Once Upon A Stamp

Have A Peek

2012-01-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.

I have just put some more pages i did for a collaborative Art Journal Swap i did last year up on my other blog.

These pages were done for Barbaras journal in her chosen colours of Ochre and Kingfisher.

Heres a little taster to whet your appetites.

Here is a snippet from one of the pages. An acetate frame and a peacock head dress wearing Friendly Plastic face.

We are really busy at the moment getting our samples and goodies ready for Create and Craft next month.

I cant wait until i can show you all of the new products we have come up with and i am sure you will love them.

The house of Wishful Thimking has said goodbye to the builders ( who have done a fabulous job ) and the plasterers have finished off in the kitchen.

So now it is filled with plumbers,glazers,electricians and Malcombe the joiner.

I went up with Gordon and had a look at how its all coming together last night and we are loving it.

I think the bathroom will be ready in a few days and will put some more pics up then to let you all see.

Coffee time now for me.

Thanks for dropping by.

Love and Smiles Robert, Gordon and Harry xxx

Had to Share This With You

2012-01-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

A couple of days ago one of our customers came into the shop and Gordon asked her how she was getting on with her Big Shot Pro machine.

She told him that she was having problems using it and in fact lately she cant use it at all.

Gordon said that she could bring it back to the shop and he would see if there was anything wrong with it.

The lady then told Gordon that she had a photo of the machine and the problem that was stopping her using it and showed him this.

This is Orion and ever since the lady has had her Big Shot Pro he has decided that it is his new place of residence.

As you can imagine everyone in the shop was highly amused and Gordon suggested she had better buy another one so they could have one each.

Hope this brightens your day.

Love and Smiles.

Rob, Gordon and Harry xxx

Time Flys and Art Journals What a Mixture

2012-01-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.

Well what a week its been here.

On the 3rd it was 19 years since Gordon and i first met and I cant believe how quick the time has gone and how far we have come. What a wonderful journey it has been so far.

Heres something to make you laugh.

This is how we looked all those years ago ( Oh how i would love that waist back :-)

This was 9 months after we met and Gordon took me to Florida and it was really magical.

We are somewhere in Disney Land in this pic.

The week before we went i decided to have all my hair cut off ( it was very blonde and way past my shoulders ) and i am so glad I did as it was scorching hot over there.

As you may remember last year on the 4th Gordon had his Aneurism and almost died.

We cant believe a year has gone by and how lucky he is to still be here.

He continues to grow stronger every day and doesnt get so tired any more but the girls at the shop and I still guard him and make sure he doesnt do too much.

By this time next year he should be back to 100 per cent himself thank goodness.

I dont make resolutions for New year as i never keep them and then get on a line with myself, but i have decided to get my other blog up and running again even if i only post 4 times a month or so.

The first things i am going to put on is the Art Journal swap that myself and 6 others did for our college course last year.

We all had to choose two colours and then use these on the persons pages of their book.

This is one of the pages i did in Cherices book.

Her chosen colours were Purple and Teal.

I chose Fairy garden and Mermaids for her book and this is one of the Fairy Garden pages ( the other one i will put on my other blog as it may be a little risque for this one )

I was really pleased how this turned out and used all kinds of media on it including acrylics, gel pens, friendly plastic, canvas, fabric and Spellbinders dies.

So thats all for now.

Oh i almost forgot ...... The builders should be finished at the House of Wishful Thinking tomorrow.

So now the Plasterers can come in and do the kitchen walls.

Malcolm the joiner has already started doing the walls in the bathroom, and the glazers are coming soon to re fit all the old windows that remain with double glazing.

So hopefully by the end of this month we will have a kitchen and bathroom all fitted and finished.

Cant wait to put the pics up for you all to see.

Will stop here as i need a coffee.

Thanks for dropping by.

Love and Smiles .

Rob Gordon and Harry ( who goes for a haircut tomorrow ) xxx

Love and Smiles

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

2012-01-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year.

Hope you all had a good Christmas and a safe one too.

We had a very relaxing Christmas day and didnt get up until around 10.00 AM.

We opened our presents and helped Harry open his ( he didnt know what to play with first ha ha )

At around one o clock we went for a good long walk from our new house to Newstead Abbey as it was such a beautiful mild day.

This is the walk that leads you into the grounds of Newstead Abbey.

Not a soul in sight as everyone was probably tucking into their Christmas dinners.

Newstead Abbey is usually very busy , but today we had it almost to ourselves and i was able to take some great photos of the Abbey.

This is the oldest part of the Abbey and I just love the big window and would love to have seen it when it had its stained glass, i bet it was gorgeous.

Here are the three of us by the waterfall.

Harry and i just had to go look through the window behind it.

Where there is water Harry will find it, so Gordon let him have a paddle.

I love this door. It used to open at one time but now it is locked.

One more shot of the Abbey in all its glory.

We got home around three o clock and i started the Christmas dinner.

A Turkey is too big for the two of us, so this year we had a loin of Pork with all the trimmings and it was delicious.

So we had dinner around 6.0.clock and then just relaxed in front of the telly as you do at Christmas.

Boxing day was fun as my Brother and his family came up and stayed over.

We had a great time chatting about old times when we were kids and all the great presents we used to get.

We took them to see the new house and the shop then went for a walk around the Nature Reserve just around the corner.

The rest of the Christmas break has been spent relaxing ( we cant do anything to the house at the moment as there is building stuff in every room ) and we have been into the shop every other day for a few hours to process and post any orders.

Last night we saw in the New Year with Harry and kept him entertained while the fireworks were going off outside.

Gordon decided he wanted to launch a floating candle up into the sky.

So we got it lit and held it until it was ready to float upwards and just as it was going up over the house a big gust of wind blew it into the tree in our front garden. So i had to get a bucket of water to put the flames out.

I dont think we will be lighting any more of those somehow.

Today we have been to the shop and got all the orders processed ready to post on Tuesday.

I have been doing some boxing up in my craft room ready for the move and Gordon has been reading and taking it easy.

The shop will open again on Wednesday and we look forward to seeing you and hearing your Christmas stories.

I am going to have one last Mince pie now with a cuppa.

Happy New Year again.

Love and smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

The Pressy The Party and the Back of the House.

2011-12-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.

Couldnt post yesterday as i forgot to re charge my camera battery until late and then we had to meet the girls for our Christmas Party Evening and it was a bit late when we got back.

Anyway here is the beautiful present that onr of our lovely customers has made us for our new house.

This is the front of the tag that was attached to the present.

And this was the message written on the back and as you can imagine we were really touched.

And here is the present that Kate had made for our new home isnt it just INCREDIBLE and my photography really doesnt do it justice.

Here is a close up of the bird house so that you can see all the work that has gone into it.

This is a close up of the hand felted bird at the top of the birdhouse.

And here is the hand felted bird at the bottom and notice both have hand stitched beads and feathers attached to their tails they are Fabulous.

Finally this is a pic showing the side view of the bird house so that you can see all the work that has gone into making the tiled roof.

Oh Kate thank you ever so much for this gorgeous house warming gift and we will find a spot for it where it can be admired not just by us but everyone who visits us too.

We are really blown away that you made something so beautiful for us and thank you from the bottom of our hearts xxxxxx.

Last night the girls who work with us in the shop and ourselves went for our annual Christmas meal and we had a great time.

Here is a pic of us all in the festive spirit.

We would like to say a big thank you to Di, Jean, Karen, Michelle and Anthea for all the hard work they do for us, we really couldnt do it all without you.

And i would like to say a really big thank you to them for everything they did for me when Gordon was ill at the beginning of the year I will always be so grateful and you are the best friends anyone could ever have xxxxxx.

Oh i bet you wonder where Harry was while we were out enjoying ourselves.

Harry was with his friend Oliver having a great Christmas Party of their own.

And Finally i bet you wonder if the back of the house got finished before Christmas? Well take a look at these pics i took tonight.

Yes they managed to do it and the weather here has been horrid all day with wind heavy rain and sleet, but they were determined to do it and weathered the storm Thank You Guys.

This is a view from inside of the back reception room looking towards the new windows.

And this is a view from the kitchen looking along the extension into the back reception room.

So the back of the house is almost finished. Theres some electric and plumbing things to put into the new ceiling and then the insulation will be done before it all gets plastered.

We will be going in and doing some painting over the holidays in the other rooms and then the kitchen and bathroom will all be installed next month.

I think we will be moving in between the end of February or the beginning of March and we are all starting to get really excited.

Well thats our news up to now and i have a some more Christmas cards to finish as there are still a few we have to deliver tomorrow and then we can have a breather.

I will try and get on before Christmas day if i have time if not We wish you all a Safe and Happy Christmas.

Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Barnie ( who keeps sniffing at all his presents under the tree ) xxxxxx

...

Snow and Scotland and Panda's Oh My

2011-12-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.

On Sunday we travelled up to Scotland to see Gordon's Mom and Family and exchange presents and have a little mini pre Christmas get together.

Although it has been a tad cold down in our neck of the woods we have seen no snow at all, so imagine our surprise that as we were driving through the peak District ( we were about 30 miles into our journey ) we drove into a real winter wonderland with snow everywhere, we had to stop as little Harry absolutely loves snow and we played in the White stuff with him for almost half an hour. Here are a few pics to let you see just how snowy it was.

Gordon and Harry in the snow.

A Winter Wonderland.

We never saw any more snow until we reached Gordons Moms house where to Harrys surprise and happiness the back garden was Snow heaven so he played there until bedtime.

Monday

It was a very wet and rainy day today and the snow had all but disappeared which was a bit of a disappointment to harry so Gordon his mom and i decided to go to the Art Gallery in Glasgow for a few hours.

It is a fabulous Museum with lots of Art Nouveau and Deco displays which we all loved.

This was my favourite.

I may do a Rubber Stamp based on this embossed bronze as i think it is so beautiful.

The other thing that caught our attention was a modern art piece suspended from the roof of the gallery showing lots of plaster cast heads. Heres a pic.

We all loved this and although it was quite spooky you just had to keep looking.

That evening we took Gordons mom out for a Christmas meal and she liked the place that much she is going to take her friends there soon.

Tuesday

On Tuesday we took Gordons nephew to Edinburgh Zoo to see the Pandas that have just arrived there.

Oh wow we had to wait in a queue to get to see them but it was worth the wait as they had just woken up when we got to see them.

They are here for ten years and the Zoo has done a really good job with their enclosure.

You don't get bored waiting in line either as you can watch the penguins swimming underwater through a hugh glass viewing area.

These were the best photos of the Pandas that i took.

This is the Male Panda Tian Tian, he had been sleeping and had just woken up.

This is the female Panda Yangguang and i was lucky enough to be right at the front of the glass partition when she decided to come down and take a closer look at me.

Just at that moment my cameras batteries ran out so i was really happy i got that snap.

After the Zoo we went into Edinburgh to have a quick look at the Christmas Market.

Over the Christmas Holidays i am going to update my Flickr Photos and you will be able to see a lot more pics of our trip to Scotland there and loads more things too.

We all had a Fish Supper tonight at Gordon's Moms house and Harry had a grilled square sausage for a treat.

Today we said our goodbyes and came back down to England and we couldn't resist having a look at how things are progressing at the new house.

Oh WOWEEEEEE i can't wait to show you how the back is looking and wish i had re charged my camera but you will be amazed at how much has been done in the time we have beeen away

and i will put pics up soon.

Tomorrow i will be showing you the wonderful New House present that one of our customers have made us before we go on our annual staff Christmas Night Out which is always fun.

Thanks for dropping by and see you all tomorrow.

Love and smiles.

Rob, Gordon and Harry ( who is very tired and wants more snow ) xxxxxx

Its Getting Better and Catchup

2011-12-17T18:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.
Well the back of the house is starting to look better and the lovely builders reckon it will be finished just before Christmas.
Heres a couple a pic i took tonight in complete darkness ( as we can only view in the dark because of work ).
.
As you can see we now have the re inforced roof almost complete and the builders
plan to have all of the back done before Christmas.
These lads have worked so hard and the weather here has been against them all the way.
The plumber has been and had a good look at everything and we now have to have all the
gas pipes replaced as they were put in ages ago by the man who built this in 1930, so you can understand that everything needs re-doing,
There are pipes coming out of the walls that in these days would be a big No No but we knew this when we bought the house and know that everything will look a lot better for being sorted out and give us peace of mind.
Back to our own house and its going to be our last Christmas here so after a lot of soul searching we decided to go the whole hog and put the big Christmas tree up.( which we hav'nt done since we lost Barney four years ago).

This is the last Christmas we will have in this house so i have put three trees up and illuminated every window and it feels great and Harry just loves it.
I will close now and will post again on thursday to show you a wonderful new house present that one of our customers made for us. ( be prepared to be amazed ).
Love and smiles Rob Gordon and Harry. xxxxxx

AND THE WALLS CAME TUMBLING DOWN.

2011-12-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody.

Wow has'nt the weather been awful today, hope everyone is OK and did'nt get blown away.

This morning started with Gordon and i going to have a look at how our new kitchen will look when it is finally time to have it all installed.

After a bit of tweeking and changing things around a little we have finally got there and i cant wait now to get cooking in it. We reckon it will be around mid to late January when all that starts.

We had to go to the new house afterwards to make sure the new skip had arrived and see how the builders were getting on. Now before i go any further here is what the back of the house used to look like

Because the extended part of the house was a little dated and the wooden parts were showing signs of age we decided to get it all knocked down and modernised with a re-inforced flat roof

so that we can have a balcony leading from the bedroom upstairs to watch the wildlife in the garden at different times of the day and night (neighbours have seen badgers in the gardens at evening times ) and a nice cuppa in the mornings on nice days.

So this is what greeted us this morning

Everything had gone literally and i must admit i was a little taken back at first.

The builders asked me if i was ok so i must have looked shocked, so for a bit of fun i said with a serious face that i didnt like it and could they put it all back up again as it was. It was their turn to look shocked until i started laughing.

Heres another larger pic of the back of the house.

Just after i took this picture the heavens opened and the winds came blowing in so we all went inside. I will post more pics to let you see how its all progressing over the next few weeks.

Malcolm the joiner has put in more doors and we have a plumber coming in next week to sort out kitchen, bathroom and gas pipes.

So i will close here and see you all for the next installment.

Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxxxxx

4 Years Today

2011-12-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

Not a nice day for us here today as it was 4 years ago our little Barney passed away.

We still Love and miss you and know you still come and see us now and again.

Thank you for all the fun you bought to us.

Love from your two daddys and Harry xxxxxx

Its all slowly Coming Together and Other Adventures

2011-12-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.

Can i just say before i begin a big thank you to all of you who have left comments and phoned us at the shop to wish us luck and happiness in our new house.

I must admit the last couple of weeks i have been wondering if it will all ever be finished and maybe we will eventually move in around 2030.

Last week we took a break and went up to see Gordons mom and family in Scotland.

I must admit we really needed it and it was great to lie in and just relax Thank You so much mom for letting us get our batteries re-charged and looking after us, Love Ya xxxxxx.

Thanks also to all the girls who took care of the shop and the orders while we were away.

We love you all loads and loads too xxxxxxx

When we got back on Wednesday we were very good and never went to the new house until Thursday evening after work.

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH what a difference a break makes and how busy all the builders and joiners have been, the place is starting to look fabby.

Here are some before and after pics.

This was the bathroom and toilet we had knocked into one room.

Look at the Avacado Suite and the tiles and the wallpaper.

It takes me right back to the 1970s and Abigails Party.

When we went on Thursday evening it was all starting to come together

and all the back wall is ready to put the new window in next week.

Malcolm our joiner and husband of one of our customers has pulled down the horrible

cupboard which encased the boiler on the left and is going to make us a nicer one.

Before we went to Scotland Malcolm had just started on the stairs area and i told him i would

probably like a little toilet and sink with a storage area if there was room.

Wow i couldnt believe it when i saw what he had done.

Where the new door is will be the downstairs loo and then there is a little cupboard just big enough for my vac and cleaning stuff.

( small cupboards = cleaning stuff big cupboards = crafting stuff ) Thanks Malcolm its wonderful. xxxxxx

To the left is where an ugly cupboard used to hide the electric and gas meters ( we still havnt found the water meter ) ????

And look at what Malcolm has done this time it makes such a difference.

I was nearly in tears when i saw just how much had been done and how wonderful everything is starting to look.

Anthea's husband has been busy putting all the radiators in for us and we are meeting them tomorrow to help put the last few in.

Oh look who's that in the picture ha ha yup its harry who really is loving it all and seems to love the little cupboard under the stairs, we couldnt keep him out of there.

These last two pictures are the false wall the builders have had to make so that they can start re building the extended part behind, so now if the bad weather arrives while they are working at least the house will stay dry.

And this is the kitchen with the false room.

That door used to be in the wall to the left of the picture and the builders have done a great re cycling job and used it for the temporary entrance I love it.

Finally heres a pic of something else ive been doing since coming home from Scotland.

Yes i am getting all my Christmas cards made and im late again as usual.

Still im really enjoying just getting my fingers around all the scrummy Christmas papers and dies

and making loads of mess as i go along.

I will try and do a quick video tutorial for them if you like, let me know.

Right ive took enough of your time with me rambling on again.

Thanks for dropping by and do leave a comment if you can.

Love and smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxxxxxxxxxxx

The House Of Wishful Thinking

2011-11-21T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Ten i'll begin.

Just before Gordon took ill this year we decided that the time was right to move house.

This all came about as we had spotted a property just 2 minutes walking distance from the shop and it also had a view of the fields and mill pond from the back garden.

Well we sort of had to let everything go when Gordon took ill and i had to stop all prospetive buyers coming to the house and had the for sale sign taken away and our details left at the estate agents.

To cut a long story short somebody asked to buy our house in June and we put in a bid for the house we wanted.

Alas after the surveyors report the house we wanted needed to much doing to it and we were told to just stay put so everything was stopped .

In August we were driving home and took a wrong turning and noticed a 1930s style house for sale.

It was completely empty so we went and had a look in the window and we liked what we saw.

The back was open so we went and had a look there too.

I fell in love with the garden before i even looked through the back windows.The kitchen was still original in every way and when we went to the bottom of the garden there was a small river running through it we were HOOKED.

The house chose us i am sure of it and we couldnt get it out of our heads.

There was a lot of work involved as our surveyor told us which included having the whole downstairs gutted and damp proofed but apart from that the house was solid and steadfast with great potential.

On the 1st October the house of wishful thinking ( my name for it all the way from the beginning as i didnt think we would ever own it even though we loved it ) was ours and ever since we have been bringing it back to life.

So far we have took it right back to its bare walls, had doors removed and had walls knocked out.

But now each day as we go in we can see it starting to take shape.

We have lived on a really busy main road for all these years with loads of noise and now we are moving into a country village just a 25 minute walk into the grounds of Newstead Abbey (one of our favorite places.

We go to the house every evening after work and on our days off to see how the builders are getting on and doing what we can to help the process along as we know we have to have the main bits done before the bad weather arrives.

There is still a long way to go but we are both really happy and excited and Harry loves it too.

Here are a few pics and i hope you like them.

This was how the kitchen looked and i loved it.

Sadly only the 1930s table and the old clothes airer/pan holder above it remain.

This is how the back reception room looked like but now

the wall on the right near the window has gone and joins onto the kitchen.

The rest was gutted right back to bare walls.

A view of the front garden and countryside over the road.

We are taking the hedge at the top out as you cant see oncoming traffic so it is dangerous and we are going to have a small wooden fence and gate instead.

I cant wait to get cracking on this space.

I want to make a vegetable patch in the island as we get sunshine on both gardens all day.

This is the back porch which is a little sun trap and look

at all those Bramley apples picked straight off the tree.

This will have to be all re pointed and maybe rebuilt next year.

Here is a pic of the back garden a couple of days after getting the keys.

I have already started getting it into shape but im not doing anything else

now until spring as there are lots of bulbs in the garden and i need to see

what and where they are before going further.

At the bottom of the garden are some steps that lead to a small river.

It is full of wildlife including Ducks,Kingfishers, Brown Trout and our very own

Moor Hen who i have christened Hilda.

In the garden so far we have seen a male Pheasent, a family of Partridges, a Heron, a Spotted Woodpecker and the most friendly Robin who isnt one bit scared of harry.

We know its going to take some time to get it all as we like it but the main thing is we are going to love it here and are so very happy.

We are going to open up the house now for the men with the radiators and finish stripping the upstairs rooms ready for painting.

Will post more pics when i have a minute and i hope i havnt bored you to tears with my ramblings.

Please leave a comment as i love to read them.

Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxxxxx

Back Online Yippeeeeeee with a Massive Catch Up

2011-11-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone.

I know i was supposed to post 2 weeks ago but im afraid our modem thing died while we were at the N.E.C.

The Sky man came and changed it last Saturday and it worked for literally 10 minutes after he left and died again.

Hes been again today and has done loads of geeky things and fingers crossed it will work at least until i have got this blog post up and running.

Anyway the N.E.C was fabulous as usual and heres a pic of us on the Thursday just before they opened the doors.

Karen Me Gordon and Michelle

It was great meeting old customers and new and although we were so busy we still had time to chat and have fun.

While i helped Gordon on the till and re stocking Karen demonstrated the new Sizzix Vintaj machine and all of the Vintaj jewellery products and folders that go with it, while Michelle demonstrated the different Scor-Pal boards.

We had sold out of all of those products by the end of the show which made us all really happy.

On Thursday and Friday evening i met up with some old pals from my younger days in Birmingham.

Thursday evening i met Karen who had to come without Roz and Kath this timeas they were working but we had a good old chin wag and catch up. It was great seeing you Kaz and cant wait for you all to come and see us next year.

Friday evening was very emotional for me as i met up with Lorna who was my closest female friend in Brum. She was on holiday with me back in 1993 when i first met Gordon and i hadnt seen her for 16 years. Not only that she bought along another old buddy Chris which was such a wonderful surprise. Lorna and Chris its been too long and we have to stay in contact now and again cant wait for you to come and see us next year.

Heres a couple of photos of us.

Myself Chris Lorna and Gordon

Lorna and I = Double Trouble

Now then i bet you are wondering what was so important that i had to come home on the Saturday of the N.E.C.

We have been waiting for the main part of our new products to be delivered and they will be available in January, so i had to be home for the delivery.

Oh woweee i couldnt resist opening one of the boxes and when i did i had to go straight up to my craft room and play.

So for the next 2 months the girls and i will be busy making samples for the launch of these products on Ideal World Create and Craft Channel in January.

Just before we went to the N.E.C, Harry had his last haircut for the year so here is a before and after shot of him.

Harry Before his haircut.

Harry after his haircut.

Honestly everything is happening all at once here and Gordon and i are up to our arm pits with another big project that hopefully will be ready for February. It started on the first day of October and is sort of taking over our lives at the moment ( but more of that tomorrow ).

Heres a little clue of what is taking most of our time up .

If you can guess what we are doing do leave a comment and all will be revealed tomorrow.

So i have caught up a little now and will be back tomorrow.

Love and smiles Rob Gordon and Harry. xxxxxxxxx

See You At The NEC

2011-11-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hi all.

Just a quick blog while Gordon is at the shop getting more stock to take back with us to the NEC tonight.

We have spent all day setting up and the stand looks fabby.

Gordon, Karen,Michelle and myself will be there tomorrow ( our stand is number E 17 ) with some wonderful new demonstrations and some great new products to show you.

I am there for the first two days and then the lovely Sandra takes over from me for the weekend.

WHY am i coming home on Saturday ?????

I will let you all know on Sunday and you will know then why i havn't been blogging much for the last few months.

Tomorrow night and Friday night i am having reunions with friends i havnt seen for 15 years and will put some pics up for you to see.

Right i will get all our clothes and toiletries ready to go and if you are at the NEC this week please stop by and say hello.

Love and smiles Rob Gord and Harry xxx

Busy Busy Busy

2011-09-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks
I know i havnt blogged for ages but we are just so so busy here in Once Upon A Stamp world and when i get home i just want to flop out as i am sure you can all understand.
I am also working on a new line of rubber stamps and digital images to go with our unique NEW PRODUCTS which hopefully we will be launching in the next couple of months and we are so excited about it and cant wait to share with you.
The summer seems to have gone too quickly this year so we are so happy that we are having this beautiful Indian Summer weather right now.
Gordon is still doing brilliantly well after his aneurism earlier this year and gets stronger every day. Harry has had a great summer and is ready for his autumn hair cut ( this will be his last cut now until the end of February and he will get really fluffy and curly and look like a yeti for Christmas which i love.).
As for me i have been off the ciggies for 6 months now and still cant believe it. I dont miss them at all now and just hope that this time i manage to quit FOREVER.
My younger brother had a triple heart bypass yesterday so that puts me off smoking even more.
He is doing well but obviously in a lot of pain today and i just want to say I LOVE YA Bruv and hope its not to long before you are singing with your band again xxx ( I know he reads this ).
The Show at Harrogate was fabulous again and Gordon and the girls ( Karen and Jean ) would like to thank all our customers old and new for coming to our stall and saying hello.
I will close now but dont forget to look at the Design Team Blog which consists of Di, Jean, Michelle and Karen as i know they will be putting up some of their new samples some time this week.
I will try not to leave it so long before i post again and thanks to everyone who sends comments as we love to hear from you all.
Love and smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Stevenage Tomorrow and Catching Up

2011-08-13T05:51:00.000-07:00

Hello folks.

Gordon has set out for Stevenage this morning and Sandra and her husband are going to help him set up.

I cant go as i have to be at home this weekend for various reasons (all will be revealed soon i promise ).

It has been a very busy time for us all in Once Upon A Stamp land with so much going on its like being on a roller coaster.

The No More Shims Mat has really taken off in the U.S.A and Canada and now the Stay Put Mat is on its way over.

The workshops at the shop are going so very well and are all mostly full before we get chance to put them on the blog, Please give us a ring to see what we have available.

We are pleased to say thaat we now have the multi talented Mixed Media and Stamp Artiste Claire Towle ( who used to have the Card Fairy ) joining us every few weeks to do some wonderful full day Workshops.

The last two have been sold out before we have had time to announce them as everyone knows how fantastic Claires classes are.

I am doing some design work at the moment for some new products which i hope will get your crafting juices going.

We hope to launch these products on CREATE and CRAFT late September or Early October and we are all really excited about it here.

So that is what is taking most of my time up at the moment as these products have to be up to my standard and be really versatil too.

In between all this we are in the middle of something else which is really exciting for us and i will share this with you as soon as i can.

Gordon continues to go from strength to strength and we are all so proud of him.

I have been Nicotine free for nearly five months now and still dont want another cigarette EVER.

And Harry is getting all excited because his best friend Bob comes to stay next week for two whole weeks YAY.

Will post again in the week to let you know how Stevenage went.

Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Cooling down but still HOT

2011-07-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday was another day up in the 90s so we decided to do something indoors again.

We went to the Field Natural History Museum and again the place was so big and so interesting we were there until 5.00.

It did get scary towards the end of the day in there as we started to walk through hall after hall of stuffed animals from all over the world and we couldnt find an exit.

It started to get really freaky when you passed people you had passed 10 minutes earlier and they couldnt find a way out either.

In the end there must have been about 12 of us all staying in a group and laughing nervously trying to find a way out but not doing too well.

Eventually just passed molluscs of Australasia and Dung Beetles of North Africa we found the all importantant Exit sign and everyone gave a big cheer.

Came back to the hotel where we heard the sad news of Amy Winehouse.

I think everyone knew her life would end tragically and too early but i hope her spirit is at peace now and her songs will always be played.

We didnt do much just went for dinner and then had a night watching American TV or should i say adverts and then fell asleep.

Today has been a lot cooler so we have been out hitting the shops and going to different neighbourhoods to have a nosey around. I have bought some craft books and art materials that i cant get at home and Gordon has bought some shoes and jeans.

THis evening we went down to the Navy Pier and had dinner at Bubba Gumps and then went and watched the last ever Harry Potter Movie in 3D on an Imax screen ( Fabulous )

Yes i shed a tear at the end and thought the whole film was brilliant.

Got back to the hotel at around 12.00 am and have got everything packed and ready so we can have a last look around Chicago in the morning and then we will make our way to the airport around mid day.

Have had a great time but cant wait to get home to our little Harry and find out whats been happening at home.

Cant put any photos up as i have packed the cameras away but will post some when we get back.

Thanks for dropping by

Love and Smiles Rob and Gordon xxx

Some like it HOT

2011-07-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

It is really really HOT here in Chicago with warnings of not to go out if you can possibly help it and if you do to use high factor sunscreen and drink plenty of fluids.

Thursday was 101 degrees so we decided to go to the Planetarium as i have never been to one and Gordon says this is one of the best in the world.

I thought i would be bored but found it all fascinating and loved the three dimensional films and how our universe came about.

It was 5.00 pm when we came out and i couldnt believe we had spent a whole day in there but the time did go so quickly.

After a quick look round the shops and a bite to eat we went on an Architectural boat tour along the Chicago river ( it was 8.00 pm so no worries of getting sunburned ) with a lovely lady telling you about the history of Chicago and about all its famous skyscrapers and buildings.

It was 9.30 when we finally came back to shore and after a stroll around the Magnificent mile we came back to the hotel and had an early night.

Friday was in the high 90s so we went to the Chicago Art Institute as we both wanted to go here and it would be nice and cool with the air conditioning on.

Again A full day of taking in the arts from the pre raphaelites right up to the modern arts of today by the time we had looked around at all the fantastic art it was 5.00 pm again before we decided to go back to the hotel and rest our legs for a while.

Later we went for dinner and a walk down to the Navy Pier and then went to a late night movie showing of Transformers 3 in 3D.

Why did we go and see this you may be asking ???

Well last year when we were here we actually watched some of this being filmed along the Chicago river so when we saw it was actually being shown we just had to see it and i must admit we really enjoyed it.

When we came out of the cinema at just gone midnight the sky was full of lightning and just as we reached our hotel the heavens opened and i have never heard such loud thunder in my life.

We sat up in our room 18 floors up with a coffee watching the fantastic light and noise show for well over an hour before we went to bed with lightning still lighting the room and thunder still gently rolling in the distance.

I will leave you with a little video i took of the Chicago Skyline on Thursday and will write again tomorrow as i am so tired right now and must get some sleep.

Love and smiles Rob and Gordon xxx

Hello From Chicago

2011-07-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yes i know

One minute we are saying hello to you at the Summer Crafting show at Doncaster and then we had to zoom off to Chicago for the Summer CHA show to promote the No More Shims Mat to our friends across the pond.

We arrived in Chicago on Monday afternoon and at the moment they are having a freaky heatwave with temperatures into the high 90,s and even up to 101 degrees yesterday pheweee.

Tuesday and Wednesday saw us on Diana and Roys Scor-pal stand promoting the No More Shims Mat.

It was great seeing Diana and Roy again and we all had a real good time and we got lots of interest and orders for the No More Shims and lots of interest for some of our other products too which Diana and Roy will hopefully be taking on board for us.

We met some absolutely wonderful people at the show and want to thank you for your kind words and interest in our products.

We also want to thank Diana and Roy for giving us the chance to promote our products on their stand and also for being our distributors across the pond.

Heres a pic of Myself ,Diana, Roy, Gordon and Sheila just before we said so long on Wednesday

evening .

Thanks for a wonderful two days guys and we will see you again in Anaheim next year xxx.

On Wednesday evening after something to eat we just fell asleep for around 12 hours as i think time caught up with us.

I will write later on today about what we have done since the show as Gordon is getting itchy feet to go somewhere.

Now where is that sun screen

Smiles and love from Rob and Gordon xxx

All Ready For Doncaster Show

2011-06-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.

Hope you all enjoyed the videos Gordon and i have made for the No More Shims Mat and if there are any more things you would like us to try just let us know and we will do a video.

We have just finished setting up for tomorrows stamping show at the Doncaster Dome and Gordon, Karen and Michelle will be there to help you and show you some of the latest tricks and techniques with our products.

I am real busy at the moment working on my projects for college and when they are finished i will put some pics up to show you how i am getting on.

I have not had a cigarette now for just over 11 weeks and must admit have found it a lot easier than previous attempts i just need to work out a way to lose the excess weight that has appeared since stopping ( diet will start when i am ready as i can only cope with stopping one thing at a time )

Its been a bit of a sad couple of weeks too as my uncle passed away and my sister in laws father was found dead on the day of my uncles funeral and he was a fit 66 year old , so not a nice time really at the moment.

The garden is also keeping me busy as many of you know i absolutely love my garden and am sooooo happy with it this year as Gordon and i have transformed the front and the part next to the kitchen over the last couple of months and i keep having to go and have a look even when its dark haha.

Tomorrow i will be picking the first of our Strawberry's and will make something nice with them for when Gord comes home from Doncaster.

If you come to Donnie tomorrow please say hello and if you liked the videos please send in some comments as we have had none on the blog for them yet.

Going to close now and thanks for dropping by.

Love and smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry xxx

Embossing Fresh Leaves with No More Shims Embossing Mat &the Big Shot

2011-06-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Embossing Dried Leaves with the No More Shims Embossing Mat and the Cutt...

2011-06-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Using Lace Mesh Hessian etc with No More Shims Cuttlebug & Big Shot

2011-06-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Flattening 6 Bottlecaps using Sizzix Big Shot and No More Shims

2011-05-31T05:22:00.000-07:00

Flattening 6 Bottlecaps With No More Shims And The Cuttlebug

2011-05-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

No More Shims Mat With Big Shot Impressabilities And Plastic Stencils

2011-05-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hope You Like The Videos

2011-05-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.

I havnt blogged for ages so Gordon and i thought it would be a nice idea to do some No More Shims videos on the Cuttlebug and the Big Shot so that you can see how well it works on both machines.

The first three are an introduction to the mat and then basic embossing with a nestabilities die on both machines.

Tell all your American friends that they will soon be able to buy it too as Diana and Roy Crick who own Scor-Pal are going to launch it over there in the next few weeks and we are all really excited about it.

