A fab weekend in Bath!

We've just come back from an amazing long weekend in Bath to celebrate our anniversary - and it was fab! I know that the 'stay-cation' is the 'in' thing to do in the current economic climate and for good reason, we have some beautiful places to visit right here in the UK.

Bath is a stunning city with plenty to see and do. We did all the tourist hot-spots including Bath Abbey, the Roman Baths (which are way better to visit than when I went as a kid!!), afternoon tea at The Pump Rooms and Royal Crescent. On the drive into Bath we tuned into local radio and heard about a competition for local school children to design a dish for Jamie Oliver's Italian in Bath - that was it, I was straight onto my iPhone to search for where the restaurant was and we added it to our mental 'to-do' list. We decided to go on Saturday night despite knowing that we'd probably have to queue for ages but we were pleasantly surprised. Despite it being a very busy evening we only waited about 10 mins before we were able to get a drink at the bar. Our meal was fabulous - I can highly recommend the Black Truffle Tagliatelle, it was absolute heaven on a plate!! The whole evening was wonderful and romantic - just what we had hoped for as we celebrated 3 years together and sipped some very nice champagne!

We decided to undo some of the naughtiness of Saturday's meal by spending Sunday at the Spa in Bath. Dave was so keen for us to go and chill out at this spa as it had an open air rooftop pool and we were both blown away by it! The view was incredible as we swam in the steaming hot spring water looking at the city through the glass panels surrounding us -simply fantastic!

I came back to earth with a bump as I found over 300 emails waiting for me when I got home but I am still so chilled out that I don't really mind. If you fancy a romantic break that won't damage your wallet then I can't praise Bath highly enough!!

More crop classes on sale tomorrow evening!

We have another couple of crop classes to tempt everyone with tomorrow evening and these are amongst my faves so far....



Birds of a Feather
When Claire chose this gorgeous paper collection for her class I fell in love with it right away! Each paper is double sided with patterned both sides and has a lovely chalky softness to it. Claire is adding the must-have accessory to this kit - a little bird!! As well as cardstock, the kit includes 4 patterned papers, a 12x12 sheet of diecuts and a whole pack of BasicGrey ribbons - I'm lusting after this kit already!!

A Squeeze of Lime
You know how a squeeze of lime can add a certain punch to a meal or drink? Well, this class has a big squeeze of lime coloured papers to add a hit of something special!! Tempered by black accents, this class is cool and sophisticated.
The kit includes cardstock, 3 double sided patterned papers, a whole pack of Thickers alphabet stickers and a whole pack of Prima black crystal swirls.

We will have additional class kits for both of these classes and I'll release these after the classroom places have sold out. Both of these will go on sale at 8pm tomorrow evening so make sure you book your place on the computer!!

Kit 1 for April

Things have settled back down to normal now and its as if Jack hadn't even been away - the decibel level has gone back up as we are subjected to Guitar Hero once again and I'm having to wade my way into his bedroom! Oh well, this time last week I was missing him so I can't complain!!

I've been working on the first of the April subscription kits for a few days now and it seems to have taken an age, mainly because I've had to stop and wait for the gorgeous glitter glue to dry at each stage. Here's the finished double page......

The kit includes 4 cardstock, 3 double sided patterned papers, a 12x12 set of tags, titles and borders, paper templates and a bottle of Stickles glitter glue. I used three 6" x 4" landscape photos - one of which will need to be cut so you might want to choose carefully in order that you don't slice through someone's head!!

The scan doesn't show it up so well but the patterned papers are highlighted with glitter glue to create your very own unique glittered design. The finished result is very sparkly and yet still subtle so perfect for all sorts of different themes of photos. As you can imagine, having two new kittens means I've taken loads of photos so I just had to use some of Felix with these black and white papers. But just because I've used cat photos doesn't mean that you have to!

You will need a black inkpad, a swirl stamp (for the designs in the corners) and some 3d foam pads for this design but nothing else apart from your usual basic toolkit. I will have my stamp at club for those who are coming along but it may take a while for one stamp to be used by everyone now that all of the clubs have grown so much, so it might be an idea to have a rummage through your stash and see what you have!

Happy Mother's day!!

How was your Mother's day? I got my Jack back in one piece which was the best present ever!! He had a fab time in Germany visiting Cologne, Munster and Hamelin as well as taking part in loads of different activities. He seems to have grown again over the past week both in height and in maturity, these trips are great for encouraging young people to be confident and independant and I am so glad that he went (but even happier to have him back again!!). He survived the onslaught of the German girls unscathed but had a close encounter with one of the girls from the Grammar school that went from here - one innocent milestone with girls has been reached!

Dave's Mum and I were well and truly spoiled today as we were taken out to lunch at one of my favourite restaurants. It was a great excuse to wear the new dress Dave had picked out for me - not that I need many excuses to put on a posh frock! We went for a walk along the beach in the late afternoon sunshine and it almost felt like summer as we queued up at Rossi's for ice cream, I didn't realise how much I crave the sun on my bones. Hopefully this warm spell will last.......

