The Daylight Company

I'm sure you've seen on some other blogs, reviews of craft lamps. I've also been asked to review a lamp from The Daylight Company, so I hope you find it interesting.


I was asked to chose a lamp to review on my blog and unfortunately the one I chose had been spectacularly popular and had sold out, so instead they offered to send me the LED MicroMax Light and the Twist portable lamp

So I'm going to tell you about the LED MicroMax Light first because it's a very portable, handy addition for any crafter. I took this wee light with me when I stayed in Glasgow to demo at the SECC in October and I can honestly say it was just perfect. It has a couple of nifty features that I really liked, you can either place it on the desk or worksurface using the detachable cradle which has 4 wee feet that swivel out for stability, or you can take the black cradle off and clip the unit to your worksurface or to whatever is handy - this is terrific for when space is at a premium, or if I was drawing or colouring at an easel for example. The light itself consists of 4 Daylight LEDs on one of it's bendy poseable arms and a magnifier on the other bendy arm - so you can position the light and magnifier exactly where you need them. It also has 2 power settings so that you can extend the battery life, full power gives you 12 hours of light and half power gives you 24 hours of light. This is an ideal light if you travel, or for taking to crops and craft classes, it's small enough to slip into an overnight bag or craft tote and only needs 3xAAA batteries.

Here are some pics of me using it to colour some images while I was at the hotel the night before the SECC demos...

So next up, is the Twist Portable Lamp. I wanted this type of lamp for a reason - being that I wanted a decent sized lamp that I could take on holiday when we go on caravan holidays. Unfortunately we haven't been on holiday since I got the lamp, but I decided to use it to replace my existing lamp...

So here's the science bit....

It has an Easy-Twist 320° head-joint, you can rotate the shade and direct the light exactly where you want. It is mains operated and has a detachable base.

No switch, just flip it to turn it on, it has a 13w Daylight energy saving tube, it only weighs 3lbs so great for taking on holiday.

I get very little natural light in my craft area so this lamp is ideal - I get a sharp clean light which is a must for colouring.

 These 2 shots show the tilt of the lamp - so I can point it wherever I need it....

  

This shot shows how neat it all is when it's closed.

I'll definitely be packing it when we next go on a caravan holiday :)


You can buy the LED MicroMax Light and the Twist portable lamp from The Daylight Company along with any of their huge range of specialist lighting. 

New Year Offshore

As you know, Graham was home for xmas in 2011, but he had to go offshore a few days later and had the task of organising and preparing the New Year meals for the rig he's on - because it's not much fun being in the middle of the North Sea over the festive period, and they're not allowed alcohol for obvious reasons, the festive menus are quite a big deal. Graham is a Chef Manager which means he's in charge of all the catering and domestic staff on the rig and he likes to pull out all the stops when it comes to the festive meals. Although I have to stay Graham's standards are incredibly high all year round.
Now, normally Graham prints off menus to display for the days meals, but at xmas and new year he like to make them a bit special and tarts them up a bit in Powerpoint. And this is the 2nd year he's asked me to add a bit of craftiness to them. 
So I was a bit short on time (he's promised to give me more notice next year) so this is what I came up with..

I kept it simple with the Spellbinders Poinsettia dies and some Craftwork Cards candi.
So I did 15 table menus and 2 display menus for the New Years Day meal and 15 table menus and 2 display menus for the 2nd Jan Buffet.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all - I wish you all a healthy, happy, prosperous and of course crafty 2012.

I'm not making any resolutions this year - are any of you? Did any of you have any wild Hogmanay parties? I just curled up on the settee and watched the last Harry Potter film then trotted off to bed - forgot to even have a wee glass of alcohol.

Willow is itching to get to The Papeterie, and I'm pretty much the same, Graham got me some vouchers for there and they're burning a hole in my pocket - but it doesn't open til the 3rd lol.

Santa was exceptionally good to me at christmas, I must've been an angel in 2011 lol It's a little embarrassing though... as an Aquarian, I'm not much of a conformist, if everyone else has something then I want to have something else just to be different. Well, Graham is a bit of an Apple nerd and anything that Apple release is held in the highest regard and has to be purchased as soon as possible. Just about everyone I know has an iphone now and I was determined that I wasn't going to get "sucked in", it took me ages to work out how to use my Blackberry and I was determined to stick with it.

Well, Graham bought me an iphone for my xmas and I was a bit gutted to be honest when I opened the parcel - and I know how selfish and ungrateful that sounds but it made me think that he just doesn't listen to me at all. BUT he set it all up for me - we had a bit of trouble getting all my numbers from my Blackberry, but that's more to do with Blackberry making life difficult for moving to a different manufacturer - and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I LOVE IT!! I've been faffing around with facetime, Instagram, Whatsapp etc and I just love it to bits. And believe me when I say that I really didn't want to like it at all lol

Well I'd have been more than happy with just that from Santa, but I also got the few thingies that I'd asked for...

a Distrezz-It-All....

Now this is something that I've ummed and aahed over for a long time, so when Graham asked what crafty stuff I wanted for xmas this was the first thing that sprung to mind. So there's a good chance that everything I make this year will be distressed :)

I also got an Alterations die and a layering punch - so look out for those being used soon :)

And a couple of very good friends of mine got together and bought me another Tim Holtz bag - the one I've been eyeing up...

So I now have a Timmy bag to go with everything :)

The kids were thoroughly ruined and I thought I'd share this wee snippet of xmas morning with you - wait til very near the end, to see Willow's reaction to getting some stamps, an inkpad and the Little Mix single in her stocking...