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!

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!

Totally Tim!

Another card from me today ... this time it is totally Lord Tim of Holtz! You know Tim ... the man that can estimate the number of pebbles on a beach just by looking at them while rebuilding a 747 from scratch with just a Pen Knib and a two inch piece of Ball Chain.
The background colour is made using a mixture of Distress Inks and then stamped with Vintage Photo!
This card was inspired by a card I saw in an old copy of Stampers Sampler ... the original was made by Shannon Sawyer and even though by the time I had finished ... it looked nothing like Shannon's lovely card ... in fact ... she may be shrieking at the screen at this very moment "Not in my name" ... I wanted to share!

What a shame it looks like rain for the royal wedding ... we have had such a long spell of sunshine here ... you would have thought that the Queen could pre-book the sunshine! I don't mean to whinge ... but damp weather plays havoc with my hair ... and my bridesmaid head wear will get all limp! Having said that ... I don't like the heat either ... it does unsightly things to my ankles!!!
So ... c'mon spill ... what you doing on Friday? Street Party? BBQ? Or have you been invited? That would be so cool ... if someone that was actually invited came on my little ole blog!
Righty-ho then ... I must away ... still tweaking classes ready for the release of the new season of classes at LB Crafts on Saturday 14th May 2011. They will, of course be ready for preview a week earlier ... as usual ... blimey ... that does n't leave much time!
Laters!

Spilling the Beads!

Who knew that filling all the little compartments in a Lord Tim of Holtz Configuration could be so much fun!
You know Tim ... the man that can hand craft a nest for every bird in all the world while making the Royal wedding dress with just a Game Spinner and a brad!
This week's theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show is buttons ... the perfect excuse to grab the smallest of the Configurations and start playing! I had a ball!

I covered the Configuration with the Button paper from the Crowded Attic pad and then set to work applying the tissue tape and then distressing it with Vintage Photo. Most of the bits you can see are Idea-ology ... with a few things from my own stash added for good measure! Bet you thought the title of this post was a typo ... by putting tiny puddles of Matte Medium down the front I was able to place the little beads to make them look like they were spilling ... I'm rather pleased with the way they turned out! And the reflection of the Fractured Doll in the tiny frame mirror ... made my day! I know ... I know ... little things and small minds! And ... and ... the tin that the Film Strip Ribbon comes in has made the perfect little hat box!
To complete the piece I added a few THE Wendy Vecchi butterflies ... so much fun! I still have the largest Configuration that Lord Tim and the charming and most amazing Mario gave me at ArtsyCrafts in February ... I just need to find some time to make it! I cannot wait now!
So ... talking about spilling the beads ... How was your Easter break ... What did you do? Where did you go? John worked last night so I am spending the day all on my lonesome ... so I am relying on you guys to keep me entertained!

I spent Friday shopping with the Wonderful Lin and the lovely Karen at the Bull Ring in Birmingham ... I got a fab new Fossil watch ... yup you have guessed right ... it was only a tenner :0) Saturday with a lovely group of ladies doing my Tiny Tin class in Olney ... Sunday ... making stuff and grumbling about my Hay Fever and today ... I have work to do ready for my new release of classes for LB Crafts.
Well ... that's me ...  don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog to see the other projects on show ... you could even enter for your chance to win a $50 gift voucher donated by the site's wonderfully generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp.
Don't forget to leave me a comment ... I have got nobody else to talk too :0)
Laters!

The Wanderer Returns!

Well people ... she is home! Only just though! Oh yes ... and boy has she had an expensive makeover! Those of you that popped in yesterday will indeed know that I am talking about my poorly sick car and those that did n't ... erm ... pop in yesterday ... Well! Where were you???? :0)
Apparently the problem was a crank shaft sensor ... I got the call this morning ... only £150 including VAT ... phew I thought! Then Mr Garage Mechanic made that awful sucking through his teeth sound and I had to sit down!

The brake discs needed replacing ... the auxhilary belt was perishing and the exhaust was about to drop off ... when I heard the price for that little lot ... I needed to lay down in a darkened room! Luckily ... the wonderful John stepped in and paid the bill ... when I am moaning about him later in the week ... please do feel free to give me a nudge and remind me what a truly wonderful guy he is!

