Watercolouring in next class...and bloom where you're planted

I forgot to mention in the last post that I saw some watercolouring on a very pretty stamped image going on in the designing of the next class, Tea and Cake cardmaking, looks very pretty. I mention it because watercolouring, be it with watercolour pencils, brush pens, paint or with distress inks, is something I've got addicted to at the mo - you know when you find something you like and then put it on all your work, without realising?! The card for mother's day being one example, below...

Distress inks used to colour her in, from my mum's workshop stash ;p

...And some planting was done today (well, except for the peas below, they are a few weeks old and have now sprouted yay)

On the road towards the Good Life! Though without a garden composed of purely mud, and car still preferred over tractor in surbiton ;p

Craftybird x

Tea and cake

Good afternoon :) Hope you all had a pleasant March - I didn't blog at all in it, apologies, but I have been rather ill :-S Discovering before university that I probably have Chronic Fatigue, and then tackling university without tackling the health bit, has proved a bit too much, and I started to get more and more exhausted until eventually, I am at home. So nothing much to report in the way of interesting adventures, as I haven't been able to move very far! Just recuperating, do not want to get this bad again. Hope you are all well, and have made some interesting things. Thank goodness for the numerous sunny days that appeared in March, and allowed for seed planting, eating outside (occasionally with a jumper on - well, it's not quite Bahamas sort of sun just yet) and the odd attempt to tan arms and legs ;) I am chiefly writing to report the next lot of Crafty Hearts classes.Saturday we had a gathering, thank you to all who came :) The next class is Tea & Cake, where you make a selection of cards with this theme in mind. Three sneak peeks of these cards below. The date for this class is EITHER

Friday 15th April 2011 10.30am-3pm

OR Saturday 30th April 10.30am-3pm

Both are held at Douglas Hall within St Cuthbert's church, Lytham Rd, Preston, and each class is £23, includes all materials and tea/biscuits, etc. Just yourself and lunch to bring.If you want to join this class, email us at craftyhearts@hotmail.co.uk

Hurry, as it's filling up! If you need help with direcitons to the venue, or advice about bus numbers, parking (the church has its own car park), just ask.

Other dates (let us know if you want to join these too):

Bugs and Butterflies Card-making class

Saturday 14th May 2011

OR Friday 2oth May 2011

Five men and a lady cardmaking class (masculine cards, perfect for father's day or male birthdays)

Saturday 4th June

These two classes are also £23 each, 10.30am - 3pm, and at same venue (St Cuthbert's church)

THe date of the next crafty gathering is yet to be announced, but let us know if you're interested in joining - it's a time to gather as a group and take time out to craft, be it card-making, scrapbooking, altered art, knitting, whatever the creativity. Tea/coffee and biscuits galore as ever. £3.50 for the day.

Better be off, we're working on a new blog banner...actually, i say working, more like faffing about, trying not to sneeze for fear of blowing paper flowers everywhere! Craftybird x

Papery blooms

Good evening, here are sneak peeks of the next class, the Paper flowers class, which is on Saturday 26th March and repeated on Wednesday 6th April! 10.30am - 3pm, £23 with materials and tea/coffee/biscuits galore included, you just have to bring your dinner and yourself. It's at St Cuthbert's hall, and if you would like to book a place on either of these days, you must email as soon as poss, email Jennifer at craftyhearts@hotmail.co.uk
...as the places seem to go rather quick.
Hope you like the cards, this is just three sneak peeks of the final set of cards, which involve making paper flowers, from punching, scissor DIY to stamping :)

Finally, this card below is NOT on the paper blooms class: it is the card I made for my mum for her birthday - pictures here as promised. No glue involved; I stitched the stamped image and an offcut of pleated fabric onto the front. The 'love' postage stamp is a Maya Road stamp set, and inside the blue spotty fabric, card and other items are stapled on. The heart punch is Martha Stewart, and I stamped the Hero Art flowery image over it once punched out. Hope you like! Also, the blue ink is Tumbled Glass Distress ink - we're a fan (sorry, that should be addicts) of Distress inks and my mum stocks some nice colours, which are stashed into the crafty automobile for each class :)

Happy crafting, love Craftybird x

A gathering, a class and first signs of flowers

Hello there!

Wow I think this could be long, I have quite a few things stored in the mental cabinet that needs documenting :)

First of all, before I start nattering about the week, I must inform of the next class date. Now, we had the Buttons and Bows class today, as listed in the previous post. Chief teacher Jennifer is teaching a charity cardmaking class at the end of February, and there are a few things going on at our end at the start of March, so the next concrete dates are:



Paper flowers cardmaking class

Saturday 26th March 2011 10.30am - 3pm £23 St Cuthbert's church hall

Wednesday 6th April 2011 10.30am - 3pm £23 St Cuthbert's church hall



The next gathering is to be confirmed - we must check that the venue is available for the date we have in mind. I will badger the mother to give me a date, and a sample of the paper flowers class when the charity cards class and bits and bobs at this end are all in hand :)

It's amazing how time flies, how you can suddenly have so much to do! It is the middle of February already! I want to make so many things, particularly sewing related things: I like sewing fabric, buttons, felt onto cards. However, due to being at big university land, and due to my energy being a lot less than the average human, I have found that I can't craft whilst swamped in Italian history and language lessons. Everything has to be taken slooowly. So having to learn this concept, it's strange I don't know it too well - ahead..yes it's called spreading work out and being on time. What is that?! 'Last minute' and 'masterpieces' used to be more my thing.

