SECCanyone going?

[sugarplum]

I forgot to ask if anyone else is off to the SECC tomorrow (thurs)If you are and you see me in my mickey mouse t shirt and my bright pink birkis please say hello cos I would love to meet some fellow craft telly folk
Fi

[tru-ella]

I was hoping to go, but have had to use my saved up craft money on my car service and a football trip at Easter for DS.

Well fed up, but hope you enjoy it

[Chrissi]

I am supposed to be going tomorrow, all depends on how I am feeling though, been having horrendous sinus problems this week & think I am coming down with a blasted cold as well. :angry:

If you spot someone with either BRIGHT pink Ugg boots or seriously sparkly holographic silver trainers on (not decided on footwear yet!) pop over, prod me and say hello.

[sugarplum]

Im back all spent up but had a good time Said hello to pamela at Craftycatz, had a chat with Sheena wou was proving very popular and said hi at the sugarnellie stand. Bought nesties, paintfusion stuff, more dies, and a diamonte setter thing as I am so fed up or cursing and swearing trying to pick up tiny stones to stick on my cards

[Chrissi]

Sounds like rather a good haul!

I am looking forward to having a nose round the Sugar Nellie stand it has to be said. Was there lots of Tim Holtz stuff available? Most of my shopping list seems to have a TH prefix - haha!

[LynneH]

I'm glad you had a good time Sugarplum. It's always nice to go to a show.

[Marilynmcl]

Am going on Saturday with my girl and Gramps and great Gran are going to babysit Ivy Elona to give mum a wee break.....and me some mum and daughter time....what a pity I missed you SP ....if any other CTelly peeps are going on Saturday ....look for the two' gawjuss' ladies who will be ...one in a wheelchair [hopefully -if there are any available] and one with a look of hysteria and ''where can I get a cup of tea' look in her eyes. Really looking forward to this day out.

[Janiceb966]

I'm planning on going on Saturday too - if I can manage to escape the lurgy at work! I'm getting SSSOOOOO excited as I've not been to the SECC for about 4.5 years, I have a lot of spending to catch up on. Not looking forward to the drive though as I hate driving in Glasgow but hey-ho, needs must :)

[sugarplum]

Ohh Marilyn It would have been so nice to meet up! Chrissi I didnt see a huge amount of Tim stuff but one or two stands had grungeboard etc lots had distress inks Janice Iended up copping out and getting the bus As I hate trying to drive through Glasgow at rush hour

[Janiceb966]

I'm driving up there early tomorrow morning so hoping to miss all the traffic - I'm in Dumfries so it's a 75 mile drive to get there. I'm not too bothered about traffic when I'm driving home again it's getting lost that really worries me :( I'm one of those people that can't drive and look where they're going at the same time

[Marilynmcl]

Look forward to tomorrow too Janiceb. I will be the manic one in the wheelchair with a sobbing and pulling her hair out crying 'WHY MUM WHY?' daughter dragging her feet behind me!! If you recognise this description of us tomorrow give us a shout!

[Marilynmcl]

PS......do you know if the footie is on ? If it is...be prepared for a crowded car park!!

[Janiceb966]

Marilyn I'll certainly look out for you - I'm a "rubenesque" blonde with glasses (probably wearing jeans, khaki top and grey zipped hoodie - I'm a colourful wee thing!) and hopefully a lot of shopping bags :) Just checked the footie status - Rangers have no game till Sunday and Celtic play Hamilton at home with a 3pm kick off - I'm hoping to be heading home by then though.

Have a great day and I hope you don't traumatise your daughter too much lol!!

