Introducing Lola*

She's a 12 week old kitten that we chose this morning, and will be collecting from the RSPCA on Monday.
We were worried that Fredd was getting lonely and so we've adopted her keep him company...

I'll keep you posted on how they get on.......


* We were originally going to call her Mabel but that didn't suit so now she's Lola.

Craft Stamper November 08

I've been working on projects that I couldn't tell anyone about .... well now I can!!!!!! and here it is:



I was asked to submit work to Craft Stamper and here is the first issue featuring my work... November's issue and that's my pop-up card as the main cover image!!!!!!!!!
Its not on the newstands until next Friday - this photo of the cover was taken from the magazine's website http://www.craftstamper.com/ on there you'll find previews of upcoming issues etc.
(I may have to visit the local stockists and move all copies to the front of the racks! lol)(or take a camera and photograph it on the shelf)(or take photos of myself standing at the shelf pointing at the magazine - - - no, that one would be too much wouldn't it.. aaah how I make myself laugh!!)

Sometimes it takes longer to make one card than it does to make ten!!
I was asked to make a card for a friend's son's birthday - which I'm more than happy to do...... but I find male cards really quite hard... I didn't realise how often I put flowers, gems, ribbons or other 'girlie' items on a card until I came to make a male card!
Must practice and make more mens cards.... which hopefully will be helped by the fact that a man has signed up for one of my courses - I think this will be good for me and the students - a different perspective.

These cards were made from sample/ test pieces I made while preparing for a class using Ranger's Perfect Pearls powders. Love these powders - the way they change colour and react to light - especially when used on black/dark paper.... and they are really versatile - lots of uses....

aaah well, back from hols - 10 lovely hot days spent in Portugal where the most difficult decision I had to make was whether to lay on my front or back on the sunbed!
So am back, recharged and ready for action which is good because I've got loads to do. :o) oooh its hard being a creative! lol

Sneak Peaks at my classes at Card Inspirations

I've been working flat out this week - or that's how it feels! Am kn*ckered!! :o) I'm supposed to be going to Bluewater tonight but don't know if I can face it! Thats how tired i am - turning down a shopping trip! Unheard of! lol

I'm off to sit on the sofa and think about essay writing . . . . . .

Here's some work I CAN show you!...

... because I feel that I've been saying 'I've been busy at the studio but I can't show with you what...' So here are some things I have done in the past few days.....that I CAN show! lol

Details from a card I was comissioned to make:

Using lots of my favourite things - bling, die cutting, and my new Fiskars border punch.

I was trying to find a card blank and matching envelope the other day and came across some envelopes that were slightly marked along the edges - been in the sun (although I do make a point of keeping paper out of the sun so I don't know what happened to these)(I think were quite cheap cards and envelopes and so that may have something to do with it...) aaaaanyway where was I...yes envelopes - I didn't want to throw them away - bit of a waste so I thought I'd make a simple book out of them - bit like a paper bag book. Its not finished but just wanted to share. Same colour choices as the 45th card, and using my new Paperbag Studio stamps. Embellished with bits and pieces from my desk - like the white butterfly that I was going to use on the card but it wasn't right so I coloured the edges and added it to the book. The book's quite small - about 11x11cm.

Stamps, classes and the cat... oh my!

Some days the Postie brings junk mail and bills, other days he brings nice things like interesting magazines... and then every so often there's a really good day when he brings packages containing lovely things like this on the left..... stamps by PaperBag Studio in the States. I'd been umming over these for a while and eventually gave in and here they are are in all their rubber glory on my studio desk... now I just have to find time to use them!




I had a really good couple of days teaching at Card Inspirations on Friday and Saturday. Smaller classes than usual but the customers really seemed to enjoy themselves and worked really well/ran with the class topics. Friday's Masterboard worked really well - everyone has the same stamps, the same colour inks, the same starting card stock and yet all the masterboards produced from them will be different. I enjoy seeing that happen.

Marred only slightly (!) by the fact that at home I had a very poorly cat attached to a drip at the vets, and I had no idea for a while if he was going to be OK or not........ he eaten part of a hydrangea leaf (!) and it had poisoned his system.

He came home on Friday evening (36 hours in the vets!), he had less fur, we had less money (vets bills...eek) and I had a few more grey hairs from the worry but he's now back to full purring capability and is being spoilt rotten. lol.

here he is - poor thing... he'd only just grown all his fur back from his last visit to the vets and its been shaved again... he did have a very smart bandage - apparently - but by the time I got home at 6pm on saturday he'd pulled it off... little devil.

