Friday 30 December 2016

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirers' Design Team - Baby Box Project

Hi everyone

Well I'm here today (erm tonight!) to share one of my Crafter's Companion Inspirers Design Team project with you. This one I made a little while ago but didn't get chance to blog...and there will be more like this to follow. The end of November and December is always a really busy time for me, as I have 2 special birthday to create for...my hubbie and daughter. So I'm a bit behind with my blogging. So you'll see quite a few Crafter's Companion projects over the next few weeks --- I hope you like them.


So here's a pop-up box I created in November using Sara's Signature Collection - Little Angel. I adore this collection, the dies cut beautifully and are visually pretty. So if you like them, get them while they're still in stock. ðŸ’›



 

Here's What I Did
I used an A4 sheet of blue card to create the box and white card for the embossed panels.

To help you make a box I have designed a few templates using different measurements types for you - click the link here to go to my Box Card Templates.  The instructions are a bit lengthy...sorry, but they do have illustrations. You can open, download and/or save it.

FYI, if you want to make the box height and/flaps slightly larger or smaller just increase or decease the measurements I've given you. Any questions just email me...have fun!

After creating my box I made the panels using white card. I cut the panels to size then embossed them using a pretty dotted clouds embossing folder, then edged each one with blue distressing ink. and glued them in place. Using lemon, blue and white card I die cut lots of baby embellishments, stars and clouds, and attached them all to the struts inside the box using strips of acetate.

The sentiment was stamped and die cut into an oval then matted onto a larger oval which I edged with glitter. The sentiment and a few baby die cuts were added to the side panels. To finish off I attached 2 pearls and a butterfly to the sentiment.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products - Sara's Signature 'Little Angels' Collection (Baby Carriage, My First Outfit, Baby Accessories, Dotty Clouds Embossing Folder), Diamond Press 'Clouds', Sheena Douglass White Stamping CardDiamond Press Stamp & Die Set 'Love Today' Stamp & Die Set, Crafter's Companion Sentimentals 'Greetings - Baby Stamps',  Crafter's Companion Acetate

Other: Blue & Lemon Card, Buttons, Pearls, Tumbled Glass Distressing Ink, Gold Pen, Manual Die Cutting Machine

Don't forget....if you want to see more Crafter's Companion creations made my lovely teamies why not join our Facebook page - just search for Crafter's Companion UK or USA, and for more magazine inspiration definitely checked out the Crafters' Companion Inspiration Magazine group.

Oh yes...we're also on Twitter, Instagram and have a Pinterest Board, so why not follow us. I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there or if you have any questions about the products - I'd love to hear from you :)

I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there - I'd love to hear from you!!

Challenge Entered:

Hugs & kisses

x Janine x

Saturday 24 December 2016

Sweet Stampin' Design Team Card - Santa Claus

Hello and good morning everyone ---

Wow it's another Saturday is here, were is the time going? On a good note though, it's Christmas Eve and Sweet Stampintime...yay!!

So I'm here to share my latest and my last Design Team Challenge card for Sweet Stampin' with you. I've decided to step down from the team to concentrate on family and on other projects. I have been on the Design Team for over 3 years, and the girls are such a fabulous and supportive lot and I'm going to miss them like mad - but it's time for me to move on. Big hugs girls x

So our fab theme this week is 'Santa Claus' and I'm using a very festive rubber stamp from Crafter's Companion called  'Santa's Helper'. For my last SS card and it being so close to Christmas I wanted to create a simple card that says it all. I used Zig Clean Color pens which I'm still getting to grips with so please excuse my patchy colouring, I'm hoping with a bit more practice I'll be fine.  Thanks for looking - and a MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL and a PEACEFUL 2017 




 
Don't forgot to enter our challenge you must include a stamped element on your card/project, follow our theme and link back to the Sweet Stampin' blog for a chance to win a prize! 
 
Here's What I Did
First I matted an A5 card with red card. Next I stamped my Santa and sentiment onto a piece of watercolour card and cut it to size then rounded the bottom corners. Using Zig Color pens I coloured the Santa and reindeer in full strength colours, however in certain areas I used water to lighten the pigment as they're water based pens. 

