Ladies I salute you!!!

How cold????? Ooh you need thermal lined knickers for this weather don't you?? As fast as you are defrosting the car it is freezing over isn't it.? But we were off for another day of fun and frivolity. Here's the Christmas book from yesterday.

We started off this morning making some gorgeous snowmen Atcs in my signature rasberry and pool. It involves lots of lovely painting with my pearl pigments. Painting with them is always so calming and great for those with hangovers ( I wont name names , you know who you are) . Lots of paint effects and spritzing with stunning results. We then progressed on to the Christmas jigsaw, decorated in very traditional papers.

After bit of a false start where I got them to number all the pieces wrong lol, this class was easy to follow. Then it was time for lunch. Here's a behind the scenes picture of the lovely Pam beavering away

I used to do all the catering myself but now the lovely Pam is the kitchen fairy. Its heaven and I love her to bits.

After lunch we had to put on a bit of a spurt as we were lagging behind a bit through too much laughing and gassing lol. We made Xmas tags with pearlyshimmer spray backgrounds, and a co-ordinating tin to keep them in. The shimmer background were a big hit with everyone , which is cool as you all know it is my favourite.

These were fab for staving off the 2pm sugar lulls.

And the final project today, a gorgeous little bag shaped Christmas shaped table decoration. Isn't it sweet??

I think and hope they all agree that it was one of our best weekends. Here's some of the lovely people who attended.

The lovely "Shropshire Sue" who is now rushing home to remortgage her house due to a severe addiction lol
The Editors from Craft Stamper got me some lovely goodies as a thank you. There was no need but it was a lovely gesture, thank you.


My gorgeous pal Sandra, who even missed a Northern Soul do on Friday so she could be here.

It wouldn't be the same without Jeanne aka chocolate lady, who was attending her 4th Christmas weekend.

The fabby Ann and Pat. Ann struggled through the weekend feeling really ropey. I love her to death but if she passes it to me shes barred lol


Sue flew down from Southampton on Thursday. We are fellow beavers , part of an elite band of women. Its a bit ike the Masons??? you have to be invited in and are christened with your beaver name. Sues is Biggles Beaver ( far too rude to go into!!!) and I,m Wanna-be-Bibby Beaver!!! She also won the award for most attentive student . It wasn't that difficult as most of them just ignore me most of the time !!! lol.

And the stunningly gorgeous bezzie, don't call me voluptuous, Liza T. Not sure why shes wearing my bedside rug , but each to her own !!

Please say you,ll stay even tho I made you get up at some un godly hour!

Mr Unbribable and his ever so gorgeous girlfriend Katy came in to attend to every ones shopping. Apparently I am not to be trusted with the till!! Not sure why, maybe it was the £83,000 over ring I did last weekend LMAO!!!

Students shoe watch is really taking off, here is Craft Stampers Jules . Check out those fabby teal insoles.

Not sure if Liza T has quite got the concept of pretty crafting shoes. Awww bless!!!

Well that's it until the January weekend. I would like to say a big thank you to all who attended and a special mention to Angie, Jan , June and Emma who somehow managed to avoid the camera. It is a great to privilege to be able to teach and share knowledge with you all. Although the weekends are a lot of hard work and extremely tiring , I always end them feeling really refreshed from all the feedback and friendship. It just wouldn't be the same without you (obviously cos I,d have no one to teach!!) January ladies you have a lot to beat. Ladies I salute you one and all.

Eat ,drink and be crafty!!

ell are we having a great time or what. This is such a great relaxed weekend with a great bunch of ladies. Friday night is always a bit of a strange one as people wind down from the weeks activities and get to know there fellow crafters. I knew this lot were going to be lively, tho, right from the start. We started off with a lovely simple Christmas book to get everyone in the swing.

esential supplies are always on hand!!!

The wine is only dished out when the book is nearly finished , other wise I would struggle to get any sense out of them!!! So until then this was the drinks order lol

Fridays shoe watch - Christine came dressed in pyjamas complete with cute little tootsie warmers, sweet aren't they??

