Created By ATDML

Challenge Deadlines

2012-01-28T00:40:00.004Z

With the weekend upon us and the end of the month looming we just wanted to remind you of a couple of challenges whose deadlines are coming up if you would like to enter them and be in with a chance to win a prize.

The scrapbook a Year-in-Review layout challenge closes on 31st January at midnight and can be found here.

Karen's sketch challenge posted here ends this Sunday at 8pm.

And finally your January Thirsty Thursday Challenges for the letters P, Q & R all end at midnight on February 1st. (This week's letter S challenge runs to March 1st)

There you have plenty of inspiration, and many a chance to win something from ATDML, and with all those new CHA goodies on order wouldn't it be a fab time to win?

S Thirsty Thursday

2012-01-26T23:58:00.004Z

Once more Thursday rolls around with another of our Thirsty Thursday challenge series, this week with the letter S. You know by now how to play along - below we have listed some prompts for you and we challenge you to use to kickstart your next papercrafting project. Incorporate one or more in a layout or card and share your creativity using the link at the end of this blog post for a chance to win a prize in our monthly draw. This S challenge being issued so late in january will remain open until midnight on March 1st giving you plenty of to play along!

S is for SUZANNE - This week we challenge you to scraplift this layout by Suzanne from our Design team. Often one for many layers and detailed elements on her pages this should hopefully be a nice one to challenge you all this week.

S is for STICKLES - One of my favourite go-to products in my scrapbooking stash, my stickles glitter glue. Perfect for adding a little sparkly or a rustic matt dimension with the distress stickles I use them often on my pages and we challenge you to incorporate them into your next project.

S is for SIMPLE STORIES - Over 60 images in our January Gallery using the many ranges from this relatively new company, they certainly proved popular with the design team! Why not take a look at their papers and use them for this weeks challenge? They have some great new collections coming our soon as well with some divine images being revealed this week on their site.

S is for STITCH or SEW - An inexpensive way to add embellishments, texture and interest to your projects we do like a bit of sewing on our pages (or at least I do!). This sneak peak below of a layout I have created for next month's gallery features some stitching detail and we'd love to see your sewing skills on your next page or card.

S is for SCRAPLIFT - “Scraplifting” — this is a term that refers to copying/borrowing (or taking direct inspiration from) the idea behind a layout or design and using it or modifying it for your own layout. This week we challenge you to scraplift a layout of your own that you have created and to share both the original and your "inspired" by projects with us. We will be asking some of the design team to share their scraplifted projects in February so look out for those on Scraplift Saturday's next month!

That's it for another week folks. As always we would love to see how you interpret the challenges this week. If you'd like to be in with a chance to win a prize from the shop simply link your creations using our Inlinkz tool below, or leave us a lovely comment with a link to your page and which of the S challenges (one or more) that you have met with your creation. This challenge runs until middnight on March 1st 2012.

Patterned Paper Reductions

2012-01-24T10:01:00.004Z

We have reduced the following papers to try to make room for the new CHA releases which should start arriving next month.

Webster's Pages, Authentique, Bo Bunny and Fancy Pants are now all showing reductions. There are other offers also showing on our Home Page and on UKS.

Musings on Sketches and a Challenge

2012-01-22T15:04:00.002Z

I have signed up for an online course that focuses on developing your sketches and that made me wonder. How many of you use sketches. Are they your own sketches or do you use well know sketch sites for inspiration. I do both but I also 'scrap from scratch' too. The first task, for the online course, was to think about things you like about your pages and to incorporate them into a sketch. After doing this I made this sketch and then this made me think - how do you make your sketches, do you make them in a computer program or do you draw them.

I do both of these too. I sometimes use Word to make my sketches but equally I have little note books and scraps of paper with sketches on - sometimes you don't have your laptop with you when inspiration hits.

So this is my interpretation of the sketch - it has things I like such as journaling strips, layering, buttons and pearls and 1 large photo.

I have stuck pretty rigidly to the sketch (something I don't usually do) and the MME Madison Avenue papers worked perfectly with the photo.

So tell us - to sketch or not to sketch, that is the question?

***Added by Mel***

I love Karens layout and the accompanying sketch. We have a £10 ATDML shopping voucher to giveaway to one blog reader who uses Karens sketch to create their own layout. I will hold my hand up and say that Ann is the whizz with the link tool thing not me and I don't know how to add that sooooo.... upload your page to your blog or online gallery and link in the comments box to be entered. We will pick a winner on Sunday 29th January at 8pm

R Thirsty Thursday

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000Z

My favourite day of the week again as we continue our Thirsty Thursday challenge series with the letter R. Below we have listed some R prompts for you which you can take to kickstart your next papercrafting project. Incorporate one or more in a layout or card and share your creativity using the link at the end of this blog post for a chance to win a prize in our monthly draw.

R is for RE-DO - Do you ever go back and re-do your layouts? I know some people who do, others who resist and move on to another photo and story to tell. I do however sometimes rescrap the same photo (especially if I am very fond of it!) Here Karen Moss shows you a complete re-do of a layout, same journalling, same title, one of the same photos... why not rise to this challenge this week?

R is for RED - I wonder how often you use this vibrant and passionate colour on your projects? I should imagine with Valentines day around the corner quite a little more will be seen of it in coming weeks within the papercraft industry! Why not show us your RED projects this week.

R is for RUB-ONS - Be they alphabet rub-ons used in your journalling or layout title or maybe some of the lovely image, flowers/scrolls rub-ons available let's see how you incorporate them in your next design.

R is for ROMANCE -Is love in the air or is that a chill?! You may choose to scrapbook a lovely-dovey photo, or an anniversary/wedding/engagement photo for this weeks challenge, or you could make a card to tell someone you love them. Karen Cole's card from January gallery illustrates this challenge mixed with the RED challenge.

R is for REVIEW - Ann shared her year in review layout here on the blog last week using Simple Stories papers. Why not use this idea to create a review of your 2011 and meet this R challenge?

As always we would love to see how you interpret the challenges this week. If you'd like to be in with a chance to win a prize from the shop this month simply link your creations using our Inlinkz tool below, or leave us a lovely comment with a link to your page and which of the Rchallenges (one or more) that you have met with your creation. This challenge runs until middnight on February 1st 2012.

Shop Offer

2012-01-16T13:35:00.002Z

We have started our offers leading up to the new CHA releases. Many of the new releases can be seen here and this is updated regularly. Until the new goods arrive, we will be announcing a number of special offers to make sure the waiting doesn't become too tedious :). Some will be on UKS, some here and some on our home page. Our first blog offer will be 20% off My Little Shoebox papers. Have fun with our offers!

A Year in Review

2012-01-15T22:33:00.006Z

I cannot believe we are half way through the first month of a new year already! How the time flies. I always try to do year in review layouts at the start of a new year to summarise on a page the year before. The Simple Stories Gallery this month features two pages where I have done this using the Year-O-Graphy and Life Documented ranges.

The page above "2011 in your eyes" was also the class layout at my crop yesterday and the papers were very popular among the ladies in attendance and a real variation of pages were created. The supplies required to complete the page above are all available in the store by following the links below.

4x6 Journalling Cards 1 Elements

4x6 Journalling Cards 2 Elements

A sheet of White Cardstock

MLS Black/White Alphabet stickers

This double layout spreads out one sheet of Simple Stories Year-O-Graphy patterned paper over 2 pages with twelve 3"x4" photos and a few embellishments making for a very inexpensive double page that is quick and simple to create.

Have you created a 2011-year-in-review page using papers from ATDML? Why not share it with us here and who knows - we may feature your layout in a future blog post!

Simple Stories Gallery

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000Z

The January Design Team gallery is up on our main site featuring designs for layouts, cards, minibooks and projects galore with over 50 illustrations!

I am a HUGE fan of this manufacturer and could happily keep creating with these papers over and over again and achieve such different results each time. The papers are so versatile as illustrated by our gallery which can be found here. We hope you enjoy browsing and if you have any questions about a particular project and would like to know more, please leave a comment here and one of us will come back to you.

Q Thirsty Thursday

2012-01-12T20:00:00.005Z

We're back again with another letter in our Thirsty Thursday challenge series, and as you can imagine the letter Q had as thinking quite creatively! So what did we come up with?...

Q is for QUILT - Either chose to lay your project out in a patchwork style for this challenge or scrapbook a duvet day (quilt!) photo or story. Ann created a patchwork effect on her Christmas Elf layout achieved using a square decorative edge punch and small scraps of paper left over from other festive projects. This is a great technique to use for creating effective background on cards, again using up left over pieces from your scrapbooking projects.

Q is for Quote - Use a famous or well known quote on your project this week. 7G have several sayings and quotes on their 97% complete sticker sheets - they even have a set called Quotes!

