It had been unseasonably warm earlier this week but for the last two days it has been quite heavy rain and this afternoon it has started to become rather windy. My wee apple tree has dropped a few of it's crop this week and I have enough to make an apple crumble. My friend who is recovering from a stroke has been dropping hints for the last couple of weeks that she's running out of the last jar of the strawberry jam I made for her. I finally got some jam sugar and made some. It was just cooling down as my son got home from school for lunch - the door opened followed immediately by "I smell strawberry jam!" as he headed straight for the kitchen. I have to admit it went down rather well on a brioche bun washed down with a small pot of Earl Grey!
I have been playing with my Tim Holtz "Crazy Dogs" stamps & dies again this week - I had stamped them out and when I haven't been able to sleep I've been colouring them in. I decided that I would make a card as part of this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge
I must admit I had a couple of goes at this one as I wasn't happy with the way the first card turned out but, finally, came up with this one. I must admit brown isn't a background colour I would normally think of using:
Here are some more cards using "Crazy Dog" stamps & dies that I've put together. The first is my original attempt at the Challenge sketch:
Still Talking?
Sitting Around
Mucky Pup
Rainbow Sprinkle
I Used
Cardstock
White 300 gsm Supersmooth - Fabriano
Ivory Hammered - PayPer Box
Brown- Crelando
Colours - American Crafts Summer Collection
Stamps, Dies & Embossing Folders
Tim Holtz "Crazy Dogs" - Stampers Anonymous
Tim Holtz "Crazy Cats" - Stampers Anonymous
Woof, Woof "In the Dog House" Set - Crafty Impressions
Dyan Reaveley, Dylusions "Laugh Til You Leak" - Ranger
Finally, over a month after ordering them on pre-release, my Tim Holtz Crazy Dog stamps have arrived. Seems to have been a bit of a mix up at the retailers.
Never mind they are here now and I've been having a play with those and my new A5 die cutting machine from the Aldi "So Crafty" range. Didn't know that Aldi did such a thing? Me neither but they do now and it's a rather nice piece of kit! It came with two A6 embossing folders and 11 small dies, 2 of which are shown in the photo below. The machine takes all formats of dies. In the Facebook Groups I belong to there have been quite a few people who have purchased one. So far, everyone has been really impressed by the quality of it.
Anyway, I digress, back to the "Crazy Dogs" - aren't they cute! Got a few ideas for them although only 3 finished cards are on here at the moment - more to follow!
I decided to use the smallest of the dogs, not sure but it could be a dachshund I guess, and combine it with some stamps from the Crafty Impressions, Cathie Shuttleworth's "In the Dog House", set. I think, perhaps, it's a rather loose interpretation of the sketch.
I Used
Cardstock
White 300 gsm Supersmooth - Fabriano
Colours - Crelando
Dies & Stamps
Tim Holtz Crazy Dogs - Stampers Anonymous
Barking Mad, "In the Dog House" Set - Crafty Impressions
Don't Tell Me, "I've Had Enough" Set - Lindsay Mason
Never Forget, "Smiles & Years" - Lindsay Mason
Here are the other two - not sure if they are meant to be a French Bulldog (or Pug perhaps) & a Bulldog or not:
After everything my friend's family have had to endure these last couple of months or so, there was finally some good news for them today. In the early hours of this morning, two weeks behind schedule, her nephew and his fiancée welcomed their new baby daughter, Luna, into the world.
When I got the news, I was busy working on the card I was making for this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge & it just so happened that I had decided to get my fingers out and get making a baby card! I knew time was running out and my previous ideas didn't quite work out the way I had planned so decided to have another attempt.
Originally I used a square of coloured card but after trying a couple of different options I changed my mind and decided to use a lacy die from one of the Tim Holtz Mixed Media Sets. The Stitched Ovals and the border strip are also from a Tim Holtz die set. The stork is from a Marianne Collectables Stork Dies and Clear Stamps Set.
What I Used
Cardstock
Ivory Linen Cardstock - PayPer Box
Pink Linen Cardstock - Trimcraft
Dies
Tim Holtz Mixed Media Set #2 - Sizzix
Tim Holtz Stitched Ovals & Borders - Sizzix
Just a Note Alphabet by Jen Long - Sizzix
Ribbon & Buttons from my stash
Thank You
This "Thank You" card was made for my friend to give to the staff of the Acute Stroke Ward she spent several weeks.
I used Woodware's "Graffiti Thank You" stamp and coloured it with assorted Promarkers.
On Saturday 25 June 2016, Create & Craft TV launched from their Tattered Lace brand two sets of Licensed Disney Craft Products; "Vintage Disney & Friends" and "Frozen".
There had been some speculation beforehand about being able to sell but the press releases had said personal use only.
