My Little Craft Space

Happy 2012!

2012-01-10T11:38:00.002Z

January is here so that means we are al back to work and ready for some new crafty projects with new crafty products!

Docrafts have once again brought us lots of new items to play with including the fun 'Hot Diggety Dog range', the wonderful 'Portabello Road' collection and some beautiful new colours in the Papermania 'Capsule Collection' which always proves to be popular with everyone...particularly this time, those gorgeous BIG paper flowers!

I had my first weekend of demos at Craft Central in Fleetwood and The Range in Wigan. I must admit, I struggled through as I wasn't very well and spent the whole day coughing and sneezing. I tried to be happy and enthusiastic but it was hard because I felt exhausted and blocked up. Anyway, it was nice to see lots of crafting friends at both events and I enjoyed both days regardless of the germs!

On the 24th and 25th of January we have a docrafts Pick of the Day launching on Idea World at 9pm so try and tune in if you can, there will be some nice products on there. I am just about getting started with my demo prep and samples for those shows so I am looking forward to heading down to Peterborough again for the launch.

Better get back to crafting now!

Three days in a row

2011-12-08T16:31:00.002Z

Yes I have posted every day now for three days AND added photos too!

Here is the card we made at my club last night using the Papermania Noel stamps. I love this snowman. We used backing papers from the Docrafts Digital Designer cd-rom, a Sizzix embossing folder and some adhesive gems from docrafts too. Everyone added some glitter and sparkle to finish off their card in true Christmas fashion.

Right, now I am off to close the curtains and hide from the stormy weather that's hit the UK today.

Cheerio x

Another creation for the Festive season!

2011-12-07T09:41:00.002Z

Well, here is my lantern that I made on Sunday. I bought the amazing template from the Craft range in Burnley about 2 months ago and haven't had time to make it. So on Sunday morning, I decided to get some cream card off the shelf and have a go. It took about three hours and I really enjoyed myself cutting, sticking and inking.

I added a flickering candle inside (which I got free with the template) to make it more authentic then we turned out all the lights in the lounge and I sang 'O come all ye faithful' as I carried it in!

"Very good" was my husband's comment, a man of few words!

I am hoping to add some embellishments to it...maybe some trailing ivy or snow. I will keep you posted on here of any changes though.

Bye for now x

Christmas projects

2011-12-06T17:10:00.004Z

Oh I am so pleased that December is here and I can finally start to slow down with work. This has been such a busy year and 2012 looks set to be just as busy. In the meantime though, I am looking forward to tidying and cleaning my house in preparation for the Christmas tree and decorations...I love going out to choose a tree, it takes me forever though as I choose about 10, then narrow it down to five, then three, then two and finally...I decide!

Talking of Christmas trees, we made an Advent calendar at my craft club two weeks ago using a Christmas tree cake stand as the base. With the help of my Cricut machine, I cut 8 small boxes for the top layer. The middle and bottom layers needed bigger boxes so I had to make templates for these. To cut a long story short, I spent two days cutting out 160 small boxes on the Cricut and then copied 320 larger boxes on my scanner then printed them out! That's 480 boxes in total and that was before decorating them and cutting out the numbers too.

I think my craft group enjoyed making them though so I thought I would share a photo with you here.

Hope you like it too x

I know, I know...

2011-10-17T16:31:00.003+01:00

...it has been months since I blogged!

Life is so busy these days that I don't have time for anything except work. So much has happened since I was last on here that it would be impossible to fill you in.

So, I will try to blog more often from now on. It won't be every day but will be more frequent than twice a year!

Docrafts are keeping me very busy which is great as it means there is always work for me. Being self-employed means every day is different and it can be very busy or very quiet, so I am thankful for the work I keep getting.

October is usually a quiet month for me but not this year. So far, I have had 3 store demos, 9 hours on Create and Craft, 2 craft clubs. I still have 1 local demo remaining, Creativity tv filming, more hours on Create and Craft and a weekend of demos at the Glitter Pot in Sussex. Oh yes, I almost forgot...magazine prep with a November the 1st deadline. All this amounts to many hours of prep, many hours of travelling and not much sleep!

I have a new phone too now so I am going to Bluetooth some of my photos across to my laptop then you can see some of my latest creations. Watch this space.....

One year on...

2011-04-02T21:14:00.002+01:00

Yes, it has been more than a year since I wrote on my blog page, isn't that terrible?!!

So much has happened over that time and I can't begin to tell you everything because it would probably take me a year to write it!

So, it is the 2nd April 2011 and I am having a little rest from my busy life as a crafter. The whole of March has been taken up by docrafts demonstrations, filming Creativity tv down in Bath followed by four days of Card making workshops at the Olympia exhibition halls in London. It's been such a busy month so the next couple of weeks will allow me to re-charge my batteries ready for my next spell of work.

For those of you that know me, you may remember that we had a little black cat called Jess. She was my baby and we had her with us for 15 years. Unfortunately, she took a turn for the worse in June 2010 and we had to let her go. We were very sad and missed her being around.

So in August we decided to get a couple of kittens from a rescue centre in Blackpool. After looking at many kitties, we found two tabbies (brother and sister), who now have made their home with us. Lester and Sadie are their names and they are just two crazy bundles of fun and frolics...they really are cute! So they keep me busy and snuggle up with me on the sofa when I am lonely, hee hee!

It is time for me to finish my Mother's day card now for tomorrow so I will make sure I keep blogging from now on.

Bye for now x

2010-01-15T16:38:00.003Z

Well I am a little sad today because the temperature has risen and it has started to rain and you know what that means.....the snow is disappearing fast and I don't want it to go! I love snow so much and have been in my element over the last few weeks as it's got deeper and deeper.

On the photo you will see our garden at the back all wintry and cold. We even made a sledge run from the top of our hill (in front of the summerhouse) right down to the patio at the bottom of the hill. It was fab and I had a great time with my hubby, niece Stephanie and her partner Anthony. She couldn't join in as she is 8 months pregnant and my husband preferred to stand at the bottom of the ski run with a glass of cider! So...it was down to me and Anthony to hit the sledge! It was minus 5 at the time so we were pretty cold. As you can see from our thermometer in the picture, it did actually get to minus 9 by the next morning at 8.45am...wow!

Well, I will sign off for now. I need to go and get the oven warming for tea and do a bit of final prep for my demo tomorrow.

Bye for now, Sheila x

I have been a non-blogger for months...

2009-12-11T13:52:00.002Z

but now I am going to try and post on here at least once a week!

I have been a very busy crafter since September and have had a really heavy workload. I seem to be winding down now though and can start to think about Christmas shopping and decorating our tree at last.

I was working at the SECC in Glasgow in October and the NEC in Birmingham at the Hobbycrafts and Crafts for Christmas show on behalf of Prima. I was in the demonstration theatre making cards and projects using a Canon photo printer. It was a bit nerve-racking at first but once I got into the flow, I really enjoyed myself. It was a great opportunity and a very worthwhile experience and I am looking forward to being part of it next year if I get offered the work!

Along with my three craft groups and evening classes, demos, shows and other projects, I have had no time to do anything for myself and my house is slowly turning into a junk shop rather than a home!

So, today, I am going to catch up on laundry, cleaning of skirting boards, emptying of the magazine rack and making room for a Christmas tree in my lounge. Then I will catch up on some of my favourite tv programmes while I make tea and iron...yippee!

I am hoping to make some cards too this weekend and maybe post one or two pictures on here.

Okay off to do some chores. Bye for now! x

Welcome back to blogging Sheila!!!

2009-08-07T22:07:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone,

It's been 2 months since I was on here which will indicate just how busy I have been. Haven't had a minute free to blog or view other blogs but now I have two weeks off and may get back into the routine of posting on here when I can.

Today I have posted a card on Clare's blog for the Colour challenge which is 'Summer'. So here is my attempt at something summery.....even though the Robin stamp is from the latest Do Craft's Christmas Goody Bag!! If you paint him in blue and yellow, he stops looking like a robin and starts to resemble 'Orville the duck' (from my youth!!!)

Tomorrow we are going to the microlight flying club (where my husband is a member) to enjoy the 'fly-in' where approximately 40 planes will be landing and taking off. We will fly round too so it should be exciting particularly as the weather is going to be good.

I hope you all have a fun weekend and I will be back on here with some photos on Sunday.

Cheerio for now x

Lots of changes

2009-06-11T21:07:00.003+01:00

It's been a busy week again with lots of good things happening and some sad things too.

Firstly, my sister who lives in California called to tell us that her American brother-in-law had died after a short but awful bout of suffering and as he was just 45 years old they are absolutely shocked and devastated. I met him 2 years ago along with the rest of my sister's in-laws and they are such a lovely family to be part of. We are heartily sorry for their loss.

My friend Robert who has also been very sick and in hospital for 8 weeks is now just starting to recover slowly. He can sit up and speak a little and is laughing at my jokes so he must be feeling better! Fingers crossed that he progresses fast.

My cat was ill earlier this week too so we were worried about her and I was watching her every move for 2 days. Anyway, she seems to be getting better and is mooching in a carrier bag full of craft stuff as I type so that suggests that she's getting back to normal!

I am expecting my friend Clare to call me soon as she returned from her Do Crafts expedition today so I am dying to hear all about her trip and what she got up too while she was there. Will be good to hear her voice again.

On the crafting side of things, I am busy making up some samples for a QVC show later in June. I have also started to run the craft club sessions at my local education centre along with my own Wednesday club (Meet the Flockers!). I am about to start my PTLLS course which runs for 5 weeks. PTLLS stands for - 'Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector' which will mean I can teach cardmaking classes in the local college. It will be hard work along with all my demos, clubs and other work that I have but it will be challenging, satisfying and a great opportunity to earn a better living especially with the economic crisis being as it is at the moment. May be able to save up and buy a bigger house with a HUGE craft room!!!!! At last, I think I have decided what I want to be when I grow up...a professional full-time crafter, HOW FAB!

Well it's now supper time for me so I will go and watch a bit of telly with a bowl of cereal.

Good night everyone x

Back to the land of blogging!

2009-06-05T10:24:00.003+01:00

I have not been on here for so long due to being a busy bee again! You know what it's like don't you?!!

We managed to ge a day off last weekend so went up to my in-laws caravan just for a break from computers, phones and general 'town' noise. It is just situated in the Eden valley in a place called King's Meaburn, it is very green, very peaceful and very lovely. As the weather was great, I managed to snap a few photos in and around the most fantastic garden centre. It overlooks the Yorkshire Dales and it has so many plants that I didn't know which way to turn. With the temperature in the high 20's and the sun beaming down on us, it felt like we were in Greece...lovely. The purple flower in one of the pictures is an Alyium and I was so taken with it that I had to buy one, so it is now standing in my garden waiting to be planted!

