SUE'S ART STUFF

Some Christmas Knitting and Felting ....

2012-01-08T23:03:00.003Z

Back in the mists of time, last November, when I went to the NEC, you may remember I bought the kit for the Giant Blub Bag from the Toft Alpaca Shop. Over the Christmas break, I knitted it up. When I'd finished - it looked like this .....

Yikes, I thought - this is not good. I'm a loose knitter at the best of times and on really humungous 20mm broomstick needles (well a 20mm circular needle actually - which alone cost 12 quid) it looked like an overworked dishcloth. I was devastated but then I gave myself a talking to and chucked it in the washing machine with my 'felting jeans', an old towel and a tennis ball (have learned not to put trainers in washing machine when felting - they fall apart - lol).

This time, I didn't sit in front of the machine watching it go round and round - after all I wouldn't know how to empty said machine if I wanted to stop it anyway - so I went and did a spot of tidying up in the garden. When I came back - there was this ....

It's stuffed with microfibre towels here to absorb the moisture keep the shape and the button (nearly five inches in diameter) will be sewn on to the flap when the bag is dry. There are two problems though - one is that the handle is slightly twisted because I sewed one end on back to front - stupid girl. It would take a really nosey person to see it though because in the felting and pulling to shape after, most of the twist has gone. It's only me that knows it's there - oh - and now you - lol.

The other problem is - it's so HAIRY. When it was dry, I put it on my shoulder to see what it looked like and guess what I had on - a BLACK top - lol. Apparently, it stops shedding after a while - but when my cold has stopped streaming, I'll give it a bit of a hair cut - lol.

Just love it though - what do you think? .....

Getting Things Into Perspective ....

2012-01-06T18:10:00.000Z

Having had a not particularly good week - stinking cold, one colleague at work with man-flu, another colleague off on holiday and generally feeling fed up, I came home from work tonight and settled in my armchair with a coffee and the latest edition of Craft Stamper ....

I couldn't believe what I was reading - Sarah Lawrence of Crafy Notions died suddenly at the beginning of December last year.

I can't claim to have known her by any means - but I have seen and spoken to her a number of times at shows when I would stand for ages watching her demo and looking at her samples on display; and, of course, she had been in my living room - when she was on the TV. She was one very, very clever lady .....

The last time I spoke to her was at the NEC in November 2011 - when I spent nearly 20 minutes with her and she was giving me lots of hints and tips about various types of glue - of all things - and then she very kindly presented me with two tubes of her own Crafty Notions glue ....

This sad news has certainly put things into perspective .... You will be missed, Sarah

It's Christmas - or nearly ....

2011-12-21T22:17:00.002Z

so I've been told - lol. No seriously, I am getting into the festive spirit - well sort of. The most appealing thing for me - is the very, very long break from work - and I have plans. I will enjoy spending time with my family but a few days of generally slobbing around and relaxing will suit me fine.

Anyways - despite work and stuff, there has been more progress with the invites ....

The evening invitations are all finished - and the minor disaster of what size envelope to put them in was averted by me being extremely intelligent and getting out my spare envelope bag and trying different sizes - sorted - lol.

The actual base of the invitations is made, with three pockets and a flap ....

These are the Menus for the middle pocket ....

The actual invites and the RSVPs would have been done if it hadn't been for the printer packing up. Here are the bands and I had a light bulb moment as to how to 'stick' the ends together - but more of that another time ....

So, I'm getting there - aren't I !!!!!
Have a lovely Christmas everyone

Making Progress .....

2011-11-21T22:21:00.000Z

In the kitchen. Production on THE INVITES had to move to there over the weekend. Running the same die endlessly through the Big Shot sitting down was not comfortable - standing up was the answer. So downstairs it all came and I started with this ...

which eventually resulted in these ...

The flowers took the whole of The Bank Job and Coyote Ugly to put together but hey ho, they're good films - lol. Then these were added ...

(but only the green ones) to end up with these ...

Getting there ...

Are We There Yet ....

2011-11-13T14:15:00.000Z

with the Wedding Invites that is ....

Well not quite, but I've been working away since yesterday lunch and here's where we're at so far.

I started with this ....

and set to scoring and creasing the actual Invitations ...

A friendly local printer very kindly cut the A3 card to the exact size I wanted 'cos a pound to a penny I'd have cut them crooked - thanks Tony ...

Just look at those lovely creases - loving the Scor-It-All board. So the actual invites are part way there. Then I started with the Evening Invites ...

These are some of those - all die cut from a Sizzix Bigz XL die. I say some - because would you Adam and Eve it - I seriously miscalculated on the amount of base card I needed - lol - maths was never my strong point - lol.

Anyways - we progressed with what we had and therein lies another tale. Because the base of the invite is card and the 'cover' is a patterned paper of a much lighter weight - you can't just die cut one of card and one of paper 'cos the paper doesn't wrap around the card 'cos of the weight - hope you all follow that - lol. So there I am cutting each end off the paper die cut and a reel of double sided tape later - we have these (29 so far need another 24) ...

Next was to cut the papers to size for die cutting the rest of the covers for the evening invites and the flower embellishments ...

So - I'm pleased with the progress I've made - as some of you know I was having just a bit of difficulty in getting going with this.

Anyways - I need a break from all this measuring and cutting so I'm off into the garden for an hour or so - it's a lovely sunny day here.

Then I have to start cutting the panels for the actual Invitations - and I bet I've miscalculated the quantity of papers needed for those too - lol - so the day will end with yet another order to Craft Creations - lol.

Reporting From The NEC ...

2011-11-12T16:20:00.001Z

which was over a week ago. Generally, I'm straight on here sharing the event but what with everything else going on - well, you know how it is ....

This time, I stayed in an hotel at Birmingham Airport - mainly because I simply couldn't be doing with all that very early morning travelling on the day of the show and then travelling back laden with stash and having to stand all the way to Reading, even though you have a reserved seat !!!! So, this time I travelled up on Wednesday afternoon and went back Friday morning. so I thought, what the heck, treat yourself to a hotel.

So - there I am late Wednesday afternoon, all checked in and what do you do next? After all there's only so much you can do at Birmingham Airport - lol. So I did some knitting, got some real treats for my tea from Marks & Spencers, watched a bit of TV and had an early night.

Next morning (after a rather disgusting breakfast at the hotel) it was off to the show to meet up with the girlies - the lovely Sue, Anita and Carol - and the lovely Sue's husband, who had come along to assist with the stash carrying - bless him ....

So here's some of the purchases -

These are from the lovely Jenny Mayes - am loving all of these and hoping that there will be some time to make a few Christmas cards this year - lol ....

Here's a variety of stamps from Inkylicious (just love the two-way Santa and sleigh), Dimension Stamps and Little Claires (those circles will go well with the other Just-Rite stamps and Nesties I've got).

Here's some books I bought ...

Totally Tangled is a book chock-a-block full of Zentangle patterns and ideas - absolutely lovely. The first Toft Alpaca knitting pattern book (and yes I did succumb to a purchase from their stand - lol) and the Domino Knitting book. On the stand there was the most beautiful pieces of knitting using this technique that I simply had to get the book and a pattern, which you can just see on the right. (I had a go at a basic square last night on a set of Knit Pro rosewood double pointed needles that I also got at the show, and which were gorgeous to knit with. Methinks the Domino Squares and the rosewood needles will become yet another favourite on the knitting front).

These are the highlight purchases - a Tim Holtz District Market shopping bag and the kit for the Giant Bulb Bag from the Toft Alpaca stand. This was a little on the expensive side but I've always wanted to make one, so thought hey ho - have it for your Christmas present to you - lol. Another highlight was a lengthy one-to-one conversation with Sarah Lawrence of Crafty Notions about glue, of all things. What a lovely lady ...
So all in all a good time. It was lovely to meet up with the girls again - and we'll do it all again next year.
Right off to do some more on the Wedding Invitation front - progress report tomorrow ....

And Some More Pages ....

2011-10-31T15:37:00.001Z

I'm really going to have to think of a new Post Title - they're getting all a bit samey - lol.

Anyways - here are some more pages - first in the little black Journal ...

And from the bigger Journal ...

It's been a pretty samey few weeks since the last post too - methinks it's the time of year. Even though I've been off work quite a bit - not a lot done on the craft front - in fact, not a lot done on any front - lol. Still I've done some knitting today and would you believe it - four rows short on the final bit (the left front band) - not enough wool left to finish the garment - a rather nice chunky long-line waistcoat. It would have been rude to have ordered only one ball, so I ordered enough to make a chunky v-neck top with drop sleeves - as a winter layering piece - and all that before the NEC later this week. What am I like - lol ....

Cranking Up A Gear ...

2011-10-02T17:57:00.001+01:00

Ever felt like you were the child and your kids the parent? That's what's just happened to me ....

No. 1 daughter is getting married next June and I've been asked/volunteered to do the wedding stationary. The Save The Dates were duly done (mind you - one for each person attending not one per family/couple - lol). When we went shopping for the stuff for the Save The Dates, we also got the papers for the invitations and there they've sat waiting patiently ....

The pressure has been building up regarding the invitations and last night I had a bit of play - messing around with church rubber stamps and the brayer and stuff. Today, I totally cleared up upstairs, abandoned everything I'd done last night and came up with the basic design ....

It's made of copier paper because I haven't got any A3 card right this minute (oh yes, and take no notice of the punched edge on the left of the photo - that was just me playing about). It's a three panel foldy- uppy type wallet with a flap. I used scraps from my box, rather than cut into the papers we'd bought for the purpose ....

Close up of the pocket and the insert card for the invitation/menu/RSVP ....

This is the reverse side - all the panels will be the same ....

And this is the closure. It's designed to slide on and off the wallet - but she wants it fixed to the card 'so that it doesn't get lost'. Quite frankly, does it matter - lol? As long as everyone sends back their menu choices ....

The prototype was fairly well received apart from one tiny detail - no. 1 daughter has decided that she no longer likes the papers she chose and I bought - and there's a lot of sheets of 12"x12" in the carrier bag, I can tell you.

So - it's off shopping again to buy sheets and sheets of Bazzil green and pink card - which I wouldn't have to buy so much of this time round, if she hadn't made me make an extra fifty Save the Dates - lol.

God help me if anything is crooked - lol ....

At this rate, it would have been cheaper to get the things made by someone else ....
Having said all that -this little lady made me smile ...

Isn't she a peach ....

All Is Now Calm ....

2011-09-25T18:48:00.001+01:00

In fact, it's so quiet here after yesterday and early this morning, I've got a headache - lol. After the promise of a very early start, things weren't too bad - 7.15am, so The Beautiful One came into bed with us and we all laid there giggling and being silly and got up half an hour later - not bad I thought. Breakfast was a breeze - real porridge and strawberry fruit squirt - yummy ....

Then Mum and Dad arrived to take them off to Harvey's birthday party. Before they went I took a couple of photos in their party outfits ...

Cleared up the kitchen and put things back to as they were and spent the rest of the day playing around with more Journal pages.
This time all the images are from The Octopode Factory, all drawn by the very talented Lily Chilvers.
These pages are in the 8" x 8" Pink Pig Journal. The first is Steampunk Nipper, Bernie. Just love the image - not sure about the page itself - too much 'empty space' .....

Then it's Frida - when I coloured her in and cut her out last week, that's just how I was feeling ...

Next is Helga and that fantastic poem by Jenny Joseph 'Warning'. There's something about Helga that promises to do all the things in the poem ....

Last one in this Journal is, of course, Paddington Bear (again love the image just not sure about the page itself) ....

Next up, the little black Journal - Zombie Ragdoll on the left and Steampunk Nipper, Alfie on the right ...

Might do some knitting next or maybe another page - spoilt for choice here - lol ...

It's Saturday Night ....

2011-09-24T21:58:00.001+01:00

and I don't remember things being this difficult. The reason is that I'm hosting a sleepover for The Gorgeous One aka Finley William and The Beautiful One aka Charlotte Kaylet (no dancing on bars for me - lol).

I managed to sort tea out and to be fair they sat at their little table and ate it all up beautifully. Then the fun started - The Gorgeous One wanted his Mum; The Beautiful One joined in together with a dirty nappy. Dealt with that and got her PJs on. She had some milk and was yawning, so up she went to the travel cot. That was sort of OK - just intermittent grizzling.

While I was sorting The Beautiful One out, The Gorgeous One had got into the armchair and settled himself in for the night. He sort of wakes up every now and then and refuses to put his PJs on and go to bed - little tyke ...

Methinks that all this can be left until the morning (which I'm thinking is going to be a very early start) ...

As I say, I don't remember it being this difficult when mine where this age (mind you I was 28 years younger - lol) - my job is easier than this.

Despite my yearning for a drink (of the alcoholic variety), I'm off to bed, complete with fully clothed Gorgeous One ....

Sunday Afternoons ....

2011-09-11T17:54:00.000+01:00

are generally a time, when I flop about doing nothing in particular, trying not to think about the week ahead, which for the next two weeks will be mayhem because young man in office is on his 'olidays - in Cuba - not saying anything more about that - lol.

Anyways, this morning, I was up with the lark, actually doing some housework (I washed the kitchen floor among other things) and I didn't have to have a sit down all morning - lol. The room upstairs was tidied up - more because I was tripping over stuff on the floor and the actual working space had reduced from six foot by three foot to about six inches square - and I needed to make a card.

I sorted out the bits and pieces for the prototype (there are two - very roughly done - and that's an understatement - lol) of THE WEDDING invitations, that will be inspected and approved (or not) by my daughter.

Here, I have to stop and tell you a story - we went to Lingfield yesterday to a florist to check out flowers and stuff for THE WEDDING. Unfortunately (or not - depending on your point of view), the Craft Barn is there as well. It would have been so rude not to have gone in there. Anyways, there we are with shopping basket and daughter is gaily adding to it, when she sees a stamp of a village church - 'OK put it in the basket' says me looking at something completely different and totally distracted.

Later last night, when I was looking at my (very few - honest - lol) purchases, I came to the church stamp. Took it out of the packet and stamped it out, still a bit distracted (must be an age thing - lol) and started colouring it in - all very nicely with watercolours. I sat back to admire my handiwork and realised that the things in the foreground of the image were gravestones - lol. I'm not making the decision whether or not to use it - she can - lol.

Anyways, before I toddle off back upstairs for a bit of a play in the Journals, here's a card I made this afternoon (not made one for ages and ages). My grandchildren's nursery teacher is leaving at the end of the month, so it's for them to say goodbye and thank you to her ....

And finally, to everyone in the United States and to anyone who lost someone on this day, ten years ago, I'm thinking of you ....

Getting To Grips ....

2011-09-05T16:10:00.001+01:00

today with bits and pieces that have been on my To Do List for quite a while. One of the jobs involved wool ...
A while ago I bought eleven skeins of this ....

to make the Noni Sunflower Knitting/Beach Bag.
I had a couple of recorded TV programmes to watch, so I thought I would wind the hanks into balls, ready to start knitting. Not having a spare pair of hands available, I used these to help ....

These being two very old kiddie chairs that I rescued many years ago from a primary school that was closing. My grandchildren love them.

So there I am, washing machine on, coffee by my side, watching TV and winding balls of wool - very relaxing ....

This is the end result ....

Another job crossed off the list - all I need to do now is wait for delivery of the KnitPro Chunky Circular needle set to start knitting this ....

The Last Couple of Hours ...

2011-09-04T14:30:00.000+01:00

Instead of researching PVA and other forms of sticky stuff, as I said I was going to do, I've been drinking far too much coffee, eating toast and marmite and travelling around on the tinternet (such a shame about the lovely Sue and her router - lol) on Art from the Heart's 10th Anniversary Blog Hop.

