Last class peek for tomorrow

Those who you were may have been keeping count on the peeks will have noticed that we were one short - here's the last one and its the replacement for the Wassail class which failed to arrive. Everyone who was booked in for the Wassail class has been contacted and is aware that we'll be running a replacement but it also means that we'll have a few places available on this class for anyone who would like it. You can book your place when you arrive, just see Pauline in the shop and she will sort everything out.

Cosmo Cricker 'Souvenir' class

This kit uses the 'Souvenir' range from Cosmo Cricket in rich shades of red, gold and green - very Christmassy but without a holly leaf or bauble in sight!! The page is perfect for a Christmas photo but it isn't a specifically Christmas page, the journaling cards and pack of cardstock stickers included in the kit have more of a travel theme to them but the page is very adaptable. You'll need a single 5" x 7" landscape photo for the class - the sample was printed in sepia but thats not essential and you can add a photo on after if you don't have time to get one ready!

This kit includes a whole pack of 7gypsies acrylic stamps so you'll need to bring a stamp block with you and it'll be a lot faster if you have your own heat gun as there is also Distress Embossing powder in your kit. Chuck in a pack of 3d foam pads and you'll have everything you need!

I hope you're all set and ready to go - see you in the morning!

Final preparations underway!

We are working like mad here getting the last few bits and bobs done for the crop on Saturday, its amazing how many little details there are that need to be remembered, its like spinning plates! Anyway, I remembered that this will be the first time for a few who are coming on Saturday and so I thought it would be an idea to put the address of the hall here so you can pop it into your satnav to help you find the place. Here goes........


Meopham Village Hall, Wrotham Road, Meopham, Kent DA13 0AT

Its a single storey white building very close to the road but it is easy to miss and there aren't any real landmarks to look out for (which is no help at all!). The turning into the car park is directly behind the speed camera sign and there is masses of space to park. The hall is fully accessible which also helps for wheeling in trolleys and totes.

I've discovered that we have at least 4 birthdays being celebrated on Saturday which should make for a great party atmosphere! I'm really looking forward to it and hope you are too!

More class peeks!

Here we go with a couple more peeks for the classes on Saturday........

Tres Jolie

The Tres Jolie kit is really soft and pretty and would work well with female heritage photo or something romantic or pretty. It needs to be around 7" x 5" and portrait would work best. You'll also need to pack a soft pink or coral inkpad (the sample uses ColorBox Rose Coral) and some 3d foam pads.

One Way Only
This kit brings together soft green, soft yellow and white with a punch of orange - a really fresh combination of colours that work with a variety of photos. The arrow die-cuts in the kit call for a theme that is linked to direction or movement (the sample is titled 'Going Up'). You'll need two photos, one 7" x 5" and the second 3" x 4" and both are portrait. Pack some 3d foam pads and a soft green inkpad (the sample used ColorBox Lime Pastel).

Next batch of peeks

Here we go with three more class peeks for the crop on Saturday............

Prima Pinks

The first of today's peeks is for the Prima Pinks kit which includes a whole tin of gorgeous pink hydrangeas so we'll be creating a double page layout to use as many as possible! You'll need five 6" x 4" portrait photos in a theme. The sample uses wedding photos but you can use absolutely anything as long as you're happy for them to be mixed with lots of pretty flowers. You'll also need 3d foam pads and a dark brown inkpad (the sample used Memories Creamy Coffee).

Green with Envy

In the Green with Envy class you'll learn a fab technique that will allow you to make four layouts in one, each one completely different and all at the flick of your wrist! You'll need some quite specific sizes of photos if you want to get it done on the day but the real wow factor is the technique. Bring along a 6" x 9" landscape photo that can be sliced through 3" from one end (it doesn't matter which end), a 6" x 9" portrait photo that can be sliced through 3" from either the top or bottom, a 6" x 6" square that stays intact and a 6" x 6" that can be sliced in half vertically. Don't panic about the photos - you can always add them after! The colours are soft greens so they will work well with lots of different types of photos.