When the show launched and the prices for the items were revealed. The prices ranged from £9.99 for some small individual dies to various bundles costing up to £999.99 for the Ultimate Collection. The C&C and Tattered Lace Facebook pages were lighting up with comments about the pricing of the items and people were asking about being able to sell because it was a lot to ask people to spend for something that was only for personal use. It took Stephanie Weightman 59 minutes into a two hour show to tell people that Just to make the Angel Policy clear again, it's not about selling our cards; that's not something we can do with
our Disney license . . ."
Whilst it kind of confirmed what a lot of us knew already there was a bit of an uproar on social media due to what they were charging for some of the bundles. There were a few who had bought bundles/collections who were saying they were going to cancel their orders whilst others were saying they couldn't afford to buy if they weren't allowed to sell anything they made.
Within 36 hours of people first saying they were cancelling orders/not buying posts began to appear on the Tattered Lace/Create and Craft Facebook pages that Disney had agreed to allow Create and Craft customers to be able to make and sell. Then a day or so later they were reading out statements to that effect live on air.
There were some viewers, like myself, who were pretty sure that the Disney they were talking about was the Authorised Disney Licensee Character World with whom they had a legal agreement rather than The Walt Disney Company. Those of us who wrote to Disney about it started to receive emails which quite clearly stated that any Licensed Disney craft products were "for use by consumers for personal and family enjoyment".
We were posting screenshots of these Disney emails onto the C&C and Tattered Lace Facebook pages but they kept being removed by the company. It even got to the stage that we were being accused of not telling the truth because the presenter said "we cannot stand here and say these things unless they are 100% true" whilst all the while they were the ones who just kept perpetrating terminological inexactitudes. At one point they were telling customers that they could sell up to 200 handmade items per design per product purchased!
Eventually, on 12 July 2016, they did change to the official Disney line but not before the Chief Marketing Officer called the owner of the Closed Facebook Group that was set up (she doesn't know how C&C got her phone number). Apparently his tone was not the most pleasant and she felt bullied by him. He told her that Disney were furious with her, and the rest of us in the group, for bringing the Disney brand name into disrepute (all we did was post on the page what Disney were saying). He said that Disney had signed off all the paperwork and had agreed that we could purchase the Disney crafting products from Create and Craft and make and sell Disney products. He said that because of our posts on Create and Crafts Facebook page and the use of the name Disney in a closed Facebook group, Disney withdrew the selling policy from Create and Craft.
C&C did have on their website an alteration to their "Angel Policy" in that only those who purchased prior to 12 July 2016 could still sell. When asked Disney's reply was:
The "Angel Policy" saying customers could still sell if they purchased pre-12 July 2016 remained on the website long enough for more emails to go to Disney questioning the C&C statement.
Right from the start of all this, Disney told anyone who contacted them that there was to be no selling of anything made using the licensed craft products. However, it hasn't stopped Create and Craft presenters telling viewers to go to the C&C website to view their so called Angel Policy because "Disney have given us a very generous Angel Policy" when in fact all it now consists of is a final statement from Disney which actually says:
Members of the campaigning group were blocked from a number of C&C linked Facebook pages, some have also had their IP addresses blocked, for speaking up in the hope at least one person has been saved from being on the receiving end of a Disney lawsuit!
Something appears to be happening behind the scenes though - which is perhaps not surprising considering Trading Standards, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) and, of course, Disney have been looking into their practices over the last few weeks since the launch. According to the original press release from Ideal Shopping Direct, C&C's parent company:
"Launching this summer with a Disney dedicated area on their website, this is the biggest ever craft even on Create and Craft TV. A wide-range of products will be available with new launches planned monthly."
So far there has only been one product launch for the Vintage Mickey and Frozen "Franchises". I think they have just about done these two to the death. The demo's that they have been doing with them have, after 8 weeks, now become same old, same old. Let's face it, there's only so much of paper piecing Elsa, Sven, Goofy & Mickey that folk can take. Create and Craft have already cut what they termed as "Disney Destination" hours 6pm - 8pm on a Tuesday night and 10 am on a Saturday. It now seems to be cut down to an hour of whatever one of those days/times they feel like - even the promised dedicated area of the website with the paper piecing boards etc is now non-existent.
So, if you are sitting comfortably, here is A Fairy Tale of the Create and Craft Angel Policy - enjoy! The sound on the clips isn't the best as they were recorded from my laptop, however all the clips have been transcribed and have been subtitled. Subtitles are accessed by clicking on CC iconto the lower right hand side of the screen - a red underscore indicates that it is switched on.
Excerpts are from Create and Craft TV Shopping Channel programmes which aired between 25 June 2016 and 29 July 2016.
Disclaimer: All music, excerpts, clips, etc. belong to all respective artists. Absolutely NO copyright infringement intended.
This video was made to provide information and is not in any way used to gain a profit.
UPDATE
September 2016
In spite of several nudge, nudge, wink, wink, asides on air alluding to the fact that Tattered Lace/Create & Craft have new Disney craft products in the pipeline, and bearing in mind that there were supposed to be new releases on a monthly basis, there have been no further Disney "Franchises" launched.
