Art Stamps show

Yesterday I went to the Arts Stamp show at Newbury. My sister in law and I have been going for quite a few years now and have seen it outgrow its original venue at the Corn Exchange and move to Newbury Racecourse. Two years ago it filled both the ground and first floor there, last year it didn't quite fill the first floor, this year it only filled the middle of the first floor with spaces at both ends. And what's missing now is the more arty, quirky, unusual stuff which is a great shame. I managed to spend all my money(!) and am pleased with the things I bought but I wish I'd had the chance to see something a bit different and I hope this isn't going to be the start of a downward spiral for the show.
It was very hot there yesterday and I sympathise with all the traders who are having to stick out the heat for a second day today.

Distress Inks class

Last Saturday I took a class at Kraft Crazy at Tidworth on using distress inks. I'd tried to make cards and ATCs which used the inks in a variety of ways to get a variety of looks. I think people often think brown and grungy when they think of distress inks and though the inks are very good for that sort of look, they are so much more versatile. Everyone made 3 cards and 2 ATCs so it was quite a rush but people seemed to enjoy it so I hope they will carry on to use the inks for themselves - they are definitely one of my favourite products. Here's the pics of my samples:

ATCs

Two more ATCs made from the distress ink backgrounds I was playing around with last week. Papers all cut to size for my class on Saturday, just a few more bits and pieces to clear up and I can go back to work tomorrow!

Odds & Ends

On Thursday I go back to work after a couple of weeks leave but as usual I don't feel either as though I've achieved very much, nor that I've had a rest! I've sorted out drawers and the rest of my craft stuff, I've done quite a few chores, I've crossed lots of items off a to-do list but there still seems a lot left on the list including several biggies that I never got to.

Anyway on Saturday I am taking another class at Kraft Crazy in Tidworth. This one is on distress inks so I have been busy making samples ready and tomorrow I've got to sort out all the papers etc. that I need. I've also prepared the sample for the binder that we're going to decorate in my August class so it's a relief to have that done ready.

My sister in law came and stayed for a couple of days last week and we spent quite a bit of time playing especially with distress inks and with a pack of grungeboard that she kindly brought me. Some of the pieces got turned into a few cards and ATCs so I have something to show after all.

This card is for my brother's birthday at the end of the month but he certainly won't be looking here! And I was especially pleased with this second card.

However, I do wonder when I will ever get back to working with fabric and stitches.....

Drawers again

Susan asked in a comment where I got my drawers from. They come from Storage 4 Crafts and the service was excellent. They are called Double Stacker kits and they come in various combinations of drawers. They are well made and though I hate flat packed furniture I actually managed to put these together myself with very little difficulty. I can highly recommend both the drawers and the website.

Posh Drawers!

Aren't my new drawers fabulous! My craft room doubles as the dining end of my living room, so when craft stuff threatens to take over my whole living space looks messy. I bought one of these units last September and quickly figured that I could fit 3 of them in where I currently had a low blanket box. It took a while to save for 2 more units but I finally got them last week and have spent most of the past week arranging and rearranging. Everything had a knock on effect so if I moved some stuff into a drawer I ended up having to sort out the cupboard that that stuff had come from. I now have fewer bits of storage all over the place but I doubt that will last long. I just have 2 drawers still empty (and they're the shallow 1 inch ones) and I've bought yet more stuff this week. I'm beginning to think this craft obsession is a life threatening affliction!

And I've been so busy sorting and tidying on top of all the usual work, house, garden chores that I haven't had time to do any actual creating. Fabric and stitching haven't had a look in for what feels like months. The Take it Further challenge has been abandoned I'm ashamed to say and I've only done the odd bit of stamping. I did make this which was quite fun and it's being displayed on top of the posh drawers for the moment: