Kicking off...

...our weekend away.

Before our weekend, I'd paid a visit to Poundland and bought some packs of A6 hardbound note books and a selection of paper pads. The idea being that we could all participate in a common project but we could see the different ideas that we each had.

So for my notebook...

 ...out came the DST. Then I had to decide what papers to use...

 ...I went with some papers from the pad called "Pure Frozen" - lots of lovely blues & aqua colours to choose from. Crafting with friends is great as there is always something different to use...

...this was one of Carol's 'power punches'. They are made by Fiskars and it is amazing what they will punch through.
A bit of ribbon and some bling...

 ...and my book was done. The punched shape in the middle...

 ...is backed with aqua glitter paper but no matter how I tried to photograph this it really doesn't show.

This was Carol's finished book...

Chris went all buttons & bling...

I made a start on a second book...

 ...even the inside got some pretty paper.

Rene had a seasonal mix. The papers were from the Autumn pad and she hand coloured the daffs before fussy cutting...

Alison went for some butterflies...

What a fun way to start the weekend and we all now have a pretty notebook to jot down ideas in or give away as a little gift.

The weather outside was rather wet and blustery but we didn't care - we were crafting and having fun..............................................................

A super weekend away...

...with crafting friends.

Just like last year, a group of us packed our cars and headed down to Camber Sands for a weekend of crafting, chat and fun.

We were going to stay in a house called "Sandy Feet" but it turned out that one of the bedrooms had 'child-size' bunk beds (not detailed in the advertisement) so luckily as the house we had last year had become available, that's where we set off to.

The weather wasn't great Friday morning and the drive over the Dartford Bridge was a bit blustery but we all met-up at the Maidstone services without mishap.

A quick spot of lunch and we were on our way.

I don't have a Sat-nav so I was following Chris and for a moment I did wonder whether I was following the wrong car as we went round the roundabout at the entrance to the services a second time (I found out when we arrived that she was just letting Carol catch up LOL).

We arrived at "Sea Whispers"...

...and wandered in before unloading the cars. The lovely large table was still there...

 ...with a selection of welcome goodies and it wasn't long before the craft stuff started to appear.
We were also greeting by "Aran" the doorstop...

...who we had fun with last year.

The weather over the weekend wasn't that great - lots of rain and strong blustery wind but we did get out for an eventful walk on Sunday before the rain returned.

I'll share some more photos over the next few days..................................................

What a busy...

...few days.

Friday was the start of "Members Weekend" at Pinnacle Crafts and as usual, I met up with Hilary for our bit of retail therapy followed by coffee and then lunch. She went off to her parchment class and I went and collected my new car.

Exciting but scary.

Saturday was Carol Whalley's crop at the Toby Carvery so the car got it's first taste of being loaded with crafting stuff and off we went (me & the car that is).

As normal, come lunchtime it was downstairs to the carvery...

 ...a fabulous array of veg - those roasties were scrummy. Debbie & Suzie declined the Yorkshire puds...

 ...but how can you have a roast dinner without the Yorkshires? The only problem being that the Yorkshire takes up a lot of room on the plate...

...and everything else looks much more 'heaped' up because of the lack of space.

The food was lovely and it was great to have a chat & a giggle.

It was quite a productive day as far as the crafting was concerned too. I'll show you what I got up to tomorrow.............................................................

Saturday was...

...Carol Whalley's crop.

Last month we were at the Toby Carvery - this month we were in the class room over Craft Plus in Basildon.

I was determined to get some of my Christmas cards done...

 ...the Tropical Santa's that I coloured earlier in the week were used...

 ...along with some 6x6 scalloped card blanks...

...and some PPs from a Country Companions Christmas paper pack...

...these papers are a lovely quality and are double sided so there is plenty of choice - perfect for my Mo Manning Giggling Snowman as well as the Santa's.

All the images were coloured using Copics and in a couple of places the Spectrum Sparkle pens also got an airing (although you can't tell from the photos).

I don't tend to add sentiments when I make my cards as I will often customise them when they are needed.

I had a pretty good day at the crop - lots of chatter and fun but I also got 14 cards made and a couple of little gift boxes.

I'll show you the other cards tomorrow.........................................................................

A couple of the cards...

...I made at the crop.

Using two of the coloured images that I've previously shared with you, I made two very different cards. Neither is completely finished as I haven't added a sentiment and I can't decide what sort of embellies to use.

Here is the first one using PPs from "Nautical Rose" (a 12x12 paper pack that I picked up from the Range - just £2.99 for 24 sheets)...

...the red/white/blue went well with the colours I had used on the image.
The second one was a lot softer...

...and for this one I used some PPs that I picked up in Poundland. They had four different colourways and each pad contains 32 sheets of 6x8 (approx.) PP. The weight is 200gsm so this is a lovely weight for matting & layering or even a bit of construction.

I'll share some more of the cards another day......................................................

