My hands were working quite well yesterday morning and I could feel and manipulate reasonably small beads - although I did manage to loose my grip on some and have a dozen or so rolling around the floor needing to be picked up - so I went for creating a long “lariat” style string which included magnetic, tubular, shaped, beads that are easier to handle.  Have a look below at the various styles it can be worn as.

Also of interested to any crafters amongst my blog readers is the absolutely fantastic “Weekend Special Offer” on the craftsUprint site.  Have a read of the CUP update, also below, to find out what you could get for FREE with an order off the site this weekend.

.

JEWELLERY:

1  2  3

1. The lariat itself is over 60″ in length and to go with it I made a matching set of earrings.  The white beads are round and have a pearlescent finish.  The blue beads are faceted glass beads.  The red beads are magnetic hematite beads.  It’s the magnetic hematite that means the lariat can be worn in many different ways.  In this picture it is doubled in half.  It can then be wrapped around the neck and the loose ends pushed through the loop formed to create a necklace of any length.  It can also be worn as different length necklaces by using as a single strand wrapped around at the size you want.
2. In this picture it is wrapped around many times at a size that would mean it works as a choker necklace.
3. In this picture it is wrapped around much smaller, as on a wrist, which means it can be worn as a bracelet.

I’ve got a couple of other colours of magnetic hematite in my crafting stash, so will probably make some more of these before long.

.

CRAFTYBOB.COM UPDATE:  

There are currently over 80 shops on craftybob.com with crafty items listed for sale, with many more created and in the process of being populated with items which I’m sure will go live before long.  Many of the items for sale are hand crafted items, from knitted items to jewellery and to cards, but some of the items are crafting consumables or equipment.  So whether you are a crafter who’s looking for a bargain item for you to craft with, or a non-crafter who appreciates nicely made, hand crafted, items, then craftybob.com is the the new place to look.
I’ve put up 2 items since my last blog post:

•  Red, White and Blue Lariat with Free Earrings
• “Flower” Topped Hat Pins

Have a look - here - at my whole shop on craftybob.com.

CUP UPDATE:  

CUP Mailer - The mailer sent out on Friday, 18th May can be seen - here.  In addition to the usual showcase of digital downloads available to buy and download directly from the craftsUprint site there’s news af a CUP Promotion.  Just spend just £10 on CUP and you will be sent a FREE Golden Crafty Bob Bag, a FREE pack of Crafty Bob 200gsm Glossy Ultra White Paper, a FREE Crafty Bob Bone Folder and, of course, you’ll still get your FREE Crafty Bob Virtual Tombola play where EVERYONE WINS A PRIZE.

May Card Making Competition -  As I said in my last blog post - the theme for the May card-making competition has been announced and all CUP customers should now have a link to upload their entry, labeled “Upload Competition Entry” , in their “Crafter Control Panel”. The theme this time is -  “Wedding” - and you need to make your card using any CUP download.  Of course, you are allowed to use whatever else you want to when making your creation, just so long as a CUP item you’ve bought is visible on the card. The last entry date is the 22nd May, 2012, with the winner being announced on the 30th.

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - You should find a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it, but due to the fact that I’ve had some 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-

-oOo-

I’ve got a bit of an assortment to show you in this blog post.  Some sets of hand made cards that I’ve made up out of some CUP downloads I like; A scarf finished and a scarf started; Some items I’ve cut out as part of Tina Fitch’s Creative Team; Some print and cut files that I’ve then constructed - but one of them is unusual in that the flowers are left uncoloured, like a digi-stamp, to allow them to be coloured to suit any recipient.

I hope you enjoy having a look and a read.

.

CARDS:

(If you click on the thumbnail images you can have a look at a larger image of 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.  Where these linked pages are on the CUP site you will usually find a longer description of how I made the item at the bottom of the page.)

I liked my first card from my previous post (here) so much I decided to make a set of them using both images from the”Iris” Designer Resource kit I’d used for the main image.  I also made a gift box to put five of the cards, with white envelopes for each of them, into and decorated the box to match.  This is one of the new items I’ve listed in my new shop on craftybob.com.

1  2

1. Textured & Glittered Brads by Carol Lepard & Two Complete Sets Purple Iris and Bearded Iris by Sally McIntyre & 12 pack of Fabric Flowers by Jackie Mitchell & 5X5 Card Fronts set  by Cassandra Campsall & Lace Squares - 10 3in by 3in squares by Carol James (I put this design together myself in one of my graphics packages using bits of each of the Designer Resources listed.  I then just printed out the design onto Crafty Bob paper, then trimmed scored and folded it.  I also created an insert design and printed it off onto good quality white paper.  I used a fine line double sided tape around the central panel and put on crystal glitter on each of the cards as I did previously, and as extra embelishment I added some sticky back clear gems to the front of a couple of the cards.  I used the design from the cards to create a background and two toppers to decorate the gift box as well.)

