So, there were shops………. many of which (thankfully!) didn’t take credit cards, however there was a cash machine in the shop next door so my willpower was restrained only a little!

The only thing I actually needed was a new paper trimmer which I got from Kerrys’ shop, An Siopa Bui. Kerry is the organiser of the whole event and seemed to glide through the whole weekend without looking flustered – well done Kerry!

I missed my last class as we had to leave early but Mandy kindly sorted out a kit for me. I was really looking forward to this one as I haven’t caught the dress form bug yet, but I was sure I would when I took Mandys class. There were a whole lot of book pages and some decoupage with this to cover the dress in but they have been eaten by my desk and couldn’t appear in this photo!

Then there was the Crafty Queen herself, the lovely Eve Louw, the kit for this mini book class was full of goodies, flowers, bling, lace and the Graphic 45 Magic of Oz 8×8 paper stack. As usual time flies when you’re enjoying yourself and this two hour masterclass passed in the blink of an eye!

These window frames are Shabby Chic Treasures from Prima – love them! they are definately going into a Polly painting at some stage.

Now i’m off to play with my new goodies!!

The Great Big Craft Extravaganza starts tomorrow!!

We were asked to bring name badges, so this is mine……

I am supposed to be packing my craft supplies and choosing clothes, but I am the worst packer in the world! I always leave it until the very last minute and I am the only person I know who never brings enough clothes with me…….. ( I blame Mr. RyanAir and his luggage restictions for that!) but since we are driving to Athlone I can bring as much as I like.

I’ve never tried to pack my craft stuff before, it proving quite difficault! exactly how many distress inks should I bring? will I need stamps? and if I do, which ones? As they say “its better to be looking at it than for it” so I think i’ll just bring everything!

I recently got a pot of UTEE and now everything is being enamelled and cracked….. I know, years behind!

I made this page in my art journal – I like the way it came out because I rarely use pink. The tree is stamped with leaf designs and the wording says,

” Little bird, please take all the negative thoughts that stop me being who I really am, and lock them away in a jar where they can’t do any harm”

In the jar are the words, anger, self doubt, impatience and fear – I liked the idea of the bird flying around picking up all those words , flying back to its nest and locking them away, how it does it i’m not quite sure… what with wings instead of hands!

I hope you have a great week and that your little bird is keeping an eye on you!

So, I noticed on one of my visits to Youtube that Mr. Tim Holtz had brought out a die called “Artful Dwellings”- I am always so far behind the lastest trends so this may not be news to the rest of you, but it was to me!

Anyhoo, I thought, I like that, but its straight lines for goodness sake and since I am the proud owner of a steel ruler and a craft knife, I set off on a crafting spree….

Let me just say, this is NOT an anti Tim Holtz post, but apart from his round roof it looked pretty easy.

Here are the results, this project was such FUN!!! I used My Minds Eye Lost and Found papers. It was one of those collections that I was saving for “best” (why? why do I buy paper that I don’t want to cut???) and then I opened up all the boxes of embellishments that are on my shelves and just used a bit of everything!

I used things I haven’t used for ages like Stickles and Crackle Accents, I used stamps, buttons, beaded pins,lace and the paper roses that I am currently obsessed with making (another example of me being SO behind the current trends!)

The basic shape was cut from chipboard (they are 5″ in height) and I used “Frayed Burlap” to distress the edges.

I don’t know if any of you have tried cutting chipboard with a craft knife, but I would just like to say that if you get the die you will be saving yourself AN AWFUL LOT OF WORK!!!!!

Mr Holtz knew what he was doing!!!!!

But mine are cuter because they have chimneys!

This is the wardrobe that we had made – because none of the furniture shops could deliver in less than six weeks, and its nicer! it was literally one centimetre narrower than the alcove it was to go into….. getting that up the stairs and in place was a challenge, the radiator had to come off the wall along with all the skirting, but now its in place, never again to move! (and yes, we’re still talking!)

Not a great picture of the blind, but you get the idea, simple fold up blind – very easy to make and as there is no gathering uses very little material.

This is the blue chest that I HAD to have! thanks to the new motorway it is a three hour drive from here to Ikea, it was well worth it to bring this home. I am now an expert at assembling flat pack furniture!

The bedside tables are Ikea too (no point going all that way for just one thing!) the patchwork quilt was made a couple of months ago, its full of mistakes, but I love it!

So that is pretty much that! I know its kind of girly but I have a very patient partner so I’m making the most of it!!!!

You can never have too many cushions…….

F xx