Craft Emporium Blog

OK, new year, let's have another go !!!

2012-01-05T23:00:00.002Z

How mightily embarrassing to re-visit my poor neglected little blog after nearly a whole year !! Well, I am not promising anything, but thought it was about time I had another go !

It has been a busy old year, with good bits and bad bits just like everyone else, well, it would be boring if everything was perfect all the time wouldn't it lol !

The website has been closed for the Christmas break, and I have been busy behind the scenes getting the sale ready, lots and lots of bargains to be found - I really do think this is our biggest sale ever. We need lots of room (and some cash lol) as we are going to be doing a spot of diversification (is that a word ?!) at CHA at the end of the month, don't worry, we will still be stocking all your fave papercrafting products, just adding a totally new department to the store. I will have to keep you all guessing for the time being, just until we can get it all organised - I am really excited about it and can't wait to spill the beans !!

Ok, well it was short and sweet, but at least it's a start - will try and keep up more this year - which won't exactly be hard to do compared with last year !

So, the main news is that the store opens again tomorrow Friday 6th January with the most humungous sale ever - you really don't want to miss this one.

Bye for now !

Lyn x

More Blog Candy winners......

2011-02-17T09:39:00.007Z

More goodies to announce today, Cosmo gave us a set of each of the gorgeous new papers to give away, so out of the 33 who left a comment on that day we have three winners.

The first set is Salt Air...........and the winner at No. 1 is Em .

Next set was Upcycle and the winner at No. 19 is Audrey.

..and last but not least the winner of the Social Club papers is number 4 - Melissa75

If you could all drop me an email please with your postal addies :0

Still waiting for two of the prize winners from the first lot to come forward so please scan the previous post again incase your name is there............and get in touch if you want your goodies !!!

It's a busy day today as we expecting some lovely new goodies to arrive, so it's time for "box unpacking"

Yesterday saw the "best thing since Sliced Bread" arrive - yes, we are thrilled to be stocking Helmar "Liquid Scrap Dots", the hottest glue on the market at the moment and up til now, nigh on impossible to obtain in the UK..........not any more though............ 'cos we have loads !!!

This stuff really is the "bee's knee's", the "**** ********" oops did I really say that ? ...and any other wonderful expression you can think up lol !! I have tried it, and was blown away !!

Right...........there's work to do !

Lyn x

Blog Candy winners !!!

2011-02-15T21:49:00.009Z

Or shall I say some of them !!!!
I did promise one big "random generator" at the weekend, which didn't seem to happen, then all of a sudden it was Monday again, and now it's nearly Wednesday !!!! - well ok Tuesday night, but you know what I mean lol !
Anyway without further ado, we'll start the generator .............drum roll please...first one is for the winner of the October Afternoon Rocket Age set of papers......and the winner is...

and number 2 on the list is Maryline - please drop me a email with your address for posting :)

next up is October Afternoon 5 & Dime set of papers........here we go...........and it's......

number 18, and the winner is Angela Gray - if you could drop me your address Angela, the papers will be on their way :)

Ok, onto Day 2 and the next prize and it's the gorgeous papers from Pink Paislee - House of Three "Soiree" line

and it's number 12, and the winner is Jackie, again if you could let me have your addy please.

and onto day 3 and it's the Prima 6 x 6 Paper Pad Melody........ generator "do your stuff"............

and it's number 17 and scrappyjackie - drop me an email for your prize please :)

So, email addy is lyn@craft-emporium.co.uk and I can then get your prizes posted :)

That's it for now, it doesn't take much to confuse me at the moment, and blogger is playing havoc with the "generator piccies" (don't want to get them all mixed up now do I) so I'll do the rest tomorrow night - stay tuned lol !

Lyn x

Pretty things ...

2011-02-10T22:40:00.010Z

One of my favourite haunts at the show is always the amazing Graphic 45 booth, the displays and samples on show are truly amaaaazing................... a real feast for sore eyes.
They didn't disappoint again this year either, I could have spent all day just wandering around and soaking up all that creativity !
So, thanks to the lovely peeps at Graphic 45, the Blog Candy today is a fab Graphic 45 - Le Cirque 12 x 12 Paper Pad !!!! How cool is that? RRP 20 squids !!

Anyway, I'm not going to waffle on tonight, just leave you with these fab images.....

So.....who's gonna be the lucky winner ?

Lyn x

Monday already ?

2011-02-07T22:38:00.016Z

Well, I kinda missed the weekend - awake all night and sleeping in the daytime, hopefully my body clock will catch up at some stage lol !
I spent today making a start on all the weekend orders, and trying to make room for the first onslaught of deliveries - sky hooks maybe ?? Goodness knows where everything is going to go - the shop is bursting at the seams as it is lol !

It's funny how I am starting to remember orders placed at the show, that I had totally forgotten about !! How dizzy does that make me sound ? You have to remember that "Mr Craft Emporium" was not there this time - with his notebook and calculator, lmao ! so it is understandable that orders kinda got placed in the excitement of everything going on around me ! I just can't wait for it all to arrive...... In fact a couple of "very hard to find in the UK" products are soon to appear - ahhh I'm teasing now, you'll see them very soon hopefully.

Anyway, there are still lots of pictures from CHA to show you and still more Blog Candy up for grabs - I think I will do one grand "random thingy" session next weekend for all the goodies.

Prima had some beautiful new papers, gorgeous flowers and some fab metal embellies - the little bird cages are soooo cute !
They have been very generous and gave us more Blog Candy - today we have 3 assorted packs of Prima Flowers to give away........beautiful roses and more !! Usual stuff - just leave a comment and you will go into the draw.

Can you believe it.............I totally forgot that I ordered these beauties.........

Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts - designed to work with both the Studio 490 stamps and the Tim Holtz stamps and dies - these chunky chip shapes are a cut above your normal chipboard stuff - they are simply amazing as you can see in the samples.

Catch you all tomorrow with more goodies :)

Lyn x

Back to the wind and rain !!!

2011-02-04T11:18:00.007Z

YUK !! What horrible weather to welcome me back to the UK - gale force winds and yukky rain......... think I'm gonna hop back on the plane !!!!

Well I seem to have lost a couple of days somehow, a night flight from Los Angeles, then a transfer to Gatwick meant I didn't get back on the Island until late Wednesday evening so yesterday went in a blur of sleep and doing nothing !! Any way the shop is now back open for business and it's time to get working LOL !

Still lots of piccies and blog candy to come from CHA .......my suppliers have been extremely generous with goodies !

Gorgeous Cosmo with three fab collections............."Salt Air", "Social Club" and "Upcycle"

And how about these Glubers !!

They may look simple, but make the most fabulous flowers out of fabric or paper with no mess, it's so easy and very effective......

I will put some more cosmo pictures on our Facebook page as it doesn't take to long to upload them on there......(note to self - need to add a Facebook badge to the blog !)

OK, the blog candy for today, yesterday and the day before lol !!! Yeah , three blog candys today..... we have one set each, of all three new paper collections up for grabs, how great is that, three chances in one ! And there are still more goodies to come over the next few days :)

Back tomorrow

Lyn x

Stash Overload !!

2011-02-01T03:14:00.009Z

Well I seriously think I really have broken the bank this time !!!
There have been so many lovely products that I really couldn't resist, with eye candy everywhere I looked, what is a girl to do ?

So, it's the end of day 3 and what have we bought ?

Gorgeous October Afternoon (which goes without saying lol) Pink Paislee, Cosmo Cricket, ALL of Tim's new stamps - both in cling sets and single wood mounts, ALL of Wendy Vecchi's (ditto) our own homegrown talent Dyan's Dylusions stamps - love them !!! The brand new Ideology (and there's a lot !) new Ranger Ink Stains, and other yummy inky stuff. The magnificent Grahic 45 "Curtain Call" and "Le Cirque" - we have also ordered "Once Upon A Springtime" which I didn't get around to in October. Fab new pretties from Prima, there was so much to choose from I was like a kid in a candy store ! New yummy stuff from Tattered Angels, all the beautiful new collections from Teresa Collins.............and guess what, there is still another day !!!
HELP !!!! I think "Mr Craft Emporium" is gonna be sorry he didn't come with me this time to hold the purse tightly shut !!!

So, today was so much fun, a Prima workshop this morning with Donna Downey, where we got to play with some gorgeous products and made this canvas album........

Watched Tim demoing the new Distress Ink Stains.........how good do they look on his lavish trims ?

A few samples from the Ideo-ology booth.......

Ok.........blogger is playing up with the pictures slow to upload and getting all mixed up with the text and my internet connection will run out shortly....so quickly onto the Day 3 Blog Candy........the kind folks from Prima have given a 6 x 6 Paper Pad from the new Melody range - you know the drill lol !!

We have finally got a Facebook page, so will put all the CHA pics on there when I get back to the UK...........tomorrows post won't happen until the next day lol as I leave on tomorrows night flight to Heathrow, so two Blog Candys on Thursday !
Bye for now
Lyn x

Day 2 !!

2011-01-31T04:50:00.015Z

...and a lovely start to the day with a fab workshop from Tattered Angels to have a play with all their gorgeous products - Glimmer Mists, Chalk Mists (new and brighter colours) and glitter glazes and paints to make this fab album..........

How cute is that ? The Dress Form and embellies are from the Pink Paislee Parisien Anthology range.

Pink Paislee have produced some beautiful new collections including our Blog Candy for today - a set of these gorgeous papers from the House of Three "Soiree" range.........

leave a comment and these lovely papers could be on their way to you :)

At the Ranger Booth, Claudine Hellmuth was showing us how to make these cute little flowers using her new foam stamps, sticky back canvas and Studio Line paints.....

I can't wait to make some of these when I get home !

I have tons more piccies to show you, but I am completely whacked lol !!!

I will leave you with a pic of one of my favourite buddies, our very own Dyan Reaveley and her fab Dylusions stamps, manufactured by Stampers Anonymous and.....wait for it..........coming soon to a Craft Emporium near you, YAY !!!

Time for ZZzzzzzzzz

Lyn x

CHA Day 1

2011-01-30T05:28:00.010Z

......and the sun was shining when I finally emerged from LAX arrivals after a 1 hour 30 mins queue to get through immigration and customs !!! The hotel, which is a stones throw away from the convention centre is fab .....I could hold a function for 250 people in my room - it's HUGE !! Party at mine tonight lol !

So, I have been feasting my eyes on some amazing new products today, and have already broken the bank !

