NEC Update

Well, we're on our way home, all a little tired, spent out but very happy.  There were a few bargains to be had, I got quite a few of the Tattered Lace dies I had wanted, including the recent Art Deco one's they had bought out, and at three dies for the price of two, they were a very good buy.
Create and Craft were also offering a goody bag for £20 with the contents worth £150. I didn't get one but a couple of ladies on the coach did, but haven't opened them yet. So I was wondering, if you got one, what was in the bag, and do you think it was a bargain I should have gone for?
The number of exhibitors have definitely diminished over the years and, speaking to one of them today, I can understand why.  With the cost of having a stand, travel for your stock and staff, and overnight accommodation for four nights for yourself and your staff, you have to sell quite a lot to make it worth your while.  Some were of the opinion that they will just break even and may not do it again next year.
Sadly, that's bad news for us shoppers, but you can understand where they are coming from. Everybody is feeling a little less well off and probably being more careful with how they spend their money - although when you saw the activity on some of the stalls, this didn't always seem to be the case!
There were a few things I had on my wish list I didn't get, and lots of things that made it into my bag which weren't on my list! The good news is I still have some money left, so I can order the stuff I didn't get online and eagerly await the postman to bring them to me!

NEC Birmingham - Christmas Crafts Show

So we are on our way to the Hobbycraft's Christmas Crafts Show at the NEC in Birmingham, and I cannot wait to get there!

Like many people, I save the money I have made from cards I have sold to spend on replenishing stocks, but for this show I am also lucky enough for my Mum and my husband to give me my Christmas and birthday money early (that's when having a birthday two days after Christmas comes in handy!) to have a really good, guilt free spending spree on whatever I need, or just plain want!

I am travelling up in a coach from the Island with other, like minded crafters, and we will no doubt be comparing things bought on the trip back later this evening.  The nice thing is to see the diversity of goodies people buy as we are not all into the same crafts, and it can be interesting to talk to people about other crafts and perhaps vow 'to give that a go one day'.

I tend to do this trip alone as I find the show is so large, I selfishly just want to wander around and look at things I want to without worrying about boring, or holding up, somebody else. I would never ask my husband to come with me, and he wouldn't want to go! If he came, I would be whisked around the entire venue in about an hour and, if I stopped to look at anything, would be asked if I really needed that? To which, like many of you I know, is usually 'no, but I want it!'

I will update you later as to what I bought and the new and interesting goodies that were on offer, and for those that have already been, or are still to go, please tell me what you bought and what you thought of the show.

Cats Dies

Wow, It's Sunday evening already, where did that weekend go?

Last weekend I was busy playing with some of the new dies that are coming out tomorrow on Create and Craft from Tattered Lace.

I particularly had fun with the cat. I love making cards that move, so when I first saw the cat, I instantly thought I had to make his head move. So I made a mechanism made up of three parts, held together by brads so they all moved when you pulled the tab on the side of the card, making the cats head move side to side.

 I also thought it would be fun to make a 'treat box' for a cat, and made a small box using the Tattered Lace hexagon box die. This time I made a ginger cat and put it on the lid of the box, which I filled with catnip treats and a ball.

Another idea that sprung to mind when I saw this die was that it would be great fun to make some cat earrings using shrink plastic.  I was really pleased with how the colouring came out on the earrings, as you can never be sure how much darker the colours are going to go once it has been shrunk.  I had used a very old black Stazon ink pad that was almost dry, so very little colour came out, and very light colours in alcohol inks for the eyes and nose.  I made a small box with the Tattered Lace A5 box die and cut a piece of funky foam to fit inside to hold the earrings in place.

I really had fun playing with these ideas and I'm quite pleased with the way they turned out.  Oh well, back to work again tomorrow morning, but I'll be playing again soon!

Sneaky Peak

Mark and I came home last week from a lovely cruise, which took us into Gibraltar where we met up with my sister and her partner (and delivered some Christmas presents!). We were extremely lucky with the weather all the way from Southampton to Genoa, even the Bay of Biscay stayed calm for us!

But it is always nice to get home, especially when a package arrived the next day from Tattered Lace with a couple of new dies to play with.

