Sneaky peek

Afternoon all.. Can't even remember what day I last managed to blog but it's been all go here. Headed to Edinburgh yesterday as Rob had to attend the hospital so I was booked in to a hotel. A whole 24 hours of running back and forth to the hospital with a lovely bistro meal thrown in.

Anyway, Craft World have one of their well renowned extravaganza weekends on tomorrow and Sunday so looking forward to seeing lots of lovely friendly faces and I'll no doubt get cursed by quite a few for helping them to spend their pennies. Lol.

Now I didn't feel right not sharing a wee sneaky peek of just a few of the goodies I'll be playing with over the weekend so here it is.. Going to make a few more wee bits and pieces up tonight as well.

Guess I should sign off now as hubby has promised to order me a sweet and sour with fried rice for dinner so want to get some stuff done before that arrives. Hope everyone is keeping well and no-one has been affected by these terrible floods. Toodles for now.

Hugs
Lorraine xxx


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In the garden

Morning again all and am glad to report that I got some sleep last night again.. Why is it always harder to fly forward 8hrs in time than it is to fly back!

Yesterday was a pretty chilled out day. We did pop to the supermarket for some bits and bobs and my friend popped in for a few hours last night but apart from that all I really done was some prep work for samples so that was nice and relaxing. Not quite sure what today will bring as the old man is off work due it being the September weekend and it's rather overcast and drizzly outside.

Finally here's the details of today's card and I do apologise for the poor quality of the picture but it was so difficult to photograph the acetate under lighting conditions. Products used are acetate, kraft card, background paper is from the Kaiser Crafts 'Periwinkle' range, some wooden doillies which I painted and I cut one of the gem swirls in 2 to create the flower stems.

Okay folks I'm off for a caffeine boost and to do some more cutting out.. Hope you all have a fab day.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Crimbo layout

Just a quick post to start the day as I've got a pile of work to get on with today so here it is.. Minus personal pictures of course as no-one wants to look at my family when it's on display at demos. Lol. Anyway it's made from more of the gorgeous 'Turtle Dove' collection and the baubles, angels and sentiment all come from the embellishment bag whilst the centre paper bordering the verse are from a 6x6 pad and the verse itself is a section cut from one of the 12x12 papers. I have to say that Kaiser Crafts have done a fabulous job of putting together some very full and complete collections which just keep going on and on and on.

Well that's me for now peeps.. Off to do some cutting prep so catch you all laters.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Christmas Easel

Right folks I had a fab sleep last night and am now back in working mode.. Kinda lucky really with the week I have ahead and I've already made a start today so lots of cutting out to do tonight.

Anyway, I thought I'd get us back in proper working blog manner too kicking off with a Christmas easel card made using some of the gorgeous 'Turtle Dove' collection from Kaiser Crafts. The front layer with Santa on had a journal section on it which I decided to cut out to create a window appearance and I layered another piece of paper behind so the bird appeared to be outside the window. This technique also allows me to use the journal section on another project so a bit of crafty crafting there. Lol. The base paper and border are from the 6x6 paper pad and the little cherries and merry christmas sentiment are the embellishment pack.

The holiday washing is now complete.. Shame about the mound of ironing I now have to tackle! Alas in the meantime I have to sign off as hubby is demanding a neck and shoulder massage and my scissors are screaming at me too.. Think they're feeling a bit redundant as they haven't been used for 3 weeks. Lol. Toodles for now everyone and be back with you again tomorrow.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxx

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Isn't she cute

Sorry I've been awol the last 2 days folks but have been working my way through washing the holidays clothes.. Have managed to clean the downstairs in the house, spent time with all the animals, dealt with a few work related things and apart from that I've just been chilling. Still not managed to get a proper sleep yet! First night home I slept from approx 10pm-3am then from 4am-9am, last night was worse.. Rob and I were both watching tv at 4am this morning. Lol.

