My Candy from Aintree Show etc.

Back in the land of blog which I've missed for the last week but I've had a fabulous precious time with my DD1 and 2 of my grandees. After coaching it down to Brighton, (left home at 7am and arrived there at 4pm eek!) I stayed there for 2 days before we travelled back up here by 2 trains, that is with a baby and a toddler, pram, bags etc., etc.,!! and it took almost 6 hours door to door. Ah well, we could have all been stranded abroad due to volcanic ash so I thank my lucky stars it was only buses and trains we had to cope with.

On Friday my DD1 went to visit friends so I was able to visit the craft show at Aintree Racecourse (home of the famous Grand National horse race). Not a show dedicated solely to paper crafts and stamping but I really enjoyed the exhibitions and dems of other crafts. 

I limited my spending by just taking cash and managed to buy all the things in the 1st pic, which included one of Tim Holtz's new dies, 5 of the clear storage boxes for £10 and lots of things on the "anything for £1 stand". Also brads, cosmic shimmers, embellishments, animal print paperbacked fur, more new Distress ink colours. 

Lovely too to spend the day at the show with my friend Caz and she brought me a lovely gift of the new Art Specially book from her trip to their show last week in Zeist Holland.If you fancy a copy she has some for sale on her stampattack website. I'm so thrilled because there is an article in it using my birdhouse design stamps which I did last year for stampattack. She also gave me a plate of her new Alice in Wonderland stamps so I can't wait to play with them and there is another plate coming up in a week or two.

Exhibition at  Aintree show of the costumes from the film "The Duchess" starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes

The Knitted Garden on show... amazing!

Caught up with Wendy and Martin of Card-io who will soon open a new shop and have some great new stamps and ideas so watch their website for news.

I'm already missing my DD1 and grandees who left this morning and are back home in Brighton but I have a workshop next Saturday then I'm demonstrating for Caz at the Port Sunlight show on May 8th on her stampattack stand. Then a traumatic time ahead as my DH has to have a hip replacement operation mid May. On May 25th my DD2 will come to visit from Germany with my other beautiful grandee, so that will give us all something to look forward to and help cheer DH no end.   

Embossing & Layout challenges

I'm off to Brighton by coach tomorrow so won't be able to blog for a few days. I'm coming back on Monday and helping DD1 baby and toddler to come back here by train. The journey there of over 8 hours will be well worth it to have them stay here for a week. Looking forward to seeing my little newbie grandee again and having fun with the older one, who is nearly three. 

Thanks for all the lovely comments re my acrylic hearts and it looks like there will be a run on them in Ikea stores!!!

I've made these two cards for challenges on one of my groups and they are both really away from my own style. I don't usually do formal styled cards as I am very much the experimental messer! The photos don't show the true colours with taking them in electric light. Much better in daylight.

As I recently acquired a Cuttlebug, I used it for the first time for this embossing challenge.

This card is for a layout challenge and I used some of the card I had decorated with Distress Ink and stamped over it with an cracked eggshell stamp. It's a bit neat and formal for me but I think it works OK. 

Just had to add a picture of one of my little winged visitors especially for my birdy loving friend Cath! It is one of the tiny long tailed tits that comes each day and they flutter up and down, all along  the window. At first, I was so worried they would hurt themselves but they only flutter and don't bang into the glass. Don't know why they do it. The little feeding house is stuck onto the window and they don't seem to bother with the seed.

Acrylic Hearts & Memories etc.,

Mixed Rambling Blog today.......

 I messed around this afternoon with Alcohol inks and the acrylic hearts I bought yesterday from IKEA. Officially photo frames, they are over 3 inches in size and consist of two acrylic hearts that fasten together by extra strong tiny magnets. I took them apart to decorate the insides.

This first picture shows a collage of PaperArtsy new stamps trapped inside

On the inside  of another I stamped swirls and stamped a face image. On the other side I cleaned away an area of the alcohol ink with a rag and blending fluid, in the area of the face, so it would show more clearly.

I played about with another one but this time I stamped the face image onto a piece of card then tore around the edges before I trapped it in between the two hearts.

The magnets are strong enough to trap the ribbons between the hearts.

It would make a paperweight and could hold a photo, with a verse or message, as well as stamped art.

A big advantage is that if you make a mess, or just don't like the result, it can be cleaned off very easily with AI blending fluid ready to start again.

This is one of the heart frames as I bought it.

