Getting Ready for Christmas Craft Fayres

Hello Crafters

Whether you like crafting for yourself or enjoy making and selling your crafts, Christmas is a busy time for us all.

Anyone wishing to make all their cards and several presents, or who sells should be on the way to making the items now.

I made some very pretty large Christmas cards, using up some sale items I bought at the beginning of the year,  and took them to a sale over the Bank Holiday weekend, just to see if they were what people were looking for. They were a hit and every one sold, so now I will have to make more.

My favourite YOuTube person "Lyriclover" has just started her Christmas Craft Fayre series for 2019, and I will be following it, as well as making my own items and some versions of hers.
Before starting her craft  fayres project videos, Amber, at Lyrciclover did a video on selling at Craft Fayres, which included some very useful tips on planning, making, and selling, it is worth checking it out. I have already used her point of sale tip on her first project, and there are always things we can improve on or learn.

I have recently tidied my craft room and sold quite a few spare craft items on Ebay. Whenever I sell anything I try to present it to the buyer in a way that will get me remembered for future sales and it seems to work as I am starting to get repeat business. I usually wrap carefully and try to add a free gift or "happy mail" to the parcel. This can be as simple as a hand crafted paperclip, to a small brag book, (depending on what I have in my stash and the size of the sale).

I also add a card with my blog address. I had run out of these and so yesterday I sat and stamped out another 25 ready for use.

I had the stamp made some time ago, I have tried to find the supplier (it came from India) but I cannot see them on Ebay now, however there are many companies making customized stamps on Ebay, or at your local printers so check them out. They cost around  £8 - £10 so are a good investment. I have several now, these are for paper crafts and I have another one for Sewing crafts.

I was so pleased that in my stash of card pieces, having sorted and tidied them ( see my post 03/08, using your stash project 10) I had enough pretty card with white back to print all of these without going into new card. 

Now each time I make a sale at a show I will put in one of these cards showing the information for my blog.
When I package the items to sell I add contact information with the description on the packaging .
I also take business cards for the table. 

As we go toward the holiday season I will add ideas for wrapping and point of sale, as well as some of my projects I am making for the Craft Fayre/s I am attending. I just do a couple for Christmas. 

An example of how I might add my card with a piece of "happy mail" to a small sale on Ebay. This is a giant paperclip (that I also sell) and is useful as a clip, bookmark or parcel embellishment. 

Happy Crafting 
Dee

   

New Wallets

Hi Crafters

After the last post of the wallets I had made, I could not resist and made some more from quality card stock.

These are made from double sided First Edition card pad. I really love the simplicity and usefulness of these and will definately be making lots for my Christmas Craft Fayres

Back Soon

Dee

Simple Wallets for storage & gifts

Hi Crafters

Today I took delivery of a Kam Fastener, a simple little gadget that allows you put plastic poppers onto your crafted items.

I tried it out and then set about making a set of folders to use the poppers on.

These are my first items made and I am very pleased with the ease of use and results.

There are a couple of little things to remember 

• Make sure when marking the place for the poppers with your pencil, it is only 1- 1.5cm or so from the edge as the gadget (like a hole punch) has little space between the handles and the punching part 

• Ensure the button part is sitting flat before punching it into place or you will only squash one side of the inner, and the popper will not pop in properly.

• Use a trial piece to get use to the gadget and ensure you are happy with positioning and working the popper onto the project because if you get it wrong there is no good way of removing the damaged pieces.

I think this is a great addition to the craft stash and I will use it with fabric bags and boxes as well 

I purchased the set on Ebay and it came with a large tray of 24 different coloured poppers each set requires 4 pieces 

2 Outer buttons and a male and female inner.

The set also contained another arm for different size poppers, a screwdriver to change the arm over and a pocky took to make your hole in which to place the popper. 

I will definately be making a lot more folders for any craft shows that I do as they are so useful. These were made from a single sheet of 12 x 12 with a 3" cut from the side and these pieces were used to make the concertina insides, so there is no waste. But you can play with the sizes to suit your requirements. 

The finished folders are 9" x 5.5"
Great for vouchers

Travel documents

Receipts and statements etc

Happy Crafting
Dee

Great Storage Pockets for Dies

Hi Crafters

Just a quick post today to pass on a great idea from a great blogger,  Ann at Positively Papercraft.
If like me, you have a lot of dies and you like to keep them as tidy as possible, you will have them on Magnetic sheets and in pouches.

I have most of mine on magnetic sheets and these are popped into plastic file sleeves. This works reasonably well, but with 3 storage boxes full,  the plastic sleeves are soft and this makes the pack a little bendy.

Ann at Positively Papercraft shared a great tip to make cost effective pouches that are sturdy. 
Take  a laminate pouch and cut the joined end off 1cm and cut 1cm from the side.
Turn the pouch inside out and put both pieces into another laminate pouch.
Put through your laminating machine and then cut the top off to produce a really sturdy storage pouch

You can make 2 smaller ones by cutting the 1st pouch in half (after trimming) and putting both halves into a second pouch. Make sure there is a space between the 2 halves and when laminated cut the whole folder in half and trim the tops so it opens up.

As the Pound shops all sell laminating pouches 10 for a £1 this is really affordable way of storing your dies. 

Thanks for stopping by and if you want more tips and crafts why not follow my blog by clicking on the follow button at the top of the page.

Dee

New Pop-Up Card

Hi Crafters

Today we have a new pop-up card for you
Very easy to make, so why not check out more ideas for this style on Pinterest or YouTube.

I have made a Christmas Card from a stash of card and toppers I bought in the sales.

