Sunday 29 September 2013

Handmade Monday 136

It's time for another Handmade Monday! These weeks sure do whiz by quickly these days!

There have been yet more Christmas projects for me this week.  I made some polymer clay tree decorations for Craftseller, using...

brown polymer clay and...

white polymer clay....

and a few other colours thrown in there too.

I also made some candles for the same magazine!  I am a newbie to candle making and I take my hat off to candle makers everywhere.  I really don't think I am patient enough to take it up permanently!

I was asked to make some candles using cookie cutters - the obvious problem here being that cookie cutters are designed to cut cookies and not contain melted wax.  I did my best to keep the wax in with extra foil scrunched under and around the cutter, and I think it did work - to an extent.  The good thing with overflowed wax is that it can easily be recycled by re-melting!

wax leakage!

What I really love about being asked to do things a little bit outside my comfort zone is that I get to have a go at things I wouldn't have tried otherwise and I gain a few new skills along the way.  I love that aspect of working for magazines!

Front cover!

And here's another rather lovely aspect of working for magazines: my campervan tea cosy made it onto the front cover of Sewing World magazine this month, which is very exciting!


What has your week been like?  I'd love to know! I'm hoping I'll have some time for blog visiting this week.  I really do miss it when time it short!

Friday 27 September 2013

Meet the Design Team: Valerie

Today I'm interviewing another member of the Handmade Harbour design team.  Come on in and find out more...

Who are you? Whereabouts in the world are you based?  
My name is Valerie, and I live just north of Chicago, Illinois, in the U.S. My husband and I have 4 great kids, and I work part-time in substitute teaching when I’m not being mom or crafting! Living in (near) Chicago is a great thing, except I sure do wish summer was longer!



When and why did you start cardmaking?

I’ve been scrapbooking my entire life, but I’d say I entered the “formal” world of scrapbooking 10 years ago. I discovered card making when I started my job at Archiver’s 3 years ago; I fell in love immediately!

What do you enjoy most about designing and making a card? 
Giving it to the recipient and letting them know that they’re THAT special.



What do you love about digital stamps?

The ease of getting them & being able to use them immediately, and the cost!

How many cards do you make in an average week?

2-3

Where do you do your crafting?  Do you have a dedicated craft room or do you take over the kitchen table? 

I am lucky in that I was able to convert my dining room into my craft room. We moved some furniture around, and it works wonderfully for me!



Do you ever sell the cards you make? If so, where?

I do have an Etsy store but I don’t use it often enough. I really need to update it.

Do you do other forms of craft too?  If so, what?

I scrapbook pages for albums



Who are your favourite craft bloggers?

I have so many that I love to follow! Too many! 

Finally, have you got a favourite Handmade Harbour image?

I love ALL the Homes & Shops images! (I’m also an architect, so these images really speak to me)


(just one of the homes and shops images)

Thank you Valerie for being interviewed - it was great getting to know a bit more about you!

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Midweek Papercraft Party (6)

It's time for another papercraft challenge!  Are you ready?

First up, allow me to announce a couple of winners from last week:





Yay!  Well done ladies - please email wendy@handmadeharbour.co.uk with your choice of three stamps from the Handmade Harbour digistamps store.

Winners are also entitled to a bit of showing off (of course!) by displaying the winner's badge - winners are welcome to grab it from the sidebar.



This week's theme is Friends or Family.  Let's see what the design team made.  They are always a great inspiration!

Lynne has made this gorgeous birdy card!  Check out Lynne's blog for some super card ideas as well as some other crafts.

http://scrapbooklynne.blogspot.ca/

Zoe made this super cute card using the hedgehogs on an armchair digistamp.  I love the colours in this one, the way Zoe's used them really bring that image to life, don't they?  Find out more on Zoe's blog.




Rachel has made a really pretty card - using the shoes and wine digi.  An unusual card with a lot of appeal! This would be great for a good friend, don't you think?  Great colour choices, too!



Are you inspired to join in with the challenge?  We'd love to see what you've made with the theme friends or family! I love to see Handmade Harbour digis being used - and it increases your chance of winning - but any papercraft project is welcome!