Well I am off to get some demo prep done now for tomorrow and then check my list of jobs to see what's next...oh gosh, it's never ending!

Have a good day everyone.

Sheila x

Craft Club Anniversary

2009-05-21T09:13:00.003+01:00

Last night at Craft club we celebrated 2 years of being together which is fantastic. A big Thank you to all the lovely ladies who have crafted every Wednesday and made our club a fun and enjoyable place to be.

We all had cake (as you can see from the above photo) to celebrate our anniversary and to officially name our club 'Meet the Flockers'. We now all have a membership card each and an official tattoo on our bottoms....no that's just a joke!!! We don't have tattoos!

I also received the most beautiful bunch of roses from one of the members and they are now in full bloom on the fireplace. Thank you Nicki!!

We have extremely heavy rain here today so I think I will stay home and either craft or tidy up, I can't decide...maybe a bit of both as I have the house to myself. My husband left here at 6am this morning to be in Harrogate for 9. He is a professional musician and is playing for an award ceremony tonight hosted by Lenny Henry, so he has an all day rehearsal before the show in the evening. He will be shattered when he gets back at 2 in the morning. No doubt he will want to give me all the details on his return, even if it's 2am, he likes to tell me EVERYTHING that happened over the course of the day. I can't wait!!!!

Hope you all have a good day today wherever you are.

Sheila x

My forgotten blog!

2009-05-19T08:17:00.003+01:00

I can't believe that it is 18 days since I have been on here...is that good or bad? It is good in that it means I have been very, very busy working my crafting socks off but on the other hand it is bad because it means I have been working so much that I haven't had time to do anything other than work! Does that make sense?

Anyway, I have a couple of free days this week so yesterday, I had a little trip to the hospital to see my friend Robert who has been very ill recently. He is still in Intensive Care but was awake and moving his arms and leg a bit and actually smiled at me a few times. We even held hands too which is fantastic considering he was unconscious last week. It looks like he is slowly getting better, thank goodness.

Well...tomorrow is Craft club and it is 2 years since we got up and running. I can't believe it. I am so pleased and very thankful to all my lovely members who come along every week through wind and rain. They are a wonderful group of ladies and I love each and every one of them. So tomorrow evening, we will have our usual crafting session with the raffle and we will celebrate as we craft with sweets and laughter. We will also be officially naming our club. After many weeks of pondering over names and ideas, we finally came up with 'Meet the Flockers'!!! Isn't that funny?! The ladies started using the flocking powders recently and love them so much that every week they just crack jokes with the word 'flock' in them. So if you have used flocking yourself and also enjoy comedy films like 'Meet the Fockers' you will understand how the name became very appropriate for the club. I am really looking forward to our meeting tomorrow night. I am proud that my little club is still going 2 years later...fantastic!!!

Have a good day everyone!

Love Sheila x

A beautiful sunny morning

2009-05-01T08:44:00.002+01:00

Yes, that's right. The sun is shining and there's not a cloud in sight. I am sitting at the dining-room table with the patio doors open and my little black cat is snoozing on the mat by the door enjoying the warmth of the sun on her shiny black coat. At the same time, my husband snores away upstairs, enjoying the thought of his well-earned day off I expect!!

I have a little demo tomorrow and Monday at Craftworld in the Lowry Retail outlet in Salford, Manchester so if you're in the area, pop in and say hello. I will be there from 10-4 making cards, boxes and anything else I can turn my hand to! Have still got a little prep to do for that which I will finish today.

I am also contemplating whether or not to drive over to Bury Market in Lancashire this morning. My mum and I keep saying we will go and have a mooch there but we never seem to get round to it. Some of my friends visit the little craft stall there where there are bargains to be had, so that would be our main reason for going, obviously.

I haven't got any cards to show you today because I haven't really made many this week but if you buy the new issue of Creativity! magazine which is out today, you will see some of my projects in there.

Have a good day x

Sometimes life can be cruel.

2009-04-28T20:13:00.004+01:00

I have had a strange day today. On Sunday, we heard that a friend of ours who was diagnosed recently with MS had taken a turn for the worse and was seriously ill in hospital. He is only 30 and after hearing the news I just haven't been able to get him out of my mind. So I nipped up to the hospital this afternoon. He is really ill and I can't believe the change in him since January. I sat by his bedside today and spoke to him even though he was sleeping all the time and in the last 2 hours of me sitting here thinking about him, I feel really down and upset about him. My head aches with fighting back my tears so now I am having a little cry about him after speaking to his Dad on the phone.

I really hope that he can find some strength from somewhere to help in what might be a long recovery process. We have to stay hopeful and keep our fingers crossed.

I don't want to end my post with unhappy news so I will tell you about a lovely craft shop in a local town which a friend told me about 2 weeks ago. It seems like the shop has been open for two years and I had absolutely no idea!! So I paid a visit there and it is very nice with pleasant staff, lots of stock and tonnes of stamps.....so I will be visiting there again and telling everyone about it. They have also just opened a Coffee Shop within the Craft store so what could be better? Coffee, cake and crafting all at the same time.............JOY!

Bye for now, Sheila x

Project of the week

2009-04-28T00:28:00.002+01:00

For those of you who are Do Crafts followers, you may have already seen my card for this week over on the website. This project had to mainly feature the Quickutz Squeeze so I cut the letters from it but also cut around the metal dies to create the little 'Course work' file. Add some rub-ons and a couple of tiny jump rings and 'Hey Presto'...your completed ring binder! Cocktail sticks were used to make the pencils and pen. A bit of vellum around the cocktail stick and some silver outline sticker borders brought the miniature pen to life which I was really pleased about. There's no greater joy than fiddling around with tiny bits and pieces to come up with something fun. I would love to be the person who was put on a desert island with a hut to build...I would be in my element!!!

Anyway, I had better get some sleep now, it's bedtime again.

Goodnight x

Colour challenge

2009-04-25T23:05:00.002+01:00

Here is my card for the colour challenge over on Clare's Signature range blog. Kath and I chose to use Turquoise and Yellow for this week's challenge so here is my completed project.

I went to a craft show yesterday at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool and I took my mum along for the day. I bought some clear stamps, jewllery findings, charms and chains, Magic foil card, More Copic markers and some Merino Roving from which I can make felt beads and balls for jewellery.

Today I have done a few jobs around the house and spent 2 hours playing my saxophone in preparation for my gig tomorrow. We have a rehearsal at 10 in the morning and then our gig starts at 12.30pm so we are looking forward to spending the day at the jazz club, it should be a good concert.

Maybe tomorrow night I will make some cards or maybe practise my jewellery making again!

Have a good day everyone.

Sheila x

It just goes to show...

2009-04-23T10:11:00.002+01:00

...that a little goes a long way!!

I am of course talking about a little incident that happened here about 30 minutes ago.

I reversed my car off the drive so that my husband could get his car out to go to work. As I sat at the opposite side of the street with my engine running, I noticed that after Richard had reversed out, he got out of his car and walked back onto the drive looking very puzzled. He then returned to his car thoroughly checking the bodywork before getting back in. Intrigued, I left my car running and got out to investigate further. As I walked onto the drive, I saw a totally flattened bottle of 'Anita's Tacky glue'.....it must've rolled out of my craft bag last night when I came home from my craft club and lodged itself behind my front tyre without me noticing. Obviously as I reversed over it, the pressure of the car's weight totally splattered it and the lid shot across the lawn (at approximately 75 mph!) followed by a hefty trail of white glue covering both the paving stones and the grass, stopping 2 feet short of my neighbours drive!!! Wow what a spectacle! So I have just spent the last 15 minutes clearing the glue off the drive with hot soapy water and a stiff brush. Then came the difficult bit.....have you ever tried washing a lawn?!! Well I managed it with an all purpose cloth and another jug of hot, soapy water. I must admit that once it has dried, I am looking forward to seeing if it gives the grass that same clear, glossy finish that it does when you put it on a card, ha ha!

I will keep you updated anyway so make sure you stay 'glued' to my blog..............!!! x

A final Good-bye

2009-04-21T07:04:00.003+01:00

We are up early today as we have a long drive to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to my Husband's Grandma's funeral. It's one of those days that everyone dreads but has to be part of. I am sure there will be many tears but lots of happy memories too as we say Goodnight to Grandma. She was a bit of a party girl in her youth and liked nothing better than a cigarette and a whisky as was the fashion in the 1930's. So we will have a toast to her long life and be thankful that she is now without the suffering that she has endured over the past year or two. She will be happy now I expect, as her spirit will al last be with Grandad Alfie, her life long love of over 60 years. It will also be sad for me too as today would've been my Dad's 75th Birthday had he lived to see it. He died in 1974 when he was just 39 so no doubt he will be in my mind too even though my memories are few as I was very young when he died. But...when I get up on a funeral day and the sun is shining, then I don't feel quite as bad and I think it helps everyone feel a little less sad.

I don't want this post to sound miserable so I hope that you all have a lovely day whatever you do and remember that life is short, so enjoy it while you can.

Love Sheila x

Sunday, at last!

2009-04-19T08:00:00.004+01:00

Gosh I am so thankful, for today because I can actually relax with no deadlines to meet or demos to prepare for.

I spoke to my younger sister on the webcam last night. She lives in California and we don't get to see each other very often, but she surprised us last night with news of a short trip here in July. Her husband has bought tickets for her to come and watch an opera in Manchester (as her 40th Birthday present). The music from the opera has been written by Rufus Wainwright, with whom she is obsessed, and that is her reason for coming. We are so excited to see her and are now busy trying to find some cheap flights for her. I can't wait for her to get here!

Anyway in the meantime and as part of my relaxation, I am going to meet up with a couple of girls from the band I play with and we are going to have a run through a few pieces of music. We all play saxophone and even though we have played this music a million times, we just need to refresh our memory on it before next Sunday's concert. The director of the band has pulled some music out of the band's library from many moon's ago so we need a quick 'refresher' to lock all those notes back into our brains!

After that, I shall be chillin' and that will be lovely. Hope you all manage to do the same!

