17/02/2012 by Gwyneth.

Just a small number of cards and one wall plaque to show you this time.  They look intricate, but you’ll notice that the cutting has mostly been done using my new toy, the Silhouette Cameo.  As far as cutting goes this machine is really top notch, managing to cut intricate designs out of everything from vellum (as seen on one of the layers on card 2 and the top layer of some of the butterflies on card 3 and 4), all the way through to textured metallic card-stock such as the panel on card 3.  And all with the added bonus of being able to create any design or shape you want to cut out of in the software.  Expect more experimenting over the next few months I think.

 Cards and More:

(Remember that you can click on the thumbnail images to have a better look at each item.)
(Clicking on the text links below each set of images takes you to the pages where you can see some of what I used to make the cards.  These linked pages usually has a longer description of how I made the item.)

1  2  3  4

1.  Guitar by Silvia Griffin (I didn’t feel up to cutting out the aperture by hand so set a file up a file to cut it out in my Silhouette Studio so that I could cut the aperture in an oval mat out using my Cameo.  After that it was an easy job to lay out the paper strips - I had a pack of silver ones ready cut for iris folding use - and I used a roller glue pen to stick them in place.  With an iris folding design like this being a mm out in positioning the paper strips isn’t too obvious, but I do try and get them into the correct location and use one of those reverse tweezers to hold some of the smaller pieces while trying to get them to line up with the pattern beneath the aperture.  I use a pokey tool to position the music notes and treble clef peel-offs.)
2. Ribbon Border Edger by Claire Norman and Scalloped Layered Full Letter Alphabet by Tina Fitch (This isn’t a card, but rather a wall plaque with an initial to hang over a little boy’s bed.  Because of its intended recipient I didn’t want a fussy design so just used gold coloured cards and vellum in different textures, and a brown ribbon to make it up after cutting in my Cameo.)
3. Studio Spiral Toppers1 & Mats by Angela Burke and Flourish Butterflies - Embellishments - Studio by Ann Smith (Another card where all the pieces were cut out using my Cameo.  Two different gold cards for the topper and mat, and Satin Board and vellum for the butterflies.  On this card I used the largest butterflies as a focal point embellishment.)
4. Lady of the Lake Toppers by Rebecca Brindley and Flourish Butterflies - Embellishments - Studio by Ann Smith (For this card I used the smaller butterflies that I’d cut out using my Cameo as added embellishment to a card that I made using just one of the many toppers on the topper sheet.  The topper itself was hand cut, but it was just four straight cuts, so nothing difficult.)

Please remember to check back every now and then as I try to put up a post of my crafting efforts several times a week.

CUP Update:  

Crafty Bob’s Crazy 5 Minute Game - It looks like Crafty Bob’s Crazy 5 Minute Game is causing a bit of stir.  It has been the topic of discussion in more than one thread on Craftforums lately.

Crafty Bob’s Bingo -  We are now playing for four corners and the centre in game 76 in the bingo game. Like the Crazy 5 Minute game, you just need to be a craftsUprint customer at some time to join in.

You can see the cards I’ve made using design sheets from CUP in my “Crafter Showcase Area” on Craftsuprint.com - here
(Just scroll down past the top boxes to see the cards.)

You can see my page on Facebook by clicking - here.

-oOo-

Thank You Very Much To Those Of You Who’ve Left Comments On My Various Blog Posts
I really appreciate the nice things you’ve said about my crafting efforts.

(Please note!  - Due to the fact that I’ve had occasional problems with Spam/advertising posts that are absolutely nothing to do with the content of my blog I now moderate all comments before they go live.  Genuine comments will go live when I’ve checked through the list - usually a couple of times a day.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint, craftsUprint Cards | 4 Comments »

16/02/2012 by Gwyneth.

