One or Two Photos from Creativation (formerly CHA)

Hi Ladies (and Gents)

Well, the second time I have scheduled a trip to Sedona in my short vacation to the USA it has been cancelled.  Something tells me I have not to go - hopefully only because of the time of year.  All was in order this time, up to yesterday, but this morning the news told us they have 4-6" of snow from an overnight session and roads are hazardous.  We even had a lovely Lexus to take us!

Just means I get to spend another day longer with my lovely friend, Mary.  In the meantime I will share a little of Creativation (formerly CHA) with you.

Friday night I did a class with Stephanie Barnard, Sizzix where we made eight (yes 8) cards!  Can't show them to you as I have no means of scanning and photos do not work - hotel room is pretty dark.

Saturday the show opened and I met, Tracy (Winzapfiel - not sure that is the right spelling) first of all as I walked in the door so that was lovely to see her smiling face and get my hugs.  I was waiting for the show to open and I saw Antonis so I got, not one but three kisses.  That was mega!  He is so handsome.  Next was Craig (CHA man from the UK), Lori (Bastoni), Buttons (Jenny Marple), Suzi Bent, Ben and Dyan Reavey and maybe more but I can't remember.  (Friday I saw Anne Redfern too).  This jet lag plays havoc with the memory.

Me with Antonis and below one of his pieces (love it)

see this bow below?

It is an optical illusion.  These bows are paper and are flat, perfectly flat yet they look as if they are real ribboned bows.  I had to go and touch to make sure.  This was in the new section - Brutus Monroe, a new exhibitor.

 This was a canvas I liked - maybe it was Ken Oliver's - after a while it all blurs into one - and the jet lag doesn't help.

Loved these papers by Alexandra Renke, a German company.  And they were so nice to talk to.  I liked the fact that there was still a lot of white and the designs were so muted.

She does stamps and dies too (I think I have that right)

I went and met Kelly (Kelly Creates - calligraphy) as my friend Lorraine is following her and watching all her You Tube stuff.  Lorraine will be green with envy!

Went to chat with Seth (Apter) on PaperArtsy stand and followed him to another where he was demonstrating his new powders.  Seth is such a lovely guy and he made a fab layout with a metal washer sunk into the page.

This stuff is fabulous - and it is from Coventry!!  It is like a plastic and the jewellery she had on show looked a bit like Friendly Plastic but it was very flexible so does not break.  Mega stuff.  More on that another time.

Of course I had to go and see Dyan and her new range close up.  Won't take you through the stuff as you have probably already seen it but here is a journal page

Got to go for breakfast now but will be back with more - and wait for it ... will upload the Designers Challenge for Ranger - brilliant stuff - love it especially this year.

Toodle pip for now! xx

Friday's Smiles with Annie

Even though it is a week late I am still smiling whenever I talk about my trip to Holland last weekend and today I looked at my photographs and my tag and smiled all over again.  Annie is so lucky to have some Dutch friends because they can teach her one or two words in their own language.  Wish I knew more.  Here I am linking up to her Friday Smiles, a day late.

We met some Chinese people across the road from our hotel.  I tried my bit of Chinese on them but they obviously did not understand me. However by smiles, greetings and gestures I gathered they wanted me to take a photo of them.  No - they wanted a photo with me! They also beckoned Lorraine to come on as she was standing back a bit. Here we all are - why can't everyone be so happy and have no wars, we just need smiles not anger or even language at times like this.

Chas thought it was because I was so tall and fair haired, like it was in Tiananmen Square when we were over there and the people kept taking photos of me.  Our guide explained when we got back to the coach that they were farmers and not used to seeing such tall women or fair haired people.  I think, this time, they just thought we were Dutch.

Anyway, here are some more photos to make you smile, or be envious, or both.  Enjoy!

This one should really make you smile

Some more cards, you can be forgiven if you think you recognise them from last week's mammoth showing but there are some different ones on the right hand side of this display.

and next a beautiful book cover

Gilding wax tags, boxes and books

cats were very popular

such pretty Distressed Ink Cards

and finally another to make you smile

This is Eva whom we made the humingbird card with

Too quickly our time at Nijkerk came to an end and it was on to the train for our journey to the airport.  Never seen anyone carrying food to be consumed on the train like this before - have you?

... and here is part of a train - it wouldn't fit in my viewer on my cell phone - we counted eleven carriages on one train and the carriages are so-o-o long.

Until next time ...

WOYWW 402 - long - sorry Julia

Guess you all want to see what I brought back from the USA?  Well, hold on to your hats 'cos here is a photo of my desk as it was when I got in last Wednesday evening after unpacking the cases:

So that looks just a jumble, right?  OK, I did think of showing you some of the bits and pieces in more detail - not all of them but some

Still a jumble?  OK here is the Andy Skinner stuff

with Andy himself looking on

Stencils were bought over here and waiting for me when I got home but we got his three new sets of stamps - wasn't getting them, or so he pretended, but on the promise of a drink at the bar from me the whole class benefitted and we got them.  Behind are the tags we did with him showing various techniques and behind them are the paints we used in his and Tracy's classes.

During one of the workshops I took with Andy and Tracy (Weinzapfell) Craig (de Souza) came in wearing a mask of Andy's face and shouting that he was "the real Andy Skinner".  There were only a few masks but I managed to get one on the promise that I would wear it at the show the next day - which I did, on the back of my head!

The Splash Booth?