I'm not able to give too much away at the moment (watch this space!) but I can show you a couple of photos of part of the samples I have made so far.

The lovely lady die used on this sample was from the latest magazine and I have found it really useful. 

I will show more pictures of the samples before the show which is due on Create and Craft next Tuesday, 25th October. 

Until then, happy crafting! 

One Die - Six Cards

I was really excited to receive my first die from Tattered Lace to make samples with for their show which is on Create and Craft this week.

I was given the 'Peace' die to play with and was amazed at how versatile it was.  I cut it out several times and then just started cutting into it to see what I could make, starting from the obvious - removing the central plaque with the 'Peace' wording - to making frames from the outside edges.  I actually came up with at least eight different ideas, but had to stop somewhere!

Here are the cards I made:

The first two cards I made used the die as a whole. I chose to infill the cut out with contrasting colours to make them stand out more and affixed the lilac one to the card base and hung the red and gold one from an aperture cut in the card.

With this card I just removed the central plaque and replaced it with the date.  You could easily use a photo of the recipient to make a lovely personalised card.

I then started to really dissect the die cuts and made this card using the Melded Church Die from Tattered Lace.  I made a shaker card using vellum instead of acetate to give a more wintery feel and added just the cut out 'Peace' words to the shaker.

I then made a Nativity Scene using one of last years Christmas dies from Tattered Lace and the Doves which came with one of their magazines, originally holding a bow but attached the 'Peace' plaque to them instead,

and finally ...

I cut into the bauble to make a frame.  This one was made using the bottom half on the die, but I also made one using the top half too, which created a very interesting shape.  I'll try and get that finished to put on here later. Again, I used elements of the Nativity die and just the 'Peace' plaque at the top.

I hope these have given you some ideas.  There is so much you can do with just one die, I sometimes forget to just play with them, so I'm off to have a go at some of my other dies and see what I can come up with - have fun with yours!

A Magnolia Church Wedding

With my Nephew getting married last year, it inspired me to make a wedding table centre piece which I subsequently entered into a competition.
Sadly, I didn't win anything, but I enjoyed making it and thought I would show you.

It took a bit of planning and creating templates, but I was really pleased with the way it turned out.
I put a battery operated tea light in the centre to light the 'church' up, which looked lovely with through the stained glass windows.

The 'stars of the show' were the beautiful Magnolia stamps - Tilda and Bridesmaid and Edwin standing groom.  I seem to have neglected my stamps recently and have been spending a lot of time with my dies, but this shows that the two combine beautifully and is something I really want to spend more time with in the future.

In the Days Before Bright Heart Craft Lights

It has been an age since I last updated my blog, which was really down to work commitments and having two years of looking after both sets of parents.
In the first year my Father in Law had a small stroke while we were on holiday and was still recovering from that when my Mother in Law had to go into hospital for open heart surgery.
As they were both too poorly to look after themselves, they moved in with us for a while and all card making was put on hold.  Luckily they have both made good recoveries but then last year, my Dad, who had been suffering from dementia for a couple of years, had a fall which was enough to trigger something in him and suddenly, overnight, became completely helpless and lost.
Mum couldn't manage and we had to arrange for a care home for him which he was only in for a couple of weeks before being taken to hospital and being there for a month before he sadly passed away.
Hopefully, all that is behind us now and I was so pleased to be asked recently to join the design team for Tattered Lace.
I have yet to receive my first commission but watched with interest their Christmas show on Create and Craft this week and, in particular the new Bright Heart craft lights they have bought out.
It reminded me of when I used to decorate cakes and for two years I made Christmas cakes using the small strings of battery operated lights you can buy for home decorations.  Oh what a difference these new lights would have made!  Although I was pleased with the results, the battery pack was so bulky, I can't wait to get hold of some of the new ones and make special cards with them.
Here are a couple of pictures of the cakes I made

This is the first one I did and this is what it looked like normally, and once the lights were turned on this is what it was like:

The next one I made the following year, was of Rudolph and his sleigh on a rooftop - even his red nose lit up!

I hope you like these ideas and I will be blogging a lot more in future, especially if I can give you any sneaky peaks of anything coming your way!