Tomorrow i will put a couple more videos up one showing how to use your impressabilies with the No More Shims and another using the plastic stencils.

Gordon and Jean would like to say a big hello and thank you to all the people who came and said hi and bought things from our stand at Port Sunlight just over a week ago.

Thanks for popping by

Love and smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Using The No More Shims Mat with Nestabilities and the Sizzix Big Shot

2011-05-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

Using The No More Shims Mat With Nestabilities And The Cuttlebug

2011-05-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Once Upon A Stamp Present The No More Shims Embossing Mat

2011-05-25T03:31:00.000-07:00

Catching Up

2011-04-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone.

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks here and i am so sorry for not getting here sooner but life has been keeping us really busy what with one thing and another.

Before i go any further though i must tell you that Gordon has been given the complete thumbs up by his surgeon and he has not been stopped from driving or flying as he is one of the very lucky 10 % of people who go through what he did and come out perfectly fine with no cause found and no long term damage and for that we are sooooo extremely greatful.

The N E C was fantastic and it was so lovely to meet friends and customers both old and new and have a little natter.

My reunion with my old pals was wonderful and we had such a fabulous evening together reminiscing and catching up with each others lives. I felt on cloud nine for days after and just kept smiling to myself because i was so happy to have my old friends back (Thank You Facebook) and heres a pic of us all below. Thats my sister on the far right and her two children on the far left.

Another good thing to come out of the reunion was that i have quit the weed (3 weeks and a few days now and not missing the cigs too much ). I was the only one of us left who smoked and it didnt bother me until the day after and i started feeling like an old dinosaur still plodding on with a smokestick in my hand while everyone else has stopped, If you cant beat em join em.

I have stopped loads of times before and thats the easy part but the hard part is staying stopped so i hope i do it this time forever.

The week after the NEC was manic at the shop what with back orders and deliveries and we werent getting home until gone 9.00 pm for the first four days .

We both were starting to feel done in so decided to go to Norfolk the next week with Harry and it did us the world of good aand Harry loved it.

The highlights were sitting in the garden of the little cottage we hired just before dusk and seeing a Barn Owl fly right past us and Harrys face when he came head to head with a pack of seals on a remote patch of golden sand near Stiffkey. Im sure he thought they were mer-dogs and i dont know what they thought of him haha.

Heres a pic of one of the seals having a little swim.

Have not had such a fab break for ages and we feel great for it too.

At the moment we are all getting ready for the next ideal world tv show and we will have some fabulous samples and demonstrations featuring some of the new dies from Marianne as well as some of our own products to tempt you with.

Tomorrow is Good Friday and we will be open from 11.00 am until 3.00 pm and some of my pals from the Monday Class i go to incuding Clare and Diane from America are coming too to have a play day so it should be fun.

Well thats about it for this post and i will try and get back sometime next week for a natter.

I will post our holiday snaps on flickr to sometime next week so you can see what a great time we all had.

Thanks for dropping by.

Love and Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry xxx

From Harrogate to the NEC

2011-03-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

Hi All

Had a fantastic time at the Great Northern Paper Show last weekend and it was great to say hello and have a natter with everybody who came to our stall.

The show was a great success for us and we are really glad that you loved our demos and liked our prices.

Gordon had so many people wishing him well and nobody could believe the progress he has made in the last couple of months and we really do cherish your good wishes so much.

Well on Sunday i took part in the Ready Steady Craft Challenge and am so amazed that i actually won.

It was so much fun and honestly the maddest thing i have taken part in for a long time.

If anyone has any photos or movies they took of it i would love you to send them and then i can put some up on the blog for people who werent there to see.

I am writing this from our hotel room in Birmingham as tomorrow is the opening day of the Hobbycrafts and Stitch show at the N E C and we are really looking forward to meeting all our customers old and new.

Karen will be showing you new ideas with the Scor-pal, Scor Buddy and Scor Bug and i will be demoing some amazing dies that allow you to make big cards with your cuttlebug and big shot without having to upgrade to A4 machines and dies. I will also be showing you how you can make beautiful cards that are cut and embossed in 8 seconds using some new dies by Marianne and i think you will be very impressed.

Tomorrow night i am having a reunion with some fantastic friends that i lost contact with over ten years ago and cant wait to see them and share our stories and also talk about old times i am sure its going to be a hoot and this time i have made sure my camera battery is charged up.

If i dont get back to the hotel too late tomorrow i will put up some pics for you to see and tell you how the show and reunion went.

Going to get some sleep now so i am ready for tomorrow ( Gordon snoring already haha )

Love and smiles Rob and Gordon xxxxx and a big one for Harry X

See You At Harrogate This Weekend

2011-03-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone

Just to let you all know that Di, Karen, Gordon and myself will all be at the Great Northern Papercraft Extravaganza show in Harrogate this weekend.

If you are going please come and say hello and have a natter with us as we really love meeting you all.

We have some fab demonstrations for you and loads of good price deals too and im sure we will all have lots of fun.

I have been signed up for the Ready Steady Craft challenge on Sunday afternoon and i really havnt a clue what its all about but im sure i will end up in a mess and laughing as i love a bit of fun.

Harry is staying with his best friend Bob and Aunty Michelle and we are missing him already.

Better get some sleep now as we have an early set off tomorrow.

Thanks for dropping bye and hope to see some of you over the weekend.

Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Gordon On Create and Craft today and a pic of Harry Too.

2011-03-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.

I know i havnt posted for a while and i am so sorry.

You know how it is one thing leads to another and another and there just isnt enough time in the day.

It has been a very busy few weeks for us as we are ordering things for the big paper craft shows which are getting nearer every day, making samples for T V , the shows,and the shop with all the new products coming out

(all very exciting ) and getting all the classes at the shop sorted so they are ready to start again inApril.

Gordon has really improved dramatically over the last few weeks and today i was so proud of him watching him back to himself on Create and Craft and him and Karen did an excellent job and done us all proud.

We have been inundated with calls to the shop and e.mails saying how fab it was to see Gordon looking so well and back to normal.

Heres a picture of Harry to finish with and as you can see he has had a good hair cut.

I wanted to put this pic up because this is how he goes to sleep sometimes while watching the TV. He sort of stays in the position he is in and just nods off and it is so funny to see.

Yes he does like television especially anything with dogs and cats.

His favorite programme is In The Night Garden and he has watched it all the way through since he was a puppy, he even has an Iggle Piggle that sings and it is his favorite toy and is always near him at home.

Anyway

I will close now and speak to you all again soon.

Thanks for dropping by.

Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Gordon the Van Stevenage and Haircuts

2011-02-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.

Sorry i havnt posted for over a week but its been busy busy busy here.

Gordon continues to improve daily and is behaving himself by just coming to the shop and doing light jobs like processing orders and checking the mail and at the moment we are coming in later than the girls and leave at 3.00pm, so we are only spending four hours there at the moment.

His taste is slowly starting to come back so i make a lot of salads as its cooked veg that seems to taste horrible ( especially Brocolli which he loved before ).

The girls and i packed everything and filled the van up with all the goodies for the Stamparama show at Stevenage on Friday evening so that we could get an early start on Saturday morning.

Well as soon as we got in it on Saturday and jean started it up we got about 20 yards and then it just conked out.

Luckily we got it back to the garage next door to the shop and the guys worked like crazy to get it mended which eventually they achieved ( thanks guys ).

We arrived at Stevenage an hour before set up closing time and believe it or not Jean and i got the stand set up and nearly everything hooked onto it before it closed so we felt really proud of ourselves.

The show was fabulous and i really enjoyed meeting old friends and new .

Jean and i demonstrated while Sandra served the customers and Gordon sat and packed bags for people and was made a fuss of all day so he really enjoyed it too.

Above is a pic of Gordon myself Sandra and Jean just before the show finished.

Thank you to store holders and customers who came and wished Gordon a speedy recovery too.

On Monday i started back to a new term with the lovely Claire and for the next three months will be doing canvas art in the mornings and a round robin journal in the afternoons based on colour choices of the other students ( i will post pics on my other blog as things get made )

Dont worry i didnt leave Gordon on his own he was at the shop with Harry and the girls.

And to finish with Harry has had a big haircut and looks really lovely how the lady has done it this time.When you look at him head on he looks like a little sphinx the way she has trimmed his ears and i will put a photo of him on next post.

Right im going to make myself a cup of coffee now as i forgot about this one and its gone cold.

Thanks for dropping by and i will post again in a couple of days.

Love and smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

What a Brilliant Week

2011-01-31T16:32:00.000-08:00

Well its been just over a week since my last post and Gordon is coming on with leaps and bounds ( must be my cooking haha ).

Last Monday our mate Tim took Gordon to the bank as he wanted to get the accounts up to date etc and they were out for 5 hours in the end.

Tim took Gordon for a coffee after then they did some shopping and went to have a look around some car show rooms as Tim and Gordon are car mad.

I was really good and only phoned them twice just to make sure everything was ok and i was doing little dances all around the kitchen ( not a sight you want to see believe me ) because i was so happy.

Tuesday was my day off so we took Harry for a walk in the park and just had a lazy day .

Gordon took it easy for the next couple of days and then on Saturday decided he wanted to come to the shop for a while.

He was amazed by the work the girls and myself have done while he hasnt been there.

We have totally changed the workshop area, re vamped the stock room and office and made a few changes in the kitchen as well. He couldnt believe it wa s the same place.

All the customers were really pleased to see him and made a big fuss of him and he and Glenys were swapping near death experience stories ( so strange how they both had more or less the same experience ).

I cant believe how amazingly fast he is recovering and we are all just so really really happy.

Today we had a letter from the hospital explaining what had happened to Gordon and they dont want to see him until March and really dont think he has anything to worry about as they think this was just a one off occurrence and there was no sign of anything else showing up in the scans.

Gordon is coming with me next weekend to the Papercraft Show at Stevenage ( just to show me how to set the stand up and then he is being sent to the restaraunt with a few magazines and a cuppa ) so if you are around do come and say hello.

Myself and Sandra will be on the stand and maybe Tim or Jean.

I have some great demo's lined up and am looking forward to going as its been a while since i was at the Stevenage show.

Dont forget to look at all the new spellbinders dies on the web shop they should be arriving late February into March they are all fabby and i cant wait to play.

Right ive yacked on enough for one post.

Thanks everyone for stopping by and i will post after the Stevenage show and will take some photo"s for you to see how Gordon is doing.

Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

A Little Stronger Every Day

2011-01-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone

The picture above is of Gordon and Harry today on our first walk since he has been back at home.

As you can see he is looking really well and is slowly getting stronger.

Harry has got a mouth full of pine-cones which he loves collecting for some reason.

We walked about a mile today and then came home had dinner and relaxed.

We have slowly weaned out Gordons pain killers and he has only had one since Friday which is fantastic.

He is just taking things easy still and is being a really good patient.

I bring him all the post home every day from work and he goes through all that and then tells me what to do about it for the following day so that way he still feels part of the shop even though he isnt there.

I have just about caught up with the ironing and have become best friends with my slow cooker ( could not have done without it )

The most important tablets Gordon has been on will stop on Wednesday and that means no more waking up at 2.00 am and 6.00 am so we are both really looking forward to that as you can imagine.

Harry is entertainments manager and is always doing something to make us laugh and he is being so good around Gordon and sits with him for hours with his little head resting on his lap.

So all is looking good and in three weeks time you and i will be just as likely as Gordon to get an aneurysm and he will be completely out of danger.

I still have moments when i look back and think what might have happened, but am now concentrating on the future and our civil ceromony later on in the year ( i have coaxed Gordon into us both wearing traditional Scottish dress for the big day and he said thats fine as long as i dont wear fishnet stockings under my kilt haha ).

Harry will be wearing a tartan bow tie for the occasion and will be our little page boy.

So that is how our week has gone and i will write again soon and keep you all informed on Gordons progress.

Thank you all so much for your support, love, cards and kind words.

We love each and every one of you and you have kept us going .

Rob Gordon and Harry xxxxxx

Step by Step

2011-01-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody.
I was so glad Gordon blogged you all last night he really is so moved by all your kind and supporting words as i am too.
I have managed to work out his tablets so that he does not have any pain in his back or head any more so thats great.
We have got used to the getting up at strange hours to administer the medication ( i just find it hard to go back to sleep straight away but am sure i will do soon and its only for another 10 days )
Today i was really brave and left Gordon for 5 hours with Harry while i went to see his doctor and do some other stuff and then went and processed the orders at the shop. I phoned him hourly and i think Gordon enjoyed just having some quiet time ( he says i worry to much ).
The Nurse who visited him today said this was a good thing we did as we should try and get back to normal as soon as we can, and she is really pleased with Gordons progress.
When i got home he was looking fine and was just relaxing watching t.v.
I cant beleive that it will be two weeks tomorrow when this story could have ended so differently.
I am going to have a few days off blogging now as i have loads of ironing and other chores to do and im going to have a little rest too.
I will keep you all up to date on how we are all doing at least once or twice a week and also whats going on in the shop.
Once again thank you everyone for your support and friendship through all this we love you all.
Smiles from Rob Gordon and Harry ( all back together again ) xxxx

Thank You Everyone From Gordon

2011-01-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone

I have just managed to have a look at all of your comforting comments and i would just like to take this chance to thank you all. Its great to know in times of trouble that there are so many great feelings out there towards you , i am very humbled .
Of course my special thanks and love goes out to to Robert , who as i am sure you will have seen , has been with me all the way and been a remarkable partner , nurse and organiser and everything you can imagine , he has been through hell and more taking me from deaths door and back .Robert is a remarkable person
A special thanks too goes to all the ladies who have helped Robert keep the business going during this time .
This teaches all of us a very valuable lesson , our time here is very precious as we never know when anything like this will happen randomely to any of us just out of the blue with no warning.
I have been given more time i guess , very very lucky indeed .
Again i cannot praise enough all of ther staff in the neurology unit at Queens Medical Centre , Nottingham , quite a remarkable bunch of people from the porters , cleaners , nurses , doctors , surgeons etc , you people are beyond words in what anyone can say about you . You brought me though my eleven days there with nothing but kindness .
Lastly , i firmly believe another pair of hands were at work and brought me though this and as a result of my experience when i briefly left this world i no longer fear death , there is something else , i dont know what it is , but i experienced something and it was nothing frightening at all , quite the opposite a very calming experience for those few minutes .
I am so very pleased to still be here to tell my story and to be able to thank everyone around me
Love to you all.

Gordon

Gordons First Day Back At Home.

2011-01-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hi All.
Oh what a night as the song goes .
I got Gordon into bed at around 12.30 am as he hasnt been sleeping much at night in the hospital because of all the noises other patients and equipment make ( and i think you become more anxious at night in hospitals when the lights dim down ).
I tried getting him comfy but we werent having much luck so i decided to go downstairs and do 10 minute checks on him.
This carried on for nearly an hour and the last time i checked he had gone to sleep.
I felt really sorry for him as i had to wake him up at 2.00am for to give him his medication so he only slept for half an hour and was in pain again so i suggested he try the reclining settee downstairs as it may be more comfy than lying flat.
Well it worked a treat and he was off to sleep by 3.00am.
I decided to forget about crafting as i didnt relise how tired i was either so just i made a bed up on the floor and sort of slept with one ear open if that makes sense.
6.00 am and time for more medication but he was in no pain at all and we both went back to sleep until 10.00 until his next tablets were due.
Still no pain and he said the settee was really comfy so thats where hes sleeping for a while.
His Mom and Brother were coming at mid day so when we had got ourselves together i asked if he would be ok if i ran up to the shop to get some things to make his mom and his brother sandwiches for their journey back home this evening he was fine with it ( i was scared to death ).
Oh i ran up to that shop got all i needed and was back in the house in 7 minutes flat and tried not to look to out of breath when i walked in.
Gordon had the broom in hand and was sweeping the hallway so i said when he had finished that he could tidy the bathroom and do the work surfaces in the kitchen while i got the lounge straightened. I was really proud of him.
When his family arrived i had a cuppa and a natter with them and then his brother took me to the shop for a couple of hours so that i could help the girls.
Di had bought us two V shaped pillows and a pill organiser (wonderful thanks Di ) and stayed on for a while to help Jean and i as we were quite busy.
Jean bought me home (thanks Jean ) and came and had a chat with Gord and his family i think she was amazed by how good he is looking.
Gords family left at tea time and we wished them a safe journey and by this time he was tired so i let him nap for a good hour.
He has had no pain and has been comfy all day and really has improved i this short time it is amazing.
We have had a nice chilled out evening just chatting and laughing and i am not scared now when i go into the kitchen to make a cuppa worrying if he is ok in the lounge like i was this morning and kept looking through the door to check.
We have had some more good news Harry is coming back tomorrow morning now and we cant wait.
Gordon is going to have a go at reading the blog tomorow and if hes up to it wants to write tomorrows entry.
Thanks for popping by everyone and for your kind words and support.
Also a big thank you to our Karen from the shop who is representing us on Ideal World Create and Craft tonmorrow at 12.00 mid day demonstrating the Scor-Buddy.
Karen we shall be watching and will blow you a kiss or two we love you loads.
See you all tomorrow
Love and Smiles Robert and Gordon xxxxxxxx and some for Harry xxxxxx

Welcome Home Gordon.

