Labels

I am not new to making and selling handmade items - in fact I was a SAHM and besides a bit of child minding making things to sell was how I managed to stay at home with the kids in those early days. Up until my youngest was about 10 or 11 I was still making things to sell - and then gave it up to return to work. The only difference was that it wasn't on the internet. I had not progressed that far! In fact we didn't even own a computer until she was about 14 or 15!

I made lots of items over the years but eventually settled on lots of fancy, frilly, satin creations like this pillow which is among the collection on my bed. It's the only 'fussy' pillow - the rest are quite tasteful LOL! My youngest is now 27 and this cushion has been around for about 17 years now. It has regularly been in and out of the washing machine plus tossed to the end of the bed and back at least once a day every day since then and it still looks like new. Can you tell I'm proud of that fact?

I even had professional labels made at the time and it was such a buzz. There was MY name on MY creations! And it made all my goods look professional too. Homemade is lovely, charming in fact but it's still nice to have that personal touch that a label provides. This is one of the last remaining items that still bears my name which is why I keep it. I got rid of all the rest.

Now though I wanted to try making my own labels so yesterday I gave it a go. This is what I finally came up with. (I have since thought of something else but I may just use these ones up before making changes for the next batch).

And I have already added them to a few items that will eventually be going into the store so here's how they'll look sewn in place. My only difficulty will be where exactly to place them on each item!

I have to say I much prefer my home made labels to my earlier purchased ones. I plan to make similar labels for the paper crafted products and care labels for washing - that kind of thing so that's my aim for today. Then I have a few cards and things to finish off and I'll be up and running - hopefully by the weekend!

My Store!

I have long been thinking about venturing into the world of selling my handmade crafts via my blog. With a little help from my friends (thanks Karen - it worked!) I may just about be there.

I now have a NEW TAB on my blog shown as 'My Store!' and this is where I will be posting items for sale. Many of these will be a one off - as in I can't get that paper/fabric anymore but the designs may be repeated in other colours/themes and so I'll list how many are available. I may also consider special requests too.

I hope to expand on a range of Christian themed cards and gift items along the way too - for those of you who are fellow believers and would like something different, unique and hand made. Did you see my recent cards? This is exactly the kind of thing I hope to offer.

I cannot even begin to take this journey without those of you who 'check out' my work and who generously support and encourage me all the time. I hope some of you will be interested and if not that you'll help spread the word to someone who might be.

I am a LOT nervous to say the least and still very new to this side of the internet so I hope you'll all bear with me as I feel my way along. I'm sure there will be plenty of hiccups before I get there.

Feel free to familiarise yourself with my new store TAB so you know just where to go and of course I will post to let everyone know when I have added something to the store. Remember - if you subscribe to my blog (it's a free service) then you'll get an e-mail every time I update on my blog. That way you won't miss a thing. Plus you don't need to be a follower to subscribe! So what's stopping you?

Last One I Promise!

Ok this is the last one with these papers - they're cute but even I am beginning to feel the need for a change now. I'm sharing one last card with these papers and WM stamps plus sharing a neat idea. I haven't seen it anywhere else and it was my OMG moment this morning so I'm laying claim to it and sharing it as MY idea.

And this is it! Can you see what I did? Yes! No? Take a good look at the pretty pink scalloped oval behind the stamped text. Now do you see it?

Just in case I took a close up shot for you. I suddenly got a moment this morning while waiting for the kettle to boil when I wondered if this circle stamp design would fit the scallops of a nesty die. Sooooooo I grabbed some cardstock, flew to my die box, grabbed a pretty scallop oval, cut it, started stamping it and guess what? It's damn near a perfect fit! Almost made for it ya could say! Claire did you know this already?

Right about now my minds thinkin - wouldn't it be pretty to make up lacey doilies from scalloped nesties - like several different circles and centres - all mix and match but to use individually too - and maybe white embossed on vellum? Maybe squares too? How cute would this look with the tea set stamps or on baby cards? Oh Claire I sure hope I'm givin you some kind of an idea here - could be VERY cute and you'd be just the person to pull it off!

