Visit the Design Team - Challenge 3 (For NSD)

Hello again!

 

So, how is your day going? Plenty of scrapping? Enjoying this beautiful weather?

I certainly am! I have been scrapping lots today and enjoyed a fun trip to our local park with my girl this afternoon!

It's time for another NSD challenge!!

 

If you're new here, a big welcome to you!!
You can catch up on Challenge 1 here: A Sketch Challenge

Challenge 2 here: Just ONE manufacturer

And details of a giveaway here: Facebook Giveaway

 

For this next challenge I'd like you to "meet" the wonderful  S J Crafts Design Team!!

 

 

These ladies have all been with me since the start and have been a fantastic support to me and S J Crafts. Their endless enthusiasm for papercrafting and desire to share their creative talents with others is second to none! I now consider them my firm friends and have been lucky enough to meet and craft with three of them and hopefully one day soon I'll also "meet in person" the fourth!!

So, for this challenge you will need to visit each of their blogs and have a browse around and find the answers to the questions below.

 

When you have all the answers send an e mail to me with DT Visit Challenge in your subject line and tell me what you think the answers are.

E mail me at:   sarah (at) s j papercrafts.co.uk (remember to turn it into a proper e mail address .... just don't want loads of those rubbish spam messages in my inbox!)

 

Whilst you are visiting the DT Blogs it would be absolutely wonderful if you would leave a comment for them to let them know you stopped by and of course if you like what you see there you could follow their blog too! I know they'd all appreciate it!! 

 

Here's the blog links:

 

Lisa-Jane :  Inside My Head

Jennifer : Jennifer Grace Creates

Louise : Boys Bugs and Beautiful Buttons

Jenny : Dragonllews Spot

 

And the Questions:

 

* What was the item of clothing that Lisa-Jane scrapped about recently on a layout featuring her young son?

 

* Jennifer recently scrapped about a wet weather walk with her daughter. What colour and pattern are on Jennifer's footwear on that layout?

 

* What did Louise's son say about the Harry Potter ride in Florida which features as a title on her recent layout made with Studio Calico's Snippets collection?

 

* Jenny recently made a lovely Christmas card featuring a snowman. What colour is the snowman's tie and which papers did she use on the card?

 

One winner will be picked at random from all the correct entries (all questions must be correct!) to win a prize pack of Crate DIY Shop papers and stickers (shown in the pic below).

 

 

 

Closing date for entries: Saturday 11th May 10pm BST

The winner will be announced on this blog soon after the closing date!

 

Good Luck and enjoy "meeting" the Design Team Girls!!!

 

I'll be back later this evening (or possibly first thing sunday morning!) with a special NSD discount code just in case you fancy a little stash shopping this bank holiday weekend!!

 

Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm Cards

Hello and a very Happy Monday to you!

 

It's jennifer back today to show you the cards I made with the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm Paper pad and stamp set!

 

If you missed the layouts you can see those right here!

 

The papers have such cute designs for making cards with. I have two to show you ..... one is more dreamy, and one a bolder style.

 

The balloon stamp just goes so well with the cute cloud paper.

 

I scattered a few enamel dots, gems and some White Liquid Pearls.

For my second card I used the lovely spotty paper for a background to the little envelopes and added some Gold Liquid Pearls.

 

I can't wait to send these to someone and make their day!

Lucky Charm is currently in stock here!! I promise you'll find all kinds of uses for it!

 

Jennifer x

 

See more of Jennifer's crafting on her blog at: Jennifer's Jumbles

Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm

Hello All!

It's Jennifer here today, to show you some projects using the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm 6x6 Pad and Stamp Set, which are both oh-so pretty and versatile!

Love on Paper Layout

I have to say I am surprised by how much I LOVE this collection! When I saw it online I thought it was nice, but when I received it and flicked through the 6x6 pad I was blown away by the sweet designs, and how well they were balanced out with some graphic and plainer papers. It's all very, very useable!

My only problem has been that you only get one sheet of each paper - 36 single-sided different designs of paper, and they are all gorgeous! How do I choose which one to use? How do I bring myself to cut into one when there isn't a 'spare' sheet of the same design? The papers were calling me to use them, so I just braved it and snipped in! Lol!

I die-cut a few feathers from the papers to give them a place to shine. They made me think of writing quills which fit with the 'signing the register' theme. The navy paper with 'love you to the stars and back' written all over it has to be one of my most favourite papers ever!

The feathers, the punched hearts, and the hot air ballon (which is stamped onto white card) were stuck onto the layout using 3D foam dots. They stand out nicely from the background of grey cardstock, which had white mist splattered on it, and the small heart from the Lucky Charm set heat embossed with gold several times to add some shimmer!

