Happy Christmas

I would like to wish all my friends and customers a very Happy Christmas and thank you all for your support over the last year and here's to a good 2011.

As you can tell by the lack of blogs I have been very busy, but now the last workshop is over and I am looking forward to some time at home over the holiday.  The shop closes on Thursday 23rd December and we open again on Tuesday 4th January.

Below is a Christmas ornament we made in Saturday's workshop,the ladies really enjoyed making this and it is nice to think of it hanging in their homes this Christmas.  I cannot take all the credit for this and thanks go to Sue Grewcock who showed me this design although I have chosen different colours and embellishments.

We have just had in 2 new EK Success punches, long awaited for as they were ordered in April 2010, I have used them both and they go through card beautifully.  I have lots of ideas for using these punches and cant wait to get started, they are coming home with me for their Christmas jolly's.

 Once again, wishing you all a lovely Christmas,

Lots of love, Debs xx 

Crop and Workshop Dates

Sorry for lack of posts, we have been really busy and the snow has been a nightmare.  Ashby this afternoon was grid locked and I left the shop at 2pm worried that I wouldn't get home but once past Woodville the roads were not to bad.
We had a lovely workshop on Friday, 12 ladies and I had been really worried that it would be ok, the day went really well so I would like to thank everyone who attended the workshop, such a nice bunch who put me at ease straight away.  I would like to thank my Mum and Claire who helped out all day, I couldn't have managed without them.

This is a card we have made in a recent workshop, using the Kanban transport stamps, promarkers, K and Co Paper and a touch of stickles.

I will put on the all day workshop projects after the class has been repeated on Tuesday.

Dates for 2011 Friday Scrapbooking Crops

7th January

4th February

11th March

15th April

6th May

17th June

15th July

5th August

2nd September

14th October

4th November

9th December

Dates for All Day Friday Workshops

21st January

25th February

25th March

22nd April (Good Friday)

20th May

24th June

29th July

19th August

16th Sept

28th October

25th November

Most of the Friday workshops are already full, they will be repeated on the following Tuesday and Friday each month if there are people who wish to take part.

Catch up soon, thanks for looking, Deb x

   

Busy Week

What a week, started off on Monday getting ready for Tuesday's all day workshop and tiding up the work room which was well overdue, how do all those bits get on the floor, I am a crafter who needs a lot of room but always end up working in a very small space!

Tuesdays workshop went really well thanks to Jan, Liz, Ruth and Ingrid, we had a lovely day and I would like to thank my best friend Claire who helped out all day and looked after the shop for me,  Claire and I used to work together in a Bank years ago and have remained best friends ever since, she really has picked things up so quickly.

Wednesday was supposed to be a day off but turned out to be hectic.

Thursday another workshop in the morning and then designing the projects for next all day workshop.

Friday came and went in a flash with more designing and I was so pleased to finish the projects for the workshop.  Claire came over in the afternoon and we decorated the window ready for Christmas, baubles and tinsel everywhere,

Saturday yet another workshop, my lovely regular Saturday morning ladies plus two new ladies, we made the card shown above with the Sarah Kay stamp and a Christmas card.  I then spent the afternoon cutting and scoring card for Friday's class.  I cant understand why I have made the projects so complicated, it is going to take a long time to get ready.  Never mind i know what I will be doing all day Monday and Tuesday!!

Sunday has been a day of dog walking, shopping and a little snooze!!! 

Well that is what you call a catch up, off now to get my fix of Ant & Dec,

Deb xx     

New Goodies

We had a lovely class this morning, this is one of the cards we made, we used the Papermania Holly & Berries stamp, with peeled paint and antique linen distress inks,  olive green stazon, promarkers and of course stickles and ribbon.

We have had some new goodies in including some new stamps and papers.

These are the 7 Gypsies stripes from the Barcelona range, what is really good is that on the other side the papers are spots and I love spotty paper!

We have also had in a few other ranges of 7 Gypsies and a new paper company called Black Market papers, I will put pics of them on soon.
The Kanban Urban Belles stamps have come back in as they have been so popular.

The other stamps were from Hampton Art and are some lovely borders for scrap booking but I'm going to make some cards with my sets.

Off to price up new goodies, lots of love to all in Blog land,
Deb xx

Black & White again!

