Art of Life

Acrylic Scalloped mini book

2009-07-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

I just love this little book! I am doing a beginners workshop in August over the course of 2 tuesday evenings and this is the class that I will be teaching. The theme of the book is 'My Favourite Things', and I chose to do my four year old daughters favourite things at this moment in time. This is a very generic theme so my pupils could be scrapping about their favourite people, places, pets, holidays, the possibilities are endless!! I am really looking forward to inspiring my new ladies, see you on the 18th!

Summer Workshop

2009-07-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

I am really looking forward to meeting up with the Mum's group at Dartmouth Community Centre again in August. I will be teaching this mini book class over the two weeks and can't wait to see all the cute baby photos!

Doodling on buttons

2009-07-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

This LO was made in the rain!!! Seriously, I ran some free workshops at the Sutton Arts Festival a couple of weeks ago and my Art Marquee was missing its sides, AND IT WAS RAINING HORIZONTALLY. Apart from the weather I had a lovely morning and met some lovely new ladies who have signed up for a beginners workshop in August.

Evening Cropping!

2009-07-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hello my lovelies! Sorry the blog's been a little idle lately just been a little busy. However, I thought I might let you know that there is an opportunity to get a little evening cropping done!
I am running a new beginners workshop at the YMCA off Pilkington Avenue in Sutton Coldfield on Tuesday 18th August and Tuesday 25th August. If you would like to come along from 7pm till 9-30pm you would be most welcome to come and 'do your own thing'. The cost of the crop will be £5-00. If you want to book yourself a place then email me on artoflife@hotmail.co.uk

Cancellation Of August Crop

2009-06-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know that I have had to cancel the crop in August as I am sailing away to the Med!! The next crop is July 12th and then we will have a break until the Sept crop on the 13th!

Canvas wall art and more!

2009-06-15T03:16:00.000-07:00

These are just a few more photos of some home decor projects demonstrated at my crop on Sunday. There are canvas's, box frames. altered frames and candles.

Taking your Scrappin' into your home!

2009-06-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few examples of the workshop on home decor. I have altered frames, candles and used a box frame around a 12x12 layout. I'm injecting a bit of green into my brown and cream lounge and this a creative way of doing it!

Let's Talk Crop, Sunday 14th April

2009-06-15T02:56:00.001-07:00

We had a really productive and relaxing day at the crop yesterday, it was lovely to meet 3 new members and welcome them into our friendly group. I did a workshop on 'Home decor' : hopefully inspiring a few of you to think about taking your scrapbooking skills 'off the page' and into your home! An enjoyable day all round!! Well done to Julie for winning the raffle prizes- how she managed this when she didn't actually do any scrappin' was amazing!! Good friends come in handy when they buy your raffle tickets for you!!

Huntington (Penkridge) Crop

2009-06-14T15:03:00.001-07:00

It was lovely to see all my 'Penkridge' friends again on Saturday, Donna did a demonstration on how to make flowers from material scraps that have been stiffened! She had made some really cute clip frames with the flowers and lace, and then everyone was able to have a go themselves with the class kit.
It was perfect timing for me as I was about to do a workshop on home decor the very next day! So these piccies are my interpretation of the technique: I used plain cream cotton (bed sheet) and stamped it with Staz On before stiffening the material and adding a bit of glitz!
The middle picture is my mini frame with a photo of my mad cat (who thinks he is a dog) and a flower made with the material supplied at the class. For details and dates about the crop in Huntington look on Donna's blog: imintosomethinggood.blogspot.com . I have been asked to do a class for them the next time I am there with the shop, so really looking forward to that.!

Cutting Crew Crop

2009-05-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone at Cutting Crew Crop at Brierley Hill! I had a lovely day with you all today and I apologise to those of you who left with 'lighter' purses after seeing the shop. I think I've got a few more of you hooked on hand tinting black & white photos after my demo- It's just such good fun!!

Looking forward to seeing Anita, Toni and the rest of the crew on the 4th July for my next visit.

Mixing with the Celebs!

2009-05-04T05:43:00.000-07:00

Just had to show off this piccie of me and Tim Holtz, we're best of buddies you know!! Stick with me girls, you'll go far.............

Well done Pat- The lucky raffle winner

2009-05-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Pat was on a roll today, not only did she win the crop raffle but her LO was voted the best entry in the challenge kit.

Well done Pat! (bet your glad you came!)

What a fun LO

2009-05-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to show you one of Gemma's LO's that she completed at the crop today- How cool is that?!

Well done Gem!

Time for a break! Gemma, Margaret & Gaynor

2009-05-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

A crop is all about chilling out and having time to sit and have lunch with your friends - Oh, and scrapbooking!

Look what we made!!!

2009-05-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here I am with some of the Lifers who took part in the challenge kit this month. Didn't they all do well?

Decisions, decisions!!

