New blog site and a chance to win stuff!

You may have noticed that things have been a little quiet on here for a little while, that is because we have been building a new website which as well as hosting the shop, also includes a blog. We've been trying it out over the past few weeks and are now ready to migrate over completely. To get things off to a good start we are offering the chance to win one of the brand new Graphic 45 paper pads direct from CHA Summer!

You can find the new blog and all of the other new features we have to offer at www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk and you may even be lucky enough to win free stuff!!

Ooh more new Tim stuff!

Check out these beauties!! Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous have developed a new range of stencils and I'm in love! A lot of the images are recognisable as stamp designs and having them as a stencil opens up so many more opportunities. 

Each stencil is tag shaped with a hole at the top so they can be joined together with a simple book ring or just ribbon. I think I NEED all of these. I'll deffo get pics from the show of these for you!

More Tim Holtz Sizzix!

I think I look forward to Tim's Sizzix releases most of all at show time because I know I'll probably want/need most of what he designs! In this second post featuring his dies I think most of them are on my wish list!

First up is the new storage line, I really like the idea of this tray for the small magnetic movers & shapers dies....

And these boxes look fabulous, there's a different shape for each size of die!

Now for the dies and I love the soldier and lantern - typically they are in separate sets! The bells are a 'must-have'!

I can think of lots of cool ways to use the window, you can't have too many alphas and that star on-the-edge die is fab-u-lous!!

The parcels are fun and I have to have these stars!!

Check out the large bells and I think the silhouettes would make stunning cards!

All in all there's something for everyone in this selection and I can't wait to report back from the show with pics of the samples from the stand!!

Take at peek at these...!

The first peek of Tim Holtz's new dies for Sizzix have just been released - woo hoo! The Summer designs tend to be Halloween and Christmas themed and this year is no exception. I have to admit that I don't tend to get very excited about the Halloween stuff as I know I won't get enough use out of the dies to justify the investment but if you like spooky stuff Tim is the guy to guy to!  

The strip dies include a spooky fence and a very delicate cobweb but I think the new alphabet caught my eye for its versatility. The tattered pennant cuts loads of individual pennants in one go and the alphas fit perfectly too!!

In the large steel rule dies my fav has to be the luminary die. This cuts a 3d shape that you can add a battery tea light inside to create a bespoke decor item. My brain is buzzing with ideas for this one! The other larger dies are also very versatile and I know I'll want those too, these things are addictive! 

Of course that's not all, there are some new Halloween texture fades and also some stamps sized to match some of the new dies. I can't wait to see what the booth looks like with the samples. 

More to come tomorrow!!

Tim Holtz in the UK!

For those who follow Tim's blog you'll know that today was the day that booking opened for his only classes to be held in the UK this year. I was ready bright and early to be sure I was ready to call as soon as the lines opened but I think everyone else had the same idea!! Over 100 engaged lines later I was beginning to think the opportunity was passing me by but suddenly I was through and booking places for myself and two crafty girlfriends to spend the afternoon with his royal Timness!! 

I'm not much for the 'celebrities' of crafting but Tim Holtz is such a talented designer and thoroughly nice guy. I've never known him to be anything but generous with his time and ideas so I'm really pleased to be attending one of his classes next month!  If you were fortunate enough to get tickets too let me know and I'll see you there!

Oooh look!!

I know things have been a bit quiet on here for a little while but the continuing lack of Internet and my crazy schedule has priced more than challenging of late! 

I did come across something this evening that looked very exciting and thought I'd share it, another new venture by Tim Holtz that looks very exciting - fabric! Like many scrapbookers, I have a passion for many crafts and one of my first loves was sewing. This developed into dressmaking and there are more than a few brides who wore my creations on their special day. There have been a few fabric designers who have already crossed over their work into the realm of paper (Amy Butler for K&Co for one) but this is the first time I'm aware of talent crossing back the other way. The idea of Tim's designs being available on fabric has my brain whirring away! How cool would it be to combine the paper and fabric together in a project? Ooh I think I need a lie down!! I for one will be keeping an eye out for this!

