport was out of date and he was n't allowed to board ... his girlfriend was in bits and cried all the way on the plane ... inconsoleable she was! Actually ... is that a word??? Did I just make it up ... or just spelled it so badly ... it looks wrong???
Anyways ... I was on Dutch soil by 2pm ish and greeted by a welcoming committee of Anneliese, Lia and Lia's very nice hubby! Then a tour of the shop ... a catch up with Joan and then back to Lia's for some dinner ... very nice it was too!
Then back to the shop to work on the make and takes and demos that Anneliese and I will be doing tomorrow ... great fun was had by all!

I am sooooo glad you popped in though ... because in the shop there is a wall that all distinguished visitors and ... erm ... me get to sign! So What to write? I need you guys to come up with something witty and clever pretty darn sharpish ... just pop it in the comments ... If I end up using one then I will send a token of my appreciation on my return! I don't know what yet ... but I promise it will be something nice :0)
That's all for now folks ... sorry for the whole lack of picture thing ... I am sure we will get it sorted in the morning ... I have some fab pictures of Anneliee working very hard indeed to show you :0)
I am away to get some sleep ...
oooo oooo before I go ... I can confirm that the Summer release of work shops at LB Crafts are now online and you can book from Saturday 14th May!
Laters!

Going Dutch!

Missed you guys yesterday ... Sorry about that! I have now decided that never ... ever ... ever again will you catch me bragging about blogging regularly! All was good until yesterday when I turned into stressed Eric! It is class release day at LB Crafts on Saturday 14th May ... so I have been adding finishing touches and doing all that "Oh My ... What if everyone hates them?" thing ... then there was the whole ... I need to pack for Holland "Oh My ... I have nothing to wear!" thing. Then the water boiler packed up again ... John has quit smoking and is grumpy as grumpy can be ... Do you get the picture???

Anyways ... the classes are now permenantly etched on the website ... too late to change them now ... waiting for the wonderful Lin to push the big red button ... she will let you know as soon as you can see them :0) I am nearly packed and it's definitely time to chill! A glass of wine in a bubble bath sounds like a great plan to me! Sadly ... no hot water makes that an exhausting prospect ... so I will have to settle with the wine and a cold shower!
No complete project from me today ... just sneaky peeks of my upcoming classes!
I am getting very excited now about seeing Anneliese, Joan and Lia ... This time tomorrow I will be in Ede ... apparently the weather is fabulous too ... what a bonus!
If you fancy tagging along ... virtually of course ... then I will be sure to tweet regularly @LindaElbourne ... I will also update Facebook and hopefully blog too! So if you have any special requests to see sights etc., ... leave me a comment and I will see what I can do! Of course if you are in the vicinity of Lia's fabulous shop in Ede ... well it would be great to see you! In addition to classes ... Anneliese and I will be demoing and doing Make and Takes ... we are there all weekend ... do pop in!

I Bottled it!

Some time ago ... in an arty shop just up the road from LB Crafts ... The lovely Karen showed me a canvas that was uber expensive! It was gorgeous ... but very very very expensive! Basically it was totally white with hundreds of butterflies kind of ... well ...cut into it ... like bits of the canvas were flying away! Well ... to cut a long story short ... I was inspired ... I did actually plan for this canvas to be totally white ... with the teeniest bit of Vintage photo on the words ... the clock etc., ... but I ... erm ... was n't brave enough .... so the colour wash came out and away I went! I LOVE the Adirondack Colour washes ... Have I told you that before?

Everything about this canvas art board piece is Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can play Beethoven's fifth on a blade of grass while talking to the monkeys in the jungles of Borneo with just the lid from a Faded Denim Distress Ink and an inch long piece of Film Strip Ribbon.
I used the Vintage Market alphabet for the words ... and Oh my giddy Aunt ... How many T's??? I was to the point where I never wanted to see another T ... unless of course there was an I and an M on the end of it!
Righty ho! I just need to tell you that this is my sample for The Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge this week ... the new theme is hands ... plenty of room for play :0) You should join in ... you may even win a $50 Shopping Voucher donated by the Challenge Site's fabulous sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp!
Before you ask ... nope I did n't get up at 5am to post this ... but I was still up at 1am posting it ... if that makes sense ... I am now off for some beauty sleep ... these Julia Roberts looks take work don't ya know! Have a great Bank Holiday or just a great Monday ... if it's not a holiday in your neck of the woods!
Laters!

Green Overload!

Hello everyone ... I have now blogged everyday for the entire week! Are you impressed? I want to Thank you all at this point for popping in and visiting me! It is you that makes this whole blogging thing so rewarding ... and fun ... your comments do make I smile ... and I probably don't say Thank you enough! So Thank you! Oh and ... Welcome to all the new followers I picked up this week too! Great to see you all!
I should apologise too ... I don't get around to leaving as many comments on your blogs as I used to ... I do visit ... but usually on my IPhone and I don't always have time to say anything! Which is completely unacceptable really seeings as I LOVE comments so much! Note to self ... Must try harder!

Mmmmm! I think I may have over done the whole green thing on this card! I LOVE the design ... but the colour ... well ... I am not entirely sure! In fact ... I am nowhere near sure! What say you? John was n't very complimentary either ... in fact ... he was quite rude ... one of those times when I really wished I had n't asked!
Maybe the Peeled Paint Kraft Resist Stash background is just a little bit too busy for the rest of the card! I should say Lord Tim of Holtz's Kraft Resist Stash ... you know Tim ... the man that can make the sun shine in the darkest of caves while performing neurosurgery on a mosquito with just a long-legged brad and a distress tool.
So ... What you up to? ... crafting anyone? I am! All day! Not being quite as productive as I would like ... but I am getting there slowly! Talking about being productive ... I ought to get back to it!
Laters!