Projects on my Desk

I'm not sure about any other crafty or hobbyist person, however I seem to have an awful lot of projects scattered around my craft room (aka the spare bedroom) that are never completed - or even started in same cases!  I think its a crafty thing, we are attracted to all that glitters and flit too and fro but never stay long enough to see things through.

Well, this time I did.  Several months ago I got the Craftwork Cards Wreath Making kit, which was the members gift from Create and Craft.  There were two circle wreaths and one heart wreath and enough flowers to decorate them.  The idea was to make them into door hangings for my three daughters.  With number three on the way I couldn't sit down long enough to even contemplate starting it at the time.

But inspiration struck me soon after Christmas and I sat down and made the wreaths up.  Part of my problem was that I enjoyed making the first 2 pages of flowers, but got a bit impatient with the last two pages.  This is something I have noticed as I have gotten older, that I don't have the attention span! Maybe that's having three children, job and house to manage - I respond briefly to the item (or person) that shouts the loudest.

Anyway, for some of the flowers I added Hunkydory diamond sparkles glitter, some I left plain and just used the gold and silver candi supplied and some I heat embossed. It should have been clear embossing powder, however Sophie (3yr old) had 'played' with my stash and mixed all my embossing powders up.  So, it was a mixture of clear, sparkly and silver embossing powders.  I may need to invest in some new powders (but will this go against my New Year's resolution not to buy any new crafting stuff apart from essentials???).

I attached the flowers and the ribbons that were supplied with the kit.  I then used my Silhouette Portrait to cut their names out of Create and Craft glitter card stock and black card (from Crafters Companion - very good).  I used the black card as a shadow under the glitter card, and to add some strength as the lettering was fairly fine.  I then attached the names across the center of the wreaths to personalise each one.

I was quite impressed with how they have turned out, and the girls love them on their doors. I was also pleased to have a number of flowers left over that I can use on other projects and cards (in fact I already have).

My next project is to complete the baby book for Isabel - which I am very daunted with.  For my other two girls we just got a shop bought one which you add the information into, this time I got Snap Studio Simple Stories Album and inserts, and not sure where to start....

but that is for another blog.

And one year later......

I guess you could say I had a break for a little while.  In October 2014 I gave birth at home to our third little girl, Isabel.  Everything went well with the planned home birth, but unfortunately she had to stay for a week in neo-natal for a lung infection,  However, she is doing really well now and is growing fast -as any other baby does. As you can see from the photo of the three girls below, they are all fine and not besotted with Frozen at all - Emma as Elsa, Sophie as Arna and as I couldn't find a baby Olaf costume, Isabel is Sven!

During pregnancy I had to concentrate on the aspects of my life that had to get done, such as looking after my other two girls, the house and paid work, so crafting was put to one side for a little bit.

However.... I am back now and hope to keep this blog up and running.

New Year's Resolutions
I don't normally do New Year's Resolutions as I generally forget about them after a month (as most people do), however this year I thought I would plan some crafting resolutions:

1: Try not to buy any new crafting gear (apart from the basics) - a strange one I know, however I do have an awful lot of crafting and card making goodies that I want to try to use up, This includes quite a few Hunkydory card kits.  I do like the Hunkydory quality, but get a bit stuck sometimes on using them creatively rather than just sticking the toppers onto the cards stock - which creates a lovely card if you are short of time or mental capacity!

As you can see from the photo, I have started this trend with my Christmas thank you cards, which are entirely made from my 'bit' bag.  A bag full of scraps of card from other projects or papers and embellishments that I have had for awhile that are left overs from kits or I have got free from magazines.  I am quite pleased as to how they have turned out.

My lovely husband bought me the Silhouette Portrait electronic cutting machine for a joint birthday and Christmas present, which I am thoroughly enjoying even if I have only done a few basic shapes and cards on it.  I feel it will take me a couple of dedicated days to completely understand - which with three young children should be interesting to accomplish .  I am hoping that using the Portrait alongside Craft Artist 2 software will give me endless possibilities without an endless pocket.

