December already

Just a quick post. Here is the Advent box that was a joint effort between my lovely friend Tanya and myself back in the summer. It has had so many lovely comments - and sold a box or three to other crafters hoping to make a keepsake to pass onto future generations - that I thought I would share it with you all today.
Bye for now
Sue
ps Happy Birthday Mum - 87 today

Last 4 tags of Christmas...and a bit more...

Thursday and Friday we had some rain - in fact it positively tipped it down - along with flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder - having said that it was much needed as this summer has been long and hot and so humid...this was the sight outside the front of the shop with me in the dry... Here are all the Christmas tags together on a board as they are displayed in the shop...and here's a bit of how they were made...

blend some colour, stamp a bit, colour and add some embellishments and its done...again lots of colour, a frame, a strip of tissue tape and a dangly bit and we're done...a bit of embossing through the Big Shot, a touch of colouring over the top, add a rosette, a frame and a bit of stamping and hey presto another tag done...

this tag looks quite dull but its not really - just a little more subtle than the others.

and now for something totally different to what I normally do... a set of Christmas cards made very quickly and easily but very effective nonetheless using Wet Look markers and clear and rainbow sparkle embossing powder - a new favourite of mine...

These cards went down very well with the ladies in class yesterday.

Right off to have chips for tea and watch X-factor and totally chill...

Bye for now

Sue

Four more tags of Christmas.....

Here are four more of my twelve tags of Christmas.....this one has a touch of batik and a tissue tape flower...
this one - well, I can't remember how I did it because it was the first one I made! but its a pretty tag nevertheless...

this one is bright and jolly - just how Christmas should be - with lots of Dabbers and grungeboard...

and last but certainly not least is this pretty blue and white lacy textured tag...

last four tomorrow - or maybe something a little different - who knows - so you'll just have to keep watching.....

Bye for now

Sue

12 tags of Christmas - a little early...

With my Christmas themed open day in mind I made my twelve tags of Christmas a little early this year...so here are four to start off with - more later in the week.....
This tag has been spritzed and flicked, stamped and the flower altered..... and this tag has been textured and the lovely rosette added.....this has Dabber, Distress Ink and a bit of die-cutting...

and this one has the flower and book plate made with Alcohol ink and acetate - from where is a secret!!! along with masking.....

so that's it for today...

Bye for now

Sue

***edit don't know why both cards look bent - must be something to do with the camera?***

This week it was two birthdays...both on the same day - 1st June.

This is the card I made for my friend Molly - she of the mollypop flowers!!! and I won't reveal her age but... I shall be the same age in three months time - anyway, the edges are all Distressed, the button is utee, the flowers are recycled jacket lining and mosquito netting and the black lace is the edging from the mossie netting - how's that for ingenuity! huh!!! She was thrilled with the card and Colin and I are going there for a meal tomorrow with her and Arie... fingers crossed for good weather as we have been having very unpredictable weather of late...

the second birthday card was for the lovely Jodie - my daughter-in-law to be - and I used the gorgeous Teresa Collins paper and glitter card -- Jodie is a real pink and pretty girl - see her legs below! My son proposed to her at the top of the Eiffel Tower and their wedding reception meal is at the Parisian restaurant in Las Vegas in October so when I saw this cardstock at Stitches I knew just who I would use it for and have been patiently waiting for June to come around...

I took this photo of Jodie at my daughter Victoria's wedding - both girls are really tall and very slim - its just the angle I took this photo that make Jodie's legs look huge - sorry Jodes -
This is the page that this weeks class will be making... it includes stamping, stamping and heat embossing, painting, doodling, painting and drawing a face, die-cutting and journalling... and here's Blanca, Elena, Celia, Becky and Blaithin after class this morning... and this is my original journal page...
This morning while wife Arantxa shopped I chatted with Josep - they are from Valencia an hour and a quarter away - who turns out to be a Northern Soul fanatic - Dyan if you are reading this he will be at Cleethorpes in 2 weeks time - Arantxa is a Tim groupie so what an alright couple!!! This is the page all the girls in last weeks classes made and which I forgot to photograph.....
and here are the Monday girls - giggling at Mina - she's a real cutie but quite a handful!
Right, I had better take advantage of the sun shining to put some washing in the machine - its been one day beautiful and the next day pouring - quite unusual for May/June here in Spain so

Bye for now

Sue

Working hard but not always finishing!!!

Haven't gone - just been working hard.
Some people have shops... not craft ones mind... and just turn up, stand behind the counter and serve the customers. Not in my craft shop... I do it all from ordering, stocking the shelves, preparing and teaching 5 classes a week and cleaning the floors and making the coffees. Well not quite as Colin does the books once a quarter. Hardly a day goes by without me humping a load of stuff into or out of the shop. I work at home on samples and other projects and so some stuff has to be shipped back and forth by me. I don't have two Big Shots and sets of dies or two Bind-It-All's although I do have quite a bit(quite a lot actually) at home but whenever I need something it is always at the other place!!! Quite frustrating - that is probably why I have so many unfinished projects - at least that's my excuse!!!Lol!

