buttons ...

I haven't met a crafter yet who doesn't like buttons ...

Cath at Moxie Fab pinned this on Pinterest last week, and I LOVE them!

They are pin board pins, but with buttons on!! What's not to love!

[She found them here]

This week ...

Days off can be funny.  We only have a Friday off, so we really try to make the most of the day.  Some days we don't do a great deal, our brains switch off and we are just still.  Other days, the creative side of my brain goes nuts and even on my day off I can't seem to stop seeing work.  This was last Friday.  :)  A day of inspiration and good times with friends.

So.. my Friday in pictures ....

[A great artist, Kimmie McHarrie has her own display of work in one of the shed studios on the harbour arm. In my opinion, far more captivating and skilled than the Emin work we saw at the gallery]

So that was my Friday :)  It was a good day!

This week I have been mostly ....

This week has been busy ... I have been working on cards for various portfolios and its been brilliant.  Not only creating cards, but cards that hopefully will sell my business to investors and get my cards to different places to sell :)  Its made me really happy!!

On Friday some great friends of ours came up for a trip to the seaside and we spent the day wandering around, and we wandered into the Turner Contemporary art gallery.  

Inside they have a gift shop, and they sell a selection of greetings cards.  After a brief chat with the receptionist, it turns out they do buy from local artists, so this week has seen me preparing a portfolio to take in ....

Here is a quick selection that  I have been working on ....

Bearing in mind that it is an art gallery, I have not used any patterned paper at all in these designs, but have used simple stamps hand coloured, and the beach huts are free drawn by me.  I think they need a little more work, but maybe the start of designing my own stamp set :)

Sorry about the poor photography, I still haven't sorted out a decent camera, and I don't know how people put water marks on them!!!

A project for next year perhaps!!

Please let me know what you think about the cards, any feedback would be more than welcome :)  

Thanks for stopping by

Shelly X

Passion for papertrey: anything goes 2

This is the second post for entering into the Passion for papertrey challenge, have a look here at the first blog post to see my first card.

So, card number two....

[3.5x3.5 card, plain white insert, Versamagic chalk inks, Botanical silhouettes stamp set: PTI]

This is a tried and tested design ... I always love how it turns out, even on an 'off' crafting day.  

Its been nice to be part of blogland today, its been sometime since I've had the time to enter a challenge, and check out some other blogs out there :)

Its been a good day!

Passion for papertrey: Anything goes 1

I haven't done a creative challenge in blogland for some time.  I had a long stint in the cafe working, which zapped all my time, and more recently, I have been working towards getting my work in the Turner Contemporary art gallery, and in some Cathedral gift shops (more on these projects another time!) along with in Theological colleges. Needless to say, the cards that I have created have been a necessity for some promotion or other, and not just for creativity.  

However, this week over at A passion for papertrey, the girls have a really great challenge. Anything goes!! Wuhoo!!  Now, as I have mentioned before, this is one of my favourite blogs.  Not least because Aimes is one of my favourite online card creators, but also because it puts papertrey ink in the limelight for the UK.  Oh how I wish they would supply over here!  I contacted them to become a supplier, but alas, it is staying in the US for now.

So, I have used some Papertrey products in a couple of my cards that I have been creating for my projects, so I am going to enter them into the challenge, I hope that I am the lucky winner of the sweet little bunting stamps, so lovely!

So, here is the first of two PTI card creations....

Simple as always! ....

[3.5x3.5 inch card, plain insert, Fruit fusion: cherries PTI stamp, Versamagic chalk inks]

A card most suitable for teenage girls, that is for no other reason than to say hi!  I can't get enough of red at the moment, lipstick, dresses, cards ... its everywhere!!!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Shelly

Hard at work ...

As the title says .. I have been hard at work this week.  Not only on cards, but in every aspect.  Hard at work losing weight, getting fit, cleaning the house, de-cluttering, post office trips, selling items on Ebay, doing my tax return ... you name it, I've tried to fit it in this week!

And you now what ... I am feeling better for it! Yes my muscles ache, and my head is full of cotton wool after doing my taxes, BUT, I am feeling better, I am getting much more out of my working hours that I put into the business, and I am looking forward to my day off so much more, knowing that I have really earned it!  I suppose you don't get old hand me down phrases like  ... If you want a job doing, give it to a busy person!!....

[photo credit]

Aside from all the household jobs I have been doing, I have been working on a very important project this week.  

I have been making a selection of greetings cards to start taking round to Theological colleges. Cards for confirmations and priestings can be so difficult for people to get hold of, that I have decided to go directly to the training colleges to start sharing with people what I do.  I also intend to approach Canterbury Cathedral again to see if the new designs are more suitable for their gift shop.

I have spent some time reflecting on craft fayres and the best methods of selling my work, and I think this a good place to start.  I have two craft fayres I'd still like to do this year, one being in August for the summer, and I will do one Christmas one.  Mainly I think because it will be nice to just get my work out and about, and to meet people- not because I think it will be a huge selling tool.  But approaching the fayres with this attitude will really help- even if I don't make any sales, at least I know I am going with purpose and have something good to get out of the experience.

I'll leave you with some snaps of the cards I have been making for the portfolio- simple and easier to create than some other designs, but then they have to be, I might get an order for 1000 cards that I would need to fill!!!

Thanks for stopping!!  Bye :)