Thursday 30 June 2011

My Weekend Ahead...

Sometimes it is good to have a surprise, a break from what you would normally expect.

When the 7 Gypsies Mykonos arrived I was definitely surprised. It is just about as far from what I expect of 7 Gypsies style as possible. Well ok they added the grungey sanded look but still, the bold colours and geometric patterns are not their typical offering.

My plan for this weekend it to work with this range and see what I come up with - it's always fun to try something different!

Come back on Monday when I will upload something made with 7 Gypsies Mykonos!

Before signing off tonight a HUGE Happy Birthday to Ann who is celebrating one of those significant birthdays today - 21 again! xxx

Monday 27 June 2011

Final Cyber Crop Prize Winners

OK so we have now drawn the Participation Prizes for our Cybercrop. Three names were drawn out of the hat to win a prize. Each time you uploaded your name went into the hat and then three were drawn.

**Sarah**

**Denise**

**Sue**

Ladies as with the other winners please contact us and let us know contact details and we will get a prize sent out to you!

Thanks again to all who participated in the cyber crop and to the lovely ladies who designed classes and challenge examples for us, and extra specially to Ann who kept us all in line in the run up and told us what we had to do and by when!

Loving This...

The most recent Echo Park: Country Drive, is so lovely, perfect for scrapping all those photos you are taking right now of summer time fun!



Their next new one however is so beautiful that it is quickly going to become one of my favourite Echo Park ranges - Victoria Gardens has a slightly softer colour palette and not such a heavy emphasis on the geometric and bold designs that usually typify Echo Park - An extra collection pack will go on the order for me I think - I will have to do a class with it to justify "product testing"




I will be back this evening with prizes for participation in the cybercrop!

Sunday 26 June 2011

No scrapping for me this weekend....

... unlike last weekend which was very scrapping focused this weekend I have been away with some friends to stay at a hotel and enjoy some shopping, cinema, food and general fun. Our destinations sounds most glamorous - The Hilton... Dartford Bridge! But the hotel itself was actually really nice and of course its main selling point is proximity to Bluewater Shopping Centre!



Anyway, having not been in too long I will be organising and drawing the participation prizes for the cyber crop tomorrow when I return from Sports Day at Isabelles school - typical that it always falls either in the middle of a complete monsoon or in a heat wave - one day it might just happen on a warm but not too hot, dry day!



Back tomorrow with prize winners :)

Saturday 25 June 2011

Scraplift Challenge Winner





And so we come to our final winner of the weekend; the Scraplift Challenge. This is another of my favourite challenges. It is always so interesting to see how a layout can inspire someone to go on to create their own page which shares some elements but usually ends up looking quite different.


Our winner was inspired by this layout entitled "Summer Days" by Suzanne Torr:



I think you will agree that Charlottes "Hungry Harvest Caterpillar" is a wonderful scraplift, bringing her own style and interpretation to the layout while still clearly using many of the design features and elements.




Charlotte you are the last of our challenge winners. Please confirm your address with us and we will get a prize out to you.


That just leaves the participation prizes to go!

Friday 24 June 2011

Between The Lines Challenge Winner

Here comes another winner! This time it is for our "Between The Lines" journaling challenge. I think most of us realise the importance of journaling but it is had to really incorporate it as part of the layout design. If you are interested in developing different ideas for journaling do take a look at this series of posts made from August last year about journaling HERE HERE and HERE


Now, onto our journaling challenge winner. We liked both the sentiment and the handwritten journaling on this layout and so we have chosen Hilary as our winner for this challenge.


Hilary, please get in contact so we can send you a prize.


That just leaves one more challenge prize to give and then the participation prizes, check back to see who will be stalking the postie waiting for a prize to drop through their door!

Thursday 23 June 2011

Sketch Challenge Winner

I really love the sketch challenge. It is great to see how everyone starts off with the same starting point and by the time each person has chosen different products to use, made their own interpretations and amendments the finished layouts all look so different.

In the end we chose this layout by Karen P. We liked her colour scheme and the use of the stamped flowers to repeat the embellishment.

More winners still to come - Karen please contact us with your details so we can get your prize out to you.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Share The Love Challenge Winner

Next up is the Share The Love Challenge. Once again there were lots of examples we loved but this Street Party layout by Lemon was our winner, the bunting, the red white and blue flowers and the layered fabric trims all work together so well!

As per previous winners posts please confirm your details with us and we will get your prize sent out to you ASAP.

Sketch winner to come tomorrow!