I've seen some amazing work - absolutely stunning - there are some very, very talented people out there. There are five hops in all and you have to collect up letters from the blogs you visit, that go to form an anagram of the title of each of the hops - the only one I can't work out at the minute is the 7 Gypsies one - but it will come.

Have a look at Dyan's blog for all the details - there's nothing on the TV and it's raining (well it is here - lol)

Isn't It Amazing ....

2011-09-04T11:04:00.000+01:00

how going back to work quickly takes hold of your life? I only went back last Tuesday and my Sussex Stay-Cation seems for ever ago. I haven't been idle in the evenings though - my knitting came out again (I daren't play with the Journals on a work night 'cos I'd never get to bed - lol). Mind you, I now have another three days off 'cos I was supposed to be off somewhere visiting but that's been cancelled - so methinks I will stay home again for two days - do some work at home and try to get to grips with THE Wedding Invitations (more of that another time).

Anyways - I am now the proud owner of the complete set of Dylusions Spray Inks and, oh my word, they are lovely - the most stunning colours; they don't go all muddy and just disappear into the page, like some inks do, they just sit there and blend quietly and wait for you to plonk a piece of card on the wetness, to make another background; or for you to tip and tilt to make runny patterns; or roll over the lot with a whole kitchen roll. (I just love doing that to the extent that the patterns made on the kitchen roll are just as lovely as the book and I've kept a few sheets - lol. I now bulk buy kitchen roll - my pal in the newsagents gets it for me from the cash and carry).

So - here's a couple more pages. This first one is in the 8"x8" Journal. One of my 'Notes to Self' in the little Journal was to practice my handwriting, which borders on the illegible. For someone who does a lot of hand writing in their job, that's a pretty poor admission - sometimes the next day after a meeting, even I can't read the notes I've taken - lol.

Anyways, I digress - I thought I would do a handwritten double page. Keep it simple, I thought - have lines and write in capital letters. So I had to get Dyan's Write Between the Lines set didn't I - lol? Problem is I now need the Birds On A Wire set too - lol.

I thought I would do a sort of list of the ten things that I need and use to make my Journals. Trouble is there is more than ten - but these will have to do for now. I'm not happy with the handwriting - even though it's in capital letters. Some of it slopes backwards (I remember handwriting classes in primary school and the teacher, Miss Wallis, a lovely older lady with a pink rinse, who did not do sloping backwards) and even with Dyan's lines, some of the letters don't touch the top and the bottom of the lines. I think I used the right pen for the first attempt - the medium Pitt Artist's Pen from the set of four. Hey-ho - I'm not going to beat myself up over it, I can always do more - as they say practice, practice, practice. So, after all that, here's the big reveal ...

Rather less painful - for those who have just read all that - and for me - are some pages in the little black Journal ...

Off now to try and find out what the best stuff is to glue cutouts from magazines in yet another Journal I'm doing. Been using gel medium which (a) takes for ever to dry and (b) on one page has left the print from the reverse side showing through - which is not attractive - lol. I don't know the difference between gel medium and good old-fashioned PVA - so I'm off to find out ....

And Even More Pages ...

2011-08-27T17:56:00.000+01:00

As I say to my kids - at least I'm not dancing on a bar somewhere with a complete stranger (as if I would - just give me the chance - lol) they always know where I am - lol. Anyways, it's been a quiet day in this Sussex household - haven't done a thing other than mess around on the internet and do some more pages in my little black book ....

This one was missed out from the first of the posts about my journals. Love these Stampotique stamps purchased aeons ago from the lovely Wendy at The Stamp Attic ....

Here's two more. The one on the left includes one of a gi-normous set of 7 Gypsies 'statement' stamps - another purchase from the lovely Wendy ...

I like this page - oh to be skinny like that - lol. This was in part inspired by looking at Rosie's blog - she's having a bit of a thing about comfort eating, so I completed the page yesterday for her ...

This one features an Octopode Factory image - whimsey moon ...

And to finish - more Stampotique and an attempt at humour ...

Off now to have something to eat and resume playing. I have it in my head that I might try proper journalling - yikes. Going to cheat a bit though and do it in my spiral bound book - then I can tear it out if it goes pear-shaped - how pathetic is that when we are told that there is 'never anything wrong in art' - lol.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend ...

Some More Pages ....

2011-08-22T14:35:00.004+01:00

This is becoming a bit addictive. I'm just loving messing around with the paints and spray inks and recently acquired Distress Stains (have decided that more of those are needed - lol). You should see the state of my hands - all yellowy, greeny, purplely, reddy and, in places, a second skin of gel medium - still it all comes off when you wash your hair (which is a good thing seeing as I'm going out tonight and back at work in a couple of days - lol).

Here are some more pages.
First from the little black journal ....

All the images are Stampotique and I love them more each time I use them - even cutting them out - lol. The bunting is from a rather natty Hero Arts set I got on Saturday, when I got the Distress Stains.
Another little addition, which is on the Kate Crane DVDs, is the date the page was completed - done with an office date stamp. Adds another element and to the posterity of the journal.

Here's a couple more pages from the 8"x8" journal -

This is Pondering Petunia - Part 1 - from Dyan Reaveley's latest stamps in the Dylusions range. I say Part 1 because I now have seven sets of stamps with the figures and you can mix and match the heads, bodies, legs; give them hats and wings; and generally cut them up and make up tons of different other figures; so they will all appear again in different forms. So - not only fantastic images but good value too. The left hand page is for Travelling Travis - another one of the new stamp sets.

This page is another go at the experimental page at the end of the last post. I thought go for broke and just do it straight into the book - I could always tear it out if it when horribly wrong - lol ...

Hope you like them - off to wash my hair ....

I've Been Busy With This and That ....

2011-08-19T19:59:00.003+01:00

Yet again, I've been away a long time - but not idle. I won't bore people with the reasons why I've been away - save to say that things are getting a little better on the work front, so I've got just a little more 'me time'.

I'm going to make up for being away with a really loooonnnnggggg post - lol - so I hope you're sitting comfortably - including you, Anita.

Still passionate about the knitting - the current WIP is a 'patchwork' cardigan in a gorgeous cashmere and silk yarn in a burnt orange colour. The back and two sides are oblongs, exactly the same and all in the same pattern but when you sew it together one of the sides is sewn upside down - hope that makes sense. Each of the sleeves are different stitch patterns. I've got a bag of some beautiful bright red Cascade yarn to make a rather enormous knitting bag, which will be felted.

Anyways - I've had the last two weeks or so off work. I've not been anywhere but had a rather nice Stay-Cation here in sunny Sussex. It's amazing what you find to do at home when you work long hours. Various household appliances and equipment have been brought out of the cupboard under the stairs - even the iron has had an airing - lol. The garden is looking good, the grass is like a bowling green and every room in the house is tidy - bar one ....

That's because I bought the two Kate Crane DVD's on Art Journaling from the lovely Wendy at The Stamp Attic about a week before my holiday. As soon as I watched them I thought that's what I'm doing for the next couple of weeks. To be fair - I the money I would have spent on going away somewhere was spent on paint, mica sprays and rubber stamps all from Dyan Reaveley at Art from the Heart, brushes and journal books - lol. My friend in the newsagents around the corner from work got me two packs of 20 kitchen roll - a tenner each - and all the baby wipes in West Sussex are here in my house - lol. Who needs a Greek Island anyway - lol.

So - the outcome of all this expenditure and the war zone appearance of the room upstairs is this ....

The first Journal is a 4"x6" book from Seawhites of Brighton -

Liking this first page -

The next two pages are because I thought I would be actually journalling. A lot of journals that I've seen are a bit 'deep and meaningful' - something I didn't want to be - I can be miserable enough for the whole world sometimes without writing it down - lol -

So - the following pages are quotes that I have seen and stored away in another notebook and even comments that I have made up myself - lol. Plus I have rather a lot of Stampotique stamps and wanted to use my lovely new Dylusions stamps too -

On the next page, I've started cutting up the books that the lovely Sue in the West Midlands gave me; and I discovered that I really like bright and vibrant colour -

The next two pages express the desire for more shopping - lol; and gives one reason for the lack of journalling - lol -

The last three pages in this book -

While doing this book, I also started an 8"x8" Pink Pig book, which I got from the lovely Wendy at The Stamp Attic. In fact, the first two pages I did right at the beginning of my holiday -

These next two pages are taken from an idea in a book by Lynne Perella - al-pha-bet-i-ca (don't you just love Amazon - lol). Again, I didn't want to be too 'deep and meaningful' or take myself too seriously -

Pages ready to play with -

Dylusions stamps - Ruby Rainbow, Doolally Doris and Love Struck Lucy -

And finally (thank goodness can I hear - lol). Couldn't sleep the other night - so rather than toss and turn I got up. Was blog hopping and saw this link on Dyan Reaveley's blog. So there I am - 2.30am trying to do the same sort of thing and coming up with this -

Off now to watch Eastenders and retreat upstairs to try this one again.

Hope you enjoyed the piccies ....

Big Knitting - Little Knitting ...

2011-06-26T11:45:00.001+01:00

Almost the whole weekend - so far - has been spent with either knitting needles or a crochet hook in hand (to say nothing of catching up with three Omnibus editions of EastEnders - just love it - and munching my way through a box of old fashioned tea cakes - yummy).

Anyways - starting with the little knitting. First up is a crocheted string bag. It was a quick make and only used about a third of a 100g ball of yarn. I made this quite a while ago but thought I would darn the ends in. It's amazing how stretchy it is and what you can get in there ....

Then a scarf. This is made from a DK Ladder Yarn which was a bit slippy and slidey to knit with but once you got into the swing of it was OK. I bought this in Worthing and found two yarn shops within five minutes. In the first shop was a basket full of the most beautiful scarves, snoods and stoles all knitted in this yarn. Lovely daughter made me buy three balls of this - 'they will make nice Chrissy presents Mummy' - and for who, I ask - probably half of her friends.

Yesterday, I put the fringing on - which was a bit of a nightmare - but I got there. The jewel tones of the yarn are absolutely stunning and I've got two more to go ....

Now for some medium size knitting. I posted this Granny Square throw ages ago but since then it's got bigger and bigger - it now fits very nicely over a double bed. Doing the squares was a nice way to relax for an hour or so when I got home after a late meeting. That said, there were an awful lot of late meetings and a carrier bag of squares got done....

In fact I've still got loads left - enough to make a small blanket for my Mum to put over her feet. I spent quite a lot of yesterday crocheting a multi-colour border around the edge - just look at those ends to be darned in - but not today - lol.

And now for some really Big Knitting ...
In the last post I said that a big parcel had been delivered. It was from Ingrid Wagner and here's what was in it ....

The needles are 20mm and 60cm long. The yarn is the selvedge edge of various cloths which has been recycled. You can see all about it here.

I have to say this took a bit of getting used to - let alone the size of the needles, where to where to sit was a bit of a problem. I couldn't sit in my armchair 'cos the arms got in the way and ended up sitting in the middle of the settee. Here we are half way through the Big Knitting Summer Sofa Throw ...

Here's a close up of the stitches ....

I have to say, I'm very taken with this - it knits up very quickly, it looks impressive, it's different and is relatively inexpensive, once you have the needles. The throw is getting heavy now and methinks I will have to finish it sitting on the floor leaning against the settee - to get leverage on those broomstick needles and take the weight. Sitting on the floor isn't a problem - it's the getting up - lol.

Then another parcel from Ingrid arrived - three balls, the size of footballs, of eight strands of wool wound together. This is for knitting a rug using all three balls at the same time - so 24 strands on those huge needles - but more of that another time ...

Off to cut the grass now ...

A Knitting Mishap ....

2011-06-16T22:13:00.000+01:00

I've been a long time away - but I won't bore you with all the excuses 'cos they're the same as usual anyway. So moving on ....

I'm still knitting - well as much as I can anyway. Last year, I went to the IKnit Weekender event in London and bought various skeins and balls of yarn. One of the stands was selling a yarn that knits up into a ruffle type thingy - she had loads of the most beautiful scarves on display. So nice lady tells me that I need three balls to make a decent length scarf, which I dutifully buy because it would have been rude not to ...

This is the yarn - it's a type of stretchy knitted fabric, about half an inch wide and rather than looping the whole lot around the needles, you knit into the actual fabric - got it - lol .....

That was last summer - and I've only just got the yarn out - lol. Anyways, there I am knitting away quite happily - the piece is coming along quite nicely and then I get to ball three and would you Adam and Eve it, rather than being edged in white (as the other two were) ball three was edged in a cream colour - well a rather dirty beige actually.

Not in a million was I going to undo what I'd done, so I ended up with this -

No.l son and the lovely Rachel came last weekend and I showed them - 'What on earth is that - looks like a dishcloth' was the male response. Even the lovely Rachel was disappointing, because when I put it over my head she said that she quips 'Oooh a headband'. She then tried to salvage the situation by saying that it looked like a Queen Elizabeth 1 neck ruff.

So - big disappointment and a lack of enthusiam all round then .... Mind you it is lovely and warm ....
Mind you - I've had two nice big parcels delivered recently - if you're lucky I might post piccies of them ....

More Alice ...

2011-05-03T08:26:00.000+01:00

Following on from the last post - here's the next two pages ....

All the stamps are from Lavinia (just love this Fairy Door stamp) and a very happy half hour was spent stamping the leaves with a Mememto Bamboo Leaves ink pad and then messing about with a water brush to add some colour with Adirondack ink pads (Lettuce and Pesto) to say nothing of a Brushed Corduroy Distress ink pad - very relaxing.

And the next page ...

Picture cut out of Hello magazine - hence the glare off the glossy paper - but you get the idea - lol

Right - off to ink dust another background before work ....

Alice in Wonderland ...

2011-05-01T19:40:00.003+01:00

So - here we are - another long Bank Holiday weekend and a four day week ahead - so what to do after that beautiful Royal Wedding ....

I thought that I'd have a go at making an Alice book. There was a bit of foot stamping and hair tugging and banging of desk (mainly with the backgrouns) but here are the first three pages ....

And the double spreadlooks like this ...

The flowers (of the daisy chain aren't stuck on yet - 'cos I realised it would make it lumpy to stamp on pages after that - how's that for a light bulb moment - lol).

Here's page three ...

This was a bit unfortunate because (a) I stamped the White Rabbit upside down (Kate and Wills must heave heard me - wherever they are - lol) so the text panel had to be put over said upside down Rabbit and then (b) having remembered to mask Alice so beautifully on the first page, I forgot to do the same with Mr Rabbit - so bit of a mess up there - but hey ho ...

All the background is done with Big and Juicy pads and the lovely Inkylicious Ink Dusters. All the Alice stamps are from Stampattack; with the bulrushes, grasses etc. from Lavinia stamps and Hobby Art

Hope you like it - so far - off to do a bit more ....
PS - this is the 'nice' version - I've got an idea for another one - a little bit more, shall we say - risque - lol. We'll have to see whether that materialises ...

Yet Another Birthday ...

2011-04-04T00:36:00.000+01:00

This time the card is for a friend at work. I've used images from Lily's Octopode Factory and coloured them in in bold bright Promarker colours; with the borders from the Around the Edge set from Dyan Reaveley ...

Shortest post ever - lol ...

It's Birthdays All Around ....

2011-03-31T23:21:00.003+01:00

It's the lovely Rachel's birthday this coming Sunday and I've made her this ...

