Happy Christmas everyone

It has certainly been a very picturesque few days around here...hope everyone has been able to enjoy the weather with not too many problems. As you can see from the picture of the trees outside our window we had quite a snowfall overnight and even the normally mundane, suburban street views turned into a fairy tale landscape. I spent this morning doing some shopping and then had an afternoon of gift wrapping...if you are anything like me then you'll relate to the fact that the first batch of gifts look a lot more elegant and fancy than the latter ones! I start on them with all of the shimmery ribbons, bows and curls but before long I have abandoned all the frilly twilly business and am simply wrapping things in paper!

Well, I had a fun weekend up in Accrington. I was combining demonstrating with helping to make samples for the craft day hours on QVC on the 27th. Everyone who came along was in festive mood which made for a very enjoyable time on Saturday. That evening was Dawn's Christmas party and here are a few pictures form the evening... Amy (with her lovely cousin Christian) looking elegant except for her frog slippers! The dining room table laid out with cup cakes, chocolate reindeers and gingerbread houses...and here is Jacquie giving her rendition of a craft themed version of Victoria Woods's "I can't do it" which was hilarious and very clever. It was a lovely evening. The following day was much snowier but that didn't stop Joanne and her hubby from coming along as part of her birthday treats. Thank you to everyone who brought cards in for me.

Well, we are travelling to my parents' home tomorrow so are hoping that the journey won't be too tricky - think I'll take a flask just in case! So, I shan't be posting again till next year. Meanwhile, for those who I had no address to send a "real" card to, here is a little greeting featuring some of our pigeon family enjoying their breakfast today!

Hope everyone has a peaceful, restful Christmas and here's hoping that next year is a better one for us all. Best wishes, Lindsay

Last demonstrations before Christmas!

I am all set for my last demonstrations of this year and will be at Dawn's studio tomorrow and Sunday.....just hoping that the weather doesn't worsen overnight - even I felt cold today, and I never feel cold! Amy will be there too, so do pop in and say hello if you are nearby. I've made some "quickie" Christmas ATC's to give away "whilst stocks last" as they say! LOL!

I did my first Christmas shopping yesterday...yes, my first! I went into town and about an hour in to my trip it began to snow quite heavily and went bitterly cold. It made me quicken the pace that's for sure! Today I've been making cards and have posted them out, so am finally catching up with myself for the moment - though I've just been given a list of "things to do" (quite an exciting one!) which already runs into 2011!

This Sunday will be the fifth anniversary of when we lost little Cherry, though it feels a much shorter time than that, and, as Joanne said earlier this week about their beloved Toby, she is never forgotten. I'm reading a book at the moment called "The cat who went to Paris" which I can recommend to any cat lovers out there. The author always disliked cats until he was presented with a Scottish Fold kitten and was instantly and completely smitten! There are two sequels to this one, so I shall be searching them out. Joanne, if you haven't read it I will keep my copy for you after Christmas as it will especially appeal to you.

Kym - I'm afraid that I haven't had the card that you sent me. I've asked at the studio, but nobody has seen it - I'll let you know if it turns up, but thank you anyway for the kindness. Jacquie and Glen - thank you for your lovely Christmas card which I got on Sunday, it's very classy!

Well, I have a busy couple of days ahead and then two days to finish my shopping and make a few cards that I am hand delivering before spending Christmas at my parents'. If I don't get chance to post again before then, I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and let's hope that next year is a more positive one for all of us. Lindsay

Only words!

After all the photos on my last post, this one is going to be picture-less! It's been over a week too which is shocking. This is such a busy time for everyone of course though, myself included, as I am still working on new designs and demonstration samples.

I've been really enjoying "looking" at Tim's twelve tags of Christmas and also seeing pictures of how some of you are interpreting them and being inventive with what stash you have. Just wish I had time to join in, but I'm making mental notes of Tim's latest techniques to use on my demonstrations of course!

Well, what have I been up to since I last posted? On Saturday David and I were at Top Barn Crafts in Wrexham where I was demonstrating. This is (as I have mentioned before) a great spot to visit as, along with Top Barn Crafts, there are gift and clothing shops, cafe, restaurant as well as stunning scenery. It was a very enjoyable day, and I tried to cram in as many techniques as I could. I really find those sort of days challenging (in a good way!) where I am using a certain number of materials and mediums and then have to keep showing new and different ways to use them. David was so engrossed in what I was doing that he didn't take any pictures!!! So, hello to everyone that I met there and thank you to Theresa for organising things so well.

On Sunday I was at Dawn's Design Studio and had a fun day demonstrating as well as helping to make some samples for QVC whilst I was there. They are having a special event next weekend with bargains, make n takes, demonstrations as well as mince pies and mulled wine. Amy and Dawn will be there on Saturday and it will be Dawn and myself on Sunday. Included in other pre Christmas bargains all my Christmas wooden and unmounted stamps are on a special offer now too! I'll also be there the following weekend for my last demonstrations of the year.

