Mmmm ... It Seemed Like a Good Idea ...

... At the time! Do you know anyone quite as daft as me? Please don't actually answer that ... not out loud anyway! As you are all probably aware ... I set the challenges at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... usually months in advance ... and when I set them ... well ... I have a vague idea of what I may make. On this occassion ... I saw the theme and well ... to say I was a teensy bit panic stricken is an understatement! Bling??? I don't often do bling! Blimey ... Where to start!
Anyways ... after the initial panic subsided ... and I am doing rather a lot of that at the moment ... panicking I mean ... I set about turning a chunky mini canvas into a chunky ATC.

With THE Wendy Vecchi stamps and Fired Brick Distress Ink ... I added a frame around the Lord Tim of Holtz script stamp ... you know Tim ... the man that can tame King Kong from the top of the Empire State Building while putting the sparkle on all the stars ... in all the sky ... by hand with just a smidgeon of Jet Black Archival and a spot of Black Enamel Accents.
I have just watched Sleepless in Seattle ... not a great move on my part ... especially after a glass or two of Rose ... hence the King Kong reference ... but that is a whole nother story!
So people ... bearing in mind the title of this blog post ... do tell ... what have you done??? ... that seemed like a great idea at the time??? ... the funnier the better really ... a girl needs a laugh! Oh and don't forget to check out the rest of the amazing team's work at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... if you enter ... you could win a $50 shopping spree donated by the wonderful site sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp.
I must away ... I have classes to design ... I cannot believe the new season is nearly upon us ... exactly where did the last three months go???
Laters!

Feelin' the Blues!

I did think about starting this post with another apology for not blogging regularly and not emailing people back and not blog hopping and not Tweeting ... leaving you all wondering what glamourousness I was getting up to ... but then I thought ... do what you do best Linda ... just tell it like it is!
I have no intentions of filling this post with tales of woe ... telling you all that recently my fluffy pink world was turned upside down ... but that is the sad truth ... suffice to say that I find myself back on the shelf and not feeling entirely comfortable at the prospect!
I really want to type something witty at this point ... but nothing springs to mind ... I am sure it will ... just not today! I do after all have the option of falling back on the offers I get to play Julia Robert's full body and facial double ... so it is not all bad!

Now on to the matter in hand ... the new theme at Simon Says Stamp and Show is metal! Before the prospect fills you with horror ... just look around you ... us papercrafting types are indeed surrounded by metal of all types ... and even if you have just one brad on your work ... it will qualify for entry into the $50 Shopping Spree random prize draw that is made possible weekly by the wonderful site sponsors ... Simon Says Stamp!
My sample is an 8X8" canvas ... yes I have used Ten Second Studio metal ... but I have also used a Lord Tim of Holtz Ornate Plate ... you know Tim ... the man that can walk to the moon not just on it while modelling a life size model of the Empire State Building out of Golden Delicious Apples with just a Long Legged Brad and a Paper Piercing Tool!
The stamps are indeed Studio 490 from THE Wendy Vecchi and the little flowers are Dark Room Door!
Well ... that is me for now folks ...
Have a great week Y'all ...
Laters!

Simon Says ...

I can't quite believe it has been a week since I posted the last Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge theme ... time is certainly flying! So here we are ... another Monday and another theme. This week the theme is Simon Says Stamp and Show your Favourite Stamp.
I had no trouble with this one I can tell you! My favourite stamp ... erm ... stamps are Lord Tim of Holtz's Mona ... the very first Lord Tim stamp I ever bought ... you could only get them on wood back in the day and it changed the way I would craft forever! You know Tim ... the man that can ice sculpt a leaning tower of Pisa with water while single handedly saving the world from Alien attack with just a one inch piece of ball chain and a spot of Glossy Accents.
My other favourite stamp is indeed The Wendy Vecchi's mini butterfly from Make Mine Mini Art ... it is my go to stamp ... LOVE LOVE LOVE it! But then you knew that already ... right???
This was in fact a fat canvas about the size of an ATC which went horribly wrong a long long time ago! It has been sat in my unfinished and unloved box ... the one that things get thrown in when I don't like them ... but I have usually formed some kind of attachment :0) Anyways ... I got it out the box and slapped black paint all over it ... it works well as a base on which to add some chip and some Grunge paper.
The whole piece is coloured using Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint Distress Ink and was really simple to make.
Don't know about you ... but I plan to spend the entire Bank Holiday in my craft room ... actually if you are planning to do the same thing ... then grab your favourite stamp and enter the challenge ... you could win a $50 shopping voucher from Simon Says Stamp for your trouble.
Right ... well I am away ... hoping that Mr Blogger is going to behave himself this week ... Last week ... I could n't post ... could n't comment ... talk about withdrawal!
Have a great day everyone ... whatever you may be doing ...
Laters!