2011-01-14T15:10:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone.
Imagine my surprise and my smile when i walked into the hospital this evening to be told Gordon could come home tonight.
Its really strange as i wasnt going to take his clothes in until tomorrow as i hadnt had a phone call this morning but they had only decided at 5.00 this afternoon .
Gordons Mom and his brother came in soon afterwards for their second visit of the day just after he had got himself dressed.
There were hugs kisses and a few tears all round and it was fab to see them.
I went and had a word with the nurse about Gords medication and what he can and cant do thanked them all from the bottom of our hearts for all they have done.
We then got Gordons things together and came home ( i think we were both grinning like Cheshire cats all the way ).
So i have now settled him in and he says he feels much better already.
I have to wake him up at 2.00am and 6.00 am to give him his medication but this will only be for the next ten days and i used to do this in my previous job so its no problem for me.
I will probably stay awake after the 2.00 one till 6.00 and do a bit of crafting tonight as i have an idea for a wall hanging i was working on and couldnt quite figure out where i was going with it and now a PING of inspiration has just happened.
Little Harry is coming home on Monday morning and we both cant wait to have him home again.
Right im going to make the bed all comfy for his lordship now and then im sure we will both drop off to sleep till 2.00am.
Thanks everyone for helping me through all this and i will post again tomorrow and let you know how his first day at home went.
Love and Smiles to you all.
And a special kiss or two to Harry from both of his dads.xxxxxxx
Rob and Gordon xxxxxx

More Good News

2011-01-13T13:52:00.001-08:00

Gordon is even brighter tonight and his headache has almost disappeared he is even off the morphine spray so i am praying now that this is the start of his recovery.
The Nurse told me that the doctors are really pleased with his progress and that once his sodium levels are balanced he can come home HOORRRRREYYYYYYY.
This could even happen in the next three days and as you can imagine Gordon cant wait.
I know he will get stronger at home with Harry and me as although it is a special ward for really poorly people it is still quite noisy and he can be as quiet as he wants at home.
I am so happy that this has had a happy ending because we have met families this week where the ending hasnt been happy and my heart goes out to them all.
Gordons mom will have a lovely surprise when she sees how well he is doing and i cant wait to give her a big hug and a kiss tomorrow.
I cant wait to get my two boys back home the house is so empty without them.
The Girls and i have re arranged the shop a bit over the last two days and i had my first solo business meeting today and was really proud of myself as i think i got my points across to them very well and everything went great.
I have had help from Ideal world getting things ready and signing forms for Karen to do the Toolshop programme on Sunday where she will be demonstrating the Scor--Buddy and they also have the No more Shims mat and the Stay-Put no slip craft mat on from us too.
I have done all the banking and ordering too and i think Gordon will be really proud of me .
I am so tired tonight i think everything is catching up with me tonight and i have also had a great adrenaline rush all evening.
So i am off to bed now and hope i sleep for ten hours.
Thanks again for your kind thoughts and cards you have all been so supportive and have kept me going through this awful time.
I will write again tomorrow .
Love and Smiles Rob xxxxxx

What A Difference A Day Made

2011-01-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

Hellooooooo All
I am on cloud nine ten and bloomin eleven as when I got to the hospital tonight Gordon was sitting in his chair talking to the patient in the next bed.
He gave me a big grin when he saw me and i was grinning too ( not a pretty site with my big mouth all those teeth haha ).
He had eaten his breakfast, lunch and evening meal was back to being Gordon.
He let me give him a wet shave and i gently gave his hair a brush and i must admit he really did scrub up well and looked even more like himself.
We stayed for three hours until he said he felt tired and so i helped him get comfy on his bed and left him to relax.
The surgeons reckon it was a spontanious aneurysm which i think means it just shot up like a firework on its own rather than being part of anything more sinister.
He has been told with this kind that yes he could have another one but also he may not so instead of worrying about it to go on living the life he still has and enjoy living.
And thats exactly what we both intend to do.
Its going to be quite a while before he is one hundred per cent but thats ok hes in good hands.
Our friend Tim who takes me to the hospital every night have just had a chinese take away with a glass of wine to celebrate today.
Im not getting too excited as i know he could be on a downer again tomorrow but i couldnt help having a little celebration.
Once again thank you all for your kind wishes and i dont think it will be long before Gordon sees them and thank you to those people who have sent cards to the shop for us, i will be putting these up at home for when he comes home as he cant have cards or flowers in his ward.
I have also learnt more new things at the shop today on the buisiness side so i think he will be shocked when he sees what i can do now.
Speak to you all tomorrow.
Love and Smiles Rob xxxxx

One week on Already.

2011-01-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

I just cant believe a week has gone by so quickly and the best thing is Gordon is still here.
He is a tiny bit stronger today and has got a bit of a snappy head on.
I couldnt do right for doing wrong and i said to him "Well Hello Mr Grumpy they say its a good sign when the patient starts to moan".
He gave me a little smile then and blamed the morphine spray.
I stayed with him for just over an hour then he started getting sleepy so we said night night and i came home.
I keep smiling tonight because he was so funny wagging his finger at me and blaming me for his pillows being uncomfortable to his dinner smelling horrible (it didnt by the way and he wouldnt touch it ).
When i look back to how this was playing out last week i am in awe of the change in him tonight.
I am quite pleased with myself too as ive stayed calm and tried to carry on with a good outlook which isnt usually me at times like this.
I have never done any of the buisiness side but have been thrown in at the deep end and with the help of the girls at the shop we seem to be doing ok finding where we pay this and how do we order that so thanks again girls i love you all like you are my own sisters.
Tonight i have finally worked out how to work the message machine on the telephone at home and have a weeks worth of phone calls to catch up with so i am sorry to everyone who thought i was ignoring them i will be in touch tonight or tomorrow.
I want to thank everyone again who has sent comments here they really do keep me going and i will photo copy them all and leave them with all the others ( in Gords locker ) for Gordon to read when he is up to it.
Am going to catch up with some of those phone calls now.
See you all tomorrow.
Love and smiles Rob xxx and some kisses for my two boys as well xxxxxx

Slowly but Surely

2011-01-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hello All and im sorry im a bit late posting.

Went to shop first thing and helped the girls as well as i could ( i cant tell them what to do as they can run everything with their eyes blindfolded but i took hot sausage rolls in and chocolate digestives so at least they love me for that )
On the way to the hospital later on we dropped off at Clairs craft workshop where i spend my Mondays ussually and have the most fantastic times. If you dont know who Clair is well you have not lived she is the multi talented lass who used to run the card fairy and is great friends with Tim Holtz and Micheal De Meng and i feel so FANTASTIC when i attend her classes on a Monday as that is my arty day and she sure teaches me some amazing things.
It was great to see all the other students too as we have beecome like family and thanks girls for your hugs and kisses i really needed them.Also Carol i love my belated xmas present and can understand why i nearly didnt get it.
Gordon was a little better today and was able to speak to us a lot more and asked us to get him some fresh orange juice ( hey thats a big thing since he hasnt fancied anything for two days )
Later on he ate nearly a whole peice of breaded cod and a he did finish off a tub of ice cream )
His M I R scan has shown there is nothing to worry about so it is just the bruising to his head that is the trouble.
I asked how to describe this to a person like me who has really has no time for big long words ( i have to be honest and tell you all long words bloody scare me)
So if you can imagine that a huge wave of blood has entered Gordons inner skull with a massive force and has hit the roof of his skull which does not expand, it has caused a great big bruise 100 times bigger and painful than a bruise that we are used to in everyday life.
So his head will ache for days ( maybe weeks ) now but he will get better as the bruise eases.
Thats the way i have asked it to be explained as big words sound scarey to me and i would rather have it told in words i understand and thank you surgeons for telling me like it is.
Gordons mom is coming down on Friday evening from Scotland and i want him to be stronger for when she comes .
It must be awefull to be so far away from your son when all you want to do is hug and kiss him and we really want him to be strong for the day she arrives so i am just going in for an hour a day so that he can get plenty of rest.
I have been and got him 2 new pairs of pyjamas and a new electric razor so that we can have him back to his handsome self when she arrives.
I had a wonderful time when i got home as Eileen who used to work for us phoned me and we had a great chat,
Then my sister Margaret and then my sister Anne,
Thanks you three i didnt realise it was almost 1.00am in the morning when i finally got off the phone but boy oh boy you sure all cheered me up.
Thank you everybody who have left messages and i will copy them and put them with all the others for Gordon to see when he is strong enough to read them.
Im going to roll into bed now and will write again tomorrow.
Love and smiles Rob xxxx ( kisses to Harry too XXX )

You Gotta Have Friends

2011-01-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone
I phoned the hospital this morning and theres been not much change from yesterday and Gordon is very tired.
I asked if anyone thought i was being thoughtless if i didnt get to the hospital till around 5.00 ish so as to give him time to rest and was told that if everybody did that patients would get better much quicker so that made me feel a lot better.
The nurse said she would let him know and phone me back to tell me to come earlier if he wanted me too.
Tim one of my great friends took me to the shop this morning and had to learn how to look after thew shop while i was oing the orders.
It was so funny as he had never used a till before and i am not the worlds best at it either talk about the blind leading the blind and we ended up charging one lady £37,000000 for two items.
We all laughrd so much it did me good.
Arrived at the hospital and Gordon was asleep but woke up not long after we arrived.
He has had the results from the MRI and told me they had found nothing obvious but were going to have another look at the scans and come and see us tomorrow.
Although he is still in lots of pain with his head he did manage a few spoonfuls of pineapple and half a tub of ice cream so thats a good sign.
I havnt really cried much but i did a little today as i was looking at him i just felt so helpless as i cant take his pain away i would give anything to see his smiling face just for a few seconds.
The nurses are wonderful with him and everyone else in the ward and i just want to say to Ikbhal and his wife in the next bed from Gordon all the best as they are moving to another hospital tonight and have become great friends.
We left Gordon sleeping and came home and Claire who is Tims girlfriend Matt and Lizzie who live down the road came round and they really cheered me up and i realise now just how wonderful it is to have friends.
We dont live in each others pockets and may not see each other for weeks but one of us is in trouble of any kind we help each other.
Thanks You Guys i LOVE YA.
I told them i had to write my blog and they are all sitting in the living room watching tv and chatting until i return (no Problem they said ).
Hope i have better news for you tomorrow.
Thank you all so much for being our friends on here too as its like having an extended family looking after us as well and i will keep photo copying all your messages to take to gordon ( i cant wait to see his face when he is able to read them.
I will sign off now for tonight.
Love and smiles Rob xxxxxxxx

Gordons on a downer today

2011-01-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.
Went to the shop first today and helped the girls a bit by getting most of the orders processed.
Thanks so much to you all girls i dont know what we would do without you all and we really do appreciate all you are doing for us at the moment as we know the shop couldnt be in safer hands.
Anne my sister thought it was all amazing.

Gordon was not so good when we got to the hospital he had a real bad headache and was feeling nauseous after the M I R scan last night ( or maybe the realisation of his proposal to me haha).
We wont know the outcome of the scan until either late tomorrow or maybe Monday as it is a skeleton staff at weekends still Gordon said no news is good news when you have a bad head.
We only stayed for a short while as i know he needed some rest and i want him to get stronger.
He was really upset that he couldnt talk to my sister more but she understands and is coming up again soon.
On our second visit about five hours later he was still tired but much more alert and the headache was not so severe.
The highlight of the evening was watching him walk to the toilet and back all in around 5 minutes, so i knew then that he is getting stronger.
I know every day is going to throw more challenges at us and that he is going to have bad days as well as good ones but i hated seeing him look so defeated this morning but i know he will get stronger as the weeks pass.
Thank you all so much for your wonderful messages I printed them off and have left them in Gordons locker so that he can read them when he feels up to it as i know they will make him feel a lot better when he sees how much he is loved by everyone.
I will write again tomorrow as this is helping me so much to let things out and share whats going on with you all.
I will be going to the shop in the morning to finish off all the orders before i go to the hospital and will post them all out first thing Monday.
Thanks again for all your support and Good thoughts.
Love and smiles Rob xxx
P.S Harry i am missing you so much too hope you are being good for aunty Michelle xxx

Gordons Progress and a Romantic Surprise For Me

2011-01-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

Hello all
Phoned the hospital this morning and they said Gordon slept really well (so did i by the way a whole 8 hours ) and was having a wash and looking good.
They also said they have taken him off emergency care and that i now dont have to go in until ordinary visiting times so thats great news.
I went to the shop with Anthea this morning and Karen was there too and because it was snowing we werent too busy so we caught up and had a good natter.
Ali Iain and Andrea from Ali Crafts popped in as they were passing this way and it was great to see them and were so shocked about Gordon as they hadnt heard. But it was lovely to see them and we had a good natter for an hour or so.
I left the shop around lunch time and went to see Gordon he has to wait in a long queue now for his M R I scan as he is off the critical list so may not get it till tomorrow but we dont mind that we are just greatful for what has happened so far and can wait till next week if we have to.
Gordon was sitting in a chair when we arrived and had walked to the toilet ( which took him half an hour to get to )and washed and shaved himself (which took another hour ) and the nurses all clapped him when he got back to his bed, i am just so proud of him.
He is back to being himself again and has befriended all the other patients relatives too.
Before i left i went and got him some magazines as he wanted to have a read and as i was leaving
he said to me I Think we should have one of those Civil Services this year Rob.
I said ... Oh Gordon that is the most romantic proposal ive ever heard and the answer is YES.
I laughed about it all the way home.
Later Gordon phoned me to tell me he has had his M I R scan and we will know the results tomorrow.
He was in it for 30 minutes and he said it was really frightening as it makes loud banging noises like a world war two film and you are strapped in and cant move.
It has made him feel tired and worn him out so hes asleep now i should imagine.
I have had another lovely surprise as my sister has come up until tomorrow so we are going to have a good natter this evening and she will see the shop tomorrow for the first time and then we will go and see Gordon.
So thats about it for today and thank you all for your kind words and Gordon sends everyone his best wishes and love.
Will let you know tomorrow about what the MIR scan results are.
Love and smiles Rob Gord and Harry xxx

Gordon Update

2011-01-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.
Gordon went for his operation at 9.30am and was gone for three and a half hours.
DO you beleive in miracles because what i am going to tell you all now just has to be one.
The surgeon could not find the aneurism it had simply disappeared from anywhere on his brain.
The only explanation the surgeon could give was that because of the amount of blood that had exploded over the wall of the brain a few droplets had fallen onto the brain and had formed the shape of an aneurism. He is amazed by this.
He has told Gordon that he is out of danger and he will just be kept on stroke observation for 24 hours because of the way that the keyhole surgery is perfomed.
Tomorrow they are going to do an M.R.I scan on him to try and find the cause of the aneurism that caused the bleed on Tuesday so again as soon as i get home tomorrow i will let you all know.
Twenty minutes after he returned onto the ward Gordon was tucking into sandwiches yoghurt and crisps and a cornetto icecream ( he loves ice cream ) and was yacking away to us all just like his usual self.
I never slept a wink last night and i dont think Gordon did either so tonight we have promised each other that we will sleep like logs.
Lasy night i was not expecting a good outcome and i think i spent most of the night sitting in the kitchen just filled with fear and numbness.
Tonight i am still sitting in the kitchen but with a heart full of hope and just crying with happiness and relief and i know i will sleep.
Thank you everyone who sent messages of support i am going to read them all now but wanted to let you all know the great news first.
Love and Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry ( who is with his aunty Michelles) xxx

Please Keep Gordon in Your Thoughts Tomorrow.

2011-01-05T13:57:00.000-08:00

Just to let you all know
Last night at 6.00 pm Gordon was rushed into hospital where after a scan he was diagnosed with having an ambulism which had bled into his brain.
After this he stopped breathing and had to be resusitated which i watched just standing there feeling as if i was in an awefull nightmare.
Iwas then taken into a little room and was told to prepare myself for the worse and Gordon was being aneathetisded and taken to another hospital for an emergency operation but may die on the way or in surgery.
Ialso had Harry to worry about as he had been alone for seven hours so manage dto get in touch with a good friend who came and got me picked up Harry and some things of Gordons and drove me to the other hospital.
Imagie our surprise to find him awake with colour back in his cheeks and talking although slurry even the surgeon was gobsmacked.
They decided not to operate but to keep him under observation and do more scans.
They found he has another ambulism (im probably spelling that wrong sorry) which is 2 centimetres long and in a hard place to get to operate on.
He has been given three choices.
1 keyhole surgery where thew surgeon will insert things into his leg up to his brain and try to wire the blood vessel (like winding a peice of twine around a balloon to fasten it.
This will stop a stroke occuring.
2 if that isnt successful he will operate through the back of Gordons head and try to seal the blood vessel which after a 24 hour wait will stop him having a stroke but he could have one in that 24 hour period.
If this doesnt work and the surgeon accidently punctures it this will also cause a stroke.
3 Just do nothing but expect a stroke or death.
Obviously he has gone for options 1 and 2.
Gordon is in good spirits and we have said that no matter what happens tomorrow we will get through it and we will be even stronger.
His Operation is at 8.00 tomorrow morning and i will be with him before he goes in and there when he comes out.
So please please keep Gordon in your thoughts tomorrow and i will let you know the outcome tomorrow night when i get home.
The photo of Gordon was taken on Sunday at Bakewell and Monday was our 18th aniversary of being together.
Thank you for reading this.
Love and hope Rob xxx

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone.

