Jo Sonja Craft Club

Flutterby Crafts would like to welcome Maria Arkwright who will be running the Saturday, Jo Sonja Craft Club.

Maria was initially a card maker and has been to many workshops over the years. However, her crafting skills took a turn over a year ago when she attended her 1st Jo Sonja Workshop weekend. Maria read the information about the workshop which had been posted here on the blog. At the very last minute, Maria realised she had a free weekend and booked herself onto the Jo Sonja workshop.

I don't think Maria will mind me saying but Jo Sonja paints, mediums and napkin art have almost become an obsession......if there is any household article that can take a lick of paint Maria will Jo Sonja it!

Here are 2 examples of her stunning work........

Apron decorated with napkins by Maria


Lovely trinket box, decorated using crackle
with Jo Sonja paints and mediums.

So, if you have not tried this class, why not join Maria at her monthly Jo Sonja workshops and give it a go.

She will help you make the most of your projects using her extensive knowledge and expertise, inspiring you to decorate lots of household objects.

If you would like to see our Jo Sonja Gallery of projects and a lovely Day Out Plaque, also by Maria please click here.

More Tonic Studio!

Shape-Mates Ovals

Last week I put an entry on the blog regarding our huge stock of Tonic Studio products. I thought I would show you another card designed by Nicky using the Shape-Mates Oval for this shaker card.

The Oval set contains 3 Oval templates allowing a total of 6 different sized cuts.

Nicky used the Milton Christmas 6x6 Paper Stack and the Milton with Sledge acrylic stamp from Wild Rose Studio.

All the above items are in stock at our shop, based in West Berkshire, so why not pop down and visit Lynn and the girls. If you are not local to the area, you can now order through our on-line shop, The Mulberry Bush and look in the appropriate sections.

Nicky runs some amazing classes, so why don't you check our workshop brochure and join one of her classes.

Also, check our new Christmas Gallery to view some of her inspiring cards which will be added weekly.

Time to vote for Milton!

On 4th September we were very honoured to have a visit from Dulcie Jackson from Wild Rose Studio. She held a drop in session in the morning and joined us at the ProMarker Challenge club in the afternoon showing us blending techniques with our ProMarkers.

You may remember this sketch that she set for this month's ProMarker challenge using the Milton Christmas stamps that she has designed herself......clever girl!

We have had a great response to the challenge, so if you would like to vote on-line leaving your name and a comment on your favourite card, please click the comments section below.

Card #1

Card #2

Card #3

Card #4

Card #5

Card #6

The winning card will be announced at the next ProMarker Challenge Club on 2nd October.

Tonic Studio

We now stock a wide range of Tonic Studio products. There are lots of Shapes-Mates, Tools, Paper Punches and Punches using the Tonic Studio Border System.

Square Shape Mates

Why not visit our on-line shop and look in the Craft Tools and Craft Punches sections. Also, you could visit our shop to see for yourself all the Tonic Studio products that we have in stock.

Here is a card that Nicky made using the Shape-Mates square to make the shaker part of the card.

The squares set contains 3 square templates allowing a total of 6 different sized cuts but are also great for those shaker cards.......don't you think?

Chinese Crystal Bracelet

Last Thursday evening at the Jewellery workshop with Lynn, the girls made this lovely Chinese Crystal and Pearl bracelet.

If you would like to learn more about jewellery making and beading, why not check out our workshops here.

Rubber Stamp Club

If you would like to learn some more rubber stamping techniques, come and join our monthly Rubber Stamp Club.

Rubber Stamp Club
Saturday, 18 September
2.00 - 4.00pm
(Click on image above for further details)

Nicky will be showing you lots of techniques that you can use with your Rubber Stamps. Whether you are a beginner or have dabbled at rubber stamping you are sure to learn something new!

Friday, ProMarker Club

Just to remind you all that we have a NEW ProMarker Club starting :-

Friday, 17 September - 10.30-12.30

We have put this class on during the week so that those of you who are unable to make our monthly Saturday ProMarker Club may now have a chance to pick up lots of colouring techniques from our very talented Nicky Hayden.

Please check the dates for the Friday, ProMarker Club listed in the Autumn Workshop Calendar.

Nicky has been preparing lots of Christmas card samples from the Milton Christmas range by Wild Rose Studio. In Blue Peter fashion "Here is one she made earlier".

For more details and to book your place for the Friday, ProMarker Club, either call into the shop, telephone us on 01635 860900 or e-mail lynn@flutterbycrafts.co.uk.

So we look forward to seeing some new faces on Friday!