I’ve decided to enter one of my cards into a couple of challenges:

• Emma’s Crafty Challenge -  Crafty Challenge #1 - ‘ Shades of Blue ‘
• Crafter’s Companion Monthly Challenge Blog - Challenge 21 - ANYTHING GOES

When I saw the title “Shades of Blue” I remembered a digital topper sheet I had that I thought would be suitable (Lady of the Lake Toppers by Rebecca Brindley) .  I put in a sheet of Centura Pearl Snow White card to print this onto, but was having a “bit of a moment” and put it in upside down, so it’s printed out on the back rather than on the iridescent side I was aiming for.  Never mind.  Decided that, as it still looked good, I wouldn’t waste ink to re-print on the other side.  I chose a blue “duo” card to make the base card from, and used strips I’d trimmed off as a half mat, using the back colour, bottom and left, behind the topper size I’d chosen.  The Greeting (Penblwydd Hapus is Welsh for Happy Birthday) is written using a blue pen in my Cameo machine.  The butterflies were cut out, also with my Cameo, out of two shades of blue Satin Board and some vellum.  The layers were mixed and matched and attached using glue gel, after giving some curving for dimension to the wings. (The butterflies were cut using cutting file Flourish Butterflies - Embellishments - Studio by Ann Smith)

Hope you like my card (and hope I’ve got all the rules right and got the details right for the challenge entries as well - having a bit of a brain fog few days so there’s no telling if what I think I’ve read is actually what is written on the challenge pages.)

Posted in Challenges, craftsUprint | 3 Comments »

23/03/2011 by Gwyneth.

I’ve done crafting in one form or another for as long as I can remember.  I started making cards a long time ago, long before there were such things as craft channels on TV and CD-ROMs and digital downloads specifically for card-makers and paper crafters.  I started to make cards because I’m Welsh and, at the time, buying a card that had Welsh greetings on it were far more expensive than the equivalent card in English.  I think the prices are closer these days, but after starting to create my own I never wanted to go back to sending people shop bought cards.

You’ll see little thumbnail images of some of the cards I’ve made lately dotted around this blog post (I’d normally be putting in full details of each, together with a link to where the design sheet I’d used to make them can be found within any post, but this is more by way of a “thoughts” post rather than a “show and tell” post, so if you want more details then click on the link to my card gallery right at the bottom of this post and you’ll get to click through to see the full details.)

Of course, like many of my crafting friends out there, once I started making one type I wanted to try something else, then another technique, then different glitters, then different papers, then various digital designs, then a cutting machine, then …… - well I’m sure you all know what I mean.

Since my health and disabilities deteriorated, (and I was spending more and more time off work recuperating from one thing or another, culminating in my having to take early retirement on the grounds of ill health/disabilities) I’ve had more time to play and experiment with my cardmaking.  It’s one thing I can do, even on a lap-tray in bed, despite my disability problems, so is an ideal hobby for me.

It also means that I’ve had more time to browse around sites such as craftsUprint which have such a wide variety of digital files to buy and download for crafters, as well as browsing around the Internet on sites such as eBay and Create & Craft, etc., for crafting goodies.

And not just browsing sites that sell digital or physical crafting goodies, but using the Internet to connect with other people who love crafting by using forums and Facebook and receiving update E-mails to keep up to date with what’s going on out there in the big wide world.

CUP Mailshot

Do you get the craftsUprint promotional mailshot?  The E-mail comes out three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and include things like:

• a Showcase of designers work;
• Card Maker Spotlight;
• ‘New From’;
• the Latest News on things like people going up the scale from Bronze to Silver; or Silver to Gold;
• up and coming events such as the fact that the CUP team and Crafty Bob will be at the NEC the end of this week;
• CUP TV episodes;
• special discount codes when they are available;
• etc.

It’s a good way to keep up with what’s happening on the craftsUprint site.  If you want to sign up for this E-mail, and receive “4 exclusive FREE downloads !” then click-> here - to go to the signing up page on the site.

You can see an example of the one that was sent out on 21-3-11 by clicking -> here.