Enjoy the day!! x

Limited supplies challenge

2009-04-17T11:50:00.002+01:00

Here is my entry for last weeks 'Stamping Chic' Blog. We were limited to using just one shape and everything on the card had to be the same shape. So here's my little handbag and change purse using only semi-circles. I didn't realise how hard this would be till I started it though!!! Very busy at the moment and have just enrolled on a course at one of our local adult education centres. This involves a 5 week course where I will be qualify to become a tutor there teaching card-making and crafting. How good is that? There is already a lot of work waiting due to a shortage of craft tutors so this might mean some good quality work for me with the local authority. The course is to start in June so I will be busy from then on as I still have my lovely Do Crafts demos to do along with my weekly craft club. This must be the best job in the world!

Don't forget to tune in to QVC at 4pm today to watch Clare doing her 'Papermania Hour'.....should be fun!!!

D.I.Y Flower Challenge

2009-04-11T19:03:00.002+01:00

Here is my completed card for the challenge on Clare's blog for last week. It was to make flowers from scratch so this is my attempt at doing just that. I have cut some petals freehand, then chalked the edges and added a little detail with a fine marker. I have coiled some tapered strips around a paintbrush using the same paper, then fed wire through the centres and placed them in the centre of the flower. I have also added some curly strips of Core'dinations card and glued these to the centre also. Each petal point has a white pearl attached to complete the look.

To see the rest of the design team's projects, look here, they are fab x

Good Friday, Sad Friday

2009-04-10T10:16:00.004+01:00

We just had news this morning that my husband's Grandma passed away at 12.10am, so we are sad today. I have always looked on his Grandma as my grandma too because I have known her since 1985 and she treated me like her own Grandaughter, so yes I am sad that she is no longer with us. She has suffered in the last 12 months after falling and having many strokes and when we visited her up in Newcastle 3 weeks ago, she was mainly sleeping and totally unaware that we were there. But at 93 years old, she has lived her life to the full and is now no longer suffering so we are all grateful for her pain to have left her. We shall all miss her lots.

I am supposed to be spending today preparing for my demo tomorrow and Monday, but my heart isn't quite in it today after news of Grandma, so maybe I will just relax and think this morning then may feel like crafting after lunch. I will just see.....

I hope you all have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend and I hope to be back on here later maybe with a card or two.

Happy Easter! x

Craft club card revealed!!

2009-04-09T00:53:00.002+01:00

Here is the little card we made at the club last night. This was a really inexpensive card to make because the card blanks and envelopes were just 59p for a pack of 8 from the discount store in town, the lovely pink heart pins were £1.99 for 50 from a local floristry wholesalers along with the bright pink 'pull bow' ribbon which was just £2.69 for 25 metres. Oh I do love a bargain!!! The photo quality isn't great, which makes the colours quite pale, but at least you can see the card.

Don't forget to visit here to keep up with this weeks technique challenge over on Clare's Signature Range blog. The design team have made some delightful projects this week. Go on, get over there and see what's happening!

Have a good day! x

Club project for tonight

2009-04-08T11:33:00.002+01:00

Here is a little peek at part of the project we will be doing at the club tonight. We will be mainly using pinks, black and white along with ribbons, flowers, card and these delightful heart pins which you can see in the photo to come up with a little card that most 'girlie' girls would love!

Will show the full photo tomorrow. Pop back and see! x

Colour challenge card

2009-04-05T08:44:00.002+01:00

Here is a card I made last week for Clare Curd's Signature Range blog which you can see here.

Kath and myself decided to go with Pink and Black as the colour theme so if you hop on over to the blog, you will be able to see all the design team's entries. They are lovely and all very different from each other. Pop over there and have a little look!

I still seem to be quite busy with one thing and another so am hoping to have a little 'craft-free' time this afternoon then I can cut the lawns while the sun is shining. I may change my plans though at any time and just forget the grass for today and make a card instead!

Have a nice day x

Sunday.....a day of rest???

2009-03-29T17:59:00.003+01:00

No rest for me today. I just can't seem to stop doing stuff. I don't know when I last sat down on the couch to relax. I have even started watching tv during the evenings from the leather chair in my craft room, how bad is that?

So today, while my hubby went to tinker with his microlight at the airfield, I decided to have a bit of a tidy and yes you guessed it...I ended up moving my desk around so that I could see the huge display board from the Olympia show which has my card printed on it! If you look at the photo you will see how big it is and why I like it. I can't believe that my little card has been blown up to 1.5m x1.5m. Oh I am thrilled about it and am so happy that Do Crafts let me bring it home...I am dying for someone to come round so that I can show it to them!!!

So now I am going to unpack my bags from yesterday's demo then maybe have a play with my new Cuttlebug which I got from the show last week. I will be able to put it on the shelf then next to all my other die-cutters that I never use!!!

See ya later!

Back home and still making cards!!!

2009-03-27T14:36:00.003Z

Well I arrived back home on Tuesday evening after a long drive home from Dorset.

We left here on Wednesday the 18th and drove to the Olympia in London to set up for the show the following day. We arrived in the building and headed to our own areas where we started to unpack boxes and set up the tables, materials and tools for the workshops. Beckie Dreyer was hosting the scrapbook workshop and I was doing the card-making. Clare was in the demonstration theatre in the basement demoing her new Signature range.

I could see some advertising boards in my area, two of them which showed one of my projects which I made for the Do Crafts website. I was thrilled to see the huge 1.5m square panels and was given permission to take one home after the show. It is now hanging on the wall of my craft room and I love it!!

Here is a photo of my workshop once it was set up. If you look carefully, you can see the board with my card on, it is to the right of the one with the three punches on.

It was such a fantastic experience to be part of and I loved it. My feet were what suffered most and I ended up in stocking feet by the end of the first day and there were 3 more days to go! Anyway, I wore my flat shoes for the rest of the week and that seemed to help. They are still suffering a little though.

The workshops went really well for all of us and we had lots of positive comments and good feedback from the customers who attended, so thank you to them for coming along. It was nice to meet lots of passionate crafters and some total beginners too.

So today, I have been making samples for my demo tomorrow and posting my colour challenge card on Clare's blog. You can see it here if you are interested.

Better get back to crafting now...I have to make a couple more samples yet.

Cheerio x

Getting ready for a busy time ahead

2009-03-13T09:49:00.002Z

This is one of the cards for my demo tomorrow at The Range in Wigan. I have used some of the new Papermania paper flowers along with the new Stitch templates. If you would like to see any of the new products for March from Do Crafts Craft Essentials promotion leaflet then pop along to a local stockist this weekend to see if there are any demos on.

Aside from my prep for tomorrow, I have a demo on Sunday at Craftworld in Salford, Manchester from 11-5 where I will be demoing a mixture of products.

I am also putting my step-by-step instruction boards together for the Olympia show next week. Once these are done, I have to make some cards to celebrate.....Birth of a baby for this Saturday, Pregnancy news card asap, Father-in-law's Birthday on Sunday, Nephew's 2nd Birthday on Thursday, 2 Mother's Day cards for next Sunday, Project of the Week for Do Crafts website by Monday and a challenge card for Clare's blog by Tuesday. All these things have to be done before Monday so as to leave enough time to pack up all my stuff and get ready for my week away from home in London then Dorset. Anybody got any spare hands for sale?!!!!!

I guess not, so I had better get on before I run out of time. Oh yes...I am also currently defrosting the freezer too as I type!!

Craft Club Charity evening

2009-03-11T23:28:00.003Z

Been a busy week for me for lots of reasons but we were extremely busy at my club tonight because we had decided to merge two events into one. The ladies at the club were making cards for the Marie Curie Appeal which is run by Do Crafts every year. Also, my nephew and his friend had been making bookmarks for 2 weeks to try and raise money for Red Nose Day. This was a fantastic idea considering they had thought it up themselves (they are only 5 and 6 years old!) and they have been buzzing with excitement all week since I said they could come and sell them at my craft club this evening! Anyway it all went well and they made quite a bit of money but not sure on the total raised yet! They did a bit of crafting with us too so all in all it was a good night for everyone. They had made some signs to place on their stall, one which read 'Buy 1 bookmark for £1.10 or buy 2 for £35 or buy 3 for £14, All money welcome Thank you'.....this made us all laugh as you can imagine! Bless their little hearts.

Anyway we all enjoyed it and the ladies made some lovely cards to be sent to Do Crafts for the Marie Curie Appeal as you can see from the picture.

So a big Thank you to both the children and my ladies for all their hard work in supporting these good causes.

CCSR Paper Piecing Challenge

2009-03-08T11:49:00.002Z

Good morning!

Here is my attempt at the Paper Piecing Challenge using this great range of Clare's.

While I was thinking about making this card, I came up with the idea of swapping the stamps around a little to make another girl out of the existing two in the collection. So by stamping the two girls a few times on to both cardstock and patterned papers, I managed to merge the two together to come up with this hybrid version, complete with paper pieced party outfit in brown and white. I really enjoyed experimenting with this to see if it would work and it did! So meet 'Mixie'.....a 'mixture' of two girls rolled into one!

PRODUCTS USED- Clare Curd's Signature Range...Stamping Chic - Party, Sentiments, The Big One papers,

Papermania A6 Card blanks - Latte, Papermania Felt Ribbons, Papermania Adhesive Stones, Papermania Buttons, Core-dinations Cardstock, Color Box Fluid Chalk inkpad Dark Brown, Anita's Ribbon Thin Organza, Whispers Brush

Markers.

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry.

2009-03-08T00:08:00.002Z

Yes I am sorry for not getting on here for 5 days. This has been one of my busiest weeks for ages, as I have been trying to get lots of projects and write-ups completed for the May edition of Creativity! magazine. The deadline was yesterday and I just managed to get it all finished and emailed by 10.30am yesterday. I was jumping for joy when I had finished it because it had been hard work. So last night I had a couple of drinks to celebrate while out on a gig with the band I play in.

Some of you will know (and some of you won't), that I play the saxophone and so does my husband, so last night we were playing at the British Legion just near Manchester Airport. They have a monthly jazz session there so we did 3 gruelling sets of Jazz and Big Band music. It is what I like doing best, along with my crafting of course, and the adrenhalin rush is amazing when you play within that group of 16 musicians. The power of the band playing the closely harmonised chords all around you is one of the most amazing experiences you can ever be part of and I am both thrilled and priveleged to be able to do that. I love it so much I could burst! So needless to say we were on a high as we left the club because the band played better than ever and we were just buzzing! Great!

So, tomorrow I will be posting my next card from the Clare Curd Signature range Challenge. I have spent my afternoon completing it in time for a quick photo in the morning and then my posting on here and on the CCSR blog too which you can see here. Don't forget to take a peek every day this week to see what the card designers have been upto!

