At last!

Gosh, it's been a while...mostly because something has been messing around with my access to blogger and keeps sending up a page that interrupts me whenever I've tried to post. I think it's something to do with Virgin having "updated" whatever it is that they update and my system doesn't seem to support everything as it did before. Gggggrrrr!

It's also been a really busy time here one way and another....Stitches trade show was as manic as ever - even more so this year, as I was working on both the Personal Impressions and Deco Art stands. Here are some images from the show.

The Deco Art stand and the make n take area that myself and Mark Gould were manning.

I was adorning T Shirts with Andy Skinner's latest stencils and So Soft paints.

One of my hand painted samples using the So Soft paints.

A Mixed Media hanger...I wanted to do something with a more Summery feel.

There's always time for some fun however busy we are of course!

With Andy...the Master of Mixed Media! And the thorn between two roses at dinner with Andy and Mark Gould...

My new stamps were previewed at the show but, due to the pre production sets not being ready, I haven't been able to make any samples to share with you as yet. You can check out the new sets here though  and they will be hitting the shops from around the 15th March...fingers crossed!

I'm happy to say that I'm now on the Deco Art International Design Team which is really exciting. My first step by step project on the Mixed Media Blog can be seen here and there is a new button in my left sidebar which will take you straight to the general Mixed Media Blog. 

I've also been really busy with Church of course...lots of special services lately, including Ash Wednesday and St Chad's day. I was in Chorley on Wednesday for a full day's seminar on courses that we'll be running in the Summer so that was very interesting - if a little long! 

My garden is looking extremely neglected...probably because it has been! I am just waiting for the weather to warm up so that I can get out there and hack through the jungle of weeds, clean out the micro pond and mow the lawn at last. 

Thomas and Tara are beginning to spend a little more time outside again and I can tell that Spring is approaching by the fact that I am finding cat hairs attached to my clothing again..the moult has started!

 I've also decided to start running small (very small!) Mixed Media workshops from my little studio here.I can only take up to three people per session and these will be full days priced at £50 per person which includes all materials, refreshments, including lunch, and a goody bag of papers, ribbons, die cuts etc to take home. You can check out the first dates in my demo/workshop list on the left or you can request a specific date and I will try to fit it in for you.

Right, I will crack on as I have a large amount of dies to cut in preparation for tomorrow's workshop at Craft Range in Burnley!

I'm all misty eyed

Just a fast post while I'm having my lunch break! Today I'm working on projects for my demonstration at Coleman's Warehouse on Saturday. It's their 100th Big Craft Day so there will be lots going on and lots of demos to watch.

As well as my Christmas stamps, Distress inks, stencils etc I'll also be showcasing the new Media Misters from Deco Art which create some fantastic effects. Here are just a few of the backgrounds I made earlier...

Various colours, including the Shimmer effect ones, sprayed over 300gsm card that I had primed with gesso. I spritzed a little water over the colours to create some extra marbling effects. Love it! 

The Media Misters are not the usual ink type misters as they are permanent - they have a good "playing around" time when sprayed onto non porous surfaces!

These two were both done onto Ranger speciality stamping card (coated matte finish) which I put through embossing folders before spraying. Once dry, I gently went over the surfaces with gold Metallic Lustre.

This next one was spayed over plain old, unprimed 300 gsm card that I had already embossed with the snowflakes folder. This time I used the Silver Sparkle Metallic Lustre over the surface.

 And here's that same piece trimmed and used as a backing for my Stringy Snowman stamp!

I'm loving the new Misters and, if you're coming to Coleman's on Saturday, I'll have them on my table...though I think they may go pretty quickly.
I had a lovely day at Daisy's Jewels and Crafts in Coventry last Saturday and a big hello to everyone who cam along...your enthusiasm was infectious! As promised, here are a couple of photos of the secret book box which I hope we will be doing on the workshop on January 17th.!

 Please double check with Wendy regarding details and cost of the workshop but, as of this moment I think we'll be creating a card, maybe a small plaque and the book box...depending on how much we can get through of course! Here's another view of the book.