2009-05-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Judging the challenge LO entries- serious business!!

The winning challenge LO- Well done Pat!!!

2009-05-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

This is the brilliant LO that beat everyone hands down when voted for by secret ballot! Well done Pat, you clever girlie!!
Everyone loved her use of paper folding to make the flower embellishment and the ribbon threading across the bottom of the LO.

Margaret's challenge LO

2009-05-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

So Sweet!

I love the way Margaret has triple matted the photograph of her and her grandson.

Such a beautiful LO.

Julie's challenge LO

2009-05-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well done Julie on producing another wonderful LO full of fun! Concentrating on having fun scrappin' with friends.

2009-05-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Everything is better when enjoyed with a friend!!

Well done Gemma, such a lovely LO made with the challenge kit.

Gaynors Challenge entry

2009-05-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

How cute is this!! Well done Gaynor- A fabulous LO.

The Crop Challenge kit

2009-05-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

This is the kit I put together for all the 'Lifers' at the crop today. Everyone was challenged to make at least one item with the kit (any size LO or mini-book). The rules were to use only the materials provided! Die-cutting, paper punching and stamping was also allowed!

Have a look at the following posts to see how everyone got on.

A really chilled out cropping sunday

2009-05-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

We had a really chilled out and extremely relaxing day today. All the 'lifers' enjoyed taking part in the challenge kit.{ see the next post for details} There were a few grumbles that you didn't have the freedom to choose something else from your stash to make the challenge easier, but this was the whole idea of the challenge! To take you out of your comfort zone, and make you think on your feet!

Everyone attending the crop managed to get lots of serious scrappin' done (except for me!!) and I managed to get lots of serious chatting done!!

This sundays crop

2009-04-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

It's May's Let's Talk Crop this week! Sunday 3rd May 9-45 till 4-45! £8-00 all day including all refreshments!

There will be a kit challenge on the day, I will provide you with a ready made kit (papers, cardstock, stickers, ribbons etc) for you to scrap a project on the day! The winning LO will receive a £5-00 voucher to spend in the Art Of Life shop.

The kit is £5-00 to purchase ( this will include enough materials for you to make a few pages or a mini book) and is suitable for all genres, ie; boys, girls, loved ones, friends! The colour combinations are: pale duck egg blue, white and maroon red. There is also a bit of a spotty theme and a few cute birds on the scene! I always find if I'm not sure if the photos will match the papers I use black and white!!

Hope you are all up for a bit of challenge fun!

See you on Sunday, Jules xxx

Two quick little projects!!

2009-04-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

I made these two quick litte projects last week, the first is a mini book all about my gorgeous hairy hound, Maisy. It was made out of a cardboard box!! The second is a sweet little book made from one sheet of 12x12 double sided paper, I put it together to showcase Izzie in her Easter Bonnet this year- she won the competition at nursery for the best bonnet and have included the winning certificate in the book!

A couple more mini books!

2009-04-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

The first book is a all about being a mom! I must admit I do love this because it has photos of all my three children as babies and throughout their lives, this is one of my favourites.

The butterfly book is really sweet and has photos of a lovely afternoon in Sutton park with Izzie and her best friend Vivien, I love making mini books about days out and Izzie loves to pick them up and remember special times with me.

I just love this art!!

Gaynor listens to me!!

2009-04-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to show you this fun photo of Gaynor at the a April crop, she is pointing to her very own bin, she is now officially a scrapper 'proper' with all the essential kit!! (plastic bag and tape!!)

I've been a busy girl!

2009-04-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well this month has flown by! I can't believe it's Crop Sunday this week!! I've been busy working on lots of projects and workshops and have made a few little things I thought you might like to see.

The first piccie is of a book made from toilet rolls, the second a book made from envelopes and the third was made from a beer mat!

Our challenge blog winner

2009-04-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Paula for winning the 'I Dare You' challenge this month. The challenge was to incorporate someone elses handwriting or artwork onto your layout.

Well done Paula, hope you enjoy spending the £5.00 shop voucher!

April's Crop

2009-04-23T08:57:00.001-07:00

Well, we certainly had a quiet crop this month, compared to the last couple! We really missed all of you who couldn't make it, but it was a little more chilled for me as I could do the workshop in just one sitting- Phew!!! We had a very relaxed day and there was lots of very productive scrappin'. Well done to Jean for winning the raffle prize and a very big pat on the back to Paula for winning the challenge blog entry ( O.K.- she was the only entrant!)
Everyone enjoyed making home-made embellishments in the 'Homespun Fun' class. For those of you who missed it, I will re-run this class at a later date!

Sam's wonderful ribbon flowers!

2009-03-31T01:20:00.000-07:00

Just had to show you these gorgeous ribbon flowers that Sam made after the class in March. Just loving the colour combinations! Well done Sam.

