Off to Holland to teach at de-craftorij

Well, at least I will be on Thursday, Along with my intrepid pal Linda E (who of course you all know came to Ranger U with me & who I can't wait to have a good old catch up with!) We are heading off to de-craftorij, I shall be teaching an Art Journaling workshop and Linda is doing a Stampotique Screen ... should be lot's of fun ! But at the moment I have toothache, I managed to break a tooth and it's rather painful to say the least, so once I have had that fixed later on today I can start to plan what I need to take with me to Holland !
You can visit De Craftorji's website Here

I shall be blogging hopefully whilst I'm there, so come along with us for the journey, it's going to be good ! :D

Time for some Art Journaling (again)

It's just one of those things that can't be left alone for very long, I purchased myself a new journal from Artist Trading post last week, and it was sitting there all shiny and new, waiting for me to add some colour, so of course being me I couldn't wait to oblige...
Here are some of the pages, pretty much all of them have been coloured, pocketed, folded and ready for some proper journaling, so I thought I'd show them to you now so that you see the work in progress.
Just a reminder that there is an Art Journaling weekend in September that I will be running, for more information on this visit Creative Journey Workshops

A Royal invite anyone ?

I've been playing again, (I think it was in preference to sorting out this mess of a studio again!) I've been trying out my New & shiny (well not so shiny now as I don't really clean my stamps, as my workshopees will tell you) London and circus stamps again ... The photo's could be better, but I have to admit to being a lazy bum, after one trip from the top of the house to the bottom & back up just to get the camera I couldn't be bothered to go back down again to get a different lense, so I'm afraid these are taken with my macro lense, which would have been fine had I bothered to go & get my Tripod too ! ... so I held the camera as still as I could, but I swear even breathing makes a difference & I didn't really want to stop doing that,I'm not quite that lazy :o)
anyways without further ado ...

Anyone thinking of having a get together for the Royal wedding, these stamps are perfect for the occasion ...

And how about easy options for the men in your life, we all know how hard men are to make cards for, and the sporty themes do tend to wear a bit thin ...so how about these for the patriotic amongst you :D
promise I'll get my proper lense sorted for next time ... see you soon x

My stamps have arrived !

Woohooo ... My own first two sets of stamps are now available to buy .. it's very exciting ! Hope you all like them

You can find them here

A quick bit of Art Journaling

Between New Stamps & Fashion shows I fit in a workshop over on 21 secrets at the dirty footprint studio, you can find it here it's always good to learn new techniques & stretch yourself ... I really like this style of journaling, think I will be doing more !
OOh & a quick update on the stamps, they have been ordered & should be with us by the middle of next week, packaging is being done as we speak ... so watch this space :D

My new stamps have arrived !!!

Wow, I'm so excited, I got delivery of my own two new sets of stamps :D ... I've had a lovely morning just playing, so just as a little sneak peek I've added a few images of what I've been doing with them so far, I have so many idea's that I want to try .. if they appeal to you, the stamps will be on sale soon here

Thanks for stopping by :o) x

Another couple of new workshops up online ...

Hello :o)
So two new workshops up online here
There is just soooo much going on behind the scenes here, & not a lot I can actually show you (not yet, anyways), I have redesigned my stamp sets, they needed a smidgeon of altering, they are just being readied for a new plate to be made, I'm mid way through a project for craft stamper (not allowed to show those on the blog) ... I'm also mid way through sorting out two workshops that I've been invited to do in Holland in May (will be going with Linda E ... is Holland ready for us ??) Once I have my new stamps I shall be busy making samples with them (and will share with you !) but I'm hoping that April (apart from all 3 kids being at home for half of it !) will be a little easier with more time for playing .. well I can dream lol :D
sorry it's short & sweet
speak soon

woyww / Mini Holtz Holiday weekend workshop now up !

Hello :o)
I've finally made it back to woyww .. after many weeks of absence, all I can say is there's lot's going on behind the scenes here & that there is a new workshop up online at Creative Journey Workshops (that's my new website that is still under construction) A mini Holtz Holiday ... a weekend of using Tim Holtz & Ranger products, creating Tags, learning techniques as you go & then creating a book to keep them all in ! ... you can find Workshops here
Now, what's on my desk today, well it's a bit of a mess getting, busy wth a workshop last saturday & now I've got another tomorrow so everythings a bit everywhere lol ... nevermind, I shall be popping out with my art journals shortly :o)

So there it is in all it's glory, if you want to share your desk, or just want to nosy round some more then go here

Just this once, it's not about craft ....