This is another boxed set of cards, this time definitely a set for the children, but to make them more striking I’ve made them up on small square, scalloped edge, black cards.  The box this time isn’t decorated to match but is black like the cards and tied with a ribbon. I’ve put these up on my new shop on the craftybob.com site as well.

1  2  3  4

1. hide an seek by Carol Brown is a sheet with six images on, all of which I used to make this boxed set (I printed the sheet out onto Crafty Bob paper and cut out each topper.  Each one was then stuck onto holographic mirror card and trimmed to leave a border.  The matted images were then stuck to the front of black, pre-cut, base cards. I put googly eyes on every one of the animals.  I put a plain white insert inside these.  The box is simply created on my Hougie Board out of two sheets of black cardstock.   It’s tied with blue, polkadot, ribbon.)

1   2

1. FLOWER POT CARD by Clive Couter (This is an unusual Print & Cut file - Although the pot is fully printed, the flowers are only outline “digi” images to be coloured however the crafter wants, with whatever medium the crafter wants.  So if you like colouring in, but have problems cutting the images out, then this is a great one.  I printed out onto Super Smooth white card to print out onto, and after cutting using my Silhouette Cameo I chose to use ProMarkers to colour the flowers in, and just added pink ribbon, wrapped around the pot layer several times before it was attached to the card front and then I knotted some more of the ribbon at the front.  I think that this would make a nice Get Well card to take to somebody in hospital as I believe patients are no longer allowed to have real flowers any more in many hospitals.)
2. Bright Color Dresser Shaped Card STUDIO-PDF-Printables by Rae Carr (This is completely a Print & Cut design, printed onto Super Smooth white card and cut out using my Cameo.  But I have added a bit of my own touch to this one as well - I used a Sakura Clear Glaze pen over the came image and each of the drawer knobs before attaching them using Glue Gel.  The drawer themselves are attached using 1mm deep, double sided, foam tape.)

KNITTING:

I’ve now finished the ruffled scarf I showed you the start of in my mailer of the 8th May (here).  This one is knitted in “Ruby” colour Wendy Frills yarn.

1  2

1.  I think this picture has come out a bit too bright as the scarf itself is is more closer to red and maroon.  I’ve knitted a round loop around five inches from the end of the scarf.
2. You can see how the loose end goes through the loop to hold the scarf snugly around the neck.

I’ve now started knitting a bag from the same yarn, so keep an eye out for photos to show how I got on with that.

I’ve also started another quick knit project (although nothing is particularly “quick knit” for me)  It’s a type of miniature pom pom yarn.  This is how far I’ve got so far.

1  2   3

1. This is the band of the yarn.  It’s called “Spirit Spring River”.
2. This is what the yarn looks like - although I think the colours are a bit washed out in this photo, but it is from the lightest section of the yarn.
3. This is how much of the scarf I’ve knitted on my knitting loom so far.

I wonder how long this one will take me to finish?  Keep an eye out in future posts for the finished article.

CUTTING WORK FOR TINA FITCH:

I’ve been working on some more stuff for the talented designer Tina Fitch lately.  These are Print & Cut design of a back to front cards, where you can see through the back of the card and the “gates” are folded behind, to be viewed through the back when it’s standing up.

1  2   

1. You can get the ordinary card kit that you print out and then cut out by hand here -> Wedding Swan Back To Front Card Kit; The digital cutting machine “Print & Cut” kit that I’ve made can be seen here -> Wedding Swan Back To Front Card.Print & Cut ….Studio.
2. You can get the ordinary card kit that you print out and then cut out by hand here -> Pink Umbrella Back To Front Card Kit; The digital cutting machine “Print & Cut” kit that I’ve made can be seen here -> Pink Umbrella Back To Front Card Kit…STUDIO (Another card I’ve printed and cut out of Super Smooth white card, like most of the cards shown above as well.)

I’ve got some more work on the go for Tina, so keep an eye on my blog over the next few weeks for more to appear.

CRAFTYBOB.COM UPDATE:  

Currently I’ve got this as my shop banner

I may well change it in due course, perhaps after I get around to updating my website.  It may be a good thing to get both to match in due course.

I’ve put up two items since my last blog post:

• Boxed Set of Cute Animal Cards
• Boxed Gift Set of Iris Cards

Have a look - here - at my whole shop on craftybob.com.

CUP UPDATE:  

CUP Mailer - The mailer sent out by the CUP Team on Monday, 14th May, can be seen by clicking -> here.  I love the variety of designs and styles of card being showcased in this mailer.