ATC news

Just to reassure everyone - ATCs are not lost in the post. I am still waiting for the last set of ATCs to arrive with me and as soon as they do I'll complete the swapping and get them posted out to you.
Jane

Material World Winner

The winner of our Material challenge was another hard one to judge (I am going to get fed up of typing that because it is true in every case!) but in the end we went for this layout by Helen S. We really liked the way she has used the fabric to make the flowers but also included some more fabric and lace in other areas of the page.

Helen, please send us your address and we will get your prize out to you.

We will announce the challenge 3 "Share The Love" winner a little later on this evening.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Tag It Challenge Winner...

Remember you have a few more hours to uploads your entries to the Saturday challenges (Material World, Share The Love & Sketch) and we will post winners of these challenges over the next couple of days.

Right, on to the Tag It Challenge. Setting the theme for things to come it was really tough to choose a winner, there were so many different ideas, many beautiful tags which had lots of work in them and we had to just pick one.


In the end we loved the idea that our winner had come up with which was to make the tag not only beautiful but also useful; we all know how time can get away from us while we are crafting so Dawns lovely tag clock for her craft room came out on top for us as the winning tag from this challenge!

Dawn, please email me Mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk with your address and we will get your prize out to you.


Check back each day for the winners of the remaining 5 challenges and for the additional participation prizes!

Monday 20 June 2011

Thank you all xxx


Just wanted to post a very quick thank you to everyone who took part in the Cybercrop this weekend. We have had such fun putting it on for you and seeing all your creations.

Don't worry if you have not had time to participate as the class instructions will remain on the main website and you can come back to them and undertake any you like at your own pace using whatever materials you like.

This week we will share some of the ATCs made for the swap and highlight a few projects we have seen in the galleries over the weekend. Thanks to all of the design team too for their hard work in pulling the classes and challenge examples together too. Same time next year?!!

Post Cyber Crop Chat

I will leave the comments at unmoderated for the next few days so that anyone who wants to can chat or leave a comment. There are some lovely thumbnails of projects and hopefully some more will come in during the week, we hope you had fun!
Mel & Jill

Sunday 19 June 2011

Sharing your Projects and using the Link Tool

Hi everyone, hope you have been crafting up a storm will all the class and challenge inspiration we have been providing! Lots of you are happily sharing your projects but I have read that a few seem to be having problems with this so I am posting a little "how to" guide.

To share your projects you need 4 things.
Your name, email address, and image to share and a URL address.

The URL address is the one that seems to be giving people trouble so lets focus on that. It can be your blog address if you have one. So for myself I would type in http://www.mafswife.typepad.com/ in this field. If you don't have a blog maybe you have a facebook account or a gallery on UKScrappers? Both of these can be used also. Simply upload your image to one of these places and then click on the image of your project and copy the URL address at the top of your browser window into the URL field on the Link tool.



Once you have entered these three pieces of information (your URL, name and email) click on Next Step! Then select the tab that says Upload from computer. You can then browse for your image on your pc, select Upload and your project should then appear beneath the thread alongside your fellow cybercroppers.


Hopefully this will help some of you who are having problems, but if you are still having problems please leave a comment on this thread and I will be around most of Sunday afternoon to help you. Looking forward to seeing more of your beautiful work here on the blog over the next week!


For those of you having trouble leaving comments as well, try logging in to www.blogger.com first and then comment on our blog. Not sure why this is playing up, but this does sometimes help.

**Cybercrop Class 12** by Dawn Evans

Class 12 by Dawn Evans is sadly your final cybercrop class for the weekend :(
Dawn shows us how to get creative with many patterned papers and her class instructions can be found here in the usual place, by selecting class 12.



That's all for the Cybercrop classes and challenges. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday afternoon and we look forward too seeing all your cybercrop creations using the links below each class/challenge post.


**Cybercrop Challenge 6** SCRAPLIFT

A final challenge for you all as we start winding up the cybercrop fun for the weekend.

This challenge is to scraplift a project from the June Gallery by the ATDML design team which can be found here. Scraplifting is borrowing or "lifting" and idea from another scrapbooker and that is what we are challenging you to do.

Take a wander through the gallery which features Echo Park papers and project by the guest designer for the month - the very talented Christine Emberson. Find a project you like then use it to create a similar page yourself!

Share your scraplifted projects with us on the link below and then we will see you back here at 3pm for our final class of the weekend with our very lovely Dawn Evans.

Don't forget if you are entering the TAG IT Challenge #1 you need to upload your creations to the thread by 7pm tonight for a chance to win an ATDML prize!


