Friday 30 December 2011

Grab Bags & Boxes!!

We have been sorting through our 12" x 12" papers and bazzill cardstock to make room for new goodies coming.

I've made up some grab bags & boxes and started uploading them to the website at bargain prices!



Bazzill Grab Bag
 I'll be adding some more over the next few days so keep checking!!

Limited numbers of each bag!

Watch out for "The Big Grab Box"!! You'll want to grab one fast!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Monday 26 December 2011

10% Off Everything!!!

I hope you've had a fabulous Christmas and Santa treated you well!!

There are still lots of bargains to be had in our Winter Sale and now there is 10 % off absolutely everything in the shop!!

 Enter the code CHRISTMAS in the discount box!!
Code valid until 11pm 29th December!!

Yes, that's another 10% off the sale prices too!!!

What are you waiting for??? 


We will start processing and dispatching orders from 28th Dec onwards! Orders will be dispatched in strict order received so please bear with us during this busy time!

Friday 23 December 2011

MME Kraft Funday & Happy Christmas

Yay, I finally found some time today to upload the gorgeous My Minds Eye Kraft Funday, Happy Days Collection to the website. Check it out here!

I love these little garlands so much!

MME ~ Kraft Funday ~ Happy Days Garland

I've also made further reductions and added more goodies to the Winter Sale!  Don't miss out because lots of the sale items are "when it's gone, it's gone" and won't be restocked!

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a big thank you for all your support this year!

Sunday 4 December 2011

Winter Sale!!

Our Winter Sale has Started Today!!

Click HERE to browse and shop for bargains!!

Included in the sale is MME 12 Days of Christmas and Echo Park!!


MME ~ 12 Days of Christmas ~ Deck the Halls (D112)
My Minds Eye 

Echo Park ~ Times & Seasons ~ Trinkets (TS22009)
Echo Park
       
Orders by e mail or telephone are fine and of course local collection can be arranged, as usual!!

Hope you find a bargain or two!!




Tuesday 29 November 2011

Summer's End Mini Kit ~ On Sale Now!!

The first of our mini kits is now on sale!!

***  Grab yours here!  ***



The kit is full of gorgeous papers and embellishments from the Fancy Pants Summer's End collection and I've matched it with some little blue buttons and flowers. The kit is available with a pack of Thickers letters for £11.50 or if you really want to keep it even more affordable choose the kit without Thickers for just £6.95!! Bargain!!

So, inspired by this layout by DT member Louise (who in turn took her inspiration from this layout by Tessa!) I came up with a page using the kit.


Sorry about that awful reflection on the photo .... there is virtually no decent daylight here these days! I will get a better photo and upload it!

I left plenty of white space on this page and clusters of embellishments!. All the edges have been inked with a brushed corduroy distress ink pad . The only extra bits I added that are not in the kit are the little number stickers (for the year) and the blue gems.


The kit will contain a selection of embellishments, buttons and flowers but actual designs, sizes and colours may vary slightly from thoise shown here!

If you create a layout inspired by Louise or Tessa's use of white space or made with the kit please do leave a comment on this post with a link!

Saturday 26 November 2011

Mini Kit Sneaks!!

As you may recall a couple of weeks ago we launched our monthly kits and the first kit sold out within a couple of days of it's release.

The response has been fantastic ....
"affordable kits with patterned papers and embellishments already co ordinated for me, with no tie in to a subscription" 

.... "so I can just sit down and make my layouts without worrying about finding co-ordinating embellishments!"

So, with these comments in mind we have put together not one, but two mini kits, the first of which goes on sale early next week!!

So do you want a sneak of what is in the first mini kit??


The kit contains 5 patterned papers (12" x 12"), a sticker sheet, a selection of matching embellishments (designs may vary from those shown) which are a lovely heavyweight paper, a selection of flowers and buttons (shades of blue and sizes may vary to those shown) and is available with or without a pack of Thickers letters in chestnut.

Mini Kit 1 without Thickers ... £6.95
Mini Kit 1 with Thickers ... £11.50


And a little peak at a sample layout made with the kit!

Mini Kit 1 goes on sale early next week and is limited in numbers!!

Thursday 24 November 2011

Echo Park Cards

Remember the layouts on this post by Design Team member Louise .... the other day she sent me some pics of some cards she made with the scraps left over from the November Kit so I thought I would share them with you.


This card was made for a male 15th birthday!
The colours of the Echo Park Times and Seasons Papers is perfect for male cards and layouts.




Using the car from the elements sticker sheet Louise has made this fab card for a friend who has recently passed his driving test.

