Makes 5, 6 and 7...358 to go

I spotted a free digi stamp online so decided to print out a few and make some cards. I have packaged them all up ready to sell at my next craft stall :) 

Mini Quilt Make Number 4...361 to go

I have been wanting to have a go at quilting for ages, so I bought a cheap set of random quilting squares off Ebay and this weekend have had a go at making a little quilt.

It was a bit tricky to start with but for a first attempt I think its ok. The colours and designs of the little squares aren't my choice I decided not to pay for expensive quilt squares and till I had mastered the art! The only bit I have had trouble with is figuring out how to get bias binding around the edge, think I may have to ask my nan for a bit of assistance with this as I just can't seem to get it to work.

WOYWW

Hi Everyone,

So I completely fell off the blogging bandwagon last year. I got a new job in London and moved back down south... things got a little hectic and sadly crafting/blogging siffered. I really missed having a nosy round peoples desks on a Wednesday, so I'm back and as my new years resolution was 365 crafty makes in 365 days I'll hopeful be doing every WOYWW this year. For anyone that doesn't know what WOYWW is check it out here  http://stamping-ground.blogspot.co.uk/

So this week I had a proper clear out and sort out of all my craft stuff. Now that I have moved back in with my mum (temporarily!) I have all my craft books upstairs on a cute little bookshelf I got for a fiver at a bootsale and all my actual supplies downstairs next to the dining table where I actually make things. It was all in a bit of a mess and took me all day on sunday to get it sorted out but it finally is and I can certainly say that it being so organised is making me feel a lot more inspired.

Thanks for checking me out this week, I'm hoping to visit as many of you as possible. :)

Vintage Stamp Frames Make number 3 ....362 to go

I recently bought some vintage stamps in bulk at a bootsale. I paid £5 for about 400 stamps they are all different so I sorted them into colours and themes and have been using some of them to make these vintage stamp frames.

I draw a shape onto a plain piece of card and then fill the shape with the stamps. I really like the result and have got a few of these frames hanging up in my room at home.

Alcohol Ink Coasters Make number 2.....363 to go

Today I experimented making some coasters out of plain white bathroom tiles and alcohol inks. It took a few attempts to perfect the technique but eventually I was happy with the result.

The best way I found to apply the ink was to drip it on directly from the bottles and then fill in the gaps with different corresponding coloured inks slanting the tile to merge the different inks together.

As you can see when I used the Tim Holtz tool to apply the ink on my first attempt the result was a kind of dirty effect which I am not keen on.

Final Result

First Attempt!! 

The two where I used the drip technique look much better I think.

Polymer Owl Keyring Make number 1 ....364 to go!

So I've started, first make down. This didn't take long about 20 mins or so and was really fun it's an owl keyring made out of Polymer Clay.

364 makes to go :) 

New Years Resolution

So I haven't blogged since September 2012 and I actually have missed it. Moving back down South and starting my new job in London took up a lot of time in the last few months of 2012. I love my new job and love being in London and somehow blogging and crafting seemed to fall by the wayside a bit. I still did some Christmas Cards and have experimented with a some other crafts but not as much as I wanted to.

So 2013 is a new start for the blog and in order to really try and stick to it. I have decided to try and complete 365 crafty makes in 365 days. I was inspired by the film Julie and Julia which has a similar challenge in it revolving around cooking over 500 recipes in a year.

So yes lets hope I can stick to it. fingers crossed!

New Home Card

Just a quick post, this is a card I made for a friend who has recently got a new flat in London.

Vintage New Home Card 

I used an old book of maps and used a heart shaped die to cut a heart round a map of London I then mounted this on some coloured cardstock. Then printed out a new home greeting and mounted this on some old map to and that was it. 

Vintage Map Card 

Super simple but super effective. 

Time for something a bit different

Its my grans birthday next week and this week I spent a couple of evenings planning and making her Birthday card.

I decided I wanted to try something a bit different and rather then using stamps with animals or people in them I would use a floral stamp. I ended up getting a digi stamp from Tiffany Doodles which is a website I have never used before but will definitely be using again.

I found a stamp with a pansy in a pot which I thought my nan would really like, it took a bit of experimenting to work out the shading with my pro markers but after a few attempts I managed to get it right. I decided to keep the card quite simple and used a recycled card blank teamed with some floral patterned paper and a piece of colored pattered paper at either corner. I then cut out the stamped image and mounted it on the card using silicone glue to give it some dimension. I printed my own greeting and distressed it using the Tim Holtz distress ink pad.

Overall I really like this card it's very different from the other cards I have made but I certainly will be using this style again.

I won :)

Sorry it has taken me a little while to post on my blog, new job and commuting into central London on a daily basis is really tiring so I haven't had as much time as I would like. I am loving my new job though so can't complain. Hopefully this really will be the start of me regularly blogging again (I know I keep saying this but going to try and stick to it this time)

So I actually won some prizes at my local craft show :) I won a first for a bookmark that I made and then a second for a greeting card and another second for a 'something new from something old'. I was really pleased the standard of entries for many of the classes was really high so it was nice to know that some of my craft has reached that standard.

