What's on your Workdesk Wednesday 143

Morning everyone it's that time again and my is my desk a mess today.  In my defence I am in the middle of getting ready for a demo on Saturday...this is how it gets in order to get those creative juices going!
So here goes.....

As you can see some stamps, lots of ink and that blue folder contains my Spellbinder dies....lots of playing on the cards today...with a brief break at lunchtime as hubby is taking me out for a curry!
Why?!  Well today is our Wedding Anniversary.  Is it 4 years or 16?!  It's our 4th Anniversary but 16 years married.  The downside of marrying on the 29th of February, LOL.  Still I got a lovely bouquet of flowers today and a yummy bottle of brandy so that's me one happy bunny.
And my card to him......on my....less is more is definitely the case, I had to sneak in to my craft room and make it quick.  He's off shift just now which basically means he is kicking around at home.  I started it last night but he came in so I had to finish it this morning whilst he's popped out.

Now I know these smirk stamps aren't the most popular but I like the simplicity of this one and I don't do lovie dovey cards....inside reads "cause it ain't your birthday!"
It made me smile.
Anyway back to the main post WOYWW is organised by the lovely Julia, why not pop on over to her place and check out what everyone else is up to today.
It only remains for me to say "happy hump day!"
Oh before I go....I had a lovely surprise in the post this week.  I was made up big time.....I will share what it was with you tomorrow....such a tease!!

Mmmm what more did I find?!

Sorry I missed you yesterday but I had an appointment with a mountain of ironing amongst other jobs plus I also had a lovely catch up with a couple of friends.

Did the cake work?
It most certainly did and it was very scrummy and went down well at the crop.  If I ever get handed Herman again I'm afraid he's turning vegetable!

Sunday afternoon cropping was as always great fun, lots of nattering and crafting plus lots of refreshment, what more could a crafter ask for?  I also managed to knock 6 cards off my to do list which is most unlike me.  Productive whilst chatting and eating.  Wonders will never cease!

This week I shall mostly be preparing for my demo at Papercraft's boutique in Elgin where I am going to be sharing some top tips with inking techniques.  So I may be quiet later in the week as I get my head down and beaver away!

For today I wanted to share a few more pictures from the show.....loving the products from Studio 490....fancy a look too?

Here is the lovely Hels Sheridan who was demonstrating the fabulous products.  "Caught you having a wee break!"  You should click on her name and pop on over to her blog for a wee look, she creates some mighty fine work, her samples were stunning.

Aren't they all stunning samples?

She also showed my some of the samples made by Wendy Vecchi from Studio 490 too.  Another fabulous blog to check out!  I do hope I've got these samples right.  Again aren't they just fabulous?

Peek-a-boo Hels!

Oh my, oh my.....I'm loving all the chipboard and embellishments that match and go with the stamps....a girl could have so much fun inking with these.  Don't you think?

I'd like to say a big thanks to Wendy and Hels for sharing their inspiration I can't wait to get myself some of these beauties and have a play!

Introducing distressing inks.

Morning all.  It's a bright Sunday morning here in Scotland and I am feeling a wee bit happy with myself, LOL...why?  Well for a start I am up and about, I don't do mornings!  (Believe me when I say it's a miracle on a Sunday morning!) Not only that but I have cake in the oven, smelling yummy!  (I must be coming down with something!)
After updating my blog I am going to sort out my craft bag then I'm away for an afternoon of crafting at our local Hopeman crop.  Whoop!  A good day is planned.

Now my cake could be interesting....remember I had a herman cake recently?  I got one back off a pal and decided to change the recipe.  :0  I know, mad or what?
So instead of using apple I've added carrot and honey...will it work or will it be a quick trip to the supermarket before the crop?!  If smells are anything to go by it's doing mighty fine but I may just have to taste test before going out this afternoon, LOL.  Maybe lashings of cream cheese frosting might help too.