This is one of the cards we made in the Saturday morning workshop, black & white with a hint of silver always looks so elegant, we used an 8x8 square card with the large Christmas tree stamped and embossed in white sparkle embossing powder.  The scallop punch was used down the sides then silver stickles and ribbon to finish off.

The weekend went very quick, work Saturday then sister in laws house warming, which was also a firework display as we could stand in her garden and watch the display put on by Tutbury Castle,

 we enjoyed the show with hot dogs and a nice glass of wine.

On Sunday I took my Mum out for the day, we went to the Hobby Crafts show at the NEC, it was so busy you couldn't get to see much, I was very good and get my purse in my handbag, we then went into the Crafts for Christmas show which was much quieter and managed to do some Christmas shopping as the big day is now fast approaching!

Catch up soon,

Deb xx

Thursday Class

We had a lovely class this morning, only 2 ladies, Ingrid and Tracey, we made two cards one of which is pictured below.  The card was made with Kanban stamps and a Xcut border punch, along with glitter, gems and ribbon of course. 

My day off yesterday and was I ready for it, didn't do much except for normal Asda shopping and boring old ironing, whoops forgot the exciting bit had a whiz round with my mate Dyson.

Off to slimming tonight, I am starving already but can't have my tea until I've been weighed at 7 o'clock, hoping for another 3 1/2 pounds off which will make a stone gone in 3 weeks.

I phoned Sheila today to wish her all the best as her son is getting married tomorrow, yes all the cup cakes are done.

Well a quick tidy up here and then time for home,

Thanks for looking

Debs x

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Sorry for lack of recent blogs, things have been really busy here.  I would like to thank the ladies who attended the all day workshops on Friday and Sunday, I had a really nice time.

We have also managed to get my sister in law moved in to her new house over the weekend, she has kept my hubby Steve very busy, knocking down walls, plumbing in washing machines, furniture assembly and many other jobs, but all done now thank goodness.

A sad day on Friday as Sheila left, we had big hugs but no tears as I know we shall be keeping in touch, I have only phoned her twice already!

The card is only a quick one I made with the Papermania Classic Christmas set of stamps, I will photo the projects we made on the workshops soon.

We had some new goodies in on Thursday and the new DoCrafts magazine which is flying out.

Hope all is well in blog land, catch up soon, Deb x     

I Hate VAT

What a disaster of a day, 3 hours entering Dads accounts into my computer and then the accounts program decides to fail, ring help line and told I must pay £40 before they can help me, just about ready to tear hair out in frustration.
 
On to some good news, I managed to lose 7lb last week so I was chuffed to bits when I got on the scales at slimming on Thursday, just have to keep up the good work and stay away from the biscuit tin.

On a sad note, it is Sheila's last week in the shop, not looking forward to Friday, I am not only losing an employee but also a really good friend.  I have told Sheila to be prepared to have kettle on, on Wednesday's when I have a day off.

The card is still on a Christmas theme, made using the Forever Friends range of stamps. 

Must go, that VAT is still waiting to be completed, I am going to have a try on my old laptop, before getting paper, pencil and calculator out,
Have a good week, Deb x

Busy day!!!

We have had a busy day at the shop with 2 workshops, it was a little sad as some of the customers were saying goodbye to Sheila, I am dreading next Friday when I have to say goodbye, I know there will be lots of tears.  All I seem to have done today is cut and score cards for the 2 all day workshops we have coming up.  Next week is going to be really busy, 2 all day workshops, Dads VAT to do and to top it all off my sister in law is moving house on Friday, should be good for the slimming though which is where I am going tonight, hopefully a few pounds should have gone due to not picking and lots of walks with Jazzy.
The card is another cutie from Kanban, hope you like it, off now to be weighed, wish me luck,

Deb x 

Teddy Santa

This was a fancy fold card we made a few weeks ago in the Saturday morning class, using the Kanban cute teddy Christmas stamps with fluffy stuff to make him look most festive.

