Wednesday

Well I went out and saw some more giraffes today colchester-zoo.com/standtall

 
There was one in McDonalds and I noticed that their current happy meal toys are from Despicable Me 2 - so I bought one for my boyfriend as we really like that film.  It's nice to let him know that I'm thinking of him without buying him something edible!

I haven't actually made any cards as yet but have a couple of decoupage made up waiting that just need to be made into cards.

And I have just made oat and raisin cookies from this recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7655/oaty-raisin-cookies

 

 Those are the happy things from my day and that is what we're concentrating on.

Flowery cards

It seems to be becoming a bit of a routine this card marking.  I've made another couple today.  I wasn't feeling great but forced myself to go and do something and I thought I would sit downstairs for a change of scenery and use some old paper-punched flowers that Grandma Renfrew must have spent hours and hours creating.

 I found several sunflowers and thought I could make something with them.  There was a bit of trouble getting the polka dot paper square as Mum's wouldn't cut straight and then her metal edge ruler is a bit broken - the metal edge doesn't stay true!!  The vase is hand-drawn which is why it's a bit wonky.  I used chalk to give it a bit of definition but then decided it wasn't enough so used a promarker to add an outline.  Promarkers are like felt tip pens with a highlighter and a pointy tip, in a whole range of colours.  Mum has got a ridiculous amount of them, I have a set of twelve and do use them a fair bit, have a look: http://www.letraset.com/products/8-ProMarkers/  I've used glue dots to attach the flowers, the leaves are another paper punch and the stalks are freehand promarker; a gold border peel off completes the motif.  I can't say I'm happy with is as a card but it did serve the purpose of getting me engaged in doing something.

This one I like much more although it is quite a departure from my normal style!!  I simply stuck a circle onto the front of the card and stuck flowers and leaves round in a fairly regular arrangement until I thought there was enough on there.  All the flowers were pre-put-together by Grandma and the leaves all punched out as well.  She used to do lots of big display posters for her church notice board - a different one each month - and many years ago paper punches and this sort of card where all the rage.  It was nice to play with something that reminds me so very strongly of Grandma, and different, and actually quite speedy to make into a nice looking card as a lot of the work had already been done by her.  It feels good to be doing something with these things she made, and it's always good to use up a backlog of supplies: there are certainly plenty more flowers and leaves for me to play with before making any appreciable dent in the box.

More cards...

I'm clearly in the mood for cardmaking and have been making a few every day so there are quite a lot of pictures to go through here!

 These two are made with bits from the same Margaret Sherry calendar as before.  Very simple picture, stuck on backing, stuck on card with a greeting (handwritten/peel-off) stuck on the bottom.

 Several years ago I had a 'page a day' calendar with winnie-the-pooh pictures on.  I bought it partly because I liked the pictures (being a firm AA Milne fan) and partly because I foresaw the possibilities for cardmaking! I've used several before but I thought I would take a step towards making more by systematically going through them all and grouping them by picture.  I didn't realise quite how many different pictures there were and I very nearly ran out of room on my bedroom floor.  At the same time I trimmed off the date on each page and now have a large stock of pictures.  It's harder than you might think when you're confronted by so many possibilities but I did manage to start making a few.

 Beautiful Eeyore on two layers of purple :)

 Heading for a family picnic - mounted on shiny gold paper and stuck to card with foam pads to elevate it slightly.  Card is blue with ripped green paper stuck across it which matches up with the grass line in the picture.  And there is a lovely little peel-off gold butterfly in the corner :)

 Another beautiful motif; I carefully trimmed it so that I could get a fully dotty border around it and laid it on the stip of gold as well - very relaxing.

I'm fairly sure I've already said something about this Home to Nest range, I'm making more cards from it anyway.  These are all decoupage as you don't have to think so much when you're doing them.

 I love the border stip of eggs that came in the pack and thought it would work well with the nesting boxes.  Top tip if you are a thrifty crafter: always remember that you don't actually have to put the stip all the way across the card - no-one will be able to see it underneath the motif so you can just chop two shorter bits to stick on and save yourself the border strips (because no pack ever comes with enough of them)

 Decoupage again laid on top of handmade paper.  It needs a little something in the bottom right hand corner but I haven't yet worked out what it is.  Another top tip: to get the frayed edge on handmade paper you need to wet the paper with a thin paintbrush dipped in water.  Use a ruler for a straight line and follow it along.  When you have wet it all you can softly pull and get that lovely soft edge.  If it doesn't pull easily use a bit more water.  Don't forget to let the edges of the paper dry before you start doing anything else with it as well.