This Saturday I'll be up at Dainty Supplies near Chester-Le-Street with lots of differet inking techniques, so pop in if you are in that vivinity.

I did manage to send Heather "something" for her latest swap! I really thought that I wasn't going to manage it and must aplogise to whoever receives my creations as they are probably not up to my usual standard!

Lots of pictures to share!

I have put the pens and pencils away for the rest of the evening and thought I had better upload some new pictures as promised. I'm still behind on my new design schedule - first time I have missed a deadline...ever! However, I'm on track for the new dates so wish me luck!

First up are some pictures from Dawn Bibby's residential weekend which everyone really enjoyed. Having said that, everyone round Amy's table looks a little glum, but I think they were just concentrating on their crafting! I was only there for the Sunday when there were around ten Make n Take tables for everyone to go round making a different project at each one. Below is the ultra talented Jane who makes lots of the cards that you see on QVC - she is a very versatile crafter and works away like a trouper behind the scenes. So, here she is at her table where the ladies were using hair gel in their cards!Next you can see Dawn who was using Distress inks and Ink Potion no 9 on her Make n Take project. As you can also see...even broken arms don't stop keen crafters!
Here's a face that QVC viewers will recognise! Craig (QVC presenter extraordinaire!) came along to the weekend with his friend Angel and they joined in all the fun and the crafting. I missed the Saturday night party, but am assured that he is a very talented dancer! Craig was absolutely lovely, one of those people who makes you feel as if you have known them for years.Here he is showing the watercolour stamped card that he made at my table.
And below with me and my friend, the lovely and talented Sarah who now has her work featured in Making Cards magazine....well done Sarah! She is modelling one of the new Dawn Bibby Studio aprons whilst I am wearing my Ranger one!
Now for a few of my recent creations! I made the frame below using a K&Co base which I covered in K&Co paper from the Que Sera Sera collection - I simply glued the paper on and cut it fairly roughly around before sanding the edges. This is a great way to work as it means you don't have to be too fussy with the cutting. I inked the edges and then did the same thing with three Maya Road chipboard birds. I used Ranger crackle paint on a couple of Grungeboard swirls, letting them dry naturally until the paint began to crack and then heating to speed up the process. The chipboard word was painted using Adirondack acrylic dabbers. I then simply glued everything onto the frame using good old Glossy Accents and added a handful of Petaloo flowers as a finishing touch. Great fun to make and it didn't take too long either...Christmas present ideas I am thinking! PS the kittens are anonymous ones....I just needed a picture to pop into the frame!
Next is one of my favourite cards that I've made this Christmas. I used alcohol inks on gloss card and then cut it using a circular Nestie, matting onto a scalloped circle after adding a swoosh of white card for snow. I stamped, coloured and added the smaller version of my scribble snowman from PICS01 Christmas set 1 clear stamp set. The gorgeous Snowflake by Sue Dix is from the same set and I used Distress ink pads Faded Jeans and Dusty Concord to stamp it onto the background card. Clear gems added to their centres just add that necessary touch of bling! My favourite element here is the ribbon. Why? Because it was just a boring white sheer ribbon until I ran my alcohol ink applicator tool along it so that it perfectly matched the rest of the card! This is one of my top tips - just buy plain white ribbon and then colourise to match your card....job done! Saves scratting around looking for that elusive piece of ribbon to match your project that's for sure! Here is a card made using Tim Holtz stamps...they are fabulous to use, just about fool proof as they seem to stamp perfectly every time, even the tiniest details show up. I used a large square card and made my background paper with Distress inks (there's a surprise!). I spritzed Perfect Pearls around the edge of the card blank and generally distressed and spritzed everything in sight! The butterfly was just a metallic piece that I found in my oddments box of bits and bobs.

Next is a little house that I made using Maya Road chipboard pieces for the sides -

again, paper covered, sanded and inked

as for the frame.

I added some paper grass and some acrylic square windows.

I simply folded some card to make a box base and attached a house shape to two sides.

Some Maya Road tree and bird stamps were the finishing touch. Voila! A dinky holder for ATC's on my demonstration tables!

I had a lovely trip to Norwich, travelling down on Friday meant that I had a chance to look around the city and do some window shopping....no buying when I know that I have my demonstration baggage to take home with me! Here is the Arcade which is a genuine Art Nouveau building and was, as you can see, beautifully adorned with trees and lights for the festive period.