[Marilynmcl]

Well, got to the SECC at about 10.30am and picked up booked wheelchair from med. centre then went all around the Craft show to see what was what.....and bought lots .....a beautiful butterfly stamp, two packs of liquid pearls and lots of little stamps for background use, then four different colours in toner foil and some hot fix stones. I saw Sheena but she was having a wee break and a drink from a water bottle so thought I would give her a bit of peace to enjoy her drink so bought some lovely Crafter's Companion paper and card which was next to Sheena's stand...phew! poor daughter was having a bother trying to push me through all the lovely people who were there without leaving them with bruises .....and the weight of all my spends! I had a lovely day altogether and it was so lovely seeing the demos and all the lovely sample cards which were sooo twinkley on all the various stalls. I will definitely save up for another craft fair in the future! Sorry I didn't get to meet you Janice but there will be other fairs that we might cross paths at again! We left shortly after 2.20pm and hubby picked us up to take us back to collect Ivy Elona from her Great Gran's house then we set off home -sigh........suppose all good things have to end eventually.....x

[sugarplum]

glad you had a good time Was your butterfly stamp the one with the circles on I saw somebeautiful samples made with that using card candy, glossy accents jewels and glitter I was so tempted to buy the stamp but was all spent out by that point

[Marilynmcl]

Yes, Sugarplum.....it is the large one which had the most beautiful card sample on the wall.....I have a similar Christmas tree design in the same pattern. Wasn't the whole display great? I had so much fun today!

[sugarplum]

Thats the one Marilyn The samples were gorgeous and I think it would be really relaxing to build up One of the stands had their samples glued to the table cos the girl was telling us that at the NEC they kept getting nicked! The stamp is definately on my wishlist. The other demo I saw where I loved what she made was alady using the plastic masks with a stencil paint and a stencil paste that was a lot thinner than others ones Ive seen she was adding glitter and allsorts and the results were stunning I also bought the hot gem fixer and was playing with it today boy does it fix them Once they are on they dont budge I quite fancy blinging a tshirt of shoes or something My son better not stand still for too long or he will be blinged!

[Janiceb966]

Glad you had a good day Marilyn, I'm totally exhausted. I did keep looking for a lady in a wheelchair with a daughter whose hair was in tufts from pulling it out but I didn't see you lol! I got there in time for opening and left about 1.15pm - the crowds and the heat were getting too much for me but I did buy a lot of goodies. I got some great bargains at the craft for £1 stall - dovecraft stamps were included in that :) I also got some stamps from Little Claire which is a new company for me but will definitely be getting my custom again and I got some Gorjuss stamps from Sugar Nellie, oh and some embossing folders and some other "bits". Hey, I had 4.5 years of not craft spending to catch up on lol!
Sugarplum I think the lady that was using the stencil brushes and masks was from Imagination Crafts - she approached me while I was standing deciding which mask to buy and literally gave me a one to one demo - she's on QVC a week on Tuesday at 3pm she said.
I'm over the moon with my purchases, just need to get all the junk out of my spare room so I have the space to play.

[emandc]

Was there from 9.30 til 4.30 - spoke to Nancy, Sheena and watched a mesmerising demo from Barbara using the Scotland stamp and stag. Spent a fortune - including a purchase of a Clarity starter kit. Now in the cold light of day too scared to try it!

[sam]

Oh be brave emandc, this could be the start of something good, (welcome to the forum, by the way, pleased to meet you)!

[kitten_with_claws]

Was there from 9.30 til 4.30 - spoke to Nancy, Sheena and watched a mesmerising demo from Barbara using the Scotland stamp and stag. Spent a fortune - including a purchase of a Clarity starter kit. Now in the cold light of day too scared to try it!

Hi & welcome to the forum Emandc! :hi:

Go on, be brave, you've spent all that money, you've got to now have a play with your new stuff....like the advert says..... '....what's the worst that could happ-en?'....! LOL

[emandc]

Oops forgot to say "Hello" to everyone - "Hello". Thanks for kind words of encouragement. Using some of my new stamps & promarkers at the mo, but will watch Barbara's dvd this afternoon in preparation for my first brayering attempt!

