20/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

A few months ago I was given a pack of “Crafty Bob’s A4 Premium Gloss Craft Paper 200gsm Pack of 20” to try out and put through its paces, including cutting it using my new Silhouette Cameo digital cutting machine.  I wrote two blog posts to show everybody the results I had, both comparing the print to the original design as well as looking at how well it cut out.  You may remember that I was impressed with both the quality of the printing and how well it cut, and I’ve cut both with a scissors and my Cameo by now.  I’ve even been back and ordered two further packs myself since then.

If you didn’t see my review posts you can see the first one -> here  - and the second one - here.

You may be wondering why I’m mentioning this today!

Well in the latest mailer, E-mailed out from CUP HQ today, there is the statement

“Crafty Bob wants you to try out his paper because
he knows once you have tried it you will be back for more.”

Go on - click on the link to the paper at the top of this post to see what price it’s being sold at over this weekend!

Can you believe that price?!

 (The offer is subject to one pack per customer, and you do have to pay P & P to wherever you live, but I believe that they do ship worldwide.)

CUP Update:   

CUP Mailer - A copy of the mailer sent out today can be seen by clicking - > here.  In addition to the news about the very special price on Crafty Bob’s Paper for this weekend you’ll also see lots of lovely designs you can buy via craftsUprint to use in your crafting.

CUP April Card-making Competition - The mailer also includes the following statement:

“Last Call for the The April Competition - Some fantastic entries already!
Last entry is Midnight 22nd April and Voting will open on Monday afternoon.
The upload link is in your Control Panel - Good luck to all entrants!!!  ”

 The theme this month is a Father’s Day card using any design you’ve bought via craftsUprint.  And the Control Panel mentioned is the one on the craftsUprint site that every customer has where they can download designs bought, view older orders, have a go on the Tombola each time an order is placed, etc.  The competition details can be seen -> here.

I’ve uploaded my entry by now, but in the spirit of the competition, I’m not going to put my entry on my blog until after the end of the voting to make sure my card is anonymous.  Nor have I entered using a card I’ve previously uploaded to CUP as a Registered Crafter. Of course people are free to make a guess at which is my card - guessing who’s made which of the entries, once they are put up for us to see and vote, is half the fun, especially when the names go up at the end of the voting and you can see if you were right about any entry.

 -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 - Thank you for all the lovely comments left on my previous posts.  I’m so thrilled to know that people look at my crafting efforts and can find the time to leave comments.  Comments don’t go live immediately, but will go live when I’ve checked through the list and weeded out the spam - usually a couple of times a day.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint Cards | No Comments »

19/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

Thank you all for your get well soon wishes over the last few days.  I really appreciate all your comments both here on my blog and on Facebook.

I’m still not back to my usual (which isn’t exactly very good at best with all my permanent health problems) after the virus I caught, but some good friends are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this weekend so I needed to get on and make a wedding anniversary card for them.  So over the last couple of days I’ve only got one card made up to show you.  I hope you like it.
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Card:

(If you click on the thumbnail images you can have a look at a larger image of each item.)

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1. This is the front of the card.  As the 60th Wedding Anniversary is traditionally called the Diamond Anniversary you’ll notice that I’ve used faux gems to represent diamonds liberally on this card.
2. This is the front of the card at an angle to show the acetate bubble’s dimension.  The acetate is foil embossed with butterflies.  I’ve added small sticky back gems to the tips of each of the antennae, as well as having several different sized sticky back gems on the fold over flaps on either side that’s holding the acetate bubble.
3. But this isn’t a simple, top fold, card - as you can see from this picture it is an easel card.

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1. This is the base of the card when stood up, showing the stopper bar.  I’ve bowed this by putting a short strip, around 2″ of 1mm deep, double sided, foam tape in the centre of the bar (which I’d shaped with a corner rounder at each corner).  I then put a strip around 4″ in length going over the first strip with the extra even both ends.  Then a third strip of around 6″ over the second strip, again with the extra length being evenly spaced either side.  When the bar was then stick in place it bowed up in the centre and went down towards both ends.  The oval plate with the greeting is the piece that cut out from the centre of the “0″ from the “60″ on the card front.  The greeting is “Penblwydd Priodas Hapus”, which is Welsh for “Happy Anniversary”.
2.  This is looking through the acetate bubble at the scalloped edged, layered, 60, which I stuck onto a fancy scalloped layer.
3. This is the front view of the card when stood open.

Items used to make this card:

• Scalloped Numbers 1 to 10…….Studio by Tina Fitch and  Scalloped Fancy Shape Layers…..Studio by Tina Fitch (used one of the scalloped layers stretched a bit length wise to make it a little larger than the numbers, and also the largest fancy shaped layer stretched to just smaller than A4 in size).
• White Vellum - used to cut the second and back layers of the numbers.
• Diamond Sparkles Card - 1 white spot pattern for cutting top and third layer of numbers; 2 white swirls, one whole as base layer of card front and one cut down for stop bar and brackets that are holding the acetate; 1 pale blue for scalloped mat and one pale yellow for fancy shaped layer.
• Centura Pearl Snow White Card - 1 sheet of A3 as the base card of the easel and 2 used to make a box to present it in.
• Butterfly Foil Embossed Acetate
• Crystal Clear Sticky Back Gems - in various sizes
• Foto Glue
• Foam Tape
• Glue Gel
• Ultra Clear Tape (red backed)

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - A copy of the mailer that was sent out from CUP HQ on Wednesday, 18th April, can be seen - here.  It seems that Crafty Bob hasn’t been able to make it over to Belfast for the current craft show, but has sent over stacks of his special purple bags which will be available with every purchase from the Stamposaurus stall at Kings Hall (stand C12).  Hope those of you who are attending manage to get one.  Read more about it in the mailer, as well as having a look at lots more lovely designs that the card-makers amongst you can buy and use.