Mother’s Day Card Competition

You’ll notice that there’s a prominent notice in that update I’ve just given a link to that lets everybody know that the “Mothers Day Competition - March 2011″ has closed for entries and is now open for votes.  All the entries can be seen -> here - on craftsUprint’s forum/sister site http://www.craftforums.co.uk/. Please do go and have a look, and click through from the thumbnail images to see a larger photo of each of the entries.  You will see a whole array of different looking cards and different styles.  You don’t need to be a registered user on Craftforums to view the entries.  You will however need to register if you want to place a vote, which you can do by clicking -> here - and following the instructions.

Craftforums

If you are interested in crafting, (and we’re not just talking cardmaking, but other crafting such as scrapbooking, knitting, stitching, etc., as well,) and you are not already a member of craftforums.co.uk then please come and at least have a look at the forum by clicking -> here.  You won’t have access to all facilities unless you are a member and have posted a few times, but you should get a feel for the look of the place. I will say that, in the year since I joined, I’ve not regretted becoming a member.  It is full of friendly, helpful, people who are ready to chip in with a kind word if you are feeling down or have problems, who help out with answers when a question is asked.  There’s even a chatbox at the top for instant chatting.  Discussion threads can range from everything from the weather, or holidays, to the best glue for a particular job, or what different copyright TOUs (Terms Of Use) mean.  Sometimes we don’t all have the same opinion on things, but seeing as members come from all over the globe and all walks of life it would be very odd if we did, but we can feel comfortable in saying “I don’t agree with that, I think this”, or “I wouldn’t do it that way, I’d do it this way, or use this tool, or use this glue”, without it becoming personal and nasty, (which I understand it sometimes has done on other forums). Craftforums also has a “Craft Arcade” and a “Craft Casino” where you can shut yourself away and while away the time or de-stress playing the games.  There’s also a fantastic Gallery where members have put up examples of their work, not just created using CUP sheets but crafting with other items also.  If you ever get “crafter’s block” then it’s a great place to have a look around for inspiration.

craftsUprint (CUP)

Of course Craftforums, with all its areas, isn’t the only “add on” to the craftsUprint site.  In addition to all the fantastic digital downloads you can buy to use in your crafting from craftsUprint - there’s the “Crafty Bob Bingo” where anybody who’s a customer of CUP can ask for a bingo card and play along.   The numbers are put online on CUP -> here - every two hours.  And there are prizes of - “one £20 FOUR CORNERS AND A CENTRE prize and one £100 FULL HOUSE prize will be paid per game”.  The other prize giving activity on CUP is hunting for Crafty Bob.  He goes into hiding on a page somewhere on the CUP site and it’s up to somebody to find him to get the prize.  The prize Bob Pot goes up the longer Crafty Bob is in hiding and isn’t found.  It’s gone up to over £400 a couple of times.  Now that’s a prize worth having I think you’ll all agree.

Facebook (FB)

Another thing I’ve started with during the last six months is to have an account with Facebook -> here.  Many of my Facebook Friends are other members of Craftforums, but I’ve also started expanding my circle of friends further out into the crafting community and beyond. It is so interesting to see what people are up to and what cards and other crafty items people are making.  It’s amazing how much material is now available for crafters and what can be made with this material with a little inspiration.  I am in awe of the talent amongst my FB Friends.

After being a “Helpdesk and Web Technician” as the first port of call for all IT Problems for a whole county’s schools (around the 150 mark of schools), and come across a lot of web nasties in that time because people were merrily clicking on everything (novelty value of something new and the blind/incorrect belief that everything on the www is good and to be used), I have changed my FB settings from the standard setting, and also review them from time to time as FB keep on changing things.  I also decided early on that I didn’t want to start using any of the FB games and other apps, (especially in view of the fact that so many of them wanted the right to gather all sort of information about me and the right to post to my Wall, etc., before I could even take a look yet alone start playing), as what I was reading made it seem to me that the games took a lot of time and were quite high maintenance.  Plus, lots of the FB nasties ask for permission and pretend that they are useful apps when they are not.