**Cybercrop Class 11** By Jane Hewitt

Here is your 11th cybercrop class on day three of a weekend full of ATDML design team inspiration! Sadly it is our penultimate class but one with serious wow factor!

This is a display book class by Jane Hewitt featuring My Little Shoebox die-cut and double sided papers.

You can download the class instructions HERE , choose class 11 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your details. We have our last challenge for you in an hour and the final class is at 3pm this afternoon.

**Cybercrop Class 10* by Karen Moss

And we are back with your first class for this Sunday morning!! If you have just joined us - Welcome!!. You can catch up with our previous cybercrop classes and challenges by reading the previous blog posts, or head straight to the downloadable instructions for the classes so far on our main site here.

Next up today is your 10th class , a lovely layout class with the equally lovely Karen Moss.


You can download the class instructions HERE , choose class 10 and when you are finished we'd love it if you would pop back here to our blog and share your project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc. Your next cybercrop class is at noon with Jane.

**Cybercrop Challenge 5** BETWEEN THE LINES

Good morning, happy Sunday to you all. Do we have cups of tea/coffee in hand and are we ready for another cybercrop challenge? We hope so!

This challenge, #5, is called BETWEEN THE LINES where we challenge you to go heavy on the journalling. Don't be afraid to tell the wonderful stories to accompany your pages, even if you think they are dull, rest assured they will be treasured tales in years to come!

Once more the design team have some examples to share with you starting with Karens layout which tells a slighly longer story whilst still featuring 4 photos!


Ann's layout tells the tale of her recent 15k walk for charity and uses Sassafrass Mix & Mend paper and stickers.



Mel's layout uses the Fancy Pants Wishful Thinking line and the name of the collection inspired the layout title. The journaling is all about how she wishes that her Sister in laws family lived closer so the cousins could spend more time together.



So your challenge is to create a layout heavy on journalling and then to share that page with us here for a chance to win some journalling products from ATDML.


Sunday Chat...

Good morning all, just photographing my layout for this mornings challenge (cutting it fine? Me? Never!) I am cooking a Fathers Day Roast today but not til later on when the Cyber Crop is nearly finished. Can't believe we are nearly at the end but I am so pleased that so many people have joined in and enjoyed it :) :) :)

**Cybercrop Challenge 4** SKETCH CHALLENGE

A nice easy challenge for you, take the sketch above and use it to inspire a card or layout. Three of the design team have prepared layouts illustrating the sketch including Karen who designed the sketch for us. Her layout, which turns the sketch upside down, features the handmade lace/trim flowers which we featured as a "how to" blog post which can be found here.

Dawn's layout celebrates a special birthday.


Jane turned the sketch 90degrees for her puppy page!

Have fun with the sketch and remember you can rotate it, flip it, shrink it, whatever you choose, then pop back here and share your creations with us using the link below.


Saturday 18 June 2011

**Cybercrop Class 9** by Suzanne Torr

Alas our final class for the day, but by no means least as Suzanne brings you a delightul Bo Bunny layout using Ad-Lib papers.


You can download the class instructions HERE , select class 9 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!)

To end the day we have a midnight challenge for you, then we'll see you again tomorrow morning for 2 more challenges and our final three classes of the cybercrop.

**Cybercrop Class 8** By Ann Freeman

Time for something a little different now, not a layout nor a minibook but a home decor item which can be adapted into a fancy card as well. Ann shows us how in her instructions which can be downloaded in the usual place HERE , choose Class 8.


When you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc.

See you again at 10pm with your next class by Suzanne Torr.

Saturday Night Chat

Thought a new chat thread would be good. Hope you are all having fun!
Jill

**Cybercrop Class 7** by Karen Cole

Over half way through our classes now, doesn't time fly when you are having fun? Next up is a card making class from Karen Cole who uses Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe for hers.


You can download the class instructions HERE , choose Class 7 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc.

Two more classes still to come this evening so join us again if you will at 8pm for a triple frame class with Ann Freeman and at 10pm we have a delightful layout class by Suzanne Torr.

**Cybercrop Challenge 3** SHARE THE LOVE!

A nice easy, lazy afternoon challenge for you now which doesn't even involve you creating a new project! We'd like to see you SHARE SOME LOVE and show us your projects created with stash bought from ATDML.

It seem only fair that the dt join in with this challenge and so sharing some MLS love with you today is Dawn.


Suzanne shares with us Ooh La La For Her Collection by My Minds Eye.