Art Squared!

I had a lovely day yesterday doing the wonderful Lin Brown’s “Up My Street” workshop … a great project and lots of fun! After a quick clean up we had our fish and chip supper … more of a sausage and chip supper really before moving on to the ArtsyCrafts samples. Oh My goodness … I came away … having learned something new and very exciting … so inspired …

Anyways … I obviously cannot tell you anything more on the subject … because before I had even pushed the publish post button … the ArtsyCrafts security police would be after me … and being a bit of a woos … never had a fight in my life … well … enough said!

So … I thought I would make the effort with my camera and take some better pictures of my Art Squared Workshop. A 12X12 Canvas art board … spritzed and sprayed with Ranger Colour washes … and then stamped to within an inch of it’s life with PaperArtsy Stamps … embossed with powders … embellished with TSS metal … it is a triple layered affair to give the impression of floating sections. I am still not sure I have done the best job of the photos … but I really tried! 

This is probably a good time for me to say … If you like the sound of any of that … there are indeed places left on the workshop on the 3rd June at LB Crafts in Olney … you just need to ring the wonderful Lin or the lovely Karen on 01234714848 and they will book you in.

How many of you are surprised that we are still here this morning??? According to Harold Egbert Camping, 89-year-old founder of Family Radio, a Christian broadcasting network heard in 61 languages around the globe … the world was expected to end at 6pm Saturday evening. That was indeed 2am GMT so it was a bit of a relief waking up this morning for Mrs Harold … I bet!

I am knee high in Ranger Products today … beavering away with lots of The Wendy Vecchi stamps and Lord Tim of Holtz product. You know Tim … the man that probably anonymously saved the world on May 21 while Pilot Whale whispering in a loch in Scotland with just an acrylic block and a jet black archival re-inker.

So … What you up to? What sort of week do you have planned? Not much in the way of excitement planned for me … I am working myself up to sorting out my craft room … yes I know I said that months ago … but this time I really mean it … I think!

Right … that’s me then … have a good time whatever you are doing …

Laters!

I Bottled it!

Some time ago ... in an arty shop just up the road from LB Crafts ... The lovely Karen showed me a canvas that was uber expensive! It was gorgeous ... but very very very expensive! Basically it was totally white with hundreds of butterflies kind of ... well ...cut into it ... like bits of the canvas were flying away! Well ... to cut a long story short ... I was inspired ... I did actually plan for this canvas to be totally white ... with the teeniest bit of Vintage photo on the words ... the clock etc., ... but I ... erm ... was n't brave enough .... so the colour wash came out and away I went! I LOVE the Adirondack Colour washes ... Have I told you that before?

Everything about this canvas art board piece is Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can play Beethoven's fifth on a blade of grass while talking to the monkeys in the jungles of Borneo with just the lid from a Faded Denim Distress Ink and an inch long piece of Film Strip Ribbon.
I used the Vintage Market alphabet for the words ... and Oh my giddy Aunt ... How many T's??? I was to the point where I never wanted to see another T ... unless of course there was an I and an M on the end of it!
Righty ho! I just need to tell you that this is my sample for The Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge this week ... the new theme is hands ... plenty of room for play :0) You should join in ... you may even win a $50 Shopping Voucher donated by the Challenge Site's fabulous sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp!
Before you ask ... nope I did n't get up at 5am to post this ... but I was still up at 1am posting it ... if that makes sense ... I am now off for some beauty sleep ... these Julia Roberts looks take work don't ya know! Have a great Bank Holiday or just a great Monday ... if it's not a holiday in your neck of the woods!
Laters!

