Three years of paper crafting with Dawn

Like many of you Dawn Bibby has made a crafter of me and I’m totally hooked. As well as being our multi award winning resident craft expert, she is also a wonderful person. Fun, silly, cheeky, caring, etc etc!

Although Dawn has been crafting with us for many many years, this Tuesday marks the third anniversary of her Paper Crafting with Dawn Bibby shows. Every Tuesday at 2pm Dawn shares her expertise and brings us a two-hour craft extravaganza! This Tuesday 3rd November we have an extra hour in honour of the occasion and some great offers, too.

I just thought I’d share some of my personal photo collection featuring Dawn from crafting fairs, her 40th fairytale birthday party and nights out on the town to lovely girly sleep-overs…don’t worry, she’s a good sport and won’t mind at all…I hope!

I’ll just have to bring chocolates along on Tuesday as a peace offering in case, hee hee!

It’d be great to hear from you so please write in and tell me what you love about lovely Dawn and her craft shows.

Lots of love,

Catherine x

See a few more pictures of Dawn

Read Dawn's Craft Corner blog

My work is never boring and I love it!

As I left home at 15 to go and make my mark in the world, I learned from an early age what hard work was. I also vowed to myself that I would never do a job unless I could be truly happy and satisfied doing it. I loved my job as a dental nurse and I remember even having fun as a school cleaner on a temporary contract with my cousin!

No matter what you do I say that if you have passion for it then it's worthwhile. I've always relayed that to my children too. I'd rather they were truly happy and satisfied sweeping the streets (unsung heroes, our street cleaners) than be miserable and stressed in a high-powered, highly paid job, and I really do mean that. Happiness is something no money can buy.

I've always been a 'finger in every pie' kinda girl and that's why QVC has turned out to be my absolute dream job as it never gets boring, there's always something new around the corner. For example, tomorrow (Thursday 25th June) I have Clogau Gold at 11am featuring a limited edition Today's Special Value made only for QVC, followed by Lulu Guinness OBE at midday. They are two of my all-time favourite shows and I honestly can't wait!

My Dena Designs TSV cards

I was lucky enough to get my hands on Tuesday's (2nd June) Today's Special Value craft kit to play with. It's a brand new designer craft brand called 'Dena Designs' and it is sooo girly, cute, gorgeous, and creative. Can you tell it appeals to me?

It's a bumper card-making kit with all sorts of goodies inside. I made two larger cards and then two mini sized ones (see right). Aren't they sweet?

The other cards you can see in this picture (the concertina'd ones on each end) come as you see them so some elements are virtually ready-made but lovely cardstocks, papers and embellishments included in the collection mean that you can be as creative as you like!

Dinky, the cat, tried to help with the cardmaking but felt another good use for the kit was a cat bed and he plonked himself down right on top of it all. Cheeky little thing, so cute though. He's still snoozing away as I type.

I hope you'll join me for crafting fun at 12 noon on Tuesday 2nd June as well as tuning in earlier in the day at midnight to see this gorgeous card-making TSV.

Love Catherine x

See the Dena Designs kit for yourself from Tuesday, or visit our Craft department on QVCuk.com

Craft Day's nearly here again...and it's BIG!

That's a little (or big) clue for all my fellow crafters about the Today's Special Value for Craft Day (Sunday 3rd May).

I'll be with you at midnight as we kick off the day's proceedings with an outstanding offering from Kanban (now the UK's largest papercraft manufacturer).

We've seen how the demand for larger cards has taken off and so, if you like yours large, I know you'll be over the moon with what we have for you. Take a look at the piccy (above left) for a taster of what delights await you...

We have Dawn Bibby, Rosemary Merry, Anna Griffin and Brenda Pinnick to name but a few. There's also a plethora of shows to see including Character Papercrafts at 12pm, Tools for the Crafter at 2pm and so much more!

As I say I'll be there as we kick off Craft Day at midnight on Sunday and then from 9pm in the evening with Dawn's Favourites, Crafting with Anna Griffin at 10pm and the Craft Day Grand Finale at 11pm.

What are you most looking forward to this Craft Day?

Love Catherine x

My 'Spring Break'!

I have been missing QVC in my two weeks off so it's nice to be writing to you again to share what I've been up to. I'm one of those people who loves their work so much that taking annual leave gets forgotten about until the last minute so I have a total of three weeks off in March.

In my first week off Steve and I drove nine hours to my aunt and uncle's home in gorgeous Scotland. My cousin, her boyfriend and son were staying there too, so we had a nice full house and, thanks to my auntie K, loads of scrummy home-cooked meals.

The scenery was amazing. It snowed a little almost every day, which gave the mountains a real alpine feel. I missed our cats but we enjoyed their pets enormously. One big fat lazy cat and two dogs who were as loopy as they come!

Our all-star Craft Day is nearly here!

Who fancies a sneak preview of tomorrow's (Thursday 26th February) Craft Day Today's Special Value? Here's a pic of a few cards I put together with the kit (left).

Be prepared for a very busy start to the Craft Day proceedings at midnight tonight as Kanban have the most amazing dance-themed card kit! How perfect is that with all the celebrity dance programmes like Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice being so hugely popular?

There are can-can dancers, Fred and Ginger-inspired elegance, fabulous 50s rockers, 70s disco divas and so much more. It's been great fun to play with and really easy to put together very impressive-looking cards.

My only hinderance has been the youngest crafter at Chez Huntley, Dinky, who has been chasing, chewing and pouncing as I craft (right). Too cute so I forgive him!

The Great Bibby/Huntley Night Out!

  Hello again! Well, I must say it is very rare for me to go out these days, apart from the odd lunch or dinner. It's even rarer for Dawn (our crafting expert) and I to get together for a proper night out.

We recently got our diaries out and planned to go out on the weekend just gone as Dawn was due to come off air at 5pm on Saturday.This was going to be perfect as I was going to get the house all tidied and prepared for Dawn and husband JJ to visit.

Then Dawn's hour got moved to 9pm so we called it off but I was really in the mood to go out so Steve and I went to a lovely local Tapas restaurant and then on to a nice Champagne bar for a glass or two.

Guess Tuesday's TSV...

Hi Folks,

I've been busy playing with tuesday's Today's Special Value and have made a few bits and bobs.

Now I want you to guess the TSV! What could it be? I'll tell you one thing it is... addictive! You're gonna get plenty of use out of it!

To take a closer look at a photo, just click on it.

Firstly...

And then...

And finally...

Getting any warmer?

I can't wait to hear from you. See you at midnight!

Love Catherine x