I LOVE HOBBYCRAFT!!! (grand calibur)

A couple of months ago, I came to the conclusion that I should just give in and get a Grand Calibur- mainly for the embossing capabilities.

This is where I need to say a big thank you to Create & Craft because they haven't had one in stock since I started wanting one and also when I went to the NEC, no-one there had one either! C&C have just got one in stock and with my club discount it's about £84 (incl. p&p) but they won't be dispatched until 7th Dec so I thought I'd try waiting for a deal.

At the time, this wasn't a good thing but after yesterday I'm glad that I had to wait!

In the Sun newspaper on Friday, there was a 25% off voucher so I thought that was worth going for a look round my local store. They had a whole stack of Grand Caliburs by the entrance but the price label was nowhere to be seen. I asked one of the assistants how much they were and when he scanned it, it came up as £110. I worked out that with my discount voucher, it would be about £3 more than the C&C one but I'd obviously be able to take it straight home.

Imagine my excitement (it was almost jumping up and down level) when I got to the aisle where the Grand Caliburs usually live to see a special offer sign saying that 'whilst stocks last' there was £40 off!!! That meant that with the offer and my voucher, the Grand Calibur cost me £52.50!!! WOO-HOO!!!

If you want one, get down there fast- even without another voucher, it's a great deal.

another Hobbycraft voucher!

Quick post about another fab Hobbycraft voucher for this coming weekend (17th & 18th November). Just follow the link below, print it off & save!!!

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/ControlPanel/uploads/bounce-back.pdf?utm_campaign=20121116+Friends+and+Family+25+percent+voucher&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content

Cheap Promarker & Spectrum Noir storage

Over the past few years, I've built up quite a collection of both Spectrum Noir & Promarker alcohol pens. Trying to keep them stored flat has always been a bit of an issue, espically when it comes to finding the pen I actually want to use. When C&C had on their special storage unit the other week I thought my prayers had been answered. The storage system was great but there was no way that I was willing to pay about £80 to have enough space for my Spectrum Noirs and still have to struggle with my Promarkers. That set my mind to thinking and I have come up with, what I think, is a pretty good solution. Most importantly, it cost less that £15 in total.

It started with a simple Billy bookcase from Ikea that cost £10-

Ikea at Nottingham have a section near the tills where they sell some furniture that is cheap because it has been on display, they also sell various pieces of wood that have come from broken goods. I managed to get a large piece of hardboard that would originally have been for the backboard of a bookcase for just 70p! It's big enough to cut 10 shelves out of with lots left over. I got 40 shelf supports from Wilko's for about £3. The bookcase has lots of extra holes drilled so you can put the shelves where you like but these are perfect. I have put a shelf in each of the spaces and that has given me the perfect amount of space for all of my pens and an extra space at the top and bottom for other stuff.

Considerably cheaper than the proper version, not quite as fancy but the £65 that I saved makes up for that!

Kanban 'so feminine' toppers- fashionista

This is another card I made from the fab C&C blockbuster that still seems to be available on the website. I keep getting that feeling that I want to order another set even though I've hardly used much of this one- resisting so far though (waiting for Tuesday's Spellbinders pick of the day!).

This card uses toppers from the 'Fashionista' topper sheet as well as some DCWV cardstock and large prima flowers which I've had for years-

I started with an A4 sheet of turquoise card which I folded off centre to create a card that is roughly 8.5" square (haven't found any envelopes for this size yet though-NEC next week hopefully!). I used DCWV cardstock on the left hand side of the card before adding the toppers using 3d foam. The flower is layered up and secured with a glitter brad- this acts as a closure to the card also. I finished the card with 3 self-adhesive gems.

It's a simple card but very pretty and quick to make too.