New Year Ahead..

I hope you all got your hands on some of our sale items over the last few days in our year end sale.  It's quite nice to have a sale and clear out some of the stock room ready for new things to take their places.
We have plenty of new Funky Hand products planned for 2012 so those spaces wont be empty for too long!!

I don't know about you but I always have mixed feelings about the New Year.
Part of me is looking forward to January 1st. New fresh start..stating all your new year resolutions just like every other year..losing weight, blogging three times a week (at least), going on long walks to get all that lovely extra exercise I need..BLAH BLAH.
The other part of me likes the comfort of this year..I knew what happened, not all of it was great but..some was good, even fantastic and I find it hard to give up another year that I have survived.

Reading this back it all sounds a bit strange but that is just how I always feel as the New Year approaches. How about you? Do you like New Year or loath it?

As I have been clearing out the office ready for 2012 I found an image, on my external drive, that I used for my Christmas cards this year that I hadn't shared. (For some mad reason I didn't take a picture of my Christmas cards completed, I know idiot!!) So, I thought I would show it to you to, sort of, end the 'Christmas' period..as it pretty much is now really.

The image is a digital stamp from the Funky Hand Christmas CD ROM Twelve Crafters Crafting. Alot of crafters I have spoken to with the CD completely missed this image so keep it in mind for next year!!  I sat for ages colouring the images (there were a few cards to make!) using my new set of Letreset Aquamarkers which are now my big favourites.  Expect to see them available for sale on the Funky Hand website www.funkyhand.com in the New Year.

Well I have enjoyed talking to you all this year..more than likely this will be my last post for 2011 as I have two new download collections to get finished over the next couple of days ready for release in 2012, sounds funny doesn't it!

Anyway, that doesn't mean that there wont be more Funky Hand blogging going on though as the last challenge for 2011 over on the Get Funky Challenge Blog is still in full swing and you have until the 14th January to join in and have a chance of winning a download of your choice.  So, what are you waiting for?  Get over there and take a look at the fantastic creations the Funky Hand Design Team Members have already made to inspire you for this challenge.  You know you want to use that new craft stash you had for Christmas..maybe joining in with our challenge could be one of your New Year resolutions!

Have a good start to the New Year..speak to you again in 2012!
Anice xx

It's Sale Time!!!!

As it says clearly above..just if you have had a bit of a good Christmas so far and your eyes are a little crossed! We are having a three day sale over on the Funky Hand website. There is 50% off all Funky Hand branded products. That's all the CDs, downloads, paper packs, buttons and ribbons. But, we couldn't just leave it at that so, we've also reduced all the additional stash like Promarkers by 10% as well.

Get over to the Funky Hand website www.funkyhand.com NOW and grab yourself a Christmas crafty bargain.

Oh and by the way..hope you are having a wonderful Christmas time.
Anice xx

Merry Christmas one and all!!

It's a new Get Funky Challenge

Yes folks it's the last Get Funky Challenge of 2011 and I am the host this month!  The challenge is pretty straight forward.  THANK YOU.

I thought I'd give you a little rest from all those Christmas cards you have been making to get started on your thank you cards!!  This challenge is not just about thank you for presents or cooking a nice turkey though.  Your cards, scrapbook pages or any other craft creation can be for any sort of thank you.

Here is my card to start the challenge off..

Go over to the Get Funky Challenge Blog to get a closer look and see how I made the card.  All I can say that there are things from three of my craft CDs, Colour Me Happy, Craft The Year Away and Twelve Crafters Crafting included on it!

As always the one rule for the challenge is to include at least one Funky Hand product on your creation. To make that easy for everyone I have created a new Funky Freebie for you to download and use.  Find it on my website www.funkyhand.com

Whilst I have you here I wanted to ask you, do you use Facebook?  If you do, then it would be great if you would 'Like' the Funky Hand page which you can find here http://www.facebook.com/#!/funkyhand or just by searching for Funky Hand. In 2012 we intend to extend the things that we will be including on that page..like special codes just for Facebook followers for discounts and competitions to win Funky Hand products. It would be great to see you over there.

Right back to work for me.  Hope to see your Thank You cards on the Get Funky Blog very soon.
Anice xx

Getting ready to put up the tree!

I know alot of you out there will have your Christmas Trees and decorations all up and twinkling already but in the Funky Hand household I'm afraid it's always the last moment.  But woohoo! it is all going up this weekend. We moved to a bigger house earlier this year so we now have room to put the Christmas tree in front of the juliet balcony that we have in the lounge and still be able to see the TV!!

With this in mind I decided that we needed some new decorations.  I don't know if you remember a few years ago I bought Christmas decorations of Henry VIII and his six wives on a journey to London..it was 2009 actually there were loads of exhibitions to celebrate that it was 500 years after Henry came to the throne in 1509..sorry as well as crafting the Tudor era in history is a big interest for me.If you want to see them take at look at this post..http://funkyhand.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-i-was-up-to-this-weekend.html  Anyway, Henry and the girls have got some new baubles (green ones of course my favourite colour) but I wanted something total unique and hand made so I followed a link from one of my Twitter 'friends' Mel to her Etsy shop.. Wow the handmade Christmas decorations that she makes are just wonderful.  I just couldn't resist...

The pictures don't really show up the sparkle that well, but the decoration is made and finished so beautifully I hardly want to get it out of it's packaging and put it on the tree this weekend!

If you'd like to take a look at what she has in her Etsy shop at the moment, pop over here to her shop Inky Doodles Crafts  http://www.etsy.com/shop/inkydoodlecrafts?ref=ss_profile  you wont be disappointed.