Just a quick note to wish all our customers friends and everyone who visits the blog,

A Very Very Happy New Year from all of us at Once Upon A Stamp.

We hope to bring you more new products to play with this year and we are getting our heads together for some fabby workshops and open days starting in March.

Thank you so much for shopping with us and spreading the word we really do appreciate it.

Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry (who had his first bath of the year today because he rolled in horse poo on his walk in the countryside.)

Merry Christmas Everyone

2010-12-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hello All

Just came on to wish all of our customers friends and blog followers a Very Merry Christmas.

We finished work yesterday afternoon and have had a really festive day today and Harry has hed a wonderful time opening his presents goingfor a long walk in the snow covered park and really enjoyed his Christmas dinner.

As usual i cooked way to much and we couldnt manage pudding at all.

We have both just chilled out after dinner and watched loads of telly and generally have had a nice relaxing evening.

The shop will be closed now until Wednesday 5th January but Gordon and i will be going in every other day until then for a few hours just to get all the internet orders processed and sent out to you .

If you do come to the shop on these days we wont turn you away you are always welcome .

If you need to come to the shop desperately for something please leave a message and we will let you know what days and time we will be there.

Once again a Merry Christmas to you all.

Smiles from Rob Gordon and a very full Harry xxx

We Made It { Snow Problem }

2010-12-04T14:36:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone.

This is what the picture was like on our road this morning.

Although the snow was coming down fast before i went to bed it had obviously rained through the night and the sun was out too so the thaw has started.

We gave it a couple of hours just to make sure the weather wasnt suddenly going to turn on us and then set off to the shop.

We got there without any problems ( except for me having to stop for sweets on the way ).

The guys who own the garage opposite us had cleared a lot of the snow away from our shop with a digger thing they have so that was even better and hopefully by Monday it will all be back to normal in the car park area.

Below is a pic of Harry and i just before we opened thhe door to the shop.

And heres one of Gordon sitting in the snow next to the shed we keep all the folded up used boxes to take to be re-cycled when the shed is full.

Gord was actually standing up when i was about to take the photo but slipped and i clicked just at the right moment haha

The internet was back on and we got straight to work on all of the orders we hadnt been able to do for the last couple of days and we are coming back in again tomorrow to finish the rest so that we can take them to the post office first thing on Monday morning (we are so lucky to have the village post office just around the corner from the shop ).

We will be at the shop around mid-day tomorrow until 3.00 pm so if you do need to phone us give us a call in those hours.

Monday hopefully we will be back to normal opening hours and if you feel brave enough to come in and see us please phone first so we can let you know if the parkijg situation is ok.

Thanks for popping by and all your lovely e.mails.

Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Todays Weather Update and some Pics

2010-12-03T15:11:00.001-08:00

Hello all.

Well after non stop snow yesterday we woke up to a few more inches of snow and a beautiful sunny morning.

We went and measured the snow on the patio table as we have done every day and its up to 20 inches, heres the table and chairs below all merged into one blob by the snow.

Although it is still unsafe to drive to the shop today as the village is now unaccessable we decided to get our walking kits on and visit the old cemetary just a few yards away from where we live and let Harry have some fun.

The Cemetary was hardly disturbed and i took some gorgeous photo's and here are some of my favorites.

The picture above and below is a victorian chapel used for funerals and weddings until the late 1960s .It is a beautifil peice of architecture and looks even prettier in this winter wonderland.

Next up is another Harry Snow Dog Picture.

His coat seems to absorb the snow and makes little tiny snowballs appear all over him but he certainly doesnt mind it as you can see.

And here are a few i took of the landscape around us just because i want people to see why i love walking in this cemetary so much in any weather but Winter is the most spectacular time in here for me.

Hope you enjoy the photos as much as i did taking them.

We had been promised by the weatherman on the local radio a snowless night but just half way through im a celebrity tonight ( hope Stacey Wins ) we looked out of the window to see this.

The most heaviest snow we have seen yet and as you can see it makes the sky look like fog as it is so dense.As i look through my craft room window now it has calmed down a little but is still falling heavy so i will let you know what happens tomorrow.

We were going to try and get to the shop tomorow and leave the car somewhere and then walk the rest of the way so that we can at least answer phone calls and get all the orders processed ready for Monday but im not sure that will happen now especially if we have another 6 inches of snow overnight will let you know tomorrow.

Well i will stop now and i hope everyone out there is keeping warm and is OK.

Thanks for dropping by.

Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Winter Draws On

2010-12-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody.

Hope you are all keeping warm and are snuggled up in your craft rooms.

Yesterday we woke up to 12 inches of snow here but as our house is on the main road that leads to our shop we decided to see if we could get there.

It tooka bit longer than usual but we managed it, the last bit being most difficult as we had to come off the main road and into the village which was just about passable.

I couldnt believe it when i saw how much snow was against the doorway and Harry was in seventh heaven.

Anyway to cut a long story short we managed to get most of the orders done before the internet server went down and took them all down to the post office on the way home.

The snow was getting up again and the post mistress told us that she wasnt sure if the post van would get here today but its all ready to be picked up so dont panic.

We arrived home safely and Harry went straight into the Garden and made himself into a snow dog.

He absolutely loves the snow and he really makes you feel warm inside when hes playing in it and it takes your mind off the coldness,

Today we have 18 inches of snow and it is wild outside with cars bashing into lamp posts and just swirving all over the place so we are going nowhere until it all calms down.

Here is a pic i took out of my craft room window just as im writing this of a car that has hit a lamp post being towed away by a lorry and a police car stopping all the traffic into town.

So ive got a big stew on the go downstairs and have decided to get some Christmas cards done as i havnt even had time to do any yet.

I think we will be trying to get to the shop again on Sunday as going any earlier would be crazy at the moment.

As you know we will catch up with all the orders then even if it takes us all night and will post them off on Monday.

I will keep you all informed of any changes over the next few days and post more pics too.

Take care everyone especially if you have to go out.

Smiles and Snowballs from Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Last Weeks Fantastic Plastics Workshop.

2010-09-03T15:51:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone.

Last wek was a fantastic workshop even if i do say so myself.

All the girls got to grips with the friendly plastic on their first go which is really unusual and because of that we managed to get loads of techiques in.

I couldnt put this on until now because i took my SD card out of my camera after the workshop as it was full and put it in a safe place until i got home. Then when i got home i couldnt find it even after sifting through everything i had bought back with me.

I have searched all week and then this evening when i wasnt thinking about it i found it in my Glasses case, Honestly im getting worse haha.

I showed my students the basics of using Friendly Plastic and lots of different ways of using it and then showed them some unusual and unique ways to use Shrink Plastic on its own and combined with Friendly Plastic and other materials so we really did have a mixed media extravaganza going on.

We all had a great time and i am really proud of how well they all picked it up.

Here are some pics and a little video of the girls work.

Thank You Girls for a really great day and you were ALL wonderful.

Smiles Rob xxx

Have You Entered our Blog Candy Giveaway on the New Blog

2010-08-13T05:43:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone.
Dont Forget you can win a Cuttlebug and a No More Shims Mat over at our Design Team Blog.
All you have to do is go over and become a follower and leave a comment .
We will draw the winner out on the first of September which will be filmed live at the shop.
The link to the Design Team Blog is on the right hand side of the page.
So go on give it a try as you never know it could be YOU.
Smiles Rob , Gordon and Harry.xxx

Yesterdays Launch of the New Scor-Buddy on Create And Craft

2010-08-13T03:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone .

Yesterdays European launch of the new scor-buddy was a great success and i thought Di and Karen did a fantastic job and gave out some brilliant tips and tricks.

Trust Gordon to get the easy bit and sit down for the whole two hours haha.

For those of you who havnt seen the Scor-Buddy it is a lovely mini scor-pal ( inches) that is ideal for taking anywhere because of its size and it also comes with its own travel bag.

Use it for invitations,card making,small gift boxes and dont forget that this fabby little board can do all its big brothers can.

You can make standard greetings cards, Gate folds, Brochure folds and accordian folds.

Dont forget you can also use the Scor-Bug with the Scor-Buddy too.

The Workshop Today

2010-08-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Again

Di has been doing her all day Stampbord Mirror Workshop today and everyone has had such a great time although ive never known a workshop so quiet as everyone was concentrating and getting lost in their artwork.

There has been so much interest in this class that Di will be doing another one in the not too distant future.

Here are some pics and a video from todays class.

Lets start with the hostess with the mostess Di

Here are the ladies working on their mirrors.

And here are the fabulous frames which are being made as i write this.

Teeth Tradeshows Jetlag and Workshops

2010-08-07T03:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

Well what a couple of weeks weve had here at Once Upon A Stamp.

Firstly i have to appologise for not blogging but i have been in quite a bit of pain with all the dental work i have had to have done over the last couple of months and have not been fit for doing anything especially in the last few weeks.

Anyway all the work on my mouth was finished two days before we went to Chicago for the Craft Trade Show and i think Gordon was happy as my mouth was that sore i couldnt talk much so he had to do all the ordering.

We had a great time and have found some fab new products so keep watching the web shop.

We have still got some places left on some of our August Workshops and here they are.

Dimentional Cards and Notebook

Tutor ........ Jean

Price ......... £15.00

Dates ........ Weds 18th August 2010.

Sat 21st August 2010.

Time ........ 11.00 am - 1.30 pm.

Places left for Wednesday class .........1

Places left for Saturday class .............4

Everything you need for the class will be provided as well as lots of drinks and biscuits.

This fabulous workshop will introduce you to cottage cutz dies as well as nestabilities and the Cinch book binding tool.

You will be leaving with two or three cards and also a decorated Notebook that you have made yourself.

Jean is a fantastic teacher and will show you some wonderful techniques to add to your card making skills.

Let Us Stamp Part Two.

Masking, Layers and Resist Techniques.

Tutor ...... Karen.

Dates ...... Weds 1st September 2010.

Sat 4th September 2010.

Time ...... 11.00 am - 1.30 pm.

Places left for Wednesday class ...... 2

Places left for Saturday ......... 5

Everything you will need for the class will be provided as well as lots of drinks and biscuits.

Both of Karens classes for the first of this series of Rubber Stamping techniques for beginners filled up really quickly and i can see this one going fast too.

Karen will be taking you step by step into the world of Rubber Stamping special effects and you will be amazed at the cards you will be making.

This is not just a workshop for beginners as even more advanced stampers will find this class really useful.

I thought i would put a couple of photoes up of Chicago as we both thought it was probably the most beautiful city we have been to in America. The architecture is amazing as the old and new buildings all seem to merge wonderfully with each other There is so much to see and do and it also seemed a very safe city and we didnt feel threatened once even walking around after dark. We will most definately be back

The first day we woke at 7.30 in the morning after sleeping for 12 hours (it was only supposed to be an hours nap ).We did a twelve mile walk of the city and then went to the Aquarium which was fantastic.Here we are half way round it taking a breather.

This is Downtown Chicago and as you can see for a city it really is beautiful. The large boat in the background takes you on an architecture and history tour of the city and we just didnt have time to do it this time but its on our list for next time.

Below is a little video
i took of Navy Pier from the water taxi we were on

I thought this would be a good time to try out putting a video onto our blog.

Im just going to take some photos of Di and the ladies doing her Mixed media Stampbord class and will put them up later.

Thanks for dropping by.

Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry.
xxx

All Set Up and Some Exciting News

2010-07-16T15:18:00.001-07:00

Hi All

Well we have been up at Doncaster most of the day setting up for the Papercraft show at the Race course.

It was great to catch up with all our friends who i hadnt seen since the N E C in Birmingham as i usually work at the shop and look after Harry while Gordon and the girls do the shows.

So after six hours we finally had everything almost finished, just a few adjustments to do tomorrow morning before the show starts.

Heres a pic of the stand and Gordon practicing his looking Gorgeous pose for tomorrow to attract the ladies to the stand haha ( hes going to kill me )

Im really excited to be demonstrating tomorrow and am really looking forward to meeting our customers both old and new.

Di and myself will be demonstrating the scor-pal, Just-rite stamps, Cottage cutz dies, Nestabilities, Magnetic Aperture Mats, and our new No More Shims Embossing mat for the cuttlebug using some very unusual things to emboss with. So come along to our stand and be prepared to be amazed and have lots of fun too.

And heres the exciting news i cant wait to share with you.

We are going to be launching our very own DESIGN TEAM BLOG and it will be happening some time next week so stay tuned as there is going to be a nice prize for somebody to win in the first week.

And here are the Design Team ( straight from the craft corpse of Prisoner Cell Block H ) haha

They are from left to right Di, Michelle, Jean and Karen and what these girls dont know about paper crafting isnt worth bothering with.

They will be sharing tips and techniques with you and sharing their samples and artwork as well as setting each other monthly challenges which they will show the progress and finished result on the blog.

They will also give you more information about their workshops here at Once Upon A Stamp and their appearances on TV and craft shows around the country.

We are also going to be doing lots of competitions and blog candy and also do some how to videos when we get the hang of it.

I hope you are all as excited as we are and that you will join in with us and have fun reading what we are all doing and working on.

Well its bedtime for me now as its an early start tomorrow.

Hope to meet some of you tomorrow and if i have time i will take a few pics of the show to share with you.

Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry xxx

Shows and Workshop updates.

2010-07-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.

Firstly im so glad to be back in blogland. As some of you know my poor old computer had to go away for a big operation as i had pushed it to its limits and after nearly two months its back.

The other great thing is that i have had a brand new computer (just for meeee ) that i am only going to use for my artwork and journalling stuff and my blogs. The really good thing about this computer is that it is so light and that means i can take it everywhere with me too so if we go anywhere interesting i can keep everyone up to date while we are on the move.

The Workshops have all been well attended and have been full within weeks so now i will give you dates of some we have coming up for the end of this month and into August.

LET US STAMP Part 1

TUTOR ....... Karen

Price .......£ 15.00

Dates ........ Weds 21st July 2010.

Sat 24th July 2010

Time ...... 11.00 am - 1.30 pm

Places Left for Wednesdays Class ........ 4

Places Left for Saturdays Class .............4

Everything you will need for the class will be provided as well as lots of drinks and Biscuits.

This is a series of workshops for beginners in stamping and papercrafts and will be taught by the fabulous Karen.

Karens background as an art teacher in primary schools will really shine through in these workshops as she will take the fear and mystery of inks, paints, stamping and generally letting go, away with her quirky techniques and wonderful teaching skills.

The first part of this on going beginners workshop will let you into the wonderful world of Inks and how to use them with your rubber stamps. You will learn the difference between Dye based, Pigment, solvent and embossing inks and how they are all used for different rubber stamping techniques.

At the end of the class you will have some wonderful samples you will have made and the knowledge of knowing which ink to use for the best results in your Rubber stamping art.

Our classes do fill up quite quickly so please book as soon as possible.

AN INTRODUCTION TO ALCOHOL INKS

TUTOR ....... Di

PRICE ......... £15.00

DATE ......... Weds 4th AUGUST 2010

TIME ......... 11.00 am - 1.30.pm

Places Left ....... CLASS FULL

MIXED MEDIA STAMPBORD MIRRORS.

TUTOR ......... DI

PRICE ........... 40.00 (this includes a full bag of mixed sized Stampbord and your mirror )

DATE ........... Sat 7th AUGUST 2010

TIME ............. 11.00 am - 4.00 pm

PLACES LEFT.......... 4

Please bring a packed lunch if you wish as only tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided.

An all day class with the lovely Di.

Di is the Queen of Alcohol Inks and you will be amazed at this wonderful work of art you will achieve on this workshop.

Using Stampbord, Alcohol Inks, Rubber Stamps and inkpads turn a plain miror into a work of art.

Di will show you how to work with Stampbord and the scratch tool to bring life to your rubber stamped images.

Combined with Alcohol inks and different ink pads you will learn lots of new techniques as well as the confidence to go on to greater things.

Our Classes do fill up quite quickly so please book as soon as you can to avoid disappointment.

FANTASTIC PLASTICS

TUTOR .......... Robert

PRICE ........... £25

DATE ............. Sun 29th AUGUST 2010.

TIME ............... 11.00 am - 2.00 pm

PLACES LEFT .............. 6

Everything you need for this workshop will be provided as well as tea, coffee and biscuits.

Robert will take you on an amazing artful journey in this workshop and also be prepared to laugh a lot as fun is the best way to learn new things.

Come and learn the basics of Friendly Plastic and then combine it with Shrink plastic to make some wonderful jewelry and embellishments for your papercrafts and altered art.

