--DAISE DOES CRAFTS--

2012-02-20T13:29:00.000-08:00

Wow what a day! I have been at a buying event at the NEC in Birmingham today with work. I have seen lots of fantastic new products and have order loads of them. It's been great to get some brand new stuff for the shop and hopefully a few new things for my personal stash. I've been stroking the stamps on PaperArtsy, I've been ooing and aahing over the new steampunk charms from Beads Unlimited and I've been dragging my heels past several new stamp suppliers. Really looking forward to getting my mitts on all the pretty stamps and things.

2012-02-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hmm......Ok so I didn't make it back as soon as I thought and I still haven't got any exciting new things to show you. Don't you just hate it when every day stuff gets in the way of crafting.

I did manage to clear out some space in my jewellery supplies, firstly I sorted through various beads and picked out the ones I was never ever likely to use. I originally planned to put them on ebay to make a bit of money but I decided to put them to better use. I'm going to make them into cheap jewellery to give to the girls school, I've already gone through my ready made stuff and taken in a bag full for them to sell at the next fayre. So if I go dark for a few weeks it's because I'm trying to do something good (for a change).

On the plus side I know have more room in both my trolleys and hopefully I won't fill the supplies up too quickly.

2012-02-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Move along please, nothing to see here!

I've been a bit quiet on here I know, but I promise I've been a busy bee. I've been like a little Nana knitting away happily, I've also made a cute birthday card but I can't put it on here as the recipient is a nosey madam so she'd see it. : p

Anywho I'm sure I'll be back very soon so don't go anywhere.

2012-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to post this for about 8 weeks, but for some reason every time I tried the picture came out upside down. So finally I have managed to get it on I will explain how it was created.

I know it looks really, really complicated so pay close attention and I will reveal all.
It's a box canvas with strips of different ribbon glued to it with pva glue! Yes that is all folks nothing difficult, jjust glue and ribbon. The sledge, reindeer and words were cut out using a Cricut machine. Then finally a few buttons glued to the top corners.
So was it worth the wait? Well I like it so I think so yes.

2012-01-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

This was an idea I came up with after a slow day at work.
The first picture is of a small felt purse, it's very simple to make by following the instructions.

1. Cut a piece of light brown felt and a piece of dark brown felt in half, then cut about a third from each of these halves.
2. Cut each piece into a point at one end (2/5ths of the way down)
3. Add a press stud fastener to the two points (you can just see this as a small circle on the beak).
4. Sew the pale brown felt down to the body to create the base for the beak.
5. Put the two pieces of felt together, with the sewn beak on the inside. Now sew the two pieces of felt together at the two sides and the bottom, leaving the top 'flap' loose.
6. Finally turn the whole thing the right way round and sew on the eye buttons.

The second picture is a stuffed toy made in the same way as the purse only skip stages 3 and 4. Instead after sewing the body together stuff with wadding and sew across the top. Finally sew the beak down and sew the eyes on.

2012-01-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is another quick card using a stamped image, a punch, a piece of ribbon and some pearlised gems.
The stamp was one of the Gorjuss girl stamps, she is so cute I couldn't resist her.
The punch is one from the Martha Stewart range.
Then I added a peel off greeting, some spotty ribbon and a few gems.
Simples!

2012-01-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is a quick card for a friends birthday who was inconsiderate enough to have a birthday at the beginning of January. The background is an embossing folder called drink me and the cat in a box is a stamped image I have coloured using my promarkers.

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is a birthday card for my uncle. I have used 3 different toadstool stamps on this Fun Guy card. ~These two toadstools are on the bottom left-hand corner and top right-hand corner attached on foam pads to give the 3d effect.

This is a full view of the card showing the different aspects of the design.

The main centre one is from the Tatty Buttons collection. I love the way toadstools look, they are so cheerful.

2012-01-22T11:39:00.000-08:00

This is a mirror I designed for a friend. I was an ordinary unpainted pine mirror from Ikea. It has been painted with metallic black acrylic paint.

At the top I have added a small wooden crown. This was originally white glitter, so using a purple promarker I have coloured it and stuck it on using glossy accents.

This is the bottom right-hand corner, which has a random selection of buttons stuck down with glossy accents

This is the top left-hand corner, with three large buttons on. Then finally I covered the whole thing with spray varnish from Crafters Companion (don't know what I'd do without this stuff).

Steampunked phone cover

2012-01-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

This is how my altered phone cover started it's life. It's a really nice purple leather effect slide in phone cover.

