Decorated Frame for the New Year and Beyond!

Hello everyone!

Jennifer here today. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! 

I've started looking back over the year that's nearly finished, and looking forward to the year that's ahead. To try and channel good thoughts and welcome 2014 into my house I made this frame, which I can change the central panel of as the year goes by...

Want to make one for yourself? Here's how...

Step 1: Find a frame with a solid colour (woodgrain or patterns don't work so well for step 2) and take out any glass/plastic and backboards:

Step 2: Use some Jenni Bowlin Tiny Trims Gold Rub Ons to decorate the edge of the frame. I used triangles along two opposite edges and stars along the other two edges. If you want to make sure they go on straight then draw a pencil line with a ruler first as a guide - I didn't mind mine being a bit wobbly:

Step 3: Use a strong adhesive (I used a hot glue gun) to adhere three lengths of wire to the top of the frame at the back, and also a length of bakers twine a little below the top edge of the inner frame:

Step 4: Create a panel to hang inside your frame. I used the 'b' side of the Crate Paper Bundled Up 'Candy Cane' Paper layered onto some cream card. Then I decorated it with a Bundled Up Journal Card, a Chalk Studio Label Sticker, some Simple Stories Daily Grind Chipboard Stickers, Prima's White Canvas Alphas, and some Studio Calico Tiny Stars Wood Veneers. I also used a couple of Jenni Bowlin Doilies Gold Rub Ons.

Peg the panel onto the twine using some small pegs:

Step 5: Then use a few more Doilies Gold Rub Ons on some smooth white card - I used the white card that came as packaging in the rub ons packet! Fussy cut these out and glue them to the top of the wires:

I love how these look a bit like fireworks, but then in spring they could look like flowers, in summer they represent suns, in autumn they echo golden leafy trees, and in winter they are like pretty snowflakes - so I can use the frame all year round!

Then you just need to put the frame on display and smile each time you see it!

I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

In the meantime don't forget to check out our Design Team Call, and keep an eye on the Facebook Page for details of a sale that's coming soon!

Jennifer x

November's Six Cards on the 6th!

Hello and welcome to November's Six Card's on the 6th! Are you feeling festive yet? I'm starting to dream of decking the halls and roasting a turkey... ooh I love the anticipation!

This series is all about inspiring you to get those Christmas cards made in time. You can link up your own cards at any time throughout the month, and at the end of the series one link-up from all the posts will win a pizza box stuffed full with scrapbook stash!

Today we have cards by me (Jennifer) and Jenny to make you feel festive! We encourage you to think of how you can make the six cards quickly, and before you know it you'll have a set of cards ready to go!

I'm up first...

Jennifer:

I pulled together a kit for my cards:

It includes the Crate Paper Bundled Up 6x6" Pad and Ephemera, 6x6" Square Kraft Blanks, sequins, a white pearl pen, a sentment stamp, a stack of pigment inks, and some Studio Calico Tiny Stars Wood Veneers. After I took this photo I also pulled out some cream card, wide ledger print washi tape, white glitter tape, and clear embossing powder (plus tools and adhesives!).

Here's the six cards I created:

You can see I followed the same format for all the cards, even though the varied colours and ephemera makes them look a bit different!

Now for Jenny's set of cards...

Jenny:

I've gone for a red and silver theme this month! I've used a background stamp with versa mark ink and silver embossing powder to create a background and then inked over it with Festive Berries distress ink.

Aren't Jenny's cards jolly? I love the ones with jingle bells on - I know my kids would keep shaking them to hear the bells ring!

Have we inspired you to get crafting? If you join in with the series we'd love you to copy this button into your post or sidebar! Just select all the text in the box below the image, and copy that either into a html gadget (or text widget) in your sidebar, or into the html on a blog post. Then the button will appear and will be linked back to the series - your button won't have a box underneath!

<a href="http://www.sjpapercrafts.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/six%20on%20the%206th"><img src="http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab280/Jennifergrace_photos/Sixon6thbutton180pix_zps321d7a53.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Sixon6thbutton200pix_zps673fb713.jpg" /></a><br>

Link up your cards below for a chance to win the pizza box full of stash (prize will go out in early January). Have fun and be merry! 