Tonight I thought I'd share a picture of one of the dogs we met on holiday as I've never seen this breed before. She's called Roxy and is a Shiba Inu, apparently a form of chinese mountain dog and she's absolutely adorable. Another thing I forgot to tell you about was my discovery whilst packing the cases. Rob had done his usual and thrown some stuff in which I hauled back out again (the way women do) thank goodness I did.. When I lifted his jeans to fold them what fell out of the pocket?? Wait for it...... A bullet!!! And a live one at that. Daft numpty had put it in his pocket when he was at the gun range and forgot all about it. Can you imagine what would have happened at LAX when security saw that on the xray screen!!! Doesn't bare thinking about really so was glad I'd found it and saved us from a whole load of hassle.

So tomorrow I'll hopefully finish the holiday washing, clean upstairs and have another few bits of business to sort before getting back to crafting mode. Next week I'll be working on samples for a soon to be released CD from Cupcake Crafting, then Saturday and Sunday I'll be demoing at Craft World in Glasgow. Rob has to attend Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Thursday and Friday so we'll be doing an overnight there. Busy wee week ahead I guess. Lol.

Well folks I'm signing off for now and will be back tomorrow again.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Back to normality

Evening all on my first night back in the UK.. What a journey that was and I've now been awake for about 29 hrs. I'm surprised at how quickly life has returned to normality as Smithy cat normally ignores us for a day or two before attacking us both then he deems his revenge is complete and can be friends with us again.

Unusually though when we got home tonight he came straight over to see us and has stuck by one of us since. For some strange reason I'm feeling a little tired and worn out tonight so have gotten in to my pj's and housecoat early and as you can see from the pic Smithy was very quick to join me. Lol.

With that said I'm signing off for the night and apologise for any spelling errors but the brain is going a little numb now so going to chill in front of the tv for a half hour then get off to bed. Toodles for now.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Home time

Well peeps we're homeward bound now.. Had a fabulous time but sadly all good things must come to an end. My wee mammy for some strange reason has missed me! Guess my ears will be nipping for a few days till she updates me on everything that's happened in my absence. Lol.

It's almost time to turn off again and next time I post it will be from the UK and life will return to normal in the wind and rain.

Take care all
Lorraine xxx

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All I'm taking home!

Well folks this is my last full day here in sunny Huntington Beach as we set off for home tomorrow and this is all the craft supplies I have to take with me! I've been to a few stores and have to say I was nothing less than shocked at the lack of card making supplies. It was as you would say very slim pickings but I did manage to find these stamps and it only cost me $19 (approx £15) for both sets so how could I refuse. Lol.

Our rental car gets returned today and I'm going to pack the cases too and may have to double check we have everything as one of the cats likes to steal stuff and hide it under the beds.. It's really funny to watch as he'll take anything like money, jewellery, clothes and just runs out of the room into another and adds them to his stash pile under the bed. He's so adorable though and it's hysterical to watch him in action.

Well I'm off to pour my 2nd coffee of the day as it's just turned 9am and the temp is 77 degrees. May need to chill in the garden for a few hours today seeing as we won't have a car. Hope you all have a fab day.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Advent calender

Good day all.. Having a fabulous time here in Orange County CA but sadly it is almost at an end and life will soon return to normal in the cold and rain. Anyway whilst I'm still basking in the sun it's time to share another of the samples I made for the recent trade show in Perth.. This time around it's a fabulous box advent calender.. Forget all about the paper ones you buy every year just to pop the door for a crappy piece of chocolate. This one is lovely and sturdy so it can be stored away and used year after year after year and because it has box drawers you can fill them with candies, chocolates, miniature toys etc so a lot more variety can be offered to your loved ones. I also think it would be wonderful done up as a baby treasure box which you could give as a new born present to the parents so they can store their memories away over the years. They come as flat pack so all you do is a quick build and decorate as you desire. Defo one of my all time favourite things to play with.

So folks it's another sunny day here.. It started out overcast but the sun soon burned the cloud away but it's still a lot cooler than yesterday as it's currently only 79 degrees so I'll be in heaven if it stays like this for the rest of the day. Waiting on the washing machine to finish just now, will hang the clothes out to dry then toddle off out for a few hours before coming home to clean up then out again to a restaurant for a family meal tonight. Hard to believe tomorrow is our last full day here!

