Must have..

Evening all.. Twice in one day!!! Gosh I'm ready to go into shock myself. Lol

Well I'm just getting ready to move and make some cards tonight but before I did I thought I'd share a pic of some 'must have' products.

Aren't these dies just fantastic!!! Question is.. What do I get first. Oh and just so you know.. That's only half of them. Will post a pic of the rest tomorrow. Have a funny feeling you will all be lining up to purchase these ones. Lol.

Well, it's time to move my bum again and get busy with my stash so I'll bid you all a fond farewell for the evening.

Toodle pip

Lorraine xxx

Paint shadow

Can you believe it's Friday already? This week has just flown by, then again when I think about it so has the month.. March will be here next week!

Yesterday didn't quite go to plan as I had a few unexpected things popped up I had to deal with so didn't manage quite as much crafting as I had hoped for but today's another day so onwards and upwards as they say.

Currently I'm sat on the sofa having a wee cuppa whilst my kitty is sprawled out next to me soaking up the morning sun (one of his favourite pastimes.. Well that and sleeping. Lol), so thought I'd take the opportunity to share another tag from Leandra's workshop. Another quick but very effective technique.

All we used for the tag was 3 colours of paint, some cut and dry and a template. The tag was coated in a base layer, then the design was created using the template, a slight bit of adjustment and the 2nd layer of the design was complete too. Told you it was quick and easy.

Well, guess I best sign off now as the coffee cup needs a wee refill and when it's done, it's time to get started.. Really feel the desire to get inky today. Hope you all enjoy that Friday feeling.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Cracking up

Morning all, hope it's a nice one wherever you are as you'll be luckier than me then. Very overcast here today with that horribly smirry rain.

Anyway, thought I'd share tag nos 2 with you this morning which was so quick and easy to do but being as I'm a person who loves the crackle effect it was right up my street. Paint, crackle, paint and you're done.

I've used many different crackle paints in the past but this was the first I've used the Paperartsy one and I have to say.. I'm converted. From now on it's going to be a stable basic in my kit. Why? Well for this tag you wouldn't believe how little of it we actually used. We put a small blob on our tags and used a splodger to remove as much of it as we possibly could and still it creates a fabulous effect with a mix of small and large cracks. It's defo the one for me from now on.

So what's on the agenda for the rest of the day? I've got a few samples to make, mum is popping up for a wee visit and I'm hopping to get a chance to get a little bit inky later on too so quicker I move, the better chance I have as there's a few phone calls to be made in between. Guess it's time to move my butt eh! Will pop back later and upload another make to share with you all but for now.. Toodles.

Happy crafting folks
Lorraine xxx

Paint on acetate

Evening all, hope everyone's well today. I've just been around the house today doing some washing, housework etc but managed to have a wee play too.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to do a workshop with Leandra from Paperartsy but as I only had carry on luggage some of my pieces didn't look the best by the time they'd been squashed in my bag so I did a wee remake today. Here's the 1st of the tags which incorporates painting on acetate. What a fabulous, fun way of using one of our basic components in a slightly different way.

Well, best get the place cleaned up before dinner's ready else I'll be in the bad books with hubby. Lol. Toodles for now.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

One of Tim's own

Evening all.. What a fabulous time I had in Birmingham and I even managed to see Tim before he left which was an added bonus and got a quick pic of one of his fab makes on display.

Well it was a bit of a whirlwind time as there's always so much to see and so many peeps to chat too.. Seemed to be even more this year than last. Lol. Not complaining though as I had a ball and loved every minute I spent with them. Even managed to get a quick nagging session at Jo Channon about joining facebook but after her filling me in on her current work load I've decided to let her off for another wee while before I start hounding again.

So, the case is emptied and tonight I'm putting my feet up to go through all the paperwork and need to mark down a pile of dates in the diary whilst they're fresh in my head and just incase a tragedy strikes my phone which would be just my luck. Lol.

Before I go I'd like to say a huge thank you to Elena Costella at Heritage Rubber Stamp Co for taking me along and to our other companion Lesley McMurray who was dealing with the yarn and fibre studio end of things too.

Right, I'm off to sort the paperwork then I can chill. Back tomorrow again with another few pics.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Tonight's bed

Evening all and what can I say about my day... 'Fantastic'... It's been an awesome day here seeing many old friends and a few new ones too. Also got asked to do another few demo jobs so that was defo the icing on the cake.

There's been so much to take in today and slightly surprised that I'm not completely hoarse with all the chatting I've been doing. Best part is I get to do it tomorrow again before heading home. In the meantime though I'm going to get myself ready for bed, climb in, snuggle up and read my mag before lights out.

