My "Groovi"...

...little Gingerbread house.

I have had the Groovi Gingerbread house border plate since it was launched but had only ever used the little Gingerbread men (when decorating my "Twas the Night before Christmas" book).

I decided it was about time it was put to some use so grabbed some parchment and here was the result...

 ...the tiles on the roof seemed to take for ever...

 ...but the colouring of the candy-canes was pretty quick & easy...

...nothing too fancy...

...but plenty of glitter on the roof to give a frosty effect.

The house is only tiny but will be perfect sitting on the mantelpiece at Christmas with a battery tealight inside.

You would not believe how long it has taken to complete this post - two weeks ago the pictures wouldn't load and I gave up in frustration. Broadband speeds in this area have been awful and today it has taken 3 attempts to actually get into Blogger. Let's hope things improve......................................

Something a little...

...different.

Saturday was the monthly "all day" parchment class at Pinnacle Crafts but folk who are 'parchers' would have found it a little strange this month.

There was no scribing, embossing, pricking or snipping going on. In fact, there was some straight-forward tracing and cutting followed by lots of...WATER and ink.

Yes I know, shock...horror...water; dishes of the stuff.

There were lots of traced pieces...

 ...to cut out of our parchment.
Then we soaked each piece in an ink/water bath and applied additional colour around the edges...

 ...a process that had to be carried out quickly...

 ...and then the individual pieces were left to dry whilst we toddled off for a spot of lunch.
It is surprising how quickly the parchment dries and we were soon curling and putting together layers to create...

 ...pretty parchment-paper flowers. Here are the 3 completed but waiting for the glue to dry...

 ...so that each flower could be teased and shaped as wished.
This was the final result (sorry about the glare)...

...a pretty spray that can be used as a button-hole or as a floral piece in the home.

Thank you Joanne for a lovely class............................................................................

My first...

...completed parchment project.

If you promise not to look too closely (and spot the wonky snipping around the edges and the odd pierced hole that shouldn't be there) I'll show you my finished Christmas gift box.

I did all the outside panels using the Scalloped squares Groovi plate rather than create different shaped panels for each side.

The Groovi plates are a great starting point...

 ...which can be decorated in any way you like. This means even traditional 'parchers' can make use of them (much easier than measuring and trying to draw straight lines with perfect corners LOL).

The "S" on the front of the box was my first attempt at grid-work...

 ...and despite a couple of 'oops' moments I was very pleased with the finished result.

The inside of the box was decorated with some small (less detailed) panels...

 ...with a touch of glitter and 'spray & sparkle'.

The background for the "N" was from a small grid...

 ...which meant that the pattern had to be 'matched' to fill the space - I think this is my favourite panel.

On the sample that Joanne made, her "O" panel was round (using the scalloped circles Groovi plate)...

 ...so I had to adapt the design slightly to fit a square.

The "W" was stippled (only the second time I have done this) and it seemed to take for ever...

...but once done, the background was created with the random use of the micro sun tool.

This Friday I have a couple of parchment classes so will be continuing with my "Twas the Night before Christmas" book - just 3 pages left to do.

At this rate I should have at least two completed projects by this Christmas.....................................

The Late May Bank Holiday...

...was pretty busy.

On Friday afternoon I met up with my friend Hilary for lunch and then went to a parchment class at Pinnacle Crafts. Another page of my 'Twas the night before Christmas book was completed leaving me just four pages yet to be done.

The weekend before had been an "All day" class where we started on a pretty decorated box. I managed to complete the construction and make a start on the decorative panels.

Here is the box that Joanne produced as a sample...

 ...and as you can see, when the lid comes off...

 ...hidden inside are some little shelves (big enough to take a few choccies).
Joanne made two versions, the second being a more general use box...

 ...and folk were given the choice as to which one they made.

Because it was bank holiday weekend, Joanne had arranged another "All day" class so I was able to get stuck in on the panels.

Here is my letter "S"...

 ...lots of 'grid work' and embossing. Which was then followed by lots of snipping (my favourite bit - NOT!!!).
The other panels were then worked upon...

...by the end of the lessen I had completed all but the "W". This will take a while as the letter is 'stippled' and then the background pattern will need to be done.

I will take some more photos once I have finished and mounted all the outside panels. Then it will be a case of doing the panels for the inside of the box.