Jennifer x

Chalk Studio Part Two - Timeless Chalkboard!

Hello, Jennifer here with more projects using My Mind's Eye's Chalk Studio collection! Today I want to show you how timeless these chalkboard embellishments are. You can use them for any season, just by changing the papers and other embellishments you put with them! 

The below projects are all cards, but the same techniques can be applied to layouts and other projects.

First up is a card for Halloween. I've been taking my daughter Trick-or-Treating for the last couple of years with a group of mums and kids. One of the other mums (who loves Halloween), is due to have a baby that week, so she won't be coming this year. I'm going to send her this card to make her feel part of it!

Admit One To Spooky Town:

I don't have any Halloween supplies, so I used some orange patterned paper, black and white cardstock, a twirly corner stamp, and the awesome Chalk Studio embellishments to create the spooky feel - the lines surrounding 'Admit One' look almost like bones! 

The word 'spooky' is heat embossed with white embossing powder to give it a ghostly sheen, which is a great texture difference to the chalky label. I finished the card off with a few black pearls and doodled lines around them so they became spiders!

Next is a traditional-looking Christmas card...

Be Good:

The 'Be Good' sentiment on here really stands out with a Chalk Studio Label Sticker backing it. I love the Chipboard Elements banner along the bottom like a ribbon, it looks like the reindeer is jumping across some snowy ground at night-time! I also added a couple of pieces at the top left to resemble icicles. The black chalkboard elements really help the traditional reds and greens to pop from the page!

Finally, here's a card for Valentines Day, though you could use it to send a little love at any time of year...

True Love 4 EVA:

For this card I teamed the Chalk Studio items up with the Glitz Wild & Free 6x6 Pad and Giant Rhinestones. All the hearts were perfect! I amped up the chalkboard on here by layering a Decorative Frame on top of a Label Sticker. The glittery number 4 and the yellow dots made with a pearl pen stop it looking too dark. The 'Well Hello' sentiment adds a cheeky touch that makes me smile!

I'm really loving the chalkboard trend and I know I'm going to be using the embellishments up completely! 

Don't forget these ideas from my two Chalk Studio posts for how to use the embellishments:

• Frame small photos (you could adhere one with foam dots)
• Journal onto the Labels using a white gel pen
• Push some chalkboard items right up to the edge
• Add colour to the chalkboard
• Layer a sentiment piece onto another embellishment
• Heat emboss onto a Label
• Use a chipboard border like a ribbon
• Put chalkboard on top of chalkboard!

And if these cards have given you some ideas, you can still join in with our Six Cards on the 6th series to be in with a chance of winning a pizza box filled with stash! There's a couple of days left on the current linky, and a new one will be here on the 6th of October!

Jennifer x

Check out more of Jennifer's layouts and cards at her blog Jennifer Grace Creates.

Chalk Studio Part One - Mix It up!

Hello! It's Jennifer here, with some projects using the My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio collection. The Chipboard Elements, Decorative Frames, and Label Stickers are all available in the shop right now, and I'm going to show you how to mix them up with various papers and embellishments!

First up is a layout made by adding Chalk Studio to some other My Mind's Eye supplies - I've paired them with papers and elements from the Cut & Paste - Charm collection, and the Find Your Wings and Fly - Sky's The Limit collection...

Muddy Puddles:

The chalkboard items add a classic feel to this gallery style page. The small photos I wanted to use could have got lost on a 12x12 page, but the bold style of the frames really helps them stand out. I added bunting from the Chipboard Elements on top of one frame to give it extra depth. The journaling (using a white gel pen) stands out really well too!

The right hand photo frame is adhered to the layout with Foam Dots to make it a focal point, which is also helped by the 'Adventure This Way' arrow from the Carefree Label Sticker Sheet pointing down at the picture:

I also loved using the Chipboard Elements along the edges of the page (you'll spot this on the next layout too), as it defines the edges and brings the page together. If the black items were just in the middle of the page then it would have a heavy centre, so spreading them out like this means you look around the whole page:

I also added lots of Mist splatters and Enamel Dots & Gems to look like raindrops all over the background!