And here is a very inviting looking window of a shop that had made such an effort with their display that I had to take a picture - this was the handmade chocolate shop and, no, I didn't indulge...in fact, the delicious aromas that emerged as people entered and left the shop was enough to get a chocolate overload on! Finally, here is a shot of Jarrold's department store where I was demonstrating the following day. The photo does not do justice to the dazzling lights that adorn the building. I must say that Norwich have made a really big effort with their Christmas displays and, as the afternoon grew darker, the atmosphere became more and more festive, so I had a really lovely wander and ended up walking miles. Hello to all the ladies and gents that I met on Saturday. Everyone was so enthusiastic and friendly that it was a pleasure to talk to you all. One comical thing was that I was positioned right in front of the lifts on the third floor and I was working on a little kidney shaped table that was on wheels. Let's just say that I had to keep my knees pressed against the sides of the table to avoid finding myself on my way down to the first floor!
Again, apologies to my neglected friends and those who I am owing ATC's etc to....please bear with me. It's a very busy time here and things have been rather difficult for one reason and another, but I shall rectify the situation asap - promise! Lindsay

Absent without leave

It's been a bit of a disastrous week here! After a very busy day at Wickfords near Basildon on Saturday and then a lovely Sunday at Dawn's residential event, the plan was to spend this week working on new stamp sets which I need to have ready veeerrrry soon. However, all plans were scuppered when I woke up on monday morning with a nasty bug which got worse as the day went on. My eyeballs felt as if they were being pushed into my head and I just couldn't get on with anything - nightmare! So I've had three enforced days off which I couldn't afford right now and am now running way behind schedule and have to play catch up very quickly. I'm off down to Norwich tomorrow morning for my Saturday demonstration at Jarrolds department store (if you're in the area I think I'll be on the third floor!) so will be taking my pencils, pens and paper along with me and doing some sketching on the train!

I'm doing a, mostly, Ranger product based demonstration on Saturday, so have, today, made a few new non card samples, so will take photos whilst I'm away and post these, and ones from last weekend, next week (?!).

Apologies to Joanne, Helen, Sheila, Hazel and everyone else who I have been remiss in replying to...will catch up once I have caught up! I'm now all packed up ready for my early train tomorrow so I'm going to spend a bit of time on the drawings before dinner. Lindsay

Workshops and thank you's!

What a lovely weekend that was! On Saturday I was at Dawn's Studio to teach a workshop making Christmas boxes. We made a fold out box decorated with penguins and containing an "iceberg" (rolled paper!) with tiny polar bears scooting down it. There was also time to show the ladies how to make a very useful folded box which is ideal for popping little gifts into. Here is a picture of the boxes that everyone was busy making....

On the left you can see Jean who I snapped the week before as she was the lucky, and very deserving, winner of the card competition that Dawn hosted. Check out her prize! Ironically, Jean almost missed out on the competition because of the postal strike, so the result was obviously meant to be!

Although you can't see Joanne at the table...she's hiding behind Margaret!...she surprised David and I with a wonderful gift which her lovely husband Terry had made for us. It is a bee house! As we all know, our bees are in danger at the moment and are really struggling. The bee house is a cosy home for them to hibernate in over winter, and we may get a few Ladybirds moving in too. It's absolutely lovely and we were really chuffed with it - thank you Terry and Joanne.

It was a lovely afternoon and we all had lots of fun. Do check out Joanne's blog (My Toby Jug) for more pictures of the boxes. Joanne also brought along the pieces she has made for my sister's ATC and Tree Ornament swap. They are fabulous, so do join in the swap...you may be the lucky recipient of Joanne's handiwork.

The list of next year's workshops will be available very soon, but I can let you know a couple of themes for my classes which are already getting booked up. The first will be Embossing Techniques including Triple embossing. The second is "Fairy Doors" which are whimsical doors, each around 6" high and will appeal to those of you who believe in fairies, elves and everything magical. I've been wanting to do a workshop on these for ages now! The doors can be used on cards or scrapbook pages or can be strategically placed around the home for children, small and grown up (!) to discover. Please contact Topaz crafts directly if you would like to book on either of these.

On Sunday David and I were at Crafts 4U2 Do in St Helens. This is a great shop and, since I was last there, they have expanded and added a great little cafe in the store as well. Sue and her team looked after both of us wonderfully all day, keeping the coffees coming and insisting on us having lunch "on them"! I saw lots of familiar faces and there was lots of note taking going on - I said that I'd be asking questions later! Hello to everyone that came along and hope that you are enjoying all your new pens and stamps.

I must apologise to everyone that I am behind in catching up with - I do have some outstanding ATC's, emails and cards to send....they will get to you eventually, I promise. This week I am getting prepared for my trip down to Basildon (nightmare journey) to Wickfords. I will be using Nestabilities along with stamps, inks etc. Then on the Sunday I'll be at Dawn'd to demonstrate in the morning and host a make n take at her residential crafting event in the afternoon. So lots of samples to get ready - just for a change! Well, dinner is just about ready I am told, so I shall say cheerio for the moment and will hopefully post again before the weekend. Lindsay

Busy old week

I've been busy on new stamp designs for the last week and a half, so apologies for not posting, leaving comments on everyone's blogs or otherwise being sociable! The first batch of new designs are complete though, and the moment that I put them into folders and send them off is always a good one - another job done!

So, now I have workshops, demonstrations and a make n take to get prepared. This is what makes my work so interesting for me, as I'm always busy with new things. It was nice, for instance, not to be working on Christmas designs this last week, as I seem to have been "snowed" under with penguins, snowmen, robins etc for months now!