Those of you that were sick to the back teeth of my demo tags are going to get a little break today ... I say little and today because I still have a whole load of demo tags to show you ... to be honest I am amazed at how many tags I actually made during Ally Pally!

Today ... you can see a card from my Ditress Re-inker Masterclass ... the background was made by applying Distress Re-Inkers to white card using a brayer! The colours used are Broken China, Peeled Paint and Mustard Seed ... the image is my favourite BLine stamp ever ... the background flourish and sequin waste are THE Wendy Vecchi and the little stamped stars are indeed Lord Tim of Holtz's from the Bitty Grunge set! You know Tim ... the man that can carve a replica of the Beijing Olympic Stadium in the top of a matchstick while making enough Green Tea for the entire population of Japan with just a Charm Clip and a Philosophy token!
Righty-Ho ... talking of classes ... I am in full swing designing my next release that will be available for booking at LB Crafts in early May!
Laters!

My Knight in Shining Armour!

Who Knew! I spent my life expecting my knight in shining armour to be on a horse wih ... erm ... shining armour and pretty much being a ringer for a certain Mr Darcy!
Well ... when my car broke down last night ... in the dark ... an hour from home ... lo and behold Green Flag sent me a knight! Can you imagine my surprise when he arrived with a recovery lorry for a horse ... the only thing shining was indeed a piercing ... and he had swapped his shining knight head gear for a knitted bobble hat! He was about a foot shorter than he should have been and aprroximately a decade older! To be fair ... he could n't have looked less like Mr Darcy if he had tried ... but I was still oh so pleased to see him! And he got me and my car home safely ... so I should n't complain!

So ... yes people ... after spending a very lovely day in the wonderful Lin's shop and then a very lovely evening with the lovely Karen, the wonderful Lin and Mrs Paperartsy ... gets in my car to go home ... get a few miles up the road and then the blooming car died! And boy was it cold!
Right ... well that is that ... here are a few more demo samples from the weekend ... first up we have a THE Wendy Vecchi Art Part ... my favourite Art Part to be precise ... I adore these little watches!
Second up we have a tag using my favourite Lord Tim of Holtz stamps ... love those gentlemen! You know Tim ... the man that can walk across the Atlantic Ocean while playing Beethoven's fifth on a harmonica with just a Townscape die cut and a memo pin.
That is me for now ... I had to walk to the nail bar today ... fair wore me out I can tell you ... sooooo disappointed when I left the building and remembered I had to walk home as well! So a quiet night with a stack of invoices for me!
Laters!

A Day Out!

No movies for me this morning ... and it was "into the wild" I watched yesterday ... directed by Sean Penn ... a truly mesmerising watch!
Well ... onto today ... here I am in Olney playing shop in the absence of the lovely Karen! Problem is ... I am my own best customer ... I am just ogling everything ... like a kid in a sweet shop and mentally I can feel myself persuading "me" to buy stuff before I leave tonight ... oops!
Just a quick tag to show you today ... this was indeed a tag from the weekend that I made while demoing on the LB Crafts stand.
The entire tag is coloured using Distress Stains and Colour washes ... with only a teensy bit of Distress Ink to frame the edges.
I used the waste from the Grungeboard alphabet soup pack ... love that stuff ... no need to clean it and it absorbs all the inks you use ... so gradually you get other colours bleeding in ... very serendipidous ... I did n't even spell chack that ... hands up whose impressed :0)

The text stamp I used is from Lord Tim of Holtz's Stuff to Say sheet and the butterfly is one of the new Movers and Shapers! You know Tim ... the man that can run up the side of the Eiffel Tower while performing open heart surgery on an ant with only a locket key and an accoutrement!
The Mannequin is indeed an Art Part from THE Wendy Vecchi ... painted with PaperArtsy Snow flake acrylic and some more colour wash. Then stamped in Coffee Archival with one of Wendy's stamps.
I am thinking about stacking up some chairs outside the workshop window so I can get a good look at what Leandra and Lin are up to ... they are making AC projects ... if I strap a camera to the crash helmet I am going to need ... I may be able to offer you a sneaky peek too ... c'mon ... spill ... What's it worth?
Right ... I must away ... I might even get some blog hopping done this afternoon ... Have a good one ... oh and hands down now :0)
Laters!

