Frugal February Challenge

February Theme Challenge 'Love'

And as fast as that we streak in to a new month! Hello everyone, blogging has been slower than I anticipated this year, there have been some life changes making the need for creating a downstairs craft space necessary. Then my PC C: Drive died resulting in almost a week without a PC and worry that I'd lost all my craft related photos, but thankfully my hubby had mirrored the drives so everything was backed up YAY!

That meant I didn't lose anything data/file wise, but I did lose the programs that were installed and the C: Drive which has meant several more days of getting my PC back to how it was before.

As a result there hasn't been much time for crafting, or craft spending! Which is good because spending was starting to get a little out of hand again and I need to stop and take stock both literally and figuratively!There's a meme that does the rounds, and I think I've mentioned it before about crafty spending being a separate hobby from crafty making, and if that's true I was becoming more of an expert in spending than making, and that has to stop, before we lose the roof over our head lol!

So this month I've set myself a challenge to keep to a fixed budget of £100, this amount is to include my monthly colouring class and Stampin Up class, and a SU club I'm in where we spend £15 minimum a month. It also has to include any craft magazines I buy (I cancelled all my subscriptions) and any supplies or extras.

January Colour Challenge

Last year I started to help out the creator of a Facebook group called Craft Carnage and after a while Sarah the owner of the group made me an admin and now I set challenges and swaps for members to take part in, we have four weekly mini challenges every month and we also organise individual challenges like our  Frugal February Challenge.

We also organise swaps for events like World Cardmaking Day, Halloween and Christmas, and we have lots of swaps and challenges planned for the rest of 2020, feel free to pop over and join us if you are so inclined.

All the photos in this post are of cards I have made for some of the challenges so far, we have colour palette, theme, materials, and sketch challenges that rotate each month that also take in to account seasonal events like Mother's Day, Easter, Holidays etc.

January Sketch Challenge

The current challenge for February is another spring inspired colour palette challenge and I'm hoping to use dies and items I have in already to create my card. That way I can incorporate the mini challenges in with the Frugal February master challenge.

The first card pictured in this post was for the mini theme challenge, I knew I wanted to use my wreath templates to create a circle of hearts, but I didn't know if/or where I had any small solid heart stamps. So yesterday I sat for an hour trawling sites looking for a set of small heart stamps.

After that hour I came to my senses and started to go through my boxes of stamps and dies and although I didn't have a dedicated set of small solid heart stamps, I discovered I do have several stamp sets with small solid hearts in. The ones I used came from two Altenew sets Crafty Friends and Crafty Life that I've had for a while and not used, the sentiment also comes from one of those two sets.

I used 4 different colours of Memento dewdrop inks and some Nocturne Versa Clair ink for the sentiment which I then added some clear embossing powder to, to make it stand out more, the enamel hearts and dots I won in a raffle at my Stampin Up class last year and I hadn't got round to using them yet.

Towards the end of last month, I came across a video by Kristina Werner detailing a challenge she was setting herself for February that she called Capsule Papercrafting. Her aim is to pre-select a set of tools and mediums, stamps and stencils and use only them for the month. If you're interested check out the video below.

I decided that I would follow Kristina's example, so far I've selected a couple of things but not everything, as its now the 5th Feb I need to get my skates on lol! Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have everything together that I intend to use. The goal for me is to go box 'shopping' that means I hit all the boxes and tubs of supplies I have and find items I've bought and never used BEFORE I buy new items.

If I see a project I like, before I hit search to find the stamps and dies others have used, I ask myself what I already have that I can use instead. As far as stamps, stencils and dies go I have lots of choice, so it shouldn't be too hard. My problem is choosing which inks, pens or pencils to use, I can't plan ahead of time what projects I'll be doing for the whole month and would hate to have the creative urge to work with say my Brusho's or Pixie Powders for a project and not be able to. Thinking cap on, and I have to make sure that whatever I do includes only things I already have!

