A little info about me!

My name is Christina and this is just a little bit of information about me, and how I got to be in the place I am now.

And believe me I never thought to be in this place.

When I was five my father died ... and the shops that my parents owned were compulsorily purchased, by the council, to make way for a car park.

So my mum lost her husband, and her home in a matter of months.

We had to go and live with my grandparents.

I was told that my dad had gone to heaven, and as a five year old that was very difficult to understand.

I spent a lot of my childhood wondering when my dad would come home from heaven, as I really did miss him.

Over the next ten years my mum re-married, to the proverbial wicked step-father, and it was not a happy time for me.

I left school at the tender age of fourteen, with no formal qualifications, and I worked in a factory until I got married at eighteen.

It was a good marriage, for a while.

My husband was in the Fleet Air Arm, based at Culdrose, and we lived in Helston, Cornwall.

We had a good circle of friends, a lovely home, and the pride and joy of our lives, were two beautiful daughters.

Life was great.

Then he decided he wanted to leave the F.A.A. and we moved North to be near to our families.

We bought a house up here, got the girls into new schools, and I got a part-time job.

But my husband wouldn't work, and money became scarce.

In this stretch of ten, everything fell apart.

My husband started an affair with my best friend, and after eleven years of marriage I found my self divorced.

Now I thought, "What about me... What am I going to do"

How would I manage with two small girls to feed and clothe, and a mortgage to pay. I couldn't sit about and do nothing, I had to work.

And over the next ten years, manage is what I did.

I got a job that would support us all. It was a daily, financial struggle but I kept my house going, and although I couldn't afford the things that growing kids want, we got by.

My ex went to live abroad and didn't worry about me or the girls.

I did an awful lot of crying and worrying in that decade about me and the girls and what I would do to support them.

Then in 1988 I got a better paid job and things started to look up a little. I could afford some of the nicer things in life.

My daughters grew up and had children of their own. They built their own nests and settled near me.

Then in 1997 I met someone and fell in love. And life got even better.

This decade is going to be about me. I wasn't that old that I couldn't still have some fun.

Three years later Griff and I got married, in 2000.

This is us on a holiday in a little restaurant in Cabo Pino near Marbella.

In this ten I am happy.

I still worked for the same company, for over 22 years, and I have lived in the same house now for over 46 years and I love every brick of this house.

I know every sound this house makes and I feel safe.

Now this is where I could say, "And they lived happily ever after....." but if you want to know more about me, then read on. 

In 2008 I decided to go part time, just working three days a week.

But being healthy and active I needed to do something else to occupy my time, so I started card making.

I enjoyed this hobby very much, and my family and friends all seemed to enjoy my efforts too.

When I look back now at those first offerings they are awful. Truly awful!

With extra days I could now spend more time on that hobby, and I decided to take it more seriously.

As I got better, I was able to sell some in different places, and I gave a lot away to family, friends and charities.

I submitted my cards to online websites and in January 2009 I was invited to be a guest designer for... making-handmade-cards.com...

I was like the cat with the cream over this.

Somebody else thought my cards where good, and that gave me the push I needed to improve even more.

But then I wanted to go further and did a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do.

I mostly wanted to help people, like myself, who didn't know where to start with card making.

People who thought they couldn't do it because they were not artistic.

People who wanted to have a go but, were scared of trying.

I looked at a lot of blogs and websites for ideas, hints and tips, and I must have looked at hundreds of them.

Some good and some not so good. 

I tried all kinds of techniques, and practised some of the ideas I read  about.

I knew there had to be something more for me. And I needed a challenge.

I wanted to make my own website

I wanted to get the message across, that card-making is an enjoyable hobby, open to everybody.

I decided to let people know about me and what I wanted to do.

I started to research the idea of a website, and it is a minefield out there, for get rich quick schemes.

But nothing grabbed my attention. Nothing that I really felt I could trust with my hard earned cash.

It was through two particluar websites that I read about a company that I hoped could help me make my dream come true.They sounded very interesting.

I did lots of more research, but into this company only.

And the more I found out the more I liked, and the more I felt I could trust them.

This wasn't a "get rich quick" scheme, but one I would have to work at, and work hard.

I had never heard of "Site Build It", but I found out everything I could.

I thought about it for a long time. I e-mailed lots of questions that I wanted answers to.

I asked the two SBI card websites for their advice, and every body was helpful.

It was not just setting up a webpage and seeing what happened, I needed proper help and teaching so that I would know what to do.

And I needed patience with it all while I learned, because I had never done anything like this in my life.