You will also be using Friendly plastic with molds and using other materials which will include alcohol inks ,Lumiere Paints and beads.

This is a fun class which has been put together for beginners as well as advanced crafters where you will learn lots of new techniques and leave with loads of samples you have made for you to use at home in your art work.

SUMMER CRAFTING SHOW At Doncaster Racecourse.

DATE .......... Sat 17th and Sun 18th JULY 2010.

We hope to see you at this new papercraft show on those dates where we will be selling our wares as well as giving you some great demo's.

Robert and Di will be demonstrating on Saturday.

Jean, Karen and Michelle will be demonstrating on Sunday.

Gordon will be there both days just standing there looking gorgeous haha.

Hope to see you there.

I have some more news to tell you but will leave you in suspence till tomorrow.

Its great to be back.

Smiles from Rob, Gordon and Harry xxx

Upcoming Workshops and dates

2010-05-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a few workshops that we will be holding at the shop soon.

Please book early as they fill up pretty quick.

Please Phone or call in at the shop to pre book your places.

All Card making classes must be paid for in advance.

SUNDAY MAY 23rd 2010

Dragonfly Necklace with Swarovski Crystals.

TIME 10.30 am - 1.00 pm

Cost £15 which includes Lindas wonderful tuition, everything you need to make your project and lots of tea,coffee,fun and chocky biscuits.

Come and join the lovely Linda the Queen of Beading for one of her fabulous Beading Classes here at Once Upon A Stamp.

Linda is AMAZING and even if you have never beaded before you will love Lindas way of teaching and will leave the class with lots of knowledge and a beautiful peice of Jewelry that you have made yourself.

Linda also brings a collection of beads and findings for you to purchase even if you are not doing her class.

WEDS JUNE 2nd and SAT JUNE 5th 2010

DISTRESS INK TECHNIQUES WITH DI

Time 11.00 am - 2.00 pm

Cost £15.00 which includes Di's fabulous tuition , everything you will need to create your works of art and lots of tea coffee fun and chocky biscuits.

If you have been to the shop or the papercraft shows you will know how creative and passionate Di is about Distress Inks and she will show you all the techniques you have always wanted to learn and some new ones too.

We are doing two classes one on Wednesday and another on Saturday so you have a choice of which day you would like to attend.

Please book early as our workshops fill up very quickly.

WEDS JUNE 16th and SAT JUNE 19th 2010

SHUTTER AND STEPPER CARDS with JEAN

TIME 11.00am - 2.00 pm

COST £15.00 which includes Jeans Expert tuition , everything you will need to create your cards and lots of tea ,coffee, fun and chocky biscuits.

If it can be folded, manipulated and made to look beautiful then Jeans the Queen.

If you have been to the shop and seen her fabulous samples or at the shows with us you will know just how lucky we are to have such a talented papercraft artist in our midst.

Jean will take you step by step into the world of paper scoring and cutting using the Scor-Pal and lots of beautful papers and embellishments.

You have a choice to come to the Wednesday or Saturday class but please book early as Jeans classes do fill up really quickly.

We may be doing some more classes in June so keep watching the blog

Fun and Games

2010-05-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and it really has been lots of fun getting ready for the Scor-Pal show on Create and Craft show last Monday and wasnt Karen fantastic for her first time on the telly.
The show was such a success that they have asked us for more Scor-Pals and are now re running the programme again over the next week so dont delay get your Scor-Pal today you really will understand why its the best scoring board out there.
Here are some pics of the samples we took with us for the show and every one has been made using the Scor-Pal and Graphic 45 papers.

We are now busy getting all the samples ready for our next show which will introduce you to the CottageCutz dies which work on all of the popular machines such as the Wizard,cuttlebug and sizzix big shot.
These dies are really detailed and although they dont emboss the cut lines give a three dimensional look to your cards and scrapbook layouts so pleae dont miss the demos and the fantastic dies we are taking on.

We have had a little visitor staying with us for the last week and he still has a wnother week with us.
His name is Bob and hes a three month old cockapoo and Harrys best friend.
He is no trouble and has settled down nicely and has even been for two dips in both our ponds (i dont think the frogs toads and newts were very happy though.
Heres a piccy of the two lads in the garden.

I think Harry will be quite upset when Bob has to go home and so will we.

I have some dates for workshops at the shop coming up for the end ofMay and June and i will be putting those on here tomorrow.
I am going to finish off my pasta disaster dish now for when Gordon gets home from the papercraft show at Port Sunny and both the boys are fast asleep after their fun and games in the garden.
See you all tomorrow.
Smiles Rob Gordon Harry and Bob xxxx

Easter in Paris

2010-04-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

Good Friday fell on Gordons Birthday this year so we decided to have a well deserved break in Paris and promised each other to just chill out and not do too much ha ha famous last words.
We stayed 20 minutes away from the city as hotel rooms are much bigger and i just cant cope with small spaces.

Below is the foyer of the Novotel Wellbeing where we stayed. It was really convenient as it had a free shuttle service to the airport and the train station into Paris which ran every ten to fifteen minutes so it saved on taxi fares.

And here is a picture of our room which was lovely and big with space to move around and not feel that you were staying in a shoebox.

We arrived about 8.00 pm so we settled in and then i took Gordon for a Birthday meal and a few drinkypoos and then a lovely sleep in a really really comfy bed.

Easter Saturday was rain rain rain so we went to the Louvre and spent a good seven hours looking at all the fabulous artifacts it had to offer and of course i just had to go and see the Mona Lisa first and i wasnt dissapointed i thought she was magnificent.If you do go yourselves dont forget to look up as you walk around as most of the ceilings are works of art in their own right as this picture shows.

We both really enjoyed the museum and we are sure we didnt do half of it as it really is a masive place.
By the time we came out of the louvre it had stopped raining so we went up to the Montmatre area of Paris which is my favorite place as it has still got that vintage Parissian feel to it and you see artists painting and accordianists playing Edith Piaf songs and the little cafes are always full of people, and the views from the steps of the sacre couer are amazing as you can see in the pictures below.

Above is Sacre Couer

Easter Sunday was a lot better weather wise so we went to an Antique and Flea Market in the South part of the city and it was a great morning out seeing lots of lovely things and a lot of rubbish too.

I bought some lovely vintage cabinet cards of Parisienne men and women that will be used in my artwork at some stage.
After lunch we decided that instead of walking around the main sights of Paris we would take the open top bus and just get off where we fancied and it was great. We saw all the things we wanted to see in around three and a half hours and it really did save our legs.

Monday saw us going to another Antique and Flea Market this time in a beautiful squre in the East of the city where i bought a book of old Art Nouveau Lithographs for 15 euro,s which i thought was really good value.

While we were at the market i noticed we were very close to Pere Lachaise Cemetary where Edith Piaf lies at rest and as the weather was nice we decided to pay a visit. Now i must tell you that if you want to see beautiful Art nouveau architecture, statues and stained glass you will find it all in Parisienne cemetaries. Below is an example of a wonderful Art Nouveau Tomb.

Tuesday took us to Montparnesse as i had heard there were some fantastic art shops there and we found some fab ones. I found some wonderful watercolour journals in all shapes and sizes and i just had to have a couple and a few more things to find space for in my craft room at home.

After the most wonderful crepes i have tasted at a little cafe we went to the war museum as Gordon wanted to see the tomb of Napoleon 1st which i must admit was an amazing thing to see as his casket is hugh (considering he was such a little man ) heres a pic of it.

As this was our last day we decided to go and look at some of our favorite places before leaving so we went to view the eiffel tower from the Trocadero Gardens as it is such a stunning sight from there. I also found another little old cemetary just around the corner with some beautiful stained glass windows and sculptures and i had to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower from in here as i coulnt beleive how quiet it was and yet just around the corner it was just a mass of people.

We had a great time walking by the seine and taking in all the wonderful sights along the way and after a real full day (the temperature got up to 70 0/0 today too ) we got back to the hotel at 8.30 and then went and had a last night slap up meal which was also great.

Oh i just had to take one little extra thing home with me hope you dont mind Paris.

We really did have a great time and packed loads into four days, Harry also had a great time as he was staying with little Bob the cockapoo puppy at his aunty Michelles.

So now its back to work now and back to reality

Smiles from Rob Gordon and harry xxx

Happy Birthday Harry

2010-03-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Today was Harrys second Birthday and i really dont know where those two years have gone, it only feels like five minutes ago when we were all excited about going to get him.
I must admit he has been a dream since the day we had him, hes never chewed anything up ( unless its his to chew ) he doesnt bark and loves people and other animals too and can walk me forever then wants to go again after a ten minute nap, so he keeps us fit too.
I know some people may think us crazy but we have always sent our fur babies birthday cards so heres the one for this year from us.

I have used papers from Graphic 45 from the babies to bride collection as i liked the colour tones for the idea ihad in mind.
I then made my card using the metric Scor-pal which i can recommend to anyone who has ever had trouble getting exact folds, this is fool proof and i couldnt live without it now.
I used the valentine puppy die from Cottagecutz as he is just a dead ringer for Harry and look at how the detail shows up even on Black card.
I placed him on top of Big scalloped rectangle and Deckled rectangle Nestabilities dies.
The Tag is again a pop out tag from the baby to bride collection.

Inside i have used a Just-rite number two for the centre from the Medium and Large letter set and a 1 5/8" border from the Justrite Seeds of kindness borders and centres set and built them up using various Nesties.

So Happy second Birthday harry and we love you loads xxx

Smiles from Rob Gordon and Harry the birthday boy xxx

Whats the time Ten To Nine

2010-03-29T12:57:00.001-07:00

And its been ten to nine on my watch since the trade show at the N E C in Birmingham.
Why so i hear you ask .......
The answer is because we have been so busy busy busy busy and i just hav'nt had time (excuse the pun ) to get a battery as yet

Its brilliant though and we are not complaining its just that time of year with all the shows and sample making and the day to day running of the shop and trying to keep the house running too (haha im sure you all know the feeling )
Tomorrow morning we are in the shop stock taking and catching up with the orders that have come in over the past two days and then we are going shopping yipeeeeeee.
Its also Harrys Second Birthday tomorrow and we want to get him something special and take him for a good old walk in his favorite part of Sherwood Forest.
Now heres the big news.
We are taking on two new members of staff on the first of April and they will be working alternate days from Monday to Saturday .
They are our great friends Di and Jean and our regular customers will know them well as they are always coming in to give us a hand if we need it so now they will be here a lot more and theres bound to be lots of fun.
This will now let us do the orders answer the phone straight away look after our customers needs even more efficiently and someone will always be able to show you how to use a product you may not understand and even let you have a go yourself as we cant do this sometimes when we have a shop full of people and there is only one of us available so i hope that is good news to you all.
The last TV appearances and the shows have been fantastic for us and we just want to thank everyone for your support and telling all your friends about us.
Im sorry for not blogging for ages but i have been so tired when ive been getting home i just fall asleep (must be my age).
I will try and get a piccy up of the birthday boy tomorrow as i know he has quite a fan club out there.
Im going off to make a few more samples now with my scor-pal,justrites and cottage cutz as they are all going to be on tv in the next few weeks.
Smiles from Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Introducing Cottage Cutz UNiversal Dies.

2010-02-03T16:00:00.000-08:00

TOO-WITT TOO-WOO IM NEW IM NEW I CAN BE USED IN MOST DIE CUT MACHINES TOO

OK everyone.

I have teased you and made you wait long enough so here are some photos of the new wonderful range of dies we will be bringing you in the UK.

If you are a retailer please come and see us at the NEC Trade Show and place an order.

The detail in these dies has to be seen to be believed and i have just fallen in love with them.

Please please leave a message to let me know your thoughts on them as its nice to get our customers input .

Put your feet up grab a cuppa and look at these beauties.

These are some of the Christmas dies.

Just look at the Halloween ones.

Here are sume cute critters.

And look at these oooooohhhhhhhhh

Im thinking Mens cards and Holiday scrapbook pages for these

Some more gorgeous Christmas dies.

These would be great for Rural cards and farmyard scrapbooks etc.

Heres some Fabulous Sea critters

And look at all the delightful dies here

And heres a few close ups to let you see the beauty of these wonderful dies.

Yummy cakes

Just look at the detail

A close up of the bicycle die which i love

Well folks what do you think. I just love them.

They will be arriving at the shop some time next week and i will be starting to put them up on the web shop tomorrow so that you can pre order if you wish.

Can i just say a very big thankyou to Joanne and her husband who let us bring all these sample boards home with us to use at the NEC Trade Show.

They are being very much admired in the shop and we will take great care of them while they are with us.

Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry

Play Day at home

2010-02-02T14:39:00.001-08:00

Hi there

Last night i never got to sleep until 1.30.am and was hoping that the jet-lag wouldnt make me wake up at 4.00am or earlier.

Hooray i got a great nights sleep and surfaced at 11.00 am feeling FABULOUS.

After walking Harry and doing some at home shop work it was time to PLAY with the new items i had been given at the CHA and will be arriving at the shop shortly.

First thing i just had to use was the Scor-Pal and i am in love with it. For the first time in all the years i have been crafting ( and thats a long while folks ) i have found a scoring board that actually does what it says.

This is the new metric board that has been especially designed by Diana Crick for the European market and is made to use with A4, A5 and A6 card and it really does fold accurately so there is no need to cut extra bits off that i have had to do in the past with other scoring boards.

Anyway after folding card after card ( as i just couldnt beleive i could make them so quick using this fantastic board ) i thought i had better try and do something else with it and came up with this little beauty.

Now i know it may look a little wierd ( well thats me all over ) but ive called it an Art Deco Card and the Photo below shows what it looks like after i used the Graphic 45 papers i was given by Aimee at the CHA Trade show as i think she could see i just needed to have some of these before they arrive in our shop shortly.

The papers go so well with the card design dont you think ? please let me know.
This card design would be wonderful as a mans birthday card or for Fathers day and i love the

little pockets on each side for holding tags and things.

Then i remembered Diana showing me how to make signatures for inserting pages into when you are making home made books using the Scor-Pal.
So i srumbled through my collection of papers and found a pile of sheets of gorgeous Italian watercolour papers that i had had since my Embroidery city and guild days and was too scared to use in case i ruined them ( i had never heard of art journalling or altered art back then )

And now thanks to Scor-Pal i have made my very own hand sewn posh watercolour book which i will use for journalling and stuff.
It took a few hours to make but that was because i decided to sew the pages and not glue them,the making of the signature valley and mountain folds were so quick as i only needed to flip my paper over once to make the valley folds using my Scor-Pal.

Here are some pics of the finished book which is very plain at the moment.

This is a pic of the hand sewn signatures that hold the book in place a bit scewhif but i havnt done this for ages.

And this is the finished book, i just dont know when i will find the time to fill it but i will.

I feel great that i have had such a productive day and great fun doing it.

COMING SHORTLY

The complete SCOR-PAL system which will be available mid February and you are going to LOVE IT i promise.

A great new range of Universal Dies ( which can be used with the Wizard, Cuttlebug, Sizzix Big Shot, Epic, Revolution and Quickcutz ) from a brand new company and we are so proud and honoured to announce that we have been appointed their European distributor.

These wonderful dies will be available from Mid February and i will give you a preview of some of them tomorrow so please come and see and tell your friends too.

E.Craft Electronic Die Cutting System plus all the extras.

This is a fantastic new electronic die cutting machine which has six versions so there will be one for everybodys needs.

I think you are going to love this system even though you may have beena little scared of electronic die cutters in the past this really is as easy as pie to operate.

The other nice thing is wait and see our prices you will love those too.

These machines will be available from March.

Graphic 45 paper pads which are all delicious and i cant wait for them to arrive late February.

Phew well thats done me in for tonight so i am going to have a cofee then take Harry for his little walk please leave a reply if you can as i love reading them.

Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry xxx

Jetlag and Exciting New Things

2010-01-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.
We arrived home safely on Friday evening and are slowly recovering from Jetlag.
I have gone to bed at 11.00pm on both nights (very good for me) and have been wide awake at 5.00am (very very good for me haha).
Gordon seems to have swung back into things much easier than me as he can go back to sleep if he wakes up but me when i wake up i have to stay up.
We took some of the new things we are going to be selling soon to the shop yesterday ( and today) and have had a great response from every customer who has been in to visit us.
I will tell and show you more when my jetlag has stopped my head from aching but i just know you are going to love them too.
I have put all the other brand new spellbinders dies up on the web shop today for you to look at and you will find them under Nestabilities, Shapeabilities and Scrapabilities.
The Elusive Labels 10 is now up as it was being saved along with around 19 more new dies for the CHA show.
Harry is back home with us too and we got a fantastic welcome back from him. He hasnt left my side since yesterday and i want to say thank you to Michelle and her family for giving him such a great time. Also thanks for the Doggy Grooming set including clippers i am going to give him a real good haircut on Tuesday.
No pics today peeps as my heads all woozy but i will put some up on the next post.
Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry xxx

Days 3 & 4 of CHA ,Antique Valentines and more Books

2010-01-28T00:04:00.000-08:00

Hello folks.

