Going Off On One!!!

“I’ve so let the housework go since I started blogging!

Yesterday, I withdrew the post below (Poppy Bird-Seed Card) because it prompted a lovely but very worried follower to ask whether the young girl, who had drawn and given me the picture had any connections with a website selling digi stamp images. The writer felt that the picture I had used appeared to share several similarities to the images on sale and was perhaps not as original as it seemed. She was also concerned that because of  these similarities I could be opening myself up for potential copyright issues.

My doodles !! My original work?? How do I prove it??

This made me think about copyright in card making and blogging. I checked out the website to which my attention had been drawn, only to find, in my opinion, that they were selling images that could infringe the copyrights of at least two major companies, (one from publishing and the other a film character). It's a minefield!
You’ve only got to look at the current trend amongst a lot of the top blogs on http://www.craftyblogs.co.uk/ to see the plethora of doe eyed, cutesy digi stamp images being used, many of which are comparable with each other, as well as to the drawing I used ….

So what do I do?  Is the digi industry so circumspect that to use a  child’s doodle/drawing on a card could result in possible litigation by questioning its originality? If that’s what the crafting world is all about who needs it? ….

There is more to doing house work than I anticipated!

Disillusioned, I am now considering giving it all up to start doing the housework again!!!!! Anyway I have decided to post the card regardless and be dammed ….. see you in court! ..... (files in cakes will be very acceptable if I am incarcerated!).

Popsy Bird-Seed Card

This card measures 7ins x 5ins and is made using a fine ribbed white card.

Introducing Popsy Bird-Seed drawn for me by a friend’s daughter.

I just love the name! As soon as I saw her drawings I knew I could make some brilliant cards with them.  So I asked it I could scan a couple to see what I could do.

I have kept it very simple, as I didn’t want to detract from the drawing.  All I have done is a simple single decoupage layer on the hair and “Thanks” sign, sticking them down with a couple of small foam pads. I’ve also added Ranger Glossy Accents to the hair, shoes and flowers for dimension, plus a touch of glitter on her wings and tiny gems on the flowers for a bit of bling. …. and how cute is this little bird ….?

Friends Forever

The background on this card is an old card gone wrong, which I’d kept as I knew I might be able to do something with it eventually.

The stickers are from Paperchase (£1 per pack), I loved the girls heads, and knew exactly how I’d use them, BUT why do they have to put faces on most the of the other stickers?  Ugh …. I know I just won’t use them.

I’ve used scraps of card for the girls dresses and then doodled the other bits … I wished they’d do a packet of just faces….. I could do so much with them!

Poppy Card

I can’t believe how long this card took me to make.  I love the paper and the embellishments (poppies are one of my favourite flowers along with sunflowers) but coming up with a design was a nightmare, everything looked PANTS. I wanted to come out of my comfort zone and try a mix of papers, but I’m so rubbish at it.

The paper and embellishments are from K & Co by Tim Coffey and are beautiful,  but in the end, after at least an hour and a half I went for “simple” and just added three brass dragonflies to add a bit of bling and texture.

It’s so hard, I wish I could mix and match my papers and embellishments like other bloggers do, perhaps I should find a template and design I like and work from there, making small changes with each card I make, till I finally “get it”

Little Patchwork Cakes Card

  
This card uses my 9 scalloped square template – ideal for using very small stickers.

This time I’ve used a packet of cake stickers I bought from Tesco ages ago.  I think they cost £1.

All I have had to add is a small flat backed gem to each cake.

Bind It All – Old, New, Borrowed and Blue Mini Book

The covers of these mini books measure 4.1 x 4.1 inches and the inside pages, made with ivory linen effect card measure 4 x 4 ins.

I featured my wedding mini books when I first started blogging but as they are all a little bit different I thought I would show you my latest ones.

This weekend I have had two to make, this one is destined for Ghana, where an old colleague went to work last year, met the “one” and is now getting married and settling down there for a while. Being so far from home,  I thought it was important  that she had something very traditional for her wedding day.

I’ve used Papyrus font size 18 for the text in a sepia colour.

And added little charms and bits and pieces to embellish the each page…..

….. as well as punched flowers, tiny flat backed gems and faux stitching.

I didn’t have two sets of ring charms ….

So in the second book I put a LOVE charm instead

On the right hand pages of the book I have added a little pocket for the bride to put little mementoes like small photos, confetti etc.

I don’t have any real silver sixpences, but I do have a pile of old ones bought from a coin shop in Wolverhampton which polish up a treat to put in the tiny organza bag on this page.