My first stop was Stampers Anonymous ( had to get my order in quickly, to be up in the first batch of shipping ) I was so busy drooling over all the fab stamps and samples I never got any photo's !!! so will have to return tomorrow for them lol.

Next stop - my fave Scrapbooking people - October Afternoon and three fab new ranges " 5 & Dime" "Rocket Age" and "Boarding Pass" - some new goodies in these ranges including some fab coordinating spray inks - how cool is that ?!!

5 & Dime .....

Rocket Age.......

Boarding Pass will be released slightly later......

So thanks to the kind folks at October Afternoon our first two CHA Blog Candys will be a set of papers from either of the new ranges due shortly, leave a comment and we will pick two lucky winners who will win either "5 & Dime" or "Rocket Age" and will be first in the UK to get them...even before we have our delivery !!!

Well it's only 10pm, but feels like 2am to me ( well, I have been awake since 4am this morning !)

Back tomorrow :)
Lyn x

OMG It's nearly February !!!!!

2011-01-27T19:48:00.002Z

...........and I haven't disappeared off the planet !!! As most of you know 2010 was not a happy ending to the year, but it's time to look forward, remember the good times and all that !

So here I am - halfway to Los Angeles for CHA with credit cards in hand ready for some major retail therapy for the store, no piccies today, as I am on the computer in the hotel business centre, it's really not worth paying out for 24hrs internet access when I am off again early in the morning lol.

My camera is charged and ready to grab some fab pics of all the new releases........including October Afternoon, Stampers Anon, Ranger, Graphic 45 etc. etc. etc......not to mention the Blog Candy I intend to blag along the way !! So, keep your eyes peeled and get ready to grab some of the CHA Blog Candy goodies which will be appearing over the next few days :)

Talk to you from LA
Lyn xx

Very BAD Blogger !!!

2010-09-10T16:55:00.004+01:00

OMG !! What a terrible blogger I have become ! I cannot quite believe how long it is since my last post. In my defence your honour, I had to install a new computer system as my other one blew up - well ok, it didn't actually blow up, but you know what I mean lol ! Up until the last couple of weeks I have been trying to keep going on a grotty and very old laptop, whilst they were building me a new pc - it's all bells and whistles now, so I can now return to blogland.

We have had so many wonderful new products in, that I don't quite know where to start, maybe with the latest and greatest.......October Afternoon - SEASIDE, this has got to be my most fave of all the October Afternoon lines - with living beside the seaside, I have a million and one piccies to go with these fab papers...........and the Shape Stickers and Wild Cards are just fab !!! Whether I will ever get time to use any is another question lol - it has been amazingly busy in the store right throughout the summer, thanks to you, my lovely customers and now we are gearing up for the traditionally busy run up to the (dare I say it) festive season.

Recent arrivals have included a massive Prima order with 6 paper collections and all the matching bits, 4 great new collections from Teresa Collins, Graphic 45 - Steam Punk, Cosmo Cricket, Jenni Bowlin and loads more - it's late on Friday afternoon and my head is boggled !!

Moving forward, we have still to look forward to October Afternoon - Schoolhouse, Modern Homemaker and Campfire (there may even be a new Christmas line) and some gorgeous new Pink Paislee, Girl's Paperie and of course all Tim's latest stuff !! Flying over the Atlantic at the moment are several boxes of brand new Stampotique stamps - more new designs from Jo Capper-Sandon and Daniel Torrente - can't wait for these to arrive :)

Ok, so is missing their mojo at the moment ? (my hand is up ) cos if you haven't already seen the Chicken Soup Blog then you need to get yourself over there, it's just what you need to kick start your creativity and there are even prizes, and whats more there is even a Craft Emporium prize, yes this month the Craft Emporium are proud to sponsor the challenge, so what are you waiting for....go take a peek !

And finally if you have read to the end of this post, we have Blog Candy !!!! If you didn't, we don't lol ! We have a set of the brand new Seaside papers to give away.... YAY !!! You know the ropes.......blah blah...

I will be back, sooner, rather than later !

Lyn x

It's WOYWW.........

2010-07-14T09:25:00.003+01:00

...........and I have finally managed to coordinate the fact that it is wednesday and take a piccy !!! I've been meaning to join in with Julia's fun blog hop for ages, sod's law that my desk is probably the messiest it has ever been !!! I've been doing a 12 x 12 canvas using all the fab techniques learnt in a combination of Dyan and Dina's great workshops earlier in the year, lots of painting, inking and spraying, still got to do a great deal to it, so a work in progress lol ! Why does everything seem to gravitate and leave you with a 12 inch square of space to work on ? I get everything off the shelves and it kinda of stays there - tidy up needed before next week me thinks !!!
Right better get a move on and start some serious work..............

Lyn x

.........and breathe !

2010-07-13T09:16:00.005+01:00

Phew, busy busy week with the Summer Clearance Sale, we are just about getting the backlog under control and we have made some space for all the lovely new goodies which are being released at CHA Summer. Wow, there are going to be some fab new products judging by all the sneak peaks on various blogs - new stamps from Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi, gorgeous new October Afternoon, Cosmo and Pink Paislee and that's just the start !!

Talking of new stamps, we had a massive delivery yesterday from Crafty Individuals which included those gorgeous ones that featured in Craft Stamper this month - check them out here

We also have two "new to us" stamp ranges coming very soon which I am very excited about, the first range should be here in a couple of days with the other one following in the next week or two - rubber heaven !!

My UPS man will be paying a visit anytime now with the gorgeous Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland range, so keep your eyes peeled in the new products section - will try and get it on-line later today or first thing tomorrow morning - it is sooooo cool...... I just can't wait !!!

Right, the packing fairies are here, so better get a move on, I will leave you with a couple of cards I found on my camera from the other week using the Stampotique Maison des Fleurs stamp - perfect for a new home card.

Lyn x

It's Sale time !

2010-07-03T10:02:00.002+01:00

Ok, so a few days turned into a week but that means we have a mega Summer Clearance for you, over 1400 bargains to be exact !!! Papers from 20p a sheet, loads of stamps and blingy stuff.....too many goodies at great prices to mention lol !!
We have already ordered masses of new summer CHA products, some of which will be arriving at the end of next week, so we need tons of room !
So come and grab a bargain here

Oops... seen to have lost a few weeks somewhere !?

2010-06-16T16:44:00.006+01:00

June is just whizzing by - I can't believe I last blogged at the beginning of the month........... bet ya all thought I'd ridden off into the sunset on a beautiful green Yamaha Virago lol !! Well I resisted again and I am still "bike-less" .........oh well, maybe next year !! The T.T. Race weeks have been and gone and the Island is returning to it's normal sleepy self, the weather was a bit mixed which held up several of the races, but we got there in the end with some great racing and a party atmosphere everywhere.

More yummy new goodies popped up yesterday - think that UPS man fancies me - haha !! or maybe it's just cos I keep ordering more stuff !!! This time we have the brand new Jenni Bowlin paper line "PLAY DATE" and lots of Tim restocks. You can check out the new Jenni Bowlin in the new products section of the website .

Well, the sun is still shining and I am off to a barbie soon, so will leave you with a few cards that have been sitting in my camera for weeks !

Bye for now !
Lyn x

New goodies !!

2010-06-03T08:17:00.003+01:00

That man from UPS has been visiting me again with lots of lovely new goodies !!!!
Tim Holtz Tissue Tape, Texture Fade Embossing Folders, 7 Gypsies Petit Carnet Mini Books and lots more.....all in the new products section on the website.

Back later !
Lyn

An oldie but goodie .......

2010-05-31T10:40:00.004+01:00

I dug out one of my very favourite stamps at the weekend, it is this very stamp that led me to first stock Stampers Anonymous gorgeous classics and I still love it today.

The background paper is taken from Tim's gorgeous paper stack Vintage Shabby overstamped with swirls using Distress Ink - Worn Lipstick and smooched with Spiced Marmalade, I then stenciled through a piece of Making Memories Die Cut Eyelet paper with Snow Cap Dabber. Tim's Tattered Florals get a look in too, cut from 7 Gypsies Life Creme paper and coloured to match !

Sometimes it's nice to re-visit old stamps that have been cast aside in favour of all the new additions lol !

Hope you are all having a fab bank holiday weekend and enjoying the beautiful sunshine...........well it's gorgeous here on the Island !

Lyn x

And the winner is ...........................

2010-05-24T07:52:00.003+01:00

..............drumroll please...... number 14 - Karen ! Well done Karen, if you can email me at lyn@craft-emporium.co.uk with your addy I can get your prize posted.

Right it's that usual Monday morning madness, so must dash !!

Back later

Lyn x

It's Candy time !!

2010-05-17T18:53:00.004+01:00

Well, I said the other night that it must be time for some more Blog Candy and I have just the thing ! The gorgeous Cosmo Cricket DeLovely arrived at the end of last week, lovely bright summery colours....perfect for those long hot days .......that's if we ever get a summer - I may have just given the "S" word the kiss of death !!
So who wants to win a 6 x 6 Mini Deck ? Just leave a comment and in a few days the random generator will select a winner.

It's official......I'm in love with the new Tattered Florals Die !!! I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday at my pal Penny's house and we set to work making gorgeous fabric flowers (Penny's craft room is not only a haven of your normal crafting stuff, but it is also chock full of gorgeous fabrics and threads) I said to her yesterday that she really needs to have a blog to show off her amazing fabric creations - they would blow your mind !!!! In fact if she doesn't I will have to take some photo's and show you myself.... ha ha, I know you will be reading this Penny !!
Anyway here's some of the flowers we made.................

.....now I need to clamber up into the loft to rescue all my hoarded fabrics !! I knew they would come in useful one day.

I can't believe that it's nearly that time of the year again when the Island comes alive with the sound of 1000's of motorbikes and the promenade is buzzing with life ! It's the time of year when I start hankering after another bike !! Luckily, I never actually get around to getting a new one - I had a few very near misses in the olden days LOL ! - So I ponder and window shop and before you know it, T.T. Week is over for another year and my hankering gets pushed to the back of my mind again ....... the kids can then breathe a sigh of relief again......pmsl..........ermm.... "Mother on a motorbike"..........I don't think so !! They would never live it down LOL !

Ok, get commenting if you want to win lol

Lyn x

Ooops !