Before I pop off again I just want to remind you of the Get Funky Challenge that is still going on for this month.  There is still time to join in if you fancy it or why not just go over and take a look at the wonderful creations that the Funky Hand Design Team have been posting since the challenge started last month.

A new challenge will start on the 'Funky 15th' of December and I'm the host, so you had best not miss out on the last challenge of 2011.  It'll be a nice easy one and the Funky Freebie is pretty cool even if I say so myself!!

Finally, just before I pop off for good today, I wanted to mention that Funky Hand has a page on Facebook that could really do with a few more 'Likes'! In 2012 we have big plans to have special offers available on there and share even more Funky stuff so, if you are on Facebook go over and 'Like' the Funky Hand page so you don't miss out.  We are also on Twitter and you can follow me here https://twitter.com/#!/funkyhand  I promise I don't tweet every few minutes and in the New Year there are plans for special offers on there as well.  Right enough talking time for more designing and crafting!

Speak again very soon and happy crafting!
Anice xx

Get Funky Challenge round 2!

Due to a couple of changes with the Funky Hand Design Team this month there was a posting space for this months Get Funky challenge so as a good leader I took the challenge for a second time and allowed my wonderful, over worked, DT members to concentrate on next months challenge. Oh, and Christmas and stuff like that!!

So, this months Get Funky Challenge was set by Jackie and she wants us to create two cards.  One traditional Christmas cards and then another card for an occasion with is nothing to do with the 'C' word but still using Christmas papers!

Here are both my cards, pop over to the Get Funky Challenge Blog to get a better look at them and read how I made them.  Both cards were made using the latest Funky Hand craft CD release Twelve Crafters Crafting.

Pretty different cards!  Please don't forget to go over to the Get Funky Challenge Blog and join in with us this month.  We love to see what you create and get the chance to visit your blogs.  Even just leave a message on my post or any other other Design Team posts for this month to let us know what you think of our creations, it would be great to hear from you.

Right, back to my own Christmas card making..as usual I have left it until the last possible moment.
Anice xx 

Those dreaded mens cards!

Just after my birthday last month it was Ians Brother in laws birthday Colin.  I decided that I would make his card reminding him that he was getting closer to 40 this year as he enjoys reminding me how much I am moving into my 40's grrrr.

Anyway, I thought I would share the card I created for him...

For this card I used the spotty paper from my Happy Happy Birthday CD ROM. The collection I used was Just For Men ..surprisingly!   I found some really nice mottled olive green paper in my stash which I thought would go really well with the spotty paper colours.  I created the topper using the Happy Happy Birthday CD workspace.  I used the un coloured resizeable number digital stamps and added the writing with the writer also on the workspace.  Actually it was great because I was able to create my topper and print the spotty paper all on one piece of A4 card by fitting everything onto one page of the workspace and printing it.  I then was able to use the piece of white card left not printed on the A4 sheet to use as the white card under the topper.  Less messing about, less printing and less waste of card!

I'd printed out the topper using the un coloured number digital stamps one, because the coloured ones didn't match my card colours but also because I wanted to have a play with my new favourite crafty item Aquamarkers by Letraset. (Expect to see them available for sale on my website www.funkyhand.com in the very near future!)  I used two Aquamarkers to colour this topper Golden Brown and Spring Green. Before I started painting though I let the image sit over night just so that I was sure that the printer ink was completely dry.  Probably a few hours would be enough though.  I then drew a line around the ouside of the numbers with a Promarker pen, I used the Cool Grey 1, to make the numbers jump out just a little.  Here's a closer look at the image..

I'm not claiming in anyway that I am a specialist in using Aquamarkers but I have always enjoyed using paints with my stamped images digital or inked stamps.  I always used to use Twinkling H2O's and have a large collection of them but Ive really enjoyed working with Aquamarkers for the first time.  They mix together so well and even a new user can create something to be proud of with just a little effort.  In the near future, and after a little more practice, I plan on making a quick video on how to use Aquamarkers with your Funky Hand digital stamps.  It's great fun!

Right I'm off to get creative as I am lucky enough to have two spots this month on the Get Funky Challenge Blog.  So you will see a couple more cards from me in a few days following the challenge set this month. Which, is to create a Christmas card in traditional colours, red, gold, green and then create a none Christmas card but using Christmas papers.. a bit of a teaser our Jackie has set us this month..but it's fun to stretch yourself when you are crafting.  I'll be using my latest craft CD Twelve Crafters Crafting for both cards of course.  Pop over to The Get Funky Challenge blog and take a look at the wonderful creations that my Design Team members have already posted so far this month and maybe you will be inspired to join in with us.

Right I'm really off now., speak again very soon.
Anice xx

Good News! It's A Boy!

To anyone reading this thinking I'm announcing anything about me, think again!!

No, we have a new member of the family..he was a little earlier than we thought but Ian my other half and Funky Hand techy has become an Uncle once again. Matthew David was born earlier in the week and he is a darling! Of course I needed to make a new baby card so I thought I would share it with you here..in detail!!

The card has been made using my craft CD Craft The Year Away. The collection for the paper I used is November Rain as it has some lovely blues and lilac tones. I used the coloured baby carriage image from the digital stamps on that same CD and wrote the sentiment in the work space. It was great as I was able to put everything I needed, backing paper, sentiment and digital image all on one A4 piece of card and print them all out together.