There’s a huge showcase of toppers, backgrounds, etc., suitable for Father’s Day cards in the mailer sent out on Wednesday, 16th May.  In fact there’s 120 items available for you to buy to add to your digital library to be seen in the mailer.  And that’s on top of the usual “New From”, Crafter’s Spotlight, CUP Latest News, etc., etc., features. And don’t think that CUP only has 120 items suitable for Father’s Day.  No, CUP has over 2,000 items come up when you go to the Father’s Day category, which you can do by clicking -> here.

May Card Making Competition -  As I said in my last blog post - the theme for the May card-making competition has been announced and all CUP customers should now have a link to upload their entry, labeled “Upload Competition Entry” , in their “Crafter Control Panel”. The theme this time is -  “Wedding” - and you need to make your card using any CUP download.  Of course, you are allowed to use whatever else you want to when making your creation, just so long as a CUP item you’ve bought is visible on the card. The last entry date is the 22nd May, 2012, with the winner being announced on the 30th.

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - You should find a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it, but due to the fact that I’ve had some 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-

• Emma’s Crafty Challenge - MONOCHROME - I’ve chosen “one colour in different tones”.
• One Stop Craft Challenge - MONOCHROME
• LEJ Designs Challenge Blog - Lots Of Layers - Square layers stuck to base card.  Two decorative edged layers built up on top before topper layer was added to both sides.  Flowers made of lots of layers of punched out flowers.
• That Craft Place Challenge Blog - Monochromatic
• 2 Sisters Challenge Blog - Challenge 21 - Make It Girlie - Girl collecting flowers

Hope you all like my card.

Here’s the card:

Click on these thumbnail images to see a view slightly angled to one side and a closeup of the bottom left corner of one of the easel panels:

 . .  .

This is how I made it:

The base easel card, two square toppers and two patterned edge layers were cut out of two different shades of linen textured, 250gsm, cardstock using my Cameo.  The cutting file used was TWISTED EASEL CARD by Clive Couter.  I used a Petite Petal Pairs punch to punch out lots of flower layers from the waste of the two sheets after cutting the card out.

The digi-stamp I used is one of the ones on Joanna Sheen’s Daisy and Friends CD ROM printed out twice onto Super Smooth card.  I used various shades of ProMarkers to colour in the digi-stamp, using one of the shades from her dress to colour in the frame of the digi-stamp as well.

I shaped all the flower layers by hand before sticking them together.  I stuck the square panels directly to half of the card front and then built up the fancy layers using 1mm deep foam tape.  I used the same foam to attach the coloured in topper layers as well.  I used Pinflair Glue Gel to stick the flowers around the card, using two as stoppers for the easel elements.

I hope that it meets the rules of all the challenges I’ve entered.

-oOo-

It’s been a slow start to May as far as my crafting is concerned, but I have got four cards made up over the weekend to show you today.  I hope you like them.

.

CARDS:

(If you click on the thumbnail images you can have a look at a larger image of 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.  Where these linked pages are on the CUP site you will usually find a longer description of how I made the item at the bottom of the page.)

1  2  3  4

1. Textured & Glittered Brads by Carol Lepard & Two Complete Sets Purple Iris and Bearded Iris by Sally McIntyre & 12 pack of Fabric Flowers by Jackie Mitchell & 5X5 Card Fronts set  by Cassandra Campsall & Lace Squares - 10 3in by 3in squares by Carol James (I put this design together myself in one of my graphics packages using bits of each of the Designer Resources listed.  I then just printed out the design onto Crafty Bob paper, then trimmed scored and folded it.  I used a fine line double sided tape around the central panel and put on crystal glitter.  The glittering was the fiddlyest part of the job.)
2. With Sympathy by Sally McIntyre (Straight and oval cutting only for this card as the scalloped edged base card was pre-cut in that shape.  I simply printed the design onto Crafty Bob paper, cut it out, matted it onto a golden coloured Satin Board and then stuck it all together using 1mm deep, double sided, foam tape.  I put a white insert inside for a personal message to be written on.)
3. Beautiful Calla Lily Spiral Pyramid by Ammie Sanders (I printed this design also onto Crafty Bob paper and cut it out.  Straight cutting only for this card as once again the base card came with the patterned edge already cut.  I used two shades of Adorable Scorable pink cardstock for my matting and layering and peel-offs for the greeting -”Gair o Gysur” being Welsh for “A Word of Comfort”. I used roller glue and the same 1mm deep foam tape as on the last card to attach everything together.)
4. Sunset on the beach by Eileen Deliot & Wood Frames by Carol Lepard (For this card I took elements of the two Designer Resources kits into one of my graphics packages and re-sized until they fit together and fit the size I wanted for my finished card.  I then typed on a greeting - “Yn Meddwl Amdanoch” being Welsh for “Thinking About You” - using a shade from the sun area of the photograph for the text.  I then printed the design out onto Crafty Bob paper and matted it onto a panel of golden coloured Satin Board.  This was then stuck to the front of an A5 card that had a decorative edge using the same 1mm deep foam tape as previously mentioned.  I finished off the card with fine border peeloffs.)