Well, I am off to carry on with my Media Misting now, and then I'll have to get cleaned up as there is a meeting at the Vicarage tonight and I daren't turn up with hands looking like they do at the moment!

Sewing AND ironing!

Crikey, I think I should lie down in a darkened room having done both sewing and ironing this week! Having said that, neither were related to the dreaded housework, so not quite as bad. I've never been a fan of sewing though and neither has my sister...mainly due to the fact that our mum used to be a fantastic seamstress who had the ability to turn a length of fabric into a beautifully made garment without the need of a pattern. She would take a few measurements, make some marks with tailor's chalk and then the scissors would flash and, in no time, she'd be fitting the fabric pieces together in situ on whoever she was making the garment for - pins held between her lips as she went! Heather and I just never felt we could come up to her standard I'm afraid.

Anyway, on Saturday I'll be at Studio Craftique in Hessle, near Beverley where I'll be demonstrating DecoArt So Soft and Ink Effects fabric paints as well as Fabrico pens, Sizzix dies, stencils and stamps. The Ink Effects are really great to work with if you're a little nervous of painting directly onto material as they are painted onto paper before being ironed onto the fabric - foolproof! (Hence the ironing!). Below is an example of the Ink Effects on a simple white T shirt....don't ask me why I took the photo at the rather drunken angle!

I inked up the quote stamp with a black Fabrico pen and also used it to add the outlines around the figure and the musical notes. The paints are fully washable.

The So Soft paints give a more vibrant finish and are painted directly onto fabric. No heat setting required and the painted items are machine washable after 48 hours...brilliant! I used the same Dylusions character (Ruby Rainbow) stamped onto plain white fabric and then painted with the So Soft, including the new glitter colours. Once dried, I turned it into a small cushion.

The borders, bird and railings are all from Dylusions stamp sets. I like the fact that you can see the text detail on the wings beneath the glitter paint.

Normally I'd have had to resort to hand stitching around the cushion but Heather brought round her little sewing machine for me to use. Quite funny really as she hasn't used it herself yet - told you we both have a "thing" about sewing! However, once I got started I was well away and, before long, I was zig zagging around Sizzix birds appliqued over hessian......

....and sewing fabric panels onto cards ready for painting on Saturday.....

 ....the machine helped as it's small, lightweight and easy to use. I was even able to use it on the floor, pressing the peddle with my hand and, thank goodness, even at top speed it was easy to control!

Hope to see some of you there on Saturday as it will be lots of fun.

Meanwhile, here are a few more pictures of things I've been creating with my new stamps. Another tag made using my "Frayed Around the Edges" Doo Lally Pip character, this time using the new Tim Holtz spritzer and Distress Markers through Tim's new Doily stencil....

....the spritzer really does give a great effect though very detailed stencils. I've been asked if using the spritzer will use up the ink in the pens more quickly so I asked Tim and he assures me that it won't - all good!

There is one of my new quote stamps on this next, over the top, piece! 

I was showcasing Tim's Rosette strip die and his burlap panels- don't think I could have fitted any more on there really!

And a couple more tags to share....

....Dylusions ink sprays on the left tag and I used Tim's stripes stencil on the right tag which made me think of a woodland so was perfect to add my new owls to.

Well, it's 6.30pm and dark outside after a beautifully sunny day. The days are certainly getting longer and it really does feel as if Spring is getting close enough to touch. Can't wait to have a few free days to get the garden tidied and some seeds sown. But for now it's time to draw the curtains and get my dinner ready  - a simple concoction tonight of a crunchy Caesar salad with some crispy bacon and cherry tomatoes.

I'll be off on my travels tomorrow and Thomas is already sulking! He's back to full health again now and no limping at all...though I'm sure he's going to use that raised paw when he wants to tug at my heartstrings! 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Oh, before I go, here's a saucy photo to share with you that I've borrowed from a good friend's Facebook page....

 ....any ideas? It's Dame Edna and a rather large eared, moustachioed character who, as you can see from the stance is very tall. But yes, under the disguises it's me and my pal Andy Skinner! And no, to answer a query when Andy posted this on his Facebook page, you don't need to be buying wedding hats!

