Crafty auction update

The escape now stands at £90!! 

My little tree is £70.

You're wonderful people - thank you xxx

Auction update

Hi there bidders. Just a quick update. The final auction is proving to be amazing again! The bids now stand at £75 for the escape, and £70 for the tree!!

Thank you xxx

Day 5 auction for Sands

Good morning crafters, and thank you for stopping by on the last day of the auction raising money for Sands.

I decided today would be the last day, as we said good bye to Jacob on the 2nd March - so I wanted to celebrate the 5 short days we had him for. Again, I thank each and every one of you for your kind words and your donations. It is a reflective time for me - and obviously I do get sad, but it also drives home to me the importance of living life and enjoying the moment. We never know what's in store, so making the most of our precious time is so important. I'm lucky to have a life full of good friends to share the ups and the downs. My mum and step-dad (I should just call him dad really!!) are always there for me, and now a beautiful little nephew. Life's good. And Jacob made it so much richer by opening my heart to a love I never thought possible. 

So now, the final auction. This is for all those parents who will sadly need the help of Sands. 

I have selected two pieces, so you have a choice which you would like to bid for. No bid is to small - so please don't be worried.

As ever, the bidding will close at 8pm this evening, and I have the work framed for the lucky winner.

Thank you

Day 4 - the Sands auction closing bid

Good evening lovely crafters. Well, it's been another incredible day for the auction.  We had a closing bid via email of £125!!

I'm over the moon.

I have now set up the Just Giving Page, which can be found here:

http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/Leonie-Pujol

This will allow those who have placed winning auctions to pay their bids and we will also be able to claim back the gift aid - hooray.  I have also been requested to open a Just Giving page by many people who just wish to make a donation to this wonderful charity, to remember my little boy, and celebrate his birthday.

I have had a lovely day today, my first ever Craftathon with the wonderful Phill Martin.  Really enjoyed myself, and as usual, everyone was so friendly and lovely.  It felt brilliant to be back, so uplifting. I also received donations for Sands whilst I was there, which I'll transfer into the fund.  Thank you again ladies xxxx

Bid news!!

Eeekk, quick post...the bid now stands at £110 xxx

4th day of the auction - results so far

Hi folks, just had a break at the workshop for lots of food! I thought I'd update you -  the bid so far today is another amazing £100!!!!

THANK YOU!!

right, back to work :) xx

Day 4 - crafty auction for Sands

Good morning crafters. We are nearing the end of my auction, and I wish to thank everyone again for their kind messages and donations. I apologise if I haven't replied to everyone - work has been so busy, so I haven't had a great deal of spare time. Today I'm off doing my first workshop in sometime, with the fabulous Phill Martin. Very excited. I will try and keep tabs on the messages and emails, and keep everyone updated.

Please do not feel large bids are necessary. Every penny counts and is gratefully received.

The auction will run until 8pm this evening, and the winning bid will be matched by me. I will frame the art work, making sure we pick a suitable colour to match the winners colour scheme.

I will open a Just Giving page as well, so we can pay the money in there and see how much we have all raised. I am touched you value my artwork, but it is really the memory of Jacob and the knowledge the money raised is being donated to such a deserving charity that makes me happy.

The work I would like to auction today is this stamped project:

I loved this piece, and the verse is quite poignant. Sometimes in life we have to reflect, and hold dear, to the joy and happiness we have had on a certain life journey - as the outcome may fall gravely short of how we imagined or desired. 

Good luck everyone, and please share xxx 

Closing auction for day 3

Thank you again everyone!! The auction closed at £100!!

So far we have raised £325 from the auction - which I will make up to £650! That's amazing in 3 days!! I will get round to setting up that just giving page, I promise. Today has been such a busy day prepping for tomorrow's workshop! But I'll get it done.

Again, thank you xxxx

Day number 3 - auction total so far!!

Thank you again everyone who has placed their bids - your generosity has touched my heart.

The bid now stands at an amazing £100 again!! Wow. Thank you.

