SAKURA....

Okay folks... here is a major announcement in relation to your beloved Sakura pens.

Now you will probably know that Sakura originally aired on Ideal World but around 18 months ago they made the switch to QVC... well.... a business decision has been made to take the products back to Ideal World so if you are looking for your beloved pens, complete with hints & tips on how to use them... that's where you will find them.

Saturday 11am on Create & Craft there will be a live show with Craig Dougan who will be in the studio showcasing some of your most beloved pens and trust me he knows his products inside out. Some of my samples will be used throughout the show too so I'll definately be tuning in... it's a strange feeling when you see your cards on screen as you're more used to seeing them on your blog... lol.

Next Wednesday there will be another show presented by Leonie but I have yet to have the time confirmed so will come back to you on that one.

Another major event that occurred at the NEC was in relation to the wonderful new products being brought to you from Sakura this year... I'm a bit restricted in how much information I can tell you at this time, but stock will not be available in the UK until June and it's so amazing that Ideal World have taken a 6 month exclusive. Yes that's correct I did say 6 months.... now if that doesn't tell you how wonderful the products are then I don't know what will. As time progresses & we get closer to launch on the TV I will keep you up to date.

Well, time to say goodbye again... will be back tomorrow with some more information but for now I must go as I have samples to work on whilst entertaining my step daughter at the same time.

Toodles for now

Lorraine xxx

Hello.....

Just little old me here, finally managing to get a minute to myself to log in to my faithful blog... and thank you to Mr Blogger for publishing all my posts on time whilst I was away enjoying myself...

Stitches.... well what can I say apart from AWESOME.... it was a fabulous experience and the worst part is I have to wait so long again before the next one comes around...

We arrived on Saturday morning, had some breakfast, checked in etc then headed off to the NEC to do set up which we managed to accomplish by around 4pm so it was pretty good going... Then back to the hotel & up into the executive lounge for a couple of hours chilling before heading down for dinner. Sadly I had to part company around 9.30pm as I was exhausted... was up at 4am... so off to bed I toddled for some much needed rest.

Sunday, Monday & Tuesday followed the same guidelines... up for breakfast then off to the NEC for a full day demoing, then back to the hotel & spent the rest of the night either in the restaurant stuffing our faces or in the bar socialising.... what a hard time we had eh.... lol.

It was lovely to meet everyone although I didn't get a chance to speak to the lovely Joanna Sheen or Leonie when they were around as it was just too busy at my table... perhaps next time though.

Well I got back late on Tuesday night, a little worse for wear, but nothing that a day's rest wouldn't fix... but... by lunch time on Wednesday the phone was ringing with orders for a rush job. Samples required for a live TV show on Saturday so that meant they had to go in the post yesterday... wow... 24 hours is not a great deal of time is it... Fortunately I had some cards which we used at the NEC & I managed to make some more in time for posting yesterday. However, before that order was even completed, in came the next one for more samples for another show which will be airing next Wednesday so I'm back to square one and it's heads down, scissors to the ready & off I go... have from now until first thing Monday morning when they have to be packaged up & off in the post.

After the rough time we've had of it lately I so happy that work is coming my way & hubby can't possibly say a thing about the mess I'm creating can he... after all dear, it's WORK..... lol.

Now I could sit here for hours going on & on but I'm sure I would end up boring you all & apart from that I need to push on with the samples so I'll be popping in & out over the next few days filling you in with all the details so please bear with me.

There was a huge development occurred over the weekend so I will pop a post up later this evening giving you details of it all so please do check back.

Love, hugs & kisses

Lorraine xxx

Grande Finale...

No doubt I'm starting to feel the blues now as this is the final day at the NEC & I fly home late tonight... I'm sure I'll be exhausted but imagine that poor Rob will still have to listen to me natter away on the drive home from the airport.

Will probably arrive home to a grumpy cat as he hates when I'm not here for a day or two.. will show him some major mummy love... a few cups of hot chocolate and will no doubt collapse into bed soon after.

Good thing being that the next post you read will be direct from myself instead of Mr Blogger.... yippee... I'm coming home...

Have a great day.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Withdrawl symptoms...

