What a busy weekend!

That really was a busy old weekend, though there wasn't too much travelling for a change! On Saturday I jumped on the train to Port Sunlight - I've never been there before and what a pretty place it really is....must go back there for a leisurely look round sometime. I had a busy day there, though not at the stamp fair itself (sorry to those of you who have emailed to ask where I was......but I had the wrong information!) I was in the social club down the road! Here are just a few of the cards that I made for the day......a simple new home card using the row of houses from my "Hoist the Flags" stamp set. I made the cloudy background using Distress Stains with a spritz of Perfect Pearl Mist to give a shimmer. It's matted with a MS punched panel that I've inked with Mustard Seed Distress ink. I'm in a bit of a flouncy ribbon phase I think, with bows hanging off the edges of my cards! The next card is using a combination of "Magic Happens" and "Silhouetted Fairies" stamp sets which I have used over a Distress Stains background. I punched a circle out at the top and then layered the panel over white card to reveal the moon, which I added Stickles to for a more twinkly effect. I smudged my Archival black ink pad along the bottom of the stamped panel to give a fairly smudgy base and then sketched some simple grasses in with a fine black Le Plume pen. If you look closely, you'll see that I used a white pen to add a few highlights along the edges of the images nearest to the moon...it just helps to bring them to life. The stars were added with white pen too. Next is another card using my "I dreamed of castles" stamp set. This one has been stamped over book paper and lightly tinted with Le Plume pens. The Distress Stain background came out really well, and gave just the ethereal look that I wanted. I used the Stains to colour the ribbon too. A little blue shading below the castle just grounds it (even though it is meant to be floating!). Sunday was a fun day! Myself and Amy Shaw were teaching workshops in Darwen and there was much laughter throughout the day - and a good amount of crafting of course! Amy taught in the morning, making cards with a flower theme and showing the ladies how to create tissue Carnations which everyone impressed themselves with! Sheila is showing her enjoyment in her usual way as you can see! Before we got started, as everyone was arriving, we had time to congratulate Joanne's husband "Peg Leg" on his 70th birthday (I know....he looks far too young!) and their wedding anniversary which were on the same day the week before. Terry has been having a very extended celebration and here he's posing with the giant cigar that David thought he might enjoy! Two of our favourite people, Joanne and Terry are a delight to be with and Joanne is such a talented crafter. After a break for lunch and a chance to tidy up and reset the tables, it was time for my workshops. I'll post photos of what we did as soon as I can, as I somehow managed to not take any! The first card was mainly about making a background using Acrylic paint, stamps, Distress inks, Distress re-inkers and Perfect Pearl powders which became the focal point to which were added stamped butterflies and a bird. The card panel was covered with Distress stained Kraft resist paper. Here are some of the part finished cards..... and some more here..... The ladies made two more cards, one using alcohol inks and Andy Skinner's "Back to nature" stamp set, and then a card featuring a MS punch all over the page butterfly which caused some jumping in fright when the magnets clanged together! Everyone made fantastic versions of all the cards and, as you can see from the pictures, they all looked quite different.

It was a lovely day and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I'm not sure when I'll next be teaching workshops, but do keep an eye on my dates and in my posts of course, as I'll be sure to let you know what, when and where!
So, today, unfortunately, was still not a day off as I am in the last few days of getting designs finished, as well as prepping for the coming weekend's events. However, it's been nice to be at home all day, and David has kept me going with coffee and toast!
For those who have been asking, our new little friend is really settling in now. He did blot his copybook last week, as he is definitely nothing like our dear little Cherry, and is quite the hunter. He has been pouncing at our regular bird visitors and one pigeon did leave a few feathers behind in a flurry of claws and wings! There has been a grisly moment with a mouse too, but I won't dwell on that one. So, we seem to have Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde living here, as he swings from being purry and cuddly to a miniature lion! Hopefully he'll learn that the birds are off limits - fingers crossed! He is still wolfing food down, ate half of david's sandwich when he put his plate down for a moment and, last night, I even found him chomping on the skins that I had removed from my broad beans and set at the side of my plate! I guess he has been a hobo for so long that he thinks he had better fill up while he can.

