Wednesday, 21 October 2015

On the Road with My Grandma's Teacups

When you have a blog you tend to read a lot of information about blogging. Its so much more than just typing random thoughts onto a blank white screen and hitting publish. Well, for some people I guess that is what they do but I am interested in the actual art of blogging. You know the creative process wherein other people invest themselves in your content because they feel that you are providing them with value, knowledge, inspiration and sometimes just a smile. This post I hope does the latter.

On Saturday I packed up my 1/3 of my craft store and hit the road to be a guest at the crop of Angie McColeman in Kingston. I agonized over what would be the best selection to take to show all the talented croppers in attendance. I must have packed 6 times to get ready. A little Graphic 45, a little Julie Nutting, a splash of Kaisercraft so the ladies could recreate our Magnolia Grove layout from last week....I even took a couple of Colouring Books for Adults. As a last minute idea I threw in my box of fabscraps chipboard pieces  which turned out to be a huge hit.

I took a quick glance at google maps thinking that I knew whereabouts the crop was being held. By 8 am I was packed and ready to leave. My hand packed lunch that my 12 year old son provided for me in hand. By 8:12 I had my copilot picked up and loaded. We were off on another whirlwind adventure.

Well, as it turn out I did not know where I was going as well as I had thought I did. We ended up somewhere north of Odessa at a lovely Free Methodist Church. The parking lot was filled with well dressed ladies....that tipped me off that perhaps I had taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque (is that a real place) No offence ladies but we all know we dress for comfort when we are heading to a crop and this high heal wearing, matching scarf and purse crew seemed a bit to put together to be planning on spending the day playing with paper.  I consulted with my cohort and we decided to seek assistance from our friend that was already at the crop. Of course she was too busy cropping to check for our SOS texts. We resorted to asking the first person that walked near enough to hear our pleas to give us directions to our destination in Kingston. She actually pulled out a paper map which honestly I don't think I have actually seen anyone use for directions in years.

Thankfully it was a short jaunt to get us back on track and we managed to make it to the crop a mere 15 minutes late.

We were welcomed with such warmth and hospitality that I wondered why it had taken me so long to decide to make the trip. It was a wonderful day of chatting with such creative minds. I felt like my craft tank was overflowing with inspiration. I also made some wonderful connections with local crafters that will be guest posting their projects on the blog. Yay for us!

The very best part of the day was reconnecting with a dear friend that I had not seen in years. I forgot how much I missed chatting with her.

This wonderful experience has motivated me to take my little shop on the road more often. If you are looking for a mobile craft store for your next crop give me a holler. I would love to get out and meet all my you crafty ladies.








Thursday, 15 October 2015

I've moved over to the dark side : +5 reasons you should too


The Spectrum Noir side that is!

This article contains affiliate links which if you purchase the product I get a small commission.

Last week my new collection of Spectrum Noir Markers arrived. All except the cool greys which are on backorder....I guess a lot of people are busy drawing the dreary skies. I was unsure whether I would like them as well as my Copic markers or my ShinHan, but now I am convinced that this is the maker collection I have been dreaming of. You dream of markers too right, it's not just me?








#1 There are all these beautiful colours to use





#2 The reinking system is so easy

  • Each bottle has a dropper cap and will refill pen at least 5 times.



#3 You can get different styles of nibs to suit your colouring style. 

  • These next generation replacement nibs fits in the chisel nib end of the Spectrum Noir markers.

#4 They are less than half the price of Copic and ShinHan Markers



#5 They offer free instructions and video tutorials to get your accreditation. This is very cool as it costs allot of money to take the courses you need to get Copic certified.  They give you a certificate and a blinky to show off on your blog.



+ bonus # 6


They feel really nice when you work with them. They are large enough that you feel like you have good control while you colour and the grip is very comfortable. I really like the nibs that come with the pens so i am unlikely to switch to the brush nibs. The colours are deep and vibrant and the colour palette is wonderful. 

I don't regret switching over to the dark side at all and I don't think you will either.



Follow My Grandma's Teacups's board Spectacular Spectrum Noir on Pinterest.

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Wednesday, 14 October 2015

I forgot to post pictures of the finished dolls.

So yesterday's post was discussing using your cricut cartridges to find cute accessories for your Prima Dolls. I was so excited to share the post I forgot to include some of the finished dolls. That happens to me sometimes. My excitement gets ahead of me and and I push the publish button too soon.

So here you are without further adieu, my Prima Paper Dolls: Accessorized.


I know its not nice to play favourites, but I am so in love with how this one turned out. I love the parasol.


They are all listed in my ebay store. I have to keep letting them go so that I have room to make more.






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Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Paper Dolls: Accessories

I hope you had a chance to read my two part article on how to turn your Cricut explore into a paper doll cutter. If not your can read Cricut and Prima Dolls #1 and Part #2. But my friends, what is a paper girl without all her accessories. I dusted off some of my old cricut cartridges and found a ton of cut items that are perfect for my Prima Dolls Stamps.

My best finds were in:

Paperdolls (Everyday Dressup)
Kate's ABCs
October 31st
Country Life
Rock Princess









It's very easy to resize the accessories to work with the dolls. Some required a tiny bit of clipping to be a perfect fit but turned out to be very cute.



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