I have been getting emails as well as comments - so thank you to all the emailers. The email address is leoniepujol@hotmail.co.uk

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

Auction for Sands - Day 3

I seem to like my countdowns, and this one is more important as it's to raise money for Sands.

Sands are a charity who are there to support the parents, and their family, of those who have lost their child through stillbirth or Neonatal death.  I visited their web site daily in the early days of loosing Jacob.  It helped to know we weren't alone, and to share my feelings and emotions.  I also rang them a couple of times, when I felt like I was going a little mad.  Sometimes your friends and family are just too close, and unless they have been through that loss, they may not 100% understand what you are going through.  Sands have many people who have been through that loss, so can relate to what you are feeling.

We had Jacob for 5 days, so I decided to do an auction a day, to remember him, and raise money for this charity that's so close to my heart.  The pieces I will be auctioning are just some made for the Crafty Countdown.  Any bid will be truly amazing, and gratefully received - please don't feel pressured to place large bids.  I'll be happy if my work sells for just a couple of quid.  The winning bid will be matched by me, to up the value we donate.

The winning art work will be framed and posted out to you.  Please dear with me, as work is very busy over the next couple of weeks, so I'll be sorting the winning art work out as soon as possible.

Again, thank you.  Your bids are wonderful, and I've received so many lovely messages.

The bidding will close at 8pm tonight, good luck everyone

Winning Bid Announcement!!

Congratulations - the winning bid has been made for today's auction - and I'm astounded, and delighted to tell you this piece will be sold for £100.

Thank you again everyone, it means such a lot for me, and for many other people who rely on the wonderful service Sands offer.  I have received so many messages from people who have personally - or through their families - used Sands to help them through the horrendous loss of their babies, thank goodness Sands was there to help us through a little.

I will be starting a brand new auction tomorrow.  Again, please don't feel you have to place a large bid - I certainly won't be offended at any offer.

Thank You xxxx

Today's auction for SANDS

Hello there crafters, today's auction is already going amazingly well - we are already up to £100!!! 

Thank you. I'm so pleased and excited to have such an incredible response and to be able to do something positive.

I'll keep you updated as to any more bids - but better rush off to prep the next show!!

Xxxx

Auction for Sands - Day number 2

Hello again crafters, and thank you for joining me for my second day in raising money for Sands in memory of my little boy, Jacob.  This is to celebrate what should have been his 9th birthday.  Where do the years go?  In some ways it feels like a life time ago - in others, it feels like it was yesterday.

Sands are an incredibly charity, and I wanted to raise money to go towards their important work.  I will be auctioning 5 pieces of work which I completed during my crafty countdown.  Each piece will be framed to best suit the winner.  I do ask for a little patience, as the next couple of weeks are manic work wise, but I will indeed get your winning art sent to you - with much love and bubble wrap.

If you would like to bid for the piece, please leave your bid in the comments, or alternatively send an email to leoniepujol@hotmail.co.uk

Please do not feel under pressure to place a high bid - I know all bids are sent from the heart, so appreciate anything. I will also be matching the highest bid, to help bump up the final figure.

The auction will close at 8pm.

Today, I will be auctioning the first mixed media piece I did for the countdown, which I was so pleased with:

Good luck with the bidding, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart xxx

Closing Bid announcement

THANK YOU!!

The first bid went so well, and I'm amazed to tell you the bid closed at £125!!  This was an email bid, by a lovely lady who followed me from the QVC days.

Thank you to everyone who placed a bid, you are so kind.  The messages have been wonderful, and of course, tugged heavily upon my heart.  It's been good being at work - but it's always quite a heavy day.  I'm looking forward to sleep this evening.

I will start the new auction tomorrow - and also open a fund raising page.

Thank you again, you are wonderful people xxxx

News on the craft auction

Wow, thank you so much, the auction has reached £75!! I will match it, and of course have your art work framed.

There will be auctions each day to remember the time Jacob was with us, so 5 in total. Please don't feel pressured, i understand not everyone is in a position to bid, and your kind words have, as always, been wonderful. And please, the following days bids - not amount is to small, as I know every offer is made from the heart. 