2010-05-14T12:33:00.004+01:00

Yes a big OOOPS, the newsletter last night went into overdrive and some unlucky people got 5 in 30 mins !!! Sooooo sorry folks, it seemed to be on a perpetual loop and wouldn't stop LOL ! I hope everyone was not too annoyed by the Craft Emporium invasion. My lovely hosting company have sorted it all out now, so no more hassles.

I think Blogger is actually behaving itself today as well, so will attempt to put a few piccies on..................
I thought I would make this little folder to hold all the little packets of gems and blingy stuff that always seems to get lost, so using a set of the Teresa Collins Bracket Covers and page protectors, I set to work.......Some yummy paper from one of the Tim Holtz Paper Stacks and my favourite little Stampotique pal Prom Queen (who will be arriving back in stock any day now)

With hindsight, it needs bigger wires, so I will probably re-bind it over the weekend, but it sits on my shelf nicely and no more lost gems :)

Back later with some........Bl..........sssshhh.......

Lyn x

Arghhh !!!

2010-05-13T20:21:00.005+01:00

I am not having much luck tonight - I've been trying to send out a newsletter to subscribers and the blooming thing keeps crashing out - so apologies in advance if you have received it twice, my hosting company will hopefully sort it out and I will try again in the morning.
So...I though I would try my blog instead... a nice long post for a change, and twice now, yes twice ! the blinking thing has not published - there are gremlins about tonight.

So, I will just quickly tell you about the new arrivals and go and partake of a nice glass of red LOL !

New goodies today are the gorgeously zingy Cosmo Cricket DeLovely range and some 7 Gypsies lushness including those fab book covers and Printers Trays.

It must be about time for some more Blog Candy.....but that's for another day.... so keep checking the blog !
Right I am hitting publish now before I lose the blinking thing for the third time !!!

Be back soon
Lyn

2010-05-06T13:32:00.005+01:00

I was having a bit of a play with Stampotique "Heart Throb" boy at the weekend...... although I don't think he looks very happy in his cage LOL ! I used the new Tim Holtz Cage Die in Grungeboard and dug out some of the older Prima papers to go with it. The words are 7 Gypsies Gaffer Tape.

He looks a bit happier out of his cage here.........or not !!

Ok just a quick update on the 12 x 12 Grungepaper - it arrived yesterday and was put back into stock last night, an email was automatically generated for those who had it on notification, unfortunately by the time many of you checked your emails this morning - it was showing out of stock again - yes....it sold out in under an hour !!!! It has been in such short supply now for months that everyone was bulk buying several packs at once (and in one case... the entire stock that was left) The good news is that we have the 6 x 12 Grungepaper, and that is now in stock in the new products section, so apologies to those who thought the website was going mad !!! Other new bits and bobs have arrived too including Tim's Paper Stacks which are now back in stock. Still a few more boxes to unpack that arrived yesterday, so watch this space.....

Lyn x

Oooh look whats coming soon ........

2010-05-01T13:15:00.004+01:00

.......ooh this is very exciting, the amazingly talented Jo Capper-Sandon has designed a fabulous range of stamps for Stampotique - and the good news is that they are all winging their way over the pond as we speak and will be in stock at the Craft Emporium very shortly.

How wonderful to have a british designer on the Stampotique team, Jo has designed her stamps to work beautifully with the existing Stampotique range as well as independently in her own unique style. Check out Jo's Blog here to see all the amazing samples she has produced.

The new stamps and restocks of all the popular favourites will be in store very soon - can't wait !!!!

Lyn

Third time lucky !!!!

2010-04-29T13:30:00.007+01:00

Damm blogger keeps losing my post from today - so one more go then the computer is flying out of the window !!! So apologies in advance if the pictures and words don't correspond, I'm going with whatever comes up LOL !!

I actually escaped to my new craft room this weekend and had a little play with some of the new products - Tim's new paper stacks are amazing - you know what I mean, far too nice to cut into to, but I forced myself - it's just a bit of paper right ? I love the rabbit from Tim's Spring Sprung set and added some of the papers from the Vintage Shabby stack and of course some Ideo-ology metal bits.............the clock was cut from the Lost & Found stack and rock candied !

This one below was using lots of fab Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamps on grungepaper, the vintage photo is from Tim's paper stack Lost & Found

Tim's Lost & Found stacks sold out very quickly over the weekend, we have ordered lots more, so fingers crossed they arrive soon - if you didn't catch them first time, they it may be an idea to use the product notification button (next to each product image) this way you will get an automated email just as soon it they go back in stock.

Ok let's see if this works, for some reason nothing will save to draft, so it may just disappear again LOL

Lyn x

Woo Hoo - unexpected delivery !!!

2010-04-23T17:52:00.007+01:00

Look at what's just arrived !!!!!

Ooops BIG piccy lol !
I wasn't expecting these beauties for a couple of weeks, but they have just turned up today YAY !!!!!!

You will also find lots of other new products on the website too - Shabby Green Door, Pink Paislee, cool hangy things from Zutter and lots more in the what's new section here

Sorry just a quickie - back later !
Lyn

So who wants to win £100 worth of stash !!!!

2010-04-14T07:54:00.005+01:00

Exciting things happening overnight on UK Scrappers, yeah, you can be in with a chance to win a whopping £100 worth of stash !!! How cool is that ? All you need to do is hop along to UK Scrappers, register for the cyber crop and enter the additional Mystery Kit Mega Prize. This is a totally new prize that we Mystery Kit sponsors have put together, and the great thing is......all you have to do is make a layout ! Now don't get me wrong, I love the wonderful creations that some talented people put together for the Mystery Kit prize, but heck - I couldn't do that if I tried - I don't have the time for starters, or the talent LOL !! But we can all do layouts can't we ! So depending on which team you are allocated to - you buy your Mystery Kit from one of the following sponsors:

Top Hats team - Indigo Mill

Cars team - Craft Emporium

Ships team - Sarahs Cards

Thimbles team - Mod Scraps

The great thing is we four sponsors get to judge it !!!! So get your entries in, and you could end up with the fab Mega prize. Can't wait to see all the lovely layouts.

Lyn x

Woo Hoo - new October Afternoon is here !!

2010-04-01T10:01:00.013+01:00

Yes folks, we have two gorgeous new collections from October Afternoon "Fly A Kite" and "The Thrift Shop" This time there are nine papers in each range and the 8 x 8 Pads allow for this by becoming thicker with a whopping 34 sheets in 17 different designs !!! Fab stickers and Journaling Cards, Stamps and Flash Card Books. There are still Rub-ons to follow and a couple of items that are subject to manufacturing delays - these should be here shortly to complete the full range. We have also stocked up on as much of the previous lines that were available, but sadly some items are not being re-printed including the very popular Cherry Hill 8 x 8 Paper Pad :(

Check it all out here in the new products section

OMG... where has March gone ??!?!?

2010-03-29T16:24:00.009+01:00

........I seem to have missed this month somewhere along the way ??
It has been manically busy on the website with loads and loads of new goodies arriving, which of course, means loads and loads of orders to pack !!!
Tim's Alterations dies have now been in stock twice (AND.. out of stock twice lol ) I never even got a chance to stroke them !! Not only has it been frantic workwise, I have also had computer problems, particulary with Blogger - when I did get a few minutes to update I lost the post completely and gave up, I also have issues with reading everyone elses blogs - even Facebook is freezing up on me every time I spend more that 3 seconds on it !! So I'm not ignoring you all - promise ! Hopefully my internet problems are now getting resolved and this post will manage to appear and I can catch up with everyone again.

I have some super fabby wonderfully scrumptious news as well......................guess what is clearing through customs at Stanstead as we speak ?? YAY !!!!!! I don't even have to say the name do I ?..... 'cos you're all waiting patiently (and emailing me LOL !) Answers on a postcard.......... it's time to get stalking.

OK, I'm going to keep this short and not upload any photo's in the hope that it will publish before getting lost in cyberspace again..........will hopefully confirm the arrival very soon :)

Lyn

Fab, fab week ! Part Two !!

2010-03-12T15:42:00.028Z

Now then, where are we up to ?

Thursday saw me hitting the shops in Harrogate for a lovely mooch and a bit of retail therapy, then it was back to the studio on Friday where I was lucky enough to take one of Dyan's workshops. We made this cute little mini book which was fronted with a fab box frame...........

We painted and inked the frame and used Tim's Stamps to decorate it, the book and tags. Lots of yummy Idea-ology metal bits were used inside the box frame. Great fun to do ! The great thing about Dyan's workshops are that you can take away all the fab techniques to apply them to other projects - you watch, every book I make now will have some sort of frame as the front LOL !!
No sooner that workshop was over it was time to clear the decks ready for a kid's party - wow they had a great time making gorgeous mirrors ! Straight after the party it was clear the decks again ready for the start of the Art Journaling weekend - I don't know how Dyan does it, she is on the go non-stop !!! Everyone started to arrive and get aprons on ready............

Here's Emma and Ann...

Maria, Diane and Mandy............

Joy and Jane..........

Liz and Anne-Marie........

Trish, Michelle and Gill.........

We all started out the weekend as strangers and we laughed till we cried, and cried till we laughed and more importantly made some friends along the way. What a great bunch of fellow Art Journalers !! Another "must go to" if you get the chance - you even get fed and watered LOL !!

I can't believe I didn't take any piccies of my Art Journalling !?!?!? I was obviously far too engrossed LOL !

The week flew by and soon it was time to leave.......ahhhhhh, but not before I grabbed some piccies of the new place - wow look at all that space !!! Very posh !

Can't wait to go back for more..........but yes you guessed it, I am now so far behind with work, that I'm practically in last year LOL ! So, a very busy and hectic week followed, just to ease me back in gently - of course !!

And talking of work, or shop goodies more importantly - the Greetings Farm stamps are now finally on the website - after sitting here for nearly two weeks !!!! There is still another massive box of stamps sitting here too - will try and get them on-line in the next couple of days.

Lyn x

Fab, fab week ! Part One !!

2010-03-11T22:40:00.029Z

Phew....finally managed to find time to get the piccies off the camera and blog about the wonderful week at Art from the Heart. But where do I start, so many brilliant techniques, workshops, inking, painting, getting as messy as can be. Lots of lovely new friends, good food and Dyan's fab hospitality - even thought she did get me hooked into Prison Break LOL !!

First workshop of the week was with the amazingly talented and lovely Dina Wakley - wow..... what can I say, Dina shared all sorts of techniques and tips with us....... we gessoed, painted, textured, inked, splatted and collaged for two glorious days.