Let's Talk Crop 5th April

2009-03-31T01:07:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that it's CROP SUNDAY this week, 5th April, 9-45 - 4-45pm. I will be teaching 'Homespun Fun' in workshops throughout the morning. This class will be demo-ing lots of new techniques and how to make home-made embellishments, using paper, felt, acetate, hot glue, and lots lots more!!! Hope to see you there!!

And can't wait to see your I Dare You challenges! (better get mine done- oops)

Wychwood 'Pink' crop 21-03-09

2009-03-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all my Wychwood friends in the beautiful Cotswolds. I had a wonderful time at your marathon charity crop ( 10am - 8pm ) We had a great time and the pink LO's were all so lovely. We also raised money for Cancer Research, so it was all very worth while. As you can see from the piccies we had fun, fun, fun!! Thank you Sue for arranging a wonderful day, and I'm sorry to all the ladies for bringing such lovely new stash in the shop that you just couldn't help buying!! You are always telling me off for stocking too much lovely stuff!!

The anonamous raffle winner

2009-03-31T00:47:00.001-07:00

Diane was our lucky raffle winner this month! She was very pleased to receive the 12x12 Smirk paper pack and the wonderful clip of ribbons! As you can see by this picture she really doesn't like having her photo taken, but we got round this, I think!!!

And the 'I Dare You' winner is.............

2009-03-31T00:35:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Carol and Hayley (visiting from the Cotswolds) who were voted joint winners of the I Dare You challenge, I'm glad I didn't have to vote it would have been a very difficult decision. Unfortunately, the shop voucher could only be awarded to one person so it was Hayley who's name was pulled out of the hat! commiserations to Carol, better luck next time.

Let's Talk Crop 8th March

2009-03-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all my 'Lifers' who attended the crop in March. We had another busy but relaxing day doing what we love best! There were some fantastic LO's made and lots of wonderful entries into the 'I Dare You' challenge. The reels of fun class was a success and your ribbon flowers all looked brill!

Naughty Blogger!!

2009-03-30T23:26:00.001-07:00

OOPS!!! I've been a very naughty blogger. So sorry if you have been checking me out and finding I have been lying idle, but life in the Art of Life world has been extremely hectic.
I promise to blog more frequently
I promise to blog more frequently
I promise to blog more frequently...................

There you go all my sins are forgiven, I've done my lines!

Next crop Sunday 8th March

2009-02-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that the next Let's Talk Crop is Sunday 8th March, 9-45am till 4-45pm, £8-00 for the day as usual. I will be teaching a class on ribbons.........'Reels of fun'; 101 things to do with ribbon, how to use ribbon in different ways in your scrapping. You will have a little hands on fun and the obligatory handout with all the information(which you will need if you have seive for a brain like me!) I have lots and lots of lovely new ribbons, buttons and embellishmnents for the shop to inspire you even further. Please email me if you haven't booked on for the class yet as I need to know definate numbers.

Love these blue eyes!!!

2009-02-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share this LO of my gorgeous little girl and her blue eyes. I love how the backround cardstock is an exact match to the colour of her eyes. All the papers and brads that I used are available in the shop.

Hand colouring Photos

2009-02-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

The class on hand colouring photos was great fun to do and gave all my 'lifers' some useful information and tips, here are a few photos of some of my hand coloured pictures.

Photos Of Penkridge Crop

2009-02-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

Penkridge Crop

2009-02-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely time with my 'Penkridge' friends yesterday. Donna demo'd a cute class using beer mats to make a mini book ( see the photos) and Nina showed everyone how she altered a snowglobe- going to scraplift that one Nina!! It was a shame I couldn't stay until the end but I think everyone got their stash fix from the shop in the few hours I was there. Looking forward to seeing you all again on the 14th March.

Piccies of Sundays crop

2009-02-12T00:50:00.001-08:00

Sundays Crop

2009-02-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who came to Let's Talk Crop on Sunday, what a brilliant, buzzing day it was! Welcome to all my new 'Lifers' I hope you enjoyed yourselves and found the classes fun and informative. It was so great to meet you! So in the end there were 29 of us filling Fellowship Hall with lots of 'girlie' chattering, sharing of ideas and creative juices flowing. I managed to fit 4 classes in before 12-30( you may have noticed I had my teachers head on- "right Ladies the class will be starting in 2 minutes time and the register will be called"!!!) I had to do 2 shifts for each class but this was much better for you. If any one didn't do the classes but would like the handouts with all the instructions just let me know.

The 2 hour beginners workshop in the afternoon went really well and all of you who attended made a fantastic first page, it was lovely to see your pages being admired by some of my serious scrappers, they were suitably impressed!

The weather was very kind to us in the morning allowing everyone to safely travel to the crop but then we had some serious snow again late afternoon so I hope you all got home O.K. I was certainly a little 'snowed up' by the time I had loaded up my car. But it was all worth it, A BRILLIANT DAY..........

