Stitch & Creative Crafts, Braintree

I went along to this Show today, luckily I won 2 tickets to it - my grateful thanks to Sarah of urbanmum.org - pure chance I saw the opportunity and amazed to find I'd won something.  So a phone call last night to a friend, do you want to come with me, and we met up (eventually) at the venue.
Its a Show heavily on the cardmaking side of things, but I'd not been to one of these types of Shows in a long time.  So what's the first thing bought.... my friend treated me to a beautiful purple crocheted shawl, which I shall treasure.  We drooled at the stand of buttons, so tempting, resisted, purely because both of us are trying really hard to be sensible and not buy things, well, just because.... cough, so that's why I've got a pack of paper heart shaped doilies!!  We had another drool at the ribbon stand, roll after roll, dragged each other away from the bead stands.  Trouble is we love these toooo much, and my friend kept saying, I'm trying to downsize my stash!!! So we were relatively sensible, I bought a little stand for my Mighty Bright light, which gives it more stability, and has a magnet in the base, so I'm hoping it will sit on my sewing machine, its not a whizz bang thing so I don't think the magnet near by is an issue.  And the last purchase, but the first thing seen, paper of course.  What me?  Paper?  One of those fill a box with whatever and as much paper as can be crammed in.  Very happy bunny.
Of course now the issue is - fitting new purchases into cupboards.... sigh.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!  In my home county of Norfolk, UK, Valentines Day presents were for children - knock at the door, open it no-one there but presents on the doorstep.  Nothing expensive, a colouring book, a bar of choccy.  I don't know if the tradition lives on, certainly it was part of my childhood, but you can read about Jack Valentine here. As you can see the pic is of one of my obsessions - heart shaped buttons.  Sometime back I thought I needed a motif, to make decorative items, "pretties" and although I love spirals, and have books about their symbolic meaning and use, I decided to go with hearts, as a more easily recognised and universal symbol.  And its so much easier to find heart shaped embellishments, hence the big box of buttons!!!  I've made quite a few pieces based on hearts and sold several of them, so it was a good choice.  Pop along to my website for a look.
Saturday brought information about a postcard exhibiting opportunity, locally - needed by the end of Feb, so better get on with it!  Wonder if there's a resurgence in handmade postcards.  Making them and sending 'naked' through the post has been around for a great many years now - however the Embroiderers' Guild have a project making Olympic postcards, and there are other postcard projects around.  And yes I have made heart postcards.... I could make some more, after all, I have all these buttons to use up!!!

Paper Playing and Paperwork!

This is a piece of play, what I usually refer to as a "pretty" - because it is!!! Another variation of my stitch/cut/stitch using some new papers. This paper has a coloured core - not all papers do, especially the heavier weight, lots give a white edge when torn - which I do like for some projects, but its nice to have colour through. I think I will play some more with this idea.

But for now I will be form filling, assembling photos for submission. I have one deadline next week, and one the following week. Into the second month of the year and opportunities are beginning to emerge. Last week I was approached for something, but the outlay to me would be huge and certainly not worth the return, heck there may not even be a return!!! But then I was given info on a project, which has almost pocket money outlay, so I think I will give that a go. I will tell/show you more if and when I join in - deadline for that one is April. And I've also signed up for a half day Business Development workshop in March, no idea what I've let myself in for!  Actually what have they let themselves in for allowing me to join in!  I need to crank up a gear - so far managed to 'lose' two days this week, dunno where they are, hiding away with Inspiration and Enthusiasm.  And who is this Bad Fairy who comes in covers my work space with loads of stuff, which means several hours wasted putting it away before I can start, only to find next day something else has appeared in the space.