Memories in my Garden

This time of year I always think of one of my friends, Carol, who sadly died suddenly and unexpectedly, one week before her daughter's wedding, about 15 years ago. She was a lovely person, talented artist and a great loss to the world, her friends and family. 

I had always admired the camelia in her garden, which was in flower when she died and later on the same year my DD2, then a student at uni, bought me a tiny one from Woolworths for just £1.99 and I planted it in view of my living room window, exactly in the position Carol had her's in her garden. Each time it blossoms I think fondly of my friend and how lucky I am to see my own daughters grow to have their own beautiful children. 

Thanks to Fluffy!  

After 15 years my tiny shrub is now an 8 foot high tree

Just had to share these teeny weeny treasures I bought at the ginormous St George's Hall Antiques Fair last Saturday. The ruler is marked in 16ths of an inch!

Multi flap card and Easter Christmas

I was doing a bit more tidying today, in my craft room, and came across this card made in a class last year with my friend Cath. This was the one I mentioned as the inspiration for the card I posted yesterday, so I thought I'd show the comparison. The one here has so many more flaps and I realise now that I want to make more as I really like the folds. We used glimmer mists for the backgrounds.

This is the cover made using a technique initially created by Hermine

As I mentioned yesterday on Saturday I went to the Grotto! Lewis's Store in Liverpool City Centre has had a spectacular, huge, Christmas Grotto for more years than any store in this country. Sadly the store is closing for ever very soon and, as a special event before they close, they have created a Grotto again for the very last time. Adults and children are flocking to see it in a sentimental journey. It's not June in January but December in April!!!

(LAST DAY SUNDAY 25th APRIL)

First there is an Easter Grotto with Teddy Bear's picnic theme

Then it opens out to Christmas  and highlight topics connected to the city such as the architecture....

The Liver Buildings with the birds on top

The Football Teams

Wintry Christmas Scenes

It was so lovely but so sad to see it for what I thought was the last time but my little grandee will visit next week from Brighton so I will be back to take her to see it. What was so lovely was that Father Christmas was explaining to all the children the reason he was there even though it wasn't Christmas and reassuring them he would be in another Grotto next December.

If you have children and are close enough to visit, don't miss it. It is only £1 to go around it but extra for official photos with Father Christmas and gifts.

Asian Folded Card & Spanish Treat

The inspiration for this card came from my talented friend Cath when I went to one of her classes. I've modified the original to this simpler form which has less flaps and can be cut from the length of a sheet of A4 card.

I used Distress Inks smooched onto the card with wet wipes then stamped the background before stamping the stronger foreground images.

The stamps are by PaperArtsy except the main image, of the two profiled heads in the centre, which is one of my favourites by Stampattack. The colours I used are Fired Brick, Mustard Seed, Walnut and Frayed Burlap.

Yesterday, on such a beautiful warm sunny day, I ventured into the city centre on Grand National Day and as always there was a vibrant atmosphere with people, dressed in their finery, heading to the Aintree trains for the short ride to the racecourse. Many were just heading into the city centre to enjoy the races via the big screens in the bars and pubs but it was great to see such amazing outfits, hats and lots of glamour around the place. The men too BTW! Lots of people come over from Ireland and so many of them dress just like country gentlemen.

My main intention was to visit the big antiques fair at St George Hall

 

As I arrived into the city centre I walked into an unexpected treat as the Spanish Tourist Board had organised a "Taste of Spain" event in the main square. It was a wonderful day of amazing free entertainment and many of the Spanish regions displayed all their specialties.

 I enjoyed Fino Sherry served by a beautiful talented lady who skilfully dipped into the barrel, swung her long server high and poured it into the glasses without spilling one drop.

I savoured garlic olives and sugared roasted almonds with a glass of Rioja whilst listening to live music.

There were little girls proudly parading in their flamenco dresses

 

A troupe of young Spanish football stars displayed their amazing skills

A giant paella was being prepared in a pan, about 6 feet in diameter, with a log fire beneath. Besides enjoying the wine and food, I came away with some quality freebies, a cloth shopping bag from Galicia, a pen from Andalucia, sweets from Almeiria, an orange from Seville and lots of brochures to tempt me to visit Spain! Just need the money!

I shopped then, before going to the antiques fair, I made a sentimental visit to the GROTTO!!! Yes a Christmas Grotto! In April! I'll tell all tomorrow and show the photos for proof. Watch this space!