You'll also need a green inkpad (the sample used ColorBox Olive Pastel) and some 3d foam pads.

Star of the Show

In Star of the Show you'll get six photos onto one 12x12 layout and use stamping, transparencies and buttons to embellish your page. This colourful page uses five 6" x 4" portrait photos and a 7" x 5" landscape photo. If you have a 1.25" circle punch it would be an advantage but there will be punches available to use in the class. You'll also need a blue and a red inkpad (the sample uses ColorBox Prussian Blue and Maroon) plus some 3d foam pads.

First set of crop class peeks

I thought I'd spread out the class peeks over a few days this week so that there isn't a mad rush to get your photos together, you can just do a few each day. We have nine classes running on Saturday so I'll put up 3 classes a day (isn't O level maths a wonderful thing!! LOL!)

Heidi Swapp 'Life is a Journey' class

The first class of the day will be this gorgeous page designed by Claire and although the papers are travel themed she has cleverly made the page much more generic by titling it 'Life is a Journey' which gives you much more scope to choose photos. You'll need to bring four to five 6" x 4" portrait photos for this class along with a black inkpad and black journaling pen, a couple of eyelets, a Cropodile or eyelet tools, a corner rounder and a sponge applicator (a small make up sponge will do).

We R Memory Keepers

In our second class you'll learn a fab technique to make your own embellishments that will save you a fortune! The page design uses two 6" x 4" portrait photos (sample pics were printed in sepia which matched the papers beautifully) and you'll need to bring along a dark brown inkpad, a sanding block or piece of sandpaper, a paper pricker, 3d foam pads and some small crystals or brads for flower centres.

Daisy Ds 'Romance'

Next up we have a soft and romantic page kit that uses a single 6" x 4" landscape photo. You'll also need a soft grey inkpad (Anna Griffin Grey was used for the sample) and some 3d foam pads. Your photo doesn't have to be romantic and it would be perfect for a heritage photo!

I hope this batch has whetted your appetite and got you thinking about the weekend, the countdown has well and truly started now!!

Last 3 crop classes on sale tonight

The last three classes for the crop on 29th of this month go on sale tonight at 8pm! There is something for everyone in this selection from bright and colourful, to fresh and clean and through to soft and romantic.
The first class is 'Star of the Show' and the kit includes 5 patterned papers, cardstock, 2 transparencies, a title die-cut, a whole box of buttons and an acrylic stamp. The colours are bright and fun and will work with a variety of different subjects.

The second class is 'Tres Jolie' which translates as 'very pretty' which is exactly how I'd describe this kit. The colours are soft and sophisticated - rich cream, soft salmon and touches of brown and blue. The kit includes 4 double sided patterned papers, cardstock, flowers, a die-cut, a journaling block, a transparency, a whole pack of adhesive pearls and a whole pack of shimmery alphabet stickers. You could choose to go heritage or modern with this kit - either way would look stunning!

The last class of the day is fresh and clean in white, spring greens, yellows and a dash of orange. The kit includes cardstock, 4 double sided patterned papers, a 12x12 sheet of die-cuts, a whole pack of ribbons, a pack of flowers and a pack of glittery chipboard alphas.

There are limited numbers of all three kits and so you'll need to be quick to avoid being disappointed. This is it for the crop classes, there are a lot of them this time so you might need to think about packing a can of Red Bull or something similar to help you make it through the day if (like me) you're doing all of them!! We'll be opening booking for the next crop very soon - watch this space!!

Last classes for crop on sale tomorrow

Just a quickie to let you know that the last classes for our crop on the 29th November will go up tomorrow evening at 8pm. One of the kit items took its time getting here from the US, hence the delay but now we're good to go! I'll get some pics up here before the classes go onto the shop so you can take a peek at the contents and colours to decide if they are for you.

Must dash - I have a million and one things to do before club tonight!!