Start the base card with a square of card.
I used a piece 8" x 8"
Score at 4", Turn and score again at 4"
Cut up the line from the middle base to the centre
Score from the top centre to the outside points of the middle line 
Fold back the top corner and fold the bottom piece to line up to make one square 
I secured this with a small split pin but you could use velcro (you want to be able to open it to up to be able to lay flat and post) 
Decorate the outside corners and make a small easel card to fit the middle of the base square.

For more inspiration look at Jan Brown on YouTube it is called a Triangular Pop Up Card

I would love to see any you make

Dee 

New Die and Shadow Box Gift

Hi Crafters

So this week I took a new delivery.
The Die is especially for mums and reads
Mothers 
Make the 
World
A Little
Softer
Kinder
&
Warmer 

I thought it was such a lovely way to celebrate all that mums mean to you and set too immediately to make a Shadow Box Plaque with the die.

I cut out the die with heavy pearlised card
and simply decorated with a couple of small flowers and some pearl embellishments 
Mounted it all onto a lavender sheet of pearlised card 
This one is for sale in my Etsy Store 

I made another one and then cut 2 easel cards ready to make a couple of Birthday cards

Dee

Christmas Workshops November

Hi Crafters

No posts for a few days but I have been busy making samples for my Christmas Workshops
There are two planned, the first will be Saturday 2nd November.
This will be an all day workshop 10am to 4pm, and for a change there will be a lunch of Minestrone soup and fresh bread available for anyone who is attending, (or you can bring your own packed lunch).

We will be making Christmas cards, 3 from a range of samples made to inspire you. After that we will use the same stamps and dies to make a gift box.

After lunch we will make an Organiser to store your Christmas lists, cards and tags.

 You will need to bring:

·         4 pieces of cream card stock, A4

·         3 pieces of Christmas card stock 12 x 12

·         Christmas Embellishments

·         1 metre Coordinating ribbon  

Scissors

Glue stick, double sided tape

Scoring tool, ruler, pencil, any stamps and dies you may wish to use if not using the starlight set provided

I will supply

Packs of base card, ribbon and die-cuts for the cards and box

Some Embellishments will be available on the resources table

Tea coffee and biscuits 
Cost will be £15 to include

Minestrone Soup and Bread lunch for those who want it, or bring your own packed lunch. 

Because I am serving lunch there are only 10 places on this workshop. Please email me for more information and a booking form to secure a place.

 Dee 

Project 10 Using up your stash Sorting your card

Hello Crafters

This is the last in the series of using up your stash, and this particular post should probably have been the first one in the series.

It is all about keeping your card tidy and using up ALL the card including the scraps. I have covered this before but thought it was worth going over again.

I am sure most crafters like me have a bag of scrap card under the desk or in a box/drawer that you tidy the desk into. You are always going to use it, but it often sits there for months going nowhere.

By sorting the pieces and putting into groups you will have them at hand for any projects you make.

Here is my kitchen table before the sort:

As you can see the cup of tea is also on the table to see me through the workload.

I then sort into categories according to the type of crafting I do, so this may be different for you.

Here are my categories

1 Bigger pieces that can be used for other projects 

These are usually A6 and over 

2 Black and metallic card 
I always separate these as they have specific uses, are normally more expensive so if you have a piece large enough without cutting a new sheet it is useful.

3 Long narrow strips
These I can use to make paper ribbons or belly bands

4. Shaped pieces already cut
Often after cutting the main parts for a project you have a neat piece of card left in one corner or you have cut it out to make a box etc. This I stack separately as they can be used for tags and matting & layering

5. Probably the biggest pile  the other smaller pieces, but too large to throw out
Although this is most useful pile, (I use them for my die-cutting), this is the pile you need to be most ruthless with. Be strong and throw out any finer papers or card as die cuts need to be 150gsm or more to hold their shape well. so unless you have a specific idea on how to use it throw it out.
Any very small pieces, I have kept them before because they are particularly pretty prints or card colour but then when I revisit the stash they are still there, taking up valuable space. 

Place all your piles in separate bags or files and then put in one large folder or bag and store under the desk or on a craft shelf.

Last but not least, on a quiet day when you are looking for something to do, take out stack 5 and your die cutting machine and cut like crazy, ready for your projects. 

MAKE THIS THE FIRST PLACE TO VISIT FOR YOUR PROJECTS AND USE UP THAT STASH

Dee

Envelope Folder -Using Your Papers Stash Project 9

Hi Fellow Crafters

We are nearing the end of the Series Using up  your paper/card stash
This is Project 9 and it is all about using 12 x 12 pages to make envelopes and then joining the envelopes to  make a folder.

To make this you will need 
4 sheets of 12 x 12 card 
an envelope maker 
coordinating papers if you want to build the folder into a memory book and not just use it for storage.
a fastening.

Make 4 envelopes from the 12 x 12 sheets and using the flaps slot them into each other 
Use the last flap to go over the folded envelopes, as a closure. Score 1cm from the top to give it a binder allowance and use a heavy magnet or button closure to hold in place.

I have used vintage papers to cover the envelope seams but if you use pretty card stock that coordinates you may not need to do this.

Dee

We Have A Winner

Hi Crafters

 I am delighted to announce that the winner of the Goodie Bag (for subscribing to my blog during July is Julie.

Julie, (you know who your are), if you would like to email me with your details I will send you the items you have won. Please claim before the 31st August 2019 to get your prize.

For everyone else who reads this blog watch out for future opportunities to win a Crafted Item from Dee's Designs. All followers will be placed in future drawers, with the exception of the previous winner, so you will not miss out by subscribing at any time, plus you can comment on my posts and ask  questions.

Dee