Blog redecorating, and a pinch of journalling

Finally, I've redecorated the blog: I've had a half-drawn design on my desk for weeks, and now t'is the new blog title. It's a bit unusual, but that was the plan: I love art and craft blogs, whehter they belong to shops or individuals, scrapbookers or knitters, they tend to look creative, with interesting photo titles. I wanted this to be the same, and wanted to get around the fact that I'm not a dab hand at computer graphics. What I have in mind and what ends up on the screen after much scanning and camerawork is always different!

Anyhow, the blog needed 'a lick of paint'. Hope you like :)

I've also been setting to on my journal, a visual one. The aim was to journal in it often...that's a work in progress! At the beginning of the empty exercise book I bought, it says 'At this moment am I drawing to remember or to erase...' Very apt! It is a lesson: when I look at it, I remember to go put my rubber away, and actually make some art, and stop being a perfectionist.

First page: A night out. Thank you to the participants of the photo (I couldn't make the page without you lol!) And thank you to Sylvia for giving me lots of paper chandeliers, they're fab!

Been keeping them aside until the right, elegant idea came along. Here goes:

It's also supposed to have black bows and little black paper butterflies on it (the remnants of the Martha Stewart butterflies border punch), but I can't find them! Probably because they're so small, or maybe they've flown away!

Open Evening :)

Woo, heating all revamped and working, the shop is warm and lovely again!Just to let everyone know, we're having our next open evening on
Thursday 11th March 5pm - 9pm

For those of you who've never been before, our open evenings are when our whole crafty community can get together, look around the shop, check out demonstrations and new card/scrapbooking/who-knows-what-we'll-make-next samples, whilst having free tea and cake/biscuits, browsing the next new classes, and there's also 10% off all product purchases on the evening. Plus, this next open evening, there'll be a free card kit with every purchase. I was all planned to do this for the last open evening, then things got a bit hectic and I couldn't do it, so this time I'm being...somebody catch me I'm fainting with shock...organised! I'm a last-minute-stress-motivates-me person, so this is a miracle!
Anyway where was I: free card kit with every purchase on open evening. Each kit will come with a piccie of a card we've designed, and in the kit will be all the bling to make it. So that's the folded card, envelope and all the goodies to stick on and assemble, a beautiful card at the drop of a hat, or tweak it to your own taste and let us know what you come up with! Oo I do love paper :)
Just one last thing: My piccies that I took on my trip to Ambleside...






























And then this is the same photo, but next day - when I walked back the same route next day, t'was all foggy!
















Very Wuthering Heights...






























And this is Lake Windermere next day, foggy and misty, the hills on the other side of the Lake were no longer visible...
















I was so busy watching another photographer, who was stood at the end of a jetty with his tripod, that I didn't realise all the ducks had left the water and gathered around me...I've never been surrouned by so many ducks, and one lady duck decided to try and sit on my boot...















Took my photos and then quickly walked off, eventually making a run for it, because two geese left the water and then started running after me!
















Tiny tiny house in Ambleside. It's perched on a bridge, soo cute.

Thanks for looking, happy crafting x

Finally! Plus...a touch of purple

Well, FINALLY the central heating is being mended: all day today, and tomorrow, the boiler at the shop is being changed and the heating is having a general clean and do up. It's been playing up for over six months now, but as it's not our responsibility, we could not do anything, just keep ringing up and moaning and groaning. Eventually, the system gave up and we've had no heating (aaargh) for over 2 weeks. And, being winter, this is bad timing. So, finally, we will be freezing no longer! True we had to be in today, day off day, but at least we got some crafty work done, amidst the drilling. New found appreciation for warmth, heating, and hot weather in general :)

I have a lot of piccies to put

on here, of Ambleside, Lake Windermere, and other stuff, but when I add lots of photos in one

go, the post kindly mixes them up, so I'm going to do it the easy way and post separately.

Firstly, these piccies you doth see, are of a class, the next class to be taught by my mum and I (Jennifer and Leanne). It's called Grey and Grape, because that's the name of the paper range we've used in it. The

papers are that of Craftwork Cards, as are the purple yummy card candy, butterflies, sentiments, cardstock flowers and scallop circles. We have two dates for this class:

Thursday 18th March (now FULL)

Thursday 1st April.

It's £20, 10.30am - 3pm, you make 6 cards, and all materials, tea, coffee, biscuits included.

You just bring lunch and yourself. And there's sandwich shops and plenty side street parking all around. 01772 739563 or info@craftyhearts.co.uk if you'd like to book a place :)

Right, I better be off, hope everybody had a happy love day yesterday :)

Class news

Hello hello! Long time no type. Well, first of all, on the subject of classes, t'was the first class last Thursday that my mum (shop owner and star) and I taught :) We were very nervous, but all went fabulous! Thank you to all the ladies that attended the class, you all know who you are, and you helped make it a great first class. My mum taught, oo she did do well, and I assisted - not a fan of teaching, but I do like helping everybody, and painting, and on the whole getting messy!

We will be doing more classes soon, and I will post piccies and news on here as soon as we dream up the next class.

But onto the next classes: Angela is teaching a Beeswax cover journal class on Saturday (6th Feb) - we had this class in November, and t'was a great success, so we're doing it again for all the ladies who missed out first time round.

Also, on Saturday 6th March is Angela's Altered Wooden Box Class, using Blonde Moments Ultra Thick Embossing Powders. In this class you will first try thick embossing powder on several different chipboard shapes (samples below- crown, key, tile) and stamp into the lovely coloured powder,then you'll begin melting the different colours of thick powder onto the wooden box!

Journal class is 6th Feb, 10.30am - 3pm, £18 (all materials inc except lunch and yourself). This one's almost full!

Wooden box class is 6th March, 1pm - 4pm, £18 (all materials inc except lunch and yourself).

Right, I better go: off to the Lake District :)

Will try post again soon, and...

..happy crafting x