Heart - One Little Word for 2014!!

Hi there, its Lisa-Jane here today to share with you some of my One Little Word project. 

"One Little Word" is a workshop run by Ali Edwards which you can read more about here but basically it's about choosing a word to guide you through the year. Maybe instead of a list of resolutions that will probably be broken and then forgotten all about. There are other ways of combining your resolutions or intentions for the year with creative projects such as making a mini book of resolutions or document your thoughts for the year ahead on a layout,  but I've chosen this method as I also want to record my fortieth year over several layouts and focusing on my word will help me make some changes this year.

This year my word is heart.  

... I want to follow my heart 

... and love what I do and do what I love.  

... I want to love what I have.  

In other words, there are things that I've been neglecting or avoiding and I just have to look after those things (myself and my family) and do the things we all have to do (dreaded housework etc) with love rather than moaning about it.  I'll let you know if it works!

I wanted to have a strong colour scheme for this year long project to inspire me and give me energy in my supplies.  I wanted something with red in it too because I knew I would be using lots of love and heart motifs.  When I saw the Simple Stories Daily Grind collection it was literally an "Aha, that's it!" moment and I may have had to fan myself!!  Its funky, bold and upbeat with lots of references to days and months and the little things that we do regularly.

My project is going to be housed in a section of my normal 12x12 album so I wanted a striking title page.

The dark brown woodgrain Simple Stories paper with the printed elements in the corner was perfect for a one photo layout where I didn't actually want to journal very much.  That all comes later!  I also bought the ephemera pack, the Snap cards and the chipboard stickers to complement the project. All currently available in the shop right here! Working with all the coordinating papers and accessories like this really helps with making your supplies together, especially for a project that I will be dipping into all year.  It also make for speedy scrapping which is always a bonus in my book.

The little alpha stickers I've used for my title are in the collection pack and I've just added a few white Thickers for a bit more dimension.

I'm using one of Ali Edwards's printables to record my thoughts and intentions and attached it to my background and added a few embellishments.  A lot of the project will be in pocket page protectors but as this page is the reverse of the title page, I wanted to make it work on a standard 12x12.

The red background cardstock is the reverse of the title page piece and I matted the "Intentions" sheet onto green cardstock to help it stand out a bit from the busy speech bubbles patterned paper. 

I'm really enjoying using these colourful papers and embellishments and I've already started working on my next pocket page with some definitions and quotes about my word for the year.

Using a collection that you really, really love is important for an ongoing project because it keeps you inspired and makes you WANT to keep using it and recording your journey with it.  I'm sure I will still love using it by the end of the year too.  

You can read more about my One Little Word journey throughout the year on my blog.

How about you?  Are you scrapping your intentions for the year?  How are you getting on with your New Year's Resolutions?  Whatever your plans, I hope 2014 is a great year for you all!

Lisa-Jane

Introducing TWO New Design Team Members!!

You may recall towards the end of last year I put out a Design Team call.

The response was fantastic and I'd like to thank everyone who applied. There were so many talented Scrapbookers and it was so tough choosing but in the end after much consideration I finally came to a decision and today I'm excited to introduce you to the two talented ladies who will be joining the S J Crafts team for an initial 3 month term, and possibly longer!

So, first up please meet:

Annie Claxton

Hi there, my name is Annie and I’m chuffed to bits to be joining the SJ Crafts Design Team.

I live in a tiny cottage in Norfolk with my husband. I have two sons, a stepdaughter and two step-grandchildren who provide me with a constant source of photos for my scrapbooks.

Scrapbooking is my passion, but I also enjoy all sorts of other arts and crafts such as crochet, bead-making and drawing, and I love incorporating these into my pages. I make cards, tags and mini books too, and more recently I've been experimenting with art journals, smash books and "off-the-page" projects.

"Laugh, Love, Learn, Live" by Annie Claxton

My scrapping style is constantly evolving, but at the moment I love combining bright colours, layering patterns and using lots of contrasting textures to make fun pages like the example above which you can see more of here!. 

I often use recycled and found items and really enjoy creating unique homemade embellishments.

All my crafty ideas and endeavours are recorded on my blog, ArtyFartyAnnie along with a sprinkling of everyday life – I'd love you to pop over and say hello. 