So I ask my FB Friends to forgive me - but I won’t be helping out on any Farmville farms, or providing Hearts, or anything like that.

I also know that many of my FB Friends use FB to keep in touch with family and close friends all over the world, but I don’t, so I have no need to “re-post” all sorts of things to do with having a favourite niece, the best Mum, etc., as I see them, speak to them on the phone, or am in constant E-mail touch with them and can tell them in person, so please don’t think I’m odd by not re-posting everything I see.  This includes raising awareness of causes or hoping that a cure will be found for this condition or that illness.  If it doesn’t actually include any real information that will help make people aware of exactly what it is, (or a link to somewhere with real information about whatever is being talked about, or information about collecting money to support those affected or find a cure), I see little point in copying.  I prefer to have some real information, such the link I got on FB lately going to a page raising money for SANDS (Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Charity) which included information about what it was about.  One thing I do try to do is use my cardmaking to help charities by sending them away to help raise money for some charities.

Charity Cards Group

Started as a little venture for members of Craftforums, under the wing of the very dedicated Diane Scotland, is a Charity Cards Group I’ve been sending handmade cards to.  Just one card is all that is asked for, but most of us send in a few more each month if we are able.  The cards are then photographed by Diane and displayed in a category/album in the Craftforums for us all to see.  Diane then boxes the whole lot up and takes them to a different charity each month, sometimes two charities if a lot were sent in to her.  The charities then sell the cards in their charity shops to raise money for their cause.  So far, amongst other things, we’ve helped - Macmillan Cancer; CHAS (Children’s Hospice Association); PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals); British Red Cross; Save The Children; etc.  I find that it is actually something I can do to help worthy causes despite my health/disability issues.

 -oOo-

 I can see that my few thoughts have now become a whole lot of thoughts, and I haven’t even touched on many things I thought about before I started writing.  Oh Well, Never mind.  Another day.

You can see the cards I’ve made using design sheets from CUP in my “Crafter Showcase Area” on Craftsuprint.com - here
(Just scroll down past the top boxes to see the cards.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint | 1 Comment »

28/02/2011 by Gwyneth.

Have you had your update E-mail giving you the discount code for use on CUP?  20% off your total order value is a nice little discount I think.

No time to write lots today - I’m off to look through my Wish List to pick out a few more sheets to buy before the discount code ends.

The Wish List is a great new feature in the newest version of the craftsUprint website. When you have registered with craftsUprint and have a Crafter account you can log-in and start browsing all the designs available to buy and download digitally.  Now, not only do you see an “Add to Cart” button but you also see an “Add to Wishlist” link beneath it. Click on that and the design is added to your Wish List so that you can go back to it through your Control Panel and buy when you’ve got either enough designs selected, or money, to place an order.

With me it’s a case of way too many designs in my Wish List to be able to afford with the money I have available.  CUP has such a great choice of designs for crafters that can be digitally downloaded straight to my Laptop it’s difficult to keep the total number in my Cart down. Definitely spoilt for choice!

Here are just a small number of cards I’ve made using digital designs downloaded from CUP:

You can see the cards I’ve made using design sheets from CUP in my “Card Maker’s Area” on Craftsuprint.com - here
(Just scroll down past the top box to see the cards.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint | No Comments »

11/02/2011 by Gwyneth.

After a long wait, and lots of hard work on the part of the team at CUP HQ, the new version of craftsUprint is -> HERE!!

>

Sure, there are a few teething problems, as you’d expect with a new version of any site during the first few days after change over, but I’ve found the new site to be working quite well, and much slicker than the previous version.  The navigation is looking to be very intuitive to use as well.

So why don’t you go and have a look, and browse around the new look site, to see what you think?

I think it’s a great place to buy a variety of different designs, giving customers the opportunity to try out different card styles as well as scrapbooking and knitting.  There’s a good, and growing, section of digital cutting files for my favourite cutting machine - the CraftROBO (click here to see posts I’ve made highlighting cards created using the CraftROBO) - as well as other cutting machines.

