Blogging Everyday in June - Day 30: The Importance of Being Crafty...

Today is sadly the last day of the Blogging Everyday in June Challenge and I've gotta say it's been amazing and I have actually really l.o.v.e.d participating in this blogging challenge. It's been brilliant! Mahoosive Thanks to Kairen from Karoove for coming up with this blogging challenge - the woman is a genius! I hope that all the lovely crafters that took part in some days / all days / most days - I hope that your crafting adventures continue! :)

So, the last day asks:

Day 30: What Does Crafting Mean to You?

Crafting for me started out as a hobby on the side, something to literally just do in my spare time and over the few years recently, it's turned into something more epic. I craft as part of a design team now on Aud Sentimentswhen a few years ago I never even knew what a design team was and I never have have thought my card skills and craft making skills were even good enough to be on any team, let alone a team whom I thoroughly enjoy working with. So for me it's an honour and a pleasure.

Crafting for me is something that I love to relax with, creating cards for my friends and for them to actually say 'I totally wanna keep this forever' or 'I love it, I can't believe you actually made this' - its great getting compliments and for me, even minus the compliments or comments - I would still do it, because I enjoy it. It's time for me to have for myself, something that's different from the everyday norm of day-to-day life and it's something I can put my creativity, expression, emotion, enjoyment and effort into and this will continue long into the future.

Home made / crafting / cardmaking / papercrafting is making an utmost contemporary comeback adapted for modern and old-fashioned crafters and makers. Home furnishings, original art and pieces, gifts and the ability for items to be customised and personalised as well as an ever increasing online presence - it's a skill that will be changed, maintained and will still be kept on trend.

With all this in mind, crafting itself has created a world of opportunity and community. Being able to share your ideas with others, bringing individual crafters together, going to shows, workshops and clubs - the list is endless and it's ever growing. 

With the ability to bring people together, expressing creativity and even just a hobby to sink your teeth into the importance of crafting for me is ever growing and for so many reasons - it's something I will continue to enjoy and pass on to the next generation in the near future.

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 29: Down at the Beach...

Day 29: Down at the Beach...

I dug out this Beach themed card for today's task:

This is a card I did for Pinspirational Challenges Blog on which I was a Design Team member. It's one of my favourite cards actually and always reminds of the summer, the beach and lovely hot weather!

As its nearing to July, like seriously JULY?! Where did the months go? Where's my UK Summer? I'm hoping the British Summer will actually get here. Next weekend I will be in sunny Blackpool for a week to enjoy the sunshine, the beach and get myself a tan! :) YAY!!!

Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge and I am actually sad about that, I've thoroughly enjoyed it! Day 30 tomorrow for the last Blogging Everyday in June Challenge! Stay tuned!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 28: Three Wishes. Go!

Day 28:  If you had three wishes what would they be?

Now I think this would be a bit hard because there are a lot of things that I would like to change my life for the better and for the future, so let's get the ol' thinking cap on!

1. Enough money to be comfortable.

I'm not looking for £150million or anything, just enough so that my parents can retire on some holiday beach somewhere with a lovely house and some sunshine. I don't expect to win the lottery anytime soon and I'm not asking the world, but an adequate amount so that my parents can rest and I can invest more for my future. I'd also like to be generous with my money and give some to my friends & family to help them out too.

2. Love

This is more a borderline wish for me. I'm not in a rush to find anyone, but it would be nice to find someone. I'm one of those people who are really happy for others in love, but I miss it a little as well. Its something I would definitely want in the future, but it's also something I'm not gonna rush myself into. If someone comes along - great, if they take a bit longer - that's okay as well. Things happen for a reason, so who knows?

3. For all those close to me (friends and family etc) to be happy.

Bit of a big wish there to be honest, but I think it's something that is realistically possible! I hope that all my friends, family, good friends, best friends, or even acquaintances to be happy and live happy lives. I'm not too fussed about myself, as long as everyone else is happy around me that normally sends positive vibes my way and 'If you're happy, I'm happy' - which is something I stick to pretty much 90% of the time!

So those are my three main wishes, I probably have about 10 more, but hey let's not think to far ahead of ourselves! :)

Weekend is nearly here with the last few days in this challenge left!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 27: Three

Day 27: Your Three Best Projects

So I may have changed this slightly into my favourite three projects - rather than my best three. Only because I can't really pick between a lot of crafting projects I do. It'll be too hard to pick, as I only, well mostly stick to one media of work - paper and/or card :)

So here we go...