Dina was such a fab tutor and such a lovely, lovely person - we were indeed in "messy heaven". What a fab way to spend my first two days, I truly felt like I'd had a "one to one" workshop with Dina - what a perfect venue with just the right amount of people.

The first layer of paint was laid down..............

Then we started playing around with masks...............

Even Dyan got time to play..........

Dina in full "splatter mode" LOL..................

We even got fed !!!! Yummy food courtesy of Pam (who is an absolute diamond)

Work in progress..........

At the end of day 2 we descended on the local Mexican restaurant for a fab meal and drinkies.........all trying desperately to hide our inky and painty hands LOL !

If you ever, ever get the chance to take one of Dina's workshops you must........you will have the most amazing time !! Specially at Art from the Heart, then you can do Dyan's too - double whammy !!!

Well believe it or not, uploading these piccies has taken ages and ages, I think my Internet connection is playing up........again !!!

So I'm giving up for the night - more piccies tomorrow !

Lyn x

Just a quickie..............

2010-03-10T11:04:00.004Z

........Will write a proper post when I have surfaced from underneath orders and deliveries LOL !!

Tim Holtz Alterations arrived yesterday and are now on-line, not all the products are ready for shipping yet and some didn't arrive but what we do have are here

Sitting here still to go onto the website are the Greetings Farm stamps which arrived last week eeek !! Also some lovely new stamps from Donna Salazar, hopefully these will be on-line by tomorrow am.

Had a fabby week at the Art from the Heart Studio including two amazing days with Dina Wakely and Dyan's Art Journaling weekend - will post some piccies and updates later............or in a few days LOL !!!

Back soon !

Lyn x

Meltdown !!!

2010-02-25T18:42:00.022Z

Not sure whether that means me or the website...........or both !!!

First of all an apology, I did say in the newsletter that although I was heading off for a short break next week, orders placed up until Friday midnight would be depatched before I left.......well, I sort of "over extended" myself - the sheer volume of orders over the last 48 hours have been phenomenal !! There was no possible way that we could have got them all despatched before leaving, so rather than disappoint anyone by having to wait, an executive decision was made and the cut off point was changed to Wednesday midnight. All orders placed up to that point will be despatched before leaving. So basically anyone who placed their order before the notices went up on the site can rest assured they will not have to wait until afterwards.

Tim's brand new book came and went in the blink of an eye - wow I have never seen anything like it, and we ordered loads !!!!! You'll be pleased to know that we have re-ordered it and it will be back in stock soon.

Another favourite amongst the new arrivals is The Crafty Chronicle by Donna Salazar.....

The paper it is printed on was chosen for the way it reacts with paint and can be formed into flowers. You can create your own unique embellishments with dictionary, wanted ads, horoscopes and even the articles on the front page. More product info on the website !

So where am I going next week ? ........ I am so excited as I am heading up to Harrogate to the wonderful Art from the Heart Studios YAY !!!
2 days of workshops in Art Journaling with the very talented Dina Wakley and Dyan's own Art Journaling Weekend to follow - how cool is that - I am hoping that some of that amazing talent from both Dyan and Dina will rub off on me, my mojo seems to be sadly lacking at the moment LOL !!!

A rather yummy delivery (yes another one !) is taking a little while stuck in customs at the moment, but will hopefully arrive in a few days................here is a little hint.........and don't look too closely at the colouring in - it's my first time with this kind of thing, I don't normally "do" cute !!

The stamp is of course by The Greetings Farm and I have coloured her with Promarkers and used Shabby Green Door "Farmers Market" papers...........so more new goodies to look forward to when I get back ! We were also able to take advantage and buy the special edition "Cheeky" stamps which were only available to retailers who attended CHA.

Back soon

Lyn x

Just a quickie !!!

2010-02-23T15:55:00.004Z

Lots and lots of new goodies have just arrived and are on-line, including the new Distress Inks and Tim's new Book.

Back later with a proper update on all the new products, as I am currently buried under boxes LOL !!

More new goodies and how NOT to cook leeks !!!

2010-02-18T21:34:00.010Z

I have just unpacked some wonderful laser-cut chipboard all the way from Oz !!
Yes Scrap FX is joining our list of products !!! This superb quality laser-cut chipboard comes in a brilliant range of shapes, from cute little birds to the most fantastic Chipboard Filigree Gates which would make an amazing gate-fold album, or just brilliant book covers.

Can you imagine how wonderful this Chandelier would look all blinged and glittered up......

We have a busy few days coming up at the shop, our Cosmo Cricket delivery missed the boat this morning would you believe !!!
Hopefully it will be here tomorrow, but it's not going on the website until it's actually here - you can imagine what just one damaged box can do !!

Just heard today that Tim's books are on their way YAY !!!..... along with all the new colours of Distress Inks YAY !!!!..... just a couple more days to wait so keep checking the new products section of the site.

Well, I am not known for my cooking skills, but I surpassed myself totally today and burnt the leeks !! yes I did say that, I cannot even save face by saying there were in the oven, oh no.....they were just steaming away on the hob..........without any water in the pan EEEKKK !!! One black pan later, it was time to get out the Power Spray LOL !! Ha ha, with any luck that will be me barred from the kitchen again, last time I was in there I got Chilli all over my Saxaphone ..........I won't even go there !!

Think I'll stick to playing with ink and paper.

Lyn x

oooh pretty stuff !!

2010-02-16T10:56:00.013Z

Woo hoo !! Just unpacked the three fab collections from Graphic 45........all in stock and on-line now :)

The gorgeous Le' Romantique.....

the very dashing A Proper Gentleman..........

and the fab On The Boardwalk.........

I just love these collections, they are so versatile, not only for Scrapbooking and Cardmaking, but there are so many fab images to cut out for all sorts of altered projects :)

Check them all out here in the new products section of the website !

Lyn

Stamping Heaven !!

2010-02-10T00:59:00.010Z

Great excitement at the Craft Emporium this afternoon when a huge delivery from Stampers Anonymous arrived........yes, you guessed the brand new Tim Holtz Stamps are in the building !!!! Not only do we have them in their Cling Mounted Sets, we also have them in Wood Mounted too - YAY !! So you get the choice of the whole set on one sheet, or if you only want a couple from selected sheets you can get them on their own !!

We are also thrilled to be stocking the latest Studio 490 Stamps designed by the very talented Wendy Vecchi.
I was lucky enough to meet Wendy at CHA and to watch her amazing demo's....she totally blew me away....... such a lovely lady too :)

Restocks and a few more of the Classic Anonymous stamps too !

OK it's now 1am and I need to stop working and sleep - it's too late to start faffing around with uploading piccies.......you can see all the new goodies here LOL !

Lyn x

Want to win........

2010-02-09T10:55:00.010Z

.........a brand new release 6 x 6 Paper Pad ?

If you haven't already done so, get yourself over to Tuesday Taggers

Craft Emporium are sponsoring the prize this week and the theme for the challenge is LOVE !!

Blog Candy Winners !!!

2010-02-07T12:40:00.007Z

And finally we have our Blog Candy winners - sorry for the delay folks, it's been a bit manic here with the sale and catching up with everything after our trip !

Pink Paislee 6 x 6 Paper Pad goes to..... No. 22 - Bex

October Afternoon Paper Set...... No. 18 - Leo and No. 27 - Faerielore.

Prima Papers go to...... No. 18 - Karin

Cosmo 12 x 12 Papercrafting Kit..... No. 11 - Claire Williams

Graphic 45 8 x 8 Paper Pad.... No. 11 - Glittery Katie

So if you could all get in touch with your addresses to lyn@craft-emporium.co.uk I will get posting ! - thanks for everyone who took the time to post a comment and well done to the lucky winners.

I will leave you all with a sneaky peak of some delicious gorgeousness ...........................

We're back !!

2010-02-02T21:32:00.024Z

........and raring to go !!! Well, maybe not "raring" - still a little jet-lagged and waking up at 3am for a walkabout lol !!
We left San Francisco around 9pm US time around an hour late and just had time to connect at Heathrow for the Manchester flight at around 4pm UK time, had a shock at Manchester checking in for the Island when they tried to charge us £112 excess baggage !!!! for just 8 kg !!!! thankfully the check-in agent was helpful and suggested we take as much out as possible to carry on as handbaggage, so the great unpacking started at the desk, holding up the queue lol. I am amazed that we got through security each carrying a laptop bag, a tote full of catalogues and books each and the camera bag !!!!! I though it was supposed to be one piece each, luckily the sun was shining on us and we arrived back to the freezing Isle of Man unscathed lol !!
So, the excitement of the trip is over for another year, and now the excitement of waiting for all the lovely goodies to arrive begins !

We still have lots of sneak peak of the goodies we have ordered to show you and I haven't forgotten about the Blog Candies...... will get the Random Generator out in a few days time for them all at once - we have another one tonight and you know the drill by now lol.
We are thrilled to bring Graphic 45 to the Craft Emporium, I have drooled over these collections for quite a while now, so it was time to add it to our stock-list. We are starting out with the three new collections "On The Boardwalk" "Le' Romantique" and "A Proper Gentleman" .... loads of gorgeous 12 x 12 papers and Paper Pads. I hope you like them as much as I do. They had a fab stand at CHA but the piccies have come out a little dark, think I had the camera on the wrong setting lol !
The kind folks on the stand have given us an 8 x 8 Paper Pad for our Blog Candy today - cool !

There has been a massive response to our Winter Sale, orders will start processing tomorrow in the order that they came in, so please bear with us whilst we catch up with the backlog.

Look out for more sneak peaks soon !
Bye for now
Lyn x

Winter Sale Now On !!

2010-01-30T23:28:00.002Z

Just a quick short and sweet post - our Winter Sale starts now !!
Lots of bargains across the store - we need the room after all the new goodies we have been buying. Orders will start being despatched from Wednesday 3rd Feb.
Enjoy !
Lyn

Greetings from sunny San Francisco !!!

2010-01-29T01:57:00.016Z

Well, CHA Winter 2010 is over, we left Anaheim after 3 very busy and fantastic days and took the train back to LA for just one night in time to catch the Coastal Starlight Express for an amazing 11 hour Californian Pacific Coastal Railroad journey to San Francisco for a few days "R & R" !!! The train journey was wonderful, business class type reclining seats with loads of room, a full service restaurant, cafe bar and glass topped observation lounge - the views were amazing. We arrived in San Francisco very late last night and have spent today riding Cable Cars, Trams and Streetcars !!

