Tuesday 27 December 2011

Christmas over, prepare to greet 2012

I do hope you all had a very happy holiday.  Ours went very well with a lovely Christmas Eve with my daughter, her partner and his teenage children.  During the evening we Skyped my family in Australia for whom it was already Christmas morning and watched the grandchildren busy with their presents.  They were getting ready to go off to the beach for Christmas lunch!  A quiet morning and a late afternoon (very grown-up) Christmas lunch at a local hotel followed.  My 91 year old mother who, as many of you will know had a fall and fractured her pelvis managed, with the help of a wheechair and helpful family members, to join us and have a lovely time.  Before I set off with her we spoke to my brother who lives in America and was only just starting his day.  What an around the world Christmas!

Back to what we are doing with Katie Chucklemouse.  This week I want to show you the first piece we are putting on Etsy.  It's one of the first pieces I made in order to decide on a design for our Toy/Laundry Bag.  You will see changes to the design with the piece I am going to show you over the next few weeks until we decided on the final one.



I hope the help I have been given on my favorite forums when it comes to taking better photos is beginning to show and that you are getting a good view!  Don't forget you can click on the photos to get a better view.

One of this weeks jobs is to set up the Etsy shop and then this will appear so keep you fingers crossed that I can work out what to do!


Tuesday 20 December 2011

Another Tuesday, another post

I thought I would let those of you who haven't been in on the thinking process into the name and logo we have chosen for our new company.  My daughter Kate said she liked my ideas for a crafty business and would like to be involved.  I spent a while looking for a crafty name which would cover a variety of items and then I had a lightbulb moment.  When my daughter, the now grown up Kate, was little, her dad was in love with her chuckle; it was the sort that should be prescribed on the NHS, it made you feel so good.  So he called her Katie Chucklemouse and that was just the name we needed.  So

was born!

We started with lots of ideas and one of the first things I made was:



Lots and lots of little lavender bags in Cath Kidston fabric to go at the front of our stall when we go to our first craft fair.  The whole house smelled of lavender while I was making them - lovely.  (There are quite a few more than are here).

I think we are aiming for Easter for the first fair but we are also looking at online selling and more. Next week I will start to show you some of the other items I researched and where I got with them.

Happy crafting and a very Happy Christmas to you all.



Tuesday 13 December 2011

Such a long break

I am so sorry that I haven't been keeping up with my blogging.  In an effort to update you with what I have been making I am starting on the backlog today.  Strangely, as I have only made a few cards and done a lot more sewing since I was last in touch, the first item is a card


I did this for a WI competition (which I won and felt very pleased with myself).  I love the Tim Holtz Old  Jalopy Die and have plans to use it in a very different way later on but it gave me the basis for this card.  The card blank was a gorgeous Hunky Dory card which I had great difficulty using as it was so beautiful.


The Guipure Lace is from Wild Orchid.  Beware if you go to this shop.  I have just been to check the link and they have some very exciting pins.  The "congratulations" was made on my Cricut machine.  The pearls where from my stash and I am not sure where I got them.  The "veil" was a circular wedding favour net, again from my stash.



 I put the silver tissue paper through the cuttlebug in a pretty folder. The box was totally over the top and didn't go to the competition.  It was a spare fold-a-box box that I had and which I trimmed with matching lace.



Tuesday 6 September 2011

I’ve just found I am not as tall as I thought I was …

I have so much on my “to do” list at the moment and that includes painting my bedroom.   The bedrooms at Granny Crafting Cottage go right up into the roof with a beam across the middle of the ceiling so the walls are very high.  Every time I go in at the moment I am reduced to chuckles as you can see that, even with the pads on a long extension, I can’t reach the top of the walls.  I shall have to talk very nicely to my daughter when I have finished all of it to come round and just finish the bits at the top!
One reason I am so busy is because I received a commission for two of my Christmas stockings!  I have also sold the little apron I did so I am thrilled that some of what I do has been so well received.  I’m not sure if you can tell from the photos but the stockings are almost 20” long so lots of knitting. 

In between the painting and knitting I have enjoyed making another card for a forum friend and it’s the first I have done since I got my Cricut and both the flowers and the sentiment were made with the cartridge that came with it.


Otherwise the paper (I sadly can’t remember where it came from) was so lovely I didn’t want to spoil it by matting over it, so I have kept it very simple. 
Part of the reason for painting the bedroom is to allow me to use the bedroom I was in as a craft room.  So I am very excited about that.
 

