Thursday 29 November 2012

Creativity Club gets even better!!!


Hiya crafty friends

I was so excited to learn this week that we can do even more with our free Creativity Club downloads now!! The people at Docrafts have now made is possible to use the Club downloads you get free, as part of your membership, with the fantastic Docraft Digital Designer. This opens up the door to so many more things you can do now :)

And it is so easy too. All you have to do is click this button...


...and got to the jpeg file for the download you want to use (not the PDF file) and hey presto you can play away :)

And talking of the downloads. I was so happy when this weeks download was released. It was just what I need!!! 

I am in the middle of making a Advent calender at my craft group and was wondering how I was going to do the number and then as luck would have it, that was just what the new download was. How luck was that!!!!It's not finished yet, but here's a little teaser of my Advent until my full blog post about it and the fantastic download, which is going to be soooooo useful to me. So if you have the time to pop back here next week, you will see the finished project, Well I hope so...lol! Hmmmm, will have to decided what choccies to put in it too...nom! nom! :)





Tuesday 20 November 2012

Child of the 80's


Hiya crafty friends,


The 1980's, the decade some people say that "Fashion forgot", but as a child of the 80's myself it holds a lot of memories for me. Admittedly, some I'd prefer to forget, but lots I wouldn't...
Grolsh top shoes. Ah, the memories :)

My first time on a plane
Family Christmas parties
The music
And talking of music...the 80's also gave me my first major crush. I was a big Bros fan (yes I was a Brosette, ripped jean, Grolsh tops on my shoes an all) and I was TOTALLY in love with the lead singer...lol :)




 So it was very nostalgic to work with the new Creativity Club download. It really did take me back. 

I thought I'd do something a little different with it and made a petal gift box. And I'm sure it would be great t use for anybody you are giving a gift to, who grew up in the 80's too.



I printed both sides of the card, before I cut the box out, so the box also had an illustrated inner too






Sunday 18 November 2012

Guest Blogger...Anneke Vliegen


Guest Blogger - Anneke Vliegen

About ten years ago, I used to make cards, but they really focused around photography. I used to love taking pictures, and then put them into aperture cards to sell for charity. To be honest, I only learnt the term aperture during the last year and a half.

That’s the time I have been doing the full-blown card making for, with toppers and embellishment, and a whole new language to boot.

I came across it on facebook. Because over the last twenty years my health has been left to deteriorate with a wrong diagnosis and an absence of decent treatment, I have been virtually completely bed-bound for the last three years or so. Facebook has come to the rescue to broaden the horizons that were closing in on me. I have gotten to know a whole range of people, each with one thing or more in common with me. It was one such person who happened to be running a card swap.

At first I had difficulty getting my head around it. She kept on posting about it, and then started doing an ATC swap as well. When I had a look on the internet exactly what an ATC was, I thought: ‘Well, even I could do that.’

Since then I have this amazing hobby, in which I keep losing myself. I craft in bed, even lying down if necessary. My thoughts now where about what card I am going to make next, instead of all the things I could worry about.

It has opened up a whole new life. I went from making one atc and one card a month, just for the swap, to now trying to make a few hundred to sell for charity within a couple of weeks. If you would like to know more about this latest project, please visit my blog page and please consider helping me out either by buying a few cards or by joining in and selling them.

I still laugh at the thought of my first few attempts. I had to use whatever materials I could find around the house. The theme for the first swap I took part in was cute characters, so I created this hedgehog with toothpicks as prickles and a button for the eye, using the aperture cards I had around anyway. The person who received it still says she appreciates it, but I am so ashamed now, thinking I had it in me to send that in!

One of my Hunkydory Cards
I am on a different level now, I am glad to report. My preference goes to working with toppers and ready-made sentiments, mostly Hunkydory. I love their quality and their shine, sparkle and sheen. The individuality and creativity lies in designing, using different shapes and techniques, and in the embellishments. It is weighing up when a card is finished, whether adding something will help the balance, when to go on and when to stop.