Maybe quote a funny conversation from a loved one - I know I have many a funny tale to tell of my boys for this challenge!

Q is for QUEST - Have you ever set out on a quest? Searched for something, or some place? Why you create your next project telling the story of this quest so others can read all about your adventures?

Q is for QUAINT -Take a look at the definitions of this word and then interpret onto your pages for this challenge.

P Thirsty Thursday

2012-01-05T23:30:00.004Z

Welcome to another challenge in our Thirsty Thursday challenge. We started this challenge in 2011 and are up to the letter P in our quest to find inspiration in the alphabet to kickstart your next papercraft project. You can join in as many of the challenges as you like, just post a link here to your image for a chance to win something in our monthly prize draw.

P is for PINK - Baby Pink or shocking pink we challenge you to add a splash of pink to your next papercraft project. Use Pink cardstock as your background, or as a feature colour on your card/layout this week.

P is for PORTRAIT - Use only portrait photographs on your next layout, no landscape allowed for this challenge. Debs created this lovely layout for our December Design team gallery (full of festive inspiration if you've christmas photos to be scrapped). She uses four smaller portrait photos and couples them with a selection of portrait orientated embellishments - just divine!

P is for POLKA DOTS - Karen Moss provides us with a fab illustration of how to get dotty on your pages. Maybe you have some dotty ribbon waiting to be used, some Bo Bunny Double Dot cardstock maybe (10% off in our sale) or is it time to get creative with your circle punches? We can't wait to see what you create with this challenge.

P is for PRIMA - Prima create an array of products but are probably most famous for their jars of flowers. Do you have some you need to put to use? Or maybe Prima papers or Prima stamps maybe? We stock over 300 Prima products in the store so why not a browse and remind yourself of the lovely products this manufacturer has to offer.

P is for PARENTS - Scrapbook a layout for this challenge containing a photo of your parents, or of you as parents or of a family which includes parents. Maybe you took such a family image over the Christmas holidays? Time to get scrapping it for this challenge.

Scrapping your Christmas Day

2012-01-04T19:24:00.007Z

Do you recall this blog post last month when we mentioned the new October Afternoon winter collection and shared a layout from their design team? Well I loved the page so much I decided to scraplift it and here is my page. The papers are 30% off in the current sale too!

I had cut out many of the elements before Christmas day and popped them in a baggie ready to pull the page together with my chosen photograph. The large 2 and 5 letters I drew by hand onto chipboard, cut out with a sharp blade and then covered in the patterned paper. Inking the edges hid any minor imperfections in the cutting and once backed with snippets of papers from the collection they looked pretty neat.

I think this is a nice idea for other special dates too, maybe a birthday or anniversary too? Why not have a go and share your page with us here on the blog.

December Thirsty Thursday Winner

2012-01-02T14:22:00.002Z

Congratulations To Jane who won our draw for December for taking part in the Thirsty Thursday challenges (all of them!) for the letters M, N & O.
Please email mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk with your details and we will get a lovely little something in the post for you.

We will be back later this week with the letter P prompts and hope to see many of you making a dent in your crafting products this month and playing along with our weekly challenge.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T14:30:00.001Z

We would like to wish you all a Happy New Year!

For 2012 we have added to our lovely Design Team. We are pleased to add Rachael Elliott to our Design Team and her first gallery will be February. For those of you who don't already know Rachael here is what she has to say about herself:

Hi I am Rachael and have just recently turned 40...gulp! I live in the beautiful county of Dorset with my husband and two teenage daughters. I work part time as a staff nurse at the County Hospital but in my spare time I love nothing more than to take myself off up to my craft room and get creative with the mounds of paper I seem to have collected!

I started scrapping about 5 years ago after a friend suggested that I might enjoy it, I have tried numerous crafts over the years but scrapping is the only one that has really gripped me and I am enjoying it more and more.

I love to create pages with lots of depth and dimension and often with a vintage feel, I am addicted to hand cutting and will often spend hours cutting out intricate designs to add to a page.

One of the best things about scrapping has been the wonderful people I have met along the way and the amazing opportunities that I have been given because of it.

I am really excited to be joining the design team over at A Trip Down Memory Lane.

December Thirsty Thursday's

2011-12-29T22:57:00.004Z

Given the holiday season, the extra cooking and family time we thought it best to leave you with the existing Thirsty Thursday prompts for December and would remind any of you wanting to enter the draw for an ATDML gift for December you have until Midnight this Sunday. As a reminder here are the December challenge posts (click on links)

The letter M
The letter N
The letter O

Your next challenge will be posted next Thursday, Jan 5th 2012 when we bring you letter P prompts! In the meantime be sure to check out our sale items on the website and grab a bargain or two while you can.

December festive inspiration

2011-12-20T20:38:00.006Z

Our December design team gallery is up now for your viewing pleasure. The team were joined by Helen Salthouse this month and we have a bulging gallery with over 50 festive papercraft images.

Have a browse through and bookmark any you like ready for some speedy scrap lifting to get you back in the crafting zone after the holiday celebrations.

O Thirsty Thursday (Belated)

2011-12-18T22:30:00.000Z

With less than two weeks to go we move to our penultimate challenge this side of the big day. Of course you will all be busy with your festive preparations, but if you do squeeze in some crafting time we hope that you will join in our challenge this week as we seek inspiration from the letter O.

O is for OCTOBER AFTERNOON - New in the store recently we saw the latest seasonal collection from this popular manufacturer. All the Holiday Style papers can be found here in the shop, or maybe you will create a project this week using existing October Afternoon papers. Mel shares an October Afternoon layout with us this week.

O is for ORANGE - Not always a prominent colour on pages unless you are scrapping the Autumnal season or maybe your pumpkin photos but why not try it as an accent colour on a winter page? Maybe scrap that winter sunset image you took?

O is for OPPOSITE - Naughty or Nice? The question Santa is asking himself this very minute as he receives news from his elves as to the childrens' behaviour. Will you create an interactive page for this challenge showing opposites?

O is for OUT OF PRINT - A bit of a fab collection from Basic Grey, this paper is sure to please. The 6x6 collection pads flew out the doof but there are still a number oif 12x12 collection packs availble. I recently taught a CD Calendar class using these.

Christmas Crop At Eclectic

2011-12-16T18:00:00.002Z

Belatedly I thought I would post about the Eclectic Keepsakes Christmas crop I went to a couple of weeks ago. Organised by the lovely Karen Moss the Christmas crop included 3 classes. Two of them were taught by ATDML DT girls and the third was taught by Denise Holmes who has done a few guest DT spots for us.

I knew it would be a good day when on the way despite a cold day with grey skies my journey was brightened up by this sight :)

I was not very sensible and didn't manage to get many photos (I was having such a lovely time scrapping, chatting and eating that I forgot. I did get this one of Debbie teaching her fantastic Simple Stories Advent countdown layout which was such a clever idea and everyone loved it.

Ann taught a lovely CD Calendar class using Basic Grey Out of Print which was also very popular. I haven't finished mine yet but when I do I will upload it! Denise's class was using Tim Holtz Distress inks and stamping to make a stunning card which featured an envelope made with patterned paper using a score board. Denise makes using the distress inks look so simple and urged us to "Just Commit!" Apparently this was Mr Holtz's favourite phrase when she attended one of his workshops!

Lunch was a bring and share style buffet and there was oodles of lovely food. I did remember to take photos of Karens beautiful Christmas cupcakes... I might have indulged in a peppermint one with a candy cane top!

All in all a lovely day was had by all - I worked on a couple of pieces for the Christmas DT gallery which will be going up on or before Sunday 18th December so keep an eye out for that appearing.

Trying To Forget That It Is So Cold!

2011-12-13T18:00:00.003Z

Back in September I spent a fun day in Trumpington near Cambridge at a crop and class day with two classes by Ifa Xainon. The layouts were summer themed and it was the perfect way to capture some of the fun memories we had from the summer.

I really enjoyed making this layout called "Summer Adventure" and because my photos were from several events and locations I opted for my favourite technique of turning them black and white so I know that they will go with anything!

More inspiration and new in store

2011-12-10T09:00:00.000Z

Welcome to the weekend everyone! Just wanted to let you know we have the latest wintery offerings from October Afternoon in the shop now, they can all be found here if you haven't seen them already.

I took the liberty of popping over to the October Afternoon blog as well to see what the design team had been creating with this new line. Absolutely love this page and have bookmarked it for a scraplift in the new year when I have my Christmas day images.

The page could so easily be created for a non Xmas day page as well, maybe the date of a birthday, or an anniversary... the possibilities are endless! I certainly feel inspired by this page and also they have a bow making tutorial as well on the blog here - perfect for using up scraps of paper to embellish your presents. Great ideas which I saw and wanted to share!