Sunday started with a wake up call from Jazz our German Shepherd dog about 8 o'clock requiring her breakfast and then an extra long weekend walk, I just kept thinking 'this is good for me' and all the calories I must be burning.  I then had the joys of food shopping, buying only healthy food as I started at Slimming World last Thursday and I want to be really good this week to drop a pound or two!  I will let you know on Friday how I have got on.  The afternoon was spent making healthy food for the rest of the week, including a low fat curry which actually turned out to be really tasty, even Hubby cleaned his plate!  Sunday night was spent in front of the telly catching up with Strictly, the X Factor and the new series of Desperate Housewives then an early night, mainly to stop me eating anything else!

I have had a good day at the shop, lots of tiding up and I had an appointment with a lovely lady called Sarah to help her design her wedding stationery, I hope she was pleased with the samples and has taken them home to get her partners approval.

That's all for now, Deb x

Saturday Class

We had a lovely class this morning, with Janet, Cathy and Deb.  It was only three ladies but that made things much easier for me.   We made two cards using the Little friends stamps by Kanban, promarkers, acetate, punches and assorted card stock.  The first card was a box card with an acetate window and flowers to decorate.  The second card is for you horse lovers, yes I know you think I've gone mad as both cards are very cute!

I have not been to well this week with a nasty infection which caused very bad headaches and hard lumps on the back of my head, so it was off to the Docs on Thursday for a batch of antibiotics, they have kicked in thank goodness and I am now feeling much better.

I have Lorraine and Bob in the shop at the moment which is a great compliment as they have come all the way from Shropshire to visit the shop.  

Here are the cards we made today:

Hope you like the cards, have a lovely weekend.  Catch up soon, Deb x

A day at home

I have spent today at home catching up on the ironing, thought I had better get a few jobs up to date before Sheila leaves.
I have bought a few half finished cards home with me and hope to complete them tomorrow. I have been to the Dunelm shop this evening to their friends and family night and yes I won on the raffle, 2 lamps, I will let you know what they are like when I pick them up tomorrow.

The card is one we have made in several workshops and has been made with the very popular Kanban stamps.
Thanks for looking in, Deb x

My Shop

Hello , I thought I would tell you a bit about how  I came to open my shop and why I named it  Monks Den Crafts.  I used to run a garage in Tutbury and in November 2002 decided to sell craft goodies in part of the garage shop.  The garage was on Monk Street in Tutbury and was very small hence the name Monks Den.  I then moved from the garage to Tutbury Mill Mews where I first met many of my customers, in December 2007 I made the move to Ashby de la Zouch, which was like going home as Ashby is where  I was born and bred and my Mum and Dad still live there.  Mum is often at the shop, popping in for a coffee and  lending a hand.  It has been good moving to Ashby as we now have a lovely work room upstairs for our classes and I have made lots of new friends as well as still seeing many of my Tutbury customers.  If you are ever in the area pop in for a cuppa and a browse round it is always lovely to meet new crafty friends.

Off now to get last few things together for tomorrows workshop, catch up soon, Deb x

Saturday Class cards 2 & 3

Christmas Wreaths and Robins.

Stockings waiting to be filled.

Hope you like the cards, they are quite simple and easy to make.  I have used Tombow pens for the colouring and some Stickles to add that extra sparkle.

Off to tidy the workroom now and get ready for next weeks classes, thanks for looking at my cards,

Deb x

Saturday Morning Class

We had a lovely class this morning, thanks to Brenda, Deb, Dana and Kathleen, with help from my Mum Janet.  There was a photo taken of us all but silly me had not put the SD card back in my camera and I cannot find the lead to put pics on to my computer,  sorry ladies, will put you on next week.  The cards were made using the Art Impressions range of stamps, perfect for Christmas cards.
Deb xx

Second half of all day workshop.

Sheila made this lovely card and matching bag.

New to the World of Blogging!

Hi everybody, sitting here with Sheila teaching me how to be a blogger!  Much harder than I thought, will need a few more sessions before my lovely Sheila leaves me.  I know, very bad news but Sheila is going to be looking after gorgeous Ruby her grandaughter when her mum starts work at the beginning of November.  

I will be using this blog to showcase workshop projects and to keep you all updated on what we are up to, previews of new goodies we have in and generally to keep in touch.

The box above is made to keep your acrylic stamps in, or whatever you fancy. This is available as part of an all day workshop, other half of all day workshop to follow when I have got the hang of this blogging!!!!!

Catch you soon Deb xx

Hope this is ok for a first attempt!!!!!!!!