So not a lot of crafting has been done, hence a lack of blogging, and trips i take are in slow amounts. I will put a few pics on here of London in the next few weeks :)

On my mum's part, any crafting is of the class variety, and making up class packs, and being a bit ill - sinuses, how unhelpful they can be! I'm sure this age of central heating and being more inside, and air conditioning in shops, does not help us all. She has made quite a few crafty bits, but they're for people, and the game would be given away if I posted them :P



Saturday 11th Feb was our first gathering whilst on the road, without our little shop. The sky was glorious, and in the room in St Cuthbert's hall, the windows on three sides let the light pour in. It might look sad, but I took a photo of the sky, because London has had a bit too many overcast days for my liking, and the north presented me with sky!


























Thank you to all the ladies who came to the gathering, was nice to hear chatting and see smiling and nice projects :)























Now below are photos of today's class, the Buttons and Bows day. Thank you to all these ladies too :) A bit of fiddly work involved with threading ribbon into paper buttons and making bows etcetera, but lots of nice cards made, and creativity galore: it's great to see how a design can appear in many forms due to little touches added by different creative minds.

Thank ye Jacky for these pink and white delights, very tasty they were :P Well, what's crafting without tea and biscuits? Or coffee, or green tea, or hot chocolate... Err ok I think I'm a hot drink addict :)

Another thing that happened this week was Jennifer's birthday. A nice lunch out involved me buying her a Victoria sponge slice, aka a birthday cake. Only a few candles short of the number, o' course :)

And the start of February has involved a few changing sights for me:

firstly, seeing the coast of West Sussex, which I've never seen before. I absolutely love the seaside, always have (photos somewhere of moi, aged less than three, on a beach and yet in coat, scarf, hat, gloves - through hell and high water as they say). So when on the fourth of Feb, I go to see my friend who lives near the sea, I talk him into taking me to it...

These photos do not quite emphasise how thrashing the waves were, how we worried the dog would get taken by the sea as he ran into it after birds! It was galeforce wind, we look a bit blown away on the accompanying photos :) A friend said, 'you're going on the beach? In February? Brrrrr!'

Another sight was what I felt to be the first signs of spring - even though it's a month away. Gordon Square in Bloomsbury, London. A host of...purple crocuses. Absolutely beautiful.

And daffodils are out in Booths stores in the north west. New life is springing up!

I almost forgot: today there was a conversation with Jean about craft spaces, and how fairy lights are nice in them - well here are ours Jean, as talked about! Stars at the top, and this week a new shelf with lighting has been put in thanks to some DIY male assistance (I'm not saying women can't manage DIY, but why take the risk with precious crafty fingers and the precious craft wall?).

So heart lights are now on the lower shelf :)

Well that's all for now, take care and happy crafting! Craftybird x

Happy New Year!

First of all, happy new year to you all - hope it brings health, wealth and happiness.
And nextly, thank you to the ladies who attended the class on Wednesday, as t'was a lovely day. I promised on the last post that I'd upload sneak peeks of the January birds and trees class. Well, below are the piccies: alright, so one of these classes has gone by and there is a repeat of it next week, I know we are a little behind here. But December turned out to be chaos, with Christmas cards being made by the bucket full, and crafter-in-charge came to visit me in London for a weekend, Christmas shopping had to be done, and then we have all been ill :( On my part, ill frequently, yucky yuck. I know December and winter do bring lots of germs, but there do seem to be some nasty ones going round of late! So, the cards were made after the Christmas cards, and with chief blogger i.e. moi being ill, I couldne post them. But here they are for those who are on this class, this Saturday 15th January.

And these, below, are sneak peeks of the cards for the February class, because we are now organised, not ill, and Christmas with its pretty preparations and masses of cards has gone for another year.

It's called Buttons and Bows, and the first class of it is on Friday 18th February 2011. It is 10.30am - 3pm at St Cuthbert's Church, Lytham Road, Preston. The class is £23 and includes all materials and plenty of tea and biscuits. If you would like to book a place, email us at craftyhearts@hotmail.co.uk

Look, you get to make your own buttons, stamp on them, with stamped ribbon and delicate stamp effect backgrounds...

Dot pattern punching and make your own flowers...

Plus we are starting a gathering again! At St Cuthbert's Church Hall, in the same place as the above-mentioned class. Our first one will be on Saturday 12th February 2011, 11am - 3pm, £3.50 which includes tea and biscuits.

If anyone is interested in putting their name down for this gathering, let us know,by email (further up in this post) or by commenting at the end of this post :)

We need to know who will be attending so as to have a rough idea on the numbers and amount of tables needed for crafting.

Come along and bring a crafty project, be it knitting, card-making, sewing, scrapbooking etc - every crafter welcome!