We have had two months of rain and when it rains the electricity is iffy and just goes OFF - no warning - OFF just like that so the other night when Colin said he was going for a curry with a couple of his golfing buddies I thought Yes! tv remote, phone, computer mine all mine all night - well, how wrong can a girl be!!! You guessed it - a few minutes into talking to Tanya on facebook PFF and OFF it went. In all seven power cuts so in the end I gave up and went to bed taking a torch - at least I could read my book just like old times when I was young reading under the bedclothes and listening to Radio Luxemburg!!!!!

Anyway, when Tanya was here in November she made a fabulous paper bag album for me to use as a workshop. A customer Lin had seen it but hadn't been able to make the workshop date so I said if she got a friend to come I would run it for the two of them and today did just that. Her friend Be was such a laugh and we discovered we were both Brummies although both had left there long ago so quite a bit of reminiscing went on. Both of them did a fantastic job.

This is Be showing her album "Don't take my picture until I let down my hair and put my lippy on"... and having checked that the photo was to her satisfaction.....


and this is Lin who was laughing at all this...

I had a wonderful day ladies and I hope you did too.

Here's a small peek at a couple of projects that are on my desk in the hope that showing them will spur me on to finish them. I've told you before how many unfinished things I have on the go snd I have decided that if I put them on here maybe someone will say hey Sue have you finished this... or that..... yet and give me the push I need.

This is my take on an album I saw at Tanya's made from a case used for sending cd's so I re-sized the template to fit a sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock. As usual I made it and then realised the stamp I wanted to use was not here so..... couldn't stick it down!!!


and then there's the album part made from Paintables cardstock as a mica workshop/class needing just that little something...


and the photo of Colin's parents in the late 1930's when they were courting (what a wonderful old-fashioned word that is) just laid on a canvas along with the embellishments - well I might want to change where I put them!!


I'll save the other unfinished projects for another day as I have a pile of ironing calling my name - put off from Tuesday when I JUST HAD to watch Tim and Suze and Claudine on QVC.

so Bye for now
Sue

HI, I'm back!!!

and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to you. Better late than never.

Well I've been a long time away. Classes, the shop, working on projects for 2009 workshops and classes, Christmas and New Year with family visiting and quarter and year end books to get done - whew! but I have survived. I know how a single Mum feels!!! my shop = my kids!!! Colin did have a pretty BIG moan "do you ever talk/think about anything but the shop"..... and now my best friend Ros who lives in Jeddah is here for a couple of weeks. She loves to play cards (hearts, spades sort) and as she is here for such a short time we play 51 most evenings. I pleaded a headache tonight.



I photographed the Christmas album the kidz have been working on but the colours are not very true. They are the Ranger broken china/worn lipstick colours and turquoise and pink of the Blonde Moments papers.


Front cover stamped with Paper Artsy stamps and coloured with Ranger Distress inks



Stippled over and through Grungeboard - I love this stuff - it reminds me of the smell of new handbags!!!


Spritz and flick technique behind the lovely Bobby snowman by the artistic stamper and he is sitting on Crystal stickles snow - loadsa glitter!



Front and back covers with Blonde Moment parcels glittered (the kidz just love glitter!!!)



more glitter on the stocking tops ..... and my Santa page was hole punched with the Bind It All on the wrong side!!!!! I'm more dangerous than the kidz!!!!


I was given a blog award by the talented Kate of the Kathryn Wheel in December but sorry Kate, I didn't catch it. Hopefully you will forgive me and I will redeem myself this year and really earn it.
Visit her website at http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com/ to see her wonderfully inspiring work. There is a give away on there until next Friday - which of course I am going to win Ha!ha!



My Ranger best buddy, the lovely Tanya Watts has tagged me. I have to share with you 5 addictions so here goes.....


The first has definitely got to be chocolate. I enjoy the British sort, the Cadbury's, Mars, Galaxy type and not the special Belgian or truffle sort. Sorry to all you chocolate purists out there but I am a Philistine when it comes to chocolate.

Second has to be my dog Bailey and my cat Tia. I just love these littlies to death. They are always so pleased to see you when you came home. I spent a very pleasant girly afternoon with Bailey's girlfriend and two of their puppies, Teddy and Kitty (oh, and their Mum's of course)

Third addiction has to be living in Spain. I cannot bear the cold and the thought of returning to scraping ice off the car and a 12 minute journey to work taking the best part of half an hour in heavy traffic when I can be at work in 7 minutes, park right outside the shop even though it is on the Main Road through Javea and be home in 7 minutes and walk the dog through the forest outside the house can't be beaten.


view of the forest from the balcony off my bedroom - not taken this morning

going to the shop this morning - Bailey thinks he is coming too!!..and the oranges are so sweet

Addiction 4 is crafting - especially with Ranger products. The colour palette is so easy to use and suits my style of work perfectly. I also love the funkiness (is that a word??) of Paper Artsy and Blonde Moment stamps.

Addiction 5 has to be looking at other people's blogs! I spend so long usually (not in the last 2 weeks or so) that it leaves me with my head spinning with ideas and so little time to actually do my own work!
So that's me then.....now all I have to do is think of the 5 people I am going to tag. I think I'll leave that till tomorrow as its almost midnight and I was supposed to be having an early night!

I'll be back tomorrow, bye for now Sue x