A little of this and that...

Evening folks.  I made this card last night just for the sake of it. It is an old Clean and Simple sketch that I loved so thought I would use again.  Stamps are Unity and Practicing Creativity.  Paper is October Afternoon.  I liked these colours together: lime; deep red; white and bark (dark dark brown).

Today I've also been busy making some crayon/notepad folders out of felt. I love the pattered felt you can get now, it's so cool and inexpensive.

Here is what the inside looks like.  I made these using a tutorial over at Skip to my Lou (love that blog!)

Thanks for stopping by.

Frog Card call... ribbitt ribbitt!

Hello, today's card was made for a very special cause.  I am a new follower of a blog called Pollycraft, which is also an online shop selling digital images for cardmaking.  Well when I hopped over there yesterday, there was a free digital image of this cute little frog on offer.  The story behind it was about a lady, Lisa (a fellow cardmaker) whose sister, Jayme, has terminal cancer.  She was asking people to send a funny frog card to her sister to bring a smile to her face.  Well with a free image to hand I couldn't pass up that request now could I!  I searched the web for frog jokes and came up with one that made me laugh anyway!

I used the current Get Sketchy Challenge sketch.  I think it also fits the current Cards Blog call for punny cards (well maybe!), not sure if jokes count as puns really....! Now I picked orange for the t-shirt as it goes so well with the green, but it also works with this week's challenge from The Pink Elephant to use orange as the focal point of the card.

Without further ado here is the card.

I inserted the image into Microsoft Publisher then added the scene around it.  The muddy puddle across the road is brown dimensional paint.

Here is a slightly closer look.

And then inside it says:

After making this one and sending it, I also spotted these digital images from Tiddly Inks.  This would be cool too, I might make another one!!

Have a wonderful day and just remember how precious each day is and never take your health for granted.

A couple of challenge cards

HI there folks! Just a quick post today.   I made this card using the sketch at Taylored Expressions.  The flower stamp is Unity and the sentiment is There She Goes.  I love these colours together!

Here is another angle:

And this second card was made using the sketch over at Our Creative Corner.  I stuck with the same colours for the image (another Unity one), but changed the look by backing it onto lime green and using different patterned paper.

Another angle:

I have just made another card, but as it's night time here now, so I'll have to photo and post that one tomorrow.

Have a fab day, I'm off to bed!

Winners Day!!!

OK so today is Winners Day - how exciting!! Drum Roll please...................my daughter getting ready to pick out the winners! Sporting one of my creations of course!

• 1st Prize: Sara - let me know what your choice is and what size you would like
• 2nd Prize: The Sice Family - Let me know what card you like, or colours etc
• Runner Up prize #1: Crafty Tokyo Mama 
• Runner Up prize #2: AJ
• Runner Up prize #3: Susan

Runners up please let me know what your order of prefernce would be for the cup cozy patterns, I'll see what I can do! Winners please email me with your name and address and preferences at   thecraftynomad@hotmail.co.uk  [or jowestfoot@hotmail.com - having some problems with the other account] Thanks.

Thank you so much for entering my giveaway! For those who became followers I hope you stick around and like what you see.

I would have loved to have given everyone a prize! Your feedback has been so useful!  So as a thankyou to those who left a comment for the giveaway (up until it closed) I will be offering 15% discount on your first order with me (excluding postage costs).  If this is something that appeals to you then please contact me directly at thecraftynomad@hotmail.co.uk   [or jowestfoot@hotmail.com - having some problems with the other account!] I am afraid I can only offer this discount to those that I can verify as being original comments through the emails that were left at time of comment or through the linked blog.  There were quite a few people who left me no way of contacting you - sorry!

If you're interested in particpating in the SewMamaSew Blog Giveaway next time and want to know if it is worth it take a look at what I thought here.

Hope to see you back soon.

Giveway is now closed

Ok, so the giveaway is now closed - what an amazing response!  I was blown away by the number of comments, followers and the lovely things that were said!  Thank you so much for taking part in my Giveaway.

Winners will be announced later today.

