Tact, thy true meaning is lost....

So,the usual excuse about photography (except the right side of this CJ is very clear - how did I do that?)...but more obviously, I seem to have lost the ability to crop effectively too!

After chores that dull the mind and a skilful avoidance of the salesman on the knock this morning, I went to a couple of craft shops, one on my doorstep, one not so, but both kind enough to let me muscle in and conduct the odd workshop. I therefore had a reason to be there, although obviously the ulterior motive is always a little shopping! At the first store, shopkeeper gal was very busy. A delivery had arrived, from which she had plucked pre-orders and called up customers to come and collect. I wasn't included in this, my timing just happened to match; when I got there, there were at least 5 other crafters in the shop, ostensibly collecting their orders. Actually though, they were enjoying a cup of coffee and a chat, raking through the boxes that had yet to be unpacked properly, and chasing bored children around a bit too. I don't know if she was anticipating it or not, and I doubt very much if shopkeeper gal actually minds this too much..it may be a bit tiresome and untidy and difficult to keep stock inventory, but ultimately, I would imagine that it increases the pre-ordered spendage a little. What struck me most was the completely tactless conversations - loud and without acknowledgement of their surroundings; there was a long discussion about their purchases from a show in Farnborough. Lots of "I spent over 200 quid" as they handed over a tenner to shopkeeper gal, then proceeded to tell anyone who would listen what they'd bought. And I swear to you, and not for effect, most of the stuff that had been brought was available from the very shop they were standing in.
Then there was a huge (and sometimes not very positive) discussion about QVC, in particular the afternoon that Tim Holtz appeared. (For the record, I think he's great, but I'm not about to start calling him 'Sir Tim'...it's silly.) The QVC discussion ranged on about who'd managed to buy what and the TSV and blah blah blah. A couple of times I heard that the visitor wasn't going to buy anything because she'd spent so much on QVC this week. Is it me? Am I horribly oversensitive or is this INCREDIBLY tactless. No bricks and mortar shopkeeper is naive enough to think that their customers aren't shopping on the internet and TV but most would like to hear that it's not at the expense of buying her stock as well.
You may remember an earlier post about Customer Observations, and I'm amazed to be returning to it as a subject, but this isn't poking gentle fun, it's troubled me all afternoon. Particularly as the news at the second shop I visited isn't good; shopkeeper there has thrown in the towel and will close very soon. She is bitter about lack of loyalty and support. Of course, there is a huge amount more to it than that, but loyalty, even if it's only on the basis of good old fashioned tactfulness would be a good thing, huh.
So....go in, browse - you don't have to buy anything, but please don't tell the person trying to make a living by staying open during your leisure hours that you've just spent two hundred or twenty quid, or even two quid, on the same thing somewhere else. It's just bloody tactless. And if you do, don't be surprised when the shopkeeper shows little interest in your purchases, and even gets a bit defensive when you ask her to show you how to use your latest gadget. Oh, and wash your coffee cup up before you leave - or at least offer to.

Now I've got that off my chest...have a lovely weekend!

Here's another terrible picture of an entry I did in Laura's CJ. Her theme was 'a special day'; and because I have lived quite a life and am older than I care to be, I have experienced soooo many special days. As you can see.
Today has been another. I note that my blog has been 'hit' by a little over a thousand readers since I set it up. (Check out the geek speak, I'm even talking in interweb!!) Take out several handfuls for the times I had to keep visiting it myself to see if things I was trying to add/change/colour had worked...and, well..I'm amazed!
You dear interweb, will probably just pass by and think that I'm a sentimental nutter. And you'd be right. I blub at the opening of an envelope, christmas carols, great food, blah blah - and once I even cried into my first (and probably the most sublime) gin and tonic after what seemed like a very l - o -n - g Lent!
So if you've read this far, pass me a tissue. And accept responsibility for smudging my mascara and making me ridiculously, insanely happy about it. My lovelies are slightly bemused by my reaction - but what do they know, they watch TV while I do this! Thanks for sharing my molecule of interweb, and thanks too for leaving the odd comment. Believe me, after reading 8 dozen blogs on a daily basis, I know how easy it is not to comment!

Don't forget the eggs!

It's Pancake Day. Actually it's Shrove Tuesday; I don't expect the Pancakes were part of the original intention! Anyway, don't forget you need eggs. I know, that sort of association with the picture is worthy of a 70's DJ, but I can't think of better! What are you giving up for Lent then? I have a friend who has decided to go without alcohol; as half of one of the most socially active couples I've ever met, I think this will be a greater challenge than depriving herself of chocolate.

I'm absolutely and totally without willpower when it comes to self deprivation; whatever small thing it is that I decide not to have becomes a huge dinosaur sized thought in my mind, and I end up thinking about it constantly. It quadruples the size of the deprivation and makes me a hideously bad tempered martyr! So I'm not giving anything up, per se, for Lent. Instead I'm going to take on a 'time management' challenge that I've allowed myself to use any number of excuses to avoid. It's not a major, life changing issue and is frankly, rather too domestic to be of any interest - but I hope will result in more crafting time, better spent. Without guilt. A bit of a key for me, that. I'm going to invest in a guilt free craft time whilst Mr Dunnit works by getting other things done more efficiently.....if I can do it for Lent, I can do it all the time right? Who knows, after 40 days it'll be a new routine, surely!
Of course, right now I have to invest in the Dunnit lovelies' supper, and for that, I need eggs.

So here's a tiny card that matches the criteria of the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. Love this frog..by Inkadinkado and painted with H20s which I'm sure you can tell at a glance! Lots of table for you to admire too, man my skills are utterly without skill.