Anyways how pretty is this idea? Can't you just imagine it in white embossed on kraft coloured or black cardstock? I am just lovin how all this co-ordinates. Did you know I love to co-ordinate? Well I do - basically if I can make even one more thing to match then I do. The border uses this stamp, the scallop uses this stamp AND the flowers use this stamp - how cool is that? Thanks Claire if you happen to read this - I've had a blast with these little stamps today!

And just so you can see how I did it here is yet another photo. Simply cut out your scallop shape and stamp in each space. A tip though if I may - depending on how you want your centre oval to sit - i.e. overlapping slightly or just up to the edge of stamped circles you will need to experiment where you stamp exactly. My card is just right for what I wanted so I didn't go right into the edge of each scallop. Hope that's clear as a bell - if not leave me a comment.

I also happen to love the fact that my favourite black gems work perfectly with this little stamp so I use a whole bunch of em'. Lots and lots of gems! :-)

OK enough excitement for one day - my sunburn from the weekend is beginning to itch so I'm off in the shower again to cool it down or I'll be very miserable! Maybe it'll cool down more than just my sunburn LOL!

WMSC7 A Second Attempt

I decided I wanted to have a second attempt at the Waltzing Mouse sketch - mainly cos I fell in love with the pretty blooms I'd created on my page and the pretty papers and I simply wasn't ready to put them away yet. Warning then - this may not be the last time you see them today!

OMG! I just went to make a cuppa while my photos uploaded and I've found another fab idea - you will have to check back to see it in my next post cos I haven't quite made it yet!

This time I didn't turn the sketch or manipulate it in any way, shape or form. I stuck with the programme!

I knew exactly what I wanted to do and for me THIS is CAS. Sherry - I tried honest! If I have to do more CAS than this I just can't bring myself to do it - seriously! You don't know how tempted I was to add another flower or dots or swirls! (Actually I think it could with stand some black swirled gems 'cept I don't got any). Even so with a bit of stamping, some quick die-cutting, a quick whizz around on the sewing machine (I can drive that baby like a Formula One race car when I need to) and finally some inking this card came together in a matter of minutes - for real. Obviously it helped that everything was still out and it took all of a few seconds to set up the machine but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Just like the picture in my head :-)

It took me longer to photograph the darn thing would you believe? My card kept looking like things were crooked - but they aren't - honest! I guess I don't do so well with angles when I photograph but I like something other than just head on.

Therefore since I simply can't make up my mind I'm doing a 'Lauren Meader' LOL! That girly gives you a shot, then another shot, and another, and another..... You get the picture! (HUH! funny LOL! You get the picture!!! - well I thought it was funny after I'd typed it! LOL!)

Oh man! - I can tell I'm in a funny kind of 'me' mood today :-)

And just to show one more picture here's a shot featuring the details. See the element of three? I got to lookin at my page and figured I could easily do three leaves which is how this card came about. I just love Claire's stamps - really I do and all the 'rescue remedies' are FAB but my mind boggles how I can go a bit 'ga ga' over the smallest, simplest stamps in the set!

WMS Ladies - I couldn't see anywhere that said you could only enter once so I hope since my first was a scrap booking page and my second a card that it's ok. If not then I guess you'll have to decide which cos I can't choose between em' LOL!

Project Tuesday Gum Holder

Well another Tuesday has rolled around again and this week's Project Tuesday is a gum holder. You can find the instructions here. And this is my take on the project.

As usual once I have papers and craft supplies out I tend to do a few projects using the same colour scheme and products. I really like the green, red, yellow and brown colour combo - it's very easy on the eye - well it is for me anyhow.

I am lovin these flowers stamped with Waltzing Mouse stamps. There are actually stamps from 3 sets used in this one project.

