Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Fabulous Prize

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The other day I was browsing facebook when I happened across a message suggesting checking the ‘other’ box in the messages section.  It was from Craftseller magazine, as they had contacted the winners of some prizes and hadn’t heard from them.  So I thought, that’s worth checking as I hadn’t checked in a while…. and low and behold, I was one of the winners they were hoping to hear from!

Well the prize has now arived, and it is fabulous.

Satchel

Isn’t it lovely? Such a great size satchel.  It will come in very useful for transporting my crafting projects when I go on my travels! 

The moral of this story, is always check your e-mails (spam) and messages on social media.

Happy crafting
x

Shabby Chic?

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The shabby chic style seems set to continue as a trend in home decor and cardmaking. It hasn’t been a trend that I have taken too. Don’t get me wrong, I do like examples of it, however, it hasn’t been something I have been able to make successfully.

But since my lovely relaxed holiday I have been open to trying some new things and thought I’d have a go at making the shabby chic look fit in with my clean and simple style. I like to use fonts in my work, though I often don’t get the opportunity. This week I was asked to make a couple of wedding cards using the word ‘LOVE’ as the focus.

I found a lovely free font which I was able to resize to make it the main topper. I had seen some other cards with ripped pieces of papers used to mat and layer, so I thought I’d give it a try. This is what I came up with….

Wedding love card 2

Wedding Love card

It was great fun to go through all my papers and putting them together. A great way of using up some of the bits in my bit box. I love the kraft card, and I am going to experiment further with my paper crimper, to give some additional texture to the cards. I think the shabby look of the papers works well in contrast with the shaped card.

I’d love to hear what you do with shabby chic or what you think of my cards.

Happy crafting
x

New Favourite Magazine

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I think I’ve rambled before about my love of crafting magazines. I don’t think I’m alone in this and in that I have generally chosen the magazine based on the whether I want the free gift on the cover or not! Sometime last year I rediscovered my passion for knitting and wanted to find some new patterns, and it was this that lead me to the newsagents and a really good browse of the shelves. Here I found Let’s Get Crafting: Knitting and Crochet. What a great find. Appealing totally to my need to make something immediately, it comes with a pack of yarn, knitting needles and a crochet hook. And the magazine itself is packed with patterns, both knitting and crochet, to make with the free gift. There are also a few patterns to make with your own yarn too. There a loads of quick and simple ideas and some more involved makes, like items of clothing. What I also love is the guide at the back with diagrams and instructions on how to do some of the stitches used in the makes.

I think it is well worth the £8.99 price tag. I will have to look into a subscription!

I bought the latest issue to take on my holiday, but I was not allowed to take the knitting needles or crochet hook on the plane unfortunately. So I spent my journey reading through all the article, lovely patterns and deciding what to have a go at. I was also thrilled to see that I had been published on the letters page.

Hop and Chirp

My little ‘Hop and Chirp’ that I made for my daughter and nephew for Easter were made using patterns in the magazine, and it was a lovely surprise to see them in the magazine.

As a thank you for sending in my photo, they have sent me a gift of stitch makers and pattern bookmarks! A very nice touch.

It is definitely worth having a look at this magazine, whether you are new to knitting and crochet or an old hand. And if you do make something from their patterns, then send them a photo on their facebook page, you never know, you could be in the next issue too!

Happy crafting
x

Back Home

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Well I’m back from sunny Portugal and straight into half-term holidays for my daughter. So I’m now catching up with washing and cleaning, as well as trying to find interesting things to do for the next week or so, to keep her entertained!

But my batteries are well and truly recharged and it’s time to start on some of my orders, finishing off some partially made items and thinking about what to make and enter into the next Bury Show at the end of June.

I had a lovely surprise delivery whilst I was away. Well several actually. I had placed an order for some crochet cotton and a new adhesive pack from Create and Craft which arrived, but I also won some gifts from doCrafts in the May magazine giveaways.

GIveaway delivery

Now to get doing something with them all. I’m particularly intrigued by the icing roller.

Happy half term crafting
x

Crafting in the Sun

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Well, I’ve taken the plunge and had a weeks holiday in Portugal, leaving Hubby, daughter and the crafting at home!

