Stitches Update and Crafteire 2009!

Sorry for not updating sooner. It's been hectic since last weekend, between having my Whitehall Workshop on Thursday and getting ready for Crafteire 2009 this weekend.   I'm here in the crop room just chillin' after teaching my two Workshops.  I'm delighted that everyone enjoyed them so much.  The atmosphere here is really great and I'm looking forward to an evening cropping, having dinner and maybe a cup of tea LOL!

Here's the layout from my "From Me" Workshop using October Afternoon County Fair papers, Bazzill cardstock, a handmade paper flower and a title cut using the "Opposites Attract" font from Cricut:

My second Workshop was "Spring Prairie" using a 6" x 6" chipboard album from Paw-Pear Basics, Basic Grey Urban Prairie papers, chipboard and fibres and a Bazzill blossom:

     

So the big news from Stitches last weekend is ... I didn't meet Laurence :-( but I did meet Tim Holtz :-) who was soooo charming and talented. He was demonstrating loads of new Ranger products and he even managed to make me a Grunge Paper flower complete with mini brad and safety pin! I was so chuffed. He had three framed layouts on display which were so fab. Unfortunately I couldn't take photos of them for you but they were amazing. Apparently Laurence was scheduled to be there on Monday instead of Sunday so that's why I missed out. His new papers are very floral, very colourful and just what you'd expect from such a flamboyant charachter. They're scheduled for release in April.

I also met Fran from Stampendous and she demonstrated her new acrylic stamps which are a must have:

                

Saw some beautiful papers and embellishments and have ordered some Bo Bunny, Fancy Pants, K & Company and Crate Paper which will be arriving in store next month.

By far the most impressive stand was Sizzix by Ellison.  It was packed with clothing, home decor, cards and layouts decorated with diecuts from their new ranges including Hello Kitty.  They had baseball caps and t-shirts decorated with felt diecuts, chests of drawers decorated with chipboard diecuts, frames, babygro's and loads more things I've forgotten but I was blown away by all the creativity.  Again, I wasn't allowed to take photos??? but they said they'd email some to me so when they do I'll let you see them.

So, back to the shop at Crafteire I go.  Enjoy your weekend!

We're hoping to meet LLB!

We're heading to the Stitches show in Birmingham this weekend and can't wait to see all the gorgeous new products from CHA 2009.

Tim Holtz will be there, so will Shari Carroll from Hero Arts plus loads of other papercrafting experts but the one I'm most looking forward to seeing is the one and only LLB ... Laurence Llewelyn Bowen !!!

He's following in Martha Stewart's and Laura Ashley's footsteps and has designed two gorgeous scrapbooking collections called Renaissance and Retro Rose which I've had a sneak peek of but really want to see the whole lot.  Most of all I'm hoping to get a photo opportunity with the man himself, so watch this space on Monday to see if I get my wish.

On the subject of new Collections ... arriving next week we have new ranges from My Minds Eye including Penny Lane and Bella Bella "Bellezo".  Here's a few from the range.  You can view the full collections on the My Minds Eye website.

 

    

 

Crafteire 2009 "Spring Prairie" Workshop - Sneaky Peek

As promised here's the first of the sneak peeks from the Spring Prairie Workshop that we're giving at Crafteire 2009 in Tullamore.

We've packed the kit with a beautiful 6" x 6" chipboard album, Basic Grey Urban Prairie Papers, Bazzill Blossoms, Basic Grey Urban Prairie Fibres and Chipboard Shapes and we're going to be creating a fun mini book for you to use for your Spring photos ... or anything else you fancy!  In fact this would be perfect for scrappin' those holiday photos or to give as a gift for Mother's Day.

To take this Workshop you'll need to bring along your usual tools e.g. glue, paper trimmer, craft knife, scissors plus:

Some white or black acrylic paint

A white gel pen

Cropadile or hole punch

Distress Ink Pad

Black, white, pink or yellow ink pad for stamping (we'll be using some yummy Basic Grey stamps during the class!)

If you haven't already booked your place at this Workshop there are still places available by logging on to the Crafteire site.

Crafteire 2009 "From me ..." Workshop - Sneaky Peek!

The countdown is on for the fab Crafteire Weekend 2009 in the Tullamore Court Hotel from February 20th to February 22nd.  If you haven't already booked your ticket, there are limited tickets still available from the Crafteire website.

We're bringing the store and teaching two Workshops and we're looking forward to a brilliant weekend.

To get your crafty mojo up and running we're sharing a couple of sneak peeks from both classes over the next few days.

We love the "From me ..." Workshop.  We'll be using the October Afternoon County Fair Collection of papers and diecuts and combining them with some stitching, a little doodling and a grungy handmade flower embellishment.  Add a 5" x 7" photo (portrait format) and a 3.5" x 2.5" photo and you're all set to create this thoughtful layout.  So get your thinking caps on and get a list together of some good advice or perhaps some quirky things about you that you'd like to share with future generations!  We'll be adding these into the layout to create something special for you to add to your scrapbook!

To take part in this class you'll need:

Photos

A sewing needle

A paper Piercer

A white gel pen and a fine/medium tip black felt tip pen.

A pack of baby wipes

White Acrylic Paint

A craft knife, scissors and paper trimmer

Distress ink

Glue (Dry glue runner and wet glue e.g. Scrappy Glue would work best)

Dark Brown Embroidery Thread

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Hope to see you there

Create your own Christmas Card Keepsake Album

  

If you're like us and you hate throwing out cards, especially handmade ones, then you'll love this idea.  We've adapted it from a fantastic project in the new Scrapbook Trends Baby Idea Book, which is now in stock and selling fast!

Hope you enjoy this very useful way to store those precious cards.

To make the cover you'll need:

• a chipboard sheet or two (leftover from a pack of paper),
• Colorcore Cardstock in Poinsettia and Forest,
• Basic Grey Wassail paper (Merry Happy and Turtle Doves)
• a yard of red Bazzill ribbon
• Ranger Inkssentials White Pen for doodling around the edges
• Bazzill White cardstock to print the journalling

1. Cut 2 pieces of chipboard to half an inch bigger than the width and length of your largest card.  These will make up the bases for the front and back covers.
2. Cover one chipboard cover with Colorcore Poinsettia Cardstock - front and back.
3. Cover the other chipboard cover with Colorcore Forest Cardstock - front and back.
4. Cut a piece of Merry Happy paper (plain dark brown side) to half an inch smaller than the chipboard/cardstock, centre it and stick to the front of the red cover.
5. Cut some small parcels from the Merry Happy paper (patterned side) as shown in Diagram 1 below.
6. Print some journalling on white card.  We printed the title "Christmas 2008" using the Scriptina font and the journalling is a quotation from "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.  Distress the edges of the white cardstock with Ranger Distress Ink (we used Antique Linen).
7. Stick down the journalling and stick a selection of parcels around it (see Diagram 1 below).
8. Tear 2 pieces of Basic Grey Turtle Doves paper (Diagram 2 below) and stick to the top left hand edge of the Merry Happy paper.
9. Doodle just inside the edges of the album as shown with a Ranger Inkssentials White Pen.
10. Gather up your cards, place a cover front and back and punch a hole in the left hand corner of both the covers and all of the cards and hold them together with either a chain or a large bookring.
11. Tie everything in place by wrapping a yard of Bazzill ribbon (or whatever type you have) around the whole book and securing in a bow at the front (see Diagram 3 below).

Diagrams 1, 2 & 3:

   

You can decorate the inside of the front cover and the inside and outside of the back cover if you wish. 

Check out the Scrapbook Trends Baby Idea Book article for further ideas.