And of course the front lifts open to reveal the gum tucked inside and the velcro closure.

Just so I could make it all look nice and neat I added paper to the back of the project as well. That way it looks finished from whatever angle or direction you look at it.

This was a 'super duper easy' one this week so I urge you to have a go. I'm sure you could find other things to tuck in besides gum and you can always adjust the measurements to suit. Why not check out the other DT projects to get you inspired and then upload your own.

Happy Crafting!

WMSC7 - Too Much Creative License???

I was inspired by this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch but rather than make a card I set out to make a scrap book page. Why? Because I have been wantin to use those 'oh so cute' homespun hugs flowers for some pretty embellishments on a page for far too long now - that's why!

This is the sketch for this week and here's the page I finally ended up with.

So where are they I hear you askin'? Beats me! I wanted a scalloped border and used the 'rescue remedies' set to create one. Then before I knew what had happened I had created my own flowers using the same set too! PLUS I'm now wondering if I have used TOO much creative license. Does it qualify? Well the sketch was my inspiration wasn't it? Yep!

And if you turn the sketch around it's definately in my page isn't it? Yep again! Okay then - I'm gonna go for it - I'm sure someone will tell me if I've used a bit too much creative license here LOL!

So how did I create my 'funky' flowers (above)? Well here's how.

I had intended to use just the round stamped image but it wasn't big enough for my liking. A bit of trial and error with die-cut shapes behind it led me to the smallest nestabilities 'nested flower' die. But then I had almost too much flower so I experimented and stamped the smaller circle image inside the centre 5 times - once in each petal.

Then I layered them up and added a single smaller stamped circle to the centre till I was happy with the result. Oh and I did use the leaf from the homespun hugs set so it's in there somewhere.

And voila! A pretty stamped and layered flower that matched my page perfectly.

Later when I looked at my finished page I realised you could also make a flower like this (and probably a few more besides). Pretty cool huh? I am always amazed at the things Claire sees in her stamps and how she mixes them up. I always think 'how does she do it?' and 'I could never do that'. Well next time I think that I'll remind myself that sometimes - just sometimes - I CAN do it too!

I used one of the labels 10 nestabilities dies for the title shape and more WM stamps to decorate it up. Finally I finished the pretty scalloped border off with my favourite black gems which were perfect. I couldn't resist the temptation to doodle some so I also added a bit of 'squiggly' (very technical term there) lines and some pen dots.

The whole theme was aimed at mimicking the pink, red and yellow flowers that can just about be seen in the centre photo and the circle or spotty goings on to mimick Maddy's blouse. They're actually teeny tiny pink and red flowers on her blouse but in these photos they look spotty.

On reflection I could've scalloped the brown border strip by cutting around the circles same as the green border but it's enough for now eh? Besides it's stuck down and I can't get the darn thing up now LOL! I can always remember to do it on another page!

The papers were from the 'Little Ladies' design by 'My Little Shoebox' and were among my stash from a while back.

A Bit AWOL But Worth IT!

I am feeling like I have been a bit AWOL lately since I haven't posted any crafts - well not any that I've made for a while. Hubby and I took time out for 'us' this weekend and I have been trying to get out and about a bit more to get in some 'real' walking and exercise to strengthen my muscles.

With that said I give you fair warning that this post is purely indulgent - sharing pictures of this weekend (plus my ramblings) and NOT crafts - in fact NOTHING remotely to do with crafts. So you can read on or not - the choice is yours but I'm sharing anyways. Oh and it's likely to be a LONG post too! Mom you may want to go get a drink and a cookie before going any further. DON'T say I didn't warn ya!

Getting time alone together is a rare thing these days. Between work, church, family and crafting one or the other of us is almost always booked into something. It might be Dave's doing a BBQ at church or taking the youth group out or maybe I'm out for the day demo-ing at a show or teaching a class - whatever it is it keeps us apart more than together so I treasure time spent together with NO interruptions - no one phoning for a favour, no one booking up our time, no one dropping by, no fixed plans to do jobs for people - all good stuff but it can get a bit out of hand some weekends and before you know it Monday rolls around again and the opportunity to spend time together is lost.

