Sunday tidings

It's a beautifully warm and sunny Sunday here, so I hope that everyone's been able to enjoy some balmy weather after the rather dismal few days that went before. I was up early to get to church in time to fold up the service and news sheets which are handed out as people come in......I was told that they were expecting some fancy origami folds from me! This morning was my second time as a Sidesperson, so I felt much more confident in what I was doing today...not that it's very complicated, but one does like to get things right nonetheless.

I could have probably managed a little longer in bed after getting back at 9.30pm after a long day at Dainty Supplies on Saturday. It's a four and a half hour journey, but only one change which is always a bonus. Everyone loved the background effects I was showing using the Dylusions ink sprays and quite a few people went home with lighter pockets after being tempted...well, the colours really are difficult to choose between! For anyone who was wanting the Doo Lally Pip sets that were out of stock, or sold out on the day, I have mentioned them to the management at Dainty's, so they will be getting them in as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who came along for the lovely feedback and don't forget to email me if you get stuck with anything.

Speaking of getting stuck.....I had a little Ice Resin left over from filling bezels yesterday and so I scooped it onto some decorative paper - it's a great way to use up small amounts if you've mixed a little too much for a project. When the resin is dry you can tear away the excess paper and you're left with a gorgeously glassy effect which can even be curved without snapping, so great for adhering to 3d projects. Anyway, I had, sensibly, put said piece of paper onto a piece of stiff card and placed it behind me on top of a set of drawers. On packing away, I reached for my jacket, my black velvet jacket and found that the ultra sticky, resin coated paper had managed to leap off the flat surface and onto the sleeve - aaaarrrggghhhh! Sue did her best to get the worst of it off using hot soapy water, but, by the time I'd got home it was a bit late to get the rest off with nail polish remover. Never mind - at least I knew it was there so I managed to keep my hair from getting stuck to my sleeve on the return journey. I hate sticky - love inky - hate sticky! 

Well, after that little tale, time for me to share some more new stamp designs. I'm often asked how I keep coming up with ideas when I start working on new collections and I've been known to ask the same question myself when I'm having artist's block! Sometimes I have a fairly good idea of something that I want to draw, but, at other times, I just gaze at the blank paper for a while and then find my fingers start moving the pencil around, doodling lines here and there, till something begins to take shape. Often one image can spark an idea for another, and sometimes I even dream up my designs quite literally, so I have to scribble them down when I wake up before they fade away as dreams do.

Anyway, through whatever means I came up with these ideas, here are some more of them! A sketchy set first, which is called "Christmas Circles" (CICSA6084).......

......the swirly elements can be used at any time of year obviously, as can the circle border. I think I'll be using various means of decorating the modern tree...adhesive gems of differing sizes, Liquid Pearls and Stickles glitter glue as well as just highlighting with good old Glossy Accents. This set is in the Crafty Impressions general Christmas collection.

More snowmen now...I know....I know....but I can't help myself....I just find myself drawing them! I love them though. Unlike Santa, you can have as many snowmen as you like on a card. Some of you may have seen examples of the over the top snowmen pop up card that I taught in workshops quite a few years ago now. In fact, it was one such card that was my very first published magazine project! Well, I like them, so hope you are a snowpeople fan too......

 ......the hat that the top left character is wearing was based on the one that I bought earlier this year when my ears were frozen on one of my long trips! This quartet of chilly chaps (chapesses?) are called "Snowtime Snowmen" (CICSA6089) and are also from the Crafty Impressions collection. The snowman face will be handy for using on teeny tiny cards, as well as peeping over snow mounds (torn white card to you and me) on larger cards. 

Doo Lally Pip next, and a set called "Elfy Christmas" (CICSA6104).....

...... I'll enjoy colouring this character and building a little elfy village behind him. He's got feet that are at least a size 22 I reckon! And check out the knobbly knees!

To complete today's preview, here's another Doo Lally Pip set, but not Christmas. I hope you'll find this set of hats really useful - I love putting hats on characters, the less appropriate the better in many cases! So, this set is "If you want to get ahead..." (CICSA6018)......

 

 ......just lots of assorted headwear for all kinds of characters. Of course, as soon as I'd filled the paper with hats, I immediately thought of others that I should have included. So, I think there could well be a sequel to this set at some point. My favourite here though, is the jester's hat - I'm going to have fun with that one.

