Wheelbarrow Bunny 2

You can tell Vicky likes the Printworks Wheelbarrow stamps. Happy Easter stamp from DeNami and all other stamps from Stamps by Judith.

Harrogate GNPE

We are now at the Great Northern PaperCraft Extravaganza in Harrogate so I leave you with this creation that Vicky also made at the NEC. Again she used the Printworks Wheelbarrow and filled it with Stamps by Judith flowers.

Wheelbarrow Bunny

This is one of the cards Vicky made at the NEC recently. The Wheelbarrow is a Printworks stamp, Happy Easter is by DeNami and all other stamps are from Stamps by Judith.
The butterfly is created by stamping a Heart stick stamp twice, points together.

Cute Cottage

If you don't want to make your house out of sweets you could stamp it using lots of Stamps by Judith stamps, just like Vicky has here.

Is it edible???

Do you know what it is yet?

Yes, they really are sweets.

And no, you can't eat them now as they are well and truly stuck on. To make yourself a house just like this you will need one of these and lots and lots of sweets.

Vicky made this cottage, she tells me it was just to torment her 3 children.

For Dawn's Eyes Only . . .

A little sneaky peak of what you might see on Ideal World Monday 6th April.

Artwork by Lesley Crawford.

Grande Square Patera

I really love this one. Follow Your heart is covered in a very thin layer of Fluxe so it has an almost mat finish.

Heart Patera

This is the Patera Large Heart Pendant, there are images in the Easy Peasy books to fit this shape. Sorry I couldn't get a very good photo, I don't have my macro lens with me today.
You might be able to see the small gem embedded into the Fluxe. I used an acrylic gem so as soon as I pulled the piece out of the oven I put the gem in place. The Fluxe stays gloopy for a very short time before it cools.
You cannot put these acrylic gems in the oven as they will melt - no I didn't do it but I have melted one with a heat gun before.

Tree Necklace

In this necklace I also used the Easy Peasy books with the Fluxe and embellished with some leaf charms I found in the shop.

Patera Bracelet

This is one of my favourites. It has 2 Patera pieces, one of which I sprinkled glitter into the Fluxe before cooking. Both have Easy Peasy images.

The rest is a collection of charms and beads that we have in the shop.

Patera TV Show

This is one of the first pieces I made using the Easy Peasy Books with the Patera and JudiKins Fluxe Enameling Resin powder.

The Easy Peasy books are . . . . easy peasy. Just cut or punch out the images you want to use and glue them inside the Patera. There are co-ordinating pages of images and acetate, I have used both as the words were split between the layers.

Now when I first started using all these products together I didn't exactly follow the instructions I was given. I was told that you need to fix your image into the Patera and allow it to dry before you fill with Fluxe and cook.

I thought . . . why do I need to stick it down, surely the weight of the powder will hold it down and fix it in position . . . well not exactly, but kind of. The layers lifted slightly and separated so I have some pieces that look to have more depth than others because of the Fluxe between the layers. So I started sticking them with Diamond Glaze and leaving them to dry before adding the Fluxe. But I am impatient so I then tried Fluxe before the DG had dried. This gives a strange wet look around the edge of the image because the Fluxe seeps underneath.

When filled with Fluxe put in the oven at 150oc for between 5 and 20 minutes, depending on the size of the piece. Remember to put on the edge of some cardboard if it has an overhanging loop.

More jewellery to follow.

NEC

Well, now the NEC is over I have a few minutes to reflect on how the show went.

Attendance at the show, both exhibitors and visitors, was down a bit but I don't know by how much.  Consequently it wasn't the normal crush and unpleasant experience it had previously become.  There was room to move around and look at everything.  Nobody seemed to be pushing or shoving through the crowds making it a much nicer experience for everybody.

What did you think of the show?

If you have never visited Hobbycrafts at the NEC before I would suggest you make your first visit on a Friday as this is the quietest day out of the four.  If at all possible avoid the Saturday as it is the busiest day of the show.

There are usually plenty of bargains to be had at the show, we try and have several show offers to encourage you to part with your hard earned pennies.

We will be at the Northern Papercraft Extravaganza in Harrogate next week with a few more show specials to tempt you with.

But before that we have a brand new show on Create & Craft Saturday at 11am - Patera.

This show is about making jewellery, very easily.  It is only 30 mins long so make sure you don't miss it.

I'll post up some photos of the jewellery over the next few days.

Gill's Bouquet

Gill has created this bouquet from the following Stamps by Judith stamps: Solid Rose Stubby, Solid Leaves Stubby, Open Flower Stick, Spriglet Stubby.

Artwork by Gill Fitzmaurice.

