Back in the land of the living - well almost..!!!!

Hi all sorry I have been missing for a bit. I would like to say that I have been missing in action, but in reality I have been missing in inaction, lol. Yes I have been confined to Barracks. I wasn,t feeling well over the Fabby Dabby weekend (fabulous ladies,more about them later) and on Sunday I had a strange raw patch of skin on my tummy. After ringing the Out of Hours Doctor and trying not to laugh when he asked this question

" Err I dont mean to be rude, but are you of weight? Because it could be your folds of fat rubbing.!!!"

How frikkin hilarious is that??? Anyway once we established it wasnt my folds of fat rubbing, I was sent up to get antibiotics for a skin infection. Well me and antibiotics have a funny old love/hate relationship and this particular prescription hates me. They have knocked me for six. I am sleeping the clock round , feel like a bag of crap, they,ve given me the runs and sent me flying for a Canestan treatment. Mind you I am now nowhere near as feverish and the skin is healing slightly, so I suppose they are working. I just hate this feeling of drainingness (made up word).
Yesterday I dragged myself off to the shop and then into work and Emmi had to drive me home, lol, I even had to abandon the car. Maisie came at night and when I said I had a poorly tummy she said

"thats what happens when you have babies in there.!!"

Err think I,ll pass on that one. I felt better last night, but today I only managed to get dressed before having to admit defeat and call in sick. I an fed up, fed up of sleeping, fed up of doing nothing, fed up of running to the loo, fed up of sitting here feeling fed up. lol. I have tons to do at work, The builders are supposed to be starting in my old studio on Monday and we still haven't cleared it.  I try to warch dvd's and fall asleep 10 mins in, I,ve even gone off Jeremy Kyle...!!!! Yes you heard me correctly..!! I,m sure that won't last though
.
I,ve got some crackin pictures from the Fabby Dabby weekend, but cant seem to locate the camera, think Our Ben had it for putting the workshops online, so I will find it tomorrow hopefully and get them on.
Have you checked out the new lot of workshops yet..?? I am really pleased with them and can't decide which I like best. Preview afternoon went really well and some, as usual, are booking up fast. You can see them all HERE. The weekends are once again proving popular, maybe its something to do with 10% off till Tuesday, lol, .

Right its taken me over an hour and a hell of a lot of concentration to write this much so I am admitting defeat for the time being. I'll leave you with the latest photo of Dragon. Do you think hes looking a bit peaky..?? I think hes lost a bit of weight, maybe hes pining over me..???

Enjoy xx

All new workshops and weekend retreat dates are now online - HERE

All 8 weekends have 10% discount for early bird booking until April 6th

Come and check out what we have to offer!

short but sweet

my weekend ladies were fabulous, I, however, am ready for the knackers yard..!!!! I am coming down with something fast so I am off to bed with a Wispa bar and a packet of antibiotics. Prepare for the Fabby Dabby update tomorrow.

I,ll leave you with this link to my gorgeous girly , the one and only Dina Wakley. If you click HERE you will find an awesome video of her using colourwash, and you,ll also find links to her fabby online classes. As soon as I have managed to restock the country with curly wurly's and Star bars, she will be trip trapping over the water to come teach you all again. Yayy

Enjoy xx

I,m no fool, I,m just upside down..!!!

The Friday of Fabby Dabby weekend is always manic. Theres shopping to do, sorting, cleaning, kit finishing offing, equipment to sort, not to mention all the prep for the Preview day, not to mention that we are still not quite relocated. So which complete and utter idiot gave our Em's the day off..??? Err that,ll be me then...lmao...Sometimes I do worry about myself...!!! Luckily 2 of my lovely ladies very foolishly,( sorry very kindly ) came to the rescue and worked their magic. Thankyou Emma and Elaine, you are both darlings and your hoovering and cleaning table skills are beyond belief...!!!!!

Bezzie Su popped in to make a cuppa and somehow managed to give me 5 chins, not an attractive look, methinks..!!!

First workshop - tags with a faux bleach inked effect topped with a dollop of downloads and a sprinkling of embellishments..

