Welcome to the wonderful world of.....

... Lynne Perrella, the designer of tonight's new products over on the PaperArtsy blog. Those of you who read Somerset Studio will be familiar with her work... and these stamps are stunning.

Here's Leandra's video introduction:




Another great set of samples using the fabulous Lynne Perrella stamps.

Take a look.

x

Where do I start??????

... lets start with last Sunday and the class I taught at The Craft Barn wjth lovely group who got inky, painty and a little bit sticky making this:

 A wooden triptych altered using the fab.u.lous Lynne Perrella stamps from PaperArtsy and Spellbinder dies.  I love these stamps.. .and how the project looks - here's the icon front & back:

...I laid all the finished pieces out to be photographed:

... and when I turned around all the group were snapping photos like a group of paparazzi trying to catch a drunk celeb coming out of a nightclub!! lol
Gabby, Francesca, Sue & Allison & Karin tucked behind.

So, that was Sunday...

Are you wondering what I was doing for the last 3 weeks when I haven't blogged?

Well, there was a lot of this:

... and a bit of this:

...and then.... oh.. too much, I'll tell you more tomorrow..

Thanks for stopping by..

Have a good day

Classes!

I'm teaching a class at the local college - 10 weeks of beginners Card Making- which I'm enjoying a lot.

That runs in the evening and during the day you can find me at several shops in the South East running a class or two - I hope you can come and join me for some inky/ painty fun - call the shops for details & bookings  :o)

(I'm going to be uploading photos of classes in stages because Blogger is being a bit tetchy today! lol)

Classes at ImagineThat, Upminster:

25 April 2012 (wednesday)

10:30-13:00  Hats Off

14:00-16:30  Path of Least Resistance

24 May 2012 (thursday)

10:30-13:00  Path of Least Resistance 

14:00-16:30  Hats Off
09 June 2012 (saturday)

10:30-13:00 Hats Off

14:00-16:30 Path of Least Resistance

Shamefully neglected blog!

.. its been a month since I blogged! My last post was headed 'poor neglected blog' but I've gone way past that now! lol

Where to start ... I don't know!... life takes over sometimes doesn't it.. I have a part time job and sometimes after standing on my feet all day (and I mean ALL day) when I get home all I want to do is sit down.. in silence.. no noise.. nothing....  We all feel like that sometimes don't we?  Zapped of creativity

but now the rush of that job is finished (back to normal hours etc) (& can I just also say that I really enjoy the job so its no big hardship - well apart from the standing up lol) I'm back and raring to go again - oh yes - got to learn to pace myself (and I'm sure we've all felt / thought that too!)

A month!... hmm might have to get the diary out to see where I've been and what I've been up to..

*  Well, I had an article in April's issue of Craft Stamper, and an article in May's issue too which is out on Friday

*  I had fun teaching a class at Imagine That in Upminster...

I teach there about once a month and really enjoy it - a lovely shop full of reeeaaaally nice scrapbooking papers etc.  I'll blog upcoming dates when they're finalised (no, really I will!)

*  I also started teaching a 10 week card making class at Southend Adult Community College - LOVE teaching here - the course covers lots of card making techniques starting with the basics - its always nice to go back to basics isn't it?

*  And, MAD MEN series 5 has started !!! LOVE this programme!! its got to be in my top 10 fave programmes EVER.. don't even think about ringing me at 9.00 on a Tuesday because I will not pick up the phone.. nope.. not at all.. don't even waste your time dialing my number! lol

I'm still watching this as much (if not more) for the clothes and sets than the plot.  Well how can you not - the women are beautifully dressed, the men are handsome and the homes are to die for - I am seriously coveting the Draper's new split level apartment... be still my 50/60s loving heart....

* I also taught a class at The Craft Barn.. omg - sooo much lovely product under one roof it makes my head spin! Seriously - I go in 'needing' 1 thing and come out with so much more! lol
Here are the lovely ladies who came to my Die Cutting Masterclass

phew, there was a lot of die cutting and embossing in that class - lots of samples..

* I popped into PaperArtsy before they went off to VersionScrap (that's definitely on my list of 'things to do' next year - its sounds tres fantastique) and came away with some seriously fabulous and inspiring new Hot Pick plates of rubber - so inspiring I really didn't know where to start! lol
I have designed some classes using them and so watch this space for details... to see all the new stamps head on over the PaperArtsy website

oooh ooh and more Lynne Perrella images - its all too much - too much inspiration...

*  I went to a training day in London for my job (learning about the lovely Pandora products).. I miss being in London - I forget what a beautiful city it is... it was nice to sit on a bus on a sunny day (i'd rather do that than be on the underground) travelling down Oxford St, through Trafalgar Square and into the City...

A little rubber loveliness to get you in the London mood:

HotPick 1208 from PaperArtsy

*  *  *

Phew! I think that's enough for one post! Here's a picture to finish, from my new 'art journal' - its similar to the book I showed in the last post but a bit bigger.... its pobably going to be filled with lots of randomness

Take care

Lets not leave it so long next time! lol

ACP Week 7 part 3: What no paper!?!

