Jak Heath.com

Hot Glue Gun Drips

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 12:55:00 +0000

I don't know what your hot glue guns are like but I must have tried every make/ brand on the market and they all seem to drip hot glue at some time or other. Then there is the added problem of the corded ones tipping over and the little pull out wire rest being less than useless, as soon as that electrical cord gets any sort of kink or bend it tipples. not good when you constantly have to put the glue gun down to stick stuff together.

The problem above teamed with not being able to find a new glue stick when you need it encouraged me to make a craft kit.

A Hot Glue Gun Stand and Glue Stick Storage kit

Easy to put together and great to decorate in you favourite colours or cover with patterned paper

No more hunting to find the glue sticks at a crucial point in gluing.

An acrylic plate to pop in so that when the glue drips you can take out the plate to peel off the cool glue

Problem solved and it looks great sitting on your work desk.

The acrylic plate sits right underneath the drippy bit.

On my Etsy shop now Jak Heath Designs

New Craft Kits

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 07:12:00 +0000

Its been an exciting few weeks, I turned a corner in my Etsy Shop and added some Craft Kits of my designs, I really wasn't going down that route but after many requests I thought that maybe I should.. So what are the kits? Well they are laser cut designs from 3mm MDF allowing the buyer to put their creative twist on the design.

below is the kits I have so far but adding more soon.

I should show you how I coloured them..

This one I am going to send to Family in place of a card this year, a gorgeous decoration that they can uses year after year.

These are a set of 2 Winter Mittens and Christmas Bells

Both are Hanging decorations.

Love a Christmas Farm Truck with a Tree.

'Twas the night before Christmas. Christmas Mouse.

You can view them all here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JakHeathDesigns

Oh Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:51:00 +0000

Is there anything more exciting than welcoming a new baby to the family? Decorating the room is all part of the nesting process. This gorgeous SVG file is perfect for that

it could be done with an electronic cutter the like of Silhouette Cameo , Cricut Maker or ScanNCut for card making, scrapbook or a picture.

What ever you choose it would make a delightful gift for a new Mum to be.

Available now on my Etsy shop here

Calling all with electronic cutters

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:45:00 +0000

Do you own an electronic cutter? Brother ScanNCut, Silhouette Cameo, Cricut Maker to name just a few, I make SVG cutting files that will work with your cutters.

Something for a new home

A happy camper

Or maybe you are getting ready for the big event at the end of the year.

I have files for everyone.

Try me, made for crafters by a crafter.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JakHeathDesigns

New Etsy Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Thu, 30 May 2024 05:12:00 +0000

Its been a long time coming as I have always designed things to use in craft projects. Then I received a laser machine for my birthday this year and started designing again.

Creating SVG files that can be used on electronic cutting machines like a Silhouette Cameo, Scan N Cut and Cricut for paper crafts and also laser cutting machines to cut out designs in wood and acrylic.

So the idea was born and I have opened a shop (Jak Heath Designs) and my first designs are on there.

I will be adding more as I have so many ideas in my head.

Jak x

Engraving on Stainless Steel with the xTool

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 19:23:00 +0000

I was thinking that these stainless steel bottle openers would be great for gifting, I always find gifts for men are hard to find, I’m not saying that these are only for men as I think every household needs one of these at some time.

I think they turned out pretty good, the hardest part was thinking up the slogans but these could also be personalised to suit the receiver. Something like “ Dad you will always be Older Bud-Wiser” or “ David he is always flipping his lid” you get the idea.

Engraved Metal Business Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 18:10:00 +0000

I have engraved these metal business cards using the XTool S1, I have added a star over the QR code to hide the details.

I love how these have turned out, I used a thick metal Anodised card which is more expensive but doesn’t bend so less likely to damage.

The beauty of these cards is that you only need one of them, you just allow your client, business associates to scan the QR code with their phone camera to get all of your contact details.

On my card I even added a picture to the back of it.

XTool S1 laser cutter Engraver

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:47:00 +0000

I was a lucky lady and was bought a laser cutter for my birthday, I wanted something that I could grow with so I opted for the 20W XTool S.

It has been so long, after changing careers I just hadn’t wanted to do any craft, or very little craft the odd crochet here and there and a bit of baking but that was about it.

