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.

Get Ready!!

I know it's only August but GET READY to kick start your Christmas Crafting!!

 "Six on the 6th" Starts Tomorrow Here On The S J Crafts Blog!

 

We hope you'll stop by and join in!

Sweet Baby Girl

Hello

 

This layout was made for the "Scraplift Challenge" for Issue 73 of Scrapbook Magazine. I can show you now as the issue has now gone off sale, with issue 74 hitting the shelves last week!

 

I used Echo Park Sweet Girl papers and embellishments.

The patterned papers were cut and layered up to create a "messy" matt for my photograph. Placing them at slight angles is more playful and "free" to emphasise the fun she was having playing on the swing.

 

 

I layered up some chipboard pieces in the top left area - they read:  "play - happy - smile" and then balanced this with a cluster to the right of the photo with the title and the chipboard camera.

The tiny punched hearts create a visual triangle. Placing the same element in 3 places around the page is something I often do on my layouts.

Twine wrapped around the photo adds some texture and also breaks up the big area of grass in the picture. I used a pink Mister Huey to flick a few spots of ink and some enamel dots to finish off the page.

 

Here it is, in the magazine!

 

 

Did you see the date the photo was taken? 2004!!! Almost 10 years ago!!
Sometimes I like to "dig out" an older photo and scrap it. It makes a change from more recent photos.

Have you ever scrapped a photo that's several years old?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sarah x

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