Just One More Sleep....

...'till the mammoth journey to Australia begins! I'm rather excited, but whenever I'm going any place further than my back door I tend to worry that I've forgotten anything, until the age old phrase that my mum says jumps into my mind..." As long as you've got your passport, tickets and bank card - you can buy everything else"...and that settles me for a while, well at least until I take another breath.

Just before I turn off my laptop for the next two weeks, I wanted to share a few cards with you that I have been prepping for the show in Brisbane. I don't know whether I'll be bringing them back with me, so I have taken pictures of them now.

For the cards and scrapbook pages - I know, me - a scrapbook page!) I have used the Papermania Touch of Teal and Touch of Pink kits. Can you guess which one is which?

On this card I have used the Touch of Teal kit, and added soome black organza ribbon and brads.

I've kept this card very simple and only added brads to the kit.

I really enjoyed creating this scrapbook page. The Statue of liberty is one of my most favourite monuments, and I thought these black and white photographs worked well on the teal colour scheme. the skyline was vut from my quickutz Silhouette SD. LOVIN' that machine!

This one is from the Touch of Pink Kit (you don't say!) I added some Anita's black grossgrain ribbon, and the greeting is from the Clare Curd Ssignature Range Sentiments Stamp Set. I created the black scalloped edge by using small punched circles.

I think this card shows the beautiful papers included within the pack, which also includes double sided cardstock. Also there are beautiful stickers and other embellishments. I've added a greeting from the CCSR sentiments stamp set, which finishes the card off nicely.

The main rose embellishment on this card was cut from a gorgeous sheet of patterned cardstock, and I decoupaged using silicone glue. The greeting is from the Daisy and Dandelion Message Set.

My final offering to you tonight is this scrapbook page, which again I had so much fun putting together. Who would have thought it eh? The gorgeous frame around the photograph was cut from...yes, you guessed it - the Silhouette SD! The cute lettering is all included within the lit, and I tarted up the lettering with Anit's 3D clear gloss. I love that stuff! it really brings out the glitter already present on the letters.

Anyhoo, I'd better spend some time with my much neglected but cherished Husband. Have a wonderful couple of weeks, and hopefully I will get to blog over in Oz!

Stay safe and keep well!

Love, Clare x

Shop 'till you Drop!

How much can a girl need for a trip!

I mean, it's not like I never go anywhere, and just sit in my jogger bottoms and an old t-shirt in the house on a daily basis (okay, well it is like that, but still). I have shopped for England today, seriously, if it was an Olympic sport, the British Olympic Committe could do worse than to put me on their team.

Today I have managed to get my hands on: three pairs of trousers/cropped trousers, about three tops, a pair of smart flip floppy sandals, a small bag, a flight bag, a passport holder, a travel document holder, numerous toiletries, including pro plus (positively essential when travelling to the other side of the world), travel sized shampoo, conditioner, shower gel (for usage whilst mid travel) travel insurance, plug adaptor, a new lens cap and filter for my camera (my old one broke), ....and I just know there is more but I just can't think!

Whilst shopping, a very embarrassing thing happened too. I was stood, minding my own business choosing a shower gel from a shelf in Boots, when the whole (top) shelf collapsed and thus caused a cascade of shower gels to fall at my feel. I stood there, not quite knowing what to do, trying to hold the shelf up whilst still grasping for dear life onto the shower gel of choice. The racket that that the shower gels falling to the floor made brought a good few people to my aid, luckily one being an assistant who swooped into action, and a number of kind hearted people who just stopped what they were doing to come and help. It's kind gestures such as these that restore my faith in the Human Race. And a number of people gathered around also helps to disguise who was the guilty party.

Anyhoo, off to have a little relax after all that excitement before I go to bed. There is a new challenge tomorrow on the Stampin' Chic blog, so why not have a look and see if it takes your fancy?

Love, Clare x

Do You Live in a Land Down Under?

Then as the song says " you'd better run, you'd better take cover!"

What, I hear you ask are you talking about - have you gone completely Bodmin (can you tell I'm watching my Doc Martin DVD as I type this?)

