Tuesday 29 June 2010

Newsletter 29th June

Hi Everybody

I sat down at about 8.30 this morning, with my bowl of 'Oat so Simple', to write this newsletter. I got as far as 'Hi Everybody' and that was it until now, which is ten past six in the evening and I am sitting here with my jacket potato and salad!!!!!

It has been madness here and I will tell you all about it as this newsletter goes on. I also have a story or two to tell you all. AND it has been a while since I last tapped away on the keyboard. So it might be a good idea if you made a cup of tea and put your feet up, I have a feeling this is going to be a long one!

I am going to start with the most important piece of news. Jet is three years old today! Can you believe that? How quickly that time has passed. (For those of you new to my newsletters - Jet is my gorgeous Granddaughter and her Mummy is my lovely daughter Helen). She is a proper little chatterbox now and I think her Mummy is hoping that the third birthday comes along with her passing out of the 'terrible twos'.

Helen and Jet came to stay for the weekend and Grandfa Grant took her fishing, I got to read her bedtime stories and we all enjoyed a Peppa Pig birthday party on Sunday with Great Granddad Jim and Great Nanna Dora. It was wonderful.

Jet wanted a digital radio for her birthday (she likes listening to Classical Music!! Very high brow!) and I managed to find her a PURPLE one which I blinged up with diamantes and beads. I also decorated a nest of drawers in her favourite colours, pink and yellow, and we put all sorts of treasures in the drawers. How wonderful to be only three and find such things so exciting.

The other exciting thing that has happened to the Courteney household is that our next baby has been born - this one is of the furry variety! A friend of ours has a beautiful honey coloured Labrador by the name of......Honey (funny that!) and she gave birth to 5 big strapping lads. We are going to see them next week and I know....for certain.....that we will be having one.

I am not sure how Kip, our old Labrador, will take to the puppy but Bridie will be beside her self to have a new playmate!! WHAT AM I LETTING MYSELF IN FOR?!?!?!?

So that is all the Courteney family news.....I suppose I had better get on with the shop business.

I will start with a little story. On Saturday just gone, two young ladies came into the shop to make some jewellery. Apparently they were told, by a friend, that they HAD to visit our shop to see all the delights on offer (there were then a few other compliments, but I won't mention them because they will make me blush!) and they were told to sign up for the newsletter because (and this is what they were told by the friend) they are funny and full chatter. So now I have got to make sure this one is 'funny and full of chatter', no pressure there then!

So, where shall I start? Let me begin from the last newsletter, with the Cancer Research Car Boot Sale. We had a great day with lots of new people finding us. AND we raised an amazing £313.56 which we gave to Maria, one of our regulars and she who does amazing things with wood and serviettes, and she had it double through her employers, Vodaphone. Thank you Maria and a huge big thank you to Vodaphone.

I think we may well try the Car Boot Sale again but, probably, not until next year. Too much going on this year.

Next, it is the ART STAMP show this weekend at the Racecourse. We, of course, will be there. We are taking the Jo Sonjas and some other bits. We will have some special offers and we will be running some of the workshops. I will be playing the Decor Crackle on the mirror board and Nicky will be playing with Promarkers. So look out for the workshops.

We are also going to be having a Hubby Creche! So if you HAVE to take the other half along, leave him with us. We will make sure he is watered and entertained. I have a great stack of magazines building up and I will take the newspapers.

Advance tickets are on sale in the shop. But, do remember, you are not allowed to take your credit cards or any cash with you. You are only allowed to buy something once you have spoken to us and got written permission to buy!! Apart from that, enjoy yourself.

Should you wish desperately to buy something and you cannot find it at the show, remember that the shop will still be open. Ruth and Karen will be holding the fort while Nicky and I will be on the stand at the show and Catherine will be running the Childrens Corner.

Remember that there will not be a Promarker workshop or Childrens Club this weekend.

