Goodbye 2011

Hello all. With just about 45 minutes left of 2011 I must say that we will be very glad to say goodbye to what has been a year that's been memorable for all the wrong reasons. I hope that some of you have had a happier one, though most people we know seem to have also had a bad year one way or another.
So, time to dust off the sadnesses, difficulties and annoyances and usher in a fresh start that we can only hope will bring better things for us all. We'll be starting 2012 by going outside to view the fireworks (not ours!) and raising a small glass. I have always disliked New Year and usually find it rather depressing, but am looking forward to this one.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas - ours was quite strange with all the recent events and changes, but we had a lovely quiet time.
With all the recent sadness I did forget to tell you that there was a happy moment when we were moving....thanks to some positive thoughts sent my way, and despite my having previously searched in the exact same place, my Art Journal reappeared much to my absolute delight and relief! I will certainly have plenty to add to it now.
You'll have seen that we have knocked the Rant Blog on the head. I had so much to have a good moan about, but just never seemed to have time to sit and type it all out. Oh well, please feel free to have a grumble on here anyway if the urge strikes you!
Okay then, about half an hour before the clock strikes twelve, so I will sign off with good wishes to you all from both of us.

bowing out

Hi folks, just to let you know that the Lindsay's Rant blog is cancelled, due to ( of course ) no response.
It appears that everyone is trouble free and is immune from the everyday pressures that life throws at the rest of us !!! Best wishes David

PS from Lindsay.......and I'm the biggest culprit, with plenty to rant about but no effort to do so!!! Thanks Joanne, for your witty, and hopefully correct comment! Lindsay x

God Bless us every one

I'd like to say a big thank you for all the cards, comments, emails and calls since dad died - they were much appreciated. I'm sorry it's taken me a long time to post this, but, David and I have moved home and have only just got Broadband up and running.

Today would have been dad's birthday and the lead up to his favourite day of the year - Christmas day itself. Here's a picture of dad last year that shows just how much like a big kid he always was on Christmas morning. Heather and I took some flowers to dad's resting place outside the beautiful village Church today and we'll be thinking of him tomorrow. With everything that's happened I'm afraid that I just haven't had the chance, or spirit, to send Christmas cards this year, so apologies for that. I have received some lovely ones though and a wonderful one from our friend Joanne as well as this beautiful hanging ornament that she made with my favourite colours in mind - Heather got one too and you can see a picture on her blog. Here's a snap of Tara, mum and dad's cat, guarding the tree. We are her new mum and dad, though she and Thomas are not getting along very well....should I say Tara really, as she is very grumpy indeed! This post is something of a jumble but I did want to share a, not very good, picture of the roosting Starlings that have been flying in fascinating formation right over the house. Hard to take a decent shot of them, but there were thousands and the noise of their wings was astonishing. I feel very fortunate to have one of nature's great spectacles right on our doorstep. Well, this was just a quick sign in to show our appreciation for everyone's kind messages. I'll be having a new email address soon, so will post that on the blog of course. I'll also be posting new demonstration details for next year, so look out for those.
Meanwhile, we'd like to wish everyone a very happy, peaceful and contented Christmas and the hope that we all have a better year in 2012.

Thank you

Lindsay would like to thank everyone for their kind and thoughtful wishes at this most difficult time. David

Message from David

Just to inform you that the listed demonstration in Doncaster and all workshops have been cancelled due to the sudden death of Lindsay and Heather's father this weekend. David