I think you'll notice me!

Hi folks, I'm up to date with my work for this week anyway. Next week I have to get cracking with the Masterclass samples for my workshop and demonstrations at the Craft Barn Extravaganza at the end of May, beginning of June, but, for today....I am done! There's been a mix of light showers and lovely warm sunshine today, so I managed to get some gardening done too - I've put up a willow trellis behind my bench and planted Sweet Peas and Nasturtiums along it, planted more of the Summer bulbs, transplanted some Sunflowers and Sweet Peas into big pots and put those outside and also planted a new rose that was given to me by my friend Jan who called to see me this week. Whew! 

I've also caved in and got some slug pellets - these ones are organic and much safer around pets than the usual ones. They are really tiny and I've been very careful to hide them under the plants...just hope they work as those pesky slime trailers are out and about again now. Ugh! 

I am all set for tomorrow now and will be at Card-Io in Pemberton, Wigan from 10am-4pm. Hope to see some familiar faces there.....those of you whose email addresses I "have" please come armed with them for me as I lost almost everyone's contact details a while ago! It's always a fun and busy day at Wendy's shop and I get well looked after too, which is always nice.

You should be able to spot me in the shop as I'll be wearing my latest creation! 

It's pretty bright! I bought a (neon) pink sweatshirt and painted it using Deco Art products. PI had enlarged some of my quotes and the Doo Lally Pip logo for me and my first task was to draw around the words on the back of the paper using a pencil. I then painted the words using Deco Art Ink Effects. After thirty minutes I ironed the words onto the sweatshirt - the beauty of this medium is that you can make your mistakes on paper not on your fabric! Materials with more than 30% cotton need to be sprayed with a special prepping medium first but are then good to go. 
The words came out beautifully, but I did want a slightly more dramatic effect than the subtle black of the ink, so I painted over them using Deco Art So Soft fabric paint. This really gave me the strong look that I wanted.

Next I had to re draw my Doo Lally Pip "Moochin'" character to make him much bigger. As I drew the original this wasn't too tricky for me! I then used a fine brush to go over the pencil lines using black Ink Effects and ironed onto the sweat shirt as before. Next I squeezed out several colours of So Soft and began painting my Moochin' boy. I stippled different colours onto his T shirt to give a similar effect as the one I get when I stamp onto inky kitchen paper. The paints are really easy to work with - they flow well when you brush them on and the colours mix beautifully to create things like flesh tones.  The white is very strong as you can see.
Once I had painted him and he had dried, I used a finer brush to paint the black outlines back in and to add his features and shading dots. I then finished off by adding pink and purple circles with black centres to tie in with the packaging design on my Doo Lally Pip stamp range.
The best bit is that once the paints have dried for 48 hours they are permanent - no need to iron or heat set! They are washable and durable - brilliant! Oh, the only thing to remember is to pre-wash the garment without using any fabric conditioner before you start painting. The next thing on my list of things to paint are some white canvas shoes! The paints and Ink Effects are available from good crafts stores that stock PI products....if they don't have them, they can order them for you. 
Here's me wearing the sweat shirt, though the image is in reverse as I took it via the mirror, having no one to take the picture for me. 

 Please don't look too closely at my hands though....now I know you all just did.....as I had just come in from the garden and popped the top on to take a quick snap before getting into the shower. I completely forgot how soily my hands were - makes a change from ink I suppose!
I had to laugh when I came in from the garden earlier on. Tara pretty much claims the conservatory as her own, Thomas tends to loll around in my bedroom or my Doo Lally room when he isn't prowling about the fields. However, I was very amused to see him snugly settled into Tara's static carrying case with her quite happily sitting on the rocking chair....

 I was also very surprised that she wasn't doing her usual hissing drama queen act, but, when I walked back through half an hour later I saw this scene.....

 ....and it did make me wonder what had been going on in my absence! Lol! 
Well, I hope to see lots of you tomorrow and I'll try and remember to take some photos if I get the chance. Have a great weekend everyone.