One of the things I like so much about the pad is all the sheets which are good for cutting apart - a couple of journal cards, elements, or borders papers, and then one sheet filled with little envelopes and one with jars which can be cut out to make little embellishments.

You can see several of these down in my journaling corner of the layout.

The enamel dots are My Mind's Eye My Girl, and the gems are Hero Arts Clear Gemstones (I'm on my third pack of these now!) - these are both on the next couple of projects too...

Next I made a more graphic layout using some chevron, stripes, and triangle patterns from the pad...

Disney Family Layout

I love the cloud stamp in the set, which you can see at the top right, because the clouds have a straight line at the bottom - I like this a lot more than clouds that are fluffy all around, I don't know why! The arrows stamp used a few times on the left of this layout is so fun too, and will be good for all kinds of projects.

The 'this is so awesome' and 'you make my heart sing' cards on here are also from the cut apart sheets in the 6x6 pad (though I added the heart).

 

 

With all these cute designs to work with I decided to make a couple of cards as well!!

 

I'll show you those in my next post!

Thanks for stopping by - please do leave a comment and say "Hi!"

 

Jennifer x

 

See more of Jennifer's crafting at her blog: Jennifer's Jumbles

Studio Calico Burst Mask - Part 2

Hello! Jennifer here, and I'm back with some more Studio Calico Burst Mask Projects!

If you missed the first part, you can find that here.

 For this next project, I decided to try something other than misting. I played with some stamping through the mask instead!

Step 1: Take a 4.5" square piece of white cardstock, and position your burst mask on top. My mask still has ink on it from where I had been trying different stamps out earlier!

Step 2: Stamp all over the mask with a rubber stamp, using a few different colours of ink pad. I used blue, yellow, and pink. The rubber stamp needs to be one with a deep design - the flatter ones won't press down enough between the mask's gaps.

Here's the card with the mask removed.

Step 3: To finish the card off, sew some straight lines in the gaps between the stamped bursts. Add a brad in the centre. Then ink the edges of the white cardstock with pink ink, and mat it onto a piece of 5" square blue cardstock. Mount it onto a 5.5" white square card.

I'll keep this card on standby to send to someone who needs cheering up with a burst of colour!

Next, I wanted to try something a bit different so I used the burst mask to make my own unique t-shirt.

It was great fun and I love the final effect! I'm going to show you how it's done - but first of all I must point out that you can't use regular scrapbooking mists on a t-shirt that you'll want to wash. They'd wash right out! You need to get some fabric spray paint and follow manufacturers instructions for drying / setting the paint.

Step 1: Protect your work surface (and it's a good idea to wear your old clothes!!) and put newspaper or similar inside your t-shirt so the paint doesn't bleed through. Then place your mask on the t shirt where you want it to go.

Step 2: Spray all over your mask going over the edges a little, with yellow fabric spray paint.

Step 3: Spray the centre of your mask with orange fabric spray paint.

Step 4: Take the lid off your orange fabric spray paint and tap it above the t-shirt so you get little drops all over it.

Step 5: Take the mask off. Just after this photo I also sprayed a couple of times with the yellow fabric spray paint, from high above, so the t-shirt wasn't quite so stark white where the mask had been.

Step 6: Leave the t-shirt to dry, or follow the fabric paint instructions for how to dry / set the paint. Sew on a few scattered orange and yellow buttons, and your new t shirt is ready to wear! 

My Mum kindly modelled it for me!!

Thanks so much for reading my Studio Calico Burst Mask projects - let us know what you think about them and whether they've inspired you to make something! 

Jennifer X

See more of Jennifer's crafting at Jennifer's Jumbles

Studio Calico Burst Mask - Part 1

Hello, Jennifer here!

I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas and 2013 is bringing you lots of happiness and crafting time!!

I've been having some fabulous fun playing with the Studio Calico Burst Mask! I've got several projects and ideas to show you, and first up are are two layouts.

Magical Moments Layout

For this first layout, about my daughter at a Christmas parade, I used the mask in the simplest way - to fill the whole page. I began by spraying the back of the mask with removeable adhesive, to stop the mask moving as I misted, and I stuck it onto a piece of white cardstock.

I protected my surface with newspaper, and then spritzed all over the mask with Mr Huey's Honor Society Mist. To get an even coverage you need to move your hand quickly from left to right (or from right to left if you're left handed) as you are spraying.

