Crafts thread

[nonyanomemory]

Just started this new thread having been in the chat room and card making came up. It seems a few members find card making etc.. a good distraction and fun as well. So started this thread and those in the room - you know who you are said they would definately post... we decided to start the thread in miscellaneous so that everyone could join in who wanted to but if the thread gets so popular it fills up the boards we shall move it to Off Topic area.

Off you go then peeps..............over to you

[Jenny]

Who makes cards?

Where do you get your stuff from?

Do you have any tips for HMS hands?

[Alison C]

Well, I have regressed to playdough, finger painting and all things crafty in primary school age! Emily is turning out to be keen to get going with crayons - everywhere if possible! - and Thomas has been asked to do putty exercises for his hand therapy strenthening.

I am now looking into clay for Thomas as therapy putty may get a bit boring. Advice please re types of clay - some you bake, some you don't etc. And Plasticine?

I have also found putty which is fab - changes colour, some glow in the dark, etc - would you like this info? Great exercise potential and helps those who like to fiddle - I guess another HMS thing.

OT can help advise re crafts - how to adapt tools etc, and seating. Disabled Living Centres may offer advice too.

Are there any scoubido fans? I saw a scoubido around someone's pen and thought Eureaka! - another idea for a pencil grip!

Must go before I go OTT!
Cheerio
Alison

[shen]

jenny...your local hobby store will usually have most stuff needed for card making...or any kind of crafts. here we have a big hobbycraft that sells all kinds of stuff from card making, painting, sewing etc etc.

i dont really make cards, but i do, do alot of artistic stuff, drawing, painting and everything, i took fine art and photography in college. although when my wrists are bad i find it hard to draw but thats where photography comes in handy, can still be artistic without too much effort it is very relaxing on bad days to just do something you enjoy and create something good.

[sillyoldbear]

hi

what a repsonse withing the hour since the start of the thread!!! wow!!!

we too have hobby craft here and until recently a craft world, the only think i find is that the craft shops can be very expensive!! over the years i have been making cards i have managed to come up with a few inexpensive ideas

if you look around newsagents and card shops in general you can find some wrapping paper that has quite nice images on, i sometimes cut them out and then adorn them with jewels or glitter or feathers or add extra layers, a bit decoupage way, its in inexpensive way of making your own toppers

also i have gone into wallpaper shops and asked them if they have any end of rolls or paper that they are no longer selling that they would be willing to donate or take a sample of some papers, nursery papers are the best! you can get some very cute images

also fabric samples can be useful!

happy crafting everyone

simone

[Jenny]

I love The Range, don't know if any of you have been to one, they sell allsorts but their craft range is fab. Lakeland is also really good!

[nickb]

another cardmaker here

I sell cards on my website so I buy cardblanks in bulk- places like PDA are pretty good on price.

Do any of you use card/craft forums? I use
www.craftsbycarolyn.co.uk

very friendly, lots of card swaps and she has an online shop with really good postage rates, and you can buy small amounts of things too-good for cheap ribbon and embellishments

My tip for cheap crafting-buttons are very in at the moment-I use them for centres of flowers and rows of them for borders

[mindsquatter]

'Nother cardmaker!
Don't tend to sell, but love doing it for birthdays, christmas etc.

As for inexpensive materials - most large newsagents have a kids section with glitter glue, embelishments etc. I'm not sure how widespread the chain is, but The Paper Mill Shop is great for bulk buying card and paper ( box of A4 for £6.99, A5 for £3.99) and they also do stamps, inkpads - Web site . Unfortunately you can't buy online, but it does have a store locater, and a list of their range.

Quick question - what kind of scissors does everyone use? Being left handed on top of the HMS issues makes it really tricky for me to find a pair I can use. Just wondering if anyone has a kind they couldn't live without, or ones they wouldn't use if they were paid!

Michelle

[Retro]

I've found a website that sells lefty things click here. That's handy because my youngest is a lefty too.

Lindsey

[adele]

hey... another cardmaker here too...
up until a few months back it was really easy for me to get stuff to make my cards as my mums business was a craft shop! very handy... however recently she had to close down and has started working at clarkes stationers, they do a fair amount of craft stuff there.
I would also like to ditto on using things like wrapping paper to do decoupage very cheap and can be effective.
I know that my family used to go to a market thing (can't quite remmy exactly what it was) which had a guy there that sold returns from things like QVC (shopping channel) if you find anywhere that does things like this then you can pick up some real bargins...
I will ask my mum of anything she knows of that is good and cheap and let you guys know!!
nice to know that there are so many people here that enjoy crafts!

take care,
Adele xXx<><

[Alison C]

I find Easi-Grip Scissors OK - http://www.peta-uk.com

Cheerio
Alison

[hannah]

In response to Alison C's clay question, I used to make FIMO models - coloured clay like stuff that you can cook. really fun for model making for all ages. I used to buy it from our local toyshop, but it can be bought on-line at www.homecrafts.co.uk

This site also has loads of general crafty stuff so take a peek and benefit from being able to buy it from the comfort of home

That putty sounds like it might be a good idea for me - combine exercise and my incessant fidgeting . could you post more details Alison?

Happy crafting peeps!

[kayadlington]

I've actually just bought some paper letters ( for putting messages on cards) from lakeland for only £4.95 for a box of 5000ish.
I noticed while I was in there they had some really good bargins in if you were careful about what you bought. Some stuff was selling for over 3 times the cost in my local craft shop, whereas others were a lot cheaper.

Happy crafting everyone!

Kay

[in_the_dark]

i draw i got a artists pencil set from bargin madness and a pad from woolworths i haven't done any drawings for a short time but some of them are good i sent a few piccies of them to my boyfriend he likes em (ok hes probably being nice) but a few do look pretty good

[vickers]

For those of you looking for clay, I've found Sculpey to be the easiest to use as it's softer even than fimo soft. I get mine from the craft bit at our local garden centre but it is available online. I use my clay for sculpting (prosculpt is better for this as it holds it's shape better), jewellery making and for making my own card toppers amongst many other things.

Calling all cardmakers! Ebay! I've found some good bargains on bulk buy cardblanks as well as good little ebay shops for embellishments, glitter and clay tools and bits and pieces that will discount postage when you by more than one item. I've also found some really good bargains on jewellery findings that i've been unable to find locally.

Happy crafting.