My Second Ally Pally Adventure!

A big welcome to Magpieheaven! Last September I was lucky enough to go to Alexandra Palace for the first time and to get to know some of the lovely Crafters I had only ever tweeted with or met through the Magpieheaven blog. Yesterday I went up to this great venue for Stamping and Scrap-booking and I was able to catch up with friends old and new as well as add to my stash! Here are some of my purchases arranged on top of my washing machine where I craft and take photos!

 The very talented Helen Lindfield was my travelling companion from Victoria, which was lots of fun and I was able to 'catch up' with Lin Shields, Jo Myhill, Leandra and Mark @ PaperArtsy and Minxy all of whom I met for the first time last September. It was lovely to speak in person with Lesley Ebdon, Brenda of Bumblebees and Butterflies and Gabrielle who is one of my 'teamies' at Dragons Dream Tio. These ladies are all super-talented and it was really a thrill to meet with them and have a chat. This is such a great event because we don't just get to buy lots of 'goodies', it's a wonderful opportunity to meet with like-minded people; see fabulous demos; swap tips and just 'Ooh' and 'Ahh' with other crafters about all the beautiful new products on sale! It was inspirational to see Jo Myhill demo-ing on the PaperArtsy stand when Leandra needed to help out on the till! Both Leandra and Lin Brown created some truly gorgeous tags too, really sending us away inspired and ready to try out new things. All in all it was a truly uplifting day out! Here are some more purchases I can't wait to play with. If only I didn't need to cook or clean!

This heart on the right is from a 'Take and Make' on the MDF stand. I am going to add some more decoration and give it to my daughter. I did this when I was having a little wander with Lin. She is a great person to wander the stands with, as she's a real Ally Pally veteran (no reflection on Lin's age of course - I just mean she's been to AP many times!) and so encouraging - she is full of fun and always makes you want to 'have a go'!

One thing I can't wait to try out is this beautiful doily stencil, which Leandra demo'd on the PaperArtsy stall. I can foresee it doing great service with those Lynne Perrella stamsp! The results looked fantastic and Jo Myhill just added the finishing touches to the tag on which it featured before going on to demo and create some more great tags. The day was finished off perfectly with a relaxing drink in the bar with Jo, Minxy, Leandra and Family, Helen and Lin. Have a lovely evening wherever you and whatever you are doing. Have a creative week!