Friday, March 23, 2007

Stamping Up !















YAY !!! My first lot of Stamping Up stamps arrived yesterday from Canada. These two first sets I've managed to get are sets that I've been after for some time. Paris in Spring and Alphabet Soup. The cards above are three of the cards I've made today whilst I've been having a play.

I've got another two sets coming any day now .... and I'm therefore busy stalking the postman !!

There's a whisper that SU are coming to the UK in 2008, which will be fab news. They don't only sell stamps and rollerstamps, but also cardstock, amazing ink pads, patterned papers and heaps of embellishments - all of which co-ordinate with each other. Cardstock to match inkpads - I mean how cool is that !!!

Why oh why can't we get British manufacturers to do the same thing :(

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Angel Crafts Design Team work







Mad busy ... but ......


This is a commissioned canvas I have done for a colleague at work.

Used: Scenic route papers, maya road chipboard flourishes, AC ribbons from little silver hat and heidi swapp alphas.
Will follow this post with some DT 'offerings' ...........

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Sunday 11th March




(This is the layout I mention below where you can't really see the 3-d effect)
Not a lot to report really. I've been busy making more cards for school - Mothers Day and more Birthday cards - don't know why my cards are suddenly starting to sell so well, but i'm not complaining !!

Did a nice layout during the week, but sadly you can't see all the stand-out flowers on them or the doodling. I seriously need to think about buying a decent camera, but other 'needed' things keep being 'needed' :(

Anyway, i've got a mad couple of weeks coming up at school - loads going on. Kids need to take their ROAs home tomorrow (Record of Achievements) and I need to double check that everything is inside them that should be so that their parents can read them and comment upon them at Parents Evening.

Tuesday is Interform, where the whole Year group competes against each class - In two years my class has only won one category - the boys hockey !!

Parents evening on Wednesday (can't wait as I really need to have serious talks with some parents and I am going to be brutally honest instead of trying to keep the discussion about their child 'positive') . There's a limit to how many times a child can get away with saying "Shurrup ya gay or Shurrup ya slag" without me wanting to turn em over and slap their backsides.

I believe that the positive approach with kids does work, and I also believe that inclusion works. However, as is always the case, there are the exceptions to the rule. I seem to have all the 'exceptions' in my class tho !! Sometimes the heavy handed approach works better (and I don't mean physically), but it has to come from both school AND the parents. What's the point of phoning home and having parents come into school when the same child goes home, walks up to their room and starts playing on their playstations, listening to their Ipods and watching TV via their DVDs ......

If I were ever called into Aaron's school - then I'm afraid all he'd be left with in his bedroom would be a mattress and covers .. and a book. End of. We used to get the threat of the ruler at school and/or cane depending on the severity of the punishment and at home, I used to have the threat of my mothers wooden scholl. Neither did me any harm, and I do feel that it gave me a good grounding.

Grrrrrrrr - sorry, just needed to let off steam there ....

I digress, Thursday will be getting the school ready for Red Nose Day which will be on Friday. We have male teachers being waxed, female teachers 'colouring' their hair for the day, some forms are having PJ parties ... and one Key Stage Manager is going to be dunked and savagely attacked by soft tomatoes - gross !!!

Anyway, inbetween all this, I hope to have some free evenings to be able to relax by crafting. I would hate to think how high my BP would be if I didn't have this wonderful activity to help me relax.

Hope you all have a fabulous week xxxxxxxxx

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Back ... sorry for the delay

Above is the fab Calendar Book we made with Emily Adams using the equally fab Rock Star Imagination Gin-X papers that Emily designed - cool or wot !!!!! You get heaps on the chipboard sheets so well worth buying !











Above are the fab tags we made with Tim Holtz - if you would like the instructions of each technique used, please feel free to email me.


Away with the Fairies Retreat
Wow - i've been so busy this week its been unbelievable ... anyway ... the Away with the Fairies Retreat.
OMG - it was fab ......
Arrived Friday in Oxford and went to a local shopping mall to do some shopping (obviosuly) !!! The hotel was only 10 mins away, but there had been an accident, and it took us over an hour to get to the hotel .... We had to sign in at 7pm and then instructed to go straight to class ... well it was only a class by the incredible Emily Adams from Imagination Gin-X .... OMG she was fabulous. So easy to talk to and get along with ... i think she thought we were all mad .. but anyway, here's a video on HER blog ... with us lot on it ... we're the last table she came to ..

Here (look for Teaching at Away with the Fairies)

Guess who else was there ..... Tim !!!!!!!!!!! OMG he was standing in front of me ... and I tried to play it cool, but I was actually physically shaking. I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak .. nothing ... then I pulled myself together ... got a photo took with him, and got on with Emily's class. I'd been looking at their new papers from CHA and thinking I could do a fab journal with the Rock Star ones .. and lo and behold the class was with the Rock Star papers - freaky or wot !

Saturday morning came ... and my first class was with Tim Holtz ... we made the most beautiful necklace made using a watch fob, diamond crown and silver wings, oh and the inside is a miniature collage (below)...... The second class was all about techniques using the new Adirondak Acrylic Paint Dabbers/Daubers .... wow ..... wow ... wow.... He really teaches in such a laid back manner .. and nothing is too much trouble ... anyway, above is the tag book we made using the techniques Tim taught us.


I'll upload class 3 tomorrow ............ phew !