Crafty Weekend Away

Hello friends

Just in case you didn't see any of this on Facebook sharing with you
my crafty weekend away.  It was brilliant and the venue was gorgeous,
Laura Ashley Hotel in Elstree, Hertfordshire.
I was asked to put together a weekend retreat for some friends,
it involved a lot of crafting, a lot of food and a lot of laughter -
all the best ingredients!

The hotel gardens...must admit I didn't do a lot of walking, it was intense crafting!

So lucky with the weather.

We even had our own dining room!

Did I mention the food - top notch!

Breakfast, mid morning cake, lunch, afternoon, tea, three course dinners...

I rolled home!

And we did craft, just a few items we made.

The gift box challenge.

Mini albums.

Festive tags.

And here we all are, pre-dinner drinks.

Fantastic group of ladies and I loved introducing them to the world of
Spellbinders.  Definitely considering making retreats a regular event
so watch this space...

Today I am heading back to The Craft Channel so some hectic work
ahead..all good fun.

Take care friends.

Sunday Giveaway!

Hello friends

 

Let's have a happy Sunday with a giveaway!

Following my Friday Die Day I'm giving away a pack of the Stylus tools

for the Tool n One.

 

Occasionally that boy of mine allows me to pillage the stock,
I have to sign for stuff!! He's got everything ship shape believe me.

As mentioned these fab little tools are great for moulding/shaping flowers,
embossing, dot-painting tools and more.

 Three different sized tips make them jolly useful.

To possibly win a set it's easy peasy - please ensure you are a follower of this blog

(I'm definitely competing with that boy of mine and his blog!)

and please leave a comment on this post.

A winner will be picked out and announced next week.

 

I've had a lot of enquiries on how to become a follower.

There's a few choices - you can add my blog to your reading list

from the blogger dashboard - you click on 'Add' and then input

the URL - that's http://creativity-continues.blogspot.co.uk/

 

If you have a Google account you can click on my sidebar -

there is more information on how to do that here.

 

I will be adding an RSS feed button soon and I will explain about that later -

apologies if I sound like I'm talking Swahili!

 

Have a great Sunday everyone, my roast dinner should be at the hotel

today - I do hope so, it wouldn't feel like a Sunday otherwise.

 

Take care friends.

  

Owl Always Love You!

Hello friends

Today a simple card with a fun die.

This is It's A Hoot.

A two piece die set, frame and inset and features 10 cute owls.

I've made a quick card by matting dotted paper cut with the frame die

onto brown cardstock. Then I cut both the frame and inset from white cardstock.

I typed out a sentiment French Script and printed it onto matching white cardstock
 - 'Owl always love you!' -

(I know...took me a while to think of that one!)

I die cut that to a tag shape with Back to Basics Tags.

Tied with twine and then layered onto the card front with foam pads.

I'm a fan of owls and these look very cute.

I am away this weekend ...crafting!

I've organised a rather special event for a group of crafters,
a lot of them are new to

Spellbinders and die cutting so I'm really excited about
introducing them to this amazing addiction!

It's a jam packed weekend in a lovely hotel, hours of crafting
and quite a lot of food too!
I'm very much hoping this is the start of similar regular events -
'Crafty Retreats'.

I will keep you posted.

Take care friends and hope you are crafting this weekend too.

Friday Die Day

Hello friends

Today's Friday Die Day is a tiny bit different as although I'm featuring dies -

Pierced Hearts what I really want to share with you is the brilliant

Tool n' One and Stylus Tips.
The Stylus Tips come in a set of 3 of varying sizes, they are interchangeable
and perfect for shaping flowers, embossing and more...

Using Pierced Hearts I have die cut a heart from black cardstock.

I have then used a smaller heart to draw around the inside with pencil to give me a guide line.

I'm doing some painting - yes messy stuff, not like me at all!

I saw this technique at The Handmade Fair on the Folk It stand and thought...

I'm going to have a go at this.

I have my heart, paint, tissue and my Tool n One with middle sized stylus tip.

Using a piece of scrap card first, dip the stylus tip into a blob of paint

(I've put my paint onto a non-stick baking sheet),

put two dots onto your card and then again using your stylus, draw down two lines to

join at the bottom.   

Follow your pencil line and work around the heart.

Honestly it is really easy - I'm totally useless at painting but found this a doddle.