Total Papercrafts April kit 2 sample layout

The single page kit for April features 7gypsies papers together with a brown inkpad and a palette knife. Why a palette knife I hear you ask?? Well the reason is we're including a recipe to make your own texture paste!
Just lately it seems like everyone is adding texture pastes, gesso or other art mediums to their layouts. We took the hint and decided to create a layout with a touch of texture. The great thing is you'll never have to buy texture mediums, after you've tried this recipe you'll be set for life! If you're not into messy stuff on your layouts then the design will work just as well without it - you could use the ink pad and a stencil instead!
The kit includes; Cardstock, 4 sheets of double sided patterned paper, ink pad, palette knife and full step by step instructions.
The sample uses a 7" x 5" landscape photo and a 3" x 4" portrait photo. I added a few cream paper flowers and some leaves but you can very easily punch or cut these from the card in the kit.
This is a great kit for every day photos, you could add more smaller pictures or opt for a single larger shot. It's a very adaptable kit in shades of off-white, blue and red.

Bonus design by Pat

Our club organisers are such a talented group of individuals and I love seeing what they produce with their kits. Even if they decide to use the sample design, they usually rustle up something extra from the leftovers. I think the ideas for leftovers are great so I really want to share them with you!!
Pat Couder runs the Bromley club and has a fab eye for design. She posted these two layouts into her blog today using the March double page kit I hope the layout from the scraps gives you a few ideas!!

Win free stuff!!

Fancy winning a pair of earrings by House of Wonderland? Tess has very kindly sent me a pair of 'Love Heart' earrings to give away to one of my customers and so I thought we'd have a bit of fun.
To be in with a chance of winning these (which could make great embellishments too!) all you need to do is post a picture of one of your Total Papercrafts kit layouts or projects on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/totalpapercraft

You can post any kit layout you have created or even a project you've completed using one of our kits. The closing date for posting your layouts is midnight on 30/4/13 and the more layouts you post, the more entries you will have!!

Good luck!!

Bonus designs by Jackie

Our Essex club organiser, Jackie da Silva, has created two great layouts using our kit 1 for April. If you want to create both of these designs you'll need to add an additional sheet of cardstock. It's great to see some alternative options using our kit!

Just for your info, following our move the only Internet access we have right now is via our phones. This means that accessing emails, orders and most other things are proving almost impossible. We have our installation booked for next week but in the meantime please bear with us!

Total Papercrafts kit 1 for April

Our double page kit for April features papers and wooden flourishes from Kaisercraft. I love the gorgeous soft minty green and black colour combo of these papers and the vintage style prints are absolutely up my street!
The sample design uses two 6" x 4" portrait photos - for some reason my photos were bleached out when I took a photo of the finished page. I have no idea why because in real life they are strong images but I think you get the idea from this picture. I added some white paper flowers and leaves to the kit but they aren't essential as you could make flowers from the leftover paper from the kit. I also used a scallop edge punch but don't worry if you don't have one, any punch would do.

The kit includes; Cardstock, 4 sheets of double sided patterned paper, a pack of wooden leaf flourishes, piece of plastic mesh.

We have a fun technique in this kit using mesh as a stencil to create a great patterned background.

Keep an eye out tomorrow for a fab alternate design using exactly the same kit!

Bonus idea from scraps!

Tracey from the Sawbridgeworth club is very creative and always comes up with fab ideas. After making up her sample page with the March kit 2, she started playing with the leftovers and came up with this gorgeous project....
She used one of the new Prima doll stamps and the Prima Lyric papers in our kit to create a gorgeous tag. How stunning would this look added to a card or attached to a special gift?
I love seeing the great stuff created with the leftovers from our kits and sharing the ideas here. If you would like your ideas featured on our blog then please get in touch with a pic and we will share it with the world!!

On the move!

Things have been quiet here in the blog because we are dealing with one of life's big challenges - moving house! This time last year moving was the last thing on our mind, this house was supposed to be our 'forever house' and like many people we said "never again!" as soon as we'd recovered from moving in! Oh how things have changed!!
So we now find ourselves packing our lives and the shop stock into dozens of boxes in advance of a move to Cornwall. We are down sizing so there have been lots of difficult decisions to make regarding our 'stuff' but we are just about there I think. It's been mentally and physically exhausting but there's now a strange echo in the house which means we're nearly done!
So what impact will this have on Total Papercrafts and the kits? In the immediate short term it means that general shop orders won't be shipped for 3-4 weeks. Kits were a bit delayed recently but that has been down to shipping issues from our suppliers to us (more stress I could do without but hey ho!!). The kit subscription will continue as normal, the only difference you may notice is the postmark on your package! Obviously I will not longer be able to teach classes in Kent and Essex but there are things in the pipeline for both clubs. The Essex club is now being run by Jackie da Silva and things are in motion for the Kent group. Evening Masterclasses have now finished but I am still able to teach at weekends. The plan will be to start clubs in and around Cornwall, I love teaching and am already missing it badly!
In the meantime I'm planning something new and exciting which will mean I can still teach but won't need to physically be there. This class will have a kit to go with it which will be available to purchase ahead of time so you can create along with me in real time. You'll need to keep an eye out here for the announcement of when the kits are up on the website to purchase and the date & time of the class. I'm thinking an afternoon at a weekend would be nice, what do you think?
I think that's all my news for now, keep your fingers crossed for us that the move goes ok and I'll catch up with you again when I'm in Pastyland!!!

