Friday 11 May 2012

Ranger Uni - Going and day one!

Good morning
Mammoth post warning! I feel a lot more human today so thought I'd begin to share my amazing experience with you in 3 parts otherwise you're sure to get bored! So welcome to the journey and day one of Ranger Uni.
It all started with an early morning trip to the airport, the usual hanging around and customs etc before climbing on board.  My first view of America from about 35000 feet
 When we landed I had to find my way from Newark airport to Penn station New York by air train and train where I met up with Kate and Kaz for the train out to Redbank.
 From Redbank it was a short cab ride to the Red Roof Inn where we were staying. After checking in we caught a cab to Pier village on the Jersey shore where we went for supper before heading back to get a good night's sleep ready for day one!
 Justin, one of the owners picked us up from the hotel and shuttled us over to Ranger and here we all are finding a place to sit, meeting the others and having a donut and coffee!
 We started out with a welcome from Tim and then had a tour of the factory- it was really great to see everything being made; a proper Willy Wonka place for crafters. We plucked a stickles direct from the conveyor (with permission) and after seeing the seasonal ink pads being put together and packaged we were also given a set, hot off the press. Then back to the education room where we began to "work" on our techniques. Here we are focussed on "painting" with embossing powders.
 Just proving; I am here too!
 Lunch, more filling than bread, but o so delicious!
 Then, back to work.
 Everyone really focussed!
 Day one ended with the Ranger BBQ - Mario makes a mean cheeseburger! A chance to get to meet and chat to everyone. It was great.
 Time to listen to the Master of all things distress speak.
Then back to the hotel for a good night's rest.  This first day we covered a lot of techniques; perfect pearls
 Embossing powders
 Vintaj on metal
 And - one of my favourites : The melt pot. I'd not used one before and I loved it!
 Two of my favourites - shrink plastic UTEE "glass fragments"
 And UTEE with texture treads and perfect pearls
And that Ladies and gentlemen is Ranger Uni day one! Over the weekend I'll do days two and three and then I'll begin to share some of my favourite techniques with you all as I've been playing a bit already to combine them to make some finished tags!
Enjoy your day, whatever you are doing.

14 comments:

...the yorkshire fox... said...

...WOW... amazing piccy's & what a wonderful experience Neil you must be buzzing!!!!...loVe all your crafty bits especially the Shrink Plastic Fragments they are fabby!...can't wait to see the rest...Mel :)

Artyjen said...

Thanks for sharing Neil ;) I can't see me ever getting to go to Ranger U....so it's nice to see others who have enjoyed the experience.
xoxo Sioux

Brenda Brown said...

Looks as though you had a fab time Neil. Looking forward to seeing what you have been making too.
Enjoy your weekend.
hugs {brenda} xox

CraftygasheadZo said...

Fab, I've been looking forward to hearing about your trip, looks great and I can't wait to see more techniques. Day one looks amazing already and those makes of yours are superb! Zo xx

Sue said...

Looks fabulous, Neil. Can't wait for the next two days.

ElizabethR said...

Cooorrr real chocolate factory stuff and gorgeous examples, next chapter please. Elizabeth x

Julia S-W said...

You must have had an amazing time! I love your samples, particularly. . . . Oh, just all of them!! Looking forward to the next chapter.
Juliax

www.creativepointe.blogspot.com said...

THanks for sharing the pics and details on your day. Looking forward to seeing the next post!

Jennie Atkinson said...

Wow! what an amazing first day. Love the UTEE projcts. Thanks for sharing.

Elly said...

I'll never get bored by reading a good story and looking nice pictures and cool art. Thanks so much for sharing with us (:o)

mark gould said...

What a jam packed day one. I have just got one of time dvds and have seen him using the melting pot. The stuff looks great.

Anonymous said...

Lucky Neil.So glad you had a great time. Learning with motivated people is lovely.very stimulating.
thanks for commenting on my blog.

May said...

Fantastic post Neil, Loved it!! so many elements just Brillant!! so inspired... Hugs May x x x

Fuchsia said...

Great pictures looks like fun !