Till tomorrow....good-night x

Another Monday morning

2009-03-02T08:43:00.002Z

These Monday mornings soon come aaround don't they?!

Well I have lots to do for the May edition of Creativity magazine so today I need to get on with that. I had a fun day yesterday with my older sister. She came to my house and we spent the whole day in my craft room. She is making some cards and wanted to cut some big letters and numbers, so out came the Cricut machine and off we went cutting alphabets, balloons and more. We did a bit of stamping too and some embossing and she had a rummage through some of my papers and things. We had a good day and she went home at midnight just 'buzzing' from all the stuff she had put in her bag. She said she was going to get up at 6am cos she couldn't wait to get making cards!!

The card here on my blog is one I made for my Sister and her husband for their Wedding Anniversary. I gave it to her yesterday and she loved it! The Penny Black stamps have been on my shelf for abouut 18 months and I have never stamped with them until now. What a silly girl I am for not using them earlier eh?

Anyway, I had an early wake up call this morning from the Parcel force man. He was delivering my new March design kit from Do Crafts. Oh there are some lovely lovelies in that box, I can tell you! Will be trying them out as the day goes on.

Have a nice day everyone x

What....late twice in the same evening Clare?!!!

2009-02-28T22:37:00.002Z

Uh Oh!! Clare is late at publishing her last post of the night, due to unforseen circumstances!!!

I have been speaking to her on the webcam but she isn't making much sense. She is however, THOROUGHLY enjoying drinking her Gin and Tonic through a straw!!!! No, seriously she is due to post on her blog at any moment now. Hang around cos it will be worth waiting for, believe me!

Enjoy the last bit of the Party and thank you for all your lovely comments x

Sneaky peek

2009-02-28T19:31:00.003Z

Here is a sneaky peek of the Colour Challenge card that Clare set for us. Yoou will be able to see this in full view back with Clare later this evening.

Now you need to get on over to Kath's blog to see what she's been creating. Enjoy the party!

Sketch Challenge

2009-02-28T19:25:00.003Z

Okay, if you have been on Clare's blog, you will see the sketch challenge that she gave to us so here is my completed card. I hope you like it!

For this card I have used the papers from The Big One and the lovely Stampin Chic party. This is a great set because all the extra bits are interchangeable. BUY IT!!!

If you are waiting for the Treasure Hunt question then here it is.....This Design Team member has a crafty helper called 'Buddy'.....who is she?

Back on here in a sec with a sneaky peek of something.....keep watching!

Here we go with the launch then...

2009-02-28T19:14:00.002Z

Well after a short delay, everything is up and running and you all need to get on over here and check the party out. It's going to be fun with games and prizes and lots of lovely cards made with the Clare Curd Signature Range all designed lovingly by Clare. Hop on over there now to see what's going on. I will be showing you my first project on here in 2 minutes using these lovely products. Don't go away!

Whoops...a slight delay...

2009-02-28T18:52:00.001Z

Well we have a slight delay on the start of the Launch Party so just hang on to your hats and keep checking the blog. All will be up and running shortly!

Launch Party starting soon!

2009-02-28T17:10:00.002Z

Well we have got 1 hour and 20 minutes to go before Clare 'Blasts off' with her Signature range. You will be able to join in with all the fun and games here so why not pop on over and see what's happening. There are prizes up for grabs too I believe, so don't let the opportunity pass you by!

Go on...get over there from 6.30pm onwards and enjoy the Launch Party............

All ready for tomorrow night!

2009-02-27T18:09:00.003Z

Here's a 'fun' Atc from a collection of 12 I made which you will be able to see in the March issue of Creativity which comes out on Sunday 1st March. It may already be in the shops by now of course.
DON'T FORGET...that tomorrow evening at 6.30pm, the launch of Clare Curd's Signature Range will start. It will be like a virtual party and you can all be part of it. There will be photos, music, games and lots of blog-hopping along with some prizes. The Design team have been busy creating projects all week for the 'Big Launch' so get on over to Clare's blog tomorrow night for a look at her lovely range!

I am very busy at the moment with CREATIVITY! Magazine commissions, final planning for the show at The Olympia in London mid-March and working on projects from Clare's range. My demos start in 2 weeks too, both for Do Crafts and privately so I am 'snowed under' to say the least.

Off to do more work now after a short break for tea. No time to waste!

Back on here tomorrow x

No time to craft

2009-02-25T23:19:00.002Z

Yesterday I had a manic day because I had to take my car for it's MOT. Only had it for 12 months so was hoping it would sail through. Anyway...IT FAILED...on a broken front coil spring which apparantley is a problem on Fiat cars and a recall was made in 2006 so that the parts could be modified. After a full day of ringing Fiat and driving to a different garage and ringing Fiat again then driving home then ringing the garage back...I was totally stressed out and almost at breaking point. To cut a long story short, my car will go into the Fiat dealer and be repaired, probably tomorrow then all will be well. SO, that meant that I missed a day of creating projects forDo Crafts Creativity! mag so I am now a day behind. I also have to start my cards for Clare's 'launch party' on Saturday night. I am probably going to be the last of the design team to get them done. Not very professional eh? Don't worry though. I am starting them tomorrow come what may so they will be ready in time for 6pm on Saturday. Don't forget to join in the fun on the blog!

Right, after a busy night at my craft club, it's pyjamas and bed for me I think.

Be back on here tomorrow with a card or two.

Good night all x

No cards today just cakes!

2009-02-23T22:48:00.002Z

We didn't have anything to have for our pudding after tea last night so I dug deep into the back of my baking cupboard and found a 'Halloween' themed cake kit. Great! Even though they were totally unseasonal, I thought "what the hell" so I threw them together, banged them in the oven then iced them as quick as humanely possible (as you can see by the photograph)!

The one in the picture is for my special friend Clare who is besotted with 'Wicked' the Musical, plus the witches hat reminds me of our day in London watching Wicked at the Apollo theatre.

Sorry you can't be here to eat it Clare so I will eat it for you............mmmmm........yummy..........hee hee x

Let's do lunch...

2009-02-21T16:08:00.002Z

That's the theme of my card I made today. It has taken me a while to finish cos I started it at 8.30 this morning but in between then and now, I have had lunch, put 3 lots of washing out on the line and spent 2 hours in the garden cutting back dead plants and trees. So after doing that, I had a wash, a quick drink and then came back to to my little room to finish the card I started first thing.

I have used: DCWV 'All Dressed Up' 12 x 12 stack, Versafine ink, Papermania Cardstock, Core'dinations card, Making Memories paper flowers, Stamps from Horseshoe Crafts, Papermania Adhesive stones, Cotton Candy Stickles and Hobbycraft ribbon.

I hope you like it!

My package from Do Crafts arrived this morning with Clare's Signature Range stamps and papers so I can get started on some projects with those now in time for the launch party next Saturday evening. Don't forget to join us there at www.clarecurdsignaturerange.blogspot.com

We will be on there all night with sneaky peeks, party poppers and party music. It's gonna be great!

Cheerio x

Ready for bed

2009-02-21T00:39:00.002Z

I have just got into bed after watching tv since 7.30. Just wanted to chill on the settee tonight for a change cos usually I go up into my craft room and make a card or two before bed. Not tonight though...I have enjoyed watching some of the junk tv that adorns our screens night after night. It has also put me in the mood for a good old 'card' session tomorrow I think. I have some stamps that I bought ages ago and still haven't tried them so I am gonna stamp and colour using my Copic markers (which I have hardly used) so I may be able to post some pictuires on here tomorrow evening.

I have missed chatting to my friend Clare on the webcam tonight as she has gone to a Murder Mystery Evening with her husband. It will be fun to hear all about that when I speak to her next.

Okay I have to sleep now...my eyes are almost shut. See ya tomorrrow x

Christmas and Spring in February?

2009-02-18T07:30:00.002Z

This morning when I stepped out onto the patio in my pyjamas for a breath of fresh air, I could see a Thrush sitting on the branch of our tree (he was there yesterday too). He was singing at the top of his voice with the most amazing whistles, chirps, and warbles. I stayed out there (freezing) just to enjoy his birdsong as I couldn't believe how beautiful he looked and sounded. To me, that was the first sign of spring and the beginning of the mating season. I was convinced that he was trying to impress a female somewhere in the distance. At the same time however, there was the most fantastic pine aroma coming from my Christmas tree (which I put outside the house in December because it was still blooming and too nice to recycle). The tree still looks great and the smell when you open the patio door is so powerful that I just have to stand there and breathe it in. If my neighbours look out of their windows and see me on the patio at 6.40am wearing pyjamas, with binoculars round my neck and my eyes shut as I take deep breaths, well...they will think that I have gone round the bend. I am totally sane, honestly, but I just love that peace and quiet before everyone wakes and ruins the atmosphere with engines, ringtones and loud voices.

Just though I would share that with you!

Back later x

I will soon be...

2009-02-17T16:03:00.002Z

Designing for Clare Curd using her lovely new Signature range which comes out in March.

Her collection is really nice and I have already got some of the products but I haven't used any of them yet. I am waiting patiently for the 'Go-ahead' from Clare! Oh it's exciting for me and I can't wait to get stuck in. Pop over here to find out more and meet the rest of her design team while you're there.

A couple of little quick makes

2009-02-15T20:44:00.002Z

I was playing tonight with some card, paper and ribbon like you do, and I came up with two little cards. I cut an A6 card in half to make two small ones then stamped two images using my 'Stampin' up' stamps which I got free at a workshop recently. They are cute stamps and give a lovely clear image. I also used pink and black Core'dinations card, organza ribbon, pink brads and pink gems. I may use these as the project at my craft club on Wednesday evening. I really like small cards.....finding envelopes can sometimes be a problem though. But there's always a way round it, if you're a crafter you can make anything, including envelopes!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T11:23:00.002Z

Here is the card I made for my Husband Richard. He never sends cards but always buys me a gift and so I now have a beautiful lemon orchid to go in my yellow craft room and a box of milk chocolates filled with strawberry...yummy! They also came in a nice box which I think I will be covering once it's empty. He really likes the card I made and was very taken with the We R Memory Keepers red gromlets under the greeting. He said he likes the significance of the two rings (as in wedding rings), but that thought never even crossed my mind when I was making it so I just said 'Yes me too' !! That means that he REALLY REALLY loves me today!

Anyway, have a good day everyone no matter what you do and who you spend it with x

What a great week

2009-02-13T14:28:00.003Z

Here is my card which features on the Do Crafts website as Project of the week. To find out how to make it just go onto their site and find out all about it. It was made using Papermania's Spring Burst range. Lots of purples, lilacs and bright greens, I love this collection along with the Scrumptious range too!