Second kit for November

I don't know where the days are going but they seem to be flying past at the moment - its always the same when you're busy!! Anyway, here's the second kit for November in my favourite colourway of blue and brown. The kit contains cardstock, 4 double sided patterned papers, a pack of three flocked chipboard titles, templates and a chalk inkpad. I added some cream flowers from my stash but they can easily be made from what is in the kit. There are also a few brads added along with 3d foam pads but thats about it! The chipboard titles have three different words on, mine said 'Laughter', 'Smile' and 'Friends' but there are a couple of other options (Love, Always, Forever and Precious, All Mine, Miracle) so there should be something for everyone and we can swap around at club until we're happy.

My photo is 7" x 5" landscape but you could go slightly bigger or even use a couple of 6" x 4" portrait pics (or more smaller ones) if you prefer. The 'twiddly bits' were cut on the Cricut and for those who come to any of my clubs I'll have the Cricut with me to save time and swearing!!

Amazing Kanye West show!!

We were lucky enough to get tickets to see Kanye West's Glow in the Dark show last night and it was brilliant! It was a real 'show' but without all the usual dancers etc - just him and an incredible digital backdrop that had us mesmerised.

We were up and dancing almost from the start and the atmosphere was great with everyone singing along at the top of their voices. The highlights for me were 'Golddigga' and 'American Boy' - Estelle even joined him on stage! The decibel level went through the roof when she started to sing and Dave was chuffed to bits because thats probably his favourite song.


He sang for over 2 hours and finished with his new track which sounded so great with thousands of us singing along with him of course. We're both feeling it today though, I'm feeling tired and my voice is very croaky, poor Dave is shattered as he's working early shifts this week but it was definitely worth every second!

Free class

I've signed up for an online class which is something I never normally do but this one just grabbed me - and its free!! Its the 'Stories In Hand' class from Jessica Sprague which is all about collecting together stories about your life in one place with 3 separate sections for your roots, your family and yourself. Its all designed to fit into a 6x6 binder that you can either buy or make yourself (perfect for using up your stash).

The class is running over the next 2 weeks and will have loads of prompts to help get the important stories. I'm so looking forward to doing this as I know there are still loads of stories in my family that I haven't even heard never mind scrapped. In many ways this little book could end up being more important to me than my scrapbook albums!

Today is day one and the front cover and inside dividers have been released as .PDFs which you then just print onto A4 plain card and trim to size - the patterned paper background is included!

If you fancy joining me, you can sign up at www.jessicasprague.com - have fun!!

Paper storage trays

I've had quite a few enquiries about 12x12 paper storage trays recently and promised to put a pic on here so that everyone could see what I was talking about. I love these trays as they stand alone without the need for an expensive cabinet or shelving to hold them. Plus being clear they make it very easy to see what you have which is always a good thing! I had a stack of them in my office but someone fell in love with them and bought them then and there and I had to let them go!!

At £5 each they aren't the cheapest storage option available but they are very sturdy and easy on the eye - now who does that remind me of??!!

November kit #1

Our first kit for November uses the colours of the season, rich reds and golds - and lots of them! We are using the gorgeous Core'dinations colour core cardstock and sanding it which highlights the texture of the card and reveals the colour inside which is totally cool!! The kit includes 4 and a half sheets of patterned paper (the half sheet is a long story but better to have half a sheet more eh?), 2 sheets of cardstock, a double pack of Daisy Ds transfer tapes and a template plus of course full step-by-step instructions for the sample page.

You'll also need some 3d foam pads, a gold inkpad (I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Scattered Straw) and some brads. You'll also need to grab a small piece of fine sandpaper or a sanding block - he'll never notice its gone!! I added a couple of red and blue flowers from my stash but there is enough red card to create your own and they aren't essential. Be warned though, there is a little bit of cutting out of patterned paper but what else would you expect?!!

The photo on the sample is a non-standard 5.5" x 7" landscape but you could also opt to use two smaller portrait photos if you prefer.