Absolutely Shattered!!

Morning everyone.  What can I say??  I really did not want to get up this morning as I am just soooooo tired!!  I worked it out this morning that in the past 5 days I have driven around 570 miles and unfortunately my body knows about it!!  (So far I have yelled 3 times today where the sciatic pain down my leg has taken me unawares!!)  Anyway I am home safe and sound which is the main thing and I don't have to do anymore motorway driving for a couple of weeks.  I just don't know how other people manage with all the commuting - travelling anywhere these days on the roads is a nightmare!

Still I hope that you managed to catch Jill and I yesterday on Create and Craft and that you enjoyed the show.  Although it was my first 'live' show I've got to say that it was no different really from doing a 'pre-record show' as Jill and I always do those in one take anyway.  By the way did you notice how well Jill and I matched with each other??  As most of you know we don't live anywhere near each other as Jill is based in Yorkshire and I am on the south east coast so we communicate with each other either by email or phone.  We were both trying to work out what to wear and discussing it with each other a few days ago on the phone and I couldn't believe how well the colours we had chosen matched each other - we obviously see colours the same as each other as another of our outfits (that we had brought with us) also matched too!! 

Unfortunately we didn't get Nigel as our presenter (who we had booked) and we had Dave instead who neither of us had worked with before.  However he seemed very nice and at least he let us both speak which was a good thing!!  There will be more happening with Jill and I on Create and Craft very soon but I will let Jill tell you all about that on her blog so keep an eye on The Stamp Man's blog.

The card I've posted up today was one of the ones that I managed to make for yesterday's show using both the Funky Frames and the Fancy Flourishes stamp sheets.  I have got to say that I just can't stop using my Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet at the moment as there are just so many different backgrounds that you can create with them.

Whizzing!!!!!!

Here's another card from that Glitter Pot weekend demo using a Penny Black hedgehog this time instead of the teddies.  I have always really liked the hedgehogs that Penny Black do and have quite a few of them in my collection especially the Christmas ones.

The actual image is just of the hedghog skiing - I added the (Hero Art) trees by doing some simple masking of the hedgehog. Everything was stamped using Starlite Black Brilliance and then coloured using Copic Ciaos and Copic Spicas.

The green background was achieved using a large background stamp by Hero Arts combined with a Versamark inkpad and the wording (also by Hero Arts) was stamped over the top using that Starlite Black inkpad again. I then added a panel of background paper in complementary colours.  Everything is of course available from The Glitter Pot.

Dashing Around Like A Mad Thing!

I don't have a card to load up that incorporates my title today for my posting!  This teddy looks far too serene for how I feel today!!  I am desperately trying to locate stuff and then pack it before we go whizzing off up the motorway.  Although our show isn't being filmed until midday tomorrow we have to be there 2 hours before and being that I live on the south east coast and that it takes 3 hours from here to Peterborough if the traffic is ok, it means it is far easier and less stressful if I go up the day before.  However it also means that I have a day less to prepare stuff!

So since I've been back at home I have been busy beavering away but have only managed to get a few new cards together which I will show you another time once I have had chance to upload them!!

Meanwhile here is another of those Penny Black teddy cards that I made for The Glitter Pot's weekend back in September.  He has been coloured using the Copics which gives a really clean and crisp look.  The stamping that you see on the background panels was achieved using a Hero Arts background stamp, Versamark and Crystal embossing powder and the background papers that you see also came from The Glitter Pot.

Anyway wish me luck for tomorrow..............

Home Again But Not For Long!!

Hi guys.  My thanks to everyone who booked onto my Stamp Addicts workshop on Friday - it was really nice to see you all.  I thought that you all did a terrific job with the cards you made and I hope that you were happy with them too! 

I must just say thank you to Sharon for bringing along your ProMarkers for me to try - I really appreciated it.  A big thank you for the card that you presented me with too on Saturday - that was totally unexpected and I was very touched.  I'll be in contact when things are a bit less hectic for me but meanwhile would it be ok for me to show everyone what you made??  Also Dawn - don't forget to send me a piccie of your red squirrel if you manage to take one at some point!  How lucky are you to have one of these delightful creatures regularly visiting your garden!!

Well the traffic conditions were very kind to me yesterday and I got home around 7pm so that wasn't too bad.  The traffic was certainly a lot lighter going home than it was going up!!  I've now got 2 more nights in my own bed before I have to hit the motorway again as I will be travelling up to Peterborough on Tuesday and staying up there overnight to film live on Wednesday at Create and Craft.  Infact I've still got lots of things to prepare for this so I had better go and get on with it!!