Parkrun & Health Update

Since the beginning of January I've managed to lose just over 7lb, still a long way to go, but I'm happy with that. I also walked my 2nd Parkrun on the 29th January, my foot played up royally after the New Years Day walk, and after a non-Parkrun walk I did on the 15th Jan, but at least I tried again, recovery time is getting better thanks to the stretch exercises I'm doing which is good, and hopefully with those and losing more weight I will continue to see an improvement.

One week 2 I came last (well one before last as the tail walker is always the last to finish). Technically though I was the last park runner to walk across the finish line 😥 I was slower this time and I believe it was because I decided to walk to pounding dance music, and I think I pushed myself too hard when very fast tracks played ::note to self you cannot go up Cardiac Hill in time to Darude's Sandstorm!::

Pushing myself at a stupid pace required me to recover for longer periods of time thus slowing me down, and the whole process took me 6m 25s longer than my first time. ::Further note to self don't wear a coat to Parkrun you get too flipping hot even on a cold day!:: Check out my new running trainers as well, after Parkrun number 1 Si took me to Decathlon to get some running clothes (trainers, tops, and a sports bra) it's ON!

I admit I was rather annoyed at myself at the end of week two because I was slower than my first week, but lots of people pointed out that I had actually finished a 5K again, which was an achievement in itself, which it is I guess 😁 I need to focus more on just doing it and less on trying to beat my best time, the more I do it, the fitter I'll become and hopefully the faster I'll get! I'll be doing my 3rd Parkrun this coming Saturday and plan to do it without music, walking at my own pace and not the musics pace! Because of my foot problem I've settled on the idea of doing Parkrun every other week until my foot is better, the weeks in-between I will be volunteering as a Marshall or as a token sorter.

Last weekend was my rest weekend but I still went to Parkrun but as a spectator to watch Simon complete his 50th Parkrun, I am so proud of him, its been wonderful to see him go from someone who couldn't run more than a few paces to someone who can run 5K in just over 23 minutes, fingers crossed that will be me one day! This week I will be walking to the pace of my own body and see what happens, I do like music when I walk, so I guess I have to find something that goes with the pace I can currently walk, until I do I guess silence will be golden lol!

3D Printed Distress Marker Pen Rack File - Free to Download

Since I published this photo of the 3D printed pen racks that Si designed and printed for me I've had lots of requests from people asking if he could make a set for them.

Sadly it takes about 5 hours to print just 1 of the racks, you'd need 10 for all the Distress Markers, so it will take 50 hours total to print enough layers to house all the Distress Markers.

Its not beyond the scope of things to make a set but the time involved means the cost would be high. It doesn't take long to print the Wreath Templates by comparison he can do a few sets of those per night.

With the time/cost in mind my wonderful fella has agreed to make the .stl files required to print the racks available so that other people who have access to a 3D Printer will be able to get their own set of racks printed.

As well as Distress Markers, the racks can also hold Stampin Up's 'Stampin Write' markers, and Arteza 'Real Brush Pens'. Each layer is designed to slide into the one below so make the complete like sturdy and stop the racks sliding apart they are 10cm wide x 15cm long and they can be added to over time so if Tim releases any new colours in the future you can add another rack to your stack to accommodate the new colours.

You can get Zig Real Brush Markers in the slots also, but as they are shorter pens they are not so easy to get out. Si is going to tweak the files to make the rakcs shorter to accommodate shorter pens and wider so pens like Promarkers, Aqua Flow Pens and Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens can be stored on them. Once these files are complete I'll add them to download as well.

Download The Pen Tray.stl Here. If you have trouble downloading the file then send me a message via my Facebook shop Cook's Craft Supplies I will send you the file via facebook message so you can print a set of racks for yourself.  I'll add the links to larger size pen trays as soon as hubby has had time to get them done.

Miserly March

Hello there, it seems that the snow is gone here in Derby, it was 10ºC today, we had blue skies and sunshine, I even started thinking about sowing seeds for the garden! During the time the Beast frim the East was making it cold and gloomy I stayed indoors and did some crafting and planning for "Miserly March" which came about late last month after a dilemma I put myself in when I realised that my hobby was fast turning in to a spending addiction.