Well one thing that I do know for sure is that I will be having withdrawl symptoms by now, not having had access to my computer for a few days...

Another bright & early start ready to demo to a whole load of new faces today again... now what time do you think I made it to bed last night... heaven only knows as normally when I'm socialising at the Hilton I'm often know to be heading towards my room around 3am... don't think I can survive on so little sleep this time around though so may possibly have been a little closer to midnight.

I've also taken my Psychology books with me as I need to try & squeeze in a little study whilst I'm away as I've got my essay to tackle when I get back... hells bells is all I can say right now... lol

Well I'll speak to you via Mr Blogger tomorrow again & hope you're all feeling good & full of the joys of spring.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Opening Day...

Now if you're managing to read this post.. thank you Mr Blogger.

Opening day at the show has arrived... my alarm will have gone off at 6am... showered, make up on etc & then down for a yummy cooked breakfast. After that it's off to the NEC for a full day demonstrating my beloved Sakura pens...

Oh... just so you know... there are some new additions being unveiled... sorry I've had to tease you with them but obviously all was kept quiet until the show. Guess you'll just have to wait until my return now so I can spill the beans eh !!!

Well enough gibber from me & my computer so I'll bid you a fond farewell.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Up..Up... and away

Good day all... and by the time that you are reading this I will definately not be at home.. left at 5.20am this morning.. yawn.. lol

Oh yes up at 4.30am to get washed & a few cups of coffee down me so I was awake for the journey. Had to pick Liz up at 5.30am then a leisurely drive to the airport as we have to check in for 6.15pm. So long as the flight is on time then we should be able to sit down for breakfast in the Hilton around 9am. Need to make sure I eat plenty as it will be a long day setting up the stand but boy am I going to have fun...

Can't believe I'm going to see a load of new products before they hit the shops and all under one roof... I do feel honoured to be attending.

No doubt I'll be having a good feed at tea time, a few drinks in the bar & then early to bed so I'm bright & cheery in the morning... doors open at 9am and don't close again until 6pm.

Well I hope you all have a fab weekend & although I've relied on Mr Blogger to upload some posts during my absence, I will be back in person again on Wednesday.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Goth Birthday...

This is a birthday card I've made for my step daughters' boyfriend who's birthday is at the beginning of March.... rather a difficult one to cater for aswell as he will be turning 23, has long hair & is a bit of a goth... was really quite stuck on this one so ended up pulling things together from a Halloween collection... not that I'll admit that to anyone outside of blogland... lol.

Off to pack my case now already for tomorrow's early start but will try to pop back again later with something else (no promises though).

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Maturity comes in many forms...

This is a birthday card I've put together for my mum's husband Eric... I will miss the grande event as I will be in Birmingham (sob, sob)... no really, I think I'll survive missing it... lol.

Anyway.. he will be turning 68 and all he does all day, every day is sit at the kitchen table drinking coffee & reading... he would probably forget what the outside world looked like if the back door didn't get opened. I thought that I would bring a bit of colour to his life & the quote makes reference to all the reading he does. He has been known to get through a full book in under a day!

Well must dash... still got plenty to do before my departure...

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Lazy Days...

Afternoon everyone... this is the next addition to my scrapbook for Charlie... this is one of the few photos of her sleeping as she's normally crawling about at the speed of lightning.... so cute & sweet.

Sorry this is short & brief but need to get on with my samples for the weekend.

See you all tomorrow again.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Woohoooooo to pancakes

Morning everyone and may I say that I'd like to think that the majority of you are going to have a yummy pancake or two today...if you're on a diet... forget about it for a day and enjoy some lovley fresh pancakes with the filling of your desire... oh my mouth is watering already just at the thought of it...

I've been given strict instructions that my hubby does not want anything heavy tonight for his dinner as we are off round to our friends this evening for a fun filled time of eating yummy hot pancakes fresh from the gridle and you wouldn't believe the amount of fillings she has got in... dafty that she is didn't know whether Rob would prefer Golden or Maple syrup so she bought both... hell I wouldn't even do that... he would just be taking whatever I got... there's also banana, blueberries, ice cream, lemon & sugar of course (my favourite) and I can't remember what all else she said... so 7.15pm sharp we will be arriving at her door empty plate in hand ready to receive our grub... lol

Well yesterday didn't go to plan... what a surprise eh seeing as it was Monday & I had the day all figured out in my head... so off now to catch up & hopefully I'll get a little something posted here in a few hours time...

