Welsh Farm Organic Food - yummy!

Hi everyone,

Let me tell you, with all the delicious food shows I've been lucky enough to present recently, my pilates machine is going to be working overtime!

The other day I scoffed my way through a whole hour of Lime Tree Pantry pies and cakes as well as recently presenting the premiere of Lindt chocolates. Well, if you're going to eat chocolates for an hour you gotta do it in style - a standard bar of mediochre choccy from the supermarket just won't cut it!

Tomorrow (Friday 14th November) at 4pm, I'll have the pleasure of hosting an hour of Welsh Farm Organic Foods. I received a parcel fresh from the farm this morning, so all at Chez Huntley will be feasting on roast Welsh topside beef with all the trimmings. I shall report back on scrummyness factor in the show!

Vote in the Craft Awards 2008

Hi everyone,

The Craft Awards are on their way and you can have your say on 2008's award-worthy crafters, retailers and products!

QVC favourites Dawn Bibby and Leonie Pujol are in the running. Dawn's been nominated for Best Overall Card Designer 2008 and Leonie's in the Best Craft Book category. Well done Dawn and Leonie.

You can also cast your vote for QVC as Best TV Shopping Channel For Crafts and Best Website For Customer Services.

Plus, by voting you'll be entered into a prize draw where you could win a holiday, or over £200 of craft products! Not bad, eh?

Vote for QVC now at craftawards.com!

Love Catherine x

Meet Dawn Bibby at the Hobbycraft show

Hi everyone,

How would you like to meet craft expert Dawn Bibby in person? Dawn will be at the Hobbycraft show at the NEC in Birmingham on Sunday 16th November.

You'll find Dawn at the Crafts Beautiful stand, so why not pop in. The show starts on Thursday 13th November and runs until Sunday.

You can check the Crafts Beautiful website for more details or call 01425 277988 to book your tickets.

Love Catherine x

Anna Griffin chats to Craft Etc.

Hi everyone,

We caught up with a busy Anna Griffin today in between promoting our Today's Special Value - a craft tote, wallet and organiser set. She talked to us about some of her tips, inspirations and how she works...

Enjoy!

What inspires you?

My designs are inspired by my collection of antique textiles and documentary prints. I've been collecting them for about 25 years now - someday I'll have museum of all these beautiful things. They're original paintings that were made for wallpapers, or rugs or ceilings of buildings. They're original designs and then I reinterpret them. I'm also inspired by fashion and the world around me.

Tune in for a craft TSV tomorrow

Hi all,

I'm currently enjoying a few days of relaxation but I wanted to let you all know about the crafty Today's Special Value offer we'll have for you on QVC tomorrow.

I can't say too much about it but what I will say is that if you love Anna Griffin craft materials then this is a TSV you won't want to miss!

Hope you like it!

Love Catherine x

Cards for the Cats Protection League

Hi everyone,

I have mentioned on air a few times that I sometimes offer support to the Cats Protection League by making a few cards from time to time for them to sell. As a result I've had a lot of interest from people who would also like to support this cause and would like to know what they can do to help.

If you want to make cards to help raise money for Cats Protection, cat-themed cards always sell best. I've made both cat and generally-themed cards and the cat ones go really quickly so, in the interests of fund-raising for the cats, let's 'keep it kitty' so they get the full benefit of our efforts!

Caroline Skelton works for the Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted branch and auctions my cards on eBay as 99kittykats to raise funds and it all goes to the CPL. Please feel free to send your cards to your local branch or to me at QVC and I will forward them to Caroline or, alternatively, send any donations to  the Cats Protection Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted branch if you'd like to support her work.

To my delight and surprise I received a whole box full of beautiful handmade cards from a very kind lady called Dee. I shall be stroking them for a bit before they go in the post, to Caroline from CPL, as they are just gorgeous, thanks Dee!

And thanks for all your cat piccies in my inbox, they always make me smile.

Love Catherine x

Some more tips from Dawn

Hi everybody,

Here are a few more crafty little tips from the one and only Dawn Bibby.

Remember if you have any questions for Dawn that you'd like me to pass on to her just leave a comment below or email me at craftetc@qvc.com

Also, if you've got any great little tips you'd like to share just leave a comment below.

Love Catherine x

Dawn Bibby's craft tips

• Once you get started crafting you will gradually find the styles and techniques you like the most and start to build up a collection of tools and products. It may seem like a big investment but the right tools will lead you to more professional results and a much better sense of satisfaction.

Your birthday cards!

Hi everyone,

We received some absolutely fantastic cards from you guys to celebrate QVC's 15th birthday and here are a few pictures of some of our favourites!

In the picture to the left you'll see a stunning fold-out card sent in by Jo from Bournemouth.

Gathered together on the QVC mantlepiece in the picture to the right are cards from a number of creative crafters. The two large cards at the back are (l-r) from Sue in Billericay and Hilary in Eastleigh. Along the front are cards sent in by (l-r) Karen in Newport, Linda in Lancing, D Andrews in Bournemouth, Veronica in Basildon, Sandra in Liverpool and Margaret (we didn't get your address but you know who you are!)

Click on the pictures to take a closer look and thanks once again to all of you who sent in cards to celebrate QVC's birthday!

Love Catherine x

Leonie Pujol on her passion for crafting...

Hi everyone!

Leonie Pujol is a familiar face on QVC craft shows, and I chatted with her recently over a cup of tea about her crafting and charity work.

Catherine: Hi Leonie, so many of us already know and love you but, for the benefit of our newer viewers, tell us a little about you and your involvement in craft.

Leonie: Well Catherine, I've been crafting since I was a wee one, and love all the different aspects of art and craft. I make cards for some of the craft shows with Dawn, and love ATCs.

I run an ATC club, and am also trying to raise money for the Prince's Trust - which you can find more about on my blog leoniepujol.blogspot.com. I've had a book published on ATCs and run workshops teaching cardmaking and papercrafting techniques.

More tips from Dawn Bibby...

Hi everyone,

Here are a few more tips from Dawn for you all to enjoy. Remember if you have some tips of your own you'd like to share please feel free to do so in the comments below and if you have any questions for me to pass on to Dawn you can share them below as well or email me here at craftetc@qvc.com.

Love Catherine x

Dawn's tips
Choosing your colours

• Colour co-ordination is important for professional results. Keep your colours simple. If you're cardmaking it's sometimes best to choose your focal point first like an embellishment or stamp image. Colour your image in how you would like it and then match up cardstock in the same colour tones.



• Use similar colour tones to build your base card as well as to matt and layer the motif. This is a simple concept but always the best way to get a novice started, and a great rule for more experienced crafters to remember!