The best laid plans...

and all that. Mine have hit a snag... well two really.  I got bored and I got distracted. LOL.

All the stamps are in their nice new CD cases (well almost all, I ran out of cases for the last 2 sets and by the time I got some more the boredom had set in).  I haven't done the labelling or the key yet either.

I have started on a 12 x 12 canvas for one of my DD's though.  I've got a few layers of background done and I'm embossing some metal ready to stick on once I have a bit more texture on the background.

Then there is another snag..... work :( Got to go travel to Southampton tomorrow for a conference on Friday so I have to leave all my toys behind *boo hoo*.  Better go and pack I suppose.....

Normal service will resume shortly

....whatever that means (normal that is!).  I have decided to re-organise my collection of stamps.  When I say re-organise there's not really much "re" about it, to be honest.  More a case of actually organising them!  I bought quite a few at Ally Pally on Saturday (have been mounting the ones that needed it on to EZmount - filthy job!) and now need some clever way to store them.  Up to now my meagre collection has been stuffed into punched pockets in an A5 lever arch file but that was getting a bit messy.  

The Master Plan: I have a load of empty CD cases, some sticky labels and glossy card.  I intend to put the stamps by collection into the CD cases, label them appropriately along the side (I even have a key planned out... I'm scaring myself!) and put them into a CD rack.  I also intend to stamp the images first onto glossy card and label each card with the same key as the CD cases -this will be my filing key.  It all sounds very efficient, doesn't it? I obviously need to lie down in a dark room for a while!  The Tim Holtz collections are already on laminated punched card so I can file those in a ring binder.  If I get rich I might even buy one of the great T!m's binders, but for now a common one will do!

So, that's the plan.  It may take some time..... on the other hand, I might get bored with it and be back in action sooner than I think.

In the meantime, here is an LO I did some time ago which I think is quite fun.  It was for a poetry themed challenge.  

I got an Archie!!

Headed off bright and early to Ally Pally to get there in time to catch me an Archie!  As soon as the doors opened we all poured in and I headed straight to the LB Crafts stand and got one!

Isn't he cool?!  I picked a green one, and at the checkout I met my follower, Helen, who picked a red one.  It was great to meet up with her and put a face to a person I feel I already know.  Leandra took our photo and we are posted on her blog proudly wearing our spoils. I watched the demos for a while but then it was time to get down to some serious shopping.

Next stop was Scrap Shed which was quite close to LB Crafts.  I bumped in to Carmen (whoopido) with her DD and we both remarked on how we normally couldn't get near the Scrap Shed stand.  Later on it was as packed as it normally is, but Karen's idea of having the tills at the back worked well in freeing up the stand a bit for browsing.... so I got the chance to go back and buy more than once, LOL.  Off next to Scrap Revolution for some more essentials and then it was just a general browse and picking up things that weren't necessarily on my list.  I did manage to fill all my wish list except for Copper TSS metal so I was happy. Here's a pic of part of my haul:

You can see some distress inks (there are lots more, got about 8 of those) and some of the flowers, bling lace, stamps etc.  This is just a selection, I got loads more (variety is the spice of life!) as well as some boring basics like EZmount, plain white glossy cardstock, tags, adhesives.  I also picked up a couple of sheets of Graphic45 papers and my main item of the day was a melt pot (so maybe I can finally wax my petit dolls!)


I met up with some of the UKScrappers as arranged by the Lee and I spent lunchtime with Lee, Ali (and her OH Geoff), Fiona and Juliette which was fun.  It was so nice to meet up with people I have been posting with for such a long time and to find they are just as nice (actually nicer) in person.
All in all it was a great day, especially the footie scores (come on you Mighty Reds!)  I still haven't actually seen the goals, but was watching Soccer Saturday in a pub with my bezzie mate as the goals were coming in. I've got Match of the Day on Sky+ and will savour Torres' hat trick along with Babel's brace and the goal from Gerrard as soon as I publish this post.

Ally Pally

is nearly here!  Just five days to go and wouldn't you know it, London Underground have decided to close the Victoria Line on Saturday just to make my life difficult.

I should be easy to spot, I look pretty much the same as my avatar pic and I am usually wandering around with my glasses stuck on top of my head!  I'll also be wearing my UKScrappers badge as some UKScrappers will be meeting at the ATC swap point at mid day.  If anyone wants to say hello please do, I love meeting people and I don't get out much, lol.

Anyway, there was a suggestion on the UKS board that we might swap some ATCs so I made a few, just in case:

This is my first real attempt at ATCs so I hope I've got it right!  I inked up the card with distress inks using cut n dry.  The flowers and small butterfly is Crafty Individuals and the larger butterfly is Paper Artsy stamped onto a colourwash ink and glimmermist background, cut out and blinged up with some Stickles.

