Handmade Monday 123

Hello! Welcome to Handmade Monday!

This week has been one of those that is fraught with setbacks - mostly computer ones, which seem sorted now but it definitely takes time out of your week trying to sort them out!  There are a few long and boring stories which are probably best left alone...

I have fitted in a bit of sewing time though, and finally made the campervan tea cosy for Sewing World magazine.  I can't show you the whole thing yet but here's a sneak peek:

Regular readers may recognise some of that fabric.  This tea cosy was made almost entirely from leftovers!

In other news, I'll be doing a giveaway for digi stamps soon - with a difference.  I'll be swapping digi stamps for tutorials - pop back to find out more about this soon.

But, as ever, it's time for Handmade Monday and your links.  It's always a treat to take a bit of time to mooch around the blogs that link up!  Come and join me...

Handmade Monday 122

Hello and welcome to Handmade Monday!

I've been taking some time off this week!

We took ourselves off to Somerset and stayed in a lovely village (or small town? I'm not sure!) called

for a very restful week!

We spent our days just pottering, sometimes quite aimlessly....

Long walks on mostly very empty beaches

with no shortage at all of fossils to discover

and cliffs to admire and wonder at (it would be a geologist's dream here)

gorgeous wild coastal flowers to brighten up an already bright day

beautiful villages to explore

steam trains to watch (and ride on!)

which left from the most beautifully-kept train stations I've ever seen!

And even little water-powered trains which carried us almost vertically up a cliff

Sharing chips with seagulls

A little bit of sketching (but not much, to be honest!)

And watching spectacular sun sets over the sea - from our holiday cottage's little back yard right next to the water!

The weather was mixed but mostly pretty much OK and we came back rested and happy (but ready to get stuck back into work, which is just as well as I've spent the weekend trying to play catch up).

What has your week been like?  Do leave your link and I might actually get round and visit some of you this week, seeing as there are no beach views to distract me any more!

Get Well Soon - Digi Stamps

Three of my newest digi stamps are get well soon images!  I didn't plan it that way, but I guess people who are ill don't plan things that way either!

There's this one for someone who's feeling under the weather - with some additional sentiments included

and this one that would make the get well soon sentiment centre of attention

and this one showing a little boy in bed with his head bandaged - get well soon and sorry you're not feeling well sentiments are included on this one.

I hope you don't need them (because that would mean someone feels poorly)!  But if someone is feeling ill and you do need to rustle up a card to cheer them up, these images now on the Get Well Soon Digistamps section on Handmade Harbour, along with some other images that might work if you're making a get well soon card.

And if you need an image for a last-minute card, then you're OK - these are all instantly downloadable.  You'll get an email straight after purchase with your download link.

I'm really enjoying making these digistamps - I'm hoping my customers are enjoying crafting cards with them just as much!

Handmade Monday 121

Hello and welcome to Handmade Monday.

I've gathered some fabrics together for making a tea cosy for Sewing World magazine (in the shape of - shhhh... don't tell anyone yet - a campervan).  I had hoped to have got a bit further with this project this week, but it wasn't to be!  

This is my latest upload to the website - my fairy digital stamp, which comes with the sentiment dust off those wings and soar!

Remember my sketchpad pouch (below)?  I'm hoping it will see some action this week!  I'll let you know next week if it does...

What have you been doing (or making) this week?

Digital Stamps - Baby under a Patchwork Quilt

When I was planning the new Handmade Harbour website, I asked for testers to check the digistamps worked OK.  It was fab to see what people had done with the images.  Today I want to show you how different one image can look when different people put their own creative stamp on it

I loved what my testers did with this baby under a patchwork quilt digi...

Felicity's was a lovely colour scheme for a little girl...

and Kym made some tags.  This worked out well for her as she makes quilts for new babies!  The image looks good left black and white - I love these little tags that Kym came up with!

Keryn made the quilt to match the patchwork backing paper that was also part of my test batch...

This was the backing paper she used (below).  They work well together, don't you think?  I hadn't planned it that way, but it reminded me that I need to think along the lines of things being used together!

I love the blues and greens in this one by Deanne - it feels very restful and calm.

And this one by Anne Marie with its natural background is a little bit different - it makes a very lovely card for a little boy:

I really love seeing what other people are doing with my images.  I think I'm going to really enjoy this journey!

I'll be sorting out putting a design team together in the next couple of weeks, and I will be aiming to upload new stamps every week.  Do check back if you think you might be interested in either!  If you want to, you can browse my digi stamps here.

Handmade Monday 120

Welcome to Handmade Monday - click the link for more info.

How I wish my internet worked in the garden - this week has been so sunny (if you're in the UK, you'll already know that much... and how much of a rarity it's been in recent years!) but I've been joined at the hip to my laptop and not been able to enjoy the sunshine quite as much as I'd like.  For some reason, the internet won't work outside our four walls - something to do with the density of the engineering brick it's built from, I believe (that's the house, not the internet).