I've been adding a few new products to the shop this week including some American Crafts D Ring albums, Jenni Bowlin paint dabbers and MME Lost and Found Two. See all the new products here!

Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads have also been restocked here!!

I'll be back soon to show you some sneak peeks of some page kits I'm putting together!

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday 18 November 2011

A Trip Back Home Layout

This is going to be a quick post as I'm getting boxes packed up ready for the Open Day tomorrow! A delivery of new stock landed today as well so it's been busy, busy here!!

It is very rare that I get a photo of my hubby - he is a little camera shy to say the least and any photos I do get are usually with H in the shot too! I love this one taken whilst on a trip to visit family!


The main supplies are Echo Park with some Thickers letters, grosgrain ribbon and gems to finish.

Although a fairly simple, graphic design there is lots of texture with the felt letters, glitter chipboard letters, ribbon, gems and some of the stickers are layered up to give some dimension.



This is the page the class at the Open Day will be based on but you will be able to change the colours and papers to suit your photographs if you wish.

Have a fab evening!

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Free MME Chipboard!!

I'm loving seeing all the amazing Christmas Crafting popping up all around blogland!!

Would you like a free gift to help you with your Christmas creativity??  Yes??!! S J Crafts have a very special offer this week ... call it an early Christmas gift!! 

All you have to do is spend £25 in the shop in one transaction between now and 11pm on Friday evening (18th November) AND enter FREECHIP in the discount code box and we will send you a My Minds Eye 12 Days of Christmas chipboard sheet  (worth £4.95) with your order absolutely free!!!

MME ~ 12 Days of Christmas ~ Chipboard Accessories (D101)
Offer only available for UK Delivery and whilst stocks of the free gift last (although we have plenty ready!!)

Check out the DT projects using this chipboard here and here and also here!!

Happy Shopping!


Monday 14 November 2011

November Echo Park Kit Layouts ~ By Louise

Today's post is brought to you by Design Team member Louise with two very different layouts created using the new November kit.
Louise says:
The kit really is full of great papers and with the sticker sheet, alphas and the journalling cards, there is plenty of choice. The papers are gorgeous on both sides so the biggest decision was which side to use. I love patterned papers......and some of them were very busy patterns!! It's funny as I thought on first sight that I would use the plainer patterned sides......but the bolder sides kept calling me!
This first layout I based around the moustache stickers and used photos of my three boys and my nephew where they were playing around with Keith Lemons mouthboard, a download application on the phone!! Rest assured the boys have no idea who Keith Lemon is!!

For the second layout I chose a photo of my great grandmother and grandfather - I have had him on my mind this week......there is a very sad story to go with this layout. My great grandfather died in WW1 at the Battle of Somme, left behind his two daughters (shown in the photo) and his pregnant wife. My grandmother was born one month after he died. Last weekend I found myself explaining to the boys that my great grandfather (and lots of others) is the reason we wear poppies and have a two minute silence to remember them all.
For this layout I added a doilie and used some AC brads and two pins. It is a very full kit and there is plenty leftover to make another layout or some cards.................a job for this weekend hopefully!!
***   ***   ***
Two fab layouts!! You can see more of Louise's scrapbooking or maybe join her on her photography challenge here.
If you want to grab yourself a kit pop over to here or you can buy the Echo Park papers individually here!

* November kit is now sold out!! *
* Watch out for our December kit coming soon! *
Thanks for stopping by!

Friday 11 November 2011

Times and Seasons November Kit Layout!

As I mentioned in my last post I have been asked by lots of customers if I could sell kits in my shop that are affordable and available without having to take a subscription. So, as I always like to try and help I have been busy selecting some lovely products to create the very first S J Crafts Monthly Kit which went on sale here earlier today and is already flying off the shelves!


The kit is packed with Echo Park's gorgeous Times & Seasons Papers and matching stickers and alphabet, kraft bazzill cardstock, along with some Tim Holtz tickets, brads and ribbons, all for just £12.99!!

Other sides of papers and close up of stickers!

This is the layout I made with the kit, the only extra thing I added that's not included was some blue shimmer mist to the background and I inked the edges of the papers with brushed corduroy distress ink.


Sorry about the flash reflection! I took the photo early this morning!
I cut the flowers from the trinkets paper and layered it up with stickers and a little brown brad. The swirl trim is fab as it is self adhesive so no need to mess around with adhesive, just peel the backing off!!

The kit is limited in numbers and available here!!

Have a fabulous evening!

Monthly Kits launch Today!!!

You have been asking for them, so now we have them!! I am very excited to be able to tell you that today sees the launch our very first S J Crafts Monthly Kit!!