It is the first hobby I have ever had that I have grown so deeply into. I have done all sorts of things over the years, from cross-stitch and jig-saw puzzles, to horse-riding and jiving and all sorts of other things. I have enjoyed all of them, obviously, but this has really gotten me at a much deeper level. That is due to a few different factors.

It is the perfect answer to how to fill those hours that are becoming available to me as my health is starting to improve little by little. If I do anything that is repetitive (like the cross-stitch) the joints I use flare up with inflammation. This activity is very varied in its movements. It is stimulating and challenging and is turning out also to be useful: people actually do like to send and receive handmade cards.

In addition, and much more important, though, there is this beautiful world of crafters I suddenly discovered. It has been an overwhelming experience. What a wealth of warmth and caring, friendship as well as creativity and inspiration. I have been astounded at the kindness. Because of facebook, I rolled from one group into another, and found my place. I felt appreciated and accepted, and was given such encouraging feedback, about my craft which pushed me along nicely on that learning curve, but also on me, on who I am and what I can mean to people. It is an unusual experience, a real eye-opener, a real heart-opener.


My facebook crafty friends got to know more and more about me and my family, the issues we face and the way we have to live. As they did, so many different people started to send me parcels with stock, candy, all sorts of things. How could I do anything else but keep making the cards?! There were so many, and I was so ill that I couldn’t even keep up with sending each and every one of them a thank you. I still feel bad about that. I hope they all know just how much they mean to me!
A couple of cards I made with the
things people sent me

It also kept pushing me out of my comfort zone, as I was being sent goods I had never used before. The least I could do, to feel worthy of all these presents, was find ways to use them productively, and then post them on the net so all these people could see how I  appreciated what they had sent.

It so held my head above water, when I was in hospital and my husband kept bringing in these parcels that had arrived for me. I only ever crafted at home, but the dreaming about it, the mental picture building and design, oh how much that did for me during the worst of times.

A card I have made for Jean
My husband deserves more of a mention. Without him and the driving force he gives me, I doubt I would be as far along the crafting path as I am at the moment. It started with him commenting on how much he saw the light in my eyes whenever I had been at it. He could easily go the other way, considering how much he has to be involved for me to be able to get on with it.
As I started to get better, both in terms of my crafting skills and my health, I felt guilty that I was putting these new bits of energy into what is essentially a leisure activity. Our little six year old boy, who has multiple special needs, and hubby himself deserved for me to put that towards them, either for fun things to do together, or for me to help lighten the load of the housework which is all done by them. But Jean convinced me seeing me so happy and relaxed was worth more to him than anything else I could be doing.

Whenever I want to get started it is up to him to put the whole stash, which keeps on growing all the time, on the bed, next to me where he would normally lie. So then when he comes to bed, he has to put it all away again, or else he would have to find another place to sleep…  He is also the one that takes the photographs for me.

Following other’s examples, I started a blog and began to take part in all sorts of different challenges. And low and behold, I actually won prizes! More stash! More ideas and creativity!
As my makes became more visible on the internet, and with Jean showing my work to absolutely everybody beaming with pride, people started to order cards. How encouraging and affirming that was! Sometimes I am having difficulty keeping up with the orders coming in. It came as a complete surprise to me, and early on as I still very much considered myself a beginner. The most baffling thing was that it just happened without me doing any pr or pushing
.
Of course this means I can now get some stock in myself, and I am a real push-over when it comes to pick-of-the-days and –weeks, and blockbusters and such. Again, without my husband behind me I would find it so much more difficult to spend that money. But having decent materials and tools makes an enormous difference to what I can produce. I suppose perhaps it was his upbringing with his Mum and sister having a pottery together, and his Dad being equally supportive of their creativity, is what I am reaping the benefits of. 

And of course each time an order has long term benefits. From the moment of putting it together, to looking forward to it being delivered, to going through it all again and again on my own and with Jean and with Anton, to putting it all to good use the joy is obvious and full. They both dream along with me, which makes the discomfort of all this spending almost disappear.