It's Shrove Tuesday, and to most people it means that it's pancake day. Here in Ashbourne Derbyshire it means something else entirely ... it's an event that is bigger than Christmas it's Shrovetide Football. Take a couple of thousand people, 1 Leather ball filled woth cork & hand painted, 2 goals 3 miles apart & in the river & your almost there ...Your born either side of the river which means you are an uppard or a downard ..(Uppards are best :D ) and that's your two teams. Everyone turns out for it, it starts at 2pm and carries on through until 10 pm or until the ball is scored. (If it's scored before 5pm another ball is turned up)
So rather than crafting today, I've been busy checking camera battery is charged..check ...new camera memory card purchased..check, charge mobile phone ..check
New thermal socks lol ..check, and I'm just about ready to go. Of course there will be pancakes before we go, what a perfect day & then if that wasn't enough we go & do the same again tomorrow :D So to give you just a hint of what is to come here are a few pictures .. & if it captures your imagination you can listen anywhere in the world online to Ashbourne Radio's commentary. www.ashbourneradio.co.uk

This is the goal being scored at Sturston for the Uppards :D

This is a picture as the ball heads across the fields ...

And here you can see players trying to get the ball out of the river ... mmm nice steam !
Hope you enjoyed this not so crafty post, thanks for stopping by :o) x

Testing testing ....

So here we are, almost at the end of February, time is going by so fast ! I've been busy with one thing and another .. I have a new website, it is not completed yet but there are some art journal download sheets available on there now, I've testing them out in my journals, hopefully you'll like them :o)
If you want to see the website it's www.creativejourneyworkshops.co.uk
& if you want adding to the newsletter emailing list then please email me at info@anneliesebates.co.uk ... I shall be sending out the newsletter as and when the workshops, online workshops and Rubber stamps are ready to go ! (any info you send is purely for the use of creative journey workshops to send you a newsletter ... I wouldn't know how to sell your info if i tried lol !) :o)

Flying into February ...

Hello, can you believe we're so far into february already ? .. just where is time going ? I've not been on here recently as there has been a lot going on behind the scenes in the Bates secret hideaway, there's not a lot to show you yet but I can tell you that there is going to be a new website appearing soon, with exciting things for you to purchase ... say no more !!
In the mean time I have been spending some spare time doodling in my journals again ... The first page is one I have done for my Art journaling group over on the "Little Big Tree" Craft social. This weeks prompt is " What inspires me" you can join in the fun here

This second one is just a random one, the prompt is Unwind.

Thanks for stopping by :o) x

Art Journal meanderings ...

So I escaped tidying the studio for a couple of hours today by going to the Bridge (wine bar/ cafe kind of a place) & playing in my art journal ... this is what I did today :


I like the idea of adding tags, pockets, doorways etc into my journals, similar to the altered books that I do ...there will be many more in this journal I think !
I've actually just about finished the studio tidy up now & it's Soooo much better .. I actually feel like creatuing again ... I can't work in a mess, I love a tidy desk lol :D
So hopefully now this is done much artwork will follow !
thanks for stopping by x

What I get up to on a 'day off'

So the kids were back at school ... DH was back at work & I went out with my art journal, It was SO right after weeks of being stuck at home through illness etc ... So to cut a short story even shorter here are some of my pages .. some are complete some are not but thought I'd share the process with you anyways :o)
*Think we've still got a few places left on the Art journaling from scratch workshop next week if you fancy having a go at this fab & fun playtime ..see the link at the top of the page for workshops for more information :o)
Thanks for stopping by x

Happy New Year ....

I'm finally back in my studio after 4 out of 5 of us having Flu, Christmas & New Year ...My mojo took a backseat for a while, but today I have been back playing & it's a GOOD feeling !
I've been working on a mixed media, beeswax canvas and I've also begun designing my own art journal sheets ...this is partly what's on the desk, also one of my art journals being prepped ready to take out to a cafe tomorrow once the last of the kids returns to school, I wanted to go before they broke up but we were all ill, so I've been waiting three weeks & can't wait any longer ... I NEED to go lol :D

Thanks for stopping by, sorry it's a short & sweet one, but some is better than none I reckon lol :D x

The 12 tags of Christmas workshop ...

Well, what can I say, I had the most lovely group of ladies to this workshop, we got creative,we got messy, we laughed, we even had a bit of christmas singing from some quarters lol :D Most of all we had 2 full days of FUN ... thanks girls you were all stars xx
Here are some of the pictures from the weekend ...

This is Friday afternoon, table all set up, kit bags out ..all ready to go


on this picture we have from front to back Sharon, June, Kate, June and Glynis ...


On this picture we have left to right .. Lynda, Chris, Bernice, Miriam and Carole.


and this is how the table was looking at the end of the first day ....