April Card Making Competition -  This month the theme is Fathers Day and the last entry date is 22nd April.  Full details can be seen on the Craftforums site - here.

 -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-

Posted in craftsUprint Cards | 10 Comments »

17/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

I had hoped to complete and post this up over the weekend, but just didn’t feel well enough, so although I started it I had to give up and turn off my Laptop.

I still haven’t completely shaken off the virus I had, although I think (and hope and pray) the antibiotics have done the trick as far as the infection I got in my damaged leg, after I scratched it in the garden while having a slow wonder one day (I can’t really do anything faster than a slow waddle around on the best of days), is concerned.  After coughing so much, I completely lost my voice for a few days last week, but at least that’s slowly coming back now even though I’m still coughing a bit, and even the aches and pains are not as bad.  I even managed to get out of the house for an hour or so on Sunday (car there, sit down, car back, so nothing energetic), and sat out the garden for a bit yesterday while one of my young nephews put my chitted potatoes to grow in my potato growing sacks that my older nephew had sat out ready in their place with some compost in the bottom a couple of weeks ago.  Wasn’t up to doing a lot myself, but at least, with help, it’s one job done now.  You’d think it was a lot of work wouldn’t you, but it’s only 4 potato growing bags.

So, with not feeling too good for the last week or so, I haven’t done a whole lot of crafting, therefore not a huge amount to show you.  For the first small batch of cards I’ve got to show you I resorted to some Hunkydory die-cut designs, stuck onto base cards made using co-ordinating Adorable Scorable cardstock.  I do like to have kits like this to play around with when I’m not up to making anything more complex, so that I can at least do something and play around a bit with the layout of the card, without requiring too much thought.

The second batch are cards I’d already printed, coloured, cut-out, etc., before I started to feel so ill.  Nothing particularly complex, I made them up rather simply, but again something to pick up and be able to say I did something.

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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.)

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1. Made using items from Hunkydory’s “For the Ladies” pack, as are the next two as well.  Didn’t do anything much for this card.  Only scored the cardstock using my Hougie Board to create an A5 base card and stuck on the topper using foam tape.
2. For this one I again chose a sheet of printed card-stock from the same pack, but this time I used some Core’dinations cardstock as a mat behind the topper and I used a sanding block over the surface of the mat and to lightly roughen the edges of each layer of the pyramid topper before building the card up.
3. For this card I took the A4 printed card-stock and scored and folded to make an easel card.  I took another sheet of the Core’dinations cardstock and put one piece over the inside base of the card and another piece behind my chosen topper.  I used three different depth of foam tape to stick the topper and the two layers of frame to the mat, and the deepest foam tape I’d got (3mm) to attach a paper ribbon strip as a stopper for the easel card across the front after I’d used a corner rounder punch at each corner.  The corners of the base card has also been rounded.

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1. African Elephant 3D Decoupage by Liz Harrison (I printed the decoupage sheet out onto Crafty Bob Craft Paper and cut out all the pieces.  I made a simple A6 base card by scoring and folding some card-stock I had printed onto a while ago - I think it was from a CD-ROM but can’t remember exactly which one.  I simply stuck on the base image and, after shaping the pieces a bit, build up the layers sticking each in place using Pinflair Glue Gel.)
2. FUN WITH SCALLOPS by Clive Couter & Scalloped Circle Easel Card - Silhouette Studio by Kim Paley (I cut the card and top layer out of black cardstock using my Cameo.  To make a striking card, I cut out the scallops layers from the same black cardstock and some hammered red card.  I went around the edges of various layers with a Red Gold Letraset Metallic Marker and stuck the lot together using double sided tape and double sided foam tape.  I’ve left a little scalloped circle from the decoration without a greeting as I want to add one in gold peel-off once I know the occasion it will be given.  There’s a white paper panel for writing a greeting on hidden inside the card.)
3. Parrot Digital Stamp-Glass Painting by Anna Babajanyan (I printed the sheet onto Super Smooth white card, cut out the image around the outer frame and coloured it in using a set of 6 Letraset Metallic Markers to give the plumage a real sheen.  I chose a co-ordinating colour Satin Board as a mat behind the image, trimming to leave a border of around 1cm each side.  The matted image was stuck onto a pre-cut, decorative edge, 8″ square card which I’d gone round the edge with one of the colours of metallic marker.)

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - The mailer that was sent out by the CUP Team on Wednesday, 11th April, can be seen - here.  This includes lots of lovely little boxes, a new CUP TV episode, some lovely little triple twist easels, and much more.  The mailer sent out on Friday, 13th April, can be seen - here.  Once again there’s a lot of designs to look at and lots of bits of news to catch up on.  The mailer sent out on Monday, 16th April, can be seen - here. Even more pretty designs to be seen showcased in this one.

April Card Making Competition -  This month the theme is Fathers Day and the last entry date is 22nd April.  Full details can be seen on the Craftforums site - here.

 -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 -  I’d like to thank all of you who’ve been so kind as to leave comments on some of my previous blog posts.  I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time to comment on my crafting efforts.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint Cards | 4 Comments »

10/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

I’ve caught one of those nasty viruses off the little nephews, on top of having a repeat infection in my damaged leg, and therefore having to go back on antibiotics, so I’ve not felt like doing a lot of crafting over the weekend.  So the only thing I’ve got to show you today are three gift baskets that I made, (using four different Designer Resources bought from CUP), to give some chocolates in as Easter Gifts.

