Sunday, 18 June 2017

A Crafty Day Out in Telford

I had the most amazing day out at Create-It Telford yesterday and although I am not going back today, I'd like to share the events of the day; little did I know when I set out with my best crafty friend, that I would be appearing on live TV before the day was out.

My friend and I had splashed out for VIP tickets, which were valid for both days even though we were only intending to attend on the first day (yesterday).  As we don't live that far away and I know the route well as my husband works in Telford, I volunteered to drive.  We had a smooth journey and arrived half an hour before the event was due to open.  There was a hiccup when we discovered that the VIP car park was already full; many of the spaces being taken up with large vans, which we assumed belonged to the exhibitors, but we found a space as close as we could, then made our way round to the VIP entrance.  The VIP lounge was comfortable but at 9.15, bearing in mind that the show was due to open at 9.30, they were only just starting to scan VIP tickets and issue armbands and goody bags.  Luckily we were near the front of the queue.  By that point we had met up with a Facebook friend of ours who had come up the day before from Devon to attend the event.  We have chatted often on Facebook and Skype, but it was the first time we had actually met in person.  
Once we managed to get inside, we made a beeline for the make and takes that we wanted to take part in.  The first (and as it turned out, only) one that we did was with Hobby Art and the European demonstrator for Kuretake, Michelle, talked us through a fabulous card with a Mallard on the front and some amazing water colour pens.
Next we were determined to watch the Sheena Douglass show live on Hochanda so joined the studio audience.  I had brought along some of my art journals to show my friend from Devon; when they asked who wanted to come up later in the show and craft along with Sheena, I waved them in the air open at some of the pages where I had used her stamps.  They must have caught some one's eye, because one of the runners came out and told me I had been chosen. 
I had to sign a release and wait a while, but 30 minutes into the show I was up on stage with Sheena, crafting along with her.  Once my 15 minutes of fame was up, I got to keep the art I had produced and was lucky enough to get her to sign it after the show.
 




After the show, we watched Leonie Pujol do some demos and I showed her another of my pages using one of her stamps.  We chatted for quite a while; we had met several times before, not that she'd remember, but she was charming and we discussed crafting techniques.  We also bought some raffle tickets and had a go on the tombola.  It was my lucky day, I had one go and won a prize!
Anne and Ellie





We met another friend from the Clarity Facebook page too; it's so nice to put faces to people that you chat to on line. 


Eva, myself, Bev (Bee Crafty), Ellie
My friend and I then wandered round the different stalls saying hallo to people we'd taken classes with previously, such as Chloe and Phill Martin.  Phill's sister was running the make and take that Ellie was doing, so we went and watched for a while and had a chat.  We also called to see Kay Halliwell-Sutton at the IndigoBlu stall; by this time my purse was a lot lighter.  After lunch in the VIP lounge, we dashed back to catch Bev and the live Bee Crafty show.  I managed to get hold of some of her stamps that I particularly liked and Ellie's other half Laurence, bag carrier supreme, kindly took a group photo.
To top off the best day ever, I had won £20 coming third in the 'Good Old Days' art competition, so I went back and bought some of the Kuretake watercolour pens that I had used to make the card earlier (I had already bought the stamps).  It wasn't that amazing that I won something, as there were only four entries, which must have been disappointing for the organisers.
When I got home, I watched the show with Sheena from earlier and I must admit I was surprised how calm I looked; I was shaking like a leaf all the way through.


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