Thanks to some lovely friends on Facebook, I know that I'm not alone in my craft stash buying addiction, lots of us joke about how much we spend on craft stuff, but at the end of February when our households joint bank statement arrived I was hit by a VERY sobering reality. After a chat with hubby I realised that I can't keep buying hundreds of pounds of stash every month not without getting a new job.For ages I've carried on spending like we still had my wage as well, I did cry a lot when I realised the mess I've got us in to, but then I decided that instead of weeping I had to do something more constructive, so  I have vowed to stick to my monthly spends and try to buy only what I need and use up what I already have. I've set out to do this by: -

1) Un-following lots of the craft companies on Facebook, many of them are putting products out too frequently, and are too much of a temptation. I suffer from the "I need that" when I actually don't need it at all, I just buy it because it looks like it may be useful. I make the purchase, usually on pre-order and whilst I wait for it to arrive something else comes out by the same company or another when I still haven't used the stuff I've just bought. That merry go round keeps turning and I have to get off, as much as I enjoy the ride.

2) I've unsubscribed from almost all the craft supply online stores emails, they appear weekly or daily in the case of some companies, bringing sales, offers and bargains, I see something reduced and think its a bargain so I buy it, but bargain or not, I can't really afford it. I'm ashamed to say that many of those bargain purchases are in tubs and boxes and they still haven't been used! So I figured unsubscribing from the emails removes the temptation. Yes I could miss out on some bargains in the future, but my bank balance will be healthier.

3) I've cancelled all but one of my card magazine subscriptions, I figured I can buy a specific magazine if it interests me and I will use the freebie. Some of the mags are showing the same stuff because they get published by the same company, and after 3 year subscriptions the freebies are being repeated or they are giving away gifts that don't appeal to me, and if I'm honest I haven't been that inspired by the makes in the magazines for a while. I get much more inspiration and ideas from friends and groups on Facebook and from Pinterest and they don't cost anything.

4) Remember the boxes and tubs of 'sale bargains' I mention in point 2? Well I've started working on sorting through the boxes, once finished I'm going to sell off some things I've bought in moments of madness that I won't use. I just need to take some photos, figure out the postage and then I can do some listings on Ebay. I've also started a spreadsheet listing the stamps/dies/inks etc that I have by each company, its good to take stock of what you have. I have in the past forgotten I'd bought a stamp or die and bought it again!

5) I've begun sorting out all the kits/projects I've bought and put to one side because I'm too busy looking at all the new stuff being released and sales etc. There is a meme about using stash and buying it being two different hobbies, its true and whilst on the one hand that meme is funny, its not funny to the bank balance and I simply have to give up the buying hobby.

6) Which brings me to point 6 and the title of this blog post, I've set myself a challenge to spend zilch, zero, nada on crafting throughout March and I've called the challenge "Miserly March", my goal is to use only what I already have in my stash and buy nothing at all. I'm in to day 5 and so far its working. I admit to almost caving in once, because I've made some 8" x 8" cards and I've run out of white 8" x 8" envelopes. I'm actually on day 7 because the last day I spent any cash in Feb was the 26th, 7 days without spending a single penny, when you think I spent an average of £15 a day and became seduced by some craft sale/bargain daily, I'm feeling good, baby steps.

After 31st March I aim to keep within my monthly budget and for a few months spend only on staple things I need like card blanks and glue, the kind of things we use every time we create a card. Although I can tell you 5 days in to the month and 26 days to go, it seems like my strength will be tested, new releases from Altenew and Tonic Studios will test me, but I can do this, I WILL do this :)

I posted most of the points above on a Facebook group I belong to recently and the ladies in my group were so supportive and gave me loads of ideas like going 'shopping' in my stash and finding forgotten 'new' things to use and swapping images/diecuts with others. So many ideas and some I hadn't considered. I'm learning to use what I have in, or if I see an idea on somewhere like Pinterest that I like, looking to see what I have that I can put my spin on the idea without having to spend any money buying new things.