 If you'd like to play along, with the chance of winning some digital stamps...



Sunday 22 September 2013

Handmade Monday 135

Welcome to another Handmade Monday!

First off, I want to say a huge thank you for all your replies to my dilemma last week.  One of the best things about blogging has to be super helpful responses you get from other people.  You are truly amazing! Thank you so much.  It's helpful to know I'm not on the completely wrong track!

I haven't been doing as much sewing as I would like to recently.  I'm going to try and remedy that, as I recently got this fabric from Wholeport.


I just love these little cats, and I know a little girl who might love them even more.  I have an idea to make a kind of moveable "play scene" with them, inspired by the Fuzzy Felt I used to play with myself when I was little.  I was trying to work out if I needed some sort of fuzzy ground and felt backing on the little fabric images for this idea to work, and I figure probably don't - I think the images themselves will inspire imaginative play and story-telling.  But any ideas would be welcomed!


Some of the cats are a little bit bigger.  They'd make a great stuffed toy, picture on a bedroom wall or even a little bag.  I'm undecided on that one, but whatever I make I probably can't go wrong on the cute factor with these images!  Cute factor no problem then.  Time factor - well, that's another story...


I've got a couple of commissions from Craftseller this week, neither of which involve sewing, so I'm not sure if my sewing machine will actually see the light of day this week, despite my best intentions.  I'm going to be experimenting with candles and cookie cutters (more on that soon!) and polymer clay Christmas tree decorations, both of which sound like a lot of fun.

Over to you now! What's been going on in your world?

Wednesday 18 September 2013

Midweek Papercraft Party (5)

Hello! Welcome to another papercraft challenge.

Last week's papercraft party was a little bit too quiet for my liking, so in my bid to make it a little bit more lively (that is your invitation to join in!), I'm offering two prizes this week.  One is completely random and another is open to anyone who uses Handmade Harbour digis! (Check out the freebies - there is another new one this week and using a freebie entitles you to an extra chance of winning!)

So, whatever you join in with, you have a chance of winning three digistamps of your own choice from the Handmade Harbour shop.  What would you choose?

There is also a winner's button now!
Handmade Harbour

And I will hopefully be inviting one of you back very soon to be a guest designer, too.  Yay!

Meanwhile, I want to show you what the design team have been busy with - this week's theme is...

Happy Days!

Mary's mind is obviously on Halloween...I love how this looks, with the witches in front of a full moon!





Laura is a girl after my own heart - this sewing machine digistamp looks fab with the background of pieced stitching (I'm not sure if they are fabric or paper, but they look amazing!)







Look what Lynne has made this week (below) - I must admit I had never thought of being thankful for piles of laundry (ha! and definitely not for ironing!) but maybe this card will make me think about it from another viewpoint!  I must admit this particular washing line looks really pretty with all the gorgeous colours and sparkles!  

It's a gorgeous card, whether you can bring yourself to be thankful for laundry/ironing or not!!

Val also has her mind on Halloween - this card below is just so pretty, don't you think?  I love the detail - and just look at how the witch's gown and hat seem to shine - absolutely beautifully done.




Connie has made a delightful card, combining two digis, which would be a good card for Moms/Mums everywhere!  So sweet!


I also love Connie's witches - don't you?  That wording says: there are vegetarians coming over so it's eye of newt substitute.  The wording is included in the witches and cauldron digistamp.



Another Connie has made a beautiful scrapbook page - I love the pretty girliness of this one!


Last but not least is kel's card - these cats on cushions speak of happy days to me, how about you?  Pop over to kel's blog for more.



It would be lovely to have you join in with your papercraft project this week!  The theme of happy days might be one that would fit quite a range of projects!

You don't need to use a Handmade Harbour digi to join in, but there are a couple of free digital stamps available if you'd like to try them out.  If you're playing this week...

Sunday 15 September 2013

Handmade Monday 134

Hello! Welcome to Handmade Monday!