I guess working as a florist was giving me the creativity that I needed.

Anyway, lets forward to my birthday gift, I’m sure not only I but also Chris will have a go with it as his model railway builds are bound to have things that he could cut out on it.

I started with engraving. Just playing and having a go.

Soon I moved on to a project so here is my first for my grand fur babies.

Somewhere to hang their leashes and collars.

I’ve also engraved a few metal business cards with QR codes so I’ll take some pictures of them soon maybe I’ll add a star over the top for security reasons.

Heart Iced Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Continuing the iced cookies trying to master it, simple shapes like hearts and enjoying experimenting with the design.

These were fun, I managed to get the flow of the icing how I wanted it.

Much less lumpy and a better consistency.

Roses Leaves and dots made pretty cookies.

The trick was to work quickly before the icing started to set.

Pretty patterns by piping lines and dragging a needle through the piping.

Iced Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 18:15:00 +0000

I’ve watching in awa of some of the iced cookies that I have seen, at Christmas I made the Christmas cake and decided to use a cookie mould, this was a Karen Davies mould, and I iced with royal icing to decorate, I loved how it turned out.

Obviously it is a learning curve but it was fun and we enjoyed snacking on the cookies before cutting into the cake.

Maybe it was a bit adventurous for my first but I enjoyed the process.

Remembrance Day Display

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 17:17:00 +0000

We always try to do a display at the Flower Shop and I loved making all of the pieces for Remembrance Day to put this one together.

So I started with Poppies making loads but unsure what they were for.

I thought maybe a wreath. It is also pretty lucky that my husband is a dab had at carpentry so I request a free standing cross and of course he obliged.

I needed rocks for around the base of the cross and mine started life as brown packaging paper which I painted then dry brushed to get the effect.

I had them drying all over my kitchen benches.

Once dry they were scrunched up and dry brushed with white paint which worked beautifully

I painted the wooded cross white and added the Lest We Forget and soldiers with black vinyl cut using my electronic cutter.

As you can see it all came together quite nicely.

I just needed to set the scene.

So here it all is in place in the Flower Shop

I added a camouflage net the wreath, some boots and army trousers.

I used up the extra paper poppies on our work bench.

All in all I’m really please how this has turned out.

Janie Wisht Crochet Doll

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 15:47:00 +0000

I wanted to crochet a doll, she had to be Ragdoll like and I have to say that although very fiddly to make I quite like her.

I don’t think that I would make another as my poor fingers ached like crazy whilst making her.

She is made with cotton yarn which may have contributed to the sore fingers as it doesn’t glide so much and involves lots of pulling and tugging.

I cant say it is inexpensive to make because cotton yarn in colours is very costly in comparison to other yarn but you do get a more rigid torso.

I decided all clothing would be in a softer DK baby yarn and her hair is made with a boucle mohair yarn.

I’ve named her after my Grandmother whose name was actually Jenny but my Dad always called her Janie Wisht which always made her giggle.

A dress for Tilly

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Mon, 30 May 2022 18:49:00 +0000

Every now and again I like to stretch myself and make something out of the normal, I have been doing crochet for a number of years, mainly blankets, hats and the likes but was desperate to try something different.

That’s where Tilly comes in, she is a friends Granddaughter and is the sweetest little thing ever.

This is her.

I started a dress and I knew she would be the perfect model for it and she didn’t disappoint me, isn’t she just precious.

It is made in DK yarn and has an underfrill attached in white

She is so content, such a good baby.

And utterly scrumptious

I have another project for her as she needs a Christening shawl, her gown is incredible and sh has a big day ahead of her,

but for the time being I’ll leave her here to melt your heart.

Sleepy Mouse Crochet.

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 20:24:00 +0000

Once upon a sleepy crochet mouse. I really need an extra large one of these to snuggle up to.

Time for beddybyes sweet sleepy mouse

The flutterby yarn is so soft and scrumptious, I’ve given the legs safety joints as I remember my own gorgeous teddy had when I was a child, actually if I have to be honest my favourite teddy was a pass me down from my brother who is 11 years my senior and yes it was so loved it was threadbare.

I think this little one needs to be loved just as much as my old teddy bear.

I may have to do a little friend in soft grey for this little one.

Flutter by Unicorn.