I have had the most wonderful honour bestowed upon me, and I'm bursting with excitement and trepidation.

Do Crafts are starting to supply all their wonderful products to Australia, and I've been asked go to Australia and, amongst other things, demonstrate at the Brisbane Scrapbook and Papercrafts Expo! How exciting is that!!! This job sometimes takes up all my time, but I wouldn't have it any other way, and I thank my lucky stars to be doing a job that I love.

I fly out next Thursday and arrive in Sydney on Saturday, and then I have three days of sight seeing. apparently the hotel is right by Sydney harbour! Then the work begins, when a couple of my colleagues will join me and we travel to Brisbane.

Got lots to sort out for the trip, including card samples for the booth and then there's sorting out my luggage (I need new) and ordering dollars etc.

See you later!

Love, Clare x

Doc Martin, I presume?

Well, what a lovely week it's been! I'm on the last day of a lovely week's holiday, we went down to Cornwall and stayed in a caravan in Perranporth, which was lovely, although windy at times (being on top of a hill by the sea in a glorified tin can)There were moments when I preyed the chains holding down the caravan would hold on, or we would have flying through the air like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz.

Of course, David and Joesph were wax lyrical about the fact that Saturday was definitely the best day weather wise, how they'd sat on the beach and built sandcastles and generally frolicked. I missed that day of the holiday, being at the Glitter Pot, but I also had a wonderful day, covered in craft goodies (and maybe taking a few home with me too ;).

We packed in quite a lot over the week, and mostly the weather was kind to us, I only think it spotted down with rain for about ten minutes once, and that can't be bad for a British Holiday in May. However, without a doubt in my mind, the highlight - the shining moment for me was visiting the sleepy, but utterly stunning little by the sea village of Post Isaac. I have wanted to visit this part of Cornwall for some time now, and I got my chance. In fact, sad as it may sound for a village that's about the size of a football field, with only a scattering of quaint little boutiques and nick nacky stores, I visited twice - once with David and Joseph - and again on my own (I knew David couldn't hold back that look of boredom for a second time).

The Harbour at Port Isaac

Look at that gorgeous sea!

So why was there a uncontrollable magnetising force to visit this unspoilt sea side haven, you may ask? well apart for it being utterly beautiful etc etc, it's also where one of my favourite programmes of all time - Doc Martin is filmed. And Guess What. They were there. Filming. While we were there. OMG.

Doc Martins House/Surgery

Hellooo Doc, are you there?

View from Doc Martins Surgery (I know he's not real, but he's a lucky beggar all the same.)

Okay, so I didn't get to see anything, as they were filming inside at the rear of Miss Glasson's house, but we could see the filming lights and we heard them shout 'CUT!' And I didn't get to see Martin Clunes (who, by the way I find dead droppingly gorgeous as the Doc), but just the thought that he may have walked round the corner and given me one of his grumpy looks was enough for me. That's probably why (well, okay - it IS) the reason I went back; to try and catch a glimpse of the Doc in the flesh so to speak, and maybe even have a photograph with him, and a bit of a chat...but when I went on the second visit, even thought the weather was better than the first day there, there were no signs of filming movement at all.

'Cup Cakes' Cafe

We had lunch in a gorgeous little cafe called 'Cup Cakes', which we found tucked down a windy little side street. and it was heaven just walking around the narrow paths and streets, taking in the laid back lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the tourist traps. To say this place is on TV, it was surprisingly quiet - however, this is the start of the summer season, and I can imagine it a lot busier at the height of summer.

It really made my holiday to visit Port Isaac (can you tell?), and I can't seem to get the memory of it out of my head. You know when you have a impression of a place, but when you get there, you're let down, well, this was completely the opposite for me. If you ever do get the chance to visit, please do take it- you will not be disappointed. I will definitely be visiting again, and maybe next time I'll get a chance to meet the Doc and touch him - for real (I think I've lost it!).

Be back later - hope you enjoyed looking a the photos!

Love, Clare x

Fun at the Glitter Pot.

Things certainly do sparkle at the Glitter Pot!

