Skewer Binding Tutorial over at The Craft Barn Blog

Good morning peeps
Wow, Friday already; what on earth has happened to the rest of the week? It's so frustrating as I seem to have spent the week trying to get down to the studio but not quite making it. Perhaps today will be the day.....
In the meantime this week has been a Binding week over at The Craft Barn Blog and today I have a tutorial over there for you using a bamboo skewer binding so I'd love you to pop on by and take a look!
I show you how to go from this.....

to this....

Details HERE.


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A late entry for WOYWW221

Good afternoon all. Being Wednesday it is the day that Julia, from Stamping Ground, has deemed the correct day to show the world what state your workplace is! I'm late today as I got engrossed in a book by Joseph Prince; Destined to Reign and lost all track of time. Which is not a bad thing I don't think. So, here it is, mainly full of boot fair bargains that I could not resist. This is the overview.....

 In the back right, the weirdest assortment of beachcombing  bits and some poppy seeds too!

 This gorgeous belt was irresistible at £1.00. Just beautiful details and loads of them once I dismantle it.

 Two of these glass fronted units, again at less than a pound each I could not leave them there. I actually have one already so now I have 3 and I am now getting the idea of what I want to do with them! Next to them are a couple of packs of recipe cards. Alyssa was saying she wanted to write down some of the favourite recipes we use to take with her to Uni so these were ideal.

 I was pleased to find this wireform too as I have been thinking of creating a sculpture for a while now so now I can begin. And yes, that is a fine bone china cup and saucer along with a vase of matching flowers! And no, it is not going to remain that way for very long!

So, once again, not a huge amount of work to see on my desk, but a host of possibilities for the future!

Catch up.....not really!

Hi there folks
Well, this weekend has disappeared in a flash and my to do list is just stretching. Still, before I know it, the holiday will be over and everyone will back back at work, university etc so at the moment I am neglecting my craft room and stuff I want to do myself to spend family time and this bank holiday Monday was the same. On Sunday I was up with the sparrows to drive to Cambridge for the second of my journaling classes at Crafting Time. It was a fun and relaxed day but busy too and by the end of the day we had a growing pile of lovely textured backgrounds in our journals......

I'm looking forward to being back there in a few weeks!
Then yesterday we decided we would spend the day out together so first of all, Susan and I nipped off to a morning boot fair while the girls got ready. Well, it was a fun time and I nabbed a few bits which I'll share with you tomorrow when I have sorted them!
We got the makings of a picnic and headed down to Hythe. Destination; Skullsville....... We read that St Leonard's Church has the largest and best Preserved Ossuary in Britain so we had to see for ourselves.

Creepy but fascinating at the same time! So, that was the crypt. The church itself was beautiful inside too

 We spent a bit of time at the working part of the beach

 We wandered over to the MOD firing range (That brought back memories of my Army days, not all pleasant!) before going back to town.The military canal is beautiful and peaceful.

 We ended the day in Folkstone's Leas coastal park again for a picnic and a wander. Caught the Sunset and got home late; tired but happy after a great day.

 This art piece was pretty moving, 19240 pebbles, each hand numbered and each one representing a soldier. This was the number of British Soldiers who lost their lives one the FIRST day of The Battle of the Somme. Very sobering.

A great day. Now I need to get my act together; almost time to work and I've things to do! Have a great day everyone and don't despair, I will get some crafting done to share with you soon!

Just popping in

Hi folks.
In between packing for tomorrows class at Crafting Time in Shepreth tomorrow, which includes running in the rain to get yet another thing I forgot to pack! I thought I'd pop in to tell you that over at The Craft Barn Blog today I'm sharing a piece of Upcycling so I'd love you to pop on over and take a peek.

This is the outside so now I've got you curious, all the inside is revealed HERE!
Yesterday, we mooched down to Folkstone and had a very enjoyable day exploring the creative quarter and old town. The old harbour and then the coastal park. It was so good we only got home after 10pm..... Here's a couple of pics you may enjoy

 Loved this old shop window

 How about these rather surreal bunnies? Brilliant, but on closer inspection even more fascinating as there are all sorts hidden in them, From cheese graters, chains to

 This chap!

 Sculpture by the harbour

 3 billy goats gruff; complete with troll!

 Not your average beach hut; these sculptures were fun, everyone just walked by without actually realising they were made out of an old mini golf course!

Then, I couldn't resist picking up this "Teacup" arrangement for Susan. Isn't it sweet? Sitting in our bedroom at the moment it smells great too.

I'd better get finished with my packing so I'll catch you all later.....

Fabric work

Good morning friends.
I trust that this finds you well. I thought I share something a bit different with you today. Most of this is done by my beautiful wife though I was involved in a tiny way, mainly in fetching and finding, true. I did however do some cutting, stamping and selecting........