This birthday card I made for the Aud Sentiments DT which I am currently on and have been on the design team since 2012. It's one of my favourites actually because of the colours and the image I used. I love the ribbon and the embellishments. It just came together perfectly and it's soo cute. I gave this card to my friend Gemma for her birthday earlier this year.

Next...

This card I entered into the second DT I was on up until April this year and that was with Pinspirational Challenges. I made this card specifically to match with the theme they had on that particular week to match with their Pinterest pic. The card turned out amazingly and it was a favourite of mine - I love the orange and the black and how well they went together as well as the other embellishments as well - especially the black flourish and the buttons. I gave this card to my friend Elaina (who actually has the same colour hair as Wryn in this picture) as a birthday card to her.

And last but not least...

This was an altered paper mache letter for a friend of mine. I hadn't bought her a present, so I decided to make one for her and as her name is Aisha (Hey Aisha!) the letter 'A' for her was pretty much a done deal for what to give to her. She loves personalised things as well, so this was ideal. I made it to match her tastes and it's pretty unique, one of a kind. So she's very lucky to have one ;)

So there you are, looking forward to seeing your three best projects too!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 26: Being Good at Stuff

Day 26: What do you wish you were good at?

There's probably a lot of things I wish I was good at, seriously he's a peek at a quarter of the list (LOL):

Saving Money

I don't shop a massive amount, but I do shop and I don't save much - which is bad

Cooking

Can't cook properly, I can do bits and pieces, but if you're expecting a four course meal round my place, then you're thinking ahead more than I am!

Taking Compliments & Criticism (more positively!)

Can't take either without having to make a joke at the end, like: 'Your cheque is in the post', *gives a strange look* or anything else similar. Its difficult for me. Same with criticism as well. Can't take it all that well either!

And last but not least:

Being Better with Time

I am organised to a certain extent, and my time keeping skills are okay, but I wish I could organise my time a little bit more efficiently and keeping to those times. I think I need to change watches, or maybe just plan ahead a little more?

There's just a few things I wish I was good at... what do you wish you were good at?

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 25: Crafting Advice...

Day 25: Crafting Advice for Beginners

I have been crafting for about 12 years on and off, bits and pieces, here and there and I have to say I'm learning new things all the time, everyday. New techniques, new equipment, new ways to do things, and new makes and dos.

But I have a few pointers:

Always do your research

If you're learning a new technique, like heat embossing, or stamping or die cutting, I always go through YouTube first to have a look at some videos which demonstrate the technique and then you'll be able to see it in action. Sometimes crafters will show you what equipment or tools they use and if they have blogs in relation to their videos, or links in the down bar.

If you can't go through YouTube, doing a simple search on Google or look through social media like Pinterest or Facebook.

Grab a few magazines

IO started out in crafting by buying a few crafting magazines a month, it doesn't have to be a tremendous amount, but maybe two or three magazines - pick and choose whichever in relation to your craft and have a flick through and obtain inspiration, some makes might be easy, others not so much, but you wont know until you try!

Work your way up!

I always started out by creating simple cards, ones that had hand drawn pictures, or just one picture and no words and then I started building up to more advanced cards, adding new materials, adding new techniques, adding new colours and papers and you'll find what style works best for you.

Blogs

Self explanatory, you'll be able to find inspiration via Craft Blogs and you can use social media, Google and you'll be able to find crafters and inspired articles. You can also enter in challenges too, but you can work your way to that, you can just gain a bit of confidence in creating cards first and then entering challenges when you're ready!

Get your friends to help!

I'm always testing out my cards with my friends, getting their opinion, seeing if they like some of my crafting, and even they have some great ideas on crafty things you might like too!

I hope that this crafty advice post helped some beginner crafters

Day 26 tomorrow... 

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 24: My Craft Wish List...

Day 24: Craft Wish List

Err, I have an extensive list, so we could be here all day, but there's probably just a few things I would want on my wish list:

My Very Own Craft Studio - Kitted out with storage, decorations, up to date equipment, lots of paper, my own space... ahh that would be lovely

If that's asking for too much, there's not much else I would want, maybe a MacBook Pro would be great to put my design skills to the absolute max with some great software, a few stamps from some popular brands such as Lawn Fawn, Paper Smooches, Greeting Farm, Some Odd Girl, Simon Says Stamp, maybe some dies from Spellbinders, My Favourite Things and Sizzix. Some great papers from My Minds Eye, American Crafts, Studio Calico and Prima. That's probably the extent of what I would love to have. I think if we're talking details I would be here all day!

I would also like to be a better crafter I think too! But I'm getting better! :)

Whats on your wish list?

Day 25 is next...

