Showing posts with label Louise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louise. Show all posts

Tuesday 4 March 2014

March Challenge - A Photo Collage For Inspiration!

Welcome to our March challenge! 

Thank you to everyone who joined in with the February challenge, it was fabulous to see all the different takes on the sketch & we will show a few of our the entries and announce the winner here on the blog soon!

Here at S J Crafts we love a challenge. Something to take us out of our comfort zone or to encourage us to try something a little different.

Each month throughout the rest of 2014 we will set a challenge and we'd love it if you would play along and take up the challenge. Each month the challenge will vary - sometimes we'll have a sketch, sometimes a colour palette, a photo inspiration or a "recipe" of stash to use or maybe a technique.

At the end of the post there is "linky tool" for you to link up your challenge entry so we can pop along and see and we will feature a few of our favourite projects next month. We really hope lots of you will play along with us and take up the challenge!

For this challenge you need to use the below photo collage as inspiration, in any way you wish.





Your inspiration might be to scrap a photo of a place you love to visit.

Go for a walk at a location near where you live and take photos of your surroundings to make a layout.
Be inspired by the colours : blues, greys, beige, stone, cream.
Scrap  a photo which has no people in it.
Scrap a photo of a beach, sea, sky, clouds, sunset etc
Or you could take "water" as your theme
Or you could use the design of the collage as inspiration for your photo placement.
....or you may have your own idea!!


The wonderful Design Team have created some samples to get your ideas flowing! Here they are:



For Louise the photo collage made her think 'weather', 'blue', and 'clouds'. Her supplies include This Sheet of My Mind's Eye paper, and some Wood Veneers.




The design of the photo collage inspired Annie to make this really quick and simple multi-photo page - her layout has a large 'white space' on the left instead of a large photo, with small photos down the right-hand edge. Annie used the MME Chalk Studio 2 Collection.




Jennifer was inspired to use a photo from the beach, and to use muted colours - with darker colours at the bottom going to lighter 'sky' at the top. Her supplies include some Crate Paper The Pier Paper and Stickers, Prima Canvas Alphas, Jenni Bowlin Tiny Trims Rub Ons, and Simple Stories Chipboard Stickers.




Lisa-Jane was inspired to use wood veneers, woodgrain papers and sandy coloured embellishments to echo the natural textures in the inspiration photos. She also utilised the muted tones of Crate Paper's The Pier collection. 



Jimjams - Layout - Surf's Up! - Crate Paper Boys Rule - SJ Crafts

Jemma was inspired by the water ... to scrap an aquatic activity! She used Crate Paper's Boys Rule which was just the perfect colours for her photos - the papers were Zap,  Top Score, and Vellum Stars, and she used some of the Wood Embellishments and Stickers.


So, will you take up our challenge this month?


Our New Design Team member Annie is kindly offering a prize this month to celebrate joining the S J Crafts team. She will select one person at random from all those who link up to win a small prize!

Use the linky tool below to add a link to the blog post (or your gallery) with your layout or card and a link back to this post is much appreciated.

You will need to ensure your link is added by the 31st of March (11.59pm) and we'll select a few favourites to be featured in a post soon after.

Enjoy x

Monday 3 February 2014

February Challenge - A Sketch!

Welcome to our first challenge of 2014!!

Here at S J Crafts we love a challenge. Something to take us out of our comfort zone or to encourage us to try something a little different.

Each month throughout the rest of 2014 we will set a challenge and we'd love it if you would play along and take up the challenge. Each month the challenge will vary - sometimes we'll have a sketch, sometimes a colour palette, a photo inspiration or a "recipe" of stash to use or maybe a technique.

At the end of the post there is "linky tool" for you to link up your challenge entry so we can pop along and see and we will feature a few of our favourite projects next month. We really hope lots of you will play along with us and take up the challenge!



Our first challenge is a Sketch designed by DT member Jennifer and based on her "Muddy Puddles" scrapbook layout shown below, which was originally featured here!




To get you started here's a few samples from the S J Crafts Design Team:




Louise adapted the sketch to include more photographs. Her supplies included Simple Stories Say Cheese collection.




Jenny used My Minds Eye Cut & Paste 6" x 6" papers and Basic Grey Candy Buttons and shows how a layout sketch can be adapted for a card.




LJ's lovely page tells a great story and uses Echo Park's This and That Graceful collection.




This layout uses Simple Stories Daily Grind, Glitz heart washi tape and a sprinkling of enamel dots.


and from one of our new DT members: 

Annie


Annie's cute layout features Glitz Designs "Wild & Free" collection, some snippets from Simple Stories "Say Cheese" and My Mind's Eye "Chalk Studio" label stickers.


And this fab layout by our other new DT member: 

Jemma




Using Simple Stories (Urban Traveller & 24/Seven) and a few Crate Paper scraps, Jemma has created a super affect by dividing her photo into three sections.


So, will you take up our challenge this month?