Gift Baskets:

(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.)

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1. I used several Designer Resources to make these baskets - 3 x basket templates from Set of 3 gift basket templates by Jackie Mitchell; 3 x backgrounds from 12 sheets of A4 Background Papers yellows by Jacqueline Hatton; 2 x embellishments from Pretty Gems - Embellishments by Sheila Rodgers; 2 x flowers, recoloured, from 12 pack of Fabric Flowers by Jackie Mitchell (I took these designer resources into one of my graphics programs and create three A4 sheets, one for each gift basket, putting a template onto a background, putting one embellishment on each end of the handles and another on back and front of basket.  I also recoloured the two flower layers to a deep yellow/apricot.  The pages were printed out onto Super Smooth white cardstock, cut out, scored on my Hougie Board, and stuck together using Template Tape.  The flowers were then shaped, two layers attached with brads, and then stuck onto one of the baskets using Glue Gel.)
2.  This is one of the baskets from the batch of three showed in the previous picture.

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - There are a lot of lovely designs for you to look at in the latest CUP Mailer, viewable - here - that was sent out on Monday, 9th, April. From a CD by one of the CUP designers to Cutting files, from design kits to single sheet designs, there are a lot for you to see.

 -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-

 I’d like to thank all of you who’ve been so kind as to leave comments on some of my previous blog posts.  I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time to comment on my crafting efforts.
(Hi All - There should be a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it.  Comments are moderated and genuine comments will go live when I’ve checked through the list - usually a couple of times a day.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint Cards | 11 Comments »

07/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

 I’d like to thank all of you who’ve been so kind as to leave comments on some of my previous blog posts.  I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time to comment on my crafting efforts.

-oOo-

If you’ve been reading my blog posts you’ll know that some of the cards I’d cut, assembled and embellished were to be seen on the Create & Craft “Cameo” program last week. They were all cut using designs from Tina Fitch’s CD-ROM “Cameo Creations”. If you go to the C & C page for the CD - here - you’ll see that there’s now a “Watch Video” option, so please go and have a look to see if you can spot any of the cards I’ve put up on my blog.
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Cards:

Some of these cards were made using Designer Resources from craftsUprint, some from ordinary Card Making designs, and some from Cutting Files which I cut out on my Silhouette Cameo.

(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  5

1. Circular Lace & Ribbon Frames by June Young; Pack of 10 diagonal stripes multi colours by Susan Wood; WHITE CAMELIA WITH CARD FACE PLATE by Sally McIntyre (I took one of the lace and ribbon frames, one of the backgrounds and the Camellia with layers into one of my graphics programs and created the design.  This was then taken into my Silhouette Studio software and I created a Print & Cut file out of it.  The design was printed onto a sheet of Crafty Bob’s Paper before cutting it out using my Cameo.  The base card is made from an A4 sheet of Satin Board that had been scored, folded, and trimmed to size.  I just used a glue roller pen to attach the base image layer and glue gel to build up the flower layers.  It did take a bit of time to get the cutting line right to make this card, but there are days I find it easier to sit with my hand on a mouse than using a scissors, so it’s a good way to craft.)
2.  Adult Baptism Christening QS by Silvia Griffin (This one is also printed onto Crafty Bob’s Paper, but this time it was hand cut.  The base layer and the oval pyramage layers were easy to cut out, but the flowers were not so easy, so, if you click through to see the sheet itself, you’ll see that the two flowers and bud came together as an element - well I only cut round the two flowers and chopped of the top bit that included the bud.  I used foam tape to stick on the pyramage layers in order and glue gel for the flower and bow.  The base card for this is a cream Adorable Scoreable A4 card, scored, folded and trimmed to size.)
3. Step Card Back Display Card STUDIO-WPC-MTC-SVG by Rae Carr; Gingham Backing Papers kit by Carol Clarke; Flourish Butterflies - Embellishments - Studio by Ann Smith (The base card for this is cut out of Centura Pearl Snow White card-stock, and the scalloped panel and butterflies out of Satin Board, using my Cameo.  The flowers were cut out of white and gingham printed Super Smooth white card using a couple of Tonic Petite Petal Pairs punch. I chose yellow to go with the flowers behind the fairy in the topper.  There was a bit of twisting involved to get the flower shapes woven to make the finished flowers.  The fairy was a die-cut topper from Papertole.  Again, an easy card to make as the cutting was done using my Cameo and the decoupage was die cut.)
4. Ladies Accessories Tri Fold Quick Card by Lorraine Smith (The topper was printed onto Crafty Bob’s paper and cut out.  Nice easy shapes.  These were stuck to red cardstock and I trimmed around leaving a border, so again easy to cut.  The base card is made from Centura Pearl Snow White cardstock, scored and trimmed and the matted toppers added.)
5. Same card as above but opened out as a screen.

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1. Wedding Horseshoe fronted Door Card by Tina Fitch (This design is available as a .gsd file from craftsUprint, but is also available as a .studio cutting file on Tina’s “Cameo Creations” CD-ROM.  Despite all the hard work of cutting being done using my Silhouette Cameo, this card is very time consuming as landlocked pieces that didn’t come out when the panels and horseshoes were pulled from the cutting mat needed to be pushed out using a hook tool.  This is cut from linen textured white cardstock.  The contrasting colour is ordinary red cardstock from a goodie box I received, and behind each panel I put gold vellum.  Although not really visible in the pictures, I’ve gone around the outside edge of both doors and the back panel with narrow “red” double sided tape and put on fine glitter.  I also used a Zig glue pen over several of the horseshoe layers and put the same glitter on before attaching these to the card.)
2.  Same card as previous but with the front gates open to show the inside horseshoes.