I had such a great day at the Glitter Pot today! I arrived nice and early, just so I would have a chance to have a looky-looky around. I visited the Gllitter Pot a couple of years ago, and it was a gem of a shop then, but since they have expended the shop by about two thirds and now - well, it's the Crown Jewels!

My demo table was in between kay Carley and Stamping Caz! Wow! What an honour. After I'd set up I had a good look around and I couldn't wait until I could get out my purse and spend, spend, spend! Then Paula Pascual arrived, and it was really lovely to see her again. Julie Hickey was also demoing at the event, and she was truely an inspiration to me when I was new to crafting and now, so it was lovely to be working along side one of my crafting idols.

The day was very busy, and it was lovely to have a good old natter about all things crafty and hopefully pass on some tips and little tricks. I was demoing the Daisy and Dandelion Stamps which are exclusive to the Glitter Pot, and they proved very popular!

This is one of the cards that I created using the exclusive stamps. I've simply masked the centre rabbit image, and then stamped dandelion and bubbles to overlap. When the mask is removed it appears that the are standing behind the rabbit. As a Meerkat would say... "Simples"!

The paper and velvet spotted cardstock is Doodlebug.

Well, better get back to watching Dodgeball, and then get some shut eye for tomorrows demos. Thanks for visiting, have a great Sunday and Bank Holiday!

love, Clare x

stampin' Chic Colour Challenge #3 Turquoise and Yellow

Well, here is my offering for the Colour Challenge over on the Stampin' Chic Blog! it was Sheila and Kath's turn to set the challenge this week, and again as lots of the other DT members have said, yellow is not a colour I would normally reach for, but knowing Sheila very well, she LOVES yellow. She even has a yellow car (which is super easy to spot in a car park, making it a doddle to locate your car!) I created the main image using my new crafting bestest friend - The Quickutz Silhouette SD. I cut out the branch from one of the files, and added the stamped flowers which are from the flower border stamp from the Doodles Stamp Set. I also cut the tab with the Silhouette, it's so great how you can resize things to get them just the right size for a greeting or anything! The greeting of course is from the Sentiments Set. I finished the flowers off with some Anita's 3d Clear Gloss, my other crafting best friend.

Well, I hope you like it, I really enjoyed making this one too! Thanks for a great challenge also Sheila and Kath, I shall certainly be using this combination again!

Supplies: Papers: Papermania Clare Curd Signature Range 'the Big One'. Doodlebug Bumblebee la fleur, Core'dinations Cardstock in white and aqua; Stamps and Ink: Papermania Clare Curd Signature Range Doodles and Sentiments, Colorbox Amber clay chalk ink; Embellishments: branch and tab from Quickutz Silhouette SD electronic Die Cutter, Doodlebug Swimming Pool Boutique Trims.

Love, Clare x

What's Going On!

I really can't believe it's been so long since I last posted, so much has happened since then. I have had my computer sorted (Domestic and General came up trumps and gave me the contact details of another repairer who was able to sort it out over the phone), and off I went to QVC and back home again on Friday for the Papermania hour which was tiring but great fun!

Now I'm busy prepping for the demo weekend at the Glitter Pot! I'm so looking forward to it I can't tell you. I'll get to see Paula Pascual again (even though I saw her on Friday!), and I'll get to shop at one of the most amazing Craft stores in the UK! I'll be demonstrating (amongst other things) an exclusive Daisy and Dandelion stamp set, only available at the Glitter Pot (photo to follow), as well as my range of stamps and the Forever Friends Range. It would be really great if you could come along, and do say hello if you can make it!

I've also got to do my cards for Clare's Corner of the Do Crafts Creativity! Magazine and also the workshop using the fantastic new Quickutz Silhouette SD. I've had a bit of a play with this little baby, and I absolutely love it! I could fill a magazine just with this machine!

Anyhoo, better get on. Hope you're all well and enjoying this gorgeous weather we're having.

Love, Clare x

Unbelieveable Service...

And not in a good way! I actually can't believe what I've just heard, and even though I have oodles of work to get through, I have to take a minute to catch my breath and tell someone what my ears can't believe. David's not answering his phone at work, so you're going to be my sound board I'm afraid.