[Marilynmcl]

'ello emandc......the fair was excellent....thoroughly enjoyed it and saw lots of lovely botts from my seated position, and daughter kept apologising to lots of bumped ankled people so if you were one of those bumped ankled folk.....sorry. My girl drove me past a very crowded Clarity stand and I did glimpse Barbara for a sec. as she whizzed me along. I think it must have been the quickest anyone has ever been escorted around the SECC....might be worth phoning the Guiness book of Records just to verify this fact! She did ask me on several occasions 'Is there anything here that you want to see? but it was a bit of a blur as we passed and my neck could only turn so far.....sigh.....but I don't like to shout at my girl so ...she was really great for doing this for me....sigh.....and I did manage to buy some crafty stuff so happy for that.......sigh.....only joking....HAD A FLIPPIN' GREAT DAY OUT!!!!!!!and Sugarplum.....I too have the hot gem wand and have used it to put the wee gem on my Thank you cards for daughter to give to those that gave Ivy Elona gifts....posted on here a few weeks ago, I am delighted with it and bought hot fix pearls from the Easy-peasy stand ...they had loads of stones for this machine.....and good prices too.

[Marilynmcl]

oh....be careful Sugar plum...I accidently touched the end of the hot fix wand when I was trying it out for the first time and wanted to see how hot it got....twit that I am....it is extremely hot so be careful! Not that you would be as daft as I am....!!

[emandc]

'ello emandc......the fair was excellent....thoroughly enjoyed it and saw lots of lovely botts from my seated position, and daughter kept apologising to lots of bumped ankled people so if you were one of those bumped ankled folk.....sorry. My girl drove me past a very crowded Clarity stand and I did glimpse Barbara for a sec. as she whizzed me along. I think it must have been the quickest anyone has ever been escorted around the SECC....might be worth phoning the Guiness book of Records just to verify this fact! She did ask me on several occasions 'Is there anything here that you want to see? but it was a bit of a blur as we passed and my neck could only turn so far.....sigh.....but I don't like to shout at my girl so ...she was really great for doing this for me....sigh.....and I did manage to buy some crafty stuff so happy for that.......sigh.....only joking....HAD A FLIPPIN' GREAT DAY OUT!!!!!!!and Sugarplum.....I too have the hot gem wand and have used it to put the wee gem on my Thank you cards for daughter to give to those that gave Ivy Elona gifts....posted on here a few weeks ago, I am delighted with it and bought hot fix pearls from the Easy-peasy stand ...they had loads of stones for this machine.....and good prices too.

Hee Heee - ankles undamaged, it was my purse that suffered. Glad you enjoyed yourself, even if everything was a bit fast

[Chrissi]

Well, I went on Friday and had a pretty good time, LOADS of inspiration from the Lili Of The Valley & Sugarnellie stalls (so have been stamping & promarkering all weekend!), also got most of the stuff on my list (only thing I couldn't find was the Tim Holtz charm fragments), so am officially skint for the rest of the month and was told in a firm but polite manner that I really need to start selling some of the cards I have already made as they are starting to take over the house - haha!

I am definitely going to go a bit later in the day from now on though, we got there just before 1pm and it was starting to empty out a bit, by the time we got to the papercrafting bit it was a pleasure to walk round - no more being barged out of the way etc.

[Marilynmcl]

So.......who is going to the SECC in October then............????? am saving up NOW!!! I am now officially a craftfair groupie!!

[Janiceb966]

I think I might wait and see who is going to be there before I buy my ticket. Counting the cost of petrol, parking, ticket and lunch it was about £30 before I even bought anything and I can get a lot of stamps for £30. I did enjoy myself though so when it comes to it I will probably be there lol!

[Chrissi]

Janice, I didn't want to go this time because of all of those factors, but was basically told I was going, had my ticket bought for me & had my petrol & parking paid for me as well, all because I am the only one brave enough to drive there and back! I think I will be cutting back a bit though and just going once a year and will make it the one later in the year as the papercrafting area is always bigger at the Oct/Nov show. With it being over £20 before I am even in the door I am going to have to really consider it now.