That's all the sneaky peeks for today, but I'll pop back tomorrow with a few more. I'm going into the conservatory now to pick some green beans to go with my dinner. My first crop....I'll take a photo and share that tomorrow too. You'll be very underwhelmed by the quantity I'm sure, but I can't wait to taste the first of my home grown produce and I bet they do taste good too!

My brother in law, Graham, has been for a test at the hospital, so we are now waiting for the results of that to come back to give us an idea of where we are with things. Unfortunately, my sister's neighbour lit a bonfire yesterday and the smoke did nothing to help poor Graham's breathing. They did put it out when Heather went round to explain, but not before there had been a lot of discomfort caused. Again, thank you for everyone's good wishes and prayers which are really appreciated.

More stamps

Hope everyone is keeping snug and safe in the wintery weather. The snow has been falling here on and off all day, but it's not too thick, just patchy areas of white here and there and at least the garden looks prettier! This was my Doo Lally room earlier today looking from my table towards the neighbours across the road...I've got the best of both worlds as I look out to neighbours at the front of the house and fields at the back.

On the table are my new stamps in the box as well as a set in the clear bag (how organised am I.....it won't last!) The water is for my brushes, not for drinking. My alien like daylight lamp is in the corner of the room...David bought it for me at a car boot sale about five years ago for £3.00! I like to have a scented candle on the table when I'm working to give a relaxing atmosphere. Hard to see the snow through the window, especially through the condensation, but it was falling quite quickly at that point.

Here are a few of the tags that I made today using some of my Doo-Lally-Pip range of stamps.....

 .....having great fun working with the new characters. I'll take some more detailed pictures over the next few weeks.

Personal Impressions have now added images of the remaining new stamp sets, so I'll post some now and in the next few days. I have some in my own (Lindsay Mason Designs) category and some in the new Crafty Impressions category in case you are looking at the website. 

This one is called "Princess Tippy Toes" (CICSA6066).....

.....I like juxtaposing the dainty dress and crowns with the bovver boots!

"Hopeful Harriet Feelin' Good" (CICSA6060) is the one that I used on the top left tag in the photo......

 ......she's got a couple of optional hats...I've given hats to a few of the characters this time!

Here is "I Can Fly" (CICSA6062)..........

 

.....I wanted this one to have that childlike feeling that anyone can fly if they just believe it enough....even if it just means flapping your skirts about a lot!

That's a few of the girlie characters, and here's one of the boys - as seen in the bottom centre tag in the photo........ 

.....this set is called "Moochin'" (CICSA6063) and he's really easy to colour and cut out so nice and quick to work with. He has the wonky crown as well as the dunce's cap which can double as bunting of course.

I'll end tonight's previews with the set that I based on one of mum's sayings.....we still have no idea who Piffy was, but it's a northern saying that has always tickled me!

 

The set is called "Piffy on a Rockcake" (CICSA6064) and I used it on the bottom right hand tag in the photo.

Well, I hope you like the new designs - the above are all from my Doo-Lally-Pip range. I wanted them to be useful for journalling as well as card making etc. I'll share some more tomorrow!

I must say thank you to Chris for her suggestion of wearing wrist warmers in the cold weather. I didn't have any, but I cut the feet off an old pair of socks and they did the job - I then cut the toes off the feet and had a smaller pair of wristbands. They really do work and my hands have felt much warmer without any restriction on my fingers. Yesterday I took it further and cut up an old pair of opaque tights....I cut the legs off and then the feet and wore the resulting "tubes" on my arms! The body part didn't get wasted as I popped that round my neck! They really made a difference as, even with the heat on, on cold days I get stiff fingers when I'm sitting very still drawing. 

Time for a coffee now and I'd better let Thomas in too....he's been asleep all day but he demanded to go out as I began this post and he may well be a frozen snowcat by now! Tara isn't so adventurous and has been snuggled by the radiator all day!