This weekend I went 'shopping' in a set of drawers and discovered lots of Hunkydory kits, some were member freebies still not used, some I'd bought in sales and again not used. I decided to use one of the cat kits to make the two rocker cards above and I can create at least two more cards from what was left over in the kit. They went together so quickly, just a bit of die cutting and glueing, kits are the perfect lost mojo fixer and a good way of making several cards in a short space of time, note to self, use the ones you have in more!

I'm not sure what it is in me, if I have a set or something like a pad of lovely papers, despite having bought it to create cards when it comes down to it I leave them in a pile because it feels wrong to use it, in the event that a better project comes along and I don't have any left!!! You wouldn't believe the stack of 6", 8" and 12" paper pads I have not being used, its stupid, another habit I have to break. I seem to like digital crafting, I can print out as many as I like and use when I wish, that said I have a habit of getting an idea, printing papers off and then getting distracted and not making the card, so the papers go in a box and by the time I pick them up again, I've forgotten what I was going to make with them, ooops!

So now I'm on the look out for free crafting stuff, ways of using what I have and dreaming about saving money to get a scan & cut one day. If I stop spending on things I don't need, then I'll be able to get something I want, and in the long run something like a scan n cut will save me money because I won't have to buy dies for stamp sets and can cut out any shape I want.

If you have any suggestions to add please feel free to leave them in the comments below, I can turn over a new leaf and make my crafting about actually crafting and not just about buying to never make. If I'm honest over the past 12 months, I've spent more time looking at stores and buying crafting supplies than I have actually crafting which is bonkers! Yes its good to get happy post, but not if that happy post will have a long term unhappy effect on our finances. Fingers crossed I can stick to my challenge, I'll try and post things I find or do to save money, avoid spending over the next month, don't forget to share your tips if you have any, thanks for stopping by and happy crafting :)

DIY Wreath Stamping Template

Hey everyone :) I hope you had a good weekend? Ours was a bit of a mix, Saturday was very busy and Sunday was more relaxed, we had sunshine so I went in to Spring cleaning mode and cleared out of some the cupboards and drawers in the house, its amazing just how much stuff we keep that we don't have a use for or can't remember why we have it?! I had a little crafting time over the weekend, but this was mostly catching up with other crafting friends blogs, doing some prep for a Robot style "Meet, Greet and Craft" session we've been asked to run next month and I caught up with some crafting You Tubers like Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner who both give me lots of inspiration.

Late last week we got a bank statement and without going in to too much detail I realised that I couldn't keep spending the amount I have been on crafting goodies, I was going to have to start spending less, using what I have in and finding ways of creating cards and papercraft projects WITHOUT spending more than I have to spend. It doesn't help when so many wonderful products are released every month by all my favourite craft companies, but I really have to learn to resist and adapt.

This weekend I watched Jennifer McGuire demo a new template for helping you create wreaths on cards, something I've tried to do myself but it always ends up looking random and messy and not in a good way lol! The templates are designed by Gina K and if you buy the set then it will cost you $29.95 plus shipping from the USA for the basic set, granted the set comes with a sheet of stamps as well but we're still looking at around £35 for the templates and shipping!

Given that I'm trying not to spend this month and also trying to use the many things I've bought in the past 12 months and not got round to using and stop spending, buying this set is not on the cards at the minute. Whilst I was watching Jennifer using the templates and loving what I was seeing Simon came into the craft room, he asked what I was watching so I told him. I explained I couldn't buy them, but I would save up to get them in the future because I thought they would help me make lots of single layer wreath cards more accurately than when I try to do it myself. A couple of hours later he came back in to the craft room and presented me with a test template he'd 3D printed!

The first one he made is a 3 inch one, he's making me some 4", 5" and 6" versions, after he gave it me, having first saying thank you and wiping away the happy tears, I tested it and it works like a dream. I used a selection of Memento Dewdrop inks off my ink rack, I have so many ink pads that I really don't need to buy any more, not unless one dries up or they do something incredible effect wise. On the first floral card I messed up slightly I didn't make sure that the stamp would be in the right position on the card as you moved it around. It doesn't look that bad, but when I did the second card this morning I made sure that the stamp was in the right position all the way around the card before I started stamping.

