Crofts Crafts Archives | The British Craft House

Posted on 22/06/202130/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Making in miniature!

My creative style is known as CAS in the card making world – clean and simple! My designs are pretty minimal and I like to go for a natural, rustic feel letting the message speak for itself. My cards quite often feature one central, focal piece or embellishment so they aren’t too distracting. And wherever I can, I try to make the main embellishment by hand.

Card making has always been a relaxing, creative outlet and I love trying to come up with new ideas for embellishments when I have a new card design. They usually involve card, felt, string and whenever possible – googly eyes to add a little personality!

It can sometimes take quite a few attempts to get them looking just how I envisage – drawing and redrawing templates so I can make sure they look consistent each time. Although this is also the great thing about buying handmade – each item may be slightly individual and made to order! I’ve also slowly been learning how to paper cut over the last few years and this has turned out to be really useful when making small, fiddly embellishments I need to cut out. Once I have a new addition to my collection, I do also tend to have a little production line going to make in bulk so I have a stash ready for your orders!

There is nothing better than seeing a bundle of craft supplies turn into your own little handmade creation and there is something very satisfying about making little fried eggs, ice creams or cups of tea in miniature! If you have any ideas about what I should attempt next, let me know in the comments below and why not check out how a mix of craft supplies turned into a recent thank you teacher card here?

Posted on 07/10/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Do you still send Christmas cards?!

As thoughts turn towards the festive season and I start adding Christmas items to my British Craft House shop, I had a question for you – do you still send Christmas cards?!

As a card maker, I don’t really have an excuse not to! And if you have read any of my previous blogs you’ll know I’m a big fan of sending cards just because! But over recent years I’ve had more and more conversations with people who have moved away from sending Christmas cards, whether it’s because it’s too time consuming at an already extra busy time of year, they prefer the ease and efficiency of sending an email to stay in touch or because they are trying to be more green.

So, if you’re sitting on the fence this year debating whether to make the effort, let me tell you why I think you should consider keeping the Christmas card tradition alive! Christmas cards are a great way to stay connected, and this year that’s probably going to be needed even more than ever. And it’s not just about reaching out to close friends and family – we all have friends and acquaintances who we wished we had more time to stay in touch with, and Christmas serves as the perfect opportunity to touch base with people and let them know you are thinking of them and what you have been up to over the last year. Admit it, who doesn’t look forward to that one family Christmas card every year that comes with a full on annual letter for you to have a good old nose at what certain friends have been up to?!

Everyone knows how busy the festive season can (usually!) be. In ‘normal’ times, it’s pretty impossible to attend every holiday party, dinner and festive drinks as you find your social calendar inundated with ‘pre-Christmas catch ups’ so for those you can’t fit in, sending a card is a great way to send best wishes for the holiday season without running yourself into the ground! In fact, the first Christmas card commissioned in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole came about because of this (you can read more about this here) and featured three generations of the Cole family raising a toast with the central
messages of the festive season being celebration and charity.

Studies have proven that receiving a card can spark an emotional connection and generate positive feelings, increase self-esteem and help to stave off feelings of loneliness and isolation. As the year draws to a close and it seems unlikely that we will get to celebrate Christmas as usual this year, it seems an even more important time than ever to think about sending a card. And lucky for you, you are spoilt for choice with a massive range of cards available for all tastes! If you are looking for something handmade I have a selection of mini Christmas cards available, or take a browse through the wide selection from my fellow card makers on The British Craft House here. Charity cards are a great option if you want to use the opportunity to donate to your favourite charity at the same time as sending some happy mail or if you want to send cards whilst keeping the planet in mind, check out somewhere like the Thoughtful Human and their range of plantable cards! There are also some great ideas on how to recycle and up cycle your own Christmas cards once the holiday festivities are over here.

So there you go, hopefully some incentives to have you reaching for the pen and stamps this festive season – let me know below if you still send Christmas cards and I’ll leave you with this fun Christmas card fact: do you know why robins appear so frequently on Christmas cards? Because during the mid-1800’s, Royal Mail post men were nick named “robin redbreasts” because of the red waistcoats they wore as part of their uniforms, so robins began appearing on cards as symbols of the men who delivered them!

Posted on 16/09/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Thinking of You Week

Established in 2014, every year the Greeting Card Association runs Thinking of You Week, usually around mid September. Its aim is to “harness the emotional power of cards” and to “create a wave of love, caring and happiness around the world” which is something I think all of us can get on board with! It encourages people to send cards to different people throughout the week, for no other reason than to let someone know you are thinking about them.

If you follow me on social media or have checked out my online shop, you’ll know this is something I am a big believer in and try to encourage people to stay connected through sending some good old fashioned snail mail – I even have a range of cards perfect for sending just because!