I have a dilemma this week and I'm not sure where I'm going with it - except to say I'm going public with it and asking for your opinions!  Here we go:

 Handmade Monday is popular and I feel I've made some really good blog friends through it (I think some of you feel the same way too).  We don't get hundreds of people linking, but we always get a good number, and there's always a good feeling of community, I think.  It has developed a bit of a life of its own, I feel.


So, I started the midweek papercraft party, thinking it might run along the same lines... and of course, hoping that it might help to promote my digital stamps, which is a new start up (many of you know how difficult new websites are to promote and get off the ground).  I expected that there would be less interest in the new linky party than in Handmade Monday, but I must admit I was disappointed that nobody has linked up this week.
It feels like it's doomed!  Am I doing something dreadfully wrong?

A few stats:  I have promoted the papercraft party in a few places.  There are 30,000 page views each month on this blog.  There are over 300 followers via Google and more via other blog readers.  Many of those won't be papercrafters though, because I blog about other stuff too.  Is it a numbers game, or is something else wrong?


I think that perhaps two linky parties a week on one blog may be too much.  So, do I combine the linky parties?  Do I kick one in touch?  Do I carry on regardless?

Some of my thinking is along the lines that I may be trying to do too much on one blog.  Am I?  Or am I trying to run before I can walk?


I have to think about the Handmade Monday crowd, I know that.  I also have to think about my design team: these are a group of lovely ladies who make the most wonderful cards and other papercraft projects with my designs and blog about them - for no other reward than some free digi stamps each month.  I think they deserve a blog post each week linking to their sites - a blog post which I had thought should really introduce a challenge to readers.  But does it need to?  Or perhaps: does it need to for now?

I do think some hard thinking is in order for me this week - and I would very much appreciate feedback from anyone who has any insight, ideas, opinions or advice to offer!


I think a few big thank yous are in order right now too!

- Firstly, thank you to everyone who links up to Handmade Monday because you remind me how fabulous the crafting community is.
- Secondly, thank you to the Handmade Harbour design team - you are all just amazing and I'm so grateful for your wonderful designs and enthusiasm.
- And thirdly, thank you to anyone who can help me sort my muddled thinking out a little!


Thanks also for reading my ramblings!  The images are all courtesy of the design team this week!

It's over to you now for this week's Handmade Monday...

Friday 13 September 2013

Meet the Design team: Deanne

Today I'm interviewing another of the design team - today it's Deanne.  Come and find out more...

Who are you? Whereabouts in the world are you based? 
My name is Deanne Stewart-Mills. I live in Sydney, Australia. I love where I live in Western Sydney – it is near where I grew up so it is familiar to me. I haven’t always lived here – I moved back and forth between Canberra and Sydney for many years, finally settling here about 12 years ago.


Deanne

When and why did you start cardmaking?  
I started cardmaking when my son, who is nearly 21 now, was only little. I had left work to be with him when he was 4 and started cardmaking as a way to fill in some time. I was really into 3D decoupage at the time, but moved on to rubber stamping from there. I really got into cardmaking when I moved back to Sydney for the last time (that 12 years ago). I joined a cardmaking class, and eventually took over the class. I have been teaching there now for over 8 years.

What do you enjoy most about designing and making a card?
Hmm, that’s a tricky question... I think I enjoy the whole creation process. I sometimes start with a particular colour scheme, but more often than not, I begin with the image and go from there. It all depends what mood I am in or what requirements the card has to fulfil – whether it is for a class, creating for a specific blog or Design team etc.



Deanne's card: cat on the armchair (with patchwork cushions) - find the digi here


What do you love about digital stamps?
Digi stamps are great! I love that there are so many varieties of images available in the digital format. I love that you can print them in any size, you can alter the colour of the outline and, if you have the skills (which I don’t) you can colour them with programs like photoshop and print them in colour. Also, they take up much less storage space in my craft room.



Deanne made this gorgeous card using the cat on cushions digi - 
there's a definite feline theme going on here!