Some of you may recall seeing photos of me in a "forensic scientist suit" on FB?  Well at the back are the results of the splashing about of paint that we did.  To the left (the green one) is a canvas I did with Tracy as is the one to the right.

In front are my Inktense pencils, a sticky roller and a book on journalling with some cute ribbons tucked in there that I bought from Hobby Lobby.

Did I buy any rubber stamps?  You bet I did, and I got some given by my friend Mary from her selection of SU stamps - including the 'Beautiful You' series which I fell in love with.  The butterfly is actually a die from Simon Says.

So there's my desk, both as a dump and then later cleared up and staged to show you some of the things I brought back from the "Good Old US of A".  Was I sad to leave - you bet I was. Always difficult to say 'bye' to friends and especially to Mary who has a big place in my heart.  I now have to pull myself together and remember that there are only eleven months before I am there again, God willing.

Hope Julia does not mind the desk shots, at the moment it is pretty clear in my craft room, remember my sister is with us from Australia (pictures in another post soon) and she does not craft, besides which we have so much to talk about and sleep is hitting both Karen and me.  So I will leave it there and join our leader of the pack, Julia, and see what she has been up to, throw my cap into the ring and then have a snoop about at friends blogs when Karen leaves tomorrow.  Sorry I was so late last week with comments, you do understand don't you - please say 'yes'.

Can't Believe We Have Been Home a Week

Wow, time certainly flies.  It does not seem a week since we were in sunny Spain and it was quite a shock to find how cool it is in the evening here, in fact we have had lovely mornings but it seems to have gone off in the afternoons leading to the cold nights.

Had a lovely holiday - our second visit to Nerja (outside Malaga for those who are not familiar with it) and I just love the place.  I think the views at Balcon de Europe take some beating and the ice cream is just amazing.  I had to have two blobs every time we went there.

We stayed in the same hotel as last time because we could have a sea view and I loved it.  There was so much going on that there hadn't been when we were there in April.  Entertainment each evening but we didn't join in until the last night when we played Flamenco Bingo - and I won a line.  That meant I had to wear a hat and do a bit of Spanish Ole dancing before I collected my winnings (or was that the drink that caused that?) much to the delight of the Spanish youngsters sat at the next table to us.  They were all boys, aged between 6 and 12, I would say, and they took great delight in bringing me their Bingo cads and telling me the names of some of the numbers IN ENGLISH!  What lovely children they were and so well mannered.

Chas joined in the water aerobics but because I have no balance on account of my injured ankle I just sat and watched but then I did do the exercises as best I could from my sunbed and was joined by my friend Sue (just met) and the next day we had two others behind us and one lady on the balcony joining in too.

Our guy was hilarious and so much fun

not bad on the eye either

Early in the holiday we caught the little town bus which goes round in a loop every hour and we went for a wander and came across this road where I fell in love with the lovely white painted homes

This led us down to a wonderful view of Burianna Beach

The road down was very steep and I think you need to walk back up which is an impossibility for me but I did read somewhere that it is almost like a little town of its own.

Oh dear, these photographs make me miss the place more than ever ... and I thought it was this bottle that I missed

For, virtually a non drinker, I did rather enjoy this.  Next time it won't be teabags I'll be bringing back - hard shell suitcase here I come.

Nearly Home Time - Long Post

I have never known a month's visit go by quicker than this one.  It doesn't seem two minutes since we were being met at the Flyway by Mary and Maria and in a couple of days time we will be being dropped off there.  Not just 'bye' to our friends but also 'bye' to the sunshine and 'hello' to the cold weather in Britain (and no doubt more snow and lots of rain and little sunshine even in the summer).

Anyway, you didn't come on here to hear that - these are some of the highlights from our trip
I am surprised I did not show you photos from the 'Swap Meet' we went to on the first Sunday we were here.  Neal and Maria took us in Maria's car (I felt like we were Thelma and Louise when Maria drove) - here it is with Chas and myself in, on the drive.

then we met Bob

on his converted cool box!  No kidding - it was full of beer pumps.  A total conversation stopper and the horn when he honked it!!!

More practical ways of getting about were there to video, I loved the carts they used to pull the children in, no doubt later to load up with bargains.  Here's a small one, missed out on the bigger ones.

Later that week we went down to Encinitas for a few days with Mary.  It was glorious weather and we saw some fabulous places, all very different - including a couple of stamp stores.  My first ever Hobby Lobby!  They don't have many on the west coast but I guess they are starting to creep in

don't you love this decorated number plate

Honouring their young folks at Rancho Cucamonga

 where Hobby Lobby is

Time to move on `and visit Poway, they have a stamp store!   And this lovely house?

The stamp store is here

Fab workshops on display

Then on to Temecula

with its trolley bus

and lovely shops

Indian Shop

with left over Christmas Trees

and old jail

and look at this name

Sorry if this is photo overkill but ...
I loved Temecula

OK

Phew!  That was day one.  Look at this bush

Day Two and Breakfast at

The Potato Shack

outside

and my Breakfast Burrito

well, what was left of it!

A peek at Swami Beach

Spencer loved it

and on to Carlsbad and Oceanside

 Antiques

Best of all - Gigi's

A fabulous stamp store in Oceanside where I got a Dylusion Stamp Set.  What a lovely lady Gail was to talk to.  Here she is with her husband and that is Mary stood at the counter.  She has a really big shop fully of goodies.  If you are ever in the area ...

Goodnight - enjoy the sunset