Louise Brooks - Inspired By Winter

My apologies this is a few days late - it should have been posted last Wednesday. 
Lots going on here at the moment!
If you missed the first "Inspired By Winter" post you can find that right here!
This week it's the turn of SJ Crafts DT Member, Louise!

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Hello, I'm Louise and I live smack bang in the middle of the country with my husband and three boys. 

I work part-time and when I get a few minutes spare from family life you'll find me cutting and sticking. Unless it's a Sunday then I spend the best part of the day watching, cheering, shouting (words of encouragement) on the sidelines between three rugby pitches.

I've been scrapbooking for over 13 years now. It's been so long that it's now a way of life. It all started when my eldest son was born.......although if I think back it may have all started with my childhood when I became (a Duranie!) infatuated with Duran Duran. Remember this was in the day, pre world wide web! A scrapbook wasn't big enough so I kept everything in an arch lever file. Newspaper/Magazine cuttings, photos, posters (ones that weren't on my bedroom walls), lyrics, concert memorabilia .....I'm sure some of you must have kept something similar!  Please say you did!?

  

The world of scrapbooking has advanced here in the UK since I created my very first layout, there is so much more on offer now. Sarah (SJ Crafts lovely owner) asked me a few scrapbook related questions and this is what I had to say:

• What was your last crafty purchase?  Papers are my thing. I would rather buy a pack pack than a set of alphas or embellishments. Hence, my last purchase consisted of two paper packs, the gorgeous Echo Park This & That Christmas collection kit and the stylish Classic 3 kit from Studio Calico.

• Who is your favourite Craft Manufacturer? and why? I imagine we all have our favourites. There are times when one manufacturer releases a new line and for a while they are my favourite. I do have my all time favourites though, they are Lily Bee, My Minds Eye and American Crafts. This year my favourite manufacturer has to be Echo Park. Their collection kits are super value, come with plenty of papers and alpha's and stickers (which is a bonus). When you predominantly scrap with boys, it can be a challenge finding suitable papers...so these kits work perfectly for me.

• What is your favourite technique? Hmmm this is a hard one. Many techniques come and go... at the moment for me it's stitching on layouts. Next month it will no doubt will be something different. 

I couldn't finish this post without sharing something pretty with you. Christmas is approaching all too fast and Winter is now upon us. Winter is the best excuse to stay inside, to sit in front of the telly, to create. I spent an evening with a tray full of patterned stars, some seed beads and a score board. 

These 3D stars turned out well and made a lovely contributions to the tall dried tree decoration that stands in the corner of my living room. It now looks very christmassy indeed!

These 3D stars can be made to any size. 

I used a sizzix die, but you can cut them out by hand.

Papers are  from the wonderful Carte Bella Merry & Bright range.

All you need to do is score from each star point across to the other side and  gently fold the peaks and valleys.

          To finish off I added a few seed beads to some cotton to thread through the stars for hanging. 

 Are you planning on making any Christmas decorations this year?  

Have you been inspired today to have a go?

 We really would love to see if you have.... so do leave us a link so we can come and see!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by today!

Louise x

Don't forget to visit Louise's blog at Boys, Bugs and ... Beautiful Buttons

Monthly Challenge 11 (Nov/Dec)

Thank you to everyone who entered last month's challenge - we have loved visiting and seeing your work! Jenny will be along in a few days to announce last month's winner!

Our new theme for this month's challenge is:

Christmas!!

And the (optional) extra is ....Mix Up The Alphas!!

It's not long now until Christmas will be here so we want to see Christmas cards, gifts, last years photos scrapped .... or anything with a Christmas theme!

Closing date for entries is: 19 December at 1pm

One random winner will win a Mystery Christmas themed prize! Don't forget to check back to see if you are our lucky winner or you are chosen for our favourite 3 entries!!!

Please remember to check out the monthly challenge rules on the tab at the top of this blog, before entering. A quick reminder of our main rules:

Please link directly to your post & not a general link to your blog. 

You must mention and include a link back to the challenge in your entry post. No back linking please - new work only.

The winner must contact me by e mail to receive their prize. A few of our favourites will also be selected to be featured on this blog!

The final (& most important rule) is to have fun!!

Check out the festive samples from the Design Team!

Please do click on the name to visit their blog and leave them a comment ... I know they'd love you to pop by and say hello! There's also lots of detail and extra photos on their own blogs of their challenge piece.

Jenny - Easel Card Luminaire

I used a Hero Arts stamp and some old papers from my stash, inked with Antique Linen  distress ink. I added a couple of pearls to the corners and the cute little wooden deer. I've achieved the extra challenge by using a sentiment with different fonts.

Lisa-Jane - Joy layout

I used lots of layers on this layout of a photo we took of my baby son in the days before we had a digital camera. 

I mixed up the alphas for my title including some black and white Jenni Bowlin stickers and red Cosmo Cricket tiny alphas. The chipboard Joy die-cut is sprayed with green Mister Huey mist and some sparkle added on top.

Jennifer - Photo Shoot layout

This layout features a photo from 2008, of a photo shoot I did with my daughter. 

My supplies included Bazill Sugar Cookie Cardstock. My Mind's Eye All is Bright 6x6 Pad, Stickers from the Collection Kit, Buttons, Rhinestones, and Decorative Tape. Hero Arts Clear Gemstones. Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Cream.

Louise - Christmas Wreath

I've been wanting to make one of these since I pinned something similar on Pinterest. It was so simple to make and my only supplies were a snowflake sizzix die, White Bazzill Card, some Gems and a White Huey Mist.These snowflakes would look so pretty with liquid pearls in the centre as an alternative to the gems and you could add some sparkle with stickles!!

We can't wait to see your Christmas projects 

Please remember to link directly to your blog post and not just your blog and to include a link back to the challenge.

Good Luck and Have Fun!!

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

Gift Bag & Tealight Holder!

On the last post I showed you some cards I made with the Studio Calico Wonderland 6" x 6" pad. Today I'd like to show you a couple of handmade gifts.

This little gift bag is made with Kraft card which really seems to work so well with many of the papers in the Wonderland pad. The snowflake paper is from the Wonderland Collection and I added some red twine. The sentiment is a digital one from Whimsey Stamps and I added a tiny button which I coloured to match and tied with twine to the centre of the snowflake.

The bag opens up and revels a little pocket into which I put a few celebration sweets.

 Now for something different .... the papers are again from the Wonderland Collection and I think this shows just how versatile this collection is as I have gone away from Christmas completely and made a tea light holder. 

With the light lit!

Will you be making any handmade gifts for the festive season?

Jenny x

You can see more of Jenny's work on her blog: Dragonllew's Spot

Jenny followed these tutorials to make her bag and tealight holder:

Bag Tutorial

tealight holder tutorial