September Design Team Gallery

If you are looking for more scrapbooking inspiration as we head into a glorious autumnal weekend our latest monthly design team gallery is now up on the main shop site and can be found HERE. Designers were joined by Jules Dix this month who produced some lovely work for us. I for one have fallen in love with this piece which would be perfect for a Christmas gift (there we go again with that C word!).


I have pledged to make 50% of my gifts this year and along with one of my classes at the forthcoming retreat (not long now!) I shall be making several of these framed photo/art pieces for friends and relatives this year. So effective don't you think? Must dig out those mini pegs I know I have somewhere!!

Of course with the lovely weather we have been having these last few days preparing for the season may be far from your mind! Who would have thought it was almost October? Still it is forecast to be wonderful the next few days for most of the UK so make the most of it and have a Happy day whatever you do xx

*E* Thirsty Thursday

Thirsty Thursday sneaks up on us once more! Welcome to week 5 of our regular challenge feature here on the blog and this week are looking at the letter E! If you have yet to play along with any of the previous weeks worry not, just join in when you can. For now your challenge is to take inspiration from one or more of the "E" prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. You can join in every week or as and when you are able, there are no deadlines (other than for a chance to win a prize - see the end of this blog post for more details)

So lets see EXACTLY how the letter E will be inspiring us this week...

E is ECHO PARK - This fun manufacturer made quite a splash when it launched itself 18 months ago and has since brought out a number of fun collections. We challenge you to create with your Echo Park products this week.

E is for EMBOSSING -Dry embossing with templates and a stylus or heat embossing with ink? Which will you choose to feature on a layout or card this week?

E is for ENVELOPES - Do the obvious and make a card to be contained by an envelope, or maybe use one on a page to hide journalling, or feature several in a home made mini book. Dig out your envelopes for this weeks letter E challenge.

E is for EMBELLISH - The cherry on top of our scrapbooking cake I think, when the paper is cut, the photo placed, journalling added then it is time for the embellishing! Share your favourite embellishments this week, maybe feature an embellishment cluster on your page.

E is for EMPTY- Keep things simple this week and create a card or layout with plenty of empty or "white" space.

This week we wanted to share Suzanne's 100% Girl layout which demonstrates an embellishment cluster idea you may like to adopt.

Dawn shares with us a lovely summery Echo Park layout too.

So that is another suite of alphabet inspired prompts to quench your creative thirst this week. Almost at the end of the month as well and so if you'd like to be in our draw for a chance to win our first Thirsty Thursday prize be sure to have shared your creations from the challenges for weeks 1-4, that is letters A to D on the relevant post. This weeks challenge will be part of those that run to the end of October.

Tis The Season....

Well ok technically speaking it ISN'T the season to be thinking about Christmas but earlier in the month I went to a craft day organised by Tina who is one of our retreat regulars. There were some card making challenges and I was very lucky and won with two of my cards!

For this card we were given a strip of square designs and a blank white aperture card. I covered my card in a festive red scrap of patterned paper and chose the square with bells and the word Jingle on to include behind an aperture and simply added the "All The Way" to it - very quick and simple! I just finished it with a strip of ribbon and a punched out heart along the bottom.

The other card will appear in Thirsty Thursdays post as it was made from a pair of die cut mini cards and of course this week Thirsty Thursday is brought to you by the letter D!

These remain my only two Christmas cards made so far! Wish me luck making some more.

*D* Thirsty Thursday

Thirsty Thursday once more as we quench your creative thirst with out our alphabet challenge series - Welcome to week 4 and the letter D! If you have yet to play along with any of the previous weeks worry not, just join in when you can. Your challenge is to take inspiration from one or more of the "D" prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. You can join in every week or as and when you are able, there are no deadlines just plenty of crafty fun! So lets see how the letter D will be inspiring us this week...

D is DAUGHTERS - Scrapbook a photograph of your daughter for this week's challenge, or youself with your mum, or make a card suitable for a daughter.

D is for DAWN from the Design team -How about scraplifting this layout by Dawn from the design team gallery last year. A great way to make the most of those scraps of paper left over after another creation, or maybe at the end of a collection pack.

D is for DISTRESS (INKS/STICKLES) - Create a layout or card using distressing techniques, tearing, inking or even distress stickles.