Before we continue with pictures from the show I'd like to share what we got up to yesterday.  Firstly I'd like to give a big "thank you" to all the lovely ladies who came to Elgin yesterday to join me getting all inky with Tim Holtz distress inks and Marion Emberson stamps.  I certainly had a good day and I believe everyone else enjoyed their day too.  Here is the cards we created;

The products we used are;  Distress inks Peeled paint and Broken china.  Stamps all by Marion...It's all in the words, Find joy everyday, Build a tree, Just because and finally On your special day.  Spellbinder dies; Eyelet squares, Classic squares, Lace doily motifs, Butterflies, Long classic rectangles and Ribbon tag trio.  Bling by Zva creative, black seam binding from Elgin, Memento black ink,  PI clear embossing powder with Versamark ink.

With the first card we concentrated on getting the hang of blending the inks together then making a simple scene over the top. 
The second we created the background and then stamped over with the same colour for a different texture.  The butterfly we attached embossing ink whilst still in the die so that only the raised area could be covered (remove from die before applying heat!), this meant that ink could be then added and wiped back....magic!
The third card we again blended the different inks then spritzed with water using a Rangers mini mister, blotting before adding the black ink.

That's my buzzer going for the cake....how long do I have to wait before testing it?! :)
That's all from me today it's time to go and get sorted and packed for this afternoon.  I have a lot of birthdays coming up in March so I think I may try and get ahead of the game this afternoon and do a wee bit of card making.
I hope you all have a lovely Sunday whatever you have planned.

Spellbinding Stitches!

It's me back again with some more pictures to share.  Today I shall mostly be at Papercrafts Boutique in Elgin teaching basic ink blending techniques...can't wait to get all inky!

Whilst I'm busy having fun crafting I thought I'd share with you some of the new Spellbinding dies....want to see them?

Ooh don't you want to play with some of these?!

And some samples;

Isn't this lovely....I must play more with this flower die 'cause these flowers look fab. 

I also bumped into the lovely Sue Wilson who works for Spellbinders, you will know her from the TV channel Create and Craft. 
I just have to say her cards are stunning and much better and bigger in real life. 

Here are some of her fabulous cards.....

How about that for a "spellbinding" array of cards?

Gorgeous.

Anyway that is all from me today, more tomorrow.

Have a great weekend....and happy crafting to you all, thanks for popping by.

More from Stitches!

What do I have in store for you today?
Lindsay Mason that's what........

Busy, busy, busy demoing.

Loved all of her tags using the new PI stamps.

I think the mermaid was my favourite.

More new stamps, I love the way Lindsay has layered these cards.

Lots of inking, layering and matting.  A great selection of inspiration and such a lovely lady too.
More from me tomorrow and I think it might have to be a bit of Spellbinding magic!

Sugar Bowl challenge 78

Today I shall be taking a wee break in the proceedings to bring you this fortnights challenge from the Sugar Bowl.  Today's sketch is from the lovely Marie Theresa and the added challenge is to use kraft paper.  Here is my interpretation;

And the sketch;

I have used;

Sugar Nellie stamp Hazel, isn't she too cute? 

Paper by DCWV The Linen Closet, Spellbinder nestabilities classic round, SU small tag punch and stamp.  Flowers by Marianne design, seem binding, lace, bling and metal embellishment from stash.

I coloured Hazel on craft with my Prisma pencils and glitter Diamond stickles.

Up for grabs this time your choice of 4 Sugar Nellie stamps again moving on up to 6 if we get more than 100 entries.

Thanks for coming by and looking at my version of the challenge, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I have and remember you've got to be in it to win it!

Happy crafting!

More pictures from Stitches tomorrow.  I have a wee boy off sick today so my crafting time will be drastically reduced.  Boo!  

What's on your workdesk this Wednesday 142?

Hi and another "hump" day. (Middle of the week!)
What are you up to in your crafty space?
Today I have a card waiting to be made for a nurse and I have a couple of projects from the weekend to finish.  I have finished my day invites for my Wedding and now have to start the evening.
On another note I must replenish the food cupboards today and also pop into Papercraft's Boutique to get organised for my classes this weekend.
It's going to be a busy one today!
Anyway enough waffle here's the lovely tidy desk....as always!

How about a closer look?

Did you see these?  I'm still pinching myself.  We got them at our class in Birmingham at the weekend...if you want to see what we made have a wee look at yesterday's post.  I think these Distress markers are going to be on my wish list!

This is the project we made with the lovely Lindsay Mason and her new stamps.  I put off finishing mine till I brought it home, but enjoyed playing with masking techniques.