Got back from 4 days in Dorset last night. Had been to Do Crafts to do some more planning for my card-making workshops at the Olympia show in March. I also got to do a couple of Top Tip videos, one of which you can see on the Do Crafts website from today.

I have been given a few projects to do for the May issue of Creativity magazine so I am looking forward to getting those started. However, I am a little under the weather as I picked up a sore throat and feel a bit rough today so the projects may have to wait till the weekend when I feel a bit more lively.

I hope to be back on here tomorrow so Cheerio till then x

Meet my crafting snow buddy!

2009-02-05T10:45:00.002Z

Here she is...my little snow assistant waiting to help me out with my crafting. Wrapped up in her woolly scarf, she is holding Core'dinations card and the new Papermania 'Scrumptious' papers along with a Stick it adhesive runner. Her buttons are Basic Grey and her eyes are made using Papermania metal alphabet rings with Core'dinations card.

If you would like to make a snow assistant to help you out with your crafting, you just need the above items, a 2 twigs, a carrot and some snow!!!!

Have fun x

It's february already!

2009-02-03T17:35:00.003Z

Here is a little photo of some of my teeny weenies which I keep in jars. Teeny weenies are things like brads, buttons, flowers, gromlets, gems etc...how I love them, they are so important to me!

I can't believe that January has gone and we will be in March before we know it. I have been busy over the last few days starting with my demo at The Range in Wigan on Saturday and completing two circle journals which were long overdue. They will be posted on to their owners tomorrow along with my 'Project of the week' for the Do Crafts website for next Wednesday. Tomorrow I have my craft club and then Thursday I will be preparing for my demo at The Range in Rochdale on Saturday. May go to the craft exhibition on Friday in Manchester then Sunday I will be preparing for my trip to Do Crafts in Dorset next Monday till Thursday which I am looking forward to.

I have got lots of sorting to do in this room of mine soon because there is too much stuff and it is really starting to get on my nerves. I am finding it hard to move as every inch of space is taken up with boxes and bags of products, half of which I won't use (impulse buys) and products which I'll never use simply because they are TOO gorgeous!

There is no cure for this craft disease which we all suffer from and apparently it just gets worse and worse with age. I have had it since I was 6 and am now 42 and the symptoms are still the same. I have heard of death by chocolate but not death by crafting!

Well it's time to get back into the kitchen now to make the tea for hubby and me. I hate housewifery and cooking too. I am currently working on 'how to make a meal using leftover peel-offs, ribbon and vellum'....

See you later x

Tax return, Arrggghhhhh!

2009-01-30T10:55:00.002Z

Well I have just completed and submitted my tax return online, oh how I hate filling in forms, adding and subtracting, reading big complicated words that I don't really understand. Why can't I just make the Inland Revenue a pretty card, with my income, expenses and tax due written on one of the new Papermania notelets and popped inside the card!!! That would be lovely wouldn't it?

Anyway, it's done now so I can crack on today with the last bit of prep for my demo tomorrow. It is at The Range in Wigan, Lancashire between 10 and 4 and I will be demonstrating all the lovely new Do Crafts products so pop along if you are in that area...but don't forget your purse!!!

I have also got to undertake a little 'blog' task today set by my friend Clare on Wednesday, so I shall be doing that this afternoon once I have had my lunch.

Hope to be back on here later with a few little 'tasters' of my demo samples for tomorrow. They will only be tiny snippets though so you will have to come along to the demo to see the full projects, hee hee x

I have been given ANOTHER award!!!

2009-01-23T10:27:00.002Z

Thank you Clare for this award. As you can see, I have managed to do all the 'linking' on my own today and it has worked so I AM THRILLED, Hee Hee! I can't believe that I have grasped it at last. All thanks to my 'blog' teacher, she helps me out when I am stuck with my 'I T' skills!

Be back on here later today, Cheerio x

I've been given an award

2009-01-22T14:28:00.004Z

I have been given this lovely award by Susie. So Thank you Susie for being so kind in giving this to me. Thank you also to my pal Clare for talking me through how to link the blogs and awards together. My computer skills are not the best so I am trying to pick up things as I go along...it may take some time though so be patient!!!

Cheerio x

Enjoying a bit of free time

2009-01-20T10:34:00.003Z

I have some free time over the next week or so to do as I wish so I may be able to catch up on a few jobs around the house. I have got my craft club prep to do and some samples to make up for the Olympia show workshops in March but I can still have some leisure time too I think.

Today I have been watching my friend Clare on Qvc with the Today's Special Value slots every couple of hours. Was nice to see one or two of my cards on there along with Do Crafts' Becky and Jenny's cards too. We worked hard for 3 days last week to make samples with the Purple Cows Trimmer for today's show. Check it out if you can today. It's a great bargain at £29.32!

Next week I am going to spend a day with my older sister Allison as we want to start gathering some information for a scrapbook about our Dad. Unfortunately, he died in 1973 at the age of 39. My sisters and I were 11, 6 and 3 when he died so we have grown up without him and only have vague memories of him and just a handful of stories to tell. We do however, have a lot of photos and newspaper articles about his life as a musician, so we want to get together all the pictures and information with the help of our mum and come up with a scrapbook about his life. We will each have copies of all the photos but will make our own personal albums along with one for our younger sister Gillian who lives in California. That way, we can hopefully learn a bit more about what he was like. My older sister has struggled for a long time to live without our Dad so I think she particularly needs to do an album to help turn her sadness into what may be happier memories of his life (though short) and share it with her own children. This will be good for Allison and even though she will fill a bucket with tears while we do it, she will feel some relief from her hurting and some peace in her heart once we have completed the albums. I am looking forward to doing it and making a scrapbook to treasure. I will post some of the old black and whites on here once we get going.

I haven't actually posted a photo of a completed project on here since last week so I will try and upload some later today. Maybe a snippet of tomorrow's craft club project if I get the chance.

Bye for now x

A fab few days in Dorset

2009-01-17T16:21:00.003Z

Here is part of a card I made last week for a friend who's daughter was 21. She is particularly interested in music and plays drums and piano so this is what I came up with. I made one for her when she was 18 and she loved it so much that she framed it so I hope she likes this just as much.
Got back from Do Crafts in Dorset late on Thurs evening after a productive few days there. Clare and myself drove down there to plan the demos and workshops which we will be doing at the Olympia in London between March 19th - 22nd. I am so excited to be taking part in the show where I will be running 4 card-making workshops per day over 4 days. It will be hard work but it's a fantastic opportunity for me and I can't wait to get stuck into preparing my samples and instructions.

Do Crafts headquarters is a fantastic place with lots of people working hard in the office on all kinds of designs and projects along with everything else that makes a place like that run smoothly. There is a huge warehouse with millions of craft products on shelves from floor to ceiling and lorries in the delivery bay being filled with orders from dawn to dusk. It is a crafters dream!!!

It was also nice to meet many of the Do Crafts team in person at last. We ate in the hotel together and met for breakfast too before going to the office. After all the meetings and serious stuff, Clare and I went to the 'Bournemouth Asda' before walking along the beach to collect some huge shells. We also overdosed on impressions and laughter as usual so all in all it was a great trip.

I spent 2 out of 3 days in the craft room making cards for Clare to take to QVC on Tuesday. Another couple of designers were drafted in too to help out with the samples so it was all hands on deck churning out cards, scrap pages and boxes! So make sure you tune in to QVC on Tuesday morning from 12am onwards to see Clare in action!

Off to put some salmon in the oven for tea now. Bye for now x

For chocolate lovers everywhere

2009-01-10T17:58:00.002Z

Here's a card I made on Thursday evening with some goodies that I bought in September and hadn't had chance to use. I did a bit of cutting and decoupage, a bit of punching and sanding then added a bit of sparkle, some pearls and some stickles to finish it off. I hope you like it.

By the way, I always dress like the girl on the card when I eat chocolate too, hee hee!

I can feel some excitement brewing...

2009-01-09T18:20:00.003Z

That's because next week I am going down to Do Crafts Headquarters in Dorset. Clare and I will drive down there on Monday and return on Thursday. I have been asked by Do Crafts to do the card making workshops at the Olympia show in London between March the 19th - 22nd. This is a big opportunity for me and I am thrilled to have been asked. So I am a little nervous but also excited at the prospect of doing a big show but it will be great and I can't wait to get planning some cards for the event.

Today I have had a free day so been shopping, done some washing, changed the bed and tidied my craft room. After tea, I am hoping to finish a card which I started last night so if I complete it, I will post a photo of it on here later.

Better go and check the oven, got a lovely meat loaf cooking.

See you later x

Fun at the club

2009-01-08T07:48:00.002Z

Last night was our first club meeting of 2009 and it was so nice to see all the ladies again and catch up on everyone's trials and tribulations, of which there were a few!

Everyone spent the whole evening making the card from the kit I had prepared and by the time 10 o'clock came, there were some pretty nice cards completed. Give out 11 identical kits but get 11 totally different cards made, all with the same layout but just slightly different once completed. They all did an excellent job, they can turn their hands to anything these days!

Today I will be completing my write-up for my projects which are to feature in the March issue of 'Creativity'. Deadline is tomorrow so that needs to be emailed asap. I will then be able to delve into my new demo kit and start experimenting with the new Papermania and Anitas products, not forgetting the Forever Friends range too of course.

I will also nip to the opticians as my eyes have slightly deteriorated over the past 3 years so I need to change my reading glasses for slightly stronger lenses, apparently once you are in your 40's everything starts to wear out and I can definitely vouch for that as I approach 43!

Well, time to get dressed now into something warm and cosy. Fog and ice here today.

Take care x

Tomorrow's Craft club project

2009-01-06T10:22:00.003Z

What a lovely fresh morning eh? When I got up at 8am, our outside thermometer sensor said -5.7 degrees. Gosh that's cold. But the sun is out and it is beautiful, fresh and crisp...don't think I'll be going out just yet though. I have a lot to do today starting with my craft club preparation, my magazine write-up for Do Crafts, a trip to the post office to post my projects for the magazine, returning a top to the shops cos it's too big and finally an eye test at 3.20pm. So quite a busy day for me.

Here is a little look at what we will be making at my club tomorrow evening...we will be using some Penny Black stamped images. I am not really into 'cute' images especially things like hedgehogs carrying balloons or mice in teacups because I don't think these events would ever take place, but who knows what goes on out in the meadows and hedgerows when we are busy getting on with our lives! I do like these little bear stamps though, so tomorrow night will be their debut at my club. You can just have a little look at part of my card. I don't want to show all of it incase any of my craft club ladies are looking...I don't want to spoil the build up to our first meeting of 2009 you see!