How many cards do you make in an average week?
I used to make 3-4 cards a week. I used to be on a design team for an online scrapbooking shop, so there were lots of things I had to make and lots of deadlines. I was also teaching 3-4 times a week, so I had to have lots of cards ready to go. Since I resigned from the design team nearly 2 years ago, and dropped all but one class, I have been much more relaxed with my cardmaking. At the moment, I am only making 1-2 cards a week. This also has a lot to do with my craft space being totally overwhelmed by ‘stuff’. Which leads me to your next question...

Where do you do your crafting?  Do you have a dedicated craft room or do you take over the kitchen table?
I have a dedicated craft room, but I do tend to take over the dining area too. I have lots of hobbies, but cardmaking/stamping and crocheting are my babies at the moment. I also own 4 sewing machines (1 of which is nearly 50 years old) and more yarn than I have space to keep it. I like to spread out, so my cardmaking supplies tend to cover both desks I have set up in my craft room. I love it, because it is a very creative space.





Do you ever sell the cards you make? If so, where?
I used to sell lots of cards, but haven’t really been trying. My parents tend to buy lots of cards. I gave them a decorated tin full of cards for lots of occasions several years ago and they often purchase more (or ask me to make more) to fill in the various occasions that have been used up.

Do you do other forms of craft too?  If so, what?
As I mentioned above, I also do other crafts. I have dabbled in almost anything, including: cross stitch, long stitch, quilting, sewing, folk art painting, silk flower making, knitting, crochet, scrapbooking. My favourites though are cardmaking and crochet (which I teach one day a week at a community group). I also collect tea pots and tea cups. I have several lovely Royal Albert sets from my parents. Although I guess that’s more of a hobby than a craft.

Who are your favourite craft bloggers? 
Handmade Harbour (of course), The Graphics Fairy (lots of beautiful free vintage images), Lucy at Attic24 (fabbo crochet blog) and Sarah London (another great crochet blog). I follow quite a few blogs; too many to name them all here. I tend to follow blogs with inspiring images and crafts. Bloggers who use bright, cheerful colours and images are usually the ones that catch my eye, and is one of the reasons I love Handmade Harbour and Lucy’s blog so much. They are also fun and interesting to read.


Finally, have you got a favourite Handmade Harbour image?
Another tough question. I don’t have one particular favourite, but I do really like bird images, the sewing machines and the humorous images.



the humorous birthday digital stamp Deanne used in her card (above).

Thanks so much Deanne for a great interview!  I always love reading about where people find their inspiration, which blogs they like reading and how they like working creatively - thanks for sharing with us!

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Midweek Paper Party (4)

Hello and welcome to our papercraft challenge!  This week's theme is Fun or Funny!

Unfortunately, last week nobody used a Handmade Harbour digistamp so we don't have a winner this week, which makes me sad - I like to give some free stamps to a winner!!  At the bottom, you'll find out how you could be in with a chance of winning this week without having to buy anything.  I would LOVE to see more people using Handmade Harbour digis!!

For inspiration, let's have a look at what the design team made!

I love what Lynne did with the cute monster digistamp!  His googly eyes and tuft of fluffy hair just add to his uber-cuteness!


Rachel's card uses the retired couple digistamp and it looks great (below):







Deanne's kitten Smudge got in on the act again (read more on Deanne's blog) ...



but Deanne still managed to make these fab cards:




(love her hair, above - so shiny!!)


I love the sense of depth in the one above.  

 Zoe used the same image but came up with a totally different card (below) - very girly with all that pink, and a sense of depth again, achieved in a totally different way! The humorous enormous cake digistamp is a popular one!





If you are inspired to join in this week, we'd love to have you.  If you'd like to try a free Handmade Harbour digistamp, pop over to the free digistamps page.  There's a brand new one to download!  Don't be put off by it asking for your email address - you won't be put on a mailing list.

If you use one of the Handmade Harbour stamps (including the freebies) you will be in with a chance of winning three digistamps of your choice from the Handmade Harbour store.

To join in with the papercraft challenge this week, please simply leave a link to your blog post!




Tuesday 10 September 2013

Brand New Digital Stamps!

Maybe "hot off the press" is not quite the right terminology, but "freshly scanned" doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?