Just a few words for those thinking they might participate next time.  I just wanted to say a little bit about why I took part in the giveaway so it might help others in the same situation.  Although I do love a giveaway just for the sake of it, I mean who doesn't love to put smiles on people's faces?  I have to say my main reason for doing this one was to reach more people, to get my designs seen by a wider audience and to see if my hobby could ever be more than just a hobby!  So, 'Was it worth it?' I hear you ask? Well here are the stats, and potential future 'Giveawayers' can make up their own minds!  During the 6 day period I had:

• 1261 visits!
• 150 comments on the giveaway post
• 50 new blog followers
• 4 new Etsy Shop Hearts
• 6 new Etsy Item Hearts
• 1 Made it Item Favourited
• 0 Sales

For me, despite no sales, it was definately worth it.  I got some wonderful feedback about my items, including some constructive criticism about something I hadn't thought of so that was good too.  There were also some useful comments about my shop set up too. So thanks for all that.  Hopefully the coming weeks and months will bring orders too!

Just in case you are interested these were the top 5 favourites in order:

1. Dinosaurs (both designs)
2. Car
3. Butterflies
4. Rainbow
5. Pink Heart

Dinosaurs were clearly leading the way!  If you can think of some other new designs you'd like to see feel free to let me know.

I'll be back later today with the winners!!

Super New Design

Oh I am sooo excited I just finished a 'super' design, that I just LOVE!  Not sure if this one will end up in the shop yet - it took me quite a while to do and so not sure about pricing, but I did want to share it with you guys!  [edited to add: it's now in the shop! Two versions available]  I have had this fabric (from Spoonflower) for a while, just been thinking about wording and/or names.  What do you think?

I'm wondering if it would be better on a t-shirt for a toddler/little boy, although white boy t-shirts are impossible to find up here at this time of year!

Here it is:

And here is a close up:

Hanging By a Thread - Sweet Sunday Sketch

Just a quick post before I head out the door for the school run! I made this card using the current Sweet Sunday sketch.  Love those colours, papers are October Afternoon and the stamps are Unity. Inside it reads 'I'll pull you through'.

Giveaway is now CLOSED

Not sure if you know but I am participating in the Sew Mama Sew Blog Giveaway. 

You can check it out here.

Giveaway Day!! And 100th Post! NOW CLOSED

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - THANKS

WooHoo it's that time of year again when the lovely people over at Sew Mama Sew host a MASSIVE Blog Giveaway.  I was excited to participate again!!  This post also marks my 100th Post which is also quite exciting!  For those who are new here, welcome! My name is Jo, I'm an English gal living in the outback of Western Australia.  I love all things craft and love making things!

For this Sew Mama Sew giveaway I will be giving away not 1 item, not 2 or 3 but a grand total of five items!!!

• 1st Prize: Your choice of one of my personalised t-shirts or baby onesies from either my Etsy store or my Made it store up to the value of US$25 or AU$28 (this basically means any of them with the one exception of the Personalised Big Sis one!)  The names and images are hand cut and machine applique'd for strength.  There are lots of choices, if you prefer another word instead of a name, then that is fine too! 

• 
  
  2nd Prize: A handmade card - take a look around at all the cards and let me know what you like  and I'll make a similar card for you to your colour specifications if possible. Here are some examples. 

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  Runner Up Prizes: For all the coffee lovers out there, I have three felt coffee cup sleeves each needing a good home  

So then what do you need to do to be in the running to win one of these fab prizes...... well you can get up to three chances to win and this is how:

1. Go to one of my shops (or both!) either on Etsy or Made It (Aus based) and have a good look at all the designs, then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which design you like best and why.
2. Become a follower of my blog (look in the sidebar)
3. Blog about my giveaway on your blog and comment to let me know with a link to the post.

Now for the small print:

•  I will randomly select the winners
• This giveaway is open internationally
• Giveaway closes on Sunday 23rd May 7am Perth time. [It was midnight Saturday but I realised I will not be awake then to close it!]
• I will post a list of winners on Sunday 23rd
• Winners need to email me at thecraftynomad@hotmail.co.uk by Tuesday 25th May at the latest to claim their prizes!
• Please also make sure you give me some way of contacting you
• Items will be mailed out by Thursday 27th May.

Well hopefully I didn't forget anything too obvious! Tell me if I have! Good Luck!! Now go and spread the word!  Make sure to check out all the other lovely giveaways from the master list at SewMamaSew. Here are the links: Handmade items, Handmade + Supplies, Supplies. Have a fabulous day.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Challenge

Oh when I saw this challenge last night I knew it would be a good one to cheat on!! Lately companies seem to be releasing paper pads with a strip of each paper on the front and that is what I thought of immediately when I saw the sketch at EBTKS.  So I ripped off the front cover and used that instead of the paper inside!!  Again I have no purpose for this card...yet!

