ATC

Artist Trading Cards. Right. I don't really get them. I mean, you spend a considerable amount of time, product and imagination making a series of beautiful cards just to give them away, actually to swap them away.
The problem is that yes, when you make a card you are suppose to send it to someone who is expecting it because of a birthday, Christmas... you name the occasion {although more likely in my case I just keep it for far too many reasons to list them here}.
However with ATC is just plain and simple swapping. And that, my friend, it is something that I don't get as I never got collecting other things. When I think about starting an ATC collection I think that I would love to have this miniature artwork from some people and I would't mind to swap it with some of mine, but going as far as to join clubs where the only thing that you get is a very cheap ugly thing time and time over? It is just not for me. Or so I thought.
Just to prove myself wrong, I made a series of 12 and I really enjoyed making them, which means that provably now I'll be making more ATCs.The original ones were going to go in an article but we decided to do some cards instead. So, now I have 11 to swap, any takers?

Isle of Wight

We had a glorious weather this weekend on the South of England (probably in the rest too but I was on the South). Omar and I went to visit my sister who is doing some kind of sophisticated research studies in the Oceanographic Centre in Southampton for a few days. So on Sunday we visit the Isle of Wight which offers breathtaking seaside views.

Check out our route on POI66.

This on the right is a rare photo of Omar, myself and the Needles, rare because we are both(Omar and I that is) on it. Normally he takes it so I am alone on it. (And Saffa and Anam, I know I am not fat but just a little bit overweight for my height and bone structure. Just compare my arms with the layout photo!)

This other one is in... (sorry forgot the name of the beach)! Sand and little stone beach. The girl in the middle is not me (otherwise a fish or a crab would had had to have taken the photo) is Marta, a fellow oceanographer who is also doing some research in the same centre.

We felt a little bit dim spending the day with two PHDs whose jobs are scientific research!
It was a lovely day though and our faces got a little tanned!

Behind the scenes: Craft Day at QVC

Yes I know it is almost a week later but I said I would upload some snaps I took last Thursday at QVC during the Craft Day. Well, bare in mind that I took them with my mobile phone.
Here on the left you have Dawn Bibby with Simon, the presenter for that hour. All the presenters I met were quite nice, not that I talked with them long. I was going to crop the photo, but then I thought it would be more interesting to see the things that are not on the tv frame. The studios are very well ventilated and fairly cold, but then when the lights go on the temperature goes up quickly.








This is Leonie, Dawn's Assistant. She is the sweetest, friendliest person you can ever meet. Everybody loves her and I am no different.
















And this is the gourgeous Carley, funny, friendy and feel good crafter. She certainly makes you feel light and happy. Carley helps Leonie on her QVC shows as well as assist Dawn as well.

This photos were taken on a separate room where we make the cards and stuff that will go on the show. We laugh, drink and craft in equal messure!

Exhausted!

All right. The photo beside this text has little or nothing to do with my posting today, but I am too tired to upload Thursday's photos (behind the scenes at QVC) and today's (Alexandra Palace's Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show).
Thursday was Craft day at the shopping channel and because of that some extra assistance was required. Dawn Bibby had shows through out the day. I'll post more about it on Monday. (Fingers crossed that I will remember and that I wont be too tired!)
Today was day 1 of the Show. This is my total favorite craft show. I don't know how it compare to the big USA ones, but this is a nice, not too big, not too small, busy UK one hold in North London. Getting there is half of the job, but today we drove in just under an hour and ten minutes.
To be honest, this was my first time demonstrating at this show. I have demoed at quite a few shows including Trade ones, but because I normally attend this one as a customer and love it so much I wasn't sure I would enjoyed standing on the other side of the demonstrating table. All in all, I had a blast. I was demonstrating in the stand of two of my favorite shop owners Jane and Jo from the Craft Co. (were I teach some scrapbooking and cardmaking classes) using products from Scrapgenie.
So just because the products I used for this layout (Basic Grey and 7 Gypsies) are distributed by this company, I decided to use this layout for this entry. It is actually me on the photo, back when I was thin and pretty!

I miss Japan

It is rather funny. I mean, really really, what do we have in common with Japan? { And by we, I mean my husband and I.} Provably nothing, at least not fisical. Yet we both feel so strongly attach to this far and away country that we only visited once, that we often say to each other without any introduction, "Oh, how I miss Japan".
Maybe it is the tradition, maybe the people, maybe it is just that red (my favorite colour) and green (Omar's) is everywhere. Personaly, I have my theory: it is the mix between a traditional society where all the important bits are still kept (religion, family, beauty...) yet the commodities of modern world are even superior to those at home.
That is a beautiful country, well there's no doubt. As a sample, some of Omar's photos of Nara (first one) and of Miyajima island (the second , just off Hiroshima).
I really really want to go back soon!

Of Admiration and other things

Here there is a sneak peak of what is going to be my first full article for Scrapbook Inspirations, my favorite UK scrapbooking magazine for a very long time. I am really excited about it.

The title makes reference of the admiration that I feel for so many people. A person I admire (Anam) does this sneak peaks, I know that she is not the only one, many more do this. But it is her that has inspired me to do this today. Also another one who thats this quite often is Jane . And from here I started thinking on how sometimes I admire people in aspects of their lifes.

Let me explain. There are a few (all right, maybe not that few) people that I admire completely. My sister for one. I admire almost everything she does or she says. She is intelligent, with a great caracter, an sweet innocence and a charming personality. I alwyas think that whe I grow up I want to be like her. Or her.

But then, I admire people I barely know, and because I barely know them I can only admire one side of them, the one I know. People I have work with, people I have shared laughs and tears, people I have had coffee with, people whose skills I have seen on the internet.
The world is full of people who deserve admiration.

Here there is a surprise! Not

You Are a Chocolate Cake

Fun, comforting, and friendly. You are a true classic, and while you're not super cutting edge, you're high quality. People love your company - and have even been known to get addicted to you.

What Kind of Cake Are You?