Hob nobbing with actors....

Well yesterday turned out to be an absolutely superb day...

Once tarted up a bit with the glad rags on... off we toddled to Glasgow's West End to attend the painting exhibition of Kirsty Wither... so lovely to see all her latest works hung in the gallery & to meet up with her again.

Kirsty is a very talented artist & on her website there is also the opportunity to purchase prints some of which are limited editions & signed by the artist herself.

Now who all remembers "Take the High Road"???

What many will not know is that Kirsty is married to Robin Cameron who played Eddie Ramsey in the show... Oh yes... the tall dark handsome one we all loved until he turned ever so nasty with Sheila.... LOL...

Needless to say Robin was in attendance at the exhibition also so more catching up there..

Does anyone watch Rivercity????

To this I must confess that I don't & boy did it turn on me yesterday..

After the exhibition closed we all toddled up the street for some refreshments... (I was on good old coffee as I was driving)... and whilst sitting having a natter with 2 chaps who had also attended the exhibition, we got onto the career subject as you do... well it turned out they were both actors...

We were infact chatting with Tony Kearney & Jim Webster who both star in Rivercity... now how embarassing was that... especially as I only live a few miles up the road & yet didn't recognise any of them.

Huge apologies to both guys who were nothing less than delightful & very interesting to talk to.... they were also telling me that they have just completed a documentary which will be shown on BBC 2 in a few months time on Muscular Dystrophy... hopefully this will help raise awareness of what sufferers & their carers have to deal with on a daily basis.

Oh yes... what a lovely day it was & to think I was hob nobbing it with actors...lol....

Back to reality with a bump needless to say so guess I better get some housework done, supermarket shop, cleaning of bunny cages, step daughter is visiting tonight & I want to try & squeeze a little card in if possible...

See you all soon.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

I'm off to a Preview exhibition today...

Yet another brief note from me today but hopefully I may get time later to do another posting.. please keep fingers crossed as I've had so little time of late to do any blogging.

The last few days here have been spent doing more samples which are now packaged & going out in the post... somewhere around 15 of them in 2 days so that's not bad going...

Just before I jump in the shower & get myself tarted up I thought I'd let you know what I'm up to this afternoon... something a little different... not sure how many of you will have heard of Kirsty Wither but she used to be based in Glasgow & has done numerous exhibitions over the years... so we feel special today as hubby & I have been invited along to the Preivew of her latest exhibition in Mansfield Park Gallery between 12pm - 4pm.

For anyone who may be interested in viewing her current exhibition it is running until 26th Sept at Mansfield Park Gallery

5 Hyndland Street

Glasgow

G11 5QE

You can call the gallery on 0141 342 4124 for any further details Tues - Sat from 11am - 5pm

Paintings from Kirsty's current collection can also be viewed at

www.mansfieldparkgallery.com

Right I best dash now & get myself ready. Good excuse to slap on the make up & don my best attire... LOL....

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Burns & Harris Craft Fair

Well folks I'm back from the Burns & Harris Craft Fair in Dundee & what a fabulous day it was.

Everyone was so very friendly, there was so much laughing & giggling going on the whole time & it's quite amazing how many people told me that they were either no good at rubber stamping or couldn't use Rock-A-Blocks.... what was more hilarious was that each & every one of them managed with no problem at all when I had them show me...

Now how lucky was I to have my table right next to Nancy Watt... she is such a lovely person.

This is one of the samples I took with me yesterday & quite how it is still in one piece I'm not quite sure... it was one of the most popular cards of the day & was photographed so many times that little doggy here must think he's a celebrity... no wonder he is so happy looking.

To create I used some textured cardstock & cut out my kennel design using the Box Maker scoreboard from Diamond Card Crafts. The front of which was then coloured using ink pads.

I then stamped my doggy image using Staz On onto white light cardstock. His body was coloured using Sakura Metallics & his hat was done using a Sakura Real White. There was some doodling around the edge using my Pigma Micron pen. This was then mounted onto some red glitter cardstock using 3d foam. Once my mount was ready I was able to cut the aperture from my card & attached the image to the back section of my card so little doggy was in his kennel.

I attached the front & back of the card together using an eyelet at the top of the card & threaded some ribbon through & attached my "Merry Christmas" sentiment at the bottom so that it has some movement to it.

The large holly leaves were then stamped onto white card & cut out. The bottom leaves were attached to the base card & the top layer was attched using silicone glue to add some dimension. Finally some small holly leaves were stamped, again cut out and attached in the same method. Small holly is on the same stamp set as the doggy image.

Holly leaves were coloured using Sakura Stardust.