When everything was dry I added glitter to the Santa's beard, fur and some of the ground, then using a white pen I added dots to the baubles and the reindeers blanket.

To complete the card I added the topper to the card front, along with a few glitter gloss drops. 

Here's What I Used
Stamp: 'Santa's Helper ' from Crafter's Companion
Paper & Cardstock (CS): A5 Scallop Card Blank, Red CS, Crafter's Companion Watercolour Card
Zig Clean Color Pens: Flesh Color, Light Pink, Carmine Red, Bright Yellow, Yellow, Brown, Dark Brown, Beige, Gray, Blue Gray, Light Gray, Light Green, Green
Other: Glitter, Glitter Gloss Drops, Black Fineliner Pen
 
So why not drop by the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our 'Santa Claus' challenge we'd love to see your entries. 

This week's prize is from Funkykits

Thank you so much for dropping by and why not leave me a message to say hi :)

Challenges entered: 

Hugs
x Janine x

Saturday 10 December 2016

Sweet Stamping Design Team Card - Animals

Hello and good morning everyone ---

Well it's Saturday and Sweet Stampintime and it's only 2 weeks to Crimbo......whoopeee!!

So I'm here to share my latest Design Team Challenge card with you. Our fab theme this week is 'Animals' and I'm using a very cute digi stamp from All Dressed Up called  'Christmas Reindeer'. I decided on a CAS card we could be easily recreated for batch making especially for this time of year. I used alcohol pens to colour in the image and Colour Cloud inks for the background ...these are my new toy and I love them. Merry Christmas and thanks for looking




 
Don't forgot to enter our challenge you must include a stamped element on your card/project, follow our theme and link back to the Sweet Stampin' blog for a chance to win a prize! 
 
Here's What I Did
I covered a 6" x 6" card blank front with lilac patterned paper with I edged with distressing ink. Next I printed the reindeer onto colouring card and die cut it into an oval. I coloured the reindeer with Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens.

I printed the reindeer again onto copier paper and fussy cut out to create a mask, using removable tape this was placed over the image along with an paper oval to mask out a snowy base for the reindeer to stand on. The sky and the ground was inked using Colour Clouds in pink and blue shades.

I added glitter and glitter pens to the ground, baubles and snowflakes.

To complete the card I added a few punched out stars and added the topper to the card front using foam tape, and pearls were added at the top and bottom.

Here's What I Used
Digi Stamp: ADU Christmas Reindeer can be found here 
Dies: Tonic 'Layer Squares,' 'Pinhole Squares' and 'Home Sweet Home' 
Paper & Cardstock (CS): 6" x 6" Card Blank, LOTV 'Bonnets & Bowties', Joanna Sheen Satin Colouring CS, Lilac CS, White Glitter Paper
Spectrum Noir Illustrator Pens: GB2, GB4, GB7, LY1
Leonie Pujol Sparkle Pens: Iris, Lavender
Other: Lilac Pearls, Glitter, Dusty Concord Distressing Ink, Glitter, Colour Cloud - Rose Pink, Summer Sky
 
So why not drop by the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our 'Animals' challenge we'd love to see your entries. 

This week's prize is 'All Dressed Up' digi stamp

Thank you so much for dropping by and why not leave me a message to say hi :)

Challenges entered: 

Hugs
x Janine x

Monday 5 December 2016

Mind Crafternoon Blog Hop

Good Crafternoon Everyone

Welcome to our fun Blog Hop in aid of the fabulous charity Mind. We aim to help a raise awareness of mental health issues and of money. If you would like a prize for joining in the blog Hop read on.

The blog hop starts on 12pm on 5th December and finishes on 9th December at 5pm,
https://www.crafterscompanion.co.uk/blog/2016/12/05/mindcrafternoon/
  Each of the Crafter's Companion designers have created a project along with some tutorials to get people into craft and show what you can create with a little knowhow. As part of the Blog Hop event each of the Designers will have an individual prize to win - it will be a stamp/die or elements that has been used in their project. If for any reason the item is out of stock you will receive a voucher code instead).