Didnt post yesterday as we got home from having dinner around 8.30 and what was supposed to be a half hour nap before blogging turned into a full nights sleep as my eyes never opened until 8.00 am this morning. I think the missing hours have caught up with us both or we are just geting old haha.

Anyway yesterday was a wet day but still not cold like at home and after we had finished our business meetings around 2.30 pm we went to Gordons favorite place in Anaheim the Antique district. It is the only place in Los Angeles that has a roundabout (as in cars and roads) and all the buildings are very old time american there is even a real diner and drugstore that is 110 years old and we always have something to eat there every time we go, its a really pretty place. Here are some pics.

Heres Gordon with Los Angeles only roundabout in the background.

Here are a few vintage valentine bits and bobs that caught my eye in the antique shops.

I love the colours and the faded distressed edges and the extravagance all so scrummy

I would love this suitcase full of valentine ephemera.

And then i turned a corner and found these and i wish i could have bought just one home.I just love things like this and there were lots and lots of them but even with 30% off the smallest one was $400 woweeeee and they wouldnt fit in my suitcase.

I also loved this

And this too

After a few hours of travelling the antique stores we went and had something to eat and then came back to the hotel where we fell asleep for all those hours.

Today was the last day of the show and we went and finished our business and said our goodbyes to friends old and new.

Oh and look what i won in the Graphic 45 raffle.

A gorgeous scrapbook and journal created by Diane Schultz made with some of the beautiful papers we have ordered from them.

It was a perfect end to the show and i will put these up in the shop for you all to see and inspire you.

We really do have some wonderful new products to entice you with and i am sure you will all be very very happy with our finds.

After the show finished we had to go and get another suitcase to bring some rather delicate and special samples we have borrowed back with us to the UK to display on our stand at the NEC Threads Trade Show and you will be amazed by these when you see them.

Im going to tease you all until we get back home and then i will tell you some of the products we have bought back with us.

Over the last couple of days i have managed to accumulate even more books and the latest Cloth Paper Scissors magazine of course, heres a quick pic of them.

If im not too jet lagged i will post on Friday evening when i get home, but in all honesty it will probably be Saturday when we are back in the shop.
We are both really missing Harry and cant wait to give him his pressies but i bet hes had such a fabulous time with Michelle and her family he probably wont want to come home.
Cant wait to see you all when we get back.
Smiles Rob and Gordon xxx.

Day Two of CHA

2010-01-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

We have had a great day again today ,the highlight being our breakfast meeting with JustRite Stamps. It was our first meeting and i really enjoyed it (even though i was a little late and i appologise again for that). We shared ideas and showed off samples and i know that you are all going to love the NEW things that will be coming out later on this year.

We both feel really privilaged and proud to be part of this fantastic Stamp Company and are looking forward to a successful year with them.

NOTICE TO RETAILERS

As UK Distributors of the JustRite Stamping system we will be launching this Fantastic product at the upcoming N.E.C. Craft Trade Show ( STITCHES) next month. Please drop by and see us.

I took the picture below on the way to Breakfast this morning as it felt so lovely walking in the sunshine after all the cold weather at home. What you cant see however are the snow covered peaks of the Adirondack mountains in the distance reminding me of what i have to look forward to on Friday when we get back.

After our meeting we went into the CHA and looked around for the more unusual things and we found some that i think you will like.

Also i promised you a little gallery of inspiration today so grab yourselves a cuppa and have a look at some of the photo's i took today which gave me ideas.

Love this by Suzy Weinburg.

Heres a few more pics from the rangers stand.

And heres some wonderful eye candy using the most gorgeous papers i have seen in a long time and they will be available from us very soon.

Well i hope you like that little selection as much as i do and i was given some of these papers to play with too so guess what i will be doing as soon as i get time.

Also can i just say a big thank you to Roy and his wife for giving me one of their Scor-Pals and holders and cutting mat and an extra scorer. That was really lovely of you both and i promise i will use it all the time Thank you so much again.

Im going to close now until tomorrow when i will be putting the other New Spellbinders dies up for you to see and anything else that i think you may like.

Smiles Rob and Gordon xxx

First day of CHA trade show and a NEW SPELLBINDER PRODUCT

2010-01-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

Well there were no trips out today it was WORK all the way ,but although its tiring its the best feeling in the world when you spot something that you know that the folks at home will love and we found a few things we think will tickle your fancies.

The first stop today was to see our friends at the Spellbinders stand and before i could even get to see Stacey and Geoff i spotted their brand new product and i LOVE IT heres a few pics.

Its our great pleasure to introduce to you the PRESTO PUNCH and what a wonderful useful little machine this is.

It is an Automatic battery powered Punch and Embosser (an electrical attachment will be available later on in the year for running from your main electric supply).

It punches and embosses quickly and easily and when you compare the prices of traditional punches with these you will know you are getting value for money.

Also these punch templates are so easy to store compared to traditional punches.

Heres a pic to show you what this fabbo little machine looks like on its own.

This great little machine comes complete with 7 punch templates (a heart, a circle, a flower, a star, a leaf, a tag and a square) batteries not included.

Prices to be announced on our website very shortly

We will have these on our website as soon as we return from Los Angeles.

In the meantime if you really would like to be at the top of the list to receive this wonderful machine from our first delivery which will be approx end of March - April please phone the shop direct and place your orders for the machine only as the dies will only be available when we have them on the website.

Di and Jean will take your calls from tomorrow morning.

And these are all the sets of the Punch Templates that will be available from April arent they fab. Please note they are much smaller than Nestabilities i would say the largest of them are around 1 1/2" - 2.00".

I hope you are all as excited as we are with this fantastic new product.

Finally heres a picture of Gordon Stacey from Spellbinders and i on her stand this morning at the CHA.

We have some more NEW Spellbinders dies to show you tomorrow and maybe a few more little suprises too.

I am taking photos of different samples as i go along and will post these to give you some inspiration tomorrow and the following days.

I feel so tired today maybe its the time difference catching up on me and my eyes keep closing so i am going to have a few hours off tomorrow afternoon and do the blog then as i will be more awake.

Goodnight all speak tomorrow.

Smiles Rob and Gordon xxx

CHA Craft Trade Show 2010

2010-01-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.

Well we arrived here in Los Angeles on Thursday to torrential rain and a very bumpy landing poor Gordon he hates flying at the best of times but i loved it as i am a white knuckle ride maniac haha.

Friday was still a rainy day so we hit the shopping malls and bookstores (my favorite shops over here i could just curl up with piles of books and read all day,they even have coffee shops in them).

Here are the books i just had to have.

Creative Time and Space ............. Rice Freeman-Zachery

Journal Spilling ............. Diana Trout

The Crafters Devotional ................. Barbara R Call

Vintage Collage Journals ............ Maryjo Koch.

So these will be my bedtime reading for the next few days (cant wait for bedtime haha).

In the evening we went to see Avatar in 3D on an IMAX screen and i must say it was one of the best films i have ever seen i was totally transfixed and i must admit i wasnt looking forward to a film that lasts almost three hours but it was just such a wonderful experience to watch and if you havnt seen it i highly reccomend it.

Today (Saturday) was totally different weather and we woke up to glorious SUNSHINE hooray it felt soooooo good to see a gorgeous day after the winter weather at home and the rainstorms of yesterday.

CHA 2010 Anaheim Convention Centre Los Angeles.

After we had signed in for the CHA trade show which starts tomorrow we decided to go and spend a couple of hors at Long Beach which we both love, heres a couple of pics of us having a relaxing time at the pier.

In front of the old Queen Mary cruise liner which is now an hotel in Long Island bay.

Here we are in front of the Long Island Pier and i just love those buildings.

So thats me catching up and signing out for tonight but i will be taking photos tomorrow and the next few days to show you all whats new and some of the things that caught our eye.

Smiles from the USA Rob and Gordon (who are missing Harry like crazy) xxx

Uploaded for Louise

2010-01-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

A lady called Louise Phoned Gordon up today and asked him if we would put the scrapbook page of Rome ( that i took on T.V with me ) up on the blog.

Well Louise here it is (sorry its a bit wobbly)

It was made using one of the JustRite Square Decorative Frames, Special Occasions Uppercase Font set, Nestabilities Classic Squares (small and large)

and a transparancy of the domes of Rome which i did on the computer using Paint Shop Pro x2

I am making a Gallery of all the things that have been made for our television shows and the shop using the JustRite stamps and Nestabilities, so keep watching the blog as i will put a message up as soon as im finished.

Smiles Robert, Gordon and Harry xxx

DL Size Magnetic Aperture Mat and JustRite Card Making Kit now on Web Shop

2010-01-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

The NEW DL sized magnetic aperture mat is now for sale on the web shop.

It is already proving to be a great hit with people and it was designed because you asked us for it.

Now you can make professional DL aperture cards of your own with procision and accuracy and whatever size and shape you like with your Spellbinders dies.

This Magnetic aperture mat works with the Wizard machine, cuttlebug and sizzzix big shot and instructions for all three machines are included.

The NEW Custom Design Card Making Kit from JustRite has also been put on and this is a must have for card makers and scrapbookers of all levels.

It comes with a two inch wooden stamper, ten borders and centres, large and medium alphabet sets to personalise your centres and a 15 point alphabet set for personalising your border. They really have thought of everything you will need and this set sold out in minutes on Ideal World on Tuesday

Happy Sh0pping.

Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry.

All New Dies and Justrite Stamps now on Web Shop

2010-01-14T16:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.
I have now got all the new Spellbinders dies and new Justrite stamps up on the web shop and i thought i would show you the two latest stamp sets to arrive here.

First is Romantic Sentiments which are just in time for Valentines.

The next is the Loving Thoughts set which again could be used for Valentines.

I think they are really lovely sentiments and are sure to be a hit.
smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry xxx

New Spellbinders Dies Day 7

2010-01-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

Well here are the last of the new dies which will be available from us mid February.
I will start putting them up on the web shop tomorrow so that you can pre-order your favorites so that you can make sure you are first to get them.
I just know that today's dies will be very popular.

LABELS 11

I think this is going to be a fave of mine

LABELS 12

This is the one that i have been waiting for

LABELS 13

How gorgeous is this

Well that's the end of the seven days of new dies and i hope you like them.
I don't know if they forgot labels 10 out or forgot to put it up but i will inquire and find out.
Thanks for dropping by and speak again soon.
Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry.

New Spellbinders Dies Day 6 and Ideal World.

2010-01-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all
Had a great day today although i woke up with my cold streaming again (had to happen today) but by the time we had reached Ideal World i was feeling a lot better.
I was with Nigel today and we got on really well and he is great fun to work with he had me laughing all the time.The show was very successful with three items selling out in the hour i was on and a few more almost gone.

Everyone was really impressed with our samples and once again i would like to say thanks to our design team who are.
Di, Jean, Sandra, Michelle, Karen, Pauline and Julie.
I dont know what i would do without you girls you are just the best and we love you all dearly.

So here are todays new Spellbinder dies with a nice Summer time theme.

SURFS UP

How fab for holiday layouts and summer cards.

NESTED ICE CREAM CONES

Dont you just love these

SEASCAPE IMPRESSABILITIES

This will be fabulous embossed and stencilled for fabby summertime backgrounds.

SWEET TREATS

Four more little dies for summertime layouts and cards.

Well one day left to go and then i will put them up on the web shop for you to Pre order for mid February delivery.
Have fun deciding.
Smiles Rob, Gordon and Harry

New Spellbinders Dies Day 5

2010-01-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hello again, im blogging from a Hotel in Peterborough tonight as i am on Create and Craft tomorrow at 10.00 am with a new set of just rite stamps for you to see and with the weather so horrible we thought it would be better to come down tonight. Im really glad as i wont have to get up so early now haha.

So here are todays new dies and they are very fruity.

CHERRY PICKIN FRAMEABILITIES

Two frames and a cherry and leaf motif to use together or seperately in your papercrafts.

ASSORTED FRUIT.

Six pretty little dies which i think will prove very popular, I love the jar by the way.

NESTED APPLES.

Three nested apples make up the trio of new fruity dies for today.

Well thats it for day five and i will post the next ones tomorrow.
Im going to have a coffee now and then check i have remembered everything for tomorrow cos you know how dizzy i am haha.
Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry.

New Spellbinders Dies Day 4

2010-01-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

Another snowy day here and we are in for more apparently my cold seems to be going though and i will be back at work to help Gordon tomorrow hopefully.
So heres todays dies and they all have a baby theme.

NEW ARRIVAL

Five dies for baby cards and scrapbook pages and arent they cute.

IMPRESSABILITIES NEW ARRIVAL

An Impressabilities with the same characters to match the new arrival dies.

NESTED DUCKS

These are fun what a splashing idea.

BABY BORDERABILITIES

Really like these borders too.

NURSERY TIME FRAMEABILITIES

And the frames just finish it off nicely so come on which ones will you be choosing.

I will be back tomorrow with day fives selection and i cant wait to see them.
Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry.

New Spellbinders Dies Day 3

2010-01-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

Well its snowing again here so here are four more dies to warm you up.

LOTUS PENDANTS

Anther stunning pendant design that will be going into my stash bag.

LOTUS BORDERABILITIES PETITE.

These will work beautifully with the Lotus pendants or as borders in their own right.

NESTED OWLS

Three differnt sized cute owl shapes for you to have fun with.

FAIR ISLE PENDANTS

Another fabulous pendant set to play with here.

FAIR ISLE BORDERABILITIES PETITE

Two pretty borders to use for your card making projects.

So there are todays new dies which will be avaiable here in Mid February. In a few days i will put them up on the web shop and you can then pre order to make sure you get them first.
I am off to have a hot toddy now as i have been full of a cold for the last three days,but thanks to lots of vitamin C and my home -made cold recipe i am almost over it now,( just hope i dont get a cough).
Smiles and Rob,Gordon and Harry.

New Spellbinders Dies Day 2

2010-01-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

Heres four more die sets for you today and they have an Easter Theme but some of them can be used for all sorts of other paper crafting projects.

Enjoy.

CROSS COLLECTION

These are beautiful and can be used for all sorts of occasions cant wait to play.

NESTED EGGS

Wow i like these and can see hundreds of possibilities so not just for Easter.

EASTER BORDERS PETITE

These are sure to be a big hit for Easter and springtime cards

EASTER FUN

Five cute little dies to add to your Easter cards and Scrapbook pages.

Well i hope you like todays little collection and i will post some more tomorrow.

Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry.

A Week Of New Spellbinders Dies YIPPEEEEE

2010-01-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well here we go again folks, Each day for a week i will be posting the new dies from Spellbinders. That means New Nestabilities,edgeabilities,borderabilities and lots more.

I will be putting them up on the shop pages when they are all revealed and then you can all make your choices.

Remember four sets of Nestabilities will be £60.00 and its always free postage.

I cant wait to see them all.

Heres the first lot

JUMBO SCALLOPED PETITE BORDERABILITIES.

Mmm THis one looks interesting im going to enjoy trying this one out.

BIG SCALLOP BORDER GRANDE.

I can see this coming in very useful too

BIG SCALLOP OVALS LARGE

Now i definately need this one

BIG SCALLOP OVALS SMALL

I think i may also need this one

So these are the first four little beauties , be sure to pop by tomorrow and see the next newbies that are coming.

They will be arriving here mid February so be sure to pre order to guarantee you get first choice.

Smiles Robert Gordon and Harry x

A Happy New Snowy Year

2010-01-05T15:00:00.001-08:00

Hi all

Hope you all had a great Christmas and you got all the things you asked for off Santa, and a very happy new year to you all.The last two months have been very busy for us but we did manage to get a couple of mini breaks in ( one in Rome in November and one in Cologne in December ) but we never had time to relax as there was just too much to see and do.

We did have a really chilled out and relaxing Christmas though just getting all our energy back and of course eating watching loads of Christmas specials and lots of strolls with Harry.

The snow here is amazing i havnt seen it laying so thick for years and of course Harry loves it and we cant keep him in. As it was our day off today we have been out walking most of the day trying to make smowmen but Harry cant resist jumping on them before they have been built haha.

The pic at the top was him in the park today and as you can see he was slowly turning into a snowdog.

Im making some more samples at the moment for our next appearance on Ideal World which is on January 12 th at 10.00 am weather permitting.

Heres a pic of me with Leonie from the last show we did and it was fab to see her again and i really enjoyed it.

I am going to close now but will try and post at least two or three times a week from now on as we have a lot of things to share with you and its one of my resolutions for the year too.

Smiles and a happy new year from Rob, Gordon and Harry

Instructions for using our Universal Magnetic Mats With The Big Shot

2009-11-15T04:22:00.000-08:00

Heres the sandwich you will need to use our aperture mats with your Big Shot machine.

Big Shot Multi-purpose platform with both tabs.

4 A4 sheets of cardstock folded in half.

An A5 or A6 greetings card blank

An A5 or A6 Universal Magnetic Aperture Mat.

Nestabilities die of your choice

Big Shot Cutting Mat

Big Shot Apurture Sandwich from bottom up.

Start with your multi-purpose platform with both tabs over the top of it.

