Tuesday 27 May 2014

Bank Holiday Relaxation

I just wanted to share with you photos of my Guinea Pigs out enjoying the fresh air in the garden yesterday





And of course I can't leave out the 3 bigger furries who just love a spot of sunbathing!




And today's surprise is....

ANOTHER Tea-bag Card!

 
All card and papers from my existing stash! Backing layers matted and distressed with scissors.  Happy Birthday peel-off coloured with a Promarker to coordinate with the rest of the card.  Tea bag flower edge and backing paper edges inked with distress ink.  The flourish used is by Tonic and the fancy labels are by Spellbinders.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges please:






Saturday 24 May 2014

Dipping my Acrylic Toe In!

Yesterday I had a bit of a try at Monoprinting but as I don't have a Gelli Plate (yet!) or even a brayer (yet!) I kept it simple and spread the paint by brush onto a sheet of Acetate.  After pulling and then drying I made it an integral part of a tea bag card and this was the result!

 
I just love the textures and look of the finished piece and it certainly has given me the mixed media bug! 




Wednesday 21 May 2014

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Tuesday 20 May 2014

Gelli Plate & More Ribbons!

I've been inspired recently to delve into the world of mixed media crafting much more, and this has GOT to be my new addiction (and I haven't actually tried it yet!!). 

So a Gelli Plate and Brayer are next on my list of things to invest in, hopefully very soon!


I would love folks to share their ideas and tips with me in preparation for starting the messy fun!

Not really crafted today (yes I KNOW that is a sin!)... but I did grab the chance to "ribbon-up" another of my journals... this time my ATC scrapbook got the ribbon treatment.


Monday 19 May 2014

Digis Wanted!

I am looking to expand my small collection of Digistamps so am putting an appeal out to all my fellow crafters!

Please can you all leave a comment with LINKS to your favourite Digi Shops so I can have a bit of a buy!

Thankyou!



Saturday 17 May 2014

ATC Swap - "Flower Power"


Today I posted off my 5 ATCs for the "Flower Power" themed swap over at the CRAFT, CHAT, SHARE & CARE group over on Facebook.

Inspired by fellow crafter Erin Stewart, I've been trying to do more interactive ATCs and slotted 2 into this 5.

So, here they all are!:
 
 
ONE:  I kept this simple, with a striking white on white theme.  This I also entered into a "White on White" competition in the same group.
 
TWO:  Embossing folders, die cuts, white card and kraft card were all that was used here but I feel the effect is just right!
 
THREE:  Lovely purple glitter card (my favorite colour) was used here along with papers from my stash.  The flower's "stem" is a cut-into tattered lace flourish.
 
FOUR: Another one used for the "White on White" competition in this craft group! This ATC is a super tiny Pop-Up Box Card, ATC sized when flat!  I thought it added a little something interactive to dip my toe in!
 
FIVE: and finally, I had these chinese dragon papers that I have being dying to make use of so I sought out a flower themed Chinese Proverb, writing this in gold pen on the tag which is hidden inside the pocket!  I was initially going to use silver with the red and black and am glad I went with the gold instead!
 
So that is all, I don't know what my next ATC swap is yet, but have plenty of other swaps and not forgetting Make It Sew orders to be getting on with in the meantime!

Friday 16 May 2014

ATC time again - This time Scrapbooking them!

So earlier this week (I think it was!) I blogged my newly made ATC Scrapbook Album, a reminder of it here:

 
Yesterday I finished off the pages for the 3 swaps I've done so far... yes only 3!  MANY more to come hopefully!  Here they are.  I don't think I need to add much waffle about how I did these as I kept them pretty simple.  Each page has a tag in a pocket.  One side of the tag shows the ATCs that I myself made for the swap and the other side gives more details on the swap (group, date, other details etc).

Here is just one of the pages:
 
 
That's it for now!  Today I am trying my hand at making paper roses, so will blog about that soon... providing it works out haha!

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Christmas in May!

Yes, you DID read that right, Christmas! Yesterday I spent what was otherwise a horrendous day having my new boiler fitted by busying myself with making my entry for a Tag Swap over at That Craft Place. TCP is a bricks and mortar shop (that I have never been to) but they also have a wonderful crafty community on Facebook, HERE.

The swap theme is "Modern Christmas" with the tag to measure at least 3¼ x 6¼". I'm not sure if mine is as radically "modern" as I suspect others will be, there are some very talented folks in the TCP group. However I think I've done a good job with these. I'm looking forward to doing this swap, truth be told, I am a little nervous, this will be my first swap in this group and the bar is set quite high!

After spending some time trying to figure out where to start, ideas for not one but two tags came to me, so I made both! I don't know which of the tags in going to submit for the swap yet, but I'm sure I'll find a use for the other!

The first tag I've called "Xmas Snow Scene" and is made from materials already in my stash, including American Crafts cardstock, padded fabcricy type embellishments (sorry can't remember their names!) And a vellum sentiment as a loose overlay. I went for mountains going into the distance and hope I got at least some perspective into the scene.