Jo Sonja Club

Just a quick reminder for those of you interested in all things crafty, that the Jo Sonja Saturday Craft Club resumes on Saturday, 11th September.

Click above image for enlarged details.

.......and for those of you that are unable to attend on Saturdays, there is a NEW midweek Jo Sonja Club starting on Wednesday, 8th September (please check here for dates and times).

ProMarker pens

For those of you who are interested in colouring or would like to know more about ProMarker pens, why not come along to the next ProMarker Challenge Club held on Saturday, 2nd October.

If you are unable to attend the ProMarker Challenge Club (which is normally held on the 1st Saturday of each month) there is a NEW Friday ProMarker Club held once a month with Nicky, 10.30 'til 12.30. Please check the workshop calendar for dates.

Last Saturday, when Dulcie Jackson visited us at the Flutterby Crafts ProMarker Challenge Club, she demonstrated blending techniques and kindly gave us a sketch for the next challenge.

Here above is the sketch for the next ProMarker Challenge Club along with the stamped images of the adorable Milton Christmas stamps that we can choose to use.

The prize is 2 ProMarker pens to add to your collection but you do need to attend the monthly challenge club to be eligible. So come along it is such fun!

I can't wait to see the entries which I will put on the blog next week.

A day with Dulcie Jackson

Yesterday we had a visit from the very talented Dulcie Jackson from Wild Rose Studio. She is the creator of the Milton Christmas stamps and more recently Fergus the Dragon which are all available at
Flutterby Crafts. At the FREE DEMO in the morning she showed us how to colour stamped images with ProMarkers pens.

She gave us heaps of tips on colour combinations.

Here below Dulcie has used non traditional colours for the Milton with Stocking stamp.
In the afternoon at our monthly ProMarker Challenge Club, Dulcie showed us her gorgeous Milton Christmas card samples. Dulcie demonstrated blending techniques using ProMarkers and she made it look so easy!

We were then given a page of stamped Milton images and couldn't wait to use our ProMarkers..... and get colouring! Suddenly the room went very quiet as we all concentrated with the odd comment "Has anyone got Berry Red?", "What colour blends best with Cinnamon?"

Dulcie and Nicky were on hand to give us on going tips.

We all had a most enjoyable day. I think everyone went home with many more ProMarkers than they came in with and several Milton stamps in their bags that need to be hidden away quickly from our hubbies!

Thank you Duclie for a fantastic day!

NEW stamps - Fergus the dragon

There is so much happening with Wild Rose Studio at the moment and the news keeps getting better and better.

We have just had a delivery of the newly released FERGUS THE DRAGON stamps and they are sooooooo gorgeous. If you want to be the 1st to own these stamps why not pop down to Flutterby Crafts and see for yourself.

Remember on the DEMONSTRATION DAY there will be
10% off all the Wild Rose Studio range!

It's going to be a great day tomorrow in the company of Dulcie Jackson, Milton and Fergus so, come and join in the fun.

Milton Christmas Range

Here are some of the lovely Milton Christmas stamps that
Dulcie Jackson will be using at the FREE DEMONSTRATION
on Saturday, 4th September
(click here for more details).

Milton with Poinsettia by Dulcie Jackson

Christmas Milton by Dulcie Jackson

These gorgeous stamps have been designed by Dulcie Jackson of Wild Rose Studio so, this is a great opportunity to see how she uses her stamps and colour them with ProMarker pens.

Lynn will have plenty of stock of
The Milton Christmas range and ProMarker pens
which will be available for purchase on the day.

10% off all Wild Rose Studio range - one day only!

We hope that you can come along to our
FREE DEMONSTRATION on Saturday, 4th September.

See you all there!!

Free Demo - Milton Christmas Range

Please click here for bigger image and

click here for details on our monthly ProMarker Club.

Happy Birthday - Lynn

Hello everyone, or should I say "Good morning campers"! Yes over the last two weeks we have been camping with the kids on and off. As a family we are new to camping and surprisingly I enjoyed it!!!! It was all good and we had lots of fun until last week one night the tent was flooded, howling gales and my 12yr old son asked at 2.00 am "Dad can I sleep in the car, I can't get to sleep"!!!

Anyway, nearly back to normality with the kids returning back to school on Thursday. I will be catching up with all the goodies that have arrived in the shop and I believe there are lots so, do keep popping back and leave any comments after a post as long as they are nice ones!

No photos but I would just like to wish Lynn a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today at Flutterby Crafts. Here's wishing you a great day and I hope you get the odd measure of spoiling whether it is at home or in the shop!!!

Joanna x

Have a good Bank Holiday weekend.