Thank you - the bidding will close at 8pm xx

Craft auction update for Sands

Thank you everyone so far, for your comments and bids. The bidding now stands at £60. Remember you have until 8pm to place your bids....please check my earlier post to see what's up for grabs - and thank you for helping me raise money for this wonderful charity in memory of my little boy :) xx

Craft Auction for Sands.....

Good morning crafters.

Many of you will know all about my little boy Jacob, but I am sure many of you won't.

Jacob was born 9 years ago today.  During the last phase of delivery I encountered serious problems, and as a result, Jacob had to be put on a life support machine.  After 5 days, we had to make the horrendous decision to turn off the life support machine.  It was such a difficult time for us, but Jacob has left an incredible impression on my life.  I now have much greater empathy, and strength.  I took away so many life lessons and know, eventually, I became a better person.

I know we are far from alone in our loss, and found the help and support of Sands, absolutely vital. They are there to help the families of those who suffer loss from Stillbirth and Neonatal death, and they most definitely helped me.  One day, maybe I'll be able to get on the phone and help other parents who are reeling from their loss - but until then, what I can do is help raise money.  And that is how I decided to celebrate and remember my little boy.

I will auction off over the next 5 days, 5 pieces of my work from the Crafty Countdown.  I have selected my favourite pieces, and will frame them for the winner.  I will also match the money raised (that bit will have to be after pay day!! It's been a little tricky not being allowed to work.....eeek).

The first piece was one of my favourites:

In fact, I was so happy with this, it almost got framed and put up in my house!

The way this will work, I need you to place your bids in the comments to this post, or if you wish to remain anonymous, you can email your bid to leoniepujol@hotmail.co.uk.  I will post the total of the bid regularly on here throughout the day, so please check if you are in the running (the blog notifications are slow, so please don't wait for them, just log in to check the blog!!).  

The auction will close at 8pm this evening.

 The winner will then be able to pay via bank transfer or cheque - and I will match the amount bid to send to Sands. I will check with you about the frame, to see what colour will be better for you :)  Please bear with me, as I am rushed off my feet for the next couple of weeks, but when it calms down a little, I will get all the pieces framed and posted.

Good luck, and please spread the word.

Thank you, xxx

Schedule changes

Hi crafters, there's been a schedule change that I'm happy to report, as I'm now on with the wonderful Fran at 11am and 6pm. Plus I have still got my first Let Leonie Loose show, which I really hope you can join me for.

Seeya there!!

Hochanda Schedule for this week

Hi again folks, two posts in one day.....boom.

I have been asked to share the times I'll be on Hochanda for you this coming week, so here we are:

Wednesday
2pm -
3pm The first of my shows!  Eek.  If you haven't heard, these are the ones where myself and Michelle have selected products which I will then be able to demonstrate.  Really looking forward to it.  Bit nervous again as well!  It's been ages.  Charlie will be there though, so I don't have to panic if it all goes wrong (poor, poor Charlie)

Thursday
9am - Stampendous One Day Special.  I am so looking forward to this.  Fran is over and is joining us specially to bring us this wonderful ODS.  Fran is such an inspirational lady, and as you can probably tell from my blog posts, I do love Stampendous products.  I hope you will be able to join us.
1pm - Antex Heated Craft Tools - I'm hoping we're doing a little pyrography!!  Fingers crossed
5pm - Crafting with Clarity - Our BARBARA!!!  How wonderful.


Friday
10am - Craft Yourself Silly.  Haha, the wonderful Hayley.  Awww, we haven't done a show together in such a long time.  I love working with Hayley, I'll try not to be too silly :)
12pm - Posca Pens.  I've had my eye on these pens for quite a while, so I'm looking forward to seeing them in action.
3pm - Stampendous.  We have the privilege of Fran's expertise again.
5pm - Craft Yourself Silly with the brilliant Hayley
7pm - Posca Pens, last chance!!