Ticket to Holland!

My tickets are here! I am getting very excited now ... in a few short weeks I will be jetting off to Holland to teach at Lia's shop in Ede ... De Craftorij. I am doing two classes ... apparently there are still a few places available so just click here to book ... it is going to be sooooo much fun ... and it's my first time in Holland too ... added to the fact that Anneliese will be there ... and Joan ... and of course Lia ... oh and apparently the BEST pancakes ... It's gonna be just like a mini Ranger U reunion!
My card for today is made entirely with Lord Tim of Holtz product and a THE Wendy Vecchi stamp. You know Tim ... the man that hand paints all the tulips in Amsterdam while personally adding the glitter to every pot of stickles with just a Charm Clip and a tiny attacher.
Before using the embossing folders I coloured the card with Broken China Distress Stain ... then swiped over the raised parts with a Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad. A bit of distressing around the edges and a quick blend with some Walnut Stain Distress Ink and the panels were complete.

All the dress form parts are Claudine Hellmuth's Sticky Backed canvas ... coloured with Antique Linen Distress Stain and then darkened around the edges with Walnut Stain.
Thank you all so much for keeping me entertained yesterday with your comments ... I knew you would n't let me down!
I do have to add that there was absolutely no bloomin' way I was up at 5:00am ... the post was indeed scheduled to coincide with midnight in Ohio which is where Simon Says Stamp is based and the time that the weekly Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge themes are published!
Right ... now I need to know what you are all wearing to THE wedding ... as preeviously stated ... I shall be sporting a Bridesmaid dress ... and if I don't know what you are planning to wear ... well I may just miss you in the crowds :0)
I must away ... I am up to my eyes in Birthday cards today ... trust me when I say ... nearly everyone I know must have been born in April!
Laters!

Tea Gate - The Evidence!

First up ... here is my canvas for the Wednesday Stamper Challenge ... where this week the theme is Spring! LOVE my white Sharpie Marker ... probably more than is healthy to be honest! Please Michaels come open a branch in the UK!

Second up ... is the evidence of exactly why Tea Gate occurred ... now I want you to look at the exhibits and the facts and then put your hand on your heart and tell me ... Was my mistake really that stoopid? And don't say "no" just to be polite ... you are on the stand ... so you have to tell the whole truth and nothing but :0)

Exhibit A is the box ... all writing in Japanese ... it was handed to me and I distinctly heard the words ... Green Tea! Now bear in mind ... that on the news we are seeing just how progressive and efficient Japan is! I mean they have already rebuilt a major road for goodness sake! Here in the UK ... we would still be talking about who was going to be on the committee to work out where we were going to hold the road rebuilding meetings!

Exhibit B are the contents of said box. Now I just thought it was genius ... that they had worked out how to freeze dry tea or summink ... Is it or is it not a Green Tea kind of a colour? Once you had seen these guys ... would you buy a pack to put in your lunch box?

And now people ... it's over to you!

Laters!

Love at First Sight!

It was fabulous to have so many comments left yesterday ... Thank you guys for sharing the love! You all know what a loose woman I am ... it's true ... I blog for comments ... simply can't get enough of them :0) Oh and a big welcome to all my new followers too!

Anyways ... remember this Studio 490 book ... I thought it was high time I showed you what was in it!

You guys know how much I LOVE Ranger tags ... it's the surface ... just perfect for inking ... so when the guys at Ranger came up with the manilla tag card stock in A4 and 12X12 sheets ... well quite frankly ... I wanted to marry them and have their babies!

And that is precisely what I plan to ... erm ... make all my pages for my book with! I have used only THE Wendy Vecchi stamps ... it only seems fair as she is the brains behind the whole book thing ... oh and Lord Tim of Holtz designed the ring binder bit ... you know Tim ... the man that can perform a heart and lung replacement operation while flying to South Africa without a plane with just a teensy weensy washer and a butterfly die cut!