My Prima Place

Do you know that Prima, the gurus of all things flowery and gorgeous, publish a regular online magazine? This fabulous mag is available to read on your computer or you could choose to print it off if you prefer the feel of paper. I am always blown away by the stunning designs they include and many come with step by step instructions so that you can create something similar at home. What's even better is that this is completely free of charge!! If you'd like to see what I'm talking about you can check it out by clicking on this link -

http://issuu.com/prima-flowers/docs/mppv7?mode=mobile

Total Papercrafts kit 2 for March

Here we go with our second kit for March (after a little wait for the supplies to arrive!) using the Prima Lyric paper line. These papers are crammed full with amazing designs to cut out and layer over one another! Those of you who have known me for a while will know just how much I love fussy cutting out images from paper!!
This kit comes with a gorgeous bottle of spray colour which we use simply to add colour to the base paper. My original idea was to create some paper flowers and spray those too but by the time I'd finished my design I didn't feel this page needed them. If you are a fan of flowers then you have the option to create them , spray them and layer them onto your page!
These papers are full of images of tickets, flowers, lace, chandeliers and much more! The designs work really well with vintage photos and equally well with modern snapshots. The sample design uses a single 6" x 4" landscape photo.
The kit contains; Cardstock, 4 sheets of double sided patterned paper, bottle of colour spray, length of cotton tape.
I have the feeling that this will be a very popular kit so be sure to let your club organiser know that you want this one if you're not a subscriber!

Busy, busy, busy!!

While things may have been a bit quiet here on the blog they've been absolutely the opposite in my life, it's been crazier and busier than ever!! We are very close to completing on the sale of our house which means boxes everywhere and nothing where you're used to it being which is maddening and time consuming to say the least. We had a trip to the hospital for surgery closely followed by a rapid return when infection was suspected. I don't know if I'm coming or going to be honest!
In the middle of all of this domestic madness we have had two new clubs start up. The first is in Sawbridgeworth and is being run by Tracey Camburn. Tracey invited me along to teach the very first club night and it was an absolute pleasure to meet this fab group of ladies. We had such a laugh I found it difficult to believe that it was the first time that they had met one another! The club will meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month - if you're interested then get in touch with me and I'll put you in touch with Tracey!
Our second club kicks off this coming Wednesday 3rd April in Southend-on-Sea. The club is run by Jackie Da Silva who is very well known locally as a papercraft teacher and designer. She has hired a hall and has plenty of capacity for anyone who'd like to join the fun! Jackie will also be previewing the two kits for next month and taking orders, it's great to actually see the papers, colours and themes of kits ahead of time so you know what sort of photos to search for. If you'd like to join in with the Southend-on-Sea club then let me know and I'll connect you with Jackie.
In the meantime I hope everyone is having a lovely Easter break and that you find some time to get creative!

Big sale tomorrow!!

In preparation for moving I need to have a good clear out of stock to reduce what we actually take with us. In order to do this we are going to hold a mega sale tomorrow (Saturday 23rd March) from 12 noon to 2pm.
There will be some serious bargains to be had in order to clear out loads of stock! All are welcome and there will be card making, scrapbooking and general craft deals to grab. First come, first served!!

Total Papercrafts March kit 1

Here we go with the double page kit for March using the Prima Engraver line!  We fell in love with these papers at the trade show a few weeks ago and were practically jumping up and down at just how gorgeous it all was.  If I could have I would have ordered everything so it was really difficult to choose!!  The kit has a 'memories' theme so its very adaptable for any kind of photo.  I used a single 6" x 4" landscape photo because I sometimes want to make a statement in my album based on just one moment - in this case it was this amazing snapshot of my sister and I on holiday together in Las Vegas.  I added a shot of teal to the black, tan and white colour scheme to lift it, its very simple to do something like this with just cardstock and it makes such a difference.  I also added a cool wood mounted Prima stamp to the kit and created fun pieces of 'tape' to embellish the design, its a super easy technique that you can use over again with different colours!