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 11:37:00 +0000

With a bit of flutter by yarn a Unicorn is born.

A work friend is expecting her first Grandchild very soon an as they know it will be a little girl I thought this was very fitting. I just love a bit of crochet whilst watching TV, I like to have busy hands.

Such a pretty little thing and so soft and snuggly.

Her mane has sensory locks for the baby to hold, It was hard to give this cutie up haha!

Isn’t she adorable 🥰 I just hope that baby will love her as much as I do.

A load of old Balloons.

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 16:47:00 +0000

For those of you that don’t know yet, I made the decision to step away from the professional crafting world, after 15 or so years I decided it was time to step down and stay at home.

I loved my time in it but always hated the travel, and the staying away from home but loved the people and the craft.

I can now be found in the Party Shop at my local Morrisons and I have to say that I am loving it, still creative and a great set of workmates.

This is some of the things that we do there.

Table settings for parties.

Columns and numbers.

Hampers

Special events.

A touch of rose gold and pink for a Christening event.

6th Birthday.

Black tie events.

Sweet hampers.

And the occasional well done.

As you can see, it is still creative and lots of fun.

Full Moon Sea Swim

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 06:30:00 +0000

It was a full moon Sunday the 22nd August and myself and my Daughter headed off down to our beach for an open water swim with loads of the people that regularly swim there as it was a full moon evening.

We have a wonderful secluded part of the beach between two piers that we swim in, it’s quite sheltered from high waves.

In the above video you can see that there was quite a few of us in the water and yes…. It was very cold tonight, I swam in a rash suite but note to self I need to use my wetsuit on an evening.

It was a beautiful evening and the conversations were flowing, made some new friends too which is always nice.

It’s so pretty, as you can see.

Below is my daughter enjoying the moment

The moon didn’t make its appearance until we were ready to come out but as you can see it was a spectacular picture when it did arrive.

Thankfully we had a cup of hot tea when we were getting dried and changed and it was needed, my teeth were chattering with the cold, all in all a beautiful evening.

Lemon Curd Fault Line Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 06:30:00 +0000

There’s nothing nicer in my opinion than a lemon cake. My Daughter was celebrating her 30th Birthday in May and as a child she would always ask for a lemon curd sandwich, preferably home made lemon curd but shop bought would suffice.

I knew I would need to make a lemon curd cake and thought I would make it a bit special for her.

It was fun getting back into cake decorating although my back didn’t agree with me.

I used the KatySue designs lemon mould and modelling sugar for the lemon and leaves were from the Flower Pro moulds.

It was fun and games as I had never made a fault line cake before but in for a penny in for a pound I would try it.

It all started off straight forward, all of the lemons and leaves had been coloured before I started so what could go wrong? Actually lots could go wrong, I used far too much frosting on the outer part of the cake and the first layer of sugar paste that I tried just split and slid off haha!

So the moral of the story is, if at first you don’t succeed then try and try again, tadaa!

Open Water Swimming

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 19:33:00 +0000

I’ve started sea swimming again, it was a regular occurrence when I was a child and living near to the sea has always been a privilege to me.

Now the North Sea is far from the temperatures that you get when holidaying in the Mediterranean but if you manage to get in to the North Sea you will find it invigorating.

Safety first, never do it alone, don’t stay in too long, build it up, take a warm set of dry clothes, a hot drink and a snack if you want it.

My partner in crime is my daughter Lauren, as soon as she said she would like to do it I was buying all the gear, shorty wetsuits, shoes, waterproof bags for our phones, changing gowns etc…

This was our first try.

It was gorgeous.

We take a big bucket with us to put or wet gear into for travelling home.

I wont lie, changing into dry clothes was challenging to say the least. I may have flashed once or twice getting changed haha!

I have since invested in a front zipped wetsuit jacket and shorts, much easier to get out of as I have a frozen shoulder. No more flashy me haha!

Our Yorkshire Farm visit.

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 21:29:00 +0000

Those of you that have enjoyed watching Our Yorkshire Farm or read and of the Yorkshire Shepherdess Books will appreciate the excitement I had to visit Ravenseat farm high up in the Yorkshire Dales.

The trip is not for the faint hearted and for most of our journey I gripped the seat of the car and braked several times despite Chris being an exceptional driver it was hairy to say the very least.

