Bittie Birdies

It’s so lovely to have an extra long weekend – gives me so much more crafting time!  I’m still playing with my latest Papertrey stamps, and I just love this little bittie birdie set.  Works very well with the little chipboard trees we made in the last class.

Sorry the pictures are a bit grey – I was catching the last daylight in the garden so they’re not as bright as they should be.

I’m definitely going to have to get this doily die – it’s so versatile.

My stepdaughter is 18 next month – can’t quite believe it, she’s grown up so quickly.  She’s off to Magaluf to work for the summer, so I had to make her card a bit early so she can take it with her.

More chipboard circles!  It works well on this card, for such a special occasion I wanted it to be nice and sparkly!

I have another reason to be happy this weekend.  After 8 months of battling with Provocraft I have a new power cable for my Cricut machine, so I can wipe the dust off it and use it again.  I’m still completely speechless at the dreadful customer service from Provocraft and the fact that I wrote two letters to their CEO which he didn’t reply to, or act on.  I was quite close on a couple of occasions to just giving up and throwing the machine in the bin, but finally, after probably about 20 phone calls to their European helpdesk and several letters, another Cricut user in the States stepped in to help me and emailed some contacts she had at Provocraft (who replied to say it was nothing to do with them as it was a European power cable – can you believe it – they are the head office and the bloody things are made in China anyway so the manufacture and distribution is still probably arranged from the US).  However, I think just the fact that she contacted several people made someone actually look into it, and a day later I got a phone call to say one was on the way to me.  I could have kissed the DHL man when it arrived yesterday.  Even though I got there in the end, the whole experience has seriously put me off their products – after all, a Cricut machine is not a cheap thing to buy.  I had been toying with the idea of getting an Imagine before all this, but there’s no way I would spend that much on a product that you might not be able to get parts for if anything goes wrong.  The US companies used to be well known for their fantastic customer service, so it’s a shame to see that isn’t the case anymore.  I had a similar rubbish experience with Ellison over a Tim Holtz sizzix die, so it’s not just Provocraft.  I love their products so I hope they invest a bit of money to provide the follow up service that they should for these machines. 

That’s my rant over with, I’m going to lie down in a dark room now :)

Comments

[Steph Hill]

Gorgeous cards, love those stamps and the colours you've chosen are so pretty! x

[Kathy]

These are fab Sharon - love the little birdies and all the glitter on your step-daughters is gorgeous

[jo]

Gorgeous cards - the little birds are so cute - glad you got your new power cable sorted - sounds like a lot of hassle :(

[Di]

Hi Sharon

I'm so excited about the Pro Marker storage - can't wait! I love this card and am afraid I did chuckle over your rant and you going to lie down in a dark room! I had the same with the Epic Six I bought - bits flew off in all directions after just a week, and I was using it properly! It took me so long to get the replacement parts that I bought a Cuttlebug and the (now fixed) Epic Six is on a very high shelf in a cupboard in my little crafty den. It's only there as back-up as I totally went off the thing after all the hassle. Shame about such rubbish customer service! Di x

[Georgia Hoek]

I have found that it is a sad state of affairs but companies and a lot of people in general have an attitude of "so, what! Nothing to do with me" Very sad and will be the downfall of our country and companies if there is not a sudden trend to turn around to our attitudes and beliefs of the past!