D is for DOODLING - whether it be freehand (if you are brave enough) or using one of the many doodling templates we have in the store we'd love to see doodling featured on your projects this week.

D is for DIECUTS - So many options to choose from here including the new 3d flower diecuts from MLS which you simply pop out and roll from the outside edge into the centre and secure with a glue dot for fab dimensional accents to your cards or pages. Or maybe choose a die cut paper for the background to your next page.

This week we wanted to share this LOVE layout from Debbie. Created for the February 2011 gallery earlier this year it features distress ink to define the edges of the papers.

Dawn's delightful layout here displays both a die-cut paper and doodling examples.

Mel went to a crop recently and one of the challenges was to make a card using some mini die cut card blanks. She added two mini cards together yo make a gatefold and used paper scraps to decorate behind the die cut aperture and tiny die cut snow flakes to decorate the front.

So that is another suite of alphabet inspired prompts to quench your creative thirst this week. We have loved the feedback we have received on how you are enjoying the challenges each week - keep them coming! Don't forget you have until October 1st to be eligible for a prize for sharing your Thirsty Thursday creations with us from this month, then we will start again with another prize for next month's prompts.

Seussing it up!

With the imminent departure of my daughter to university, I wanted to give her a little surprise mini album that would make her smile and give her some subtle advise. Who better to turn to than Dr Seuss? I wanted to make a quick and inexpensive project so I used a card blank to make the covers, white card-stock off cuts for the pages and covered it all with papers from a 6 x 6 pad. On reflection the pages would have been sturdy enough using just photographs with the patterned paper glued to the back. The text blocks were printed on tracing paper but vellum would have looked better.

So here is my 'Wisdom of Dr Seuss'.

I also cut two acetate pages and put a white rub-on on each of them but

you could always use a stamp and white Staz-On ink

For this page I made a little pocket and tag.

I wished I had used this paper for the front

but hey-ho you live and learn.

A 6 x 6 pad is ideal for making mini albums, cards or even putting the pieces together to make a 12 x 12 page. I used the beautiful and quite girly (very appropriate if you know Gracia) Lime Twist - Happy Go Lucky pad, but there are pads to suit every taste and type of mini album.

*C* Thirsty Thursday

Welcome back to our third week of Thirsty Thursdays where we quench your creative thirst with out our alphabet challenge series which this week is on the letter C! No matter if you have yet to play along with weeks 1 and 2, just join in when you can. Your challenge is to take inspiration from one or more of the "C" prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. You can join in every week or as and when you are able, there are no deadlines just plenty of crafty fun! So lets get inspiring with the letter C...

C is COSMO CRICKET - Use your favourite Cosmo Cricket papers on a layout or card for this challenge. We have a number of collection packs including 6x6 pads in the store, take a look HERE for all our Cosmo Cricket products.

C is for Circles- Grab your circle punches (or plates from the kitchen cupboard!) and create a layout or card featuring circles in the design.

C is for Cards - Many Scrapbookers' also make cards, many making the most of off-cuts of paper from their layouts. We challenge you this week to do exactly that and share your cards with us.

C is for Cosmic Shimmer - spritz a little sparkle on your projects this week with a splash of Cosmic Shimmer. They ink mists are great for adding a little something to your pages.

C is for Create - If you are reading our blog chances are you are a crafter and like to make stuff. Have you scrapped a layout about your hobby yet explaining why do it, or maybe of a photograph of fellow crafters at a retreat? We challenge you to scrapbook your creating this week.

As always we have a couple of projects from the design team that meet one or more of the challenges. This layout of Ann's featured in the July gallery uses circles a plenty.

Karen Cole shares a card she made for the May gallery earlier this year using Websters Pages.

We look forward to seeing your layouts, cards or other papercraft creations using the letter C prompts - be sure to share your projects with us using the link below and leave us lovely comments letting us know how you are getting on with the challenge! At the end of the month we will draw a random challenge entry from the Thirsty Thursday entries of that month to win a little something from the store.

The challenges set previously can be found HERE for the letter A and HERE for the letter B.
HAPPY CREATING - GO QUENCH YOUR CREATIVE THIRST!