The image is Doolally Doris from one of Dyan Reavely's Dylusions stamp sets - love it. Doris is stamped onto a jigsaw puzzle board, coloured in with Promarkers and then embossed all over with UTEE. The vines and flowers are die cut from a Sizzlits die set.

The idea for the card was unashamedly copied from this ...

This being my birthday card (which was on Tuesday - Happy Birthday to Me - lol) from my lovely pal Sue. Isn't it absolutely stunning - I just love it.
I really do think Sue should have a Blog - don't you ....

For Mum ...

2011-03-28T23:30:00.000+01:00

Well I never - two posts in one day - lol.

After the Journal page of this morning and a short break, I thought I'd play with some stash purchased from the NEC last week. Out it came, I got side-tracked and found myself getting out ink pads, stamps, things to colour with - simply making a whole heap of mess all over again (having spent the whole of yesterday tidying up this room - lol).

Anyways - I made a card for my Mum for next Sunday ...

The stamp is the Fountain from Dimension Fourth - which I'm ashamed to say I bought at the NEC a couple of years ago and has remained unopened - lol. There's a YouTube video of how to use the stamp and I have to say - it's really quite clever how you do it. I used Aquamarkers on proper watercolour paper and stamped the image in a new Mememto ink pad - Rich Cocoa. The flower was recycled from an older project - that is no more - lol. Oh yes - and three pieces of Card Candy - have tons of the stuff - lol.

While on the subject of Memento, I bought some other colours too - one was London Fog which will be lovely for stamping some French scene stamps I have somewhere - lol ...

Doing The First Page On a Sneaky Day Off ...

2011-03-28T15:58:00.000+01:00

Having been on the go since last Wednesday morning (see here for what I've been up to) until last night, I've sneaked an extra day off work (well I have sooooo much annual leave left to take for this leave year). Don't get me wrong, I've had a great few days (hugs to Sue and her family and no. 1 son and the lovely Rachel) but I was exhausted before I started - so I thought why not ....

It's amazing what some quiet 'me' time does for you. The phone hasn't rung - touch wood it doesn't; there have been no visitors, I've got a plentiful supply of nibbles and caffeine; the sun is streaming in through my window (even though it keeps clouding over). The result - I feel heaps better.

Anyways, I digress (again - lol). I've been playing with the first two pages of my new Art Journal ...

The stamped flowers are from a Paper Artsy Hot Pick set, which are coloured with various Big and Juicy ink pads and Ink Duster Brushes from Inkylicious. The two other flower images, the ladybird, the bee and the mushrooms are from The Octopode Factory (ordered some more digitial stamp images from Lily, who is 17 years old would you believe, this morning - tut tut - lol) and are all coloured with a very posh set of Koh-i-Nor water soluble Wax Crayons and a water brush. The 'leaves' are dictionary pages cut into triangles and also coloured with the Ink Dusters. The flourishes were stamped in gold ink to give another 'layer'.

I like the page but think it's a little bit too 'precious' - but hey ho - I've had a good time.

Right - off to find some garden words to cut out from a pile of magazines, to finish it off - and then I might start another page - or do something else - that's what's great about sneaky days off - lol ...

More Ink Sprayed Pages ...

2011-03-22T12:11:00.001Z

Well - tomorrow didn't happen did it - but I have been doing a little bit more spraying and inking ...

This is the first page I did with a couple of 'layers' added - gold flowers through a Crafters Workshop stencil and gesso bubbles with the inside of a roll of sellotape ...

Here are two more pages sprayed with the Sprinkys spray inks ...

This one is done with Inkylicious Ink Dusters and Big and Juicy Ink pads (got to something about the excessive orange - lol) ...

Right - off to put the washing machine on, meet lovely no.1 daughter for a quick lunch, then an afternoon of playing in my new Art Journal.

Oh yes and there's only -

ONE MORE SLEEP

until visiting good friends and the NEC - soooooooooo excited ...

I've Taken A Deep Breath ...

2011-03-13T00:03:00.002Z

and sprayed inks onto two clean white pages in a real book - gulp - lol ....

I have long stalked Sue Roddis and Dyan Reaveley around the internet, much admiring their work and wishing I was brave enough to do even a teensy weensy bit of what they do. The more I thought about it, the more I thought stop being such a sissy and get on with it - so on Friday I took myself off to a shop that I didn't even know existed until Thursday - Seawhite of Brighton Factory Shop. Now these people provide art materials galore to the trade and educational establishments but have a lovely, lovely shop too (which I will, I'm sure be visiting again- lol) and bought myself a couple of their own A4 journal/sketch books with 96 pages of 140gsm multi media paper inside. I looked at them and stroked them all Friday afternoon and evening and early this morning and again this evening until about an hour ago - when I thought (well I won't tell you what I actually thought because that is for the other book and it will spoil the surprise - lol) - get on with it then - and came upstairs and did it ....

Here are the two pages ...

The photo is rubbish - and even though I say so myself it looks much better in 'real life'. Got some ideas to add to the background but will do those tomorrow - must let it dry thoroughly first. And I know what's going to the 'theme' of these pages too ...

And the inks are Sprinkys - a lovely new find from Inkylicious whose stuff comes much recommended by Sue (and how right she is) - and I'm ashamed to say I've not got a spot of ink on me - lol . More tomorrow ....

The Real Thing ....

2011-03-05T14:51:00.002Z

... and no longer a prototype. It'e taken me almost the five weeks since the last post to (a) change my mind about the prototype and (b) make the 100 new design Save The Date cards for No. 1 daughter's wedding in June 2012 (I've said it many times since Christmas, when she got engaged, and will say it, no doubt, many times again - it's 18 months away - lol).

Moving on - I decided that the prototype was just not good enough. So in the midst of having a bit of a hissy fit about it all (you know how it goes - a bit of slamming around, shouting at the walls, saying why on earth did I say I would do this ...) my eyes fell on a set of stamps from Inkadinkadoo - Gem Stone Flourishes - which, I'm ashamed to say, I don't even remember buying. End result - a Light Bulb moment. So, hissy fit over, off I went and here they are (well two of them anyway) ....

Each card was stamped and embossed (thank God for Sue's pressie of a Tidy Tray - thank you Sue x), coloured in with Pitt Pens - May Green and a nameless Pink - and then each coloured area was 'squiggled over' with a clear glitter glaze pen. Labour of love - you will never know - lol. Here's a close up ...

James (the groom to be) said about a third of the way through the exercise (thinking he's being helpful) - 'you haven't left much room for manufacturing defects' and blow me down what happened - three cards on trot not stamped nicely. So a day off to visit the Glitter Pot (again) for more card blanks and more Bazill card - just in case - lol.

The little mounted piccies from the prototype had to be used, so they were put on the inside (couldn't waste them could I?) plus the Save the Date plaques. (I had a bit of a count up - 100 cards = 400 Nestie die shapes cut = 2400 to and fro movements on the Wizard machine. Just a piece of useless information - lol ...)

Next stage - the actual information about saving the date for what. I already knew wehat I was going to do for this so there I am - sat happily printing off sheets with suitable text from the computer, then I toddled off downstairs to the kitchen (which had become the die cutting area) to cut frames on my rather wonderful Sizzix Eclipse machine - here's some of them ....

Then WHAM - it occurred to me - how on earth do I fit the text blocks under the frames and cut them. - if you see what I mean. Bring on another hissy fit (major one this time) - lol. So there I am - armed with very narrow double sided tape, positioning said frames over said text. It took absolutely for ever to do ....

What I did next would make you cringe ... I brought the whole lot upstairs again, settled myself in my comfy chair, shut my eyes (well not really - just tyring to re-create the atmosphere) and started cutting as near to the double sided tape and within the frame, so's you wouldn't see the white card. You do NOT want to see the backs of these - trust me - lol.

So here's the inside ...

By the way, contrary to the advice of Mrs Watchful Eye, I did not tie bows. I tried and tried - honest I did but it just wasn't going to work - not in a million - so knots were the order of the day (and even that was hard enough - lol)

So there you have it - just the invitations etc. etc. etc. to go. One last thing, when I'm playing, I'm really quite messy - except for a couple of things, which you could even say I'm quite anal about - lol .... One thing is the backing of all those strips of double sided tape. I have a pot (used to hold cotton buds) which I put it all in, squish down, put some more in etc. until there's no more room and then I tip the whole lot in my waste bag (quite satisfying really - lol) ....

Then from the die cutting station in the kitchen, all the scraps of card I put in a box so it would go straight in the recycling. This is the second box, which used to hold 15 Cadbury's Mini Rolls (long gone - lol). The first was a Pledge Fluffy Duster Refill box ...

Another piece of useless information - lol ...

It's A Prototype ....

2011-01-30T18:34:00.000Z

The It is a prototype design for the Save the Date card for my daughter's impending wedding (18 months away mind - but who's counting - lol) ....

Have just whizzed over to her house (too late for dinner but got pudding - lol) and she likes it, as does her partner and one of her bridesmaids. I, however, am still not sure ...

The stamps are from a Woodware set - Wedding Bliss. Not all of these cards will use the same image - just to break the monotony of making 100 - lol.

The actual invitations - to be done at a later date - are completely different.

Having said all that - I'm still not sure ....

I'm Still Knitting .....

2011-01-09T22:07:00.001Z

I still have the Knitting Bug and recently I seem to spend most of my time with a pair of needles in my hands. The current project is a Sampler Blanket - Cream on Cream - from The Knitter magazine. There's loads of different stitches, embroidery and crochet in the piece, to the extent where I've sat with a laptop on my knees to see how some of the stitches are done, courtesy of YouTube - lol. Here are the first three squares ....

Each one measures about 12" x 12" and the majority have some form of embellishments. In this case - trees ...

It took me ages to work out how to put fringing in the middle of a piece of knitting rather than at the edges - lol ....

The heart on this one caused a bit of angst - and I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I'm sure when it's all pressed it will be OK ....

There are nine more squares to go - six are already knitted but I've still got to knit or sew the embellishments. Making an I-cord features a lot from square four onwards. You're supposed to do that on a set of double pointed needles but I had a brainwave and used a French Knitting Dolly ...

Will post some more squares as I progress. Hope you like it ....

Take a Look at This ....

2011-01-03T15:11:00.002Z

Back in the days when we wore T-Shirts and sandals, ate ice cream and the temperature was in double figures, I went to the IKnit Weekender event at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London. Amongst my purchases were some Merino Wool Tops and a book on wet felting. This was one of my 'teach myself something new' projects for the Christmas break - which never materialised - the Project, not the break - lol. Anyways back in November, thinking I would have a go at this over the Christmas, I was trawling the tinternet looking for a bamboo mat (a necessary tool apparently) and I found Gillian's Glad Rags - a felting (and other things wool and yarn) site, so I placed an order, which incidentally arrived the next day - how's that for service.

I've been meaning to post these piccies for a while 'cos I just had to share first off the actual packaging of the parcel - all pink and pretty - even the blokes in the office said Wow - lol ...

Then when you opened it up, these goodies were inside ....

To be fair one of the reasons why I didn't start teaching myself is because these packages look too good to open - lol. So it might be a couple of weeks before I actually have a go - but wil let you know how I get on.

Note to Sue - this does not come within the Austerity Measures - (a) because I already had some of the felting stuff and (b) the order was in November last year - lol.

Austerity Measures? To see what I'm wittering on about - take a look here ....

And So This Is Christmas ...

2010-12-24T13:34:00.006Z

As John Lennon said ...

Well here we are - it's Christmas Eve. I bet there are some of us rushing around like headless chickens doing all those last minute things for the weekend; there are others of us who are ultra organised and efficient and are sitting down having Christmas Eve lunch; there are some of us that are working - and then there is little old me ....

Our employer approved an extra day off - thank you nice employer - and so here I am at 12.47pm, still not dressed, the Lasagne still not made, the hoover still on the landing and enjoying every minute of it - lol. I have not, however, been totally idle ...

Up at the crack of dawn (well almost) I completed No. 1 Daughter's Christmas present. She has no idea and thinks I have knitted her something (I could hear her cringing down the phone - lol). Little does she know - this is it ...

This is a Tag Book, which I bought forever ago from LB Crafts when I very first started stamping and stuff. Like so many things, it got put away (this piece in the Tag Box) for use sometime soon - lol.. As to the actual present, I only have emails at the moment, so I typed out a load of words, dates, times, block and row numbers etc. and cut them up for each tag inside. Unfortunately, my power nap after work yesterday, turned into a full blown sleep - lol - so there I am, as I say, up at the crack of dawn, colouring in little Chrissie piccies....

So what is it? It is two tickets for Strictly Come Dancing (to which I hope she takes me - lol) and two tickets for the X Factor Live Show (to which I hope she doesn't - lol). For that one I have made babysitting arrangements with her bezzie mate, Gemma's Mum, and with her partner for the children, so that he can go to the pub - lol - and the two girlies can go off to Wembley. All I've got to do now is think of a way to wrap said Tag Book up - so that she can't prod and poke and guess what it is (mind you, unless she is telepathic, she wouldn't know what's inside said Tag Book would she). Anyways enough waffling ....

This last flurry of activity has got me thinking (never a good move, I always find - lol). When I was getting out said Tag Book from Tag Box, I found all sorts of stuff. When I was putting the remains of the Christmas card making episode away, the same thing.
I am lucky enough to have a spare bedroom where I can keep all my stuff and I don't have to clear up if I don't want to. There I am, quite happily pottering about, when it suddenly dawned on me what a lot of stuff I actually have. I do a lot of online shopping (Merry Christmas, Wendy) or go to some of the bestest Craft Shops there are (Merry Christmas, again, Wendy). I go to the NEC twice a year and Stevenage once, maybe twice, a year. I have a gorgeous collection of Stampotique, Wendy Vecchi, Tim, Penny Black and Lavinia stamps. I have more ink pads than you can wave a piece of Cut and Dry at, and a veritable forest of papers. Not forgetting the die cutting machines, dies and things to alter; or the Promarkers and gel pens and other stuff to colour in with; and the rest of it - lol.

So, standing in the middle of the room, in my rather fetching winter nightie, very old jogging trousers, my fave sloppy old cardi with cavernous pockets and pink socks (attractive - don't you think - lol), saying out loud 'Enough is Enough', I came to a momumentous decision ....

Next year will be spent using all the stuff I have. I am not going to say that there will be no shopping - because statements like that, have a nasty way of coming back to bite you on the backside and there will always be something that comes along - but there will be no major purchases - honest.

I have one or two ideas of stuff that I want to do next year - which has absolutely nothing to do with me being a stalker of Sue Roddis around the internet - lol - save to say that I think her work is absolutely ace. I'll also be 'altering up' the bare wooden boxes and other things I have for pressies throughout the year. Want to make cards for a couple of local charities and I might even start up another Blog to chart my no-spending Policy - lol.

One thing though - I will still be going to the NEC - partly because I always have a great time but also because I love spending time with two of my favourite people - Sue and Anita.

So enough waxing lyrical - Merry Christmas to everyone - keep safe and warm ....

No Pants, Socks or Bath Bubbles Here ....

2010-12-19T17:09:00.000Z

Hands up those who find Christmas Shopping a pain in the backside or (for some in certain areas of the country) downright difficult. Both my arms are waving in the air at this point - vigorously. Those who are super organised, have zillions of ideas on what to buy their nearest and dearest, love shopping - my hat is taken off to you (if I was wearing one that is).