I decided that I wanted to make a wire curly handle for the pram so I used black covered 22 gauge wire. It's thick enough to look good for the pram handle but not so thick I couldn't add a few black beads to it to give a bit of movement and noise to the card!

Of course I needed to add some ribbon to a baby card but as he is a boy I just wanted something simple so I added sheer blue ribbon with white dots. I have trouble tying bows so I always opt for the 'decorative knot' in these circumstances!! I decided to add a white heart pin through the knot that I found in my stash which has a lovely sheen on it. Sorry I don't know where I got it from, I've had it in my stash for years!

Once I had started to put the card together.. I don't know about you but I always seem to change my mind and add or take things away. It was at this point I decided that there needed to be a little more definition to the backing paper so I quickly doodled a rather wobbly line around the edge of it with a black Sakura Gelly roll glaze pen. It tied the black pram handle into the overall card design better. I mounted the pram on the card with foam pads and once it was all together I added Glossy Accents to the heart to give it a lovely sheen..and it also meant there was no chance of me touching it and messing it up. Which is what I usually do as I have no patience to wait for things to dry.

So there you go..my first real baby card for quite a while!

I hope you all had a chance to grab any Funky Hand products yesterday in my one day birthday sale. It will be a while before you see those sorts of discounts on the website again so I hope you did get anything you fancied before it was all over. I had a lovely birthday yesterday. I went to the hairdressers, did 'lunch' and coffee with my good friend Vic and was taken out for dinner by Ian.

Today is family get together day for my birthday so little Matthew will get his first outing since he arrived home earlier in the week. Bring on the party food! I love that sort of thing even more than the children..well it's my birthday party so I should stuff my face shouldn't I?

Speak again very soon
Anice xx

It's my birthday 43% off SALE

Yes, it's my birthday and for ONE DAY ONLY you can get 43% off ALL FUNKY HAND PRODUCTS on my website www.funkyhand.com

That means prices like my latest Papercraft Factory craft CD ROM Twelve Crafters Crafting coming down from £16.99 to a tiny £9.68    Find the same amazing discount for all our craft CDs


The discounts are not just on our craft CDs but all Funky Hand Download collections and other Funky Hand products like Our Betty Stamps, buttons, ribbons and paper packs.

If you still have crafty gifts to buy for Christmas or just want to grab some huge bargains for yourself you had better get onto my website www.funkyhand.com NOW as this sale is only running from Midnight 24th November until Midnight tonight Friday 25th November.

Don't kick yourself tomorrow for missing out as we will not be having as big a sale discount again.  So get over to www.funkyhand.com quickly before time runs out or the stock does!!

Now, I'm off to enjoy my birthday and wish you all a very happy crafting day!
Speak very soon
Anice xx

Time for a Funky Challenge

It's my turn on the old Get Funky! Challenge blog today. Jackie is the Boss this month and she set us a bit of an interesting challenge.  She wants us all to make a Christmas card in the traditional green and red etc colours and then using less tradtional colours but still Christmas papers from collections make a none Christmas card.. well that's a tester!

I've decided that I'm only going to put the Christmas card that I created for this challenge up here on my blog so you need to pop over to the Get Funky Challenge Blog to see what my other creation was..it's not Christmassy that's for sure!!

 

All the Design Team are using my latest CD release Twelve Crafters Crafting for their cards so I have as well!!  This card is made with the Easel card template that can be found on the CD and papers from the Merry Christmas Collection.  Both the Christmas Tree and the sentiment are hand drawn digital stamps that can also be found on the Twelve Crafters Crafting CD ROM.

Ok, so now you've seen my Christmas half of the challenge pop over to Get Funky and see what else I made none Christmas using Christmas papers then, have a go yourself..we love to see your creations and visit your blogs.  Even if you don't join in leave a comment on any of the posts so we know you were there!!

Speak again soon

Anice xx

A craft gift from my Mom!

If you know anything about me or how Funky Hand started as a business you will know that it was my Mom who got me started papercrafting.  Anyway, since she retired recently she has been picking up old crafts like knitting and sewing that she used to always be doing when I was a child.  But as well as those things she has also been trying out some new ones as well.  She has taken up jewellery making.

Last weekend Mom and Dad visited us and Mom gave me a fab bracelet that she had made for me.  Basically she gathered together every green bead she had in her stash, as she knows it's my favourite colour, and created this wild bracelet..

It's made using memory wire so I don't have to worry about trying to do up clasps with my dodgy right hand.
Here it is on my wrist..

Expect to see this in any future Create and Craft TV shows front and centre..though it does rattle a little with all the giant beads.  It might mean you can't hear me talking, which isn't such a bad thing I imagine you are thinking!! 

Just one last picture before I leave you to your day.  What I really loved was a little charm that Mom had added to the end of the bracelet..

A little silver hand saying Hand Made.Isn't that great?  We should all be proud of our crafty creations, being hand made doesn't mean the item is 'less' than something you could buy in the shops.  It means it's much better as it's been made with love and care.

Speak again very soon

Anice xx

It's time for a new Get Funky Challenge

I know I say this every month but I just can't believe the Funky 15th has come around again.  Which can only mean a new Get Funky Challenge.

Jackie is our Boss this month and as it's her first time running the monthly challenge I thought I might get an easy ride..not a chance.  This month Jackie wants us makng two cards!!  One which is a standard Christmas card using traditional colours like red, green, gold etc and then really stretch our crafting talents and make a card that isn't Christmas themed but with Christmas papers!!