One change is that “Registered Card Makers” are now called “Crafters”.  If you’ve looked at my “Card Maker Gallery” in the past, where pictures I’ve uploaded of items I’ve made with specific sheets/kits bought from CUP were displayed, you will see some difference.  If you click -> HERE - you will see that there are cosmetic changes to how the page is displaying, with both favourite design sheets chosen by each crafter as well as the crafter’s own completed work appearing in an area called “Crafter Showcase” below the top two panels.  (The first panel being a photo and details about the crafter and the second panel showcasing the “Item of the Moment as selected by …” the Crafter.)

Favourite add on things are still on the site, such as:

The Crafty Bob Treasure Hunt - where Crafty Bob goes off to hide somewhere within the site and the first person to find him wins “The Bobpot” which currently stands at around £280.  Click -> here  - to read more.

 Bob’s Bingo - this bingo game is open to anybody who has placed an order with craftsUprint.  Send in the E-mail address you used when ordering and a Bingo Card (valid for all games) will be E-mailed to you.  Numbers are drawn every 2 hours, day and night, and posted up on the CUP website -> here.

 I’ve not been lucky enough to win anything at the Bingo or to find Crafty Bob yet but, who knows, one day!

With fine tuning of the new CUP site still taking place, please be patient if you do experience any difficulties viewing any pages or placing orders.  And with even more features, such as the sale of completed cards, not just the digital design sheets and kits to make cards, planned for the future, the site is growing as well.  So do pop back to the site regularly to see what CUP has to offer.

Remember that ordering from CUP is safe as they have lots of security features in place. CUP may be based in the UK, but its Designers, Crafters and customers come from all over the world due to the international nature of the Internet and the digital nature of the products it sells.  And if you ever do have a problem then they have an “online ticket system” that you can use to contact them.

I think that CUP is a great facility available to crafters, allowing us to buy, and build up a library, of digital images in a variety of styles, whereas CD-ROMs (of which I have many favourites) tend to focus on specific themes of images or styles of cards.

HINT - please remember to create your own backups of digital files you buy online somewhere off the computer/Laptop.  You will need them to re-install if you ever have a computer failure or buy a new one.

Posted in craftsUprint | No Comments »

28/01/2011 by Gwyneth.

CUP

If you’ve not come across CUP before - where have you been?  craftsuprint.com is a website where papercrafters can buy designs that they can then legally use make into cards and other crafting projects, and even sell those projects on in most cases. With around 150 designers there’s a wide range of designs available, which is great if you are looking for just a few sheets without having to buy a full CD of the same type of stuff. I’ve been buying from CUP for a while now and have lots of fun crafting with what I’ve bought when I’m feeling up to being creative.

DISCOUNT

Would you believe it, but a discount code has just been announced that gives customers 20% off orders from craftsUprint for the rest of this month.  If you are a regular customer who’s put their name on the CUP mailing list you’ve probably already got it, but just in case:

Type - CRAFTER - into the - REDEEM VOUCHER: - box on the “Your Shopping Basket” that comes up when you click “View Cart” from any page.
Then click the - Update Basket - button before checking out the items you’ve chosen.

It’s a great time to become a craftsUprint customer now, even if you’ve never been one before.

Here are just a small number of the of cards I’ve made using design sheets from CUP:

You can see these, and many more, on display in my “Card Maker’s Area” on Craftsuprint.com - here
(Just scroll down past the top box to see the cards.)
Each image in the gallery links to the page of the design sheet I used, so anything you like, you too can buy.

 CRAFTY BOB’S BINGO

Crafty Bob’s Bingo has just started Game 31 today so it’s an excellent time to get your Bingo Card, if you haven’t already got one, and to start playing along.  I’ve not been lucky myself - yet!  But who knows who’ll get the two prizes for this game.  It could be me - it could be You! (if you play the game).