The kit contains; cardstock, 4 sheets of double sided patterned paper, wood stamp, tissue paper

You will also need; double sided adhesive tape, flower centres (crystals/pearls/buttons etc.), black inkpad, water spray

Keep an eye out for our second Prima kit for March coming very soon!!

Kit 1 for March - contents

Life is coming at us at 500 miles an hour just lately which amongst other things has meant I'm running to stand still with the kits! The first delivery of fabby goodness from the Craft, Hobby & Stitch show has just arrived which included this months kits. We have chosen papers from Prima for both kits in March and they are delicious!!
The first kit uses the Engraver line which is one of my favs, rich cream offsets beige and black with vintage designs including postcards, tickets and botanical sketches - yummy!! We have paired the papers with a wood stamp from Prima which is just gorgeous and you get another thing to add into your stash!
Hope you like what you see here - stay tuned for the sample page x

Life Book week 9 - overpainting

I missed out the week 9 class which was due a few weeks ago as I was struggling with it. I'm the type of person who either 'feels' it or doesn't and for quite a while I really wasn't feeling it.
The technique for the class was to take a magazine photo of a face and to gesso over it. You then paint over the faint image to create something that has a more pop-art feel to it. I don't buy fashion magazines so that was my first problem so I had to find something online and print it on a laser printer so it could be altered. The printed image wrinkled like mad when it was adhered to the watercolour paper and so that's when I stopped again! I finally forced myself to sit and finish this in one last push and it was surprisingly easy. I struggle with drawing realistic faces so having a reference image to work off made it very much easier. I could follow the placement of features and use the shadows that were there already. It was simple to create a natural real looking face.
If you find faces hard to draw and/or paint then you might want to give this technique a go. It's very simple and a good starting point for drawing. I'm pleased now I've finished mine, now on to this week's class!

No Kent club this Wednesday

Just a reminder for those that attend the Kent club that we won't be able to run the club this coming Wednesday. Sorry to let you down but hope to see you in a fortnight!

Storing loose journal pages

All of the classes for the Life Book class are created on a single sheet of watercolour paper which will be bound together to make a journal later in the year.  The downside of this is that I had a rapidly growing pile of art that had nowhere to live and it was making me uncomfortable.  I came across this birdcage a few weeks ago and it has been sitting on the side in the lounge just looking prettily empty.  For some reason the Life Book ages came to mind yesterday and I had a flash of inspiration that had me running to see if they would fit.  It was as if they had been designed to go together!!  Its so lovely that they have a proper place to live for the time being and that they can been seen - the colourful pages are quite intriguing and draw people in to have a closer look!  This loveliness now sits in pride of place on our sideboard in the lounge and I have to say it looks pretty gorgeous.
So the moral of this story is that I don't need to buy fancy storage specifically designed for your projects all the time, taking a look around what we already had meant that I found something that suited my needs perfectly and cost me nothing!

Whimsy angel

One of the things I'm enjoying at the moment is creating these whimsy girls in my art journal. They come fairly easy and are a great way for me to warm up into creating. They are also a way for me to express myself, get things down onto paper and enjoy making stuff.
While all of this art journaling malarkey is a bit different from scrapbooking at first glance, it's still 'cutting and sticking', playing with colour and design principles. I think that's why I'm also in my element here, it's coming from the same place. I also think its making me a better scrapbooker, it's inspiring me to create differently using different mediums and materials and that's exciting. So please indulge me through these art journal posts, there's so much fun to be had!!

Life Book week 10 - Heart Connection

This week on the Life Book art journaling course we celebrated the connections of our hearts - everything and everyone that we love and treasure in our lives.  Its hard to see but the background is made up of at least eight different layers and processes.  Within these layers is some really meaningful writing that you can just catch glimpses of is you look carefully.  I played with alcohol and acrylic paint to create amazing interactions, collaged with vintage book pages and sheet music, stamped, dripped, gessoed, stamped some more, added tapes, painted, sprayed - basically you name it, I did a little bit of it.  If you stop and look closely at the background in real life you can see each process but its so subtle it all works together as one.
The key technique for this class was creating little rolled love letters which were then formed into a heart shape.  As usual, I approached mine in a different way to Tam's sample in my construction and was really happy with the result.  Each one of those rolls contains a love letter to someone really special to me, they will never read them but that's not important here, its the intention behind this process that really matters to me.  I loved creating this and each step of the way gave real pleasure.  I added the gorgeous wide May Arts ribbon to tie my heart together - we have this in the shop in both the black/cream and the green/white versions (yummy!!).
Those of you who are eagle-eyed may have noticed that I've missed posting about the week 9 class.  This is because I'm struggling with it a little and haven't really got to grips with the idea behind the techniques.  I'll be working on it over the next few days I'm sure!