My bezzie Lisa T is stopping at mine and because I have been moaning about the state of my house for ages ( As the kids leave home , half of my stuff seems to as well lol") and as she is the most fabulous interior designer , we decided to do a bit of an "Anne Maurice around the house. Ooh my head is buzzing with how fabulous it is all going to look. A makeover here , a splash of paint there and a little tweak in between ,apparently that is all it needs and it is all going to be done by Christmas . Yeah Right !!!

Our other bezzie , the wonderfully talented and getting slimmer by the day Kirsty Wiseman had rung earlier in the day wanting to speak to me and as it was late we had text her to say we were home. Now Kirsty is famous for never returning texts. I thought that her phone probably didn't have a txt facility on it ha ha and so we had left it in the car charging. On the way to bed we retrieved the phone and on it was a text message from her , Yes a text from Kirsty Bejeezez!!! We were both so shocked that we had to have photographic evidence that we werent dreaming. See below for proof.

So then we had another hours phone conversation with lots of laughing and holding of sides. Although we were shattered and it was really late there is no nicer feeling in the world than the connection you get with your bestest pals. All three of us are now self employed, female entrepreneurs, all at different stages in our journey, and it is fab to know that we are always there supporting each other along the way.

Saturday was a fabby day from start to finish, but we were sooo busy I forgot to take many photos , but will fill in lots more tomorrow. Lisa T and I had Thai food for tea and even though I went for the mildest one my lips still went numb!! I am such a wimp with spicy food aren't I. ?? Hope I don't live to regret it tomorrow. lol

Would you like Pickle with that??

Yayy, guess what came bundling thru the studio doors this morning. It was my fave UPS guy, he is soooo goddam cute!!! And what did he have with him but my missing Rusty Pickle order. Woop woop. And he had to carry it uo 4 flights of stairs as the lift is broken. Mr Unbribeable has got it all out and displayed in the shop and should have it uploaded to the website tomorrow for you. The newest papers - White Christmas - are absolutely gorgeous, muted reds and greens and vintage images . I,ll try to get you some peeks tomorrow, or get yourself down to the studio and see for yourself.

Have spent most of the morning with the Resident bit of Glamour who popped in to help me finish all the samples for Craft Stamper magazine. It is really exciting as I have designed the cover mount stamp for their February issue. Cant give you any sneaks as yet but I will tell you that it is gorgeous and so lovely to use, that its one stamp (actually its two, even better) you cant afford to miss. So make sure you get your copy reserved. Katy , the Editor , has her own blog now so pop over and have a look at whats going on. She is coming on the Scrap Attack weekend tomorrow and is terrified I am going to whip her up into a frenzy and work her to death. Moi ?? as if LOL. I will try to do a couple of blogs throughout each day so you can keep up with all the fun we are having. (Sos Kirsty, don't read it or you will just get P***ed off, babes).

we also have the pleasure of the Gorgeous Jane AKA Lisa T. If you thought Kirsty was bad , she is even worse. Tena Lady milk is definitely called for , I,ve got lots on order. She is really quiet and polite when you first meet her but don't let that fool ya. Inside is a female Peter Kay just bursting to get out.

I have to be up for 6 in the morning to get to Asda to get all the food for the weekend. I, ll be picking up the Goddess on the way cos we always need two trolleys full. and then its all systems go checking kits etc ready for the fun to begin. Better stock up on the Pro Plus. Speaking of which. I never got round to showing you all this fabby pressie from the lovely Sharon.

She has done quite a few of my classes here and in Holland and always attends the Scottish retreat at McDuff that I teach at. It is a little hand made box full of Pro Plus . She always says 6 Pro Plus equals my energy in a class lol. So thanks again Sharon ans sorry its taken me this long to showcase it. Why dont you nip over to her blog . She always has lots of lovely pics of all her works in progress.http://my-little-pad.blogspot.com/

Just had time to start my pages in Julias art journal. It is in very restful colours and even has a calming quote. Hmmm not sure whats going on there!!! LOL I didn't get much further than doodling leaves up the sides but I am loving it already! Hope she loves the finished work.