Knitting:

In a previous post - here - I showed you one panel I’d knitted out of Wendy Frills yarn on one of my circular knitting looms.  I’ve now got three of these finished and a fourth on the go. It’s going to make a lovely, snuggly, blanket/throw for me once I’ve finished all the panels and stitched them together.  I’ve also started working on a baby blanket out of another unusual yarn working on my Authentic Knitting Board.

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1. This is the band from around the yarn I’m using for my baby blanket.  It’s white and called Tiddly Pom!
2. This is what the yarn actually looks like (put against the band to give some idea of size.)
3. This is how much I’ve knitted so far.  I’m working the whole length of my knitting board for this project, but only working on one side of the board, rather than weaving back and fore for a double knit.  I’m knitting two loops between each “pom”.
4. This is what the front of the piece looks like close up.
5. This is the back of the knitted piece.

Keep an eye out on future posts for the finished knitted pieces.

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - There have been two mailers sent out by the team at CUP HQ since my last post.  You can see the one sent out on Wednesday, 4th April by clicking - here - and the one sent out on Friday, 6th April by clicking - here.  Again you’ll see lots of lovely design being showcased and a chance to catch up on some news from crafters and designers.

 -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-

Posted in craftsUprint Cards | 5 Comments »

03/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

 Firstly I’d like to say “Thank You Very Much” to those of you who’ve left comments on my previous blog posts.  I really appreciate the nice things you’ve said about my crafting efforts.

-oOo-

In my post of the 2nd of April (click - here - to have a look if you haven’t already seen it) I said I had one more batch of samples from Tina Fitch’s CD-ROM “Cameo Creations” to show you again.  Well here they are:

1  2  3  4  5

Please click on the thumbnail images to have a look at a larger image in each case,
as these thumbnails are just too small for you to see the detail of each item.

1. Cracker (Christmas Cracker.studio) - Whether you want them to decorate the table at Christmas, or even some other occasion, or whether you want to make crackers a little smaller for the Christmas tree, this is a quick and easy design to put together after cutting (Cut from Satin Board, tied with ribbon and decorated with some peel-offs.)
2. Doily Door Card (Doiley door 1.studio; Doiley door 2.studio) - I do wish that the really glittery finish of this card showed up in photos.  The whole thing twinkles in any light.  I did have to take a bit of time pushing out the tiniest pieces from the “doilies” as they didn’t just drop out or stick to the cutting mat when the card was lifted, but it was well worth the time spent. (Cut from linen effect cardstock.  Used fine double sided tape around the edge of each panel and put on ultra fine crystal glitter.  Gems in the centre of each “round” and used quickie glue pen to put glitter around those as well – it really does sparkle in the light but the glitter doesn’t show up in the photo at all.  I put vellum behind each panel to make them show out while still allowing light through if put against a window or other light source.  Finished off with ribbon at the door edge.)
3. Same as the previous card but with the doors open so that you can see the inside back.
4. Frilly Frame (Frilly fRAME.studio) - This is another item that shows off the Cameo’s ability to cut out sticky back vinyl.  I kept this one simple, but I think that putting some sticky back gems amongst the design would make a more “blingy” card.  (Have a closer look at the design, it’s actually the same design as card 1 in the second row of cards in my previous post but this time cut out of vinyl, transferred to linen effect cardstock which was trimmed and a metallic marker used to edge it. Attached to base card made of Centura Pearl and two rub-ons put in the centre.)
5. Flower Panel Card (12 x 12 Flower page.studio) - I used a Silhouette pen to “draw” the design rather than cut out a panel. (I thought the design was very pretty and would be great for a scrapbook page, but a bit too large for me to make a sample out of, so reduced it to just under 8” square in size and used a pen from the “glitter” set to draw it out onto linen card-stock, rather than cutting it.  I coloured the edge with big and juicy ink pad and used the same one to stamp greeting.  Ribbon tired around and some flowers punched from pearlescent cardstock with some drops of pearlescent glue in the middle finish it off.  Didn’t want to put on too much as the idea is to show off the design from the sheet, but it looked a bit too plain without putting anything on.  Base card is made from Centura Pearl cardstock.)

I spotted numbers 2/3 and 4 in the show.  The card shown in pictures 2 & 3 were on the second row on the right of the bookcase behind Dean, and 4 was on the top row of the bookcase.

I’ve now also spotted another two from my first posting of samples -  card 4 from the first row and the card in pictures 2, 3 and 4 was on the second bookshelf which was briefly visible behind Dean when he went accross to show some of the bits that go with the Cameo.

Keep an eye out for repeats if you missed the program, though there may not be repeats if either the Cameo or Tina’s CD-ROM sold out after the show.