Purr-fect

Stamps by Judith Medium Frazzled Cat, Meow Stubby, Open Flower Stick and Millenium pen for the border.
Artwork by Michele Rodgers.

Puppy with Balloons

Stamps by Judith Puppy stamp and Solid Balloon Stubby. Balloon strings are drawn with the .01 black Millenium Pen.
Artwork by Michele Rodgers.

Puppies in love

Another of Michele's creations. Stamp Puppy, mask and then stamp another puppy or if you don't want to mask you can stamp two puppies and then cut them out. Decorate with Heart stick stamp.

Hats off to you

Michele Rodgers made this card using the Stamps by Judith Hat with Ribbon. And you can see the background was created by applying some Eclipse Strips masking to the page and sponging colour over the top and then stamping the Spriglet and Solid Rose Stubby over the top. You then remove the Eclipse to reveal this beautiful yet very easy to achieve background.

Griz Bear & Fishing Hat

Another creation from Kim Reygate, this time Medium Griz Bear, Dots Stubby, Snowflake Stick, Tuft of Grass Stubby, Sm Fishing Hat and Paw Stubby.

We are at the NEC today building our stand, we hope to see you over the next few days.

Kim's Pond

Another of Kim Reygate's creations using the Stamps by Judith Cattails. Don't forget the Millenium pen for those squiggly lines.

Kim's Garden

In this card Kim Reygate has used a selection of stick stamps - Bee, Snowflake, Solid Heart as well as the Grass Tuft and Stickweed. All stamped over a torn piece of Eclipse Masking tape.

Griz Bear 3

Another of Wendy's cards. Griz Bear and the Fishing Hat.

Griz Bear 2

More beautiful artwork by Wendy featuring Griz Bear and the party hat.

Wendy's Griz Bear

This is medium Griz Bear from Stamps by Judith, isn't he adorable. He is also available in different sizes.
Artwork by Wendy McGlinchey

Dawn's Frogs

Stamps by Judith stamps: Sitting Froggy, Cattails, Grass Tuft and the little Buggy stick stamp.

Sitting froggy and the Lily pad.

Frogs Legs and Lily pad.

All by Dawn Wheeler.

Cupcakes

So many of you have asked about the Cupcake Templates so here they are: With the template you can make 2 different cupcakes and the little cases to put them in. And before you ask - No, I don't remember where I bought the stand, sorry.

You can order the template here.

You might glimpse these in the background of the new Patera show, which should be on air 21st March.

Michele's Griz Bear

Stamps by Judith Medium Griz Bear and Solid Heart Stick stamp.

Medium Griz Bear and Bee Stick stamp.

All artwork by Michele Rodgers.

Gill's Frogs

Stamps by Judith - Sitting Froggy and Solid Heart stick stamp.

Sitting Froggy and Lily Pad.

This one uses the whole Frog set of stamps: Sitting Froggy, Frog Legs, Cattails, Lily Pad and Buggy.

Frogs legs and Grass Tuft.

All by Gill Fitzmaurice.

The week ahead

I can't believe it is already March and the NEC Hobbycrafts is fast approaching.

Products ordered at CHA are now slowly trickling in, I believe all the new Tim Holtz products will be available within the next couple of weeks.  We've got a delivery from Prima arriving tomorrow along with several other things but I don't know exactly what until we start opening boxes - this is what makes Mondays such a good day.

But I might miss out on the box opening tomorrow as I am popping up to Create & Craft to film a short show on jewellery making with Patera and the new Easy Peasy books.  I'm hoping it will air in about 2 weeks but I will keep you informed.

We will be busy packing for the NEC all of this week so if you have any special requests or items you definitely want to collect from us at the show let us know soon so we can include them for you.

Oooh, I have to tell you about my Friday night.  I went to the Milton Keynes Theatre with a friend to see Marti Pellow in the Witches of Eastwick.  I was a big fan of Wet Wet Wet in my younger days and I can say I don't think he has lost any of his charm and cheekiness.   I thought I'd seen the movie but after seeing this musical I'm going to have to revisit the movie as I didn't remember most of it and I am beginning to doubt that I ever saw the film (probably just saw the trailers).

The show was great fun and quite hysterical in parts, especially when Marti was gyrating on the floor alone!

If you have the opportunity to see this show I would definitely recommend it.

Having lived in London we were quite spoilt when it came to musicals and theatres and it was one of the things I missed when we moved out here.  This was my first trip to the theatre in 12 years and it was nice to be able to drive and park outside the building and not have to get on the underground, much more relaxing.

Anyhoo, I best be off to my bed for a good nights sleep ready for filming tomorrow and a busy week ahead.

I hope to see you in our store soon.