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 23: All About the Stuggle-rs

Day 23: Struggles

There are probably a few things that I do struggle with - some more personal, than physical struggles. 

Things like self-confidence I struggle with sometimes, but I am learning to love myself a lot more everyday - even with the smallest of things. Procrastination for me is one of the bigger things I struggle with only because I feel that there isn't enough time in the day to do things that I need to do. Being more motivated especially creatively can be a bit of a struggle as I go through time periods of having a creative block, and then having moments of genius!

There are a number of things, but I often feel like I should do more, and set myself more better life and career goals for the future. I feel like over the past few years, I haven't done much and this is something I really want to improve on, develop and change. I know I can do that, I just need to kick myself somewhere and push myself over the line and go beyond anything and accomplish more. 

Small changes can make a big difference and I intend to try and be better and make something of my life.

Here's to the future everyone!

Finally caught up! Day 24 up tomorrow!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 22: Your Favourite Crafting Season...

Day 22: Your Favourite Crafting Season

I have got to say without a doubt, it has to be Christmas. Though not really a season, more like an occasion, the winter season is by far my favourite season to craft.

Christmas crafting in general is busy, hectic, but enjoyable. Handmade Christmas cards, handmade wrapping paper, gift tags, or even handmade gifts - it can be really crazy, but it's all worth it especially when you give a present or a card to a friend or relative that you've made and their reaction is huge and it means a lot to them that you've made so much effort into making the gift and adding your own personal touch. Their reactions are by far the best thing in the world! 

Christmas for me is the best time of the year, I love the whole Christmas shopping experience, getting last minute presents, giving out cards, treats, gift bags, doing the whole food shop. It's mad, but I love it and I wouldn't change it. This year I'll be spending Christmas in another country, so that will definitely be a completely different experience altogether - one I'm very nervous about, but really excited about! Roll on the holidays! (But not yet though, because I would actually like a bit of a summer before it gets cold again!)

Catching up slowly and just about getting there - Day 23 up next!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 21: A Perfect Afternoon...

Getting there! Here's Day 21:

Describe your perfect afternoon

I think for me perfect afternoons consist of either doing one of two things: 1) crafting in absolutely peace and quiet at home with all the time in the world to create or 2) spending a gorgeous afternoon in the warm UK sunshine!

Crafting for me is something that I can do anytime, but with such a small space at home and not that much to swing a cat, it can be a bit difficult. Being able to craft with no-one in the house and the space all to yourself (moving everything to the living room) then it is doable and then I know I have all the time in the world to create some cards, some layouts and a few other pieces in between. It can be rather therapeutic being able to craft with maybe a bit of music in the background and not having to watch the time every 30 minutes. That in itself would be a perfect afternoon.

On the other hand, sometimes spending time outside is lovely. London is host to some great spaces - some local parks in your own neighbourhood, others requiring a bit of travel to enjoy a wider space for a bit of sunshine and to catch a bit of a tan. My perfect afternoon in the sunshine would consist of me and some good friends, some music in the background to listen to and have a dance around, and also, possibly - though not necessarily needed - though who wouldn't want one - a barbecue! Great food, ice cold beverages, great company, warm sunshine. I couldn't really ask for more! Perfect! :)

That's my perfect afternoon, what's yours?

Day 22 in a bit... 

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 20: Multicoloured...

Day 20: If you could be a colour, what would it be and why?

So It's a bit of cop out, but if I could be a colour, I would be multicoloured. Just like a rainbow, I incorporate all of the colours and can choose to be any colour I wanted to be any day of the week! I could be blue one day to match the sky, green to match the grass and trees, yellow to match the sun on a warm summer's day or red to represent fire and love. So you get the best of all worlds! :)

Picture via Pinterest

Picture via Leanne La Tigris on Pinterest

So hope you love those rainbow inspired pictures. Next its Day 21!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 19: A Snapshot of your Day...

The next instalment for the Blogging Everyday Challenge is Day 19:

A Snapshot of your Day

On days that I do work, I take the tube (also known as the London Underground) from this very recently built monument - The Shard to where I work in Central London.

During warm sunny days, I'll lounge and relax in the park next to work and chill out with my kindle and a sandwich. I work in an office, so I sit at a desk for about 8 hours a day, doing the usual admin, filing, answering phone calls etc, so normally my days are pretty varied - you get quiet days where nothing happens, and then you can get days where it's really crazy and there's a bout a million and one events going on throughout the day, but I love my job and my colleagues are awesome.

Just a little insight in to my life...

Day 20 up next!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 18: Dotty About You...