 Isn't it gorgeous? Overall it's about A4 size and is going to form part of a memory quilt for someone special.

 We used Studio self adhesive canvas for the heart, bird and tag. The edges aged and distressed. Stamped in browns to keep the colour theme going.

 Then there's lots of little bits, lovely vintage laces and fabric flowers.

And I love these zipper flowers and the little accent beads. Everything sewn and handstitched elements too.
The bird is from Sizzix, the stamps are Tim Holtz. The background fabric is lovely, not sure who made it but it suits the style.
Hope you enjoyed seeing it. Have yourselves a blessed and beautiful day.

WOYWW 220 - The Take Over edition......

Good morning peeps
Wow, it seems like forever since I last shared my world here. Probably isn't really though. I've been away and also spending time with my family so crafting has slowed down slightly  but here is my desk this morning.

 Full and busy; but guess what; it's not me! My daughter has taken over my desk and is busy creating stuff....

 Like this patina box. Looking good isn't it?

 Making a start on the inner papers......

This little bit is mine. The feathers are from a swan at Derwent water in the Lake District. And you can just see something I'm working on in front of the gems. Yes, that white thing. More will be revealed later!

So there you have it; my creative corner this week. Hop on over to Julia for many more creative treats.


Hope you all have a good day.

Good intentions and all that!

Hi there folks.
Well, I thought I'd get back from my holiday all refreshed and creatively fired up and churn out projects left right and centre...... forgot that life in general also needs attention too.
Still, here I am, all sorted at last; most pressing deadlines have been attended to and I can now squeeze a few moments to say hi to you all.

If you recall, I was telling you how impressively restrained I was with my craft purchases while on holiday? Didn't last long, look what the lovely postman delivered the other day.....

 I love the Tando Creative Layered arch and coffin and I've already done something with the coffin so watch this space. Gelatos; well I had to give them a test run for you didn't I? And that mask is fabulous.

 Then, these are fab too, and I am already impressed with cloud clay but I'll be sharing more about that in a later post. So, shopping aside, what am I doing? Well, there is this A3 canvas......

 I was going to add more to it but then Susan said no, she loves it as it is (So, who am I to argue?)

 The main canvas has been covered with Tim Holtz Tissue paper. I added some texture paste in areas too and then layers of Decoart Traditions paints  have been added to give an aged patina effect. I enjoy seeing the patterns peek through the layers. Images have been stamped with Tim's Time Travelers and The Chemist.

 This smaller canvas was done a while ago and again is covered with Tissue paper and coloured with Distress Paints. Some Distress Embossing adds texture too. The Sentiment has been stamped onto an On The Edge Die that has been given a tarnished metal effect. The Butterfly has been coloured with Distress Stain Metallic. The rusty key I picked up in the street, the brushes are Vintage ones given to me by the lovely Jo of Jozart.

 This bottom piece was an experiment, trying to work something out that came out really well in the end too! On top of the surface I added some plastic mesh and a UTEE Memory Frame embellishment I made.

It was fun to do. Hope you like it. Hope you have a great afternoon too.

Free postage at The Craft Barn

Hi there.
Just a quick shout out about this weekend's offer at The Craft Barn. A great opportunity to stock up!
The link to the shop is HERE.

This weekend is a FREE POSTAGE WEEKEND on our website.

From 6pm on Friday (16th Augustl) to 6pm on Monday (19th August)

it's free P&P on all UK orders. 

For customers outside the UK shipping is free for orders over £30

Holiday crafting

Good morning folks
Well, I've been trying to unpack my bags and sort out the studio all morning and I can see light at the end of the tunnel so I thought I'd pop in to share a few bits with you.
As I said yesterday, I was VERY good crafting wise while on holiday and did not buy a lot

 Only this stamp set and I decided to get one of the Posca white pens that everyone seems to be talking about. (Not tried it yet so I'll let you know what it's like when I have)
Then here are some of my journal pages done while I was away. I didn't do a lot but when I did I enjoyed it.

 This is one of my favourite poems; it makes me smile every time I see it hanging in the place we stay at so this time I used it. Don't you think my stamp makes a great sheep?

 Trying my hand at decorative faces. Quite pleased with the way it came out.

 I loved this page. I was sitting by a Tarn at a place called Watendlath doing this. It was lovely.

 This is still in progress, but I had to show you how great the stamps are!

And, it just wouldn't be right not to share a couple of pics of the holiday.... This one is at Bowlees, another favourite place with  4 four waterfalls in walking distance, a cave and lots of stunning river views along the way. This was one of the places I sat and worked in my journals while Susan read.

Then, how about this for a place to have supper, high on the Buttertubs pass we sat right on the edge with the most amazing views....

Hope you all have a fab day. Better get back to the studio.....