gosh, where's the time gone ? ... it's a good few days since I last blogged, But I have a couple of excuses ready lol .. I had a workshop last thursday I shall post the pictures of some of the finished work from that below ... then tuesday & wednesday this week were taken up with the Royal Ashbourne Shrovetide Game. Its a local tradition that has been going since the 1600's, a game of football (come rugby) that is played across the town with a cork filled leather ball that is painted with special designs, the goals are three miles apart & you have to be in the river to score ! ... It's a fantastic game & needless to say I was busy following that for two days & then it took another day to recover !
I have been working on some new tags, but they are not quite finished yet, but as soon as they are I will post a picture.

WOW ! .. what a brilliant few days I've had ! ... Since my last post on here I have been on quite a creative journey lol :D
We went to the NEC on Sunday for the Trade show & the pages of the book which I previously posted were to take with me all completed to show a rep who was interested in me becoming a Ranger Demonstrator (How exciting is that ? ... well not as exciting as the next bit of my story !) Anyway we couldn't get to see our rep early on in the day so we mooched around the show enjoying the different demo's etc ..when we happened to come across the one & only SIR TIM !!!
He was demonstrating & it was Fantastic ! .. Being the crafty nerd that I am .. I asked Tim if he would sign my book (that being the only thing I had with me ..apart from a used tissue .. no choice then really lol) ... & he said yes of course & he asked if he could look at my book ... erm like YES ! :) ... he commented on the techniques & products of each & every page & get this ... He asked me how I did a certain technique as he hadn't seen his inks used in that way before !!!!!! WOW what a compliment ... I was grinning from ear to ear for the rest of the show .. & I am going to be a Ranger Demonstrator .. How cool is that !!!

& then yesterday was my birthday & I've been given so many lovely stash goodies & bits of equipment for my camera ..I need to get playing again lol ;D ..
Hope your all as happy & lucky xx

I have been busy putting together a book full of lot's of techniques .. I'm afraid the photo's aren't brilliant as I've took them in my workshop tonight & so the light isn't the best .. never mind I've done it & blogged it lol :D

I have been working on catching up with the emily falconbridge Q52 tags today ... I am now upto date .. hurrah :D

Today I have been making Inchies for a swap I am in in UKscrappers ... they were great fun & I really enjoyed making them. I've also started a tag a week (a little bit late I know .. I've got about 5 to do to get up to date ...)Each week there is a question set for you to answer. If your interested in playing catch-up like me & joining in you need to go to Emily Falconbridge's Blog for more information
http://embers.typepad.com/e/2009/01/52q-beginsa-year-of-questions-and-answers.html

this picture is taken from the front of the first one :What do I wish for in 2009 ?

Gosh, it's nearly time to fetch the kids back from school already ! ..just time to add some new pictures of the technique pages I've been working on & some Leandra Beads made from utee that I was playing with yesterday.

These are a few pictures from our latest workshop A beginners guide to scrapbooking.
It was on Saturday 31st January. We all completed 4 Layouts & had a lot of fun doing it :o)

This is a canvas I'm working on currently .. needs more but not decided what yet ! ... I used distress inks for the background & used Beeswax to layer the papers to it. The letters are from the Tim Holtz Grungeboard collection.

Creative Workshops

Unbelievable I know .. 2 updates in 2 days !! Well this morning I've been busy with fibres ..I've done a mini canvas & three ATC's (though not sure they're quite finished yet ... need to leave them for a while & come back to them.
I put a background on the canvas using pink tissue paper, ripped up & added in layers with PVA, I then gathered a few different colours of fusible fibre (angelina fibres) some ordinary wool fibres & some fantasy film cut into small pieces & bonded the lot together, ironing on the back & the front I then PVA'd this to the tissue on the canvas ... voila one fibre fusion canvas :)

Can you believe we're almost at the end of January already ? I was going to do a tag for each month of the year but instead I have used a 7 Gypsies Rubber Band Book & made a start. It has the two covers & 12 pages just perfect for a year book on a small scale :) .. you never know I might even keep it going until the end of the year ..let's hope so, it will be interesting this time next year to see what has happened that was expected or unexpected.
I suppose it's a bit like a diary only the edited highlights.
This is a picture of it so far.

I've been going through my old files & finding a lot of my older work & I have added them to the slide show below. I think it's very interesting looking back & realising how much your style has developed without you realising it .. take a moment to look back through one or two of your older albums & enjoy :o)

Well this week I've been experimenting with Encaustic wax, wow this stuff is really addictive & so very easy to use too ! though the end result is that I have loads of pieces that I've done & now I've got to find projects for them all :) .. I have made a start ... the Vintage girl ATC's are ready for a swap I shall be hosting on UKscrappers anytime soon, And the other three are for am ATC swap I am currently in called In the bleak mid winter. (Oh & I finally iced my christmas cake ! lol :D)

Well here we are at the very end of the year .. I hope you all have had a great Christmas & are looking forward to a creative & exciting New Year !
I've had a Fabulous Christmas which is not yet over (nearly a week later) .. tonight we are gathering with DH's family & exchanging our gifts so the kids are very excited about the 'next' christmas as well as the New Year !
I have taken a photograph of the Tags that were the base creations for the 12 tags of Christmas workshop ... the next workshop is being held on Saturday January 31st & it's a beginners guide to scrapbooking .. I'm really looking forward to this class, it should be great fun :)
Since I was last on here I have invested in a new Camera .. wow I love it .. I now have so much that I want to scrapbook !
So I shall leave it here & again wish you A very HAPPY new Year x

Not the best photo's in the world But these were taken at the most recent workshop 'The 12 tags of Christmas' on December 11th 2008.

Well here we are in December .. have to confess that the christmas cake hasn't even been marzipaned yet ! ..so much for getting it cooked early, I'm no better off now than I normally am lol :o)
Had a great 12 tags of christmas workshop last week, met some lovely ladies & we all had a great laugh & they created some beautiful works of art .. I have some photo's on my camera ..will get them on here tomorrow.
We've altered our date for the Beginners guide to scrapbooking workshop in January to Saturday 31st ..Places are going quick so make sure if you want to join us that you get your name down soon.
I hope your all getting in the festive mood, I love this time of year & am as much a child when it comes to christmas as my kids & yes I always get a little disapointed when i peep through the curtains & there's no snow .. though a good white frost is quite acceptable on christmas morning ;)
I shall be back here tomorrow to add the photos ...Oooh speaking of which I have just purchased a new Canon camera & zoom lense ..LOVE IT already !! ... it's making me want to get scrapping NOW ! see you tomorrow x

Into November now ... fireworks night has been & gone & it's now that my thoughts usually turn to Christmas :)
I love it ... I've actually done about 1/2 of my 30-40 strong present list, & I've just taken my Christmas Cake out of the oven , Mmmmm smells lovely :D
I've also got a Creative Art & Craft evening coming up a week on Thursday, where there will be a team of us demonstrating different products & techniques .. got a lot of work to do before then in preparation !
The workshop in December for the 12 tags of Christmas has been filling up nicely ..still a few places left yet though.
I've altered a mirror I have had lying around for an age from Ikea .. I used fancy Pants alphas from the cuttlebug, Silver kingspan tape & alcohol Inks & did my own take on Tim Holtzs version that he did on one of his DVD's.
& I'm in the process of altering a 'Bare elements' Mannequin ..will post a pic when it's finished :D
Also took delivery today of my new Cropadile Big Bite with 340 Gromlets .. me thinks I need a play !
I've posted a few new pics today ... thanks for taking the time to catch up with me :D x