My sister Heather is organising another swap, following the Witch ATC swap that she hosted last time. Check out her blog (Fenn Edwards...in my blog list) for details if you'd like to join in. This latest one is based upon Guardian Angels and a Christmas ornament, so it's a little different.

I do have one or two photos to share at some point, but I'll take some more at my workshop on Saturday and post them all after the weekend. So, hope to have pictures of icebergs, polar bears and penguins to show you once the ladies have completed the Christmas surprise boxes that they will be creating...it's going to be fun! Lindsay

Last minute demonstration date

Just wanted to let you know that I will be at Dawn Bibby's Design Studio tomorrow (Saturday) to demonstrate Ranger products, stamping, punches etc. This is a last minute arrangement...those of you who came to the demonstration weekend will know that, because of the postal strike, some products weren't delivered in time, but they have now arrived, so will be available for those of you who weren't able to get them last week. We thought it would be a good idea for me to come along again for those of you who missed the weekend, or want a reminder of how to use some of the products.

I've been asked by quite a few people about my new templates and if they will be available in the shops. I can now confirm that a selection of them are now on the Personal Impressions website, so should be avilable in the shops very soon. Any stockist of PI products would be able to get them in for you if you ask. Here are a couple of pictures of how the templates come together....

Lastly, a big thank you to Sheila for the wonderful, and hilarious, card which she sent me out of the blue. It was a lovely surprise and made a change from all the bills which are the bulk of my normal post...I keep telling my postie not to deliver the bills, but he just ignores my requests! I haven't posted any pictures of the witch ATC's that I got in return for mine in Heather's swap because I haven't got mine yet - Heather is keeping them for me to pick up when I see her. However, you can check them all out on Heather's blog in a slide show that she has set up. They are all so diverse - this is the fascination of ATC swaps. I do know that Heather is preparing to do a new swap, so do keep a look out for that, as I know you will really enjoy this next one! Right, back to my drawings!

A few photos and some thank you's

I've been busily working on new stamp designs since the weekend, so I'm a little late in posting these pictures I know. I have reached the stage where I have quite a few sketched designs that I am happy with and now comes the more painstaking process of drawing inked versions of them, then photocopying them and colouring the copies. As I've said before, I work better with a tight deadline, as I have this time, as it really does focus the mind!

This first photo is of part of my table at the demonstration weekend at Dawn Bibby's Studio. I was next to Jo who was using some beautiful glitters, Jane was behind her using the Melt Pot to create some very luscious cards that were just gorgeous. Back to back with me was Sarah, featuring Hero Arts and Craftwork Cards papers. In the other room, Brenda was cracker making and Mary was demonstrating how to use Dreamweaver stencils with paste. Jill was using Flower Soft to make some very tactile cards. Unfortunately both Dawn and Amy were poorly, so they weren't able to be there.
The next picture is of yours truly, looking like a real nutcase in my witches' hat! As you can see from the one after, the hat looked much better on little Aleysha who is the grandaughter of Rena (Dawn's sister). Doesn't she look cute in it, especially with the stripey tights! Well, I do try to get into the spirit of the seasonal events, even if I do make a fool of myself!

Next is a canvas that I made using Ranger paints and inks. You can see that I spent quite some time altering it and changing my mind about things as there is some brown ink coming through the paint in one area...I subsequently overpainted it to remove the odd looking spots!

Thanks to everyone who came along and especially my ATC "swappees"...yes....I actually swapped some this time! So, thanks to Joanne, Jacqui and Glen, Sheila, Suzanne, Sharon, Debs and especially to Angie, who also presented me with a lovely pin that she had made for me, as you can see here. Isn't it fabulous? Many thanks Angie, for such an unexpected and lovely gift.

On Saturday night I stayed over with Sarah and her lovely husband, Ewan, who is a chef. He made us a delicious Chicken Caesar salad and then went back in the kitchen to bake some scones - light as a feather! I also met Thumper the rabbit, who is awaiting a new name - what a cutie pie! Saffron and Poppy, Sarah's two cats, were not overly impressed by the floppy eared newcomer, but no fur flew!

On Sunday, after we had packed up and said our goodbyes to everyone, we travelled over to mum and dad's. Tara immediately hid under a low set of drawers where she could keep an eye on us all from a safe distance. She is settling in pretty quickly though and, after a while, when only David was in the rom, she came out to say hello. I managed to get a couple of snaps of her. As you can see, she is a very pretty girl and, although she looked very nervous when we picked her out at the sanctuary I can see that there is a very mischeivous look in those big eyes now!

Here she is, cheeky girl, sharing David's Choc Ice! Little minx! I'll keep you posted as to how she gets on - or how mum and dad get on I should say! I haven't met little Mia yet (my sister's teeny weeny kitten) but hope to see her soon.

I didn't realise until I was adding some tags to my older posts that Monday was the first anniversary of my blog! I can hardly believe it. As I keep saying, this year is just whizzing by. Well, I shall post again as soon as time allows and hopefully will have some more pictures to share with you again. Lindsay

Thank you She!