Here’s a quick list of the items I used for making these samples, and the ones in the previous posts of samples (here and here):

• CD-ROM - Cameo Creations by Tina Fitch
• Cutting Machine and Other Silhouette Items – Silhouette Cameo; Cutting Mat; Blade; Silhouette Sketch Pens; Silhouette Sketch Pens - Glitters; Silhouette Transfer Paper; Silhouette Universal Tools;
• Media – Hunkydory card (Silk Art Card and Adorable Scorable card); Linen Effect Metallic cardstock; Glitter Card; Glitter Paper; Centura Pearl Snow White card; Linen Effect white cardstock; Vellum; Satin Board; Acetate; Silhouette Bright (Smooth) Colours Peel Off Media – Vinyl; Pearlescent cardstock; Mirror Board; Black cardstock
• Embellishments – Sticky Back Gems; Googly Eyes; Peel-offs; Ribbons; gems on “branches”; Pearlescent glue dots; Brads; Flock Rub-Ons;
• Anything Else Used – Quickie Glue Pen; ProMarker; Tonic Flower Punch; Hougie Board; Happy Birthday stamp; Black Soot distress ink; Waterfall Big and Juicy; Zig glue pen; Ultra fine Chrystal Glitter; Guiding flakes; Metallic Marker; Fingerlift Tape; Pinflair Glue Gel; Foam Tape;

The CD-ROM “Cameo Creations” can be bought from C & C by going to - this - page.

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And did any of you notice Hayley West cutting a branch with leaves out during the show? Well that’s the leafy branch I used several times at the top right of my Mother’s Day card. This is the card, but you can see a further, angled, closeup, and full details in my blog post of the 30/03/2012 which you can see - here.  As you can see, I cut out of gingham printed card-stock and used a ball tool to give several branches dimension before attaching to my card, whereas Hayley cut hers out of sticky back cardstock.  You may remember that the Scalloped Layered Full Letter Alphabet…GSD are another of Tina’s cutting files if you’ve read my previous post.  I’ve also got more cards I’ve made using Tina’s cutting files amongst my Crafter Showcase Gallery on the craftsUprint site, which you can see by clicking - here. Several of the cutting files used there are amongst the designs on Tina’s “Cameo Creations” CD-ROM as well as being for sale individually on the CUP site.  Now I wonder whether we’ll see another CD-ROM before long with even more of her cutting files on it?  Perhaps some of the ones seen on the CUP site and Tina’s own site that are not on the current one?

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CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - You can see a copy of the mailer sent out by the CUP Team on the 2nd April by clicking - here.  As usual you’ll see lots of fabulous designs, plus snippets of news from the ranks of Registered Crafters and Designers, including one recovering from an operation and another stuck in the wilds, outside mobile phone reception, when the car broke down.  Read more in the mailer.

 -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-

Posted in Tina Fitch | 9 Comments »

02/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

OK - Did you watch the program?  Did you spot any of the cards I showed you in my blog post on Sunday (click - here - to see them if you haven’t looked before) anywhere on the set of the Create & Craft program “Cards with Silhouette CAMEO” this afternoon?

I spotted number 1 from the first row of the last post near the centre of the top shelf of the bookcase.  I also spotted some I’ve got to show you in this post. I was quite surprised that so many of them were to be seen really, but it was nice that they did a pan of the bookcase to see them more clearly.  I was bobbing up and down and from side to side a bit and telling Dean on the telly to move his head a bit so I could have a closer look - LOL!  I should have sent in an E-mail to ask him to move, shouldn’t I?!  I’ll have to have a closer look when I re-play the recording sometime, and pause when they are looking at the cards to see if I can spot any more.

You’ll probably have noticed that I tried to make an assortment of cards of various complexity as samples.  The CraftROBO and Cameo cutting machines are very versatile, being able to cut things from basic shapes such as an oblong mat for layering, to a seriously intricate design, and I wanted to show this versatility amongst my samples.

Time now for my second batch of samples for you to take a look at.  Several of these were also visible during the program:

1  2  3  4

1. Scalloped Arch (scalloped Arch.studio) - This can be made up as a wedding arch, perhaps in colours to match the theme chosen by the happy couple for their wedding, but it could also be made up as an anniversary card - it looks stunning made up in gold mirror, textured, and vellum, as a Golden Wedding Anniversary card (Base card – hammered effect white card.  Arch cut from two tones of Hunkydory card. Embellished with peel-offs, ribbon bow, gems on wire branches and flowers punched from Centura Pearl Snow White card, plus sticky back gems.
2. 1st Birthday Teddy (1st Birthday Teddy.studio) - The base card, with its intricate lattice cutting around the central teddy is all cut out using the file provided.  There’s also a stand alone little teddy piece for you to cut out of whatever colour you want.  I cut mine out of dark silk art card-stock, but I could have made him lighter and drawn on eyes, nose, etc.(Card and teddy cut from Hunkydory cardstock; Panel white glitter card put behind.)
3. Golden Wedding Anniversary Card (5 & 6.studio; 10.studio; Corners Swirly.studio; Fancy scalloped shape.studio) - You’ll notice that I’ve used several files off the CD-ROM to make this card.  I’ve even used a single layer from the Fancy scalloped shape file that I used to make the last card in my previous post.  Two of the other layers were placed inside, and offset, for the greeting to be put on. (Base card and shaped panel from Centura Pearl card; Swirly corners and some layers of the 5 and 0 from linen textured gold card; largest panel from satin board, vellum used for other number layers and to punch out flowers for decoration which had a gem put in the centre to cover where the glue was.  Peeloffs used around the outside of the card front.)
4. Closeup of one of the numbers and corner swirls on the front of the previous card.