Enjoy the rest of Mother's Day!!

Happy St Patrick's day!!

Here's wishing everyone a very happy St Patrick's day. My paternal Grandmother was Irish so I can make a claim to celebrating today and I'm certainly going to!! One of the best Paddy's days I've ever had was spent in San Diego - everyone was wearing something green except me and a very nice lady reached over and pinched me on the train. Apparently the rules are that you need to wear something green or you'll be pinched but no-one told me!! That got a conversation started and before I knew it I was updated with the best places to party that night - we had a blast!!
Things will be a bit quieter this year - I'm less of a party animal these days but as Jack is away we may as well celebrate. Hope you have a great night!

Off to Germany

Tomorrow morning (obscenely early!) our Jack is off to Germany for the return leg of his exchange trip. He is all packed and ready to go despite a last minute panic when we realised that his EHIC had expired but thankfully the replacement card came through in double quick time! So at 3.30am I'll be waving him off for a week and have to admit to being a little apprehensive about it. I have no concerns about Jack as he is usually extremely well mannered (I've probably jinxed that now) but he'll be staying with the family of the young lady who we found in a compromising position with another German student when they stayed with us. I only hope that she behaves differently with her family around her!
They have a full agenda including a day in school in Germany, a trip following in the steps of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a day in Cologne and a visit to a chocolate factory. It sounds like they will have a fab time and Jack is under orders to take loads of photos.
I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that there are actually two 3.30's in a day - I find it hard to see two 8 o'clocks!!!

Kit 2 for March

Tonight's crop classes once again sold out in minutes, its fantastic but I only hope that lots got what they wanted! Now that the crop class side of things has been done for today I can get the pic of the second kit for this month up...........

This single page kit uses some gorgeous double sided papers from Fancy Pants together with a pack of stunning matching rub-ons, although it may look complex the page isn't really (honest!!). You'll need a brown inkpad and loads of 3d foam pads for this one - I also used two 2.75" x 6" photos (cropped down from 6" x 4" potrait pics) but you could use a single larger photo up to about 5" x 7" landscape or portrait. I think this one would look fabulous with a heritage photo on it, its a really adaptable page for all sorts of different photo themes.

More crop classes being released this week

The two classes we released at the weekend sold out very quickly as I suspected that they might! We have another two up for sale on Thursday evening at 8pm and once again the number of kits is very limited so grab what you want quickly........

Butterflies and Backstitch
No need to worry, there's no actual sewing involved in this class but the chipboard embellishments included in the kit have a vintage sewing pattern feel to them - add to that a sheet of die-cut butterflies and you can see where we got this title from! The kit contains cardstock, 3 flat patterned papers, 1 embossed paper and 1 sheet of die-cut paper plus a whole box of chipboard alphabets and embellishments.

Lazy Daisy

Warm mustard yellow and rich dark chocolate brown combine with pale cream in this gorgeous kit with daisy embellishments. The kit includes cardstock, 3 double sided patterned papers, brown velvet laser-cut trim, a whole pack of alphabet stickers and a whole pack of co-ordinating flowers and brads.

I have a feeling more kits will be arriving here very soon so watch this space.....!

We have a new member of our Kent club!!

After waiting nearly 2 weeks over her due date, Sarah from our Kent scrapbooking club has given birth to a baby girl! All the girls at club have been waiting for news of how Sarah was doing so I thought I'd let you all know. After being admitted for an induction late on Monday she went into labour on her own during the night and delivered a bouncing 9lb 1oz little girl very quickly thereafter. Stuart and Sarah have yet to decide on a name for their new arrival but Sarah told me that she is looking forward to bringing her along to club so we can have a cuddle!

What with Sarah's new baby at the Kent club and Sharon's impending delivery at our Essex club, it feels like there's a baby boom going on. I'm suppressing my clucky instincts for the time being and concentrating on our impending wedding!!

Loads of love to Sarah and the baby - here's hoping you have a good sleeper!! x x x x

First kit page for March

The first kit for March is in tones of blues and green, a very easy-to-use combination of colours and the patterned papers will work with all sorts of photo themes. As this is a double page kit it contains three sheets of cardstock, 2 navy and one green along with 4 patterned papers, a 12"x5" sheet of word stickers and a whole pack of Fancy Pants Big Board chipboard swirls. The six sheets of die-cut chipboard in the pack offer masses to play with - you'll be spoilt for choice!!
The sample page uses a navy inkpad (I used Memories 'Shadow Gray') and the newer the better as the chipboard was inked to produce a deep colour and a juicy new inkpad makes it quicker and easier. I made the swirls glossy using clear embossing powder and a heat gun but you could also use Glossy Accents or similar and just set them aside until they dry (or leave them matte!).
I used three 6"x4" portrait photos along with a 4.5"x4.5" square. Throw some 3d foam pads into your bag and some sandpaper and you're good to go!
We have now completely sold out of our subscription kits but we are running a waiting list if you are interested, just email to be added and we'll be in touch.