To be in with a chance to win a prize you must leave me a comment and your email address, otherwise I will not be able to contact you. Winners of the blog prizes will be announced on my blog and on the Crafter's Companion UK Facebook page. Good Luck!

HERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN HELP
  • Join in on our online fundraiser..get crafting!
  • Buy a Crafter's Companion raffle ticket (100% proceeds go the Mind charity donate here!)
  • Download your materials each day to be able to craft along with our videos (100% of proceeds go to the Mind Charity donate here!)
  • Follow our Mind blog hop for inspiration
  • Join in and 'Name the Crafter's Bear' (100% of proceeds go to the Mind Charity - donate here)...if you guess the name correctly you can win the bear, plusthe entire Sheena Douglass 60's Collection launching on the 8th December!
So Spread the word!

************

 Right back to the Blog hop - you should
have arrived from Soraya
 
Soooo, to get you in the blog hopping mood I've created a sparkly Christmas card for the occasion. I've designed it so it's mainly mats and layers which can be easily replicated and a gorgeous glitter die cut star on top. If you wish to save time for batch making purposes or to reduce your postage costs (if posting it out) simply exclude some of the layers.

 
 I Used:
Crafter’s Companion Supplies: Crafter's Companion Silver Luxury Card Pack, Die'sire 'Shine Bright' Die, Die'sire Essential Only Words 'Merry Christmas' Die, Sheena Douglass White Stamping Card, Gemini Machine

 Other Supplies: 6" X 6" Card blank, Gems, Foam pads, Collall Glue

Here's the tutorial to recreate my card -
Step 1: Use white card, silver matt mirror and a piece of silver glitter card and a 6” x 6” card blank. 
Step 2: From the silver glitter card die cut a large star. Then cut 3 square mats from the matt silver card in the following sizes – 5½” x 5½”, 5” x 5” and 4½” x 4½”. Next cut 3 square mats from the white card in the following sizes – 5¼” x 5¼”, 4¾” x 4¾” and 4¼” x 4¼”.

TIP – To avoid confusion write the size of the mats in pencil on the back of each of them.
 
Step 3: On your card base glue the 5½” x 5½” silver mat directly onto the front, then on top of it add the white 5¼” x 5¼” mat, then the silver 5” x 5” mat, and finally the 4¾” x 4¾” white mat.

Next glue the white 4¼” x 4¼” mat on top of the silver 4½” x 4½” mat and add them both to the card base using foam pads to give it a little height. 
Step 4: Using glue carefully add the glitter star onto the topmost mat.

Step 5: From a piece of white card create a fishtail banner – approx 4” x ½” and cut 2 inverted ‘v’s’ at each end. Glue a die cut ‘Merry Christmas’ sentiment in the centre. Lightly run the banner through your fingers to give it a slight curve, add glue just at the tail ends and attach it across the star.
 
Step 6: To finish off add a gem in each corner and a few around the die cut star.

I used:
Crafter's Companion Products: Silver Luxury Card Pack, Die'sire 'Shine Bright' Die, Die'sire Essential Only Words 'Merry Christmas' Die, Sheena Douglass White Stamping Card, Gemini Machine

Other: 6" X 6" Card blank, Gems, Foam pads, Collall Glue

************
 Your next hop is to the wonderful Laney
************
Just in case you get along along the way - this is your Blog Hop journey:


Have a wonderful time and enjoy!
 
Hugs
x Janine x

Saturday 26 November 2016

Sweet Stampin' Design Team Card - Got The Blues?

Hello and good morning everyone ---

Well it's Saturday and Sweet Stampintime...yay!!

So I'm here to share my latest Design Team Challenge card with you. Our fab theme this week is 'Got The Blues?' I had to think about this one though, so after a little umming and arring (I think I've spelt those right) I decided to create a picture in shades of blue inside a frame. The fab little bird and house are from an MFT stamp set that I've had for months but never got around to using. The glittery 'hello' sentiment was made using some beautiful blue glitter card and a fab die from Diamond Press (available from Crafter's Companion). IRL this is super sparkly but hard to capture on camera. Thanks for looking 💖





Don't forgot to enter our challenge you must include a stamped element on your card/project, follow our theme and link back to the Sweet Stampin' blog for a chance to win a prize! 

