A lovely day in Long Crendon

I'm rather late with this post about my trip down to A Maze of Memories in Long Crendon last weekend. So, while my second cuppa of the day cools down sufficiently, I thought I'd take the chance to upload a few photos.

I travelled down on Friday - a nice, smooth journey for a change! Even the changes were easy with all the trains departing from the same platforms that I arrived in at...except that at Preston, they changed their minds and sent everyone scurrying to another one two minutes before the train was due out! That happens such a lot there and I'm sure there is someone with an evil sense of humour in charge of the platforms who loves nothing more than watching people struggling with cases up and down the stairs!

Anyway, I was staying in Thame which is a really lovely town and normally a quiet sort of place. However, the annual fair was on and the streets were filled with huge fairground rides and stalls selling candyfloss, doughnuts and burgers...I have to say that the aroma of freshly fried doughnuts brings back lots of childhood memories but I resisted temptation! I had a good wander round and then it was back to the hotel for a relaxing evening - thankfully, the receptionist gave me a room at the back of the hotel so I wouldn't be disturbed by the screams of people being whizzed around on gyrating big wheels or bungeed into the air!

The bed was so comfy (and huuuge) that I was asleep much sooner than I expected to be, so after a good night's sleep and an equally good breakfast it was time to get to work.

I've been down to AMOM many times now and it's always really good fun with such a great crowd of ladies who make me feel so welcome. Christina always makes sure everything runs smoothly and Mary, Miriam and Megan keep everyone topped up with drinks and home baked cakes - what more could you want?!

We had three make n take sessions, where I showed the ladies all the steps and techniques involved before they sat down to make their creations.

 

You might just spot me on the right amidst the crowd of people! Whilst one group were "making and taking" I was busy demonstrating other techniques and, as you can see, it was a bustling hive of activity.

This was the card that I was teaching the Make n Takers.....

 ....beautifully shot against my mucky craft sheet! I used my Winter Silhouette stamps as well as other stamps and stencils and Picket Fence Distress Paint to create the background effects. There were various takes on the design as you can see.....

 .....Karen went for soft peachy tones whilst Alli had the great idea of tearing the card around the sentiment and adding some gesso to it for even more snowy effects.....

 .....and Julie's card had the wow factor with the dark tones that gave it a really dramatic touch....

 Everyone did brilliantly and a great time was had by all! Thanks, Christina, for taking photos for me whilst I was so busy. If you'd like to see more piccies of the day, do check out the Maze of Memories blog.

I must also say a big thank you for some lovely gifts that I was given on the day....Julie (above) very thoughtfully presented me with a double ended rubber brush as she had bought one for herself and found it to be a great way of applying glue n seal over stamped images - a technique I taught last time I was there. As Julie said, no messing up of brushes as the glue n seal just wipes off! Thank you Julie, I will be carrying my new brush to all my demos from now on!

Diane, who won my blog candy, brought two beautifully adorned packs of treats for my two feline terrors - each bag had a gorgeous stamped label, complete with bell (!), that opened up to reveal a suitable poem.Absolutely gorgeous and much appreciated by myself and definitely by Thomas and Tara - they thought it was almost worth their mum going away if she brings such lovely pressies home for them! I will show you a photo of Diane's creations next time.

Christina gave me a beautifully wrapped package that contained some bulbs for my garden - whoopee! I shall plant those out as soon as the time is right and so there will be a lovely memory of my trips down to Long Crendon. Hopefully I'll be back there in Spring, so watch this space!

Well, I've been busy here, preparing for a bustling week ahead of me. On Saturday I shall be at Coleman's Warehouse in Rushden again, then, on Wednesday I'll be at Inspirations in Preston and, the following Saturday I'll be at the Great Northern Papercraft show in Harrogate with Ali-Craft. Whew! Details of where I'll be and what I'm up to are in my sidebar.

I've received some more Die-Versions dies too, including two lovely new fonts called Mermaid and Peppermint - I'll share pictures of them next time. So I have been cranking the Big Shot till my arm aches! Between times, I've been pressing on with painting the outside of the house as the weather has been kinder this week. The green paint wasn't such good quality as the white, so I've had to give at least two coats to the door panels - I don't think David would have thought much of my "cutting in", but at least it's clean and tidy and, more importantly, weather proof, again.....

 ....it looks as shiny as number 10 at the moment too! Mind you, I caught Tara trying to open it with her teeth and claws yesterday afternoon...little monkey - that's how the bottom of the door got destroyed in the first place! The green isn't really my first choice  - I'd have liked a rich teal colour - but it's the original colour, so changing it would have meant I'd have had to do all the drainpipes, garage door etc as well which would all have added to the expense and the time. So, green it is! Look at the clutter behind the door too - the Doo Lally room as messy as ever I'm afraid! Yesterday I had to go up the ladders to paint the front of the house....not my favourite thing to do, I'm very wobbly once I get past the second step - thank goodness I live in a bungalow!

Well, the coffee is now not only cool, but cold, so I'd better down it and get back to work!