CRAFTYBOB.COM UPDATE:  

I haven’t added any more items to my shop on craftybob.com over the weekend, but I do hope to have more items uploaded during this week.

The number of shops being opened on the site grows daily, and is now well over 100, although some of them haven’t got around to uploading any items for sale yet.  At the moment there appear to be more shops opened by crafters in the UK than any other country, but I’m sure that the numbers in other locations will grow as the weeks go on.  Why not pop over to craftybob.com for a look now -> here - you may be lucky and find something you need.  Don’t forget that it isn’t just completed, hand crafted, items that are sold on the site, but also Craft Supplies and Craft Tools.

CUP UPDATE:  

CUP Mailer - In case you’ve not already had a chance to have a look - a copy of the mailer sent out by the CUP Team on Friday, 11th May, can be seen by clicking > here.

May Card Making Competition -  As I said in my last blog post - the theme for the May cardmaking competition has been announced and all CUP customers should now have a link to upload their entry, labeled “Upload Competition Entry” , in their “Crafter Control Panel”. The theme this time is -  “Wedding” - and you need to make your card using any CUP download.  Of course, you are allowed to use whatever else you want to when making your creation, just so long as a CUP item you’ve bought is visible on the card. The last entry date is the 22nd May, 2012, with the winner being announced on the 30th.

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - You should find a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it, but due to the fact that I’ve had some 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-

• Crafty Bloggers Network - Challenge #21 - ‘Decoupage’ - lots of layers of flowers decoupaged for dimension in the central panel.
• Crafter’s Companion Monthly Challenge - Challenge 24 – Here Comes Summer - I can’t think of anything that tells me that summer is here than loads of flowers all over the place.

Here’s the card:

1     2

1.  Closeup of greeting panel - “Penblwydd Hapus” - which is Welsh for “Happy Birthday”.  (Click on thumbnail image for a closer look)
2. Side view of oval flower panel showing dimension of decoupaged flowers (Again, click on thumbnail image for a closer look)

This is how I made it:

I designed this card front and decoupage myself in one of my graphics packages using two different Designer Resources that I’d bought via craftsUprint.

1. Background is 1 of ones from - Semi-Transparent Pretty Rose ‘Organza’ Digital Embellishments by Carol Clarke
2. Flower elements are several components from - Floral Frames and Ornaments lilacs by Susan Wood

I wanted a card front that would go on an 8″ square card but still allow me space to further decorate with some peel-off so I first put the background in place and decided on the size.  I then added the outside frame and an oval frame of flowers.  On the rest of the graphics package page, off the main card front, I took several other oval frames, resizing them and placing on top of each other to create an oval panel of flowers.  The straight banner of flowers were taken and a greetings panel was added.  Other little groupings of flowers were also dotted about to fill up the space on the page.  I then printed off the created page out onto Crafty Bob Paper and cut out the main panel and all the other individual pieces.  The main panel was stuck to an 8″ square, white card front onto which I’d lightly dusted some distress ink to take the starkness out of the white to tone it in with the card front.  I then put on fine gold border peeloffs around the main panel.  The card was finished off by sticking on all my floral decoupage layers using glue gel.

craftybob.com Update:  

There’s an EXCLUSIVE LAUNCH OFFER on the crafbybob.com site for this weekend only.  Every craftsUprint customer who places an order on craftybob.com this weekend gets a £5 CUP voucher! This fantastic offer is for this weekend only and all CUP £5 vouchers will be placed into your CUP Crafter Control Panel within 72 hours of your craftybob.com purchase.

I know that most of my followers will be crafters in their own right, so probably won’t be in the market for handcrafted items like they would make themselves.  But if you are a card-maker, not only might other handcrafted items, such as knitting or jewellery, be of interest to you, but you should check out the “Craft Supplies” and “Craft Tools” sections on the craftybob.com site for what’s available.

Don’t forget that you can see the items I’ve already uploaded to craftybob.com by clicking -> here.

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - A copy of the CUP mailer sent out on Wednesday, 9th May, can be seen by clicking -> here.  Lots of cardmaking ideas to be seen, as per usual.

A copy of the mailer sent out on Friday, 11th May, can be seen -> here.  If you like cards with dimension then you’ll see plenty of ideas in this mailer, including several styles of pop-up cards.