The next page uses a greater mix of products - I used items from Basic Grey Mint Julep, Crate Paper The Pier, and Glitz Designs Wild & Free collections...

So Content:

I've been holding on to this picture for ages - I hadn't scrapped it yet because you can't see my children's faces. But you can see my face, and every time I look at this photo I'm reminded how happy it makes me to have people to play in the sea with - my husband does not like the sea so I've been waiting for my kids to be big enough to join me!

I pulled together an eclectic variety of papers and patterns. They all work together because of the pink and yellow tones, and because the chalkboard scattered around the page helps to unite them.

I added some colours to the top of a couple of pieces using Stickles and Liquid Pearls on one, and Gems on another - don't forget you can alter the chalkboard pieces to fit the theme of your project:

Some of the Chalkboard pieces come with words or a sentiment on them, so if you don't like doing too much journaling then they are perfect for sharing your emotions on the layout. Try layering one on top of another embellishment, like I did with the 'Happy Day' piece here:

I love how the chalkboard elements have helped me to bring an imperfect photo to life!

What do you think about the chalkboard trend? I'm totally loving it, and I'll be back with more Chalk Studio inspiration on a second post soon!

Bye for now, Jennifer x

You can see more of Jennifer's papercrafting at her blog Jennifer Grace Creates!

Introducing Six Cards On The 6th!

Hello! It's Jennifer here, and today I am very excited to be able to introduce to you a new series here on the blog: 'Six Cards on the 6th'!

Now, I know it's only the start of August and the sun is shining, but in the craft world we usually start to mention and think about the "C" word about this time of year!! Yes ... I do mean CHRISTMAS!

Each year, I vow to make ALL my cards and despite my best intentions and my efforts, each year I fail. I start off well and get organised and make a few cards in the summer and then have a last minute rush early December. Each year it's the same. This year will be different!

To encourage myself, and you, to get cards made in advance, we're holding this blog series. Each month from now until December, on the 6th of the month, there will be a post filled with Christmas card inspiration for you! 

You will be able to link up your own cards at the end of the post, you can do this anytime throughout the month, and we'll come and take a look to get more inspiration from you!

If you join in with the series at any time, or if you just want to help us spread the word, it would be fantastic if you can copy this button into your post or sidebar! You just need to select all the text in the box below the image, and copy that either into a html gadget (or text widget) in your sidebar, or into the html on a blog post. Then the button will appear and will be linked back to the series - your button won't have a box underneath!


<a href="http://www.sjpapercrafts.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/six%20on%20the%206th"><img src="http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab280/Jennifergrace_photos/Sixon6thbutton180pix_zps321d7a53.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Sixon6thbutton200pix_zps673fb713.jpg" /></a><br>

So, to start us off, here's some inspiration from me - and there's some cards by Sarah further on in the post too.

I pulled together this kit to work from. We encourage you to pull together a kit to help you make six quick cards - it really cuts down on decision-making time, and makes things easier for you! I used lots of scraps and leftover from last year's collections, even some that were negatives of shapes I'd cut or punched last year:

All I added to it were the card blanks (mostly A6, with one 6x6" square), a couple of scraps of white card to stamp sentiments on, and a few gems!

Here's the six cards I made:

Having the kit together in front of me made it easy to piece together the scraps to fill up the card blanks, and by using at least one piece of ribbon and at least one wood veneer on each card it meant they all had a variety of texture to keep them interesting!

Here's Sarah's set of six cards:

Gorgeous aren't they?

There's more details over on Sarah's blog.

What are you waiting for? Go and pull together a kit of a few papers and embellishments, and make 6 quick Christmas cards. I promise getting them started so far ahead will make you feel better! Once you've finished them, put them on your blog, or take a group photo of the set and upload it to a photo gallery, and leave a link below so we can come and check them out!

