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!

And the Winner is ...

Drum Roll Please!

The winner of the Winged Things II stamp set as selected my Mr Random Generator is number 15 ...

Which by my calculations is:-

Biskit said...

oooh, muppet away Linda! LOL. I could give them a lovely home and lots of paints and inks to play with

Congratulations! Contact me with your full postal address and I will mail them tomorrow!

And if you did n't win ... don't worry ... there WILL be a next time :0)

Free to a Good Home! **Winner Announced**

My lovely friend was having a bit of a clear out ... so I went round with a handful of a cash and ... erm ... helped her off load so to speak! It was like Christmas I tell you! Anyways in all the excitement ... I managed to purchase this stamp set ... for ... erm ... a second time!

So there you have it ... I am officially a muppet and this poor little set is laying unwanted and unused and feeling rather neglected in my craftroom!

Yes ... it is one of Lord Tim of Holtz's ... which means great quality ...you know Tim ... the man that can glide over the moon in his lunch hour ... without wings ... while feeding the world's bird population with just a spot of reinker and the lid from a Glossy Accents bottle!

Have you got it?

If not ... Do you want it?

If you do ... all you need do is leave a comment and I will pull a name out of a hat on Sunday night and ship it off to you on Monday!

Seriously ... it is that simple ...

Friends, Fame and Farewells!

  Well … My first visit to CHA is over … I still have a gazillion pictures to show you guys … you will tell me when you are bored … won’t you?

Today was time to say our goodbyes … but before I get to that part … I need to introduce you to a wonderful group of people … The team at Simon Says Stamp … now you guys already know that I LOVE Heidi … and over lunch I got to meet face to face with her team … we often share email conversations … but it was great to put faces to the words!

In the picture from left to right … here is Lols … Me … Heidi … Steph and Sarah. We also had the pleasure of meeting the very handsome Brad/George Clooney lookalike … Mr Heidi aka Jason! Thank you guys … the wonderful Lin and I had a fab time!

The fame part takes me to the Prima booth … I totally missed it at first … but lookie … I was included in one of the sample lay outs … designed by the very talented Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Totally cool and some beautiful words in the hidden journaling … I know … who would have thought … little ole me!

As we left it was big hugs all round … Mario … LOVE that guy … calls me Julia now don’t ya know! Lord Tim of Holtz … you know Tim … the man that can travel first class by cloud while sprinkling sunshine over the entire state of L.A with just an Idea-ology jump ring and a gadget gear! Thank you Lord Tim … for not calling security once even though I spent the last three days stalking you! THE Wendy Vecchi … Great to see you as always Wendy … hope you are feeling better soon! Dyan … for always smiling, Suze for all the shopping tips and finally to all my friends from Ranger U and the Paper & Co show in Paris … Lia, Joan, Heidi, Melissa and Melissa, Tammy, Dina, Natalie, Celine, Julie, Vicky, Patti, Jackie and everyone else … I had a ball! No farewell but a BIG Thanks goes to the Wonderful Lin Brown … she really has done an amazing job of putting up with an over excited me … for nearly a week!

Okay … that is the love fest over … here are some more pictures of yummy stuff that we saw along the way … Must go … I have a case to pack!

Laters!

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!

** Lookie Here **

 

Roll up ... Roll up ... and all that malarkey ... the wonderful Lin has some fabulous blog candy on her blog ... just click here for a chance to win these yummy goodies ...

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!

**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!

A Long Day!

Boy … it certainly has been a long day!

Up at 3am [UK time]…a 1.5 hour drive to the airport … meeting up with Anneliese … then check in … coffee … a whole shall we shan’t we breakfast discussion … more nattering … locating an internet connection … which is actually hilarious … because Anneliese looks like she knows what she is doing here … and we sooooo did n’t … apparently you had to pay … DOH! Who’d have thought :0)

Then … get this … too busy posing for piccies and gossiping … we only nearly went and missed the flight … so we had a mad run to the departure gate … just in time for final call.