A few more stamps

Thank you for the lovely comments about the new designs - much appreciated. I have a few more to share with you today and the first one is called "Religious Greetings" (PICSA6364) which is an A6 set. I get asked a lot for more religious Christmas designs, although this set is really more spiritual than specifically religious I think. I've done them in a more traditional font to go with the tone of the messages. As I said yesterday, I love drawing snowmen and it was snowmen that I'd mainly been working on before life got turned upside down, so here's another one.... .....he's one of our Tinchie range, which are around 50mm x 44mm in size, and this one's called "Ice Christmas" (PICST090). He's a bit more of a spiky character than some of my other snowfolk!
Another Tinchie now, this one is "Dancing Christmas Fairy" (PICST092) and she's in a similar style to my Off the Wall range of characters. The last one for today is one that I hope will prove very useful and is in a style that I really like using of block words that can be stamped, cut out and assembled together to create a myriad of phrases, greetings or journal text. They should be useful long after Christmas too. For the eagle eyed amongst you, yes, the word "niece" appears twice...once in the block and again without! I somehow managed to include it twice and PI decided to leave it in! Oh well, a bonus niece!!! This is an A5 set called "Block Christmas Words" (PICSA5345) so the words are large enough to make an impact on a card or not get lost on a journal page.
I didn't manage to do a sketch last night as my hand was just too swollen and stiff and still itching like crazy. However, the antihistamine tablets have really helped overnight in both giving me a good sleep and settling the hand down to a more manageable state. Just as well or I wouldn't be getting much work done today. Thank you for the concerns about me wearing gardening gloves...I do normally wear them when I'm out in the garden, but as I was only cutting back some clean, thorn free branches I just popped out with the secateurs - the Nettle was hidden and that's why I got stung. However, I will put the gloves on next time anyway, just in case!
Right, breakfast eaten, tablets taken, cream applied, blog post done....better get on with some work now!

Some new stamps!

Me again. I have some new stamp designs to share with you! They will be available from the second week in September and you can find images and details of all the new Personal Impressions stamp releases on the website - link is on my left sidebar. If you go to "Coming Soon" and choose Art Stamps it will show you the full range, or you can choose my name to see my specific designs.
As I said, with David's illness, I wasn't able to get all my Christmas designs finished this time, but I had already got some ready including these I'm posting today, some "Tinchies" and some new verse and sentiment sets. Hope you like them!
The first one is an A5 set called "DIY Snowman" (PICSA5344). As you can see, it has everything you need to create lots of different snowman images...he can be two or three snowballs high, with a choice of hats, scarfs and mittens as well as various facial features. The eyes, noses etc are all separate, so you can position them just how you want.I can't wait to get started on this set as I love snowmen! Next is an A6 set called "Winter Country Scene" (PICSA6369) which is a good one for Christmas cards, winter birthdays and, of course, the tree, squirrel, tree line and plants can be used all year - even the gate can be if you cut it out and chop off the snow. I'm going to enjoy using this set I know! Finally for now, another A6 set, again featuring jolly snowmen. This one is called "Christmas from all of us" (PICSA66362) and features three different snowmen images as well as Christmas lights and snowballs. This set's a lot of fun - I love the fact that you can feature as many snowmen as you want to on a card and that you can mix the styles too. I'll post some more pics soon. They'll be available from any store selling PI products and if anyone wants to get them, just make a note of the titles and codes and ask the retailer to order them for you. Well, after last night's dramatic thunder, lightning and bouncing rain, it's now scorchingly hot. After finishing some more samples I was going to get that little wall completed whilst the weather's dry. However, my plans have been scuppered due to the local shop having sold out of mortar - how cheeky! So, it will have to wait till Monday now. I do have some other little jobs that I can attend to though and am desperate to get the bark chips down as soon as I can so the weeds don't get a hold again after all my digging and hoeing. My brother in law donated some Semperviviums and some seeds taken from their garden today, so I have a little planting to do tonight and will add the seeds to my growing collection in the garage waiting to be sown at the correct time.
I've been hampered too by my hand today. Yesterday morning I had to prune back some very tall branches from the bushes in my neighbour's garden that were blocking some of the light coming into my work area. She's been in hospital for a few weeks, so things have got a bit out of control. I was merrily cutting away when I got zapped by a Nettle that I'd not seen. Didn't hurt much but within an hour or so it felt like I had ants crawling under my skin and has just got worse. The incessant itch kept me awake half the night and I've made it worse by scratching - even though I did try not to! I now have a very red and swollen right hand (great when you're right handed!) so have seen the chemist and got some cream and tablets that I'm hoping will do the trick - and soon, before I go round the bend! At least I know to wear my gloves next time I tackle next door's overhanging garden!
Thank you for the comments about the foot drawing! If time, and my dodgy hand allow, I may well draw something else to show you tonight. Meanwhile, I'm off to rub some more cream on and get a cold drink.