Once you've gone all the way around, switch to the smallest stylus tip and add

tiny dots either side.

It's a good idea to wipe your stylus every few times with tissue so you get an even

amount onto the tip.

And this technique is great too.

I've put white dots onto a smaller die cut heart.

I've then added red dots right next to each one - still using my medium stylus for this.

Switching to the smallest stylus, just give them a swirl.

It creates little rose-like flowers.

Then back to the same technique used with the white,

add green leaf like shapes.

I'm so pleased with my first attempt,

I'm now thinking decorated watering cans, plant pots - watch out cabin!

Stylus Tips are available here and the Tool n One is here.

And yes the important bit, cleaning your stylus tips -

if the paint is wet it wipes off instantly with tissue,

if not, a baby wipe works fine - so no mess really - hurrah!

 

Take care friends - wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

 

That Other Boy of Mine!

Hello friends

I've gone all scrapbook pages today!

On one of my recent Craft Channel shows I chose to make a scrapbook page,

I thought it would be a nice change to cards.

I chose a geometric design to make two pages - exactly the same design

but it looks so different just by switching the papers.  

The papers are My Mind's Eye - Indie Chic.

So here is Mitchell (that other boy of mine!) with a predominantly black

and white page with a little bit of colour.

I used a square die from Garden Party for the background but you could 

use Classic Squares LG.

The dies are Enhanced Pennant for the banner. 

Rosette Blooms and Build A Tag.

And here is the same page featuring my niece.

Again Enhanced Pennant, I've added a Pretty Petal C to the middle.

I do love getting my teeth into a scrapbook page,

not literally you understand...that would be chocolate!

Yesterday I tried something new...contact lenses!

I'm typing this without the aid of glasses so fingers crossed it works out okay.

I've always felt a bit squeamish about putting things in my eyes but I was so fed

up of constantly wearing my glasses on my head, losing them and generally

rooting around for them in the bottom of my handbag.

So I'm embarking on something new and so far so good, I stepped out of the opticians

and marveled that I could read the Chinese takeaway menu next door -

it's the little things that really make a difference to me ...like food!

Take care friends - hope your week is going well.

Floral and Flutters

Hello friends

I'm ignoring the rain, the leaves turning golden, the darker nights and the 

dithering of whether to put the heating on...and showing you a Summer card today!

Still slightly hooked on my white phase so the background of this card

is dead easy, white card base and Floral die - cut in white too.

Love that the die set has that rectangle frame as well as the inset.

An injection of colour with Flutters and the strip across the card.

I hadn't thought to stamp onto patterned paper until I tested the stamp on a

scrap piece in my bin and thought...I like that!  Happy accident.

Both Floral and Flutters is available to purchase, just click on the highlighted names.

That boy of mine has his first Design Team project on his blog today,

it's quite funny to hear him say "I'm busy typing blog posts"! 

Take care friends - I'm back tomorrow.

All the Fun of the Fair!

Hello friends

I took a day off on Sunday and visited The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court.  

Mum came along too and it was a brilliant day.

The sun was shining.  If you've visited you will know it's a series of huge marquees,

all very well organised with workshops, talks, stands and food items.

 There was a rather wonderful array of foody items including these Cake Pops from 

The Baking Tree.  An assortment of flavours: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry,

mint-chocolate, red velvet - all so yummy and...

eaten rather speedily by the boys, I'm surprised I got this photo!

There is something so appealing about cakes being like lolly pops.

A few photos of the amazing stalls.

The emphasis is definitely on vintage and there are truly wonderful items to find. 

Mum and I attended a Grand Makes workshop which was red-line embroidery,

when finished this will be a pincushion ..note I say 'when', I must admit I'm not 

rushing to complete this as opposed to...

 my newly purchased Teddy Bear kit from Alice's Bear Shop.

This is going to be Stanley.  I cannot wait to start him so today I abandoned

quite a few 'to do' lists and began to sort out the body pieces.

Some years ago I made Woodward from one of the Alice Bear Shop kits.

I will be sharing step by step photos of my Stanley bear-making process.

Making these teddies is hugely satisfying, I can never part with them though!

I also purchased a felting kit to make a robin, I completed that last night

but the boys are convinced it looks like a penguin!

So now this is a new variety - a Rob-guin.

I will be back to my die cutting very soon but thoroughly

enjoying my little crafty deviation!

Take care friends.