Here are Jackies cards for this challenge to get you started, but go over to the Get Funky Challenge Blog to get a proper look at what she has created.

For both cards she used papers from our latest CD ROM Twelve Crafters Crafting.. First the traditional Christmas card..

and then a really fab Birthday card using the same Christmas CD ROM Twelve Crafters Crafting..

Aren't they both great?  Just proves that Twelve Crafters Crafting, isn't just for Christmas..you can use it all year around!  I'll be showing you my take on this Get Funky Challenge at the weekend.  I just need to get them both made!

So, get yourself over to the Get Funky Challenge blog and join in with this months challenge.  The only rule to be able to win the free Funky Hand download prize is that you use at least one Funky Hand product.  If you haven't got anything from us in your stash just yet then do not fear I have created a Funky Freebie download paper that you can download from my website www.funkyhand.com to help you on your way.

Have fun crafting!
Anice xx




 

If you missed my create and Craft Shows...

..then you missed out on some big savings on my Papercraft Factory CD ROMs including my latest releases Happy Happy Birthday and Twelve Crafters Crafting!  If you've already got them then who cares eh?  If you haven't pop over to their website www.createandcraft.tv and see if they still have any of the deals in stock. If not they are available for sale on my website www.funkyhand.com while stocks last!!

Anyway I thought I would share with you a couple of the cards that I made on the shows so you could have a bit of a look at them!  First up is my go at distressing paper using a file..not a good idea when you have paid good money for a manicure to go on telly!!

This jolly Santa card was created using papers,digital stamps and sentiment from my latest Christmas CD release Twelve Crafters Crafting.  Here's a closer look at the distressing of the edge of the paper..

Next I'm going to share a really simple easel card. All the papers, digital images, sentiment and the easel card template also come from the new Twelve Crafters Crafting Christmas CD ROM.

Here's a side view..

Without reducing the easel card template from full size it measures 4.8" square so it will fill perfectly in a 5" square envelope for sending out to people.

I really think Sally my digi stamp designer has created some wonderful stamps with this CD.  They are not overly complicated so they are great for paper piecing and they are cute with out being cutsey..if you know what I mean!

Anyway, there are two cards I demonstrated making on Wednesdays Create and Craft TV shows.  If you'd like to take a good look at the other paper colours and designs, stamps and generally get a better idea of the sorts of things you could make using this CD then pop to the Twelve Crafters Crafting page on my website and take a look at the gallery on there.  My Design Team have made some amazing Christmas cards and lots of other things besides with the papers available on this CD. Infact if you have a look around at all the other CD pages you will see galleries on all of them that will give you loads of inspiration to get crafting!

I'll be back soon with a tutorial about how to use the pillow box template available on this CD so you can see how to make really great boxes, just right for small gifts like jewellery etc..

Speak again soon
Anice xx

Live shows on Create and Craft tomorrow

Hi everyone.  I'm just dropping by pretty quickly today to remind you, or let you know if you didn't already,  that I have two live TV shows tomorrow.Wednesday 9th November On the Create and Craft TV channel at 8am and 1pm. Find the shows on Sky Channel 671, Freeview 36 and Freesat 813

I will be launching my newest Christmas themed CD ROM release Twelve Crafters Crafting for all you late Christmas card makers like me.  I never make a Christmas card before my birthday, 25th November..though I've had to this year for demo cards!! Ha Ha!

On the shows there will also be chances to see my last CD Happy Happy Birthday which to tell you the truth is only a couple of months old itself so it's like doing a double launch!!  Look out for some fantastic card samples from my wonderful Design Team members as always they will blow you away with their crafty talent!


I want to give you a BIG heads up that there are going to be some BIG savings available on all my craft CD ROMS on these shows..and that even includes the new releases!!  If you don't have Twelve Crafters Crafting and Happy Happy Birthday yet then make sure you watch at 8am and 1pm tomorrow or go on the  Create and Craft website and you might just get yourself a very nice surprise..don't you deserve an early Christmas present???!!

There are reductions on the prices of my older papercraft factory CDs Dreams Come True and Colour Me Happy as well so maybe you need to complete your collection..do it tomorrow with the sale prices on the individual CDs and even more on multi buys.

I'm off now to just finish packing my tote bag and huge Really Useful Box with all the demos and card samples for tomorrow.  I hope we can get them all in the car!!

Let me know what you think of the shows..I'd love to hear from you.
Until later in the week
Anice xx

My Dad had a birthday..

My Dad and I have birthdays in the same month so November is a month for me to make birthday cards and to receive them!  Here's the fun little card that I made Dad this year,

I know I was being a bit cheeky..but he doesn't mind!!  The card was made with papers, digital images and sentiments from my CD Happy Happy Birthday.  I had to send it in the post so I wanted it to have some layers but not be so thick that it would cost a forture to send in the post or would just get wrecked!  So, I didn't use any foam pads but stuck each part of the card down flat with wet glue.  To create a feeling of layers I added a section of the same printed card on top of the main backing paper and just doodled with a black Sakura pen simply around the edges of both.  The topper was created in the Happy Happy Birthday Work Space using three digital stamps, the pint of beer and the two sentiments 'Over the hill' and the 'Happy Birthday' banner.  That's the great thing about the Papercraft Factory Work Space that you will find on all our Papercraft Factory CD ROMS (Dreams Come True, Colour Me Happy, Craft The Year Away, Happy Happy Birthday & Twelve Crafters Crafting) you can resize all the digital images and sentiments and mix and match them to create your own perfect topper.  If none of the sentiments are exactly what you want, maybe you want add the persons name, then just use the sentiment writer, also available on the Work Space, and write whatever you like in loads of different fonts.  Your options are endless really.  Of course you might think that I would say that as Papercraft Factory is a Funky Hand creation but I know that it's a big plus from all the emails I get every week from really happy customers..so I must be doing something right with it!!