Better get on..bye for now x

WOW,, how fab is this?

2009-01-04T09:50:00.002Z

My friend Clare, who you will all know by now both from Do Crafts and QVC, has been 'attending' to my blog layout and header etc because I am rubbish at it and look what she did for me! It's so nice, I love it. Thank you Clare for taking the time to do it. Now I just want to look at it all day, hee hee.

I hope that now it looks like a real blog, it will inspire me to get some cards and other projects on to here quickly.

I was up very early this morning so have taken all the Christmas decorations down both inside and out. It feels like a normal day now. I know that you should leave them up till the 6th but my husband Richard is back at work tomorrow and it just seems wrong to be going back to work while the tree is still in place. Once they are back in the loft and the hoover has been on, it will be nice and tidy just how I like it.

My craft club starts up again on Wednesday so today I will be cutting and stamping in preparation for that. I think I am going to do a little newsletter for the club just once a month to inform them of craft events, projects, sales, Birthdays etc. It will help me remember everything that I need to tell them but usually forget! We'll see anyway.

Right, I'm off to get my day going before time runs out.

Cheerio!

Blogging is too hard for me

2009-01-03T09:50:00.003Z

Well I am on here again this morning where you will notice that my blog is now yellow (to match my car!). My friend Clare keeps reminding me that she has 'tagged' me and given me a blog award but I have no idea what I do now to try and get them on here. I don't really have any computer skills but I am pretty nifty at finding stuff on the internet when I want something. However, spreadsheets, word documents, links etc are all alien to me really so I just lose the will to stick at it and ususally end up eating some chocolate and getting back to my scissors and glue!

What I really want to do is get into the habit of keeping this blog up to date and post some clear photos of my projects on here. It just then becomes more of a journal or way of keeping records for myself. It doesn't matter if it never gets seen by anyone, it is just something for me to refer back to.

So today I am going to get back to my projects and may get to post some photos on this page later tonight.

Have a good day!

New Header

2009-01-02T20:16:00.002Z

My best friend Clare has today made a header for my blog. It's so nice with a fresh 'spring look' to it. Thank you Clare, you're so kind.

Now all I have to do is keep it updated and learn how to add lots of other interesting links and pictures. I also need to start changing the background colours and fonts to go with the header colours. Quite a job eh? I will start to work on it over the weekend I think.

I haven't really made many cards over the last week however I have just received my new Jan/Feb demo kit from Do Crafts so that means I can get started with some new projects using these scrummy products! No doubt you will start to see these products as you go on your 'craft' shopping trips in the coming weeks.

Better get back to finishing a magazine commission I am working on because as soon as it's completed I can dig into my new demo kit!

Bye for now.....

Gone is Christmas for another year

2008-12-28T19:29:00.002Z

Just waiting for the 1st January to arrive now and then we will be off again into another year with new challenges and projects. I have some demos booked in my diary already and one or two other first time projects to start so I am really excited to get stuck in to 2009's crafting.

Christmas has been fairly quiet for us really and we have visited our families this year instead of them coming to us. So we have just eaten, chatted and relaxed amongst the wrapping paper and party hats! As for new year, well, My hubby always works on New Years eve (as he is a musician), so I usually have a quiet night of tv with a glass of alcohol at midnight, that's if I am not asleep on the settee by that time! Never been a fan of New year so I like to just stay in and relax quietly without all the noise and chaos. I am just a misery I suppose!

We are just watching a programme on tv about James May's toy collection from the 60's and 70's and it is fab because my husband and I had some of the toys that he is showing, Lego, Action man, Sindy, Airfix kits and Hornby trains.....fabulous!

Had a busy but really exciting two days last week in London with Clare. We arrived at the hotel where we had a quick cuppa then set off for QVC. It was so interesting to meet the planners and presenters and see what goes on behind the scenes. I had a ball helping Clare set up her boards and pods with the products and samples. Clare has only done it once before but knew the routine like she had been doing it for 20 years. She is a natural at things like this. As ever, she was completely in control, very efficient and totally professional. I was proud of her...well done Clare!

The following day was great too because we caught the tube to Oxford Street and did some shopping, ate some lunch, then went to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to watch 'Wicked' the musical. It was fantastic and we loved it. We met up with one of my friends after the show as he was playing in the pit orchestra there so it was nice to see him, even though it was brief. In fact, we nearly missed him because we couldn't get out of the foyer with all Clare's bags of 'Wicked' merchandise...she bought loads of the stuff!

We were so tired when we got back but were soon very happy when we looked back on the fun time we'd had. Thanks Clare, it was great.

So I will sign off for today now and settle down on the settee with my cat. Goodnight all x

No snow, boo hoo!

2008-12-04T10:44:00.002Z

Well, I woke up disappointed this morning cos I was expecting at least 2cms of snow, but when I looked out through the window there was NO snow just rain. So there will be no snowman in our garden this week!

I have got my last demo of the year this Saturday at Craftworld in Salford so I have a couple more samples to make before then which is my task for today. It's just an independent demo that the shop asked me to do 2 weeks ago so I shall look forward to it. I will particularly enjoy my visit to the Cadbury's store on the way out after the demo has finished...yum yum!

Last night was our weekly craft club meeting. Due to bad weather and traffic problems, there were just 8 of us in total so it was fairly quiet compared to the usual meetings. We will be having our little 'Christmas Bash' on the 17th. This doesn't involve late night drinking and partying but we still have fun. We do a bit of craft to begin with and then enjoy a Christmas quiz, pass the parcel, raffle, and a couple of other competitions, all with 'crafty' prizes of course. It is a nice way to end the year and my way of thanking the ladies for their continued support and attendance evey week.

The card at the top of this post is one I made at craft club using a whole realm of products; Cuttlebug, The Paper Mill, Craftwork cards, Papermania, Whispers, Sakura and so the list goes on. Thought this was an appropriate card to replace the snow that we NEVER had!

How about this for efficiency?!!

2008-12-02T08:08:00.003Z

Yes.......get this.......2 postings within 12 hours of each other!

I got up early this morning and had this idea that maybe I could keep up with this blog of mine if I posted first thing each morning before I get showered and dressed. I will try it this week and see if it works.

Well it was snowing when I got up today, it was just a thin layer though and getting dirtier and slushier as the cars drove through it, yuk! I love snow and get so excited when I see it falling from the sky, I usually get wrapped up warm and stand in the garden to feel the flakes on my face and listen to how the sound of everything becomes muted as the snow thickens. Anyway, the sun is breaking through now so there's not much chance of there being more snow.

My card on the photo above is one I made last week using a stamp I bought from Dimension Fourth's stand at the NEC. I have watercoloured it using Whispers brush markers and added some gingham ribbon knots. Other products used are Basic Grey 'Wassail' papers, Papermania card and brads, Doodlebug paper frills and a Dovecraft stamp.

Well that's it from me for now. I am off to prepare some kits for my craft club meeting tomorrow night. See ya x

Enjoying my free time today

2008-12-01T21:48:00.002Z

I was going to go out shopping this morning but when the thermometer sensor outside the window said -3.6 I decided to stay in with my slippers and cardigan on!

I have sent my best pal Clare an early Birthday present today cos she sounded a bit down when I spoke to her. We will be hitting the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London to watch the west end musical 'Wicked' as her Birthday treat. I am not sure what to expect really as I am not into Musicals as such. However, Clare has been singing the whole soundtrack to Wicked for about 6 months or more now and driving me mad with it so I thought that the only way to get it out of her system is to go and watch it and satisfy her yearning for it. I think she is really happy now that she knows we are going to watch it so I am happy if she is! It will be great!

This is a short post tonight so I have added a picture of a card that I put together on Friday evening using Papermania and Basic Grey products. Simple and quick to make too.

Brrr it's cold!

2008-11-28T16:59:00.003Z

Oh it's cold here today.

I have just been out to buy a couple of Christmas pressies and to get myself some new black gloves as mine disappeared last weekend somewhere between my demos. However when I looked in the glove section, I only found 2 pairs of black leather ones and both pairs had the left hand missing so I just had to leave the shop without buying any gloves. Maybe I will nip into town in the morning and get some there.

I have no demo this weekend so I am going to do some housey chores and try to start making my Christmas cards. I have been making Christmas samples for demos since July so am not really in the mood for making more. Maybe I will get some inspiration once I look through all my 'new' stuff that I have bought at the last couple of shows. I do have one demo left next weekend at 'Craftworld' in the Lowry outlet mall in Salford. This is just an independent demo which I was asked to do so I am looking forward to that, particularly as it is my last one of 2008. I have had lots of demos this year which has been great so I am looking forward to 2009 in the hope that it brings in more work for me. Above, you will see a card made last week using Basic Grey's 'Wassail' along with Papermania textured card and some Doodlebug rub-ons.

This is just the best job ever for me. From being a little girl, I have had to create something on a daily basis whether it has been a dolls dress, a knitted bag, a wigwam with poles and fabric or a greeting card, it is all I have ever thought about for as long as I can remember. Now that I have my own workroom with all my own stuff around me, I could happily lock myself away in here and just create until I am too old and frail to move!!

I'm pretty sure there are lots of other people who just feel the same way too!

Well I am off to make my tea now. My Husband Richard has gone working in Brighouse in Yorkshire tonight with his band so I will be able to get settled in my room with my laptop, my tv and my Cricut and have the best time ever!

Have a relaxing evening. Bye for now x

Good morning!

2008-11-19T09:56:00.002Z

I am having a nice day of crafting today I think as yesterday I spent the day with my mum teaching her how to use her new laptop. She has got no confidence at all with it yet but we are working through the basics gradually so by Christmas she will be a whizz!! She is doing well because she has no computer knowledge and is 76 years old (even though she looks and acts like she is 56!)

I will be at my craft club tonight, where I expect to see two or three excited ladies who visited the NEC show at the weekend (like myself). They were so giddy and manic last Wednesday evening that I thought they were going to burst!! Goodness knows what they will be like this week! Anyway I am looking forward to sharing their stories and hearing all about their purchases which I believe were 'many'!

The Princess card in the picture is our project for tonight at my club. We are having a week off from making Christmas cards.

I am going to try some of my new stamps today and will colour them with my new Copic markers. I am so used to using my Whispers markers that these Copics will be quite different I think. Oh well...here goes...

NEC trip...what fun!

