Monday 21 March 2016

Spring Forward

Well another month has flown by and I have just realised I haven't shown you all what was in March's box!!

This months theme was Spring Forward and the tutorials were to make a sock bunny and a ribbon broach.  I have created another little unboxing video for you.  Hope you enjoy!




April's boxes are now all sold out but if you would like to try out a box for yourself, order books are open for May's.  I would also like to thank you, my lovely readers by offering you a 20% discount on May's box! So instead of £20 they will be £16 (inc postage)  Just visit the link below and type THANKYOU (all uppercase) into the coupon box at checkout! Voucher expires 15th April 2016.

Crafty What Nots - buy me

Well happy crafting all.
I will be linking up to the lovely Handmade Monday again so why not pop over and find a few new blogs to read.

Jenny xx

How to Rollagraph

This week I have been having a play with some items I may start to stock in my online shop.  If you are a Stampin' Up fan then you will be used to 'Stampin around wheels' (a product I loved when I was a demonstrator, many moons ago!) Well I discovered that I can now stock the same thing! yeah!!!

If you havn;t seen a stamping wheel before then today is your lucky day!  Basically you have a handle, inside you can push an ink pad and then a wheel of images.  It's a fantastic way to get quick backgrounds, the beauty of it is that is self inks as it goes around which generally means an even colour (I forgot to reink in the following video so my demo goes a little splotchy!)  You don't even have to be able to roll in a straight line as you can also get a raised ruler to guide you.  I find I usually can get pretty straight on small surfaces do to the width of the roller.

So here is my little demo video, it shows you how to load the handle, roll and clean it and then there is a demo for making a simple card at the end.




Now the big question is should I stock them?  It is so hard to know what the trend is with craft supplies, especially as there are so many to choose from.  What sort of items would you like to see stocked?

I will be popping by Handmade Monday.

Jenny xx



Friday 11 March 2016

Trying to be a good parent ... the crafty way! #1

Having three children has been a shock to my system! I am constantly sleep deprived and exhausted and trying to remain enthusiastic and supportive is difficult with three very different girls!  Not that I am moaning, just setting the scene for my emotional state over the last year or so.  In short it has been difficult but I seem to be making a few breakthroughs and parenting is becoming more enjoyable!!

Now I won't go into all the joys of parenthood the constant demands for food, nappies, food, playing oh and did I mention food? There are many people who blog many times over how hard or easy parenting is, how they have reached a breakthrough and now have a model child or how they have decided it is alright to hate being a parent etc etc etc.  My blog was never designed for that, first and formost it is crafty related!  (you can all a sigh in relief now!)

So in true crafty form I thought I would share with you a few things I have done with or for my kiddies which has in one way or another enriched our lives and made parenting a little more fun!

First up I wanted to share my 'Look what we have done' wall (I still need to work on the name!)



I realised that dinner times could sometimes go a bit quiet as conversation died down a bit so I started to hang a few pictures on the wall to put the children's work in.  This also meant that I didn't have random paintings scattered round the house!

The wall behind the dining table was a little .... boring!


So i started to add a few frames.  These ones were cheap black framed ones from the Range, nothing fancy at all.

 

After I had put up all the frames I wanted I then masking taped around the edge and set about with the chalkboard paint to make the frame.  I started with a solid frame but then added a wavy outer edge.  Lastly I used a permanent marker and started to doodle round the edge of the frame.  From a distance it looks fab but when you look closely you can read all sorts of encouraging words and phrases.


Now at dinner time we have lots to chat about especially as there is always something new popping up on the wall!  I love the fact the girl have a place to show off their achievements.  Currently the wall contains notes of praise and certificates, photos, fun art and even the babies first hand print art!  So lots to see.


Oh and it looks a bit grand and funky! Much more exciting that that boring old wall!

Next time I will show you some calming down resources we made!

until next time.

Jen xx

I will of course be popping by to Handmade Monday and sharing my little post.

Thursday 3 March 2016

QR code tutorial

I don't know about you but I spot QR codes popping up all over the place, poster, menus and on business cards to name a few.  I have been including these in my monthly boxes as well to give my lovely subscribers exclusive content.  I thought I would share how I create mine so you can get creating yourself if you wish.

QR codes are accessed through an app on a mobile device (a little like a barcode) once the phone recognises it is opens up the web page associated with that code. you can create QR codes for lots of different things such as social media accounts, you tube videos and websites.  I usually use mine to link directly to a web page but recently I have been making a lot of you tube videos so I am going to create a QR using the URL from the video.

How to create a QR code

Here you can see a video tutorial I created recently on You Tube.  I have highlighted the URL (the web address you can see at the top of the window) Now copy it to your clipboard (not a real clipboard!!! it just saves it until you save something else.)

Now you need to open up a QR code generator window.  There are lots out there so it's worth seeing which you like.  Just google QR code generator.  I personally like www.qrstuff.com but that's only because I like playing with the colours!


This site really does do it step by step which is handy! so first off choose what type of data you are creating a code for.  In my case it is a YouTube video but if you are linking to a website page select the first option.  Even though I am linking to a video I will still select the first option (it seems to react the same which ever version you use but you do have the option to have YouTube written on the QR Code if you download an extra feature. (I haven't done this))




So the next step is to enter the URL you copied from your page into the box under the number 2.  If you are quick you will notice the QR code on display to the right look a bit different!
The next step is my fav bit! colour!!! Why not have a play!
Finally choose your output type.  I always select option 1 as I can then put it where I want.



So last things last you can now download your code!  I select the download button under the QR Code itself.
You should now get a download bar at the base of the screen (this will be different if you are using a mobile device )



Can you spot it in the bottom left corner?  Once it has downloaded click on the bar and it will open up your code.  If you want to find it later it will be hiding in your downloads folder until you file it elsewhere.

Here is my final code


So are you all with me so far?? Easy hey! This is the point where you can have a half time break! grab some tea and cake... you deserve it!

Ready?


Ok, so you have created your code but please... what on earth do I do with this speckled box thing now???

Now in order for you to test this and for your customers to use it you need a mobile device which can 1 have apps and 2 has a camera! So smart phones, tablets etc.  There are apps available on all platforms and you don't need anything exciting, simpler the better!

Here is the QR Code reader that I use



If you don't have one just pop into the app store, they should be free so don't panic.  Search QR Code Reader. This is on the android but I also have one on an iPad.

Once open you just get a screen like this.


Now move it to the QR code so that it is visible in the shaded area in the middle (my reader is v sensitive and even when it was showing on part of the screen it picked it up!) When taking the next shot I had to hold it this far away, any closer and the reader picked up the code!



Next step click ok



Now you can watch your video on your device!! yeah!


Well I hope that simple enough!  I feel like I've had a crafty workout! time to put up the feet and watch my video! 

Have fun creating QR code and if you would like to share any with me then why not send me some on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and I will share a few next time!


Jenny xx

I'm linkin over to handmade Monday xx