At last!

....I can share pictures of some of the work I've been busy with over the past few weeks. It's been very frustrating not being able to post any pics!

I've had some lovely emails since the QVC hour finished this evening - many thanks. It's always good to get feedback on new designs, especially when it's been so positive. For those who didn't see the programme, or for those who didn't get a proper look at the samples that I made, here are the cards using my new scene stamps.
The first two are using the Rustic Seat set. I just used Vintage Photo Distress ink on the top one and then brushed out the colour with a waterbrush. The bottom one was stamped with permanent black ink and then coloured with Distress inks picked up with the waterbrush. In both I used masks to create the depth of the scene. This next pair feature the Garden Chair set and again, masking was the key to making these. The birdhouse doesn't have a pole so that you can position it anywhere and then simply either sketch the pole in and colour it, or just paint some ink coming down from it. On the left card I masked around the birdhouse, chair and bonnet before blending Distress inks around for the background. I used watered down Peeled Paint DI to add simple shrubs behind the chair and then added more detail using the birds, basket and flowers from the set. Next is the Old Jetty Set which I kept to very muted tones in the left card. The masking is very simple on these two examples, basically just the jetty really! The next two cards are made using the Cottage Set. I just wanted to show the very different looks that can be created with either full on colour (this reminded my sister and I of the painted mirrors we had in the family home - crinoline ladies missing here though!) or in monochrome. The next cards use the Cliff Top set which, from the emails I've had, seems to be the favourite at the moment! Two very different looks - a simple, clean look on the left. I brayered some Stormy Sky DI across the card after removing most of the ink on crinkled up paper to get the sea effect. The cliff and lighthouse were stamped, cut out and layered on top.
The larger card has a background made using Colourwash Dyes (an underrated product in my opinion!). I added simple stripes to the lighthouse with a fine pen before colouring. And here's another lighthouse created with masking, DI background and some faux bleaching. Lastly, here is the Watering Can set which has lots of little stamps of flowers, leaves, pots, tools and birds so allows you to make very different versions with a little imagination! By the way, the messages, bunting etc that I've used on the cards are from new sets that will be available soon - sneaky peeks there! If you'd like to see more details of the stamps themselves, please check out the QVC website...if you put my name into "product search" it will lead you to the page where there is a video presentation and pictures of the sets themselves. They are available in two sets of three.
I've been working on more cards and tags today but took a short coffee break this morning and had a wander outside accompanied by Thomas. I do wonder how they manage to walk on the frosty ground without freezing to the spot! It was cold but very pretty and has been a lovely sunny day with a real feel of Spring in the air. Well, it's been a long, busy day and I still have to type up some project instructions so I will say goodnight and sign off for now.

Early night

Time to touch base again. Who can believe that we are in February already? I certainly can't. I've been chasing my tail for a few weeks now, so not much time to post here. And no photos either I'm sorry to say! I will make up for that in a couple of weeks though.
All my new stamps were delivered today, which was very exciting...after all this time I still get a thrill from seeing my drawings become actual stamps. I now have all sorts of ideas and projects spinning around in my head ready to make into samples for Stitches trade show. I am bursting to share images of the new designs with you, but will have to wait until after they are officially released. I'll be able to post a few of them next week though, once they have been on QVC on Tuesday (7th Feb at 5pm).
Meanwhile, it's been freezing here again - there was actually ice on the inside of the windows in one room this morning! It's not conducive to drawing when one's wearing woolly gloves Lol! No, just joking about the last part! I think the heat will have to be left on tonight otherwise my planned early work start will be delayed until my workroom warms up.
Well, I will sign off as so I can get an early night in preparation for a productive day ahead, but just wanted to say hello to everyone. Now I'll say goodnight!

New stamps on the way

Sorry it's been so long since my last post but almost everything that I've been working on I'm not able to share just yet. Frustrating! However, I now have the date for when some of my new stamp designs will be making their debut on QVC. So, if you'd like to check them out, tune in on Tuesday 7th February at 5pm - the show is Cards for Men, although my stamps are pretty unisex really! I've been busy making samples with the stamps, so will share photos of them once they've been on. Let me know what you think!