Hi Everybody

Well it is nearing the end of my week off. Buzz has come on realy well. He is clean, dry and (more importantly!) quiet over night. He has also, slowly, got used to being on his own (with only Bridie & Kip for company) while we are at work. Having said that, between Grant, Phil and I he will not be left for very long at any one time. It has been suggested, however, that we teach him how to pull the ring-pull on the cans of dog food just in case!

Buzz has learnt, so far and apart from being clean & sleeping through the night, to sit on command, to 'fetch' on command, getting used to walking on a lead AND to leave Kip & Bridie alone when they are eating. The last thing the most important!

Now we have the last bank holiday before Christmas AND it looks like it might be sunny!

So I just wanted to wish you all a good break if you are not working and I hope the weekend passes quickly if you are working.

I understand that while I have been away from the shop there has been a lot of new goodies arrived.

The Toho beads have arrived and Ruth is busy bagging them up.

Pepper and friends Christmas collection has arrived, Martha Stewart punches turned up, just to mention a few things.

Just a couple of little prompts. Next Saturday (4th September) Dulcie will be at the shop demonstrating using the Promarker pens on her Milton stamps. Dulcie is the creator of Milton for the Wild Rose Studio.

The usually workshops restart during the next week or so. You can download the new workshop brochure by clicking here.

There is only a few week left before the Christmas Craft Retreat and there is only a few spaces still available, so if you are still thinking about it - get in there! Contact me, by email (lynn@flutterbycrafts.co.uk) or by phone and I will send you the details.

And it looks like I will be organising the NEC coach trip for the first Sunday in November, so remember to let me know if you are interested in it.

Well that is it for now. Have a good weekend and look on the Blog for pictures of the baby boy. He is well cute.

See you soon.

Lynn and the Girls x

Piccies of the Buzz

Here are some photos of Buzz on his first day with us. He is sooo gorgeous (I am not biased at all!!)

Watch out for some scrapbook layouts, in the shop, over the next week or two - especially after Buzz has met Jet next weekend.

See you all soon.

Lynn x

Hi Everybody

Well, today is the day! I am getting my new puppy, Bridie is getting a new playmate and Kip is getting another thorn in his side!

Poor Kip! He is a quiet old Labrador, who does not need another dog interfering in his life. I am sure he will sulk for a few days, but then come around.

For those of you who are not up to date with this story, a friends Yellow Labrador had 5 puppies in June and we are having one of them. As I say, he is coming home today. His name is Buzz and watch out for lots of news about him over the coming months. I think our routines will take on a new meaning from now on - not sure if that is in a good or a bad way! Labrador puppies need a lot of feeding and take a lot of exercising!!

Anyway, as a result of me becoming a surrogate mummy, I am taking a few days out of the shop. Shock, horror! Can you believe it? AND my timing is awful. Everything was geared up for Nicky to be running the shop and then she finds out that Gavin has got to go into hospital for his operation. Blast! But the girls have all pulled together and set up a routine to cover everything. Lovely Ladies!

So I need you all to pop in and see them during this week, so that they feel loved. It would, also, be worth your while popping in to see all the new things that have arrived!

Christmas has come with a bang. Loads of new things and yesterday (Friday) Pepper and Friends came in. Check out the expression on the face of the Frog, he is gorgeous. As strange as it might seem, I have a feeling that the Frog will feature heavily in the Courteney Household Christmas cards this year.

Also, just arrived, is the next batch of the Tonic Studio punched and the border system. Fantastic fun to use. (shhhh, keep it under your hat, but some Martha Stewart punches should be in on Tuesday).

For the bead shop, by mid week there should be a consignment of new Toho beads. We have ordered some of their 'Treasures' range, which are the Toho equivalent of the Delicas.
Lots of things happening.

I have started looking at the possibility of the coach for the NEC, but I do need to have more feed back from you Ladies if you wish to go. I did get a couple of replies from the last newsletter, but I will need to have more.

Remember that Dulcie Johnson, Creator of Milton & co from Wild Rose Studios, will be with us on the 4th September. She will be demonstrating in the shop from 10am 'til 2pm and then in the afternoon she will be teaching in the Promarker Class. The class is filling up, so if you want to book a place get in NOW!

The Promarker class is £7.50 a head and runs from 2 'til 4 pm.

Anyway, that is it for now. I am going to get ready to collect the new puppy. Watch out for lots of pictures on the blog and our facebook. And remember to call into the shop and give Nicky a hug.

Have a good weekend.

Lynn and the Girls x

New look Flutterby Crafts blog

So, Joanna says 'Lynn, the blog looks boring it needs jazzing up' (or words to that effect). So I say 'then do it' (or words to that effect). Then this morning I get an email saying 'Hey, Lynn, I have been playing with the blog. What do you think?'.

