From Sunday/Monday onwards you'll want to be popping back here regularly. There should be posts most days and each week will have a different theme. So look out for the first series early next week. You'll also have chances to win each week and join us in the challenges. We're looking forward to the fun (and Christmas!)
:-) Liz

We had a great day yesterday at our 10am - 10pm Craftathon. We had a fairly full house with 14 crafters. We had some under 20's and some over 20's, 3 from ChCh, 2 from Oamaru, Clarissa (Design Team Member) and a bunch of keen locals. We enjoyed some laughs, some old-time music and some prizes. Thanks again ladies!

The challenge for the day was to create "something"from some spare Advent Calendar boxes I had. They were allowed a piece of paper and some ribbon from the shop. I promised a prize draw too - but I forgot to do the draw!

I did see 3 completed projects at the end of the night and so we've done the draw for you.. The winner is... Barbara! Come into the store and we'll give you an embossing folder.

I took photos of Diane and Barbara's completed projects and I love them! They created little Christmas Trees. How cute!!


We also ran a Vintage Clock and Mini Scrapbooking album class on Friday as part of our Holiday Programme. We had a great turnout with 14 keen crafters! Here are some pics of the day...

v


If you like the look of the clock then we are running another class tomorrow (Monday afternoon). We are also creating a canvas on Wednesday and a whole crafty day on Friday using the Loire Valley papers and a Kaisercraft Birdhouse, layouts and cards. What fun!! Call us if you want to book in: 688 8566 on check it out online: http://www.artfullcrafts.co.nz/category/117/Classes.html

It's that crazy time where I need to get my Trade Me (artfullcrafts) listing allowance up! So I run a whole lot of $1 auctions - and people get bargains...

This time I've gone for lots of glittery stuff - Glitz PeelCraft, Kindy Glitz, Glitter Gel Pens and a whole lot of Embossing Folders (yes for only $1 res!). Some of the folders are not available for individual sale - but I've broken open the sets for this week.

Tomorrow night I'll load up another 100 auctions - Ice Stickles, stamps, Christmas brads, alpha stickers and some rhinestones...

My username is artfullcrafts. If you click that link and then type $1 res into the Trade Me search you will come up with all my $1 res auctions! Happy bidding.

We got new Echo Park Christmas Papers in stock today - so I've had a play already!! Here they are on the new Kaisercraft Scallop Hanging Tree. I will be making packs of these hangers (and most of the other Kaiser Beyond the Page projects) - s0 keep an eye on the website for them.
The edges have been painted with Gold and the front covered with Merry Christmas Border Strips from Echo Park. Then I've decorated it by cutting out holly form the Holly Berry Paper. Add some pom-pom ribbon, a Kaisercraft wooden snowflake covered with bling and ribbon tied with knots to sit on top of the presents and you're done! It look about 30 mins.

An easy night's project. You could of course add photos if you wanted - but I just decided to enjoy the papers this time.

Have a great night!
:-) Liz

Hi everyone.

I thought I was getting back on track with blogging - but I've been busy trying to complete my Dad's 60th Brithday album (I hope he doesn't read my blog...!). I must remember to take photos of it before I give it to him...

However, last week I did manage to create some layouts from the Artfull Crafts Scrappin' Sensations layout Kits. I've never really used kits before - but I decided that since I put the kit products together each month and our designed Clarissa does a great job of creating the layouts, that I should play with them! I really enjoyed myself and so I'm going to have a play with the September kit! It's great to have all the products coordinating and to have a wide range of products to pay with.

So I've got 3 here to show:

The first one is from the Like Father Like Son layout pack (only 2 more available). I loved what Clarissa did with the kit - but I thought I'd create my own version. I was inspired by Shirley's Impossible Layout. It just reminded me that's it's fine to have a whole lot of small photos filling up a page.



The second is from the Baby Lace Layout - part of the August Kit (only 2 kits still available). Again I decided to create something completely different to Clarissa's design. That meant ccoming up with a different use for the doily! The cute little baby girl is wearing a hat that my mum knitted her. This was taken at her Dedication Service.