2008-11-16T09:17:00.002Z

What a fab time Clare and myself had at the NEC...we shopped and ate and laughed and then repeated this sequence over and over till we were exhausted and all out of energy.

There was so much to see that it was difficult to fit it all in but we managed to see everything that we wanted to and got some delicious items to play with.

We even had time for a couple of 'make and takes' and helped the'Children in Need' appeal by making a yellow card to go on the 'biggest card in the world' which was due to be completed and erected later that evening. I will look forward to seeing the finished card in the craft mags or even on the internet if possible.

Well, now my Do Crafts demos have finished for this year, I am going to do a bit of sorting and re-organising in my little room. The space I have, is reducing rapidly due to my 'craft purchasing' problem which I can't seem to control. Everything is in labelled boxes and jars but there must still be a better system for me. The main problem for us crafters I think is just impulse buying and then when we get home, we put the items away and never actually use them. So now that there's only 5 and 1/2 weeks till Christmas, it is the ideal time to have a big sort and clear out in preparation for the new products of 2009!

So I am going to start today by looking through my NEC shopping bags and deciding where it will be stored.

Have a happy day today whatever you do!

Been a long time.....

2008-11-10T19:37:00.001Z

.....since I posted on here because I have another blog on the Do Crafts website. However, I decided to get back on here as I like to post some of my other projects which may not always use the Do Crafts products (fab though they are!).

I have been very busy lately with demos and have had hardly any time to do anything other than preparation of samples, but today I made a card to enter into a challenge on www.regina-bitten by the bug.blogspot.com .....it's a fab blog with some fantastic designers and inspirational crafters...check it out if you get the chance, you'll be amazed.

Hopefully I can keep this blog updated regularly starting from today. I will try to make it a priority!!!

Here's my card that I made today to enter into the challenge at bitten by the bug.

Bye for now x

New Blog

2008-08-08T00:14:00.000+01:00

Just to let you know that I now have another blog which I will be using more than this one. You can find it here. See you there maybe x

A big surprise last week...

2008-06-16T08:36:00.000+01:00

Last Wednesday evening at my craft club, I had a very big surprise!
My loveliest chum Clare (Curd) turned up from Lincolnshire. Everyone was thrilled when she came in and said 'have you got room for a little one?'!!! I didn't quite know what to do so we just pulled up another table and chair and cracked on as though she joins us every week!
She had been working secretly undercover with Kirsty (Wiseman) to surprise me at the club. So Kirsty came in first and sat down as if everything was normal (naughty naughty Kirsty), then in came Clare. They are bad girls when they get together, a bit like those from St. Trinian's in the black and white films but I love them both. They are kind, honest, hard-working ladies and great fun to be with! So thank you to both of them for the lovely surprise...we had had lots of fun and hugs.
Yeterday, my hubby and I had a gig with our local band entertaining the people of Wigan to promote the upcoming Jazz festival in July. It was an outdoor show and it was so windy that even 6 pegs each weren't enough to hold the music in place. Anyway it was a good show and the crowd loved it so that's all that matters.
So today I am back to crafting and am starting to make 20 Wedding Invites for my neighbour who is going back to Germany to be married. Once I have done those, I will be continuing with my craft room clear out which I started on Friday. So far, it is going well. I have so much stuff and lots of itty bitty things that I have been generously 'binning' many items.
My Basic Grey/Doodlebug/We r memory keepers demos start next week so I am still working on my samples for that and in the same week I will get my delivery of July/August kit for my regular Do Crafts demos so I have a lot to be getting on with.
Better get dressed now then and crack on with my tasks. Cheerio for now x

Fun at the club

2008-06-05T08:46:00.000+01:00

Last night was our weekly craft session and we had a visit from Kirsty (Wiseman) who you may know as being a 'Scrapping Queen' and a fantastic photographer. She is a really nice person and hilariously funny too! We enjoyed her company and the ladies once again welcomed her as they do with everyone. They are a lovely group of ladies and I am proud that they are in my craft group.
We have been running for 12 months now but haven't got a name for our group yet so everyone went home last night with the job of thinking up some ideas for a name. We will get a list going and then pick one from it.....I will post it on here as soon as we have decided.
I forgot to mention that we had a little challenge at the beginning of May. Each lady was given a sealed envelope containing identical products and an information sheet on what the challenge was all about and what was required. On returning to the club 2 weeks later, we displayed them all and numbered them then each member picked a 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice, wrote it on a voting slip and placed it in a box. While they crafted, I counted up the votes and then we had the prize giving! In 3rd place was Lesley, who came to the club last night after having laser surgery on her eyes and has now abandoned her glasses...what lovely eyes she has too! Then in 2nd place we had Joyce who is my original crafting pal from college where we did a cardmaking class together. Joyce is a real trooper and gets up, dusts herself down and carries on no matter what life throws at her, and...she is also funny, funny, funny! Then in 1st place we had Christine who has the best jokes and stories that leave us laughing for ages. She is also a nurse during the day and must surely bring a smile to every patients face.
It was a very difficult choice choosing the winners because each card was lovely and well thought out and no two were the same as you will see from the pictures I have posted on here.
Well that's enough from me for now. I am going shopping with my dear sister who I haven't seen for a couple of weeks. We are off to the Paper Mill shop for a mooch around and then a coffee/tea and cake while we catch up.
Have a good day whatever you do!

New projects

2008-05-31T16:14:00.000+01:00

Well it's the last day of May already and as today is the first Saturday that I haven't had a demo for 8 weeks, I have been relaxing. I had a few hours in my craft room and decided to use some of my new Basic Grey and Doodlebug products. I bought a little 'build-it-yourself' bird feeder from 'Poundworld' and before building it, covered the walls with Basic Grey Archaic cardstock, covered the roof and base with Doodlebug crushed velvet cardstock, added a couple of large eyelets with my Cropodile and some Basic Grey Fibres. I screwed it together then adorned it with BG Chipboard hearts, flowers and a butterfly. I am quite pleased with how it's turned out and am thinking of hanging it in my craft room filled with cotton wool balls to use with my chalks. Obviously it can no longer be used as a bird feeder outside because it is no longer weatherproof! Even Basic Grey card gets soggy in the rain!
You will also notice the scrapbook page showing my 'American' niece after eating chocolate ice-cream. Once again I have had some fun with the BG and Doodlebug products. They are gorgeous and almost too nice to use!
The photo is a bit dark I'm afraid as my sister sent it from her phone, plus it was snapped in the shade under the sun canopy at their house in California which makes it a little darker too. Anyway, it seemed to be appropriate to use with the BG Cupcake papers, chipboard stickers and Doodlebug letters.
Have to make a card using these products now. I usually do a card first as that's what I make most of but I just fancied a change and something a little different.
Well now it's time for a brew and a breath of fresh air in the garden while the weather's nice. Be back on here in the week. Cheerio!

Still can't get into...

2008-05-29T08:42:00.000+01:00

updating my blog on a regular basis!
My friend Nikki from my craft club told me off last night for not keeping my blog updated every few days. I do forget about it and I have been busy doing lots of little jobs here and there plus I have been smothering my little cat with cuddles after she suddenly went blind last week. Poor little cutie can't see a thing and bumps into chair legs and door frames etc. She is getting better at finding her way around but it will take a while till she totally adapts I think.
Anyway, a quiet evening at craft club last night but still fun and enjoyable with the crazy, laughing girls who's humour lifts everyone's spirits. I want to thank them massively for their continued attendance at the club every week and look on them as my friends now rather than just 'the ladies at the club'.
My dear friend Clare has been on the road for two weeks with the Do Crafts team travelling the country promoting the lovely new range of Papermania/Anita's products and the yummy Basic Grey, Doodlebug and We r memory keepers range too. Can't wait to get using these products! And, can't wait to catch up with Clare and find out what it's like on the road with the Do Crafts team. Sounds like fun but hard work.
Well better get out of my PJ's now and go to pick up my mum. We are off to Cardcraft Plus in Preston for a mooch and a spend.
Hope to get back on here more regulaly from now on.

Hobbycraft demo samples

2008-05-11T08:36:00.000+01:00

Here are some cards I made for my Hobbycraft demos a couple of weeks ago. I had to make four samples from an instruction sheet which I was sent from Do Crafts. During the demo, I had to reproduce the same 4 cards varying the colours and layouts slightly but only using the Papermania products.

I am rubbish!

2008-05-11T08:31:00.000+01:00

Well it is nearly a month since I did anything on my blog so yes...I am rubbish! There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything. Been busy with Do Crafts demos and my craft club and I had a couple of days away as well. Today though, before I do any card-making, I have got to cut the grass. So I am planning to do that first thing before it get's too warm...back on here shortly though with some new cards I have made.

Made a clock this week and still ran out of time!

2008-04-19T18:50:00.001+01:00

Well, 10 days have passed since I was last on here. I have had a really busy couple of weeks. Last weekend I went to Alexandra Palace in London to the Big stamping and scrapbooking show. I drove down at 7am and met my lovely friend Clare and off we went with purses bulging and the biggest crafting appetite ever! We had a great time rummaging through all the bargain boxes along with buying more expensive items and meeting lots of nice, friendly people along the way. We also ran into some of our Do crafts colleagues so it was nice to stop and catch up with each other.
Soon it was 5pm and time for the doors to close for the day so we went and checked-in at our hotel and then headed straight to the bar for a drink and a huge carvery! Have you ever seen Yorkshire puddings that are as big as hats?!!!! If not, then pay a visit to an Innkeepers Lodge. The puds are absolutely massive and scrummy when saturated in gravy!
We got up early the next day and went back to the show for more purchases, just incase we had missed something on the Saturday. 4pm soon arrived and it was then time to head home. I dropped Clare at the station and then got my journey underway. It was 4.30pm by this time so I drove like the clappers and pulled on to the drive at 7.30pm. Not bad going really saying that I drove through the most horendous storm ever plus 6 miles of roadworks at 50mph!
Monday I relaxed and tried to recover then Tuesday I spent looking after my 1yr old nephew for 8 hours while his mum went to work. I definately slept on Tuesday night I can tell you. Wednesday I prepared a project and 16 card packs for my craft club and also made a clock for my sis-in-law who had a birthday. The acrylic clock kit was bought from Stamps Away at the show in London.
Thursday and Friday I did some prep for my demo today at Hobbycraft and tomorrow I will be visiting the cemetery with my mum and sister. There is always something to be done and my days are always filled with stuff. In amongst all these things I still have to run the house and sort out 'home' duties. In my next life I will be a man or a cat. Both of these seem to be the best lifestyles possible!!

