Calmer and Karma

Hello to all my friends and any new visitors who are reading this. The wonderful Hazel at Didos Designs (link below on m blog list) included me in her Karma award list:

"The Karma Award:These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their award."

Thank you so much Hazel, it's appreciated, and something of a coincidence that Karma happens to be my absolute favourite product from Lush! I am supposed to pass this onto eight like minded blogs...I always hate this bit as I don't like picking one blog over another. I am so busy at the moment that it will be a couple of days before I nominate eight bloggers...but please don't be offended if you aren't included!!! Btw, Hazel has put some of her beautifully made ATC's as a Candy on her Blog - do check them out.

The "calmer" part of this post is that I could do with being a little calmer at the moment! I must admit that I absolutely "lost it" yesterday (which I rarely do) when it took me over an hour to find a few stamps that I needed and I had to completely re think a few projects because I was spending so long just searching for things. It's all down to lack of space, but I got so frustrated that I really went a bit mad!

Today I decided to spend my time typing up instructions for the projects that I have already completed as a break from making the ones that are still on my agenda. So I have been curled up on the sofa with my laptop typing away. It takes as long, if not longer, to write instructions as it does to create the projects, as it's not always easy to put something visual into words. Still, I got quite a bit done, so I am feeling a little calmer this evening, though very tired after a lack of sleep last night. Whenever I am working to tight deadlines I find myself tossing and turning at night as I keep going over ideas in my head. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you what I'm working on before too long!

Well, I just have time to do one more set of instructions before dinner, so I had better get cracking! Take care everyone. Lindsay

Back from Scotland

Hello everyone and welcome to new friends who I met this weekend in Inverness and Broughty Ferry. I must say thank you to Cynthia and Hazel who brought me cards and ATC's which were gorgeous and much appreciated. Thanks too to Seila who sent me two scrumptious ATC's and a beautiful card - they are all on display now before I put them into my albums for safe keeping and good memories.
Well, I had mammoth journey up to Inverness on Thurdsday - made even longer by the incompetence of the person at the National Rail call centre who I booked the tickets with! Instead of getting there in six and a half hours (as I found out that I could have done) it took me over nine and a half hours and I had to wait at Glasgow station for almost three hours - that was fun! I had too much luggage to warrant walking around the city centre, and it costs £7.50 (yes, £7.50!) to leave a bag at the station! It turned out that, contrary to what I had been told, I could have used my tickets at any time of the day, so could have been in Inverness long before I did get there. Sigh!

However, the tain journey was marvellous. Not too many travellers, so I had space to relax and stretch out a bit. The scenery was spectacular and I saw masses of wildlife - pheasants, rabbits, deer, ponies, adorable lambs enjoying the sunshine and possibly an eagle - it was a big bird of prey, but we had sped by before I could properly identify it. Thrilling to see though. I took loads of photos but, of course, through the train window they don't come out too well and, looking at them now, they don't do justice to what I saw. I got very excited when I saw the signs that showed we were in the Cairngorms National Park! There was still some snow on the peaks.

I liked this picture which came out rather well and showed the lovely evening sunlight.

Near to Aviemore there was a rather scary moment or two! There was a sudden very loud "clang" under the train and then something very big and heavy seemed to be caught underneath and was clanging along up and down the length of the carriage. At one point it banged up right beneath a lady opposite to me and she almost jumped onto the table! After a few minutes it stopped, but we were all a bit nervous to say the least! The train didn't stop or even slow down and no explanation as to what it was - a bit of excitement anyway!

After the long journey, I was very happy to see how close my hotel was to the station! Couldn't get much nearer than that! It was a very grand old hotel with a magnificent staircase which, apparently, was the inspiration for the staircase on the ship Titanic.

Next day was my demonstration at Hobby Haven, which is in a charming Victorian arcade. It wasn't long before I was busily blowing ink through straws, stamping swirly birds and distressing pieces of card! Thanks to all the ladies who came along, including Cynthia (Rainbow Lady) and Susan. I hope that you are all enjoying your new puchases! The day just flew by and I didn't even get any photos. However, I'd taken a few of the cards (in the ultra bright bathroom in the hotel!) so here are just a couple: The owl is wearing a hat taken from the Wizard Shelf stamp and the background is from the luscious Que Sera Sera papers by K&Co. The Scottish Piper is backed with a handmade Tartan effect made with Alcohol inks onto Metallic Film.