It's not that I'm a misery guts about Christmas - it's just that I am not a fan. My kids are grown up (although sometimes I wonder) and gone and lead busy lives. I myself have a busy working life and usually long for the weekend to put my feet up and have some peace and quiet. All that fuss for one day (which in my case won't even be spent here) - you have to ask yourself, is it worth it. I only have to cook a meal for Christmas Eve for Number One son - and that's going to be a Lasagne - so that's sorted. So I'm let off the cooking and food front. So if I don't have to spend hours in a supermarket why would I want to trudge up and down a High Street looking for things I think my family might like - lol.

So taking all that into account, this year, I think I've done quite well. Number One son and Number One Daughter's Partner each have a 'voucher' for a rather lovely restaurant not far from here. They have both been there before, loved it and so they can have a meal for their respective ladies and themselves on me. Might not be a present for keeps but they will certainly enjoy it ....

Here's what their 'vouchers' are in ....

The folders are both A4 Menu size (appropriate don't you think) and are just bare chipboard sheets covered with Chrissie papers. The one on the left is one of Tim's Tags that I made from last year (haven't made a single one of them this year - shame on me - lol). Here's the inside with a simple pocket for the 'voucher' and my Penny Black Post Card stamp for the greeting - and all tied together with ribbons ('cos I couldn't get the Bind It All Wires to do what I wanted them to do - lol) ....

Can't say anything about Number One daughter's pressie at the minute. For someone who thinks she is grown up because she's a mother of two, she is such a kid about Christmas - lol. So it wouldn't surprise me if she crept over here to have a rummage - not that she'd find anything - it's in my handbag - lol. So - will post that another time - 'cos she might even look on here - doubtful - but she might - lol.

Treats for Teacher ....

2010-12-05T14:48:00.005Z

There I am sitting nice and quietly with the latest knitting and The Holiday DVD playing (just love that film) when the phone rings .... It's my daughter .... 'Mum, do you think you could ....'

What the could was - wait for it - was to make pressies for The Gorgeous One's (aka Finley William) and The Beautiful One's (aka Charlotte Kaylet) teachers at the Nursery they go to, twice a week. Not a problem you would think - but when I asked how many there were - 'Oh only twelve' says her ....

So having been snowed in for a couple of days (I'm such a girl about driving in snow and ice) I set to and started this project for her ....
I managed to acquire some of those proper cellophane sweet bags, thanks to Sharon round the corner at work, which are ideal. At the time of writing this, I've five more to go ....

The bags for the older teachers have L'Occitane soaps in them (Verbena or Lavender or Clemantine) and the younger ones have two sticks of Hot Chocolate mix and mini Marshamallows (there was going to be a couple of pieces of fudge and a couple of coconut mushrooms in them as well - but it seemed a bit daft to have one piece of each in them - so the fudge was munched on last night and the coconut mushrooms are for another time - lol)

All the bag headers and the little gift tags on each one were made using Just Rite Stamp sets Groovy Snowman (so cute) and Christmas Joy; coloured in with Promarkers and a clear glitter gel pen and mounted up using Nesties dies.
Here's something else I've been working on ....

Not really sure what it's technical name is - so I'll call it Advent Doors. I saw a decorated one at The Craft Barn, which was absolutely stunning, and thought 'Got to have me one of those'. Unfortunately, they didn't have one in stock, so a trawl round the tinternet later and hey presto - next day delivery. It's quite big - about sixteen inches high and wide and about two inches deep and when it's finished, I think it' will make quite an impressive piece. (Shame about the photo - the unit is upside down 'cos the door handles are on the left - lol).

This is far as I've got (right way round this time - lol) ....

The dangly white piece of paper you can see is a make shift template for papers to cut and glue to each door.
As you can see - still very much a work in progress and not in a million, is it for this year - we're on the 5th already. So very much for next year (or the year after, or the year after that - lol).

Right off to make Mum's Christmas card and one or two others - how I don't know 'cos I just can't seem to get into it - but hey ho - maybe the coconut mushrooms will help - lol .....

And While I'm At It ....

2010-11-07T20:16:00.006Z

Having just watched Strictly, I nearly choked on my home made chicken soup (and very scrummy it was too) to see how tonight's Results Show went ....

If there is one thing that I absolutely hate - and that's seeing a man cry. Not because he's weak but because it shows a very human and caring side to him. Who am I talking about - Jimi Mistry. Even bad boy Brenda nwas shocked that he and the ever so American Barbie Doll, Michelle weren't trounced.

I love Strictly but the powers that be simply have to come up with a better voting system than they have. At this rate, the winner of the Glitter Ball is going to dear old Ann, who whilst giving great entertainment value - should not - heaven forbid - lol

As to who my money is on - providing, of course, the great British public don't keep dear Ann - the yummy, scrummy, gorgeous, handsome and delectable - Scott .................. Down girl - lol ....

Off to make some more prototype stuff with NEC stash - three posts in one day - never - lol

By the way, sorry about the creased 'thing' that the prototypes are shown on in the last post. My workspace is an absolute tip, so I just dived into the airing cupboard and took out the first neutral coloured thing I could find - a pillow protector - lol - still it served it's purpose.

From the NEC ....

2010-11-07T19:27:00.006Z

Well not exactly, 'cos I went for my bi-annual visit last Thursday. I've spent yesterday afternoon and today messing around with my lovely new stash and rather than post a piccie of said purchases, I've actually made things .......

First up, is a new find - Lavinia Stamps. Now I've seen this range many times before and I'm afraid to say not paid much attention to them. Then a certain person who lives in the Midlands, (she knows who she is) started talking about them. I had a look on the web site and at the Show saw the most lovely samples on display. Now I'm not usually a groupie (except for stalking Sue Roddis around the internet - lol) and I'm not a Stamp Tart (OK that's probably not true either - lol) but I just had to make a small (another fib - lol) purchase.

The end result of playing with a brayer, new Adirondack inks (loving Sunshine Yellow and Citrus) and the lovely stamps are these prototypes ....

The one on the right is Secret Garden, Grass and a diddy Mushroom stamp. The one on the left is Fairy Houses, Pixies and one of the Leaf stamps. Even though my hands are a gorgeous shade of yellowy orange, I'm quite pleased with the way these have turned out - brayering and all ....

Here's another one - and definitely a prototype ....

This is made up of the two Fairy Shop stamps. I say prototype because I couldn't figure out in my head brayering first, stamping and then colouring in; or stamping, colouring and the background. This shows the sad attempt at the latter option - note the green blobby part halo to the bottom left of the sun/moon. Still had fun with the Promarkers; and the Sleigh and Reindeer is so dinky (that's from Christmas Miniatures from Clarity - but more of that another time) and why I haven't bought Cut and Dry Pen Nibs before, I will never know ...

Then I picked up these two bare rubber stamps from Stamp Addicts. Obviously having a bit of a thing about trees at the minute ...

I really like these. The one on the left is coloured in with Papermania brush pens and a water brush (apart from the Promarker pot) and the berries are with a red glitter gel pen. For the one on the right, the leaves are painted with Sunshine Yellow Adirondack with a damp paintbrush, the pears with a bronze colour glitter gel pen and the partridge with the brush pens.

Next up is two stamps that I saw and thought 'Got to have me those' and when I looked at them today thought 'Why on earth did I buy those' - lol. Anyways, onwards and upwards - so here they are. I'm still not sure about them - but they were quick to do (well would have been if my Graphite Black Brilliance pad wasn't so old or I had black embossing powder - lol - one or two attempts had to be made to get a good image) ...

Still a dab of Promarkers and a touch of glitter gel pen livened them up a bit.

Got to dash - Strictly is on - lol- but will be back, at some stage, with more from the NEC ....

Halloween ....

2010-10-31T01:23:00.001+01:00

I've spent the day making a Halloween Picture Book for the Gorgeous One aka Finley William. It's called Boo!

Here's the first page - Tim's Branch Tree Alteration Die - with loads of spooky things hanging from the branches, the Spooky Fence Sizzix die and a jolly pumpkin ...

On to Haunted Houses using Tim's Rickety House and the Sizzix Haunted House die ....

Then it's the turn of the pumpkins. These are die cut using the new Sizzix Eclips machine, which I'm ashamed to say I bought from that well known shopping channel the other day. Mind you - just love it. Pumpkin Boy is a digi stamp from The Orthopode Factory. I got to hear about these from Sue Roddis and Dyan Reaveley. Lily, the artist is only 17 and still at school but her designs are amazing ....

Then it's Things That Go Bump in the Night. More die cuts with Alterations and Sizzix dies and another digi stamp from Lily - Vampire Girl ....

Then it's spiders ....

And finally another one of Lily's digi stamps - the Raven - just love this one ...

Might add some more bits and pieces here and there - not sure yet - might make something else. Before I do anything though - I must tidy up - it's a bit of an obstacle course getting out of this room .....

Just Got To Say - Three Things ...

2010-10-14T11:51:00.003+01:00

Well done to the people of Chile. The 33 miners and their 6 rescuers showed true bravery and courage yesterday, including the one with the wife and the mistress in Camp Hope - his bravery existed on two levels - lol. The engineers on the surface are also worthy of a mention, for their attention to detail and focus on the operation in hand.

I was awake and watching TV at the time that the first rescuer, Manual Gonzalez went down the shaft and when the first miner came to the surface. I thought it was some of the most stunning TV I've seen for years. I was also up and watching the last miner and the brave Manuel return.

This next period of their lives is going to be really difficult for all of them - I wish them and their families well.

Second thing - an interesting question was posed by Sue (the one who should have a Blog but hasn't) last night - how long would it take you to use all up all your stash - everything, she asks. I picked a random time scale 'cos quite honestly I haven't a clue. Full of the excitement and emotion of the miners, I laid in bed tossing and turning and pondering on this. My dilemma was added to by the fact that earlier on I had been making lists for the NEC in a couple of weeks time, including some stamps that have caught my eye from Lavinia Stamps; and another shopping venture at The Stamp Attic.

Anyways, I have sort of made a plan to use up stash - all those patterned brads; strokable papers; embossing powders; 7 Gypsies charms, trinkets, clips, journal stickers and cards and their gorgeous sticky ribbons; sticks of Friendly Plastic, Stampbord; Grungeboard alphabets and shapes, blank chipboard books and so much more - lol. The only allowed purchases will be stamps - as if I didn't have enough already - lol

We'll have to see ....

And finally, is it only me but why has the way of putting photos on Blogs changed? It's driving me nuts - it takes for ever, I can never remember what I did the time before and so have to faff about and with all the waiting makes me eat more Cornflakes. If it ain't broke don't fix it ....

Tattered Florals and Leaves ...

2010-10-03T23:21:00.002+01:00

It's rained most of the day - again - so I thought I would make this - this being a wreath made from the Tattered Florals and Leaves Tim Holtz dies ...

I started yesterday afternoon by drawing round a pasta serving bowl and a cereal bowl then getting the plasters out in readiness to cut the shape out of the greyboard - there was much gnashing of teeth I can tell you and it is right what they say - a blunt knife is more dangerous ....

All fingers in tact and said shape gessoed, I moved on the flowers - here's the first three ...

Lesson learned here - be patient and let things dry. Dictionary pages were glued to card stock and then die cut. The shapes were then embossed with various Cuttlebug folders - swirls, circles, swiss dots and paisley. Then came the fun part - Glimmer Mists. I have had these for so long and I don't know why but the sprays wouldn't work - so I decanted some (well shaken, of course, into Mini Misters and bingo. These three also have Vintage Photo Distress Ink added. Downside - I will now have to get a new pad - this one is all sparkly - lol.

Overnight, I learned the art of patience and let things dry - lol - before moving on to the next step.

This is the finished item (poorly photo - bad light in the kitchen) ...

And here's some close ups. One sprayed with Glimmer Mists ...

This one sponged with Viva Precious Metal Pint - Blackberry ....

All that needed to be added was a couple of birds, cut from a Nesties die and sponged with Precious Metal Paint - Blue Azure; and random buttons ...

Hope you like it ...

The First Christmas Thing ....

2010-10-01T15:09:00.001+01:00

A while and a bit ago I bought the ten (currently) stamps for the poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas from Clarity Stamps.

Being on my holidays I thought I would make the More Than Words Christmas word album with the stamps. Last time I made one of these I went completely over the top with the embellishments - but this time I 've let Barbara Gray's images tell the story. That said, I might add a few bits here and there later - don't know yet.

All of the images are from Clarity, apart from the skyline scene on the last letter - that's from Crafty Individuals ....

Rather than post loads of photos - here's another Smilebox slideshow - with pretty music ....

Make your own free picture slideshow

Hope you like it ....

How Old Fashioned Is This ....

2010-09-24T12:58:00.002+01:00

It's been a while but I haven't been totally idle on the crafting front. I'm still knitting but for the last few weeks in what little free time I've had, I've been doing some crochet and made loads and loads of Granny Squares - thinking that an old fashioned coverlet would like nice on the bed in the spare room (when I get round to buying one and finish decorating said room - lol). Here's what my coverlet looks like so far ....

Mind you, plans for my new bed (as I say, when I get round to buying one) might be scuppered. My darling daughter arrives and says - "Ooooh I like that - it's just like the poorly blanket we had when we were little. Can I have it when it's finished" (nothing if not direct, my daughter - lol).

To give you an idea of what she was talking about - here is said 'poorly blanket' retrieved from the airing cupboard (bad photo - sorry) ....

This is about 28 years old. I made it when I was pregnant with number one son. They called it the 'poorly blanket' because when they were ill they used to snuggle up in it and get lots of TLC. I'm quite disappointed because I was going to give my daughter this one as a surprise (a bit like a family heirloom) but over the years holes have appeared and the stitches have unravelled - so no family heirloom after all ...

Moving on - a couple of weeks ago, I went to the IKnit Weekender event at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Victoria, London and saw this outside ....

This is 'Yarn Bombing'. I'd read about this - avid knitters 'bomb' telephone boxes, street signs, lamp posts and even buildings in the capital with knitting. The trees outside the venue had all been 'bombed' with quite spectacular results.

The event was great - loads of beautiful knitting and stuff to buy - but I was very restrained. I got some beautifully soft cashmere silk and baby camel yarn from Knitwitches in a stunning burnt orange colour (it's called Seriously Gorgeous and it certainly is that) with some ambery/bronzy (spelling? - lol) beads to make a beaded lace wrap. I also bought some Merino Wool Tops and a book on wet felting . So these will be my two projects for the winter.

Anyways - I'm on holiday at the minute - off until 11th October - so my Blogging record should improve ....
Off to do some stamping now ....

A Card For Charlotte .....

2010-08-07T13:22:00.005+01:00

Last week while messing around on the Internet (as you do), I came across Smilebox - a place where you can create all sorts of stuff, including slideshows - and for free. I've just finished THE CARD and I thought I would try out this new find. I was dead impressed, I have to say. It didn't take that long to figure out how to drive it and there are loads of options to try out ...

A free slideshow design by Smilebox

It takes a couple of seconds to load up and you can even have music (theirs or yours) to listen to while the show is playing. This show has some music - so turn your speakers on. Hope you like it ...
Off to make something else now ...

And Even More Journals ....

2010-08-04T17:03:00.001+01:00

While the nice Welsh workmen were in my house today - have a look here to see what they were doing - I did some more sewing on the two Journals from yesterday ....

Here's the front of the crazy patchwork one sewn in a random fashion with a decorative stitch on the machine (the only one it does - lol). Oh yes, and I have to tell you that quite a large section of the irning board cover has a nice big cut in it - caught it up in the pinking shears. Good thing I don't use it that often - lol

Here are the two of them together ....

All that's needed now is a press stud on each and the pages made - but more of that another time. Off now to make a Baby card for my new granddaughter Charlotte ...

More Journals .....