Our November kit is now on sale here and is packed with gorgeous Echo Park Papers, alphas, stickers and co ordinating embellishments and ribbons!

The contents are worth £15 but the kit is available now for the special price of just £12.99!!

Limited in numbers so don't miss out!

I'll pop back later to show you the layout I've made with the kit!

Friday 4 November 2011

Christmas Decorations

Did you know it's only 50 more days until Christmas?

So, with Christmas just around the corner we thought it was time to turn our thoughts to making some cute decorations!!




Design Team member, Jennifer has made these really lovely tree decorations and made a video tutorial with instructions on how to make them!



Jennifer used the My Minds Eye 12 days of Christmas collection.

I am going to have a go at making a few of these to hang on our tree this year!

You can see more of Jennifers fabulous work on her blog here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday 3 November 2011

10% off Crate and Echo Park!!

Apologies for my absence from blogland and for the absence of our weekly offer last week!! I slightly reduced my working hours during half term to spend a bit of quality time with my daughter and then I caught a nasty cold!!  Thankfully we are pretty much back to normal now and to try to make up for no special offer last week we have something good for you this week!!!

10% OFF CRATE and ECHO PARK!!!

So, if you have had your eye on the gorgeous Times and Seasons
by Echo Park or Crate's vintage inspired Random Collection now is the time to treat yourself and get 10% off!!

Enter the code ECHOCRATE in the coupon/code box to activate the discount!

Offer valid from NOW until 11pm Wed 9th November and for UK delivery only.

Click here
to go shopping!

P & P free on £15 (or more!) orders!!

Monday 24 October 2011

12 Days of Christmas Projects ~ By Jennifer

Design Team member Jennifer has been working on some projects with the gorgeous MME 12 days of Christmas products.
You can see the collection here! and Jennifer's blog is here!


Jennifer explains how her layout came togther:
I printed my photos at home so they were the size I wanted (approx 3.5” x 5”), but you could trim down some 4”x6” photos to fit. I matted the photos onto a 10” x 6.5” piece of  seasons greetings paper, and then adhered this to the Bazzill Basics ‘Quick Sand’ cardstock (which I had machine stitched a border on).
The rest of the layout was built around this. I love the chipboard accessories - they make it so easy to give dimension to the layout and to bring it all together! I had to have the fabulous banner across the top of the page, and I wanted to repeat this with a flag under one of the photos. I made the flag with a bit of ‘b’ side of the ‘Seasons Greetings’ paper that had been left over – the great thing about ‘b’ sides is that you always know they’ll co-ordinate with your page. I made the flag pole with a bit of the chipboard sheet – part of the negative area around the shapes – I just cut a rectangle from it with scissors and inked the edge with a blue ink pad. I added a title with some Jenni Bowlin chalkboard stickers.
I had fun decorating my tree with the twine and a rhinestone from the pack of trims. The Chipboard Accessories are sticky on the back so the twine was easily held in place when I wound it round.  
Close Up of tree with twine! 
Other Supplies: Bazzil ‘Quick Sand’ Cardstock, Studio G stamps (alphas and swirl), ‘Funky Heart’ Punch, Uniball White Gel Pen, Sakura Gelly Roll Black Sparkle Pen, Brilliance ‘Moonlight White’ Dew Drop Ink Pad, Light Blue Ink It Up ink pad, White Cotton

I added some silver glitter glue along the green ric rac  – this was a happy accident!! I used the wrong adhesive (wet glue instead of tape) on the ric-rac and it showed through, so I had to cover it up with something – I went for glitter glue. I’m only telling you so you know you don’t have to give up on projects if something goes a little wrong, I’m glad it did as I like the addition of the glitter!

The strip on the bottom right is actually the barcode strip on the Seasons Greetings paper – don’t forget to keep hold of these little strips as they are great for adding a little extra detail.
I love how the MME 12 Days of Christmas is so bright and goes so well with my daughter’s personality and outfits! 

Christmas Cards
I used to be amazed when I saw people making cards with patterned papers and big chipboard elements – I loved how they looked but thought ‘how can they afford that?’ Then I realised that you only need to use one big, or a couple of small, chipboard elements per card and you can get a couple of cards out of each 12x12 sheet. I’ve worked out these cards cost less than £1.50 each to make, which is much cheaper than a nice card like this would be in the shops. As long as I use up all the elements of chipboard, then they are cost-effective and so quick to make!