This is the project we made with Dyan Reaveley, we got very inky with stencils and sprays...still to finish.

As you can guess I have had great fun playing with different projects, why not also check out other desks via the lovely Julia's blog and go see what everyone else is up to.  I'm afraid I will be back later to check other blogs out....must get some food first!

Just before I go I also saw these cute bags on the PI stand at the weekend.....me likie!

Got to love My Minds Eye's products aren't these bag kits cute...and wouldn't they make a great gift?
More MME products to show you tomorrow....got to be one of my favourite range of products...mmmm!
Ever feel like a kid in a candy shop?!
Thanks for popping on by today and having a wee lookie at my desk and other items, have a great Wednesday and "happy crafting" whatever you are making. x

Tim Holtz Class

Guess who is sat waiting to start class?

Before I share some more Stitches photographs with you I wanted to show you what we made in Tim's class on Saturday.  He always creates a great project for us to make and is a great teacher, very relaxed and helpful. 
Enough of the waffle Erika and show us what you made!!

And a close up;

And more;

I don't know what you think but I loved the class and I love the project....am I biased?!  LOL.  Of course but I'm sure you'll agree.

How about a few more pictures from the show too?
As we are talking Tim Holtz products lets have a look......

Wouldn't you just love to play with all of these?  In particular I loved these;

And how about this for a configuration tray;

And finally one for the scrapbook......

I look like a startled bunny and hate having my photo taken but it's got to be done.  I had a great day and would like to thank Tim, Mario and all the staff from Ranger and PI for a fun and educational event.  More tomorrow!

Stitches

As I may of mentioned in earlier posts,  I was away at Stitches in Birmingham this weekend.  I had a lovely time wandering around all the crafty stands checking out what is going to be hot for the next year.  So what did I see?
What is going to be hot......lots of wool and some really trendy funky wool with fab patterns.  Lots of traditional felt, kits to make felt items and materials like felt.  Plenty of materials with lots of bunting in red, white and blue not a surprise really with the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Olympics on this year.  Lovely threads, buttons and ribbons.  Step away from the ribbon....I do have a thing for ribbon!

I took some pictures of things I liked so I'm afraid it's paper crafting all the way.  Let's start with a special picture for my fella sweetie Elaine....I saw these on the Personal Impressions stand and thought of you;

We used these in our class with Tim and even got a couple to take home.  I love them.  They have a brush nib and a thin plastic nib for journalling or fine work.  Tim mentioned it is a fine plastic nib as a lot of the felt nip thin tips tend to split over time so you will always get a fine finish.  I also love the fact that they all coordinate with all his other ink product ranges, there is even a white!  YES!
Elaine you so NEED them all, LOL, oh and I did put in a good word for you.  :)

On to some of the new papers, I loved these by Cosmo Cricket;

There is still a lot of Steampunk around both in embellishments and papers.  I also noticed that the Circus seems to be up and coming too, check out this range by Graphic 45;

And finally for today lots of lovely new PI stamps;

Within the stamping world there seemed to be a lot of scene making ranges, lots of stamps with either matching metal die cuts or chipboard cut to size and lots of altered art style images.

Today that is a wee taster of a few items I liked.  I've got loads more photos to share with you this week but guess you all want to know what did we make with the main man......Mr Tim Holtz....do you want to see that tomorrow?

Last but not least!

This is my final sneaky peak with reference to Friday's posting and my up and coming class in Elgin.  See that posting for all the details.

Today as you read this I am hoping to be flying down to Birmingham. 
Like a kid in a candy store I'm checking out all the latest products and taking in a few crafty classes too.  (Have I mentioned it already?)
Heaven, I'm in heaven! 
Mind you so are you as you can't here me sing over the computer!
(Do you get the impression that I might be a wee tad excited!)   Sad I know.
I will tell you all the gossip next week when I get back home.....lets hope the nerves stay in check! 
I'm not used to all this networking.  Wish me luck I'm going in........

Sneaky peak 2

Back again today with another sneaky peak reference yesterday's post....more inky techniques.

Mmmm what can it be?! 