Hope you've all had a fantastic day.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Time for a trip

Well folks first up I must apologise for my lack of blogging over the past month or so. There's been so much going on here between customer orders, sample making for the delightful Lynda Chapman, hubby has been back and forth to doctor and hospital appts, mum's been on holiday so I had to tend to her hubby during her absence and let's not forget about the beloved accountant and tax man. It's actually been so mad that I haven't really had a lot of time to just sit and play to make anything for myself, although my cardigan is now finished :D.

However, it's time to take some time away from home so I'm off to the NEC for a bit of browsing around and a good old nosey at some yummy products. Not quite sure if I can class that as work even though I will be down in a buyer capacity there will be so much socialising going on at the same time, it's defo one of my favourite times of the year where I get to meet up with so many lovely people who work in the craft industry.

So with that said, it's time to hit the sack and get some sleep before the start of an awesome 2 day trip, during which I promise to try and get some pics to share with you all so keep checking back to see what all I spy.

Toodles for now and I'll be less of a stranger now that things have calmed down around here a bit.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Cardigan so far

Morning folks, have just finished the 2 pockets for my cardi so thought I'd take a wee pic of the pieces just to give you a sneaky peek at it's progress. All that's left now is to stitch it all together and add the border so I'm almost there.

Morning playtime is over now though so it's time to get on with some proper work. Lucky for me I enjoy that too! Hope you all have a fab day.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Pollyanna Album

Afternoon all, I hope you're all having a fab day. I've been beavering away, interrupted as always by mere tasks like housework etc. Lol. Got a few things on the go at the moment, one of which is knitting my cardigan.. Well it's coming along nicely and the only things I have left to do is knit the pockets and borders then join it all together so hopefully I'll be sporting my new hand knitted by myself cardi next week. Can't believe how excited I am about it either.

Also working on samples for the lovely Lynda Chapman, and boy are you all in for a treat next month.. As for any more details than that.. Sorry my lips are sealed. Lol. In an effort to make up for it though I'm sharing some pics of previous samples made up from the Pollyanna & Pals CD's. I had a lot of fun playing with these as there is so much to choose from and she's just so very cute.

Lynda will also be back on Create & Craft tomorrow Friday 13th at 8am with the Garden Delights CD, so well worth tuning in or recording.

Well it's time for me to get back to work again, afternoon break is officially over and I have a pile of papers calling my name.

Happy crafting all.

Lorraine xxx

Inside of Pollyanna album

Pollyanna gift box

Evening all.. Boy is time going fast and I'm having a ball. Just had a new parcel of goodies arrived yesterday too so going to make a start tonight but will be a few weeks before I can share with you all so I thought I'd share some previous makes with you since the CD's have now been launched.

Cupcakecrafting launched their Pollyanna and Pals CD on Create & Craft last month and here are 2 of the projects I created for the launch show. Will post some more pics tomorrow again.

I can honestly hand on heart recommend these CD's for numerous reasons. The first thing I was impressed with was just how easy it was to navigate the CD, then you have the quality of the designs, the many options available from backing papers, toppers, gift bags, quick print cards, inserts etc.. See what I mean! They really do have a bit of everything in them. Lol.

Their full range can be seen on the website at

www.cupcakecrafting.co.uk

There are also recipe cards and some free downloads available from the website too as well as embellishments, card stock etc so well worth a look. You never know just what could drop in your basket while you're there.

Anyway, work is calling as deadlines are quickly approaching so time to sign off for now, refill the coffee cup and get busy.

Happy crafting all

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Pollyanna gift bag

Work & Leisure

Evening all and sorry it's so late in the day, but it's been a busy wee day.

Headed up to Perth today to the wonderful world of Elena Costella's Yarn shop, also home of Heritage Rubber Stamps for a sit down meeting to discuss the year ahead and work on some new designs. What a fabulous lunch we had also, everything was homemade apart from the doritos. Lol. And we had carrot and coriander soup, cheese and onion bread, humous and carrot cake. Was still stuffed when I got back home tonight and didn't manage any dinner till 9pm. Done some housework when I got back, spent time with hubby catching up on the days work and now I'm sitting down to relax and make a wee wall hanging or two.

Also had a wonderful email from the lovely Lynda Chapman and boy.. If you like your CD crafting then keep an eye on Cupcakecrafting as there are some fabulous things coming up in the not too distant future.

For any followers of Ann Russell aka Ickle Haggis in blogland, Ann had a knee replacement op today and I'm glad to say that although she's in pain at the moment, her op went well and hopefully she'll be back on her feet real soon.

So, that's the extent of my day so far and I'm off to enjoy the few hours remaining before bedtime. Hope you've all had a wonderful day too.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Help!

