Really..... You have got to be Kidding!!

I received this months copy of Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine in the post yesterday. It has been delayed because of problems with the supplier ( Brexit ?), but they had emailed and explained that. What I really find hard to believe is that they claim their 'biggest kit ever' that came with it is worth £45.99

when I excitedly opened it,  I was confronted with .....

Now, I watch Hochanda and Create & Craft channels on TV, so I am used to seeing overpriced card making kits (Yes, Tattered Lace, I am talking about you!) - but this takes the biscuit.

This 52 piece kit contains an embossing folder only 3 inches square, 3 tiny metal dies ( don't bother, its easier to cut out the plant pot by hand) and a set of very small herb related stamps. There are the names of 9 different herbs in 2 different fonts - so that's 18 stamps for a start. However these name stamps are only 1 or 2 cm long. There are no cards, envelopes, charms, stickers,  ribbons or other embellishments included in this, so called, kit. 

But I shouldn't forget the digital papers and templates I could download - well, I will forget about them as I don't print off background papers on my home printer - have you seen the price of ink cartridges! There is also an SVG cutting file to download, but that is useless too, as I only have a big shot manual die cutter. How can they claim that this is worth £45.99???

Now I can understand why the price has gone up to £6.99 per issue, but really, who are they kidding on the price of this 'kit'. Who, in the real world, would spend nearly 50 quid on it?

The freebies that came recently with Papercraft Essential magazine and Creative Stamping Magazine were so much better (rant over).                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Papercraft Essentials 196

 

This months issue of  Papercraft Essentials Magazine had a lovely Woodland Collection topper pad as its freebie, with some sentiments for Mothers Day included

 

So it seemed a good idea to make some cards with it!

And there are still loads of elements, papers and sentiments left.

Embossing & Glittering

 

Now that I am switching to Nuvo Drops, I decided to try and use up some of the old bottles of Stickles and other glitter glue I have hanging around. So I dug out some embossing folders that haven't been used a while, embossed the backs of some old Christmas cards and spread the different glues across the depressions and left to dry

These have then been used as glittery backgrounds for some more cards.

By using 3 different colours you get a nice varigated effect.

A good way of stretching the imagination and experimenting with a different technique.

and a fun way of passing more time in lockdown!

Old Tattered Lace Magazine dies

 

Tattered Lace magazines can be quite expensive, so I like to make sure that I use their freebie dies as often as possible. This cute elephant dates from April 2019 ( issue  65)  and has been used to make loads of new  baby cards

The pirate die and papers come from issue 71

This purple flower is from a more recent issue, 86. Its supposed to be a wild fuchsia , but to me looks more like a violet!

Three of a kind

 

I made 3 cards yesterday using the Formula 1 racing car image that came in the magazine I bought last month, as you can see they are very similar but with slight variations in layout, colours, wording and backing papers. 

I'm going to be hunkering down this weekend, as the forecast is for snow, which seems a very good excuse to stay in the craft room and make more cards!

temptation....

 

Well, I know I shouldn't, but I went onto the Tonic website to check out their range of Nuvo drops and they had this collection of their Glitter Drops on special offer at 40% off - I just couldn't resist.

So I am going through the cards that I have already made and adding lots of glitter drop embellishments to them, a great job for a wet and miserable afternoon!

Getting a Nuvo Collection

 

For many years I have used Ranger Liquid Pearls to add embellishment to my cards, but I have got fed up of having to clear the nozzles with a pin every time I want to use them. So I am gradually swapping to Nuvo drops, as they don't seem to suffer from nozzle clogging.

They are more expensive, but the bottles are nearly twice the size and so last much longer.

So far I have 6 bottles of Crystal drops, 2 bottles of the translucent Jewels drops, 2 bottles of Glitter drops and 2 bottles of vintage drops. I think there are over 100 different colours and types, so I have a long way to go!

Feeling Sporty

 

There are loads of different sports depicted in the freebie stamps with this months Creative Stamping Mag!