Anyway, back to my Dad's birthday card !  I finished off the topper by colouring it in with Promarker pens and adding highlights to the image with a white Sakura pen.  I always find it a bit strange using a white Sakura pen as when you draw it on..it's clear..then after a few mins it dries and it's suddenly white. Then you find out if you have put it in the right place!!  But that's what crafting is all about to me..having a go at things you have never done before and having fun at the same time !

Enjoy your crafting this week!
Anice xx

Twelve Crafters Crafting CD officially launched!

 
Yep, I'm all excited today as our Christmas CD Twelve Crafters Crafting  is officially launched on our website www.funkyhand.com.. all you eager crafters that pre ordered the CD all last week should be seeing your copies arriving today as they were all dispatch first class yesterday to you (Friday 4th Nov)

I've been working with the CD all week and will be the rest of this weekend coming up with demonstrations to include on our two live TV shows on Create and Craft TV next Wednesday 9th November at 8am and 1pm.  I hope you can join me to have a closer look at Twelve Crafters Crafting and have a few laughs as well, crossed fingers.

Here's card I made with the CD just last week, I even coloured the Christmas crakers myself with promarker pens!  I'm still learning how to use them properly but the digital stamps on Twelve Crafters Crafting really lend themselves brilliantly to colouring..they are amazing, Sally my image designer has done a fab job..I can't wait to be able to show you more of them..though if you can't wait to have a look take a glance at the gallery on the Twelve Crafters Crafting page on the website and you will see some amazing cards and projects that my Design team members have created.

Right I had best get back to making demos or there will be nothing for me to do or show you next week on my TV shows!

Speak again very soon
Anice xx

The Winner of the Funky Hand Blog Hop

Well, it was a great Blog Hop last weekend and I think everyone who took part enjoyed themselves.  I know the Design Team and I all did, very much.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to take part. We loved having you visiting our blogs and leaving such lovely comments.  Hopefully you came across some blogs you had never visited before and started following them.

But here finally, is the interesting bit..the winner.  But first I had promised that I would give you a video of me picking the winner but I just didn't have time to get it done so..you'll have to put up with pictures!

First, here are all the correct entrants..

 Then I had to put them in the 'hat'  in this case it had to be the giant Funky Hand Teapot..

 Here I am picking out the winner.. (try taking a picture that's not blurred with one hand!)

And finally, who is the winner of a free copy of our brand new craft CD ROM release Twelve Crafters Crafting ?  I'll not keep you waiting any longer..

 Congratulations to our winner CraftyBugMum.  Please contact me via the Contact Us page on my website www.funkyhand.com let me know your name and address so I can get your Twelve Crafters Craft CD prize out to you.

The Twelve Crafters Crafting CD isn't officially released until next Saturday 5th Nov but you are able to pre order it now ready for delivery to arrive on the day of release from my website www.funkyhand.com   It's selling pretty fast so I hope we have enough stock to cover pre sales, launch sales and then the order for Create and Craft TV when we launch it on there Live Wednesday 9th November at 8am and 1pm.  Oh, I love launching new CD ROMS it's always so much fun!

I hope you enjoyed our blog hop..keep your eye on here we may well have another one in the future!!
Speak again soon
Anice xx

Twelve Crafters Crafting BLOG HOP!

Welcome to the Funky Hand Design Teams very first Blog Hop. If it's your first time joining in with a hop as well don't worry because I'm going to explain what you need to do very clearly.

This Blog Hop is to give you a peek at what you can make with my new Christmas CD Twelve Crafters Crafting which is being made available TODAY on my website www.funkyhand.com for Pre Order. It will be official launched on Saturday 5th November. If you join in with this weekends Blog Hop you will get the chance to win a fab Funky Hand prize.

Whats the prize? A FREE copy of the new Christmas CD ROM Twelve Crafters Crafting.

OK, what do you need to do to have a chance to win the prize?

• Firstly you need to visit each of the Design Team blogs and take a look at the wonderful card or project that they have posted there that has been created using the new CD Twelve Crafters Crafting. Each of the Blog posts will contain a link to the next Design Team members blog for you to visit or 'hop' to, so it's nice and easy to know where to go next.
• On each of the blog posts you will find a letter that the DT member will give to you. Note down the letter from each post.
• Before you move onto the next Blog post remember to leave a message letting the DT member know that you have visited their blog on your hop around. It doesn't have to be a long message just say Hi and if you would like to let them know what you think of their crafty creation. (This is really important as you need to leave a comment on each blog post or you wont be able to win the prize!) If you don't have a blog account of your own don't worry, you can still post a comment but it will come up as an Anonymous comment. Just remember to put you name in your written comment so we know it was you who has visited!
• Once you have visited all the blogs you will have TEN letters and the last DT blog you visit will send you back to this blog post. Mix the letters around until your find two words, that are actually a title of one of the collections on the new CD. (Hint, they are Christmas themed!)
• Once you have worked out the two words all you need to do is put them in a comment here on my blog. Now, don't worry if you don't see your answer appear here straightaway as I will be monitoring all the comments so no one can copy your answer!!
• The Blog Hop will end at 12 midnight (GMT) on Sunday 30th Oct. On Monday morning I will post all the answers that were added to the comments section here. I will check all the correct answers I received also left a comment on all the hop blogs.(See, I told you it was important to leave a comment on each blog!) Then I'll put all those names into a 'hat' and pull out a winner!
• I'll make a video of me picking the winner out and post it here on Monday so come back to see if you are the winner!!