The lovely Elaine the baker came bearing gifts. She always bakes but this time I think she went a bit barking. We have Rocky Road, coconut slice, banana bread, chocolate cake, corned beef tray bake and my favourite ever, ever, ever, strawberry pavlova....

Thats not me pinching a bit, it's Bezzie Su...!!!!

So now its time for dragon update.

Here he is stuck in traffic..

Think you are going the wrong way Alain.....

Aaah thats where we are going....

He then rang home to tell me how much he is missing me..

They maybe looking after him real well, but ther's no substitute for a Mums love

.

 Keep forgetting to post the next video. Its from the Dina Wakley workshops and is made by the gorgeous Milliande..Justche ck it out. Milliandes contact details are on the info of the vid.

so Day 2 tomorrow and then the dreaded clocks go forward...wtf??? I already don't have enough time in my 34 (I wish..!!) hour a days activities at the moment, so how can they nick an hour, just like that..??

In the meantime

Enjoy XX

*****EDIT FOR DRAGON UPDATE*****

Can you guess who this is..???

I,ll give you a clue - its not me..lmao

Yup its the most gorgeous granddaughter in the whole world.

Now you all know she is far from a girly girl, favourite colour blue,only plays with boys, owns a digger and a tool set. So I am amazed how her Mum got her into this outfit and managed to get her to pose for pictures as well. Theres got to be some bribery and corruption there...!!!

I have had further dragon news. He is mid flight between Arizona and New Jersey. Not sure if he is flying 1st class or what. Then apparantly he is being taken out for Indian, as I believe he has become rather partial to Chicken Malaya and Poppadoms. Then after a few days at base camp, trotting round the factory, apparantly he is setting off on a road trip. I do hope he is journaling every day, and recording his exploits along the way.

I am not due to fly out before CHA Summer, so I need to step up my efforts at raising the ransom. I have sent a red cross parcel of nYorkshire puddings, gravy and spotted dick and custard. Don,t want them feeding him all that Denny's stuff. He struggles with his weight as it is.....Heres a little reminder of what he looks like in case you happen to spot him.

And here are the suspects

 if you happen upon this dastardly bunch, pleased be warned that they are armed and extremeley dangerous. We have had reports that if approached they will try to blind you by flashing peel offs at you, and bombard you with Nobbys Nuts. The best option is to approach them gently whilst waving a large bar of Cadbury's Dairy milk, and if all else fails, then turn and run.

Enjoy XX

Just received this picture, he is in the Newark area, eyes peeled please.

slowly slowly catchy monkey...!!!

Aaaargh, they are using underhand tactics now. Not only are they feeding him well, they have also given him a substitute Mum. This is Coco, Marios bird.

Look at them both having their lunch in Tim's studio...

And for once Coco seems speechless...!!!

I hope Coco doesn,t try to eat him..!!!  I am paying the ransom, bit by bit, as I raise it, but it may take a while. Never fear, I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve as yet...!!!!  Consider that a warning, and be afraid, be very afraid...!!!!!

Its 11 mins past 10, here in the studio and look at the state of my hands.

And would you believe that is after a right good scrub..Aaah well I wont be going anywhere at this time of night, will I..??? Can you guess what I,m up to..???

This Friday sees the start of the Fabby Dabby weekend and it is also preview weekend. And what with the move, my weekend, the show, etc, etc I anm waaaaaay behind. So I am inking, spraying, sticking, painting, cutting, colouring, tearing, adorning, ripping, embellishing, journaling, punching, sewing, folding, binding, stamping, scraping, gessoing, distressing, messing and drinking Diet Cherry Coke.  Phew no wonder I'm knackered...!!!!

At  the same time we are still not fully moved, with boxes everywhere - old place, new place, corridor, shop, store room, spare room, on tables, under tables, in the van, in the car.....Isn't it amazing that the one time we need to be a little bit calm, then business goes absofrikkinlutely barmy...!!!!  We are having the busiest month ever. Brilliant, yeah.....but how are you supposed to relocate at the same time..??? Answers on the back of a grunge board letter......