He has been to the vet who pronounced him fit and well and missing his "boy bits" - no microchip and, despite posting his details on animal lost & found sites etc, nobody has claimed him. His name has been "pusscat", "oy", "ccchhh, ccchh" etc and I was wavering towards the very original "Tommy". A lady who was at the vet's with her two beautiful Shelties, thought he looked like a Thomas, as did the nurse, so, Thomas it is. It suits him. So, that's the state of play at the moment. We have been battered into submission by him really! Will keep you posted!

I'm going to get back to some work again now.....Christmas verses are calling!

feline fine after my trip!

Hello folks, I really hope this post works, as everything is going bonkers with blogger (for me anyway!) since David had to change the feed...I think that's what he did anyway! Last week I couldn't publish what I'd written and now, after I uploaded all my pictures, everything that I typed came up bright blue and underlined! So...I have deleted the pictures (hoping they are still on my computer somewhere!) and am now doing the text and will try to insert the pictures afterwards. The only clue I can find about the underlining is that it's somehow connected to photos, so we'll see. What a palaver!

Anyway, I had a great trip to In 2 Crafting in Wickford, near Basildon. This is Basildon's version of the Hollywood sign, though it's somewhat smaller....quite a bit smaller! See Heather - I told you there was a Hollywood style sign there! I had a trot round the town and then went to my hotel which is on an entertainment park with restaurants and a big cinema. It was a much quieter night than usual there as they have closed down the nightclub through noise complaints! I had a stroll around the lake and fed a few birds, then it was a bite to eat and a relaxing night in. The hotel has recently upgraded their rooms and this included HD tv's. I've never watched anything on HD before and have to say that I was very impressed - I watched an animated film called The Legend of the Guardians (all the characters are owls) and hardly followed the plot as I was just transfixed by the amazing picture! Lol!

Anyway, after a comfy night's sleep (this one made up for the horrors of the Eastbourne hotel!) it was down to work on Saturday. Réne and John have new premises now and the shop is really bright, airy and spacious. I was busy all day and the ladies and I had so much fun, with lots of giggles all day, just how I like it! I was showcasing stamps as well as Distress Stains, Tissue Tape, My Mind's Eye papers and more. The Stains are becoming more interesting each time I work with them. Here I dragged them over my craft sheet, spritzed on a little water and a few sprays from the Perfect Pearl Mist (ie the "white" one) and then dragged white card through it. This gives a hazy background with a lovely shimmer. I used this with my "I dreamed of castles" and "Hoist the Flags" stamp sets, before matting onto card that I'd punched with the MS PATP Vintage Lace. Once punched I coloured it with the Spun Sugar Stain. The message is from my "Happy Anniversary" stamp set which has four assorted verses on it. I coloured the castle and the four extra towers using pale pink and blue Memento pens before assembling them and finishing with Crystal stickles on the roofs. The bunting was stamped directly onto the card and then, again, onto white gloss card. I coloured each bunting flag with Memento pens, cut them out and layered over the ones on the card. The Castle stamps can used to create cards for anyone - pink and glittery for little girls, masculine colours for men, Gothic style for teens etc. This, however, was everyone's favourite card on Saturday! It's made using my "Rose Galore" stamp set, which has the rose background, single rose and row of borders. The sentiment is from my "Sending words of love" set. The background roses were stamped with black Memento ink and then coloured with a solvent based pen. I stamped the row of flowers onto seperate white card and then joined the two pieces together, hiding the join with ribbon that I'd dyed with Distress Stains. I stamped and embossed the verse with detail silver. Tissue tape down the side of the card and the single rose stamped, distressed and cut out, was the finishing touch. Here's a large 8" x 8" card which I covered with MME Lost & Found glittered paper before embellishing with stamps from Andy Skinner's Stitch in Time set. I added a pleated Tissue Tape band down the side, an acrylic fragment, needle threader and some thread which I formed into a mini skein and held in place with more Tissue Tape. The "pretty" panel is from another Lost & Found sheet and I edge it with dyed ribbon. The Lost & Found papers are really pretty but have that distress touch as well.
Several of the ladies at In 2 Crafting asked me what was happening with the pusscat who seemed to be in the process of adopting us! Well, at the moment, he is luxuriating on David's lap! We will be taking him to the vet to check if he has a microchip or to see if they know of anyone who has lost him. He has, meanwhile, well and truly made himself at home! Here he is on the first day that he came inside....along with all the bits of grass and earth that he stomped in with him! He now stays in overnight and goes out in the morning, whereupon, after about half an hour, he yowls as if he has been treated most cruelly and continues until he is let back in. He's no trouble though......very happy to just sit on a vacant (or otherwise!) lap, or cuddle beside me on the sofa. He has become a bit of a kitchen doorstop though, parking himself there at the merest hint of food being prepared! Not surprising really when he had obviously been fending for himself for some time. He does dribble a lot though - I think it's because he has a slightly wonky mouth. One very contented pusscat! Shame you can't hear the purring which I think could possibly be heard from three miles away at it's loudest!
Do you think he's decided that he's landed on his feet? He hasn't got a mucky nose by the way, that's just his markings! He's a big cat, but he has a very loving personality and is a real softie, though he has nipped me a couple of times....his way of telling me which parts of his legs are "off limits"! I have also rediscovered the joys of cat hairs on black skirts and pinprick holes in skin due to kneading from feline feet!