Ann shares a Sassafrass Mix & Mend layout



We look forward to seeing you Share the Love using the link below as before.

**Cybercrop Class 6** by Mel Hand

Class six for you now on this crafty Saturday afternoon, another class by Mel Hand. This time Mel brings you a minibook you can make in advance and add photos to later.


You can download the class instructions HERE , choose class 6 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!).

Your next cybercrop class is at 6pm today - but we'll have another challenge for you before then at 5pm giving you the chance to share some ATDML love with us!






**Cybercrop Class 5** by Jane Hewitt

Here is your 5th cybercrop class on day two of a weekend full of classes, challenges and ATDML team inspiration!

This is a layout class by Jane Hewitt perfect for two or three special photos using a neat grid format.

You can download the class instructions HERE , choose class 5 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!).

Your next cybercrop class is at 4pm today - -your second class by Mel, see you back here then! Happy crafting!

**Cybercrop Class 4** by Karen Moss

And we are back with more cybercropness!! We hope you are having fun so far? If you have just joined us welcome. You can catch up with our previous cybercrop classes and challenges by reading the previous blog posts, or head straight to the downloadable instructions for the classes so far on our main site here.

Next up today is your 4th class , an easy, peasy, lemon squeezy minibook class with Karen Moss.

You can download the class instructions HERE , choose class 4 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!).

Your next cybercrop class is at 2pm with the lovely Jane. See you all then x

**Cybercrop Class 3** by Ann Freeman

Here is your 3rd class from our set of 12, the first though for day two of our cybercrop.
This is a layout class originally scheduled to be by Debbie Jewell but due to unforseen circumstances Debbie has been unable to take part this weekend and instead Ann stepped in and created a page (and a card using left overs) with the papers.

You can download the class instructions HERE , choose class 3 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!).

Your next cybercrop class is at midday, see you back here then! Happy crafting!

**Cybercrop Challenge 2** MATERIAL WORLD

Good morning cybercroppers and welcome back to day two! To start your day we have another challenge for you - MATERIAL WORLD.



This challenge is to feature material, lace, fabric or trims somewhere on a project, this can be a card, a layout, maybe a tag or a home decor project.



The design team have once more shared some examples to illustrate the challenge, with layouts by Dawn and Suzanne and a canvas by Jane.


Now it's over to you , go dig out your lace, fabric, felt and be creative! See you back here at 10am for your first class of today.

Saturday Chat Thread

Good Morning Scrappers! Here is your new chat thread to avoid scrolling back too far. We hope you are enjoying the weekend so far. Today we have classes every two hours from 10 am and the next challenge will be up in ten minutes.
Jill

Friday 17 June 2011

**Cybercrop Class 2** by Ann Freeman

Hope you enjoyed your first cybercrop class. Welcome to Class 2, a double layout class by Ann Freeman using 7Gypsies papers. Here's a sneak at what this class has to offer.

You can download the class instructions HERE , select class 2 and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!).

Your next cybercrop class is at 10am tomorrow morning but before that we have two challenges for your, one at 10pm this evening (edited to say this is the TAG it challenge that was posted at 8pm!!) and another at 9am tomorrow! Enjoy!

**Cybercrop Challenge 1** TAG IT!

Our first challenge for you this cybercrop - TAGS!

Usually associated with gifts but they have made quite an appearance in the scrapbooking world over the years. Tiny tags can be added to your pages to record the date/time of your photos, larger tags can hold journalling (as featured on my class earlier this evening).

So we have shared some TAG inspired projects from the DT and now it's over to you. There are no instructions to download as this isn't a class but a challenge - we challenge you to take part in TAG-IT and create a set of tags or a tag inspired card or layout.
When you are finished creating your project pop back here to our blog and share your tag challenges with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!).

Your next cybercrop class is at 9pm tonight and the 3rd class will be 10am tomorrow morning but before that we have another challenge for you at 9am tomorrow!





**Cybercrop Class 1** by Mel Hand

Welcome to the first ATDML cybercrop and your first class. We are pleased to welcome you to the start of this weekend full of crafting inspiration and hope you will enjoy playing along.

Your first class is an interactive layout by Mel Hand.


You can download the class instructions HERE and when you are finished pop back here to our blog and share your class project with us. Simply click on the link below and add your image straight from your pc, no need to upload or blog first (though you can if you wish!).

Your next cybercrop class is at 9pm, see you back here then! Happy crafting!