On one side I stamped a steampunk design corner from the Inkadinkado clear stamp set, using StazOn ink. I love that this fitted perfectly .

This is the reverse of the cover on to which I stamped the hot air balloon from the same Inkadinkado steampunk set.

2011-12-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

Well that's Christmas over for now, (still one family party to go), so maybe I can get down to some serious crafting. Hope everyone has had a fantastic Christmas and here's to a crafty New Year.

2011-09-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

This is my latest project hot off the press. Each 8x8 canvas has been painted then a 6x6 image on from a Graphic 45 paper has been put on. Then I added buttons and a metal charm to each one (except the 'friends' one, which will be added when I find one).
I really enjoyed doing these so watch this space for more.

2011-08-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

This is a mirror I create for my Auntie, she's very girlie so I thought this would be ideal for her. The bird cages are stamped onto a painted pine mirror, then I added tiny gems to accent the birds and embellish the bare corners. To finish it I covered the mirror with a square of card and sprayed it with Spray and Shine from Crafters Companion. (I love that stuff)

2011-08-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

This is a little experiment of mine. The bag started life as the gold bag in the little picture. Not really me so I thought I'd alter it to my liking. I used shredded purple tissue paper that has been stamped using some of my steampunk stamps. After this was completely dry I addded a few metal cogs and clock hands. I also made a funky steampunk bag charm using chain, cogs, clock hands, metal tea pots and purple pearls.

The Octopode Factory: Challenge Blog Candy!

2011-06-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

The Octopode Factory: Challenge Blog Candy!

2011-05-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

Ive been playing with my new camera and here are some of my favourite pictures.

2011-02-17T02:30:00.000-08:00

These are two of my grungeboard bracelets.
The blue one is made of rectangles linked with jump rings and a lobster clasp.
The pink one is a single strip of grungeboard with a small push through knob to hold it together.
I love making them because they are easy yet really effective.

2011-02-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit busy of late, but these are my latest creations. I'd like to introduce you to Frankenstein's bunny, Floral and Pink the piggies. These three little cuties are made using little socks and a few funky buttons. I've had a book full of ideas for sock characters and I'm planning on getting the sequel too.
It was touch and go there for a while though I made the mistake of letting my twins take the piggies to nursery the day after I made them. I arrived later that day to collect the twins and the piggies to find number one daughter holding the inners of Floral and sobbing about the rest of the piggy being missing. We found the outer sock of Floral on a shelf in the nursery. Panic over I think to find number two daughter grinning at me minus Pink. When I asked where Pink was the response was, 'I've lost it but you can make me another Mummy!' Thankfully the nursery teachers managed to find Pink and she was returned to us the next day. Kids who'd have them??????

2010-05-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

This is my new funky bag. Using Stampotique stamps and a blank bag.
Everyone commented on it at a recent night out and a few people have asked me to make them one!

2010-02-28T03:27:00.000-08:00

This is the nappie cake I made for my best friends who had a baby a couple of weeks ago. It's made up of 74 nappies, 3 metersof ribbon, several small bottles of baby toileteries, a small teddy and millions of elestic bands!
It took ages to get it right, but it was worth it. I really hope they liked it.

2010-02-04T09:58:00.000-08:00

These are some of the memory glass pendants I have made using my fantastic melt pot. I poured UTEE onto stamps to create these wonderful designs.

2010-02-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

This is one of the domino pendants I have made. There are many more on my facebook page and all of them are for sale. I love making them and spend loads of time looking for something new to add to them or stamp onto them. They are my best selling lines and people have them on keyrings as well as necklaces.

Holidays

2009-08-22T03:57:00.000-07:00

Well folks it's nearly upon us, two weeks in sunny Newquay. Can't wait after the time I've had recently I neeeeeeeed a break! I get to spend two weeks with my amazing family as well as a week with my best friends.
So it's sun, sea and sightseeing for us, well there had better be sun anyway.
I know I won't be allowed to take my expression with me so I'm trying to figure out what craft stuff I can take? Hmmm

2009-06-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a hot day at work again today so all we did was stand near the fan, moved a bit of stuff round then I made a felt hedgehog and Teresa made a voodoo doll. It was fun until a delivery man turned up with 14 boxes of stuff. Just a shame I was going home in about 15 minutes, why do they always do that?