This has come together surprisingly quickly but will probably take another couple of lessons to complete. I loved the box construction and can't wait to see the finished item.

You never know, I might even have a go at the other version......................................

Would you believe it...

...it might be completed by Christmas 2017.

If you are scratching your head and wondering what I'm going on about, let me enlighten you.

In December 2016, I attended an all day workshop at Pinnacle Crafts where Joanne was showing us how to use the "Twas the Night before Christmas" Groovi plates along with traditional parchment techniques.

As I've told you all before, I am not a "Parcher" - I love the craft but am not very patient so am not particularly good at it. I enjoyed the class but joked that it would be Christmas 2020 before my book would be completed; if lucky.

Well, I've attended a few more classes and have actually constructed my book...

 ...easy enough task using 6x6 card blanks.
Here are my completed parchment pages...

 ...I actually only have five more parchment embellished pages to go.

On the Saturday of Bank Holiday weekend, I went to Carol Whalley's crop at the Toby Carvery.

During the course of the day I managed to construct a cover for my book...

 ...using images from the Hunkydory little book.
I have also added a few more pages throughout the book so that I can use some more of the images...

 ...and this one was actually framed using the new scalloped square Groovi plate to create a frame.
The Hunkydory little book has some lovely images and I love how they work well...

 ...scattered throughout the book.
I thought this image was perfect for the back cover...

...such lovely artwork.

The outer covers will probably get a bit more embellishment once the inside is completed but for now I don't want too much there that could get caught or damaged.

So here we are in the second week in May 2017 and things are coming along nicely. I have a few more lessons booked so that I can get the rest of the parchment elements done and all being well it will be done in plenty of time for this Christmas.

This has been quite a large project but for the first time in ages, this is actually for me. So it is lovely seeing it take shape....................................................

Just to...

...round off.

Here are the last of Joanne's pages...

 ...oops...

 ...poor cat is standing on its head...

...her work is lovely.

These Groovi plates from Clarity are the same images that Clarity had as stamps a few years ago and I made a mini book which I gave as a Christmas present to a colleague who was retiring. When I finally get this one finished it will be for Me. I don't often make stuff just for myself so it will be something special.

Someone kindly mentioned on their blog that there are only 9 weekends left until Christmas - just where has the year gone to?........................................................................

In no particular order...

...here are a few more of Joanne's (Pinnacle Crafts) completed pages.

Aren't they fabulous. I think it is going to take me quite some time to get mine done - perhaps I should be aiming at Christmas 2020 LOL.

Still...I have the 10 basic pages embossed, it's just the embellies  and 'fancy work' to do - no sweat ***rollseyes***

Anyhoo...Joanne has now put her book together so I hope I can get some photos when I pop into the shop at the weekend.............................................................

T'was the Night...

...before Christmas.

The Groovi plate class on Saturday was super but very busy - so much to do and the time just flew.

I did manage to get all 10 plates embossed and almost finished the first one.

This was Joanne's first page of her book...

 ...and looked fabulous.
This was my first page coloured and awaiting perforating...

...which I have now done and the glitter has been applied. The gems haven't yet been added and it has yet to be mounted on CS - but I'm getting there LOL

I have booked myself in for a couple of extra workshops so that I can get a few more of the pages completed whilst the other ladies do all their amazing parchment work.

Joanne's completed pages are wonderful and I will be happy if mine look half as good.

I somehow don't think I'm going to have this completed for this Christmas...............................

The trouble with mirri & gloss card...

...is trying to get a photo without glare.

The last card from Saturday's workshop was a very shiny affaire and as you can see...

 ...I either had problems with lighting or the skylights...

...but I think you get the idea. The card was concentrating on the straight lines & angles that are also a sign of Deco style.

One thing that we didn't get around to was a box that Andy had on display with the other samples...

 ...making good use of the fact that the Hunkydory "Little book of..." products have six of each image - five are used on the box and you would still have one image left to make a matching card...

...the box also makes good use of the WRMK Envelope punch board. The punch part of the board makes the notches that create the "neck" of the box.

A very enjoyable day covering colours & style items that not everyone would associate with the Deco period. Thank you Andy for a fabulous workshop.

Next weekend I have a workshop with Joanne (Andy's sister) and we will be playing with the "Twas the Night before Christmas" Groovi boards. I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew LOL.................................................................................