The day today

Evenin' all.....said in my best Jack Warner voice! It's been a busy old week again but, for once, I am at home tomorrow as opposed to trotting about the country with my faithful case in tow. It's an unusual occurrence but I shan't be lounging around as I've got a final push to finish new designs along with prepping samples for two workshops and a demonstration for next week. Still, it will be nice to be at home.
Today I was teaching a full day of workshops at Crafts 4 U 2 Do where the ladies were very busy making cards, a tag and a Christmas shadow box. This is a (not great) picture of the morning session - though the central card did spill over into the afternoon slightly!
The first card of the day was the bird one on the left. Everyone's looked slightly different with their own colour choices. We used Kraft Resist paper, Distress inks, Tissue Tape and Darkroom Door "Love Birds" stamp set. The circle in the corner is a Muse token (coloured with alcohol inks) which is encapsulated in one of the plastic bubbles that are part of their packaging.
The central card features Distress Stained Kraft Resist Christmas paper and an ATC collage stamp from Tim Holtz. The red rose is just a handcut spiral of card rolled up and twinkled with a few dabs of Ice Stickles.The tag was great fun, with Snowcap alcohol ink swept across a foil covered and embossed tag. Other colours were added and then we used Blending Solution to remove ink from the raised snowflakes. The white edging was done using the Picket Fence Distress Stain...brilliant product and I love the way it stayed on the metal surface with no problem. The image is from the Dear Santa Darkroom Door set of stamps.
Here are Carol, Marie and Janet working on their tags....don't think they even noticed me taking the picture as they were so engrossed! In the afternoon the ladies were kept busy making the shadow box. Here's my sample one.... ....I pre cut the house shapes from mount card, along with seperate roof pieces and used the new Tim Holtz Tissue wrap to cover the main shape. Everyone loved using the tissue - it has a unique feel to it and it's really easy to work with....rather like non sticky Tissue Tape but bigger! Once stuck down decorated matchbox trays were attached to the back with another piece of mountboard to keep everything together and to attach a ribbon hanger to. Snowtex is the finishing touch for that really Christmassy feel. Everyone really loved making the shadow box and everyone also said that they wouldn't be giving them away as a gift! Lol!
Last Sunday's workshops were a mixture of cute and not cute! One card that everyone took home part finished was this explosive snowman pop up (I mean explosive pop up, not exploding snowmen!). My sample card was deliberately over the top to show just how much can be added to one of these tiered pop ups. It's a really fun card to make and one that I've taught several times over the years as it's such a great one to make for children or the young at heart. The other card last weekend was a "secret message" card and you can see the delight when anyone makes this and finds that it actually works! Nobody seems to be able to explain how these cards work, but it's enough that they do! This was the inside of my sample.... ......and here is the "secret" area that it opened into. I kept the card simply decorated but, today, Frances brought her finished card back to show me and wow....it looked incredible! This is the joy of teaching workshops - it's not exactly about what you go home with on the day, rather it's about ideas and inspiration to take it a step further. The above shows the opened front of Frances' card and here is the inside...... .....even wowier! The only downside was that Frances added so much to her card that the secret part doesn't work now as the panels are stuck together! Not that it matters with such a wonderful piece of art. Everyone was thoroughly impressed!
I am going to be teaching an extra workshop at Crafts 4 U 2 Do on Thursday, from 1.30pm - 3.30pm. There is one place available, so if you fancy joining us, please contact the shop on 01774 611940 to book. I'll then be at Karacter Krafts in Doncaster, to demonstrate new MS punches, stamps and inks.
Whew! Right, time for a last cuppa and then a shower and bedtime. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and I'll be back next week to share more.

Just touching base

Hello folks. Just a fairly quick post tonight. Thank you for the many suggestions, crossed fingers and, even, mantras that I have received to help me find my Journal. Sadly, it has not materialised and I can only think that my worst fears were right, and it was in one of the boxes that got stolen. The fact that I have so little time to create pages makes the loss much worse. Still, in the scheme of things, it isn't life or death, so I won't dwell on it. As Heather suggested, the best I can do is to try to print out the photos I took of some of my pages to journal page size and paste them into a new book. Not the same, but better than nothing.
I have to say a big thank you to my friend Joanne who sent me a very much appreciated envelope that contained swatches of Distress and Alcohol inks as well as labels for my Distress ink pads.....I have been putting off labelling them for so long, but now I have no excuse! Thank you Joanne, you're a treasure. You may have seen Joanne's scary Halloween cat on her blog recently and I'm very happy to say that it was given to me recently...looks even better in real life! Talking of cats, Thomas has been "helping" again today as I prepped things for Saturday's workshops. If it had been a Monday I could have linked these pics to Joanne's Crafting Buddies blog, but pop over there anyway if you get chance.
As per usual, Thomas gave my efforts a good check over, made sure all the lines were straight, everything glued down properly.... ...and then decided that he could do much better. Check out that disdainful expression (and the lopsided mouth!)! For those of you who are joining me on Saturday's workshops, you can see a sneaky peek of what we're doing in the afternoon....I'll post pictures of the finished items next week. Meanwhile, here are just a couple of snaps of some recent demonstration samples. This one features my Script Robin stamp (wooden) which I inked with Distress inks, spritzed with water and stamped onto white card before cutting out. The papers and embellishments are from the lovely MME Lost & Found Christmas range which I have found so easy to work with. I had to add a tissue paper frill! This tag features the same paper range, The Philosophy tag has been drizzled with a teeny drop of Snowcap alcohol ink which I then rubbed off to highlight the word and numbers. If you get the chance to buy the Snowcap ink - do! It's excellent and completely changes the look of all the other colours. I used Rock Candy crackle paint on the numbers, which were cut from the Lost & Found Tim Holtz paper stash. Well, I said this was a quick post, and it is! So I will sign off and return next week with more photos to share.