Here's What I Did
I covered a 6" x 6" card blank front with pretty patterned paper. Next I die cut a fancy circle from white card and 2 pieces of funky foam, these were all glued together to create a frame. I did the same thing for the 'hello' sentiment - one layer cut from blue glitter card and one from funky foam, and glued together.

From watercolour card I die cut a circle and added distressing ink around the edge and into the centre, leaving some areas white. I over stamped the background with splodges and splashes to give a tone-on-tone effect, and then added splashes of glitter pen.

I stamped the bird, butterfly and house onto the watercolour card circle making sure I left sufficient room fore the 'hello' sentiment. The images were then water coloured and glittered up using pens. The frame was glued onto the background circle and the sentiment was then glued on the inside.

To complete the card, the topper was added to the card front and sequins and gems were added.

Here's What I Used
Stamp: MFT 'I'm Tweet On You', MFT 'Distressed Pattern'
Dies: Diamond Press (from Crafter's Companion) 'Hello & Butterflies', MFT Die-namics 'Stitched Circle Scallop Frame'
Paper & Cardstock (CS): 6" x 6" Scallop Card Blank, Sheena Douglass White Stamping CS, White Funky Foam, Blue Glitter CS, Crafter's Companion Watercolour CS, LOTV 'Shabby Shack'
Zig Clean Color Pens: Persian Blue, Cobalt Blue
Leonie Pujol Sparkle Pens: Ice Drop, Aquamarine
Other: Gems, Sequins, Black Fineliner Pen

So why not drop by the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our 'Got The Blues' challenge we'd love to see your entries. 

This week's prize is Live And Love Crafts

Thank you so much for dropping by and why not leave me a message to say hi :)

Challenges entered: 

Hugs
x Janine x

Friday 25 November 2016

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirers' Design Team - November #4 (Thanksgiving card)

Good morning

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL

Well I'm here today to share one of my November Crafter's Companion Design Team projects with you.


Today's card is a CAS one and in celebration of Thanksgiving. I've used autumnal coloured card stock and copper coloured glitter card which seemed fitting, and a simple sentiment.

I hope you like my take on it :)





Here's What I Did
To start with I created a 5¼" x 7¼" top fold card blank from a sheet of white card. From copper coloured glitter card I cut 2 strips and added them down each sides.

I cut down a piece of strong white card and die cut a circle into the top portion of it, then I dry embossed it using a wood grain effect embossing folder. A computer generated sentiment was glued behind the aperture and added to the card front using foam pads.

Using different coloured card, I die cut lots of leaves and glued then around the window.  To finish off I attached amber coloured gems around the front of the card.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products Core'dinations 'Brights' Pad, Sheena Douglass White Stamping CardCrafter's Inspiration Magazine Issue #11, Die'sire Mixerd Media Autumn Leaves Dies, Textures 'Wood Grain' Embossing Folder, Die'sire 'Four Seasons' Die, Crafter's Companion Matt Black Card, Collall Glue

Other: Manual Die Cutting Machine, Glitter Card, Gems, CA2, Coloured Card, Foam Pads

Don't forget....if you want to see more Crafter's Companion creations made my lovely teamies why not join our Facebook page - just search for Crafter's Companion UK or USA, and for more magazine inspiration definitely checked out the Crafters' Companion Inspiration Magazine group.

Just a little heads up...we are also on Twitter, Instagram and have a Pinterest Board, so why not follow us.I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there or if you have any questions about the products - I'd love to hear from you :)

I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there - I'd love to hear from you!!

Challenge Entered:

Hugs & kisses

x Janine x

Friday 18 November 2016

Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Kit - Issue #12 (2)

Morning everyone

Hi there, well I'm here with another Crafter's Companion project using the freebies from Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Kit - Issue #12 (November). Erm, did I mention I love all the Christmas freebies in the kit, especially the CD which contains lots of images, papers and toppers in JPG, PNG and PDF format.

