Last day to vote!

There is only one more day to vote about the kits and so far only a very small proportion of those of you who get them have registered your preference. Have your say and place your vote by clicking on the poll at the top right of the page.

New gorgeousness from Prima

I've spent a happy hour or so trawling through the new product releases at CHA and have to say that as usual Prima had me drooling over their wares! The stand-outs for me have to be the gorgeous new stitched papers which are oh-so delicate and pretty. I'm also loving the new artistry tins of textured vintage flowers in so many different styles they are very likely to have my bank manager clutching his chest!! There are more tubes of gorgeous flowers in the 'Essentials' range (and they are essentials!) along with a great mix of new papers. I also have my eye on the very pretty new butterflies......off to place my order!

The new BG bling!!

Mmmmm, mmmm, mmmm - these are just delicious!! Like a jackdaw I am attracted to sparkly things, poor Dave blanches whenever we pass a jewellery store!! These are the new crystals from BasicGrey being released at CHA right now. There are more in the range including sheets of individual crystals and they come in a gorgeous selection of colours. I think these will look stunning on the new BG papers, we might have to have these come to live with us as well!!

New CHA BasicGrey releases

With CHA in full flow right now, the news about all of the new product releases is starting to trickle out and it looks exciting stuff! Everyone I know wants to know what BasicGrey have in store for us and these four new lines look to have something for everyone. Marrakesh, Porcelain, Wisteria and Lime Rickey are sure to be eagerly awaited when they hit the shops some time in March. Wisteria and Porcelain have caught my eye - those colours are delicious!!

The papers are double sided and there are loads of yummy embellishments including stamps, rub-ons and brads. The most exciting news is about the stunning new BG crystal shapes that are on their way - I think I might need to offer a home to some of those!

The end of Simple Scrapbooks......

Last week the publishers of Simple Scrapbooks magazine announced that the May/June issue for this year will be their last. Apparently there just wasn't enough advertising around to keep both Simple Scrapbooks and Creating Keepsakes (also published by them) in print. It looks like Creating Keepsakes will be changing to accomodate some of the Simple Scrapbooks content and some of the staff will be moving over. Its a bit sad because they were very different mags and had a very distinct appeal - we stock them both and don't often send them out together.

The good news is that the February issue of Creating Keepsakes was delivered today along with the Feb/March issue of Digital Scrapbooking. They both look really fab, I was very impressed with the Digi Scrapbooking mag despite not being a digi scrapper myself. There were loads of step-by-step tutorials for enhancing your photos which is something I certainly need to get better at! If you are into digi scrapping or like playing in Photoshop you might want out check out this site http://www.obsidiandawn.com/ where you can download masses of gorgeous brushes and tutorials for FREE!!

I'd like to wish all the best to the staff and contributors of Simple Scrapbooks magazine, I'm sure they'll go on to do even more amazing things in the future!

Dig out your twin set!

We ran a class at the last crop which included gorgeous adhesive pearls and so many people loved the pearls that we sold out of them in minutes! Pearls add a classic and elegant touch to scrapbooks and these ones are so easy to use. I've had another delivery of these pearls and as well as the standard cream we have black, blue, pink and gold. With four long strips of pearls in each pack for only £1.99, some of these might have to come and live with me!!

Pearls don't have to be fuddy-duddy, they can be quite subtle as on this sample page above - I added an edging of pearls to the curved paper and small clusters in the centres of the flowers for a pretty effect. You can find these pearls on our shop site at www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk and the twin set is optional!!

Happy Birthday Jack!!

Today is my baby's birthday! Apparently its not cool to describe a 14 year old as your baby but it really does feel like only yesterday that I was holding him in my arms. I'm struggling to cope with the fact that he is taller than I am and has such a deep voice but these are my issues. He's becoming such a great guy and I am really, really proud of the man he is growing into.

He did very well on the present front and we are fully Rock Banded up now, I think I'd better invest in some ear plugs!! Dave and I got him driving lessons at Brands Hatch race circuit - they have a driving course specially for teens which has to be the coolest thing ever. What is sad is that I know LJ would have absolutely loved to do this with Jack but yet again phone and text messages are going unanswered and the kids are missing out on some amazing experiences.

Jack will have another present when he gets home today and its a complete surprise - tickets to spend the Summer in Canada with my sister and her family! He is very close to my sister and has loved our trips to stay with them over the years but this time he is old enough to travel on his own. He has been very keen to go back and has been saving money from helping his Grandad Tim with his paper round! He did so well and was so disciplined that his Dad and I topped up his fund and he'll have the tickets tonight!! Looks like its going to be an exciting day!