Happy Holidays Card


Supplies:
MME 12 Days of Christmas ‘Tinsel’ Paper, Chipboard Accessories, Trims, and Rhinestones.
Lace trim
White Cotton


Techniques:
I cut the ‘Tinsel’ paper down to make an A6 card. This paper was great for a card as the ‘b’ side is almost plain red (very faint pattern) – if you use a paper with a busy pattern on the ‘b’ side you will also need to line the card to give yourself somewhere to write!
I used some pom-pom trim around the edge of the circular ‘happy holidays’ greeting from the chipboard accessories sheet. It was easy to do this because the Chipboard is sticky-backed, and I only had to add a little extra adhesive to the pom-pom edging when adhering the circle to my card.
I added a strip of a scrap bit of the ‘b’ side under my lace trim so that my line of rhinestones would stand out from the background. The lace trim is machine-stitched onto the card, and I used a little bit of Mod-Podge on the ends of the lace to stop it fraying (PVA glue would probably work for this too if you don’t have Mod-Podge).


Seasons Greetings Card
Supplies:
 
Bazzil Basics ‘Blue Calypso’ Cardstock
MME 12 Days of Christmas ‘Seasons Greetings’ Paper,  Chipboard Accessories, Trims, and Rhinestones.
Anita’s Outline Stickers
Scraps of cream and red card
Uniball White Gel Pen


Techniques:

I used a sheet of Bazzil Basics ‘Blue Calypso’ cut in half to make a 6” square card.
The seasons greetings paper was perfect for cutting into a candy cane shape. I drew the shape in pencil on the back and cut it out. I also thought the line of swirly circles on the chipboard accessories sheet went well with it as they looked a bit like sweets, so I cut the strip to size and added rhinestones to the centres.
The ric-rac and doodled scallops around the card edge both add to the whimsical feel, making the card feel like something that could have been posted from Santa’s workshop!
I hope you have enjoyed these christmas projects and don't forget if you make anything inspired by my projects please do leave a comment so we can come and see too.


Thursday 20 October 2011

This Week's Special Offer!!

Hi Everyone!

As many of you will know, at S J Crafts we have a weekly offer which usually goes live on Thursdays and so this week's Special Offer is now up & running!!

£1.00 off all 6" x 6" Paper Pads!
Enter code PADOFFER in the coupon box to receive the discount.

Offer is valid for up to 4 pads per customer and until 11pm Wednesday 26th Oct or until stocks last, sorry UK delivery only!
 
 
                     My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two 6" x 6" Paper Pad ~ Breeze       Crate Paper ~ Random Collection ~ 6" X 6" Paper Pad
 
Maybe you will choose MME Lost & Found or Crate Random or one of the others!!
 
Click HERE to browse all the 6" x 6" Pads!
 
Have a fabulous Thursday! x
 

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Sand Between Her Toes

In my previous post I shared Lisa-Janes layouts made with MME's 12 Days of Christmas collection and today I want to show you how versatile this collection is especially if you use the b sides of the same papers. It's easy to think Christmas collections can only be used with your christmas photographs but hopefully this post will demonstrate that they can be used all year round!


I love this beach themed layout, such a cute photo and a great design for using up your scraps of paper.

Lisa-Jane trimmed the MME papers to squares, rounded the corners, inked the edges and adhered them in a grid pattern. A chipboard frame cut into two, backed with a piece of coordinating paper and  positioned in the two opposite corners going off the edge of the page balances the page. 


Other supplies: MME green ribbon, chalkboard stickers, other letters, flowers and stickers from Lisa-Jane's own stash.

Time for a quick shop update:
There have been quite a few deliveries of gorgeous new stock over the last few days!! I've uploaded the beautiful Echo Park Times & Seasons which is already flying off the shelves! Today I hope to get the Martha Stewart punches on as well as restocks of essentials including kraft cardstock and the ever popular glossy accents!

Sorry, there hasn't been a special offer this week ... there will be one this Thursday ... I promise!!

Saturday 15 October 2011

Scrapping with MME 12 Days!!

Do you still have photos from last Christmas or even from years before that that you have never got around to scrapbooking?  I'm guessing the answer is probably Yes!!

When I sent Lisa-Jane some of the new MME 12 Days of Christmas collection to play with she jumped at the opportunity to pull out some photos taken at Christmas time and get them scrapped. Today I'd like to share with you her fabulous layouts.

Layout 1 : Bauble Fun


 

 Lisa Jane says ...

"I'm usually a traditionalist when it comes to colours for Christmas themed projects but I loved the colours in 12 Days of Christmas  because they are bright and modern. It was a great change! 


The bobble trim is lovely and great for adding dimension and texture. I used a frame from the chipboard sheet with  a scrap of notepaper behind to make a journalling spot.


The baubles are also from the chipboard sheet and the twine from the pack of trims.  I added one of my favourite rosette flowers. You get so much chipboard on the sheet that it can be used for absolutely loads of layouts and cards! I inked everything with vintage photo distress ink.

