The new Crafty Notions spray inks were a hit...

This is a long post and has taken me ages to write because I am doing it in the intervals between the Dancing on Ice final. At the moment Sam has skated the bolero - captivating was Jason's comment!! and Laura has yet to skate - no idea who will win as they are both fantastic. At Stitches, the trade show in February I thought I would buy a few bottles of Crafty Notions mica spray inks to try, and boy are they gorgeous!!! Just look at those stunning colours and the mica in them mixes like a dream. It looks delicious being swirled around and they spray really easily too unlike others I have tried....they have also almost sold out so if you want some be quick.

so I had a play on Thursday morning and I sprayed sheets and sheets of cardstock and also in my A4 and A5 Moleskines - a real joy. I converted some of the cardstock into birthday cards adding die cut butterflies as you can see here... they have a batik-like quality to them. Also in the photo below are the journal pages I sprayed and on the reverse the inks leaked gently through and left some lovely images....

Today, was sunny and warm and so I took myself out to the naya and equipped with a can of Pepsi and a Cadbury's creme egg I was all set.

It's weird journalling in an A4 size. I have so many A5 journals on the go and the larger size can be quite daunting at first but I am enjoying working in the larger size. As an artist I always worked large as it is much more freeing but for journalling smaller seemed safer.

Anyway, I doodled around some of the flower images that had leaked and added wording from my quote collection which reads " If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom"

In my A5 journal I had sprayed through a new Sizzix butterfly die cut - I used the butterflies on the cards - and also dabbed the leftover spray onto the page reversing the image...look at these beautiful colours... and today I added some fairies that a friend gave me last year and found some wording which reads "Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life, and everyone deserves a little sunshine" .....which is a beautiful sentiment.

On Saturday morning I introduced the girls to the spray inks and they loved them. Here's Blaithin and Becky with the cards they made...

I find it so lovely when the ladies continue at home what they have learned in class and even more so when they bring it to show...

and on Friday morning two of the ladies brought pieces - Maxine finished her doll painting off at home with a feather and beading - truly a mixed media piece...

and Ruth brought in two examples of last week's alcohol-inked beer mats class that she made at home.....

Both stunning ladies!

So I decided to let the Friday ladies into the secret of these lovely inks and they donned rubber gloves and settled down for a messy time - you could have heard a pin drop the concentration was so great...

Lin doing an Ainsley Harriott, or at least seconds before she had her left arm raised!!! Lol!

Mu, Lin and Florence showing their creations...

Right, they are just announcing the winner so

Bye for now Sue

Sorry Alice

When I took this photo of Celine and Alice on Wednesday showing their completed 2011 journals, Alice commented that she had never seen a photo of herself on my blog - and Alice has been coming to my classes for well over 3 years - and so in order to put things right here she is.....

and this is the only other photo I could find on this computer Alice, as Colin has moved all my other photos onto my notepad and I cannot access them on here, sorry.

Dayana and Alice summer 2010 So Alice, BIG apologies and will do better in future.

Bye for now

Sue

Tonight

If I look all hot and bothered it's because I was. Running round helping these gorgeous girls who all worked so hard tonight making cards in a patchwork style. I gave them a pile of papers, some punches, the Big Shot and some flower dies and some stamps and peel-offs and after showing them what I wanted them to do matching edges and lines they did me proud.

Aren't they all lovely.

Bye for now

Sue

A day off...

I have had a very relaxing day today. It was a fiesta - Spanish Father's Day - and the shop could not be open and so I made the most of the peace and quiet while Colin was out golfing. I read a bit and then started my other new A4 Moleskine by doodling on the inside front cover- always a daunting task - all that lovely clean paper.....I might add colour at a later date but for now its just doodledand then it's easier to use the inside pages once the front is done

I did pick up a couple of Ranger Dabbers and add a little colour on here and looking through the little book where I collect quotes and stuff I found the perfect wording.

All in all a very productive but relaxing day so

Bye for now

Sue

There's me so tired I can't sleep and what happens. I have lunch today and promptly fall asleep on the sofa for a couple of hours and now I am wide awake and it's 2 in the morning so I thought I might as well catch up on the blog so here's what we made in class today.
I made this beer mat trio last August for a Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge and the ladies have been asking me to teach it. They brought in their beer mats and armed with rubber gloves they pounded their little blending tools to their hearts content...
pause for a photo ladies please...

and here's what a few of them made.....

Well, I am going to bed to read and see if that helps me to drop off - at least it's a fiesta tomorrow and so I have the whole weekend to spend asleep if I wish...yeah I wish!!! you know along with the washing and ironing and all the other chores you try to put off as long as possible so

Bye for now

Sue

ps Oh and I still haven't finished unpacking all those boxes - 4 left I think

Boxes of goodies

If I thought I was tired yesterday look what arrived today... yes... 10 boxes of goodies ordered at Stitches in February...and that's not all... there's at least another four boxes to come and that's not taking into account the back orders (or for the uninitiated the products I ordered that weren't in stock at the suppliers)I opened one or two boxes tonight while the girls were busy and found the eclips machine that I ordered for the shop - that's right - for the shop not for little ol' me - no of course not!!!

perish the thought!!! and as soon as I have it set up it will be available for use on scrapbooking nights. Woo hoo! Excited who me haha! and extra cartridges and of course loads of dies for the Big Shot...oh! and did I forget to mention somewhere in there is a 12 x 12 Big Shot Pro for the shop too!!!!!

Must go and have something to eat before I fall over so

Bye for now

Sue

Overwhelmed - who me!!!

Does anyone have a few hours to spare that they could lend me.....on second thoughts, perhaps not, as I am pretty certain that I will not be able to return them! Just at the moment I am feeling totally overwhelmed - well OK not strictly just at the moment but for a few weeks now since just before I went to Stitches. So much to do and so little time.....and on top of all that the orders that I placed at Stitches are due to arrive this week!!!! anyone know how to clone yourself?????
One of my daughter's best friends, the lovely Gillian who was a bridesmaid at daughter Victoria's wedding is getting married herself later this month and so I made her a trifold-shutter card from the gorgeous L'Romantique collection from Graphic 45 - such beautiful designs.

This morning I made an easel card for my Isla, a beautiful 5 year old who is my grandchildren's half sister - they share the same Mum...and who calls me Granny Clifford like my own two do...
Tonight in class the youngsters completed their 2011 art journals - a voyage of discovery of paint techniques...not bad for 6 to 10 year olds... there are 28 pages in these journals all painted, splatted, dribbled, stippled, spritzed and stamped and probably much more besides and Saturday Jonas...

and Blaithin - seen here with the lovely Yaa my Saturday girl completed their 2011 journals...
some youngsters are still to finish theirs...

and on Friday morning my lovely ladies finished their 3 week project of a doll painting - all who said I can't paint or draw - just look what they have achieved.
The unfinished painting in front of the photo belongs to my good friend Lorraine who sadly had to take her poorly dog to the vet's and wasn't able to be with us

So with an album to make for good friend Liz and another to finish for Gayle whose 40th birthday I went to last Saturday week...and those are just in the pending tray...this is not mentioning all the other half finished projects still lying around and all the projects I shall want to make when the delivery arrives and whose ideas are floating round in my head...now do you understand when I say I am overwhelmed and I am not after sympathy - it is all self inflicted
pressure so as Lesley, the Editor of a magazine I advertise in said earlier today....hhhmmmm and just Breathe!!! so with those words I shall say

Bye for now

Sue