Of to See Alice ... so ...

Thought I would quickly show you some more artwork from weekend.  A couple of shots from other people's work.

This was Amy's - isn't it stunning?  We worked on tables according to what colourways we had put down - I just love how she painted her metal too.  Check out the rose at the top.

Here it is - gorgeous or what?

Kay was also on the same table and she did a full blown rose on her Arch.  Can see these becoming very popular - make lovely brooches.

Kay and Freema debating what to buy (don't you think that is a clever photograph?  Reflection in the mirror and all that.)

So much room to work in - think everyone had gone for a break except Rosemary sat diligently working

That's it folks!  Now for Johnny!

My Stuff

Well, here it is.  Was going to change the top of my Arch and redo the clock as I do have the stamp at home but haven't had the time today.  I rushed through yesterday and forgot to work on the clock face to puff it out - perhaps I will do it another day (but not tomorrow as I am going to see Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland - swoon).

This shows you the centre, was really pleased that mine padded out as it did but not so pleased with my stitching (Leandra took the mickey out of my sewing skills).

I just loved the brushed effect we got on the background where you see the lettering.  Looked really good when we put some paint on it - old and worn.

These are my Leandra Beads - I chose Coral for my colour and I am so glad as I feel it picks out the Rusty Hinge colour I used on my fabric.

A closeup of the beads and how they hang.  Impossible when working with that hard wire to get them exactly the same length but I think that all adds to the fact that it is handmade and not manufactured.  Don't you?  I was determined to work at it and do the wrapping that Leandra is well-known for - was I the only one who chose this way of hanging beads?

To break up the workshop we did a couple of small things, leaving our arches to go back to.  Think this was a very clever strategy by the two "L's" as it certainly kept our interest going and we were all the more keen to get back to our arches so we could finish them.  This is the outside using Viva Paints.

This is the inside.  Leandra wanted to show us how to get a border around the inside and she used mine.  Then she told me I could paint it out and do one myself if I wanted.  I declined - well, wouldn't you have?

The last thing we made was this dish.  Can you spot my error?

Look at my birds.  A "DOH" moment when choosing this Cuttlebug folder - and "someone" helped me line my pieces up and didn't twig either!

Whoo Hoo!  I am on the next weekend workshop.  Rang Linda this morning and she laughed when she heard it was me - she knew I would be on first thing letting her know I was attending.

They really are superb workshops.  Drinks, choccie biscuits all day long and a lovely hot buffet lunch.  In fact in the interests of Health and Safety the two "L's" insist you take breaks (preferably leaving the room), drink plenty and eat chocolate.  The timings are perfect, all equipment is provided and there is no shortage of it either - and the two of them are a perfect duo at teaching.

If anyone is thinking about signing up for one of these workshops, stop thinking and do it - the experience is such a lovely one and you learn so much ... and bring something completed home.  Never heard one person say they did not like what they produced.

Artsycraft Weekend

The adrenalin is flowing, I have had such a terrific weekend with Leandra and Linda in Warrington and am absolutely delighted with every single thing I made (mistakes and all).  So much so that, providing I can still get in, I am going on another one in May - this time travelling down to Newport Pagnell.

This was one of the samples we were shown, sorry I do not know who made it, but isn't it gorgeous.  Notice the Leandra beads - really fun to make.  Because I realised we would be making them I wore the bracelet I made with Leandra four years ago at Cath's Stamp Camp in Rainhill, which was about the time Leandra became the originator of them.  Suze (Weinberg) always refers to them as "Leandra beads" and that is what they have become known as in the craft world.

This is a Christmas one that was done at a previous workshop - makes me want to make one like that straight away (and I have another arch ready).

Although this one was not done over this weekend it is the same theme that we worked to.  I left a little bit of another one on this photograph instead of cropping it just to show variety.  I have not taken a photograph of mine as yet, but will do in the next day or so.  Plus the other things we made.

Here are some of the lovely things they had on display

Guess who wants to make all of them?

These are some of the bowls like the ones we made this afternoon - ours were square ones as the round ones are no longer available.