So, that's where things are at the moment. He doesn't have a name yet - though Joanne named him Naan straight away! I like a two syllable cat name and am waiting till we know for sure that he hasn't got someone pining for him and to see what suits him. Will keep you posted of course!

So, it's a busy week ahead just for a change! I'm still working on those new designs with an ever looming deadline and have to make samples for Saturday when I'll be demonstrating on Crafty's stand at the Port Sunlight show. Then, on Sunday I'll be teaching with Amy Shaw at our joint workshops day. We have just a couple of places left if you'd like to come along and join the fun - just contact either of us for more details.

Hope to see some of you at the weekend. I'll be posting some pictures tomorrow to join in the fun on Joanne's Crafting Buddies blog, so please do pop by to take a look. Lastly, welcome to new followers and hope you enjoy my ramblings!

Drawing pains!

Well, it's a lovely sunny day here, so hope the weather's good where you are. It should be a great day for drawing, but, for some reason, my back has decided to twinge rather nastily, so I am struggling somewhat. If I stay in the same position for too long it starts to get painful, so I am a bit too wriggly for concentrating on detailed work! Still, work has to be done, so I will have to press on. No idea why my back is suddenly being gyppy, but guess I probably just slept in one position for too long. Moan over!

It was a really fun day on Saturday at Topaz. Everyone was in a quite frivolous mood as you can see in both of these pictures. Amy.........and Sheila! Both showing what they think of having their photos taken - charming! Everyone else, as you can see, was hard at work making their easter cards! Sheila is such good company on the workshops, always ready to have some fun and she does keep us in stitches!Here's a picture of the afternoon's workshop where the ladies were all decorating and filling Sahdow Boxes. There's me, floating about with the tin of alcohol inks for the ladies to colour silver keys to make them look more aged. Lots of concentration going on here!And look who turned up and tried to pinch my Ranger workshop canvasses! Terry has lost so much weight now that he can't hide as much stash now as he used to..... ....so it looks like Joanne will fail in her attempt to get him to pocket the third canvass! Lol! In case you don't know, Terry "pinching" my stash is a regular episode when we see each other - and he really isn't a criminal - honest!

Well, this was just a quickie post to say hello while I'm just having my coffee break. So, back to work now! Lindsay

PS if you fancy having a fun day with me at Topaz, do check out my next workshop dates on the left.

New designs & a page

The postman called this morning with a package containing some new "things" I've been working on. They'll be on QVC at the beginning of September, so I shall be making some samples for the show. It's always a thrill to see the initial designs becoming a finished product, so I'm going to enjoy working with them now. Watch this space!