May Card Making Competition -  The theme for the May Card Making Competition has been announced.  This time you need to make a “Wedding” themed card using any CUP download.  Details are on the Craftforums site and you’ll find your “Upload Competition Entry” link part way down your “Crafter Control Panel” on the main craftsUprint site. The last entry date is the 22nd May, 2012, with the winner being announced on the 30th.

 -oOo-

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-

What I have been concentrating on is setting up my new online shop.

Since I had to take early retirement due to health and disability issues over a year ago I’ve been using any time when I’m well enough to sit up in bed or the sitting room to do little bits of different crafts. I can’t do a lot, or big batches, of anything in one go, but do enjoy puttering and trying things out, and especially the satisfaction of having managed to create something.  But building up a stash of crafting equipment and consumables takes money, so, while I know that I’ll never be well enough to devote enough time to crafting to make it into a full time job, paying business, I am hoping that I’ll be able to sell a few of my hand crafted items via the new online shop to help me buy further consumables, and also bits of crafting equipment that will make it easier for me to continue crafting despite my fluctuating disabilities.

At the end of last week a new platform opened its doors to allow crafters to sell both completed, hand made, hand crafted, items, as well as any crafty stash items they may want to sell on.  The name of this new “shopping complex” of online craft shops is “craftybob.com”.

Over the last four months I’ve been involved in doing some low key testing of the site as a prospective seller, and now I can let everybody know that it is live. I’ve still got a long way to go though before I get all the items I’d like to sell uploaded, but I prefer to upload a small number of items at a time.  I’m not aiming to make myself stressed about uploading everything straight away, or worrying if things don’t sell immediately.  Though obviously I am hoping that I’ll sell some stuff.

So there you are - that’s what I’ve been up to lately.  Details of my shop address and sections of items for sale can be seen below.

.

Knitting:

As a change from knitting the baby blanket in Tiddly Pom yarn (shown in my previous post - here) and my throw/snuggle blanket in Wendy Frills yarn (shown in my post - here), which are long term projects, I decided to do a quicker project in a yarn with much larger “pompoms”.  So I knitted this scarf in Snowball yarn.  After taking pictures of the yarn strap and a piece of the yarn itself I forgot to take a picture of the part done work before I finished it, but I knitted it on five pegs spaced out on one of my circular knitting boards.

1  2  3  4

1. The yarn is a large pompom one.
2. This is what the yarn looks like - one stitch per thread between each pompom
3. The completed scarf with a pompom fringe.
4. A closeup of the knit of the scarf

My current quick project is another Wendy Frills yarn scarf which an aunt has asked me to knit for her.  She’d seen the sapphire coloured one I knitted not so long ago, and showed you in my post here, and wanted one similar but in a different colour.  This is how far I’ve got so far - no rush as she doesn’t think she’ll need it before next autumn.

1  2  3  4

1.  This is the yarn ball strap with information on the yarn itself.
2. This is what a piece of the ribbon yarn looks like - you knit into the loops at the top of the yarn.
3. This is what the front of the piece of scarf I’ve knitted so far looks like.
4. This is the back of the piece of knitted scarf.  You can see how the stitches lie over the pegs on the circular knitting loom.

I hope that this colour will be OK for my aunt, she wanted a reddish scarf and therefore we chose the yarn that was titled “Ruby”, but this looks to be more a pink shade with maroon to me.

craftybob.com Update:  

My new online shop “Craftau MAES MIERI Crafts” on craftybob.com is now open for business.  Please click - here - to have a look at the small number of items I’ve uploaded, and come back often to see the additions I’ll be putting up slowly, but surely, over time.  I hope that some of you will find something you like and want to buy on the site as well - if not for yourself then for a gift for somebody else.

I’ve currently got several sections in my shop:

• Jewellery
• Knitted Items
• Cards - Welsh/Cymraeg
• Cards - English
• Cards - Blank

Let me know what you think of it so far.

As the whole craftybob.com site is new, only having gone live just before the weekend, I expect that there could well be issues occurring.  If you find something doesn’t work, or isn’t easy to use, the please leave me a comment below to let me know so that I can pass it on to the site’s technical guru.

 CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - A copy of the mailer sent out by the CUP Team on Wednesday, 2nd May, can be seen by clicking -> here.  Once again there’s a wide assortment of digital downloads in many styles to be seen - from cute to cars, from floral to fashion.  Please click through to have a look.

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - A big thank you to all who’ve left me comments lately.  If anybody wants to leave me comments I’d love to read them.  You should find a box below where you can leave a comment, but due to the fact that I’ve had some 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-

.

Cards:

(If you click on the thumbnail images you can have a look at a larger image of 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.  Where these linked pages are on the CUP site you will usually find a longer description of how I made the item at the bottom of the page.)