But the CHA news and blog candy is not over yet !! We still have loads of pictures of the show and all the goodies we have ordered, but we are keeping a few of our new suppliers "under our hat" for the time being, well, you need something new to look forward to as well as all the regular favourites lol ! Talking of favourites.... Cosmo Cricket have three new bright and fun collections which will be shipping to us shortly "Material Girl", "Joy Ride" and "Garden Variety"

I love the new Chipboard Letters and Tiny Alphas !! The good folks at Cosmo have been very generous and we have one of the new 12 x 12 Paper Crafting Kits up for grabs for Blog Candy today, I'm not sure which one it is, as all the paper and goodies have been safely packed and are at the bottom of a very large suitcase LOL !! Just leave a comment as usual !

To answer a few questions from the previous posts, not sure when OA will be ready to ship, but not too long to wait I don't think. Yes, we have ordered the Donna Downey Canvas Albums and Camera Bags etc. and no, sorry but the cupcakes and stands are for display only LOL !! OOh and yes we have ordered ALL the new Tim Holtz Stamps and the Inks....and the new Dies and the Book, and the new Enamel Accents, (they are not due for a while yet though) and everything else new with his name on as well LOL

That's all for now as we are heading off to a fab Blues Bar and Restaurant on Fishermans Wharf for dinner (how cool does that sound !)
Lyn x

CHA Day 3

2010-01-26T21:50:00.032Z

.......and we are still shopping !!!!

Prima have a massive release..........MASSIVE !! 7 new paper lines, loads of bling, flowers, new stamps, Gorgeous canvas from Donna Downey and more E-Line flowers (everybody loves the E-Line range - it's so affordable)

Check out some of the fab new products and the beautiful displays - the cake stands are amazing !!!
Some of the gorgeous new papers...............

The new E-Line Flowers.......

Take a look at these gorgeous cake stands all decorated with flowers and bling....

Some fab Canvas from Donna Downey, the little bags are made from canvas refil pages !!

The kind folks at Prima have given us a lovely selection of new papers for our Blog Candy today, you know the drill, just leave a comment and if your number comes up some of them may be winging their way to you !!!

Ok back to the shopping !!

Apologies for the piccies being all over the place, for some reason they will not stay in the right place lol and I have given up trying to fix it !!!!

Lyn x

CHA Day 2

2010-01-26T05:58:00.030Z

Day 2 at CHA and we discovered areas of the show that we totally missed yesterday !! I still don't think we have managed to see every booth - it's a good job we are going back tomorrow as well lol !!

Pink Paislee had a beautiful stand, showing off their new collections to perfection as you can see here.......

We stopped by to see the folks at 7 Gypsies and they had a fab display with tons of lovely new products to drool over and order - can you believe this chandelier !
They had some fab little notebooks.....

And check out the new papers .....

We lingered quite a while at the Ranger booth and watched Tim demo some of his new products .....

I can't wait for these beauties to arrive in store......

BLOG CANDY ALERT !!!!!

OK, so who wants to win a set of October Afternoon papers ??????........and have them before they hit the shops !!!!!!

We have two Blog Candy giveaways today, thanks to the folks at October Afternoon we have one set of "Fly A Kite" papers and one set of "Thrift Shop" papers up for grabs. So you know what you need to do, just leave a comment and the random generator will select the numbers in a few days time.

We still have lots more Blog Candy to come this week so stay tuned......and there is still time to be in with a chance to win yesterdays offering - one of the brand new Pink Paislee 6 x 6 paper pads, just leave a comment on yesterdays post as well.

That's all for now

Lyn x

CHA Day 1

2010-01-25T06:31:00.024Z

Well, here we are at the end of day 1 of CHA and the first word that springs to mind is - shattered !!!!

We have had an amazing day, meeting up with all our regular suppliers and making lots of new contacts with some brand new and exciting new products !!

So what have we ordered so far ??.......................All of the latest releases from Tim Holtz of course, including the Stamps, Alterations, new colours of Distress Inks............in fact we have ordered everything new that Tim has produced !!!!

It goes without saying that the latest October Afternoon products will be hitting the Craft Emporium as soon as possible, we managed to get some sneak peaks of the latest two collections, "Fly A Kite" and "Thrift Shop" which are simply gorgeous as usual !

Check out "Fly A Kite"

and "Thrift Shop"

Pink Paislee had a beautiful display with three fab new collections, pictures to follow next time, as there is no photo editing on this laptop and it's taking ages to upload anything !!! But hey, we did promise Blog Candy, so leave a comment and you may be the lucky winner of one of their brand new 6 x 6 paper pads !!!

The random generator will select the winner in a few days time :)

We finished up the day with a fab meal at the famous Cheesecake Factory and now, I cannot move ...... seriously, I cannot !!........ so with an early start in the morning it's time to get some sleep ready for the serious shopping tomorrow...........talk soon :)

Lyn

Zzzzzzzz

2010-01-23T02:16:00.014Z

Greetings from sunny LA ............or NOT, scratch that and start again lol..... Greetings from rainy LA and wow has it rained, it's just like home lol !! We landed in what felt like the middle of the night UK time but in reality was 2pm here in LA, now the big problem was trying to stay awake until a reasonable hour so we wouldn't be wide awake at 3am !!! 1 hour and 40 minutes later we finally cleared US immigration, the queues were amazing but at least our baggage was already on the carousel by that time, so every cloud as they say.

Today was spent doing all the touristy bits, Hollywood, Venice Beach, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and more, we had a great day - just a shame about the rain !!

One more day in LA and then down to Anaheim for the start of CHA, I'm starting to get really excited now with the thought of all those yummy new releases and being able to catch up with all our suppliers with whom we speak regularly on the phone, it will be lovely to finally put faces to names and build on the great working relationships we already have.

Well it's now 9pm and feels like 1am - I need to try and stay awake for a couple more hours to crack this jet lag, so time to find somewhere great to eat dinner !!

Next time I hope to have all the news from CHA and I seem to remember that "someone" mentioned Blog Candy - stayed tuned !

Bye for now......ooh and it's finally stopped raining YAY !!

Lyn x

Leaving on a jet plane !!!

2010-01-19T17:14:00.012Z

Yes we are off ! Our bags are packed and we will shortly be leaving for California to attend the CHA Trade Show. All outstanding orders are now packed and despatched and the website has been closed until our return. We will re-open the first week in February with a MASSIVE Winter Sale !! Well, let's face it we are going to need the space for when all the gorgeous new products start to arrive.

I will hopefully manage to keep the blog updated with all the goings on at CHA and some peaks of what we have ordered, so keep checking for the latest news and piccies (note to self - must not forget the camera cable lead !)

Don't forget to leave a comment if there is anything in particular you would like to see stocked in the store over the next few months - we already have few *new ranges* up our sleeves which you are going to love, but we are always open to suggestions. Oooh there may even be BLOG CANDY !!! Watch this space !!

Must dash, I have a plane to catch lol !!!

Lyn x

Back in the land of the living !!!

2010-01-07T16:48:00.012Z

Yes, it's been a little while since my last post hasn't it. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and wish you all a happy and healthy New Year !!!

We are now back from our holidays, Christmas has been and gone for another year, deccies are back in the loft and here's to the start of a brand new decade ! The last couple of days have seen us catching up with all the orders placed whilst we were away, and sorting through tons of emails, we should hopefully be all back to normal by the end of the week, whatever "normal" is in this madhouse lol !!

Pink Paislee's new valentine range "Cupid" was waiting for us when we got back, and is now uploaded to the website here

Well, it's that time of the year again when our inbox is red hot with all the latest news and releases ready for CHA at the end of the month and it won't be long before we will be packing our bags ready to fly out to LA for some serious spending !!

We are busy filling our schedule with appointments and meetings with existing suppliers and we have already made some exciting new contacts for some lush new product lines.... sshhh !!

So...... if there are any products you want to see at the Craft Emporium this year then just let us know, as the old saying goes - we can't please all of the people all of the time, but we will try to please as many of you as possible LOL !!

Lyn x

It's official..............

2009-12-11T22:55:00.016Z

........not only do I not know what day it is.........I can't even get the correct month either !!
Those of you who were eagle-eyed enough to notice on the newsletter saw that the last day of opening before our Christmas break was 11th Sept !!???!!
You see, I really DO need a break lol !!
Anyway, that's me finished now for Christmas, the shop will stay open for browsing, but no more orders will be despatched until our return on the ........er ??? ................let me check.............6th January lmao !
Gift Vouchers will still be available throughout the Christmas break as we can activate them remotely, you just can't spend them til January lol !!

Can you believe, I have hardly started making my Christmas cards, the deccies are still in the loft and I have been madly shopping on-line for the rest of the pressies all evening !! Next year I WILL be organised !! - where have I heard that before ??

I'm thinking I will use this little chap (Stampotique - Santa Baby) for most of my Christmas Cards, there's just something about him I like, I have got him all stamped out, just need to start colouring him now and playing around with the layout, these were just a couple of test ones.....the way I am going, they will be the only ones finished lol !!

They will probably look nothing like either of theses when they are finished ! Who wants to take a bet that I end up nipping to M & S for bought ones - shock horror !!!!

Watch this space ........next blog piccies will be aforementioned bought ones !!

Right off for some zzzzzz
Goodnight all
Lyn

Sidetracked !!

2009-12-02T17:16:00.011Z

Yeah, I know I am supposed to be making my Christmas Cards, but I got a little sidetracked with this fab stamp !! I just love this Stampotique stamp, so was itching to do something with it. First I went for mad colours, a real clash and now I'm not sure what to make of it LOL !! Then I toned it down a little and went for something more tasteful !??? Anyway here they are...........

I might even make a start on my Christmas cards later................or not !!

Lyn x

ooh yummy stamps !!

2009-11-28T15:17:00.017Z

Oooh.... I'm all excited today as the final 3 boxes in the yummy stamp order arrived yesterday.......so I am thrilled to welcome STAMPOTIQUE to the Craft Emporium !!! YAY !!
I love these stamps and there are not many places in the UK to buy them. We have loads to choose from too :)
Stampotique are really popular at the moment and it's no wonder as they are soooo cool !!!

Well, it's been one of the busiest weeks on record at the Craft Emporium this week, October Afternoon Very Merry has been flying out of the door in practically every order......... so there has been very little time to catch up with everything else. Please tell me I am not the only one who hasn't even made a start on my Christmas Cards or Christmas shopping yet !!