1  2  3

1. Frilly Frame (Frilly fRAME.studio) - I quite like red and black together and so made this large A4 card in these colours (This was by way of an experimentation.  Put a quickie glue pen in the pen holder, and put it to “write” the design and then added ultra fine crystal glitter - only problem was where the two black “holding” rollers went through the fresh glue, but it didn’t transfer too much and using a brush to brush off the line after glittering as it wasn’t attached so well.  Distressed the edge and put peel-offs in the centre before attaching to a black base card over a red ribbon I’d wrapped around.)
2. Christmas Greeting Plaque (Christmas 1 SS.studio) - This is made up as a wall plaque, rather than as a card.  The wording is “May the wonder that is Christmas touch the child within your heart”. (Design cut out of black vinyl and transferred using transfer tape to an acetate sheet.  Glue put behind and some gilding flakes added (Won’t use glue again as when I look closely I can see brush marks from glue pen broad head, so I think one of those sheets with glue both sides would be better in retrospect).  Attached to mirror board using brads and then attached to black backing card.)
3. Decoration for the Christmas Tree (Decoration 1.studio) - When you consider the price of Christmas decorations these days, to be able to make your own lovely ones like this out of one sheet of card, some glitter and glue is great.  And any colour of card or glitter could be used to match your Christmas colour theme, or make them in multiple colours.  (Cut out of Satin board, covered in glue and dipped into glitter.  Loop of decorative string at top.)

The ones I spotted on the show that I’m showing you in this post were number 1 in the first row and numbers 1 and 2 in the second row.

The CD-ROM “Cameo Creations” can be bought from C & C by going to - this - page, or from the Graphtec website by going to - this - page.

Keep an eye out for my next few posts as I’ve got one other batch of photos of items I made for the show to upload again, and that also includes a couple of samples I spotted.

 -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-

Posted in Tina Fitch | 3 Comments »

01/04/2012 by Gwyneth.

Those of you who follow my blog will know that I’m on the “Creative Team” of the designer Tina Fitch.  Tina is known mostly for her fantastic digital designs for using with cutting machines such as the CraftROBO and Silhouette Cameo.  Well Tina’s latest CD-ROM, “Cameo Creations” is available on Create & Craft, and there’s a program scheduled for tomorrow (Monday, 2nd April) at 4pm.  I’ve been busy, along with some other members of Tina’s Creative Team, making samples to go up to the studio for the show.

The cards I’ve got to show you today are just some of the cards I’ve cut/constructed/decorated using Tina’s wonderful designs as the starting point.  All made to show different styles of cards that you can make when using such fantastic designs, from the simple to the more ornate.  And not just using the Cameo’s cutting function, but also the ability to use pens in the machine.

Take a good look and keep an eye out during the program to see if you can spot them:

1  2  3   4

1. Scalloped Oval Layers (Scalloped Oval.studio) - With this scalloped oval design there’s a choice of having the top layer with the wording “Best Wishes” or blank for you to decorate or put a greeting of your choice. I chose to make this card in tones that would make it suitable for a male card, without ribbons or glitter. (Base card – Linen textured gold card.  Oval layers cut out of Hunkydory card; Embellishment – two colours of sticky back gems in various sizes.)
2. 3d Teddy Frame (3d Teddy Frame.studio) - The cutting file for the base card is provided, as is the cutting outlines to cut out the teddy in colours of your choice.  You can then paper piece the teddy onto the card.  I added googlie eyes for a finishing effect. (Base card – hammered effect white card.  Teddy cut from two colours of Hunkydory card; Writing in one of Silhouette Sketch Pens - Glitters; Embellishment – googly eyes.)
3. Best Wishes Line Art Card (Cameo Line art 1.studio) - This card is made by using both the writing and the cutting facilities of the Cameo, just remember to set only the particular lines you want to Cut for every different colour and for the cutting.  It does take a bit of time to set it to do a colour, change the lines and change the pen, and then set it to write again, but the finished effect is very effective. (Card base cut from hammered effect white card; writing all using Silhouette Sketch Pens - Glitters; Insert is glitter paper put so that coloured, glittered, side is out towards cut-out area.)
4. 3d Flower frame (3d Flower frame.studio) - This design has a different look depending on the card texture and colours you use for the base card and layers, and also what you use as embellishment.  Think how jazzy it would look in yellow, orange and red, or how striking in in just black and white. (Card and flower layers from three colours of Hunkydory card.  Embellishment is green and white peel-offs.)

1  2   3   4

1. 3d Flower frame (3d Flower frame.studio) -This is the same design as card 4 in the 1st set above, but the layers were cut in the opposite colours, and a coloured insert was put behind the aperture. (Card from Hammered effect white card; Flower layers from Hunkydory card; Embellishment is a spotted ribbon and bow, together with peel-offs; Panel of Glitter card put behind aperture.)
2. Fancy Scalloped Shape Layers (Fancy scalloped shape.studio) - This is a really versatile series of layers that can be cut in colours to suit your project and decorated however you want.  I made it up in pinks and creams as an easel card.  (Layers were cut out of an assortment of Hunkydory cardstock and attached to the front of an easel card (think this was also a Hunkydory base card as well, but I could be wrong there).Decorated with two types of gems on branches tied with a ribbon and bow.)
3. This is a closeup of the front of the easel card when flat for putting in an envelope.
4. This is an even closer closeup so that you can see the scalloped effect.

I’ve made more items than just these, so keep an eye out for a couple more blog posts of samples from me over the next few days.

The CD-ROM “Cameo Creations” can be bought from C & C by going to - this - page, or from the Graphtec website by going to - this - page.

Tina’s work is available to buy as individual items from the craftsUprint site.  You can see the over 1,000 items she’s uploaded by clicking - here.

If you don’t have an electronic cutting machine, but are considering saving up for one, I’d say - go for it! You could do a lot worse than going for the Cameo.  I loved my CraftROBO.  I’m even happier that I decided to go for an upgrade to the Silhouette Cameo.