Will you increase the photos, rotate it, flip it or stay true to the sketch?

Our New Design Team member Jemma is kindly offering a prize to celebrate joining the S J Crafts team. She will select one person at random from all those who link up to win a small prize!

Use the linky tool below to add a link to the blog post (or gallery) with your layout or card and a link back to this post is much appreciated.

You will need to ensure your link is added by 28th February (11.59pm) and we'll select a few favourites to be featured in a post soon after.

Enjoy x


Thursday 9 January 2014

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.




  • 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!

Wednesday 8 January 2014

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!


Monday 16 December 2013

Fast Festive Scrapping with a Mini Book

Happy Monday to you! 
Louise is here today to show us some ideas to speed up our festive crafting!



Last week Lisa-Jane shared her process for telling her Christmas story in this post and this post! . She explained that gathering together and organising your scrapbook supplies helps with the whole Christmas Journal process. I really do second this and for several Christmas seasons this is exactly what I have done.

This year finds me restricted with my mobility. This limits the activities I might otherwise have been involved in over December which means unlike other years  I'm unlikely to have a daily photo. It has also meant that I've not been able to pull together all of my Christmas supplies.

It is still important to me that I record my Christmas however I didn't want the structure of a daily photo or entry so I started to think along the lines of a little book to hold some photos and record some stories in December, along with the big day itself.

Once I'd decided on the format for my little Christmas book - I found it a quick and easy project to undertake. This is an ideal project for a busy time of year, when lets face it most of us feel there aren't enough hours in the day.

Today I'd like to share with you five quick and easy steps to construct a little book for recording your family photos and stories during the month of December. 

There's also another five optional steps with ideas to help you add to your little book if you find you have more time available to craft than you thought, or if you find that you have more photos and stories you would like to include. Or you could add to it in January.

1. Restricting your supplies for a project can be more productive. If you are like me then you can spend hours looking for the right papers and embellishments. To narrow down your supplies use a Christmas collection Kit. I chose the gorgeous Echo Park's 'Tis The Season Kit perfect for this project. Within the collection kits you have your co-ordinated double sided patterned papers, including journaling cards, a sheet of alpha's and a sheet of festive stickers.


2. Pick out just one or two tools that you will use for the book.In addition to this Christmas collection kit I chose one punch (yes just one!) to use throughout the book.

3. Next, you will need to cut your papers to make the pages of the book.
I knew I wanted a smallish book so I selected some patterned paper from the collection kit for the pages and cut them to 6 x 7 inches.  I liked the squarish look of the album and decided to shape only the top cover into a tag shape. Of course, you can cut your pages to whatever size and shape you like.


I put a hole through the top of each page to hold them all together with a book ring.

4. Once you've got your pages and a front cover, you can use a few stickers to embellish. Try to limit yourself to using only the sticker sheets in the collection kit or if you're not using a kit choose just one or two sheets. This will make the whole embellishing process quicker and easier. I used stickers to decorate the front cover of my little book....(with a little help from the Teresa Collins Santa list sticker sheet, which in my defence just happened to be close to hand at the time!).


5. To complete the book you can add a page pocket to the back page of the book for somewhere to keep all of my Christmas memorabilia.


And that's all there is to it!
  
A little Christmas book all ready to be embellished and journalled in!



Optional Extras

Not only does a project of this type fit nicely around your hectic December schedule, it is also a superb project to add as many or as little pages as you like, when you like. Next Christmas....even!!

6. If you find that you have an hour to spare here and there, then you can add inserts or overlays. For example while I was waiting for the next few photos and stories to include in my Christmas book, I cross-stitched (freehand) this cute reindeer head from this pattern on Pinterest.




 I framed the reindeer and now it sits on top of the front cover.




7. Inserts can be in any form. Acetate pockets filled with confetti, decorative tags, envelopes for that special journaling. If you have the time and inclination these inserts can add interest and decoration to your book. This time I chose to
 include a glassine envelope to hold my children's Christmas wish lists.





8. At this busy time of year when we are trying to find the perfect present, inspiration can be lacking. This is the best time to consider a scraplift. I did it! I scraplifted a Christmas card (thank you Kandis Smith). It's a little inserted page that adds decoration to my book. Later on it will hold a photo and journaling.





9. Another quick and easy way I like to add interest to a project, is to add stitching. Hand stitching can be time consuming....so I dusted off my sewing machine. I do love how decorative stitching can transform a page.




10. Finally, no Christmas project is complete without bling. A pack of gems or enamel dots is a quick and easy way to bling up your little book.



I hope that this project has inspired you to put together a small book to record your Christmas. 

Please leave us a comment and let us know if it has!

I will be sharing the finished book on my blog after Christmas when I've recorded and included photos from Christmas day.

Happy Christmas Scrapping 

Louise x

Louise shares stories and her papercrafting projects at her blog Boys, Bugs, and Beautiful Buttons

P.S. Don't forget about our Design Team Call!