I got this very colourful award this week, so thank you She for including me. I now have to pass it on to five other people and tell you five interesting things about myself...mmmm, that may prove tricky!!! It's hard to choose just five bloggers too, but I'll pass it to:

Sarah McCrossan who always greets me with a big smile and a big hug!

My sister Heather Fenn-Edwards because this will make her smile!

Joanne of My Toby Jug who is one of the warmest people, along with her lovely husband, Terry, that I meet at events "up north"

Kym from Kym's Krafty Kards who was so wonderfully enthusiatic when I met her at a demonstration a couple of weeks ago

Debsg - whose comments always make me smile

But everyone who comments on here can take the award too, as I love reading your observations and your blogs. As to the five interesting things - I've used up quite a few on previous awards! So, here is what I can think of right now:

1. I used to be in a scrabble club and went to London to help at the World championships - I had to adjudicate on odd words and was in charge of the stopwatch! Gyles Brandreth, who founded the contest, was there and he was charming, funny and as eccentric as he comes across on the tv!

2. I don't get as much time to read as I'd like to, but I just finished the last Harry Potter book, so it feels like the end of an era!

3. I spent my 15th birthday in Leningrad when I was on a school holiday. The Russian people were the friendliest, as a nation, that I had ever met.

4. My sister thinks I'm psychic! Some odd things did happen when we were children, and we were convinced there was a poltergeist in our bedroom!

5. I had an "epiglotyl spasm" ('scuse spelling!) a few years ago which meant that I couldn't breathe in. It was the scariest experience of my life and it was only because David managed to keep me calm that I'm still here!

Well, they were five very random things, that's for sure! So, nominees...over to you now for your five things.

I am all set for the demonstration weekend at Dawn's now, though I do know there have been a few problems with the items that I am supposed to be using, so I may have to do a little bit of thinking on my feet! As a nod to the spooky date I have painted my nails black - guess what? I had no black nail polish, so have used a marker pen and overpainted with a glitter varnish....good thing that I am at home all next week as I may have trouble getting them clean again! I've also dug out my old witches hat and given it a bit of a revamp, so I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to show you next week. Sarah texted me to say that she will be demonstrating there tomorrow as well, so we should have some fun.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I have a mixture of feelings about Leonie leaving QVC. I'm really pleased and happy for her that she has this new adventure in her life and sure she will have a great time. But I'm also sad that we won't be meeting up at QVC or at Topaz anymore as I know Dawn is of course. Lindsay

Think ink!

I have not only been thinking ink, I've been pretty much dreaming ink too...along with crackle paint, acrylics etc etc. It's been a very enjoyable couple of days getting samples ready for this weekend's demonstrations as I've been creating a canvass or two, a brooch, a cuff and some other things as well as cards and ATC's. Here are some sneaky peeks of what I've been up to.....this is a plaque that evolved as it went on. Can you see what the expensive base to it is?!? Below is the brooch that I've made to wear on my Ranger apron. The photo doesn't show the words too well, but the legend is "Time flies when you're having fun", which seemed very appropriate for the last few days. It features Grungeboard wings and a chipboard heart and I've used Crackle paint and Crackle Accents to give texture and shine to the piece.

That's all the pictures for now - I shall save the rest for after the weekend. Hope to see quite a few of you on Saturday and Sunday of course...all ATC's happily swapped and refreshments gratefully received......only joking about the refreshments, we get looked after well at the DBDS!

There are a couple of new members to the family this week. My sister Heather will be telling you about one of them, but last week David and I took mum and dad to Cats Paws sanctuary, near Lytham and helped them to choose a little friend to adopt. After looking at lots of pleading faces and some cheeky ones, they fell for a little female called Tara. She was in the hospital section, wearing a large plastic collar as she had been pulling out her stitches! Little Tara had been brought in to be spayed by her owners after she had kittens and then they had rung the sanctuary to say that they didn't want her back. She is a beautiful "tabby tortie and white" with huge yellow green eyes. So, we put a deposit down (they ask for a minimum donation of £60 which doesn't even cover the jabs, vet checks and insurance which they provde for each cat they rehome) and dad signed all the forms. They had to wait until yesterday before they could pick her up, and last night she was, apparently, hiding under a duvet in the spare bedroom, obviously very nervous. Today she has been more adventurous and has picked a spot beneath the gas fire...completely ignoring the luxurious faux suede bed with removable furry cushion which my day insisting on getting for her! So, as soon as we get over there again I will take some snaps and post them on here. I am very jealous, but we just aren't in a position to have a pussy cat now really, so I will share Tara!