So glad he made a full recovery - I don't think I could have lost another cat this year!
btw: photo taken from strange angle - it makes his head look wierdly large compared to his body which in real life it isn't! lol

Great News & a Light Bulb Moment!

Today I had some brilliant news! of the crafting variety... really good.. will keep you posted

meanwhile... I've finished the little book featured in my last post, and have finished 2 other major projects and this means I have a clear up of both my home work space and at the studio (so I can at least see the cutting mat on the desk..lol).. I was still pondering what type of 'thing' to create each time I've finished a little something.. when I spied this:

under the desk at home. Its a rolladex type address thingy that I bought a while back with the intention of tranferring our address book into it...... that turned out to be way too much like hard work! lol!.... but - on came the light bulb - wouldn't it be great way to store mini creative creations in? YES is the answer - ATC sized (so nice and small) .....
I'm dusting it off and taking it to the studio......

a diddy little history...

This little book started out as a tester while playing with my Bind-it-all (love that machine!!) but has turned into an ongoing project.. each time I work on a new project I tend to end up with bits and pieces left over and so I'm using them to decorate a page in this little book... its quite small - measuring approximately 2x2 inches! bless! A diddy little history of bigger creations.
When its full I'll start using the bits and pieces on something else - probably more cards for the 'house of cards' (inspired by Eames) that I made a couple of years ago as a college project (below). I like that the cards can be interchanged and rearranged and never seems to go back in the same configuration twice! If a card gets boring it can be taken out and replaced by a different one. I'd like to see how big I can make it - the cards are 8x12cm in size and can be slotted together to be tall or wide.... (and when I get bored of them being on display on the fireplace they all pack up flat and fit in a small box... perfect)(or when Fredd has knocked them AGAIN - over one time too many!)
(or maybe I'll just make another little book...)

Some might say that my studio desk is a mess... and I have to begrudgingly half agree! - but its a creative mess and there's a definite difference....
I'm really busy - in a good way - and, among other things, since my last post I have:
Fallen down the stairs at home and am now sporting a very colourful bruise on my butt!
Taught some enjoyable classes at CI (well, I enjoyed them so am hoping the customers did too! lol)
Finished a long standing item on my to-do list (phew!)
Created several items for a secret project
Bought a fan for the studio because it was sooooooooooooooooooooo hot in there!
Been to see MammaMia at the cinema - v v funny
Been to see Wall-e at the cinema - such a cute film

making stuff...

I made these yesterday - REALLY simple, really quick and I was just 'playing' about with bits and pieces... creating from what I had to hand at home. The little bird (on the tag on left) has been blue-tacked to the PC screen for months and he matched perfectly - nice to give him a proper home... see, this is why I don't throw out bits and pieces that are left over!
The tag on the right needs a bit of 'something' but I was just playing - nothing too serious.... and it wasn't a work avoidance technique.. honest! oh no: its 'design development' or 'multi-tasking' (isn't that right Bev?!)
(also if you're struggling with a project I think/find it helps to go away and make something that 'works'... clears the mind! restores order and confidence)

by the way this was all done sitting in the space at the top of our stairs where I'd sat down, just for a minute, to get the CB dies out of the bag - 45 minutes later I was still there happy-as-you-like making stuff!! lol..
I think M was a bit confused when he came home to see me sitting there surrounded by 'stuff' and couldn't really work out why I couldn't just move 3 foot and sit in my workroom!......

Commission and PaperArtsy DT pieces

This is a 70th birthday card I was asked to make - the 'spring' folds make it quite a striking card construction....

I am loving the new PaperArtsy stamps! The gorgeous dragon/butterflies have completely got my creative wheels turning .... here are some sneek peeks at what I've created so far for DT pieces ...


2 ATCs one of which became a card, and a card. Products used are the lush and luminous perfect pearls- dusted on the page and used in a spritzer spray.


Same stamps, different colourway - these items are a triptych and a simple acetate card.

and my mind is STILL ticking with ideas .... but I have a few deadlines to meet at the moment so they'll have to sit in my sketchbook for a while.....

Phew!!

Had a GREAT day at the studio yesterday....

2 round robin book spreads (which is great because they are now off my desk and more importantly off my conscience!), (btw picture on right - is of the page unfinished - there were buttons in the centres of the flowers when the page was completely finished...)


1 card mock up for secret project, and

10 - yes TEN atc's!!
(can't show you those either because they might be for a secret project too...)

AND I cleared up my desk before I got started!