Well I hope you liked this little card like everyone in Dundee did & I may get time to share another with you a little later on... but for now I have some housework to do & back to making more samples... oh it's such a hard life... LOL...

Products used & a range of others are available here.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Reason for no pics...

So sorry there have been no pics uploaded but have had a bit of a back to front day today.. lots of running around & packing ready for tomorrow.

Will do my best to get some done tonight & uploaded.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

New addition to the family...

There is so much love flowing around this house between all the animals that we decided at the weekend to take on one more rescue bunny...

Poor wee soul had been looking for a new loving home for the last 3 months & no-one was interested in her... why... because she had a previous fracture of her hip which was never attended to. It was simply left to heal on it's own & therefore she shows some signs of issues in this area.

I had hoped to be able to get you a picture today but she is still settling in so I'll wait a few days then I'll get some pics & you can see for yourself just how adorable she is.

Hopefully once she is settled I can start some rehabilitation work on her hip region & see if we can get her into a more comfortable state & regain some additional movement for her.

Honestly you are going to love her... so is so adorable....

Back later with another creation but right now... off to get the house sorted out.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

P.s. you may note from the comment left by my hubby that he wants to call her Sierra...

Me on the other hand thinks not... she's called CUDDLES....

Sakura Demo Day...

Just a quick note for anyone happening to live in the Dundee area...

I will be demoing between 10am & 6pm on Wednesday 26th August at the Burns & Harris Craft Fair in Dundee.

If you're unsure of your Sakura pens then pop along & I will answer any questions you may have.... In addition to this I will be using some Cute Companions & Crafters Companion christmas stamps...

Oh yes there's going to be lots of glitter around & I'm sure I can share with all of you. LOL

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Let It Snow....

Here's a card I made using Jayne Nestorenko's "Let It Snow" christmas stamps. These stamps are just the sweetest & I can't wait to play some more with them.

For this card I used some DCWV black card for the sky which I then stamped the snow flakes on to using some white ink & added gems to the centres. Next up came the DCWV white card which I ripped to create the snow mounds... I inked these with pale blue for some definition... the base colour of snow & ice is afterall blue. These pieces were then attached to the base card & tarted up a little by using a Sakura quickie glue pen & glitter. Stamped my sentiment onto some white card then mounted onto black and attached to my base card using silicone.

Finally came Mr Snowman... isn't he adorable...

I stamped his image 3 times... 1 for the base image, 2nd layer I cut out the full of his hat minus the black area from the rear of the hat & also the full of the scarf, 3rd layer I cut out the small front brim of his hat & the top layer of the scarf.

I left a small white border around him when cutting out which I then inked with pale blue for definition... again used my Sakura quickie glue pen & glitter for a snowy effect & used a small amount of silicone (only just raised) to mount him to the base card. Next up was the colouring of the hat & scarf... hmmm what pens to use I asked myself... as the sky is black I decided to use my Sakura Moonlight pens so the colour really stood out. Now some of the lines on the scarf are really thin so where I went over the line a little... I simply allowed the moonlight to dry & then I re-emphasized the lines using a black pigma micron pen. Once complete I layered onto the card using silicone.

A closer look at the hat & scarf.

Well I hope you like my card & if you are looking for new stamps this year I would definately take a look at Jayne's christmas range.

Happy crafting to you all

Lorraine

xxx

Mr Postie arrived with....

Mr Postie arrived this morning with yuck... my bank statement.... will pretend I didn't see the balance on that one as it's not looking the healthiest this month.

My latest copy of Simply Cards & Papercraft.... can you believe I still haven't managed to read all of last month's yet.... best get the reading goggles on quick... LOL

Not one but two thank you cards... how special did that make me feel..... (I have a huge smile on my face right now...)

The one above I received from Helen (aka Chook) to thank me for her blog candy present... thank you honey, you really made my day today when I opened your gorgeous card.

Finally this fab card also arrived from a very special little girl called Danni. She is the neice of my friends who are adopting & she was up visiting last weekend. Due to the whole adoption news we never actually got any cards made but she did go home with a whole load of images to colour in & she sent me this to say thank you.... How sweet is that....

On the inside this is what she wrote:

To Lannie,

See you the next time I'm up and we will craft

Love Danni

Well I take it that's me told what's to happen on her next visit eh.... LOL

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend as much as I am.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Award...

I've been such a bad blogger of late that I cannot believe I have received this award from not just 1 but 2 lovely bloggers. Thank you so much to Ann & Clare for keeping me in mind... very much appreciated girls.

Now there are rules attached to this one as follows:

1. Thank the person who presented this award.

2. Copy the logo & place it on your blog.

3. Link the person who nominated you for this blog.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 Creative Bloggers.