A mixed week

Hello all, especially to the ladies and gents that I met in Crewe and Fleetwood over the weekend. I did take my camera, but complete forgot to take photos as I was rather busy! Still, here's one picture of a tag which I made for a good friend of ours and which has now been received so I can show it! I used some Ice Stickles in Gold Ice, to edge the tissue tape flower and frill though you can't really see it here...shame as it is a really pretty, almost vintage looking shade. On the good side of the "mixed week" of my title, I received a small package today which contained the three Autumn (Fall) limited edition Distress ink pads, and, especially as one of them is a purple shade (Seedless Preserve) I am looking forward to using them!
As this has been a mixed week, you may gather that all has not gone smoothly, and I am feeling really sick at the moment. I have been too busy to work on my current Art Journal recently but, as I am working on new stamp designs for next Spring, I decided, on Monday, to have a look through it to get a little inspiration for some of the quirkier things I have in mind. That was when the bad part of the week started.....I cannot find my journal anywhere. I have an awful, sinking feeling that it has gone forever, as I just cannot recall when I last had it with me when I was out and about. I've been taxing my brain to visualise where it could be, all to no avail and I have looked in every bag, box and on every shelf that I can think of. We had some things stolen from the cellar a few weeks ago and I am beginning to think that it must have been in one of the boxes that was taken, either that or I have left it behind somewhere. My last hope is that David moved some of my things to make more room for me and that the journal is somewhere hidden, but neither of us can find it. You may imagine how upset I feel about this, so please send me some "finding lost things" vibrations in the hope that it will emerge from somewhere!
I don't want to dwell on miserable things though, so just a reminder that I'll be in St Helens this coming Saturday, at Crafts 4 U 2 Do and then will be back there on Sunday to teach two workshops. Both classes are the same and we'll be making cards "that surprise and delight". There are a few places still available, so, just send me an email or contact the shop directly if you fancy coming along.

What I'm up to this weekend

Another rather late post I'm afraid, as I am working my way through a long list of things to do and it seems as soon as I strike though one job, another two are added. I do feel as though I am treading water rather than getting to the other side of the pool as it were. Still, like the frog who was drowning in a jug of milk until he realised that all his kicking had churned it into solid cheese and he could simply hop out, one just has to keep going! So, if you are still awaiting a reply to an email, please bear with me and I will get back to you soon.
One thing that appeared on my list this week was a two day date at the new Hobbycraft store in Crewe (at the Grand Junction Retail Park). So, I'll be there tomorrow from 9.30am and Saturday from 9am. I have a mixture of Ranger and Martha Stewart products to show techniques with, as well as stamps of course. Then, on Sunday, I'll be at Crafty Company in Fleetwood. I have some new Martha Stewart Quilling punches which I'll be using, as well as Best Creations papers and stamps from myslef, Andy Skinner and the Gorjuss range. The quilling punches are great for creating large dimensional flowers - I'll take photos over the weekend to share next week.
Last weekend was a hetic one too, and Saturday at Grovenor House Papers in Kendal sped by as it was such a busy day. There were lots of demonstrations by Janet's staff and various guests and it was great to see everyone enjoying themselves. The shop is in a lovely setting, overlooking fields of sheep, though I think we were all too busy to enjoy the views! Great to see so many familiar faces there. On Sunday I went over to H G Arts & Crafts in Poynton for another busy day...hello to all the ladies and gents (yes...men came to this one!) welcome to my blog.
Remember to alter your clocks and watches on Saturday night...they spring forward and fall back, so, by my reckoning, that gives us all an extra hour's sleep this weekend! Lovely.
Well, I have a few more things to add to my travel bag, a final cup of coffee, a refreshing shower and then a good night's sleep before an early start tomorrow. Hope to see some of you over the weekend and hope everyone enjoys that extra hour of sleep!

My funny Friday!