After launching my website last week, I've been emailing back and forth with Create (my new website host).  There has been a hitch with the instant downloadables - which means I've had to email customers after they've purchased something, as their download hasn't always worked.  Not so instant a download as it should be!

Some of the newer images on there do now work as an instant download, but the "fix" hasn't worked for everything.  I'm so hoping I don't have to list them all again! Nothing is ever plain sailing, is it?

I did have some good news this week - I was emailed by Quick Cards Made Easy magazine, who want to feature one of my digistamps on their shopping pages!  Hopefully, it will be in issue 116, out in July.  I was rather excited to be "spotted" so soon after launching!!

Meanwhile, here are a couple of my newer images, both created this week:

This digital stamp for Dad would work for a birthday as well as Father's Day (which is next Sunday, so I'm rather late for that bandwagon!)

And this save water drink wine digi stamp would work as a piece of fun wall art, as well as a card for someone who might appreciate the joke...

These images are available as digital stamps on Handmade Harbour (and will work as an instant download!)

What have you been making this week?

Edited to add: Sorry everyone, I thought I had fixed the problem, but it's still showing up as collection closed.  I don't know if it's something I've done, or if changes at InLinkz (there are some this week) have caused some problem.  I will try to fix it as soon as possible if I can - sorry!  You can leave a link to your blog in the comments in the meantime...

And again...thanks for your patience!  I think it's fixed now...

Pin it Forward UK

You might remember my excitement a few weeks back at being invited to a party in London hosted by Pinterest.

Well, the main reason for that party was the official launch of Pinterest in the UK.  Yes, we've always been able to use it, but they are trying to make it more relevant to us over here and one of the things they've been doing is promoting bloggers' pin boards to new people signing up.  I've noticed a heck of a lot of people signing up to follow my Handmade board on Pinterest during May, so it's obviously kicked off well!

Bloggers have been taking it in turns to tell you about Pinterest as part of the #pinitforwardUK campaign and today it's my turn.  Yesterday was the turn of the lovely Colleen at The Magic Bean - thank you for introducing me, Colleen!

If you don't know why Pinterest might be relevant to you, just indulge me while I sum up the way I see it...

Pinterest is an amazing way to collate images and links.  It's described as a social network, but you really don't have to use it in a social way for it to work well for you.  I collect images that inspire me and links I might want to revisit - it really is that simple (and that clever!).  When you also share images from your small business or blog, you'll find they help drive traffic your way, too.  Pinterest is actually my biggest referrer (after Google) to this blog, which is all the more amazing because that isn't why I use it.

I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in visual collections - crafters, artists and designers would all love it.  And if you are planning a new home, a garden redesign, a wedding or party, or just want to learn something new... then you'll be able to collate ideas, inspiration and website links on Pinterest - it's a bit like a giant, online, well-organised scrapbook, which you can share (or keep all to yourself - there's an option for secret pinboards too!).

If you are new to the whole Pinterest thing, feel free to join Pinterest here (this link will tell them I sent you and you can follow my Handmade board automatically).
If you are already on Pinterest, you can view and follow all my pin boards here, although it's possible you might wonder what on earth some of them are all about.  They work for me - I'm currently collecting inspiration and ideas, some of which will kick off ideas I can use in illustrations for my digi stamps!  Others are just stuff I admire.  And others are links to sites I want to be able to find again.

What do you/will you do with Pinterest?

Free Digital Stamp...

My digital stamps website is finally live (yay!!) and to celebrate, I'd like to offer you a free digital stamp!

Because cake seems to be central to so many celebrations (and  with good reason) I thought it might be nice to share some cake.

But the cake in this case is a digi stamp and you'll find it here: free cake digital stamp

I also have an apology.  The download link wasn't working, but that's now fixed.  If you tried to download and were disappointed, I'm so sorry.  Hopefully the free cake will help to make up for it!

PS: There have been teething problems with the new website too.  Only to be expected, I guess.  But it's now out there and you're more than welcome to have a virtual wander around it... you'll find it at Handmade Harbour (.com and .co.uk both take you there - I feel like I'm recommending bus routes!).

Handmade Monday 119

Hello and welcome to another Handmade Monday.

I've been playing with fabric and glue again...

which always seems to me to be such a lovely way of earning money!  I really can't think of any better job, to be quite honest.

The last time I did something similar was this upcycled travel case featured in this month's Craftseller magazine (there's a matching passport holder and luggage tag)

My fabric-covered plant pots are in the same issue (it's in the shops on Tuesday, if you're tempted - it's a great read, as usual).  I love the photography:

Oops... I almost forgot (how could I?!) ... my other news this week is that my new digital crafts website launches tomorrow (Monday) - assuming no technical-type hitches trip me up along the way.  Anything's possible ... but do pop along for a little look, if you have a spare minute or two.  Any feedback will be welcome.

So, what's new in your world?