6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.

7. Leave comments on all 7 blogs letting them know you have nominated them.

Okay well here goes... although I really don't think I have 7 things that people will be interested in knowing so I apologise in advance for the boring blah, blah, blah that follows.

1. I'm a big skinny drainpole of a person who is constantly trying to put on weight but so far have never managed to be successful (this includes drinking 2 litres of milk a day).

2. I was married to my first husband in 1993, he left for another woman in 1995 & then wouldn't give me a divorce until 1997. Have been with my wonderful current hubby since 1996, although we only married in 2005.

3. The two smallest rooms in my house were knocked into one to create my craft room.

4. I am very much a night time person & am well known to be crafting at 2am in the morning.

5. My house was built on previous wasteland so we have a lot of foxes around & I feel that I have taken their home & food from them so as way of apology every evening my foxes are fed. They have cooked sausage, biscuits & bread. With odd occassional chocolate too... LOL

6. Since leaving school I have worked as a dental nurse, practice manager, customer service advisor for BT, mortgage advisor & now I have the best job in the world... demonstrating.

7. I love nothing more than to see my friends achieving their goals in life.

Told you that would be boring didn't I.... why is it when you look at your life it never appears to be very interesting...

Right now I have to choose 7 people & we all know how hard that is so I will give it my best shot... but if you are reading this please feel free to take the award for yourself too...

1. Gayle - My trusty friend who has been with me through thick & thin this last year.

2. Kath - Always has something to make me laugh & I'm so looking forward to October when we get to demo together at the SECC.

3. Bev - well who doesn't love her creations... so inspiring & she always make it seem so simple.

4. Terrie B - A woman full of suprises & you never know what to expect when you pop by for a visit, always coming up with new ideas.

5. Christine - Yet another fantastic designer who's work never fails to amaze & inspire me...

6. Kim - Another wonderful designer whom I love to visit for inspiration.

7. Cass - a wonderful lady, gorgeous creations & she has gained so much strength over the last year dealing with personal matters in her life. Hat off to you my lovely buddy.

Finally I'm finished now so best pop off & let everyone know I've given them this award... I do know that 1 lady in particular is going to curse me for this one... but I'm not naming names.. she knows who she is... LOL.

Happy crafting everyone

Lorraine

xxx

Sakura Metallics light the way...

Here is a wee sample card I have done for next weeks demo just to prove that I really am working & not just sitting around doing nothing....

Firstly I used Staz On to stamp the holly images onto a tri fold apeture card & then water coloured using Sakura Metallic pens. Once done I then attached a piece of gold mirri card behind the apeture & sealed closed to cover. This means the holly design is now on the inside left hand page also & the verse will be attached on the right hand side. Finally I stamped the lantern image 4 times & water coloured again using Sakura Metallic pens & once dry I cut out to create my own decoupage layers which I attached to the card using silicone glue.

Sakura Metallic Pens

Stamps are by : Crafters Companion

Whilst I've been doing Sakura demos of late, it has come to my attention that although us crafters love our Sakura pens, for some reason a large majority appear to avoid the Metallics range as they feel they are rather dark in colour. Well I would say please do not be put off by the appearance as these are wonderful pens to work with both direct from the pen & also for water colouring. Remember that if you choose to water colour with them then you can decide just how dark/light you want the colour to be.

Come on folks.... let me see more of you using Metallics & if you are unsure of anything relating to your Sakura pens please feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email and I will answer your questions for you.

See you all again soon & happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Bookmark for school newbie

Front View

Back View

This is a little bookmark I made for my friend's daughter Laura for starting school.

To make I used an old piece of cardboard from a box which I covered with paper, added some ribbon, used a brad to hold multi flowers together & then attached using silicone, used some gems in the flower centres & a pigma pen for some doodling. The sentiment which reads "Wisdom begins in wonder" which I thought quite appropriate as she is embarking on a new stage in her life.

Everything used comes from a Brenda Pinnick box I bought from QVC several months ago.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

My Friend's Adopting.....

Sorry for being MIA the past few days but my friend arrived unannounced the other evening with some wonderful news....

Sadly a few years back her & her husband lost 2 children within a year of each other at (both lost around the 6mth mark), this was very difficult for them to deal with as you can imagine & afterwards they had a lot of tests etc carried out. The end result was that the medical profession do not think she is able to carry a child past this mark so they recommended that they stop trying.

Well 2 years ago they applied for adoption & after all the training etc they were required to attend on her 40th birthday last November they went in front of the panel & were approved for adopting.