Have a wonderful day.

Lorraine xxx

Happy Days

Morning folks... hope you all had a lovely weekend and here's to a fun filled week ahead, full of lots of lovely crafting.

Here is another page I have made for little Charlie's scrapbook, again these pictures were taken soon after her adoption so you can tell what a bubbly little thing she is as she is with almost complete strangers here yet she is still full of smiles and obviously very interested in looking straight into the camera... lol....

This page was so simple to do for me as a newbie as the page layout was all done as a template so all I had to do was drag and drop the pictures... amazing.

One of the thing I think I like most about the digital aspect of things is that it's so quick and easy to do. For me right now that's a wonderful thing as I don't have very much spare time at the moment so with this option I can quickly jump on the computer and produce something in a few minutes that looks like it took time to make. Only question is... why did it take me so long to have a go....

Working on an American themed one for Rob also, so you can expect to see a few of those pages appearing on here too.

Toodles for now...

Lorraine xxx

Mini Scrapbook...

Now that I've discovered this great new way of creating digital scrapbooks.. I've been having fun playing around with the elements and seeing how everything works..

I've never done any real pages before.. (helped a friend once)... so it's all pretty new to me and very intriguing indeed.. certainly is rather addictive also... lol. Anyway, I've decided to start on a small and simple basis (no brain burnout) so I'm going to make a little scrapbook for my friends' daughter Charlie. This is the little girl who was adopted.

It's only going to be 6 x 6 so that it can be easily managed and stored once I have given it to her. Hopefully this will be something I can do on a regular basis for her (one per year) and that way she will have a record of the events that occurred throughout her childhood... and if she ever decides that she wants to meet with her natural birth mother, then she can take them along and show her what her life has been like.

The picture I've used in this page was taken just after she moved into her new home with her new Mummy and Daddy...

I do have some more pages already made but will upload them later as I'm off out to lunch now with hubby... special treat as it's Valentine's Day...

See you all soon...

Lorraine xxx

P.s. Layout was built using free download from DaisyTrail

Be My Valentine... Digi Card

Now I would like to say morning folks.. but seeing as we are now into the afternoon... no I haven't been lazy today, I've been downloading lots of free digi kits... nothing better than getting something for nothing... lol.

Thought I would share this one with you which I made last night from my free Valentines download.. lots of yummy papers & embellishments to choose from. From a distance I think you would actually believe that there are real gems on this card instead of just an image...

Well sorry this is so brief but hubby is the best part of pushing me out the door as we have heaps to get done today so must say toodles for now but I'll be back later on with some other layouts I've created this morning whilst downloading freebies... multi tasking I think they call it...

Have a fab day crafting & see you all later.

Lorraine xxx

FREE Digital Scrapbooking

Now I'm not quite sure how many of you will know about this or be interested in it but thought I'd share with you just incase...

I'm very new to all things digital downloads etc... only just gave it my first go in the run up to Christmas actually after I saw an article in Simply Cards & Papercraft. It showed a variety of projects made using the Nitwit Collection and they were so irresistible that I just had to give it a go... oh yes... after a few hours playing around I was merrily on my way of entering into the world of digital card making...

Whilst browsing the net earlier today looking for something I happened to discover this site where you can actually register & download some free scrapbooking kits... truly amazing how people can give their work away for free but I'm never one to look a gift horse in the mouth...

If you're into digital or would simply like to give it a go free of charge then why not try it here...

http://www.daisytrail.com/free_stuff.html

Hopefully this info may be of use to someone... I know it's helped me.

Crafty hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Shower Time !!! This is so funny.

This is an email I just received from a friend but it's so funny & all too true that I just had to share with all my blogging buddies... for any gent who reads this... I'm sorry that we are laughing at your expense but unless you're the exception... this applies to you too...

How to shower like a woman....

Take off clothes and place them sectioned in laundry basket according to lights and darks.