Tomorrow I'll be working on new stamp designs - the precise, detailed work will be a complete contrast to my messy week so far! I have a few ideas, but will spend a couple of days doing pencil sketches before deciding which ones to work into finished designs. As usual, I have a very tight deadline, but I work better that way - thank goodness! Lindsay

Halloween ATC's and inky backgrounds

Yes, I managed to take a few photos yesterday...at last... so here are some of the Halloween ATC's that I made for yesterday's demonstration. They all feature Alcohol inked backgrounds, some on gloss card and some on Personal Impressions metallic film which makes the transparent inks really zing. I also used my new Martha Stewart Scary Fence border punch on a couple of them as well as some stickers from ATD and K&Co. They were terrific fun to make I have to say - the pouncing cat one is a little different in that, looking at the inky background that I had made, I could sort of see a cat shape suggesting itself. I simply exaggerated what I could see and used a fine black pen to draw the shape in and accented it with white. It was a bit like looking at a cloud and seeing a particular image, so I must try this idea again. You will spot a few Christmassy ones in there too - really simply made by stamping Tim Holtz's wonderful ATC sized stamps over the background and highlighting with white. There is also one featuring the smaller version of my Scribble Snowman from the clear set. Nobody swapped with me yesterday, so these cards will all still be available at next weekend's demonstrations at Dawn's Studios.

Above is a box which I made from K&Co Christmas Cheer papers using a very straightforward origami fold. I used a square of my Alcohol inked gloss card to decorate thetop with the addition of a beautiful K&Co snowflake. A simple way to make an inexpensive Christmas gift look quite special methinks!

The card above was made using Distress inks to create the snowy background. I then stamped the trees onto alcohol inked metallic film and cut them out, adding tiny green gems at their points. The snowflakes are glitter peel offs which I've used alcohol inks on. This card started out as a bit of a mish mash, but I ended up really liking the end result!

Next is a simple, and, actually, unfinished (!) card that I made yesterday. I used three shades of Alcohol inks (Purple Twilight, Stream and Sailboat Blue) with the direct to paper technique onto gloss white card. The snowman was one of my designs last year and still one of my favourites as he is so easy to use. I added some white glitter paper across the bottom for him to stand on and I drew some naive snowflakes with the Inkssentials white pen. Maybe I'll get him finished next weekend!

Well, these are some of the things that I was up to yesterday. I now know that this coming wekend I will be doing Ranger based demonstrations at Dawn's weekend - both saturday and Sunday. So, there will be inks, paints, grungepaper, stamps (both mine and Tim Holtz designs) and some ATC's to swap too of course! I'll also be signing copies of my book and, hopefully, Heather's Beading book will be available too, as I know that some people have had difficulty in getting a copy. I'm really looking forward to a "grungy" weekend (!) and hope to see some of you there. I'll be in the Studio this time, as the Mill could not accomodate the extra demonstration tables as they normally do. So, it may get a little crowded, but it is really going to be fun! Please remember that, if you do come along, please do introduce yourself as, especially if you have blog photos that are not of yourself, I don't always know who you are, and I do like to say a proper hello! Lindsay

An inky day

I have multi coloured fingers this evening as I've been using Distress and Alcohol inks this afternoon to get some ATC's and background papers ready for my demonstration tomorrow at Dawn Bibby's Design Studio. Messy and fun! Hope to see some of you there and, if you're early, you can swap one of my new ATC's - bit of a Halloween theme on some of them, with orange and black Alcohol inks. I'll get some photos tomorrow - it was horribly dark here today, but that Autumn, cosy feel was nice too. Talking of which, the clocks go back tonight so it's a lie in and coming home in the dark tomorow....ugh!

Anyway, here are just a few pictures to liven up this post! The first one was taken at the QVC event in London, and is of my template kit with just a few of the samples that I made.

The card on the right features paper from the K & Co Winter Wonderland pack. I simply watercolour stamped two birds from my Swirly Birds clear set (PICS013) and added gem stones for their eyes. What, literally, tied this card together was the combination of purple and blue sheer ribbon which picked up on the colours in the paper. Simple, but I liked this one!

The last one shows two examples of the fairy cards which were one of the workshops that I taught at the QVC event. The backing papers are from My Minds Eye and are really easy to work with as they are double sided and have a nice mix of patterns and plain. The cards feature images from my Fairy Silhouette clear stamp set. Hope you like them, Lindsay

And breathe.....

It has been a crazy few days to say the least. On friday I travelled down to Bury St Edmunds and had a bit of time to wander around the lovely town before spending the evening in my hotel room making some cards for my template kit - I'd made some on the train too...got a few odd looks but hey ho!

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling well below par and think I have picked up a tummy bug from somewhere, so I wasn't looking forward to the long day ahead. However, some fizzy water and lovely customers at the Stamp Hut helped and I did get through the day okay! Hello to all the lovely ladies and gents that I saw there, as well as Paula and Dot, from the Stamp Hut, who made the day go smoothly. I had a long journey back so I didn't get home till well past eleven at night - just time for a quick shower and then bedtime!

On Sunday I was teaching a Christmas card workshop at Topaz with David as my glamorous assistant! As usual, we had lots of fun...poor Serena was having "one of those days" but she, like all the ladies, made three lovely cards. One ladies card did go missing, but after much searching, it turned up in my bag with the samples which I had been showing...oops! It was a lovely afternoon, with lots of laughter.