2: To sell at a Craft Fair - I have sold cards at my daughters school Christmas Bazaar to the children and the parents, however it wasn't as successful as I had hoped.  Firstly, with the Key Stage One children (ages 4-7) it did feel like I was robbing them slightly as they hadn't a clue what they were buying, they just knew that they had money and they wanted to spend it! Secondly, the parents only came in for a short time when collecting their children after school and were not aware that it was open for them.  Nevertheless I made a small profit.

So I have decided that I need to take the next step and sell at a professional Craft Fair, which I am fairly nervous about as it means having a knowledgeable customers and peers look at my creations.  Family like them, but will the public....

3: To keep this blog going!  Hopefully this year I can manage more than two posts, unlike last year.  It will still be a push, but hopefully I can show you creations I have made using the Portrait and Craft Artist.  As a taster, here are two box cards I made using a cutting file from the Portrait and a Christmas card kit I got from Create and Craft in the autumn of 2013 - I believe it is their own brand item and not from another company.  The cards were for my niece and a my friend's newborn twins.

I hope you all had a nice Christmas and New Year, and I will keep you informed of the antics in this crafting house.

Fiona

Too early to think about Valentines Day....

Well, as most of the shops have already started to display creme eggs and bags of mini eggs, I guess it can't be too early to be thinking of Valentine's Day makes.

Just before Christmas I bought the Crafter's Companion Sweet Treats boards and CD-Rom.  Therefore, at Christmas most people got their presents in a very quickly designed box using the board, but I designed the papers in Craft Artist 2.  I was thrilled with the results, particularly the bow templates that come on the CD-Rom.

So....I wanted to play with the boards a bit more and came up with this small milk carton box.  I designed the papers in Craft Artisit 2 (Cupid digikit) and printed a free patchwork heart digistamp from Handmade Harbour (http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/).  I originally imported the stamp into Craft Artist 2 and added it to the papers, however this wasn't very well thought out as when it was printed the hearts were not in the right place on the sheet to be seen on the box.  As this would take copious amounts of calculations and measurements I took them off.

I just printed the heart off and embossed the lines with a versamark pen and gold embossing powders and then coloured the heart with flexmarker - Tea Rose. I add highlights with a Wink of Stella pink pen (I don't have the brush nib ones, just the hard nib pens).  I have to say I love the Wink of Stella pens, they add just the most delicious amount of glint that just makes you look twice at the project.  If you can only get one of these pens go for the clear as you can use it on top of any other pencils or pens that you have and it adds that subtle glitter.

I found some free thickies stickers for the lettering which I coloured with a flexmarker (Sorbet) and added them to the bottom.  With some pink ribbon (I don't buy that much ribbon, I normally use the ribbon you find in ladies tops that should be used to secure the clothes to the hanger).  Over all I think this is a very effective little gift box, just the right size for 6 medium sized cookies or a medium sized bottle of perfume.

I would be interested to hear what you think of it.

New Year

Well I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year.  We did, it was manic as usual as we travelled with the two girls to three or more places to visit various relatives.  We stayed at my Mum's and had Christmas day with my dad, his partner and my brother and his family.  It was a really good to catch up and spend time with my family.

After spending a few days with my family we travelled up to Saddleworth to stay with my husbands family.  Our niece was one on the 31st, and the girls had a great time with all of my nieces friends and relatives.  Unfortunately I had a splendid cold by this time and figured that 6 sets of parents would not appreciate this seasonal 'gift'.  This left hubbie fending for himself amongst the crowd.  But from what I understand, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.  Fortunately, knowing me as well as he does, he came home with cake.  Homemade hedgehog chocolate cake.  Fantastic!

As Christmas has passed, I wanted to show you the cards that I made at the request of my sister-in-law for her family.  In return she sent us two amazingly beautiful hand-stitched cards, one gold Christmas tree and one silver.

Here are the cards I made for her family.  The first two I used a stencil I got free with a magazine and the papers that came with the stencil.  I used versamark inkpad and stamped the image and heat embossed with gold/silver embossing powder.  The sentiment came from another set of stamps.  I then layered on to black and silver card or gold and white card and printed an insert from Craft Artist 2.

