Sunday 30 March 2014

Handmade Monday 161

Welcome to another Handmade Monday - and Happy Mother's Day to mums in the UK! Today is Mothering Sunday here in the UK (to give it its official title).  I think the rest of the world celebrates Mother's Day on a different date (but please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

One of the great (but occasionally very weird) things about designing projects for magazines is the peek into the coming seasons via the craft medium.  This week I've made summer-themed cards for Craftseller


and although I know summer is on the way, this made it feel more real, somehow!  As soon as I saw the summer tag (it's on one of the free papers they'll be giving away with the magazine - they send me the papers to make the cards for them) I knew I had to include it!  It's a lovely spring day here in Cheshire today and it makes summer feel close by.



In Guide Dog Puppy Quentin news... well, he's had his first bus ride without any problems at all.  He's continuing to behave himself in shopping centres and supermarkets, although that might all change once he spends more time on the floor than in my arms (which isn't far off - he's definitely growing fast and my arms won't hold out much longer!).

He loves going for little walks on the lead - which up to now are just up and down the driveway.  I can't wait to see his reaction when he's allowed to go further (which won't be until he's been vaccinated).  It's hard to imagine when you see him wandering, pulling on the lead, sniffing everything and picking up stones that he could one day be guiding a blind or partially sighted person around busy streets.

It's over to you now for Handmade Monday...

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Midweek Papercraft Party (30)

Hello!  It's time for another papercraft challenge!  If you are up for it, our theme this week is Sunshine, rain and/or flowers!  The design team has been busy with this one and yet again there are some fabulous creations!  I absolutely love seeing what they make!

Before we see what the design team's been making, let me announce last week's winners:

Rachel and Lisbeth

Well done!  You both win three digistamps of your choice from Handmade Harbour.  Please email wendy@handmadeharbour.co.uk and let me know which stamps you would like.  You also get to grab the winner's badge from the left hand sidebar (you may need to scroll down a little).

Lynne made this gorgeous card (below) and if you click on Lynne's blog you will see why it's a very special project for her!  A big thank you from me to Lynne, too, for taking part in what was something quite wonderful!!





Alison made this gorgeous thank you card using the girl with flowers digital stamp.  The little tag attached to the flowers says thanks and is part of the image.

I love that Rachel made this framed wall art, below - such a happy picture!  The image is girl doing a happy dance and comes with happy dance sentiments!





And Deanne made this absolutely beautiful flower box...which looks like it might be some kind of amazing pop-up card.  I haven't visited her link yet, but I will be checking it out!  I just love it - the colours are just gorgeous - and I noticed she used some printable papers from the Ladybug Parade collection too!




The image Deanne used was this one:


(I'm always amazed by the transformations of my black and white images into something gorgeous and colourful and thought it would be good to show the image she started with here!)

I just adore the feeling of spring and summer in this card by Aleksandra - isn't the little crocheted addition just gorgeous?


Yesterday we had grey skies and rain here - today it's blue(ish) skies and sunshine.  It's not all that warm but I can see blossom on the trees and hear birds singing.  Spring is here and summer will surely follow.  With that in mind, I'd love to see your sunshine, rain and/or flowers-themed cards and other papercraft projects!  Sunshine, rain and flowers all contribute to a British summer - is it the same in your part of the world?

Feel free to join in...

Sunday 23 March 2014

Handmade Monday 160

Hello and welcome to another Handmade Monday!

I can't show you what I made this week as it's for Craftseller magazine - but it's foxy! OK then,  I guess I can show you a teeny sneak peek...


I was quite pleased with how it turned out - it's very cute!

Guide Dog puppy Quentin is getting along really well.  He wows people everywhere he goes but he's starting to get a bit heavy for carrying now - my arms ache when we go shopping! He's been in most of the big supermarkets, a variety of post offices and even a railway station and a pre-school! (I don't know who was more excited to see him, the kids or the staff, but my granddaughter was very proud that Quentin "belonged" to her!)

He also behaved impeccably in a restaurant...


despite being much tinier than his own food, which looks like it might last him forever!  Although, seeing him eat, you know that it won't!


OK, it's over to you for Handmade Monday.  You know what to do...

Saturday 22 March 2014

Mother's Day Digital Stamps

It's Mother's Day in a week's time here in the UK - it's also known as Mothering Sunday here.  I think there are quite a few digital stamps in the Handmade Harbour shop which would be great for Mother's Day, although I do think maybe I need to create a category especially for the occasion!

While I'm getting round to that, Mother's Day will have been and gone, so the best option for now would be to direct you to the digital stamps for women page, and just show a few ideas here...

This mommy and baby owl digital stamp makes a perfect mother's day card...don't you just love how with digis everyone can make the design their own.


card with family quote by Lynne


journal art by Frezja

 card by Laura

I also love the cat images for Mother's Day...


cat cards by Deanne

card by kel

Or maybe some cake humour!

card by Zoe

I think Mother's Day is one occasion when you can be sure your handmade card will be appreciated!  I know my mum always loves it when I've made her something rather than bought it.  And I'm the wrong side of fifty now (and she's 87 soon!) so it's not likely to change!