Hello all, back as promised with a few pictures and to hopefully give you a bit of a laugh with my funny Friday story, which started after I checked into my room in Chester-Le-Street. This was a "superior" room in the pub/hotel that I usually stay at when I'm in the area. It's cheap and cheerful, if a bit (well, quite a lot) noisy up to about midnight. However, this room had a whirlpool bath, a four poster bed (without the scary drapes!) and an extra large TV as well as a sofa.
Never having been in a whirpool bath I had no idea how to use it, but one of the staff told me what buttons to press and advised me not to add too much bubble bath. As there were no toiletries in the bathroom I brought some back with me after my usual few hours walking round the shops stretching my legs. I was going to call David but found my phone had switched itself off for some reason. However, it came back on okay and I rang to say "hello" before filling the bath. I added a tiny drop of the bubble bath and then got in and pressed the button to start the whirlpool effects. I then realised that the flat disc beside the button was to set the force of the jets, so I cranked it up and was all set to enjoy the relaxing massage. However, despite the teeniest amount of bubble bath, I watched in amazement as, within a few seconds, the soapy suds began to rise alarmingly! Within moments I could just about see over the top of the bubbles which had now become the consistency of meringue - I felt as if I was inside a Baked Alaska!
Needless to say, I had to switch off, empty the bath and then spend about ten minutes or so showering the suds away before refilling the bath with plain water. It was very funny and I wished I had had my camera as I could easily have taken a picture without showing any naughty bits! The massage was lovely and I was all set for a relaxing night. I set my alarm for 8.15 - almost a lie in!
Unfortunately the bar had "music" thumping out which was directly below my room, so I just turned up the telly and tried to ignore the noise. I eventually got into the big bed which had heavy, carved wooden posts at each corner and was quite high up from the floor. I soon drifted off but woke shortly after to nip to the bathroom whereupon I cracked my head on one of the posts and nearly knocked myself out - as David said, good thing it was my head!
Back into bed and I was out like a light and looking forward to a good sleep. Next thing, I heard my phone alarm going and could tell it had been going for a while whereas I normally wake as soon as the alarm tune starts. I felt really groggy, (unlike me) flicked the lights on and stumbled into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, had a wash and then put the kettle on, putting my fruit tea bag into a mug. I started to get dressed but felt so unusually tired that I sat on the bed while the kettle boiled. It seemed a bit dark and I checked my phone which showed about 8.25am now, so I put the BBC news on and carried on getting ready. My eyes still felt sleepy and I was looking at the TV and the time and trying to figure out what the first digit was......and, you guessed it, it was a three!
Yep, I had got up at 3.15 and spent fifteen minutes getting ready before the penny dropped! When my phone had switched itself off it had then gone to the default time and I hadn't realised. After a mixture of annoyance and relief that it was still a good few hours before I really needed to be up, I got back into bed but it took ages to drift off again. Then, to cap it all, at around six fifteen the darned street cleaning machine came down the main road and that was it, I was wide awake again!
What a night. Needless to say, I didn't exactly feel at my best on Saturday! Thankfully, the bed at the hotel on Saturday night (in Scunthorpe) was the most comfortable I have ever slept in and I made up for the previous night with a really marvellous sleep. Oh the joys of travel!
Anyway, here are just a few pictures of some of the samples I have been making for the coming weekend's demonstrations in Kendal and Poynton. Here are a couple of different cards featuring my cheeky elf stamps... ..."Merry" Christmas seemed very appropriate for this little chap!
Next up is one of the Gorjuss stamps. This character makes me laugh as he looks as if he is melting away beneath his scarf! I coloured him with Promarkers and added pencil scribbles to give him a texture. I've used the Donna Salazar die cut alphabet again for the word. Everything has been Distress inked or Stained to give a more grungy look to this card. Next up is a card that features a combination of stamps by Andy Skinner and myself. I created an alcohol inked background that I spritzed with Stazon spray cleaner. I then stamped Andy's fir tree (from his Winter's Tale set) several times, masking off the base to achieve the varying sizes...this stamp is brilliant for this effect. Some torn card made the snow and I then added the Postbox from my Christmas Post stamp set. I made a couple of "envelopes" to pop into the post box and added the greeting from my Silent Night set. To finish the scene I swooshed some watered down Faded Jeans Distress ink for shadows and highlighted the trees with Liquid Pearls. The last featured card is made using my Build a Snowy Scene stamps to create the focal image. I then cut out the postcards from Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium paper (Believe) and layered everything up. A few extra details were cut from the paper and added and then I simply scribbled the red lines around the card to frame everything. A proper Victorian card! Finally, for feline fans out there, I thought you might like to see our little (quite big actually!) charmer, Thomas, in his current favourite spot on the box seat where he can keep an eye on me working whilst he's lounging on his favourite blankie - thank you Joanne! I love the way the sunlight has just caught his white fur and whiskers. He's really got a lot softer in the last month and has finally stopped nipping and scratching...he's just giving my finger a gentle suck here!!! Aaaah, what a sweetie pie!
Well, must go as dinner is almost ready and I need to tidy up a bit before I relax for the evening.

Interim post!

Hello folks, this is another quick post, an interim one before a more interesting one tomorrow, as my camera is dead and I have just got some fresh batteries...bit dark to take piccies now though!