On Thursday I was at Crafty Company in Fleetwood where I had a lovely busy day. Of course, I forgot my camera so have no photos of the day to share. Typical! I was using Tim Holtz and Darkroom Door stamps as well as my fairies and combining them with Perfect Pearl Mists and lots of Ranger inks.
Everyone liked this card that I made on the day (don't always finish any cards during demonstrations as it's all about techniques really) using an image from Art de Fleur vol 2 from Darkroom Door - stamped onto gloss card and coloured with water based pens. I rolled in the edges and used a glue stick to secure some Pewter Shimmer embossing powder. I like the way you get stray bits of powder on the image with this technique.
I used some TH Tissue paper to cover a piece of card and coloured it with some Distress ink (Walnut Stain) buffing off the excess. The card it is matted onto is one of the Best Creations glitter range which I coloured using alcohol inks smoothed over the surface. This card has a polished surface so the inks work very well and, once rubbed over with tissue, the glittered pattern still shows through.
I coloured some Seam Binding ribbon using Perfect Pearl Mists, wetting the ribbon and spritzing with the Mists then heating to set and repeating until the colours were how I wanted them. Once I'd tied that around I simply cut a 6"x6" card blank from Tim's Christmas Kraft Resist stash (I used the Postcard sheet). A little Distress ink smudged around the edges completed the look. Thanks to everyone who came along on Thursday, and to Sandra and Keiron for looking after me and all the customers with hot drinks and sandwiches. We needed them too - it was a nippy day in Fleetwood!
My diary is now filling up with dates throughout the year so I will start adding them to my list on the left. I'll fill in the blanks as and when they get booked, so do check back to see if I'll be anywhere in your area.
Right now I'm working on more drawings and getting things organised for Stitches (the trade show) in a few weeks. It's always tremendously manic and very hard work but also a lot of fun and something that I really look forward to. I do always doubt that everything will be done in time, but, somehow, it always is!
This next card is not a new one but I wanted to add more than one photo! I've used alcohol inks on Best Creations glitter card again - this time with a butterfly theme. The little cutie is called Bluebirds Proposal (GJK012) and it's a rubber cling stamp from Gorjuss (through Personal Impressions). I coloured her with Promarkers and used an EK Success Butterfly Layering punch (EK54-90006) with simple pink card to create the accents. Wonder what she's thinking? Well, just a quick post this evening to show I'm still here! Don't forget to tune in to see the new stamps but I'll post details of them as soon as I'm allowed. Keep warm everyone.

Over a week......