I hope you'll join us on the 6th of each month now until December and make 6 cards each month - you'll have a lovely pile of hand made cards all ready to write and send at Christmas.

Crate Paper "The Pier" (Part Two)

Hello! Jennifer here to show you more projects using Crate Paper's The Pier collection!

If you missed my first project using The Pier, including a video with 10 tips in 10 minutes, you can see it here!

The first project I want to show you today is the layout I made as soon as I got my hands on the collection. I really enjoyed using it for a happy, vivid, beachy page! It's about my daughter and her friend turning each other into mermaids with sandy tails...

You are a Sandy Mermaid Layout

 

I love the 'Carousel' background paper. The big chevrons are really trendy, and the rainbow colours are so cheerful and summery!

  

I've had fun using all the little bits and pieces in this collection, including the little pinked circle stickers from the Labels Stickers sheet - it's so easy to tuck and layer the different pieces around each other.

 

Next is a more subtly-coloured page, still sprinkled with lots of details...

Safe Harbour Layout

I like the 'b' side of the Frozen Treats Paper. It's a dark kraft pattern (darker than it looks in the product image), which is great because it's something a bit different which adds a timeless feel to my page. Howver, I didn't want to use it for the whole background as it would have been too dark, so for the bottom half of the page I used the 'b' side of the Sunshine Paper. That helped my title to pop more from the background too - the Funkidori Thickers are so twirly and charming!

I like using geotags at the moment, like this one from the Mini Alpha / Accent Stickers Sheet - they look great if you use pop dots to stick them on, and make sure you have a nice pattern peeping through the hole at the top of the geotag.

 

 

Finally here's a couple of cards, starting with a bold and fun birthday card which was really quick to make...

Good Day Sunshine Card

I simply stamped my sentiment onto one of the Summertime Cut-Outs and layered it onto a bit of the Heatwave Paper, a Splash Cut-Out tag (with ribbon added), some Ephemera and some gems (and a bit of glitter tape). I'm sure this will brighten someone's birthday!

 

 

Summertime Sweetness Card

I used some of the pale and gentle pieces from the collection to make this fresh card. The suns and hearts were punched from the Washi Paper, and I finished the card with a scattering of white and gold Liquid Pearls.

That's it from me and The Pier Collection, though you'll spot more of it popping up on my blog - as this is one of those collections where I know I will use up every last little scrap!

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Jennifer x

Crate Washi Paper - 10 tips in 10 minutes!

Hello!

Jennifer here today, to show you a video:

Crate Washi Paper -  Ten Tips in Ten Minutes

 10 ideas to use Crate Paper's The Pier Washi Paper on your layouts

I changed a page from this:

(Supplies include The Pier 'Sunscreen' Paper, Summertime Cut Outs, Splash Cut Outs, Label Stickers, Mini Alphas, and Ephemera)  

To this:

Using just this washi paper:

Plus a few tools, and some gems and enamel dots!

Here's the video:

Okay, so it does go ever so slightly over ten minutes because of the images I added for the 'tip' title pages. I also sped some of the video up - so you can watch ten tips in ten minutes but it might take you a little longer than 10 minutes to actually use all these ideas! Of course you can just choose a tip or two to add quickly to your next project.

Here's a couple of detail photos:

You can see "The Pier" collection here! I'm loving it!!

If you make something inspired by anything you've seen in the video let us know - we'd love to see!!

Jennifer x

See more of Jennifer's craft on her blog: Jennifer Grace Creates

Projects that WOW! ... And A Giveaway for a Class Place!

Design Team member Jennifer Grace is running her first ever online class - it starts next week on Monday the 10th of June!

 

Here's what Jennifer says about the class:

Projects that WOW!’ is about making your projects stand out from the crowd. What makes you pause and look closer at a scrapbook page when you are flicking through your own albums, or looking at other people’s layouts in magazines? Which cards jump out at you from Pinterest or from envelopes when you open them? What details of paper-crafted home décor or jewellery make you stop and say ‘wow!’? It’s time to learn some of these techniques or styles and put them to use!