I went to the Make It! show at Farnborough on friday, with the queen of Cricut and Design Studio, Ally F. Find her on UKS if you like, I'm right.
Anyway, the show. I thought it was expensive at £9.50 on the door to get in. Although I was reminded that parking was free. At other venues they charge seperately to park, so it's more transparent but ultimately, it's all chargeable. I mention this because I resent the implication that I'm gullible enough to think that they're letting me park for free. But I did pay to get in, so now they know that I may be gullible, but I ain't grateful for 'free parking'!
The show itself was nice - good amount of floor space and not restricted to just paper crafting, although that was the majority. It wasn't a huge show, I can't guess at the number of companies, but it took me about 4 hours to browse everything at a relaxed pace and still chat to a handful of people that I know at various companies. There were no really hot, new, totally-must-have products. This possibly accounts for the smaller number of on-stand demonstrations. I dunno. I would say if you're trying to sell stuff that everyone's seen before, you probably could do with a 'bit of a turn' to help do that. Notice the demonstrator bias here? I've worked as a demonstrator for a few years, so I'm allowed, on this particular molecule of the interweb, to champion a personal cause - specially as I believe it wholeheartedly. I bought 3 woodmounted and three clear stamps (Impression Obsession from Stamps and Memories, and Lavinia Stamps). And here's the psychology of my purchases....both these stands had demonstrators and I bought what they were using/had used on their samples. Just as intended of course. Gullible? p o s s i b l y, but here's a point: I liked the demos and what they did ON THE SPOT with the products. I managed to be a fairly sophisticated consumer; I bought what I know I would use; I have nearly everything, and I use a fraction of it. So maybe I've grown up as a consumer if not as a crafter. And that makes Mr Dunnit incredibly grateful!

Well, umm. This isn't a multi photo LO. I haven't done any scrapbook stuff since I last threatened to do a multi photo LO. This could be because I'm scared, or because it's half term and I've completely lost the ability to focus!! Miss Dunnit here is in the last throes of her school career, GCSEs in June. This means that time off is very focussed on course-work completion and I hope, some revision. Mr Dunnit has some great jobs to concentrate on at work and at home his focus is of course, me. OK, OK, his real focus is the new cupboard he's designing and building for our home comfort. I have a Mother's Day workshop to work on - we're going to do one of theose fab BoBunny word albums - HOME - in this case. So far, the extent of my focus has been to choose the papers and decide on including some acetates. Big deal! So, as it's the middle of February, I'm feeling that my resolution for the year - 'Just Do It' - needs a monthly bolstering! So for now until school re-opens, it has to be FOCUS! I'm relatively easy to distract, especially if you want a chat; and I've noticed some other awful thing that I might as well confess. My greatest moments of wanting to craft, feeling incredibly arty and inspired and having the most fab ideas always, always, without fail, occur when there's absolutely no chance of me sitting down at my table to realise all these ideas. Why is that? If you're at a 'do' or in the supermarket and one of your crafty acquaintances is in there looking a bit vague, or worse, tearing around like a maniac, you'll know it's because inspiration has hit, the need to get all the jobs out of the way is a priority and the focus is certainly elsewhere!

An altered perspective

This card is actually for a workshop called 'Cards you can only give to girlfriends'. The colours were inspired by the challenge on Colour Create this week. It really goes back to basics in stamping techniques, but I don't think it's a bad thing to re-visit what you know every now and then. Heck, we strive to push forward and come up with new everything and for a minute here, I thought I'd stand still and enjoy the moment!

The whole 'create with technique' thing can be quite intimidating. I've often found myself faced with overloading a card or LO for the want of including the latest technique and displaying what I know like some crafty peacock. And this is where I fall over the altering thing. Again, before I upset the entire interweb, understand that I absolutely love the techniques, skill and most projects that I see in the 'altered' zone. But please can we call it something else?

If I take a card blank, stamp on it, add a couple of embellies and send it to a friend, what've I sent? A card. Yep. BUT, if I cover an Altoids tin with papers and stick a couple of flowers to the lid, apparently, I've altered it. But I haven't really. It's still a tin to put things in, if not mints! If I'd taken the Altoid tin and turned it into a small family car, now that would be altered, huh? When I covered my exercise books with wallpaper and stickers at school, I wasn't altering it. I was covering it. I realise that not all techniques in this genre involve using paper, indeed, I have a couple of bottles of alcohol based inks myself...but all I do is blob them onto inanimate dimensional objects. Whatever I do, I cannot get them to make my project into a soft ice cream machine or a gaggia coffee maker or indeed the Kenwood Chef that I'm still yearning for. Someone let me in on the altering thing so I can stop wingeing would ya?

Yellow is my favourite colour, especially for roses - all that beauty and cheerful too! Most years Valentines comes and goes, most years there's only one card on the side (and it's handmade). I have no idea what prompted the delivery of these flowers or the lovely, thoughtful card, and I'm not going to ask, merely wallow in the thought that really counts!
There is a song..something about the greatest thing about being in love is to be loved in return. However it's manifested. Before roses and in another, earlier decade of my marriage, the answer to my 'do you love me' question was a flippant 'I come home every night don't I?' - imagine my panic on the nights he's late! So you'll understand this self-indulgent post, because it'll still be in the archive for me to look at when another decade has passed without these sort of Valentine surprises. I'm not a huge believer in fate and cupid and blah blah, but I do publicly, offer thanks for the fact that Mr Dunnit never quite got up the nerve to run very hard in the opposite direction when we met.