Today I'm away to the hairdressers to get a tidy up before my trip south.....oh my I'm now getting excited.  Can't wait to see what we will be making in Mr Tim Holtz class!!  Squeal!
Guess I better pack my bags and check into my flight....oh and pray for no snow tomorrow.

Stamping techniques

Next weekend February 25th I am teaching stamping techniques at Papercraft's Boutique in Elgin.  We will be using different inks and stamps together with Spellbinder Nestibilites to create simple yet effective cards.
Fancy a sneaky peak?

If you would like more details please contact Kate on 01343 548864. 

On to today and I've been getting my next Sugar Bowl entry ready and having fun with that.  It makes a lovely change from invitations and I'm looking forwards to sharing it with you.  Me likie this coming challenge a lot.
 
Then it's on to ironing in order to get my boy ready for going back to school....why? 
Well, this weekend coming is my annual trip to the NEC in Birmingham for the Craft, Hobby and Stitch International show.  A chance to see what is going to be hot or not as the case may be for the up and coming craft year.  I must remember to take my camera so I can maybe get a few pictures to share with you.
It's going to be a mad weekend with a very early flight down Saturday morning and late back Sunday night....me thinks I might need to recover Monday!!  (No staying power at all!)

Back tomorrow with another sneaky peak!

WOYWW 141

Doesn't Wednesday come around quickly?
Today I'm afraid it's more of the same from me.  I was hoping to have this Wedding licked by now but with children off for half-term....need I say more.  I need to get it sorted as I'm away to the trade fair at the NEC in Birmingham this weekend and have another lady wanting Wedding invites coming next week......yikes!
My desk this week;

I'm about 1/2 way through my day invites.  I've left a finished one there for you to see.  It is very simple from the front with everything going on inside.  All the information of the wedding on the top and a pocket with the RSVP on the bottom.
Why not go and have a nosey via Julia's blog and see what everyone else is up to....I love having a look.

Just before I go I mentioned yesterday about Herman.  Now 10 days ago my good friend Christel arrived with a plastic contain of shall we say goo and some instructions announcing that she had "Herman" the friendship cake for me and I had to look after him or he would die!  No pressure there then!
It turns out that Herman is a sour dough cake mix that you have to look after and leave out on the kitchen worktop covered with a tea towel for just over a week....feeding it twice in this time before splitting it on day 9 and sharing with your 3 of your friends.  The 4th section you bake yourself on day 10.  I was surprised how tasty it is as it goes against all your natural instincts to leave food out of the fridge for that length of time.
Fancy a slice?
Here it is........it goes mighty fine with a nice cup of tea!

That's all from me this Wednesday, whatever you are up to enjoy.....happy crafting!

Happy Valentine's Day

So ladies did you get spoilt this morning?  No?!
Neither did I.
Mine you I did find this quote I used on a card last year and it pretty much sums today up.......

Happy unimaginative
Consumerism - oriented
And entirely arbitrary
Manipulative and shallow
Interpretation of a
Romantic day!

So there you go, LOL.  Romance is dead!  Mind you I do have to admit I have noticed the decline over the last 10 years in general.  When I first started making cards I did a roaring trade at this time of year with gushy cards, rude cards and simply romantic cards...  But I have noticed the decline in sales too.  At the end of the day who needs a day to be told be romantic when you can do something everyday?
Not that that happens either....but I tend to find it's the little things I appreciate now.....like that first cup of tea being brought to you in the morning, a couple of hours peace when the kids are dragged out on a bike ride, a bottle of brandy!  Hick!

Anyway yesterday I mentioned that tonight I am doing a craft class with a group of Beavers....and to those of you who think little brown creatures...I'm afraid you are mistaken, although wouldn't that be an interesting concept?! 
Beavers as in Scouting.....younger than Cubs and Scouts.
That being the case we are doing something for Valentine's day but I am keeping it simple.

The card;

Simple heart punches and sentiment from Marion Emberson Design "It's all in the words" from PI.

The decoration;

which may be a wee bit fouterie for them but we will only see tonight. 
It is all cut out ready so we have all the time in the world to put it together....well about 1/2 an hour!

I have just used different length of red paper and card and a brad....simples!

That's all from me today...I'm off to carry on with more work on this Wedding and then I've got Herman to bake later....more about that tomorrow.