That is where I am going to leave it for today.  Just a little bit of temptation for you all to have and tomorrow I will post my attempts.

A wonderful weekend, lots of lovely people on the workshop but ... the quietest Linda has known.  More samples can be seen on Linda's website/blog (see my sidebar).

Will be Back

Sorry I have not posted since Wednesday.  Had a workshop on Thursday which I had forgotten about (thanks Sarah it was great), today was aunty's 80th birthday and tomorrow I am on a course all weekend.  Hopefully will post on Monday when I will have pictures of the Artsy Weekend I am on - should be good!

Thanks for all the entries for my blog candy and the new followers.  I do appreciate all my followers and wish you all well.

BLOG CANDY ALERT

As it is my birthday I thought I would offer some blog candy.

There is a Tim Holtz stamp (because I bought it again when I already had one), a set of Heidi Swapp clear alphabet stamps (bought at CHA Super Show purposely for blog candy), a Tonic Distresser (given to me in TH class but as I already have one thought I would share), a Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink (because it is a duplicate, again), one of those mini bottles of Claudine Helmuth's Studio Muli-medium matte (only obtainable in this size at CHA - darling little bottles) and my wooden bracelet made with Claudine at CHA (just because).

All you have to do is become a follower and leave a comment underneath to say you want to be included in the draw.  If you are already a follower perhaps you will mention it to me to make life easier for me when you leave a comment.

As I am mega busy with workshops at the moment I will make the draw in two weeks time, 24th March - which coincides with my friend's birthday.

I'll do another later but wanted to make this one a bit connected with my recent trip to America and CHA.

Sharing

Thought I would just share with you my handmade birthday cards.  Sorry if some of the photographs are a bit dark.  It is so wonderful to think that so many friends have spent all that time making a card for my birthday and I would like to thank every single one of them for sending me a card.  They mean so much.

If you click on the pictures themselves they should open up in a new window and then you can see them in all of their glory.  I just hope I have not missed one.

My Tidy (?) Craft Room

You all saw my untidy stash when I came back from America - well, I have kind of tidied up since then and thought I would give you a tour of my craft room.  A few years ago it was on a Make Over programme "Big Strong Boys" and they put me a laminate wood floor in, counter tops, a (Gavin) floating shelf and open shelving.  It looked beautiful - but then I had to move all my craft stuff back in!  Still the same colours on the walls, left over paint enabled me to paint some cupboards I added but now there are other things in that do not match.  Ah well, a girl just has to have storage for the craft addiction.

This is what they called my "inspiration wall"  (Sam, see your picture is up there) and the line they put up (Ikea) is supposed to have cards hanging from it but now houses all manner of things - kind of my noticeboard.

Moving in a clockwise direction here are my Tim Holtz tins containing my Alcohol Inks, Dabbers, Crackle Paint, Distress ep's, Distress Stickles etc.  My trusty little Cuttlebug is there, as are my gel pens and my card index system.  I write down in pencil where I store things that are out of sight.  That way, hopefully I can find my magnets, Mitzy cord etc.  Otherwise I would be looking everywhere.

Above are white (Ikea kitchen) containers holding brushes, foam brushes, Sharpies, ColorBox things etc and above them the coloured containers hold my clay tools.

Underneath is one of the open cupboards.  On the side of it is a chrome towel rail which is ideal for folding over my paper that is too large to go anywhere else, mulberry paper etc and inside the first section you can see my Ten Second Tool Kit, computer leads, inks etc and in the blue bag my Cricut with my cartridges (a good buy at £12 from QVC shop a while ago - it's really a travel bag).  Under that is one of those nappy cases - my Paddy Workshop stuff, and a couple of silver tins (Ikea) which contain my Acrylic paints.

The next lot of tins have fibres, specialist paints, utee, clay molds, charms and embellishments in and the black ones have Cuttlebug Folders (bottom one) and Spellbinders dies (top one) in.  Oh, and the tins on the top plus the fancy box all contain books I have made (stitched star, flag tag, piano hinge etc) and some materials for making more.