1  2

1. Scalloped Layered Cards 27 & 28…..STUDIO by Tina Fitch (I cut the base card and all the layers out of various shades of Satin Board using my Silhouette Cameo, and stuck it together using double sided tape in places and 2mm deep, double sided, foam tape for the frame dimension.  I simply decorated with paper flowers and ribbon from my crafty stash.)
2. Stained Glass Butterfly & Card - Sil Studio by Stacey Alleyne (Another card cut out using my Silhouette Cameo.  For this card I cut the base card out of blue card-stock and all the other layers out of metallic vellum.  I attached the layer with most cut out to the outside, suing glue along the body outline.  All the other layers were stuck on the inside, in order.)

Knitting:

I’ve now finished the ruffled scarf I showed you a few posts ago - here.

1  2

It was kitted from Wendy Frills yarn on one of my circular knitting looms.  The first picture shows it as it would be worn with one end slipped through a loop knitted near the end on the other side, which can be seen in the second picture.

I’ve now been asked by an aunt to make her one in red, and a neighbour wants one to go with her brown winter cape, but the exact colour of that one is to be confirmed.  Looks like I could be making scarves and throws throughout the summer at this rate.

Cutting Work For Tina Fitch:

I’ve been working on some more stuff for the talented designer Tina Fitch lately.

These are some reasonably simple cutting files that can be cut out of whatever colour and texture card-stock you want and then embellished or left plain, however you want.

1  2  3  4  5

1. Swirl heart Cut Out Card…….STUDIO (For this card I cut the design out of Adorable Scorable cardstock and put a panel of red Satin Board behind.)
2. Christmas Tree Cut out card (The card itself is cut out of green Satin Board and inside I’ve put an insert of gold vellum.)
3. Arched Shaped Card ….Studio (The arched window card was cut out of a black cardstock and I put an insert of gold vellum inside so that the arch details could be seen as the card was black both sides so the detail wasn’t visible against the black inside without an insert.  The black card-stock I used is a little bit lighter than I’d use if I was going to decorate a card with embellishments, but is fine for just using with a vellum behind like I’ve done here.)
4. Birthday Cut out Card ….Studio (The card itself and the top layer of the panel are cut out of very pale yellow Adorable Scorable card-stock and the other layer of the panel and the panel I put inside the card to show off the cut out detail were cut out of a sheet of purple Satin Board.)
5. (This is the same card as above but I’ve embellished it with paper flowers, leaves, and a ribbon bow, from my own crafty stash.)

As well as selling via the craftsUprint site, Tina also has her own site - here.

I’ve got some more work on the go for Tina, so keep an eye on my blog over the next few weeks for more to appear.

.

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - A copy of the mailer sent out by the CUP Team on Monday, 30th April, can be seen by clicking -> here.  The “Exclusive Designer Spotlight” this time is the very talented Gordon Fraser.  Gordon is known for the “Dude” character he creates.  I think one of my favourites is the “Doctor Dude“, although this isn’t one of the ones shown in the mailer.  As usual, the mailer has a wide variety of designs for you to look at, so why not click through for a look if you haven’t seen it already.

The mailer sent out on Wednesday, 2nd May, can be seen - here. The “New From” feature this time are some “Animated Large Wobble Head Card Kits” by the ever popular designer Carol Clarke, but there are lots of other desings for you to look at in the mailer as well.

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - A big thank you to everybody who’ve left such nice comments on my previous posts.  Any comment you leave under this post will go live after I’ve had a chance to moderate them to weed out any Spam.)

-oOo-

-oOo-

The card I’ve got to show you this time is one I entered into the craftsUprint April Card Making Competition which was to make a card on the theme of Father’s Day.  As my father loves horses I decided to make him a card with a horse on, but in the end I just couldn’t decide between an image of a galloping horse or a horse silhouette - so I used both.  The results have now been declared on the site, so I can show you the card now.

.

Card:

(If you click on the thumbnail images you can have a look at a larger image of 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.  Where these linked pages are on the CUP site you will usually find a longer description of how I made the item at the bottom of the page.)