So I have some serious catching up to do! Some ridiculous catching up to do! So here we go... Day 18:

Craft something that dots / with Dots

So with a little help from My Beautiful Mess app once again, just thought I would do this little image containing dots

I thought I would use the 'dots' theme and just crazy with it, so I applied some extra dots for the background in different colours and use the phrase that combines it altogether. Ahh, love - you can't live without it!

Day 19 is coming up in a bit...

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 17: A Beautiful Mess of Red...

I'm still trying to catch up with my blogging, so here's Day 17:

Craft something that has the colour red in it

Now I kind of cheated a tiny bit. I didn't in a sense make anything, I do however create something digitally.

I created this picture using an Apple application called 'A Beautiful Mess'. I took the theme for today which is red and focused all the other combining colours around it - or at least colours that went well with red.

This will probably be on the front of a card at some point, a simple one layer card for a friend or relative.

The application is great for just aplying around with hand drawn doodles, text, handwriting, colours and layouts. I could've spent hours on it, I think you might too! It's only available on Apple products at the moment, and not on Android unfortunately (Boo!) But hopefully it should be soon. Great app!

I'll be catching up on the posts through the week! Apologies. Day 18 and 19 will be up soon!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 16: Outside the Crafting Box..

Day 16 asks: When you're not crafting, what do you do?

When I am not crafting or making cards, or papercrafting a project or doing a DT challenge, It is most likely I am doing a few things: I work three days a week as an admin for a charity that promotes Africa in the UK. When I'm not working I'm at home doing errands, or prepping for work projects. I'll sometimes go to a work event, or going out with some friends, or catching up with someone for lunch, or going to the gym. My days can be pretty varied, but follow a similar-ish pattern, but I'm hoping to plough myself into working more hours, getting another job, or at least work on this website - for more on the corporate side of things - like setting up the shop, or thinking about marketing, or at least adding content to the site as much as possible and whenever possible. Think I'm doing a good job of it now! Maybe...

Not very exciting right?! But hey, that's how it has become - but I'm still looking forward to more future adventures! :)

Tomorrow is a new week and it'll be the 17th day of the challenge! Woohoo!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 15: Love...

I am playing catch up with my everyday blog posts! So let's continue with Day 15 of the challenge...

Craft something that celebrates Love

This is a scrapbook layout I did sometime last year, and I thought this would suit really well with today's challenge.

This is my best friend Bev and her lovely boyfriend Fro. They've been together for over three years and I went to school with Bev and both myself and Bev went to College together in London which is where we met Fro. They've always been a cute couple and with most of my friends you want them to be ridiculously happy, of which they are -massively! They're a great couple together and they're amazing people too! :)

So there's my very short post for today! Day 16 coming up...

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 14: The Five Senses...

Today is Day 14 and we're discovering our five senses...

Name your favourite smell, taste, view, sound and texture

So favourite...

Smell

Probably food - okay so that's slightly vague - more so sweet stuff like cakes, there's nothing kinda sweeter than walking into a bakery and taking in the smell of freshly baked bread and homemade cakes. I love it.

Taste

Hmmm. I've gotten into healthy eating recently and I'm really loving the taste of Summery fruits - Watermelon, Strawberries, Peaches and Apples. 

View

Well, not being biased here, but the view of London from anywhere even remotely tall. We now have the Shard and against the skyline it sticks out like a sore thumb, but the views from pictures I've seen online look amazing. I've been on the London Eye too and as much as a don't like heights very much. The view is breathtaking

London via The Telegraph

Sound

For me, one of my favourites is music. And I mean music I actually like and can listen to. My IPod is my entertainment station. It has all the music in the world that means a lot to me, has sentimental value for me and has grown with me through age. The music I listen to holds a lot of good memories for me.

Texture
I like the touch of anything soft - lol - materials cotton, silk, anything fluffy like soft toys, teddy bears, soft skin, hugs, holding hands - that sorta thing. I don't really have a particular favourite. I don't mind the texture of most things so long as its not slimy or smells bad.... =S

So that was my post for today about some of my favourite things from my five senses, what are yours?

We are now officially half way through the month of blogging everyday! It's gone by so quick! Until tomorrow!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 13: The Learning Curve...

Day 13: What do you want to learn to do? (Crafty or Non-Crafty)

Hmmm, let me think... Personally there are probably so many things I want to try and learn, but never have enough time to, or sometimes just find new things hard to do. There's probably a million and one things I want to learn to do. Here's a short-ish list:

Learn British Sign Language

I've wanted to learn this since watching Barney the Dinosaur or Sesame Street when I was younger. Love the shapes and hand movements the words and letters make.