2010-08-02T23:42:00.010+01:00

I've taken a few more days off work in honour of recovering from Shingles and to try and get a bit of a rest and have some 'me' time. I'm still isolated from my family but hopefully I will be able to go and see new baby Charlotte on Friday.

This morning I had a very nice trip out to the nearest town westwards, Petworth, to visit the Haberdashery Shop for some heavy duty interfacing for future Journals. I then spent the afternoon at the ironing board and the sewing machine ...

The first Remains of the Day Journal has now been completed and really is ready for writing in now ...

I decided not to make a fabric tie because of the lace, so I've used a good old-fashioned press stud. In the haberdashery shop I found this beaded braid (actually it's a stiff net) which looks much better in real life; and then I simply tied knots in the tails of the thread that the signatures were sewn in with. Sorry about the blurry photo ...

I am still liking this very much and the first page that I write on - somewhere in the Journal (I read that it's generally a good idea not to write on the very first page first) - is going to be about this phrase that I read in a book yesterday - "As doors close behind you, turn around and look at what lies ahead" - I'm a big fan of doors and windows.

Anyways, this Journal making bug has really bitten and I made two more covers this afternoon ...

The Jacobean flower pattern fabric is stunning and the inside cover equally so - and for this one I did cut into a pack of Blue fat quarters which weren't bought today but which I've had for quite a while - so still keeping to the theme of not buying anything ...

Then I made this one ....

I say 'made' - all the pieces are just laying on the base fabric - a heavy cream calico - and it's still on the ironing board. It started as seeing how to make a type of crazy patchwork cover, which I've never done before. Then when I'd finished I thought how on earth am I going to get it from said ironing board to sewing machine - lol. Tomorrow morning will see the pins come out and we'll take it from there - will let you know how it turns out ...

Saying that I haven't bought anything for these Journals, I coudn't resist today. I saw this roll of fabric - each strip is a metre long and about three inches wide - loved it and very reasonable at £4.99 - so I bought it - lol ....

So, tomorrow will see pinning, sewing, ferreting around in the cupboard under the stairs for a carrier bag with old envelopes in and making pages - might even set the alarm - lol.

All I've Got To Do Now Is Write In It .....

2010-07-28T22:57:00.003+01:00

Having Shingles has had one advantage (and the only one at the moment) - I have had a couple of days of work. Having completely slobbed around yesterday, today was a different ball game. I have been playing with my Remains of the Day Journal and we are now at the stage where it's ready for writing in - apart from one or two little bits and pieces ....

Here it is with all the signatures sewn in. All that's needed now is some sort of fastening and I have an idea for that - a long strip of fabric with scraps sewn on to it, then a line of gathering stitching from one end to the other and then pulled up to make a frilly thingy to be sewn on the flap with a nice ornate button. I think the cover might need 'something' but then again it might not - will have to think on that .....

Here's the spine showing the sewing in of the signatures ....

If you haven't got a Martha Stewart Japanese Screw Punch - then you simply have to get one. It made the holes in the spine like a hot knife through butter and with no banging. Taking into account that the spine was quite thick with two layers of cotton fabric with heavy duty interfacing and a layer of quilting wadding - I was dead impressed. I think I might put beads on the thread tails or do as Sue Roddis does in her book, Handmade Decorative Books and just knot them.

Here is the inside - the pages are all in there nice and secure - even though the bottom hole looks a bit suspect - lol.

What I like about this Journal is that I haven't gone out and bought anything new for it. The pages are all envelopes or papers that I've had for ever. The fabrics and lace are all from my scrap box - I even resisted the temptation to dive into a brand new Fat Quarter that I've had for yonks.

All the scraps left over from making the Journal are in a box and as I start writing in it, I will use them all up.

When I make another one, there's one or two things I would do differently (I know where the faults are - lol) but on the whole I'm loving this .....

Next project - a card for Charlotte and a Recipe Book .....

My Baby And Her Babies ....

2010-07-28T18:21:00.001+01:00

This Shingles mullarkey is a right pain in the a**e I can tell you (to say nothing of the belly which is where I have said Shingles- lol). On the one hand I'm being told that contact is not allowed with anyone who will come into contact with my daughter and her family; and on the other, seeing as I'm at the scabby stage (nice - lol), I've been told I can.

Anyways - enough moaning - here's my baby with her two babies - The Gorgeous One aka Finley William and Charlotte Kaylet. I'm going to have to think of a suitable 'nickname' for her aren't I? Anyone got any suggestions?

And Introducing ....

2010-07-27T16:09:00.000+01:00

Well - I might not be able to be there and I might not be able to see them for a while - but here she is ....

Last time I heard she was being called Charlotte aka Lottie. She looks a bit like her Mum from what I can tell and if that's her thumb in her mouth - then she's definitely her Mum ......

The Pain Of The Crafter ...

2010-07-24T22:20:00.002+01:00

I am not a happy Crafting Bunny (or any other Bunny for that matter) at the moment - I have grown up Chickenpox - Shingles - would you believe .......

This is not only impacting on my happiness and well-being but also on lots of other people in a most serious way at the moment - you can see how here ....

Anyways - today has been a bit of an odd day - up early and a spurt of energy for tidying up and a bit of cleaning and then asleep for ages and about 6pm I thought 'pull yourself together woman and do something'. So having being brought up to do what I'm told, I started playing with my Remains of the Day Journal. Despite not being able to sit in my usual crafting chair for too long at any one time (no - I haven't got it on my backside - lol - it's on my belly), the most comfortable place to work is at the ironing board.

Over the last few days, I had made up the basics of the four signatures that will form the Journal, so tonight I started 'doing up' the first signature. This seems to be the way forward because after having read the instructions again (and again - and again) about sewing the signatures into the actual Journal cover, I saw that there could be problems if I left that bit 'til later - and more stress and angst I do not need right now - lol ....

Here's some piccies so far ....

Here are Nesties journaling blocks with the lines courtesy of Mrs Vecchi's Dreams of Art plate, a Mr Holtz Journalling Ticket and the first ever fabric flower cut from Mr Holtz' Tattered Florals Alterations Die (and just in case you were wondering it was cut the day I got it - which was yonks ago and not today - lol)

Another Nesties journaling block - the green piece is cut out from the blurb that came with the Council Tax bill. Not sure yet what is going on the left hand page - but I have a plan forming ....

A Wages Envelope for putting things in ....

The second fabric flower ever cut from the Tattered Florals Alterations Die and a piece of K & Co paper ...

Another journaling block ....

I'm having great fun doing this but I do wish that I could be a tad more 'free' with it - I am too prissy by half sometimes and at the moment I think that trait is showing - but we will see

I've decided to call this Journal - 'Random' - and it will be for all those random quotes and comments that I hear during the day - from the radio, from things I read or from the people who cross my path. So this Journal will be ongoing ....

Next week I'm going to make another one ('cos I will have loads of time not going to work with the Shingles and all that) as a Travel Journal. I found a bag of fabric scraps of bright and summery patterns - that will suit just nicely .....

More again soon ....

Yet Another Mess .....

2010-07-14T22:00:00.001+01:00

This time it's downstairs .... Honestly, sometimes I think I was put on the planet simply to make a mess and clear it away over and over again - lol

I didn't want to break the Blogging Spell and seeing as I won't be crafting tonight (got some paperwork stuff to do) here's a photo of the dining table where the Remains of the Day Journal is under construction. Did I say table - you can't even see it - lol.

I also said that said Journal was going to be all stitching and fabric but this morning, before work, I was looking at what I've done so far and decided that ink is needed - and being a huge Distress Ink fan - out came the Crushed Olive and Walnut Stain. While messing around with those, some more ideas came - so we will see.

Stitching and fabric will still be the main feature though. How could it not be after my pal Eamonn appeared with this ....

This is a sample book of braids - for cushions, curtain tie backs and the like. The local DIY shop was going to throw it out - Quelle Horreur !!!!! So - it's mine now - lol.

More of the Journal soon .....

A Slight Diversion ....

2010-07-13T21:26:00.001+01:00

Work on The Remains of the Day Journal got put on hold last night as my daughter and her unborn child decided to take time out in hospital. All is well now and she and unborn child have returned home to try and wait for THE DAY on 26th July. Me - I don't think my nerves will stand it - this is the second time she has been hospitalised in as many weeks. As you can imagine, the heat is really getting to her and in the last two or three weeks she seems to have got absolutely M-A-S-S-I-V-E - poor baby ....

Anyways the Journal is on hold tonight as well. I haven't been home from work long and there are other things to do - like washing up and getting rid of the hundreds of pesky thunder flies that have landed on the bathroom sink - yuck - lol.

So as not to spoil this sudden spurt of Blogging, I've taken a couple of piccies of some of the cards that I've made in the last couple of months. I say some because I spent a whole evening stamping out loads and loads of panels with a whole new stash of Penny Black stamps and then found that a great way to relax was to sit colouring them all in. Mind you, there are still loads and loads of panels left to make up into cards - lol.

I've decided that I'm a Promarker girl - so here's the first batch - lovely and cute Penny Black stamps. Oh yes and I found a great site for free downloadable fonts and made up my own sentiments have a look at the frog card and the one with the cow, pig and sheep - absolutely fabulous - lol) ....

Here's the second lot - one more Penny Black (the flying girl), some cute Little Claire stamps, two Stamping Bella girlies, which are so sweet, and that great Bug image from Stamps by Judith ....

Hope you like them ....

The Remains of the Day Journal - Part 2 ....

2010-07-11T21:55:00.001+01:00

I've been playing with my new Journal again. Here's the flap over section (hand stitching going on here - lol). I'm pleased with the way this has turned out because what with the stitching of the fold lines and the fact that I used two layers of wadding, there was a really iffy bit at each corner of the flap which was causing some angst - but all hidden now - lol ...

Then came more page making - cutting up envelopes, sheets of K& Co papers that I've had for ever, bits of junk mail and even the front of a box of Red Berries Special K cut up for the words - lol

Then came putting the papers together into signatures - five pages at a time ....

Here they are open at the centre ..... what about that doiley. Does anyone buy them anymore - lol ....

Before each signature is sewn together, the pages will be decorated. I've decided to use loads of fabric and sewing in this Journal, rather than stamp, inks and paint. Got loads of ideas buzzing around in my head, so off to play with the sewing machine ....

More tomorrow .......

Making Something - A Bit Different ....

2010-07-10T21:10:00.003+01:00

Back in the good old days, I joined an online class - The Remains of the Day - making fabric Journals run by Mary Ann Moss in Los Angeles. The concept was based on a paper template, from which a fabric cover was made and then signatures of pages made from things like old envelopes, book pages, scrapbooking paper left overs and the like.

Needless to say, back in the good old days, I got as far as measuring and cutting out the paper template ....

and cutting out the fabric for the cover and tacking it together.
Today, out came the ironing board, the sewing machine and the scissors and I made the cover .....

Not a particularly good photo - but more will be revealed tomorrow. In between Rachel leaving, eating a Chinese and succumbing to the pressure of a certain person to update this Blog (you know who you are - lol) I have got out my fabric scrap and ribbon and lace stash boxes and am off now to play to decorate the fold over flap, and start making pages.

A Play Day With Rachel - But It's A Secret ....

2010-07-10T20:58:00.003+01:00

Today was the day Rachel came to play. Rachel is my son, Matt's, girlfriend and totally out of the blue a couple of weeks ago, she rang to ask if I could help her on a surprise project she is doing for Matt - a scrapbook of their time together - so far ..... (does this mean a hat, I am asking - lol). The phone call alone earned her 50 zillion Brownie Points.

Anyways, today was the day. She arrived bright and early, about 9.45am and we played all day. Here she is - gently getting into the swing of things and just loving my Martha Stewart punches ....

Here's the mess we made - in the craft room ....

Moving out onto the landing .....

Into the spare bedroom next door ....

And my newly purchased CatsLife Press stamps from Happy Daze and Scrapz even had to go and recline in the travel cot for a while ......

We did more die cutting than you can shake an Alterations Die at; ripped paper, played with metal and a little bit of ink; made journaling blocks, matted and layered; ooohed and aaaghed over Mrs Vecchi's stamps (she's coming back to play with them) and were creative for the whole time she was here - until 7pm.
And this is what she is making - but shush - don't tell anyone - it's a secret

I myself didn't make anything while she was here (I started something earlier in the day) but I had a great day - thank you Rachel.

Promarkers or Watercolours? ....

2010-04-07T21:00:00.002+01:00

It's that frantic time again when I'm using my rather nice collection of Penny Black animal stamps for cards because they sell really well. My lovely daughter has decided that this year we will be having a stall at not one - but two fetes in the nearby villages. The first one is on the next Bank Holiday .......

So - I've stamped out loads of images and last night settled down in front of the TV and did some colouring in. This is a bad photo of the same stamp (obviously - lol) with the one on the left coloured with Derwent Aquatone sticks and a water brush; and the other with Promarkers ......

I can't make up my mind which one I like best - because they are so different, I like them both. Methinks the truth will out when they are matted, layered and made up. What do you think? ....

Mrs Vecchi Now Has Her Own Place .....

2010-04-05T14:24:00.001+01:00

Over on my other blog you can read the story of the recently purchased flat pack furniture. Despite the box of it sitting in the hall for a week, no-one came to help and I am therefore extremely proud to announce (drum roll) that I did it all myself (applause). You can read all about the saga here ....

My craft room/office is now very very tidy (for how long - lol) and everything has its place, with even some flat surface to put things on - lol.

So, with another drum roll - here it is all nice and neatly arranged ..... more applause please ....

Mrs Vecchi's place is top left, in a very nice lidded sea grass (and lined) box. We can't have her getting dusty now - can we .....

Thanks to Sue (you know her - my pal who should have a blog but hasn't) for the storage jar for my buttons - and am loving my new toy, the Big Shot, sitting there waiting patiently for Mr Tim's new dies, coming soon from the lovely Wendy at the Stamp Attic.

Writing this - it seems such a shame to be going back to work tomorrow - lol

Off to have something to eat and then have a play - let's see how long the tidiness lasts ......

Penny Black Meets Wendy Vecchi - And Others - On My Birthday ....

2010-03-29T22:01:00.001+01:00

This post is about my most absolute favouritist thing I got from the NEC last weekend. How's about that for apallingly bad English - lol. Of all the stuff at the show that you could buy (and buy we did - didn't we girls - lol), this was the thing that really caught my eye and the first thing that I have played with properly .......

This being a Penny Black stamp - Postcard. With all the stamps that are in my stash - and I have some absolutely beautiful ones - this one is so simple but I think it's that which is bringing it straight in up there with my Studio 490, Tim Holtz, Paper Artsy and JustRite stamps.

This is the first play with them - the front sides .....

And here is the reverse side ....

The top one is from one of the new Flora and Fauna Paper Artsy sets, coloured with Promarkers with a JustRite greeting. The bottom one is using the Scene It Harbour set and brush markers (methinks I have to practice a bit with the tile and pen - lol)

It would have been so rude not to have introduced Wendy Vecchi to Penny Black wouldn't it - so .....

The front ....

And the back ....

I think these would make a nice change from a 'conventional' card and great just to say hello to someone or wish them luck or to say you're thinking of them - the possibilities are endless .... Mind you - got to sort something out for the 'stamp' ....

It was my birthday today and I had a good time playing with these (in amongst the other things I did, click here to see The Gorgeous One aka Finley William and his contribution to my day - lol) .....

Off now to play with my second most favouritist thing that I got (more dreadful English - sorry - lol) - more about that another time .....

Having A Blast At The NEC ....

2010-03-27T17:45:00.010Z

At 11.03am on Wednesday 24th March I left Shalford railway station in Surrey to go here ....