Sunday 4 September 2011

The Great Northern Quilt Show

I had a lovely day at Great Northern Quilt show yesterday and thought I would let you know how it’s coloured my thinking on sewing.   In the quilt show area there were the most stunning quilts but sadly I could not bring you photos of them as there is an understandable "no photos" rule.  The many stalls contained the tools I am becoming more familiar with and lots and lots of lovely fabric.  I managed to get some plain cottons for which I have been looking for some while.
There were lots of patterns available too and several book stalls.  The one thing I didn’t find was anyone showing the Accuquilt  Fabric cutter and I would have loved to see a demonstration of that.  As die cutting machines go it is expensive and I am still unsure whether to go for that or for the Big Shot or Big Shot Pro.  There are quilting dies made for the Big Shot but obviously it’s not dedicated to quilting so there aren’t as many as for the Accuquilt Go.
I did manage to get one photo – of the famous Jennie Rayment. 

I asked if I might take a photo (and explained that I wasn’t a great photographer) and if she would mind if I put it on my blog.  She was lovely and asked what my interest was and why the blog.  When I explained and mentioned the crafty forums I belong to she updated me with the times, etc., of her next shows on C & C.  She is on at 19th September at 8 a.m.  and 2 p.m.  and she will be showing the 30o and 45o templates (see below) and also something for children.

So, what were my thoughts by the end of the day?  I decided that I still wanted to know more about basic quilting to add to my general sewing but that I was stunned by the dedication of the expert quilters.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Not much time for crafting ...

... but this is a card I've made for a forum friend.


The papers are from my much loved Kaisercraft Chanteuse Collection  and the stamp is a delightful Lili of the Valley one


Using glitter and gems does not come naturally to me but the cup cakes just had to have them!

Sunday 14 August 2011

And Finally I've Finished ...

The Christmas Stockings I have been knitting.  I've really enjoyed making them and hope you find them fun too.




I just want to make one of the cable ones in the red and then I have the complete set!



Monday 8 August 2011

News from Sheena's blog

As regular readers will know I am adicted to a particular stamp of the great lady.  For those of us who were drawn to stamping by Sheena ... there is more to come on Friday.  Go to Sheena's blog to find out even more about it.

On the home front, I am busy knitting Christmas Stockings which I will put up on here as soon as the last one is off the needles!

Friday 22 July 2011

The End of Another Week ...

... and an important birthday for one of the younger members of our family; she is 13 and a bright and brilliant teenager.  She is quite a girly girl and I wanted to make a card that recognised her as a young adult - hopefully this will do the trick.



The papers were Nit-wits ones and the flowers were from Kaisercraft.  Both the sentiment and the digi-stamp were from Pink Petticoat , coloured with Pro-markers.  The sentiment and the mat behind the stamp are highlighted with Ranger Distress Ink - Victorian Velvet.



It's a bit difficult to see (clicking on the picture helps) but, instead of making a lid for this box I have used printable accetate (an idea borrowed from a forum friend) and printed with a background from the MCS CD "A Piece of Cake"

Friday 15 July 2011

They've all gone home

No little Aussies to play with any more and consequently I had a few very sad days.  I then realised each day takes us nearer the next time! 

I haven't been able to do a great deal of crafting but I did make a card for a forum friend and wanted to share that with  you.







The backing paper was from the lovely Kaisercraft "After Five Collection" which my lovely daughter-in-law brought over from Australia for me.  The peacock was printed from a Polka Doodles "Back to Nature" CD and the Happy Birthday stamp is from the Beauty is a State of Mind Stamp Set. 

I have been determined to use the nets I had from when made favours and the flowers are made from nets die cut into flower shapes and then the edges heated with a heat gun. 

Hope you are all enjoying the summer holidays!

Thursday 7 July 2011

I know I have been missing ...

... but it was all for a good cause.  We have had my son, his wife and children over from Australia!  We have had a wonderful time but they packed so much in.  Currently they have gone to "Europe" for a little break with an old school friend of my sons but they are back on Friday so I thought I would pop in a little chat while we have a bit of down time.  Obviously, I have taken time off to be with them so very little crafting has been done but I thought I would show you a card I made for a forum friend recently.



I have set myself the task to find things within my stash at the moment and the topper came from a My Craft Studio CD which I had completely forgotten about. 

The next card should be interesting as my lovely daughter-in-law brought me loads of Kaiser-craft (an Australian company) stash.  I'm a lucky Granny! 

So many projects in my mind at the momement so should be back on here very soon.  We only have my little Aussie grandchilden (and their parents) until Sunday and then I will want and need to be busy!!!

Monday 6 June 2011

And now for some knitting

I have a little one person teapot and I decided to design a tea cosy especially for it!