More inspiration to be found

2011-12-09T12:00:00.000Z

Two of the manufacturers we stock have teamed up to bring some fabulous crafting inspiration for the season to their blog readers. If you haven't already stumbled across these why not pop over to Simple Stories blog or Maya Road and see what they have been up to. The design team have been working with a variety of Christmas papers ready to inspire you later this month, and these include the Simple Stories 25 days of Christmas paper which can be found here in the store.

N Thirsty Thursday

2011-12-08T22:46:00.003Z

Moving in to the second half of the alphabet today as we look to the letter N for inspiration. You know the challenge rules by now (there are very few) but read back onto any earlier Thirsty Thursday post if this is all new to you. So what do we have for you this week?...

N is for NATIVITY - Yes it is the season for all aspiring Mary and Josephs, Angels, Wise Men and more to have our camera shutters on overdrive! If you are lucky enough to snap a half decent photo of the prestigious event that is the school nativity, or you have an un-scrapped photos from years gone by why not use it in this weeks challenge.

N is for NAVY BLUE - Use Navy Blue cardstock as your background, or as a feature colour on your card/layout this week. Maybe dig out some denim to include on your creation?

N is for NATURE - Maybe a lovely scenery shot depicting the wonders of nature will make it on to your scrapbook page this week. Dig out your leaf stamps, maybe even holly and ivy? Show us how you are inspired by Nature. I created a layout for the October DT gallery here focusing on Autumn or maybe this page by Debbie will inspire?

N is for "NOT" CHRISTMAS - A bit of a fun one this! We challenge you this week to use a Christmas paper collection to make a non-Christmassy project! Karen Moss did exactly that this week and shares her creation below.

November Thirsty Thursday Winner

2011-12-06T23:36:00.003Z

Congratulations go to Naomi for her entry into the Thirsty Thursday challenge last month. She was the lucky winner drawn using random.org with her letter L entry below.

Naomi please contact mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk with your details and she will let you know what you have won! Thanks for taking part everyone, another prize up for grabs for our December challenges which will close on middnight Jan 1st 2012.

M Thirsty Thursday (Sunday!)

2011-12-04T22:00:00.000Z

As promised yesterday we are back with the next instalment of Thirsty Thursday (albeit Sunday today!) and this week we are looking to the letter M for inspiration. Make a layout, or a card or another crafty project and then share a link to your project to be in with a chance to win a prize.

M is for MY MINDS EYE - We stock over 200 different MME products in the store including the divine Lost and Found ranges. This week use your MME products as part of this challenge.

M is for MONOCHROMATIC - Create a project this week where you focus on different shades of the same colour to achieve a monochromatic look or just stick with predominantly one colour on your creation.

M is for MEL - Once again we challenge you to scraplift a member of the design team, this time the Mel and we have chosen this layout for you to lift.

M is for MUSIC - Have you pictures of a concert you have been to, or of someone playing an instrument? Maybe you have music note paper or stamps you haven't used for a while. Your favourite Christmas Carol maybe and why you love it so? Time to be inspired by music for this week's challenge

M is for MAYA ROAD - Hard not to love the array of wonderful chipboard this company make so why not use some on your project this week.

Thirsty Thursday Delay

2011-12-03T22:49:00.003Z

Many apologies one and all for the slight delay in bringing you the next challenge but I have been sadly under the weather this week. Rest assured it will be here tomorrow and following quickly after on Monday with a blog post to announce our winner from November's participants.

Today several of the DT joined the ladies on Eclectic Keepsakes crop for the December celebrations. Both Debbie and I taught classes along with a retreat regular Denise who had us getting inky with Distress Inks to make a fabulous unique card for the season. Here is my version.

"L" Thirsty Thursday

2011-11-24T22:07:00.006Z

Welcome back to another Thirsty Thursday challenge and may we take the opportunity of wishing a very happy thanksgiving to our American readers. This week we move on to the letter L and task you with taking inspiration from any one (or more) of the prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project and then share a link to your project to be in with a chance to win a prize.

L is for LUXE DESIGNS - We stock over 100 different Luxe Designs products in the store including the popular Luxe Jotters which can be found here. If you have some in your stash now is the time to pull them put and use them on your next page.

L is for LAYERS - Create a layered look this week with hand cut detailed papers, die cuts, punched shapes and foam pads as illustrated by Debbie is a former retreat class of hers using Sassafrass.

L is for LONDON - Do you have photos of our Capital waiting to be scrapped? or have you any October Afternoon London Thames printed paper as illustrated by Ann in the layout below featured in September's Design Team Gallery. Share with us your London themed paper craft projects.

L is for LOVE - So many ways this challenge can be interpreted, love of a family member, a pet, a city, a food....the list is endless and this is sure to be a popular choice for those who choose to play along with this challenge. We can't wait to see what you come up with, but if you are stuck for inspiration, or even time in the coming weeks, why not try a smaller project such as this tag by Debbie. It is a great way to use up your odds and ends.

L is for LACE - Pre-made lace blooms, or lace trim how will you feature lace on your challenge project this week.

If you'd like to be in with a chance to win a prize from the shop this month simply link your creations using our Inlinkz tool below, or leave us a lovely comment with a link to your page and which of the L challenges (one or more) that you have met with your creation. Whilst you can undertake these challenges at your own pace to be in with a chance to win a prize entries for the letters J, K & L have to be shared to the relevant post by midnight Thursday 1st December and we will announce the next winner shortly after. Have fun!

November ATDML Design team gallery

2011-11-21T23:50:00.002Z

The regular design team plus guest designer Tracy Easson got to create with an array of 7Gypsies products this month. Pop along here to see what they created this month and get inspiration for your next project.

"K" Thirsty Thursday

2011-11-17T12:00:00.007Z

Welcome back to another Thirsty Thursday challenge, moving on this week to the letter K. Take inspiration from any one (or more) of the prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project and then share a link to your project to be in with a chance to win a prize.

K is for KAISERCRAFT- I love the Rhinestone swirls from Kaisercraft, which can be found here in our store, which are perfect for adding a bit of sparkle to your projects (perfect for your festive pages). The red ones are perfect for holly berries.

K is for KIN - Create a scrapbook page about your Kin, or even using the dictionary definition somewhere on your page.

K is for KRAFT - The staple cardstock colour for many crafters . New to the shop this week we have Kraft Core card from coredinations, a coloured cardstock with a Kraft core which becomes visible when you tear, sand etc. We also have Basic Grey Basic Kraft paper collections in 12x12 and 6x6, along with matching items. Maya Road also make many kraft embellishments such as these very popular calendar month spots - ideal for a new 2012 monthly project. Your challenge this week is to feature some Kraft materials on your project.

K is for KAREN(s) - We have the lovely Karen's (Moss & Cole) on our design our team, both of whom taught at our recent retreat. How about scrapping a layout from the lovely Karen Cole this week.

And here is the scraplifted version from Karen Moss using Farmhouse papers by Crate Paper.

K is for KITS - Maybe you subscribe to a monthly kit, or enjoy pulling them together for specific project, show us what you are doing with your kits this week. Both Karen and I are taking part in Shimelle's Journal your Christmas class again this year and have been busy preparing. Here is Karen's kit she has pulled together from items in her stash.

Winner of October Thirsty Thursday

2011-11-15T18:55:00.005Z

I am delighted to announce the winner for the Thirsty Thursday October entries which was layout number 5 belonging to Jane Taylor. We used Random.org once again to select an entry from those who had left links for the letter E, F, G & H.

Here is Jane's lovely page too. F is for Food and Fish!

We have also been able to upgrade the link tool we use each week and the cute boxes with images to projects created inspired by the Thirsty Thursday posts will now be available. We hope this will encourage many more of you to share your work with us, especially knowing you could win a prize!

Congrats once again to Jane, please email mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk with your details!

Inspired by Challenge

2011-11-13T13:13:00.006Z

Thought we could extend one of the recent retreat challenges out to our blog readers. How would you be inspired by these images? Would it be the film trip on the Olympic rings image?, to scrapbook a fabulous hairstyle maybe?, to splash inks and paints on your background per the Mandella image?

I chose to be inspired by the five olympic rings and cut 5 small photo into circles to add to a main image for this layout using Simple Stories YearOGraphy papers that we previous blogged about here. This particular paper is great for a nice simple page where photos, title and journalling can be minimal and yet make a full page with the background paper doing most of the work for you.

Leave us a comment and let us know how you got on with the challenge or you can link directly to your project using our inlinkz tool. We will draw a winner the first week in December and the challenge will stay open until midnight GMT on the last day of November. Enjoy!