As I mentioned in my last blog post, there are many great reasons to still send greeting cards – it’s the perfect way to let someone know you care, is an easy way to make someone smile and according to the GCA, “science has shown that receiving a handwritten card creates a lovely warm positive boost!” So there are plenty of reasons to get involved and it’s the perfect excuse to keep in touch with loved ones.

There are usually various events taking place throughout the week in schools and local shops, and many of the big card retailers also get on board to show their support – find out more ways you can get involved here, including using the Thinking of You Week toolkit to help spread the word.

But the easiest way by far to get involved is to just send a card! And to help you do that I have plenty of just because cards available in my British Craft House shop,so go on, why not #sendacarddeliverasmile?!

Posted on 17/02/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Just a Card

Have you heard about the Just a Card campaign?! If you are a fellow maker, or a fan of shopping with independents, you may well have done but if not, grab a cuppa, settle down and let me fill you in!

The Just a Card campaign was founded by Sarah Hamilton who was spurred into action when she spotted this quote from a gallery that was having to close its doors “if everyone who’d complimented our beautiful gallery had bought ‘just a card’ we’d still be open”. Not only is this just super sad to hear, but independent shops, galleries and small businesses are vital to local economies – they make our towns vibrant, interesting places to visit and are a great way for designers and makers to be able to showcase their work. Our high streets would be a lot more boring without them! So the aim of the Just a Card campaign is to encourage people to support and buy from artists, makers, independent shops and small businesses.

You’ve probably heard the saying “every time you buy something from a small business, an actual person does a happy dance!”? Well this couldn’t be truer. Shopping handmade really does mean the world to independent artists and makers – not only are you helping small businesses to stay open, but you are supporting creativity and somebody’s dream. Plus, have you ever noticed how much people appreciate a handmade gift?! They show you’ve taken the time to seek out something you know someone will really love, something that might be really personal and unique – so really, shopping small is a win, win!

The Just a Card campaign really reinforces the message that all purchases, no matter how small, are crucial for independents to survive. And it doesn’t have to be just a card – it could be just a print, just a book, just a mug, just a pin – but every purchase makes a massive difference to artists and makers, and enables them to continue doing what they love.

The campaign is run by a team of wonderful volunteers, and if you would like to support them you can donate on their web page or buy the Just a Card pin, window sticker or print. But the fabulous news is there are also loads of ways you can support the campaign even without spending a penny!

How to get involved:

there is a bunch of free stuff you can download from their website such as blog buttons and flyers & posters for your events
follow the campaign on Twitter and Instagram and like, share and RT their posts
add ‘Just a Card supporter’ to your Instagram bio like this
take part in Just a Card Indie Week – usually in November
and most importantly just help SPREAD THE WORD! Every like, share, RT and conversation about the campaign helps spread the message far and wide!

So who feels ready to be a Just a Card Warrior?! Hopefully the above links are useful and from this handmade maker, thank you very much for taking the time to #shopsmall and #supportindependents!

Posted on 27/01/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Meet the Maker: Crofts Crafts

So, here goes on my first blog post EVER! And I thought a good place to start would be to share a little bit more about me and Crofts Crafts!

My name is Becky and I currently make greeting cards and gift tags here in the beautiful North Norfolk countryside. If you’ve checked out my shop, you can probably tell my style is quite minimalist – clean and simple and I try to keep it quite natural and rustic looking! Most of my cards are made from recycled Kraft card which I print the greeting on myself, and then use a variety of materials to decorate them including felt, hessian, wooden embellishments and twine. I try to hand make as many embellishments as I can, which can lead to some pretty fiddly work!

I started making handmade cards when I moved to Norfolk from London a few years ago. It started off as a hobby, to send to friends and family, but I found it to be really relaxing and I really enjoyed doing something creative which was very different to the day job! I slowly started doing a few local craft markets which were great fun, and a brilliant way to meet fellow makers and get involved in the local community.

I make cards for most occasions, and also have several ‘just because’ designs. I’m a big believer in encouraging people to connect via good old fashioned snail mail to let someone know you are thinking of them, especially these days when it’s so easy to use technology to connect! There’s nothing nicer than receiving some happy mail and knowing that someone has taken a few minutes out of their day to let you know they care – especially by sending something handmade! I’m also trying to make my cards more sustainable and am moving away from using cello bags – I’m a big fan of the Naked Cards campaign…but I’ll save that for another blog post!

My aim for this year was to set up an online shop to try selling to a wider audience, so I was so happy to find, and be accepted to, TBCH. I love the fact that TBCH is celebrating British designers and makers, and that it is also a relatively new venture (like me!) and I’m excited to slowly grow my shop and get to know other fellow sellers and the TBCH community!