A seven hour and fifty minute flight … too excited to sleep so I watched Alice in Wonderland … and a couple of other movies … then we arrived at Newark around lunch time [NJ Time].

Once we got our bearings we managed to check in … lounge by the pool … locate some fab Kiwi and Melon Sangrias … pose for photos … all purely in the name of research for you guys. Don’t let anyone tell you … I am not good to you!

And guess what … I have just bumped into THE Wendy Vecchi in the lobby … How totally cool is that?

Sorry it is just a quickie post … I shall be back tomorrow with more … but for now … I really need to get some sleep …  Laters!

A Bit of a Numpty!

It's official ... I am a bit of a numpty! I did take my camera to Ally Pally ... I did n't take any pictures ... and if I had ... well you could n't see them anyway ... because I left said camera there!

So ... no pictures tonight I am afraid ... but Thank you all so much for wishing me well ... I had a wonderful time ... did lots of demos ... made lots of new friends ... met lots and lots and lots of bloggers ... and the best bit ... I get to do it all again tomorrow...  Thank you to everyone who popped over to the stand to say Hi!

What I did discover today was that lots of people still want to know how to make roses ... so as promised ... here is a quick tutorial to get you on your way!

1. Stamp/die cut three 6 petaled flowers ... there are lots of stamps out there and dies ... dig through your stash ... you will be amazed how many you can find.

2. Find the centre of each flower ... this does n't have to be precise and cut as illustrated. One flower has one cut to the centre line. The next you remove one petal and finally remove a two petal segment from the third. You will need all these pieces to make your rose.

3. If you are working with normal card stock you can skip this step. But if you are working with Grungepaper you need to remove the top off each petal left of the cut on each of the three larger sections ... again as illustrated. These bits can be put to one side or in the bin ... you won't need them.

4. Now is the time to colour and stamp on your pieces. This way you will ensure you have no dodgy grey bits showing up in your final rose.

5. Take your three larger pieces and over lap a full petal onto the section where you have removed the petal end... they should look kind of cone shaped. Glue with Glossy Accents and clip. These will take about 10 minutes to set enough for you to finish your rose.

6. Take your two petal section ... patterned side facing you and curl the left petal back. Be nice and firm ... they call it paper but trust me ... it is very strong and the firmer you are the better the curl. The better the curl ... the better the rose!

7. Now roll the petal that you have just curled in towards the flat petal and form a cone shape as illustrated ... where this touches the second petal add some Glossy Accents and clip.

8. The final single petal just needs to be rolled. You don't need to glue this ... but if you clip it for a while it will hold it's shape better. As you make more roses ... you may want to change this step ... there are lots of tutorials out there ... just pick the method that is best for you. But starting out ... this is definitely the easiest way.

9. When your pieces are dry ... Curl all the petals back as in step 6. Cut the bottom off each section. Don't be frightened to cut a good amount off and sit them inside each other ... before gluing them to see how they lay. If your rose looks more like a cabbage ... cut a bit more off ... offset the petals ... imagine a real rose and just sit each piece inside each other. With the single petal roll it up tightly ... cut it in half and put it inside the cone of the two petal section ... this will form the centre of your rose. If you did n't stick it ... it will open just as far the the cone allows and gives your rose a nice centre.

10. Once you are happy with the way your rose is sitting ... glue each section together with Glossy Accents. These little flowers really are very simple to do and sooooo addictive ... Enjoy :0)

Righty-Ho ... another early start for me ... if you have any questions I will do my best to get back to you quickly ... and I promise to take piccies at Ally Pally today :0)

Have a good day and Thank you again for all your lovely comments.

As Good as it Gets!

Talk about pressure! The lovely Angela from ToucanScraps only went and book marked me! Coming back today for an inspection no less. Now I have absolutely no intention of doing this on a regular basis ... so for one day only and especially for all my lovely WOYWW friends ... this is as tidy as my craft room gets. I really hope Angela approves! I mean book marked ... I don't think any one has ever done that to me before ... not to my knowledge anyways! You guys also need to know ... how much fun you make my Wednesdays ... Julia has created a very special ritual for Wednesdays and your comments just make it a great thing to be part of!
As a rule ... the only time I ever post non crafty pictures on my blog is a Wednesday ... but as you can see I have been sooooo busy tidying ...