Well folks I'm off to get an ice cold drink and cool down a bit so catch up with you again soon and behave yourself in the meantime.. Toodles for now.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Views of LA

You can see both in this and the previous picture what looks like mist or smog but it is actually coming from the hillside fires that are currently being tackled in LA at the moment. They are sending water planes over head and have fire crews tackling it from the ground too.. The land is so dry but that's not surprising when today's temp in LA was around 102 degrees. I felt like I withered as the day went on even though I was taking a constant water intake to make sure I didn't de-hydrate.

Well that's the last of the pics from Universal Studios so hope you like. Will fill you in more when I return from my hols. Hope you've all had a fab day too.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Another view out over LA

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View out over part of LA

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Can't remember the movie this was used for but they actually used a decommissioned plane and broke it up for filming.

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Wisteria Lane

One of the houses used on the set of the popular show Desperate Housewives

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Mega cool

We got to go behind the scenes on this one where they filmed a scene from Tokyo Drift where cars were shot at from a helicopter, explosions occurred and the cars flipped in the air. It was amazing to see how it was all set up and how using mechanics gave them the ability to re-shoot as much as they wanted without destroying the cars.

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Another of the cars from Fast and Furious. Love the colour of this one.

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One of the cars used in The fast and the furious. Shame there was no sign of Vin Diesel today. Lol.

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Universal Studios

Well folks here's a picture of how they create rain in the great Universal Studios.. They just turn the taps on.

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Melting!

Spent a cool day with Rob's mum today. We had a wee hour in the house for a quick catch up then headed out to the mall.. So wish we had malls like this back home as I may enjoy shopping then. Lol. Anyway, we started off there with a lovely lunch followed by a few hours wandering the shops. I was disappointed I didn't manage to find any shoes I fancied but did manage to get a few things from Abercrombie Fitch.. One of my all time favourite shops and I love the fact it's cheaper here.. always my excuse to spend more. Lol. So finally around tea time we headed back to the house where we just sat around chatting till somewhere around 9pm before deciding to make a move and head back to his Dad's house. Now were sitting upstairs watching Kindergarden Cop chilling out before bed. Hopefully we'll be heading off to Universal Studios in the morning for another fun day. I have to say the temperature here is a bit on the high side for me during the day and I constantly feel like I'm melting. Being as I'm such small chested it's always a bad sign when I can feel the sweat roll down my cleavage. Lol

Quickly before I sign off, this is another page layout I made using papers from the Kaiser Crafts 'Periwinkle' range combined with one of the wooden accents which I painted and added some flakes to.

So with all that said I'll sign off for now but be back again soon. Keep up the crafting folks.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Thursday already!

Wow folks I can hardly believe it's Thursday already and I'll be packing my cases for the return home before I know it. Thankfully not before I squeeze in another few days of sunshine though. Lol.
Well we're off to visit Rob's mum today so there will probably be some shopping on the agenda. I know she also wants to take us for a visit to the animal shelter she volunteers at but think I may need to sit in the car for that one as I really don't like shelters and it breaks my heart to see all those animals without homes.

We had a fab time in San Diego yesterday on the HSS Midway, it's worth looking that up on the internet as it's a massive carrier ship which has now been converted to a museum since it's retirement. What was really cool was that when we returned home we got to see a picture of the boat that Rob's Dad served time on when he was in the Navy.. Boy you wouldn't believe how small this boat was and they went all the way to Japan on it!

So.. It's just after 8am, I'm ready to pour my 2nd coffee of the day so before I do here's the details of today's project. As you can probably tell it's a scrap page, minus any personal pictures as it's for demo purposes. I've used stash and paper from the Kaiser Crafts 'Sears and Sons' range. The rosette I made myself simply using my Hougie Board and a strip of paper from the range, the miniature ties, moustaches, hats, playing cards etc are all from these amazing bags you get that are just filled with bits and pieces to use in your projects.

Right folks it's time to sign off now, fill the coffee cup then get my butt in gear and get out of here. Hope everyone's having a fab day and I'll be back with you again soon.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Father and son

Well folks it's approx 9.30pm here in surf city and it's getting close to bed time for me. Early rise in the morning somewhere around 6am as we're all heading down to San Diego for the day.

Had a fab time today at Knottsberry Farm and I think a few of the staff thought I was a bit bonkers.. Especially one of the sheriffs when I told him to hand over his badge as he sucked at his job. Lol. There was also a lovely man in the museum called Tom who just loved the fact that I was over from Scotland and him and his wife are thinking of taking a trip next year.. Made sure I told him to pack his thermals!