Busy busy busy

2009-02-05T14:07:00.001-08:00

We have 22 ladies signed up for Let's Talk Crop this Sunday, can't wait to see you all, doors open 9-45am! Kettle will be on!

Please arrive early to ensure you don't miss out on any of the workshops. I'm doing them in shifts starting at 10-30 prompt!!

Hand Tinting Photos

2009-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the blurry photo but this is just a taste of the class on how to hand colour your photos. I will give you some hints and tips on how to enhance your photos with some different styles, these techniques are suitable for both heritage and modern photos.

A Little More Room - LO No.2

2009-02-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a sneaky peak of another LO I have done for the class this Sunday. I have used the new SMIRK papers which are really fun to work with, these will be available at the crop on Sunday. The booklet with the 'Little Angels' title opens out to reveal more photos and journaling.

Snow, snow go away!

2009-02-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Only 3 days to go till the next Let's Talk Crop, can't wait!! All we need now is for the white stuff to disappear. So keep your fingers crossed that the weather will be kind to us this Sunday. I've been busy getting the classes ready and enjoying making some LO's for the challenge blog.

Membership of the Lifers club!!

2009-01-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

As we are in a new year I have lots of new ideas for Art Of Life! The first thing I want to announce is The Lifers Club. This official membership to Art Of Life will bring you the following:

* Access to the Art Of Life Challenge Blog & Gallery. Optional challenges will be set once a month(to start with) and you will have the opportunity to display your work at Let's Talk Crop!
* Weekly journaling prompts
* Online classes and information
* A guaranteed seat at Let's Talk Crop
* Exclusive kits with stash, instructions & templates
* Membership to the Crop Gallery

If you are already a regular at Let's Talk Crop, congratulations! I have made you an honourary Lifer! Aren't you lucky? Details will follow by email...

For those of you who are considering Let's Talk Crop, drop me an email or phone me on 07841 502089. Alternatively, just come along!!

KI Memories Lace Cardstock

2009-01-14T06:19:00.000-08:00

I have managed to get 2 of the lace cardstocks from KI Memories in the shop, if you want me to get hold of any of the others please email me and let me know!!

More Love Elsie Stash the 'Claire' range

2009-01-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

This is the CLAIRE range from Love Elsie, I have the 12x12 papers in stock along with the chipboard book and matching alphabet. Sweet!!!

Any want to do a Doggy Book!!!

2009-01-14T06:03:00.000-08:00

How cute is this book from Love Elsie, I'm going to fill mine with pictures of all the dogs in my family throughout the years!! The papers co-ordinate perfectly, so it makes life so much simpler saving time on finding the right papers! As usual if you want to pre-order email me!! I wouldn't want you to be disappointed!

Pretty papers from Dream Steet!

2009-01-14T05:57:00.000-08:00

I have just had these lovely papers delivered to the shop, they are even better in the flesh- the photos don't actually do them justice!

Doodlebug Goodies!!

2009-01-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

These 'Stick with it' adhesive transfers would be a very useful addition to your stash! They are so simple to use: They have two sides of adhesive and a white core to enable use on any colour surface with any colour coating! Just peel the alphabet stickers off the sheet onto your project then peel off the top layer, this reveals an adhesive letter (or shape )that can be sprinkled with any of the following: glitter; flock; embossing powder.

How versatile is that!! If you want to get your hands on some at the next crop then please pre-order via email at 'artoflife@hotmail.co.uk' to make sure you are not disappointed!

Heidi Swapp papers- Yummy!!!!

2009-01-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

Just look at these beautiful Heidi Swapp papers, Scrummy aren't they!

Share & Tell Albums!

2009-01-14T04:46:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to show you these wonderful Share & Tell albums from Pebbles Inc. They are a fab way of scrapping for those of us who want to get lots of photos into an album! The 12 x 12 album comes with page protectors that are divided into 6 individual pockets measuring 4x6". These can either be filled up with all photos or a few photos and a few journalling cards etc. These can then be combined with a traditional 12 x 12 LO as shown in the photos!

These are available at the shop: They cost £20-00 for the album and page protectors combined. You can also purchase the page protectors individually along with the journalling cards. If you would like to pre-order one of these albums then email me on artoflife@hotmail.co.uk

BOOK YOUR CLASSES!!!

2009-01-14T04:42:00.000-08:00

Just a little note to remind you to book your classes with me at 'artoflife@hotmail.co.uk' It is essential that I know how many people I am doing the classes for! So if you wish to do the February LO class then please email me to book yourself in!!

February's Class 'A little more room'

2009-01-14T04:12:00.000-08:00

The class I will be teaching on the 8th is this 12 x 12 page that incorporates a detatchable booklet which is neatly tucked in to little pockets! The first picture shows the booklet and the second picture shows the 12 x12 LO. It is still a work in progress but I wanted to get it on the blog to give you a sneaky peak at what we will be doing at Feb's crop! I will also be teaching you how to hand tint/ colour your photographs during this class.