Today though I am going to venture into the land of sneaky peeks ... I have been asked to design a card kit ... which is very very exciting ... for me anyway ... not so sure about you lot :0) I get to choose the papers ... stamps ... everything!

I am still doing the finishing touches ... but I thought I would give you a quick taster of something very different for me ...
Hopefully I will be able to show you the rest of it quite soon ... Did I tell you that I was very excited :0)

Everything and More!

Sorry to be so late guys ... I have just spent the last hour and a half coaxing my internet to work!

But you don't wanna know about that ... now do you? You wanna hear all about Lord Tim of Holtz ... the man that can craft on water without so much as a pair of armbands ... remain completely dry and erect a sky scraper at the same time with a Sizzix die and a 2" square of Grunge paper.

If you thought my hero worshipping was sad before ... well best you look away now ... because I am about to become a whole lot worse.

He is charming and clever and funny and his art is soulful and seamless and amazing. Grab a cuppa ... make yourself comfortable ... you wanted the details ... so here goes!

My day started at 5am ... trust me ... I don't get up in the middle of the night for just anyone! I got as far as the turning for Milton Keynes and it snowed ... and it snowed ... and it snowed. It looked really bad and like it was settling in for the day ... but the wonderful Lin Brown did n't let a small thing like a blizzard spoil our trip ... oh no! She battled on in appalling conditions to get the lovely Karen and I to our destination. 

We had a fab day and I waited patiently until 1pm to meet Lord Tim and watch his demo ... I say patiently ... I did a little dance when I spotted Mario in one of the aisles ... actually it was quite a big dance ... I knew Tim must be close by and then I did another little jig when I saw Tim's left arm from a distance ... a very lovely arm it is too ... but other than that I was patient.

At 1pm we made our way to the demo stand and then discovered I had another two hours to wait because the main attraction was not due to appear until 3pm. Was he worth the wait???? Oh Boy ... was he ever!!!!

He was nothing but charming when I stood and gawped at him ... I did n't tell him that Wendy V said to say "Hi" ... sorry Wendy ... I did n't tell him that Andrea said to say "Hi" ... sorry Andrea ... I did n't ask him to wave to me while he was on QVC as I had planned ... I had my picture taken and then I watched in awe as the master worked his magic ... in his laid back ... funny and uber talented style ... I really have it bad now!

So Thank you for all your lovely wishes ... here are some piccies as promised and a couple of pearls of Tim's infinite wisdom for you ... This is n't exactly what he said ... but you'll get the gist...

1. Don't fanny about with Rock Candy stickles ... whack 'em on and work them with your finger ... the mica does all the hard work for you ... and holy moly is that a great looking sparkle!

2. Don't listen to me when I say that some of the lighter colours of distress inks are a bit wishy washy ... what do I know??? ... I have blending tools for all 36 colours!!! ... With the lighter shades you don't need 'em ... go direct to paper people and use white or a pale card stock ... S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G!

That's me then guys ... I will see you all tomorrow ... see the pictures of the tag that Tim ... the man that can swim the channel without taking a breath ... while making a grunge paper rose wreath ... with his feet made ... the one with the rose ... and the gorgeous die cut bird ... and one of my favourite Idea-ology frames ... well he made that for little ole me *Swoon*

And if you ever pop by this way Lord Tim ... Thank you ... you really were brilliant :0)

The Magic Carpet Ride Ends ...

and what a fab ride it was ... Thank you so much to Lisa Swifka for all her hard work and organisation.

The winner of my giveaway ... chosen by random.org was ...

MissKoolAid who said...

Looks great! I would love a chance to win.
Cheers,
Sophie in Montreal

Congratulations Sophie ... I have emailed you!

Finally a really really big Thank you to everyone else that took part ... it was a fabulous ride and I will definitely be back next year :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!