I used the bubble or bobble stitch and highlighted each one with white.  I made it in one piece rather then the normal two as I don't think joins add to such a small piece and the hole for the spout looks neater that way.  The coin in front is a £1 one just to give you an idea of the size of the pot - it's not what I charge for a cuppa!

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Decided to do the simplest card I could


I really wanted to use some kraft card I have and this is what happened.  I just stamped the little girl directly onto the card and coloured it with watercolour pencils.  I then toned the card with distress inks and dusters. I then stamped on the sentiment in the pink distress ink put on the ribbon and mounted on a cream card.  The simplest yet! 

Friday 20 May 2011

Busy doing ... ...

Hi to you all.  I feel I can say this now I have some followers (you nice, kind people).  
It’s been a busy week in Granny Crafting cottage with my weekly trip out to take Great Granny (aged 90) shopping and planning ahead for the “Visitors from Australia”. 
My son moved out there some years ago, tempted by a beautiful Australian and now they are coming to visit us in five weeks’ time bringing with them my two wonderful grandchildren so Great Granny, Auntie (my darling daughter) Papa (granddaughter’s name for her Grandpa) and I are all full of plans and excitement.  The children are even going to get to meet their cousins once removed (my nieces) one of whom is coming to  Yorkshire from America and one from the deep south of England!
Because of the distractions I seem to have only started and not finished projects (does this happen to you?) so I am going to show you a card I made a few weeks ago.  I sent it to a lovely forum friend on Craft Telly Forum for her birthday and she kindly photographed the unwrapping.  It was so nice making for a fellow crafter – it let me take all the brakes off!  This was also the first box  I have made but I knew if it wasn’t quite right the recipient would understand the thoughts.




Happy crafting for the coming week and I will try to apply myself to actually finishing projects!

For information:  The backing paper on the cards is from Joanna Sheen Precious Petals CD and the larger flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.  The dies I used are the lovely Spellbinders Fleur De Lis Border and Pendant.

Sunday 15 May 2011

A Cushion of Hearts

I have been determined to see if I could use my dies and die cutting machine, that I use for card making, for fabrics.  This cushion is the result of a bit more investigation in that direction.



The backing is simple calico and the individual hearts are then satin stiched in place.  The cover is a simple envelope style one.

Thursday 5 May 2011

My First Bag

Made this bag up yesterday.  I'm not sure what happened to my crafty Tuesday but it became Wenesday this week ... I think it's because of all the bank holidays!  Right - the bag:


I learnt quite a bit making this so I think there will be more bags in the future. (If you click on the picture you should get a larger view)


Making it double sided is an interesting proceedure.  You leave a gap in the stiching at the bottom of the inside and then pull everything through!

While I'm reporting back on bags can I mention the give away on the Ribbon Girl Blog ... now there's a bag to covet!

Thursday 28 April 2011

I hope the cards are getting better but I know the photos are!

I have used some of my favourite colours in making this card as they went so well with the decoupage.  This was the from the wonderful Reddy range.

The lovely background papers were from Pink Petticoat's Vintage Rose collection which I have found I can use in a very different style cards.  I love being able to download papers as there is often something missing when I start to put a card together and downloads really help.


This was the first time I had used these particular spellbinder dies but it won't be the last as I can see them fitting in to lots of different designs.  My daughter saw the card and seemed fixated by the button covered to match the backing paper - I'm not sure why, but I didn't complain as she arranged for her partner's daughter to take the photos for me and I really couldn't have done the decoupage justice otherwise.


I must admit I haven't been very keen on decoupage until I came across these but they are so finely die cut that I loved working with them. 

Saturday 16 April 2011

My most recent card

This was the card I did for Mother's day and I was lucky to find what I felt was an appropriate backing paper in my stash.


I felt the doily worked really well for this card too ...


... so I used it again on the inside!


I used the Reddy decoupage and hope this photo shows just how deep and detailed they are but my photography skills definitely need to improve!!!  (If you click on the photos you can see greater detail)
Because I loved the little girl so much I wanted to try paper piecing and this was the card I made for my darling granddaughter's 3rd birthday.  I also wanted to try the "out of the box" method with nesties and was very pleased with the way I got her leaning into the circle.


The papers are all from the Honey and Hugs series.  I decided to keep the large flowers a bit flatter than I usually would as it seemed to suit the paper style. 



I have still been making cards

I thought I ought to show the most recent cards I have made - it's not all sewing!

 

I did these two to practice my water colouring, not intending to mount them on to cards but it seemed a shame not to.  They are very good sized stamps and they are, of course, Sheena's (http://www.sheena.tv/)
As you will see I have become adicted to the little girl.