Here - is Wolverhampton (information for Sue - founded in 985AD; population of the wider urban area in 2004, 251,462; and home of the first automatic traffic signals installed in 1927) Arriving three quarters of an hour late - points failure between Oxford and Banbury - but it didn't really matter 'cos I was travelling First Class - how posh is that.
Wolverhampton - famous for locks (and Enoch Powell) ....

Then I went here ....

to stay with my lovely Wulfrunian (see Wikipedia) pal, Sue and her family for a couple of days. Why - because on Thursday we went here .....

Here being the NEC. There were the four of us - Sue, Anita, Carol and me and we had an absolute whale of a time. The starting blocks were out as soon as the train pulled into Birmingham International and with a smile, a wave and a 'see you later' - Sue and Anita were off to the Clarity stand like a bullet out of a gun - lol. Carol and I followed at a more civilised and calm pace.

We each did our own thing in the morning and met up for lunch .... (mind you - Carol and I being the more sedate of the party, decided to meet up for a coffee half way through the morning - attempting to conserve our energy - lol). Look at the bags - and we were only at half time - lol ....

After lunch more shopping (with Carol and I having afternoon tea - lol). Here is some of my stash ....

Once Upon A Stamp Nesties and more Just-Rite stamps (just so liking them) .....

Some lovely Paper Artsy stuff, including the two new larger stamp sets (stunning both of them) and three of the new Squiggly Inks Sets, Flora and Fauna (really fun and funky); some metal; a TSS mould of very en trende cogs and wheels; and Ferro .....

Some more Stamps by Judith and a new steel edge ruler from Stamp Addicts; and more Scene-It stamps being demonstrated by the lovely and helpful Jenny Mayes .....

My most absolute favouritist thing that I bought I will post about later - I am going to make every effort to make something with it - in fact I have two fave things but that will mean switching off the phone and hiding the car, so that I am not disturbed - we will have to see how it goes.
By the end of the day, all four of us were tired but happy little bunnies ....

Friday saw Sue taking me round the local sights and amongst Sue's normal shopping, (and I have to say here, I simply didn't realise the vast range of doggie treats that are available - Oscar is one very lucky doggie - lol) we just had to nip into Hobbycraft - as if we hadn't done enough crafty shopping.
This has to be the piece de resistance of the trip though ....

This is thematic stamp storage - well actually it's a three tray ArtBin - but this one is solely for Sue's Clarity stamp collection and inks - and by tomorrow (another friend is going to the NEC today), her second brayer (just in case something happens to the first one - lol) which apparently she picked up, put down and forgot to pick up again when she came to pay ......
This is a pretty cool idea - a Paper Artsy box, a Stamps by Judith box, a Scene Its box ..........

Got back late last night and we are already talking about November .....

Thanks girls - I had a great time ....
Oh yes - and one final thing - come on girls - get blogging ......

Different Flowers For Today ......

2010-03-21T21:47:00.001Z

I wanted to make a card for my daughter's friend, Gemma, who she has known from school. Gemma has had a really tough last couple of years and last week she got herself a JOB. I am so pleased for her and let's hope her troubles are getting behind her.

I wanted to make something that was bright and cheerful - and fairly quick because I have another project on the go in the kitchen (this house is an absolute tip - lol). Fairly quick - it took me all afternoon - lol. Don't ask me why I just don't know.

I used the Birds and Branches and Big and Small Flowers sets by Hero Arts, stamping all the flowers onto scraps of patterned paper. The message (quite appropriate I thought) is one of the stamps from the Seeds of Kindness JustRite stamps set; and then loads of buttons for the flower centres .....

Off now to have a play in the kitchen before bed .....

Another Reason Why I Make Cards ....

2010-03-17T21:44:00.000Z

For this ...

As I say, it is another reason - the main one is because I love doing it ......
But this helps feed the habit - lol ....

Counting Sleeps ....

2010-03-16T23:04:00.000Z

Am sitting here blog hopping, doing personal finance stuff, eating toast and marmite and looking forward to next week ....

8 more sleeps until I arrive in the Midlands to see my lovely pal Sue

9 more sleeps until we, along with the ever so excited Anita and a new pal, Carol hit the NEC

(In Sue and Anita's case they will hit it running - lol)

Wendy Vecchi For The Lovely Rachel ....

2010-03-15T21:09:00.007Z

It's the lovely Rachel's birthday soon (No. 1 son's girlfriend). He has bought her a Spa Day for herself and four of her friends. Now Matt always makes an effort and a few Sundays ago he had come for a visit and saw the plaque I had made a short while ago (see earlier post). He thought it would be rather a wheeze for me to make him five invitations along similar lines. So being the good mother that I am, I set to work .....

The base of the invitations is as before - chipboard shape (by tracing around a Tim Holtz Grungeboard book page), and covered with Basic Grey Porcelain papers. This time the Studio 490 'Rules to Live By' are stamped on more BG Porcelain paper which was mounted on a Nesties Label chipboard shape (run the chip through the Wizard twice). Then I went to town with the flowers, leaves, swirls and butterflies ......

Everything was stamped on Grungepaper and coloured with Distress Inks (the old ones - I have a few of the new ones but I'm still stroking them - lol) buttons of various sizes were added and finally a touch of a Glitter Pen here and there (love the way the Grungepaper curls if you heat it with a heat gun) ....

Here's another view ....

Here's the back of the plaque - with the actual invitation on another Nesties Label shape cut from chipboard with more Studio 490 stamps ....

Then it occurred to me - how to wrap them up. So out come the Bind it All and I made a box (well a container really, 'cos it hasn't got a lid) ....

The box is cut from the last of my chipboard (adding to the NEC shopping list as I type - lol) and punched away with the Bind It All. Each side is covered with K & Co papers that I have had for ever and then it's all bound together with lengths of natural coloured raffia. The raffia was a bit of a pain 'cos it kept splitting - but I do like a challenge - lol.

End result - a very sturdy 'container' - which will be handy for keys, loose change, sweeties and other bits and bobs. Thinking now that these would make nice pressies .....

More raffia was cut up to form a 'nest' inside for the invitations to stand in. I was going to put some more Studio 490 flowers around the outside but decided to make 'tiles' of some of the definitions on the paper instead ....

And - voila - here's the completed pressie ....

I hope Rachel likes it - and you do too ....

I Know Why I Make Cards .....

2010-03-15T20:25:00.001Z

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I got three cards this year ....

Number One son remembered for the first time in five years - lol. One from my lovely daughter. And one from Finley William aka The Gorgeous One - so advanced to be writing his name at the age of 22 months - lol ....

The love and thoughts of my kids mean a huge amount to me but the point of this post is just to say that while the cards are lovely don't you think that commercial card producers are copying us crafters? Just one small thing - I had to buy my own mother's Mothers Day card - shame on me - lol ....

I've Been to Stamperama at Stevenage ....

2010-02-28T18:07:00.004Z

I shouldn't really have gone, seeing as I'm off to the NEC in a couple of weeks time, but sometimes you just have to, don't you - lol .... By the way, you can see some piccies of the Journey to Stevenage on my 365 Blog here ....

I had a great time and made loads of naughty purchases ....

I got the Spinner in anticipation of my new Distress Inks that are on their way from the lovely Wendy at The Stamp Attic. Despite the 'I told you so's' from certain quarters, I have not succumbed to Clarity stamps, but I do like their corner stamps and their verses. I love that punch which gives a border of 'bubbles', and it would have so rude not to have bought anything from Linda Brown at LB Crafts - so that accounts for the Darkroom Door set (or two - lol) ....

Here's some more ....

I am still very much in love with the Just Rite stamps that go with the Nestabilities. The owls and the birds are Twiddly Bitz, again from Linda Brown, which will probably stay in the packet and be stroked - lol. I very much like the Card Candy from Caraftwork Cards too - that packet of Chocolate Limes at the front is one of a pair. Mind you the Purple and Silver ones behind it are delish too.

I had a great day out and I even behaved like an absolute loon and walked up to Hels Sheridan while we were both taking the air outside and introduced myself. She must have thought I was some sort of stalker - lol - but I couldn't let the opportunity go by though. After all it was reading about her being (a) a train driver - which I thought was totally cool and (b) her having a blog and (c) she was the first person to ever comment on my blog. So Hels - if you read this - hope your pork chops were OK - lol.

If you haven't seen Hels' Blog - pop over and have a look ...

The other daft thing I did was ask Karen at LB Crafts if she was Linda E - lol (only because I thought she looked like her from the photo of Linda E with Tim Holtz last week). I was mortified when she said she wasn't and slunk away rather sheepishly.

Note to Self for the NEC - (a) take advantage of the coat store facility, (b) wear a T-Shirt, (c) carefully consider receptacles to be taken in which to carry purchases and (d) take a 'power' drink ....

Note to Sue and Anita for the NEC - (a) agility training begins NOW in readiness for Clarity onslaught, (b) take up the offer of being let loose the minute we get off the train at BMI for the rush to Clarity and (c) practice reaching across three deep of people politely .....
Off to have a play - hopefully without having to have a Power Nap first - lol ....

Christmas is Coming To An Untidy Workplace Near You .....

2010-02-03T20:29:00.003Z

Oh yes it is - well in my head anyway - and my purse - lol. Today was a day off and my daughter drove me over to The Craft Barn for a spot of shopping. This as a thank you for whole day baby sitting yesterday with The Gorgeous One, aka Finley William. Have a look here for for some utter gorgeousness ......

Anyways, I have it in my head that Christmas 2010 is going to be handmade - loads of ideas buzzing around in there lol - and these are my purchases - for the time being ......

I'm going to have a lot of fun with this lot ....

Also today, I got a parcel from Once Upon a Stamp. I am so into the Nesties and the JustRite stamps and they had a couple of the Christmas Stamp Ensemble sets left in stock, which have now been discontinued. - so I'm a happy bunny....

These are part of my Christmas plans as well ....

It's such a shame that Robert and Gordon won't be at Ally Pally this year - but they will be at Stevenage this month and the NEC at the end of March. They have some new and exciting things coming soon - you can read all about it here ....

I thought I would leave you with this piccie of my craft room/office workspace (No. 1 son's former bedroom). I have been reading about Wednesday being a sort of 'show and tell' day about where you craft . I don't participate in this but my space has been appallingly bad since the weekend - even by my standards - lol .....

Linda E put the idea in my head- she usually shows a very neat and tidy work space. There isn't a photo of her space today but her Blog is great - have a browse- and note, she will be a cover girl this Friday .....

Anyways off to do a bit of accounting - how much have I spent ????

Metal and Paint on a Sunday ......

2010-01-31T17:29:00.005Z

Well - wasn't the tennis disappointing? Not being able to bear it any longer, I toddled off upstairs at the end of the second set to play.

I started off with this .....

This being a thin chipboard tag shape - measuring just under 12" x 8". Then borrowing this idea from Leandra Franich, I embossed some black metal over a mould and cut it up in bits for the edges ......

Then Ferro (Golden Green - just love it and got to get me some more colours) and Terra (Indian and Terracotta - loving that as well) ......

Then it was on to the paint, which is where I got a bit carried away. I used Stewart Gill Colourise in Chlorophyll, Plum and Rose (from the Suzi Blu days) and Viva Precious Metal Paints in Blackberry (absolutely gorgeous) and Golden Green; and then highlights of Kaisercolour Eggshell.

After this orgy of dabbing and swooshing I really wasn't sure about the whole thing but it was either carry on enjoying the relaxing feeling or abandon it and wonder about it after I had tidied up - lol.

So I carried on and made (courtesy of Leandra - again) a fantasy bird out of metal (stamps from the Paper Artsy Ding and Dong collection) ....

Added some words (stamp by The Artistic Stamper) - in metal ....

And some raffia ....

Said tag is now hanging on my craft room wall where the 2009 Jack Vettriano calendar used to be. I'm glad I didn't abandon it. Hope you like it ....

Wendy Vecchi's Rules to Live By ....

2010-01-24T21:41:00.002Z

On a roll now. These are the Rules ....

I drew round a page of a Grungebook onto bare chipboard, covered the shape with Basic Grey Porcelain paper - more deliciousness - and stamped away. Studio 490, grungepaper, distress inks and buttons ....

Here's the whole thing - destined for my second office at work ....

Methinks I will make something similar as a fridge magnet - would make nice pressies as well .....

Wendy Vecchi Meets Basic Grey ....

2010-01-24T15:27:00.002Z

Many moons ago I bought a bunch of chipboard shapes on a piece of Bind-It-All O-wire - like a Tag Book Also many moons ago I bought a pad of Basic Grey Motifica paper, which is seriously delicious. Some of the papers have been used but on my desk I had a plastic wallet full of scraps. I haven't been able to play for ages and I thought something small would be a good idea - so I put the two together and came up with this (mind you it's taken all week - lol) ....

All the stamps are Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 ....

and all are stamped on Grungepaper (even the backs of the flowers and leaves which are curled and overhang are stamped with the larger background stamps) and coloured with Distress Inks ....

I like this - hope you do too ....

The Knitting Goes On - But A Post Full of Must Visit Links .....

2010-01-10T20:20:00.003Z

The knitting is continuing to grow but I'm not really posting about that right now.

While I was posting Day 10 of my Project 365 and catching up with what Gail had been posting, on her blog I found this site - Smitten by Britain.

Did you know that today in 1863 the London Underground came into service - I just love travelling on the Tube. Anyways in the post is a link to the London Underground Blog and there are some really great pictures - as the post says go December 23rd - for a station full of Santas .....

You just to have to visit these blogs ....

And Still It Keeps Coming ...

2010-01-06T17:46:00.001Z

Here's three more pretty piccies - taken earlier this afternoon .....

Everything Has Ground To a Halt ....

2010-01-06T09:59:00.001Z

Despite yesterday's weather forecast, it still came as a bit of a shock to wake up to this ....

Sussex (or where I live, at least) has ground to a halt - and it's still snowing heavily .... Oh yes, I understand there is no snow in Cambridge - you will be OK then Linda - lol

Off to have some porridge, take some more piccies and watch the white precipitation (good word don't you think).

Keep safe and warm everyone

Stamping and Yet More Knitting ....

2010-01-05T19:07:00.006Z

Over on my other Blog - Sue's 365 of 2010 - Day 3 (Sunday) burbled on about making cards - well I didn't get very far. I started with my Penny Black cutsey images and made one whole card (which I don't like that much - lol) and a panel for another .....

I then stamped out some Sarah Kay images onto Nesties scalloped ovals and spent a happy time colouring them in with Promarkers. Just love the Sarah Kay stamps and the Promarkers ....

Day 4's photo, posted on Day 5 with the explanation of why it wasn't posted on Day 4 was about the weather but the explanation for not posting was about my knitting - did you follow that - lol.

This is a picture of the current WIP (work in progress) ...

The pattern is called Mathilde and is from a Debbis Bliss pattern book - Winter Essentials. Mind you by the time I have finished it - it will be for next winter and a pound to a penny my daughter will have pinched it - lol. This is where I am at the moment- not very far .....

I would have been a lot further if it hadn't been that I kept making mistakes in the counting - which will teach me not to knit and watch Daniel Craig at the same time - lol. I had to undo it twice and there's 278 stitches to the row. The problem is these parts of the pattern - five 26-stitch diamond patterns with a rope cable up the centre of each diamond. Added to this, the cables aren't your ordinary basic cables - they are rather fancy and require concentration ....

Got to post a picture of these - my new set of of circular knitting needles. They are called Addie Click (a fine example of German precision engineering) and they are very smooth and slick with long tapering points that help you fairly zip along a row - which doesn't help with the concentration/counting thing - lol ....

