A Special Gift

Hello Bloggers,

I transformed this Candy Box Crafts Advent Kit to give to my great niece who's soon to be One.

I wanted to give her a special keepsake and with her birthday being so close to Christmas it seemed just perfect.

I spotted these gorgeous papers from Papermania and was immediately drawn to the Nordic style

with the addition of some DecoArt chalky finish paint in Timeless.

The kit comes complete with the numbers and I added some bakers twine to the drawers so little fingers can easily open them.

This is really what I'm all about, I've always made these sort of gifts for friends and family, I love to give really personal keepsakes.

I'll personalise this on the back for my great niece.

My daughter, 27, has a handcrafted fabric advent and I still love filling it as much as she loves opening it! 

Special memories...

Thanks for looking, hope you feel inspired.

Crafty Hugs xXx

Christmas with Designs by Ryn and the blog candy winner announced!

Evening folks,

Gosh where's the time going?!...
I've finally got my Christmas cards designed now I just need to get them all made!
I will be adding a few more with different stamps and designs but this is what I've come up with so far.
I played around with Designs by Ryn Winter stamps and this is what I came up with

When I announced the Kent and Bristol Brusho/craft box workshop for January I also announced a blog candy giveaway.

I'm delighted to say the workshops have proved popular so please book soon if you are interested in a place.

The giveaway was sponsored by the lovely Bev from Bee Crafty who donated as a prize the following two stamps that I used on my design.

This was a list of everyone who commented on the post and got entered into the draw.

Thank you all very much for taking part, supporting and leaving supportive comments, I so appreciate each and every one.

1 Naomi Mahon

2 Jennifer Johnston

3 Yvonne Froehlich

4 Lynda Hall

5 Claire Byrne

6 Jane Barber

7 Anne Cole

8 Zoe Bateman

9 Rosslyn Rose

10 Kellie Davison

11 Terri Cope

12 Lorraine Crosby

13 Denyse C

14 Kirsten Childe

and the winner chosen by Random.org is

No 3 Yvonne Froehlich

Big congratulations Yvonne! 

I'll pop your prize in the post...

Thank so much again everyone!

Crafty hugs xKx 

November Workshop Review

Cor it's a bit white and frosty out there this morning, Jack Frost was busy last night!
I had a lovely day yesterday at my good friend Lisa's Christmas party workshop in Maidstone, it was fabulous!
If you haven't checked out her website, shop or events here's the Link
Anyway I've got a busy weekend ahead, sorting the house to get decorations up and getting Christmas cards done but here's the review of last weekend's class. Future class info and reviews will be here on my blog or via an email newsletter to contacts. If you are interested in any of the classes I run in Kent, Bristol or Warwickshire please email me at craftyk@hotmail.co.uk for further info and newsletter updates and I'll add you to the list.
Ok, so we had a fun, relaxed day decorating an MDF set of six coasters and a box from
Candy Box Crafts.
We used various painting techniques for this session and the coasters were also sealed to make them wipeable and more robust.
I introduced paints and products from the DecoArt range into the class which are really super and so versatile!
As part of the Community Helping Artist Program I will be uploading a tutorial to their website with the technique and products we used and I'll share the link here on my blog.
The next class is booking fast for the 18th January, we'll be decorating the Candy Box Crafts new Brush storage unit. Of course it doesn't have to store Brusho's but for me it's ideal to keep these little pots of vibrant colour in.
The techniques for decorating will be using your Brusho's and I'm looking forward to this class very much.
It's also booking fast for Bristol on the 28th Feb, contact me if interested.
So I'll leave you with sneaky pics of the last class, I was so impressed with the ideas and inspiration that the ladies came up with, fabulous!
I'll be blogging again this weekend to reveal the winner of the blog candy giveaway from my earlier post, watch this space!
Have a great day and thank you for dropping by xKx

Lavinia Stamps Challenge - Add a Flower

Here are the last of my Lavinia Stamps challenge makes of this year " Add a Flower"
For the first I've used Zen flower 1 and a flower from the
Zen small flower pack.
My second make uses Zen flower 2 and Fir Cones.

You don't need a blog to join in this challenge, you can enter by email too! 
Using Lavinia Stamps or the New Dies.
Here's the LINK!
The prize is a whopping £40 to spend in the online shop.
The DT members have super inspiration on The Blog so take a look and join in the fun, we'd love to see your entries.
Thanks so much for your visit today, I'll leave you with my makes xKx

Brusho Box and Workshop News!

Hey Ho Bloggers and Crafters!

I'm super excited today to be sharing a very special DT project I had the privilege of transforming for the wonderful Candy Box Crafts.
If you are loving your Brusho's then this is a must!
With enough space to house all 32 colours and a spare drawer for bits and bobs.
Keep all those pots of intense vibrant colour upright and all together in this fab storage unit.
All the colouring is Brusho work and the box painted with chalky black paint.
It really was super fun to do this and I'm delighted to announce this project will be the first workshop here in Kent on January 18th and a further date in Bristol on February 28th.
Booking now! email me at craftyk@hotmail.co.uk
So here's the workshop sample and my DT piece.
Thanks so much for stopping by today xKx

Brusho Box Workshop and a Giveaway!