Now stack your four sheets of folded A4 cardstock on top of the multi purpose platform (this will be your shim)

Next place your nestabilitie die (cutting edge up) onto the magnetic aperture mat and slide this in between your greetings card blank and place this on top of your shim.

Finish by placing the Big Shot Cutting Mat on top of your sandwich and it is all now ready to go through your Big Shot Machine.

And Voila you have made your own aperture card.

Instructions for using our Universal Magnetic Mats With The Cuttlebug

2009-11-14T06:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the instructions for using our aperture mats in your Cuttlebug.

For the Cuttlebug sandwich you will need.

Cuttlebug A plate.
2 peices of A4 card folded in half (this will act as your shim)
A5 or A6 greeting card blank.
Universal Magnetic Aperture Mat ( A5 or A6)
Nestabilities Die of your choice.
2 Cuttlebug B plates.

Starting at the bottom of the sandwich first place your Cuttlebug A plate.
Now place the two folded peices of A4 card on top of the Cuttlebug A plate.
Place your Magnetic Aperture Mat inside the greeting card blank and then place the nestabilities Die (cutting edge upwards) onto the magnetic Aperture Mat (BLACK SIDE ) where you want the aperture to be. Once you have done this place your card with the aperture mat on top of the two peices of A4 card.
Now place your two Cuttlebug B plates on top of your greeting card blank and your sandwich is complete.
Run your sandwich through your Cuttlebug and you will have the perfect aperture card with hardly any or no mark on the back.

Smiles, Robert Gordon and Harry.

Sorry for the long gap in blogging folks.

2009-11-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

Yep im really sorry for not blogging for ages but it has been a hectic time here what with weddings, funerals, stock taking, papercraft show season and going on the telly and all the stuff life chucks at you now and again to keep you on your toes we just havnt had a minute but we love it that way.

I thought i would throw on a couple of pics to let you catch up so here goes.

Here are some of the girls who come and play at the ATC club we hold on the last friday of the month. The club is free and you just bring all your own things with you and learn and share new ideas and techniques from each other and make new friends too.The next club get together is Friday 27th November and starts at 12.00 in the afternoon and finishes around 4.00ish. So if you would like to come along and have some fun and make some great friends you are more than welcome, OH and we also keep you supplied with tea coffee and biscuits throughout the afternoon too.

That same evening we went and called at my brother and sister in laws house to see how married life was treating them and they were having a halloween eve party (or were they haha). As you can see i never needed a costume i always look scarey.

That weekend was spent trying to get as many samples as possible ready for Ideal World on Monday 2nd November and can i just say another thank you to our design team girls who were just fab with getting as much done as they could in such a short time Di,Jean,Pauline,Sandra and Julie you are little stars and we love you Thank You All So Much.

After the TV it was time to get ready for the NEC and Thank you to everyone who came and bought from us we really do appreciate your support and were'nt Julies demonstrations fabulous. Harry and i looked after the shop while Gordon and the girls were at the NEC and we had a stock take and good clean up while we could.

Wednesday saw another one of my 3 dimensional nestabilities frame workshops and i dont think we stopped laughing all day i really enjoyed it girls and i must say you really all did so well and once you had got the first frames done there really was no stopping you all, even though four of you hadnt used wizards and cuttlebugs before and the frames you all made were stunning.

Today i have been experimenting with a new caught in crystal technique ive devised that isnt messy at all and looks fantastic i think better than the original method.

Heres a few pics but im afraid because of the glitzy quality of them the camera doesnt do them justice.

I call this caught in crystal technique the Klimpt Method because you work in triangles and other geometric shapes to build your layers up.

ordinary stamped image on right and Klimpt Method on left. It really does sparkle beautifully in real life.

Ordinary Stamped image on left and Klimpt Method image on the right It almost looks like stained glass.

And finally my newest rubber stamp design watercoloured on the left and Klimpt Method on the right.

Please tell me what you think of them and i will put others up as i make them and keep experimenting.

Smiles Robert Gordon and Harry

Classes For September and October

2009-09-09T03:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of workshops available for September and October.
We have had to fit them in between shows so there wont be as many as usual.
Every workshop costs £15 which includes everything for you to use to make your items,expert tuition and refreshments.The workshops usually last for three hours and we dont have more than six people on them as that way everyone can learn at their own pace and have plenty of space to work.
OK so here goes.

Wednesday 12th Sept.......11.00am - 2.00pm

NESTABILITIES FRAME WORKSHOP

Tutor ------ Robert

Time ---- 11.00am - 2.00pm

Cost ---- £15.00

Come and learn how to make the most of your nesties
We will be making three dimensional frames using a variety of Nestabilities Shapes.
Robert will show you how to use your not so favorite papers with inks etc and turn them into fabulous base papers for your projects.You will also learn how to make a frame with a window that opens and closes with no glueing or sticking.
This is the third frame workshop Robert has done and will probably fill up quick.

WORKSHOP FULLY BOOKED

Saturday 19th September

ALCOHOL INKS TECHNIQUES & TIPS

Tutor ----- Di

Time ---- 11.00am - 2.00pm

Cost ---- £15.00

Come and have a three hour workshop using Alcohol inks for some amazing techniques with Di.
If you have never used these inks before or just cant seem to get the look you want with them then this is the class for you.
Di will show you the basic steps and then will take you on an amazing artful journey using a myriad of different surfaces.
You will take home some wonderful things that you will make plus Di's knowledge.

WORKSHOP FULLY BOOKED

Saturday 26th September

Mixed Media Pendants

Tutor ----- Jean

Time ----- 11.00am - 2.00pm.

Cost ----- £15.00

This is going to be a fantastic workshop where you wil be making some stunning jewellry peices using inks,papers,embossing powders,friendly plastic,rubber stamps and much more to make wonderful peices of art that you can actually wear.
The pendants come in all shapes and sizes and you will be making at least three. (neck chains not included)

THREE SPACES LEFT

Saturday 3rd October

NESTABILITIES FRAME WORKSHOP

Tutor ----- Robert

Time ---- 11.00am - 2.00pm

Cost ----- £15.00

Come and learn how to make the most of your Nesties.
We will be making three dimensional frames using a variety of Nestabilities shapes.
Robert will show you how to take your not so favorite patterened papers and transform them into fabulous base papers for your projects. You will also learn how to make a frame with a window that opens and closes without glueing or sticking.
These classes are booked very quickly and will be on going.

WORKSHOP FULLY BOOKED

Sunday 11th October

BEADED CHRISTMAS BAUBLE WORKSHOP

Tutor ------ Linda

Time ----- 1o.30am - 1.30pm

Cost £15.00

Another amazing beading class with Linda and this time you will be making a gorgeous Christmas beaded bauble.
Whether you are a beginner and never beaded before or love beading this class is for everybody and you will go home with a finished product ready to make more in time for Christmas.
This workshop is filling fast so please book now as Linda only takes ten pupils a class.

FIVE SPACES LEFT

Saturday 24th October

FOUR FOLD CHRISTMAS CARDS

Tutor ---- Jean

Time ---- 11.00am - 2.00pm

Cost ---- £15.00

When Jean did her first Four Fold class here people were amazed at what they had made and how beautiful their cards were.
These cards are three dimensional and have four openings with a surprise in each one they really do have the WOW factor.
I have seen some of the cards that Jean has made for this workshop and they are all just beautiful.
So if you want to make something totally different for Christmas this year then book this class and be enthralled.

THREE SPACES LEFT.

So thats the schedule for now and if we do have a few spaces left in our diary we will try and fit some more classes in and will let you all know.
Smiles Robert.

Next Beading Class in October

2009-09-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

The next Beading class will be on Sunday October 11th as Linda will be cruising around the mediteranean giving bead classes to passengers (how fabulous).

She will be back with a gorgeous tan ready to show you how to make another of her wonderful beaded Christmas baubles.

Everyone enjoyed the last bauble class so much they wanted to learn how to make another so here is a pic of the little stunner you willbe making.

The class costs £15.00 and that includes everything you will need to make this item plus tea coffee and the famous chocky biscuits.

The class will start at 10.30 am and finish around 2.00.

Linda brings a variety of beads and findings with her which you can purchase that day even if you dont do the class.

At the moment there are six places left and it looks like it will be full very quickly so either phone or come to the shop to book your place.

More class dates tomorrow.

And The Winners Are ????

2009-08-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone

Today is the day to find out who has won the competition prizes for our Nestabilities draw.

The first people to come into the shop today was Abbey from Doncaster, with her mom and dad .

We asked Abbey if she would draw the lucky names out of the hat so here we go folks.

Heres Abbey ready to draw the winner of the First Prize from the lucky box.

And the winner of that prize which is all 17 new nestabilities dies and their money returned is

DIANE TAYLOR You won first prize.

The second prize of £100 credit to spend at our on-line shop go's to

VERONICA BETTS you just won second prize

And the third prize of £50 to spend at our on line shop is going to

HANNE BOVE you got third prize.

Well done to our lucky winners and thanks to everyone who joined in.

Gordon will e.mail all three of you on Monday and sort all your prizes out.

Please leave us a message on the blog if you can as it would be great to hear from you and to know how you are feeling about winning.

Smiles from Rob Gordon and Harry.

A Hectic 5 Days but we are enjoying it.

2009-08-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone.

Well what a mad 5 days its been here at the shop.

It took us until Thursday to get all of the
pre ordered nestabilities out and we worked until 9.00 pm each night to make sure you would get them in good time.

We would like to thank you "all of our customers" for your loyalty to us and for telling all of your friends about us too it really makes us feel as though we are doing a good job.

Here is a picture of Harry guarding the last boxes filled with pre orders that were posted out to you on Thursday.If you had seen the ammount of boxes all over the workshop area on Tuesday you would not have believed it, it really was amazing.

Friday was the first day for the UK launch of the JUSTRITE stamping system in the shop and it was a huge sucess as was today and hopefully tomorrow too.

Everyone who comes can see the whole range and we have an area where you can try them out for yourseves before you buy them and people have really enjoyed that.

I will post a picture or two later in the week to show you a few of the things we have made so far.

The stamps are so wonderful to use with your nestabilities and really give a professional look to your cards and scrapbook pages.

Heres a pic of just a few of the stamp sets we have at the shop and we have more sets to come yet too.

Right im off to bed now so i am ready for the last day of the JUSTRITE Launch tomorrow.

If you would like to come along and try the stamps out yourselves tomorrow we are open from 10.00am until 4.00pm and look forward to seeing you.

Smiles Robert Gordon and Harry.

NEW PRE ORDER DIES NOW IN STOCK !

2009-08-18T03:28:00.000-07:00

Once again we are proud to announce that we are the first company in the UK to have the latest Spellbinders dies in stock. Take a look at the new Labels dies nos 5-9 or the new Christmas designs. Whatever you choose im sure you will agree these dies just keep getting better all the time. Five years ago ,Once Upon a Stamp brought Spellbinders dies and the Wizard system to the UK , we are now celebrating our unique relationship with Spellbinders and we look forward to the next five years as the UKs leading supplier of all Spellbinders products.

UK LAUNCH OF JUST RITE STAMPS at ONCE UPON A STAMP

2009-08-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

Dates for your diary ...FRIDAY / SATURDAY /SUNDAY ...21st - 23rd August
They have arrived at last and we are finally proud to announce the UK launch of the wonderful new JUST RITE STAMP system....The Nestability Stamps !
This stamping system is like nothing you have seen before . The unique design of the click on , click off handles is so simple and versatile to use . They come many different sizes in Circles , Ovals and Rectangles. To go with the handles there are dozens of unique sets of stamps again in different sizes to fit the handles . You can choose from box sets of centres and borders to create wonderful designs. Choose one of the great Alphabet box sets to create your own words and phrases , vertically , horizontally , in crcles , ovals or rectangles. The alphabets are universal and fit all of the handlles.
Come along to our new shop on any of the above dates and try these out for yourself. We will have the full range on display and Robert will be on hand for helpful and friendly advice. These will then be available via our web site during the following week !
Smiles , Gordon.

DEADLINE for Competition is today

2009-08-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody.
Just to let everyone know that today is your last chance to enter our fab Nestabilities Prize Draw competition.
Absolutely loads of you have already entered by pre ordering any four of the new dies for £60.
This automatically gets your name put in for the big prize draw on 29th of this month which will be drawn at the shop by one of our customers who just happens to be shopping here at that time which should be fun.
First prize is ...... All 17 sets of the nrw nestabilities dies with your money returned.
Second Prize is ...... £100 cradit to spend on our internet shop.
Third Prize is ........ £50 credit to spend on our internet shop.
The competition will close at 12.00 midnight tonight so if you want to be in with a chance of one of these prizes please place your orders for any four new nestabilities dies for £60 in today.
Good luck to all who enter.
Smiles Rob Gordon and Harry.

Come and make a Beaded Christmas Bauble on Sunday.

2009-08-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

Next Sunday Linda has a little something to BLING up your Christmas tree, one of her stunning beaded baubles.

Here are a few pics of what you will be making and im sorry but these were the best photo,s i could take as they are very very shiny because of the glass and crystal beads.

Here are two full size pics of the beaded bauble you will be making and below is a close up.

The Class is this Sunday 16th August and there are still some spaces up for grabs so either pop into the shop or phone us to reserve your space.

The cost is £15 and includes everything you need to make your bauble plus Lindas tuition and tea coffee and chocky buscuits.

It really is fabulous fun and you wont beleive that you could make something so gorgeous in a few hours.

The class starts at 10.30am and finishes at around 1.30 pm.

Dont forget Linda will also be selling beads as well to anyone who comes to the shop on Sunday even if you arent doing the class.

Look forward to seeing you.

Robert Gordon and Harry

Yesterdays Bead Class

2009-08-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

Heres some pics of the girls making their coral stitched bracelets at Lindas besd class at the shop yesterday.

Catherine and Katherine almost finished. This was Katherines first time at the class and she was amazed that she had made something so beautiful in three hours.

Karen used matte beads and they looked stunning.

And finally heres Rachel and Bev almost finished with Linda keeping a watchful eye.

The girls all had a great time again and went home with some beautiful bracelets and can now make some more for presents or to sell.

Linda and her husband Ian also bring along lots and lots of beads and instruction sheets for anyone to buy and here are a few pics to give you an idea of what is on offer.

You can buy your beads from Linda any Sunday she is here doing a class and you dont have to do the class to buy them. Linda is here between 10.30am and 2.30pm when doing classes.

This Sunday you Could Be making This Beauty

2009-08-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

I know i should have put this up last week but everything went wrong.

The Builders came so i couldnt get to the shop and my internet server was down at home.

We also went on a little break to Norfolk with Harry in the caravan and we couldnt get an internet signal there either so i am doing it n0w.

For Lindas beading class this Sunday you will be making a Coraled stitched Bracelet and heres a picture to get your taste buds going.

You have to admit this looks stunning and we still have some places left for Sundays class so why not come along.

The class starts at 10.30 am and costs £15.00 this includes all you need to make the bracelet, Lindas fantastic tuition, tea, coffee and chocky buscuits and lots of laughs along the way.

Linda also brings along all her beautiful beads and beading accessories for you to buy even if you dont do the class you are welcome to buy them and her prices are really wonderful.

A Birthday card for Di

2009-07-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Heres my card for Di,s Birthday next Friday.

Ive used Nestabilities,borderabilities,K&C0 papers,distress inks,Crackle paint,rubber stamps,Friendly plastic and flat back gems.

I also made her a little envelope frame book using the large and small square sets.

She can put a piccy of each of her cats in it and carry it in her handbag.

Smiles Rob

Todays Bead Class

2009-07-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

There were only four of the girls here today as the others were on their holidays.

Today the girls made a necklace and ear rings to go with the bracelet they made last week

A great time was had by all and here are some pics of the class.

Everyone was concentrating and the room was so quiet.

But there was still time to chat laugh and drink loads of tea and coffee and nibble chocky biscuits.

I forgot my camera today so had to use a phone cam and thank Diane for letting me take a photo of the next class project which i will put up tomorrow.

The girls have all signed up for the next class which is on Sunday 9th August at 10.30 am and there are seven spaces left so book early.

Cost is £15 which includes everything you need to create your bracelet, expert tuition, tea coffee and biscuits and an absolutely wonderful time.

Smiles Rob

I will put a photo up tomorrow of the beautiful bracelet that you will be making that day.

Smiles Rob

Last Sundays Beading Class

2009-07-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

Thought i would put some pics up to show you what the girls made on Lindas beading class at the shop last Sunday.

Remember none of the girls had ever beaded before and they were stunned at what they acheived so just look at these pics.

The girls half way through their class having a well earned cuppa and chocky biscuits.

After tea break it was back to beading and with Lindas expertise here are some of the bracelets the girls made in 3 hours.

Absolutely fantastic for first time beaders.

Thank you so much Linda for bringing your wonderful beading skills to Once Upon A Stamp we love having you with us.

Linda is going to do another beading workshop this Sunday and there are a few places left if you are interested.

The cost is £15.oo and starts at 10.30 am and that includes all you will need to finish your project tea or coffee and of coarse Chocky Biscuits.

Remember even if you are not on the beading workshop you can still come and buy Lindas Beads and beading Kits while she is here on Sundays.