2009-06-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

It's Dave the penguin. Craig thought he was cute until he saw him in the felt, he's about 2inches tall and looks a bit like a weeble.

2009-06-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Help, help there some meany jabbing me with a neddle bigger than me. He he! I loved creating my lopsided little purple pod person. Craig says she looks like a hoodie thug, personally I think he's a nasty boy.

2009-06-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

This is my little felted frog I gave to Lynn. Miss you little froggie I hope she's looking after you.

2009-06-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

This is the felt sign I made for Teresa at work because we were soooooooo bored. She made a very cute alien thing, it was lots of fun even though we were working.

The best bit was making her hold this sign up in front of the security camera. Haha

2009-06-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

This one is a little devil which I thought was rather cute.

2009-06-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hooray this is my little felted pumpkin, regardless of what everyone else thought at work, it is not a stumpy carrot with a face on.

2009-06-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is my little felted owl although he isn't quiet finished yet cos he needs a few more chest feathers. I was a little bored at work so this iis how I spent my day. If I ever get my bloody pics to work I'll put my other creations on here.

2009-05-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

A pretty card to welcome a new member of the family. I love the little verse so much it really is quite appropriate as she was 2 weeks late and the world really had been waiting for her.

2009-05-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

This was a fun card to make. Glimmer mist background, Rock Hard Fairy decoupage and a few gold peel offs. All in all a really funky card, just hope my cousin appreciated it as much as I do.

2009-05-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite domino necklaces. I used the free stamp off the latest copy of Craft Stamper, it's a really cool ticket to fairyland park. I wear this particular necklace almost every day.

2009-05-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is a card I made for a good friend. I used the funky Sugar Snips piramage papers to make this monochrome creation. I just love these designs so much.

2009-04-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

This was a fun card to make. I used the new Cosmic Shimmer mists on the background, they create the most amazing effects on card.

2009-04-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is a card for my Auntie using my Peaches paper and new Stamps Away stamps. They are sooooo cute.

2009-04-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

This is one of the castle cards I made for my twins. It took a few days between entertaining the little madams and sleeping.

2009-02-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

This is a card I made for a very good friend of mine who had a birthday recently. I really hope she liked it, I based it on the Momiji dolls she collects. I spent a long time on the net getting everything just right.

2009-02-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

I've been a very busy girl just recently. I've made the two cards below, a birthday card for one of the girls which i will post on here as soon as she's seen it and 3 Valentines cards, 1 for the other half and 2 for someone my Mum works with. i just hope they like them. I was a bit daft for not taking pics of them but it was abit short notice so I had to give them away as soon as they were done.
I'm loving the fact that the girls are sleeping properly again so I get some time to myself, which means more time to craft. Yay!

2009-02-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

This is a card for my Mums friends at work who had a little girl recently. Why I've ended up making her cards I don't know, she makes the nicest cards when she has time. I'd actually made this one and a matching blue one because a friend of mine is expecting a baby any day. They say it's probably a boy but just to be on the safe side. I love the little safety pin on this it's so sweet.

I love this little bear with his/her yellow duckie and fluffy towel.

2009-02-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

This is a card I made for my Mums friend, all I had to go on was she liked purple and lilac colours. Oh my goodness that was hard. Anyway I had fun with my watercolour pencils and my Dottie downloads. I used core'dinations card and my birthday cuttlebug embossing folder. I really enjoyed making this and the kids were in bed so I got a bit of peace and quiet to do it.

2009-02-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

Considering I started this to keep myself busy while I was off work that hasn't happened. I only had a few days off so now I'm back at work and busy, busy again. It's the best job in the world, I get to craft all day and I work with really crazy people who like the same stuff as me. This is a bit of a problem for the old bank balance.

2009-02-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at making jewellery with memory glass. Very simple but very affective. I wore it on a night out recently and everyone commented on it.

2009-01-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!
This is my first post of 2009, but lets hope it is the first of many.
This is a pic of a card I did for my friends birthday this week. It was a silly card for a very silly friend, he likes cats and in particular likes slightly mad cats!

2008-12-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

This is Craigs birthday card, I know he's 33, but I couldn't resist. My next venture is the girlie castle for the twins 2nd birthday. Only 3months to get it right.

2008-12-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

This is the inside of Craigs birthday card. It went down a storm, worth the hard work, but glad I didn't have to pay £8 for a template I could do myself.

2008-12-23T14:44:00.001-08:00

I have no idea what I'm going to put on this but I need to do something while I'm off work.