Simon Says ...

Wow! What a fab weekend ... but boy did it fly! It was the Ally Pally Stamping and Scrapbooking show and I spent all day Saturday and Sunday demoing alongside the wonderful Lin Brown ... it is always great fun and we get to see so many friendly faces too ... some bloggers ... some non bloggers ... so  Hi to all of you that popped by ... too many to mention individually ... but it was great to see you all! As well as  being great fun ... it is exhausting ... everything aches ... from the top of my head to the tips of my toes! And I don't even help with set-up or breakdown ... I did n't get my camera out once ... really sorry about that ... I did intend to ... note to self ... must try harder!

Anyways ... back to the tag in hand ... well not in hand ... but you knew what I meant ... right???

The tag is stamped using The Wendy Vecchi's stamps ... coloured with Lord Tim of Holtz's Distress Stains and Colour washes. You know Tim ... the man that can swim in the Arctic Ocean while making ice carvings out of icebergs representative of every countries landmarks with just the lid from a Distress Stain and an inch long piece of tissue tape.

It is indeed Monday again so this is my design piece for the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge ... the theme this week is to show some ditressing! As always our very generous sponsors, Simon Says Stamp are providing a $50 shopping voucher to one lucky entry ... so ... if you have n't joined in before ... why not make your first entry this week! And if you have n't got time to join in ... well pop over and check out the rest of the Design Team's work ... it really is very lovely!

I have news too ... this week Mathew I shall be playing the lovely Karen ...not for the whole week you understand ... but I am indeed playing shop in Olney ... on Wednesday ... I am not sure 'playing' is the right word ... but I am rather excited! It will be my first time ... and quite possibly my last if the wonderful Lin and the lovely Karen come back to a complete shambles!

Okay ... so now I am rambling ... it is getting very late and I am getting very tired ...

Laters!

Anaphylactic Shock!

I spent the day at Olney today ... not as warm as it has been ... but still pretty nice! I was doing a wonderful Lin Brown journaling class with the lovely Karen ... not much to show you to be honest ... just a couple of bits of first level backgrounds ... but I had a reeeeally good time ... great fun as always ... and that's what matters  ... right?

Anyways ... at lunch time ... I was eating my ham and mustard rolls and my crisps ... then went outside for some fresh air ... as you do ...  when I felt what I thought was an insect bite my tummy! I went to brush it away and this sharp bite happened again! Now this may come as a big surprise to you guys ... but I can be a bit of a drama queen ... so ... at this point I am starting to panic ... it won't brush away and it bloomin' hurt ... I am thinking anaphylactic shock ... a large bee ... a wasp ... possibly a hornet!!!

On further investigation ... I realise it is in my top ... so I hot foots it back up the stairs to the workshop and runs into the toilet ... totally panic stricken at this point... ready to run out of the loo half undressed if needs be to seek medical assistance ... I pull my jumper out from my jeans and ...

A smallish ... but very sharp you understand ... piece of McCoys Cheese and Onion chunky crisp falls out!! I did tell you I was a bit of a drama queen... I maybe should have mentioned my very low pain threshold at that point too!

If you are wondering why am I waffling on late on a Saturday night ... well Mary and the lovely Karen said I did n't blog enough anymore ... so here I am ... showing willing :0)

I am off to the NEC tomorrow ... so early to bed for me!

Let me know if you are going ... we could meet for coffee or summink ...

Laters!

Numbers!

I managed to find some time yesterday afternoon to play ... then ran out of time before I got chance to blog!

Hey-Ho ... I am here now! Have I mentioned the fact that I LOVE The Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts ... sooooo versatile. I started with the waste from the square frame I used for Monday's challenge piece ... I know ... Can you believe that ... it's waste ... talk about value for money! Anyways with some leftover Lord Tim of Holtz papers and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink ... I set to work! You know Tim ... the man that made time stand still in London yesterday ... while explaining the meaning of the universe to Prof. Brian Cox with just a game piece and the top from a Sharpie Marker!

Talking of game pieces ... all the numbers I have used have a relevance ... I am 32 years old and John is 79 and we live at number 53 ... actually ... that is a lie ... we don't live at number 53 at all!!!