NOT this weekend! This weekend was ALL about us and we loved it! We had the entire weekend to ourselves and we packed it full.

Day 1 - we packed a picnic and headed for the coast. We love to go for a drive and Dave finds it relaxing - plus since I don't drive I love for him to take me out somewhere. PLUS in the car it's just us - nobody else! En route to the coast we stopped in Woodbridge and did some shopping - well browsing anyway.

I don't recall having been to Woodbridge before (just past Ipswich) and although it wasn't a big town there were some pretty shops - some with a definate 'seaside' influence. We both love a good rummage in antique, junk and charity shops plus unusual shops too. We also both love looking at the different and varied architecture all around and often stop to take in old buildings with lots of detailing or something unusual about them. This store front had some beautiful details and the curved glass and stained window detailing was lovely. Better still it housed a charity shop!

As you entered you were greeted by this beautiful tiling - can't you just imagine how pretty shops once looked? I love the swirls and shapes and was amazed how many people just walked on in without giving it a moments thought. Look what they're missing! Kinda reminds me of Waltzing Mouse too don't ya think? Oh - could that be a bit of craft creepin into my 'no craft' post? LOL!

Then there were those pretty 'Rennie Mackintosh' feel roses detailed in the glass above the windows (our daughter is a big fan of this style). And although you can't see it the door was simply stunning! It was all carved wood with a beautfully etched oval glass in the centre. The whole thing had been stripped back. If people had just stopped going in and out I could've got a detailed shot! I just may have to go back another day especially since I didn't find any bargains or treasures this time around.

After a bit of shopping we stopped by the river for a picnic lunch and watched the various birds and dragonflies as we ate. Then it was back into the car to head further up the road to Walberswick. This was such a pretty coastal village with several more quaint shops and houses.

Just before the shoreline are sand dunes and just before those are several black wooden shacks - kinda like a 'shanti town' - at least that's how it looked to us. I stopped and photographed this one because at times with the long grasses blowing in the breeze it reminded me some of 'Little House on the Prairie'. I love this series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

We walked our legs off exploring the area and climbing over the dunes, paused and watched the many kids 'crabbing' (boy if that don't teach ya patience nothin will!) and finished off with a lovely stroll along the beach before finally jumping back in the car and heading even further up the coast to Southwold.

By the time we had reached Southwold the day was coming to a close - or at least things were shutting up for the day so we made it a stop just quick enough to take in the view and enjoy a fish 'n' chip supper - well being a veggie-tarian mine was just chips without the fish but it rounded off the day perfectly.

Again we enjoy taking in all kinds of things like these pretty beach huts - so much neater than the weather beaten ones at Felixstowe I posted recently but maybe a bit too nice. They lack the same well worn, well loved character I think.

After all this we headed back home and have to say we both slept like babies - all that fresh air and exercise!

The following day we overslept - worn out by day one no doubt! But eventually we headed out again and stopped at a carboot sale before getting on our way. Again sadly no bargains but we still enjoyed looking. We had planned to eat lunch at a Chinese restaurant we had seen the day before so this is where we headed next. After that we had an afternoon planned walking around looking at classic cars at Helmingham Hall. We had seen this event signposted on our travels to the coast - Dave always takes the scenic (non-motorway) routes which usually twist and turn through the many pretty villages and you often see signs for things this time of year. We kept saying we wanted to go to a classic car show one day so this seemed meant to be!

This Dodge took Dave back to his childhood - I think his mother drove something similar. He remembers she had an accident with a rather large schoolbus at the time! It's okay - she surrvived! The owners love to talk about their vehicles and it's nice to stop and glean the history about them.

This 'pick up truck' caught the eye of both of us since Dave drove a similar one when we were first married. It took us WAY back and we couldn't help reminiscing. Quite fitting since we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary!

