I spent a lovely day at Aexandra Palace on Saturday attending the British Stamp and Scrapbooking show. The building is really lovely with the murals on the walls to the entrance and the lovely organ and stained windows in the Great Halls.
This is not a really large show but there are demonstrations every half hour and plenty of places to sit, unlike other shows that I have been to and it doesn't feel as crowded - unless you happen to go near Barbara Gray's Clarity Stand or Sue Wilson's Rubbernecker stand.
There were a couple of stands that I had not visited before and I bought a couple of text stamps that I had not seen before but thought that they will fill a hole in my craft stash.
I managed to spend lots of money but also had time to watch some of the demonstrations. I managed to see Julia Watts demonstrating Shimmer background techniques using the new Cosmic Shimmer Paints, Anna Marie showing us to make a rose and decorating a shape using her stamps, Kay from Indigoblu demonstrating using their alter ego products and quite a few demonstrations from Pam Smith using a variety of Cosmic Shimmer Ink Sprays, Texture Pastes, Silk Glitters and Gilding Flakes.
There was also demonstrations by Phill Martin and Sam Poole but I never made these. There was meant to be more demonstrators but a couple were not able to make it due to illness. I still managed to pick up tips from all though.
Although I bought some goods from Clarity Stamps, it was just too crowded to see Barbara demonstrating. I did get to see Sue Wilson demonstrating but her stand was laid out a little better to see.
I also managed to get to speak to Sue for a while and it was nice to catch up with her and even got time for a quick photo with her.
The best part about this is that it is only a 35 minute drive from my house (although getting back always takes a lot longer due to having to get back on the North Circular) and makes a great day out.