Anyway, here's the very latest digital stamp - a jewellery shop (or perhaps jewelry store for our transatlantic friends) called JEWLZ.

I love the shops category and enjoy thinking up new shops to draw!  If you have an idea for one I've not done yet, do leave me a comment!

I have a whole batch of images ready to be scanned, so that's my next task this afternoon. After that, they'll need cropping, resizing and watermarking for displaying on the website ... speaking of which, watch out for them being posted on the website soon.

You can always check out what's new at the Handmade Harbour new digital stamps page.

Sunday 8 September 2013

Handmade Monday 133

Welcome to Handmade Monday.

I delved into the old family photographs this week (for crafting purposes!) and this image is the one I've been working with.

Hello Dolly!

Isn't she gorgeous?  She is my grandma - her name was Dolly - pictured in the early 1920's.  She was born in 1903 and had her first baby (my dad) in 1928.

Grandma first taught me how to sew when I was about 7 or 8 - I made some horrendous dolls' outfits and gonks (remember them, anyone?) - so I think she would be doubly proud that her image is being used on a vintage-style handbag that I've made for Craftseller magazine.

fabric image and hand stitched fabric "frame"

It's felt like quite a personal project and I've really enjoyed it.  I think my decision to do some hand stitching around the image may have been subconsciously influenced by those sewing sessions I had with Grandma in the 1960's, with the fabric samples and thread she brought home from the shirt works.  I still have some of those sewing threads!

What have you been making this week?

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Midweek Papercraft Party (3)

Welcome to another Papercraft Party!  

First up, last week's winner is:

Lesley Fox 

from Crafty Li'l Lel who created a fab card from the free cupcake digi stamp

Thanks for taking part Lesley (and well done!!) - please choose three digis from the Handmade Harbour shop as your prize and email wendy@handmadeharbour.co.uk with your choice!

Back to this week! This week's theme is smile (or laugh).  I'd love to see what you create for this!  For a little bit of inspiration, would you like to see what the design team has been creating?  OK then, here we go...

Valerie tells me she couldn't help creating a set of cards!  They're all 4" x 4" and you can find out more on her blog.  I love the bright colours - she's done an amazing job!  





Anita  didn't stop at just one card either!  This young beginner witch was made by combining two stamps.  She's reading a spelling book and I love how Anita has got some witch-themed spellings into the background, too.  I love how Anita's cards seem so full of colour and light.

The potions on the card above and below came from the witch's potion shelf digital stamp but the witch above is the young witch with spelling book digistamp


And (below) don't you love what she did here?  That enormous cake the ladies are eating has been reproduced underneath the main image as half-eaten cakes!  What a super card!  You can find the stamp on the humorous digital stamps page.



Mary's thoughts for the theme of smile were photographic!  I love that the camera digi stamp has been left as a black and white image, backed up by a really simple colour scheme.  A cool card with a great message for all of us!



For "smile" Laura chose to use toddler Emily with rabbit digistamp because she puts a smile on her face (mine too!  The real Emily - my granddaughter and inspiration - is asleep on my sofa as I am writing this).  I particularly love the simple (but very effective) technique Laura describes for paper piecing which she used on Emily's and the rabbit's dresses.  It's well worth checking out the tutorial on Laura's Crafty Lawyer Creates blog where she describes how she achieved this look...



Kel says she's not a wine drinker but she said she can't help smiling at this image!  I'm sure there's a wine lover out there who would love to receive this card! It's certainly a pretty good digi stamp for a wine drinker!


 Connie made a gorgeous scrapbook page on the theme of smile, with a cute cupcake image on there.  Those cuties in the photo certainly make this worthy of a smile and the whole page has such a happy feel.

     
If you've made a card (or other papercraft project) that fits our theme of smile (or laugh), then please do link up and show us!  We'd all love to see it.  If you've used Handmade Harbour stamps in your design, you may win some free digi stamps!

To try Handmade Harbour stamps free, check out our freebies!  Or look at the humorous digi stamps for a bit more inspiration on the theme of smile and laugh!