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And please meet our 2nd new DT member:

Jemma Sharrock

 Hello!  I’m Jemma and scrapbooking has been a passion of mine since 2006 when I went to an all-day "crop-in-a-shop" in Holland, raided my Dutch friend’s stash and then discovered the UKScrappers community.  My scrap-subjects are the family, our holidays and milestones and occasional randomness for my BOM (Book of Me).  While I wait for our kids (two boys and a girl) to find partners and produce grandchildren, I have to raid our photo-archives to scrap babies and toddlers.

"Around The World" By Jemma

My other hobbies include reading, vegetable gardening, sewing, the theatre and geocaching ... it's a good job that I only work part-time.
I have a blog - "Just Jimjams" where I post stories and layouts about our adventures in Cheshire (where we now live) and elsewhere.  While the mathematician in me likes clean and simple rather than messy and inky, my inner-crafter loves to hand-make embellishments and titles and sew on my pages. I’m really honoured to be joining the S J Crafts design team and can’t wait to get started!

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So, a huge welcome to Jemma and Annie as they join the existing Design Team of Jennifer, Louise, Lisa-jane and Jenny who are all staying on for 2014!

You will see more of their work right here very soon but in the meantime please do pop over to their blogs and say Hi!!

I Believe We Can Make Magic!

Hello everyone, Jennifer here today to show you a layout using rub-ons to alter chipboard stickers and alphas coloured with pen... magic in scrapbooking as well as in my photo!

At the start of each year I like to think about things I believe in or that I'm wishing for, to keep in mind throughout the year. I have a firm belief that magic is real... perhaps not the wizarding kind, but certainly the magic we can make in moments small or large, when something makes us smile and we know the moment will be remembered forever...

I Believe We Can Make Magic:

This moment is certainly one to hold on to - I was so impressed with how many people put on Disney costumes to help me and my little sister celebrate at our joint birthday party ... I grinned all night long!

The letters that spell 'believe' are some Prima White Canvas Alphas, which I coloured with a Sakura Gelly Roll Pen to make them aqua. You can also use Sharpies to colour the alphas. Just make sure you leave the letters to dry thoroughly before you touch them again or you'll get inky fingers!

I used some Jenni Bowlin Doilies Rub Ons and Tiny Trims Rub Ons to add some extra pattern to the background ledger paper:

You can also use them to add details to chipboard stickers, like I've done here by adding some Tiny Trims to a camera from the Simple Stories Daily Grind Chipboard Stickers:

And I added some more trim to this black label-style sticker from the My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio Chipboard Elements:

The rub-ons stand out best when they are on plainer backgrounds - if you try anything to patterned then they will be harder to see.

Of course a page of mine wouldn't be complete without my usual sprinkling of gems and some Studio Calico Tiny Stars Wood Veneers for magical good measure!

What do you think? Have you any beliefs or wishes that you haven't documented? Get them onto a page and make sure you link us up so we can see too!

The alphas, rub ons, daily Grind Chipboard, wood stars and chalk elements are all available to order from the S J Crafts Shop!!

Bye, Jennifer x

Jennifer is Mum to two young children and blogs regularly at Jennifer Grace Creates .... pop over there soon as she is currently running a Giveaway to celebrate her happiness at recently moving house!!

Winner of Six Cards on the 6th!

Hello everyone! Jennifer here. Sorry it has taken me a little while to post the winner of the Six on the 6th Card Series that we held for the last five months of 2013. I am currently packing to move house and am feeling overwhelmed by boxes and junk (but very much looking forward to moving on Friday!).

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in with the series. It was so fabulous to see everyone's cards and I know I'll be checking back for inspiration when I start planning my 2014 Christmas cards! 

Without further adeiu, the winner of a pizza box stuffed with stash was...

Nanny Jane!

Congratulations Jane! Please email Sarah at sarah(at)sjpapercrafts(dot)co(dot)uk telling her your mailing address so she can send the prize out to you!

Here's some of my favourite cards that were linked up during the series:

From left to right, starting top left, these cards were created by: Becky, Frances, Jenny, Jacky, Jane, Ruth, Nikki, Louise, and Lisa-Jane.

Thank you so much ladies! Lots of wonderful ideas and different styles to see!