Bookings are being taken now for this workshop to be held on Sunday 18th January 2015.
Info - craftyk@hotmail.co.uk
The colouring on the box is all Brusho Work with black stamping,
the box itself is painted with Deco Art Chalky Black paint.
On one side of the box I used Bee Crafty Banksy Style Stamps, Graffiti Area  and Hope
I love these stamps and they are fantastic quality and great value for money.
Their All Hallows stamps were very popular at my recent Halloween workshop too,
Bee Crafty has very kindly offered to sponsor a Giveaway for my blog with a prize of the Graffiti Area and Hope stamps.
All you need to do is comment on this post and share and like on Facebook.
This opportunity is open until next Monday 24th then the winner will be chosen randomly.
Thanks for looking today and Good Luck! xKx

Lavinia Stamps November Challenge

Good Morning!

Lavinia Stamps starts the new challenge for November today.

The theme, Snow and Sparkle.

The prize is a very generous £40 voucher to spend on the Lavinia Web site shop and with the launch

of the New Celtic Dream Dies it's a opportunity not to be missed!

The Design Team have provided wonderful inspiration over on the Challenge Blog.

I've made two cards adapting some ideas and techniques from my recent attendance to 

Finnabair's Workshops and another card using one of the New Celtic Dream dies.

So get crafting, it's so easy as we now accept Email Entries so it doesn't matter if you don't have a blog. 

All the details are HERE on the blog.
Thanks so much for looking today, have a great Sunday xKx

Happy Halloween

Morning all,
I've had great fun with Halloween makes recently using
Bee Crafty All Hallows stamps and the Theatre Style Box from
Candy Box Crafts.
We also had a good day at my recent workshop here in Kent using the stamps to make CD clocks and    cards.
I'll leave you with a round up of them all this Halloween and my recent make below using the All Hallows Skull Background with Brusho's.
Cheers for looking today, crafty hugs xKx

Halloween with Candy Box Crafts

"Little Shop of Horrors"
Inspired by my years of working in Pharmacy!
Made using the fab Candy Box Crafts Punch and Judy Theatre Style Box which although I've had for a while now, I've known exactly what I wanted to do with it!
I've also used 12 x 12 papers from my Tim Holtz idea-ology laboratorie stash.
I had such fun creating this alternative pharmacy scene, I do hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it!
Thanks so much for stopping by...xKx

Sunday Crafting with Lavinia Fairies and Toadstools and Bee Crafty All Hallows Stamps

Morning all,
Hope you had a lovely weekend, I spent mine crafting with friends at my workshop.
A relaxed, enjoyable day, chatting, drinking coffee and crafting.
We concentrated on clocks and the skill levels ranged from total beginner to very skilled.
Results below and I think they all look equally amazing, a really great job!
A mix of Halloween clocks, Fairies and Toadstools and something a bit special was created by my lovely friend Lisa that has inspired a new and future workshop project!
So that one remains under wraps for now.
Halloween Designs created with Bee Crafty Stamps, Fairies and Toadstools with Lavinia Stamps

Crackle Inspiration with Lisa B Designs

These are the rest of my crackle makes I did recently for Lisa B Designs using Imagination Crafts Crackle Medium
I'm finishing my prep for my Kent workshops tomorrow, hope you have a lovely weekend...xKx

Clock Workshop New Samples!

Looking forward to a day of craftiness this Sunday.
These samples use Lavinia Stamps, check out their fab new website and exciting new product launch today!
Have a good day, crafty Hugs xKx

and the 2nd Lucky Winner is...

The lovely Jennifer Johnston! Congratulations!

Today I'm sharing with you a couple of makes using stash from my recent Ally Pally visit.
Both cards were made for my hubby, one for his Birthday and the other for our Anniversary.
The first uses Stampscapes stamps with Brusho's

The second uses PaperArtsy Eclectica Ellen Vargo stamps and Fresco Paints.

I was very happy with my stash and the results of these makes.

Thanks for looking today, hope your day is good...xKx

Jones Crafts

A busy day prepping for this Sunday's workshop which I'm looking forward to.
Today I'm sharing a few recent makes using Marion Smith "Motley" papers from Jones Crafts.
A gorgeous selection of 12 x 12 papers so versatile and easy to use.
I think I'll be experimenting more with these and techniques learnt at the recent Finnabair workshops I attended.
Have a good day...xKx

Clock Giveaway WINNER!

Congratulations!
Anne Strickland Cole!
I'll email clock pictures for you to choose from.
Once again many thanks to everyone for wonderful comments and support xxxxx

Christmas Workshop

Afternoon crafty friends,
The weather has been very grim here the last couple of days but I've been working on this cheery Christmas project for an up coming workshop on the 26th Oct.
It's here in Kent near Swanley and is booking now, it's a pre-booked workshop requiring a deposit.
For further info contact me craftyk@hotmail.co.uk
Bookings are being taken until Sunday 19th Oct.
I've used the Candy Box Crafts Large MDF Sleigh which is just delightful!
It's 310 x 165mm, they also make a smaller version 200 x110mm.
I've shown it here two ways one with chocolate treats and one with a large pillar candle.
It will make the most attractive Christmas table centrepiece or a wonderful gift, if you can bare to part with it...