Walk to bathroom wearing long dressing gown.

If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas. Look at your womanly physique in the mirror - make mental note to do more sit-ups / leg-lifts, etc.

Get in the shower.

Use face cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth, long loofah, wide loofah and pumice stone.

Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.

Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean.

Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner enhanced. Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red.

Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash. Rinse conditioner off hair.

Shave armpits and legs.

Turn off shower.

Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower.

Spray mold spots with tile cleaner.

Get out of shower.

Dry with towel the size of a small country.

Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.

Return to bedroom wearing long dressing gown and towel on head. If you see partner along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

How to shower like a man...

Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave them in a pile.

Walk naked to the bathroom.

If you see partner along the way, shake willy at her making the 'woo-woo' sound.

Look at your manly physique in the mirror.

Admire the size of your willy and scratch your bum.

Get in the shower.

Wash your face.

Wash your armpits.

Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse them off. Fart and laugh at how loud it sounds in the shower.

Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area. Wash your bum, leaving those coarse bum hairs stuck on the soap.

Wash your hair.

Make a shampoo mohican.

Wee.

Rinse off and get out of shower.

Partially dry off.

Fail to notice water on floor because curtain was hanging out of the bath the whole time.

Admire willy size in mirror again.

Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, light and fan on. Return to bedroom with towel around waist.

If you pass partner, pull off towel, shake willy at her and make the 'woo-woo' sound again.

Throw wet towel on bed.

Now I know you're laughing because it's true !!!

Nine Lives... Is it any wonder...

Now they always say that a cat has nine lives don't they... and I must admit that when I look at this cheeky chap sleeping the day away like this I'm by no means surprised at the saying... it's all the sleep recovery they have that keeps them safe and healthy. Now unless for some reason during the day he urgently requires to eat or go to the loo... this is what my Smithy will look like until somewhere in the region of 5pm tonight... he's a little on the sneeky side you see... he's up and on the go in the morning whilst Rob is getting ready for work, then within 10 minutes of his departure this fly little monkey is all curled up and sleeping. Then, when he thinks that Rob is due home from work, he wakes himself up, comes downstairs, and then when Rob walks through the door he acts as though he has received no love or attention from me during the day... is it any wonder!!! lol.

Now today whilst my little ball of fur is sleeping sound here's what I'll be doing... up a ladder painting a ceiling and then onto the walls & woodwork... all in the en-suite of course.

Like most other households a lot of work has to be done by one person with restricted time for joint ventures and that is certainly the case in this household... thus... after we got the new light I needed to have it installed last weekend whilst Rob was off work even though I hadn't managed to sort the ceiling... last time it was painted my mum had it done whilst we were on holiday and the clown that done it didn't use bathroom paint so it was all beginning to peel away... what a mess. For the last few days I've been up a ladder with nail brush in hand buffing it all down again so I have a nice solid surface to paint.... yes I know most folk would have done it in a day but I've got a bad neck & shoulder injury from a car accident a few years back which puts restrictions on me... never to be defeated though I've worked my way through it and am now ready for paint... yippee... As you can see from the picture, the last painter obviously just painted around my light too... see the dark circle...

Well best sign off now and get kitted up in the old painting gear ready for action. The quicker I get this task completed the quicker I can get on to doing some cards...

Toodles for now my lovelies and hope you all have a fab day.

Lorraine xxx

Late Delivery....

Well a very good morning to you all and I can only hope that your weather is a little bit nicer than mine is this morning... When you look out at the sky it appears to be a relatively nice day.. little bit of blue sky... but then... you look at everything else and it's just all icy white and frozen solid.... oh the joys we've had this year already eh between the snow, ice and sub minus temperatures.... when oh when is it going to leave it... very soon I hope else I may need to purchase some additional thermals... lol..

Anyhow... today's card is one that I was very very late with.... and I'm so ashamed of that... I've been so busy that I haven't had much time to blog hop and oh yes... I missed the announcement that Amanda had given birth to a bouncing baby boy... well.... better late than never as the old saying goes so I had to come up with a little something for her and here it is...