I'm looking forward to my week!  See you tomorrow everyone.

Winner announcement and Tomorrows show!!

Evening lovely crafters, I hope you have had a lovely day.  It's been a little chilly hasn't it, but the sun was shining here in Peterborough, so it was a very pleasant day to get a bit of crafting done.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, I'm packed and ready - I just said that didn't I.  Me.  Ready.  That obviously means I've not packed something vital.  I'll have a double check before I set off in the morning.

Now, yesterday we had a double give-away, thank you everyone for entering.  The lucky winners are:

dmouse19  and
 Saintly Lisa 

If you ladies would kindly email me with your address, and I can get those sent out for you.  My email address is leoniepujol@hotmail.co.uk.  There will be more of the finished projects up for grabs, I'm intending to do a fund raiser actaully, A lady did suggest I auction a few pieces to raise money for Sands, which is such a good idea, and seeing as it would have been Jacobs 9th birthday on Thursday this would be perfect timing as well.  So, that's what I intend to do - I hope you will be able to join me :)

I wanted to detail the projects I have been doing for TV, but I have been really rubbish at taking photo's!  I just kept forgetting.  I have managed to do one, almost in full!

It starts with a lovely stamp from Stampendous, some beautiful brush markers, a piece of watercolour card and a piece of cut and dry (these will be available on my show tomorrow on Hochanda)

Take your pen and add blocks of colour to your piece of cut and dry.  Then wet your card with water.  Take the cut and dry and simply run it over your card - you will get an instant blend of colour!

I dried the card with my heat tool, and then used one of the large Stampendous stamps, with black embossing powder.

I love the blend of colour - the pens, which are a lovely brush marker from Sakura, are very easy to use, and the fine brush nib is excellent quality

I matted and layered the card, and added a little glitter. 

Hopefully I'll see you on the TV tomorrow :)

More giveaways

Evening zcrafters. Sorry for the late post. I've been really busy today. I've been making cards for my show on Wednesday, and prepping my demonstrations. I love the stamps I have picked to work with - not a bad job is it :) I hope you'll like them as well. All will be revealed. I'll do some tutorials for some of the cards I have made. 

This evening I have a couple more pieces from the crafty countdown, up for grabs:

To be in with a chance of winning I would like you to tell me which days these appeared on the countdown - leave your answers on the comments, and I will pick a couple of winners at random.

Good luck everyone :) xxx

Giveaway Time

Hi folks.  Sorry it's been a while since I've posted.  Work has been a shock to my system!!  haha.  I forgot how tired I got after presenting.  It does take quite a bit of energy.  Which means I've started eating more chocolate and drinking pints of coffee.  Need to knock that on the head.

Anyway, I will be crafting and sharing my projects with you.  I'll start putting them on my the blog next week - so do join me for that.  I'll tie my posts in with my weekly shows, so you can see some of the cards I've made for the shows, and how to make them.

In the meantime, I promised I would start giving away the makes from the Crafty Countdown.  It was going to be the first 5 - but I've changed it into the first 6. If you want to see how any of these were made, please just scroll through the blog to the beginning of the countdown.

And they were going to some of my blog followers.  The lucky winners, who have been picked at random are:


Maureen Lewtas
Lorraine Freeman
Cheryl Turtlemoon
Wendy Russell
margaret hankin
Beverley Laughlin

If your name appears then please send me your address, to leoniepujol@hotmail.co.uk and I'll get your winning card posted out for you.

Tomorrow I'll have a think how the next one, two or batch can be won - so do pop on back.

Have a lovely evening xxx

Hochanda - 2nd day!!

Morning. 

Second day in work!! Whoop whoop. 

My hours today are:

9am with Sue and the imagination crafts one day special

12pm with Lisa with imagination crafts; 5pm Cathy with pink ink designs

and last chance at 7pm with Sue. 

Really looking forward to the day. I'll share some photos throughout the day :) xx

Arrival VT - Day one at Hochanda

haha, I had to share this, as it makes me giggle, and you can see Adam, Ben and Aide who appeared on my earlier blog photo's as well - so many old chums from C&C :)  Well done to lovely Rich, who filmed and edited it.  The arrival!!

I had a brilliant day today, and I need to say a huge thank you to everyone for their kind messages.  I received so many, it was incredible.  Thank you.  

I was so nervous this morning, but after my first full hour, I did settle down and eventually felt like I hadn't been anywhere!  I loved working with Sarah, she reminded me that I was her presenter on her first show on C&C - how wonderful that she repaid the favour, and was my first guest on Hochanda.  She's so talented, I gained loads of idea's from her!  I'll be using a few of those on my blog posts :)

It's been lovely reading all your kind wishes and good luck messages - and I was interested quite a few of you commented on the postage charges.  I know Hochanda are trying to sort this out - and offer more choice.  I also know they elected to use DPD, as people used to complain so much about unreliable deliveries from other orders they had placed.  However, I have been thinking, and I feel Hochanda Freedom does sound like a good deal.  If you were likely to buy multiple items in a month, then it's completely worth going for, as you can cancel it at the end of the month, and take it out again when there's something else you want to go for. It does depend how often you purchase though, of course.  Anyway, That's the extent of my mathematics for one day.  And then extent of my ability to think for the evening.

I was going to share more, but I'm afraid I'm literally falling asleep whilst I'm writing, so I'll share a little more tomorrow.  I'm back on air at 9am.....hope you will be able to join me there :) xx

Welcome to my new Crafty Home.......

It's lovely seeing, and joining old friends.....anyone you recognize :)

One cheeky chap....and me with mega tan!!  I had been away, it wasn't distress ink...

Another cheeky chap, and some lovely ladies

Owww, now there's 2 chaps off this photo who I will be joining again, the lovely Ben and Ollie

That cheeky chap again, and our wonderful Anne will be there

Him again....

yep, him....AGAIN!!  Our Adam,, how young we looked.

This was such a good weekend, Barbara and Sue - very excited to be doing their shows again

Our crafty Ben

Aww, the lovely Hayley.  We're going to be dressing room buddies!!  How fab is that.

There are so many more familiar faces who I will be joining....have you guessed yet?

Of course you have, I'm off to HOCHANDA!!  

Very excited.  Very nervous.

I have been watching from the beginning - literally the launch show.  I've really enjoyed seeing how Hochanda have grown and developed, and managed to do so much in such a short space of time.  They have had blips, but for a brand new TV channel, this was to be expected - yet they have come on leaps and bounds.  I have been keeping my eye on the feedback they have been getting, and people seem really happy that the guests are having the time to demo properly, which is reassuring, as this was just  one of the many reasons I decided to join Hochanda.  

I'm really looking forward to a brand new challenge, and the team are so enthusiastic and eager to make it a success.  It's so exciting to be part of something which is so new.  I know there's so much in store, which makes it feel like an incredible opportunity.

Of course, personally, I'm delighted that I'll be regaining my creative freedom.  I will be doing a weekly 2 hour show, which I will be selecting the products to play with.....work with, sorry, work :). This will be called Let Leonie Loose!  haha.   I'll be guesting - and crafting!  Yeah, back to mucky fingers. I will also be working on my own product range, which is sooo exciting/nerve wracking/incredible.  I can now attend, and demonstrate, at craft shows again - Ally Pally here we come!  As if all that wasn't enough, I'm allowed to do my workshops again as well - even attending and supporting craft shops!  How cool is that.  

Thank you all for putting up with the secret squirreling - sorry it had to be that way, but it does feel as though time has sped on by!  I hope you will be able to join me in my new adventure.  I'll see you on channel:

• SKY 663 (24/7)
 
• FREEVIEW 39 (6AM-9PM)
 
• FREESAT 817 (24/7)
• 
  

I watch on my laptop (yep, I've got Virgin as well), which is nice and easy.

Anyone having a little wager on how many times I say the wrong channel name, or give out the wrong telephone number :) haha.  I won't do that....promise. I've been practicing.

I will be joining you for a walk on at 9am!!  Then, the real work begins with presenting shows at 12pm, 4pm and 7pm.   eeeekkk

The Last Day - The final countdown........

Well, this is it gang, just a few hours to go.  I'm a tad nervous - silly isn't it.  It feels much a long time since I've been on the TV, it's almost like starting back at the beg inning.  Gulp.  Needless to say, I've glue and ink all over my fingers, I still need to do my ironing, and I'm not sure where my nail file is....so business as usual then :)   I would hate you to think I'd changed and got myself all organised in the last 6 months.

The last challenge (for now, but I have enjoyed them, so I'm sure I'll chuck a few in here and there).  The winner this week was Patricia Howarth. Congratulations Patricia, if you email me with your address I will get your card sent out for you (eventually, I'm a little behind with my posting).  My email address is: leoniepujol@hotmail.co.uk.

Patricia challenged me to use:
vellum or parchment
Gilding Flakes
Distress Pens.

After a little while, I'm afraid I had to give up the search for my distress pens - so I replaced them with distress inks.  To be honest, I probably would have used the pens in the same way, as some ink can be too wet on vellum causing it to stretch and bubble.

Okay, here's what I did:

I found some nice old vellum which I've had for ages, and love!!

I used a script stamp, and my Glitter and Glue adhesive from Cosmic Shimmer, which I added to the stamp.  I stamped onto the vellum you may just be able to see faint writing on the vellum left by the glue

I then applied my gilding flakes

Remove the excess flakes with a brush, and look how stunning they shine

I ripped the vellum at an angle

I then used a lovely stampendous stamp, and embossed it with gold embossing powder, onto another piece of decorative vellum

I used my distress ink directly onto my craft sheet

Using an old, dry babywipe wrapped round a paper stump, I worked the ink into the stamped image.  Do this at the back of the stamped image for a subtle coloured finish

When you turn it over, the colour will be nice and soft, and you will get the shine from the embossing

I placed it onto my gilded vellum, and love the way the gilding can be seen through the stamped image, however, I feel the flowers need to stand out a little

In order to do this, I stamped the image again, but this time onto a piece of cream card, and cut out the main little flowers

When you place the image behind the vellum, it does accentuate the flowers - I like this technique as it's just pinpointing a specific image

I worked out where my flowers where going to be in order to then stamp onto the card, and cover with the gilding flakes

Sticking the vellum down is always tricky, so I put the glue directly onto the card

and then rubbed it into the card

This is a perfect way to stick the vellum down without seeing loads of glue.  I positioned the flowers precisely where I needed them

I then added my flowers on top.  Again, the glue can be tricky, but I added it just around the edge under the embossing.  I mat and layered everything....

And as usual, fell out with it!  So, I trimmed everything down, and popped it on some black card, which I think makes it stand out much better

The final piece, you can see how the gold shows beautifully through the vellum

Nice isn't it.

That's it!  The final blog post.  The next one will be finally letting you know where I'm going to turn up!!  

I hope you will join me tomorrow :)  

2 days to go everyone!!

Oh wow, the crafty countdown is so close to the end!  So this will be the last challenge for this countdown - lets make it a good one.  All you need to do, if you haven't joined in with my challenge yet, is to leave your suggestion in the comments below.  It can be anything - but you need to give me 3 things to work with.  Any 3 things.  I will then pick someone at random.  Thank you everyone for joining in.

I'll have a little reminise in the meantime.  Wax paper, this was used for helping release die cuts from their dies, but there are so many other uses.  This was a little exploration:

I liked using it with my embossing folders.  Emboss, and then iron onto your card.  Add ink, and look how amazing the results are:

Scrunch your waxed paper, and iron - stunning.  Or use your rubber stamps, again printing the image onto the wax paper, and then transferring it onto the card.

I then used the background I had created, with the brilliant Inkadinkadoo stamping gear system. 

Okay folks, set that challenge......