Basic Grey & Back to School

As promised here is my layout for the Thirsty Thursday challenge and the letter B.

The background lined paper is Basic Grey from their Basic White collection which can be found HERE. I have now used 17 of the 18 sheets in my collection pack, probably the most efficient use of a Basic Grey collection pack ever by me!! I then scrapped Back to School, another of the prompts from the challenge - my two boys finally at the same school and my youngest couldn't be happier. I have deliberately blurred out the school logos on my sons sweatshirts as there is no need for the world to know where they attend. The red ruler and school title are stickers from October Afternoon School house which I coupled with some papers from Fancy Pants Off to School range.

How are you all enjoying the weekly challenges? Hope you are happily playing along when you can.

Learning Something New

Along with Mel and many others I am taking part in Shimelle's Learn Something New Every Day class throughout the month of September. I chose to make my album 8x8 this year and used the new Prima Printery papers as the base for my book along with some Bo Bunny Etcetera papers.

I covered my book in old book pages from a recycled French/English dictionary and am using these mixed in with the papers throughout my month. I know this means it isn't acid free, but the book will be in page protectors and I am not concerned it may wear in time, indeed it is quite grungy to start with!

The Prima Printery papers can be found HERE in the shop, and the Bo Bunny Etcetera HERE (which also forms part of the B categories in this weeks Thirsty Thursday challenge)

I have scrapped my page for this week's challenge - a Back to School page of my boys, once the light is better I will photograph and share.

*B* Thirsty Thursday

Welcome back to week two of Thirsty Thursdays! To remind those new to the blog Thirsty Thursday is where we quench your creative thirst with out our alphabet challenge series which this week is on the letter B. Your challenge is to take inspiration from one or more of the "B" prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. You can join in every week or as and when you are able, there are no deadlines just plenty of crafty fun! So lets get inspiring with the letter B...

B is for Back to School - Plenty of school children including my own are back at school this week after the summer holidays, indeed it is my youngest sons' first day today! How about creating a back to school themed page for this weeks challenge? If you've no children, well then how about some school days lined/grid paper being used on your page, or maybe a ruler?

B is for Bo Bunny - Use your favourite Bo Bunny papers on a layout for this challenge. Have you seen their latest collection Etcetera? It is a bit different from their usual style of papers.

B is for Buttons - I'm sure we all have plenty of these in our craft stores, lets dig them out and use them for this challenge

B is for Basic Grey - we have over 300 different Basic Grey products in the store and one of my favourite ranges from them in their Basics line - even includes some lined and grid paper! Why not dig out your favourite Basic Grey products this week.

B is for BRADS - Add that finishing touch to your projects this week with some brads be they mini, ornate, flocked, fabric or even glazed - lets use them on our pages this week.

As promised we will not only provide some challenge prompts each week, but also share a couple of projects from the design team that meet one or more of the challenges.

Mel is sharing this layout she made using Bo Bunnys "Olivia" range. Ironically not scrapping her Olivia but Isabelle instead! The colours in the range make it perfect for scrapping spring, summer and autumn layouts so very versatile! You can see all the Bo Bunny products HERE and the Bo Bunny Olivia range HERE

Karen shares this gorgeous Button and Brad framed monogram project she has created for her daughter. So vibrant and fun!

Remember you can pick these challenges up as and when you like, they will stay up on the blog indefinitely. If you've not has a chance yet take a look at the letter A challenge posted last week and we will be back next Thirsty Thursday with the letter C.

We look forward to seeing your layouts, cards or other papercraft creations using the letter B prompts - be sure to share your projects with us using the link below and leave us lovely comments letting us know how you are getting on with the challenge! At the end of the month we will draw a random challenge entry from the Thirsty Thursday entries of that month to win a little something from the store.

HAPPY CREATING - GO QUENCH YOUR CREATIVE THIRST!

Balloons!

Well I am not organised to get a photo in good light so on a dark evening under the spotlights in my kitchen will have to do!

The balloons are for a "Key Person" display, one of us is the "Key Person" for Red and Green groups (Me) and my Nursery Nurse is "Key Person" for Blue and Yellow groups - hence the colour schemes!

