Friday 3 May 2013

A Sketch Challenge (For National Scrapbooking Day)

As many of you will know National Scrapbooking Day (NSD) or maybe that should be ISD (International) is tomorrow!!
 
Here at S J Crafts we thought we can't let NSD (ISD) pass by without some kind of little celebration so we have a few things happening this weekend to celebrate our love of pretty paper and we would love it if you joined us!
 
First up, we have a Sketch Challenge!
 
If you are planning some crafting this weekend (or anytime soon as this challenge will stay open right up until the end of May!) why not play along and enter - you could win a £10 voucher to spend in the shop!
 
So, here's the sketch:


 

The sketch was based on Jennifer's "Disney Family" layout from this post and  huge thanks to Jennifer for designing the sketch for us!



The Design Team all played along with the sketch challenge and this is what they came up with! Don't forget to click on their name to visit their blog and let them know you stopped by!
 
 

Louise adapted the sketch for her landscape photo and instead of layering up papers and patterns as per the sketch she used paint and placed stickers in places that should have been papers.
 

Supplies include: Alphas from Echo Park All about a boy collection, Studio Calico Hot Diggety Mister Huey mist, Studio Calico chipboard Cameras and Arrows from the Snippets Collection and Hero Arts Red gems.

 



Jenny made a stunning card based on the sketch, showing how a scrapbook sketch can be used for cards too!!

Supplies include: My Minds Eye Collectable Collection Memorable 6 x 6 Pad, Self Adhesive Pearls & Diamond Stickles






Lisa-Jane stayed close to the original sketch apart from changing the photo orientation and extending her title along the full length of the photo.
 
Supplies include: Echo Park  Birthday Wishes Collection and WRMK washi tape.
 



Having already made the layout on which the sketch is based, Jennifer chose to make a card. By keeping the main elements of the sketch and reducing the size of the layers, this card is perfect for sending to a friend!

Supplies: Maggie Holmes and DIY Shop Collection Packs, Studio Calico Wood Veneer Cameras and Chevrons, My Mind's Eye My Girl Enamel Dots, Hero Arts Clear Gemstones.
 
 
 
 
Sarah has rotated the sketch 90 degrees anti clockwise but still included the main elements.
 
Supplies include: Echo Park Sisters papers, stickers and journal card, Glitz Polka dot washi tape, Studio Calico Snippets Arrows.
 
***    ***    ***
 
So, here's what to do if you want to play along with this challenge:
 
1 - Make a layout or card based on the sketch. You can rotate it and adapt it but we must be able to see that the sketch has been used as your inspiration or starting point.
 
2 - Post your entry on your blog, mentioning that it is your entry to this challenge and you must include a link back to this post.
 
3 - Using Mister Linky (below) enter the link to your blog so we can come and visit.
 
4 - This challenge will stay open until Friday 31 May so you have lots of time to enter.
 
One lucky entry will be picked at random to win a £10 voucher to spend in the  S J Crafts Shop!!. The winner will be announced on here soon after the closing date.
 
If you don't have a blog, don't worry - you can still enter by e mailing your project to me at  .... sarah (at) s j papercrafts (dot) co (dot) uk  .... obviously turn it into a proper e mail address - just don't want loads of spam robots sending me e mails too!!
 
Good Luck and Have Fun!
 
Look out for more NSD challenges, chat, giveaways and fun happening here on the blog and also on the S J Crafts Facebook Page





Friday 26 April 2013

Joy Fold Card Tutorial

 
Hello and a very Happy Friday to you!
It's Jenny here today  with a tutorial to show you how to make a Joy Fold card.
This is a great design when you want to make a special card for someone or something a little different!
 

 
To start off with you will need 2 different sizes of card blanks.



  I've used a 135mm square and a 96 mm square card blank.
Take your biggest card and cut half of the front piece off. 
This is shown on the bottom card in the photo below.