2008-04-09T12:46:00.000+01:00

Queen for a day...

2008-04-09T09:35:00.000+01:00

This is our project for tonight's craft club. It is a bit girlie and fun to make so hopefully the ladies at the club will enjoy putting it together. We will ony be using 2 colours for this card, lemon and black which is a bit challenging as it can sometimes look a bit bland or empty. But, I know that even though each member will have the same pack to use, each completed card will turn out slightly different from the rest. Some of the ladies will add more to the card, some will leave things out and others will alter the layout and that's what makes it fun because at the end of the evening we have many different cards all from the same kit!

At last!

2008-04-08T22:26:00.000+01:00

I have been trying to figure out how to allow comments on my blog and it has taken 3 days but at last I have done it! My lovely friend Clare gave me some help but even then I struggled and the comments box still didn't appear, so tonight I decided that it was time to sit and figure it out. Hey Presto! It worked and I am now happy.
Been busy today preparing for my craft club tomorrow evening. Once I have completed our project I will post a photo on here. We will be doing a fun card tomorrow night...that's if it turns out right of course!

Done nothing at all today so far.....

2008-04-07T14:14:00.000+01:00

I haven't done much today as yet. Well, actually, I have been to get some food shopping and visited my local craft/flower/ribbon supplies warehouse on the way back. Then I skyped my friend Clare on the webcam and we chatted for an hour and thirty minutes! (which only felt like 20 minutes really) followed by a quick lunch and then a session of emptying and filling the washing machine and laundry basket.
What I meant was that I haven't done any card-making yet! In fact, I haven't even been in to my craft room upto now but there's still plenty of daylight hours left for that.
Just realised that I have also been 'internetting' this morning, made both breakfast and a packed lunch for my husband, wormed the cat, done some ironing and updated my blog so come to think of it, I HAVE been busy. You don't have to just undertake 'housewifery' jobs to appear 'busy' do you?!!!

A busy weekend of card-making

2008-04-06T20:05:00.000+01:00

About 4 weeks ago, my mother-in-law asked me to make 10 cards for her. 5 female and 5 male cards. I just kept leaving it though 'until tomorrow' so I decided on Friday to get cracking. I have now made 10 and have used a variation of materials and techniques. I wanted to make the cards reasonably quickly so made each one with a different design as I like each card to be unique for each person (even though I don't know who my mum-in-law is sending them to!)

I tried to get some clear photos but the light was fading by 6pm tonight, due to a heavy snow shower, so they are not be as bright as I intended. Plus, I can never decide whether to take the pictures against a black or white background so I opted for white today!

Craft Club projects

2008-04-03T19:59:00.000+01:00

I am supposed to be updating this blog every couple of days but up to now am actually 'rubbish' at signing in and keeping things on track!

Well anyway.....here are some of the pretty wall-hangings that the lovely ladies at my craft club made last night. We decided to hang them on a ribbon so that we could get some photos. Each lady has personalised it with their own initial, thanks to the wonderful 'Cricut' machine and then they have added some gems, crystals, sparkles and glitter to finish them off. We usually make a card or two but decided to have a change last night and do something different. They were pleased with their results and were happy for me to put the photos on my blog and my gallery on the Docrafts website. So, that's my next job before I get back to my craft room for another 'session'!

Cards and crafting

2008-03-31T22:18:00.000+01:00

I have been busy over the last couple of weeks doing some prep for my Docrafts demos and also for my craft club. I have had some 'blank' moments this week though and have been struggling to find some new ideas. Do you ever get that feeling when you go onto a craft site or a blog that some of the creations are so beautiful, they make your tummy go 'boing' and you feel sickly? Or does that mean that there is something wrong with me?! I think its the colours that make me feel this way because I got a similar feeling today when I was in the garden centre looking at the room sets and the furnishings. Eventually, I got my ideas book out and started to draw some designs for cards. My 5 year old nephew was with me at the time and he is mad about crafting too so he asked me for some paper and a pencil and started to draw swirls and patterns as well. Whatever I do, he copies, especially if it involves cutting and sticking!
I got a few ideas for wedding cards but then realised that my demos for this promotional period have finished so I don't need to think about wedding cards for a while now. However, my older sister is a keen card-maker too and she is busy making wedding stationery so maybe she could get some ideas and inspiration from some of the lovely products I have been using. Hey ho, I will keep the ideas in my notebook anyway for a later date.
I am hoping to upload some photos this week of my cards so keep checking.....

Catching up!

2008-03-31T22:13:00.000+01:00

I haven't been on here for a while. As you may remember, I had to say 'goodbye' to my little yellow car BUT have since said 'hello' to..... my new bigger yellow car!! It is so lovely and bright and I just keep getting in it and driving anywhere just for the sheer enjoyment! You will see from the photo why I love it.

2008-03-06T08:13:00.000Z

My little car

2008-03-06T07:59:00.000Z

On Tuesday, my husband borrowed my car while his was in the garage for repair. He had an accident and wrote my car off and severely damaged a parked car at the same time. He was very traumatised by the whole thing but thankfully not injured which is good. My little yellow Fiat was my pride and joy and was more like my friend than my car (I know that sounds daft), but we used to go off on little 'road trips' to all the craft shows and it never let me down. I was very sad to see it being towed away on the back of a truck on Tuesday afternoon!
So now we have a hire car which we are sharing until my husband gets his back from the garage on Friday.
Other than that, I have been really busy working on a commission, an order for 40 baby cards, preparation for my craft club and samples for my demo on Saturday. Then I got a phone call at 10pm last night requesting a retirement card for lunch-time today. Why does everything come along all at once?!!! Anyway, I am having a lovely time in my craft room cutting and sticking and will hopefully get everything completed in time. Have got up nice and early today so that I can get on with all my projects.
Have posted a couple of photos to let you see my cars last journey.....

A busy day

2008-03-03T17:55:00.000Z

I have spent a full 8 hours in my craft room today making cards for a friend of ours. She owns a Baby clothes shop and likes to sell hand made baby cards in there. She ordered 40 from me so I really got going with them today and managed to complete 16 of them with another 12 half done. There are 5 designs that she likes so I am doing 8 of one and 6 of another and so on.
Because I have everything stocked up and to hand, it means I can just get cutting squares and ribbons to size while my Cricut machine cuts the rest! I have really enjoyed myself today and worked hard (only taking a 30 minute break for lunch and 30 minutes now on the pc).
Once they are completed, I will post some pictures of them on here. Off to eat now!

Change of layout and colours!

2008-02-29T16:52:00.000Z

I still haven't got the hang of this blog thing and I am struggling a bit when it comes to adding stuff AND editing things. You will notice that the colours have changed because I have been playing on here so if you view it tomorrow, the colours and fonts may be different again! I will settle on a layout and colours eventually though but until then, this will have to do.

New cards

2008-02-24T09:02:00.000Z

Here are a few cards I have made this week. A friend of ours wanted some new samples of baby cards for her recently opened Baby clothes shop so I have added a couple of photos of those. The teal and brown card I made on my demo last weekend and the pink and brown shaker card is what I have chosen to make with the ladies at my craft club on Wednesday. Thanks to my wonderful Cricut machine, I have been able to just press the 'CUT' button and it has cut out lovely little shaker boxes that you can just fold and stick directly on to the card, so no need for adhesive foam pads or tape!

2008-02-20T08:40:00.000Z

Well it's more than a week since I posted on here and I was supposed to be keeping up to date with it and trying to figure out how to put links and other stuff on here. It may take a while though I think!
I am all ready for my craft club tonight and just have to pack everything into my car. Tonight we will be making a couple of cards each and there's a scrapbook layout for the one lady that scraps rather than makes cards!
Hoping to go to the Papercraft Extravaganza at Harrogate at the weekend. I will probably be meeting my friend Clare there for a six hour dose of adrenhalin filled bargain hunting! Then we will relax with a coffee and cake and sift through our bags to check our crafting goodies and decide which is our 'best buy of the day'! What a dangerous and expensive passion this crafting can be, it's wonderful, I love it!

Thursday

2008-02-07T19:01:00.000Z

Well it's been a nice day here today with the sun shining and mild temperatures. I have been in my craft room all day though making samples for my demos at the weekend. I have one on Saturday and one on Sunday so have been doing double preparations.
My demo on Saturday is in Fleetwood near Blackpool so I am hoping that I might catch a glimpse of the 'Riverdance' tanker which capsized and drifted on to the beach there last week. Thought if I could get a few snapshots, it might make for an interesting scrapbook page!
My craft club was quiet last night. There were 12 of us but everyone seemed to be lacking in energy and just couldn't seem to find enough inspiration like we usually do. Maybe it's that time of year? I had made a card using a new stamp which I bought at the weekend and had put 16 kits together for the ladies to use. A lot of them spent all night making the one card and were all surprised that they had only completed one because they usually make three or four. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my huge box of peel off stickers which they always delve into right away so it was interesting to see that they COULD manage without them for one night!
Well that's it from me for now.....smells like our pizza is ready!

Atc's

2008-02-05T19:36:00.000Z

Here's a series of 18 'Thank you' atc's which I made for the ladies in my craft club. They turn up every week without fail and help to set up and tidy away at the end of the night so I made them all an atc to thank them for their support and attendance throughout the year. Each one is different but are all based on the same design using the same products.

2008-02-05T08:02:00.000Z

Here's one of my little cards which can also be found in my gallery on the Docrafts website.

Welcome to my blog!

2008-02-05T04:41:00.000Z

This will be my own little 'internet craft area'!
I will try to keep it updated but when life is busy, we can't always keep on top of things can we?.....
I have been a crafter for as long as I can remember. I learned how to knit with help from my mum and my nan and then began sewing at high school. I love to have a go at any type of creative 'hands on' projects whether it be using paper, card, fabric, wood or any other material.
I've always made cards for people on special occasions but began doing it seriously about eight years ago and haven't bought a card since! I do like scrapbooking as well and currently have four of them on the go which will be finished eventually.
I am currently working as a freelance designer/demonstrator for Docrafts and also run a craft club which was set up in May 2007. However, it still isn't enough crafting for me and I would do it in my sleep if I could!
My craft club takes place in our local cricket club every Wednesday evening and the ladies come along and make cards and scrap layouts depending on their mood that evening. They relax with a drink from the bar and craft the night away till 9.45pm when we draw the raffle (always a 'crafty' prize of course) and tidy up. Which reminds me...I need to start preparing for this weeks meeting so I'd better do a couple of hours now before bedtime......