After seeing some of the fab digital content I just couldn't resist creating a Christmas scrapbook page of my family. So for my project I used the digital content from the 'Deck The Halls' collection on the CD (it's my favourite.....can you tell). Because of the graphics program I use I can either print, share or email my scrapbook page to family and friends, which saves time, money and resources.

A description of how I made it and all the products used are shown just below the photos. :)

FOR YOUR INFORMATION - the PNG images have a transparent background which can be layered, resized and flipped to create your own toppers and backgrounds etc using a graphics program. The PDF documents have multiple images stored on them, the documents can be printed off and the elements fussy cut out. JPG images have a white background and cannot be layered on top of each other - the papers, some digi stamps and element sheets have been saved in this format, and are ready to be printed off and used.

Here's What I Did
I opened my graphics program (CraftArtist 2), then I put my Crafter's Inspiration CD into the computer drawer and waited for it to load. From the pop up screen I clicked onto Papers, then from the fabulous options I selected 'Deck The Halls' collection and opened the folder called 'Individual Elements' which is a digi kit  and created my scrapbook page using one of my favourite pictures from last year.

My scrapbook page is now ready to printed, shared or emailed to my family and friends...I could even create a Christmas card topper from it. It's such a shame we're not wearing our Christmas jumpers. Lol

Tip: To give the illusion of depth added a shadow (if possible) to each of the digital elements and layered them on top of each other, as you would with real embellishments.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion: Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Kit - Issue #12
 (Used 'Deck the Halls' Collection Digital Elements)

Other: Serif CraftArtist 2, Computer


Don't forget....if you want to see more Crafter's Companion creations made my lovely teamies why not join our Facebook page - just search for Crafter's Companion UK or USA, and for more magazine inspiration definitely checked out the Crafters' Companion Inspiration Magazine group. Just a little heads up...we are also on Twitter, Instagram and have a Pinterest Board, so why not follow us.
I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there or if you have any questions about the products, or even how to use them digitally I'd love to hear from you :)

Challenge Entered:

Hugs & kisses

x Janine x


Tuesday 15 November 2016

Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Kit - November Issue #12 (1)

Good morning everyone :)

Hi there, welcome to my 1st Crafter's Companion project using the freebies from Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Kit - Issue #12 (November). I absolutely love all the Christmas freebies in the kit especially the CD.  The CD contain images, papers and toppers available in different formats eg  JPG, PDF sheets (which can be printed and fussy cut out) and in a digital format (PNG) which can be used in a graphics program eg Serif CraftArtist, Photoshop etc. These images can be layered up to create your own toppers and backgrounds.

So for my project I used the digital content from the 'Deck The Halls' collection to create my own Christmas card topper, which I matted and layered onto a card base and then added glitter. Hope you like it. :) Digitally created cards are brilliant to batch make at Christmas time plus they'll save on your postage.

A description of how I made it and all the products used are shown just below the photos. :)




Here's What I Did
First I matted my  7" x 7" card blank with teal coloured card. Next I opened my graphics program (CraftArtist 2), then I put my Crafter's Inspiration CD into the computer drawer and waited for it to load. From the pop up screen I clicked onto Papers, then from the fabulous options I selected 'Deck The Halls' collection and opened (double clicked) the folder called 'Individual Elements' which essentially is a digi kit to create my card. All the elements in the folder are in a PNG format which means they have a transparent background which allows you to lay the images onto top of each other to create scenes. In my case I created a 6" x 6" Christmas card topper. To give the illusion of depth I added a shadow to each of the elements.

When I completed my card design I printed it onto super smooth paper, then matted and layered it onto mirror card and it added to the 7" x7" card blank using foam pads. To finish off I added glitter and a few gems.