Hello to everyone that I met at the demonstrations this last weekend. It was a very busy two days, though not too much travel involved this time which made a nice change. The picture below is from Saturday's event at Crafts 4 U 2 Do....everyone was very jolly....honest! (I think everyone was concentrating!) The lady sat down is Joan, who was already there when I arrived to make sure that she got the plum spot! Lovely lady as was everyone that came along. I don't have pictures from the day at Crafty By Nature as my official photographer wasn't with me ie David! Anyway, hope everyone managed to paint some trees, blend their ink and make alcohol ink monoprints...I was thinking about you all! I've managed to complete another page for Heather's book swap and I've also done a couple of the backs as well. One is for the back of my Heart & Soul page, but I didn't photograph it. The pictures below are of "The Timekeeper" themed one. I've used three of Tim's cogs...I love this element as the cogs engage with each other properly so they all move if you turn one of them (I'm easily pleased!!!). The metal bird is also one of Tim's (sounds like I've stolen his personal stash!), as are the clock faces which are from the Lost & Found Paper Stash. The background is a mixture of Big n Juicy ink over gloss card which I'd partly covered with a large clock mask (Tim again!). I scratched some of the surface off to give texture and also added some torn tissue tape from you know who! The wizard was cut out from a charity shop book find. I added the letters and calendar scraps and glazed them all with Glossy Accents. The clock hands are just twisted wire which I bradded into place so that they can be turned to any time. Passage of time is my main theme here I suppose with the bird symbolising that time flies...how true! For the back of this page I've drawn a wizard using my 0.05 ink pen before colouring and shading with Promarkers. One tip with using these pens for skin tones is to use something other than the actual flesh colours for shading. I've used Blush to colour the face and hand and then shaded using Cool Grey 1. Using a grey or a very light green will give a much more realistic look to skin than using light, medium and dark shades of the usual flesh tones.If you are colouring darker skin tones then just use darker greys and greens in the shadowy areas. If you look at portrait paintings, or even your own face in a mirror, you'll see areas of green, blue or even purple as well as the usual peachy, browny, pinky tones. Well, hope you like this latest page!

I'm off to book some train tickets and hotel accomodation for my next trip down south now, then I'm going to carry on with some more work whilst watching Amy on QVC at 2 o'clock. Cheerio for now, Lindsay

PS Blog Candy and consolation Candy (for Jovick) has now been sent out....finally! I'll be ofering a new Candy before too long, so keep popping back.

Time to rest

Today was the day for some time off after a few weeks of solid work. So I took a leaf out of Tara's book and had a lie in! Then there were some good tennis matches to watch...well, first day of Wimbledon, it would have been rude not to! I should say here that I was writing all this yesterday ie Monday, and had almost got to the end of this long post when something happened, I think my thumb slipped onto a mystery key, but, whatever it was, it deleted the entire post, words and pictures! Ggggrrrr.....I just didn't have the heart to re-do the whole thing from scratch last night. Maddening. Tara is mum and dad's cat and the lovely picture above is of her fast asleep in my bed at their house. I really miss not having kitty feet padding around, so it was a treat to have her company whilst we were house sitting a few weeks ago.

The next picture is of the three ATC's which I made for Heather's swap last month. The theme was "A little birdie" and the only rule was that there must be a bird and a figure on each ATC. I decided to draw my own designs for these, so I pencilled the images in, inked them up with my 0.05 pen, coloured with Promarkers and then added extra details with more pen work. I hope the recipients liked them as I had great fun creating them! If you fancy joining in one of Heather's monthly swaps check out her blog (in my blog list at the left) and just email her - then you can join in as many, or few, of the swaps as you want to.

While we were away I did a demonstration at Windmill Crafts in Thornton and managed to get a photo of Terry trying to sneak off with more of my stash in his sling! He would have got away with it if he hadn't been so over enthusiastic - I think my bright orange guillotine was just a little ambitious! For anyone who hasn't read my earlier posts, there is a long standing joke now that Terry pretends to pinch goodies off my table and I take a picture for the blog - poor Joanne (Terry's wife) always looks mortified but it's very funny! Best wishes to them both at the moment because now Joanne has had a "trip" as well - I think they need to start taking more water with it! (Only joking!).
The card below was made using one of my new character stamp sets. This one is Finlay the frog (PICSA6113 Prince Frog) and I stamped one of him lying down and then used several impressions of the sitting version to create the crowd behind him.

I simply cut the grassy strips with my scissors, but the Martha Stewart grass punch, or fringing scissors give a really good effect if you have them. I used the crown and message from the same set. The frog stamps are great for male cards...which man wouldn't like to think he was the real Prince! As you can see, I enjoy making fun, whimsical cards, but I also love making more artsy pieces as you will see further down.