"J" Thirsty Thursday

2011-11-10T20:00:00.001Z

Welcome back to another challenge called Thirsty Thursday where we aim to inspire you with a challenge to quench your creative thirst. You can pick up from here and play along or look back at previous weeks and join in those too. Week 10 this week and we are taking inspiration from the letter J prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. So here we go...

J is for JANE - Our lovely Jane from the Design team invites you to scraplift her for this week's challenge. How about this layout which makes the most of paper strips left over from other projects?

J is for JOURNALLING - Be prepared to share the tales behind your beloved photographs this week. You can choose to hand write your story, or use a computer/typewriter or maybe even small alphabet stamps and lots of patience to journal on your page. Maybe use a journalling template to get creative with your words or a patterned paper with journalling cards such as this one by Simple Stories.

J is for JOURNEY - Travel is always a popular theme amongst scrapbookers with many products dedicated to the subject. This week we challenge you to create a page about a journey which could be interpreted in many ways and we look forward to seeing how you play this one.

J is for JEWELLERY - Do you have a special piece of jewellery that has a story behind it, maybe a family piece that you could create a page about to tell the tale behind it? This would be a great challenge to combine with journalling this week.

J is for JEWELS - Dig out the blingtastic products and jewel up your cards and pages this week, perfect if you are starting those Christmas projects! Take a browse through the jewel/pearl/crystal items we have for sale in the store HERE if you are running low.

This week we are sharing an example from the latest Bo Bunny gallery on our website. Ann shows how handjournalling can be added to a multi-photo autumnal page here.

Tomorrow we will announce the winner of the Thirsty Thursday challenges from last month. If you'd like to be in with a chance to win a prize from the shop this month simply link your creations using our Inlinkz tool below, or leave us a lovely comment with a link to your page and which of the I challenges (one or more) that you have met with your creation. In the meantime, happy scrapping.

Quick & Easy Childs Birthday Card

2011-11-09T23:00:00.001Z

Just taking the opportunity to share something from a while back which I forgot to upload...

A few weeks ago we headed up the A1 to spend the day at my neices 5th birthday party. My two girls loved the party and spending time with their two cousins.

Before we went I needed to make a card for Anya, so I set about making something bright and cheerful with a bit of sparkle too.

As ever when I am card making I totally raided the scraps box - I think there is a little October Afternoon on there, some Echo Park Stickers, the bunting is Fancy Pants and the lettering is Doodlebug Just My Type! I am eternally grateful to my sister in law for choosing 4 letter names for my neices - both easily fit on a string of bunting on a card!

7 Gypsies Class - My Original and Denises Version...

2011-11-07T22:23:00.004Z

Tonight I wanted to share with you one of the class layouts I taught at the retreat. I used the wonderful 7 Gypsies Off The Wall and Global papers and combined these with collage tissue and a few other products to make this layout:

One thing we always make clear to all our delegates is that no one is precious about their class layouts and whether you want to walk out with an identical layout but with your photos, something adapted from the layout or something just loosely inspired by the original it is absolutely fine.

I always find it fascinating to see what the ladies end up with at the end of a class. The layout below is the one by Denise Holmes who took the class and adapted it to suit the photos she had and then made further adjustments to cover up something she didn't like (a wrinkled frame I think) I like to think that was a happy accident because it led to the butterflies flying up the right hand side of the page and the beautiful stamping.

Come back soon to see a little more of what we got up to and of course the fabulous challenge entries and winners :)

Good Students?!

2011-11-06T20:45:00.002Z

One of the fun things about the retreats is that amongst the many lovely ladies we have attending there are always a few from our Design Team. Spending the year emailing back and forth with them and sending out little packages of loveliness to them it is really nice to spend some time with them.

They are often teaching but they also take classes themselves. This most recent retreat we had Ann, Jane, Suzanne, Karen M & Karen C all teaching plus Debbie with us as a delegate so almost a full house (Dawn was missed by all as she couldn't come this time)

I was trying to get some photos of the delegates working away in classes and this pair were sitting together engaged in a deep and meaningful crafty discussion while working in Suzannes class.

And here they are again teaching their own classes!

Jane was teaching her fabulous ABC Primer pencil bound book...

and Ann was teaching her beautiful My Little Shoebox layout as featured on the blog hop.

More to share over the next week including some more classes and the fabulous challenge winners! Apologies for the photos, I have a new computer and NO photo editing software installed so they are straight out of camera and clearly the setting were a little awry!

Following Up On Those 3D Flowers....

2011-11-04T23:15:00.000Z

During our retreat the 3D flowers were used by delegates in a variety of ways and I wanted to share a couple of those with you today.

First up is this gorgeous cluster of flowers. I saw Antonia working on this at the retreat and even though she hasn't finished the layout yet I asked her to email me a photo of the progress so far. I am sure you will agree that the effect of the clustering is pretty spectacular!

And to show you that they are not just for layouts here is Debbies fabulous altered pencil pot with a beautiful floral lid!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what some of the ladies came up with using the My Little Shoebox 3D Flowers, remember we are running a special offer for all orders over £20 placed before Sunday - you will receive a FREE set of 2011 release Christmas papers with all orders over £20.

"I" Thirsty Thursday

2011-11-03T12:00:00.009Z

Welcome back after a week off from our regular weekly challenge called Thirsty Thursday where we aim to inspire you with a challenge to quench your creative thirst. Don't worry if this is the first you have heard of our challenges. You can pick up from here and play along or look back at previous weeks and join in those too. This week we are up to week 9 and we are taking inspiration from the letter I prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. So here we go...

I is for INTERACTIVE - Can you make your cards pop and flip and fold? Do you have hidden journalling on your page or another interactive element ? This week we challenge your next project to contain an interactive element.

I is for INK - Be these your ordinary ink pads, the very popular distress inks (stocked HERE in the shop), spray inks or your even alcohol inks; it is time to dig them out for this week's challenge.

I is for IVY - Holly and the Ivy Seasonal project prompt perhaps, or maybe include a stamped Ivy leaf on an Autumnal page. This week we challenge you to include Ivy on your project.

I is for IDEA BOOKS - Do you have a selection of these in your craft room, sitting unused on the shelf? Might be time to regenerate them and be inspired by a project within it. We have a selection of Idea Books in the shop also if you are looking for Christmas gift for a fellow crafter?

I is for INDIVIDUAL - A large individual photograph on a layout can make quite the statement and often need little else adding to the page other than pretty paper of course! Why not feature an oversize Individual photograph on a project for this week's challenge.

Before you head off to play we just want to share as always a couple of inspiring projects from our design team, this week from Jane and Ann.

Jane shares with us an inky page with an interesting design element too.

And another from Jane, this time Interactive with pull out tabs beneath the photo and fulfilling the Individual challenge too!

And finally for this week and IVY layout example for you all by Ann using My Little Shoebox papers.

Early next week we will announce the winner of the Thirsty Thursday challenges from last month. If you'd like to be in with a chance to win a prize from the shop this month simply link your creations using our Inlinkz tool below, or leave us a lovely comment with a link to your page and which of the I challenges (one or more) that you have met with your creation. In the meantime, happy scrapping.

Altered Challenge from the retreat

2011-11-02T19:00:00.000Z

We always have a number of optional challenges at our retreat weekends which delegates can take part in, seven was the count of last weekend including a sketch challenge, a top 10 challenge, a mystery kit challenge and one of the most popular - the altered challenge. This retreat the object to be altered was a small brown gift bag.

It never ceases to amaze me the variety of entries we get to these challenges and this year was no different. Projects ranged from minibooks to lined wine coolers, from festive reindeer to spooky houses, from mini Calendars to miniature stages, not to mention some very pretty decorated bags retaining their original use.

As always judging the challenges was not made simple by the very talented delegates who gave so many options to choose from and all so wonderful in their own right. Jane's post on Halloween showcased her witches house a little further. The overall winning creation however was this one by Denise.

More retreat projects and photographs to share in the coming days along with another Thirsty Thursday challenge

UKS Blog Hop!

2011-11-01T07:45:00.007Z

Today we are taking part in the UKScrappers Blog Hop!

You may have come here from The Biskit Barrel (A Sprinkle of Imagination) and if so I hope you enjoyed your visit there. Here at ATDML we are uploading a layout project using the My Little Shoebox 3D roll up flowers.

Available in 5 different designs these versatile double sided embellishments will add dimension and texture to your pages.

The class is a layout designed by Ann Freeman, feel free to use it to create your own version of the same layout, or to get inspired to use these fabulous little 3D flowers in some other way!