*cough-cough*

and *sniff-sniff*.  Just in case those hints weren't clear enough... I have a cold! Nasty one that makes me feel like my head is stuffed with cotton wool so I am very hard of thinking right now (more so than usual).  Anyway, I think I have got the comments sorted out now.  Thanks to Ruth and Helen for letting me know there was a problem!

Not got much done this week, being poorly sick and all, but I did get a second canvas finished off from the Wilko pack:

This one is in browns and rusty/terracotta colours to match my youngest DDs bedroom.  There are some BG Ambrosia papers in there, a few Cosmo Cricket die cuts, prima flowers and bling and another of my bargain butterflies.  I've also discovered a cute little shop in the centre of Kingston (where I work) which has Decopatch stuff in it.  Never heard of this before, but the papers are really useful, a tissue paper texture which is semi translucent for the first layer then gets deeper colour if you layer it up.  I used a brown and gold crackle effect for the edge of this canvas and it works really well.  I notice that a lot of stationery stores are starting to stock this stuff, and for alterers they have some great items to alter (I particularly love the giraffe).  I found this online store that has details of Decopatch for anyone who is interested.

I also made a find in a charity shop and bought these beauties for £1.25 each!

Aren't they fab?  The possibilities are endless.... which makes it difficult to decide what to do with them!!! Help!!

Well, that's all for now, apart from a big cheer for the away win yesterday.  Torres was on fire! Carragher and Skirtl not so much but hey, everyone is entitled to an off day now and again... as long as they don't make a habit of it.

Red Tide Rising!

And we're off and running!  Not exactly a vintage Liverpool performance, but The Mighty Reds have won and, importantly, kept a clean sheet at home so.... no away goal advantage for Debrecen when we face them on their own turf (and beat them of course!)

Being 50

This is the last scrapbook layout I did.  The pic is of me in Barcelona where my two DD's took me as a birthday treat.  We wandered into a square and found this balcony decorated to look like a 50th birthday cake!

The papers are Basic Grey Boxer and Ambrosia.

So, what's it like being 50? So far so good!  I haven't got to worry about the menopause as I got that over with when I had treatment for cervical cancer three years ago and I'm in complete remission now and am pretty much recovered from the treatment so I'm feeling better healthwise than I have for a few years.  All in all life is pretty good at 50! 

Canvassing

I picked up a pack of 4 small blank canvases in Wilkinsons a couple of weeks ago.  Blank canvases seem to be available everywhere now, which is great for us crafters who can pick them up at low prices and play around without worrying about the cost! I've now got a stash of all sizes to play with.

This is what I have done with one of the small ones:

 

I had the title text from a jamboree pack of ephemera and I thought it was fun so I started from there and the rest just flowed from it.  The vintage photograph is from an ephemera sheet, the flowers are prima and there is an assortment of tissue papers and bits of lace doilies.  The butterfly I picked up from a little shop in Covent Garden where they were on sale.

BTW I still haven't waxed my Petit Dolls.  I started with the block of wax and the mini iron and wasn't happy with the results so I blotted it off with paper towels.  I'm thinking I will get a melt pot and try putting on the wax with a paint brush then ironing it to flatten it out if I need to.  I know a lot of people find the block and iron gives them more control, but I think I would feel more in control with a brush.  Guess I am just contrary!

It's been a while

I've had a bit of a downer on the past couple of weeks..... not the best time to start a blog!!  Anyway, I'm starting to feel a bit more on the up now and I'm back!
Been digging around in my cross stitch stash and came across some of my completed work (yes, I have managed to finish some stuff!). 
First, I would like to share my Tity with you!  Titania (or Tity as she was christened by a friend who was stitching her at the same time) is a Mirabilia design by Nora Corbett.  I love her designs, especially her fairies:

  
Next, a slightly smaller, but still lovely, lady: Shroomhilde from Dimples Designs.  These shrooms are so cute, and this little lovely is stitched with lots of sparkly threads and beads (much like Titania above):

 

Finally, my mandala garden from Chatelaine Designs.  This design was released in parts as a mystery, so we all got a section of the pattern once a month for 12 months and the overall design was revealed gradually.  It is all stitched in silks and speciality threads with lots of swarovski crystals.  It really is a gorgeous design and looks stunning in person:

I have finished more than three projects I should tell you, these were just the ones I came across when sorting out earlier.
I also have lots of half finished stuff I must get back to!  Maybe I'll post some pics of those on here too and that might shame me into getting on with them.