Anyway, on to today's card which is a quick simple one. Kraft card back, acetate front, the paper is part of a 12 x 12 paper from the Sears and Sons range and the ties, wooden moustaches and gem (used as eyes) are all Kaiser Crafts.

With that said, my eyes are starting to close so I'm going to sign off, put the light out and retire for the night. Happy crafting all.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Wee change

Hi folks.. Just before 9pm here and I'm in my pj's ready for bed. Think a lack of sleep last night and the heat from the Santa Ana's has worn me out a bit today so it's early to bed tonight so I'm nice and refreshed for Knottsberry Farm tomorrow.

Thought I'd give you a wee change of picture tonight and share a few of the Huntington Beach instead. We headed down the pier for a few hours today, had some lunch, a nosey around the shops and walked out on the pier looking down on the surfers and sun bathers.. Managed to spot a few dolphins too which was cool. Had dinner at home tonight where Ruth cooked up the most awesome chicken casserole and dumplings then afterwards we hung about out the front of the house to catch the evening breeze and cool down a bit.

Well folks my eyes are getting heavy so going to sign off for now and hopefully get a few more hours sleep than I did last night. Back with you all tomorrow again.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Gents club

Good day all, it's 2pm here and currently 81 degrees indoors and just over 90 outdoors. Rob's back on the gun range with his dad today so Ruth and I are just chilling out. Can't tell you how nice it is to be able to relax and not be dashing around clock watching all the time. Will be changing this week right enough as we've got people and places to visit so will be more active after tomorrow.

So what do I have to share today? This is a card I made from a sheet of 12 x 12 which I folded over to create a square card with a pocket insert (sorry not got a pic of that yet) but the paper is from the 'Sears and Sons' range from Kaiser Crafts as are the mini playing cards and the circular sentiment. All I had to do was fold the card, add some distress ink then stick the cards and sentiment on front. Very quick and easy to make and something that most men would appreciate. Not quite sure what to share with you all tomorrow but there will definitely be something so be sure to check back again.

Off to pour myself a wee drink now and chill out some more. Lol. Hope you're all having a fab day no matter where you are.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Just for you

Well folks it's another gorgeous day here in surf city.. 2pm and currently 78 degrees in the house and looking at the outside temp gauge it's close to hitting 90 degrees.

Ruth and I are having a girlie day as the boys are off up the shooting range so we've chilled this morning, popped to Target for a few things, Jo Ann's was a let down so came home and have just finished lunch.. Also going to do laundry this afternoon.

Now thanks to some people adding me to facebook groups yesterday without my permission my inbox was inundated with email notifications costing £1.38 for each one.. How nice was that as by the time I managed to stop them it had cost me approx £50 for something I wasn't even interested in nor had authorised!
Anyway, on to today's card which was another of my samples. This time it's some Kraft card stock, paper is from the Kaiser Crafts 'Periwinkle' range which I've added some glitter, a sentiment I printed from the computer and I've mounted it on a wooden doilly which is also available from Kaiser Crafts stockists.

Well I guess that's another £1.38 added to my mobile bill so will sign off for another day and go back to the sunshine. Lol. See you all tomorrow again.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Up, up and away

Well folks I'm currently drinking coffee in 78 degree heat in sunny California and I'm loving it, especially as I know it's raining back home (sorry).

Just been taking it easy and chilling the last few days but we did go for a gorgeous lunch at a local Mexican restaurant yesterday as it was Daddy Dave's 70th birthday and I had a proper Margarita.. They always taste so much better here than they do back home. Done a little bit of shopping and spent a few hours speaking with the neighbours too. Funniest one was Amy who is from Taiwan and she was so excited to speak to a scottish person in the flesh.. Apparently she fell in love with the accent when she watched Andy Murray playing in the olympics. She's so lovely and even brought her dog Roxy over for a visit.. Really need to get a pic of her as she's an unusual breed of dog.

Today, we're off to South Coast Plaza as it's seemingly expanded a huge amount since our last visit so the credit card could well take a bashing. Lol. Rob's also getting geared up for a weekend on the shooting range with his Dad so I'm going to be spending time with Ruth (step mother in law) so not sure what we'll get up to.