1  2  3  4

1. Horse topper - Stunning Galloping Horse a4 card/topper by Ammie Sanders
   Horse silhouette - Horse Silhouettes - GSD by Kim Paley
   Background - number 10 from Semi-Transparent Pretty Rose ‘Organza’ Digital Embellishments by Carol Clarke
   Greetings panel - bottom one from DAD word Fathers day topper by Kim McKelvie
   I printed the Galloping Horse out twice at under half size - once onto Crafty Bob Craft Paper and once onto Super Smooth white card.  I cut right round, close to the horse, to create a decoupage layer from the one printed onto Crafty Bob paper and tore the edge of the other one just inside the framing border.
   I cut one of the Silhouette Horses from a sheet of co-ordinating Core’dinations card-stock using my Silhouette Cameo digital cutting machine.
   I also printed out The DAD toppers twice at a much smaller than A4 size, again onto Crafty Bob paper and Super Smooth white card.
   The background was printed out onto the Super Smooth white card for the main background and onto a cream iridescent, heavyweight, paper for one of the matting layers.
   The base card is an A3 sheet of Centura Pearl cardstock, scored and folded in half.
   I applied Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edge of the torn topper layer and around the outside edge of main background of the card.  The background was then attached to the card front using Foto Glue.
   A piece of garden twine, also coloured with same distress ink, was platted, attached to a strip of the same Core’dinations cardstock as the silhouette horse, and stuck as a ribbon down the card-stock around a third of the way from the right hand side.  The same garden twine was also used to make a “lasso rope” embellishment which was stuck to the top right of the card using glue gel.
   The torn and distressed main topper image was stuck to the background printed on cream pearlescent paper using foam tape and the mat was trimmed to leave a border.
   This matted image was then layered onto a piece of the same Core’dinations cardstock as used previously, stuck directly in place with Foto Glue, and trimmed to leave a smaller border.
   This matted and layered image was stuck at a jaunty angle to the left hand side of my card front using double sided foam again.
   I used some gold stencil cream applied lightly over the mane and tail of both the image and the silhouette of the horse to give them a sheen when the finished card is moved in the light.  I then used glue gel to attach the decoupage layer to the main topper.
   I stuck the horse silhouette in place using foam squares, putting a double layer at his back end and a single layer at his head to compensate for the fact that the head was resting on an already raised topper.
   I finished off by cutting out the DAD twice, once on the outer border and once on the inner line.  Foam tape was used to attach the smaller layer to the larger layer, and glue gel was used to attach the whole DAD panel to the silhouette horse.
2. Closeup of top left corner showing topper with decoupage, torn and distressed edge, matting and layering and background with distressed ink outer.
3. Closeup of top right hand corner of card showing platted garden twine “ribbon” on a strip of Core’dinations cardstock, together with lasso made from same garden twine.  The twine also having been inked with the same Vintage Photo distress ink to keep it in tone with the rest of the card.
4. Closeup of bottom right corner showing the silhouette of the horse cut out of Core’dinations cardstock and the DAD greetings panel on top.  These items being attached with foam squares for dimension.

CUP Update:   April Card Making Competition Result -  You can see the competition results and all the other entries by clicking - here.  My card came in 28th.  Have a look at the cards to see if you agree with the final positions.  Which were your favourites?  Clicking on the thumbnail image of the card in the table below the leader board takes you to a larger image of the card and the description of how it was made, and clicking on the “Buy Project” link takes you to the page on CUP where you can buy the main element of the card (or in some places a kit of the whole card).

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - You should find a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it, but due to the fact that I’ve had some 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-

Cards:

(If you click on the thumbnail images you can have a look at a larger image of 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.  Where these linked pages are on the CUP site you will usually find a longer description of how I made the item at the bottom of the page.)

1  234

1. Wedding Silks Paper Pack by Carol Lepard & Instant Brads by Jackie Mitchell (The “silks paper” backgrounds come in several subtle shades and black, so I could change the shade depending on what colour design I wanted.  The brads come with several coloured outer ring and an inner that can be changed to whatever colour is needed.  For this card I took the lot into one of my graphics programs and made an invitation - “Gwahoddiad” is Welsh for Invitation - in a blue colour scheme.  I put two of the brad outer rings together as a wedding ring symbol on this particular one.  Then just a printout, score and fold was needed.)
2.  Semi-Transparent Pretty Rose ‘Organza’ Digital Embellishments by Carol Clarke & DIGITAL RESOURCES FLORAL 2 by Sally McIntyre (There are a lot of shades of backgrounds in the “organza” kit.  As they are Semi-Transparent you can get subtle changes in look by putting different colours behind each one as well.  There are two totally different flowers in the floral resources kit, including layers that can be used for decoupage, which I may well do for future cards using the kit, but for this one, again I just took them into my graphics package, re-sized and moved around where needed, then put in a “Penblwydd Hapus” - Welsh for Happy Birthday - greeting in a shade of deep pink from the flower.  I really like the layout I’ve come up with for this card, and may re-do it as a decoupage with the greetings panel as a layered element in the future.)
3. Wedding Silks Paper Pack by Carol Lepard & DIGITAL RESOURCES FLORAL 2 by Sally McIntyre & Circular Mother of Pearl Frames by June Young (I’d been asked a while back for a sympathy card that had flowers, but no bright colours, that would be suitable to just send a little note inside without being particularly religious.  This is what I came up with today.  It is again put together in one of my graphics packages and then just a print, score and fold, quick card.  I’ll make it up again with some dimension by creating extra layers for the flower and greetings panels, and putting a few little sticky back pearls on I think. “Gair o Gysur” is Welsh for “A Word of Comfort”.)
4. A SELECTION OF FRAMES AND MATS by Sally McIntyre & Semi-Transparent Pretty Rose ‘Organza’ Digital Embellishments by Carol Clarke & Cornfields and Lavender Fields - Original art by Pamela West (I took one of the frames, one of the”organza” backgrounds, and the digital version of the original artwork into my graphics package.  I cropped the artwork, choosing an area that fitted inside my frame for this card.  I put on a “Penblwydd Hapus” greeting (Welsh for Happy Birthday).  I created a quick card from the digital elements, setting it up as a print, score, fold, card.  I’m thinking of setting it up as a card front with pyramid layers.  Also, choosing different areas of the artwork and creating a co-ordinating set of note cards to box and give as a gift.)