Vintage Flowers and Millions of Daffodils

These two pages for my Deco challenge on the theme, "Vintage Flowers" are winging their way to North Carolina. In hindsight I think that the background colour is a bit miserable but my mind was fixed on Lavender and Old Lace and the whole process was not messy enough for me!!!. I love the stamps by Crafty Individuals.

Tree hugging in Sefton Park amongst the Marie Curie Field of Hope Daffodils. 






I have never seen so many daffodils, in one place, anywhere else. They stretch for field after

 field and are such a wonderfully cheery sight after the long hard Winter and we never miss visiting each year. 

People walking in the park were as bright as the flowers and most people had a chat as they passed by.

This little cutie is my friend's 12 week old kitten, called Tilly Mint, who we visited today. 

I love the way she always curls her tail around her front paws. 

Dabbers Splat technique

Today I decided to have a mess around with the technique I first saw on Patti Behan's blog where she has an excellent video tutorial. It's another "Dress to Mess" technique using Adirondack Acrylic Dabbers by Ranger. Back to my bright colours for the theme of "Blossoms" for one of my group challenges. 

 The backgrounds are created by priming dabbers with the acrylic paint then spritzing them with water before madly, forcefully and with great abandon, SPLATTING them down onto the card. The paint shoots everywhere so protect anything precious before starting. There are various options such as .....using only one colour or a few,..... using light colours on dark card,.... splatting a darker colour, then after drying splatting a lighter colour on top. 

Just play and have fun and see what evolves. Stamp over with background stamps such as flourishes and things soon take shape.

Japanese Tea House

Yesterday I attended an excellent workshop at Victoria Stampers and the tutor for the day was my good friend Neet of Hickdorums blog.(If you look at hickydorums blog there is so much more information and photos of samples of this project.) I really enjoyed making the Tea House and, amazingly, managed to finish it all in class. Didn't think I would as there was so much stamping and it is quite a complex construction (and we do a lot of chatting and laughing)... but most people did complete. Thanks so much to Neet for a great class.

The beads and tags are like mini pulleys which can be raised and lowered and the whole thing folds up into a book structure for presentation. Quite novel!

View with tags hanging

The roof   

Closed with tags inside and closed with tags hanging

Non fattening Easter Eggs

I hope you all have a great Easter Holiday!

Today the sun is shining and I've been into the garden to gather branches to make my Easter Arrangement. 

When my DD2 first went to live in Germany I loved the cheeriness of all the Spring decorations in shops, restaurants and homes so I stole  this tradition and now make one each year. I have collected decorated eggs from many countries and DD2 sometimes sends me one so now I have a big box full, from which I can pick and choose. 

I made some of my own this year......have a go they are quite easy.

Photo 1 

I have seen these egg structures for sale in department stores and thought I'd have a go at making them for myself.

Decorate card on both sides. I used Glimmer Mists and stamped over with various background stamps.

You can use good quality 2 side printed scrapbook paper for speed.

 Cut out egg shapes ( you'll need 6 , 7, or 8 ) Mine are about 6cms long.

Make 5 holes down the centre of each  egg shape  with an awl, using the first one as a template to position the rest.

Starting at the top, using strong thread, stitch through the holes of all the egg shapes to the bottom then back to the top. Fasten off and leave a thread at the top of the egg to which a ribbon can later be secured. 

(I suppose if you want to make lots you could sew them together on a machine, with a large stitch, but it might be difficult to keep them all neatly together. Haven't tried this myself.)

Open out the "pages" of the egg and tie a ribbon around the middle.

When it is evenly arranged, add some tiny blobs of Glossy accents on the edge of the card where the bottom edge of the ribbon makes contact.

Tie a bow and loop and attach it to the top, first with the thread, then add a blob of Glossy Accents for safety.

2nd Photo

 The cone shape is a lovely gift when

 filled with mini chocky eggs and they are perfect 

to hang in the garden for an Easter Egg hunt.

I decorated glossy card with Alcohol inks then stamped flowers over with Stazon inks and added a little gold Perfect Pearl  to the surface.

These can be any size to suit your eggs.

It is easy enough to make a cone shape (mine is approx 14cms long) then add ribbons to form a hanging loop and a tag and flowers to decorate. 

I decorated a plastic egg, with alcohol inks to pop on top after filling the cone with mini eggs and a little shredded tissue.