Since I posted on here.....how naughty of me! Hope you'll let me off though...I was working, honestly! Well, I did take Sunday off. So, since I was last here I have been to Crafty By Nature in Kearsley last Thursday where I demonstrated and hosted two make n take sessions. Hello to all the ladies who came along - hope you all got the ink off your fingers okay!
Then, the next day I headed up to Darlington, well, I was meant to be going to Chester-Le-Street, but, due to a certain pop group doing concerts in adjacent Sunderland, there was nowhere to stay within thirty miles! I didn't know this until I was up there and was wondering why there was no room at the inn, or hotel, or guest house...anywhere! So, I stayed over in Darlington and then got the local train on Saturday to be at Dainty Supplies. Hello to all the ladies up there, and apologies for making you spend so much money...well, not really! Hope you enjoying your new stamps, Stains and punches.
On Sunday we went to the car boot as we haven't been for aaages and it's always good fun. It began to drizzle with rain as soon as we set off, but we were undeterred. Unfortunately there wasn't much of interest, though I did spot my favourite lipstick at a bargain price, so stocked up. Poor David got absolutely nothing!
After that we drove over to Redesmere to feed the birds. The lake was crowded with ducks, coots, geese etc and more swans than we've ever seen there before. We had two loaves of bread with us and they scoffed the lot! Not that they ever go unfed of course, as visitors appear on a regular basis to top them up. There's a catering van there with a great sign..."I don't do fast food, I do good food as fast as I can"...and he does too. I bought a homemade soup, Steak sandwich with onion and mushroom and two hot chocolates for the grand sum of £5! Can't be bad, and it wasn't, it was delicious! So it was a lovely day out and a real change.
Back to work on Monday and I worked on a project for Crafts Beautiful magazine. In the current issue I have a project featuring Andy Skinner's stamps which I've used to make a memory box and matching card. Hope you like them - the memory box idea is a great way of using those sturdy boxes that gifts often come in and are too good to throw away!
Myself, Andy and Paula Pascual will be at The Craft Barn "Best of British" extravaganza (along with around twenty other designers and demonstrators) down in Lingfield this weekend, so I've been busily getting samples made. More details about the event can be found on the Personal Impressions website as well as their facebook page. I'll be using my latest stamp designs and here's a card using my Keep on Smiling and Hoist the Flags stamp sets. The background is made with Distress inks blended softly over PIP300CWH card...I used Broken China and Worn Lipstick in the sky and Peeled paint for the grass. There should be instructions for this card, as well as the butterfly one further down, on the PI website before long. Here are a few small pieces that I've made using dominoes and a Facet. The left piece is now attached to a chain. I stamped my ATC Jolly Jester onto the domino using Stazon ink, coloured him and then varnished with Glossy Accents. Not having a mini drill, I made twisted wire loops and attached them to the back of the domino with good old Glossy Accents. I added some accents of a bauble and Fleur de Lys (both Time Holtz) and the word "Fly" from another of my sets which was stamped onto Grungeboard and covered with Crackle Accents.
The top left domino was simply swooshed into alcohol inks and details added with fine black and white pens. The lower image is the stamped Jester again, covered with a TH Facet and some of the Baubles added which I tinted with alcohol ink filled pens. These last two pieces have brooch pins attached. Whilst I was making some cards yesterday I had a little "help" from Thomas. He was checking out a work in progress as you can see....... ........but he wasn't happy with how I'd adhered the squares to my card and decided that he needed to make sure they were properly stuck by sitting on them! I'm not sure why he found this experience so drool worthy, but, thankfully, he didn't dribble on the card! His bottom did the trick anyway, and here is the finished card, which features images and words from my Tattered Butterflies set along with paper from Tim's Shabby Vintage paper stash. I had a bit of fun with the next little piece...I do enjoy filling these little boxes taken out of the Configurations. This one has the quirky girl from the Keep on Smiling stamp set and the wings are from my Fly, Soar, Soul, Dream set, which features a heart made from two folded wings. I stamped it onto Grungeboard, coloured and cut it out as two seperate wings, leaving little tabs at the top of each one. I used a combination of craft knife and pricking tool to scrape out two slots in the side of the box (I didn't want to go all the way through to the inside) into which I pushed the wing slots, held in with....ooh, what could I have used? Glossy Accents by any chance?! I added all sorts of bits and bobs to complete it. I'll have all these pieces, plus more besides of course, at the Craft Barn weekend, so please do say hello if you are a follower, or reader of my blog - it's always good to put names to faces.
I'm updating my demonstration list on the left, so do check out if I'll be in your area anytime soon...also, look out soon for news about new workshops that I'll be doing!
I'll post again after the weekend and hope to see lots of you there!

All sorts....

Hello folks, lots of pictures to share this evening I'm happy to say. Just taken me ages to upload them all - my least favourite part of blogging! It's been a really busy week for me, so I have plenty to post about tonight. Have some great news for those of you who have been asking about future workshops too....so do read on!