I'll post some pictures tomorrow as well as tell you about my comical Friday night at the hotel in Chester-Le-Street!

However, I did want to pop on here, just to say that, if you haven't already seen it, do go along to Andy Skinner's blog where he is auctioning off two of his wonderful art pieces in aid of Children in Need. The auction ends at midnight tonight (18th October) so there is still time to bid for either the Time Machine or the Gothic style bottle...both are really stunning.

Okay, I'll be back tomorrow!

Packed and ready

The bags are all packed and ready to go again...where did this week vanish to? I'm sure that I am losing at least one day in every seven!
I've been prepping a few things today, ready for my demonstrations in Washington (Tyne & Wear) and Scunthorpe, including die cutting some letters ready for adding to tags and cards. I've packed all the inks, the stamps, punches, Lost & Found papers and post it notes, so I'm all set. Not too early a start tomorrow either, for a change!
Anyway, this post is a real quickie, and only because I said I would post again before I went away. So, have a great weekend everyone and make the most of the remaining glimmers of warm...ish weather!

October is here!

Hello everyone...suddenly it feels like October usually feels! It's gloomy and been pouring with rain solidly here for the last two days and Thomas has hardly even ventured outside at all. He has a bladder made of iron!
Welcome to all the new readers and followers from down Essex way - and elsewhere. I had a really good weekend in Wickford and Billericay and met up with both familiar and new faces, and there was a lot of fun along the way. Not that you can see much sign of it here, as everyone, including me, was concentrating hard! This was on Saturday at In 2 Crafting in Wickford, where John was taking photos throughout the day for their blog at in2crafting.blogspot.com if you'd like to see more of the piccies (and spot if you're on any of them!). On Sunday I was at Pinnacle Crafts in Billericay - no photos of the day I'm afraid as I was loaded up and didn't take my camera away with me. Here are some of the things that I made over the weekend though....a couple of simple tags using alcohol inks over PI coated gloss card to create the tartan effects and using Gorjuss toppers for simple main images. I used letters from the Donna Salazar Spellbinders alphabet dies for the JOY message, whereas the SNOW uses Grungeboard letters, inked and then topped with Liquid Pearls. I do enjoy making tags at this time of year as they can be quick and simple, or more ornate and it's also a great way of using little offcuts of papers, ribbon etc. I'll have more tags to show you next week as I'm planning to make quite a few on this coming weekend's demonstrations. This card is another one featuring Gorjuss images - these are from the clear set "Snowman" GJCSA6008 - and I couldn't resist popping the extra Robin onto the snowman's carrot nose! The words are from my Silent Night clear stamp set, which has a selection of Christmas greetings to suit most card styles. I used Ranger Core-dinations cardstock for the background...love that colour! This little card was just to show the Palm trees from my Nativity stamp set being used for a non Christmas theme. I used my Stazon spray cleaner technique over an alcohol ink monoprint to create the background (I used Pool and Clover ink colours) and then stamped the trees before colouring the bottom of the panel with black ink and adding some upward black strokes for the grassy effects. I put a few drops of Sailboat Blue alcohol ink onto my craft sheet, and used a paintbrush to sweep the blue across the panel to represent the ocean. I drew the boat with a black pen - if you have a stamps of a boat, or other suitable silhouette, you could use that of course. I then used a white pen to add a few highlights and a fine black pen to draw some simple birds. My final card to share today is made using my Build a Snowy Scene and Christmas Post stamp sets. Some masking and Distress inks were all it took to create a traditional Christmassy scene...the foreground trees are a little small for accurate perspective to be honest, but....I don't mind...I just like the overall appearance! So, I had a really good weekend and no travel problems either, although my train to London was about ten minutes late due to....idiots stealing cables again. This has been happening more often as people are after the copper apparently, and it is creating havoc for the railways....and passengers of course.
I shall be on my travels again this coming weekend, with demos at Dainty Supplies in Washington, Tyne and Wear on Saturday, and at Stephen H Smith's garden centre in Scunthorpe on Sunday. Hope to see some of you there, but I'll be posting again before the weekend. Meanwhile, keep warm and dry everyone!

Crafts Beautiful

Two posts in one day...I'm making up for lost time! I just thought I'd share these pictures of some new projects that I did for the November issue of Crafts Beautiful magazine using the beautiful My Minds Eye Lost & Found Christmas collection. The papers are a really lovely mix of quite vintage images and colours but with a modern twist and a good lashing of glitter! I also used the matching brads and dimensional stickers as well as my Christmas Collage stamp for the card's focal image.

