Craft Stamper

Craft Stamper magazine is out today and my masterboard article is inside (and gets a piccy on the front cover - bottom right :0) )
lots of nice christmas article inside this issue.

this n that...

NEWSFLASH!!
(added 04.11.09)

Yay! The record was acheived! Southend-on-Sea now holds the Guiness World record for the longest continuous line of bunting!!!!! Well done to everyone who took part - local schools, WI groups (one WI group brought in ONE THOUSAND flags!), the list goes on! and especially to Nastassja who headed up the team of people who have sewn on the 9000 flags.

So, on Sunday I braved the rain and went to the park to search the 9000 bunting flags to find my five - needle in a haystack is the phrase that comes to mind!
...and I did find them - slightly sheltered up amongst the trees - it was great to see them up there... Mine are the 5 denim ones in the centre - from left to right: one with my felt flowers, one using PaperArtsy stamps, floral heart fabric for me, one using Banana Frog stamps, and one with a blue check fabric heart for M ('cos he does love a blue check shirt! lol)

Yesterday I popped to the shops for a quick hunt for a jacket of somekind - I didn't find a jacket but I did find these mugs, don't you think a drink would taste nicer in one of these?

I was asked to make a 21st birthday card and here's what I created - inspired by a card on the Hero Arts site - using lots of my favourite bits and pieces - gems, flowers, nestabilities etc etc etc and I was really pleased with the colour scheme - the turquoise against the silver and charcoal base.. mmmm nice (even if I do say so myself! lol)

BOO!

yay - I'm back in the land of the www! I'm sending this from our home computer in our own home!! PC is all fixed and raring to go and after almost 10 days without it I'm appreciating it more than before! lol

I'm off to create stuff, and also considering braving the rain to go to look at the bunting hanging in the park....

PC still broken...

.. and is at the PC World hospital where they will hopefully be able to bring it back to life along with all the information stored inside! fingers crossed.
so this is me posting from my bro & S-i-l's pc, while half watching J playing Wii tennis and half listening to E chuckle his way through his dinner!

At least there is an upside (small one) to the PC being broken - I have time to do more constructive and creative things than wandering around the www! lol I just can't show you what it is ...'cos I don't have a computer!!!! aaaaargh!

btw - I've just spent 2 great weekends working at the ArtsyCrafts 'retreats' - more planned for next year - check out the PaperArtsy & LB Crafts blogs for more details later in the year.... (and check their sites and blogs to see what was done at this one!)

keeping this brief...

1. I am now officially another year older.

2. I went and saw Spandau Ballet in concert - 20 years on - and they still ROCK!!! So pleased / relieved to be able to say that! lol they ROCKED!!!

3. But, more seriously: Our PC has 'died!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I am seriously restricted in the IT department!

Boohoo humph sniff aaaaaaaarrgh!

I didn't realise how much I used the computer until I couldn't! and how much important 'stuff' is stored on it that I can't get to! (but i did back it up last month so 'yay' for me! and phew! thank goodness for that)

So consider this notification that I will be awol until other lines of communication can be found!

Now, where did I put those carrier pigeons......

Over at Banana Frog....

...its my day - so hop on over to see what this is.... (and don't forget to take a look at the great new stamps they've just issued..)

Things have been a little (!) hectic lately but finding this on YouTube made me stop for a minute! :

...At this time in two weeks I will probably be climbing the walls with excitement 'cos I'll be getting ready to go & see Spandau live again (** years on!) who'd have thought! lol (i'll take the video down soon as I realise not everyone is a fan.... lol)(but come on - how could you not be! lol)

Right must go and do something more constructive... I'm going to be at Card Inspirations on Friday to teach a class and Saturday to demo the Cuttlebug..... 'I love my Cuttlebug'! I say that a lot -its such a great little machine! maybe I should get a t-shirt with that printed on! lol

Taking the time...