Hope you enjoy the run up to Mother's Day!

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Midweek Papercraft Party (29)

It's time for another papercraft challenge!  This week's theme is:

Spring - flowers, rabbits or birds!

Before we get down to this week's makes, let's announce last week's winners:

Carol and Suzette

Well done both!  You get three digital stamps of your choice from Handmade Harbour - please email wendy@handmadeharbour.co.uk with your choices.

The design team has made some fabulous things - and this week I absolutely love how diverse their projects are.  Spring has definitely brought out some real creativity here at Handmade Harbour!

Elina used two of our new Easter themed digital stamps for her gorgeous shadow box...



Wouldn't this be just perfect on a child's bedroom wall?  I love how you can create adorable wall art so easily with digital stamps and an injection of creativity.  It's a lot of fun too - Elina says she had a blast creating this (which I think shows in the finished item - it's such a gorgeous finished piece).  

Superb as it is on its own, I'd love to see this as part of a Spring, Summer, Autumn (Fall), Winter collection!


Teresa made a really pretty, super-cute spring card using the cute little chick just emerging from his egg. The pink lattice she used is from the new Strawberry Picnic craft paper pack - it works really well as a background here.


Josie made a pencil case using the vintage caravan digital stamp.  Isn't this just adorable in fabric?  Josie says: "Spring weather really brings out the wanderlust and what better way to explore than in a pretty vintage caravan!  The theme included the tag 'birds' and if you look closely you can see the little chap perched on the TV aerial!"



Frezja made some arorably bunny bookmarks!  How cute are these?  She took the head from this bunny digital stamp for her bookmarks - I love how there is a Mr and a Mrs Rabbit!  This project also demonstrates how you can alter a digital stamp.



I love what  Emma did with paper piecing and the flowers on the hill digi  - it's a super effective and fun technique (it's just like fabric applique in paper form).


If you are feeling the Spring theme (and I'm sorry if it's not spring in your part of the world but here the birds are singing and the sun is shining - although it's still a little chilly - so perhaps we can share it with you via the internet!) then please do join in our challenge this week.  Remember that anything with flowers, rabbits or birds is part of the challenge - as is anything that makes you think of Spring!

We're looking forward to seeing what you make!

Sunday 16 March 2014

Handmade Monday 159

Welcome to Handmade Monday!

I can now show you the finished bag I gave to my sister...



 It's an eider duck, which she loves.



She was thrilled with it, and I'm mostly pleased with it although the duck should have been a bit higher on the bag.  His feet get a little lost at the bottom.  I get annoyed at myself when I make silly mistakes like that.

Still, she loved the large zipped front pocket...


and the fabrics.  The grey dotty canvas is an excellent bag-making fabric as it's quite robust.  The gorgeous lining fabric, also from Wholeport, is one of those fabrics which seems to go with lots of things - it's so bright and happy.


Speaking of happy...

Quentin and I are getting along famously.  If you missed my earlier post, Quentin is a Guide Dog puppy and I'm looking after him for his first year.  He is adorable - such a nice natured little pup!  Here he is showing off his official Guide Dogs tag (he sometimes tries to chew it but can't quite manage it.  It's the same with his tail!)


We had our first shopping trip together yesterday - to the post office and Asda!  I can see that all future shopping trips are going to take twice as long as usual - everyone wants to say hello to Quentin.  At this stage, he gets carried around like a baby (and of course, he still is a baby yet).

He's already getting better at using the "outside toilet".  Guide Dog puppies are trained to go outside straight away, and always on concrete or paving.  He's already getting better at it (or maybe it's just that I'm getting better at knowing when he wants to go!).  He has a fenced-off area for his toilet, which looks huge compared to him!


I can see it's going to be so hard to give him up when he's ready for his next stage training!!  No wonder I was given a contract to sign!

OK, back to Handmade Monday!  What have you been making?

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Midweek Papercraft Party (28)

Welcome to this week's papercraft challenge - the theme is Lots of Love.

Before we peek at what the design team has been making, I want to announce last week's winners:

Hazel and Katie

Yay! Both of you win 3 digistamps of your choice from the Handmade Harbour store.  Please email wendy@handmadeharbour.co.uk with your choices.  You also get to grab the winner's badge for your blog - you'll find it in the left hand sidebar (you may have to scroll down a little).

Back to this week's cards and the Lots of Love challenge theme...

Look at the super cute card Aleksandra made... just adorable!  The cute bunny digital stamp she used is one of the new releases (perfect for Easter and spring-themed cards).




Lynne made this gorgeous card with a heartwarming quote about family love... this owl and baby digital stamp is already proving popular - it's a great one for Mother's Day!


Rachel's pretty pastel pink card uses the new Do What You Love digital stamp - I love that lovely hand-knitted embellishment!


If you'd like to join in this week, it's simple - just leave a link to your blog post by clicking below.  We'd love to see what you've been making and you could become next week's winner!