Another bit of exciting news, our online shop is now up and running. Check out http://www.themulberry-bush.com/ . It is very new, only been live for a couple of weeks. But it does mean that if you cannot get to the shop, you now have the opportunity still to get your fix.

The website is being run by Catherine, who you will know from the shop on a Saturday morning. Catherine got married last year to the lovely Rob and she has recently had a beautiful baby girl, Freyja. So with Rob, Freyja and Max (her 9 year old son) Catherine has her hands full - yet she (stupidly) decided to join forces with me in setting up this site.

We are busy loading goodies whenever we can and we are gradually getting everything on there. If we are too slow for you, just drop us an email telling us what you would like and we will sort it.

Talking of websites, have any of you looked at the gallery that Joanna has built on the http://www.flutterbycrafts.co.uk/Flutterby_Crafts_Gallery.asp website? It is looking superb. Joanna has also been doing massess of work on the blogsite: http://www.flutterbycraftsberkshire.blogspot.com/ , so sign up or make comments or do something so that we all know it is worthwhile - it makes us all so very happy when someone leaves a comment on one of the entries.

And talking of Joanna, we must congratulate her on becoming a member of The Cutting Cafe design team. Well done, Joanna.

Ummm...what else? We have all the new Wild Rose Studio stamps for men (check out http://www.themulberry-bush.com/ for pictures and to order) and we also have the paper packs to go with the stamps. Dulcie, from Wild Rose, will be here in early September for the day. Watch out for the details.

We have some new albums - there is a beautiful one with a Teddy Bear on the front - templates from Colour My World, lovely resin embellishment packs and loads of new rubber stamps. All of which are in the shop and they will be on the website very soon.

Do you know, I have spent a week or more mentally writing this newsletter and I know that there is a lot more to say, but I cannot think of it. What an idiot I am (DO NOT say anything to that one!).

The plans for the retreat are coming on well. We have worked out what each of us is going to be doing - after a fashion. Just need to pick the papers, stamps and other bits and pieces. I am hoping that we will be getting some more info on the website soon. If you are still thinking about coming, let me know because places are filling fast.

The bead shop is looking good. Plenty of colour in there and the Toho Seed Beads are doing very well. Look out for a new order of them sometime very soon.

The new workshop brochure for the Autumn will (hopefully) be out in the next couple of weeks and we should have the details published in next week of the Childrens workshops for the Summer holidays. Can you believe that it is nearly that time again?

Well, it is now 8.10 in the evening and I think it is time I stopped writing. I am sure you have all finished your cup of tea by now. It is a good thing that the reading of this is a lot quicker than the writing!!

Have a good evening/day. Enjoy the Art Stamp Show - come and see me when you are there. Come and see us in the shop as well, otherwise we will feel very unloved!

Keep smiling, keep crafting, keep cool.

With love from

Lynn and the Girls.

Wild Rose Studio stamps


Nicky has made this lovely card using the Wild Rose Studio Japan papers and Kira stamp coloured in with ProMarkers.


There has been a delivery of lots of NEW Wild Rose Studio stamps and papers available at Flutterby Crafts so pop down and see us!

Thursday 24 June 2010

Coming up on Saturday, 26 June


Click on the poster above for more details.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Jewellery Drop In Session

Anyone interested or wants to learn about Jewellery making should take a look at the Jewellery classes running during the week at your local Flutterby Crafts. Just click on the links below for more details.........




For example take a look at these gorgeous Mother of Pearl Shells........


and look below at the ring that Lynn made recently out of these Mother of Pearl Shells and Seed Beads, how stunning!

If you go to the Flutterby Project Gallery in the Jewellery section you can see a necklace made with the same Mother of Pearl Beads. Please let us know what you think.

So, don't hesitate and come and join Ruth this Saturday, 26th June at our Jewellery Drop In session and see what she has in store for you to make!!

Thursday 17 June 2010

New Templates!

We have some lovely Colour My World Stencil Templates in stock and Nicky has been playing!