Okay ... hands up those who love Lord Tim's new Butterfly die and that cute ickle rosette ... Got your hands up ... good ... actually ... erm ... could you put them down now? ... and type a comment maybe??? Any gossip will do ... I have had a quiet day and could use some juicy gossip ... I am not fussy either ... does n't have to be true ... just juicy!

That's me then people ... I have a date with some tags and both Sunday's and Monday's Silent Witness ... so if you could leave the ending of that out of your comments so as not to ruin it for me ... I would be very grateful :0)

Oh and just before I go ... I have some places available on two half day workshops this coming Monday ... details are here ... if you are interested just call the Wonderful Lin or the lovely Karen on 01234714848 ...

Laters!

What? No Cake?

I have had the bestest time playing with The Wendy Vecchi's new Cake Stand Art Part! I neeeeed another 264 of these babies ... coz the possibilities are just endless.

I painted mine ... all black ... then I aged some of Lord Tim of Holtz's new Crowded Attic papers with Vintage Photo Distress ink and the Paper Artsy mini cogs stamp! You know Tim ... the man that can get this country out of the economic shambles it is in ... in his lunch hour ... while painting a replica of the Mona Lisa with just a pen nib and a jump ring.

I digress ... once attached to the stand ... I aged some of the black paint with Inka Gold in Aged Silver. That always sounds a bit odd ... Inka Gold ... in Aged Silver I mean ... but if that is what it is ... what's a girl to do!

I had a ball filling Lord Tim's Cork Vials with watch parts; Pen nibs and screws ... the screws were a tad too new looking ... so I added a drop of Coffee Archival Re-inker and a spritz of water to age them too. The bottle labels are from the Crowded Attic Salvage Sticker collection ... I distressed those and the corks with some more Vintage Photo.

Don't you just ADORE the Penny Farthing? ... a little bird told me that LB Crafts will have one or two of those beauties at Ally Pally! Talking of Ally Pally ... if you are going ... do pop by the stand and say "Hi". And if I don't recognise you straight away ... you have my permission to ... erm ... well shake me and tell me who you are! I will be demoing both days with the wonderful Lin Brown... and we have some lush stuff to play with!

Righty-ho then ... back to my to do list ... it has a stack of things to do ... including a few class kits for tomorrow ... Yikes ... a slight miscalculation on my part ... but I do promise me 10 students that by tomorrow ... I will have that one sorted :0)

Laters!

What you doing Saturday?

I know ... you are right ... this is a blatant plug! I have some unexpected places at my "Any Sentiment" workshop on Saturday. I can guarantee a spot of card making ... copious amounts of hot beverages and chocolate ... and hopefully a bit of fun along the way too!

So if you are not doing anything and fancy joining me at L.B Crafts with a fabulous group of other crafters then full details can be found here.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Olney ... it is a beautiful little town which is a just short bus ride from Milton Keynes train station... oh yes and it's always sunny there ... well nearly always :0)

So ... if you fancy joining us ... then just telephone The Lovely Karen on 01234 714848 ... Go on! You know you want to!

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!

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!

A Day with The Wendy Vecchi!

Oh yes ... I know I said I was going to do the Christmas shopping ... well if I am completely honest ... I did n't get as much done as I would have liked ... in fact ... I did n't get any done ... John had car issues and I was looking for any excuse ... quite frankly ... to stay home and play.

So ... instead of fighting through the hoards of Christmas Shoppers ... in the cold ... I sat in my snug and warm craft room and played with The Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamps! It might not sound like it ... but it was proper work I was doing :0)

LB Crafts is joining the shops in Olney for a Dickens of a Christmas this Sunday ... I have n't been before ... but it all sounds very lovely ... I am hoping it will get me in the spirit of the season ... because ... to be honest ... I am not really there yet. Anyways ... I will be demoing my socks off in the wonderful Lin's shop ... she has 15% off all non sale items too ... and playing with Distress Ink and Studio 490 stamps ... two of my favourite things ... so the cards shown are just a couple of the samples ... I told you it was work! Do pop in ... Olney really is a beautiful place ... and it would be great to see you!

