The 1st Monthly Challenge!!!

Welcome to the very first S J Crafts Monthly Challenge!!

Thank you so much for joining us!

So, this is how it will work ... (aka the Rules!)

A new challenge will be set on the 3rd Thursday of each month!!

Your entry may be a card, scrapbook layout or any other papercraft project. You may combine your entry with any other challenge(s) but no more than 3 entries per person please.

Please upload your entry to your blog with a link back to the challenge and then add your link to the Mr Linky widget at the bottom of the challenge post. Please link directly to your post and not a general link to your blog. No back linking please - new work only, any links dated before the challenge was set will not be eligible for the prize. Please ensure your work is your own and not copied.

You will have about 4 weeks to complete and post your entry, however please check the exact closing date of each challenge.

One winner will be selected at random for a monthly prize and announced here on the blog. The winner must contact me by e mail to receive their prize. A few favourites will also be selected each month and featured on this blog!

There will be a monthly theme together with a few suggestions as to how this could possibly be interpreted and samples from the Design Team. The theme will be designed so that you can (if you wish) scrap the "everyday", the smaller (but no less important) things in your day to day life. It is something that many of us scrapbookers (including me) find tricky to scrap about. We make layouts of our family, friends and places we visit but not so often pages about ourselves or our daily life. Having said that, anything related to the theme will be absolutely fine too. Afterall, the idea is to help you create another layout or card and to have fun doing it.

There will also be an added "Extra" each month. This may be something like .... to use a certain emellishment, colour or technique etc. A little added extra that that may help you to use up that piece of patterned paper you've had for ages or to use a tool you'd forgotten you had.

So without further ado, onto our first theme:

Challenge # 1     "Happy"

Added Extra : Use a Punch!

Our first theme is "Happy" so this could be a Happy New Year layout, or take a photo of something that makes you happy and scrap it, use the title "Happiness is .... " or maybe a "Happy Birthday" card a "Happy Anniversary" card or a stamped image that portrays happiness .... or anything else that "Happy" inspires you to create.

The "added extra" this month is "use a punch" ... so this could be a border punch or a regular punch, it's up to you! Nice & simple for the first challenge!!

Closing date for entries is: 15th February at 1pm.

One random entry will win a £10 voucher to spend in the S J Crafts Shop !!!

Here's some inspiration from our fabulous Design Team.

If you want to see more of their work, just click on their name to visit their blog.

Lisa-Jane

A fabulous card by Lisa-Jane using MME Fly a Kite paper, a fiskars bracket border punch and glossy accents to add shine and dimension to the kites.

Louise

Louise has used lots of layering and torn edges to create a lovely page ... and there's that bracket border punch again!!!

Jenny

Jenny has used MME Breeze patterned paper, Kraft cardstock, oval nesties and her punch is a Martha Stewart arch lattice punch.

Jennifer

I'm loving this little cute, credit card sized mini book by Jennifer, beautifully decorated with tiny photos, MME ordinary label stickers, mini alphas, and butterflies punched with the Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

I hope the DT projects inspire you!

I can't wait to see your projects!

Please remember to link directly to your project and not just your blog and to include a link back to the challenge. If you do not have a blog, please e mail your entry to me at sarah@sjpapercrafts.co.uk and I'll upload it for you.

January Kit released Today!!!

Yes, the January main kit is finally ready to go!!

The last few products arrived in this week's stock delivery and the kit has been uploaded to the shop.

Click here to visit the shop for full kit details!!!

The kit is packed with lots of My Mind's Eye loveliness including 5 double sided patterned papers and a 12" x 12" sheet of chipboard elements!!

I've loved playing with this kit and want to show you this first layout today.

The photos are quite old taken on holiday back in 2008!! I used some big alphas from my stash for the title and inked all the paper edges with brushed corduroy distress ink but everything else was from the kit, although the borders and tickets may vary in design and colour.

The colours work equally well for boy or girl layouts.

The "Fun Days" kit is priced at just £13.99 and contains around £16 of stash so it's great value for money as well!

These kits are limited in numbers and already orders are coming in so if you want one don't delay!!

Have a great weekend!

Sneak of the January kit

Did you like January's mini kit? I have just a couple left now so if you have your eye on it, make sure you don't miss out!

The main kit for January is out later this week, I'm just waiting on a couple things to arrive from the suppliers.

Do you want a little sneak peek at the kit?

Featuring MME Funday this kit is great for scrapping all kinds of photos ... girls, boys, heritage, days out and so much more in between!! If you are a fan of kraft and love the distressed look then you will love this kit!!

The Main kit for January, "Fun Days" is due for release later this week, pending my stock delivery with the last few bits of the kit, so don't forget to check the website and keep an eye on the facebook page!!

I hope 2012 has got off to a fabulous start for you. I have lots of plans for this year including a new S J Crafts Monthly challenge, some blog giveaways and also a new series which will focus on getting the most from your crafts tools and stash! So lots happening in 2012, I do hope you will join us!!

Scrapping with January's Mini Kit

The January Mini Kit is now available right here!!

This bright and fun kit contains 3 sheets of patterned paper from the Crate Random collection, 1 sheet of pink bazzill cardstock, 1 sheet of Crate stickers, various ribbons and flowers!

Lisa-Jane got to have a play and came up with 2 very different layouts.

I simply adore this page of her little girl playing in the autumnal leaves!

 

Over to DT member Lisa Jane to explain how her pages came together:

When I got the kit, I immediately thought of the orange and the pink together, which initially you wouldn't expect to work but it DOES!!  I remembered the million or so pictures that I took of B in the Autumn leaves several weeks ago. I wanted to use the pink cardstock as one of the layers so I decided on kraft cardstock for the base. So that I could use both sides of the patterned papers (and also I couldn't bear to waste any!) I gutted them all to make full use of all the patterns. I wanted a really shabby chic style so I distressed all the edges with my scissors and inked them with Brushed Corduroy distress ink.  The pink of B's top is highlighted using the bright pink ribbon and I added some flowers and some of the stickers. My title is made up of letters from my stash and the layout is finished off with a few buttons and leaf shaped brads.

 

Having done one girly layout, I wanted to balance things out a bit and show you that the Random Collection can also be used for more masculine layouts too. I loved the denim paper so I looked for a photo of L in jeans. I came across some pictures of L wearing denim dungarees and an orange top which worked perfectly with the offcuts from the first layout.

This design came together quickly and I love how there is plenty of space for my journalling. I used a border punch on the denim paper and the cream ribbon from the kit to break up the thicker layer at the foot of the page. A sticker from the sheet that came in the kit makes up part of the title along with some rub-ons from my stash! I added some raffia and another sprinkling of buttons to finish the page.

 

I love the way this turned out - starting with an essentially feminine collection and ending up with a layout perfect for a little boy and his Daddy out walking in the countryside.

I still have some of the gorgeous rose print paper left to make a card! So that's 2 layouts and at least one card from a kit that costs less than a fiver! Result!