I have a problem with the disk drive on my laptop. cut a long story short, not working. I rang Domestic and General to get it fixed (I have a policy with them) and they directed me to a repair company. I've just rang them and they said that would be 4-5 WEEKS before I get my laptop back, most of that being bureaucracy and admin from what I can work out. How ridiculous! I just can't believe it. I'm paying £100 per year for the cover of my laptop (and please don't tell me I've been ripped off on that count too, 'cos I just couldn't handle it at the moment), only to be told that I'm to be without the one thing that I need everyday, and when I don't have it I feel like I've lost a child.

So, the claim will have to wait a couple of weeks because I have some work to do which I desperately need my laptop for, and then I'm going to have to wave it goodbye, tearfully at the door whilst it goes on its holiday.

Feel better for that. Still gobsmacked though!

Love, Clare x

It's sooo Addictive!

Just joined Twitter, and boy it's addictive. I'm doing stuff around the house thinking "Ooo, I could put this on Twitter". Sad and mad but true.

I read on some newspaper somewhere that Phillip Schofield Tweets (or whatever it's called), and I think he's great (even had a bit of a thing for him when I was a teenager, saw him at a nightclub in Barnsley where he was doing an appearance circa 1988, and got his autograph...aaah, those were the days), AND he has a thing for Stationery - wonder whether he'd be interested in rubber stamps of the crafting kind?

Just in case he reads this... Phillip, when I said I had a thing for you when I was a teenager, doesn't mean you haven't matured like a good wine with age. You've still got it!

Have a great day, whatever you're doing. Love, Clare x

I Did It...I Actually Worked it Out!

It's taken me about 6 hours, with a lot of head scratching and brow furrowing, but I've actually done it!

I wasn't going to mention anything for a while, but then went to see whether Becks Fagg had updated her blog (which she has) and found that she'd spilled the beans! When I was down in Dorset, I was given a brand spanking new Quickutz Silhouette SD which had literally just arrived in the warehouse and was still surrering from Travel sickness - the poor thing. Do Crafts are now the proud exclusive distributors of Quickutz products on the UK (how exciting!!!). I'm hopfully going to be doing a piece for the July issue of the Do Crafts Creativity! Magazine, and to be honest with you I think this baby could do with a magazine all to itself looking at the amount that can be done with it!

Anyhoo, what I hear you think did I manage to do? The Silhouette works in conjunction with a computer ( but is also portable too, so you can use it without it being connected all the time, that's what the SD bit is all about), so I had to download the driver software for it. Here lay the problem, my CD/DVD drive on my laptop isn't working at the moment. So I went to the Quickutz website to see whether I could download the software there, which I could. However, due to me being a dunce when it comes to computers I saved instead of ran the program and so my problems began. Eventually I worked out the problem and uninstalled that version, downloading the right one. Then, again I failed to read the on-screen instructions properly, and so again I was stumped. Eventually I worked it out and voila! I now have the gorgeous Silhouette SD loaded onto my computer. Of course, none of these problems would have happened if my CD drive had been working, I simply would have inserted the CD and I'd have been well away!

I've had a quick look at the 50 shapes that come with the Silhouette and they look fantastic! The shapes can be resized from 1/4" to 8", you can also make a shadow with the machine for shapes, and the most exciting thing about the machine is that you can cut out any font on your computer, and even weld the letters together to make words!! Also, you can import black and white images into the program and cut them out too! The possibilities are endless! In addition to cutting out paper and card stock, you can also cut vellum, transfer paper (for making transfers for t-shirts) magnetic paper, adhesive vinyl and adhesive papers!!! you can even create a stencil and with the machine you get a bottle of glass etching liquid to make glass etchings! WoW.

As you can tell, I'm a little excited about this momma!!!

I really have to finalise everything for QVC on Friday, so I'm going to have to resist the tempation to play until then. Boo Hoo! Better go and cook dinner now. Hope you're all having a relaxing and lovely Easter Sunday.

Love, Clare x