Anyway, here's my blog card of the day. One of the samples I made for last weekends trade show where I was working with Jones Crafts of Nottingham. This one is made using papers from the Periwinkle range (due to be released) which I coloured slightly with some distress inks and combined it with one of the wooden balloon embellishments. I added a Bon Voyage sentiment as I thought it could be used for retirement, leaving for a new job, emigration etc.

Well, it's just after 9am here so going to finish my coffee then get organised for my shopping spree so will sign off just now and hope you all have a fab day. I'll post again tomorrow so be sure to check back for another reveal as a lot of the stuff I've used are new releases and it will give you a chance to see them then ask your local craft store to stock them. Right I'm off now, catch you again soon.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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Safe and sound

Hi all.. Well I did attempt to post from Heathrow yesterday but had to turn my phone off before the post managed to go through and by the time we arrived I was just too tired.. Well we had been on the go for almost 24hrs by then. Lol.

Anyway we've arrived safe and well. Took this picture of Rob yesterday on board the plane and as you can see by his face he was very happy with the seat pods. I have to say that I was very impressed with everything on board. I was able to stretch my legs out straight which is a 1st ever on a plane, the seats were very comfortable, food, although portions are small was delicious, staff were very friendly and the cabin was very generous in size.. Oohhh and the mood lighting also helped to create a relaxed atmosphere. All this combined with more movies, tv programs, videos, radio, games etc than you could possibly imagine made for the perfect trip.

We haven't really done much today at all.. Chilled out this morning and unpacked then this afternoon we popped out to the shops for a few bits and bobs then back to the house to chill out some more. Think I was a bit over tired last night so I didn't get the best sleep as I woke about every hour (heat was probably a big issue too) so hopefully tonight I'll sleep better and feel much more refreshed tomorrow.

With that said folks I'm off to have a wee cuppa, a read of my book then I'm off to bed.. It's only 9.40pm and can't believe I'm actually tired considering I don't usually go to bed before 2am... Must be a combination of the time difference and the journey I think. Lol. So toodles for now everyone and I'll blog another post tomorrow again.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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YAY...

On plane waiting for take off so will put up another blog post whilst I'm sitting in Heathrow. Xxx
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Oooooo

Evening all.. Hope everyone's been behaving in my absence and my apologies for not blogging the last few days but normal service is resumed again. What a wonderful time I had at the show and the boys from Jones Crafts were an awesome duo to work with. We had so many lovely customers old and new both yesterday and today. Last night after the show we all piled back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes and a drink before heading out for a lovely meal at Paco's.. Have to say, if you ever visit Perth it's a great place to eat. Once the food had settled we all toddled back to the hotel where upon Poker became the name of the game! I've never played before in my puff but ended up joining in playing with someone else's money. Lol. Won't tell you what everyone had to do for me as I didn't know the rules but the were very patient and didn't even attempt to cheat me out of any winnings.. Now that's good sportsmanship. Finally I slipped off to my room for some much needed sleep as I'd been functioning on 8 hrs sleep spread over a 3 days period. Was enjoying bed so much that I opted for extra time in it this morning and gave a good old full english breakfast the miss! Picked up a bacon buttie at the venue instead. Think I finally arrived home somewhere around 6.30pm and it's been all systems go since.

Anyway.. Time to get the old blog up and running again so thought I'd start with something yummy.. Buttons buttons everywhere.. Think Darren and Stavros thought I was just a little bonkers when I kept shaking the tubs, squeezing the bags and sticking my hand in the big bowl of buttons we had on display.. Had to explain it's just a female obsession with buttons. Lol. Now I've managed to get pictures of the samples so although I'll be on holiday shortly I'll still be blogging pictures every day so make sure you check in on a daily basis. Remember too that if you like the papers etc check with your local craft supplier and if they don't already stock them then suggest that they contact Jones Crafts in Nottingham to place an order.. If you don't tell them there's a demand they may not know!

Well folks it's time for me to sign off and get on with packing the suitcase else I'll not be getting to the sun. Lol. Will bid you all a good night for now and be back with another post tomorrow.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

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