It’s so lovely to completely chill out in the sunshine, without sneezing from hayfever.  I haven’t completely left all the crafting at home though.  I was hoping to be able to crochet on the plane, but I was told I couldn’t take a crochet hook in the my hand luggage.  So I had to make do with reading my latest issue of ‘LGC Knitting and Crochet’ instead.

Anyway,  I have been doing some crochet practice and have made a couple of small items using new stitches.  So here’s my first doily.

P1220595

It was lovely to use some new techniques and to practice changing yarns.

Next is my first little bowl, with a lacy base! My daughter has now claimed this for her bedroom.

Crochet bowl

It’s been such a lovely relaxing break and I have really recharged my batteries, ready for Half term when I get home!

Happy crafting
x

New crochet blanket

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I’m working on another crochet blanket, blue this time.  I posted a snap of the first part a week or so ago and I thought I’d show a bit more.

P1220564

I have eight completed squares with the white rows at different points in each square.  I plan to do 2 of each square and then sew them all together with a white border.

I shall post more pictures as I progress.

Happy crafting
x

Charity Hearts

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In the latest issue of Craftseller magazine, there was a lovely little pattern for crochet hearts. I’ve wanted to make hearts for a while so it was lovely to see the pattern. I have had a go and made a few, so I am looking to sell them to raise some money for physio for my former work colleague.

Each heart will cost £2 with £1.50 going to fund some further physio and speech therapy sessions.

I can make them in any colour you would like and I will add them to a keyring or attach a brooch back.

Crochet Hearts Order yours now. Send me an e-mail or a message on facebook.

Happy charity crafting
x

Father’s Day

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With Father’s Day coming up in a few weeks time – Sunday June 15th – I thought I’d look at some of the Dad related items I have available.

My Dad loves football and golf, so I’ve made a number of simple Father’s Day cards using these as my inspiration.

Football Dad and Spider

Football Dad and Spider

Golf Dad

Golf Dad

I really love the embossing board that I used to make these cards. It’s fun to use up leftover pieces of papers. My Dad really liked his golf card last year. These cards also include handmade shrink plastic charms. These are great fun to do with the kids too. My 5 year old daughter loves watching them shrink to tiny charms.

I am taking orders for any of the cards on my sale page and I can make orders to your requirements. Just drop me an e-mail or send me a message on my facebook page.

So don’t forget your Dad on Father’s Day.

Happy crafting
x

Masculine cards

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I have been somewhat pre-occupied with crochet recently. Since I managed to get the hang of reading patterns and double crochet I have spent all my crafting time with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook.

This week I’ve resolved to try not to pick up my crochet hook until the evening, and to spend some time making some cards. In particular male cards. I’ve always struggled to make masculine cards. The men in my family aren’t all into classic cars, ships and football! So on Sunday I raided my card and paper stash looking for some masculine style inspiration. I came up with a collection of decoupage from Docrafts, called Home to Roost and a Hunkydory kit, For the Boys.

I set myself up on the kitchen table, watching the birds in the garden, I really started to connect with the Home to Roost kit. I don’t generally do very much decoupage, but this is a lovely set of designs. The lovely little bird details are beautifully painted and make gorgeous little finishing touches. So here are some of the cards I made.

Gardeners Bench

Gardeners Bench

Wellies

Wellies

I then had some ideas to make some cards for boys and out came the Hunkydory kit. I was inspired my daughter’s recent school topic of ‘space’ and made the following cards for boys (or girls) birthdays.

Spaceman

Spaceman

Alien

Alien

I plan to make some more cards that can be used for men too. Any suggestions for themes for men and boys?

Happy crafting
x

A New Outlet

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Over the last few weeks I’ve been hunting around for possible new outlets for my crafty makes. I’ve been looking at a number of online outlets and this week I’ve been lucky enough to win a 1 month stall on The Supermum’s Craft Fair website. It’s a great little place to visit a number of small businesses and purchase unique items across a very wide range of crafts.

So today, I’ve been stocking my stall and would love to know what you think of it. The number of items listed is limited to 20, so I have split it, with 15 cards and 5 knitted gifts.

Have a look at my stall and please leave some feedback, either on the stall or here.

Butterfly Hama beads

Happy crafting
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