Back to the counter top - next to my TH tins we have more silver tins.  These house my UM's.  I stamp them on an A5 piece of paper and laminate them, then stick the stamps on and stack them on their side in the tins (each categorised).  The black box houses my Tim Holtz stamps (need another now) and the cream ones my Paper Artsy (full so need another of those).

The plastic drawers are from when I first began stamping - these have my (few) mounted stamps in and  UM's which are on A4 sheets - things like small words and Non Sequitur plates (don't ask how many I have).  You can just about see my big Scor-it, new MS score board and my Marble box for when I do those backgrounds (not done them in over a year - must revisit).  The brown box is an old one where I store my ribbons (loose), cording, lace etc.

Stacked on top are boxes with my Journalling and Suzi stuff in and at the extreme right my Altered Books, spray booths, flower press etc .

Underneath you can just about see my cardstock storage.  A neighbour made me this and I love it, everything to hand and stored in colourways.  The first grey cabinet houses all my clay stuff then there's chipboard, small Scor-it and Tonic cutter, Ideology, Grungeboard, glossy card, Designer papers (and at the bottom UM's waiting to be put away, oh heck!).  You can also see that I have other cutters/guillotines on top of these cupboards, they just fit nicely below the counter.

Turning the corner is a concertina file on the floor which has lots of projects in it, things I have taught, things I have picked up here and there.  All alphabetically filed!  The black bag is for my Wizard and its plates and the bin behind holds rolls of paper.

Back up to the counter - this is where I work.  Acrylic blocks in a container to keep them together, Mini Mister block, my carousel which I won a couple of years ago at CHA (don't ask what is in it - but I will say it has so many things to hand for me), my heat gun on the stand my dear friend Ronnie made me (sadly Ronnie is no longer with us but I have this as a constant reminder of a very very dear friend), pasta machine for clay and loads of stuff in the window.  I leave this big Green cutting mat on the whole time, love my foam pad to stamp on and you can see my ATG gun is in constant use.

Keeping up on the counter and moving right we have cubby holes (Ikea again) stacking my ink pads which I use on a regular basis.  Stamp cleaner in a regimented row, Suze's fantastic glitter glue, mainly black and Versamark inkpads in a container top left so I can just reach them, most used Dabbers that won't fit in the tin on the other side, Prima flowers, ds tape, glues, sticky buddies, Post-its for masking, Bedazzles, Embossing powders, a revolving water pot holder (actually contained mustard pots at one time), Cut and Dry, a spare heat gun holder for when friends come and eight containers full of books.

Moving round mountboard on the floor, three sets of drawers (dominoes, brads, eyelets, Cropadile, beads, metallic cardstock, templates, Polished pigments, H2o's, Perfect Pearls, Rub Ons, Spray Inks, punches, Tyvek etc).  Incidentally underneath the silver tin are a pile of old placemats.  I cover them (cork side) with aluminium foil and use them for heating when embossing, using utee etc.  Saves my green mat warping with the heat.

Inside the cupboard are spares for various things, loads of Designer papers in boxes, Encaustic stuff, Melt Pot, travel iron, peel offs, Dremel, Suze's hot tool etc.

You can see more cubby holes, again storage for coloured card, this time A5, outsized Magenta stamps, Viva paints (new so need to play) and spritzer bottles.

 

Continuing round, cubby holes for envelopes, Adirondack spray inks, reinkers, inkpads not used much, new MS punches, all manner of technique stuff, brayers and ... more books.  The blue drawers have silk flowers, bolios and cubes and wires in and the black drawers house things like Friendly Plastic, tags, slide holders, library pockets, TS molds, watercolour crayons, Parchment craft things, ATC stuff, cello bags, and so on.

The cupboard is full with more projects, magazines, canvases etc

Back to the beginning - if you have stuck it this long I bet you are glad this is it!  The old computer table now just holds the printer/scanner, bags and boxes ready for taking to the club, and my Art Box which contains loads of Laser cuts that I keep forgetting about.

Hope this wasn't too boring, but I did want to show you my tidy room - well, it was tidy the other day.