Right enough of all the rules, here is the card that I made to get the hop started,

I made this card with papers from the Merry Christmas Collection from the Twelve Crafters Crafting CD ROM. The topper is two of the hand drawn digital stamps/sentiments included on the Christmas CD ROM put together. I coloured the wise men with Promarkers and used gold and silver Sakura pens to give their outfits and gifts a little sparkle!

OK..now it's time for you to start hopping, pop over to see what Lou has for you by clicking her name. Remember to take a note of her letter and leave a comment.. See you back here in a while..enjoy your Funky Hop!!

Just incase you get lost, here is a list of all the DT member posts so you can look at them again if you need to:

Lou
Jackie
Jules
Ruth
Amanda
Paula
Jenny
Katina
Kathy
Allison

Good luck..and have fun!
Anice xx

Blog hop this weekend!

This is just a little message to let you know that the Funky Hand Design Team are having our very first BLOG HOP this weekend.  It's to celebrate the launch of our new Christmas themed craft CD ROM  Twelve Crafters Crafting, which is officially released on the 5th of Nov, BUT  is going to be available to pre order on our website  www.funkyhand.com from this weekend!!  If you join in the fun with our blog hop you could be in with a chance of winning a fabby prize! Find out what it is on Saturday!!

I just wanted to give you a little heads up so you know that it will be starting here on my blog, Funky Hand Thoughts on Saturday 29th October at 9am and you will be able to join in and add your answer right up until 12 midnight Sunday 30th.  The winner of the Blog Hop prize will be announced on Monday 31st.

It's going to be great fun hopping around all the Design Teams Blogs seeing example of cards and craft creations they have been making with the new Christmas CD. Get ready for seeing some AMAZING creations and having fun with the Funky Hand DT Gang. 

I can't wait, and if you are like me and this is you first blog hop..don't worry I've made it really clear how to join in, it will be easy and loads of fun! So, I'm really looking forward to seeing you here on Saturday and Sunday.

Lets all get ready to get hopping!!
Anice xx

Get Funky, gets scary!

It's my turn today to bring you a card for our Get Funky Challenge this month.  Amanda has set us a challenge with Autumn in mind so I have decided to head along the Halloween route..here's my card..

I have used the Funky Freebie that is available on my website www.funkyhand.com for this month as the base card pattern and everything else has come from my craft CD ROM Craft The Year Away.  If you want to know more about how I made this card and get a closer look at my colouring of the pumpkin then pop over the Get Funky Challenge Blog now.

I enjoyed making this card and it's a nice change just before I start to make the dreaded Christmas cards! Though I think this year it's going to be much easier as I will just use my new Christmas CD Twelve Crafters Crafting.. New CD? I hear you ask , I haven't seen it yet..Oh, but you will very soon.

We have some fun things planned to launch this CD, look out for the details later in the week of the BLOG HOP next weekend and don't forget the 25% OFF SALE that is going on right now on the website www.funkyhand.com  There are live TV shows on Create and Craft already booked so you can take a closer look at the CD then as well if you want to.

I'll be back to show and tell you more in the very near future, until then, get joining in with the Get Funky Challenge!
Speak very soon
Anice xx

25% SALE starts today!

Our BIG 25% off SALE starts today so get over to www.funkyhand.com today and grab yourself a fantastic crafty bargain.  It's on all weekend but I can't guarantee how long the stocks of everything will last so don't miss out!

See you over there!
Anice xx

A little heads up for a BIG SALE starting tomorrow!

Yep, tomorrow is the beginning of the fun as we head towards launch of our brand new Christmas CD ROM Twelve Crafters Crafting..

Tomorrow, Saturday 22nd October we start a two day massive sale with a giant,

25% discount off 

all Funky Hand Products on my website www.funkyhand.com.  That's 25% off all the current CD ROMS,  Download collections, paper packs, stamps and Funky Hand stash which includes ribbons, buttons and word book envelopes.

That means you could buy our latest CD Happy Happy Birthday for a tiny £12.74, and an Original Funky Hand CD ROM like Funky Word Books for just £5.99, no one can beat those prices on Funky Hand products this weekend!

Also, don't forget when you buy from www.funkyhand.com any order over £10.00 has FREE DELIVERY. 

We need to make to make a bit of space in the warehouse for the arrival of the new Christmas CD in a couple of weeks time.  So, why not grab yourself a good ole' Funky bargain?  It could be for Chrtistmas gifts for your crafty friends or even just something you've had your eye on ..who can resist a 25% off Sale?  Not me that's the truth!!

After this weekends sale we (that's the funky Hand Design Team and me) have plans for next weekend..how about a fabby BLOG HOP with a very special prize for the winner?  I'll tell you more about that later next week.

I'll be back tomorrow to remind you about the sale but I thought I would just give you a little teaser..
See you tomorrow
Anice xx

Another Birthday card!

I don't know what it is about this time of year but all my friends seem to be having their birthdays at the moment!  Here is a card that I made for one of them, Sandra who had her birthday last Friday.  We had a really good get together with friends, good food and laughs to celebrate, so thanks for that Sandra!

Here is the card I made for her..