I hopefully will be able to post some pictures of the things I made for the show in the next few days (I just need to find them) for now
you will have to do with a photo of my first place rosette :)

First place rosette in pride of place on notice board :) 

Can't wait to get started on next years entires.

Im back....again

Hi everyone.

So I know I have neglected my blog a lot for the last month or so, this has been because I have been super busy. I got a new job working as  Public Affairs Officer in London and last week was my first week. This has meant moving all my stuff back down South which took far longer then I thought it would I never want to move again its far too stressful.

I also am a huge Olympics fan and was lucky enough to get tickets for a lot of events and went along for some of the free events like the Cycling Road race and the Marathon swim. I will put my photos up as a separate post soon as I really did have an amazing time one of the best things I have ever done.

I have also been crafting its my local Village Show this weekend and I have entered about 6 different Craft classes and the Photography which seemed like a good idea at the time but was a bit of a rush with the new job and the Olympics. Hopefully it will pay of and the judges will like my entries.

So yes basically I'm back and hopefully will be regularly posting more of my crafting online.

Quick Card

Here's another card I made using a digi stamp from Whimsie Doodles.

Crafty Essentials

I know on quite a lot of the blogs I follow people have done posts on their top crafting products.I thought I would do a number of posts on my favorite products. One of the best things I have purchased is the ATG tape gun I have two of them actually. A pink one which dispenses a  narrower tape and yellow one which has a thicker tape.

The guns make applying double sided tape so easy and the adhesive ATG use is so strong. Its brill for all types of projects. Its one of those products I now couldn't live without I would advise people to purchase it :) quite often. I got mine here http://www.3mselect.co.uk/p-2422-scotch-advanced-tape-glider-kit.aspx and its on sale at the moment for 11.99.

I will be doing some more posts in the next few weeks on some of my other top products so keep an eye out for them.

Another Quick Card

Just another quick post this evening, here is another card I made using a whimsie doodle digital stamp. I loved this stamp when I saw it, a nice cute image and a great sentiment. 

I made a simple card by mounting the stamp on some blue card stock and then covering a 6x6 card blank in some blue paper from the potobello road collection. 

Quick Card

I have been making lots of cards using some of the Whimsie Doodle digital stamps, check them out here http://www.whimsiedoodles.com/

They are such cute images, I love them and there are regualr new releases so plenty to download. I have made about 20 or so cards using these stamps so will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks. Here is the first one of the cards which I used a cute beach pig stamp for I then teamed it with some pink papers and a pink ribbon. The card is all wrapped ready to be sold so the Ribbon looks a bit squished. Im really happy with this card though really feel like I am making progress with my cardmaking skills :)

I'm Back

So I have been really busy pretty much ever since my Birthday back at the start of May, I have still managed to find time to craft and have even been selling some craft at local craft stalls and summer fetes. I have kept meaning to blog about all the different things I have been making but just don't seem to have had chance.

Im determined to make July a month where I get back into doing my blog regularly so hopefully lots of you will still pay a visit and read what I have been up to. Hopefully I will get a chance to pop round to all your blogs too to check out the lovely things you have been making.

Fabric Pinboard

I have seen fabric pinboards everywhere this year they seem to be really in fashion. I decided rather then spending £20 on one I would have a go at making my own. 

All it took was some fabric, some ribbon, pins and a staple gun. It was super easy to make and I am really happy with the result. I think I am going to try and make some more so I can have a few around my flat to brighten it up :) 

Boofle

I love boofle I think he is such a cute character so I was really excited when boofle crafting supplies were released earlier this year.

I have some of the boofle embossing folders but so far only one stamp that came free in the last issue of Do Crafts magazine. I did a quick card with this free stamp as an experiment and I am fairly happy with the result as it was something I throw together in half an hour.

The card was done on some of the square papermania recycled card blanks. The paper used to back the image was from some freebie paper I had in a magazine ages and and the image was coloured with promarkers. I added some ribbon along the fold to give the card some extra interest. 

My First Card Swap

I joined in my first craft swap this month. The theme was green and I received the most Beautiful card from my swap partner Chrissie. 

I thought I would post it here so you can all check out this fab card. I really love the 3D cards. As well as the card Chrissie sent some beautiful ATC's featuring some lovely art deco ladies. 

Jam Making

My mum is starting her own business where she is going to sell handmade cakes, biscuits jams all sorts really.

My mum is a great cook but not very creative so I got roped in to help with designing the labels and covers for all the products.

I also made a few craft items which I will blog about in a separate post. For my jam pot covers I die cut a scalloped square out of patterned paper I then affixed a smaller plainer square which I had die cut. I attached these to the jars using my new ATG gun (my new fave toy)

I ordered some beautiful fabric of of fabricrehab which has an amazing selection of beautiful and unusual fabrics. I used this fabric to make jam pot covers which I attached with elastic cut to size. It wasn't the most interesting craft ever but I am really happy with the result.