Time to hit the SALES........

Hi Folks. I hope you had a great Christmas. Can you believe it's over already!! Hey ho! there's still New Years to look forward too!!

Just a reminder from us that it is our Mega Clearance Rummage Sale on Saturday 29th December, starting at 9am in the Education Room here at Barleylands...

There's gana be lots of bargains for everyone! Look forward to seeing you there.. Andy..

Christmas Countdown! 4 day's to go...

Hi folks. First off,

Just to let you all know, the new Do Crafts January 2013 Promotion has now arrived at Pinnacles! It's all checked off, Priced up and is now gracing our shelves.. So if you are looking for something new to do over the holiday's then this is a great place to start! The new Creativity Magazine is also in stock, so if you're not crafting and just fancy a good inspirational read then come and get your copy! As an added Bonus to all of our Pinnacle Crafts Club Members there is DOUBLE DISCOUNT off the entire promotion (excluding the Magazine) on Saturday 22nd, that's a 20% saving folks to Club Members only! ................................... So, here we are on the 21/12/12 and the world hasn't ended, YET! I think this will be my last project of 2012 to share with you. A friend of mine is having her son Christened between Christmas and New Year

and this is the card I have made for her/him.. It's made a great change for me from churning out Christmas cards over the last few weeks! I pretty much knew straight away when I saw one of our new Kaiser Craft stamps what I was going to do with it! This Bird Bath/Fountain stamp looks like it's got quite a few uses, even as quite an elaborate Christening font!

After stamping it out a few times

I cut the images out

and Decoupaged them together to build up the layers,

before adding it to my base card which I had prepared using the Grand Embossing Folder, Dainty Dots (EG002) and the Tonic Studio's Die, Trellis Wall (239e).

You know I'm a fan of dimension and this project has heaps of it!

To add the element of water, I added some Glossy Accents to the rim of each layer and a few water droplets

before finishing off with a Ribbon and a few embellishments!

The only drawback being I've used soooo much Mirror card, AGAIN! that I can't get a decent picture without reflection, so here it is flat to give you a better indication of how it looks!

All in all, pretty happy with it though! Don't forget, Saturday is our last trading day before Christmas and we close at 4pm..

Our MEGA CLEARANCE SALE starts on Saturday 29th December @ 9am in the Education Room here at Barleylands.. There’s ganna be shed load of bargains for everyone!

So, all that remains is to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and thank you for following along with us this year. I look forward to sharing more inspiration with you in 2013. Have a great time folks. Thanks for checking us out. Andy..

2013 Workshops now booking..

Hi guys. Well, I've "finally finished" em!!

It's taken a bit of chop and changing around with the dates, but I think we've managed to fit in all of your requests and things that we wanted to cover this quarter..! So hop on over to the website to see what we have planned for you. Yes, we have another Demo Day. Yes, we have another Timmy Holtz Day. Yes, we have Brayering and Yes we have Pan Pastels!! Bookings have already started so don't miss out on trying something new in 2013.. Either give us a call (01268 285585) or pop into the shop to reserve your place.. Thanks for checking us out. See you soon. Andy..

Have a tail wagging time....

Hi folks. So, I said in my last post that "I" had, at last, finished my cards for this year and that someone else wanted to share the cards they were sending!! And who do you think that someone was?? Holly of course!! And she's pretty good at it too! Must run in the family or something!!

Her eye for colour (although she can only see in Black and White apparently!) is amazing for a puppy of her age; she has gone with a Tan and White

and Black and White combination to match her own colouring!

And while she wasn't looking, I copied her design and made one for her also! Thanks for checking us out. See you soon. Andy.

Stick a fork in me....

.... cos "I'm" done!!! At last! You'll be pleased to hear that this is the last of the Poinsettia cards!

Another one in a more masculine guise, and no less effective than the first one I shared with you a few posts back... Now I say "I'm" done, but someone else wants to share their cards with you in our next post... I wonder who that could be?!! Stay tuned folks!! Have a great day, see you soon.. Andy.

Marking the moment 12:12:12

So, where were you at such an auspicious time? Me, I was out walking Holly

so I took a couple of pics at 12:12pm on the 12th of the 12th 2012...

The phrase "The Earth stood hard as iron, the water like a stone" is very apt for today!! It's still pretty freezing out there!! See you soon. Andy.

One for the guyz....

Hi folks.. Coming to the end now of these Poinsettia cards... Most of them have been quite generic in their colour scheme so I thought I'd give a couple of them a more masculine concept just for a change..

This little one in Copper and Brown but in the same design, again shows just how diverse using the same Die combination can be with just a slight change of colour... Thanks for checking us out. See you soon. Andy.

Problem solved....

Hi folks... I think I've solved my Horizontal, Vertical dilemma...

Either 1, use a shape which doesn't create the problem in the first place!

Or 2, just put the shape on the wonk!! Job done!! Have a good day. See you soon. Andy.

Pretty in Pink, Poinsettia...

Hi gang.. Hands up who was expecting SNOW this morning then?! Yup, neither was I... It’s all gone now though so we can all return to normal!! I'm still churning out my "special" cards at the moment! Are you getting bored with them yet? Cos I'm not, it's been a real eye opener to see the difference just changing the colour combination makes to each project...

So here we are with today’s little offering.. It’s the same layout as my last post, but this time in Pink and Cream... Still got that same old dilemma though! Horizontal

or vertical!! Thanks for checking us out, see you soon. Andy.