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - There have been two mailers sent out by CUP HQ since I last posted to my blog.  Here are the links to them:

Wednesday, 25th April - here.
Friday, 27th April - here.

As usual you’ll find lots of lovely designs that may give you lots of inspiration for your cardmaking as well as being available to buy.  In addition to this there’s an assortment of news from the CUP crafty family.

April Card Making Competition -  Voting is now open for the competition to make a Father’s Day card, so if you are eligible to vote then please log onto your Control Panel on the craftsUprint site, click the link, and have a good look at the selection of cards by clicking on each thumbnail to see a larger image and read the crafter’s description of what was done, before going to place your votes.

Discount Code -  Time to go shopping for digital downloads (or print and post items) on the craftsUprint site and click “Add to Cart” on the page of any items you wish to buy.  Then simply type the word ‘CHEESE’ into the REDEEM VOUCHER box on the basket page and click - “UPDATE BASKET” - BEFORE you check out to save a whopping 20% off your total order value!  The Discount Code Offer Ends Midnight 30th April 2012, so you’ve got a couple of days left to decide which items you want.

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - You should find a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it, but due to the fact that I’ve had some 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-

Jewellery:

This is the set I made today.  Coloured aluminium wire wound into a coil using a coiling gizmo, purple violet seed beads, chips of semi precious stones, put together using gold coloured tiger tail, bracelet memory wire and gold toned findings.

1  2  3  4  5

Knitting:

In between working on my snuggle blanket/throw, and the white baby blanket knitted using tiddly pom yarn, I picked up a smaller circular loom to knit a short scarf.  Easier for me to do something light of weight at the moment.  This scarf is knitted in the same Wendy Frills yarn as my snuggle blanket, but this time it’s in a sapphire colour.  The thread that holds the ribbon yarn together for this colour is black, and there’s a sparkly thread running through the outside edge as well, which may not be totally clear in these photos.

1  2  3  4

I’ll put up a picture of the completed scarf and a bit of a description up in a future post once I’ve finished it.

I’ve now finished knitting five out of the ten panels I intend to use to make my snuggle blanket.  (You can see pictures of the yarn, a single completed panel, etc., in a previous post I made - here.)  This picture shows four of the panels stitched together.  This is just about as wide as the seat of a three seater settee.

1

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer -  Another mailer was sent out by the team at CUP HQ yesterday, 23rd April.  You can see a copy by clicking - here - if you haven’t already seen it.  If you don’t receive the mailers regularly to your in-box then you can put your details in - here - to add your E-mail address to the list.  You even get four free designs for joining the mailing list.

April Card Making Competition -  The entries are all in for the competition to make a Father’s Day card.  You can see them by clicking - here.

Item of the Moment -  As a Registered Crafter on the craftsUprint site (being a Registered Crafter is a bit like being part of a giant design team, making up samples of hand crafted items so that their picture can be displayed with the design we used to make them) a crafter can choose an “Item of the Moment”.  This item is a design of some sort that a crafter particularly likes and chooses to display on their Crafter Showcase page.  I decided to change mine today, as the last one had been displayed for over a month, but I had a really difficult time choosing because I love so many of the designs I’ve bought via CUP.  In the end I chose WHITE CAMELIA WITH CARD FACE PLATE by Sally McIntyre which you can see - here.  You’ll notice I’ve gone for a Designer Resource this time.  Designer Resources are designs that you can not only print out and use as they are, but you can also play around with in your graphics package and build your own design digitally before printing out to craft with them.

 -oOo-

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-

(Hi All - You should find a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it, but due to the fact that I’ve had some 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-