Sunday 21 February 2010

Guess what I did at the weekend?!

                 


















I've been to Capture the Magic in Soham [that's near to Cambridge] that's what!  Demonstrating pens for Kuretake [Zig]..... Had a wonderful time with the fabby Brushables pens - did you know if you're quick, you can heat emboss with them?, because they are brush pens and not felt tips... you can colour your rubber stamps with confidence [I find that they work best on rubber stamps rather than on polymer clear stamps - but it does give a great effect!] , blend the colours [always remember to use the lightest colour first!] and know that the tips won't shred or fluff up.  We made some really great flowers with the Calligraphy pen collection... you can do so much more with them other than just writing....and the Dottarifics..... are just great for making patterns and backgrounds...... 
Hope you like!!
Get to visit with Vicki and the team at the Make It Show at Farnborough next weekend....... and at Ally Pally in April !

Thursday 11 February 2010

Love knows no time............

I've made lots of Valentine and Romance type cards with the lovely stamps from The Artistic Stamper, I thought it was time for something different!
They say, that there is no love like that of a mother for it's young.... and that is true.... but the love of a young father for his newborn son, is something else!These stamps just cried out to go with this gorgeous picture.... simple but so, so romantic I thought, and whilst not exactly an heirloom, it might just end up in someone's nursery!  I did say that the mojo was running didn't I?  Think must post this one off to Gingersnap for their challenge.... do go and check out the fabulous work on their webpages.........you could even apply to join their design team!  s'cuse me.... must have a go!  Off to fill in an application form!!  Happy Stamping till next time.

Monday 8 February 2010

Shopping, Stash and Exhibitions~!!

It must be all down to the cold weather! all this crafting......... having found my mojo or whatever you call it... anyways some friends and I went to the Brighton Centre Creative Stitches exhibition at the weekend..... didn't buy much in the way of papercrafting stash!! [amazingly] but I did buy some beads to make these lovely bracelets with........... great fun to do - mind you, you do need a bead mat - 'cos otherwise the beads go rolling all over the place!!!  I do quite like millefiori beads...... so very pretty..... now, I wonder how I can incorporate them into cards?.........'scuse me, must have a go!!
TTFN!!

Sunday 7 February 2010

They're some of those stamps that you get now and then......

Oh..... you know the song......or maybe you're too young?!, but i've been having SUCH fun with these stamps............ I've come out with all the cliches imaginable........ 'love is in the air'..... 'love is a many splendored thing'.... 'love, love me do'...... I could go on....... anyways, I hope you like tonights blogging.... there's THE romance stamps from Artistic Stamper [of course].... along with some bits of ribbon, punches, bead leaves.... and Shrink Plastic....... now what fun is that! - if you haven't tried shrink..... you just gotta have a go!....... and while you're playing, check out some of the fab designs on Gingersnap for their challenge!
I did find some incredibly lovely embroidered flowers at The Brighton Centre Creative Stitches exhibition yesterday....... and I have a plan to use them with the rather gorgeous 'Roaring Twenties' stamps from The Artistic Stamper......... 'course you could use Prima Flowers......... so maybe i'll do two.... just for fun, seeing as I'm on a roll like!
I blame the fumes from the Stazon ink for all of this!... but I have had a lovely play day......... only problem is, my workbench that was so lovely and tidy, is now - not!   I really do think I need to have a bit of a clear up!!  Ah sweet Love!  Just in case you're wondering
the frilly bit under the shrink tag, is the frill from one of the Roaring Twenties ladies hats-coloured and stamped with Brush pens!   Hope your day has gone well...... enjoy!!  Happy Crafting xx

Saturday 6 February 2010

It must be all that Red..........

Having been a florist for some 25 odd years..... one gets a bit jaded about Valentines day..... so it was with trepidation that I grabbed some red papers onto the workbench along with some new stamps......I've only put two designs here, there are many more!! but don't want to bore anyone :-(  anyways some girlfriends and I went to the Creative Stitches exhibition at the Brighton Centre today.... there was loads of red around..... but I didn't find any stamps better than the lovely new ones from The Artistic Stamper! with a little bit of glitter....... and I raided a bit of feather from an old feather boa in my grandkids dressing up box !!  Well......crafting materials come from all over don't they??  I haven't made this many Valentine cards for............well, ever!  Must be the stamps!!  More Jenny please!

Thursday 4 February 2010

Romance is good for us.......

It's that time of the year when Romance is in the air! It's a great time to let 'rip' with the Mojo and have some fun..... a bit of saucy red & black.... a bit of glitz......... but these stamps from The Artistic Stamper are just F A B  for making love notes!   thought I might just send this to our postie.........well, he needs a bit of cheering up on the 14th.... !  I've entered a great challenge online at Gingersnap check this one out peeps! You too can win the new set of stamps!! Happy Crafting 'till next time.

Monday 1 February 2010

New Years Resolution #101 - Clear up my workroom!, being Tidy and all that rubbish!!

I'd love to have big chunks of time.... but if I waited until I had a whole day when nothing else was going on or elderly parents wanting for attention or a mound of washing to see to, I'd never make another card or scrapbook a photo again!  Mornings are crazy, but in reality, you only need a few minutes before you leave for work to plan the composition for a new card.  When I return home in the evening I may have more time to begin more complicated techniques, such as acrylics or spraying backgrounds.... so that I can leave them to dry until morning, or just a half-hour to finish a card or two...  mind you, it can take a week or more to put a project together, but by the end of the week I'll have a completed project and not the regret that comes from making excuses about having no time. 

I'm not ultra organised - I confess to being a tad untidy.... having been a florist for over 25 years, a very good friend & colleague once said to me, that if she was shown a tidy workroom, she would know that the shop wasn't very busy!, and since in our shop we were always rushing around with shedloads of work, our workroom always looked like a pigsty!  My cluttered workroom space is testament to the fact that i've always got several projects on the go at once - it is I grant you easier to create when you can actually find the surface of the desk - and although I have every intention of having a clear up at the end of the day [ok, most days - alright sometimes] usually I feel very self righteous  when the room is a little tidier and more welcoming and yesterday's mess is gone - amazingly, one can also find things again!  

Talking of being tidy...my good friend Nicky invited us to a workshop the other evening, and we made some really lovely cards.... with her Stampin Up 'stuff' - it was such a fun evening!  We were using 'bits' of paper to make lollipop flowers........... that was a fun thing I hadn't done for ages, so everybody's getting lollipop flowers on everything now - for a while - well, it helps with the clear up!!

So here's to New Year's resolutions and being tidy [ha!] - I forever live in hope!!  Happy Crafting 'till  next time.