First of all, I got an exciting parcel delivery this week! The first thing that I took out of the box were these beauties by my friend Andy Skinner. These are A5 sized stamp sets designed by Andy for Personal Impressions. I'll be using some of these on my demonstrations this weekend - they are really great designs with an artsy feel but very user friendly too.Next out of the box were my new stamp designs.....it's always exciting to get the new stamps, especially when they have brand new packaging! The stamps are available in shops now, so, should you wish to get your hands on them, you will be able to get them from Personal Impressions stockists. The stamps in the packs at the back are all A6 clear sets whilst the ones at the front are ATC sized unmounted rubber (these will normally have packaging as well of course!). I'll be using a selection of these at my demonstrations tomorrow at Reams, in Derby, and on Sunday, at The Craft Room in Garners Garden Centre in Newcatle Under Lyne.Talking of my new designs, here is a picture of the prize which is winging its way to Carole for her brilliant cryptic quiz skills! Hope you enjoy using them Carole. I'll be posting a new quiz after the weekend. So back to this last week, and starting with the workshops at Dawn's studio last Sunday. It was a hoot as usual! David decided to revert to being my assistant and official photographer this time, as opposed to joining in. Lots of concentration going on here as you can see from Sheila, Jolene, Elaine and Kath.In the morning we were making cards using Andy Skinner's new stamps, Distress Stains and the new Tim Holtz Kraft Resist stash. As soon as I brought a few stashes through to show everyone they were immediately grabbed and popped into baskets! Here are two of the cards that I made as samples for the class. Both the same design but showing how it could be varied...everyone loved the sentiment on the blue card! The one hour break between classes reduced to half an hour for a quick sandwich as we overran somewhat as usual! In the afternoon we were making mini Grungeboard albums which involved staining, cutting pages and stitching. This led to lots of hilarity, especially from Sheila who is showing what she thinks of me making her sew pages into her book in the picture below.....she enjoyed it really!!! As you can see, everyone's books looked quite different and I hope that they'll be inspired to make more of them. Here's a picture of the one that I had made....I kept my cover fairly simple but may possibly add some more embellishments to it at some point. After the classes had finished we had a real treat as David, Sheila and I went to Kath's house, along with her daughter Elaine of course. You may recall my post a few months ago when I showed you pictures of the amazing fairy egg which Kath surprised me with as a much appreciated gift. Kath makes the most incredible creations and had invited us to go along to see her collection of no less than 72 eggs of various sizes and a huge range of styles. As you can see they are just fantastic......carriages, fairies, swans, flowers, so much variety of style, colour and theme. Here's Kath (well, you can just see her!) with one of the largest...check out the beaded detail on the velvet upholstery of the carriage interior! We were quite lost for words at the work and patience involved. What a treat, and it makes us even more honoured to have received one of them as a gift that will be treasured. Well, onto Tuesday then, when I set off down to Norwich. I had good train journeys there and back you will be pleased to know, after the unwanted dramas of my last journey there. The beautiful weather helped and I was able to enjoy the changing landscapes at their Springtime best. I saw so many rabbits, I think they must have been enjoying the sunshine too! Lots of oh so cute lambs gambolling about or resting next to their mums, great fields full of pigsties with huge sows snuffling in the dirt with little piglets dashing around them and lots of birds of assorted varieties! It was better than any telly programme!

I had a lovely afternoon in Norwich, which is fast becoming my favourite place to visit. Did some window shopping and bought David a few little treats of course. Then a lovely night's sleep in my favourite guest house (called No 17 Colegate) before a busy day at Jarrolds on Wednesday. I was demonstrating mainly Configurations boxes with some inky techniques as well. I love using the single boxes that I've removed from the larger Configurations. Here's one that I had made before I went down, complete with Grungeboard wings, Corked Vial, Timepiece, Key etc etc. Really good fun to make and reasonably quick to do too. This is a feminine version of a full box that I prepared in advance too. Notice that I turned one of the inner boxes around where the heart and wings are - this would be nice to attach a photo to if you were making a wedding memento for instance. This box has the acetate front in place though you can't really see it here - thankfully! Here's a second single box which I decorated on the day....can't tell you what fun these are to do!So, after getting back late on Wednesday, I have spent the last two days preparing things for demonstrations tomorrow and Sunday. Here's a card that I've made using Andy's Back to Nature set stamped onto alcohol inked card. Don't tell anyone, but I stamped the birds the wrong way, so they are flying sideways on!!! Do you think anyone will notice if I don't tell them?! The fab ribbon is from the new Tim Holtz pack - I used Distress stains and water on it and scrunched it up before drying it lightly with the heat tool which lightens the colours somewhat. So, hope to see some of you this weekend for inspiration, tips and new stamps! So, on to the news for those who are wanting to know about future workshops. The good news is that myself and Amy Shaw are going to be running workshop days together and the first of these will be on Sunday 15th May. So, if you are interested, please do contact Amy or myself as soon as possible as places will be limited. I can't tell you what the actual workshops are going to be at this stage as we have only just sorted out this first date, but do watch this space. I can guarantee it will be a fun filled day though! We'll post more details as soon as we have them.

Lastly, if you go onto the Personal Impressions website ( http://www.personalimpressions.com/ ) you will see that they now have a Facebook page, as well as a Twitter site. There are links to some detailed instructions on there for some of my projects and others, so do check it out.