Learn to speak Spanish (or another language I quite like)

A few of my friends speak Spanish. My parents are from the Philippines, so Spanish is actually integrated in the language, so I know the basics, like saying hello, numbers, letters, days of the week, months of the year etc, but I'd like to have conversation with someone without having to have a phrase book or Google translate!

Learn how to Knit / Crochet (I've always found this hard - as my hands are just not coordinated enough!)

Yeah. Err, I can't understand the videos, or the magazines. It's probably a lost cause on me, but I'd still like to learn how to!

Learn how to shade / blend in when colouring with my Promarkers (Something I'm still learning!)

I've been following some YouTube videos by Kimberly Brown, and she's pretty cool, its very simple the way she colours her images in with just a 'line technique' - it's fascinating, it works, but y'know practice makes perfect!

Learn how to play drums (Or an instrument I actually like, I used to play the piano when I younger! Not anymore though)

One of my closest friends is a drummer in a band and she gave me a drumming lesson online when we used to do MSN, but once again my coordination is totally out of whack, so yeah I made a lot of noise, but I didn't get very far!

So there you go, I actually thought it was going to be a long list, but those are the first five things that sprung up. What would you like to learn that maybe new and fresh for you?

Day 14 and halfway through our Blogging Everyday in June Challenge! Time's flying!

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 12: Favourite Craft Medium

Day 12 is here and today's craft ask is:

What is your favourite craft medium to work with?

My favourite medium to work with currently is stamps - mostly of the digital or polymer variety. Combine that with a few colours from my Promarkers collection and you got yourself a winner :)

In the last few years definitely, I have been loving stamping, probably out of the two kinds, I really like digital stamps at the moment and the amount of time I have spent trawling through for the perfect image for a card has been head spinning, but enjoyable because you come across images you wouldn't be able to have on a stamp. I'm a little more familiar with which digital stamps I like to use for certain friends' birthdays because I try to match the image to their personality and likeness. I will also try to match the colouring with each individual person I make cards for so that the character and recipient look alike / or are the same, so in that way its personalised. 

Some of my favourite digital stamp favourites are from Tiddly Inks, Some Odd Girl and the Greeting Farm. The characters are boldly outlined and simple enough to colour - I am a messy colourer-inner - I go outside the lines, so I have to concentrate that little bit extra - like the inner child wills me to! I'd like to get into other digital stamps from other brands, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

I also love the Paper Smooches stamp sets, Lawn Fawn and now WPlus9, I've also wanted to try out the Simon Says Stamp collection set too, so I might have a bit of a go during the next few months with those brands. Plus with the amount of possibilities to ink in different colours, embossing powders, distress inks, water colour pens and my favourite - Promarkers - there are no limit in possibilities in creativity! The world is your oyster!

So, that's Day 12 sorted! Whats in store for tomorrow?

Blogging Everyday in June - Day 11: 'Hey Big Spender!'

So today's task is:

Day 11: Dish the dirt on your biggest craft spend

Me and my Debit Card have a very interesting relationship. We try and compromise on things and I've got to say my little plastic pin buddy has stopped me from purchasing something because it's talked / coaxed / nudged / hit me to not buy that craft thing I didn't need!

I don't think I have spent one huge amount of money one thing all in one go, only because I can't actually bring myself to part with a big bit of money on craft equipment, as I can't really afford it in the long run. I bought my Big Shot and Starter kit from QVC on installments, and the accessories - like dies and folders - I buy in intervals as and when I needed them. I tend to spend my money more when I'm at Craft Shows only because there are lots of shops and companies there who will sell stuff at discounted prices and it's like one massive Hobbycraft in one massive building. And even saying that I only ever go to one Craft Show they hold twice a year, which is the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show at Alexandra Palace in London, which is on every April and September, so even a big splurge is far and few between

Me and Ebay have a good relationship too and I'll buy my craft ensentials online. I've discovered new polymer stamps in the last 18 months and can easily spend a bit on stamps, so If I had to name one thing I spend money on is that. 

I an more of a selective craft shopper I look for deals on QVC, Ideal World and Create & Craft more and if there's anything I am particularly interested in, I may consider buying it. I'm more of a contemporary crafter too, so everything for me is like fresh, new and dare I say it - trendy, and I lean more to digital stamps and print outs! I've learnt to be a bit more particular now and stop myself from buying anything that's waaaay out of my price range or more importantly - anything that I don't need - before my accountant rings me up! :) And plus my Mum would find out about my craft expenses, so I best not buy anything for a bit... Lol.

So, that's my 'big spend' post today. What was your biggest spend on craft items?