FIND CRAFTY BOB TO WIN

Crafty Bob has been hiding for a while now and the The Bobpot has passed the £180 mark.  He sometimes gives clues to his location, but he hasn’t so far since he went into hiding this time.  I’ve got to admit that even when he gives clues I only sort of get them and therefore, even when I do have the odd half an hour looking (which hasn’t been often the last few times he’s hidden I have to admit), I’m never looking in quite the right place.  See if you can do any better than me!  Somebody’s got to win, sooner or later - the later he’s found the bigger The Bobpot will be.

CRAFTFORUMS

There’s even a forum run in association with craftsUprint.  craftforums.co.uk is a great place to chat about cardmaking, ask questions about techniques or the best CraftROBO or Printer to use, etc., and even discuss the weather.  With members from all around the world you can practically guarantee that somebody will be around whatever the time, day or night, where ever you are.  If you are not already a member, why don’t you come and join us.  I’ve found it a very friendly place.  There’s even a section called “CUP TV” where you can go and view short YouTube clips where designers demonstrate how to make cards with some of their designs.

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint | No Comments »

28/11/2010 by Gwyneth.

 After a lot of waiting around for enough light to photograph the cards I’ve made during the last week I, at last, got a chance to do so on Saturday, so I’ve now got a new batch of cards uploaded and verified on CUP.

1  2  3  4  5

1. Cute Toppers by Sheila Wilks (Six quick and cute cards to make with only straight edge cutting.)
2. Nativity Scene Square Spiral Edge Stacker Christmas Card by Elaine Sheldrake (Again, only straight edges to cut but it builds up into a dimensional picture.)
3. Full English Breakfast Decoupage by Sarah Edwards (This design is just a bit different to the usual greetings cards but, although you are cutting out around different shapes, because they have a distinct black outline and are more curved than intricate, they are reasonably easy to cut out.)
4. Midwinter Day Wavy Corner Stacker by Hilary Hallas (Although not all straight lines the wavy corners were not difficult to cut.  The wavy corners give some depth to the card.)
5. Roses and Violets Star Pyramid by Sheila Rodgers (Although the pyramid is star shaped each layer is a square and therefore easy to cut out.)

1  2  3

1. Flower on Misty Blue by Sheila Rodgers (With only straight edges this card is easy to cut out and put together.)
2. Leather & Gold by Sheila Wilks (These bookmarks are easy to cut out and make whether you want to print them onto card and just cut and leave as they are or whether you mount them onto a heavier card and cut again with a border.)
3. Golden Star Cascade by Sheila Wilks (A card that only has straight cutting but makes a lovely star card.)

You can see more of the cards I’ve made using design sheets from CUP by clicking - here - then scroll down past the top box to see the cards.

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint | 2 Comments »

30/09/2010 by Gwyneth.

Looks like there’s been so many people visiting the craftsUprint site that the large volume of traffic has been stopping the site from working for periods of varying length periodically during today.

Yesterday I said that Bob had a discount code on his Blog which was valid up until the end of the month.  A notification E-mail has come out today to say that “Due to unprecedented demand ……. we have decided to extend the promotion over the weekend …..”, so good news to all CUP customers who’ve experienced problems either getting onto the site, or placing orders, during the day today as you all now have a chance to place an order until Sunday night and still get the discount.  Thank you CUP team.

Posted in craftsUprint | No Comments »

29/09/2010 by Gwyneth.

Have you seen Crafty Bob?  He’s the lovable character mascot at craftsUprint.

He gets up to all sorts:

• He’s very fond of hiding, and has money accumulating in the Bob Pot that goes to the person who finds him.

• He’s got his own Bingo where the numbers are drawn every 2 hours, day and night, on the CUP website.

Click here to go to the Bingo - it’s open to all customers of

• He’s got his own Blog

At the moment his Blog gives information on a discount code that can be used to get 20% off an order on craftsUprint until the end of this month.

Posted in craftsUprint | No Comments »