David left me there as I was staying over to help with samples for craft day on QVC. Dawn, Amy, Rena, Jill, Lindsey and myself were working away on a seemingly endless stream of kits. The amount of work that goes on behind the scenes in preparing one of these days has to be seen to be believed, from choosing products, planning the hours, preparing all the samples, checking all the boxes and getting everything together to get down to London. We had a quick bite to keep us going and worked through until nearly midnight. After a good, if short (!), night's sleep, we were back making more samples the next morning along with Jo. At 2.30pm everything was packed up into two vehicles and Dawn, Jj and Amy set off for London. Whew!

Today I had intended to have a day off and planned to watch craft day whilst curled up on the sofa, but another emergency meant that I have spent the day making more card samples! I have finally finished though, so we are planning to relax for the rest of the night. David and I are both still feeling very ropey - definitely a bug I fear.

Thank you to everyone who has texted, phoned and emailed me today after my templates were on the show at 4pm. Your lovely comments were all very much appreciated. I started work on the kit several months ago, so to see everything come together at last was very rewarding. Hope you have all enjoyed craft day. I think there were some very different, and lovely, new things on there today....something for everyone really.

We are off to see my mum and dad tomorrow and then I'm having a couple of days off. My good friend Jan Bloomfield will be at Topaz on Saturday to demonstrate Nestabilities and stamping - she is an absolute whizz with the Nesties, so do pop along if you need any tips, advice or inpiration. I'll be demonstrating there on Sunday, with lots of techniques to show and hopefully inspire you! So, I'll report back with more photos soon! Lindsay

Quickie!

Just a quick post as I'll be leaving to catch the train in a few minutes to go to Bury St Edmunds. It's a beautiful morning, so I'm looking forward to the journey as the scenery goes through many changes on this route. Looking at the autumn landscape from the train and trying to spot birds, deer, rabbits etc is so much more rewarding than reading a newspaper!

I'll be at the Stamp Hut on Risbygate from 10am-4pm tomorrow and then it's a long journey home again...not so much fun, as train travel in the dark is very monotonous. Then on Sunday I'll be up at Dawn's Design Studio to teach a Christmas workshop. I'm staying over on Sunday night so that I can help out in getting some sample cards made for Craft Day on Tuesday, as they are a bit short handed this week. Should be fun!

So, I hope to see some of you tomorrow at the Stamp Hut, and do enjoy Craft Day on tuesday! Lindsay

Typical!

Not much point in me being all secretive about my new products when I switch on QVC this morning and see some of my finished cards on the screen advertising craft day next week!!! So, just to let you know that you can see the full card that the cropped picture came from if you tune in to Dawn later on. There is a Santa and a Stork with a baby too...just to confuse matters! Definitely not stamps this time! Hope you like them anyway, Lindsay

Sore feet!

Very sore indeed! I've spent most of the last few days on my feet and my little toes also had an argument with a chair's legs, not once, but twice, on Thursday, so they are a lovely shade of purple! Otherwise, it has been a lovely, if manic, few days.
I set off to London on Thursday morning and arrived at the conference hall in Westminster ready to get things set up for my workshops. Kathy and Jayne from Personal Impressions had done a fantastic job in preparing things and cutting out gazillions (!) of pieces of card and paper, so there was less to be done than I had feared. I had time to say hello to everyone and then the doors were opened so that all the ladies (and a few men!) could start coming in and having a look around before the official start of the day. Dawn and Catherine Huntley welcomed everyone and introduced all the designers, demonstrators and manufacturers before the event was declared open.
Here's my huge workshop, all ready to go and the very posh sign on the workshop door! (I wanted to bring it home with me!)

There were lots of new products at the event of course, many of which will feature on craft day which is on the 20th October, so don't forget to make a note of that. I have some new items (not stamps) that will be premiering that day, so I hope that you'll like them...they are fun! Here is a very sneaky peek, as I can't show them properly as yet! Jayne and Kathy took turns to help me on the workshops, which I was very thankful for, as we had around twenty five (mostly) ladies on each class, and there was lots to get through in very little time. Apart from the "mystery" object on the right (!), we did watercolour stamping with my fairy set and some scrummy new papers, and a Distress ink card featuring my Swirly Bird owl.
The day flew by as we were so busy, and then it was off to the hotel, a quick change and around twenty of us went to a fabulous Thai restaurant by the river. The meal was beautifully presented and served as well as being just delicious. You can see the attention to detail in my starter (Siam rolls) which looked as if Alan Titchmarch had planted a mini garden on my plate! Here's a picture that shows the table to my left - you can see Dawn, Lorelei (the designer behind the fun ladies you may have seen on QVC last week) as well as Jj and some of the faces behind products like Stix 2 etc.