Also, what is with the SECC changing Harry Ramsden's? :envy: We are not at all sure it's even Harry Ramsden's anymore. Gutted. So in October I'll be there with my packed lunch - haha!

[Marilynmcl]

I was 'dropped off' by my husband on Sat. so no parking fee.....then he came back when daughter gave him a call on her mobile phone....so we only had the ticket cost to pay and wasn't the cost of food inside just ridiculous? For the price of a burger that they were charging I would have expected a flippin' waiter serving it on a white linen tablecloth....instead it was a right grotty plastic topped table with a wobble! will be sandwiching it in Oct. for sure...with a flask too! Look forward to seeing you Chrissi and Janice.....if we put homemade name tags on ...maybe glittered as well just to stand out a bit more....then we will find it easier to recognise one another....what say you?

[Chrissi]

Sounds like a plan Marilyn. I always go on the Friday, so shall definitely look into wearing something so I can be spotted. I might have crazy hair by then too, still toying with the idea of it going pink, red or purple, so I might stand out a mile by then anyway!

Wish we could be dropped off & picked up again, but it's not an option, the only person who could drop us off would be coming back to Edinburgh so it would mean driving the M8 4 times in one day and with the price of petrol it would cost more than stumping up the £6 for parking. Mind, it was great this time, we got a disabled spot right outside the Armadillo, couldn't have got any closer to the front door if I had tried!

The catering outlets at the SECC are a disgrace (worries me as the same company have just taken over the catering outlets at my work), we used to take a picnic until we discovered HR's and it used to be great, used to always be a queue, so the stuff was lovely and fresh, but this time, no queue, bad service, changed menu, bad food and we won't be back, as I said above, not even sure it is Harry Ramsden's anymore either. In October I will be taking my picnic again, stuff them, at least I know I will enjoy my picnic.

[emandc]

I've been going for a few years now. Always take a picnic & park over the river at the science centre. Proper car park and it only costs £3 for all day! Also get tickets online few weeks before to save 50p. Every little helps!

[Marilynmcl]

'kay, we MUST meet up if going in Oct. so if we plan a few weeks before we go then we can pick a time and a stand to meet up at .....what say you? there will be a plan of the stands that comes with the tickets so will have a rough idea where all the stands will be located. Chrissi....we originally come from Coatbridge so Colin [hubby] visited his mum with Ivy Elona [our grand daughter] and so it only took him 20 mins to get back to the SECC for pick up.

[Janiceb966]

I might have company in October - 2 of the girls from work have said they'd like to go even although they don't craft. I think they're just wanting to see what got me SSSOOO excited last week :)

I take a packed lunch and leave it in the car, then when I'm hungry (and tired and too hot) I go back to the car and dump my goodies in the boot, have something to eat and get ready for round 2. The very first year I went my friend and I paid well over the odds for a dried up baguette and a drink so never again.

[Chrissi]

emandc - I would park over at the science centre if we didn't have someone disabled with us, mind I could drop them off, then go park and just get the car & pick them up again after. Will be keeping that one in mind for Oct. I also buy my tickets online & print them off myself as well, the money is better in my pocket.

Marilyn - we must meet up in Oct if we can. Would be nice to put faces to names. Don't know if a stall would be the best place (bearing in mind how packed it can get in there!), but we could pick a spot in the concourse and if we all wear something that is easy to spot we should be able to find each other no problem.

Yeah if we lived nearer a bit nearer I wouldn't hesitate getting someone to drop us and pick us up, but 4 times along the M8 in one day would use a mega amount of petrol, I'd rather just pay the £6 (or £3 - thanks emandc) for the parking.

[Marilynmcl]

Let's think of something nearer the show.....and organise a meet up then....if that is okay with everyone that is.....oooh so excited and it is ages away!!!!!!x