The card blank is a really small square white card that I bought in a pack ages ago.  I used papers and digital stamps from my craft CD ROM Happy Happy Birthday.

I was also very giving and used two of my vast collection of brads on this card as well.  It's never easy to give them up I have admit!!  How sad is that?  But I bet there's plenty of you out there understanding my feeling of loss!!  The brads are both by Making Memories..they probably aren't even available anymore I've had them so long!!  Luckily I have another pack so I can still have them to look at when I want to!! (Shakes head at the madness of brad collection and love!)

I'm working hard as usual this week but this time I'm getting ready for my Create and Craft Shows on Saturday coming 22nd October.  You can catch my live shows at 11am and then I'm on again at 4pm.  These shows will have my CD Happy Happy Birthday as the lead product but as usual I'll have my other Papercraft Factory CDs available as well.  I'm working on new demonstrations to let you see what's actually available on this CD for all your Birthday cards..so, I'd best get back to it or I'll never have everything finished!  As always my Design Team have produced amazing cards and other creations for these shows so even if you just watch to see them, you wont be disappointed..you can turn the sound down so you don't have to listen to me chatter if you like!!

Oh before I forget, call back later in the week as we might have a little offer on the website that could be of interest to you.. I'm so naughty to tease you!
Speak very soon.
Anice xx  

Fancy an Autumn Get Funky Challenge?

It's that time again, the Funky 15th of the month and that can only mean one thing..a new Get Funky Challenge!

Congratulations to Hazel for being our Winner for last months challenge and to our other top three Funkettes! Infact thank you to everyone who entered the challenges last month and each month over on Get Funky.  It's always so wonderful to get to visit new blogs and meet and comment on all the fab card makers each month.

Right back to this months challenge Amanda is in charge and her challenge is a great one as it 'leaves' you to create so many different projects...

AUTUMN

Now this challenge can include anything you are inspired by for Autumn, including Halloween, which is lucky as that is what I've made!  You'll see that later in the month..

Here is the great card that Amanda has started us off with this month..

Isn't it fab? She used this months Funky Freebie which can be found on my website www.funkyhand.com and a digital stamp from the Funky Hand Craft The Year Away CD ROM.  With such a fab inspiring start how could you not want to pop over to the Get Funky Challenge Blog right now and get crafting to join in with us this month?  There are only two little rules for the challenge and they are that you follow the challenge ..which is obvious! and that you use at least one Funky Hand product in your creation, that can be a paper, digital stamp, rubber stamp image whatever you want.  If you don't have any Funky Hand stash yet then you will find the Funky Freebie as I mentioned before to help you..and introduce you to the Funky Hand range. There's nothing like trying before you buy!  So that's this months challenge, hope to see you over there!

I thought I'd also tell you in this post that I am going to be doing some more live shows on the Create and Craft TV channel again next Saturday (22nd October) at 11am and 4pm showing my latest CD rom Happy Happy Birthday along with all the other Papercraft Factory CD ROMs so you can get a good look at all of them.  If you missed the shows last month I suggest you check out these live shows as the Design Team really out did themselves with the wonderful creations they made with the CD and you can get a really good look at what could be created with the CD.  It's birthday themed which is something we all need as birthdays never seem to stop, not in my craft space anyway!!  I hope that you will be able to watch. If you are a Create and Craft Club member you get a 10% discount off the RRP when you order from them which can't be bad!

Anyway, I'll be back very soon to show you a birthday card I made for my friend (see birthdays never end!) and of course to show you my take on this months Get Funky Challenge.

Enjoy your crafting!

Anice xx

Happy Birthday Lisa

It's one of my close friends birthdays today..so, Happy Birthday Lisa!  I made sure that I took time to make her a handmade card as I have to admit to being pretty bad at keeping on top of my card making for real occasions rather than TV demos etc.  Anyway here is my creation...

I used two papers from my craft CD ROM Happy Happy Birthday.  The spotty one as the base for the whole design and one of the 'plain' papers that I always include for each collection that matches, to layer the image on.  They are always just one colour from the five that are used in the collection but this one isn't really 'plain' it has a textured pattern to it, so they are real patterned papers, not just a plain colour.

The topper is made up of three digital stamps from the same CD.  That's the great thing with the papercraft factory workspace on the CDs, you can resize the digital images to whatever size you need but also mix them together to make whatever image you want for your card.  The image of the four cupcakes is one of my favourites from this disc and I used the coloured versions but added some Sakura silver gell pen doodles to the image to give it a bit of sparkle!  The picture doesn't show that up that well I'm afraid!

I found the perfect dark orange satin ribbon in my 'huge' collection of ribbon stash, I just can't seem to stop buying ribbon..probably not the only one I know!  Anyway I wrapped it around the base paper (actually printed on to card) that I had cut slightly smaller than my white base card and knotted it at the front.  With my 'Funky' right hand I can't tie nice bows anymore so I tend to knot ribbon and other bindings instead..actually I quite like it as a knot is less likely to come untied!  I secured the ribbon on the back of the printed card with tape so it wouldn't slip off..I've had that happen many times so I've learned..if you are not going to see it..stick it down!

Once the ribbon was secured I thought it needed just something else to finish it so I dug around in my stash and found a collection of lovely pins with heart heads on that I'd forgotten I'd bought.  I'm sorry I can't remember where I got them from or who they are by as there was nothing on the packaging.  Sticking the pin through my knotted ribbon just finished the card off perfectly.

I love it when a card comes together and you are really pleased with the end result and I have to say this one I really like!  Infact it was hard to hand over but..Lisa will appreciate it I'm sure!