The full instructions can be found HERE on our website as a free downloadable PDF

Here is an excerpt from Anns instructions talking about assembling the flowers:

• Choose a selection of 3D flowers (they all make different size and height flowers) and carefully pop out of the sheet. Note that the sheet is double side with a pattern on one side and a plainer complimenting colour on the reverse.
• Taking a needle or paper piercer start the rolling of the flowers from the outside working in to the centre, and once you have got the roll started you can carry on with your fingers. Roll the flower up and secure in place with a glue dot. You can practice how loose or tight you want your flowers, it is a matter of individual preference.
When you have a selection (I think I rolled 5) layer some of these onto the standard flower die-cuts on your sheet and use a needle or piercer again to gentle curl the petals on these.

We have donated a prize to UKScrappers which, along with some others donated by other UKS sponsors will be drawn for those who participate in the blog hop by commenting on all the blogs and on the UKS thread (link at the top)

In addition, all orders over £20 placed between now and 6pm on Sunday 6th November with your UKS name in the comments box will qualify for a free selection of brand new 2011 Christmas papers.

Thanks for joining us. Next on the blog hop list is Dyan Reavely of Art From the Heart

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:24:00.000Z

After a fantastic weekend retreat I hope Mel, Jill and all their helpers are taking a well earned rest! As Ann said - some photos of classes and challenges will gradually follow, but since today is 31st October by request I am sharing my altered bag project and wishing you all a spooktacular day - whether you are out trick or treating or hiding behind the sofa with the lights off!

Frantic Friday = No Thirsty Thursday

2011-10-28T22:27:00.003+01:00

Apologies for the lack of Thirsty Thursday post yesterday but due to a Frantic Friday today (we are all away the the retreat and have been super busy preparing) we will be back with the letter I for Inspiration next Thursday. Before then will share some of the class projects from this weekend which has got off to a flying start with a CD Calendar class using Echo Park Victoria Garden papers taught by Ann. Mel then taught an interative Simple Stories layout using the Generations papers. Suzanne's first class of the weekend had delegates scrapping three layouts using scrumptious MME papers and after dinner we ended the first day of classes with Mel's Bind-it-all book using Glitz Vintage Blue papers.

Photos to follow in due course!

Year-O-Graphy by Simple Stories

2011-10-25T16:30:00.005+01:00

New in the shop by Simple Stories is a collection called Year-O-Graphy.
If you are looking to create a minibook to summarise your 2011, or maybe a set of papers to feature on a layout-a-month project for 2012 these papers would be perfect.

They come with matching stickers and the papers are a mixture of great background papers and others with plenty of elements that can be cut out and used as embellishments.

How about using this paper on a double layout with twelve 3"x4" photos and the twelve bingo card months cut up into a grid format? One of my to-do pages for the retreat this weekend which Mel, Jill, myself and the majority of the design team will be attending in Stoke-by-Nayland from this Friday through to Sunday. Talking of which, I must go organise myself a little more, I have many photos to print off ready for a very scrappy weekend.

H Thirsty Thursday

2011-10-20T23:20:00.006+01:00

Another Thursday crawls around and a slightly chillier one at that! Not to worry, simply take inspiration from our next challenge, make a cup of tea and head to your crafting zone for some creativity! Week 8 now and we are taking inspiration from the letter H prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. So here we go...

H is for HEARTS - Be they heart patterned papers or embellishments, maybe a stamp or some heart shaped brads - time to get hearts on our cards and layouts this week. You could even incorporate them into your title.

H is for HOME - Home made, moving home, home grown or combined with our first prompt "Home is where the heart is" - feature the word HOME or make HOME the subject of your next project.

H is for HAPPY - Happy Birthday, Happy Christmas, Happy to have you in my life... how will you include a little sprinkle of HAPPY on your next project? Is it too early to make that first Happy Christmas card? we think not!

H is for HANDSEWING - Feature a little stitching on your next project, dig out the needles and colourful threads and add a little texture to your projects.

H is for HOLIDAY - Summer holiday photos still waiting to be scrapped? Or maybe you are looking forward to the Half Term holidays next week? Or once again maybe looking to the next big seasonal holiday and creating a little handmade something for the home. Whatever you choose as your holiday inspiration please do share your creations with us here on the blog.

Remember as always you can jump in and out of these weekly challenges as you like. There are no deadlines, but you can win a little something from us by simply sharing your creations using the link tool at the end of this post.

Before you head off to play we just want to share as always a couple of inspiring projects from our design team, this week from Dawn and Jane.

Dawn shares this lovely page which ticks several H boxes - Hearts, Happy and Holiday

Jane shares a printers tray for the HOME prompt

and a cute feline page featuring some handsewing.

See you again next week for another challenge, in the meantime....Happy Crafting!

G Thirsty Thursday

2011-10-14T23:10:00.000+01:00

Hopefully you weren't too thirsty yesterday as I completely forgot to schedule the next Thirty Thursday challenge! Apologies for that - hopefully this post is better late than never. Week 7 already and this week we are taking inspiration from the letter G prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. So here we go...

G is for 7GYPSIES - The latest range GLOBAL (also beginning with a G!) from 7Gypsies was loaded to our site earlier this week if you haven't seen it yet. For this challenge we ask that you use any papers or products from any one of their extensive ranges.

G is also for GRAPHIC 45 - We have over 150 different Graphic 45 items available, which are your favourites? Time to dig them out for this weeks challenge.

G is for GEMS - How about showing us how you put your final touches to your cards and layouts with gems? Do you mostly buy and covert (I'm guilty!) or use these pretty embellishments? Share your gem adorned projects with us this week.

G is for GAMES - Traditional board games, outdoor pursuits or maybe the latest technology inspired games, it's time to scrapbook pages about them and preserve the memories.

G is for GREY - One of my staple go to colours or cardstock and certainly ink pads which pair lovely with lemon or bolder yellows, equally as well with pinks and blues. Use the colour grey as a focal point or background colour to your next crafting project.

As always we have some design team examples to share with you.

Jane created this beautiful mirror last month as part of the DT Gallery using Graphic 45 papers.

Ann's shares a page from a double layout class taught earlier this year with Echo Park Valentine range featuring plenty of grey in cardstock, patterned papers and the b&w photos.

Thanks for joining us for another round of weekly challenges. Be sure to share your creations using the link tool to be in with a chance to win a little something from us.

Me, me, me, me, me!

2011-10-10T17:47:00.003+01:00

It's all about me... well actually it isn't, that's just the name of Webster's Pages latest collection that has just landed in the store and is actually a tiny bit lovely. Ok so I think it is alot lovely!

There is a lovely die cut paper, six double sided papers, matching trims and fabric stickers too, not to mention an alphabet letter sheet as well. They can all be found here in the store. The 6x6 pads are already sold out so if you like this collection grab it while you can!

September Thirsty Thursday Winner

2011-10-08T20:14:00.005+01:00

Congratulations to Jimjams with her letter B layout that wins last month's Thirsty Thursday challenge thanks to random.org which selected the 9th entry of those who shared their A-D Thirsty Thursday pages. Her layout featured Buttons from the B challenge blog post. Contact mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk with your address details to claim your prize!

You can still take part in the challenges for these letters if you haven't already done so. To be entered into October's random draw play along with challenges for the letters E and F and the remaining challenges still to come this month.

F Thirsty Thursday

2011-10-06T13:00:00.002+01:00

We are back again bloggers with another Thirsty Thursday as week 6 of our regular challenge feature rolls around. This week we are taking inspiration from the letter F prompts below to make a layout, card or another crafty project. So here we go...

F is for FANCY PANTS - Fancy digging out your Fancy Pants products for this challenge be they papers or the fun glitter cuts they make. This week we challenge you to create with your Fancy Pants products.

F is for FABRIC - Use fabric of some type on your creations this week. Material, lace, felt or these neat Fabric Tickets from Websters pages. Which material will you choose to feature on a layout or card this week and will this be a first for you?

F is for FREE RIBBONS - How about showing us how you put your free ribbons that accompany each ATDML order to use. We'd love to see them!

F is for FAVOURITES - Use your favourite product of the moment, or create a page about favourite colours or foods. One challenge this week is to create something inspired by favourites.

F is for FAMILY - The main purpose of our scrapbooking is to preserve those family photographs and memories. Create a page about your family this week, maybe their hobbies, or footwear, something a little different to that which you would ordinarily scrapbook about.

As always we have some design team examples to share with you. Dawn's High Tea layout, a class from a previous retreat, uses lots of fabric and lace for texture and interest.

Ann's Bo Bunny layout from the April gallery this year features a photo of her daughter's favourite shoes.

So that is another suite of alphabet inspired prompts to quench your creative thirst this week. We will announce the lucky winner from the September prompts over the weekend so be sure to pop back and check in with us. In the meantime, happy crafting!