Off Up To Bedford

Well I'll be hitting the motorway in a little while as I am off up to Bedford today to Stamp Addicts to take my workshop this afternoon.  (Cards to which I loaded up a couple of days ago now.)

Meanwhile here is a card that I made for the Stevenage show in August which seems so long ago now!!  I thought this would be appropriate to show you today as tomorrow I will be demoing with these same stamps at Stamp Addicts so if you are in the area do pop by and say hello!!

As soon as I finish demoing I will be hitting the motorway to come home again which means driving in the dark which I have to say I am not overly keen on!!  I don't mind doing short journeys in the dark but long ones I find really tiring!!

Anyway I hope you like the card - all images are by Denami Design and of course can be obtained from Stamp Addicts!

Another Teddy Card

I am guessing that by now you will guess that this is another card from The Glitter Pot's weekend!!  I have got to hand it to Penny Black as their teddies are just lovely.  Before I started using Copics I always used to struggle to get my teddies to look nice but nowadays I definitely find it easier.  He was stamped using Starlite Black which is a very soft black - more a dark grey. By stamping with a softer colour it then isn't immediately apparent that it has been stamped at all and lots of people thought that the teddies I had coloured had been printed!!

The holly you can see on the right of the card is by Hero Arts and was simply stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with clear powder.  Background papers then make up the rest of the card - sorry can't remember whose they are but The Glitter Pot stock them!  Plus of course they stock the  stamps used and the Copic Ciaos that I used to colour him with.

A Helping Hand!!

Oops I ran out of time again yesterday to do my daily post!!  I seem to be juggling quite a lot at the moment but I'm sure that it will ease off soon!!

Anyway here is another card that I made for The Glitter Pot's weekend using a Penny Black stamp and some Christmassy background papers.  The main image was stamped in Brilliance Starlite Black onto Extra Smooth Bristol Board which works really well with the Copics.  I added some extra highlights here and there with the Ranger Inkssentials White Opaque pen.  All products including the stamp, papers, Bristol Board, Copics etc.. can be obtained from The Glitter Pot.

Talking of Christmas I don't feel quite so guilty about posting up the Christmas cards that I have been having to make soooooooo early as I see that the shops are really gearing themselves up for Christmas now.  I suppose that I'll have to start thinking about Christmas presents soon although to be honest I have already bought a couple but that was only because they jumped out at me.  Being a big kid I absolutely LOVE Christmas but what I don't like is trying to wrack my brains thinking of things to buy people - I swear that it gets harder every year!!

Some More Dates

Morning everyone.  As you will see in my Event Diary on my sidebar I have added a couple more dates to it for the rest of the year.  I am actually hoping to have a quieter time as Christmas nears as every year I end up working my socks off as this time approaches!!

On Saturday 14th November I will be demonstrating at The Glitter Pot using my new favourite markers - the Copic Ciaos!!  So if any of you are interested in these markers and live close enough do pop by and I'll do my best to help you if you have any questions regarding them.

Due to the fully booked classes that I have at The Glitter Pot at the end of this month using Copics we have added some more Copic based classes there on Thursday 10th December.  So if any of you are unsure about how to colour with the Copics or just want to practice with them these are the classes for you!!

Also Jill (from The Stamp Man) and I are planning yet another live show on Create and Craft in November but we are still finalising the details.  Once things are definite we will let you know!

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As you know I don't get a lot of time to relax but one thing that I do like to do is read a few pages from a book before I settle down to sleep as this helps me to unwind.  Over the weekend I finished Eclipse (which is the third book in the Twilight series) and I've got to say that I really enjoyed it.  It makes very easy reading but it is also quite compelling too!  I have decided to tease myself for a little while though and read a couple of adult books before I read Breaking Dawn (the last [to date] in the Twilight series).  In a way I can't wait to read it but on the other hand I don't want it all to come to an end either - daft eh??

Here You Go Sharon

I finished designing and making these cards yesterday for the workshop that I will be taking this coming Friday at Stamp Addicts.  I know that Sharon was eager to see what she will be making so here they are.  I just hope you like them!!  All the images are by Denami Design and of course are available from Stamp Addicts.  Don't forget that I will be demoing at Stamp Addicts's shop on the Saturday so if anyone lives nearby do come along as it would be great to see you.  I will be demonstrating both Polycolor pencils and Stardust pens which of course have a lovely shimmer which is just right for Christmas cards, along with some of the Denami range of Christmas stamps including these Carollers.  I hope to see you there.

