Handmade Monday 86

Hello and welcome. 

It's time for Handmade Monday. Please pop over and have a look. 

Another week starts and for us crafters, the big C word is looming. I said last week that I needed to get my backside in gear. Have I? Well that's a big fat NO! Grrrr. Well Simon is going away next Saturday afternoon and coming back Sunday so I am going to take advantage of that and really get cracking ... hopefully!

So onto this week. Well, do you get Craftseller magazine? I know a lot of us crafters who sell do. Inside they have an article on tips for Christmas. I am tip 18!!!!!!!! First time I have ever been published and I am totally stoked. OK so it's a couple of lines, but there is a photo of some of my cards and links to my Folksy shop. But what is your tip I hear you say. I am always posting pictures of the thank you cards I make on here. I love making them (I make other cards too) because I love sending them! It doesn't just have to be for a gift. It can be for anything. A good night out, thanks for being a good friend etc etc. 

My tip as a seller, is to stock thank you cards as well as seasonal cards. People see them and tend to buy them at the same time as buying other cards.

 My cards are small notelets that are 3" x 3" and I sell them in packs of 4. Each card comes with a matching envelope. I'm going to make some larger ones as well so watch this space. 

 Whilst I sell in packs of four, I also make make custom orders. Some people see a design they like and ask for lots more. I have other customers who have liked the deigns but have preferred a different colour. All of these things I can do.

Not on a crafting note but something I'd like to talk about anyway. Today was the Joe Doble Memorial Petanque competition. This comp is in memory of Simon's dad who sadly passed a few years back. Joe played petanque for many years and Simon has played since he was 8. Most people associate it with France, but it is actually quite popular over here too. There are clubs and competitions all over England. The good thing about it, is that other than the boules, there is very little monetary lay out and is a good social sport. You can climb the ladder too. Simon has played for England and there are World Championships. But I'm rambling yet again. Today's competition is held yearly in Theydon Bois and is always well turned out. A special day for a special man.

So there you are. That's my news for this week. I guess you'll have to watch this space to see if I really do get into Christmas crafting next time.

Ally

xx  

Falling behind!

Morning everyone,

It's time for UK Handmade week 4 over at Carolee Crafts. Please do pop on over and take a look. You can even join in if you want to!

Well I've been reading lots and lots of blog posts lately and SO many people are talking about making crafts for Christmas. OMG! I have 2 craft fairs coming up in December plus stock to make for my Folksy shop and I have made absolutely nothing! I think I really need to get my backside in gear.

Changing subject, it is the birthday of a lovely friend today and I made her this card.

This is a criss cross card and I really enjoyed making it. I've used a new Tilda image, coloured with promarkers.

I'm going to enter this card into 4 challenges:

Just Magnolia  - What's new
Pattie's creations - anything goes
Stampin for the weekend - feeling floral
Tilda's town - Fussy and fancy

See you soon
Ally
xx

Thank you notelets

Blimey doesn't time fly?!" 

1 minute I'm feeling better and wanting to craft, the next the shopping needs doing and takes hours!!!!  Grrrr .... there's just not enough hours in the day.

I have made a few sets of thank you notelets. I'll show each set in turn. You can buy them in my folksy shop (click the button on the right) or message me from my facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ally-Stamps/209704535743430?ref=hl).

Apologies for the poor quality photos - oops

It's time for Handmade Monday again over at Handmade Harbour. Do pop along and have a look at all the other wonderful handmade products and leave a comment on their blogs. 
There are some fantastic crafters out there!

See you soon 
Ally
xx

more thank you cards

Hello,

I've had a funny old week. Every day I've had good intentions of coming home after work and crafting. Trouble is, after work, I've sat down to get on with things, but haven't really been able to get on with anything. So annoying as I have so much to do!

So, today, for Handmade Monday, I'm showing another set of thank you  cards I've made.

These come in a set of 4, each with a matching envelope. Cute huh?

Ally
xx

Ooh just a quick note about Handmade Monday. I DO look at every one of the blogs and try to leave a comment. My eyesight is rubbish and I find it really hard to read those word verification things. If I haven't left a comment, it is probably because of this. Sorry xx

Thank you notelets

Hi everyone. 

Well the weather is still holding. Long may it continue!

Today I'm showing you a set of 4, 3" x 3" thank you notelets. 

If you are a regular follower, you will know that I love sending thank you cards. I think it's something that is starting to get a little lost what with the digital age and is so much nicer to receive!!

These cards are for sale in my folksy shop (click the button on the right) or you can contact me direct.
Don't forget that I also take commissions, so if you are looking for something a bit more specific, please get in touch.

Ally
xx

Exciting times!

Hello everyone!

Welcome back. Well there is exciting news. Today I am featured as guest blogger over on Carolee Crafts for UK Handmade. I'd love you to pop over and take a read.

UK Handmade is a blog link where crafters can join and follow or comment on other crafters blogs. It's a great way to see what and who else is out there.

I have another card to show you today. It's another of those 'any occasion' cards. I do like making these as I think it's really nice to send a card just because. In this world of texting and facebook it's easy to just say a quick hello, but I think there is nothing like receiving a card in the post. 

I made this card using some Stampin' Up! butterfly stamps in brown and blue.

Hope you like it.
Ally
xx

Christening card

Gosh it seems like ages since I last posted. My intention of posting every other day seems to have fallen by the wayside already! I'm taking part in Handmade Monday over at http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/handmade-monday-83.html this week. First time for me so quite excited about it!

I've been really busy finishing a commission for a golden wedding scrapbook, so have not been able to make  anything new for a while. However, I finished it today and started making some cards but they are not finished yet.

So today I thought I would share a christening card I made a while ago now. This card was commissioned and I have to say the lady that asked for it to be made had no idea what I was going to do. She left it completely up to me. All she asked for was a christening card for a girl. So this is what I came up with. A christening card shaped as a christening gown.

This is a close up of the ribbon and bow around the middle. You can see that I attached a metal cross charm. 

 This is the card fully open.

I hope you like it as much as my customer did.

Ally
xx

More pink!

Hello everyone and welcome to my new followers. I really do appreciate it and love reading all your comments too.

Well it's been back to school for me. I had every intention of crafting in the evenings, but so far I've been too tired and haven't made it into the craft room :(

So here is a card I made last weekend with yet more pink in it. 

This is a close up of the image.

This is a digital image from Tiddly Ink stamps called Linda Lee Hatter. She's so cute! I've coloured her with promarkers.

I'm going to enter this card into 7 challenges. They are:

Just Keep On Creating - Anything goes
No Matter Which Challenges - Die cuts and/or punches (I have die cut the frame around the image)
Dream Valley Challenges - Something old something new (the digi image is new, payyerned paper and card is old)
Cutiepie Challenges - No flowers
The Pink Elephant - Use patterned paper
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes
My Mum's Craft Shop - Anything goes

At this point I'd like to thank Caroline at http://caroleecrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ for organising a blog link called UK Handmade Thursday. Please pop over to her blog, take a look and leave a comment. You may even want to join in! Thank you very much :)

Allison