Something Fishy

I have a thing about fish, I don't have any but I find I am drawn to fishy items (maybe it has something to do with being a water sign, who knows?). I particularly like glass paperweights (I have a thing about glass too), I have a few that feature fish, my favourite being a tiny one I picked up in Venice earlier this year. It's tiny because that's about all my budget could stretch to(that and the fact that it was too cute not to buy), there were some amazing pieces for amazing prices too!



And here he is, I just couldn't resist him!

So, I thought I'd have a nose through Etsy and see what fishy items I could find, there were plenty to choose from! I had a good look and I've gathered up a few of my favourites, what do you think?

Just click on the items for more info, it'll go to the sellers item page on Etsy.

Craft Robo

How I would love one of these nifty machines, it's a bit like a printer but instead of ink it has a blade which cuts out your designs! Just imagine how much time that would save me, and it can do so much more, there are so many design possibilities I could come up with. I better start saving the pennies as they don't come cheap, a Craft Robo machine costs £229.99.

Finished!

My invites are finally complete, all 100 of them! They may look like a simple design but when everything you see on the card has been cut out by hand I think you can start to appreciate the time it takes to make them.

The champagne glasses were drawn and scanned into my computer, where I tweak them in Photoshop and print them out onto sheets of card, add some clear crystal lacquer to give them a nice glossy finish and leave to dry. Then the fun part.....cutting out every single one by hand (that's 200 glasses).

The background is made up of white pearlised paper mounted onto deep red Bazzil card stock, then mounted onto silver mirror card (holocard.co.uk has the best prices for mirror card that I've managed to find). All these pieces of card are again cut by hand (using a guillotine, if I cut them out with scissors they would be rather wonky!) Everything is stuck together using double sided tape (no messy glue to make the paper soggy) and attached to the card. A few diamante gem stones are added for some sparkle.

The 'Ruby Wedding Anniversary' wording has been printed onto special paper in order for me to make my own transfers, it's dry rub off decal paper from Crafty Computer Paper (they have some great products).

And last but not least is the 'Invitation' wording, printed onto white paper and mounted onto silver card, with 2 ruby gem stones. This has been added using foam pads to make it stand out.

All that was left to do was print and trim the inserts with the details on and stick them inside the cards, oh and add my business labels to the back, very important, it's a good way to advertise (a potential 100 new customers!).

So now that job is done, I better get back to my other cards, and do some work on my website, which I really should have had up and running by now!

New York 2010!

I have a new mission, to find an apartment to rent for a week in New york for next year. Me and my husband and our friends (and my sister) are hoping to spend New Years Eve in New York next year, I'm so excited! I've never been before and it'll be great to go with friends. So far Jay (my husband) has found this place http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p87180?uni_id=72719 sounds ideal but the price seems a bit too-good-to-be-true, will have to contact them for a price for the week we want as something tells me it could be a bit pricier at that time of year!

If anyone out there has any suggestions on where to stay I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment. I'm off to search the web for more accommodation......

Big Jessie Blog - The Beginning!

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for some time now, so I finally decided I'd do it. So here we are, my first post. I'll be posting about the latest news regarding my cards and anything else that takes my fancy.

I've been rather busy lately creating 100 invitations for my parents-in-law, they'll be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in December! They're nearly finished, so I'll be able to get cracking with my regular cards soon. I've got so many cards I need to make to add to my range, I want to have a good selection for people to choose from.

I'll try and post a picture later of the invitations but for now I'd better get back to making them.......