Tuesday 11 March 2014

Hello Boy!

Quentin is a gorgeous black labrador puppy with a rather important future mapped out for him.  If all goes to plan then one day this little bundle of fur and oversized paws


will become a guide dog for a blind or partially-sighted person.

Until he's old enough to start his training (when he's around 12-14 months) he will live with me.  He'll be company for me while I'm working (I work from home), we'll go on walks together, we'll explore bus and train travel (as well as car) and we'll visit shops together - there's lots to explore.  And we'll try not to piddle on the living room floor (well, I say we, but it's really just Quentin who still has a little way to go on that one).


I'll also share pictures of him on here, if you don't mind too much.  I think he's far too cute not to!

If you are interested in being a puppy walker for Guide Dogs in the UK, click the link for more info.

Sunday 9 March 2014

Handmade Monday 158

Hello! Welcome to Handmade Monday!  Click the link for more info and how to join in.

What a week!  This week saw my digital stamps in Digital Crafting Essentials, my Easter cards in Craftseller magazine...


and one of my Thank You cards (which was in a previous issue of Craftseller) has apparently found a new lease of life in Wedding Invites magazine!  It's rather nice when that happens (not least because they pay you again!).


I've also been sewing this week.  Sewing World liked the scissor keeper heart I made a few months back, so I made them a new one, which will feature in an upcoming issue.  There's a sneak peek of it above.

I also made an applique bag for my sister's 60th birthday (I can't quite believe she's 60 - where did all that time go?).  The gorgeous patterned fabric (from Wholeport) in my scissor keeper (above) also featured in the bag - I love the bright colours and I still have some left over so it might even resurface in another project too!

can you tell there's a duck in there somewhere?

The duck applique is going to form part of a pattern for another Sewing World project (it seems everything is being recycled this week - magazine articles, fabric, applique patterns!).

I've had a lovely day sewing the bag today.  Well, it's always lovely until the seam ripper comes out!


What's been happening in your world?

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Digital Crafting Essentials Magazine

I've been waiting excitedly for this magazine to come out... because Handmade Harbour is featured in its pages (and on the CD that comes with it!)!


It has to be said it isn't a cheap buy - but to be fair, you do get an awful lot for your money!  There are two free CDs that come with the magazine, and adding up how much it would cost for all the digis and papers included if you bought them in the usual way, it would come to well over £100.  So £9.99 starts to look much more appealing!

one of Laura's cards

I have a BIG thank you to say to design team members Lynne and Laura, who each made some gorgeous cards for the magazine using Handmade Harbour digis and papers.

one of Lynne's cards

Creating for a magazine was over and above what was expected of them as design team members but they rose to the challenge with bags of enthusiasm and professionalism.  Working internationally has some difficulties when you have magazine deadlines to meet, but it all worked out really well.  Thank you so much, ladies!


Digital Crafting Essentials is in UK shops now - you'll find it in larger supermarkets and WHSmiths as well as many newsagents.  It's also available to order online here (and they do ship worldwide).


I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with Digital Crafting Essentials and love what they've done with the images and cards we supplied them.  I'd love to do it all over again!

Midweek Papercraft Party (27)

It's time for another papercraft challenge!  This week's theme is celebrate!  There's always something in life to celebrate...sometimes it's big, like a birthday, wedding or major achievement. But sometimes it's a bit more subtle, like maybe a sunny day, happy times or the value of friendship.  They're all worthy of celebration, don't you think?

Last week there was a blip on the linky tool, and I apologise for that.  But we still have two winners...

Gail and Laura Le

You both win three digistamps of your choice from the Handmade Harbour store.  Please email wendy@handmadeharbour.co.uk with your choices and I'll send them to you as soon as I can!

Back to this week, and the design team has been busy with the celebrate theme...

Josie kicks off this week, and although this is a papercraft challenge she's working in fabric. We'll have to forgive her that as she's used Handmade Harbour's Beetle digistamp to create a gorgeous makeup pouch, a fabulous gift to celebrate passing your driving test.  The M in the background is a matching personalised mirror.  I think you'd be as thrilled with this gift as you would be at passing your test!  It also shows how versatile digital stamps are!





Hen parties are of course a fabulous way to celebrate, and Teresa has made this gorgeous hen party invitation using the new girls celebrating digital stamp.  It's not just an invitation...


.....there's also a matching Hen Party rosette!


Emma made this beautiful card, with the birds and gifts digistamp.  This would be a lovely birthday card for almost anyone - it's one of those universal designs.  I love the clean lines and use of colour in this card.


Kasia's gorgeous journal page says it so well: celebrate the sweet life, so quickly elapses.. oh, that's so true!  We should celebrate every day - there's always something to celebrate, no matter how small.


What's been worth celebrating in your world recently?  If you've made something that fits our theme this week, we'd love to see it!   There are two winners every week who get to choose three digital stamps as their prize.  Using a Handmade Harbour digistamp (including one of our freebies) increases your chances of winning!

To join in, just click to add your blog post!