There are loads of templates to choose from and there are some lovely designs. If you go to our NEW GALLERY, then click on General Project Gallery you will see some more of Nicky's cards featuring Colour My World templates.

Nicky has made this card up with one of the templates and some of the new Core'dinations Colorcore cardstock...how cute is this?

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Rubber Stamp Club

Are you new to crafting? Would you like to learn different techniques when using your rubber stamps? Well, why don't you come and join in our Rubber Stamp Club on Saturday, 19th June when Nicky Hayden will show you lots of ways to use your rubber stamps.


Beginners' Welcome

Click on the image above and find out more about our
Rubber Stamp Club.

Sunday 13 June 2010

Napkin Art and Glass Bowls!

Look what the ladies at the Jo Sonja Craft Club
decorated with napkins!

Well, did we have fun yesterday afternoon in the Jo Sonja's craft club. Everybody had a G&T - only yesterday afternoon that stood for Glass & Tile Medium. There was torn serviettes all over the place, but the results were stunning. The photos were taken by Joanna part way through the afternoon, before the bowls were dried and cleaned up, but you can see what a wonderful job the ladies did.

Mind you there is always one that is slower than everybody else (it's alright Erica, I won't say who it is!!) hence the fact that everybody is sitting back with arms folded watching the hard work of one person.

Ladies at our Jo Sonja Craft Club.

Why not go and check out more projects in our Photo Gallery in the Jo Sonja and Napkin Art gallery.

Thursday 10 June 2010

Jo Sonja Craft Club

Do you want to join Lynn at our popular Jo Sonja Craft Club coming up this Saturday, 12 June?

She will be demonstrating how to decorate plain glass bowls into stunning decorative bowls with Jo Sonja paints and Napkins.

Just click the IMAGE below for more details.


To secure your place, all you have to do is e-mail lynn@flutterbycrafts.co.uk. or telephone 01635 860900 and look forward to an enjoyable 2hours crafting!

Tuesday 8 June 2010

NEW Project Galleries


Click on the image of the camera above to take
you to the Photo Galleries.



I have been hard at work compiling a few galleries showing the various projects that the girls at Flutterby Crafts have made over the last few months.

In future, photographs of projects will be shown on the blog and from time to time, additional photographs which will be shown in the galleries under these various topics:-


ProMarker and Rubber Stamping Gallery

Jo Sonja Paints & Napkin Art Gallery

Jewellery Gallery

General Project Gallery

Scrapbook Gallery


If you are inspired by any of the samples and you missed a workshop, just let the girls in the shop know and they will let you know when a relevant workshop may be rescheduled.

Sunday 6 June 2010

Jo Sonja Craft Club


Look what I found in the shop the other day............


While Lynn is at a show in Edinburgh this weekend I have taken a photograph of this lovely jug for you to all take a look at. But, I must remember to replace it back on the shelf before she notices it's gone!!!!!

Lynn decorated this ordinary household, plain white jug and transformed it using Jo Sonja paints and napkins.

Just a little reminder that the Jo Sonja Craft Club will be held next Saturday, 12th June. A little bird told me that Lynn will be decorating glass bowls.

So, if you want to join in you will need to book your place and choose a glass bowl to decorate as soon as possible.

Thursday 3 June 2010

ProMarker Club - 5th June

Just a reminder that our next ProMarker Club is on this Saturday, 5th June. If you would like more details and perhaps join us on Saturday just click the poster above.

At the last ProMarker Club Nicky gave everyone several stamped images of the lovely Whiff of Joy stamp (Wedding Carriage). This is the card that Nicky came up with for the class.....isn't it adorable?


If you would like to see the entries for the monthly ProMarker Challenge Club why not click here........please vote as the ladies have done so well with this challenge.

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Jewellery Display Boards

Have you seen the new Jewellery display boards around the Jewellery shop? We think they look much better for displaying the jewellery samples, what do you think?



If any of you sell your handmade jewellery and would be interested in purchasing some of our Jewellery display boards, why not pop into the shop and have a word with Ruth.