Well, it's now 8.50pm and we've still not eaten because I have been busy on here as well as loads of phone calls, so I shall sign off now as it's an early start tomorrow to go over to Derby. Have a great weekend everyone!

Lancaster calling

Evening folks, apologies for the lack of posts this week which is due in part to Virgin Media problems so that the broadband kept dissappearing up the spout, and in part that I suddenly got asked to do some unexpected work that threw my schedule out - not much new there then! So, apologies if I have been remiss in getting back to any emails etc. I'm hoping to catch up with them tonight.

My new stamps will be hitting the stores any day now if they are not in already - I am just waiting to receive all my new sets and will then post some piccies here. My ATC designs will be out next week.

Anyway, today I have spent most of my time working on this Configurations Printer's Tray. It's larger than the boxes, though shallower. I've used all sorts in this one, including new Idealogy items that arrived this week. Also the new Grungeblocks that you can see with "2011" on them. Hard to see the effect here, but they give a more "blocky" look with the thicker Grungeboard. I've also used some images from the new Crowded Attic stash. I will be adding some more items but it's pretty full already! I'll have this tray, along with more Shadow boxes, at my day at Jarrold's department store on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tomorrow will see me back at Card Craft in Lancaster where I'll be demonstrating inky fingers....I mean inky techniques (!) as well as stamping and spritzing etc. General messiness and loveliness really! Hope to see you there.

All that's left to say is that you have until tomorrow midnight to email your quiz answers over to me, so don't miss out on the chance to win a prize and, I think, judging from your messages, more importantly, the honour of being the brainiest entrant! Lol! I promise the next one will be a little easier and I'll post those much awaited answers to this one (especially number 14 apparently!) on Sunday evening.

Talking of Sunday, David and I will be at Topaz where I'll be teaching workshops of cardmaking in the morning and a mini grungeboard album in the afternoon.

Oh yes, do also check my sister's blog to join in her swap and Andy's blog to enter his great competition. All these lovely prizes and swaps....great stuff!

So, have a great weekend everyone and I will put you out of your misery, re quiz questions, on Sunday night!!!

Cracking on

Doesn't it feel good when you are cracking on with things and they are coming together? Well, I am on a roll with my latest drawings and have (wait for this Sheila!) actually started my pages for Sheila's grungy book swap. I have completed two, so only ten more to go! Never mind, at least I have made start. I've actually done two and a bit, as I have created a background for a third page as well.

I have been working on drawings for the last few days and, late this afternoon, I decided that I needed a break from them. Just doing nothing would have made me feel very guilty, so doing a couple of the pages was a good option.

It's been a quiet few days at home and I haven't been out since last weekend, except to the supermarket with David last night. It is nice to just stay in and pull up the drawbridge sometimes! I had a sudden urge for a bowl of soup and some crusty bread for dinner yesterday, so I chose a carton of New Covent Garden fresh Plum Tomato and Basil. I do recommend you try a bowl of this, as it was truly delicious and filling. I asked David to get me another for tonight, but they had sold out, so he picked another of their range...Jamaican jerk with Sweet Potato. Having read the ingredients, including tomato, coconut and nutmeg, I am looking forward to it. I'll let you know if it's any good!

Here are a few more of my new stamp releases...the first two are from my Fairy Silhouette series, and you may have seen these on QVC as they were released on there first. They will be available in craft stores within the next few weeks. This first one is called "Magic Happens" (PICSA6134)..... .....and next is "Crystal Ball Fairy" (PICSA6137). They will, hopefully, be availbale from around the 23rd of this month, but don't quote me on that! I have posted samples made from these in an earlier post, so, if you scroll back you can take a look at those and see how the images look when stamped up. The last picture is of one of my Mother's day sets, which is called "Mum is the Heart..." (PICSA6211) and should be available from the 17th March. Of course, it doesn't only have to be for Mother's Day itself, but would equally suit a mum's birthday, or, even nicer I think, just a card to say thanks, or hello. Well, not a long post tonight and there is a bowl of soup with my name on it that is calling to me now, so I shall bid everyone goodnight and hope you all have a lovely, relaxing evening. Oh, just to say, the fairy card samples are in my September 2010 posts under the heading "Fairyland".