Finishing off!

Wow so you all love the Distress stickles as well. I dont think I have seen a product move so fast for ages!! Not many left at all. Still havent been able to purloin any myself but there is still time lol.

Gorgeous gorgeous class today. The princess coach album. We had a lovely day spraying and glitzing. Oh and we had buns again, brought by the lovely Helen. She even brought one for Mr Unbribable with a candle in it for his birthday !!Awww forgot to get a photo of it , if its still there when I get in tomorrow ( doubt it) I,ll do one then.

One of my littlies finished her wooden house today doesn't she look proud?

And my older girls group all finished their advent boxes. They've worked really hard and the results are stunning I think you,ll agree.

Here's the lovely Pam working on another larger one for the studio. C,mon Pam its December on Monday lol.

Well that's it tonight I am turning in early. I have a really long and busy day tomorrow finishing off all the kits for the Scrap attack weekend. For all of you coming to it there is only "2 more sleeps " left. Speaking of sleep, make sure you catch up on it before you come, cos I don't half work you hard. You have been warned!!!! lol

And all who sail in her

Forgot to give a big shout out to on of my bezzies who today , unfortunately, lost her job. Not through any of her own fault, just the dreaded credit crunch. But as one door closes!!. I did offer her a job here working 80 hrs a week for very little money , but surprisingly she declined!!!! Cant see why myself, cos its just what I do and everyone seems to feel that I have it made!!!LMAO
She actually doesn't need another job because she is going to join our merry band of female entrepeneurs. She has been meaning to set up her own business for a long time and this has just given her the kick up the bum she needs. So if anyone needs an extremely talented interior designer who happens to look like Lisa Tarbuck then shes ya gal!!
I love you to death, am glad you are one of my bezzies and I wish you every success in your new venture, and seen as its you I,ll let you practise on my house!!! LOL xxxxx 4 U.

Alls well in the end!

Some mornings you wake up without a care in the world (ok I lied just then, but you know what I mean!). Today I got up really early , finished off loads of jobs, worked a bit and even dabbled with my art journaling, all before 7.30 am. I had a feeling that although I was busy as usual, that the day would just get better. How wrong can you be?? First of all I found out that the Rusty Pickle delivery, needed for Scrap Attack this weekend was, in fact , sitting in California (don't even go there ) without a hope in hells chance of getting here. Aaargh what do I do, I needed it for workshops , I need it to go online, I need it to sell. OMG I just NEED IT OK!!! have you seen how fabby and gorgeous it is??? Plan B went to Plan M as the day ticked by. One by one everything went wrong till it couldn't get any worse. Eventually I relaxed and resigned myself to the fact it wasn't coming and there was nothing I could do about it. I was sat here in bed about an hour ago when suddenly it all started falling into place. The lovely Landon from Rusty Pickle (who in my head looks just like Brad Pitt lol) rang with the great news that ,Yes it will be here. I think he is strapping it to his back and swimming across the ocean to deliver it personally - there I go dreaming again lol. I mean I wont actually hold my breath but the outlook is getting decidedly rosier.

Speaking of Rusty Pickle , the lovely Lance ( note hes lovely again this evening now my stuff is coming , not the adjective I applied this morning . Sorry about that !! ha ha ) has sold out in "The White Christmas " workshop and only has a few places left in the other. If you want to participate you will need to be quick. We are starting a waiting list and I will try to persuade him to do more , but I cant guarantee it.

We have the Princess Coach album class tomorrow and I thought I would give you a few sneaks of it. I am really pleased with it. It is sprayed in my fave inks and B/M pigment pearls to give it that magical shimmery look. Of course mine contains the most beautiful princess in the whole world- Maisie. I think we have a few blank ones stashed away , so if there are any left after the class I am sure we will get them online for you.