I now run a card swap myself, together with a fantastic little admin team. Please come and join us, it is a swap group for adults and children, and we run internationally. It is such a good way to get to see other people’s work, and move your own boundaries of creativity and learning. It is great fun and challenging, and again what a warm supportive group of friends.

Mushroom card made by Anton, for the chrildren's card swap
The children’s swap too has had its effect on us as a family. Instead of it being a cause for guilt, the crafting has now become a great activity for Anton and me to do together. It is very stimulating and can help him in developing  techniques to overcome his visual disability as well as being extremely good exercise to deal with his dyspraxia. But there is also the social element, and the motivation. Receiving cards from abroad, and sending to children in different countries, who speak different languages is a whole adventure for these little ones!

I am also admin on another craft group Craft-a-Holics Unanimous, and yesterday I received an amazing email. For the very first time ever I was spontaneously asked to be on another admin team, AND play a role in their design team as well! How can I begin to describe quite how much such recognition means to me?! The fact that Debbi and Marleen from Cards Galore fully understand all my limitations and still see fit to ask me to be on their team has touched me deeply. I only hope I can live up to their expectations!

Friday 16 November 2012

It's all gone black and white...

Hiya crafty friends,
Firstly, I have thank the lovely Shirley from the fabulous Shernocky Crafts for showing me this gorgeous little boxes and I just had to give them a go.

I also knew exactly what paper I want to use. One of the new Creativity Club downloads...the 'Black & White Prints' collection.


I love working with black and white, as I think it can look really striking and classy. And I have now fallen n love with these little boxes too. I'm also excited to have a go at an idea to do something very Christmassy with them too, which I will blog as soon as I've worked it out :)

When I first saw it, I thought they would be incredibly hard to do, but surprisingly they're not. I was really happy that I succeeded with my very first try..woo! hoo! (origami has never really been my strong point). And the pattern on the downloaded paper worked great.




I really enjoyed making these little boxes (even though my lid is not as good has Shirley's), and I think I will be definitely making them again. And I will keep you up-to-date with my little Christmas idea with them :)



Thursday 15 November 2012

CG Scrapbook Challenge

Hi crafty friends,

Well, it's Scrap Challenge time, over at CG Scrapbook Challenge blog!!! 

And this month's theme is 

'KIDS'

And our sponsor is the wonderful Scrappers Delights
where you will win 1 scrap kit

For my Digi DT page, I have used my favourite...Craft Artist (soooo want Craft Artist 2!!! Take note Santa ;) ...lol!) and used photo's of my lovely nephew, Myles :) I really like using the transparency tool for making backgrounds, as you can really personalised the look to what you want using your own photos.


So all you Scrappers, why not pop over and enter as we would all LOVE to see your fantastic pages, and you are also in with a chance of winning a fab prize



Tuesday 6 November 2012

Creative Christmas

Hiya crafty friends,

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by and that Christmas is nearly up on us. So I am now into full Christmasy crafting mode.

As soon as I saw this new 'Patterns to Love' download from the Creativity Club I knew I wanted to make something Christmasy with it, even though it's not actually a Christmas collection. 

This is another collection that is fast becoming one of my favourite downloads and I am planning to make lots of Christmas projects in the weeks running up to christmas. So keep your eyes peeled, as I will be shareing them with you soon





Recipe

Thursday 1 November 2012

DT cards for the Cards Galore November challenge

Hi crafty friends,

The November Cards Galore challenge went live today. If you would like to join in, you will find all the information here:


The theme for this month is Silhouette. The card on the right is my DT card, but I did get a bit carried away and made another too..lol :)

I love using black and white in card making, it's so striking!





 





Why not visit our Facebook group and have a chat: 
We also have a Scrapbook Challenge blog too. So any scrappers out there, why not give us a visit: http://cardsgalorescrapbookchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/