Tip: You could create a similar looking card by using the PDF sheets from any of the collections, and fussy cutting the elements out then layering them using foam pads or 3D glue gel.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion: Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Kit - Issue #12
 (Used 'Deck the Halls ' Collection Digital Elements)

Other: 7" x 7" Card Blank, Teal Card, Super Smooth Printer Paper, Gold Mirror Card, Gems, Clear & Gold Glitter, Serif CraftArtist 2, Computer

Don't forget....if you want to see more Crafter's Companion creations made my lovely teamies why not join our Facebook page - just search for Crafter's Companion UK or USA, and for more magazine inspiration definitely checked out the Crafters' Companion Inspiration Magazine group. Just a little heads up...we are also on Twitter, Instagram and have a Pinterest Board, so why not follow us.
I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there or if you have any questions about the products, or even how to use them digitally I'd love to hear from you :)

Challenge Entered:

Hugs & kisses

x Janine x

Saturday 12 November 2016

Sweet Stampin' Design Team Card - Photo Inspiration

Hello and good morning everyone ---

Well it's Saturday and Sweet Stampintime - so I'm here to share my Design Team Challenge card with you. Our theme this week is 'Photo Inspiration' (see below). So for my card I used the rain, umbrella and yellow to inspire me. As soon as I spotted this Elizabeth Bell image I knew it would be perfect. I coloured her with the new Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens (which I love) in aqua and yellows to tie in with the photo.


Don't forgot to enter our challenge you must include a stamped element on your card/project, follow our theme and link back to the Sweet Stampin' blog for a chance to win a prize! 




Here's What I Did
I die cut a square from lemon card and die cut again to add the pin hole details and matted it onto the 5" x 5" card base. I die cut the image and coloured it with Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens, then added glitter to the rain drops and puddle. The completed topper was added the die cut aqua mat and attached to the card front using foam tape.

Next I die cut the word 'memories' and the tiny badge twice from 2 shades of aqua card (one is slighly darker than the other). I slightly offset the 2 words and glued them together and attached them to the card front.

To complete the card I added a touch of glitter to the spots on her umbrella.

Here's What I Used
Stamp: 'July Showers' from Elizabeth Bell (Hobby House 'Summer Sweetness' Colouring Paper Pad)
Spectrum Noir Illustrator Pens & Spectrum Noir Pens (SN): Skin - FS3, FS6, FS7, FS9, TN3 / Hair - GB4, GB7, TN7  / Aqua Top, Trousers, Shoes & Bows - BT1, AB1, GT2, (SN) BT1  / Umbrella - CT1, CT2, CT4, GY1, GY2, VB1, LY1 / Clothing Stripes - CT1, CT2, GY3  / Puddle & Raindrops - BT1, Blender, IB1 (SN) 
Dies: Tonic Verso 'Cherish the Moment' Rectangle Frame, Tonic 'Pin Hole Square Layering', Xcut Mini Sentiments 'Memories'
Paper & Cardstock (CS): 5" x 5" Scallop Card Blank, Lemon Linen CS, Aqua CS (Light & Dark)
Other: Blue & Clear Glitter, Silver Pen, Foam Pads

So why not drop by the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our 'Photo Inspiration' challenge we'd love to see your entries. 

This week's prize is Dies To Die For

Thank you so much for dropping by and why not leave me a message to say hi :)

Challenges entered: 

Hugs
x Janine x

Wednesday 2 November 2016

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirers' Design Team - October Project #2

Good morning everyone

Now I know it's the beginning of November, but I'm here today to share one of my October Crafter's Companion Design Team project with you using a few of Leonie Pujol's products. I used one of her new Christmas embossing folder, stamps and a few of her glittery pens.


Well you know me and how I love to create little scene - so here I decided to create a little wintery backdrop for this gorgeous reindeer using distressing inks. To add sparkle I added purple glitter pens to the reindeer and filled the pretty swirly de-bossed border with glitter.

I hope it gets you into the  Christmas mood :)




Here's What I Did
I cut a piece of strong white card to size and embossed it with the Christmas embossing folder. Using the de-bossed side of the card I stamped the reindeer and sentiment into the centre. The reindeer was stamped again onto a post-it note (tacky end) and fussy cut out; this was placed over the stamped reindeer on the card to protect it while doing the next step.