Feeling whimsical

I have no idea where this has come from but while playing in my art journal this week these whimsical girls have suddenly appeared! I've been playing with my Neocolor II watercolour crayons (which by the way are in the February kit 2!) and out of the page these girls have emerged.

My art journal is my place to just have fun. I don't teach anything that I create in here and the freedom I have to just mess about is a great way to unwind. I'm discovering all sorts of different mediums and learning how the react with each other. I can highly recommend it! It's also a fab place to stick all your paper scraps, I've created loads of collage backgrounds in this way. If the colours/patterns don't work for you then just paint over with gesso or acrylic paint and work off the texture of the layers that you've created!
I was someone who was told in school that art was about drawing realistic things and so when I couldn't do it I felt that I couldn't do art and wasn't creative. That's such a shame because now I see that's absolutely not true and I CAN do 'proper' art. 'Proper' art is about expressing yourself through colour, shape, feelings and just enjoying the process. There are no critics whose opinions matter, no teachers to please or exams to pass, it's just fun. So I can highly recommend getting out some paint and mixing it up with your patterned papers, stamps and anything else that calls to you and just play! Get whimsical!!

Something a little different.....

I usually post about things that are paper related but today I thought I'd write a bit about something a little different, a fab online shop I have discovered which has a wonderfully eclectic range of products including accessories and clothing.
I stumbled upon House of Wonderland via Facebook after taking part in a networking ladder and something about their quirky style caught my eye. I was looking for something to symbolise my word of the year (my annual word to inspire and motivate) and I was drawn to their range of bespoke accessories. The 'tattoo hearts' grabbed me instantly and I loved that I was able to choose any colour for the heart and any word for the tattoo banner - this was something that would be made for me, a one of a kind piece and that was perfect!  I opted for a traditional and simple red heart with no embellishment but I could have had turquoise tiger stripes or a crystal encrusted heart if I had preferred, the options were only limited by my imagination! To make it even better, this unique piece was only £12 including a silver chain so it would be ready to wear as soon as it arrived.  I was so excited and decided to order a second piece with my sister's word as well.
I know how time consuming it can be to make pieces but hand but I received my order within 3 days and they were wrapped in really pretty paper, perfect to give as a gift as they were.
Of course this is not the only item that House of Wonderland create, they have gorgeous handmade funky fabric bags, retro coin purses, fab jewellery pieces with retro tattoo images, Betty Page earrings and necklaces, made-to-measure high waisted skirts.  In fact they have more than I could even attempt to list and the prices start at crazy low pocket money levels.  If you're after even better deals then check out their Facebook page as there are regular discount days where for example you can nab a bespoke heart like mine for just a tenner!!
With Mother's Day looming it might be worth leaving their website open on your computer, it beats a bunch of wilting daffs any day :o)
You can find House of Wonderland here - its a fun and fresh website to browse through and its crammed with unique and unusual pieces for those of us with personalities to match! LOL!!

PS....I'm not associated with House of Wonderland in any way, I just like to share when I find a great company with great products and great customer service!

Total Papercrafts kit 2 for February

Here we go with the 2nd kit for this month. I was inspired by the art journal page I recently created as part of a course I am taking. The theme was 'The game of Life' and I loved the end result. I got so much great feedback from my page that I decided to create a scrapbook page from it and this is the result.
The idea is to create a game board type background which starts or ends with a single photo of someone. This would be perfect for a photo of you!!
The kits clouded 12 sheets of 7gypsies double sided paper, cardstock, a sheet of butterflies, watercolour paper, 2 watercolour crayons and an envelope for hidden journaling.

The sample uses a 3" x 4" portrait photo.

For those attending my clubs you will be able to use my background and text stamps. You will need a 1" paintbrush and water to activate the crayons and a crystal or brad for the flower centre.