This has been hanging around on my desk for a couple of weeks, so I finally took a piccy, I was messing around with Grungeboard and found a use for one of the Grungepaper flowers I made a while ago. I just love the Tim Holtz Funky Flame stamp and seem to use it for everything at the moment !!

Right, it's about time I thought about making a start on my Christmas cards ( I did say "thought about" - will probably not get around to actually making them for a few weeks yet LOL !)

Bye for now

Lyn x

Buried under Pizza Boxes and coming up for air !!!!

2009-11-24T22:29:00.022Z

Wow - It's official..... Very Merry is a hit !!! I am always amazed at how quickly the new October Afternoon products fly and order tons of it, but I have never seen a paper line sell so quickly........looks like an early start on the order packing again tomorrow lol !!

I treated myself at the weekend to some of my pal Dyan's fab new Ephemera Download Collage sheets, so have been cutting and sticking tonight and came up with this 7" x 5" canvas. I somehow don't think she is finished yet, I've already gesso-ed out the background once, so will ponder on it for a few days.

If you haven't seen these lush collage sheet downloads yet, then hop on over to Dyan's Blog and take a look, there are 7 fab sheets and more to look forward to very soon too.

Oooh, and we should hopefully have some fab new stamps on the website by the end of the week ....... one part of the order is already here and I cannot wait to get them on-line, but need to wait for the other 3 boxes to arrive so they can all go on at once. I love this stamp company and am thrilled to be stocking their products. But.... you are going to have to wait for a few more days yet to see which range it is... yeah I know, I'm a tease lol !!

Ok, darling husband has just looked at my canvas and declared it a pile of c**p !?!?!? It's probably about as good as his golf then....... ha ha !!

Goodnight all

Lyn x

A VERY MERRY Day !!

2009-11-23T18:48:00.019Z

Yes folks - October Afternoon VERY MERRY has arrived !!! HOORAY !! Gorgeous papers, stickers and wild cards. In the same consigment we also have the Farm Fresh and Report Card Rub-Ons, Stamps and Wild Cards. Check these beauties out !!

and how about these fab offerings...........

I know many of you have been waiting (and hoping) for the Very Merry collection to arrive in time for JYC and it has just made it !!!!

So what are you waiting for - go shop !!

It was a dark and stormy night..................

2009-11-19T12:40:00.012Z

Was it ever !!!! Storm force 10 winds and torrential rain have been hitting the Island overnight and this morning. So, up I get at 7.30, coffee on, computer on, just sat down to sort out my farm (yeah another farmville addict lol) when I heard the drip, drip, drip of water !! Oh no, the rain had managed to get in through the dormer roof and my lovely canvas which had been sitting drying over night was awash !! So buckets and bowls at the ready, I set about trying to salvage the remains.........it's not too bad, could have been much worse, but will need to re-do the background and some of the paper embellies. Was gonna post piccies of it today, but will have to re-hash it first.

I know I haven't been around for a little while, for a start we are still manically busy which is good, but I have also been having major problems with blogger, the few times I did manage to get a post started, it just wouldn't upload ??? I also cannot get on other blogs, everytime I try and look at one, my computer just does a complete freeze........I have been trying to have a look at everyones lovely work honest !!

Well, the week started off quite challenging, when amid all the wind and rain, Everest arrived to fit the new windows !!! Let's just say it was a bit breezy, but nearly all done now, they are back tomorrow morning (weather permitting) to do my craft room and the study which I am so not looking forward to....having to shift everything out or cover it up !!! I suppose it will be worth it in the end.

A few good things to look forward to in the next week or so..........October Afternoon VERY MERRY has shipped !!!!! YAY !!! At last !!! The poor folks were all struck down with Swine Flu, so were very short staffed and that held everything up even more - hope they are all feeling better now.
The second good thing ........a couple of my favourite stamp ranges are coming to the Craft Emporium..........hmmmm should I say which ones yet ???? Maybe I'll let it be a suprise LOL !! The first range has already shipped, so not much longer to wait and the second one will hopefully follow shortly after.

Well, I really hope this storm ends soon, my daughter and all her friends are coming over from Uni for the weekend - feel sorry for them - 4 1/2 hours on the ferry across the Irish sea in this weather YUK !! Steph is well used to the stormy seas by now, but her pals are gonna get a bit of a shock !! Let's hope it dies down a bit.

I will leave you with a few random pics of stuff done over the last couple of weeks..........

.........and a couple of quickie cards with the new Blonde Moments Christmas Papers "All I Want For Christmas"

Lyn x

More piccies from the weekend !

2009-11-05T15:49:00.009Z

This class was great fun, we made this cute little Time mini box, incorporating all sorts of cool techniques including stamping, watercolouring with Glimmer Mists, metalworking and making the fab Fob watch for the front - I just love the crackled effect which we did with lots of lovely Ranger Crackle Accents poured onto the face.

Lyn x

An amazing weekend !!

2009-10-29T22:40:00.024Z

You soooo need to go to the next Artsy Crafty weekend - it was absolute heaven !!! On second thoughts I shouldn't be saying that as it will be all booked up too quickly next time and I might miss out LOL !!

What a great time was had by all, Leandra and Lin were fab teachers, the classes were brilliant - lots of inking, metal working, painting, spraying - you name it, we did it. It was lovely to meet so many new friends and catch up with some old ones too !! We chatted, laughed and exchanged email addresses and vowed to meet up at the next one. I was so busy having fun that I didn't take that many piccies, but here's a few snaps of the "works in progress" and hey I actually completely finished everything !!!! That's unheard of for me.

Lin doing a demo with the Ten Seconds Studio Metal and tools - fab stuff !!

A "work in progress" - will need to take more piccies of the finished project and upload them later in the week.

The start of the main project - a fab clock, we worked on various parts over the course of the weekend.

Working out where to place everything on the backing canvas

Nearly finished (it's not really crooked, it just hadn't been stuck down yet !

Penny made her clock in beautiful shades of blue (and she'll kill me for uploading this lol !!)

We played with Utee too

The lovely Trish and Suzanne...

Lots of masking and stamping to make a little mini accordian book....

And last but not least, our lovely Dutch friends Louise and Jeanette, we had such a laugh in the bar on the final night. Louise is the very talented lady who designs and makes the fab Art Journey Stamps - check out her fab blog for loads of inspiration here

So back to reality on Tuesday, trying to clear the backlog before the next wave of postal strikes and pack 50 Mystery Kits ready for the UKS Cyber Crop - and no, I can't tell you what's in them cos it's a secret !!!!

I finally took pity on the very lonely boxes from My Minds Eye that have been sitting here unloved and unpacked since the end of last week - check out the gorgeous Life Story 1 & 2 here .... I have to admit the images are not brilliant, but trust me, they are fab in real life.

Right I think it's time to climb the wooden hill before I fall asleep at my computer.

Goodnight all !

Lyn zzz zzzz zzzz zzzz

Bad blogger !!!

2009-10-22T21:46:00.012+01:00

I know, I know - it's been a while again !!! Does anyone know where I can get a magic potion so I can have at least another 8 hours in everyday !! Lots more deliveries keep turning up - I think the shopping fairy ordered them whilst I wasn't looking (that's what I keep telling dh anyway - he reckons I have more stock than our local Tesco's and why do I possibly need it all ? - er.......... cos it's a shop !!)

Anyway we have the gorgeous Making Memories "Vintage Findings" which arrived at the beginning of the week...............

Pink Paislee "Mistletoe & Co" arrived the next day but only managed to get it on-line today and there are loads of boxes sitting here waiting to be opened with the fab My Mind's Eye Life Stories 1 & 2 in............. no way can I even allow myself a peek in those boxes as I am off the rock in the morning and haven't even packed yet !!!! 'fraid they will have to wait now until I get back on Monday.

We managed to get as many orders out as possible yesterday before the strike and have lots of lovely emails saying they arrived today, which was brilliant news. I was mostly expecting them to get stuck in sorting offices up and down the country. No orders were posted out today as we just didn't want to take the chance of them getting stuck at the bottom of a huge backlog - after a long discussion with our local delivery manager we have taken his advice and posting of orders will resume on Monday. We are so lucky here on the Island as our posties are not part of Royal Mail and it's business as normal, however they will probably have a very quiet day tomorrow with very little UK mail arriving in the morning.

Yay this weekend I will be mostly getting messy !! It's the fab Artsy Crafty weekend down in Newport Pagnell with the wonderfully talented Lin from LB Crafts and Leandra from PaperArtsy - what a combination ! So off in the morning via the plane to Luton with my pal Penny, can't wait to meet up with loads of my craft buddys from around the UK. We even have time for a little retail therapy too before the event starts on Saturday - result ! Now that I have been reminded to take my camera (thanks Katy lol) I can take loads of pics and post them when I get back.

Right, I suppose I'd better get off this computer and start throwing a few things in a bag - or I'll be packing 10 minutes before we leave as usual - I am trying so hard to be organised with this trip - (think I've already failed miserably)

Will tell you all about it when I get back.

Lyn x

Still buried under Pizza boxes !!

2009-10-13T19:13:00.016+01:00

Oh dear, it's been a little while hasn't it.............what can I say, except life and pizza boxes keep getting in the way !! Just as I thought it was calming down a bit, another October Afternoon delivery has arrived, so we are getting a bit manic again lol !!

The fab 8 x 8 OA Report Card and Farm Fresh Paper Pads have now arrived along with the Label Stickers and Die Cut Shapes (which are in sticker form this time and not just pop outs) . Still waiting on the Stamps and Rub Ons and the fab new Christmas range which I am hoping will be here soon.
Talking of new goodies, a couple of yummy deliveries are currently winging their way over the Atlantic and will be here very soon - the new Pink Paislee Christmas range and the much awaited Vintage Findings from Making Memories, so keep checking the latest product section of the website.

I promised a while ago that I would post some piccies of my lovely new racks, you know the ones that wouldn't stay on the walls with just Glue Dots !!!!

Well after several trials and tribulations and a few visits to the builders merchants for 70 thousand different gluey like substances including one called " Sticks like Sh*t" !! - can you believe they actually called it that lol !! - well it doesn't stick at all !..... I had to finally resort to the tried and tested "screw the the blinking things into the wall" method !! So here they are in all their glory - I just love them.

and the new Ink Pad Storage Unit

I am finding it so much easier to use stuff now that it's at arms reach, half my inks and paints were stacked away in boxes and I was just too lazy to get them down from the shelves. No excuses now to create something !!! Just need another 8 hours in the day !