Next I added Shaded Lilac distressing ink around the edges slowly increasing the depth of colour. To create the snow hills template I roughly tore off a strip from a piece of copier paper. the template was laid this across the white card at an angle, then using a piece of cut & dry foam I gently sponged Worn lipstick distressing ink above the tear line to create sky. This was followed by 2 more drifts using the Shaded Lilac distressing ink. I added a little extra ink just under the reindeer's feet so he looked liked he was prancing.  When the ink was dry I coloured the reindeer in with alcohol pens and finished it off with glitter pens.

I achieved the glittery look around the edge, by using a narrow tipped glue pen and carefully drawing inside the swirly de-bossed lines - I did one side at a time and added glitter. I repeated the process for each of the side until it was finished.

I matted the reindeer topper onto lilac card, and then mounted it onto the 5" x 7" card blank using foam tape. and to finish off I attached 2 gems on the 'i' dots.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products - Leonie Pujol 'Entwined Frame' Embossing Folder, Leonie Pujol 'Tree Fairy' Stamp Set, Sara's Signature Collection Contemporary Christmas 'Festive Sentiments', Sheena Douglass White Stamping CardLeonie Pujol Glitter Pen 'Wrapped Up'Spectrum Noir Pens - NB1, HB2, HB3, LV3, Spectrum Noir 'Clear Overlay' Glitter Pen,

Other: Distressing Inks (Worn Lipstick & Shaded Lilac), Memento Ink (Grape Jelly & Tuxedo Black), Manual Die Cutting Machine, Glitter, Gems, White & Lilac Cardstock, Copier Paper, Misti

Don't forget....if you want to see more Crafter's Companion creations made my lovely teamies why not join our Facebook page - just search for Crafter's Companion UK or USA, and for more magazine inspiration definitely checked out the Crafters' Companion Inspiration Magazine group.

Just a little heads up...we are also on Twitter, Instagram and have a Pinterest Board, so why not follow us.I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there or if you have any questions about the products - I'd love to hear from you :)

I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there - I'd love to hear from you!!

Challenge Entered:

Hugs & kisses

x Janine x

Saturday 29 October 2016

Sweet Stampin' Design Team Card - Inspired By A Film, Book Or A Song

Hello and good morning everyone ---

Well it's Saturday and Sweet Stampintime - so I'm here to share my Design Team Challenge project with you. Our fab theme this week is 'Inspired By A Film, Book Or A Song'. Well that gives you plenty of scope but don't forgot to enter our challenge you must include a stamped element on your card/project.

So my project I decided to go with a song...can you guess what it is yet? I actually made this card for my daughter and her boyfriend as they both love Halloween; I've made my daughter a card every year ever since she was small. I kept the design pretty simple as the image is drawn inside a frame which was crying out to be decoupaged...so it was rude not to. My daughter received it in the post on Tuesday and loved it.

Soooo, have you figured out my song yet? Yep, it's the 'Monster Mash' by Bobby Pickett. It always makes me smile when I hear it, and these cute character fit in nicely to the theme.
 
 
 
  
 

 Here's What I Did
I used a 7" x 7" white card and matted it with orange and black card. I printed the image 3 times onto colouring card and cut away the background on one of the layer and coloured in Frankenstein with markers. I then printed out a background paper with my own sentiment on it and placed the first layer over the top of it flat, then added it to the card front.

Next I coloured in the mummy (only) with marker pens, and fussy cut both him and Dracula out, this was added them to the 1st layer using foam pads. Dracula was also coloured with marker pens and fussy cut out, then he was added the frame using foam pads to complete the picture. To finish off the card I added glitter pen to the stars and bow tie, and glossy accents to all the characters eyes.

Here's What I Used
Digital Stamp: Bugaboo 'Frame It - Spooktacular'
Paper & Cardstock (CS): 7" x 7" White Card Blank, Black & Orange CS, Neenah CS
Spectrum Noir Pens: Frankenstein = Face - CG1, CG2, CG3 / Eyes - LY2 / Hair - LV1, LV3, HB2, HB3 / Outfit - OR1, OR2, OR3 /  Tooth - TN2 / Mummy = Skin - Blender, FS2, FS4, TN3 / Bandages - TN1, BG1, BG2, BG3, BG4 / Eyes - TB1 / Dracula = Skin - Blender, FS2, FS4, TN3 / Hair - IG1, IG3, IG4, IG6, True Black / Cape - IG4, True Black, CR7, CR8, DR5, DR7 / Eyes - CR3, CR7, Colourista 'Blossom' / Stars & Bow Tie -  'Leonie Pujol 'Lemon' Glitter Pen  
Other: CraftArtist 2, Glossy Accents, Foam Pads,
 
So why not drop by the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our 'Inspired By A Film, Book Or A Song' challenge we'd love to see your entries.
 