I have used my LO to show off Heritage photos of my Mom & Dads wedding but this class would be suited to any topic that you have lots of photos for ! You could use it for showcasing a birthday party; a weekend away; newborn pictures; or where you have a story to tell! You will need one large sized photograph and can use from 5 to 15 photos to go inside the booklet, these can vary in size and can be added on to the LO after the class has finished!

If you would like to experiment with hand tinting bring along with you some black & white photographs that have been printed onto plain white or cream cardstock!

You will as always be given the opportunity to get together the materials for the class when you arrive, but I will also be offering pre-packaged co-ordinated kits with different themed papers for you to choose from to make life a little easier!

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-14T03:57:00.000-08:00

So things have been a little quiet on the blog front lately! Well I've been having a little rest from Art Of Life over the xmas & new year holidays but I am now starting to get my canons firing again!! Really looking forward to a very creative and productive year with lots of new things going on here!!

CHALLENGES!
MEMBERSHIP!
BLOG CLASSES!
KITS TO PURCHASE!
JOURNALLING PROMPTS!

And as always my monthly classes & demo's at Let's Talk Crop!

I will be 'on the road' again with my mobile crop shop and workshops, the first stop being this Saturday at the wonderful Cutting Crew Crop in Brierley Hill, really looking forward to seeing Anita and the rest of the gang there. Then on the 24th I will be winging my way to the Cotswolds for my now regular 6 weekly all day crop with Sue! Can't wait to see you all ladies. Then on the 14th Feb I will be back with my Penkridge friends in Huntington!

2009 Dates

2008-12-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

The dates for the 2009 crops are as follows:

SUN 8TH FEB
SUN 8TH MARCH
SUN 5TH APRIL
SUN 3RD MAY
SUN 7TH JUNE
SUN 12TH JULY
SUN 9TH AUG

Christmas Crop!!

2008-12-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

It was lovely to see everyone at the crop today, we all had a good play with the Dreamkuts and the Bind It All machine and everyone was really pleased with their little acrylic books- I think there were a few last minute xmas presents in the making there!!

We have now 'broken up' for the christmas break and will not be meeting again until February 8th! The hall is being decorated in January so that is why we are not meeting up till Feb! So in the meantime keep checking the blog for some scrapping inspiration and and maybe a challenge or two!

Merry Christmas to all of you, enjoy and savour this wonderful time of year,

Jules xxx

Class Schedule for Sunday 14th December

2008-12-11T14:52:00.001-08:00

DOORS OPEN 9-45 AM (KETTLE WILL BE ON!)

XMAS MUSIC WILL BE ON AND MINCE PIES WILL BE OUT!

10-30 - 11-30 DECEMBERS LAYOUT- YOU'RE SO SQUARE

1PM MINI BOOK CLASS

DOORS CLOSE 4-45PM

Acrylic covered spiral bound mini book

2008-12-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

The afternoon class this Sunday will be teaching you how to make this cute little 4x4 mini book. I will guide you step by step through this class teaching you how to cut, fold and assemble a very professional looking spiral bound book. We will use the Dreamkuts paper cutter, origami paper folding techniques and the wonderful Bind It All machine to bind the book with wires. The book can be prepared and the photos added at a later date! [ this is a brilliant idea for a last minute xmas pressie]

The class is free! However, if you wish to make the book along with me you will need to purchase the acrylic

covers,cardstock, paper and wires from the crop shop before the class starts.

Sunday 14th Dec Crop Details

2008-12-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

Just a little sneaky preview of the 'You're so square' class for this Sunday. This class will show you how to make a 12x12 LO incorporating squares (& rectangles) and showing you how to make a patchwork page! This is a free class for which you will need to bring your own photos, I will be demonstrating 2 LO's [1] with 1 larger photo [2] with 3 smaller photos- preferabally square- all the same size. You will have time before the class starts to choose papers from the crop shop if you don't already have what you need.

Christmas has landed!

2008-12-11T12:08:00.001-08:00

Christmas has landed in the Mitchell House!! December the 1st and the xmas tree is up! So here's to a month of: baking; making; shopping; carol singing; nativity watching and trying very hard to enjoy this wonderful time of the year ---------without getting stressed!!

Happy Christmas everybody x

Saturdays Crop

2008-11-13T04:43:00.000-08:00

If you are taking part in the exploding box class then you will need lots of smaller photos, 4x4 inches and down to 2x2 inches. This class will start at 12-30!

Christmas Cards!!

