Crafting this week

So I'm still beavering away crafting at home while the shop is out of action. Progress is being made with the old floorboards taking out and the gap filled with concrete ready to tile on to. I'm sad to see the floor change but it would be unfeasible to replace it with the same encase it floods again.
So this week I have been carrying on with my card making. Up first a break from the stamping as I found a paper pack in my stash from an issue of Craft Seller magazine and decided to make some cards using it.

 A selection of square cards in two different sizes the larger ones are kraft brown colored bases. I always like to punch a real hole in the tag shapes and add a bit of ribbon or paper strip to complete the effect.

And some rectangular ones these cards have a range of styles and sentiments and will offer a choice from the stamped one which I have been making. I enjoyed playing around with the layering and adding touch like the strips of quilling paper. I seem to have got quite a stash of it in different colors from various magazine free gifts but am not a great quiller so I am glad to have a use for some of it.  

The next set is using some of the card bases from my Tilda card background paper pad. I have embellished these double sided printed bases with stamps in complimenting colors, printed tags and mini bunting pendants. I do like how they have turned out with a real vintage feel.

 I then went back to my stamping after seeing some inspiration on pintrest and remembering I had some industrial themed papers in my stash I made these three.
Using the feeling sentimental set which I think works well against the brick and metal patterns to create some very blokey cards which is often quite a challenge.

The next set were made using the aviary set of stamps. I focused on using the bird cages to create the bottom part of the card a patterned strip is then added and above that the sentiment stamped directly on to the card. Two or three birds are added and the finishing touch of peals or crystals. I like the clean cut classy style of these and the way it works over both the rectangular and square shapes and two different colored bases.

The other crafty thing I have produced this week its this.
I felt in the mood to do some baking and found a recipe for apricot tea loaf in one of my books. its super yummy with a spread of butter and I think I will be making more in future particularly at the rate Alex is munching it.
 I have also started on a set using love and laughter but this isn't finished yet so will be included in the next blog post. I think after this set I might have a brake from card making and move on to creating some everyday felt decorations, my partridges at Christmas were well revived and I have ideas for birds, bird houses and matryoshka doll style ones. I've also completed a crochet garland in spring colors but its waiting to be pressed and not photographed yet. Come back soon for more crafty goings ons.

Another extended crafting session

I normal close my florist shop between Christmas and new year opening up again on the first Wednesday in January when I can get a delivery of fresh flowers in. In my time off I'd planed to have at least one day of intensive crafting on cards ect to make some new stock to sell. However this happened to the shop.

So after yet another flood where the water came three times in just over a week, this picture is from the second lot, It looks like I will be out of the shop until sometime in February. The shop requires extensive  work including a new floor and there is alot of digging work out in the road to fix the large stretch of collapsed drain which caused this devastation. 

So I am using the time wisely and doing as much crafting as I can. 

I started with some cards like last time I have been working in sets as I find this works well for me, Keeps me focused and produces results. 

The first set I made was using the banner blast set of stamps and coordinating punch. I had already made some cards in this style and they had sold well in the shop so I produced more using the new inks and card which I picked up towards the end of last year during a stampin up promotion.They are very rick looking colors and I like the look they create. Another difference with this set to the last one is some of them are on kraft brown card blanks rather than cream this also gives them abit of a different look.  The sentiments are mostly done with the itty bitty banners and coordinating dies I do really love this set and was a good purchase.

 The next set I made was using the elementary elegance stamp set I've had this set for quite a long time but it doesn't lose any of its beauty. Again I focused on the new colors and I like how these mini cards look, look very regal. all but the purple have been stamped color on color which didn't come out to well like that so has been heat embossed in white. Then an punched accent has been added to the middle and a sentiment in the color and touch of gray added to tie in with the crystals.

 Using this set I also made three larger cards with embossed card covering the front before a two layered pendant is added with the cut out frame stamp added and the punched Happy birthday raised on top. I added a little extra shape to each side to define the cut out frame better and to this I added a pearl at each end to bring in a touch of luxury and interest.

For the next little set I looked in to my archive of photos and found I had made a couple like this before and looking at my current paper stash decided I had suitable colors to try this style again. I used the collage curios pretty petites sets of stamps and these work well with the collage look being smaller stamps. Two of the cards are backed in a light brown and done in hues of blue, yellow, green and greens and orange the third is backed in grey and done with pink, blue and grey I feel this one particularly with the use of the floral papers has a vintage vibe.  I will see what sort of reception these get when it comes to selling them and maybe making more in this style.

Next I looked to the set lovely as a tress this has been a staple set of Stampin up range for a long time and is a set many people have in their stash.
I felt at this point I had made quite alot of birthday cards and other happier occasions so I decided this set would be more suitable to make more muted cards. This set of four includes a thoughts of you and with sympathy and are in more subdued colours of shades of brown, green, black and grey. I like the effect of the little squares almost like windows and this was achieved by making the squares and lightly attaching them to a scrap piece of paper in the layout they would appear on the card in and stamping on to the three of them. the image is them stamped separately on to the colored backing card and the squares are removed from the scrap paper and lined up with the other stamped image. It has to be done this way because if they are stamped as one the depth of the squares means the middle portion on the stamp is unable to reach the card to create a cohesive image. they are finished off with a strip of colored card and sentiment.

Also using this set I created these three cards The large tree is stamped on to white and attached to a colored backing card and a complimenting colored card is added to the same color backing card the complimenting card is stamped in small leaves in tone on tone color. A sentiment is stamped directly on to the card in the bottom and a couple of sparkles added to complete the card.
These are all the cards I have done so far but I am sure more will soon follow.

Quick snap of the current cards having their backs stamped with a handmade banner stamp and stamping up logo as per the angel policy all ready for packaging and sale.

Taking a little break from the cards I have produced some of our ever popular friendship teas just a set of nine for now as I have run out of tea bags to pop inside. I tried the pretty petites on the front of three of them for a change and like how they look.

Also been making some of the little decorated tissue pack to sell, these either say Tears of joy and are well suited for wedding or other joyous occasions such as a new birth. Or bless you which are prefect for a thoughtful token to someone who is under the weather. I like the range of colors and styles I achieved in this set giving something for everyone.








So that's the crafting so far I'm sure there will be plenty more before I can get back to the shop and my flowers. Check back soon so see what else is being created.  

Here be dragons

So I fancied a challenge with my crocheting and I'd found this pattern on pintrest quite a while ago to make a dragon or smaug from the hobbit.
I have a friend who really like the Lord of the rings and the hobbit so I thought it would be a suitable Christmas present for her so I had a go he wad done in red and yellow and finished with golden eyes and fierce looking teeth.

Sorry the pictures aren't great. December all got abit rushed and I suddenly realized when I was about to wrap him up that I hadn't taken any pictures.  

Although he does look rather good guarding his minstrels. the legs ares a tad wonky but I think this gives him character.











After completing him I decided to make another one for my sister and her husband they used to own a pair of bearded dragons which they had to remove earlier in the year which was hard for them and sad so I thought a crochet dragon for Christmas would be good.

And here he is again his legs are abit wonky but it just seems to be the way they come out. This one had black beads for eyes and a smile with out teeth to make him look more friendly at the request of my partner.

This one has been called Errol after a dragon who features in the Terry Pratchett books which my brother in law is fond of.
Parts of this project where quite tricky including the changing color mid round which I had not done before I tried several times to do it and always ended up with threads on the outside I think this is because I'm left handed so in the end I made it up the body part with the loose bits criss crossing on the outside then turned the piece inside out.

I think I will have another go at pattern again as my partner would quite like us to have our own dragon he just needs to decide on colors.