I have to thank my big sis, Heather, for suggesting I make a Bunting decoration! I really liked the way this turned out and I was especially pleased that I was able to use the MS Holly border to punch around the triangular shape. Certain of the punches will allow you to be a little more experimental and daring with how you use them. So long as you hold the punch upside down then you can check that you aren't cutting through an area you've already punched - I also found it easier to start at the point at the bottom as this one is harder to punch around otherwise. I have found (by accident!) that I can also use this particular PATP set to punch around squares and rectangles that aren't the standard size, simply because the holly leaves are a fairly random pattern. It's also just a really lovely design that I like using! The Triptych is made from a base of mount board and is really simple to make. Embossing all the edges with gold powder takes extra time, but is worth it for the extra neatness and stability that it adds. Patterns are included in the magazine of course, and you could enlarge or reduce this...I quite fancy making some Triptych ATC's. Hope you like them. If you want any more details about Crafts Beautiful, just check out the link in my sidebar. I've had a nice day colouring in, so I have a little stack of images now, all ready to add to my backgrounds and cards this weekend. Hope to see you in Essex!

Quiz winner!

Hello all, and firstly, many thanks for your get well wishes - much appreciated. I think I caught a bug from one of my many brushes with "Joe public" on the trains! David said I was more susceptible as I was tired and it was my body saying "you need a rest!". Many apologies to the ladies who were booked onto my workshop on Wednesday...I can't remember when I last had to cancel something! Hopefully, you will all be able to come to one of the future classes.
I feel tons better now and am going to have a day of colouring some stamped images to use on my demonstration days this weekend in Essex. I'll be at In 2 Crafting in Wickford on Saturday, and I'll be using Distress inks, stamps, punches etc. On Sunday I'll be at Pinnacle Crafts in Billericay, where I'll be focussing on Alcohol inks, Adiroindack inks and stamping ideas. Hope to see some of you on one or other of the days.
Now to the quiz....well, what a tricky one this proved to be!!! The main bug bear has been questions 1, as people have interpreted the definitions of what is edible in very different ways! Question 19 also threw up an alternative answer that I hadn't foreseen! So...I have been a bit flexible about those. Taking this into account, the two top quizzers were Carole and Joanne W, so we had to draw a winner. I thought it would be fun to get Thomas to pick the winning name, and, as you can see, he closed his eyes to be completely fair! But then, being an awkward pusscat, he decided to jump down onto the floor so I had to place the mat with the papers down there. He was very decisive though, and he was certain he wanted the one on his right! And, as you can see, he was keen to see who he had picked! So....well done Joanne, please email me your address so that I can get your prize out to you. Well done to Carole too, who was the quickest off the mark with her answers - Thomas says "mmmrr, mmmeowww, mmmrrow"....I think that means, "sorry"! Thank you to all of you who entered, and hope you enjoyed the brain excercise. I'll get working on another quiz soon, so watch this space.
Okay, I'll pop the answers on the original quiz post further down.....no groaning at the answers now!

Message from David

Lindsay is not too well and has asked me to say that she will post the quiz results and winner in the next couple of days. Unfortunately she has also had to cancel tomorrow's (wednesday) workshop in St Helens.
It's nothing serious, just a "lurgey", probably caught from one of her many train journeys!

Just check back over the next two days to see the quiz results. David

Brainboxes!

Hello folks, and what brainboxes some of you are! yes, the quiz answers are flooding in...I've even had an entry from as far afield as New Zealand, but, if you haven't had a go yet, there's still time to enter. Just email me with your answers by early next week...you have to be in it to win it as they say!
I'm sorry that I've been somewhat absent for the last week, but it was a mixture of no photos to share and being quietly busying myself with an assortment of things. Last Thursday I was teaching at Crafts 4 U 2 Do and in the morning the ladies made an array of tags. Here is one that we ran out of time to make! This one features Darkroom Door stamps, Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium papers (which Personal Impressions are now stocking - yippee!) Tissue Tape and a Christmas Muse token by TH. I do like the tissue tape as ribbon effect. In the afternoon we used Darkroom Door stamps to make cards and this one was David's favourite of the samples I made. The lovely paper is Christmas Emporium "Believe!" which has postcard sized retro images on the front and this beautiful blue paper on the reverse. I used Faded Jeans to ink the postage stamp and then, once I'd applied it to the paper, lightly misted it with water for that slightly blurred effect. On Saturday I was at Crabapple Crafts who were celebrating their twelfth birthday. Rosemary and Debbie were also demonstrating as well as Woodware and even Nigel got in on the act. Hello to everyone who came along and glad you enjoyed the day.
Sunday was also a busy day as I was at the Craft Shop in Congleton where a group of very keen ladies spent most of the day with me as I got very messy indeed with various inks and stamps. There were lots of homemade cakes and the kettle seemed to be on all day...I did indulge in one piece of delicious lemon cake which was my lunch as the ladies chained me to the table all day! (not really of course!)
I have added an email subscription to the sidebar near the top - if you'd like to get my posts sent to you via email (!) just add your email details and follow the simple instructions. Hopefully it will work...I'm never too sure if I have done things correctly or not!
Crafts Beautiful's current issue features a set of cards and decoration that I made using Nitwit papers and toppers - along with some inks of course! Here are a couple of pictures featuring the stocking.... ....and one of the cards - though you can see the second card in the background. The magazine includes the template for the stocking and full instructions of course. So, not a very long post tonight really! I am just about to go and call Thomas for his dinner as he has been out enjoying the weather all day. It's been incredibly warm here and, at 7.15pm in late September, we have the windows open and the fan on - and it still feels hot! Bonkers! david cooked a really delicious chicken, stuffing and baked potatoes last night, so we are going to have the same again now...he hasn't cooked a roast for a while but it was worth waiting for!
I am off up to Lancaster on Saturday for my demonstration at Card Craft and from there I travel over to Hull for Sunday's demo at crafty Creations in Cottingham. Hope to see some friendly and familar faces at Lancaster and some new ones on Sunday! Finally, a warm welcome to new followers of my blog.