More Christmas Teds

Well I've just got home after having my flu jab and before I start working this afternoon I thought I'd post up this card which is another that I made for The Glitter Pot's weekend.

As I'm sure you can guess the main image is by Penny Black and coloured with the Copics and the wording and background stamp are both by Hero Arts.  To achieve my background all I did was stamp and emboss the large Hero Arts background stamp a couple of times onto Bazzill card using Versamark and Crystal embossing powder.

Can't remember whose the stripey grey background paper is but it came from The Glitter Pot as did the stamps.

Hope you like it!

Christmas Ted

Well I thought I had better do my post this morning incase the day runs away from me again!!  Here is another of those cards I did for The Glitter Pot's celebration weekend using the teddy Christmas stamp by Penny Black as my main image.  He was stamped and then masked so that I could stamp the Hero Art trees behind him and was then coloured using Copics.

I made my own backing paper for this card by stamping a large Hero Arts background stamp onto glossy white card with Versamark and allowing it to air dry. Dye based inks in different shades of green were then sponged over the top and the holly stamp was stamped with Stone Grey StazOn once the inks had dried.

The Hero Arts snowflake was stamped and embossed onto the main card using Versamark and clear embossing powder. The same snowflake was then stamped onto a piece of acetate using white StazOn which was layered to the base of the card.

All the stamps and the copics are available from The Glitter Pot.

Where's Today Gone?

Oh dear today has just whizzed past and I don't feel I have achieved very much!!

The thing is the second draft of Colouring Techniques (one of my new DVD's)  turned up this morning and so of course I had to sit down and watch it through to see if it was ok.  Trouble is this particular DVD is nearly 3 hours long!!  Originally I was asked to make the DVD's around 45-60 minutes in length so somewhere along the line I really miscalculated!  Infact I think that I miscalculated for all three of the DVD's but this was definitely the worst!  Because of the length of this it is actually going to be made into a double DVD as it would have been such a shame to have got rid of most of it.

Anyway mission accomplished with watching this one and now I have the first draft of the third and final DVD to watch.  (By the way can I just say that this is torture for me having to watch myself on TV so much!  Normally with the shows on Create and Craft I will watch it once and then never again!! I'm convinced that I don't really look like that when I talk!!!!!)

Anyway just before I disappear to watch some more of me (!!) I wanted to tell you that The Craft Barn now have a new look to their website and also have this cool picture that you can add to your sidebar.  Scroll down my sidebar to see what I mean!  (Instead of an owl though I really think they should have had a squirrel!!!)

Christmas Post

Morning everyone.  As you can see I am still staying with the Christmas theme at the moment as that is all I've been making recently!!  Christmas starts very early for us demonstrators/tutors etc...

This is another card that I did for The Glitter Pot's Birthday Weekend using a Penny Black stamp for my main image and Hero Art stamps for the background along with some backing paper too.  This particular card was my favourite one from the ones I made for this weekend - don't know why!

The main image was stamped with Brilliance Starlite Black and then coloured using the Copic Ciaos.  I have been using these markers a lot lately and I really do like them.  I keep being asked how I rate the Copics against ProMarkers and as I have never used ProMarkers I cannot answer that question.  If any of you have any of these and would like to bring a few along to anywhere I am demonstrating/teaching I would love to try them just so that I can answer this question.  Anyway back to the card.........the Hero Art snowflake was randomly stamped and embossed onto a panel of Bazzill card using Versamark and Crystal embossing powder and the Hero Arts holly was stamped over the top using Stone Grey StazOn.  The Pebbles Inc Snowy Stripe backing paper was punched using a Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch which I bought from Stamp Addicts.  Everything else can be obtained from The Glitter Pot.

Catching Up

Good morning everyone.  I had intended to post yesterday but since getting back from my holiday I have been trying to catch up with stuff.

I had a long chat with Jill (from The Stamp Man) yesterday afternoon and it seems that it is not wise for me to go away and leave her to her own devices as she has been rather busy in my absence!!  (Only kidding Jill!!)  Apparently whilst I have been on holiday relaxing Jill has kindly doubled my work load for me.  Actually it is all very exciting as I know that loads of you have been missing The Stamp Man on Create and Craft and have been eager for a new show.  So Jill has taken the plunge and arranged to film not one but two new live shows this month alone!!  On 13th October Jill will be appearing on Create and Craft at 12 midday along with Tracey (the newest Stamp Man designer to join the team) so I hope that you will all tune in and support her as I'm sure she will be quite nervous!  Then on 21st October at 12 midday Jill and I will be on Create and Craft filming a live show with my latest three stamp sheets.  This will be my first live show too!