Talking of butterflies ... does n't Claudine Hellmuth's sticky backed canvas make the bestest butterflies!

I really must away ... I have deadlines coming out of my ears ... and classes to kit for ... and ... oh my goodness ... PANIC!

Laters!

Where Did That Week Go?

I can't believe it has been a week since I last blogged ... such a busy and totally fabulous week!
We had The Tim Holtz ArtsyCrafts extravaganza ... but then lots of you knew that ... coz you were there :0)
For those of you that were n't ... I did n't have time for loads of pictures ... so I am going to nick them from other people's blogs and fill you in on all the goss later this week! I could n't wait to tell you that ... I had dinner ... with Lord Tim of Holtz and Mario ... Cool huh? I say ... erm ... dinner ... I actually mean we ate out ... of the same ... erm ... pizza box when we were setting up for the event :0)
Anyways ... I digress ... This week at Simon Says Stamp and Show the theme is Ephemera. I have taken lots of Lord Tim of Holtz goodies and used them to decorate this 5" canvas! You know Tim ... the man that can sail the seven seas ... all at the same time while rescuing any endangered marine life with just a Distress Stain and a reflections stamp!
Our very generous site sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp is once again giving away a $50 shopping spree ... cool ... Huh?
As you can see ... there is a whole lot of cutting out that has gone into this piece ... so Mr and Mrs Sizzix ... or indeed just Mr Sizzix ... or ... erm ... Mrs Sizzix ... I really don't mind which ... but could you get a wriggle on ... I need that rain man die ... kind of like ... erm ... now ... 23rd March at the very latest ... because John shall definitely be needing to buy it for my birthday!
Anyways chaps and chappesses I must away ... it is 1.35am here and I really need some zzzzzzzzzzz's.
Laters!

Forgive Me Father ...

For I have sinned ... it has been 144 hours since my last Blog Post! In fact ... I think that may be the longest ever gap between blog posts that I have ever ever had!

I have been busy ... like most of you I guess ... putting Crimbo decorations up ... buying Crimbo pressies ... wrapping Crimbo pressies ... writing Crimbo cards ... actually ... erm ... I have n't actually written any Crimbo Cards yet ... Oops!

Of course unlike most of you ... I do have Dan staying ... and he can be soooo demanding :0)

Anyways ... Back to the matter in hand ... it is indeed Monday ... which means it is time for a new theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... this week the theme is Something from Yesteryear ... so I took a chunky 5" canvas and distressed it using lots of Lord Tim of Holtz papers ... and embellishments and inks ... you know Tim ... the man that can accurately forecast the weather for the entire universe while keeping the nation's roads free from snow with just a single fragment charm and a doodad!

The wonderful site sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp has indeed donated another $50 gift voucher and this challenge will run for two weeks ... so do join in if you can!

I must get on ... weather and roads permitting ... I have lots of crafty friends coming to lunch ... it is our fourth annual Christmas dinner ... always a good day with food ... and presents ... and food and ... erm ... more presents and more food ... you get the gist right????

Laters!

Something Spookay!

Morning all!

After a very hectic ... tiring and fun weekend I have still managed to get up all bright eyed and bushy tailed to blog!

Actually ... that is a complete fib ... I am probably still asleep ... well at least I hope I am ... when this publishes ... because if I am not ... then the old scheduling malarkey will not have worked properly.

The challenge for this week over at Simon Says Stamp and Show has now been set and it is indeed "Something Spookay!" My DT sample is a canvas and I have covered it with all things Lord Tim of Holtz ... a smidgeon of The Wendy Vecchi and a good sprinkling of Ranger too! Once again the fabulous team over at Simon Says Stamp have donated a $25.00 shopping voucher ... so ... if you get chance ... do join us ... you never know ... you may be the name drawn by the random doodah wotsit.

Okay ... well I am off ... I cannot wait to get back in my own bed tonight ... there is definitely no place like home.