I really need to Thank The Wendy Vecchi while I am here ... the background scallop jobby with the red paper and the film strip is indeed from her wonderful book ... I find so much inspiration in her books and she is now writing her fourth ... I for one CANNOT wait :0)

Sadly I am now way behind on Lord Tim of Holtz's 12 tags ... you know Tim ... the man that can back flip off the Empire State Building while decorating the Christmas tree in Central Park with just a jump ring and a smidgeon of Red Pepper Alcohol Ink. I soooo plan to catch up soon ...

Righty-Ho ... I am doing a workshop tomorrow ... so best I get some sleep ...

Laters!

It's Good to be Back!

No ... scratch that ... it is GREAT to be back. Thank you to everyone for the warm "we missed you" messages from yesterday ... you guys certainly know how to make a girl feel special!

Anyways ... after telling you all about the fab Lin Brown journalling class I attended on Saturday ... I suddenly felt brave enough to share one of my pages with you! I am not sure if I have finished with it yet ... clearly I still need to do some ... erm ... actual journalling on it ... I mean apart from that ... I kind of think some gold apples would look good on that there tree ... but where to find some ... appropriately sized ... gold apples late on a Monday night is currently an enigma :0)

The best thing about journalling is that regardless of whether I like the page or not ... it is just layer upon layer of pure unadulterated fun ... it is also a great distraction from smoking to boot ... yes yes I am still off the evil weed ... some days are better than others and some days are still an absolute blimmin nightmare ... I wake up craving and go to bed craving and don't stop eating in between ... so I am piling on the pounds ... I reckon that pretty soon I shall need to start frequenting the local weight watchers ... which should be interesting coz to stave off my desire to eat I usually light up ... what will I turn to instead I wonder .... could this be the slippery slope that ends in copious amounts of alcohol and rehab I wonder !!!

Anyways ... I stray from the page in question ... it would probably be quicker if I told you what I have n't done to it ... it started off with my first ever play with pastels ... then a rather generous spritz with some Gold Glimmer and a stencil ... some sequin waste ... Wendy Vecchi background stamps ... Lord Tim of Holtz paper and a black pen. The rather lovely tree is indeed a wonderful Lin Brown creation covered using all manner of collage paper pieces ... and the scribbling ... well that is all my own work :0)

OK ... I have kept you for long enough ... I am off to catch up on Dr Gillian P.I ... the drama queen ... throwing herself at the bug invested jungle floor for attention! I heard she is the same age as Nigella Kitchen ... so ... if you are what you eat ... I am off to Maccy D's!

Laters!

The Bells … The Bells!

I will get on to the whole bells saga in a minute … first up … here are my lovely ladies from today’s Mixed Media Christmas workshop … There was Margaret, Carole, Lin, Shelley, Christine, Helle and Anne… they all did a fab job of their canvases … including the image transfer onto ickle mini canvasses that most of them were trying for the first time… I found that bit reeeeeeeally exciting and beamed with pride at the wonderful results!

But the whole bells thing … well where shall I start … I could start with the whole smug thing I had going on when I had prepared my kits well in advance of the workshop … or maybe I will skip that part and go onto the whole … “Oh Crap” moment when I realised that I had forgotten the kits needed jingle bells far too late in the day to realistically do anything about it.  But I did … with a great deal of help from a lovely man from Carftycapers … he rushed my order through … had the bells delivered straight to the shop and in plenty of time to use in the class. I even told him … that I may not have met him … but I loved him!

I am glad the lovely man was n’t in the shop when the bells arrived … coz I opened the box only to find that the bells would be suitable for a canvas … a 12X12 canvas and I mean … a 12 feet by 12 feet canvas!!! Appalled … I told the lovely Karen and the whole workshop that I did n’t love the lovely man anymore and I was going to give him a piece of my mind … I ordered 25mm and they have sent 2.5cm … they are far too big!!! Oh yes people read that part again … what a numpty … the lovely Karen kindly pointed out the error of my ways before I ranted at the lovely man … something for which I shall be eternally grateful … I just hope these hormone drugs kick in soon!

That’s me guys … bit late for post number 9 on day number 9 … but better late than never! See you on Day 10 with another tidy desk shot … we have a second viewing … I really do think that full asking price offer is getting close :0)