September Design Team Gallery

2011-09-30T21:59:00.005+01:00

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

2011-09-29T12:00:00.004+01:00

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....

2011-09-26T23:07:00.006+01:00

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

2011-09-22T12:00:00.013+01:00

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!

2011-09-18T13:34:00.013+01:00

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

2011-09-15T20:00:00.000+01:00

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

2011-09-12T13:31:00.002+01:00

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

2011-09-09T22:25:00.004+01:00

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

2011-09-08T12:00:00.012+01:00

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!

2011-09-05T20:41:00.002+01:00

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!

2011-09-04T19:29:00.003+01:00

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!

2011-09-03T11:59:00.000+01:00

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

2011-09-01T12:00:00.013+01:00

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!

Time for a little giveaway.......

2011-08-31T22:24:00.002+01:00

We seem to have been constantly unpacking boxes lately with new products coming thick and fast now after a fairly slow start. I have made up a surprise pizza box with a selection of new products for a blog giveaway. Just leave a comment below and we will use random.org to select a winner on Sunday. Remember to join us tomorrow for Thirsty Thursday!

ABC

2011-08-31T00:30:00.002+01:00

And as if by magic when we are waiting to start our Thirsty Thursday alphabet related project we are happy to have brand new Graphic 45 products in stock including the helpfully named "An ABC Primer" collection!

Click HERE to see all New Products and use the link above to check out the ABC Primer products!

Learn Something New Every Day - Pre Made Album Pages

2011-08-28T09:00:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned in my post yesterday I have been making pages for my LSNED album. I took a photo this morning of the 6x4 cards I made so far. The rest will be done in the next few days as and when I get time.

Some have no added embellishment at the moment other than what was already on the paper (like the dictionary paper with the bird cages) Others like the one with the lollipop flowers and butterflies have a bit more. I *really* love the My Minds Eye Lost & Found - Union Square range I have used. :)

I figure each day once I know what I am focusing on I can choose an appropriate card and add any extra embellishment once the title and journaling are on.

I have set aside some lullaby red glitter thickers, some copper honey thickers, some MM glitter letters in red and brown and various red, black and brown sticker alphas for alphabets. I will journal by hand which is usually my preferred method anyway. Then I have a 12x12 baggie of embellishments that I have pre sorted that might go with the album so it is all to hand when I come to complete the project.

Bank Holiday Crafting

2011-08-27T22:30:00.001+01:00

well it was super rainy here yesterday and today so I had to cancel \ postpone my annual Bank Holiday BBQ. Every cloud has a silver lining though and the upside was that I had some extra time to do some crafting.

I have scrapped a few layouts lately which I liked but I was feeling somewhat mojo-less this past week so I ended up signing up for Shimelles "Learn Something New Every Day" class which will begin on September 1st. Now September is going to be a busy month for me as I a will be settling in to a routine of going to work five days a week - the last time I did that was April 2005 so I am sure it will take some getting used to. Therefore I decided if I am going to do this Shimelle class AND of course play along with our Thirsty Thursday ABC project then I need to be super organised. This does NOT come naturally to me! I can organise retreats (with the help of my trusty spreadsheet) and I can organise the information and assessments for me class (again with my spreadsheet - do you see a pattern here?!) but organised scrapping.... not something I am famed for!

HOWEVER! I have sorted out my album format for Learn Something New Every Day (Henceforth to be referred to as LSNED as it is much shorter to type) I will be using an 8x6" portrait album which I will make and bind with the BIA. Each page will have a landscape 6x4" photo and a landscape 6x4" card for journaling, titling and embellishing.

I have precut my 30 6x4 cards from patterned paper and begun to add some basic bits and pieces to them. The idea being that I can pick up a card and add the relevant journaling and title plus a little additional embellishment if there is room for it and the time required each day will be minimal! The photos I will take and store on the computer in a folder and get them printed in a couple of batches. I don't print photos at home so printing out daily is not an option.

I have chosen the gorgeous Lost & Found Union Square range for my album and although there is not much on the cards I am really happy with how it is coming along. It is 10:30 and the light is too bad for a photo now but I will try and add one tomorrow of the cards I have made so far :)

The only problem is I want to start making an album with it RIGHT NOW!

Thirsty Thursday

2011-08-26T21:00:00.002+01:00

Grab yourself a glass,a cup, mug or bottle of something lovely and settle down as we introduce to you "Thirsty Thursdays". Start next week on September 1st, the month in which most children return to school, we are kick-starting our weekly thirst for knowledge inspiration. Imagine going back to school and re-learning your ABC only with a crafty twist. Starting with the first letter of the alphabet next week we will continue on through each of the 26 letters bring you a weekly post with inspiration, examples and ideas and we will be challenging you to create along with us.

Sound like fun? We are certainly excited about it and I'll be back here next Thursday with your first post for you and a link tool like those used during the cybercrop for you to share your creations with us. We hope you are looking forward to quenching your thirst with us! Nothing to prepare in advance, just a whole lot of crafting fun and inspiration which you may want to spread the word about!

Coming soon...

2011-08-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

...another little something up our sleeve for you starting on September 1st 2011 and then every Thursday thereafter.... anyone thirsty?

Noun 1. thirst for knowledge - curiosity that motivates investigation and study
desire to know, lust for learning
curiosity, wonder - a state in which you want to learn more about something

Quick and simple pages

2011-08-22T22:00:00.002+01:00

Do you ever get frustrated with how long it takes you to complete a layout? Many who know me would say I scrap fast, glue and stick without hesitation but this is not always the case. On occasions I labour over a page for what I am sure is far too long, and it's good to sometimes do a quick page with little thought required. Often sketches are good for this, gives you the basis of how to lay your papers, photo , title and journalling, but these Mix and Mend papers from Sassafras pretty much do most of the work for you. Take this paper for example and then my layout that follows.

I added a 6x6 piece of paper, a 6x4 photo and the decorative strip from the base of the paper. Added a title, placed my journalling on the preprinted lines and a small embellishment cluster in the form of a ticket/button and heart sticker.

This paper also required very little to be added to achieve a layout that looks like it took a lot longer to put together.

The papers are super summery colours and would be perfect for holiday photos too. And why not take some ideas on how the printed paper places the elements that make it up and use it to replicate the feel with your own paper choice? That is my challenge to myself for this week - I'll let you know how I get on.

Gone To The Island

2011-08-21T22:00:00.004+01:00

Right now we are in the Isle of Wight visiting relatives and the other night at home I was sifting through photos and wanted to scrap these photos from last years trip to the island.

As well as rifling through my photo box and finding photos I had forgotten about I also took the chance to look through some older papers which I had also forgotten about. I used Cosmo Cricket Be Happy papers for this layout which documents my childrens love of throwing money into wells for the less than altruistic motive of wish making!

Don't forget the little challenge Ann set you a few days ago...

Can I Be Kim With The Glasses?!

2011-08-20T22:21:00.004+01:00

Lately I have been thinking again about journaling and trying to write down the little stories, not just the big events.

With this in mind I set to work to scrap a little game that Olivia has been playing. The journaling takes up as much space as the photo so I have space to tell the story. It was also a bit of a departure for me as I was using a picture to illustrate the story that wasn't taken at the same time, something I have resisted doing in the past.

The photo was taken back in February before she even started nursery but I was inspired by THIS VIDEO by Shimelle Laine which about 6 minutes in talks about looking at objects or photos and them triggering lots of different ideas - this photo reminded me of her saying "Can I be Kim with the glasses?" and so I used it to scrap that story.

Retro Challenge

2011-08-18T23:10:00.003+01:00

I recently took part in an online crop which set several challenges, one of which was to scrapbook vintage photos. The use of any photo before 2011 whilst not vintage was deemed acceptable and I think my Christening photos from 1972 qualified! I used the original photos after I had scanned them into my computer. I did think about reproducing them, but then I would still have faced the dilemma of what to do with the originals so I decided they should be used and preserved indeed in my album, with their original pin holes from where they were once hung.

I used kraft cardstock as my background as this reminds me of old brown envelopes and went with the brown colour prominent in my photos without making it too dark and dreary. The blue paper was from Echo Park's "For the Record" collection as was the gramophone sticker. Other stickers came from Bo Bunny's "Timepiece" sticker sheet. I added a MME journalling card, again in a lighter kraft colour and Chatterbox Lush velvet stickers in red for a pop of colour on my page and to bring out the muted red in the Bo Bunny stickers. For someone who rarely scraps older photos I am quite pleased with the finished page.

So how about extending this challenge to our blog readers? Share with us your retro layout using retro products or scrapping an older photo and who knows, there may be a small prize in store.