Have a great week.

Laters!

What a Day!

As you know it was my third class yesterday ... and yes it did snow! ... I left home at 7.00am and by 7.03am ... I was sliding sideways across a main road into a roundabout ... no damage and I was able to continue with my journey ... but what a hairy start. Luckily about 20 miles outside Cambridge there was very little or no snow ... so things improved! I did tell you that snow, cars and me ... well we just don't get on!

So I get to LB Crafts and I realised I have left a few supplies at home ... luckily the lovely Karen was there to sort me out ... then I went to collect some cut n dry foam off the window sill where I had left it to dry ... stood up and whacked my head on the window recess ... solid brick ... and you know when you get a big lump and you have to keep feeling it to check it still hurts ... well that was me! Luckily only mildly concussed ... and you know me ... I like to exaggerate :0)

The great thing was my ladies were all fab as usual ... some new faces and some return visits ... so I have n't frightened anyone away yet ... we got straight on with our metal magic class and things picked up!

Boy! ... did they pick up on a grand scale ... the lovely Lin Brown popped in with exciting tales of things to come for this year from CHA ... can't wait to get my grubby little hands on loads of the new stuff ... and it was great to have her back ... and ...

Get this ... I am sooooo excited ... honoured ... shocked ... happy ... delirious ... chuffed ... excited ... doh! ... I have said that already ... but I made the front cover of Craft Stamper ... did I tell you I was excited :0) I am sure a better piccie of the cover will be available shortly ... but for now ... mine looks like this :0) It is a packed and fabulous issue ... with some great projects from Lin too ... I am sooooooo excited :0)

I am off to do my happy dance some more and consider reasons for knocking on every door in my road ... just to start up a conversation where I can slip the magazine in :0)

Have a good Sunday everyone :0)

You can feel it in your fingers ...

You can feel it in your toes!

You guys all thought I was talking about the big freeze again did n't you ... yup ... the big freeze ... that is what us media type weather girlie peoples are calling it! Well ... actually ... you would be wrong ... today's post is all about love!

I made this piece back in early December as one of my Zutter submissions ... we work ahead ... so I was thinking Valentines Day at the time!

This little hangy jobby is made from three Zutter canvas covers and painted and tissue stamped and grunged to within an inch of it's life! I did make a bit of a boo boo ... it was in the days when I was less organised than I am now :0) and I grabbed the glossy accents and squeezed it into the ornate Timmy frame ... only to discover it was rather thick and I had grabbed the crackle accents by mistake.

At the time I was gutted ... but I set it to one side and over night it crackled ... I was still umming and arring over the result when Tina bought my handmade secret Santa round and she had done the same thing ... her's was n't in error though and I really liked it ... so ... in turn ... I ended up rather liking mine too! Thank you Tina :0) I could n't say nothing at the time ... coz the projects were a secret then!

All stamps are Wendy Vecchi ... there are lots of Tim elements on there ... you know Tim ... the man that could build a romantic venue anywhere in the world with just a tag and a small scrap of grunge paper. I have also used some Black UTEE to make embellishments with the melt pot ... I love that stuff!

I hope you guys are all tucked up and cosy ... tis bloomin cold out there and in Cambridge we have hardly any snow ... so gawd only knows what it is like elsewhere in the country.

Exciting news over on the Bind it all blog today ... I spy at least one item to add to my Birthday list ... a super duper paper trimmer ... and we all know how John likes to buy Paper trimmers as presents ... don't we????

I Did it!!!

I did you know! Christmas shopping got put off longer and longer yesterday ... then I realised my local department store was open until 10pm. So at precisely 6.30pm I dragged John into the one shop and ... wait for it ... drum roll please ... I bought almost all of my Christmas presents ... 28 of them ... all in 2 hours ... it was like the shop was open just for us ... no queuing ... nuffink! Cool huh? Yes I am feeling very smug ... apart from the difficulty I am having sitting down ... but to know more about that you have to read this post by Mrs D.