Finally I actually sat down and did the Dream Layout that Melissa Kennedy taught at SENZ. I love this layout and have so much fun creating it. We still have some of theses packs available - we made double the number we needed and it was the most popular class at SENZ (well perhaps the Advent Calendar class beat it!!)


So what will I blog next? Well I did make a new stocking garland with the Be Merry papers and a Holly Wreath with Belle. I love both of the projects. But it might not be til next week - as we have the 60th dinner Friday night and then we're off to ChCh for the weekend. I hope it doesn't rain as we want to paint the fence...!

I've actually been doing some crafting!! So I've decided to share it with you...

I fell in love with the Hippy Girl collection from Kaisercraft and I was inspired by the Kaiser blog on August 26th. Nerrida created 3 of the most beautiful cards that I think I've ever seen! I have re-created her cards (they are on the right-hand column of my collage above) and then I set about using the left-over pieces to create a few more cards. To create all the cards I used the Hippy Girl 6x6 pad, a piece of Earth papers, Hippy Girl die-cuts , Kaiser lace, Kaiser pearl brads and some lovely mini roses that I loaded up on the website last week.


So, why don't you pick up a pad and have a play! I could make at least another 10 cards with the left-overs. But that will have to be another weekend!!

So, it's got me thinking. We know you love our monthly layout kit (Scrappin' Sensations) and we know you love Betsy's cards (have you seen her Secret Bird Society cards in her Gallery?). So we've decided to combine both of those things and create a monthly Card Kit! It will be based on a Kaisercraft 6x6 pad and Betsy is already working on the Le Chateau Kit. We want name suggestions for this new monthly kit - so let us know if you have a great idea!! If we choose the name you suggest, we'll send you the first card kit for free. Leave your idea here or on Facebook.

Have a great night. Hopefully all our Christchurch friends are okay and have had time to clean up their scrap areas. You might be surprised what you find...!

Hi Everyone – Lowri here. I am really excited to start off the Design Team posts and projects for Artfull Crafts. Keep popping back to see what the other Design Team members come up with.

I received a lovely bunch of items to work with – the main one being one of Kaisercraft's latest BTP releases – the Large Desk Organiser. Also included were the papers from the August release Hippy Girl Collection as well as some embellishments, rhinestones and wood flourishes. Now – I have to say that I went into a slight panic as they all looked very pink – and pink terrifies me!! However – on closer inspection I realised that the papers really had a wonderful range of colours and I was especially drawn to the plainer, contrast sides of the papers. I was also surprised when I saw the size of the organiser – it holds a full 12” paper sheet making it really practical.

I am going to go into some more details later this week about how I actually put it together as well as what I did decoration wise before and after putting it together. One hint - if you are going to start on this – there is definitely a right and wrong side to each piece in terms of fit with the other pieces and I suggest playing with the pieces until they fit perfectly and then marking them front and back, up and down etc to make sure you can assembly easily at each stage.
So – here are the pictures of what I came up with!

Homework Desk Organiser
I thought that the Hippy Girl range would be perfect for a girl who still likes pink, but who is starting to grow up a bit too. Here is my finished version – both plain and loaded with goodies!


I am pleased with how it turned out – though if I did it again I would have planned a bit more before assembling it – but I will fill you in on all those technical details later!! Here are some close-ups of the detailing


I used a combination of 12x12 papers and the mini-pad to get the variation in papers for the drawers – which are all fully lined.
I hope you like it and keep an eye out for more detailed information on how I put it together in the next few days.

Desk Accessories
These are “altered” items. The notebook was a very cheap one which I covered with paper and embellishments and the pencil holder was an M&M plastic container - I just cut off the lid.



Lip Balm Holders
These were a fun project I had seen a while back on a couple of other blogs from the US.


