Gosh is it Wednesday again already.....

...I had eight classes last week so no wonder I missed it!! One every morning and three afternoons! Whew! Anyway, onto this week.....and two more classes today....


Lin Nice brought some ladies from Benissa for a class this morning and we played with the lovely Ranger alcohol inks ( a first time for them ). I showed them how to apply alcohol inks onto glossy card and while they played.......



... I coloured a piece of glossy card with mustard seed, pine needles and fired brick Distress inks, stamped with mince swirl (Judikins) in Brilliance crimson copper, coloured three pots of Amazing Glaze with Ranger alcohol inks using lettuce, butterscotch and cranberry, dabbed the card with Versamark pad and applied the coloured powder over and heat set it. The bottom right hand corner I then stamped into the embossing with a pre-inked swirl butterfly stamp (Outlines). This was so good I am planning on making a project in similar vein to incorporate it into one of next years workshops. This technique was from http://sanscardsblogspot.com/





























Tonight the older girls that come to the Kidz club started on a 3 week project of a Bind-It-All Christmas album. They polished, stamped, masked, heat embossed, glittered, cut out and stuck.......all nicely messy...with the gorgeous Paper Artsy Egg and Nog stamps. Two more Weeks to go and then you can see the results.

It's now twenty to twelve so I am off to bed...night night.
Sue x

Kidz class tonight

They finished their project, a board with loads of techniques and really enjoyed making it. Molly and Ellen have been coming to classes for almost 2 years now and are a lot more advanced than most of my adult pupils. Even Yaa who only started last week rose to the challenge and was so pleased at what she had made.
Gotta go, bed is calling...loudly! Sooo tired - again!
Night night
Sue

Let's try making something with inchies!

I thought I would put on these two cards I made using inchies. I don't make anything other than cards, Atc's and scrapbooking but I challenged myself. It was my friend Deb's birthday and as she is a patchwork whizz and a cordon bleu cook (anyone who knows me will know I don't DO cooking) I made this patchwork apron with inchies and also the other card both of which were inked, stamped over and generally distressed. I was very pleased with the way they turned out but the photos don't do the colours justice. The orange is copper pearl card which shimmers subtly and gives a lovely contrast to the rest which is matte.













Yesterday I was so overwhelmed by receiving an award that I forgot to put on the cards we made in the Christmas class. Most of the ladies were complete beginners so they have to have very basic cards although I do try to push the boundaries - they soon tell me when I am pushing them too far! They liked the shaped cards - it's a start rather than a blank card!!! said one. I could still see a blank card but heyho! if that's what they see that's fine by me. We used glitter embossing powder and Paper Artsy, Blonde Moment and the Stamp Connection stamps.
For the second hour I challenged them to use only Blonde Moment scraps(large ones), stamps and black or dark green ink pads - no embossing. They could only use card stock for the base card. I showed them the three cards I had made and they got down to it and were very happy and would like to do it again. Yes!!! Happy customers, happy me!

Must get back to a little project I am working on for a friend - lets just say I bought ready mixed polyfilla or the Spanish equivalent today for it! so keep guessing!ha!ha!
Bye for now
Sue

My first blog award!!!

A big sincere thank you to my lovely and very talented friend Tanya tanyawatts.blogspot.com from Belgium for this blog award.


The rules:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award
3. Nominate 5 blogs for the award





I have to pass it on to five other blogs so here goes...drum roll...

first is Lin Brown http://yoursartfully.blogspot.com/ who I have known for a number of years and is always such an inspiration

second is Leandra Franich http://paperartsy.co.uk/blog/blog.html whose stamps I just love

third is Dyan Reaveley http://dyan-reaveley.blogspot.com/ from Art from the Heart and who gives the most wonderful classes and is such fun

fourth is the Kathryn Wheel http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com who is another very talented lady and she loves chocolate so she has got to be OK!!!

last but not least Linda Cain http://cain81art.blogspot.com/whose blog I read regularly and who is another great source of inspiration.