Presenters no longer mention a "very generous Angel Policy", instead they have started informing viewers that anything Disney has it's "limitations" and refer them to the Call Centre/Customer Services for further details. There's a bit of progress in that they have now said that non-character Disney dies also have "limitations" due to copyright.
The C&C "Angel Policy" has had all references to Disney/Licensors removed and most Disney listings have a "Disney Statement" instead ie: "Disney has granted the rights to various third parties to design, develop, manufacture and sell a range of craft products for consumers; licensed craft products are intended for use by consumers for personal and family enjoyment, such as making gifts for family, birthdays or other private celebrations. Licensed products may be used to produce craft items for enjoyment amongst friends and family (such as non-commercial gift giving) but not for any wider sale or distribution.”
They have stopped the lucky dip of emails at the end of the shows for giving away cards and other items made on shows using Disney craft products. It was pointed out to them that this was likely to fall under commercial gift giving and therefore breaking terms of their licence.
Weather wise it has been a strange couple of weeks - brilliant sunshine, temperatures in the 30C's, thunderstorms and torrential rain that the car's wipers could barely cope with. During a break in the wet weather, hubby finally got around to putting up the 3 panels of fencing that he's promised to do for the last 3 years - hooray!!! Our wee Jack Russell is happy that he's finally able to enjoy the freedom of the whole garden again rather than just as far as his long lead allowed him to go. He was really funny on the day of the thunderstorm, this is a dog that hates the rain but he was absolutely fascinated by the storm & kept pawing at the patio door. I knew he wasn't going to out in it so I opened the door for him. Straight out the door went his nose and he seemed fascinated by all the scents that were being stirred up by the lightning and heavy rain, he'd sniff the air, then he'd look at me as if to say "can you smell that" all the while his tail was going nineteen to the dozen. At one point he did take a step out into the rain but shot straight back in again. My friend is finally on the road to recovery and, although she couldn't see it before, she now admits that she's making improvements everyday. It's hoped that in a few weeks instead of going to a stroke rehab unit she will be able to go home and continue her treatment here. Not been making anything this last couple of week's but thought it was time to get started again. This Freshly Made Sketches Challenge seemed a good place to start.
The only thing I knew I wanted to do was not to make the horizontal piece a sentiment - but wasn't sure what it should be! I had a look through my stash and came across a Cottage Cutz Petites "Bird on Branch" die and decided to use that as the basis for the card. Originally I'd thought of using a Kraft card base as the ready made tags I had were Kraft card but finally decided to make my own from white cardstock and have the die cut bird on a branch as a silhouette. Originally I thought about the circle as the sun but after making up the card decide and mulling over it overnight, next morning I decided that a. I felt I'd made a couple of mistakes in the placement of things & b. A paler, perhaps moon-like, colour would be better for a silhouette.
The tag was embossed using the trunk section of the embossing folder from "A Walk in The Park" set, free from Simply Cards and Papercraft Issue 150.
So I started over again. To do this it was just a case of changing the colour of circle and extending the branches across the tag. I decided to add a little movement to the card by setting the tag at a slight angle:
What I Used
300gsm White Card - Fabiano
Black Linen 12x12 - Black Cat
Dies, Embossing Folder & Stamps
"Bird on Branch" - Cottage Cutz Petites
"A Walk in The Park" Set, Tree Folder - Simply Cards & Papercraft Issue 150 "Just Because", Paula Pascal Mixed Sentiments - Personal Impressions
I may not have posted much lately but it doesn't mean I haven't been crafty . Perhaps not really crafty, crafty just sort of crafty as in playing about with Distress Inks to make some backgrounds that might come in handy.
I have bought a few of the Tim Holtz Distress Ink mini pad sets so have a wider range of colours to play with now - added 4 new colours to my collection at the weekend. I sat and played for a wee while the last couple of nights putting ink on to card stock - different colour combos some left as the were while other had various things done to them. Nothing too exciting just some sprayed water or a fine spray of diluted bleach. The last couple I made were done using a lot of water over the inked card stock followed by taking my salt grinder and leaving pieces of sea salt on the card then allowing it to dry. The salt reacted with some of the now diluted inks leaving flower-like images behind.
My camera has run out of charge and only had enough power left to photograph my entry for this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge so will post other examples once it has charged up again.
I decided to use one of the new backgrounds on the card I was going to make for the challenge, if you look closely you can see the little flower-like areas left by the salt after it reacted with the ink. I decided to pick up on the orangey/yellow colour in the background to use as a contrast and to colour the Crazy Cat.
What I used
Cardstock
White 300gsm - Fabiano
Yellow - American Crafts
Dies & Stamps
Crazy Cat Stamp -
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz
Crazy Cat Die & Stitched Ovals -
Sizzix Thinlits Tim Holtz
Cat Sayings - Stampendous