Apart from e-mail and surfing the net, that was my total knowledge of computers. I knew very little of anything else.

But from the research I did, I found that SBI have a complete system for "newbies" like me.

SBI does everything to help you make it work. They made me think about me, and what I wanted to achieve.

They made me evaluate my own knowledge and how I could put it to best use, because as they say "everybody knows something about something"

They have a lot of books filled with advice and teaching that you can download and print, for free, and I read everything I could.

In the end I made my decision and I joined SBI.

Every step of the way is explained and there is a wealth of information waiting for you.

And I just wonder where I will be by my next decade!!

There is one thing for sure I'm not ready to be a wrinkly just yet, and I won't be sitting around waiting for things to come to me.

I will be out there trying to make this the best ten years ever, and I'll tell you more about me when I get there.

Cheers!

And now is the time to take a look at SBI for anybody wanting to start their own website.

There is so much you can do to improve your own future, especially in this economic crisis, and SBI can help you on that path.

Click the link below ... It opens a new window.

Update About Me 2015

Now it is 2015 and the website is now just over six years old and I am happier than ever.

In November 2011 I gave up working for a company I had been with for almost 25 years.

It was a risk ... as I had always said that when the website paid me enough to leave work I would resign.... and at that at time it didn't.

But I wanted to spend more time working for myself and so I handed in my resignation for the end of that month and then I left.

I now have more time to spend working on this website ... that is my pride and joy and I absolutely love it.

So many exciting things are happening for me and so many doors have opened in the last six months it is just amazing.

I am as enthusiastic about it now as I was when I started it in 2009. I have worked hard and still do ... but now I don't need to go out and work.

I can make my own hours and if I want a day, a week or a month off I can take it and still my website makes me money.

I couldn't have done this with out the help of Solo Build It and I am so happy that I found them.

As the website grows and the years pass I will tell you more about me and my journey through this wonderful life.

Update 2017

So in the last year I joined the Craft Stash design Team and I am really enjoying working with them. I cover all the freebies that are attached to their publications and create videos to show you how to use them.

I have been given the most amazing opportunity but I will tell you more about that as this year progresses and into the next one

Update 2018

The start of 2018 has been remarkable for me. Late last year I brought out my own range of dies,stamps and stencils called "The Christina Collection"

They are available with a UK company Craft Stash and they are all selling really well.  Early this year I added some beautiful embossing folders to the collection and I am so pleased with all that is happening.

I have added lots of videos using my collection and they are all in the side bar to the left so that you can find them all in one place. If you have bought any of the items then add them to the Gallery pages and be sure to watch out for more as the year goes on as more sizes will be added 

Sad News November 2018

The end of 2018 was a really bad time for all of us as a family and for me in particular when my wonderful husband Griff died in November after a short illness. It was a great shock and that Christmas I just felt numb.

Both of our families have been a big support to me and we do lots of things together and meet up whenever we can.

But now in 2020 I have to move on alone. I have come a long way in the past few years and I have a long way to go, and I know that Griff will be proud of what I have achieved, and I will tell you more about me as I move forward into 2020

Covid-19 2020

What a shock this year has been to everybody. And especially hard for those who have lost loved ones due to the Covid-19 Virus that has swept the world. 

I don't imagine anybody would have thought this could happen and how much life would change for all of us. 

The whole of 2020 passed in what seems like a blur, not being able to go out to work or to meet friends, shop or socialise. Having to stay home constantly in what tuned out to be a very lonely time for everyone.

Christmas was a non starter for most of us as everything was cancelled or closed down and there was just no where to go ... not even to visit family.

Eventually we may get back to a more normal kind of life but I don't think we will ever be rid of this awful virus that has changed the world for ever.

Update 2021

This year so far is not much better than last as the restrictions on us all have yet to be lifted fully.

So much of the world is still closed off to us and so travelling has to be very cautious. The vaccination that has been introduced is helping to curb the numbers a lot and not as many people are dying from Covid-19 as there where at the start of this pandemic

But the worrying part is that new variants are emerging and scientists are fighting to find cures that can at least reduce the level of sickness for us all.

As the year progresses let hope that there is more good news as we all look forward to maybe a more cheerful Christmas this year than the last one.

2022/2023

So here we are coming to the end of 2022 and this years has seen some changes for me in relation to work. I have got many new designs now in the form of new collections and there are many more in the air for the next new year.

I am adding in some of them as links so that you can see some of the newest  ones that are on the Craft Stash website. You will also find many tutorials on how I have used them on my YouTube Channel that I hope you will enjoy.

Making Cards My Style 

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