Here it is.  I did mount the striped piece onto some paper from within the pad and added some sparkles.

I popped Ethan up onto dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by - Have a great day whatever you do! 

Giveaway is now CLOSED
Just in case you don't know, I am participating in the MASSIVE Sew Mama Sew Blog Giveaway.
Read about it HERE.

It's Back....

...my mojo is back yay!!  I guess it helped to put all my stamps away and tidy up one table (although now I can't see it again!)  Anyhow I digress, I have made a card for no reason! Other than it fit a couple of challenges!!  The stamps are Unity.  I have used a layout from the Friends with Flair Card posted on the Untiy blog.   The colours are from this weeks Just Us Girls challenge.  And the Cards blog was asking us to use berries on a card.  Oh and I just realised this fits the Wildflower Wednesday challenge of using ribbon, sparkles and dimensionals! Wow!

So here it is.

Here's a close up of all the lovely sparkles on the strawberry!

Have a fab day!

Giveaway is now CLOSED.
Just in case you don't know, I'm participating in the Sew Mama Sew MASSIVE Blog Giveaway. 

You can check it out HERE.

Just a Quick Post

Hi there

Haven't been very crafty lately.  I'm in the middle of clearing up my craft room!  Stamps are cleaned and put away, next job, try to find the table.  Oh sorry make that try to find the three tables that are apparantly in there somewhere!!

I did make these yesterday though.  I made a stack of them with Mother quotes on for the mother's day market a couple of weeks ago and a friend at work asked me if I could make some with Nana quotes on.  So this was yesterday's creation!  They are peg magnets and Clip photo holders.

Thanks for stopping by - remember to look in on Monday for the big Giveaway! Have a happy day!

For all the dog owners out there...

Hi there

Sorry it's been a while, I feel as if I've had stampers block! So finally today I sat down and made a card.  I used the sketch from the design team call at Just Us Girls although I don't think I'll be entering the design call as I haven't had a chance to do the other bits of the challenge, but I really liked the sketch though.  If I have time I may do it!  The colours were loosely from the Colour Dare, although the orange is actually more of a yellow on my card!  Infact I think it fits the Pink Elephant Challenge a little better, which was to use, Yellow, a button and designer paper. Got all those covered!

I then decorated the inside of the card:

Here is a close up of the main image on the front.

Well I'm feeling glad that I made something today.  I made some new designs for the shop last week, including a really cute one (IMO) for a Big Sister!  Stop by and take a look if you like, there is a link to both the Etsy shop and my Aussie Made It shop in the sidebar.

Oh and watch this space next week - I'm participating in the SewMamaSew Blog Giveaway!

The wonderful world of handmade!

Don't you just love being part of the handmade world! I love making stuff and seeing all the other beautiful things out there that people have made!  Yesterday I was delighted when I recieved an email from someone who had put one of my Etsy items in a treasury list.  For those not familiar with what a treasury is I'll explain!

A 'treasury' is a group of items that fit well together.  The more people that take a look at this list or leave a comment the more chance it has of making it to the front page of Etsy and thereby increasing your pool of potential customers.  So yesterday my funky bright green dinosaur onesie had been put into a treasury about dinosaurs and boy was it in good company, there were some really cute items in there!  Here is the link.

So then I got to thinking, what do I think would make a good treasury? Since I'm still in love with rainbows I decided to do a Rainbow one just for kids stuff.  Oh I found some truly beautiful work on Etsy, you can check it out here.

Haven't been crafting much this week, but hoping to get back into the groove this week!  Have a good one!

Craft Fair

Sorry I've been missing in action for a while! I was busy preparing for a local craft fair.  I wanted to launch the sales of my personalised t-shirts locally and this seemed like the perfect venue.  I have now loaded up most designs on to the Australian Made It website and taken my first order from there too, so that was exciting!

Anyhow here is a picture of my friend Lorraine and I, we shared a table.  She is on the right and I am standing on the left.

I'm happy to say there was lots of interest in the t-shirts and onesies and lots of positive comments, lots of people asked for contact details so that was good.  Got to go sew now!

Have a great day!