Back to the city tomorrow for me, everything packed, may need to take out the kitchen sink before I go..the packing is definitely lacking in crafty goodies, but at least have got a new book in it by Cath Kidston :) Hope everybody has had a good weekend and happy crafting!

Craftybird x

November's Christmas Class, home comforts and..the next workshop

November. Suddenly it has all gone a bit chilly, and the scarves and gloves are out, with a perfect excuse for a nice new coat. What have all you crafters been up to since we last saw you? Anyone been making Christmas cards, knitting masterpieces or scrapbooking delights?
Last Saturday was the last Christmas class, thank you to all the ladies who came and crafted.
We arrived at St Cuthbert's church at 9.15am-ish to start setting everything out, and I don't know what the weather was like for everyone else, but while we were safely inside it went from cloudy to rain to serious hailstone to blue sky and sun to rain! It's true, that saying: Britain doesn't have a climate, it has weather. Just the sort of day when you're glad you're inside arranging paper and stamping :)

Now, we are having a class on Wednesday 5th January 2011, which will be repeated on Saturday 15th January. Both classes are 10.30am - 3pm at St Cuthbert's Church, Lytham Rd, Preston. It is on the subject of birds and leaves and a general nature with a mix of winter. The class is being designed, and when designs have been made I will post them on here, as well as price. However, places are filling up, so if you would like to book a place on either of these dates, drop an email to Jennifer, craftyhearts@hotmail.co.uk
Also, if you book a place and would like directions about how to get to the church, email too. We will happily give you directions. The church has a car park and a bus route from Preston city centre stops nearby.

Here are piccies of some of the cards that were made last Saturday...

...And am very glad to be making a few of these; I got so used to making half a dozen cups of tea at a time, and cleaning the cups afterwards, that when I am in the shared kitchen here at bookland (university), I offer to make passers-by into the kitchen a cup of tea. I'm not used to making just one!

I am being a bit naughty, I've put a pic on of the class, I hope nobody minds, I made it a small piccie so as to be only slightly cheeky...

Finally, I have not yet put photos on of the little new home (this is due to shameful lack of blogging). New home contains the Body Shop lemony products, cards, pink pen and lovely blackcurrant jam that were all presents from crafty friends - you know who you are, thank ye!

New home also contains applique cushion, furry rug and patterned things to make it feel homely. There's a modern-vintage style floral duvet cover and throw, and the handmade bunting that was a present, and the spotty bag (well, you need a pretty bag to take your laundry to laundry room, a crafty must!).

And a pretty bucket for cleaning things..

Oh, and there are some of these too, have to read a few while here in bookland...

...And this cheeky characters is keeper of the keys, so I can't lose them.

Happy weekend everyone, and thank you for the comments!

Craftybird x

P.S Did anybody go see Harry Potter yesterday, on the day it opened? Not to name-drop, but we went to see it at midnight last night at Leicester Square. It's the biggest cinema in the country, so I've heard, and the film was AmAAAZing. The atmosphere was fab, everyone laughing and cheering. I recommend it!x

The Craftybird is back and blogging :)

I am ashamed. I have not blogged for...three, yes three months. Serious bloggage is required, as lots of things have happened.
So, what has happened in three months...
August was the last full month in our beloved shop, Crafty Hearts. Our last classes were of the Christmas variety (you know how it is with crafters; Christmas in August, etc), and we were madly repricing stock and everybody thankfully popped in for tea and a chat before we closed on Friday 3rd September. Then chaos began, as I (Craftybird, the sidekick in the Crafty Hearts duo) relocated to London in the third week of September, while also we were having to remove everything from our shop into our house.
So, my room was summer-cleaned, and I quietly packed my mountains of stuff and put the boxes in the other room...and then got home one day to discover these boxes had been put back into my room, because the spare room was needed for several big shop items! My room was short of space before the towels, new books and wok. I'd like to point out here that the spare room is no longer spare, it has been sneakily made into a craft room!
The Crafty Hearts duo are now 'on the road': my mum (Jennifer) is on the road in a sense that she is continuing teaching craft workshops, but in different premises. An adventure :) And I am literally sometimes on the road: I am studying in London, and have popped back to the good old North this week :)
I planned to start blogging the moment I got to London, but didn't realise how chaotic it would be! It's a bit of a distracting place :D I'm only just starting to get a routine, where I can have a time of the day where I sit and blog, or do a bit of email chatting (or ring the mother - that requires a good hour of course).
I haven't popped any photos of the Christmas class that Jennifer taught in the middle of October, and is repeating this Saturday, because it sold out straight away! It was a case of people telling us to put them down on the next class she was doing - even though she hadn't yet designed it! Thank ye all for the faith :)
Now, we are planning a class at the very beginning of January, and I will post on here the date and the samples as soon as they are available. The plan is for it to be a bird, owl, leaves and trees vibe, as we didn't get chance to do an autumnal class, and those sort of colours might brighten up a chilly January day. And I will blog about mine and chief crafter's travels until then :)
I'll be back soon for a natter,
Craftybird
x