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Sunday, 22 April 2012

I'm a crafter, not an artist!

I've seen a lot of crafters pouring great scorn on kits, saying that cards made from them are "hand assembled" rather than "hand made" - well, sometimes a kit is just what I need to spark my imagination and rekindle my enthusiasm for craft. I can't draw, I can't design, I'm not great at thinking up new ideas, and I sometimes find it hard to decide whether things really go together. But I can make things and a kit, or a set of great instructions in a book or a magazine, is often exactly what I need. (When it comes to cooking, I'm quite the opposite way around, making everything from scratch and seldom using recipes. Next time you see me dissing ready meals and cooking kits, remind me of this post!)

One of the simplest kits I've seen for a long time appeared on the shopping channel QVC this week, the Anna Griffin Engraved Botanica kit . At first I thought it looked far too easy for me, but I was hooked by the beautiful designs and the way everything worked together. I'd been having a stressful week and decided the kits was just what I needed to help me relax. The kit arrived on Friday. On Saturday afternoon I made all these......




Yes, thirteen cards all in one sitting! I know, it's cheating really - everything is ready cut out and ready layered, and most of it is even self adhesive - but what wonderful therapy it was!!! I started off by copying some of the ideas on the design sheet


then did several more things along the same lines
See how I've added a green mat to make the inner layer of paper pop out? I think that was the only idea that could have improved the original kit.







Apart from the bottom card, where the rosette took a few minutes to make (thank goodness for a Hougie Board! ) none of the cards took more than 5 minutes to assemble. This would be a brilliant first kit for a new crafter, but even for an experienced crafter it was a joy to work with. And  I still have lots of materials left to use when I feel relaxed enough to attempt something more creative.

Note this isn't a sponsored post, I just loved the kit so much I wanted to write about it, and have indluded a link to QVC because it's the only place I've found it on sale.

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5 comments:

  1. Claire Toplis22 April 2012 at 11:10

    I think they are beautiful. I can't draw either and simple things are what I need to fire up my imagination. x

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  2. Linby22 April 2012 at 11:57

    Absolutely beautiful Jane. Crafting is about enjoying yourself and sometimes an escape, so whatever that takes is fine as far as I am concerned! This was obviously what you needed this week and I am so glad it was delivered so speedily for you.
    Lynn x

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  3. maisie sparrow's vintage pictures22 April 2012 at 12:54

    Hi Jane I think your cards are wonderful, dont listen to other crafters they are still hand made whether we use a kit or not, we are not all Picasso's! LOL!!! Well done Maisie.x

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  4. FauxPainter - Dee Paramour3 May 2012 at 23:52

    Oh Jane these are all so beautiful. There are many types of crafts, all with different levels and styles. It really doesn't matter if you use a kit or gather the materials yourself, it's still handmade with thought and love. You still had to think what to use and how to arrange them, and a damn good job you've made of it too. At the end of the day we craft because we love it and enjoy it, and that's the most important thing of all.

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  5. becky30867 May 2012 at 22:48

    I like simple things too but like you I am not a fan of (the price) kits. These are very nice.

    ReplyDelete

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