Cyber Crop Chat

**Welcome**

This is a post for you to use the comments for general chat if you wish over the weekend. Comment moderation is now turned off (hopefully there won't be much if any spam) so we should be able to have some 'Real Time' chat going :)

Prizes...

I hope you are all ready to scrap the weekend away with clear diaries and even clearer crafting desks (for now!)

Our main aim for the weekend was to get everyone inspired, kick start your mojos and get you scrapping and we think that the 12 classes and 6 challenges should just about manage that! However we thought we would also offer a few small prizes to reward your efforts and encourage you to share your work.

There will be one prize for each of the 6 challenges, there will also be additional "participation prizes" for those who complete and upload class projects. For each class project you upload your name will go into "the hat" and we will draw names to receive a prize. The more you upload the more chance your name has of coming out of the hat however multiple participation prizes will not be issued to the same person.

To enter the challenge set on Friday you need to upload your entry by Sunday 7pm.
To enter the challenges set on Saturday you need to upload your entry by Tuesday 7pm.
The challenges set on Sunday have a deadline of next Thursday (23rd) at 7pm.
The class participation prizes will be drawn on Saturday but the deadline for uploading them is 7pm FRIDAY

Comment Posting During The Cyber Crop

Our blog is set so that comments have to be moderated before they show. Several people have asked about chat threads for this weekends cyber crop.

At 6:30pm, half an hour before the first class I am going to switch the comment moderation off so that those who want to can chat in the comments threads - I will post a general chat thread for those who want to have a place for general cyber crop related chatter. If you have a question or comment specifically about a certain class please post your question \ comment on that post. Our teachers have prepared the classes well in advance and will not all be around all weekend but for those who are popping by it will make it easier if specific questions or comments about a class are easy to find.

I will try to delete any spam comments as and when they appear - unfortunately spam is downside of no comment moderation!

Hope you are all looking forward to a weekend full of inspiration, look out later for a post detailling a few prizes we have on offer...

Thursday 16 June 2011

ONLY ONE MORE DAY!!

We hope you are looking forward to joining us tomorrow night for the first ATDML cybercrop. We will have twelve classes and six challenges for you ALL FREE starting at 7pm. There will be a blog post each time a new class is up on the main website, together with an image of the class and a link to the instructions. All challenges will be posted on the blog. We can't wait and hope you are as excited as we are!

Don't worry if you aren't around this weekend, the instructions will be available on the main site for you to download at your leisure.

See you here tomorrow at 7pm when the fun begins!

Wednesday 15 June 2011

The Magic of Oz

We now have the gorgeous new Graphic 45 papers, The Magic of Oz. Their products have been a real hit with our customers and I know this latest collection is going to be popular too. The papers are a good weight and great to work with, appealing mainly to scrapbookers, although a few of our customers buy selected papers from the range for card making. If you haven't used their papers and are not familiar with them, they all have a vintage feel to them across an increasingly broad spectrum of themes.



Most of the ranges have die cut paper weight tags with some frames and borders, but this time the die cuts are chipboard and there are a full 12 papers in the range.




I hope many of you will join us for our very first cyber crop this weekend, it has largely been co-ordinated by Ann Freeman, with help from the rest of our Design Team, who have submitted the classes and challenges. It promises to be lots of fun and a great opportunity to use up some of that stash you have been saving for a rainy day.


Jill

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Emmas Shoppe Patchwork Card

Last Thursday it was a friends 22nd birthday (it has been her 22nd birthday for the past 9 years - you do the maths!) and having made the layout for Eclectic Keepsakes with the Emmas Shoppe papers I had a fair bit left over.

Now I have to say that some of my scrapping friends laugh when my classes often include the instruction to gut the space behind photos etc... but since deciding to make a few cards here and there I have REALLY begun to appreciate that even small scraps can be useful. You only need a tiny scrap to punch a baby butterfly, and not a very big one to use the new love of my life Martha Stewart button punch (Cyber croppers doing my 7 Gypsies class might even find a few punched buttons in their kit I love it so much!)

The card doesn't require any great skill or amazing technique to make but my beloved patchwork technique is a great way to use up those little bits of patterned paper which are too small to do much with on a 12x12 layout (unless it is a patchwork one!) and you end up with a pretty card which can be customised to any occasion with the addition of a greeting.

My intention when I get some time (LOL said with a heavy dose of sarcasm at the very idea of free time!) is to make up a batch of patchwork backgrounds on cards in a whole range of colour ways and then when I need an emergency card I just need to add the appropriate greeting and any extra embellishments.... don't hold your breath for that day to come but when it does I will post a pic here!!!