Also all being well Jill and I will be back on your screens in November!!  However I can't say too much about this one at the moment as things are still being finalised.  Anyway please pass on the word via your blogs because if the live shows are a success then you might see us again!!

I'm Back!!!

Hi guys.  Thanks so much for the comments that you have left over this last week.  I know that some of you were getting a bit worried as they weren't appearing!  The fault for this lays with me as I had disappeared last week for a bit of relaxation on the Isle of Wight.  The idea behind the week's holiday was to have a complete rest from work so I didn't take my laptop with me so was unable to check to see if any comments were being left under the scheduled posts that I wrote before I disappeared!!  Anyway I am back now so all your comments have been loaded up.  It was really nice to come back to such nice comments too - many thanks for that guys.  (By the way Sharon I haven't had chance to think about the Stamp Addicts workshop yet but will let you know once I know myself!)

I must confess that it was quite nice to have a break from work!!  This was my first holiday for several years so I think it was long overdue.  I wasn't able to get as much done as I would have liked before we left for the Isle of Wight so I did take some colouring with me - didn't actually do any of it though!  We were really lucky all week as the weather was fantastic so we went out and about every day so hence no time for colouring!  However I had to take it with me just incase we had a rainy day as it would have grieved me to have had to stay in and do nothing!  I did take a couple of books with me to read though and have now begun the third book in the Twilight series - Eclipse.  So far I am really enjoying it.  I did also have to succumb to buying Breaking Dawn (the last book in the Twilight series) in hardback as I knew I wouldn't be able to wait until next year for it to come out in paperback.  The only trouble is I am enjoying this series SO much I don't want it to end so am in two minds whether to wait a little while and tease myself before reading BD!!

As some of you are aware I absolutely LOVE squirrels and so we purposely chose to go to the Isle of Wight because this island still has our native red squirrels.  I had never been lucky enough to see one of these dear little creatures in real life so it absolutely made my week whenever I clapped eyes on one, although there weren't many in evidence.  We were infact really lucky as the campsite that we were staying on had some red squirrel residents and several times they visited our balcony around our caravan so I was able to see them up close.  I did take some photos of them but haven't had chance to load them onto the computer yet so I don't know if they are any good.  I know that the grey squirrels get really bad press but I still LOVE these too - but the reds are definitely extra special!!

Skiing Hedgie

Now that I have finished showing you all the cards I made for The Craft Barn's Extravaganza Weekend I thought I would go back to showing you the ones I made for The Glitter Pot's Birthday Celebrations.

The main image on this card is by Penny Black and was coloured using Copics.  The stamps you can see on the backgrounds are both by Hero Arts.

The backgrounds were done by stamping the large background stamp onto glossy card with Versamark and leaving to dry.  Dye based inks were then sponged over the top and the holly stamp was stamped over it using Stone Grey StazOn once the inks had dried.

All of these can be bought from The Glitter Pot.

The Last Of The Craft Barn's Extravaganza Cards

As the title suggests this is now the last card that I made for The Craft Barn's Extravaganza Weekend using those Whiff Of Joy snowmen stamps and those Sarah Kay images that I have been showing you over the past couple of weeks.  All of these Whiff Of Joy snowmen images are just sooooo cute and the detail on them is amazing.

The snowman was coloured using the Copics and then masked off so I could stamp the trees behind him.  These were taken from the Stampendous Snow Spindle Lite clear stamp set and were stamped in Starlite Black Brilliance.  The wording was stamped in Brilliance Cocoa Bean and came from that Traditional Christmas Greetings clear stamp set by Woodware.  Lastly that lovely background paper is of course by SEI and everything can be purchased from The Craft Barn.

Seasonal Sarah Kay

Here is that adorable Christmas Sarah Kay image of her on the doorstep.  The detail of all the Sarah Kay stamps are just incredible which is why I like to colour them using my Copics as these give such a nice clean crisp look.

The background paper is from the Christmas Mint collection by SEI and both the paper and the stamp can be bought from The Craft Barn.

The wording was stamped out in Brilliance Cocoa Bean and was taken from Woodware's Traditional Christmas Greetings clear stamp set.