On Saturday I was at Dawn's studio where I was teaching a workshop entitled "Secret Canvas". One of the ladies attending was Sheila and she completely overwhelmed me by bringing a wonderful gift that she had made especially for me. It's a box which Sheila has made and decorated with friendship definitions. Inside are five RAKS, one of which is made using my TSV stamps! The remaining ones all feature Aliced in Wonderland images. Sheila, thank you again for this beautiful gift, you are an extremely generous and talented lady.

These pictures are of the sample which I made for the workshop, showing the front and back of the canvas. The colours don't look as vibrant as they really are, but I used ochres and gold combined with teal as my pallette. The flowers are all hand dyed ( a technique I'll be demonstrating in my next few demonstrations) and the "secret" area in the back has a mixture of photographs, a "love letter", a lock of hair (mine!), an altered matchbox, flowers etc.
I think all the ladies were a little
intimidated by the stark white canvasses to begin with, so I got everyone to sponge paint on them straight away - amazing how some colour makes an empty space less scary! We then used tissue to create texture, added crackle paints, grungeboard letters and stamped images.
As you can see, everyone was soon getting quite engrossed in their pieces of art. Here's a face that many of you will recognise! Amy made a very girly pink and lilac version, complete with fairytale castle and winged key, for a little girl's bedroom. Below you can see Sheila's canvas coming together. It was, as always, fascinating to see how different everyone's style was.
We had a lot of fun, with lots of laughter throughout the day, and we over ran the allotted time too! I think that all the ladies were going to add extra ephemera, charms etc to their creations once they got home as well.

Below you can see how well everyone's work turned out (I told them they could do it!)

From the left we have Elaine, Lesley, Sheila, Kath, Sarah and my sister Heather. No Amy on the picture as she had to get back to work before I took this. Kath and Elaine came in to see me the next day to show me how Kath had finished her canvas off with lots of extra embellishments.

If you fancy coming along to one of my workshops, keep checking the "demonstration dates" section on here for what's coming up. My next one is on Saturday 17th July and is a Ranger techniques class where we will be using all sorts of different Ranger products and each technique will be used to make an ATC sized aide memoir with the option of putting them all onto a ring to keep them together. If you'd like to book a place, please contact Topaz Crafts directly - not many places left! The last couple of photos are of a little tin that I altered using alcohol inks and stamps. The images are all Darkroom Door by Rachel Grieg - a really talented photographer who then turns her images into superb rubber stamps. I highly recommend them as they are not only wonderful images but they stamp beautifully. I used the inks to colour the outside of the tin. I then used Rachel's butterflies, flowers and words (from the "Wildflowers" set) to embellish the lid. For the inside I ditressed some cream card with inks and water and stamped a Tim Holtz message onto the one for the base. I hand dyed Petaloo flowers to match and added these, as well as two velvet butterflies, also from Petaloo. It's just a whimsical piece, not practical at all, but I like that!

I stayed with Rena and Stephen (Amy's mum and dad) on Saturday night and little Alicia was staying over again too. No "Cockle Overs" (forward rolls!) this time, but, instead, we were making some felt monsters which later became characters in a puppet show with Alicia and I behind the sofa enacting St George and the dragon! Stephen filmed the whole thing and has threatened to add it to the Topaz blog, so myacting skills (!) may well be there for all to see! It was a lot of fun!

On Sunday I was demonstrating all sorts of techniques at Dawn's studio and must thank everyone for their lovely compliments about the TSV and also for the gifts which I received - there are some lovely, kind people out there!

So yesterday was a rare day off with sunshine, tennis, watching the birds and just having some relaxing time at home. Just the job! I'll be posting some pictures and a bit about my art background (as requested) after this post, so will say cheerio for now. Lindsay

Trade show, telly and time flies!

This could be a loooong post! Lots of pictures to share, well, a few of them anyway, and tales from the trade show and the telly studios. The time just flew by and it all seemed to be over as fast as it began. As this is the one time of the year that I get to meet colleagues and friends I always hope the time will go by slowly, but it always races faster than ever. So, the first picture is of some of the samples that I made for the shows, all piled up and ready to pack. There are cards, boxes, candles, chocolates and more! This was the first time that I had to prep QVC samples at the same time as those for Stitches, so it was a slog to get everything made.