Even more new goodies

2011-08-15T15:26:00.008+01:00

More new goodies continue to arrive in the store. Bo Bunny etcetera is a collection I can't wait to scrap with - take a look at these...

I also love the Welcome Home line too, especially the chipboard pieces - how nice is the picket fence?

There is also several other lines from Bo Bunny including an Autumnal range, Sweet Tooth and Garden girl, all within the New Products section of the website and there are plenty of matching bits and bobs including double dot cardstock packs to coordinate with each of the new collections.

Have you seen the new MME papers?

2011-08-10T11:52:00.008+01:00

I have just returned from a week away with the family and of course I have several (big understatement!) photos taken during our vacation begging to be scrapped. Of course there are plenty new papers ranges coming out at this time of year as well from the recent CHA show, so what to choose? Well I have always been a fan of My Minds Eye and like many people fell in love with their lost and found ranges last year.

They have done it again this year, releasing several Lost and Found 2 ranges and the Sunshine one (several papers of which arrived with me this morning!) is just stunning! Take a look at some of these papers, all of which are thick good quality craft papers with added sparkle to them ,just too delicious for words and far, far nicer in the flesh than any picture can portray.

And I also ordered these cute alphabet stickers, to go with a kit I have put together to teach at the Eclectic Keepsakes crop next month, which are from a new manufacturer called Authentique. You can see more from them in the store here.

I can't wait to get scrapping with my kit which includes three papers, a sheet of cardstock, the label stickers and the alphabet stickers, all for just over £5!

There are other ranges from MME lost and found as well, take a look at them all in our store by clicking on the links to each range - BLUSH - SUNSHINE - ROSY - BREEZE - CHRISTMAS

Travel & Holiday Photos To Scrap?

2011-08-04T22:33:00.004+01:00

With many people heading off for holidays and summer trips right now no doubt many of you will soon be scrapping travel photos.

At long last the Boarding Pass collection from October Afternoon which was released at winter CHA has arrived and is now on the site.

Take a look at the lovely stickers and papers from this collection. The colours and patterns are going to be so much fun to work with!

August Is Here

2011-08-01T03:57:00.003+01:00

Finally it is August and hopefully some nice weather will be on our way. I am suffering from serious withdrawal symptoms from some decent weather, this time in the past two years I have been on holiday enjoying lovely warm weather, it was 37 degrees on our hottest day on our cruise last summer, so really I don't think it is much to ask for at least some half decent temperatures this month!

Besides good weather August is also going to bring us BRAND NEW CHA RELEASE GOODIES! Keep an eye on the website today and the next couple of days as we have shipments due in. Admittedly one of them is carrying new CHA WINTER release from October Afternoon LOL but finally they shipped their remaining CHA-W11 line!

My Little Shoebox should be here soon along with a new manufacturer we are adding to our existing list of brands... Exciting times.

If you have arrived here via JimJams blog hop then you will probably have come here from Mary @ Mary's Musings and you now need to visit JimJams' blog to complete the hop. Jemma @ Just-Jimjams

On The Anniversary Theme

2011-07-31T13:53:00.005+01:00

Yesterday was my friends' party to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Lots of friends and family, lots of food and some music and dancing made for a fun afternoon and evening.

I had promised to take a cake which I baked on Saturday morning (apple sponge with toffee fudge frosting and fudge chunks) and it was only lunch time on Saturday when I realised I hadn't yet got a card. Anyway I sat down and got to work making my card raiding the scraps box and getting maximum use from my Stampin Up heart punches!

I hope they liked it, my Verve stamps got an outing too for the sentiment, it is the first time I have used them and I love them and *need* more.

Winning My Anniversary Giveaway Is....

2011-07-30T23:55:00.002+01:00

Comment number 10 was left by Antonia, a Victoria Gardens Echo Park collection kit is on it's way to you.

I will sort out the then and now (ish) photos as requested but have been very busy today at a friends 10th wedding anniversary party and am off tomorrow to (hopefully) sunny Norwich for a 2 night break with Darren and the girls, Bewilderwood and Africa Alive are beckoning so once again good weather vibes much appreciated!

Mels Anniversary Giveaway!

2011-07-27T22:55:00.003+01:00

So today is my 9th Wedding Anniversary and after a delicious meal out I have come home in a mood to share some happiness so it is "Giveaway Time!"

Leave a comment on this post before 6pm on Saturday 30th July and you will be entered into a draw (done with random dot org) to win an 12 x 12 collection pack...

Winner will be posted on Saturday night.

Inspired by Mel

2011-07-24T08:36:00.007+01:00

When I saw this post by Mel I remembered that I had the very same Bella Blvd paper (2 sheets brought for a project that was never started) and some Bo Bunny paper that I had also brought for the same project.

So, I was inspired to make a camping page of my own, documenting when Gracia went camping for the first time in her memory (we had been once before when she was 3 but that's another tale to tell).

She is not a camper by nature (too fond of home comforts) and this trip involved a lack of running water, electricity and having to use the toilet in the farm house. A baptism by fire into camping! She tolerated it because she was with her boyfriend's family, which meant she was with him, but didn't like the food, didn't like the cold, didn't like the wet and really didn't like sleeping outside at night - hence the reason I changed the 'I love the outdoors' square.

How about showing us something that has inspired you lately.

It's Here.....

2011-07-23T09:00:00.001+01:00

Remember I posted about the beautiful new Echo Park Victoria Gardens? Well it is here and just as lovely in the flesh!

Click HERE to see these little packs of loveliness :)

Gone Camping....

2011-07-22T16:31:00.002+01:00

An old layout today - not sure if I posted this before but this layout shows photos from our trip camping last year. There were 17 of us camping together and it was fun but very wet!

I am now leaving on the 2011 edition of our camping adventure - this time there are 32 of us! The tent is already pitched, we went this morning to get that sorted while Izzy was at school and have come home to fetch her and collect supplies.

Wish us luck.... (and good weather!)

Check Out The Special...

2011-07-21T23:08:00.002+01:00

Until Friday we are running a special on Bo Bunny Zoology papers. Click HERE to see reductions on this paper line. No need to add a discount code, it is already discounted from the price online.

Perfect for zoo trips, outdoors photos, wildlife photos and much more Bo Bunnys Zoology range is a big hit - I know I have hundred of photos from the Kilimanjaro Safari at Disneys Animal Kingdom Florida which will benefit from this fun range!

MLS - 3D Flowers....

2011-07-19T23:00:00.003+01:00

So last show we had the foldies from Sassafras and this show we have the My Little Shoebox die cut fold up 3D flowers. It seems everyone wants to encourage you to make your own floral embllishments and are offering to take a lot of the work out of it and give you a really simple to make but effective embellishment.

Now I have yet to see a constructed MLS 3D flower (and if you have please post a link in the comments section) but they looked interesting. This release MLS seem to have made a few subtle shifts in their ranges which will no doubt inject new energy into their products. I know that at least one of our retreat teachers is considering working with these products at the next retreat.

Since I last blogged several more orders have been placed. It is going to be busy busy busy in the stock rooms when this lot comes in!!!

My Little DT Gallery!

2011-07-15T19:00:00.000+01:00

Well actually I don't have anything of mine in the DT gallery this month because I am busy creating some more classes but the gallery this month features My Little Shoebox hence the post title!

Come on over, follow the gallery link to the July 2011 gallery and take a look at the layouts, cards and other projects the designers have created in the gallery and if it inspires you to recreate any of them you can find My Little Shoebox products HERE.

Everyone Loves Bubbles!

2011-07-13T22:50:00.004+01:00

Once again I have been back working on those layouts that needed finishing and this one features those long time favourites of children everywhere; bubbles!

This layout uses Echo Park Summer Days. I punched circular holes in my green background and then lifted the background off the white cardstock with foam pads. For each circular aperture I then punched a smaller patterned paper circle which was also mounted on foam pads and inset in the aperture to mimic the bubbles. The stickers are all part of the sheet included in the collection pack and the title uses Thickers.

If you like this collection it, along with all the other Echo Park collections and much much more besides is still available with a reduction in our Midsummer Madness sale. Just Click HERE to see the Summer Days collection and HERE to browse the store.

More Orders Placed!

2011-07-11T20:31:00.003+01:00

Having perused the offerings we are pleased to be expanding our paper ranges to include more manufacturers. We loved some of Glitz Designs new paper collections so as well as the new Teeny Alphabet designs we also ordered some paper collections and embellishments. Take a look at Beautiful Dreamer & Vintage Blue....

I can't wait for these, and a selection of the co-ordinating embellishments, to come in to us, so so pretty!

