Too much stash and always something to tidy!!

 

Now all of my demos for the year are over I feel I can relax a little and give my studio a much needed tidy, it has been trashed over the past month where I have dumped one load of things and boxed up another for the next demo!

Today I have been sorting, putting away and tidying, I am not finished yet and still have lots to do but I am getting there!

 

I am updating my FOR SALE PAGE tonight and will add things to it over this week too, I have lots of patterned papers that I have sorted through and think I may put together some little kits with them with some other embellies etc in and pop them on here too!

 

I still have a way to go with my tidying efforts but am finding the de-cluttering quite therapeutic! And as always I have a little helper!! Molly loves nothing more that to wander around shedding fur on a clean desk!

 

Anyone near Stockport?

I have been so busy this week I forgot to mention that I am off to hobbycraft in Stockport this morning for a day of fiskars fuse demonstrating! If you would like to pop and say hi I am there 10-6 xxx

A Little Batch of Fiskars Fuse Thank You Cards

 

A little spot of batch card making for you today, my Mum needed some thank you cards making and these are what I came up with!

 

I have a HUGE obsession with First Edition Patterned papers and have used them on these cards

 

To be honest the fuse machine and dies do most of the work here as they die cut and letterpress in one pass so I have just had to put the card together really!

 

So there was a batch of pink ones......

 

....and a batch of green ones!!

 

Enjoy xxx

Fantastic Dies... With a difference!

Hello folks!
This is the last one of my posts regarding the NEC, sorry its late but I have been playing catch up with the day job after spending last week at the show!

While I was at the NEC I came across the Papaercrafts stand where before I knew it I was clutching at a little handful of dies!

 

 

They have a lovely selection of dies called "All Occasion Dies" and they are really nice and modern looking, it wasn't until I started to talking to Beverley (whose husband Robert designs all of these fab dies!) that I realised just how clever the dies are, the word or phrase dies are all designed in the same font which is great as you can interchange words and greetings, for example in the photo above I got the words "Happy" "Christmas" and "Birthday" each die comes with a small die and larger die and because they are single words the "happy" die can be used for both occasions!
It doesn't stop there, the font that the dies are created in is available as a free download on any of Roberts CD's so you can print inserts, envelopes and other stationery where the font inside will match the die you have used on the outside! It has been very well thought about and there are a good selection of word dies and alphabet dies to choose from and the prices are really good with free PnP too!

 

 

You will also see in my photo some cute poinsettias and snowflakes, a great size for embellishing cards and making cute tags too!
Beverley and Robert have some lovely Decorative dies on the site too, this one was my favourite but it was sold out at the show, I can't say I am surprised as it was gorgeous!

I have borrowed this photo from Joanna Sheen as she also stocks the dies and you can see it made up in this photos, its a lovely little bow and I must order mine as I want to make some tags for my special Christmas pressies, I think it would look fab cut in red and mounted onto craft card tags with some bakers twine on the tag!
As if this die wasn't fab enough, Robert has gone the extra mile and produced a series of free downloads which you print back to back on card to cut your bow from, that then gives you a double sided patterned bow, how great and simple is that? And there are some cute floral vintage type patterns on there to which I love!
There are other free downloads on the website which co-ordinate with other dies in their range so its very much hybrid crafting for us die cutting addicts and lovely to have a different way of using the dies.

Sadly I have not had a chance to use my dies yet, but am desperate to get down to some crafting! I haven't even unpacked my NEC craft bags yet so that is something on this weekends to do list!
But as soon as I have made some things using them I will show you as I think they are so nice and will br great for card making and tag making!
If you want to have a good look through the selection of dies and downloads as well as the CD's Robert is famous for then pop along to the Papaercrafts Website and have a nosey!

 

I have a mad day at work tomorrow with the arrival of Santa!! But will try and get a post done when I get home!!
Happy Crafting
Lisa xXx

Whats on Your Hotel Bed Wednesday!? NEC Shopping!

Not quite whats on your workdesk as I can't actually see mine at the mo! I have come home from the NEC with a horrible cold and a full week at work to make up the time I took off to go to the NEC last week! Bum!

I found it a little difficult to leave the Art of Craft stand at the end of each day without buying something.... it seemed rude! So above is a new die and expansion pack for my fuse machine, 2 memory box dies and an A4 embossing folder!

 

Next up a selection of little clock hands, there are a 2 fuse dies that have a clock face on them and I love the idea of using real hands so have got myself a little stock some for my sample cards and some for some cards I want to make for special people!

Next a good supply of bling, I love the bling from Mei Flower and visit them every time I go to the NEC for a good stock up! Mum if you are reading this - don't worry I popped and got you some and will post them :o)

Next up is a little selection of goodies from Rob AKA The MDF Man, I didn't actually pay for these he let me have them to play with so I will certainly do them justice and make them into something pretty!

 

I also got a few things I didn't photograph like some centura pearl card and a couple of other dies, I then also got some rather special dies that deserved a blog post all of their own so will be back with those later!

I was much better behaved as a demonstrator than I am as a shopper!!
Lisa xXx

Hobbycrafts Show at Birmingham NEC 2013 - Part One - The Stand

 

Hello, I am back with the first of 2 posts from the NEC, this one is about the stand and tomorrows round up will be about the shopping!!

I have to admit I didn't take the photo above (clearly as that is my big bum in the black!!) I have pinched it from Kath's Facebook post!
This was taken on Wednesday during the chaos that is set up!
The other lady in the photo is Penny from The Art of Craft - she was lovely and made me feel very welcome!

This picture shows the stand all set up, in fact this was taken on Sunday morning, the last day of the show so we had quite a bit less stock than we started with!
This was where I stood for 5 days!! you can see the fuse machine at the front and a few samples to the left, round the corner from that was our second demo table where we demoed various Fiskars tools and punches

This is the rest of the stand we shared with The Art of Craft, all tidy and neat before the madness commences!

 

This is the lovely Sharon who literally made cards all day long, bless her! and some very pretty ones at that! I wish I had taken a few pics of her cards but the show just took over and I didn't take anywhere near enough photos for you guys!

 

And lastly this is Jane the owner of The Art of Craft and her son Mark both of them were lovely and made me feel at home, although I am reliably informed that Mark turns into a bit of a monster when he gets the van keys in his hands!!

 

Back tomorrow with a sneaky peek at some of the goodies I bought back with me!

Lisa xXx

Blog Lovin'

 

My blog (and my craft room) is desperately in need of a tidy up and a little re-vamp, I have been so busy lately and it has been pushed further and further down the list!
I am spending tonight tidying it up a little bit and condensing down some of the tutorials too and will be back shortly with a round up of my 5 days at the NEC Hobbycrafts show! But will leave you with a pic of molly surveying the street from my desk!
Lisa xXx