So much creativity in these 5 blogs - and these 5 ladies all so nice that I feel so undeserving amongst all this talent. Do visit their blogs - you will find so much inspiration.
Bye with love and hugs
Sue

will this year please slow down

On Monday morning I took my lovely Lhasa Apso, Bailey to the vets for the male doggy "op". When we fetched him home on Monday evening our cat, Tia went up to him, kissed his face and snuggled up with him under my coat . The poor thing was still spaced out yesterday and kept looking as if to say "What's missing, I feel different!""

This is him and me on a normal but "bad hair day!!"

I can't believe we are well through November already. Where has this year gone? They do say that as you get older the years pass more quickly and it seems so true at the moment. Classes are buzzing - along with my head. I wouldn't mind if it was the wine...but I don't drink!!! Still everyone seems to be enjoying the classes and that is what makes me so happy.

This morning we did a class using bleach and watching the amazement on faces as the colours on the card changed was priceless. Brown card turned orange and then yellow, greeen card changed to pinky lilac whilst the blue card hardly changed at all. A real eye-opener. Why do I always forget to use the camera!!!

Still I did manage to capture the joy on the faces of Sophie and Alice on Monday night when they took home the Christmas hoops they have been working on for a couple of weeks.

I have been trying to get next year's workshops planned, projects made and details published for a couple of weeks now but life intervenes too much!!!

Colin went to the UK yesterday to see his 90 year old Dad and my 83 year old Mum, both living alone at the moment but for how much longer we don't know, so I have until Sunday night when he returns to get moving. Will go now and get things out ready for tomorrow lunchtime when I close the shop and can play. I have a kidz club for the older girls tonight from 5.30 so no time today to get started.

Bye, Sue x

Boxes galore

I showed the ladies on Tuesday how to make boxes from the same size piece of half sheet of A4 card and achieve two boxes of different shapes and sizes. They enjoyed this so much I suggested to the Friday ladies they might like to do the same and they were delighted with the results - even though you wouldn't know it from their faces! They now know what the lines on the back of their scoreboards are for!!!!!


Chrissie left her usual comfort zone and opted for blue and silver, Fizz went for the traditional red with gold and Margaret chose yellow with gold. They all went home very happy, so I'm happy.
Have next year's workshops to work on now so I am going to get started.
Bye Sue x

and now for something completely different....

was the title of today's workshop. Once a month I run a five hour workshop and it usually comsists of four projects, cards, scrapbook pages, mini albums, etc, but todays was just one project, a tic-tac-toe board full of techniques. We had lots of laughs and everyone seemed to enjoy it and learn lots. Angie brought some delicious custard slices which went down very well...but I forgot I had the camera with me so no piccies of them unfortunately - you'll just have to manage with photos of their work instead.

man free zone!

I was asked could we make boxes this week so we did. Silver ones with tags and Christmas ones with cards using the Paper Artsy poinsettia stamps. Christine (not pictured) made the red set pictured alongside my sample set and Muriel and Erika are pictured with theirs. This 2 hour class streeeetched into three!!!!! No-one wanted to stop they were all enjoying themselves too much!
Have to go now as I have a five hour workshop to prepare for tomorrow - kits to prepare and box up, etc....so much to do, so little time!
Bye Sue x

big thanks

to the lovely Tanya Watts who I met at Ranger U and who helped make the trip even more fantastic. I received a parcel from her with some gorgeous goodies in that she had made especially for me. How to feel special eh!! The necklace that she gave a sneak preview on her blog is even more lovely in real life and everyone who has seen me wearing it the last few days has said how beautiful it is. Then there was my name adorned with three little girls and other embellishments and a picture which is not only so me but incorporating so many techniques - see photos which don't do any justice to any of the pieces - but unfortunately thats all you get unless you happen to be near the shop. Ha! ha!
Big thanks and big hugs Tanya - they will be treasured.
Off now to do more crafting
Bye, Sue

25th of each month...

...we make Christmas card for 2 hours. These are the four cards that Christine, Chrissie, Fizz and Norah made last Saturday...and here they are making them.

I decorated this photoframe...

...and submitted it as one of my pieces when I applied to Ranger U. Norah (on left)saw it displayed in the shop,liked it and came in to learn how it was done. The friend whose birthday she was making it for came into the shop just before this photo was taken and distraction tactics were called for!!!!!

