I'm back! - Monday 24th September

Hello Blog Friends and how are you all!

Thank you for leaving your comments on the posts thatI managed to schedule the last two weeks whilst we were on holiday...all too soon the happy holidays are over aren't they? We had a lovely two weeks though; the weather was very kind to us, we visited lots of places, some old 'haunts' and one or two that are so close to us and which we'd never been to before!

I have taken lots of photos, so expect some scrapbook pages over the coming weeks!!!

Since Thursday we have been in London, travelling back yesterday by train in all that horrid weather - and to think that on Saturday we had a picnic outside Ally Pally and I was wearing a tee shirt!

London was, as usual fab, I always love our visits. I've been lucky enough to have visited some amazing cities in this world, but London is always my favourite. We went to the new Westfield Mall and managed a peek at the Olympic Stadium, we walked along the Regents Canal from Cambden to Little Venice and then Paddington (how peaceful that was), finally got to an opera at the Coliseum (Magic Flute) and also saw a totally bonkers mad but highly enjoyable comedy version of The 39 Steps, with just four energetic actors taking several parts... and spent a lovely morning at Ally Pally before a visit to the National Gallery and some final shopping..phew!

Ally Pally was great: in a larger hall this time with more space for both visitors and exhibitors. We got there first thing. It was such a lovely day that we wanted to get back to London and enjoy an afternoon there before the theatre. I have been to the NEC shows several times and this was my second Ally Pally - there are several reasons why I prefer it - it's smaller and specialising in stamping and scrapping, which I love! Most of the big shows seem to be in the north or the midlands, we don't get much down south, so it's so nice to have one in London and be able to make a weekend of it.

Barbara Gray

Sue Wilson

Sam Poole

Some of Sam Poole's fab work

Some of Hels Sheridan's brilliant pieces

Hels Sheridan

Leonie Pujol giggling as usual!

Ali Reeve

Ally Pally, Great Hall

Getting there early was great as there weren't many people: the first person I saw was Ali Reeve and I actually had quite a long chat with her about, not only crafting, but comparing notes about our hens! I also managed a brief chat with Sam Poole and Hels Sheridan, who both had the most amazing art work on display, it was really nice to see all their creations. I tried a few times but couldn't get near Sue Wilson and the 'worrying' thing was that whenever  I went back, some of the same ladies were there around her table( and we are talking quite a bit of time in between!). We went to Ali's super demo and had a quick look in on Julia Watts, but I had to miss Hels and Sam as they were in the afternoon. Leonie Pujol was in a similar 'position' to Sue Wilson, lots of people round her table.

So what did I buy with my stash money? Well, I got a few more masks from Ali Reeve, plus I thought I'd try a pack of her washables. I got some mdf pieces to alter - a book, a box and two little suitcases - these were so inexpensive, it was rude not to! Some stamps from LOTV...stamps, hmmm I could of course, have spent  a fortune. I also got some dies..the cogs and sprockets and the bracket edge box, which Creative Expressions were selling for a very good price. There were things on my list like some more pan pastels and dylusions, that I didn't get, but I did very well and the dies are my Christmas present!

I'll try and catch up with all your lovely blogs later tonight, after tea on the sofa with my iPad :)  Do check back here tomorrow - those of you who have been following me for a while, will know that I have some American family connections and one little decor thing I picked up from my time there is the door wreath tradition: a welcome wreath for your front door, which changes with the seasons. This year to celebrate my blog, I decided to make new ones and Autumn is here so I have just decorated our front door with my autumnal creation, which will be here tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carole X

Pin It