Barbara Gray Blog

Hi there. Thanks for popping in. Greetings from the NEC. The Tradeshow begins today. Just like Frankfurt – lots of suits and Mr Margin Men. I would much rather blog something creative and exciting…. Please allow me to introduce you to an exceptionally talented parching artist from Florida: Jerri Kay Jimenez. I recently invited her to join our  Groovi-Pergamano Parchment team; reassured her that we could work together across the miles, that distance would be no object. When you see…

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Hi there. Thanks for popping in. I am so excited to show you this piece! Made it last night, because we are off to the NEC today, but boy! Did I enjoy myself. We have new stamps and matching masks. You may recall we launched a rake of Groovi plates with handbags, shoes and hats in January, and decided they would also make fabulous stamps.  They took a little while to rework and manufacture, and the masks are a must,…

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Hi there. Thanks for popping in. I had an idea. (oh no! groaned the Clarity crew; not another one!) Well, yes.  While we were power eating Fortnum & Mason mince pies in the office this morning, in an attempt to defy the best by date, it occurred to me: We have just taken delivery of the Clarity Catalogues for the trade sho this weekend.  Very beautiful and very expensive,  but had to be done.  Proud moment. Many times I have…

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Hiya! Thanks for popping in today.  Forgot my Ipad at work (aka brain), so no art, no craft. Just a loadawoffle. We’re all revved up for the UK Trade Show at the NEC which starts this weekend, so there’s a lot to think about. Ticking lots of boxes, tripping over lots of boxes. You’d have been proud of me today. I got my old Pfaff out and even sewed a couple of table covers. Nothing too tricky – up one…

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Hi there. Thanks for popping in. Still at work. Don’t feel sorry for me though!I am here through choice. Nobody makes me stay; in fact, nobody even makes me come in!! Actually, and I can only speak for myself,  I am exactly where I am in life because of a series of choices  I have made in my life.  I try to avoid the word ‘I’ in a sentence usually, (Farmer Dave always says, when somebody starts on the I…

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Hi there. Happy Valentines Day. Thanks for popping in. Thought I would blog one of our poetry plates which are proving very popular…. These two come as a pair. The Kiss and the Serenity Prayer. Let’s use the A5 Mate with the new Nested Rectangle Plate… Emboss the largest rectangle on little purple parchment. See here? The Groovi No. 1 tool and the Pergamano No. 1 tool  do about the same job. Groovi just a little whiter, a little crisper,…

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Hi there. Thanks for popping in. Stonking headache today., so I thought I would call on the help of a few good friends. Been dealing with Holland much of today, as you do  when you’ve bought a Dutch company, so that may explain why windmills were on my mind. Emma Williams  Here’s a lovely stampset we designed a while back. Remember when I did this on TV in the Classroom. Wow, that’s a while ago…. click here The little flowers…

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Bonjour! Thanks for popping in. Somebody on Facebook was looking for the  Gelpress project I did on Telly last week,  so here it is: It’s all about the sequence… 1. Attach the Elegant lady stencil to a piece of 7×7 Stencil card, using low-tack tape as a hinge at the top. Cover up her friend to the right with copy paper… 2. Place the Gelpress plate on its matching megamount. You can buy them together, at a lesser price.  3….

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Hi there. Thanks for popping in. Friday’s blog a private peek, so let’s see….. I’m left-handed. And you? My Mum, Dad and brother are right-handed,  although my Mum was certainly born left-handed,  but they forced her to use her right hand at school.  This was not uncommon back in the day. In fact, they tied her left hand behind her back,  which is rather extreme, don’t you agree? Try that in the local secondary modern!! Interestingly though, she has beautiful handwriting…

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