 Lovely robin card.  I had trouble with this as I did the decoupage first and then went for the backing but needed to keep the silver quite thin and then realised that I was going to squish the decoupage with my rotatrim!! A few quick adjustments and a bit of trimming later and I've ended up with something that I still think works ok.

I was starting to get a little bit bored of the normal stuff by this point and thought I would add some lace down the sides of this blue tit.  I've used two parallel lines of thin double sided stickytape.  The ends are inside - trimmed and stuck down with proper sellotape ie not magic tape.

That's all for now folks :)

Cards for men

I made Fathers' day cards for Dad and Grandad and also a birthday card for Dad.  I had to make the birthday card in advance so that I could take it with me to my boyfriend's this past weekend for him to sign.

 I took three preprinted shapes and put an eyelet in to hold them together and then threaded several bits of ribbon through before sticking it to a long, textured card.  I like tags and am a ribbon hoarder so really enjoyed making this; I'm pleased with how it turned out too.

 This is a decoupage card that I just had to pop out of a sheet and stick together.  I've added an edge with gold peel-off thin strips which really helps it stand out.  I like the effect of it being in a frame and the gold ties in with the peel-off text.

I was struggling to find colours to match my motifs and Mum handed me a paint strip and as I sat looking at it I realised I could use it!  There is a cheeky gap underneath the raised motif as I only really wanted those four colours (the others were too light or too dark) but you wouldn't know if you weren't looking.

I'm having fun being creative and like the set of papers/decoupage/motifs that these cards all come from which is Lucy Cromwell's 'Home to nest' for docrafts Papermania http://www.docrafts.com/article/Papermania-Home-To-Nest-Collection.  More cards etc to follow as I continue playing.

Selling cards etc

Several people have been urging me to try and sell the handmade bits and pieces that I create - be that the crochet decorations at Christmas or the greetings cards that I seem to be doing at the moment.  I care about these people and respect them so feel I ought to make a bit of a push to try and do something.  However it's really hard!!

The market is saturated with handmade cards and I have no real hope of selling anything on ebay or etsy as what I make has no unique selling point.  My health wouldn't allow me to spend all day at a craft fair with a stall either and I know from someone who has spent years doing this that it's actually rather expensive and can be difficult to make your money back.  My family are quite happy making their own cards so have no need to buy any from me and I feel awkward offering to sell to friends.  I'm not sure I'd want to put a box of cards in a local shop either; I would have the confidence to walk in and see if they'd let me but it doesn't seem to sit right with me as an idea.

As well if I was selling I would technically be a small business and I expect there would be a certain amount of paperwork required and my brain wouldn't be able to cope with the concentration and stress.  It's a lot of work to get something set up and potentially money involved which I would then have to make back.  It doesn't seem worth the effort and it's certainly not financially viable to try to make a living out of it - I'm only looking for a few pounds to cover costs and buy more craft bits, maybe to buy me other pretty things for my life and make donations to charity as well.

I have the supplies to make an awful lot of cards and could do so relatively easily, but getting rid of them seems much more difficult! If I went ahead and made cards in large numbers I might end up stuck with them and whilst I regularly post cards to a couple of friends it doesn't add up to that many!

There are so many things stacked up that say 'don't do it' but I feel guilty coming to that conclusion.  I do live as a 'lady of leisure' at the moment because my health doesn't allow me to do very much at all.  If I stick within my limits then I can live tolerably well and get to do various bits and pieces that are enjoyable and that if I was working I wouldn't have the time/energy/effort for.  I know I shouldn't feel guilty about it but it's very hard not to and it means that I would really like to do as my friends have suggested so that they don't view me as a malingerer.  Sigh.... Any suggestions from out there?

Rose coasters

Last year I really wanted to have a street party for the Jubilee and so discovered the Eden Project's Big Lunch (http://www.thebiglunch.com/).  I didn't make it as far as actually organising anything though - and have failed again this year too!
However in the free pack they will send you came a stack of 50 cardboard coasters which I thought I could use. 

 I used spray mount to stick two together so they weren't quite so flimsy.