Well, what do YOU think?

I think it looks fabulous. Thank you so much Joanna.

Each time I look at it, I smile. It is so cheerful.

Joanna won't be writing here for a few weeks, she is having a much needed rest, (Have a great time Joanna and thank you for all your work.), but she has left us with a great looking blog full of interesting information. I will try to keep you all updated while Joanna is away (beginning with the Wild Rose Christmas range arriving on Tuesday).

Have a good weekend.

Lynn x

Newsletter - Aug 2010

Hi Everybody

I hope you are all well and surviving the summer holidays. What a shame that the weather has turned. Still, it seems to be par for the course - school holidays = miserable weather!!

Never mind, I am just about to make you feel even more miserable!!

We did not quite beat Harrods and Selfridges, but I am sad to say that Christmas has arrived at Flutterby's!!!

How awful is that? Mind you, there is some gorgeous bits and pieces. Our first delivery was the Kars range which has some gorgeous embellishments, fun clear stamps, as well as beautiful papers. And, any day now, we will be taking stock of Pepper and his friends. Also, watch out for the Wild Rose Christmas designs (again, they will be in the shop any day).

Sorry to have spoken the 'C' word this early in the year, but that is how we Crafters work. Maybe we should all belong to the Boy Scout movement - be prepared!!

Talking of Wild Rose, remember that Dulcie (from Wild Rose) will be here on the 4th September for the day!

So now let's move on to more Autumny things. Firstly, the new term workshop brochure is now ready. You can either collect it from the shop (what a good excuse to come and visit us!) or you can download it (boring) by clicking here.

We are introducing two new workshops in September. Firstly, Nicky will be running a monthly Friday morning Promarker Club and I will be running an alternate Wednesday afternoon Jo Sonjas class. All the details are in the brochure, but if you would like more information call in the shop and have a chat or give us a call.

Another thing that is coming up in the run up to Christmas (sorry, that word again) is the HobbyCraft show at the NEC. I keep being asked if we are going to be running a coach this year. I am considering it but it will be dependant on how many people are interested in coming. The prepaid tickets for the Show this year are £8.20 per adult and £7.20 per senior, children under 16 enter free. I envisage the coach costing something in the region of £18 per head across the board, all ages. And we will be going on the Sunday.

If you are interest, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. If I do not get any response, I will assume you are not interested and I won't carry on with the planning of it.

Now for an update on the fundraising for Cancer Research. If you came to the Crafters Car Boot sale earlier in the year, you may have met a young man called Luke Rivers whose Nan (Pam Kitch) was helping him to raise his own funds for Cancer Research. Basically, Luke's Great-Grandma died from cancer last year and he wants to raise some money to give to the Doctors so that they can find a cure for this dreadful disease.

Luke, who is only 7 years old, is doing all sorts of activities to raise this money - sponsored cycle rides, selling Nannys crafts (well done, Pam) and things like that. I would like us to help him reach his goal. So - from now on, if anybody comes into the shop to buy something and does not take a carrier bag (how green!?) we will put some pennies into the pot. Hopefully we will help him reach his goal sooner.

So remember, from now on stick a used Tesco carrier bag in your handbag ready for your goodies and we will put some pennies in the pot! (it might also help smuggling in stuff without HIM knowing about it!!)

There you go, another newsletter written. Only one thing left to mention. Buzz comes home in ten days time. Watch out on the blog for loads of photos and tales of a mischievious puppy.

Talking of photos on the blog, have you seen the gorgeous photos of beads that Joanna has posted on the blog? She is a darling and loves keeping you all up to date with details of what is going on.

Anyway, time to send this and get myself a drink before I finish making my latest bracelet. I promised Ruth it would be completed by the time she came into the shop on Thursday.

Happy Crafting and remember to bring in a bag when you come into get your Christmas stash.

Best wishes.

Lynn and the Girls

Beads galore!

Lynn has had delivery of some delicious beads......FEAST YOUR EYES on these beauties.

Psst, I had a comic moment photographing these today. I had the beads placed outside on what I thought was a flat surface. Oh no, the beads kept rolling around all over the place so after a few attempts I went inside to find some material more suitable for photographing them! Sorry Lynn, a few beads are now glistening in my flower beds!

Can you see that Lynn has been playing with these wooden beads? The bead in the top right hand corner has been painted, with I guess, some Jo Sonja iridescent paint to give a different effect.

Why not pop into the shop and see what items of jewellery Lynn and Ruth have made with these NEW beads.