February Craft Club

Hi all,

Well first of all I have to say I am loving being back in work and giving the workshops again. I have so much planned for the coming months and I can't wait to get started! The ladies who attend our craft club are all amazing people and I learn so much from them too. We love seeing new faces too so beginner or craft master - everyone is welcome!

We had such a lovely day at the Craft Club yesterday. First of all I worked with the ladies on Prima Paintables which although may have been daunting at first as it was all paintbrush work and not a scissors in sight I think the ladies really enjoyed it. It was a very relaxing class.The ladies also made some beautiful cards and I will try ang get some pics to post up. 

We worked with glimmer mists, prima flowers, dimensional pearls, watersoluable pencils, embosiing powder and marabu glitter liners and bling to transform the paintable from this

to this

I loved this project as it was something different and realy expanded peoples creativity by using art with craft. I think art and crafts should compliment eachother (and really are they not the same thing?) but I will leave that rant to another day!

We are now taking signups for the March club and places are limited as usual so email us or call us on 0646630800.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Cathy x

My First Tag Swap

First Tag Swap

Hi all,

Here is a pic of my completed tags for my first tag swap which the lovely Louise had organised.

I was suppose to be meeting the ladies from our craft club to play tonight but my back has given way again after almost a year and a half since the first occurence of my back problems. It is so frustrating not to be at my best but hopefully after seeing physio this coming Friday I will be more mobile. I have a big weekend coming up with our craft club workshop on Saturday in the shop and my future sister in laws hen weekend so I really want to be back to myself for that. So ladies hope you had a great night and sorry I could not be there, looking forward to seeing you on Saturday.

This swap was great fun to do. I decided to make all of the tags individual for this swap although the base of them all are all nearly the same. 4 of the cards are done on a corrugated card base and one is done on plain card. All were primed using pearl dabbers, alcohol inks and glimmer mists, copper ink and distress inks. Each was embellished differently using a variety of products and techniques. I hope my tag partners are happy with them and I am going to send them out randomly by putting them all in their envelopes and putting the random names on each. I will put up a more detailed slide show too so you can see the backs which I mostly kept quite plain. They are being sent all of the world to their new homes.

Can't wait to see everybody elses tags!

Thanks again to Louise for organising.


Cathy x

Back from Brum

Well we had a fab time in Birmingham buying in lots of new lines for the shop. To read about our antics visit http://www.thescrappyknitter.blogpot.com/ but in the meantime here is a pic of Felicia and I with the wonderful  collage artist Claudine Hellmuth who has just launched her new range of acrylics and mediums with Ranger which is also home to Tim Holtz who we also met. Fab demos and products and I cannot wait for them to arrive.

Also off the page new lines for the shop I bought includes FABRIC. Yes we will finally be stocking fabric (and only the cutest and most gorgeous ones at that) in the shop for our crafters and quilters. I will put up some sneak previews over the coming weeks. Other newbie ranges include cross stitch, new jewelery range, new ribbon range, new book range and thats just for starters. Most items from the show will be arriving from mid March so keep an eye on the website and we will keep you up to date here!

Here is a pic from the trade show of Felicia and I with the amazing Claudine Hellmuth.

Cathy

I heart Claudine (and other stories from Birmingham)

So we got from Birmingham just fine and we had a great time. We arrived into the NEC Sunday afternoon and did a quick scoot around. We just happened to be walking by one of the stands and Tim Holtz was there demoing away. We were a little star struck and watched Tim work away. After doing another quick scoot we climbed into the taxi, dropped our bags in the hotel and went for a Nandos. It was a very girly night and after feeling very chilled with a nice bottle of white with dinner we hit the cinema to See Valentines Day which was just a perfect girly movie. We had a very funny happening when I was getting the tickets for Valentines Day the guy gave us 3D glasses. Felicia and I were like "Wow all films must be 3D these days even romcoms" but we realised as the usher showed us in to Avatar 3D with our tickets that the chap misheard my Irish accent and thought we wanted to see Avator not Valentines Day. How funny would we have looked if we had sat through Valentines Day with our 3D glasses on!

The next morning started off with a swim (not the nicest, the 4* hotel was manky and there was literally stuff growing on the walls). So Felicia swam with her head above the water as she didnt want to get her hair wet and I swam with my head above the water as I did not want to swallow anything that may have been floating in the water. We must have looked a sight.

We had a crazy day of buying for the shop and as well as some of the goodies you know we are getting in such as Tim Holtz new range and 7 Gypsies we bought LOTS of suprises not only for our papercrafters but for everyone! We are so excited I am going to be attacking the delivery men as they walk in over the next few weeks to see what they have brought me.

The highlight of the whole trip for me was Claudine Hellmuth. I first heard of Claudine when I lived in the UK and I was doing a lot of art journalling and training in creativity. She is a mixed media collage artist. I was not expecting to see Claudine at the show and was ecstatic when I got to meet her and and see a few of her demos. Claudine is one of the nicest people I have met in the industry and I kept thinking how gorgeous she would look on the top of my Christmas tree (is that weird...) as she is the cutest pretties thing you have ever seen. Claudine is very talented and is right up my streets in the use of mixed media in her projects. Of course I have ordered in her full range of acrylics and mediums which should be with us in the next week or two plus lots of other Ranger goodies including the incredible sticky back canvas....

So tonight I am home, exhausted but had a ball! I am also watching Tim here on QVC and wondering how he is still standing after the few weeks schedule he has. So watch out on http://www.craftyalley.com/ for the arrival of the new goodies and keep up to date here with my new projetcs. To put up this week are my TWS swap for Veronica, Scrapzville Swap for Dee and Tag Swap for my group with Louise.

Cathy x

Off to meet Tim Holtz himself (hopefully...)

Well myself and Felicia are off to the UK this morning to do some buying for the shop and heopefuly bring home lots of new season goodies for the siopa. Very excited as we are hoping to see (and maybe even participate if we are very lucky)Tim Holtz and his demos. We will be looking out for lots of new ideas and will bring them home to share with you all!

A bit worried about this snow falling and hoping we don't get stranded along our journey!

See you soon

Cathy

Off to meet Tim Holtz himself (hopefully)

Well myself and Felicia are off to the UK this morning to do some buying for the shop and heopefuly bring home lots of new season goodies for the siopa. Very excited as we are hoping to see (and maybe even participate if we are very lucky)Tim Holtz and his demos. We will be looking out for lots of new ideas and will bring them home to share with you all!

A bit worried about this snow falling and hoping we don't get stranded along our journey!

See you soon

Cathy

Melody Ross Artsy Urban Collection at The Crafty Alley Shop

Melody Ross Homespun Chic has arrived!

http://www.craftyalley.com/index.php?cPath=1238_1241

Calligraphy Class.

Saturday 27th March will see Elizabeth Kan giving one of her very popular calligraphy classes.
Time: 10.00-4.00pm
Cost: €25.00
Elizabeth is a very experienced calligrapy artist, and she gives a very informative and enjoyable class. There are only 10 spaces available so give us a call to book your place.

Altered "Treat Tin"

Hi all - just wanted to share a little project I made last week. The story was that I am officially off maternity leave but for those of you who are self emplyed know you never really take proper leave as your business is like another baby! So I decided to bite the bullet and got a lovely local girl to help me out some afternoons a week so I could get into the shop. My gorgeous 4 year old little girl is very independent and likes to test boundaries (to say the least) so we wanted to come up with an incentive to encourage her to behave for the childminder. I was reading my friend Suzies blog who had designed a gorgeous journalling jar and I decided that I would make a "treat tin" for my daughter. This was made with an empty baby food tin and altered using K&Co flocked papers, alcohol inks, glimmer misted flowers and a tag. The tag has Caoimhes name on it and some cute metal embellishment that say love and a also has a little angel! I filled it with little bits of paper that have different treats on them for good behaviour. Things she loves to do like play on the beach, plant a flower, play games on Mammys computer, dressing time etc. It has worked great - when the childminder is going home everyday Caoimhe gets to pick a treat and Daddy and I let her redeem the treat at the weekend! Lots of fun.

Back to Suzies idea I am going to make a journalling jar for myself too as I really want to get more painting and art journalling done so I am giong to make a tin for myself with different prompts for personal art projects. Thanks Suzie for inspiring me and I hope this has inspired others too....

Cathy x

Graphic 45 at The Crafty Alley Shop

We are delighted to be the first (and only) shop in Ireland to carry the amazing Graphic 45 range. Their 3 new lines and a couple of their older favourites have arrived this week and will be on sale on the website over the next 24 hours.

About Graphic 45!

"Graphic 45 is a name that is synonymous to "vintage powerhouse." Our papers are unique with irresistible texture and imaginative designs. They have the decade-old appeal that is familiar and endearing but also fresh and appealing. Incredible richness in designs is combined with vibrancy in colors. Every collection thrills its users to new heights of charming vintage creativity. And for those who crave contemporary glamour and everlasting panache for flair, Graphic 45 will deliver it all with style! Indeed, Graphic 45 reminds us all that good designs are unchanging and remains constant yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So what about Graphic 45? Graphic 45 is all about you! Are you looking for flamboyant fashionistas, quiet whispers, soft caresses, bold statements, unpredictable whimsies, unique experiences, uncommon treasures, romantic journeys, unmistakable style, delicate baby scents, blushing new bride radiance, Mama's home cooking, lush gardens, glistening ponds, classy correspondence, haute couture photogenic debutants, en vogue times, potpourri of daring designs, jolly St. Nick, handsome penmanship, grandpa's childhood toys, weathered manuscripts, or Wherever your imagination takes you, let Graphic 45 meet you there and inspire you more! So come and find your own voice with Graphic 45's amazing collections of paper."

You can see a quick preview of some of the papers above but you can view the collections in full below. We are carrying their 12x12 paper stacks in the following ranges.

Domestic Goddess
Baby to Bride
A proper Gentleman
Le Romantique
On the Boardwalk

Remember there is now free shipping in Ireland for orders over €50 and otherwise a flat rate of €5. We are also now delighted to be shipping to the UK and rest of Europe for a flat rate of €10 or all order over €150 qualify for free delivery. Visit www.craftyalley.com for more information.

We hope you are excited about the new ranges as we are!

Cathy

New Debbie Bliss Yarns for Spring Season at The Crafty Alley Shop

From Eco Baby to the gorgeous Amalfi yarns - there is something for everybody in our new collections. Available to purchase online from Wed 17th February. Visit www.craftyalley.com

Another New Arrival....

Bring your creations to life with the new Tim Coffey Blossowood Collection from K&Company.

Special intrductory offer of 10% discount only lasts until 28th Feb 2010. Please hurry as stock is already limited.

View here

New Arrival - K&Co Handmade Range

Elements of the fabulous K&Company Handmade have arrived in store! From wood to fabric and the most delectable paper pads you can really transform your crafting projects with this range. You can view the range for sale here on our website!

10% Introductory Price Valid until 28th Feb 2010. Limited Stock.

Album for Alyson

This is the album I did for Alyson as part of the Scraozville Swap. I wrote a little Scrapbooking poem to go with the theme... ha ha...not like me at all! I hope you enjoy the video. Cathy x

Winner of the Blog Candy goes to.......

So guys how I did this because the competition was run between my two blogs was number the comments from the  ttp://www.craftyalley.blogspot.com/ starting at one and then followed with comments on http://www.thescrappyknitter.blogspot.com/ and used the number generator you see below! So the lucky number is

And the lucky winner is...

Gina who said...
Love your blog, just became a follower and will be telling my friends about you.You can find me over at http://lespaidelagina.blogspot.com/ 2010 3:42 AM

Congrats Gina and if you email me your address I will post off the Tim Holtz goodies to you this week!

Thank you so much to everybody who took part and I will spend this week getting to know all of your blogs. I hope to run some more blog candy soon....

Cathy x

Winner of the Blog Candy goes to.......

So guys how I did this because the competition was run between my two blogs was number the comments from the http://www.craftyalley.blogspot.com/ starting at one and then followed with comments on http://www.thescrappyknitter.blogspot.com/ and used the number generator you see below! So the lucky number is

And the lucky winner is...

Gina who said...

Love your blog, just became a follower and will be telling my friends about you.You can find me over at http://lespaidelagina.blogspot.com/ 2010 3:42 AM

Congrats Gina and if you email me your address I will post off the Tim Holtz goodies to you this week!

Thank you so much to everybody who took part and I will spend this week getting to know all of your blogs. I hope to run some more blog candy soon....

Cathy x

Making Memories Vintage Findings Range

Visit www.craftyalley.com or even better call into the shop at

6B Scotts Street
Killarney
Co. Kerry

and see our full collection!

Vintage Findings Just Arrived!

Hi all, we are very excited in the shop today as we unpacked some very very yummy new stock. I will put up some sneak previews and the items will go on the website tomorrow evening so keep an eye out!!!

This is the first lot - Making Memories Vintage findings! I believe we are the first in Ireland to have them so lucky us!!!

More sneak previews to follow......

Cathy x