So, day 2 and this is Sharon and June with Kate lurking in the background :o)


This is Lynda & Chris ... busy working hard :o)


Can you tell we're on Tag 12 by this point ? lol ...


And here are my original 12 Tags of Christmas that we worked from ...

Thanks to everyone who came and took part, I had a blast, hope you did too :o)x

Back to Blogland, Christmas Tags & Art Journaling.

Finally I've made it back, The snow is lying thick & white on the ground, the kids are off school, the kitchen is semi-complete, deadlines have been met and the Christmas shopping has at least been started !
Today I've been getting myself into gear for the forth coming 12 tags of Christmas Tag workshop, thought I perhaps ought to plan the tags lol, so here's a sneak peek at some of the ones that are done/ partially complete ...

I watched Invictus last night (film starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela) ... it was a very lovely and food for thought kind of a film, and the title of the film is taken from a poem by William. E Henley which the whole film revolves around, the last two lines of the poem I love very much, so I thought I would add the poem to an art journal for safe keeping. I haven't finished doodling etc yet, but this is it so far ...

AWOL

Just a quick note to say that I'm sorry I've not been around much the last couple of weeks, Since the NEC I have been having a new kitchen fitted at home, but we have had to completely gut it, dig 12" out of the floor and basically start from scratch, we've had plumbers, electricians, plasterer, joiner etc etc in & out of the house, some of the time we've had no heating, water or more importantly no electric or broadband connection hence no blogging ! ... we're still a way from being finished but most of the messy work is done so I'm hoping I'll be back to the blog (& my crafty desk) next week ... so I'll see you there x

all the fun of the show ...

So, Jamie has very kindly sent me some pictures from Sunday at the show, here is the configurations box that I did :

And this is me & mum, squashed into the back of the landrover with all the stands and stock ready to go home on sunday night lol ...

It wasn't too bad actually, but it's a good job there wasn't anymore, poor Sharon was surrounded by stock & stands in the front as well :D
Anyhow,just a quick post today, catch up with you for woyww tomorrow ! (better get putting all that stash away so you can see my desk !)

Well, what a fantastic time we had !

What can I say, the show was brilliant, had SOOO much fun demo'ing for the four days, we started off the mornings using Tim Holtz distress inks then we did a couple of hours over the lunch time demo'ing Alcohol inks, followed by some art journaling with Claudine Hellmuth Studio line paints and also the Melt Pot, the problem was that we started off with over 700 distress inks on Thursday morning, by saturday evening we just had about a dozen left, and by last night it had dwindled to 3, So we had to keep finding things to demonstrate, I used the blending tools on the spinner and sold out of blending tools, I used alcohol inks, we ran out of Blending solution, I used the melt pot and we sold out of those too lol... it wasn't because we didn't take much, we did, we just sold A LOT, which is great but by Sunday I was down to filling a configurations box that Tim Holtz produces, I used the Tissue tape & filled it with all kinds of trinkets, the result was that we only had a few of those left by the end of the show too ! ... But I had a wonderful time with my Brother Jamie who owns Artist Trading Post, My sister in law Sharon & my Mum as we all worked together for the 4 days. One of the highlights of the show was meeting people who either follow my blog, I know through UK scrappers or have traded ATC's with previously (I always take a small stash of ATC's to shows, you never know who might want to trade !) SO if you came to see us at the show thank you, if you spent your hard earned cash with us, thank you Thank you :D :D
I will post a picture of the completed configurations box as soon as Jamie gets a chance to send one across to me (Poor Sharon & Jamie have the long task of emptying the stash and stands out of the car and putting them all back into the shop .. & in this awful weather too :( )
So I'll leave you with a picture of me demo'ing (or should that be playing ?) at the show x

WOYWW and other stories ...

What's on your workdesk wednesday ... Well to be honest it would be easier to tell you what wasn't on my workdesk today, everything is pretty much being used on different samples and it all really needs tidying up, which I may have to do so that I can find everything to pack for the NEC later on today. If you haven't seen the post below you won't know that I'm heading off to the NEC for 4 glorious days of demo'ing .. I can't wait !!! :D So I need to sort out everything I need to take, get it packed up and ready to go. If you are heading to the NEC come and see me at the Artist Trading Post Stand (G50) Make sure you tell me who you are & that you read my blog, you never know I might even make you a tag lol :D
I also made this bracelet to go with my name badge (see yesterdays post) I had lot's of bits hanging about & decided that they would all go together perfectly :o)
I don't know when I'll get round to you all, NEC is thursday to sunday & we're also having the kitchen gutted starting at the end of this week so I shall be emptying it today .. so it may not be until the beginning of next week, but I'll do my best x
If your wondering why I'm sharing this with you, head over to Julia Queen of the desks