Wednesday 11 April 2012

I won something..hehehe! So,lets have a chat!

Can you tell I'm a bit excited? and maybe a bit sad as well really I think!  I received an email from my CD manufacturers before Easter saying they were having a competition on their website so, of course I couldn't resist having a go.  I have to say it was a really great competition and the way they ran it was brill..infact I've already told them that I'm going to 'borrow' it in the future for my website and lovely customers..so that's something to look out for in the future!!

Anyway I won a runners up prize, which was a lovely Thorntons Chocolate egg. Here it is..



Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter break, and if you have children you are probably still enjoying their company.  If you took advantage of the Funky Hand Easter Sale then, thank you and I hope you got everything that you wanted.  It went really well and we are trying to work through all of your orders and get them out to you as soon as possible.  Poor Gary my Dispatch Manager is running around like a headless chicken supervising all the packages and making sure everyone gets the right things!!

I don't often spend much time just chatting to you on this blog it's usually just the latest picture of a card I've made and I'm gone, back to work.  I was drinking a cup of coffee yesterday and I started looking back right to when I first started writing this blog in 2006.  No one was reading it of course, but I saw that I talked alot more..so, just for today I thought I would stop just for a little while and have a chat with you.  If you've had enough already please feel free to move on now...

Right, if you have hung on then I want to give you a little update on everything that is going on here in The Garden Studio and with me.

Well I'm working away on the next Funky Hand CD ROM which (fingers very tightly crossed) should be released late in May.  I don't know why, but people expect me to release CDs all the time like some of my competitor craft CD companies do but, I don't get other designers to create my backing  papers and other stuff on the CDs, it's just little old me sitting here working into the night designing them myself.  I have to admit sometimes I wish I did have other people doing them for me..but then it wouldn't be a Funky Hand CD it would just be someone elses work with our company name on it and that's not how I want it.  So, I'm afraid you have to wait for my CDs :(  When I'm designing the backing papers I design loads more than go onto the CDs..I'll design something, take an age over it, and then sit back and say to myself  'Would I use this if I was making a card or crafting in any other way?' if the answer is No..then the delete button is pushed and a few hours work can be gone but..if I wouldn't use it, why should you??  Anyway as I say the CD is chugging along and I'll keep you updated on that. With all of that said, I mean completely no disrespect to any other craft CD manufacturers, everyone has the right to run their business how they see fit and I wish only good fortune to them all. Thank goodness we are not all the same..how boring would that be?

You may have noticed that I have been trying to release more craft download collections this year.  So far there has been at least one new release each month..I've yet to get one done for April yet..but that is also on my list.  One of the reasons Ive been doing that is because we are really getting lot more customers from around the world wanting to try out Funky Hand products and downloads are a quick, easy and cheap way to see if they are interested.  Thankfully we are also finding they do like what we are doing and come back for more! So, I though I'd better up my game and give everyone more choice and new things to download more often.  If you have never tried downloading craft stuff before you could always try our Funky Freebie to see if it's to your taste. Funky Freebie? Well that's a single backing paper that is available on my website www.funkyhand.com for you to download for free.  It's linked with our Design Team challenge blog Get Funky and it gets changed every month so if you don't grab it between the 15th of one month and the 14th of the next you'll miss it!  Take a look.

OK, that's work covered I think, so how are things in my life?  Well pretty good, I don't talk much about my MS and Epilepsy as well..., it's pretty boring to anyone who is reading a craft blog and no one wants to get dragged into any moaning now do they?  I know I don't!!  My health is always in the front of my mind and I'm messing with different drugs for this and that and trying to work around everything all the time but, I always remember that if I hadn't been ill six years ago (wow is it that long ago now?!) I wouldn't even be here talking with you, Funky Hand wouldn't exist and I would still be there, stressed and bored trying to climb the corporate management ladder just like I was back then.  So, it always really depends how you look at your life.  I know there are alot of you out there that have health problems and I urge you to just concentrate on the positive things in your life and not on the 'what I could have been doing'  That old life is gone..but you have a wonderful new life now and there are always great things to find in it no matter how dark it might feel at times.

Right, I think I have wittered onto you for long enough now, and you have other blogs to go and read or even something more important to do..I can hear my year end accounts shouting me from the filing cabinet! So off with you all now..and I'll be back very soon.

Much love to you all
Anice xx

7 comments:

  1. Anice hun you could waffle on to me all day and I still wouldn't get bored of it, I love hearing what you are up to!
    And hun, you never need to rush cds out, I use and use all my old ones and absolutely love them so you dont need to get caught up in the next new thing race 'cos you are awesome as you are.
    Huge squooshy hugs Lou xxx

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  2. What a great attitude you have to life Anice. I don't expect you to release new CDs all the time, I think most people realise how much work goes into them. It was nice to read a bit more about you in this post. Keep up the good work and enjoy the Easter egg! X

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  3. You lucky duckie! That egg looks delish - I had to buy my own :(
    I love popping around, visiting blogs and catching up (though I hold my hands up to being rubbish at it in recent months).
    Blogs are a lovely way of keeping contact with friends old and new, those we get to meet and those we only know via the online community. Facebook is OK but it's not as "homely" as a blog.
    I love using the download collections and the CDs too - what I really love is that so often when I'm stuck for the right colours, images or patterns for a project, a quick check through the downloads, or wander through the Papercraft Factory will soon come up with the very thing I need!

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  4. Hi Anice - Well done on winning your Easter egg....I'm jealous!!! I just wanted to say that I love your CD's - I have quite a collection now and I'm always using them to make word books etc. As for the ME, well I understand what an awful illness that is as my daughter has suffered for over 10 years and you are right, you must focus on the positive and move on the best you can. Funny thing is, this was how my daughter and I became 'Krafty Kows'. I managed to get her into crafts to focus on something else instead of the illness. Now she is married with two children and one on the way. Some days are still bad but she copes. Anyway, that's me going on now...lol! Take care. Jeanette

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  5. Congrats to you! :)
    Don't rush yourself Anice or feel under pressure, it is better for you to take your time and enjoy the design process and feel happy with the end result rather than hurrying to get the cd's finished.
    It shows how much people love them if they are asking for more but the special thing about your cd's is the huge amount of personal work that obviously goes into them and as you say if they were designed by others then it wouldn't be a true FH cd. Let other companies churn them out every week and you stick to your own way. Although... I have to say I'm looking forward to the next one too, but I'll be patient! :) Ni. x

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  6. Nice to have a chat sometimes Anice, Enjoy your lovely easter egg, and thanks for all the downloads and CD's that you do for us. I must say they really are a great back up for me, I need to get some more. With your attitude, you are an inspiration to us all. Take care.

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  7. Pop a piece of that fab egg into the post for me will ya!! I agree with what the others have said - a blog is a great way of reading and peeping into others' lives in a homely way - I follow a lovely lady who posts quotes and little ramblings and I love to visit her so feel free to tell more about yourself anytime. I have several close to my heart who have MS too and I can understand why you want to keep it close to your chest but I empathise with you and wish you well in your 'new' career path Anice. you are doing great so far producing your excellent funky hand work!! Gonna be onto telly again anytime soon? Sheila:)X

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