I am sure I will put something more meaningful in my Learn Something New Everyday journal but one thing that I learned this morning is that if you have stuck paper patches to a piece of card with double sided tape and then coat the whole lot with diluted PVA in an attempt to make it more durable you are actually creating a whole lot of work because the patches lifted like crazy and took me ages to restick with more tape!

No time to scrap so far this week apart from balloon patchworks but good news - I get to spend all day Saturday at a crop so I know I will get some done then!

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to our winner...



Comment number 7 was posted by Steph. please email us your details Steph and your box of goodies will be on its way to you this week :)

Hope you have all had a good weekend and that some of you may even have had a play along with Thirsty Thursday.

For many tomorrow is "Back to School" and perhaps a little more time for hobbies. For me it is back to work though and I promise to get a photo of the now almost complete hot air balloons once they are up on the wall!

Drowning In A Sea Of Paper!

Something about the beginning of September and a new school year made me decide to sort out my paper!

I have a lot of paper. too much. There is a pile i moved to a holding area a while ago to see if i needed it or if i could donate it. Well I wasn't brave enough to say I haven't used it so it can go but i did sort through it and ruthlessly culled it!

It has gone in to two piles, one for a craft group at my friends church and one for my collage box for the children at school. In fact there was a third pile also for papers which were predominantly one colour in either red blue green or yellow. I started using that pile tonight making a giant blue and yellow hot air balloon! Tomorrows plan is to make another but in red and green - they are for our "Key Person" display at school. It was kind of liberating hacking into whole fresh sheets of 12x12 to make patchwork hot air balloons and hopefully they will look pretty good flying in the entry way at nursery! (will try to get photos before I add the childrens photos to them.)

So what have you been up to? Any sorting or clearing? Big projects? Or does the beginning of September mean nothing more than the end of summer?!

*A* Thirsty Thursday

Welcome to the start of Thirsty Thursdays! We are so glad you joined us. If you are new to our blog, welcome, and please take a couple of minutes to read this post which will tell you a little more about Thirsty Thursdays.

Thirsty Thursday is where we quench your creative thirst with our alphabet challenge series which, as you would expect, starts at the beginning of the alphabet with the letter A. Your challenge is to take inspiration from one or more of the "A" prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. You can join in every week or as and when you are able, there are no deadlines and no need to feel pressured to participate - it's all good fun! So what do we have to inspire you with for the letter A?

A is for A Trip Down Memory Lane - you can take your "A" inspiration from this if you like. Maybe choose an older photo, recall when it was taken and what memories it brings to mind and create a page based on this.

A is for Ann (me) from the Design team - you could scraplift one of my layouts from the 2011 gallery for your challenge this week.

A is for Authentique - one of our newer manufacturers that we now stock. The papers are deliciously textured, heavy weight and in scrumptious colours, and the alphabet stickers to coordinate are great value too. Why not create for this challenge using Authentique papers?

A is also for Alphabet & American Crafts - we have a broad range of alphabets stickers in the store including Thickers a-plenty! Why not create a page heavy on alphabet lettering on your layout to meet the "A" challenge.

A is for AQUA - Finally a colour challenge for you. Use aqua coloured products on your creation and check out our store for examples of Aqua products.

Each week we will not only provide some challenge prompts but we will also share a couple of projects from the design team that meet one or more of the challenges.

This week I wanted to share a layout I created recently as part of a challenge to scrap in Aqua combined with Red and White - not something I would have necessarily thought of doing but with the right photos (or even black and white images) a great fresh looking layout with a punch of intense colour can be created.

Karen Moss shares her "In this family" layout to illustrate the use of multiple alphabets on a page.

So are you eager to partake in this challenge and create along with us?
We will post the next letter in the alphabet challenge next week and every week thereafter on Thirsty Thursdays. We would love for you to join us each week but remember you can pick these challenges up as and when you like, they will stay up on the blog indefinitely.

We look forward to seeing your layouts, cards or other papercraft creations using the letter A prompts - be sure to share your projects with us using the link below and leave us lovely comments letting us know how you are getting on with the challenge! At the end of the month we will draw a random challenge entry from the Thirsty Thursday entries of that month to win a little something from the store.

HAPPY CREATING - GO QUENCH YOUR CREATIVE THIRST!