Jessica's card was made using papers I got from Create and Craft.  Using the Tonic shape cutter system I cut the oval out and fitted a plastic dome from Hunkydory.  I used a Martha Stewart punch to create the snowflakes and the bits left over I put in the dome along with some glitter.  The lettering came from Craft Artist 2.

The stripy card used papers from My Paperstash and American Crafts card stock and was a simple case of matting and layering the images and sentiments.  The last card was created with papers from Create and Craft and an origami technique I found on the internet.  I was really pleased with the result as it added texture and depth to the card.

Thankfully my sister-in-law was really pleased with the cards .... and nothing fell off!

I also made some small cards for my daughters school friends.  These were very cost effective to do.  I used  Craft Artist 2 and digikits from daisytrail.  The images were small enough to fit four cards on to one A4 page and then I used a kwiki glue pen to add glitter for detail.  In total each card cost 20p to make - including the cost of the digikits, card and paper to make the envelopes.

Lastly I wanted to show you the present we got from my dad for Christmas.  My brother got a similar one.  It is a bird house - a huge bird house (please note the fruit bowl to the side).  Now, I am all for encouraging wild life into our garden and caring for our native birds.  However, with this bird house we will probably need planning permission before we can fix it - that is if we can find a large enough tree and the means to fix it.  As I said to my brother 'I think it is time we started looking for that old peoples' home'.

Recovery

Well I am back, slightly later than I promised, however the house has been manic with recovery and preparation for Christmas. 

The back operation went really well and I noticed a huge improvement in the pain and discomfort I was feeling.  One leg still has a loss of sensation and, after several weeks of limited movement, both legs are feeling weak.  However soon after half term I was up and walking the girls to school and back, taking them swimming and playing in the park.

We are very fortunate where we live in that the walk to school is 15 minutes through the park of an amazing house.  South Hill Park is owned by Bracknell Council and is used as an arts venue, theatre and café.  The grounds that surround it are open all the time and it is lovely to be able to walk the girls through the tees, past the pond and over the bridge during the different seasons.  My youngest is just over two and half and loves kicking the leaves and jumping in puddles.  She is also the speediest toddler going, which is not good after a back operation with weak legs.  Apparently 'stop' is not in here vocabulary yet.

I really want to show you some of the cards I have been making for Christmas, however these may have to wait until the new year as I don't want the recipients to see them too early.

I hope to be back before the New Year, however I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

A short break

Well, I have been trying to catch up with some crafty things at the moment.  My Birthday was last week and I am in the midst of doing thank you cards.  As most people brought me crafty goodies the cards are an experiment as I try out new techniques and supplies.  I have bought myself a heat gun and therefore I am heat embossing everything.- it really is quite exciting watching the dusty powder turn shiny and sparkly.  I have completed all my daughters cards for her friends birthdays over the next few weeks.

On Monday I am having a small operation on my back, therefore I won't be blogging for the next few weeks.   But when I return I promise a full account of the procedure and agony afterwards (lol).

I will see you after the October half term.

Thisel and Bean

Well, I have been quiet in the crafty sense this week, but I have been very busy with other work and family.  Hardly had time to stop and think this week.  My eldest is at full swing at school now, and we are getting homework for her as well now. 

So my daughter comes home tired and full of explosive energy from school and we need to get her to sit down and concentrate on spelling, reading and maths.  I am sure in the long run it will benefit her, however at the moment it is very difficult to try and explain this to a 5 year old who's idea of 'long-term planning' goes no further than weekend.

Anyway, I managed to get three children's cards done for various birthday parties that are coming up over the next couple of weeks, as well as new baby card for a friend (hopefully I should be able to show you this next week).  I have also been working on family birthday cards that are coming up over the next few months as I want to concentrate again on Christmas cards.  I did some Christmas cards over the summer, however I found it a bit hard to complete these while the sun was shining so well.