Straight after my demonstration I was back on the train, this time to Dundee which was another four hours of travelling and then a taxi ride. (Yet again I had been sold strange tickets and could have got there much quicker if I hadn't been sent via Aberdeen!). A very late dinner and a good night's sleep set me up for my day at Kitty Krafts the next day. I had not long started the demonstration when the lovely Hazel and her boys arrived (with a friend who I didn't get chance to introduce myself to - so apologies for that!). Hazel looked great and stayed for around twenty minutes so I was very proud of her!

We had a big hug and swapped a few things before she made some purchases and was on her way again - so, Hazel, this one is just for you.....
style="color:#000066;">....you deserve it and I was so touched, again, that you made such a big effort to come and see me.

Well, it was another very busy day, with a lot of laughter as well. More tree blowing, alcohol inking and distressy stamping was the order of the day. Here are one or two more cards - mostly cute ones at the moment, but I'll take pictures of some more and post those asap. Notice the terrible pun on my Cherry the Cat card....you know me, I like puns!

Louise, who owns Kitty Krafts, now has a blog, so do pay her a visit and have a look at what is going on up there on http:/kittykrafts.blogspot.com . Before long my day at Kitty Krafts was over and Louise's husband Ross kindly ran me to the station at Dundee where I took a picture of Shackleton's ship, "Discovery", which I hadn't known was there before as I had a previously only been there in the dark!It's an awesome sight and very evocative of course. So, next thing was a four hour train journey to York which was lovely in the sunshine and with more gorgeous scenery. I had about half an hour at York station to grab a sandwich for dinner and then onto Manchester. This was when the lovely weekend beagan to go into meltdown unfortunately! The train carriage was invaded by football "fans" who made the rest of the journey (nearly two hours) a complete nightmare. Apart from the incredible amount of noise they were making in general, they were also shouting out foul chants and generally being totally obnoxious. I changed seats three times but there was no avoiding them. The one train guard on board was evidently highly embarrassed but too intimidated to do anything about it. One girl was right in the midst of them all and she did have a go at them but was given lots of abuse in return - when I spoke out for her I was also subjected to the abuse. When we were nearing my station I had to run the gauntlet of their stupidity and, when I stood my ground and told them just what a lot of disrespectful idiots they were, I was called every filthy name one could imagine. As I left the train I was showered in beer! Completely soaked and smelling like a brewery, I called the platform staff and complained bitterly that these yobs are even allowed onto the trains and that there are no security staff on the trains to deal with them. Myself and the other woman were the only two people who were not prepared to put up with the situation. I've been given a form to make a formal complaint and I certainly shall. It's unbelievable the way that football "fans" (I use the word reservedly, as these are just thugs) are allowed to run riot. It was scary to note that, unlike one time where if a lady complained about bad language or behaviour, a group of men would say "oh, sorry sweetheart" - these "men" had no such attitude. In fact, one of them stood up as if he was going to have a physical go at me. Well, it was a very unpleasant end to to my weekend, but I would rather go home covered in beer knowing that I hadn't just accepted the situation but had made a stand against such yobbish behaviour, than just say nothing.

Well, I can't leave this on a bad note! So, thank you for everyone's lovely cards, ATC's, comments and emails which all mean a great deal to me. I'll post details on creating the Tartan effects and a few more cards/ATC's as soon as I can. Must go now, as there is more rest and relaxation to be done today before getting back to work tomorrow! Lindsay

Apologies

I must apologise for not posting before now, and for not adding any pictures as I'd promised. We had to cancel the workshop on Sunday, so I didn't get to take photos and it has been a blur of activity here with me trying to catch up with projects and samples for this weekend in Scotland. I am all packed up now and ready for the long haul tomorrow. It's taking over seven hours to Inverness, which I had thought was an inordinately long time...only when I checked my tickets did I see that I have almost three hours to wait in Glasgow! So, if you are in Glasgow station tomorrow between 1.30pm and 4.30pm and see someone in Starbucks, surrounded by empty coffee cups, it may well be me! I shall definitely need to take a couple of book with me!

I've made lots of samples and I'll photograph them and be sure to put some up here when I return. I've been making some Tartan designs using Alcohol inks to go with the Scottish stamps that are one range I will be showcasing, so I'll give details of how these are done, as it's a useful technique.

Now I say this every time, but if you are coming to one of my demonstrations this weekend, please do bring an ATC to swap with me! Thanks again Sheila for the lovely Easter one that you sent me - it has pride of place in my album!