 Then selected pictures from an old David Austin rose catalogue and again used spray mount to attach them to one side of the coasters.  I used a craft knife to cut away any excess and may have shaved off tiny amounts of cardboard / slightly torn a few edges.

I don't think they look too bad, especially not when you realise it's an entirely free project!!  They still need some sort of protective coating and I will probably buy a spray on acrylic or varnish for that.  I have already tried watered down PVA but I can't get a thick enough coat as the paper/cardboard absorbs it.  The reverse side of the coasters will also need a backing.  I ran out of suitable rose pictures so have stopped for the minute but there are still some coasters left for me to play with in the future.  And these to finish as well!

Craft storage

I thought I would show you my lovely organised craft supplies.  The boxes are in the bottom of my ardrobe and the one on the right hand side is not quite as accessible as it could be but I'm working on it.  I need to sort out my clothes really...

 I really like having everything standing up as it makes it so much easier to flick through and find what you're looking for.

It's Mum's birthday today and I offered to make something in the way of a cake.  Yesterday I went on the BBC food and goodfood websites and came up with a variety of different options.  My sister narrowed it down to two and I decided to go for this cheesecake.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3842/baked-raspberry-cheesecake

The recipe said it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre after 40min however I found it to be really runny still and so left it longer, repeatedly checking it.  Given that a crack has developed in the top I think we can assume that I should have followed the recipe instead as I'm pretty sure the crack means that it is overbaked.  I'll make the sauce later and we'll (hopefully) enjoy it tonight.

Card making

I've been sorting out my craft boxes as well.  Some stuff has been thrown away and everything is now very organised and much more accessible.  As I'd found lots of bits I thought I'd better make some cards with them and will make more in the next few weeks.

 This is a beautiful paper cutting which I couldn't bear to cut to pieces.  I used Mum's spray mount to stick it to the card.  It does need trimming marginally down the left hand side as the card was ever so slightly wider.

 A repeat of an earlier card from the same forever friends pack.  Mum has had a fair few of the duplicates out of it but I like this one so much I kept both to myself.

 Years ago I had a page-a-day calendar with winnie-the-pooh pictures on every day.  I kept it (of course) and have trimmed quite a few over the years to make instant cards.  This one was even pre-mounted so it only needed sticking on the card.  I will probably put a peel-off greeting on it but I will wait for the occasion to use it and then pick an appropriate one.

 A craft magazine came with a free Margaret Sherry calendar that had some decoupage sheets in the back.  Again this was many years ago and I still have some of the pieces.  The cat and mouse go together and I thought it would be quite cute to have a little surprise on the inside.  The cat is lifted slightly on sticky foam pads.  I'm sorry that the photo isn't really in focus tho.

 The flower motif is from Calvin Klein 'Euphoria' perfume campaign and is quite pretty.  The purple bits are raised and slightely fuzzy.  I stuck it to silver paper and cut round it, imperfectly and then stuck it to the card.  I used my corner-rounder as I thought square corners were a bit too harsh.  It needed something extra and I finally decided on the corner motifs - Mum really likes them!

This is a pre-cut butterfly card and I've stuck the patterned paper to the inside of the card because it gives it a bit of extra dimension when it's standing up.

A lot of these will have extra finishing touches added before being sent.  The following one has already been posted and the occasion was a birthday as you can see.  Again this is from the Margaret Sherry calendar but the mouse inside was a random little sticker that I thought was fun :)

Bits and pieces

I know it's been a while... I'm getting there.... I have been doing stuff but haven't got photos of everything so will try and do a bit more in the next few days.  In the meantime here is a selection of things to enjoy.

From my earlier clear out/organise the miniatures here are Christmas things that you wont have seen before.  The holly strand is hand-cut foam threaded with beads.  The paper chains were made of teeny bits of paint charts.  Each link had to be bulldog clipped together while it dried so it took a very long time to make.  The cake is a bottle lid with ribbon round it.  On the top are pipe cleaner clippings that have been trimmed into trees.  At the time I was away from home and had limited craft stuff available.

Flowers for my Grandma's birthday :D I love doing things that make her happy and she enjoys flowers.  Two different colours of stocks and some white roses.  As a colour collection it is more reflective of me - subtle and pretty, whereas Grandma does tend to go for brighter/louder colour combinations.  However I bought the flowers so I bought something I was happy with and she will appreciate it because it is from me :D