Ok, I need to go and eat some food before I expire !!

Will try not to leave it so long next time.

Lyn xx

Happy Saturday !

2009-10-03T17:31:00.010+01:00

I have officially declared today a "no work zone" - I have the house to myself all weekend and after the manic week of all the "October Afternoon" orders - I am shattered and having a nice lazy day, still up at 7am though - that was a lie in lol !

A nice yummy breakfast of granola, strawberries and yoghurt, an even yummier lunch of chocolate, lots of inky stamping of various bits of paper and some sax playing to chill out. (that's the bit where you need to feel sorry for the neighbours !!)

I've been meaning to upload this pic of the Grungepaper Flowers I made last week, so here they are ! Not the best in the world, but I had loads of fun making them, just need to put them on something now !

I've been stamping all afternoon and as usual have very little to show for it lol ! Is it just me, but I have loads and loads of bits ie. stamped images, backgrounds etc, but very little assembled ! I did manage to finish one ATC however, and have used the Rock Candy Crackle on the entire piece, not sure whether it will show up very well as my piccy taking is rubbish !!

I may even have chocolate for supper as well, seeing as the chef is away at the footie, hmmm ....chocolate, a nice glass of red and X Factor - what more could a girl want LOL !!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, I may even finish something else tomorrow , and I am trying not to think of the massive box of Prima flowers that need to go on the website !!!

Lyn

Woo Hoo !!! Look whats just arrived !!

2009-09-29T12:02:00.006+01:00

Just a quickie post as I am knee deep in boxes of lovely new stash.................yes it's the delivery you have all been waiting for........ OCTOBER AFTERNOON IS IN THE BUILDING !!

Still lot's of the range to ship from the US and yes, there are Label Stickers and Die Cut Shapes coming sooon along with Stamps, Rub-ons etc. I will sort out the Bazzill match packs as soon as possible - may be a couple of days as new cardstock will need to be ordered.

Enjoy !

Lyn x

And the winner is......................

2009-09-28T07:24:00.013+01:00

..lucky for some number 13

So congratulations Bonjen3 - if you would like to email me your addy at lyn@craft-emporium.co.uk I will get your goodies off to you.
Thanks to everyone for taking part and leaving a comment :)

Well the weekend flew by, operation "re-organise craft room" began in earnest on Saturday morning ! My brand new shelves were itching to be filled, but first dh had to take an electric saw to my existing shelves - everything was cleared off, shelves sawn and re-positioned with amazing ease (since when did he become such a whizz with electric tools ???) and then it was time to put everything back, now here comes the law of sodd - it never all goes back does it ? I had twice as much space and still there were boxes of stash sitting on the floor without a home..........how did that happen ? So it is still a work in progress and will post piccies when it is finally all sorted. I just love the little wall racks for my dabbers and inks, but note to self - they will NOT stay up with glue dots lmao, so down to the builders merchants to buy some "no nails" today and then it will all be finally finished.

Had a fab time on Sunday at my pal Penny's house - we played with grungepaper, stamps and inks and made loads of gorgeous flowers - I will post some pics as soon as I get a chance to get the camera out. Oooh finally had a chance for a little play with the Rock Candy Crackle too - brilliant stuff I officially love it !! Restocks are on the way and should be here at the end of the week.

Right, as usual Monday is mega busy day and I need to be finished at a reasonable hour as I will be dashing to my first saxaphone ensemble rehearsal - wish me luck ,or should it be - wish them luck lol !!

Lyn x

Blog Candy !!

2009-09-24T09:42:00.010+01:00

Well I promised Blog Candy and here it is.............at last !!

The weeks are flying by at the moment and I have been buried underneath new products galore, so no time to do anything but pack orders and upload new stock lol !!

Anyway, who wants to win some of the new Sassafrass papers ????

Just leave a comment telling me which one of the three new paper collections is your favourite and the lucky winner chosen by the random generator will get them - Simples !

Don't forget to say which collection you would like, you can choose from Amplify, Monstrosity or Sweet Marmalade ! Will leave this running until Sunday night.

Got a fab delivery due in a few days time......... oooh wonder what it can be ?

Let's just say I have just ordered a ton of pizza boxes ready for the scramble !!

Awww....... I have given it away now lol !! Get ready to start stalking the site is all I will say for now !

Have a great day !

Lyn x

Fab weekend !!

2009-09-17T07:08:00.008+01:00

Well it's been non stop since we got back from our weekend trip, no time to blog or catch up with anything lol ! We had a brilliant time discovering the Yorkshire area, staying in Knaresborough and visiting York, Harrowgate, and all those gorgeous little villages around the area - it's such a great part of the country ! We stayed in a beautiful georgian place - Newton House, if you are ever in the area I can highly reccommend it, the breakfasts are to die for !!

Had a fab time at the Great Northern Papercraft Show, caught up with Dyan and the crew from Art from The Heart, had a natter and brought back all the fab new Blonde Moments range for the shop. I did treat myself to some great storage units for my own craft room - we all love storage yes ?

It would have been a good idea if I had measured my area first though lol !! I now have to move all my existing shelves to fit them in, which is going to be a massive job !!! Still it will be worth it in the end.

Those friendly delivery men have been visiting me again lol !!! All in all 12 huge boxes turned up yesterday !! So now ploughing through them and trying to get them all on-line, Pink Paislee has arrived and is now on-line, 2 new collections, Twilight and Amber Road - gorgeous !!

Sassafrass Lass is next to be checked off and uploaded - so keep checking the latest product section.

Right better get some more work done !!

Every cloud........

2009-09-09T08:50:00.009+01:00

Well we are off the little rock at the weekend to take dd back to Uni, I'm sure gonna miss her, and her organisational skill with the stock rooms.........and the fact that she has got all my accounts bang up to date !!!

Seeing as we are going "across" anyway it seemed like a good idea to have a few days away, so we are off to the Yorkshire area and I thought "what a great time to catch up with my pal Dyan and all the gang at the Art from the Heart Studios" - well, double whammy as it is only the Great Northern Papercraft Show that weekend !!!! Now how did I engineer that lol !!! So I can catch up with all the news with Dyan, have a few hours at the show and.....................bring all the lovely brand new Blonde Moments release " ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS" back for the shop - RESULT !!! I am sure you are all following Dyan's blog so you can see all the sneaky peaks from her new collection on there and wow what a fab stand she will have at the show !!!

I just have to show you this though.........

..........how fab is that ! Colour your own papers with all the lovely Blonde Moments Pearl Pigments - therapuetic or what !

Not sure what dh will do whilst I stroke paper and gossip, but I am sure he will find something in the area to occupy him.

ooohhhh.... Look whats arrived !!

2009-09-08T08:56:00.009+01:00

The brand new and fab Tim Holtz Rock Candy is here !!!!!!!!

and 17 (yes 17 !!) new colours of Distress Stickles.

Check out Tim's fab YouTube video on the new Rock Candy Crackle Paint........

ooh more new goodies !!

2009-09-04T21:19:00.008+01:00

YAY !! the new Basic Grey is now here.....

Just finished unpacking the last box now !! Wow, Friday night - I do know how to live LOL !!

Well, the end of another crazy week and we are just about getting up to date with the orders, next week will be manic for another reason as I will be trying to find time to help dd get all her stuff packed ready to go back to Uni at the end of the week, so no crafting for me this weekend, just tons of washing and sorting lol.

Don't forget there is still time to hop on over to Tuesday Taggers for a chance to win the Cosmo "Boyfriend Papercrafting Kit" - everyone has the same chance of winning by taking part in this weeks challenge, so if you haven't already entered why not give it a go !

Hope you all have a great weekend !

Oooh almost forgot - OA Farm Fresh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-01T16:55:00.005+01:00

Oooooh I love this !!!!!

Normal service is resumed !

2009-09-01T16:40:00.005+01:00

Normal Twix service that is lol !! We are now fully twixed for the next couple of weeks. Anyway onto more important things.....................who wants to win a Cosmo Cricket "The Boyfriend" Collection pack ???

The Craft Emporium are once again pleased to sponsor this weeks TUESDAY TAGGERS Challenge, so if you want to win this fab prize, just hop on over to Tuesday Taggers and join in the challenge.

Have fun !

A little bit of "me time" !

2009-08-29T14:02:00.010+01:00

Well, I have taken the plunge and booked to go on the fab Artsycraft Weekend in October - this fab altered art weekend is being organised by Leanda from PaperArtsy and Lin from LBCrafts - what a combination of talent !!!! I am now officially counting sleeps LOL !

Not sure whether it is all sold out now, there maybe a couple of places left - the link is here anyway - hey I will actually get a whole weekend to get messy with inky stuff and spend some time with good friends !!

Another delivery of goodies arrived yesterday which I had totally forgotten that I'd ordered !!!

Lots of fab clear stamp sets at a great bargain price of only £4.99 !!! Loads of Christmas sets and lots of all occasion useful type ones too :)

I made this card the other weekend using the My Minds Eye "Colourful Christmas" papers and of course the very popular snag'ems Polar Bear and totally forgot to put it on here lol - so here he is...........

Note to self...............

2009-08-27T20:21:00.015+01:00

.............don't upload new products to the website after a 14 hour day and 2 glasses of wine !!!!
It has taken me twice as long and "shock horror" I nearly gave it all away for nothing LOL !! Just a tiny pricing error.....like forgetting to put any prices in at all !!
Anyway the new Making Memories MISTLETOE is now on-line, still a couple of the papers and the embellies to arrive but lots of lovely papers to be going on with.

Well, the Cosmo has really gone down well, it's been flying out all day, some of you even managed to grab the Mini Decks before they sold out ( still a couple of "Boyfriend" left) if you are very quick !

There's good news and bad news today - the bad news is......still no Twix's.......... Noooooo!!

...and the good news is..............well let's just say a *new to us* range is coming to the Craft Emporium very soon.... ok, just a little hint... think lots of colours LOL !! ???

Ohh, and if you see some Christmas trees lurking in the "travel section" you'll know why !

Woo Hoo !!!

2009-08-26T16:05:00.005+01:00

Just a quickie post as there are still more boxes to unpack !!
The brand new Cosmo has arrived..... three fab collections - THE BOYFRIEND, EARTH LOVE and JOLLY BY GOLLY, all on-line and ready to order, I am just digging myself out from a pile of Bazzill sorting out the colour matches LOL !!