2008-11-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

I've been a busy little bee over the past few days, putting together my workshop for sunday. I am doing Christmas cards and festive crafts for a company called SPICE, here are a few of the cards that we will be making! If you would like more details of the workshop or what other things SPICE get up to have a look at http://www.spicebham.co.uk/

The November Layout!! Circles & Sewing

2008-11-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

I will be showing you how to use hand stitching on your layouts at the November crop, I've really enjoyed putting these circular layouts together and found the hand stitching really relaxing and addictive! I will be showing you how to incorporate circles of all shapes and sizes into your pages and stitching with thread and ribbon!

Pictures of the 'Exploding box' class as promised

2008-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

So this is one of the demonstrations I will be doing at the crop on Sat 15th, it is an exploding box with lots and lots of room for photos and journaling. I used mine to showcase our holiday to Kos this year, they are great for displaying photos of special occasions ( wedding, birthday party etc) or to give as a present to someone special with photos and journaling, along with a small gift inside the box!

Novembers Crop

2008-10-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

This month's crop is Saturday 15th November, there will be 2 workshops (1) Using circles and sewing on your layouts

(2) An exploding box.

Pictures will follow ( when my husband gets back from Portsmouth with the camera!)

I have some new papers and stock in the shop, watch this space!!!

If you wish to take part in the classes please let me know so I can book your place!

Another busy day at the Cutting Crew Crop

2008-10-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say thank you for having me at the Cutting Crew Crop again this saturday, it was lovely to see everybody again. I did a class on making and binding a mini book ( the one I did at my crop!) which everyone enjoyed. It was great to see Alison again whom I met at the Indigo Mill retreat, lot's of people were very interested in booking for retreats with Indigo Mill in 2009, so they will all be contacted bt Steph at Indigo Mill very shortly. I'm back in Brierley Hill in January where I will be teaching a class on an acetate covered book with pocketed pages and bound with wires using the bind it all machine!

All day craft day with Indigo Mill Sat 1st November

2008-10-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know I will be teaching a few different crafts at an all day 'craft' day in Derby on Sat 1st November, have a look at the Indigo Mill Blog for more details, and if you can't wait for my shop until NOv 15th I will be at the Cutting Crew Crop in Brierly Hill this saturday 25th.

Next Crop Date

2008-10-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that the next Let's Talk Crop is on Saturday 15th November. There will be 2 classes.
(1) A layout incorporating circles & sewing ( inspired by my good friend Steph at Indigo Mill)
(2) An exploding Box workshop, and this is very explosive, trust me.

I will post the pictures on here in the next few days so you can see what I will be demonstrating in detail.

If you want to sign up for the classes email me please!

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

2008-10-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Pat!!

Well done for winning the raffle on Sunday, it was great to see both Pat & Julie again after meeting them at the Indigo Mill retreat.

The double page Layout

2008-10-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Judy's first double page LO made at the crop on Sunday, I did a demo on making a double page and she then went off and made this wonderful page, in fact I think she made 3 LO's altogether on Sunday - GO GIRL!!

Mini Books at the Crop

2008-10-21T14:45:00.001-07:00

So here are a few of the mini books that we made at the crop on Sunday, aren't they great! Diane used hers to display photos of a day at the zoo, Emma covered hers in black and pink fairies and is going to put pictures of her baby daughter in it and Sue used some gorgeous 'Jolie Chocolat' papers in browns and pinks which made the book look really classy. My book was a showcase of the Mitchell family's year of 2007, I didn't realise we had done so much last year! All so different but all using the same basic materials. Just peachy!!

Let's Talk Crop- Sunday 19th October

2008-10-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Wow!! What a wonderful day we had on sunday, A hive of activity at the Fellowship Hall! It was lovely to see some of my friends from other parts of the midlands, ie; Sadie, Diane, Sue, Chris Pat & Julie, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

We had a very productive day, making mini books from scratch and teaching die cutting and stamping techniques to the newcomers to the group.

Some of us were very naughty and had Macdonalds for lunch and we all generally had a real chill out day creating wonderful keepsakes.

Penkridge Crop Saturday 18th October

2008-10-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

It was lovely to see all my friends at the Penkridge Crop on Saturday, I took the Art Of Life shop along with me which everyone really loved, Donna did a demo on a mini book in an altered tin which was really sweet, have a look at Donnas blog she is doing a gorgeous book on babies in the family. I won't be able to make the November Penkridge crop but will be there with the shop on Saturday 6th December.

Guides Workshop in Lichfield

2008-10-21T10:22:00.001-07:00

What a great evening I had with the girl guides in Lichfield, I taught them all how to make a mini scrapbook out of nothing less than paper, ribbon and chipboard embellishments! They all did really well and made some beautiful books, the books all had pockets in the pages which were made by folding the paper in a special way, really good fun!!

Here is the book I showed them as the example. It's a scrummy little book all about a wonderful weekend in Paris with my beautiful daughter Frankie.

The Indigo Mill Retreat - Granary Mill, Derbyshire

2008-10-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

Well what a wonderfull chilled out 'girlie' wekend this was! Thankyou to everyone who made this weekend so great, well done to Steph for organising everything, and the stash heaven of a shop, thankyou to Marie for cooking all our wonderful food, I don't think I've eaten so well in ages! It was a real shame I was feeling so ill all weekend, but maybe it was a good thing I wasn't my usual self because there might be pictures of my bottom on other peoples blogs!!!! Have a look at Rosie's blog! I apologise to everyone for not being very well and doing a really quick class on the altered photo storage, but I felt like my head was going to explode at the time. I have posted piccies of the photo storage box along with some snapshots of our wonderful weekend. Roll on the next one....................

It was fantastic to spend time with my scrappin' friends; Steph, Sue, Tessa, Rosie,Hayley, Carla, Emma,Hannah & Marie, and it was so lovely to make new friends in Julie, Pat, Alison, Claire(check out her blog at silvercustard.blogspot.com), Christina, and lots lots more. I continued to be ill for the rest of the week with what must have been a virus, that just knocked me for six!! Aaaaghhh.....................

Art Of Life On the road!!!! The Cutting Crew Crop

2008-10-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know what a fantastic day I had over at the Cutting Crew Crop in Brierley Hill last Saturday. Anita invited the Art Of Life Crop Shop to attend her crop for the day, and I was very warmly welcomed by all. The Cutting Crew Croppers are a lovely, friendly(and very talented) bunch of ladies headed up by Anita who does a magnificent job organising everything. Every one enjoyed having a shop on site and they have asked me to attend future crops.

Next month I will also be demonstrating the mini book I am doing at Let's Talk Crop on the 19th !

If you would like the details of the Cutting Crew Crop contact Anita on 01384 837532 or email her on cuttingcrewcrop@yahoo.co.uk

Future crop dates for them are: 25th Oct; 22nd Nov; 20th Dec; 17th Jan; 14th Feb etc

Workshop for Sun 19th Oct - Binding a mini book

2008-10-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you who love to make mini books ( I love to!) and those of you who have never tried, this class is for you. I will show you a fantastic way to bind a book and which materials to use for your base.The first part of this class will start at 10-30 sharp because we have to paint the edges and need plenty of drying time during the morning in order for us to carry on with the class in the afternoon.

The cost of the class is £4-00 which includes the book base (6 sheets of 5" square boards) the binding materials, and the paint.

The book I am demonstrating is 'A year in my life' , a collection of photos and memories from 2007, hence the 6 pages which offer up 12 sides: one for each month! You will be free to either buy some papers from the crop shop to use for this project or use your own stash (check your glossaries!)

Mini books are fantastic for all sorts of uses: *Baby brag book, baby's first year

* A book about a special occassion, birthday,

christmas, wedding etc

* They are also fantastic gifts for your family and

friends ( sorry to mention this but christmas is

the month after next!)

If you would like to sign up for this workshop please email me on 'artoflife@hotmail.co.uk'

Sketch for the October workshop

2008-10-03T12:23:00.001-07:00

This is the sketch that we will be working from for the Die Cut Diva workshop.

Yes I know it looks like a 6 yr old has drawn it, but I have been playing with my new graphics tablet on my pc and drew this on my paint program, so that's why it looks quite childlike.

But, hopefully, you get the idea for the layout!

Booking your place at the October Crop

2008-10-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in attending the October all day crop then please email me on 'artoflife@hotmail.co.uk' so I can book your place. The cost of the whole day is £8-00 which includes the Die cutting Diva workshop (pinched this title from my good friend Steph!) all the demonstrations and of course your supply of hot drinks and naughties- cakes & biscuits!

October Crop Sunday 19th October 9-45 - 4-45

2008-10-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

The next 'Let's Talk Crop' is on a sunday, I have chosen to do a few sundays for a couple of reasons (1) Quite of lot of my ladies work on a Saturday (2) Sunday's don't clash with the Villa home matches which my hubby has to attend!! ( he has to look after our 3yr old when I'm at the crop. )

This month I will be teaching the Die Cutting Diva workshop which will be covering in detail the following:

* Die Cutting titles and shapes

* Stamping techniques

*Using paper punches

* Making a double page spread

* Using buttons and brads

* Using co-ordinating papers

This class is aimed at the beginner but I do have lots of hints and tips for the more experienced scrappers as well.

The workshop will be free to all, for those of you who are just starting out you will need to purchase papers, cardstock etc to match the photo/s you wish to use from my crop shop before the class starts at 11-30.

This is the LO (layout) - see your glossary girls! You can choose any colour combination or theme for yours, it doesn't have to be the same as mine!

Transparent Overlays Free Demonstration

2008-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

I did a demonstration on 20th September about using transparent overlays on your pages. This LO has been created using a pre-printed & glittered overlay, which has given a fantastic effect. If you missed the demo in September I can repeat it at another crop if there is enough interest.

New Beginnings, Septembers beginners class

2008-10-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

These are examples of my LO's for the beginners class for the 20th September. Fancy turning your photos into pages like this?

Look what we made!!!

2008-10-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of some of the September ladies completed layouts. Please note that all of these were complete scrapbook virgins who had never completed a page before - pretty impressive!!

Free gifts!!

2008-10-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

When you sign in at Let's Talk Crop, you are greeted with a welcome pack (newbies) which includes a beginners guide to scrapbooking, a glossary of craft and a free journalling book(for you to decorate yourself).

During the day there is also a raffle with some yummy scrapbooking stash prizes.

We are there to have fun, be creative and be inspired!

Classes & demonstrations

2008-10-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

At the crop there is designated workshop area for all those interested in learning new techniques and, of course, complete beginners. The workshops that took place in Sept were (1) A beginners guide to scrapbooking, making your first layout- New Beginnings- Baby Layout. (2) The wonder of transparencies, using transparencies to cheat!!(3) Making your own journalling book.

Every lady completed the most fantastic layout, you would never have known they were complete beginners!!

Tools provided at the crop

2008-10-03T07:23:00.001-07:00

If you are brand new to this wonderful pastime or a seasoned scrapper, Let's Talk Crop has a wide range of tools for you to use on the day! These include:

Paper trimmers & guillotines, Sizzix die cutting machines with a choice of 4 alphabet dies and numerous shapes and flowers etc, large alphabet stamps in 4 different fonts, paper punches galore, stamps galore, ( there is an extensive library of stamps both acrylic and wood mounted) heat embossing tool, glue gun, templates, shape cutters, dymo machine, dreamcuts machine(for cutting paper) Zutter Bind It All machine and wires, Making Memories tagmaker and various shaped tags.

The Extensive In Crop Shop

2008-10-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

How fantastic it is to be at a crop that has all the 'stash' you could want right there! Art of Life is very proud of it's extensive shop which is a mobile 'crop shop'. Wether you need just adhesive tape pens or papers and albums, there is a very wide selection of products available to purchase on the day!

What do we sell?

A Vast range of specialist scrapbooking patterned papers and cardstock.

Co-ordinated paper packs

Transparency overlays

Adhesives of all descriptions

Scrapbook albums and inserts of all sizes, from 12x12 down to 4x4!

Scrapbook ready made kits

Storage totes and paper carriers

. Tools; scissors, paper timmers, punches, templates, scoreboards.

Mini album kits and blank chipboard albums

Embellishments: ribbons, flowers, gemstones, charms, brads,

chipboard stickers of all descriptions, alphabets, rub-ons, stickles,

glamour dust(very fine glitter)

And much much more!!

We stock products from the following scrapbooking design ranges................

DCWV, Dovecraft, Prima, 7 Gypsies, Heidi Swapp, Cosmic Cricket, SEI, American Crafts, Karen Foster, Three bugs in a rug, Doodlebug.

Cakes at the crop!

2008-10-03T06:42:00.001-07:00

There is always cake!

A crop is a day out for us girls, away from the hum drum of our daily lives, a chance to be inspired, to chat with old friends and new, to create wonderful family keepsakes, to play with paper and TO EAT CAKE! At Septembers crop my wonderful friend 'Cupcake Steph' baked the most delicious lemon drizzle cupckakes for us all to indulge in - and we did! They were absolutely gorgeous. Apart from Steph's cakes there will always be a selection of naughty treats to have with your hot drink.

Septembers Crop

2008-10-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful crop we had ! Every one that came said how much they enjoyed it and all want to come to the next one!! There were a lot of beginners and all of them produced the most fantastic pages, well done ladies!! The beginners class taught the basics of scrapbooking; matting and layering photos, paper cutting, die cutting, what adhesives to use etc. My 'seasoned scrappers' really enjoyed some quality time to do some serious scrapping with new friends!

Crop Dates

2008-10-02T22:30:00.002-07:00

All day crop 9-45 till 4-45, once a month.

Sunday 19th October
Saturday 15th November
Sunday 14th December
(2009 dates to be finalised)

The crop costs £8-00 for the whole day, which includes free refreshments, oodles of inspiration, and lots of free demonstrations.

During the day there are also workshops on a wide range of scrapbooking and papercrafting techniques for you to take part in. Each workshop is individually priced.

Let's Talk Crop

2008-10-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog of Art Of Life! Where you will find all the details and pictures of what we get up to each month.

Well we launched our brand new Scrapbooking crop on Saturday 20th September and it was a really brilliant day, very chilled and lots of exciting things going on! Pictures of the day will follow! The crop takes place once a month at The Fellowship Hall, South Parade in Sutton Coldfield town centre. If there is anough demand then we will also run an evening crop.