Luckily I have the amazing Ali, who has moved in to divide and conquer. A place for everything and everything in its place..!!!! Not that I have a frikkin clue where that is, mind..!!!!  She has been joined lately by the lovely Anita and the lovely Teresa, who are also proving to be little gems. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, I don't know how to express how much it means to me to have such help. Just the fact that you are all there enables me to get on with what I need to be doing to keep the business going. Mwah, mwah, mwah XXX

Heres a journal page that I did at the show.

Think that's me to a T don't you...???

Oops, yesterday I forgot to give you a link to the lovely Connies blog, where I purloined that fabulous quote. You will find it HERE. Its a really cool blog that I go look at all the time.

Enjoy XX

can you hear me Kelly ??

Seems you all loved the post about going to the toilet in pairs, I am still tittering away inanely to myself.

So on with the catch up. Sunday morning started off with another fabby workshop.. I, of course, was dressed for comfort...!!!

Although I had a brill time at the show, demoing all day and chatting my ass off, I was sad that I missed my Granddaughters birthday party. Maisie was 4 on Sunday. 4!!! where did that sneak up..??

Our Jay and Em's attended like the doting aunties they are. Not sure if they were part of this dance..!!! lol

Now Maisie has very specific ideas of what she likes and dislikes.

Dislikes cakes, loves buns

dislikes pink, likes blue,

dislikes people singing Happy Birthday, likes aunty distracting her.

After a manic breakdown of the show, I hotfooted it over to Newcastle for the Paloma Faith concert. Sexy Susie had treated me for my birthday, lucky girl arent I..?? We got there about an hour after the suggested start time, and all I can say is we were way too early. The support band were atrocious, I,m still not sure if it was just an illusion. They are supposed to be a fine blend of Punk and Funk, but to me they sounded more like sh*t and sh**tier..!!!! The best bit was when the lead singer fell over on stage. That was priceless..!!!

To add insult to injury the women in front of me kept rubbing her arse on my leg and trying to chat to me all the time.After an hour Susie made me change position with her before I knocked her out.!!

and just when things were calming down, we got some silly bint screaming into her mobile at the same time as being stood right next to us.

Her " can you hear me Kelly..??

wave your hand

can you hear me

we are on the right of the stairs ( they were actually on the left..!!)

Can you hear me, Why can,r you hear me

Wave your arm, wave it high, wave your aem Kelly

can you hear me.

Can you hear me, wave wave your arm."

Susie, now losing her grip  " will somebody raise their frikkin arm then we can get rid of her..!!!"

We also had another unfortunate toilet incident. I was busting and dashed in, but had to quickly get out again,to bring the others in for a look. Not one door had a lock on, no toilet tissue in any, but the best bit was the handwashing facilities. The re was a large circular basin taking up most of the room and no one could work out how to get water to come out. When we did suss it, you had to hit it with such force that you drowned every one else in the vicinity. Oh and you guessed it , there was no frikkin paper towels..! Srill it kept us away from hearing Le Sharke playing...

Anyway she was abs frikking wonderful...Sos but this was the only decent shot of her. Mind you is it surprising, taking into account the rubbing down from the woman in front..lmao

This is Maisies first ever  Easter bonnet

Aunty Jay made it for her, think she had nearly as much fun ,

Saw this lovely quote 0n Connie, Dirty footprints studio and love it.


To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel that there is something worth while in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best

and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of

others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the

greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile

to every living creature I meet.

To give so much time to improving myself that I

have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,

and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world,

not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side,

so long as I am true to the best that is in me.





--Christian D. Larson

 Enjoy XX

Why women go to the toilet in pairs.....

Recieved this email this morning from the lovely Ann, who is recovering from an op. It made me laugh so hard that I nearly peed my pants. You try reading it without laughing.....

When you have to visit a public toilet, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the cubicle doors. Every cubicle is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the cubicle. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants!


The dispenser for the modern 'seat covers' (invented by someone's Mum, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your bag on the door hook, if there was one, so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mum would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!) down with your pants and assume ' The Stance.

In this position, your aging, toneless, thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but having not taken time to wipe the seat or to lay toilet paper on it, you hold 'The Stance.'

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser.

In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Dear, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more.