Now you think I am smugger than smug ... I will admit that the 15 carrier bags we attained are still just inside the dining room with all of their contents where I dumped them last night when we got in :0) I say I dumped them ... it was in fact John the pack horse that did all the carrying while I did the choosing part ... he came in very handy I must say! And I bought Christmas cards **Shock ... Horror**

Hopefully those of you that don't like clowns will be suitably distracted by now and won't have noticed that this post is indeed surrounded by them! This is the latest circle journal I have joined ... tis a stamping one so you send your journal and a stamp and hopefully it will be returned in 11 months time with lots of gorgeousness added to the pages.

I used the Zutter canvas covers which were a real joy to work on ... and one of the Zutter closure thingy wotsits and I have bound my journal with my trusty Bind-it-all. The stamps are Artistic Outpost and the harlequin background is indeed one of Tim's ... the man that can rescue ickle fluffy kittens from 100 feet pine trees with just a christmas tag and an Idea-ology key chain.

I am rather chuffed with the ticket office sign in at the back.

Blimey it's late ... night all!

Perfect Timing!

As many of you know I recently attended the ArtsyCrafts weekend at Newport Pagnall ... for those of you that don't know ... where have you been :0)

This time piece was the main project for the weekend and the making of it really was timed to perfection. I am not the fastest crafter and quite often I have to leave a workshop with a half finished piece ... but the weekend was so well organised that even I got to finish!

And let's be honest this is n't your run of the mill average workshop project either ... we played with canvas and gesso and paint and ink and glimmer mists and stamps and moulds and cuttlebug folders and that was just the canvas at the back. *Deep breath*

For the clock face there was Terra and paint and stamps and metal and glimmer mists and precious metal paints and even a sandwich ;0)

I learnt so much on this one project ... well to tell you about it all would take hours and hours ... best you go on the next ArtsyCrafts weekend and find out for yourself!

Have a great time [geddit???] whatever you are doing!

More Tin-kering!

First things first ... I am rather proud of that heading ... I was running out of bean headlines :0) I wonder if you are as impressed as I am? I am thinking probably not *LOL*

Lin and I thought that it was time to show you another metal bean tin ... this was actually the first of the three metal ones that I made. You can see the other two here and here ... just in case you missed them first time around!

This one is made with the yummily luscious plum metal from Ten Second Studios and Big Daddy number 1 mould. The rose is made with the Wendy Vecchi dimensional rose art sheet as are the leafs. Both the leafs and the roses are backed with Claudine Hellmuth's sticky backed canvas.

This time the corset sides were bound using my crop-a-dile and large eyelets and then tied using 7 gypsies waxed cotton with a few beads to pretty it up a bit.

In case you are wondering how the synchronised blogging campaign is going ... well I am planning on lobbying the government ... it would be great to have it as a sport in the 2012 Olympics and Lin and I are just so good ... well we would definitely be favourites for the British team ... I have always wanted to be in the Olympics and the lack of any physical exertion involved in this new sport is very appealing to me :0)

Anybody else who has got any ideas for Olympic events ... which would be related to crafting and blogging and not actually moving from my craft room ... would be very welcome in the comments ... just in case I get turned down :0)

There Ought to be Clowns!

It has been a while ... but when Moira sent me some canvases to play with ... well I got stuck straight in! And play I did! The canvases came with an ickle mini easel which is totally cute!

This canvas is 10cmX10cm and I covered it with Claudine Hellmuth's matte multi-medium before painting and stamping... and then again to seal it. The stamps I have used are Artistic Outpost "Send in the Clowns" and they are my new favourite! 

I know there are probably several bloggers out there that don't like clowns ... perhaps you could tell me why in your comments ... I have never really got that one ... I get Marmite and Tilda ... but clowns are just there to make us laugh ... are n't they????

The harlequin border around the sides is a Crafty Individuals stamp and the text stamped on top of that is from the "Send in the clowns" sheet too. You get loads for your money on that sheet I can tell you!