Well, time for a cup of Peach and Tangerine tea now and a relaxing evening before the mad few days ahead! Oh I have new dates added to the demonstration list too, so do check them out - I'll be in Chester-Le-Street, Carlisle and Blackpool.....not all on the same day though! Speak to you when I get back, Lindsay

Sunny days

Well it's been a lovely couple of days, although the weather only improved as I was leaving Llandudno, so I had a rather windswept walk along the prom on Thursday! The sea air was great though and I slept really well - I must recommend the guest house (it's called no9) that I stayed at, as it was something really special.....charming decor, spotless, full of character yet up to date with little extra touches that made it a cut above the average, like a DVD library, freshly prepared fruit salad (no tinned stuff!) and home baked bread at breakfast etc, and Mandy, the owner, is a lovely, friendly lady who made me feel right at home. If you are going to Llandudno I highly recommend it http://www.no9llandudno.co.uk/ .

I had a busy old day in Liverpool today - hello to all the ladies (and gentlemen) who came to see me and hope you can all remember what to do with your new pens! Now it's time for a relaxing evening and a little "unwinding". I shall post some pictures tomorrow.

Finally, if you have requested a list of my items for sale and not yet received it - please email me to let me know, as the first ones that I sent out may not have come through to you due to a glitch! I don't want to re send them to everyone, so do let me know if you still haven't got yours. Have a great Sunday everyone and I shall post some piccies tomorrow. Lindsay

Just email me if you'd like a list

Hi folks, well, I've finally started to make inroads into my sorting out - I think it was the stamp storage disaster that spurred me on! So, I've made my first list of items for sale and will add more items as I go along. If you'd like to take a look, just email me and I'll send you the list by return. I'm getting into the Spring Clearing now, so expect I will find lots of things I had forgotten about!

Am all set for my trip to Llandudno now - the last time I was there it was absolutely freezing and I nearly got blown away, so I'm hoping that it will be a bit warmer this time, though I reckon it will still be very windy. It'll be nice to see the sea again...I was born and brought up in Blackpool, and I do miss the coast. Hope to see some of you over the weekend and will post some photos next week. Lindsay

Workshops and a lovely award

Hello everyone, hope you all had a lovely break over Easter, and thank you for all your comments and emails - they are much appreciated, as was this lovely Blog award from Hazel..thank you Hazel! Time constraints at the moment mean that I am not going to pass it on to five specific blogs though...so, instead, I'd rather nominate all of you who read my ramblings and who have a blog yourself - hope that's okay, as I really enjoy reading all of them!

Well, workshops are the theme at the moment. Hello, first of all, to the ladies who were with me at Crafts U Love in Horley on Saturday. You all worked really hard and I hope that you managed to finish those boxes! The ladies made pop up cards, secret message cards, Owl and tree cards and they also made a start on some boxes - so we got rather a lot done! I really enjoyed spending time with you all and look forward to coming down there again in the not too distant future. My train journey home took forever, but I had a lovely surprise when I got in as David had done some clever swapping around, fixing and re-arranging to get my storage more organised for me after my drawer disaster (ooh er!) last week. What a star!

On Friday I will be in Craft Lland in Llandudno (clever use of wordplay eh?) and at Crafty Co Uk in Liverpool on Saturday, where I'll be demonstrating Sakura pens on both days. So do come along if you are in the area.

I will be at Dawn Bibby's studio on Sunday where I'll be teaching a workshop from 1pm - 4pm. The theme is Novelty Cards for Children and there are still a few places left if anyone is looking for a creative afternoon this weekend. Just call Topaz if you are interested in coming along. I will post picture of the cards next week.

As many of my colleagues are having clear outs of their craft rooms at the moment and selling items on Ebay, I thought I'd join in! However, being a bit wary of Ebay and such like, I thought I'd cut out the middle man and do it via my blog. So, I will be making a list of items that I'll have for sale and will let you know when it is ready then, if you'd like to take a look, just email me and I will email the list by return...I'll have to restrict this to UK only because of postage I'm afraid. Anyway, watch this space for the big clear out! There will be some bargains I'm sure!

Right, more samples to be made, so I had better sign off for now. Take care everyone, Lindsay

What a nightmare!