Saturday crafting...

...at the Toby carvery.

Saturday was Carol Whalley's crop at the carvery in Southend - it seems ages since we last had one of these (the last one got cancelled). As usual, we set up our crafting gear in the function room upstairs and spent a lovely morning crafting and chatting before venturing down stairs for lunch.

I'm not very good at arranging my food artistically...

...as you can see LOL.

 Debbie & Suzie were merrily tucking in...

...after 'snapping' photos of their plates and Alison was doing likewise...

...both she & Suzie were sending the photos to friends/family - mainly to show the size of those Yorkshire puds.

Now normally I wouldn't have a sweet but there was an offer and it would have been rude not to take advantage of it...

...all four of us opted for the Terries chocolate orange sundae - and very nice it was too.

To be honest, I think we all just wanted to find somewhere to have a snooze after that lot LOL

Back up stairs we all got stuck into our crafting and it was quite a productive day.

I'll show you what I got up to once I've had a chance to take some photos. Enjoy your Sunday.......................................................................

One last image...

...from my weekend away.

This is a Stampendous image...

 ...isn't she sweet. She makes me think of Springtime...

 ...with her bunches of primroses...

...I was very pleased with the way she 'came together' and she didn't actually take that long to colour.

The 'neighbours' didn't seem to be aware that we would soon be on our way...

...but it was clear that the best of the weather had been & gone.
 Phil took a photo of the crafting gang (I think I need to invest is some hair colour - far too much grey showing)...

 ...packing complete and cars loaded and ready to go - and "Arun" wished us a fond farewell...

...whilst trying to stay out of the drizzle.

It was my first time away at an informal retreat - there wasn't anything planned. There weren't too many of us. We just let things take us wherever...and it was wonderful.

Thank you Carol for suggesting the idea and for organising it all. I can't wait for the next one................................................................................

Saturday 30 April...

...and some more photos from Camber Sands.

I was a bit too far away even with my zoom...

 ...but just in front of the gate was a bunny.
The sheep were still making the most of the sunshine...

 ...and there was a huge variety of sizes when it came to the lambs - most of them having a rest whist the parents were grazing (shot from our bedroom window).
Looking out from the front door...

...there was this palm tree...

 ...a lovely view against the fields and the blue skies.
There were lots of rather large seagulls...

 ...and this chap wasn't at all put off by the fact that we were snapping him...

 ...in fact, it almost looked like he was posing for the cameras.
Crafters at work...

...things actually kept quite tidy throughout the proceedings LOL.
Then it was time to think about getting some food sorted...

 ...'spag bol' and garlic bread was a perfect end to a lovely day. We took everything up to the lounge...

...and tucked in watching an episode of NCIS.

After clearing up, we actually spent some more time downstairs crafting again before the old eyelids couldn't be kept open any longer and we toddled off to bed.................................................

Let me take you...

...on a tour.

This is "Sea Whispers", the house we called 'home' for Bank Holiday weekend.

The house is a relatively new build located about a ten minute walk from the beach. Most of the properties had 'coastal' type names...

...we found one around the corner called "Sandy Paws". The house consists of 3 storeys so there are a lot of stairs...



...but the front of the property looked nice and inviting...with plenty of photo opportunities...

 ...Chris was certainly giving her phone a good workout LOL.
The middle floor consisted of the lounge...

 ...which was a lovely sized room with views to the front of the property over wide open spaces of farmland. A 3 seater & 2 seater leather sofa provided comfy seating with recliner functions and a 'bucket' chair was located in the bay window area above the front door. What you can just see tucked behind the door was a large collection of books, CDs, DVDs and board games that could be used if the normal "British" weather had kept everyone inside (and heaven forbid...bored with crafting).
Up on the top floor were two of the bed rooms...

...this one was taken by Chris & Madelaine - with views over the garden. This was the other room...

 ...which Rene & I shared (my bed is near the door) and this also had a bay window & views over the fields. Between the two bedrooms was a good sized bathroom.
Back down on the middle floor and this was Carol & Phil's room...

 ...this faced out over the garden and had an en-suite...

...which everyone came to inspect LOL.
The parking area at the back of the garden...

...don't worry, Carol's boots didn't get left there - but who can miss a photo op.
Coming in through the garden we were 'met' by a very large extending glass table and as you can see...

 ...a crafter has arrived. There was a lovely welcome pack on the table - cakes, biscuits and even a doggie treat (the place does allow dogs). We thought there was some fudge in the fridge but this turned out to be more doggie treats - good job Carol read the label **he he**.
Here are some of the neighbours...

 ...they didn't seem too bothered...

...they were certainly more interested in the grass and the sunshine.
So cars were unpacked and clothing taken to our respective bedrooms leaving this...

 ...just a little bit of crafting stash...

...to keep five of us busy for just under three days.

Coats were off, the kettle was on and we were up & running. The weekend had begun......................