Simon said if I want some stencils making with designs we could work on them together, and he'll print them out for me, he's also going to make me some masks, so far I've asked for a star, heart and circle so I can stamp leaving a shape in the middle. He has ideas for making templates that will give more areas for stamping as well.

I didn't realise that he could 3D print so thinly, he's made me lots of things before like the pen pot for my Zig pens, little stands for helping me stand my cards up for photoing and handles for stamps, its lovely when our hobbies can cross over.

I certainly think I could become addicted to making wreath cards and can't wait for Si to complete the other sizes of templates for me. I can see so many different types of wreaths, spring, summer, autumn and winter flowers and colours, snowflakes and lots and lots of paw prints. I coloured the cat with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol, it was a very quick colour, so I think I could make sets of these in next to no time and in lots of different colour combinations, combine them with a little box and I have some gifts for friends and family. I'll do another post when I've used the other size templates as I want to try a few techniques and mediums. I'm off to do some more cupboard sorting now and maybe later stamp some more wreaths. Have a lovely day and thanks for stopping by :)

DIY Misting Sprays

When I ink paper I like to add shimmer sprays to them to give a sparkle and sheen, I can't help it, as well as vivid colour I love sparkle and glitter, I've been using perfect pearls mists in the past but recently I experimented with a mist of perfect pearls and water but it took a while to dry, which after waiting for the inked paper to dry was a whole new level of testing of my eagerness to move onb with a project.

So when I was recently on holiday in France I found bottles of 74% alcohol that the French use for cleaning, it comes in bottles and is scented with aromas like vanilla, raspberry, peach, green apple... the list is endless, so I picked up raspberry and vanilla to experiment with. To make your homemade misting spray you'll need a spray bottle, colouring medium (re-inker, acrylic paint, food dye, water colour paint etc), alcohol, water and pigment powder like perfect pearls. I've seen YouTube videos with people using eye shadow powder to make their sprays, these recipes involve adding glue or gum arabic to the mix to make the eye shadow stick. If you use perfect pearls, the product is especially formulated to contain a resin that reacts with water which then makes the mica adhere to the surface you spray on.

To make a 50ml bottle of spray you need to half fill the bottle with alcohol (using alcohol will make the spray dry a lot faster), to that add your colouring medium around ½ - 1 teaspoon depending how strong you want the colour to be. I prefer to just have a light coloured mist, but I am thinking about making deeper colours to spray to colour paper where I would use distress inks. Next add your perfect pearls powder, I use a couple of small scoops using a lolly stick, I'd say around 1/8th teaspoon. Put the spray in to the bottle and screw down securely and shake the bottle to mix all the ingredients, once mixed top up your bottle with water, re-secure the lid in place and give the bottle another good shake to mix. You can then use the spray.

I made a white spray that I coloured white acrylic paint with perfect pearl, silver which contained silver metallic acrylic paint and perfect pearls and a purple spray that contained metallic amethyst acrylic paint and small amounts of Perfect Pearls Interference Violet and Interference Blue. I also made a gold misting spray which wasn't as successful, I used DecoArt Ultra Fine Glitter Paint, as my sparkle medium, but the sparkly bits are larger than the mica pigments and once dry then don't stick to the paper, will try adding some glue to that spray and see what happens, its a shame really because the sparkle is very intense.

Above you can see examples of the shimmer I achieved, the purple panel was inked with distress ink on to 230gsm water colour paper, once dry I lightly sprayed with the purple mist, sadly the photo isn't showing the sparkle as well as the second panel that was done in shades of black and grey and was then lightly sprayed with the silver mist, the shimmer is rich and intense, can't wait to use the silver panel for a halloween card idea I have. I love the fact that whilst working with these sprays they give off a pleasant aroma, which does transfer to the paper, although how long it will last... I'm already thinking about making my own autumn and Christmas fragranced sprays using alcohol and essential oils, I like to scent my cards for giving at Christmas and I usually do it by storing the cards in  sealed boxes above wooden balls that have been infused with essential oils, I make blends, to me it adds a whole new dimension to the card, so if I'm successful with the aroma spray metallic misting spray I'll add another post in the not too distant future!