This means I shall be making loads of cards for the sports fans around, practically every popular sport is included.

Embossing again

 

The freebie embossing folder from Simply Cards Magazine is proving to be very inspirational, here are another couple of cards using a different colour scheme and incorporating the stamps that were also free with issue 213

And then this simple  'Thinking of You' card shows how it looks debossed on the other side

Not Going Out

 

I am happy to comply with government instructions and stay indoors, when it is snowing like this outside. Snow that lays is a bit of a novelty in Suffolk and we may only get it a couple of times a year.

Of course, the other good reason to stay inside, is to sit in my lovely craft room and play with my new embossing folder. I have used it in several different colour schemes and styles now.

This could be a popular addition to my stack of embossing folders!

Back in the craft room

 

At last I can move back into the craft room! It has had a new ceiling, all walls skimmed and painted a very pale gray colour. All it needs is a new carpet, but that can wait until after lockdown finishes.

I also got the new issue of Simply Cards magazine in the post today and can't wait to try out the new embossing folder that came with it!

Work in Progress

 

Its going to be at least another week before I can get into the craft room.  Unfortunately we have had to replace the ceiling, what a mess that made! Plastering starts on Monday with decorating on Thursday & Friday.

Last chance to craft for a while

 

.... as tomorrow I have to empty my craft room as it is being re-decorated next week. It was last decorated over 15 years ago! We were hoping to get a new carpet too, but that will have to wait until we get out of Tier 4.  This little bedroom has so much stuff crammed into it, that it will take a while for it all to be removed and stacked elsewhere. Certainly makes me realise how much stuff I have accumulated over the years!!

I won't be dancing the night away

 There will be no dressing up, putting on the heels and partying away the night this New Years Eve, will there - however happy we are to see the back of 2020! 

Looks like it will be a cosy night in watching Great British Sewing Bee and Skyfall, and a bit of gin might be consumed.

Peace on Earth

 Well, it will be a peaceful Christmas this year - no dashing down motorways to visit relatives, no elbowing crowds at the supermarkets to get the last sprouts and, for so many people, the day spent on their own with just the TV for company. 

I, like millions of others, are heading for Tier 4 lockdown on Boxing Day.  Will be sad not to see the wider family over festive time, but all presents have been delivered and the house is warm and full of food - I also feel very lucky that all my family are still  here and healthy.

Wishing you all peace and harmony over Christmas

Having a Play

 

Having finished all my Christmas cards and with plenty of time on my hands, I got out the Cosmic shimmer polishes to have a play with. The Blushed Peach opal polish is great because on black card ( above) it comes out pink, but on white card it goes on as a peachy cream! Two shades for the price of one.

I also wanted to make some some masculine cards, as they make great metallic type backgrounds used on embossed black and kraft card stock

JoJo's Jungle Bargain

 

I bought this JoJo's Jungle decoupage toppers pad this week at the Range, normally £5 it was reduced to £3 - but when I got to the checkout it was reduced again and only cost me £1.50!

I bought it because it would be great to help make cute kids birthday cards ....

and the images are great for both boys and girls!

Scrapbooking for a change ...

 

Whilst tidying out some drawers during lockdown, I came across these hand written notes of my daughters time at nursery school 15 years ago. I had completely forgotten about them!

With all the lovely photos of her playing, they were ideal for making up some scrap book pages 

These are all 'Work in Progress' - the great thing about scrapbooking, is that you can go back to them and add embellishments and decorations once you have sorted out your layouts.

A Wedding Card today

 

So many weddings have been postponed this year and there is still no certainty that large weddings with lots of family and friends will be allowed for a while yet.

But despite that, I've made a wedding card!

  It started off uncovering the 3 leaf charm toppers at the bottom of a box of bits and pieces and thinking 'what the heck can I do with them?'  I matched them up with some other odd bits such as the ribbon, flowers and hearts to make a silver and white based card with touches of glitter.