Men Only!

What a wonderful weekend I had demoing at the Big Stamping Show at Ally Pally! Great to see so many friendly faces over the weekend ... some old and some new ... and I got to spritz, spray and generally play all weekend ... What could be better than that!
I ache like an achey thing though ... all that standing and bending and blending and chatting sure does make you ache!
Oooh Oooh ... Get this ... The month is over and I still have n't smoked  ... so right now I am feeling mighty chuffed with meself! I won't lie ... I could still kill for a smoke ... but I won't ... I would n't dream of putting myself through all this withdrawal again!!!
Now all I need to do is get back to blogging regularly and we will be sorted :0)

Anyways ... back to the job in hand ... it is Monday and that means a new theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show and this week it is Men Only!
I made a humungus tag ... coloured with Shabby Shutters stain ... Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo Distress Ink ... spritzed with Herloom Gold Perfect Pearls mist and my men are Lord Tim of Holtz! You know Tim ... the man that could demo for an entire year without taking a break while water skiing without skis with just an Ornate Frame and a Paper Piercing tool!
Simon Says Stamp is the site sponsor and a $50 Shopping Spree is once again up for grabs ... so do join in if you get chance!
I must away ... we have people coming to view the house later today ... a Doctor know less and his lady wife ... so I need to sparkle the family silver in time for their arrival!
Have a great week everyone and if blogger is playing nicely pray tell what exciting things you have planned this week ... and if no excitement is awaits you ... well make summink up ... who would know anyways!
Laters!

Stuff To Say!

Blimey! Blimey! It has been bloomin' ages since I made an ATC! And I mean aaaaages! I used to make them all the time ... in fact ... every day for about 18 months ... I was obsessed I tell ya ...  obsessed with making them ... obsessed with swapping them ... and now ... well I have n't made one for aaaages! Until today of course! Why? Today? I hear you ask! Well ...
Basically the new theme over on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge Blog is indeed Stamp and Show an ATC!

My background is made with Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed Distress Stains ... Oh My Lawdy ... LOVE those colours! All stamps are Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can wing walk without safety gear while making enough pancakes to feed the entire world with just a Jump Ring and an Acrylic Stamping Block.
So ... no excuse for you guys this week ... you all got to join in with the challenge ... ATC's take noooo time at all ... you know you want to ... and who knows ... you may win the $50 gift voucher donated by the beautiful people at Simon Says Stamp!
So ... who wants to know how the not smoking is going??? Well ... I have n't had a single cigarette ... not even a sniff or a snort of one since the 21st August 2011 ... the cravings are getting less frequent ... but I do have to admit ... when I do get a craving I would do virtually anything for the evil weed ... as yet though ... I have n't succumbed! Thank you all for your wonderful encouragement ... it is definitely helping!
Righty-ho ... I must away! Any of you lovely people going to Ally Pally this weekend???
Laters!

Day Twenty ... Not Twenty a Day!

Yes people ... If I have managed to do the Maths correctly ... I have saved nearly £90 ... Fanfare please ... and possibly a drum roll ... this is my twentieth day of no smoking! Most of the time it is getting easier ... but every once in a while the cravings get really bad and I resort to feeding my face ... wearing a nicotine patch ... chewing nicotine gum and drawing desperately on a nicotine inhalator ... all a th the same time ... it's sight to be seen I can tell you ... or maybe not! Still ... no pain ... no gain ... and I am hoping that by blogging this ... I will NEVER forget ... just how hard it has reeeeeally been and in turn ... NEVER resort to smoking the evil weed again!

Righty-ho ... enough talk of cravings and now onto all things Steampunk! Simon Says Stamp and Show are back after the Blog Hop  with a new theme for this week. This time we are asking for you to Stamp and Show some Steampunk! With this in mind ... I made a card! As you can see ... I used Lord Tim of Holtz's Weathered Clock die ... you know Tim ... the man that can Pole Jump over the Atlantic in one go while counting all the fish accurately with just a smidgeon of Alcohol Ink and a Jump Ring!
The centre piece was made masking THE Wendy Vecchi's Steampunk Art stamps and the larger Tim cogs were covered with Distress Embossing powder to give them that rusty look!
So ... all that remains is for me to say ... Do join us for the challenge ... you may even win the $50 Shopping Spree at Simon Says Stamp that is up for grabs! I must go ... I am off to Olney today to get all inky with a fab group of ladies ... I think there may be some chocolate involved too :0)
Laters!

10 Years of Art from the Heart!

Welcome to a very exciting blog hop in Celebration of 10 years of Art from the Heart!

  Lots of exciting things happening at Art from the Heart next weekend where the big birthday bash is happening. Want to know more then do click here to be magically transported to the wonderful Dy's Blog.
You cannot believe how excited I was when I was asked to be part of the hop ... they said ... "You can only use Lord Tim of Holtz products!" I said ... "You had me at ...erm ... You :0)"

So to make the chunky ATC ... I used a block of wood ... Ranger Manilla Cardstock ... Lord Tim of Holtz Distress Inks ... Rusty Hinge; Wild Honey; Forest Moss; Vintage Photo ... You know Tim ... the man that can swim the length of the Thames in under an hour while writing a critique of all the eateries along the way with just a Paper Piercing tool and an Edge Distresser. I digress ... I also used Claudine's Sticky Backed canvas ... Lord Tim of Holtz's butterfly die. an Ornate Frame ... some Game pieces ... a Snow Cap Dabber ... Ranger Jet Black Archival and Lord Tim's Shabby French stamps and a key hole!

So in Celebration Art From The Heart are having 5 birthday blog hops.

You should have reached my blog from Janet's fabulous blog ... here  and are on the Lord Tim of Holtz Team hop!

Before you move on - you will need to collect a letter from me which is T This is part of an anagram of a Lord Tim of Holtz product. Once you get back to Dys blog please email your answer to Ben by 6pm on Sunday 11th September 2011.

So after leaving me a comment you need to move on to

the uber talented Michelle's blog!
 Have fun hopping!
I am now on Day 13 of not smoking by the way!!!
Laters!

A Very Quick Reminder ...

Just a little reminder that classes go on sale tomorrow at 10am at LB Crafts. If you fancy joining either Lin Brown or me for a class and quite possibly some chocolate then either pop into the shop or call on 01234 714848 to secure your place. All class details are availble to view here!