Although we weren’t allowed past the gate for obvious reasons one of them being that they were filming that day, we were lucky to see and chat with Amanda and 2 of her girls Clemmy and Annie.

Before I took any photos I asked as I think some can take this for granted.

Clemmy didn’t disappoint us and was as charming off camera as she was on it.

Now what you aren’t seeing here is that I fell over, I was on my crouching to have the photo taken with Clemmy and I wobbled and landed all my weight onto my my fingers and knuckles so decided to sit put and have photos whilst sitting and holding on to my bloody hand.

Thankfully you could get refreshments and there was picnic tables and public loos if you are thinking of visiting.

Annie was such a lovely young lady and we chatted a while with her as her filming was done of the day.

She was helping with the refreshments.

It was lovely so see all of the layout of the buildings that you see on the program and I can see just why Amanda and Clive fell in love with the farm.

Make your Own Chocolate Santa Sleigh

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 07:30:00 +0000

I made these chocolate Santa sleighs many years ago when my Grandson was very young and as he couldn't remember them I thought I would do it all again for this year, I think everyone would agree we have had a very weird Covid year and could do with something to cheer us up.

I filmed making these so that you can see how easy they are to construct.

I will place them at each setting for the Christmas dinner but they would be equally fun as a gift for someone.

Happy sleigh making.

Toadstool houses

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 08:00:00 +0000

This is the last of my Toadstool and Mushrooms mould samples for now.

I think you can tell how much I love this mould

Just creating the scene on the top of the vintage teacup set was easy to make with this mould, on the saucer I created realistic mushrooms, so much so that my Grandson thought they were real.

I was thinking that it could be sprayed with a scent or drops of essential oils dropped on to create a wonderful room fresh inner gift.

All Moulds can be found here https://katysuedesigns.com/collections/flower-pro

Flower Pro Toadstools and Mushroom Mould

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 08:00:00 +0000

I just couldn’t wait to show you the new addition of the KatySue Designs Flower Pro mould, this is the Mushroom/Toadstool silicone mould which is simply amazing. I love that is has a separate veiner mould with all of the texture needed for the underside of the mushroom.

I mad this using the Mushrrom mould the log slice impression mould, the fern mould and veiner and the tree bark mould, I also used Heartysoft air dry clay.

There are so many different fungi, mushroom and toadstools you can make and the new moulds with give you the perfect design.

My whole design started with an empty Pringles tube and cutting it down in size and covering it with the clay.

Rolling parts of the bark back to make the log realistic and using paints for detail and shading.

The link to all the moulds used is https://katysuedesigns.com/products/flower-pro-toadstools-and-mushrooms-mould-and-veiner

Toadstools and Mushroom Mould at its Best

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 08:00:00 +0000

I have to say as mushrooms go this mould ticks all the boxes for me, I can go from realistic to fantasy and it looks amazing, so easy to use too. The Flower Pro range is simply the best.

The texture on the mushrooms are fantastic

I also used the bark mould around the steampunk top hat and my husband came to the rescue to make me the hat stand.

Of course the scene wouldn't be complete without a fern mould as ferns are notorious for thriving in the damp ground.

I finished the top of the hat with the Log Slice impression mould.

All of the moulds can be found here, this is a brand new launch so you could be one of the first to get your hands on them

They release on Tuesday 27th October 2020

The link is https://katysuedesigns.com/products/flower-pro-toadstools-and-mushrooms-mould-and-veiner

Flower Pro Poppy Mould by KatySue Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Jak Heath) — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

The Poppy Mould by KatySue designs I used to create a Remembrance Day model last year is still one of my favourite silicone moulds, It was designed by the fabulous Chef Nicholas Lodge along with the Flower Pro Fern mould.

When you buy from the Flower Pro collection you are buying into a whole educational program that leads you buy the hand to create amazing realistic flowers with step by step videos, isn't that just fantastic?

So I used a fabric hardener (Powertex) to create this model and if I was to put it in the garden I would spray it with a weatherproof varnish.

The Poppy Mould can be purchased here https://katysuedesigns.com/collections/flower-pro-moulds-and-veiners/Cake-Decorating

and the educational video can be watched here How to make the Flower Pro Poppy