David drove me down to Birmingham and checked me into the hotel where we met my good friend and colleague, Jan, who is Personal Impressions area manager for Scotland and North England. We then went to the NEC where the PI team were already very busy setting up the stand which is one of the biggest in the show. David and I said goodbye and then Jan and I began helping to get things ready....or so we thought! Ranger and PI had collaberated in two half day workshops for our customers and there were just two places available as the ladies who had booked had not been able to get there. So Jan and I were able to go along and enjoy the three hour afternoon session. Did we feel guilty about leaving everyone else to set up?.....er....no!! The first hour was with Suze Weinberg using the Melt Pot and we made a selection of UTEE pieces. Next was Claudine Hellmuth and we used her new range of acrylic paints, mediums and sticky backed canvas. Lastly was Tim Holtz with alcohol inks and the new yummy Distress ink pad colours. We inked, painted, melted, glued and distressed and ended up with a stack of samples which we then attached to framed mirrors which we had colour washed. As you can see, the results were fabulous and this little beauty will be accompanying me to my Ranger demonstrations. The great thing is that, even though I am a "certified Ranger educator" (no clever remarks please!) and demonstrate the products regularly, I still picked up new ideas and had my enthusiasm tweaked up a few more notches! On a more serious note, I had been concerned about a magazine project which I saw somewhere, some time ago, and have noticed people on various forums saying that they were going to try the technique themselves .....this was using alcohol inks to tint UTEE in the Melt Pot. I asked Suze about this and she confirmed that this is a complete no no. So, please, if anyone is thinking of using the Melt Pot, you must only use To Dye For inks to tint the UTEE as they have been specially formulated for the purpose. Even if other inks appear to "work" in the Melt Pot, fumes are invisible and could cause problems. Okay - back to the fun now!
Here is one of the cards I made using some of my new stamp designs - this is a quirky bird from the "Knotty & Friends" clear set, and there is another set of them called, wait for it....."Trotty Lotty Botty"! I should explain - when I design I give working titles to each drawing and sometimes the names are used but often they are given new ones. When I did the birdies I started using rhyming names and was running out by the last couple, so we ended up with the above! I like it that PI have a sense of humour though, and it was a talking point at the show! The background for this card was made with Ink Potion no 9, gloss card and dye re inkers. Lovely bright shades. I was teaching versions of this card in my workshops on Sunday and Monday and demonstrating for the rest of the time. It's when I get to see all the retailers from all over the country, and overseas, in the one place, so a lot of catching up goes on as you may imagine! yOn Sunday night was our traditional, annual night out at the Wing Wah Chinese restaurant. It's always a real hoot with around twenty five or so of us having a great buffet meal, chatting, laughing and hopefully not talking shop too much! One of the traditions is the "initiation" of any new guests at our tables...a nice, if slightly embarrassing initiation! There is a sudden burst of the Happy Birthday tune and then the waiters approach the newbie with a large ice swan filled with ice cream, surrounded by fruit and topped with a giant sparkler. Everyone joins in with singing and clapping as the recipient sits there, rather surprised as it isn't their birthday of course. Daft, but fun! This year it was Claudine (Helmuth) who was our newbie....that's me behind the sparkler! Claudine loved the surprise - I think! At our table we chatted about our pets, present and past, and Claudine and I found that we both have nightmares about our long tresses being cut off! Next day it was back to work with workshops, demonstrations and business meetings. Most of us went without lunch after the big meal and then a good breakfast, but ny 4pm we were all beginning to feel ravenous and the show goes on till 6pm. So, it was time for me to break open the emergency cupcakes! (I had made one of my boxes featuring cup cake images and there was a cake inside it, so I brought extras with me in case that one got pinched. Here are Elaine from PI and Joella who had come over from Pergamano to be with us on the stand.both tucking into a tiny cupcake each. Elaine is one of the most wonderful people I have been lucky enough to know, an absolute treasure.
Here are two ladies that you will instantly recognise! Suze, Claudine and Tim were all demonstrating on our stand throughout the weekend, but I really didn't get much time to watch them. Managed to snap this though just as Suze was packing her things away. What dazzling smiles they both have and they are two really individual ladies.In the afternoon, as I was demonstrating, there was a hand on my shoulder and there was Tim with a gift for me....a full set of the new Distress ink pads! Can't wait until they are in all the stores so I can use them on my demonstrations