... spent yesterday at PaperArtsy HQ getting ready for the ArtsyCrafts weekends coming up in October - can't believe its October tomorrow btw!!

While Mr PaperArtsy -Mark -was busy pressing rubber and Milo the cat was busy playing with a mouse (!), Leandra, Lynne and I were busy creating with the great new stamps they've just released and others coming up v soon.

I picked up some of the new stamps while I was there and this is what I've created so far - just playing around (when I probably should've been doing something else!) but couldn't resist a quick play - this is a sketchbook page .... thinking it through .... so the ideas are still 'in progress'...
I think these new 'clocks' stamps are going to be really good for mens cards.... or for pretty much everything me thinks! lol

stamped the same image several times on to a panel (repeated with different images), cut them up and then tiled them..... really like this one - I like the random that becomes 'neat' 'structured' ... will look really nice mounted onto black with some silver accents...

great weekend...

such a nice weekend!!

Village Green in Chalkwell Park was great - really nice atmosphere, loads of different thing going on - artists and craftspeople selling all manner of work, musicians playing (including Billy Bragg - great!), big inflatable screen in the lower field ready for a film in the evening - it was really great - can't wait to go again next year (when, according to the dh I should have a stall.. . he'll even man it for me apparently!)(bless).

I bought the above panel - gorgeous! The detail on it (screen print, machine embroidery, applique) is beautiful.

And the organisers even decorated the park... creating chandeliers from recycled plastic bottles and of course there was the bunting - the team are still sewing but they are well on track to beat the record. The park looked soooooo pretty with the bunting hanging across the main walk way.

(I couldn't find my 5 in amongst the hanging ones but I've been assured that they are sewn on! probably in that big reel above! yay! I'll have to wait until its hung down the Pier to see them.....)

Saturday night was a fantastic meal with friends - haven't laughed so hard, for so long and got home so late in a long time.

Sunday was spent at AllyPally for the Stamping and Scrapbooking show. Great to see all the creative goodies in one place - so much to look and buy! I didn't take any photos - too busy shopping and talking! lol
Leandra and Lin were demo'ing like mad - with some great new products - head over to their blogs for more info and photos...

It was kn*ckering but I'm really glad I went. Nice to get to see people and catch up, good to see what's out there, and to visit shops that I might not have found by just wandering around on the internet.

While R & I were in the show the dh's took the kiddies to the park, and E is officially the cutest 2 year old around - and yesterday after eating a big pink ice lolly possibly the stickiest one too! lol

aaaanyhoo: here's what I came home with, and I've got some lovely Lavinia stamps coming in the post:

I reeeeeaaaaally want to stay at home and play with all that loveliness but I have to go to work! ho hum Can't wait to play - especially with those little 6x6 templates (stencils) - Oh who am I kidding I can't single just those out - I want to play with it ALL! NOW! roflmao!

storage solution and my new favourite punch...

Punches - I had quite a few years ago then stopped using them (sold them) - tastes change don't they - and now I'm revisiting them and there are some great new ones around.. sometimes its not practical to get out the trusty die cut machine for just a few shapes... aaaanyhoo I've been making bits and pieces to go on cards/ scrapbook pages and to use in classes and I've just bought this one and this is what I made:

Really simple and I made them with just what was in the house - will def' make more with patterned/ textured papers and a touch of shading around the edges - loads of possibilities - also the shape would look good as part of a snowflake don't you think?
(The punch is called Blink-Blink, available from Card Inspirations)

Gotta love the nestabilities! (my collection is growing...) and I've been storing them in magnet sheet (xyron refill) lined cd cases... and this worked fine for a while but once I'd got more than ten sets the pile of cd cases in my cuttlebug box was becoming a bit of a pain and so I bought a cd case and have stored them all in there instead - on bits of card with a magent strip across the centre to stop them sliding out... I was going to make a holder but buying this was so much easier! lol and now all my sets are in there and I can flip through much more easily to get to the ones I want - and they're much easier/safer to transport this way too (and take up less space!)