Class participants will receive 15 prompts (lessons) with ideas to jazz up their papercrafting! There will be over 90 project samples (scrapbooking, cardmaking, and others), from both Jennifer and a selection of Guest Contributors from around the world.
There's also going to be challenges with prizes, lots of which are some of the latest goodiess to arrive in the SJ Crafts shop!

The class runs live from Monday the 10th to Friday the 28th of June. All the prompts will still be available after the class ends - so you don't have to worry about 'keeping up'!

For more details go check out the post at Jennifer's blog HERE, where you can also sign up for the class for £10!!
There's also a chance to WIN a class place by leaving a comment there (that giveaway closes Thursday 6th June in the evening).

BUT there is another way to WIN a place on the class!!
Jennifer is kindly giving away a class place to one of you right here on the S J Crafts Blog!!

To be in with a chance, firstly leave a comment on this blog post, telling us whether you've ever taken an online class before AND then click on the Rafflecopter widget and enter your details - there are ways to earn extra entries too ... like being a follower of this blog!!
If you win the class place and you'd already signed up for the class then you'll be refunded the cost of the class place.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway closes on Sunday the 9th of June at 12am GMT - so get your entries in by Saturday night.The winner will be contacted by email on Sunday so they can join the class on Monday!

If you have any questions you can email Jennifer at jennifergrace@hotmail.co.uk.

June is going to be an exciting month!

 

How I Love To Scatter - By Jennifer Grace

Hello and a very Happy Bank Holiday Monday to you!!

 

Remember a couple of weeks ago Lisa-Jane shared her current love for die cutting ... if you missed it it's right here!!

 

I'm here today to share one of my current favourite techniques with you ...

 

Scattering!!

 

Regular readers of my blog will already know  how much I like to scatter gems or sequins on my layout, but here I'm going to show you how I also applied the 'scatter' mindset to other aspects of this layout.

I wanted this page to be particularly scattered - as bits of these cakes got scattered all around my house while the kids wandered around eating them - I hadn't put enough chocolate on and they were super crumbly!

I started with a piece of paper from the DIY shop collection pack, and splattered some Mister Huey Pretty Pink mist droplets over it, keeping the drops more concentrated near the centre of the page.

 

Then I built up a photo mat, using scraps from the DIY Shop collection pack and the Maggie Holmes collection pack. Normally I'd layer a photo mat more like a frame, so the edges would be seen evenly all around the photo. But to make it look more scattered I piled them up so they stuck out a different amount each side. You can see that one scrap had a hole in it, but I knew that would not matter as it would be covered by my photo!!

When I stuck the photo mat onto the layout I only adhered it in the middle, so that I could tuck things in at the edges if I wanted to. My photo was stuck on with 3D foam pads to give some extra dimension.

I then chose a couple of journaling spots, and a date sticker, and scattered them about so the journaling wouldn't be all in one place.

 

Now comes the fun part - choosing an ecclectic mix of other items to scatter about! I used a mix of stickers and die-cuts from DIY Shop and Maggie Holmes plus some Studio Calico Wood Veneer Tiny Stars (painted pink) and Cameras (painted light blue), some sequins and gems.

And I started to scatter them all over the page! I left the gems until last, as they are harder to move about (although usually possible if you do it quick). All the other bits were stuck on with Ranger's Glossy Accents, except for the 'fun day' and 'yes, please' sentiments which were adhered with foam dots, once I was happy with their position.

I also made the title look "scattered" by off-setting the letters in 'cakes':

 

 

If you don't want to scatter things all over a layout, you could just confine them to a journaling spot or embellishment - like I've done here on the speech bubble cut from some DIY Shop paper.

 

 

Keeping the scattered elements close to to a larger element like your photo stops them getting lost on the page.

 

And having some items tucked under each other (like the flower and date sticker shown below) and some completely separate (like the 'yes, please' sticker) also helps to make things look more random.

So you end up with a lively, scatter-filled page!!

 

I hope you've enjoyed an insight into my scatter-love! If you try it out please let me know!

Jennifer x