Can you please tell me if you see a strange video when you come on to my blog. Cynthia left me a comment in the previous post saying she has been seeing it but I'm not seeing anything. Thank you xxx

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Fun time..

Evening all and I can hardly believe it's this time of night already.. The day seems to have flown by. There was a change of plan today due to weather conditions so my trip to Perth was delayed and instead I got some work done around the house then made a start on some new samples for Cupcakecrafting which sadly I can't share with you yet but soon as I get the go ahead I will.

In the meantime, I thought I'd show you what I'm going to complete tonight.. You may well remember I started this months ago then between work, christmas etc it has simply lay on my desk patiently awaiting my attention and tonight is the night.

Looking forward to getting it done and I'll share the finished project with you tomorrow. It's defo time to get the creative juices flowing again after the festive break and a little bit of this and that is defo the way to do it.

Toodle pip till tomorrow.

Lorraine xxx

My knitting challenge

Evening all and boy has the wind been bad today. Utter nightmare in my estate but I know I've been very fortunate compared to my neighbours. Only thing that has been damaged really is a tree in the back garden which is in the process of being blown down. I'm hoping it doesn't get any worse as the tree is heading towards my dining room doors so if it just stays calm till it can be cut down then I'll be happy. My poor mum wasn't quite as fortunate as a lot of her fence has been blown down and though we went down to try and repair it, it's so bad we couldn't even do a temporary patch job on it so new fencing it is. I do hope everyone has stayed safe and not suffered any physical harm.

Anyway, I took a bit of a tizz last Thursday when I bought myself some yarn and a knitting pattern for a cardigan and I've been busy clicking away ever since. So far I've managed to complete the back, front left and front right sides and now about to start on a sleeve. Considering I've never knitted anything as large as a cardigan before I'm quite happy with how it's coming along and to be honest, can't wait to finish it so I can wear it.. Hopefully sometime within the next week seeing as I return to the normal work schedule tomorrow my time will be more restricted.

Now, if I type much more I won't be knitting so really must go and get those needles clicking again as it will be time for dinner in a half hour or so aswell.

Stay safe everyone and I'll be back again tomorrow.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

Paws for Thought Cd's

Quick update on another company I work for.. Cupcakecrafting.

The wonderful Lynda Chapman will be on C&C today, Tues 3rd Jan at both 10am and 4pm with these gorgeous Paws for Thought CD's. So cute and perfect for many occasions, you really don't want to miss them so make sure you either tune in (I will be with my coffee in hand) or set the box to record so you don't miss anything.

Hope you enjoy.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

happy-new-year

Happy New Year to all you lovely peeps out there in blogland and I hope you've had a wonderful start to 2012.

I sat down last week and got my new diary all updated so that's a good job done as this is going to be a busy year. Fortunately I've managed to have a complete break over the festive season so the batteries have been fully recharged and I'm ready for life to return to normal again.

Lots to get sorted this month, samples, workshops, demo's etc and it all begins on Wednesday morning with a trip to Perth for a wee business meeting. I'm sure I'll still manage to squeeze in a wee coffee or two right enough whilst sitting round the discussion table. Lol.

So during the last few days I have left of the holidays I'm going to be working away like mad on my new cardigan that I decided to knit myself. Took a wee mad idea last week so toddled off to get myself some yarn and a pattern. Since Thursday I've managed to knit the back and the front left hand side so doing not too bad so far I think. Just got the front right, 2 sleeves, 2 pockets and the borders to do so I could well be some time yet. Lol. So determined to finish this though as I've never knitted anything as big as a cardigan before so it will be a real achievement for me.

Well.. Time for me to move I guess and my new years resolution is to do my best to try and blog every single day.. Time I got myself back on track and I do apologise for having disappeared for a while.

Toodles for now my lovelies.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

1st word book

Evening all and yes I know it's been a while.. It's a busy time of year and the days just aren't long enough right now for everything I want to do.

Anyway, I finally managed to take some pics of a few word books I've made this week so thought it was time to share.

This one is so gentle with flowers, teddies, bling and gingham ribbon. There are also some self adhesive pieces being enclosed with the order so the recipient can attach them where she want.

I've managed to get some pressies ordered too and got a pile of samples to get through over the coming week as well as more christmas cards to make so I'm going to be busy, busy, busy.. Just the way I like it, especially when it's cold and frosty outside. Lol.

Right, guess I better say toodles again as still got a few things to finish tonight but I will try and remember to start blogging again on a regular basis as I really have no excuse when I can use my phone to do it.

Bye for now my lovely peeps.

Love 'n' hugs
Lorraine xxx

2nd word book

This is the 2nd word book I created.. Plenty of wee teddy bears, some bling and gingham ribbon.

May wee baby Hayden have a long and healthy life.

L xxx