Next you need to pretty up your card blanks I've used papers from My Minds Eye - Collectable - Memorable 6 x 6 pad. You will need to cover the fronts as well as the insides of both card blanks. You can create a small border if you wish by matting and layering.




Now position the smaller card blank on top of the larger one as above and stick down.
The front of the biggest card blank (the piece you cut in half earlier) closes over the back of the smaller card blank as shown below.




Next you will need to attach something to the front which will act as a catch to hold the front of the smaller card shut. I've used a sentiment to hold mine closed but you could use some other kind of embellishment. I've raised my sentiment up on foam pads to allow room for the front to slide under it.




Here's my card closed up ready to decorate. I have used some Penny Black Stickers on the front and again on the inside. The only other thing I added to mine was some self adhesive pearls.




I hope you might have a go at  makingthis style of card ... if you do I would love to see it. Why not leave a link in your comment to your card made following this tutorial so we can pop by and see it!
 
The S J Crafts Design Team have all been busy making samples for our Brand New Sketch Challenge which is coming very soon .... and there's a prize for one lucky sketch challenge entry! So keep an eye out for that!
 
Have a wonderful day!
Jenny x
 
See more of Jenny's crafting over on her blog : Dragonllew's Spot
 
 
 



Tuesday 23 April 2013

My Minds Eye Collectable Birthday Card

 
Hello!!
 Jenny here today to share a card that I made using some of the papers from My Minds Eye - Collectable - Memorable 6 x 6 pad.
 

 I kept the card very simple to show off the gorgeous colours in this pad - lots of pinks / aqua / pale yellow and lime green. I cut the circles with nesties and inked the edges with distress inks just to soften them against the harsh white background I used the following colours Antique Linen, Worn lipstick & Iced Spruce. The White has been embossed with my swiss dots folder. The image has been stamped directly onto the patterned paper and I coloured it with my promarkers. I made a rolled flower from some scraps of paper and added some self adhesive pearls to finish it all off.
 
I'll be back soon with a tutorial to show you how to make a "Joy Fold" card!!
 
Jenny x
 
See more of Jenny's fabulous cards over on her blog : Dragonllew's Spot 

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Monthly Kit Samples ... All About A Boy

Hello ... hope you are well!
It's Louise here today!
SJ Crafts have released two new kits and and I had the opportunity to create with the
This kit feautires gorgeous Echo Park papers and is full of colour with a big selection of chipboards and stickers to embellish. At first the name of this kit might suggest that it is more suited to layouts featuring young children. I wanted to show you that not only is it suitable for the younger boy but for the bigger boy too. In fact I used the kit to create three layouts, one for a little boy, one for a big boy and one for the biggest boy of all!!

I used the kit exclusively and did not dip into any other supplies at all - not even my favourite washi tape ... the tape I seem to reach for constantly.

For the little boy layout I used layers with all the patterned papers. I love the colour orange and use it a lot on layouts of my boys.
 


The big boy layout uses one of the 12x12 patterned sheets. It reminds me of denim and I just know that this paper will be falling into my shopping basket next time I place an order with SJ Crafts!  It's fabulous!
 


Onto my third layout ....
This layout has a photo of the biggest boy of all who just couldn't help himself!
I wanted space to journal and created the flap on the right hand side to record some more details from our holiday.
 


After creating three layouts I had one sheet of cardstock left and lots of scraps so I made two cards. A Happy Birthday Handsome card ...
 


and a Thank You Best Friend card ...

 

The kits are currently available in the shop ...

S J Crafts Scrapbook Kit ~ March/April ~ All About A Boy *New*  Click here to buy "All About A Boy" Kit!

 S J Crafts Scrapbook Kit ~ (March/April) "Sweet Girl" *New*  Click here to buy "Sweet Girl" Kit
You really will not be disappointed!!
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Louise x

See more of Louise's crafting projects on her blog:
Boys, Bugs and Beautiful Buttons