Other supplies & tools: Christmas Tree punch, Martha Stewart Starburst punch, MME letters. 

Layout 2: What's Under The Tree?


The photos on this layout are a bit blurry but I love them and the photos are what its about for me. I used the Wrap It Up paper as my background and layered up the other papers on top. MME is such a good weight paper it is good as a base too. I added some of the chipboard elements and a couple of strips of green trim to add some interest and texture.


I wanted the layout to be really blingy and sparkly and fun like the photos so I used lots of rhinestones and some glittery letter stickers but I still wanted more sparkle so I added some stickles to the chipboard letters too."


Two lovely, festive layouts by Lisa-Jane but she also made a non-christmassy layout to show you how versatile the collection is!!

I'll be back soon to show you her 3rd page!

 You can see more of Lisa- Jane's crafting over on her blog here!

We hope this post has made you want to dig out the photos you took last christmas (or from years gone by!!) and scrap them! I'd love to see your Christmas layouts, leave a comment so I can stop by your blog/photo gallery and see!!

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Celebrate with 15% off!!

We are celebrating our first week as a new sponsor over on UK Scrappers.

To get a 15% discount off your total order enter the code UKSOCT in the discount code box in the shopping basket!

Hurry as this offer is only valid until 11pm on Wednesday 12th October and is for UK delivery only.

Don't forget P & P is free when you spend over £15!

Click
HERE to go shopping now!

Saturday 8 October 2011

Uk Scrappers!!!

I am very excited to be able to announce that S J Crafts are now a sponsor of UK Scrappers!


 UK Scrappers is a fantastic on line crafting community full of inspiration and ideas and a chance to communicate with others who share your love of crafting! If you've never visited them pop over there now!

I'll be back with a special offer very soon to celebrate our new sponsorship, but in the meantime don't forget this week's Thursday offer on stickles!!
 ~ Buy one get one half price!! ~ Details here! ~

Have a great weekend!

Thursday 6 October 2011

This Week's Special Offer

XMAS RED Stickles
It's Thursday so that means it's our new weekly special offer!!

This week's offer is :

Buy one stickles and get another half price!!

Stickles are perfect for adding a little sparkle to all your Christmas projects!

Enter code STICKLESHALF in the coupon code box for the discount to be automatically applied!

This offer is valid up until 11pm on Wed 12th October or until stocks last.
Limited to 3 half price stickles per customer, so thats a total of 6 stickles!! UK delivery only!

Click here to browse and buy stickles.

We have new offers each Thursday, but sometimes I like to surprise you with a few extras popping up every now and then.
Want to be one of the first to know about our offers?
Why not join our facebook page as offers and new stock are usually posted on there first!

Have a great evening!

Wednesday 5 October 2011

More Crate .... from the leftovers!!!

Are you the type of scrapper who carefully tidies up after each layout before starting on the next page or do you see what else you can make from the bits of paper and embellishments left on your craft table?

 This evening I want to share with you Jo's second layout which shows how easy it is to make a second layout just by using up whatever is left on your desk.


Jo used strips from the offcuts of the curtains and pattern papers that were used on the first page to create a matt for her photograph.


Next, a few carefully selected chipboard pieces ~ again from the same chipboard sheet as used on the previous layout create the title and some Crate stickers and chipboard accents are layered up to give dimension. Some of the stickers can be cut and just use half (another way to make your stash go further!). I love how Jo has clustered her embellishments to the top right of her page to balance the little "stinkin' cute" sticker on the photo.

If you feel inspired to use up whatever is laying on your desk next time you scrap, why not leave a comment here as I'd love to come and see!

Crate Random Collection ~ By Jo

Today I'd like to share with you the first of the layouts created by Design Team member Jo using  Crate Paper's Random collection.

I am delighted to have Jo on our new Design Team and 'm sure you'll agree she has done a fantastic job with her first box of DT stash!

I love this "Sweet and Adorable" layout ~ just look at that cute smile!
The photo didn't actually have a lot of colour in it but by layering up the patterned papers Jo has added lots of colour and fun to the page.



The chipboard accents add lots of dimension and interest and make a handy title too!

Jo said "I used plenty of the chipboard die cuts on this page, layering them up. The amount of chipboard die cuts on the sheet make them excellent value!"


All the edges have been inked with distress ink, a great technique for bringing the different elements of a layout together.



Jenni Bowlin tiny alpha stickers add the details of the photograph.

I'll be back later to show you Jo's 2nd page but in the meantime if you want to see more of her amazing work, pop over to her blog.