You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your bag (the bag around your neck, that now you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same itme). That would have to do, so you crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail. Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work.

The door hits your bag, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest and you and your bag topple backward against the tank of the toilet.

'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, while losing your footing altogether and sliding down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try.

You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl and spraying a fine mist of water that covers your bum and runs down your legs and into your shoes.

The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force and you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a sweet wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the taps with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting

You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it?)

You yank the paper from your shoe, plonk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this.

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used and left the men's toilet. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long and why is your bag hanging around your neck?

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with any public toilets. It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers that other commonly asked question about why women go to the toilets in pairs. It's so the other girl can hold the door, hang onto your bag and hand you Kleenex under the door.

This HAD to be written by a woman! No one else could describe it so accurately.
 
Enjoy xx

And we're off...!!!

So here we go, Day one of the Harrogate Show, a cold and rainy start to the morning, but a fabby crowd for the early morning workshop I was teaching. After a quick cuppa and a muffin we were off. As usual I am running round like a whirling dervish, trying to educate, entertain, inform, assist and behave, lol....

aww bless, she is only 7 yrs old and assisted by her Grandma she did a fantastic job, definitely an artist in the making.

Is that the lovely Paula Pascal sneeking a peek..???

Ooh Our Em,s and Bezzie Su seem to be on a Tea break..!!!

Hmmm, Our Em's and Sexy Susie, ever alert and ready for action...!!!!

Oh...maybe not...!!!! lmao

How cool does the lovely Maisie look...?

Just love her  bag decorations..

She made them herself, from items embedded into clear UTEE, into a bottle cap. Great aren,t they..???

Don,t know if Bezzie Su is proposing or just stuck in that position...!!!

Yes they are my legs, honest...

Here's some of the samples I made today.

Ooooh I can be tidy when I'm demoing.

These were the hit of the day..

Bezzie Su made a tag, which started off all wrong, but ended up fabby, as you can see.

I think hysteria is setting in...

Do you think Susie has lost the will to live...??

Not quite sure what the lovely Katie did to Our Ben, but he was out for revenge...

And she was off, as fast as she could, in the opposite direction...

But he caught up with her in the end....!!!

I made a lovely fallen angel tag for Susie

 Everyone who helped us at the show today were absolutely brilliant, we couldn't and wouldn't want to manage without you. It is so special to spend the day with lovely, lovely friends who are there because they want to, not because they feel they have to. Our Emmi and Ben  give over and above at every show, and I love them to death..  The lovely Katie is always a pleasure to have around and brighten the day. Sexy Susie travelled for 2 hrs to help and she is so fabby with the customers. Bezzie Su keeps us all amused with her antics and is in training for my job...!! The lovely Anita who was Ben's chief bag packer and assistant.

Also big thankyou to the lovely Pam for helping set up yesterday. I love you all. Mwah, mwah, mwah..XXX

As for me, I have had a brill day, playing ( sorry I mean working very hard...!!! ) and I am now worn out. I am sat on the couch in my jammies, watching my fave prison documentaries and crunching Hula Hoops off my fingertips...I am not really enjoying it of course, I am just regenerating in readiness for a beaut day tomorrow. If you are a blog follower, please come and say hello, it is always nice to put names to faces. If you happen to have a cup of tea, no sugar, in your hand, then all the better, lol...

Oooh nearly forgot I got a gorgeous gift off a friend today. I think its beaut...just my thing..

I would tell you who she is but she has banned me as she gets all embarassed about it. So all I will say is her name ends in L, starts with G and has a L and a I in the middle, lol.

It is an anthology of inspirational and life affirming thoughts, to offer an optimistic view of our human existence. Heres an example. Can see this book will be well thumbed.

Ooh sorry about that, he must have slipped in by mistake..!!!! But whilst hes there, that reminds me, if any of you have one of these living next door to you, and hes on the availability list, just lasso him and send him my way.   Please....and in anticipation...... Thankyou, lmao.

tomorrow might just be a quick blog, because as soon as the show is broken down, I am hotfooting it down the A1 to go see Paloma Faith with the lovely Sexy Susie.  Can,t blooming wait.....

Enjoy XX