Christmas-Film-Fest

We spent Saturday having a Christmas-film-fest at the cinema - went in at 5pm watched Fred Claus, came out and went next door for a meal, then went back at 8pm and watched Enchanted!! Phew!
Fred Claus was good (more heartwarming than I thought it would be - both M and myself were a bit teary at the end (though he'll probably deny that!)) ......
but Enchanted was FANTASTIC!!! Best film I've seen for ages. If you're going to see a film over the holiday go see this - it was sooooooo good!! It had a bit it of everything - singing, slapstick comedy, gross-out comedy and some romance and a happy ending - well it is Disney what do you expect: everyone has to live happily ever after! Great film.

tweet tweet

I've made some little birds to hang - red and gold one is going to look cute hanging on my parents christmas tree, and I've yet to decide where to hang the little pink one... I'm going to make a larger white one (with pale turquoise plumes) tomorrow for our tree... after I've made the christmas cards....

It's being added to an ever growing 'to-do' list!!

Christmas Masterboard

I've had a great time over the last couple of weekends teaching up at Card Inspirations - I really enjoyed it and here's a peek at what I taught in the Christmas Masterboard class (loving the Hero Arts stamps we used!).

The shop is getting some great products in - Basic Grey, the Bind-it-all and Cricut machines....... lots of exciting things!

I'm looking forward to more teaching in the New Year.

Christmas is coming......

Apparently I was 'a bit' "bah humbug" last year! So this year I'm determined to be much more christmassy! Trying to do something christmas related each day.


We've put up our christmas tree - and very pretty it looks too - even if I do say so myself!
For a few years now I've been saying I'll change any threads on baubles to green - instead of gold or silver so that you only see the bauble not the hanging thread - so thats what I did yesterday while M decorated the rest of the tree.... team work ...... I stood up to admire his hard work and he'd done a nice job (normally decortating the tree is my job and I'm quite protective of it!) and I walked around the tree to get the full affect ...............................



but he'd only decorated the front of the tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!! apparently he didn't see the point in decorating the back of the tree that faced into the bay window as we live on the first floor and no-one would be able to see the decorations!!!!

Needless to say we now have deccy's on the back of the tree!

lol

I've started a mini(ish) book about the lead up to christmas - notes about what I've been up to - trying to keep track of my growing christmassy-ness.

I ordered J a Robert Sabuda pop-up book as one of his christmas gifts. These books are amazing (there are 2 on my christmas list) really great pop-ups generally done in white which makes them really effective - I particulary like the page where the snowman raises his hat! The mechanics of the pages are mind boggling!
While on Amazon ording J's book I ordered a small Sabuda book for myself (it all goes towards building up my christmas spirit!) and the book is sitting in the lounge open - like a christmas ornament.... here's one of my favourite pages:

too cold to be creative!!!

I went to the studio today to get in a whole day of creativity..... it was sooooooooooooooooooooooo cold in there I lost feeling in my fingers!!!!! lol ... tshirt, fleece top (with the hood up), scarf, and as a last resort my new (yummy) lime green quilted gillet (I didn't want to put it on 'cos I didn't want to get it dirty but it was soooo cold I had to) and I was STILL cold (fingers and toes!)... so I gave up and came home! The studio electric heater seems to have died- may it RIP. M has been and bought a new heater for the studio and its very cute and very reliable but will only heat one area at a time so I think we may need a big bad-ass heater!!
But please don't think the studio is totally without comfort - we have heating... we just have to remember to turn it on (and off) (its a cost thing)!! But believe me, its now on! so now when we go in tomorrow it'll be lovely and toasty!
(but just in case I'm putting on a few extra layers! lol and I may go and invest in some, currently very trendy, fingerless gloves/arm warmers!!)

sneak peek for class at Card Inspirations, 8th December

Some days its nice to just 'play'......

'The Big One'

This month's ArtyATCs - 24 of them!! 72 stamped images, 72 flowers, 48 diamantes and the word 'nature' punch-taped 24 times (much to Ms annoyance!!)(he suffers for my art! lol ) and here they are..............(well some of them anyway!) and in the top left corner is the co-ordinating card (sorry for the reflections on the cards - they were all in protective sleeves ready for sending) (I created the ATCs by using a big image that could then be cut in half - the Dragonfly stamp (gorgeous) was ideal for this.)

Busy, Busy, Busy

I'm busy doing lots of work but not all of it visual! (ie nice piccies for blogging!)
So to summarise:

• Taught at CI for 2 days weekend before last - really good, I hope the customers/students enjoyed it as much as I did!
• Went to a Quickutz day at Gatwick yesterday - worth the drive - really enjoyed it, met some nice people, won a great prize (my name got picked out of a hat - how fab is that!)... and bought a digital die cut machine (birthday present) - that I can't/won't play with at the moment as I don't have time - humph! - I just know that if I unpack it and set it up I will play with it for hours and I just don't have the time (see to-do list on last post!)... but perhaps if I'm really good and get lots done maybe I can reward myself with a 'quick' 1/2 hour trial!
• Working on current courses...
• Getting ready for Art-o-matic classes starting this week - its christmas based and its going to be good!! I'm definitely(hopefully) going to be more in the mood for Christmas this year than I was last year - but that's not going to be hard: I was very 'bah humbug!' last year! lol
• Getting ready to run a class for the Tollesbury creative group this coming saturday...
• Still working on 23 ATCs......

See what I mean - not the most interesting of posts but they'll return to pretty pictures soon - promise! lol

Champagne, Elvis and Surgery!

Yep, its that time of year again - another year older and a little bit wiser (?) . . . . . .

Yesterday, to celebrate, we had lunch at The Glasshouse (mmmmm Lamb Shank),
then back to ours for cake and Grand Prix (J was rooting for Lewis Hamilton... ah well, nevermind),
then today (my actual birthday)(I like to eek it out as long as possible!) I was treated to breakfast in bed (Bucks Fizz is the best way to start the day!),
then an hour of the Elvis DVDs I was given as a pressie - the '68 comeback tv special - the iconic black leather outfit show (Elvis- "man, this suit is hot"),
then lunch with mum & dad,
followed by a trip to the Doc's surgery for minor surgery- mole removal (!!!). Just what everyone wants on their birthday isn't it! (and phrases you don't want to hear from the doctor who's doing the procedure - "your left arm? ... which one is that"?!) Eek!
Ending with a dinner with Matt....
(oh, and tomorrow its lunch with T, and then on Sunday I'm off to a Quickutz day to see if I like the Silhouette die cutting machine and maybe get it for my bday (and this day includes yet another lunch)).
I will be a blimp with legs at this rate - I think it may be possible to have too many meals out!.......
Good times and great pressies (and some more on their way)...
I want to get creative soon with a mini book so that I can use my new Bind-it-all!! mmmmmm -but its a bit low down my (ever growing) to-do list - much more pressing jobs: card samples, 23 ATC for the yearly 'Big One' over at ArtyATCs, a christmas card order and some class planning................. best I get on with all that and stop writing this! (and get some ibuprofen on the way to ease my wounds!!)

Tag using distress inks, and an image from PaperArtsy Noel Plate No.3. I love that image for its gothicness (not a real word I'm sure but you get what I mean!).. Mini flourishes from Hero Arts, and my usual faves - butterfly, gems and text.

(having uploaded the photo i've noticed its not quite in focus - will try again...)

New Cards.....

Christmas card designed for November's card class (using PaperArtsy Noel Plate 6) ......
















Do you think there's a health and safety issue here?!
(Phoebe snoozing on the paper trimmer/ guillotine !)