You will all be totally relieved to know that I am still showing no signs of man flu ... well I say that ... I sneezed earlier when a bit of dust went up my nose ... perhaps I have got man flu and should lay down in a darkened room :0)

If you want to read some more of my inane drivel ... I can't believe I spelt that right first time ... truly I did ... without spell checking and everything ... I will now be appearing on the Bubbly Scrumptious blog ... starting today ... every Monday ... as part of the Bubbly funk design team ... it would be totally cool if you popped in and said Hi.

Happy Monday people ... see you tomorrow ... or later if you have blogged :0)

Hi Honey ... I'm Home!

I had the best time at the weekend ... great friends ... great classes ... great teachers ... great projects ... great fun ...
And I cannot tell you anymore because I don't want to spoil anything for those lucky people that will be attending this weekend coming!
So instead... let me tell you how I managed to get in the bad books within a couple of hours of getting home. Well first ... I have to tell you that John works nights ... he usually works on a Sunday ... but he missed me soooo much he took the night off ... arrrr ... sweet :0)
I gets home ... totally shattered ... in a good way ... and within an hour I fell asleep ... oops!
Apparently I was snoring all night ... which I find hard to believe ... but the worse thing is yet to come ...
On Saturday I had set the alarm for 6 a.m! Classes were starting at 8 ... breakfast was at 7.30 blah blah blah ... you get the picture! Well the alarm did n't go off ... but that was n't a problem because I had n't slept so good and I awoke at 5.50 a.m anyway!
What I did n't realise was that I had set it for Monday morning! I usually get up at 7.30am ... unload the dishwasher ... sort the dog etc., for when John comes home at 8 a.m! Well ...
When the alarm went off this morning ... John got up and did all those jobs for me ... it took him a while before he realised it was only 6 a.m.
Let's just say he was n't best pleased when I got up at ... erm ... gone 10a.m :0)
Moving swiftly back to the crafting ... this is my Black Soot beer mat ... I have embossed the pattern in clear embossing powder ... coz you would n't be able to see it otherwise ... the metal is TSS Rock Star Black ... which I just had to buy at the weekend and I have embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder and backed it with Claudine Hellmuth's sticky back canvas. The trinkets are all Tim...the man that can craft in one continent whilst doing Karaoke in another ... Holtz! And the stamps are from the extremely talented Mrs Vecchi!
I am really surprised at the results I have achieved with the Black Soot ... who would have thought you could do so much with it!
Have a good week everyone ...

It Started as a Tag!

Oh yes! When I started my entry for the Life challenge over on Sunday Stampers ... I was just going to make a tag!

It was n't even a new tag ... I was going to revisit "the man who must be worshipped" T!m's tag from 2008. This is my all time favourite tag ever ... you know the one with the man and his umbrella and the "Live the life that you have imagined" stamp and the lucky 13 playing card ... you don't??? Oops!

Oh well ... not entirely pleased with my first effort ... I was going to have another try! But I was n't pleased with this one either ... so I got out some fragments and started chopping the tag up ... one thing led to another ... from tag to canvas in one day!

If you have any questions about products etc., please just email me ... if I go into detail here ... well you will just get bored and so will I!!!

Sweet dreams!

It's Official - The Debate Has Ended!

I am very pleased to announce that the debate about pronunciation of certain crafting icons has now been resolved. I would like to tell you ... that I was right ... but I can't because I was n't ... erm ... right! Hels was right about Vecchi and Dan was right about Maya and Vecchi and I was ... erm ... wrong on both counts!

The wonderful Mrs Vecchi has paid us a visit and resolved our debate once and for all ... so without further ado I can now tell you that it is Vecky and Mya!

There was no prize for being right ... I would have  insisted on one if I had have been :0) but to console myself with being so very wrong I made another grunge paper rose. This time I have made a miniature version and instead of stamping and inking it I painted it with white acrylic paint.

I shall apologise for the poor pictures ... I really should read the instruction book for my camera ... but hopefully you will be able to see that I covered the mini canvas with an old book page, coloured it with vintage photo ink and then embellished with Idea-ology bits. I was going to distress the rose but I decided that I rather liked the look of the old and the new.

Have a good weekend everyone!