All in all we had a great weekend to ourselves, enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine (I got sunburnt as usual) walked our legs off between the two days (which I very much needed) and ate too much but had a fab time doing it all.

And lucky us - we still have gift vouchers and money left over for a couple more dinners and a movie so we get to spend even more time together. I can't wait!

Next one will be a craft post I promise!

Sharing The Love!

Today is a quick post (yeah right like I could do a quick anything!) but I wanted to 'share the love' with ya all. Hubby and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary tomorrow - seems like maybe 5 or 10 years gone by - but 30! - surely not 30! BUT IT IS!

I was super surprised this week to get some lovely hand made cards from some special people so I decided to share em' with ya.

These ones above were made by my BFF Jilly (left) and by Kay (right) and you might just notice hubby and I in the background. This shot was taken when we celebrated out 25th when we renewed our vows (always wanted to do that for 25th so we did).

Here's a better shot of Jilly's CAS card - love that pretty paper. Way to go Jilly! I was reliable informed by Rosina that 30 is pearl and in case you didn't know I love pearls! Don't imagine I'll be gettin any other than these mind you but that's fine.

I especially love how Jilly used the pretty paper inside and then she even created a pretty frame to add her message to on the inside. She such a sweetie. Love, love, love that girl!

Next up is Kay's card with the 'oh so pretty' white roses. I love the embossed cardstock she used for the '30' (have some myself and it's super pretty up close and for real) and I love that pretty heart pin too. Great job Kay and THANKS :-)

And finally I have an original by Chris! Remember that fab 'flag' card that was stamped so beautifully? Well Rosina comissioned Chris to make a card for my anniversary and this is it. Sorry the photos don't really do it justice - it was harder to photograph than I thought. It's all pearlised on pearlised and is beautifully stamped inside - stamping IS what Chris does so well after all. Chris used the teeniest little pearls on her punched lace - so delicate and so very pretty. Not sure how she even picked these up let alone managed to stick em on - they were seriously TINY!!!

I'm sure Mr Postie will be dropping a few more cards through my door today but none quite so lovely as these. Are ya feelin the love? Thanks for lettin me share :-)

New Bike!

Our middle grand child Kaleb will be turning 8 in a week's time but he got his big b'day pressie early. Mummy and daddy had decided he could use a new bike since he'd kinda out grown his old one.

I was around today when it was delivered cos the kids came for lunch and to take Grandma out for a much needed walk. I thought since I had the chance I'd take a few photos to post for Mom.

I don't know what is or isn't cool about kids bikes these days but Kaleb loved it so I'm guessin' it's cool.

Besides the bars on the wheels front and back and special tires (I'm told it's the kind of bike made for doin wheelies but what do I know?) it had a few 'cool' decorations on it. Do they call em' decorations? Probably not but I can't think what they do call em'!

What I do know is that Kaleb can ride this new bike and can now keep up with his older brother. He has even gotten the hang of the brakes which is a BIG improvement from last time we took him out riding. He stopped by falling off his bike EVERY time! Now that he's a whole year older he's finally gettin there. Won't it be so much easier for mummy when they can all ride their bikes to school including her.

And just so the other kids don't feel left out (and so you can see them too mom) here's a picture of them as well.

Zach of course knows how to do wheelies and stuff so I'm sure he'll be tryin to teach Kaleb. Just look at that 'hippy' hair he's insisting on growing - he refuses to let his mum take him to get it cut - mum likes it but dad doesn't! Does it remind you of anyone?

And Maddycakes? Well she joined us in our afternoon walk with her pram and babydoll (plus a teddy for good measure). This was not quite as 'cute' as it sounds mom. She was sooooooo slow pushing her pram, then she didn't want to push it any longer and mummy had to push it for a while and then she kept letting go of it on the way home which was downhill. She's a lil' pill ain't she mom?