Leonie and I were sharing a room, so, needless to say, we nattering away until pretty late...or early! She was very touched by everyone's messages after her Gran passed away. Well, next day we had another two hundred or so lovely ladies and gentlemen attending the workshops and make and takes. It was great to see familiar faces and meet new people too, and lovely to see so many people having such a great time. Here is Leonie's table which was full all day long.
The owl card (bet you're sick of seeing my owl!) on the left is not the one we made on the workshops, as we only had a short time on each one, but it was the one that everyone seemed to like! The paper is from the K&Co Winter Wonderland pad and I matched my Distress ink background to work with it and create a wintery feel. I created the trees in the background and the owl's tree perch using Le Plume pens and the Inkssentials white pen. The holly images were from PICS02 clear set from Personal Impressions.

Again, this is not the fairy card that I was teaching as that one used new papers which will be airing on QVC. The fabulous flower and swirling leaves were cut from a Winter Wonderland paper and you can see the foiling on the images. I watercolour stamped the faires in toning shades. Oh, and apologies to those of you who came to the final clas on friday...I could see that some of you were disappointed that we were not doing the Distress ink card after the previous people had shown what they had been doing. Unfortunately, we only had a certain amount of card etc prepared, so we had to stick to what we had organised.

It was a great couple of days in London and I headed back clutching my QVC goody bag which promptly burst apart, spilling the contents all over the floor whilst I was in the underground - disaster! I crammed everything into my other bag - just - apologising for holding everyone up!On Saturday I was at Rosemary Merry's shop, Crabapple Crafts in Frodsham. I felt a bit woozy at the start of the day, but I soon came round and had a busy day creating Christmas cards with stamps, inks and papers. Joanne and her lovely husband Terry came along (Joanne came especially to get a copy of my book and they hadn't arrived, so we swapped some ATC's instead!) and we had a good catch up. It was a very jolly day with a lot of laughter and I met some lovely people who were very complimentary about my work...always appreciated!

David and I were busy on Sunday too and got back home in the afternoon...to be greeted by the sight of a bird of prey in the car park making a meal of one of "our" pigeons. He watched us warily for a few moments before flying off carrying his meal - quite amazing as he wasn't very big. I tried to see the colouring of the poor pigeon but he seemed to be one of the generally grey ones which I can't really tell apart. I don't begrudge the prey bird his meal of course, and it's a good sign to see top predators around as it means that we are doing well with the smaller birds, but it still made me feel sad. Even more sadly, I have to report that Matthew (aka "Limpy Lou") has not been around for about a week so I fear that he may well have been taken by the falcon...very ironic as he had made such a fantastic recovery. However, I will keep looking out for him and will report if he (hopefully) turns up again. I'm not sure which bird of prey we actually saw, but, as Autumn Watch are having a feature on distinguishing between them this friday, I may be able to tell after that.

So, today I have been sitting on the sofa with my feet up (still throbbing!) to recover from the hectic last few days...I always feel a bit guilty doing nothing, but sometimes it has to be done! On friday I shall be setting off again, this time to The Stamp Hut in Bury St Edmunds - a lovely shop in a lovely town, so I'm looking forward to that. On Sunday I'll be teaching at Dawn's Design Studio so it's another busy weekend ahead with quite a bit of preparation to be done this week. Well, I'm now going to watch University Challenge and see if I can answer a few more questions than I did last week! I hope everyone is well and hope you are still awake after reading this mammoth post!

London calling

Sorry for my absence this week, but I've been up to my elbows in getting things ready for an event in London tomorrow and Friday. I'm going to be teaching workshops at the QVC customer event, which will be for several hundred ladies (and maybe a few men!) all mad about their crafting. It's going to be hectic but fun.... I expect to have some good photos to show you after the weekend! I've been trying to make my workshop projects fit the twenty five minute time slots whilst still being interesting and a little challenging....I'll let you know how they go. So, I have just been busy packing my bags ready for the train journey down to the capital in the morning.

I get back on Friday night and then I'm off to Crabapple Crafts in Frodsham on Saturday morning to do a Christmas stamping demonstration. Hope to see some familiar faces there! And I am not even going to mention ATC's!

I've been using the gorgeous new sixty sheet 12" x 12" pad from K&Co, called Winter Wonderland. If you still have Christmas projects to do, but don't want to splash out on a specifically Christmas set of papers then do take a look at this one. It has flat, glittered and foiled sheets and although some pages have snowflakes, trees etc on them, they are very subtle and some pages are just simply patterns, so I know I'll be using this set for quite a few months.

I made a few more Witch ATC's for Heather's swap, so will try to post pictures of those too before I send them. I may well get round to organising a swap of my own as soon as this next week is behind me. Just need to think of a theme now!

Off to sort a few things out for tomorrow now and then a nice quiet evening before the mad next few days! See some of you soon I hope. Lindsay

Hubble bubble

Here are my rather scary witch ATC's as promised - sorry the picture isn't great, but it's been a dull old day here. I had great fun doing these, so there may be some more to go into Heather's swap. I reckon you wouldn't want to meet the one in the middle on a dark night!

Hope you like them anyway, and looking forward to seeing what I get in return! I shall endeavour to organise a swap myself as soon as I have got through this busy period, so watch this space! Lindsay