The “Sleepover” one has a magnetic snap closure and is a little invitation for a girl’s sleepover. I used the Kaisercraft printables for the Hippy Girl range to create a co-ordinating background onto which I printed the text. The free printables are FANTASTIC for creating stationary to co-ordinate with the Kaiser ranges. (You'll find the "Download Free Printable" option at the bottom of the collections on the Kaiser website). I have made a little Get Well Card in the past with a packet of Tums in place of the lip-balm but you could make party favours with tubes of candy etc

Super Quick Mini Album
I saw this on the Kasiercraft blog and just had to try it out it seemed so easy. The Journal Tags are so perfect for an easy mat/journaling spot. I love how this turned out..


I have a few bits and pieces left and I really want to make some cute notecards, so I am hoping to do that before I start on some items for Father’s Day.
So there you go! I have posted some more detailed pictures in my gallery and if anyone has any questions or comments – please post on the blog and I will reply!

This is the final day where we showcase some of the applicants for the Artfull Crafts Design Team. We thank all the people who have let us showcase their submissions even though they were not successful this time. We hope you've all enjoyed the last week's blogs!

Caroline H, New Plymouth
Caroline has just taken up this great hobby of Scrapbooking and is already being published! She enjoys trying a variety of techniques and is particularly enjoying sewing and layering at the moment. Her all time favourite manufacturer is Kaisercraft (yay!), along with Jillibean Soup (which we will also soon be stocking) and October Afternoon. Thanks for your submissions!


Nik F, Australia
Nik has been scrapbooking when she first got pregnant 7 years ago. She's also a keen photographer and usually scraps for herself and her family. Nik creates canvases and cards and loves the artistic side photos and papercrafts. Thanks Nik and best wishes with the relocation! You might even get your own craft room...?!

Sarah I, Auckland
Sarah is a lover of all things crafty. She has been creating for about 5 years and loves to make personalised gifts for others, along with finishing off an ever-expanding number of scrapbooking pages! She's keen on crafts and looks to put her own inspirational spin on projects - like the very cool embellished umbrella shown below! Thanks Sarah for your contribution to Artfull Crafts.


Shona T, Auckland
Shona is a mad-keen crafter who creates wonderful, varied projects and gifts for others. She enjoys making cards, scrapbbook layouts, tags and mini-albums and has a really eclectic style. She uploads in-depth You Tube videos of her projects so that others can enjoy them too. (Apologies for our blurry images - they were screen shots from You Tube). Thanks Shona! We look forward to seeing more of your work.

So that's it folks! Many thanks once again to everyone who applied. If you want to see more of the new Design Team's work then head to our Gallery...

There are just 8 more people to showcase on the blog. These people applied to be on the Artfull Crafts Design Team - but weren't chosen this time. We thank them for applying and letting us show you their submissions. There is so much talent out there!!

Gail L, NZ
Gail loves to create a range of Beyond the Page projects and cards. She creates gifts for friends and family and also for her home. Gail also enjoys completing a range of cards - from 3D, to animals, to shaker boxes to photo cards. Thanks for the variety of your submissions.



Julie C, Paraparaumu
Julie enjoys a range of papercrafts and also quilts! She started scrapping about 5 years ago and has been making cards for a couple of years (including a stint as a Stampin' Up demonstrator). She admires the way Tim Holtz keeps coming up with new ideas and would love to meet Kristy Evans - the Editor of Scrapbooking Memories. Julie sent us a lovely range of her projects. Thanks Julie!

Amanda B, Hamilton
Amanda is a scrapper who has also spent some time as a Stampin' Up Demonstrator. She likes doing hand-written journalling (great for all her travel photos) and enjoys playing with punches, stamps, and lots of tools. Amanda also makes gifts for others and at times hunts around in stores to find projects that need a make-over. Thanks for your lovely work!


Ashlee S, Edgecumbe, NZ
Ashlee is a keen scrapper and her 3 kids are often the subject! She likes to create with her children and believes that getting back to the basics in life is important in this day and age. She ran her own scrapbooking business from home last year, but has put that on the back-burner for a while and is now crafting for herself. Consequently Ashlee has a wonderful craft cave filled with tools and the products she loves. I look forward to meeting Ashlee for a coffee at SENZ next year!!
See you all back here tomorrow for the final 4 applicants. Have a great night!