Once the blue mist had dried a little, I carefully pulled the mask off. Remember not to leave the mask on too long if you've used adhesive on it, as it will end up getting stuck forever! About 5 minutes after misting should be okay. I then left the mist to dry completely for about an hour.

Once the blue mist was dry, I unscrewed the lids of Mister Huey's Calico White and Pretty Pink Mists, held the 'straws' over the layout, and tapped the lids with my finger to sprinkle drops of mist all over the page.

Once it was completely dry I trimmed the a little off each side, and mounted it onto some mauve cardstock. 

Then I just had to add my photo and embellish the layout!

I used: My Mind's Eye All is Bright stickers from the Collection pack 

MME Rhinestones and 6x6 Paper (for the journaling)

Studio Calico Wonderland Wood Veneer Snowflakes

Hey Day Aqua Thickers

Glitz Teeny Alpha 'Yours Truly' Stickers

and a few Hero Arts Clear Gemstones!

Little Angel Layout

For my next layout, I used the mask in a few different ways...

To start this layout, about my son when he was first born, I first misted a starburst in the top left corner. I covered the parts of the mask where I didn't want the mist to seep through. It's worth testing this on a spare piece of paper to check you get the size/shape you want. Once I had done my "test" piece I cleaned the mask and placed it on the piece of Sugar Cookie cardstock (I covered up the other holes too after taking this photo) 

And then sprayed it a couple of times in the middle with Honor Society Mist. I pulled the mask off while the mist was still wet, and used the 'straw' of the Calico White Mist to flick streaks from the middle of the starbust out to the edges  - make sure you clean the 'straw' before you put it back in the bottle!!

Next I created an a mat for the journalling, by blocking off all of the mask except one section of the 'burst'.

 And then I sprayed this with My Huey Letter Jacket Mist. 

A little word of warning if you do have a go at this technique - spray quite lightly.

On my first attempt I sprayed on way too much mist and it seeped below the mask and ended up looking like this!!

Not the look I was going for! 

On my next attempt I was much more sparing with the mist and it came out much better.

I used another section on the burst as a template to cut out a piece of Studio Calico Hey Day 6x6 paper.

Which I placed below the red misted section

And added a piece of My Mind's Eye All is Bright Decorative Tape above the red section.

I checked where my photo was going to go, and added some detail to the top right corner, by covering up most of the Starburst Mask, leaving just a small arrow shape to point down at my photo.

I misted the "arrow" with Warm Calico Mist, and then outlined with a black pen so it was extra defined, and topped with a little sticker.

I then just off the layout, adding some droplets of White Calico Mist, and using the same stickers and alphas as the last layout, plus some All is Bright Decorative Brads. The cherub image was especially apt for the layout.

Hopefully this post has given you a few ideas for using the mask. I've used lots of ways all on one layout but you could use just one of the techniques.

I'll be back soon with some more ways to use the mask! 

Jennifer x

Shop for Studio Calico Mask Now

See more of Jennifer's crafting on her blog: Jennifer's Jumbles

Jennifer Grace - Inspired By Winter

Welcome to our very first "Inspired By Winter" Post!

Just over 12 months ago I announced our Design Team here. Since then we have had a fantastic 12 months working together. Their endless support and talents continues to amaze me and I can honestly say they have all become firm friends.

A few weeks ago, I asked them if they were happy to continue on the S J Crafts Team and I'm delighted that Jennifer, Louise, Lisa-Jane and Jenny all agreed to stay on the team.

This new blog series, "Inspired By Winter"  is a celebration of my amazing Design Team, a chance for you, our readers to get to know them a little better and  best of all enjoy seeing some crafty goodness!

Each week, on a Wednesday there will be a chance to "meet" a DT member and find out what inspires them this Winter!

I hope you will join us!!

First up is .... Jennifer!

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Hello! I'm Jennifer Grace, a craft-crazy mum-of-two, from Dorset, England, and I'm super happy to be on the SJ Crafts Design Team for another term!

I like to craft as much as possible, and I frequently run around with alphas stuck on my top when my daughter wants to decorate me with my stickers, or with a glittery baby on my hip because he wanted to investigate mummy’s supplies! I love going on family adventures (especially to the beach), dressing up (I was Ariel the Mermaid for my 30th birthday), and celebrating the little moments of joy that life brings!

Here's a few questions & answers to help you get to know me and my crafting:

• What was your last crafty purchase? I've been buying lots of winter/Christmas crafting supplies, including bits from the collections of Crate Paper's Sleigh Ride, Pink Paislee's City Sidewalks, My Mind's Eye All is Bright, and Studio Calico's Wonderland!