I wanted to also introduce you to Blogspot of an old work colleague who produces gorgeous products for babies and children.  They look really pretty and it is such a nice touch to give something handmade.  These are items that will be treasured.  Please check out at http://thiselandbean.blogspot.co.uk/

Pictures of things you can buy!

Well I decided it was about time I actually showed you cards that you can buy.  Unusual I know.  Anyway, at the moment I just supply the UK and all cards are supplied with the appropriate sized white envelope unless otherwise stated.  Email me at fispapercraft@hotmail.co.uk for any orders or enquiries.

A6 size easel card with 'Have a Happy Birthday' greeting. £2.00 plus £1.00 postage, ref Misc5.

A6 size easel card with 'with love and best wishes' greeting. £2.00 plus £1.00 postage, ref Misc6.

A6 Easel card with 'best wishes' greeting.  £2.00 plus £1.00 postage, ref Misc7.



A6 sized easel card with 'thinking of you' greeting.  £1.50 as slight smudge by greeting plus £1.00 postage. Ref Misc8

A6 sized greeting card printed on 160gsm card with 'thinking of you' greeting. £1.50 plus £1.00 postage, ref misc12.

A6 sized greeting card printed on 160gsm card with 'thinking of you' greeting. £1.50 plus £1.00 postage, ref misc13. 

A6 sized blank greeting card printed on 160gsm card. £1.50 plus £1.00 postage, ref misc14. 

 A6 sized greeting card printed on 160gsm card with Happy birthday' greeting. £1.50 plus £1.00 postage, ref misc15. 

 A5 sized blank greeting card with decoupage. £2.00 plus £1.00 postage, ref Misc9.

 A5 sized blank greeting card with decoupage. £2.00 plus £1.00 postage, ref Misc10

  A5 sized blank greeting card with decoupage. £2.00 plus £1.00 postage, ref Misc11

 A5 sized getting card with 'Happy Anniversary' greeting printed on 160gsm card. £2.50 plus £1.00 postage, ref misc16.

 A5 sized tent folded greeting card with 'happy birthday' greeting. One of the first cards I did therefore £1.00 plus £1.00 postage as the stamping is not as clear as it should be. Ref Misc1.

A5 sized tent folded greeting card with 'Thinking of you' greeting. One of the first cards I did therefore £1.00 plus £1.00 postage as the stamping is not as clear as it should be. Ref Misc2.

 A5 sized tent folded greeting card with 'Happy Birthday' greeting. One of the first cards I did therefore £1.00 plus £1.00 postage as the stamping is not as clear as it should be. Ref Misc3.

 A5 sized tent folded greeting card with 'Happy Birthday' greeting. One of the first cards I did therefore £1.00 plus £1.00 postage as the stamping is not as clear as it should be. Ref Misc4.

New Shop

Well, people seem to be liking my cards, but not necessarily buying - which at the end of the day is the idea.  I know I haven't shown you any cards on my blog that you can buy....but...I have now set up a shop at a UK site called My Creations, an online shop for crafty thingmygigs - now including my cards.  The address is http://www.myowncreation.co.uk/search.asp?name=Fiona Stanton.  I hope you visit and have a good rummage, not just for my items but for the other excellent items on the site.

Fiona

Welcome to my blog... this is all very new to me so I hope I don't bore you.

I am Fiona, a happily married mother to two girls.  My eldest is in year 1 and my youngest is 2 and already doesn't want an afternoon sleep.  So if the blogs suddenly stop half way through it's probably because she has decided to empty the fridge or attack me with a hair brush. 

But what is Fi's Cards and Papercraft...well since I have been at home looking after the girls I have started dabbling in card making and thought I would put these new found skills to good use and sell them.  So this blog will chronicle my journey and try and sell a few (well all hopefully) of my creations.

The first card I will post isn't one you can actually buy - see I'm good at this sales thingymagig.  This was a card I created for my daughter's friend who had missed her 5th birthday party as she was poorly.  I sent a picture to Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine who featured the card in their October issue (issue 122) as their star card.  I was very proud. Even my husband smiled. So here it is!

I hope you like the card and more will follow.

 

Fiona