A Closer Look At 7 Gypsies Summer CHA 2011 Releases

2011-07-08T10:00:00.002+01:00

We are really excited to be able to share some of the samples we were shown during the 7 Gypsies webinar on Wednesday. We were asked not to post them until Friday as their second webinar was Thursday so it was only right that retailers attending that got "first look"

The Summer Release from 7 Gypsies includes two paper lines. Off The Wall features their typical grungey backgrounds but with street art inspired silhouettes as a strong feature of the designs. During their presentation they showed a selection of graffitti and street art photographs which had been their inspiration - from my perspective it looked like the main inspiration ended up being the stencilled silhouettes and also the idea of images which "speak" to people.

The second paper line is called Global and features maps which have been re-invented to suit 12x12 papers; taking the aesthetically pleasing qualities of vintage maps and making a few alterations to make them work as scrapbook papers.

The first layout shown using the Europe paper just grabbed me instantly. As long time blog readers know I took a long European cruise last summer and I am definitely going to recreate the layout below with a few tiny photos of us in the different destinations and the tacks and string showing the route!

See the hanging piece in this frame? They have released some adhesive hooks designed to adhere to the insides or edges of their trays allowing you to hang dimensional embellishments or bunting from them - very neat.

This was an additional example similar to the above but with an Australian theme. The words on both maps are stamped with their new alphabet stamp set featuring both upper and lower case letters which look great mixed up together!

I loved this little village one of the designers had made to showcase lots of the product. You can see some of the Off The Wall papers have been used - look for sulhouettes for example the girl on the house on the far right, the birds on the wire on the house in the front on the left etc...

You can also see a selection of their hardware old and new, some rub on and stamped images and rooftops of the houses are made from their book covers. Love it!

This mixed media panel gives you a closer look at some of the items - the alphabet stamps, the top section is part of an Off The Wall paper and the silhouette is also cut from Off The Wall papers. The cute ruler along the bottom is also part of the new release - there are a selection of 6 inch rulers in light weight but sturdy real wood available. Some designs are "school rulers" and the numbers run horizontally and some are "surveyor rulers" (like the one below) and the numbers are right way up when the ruler is held vertically.

I LOVE the next item I am showing you. The 7 Gypsies Printers Tray and Letterpress Tray have been popular but they are definitely a larger purchase. Let me introduce you to the Solo Shadowbox... It will probably retail at around £10 so quite a bit less than the other trays. It's overall dimensions are a little over 6"x6" and that large aperture is sized to fit a 6x4" photo exactly with three 2" square apertures along side it (you can orientate the frame in which ever way you wish) It is also nice and deep so as you can see it can hold the apothecary bottles (or the new apothecary domes which they are releasing) or accommodate the hooks shown in the larger frames above.

The last thing I wanted to show you for now was this mixed media collage which uses several of the new product. The popular collage tissue line from their last release has some new designs (I am in love with the frames - not shown here sadly) In addition there are some fabulous new colour rubbings. The butterflies on this panel are rub ons and you can see from the image how strong the colours are and how well they rub on, even on to uneven surfaces like the crinkled tissue background on this panel. As well as paper the rub ons also work on the little bottles and domes - one of the sets of rub ons features gorgeous little labels which look amazing when applied to miniature bottles!

I hope you have enjoyed this peek at some of the new 7 Gypsies products. Please note that all projects are credited to the 7 Gypsies designers and were posted here with full permission.

Keep an eye out for more info including their new "Look Book" with further ideas and images.

*~*~*Edit - The Summer CHA 2011 7 Gypsies Look Book can be viewed HERE*~*~*

Product Spotlight: 7 Gypsies Mykonos

2011-07-07T20:04:00.002+01:00

Well a little later than I should be but here is the layout I made with the Mykonos papers. I really enjoyed working with them and have uploaded my layout to the Play Along With Scrap Factor gallery on UKS as believe it or not there are only 3 patterned papers on this layout (the challenge at the moment is called 1-2-3 and requires one sheet of black cardstock for the background, 2 photos and 3 patterned papers)

I also used some co-ordinating cardstock, stickers including Echo Park For The Record and some really old Jenni Bowlin Lil Davis stickers, thickers, Basic Grey letter stickers, My little shoebox alphabet & punched embellishments.

I've got loads left so will probably knock out some cards with the rest so at some point they will be uploaded too!

7 Gypsies Webinar...

2011-07-06T11:45:00.001+01:00

This evening we "attended" the 7 Gypsies Webinar where retailers could view a presentation of the new 7 Gypsies products which they are releasing for Summer CHA. We have been told that on Friday we can post images of the products and designer samples along with a "Look Book" full of ideas which also includes a little look at the evolution of the papers through the design process. We found the presentation really interesting and we won a little giveaway which was great!

Come back on Friday and I will get as many images and details on as I can - needless to say there is lots of great stuff including several *really* fab bits which we know you will love.

Our order was placed within a couple of hours of the end of the webinar so we should be able to show you on Friday a lot of the things we actually ordered.

On another ordering front we have sent off our order to Bo Bunny and I am really excited about that too. I love it when we are ordering new stuff - not great for the bank balance but guarenteed to get the creative ideas flowing!

Oh dear...

2011-07-05T22:54:00.003+01:00

... I feel a stash splurge coming on! If you ask me my all time favourite line of papers it would probably be My Minds Eye Lost & Found. So so pretty and very useable....

So their CHA release is............. Lost & Found 2 (featuring 4 sub categories as before) and then a Lost & Found Christmas line! I have added a few snippets here but there is lots of course (My Minds Eye always seem to have enormous ranges with millions of sub categories and mini collections within each range!

Being a Mum of two girls I am loving the Lost & Found2: Blush but the other colour combos are also really rather good too!

L&F2: Blush

L&F2: Breeze

Here are a few bits from the L&F Christmas line...

A Bit More Bo Bunny...

2011-07-04T22:44:00.002+01:00

The remaining two non Christmas collections are below - first up is Forever Fall with lots of lovely warm tones.

This is the Garden Girl Collection:

So that is the 5 non Christmas lines, which are your favourites? This is your chance to influence what arrives on the shelves!

I haven't forgotten the Mykonos but I haven't quite finished sticking that down or photographed it so I will take a rain check on that and try to get it posted tomorrow.

Those Bo Bunny Pictures...

2011-07-03T23:03:00.005+01:00

First up here are a couple of pieces from the Welcome Home line - the soft colours and elegant designs make it a winner for me.

Next up here are a couple of pieces from Et Cetera - For me this is a very successful dabble in the style of collagey, collected ephemera designs who remind me of 7 Gypsies and Graphic 45 but I like Bo Bunnys take on it very much.

Finally (for today) we have Sweet Tooth. In contrast to the other two I have shown it has a much bolder colour palette with pinks and blues but with the addition of a kraft colour which calms it down and balances the whole thing out a little. I really like the little Apron Mini Edgy Album and you can be sure they will make their way on to our order!

Of course as i mentioned before they are also releasing four further lines including two Christmas ones. I will try to get some more images up. Feedback on the three shown so far very welcome in the comments section which remains unmoderated - no major spam incidents so far so we will trial leaving them unmoderated for a while longer.

It's A Tough Job...

2011-07-02T23:54:00.002+01:00

... But someone has to do it.

I got in from taking the kids to town with Darren and was greeted by Mum brandishing a catalogue. Held inside were details of the Bo Bunny Summer CHA release and the accompanying order forms.

I don't have pictures yet to go on the blog but let me say I am completely in love with Et Cetera and Welcome Home! In total there are 5 new regular lines plus 2 Christmas lines. Now to choose what we want to order.....

I will see if I can (and am allowed to) get some peeks up here and you can give your feedback on it. There is a gorgeous apron shaped edgy album with one of the lines and I am seriously coveting the ruffled apron they have available as a retailers incentive for orders over a certain value - the products are so lovely it will be easy to spend the required amount but I *need* that apron so it is a nailed on cert!

Pictures to follow when I can - blogger is not playing nicely so I can't even load up any other picture to go with the post :(

My Weekend Ahead...

2011-06-30T23:00:00.003+01:00

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

Final Cyber Crop Prize Winners

2011-06-27T21:50:00.002+01:00

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...

2011-06-27T06:47:00.003+01:00

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!

No scrapping for me this weekend....

2011-06-26T23:08:00.002+01:00

... 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 :)

Scraplift Challenge Winner

2011-06-25T12:00:00.001+01:00

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!

Between The Lines Challenge Winner

2011-06-24T23:30:00.001+01:00

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!

Sketch Challenge Winner

2011-06-23T21:00:00.000+01:00

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.

Share The Love Challenge Winner

2011-06-22T22:26:00.003+01:00

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

2011-06-22T16:11:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-22T11:33:00.004+01:00

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.