• Who is your favourite Craft Manufacturer? This is a hard question as I love all those mentioned above, and more! I guess right now it's My Mind's Eye, but I reserve the right to change my mind on a daily whim!

• What is your favourite technique/style? I don't know how to define my style - it's somewhere between graphic and arty! I like my photos to always be straight, but I don't mind tilting other elements, and I love to scatter small circular items - most often gems/pearls, but also sometimes buttons, brads, or drops of mist. If anyone can come up with a phrase to describe my style, I'd be happy to hear it!

We're approaching winter now - it really feels like it here, as it's been cold and drizzly! But I don't mind, as I love crafting in winter... I'm especially inspired because it's a season of 'giving'. I love crafting gifts, cards, and tags, to give to those I know and love, and hopefully light up their day. It's a great feeling to see someone appreciating what you've made for them, I love sharing my hobby and putting my thoughts and love into projects to pass on to others!

With this in mind, I've made a couple of tags to decorate some gifts this Christmas:

Supplies: White Cardstock, Jenni Bowlin Studios Kraft Flag Tags, Red Rhinestone Stars, andClear Rhinestone Stars, Hero Arts Clear Gemstones, Glitz 'Yours Truly' Alpha stickers, Studio Calico My. Huey Calico White Mist, Sewing Machine with White Thread, Bakers Twine.

They look great on some gifts with a bit of twine and ribbon:

These are a tiny sample of the things I've been making lately with a winter or Christmas theme.
I'd love it if you joined me for my 'Frosty Festivities' Blog Event this coming weekend (16th - 18th of November) to see more! There will be winter themed posts every hour, including tips, tutorials, challenges, crafts, a blog hop, and lots of GIVEAWAYS! Check out more information in my announcement post here.

I hope you'll be able to stop by, but either way I'm sure I'll see you again on the SJ Crafts Blog soon! Thanks for reading a bit about me, it would be lovely if you can leave a comment to say hello!

Jennifer x

Visit Jennifer's blog at Jennifer's Jumbles

Little Bo Peep ... A mini book and more!!

Hello Everyone!!
When the new collection from Crate Paper, Little Bo Peep landed here at S J Crafts, I just knew DT Team member, Jennifer would create something beautiful with it, so I sent her a parcel of goodies. I wasn't wrong!!

Over to Jennifer .....

Ooh, how pretty and lovely is the Little Bo Peep collection from Crate Paper?! When I opened the parcel containing it I just had to sit and stroke the papers, and show all the lovely embellies off to my friends, before I could start to use it! But once I started creating with it, I just couldn't stop...

First up is a mini book I made using the Tag Cuts sheet of paper. It's all about my daughter in the months before she finished nursery (pre-school), to capture some cute 'little girl' moments before she grows up even more! I'm going to give this as a gift to my Mother-In-Law, her Nanny:

I cut out the tags I liked, stitched a variety of lace to the bottom edges, chose small square photos, and embellished with Border Stickers, Phrase Stickers, Brads, and gems / pearls.

There are two tags without photos, on at the front and one at the back of the mini book. All of the tags have journaling on the back, some stories I might not have mentioned to my Mother-In-Law, and some thoughts about my daughter getting so grown up:

I finished it off by joining them all together with a book ring and adding some strips of ribbon to the ring to soften it. I hope my Mother In Law likes the book!

I also dug out some photos of my daughter when she was small, about 5 months old, that I've been meaning to scrapbook for ages, to create this page:

I cut half an inch at the top of a sheet of Charlotte paper, so that I could stick lots of small tags from the Tag Cuts sheet along the top, with their edges sticking over to create a shaped edge, and it wouldn't make the page larger than 12x12. Border Stickers, and some dresses on a washing line cut from the Accent Cuts sheet, were layered at the base of the tags. 

The rest of the page is not too detailed. I added white dots using Mister Huey White Mist, by undoing the mist top, shaking of the excess into the bottle, and then tapping the base of the mist dropper/tube onto my page. To make larger dots I tapped a few times. I like how it looks to accent my usual scattered gems and pearls!

Isn't she cute as a button?!

I have one more project to show you today. Here's a sweet 'Congratulations' card for a new baby girl:

The image from the Accents Sheet is so adorable, and I love the colours in the floral Eleanorpaper. This card really makes me think of happy days from my childhood!

If you haven't bought any of the Little Bo Peep collection yet, then check it out here!! Even if you don't have any little girl photos to use or to give cards too, then you could use the lovely papers and border stickers for some gorgeous summertime projects!  x

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To see more of Jennifer's work, why not visit her blog: Jennifer's Jumbles