Christine (middle) was making a trifold Christmas card and Lorraine on right an iris folded golf card for her son's birthday this Thursday.
Tuesday morning is a class when people drop in and do their own thing or ask how something is done.
A man free zone with a coffee when the world is put to rights!!!

Gotta go now - kidz club at 5.30 - I know I'm the oldest kid there!!! LOL!
Bye Sue

Photos by phone

Just have time to try to publish these two photos I took on my phone at the shop yesterday.
Yes!! it worked!

a cocktail or two!!!

We had a cocktail or two at Long Ridge!!!! and the rest of the day we were very happy.....

Putting my feet up today

Yes, I am going to relax today, just a bit of ironing to catch up on and then do something for me - just me!

The photo is of Tanya and myself relaxing on the New Jersey shore at Long Ridge - such a beautiful place.

I have really mucky fingers...

...because I have been working on the December workshop project, "and now for something completely different". This was all sketched out before I went to Ranger but just did not have enough time to make it before I went. It involves different techniques. I have used dabbers, spray inks, stickles, etc and have just stopped as I realised my eyes were not working too well anymore. I would give a preview but as it is all in pieces at the moment you will have to wait a while. Bearing in mind that this is Saturday evening you can see what a roaring social life I have!!!!! ...not!

Back to last Wednesday and the November "love Laura Ashley" workshop. Didn't you know I forgot to take the camera so there are no photos of Lin, Diane, Frances and Norah who played along with me. We made a scrapbook page and two cards, along with a Bind-It-All album to which I added tags with lots of different techniques to the pockets and stamped the blank pages using the stamps, mica powders, stickles...messy but did you expect anything else! Anyone that knows me comes across me in the supermarket with a glittery face and painty hands. Michelle from Trimcraft gave me the basic album after I watched her demonstrate it.

The Bind-It-All is great. It is my new favourite toy. I am working on an 8 x 8 Christmas album for the kidz club so that I can use it again! I can see it featuring in many more projects!!!

I am tired and stiff so I am off to bed now. More ramblings tomorrow.

Bye, Sue

Some of the wonderful people I met at Ranger U

Lindy from Norway and Tanya from Belgium who I spent many happy hours with outside Ranger HQ.

The very talented Michael from jack and cat curio who does amazing things with beeswax who sat between myself and Aimee here. He didn't seem to mind being the only man among 23 females.

Jackie (on the left) was great fun. She sat opposite me and so we shared products as well as lots of laughs. She is sooo funny! Her sister Patti (right) helped with just about everything from fetching water, helping when we were stuck and generally just being there for everyone. They are holding a book they have written and which they gave to Lindy, Tanya and myself. So pleased to have met them and enjoyed their company. Mind you, Jackie had to be watched very carefully (like a 5 year old!!) when anything involved water so you can imagine sitting opposite her wielding a hammer!!!!!

Enough for now....more tomorrow.

Bye, Sue

More of Ranger U

On the right are the three amazingly talented people, Tim, Claudine and Suze, who introduced us to so many lovely techniques (75 in all over the three days!!!) yes you did see right -75!
The paper hats they are wearing were made by a group of us on Saturday evening back at the hotel to celebrate our "graduation" on Sunday. We decorated them secretly on Sunday and all donned them when the certificates were given out. As you can see we made a few extra!!!








This is me with the wonderful Suze Weinberg who took the Friday morning class - we made lovely display boards using her products. When I have taken a photo of it I will put the picture on here.
I gave her a fan brought from Spain and on her blog she called the photo a fan from a fan. Sorry Suze, I lifted the photos from your blog!



Below is Claudine Hellmuth who showed us her new line in paints and we spent Friday afternoon playing!! and making an album of tags complete with a decorated cover.

Hola

Welcome to my first blog.

I am now back in the land of the living following my creative adventure in New Jersey where I was invited to participate in Ranger U education program. 24 selected people from around the world were lucky enough to be chosen to go to Ranger Industries HQ, take a tour around the factory where the paints, inks, stickles, etc are made and take part in three days of classes led by the amazing Tim Holtz, wonderful Suze Weinberg and talented Claudine Hellmuth. Such a fabulous experience!!! More later.....