No not a single scrap - today's project is completely made of fabric (well it is fabric week!) making up for the minimal amount of fabric on yesterdays piece.. lol

I love to sew projects! There is something so traditional about it... I wanted to add more layers to this piece but couldn't find any more red fabric in the box under the desk... so I stopped.  Then I started another project and while looking for ribbon in a set of drawers I found red fabric - lots of it -spots, checked, plain!! how frustrating is that! lol
Nevermind, I'll save those fabrics for another day... another project...

I completely forgot to add this picture at the start of the week - flowers from my 'valentine' and love how they fit with my red black colour scheme.. gorgeous colour.

and the other good thing about these flowers is that they are 'cat proof'! Bertie chewed the end off a leaf and promptly spat it out (classy cat) and wandered off... yay...
shame can't be said about my beautiful Hibiscus which he chews on a daily basis... naughty puss

ACP Week 7 part 2: Circus time!!

I think this stamp has to be one of my favourites from the PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella stamps - love how she's wearing her hat an 'ooh la la' angle. lol

(the fabric part of this week is in the ribbon - in case you're wondering... lol minimal but its there!)
Papers are MyMindsEye - love this range - they've produced them in all range of colours and they've all been beautiful.

I went the the Birmingham trade show at the weekend, I was in two minds whether to go and I'm so glad I did!:
*  Gorgeous products on show as unusual - I had to be dragged - dragged i tell you - away from the Button Company stand... so.much.loveliness!! 
*  StampBox let me stroke/touch their paper samples (sometimes you have to see/touch paper stock)
*  I met some lovely people.. (which hopefully will lead to some interesting teaching opportunities)
*  I watched demonstrations
and generally had a very worthwhile trip!

Gotta go - things to do, classes to plan.....

Roll up, Roll up....

... there's a circus in town!  & the star attractions are PaperArtsy & Lynne Perrella!!

This is a piece I made with the PaperArtsy Lynne Perrella stamps, October Afternoon papers, Nestabilies dies, Tim Holtz dies and good old corrugated cardboard.
(& it took a lot of self-restraint not to stick a red clowns nose on one of the above stamped faces lol)

and there's a sideshow of 3 linked tags:

Right, I'm off to look at the pretty (but slightly inconvenient) snow... looking at it through the window obviously.... and get some work done- nice painty inky 'work'!

** Edit ** I just read a tweet that reminded me to do this:  The tags were influenced by what I learned at a class I took with Lynne Perrella at ArtsyCrafts - the stencilling behind the main images and the row of hats.. ...but its also a revisit to the stenciling I did for interiors - just on a much smaller scale! 
It all comes around again doesn't it.  :o)

have a good day - stay safe and warm!

Craft Barn Demo Day

I demo'd my little socks off on Saturday at the Craft Barn - lovely people stopped by to watch the demo's (7 demo's going in the shop), thanks to you all for coming out on a chilly day.  :o) 
I worked with PaperArtsy's FrescoFinish paints, and their fab.u.lous Lynne Perrella stamps (LOVE!!) - here are some of the samples I created:

Here are the Lynne Perrella designs for PaperArtsy - I really do like these... a lot...

Otto & Adelaide!!

I've finished my two projects from the Lynne Perella/ArtsyCrafts weekend...

First up is Adelaide (the Adventurer)

 
When I was making this piece I had to make up a back story for her to make sense of what I was putting in the piece so that (for me) it all made sense.... So, here is Adelaide, an Edwardian, educated, Lady who has a taken a pile of the Family money and gone travelling.  On her travels she has become interested in nature and has a particular fascination for birds.  To give here a slightly sassy look I cut off her hat and repositioned it over one eye - gives her an air of mystery or a polite 'I might be a gentle woman but don't mess with me' look lol
I couldn't decide whether to put Adelaide behind glass or not - I like it being open because of all the elements but then Bertie (cat) took an interest in the bird on her hat and the other feathers and the decision was made - she's safely behind glass! lol
I really love how this piece turned out - it's so gentle and calm but still with a lot going on (all the layers), and it was a great image that Lynne Perrella gave us to work with.

.. and now for Otto!!  I love Otto! - He gets his name from the book cover page that I used on the background of his assemblage.

 
So Otto's back story is that he was once a famous concert clarinetist - he played all over the world, was famous and adored by fans.... but now his star has faded and he makes his living tutoring people to play the clarinet... (I gave him this story because I felt he has such a proud but slightly sad face - but he should be proud - passing on his gift of music to others.....)
(he's not behind glass due to the twigs sticking out over the frame but he is up on a high shelf where hopefully my furry fourlegged friend can't reach him... fingers crossed lol)

So that how things work in my head - paper people are given stories so I can create an assemblage for them out of this'n'that... lots of fun! (but maybe I overthink these things rofl)