Speak again very soon
Anice xx

My Funky Ring

When I was on Create and Craft TV last month I wore a mad ring and I've had lots of messages asking me about it.  Well, it isn't any designer special I have to admit..I bought it from Next for less than £10.00 !  Good old Next, I love their costume jewellery.  If you didn't see it here's a couple of pictures...

I can't wear necklaces on the TV as they bang on the microphones so I've decided to get funky with rings and bracelets instead!  Makes me happy searching for something new..and cheap!!

Look out for what I come up with when I am on Create and Craft again Live with another outing of my latest craft CD Happy Happy Birthday on Saturday 22nd October at 11am and 4pm

Speak again soon, with more info on the Create & Craft TV shows and..details of our Christmas CD release Twelve Crafters Crafting and Create and Craft TV shows for that as well!!

Anicexx

Free Funky Hand Download Vouchers!

Do you read the following craft magazines?  Simply cards, Papercraft Essentials or Creative Card Making.

Well if you do then you will have been seeing a new voucher page that has started in them where different craft companies offer readers special offers for that month...this issue of each of those magazines have this voucher offer from me..

Obviously I have taken the voucher codes and vaild dates off this image as they are different in the different magazines!!  But I wanted to you know about them as I think this is a pretty good offer.(Even if I say so myself!!)  Basically if you spend a minimum of £16.99 from the Funky Hand website www.funkyhand.com , which is really could just be one of our Papercraft Factory CDs and you can add ANY one of our download collections into your basket as well, use the code when checking out and your download will be FREE!!

I've been running these voucher offers for the last couple of months in these magazines with different offers on and lots of you have been taking me up on the offers.  But I thought this one was pretty good so I thought I'd tell you about them so if you have the mags you can take another look or you might be planning on buying one of them..this offer from Funky Hand is available!  I don't want you to miss out with Happy Happy Birthday freshly released and a brand new Christmas themed CD about to go off to the manufacturers!!

I'll keep you informed of any other offers that I'll be making over the next months..and freebies that will be in magazines in the future.

Before I go, don't forget that my Design Team have a great challenge on over on their challenge blog Get Funky. It's called 'Birthday Fun' and basically you just need to make a birthday card using just one Funky Hand product in your creation to be in to win a free download.  I even make it easy for you, if you don't have any Funky Hand products yet there's a Funky Freebie download on my website www.funkyhand.com to help you.  It changes every month to match the new challenge so no excuses!  See you over there I hope. The DT members put up new card ideas every couple of days during the month so you will find lots of inspiration..go on give it a go, everyone is very welcome!

Speak again soon
Anice xx

Its Get Funky Challenge Time!

Did you catch the shows that I did on Create and Craft last week?  I had great fun working with Leonie on both of them and the Happy Happy Birthday CD ROM went down a storm with the viewers.  I've had a few questions about the ring I was wearing for the shows..If you didn't see it I'll be back with some pictures and info on another post.. now why am I posting today? Oh yes...

It's my turn to offer you some inspiration for this months Get Funky Challenge from our lovely Jenny which is BIRTHDAY FUN

Well, with no more chat here is my card..

I made it using papers and images from my latest craft CD release Happy Happy Birthday.  The collection I used is Sunshine Birthday.  It's pretty bright as you can see so I decided to colour the topper I created by putting the three outline images together rather than use the pre coloured images available on the CD as well.

I coloured them using Promarkers in colours Lime Green, Canary, Bright Orange and Amethyst.  I used Cool Grey 1 to highlight the images around the edges so help them stand out from the white card.  Here's a closer look..

You may be wondering what I have done with the paper behind the topper..well I had my first go at a bit of paper pleating.  I'm not one for having things all perfectly neat and repeating beautifuly so I scored the paper at random points and got a slightly different effect.  Uneven in other words!!

I am thinking of adding this to my list of video tutorials that I will be filming in the near future so look out here and on my website www.funkyhand.com for the link!

Before I go today I wanted to tell you about the weekly challenge that is going on over on the Daring Card Makers blog at the moment.  It's to make a birthday card with at least one candle on but, Funky Hand is the sponsor so you can win a copy of  Happy Happy Birthday if your card is chosen.  You need to be quick as the challenge closes today but if you are clever..you could enter both our challenges with just one card!!

So get yourselves over to Get Funky and Daring Card Makers today and join in, you could be a double challenge winner!

Speak again very soon
Anice xx

Are you watching Create and Craft?

Sky 671 | Freeview 36 | Freesat 813

If you're not you'll miss my show at 9am!! But if you already have missed me then hopefully we haven't sold out of my new CD Happy Happy Birthday and you can catch me again live at 4pm.

The main reason I'm here today is to remind you have there is a new challenge starting today over on the Get Funky Challenge Blog.Jenny  is in charge this month and she is keeping the Birthday theme going! Pop over and take a look, then get crafting and enter the challenge by adding your blog post of your creation to the linky at the end of each of the Design Teams posts.

All you need to remember is that you need to use at least one Funky Hand paper or extra on your creation so that you can be able to have a chance of winning a free Funky Hand download of your choice. Because there is a new challenge that means there is also a new Funky Freebie on my website www.funkyhand.com to help you join in if you don't have any Funky Hand products yet. So no excuses. I look forward to seeing your creations and having the chance to visit your blog.

So, see you, literally on the Create and Craft Shows today oh, and don't miss the special offer on a multibuy of two of the CD ROMs only available on C&C

Speak again soon
Anice xx