Keep warm everyone ......

A New Project ....

2010-01-01T17:10:00.003Z

Firstly - Happy New Year everyone ....
Another one you might ask - when my track record for this Blog is pretty poor - lol.

A couple of days ago I stumbled across Project 365 and thought I would give it a go.

What you do is take a photograph for every day of the year (365 - get it - lol). So that I don't humiliate myself totally, I have spent the afternoon setting up another Blog - Sues's 365 of 2010 and believe it or not the first photo for the first day of the year is posted for all to see. Even though the 'photo should tell the story', I couldn't help myself and did a bit of writing as well.

Anyone care to wager how long I can keep this up for ......

From The Knitting Factory ....

2009-12-29T10:35:00.009Z

Well - this is good - a day later than I said but still good - lol ....
Here are two items from the Knitting Factory ....

This is a Cape/Poncho ...It's knitted from two strands of Stylecraft Signsture Chunky yarn in Graphite, on massive size 12mm circular needles. The yarn is 50% wool and 50% acrylic and is beautifully soft and warm. It will be great for wearing in the car, 'cos I always find my lovely big winter coat just a tad too big to drive in and ten minutes into the journey, I have to stop and take it off - lol.

I just love these buttons, which measure about 1 1/2" across and cost an obscene £3.95 each !!!!
Still they make quite a statement on the piece and were well worth the money.
Here is the second item - a scarf ....This was intended to a pressie for my daughter, to go with her new coat that her Dad bought her for Christmas. I showed her the ball of yarn and she said yuck - so I'm keeping it for me ....
It's made from one 150g ball of Sirdar yarn called The One Hour Scarf. The yarn is like a chenille and is knitted up in stocking stitch on 10mm needles (and yes, it did take about an hour). Again, it is beautifully soft and at about six feet long, wraps around the neck really nicely.
What's the betting my lovely daughter will say "Ooohh that's nice - can I have it?"
What will I say? Answers on a postcard please .....

And A Month Later ....

2009-12-28T05:05:00.006Z

What am I like - lol.
Saying that I had missed blogging and would do better - what tosh - and this time I haven't really got an excuse .....
Mind you, I feel pretty daft - went to bed and tossed and turned for a couple of hours and in the end got up. It's now 5am and I'm still wide awake - the old body clock will be way out of kilter.
Anyways, Christmas is over. Off work until 4th January. Still knitting (will post a photo of latest project when it gets light - lol). Got loads of ideas buzzing around in my head for for crafty projects.
So - I have spent the wee small hours giving the Blog a nice new look and some fancy bits and pieces - just love that chair and the post divider.
How long will it be until next time? We will see ................

It's Been A Long Time ....

2009-11-30T20:39:00.013Z

Well - almost three months to the day ....

Such a lot has happened. There was a 'major change in the administration of the day job' - or, in other words the person I worked with threw his toys out of the play pen and walked. These situations are never pleasant and this was no exception. The trouble was that he was a bullying micro-manager and I had no idea what he did, where he kept things or what was going on (despite the fact that I have been doing this work for the last 25 years) and the last couple of months have been an adventure - to say the least ......
Never say never and life went on (as it does) and after weeks of non-stop really hard graft, last Thursday, which was the most nerve-racking day ever - I was promoted. to the top job. Not saying anymore about that - 'cept the remuneration will be nice and all sorts of stash can be purchased - if I have the time - lol.
One or two other things happened - I did make it to the NEC. This had been booked months ago and people at work insisted I go for the break. My friend Sue (the one who hasn't got a blog but should have) and her lovely family made me so welcome for a couple of days - it was great. Me, Sue and Anita had a great time - they bought loads (and I mean loads) of Clarity stuff. I was a little more restrained - well just a little ....
I met Leandra Franich for the first time (such a nice lady) and she very kindly showed me all sorts of tricks with Terra and paint - so I had to buy some - it would have been so rude not to ....I was also very taken with these from Once Upon A Stamp ....Again - it would have been rude not to - after standing watching the demos .......
Getting all set for the NEC in March and I'm also going to stay with another friend, Ed, next year and go to the Port Sunlight show with her ....
The last post I did was about Children In Need. Again, there was some trauma about the organisation of this but no way was I cancelling it - so onwards and upwards. It was on 14th November, which must have been the most foul day here in history - the rain fell in buckets - and not many people came but we still managed to raise £562.22 ....
Here is some of my stuff - I forgot to take any piccies so I put this grouping together on my upstairs landing - lol ....
As well as cards, I did quite a bit of knitting for my stall and now I am very much into Granny Squares ....There is a reason for this ..... Finley William aka The Gorgeous One .....
Is going to have a brother or sister in July/August - isn't that great ..... So the Granny Squares are (potentially) a snuggle blanket.
Oh yes - and in amongst all that my number one son, Matt climbed the Matterhorn (again, only telling me when he got back - lol) .... Matt is the one sitting down - tired perhaps - lol
So there you have it - Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, might have been difficult - but life has gone on ... I hope that things are a bit more settled now and I can get back to blogging - I've missed it

Knitting for Children In Need ....

2009-08-31T13:36:00.011+01:00

We have always talked, at work, about us doing something as a group for Children in Need and this year my work pal, Rose, and I have decided that this will be The Year .....

We are holding a KnitFest (although this might change to CraftFest) in November .....

As you might have guessed there will be knitting but there will also be sewing (such as aprons, peg bags and the like), hand made cards and altered items (of course), home made cakes, home made jams and chutneys and anything else we can think of .... We even have the local Model Railway Club coming along with a couple of layouts.
Our employer has very kindly given us the use of two of our Community Buildings for free and access to the rather clever office laser printer and photocopier - so every single penny taken will go to Children in Need .....
So in amongst all the recent stresses of my life, I have been knitting ......
Here are some finished knitted bags .....All of them are lined courtesy of my new sewing machine - lol. Remember the rather sagging muti-coloured one from a previous post - lol and the big blue one at the back even has pockets on both sides of the lining - how clever is that - lol.
Here are some Works in Progress ....
Everything here needs to be sewn up and finished off - the three knitted hats need pompoms (not made one of those for years and years - lol) the knitted snake needs facial features (this is a great hit with the Gorgeous One aka Finley William), the child's cardi needs the second sleeve putting in and the whole thing sewing up and the green piece is going to be another bag .....
And here's Pudsey - another Work in Progress ......
My sewing up skills will be put to the test with this one - so Pudsey will probably go to an experienced knitting friend of mine to be put together ......
And this is the Current Work .....Another knitted bag in a nice linen/cotton mix with the yarn used double - so it should be a fairly quick knit ....
Coming away from knitting, I was beginning to get a bit concerned that I hadn't played with any paper, ink or stamps and made a mess for ages. My craft room was soooooooooo tidy but I just didn't feel like doing or even want to do anything - but that all changed yesterday. I went to the Craft Barn in Surrey for a day long workshop with Sue Roddis and we made this ....This being a wooden perpetual calendar. I've never been to a workshop before but I had a great time and I bought another calendar and some other wooden bits and pieces to alter ....
Going to the class gave me the kick up the proverbial and as soon as I got home, I was back in my craft room and playing catch up with the girls in a monthly ATC swap group I belong to ....So - there you have it - what I've been up to.
Off now to make some notebooks for the KnitFest/CraftFest .....

The Moment of Truth - Part 2 .....

2009-08-31T13:26:00.003+01:00

Once again life got in the way and, unfortunately, the Felted Bag has become a bit of a work in progress ......
I have made a couple of the flowers (three more to go - possibly more) and these have to be felted. It seems such a waste to put the washing machine on for just five flowers, so I will wait until I have knitted a couple of felted hats .... more on those another time .... Apart from the ecological issue of water wastage, I've hit a bit of a stumbling block with the handles - how on earth do I fix them to the bag? The knitting pattern doesn't help and the Noni website makes it look quite difficult but onwards and upwards, I'm sure a solution will come to me - in time .......

The Moment Of Truth .....

2009-07-19T21:29:00.003+01:00

It took me a bit longer than straight after the last post to pluck up the courage to put it all in the washing machine - but here it is - ready for lift off .....I felt like how I imagine expectant fathers used to feel when they weren't allowed to be present at the birth - lol. I was pacing up and down and sitting in front of the machine while it went round and round and round - and finally it stopped and this is what came out .....I was dead impressed - lol. I've had a practice go at making a flower - so off now to make a real one before bed.
Have a good week everyone .....

Knitting With Red Hot Needles ......

2009-07-19T12:50:00.008+01:00

Sometimes I think I am so fickle ...... the other week it was the gorgeous Studio 490 stamps (although it still is - lol), earlier today my friend Sue (the one who hasn't got a Blog but should have) told me about the new Nestabilities (I can feel a spend coming on - lol) and the last week or so has been knitting ........... which will soon become felting ..... (well it would be rude not to follow what a lot of other people are doing - wouldn't it ....)

Anyways from this ....This being Cascade 220 yarn, which is 100% wool from Peru via Canada, a beautiful pattern for a felted bag by Noni and a US size 8 circular needle - all supplies from Get Knitted in Bristol ....
To this .....This is the finished knitted bag which is held up with a pile of paperback books. I am now off to put it in the washing machine on a 60 degree wash with this .....
It may well be that this is the last you see of this project - lol.
Be back later with the felted (hopefully) piece ........

Clickety Clack ..... and Studio 490 ...

2009-07-13T07:34:00.004+01:00

I was prowling round a well known book/mnagazine/all sorts shop on Reading Station a couple of weeks ago on my way to see Mum in hospital in Taunton and my eye fell on some knitting magazines. Great I thought, I could look at them with Mum, who is a keen knitter, and cheer her up. The mags proved to be a huge hit and we talked about heel turning on socks, the thumb method vs the two needle method of casting on and other such knitting stuff for at least a couple of hours .....

Now I haven't picked up the needles for years but was so inspired by Mum and the mags that I have been knitting for the last couple of weeks .....
This is what I made first of all - just to see if I could still do it .....I used a very old pattern (one of those Patons Great Bazaar Knits booklets - price 1/6d - lol) for the basic shape and then made up the pattern of garter and stocking stitch blocks. I spent yesterday afternoon trying to line it but couldn't get the lining quite right . The problem being that the bag is really stretchy and 'pleated' but c'est la vie - it is an unlined knitting bag ......

Then I made this ......This is for a 2 to 3 year and I think it's really pretty. As I am a bit of a loose knitter, I nipped over to see The Gorgeous One aka Finley William and used him as a model. He didn't mind trying on a girl's cardi and he really looked cute - I wish I had taken the camera - lol.
I have another cardigan on the go, and a caterpillar, knit and crochet flowers and a crochet ball. To say nothing of a beautiful pattern and wool I bought for another bag - but more of that another time ....

My problem now is that I have so many ideas - knitting, the new release of Studio 490, which the lovely Wendy over at The Stamp Attic is taking pre-orders for (to say nothing of the new Tim Holtz stamps), Christmas cards ...... how do I fit it all in - lol

Bring On The Girls ......

2009-07-06T23:58:00.002+01:00

My friend Sue (the one who should have a Blog but hasn't) told me some good news about one of her family that should be shared. Her daughter, Georgia who is 14, goes fishing with her Dad and is a member of Dad's fishing club.
This weekend was the start of the Club's annual fishing competition and Georgia was drawn against the current Club Champion and beat him. She caught 20lbs of fish and he only caught 10lbs. She is now through to the semi-finals and it may be that she will be drawn against her Dad. The days before the match should be interesting - secret bait recipes and all that.
Anyways - well done Georgia and go for it ..........................

Memories of Michael ....

2009-06-26T06:40:00.005+01:00

I was woken up this morning about 4.50am with a terrific clap of thunder and couldn't get back to sleep. So off I toddled downstairs to nake coffee and watch the news ....
I couldn't believe what I was seeing about Michael Jackson. It's not often that I fell compelled to be 'public' about what is going on in the world, but this is one of those times.
I went to see him years ago at the old Wembley Stadium with my kids. I remember my son, who would have been about 14, saying 'why do we want to go and see him'. Yet within five minutes of MJ being on stage, both kids were on their feet and saying 'why couldn't we have gone down there (the pitch)". I was too old - even then - lol.
Three and a half hours later that Saturday afternoon the whole of Wembley was still rocking. The man was absolute MAGIC - and my children absolutely loved him. So did I ......
Many, many people will be talking in the next few days about Michael's strange way of life, the criminal case in 2005 and whether he would have managed the 50 dates at the 02 (my daughter had tickets for the 6th of the original schedule of shows next month) and his life will be gone over again and again with a fine tooth comb. Yes, OK, maybe he was strange, but at the end of the day I think he was a Music Legend - and as someone has said this morning - the events of yesterday will make him the Elvis of our generation - and he will live on with his iconic music .......
Rest in Peace now Michael ........

And Yet More Studio 490 .....

2009-06-21T16:40:00.011+01:00

So the question is - have I become obsessed. I think the correct answer has to be - yes .... Here is something I have made. It started as THIS ......THIS being a 2' 6" long by 3" wide by 1" deep canvas. There were three in the pack, which I bought ages ago, not really sure what I was going to do with it (them) and now I know - lol.

I used THESE ......And made THIS ...A Paper Artsy house and Studio 490 flowers and leaves; and moving up .....
Another Paper Artsy house and a Paper Artsy partridge and more Studio 490 flowers and leaves; and moving up ......
And at the top, another Paper Artsy house and patridge and Studio 490 flowers and leaves and a heart.
THIS is the whole canvas (I really must take photography lessons - lol) .....
I like this and I might even hang it up on the wall. Hope you like it too.
The next canvas is already prepared for something not Studio 490 ....

How About This Then ....

2009-06-20T15:09:00.002+01:00

Some Artful Blogging Blog Candy.
Pop over to see Wendy at The Stamp Attic here to have a look see at what you could win ....

Houses and Clever, Inspiring People ....

2009-06-10T08:53:00.010+01:00

Last weekend, on Saturday, I got it right and went to The Craft Barn Extravaganza on the correct day - lol - and had a great time. There were more clever people there than you can shake a stick at and it was just great to watch them all weave their magic. I don't want to single any one person out but Jenny from Hobby Art was as inspiring as ever, the lady from Kazelcraft Stamps had some great stuff, there was a very clever lady from the Craft Barn doing some beautiful stuff with metal (sorry can't remember her name) and I also managed to get quite near the front to see Leandra Franich (very popular lady).

Depite all that, I have to say that I spent by far the most time watching Sue Roddis. What a clever, clever lady and so friendly and sharing. I watched her for so long that when I left I popped into The Craft Barn and bought a pad of Basic Grey Porcelain papers and went home to make houses ...

(I did go in the shop before I went over the road to the Hall but I'm not saying if I spent, because my pal Sue (the one who hasn't got a blog but should have) will say "I told you so" - lol ....)
So here are two houses - inspired by Sue Roddis ....

Both have Paper Artsy doors. The one on the left has more Studio 490 flowers and leaves. The one on the right is a real mish mash of stamps, including the B-Line Designs Checkerboard. and the Stampers Anonymous Ledger Border.
On Sue R's originals, the tree trunk is a wooden dolly peg, I didn't have one of those, so mine is chipboard. The foliage is a fern stamp, stamped and cut out five times and arranged in a tree-like fashion. One great tip is to stamp on patterned paper, which is why I bought the Porcelain pad). This gives a hint of a background to the image rather than just an expanse of white card (you can just about see this if you click on the photo). Copious amounts of Distress Inks to smudge, edge and highlight were used, as well as loads of buttons ....
Had a great time making these and soon there will be a whole street .......
One final thing I met a blogging pal there - the lovely Alison. It was a bit of a shame but we didn't have much time together because I had to get off home. I hope we can meet up again ....