The second tag is called "Contemporary Christmas" and is made from more stuff in my stash including the papers for the tea bag shape, and the felt reindeer bunting. The black reindeer is a die cut from a shop bought crimbo card!


 
Bye for now, Sam

Monday 12 May 2014

Scrapbooking my ATCs & Organising my die cuts!

Okay, THAT title could have been more streamlined, but I'm sure I'll get used to this haha!

In the last week I've had 2 projects on the go, first was the task of finding someway of keeping my ready to use die cuts in some kind of order!  This was the result!:

 
The box measures roughly 8 1/2 X 9 inches and holds ikea ziplock bags perfectly (because I made it from scratch)!  The teal cardstock is from American Crafts and the purple glitter card was a kind gift from a fellow crafter.  I used purple and white bakers twine for the bunting string and turquoise pompom trim for the box edge, both from Felted Fancies Supplies.

The next make is no doubt the first of many ATC Scrapbooks for journaling and displaying the ATCs I receive from fellow crafters in swaps.  I've finished the outside now and it took me several days to be happy with the layout and colours but here it is!:

 
It is A4 in size, and arrived from an ebay seller with a rather bright denim printed cover.  This I toned down a little with my Gathered Twigs distress ink.

The background is a brickwork printed backing paper that I've had some time.  This was layered over some AC textured cardstock.  Firstly though I set to distressing the brickwork packing paper.  I soaked with a water/glycerine mix and scrunched opening out very carefully!! I then softly distressed using the same gathered twigs ink pad and a blushed brush. This picked up some of the crease marks.  I applied more gathered twigs direct from the ink pad to paper, highlighting some of the bigger creases.  I allowed the paper to the almost dry and then tore the edges and applied more ink to the edges.  Once I had allowed more time for it to be fully dry it was quite fragile so I gave it 3 coats of Crafter's Companion Spray & Shine to the front, and one to the back (to seal it and give a little more grip for my adhesive).

The giant flower was made using a Sizzix Bigz heart die, and the ATC letters (and the "DIE CUTS" letters on the box) are all Sizzix Bigz Lollipop Shadow Capital Letters.  The flourish is from my very favorite die brand Tonic!

Well, I have no idea whether I've waffled too much or whether I am on the right track so feedback is always welcome!

Bye for now,

Sam

My Disease, My Inspiration!

In my last blog entry I mentioned surgery I had to my feet in May and December of 2012, and as promised, I shall expand a little on that here as it is relevant to my crafty journey (bear with me!...).

I have a condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (or CMT for short!).  CMT, unlike the name suggests, has nothing to do with teeth and is a neuromuscular condition, or more specifically a peripheral neuropathy.  This mean a condition affecting the nerves of the peripheral nervous system, or the nerves that mainly supply the arms and legs.  

CMT has left me with very poor balance, the inability to walk far and deformed feet, legs and hands.  I wear leg braces full time and rely on walking sticks, crutches and wheelchairs/scooters to get around.  I suffer from severe fatigue and considerable pain.

There is no cure for CMT.  It is progressive, meaning it will and is getting steadily worse as I get older.    

The charity CMT United Kingdom is very dear to me and 10% of the profits from all Make It Sew sales are donated to the charity.  CMT United Kingdom is the UK's national charity for those with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease and you can find out more about the charity and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease by visiting their website, www.cmt.org.uk .

Being involved with Make It Sew and especially the wider crafty community that it allows me to be a part of, is doing me the world of good and it is finally a job that I love to do and that I can pace myself at, not working myself to exhaustion!

I'll sign off this very early morning blog post with a couple of pics of an exploding box card made for my other half Claire Bear's Nan.
 
 
 
 
xxSAMxx

Just another About Me post

To state the obvious, I am Sam Lewis!  So I'm going to kick off this blog with the obligatory "About Me" and go from there! 

I am, as of May 2014, 32 years old. I was adopted at a young age into the Lewis family and am one of 4 children. 

I am on the right in the photo below, alongside my partner Claire.

Together with our family of dogs and guinea pigs we live in rainy North Yorkshire in a lovely bungalow overlooking fields and hills.

I have made and sold cards, more as a hobby than anything, for many years, but recent declining health and redundancy from my "proper" job in late 2011 left me at home twiddling my thumbs!

The couple of years following this were filled with the stresses of adjusting to life after a busy and very challenging job that had been my primary focus for almost 10 years.  I also underwent 2 more rounds of surgery to my feet and ankles to help me walk a little better (more about that in my next blog post!).  

So here I am now, settled into my new role as creative goddess!  I very much enjoy the challenge of expanding my creative mind and drawing on many many years of great knowledge and experience in order to satisfy my customers at Make It Sew, my own greeting card and home accessories business.

I look forward to sharing all of my crafty stories with you, with the occasional personal update thrown in!
 
 
Claire (l) and me, Sam (r)

xxSAMxx

Welcome to The Crippled Crafter Blog!

This is the brand new, sparkly and shiny blog of The Crippled Crafter AKA Sam Lewis, owner of Make It Sew, www.facebook.com/Krafts4CMT

Please SUBSCRIBE!
 
 
xxSAMxx