Craft Quiz number 3!

At long last, here is Craft Quiz number 3! Twenty more questions and riddles to get your brain cells ticking over. I've tried to make them a mix of straightforward ones and some tricksier ones for those of you who like more of a challenge.

As previously, whoever gets the most answers right will be the winner, but, in the case of a draw, David will, with the help of Thomas, draw a winning name. Please email your answers to me at the usual address of ljm.design@ntlworld.com by midnight of Monday 3rd October. I will announce the winner on Tuesday 4th, so do remember to check back and see if you are the brain of Britain (craft wise!). If you are struggling with any of the questions, do bear in mind that all the answers can be found somewhere within the Personal Impressions website - see my left sidebar for the link. Any blog links to my quiz will be greatly appreciated!
The prizes - kindly donated by Personal Impressions, are a 12" x 12" speciality paper pad from the K & Co Handmade collection, a set of my "Wonder Filled Day" clear stamps, a Tim Holtz Idealogy Mini Mask, and one of my fairy silhouette cards. So, good luck everyone!!! (PS question one is from a suggestion by the winner of quiz number one!)

1. How many Distress ink pad colours have a reference to something you could eat or drink? NB this does NOT include the three new limited edition seasonal colours. Do think hard about this one as some are not obvious!!! 9 - my colours were: Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Walnut Stain, Tea Dye, Bundled Sage, Crushed Olive, Spun Sugar, Wild Honey and Dusty Concorde (Concorde is grape variety used in wine making) - however, I was flexible on this question, as some of you included things like Lavender and Scattered Straw.

2. Which of my new clear stamp sets might you expect to arrive though your door sometime in late December? Christmas Post

3. Which character range is Suzanne Woolcott the designer of? Gorjuss

4. Which K & Co collection sounds as though it would be at home in the Natural History museum? Flora and Fauna

5. What is the name of the well known Australian photographer and stamp designer? Rachel Greig

6. A sauna for a member of the Sex Pistols might describe this very "on trend" crafting style? Steampunk (ouch!)

7. Which new teeny stamps from Personal Impressions come in twenty designs? Tinchies

8. Which of my clear stamp sets contains a Palm trees design? Nativity - Unto us a Child is Born

9. A spooky paper stash from Tim Holtz - but what is it called? Kraft Resist Halloween Haunts

10. Which Andy Skinner stamp set might have proved especially popular with Elvis the Pelvis? Viva Las Vegas

11. Which Alcohol ink colour is, very appropriately, named after a cocktail? Peach Bellini

12. Despite the name, don't use this Martha Stewart tool on your hair!!! Fringe Scissors

13. This paper from Graphic 45 will appeal to fans of sparkly red shoes. The Magic of Oz

14. Who is the man who dressed Hollywood and was the inspiration for a range of stamps, toppers and decoupage? Travilla

15. Both the black and the white are raised and glossy - what is in these two little bottles? Enamel Accents

16. This Tim Holtz stamp set sounds like a smaller version of Devon's famous rock band! Mini Muse (ouch again!)

17. These Spellbinder dies by Donna Salazar sound like lively cogs and gears! Sprightly Sprockets

18. How many of the Dew Drop Brilliance ink pads are named after plants? NB Coffee Bean not included! 8 - Sunflower Yellow, Rocket Red, Pearl Orchid, Pearl Lavender, Pearl Olive, Pearl Poppy, Pearl Ivy, Thyme, (I would also have accepted 9 as there is also a Rocket Red Gold)

19. Which Crafter's Workshop Template could have been named after a British sitcom shown in the 1980's/90/s? Birds of a Feather, though I also accepted Butterflies which I hadn't thought of!!!