Mini Decks are flying out so you need to be quick !!

Nut and Meg have arrived !

2009-08-24T17:20:00.017+01:00

Oooh.... aren't they fab ! The new Christmas stamps from PaperArtsy have just arrived. 8 new un-mounted plates with loads of fab images, I'm still pondering on which is my favourite, it's between the Fairy( Plate 6) and the Cat (Plate 8) - which ones do you like the best ?

We have also got the 4 new Squiggly Mini's and 12 brand new Ink & The Dog Mini's too. I can't wait to play with these !

Lots more lovely goodies are due to arrive at the end of this week........I'm stalking the delivery men again LOL !!

Arghhh..... we have also ran out of Twix !!! I'm afraid it is going to be a Twix-less few days until I get a chance to climb from under this pile of parcels and go buy some more....but hey look on the bright side - no calories for a few days !

Woo Hoo !!!

2009-08-18T22:25:00.004+01:00

YAY !!!! New October Afternoon piccies are up

Check out the fab "REPORT CARD"

Watch this space for the next range FARM FRESH coming soon

Leandra Beads

2009-08-18T13:26:00.011+01:00

I've been having great fun at the weekend playing with my Melt Pot and making Leandra Beads........Leandra Beads were developed by Leandra Franich from one of my favourite stamp companies Paper Artsy.
I have teamed my beads with one of the 7 Gypsies Bracelet Kits - they are not perfectly round, but hey that adds to the charm !

Suze Weinberg has a great YouTube video here.. go make some !!

The kidnapped Polar Bear !

2009-08-16T23:09:00.009+01:00

Awwww.... I managed to kidnap one of those cute little Polar Bears before they all left me for their new homes LOL:

The papers are the new Imaginisce Polar Expressions with a little sprinkling of Stardust Stickles and the Ranger Inkssentials White Pigment Pen.

Well that's the weekend over, I'm just back from a fab Indonesian supper at our neighbours home - good food, wine and great company !! Hope you all had a great weekend too !

Just had to share.............

2009-08-16T12:34:00.006+01:00

.........look what gorgeous card popped through my letter box the other day !!

It easily has to be one of the nicest cards I've ever been lucky enough to receive !
It was made by the very talented Katy - pop along and have a look at all the other gorgeous creations on her blog
Thank you Katy - you made my day !!

Just about to kidnap a Polar Bear................

2009-08-12T20:22:00.005+01:00

..........it seem's like every other order that has been packed over the last couple of days contains a Polar Bear...so before they all go I'm going to kidnap one for research purposes LOL ! Will try and get something done with him and uploaded in the next couple of days.

In the meantime I have been putting the finishing touches to my "Moscow Journey" Mini Book - I have used lots of fab 7 Gypsies products (one of my favourite manufacturers) and it's all finally coming together, just a couple of bits of journaling left to do then it's all finished - this for me is the hardest part, I have so many nearly finished projects all waiting for journaling - think I need to take some sort of a journaling class to get my creative writing flowing LOL !

Will post a couple of the pages when (and if)I ever get the journaling finished LOL !

Just found a fab company with some great products today, order placed !

Where has the week gone ??

2009-08-06T14:18:00.007+01:00

Wow it's nearly the weekend again - I think I must have lost a few days this week somehow !

Lots of new goodies have arrived, brand new Christmas and Halloween collections from Imaginisce, some fab new Felties from Sassafrass Lass. Lots of ordering too - have chosen what I think are the best from the new CHA releases and spent far too much money LOL !!

Isn't it typical, you get a whole weekend to yourself to craft and you completely lose your mojo !! Why is it that I have all these wonderful ideas when I am knee deep in parcels, and then when I do get the time - they have all disappeared LOL !
I did manage to make a start on the front cover for an art journal, which gave me a chance to play with the brights alcohol inks - and I just love that stamp off the new Tim Holtz Rock Star set "Funky Flames" - I think I'll be getting lots of use from that one. Not sure yet whether to bind it portrait or landscape - the jury is still out !

arghhh !!

2009-08-03T17:41:00.005+01:00

Very frustrated at the moment as the website server is down and I have lots of lovely brand new stock to go online !!! Hope it's not too long before it's back up - I was going to finish work at a reasonable hour today LOL !!! I'll just have to sit here and stroke all the lovely new stash. There's lots of spooky goings on coupled with a little festive glitz - yummy !! so just a sneaky peak for now.....

Still on the Christmas theme...........

2009-07-31T19:40:00.018+01:00

Another using the new Tim Holtz Mini Holidays Set - I am just loving this set of stamps !

Background was 7 Gypsies paper "Louis" inked with Distress Inks. A little bit of sparkle added using Fired Brick Distress Stickles and Tim's "spatter paint" technique using gold metallic mixative (not sure whether the gold splatter shows up) I just love the little calendar stamp on this set and have a feeling this could be on my Christmas cards this year in some form or another.

Well, the orders are all up to date, backlog cleared, family all away for a few days, so it's guilt free, messy and inky fun for me this weekend - NOTE : I am ignoring the pile of paperwork - as it doesn't count LOL - at least until I get totally hassled for it !!

Have a good weekend everyone !

eughh !!

2009-07-29T19:16:00.012+01:00

Stirring a pan of hot chilli with a saxaphone around your neck is not a good look !!!!!................ but I digress... the sneaky peak on Monday was of course, the brand new Shabby Green Door - a whole new division from Daisy Bucket with the first debut range "Farmers Market" - unlike the usual Daisy Bucket papers, these are heavy weight and un-textured, double-sided and with matching rub-ons and little clear stamps - it's already proving quite a hit, so hope we can look forward to more Shabby Green Door ranges to come. Daisy Bucket will be producing some new papers of their own in September so lots to look forward to there.

Tomorrow we will hopefully have the new Sassafrass Lass "Me Likey" range and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the new Felties will be in the same order - our regular delivery man thinks I am quite mad " no-one else gets THAT excited when I bring their boxes " he said LOL !!

Having nabbed one of the new Tim Holtz Mini Holidays stamp sets at the weekend (all in the name of research you understand - well I had to make sure they were ok first !!) I came over all festive and made a tag using alcohol inks, crackle paint, stickles, and other bits including Grungepaper which is my new best friend - try cutting those antlers out of paper or card, by the time they have been inked and painted - that reindeer would have been bald ! but not with grungepaper - wow it's so flexible and easy to cut out.

OK, I did try to get the picture underneath the words, but for some reason I can only do sides or top ?!?!?! it's on anyway LOL !

Just another manic Monday !

2009-07-27T22:12:00.011+01:00

........and still working LOL !! Mondays are such a busy day with all the weekends orders to make a start on packing and despatching, but this Monday has been totally manic. So just a quickie post tonight as I am trying to get some new goodies ready for upload in the morning - will give you just a sneaky peak for now ha ha !! Anyone know which paper range this is from ? And it's not October Afternoon LOL !!

It doesn't help that I'm feeling a bit groggy with the start of a cold either, and I really should just pack myself of to bed with a hot toddy. So I will just wish you all good night and sweet dreams.
Lyn

And the winner is....................

2009-07-24T20:21:00.006+01:00

Drumroll please.........

Congratulations Ali Mays !! The random generator picked the 33rd person who signed to follow our blog. If you'd like to email me at lyn@craft-emporium.co.uk with your details I can get your goodies in the post.

Well, that's our first blog candy give away - thank you to everyone for signing up, posting comments and making me feel welcome in blogland - and a special thank you to Katy for all the technical help LOL !!

Hopefully, I am now going to find some time to play with some of the new Tim Holtz stamps, YAY !! the weekend starts here !!

Phew !!!

2009-07-23T19:05:00.000+01:00

Wow it's been manic here for the last couple of days and already I am neglecting the blog !!!

I have finally emerged through all the boxes of lovely stash and I am just having a nice glass of red whilst the "other half" cooks supper ! What a suprise when the brand new Tim Holtz stamps arrived - I wasn't expecting them so soon - Bonus !!! So I've been manically packing parcels and uploading stock all day hoping, just hoping that I can find time to have a play at the weekend. I'm thinking Grungepaper, alcohol inks, bits from the Idea-ology range and of course some of the new stamps - BLISS !

Tomorrow the winner of the Wild Cards will be announced - just got to work out this random generator first ha ha.........may have to call on someone to explain how - help KATY !!!!

Ok that's my chef calling, a nice yummy chinese ! Have a great evening everyone

Blog Candy !!

2009-07-21T18:24:00.000+01:00

To celebrate our new blog we have some yummy blog candy to give away, simply sign up to follow our blog and you may be the lucky recipient of this..........

The lucky winner will be announced in a couple of days

Ooh new stuff !

2009-07-20T18:39:00.000+01:00

The fab new 7 Gypsies papers have just arrived and they are totally lush, quite different from their usual style, for sure these will be a winner. As most of the new 7 Gypsies releases are not going to be here until September, these beauties will keep us going till then.
Four new 97% Complete Stickers have arrived as well - I'm loving the Retail Therapy one, we can all identify with that one !!
Well I suppose I'd better get them on-line, or should I just keep them all for me ?

Just loving Ducks In A Row !

2009-07-19T18:20:00.000+01:00

I did actually manage to do some playing with the new October Afternoon papers last week, and covered this fab mini book from Maya Road with the gorgeous Ducks In A Row papers.

The frame embellishment on the front was inspired by an article by Mary Anne Walters in the July edition of Scrapbook Inspiration using rub-ons onto acetate and don't you just love those Wild Cards !!

Welcome !

2009-07-19T17:15:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the Craft Emporium blog, I've been meaning to do this for quite some time, but never seem to get a spare moment - I am either unpacking boxes of goodies or packing boxes of goodies LOL !
Hopefully this will you keep you up to date with all the goings on at The Craft Emporium, such as new goodies arriving, special offers and maybe even some blog candy from time to time.
Our Midsummer Madness sale is now on and there are still plenty of bargains to be had, over 1,200 products right across the store, so it's a little bit manic right now, but we are doing our best to minimize any delays.
Can't believe it's that time of year again already - yes CHA Summer and loads of new goodies being released - I want them all !!! Seriously it would be good to stock everything, but not really a viable business plan (so my accountant keeps telling me) so hopefully we have chosen the best of the new releases to bring to the store.