I leave the last page blank for messages to be written.  It’s a real labour of love, I guess from beginning to end each book has taken me about three and a half hours to make, including the box.

Dinosaur Card.

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using white linen effect card.

Everyone loves a cute dinosaur!  I found these little puffy stickers in an indoor market while I was on one of my Sun £9.50 holidays, for only 60p a pack ….. bargaintastic!

Leaving Card

The brief for this card came from my son ….. can it say “Bloody Hell” somewhere, feature the grumpy old men from the Muppet Show, and as the man it was for was a “shark at the dogs” a greyhound!

 
Not much of a challenge then!!!!!!

I’ve done simple decoupage layers for the faces and hares (???, they were the best I could find!)

And then added Ranger Glossy Accents on the eyes, noses and rocket for extra dimension.

No Flies On Me!

Guess who went into raptures when she received a whole pile of flies through the post?

They were a wonderful present from my lovely follower Marc, boy does he know how to make a woman happy!!!!!  Oh my life!

I love them …. and am planning on embellishing every last one …… to use on canvases, cards and calendars …. but I could do with a few fly/flies related sayings like … time flies, flies round **** etc. any suggestions?  

Heart Shaped Keyring

I made this keyring for my friend Sarah

Packs of heart or oblong  shaped keyrings are available from Hobbycraft in the “Make It!” Create and Play range and are currently on a 3 for 2 offer – there are 12 in a pack which should cost £2.99, so I stocked up with Christmas in mind.

The paper I have used was from a page in the Cath Kidston magazine, too good to waste!  All I have done is cut out two hearts using one of the paper blanks (also included in the pack) as a template, stuck them back to back and then added a bit of faux stitching and a few tiny gems.  The adhesive letters are from the Tatty Teddy You to Me range.

Display Box For Cards

When I take my cards into work it’s nice to display them in a pretty box to entice people to look!

I’ve had this small satsuma/orange box for ages and wondered what it would look like if I tarted up a bit.

So first,  I painted  the inside and corners using a cream Matchpot that  I’ve had for ages (think they cost me 10p for 3 from a recycling depot) and then lined the bottom of the box with a matching piece of cream card.  The sides are covered using a paper from My Mind’s Eye called  Mary Mary “Beautiful” So Cute Paper …. I’m quite pleased with how its turned out and it’ll serve it’s purpose for a while.

My 15 Minutes of Fame Care Of Docrafts Creativity Magazine!

This is a card I made using the free stickers with this months issue of Docrafts Creativity.  It measures 10.5cm x 14.5cms and is made using white linen effect card.

How awful am I? I dragged the poor Duke of Fiddle Fart off to try to find a copy of July/August Docrafts Creativity because my Royal Wedding card was in it! I was sure that the first place we went to would have it …… but no …. their most up to date copy was from March!

So I made him drive all the way back into Wolverhampton to Hobbycraft where they had a copy……

And there it was on page 46, my 15 minutes of fame!

Anyway the whole magazine is a really cracking read, so much so that it is sat on my craftroom desk for me to refer to as there are quite a few ideas I dying to try.

…. like these Papermania Four Door Cards and envelopes in either white or Kraft for £3, how brilliant do they look?

….. and what is more the stamps used in the 4 Door Cards are free with the September issue …. and boy do I need those stamps (as a non stamper!!).  I love the fact that it may only be July but the Christmas ideas are beginning to appear in the magazines and I am determined to get most of my cards etc. done in the school summer holidays. Bring it on!

Tatty Teddy Birthday Card

This card measures 14.5 x 14.5 cms and is made using ivory linen effect card.

This card is made using Tatty Teddy “You To Me” 12 x 12 papers with toppers that I got as part of my Royal Wedding card competition prize. I’ll admit I’m not very good with kits … they never seem like I have made them or look natural, if you know what I mean!

The pack came with a sheet of Tatty Teddy toppers and if I were to be ultra picky I have to say that the colours weren’t as perfect match as I would have liked, I think it may have something to do with the toppers being printed on a glossy card, and to be honest the difference jarred a little with me. This has happened several times before with paper and embellishment ranges, so I tend to buy the  embellishments and use papers I already have with them.   To add a little dimension I have put Rangers Glossy Accents on the bear’s nose, foot pads, parcel tag and balloons.

Card For A Census Collector!

This card is A5 in size and is made using white linen effect card.

I made this card for my sister,  who was a census collector a few months back , to give to her supervisor when she had finished the job..

It’s not easy when you try to convey humour that you were not really party too, but I think I “nailed” it on this card, as my sister was very pleased with it!