50% Sale at Funky Hand

The wonderful Anice at Funky Hand is having a 50% off Sale. Yes, you heard me right, 50% off EVERYTHING on the site and here's the proof:

 

 

So tell your friends and head on over there, it's far too good to miss. And if you're still not convinced, here's a little selection of the things I have made, note the word little. Now stop reading and get yourself over there. It's okay, I'm not going to be offended.

 



Have a fabulous weekend and I hope you manage to grab yourself some fantastic goodies. See you in the week, love Sammylou xxx

Paper Fetish

Hello :) and a very happy Wednesday to you all! I have begun my holidays with the children and while we are not jetting off anywhere I will be trying to get some quality time with them and hopefully some crafting too!

For those of you who know me, know that I am slightly fanatical about paper, especially the pretty kind. With two children in a rather small house, I am not able to store much so the plethora of digi papers available is an absolute godsend to me. I just love putting papers together and seeing where they take you. I have tried (and failed) to make the kind of handmade cards I fawn over (You know the ones,: gorgeous image, paper flowers, ribbon and lace) and something holds me back. I like to think it's a reverence for the papers.

With this in mind, I have chosen to share this with you today:

I love the simplicity of this. The papers are from one of my favourite places, Pink Petticoat and they are just so lush, I don't think the card needs anything else!

See you Friday for another Funky Friday share.

Love Sammylou xxx

Funky Friday (I know it's Saturday but if we all keep quiet it will be fine!)

A little late I know but things are rather manic here with both vhildren at home and payroll deadlines at work.

Today I want to share with you a card I made using the I Love You Sew downloads from Funky Hand and a Woodware stamp I got free with a magazine.

I just love these papers they are so, so versatile. Here's the card:

 

 

This card is so fun and the papers work wonderfully together. He's such a cute image and so easy to paper piece too.

 

I am off to make the most of my Bank Holiday - enjoy your weekends whatever you are doing and i will see you all next wee, Sammylou xxx

If you're a crafter you won't be offended...

by me mentioning the C word. Yes, in crafty land the season is nearly upon us when we dig out our Christmas stash and think about the cards we'd like to make to send to friends and family, as well as the stock we need to make for others to buy! New ranges are being introduced and I take the time to work out what I need (nothing really!) and what I would like to buy (almost everything!)

I love Christmas, my Mum was fanatical about it and we always had a Christmas grotto in our family home. My Mum always said it was for the children/grandchildren but we all knew it was for her really! After her death, Christmas lost a bit of lustre for me but I am happy to say that my fondness has now returned, thanks to my own children and also the sweet memories I have of my Mum at that time of the year.

So while my fourteen year-old daughter is disgusted with me for having the Christmas stash out I am choosing to revel in it and wanted to share with you one of my favourite cards I created for Christmas:

It's not the greatest photo but unfortunately it's the only I have as these were made for family and I am notoriously rubbish at taking photos of the cards I make for my personal use but am trying hard to improve.

So enjoy your Wednesday and I will see you on Friday for another Funky Friday share. Hopefully my daughter won't have disowned me by then!
Love always, Sammylou xXx

Funky Friday - Mr & Mrs

Happy Friday to you all and I for one am glad to see the back of this week.

Given it's peak Wedding season and my Wedding Anniversary today, I wanted to share with you a card I made using the fantastic Winter Wedding papers from Funky Hand:

For just £2.99 you get the papers, alphas and symbols too! I covered some chipboard hearts I got free from a crafting magazine and backed a 6 x 6 card with the polka dot paper. The alphas were resized in word and printed onto white linen card then stuck down with foam pads.

One of the things I realise as I continue along my card making journey is I'm not really one for faff and would much rather let the papers (as opposed to the embellishments) do the talking.

Enjoy your weekend and I'll hopefully see you for a post on Sunday.
Love as always, Sammylou xXx

Why buy handmade?

Hello :) and a happy Wednesday to you all!

I've recently been thinking about the merits of  handmade cards and why they are so much better than store bought, or even the so called "personalised" efforts you can purchase from sites such as Moonpig.

I am of course a complete convert to the handmade card (shocking I know!) but if I was asked why you should pay a little bit more for a bespoke card when you can get seven for £1 from places like Card Factory, my reasons would be as follows:

1. It's the thought that counts - a handmade card gives the recipient an idea of how much they are loved. You have taken the time and effort to make (or order) a card that truly reflects the recipient.
2. It's so much more than a card - I know I am a tad sentimental but it's always lovely when people who I have given cards to say things like, "I always keep yours." It's not just a card, it's a permanent keepsake
3. They are unique - yes, they might be similar but no two cards are the same.
4. And this may be the most important reason: you are helping to support independent businesses in a difficult economic climate and perpetuating a little creativity in an increasingly faceless retail sector.

And on that note, I would like to show a card I recently made for a 21st. The brief: she loves Pride & Prejudice and Post Secrets. And here's what I created:

And if you can find something that meets the brief in your local Clinton's, I'll eat my hat :)
Love to you all and see you back here on Friday for another Funky Friday share.
Sammylou xXx

Funky Friday - Baby Wordbook

Following on from my last share from Funky Hand I really wanted to share the wordbook below which  I made recently for my sister to welcome a special little girl into the world. Possibly the longest wordbook I have made so far, I decided that I wanted to use chipboard and went through around three scalpel blades just cutting the base out!

 

 

 

The papers I used are from the Wishes and Kisses cd-rom and are just great for a baby girl. My sister was over the moon with it and if the new parents loved it as much as she did then I am a happy bunny!

 

That's it from me and I look forward to seeing you all soon, I am off to make some Christmas cards. Yes, you definitely heard me right and I can tell you that the goodies coming your way from Anice are just superb. Check out the inspiration blog for some sneak peeks...

 

Sammylou xxx