Here is a not very good picture of the Ranger gang getting ready to head down to QVC on Monday afternoon. Tim was launching his TSV at midnight, so we all promised we would saty up to watch that night and wished them all well. By the way, Mario (Tim's wonderful assistant) was actually wearing long jeans as opposed to his trademark knee length shorts....mind you, we did have 4" of snow in Birmingham!Monday evening was spent having a quiet (ish!) meal at the hotel and then lots of telling of stories and laughter to keep us going until we could watch Tim on QVC at midnight. We all huddled round a laptop as they couldn't change the channel on the big tv in the hotel bar. Hope we didn't make too much noise as we were cheering for Tim of course! Not that he needed our good wishes as, of course, his products had been so long awaited! Below is a picture from Tuesday morning which shows Malcolm, and a huuuge cake that was given to him as it was his 40th anniversary with PI! Dawn mentioned him on air and it was announced at the show too! I made a card which we all signed of course. Next to Malcolm is Kathy and behind her is one of my best friends, Jan. We are like the terrible twins when we get together! Here are snaps of a couple of the cards I made with some of my new stamps. I'll post more new images of these as and when! Thoughts of an exotic summer amidst all the snow here! On Tuesday afternoon myself, Rachel Grieg, Shari Carole and her husband Tom all set off on the train for London and QVC. Rachel and Shari were snapping away as we drove through London in the cab! Look who was in the Green room when we arrived - Tim was relaxing before going back on air. We had to sort out all our samples and get organised ready for the "All Star Stamping " show at 7pm. Here is Amy - with frog slippers! - taking my picture taking hers. I liked the way that she matched the collage on the wall! Amy is another of my favourite people - supportive, funny, kind and also a really great mum.Next you can see Shari and Rachel setting up their demonstrations very quietly! If you can imagine, there were about seven of us all, including Paula and me, setting up in silence as we were in the live studio - well, trying to anyway! As you can see, there wasn't much room!All too soon we were trying to get ready to go on air, slapping make up on....not even time to do my nails after all the inkiness of the weekend....getting changed an miked up. I was up first and, though I felt fine all day I have to admit that I did feel rather disorientated once I was on! It was a combination of the small demonstration area, everyone else being in the studio watching me, having Dawn on one side and Debbie Flint on my other side....oh well, I know I'll be able to take whatever is thrown at me next time! Thankfully all my stamps and the inks and glitters that I was using just about sold out, so that made me feel better! Dawn is absolutely fantastic as she can find the word that has mysteriously escaped one's brain, fill in the silences that you may experience and generally guide you through. I don't think that everyone appreciates how very hard Dawn works and what a lot of pressure is on her to make everything flow smoothly. This craft day was her first without Jj to help her for seven years, so it was even more stressful than usual. I know that we all were amazed at how she keeps going for a whole craft day and Tim and Mario were very complimentary about what a star she had been.

The gorgeous Paula was on after me and she had no time even to demonstrate as her stamps sold so fast. I was thrilled as these were Paula's first stamps on air, and I know how it feels when people love them. Paula primped my hair for me too just before I went on - thanks Paula! Next came Shari from Hero Arts, who was on TV for the first time...who would have guessed? And finally Rachel, from Darkroom Door who was also a TV first timer and sailed through as if she had been doing it for years! It was over very, very quickly and then we went back to the Green room to watch Tim's final show. After that we helped to clear the studio and got chance to snap a few more photos. So, here are Mario, Dawn and Tim - doing his pirate face - very sultry! And now me with Dawn and Tim.When we had all cleared up we left Dawn, Amy and Paula to carry on the hard work and the Ranger boys took Shari, Tom, Rachel and me out for a truly delicious Italian meal. We were there for so long that we had to ring the hotel to make sure that they held our rooms for us and we disn't check in until 12.40am! Well, you have to make the most of the good times and it was a great ending to a very busy few days. I'll post more sample pics as soon as I can, but I have another busy weekend coming up in Chorley and Cockermouth so have to make some more cards tomorrow. Hope to see you at one of the venues! Lindsay