If however you are not going for a cutting machine that can use Tina’s cutting files at this time, then quite a few of Tina’s designs are now available as .pdf file formats from the craftsUprint site, so that you can hand cut them with a craft knife or scissors.  Click - here - to see some of 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 - I’ve got comment moderation in place, so your comments won’t go live immediately, but genuine comments will go live as soon as I’ve weeded out the SPAM comments.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint Cards | 3 Comments »

30/03/2012 by Gwyneth.

In my post “Crafting Mid March”, posted on the 17th of March, (click - here - to see this post), I said that I had indeed remembered to make my mother a Mother’s Day, or Mothering Sunday, card, but I couldn’t show it to you at the time because I’d entered it into a competition where the entries were made anonymously.  Well the competition has now closed (see results below), so what I’ve got to show you today is the card and the box that held a little gift of chocolates to go with it.  The card took a long time to plan out and even longer to make, but I look on it as a “labour of love”, as I wanted something really special for my mother.  Thankfully, she thinks it is stunning.

Mother’s Day Card and Box:

Please click on the thumbnail images to have a look at a larger image in each case, as the thumbnail images just do not give a true feeling for the card.

1  2  3

1. Digital designs bought from CUP:
   cup297266_596 - Scalloped Layered Full Letter Alphabet…GSD; cup57481_359 - Gingham Backing Papers kit
   Equipment:
   Hougie Board and Pokey Tool; Silhouette Cameo digital cutting machine; Silhouette Universal Hook, Scraper and Universal Spatula; Tonic Petite Petal Pairs Punches; Scissors; Paper trimmer; Ball tool; Printer
   Other Digital Designs: such as leaves are part of package that came with Cameo
   Consumables:
   A3 Centura Pearl Snow White; A4 Red Satin Board; Silhouette White sticky back vinyl; Transfer Paper; Acetate; Foam Tape; Finger lift tape; Glue Gel; Several sheets of super smooth white card 250gsm; Background and silhouette peel offs from my non-CUP crafting stash and digital items (of which, admittedly, I have a lot! LOL)
   Method:
   I printed out four colours from Gingham Backing Papers kit onto Super smooth white card.
   Then I used the Alphabet cutting file, with my Cameo, to cut out the three layers of each of the letters to make up the word “MAM” from three of the colours, and cut out leaves from the green.
   I used the left over bits of card from cutting the letter layers to punch out a variety of small flower shapes using my Tonic punches.
   I cut out a lattice/trellis from white, sticky back vinyl.  The diamond shaped pieces of vinyl between the trellis were hooked out one by one off the backing sheet, leaving only the trellis in place.  This took ages.  I then used the transfer paper and scraper to move the lattice left behind to the acetate.
   I scored the A3 sheet of card and then folded in half to make an A4 base card.
   I trimmed the red Satin Board to make it a little smaller and attached it to the card front using double sided fingerlift tape.
   I trimmed a scenic background, that I’d printed onto Super Smooth card, to be a little smaller again and attached this to the front of the red card.  I put on some silhouette stickers of trees and branches onto the background at strategic places, rubbing well into place.
   The acetate was then trimmed using scissors to the outer edge of the vinyl frame.
   I then used a double layer of 2mm deep foam tape to attach this to the front of my prepared card.
   I cleared the letter layers of any bits that were remaining landlocked within the design with a hook, and then built them up, the base layer of each letter being stuck directly to the acetate “trellis window” using glue gel, and the other layers attached using 2mm deep foam tape.
   I used a ball tool on each of the leaves of the foliage I’d cut out, to give them shape, before I stuck them to the front of the card, top right and bottom left. A bit time consuming I know, but I prefer a dimensional effect so was willing to put a little time into it.  I like the dappled shade effect that using the gingham green paper rather than a solid green colour gives the leaves.
   I intertwined a variety of different colours, and different petal shapes, from the punched out flower layers and again used my ball tool to give them shape before attaching two to the letters M and the rest to the foliage at the bottom left of the card front.
   Something a bit different, but using very cheerful, spring colours.
   Not a quick and easy card to make, as even using the ball tool to do all the shaping of leaves and flowers made my hands quite sore and the jobs had to be done over several different sessions.  But the time and effort was worth it to make something special for my mother for the special day.  She really loved it and isn’t planning on taking it down from view any time soon.
2. This is a view along the card to show you some of the dimensional elements that gave the card both height and texture.
3. This was made from the same card-stock as the base card, A4 Centura Pearl Snow White.  Despite the colours being a bit brighter on this, the yellow and red gingham pattern used as topper layers are exactly the same colours as the bop and bottom layers of the letters on the card as well as some of the punched out flower layers.  Taken at a different time, in different lighting conditions the colours turned out differently in the photograph.

CUP Update:  

Card Making Competition Result -  My card came in number 21 out of 42 entries.  Funnily enough, the winner had also used one of Tina Fitch’s alphabet cutting files, but she’d put MUM, not MAM, on her card.  The winner was Anna Stretton.  Congratulations Anna.  And also congratulations to Helen Gomm and Kristina Norbat who came in 2nd and 3rd.  There were a lot of nice cards entered, but I’d got all three of these cards in my batch of favourites.  You can see the full result, together with links to look at the card each person entered by clicking - here.

Discount Code -  There’s still a 20% discount available until the end of the month for anybody who places an order on the craftsUprint site.  The instructions are “Simply type the word ‘MASSAGE‘ into the REDEEM VOUCHER box on the basket page BEFORE you check out then click UPDATE BASKET to save a whopping 20% off your total order value!”.

The “Massage” discount code expires 31st March 2012 at Midnight GMT.  So what are you waiting for?!

CUP Mailer - A new mailer was sent out today (Friday, 30th March).  Have a look at it - here - if you’ve not received yours in your inbox.