20. This My Minds Eye collection might be popular with Mary - twice over! Quite Contrary


Well, there you have it! Best of luck and email your answers to me to be in with a chance of winning the prize and, more importantly, being crowned as Quiz 3 know it all!!!

Sunday at home....mmmm....bliss!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I am just enjoying a quiet day at home after all the hustle and bustle of the last week. Not sure how many miles I have travelled over the last few days, but it was enough! I feel as if I've hardly seen David at all!

So here are some pictures from my trip to A Maze of Memories in Long Crendon, near Thame, owned by the lovely Christina, who picked me up from the station, took my heavy craft case off me (bliss!) and then dropped me in Thame so I could have a wander before checking into my hotel. Normally Thame is a peaceful little town, full of old buildings, characterful shops and tea rooms. However, this is how the town looked on Friday as the annual fair had been erected down the length of the main road..... .....the colours of the stands really looked vibrant against the beautiful sunny sky and the usually sedate streets. There was a lot of screaming too from the people who had ventured onto some of the more adventurous rides! I was quite glad that my hotel was just out of the town centre!
After a good night's sleep it was time to get ready for the demonstration and make n takes and time, too, to meet up with some familiar people....was it really six months since I was lat there? Apparently so, much to all our disbelief - where is this year going? Here are some of the ladies having a little look at some of my cards. And some piccies of the ladies working away on their Nativity cards, using alcohol inks...........stamps and Distress ink pads. Looking good..... ....... watch your fingers there! And here's Diane who used my favourite colour combination of purple, pink and blue! It was great to see you all again ladies, and you all make me feel so welcome. I will be sorting out another visit with Christina, so will keep you posted about when I'll be back. Thank you for all the cuppas, cold drinks, lunch and offers of the handmade cakes...I was very good, but did bring two slices home with me to share with David!
I have finally sorted out all the questions for my craft quiz number 3, so will be posting this shortly. I know that some of you found quiz 1 too hard, whilst others found quiz 2 too easy, so I have mixed up the type of questions for number three and there are a real mix of straightforward ones and some more tricksy, cryptic ones! So, do call back soon and have a go.

Hello, goodbye!

A quick "hello, goodbye" (especially to new followers and readers) as I got back late last night from Whitley Bay and am now all packed up and ready for my trip down to Thame tomorrow. I didn't take a picture last time I was there, but these are the three wonderful mosaics that greet one at the Metro station...a small station, elevated by this glorious artwork...isn't it great? Once I ventured from the relative comfort of the station, boy, was it windy! I dropped by case off at Papercuts, checked into my room and then went for my walk along the beach. I was almost knocked off my feet several times (and that takes some doing!) and, have to admit that I decided against the paddle! Mainly because I thought I might fall over and get a soaking. However, the gulls were happily bobbing about and showing off their gliding skills. After a good few hours walk I returned to the hotel, had a meal and retired to my room....where I realised that the radiators were not working and the windows had no handles with which to close them. As the "hurricane" hit the area that night, I had one of the coldest nights I can recall. I woke up feeling stiff and covered with goose bumps....bbbrrrrr!

My day at Papercuts was very busy and I met a lovely crowd of people. Here's one card that I made on the day using a mix of MS snowflake punch, Distress inks, Coredinations card and a decoupage Gorjuss topper. The snowflakes look a tadge odd here, as the card is partly open so you can't see the overlay properly. Here's a card that was one of the ones I taught on Sunday's workshop. All done with Distress inks and water with a few details added with Marvy Le Plume pens. The PIP300CWH white card is one of the secrets for creating these really full on bleached out effects. Next is the Triptych piece that was the afternoon class on Sunday. The outside..... ....... and the inside. We used Andy Skinner's stamps to make collaged paper for the interior. Here, by special request yesterday, is another card made with my Build a Snowy Scene stamp set. I made this one at Papercuts and several of the ladies asked me to pop it on here to remind them....hope you are all having a go with your new stamps! So, just a few examples of what I've been up to and I'll hope to have new pics to share with you next week when I return from A Maze of Memories in Long Crendon, near Thame. I know it will be a lovely day on Saturday, as Christina always looks after me very well and I get to see familiar, as well as new faces. Looking forward to seeing you all!
Okay, well, have a really good weekend everyone.