Lilac Poinsettia...

Hi Guys.. Well, we're here.. It's December! and Christmas is closer than ever... So, if you're like me and just trying to finish off a few special cards here's another one to share with you.. This one is for a very special friend of mine who has recently become a Mum for the first time. So she will hopefully be having one of the best Christmas’s ever! She is a right Purple freak and I try to make her cards with that in mind!! So this year’s Christmas card is no exception!!

The only thing is, I can't quite decide whether to have it either vertical

or horizontal! Which way do you think it looks best? Anyhoo, got a bit of tidying up to do after yesterday's manic start to Club Members Weekend and get the shop ready for the day! Thanks for checking us out and have a great weekend! See you soon. Andy..

Mint Poinsettia....

Hi folks..Still churning out my "special" Crimbo cards... Today's project is again a "play" on the theme I have chosen,

but this time in Mint Green... Considering this project actually started life as a potential Birthday card it's adaptation into a Christmas card is quite effective don't you think?

The detail of the Lattice Die and the Embossing Folder I have used has really brought the Poinsettia to life..

I even got a chance to use a Die I never thought I would use because of its size, but it has fitted in pretty well with this project I think!

Another one for the pile and a few more to come folks! Don't forget, Pinnacle Crafts Club Members Weekend starts tomorrow at 9am.. See you there! Thanks for checking us out, see you soon. Andy.

Advent Calendar....

Hi folks.... Really getting into the Christmas spirit now.. Only 4 days until the tree can go up and that means Christmas can officially start for us in our household!! And with Christmas, comes Advent! Do you still have an Advent Calendar? We all do! And as it's Holly's second Christmas with us she is getting one all to herself!

Yes, I know she's a dog, but she is part of the family!! I've gone for a very austere colour scheme for her Advent, if nothing else, it matches her colouring too! Minus the spots and stripes you understand!!

Now just got to fill each box up with a little treat for her.. Thanks for checking us out. See you soon.. Andy

White Poinsettia....

Hi gang, I said in my last post that I had finally decided on my "special" cards design! So, today here is another one...

This time in White & Silver... The concept is the same as my previous project, but what a difference a change in colour makes eh!!? Have a great day and thanks for checking us out.. See you soon. Andy..

Christmas is a coming....

Hi Guys. How are you Christmas preparations going? Yeah, mine too!! But we'll get there... We always do eh!! One thing I am ahead with are my Crimbo cards!! I've done all of my everyday ones, it's now time to get on with the ones for my immediate family and close friends...

I've finally settled on the design I'm going to use this year.. Now it's time to churn them all out.. In as many different colour ways as I have time for.. Watch this space folks....See you soon.. Andy.

Merry & Bright.....

Hi folks... I hope you had a good weekend...? Last Stamping Gear card, for now....

This was actually the First one I made, which got me hooked and lead me onto all of the others I have so far shared with you... So far, this has to be my fave, more than anything it's because it has taken a Non Christmas Stamp image and turned it into a Christmas Card.. Which, if nothing else is great value!! Right, that's that done! Got a busy morning ahead of me teaching a full class of eager crafters a Shaving Foam technique.. Yes, I did say Shaving Foam! I'll share the results in some future posts... Once the lesson's over, it's a quick walk for Holly and then it's off to the Airport to collect my folks who are returning from Canada today!! Thanks for checking us out. See you soon. Andy

Christmas stamping with a difference....

Hi folks... Cracking on with more Stamping Gear projects today! In may last two posts I have shared with you two examples using the smallest "Circle" Gear. I said at the time Circles are not the only shape that the Stamping Gear can produce...

So today, we have an Oval version... It's a little O.T.T but was sure fun to make..

Again, the principle is exactly the same, this time working in an oval pattern..

The spacing’s created using this shape has allowed me to use not one but two different stamped images creating another amazing effect.... The Gold and Black combo I had used to stamp in was giving me the direction to make this quite an opulent project; it is almost Christmas after all!!

So, I cut out the middle of the stamped frame using an Oval Spellbinders Die.

On a separate piece of card I cut out the Spellbinders Die Basic Lattice (S5-151), notice that it holds within the piece of card as opposed to cutting it out completely. This is so you can expand the patter to make it bigger. This is why they are called "Expendable’s" I guess!! Doh!

This was layered behind the Oval

and mounted onto some Gold Mirror card.

I then added a prepared Christmas Flower Spray,

and a Bow which was fastened with one of the new Dazzlers! Have you seen the colours they come in now.. Yum!! So, there you go! As I said, rather opulent and OTT but sometimes that is just the way it goes... Thanks for checking us out... See you soon.. Andy.

Oh Baubles....!

Hi Gang. Following on from my last post I have another Stamping Gear card for you.

I said in that post that although Inkadinkadoo have specific stamps which are designed to work with the stamping gear I have found several other stamping ranges which also work.

This particular one is from Do Crafts. For me, it looks like that as long as the stamp is deep enough to clear the base of the paddle then you are good to go. Resin, Clear or Polymer Clay Stamps seem to be too shallow though! Although I guess if you mount them onto some EZ Mount, they should work also!...

Different sized stamps will give you a different pattern but the principle is the same as with Inkadinkadoo's own stamps...

This particular stamp from Do Crafts allows you to shadow stamp, creating a wonderful effect...

Once the pattern is made, the world's your Oyster as to what to do with it!! It's not just circles you can create, as you'll find out in my next post. Thanks for checking us out. See you soon. Andy.