A Lovely Day!

First up ... I thought I would tell you guys that my mini book is appearing over at the Craft Barn blog today ... so if you wanna know how I get the beady bodies on my butterflies ... head over there now! Oh ... but don't forget to come back ... coz I have n't told you about my day yet!

Right ... my day ... a few months ago I was contacted by a lovely lady called Susie ... she asked if I would teach a private class for her and a group of friends at their annual retreat in Olney ... to cut a long story short ... I agreed and designed a Lord Tim of Holtz style Configuration project for them! You know Tim ... the man that can perform microscopic heart surgery on an ailing Goldfish while individually colouring the ickle biddy pieces of mica in each bottle of Distress Stickles with just a Charm Clip and a Jump Ring.
Well ... today was that day ... and I had a fabulous time ... found them straight away ... which was a good thing really ... because rather stupidly ... the only form of contact I had was an email address! We had a great time ... everyone was really happy with their project and the house they rented for the week ... well ... it was GORGEOUS! And what a great group of ladies ... we chatted and laughed ... a few of them consumed alcohol .... I know ... alcohol ... in the middle of the day ... we ate cake ... it really was a fabulous even ... my Thanks go to Susie for the wonderful job she did organising it ... and to the rest of the group for being so nice!
Right ... I must away ... apart from being very tired ... the Lovely Karen and the wonderful Lin are coming tomorrow ... I need to bake a cake or summink ... I know ... me??? Bake ...but I need to compensate for the lack of tidying I did in my Craft room on Monday ... it is a tip ... a real tip ... where to start????
Laters!

It's Bean a while!

Just a quickie from me today ... over at the Craft Barn it is gift week and my turn to post a tutorial ... so I went for an up-cycled Steampunk bean tin! Don't you just adore those Tando mini cogs with Lord Tim of Holtz images stamped on them? You know Tim ... the man that chose the colours for the first ever rainbow while carving a scale model of the Eiffel Tower in a grain of rice with just a Paper pricking tool and a spot of Aged Mahogany Distress Reinker. If you want to see all the details of the tin ... just click here and you will arrive at the correct destination in the blink of an eye!
I must away ... I am off to see how many sweetie shop sized jars of sweets I can persuade John to buy in our local Cash and Carry ... what do we think? One? .... Two?... Ten?
Have a good day people!
Laters!

Bit of This ... Bit of That!

I have been having a bit more of a play in my scraps journal over the last few days ... I love that I can pick it up and put it down and just add to it when I feel like it!
The background and writing for this page were done a few weeks back ... when I was playing in the wonderful Lin's studio with the wonderful Lin and the lovely Karen ... then I kind of just left it ... wondering what bits and pieces I would add.

I spend lots of my "me" time now ... just colouring Dylusions stamped images and cutting them out. I have the teensiest little bag that I keep them in ... as the rules of the journal are only scraps ... quite often I cannot fit in a full image and this often leads to quirky characters and outfits! I think this head makes the perfect cloak for my frog prince! The background is Butterscotch and Lettuce Ranger Colourwash ... one of my favourite combinations ... with a bit of stencilling over the top!
When I am asked what my crafting style is I often say eclectic and this post definitely proves that! You cannot get much more diverse than these two projects ... now can you! Why the diversity?? ... Well ... today I have also been appearing over on the Craft Barn blog where ... this week we worked on a whole Shabby Vintage style ... which of course involved lots of Lord Tim of Holtz product ... you know Tim ... the man that created the tree skeleton's in the Namibian desert while breathing new life back into an ant with terminal heart disease with just a spritz of Dylusion spray and a smidge of Matte Medium.
You can find all the ingredients etc., and some more detailed pictures here!
So ... what are your plans for the weekend? I am going to take it as it happens this weekend ... nice and relaxed ... just the way I like them ... hoping that the sunshine they have promised us will be nice and warm ... whatever you are doing ...
Have a good one!
Laters!

In My Heart ...

Over on the Craft Barn Blog they are running their second Journaling Challenge ... and although I cannot enter ... and I was too late to submit for the DT ... well the theme is such a good one ... I thought I would join in anyway!
It's all about hearts and filling them with things you love ... so ... I made my own heart template and filled my page with over lapping hearts which were coloured in with different colours of Pro Markers before I started filling them up!
The page kind of still looked a bit odd at that point ... so using my template I made a little heart gatefold thingamajiggy in red ... still too plain ... so I Zenwotsited all over it!

This page may not be great to look at ... but it has given me hours of pleasure ... it has also given me focus ... there are things I love that I have neglected lately ... so in between zenwotsitting ... I have started to address those as well.
You see that drop dead gorgeous bubblegum pink colour ... well that is a Dylusion Colour wash spray ... and wait for it ...
The base colour was Lord Tim of Holtz Mustard Seed Distress Stain ...
You know Tim ... the man that could have saved HMRC about £8 million by pointing out Harry Rednapp was innocent 5.5 years ago while successfully completing a game of traditional Solitaire in a nano second with just a Ranger White Pen and the cap off a Re-Inker!

Talking of Solitaire ... when I was a teenager ... I had a CB radio ... you know like one-four for a copy; Roger Roger and ten-four good buddy ... and my handle ... which was my name ... for all you non CB radio users was indeed "Solitaire". So come on ... hands up ... who else had one???? And what was your handle???
Righty Ho ... I must away ...
I am not even gonna mention the fact that this is my eighth post in eight days ... that is ... every day so far in February!!!
I shall just polish my halo and then get back to me journal ...
Have a lovely evening people ...
Laters!

Home Sweet Home!

First things First ... I have had THE Best day with a great group of ladies that did n't let a small thing like two foot of snow stop them getting to my first class at The Craft Barn today! A big Thank you to Allison; Hazel; Gabby ... and her gorgeous cake; Kathy; Karin and Francesca ... you ladies made me feel very much at home ... it was a good day!
We made a heart mobile ... with Distress Stains; Distress Inks; PaperArtsy Paints and dies; Paper Artsy Stamps and of Course Lord Tim of Holtz dies and Stamps ... you know Tim ... the man that cleared all the Roads between Cambridge and East Grinstead today while carving a scale model of the ice hotel out of a single snow flake with just a paper pricking tool and a craft sheet.

Driving home was indeed still a bit of a challenge ... uphill to the motorway on roads with lots of snow was a bit hairy ... but the M25 was clear ... it was just the M11 that needed a bit more work and if you were the idiot driving the golf in snow clad outside lane ... well ... Grrrr!
Of course ... as I type ... I can't possibly sign off without Thanking you guys that commented on yesterdays post ... keeping me company in my lonely hotel room ... I LOVED the chatty comments ... it was really good to know you were there!
Right ... I took far too much demo stuff ... so the unpacking may take me some time ...
Have a good week everyone ... this is indeed five posts in five days *smug grin*
Laters!

This and That!

I think I may have just about told the whole world now that I am demoing at the Craft Barn this Saturday ... my very first time ... and then I am teaching there on Sunday ... all day ... for the very first time! I am soooooooo excited!

I thought I would give you some idea of Sunday's class ... if you fancy joining me ... I think we have room for more ... and if you just want to watch some great demos ... well ... don't worry ... there are 6 other demonstrators ... so you don't even actually have to watch me!

This Sunday's project is technique based ... with stains and inks and paint and PaperArtsy and of course ... some Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can single handedly rescue a diver from a great white shark while painting the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel with just a swipe from a Ranger Archival Ink Pad and the plastic cover thing from some Tonic Studio non stick scissors!

My other news ... if you have n't heard me shouting from the roof tops is that my first project for Craft Stamper in absolutely aaaaaaages has made the cover ... yes ... that there screen is one of mine! Woo Hoo!
Right ... that is enough of me! How are you?
Laters!

And Now for Something Completely Different!

 

Lots of you will know that I have started and stopped at the whole journalling lark ... for like ... erm ... forever! I have a gazillion journals ... all with a couple of pages started ... then stored away ...  because I was n't really into what I was doing with them ... and then I worried about what they looked like and what people thought!
Well ... I have had a Eureka moment! I have discovered that actually ... although I value your opinion and I LOVE knowing what you think ... it is not really about that! It is about LOVING the process ... and I have really discovered how to do that!
So people ... No smart journalling book for me ... away with the Moleskins ... I am just working on off cuts and leftovers ... no pressure ... just a few inks and a few pens ... and even my long abandoned Pro Markers ... and here it is ... the start of my new journal! 
So ... What do you think???? :0)
Oh ... before I vanish ... free postage at the Craft Barn ... What??? Just thought you would like to know!
Laters!

A Whole New Experience!

I think the team over at the Craft Barn probably thought I was a right muppet a few weeks ago.
This week on the Craft Barn Blog there will be a whole load of beautiful projects using a Cover-a-Card stamp! Well ... when I see it like that ... and now knowing what I know ... erm ... I have to admit to being ... a right muppet!
You see ... when I saw Cover-a-Card with a stamp ... I thought ... one stamp ... any stamp ... repeat stamping and covering a whole card! Little did I know there was a whole range of stamps called Cover-a-Card ... which do exactly what they say on the tin ... yep ... I know you lots are brighter than me ... and probably knew that ... but I had no clue!