Even so I have to admit it was nice seeing them with their various 'toys' and I did get a few photos that I wouldn't ordinarily get to take PLUS I got my much needed walk and company along the way. I could maybe have done without the candy bar at the store at half way point but then I did share with Dave when he got home. Aren't I good mom?

Anyways I hope you enjoy seeing these mom. Aren't those grand-babies of yours just growing like weeds?

Waltzing Mouse Update

I have just checked Claire's blog and she now has a NEW and IMPROVED internet store up and running! Quick go check it out here.

You can see just by this clip that it has a completely new look plus there are so many new features. Caroline you are just gonna LOVE this - trust me!

And this design is so much more Claire Brennan - so many pretty swirls and flourishes, so much more classy - all new but still with a vintagy look and in soft creams, greens and browns.

Love, love, love it!

Craftwork Cards

Recently I had a chance to attend a special event laid on by the crafty people from Craftwork Cards in Leeds. It was a chance to view some of their new products as well as play with several designs in a few make 'n' take sessions.

These products have been a regular feature at YTOC and we've always intended to play more with them but haven't for some reason. When we saw all the fab new products we quickly realised all that would HAVE TO CHANGE!

As you can imagine Leeds was some distance away so the day started with a 4.00 am wake up call and a very long drive - 3 to 3.5 hours one way to be exact! But when we finally got settled in we were greeted by a table of goodies to get us started including a yummy cupcake and plenty of tea on tap. I do love my tea!

These pretty new Vintage Rose design papers - very CK in style (and you know I LOVE CK!) were one of the first things we saw.

And guess what? We had a chance to play with them because we had them in our pink goodie bags!

The first project was this cool little chipboard bag which opened to reveal concertina'd envelope pockets. How cute is this. We had a basic project design but then got to decorate them up just as we wanted - using lots of CWC products of course like 'press out' text designs, die-cut flowers and that lovely card candy. If you are unfamiliar with card candy check it out here. In fact there were lots of card candy in pretty cupcake cases in the middle of the table for us to play with too.

Of course Julie Hickey was also on hand to chat and have fun with us all as well as helping us to play! She was so down to earth and easy to talk to - just what you hope for when you finally get a chance to talk to someone 'famous' in the craft world.

There were so many lovely samples - most of which were probably done by Julie herself I'm sure. Don't these 'Vintage Rose' papers lend themselves to 'patchwork' and you know I LOVE patchwork! I can see myself sewing on these papers, adding vintage lace and maybe even paper roses - how pretty would that be? Of course these papers are far too clean for me - they would have to be 'aged' too (kinda like my bag project).

Lunch had been included in the event and this is always a hard part for me. As a veggie-tarian and a fussy one at that I usually struggle to get enough to eat. There were lots of meat dishes but also just enough veggie ones that I was able to join everyone else and not have to go grab the food in the car. I always take some nibbles with me cos I'm so darned fussy!

We had presentations and discussions throughout the event and then we had even more time to play after lunch. They had a Christmas range that featured these fab trees and text in a lovely shade of green and purple. They also had this same design in pink and black too. Ladies if you're looking at these and wondering when you can get your hands on them? SOON! Amanda already has everything under control!

They had used these pretty papers to make paper bunting that adorned the sample table. We even had pretty numbered cards in our goodie bags and throughout the event numbers were drawn for prizes!

After remarking that our table hadn't won any prizes we suddenly had a flurry of numbers drawn for our table. Both Amanda and her mum Kay were lucky enough to win prizes as well as 3 other ladies on our table. Sadly Rosina and I were not among them!

That's ok tho'. We really enjoyed the day, the crafting, the fun, the freebies and especially the company! Thanks sooooo much Amanda for inviting us along. AND lucky me - I get to demo with these new products at the Thetford Craft show coming up in August and I know you're just gonna love em' when you see what we create! PLUS look for them in upcoming classes too.

See you there (and see several of you in class on Wednesday).