Hello everyone, what a nightmare start to my day I had! I was all set to get cracking on some projects that need to be done "yesterday" and the first job was to get out some stamps. I'd decided which ones to use last night and was already dreading the usual search amongst my, less than organised, collection! Apart from the boxes of stamps that are dotted about the place, my main collection is held in a three drawer unit that, admittedly, was not designed to hold hundreds of wooden blocks! There was I, rummaging through the layers, when the whole set of drawers completely collapsed!!! Yes, all three drawers gave up the ghost and all my stamps ended up in piles buried under each other and the remains of the drawers....wonderful! So my stamps are now sitting in the empty frame of the unit waiting for me to come up with a new storage solution...I think that some stackable trays are in order. I am now waiting for another crash, as the top of the, now drawerless unit, is weighed down with boxes of ink pads, peel offs, powders and a hundred other things. So long as the floor doesn't give way I wil cope, and, yes, I did eventually find the stamps that I was looking for!
I've taken some new photographs of the boxes, as promised, though they are still not as good as I'd like as it is rather dull here today. I'll be teaching these on two workshops at Dawn's Design Studio, one in June and the other in November. They aren't a new idea, and are a variation of the Exploding Boxes that many of us have made. But I had great fun making them, so I hope that you like them. The first one was made with papers from one of the latest K&Co ranges called Que Sera Sera (they are absolutely stunning by the way!) and I've used one of their adhesive borders around the lid. Inside the box are birds from my Swirly Birds clear stamps set which I've combined with the tiny flower from the "Count My Blessings" stamp set.
This picture shows the inside of another box and I used some of the alcohol inked metallic film and stamped butterflies onto it before cutting them out and adhering them onto acetate strips. I went a bit mad with the adhesive gems as you can see! No picture of the outside of this one as the image didn't come out very well.The last box is a little different as I had an idea to use the Owl stamp full sized on the outside whilst doing shrink plastic versions on the inside and I knew that I wanted to create a tree effect. After some thought I came up with the idea of a piece of black corrugated card which I cut into a wedge shape and then cut "twiggy" shapes into the diagonal edge. I rolled the card up with the tallest edge in the middle and stuck it into the bottom of the box - my must have product, Glossy Accents, came to the rescue for this job, as it stuck the spiral of card into place within a minute so that I wasn't forced to hold it for an age whilst it set! A little more Glossy Accents around the edges strengthened the bond and allowed me to add glitter for a slightly mystical look. The Owls were coloured with watered down Marvy Le Plume pens and I used a gold Just Glitter marker to add sparkle and a warm colour so that they look like Barn Owls when the light shines through them. I also coloured the beaks in gold to highlight them. I'll admit that I did make about twelve more shrinky owls before I was happy with the final three!!!

Apologies for the less than brilliant pictures, but I hope that they give an idea of what the boxes look like, and hope that they might inspire you to have a go. My friend Sarah has posted some photos of the weekend up at Oswaldtwistle Mills, so check out her blog (in my blog list) to see those...hooray, no pictures of me this time!!! Also check out MyTobyJug blog where Joanne has also posted some great pictures.

Well, I am going to have a cup of raspberry tea now and then back to those stamping projects! Lindsay

Quick update

Hello folks, this isn't going to be quite the interesting post that I'd hoped it would be, as I just uploaded my photos from the weekend and they are all blurry. I don't know if it was the lack of light or what, but they are a real disappointment. So, I am going to re-photograph the boxes tomorrow and will add the pictures then.

It was a great weekend and lovely to catch up with everyone and meet new people too. Hello to all my blogging friends who came and said hello....I am not going to mention you all by name in case I miss anyone out!!! (How diplomatic eh?!) No, there were lots of you and you know who you are - it was great to chat to you all. I hope everyone is having fun with the inks, metallic film, canvas, stamps and K&Co paraphernalia that seemed to keep jumping into your baskets!

It was also lovely to catch up with Leonie, Sarah and all the Topaz team who were at the Mill...we had a great time. Anyway, I shall say cheerio for now and will be back tomorrow with the box photos as promised. Lindsay

Quickie post!

Just signing in before the busy weekend ahead, which I'm really looking forward to. Hope some of you will be able to come along and do let me know who you are!I'm adding this picture which is a very simple card that features butterflies stamped onto the alcohol inked metallic film which I featured in an earlier post. I punched some tiny butterflies from the same sheet to use every scrap. The photo doesn't do justice to the lovely iridescent sheen on the wings that this technique gives. I used Ranger Archival black ink to stamp the images and the stamp is Butterfly no 2 by Personal Impressions (P547E).....a really useful little stamp.

I've been making some decorative fold out boxes which I'll post pictures of after the weekend. I'm really pleased how they've turned out - they aren't a new idea, but I haven't made any for a while so it's been fun to do them again.

Well, I'm going to make some toast now for a late breakfast and then get my kit sorted out and packed up for the weekend before typing up some project instructions for something that I'm working on. So, hope to see you in Oswaldtwistle tomorrow or Sunday (it's 11am - 4pm on both days) but, if not, call back here next week to see photos of what you missed! Have a good weekend everyone. Lindsay