Friday 6 December 2013

December's Six Cards On The 6th!

Hello and welcome to December's Six Card's on the 6th!



This is the last post in our series that's all about getting 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! 


 As you may have made most of your Christmas cards by now, this month we'd love you to link up even if you just have one or two cards to show us - or maybe you've made a few tags for Christmas presents? Let us see!

Today we have inspiration from Louise and Lisa-Jane, who have put some festive 6x6 pads to good use!

Louise:

The countdown has commenced and I have a long list of things that I need to do before the big day. Thankfully my Christmas card making has been under way for a while now which has all been down to the 6 on the 6th challenge. I have really enjoyed making a few cards each month!  

The cards I am going to share today have been made using the Teresa Collins Santas List 6x6 pad and stickers sheet. A perfect Christmas collection!


 I've already made cards with Christmas trees, snowflakes and holly, so this time I wanted to use stars.



To start I cut a silver glitter circle and a slightly smaller vellum circle for each of the six cards. These were layered and placed onto a background patterned paper. 



Then on top of each vellum circle I wrapped a circle of either tinsel, wire or twine. These were adhered with Glossy Accents.



Using a die cutting machine I cut six stars... or you could use a template and cut them out by hand.



To make them 3D I scored from the tip of each point across to the other side. By creasing the score lines to create peaks and valleys the star comes to life!








As I wanted the star to appear as though it is hanging...I threaded some cotton through one of the points and a silver bead. The cotton was fixed to the back of the background paper to hold it in place.



Here are some close up photos so you can see a little more of the detail:



Oh.....Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!

Lisa-Jane:

I've recently been using the Bo Bunny Elf Magic 6x6 Pad to create some really colourful cards. The beauty of this collection is that the designs are so bright that you don't need to add much more to make a striking card.  Also there are some more traditional designs too for a more subtle feel.


I made 2 ranges of cards and chose 3 of each to show you here. 

The top row were made by cutting 5x5" squares of paper a third of the way down, and then swapping two pieces over to make 6 cards out of the 3 original squares. I covered the join with some glitzy trim and added a few sequins (inspired by Jennifer!) and a little arrangement of punched shapes with a pre-made topper:


The second row were made by matting 5x5" white card with slightly smaller papers from the pad. I then attached a strip of coordinating paper and some festive trim. I coloured some stamped images and matted them on coordinating paper before adhering them over the trim with pop dots. 

You can see what a range of looks you get in the Elf Magic collection, especially when you change up the embellishments too!

I also made some cards from the inch that I trimmed off by layering the strips up in a tree shape - even the children helped!

I've loved doing this series because I have a lovely little pile of cards that I otherwise wouldn't have had.

Merry Christmas!

Didn't Louise and Lisa-Jane make some fabulous cards! Do you have a Christmassy 6x6 pad that you could use on a couple of cards or some tags? How about trying Louise's idea to make some 3D stars, or Lisa-Jane's tip to hide paper-joins with glitzy trim? 

Now it's your turn! Link up your cards below for a chance to win the pizza box full of stash (prize will go out in early January). We can't wait to see what you create! Jennifer x 

Wednesday 16 October 2013

More Dapper Dan And vellum!

Hello! 
Louise back today with more Dapper Dan and vellum!
If you missed the other post, you can catch up on that here!

3. Vellum pockets. 

The boy's looked very smart after their back to school haircuts, so I took a quick photo outside the barbers, with their lollipops (They are still young enough to be offered a lollipop after having their haircut...and once upon a time the only way I could get them to the hairdressers.)

Initially I made the vellum pocket to hold my journalling in. As the page progressed I ended up filling the vellum pockets with tiny white hearts (you might just be able to make them out) and adding my journalling to a tag that I slipped behind the pocket.

Because my son is wearing a red t-shirt I used red as an accent colour. Did you notice the "Instagrammed" stamp...how cool is that!?

The pocket was machine stitched to the layout, filled and sealed with alpha stickers to make the title.






 4. Using vellum on cards.

Using a few scraps of left over vellum, I added it to a couple of cards made with the Dapper Dan papers.

As with my layouts I used the vellum as a background, layered it and punched the edge.


Like many scrapbooking techniques and tools, vellum seems to have come full circle.  I've spent the past hour working back through my albums to pinpoint the first time I used vellum on my layouts. I think it was around 11-12 years ago now. It looks as if, then red vellum was a firm favourite of mine.

I hope these layouts have inspired you to think about using the Dapper Dan collection to scrap your favourite boy(s) back to school or sports photos.

Dapper Dan truly is a wonderful collection designed especially with boys/men in mind. Thank you Sarah for letting me have the pleasure of working with it and capturing more memories.

Thanks for visiting the blog today - we'd love to hear your comments on vellum!!

Louise x

Supplies used in these projects can be found here: Dapper Dan

See more of Louise's crafting on her blog: Boys, bugs and beautiful buttons