Life Book week 8 - Courage

This week's class was from Jane Davenport and I was itching to get going as week 7 had no class. Instead we had a fab interview with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. If you're a fan of templates and stencils then you probably own something designed by Julie as she produces gorgeous templates for The Crafters Workshop.
Anyway, in the class this week we were shown a very cool and surprisingly simple way to draw a complete body. Jane called it 'unstumpifying' as all to often the end result of figure drawing can be short and stumpy looking! I found it super easy to create a longer leaner looking shape and was really pleased with the end result. The journaling theme for this week was courage and I found a great quote online that resonated with where I am right now in life.
My journal pages ended up very different to the class sample (again) as I started off with a collaged background. I glued down scraps of brown paper, scrapbook papers and even a tag to create the base. I painted out an area with white gesso for the figure which I painted with a combination of Claudine Helmuth acrylics and watercolour crayons. I stamped my journaling using Archival ink and then realised that the layers of the collaged background added a lot to the meaning behind the words - it was just one of those happy accidents that wasn't planned, it just evolved. I enjoyed this process so much I may draw another figure just for the joy of it!
I'm happy with the end result and was glad to have something to get my teeth into this week. I must be one of the few people who actually looks forward to a Monday!!

Prima's Friday freebie

Every Friday you can download a free printable from the Prima Marketing Facebook page. This week they have a fab ATC printable which you can use in so many ways, it's well worth downloading.

To get this and each freebie you just need to 'like' their Facebook page. You'll also get info on the weekly ustream broadcast and competitions.

CHSI trade show review

It's trade show season which is great for seeing all of the new products that will be released over the coming months. It's not so great for getting deliveries arranged from suppliers who are jetting all over the place though!
The Craft, Hobby & Stitch International trade show is held at the NEC Birmingham once a year and showcases a range of suppliers and products. We go every year to order new goodies for the kits and to catch up with friends from the craft industry, it's such a small community we always bump into loads of people we know. This year the show was very significantly larger than I can remember it for quite a few years. We can usually do the show floor twice in the day but this year we barely managed it once!
We visited the show with two of my girlfriends who were so excited to get to see a trade exhibition. They were gutted to hear that Tim Holtz wasn't going to be demoing this time, he's done every other year I've attended so it was such a shame that they missed out. We had a VERY early start but arrived not long after the doors opened. Our first stop was at the workshop registration as we had two places booked for a Fimo class and I really wanted us all to do it. We were lucky and got the extra two places and the girls also got seats in the Sizzix and Spellbinders classes respectively.
The Fimo class was very interesting but not really my cup of tea so I was quite happy when it finished and we could get on with the show. We had a drama right away when Michele's tote went missing from the very first stand we looked at. I quickly found it next to a couple at the end of the aisle but they denied all knowledge of it. Thank goodness we reunited the tote and Michele very quickly and we could all calm down.
There were quite a few gorgeous things to see at the show, the DCVW stand was stunning with paper dresses and even a paper peacock!! We stopped for a make & take at a book publisher where we created fabulous funky pin cushions in vintage tea cups complete with their saucers. Even Dave made one and put us to shame with his crafty skills!
So what did we order? Lots of gorgeous Prima papers for kits, some Teresa Collins, some stunning flowers hand made in Bangalore, Gelli Plates, loads of mixed media book titles and Pan Pastels. We have earmarked loads more to order soon as well, it was overwhelming!
We learned how to create felt and some cute tricks with Stix2 products. We laughed till we began to hurt and walked till our feet nearly dropped off! We were given a personal show by Paula Pascual of her new dies and stamps for Sizzix and got a sneaky peek at the new dies coming in collaboration with Prima. We just about squeezed everything into the day and then we were invited to the Craft Awards. Dave was fabulous and said we should go. The lure of free drinks and nibbles was too much for one member of our little group! We had such a laugh at the awards and bonded with the other guests at our table over a fun quiz with a hamper as a prize. Even the assistance of Google couldn't help us to win - cheaters never win!! I have to confess that I didn't know many of the award winners and was a little surprised that the 'paper range of the year' was won by a company I'd never heard of in light of the stunning scrapbook lines available. I think it was more of a card making line - oh well, I wish them the best and ill be campaigning for a scrapbook line next year.
We were very sensible and took the day off today - we all needed it!! Sore feet and heads full of wonderful new goodies don't make for a good nights sleep. We'll be bouncing back tomorrow!