Last Wednesday was a big day for them as Social Services interviewed them in relation to a baby girl they have & on Friday they received a call to advise them that all workers concerned feel this is a perfect match & they will now have to appear before the panel again on Sept 21st for them to approve the match. All being well this will happen & hopefully by mid October they will be able to bring a beautiful little girl into their home whom they can call their own.

Fingers crossed, saying my prayers & will let you know at a later date what happens...

So thus she has just returned home today & I will now get back to my crafting... naughty old me has had the last few days off socialising.... tut, tut, tut....

Hope to be back soon

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Penny Black Challenge

What a fantastic challenge this week over at Penny Black where we have been assigned to create something using a colour recipe of Blue, Tan & Cream.

Well just as I thought my problems with Mr Blogger had been resolved I ended up being locked out of my account for the last few days hence why I haven't been posting or even moderating comments. Thankfully today all seems to be well again so here goes.

For my card I layered some MME "Wild Asparagus paper onto my base card & wrapped some ribbon around. Stamped my image onto some cream handmade paper & then again onto some more MME paper & cut these flowers out. Inked the edge of the cream card & layered onto some MME paper, which I then layered onto a piece of card for stability. Cut this out & mounted on base card using silicone. Attached my MME flower heads to the card & added some card candy to finish off.

Image : Penny Black Whispers (I found mine on ebay)

Papers : MME Wild Asparagus

Card Candy : Craftwork Cards

Ribbon & Handmade Paper : From stash

Well must dash now as going out shopping with hubby for a few hours, then back to the old crafting again. Ohhh it's a hard life we have isn't it... LOL....

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Yippee.......

Oh yeah... I've tried logging on this morning & would you believe that Mr Blogger has returned all of my friends to me this morning... hopefully they'll stick around for a while now...

Have just spent the last 2 hours doing some blog hopping so must go now & get the housework done & washing out so that I can do some creating later....

Oh yes... I will be back later on with a little something... about flaming time too me thinks.

Happy crafting

Lorraine

xxx

Louis Vuitton

What a funny thing happened to me today when I went to the post office.

There I was shipping out my parcels when I got asked if I would do a commission card for the lady behind the counter.

Her daughter is going to be 21 in a few weeks time & is hung up on Louis Vuitton. Did you manage to guess what her present is.... oh yes.... an original LV handbag. Lucky her....

She is also having a LV birthday cake made so her mum asked if I can do her a LV birthday card as this is obviously going to be the theme of the day.

Now that is going to be a fun one to make.

Still doing my best to work with Mr Blogger who is really taking the hump with me today but seems to be I'm not the only one...

Perhaps he's just having a bad day like we all do from time to time.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Mr Blogger...

Whilst I'm sitting here typing this message I'm wondering if I am actually just wasting my time this morning...

From around tea time last night I couldn't manage to get logged into my account so ended up saying stuff that... and thought I'd just leave it till the morning & catch up with some blog hopping then.

Now can you guess what has happened this morning?

Granted I have finally managed to log into my account & moderate comments... but that took me almost a half hour to achieve... in addition to that it is telling me that I do not currently follow any other blog!!!! Yikes.... how am I supposed to see who has & hasn't been creating...

Now I'm taking a chance with publishing this post... will it work or will it no....

Anyone else experiencing these problems just now?

I will do my best later on to upload some pics but if I fail, then you know the reason why.

Last night I spent some time cutting out rubber stamps for my next demo & am going to be playing with them today... good thing being they are christmas based so perhaps it will get me in the mood & I can start designing my own cards for this year... nice & early...

Last year was a bit more last minute due to my operation & I myself admit they were very basic.. but at least I still made them myself & I knew everyone would understand.

Ok dokey... time for me to shut up now & see if I can get this post published.. fingers crossed.

Hope to see you all later.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

CANDY from the CHA

Now you really do have to check this one out...

Gayle

has candy up for grabs that she has brought for you all the way from CHA...

Now I'm surprised if anyone has gotten this far in reading as I know I would already have clicked the link to join in & hope that I am the lucky winner...

Hugs
Lorraine
xxx

Candy Candy Candy

Here's another for you all to visit & this one is massive too....

Bev

has loads of delicious candy up for grabs just now so hurry hurry hurry...

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

More fab candy

Still blog hopping me is... and on my journey have found some more candy for you to chase...

This time you have to pop over to visit

Jacqui

If I find any more I will let you know.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx

Candy from Debbi.....

Wow folks... I'm now starting my blog hopping & 2nd blog I visit guess what... there's candy up for grabs & it's yummy scrummy too.....

Pop over & visit Debbi now to be in with a chance of winning.

Hugs

Lorraine

xxx