Look out for some new exciting things that will be happening during 2014 here on the SJ Crafts blog! Along with our usual fabulous DT inspiration of course!

If you need inspiration for some everyday cards for this year then make sure you check out Louise's posts Part One and Part Two, which are full of gorgeous cards along common themes to get her through the year!

Jennifer x

Crafting Cards with a Common Theme - Part Two!

Hi! It's Louise back with my next set of four cards with a common theme - if you missed part one you can see it HERE!

I applied a similar process for my next set of cards, selecting some papers from the MME Lost and Found Record It 6x6 paper pad, a few rubber stamps, two Memento Ink Pads and two of the Studio Calico Mr Huey Mists.  

• I worked on the inked backgrounds first. Using my son's Bart Simpson ruler (shushhh...he'll never know!!) I ran the edge through the momento ink pad and wiped the ruler over two of the cards.

•  On the other two cards I used the chevron stamp for a stamped background.

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• Next I flicked drops of Studio Calico Huey Mist ink onto the cards.
• Larger background papers were used on the two cards where I cut out frames from the 6x6 pad, with smaller strips used on the other two cards. The edges of all the papers were torn.
• The flowers were stamped onto white card and cut out. These were adhered to the cards with foam tape after adding some white cotton to the back of the flowers for interest.  

Again, using a common theme, common colours and elements made another four cards came together nicely!

Making these made me wonder how you approach your card making?  

Are you like me and normally leave your card making to the last minute or do you have a stash waiting to be used?

If you leave your card making to the last minute, has this post inspired you to put together some common themed cards? 

If it has then please share your creations with us by leaving a link in the comments!

See you again soon,

Louise x

Louise is a mum of three boys and she blogs her life and crafting at Boys, Bugs, and Beautiful Buttons!

Crafting Cards with a Common Theme - Part One!

 Hello! It's Louise here today, and before I share my creations with you I'd like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

For many of us this is the time of year when we are all considering both our personal and creative goals for the new year. The biggest question I have asked myself is "to do or not to do...project life?"...and while I am still considering taking on such a big project I wanted to start the year making a selection of general greeting cards, so I have a small stock to pick from.

At the end of last year SJ Crafts announced the Six on the 6th Christmas Card Challenge. A challenge that I enjoyed immensely and one that inspired me to want to make general cards. When I made my Christmas cards for the challenge they all had a common theme and it is this idea that I am going to use again today.

I started off by choosing some papers from the Wild and Free Glitz Design 6x6 pad. I don't know about you but I struggle to cut into a sheet of 12x12 patterned paper to use on a greeting card, so these little 6x6 pads work perfectly and you normally get 2 sheets of each pattern, so it's a win win for me. Next I pulled together some rubber stamps that are very rarely (or never used), 2 Studio Calico Mr Huey Mists to complement the papers I chose, a black Memento Ink Pad, and a selection of gems.

I find it easy to work on card pieces, rather than the actual blank greeting cards, so I cut four pieces of white card a little smaller than the actual blank greeting card. I like the effect of the card stuck to the base card - if you wished to, you could add more colour by mounting the card. I chose to keep the fresh feel of the white card:

After I cut the card :-

• I used the Memento ink to stamp a scrolled image to the top half of the card.
• Then I flicked drops of Mr Huey Mist ink onto the card. You can see from the four cards made that when I do this there is no technique or precision. For me the ink goes where it wants to and I work with it.
• Using two stamps I stamped the sentiments onto the card. Two of the cards I left blank so they can be used for any occasion.
• Knowing that I was going to place paper bows across the scrolled image I added some Gems for that sparkle.

While the ink was drying I made the paper bows using a template I found on the internet (or HERE is a paper bow tutorial by another team member, Jennifer) I adapted the size of the template for the card, added some white cotton to the back of the bow for some added interest and then adhered the bow to the card using double sided foam tape.

By keeping a common theme for the cards they came together nicely!

I loved making these cards so much that I repeated the common theme by creating four more cards. Making all these cards means that I now have a nice stash of cards waiting to be used!

Stop by tomorrow to see the next set of four cards!

Louise x

Louise is a mum of three boys and she blogs her life and crafting at Boys, Bugs, and Beautiful Buttons!