White base card, layered with some Dovecraft Textured Card that is like a cross between yellow & lime green in colour... my favourite colour from the whole pad... which I had distressed to reveal the core & added faux stitching. Next up I cut 4 squares from blue & lilac textured card... all were distressed & faux stitching again on 2 of the squares... all were then attached to the front of the card... letters were cut using my Fiskars shapecutter template, distressed, faux stitching on 2 of the letters... opposite ones to the stitched squares... and these were mounted using silicone... Embellishments used to finish the job... nappy pin of course... a fluffy padded love heart to send them all my love... a fluffy star as I'm sure he is a little star... a button & thread... not quite sure why we all associate buttons with babies... afterall... most of their clothes have poppers on them... (lol)... and why the flower.... I'll be brutally honest here... the colours matched so perfect with the papers there was no way I could leave it off... tee hee... Needless to say there had to be the final addition of some glittery gems to give that added sparkle.

Well, the time is flying by this morning so guess I better get my skates on my bum into gear... so much to do & as usual, so little time to do it all in... but hey... need to live life to the fullest don't we... afterall... we only get one shot at life.

Have a fab day

Lorraine xxx

BLOG CANDY UP FOR GRABS...

Thought I'd better give you the news that there is some delicious candy up for grabs at the moment.

Very easy to enter... all you have to do is visit Justine's blog & follow the rules...

Easy peezy, lemon squeezy...

Good luck to all who enter.

Hugs

Lorraine xxx

Journey to the NEC....

OMG.... I just had to share my fabby dabby news with you all... as I can't hold my water any longer... I'm just far too excited.

I have a fab few days coming up shortly that will be an experience for me... one that I've never encountered before and am so looking forward to.

Now I'm no stranger to demonstrating to the public and I love it... best job in the world actually to someone like me... tee hee... but this month there is a slight twist on the demonstration job... yippee... I'm going to the NEC next weekend to demonstrate at the trade show.... I so cannot believe that I will be there when new products are being launched and I can have a good old natter with all the retailers.

Now is it really a surprise that I'm so excited... lol.

See you all tomorrow again.... naughty wee me is off to play with some new products & prepare some samples in advance of the show... sorry I can't share, but all will be revealed in just a few weeks time.

Toodles for now.

Lorraine xxx

Simply Card....

Surprisingly enough I actually managed to get some time to myself last night to do nothing more than sit down and have a wee play with some good old card... there are so many gorgeous embellishments around these days that we tend to forget the good old days when we had little more than some coloured card to create our projects with... my creating actually started at around age 3 whilst going on long car journeys... all that my mum gave me to entertain myself with was a box of coloured tissues... and boy do I treasure those memories deeply.

Anyhow... pack of Dovecraft Textured Coloured Card in hand and basic kit to the ready... off I embarked upon my crafting journey... hmmm... what to make... flowers.. dress... hmmm.... no.... how about a wacky house with some flowers in the garden... ohhh yesss....

One piece of blue cardstock for the sky, trimmed to fit base card... one piece of green cardstock, ripped of course to create the horizon, again trimmed to fit base card... both were distressed to reveal some of the white core and some doodling around the edge... just for some added effect... next up took some fawn coloured card and cut at a slightly wonky angle for the main structure of the house and dark brown card cut into a triangle for the roof... main structure had some doodling added and was then attached to the base card... on the roof, I distressed it slightly and then used a Pigma pen to draw on the tile effect... this was then mounted using silicone. Believe it or not... the door and windows were made from the scraps I had left after cutting out the main structures... very simple... a whole pile of rectangles simply glued together and attached to the card... oh with a little bit of doodling of course... for the door handle I simply used a small hole punch to give me a circle which I attached using a Sakura quickie glue pen. Alas... my wee house looked a bit on the bland side of life... so I thought that some textured bricks would do the job... again, using wee pieces of scrap I cut some strips, distressed and attached to the house... Obviuosly I needed some wee flowers didn't I... so large hole punch in hand I created the flower heads... drew some flower stems with my Pigma pen & attached the heads with silicone so they are slightly raised from the card... Finally, a few birds were needed for the sky... so gave myself 3 wee ticks... voila all done...

Oh well... more work awaits me in this house of chaos so no other option than to bid you all toodles for now and hope that I can return with a little something else later..

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx