Visit to Hobbycrafts Fair March 2014

It doesn't seem any time at all since Ruth and I were at the Craft Fair in November and here we are in March doing the rounds again! It's a great opportunity to stock up on basics and see what's new.

Alice's

I look forward to practising some Tangles with the help of a book of examples, since I am prone to doodling while on the phone. It's usually treble clefs and cubes - I guess that makes me a musical mathematician LOL - seems appropriate! I also got a cracker boxmaker which looks like it might be fun and useful!

Ruth's

With permission, I filmed rubber stamped cards at Card IO, decopatch at Damselfly, card at Ross Papers and boxmaking at Payper Box. The results of our visit can be seen in a short YouTube video.

We hope to use the Card IO (formerly Tapestry) stamps on acrylic tubes, with the Day Centre patients at the Hospice. A quick tip we were given by the demonstrator is using alcohol-free baby wipes, dried-out, to rub in backgrounds to give an ink-dusted effect. The Inkylicious demonstrator uses a wet paintbrush to drag the colour; also a spray bottle of water pointed upwards drops a fine mist onto the background colours. We both bought the plastic sun and moon stencils to make ink dusting even easier!

Card IO Samples

More Card IO Samples

Demonstrator Hard at Work

Ann of Damselfly was on hand to give us advice on our decopatch technique, which leaves a lot to be desired. Jeanette of our craft group made a neater job, as she took her time. We were glad of the rest.

If only we could Decopatch like this!

Still to come, a demo of boxmaking, with Charmain of Payper Box. That will be a YouTube video on our Craft & Chat Playlist. Jeanette was with us too and helped with extra hands, since it's hard to film and craft without a tripod! This gave us another opportunity to have a seat while we crafted.

But at least our boxes are nearly finished

See you again soon.

Nails R Ruth

Hi everyone,

It has been a long time since we have done anything for you but our  little Grandsons have distracted us don't know why. Months ago we were talking about making another video so now we plan to be back on track and babies will just need to understand that Grannie is busy.

We debated whether or not we should go to the craft fair this year as we really didn't need anything. Now, there is a difference between need and want ...so tickets  were purchased . We cleverly left the car parking fee of six pounds in a safe place so that at least we could get home.

We were very organised about the order we were going to do things at the SECC but that went out the window when we arrived.! It was good to see Ann at Decopatch. This is something I have never tried so we sat down to have a play. I thought I was finished, when a voice said "do I still see some wood without paper round the edges" What!  I have to do there as well. Lady Ann said "well I thought a woman like you would never leave the edges not done" So I finished it and Ann then unstrapped me from the chair.

On we went shopping having a  rest when we could. We have stopped kidding ourselves that we can do......as much as we thought we could do.

As you will see from the photos we bought a number of items that we absolutely needed. I am still trying to put them beside similar craft items but one has to  actually be in the house to do this.!! 

We have some really nice toppers as well as practical items.  I also bought a table tote bag so that I can remove craft items from the side of my table for safety. I don't think it would be a good idea for an eight month old baby to play with glue and craft knives.

We ended the day exhausted but happy ready to save up for the October fair (did I say that) I might hire a stand and make tea in paper cups for £2.00 that might help pay for my purchases.

Ruth's Dies on magnets in the new case

Now time get our heads working. We have some lovely Tatty Teddy items that will make pretty cards - perhaps Easter. Well, Alice has decided it will be for Easter  I might do something else who knows.

Debra (New Zealand) and Mary NSC (America) It is too far for you to travel just to get glittery nails. Now, I wonder if they will be safe with a heat gun ...

It is good to be in touch with you all again. Since I have become a Grannie I am much more serious ...and if you believe that you will believe anything.

Leo 8 months

Leo's Grannie

In the Christmas Bakery...

...well that's crafting isn't it? That's my excuse for mentioning this lovely DVD that craftywhippet and I have both bought, which has also shown on UK TV on Sky. There are lots of trailers on YouTube. André Rieu has also recently performed at the SECC in Glasgow.

Part of 

André Rieu - Home for Christmas

Christmas Begins

I know some of you have been making Christmas cards all year, but the craft group has only started. We used square cards covered with a square of Designer paper, then a Spellbinder square with an image from Lili of the Valley on top, ribbon along the base and a simple card was made!

Actually it took us an hour to get started, because we were poring over purchases from the Craft Fair that some of the group had bought.

Next day the rest of us went, with instructions to purchase missed items. Ruth and I were equipped with wheeled trolleys. But guess what I forgot to take? - My camera. I took exactly one photo on my mobile (cell phone) because it slipped my memory!

We got new plates for our Big Shots, Spellbinders dies, card, Inkylicious and Chloe rubber stamps, Splodge mats, Tatty Teddy and LOTV toppers, Bazoo papers, a large bauble punch, jewellery cords and magnetic clasps and bling to name a few.

Alice's Loot

I weakened and got another bag like my main craft bag, only it holds A4 items, though unfortunately no lid against the rain.

Alice's Bag and more Loot

Ruth's Loot

Ruth, too, weakened and bought a new wheeled trolley at a bargain price, which opens out and has velcro-attached containers. You can never have too many storage items!

Ruth's Bag opened and more Loot

Ruth's Wheeled Tote

Back again!

We had another ink dusting evening at our craft group. Ruth had previously shown us how to make little ink-dusted pictures on Spellbinders shapes so I thought 'Christmas'! and devised Romantic Rectangle shapes with ink dusting right across both pieces and the card to give a one piece pinky-toned night sky. Sheena Douglass Christmas tree stamp fitted one shape and Inkylicious Night Before Christmas on the other. Both were glitter-stickled and lo! one card completed.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Some of my recent cards:

To mark my Son's 1st Father's Day

My Son and Daughter-in-law's 3rd Anniversary

My Special Daughter-in-law's Birthday

Ruby Wedding

Next up is Hobbycrafts and Crafts for Christmas at the SECC down by the Clyde! This weekend! We're off, and hope our energy holds out...

To Shop or not to Shop

Blog prompt #24

Are you more of a fan of craft shopping online or do you believe in supporting your bricks and mortar shop.

Well, as I blogged yesterday, I like to support my real shop, Craft World, because there is so much more effort required to keep a retail shop open.  Online shops can often be more competitively-priced but then we could lose our convenience of just having a browse and a good sit-down with a cuppa.


Talking about online crafts shops, I use craftsUprint a lot because of the card-making variation from easy to difficult! Also CuddlyBuddly, the Glitterpot, Crafters Companion and Joanna Sheen for supplies. In fact it is far too easy to buy online! Docrafts, of course, has loads of products on display, and as you know, I particularly like their John Byars rubber stamps.


Of course, I love the twice-yearly ICHF Hobbycrafts Fair at the SECC in Glasgow, and it is so local for us.  The only thing is it is so tiring, it has to be done in short bursts with lots of sitting down, since Ruth and I both have mobility issues. Last time I spotted someone with something which I thought would make my craft shopping easier, and also transport stash to craft group, (that's my excuse anyway). As it was out of stock, I purchased this wheeled trolley on eBay.  It is a Crafter's Companion purple laptop-type suitcase, which can take my crafting bag (with all basic tools) linked on the handle.  In it there is loads of room for my cutting mat, scoreboard, A4 card, alcohol pens and all the project extras needed for the evening.  The only thing better than it would be one of those trolleys with a seat on it!

Craft Fair Spring 2012

It's that time of twice-a-year again when we visit the SECC in Glasgow for the ICHF Hobbycraft fair - oh fun!


The highlight has surely got to be visiting CraftyBob at the CraftsUprint (see link on right-hand side of Blog) stall! 

We both got the brand new golden bag, as well as the purple craft bag, when we bought the lovely paper for printing on the cUp designs.

 We were rubber-stamped as crafters who had found CraftyBob!

We had great fun poring over everything.  I ordered Stampin' Up scallop and smooth oval greeting punches, as I am always borrowing Ruth's! 

The rest of my loot included self-assemble shelves for five A4 boxes, now placed near my printer, and pearlised red card for Christmas. Then there was baby decoupage and rubber stamps (guess who's going to be Grannies!!), tree metal stencil and nestability-type die-cut frames, cuttlebug borders, stickles, foam tape, silicone, desktop mini-tote (turquoise for me, pink for Ruth).

Ruth added Rock-a-blocks (rubber stamping) and more card to her purchases.

We were fascinated by the Inkylicious brushes which achieved the distressing/brayering effects. Memento ink pads (Tim Holtz distress inks, Adirondack and Versafine pads) are used.  Afterwards we had the cheek to buy more rubber stamps from the website! Well, it does produce results like these ones demonstrated on their stand: 

So a good time was had by all.  Hope you've enjoyed sharing it with us.

SECC Hobbycrafts for Christmas 2011

Alice and I left at 9.30am on Saturday and headed off to the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre for the craft show.  First of all we safely left the fee (in case we spent it) for a piece of ground called a car park, paying £6.00 for the privilege of parking in the grounds of the building. 

I got parked nice and near and we eagerly took our shopping trolley bags ready to fill up with what was on our shopping lists. 

Within the SECC there are units with rows and rows of stalls displaying many craft products from across the UK. It is great fun going round each mini-shop looking for Christmas bargains. It ran from Thursday 27th to Sunday 30th October, with hundreds visiting each day. It was therefore surprising that on the day we went, we met four people we knew!

I was torn between buying the craft stuff and filming it! I asked permission at the stalls I filmed and most folk were quite happy about it. I must say it is pretty difficult to film one-handed with an ordinary camera; I felt my video-camera with its wonderful rotating screen would be too heavy to carry around along with everything else. Happily we met Laura in the Christmas gifts hall and she filmed the two of us having one of our little chats (no crafting involved!). 

It is always a good day looking at craft -- "do I really need that?", "yes of course I do!" and by the afternoon I stopped debating with myself as it was a waste of time. Goods purchased and two tired ladies ready to go home to phone the others in the group to find out what they had bought.

We bought quite a lot for our money and have shown our purchases in previous posts. Personally, I'm delighted with my Copic Ciao pens and, having been to some art classes, feel better-equipped to try out proper shading when colouring-in my rubber stamping. I was disappointed with the storage case I bought to keep all 48 in because the pens were too fat. [Yesterday I purchased a Tatty Teddy toiletries bag instead, and used the other case for watercolour brush markers I already had.]

However, it is such a pity that with so many people having  paid to visit the craft fair there were only a handful of tables and chairs for so many crafters. Many people with disabilities craft and they had to stand to have their lunch. How much better it would have been if visitors had been able to have a chair rather than the floor to sit on! We were sitting on whatever seats and floor space we could find.

Alice's crafty-bags-to-go

In a previous post, Ruth was highly amused at my omnigrid difficulties, so we were delighted to find a stand selling a host of omnigrids, which we brought into our filming.  [If you look at the photo of the crafting bags I take to the group, you will see that I have one especially for them - no! - it's really for patchworking, but being flat it is great for carrying A4 card without bending, along with a cutting mat and scoreboard.]

We have enjoyed getting all our purchases and I hope we might actually use them before the next craft fair in March 2012! 

Clarity Scotland stamp

Surely nothing that we won't use at some point? - we get around to it eventually in the craft group - and have great plans for 2012's project evenings!
PS On Monday, I ordered for us both a Clarity Scotland rubber stamp, that had been sold out at the fair. They arrived yesterday; here is mine, still lovingly wrapped in tissue paper. 

CraftyWhippet & craftyalice chatting 

We hope you enjoy this taster of what the fair was like: