Happy Christmas everyone!

Hello everyone, and hope that you are all looking forward to Christmas now, in whichever way you spend it. Hope too that you got all of your cards made...I have to confess that I didn't get to make all of mine! I've just finished wrapping the last of my gifts and will be off to my parents' tomorrow for a week of rest and relaxation, although I will be cooking the Christmas lunch which is rather a worry as I'm not known for my culinary expertise!

I'd love to say that I took this gorgeous picture of the squirrel myself, but, no, I have to confess that it was on the RSPB newsletter! Isn't he cute though, all tufty and bright eyed. I took the photo on the right though!

This is under mum and dad's tree which we decorated a couple of weeks ago - the snowmen on the right are ones I made years ago and look a bit battered now, but one of the lovely things about this time of year is the way that traditional things are important even if they are tatty round the edges!

I shan't be able to post now till next year (!), so I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and let us all hope that 2009 brings us all lots of positive things. Lindsay

Catching up!

I'm catching up with myself and all of you too, as I'm a little late with this post! The weekend at Dawn Bibby's Studio was great - "hello" to all of you who came along....too numerous to mention individually! We had a lot of fun with plenty of crafting, mince pies and hot mulled wine...well, the customers had the mulled wine, not me, or I'd have been making very wonky cards!

Here's Dawn chatting to customers and making ATC's. And below is a
picture of some of us at the end of the Sunday...from the left...Sarah, Lindsey, myself, Dawn, JJ and Gill.

I've now posted details of some of the first round of events that I'll be at next year, though I'll be adding more and updating them as time goes on. I've also listed the first of my workshops at Topaz - if you are interested in booking onto a class then contact Topaz (link to their website below).

I've had a bug the last couple of days which is why I haven't posted sooner, but I am fending it off as I'm determined not to be under the weather over Christmas! I am trying to catch up on the designs that I still need to do as well as some gift buying and sending some cards too!

Well, this is a fairly quick post as I should get an early night to kick those germs into submission! Take care everyone and call back soon! Lindsay

Dawn Bibby's weekend event

Hello everyone, I've just added details for this weekend's craft event at Dawn Bibby's Design Studio as you can see. It's going to be a fun weekend, so do come along if you possibly can. There will be plenty to see and do and it's a good chance to drop a few hints to the other halves in your life as to what you might like for Christmas!

I am busy working on new stamp designs for next Spring. Lots of people ask me where I get my ideas from and the answer is everywhere really. Sometimes an idea just pops into my head or it may be that something I've seen sets an idea in motion. Once I have some ideas I begin doodling and sketching with a pencil at first. This stage can be very vague to begin with as the initial ideas begin to take shape, some being discarded whilst others are worked on further. Once I have "worked up" a sketch till I'm happy with it, I then place it onto my light box (I use a large, flat lightbox which is very stable to avoid slip ups!) and use my ink pens to trace the design onto very smooth white card. This can often take a while as I sometimes alter things as I go along...the designs look very different in ink than in pencil, so I may have to amend certain elements. Once I am happy with a design I then make photocopies of it. The final stage is to hand colour one of the copies which will be used to make the "index" which goes on top of the stamp. The other copies are kept for reference and are "stand by's" in case of accidents when I'm colouring - sometimes the phone rings and my hand slips!

So, I'd better carry on! Time is gaining on me and deadlines are looming!

I hope to see some of you at the weekend and will post photos next week for those of you who cannot make it. I'll also be adding demonstration dates for the first part of next year.

Till then, enjoy the rest of the week, Lindsay

Chilly weekend catch up!

Well, it's been a chilly old week here! At one point it looked like my saturday demonstration might be cancelled as the roads to Holmfirth were closed due to snow and ice. Thankfully all was clear by yesterday, so the show was back on the road! Here I am, busy at work getting some last minute samples made before the customers arrived.

"Hello!" to all the ladies (and gentlemen!) who came along and I hope that you're using the things you bought and not just looking at them! Below is just one of the cards which I made on the day. As you can see, it features the little penguins again, but I just wanted to share the idea of making a tall slider card with you. This card stands up nice and high, but it folds absolutely flat and will fit inside a DL envelope with no trouble.

Notice the lovely 3D snowflake from K&Co...these have been so popular, so if you see any on the shelves - grab them as they are like gold

We survived the drive to and from Holmfirth...it is a truly scary road with impossibly sharp corners, inclines and no barriers beside the sheer drops....lovely!!!

Today we went to Redesmere again, but this time were armed with loads of stale bread. The lake was a sheet of ice apart from the edges where most of the birds were congregating to be fed. The man who runs the hot food stand said that it was only the second time in four years that the water

has frozen. The larger birds looked very comical as they skated across the surface, but we did feel sorry for them - their toes must have been painfully cold! I tried to get a good picture of the Gulls who were very impressive with their mid flight bread catching skills. They are much too fast for a digital camera, though I liked the way this one had the vapour trails from the planes in the background! Redesemere is in Siddington which is a few miles from Alderley Edge, so if you live anywhere within reach it is well worth a visit.

It is now time for another cosy evening! I shall be adding details of the Making Cards workshops after I complete this post and will be putting the Topaz workshops schedule on as soon as they are confirmed. Dawn and her team are still very busy moving everything from the Mill to the studio, so it may take a day or two longer to get the details.

I hope that you have all had a great weekend with time to craft, relax and enjoy good company somewhere in the mix! Till next time, Lindsay

Check out Making Cards website

Crikey it's cold! I have been giving the wildlife extra rations today as I can't imagine how frozen they must feel out there. The squirrels have been taking the monkey nuts and burying them all around the place - even in the wheel arches of the car! My friendly pigeons have been tapping on the window pane to drop heavy hints about suet and peanuts...I know that some people dislike them, but they are comical little characters. We also have Nuthatches, various Tits, Magpies, Chaffinches and Crows plus many more. It's very satisfying, because a few years ago there were only the pigeons and an odd Blackbird. Oh yes, there is a very sweet Thrush at the moment who keeps perching on the wings of parked cars and watching himself in the wing mirrors! At first I thought that he was attacking his image, but he seems to be talking to himself and spends ages staring at his reflection, so I am now wondering if he has lost his mate and is lonely...bless him. Well, that's the end of the wildlife report!

Do check out the Making Cards magazine website ( http://www.magmaker.co.uk/ ) as they are organising residential weekends of card making for next year! I shall be teaching at some of these and will post details of where and when in the next day or two. The weekends promise to give the chance to try new techniques, meet like minded people and generally have a lot of fun as well!

I am also going to be teaching workshops at Topaz Crafts again next year and will be posting details as soon as I know the relevent dates and themes. You can also check out http://www.topazcrafts.co.uk/ to see their workshop programme or subscribe to their newsletter for updates on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, if you are anywhere near Holmfirth this saturday, pop along to the Edinburgh Woollen Mill where I'll be giving some last minute Christmas inspiration. That's all for now folks! Stay snug and cosy, Lindsay