So ... using Lord Tim of Holtz's Shabby Chic technique in a less shabby and more shiny way ... I set about decorating some 6"X6" covers with black paint ... clear embossing powder and a mix of other paints ... all listed on the Craft Barn Blog.
The Grunge rose is indeed made from one of Lord Tim's fabulous dies ... you know Tim ... the man that determines the colour of each individual Spring flower while painting exact replica's of da Vinci's Last Supper ...with his feet ... using just an Ink Blending tool and a jump ring!
I had promised myself not to make any more Grunge roses ... but when I can't think what else to do ... I find them very therapeutic ... plus the fact that I now have the mini Tattered Florals die in my grubby little mitts and I cannot wait to have a proper play with it!
I must away ... I have a dog with a very sad face looking at me ... she needs a walk ... I refuse to get soaked ... so I was waiting for a gap in the rain ... don't look like that is going to happen anytime soon ... so guess who is about to get VERY wet!
Laters!

The Best Joke ... Ever!

I hate being late! No ... strike that ... I really hate being late! I hate other people being late too ... but not as much as I hate being late!
I should have scheduled this post yesterday ... but then I thought ... I have to be up early in the morning ... so I will type it out and post it then! Did I? No! I forgot! My plans changed and I forgot!
And now it is very late!
Late for what? I hear you ask ... Well! Basically I am late telling you that all the destructions (that's a wonderful Lin Brown ism) to make this foldy booky thing are up on the Craft Barn blog today!

I know it looks a bit tricky ... but you trust me right? So when I say it really is n't ... well you know it really is n't! All the ingredients and measurements are there too ... so if you fancy making one ... do come back and share ... I would LOVE to see what you do!
I need to say "GRRR" at this point too ... Mr Blogger is playing up as I type ... If he does n't leave my pictures where I have carefully placed them ... I may have to virtually slap his legs!
The Rosette and charms are of course Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that made Joseph's original technicolour dream coat while designing St. Paul's Cathedral with just a spritz of Ranger Color wash and a smidge of Wonder Tape.
The flowers are from Mr and Mrs Paper Artsy ... LOVE them!

Anyways ... I have a special treat for you today ... I heard the best joke yesterday ... do you want to hear it? Erm ... Well read it anyways??
Here goes ...
I was on Safari in Africa last week and the tour guide was naming diiferent groups of animals.
"That's a pride of lions" he said.
"A tower of giraffes"
"A flight of birds"
Then he said "herd of elephants"
So I said "Yes"
Have a good day people ... well ... erm ... afternoon anyway ... and  if you know any good jokes ... don't forget to share!
Laters!

As Easy as ATC ...

I LOVE colour ... can you tell??? Huh??? Can you???
This week over at the Craft Barn we have been playing with the Colour Wheel. I have used Red; Orange and Yellow for my ATCs which are of course neighbouring colours on the colour wheel.
I often work on A4 card to build a large background in one go and then cut it to size for whatever I choose to make. My red elements are manilla card shaped with a ball tool and then covered with Glossy Accents ... I love the way that makes the colour really pop!
I used a mix of PaperArtsy and Lord Tim of Holtz stamps ... you know Tim ... the man that invented the Colour wheel before breakfast while walking across the Sahara Desert to rescue an ageing camel in his bare feet with just a brad and a swoosh of Alcohol Inks.

You will be plaesed to note that my hangover has gone ... Sinuses clearing ... I am feeling much better today ... I reckon it was all your lovely get well comments that did the trick! So a big Thank you from me!
Do pop by the Craft Barn blog for all the ingredients etc., and keep checking back this week too ... I have seen the truly scrumptious work from the rest of the DT ... it is well worth a peek I can tell you! Jaw droppingly good stuff!
Righty-Ho ... So What have you guys got on today??? I have a large To-Do list that needs attention ... I may be some time!
Laters!

Ink Yourself Silly!

Ha! Bet you were n't expecting to see me today ... were you?
Well ... as it happens ... this is my very Design Team piece for the Craft Barn.
The remit was all about inking yourself silly and I chose Archival and Stazon ... with a bit of Alcohol Inks thrown in for good measure. Oh what fun ... seems like ages since I played with Shrink Plastic.
If you want to see what ingredients I used to make it ... just click here and you will be magically transported to the Craft Barn Blog.

My favourite bit has to be the ickle biddy butterflies ... they are indeed ... Lord Tim of Holtz Movers and Shapers stamped onto the shrink and then ... erm ... shrunk :0) You know Tim ... the man that wrote every Motown classic ... ever ... while creating a scale model of Big Ben on the end of a tooth pick with just a spot of Dusty Concord Re-Inker and the handle of an Ink Blending Tool!
Christmas is officially over here ... decorations came down yesterday ... everything back to normal ... and looking very tidy I maight add ... I had my domestic Goddess hat on all day yesterday :0)
Right then ... I ought to get my butt into gear ... I have loads on the to do list and my non New Years Resolution is indeed to actually do it!
Have a good week people and for those of you that are returning to work today ...
Have a good one!
Laters!