Never Forget The Power of You ....

2009-06-03T22:01:00.017+01:00

Here is what I made with my Studio 490 flowers ....A Tag Book which was in a parcel of pressies that my friend Ed sent me. There are five chipboard tags and five acetate ones, but I've kept the acetate ones for something else. As I said in the last post the only things I used were Grungepaper and Distress Inks; apart from the quotes which are stamped in black StazOn, the Life letters, which are ordinary chipboard and some buttons.
All the stamps are the yummy Studio 490 ones, which have been released in two sets of seven, the last set coming out from CHA earlier this year.

I read recently that someone found the Distress Inks a bit 'dreary'. Well I have to say certainly not. To get the bright colour on some of the flowers, I swiped the pad on the Grungepaper, sprayed it with water, dried it off, swiped again and dried with a heat gun. For some of the leaves I used the textured side of the Grungepaper, which I suppose is the reverse but which gave a really nice effect. I just love the Grungepaper - you can bend and shape it and it stays that way, but even laid flat, it is stunning. It cuts really easily because it bends and best of all - it doesn't tear.
The tags are on a book ring at the moment but I'll be adding fibres and ribbons later ....
Hope you like it ....
And a couple of close ups ....And - as if all this wasn't enough there is to be a third release of another seven sets in July!!!! You can get the stamps from the lovely Wendy at The Stamp Attic - let's hope she's getting the new release ......

It's Now Sunday .... And No Paper In Sight ....

2009-05-31T11:02:00.008+01:00

After yesterday morning's adventure, the rest of the day passed without serious mishap .... the runner beans got planted out, the salad growbag planted with seeds, a bit of snipping here and there in the garden, a surprise invitation to a BBQ over at my daughter's in the evening. The only thing that did happen was that while I was out at said BBQ, a cat had had a bit of a scratch in my growbag. I was not impressed .... so there I was in the rapidly failing light rigging up temporary netting - so we will have to see on that one.

I thought I would share what I have been playing with for the last couple of evenings. Back in March, my son forgot my birthday and Mother's Day and by way of apology gave me his credit card (again lol), a fixed sum and said 'Get some stamps'. So (again) quicker than you can say rubber, I was on the phone to the Stamp Attic and got myself these absoloutely beautiful and gorgeous Studio 490 stamps, designed by Wendy Vecchi. Matt bought me my first three sets (some apology eh - everyone wants him - lol) and after getting them I simply had to add to the collection ......Here are some of the flowers I have made so far and, no, there isn't a piece of paper there. All the flowers are made from Grungepaper. All of these in the photo, plus a few more leaves, have been made out of 1.5 sheets of the Grungepaper, so when you consider that there are three sheets in a pack - it goes a long way. The only inks I have used are Distress Inks, so this is a high scoring project on the mess front - lol. I'm not getting everything I own out - just the three elements.
Be back later to share what I have done with them .....

It's Been One Of Those Days ....

2009-05-30T11:58:00.004+01:00

... well so far at least ......
Was up really early, thinking over my plans and that this was going to be a great day. First hiccup (minor) was that I got bored listening the news on TV so casually flicked over to the films and lo and behold 'The Birds' by Hitchcock - an all time classic - so I just had to have another cup of coffee.
Anyways left the house and pointed the car in the direction of The Craft Barn at Lingfield. Didn't take that long and there were plenty of spaces, which did strike me as a little strange - but moving on. Paid the car park fee for six hours, toddled over the road to The Craft Barn and wham - straight in front of me was all the info for their Craft Extravaganza Weekend - which was on 6th and 7th June ..................... next weekend - lol.
So 82.7 miles later driving through more tar and chipped sections of road than you can shake a digger at; a drive on the M23 (first time I've been on a motorway for ages), a major diversion which took me almost to the uncharted territory of East Grainstead (last time I went there I got totally lost); £3.60 car park charge; £18 in The Craft Barn because it would have been rude not to - lol; another drive on the M23 (which was another disaster because I came off for the A264 and while singing along to the car radio just didn't think and took the first exit of the roundabout at the top of the slip road and ended up back on the M23/A23 - lol; and a semi-serious food shop; I feel just a tad silly - lol.
Still at least I now have strawberries, cream, smoked salmon, prawns, salad, chocolate biscuits and the new Michael McDonald CD ......
Off to plant my runner beans out and sow my salad grow bag ....... what could go wrong with that?

All About The Gorgeous One ....

2009-05-23T07:41:00.006+01:00

I cannot believe it - but a whole year has gone by - it was The Gorgeous One's aka Finley William's first birthday on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to have the day off but as a Birthday Treat he was allowed to stay up past bedtime and sit with the grown ups for a celebration tea.

And here's the Birthday Boy, still on a roll at 7.30pm .....Here's his Birthday Cake that Grandad made (the photo doesn't do it justice - it was brilliant) ......Here's his card that Nanny made .....
Off later to a Family and Friends Birthday Party for him. Looks as if the weather is going to be lovely and a good time will be had by all .....

It Makes All The Difference ....

2009-05-08T22:07:00.007+01:00

To just chill out .....

As the Paper Artsy stamp says - I Don't Feel Like Working Today - and I didn't. I was, at least, honest about it. I rang up and just asked for the day off - not throwing a sickie. They know I'm a bit 'under the weather' (fed up more like) and tired because of what's happening with my mum (she's back in hospital), so there wasn't a problem.
So what did I do?
I popped out and bought a chocolate cake and a pint of milk. Then came back and finished off the year end accounts for my part-time job (the chocolate cake was the reward for doing that - lol). Then I tidied up the house (will clean tomorrow) which made me feel even more better. It was really bugging me coming home from work to all the clutter - wouldn't mind, but there's just me so it's not as if I can blame someone else - lol.
Then I attacked the spare room. First thing was to clear the spare bed of all the piles of this and that - I can now see the duvet - lol. Next, was a huge pile of magazines going back to 2004 - problem was they were all Somerset Studio ( and no, I don't have every single one - I wish ). I simply couldn't bring myself to throw them out and I spent a happy couple of hours leafing through them, munching away on my chocolate cake. I've kept all the Somerset Studio and Inspiration mags; but I've recycled the Somerset Sampler mags, after I had torn out the 'inspirational pictures and articles'. Then there was the huge pile of already torn out 'inspirational pictures and articles'. I was quite ruthless with that and I now have a them all neatly in a lever arch file. Have to say, I found some really great stuff - and I do feel inspired - but I have to clean the house first. Then it's playtime.
So there you have it - my 'legal' last minute day off - I had a great time ......

Two More Bank Holidays until Christmas ....

2009-05-07T21:20:00.014+01:00

And the last one dawned nice and sunny but by 11am it was overcast, grey, cold and horror of horrors the 'R' word happened - it kept drizzling on and off - true to form it was the local PreSchool's Maypole Fete. That said though everyone had a good time - there was loads to do, plenty to eat, cream teas and a beer tent. There were tree climbling races, go karts, kiddie fairground rides, welly wanging, stalls and a load of other interesting stuff.Even the Fire Brigade came ....

These people didn't seem to mind the weather ....

Oh - and the most important thing of the whole day ... The Stall .....When we turned up, we were the only ones without a Tent. So after the third patch of drizzly rain, there was a quick dash to the local garden centre and bingo - a Gazebo with sides. We didn't bother to put the sides up but what a difference being under cover made. This is my daughter doing her salesperson of the year bit .... I did very well which was great; and I think my daughter has plans for us to do the School fete circuit this summer - with the Gazebo - lol ......

It All Depends On The Weather ....

2009-04-30T17:50:00.009+01:00

I'm still making (frantically now - lol) cards for the local PreSchool's Maypole Fete this coming Bank Holiday Monday.
The Fete is very much dependent on the weather - because if it rains to much the Village Green becomes a pond and they will to have to relocate to another village - would you believe !!!
My part-time job employers are on weather watch and people have been seen testing The Green with sticks (like they do at the racing) and stroking their chins - lol. Despite the rain here on Monday and Tuesday the weather forecast is looking good and currently the going is firm .... Keep your fingers crossed ....

Anyway I digress - Time has been short since my last big burst of creativity. I was down at Mum's in Somerset from Friday to Sunday lunchtime and have had to work three evenings this week but hey-ho onwards and upwards. Despite all that, here are some more cards I've made for the stall ....I am well and truly into the Scene-It stamps by Hobby Art .....

Another cute Penny Black stamp and don't you just love the dog by Stamps by Judith from Stamp Addicts (another Shepton Mallet show purchase). I'm going to have to make some more of those ....

Last night I thought I would put the cards on the stands, just to see what they looked like - as you can see there are some gaps - lolSo, a quick bite to eat, go to the last evening meeting of the week in about an hour (please don't let it go on for ever) and the rest of the evening playing with Cupcakes and Mice .....

I Confess .....

2009-04-30T17:32:00.004+01:00

I have decided to own up to IT. My crafting pals, Sue (the one who hasn't got a blog and should have) and Anita also said I was and I have always denied it ....

What is the IT? I confess to being a Storage Junkie .....

This weekend just gone I was down in Somerset to see my Mum and just had to take a couple of hours out to pop over to Shepton Mallet to visit the Creative Stitches show on Saturday morning. The first stand that caught my eye was Storage4Crafts and my addiction was fuelled with this ....

THIS is the Clip It Up. It stands about two foot tall and the two levels tier move around freely and you can hang whatever you like from the silver hanging rounds with little clips that hang from little hooks from the silver round thing - hope you understand that - lol. Just to give you, the general idea I have hung a piece of paper, a photo, a greeting card and a bit of string on it .
It was an absolute steal. Generally, you have to buy the base unit and the upper tier separately, but the show offer was both units for less (a lot less) than half price.
Don't you just love a bargain ....

Finally Some Card Making .....

2009-04-19T22:22:00.009+01:00

It's been a long time since I have made a mess but I have a stall at a local fete on the next Bank Holiday (providing the Cricket Club and the PreSchool can reconcile their current differences - lol). Oh the politics of a small village - eat your heart out Gordon Brown, you think you have it bad - lol.

So, anyways, this weekend I have been updating my depleted stock ....This is a new stamp from Magenta - and even though I say so myself, I rather like these. They're done on big A4 slim cards from MSA Crafts .....The stamp on these is by Penny Black - Wind Carressed. To colour them I used an old favourite - Marvy Wet Look Embossing Markers. Using them you get a really nice high gloss raised finish which looks really quite stunning ....

Two more of the same and the ones in the middle are the Hobby Art stamp, Floral Display, coloured with Twinkling H20s (such a shame they're being discontinued). The In Bloom stamp I picked up for 99p - bargain .....

The DL card with the flowers is Flowerhead by Little Claire Designs (picked up at the NEC). The veins of the flowers were drawn over with a Quickie Glue Pen and sprinkled with ultra-fine Crystal glitter. Lovely effect, but will be wearing it (the glitter) for a couple of days - lol. The top two are my new passion - Hobby Art Scene It stamps. Such a relaxing way to pass a couple of hours. The little dotty things on the top left card are from Craftwork Cards - they look just like larger brads but a dab of silicone glue and hey presto - no holes - love them. Such an easy embellishment ....These last three are two from my Rubber Stamp Tapestry sets and the bottom one is a new Penny Black cutie stamp - Playtime.

That's all for now - don't want to bore everyone ....

Bluebells and Violets ....

2009-04-19T22:09:00.006+01:00

I'm not going to talk about the last month - suffice to say I'm glad it's over. So moving on ....

Here are a couple of photographs of the bluebell wood at the back of my house. The wood goes from this ....to this - as far as the eye can see ....
The photographs do not do the scene justice, not least because a photographer I am not. The woods are absolutely stunning and the scent of the bluebells is gorgeous. When I went over there this afternoon, I was horrified to find that the wood had been fenced off sometime during the winter. Not letting that put me off, over the fence I hopped .... I wasn't the only one in there though - and not a shotgun in sight - lol.I took nearly 100 photos and aren't you pleased that they're not all here - lol. Here is one of a clump of sweet violets growing around a fallen tree - thought I would have a go with the macro setting ....I hope you like them ....

Just A Quickie .....

2009-03-16T07:31:00.008Z

To tell you briefly about the NEC .....
I have resisted Nestabilities up until now, despite encouragement from certain quarters - lol. The Once Upon a Stamp stand was not how it usually is - Robert doing grungly and mucky and Gordon with the Wizard. This time there was only the two of them on the stand and Robert was demonstrating the Wizard but he had made some gorgeous hanging frames and so I succumbed to a couple of Nesties sets.
The other 'major purchase' was some of the Hobby Art Scene It stamps - the samples I saw were lovely (guess who forgot to take a camera - lol) - and a set of Lyra watercolour crayons.
I also stocked up on some essentials - water brushes, double sided tape and the like. Oh yes, and I bought a gorgeous stamp, called Flowerhead from Little Claire Designs.
The whole day was a blast and it was great to catch up with my friends, Sue (the one who should have a blog but doesn't) and Anita - shall I start a countdown to November girls - lol?
Unfortunately, the Show came four days after my mum was admitted to hospital for major heart surgery. Life at the moment is made up of either going to work or spending hours on trains or coaches - I am in West Sussex and she is in Bristol Royal Infirmary - and believe me it is nearly a nine hour round trip. Has anyone been to Bristol - I have never seen so many hills in my life - lol.
Mum wanted me to go to the Show and bless her, she gave me some spending money, so I took some of my purchases down to show her at the weekend, just to prove I had been because she told me she would be very cross if I didn't go to the Show. She is recovering but not as quickly as anticipated and is still in the High Dependency Unit, but I'm sure everything will be fine ....
Finally, I read somewhere that the Tim Holtz storage tins were being discontinued. I had always meant to get the Distress Ink Pad tin because I use them the most and I never seem to put them away. After trawling the net I found a new site - Swanstitch in Deal, Kent and a lovely lady called Anita, who posted two Storage Tins (because I had to have the Alcohol Ink one as well - lol) off to me on Thursday, so they will be waiting for me a work this morming. Anita is expanding the site all the time, so pop over and have a look ....
Anyways, have to drag myself off to the day job now and it's Bristol again tomorrow - catch up again soon. Have a good week everyone ......
Oh yes, did I say briefly at the beginning of this post - lol .....

We Got There ....

2009-03-12T22:34:00.001Z

I went to the NEC today and had a great time ....
I can't write about it now because I have to get up early in the morning to go off to Bristol for the weekend - this time by coach.
Will catch up next week ....

Nearly There ....

2009-03-10T22:37:00.000Z

JUST

TWO MORE SLEEPS TO GO ....

Are We There Yet ....

2009-03-01T15:21:00.002Z

And just for Sue and Anita ....

ELEVEN MORE SLEEPS TO GO ....

12 Tags of Christmas 2008 - The Final Three ...

2009-03-01T15:11:00.004Z

And here they are .....I love how the grungeboard reindeer turned out. I didn't have any Perfect Pearls so used Twinkling H20s instead. I also didn't have a chipboard clock and mask, so I made my own with a BLine Designs stamp, Tick Tock. I stamped it on plain grungeboard and went to town with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks, Tim's Scratches stamp and a knife. (and I still have all my fingers - lol). I then stamped the clock again onto acetate and did the thing with the game spinners and sprocket gears.
Off to my daughter's now for roast pork and will be back later to start the 2007 Twelve, so see you later ...
Hope you like them ....