 -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-

 A Big “Thank You” To Those Of You Who’ve Left Comments On Some Of My Blog Posts
I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time to comment on my crafting efforts.

-oOo-

(Hi All - You should find a box below where you can leave a comment if you feel like it.  Comments are moderated but will go live as soon as I weed out the Spam, which I usually do a couple of times a day.)

-oOo-

Posted in craftsUprint Cards | 4 Comments »

28/03/2012 by Gwyneth.

 I’d like to thank all of you who’ve been so kind as to leave comments on some of my previous blog posts.  I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time to comment on my crafting efforts.

-oOo-

I finished off a small number of cards that an elderly neighbour had asked me to make for her to give to some members of the family, and they were collected yesterday (so only a few left to do for her for later in the summer now).  Two were just adding an insert and envelope and putting her chosen greetings inside and out, as she’d chosen a couple of cards from amongst what I’d already made, so you’ve already seen those.  But the third was for a youngster who can’t see, so it was another “touchy feely” card.  (You may remember that I won a prize back in November for making a “touchy feely” card that was to be sold by the RNIB to raise money - you can see that - here.).  Of course, the card I needed to make now wasn’t a Christmas card, but I did use some flock transfer elements from the same pack to make it.  I also used one of the Glitter Girls boards to add some raised texture to the card.  The rest of the cards I’ve got to show you today are quite simple ones just made using elements from a Hunkydory kit.

.

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. For this card I embossed and cut around the largest shape on one side of the Glitter Girls Fanciful Embossing Board.  The sweeping curves means it was an easy shape to cut around.  For the front I embossed further layers inside the largest layer, including the two lines down the middle, and I did this out of a linen textured cardstock.  The back layer was made out of plain card-stock and left flat with no further embossed lines.  I bent the front at the two middle lines and put a strip of ultra strong (red backed) double sided tape down this narrow spine and attached it to the flat back piece.  These two sides come forward so that the card can stand up, but go back flat for delivery.  It fits into an 8″ square envelope once embellished.  I used hammered card for the second front layer, going over more of the inner embossing layers, including the one with dots, and again embossing down the two central lines.  Once cut out this layer was also folded at the central lines, had a strip of tape put down, shaped a bit, and stuck to the card front.  I decorated the card with a flock transfer row of flowers down the central line, a butterfly transfer on one side and a swirly pattern on the other.  I made paper flowers by punching out lots of layers of red paper using one of my Tonic, Petite Petal Pairs, punches, shaping them with the Glitter Girls ball tool and then putting three layers together before attaching to the front of the card.
2. This is a closeup of one corner of the card to try and show the different textures between the different cardstocks, the embossing, flocked patterns and paper flowers.

1  2  3  4  5

These cards are from the Hunkydory “For All Card Collections“.  Most are from the “For the Boys” section, but I can’t remember whether I picked one or two of the designs from the “For the Gentleman Collection” as well.  Well I did have the lot out on my bed to have a look because I was looking to replenish my stock of male cards, and I did make them on a lap-tray in bed while watching a program I’d recorded on the TV, so I just might have picked designs from either of the two sections.

Cutting Work For Tina Fitch:

I’ve been working on some more stuff for the talented designer Tina Fitch lately.  This is a Print & Cut design of a back to front card I made for her and sent her the picture for use as an exemplar when she is selling the cutting file kit.  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  

1. You can get the ordinary card kit that you print out and then cut out by hand here -> Wedding back to front card kit; The digital cutting machine “Print & Cut” kit that I’ve made can be seen here -> Wedding back to front card kit Print & Cut Studio.

*** I’ve been doing some other work for Tina during the last few weeks, so keep an eye
on my blog over the next week or so  for them to appear ***.

CUP Update:  

CUP Mailer - A new mailer has been sent out by the team at CUP HQ today (March 28th).  You can see a copy - here - if you don’t get it delivered straight to your inbox.  Lots of card making designs for you to look at, and some pictures and snippets of news.

Discount Code -  Anybody who’s thinking about investing in some CUP designs - there’s a discount code available to save a whopping 20% off any order placed.  Simply type the word ‘MASSAGE‘ into the REDEEM VOUCHER box on the basket page BEFORE you check out then click UPDATE BASKET to save a whopping 20% off your total order value!  The “Massage” discount code expires 31st March 2012 at Midnight GMT.  So what are you waiting for?!  Click - here - to go to the site - and start shopping!

Card Making Competition - Come on all you CUP Designers and Registered Crafters who’ve not voted yet - if you’ve not had a good look at all the 42 entries yet - see  here - and then place your votes!  The winner is to be announced on the 30th of March so you need to vote before then.

*** As I said in my previous post - I have got an entry in and am not going to tell you which one
until after the voting finishes.  I’m sure that some will be able to work out which
one it is - guessing is half the fun isn’t it? and I’ve been busy guessing myself as I looked at
each and every card to pick out my favourites. (I’ll have to wait until after voteing finishes to
find out how right I was for those cards where the crafter hadn’t given themselves away
by using a card they’d previously uploaded to CUP.)  It was only after picking out some
eight cards that I went to look at the design sheet or kit used to make each, to work out who’d
taken the CUP design and then put the most effort into their finished card, and thus
who got my votes - but you won’t find my entry card already up alongside a design
on CUP, so you needn’t bother looking - so come back to have a look at my blog after
the competition closes and you should find my card, together with the description of the
extensive work I did on it, up in a new blog post within a couple of days. ***

 -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-

Posted in Tina Fitch, Other Cards | 10 Comments »