This week's prize is from Crafts And Me
 
Thank you so much for dropping by and why not leave me a message to say hi :)

Challenges entered: 

Hugs
x Janine x

Sunday 23 October 2016

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirers' Design Team - October Project #1

Good morning everyone

Well I'm here today to share the 1st of my October Crafter's Companion Design Team project with you. Today's project is particularly seasonal...Halloween. As soon as I spotted the 'Country Cottage' template in the Crafter's Companion online store I decided then and there to make it into a spooky house.


This was such a fun 3D project, and so different for me. I loved every minute of it of making it. All the little feature on the house have been made using Crafter's Companion products apart from the large pumpkin and the witch, which I hand drew and cut out on my electronic cutting machine. I place a battery operated candle inside and it glows beautifully through the door and windows.

Why not have a go, you still have time before Halloween. You don't have to be as elaborate as I've been, just have fun with it and use your imagination. If you do make a Halloween house or even a card using Crafter's Companion products why not share it with us, we'd love to see it on our Facebook page. I hope you like spooky my house....sorry but it's a bit picture and text heavy. 

Happy Halloween :)

 
Photo with the tealight on
 
Here's What I Did
(The instructions are very detailed so I've broken them down into sections - I hope this helps!)
 
House Template: I drew around all the template sections (inc house, roof and chimney) onto 2 sheets of strong 12" x 12" black card. All the sections were then cut out and scored were indicated.

Walls: I drew around the house template again onto white card and cut up the house sides to create separate panels - 2 x sides, 1 x front, 1 x back. Next I die cut a rectangular* opening large enough to so that the window die could be place over it when it was time. When both side windows were cut out I placed the relevant sides of the house template and carefully marked with a pencil (make sure you mark which side goes where, so they line up correctly later).  The back wall has no window. For the front panel, I die cut a circle into the white card and again placed this on top of the house template and marked it with a pencil, this was repeated for the doorway but the actual door was cut away. All the panels were then dry embossed and distressing inks was added. I glued pale orange vellum** behind the window and door apertures. 

House: This was the tricky part as the house way too large for an A4 embossing machines and meant a lot of folding which is why I used good cardstock. So to cut out each of the windows I taped the relevant die in place (I did one window/door at a time) where I marked earlier, then folded the house sides over the top of the die and cut it. The reason I folded the sides over the top of the die was so I didn't accidently cut into places I didn't want to. I repeated the process for the windows, door and window in the door.

Windows: I die cut 2 window frames and a 2 circle frame from black card, and then glued strips of thin card across the circular ones to match the others. These were all glued in place onto the front and 2 side wall panels and the door. The house template was then glued together.

Roof: The roof was scored, and a hole was die cut* into one side where indicated to accommodate the chimney, then glued together. To make the tiles, I die cut lots of scallop strips which I inked and glued in place on the roof, overlapping them slightly each time. The tiles were placed around the chimney aperture, and when completed the chimney was glued into place.

House Base: I matted a piece of black card 7¼" x 8¼" with a printed out sheet of Halloween patterned paper, and die cut lots of fence panels which I attached to the base, and left one open to create a gate***.

Embellishments: To decorate the house I die cut a tree, leaves, vines, and some flowers then glued them in place around the house and base. I printed off a black cat, a bat and a few small pumpkins from the Crafter's Inspiration CD, then fussy cut them out and made them free standing. To finish off I hand drew and cut out a large pumpkin and a witch which I suspended from the roof. along with the bat using acetate strips. To make the spooky house glow I place a battery operated tea light inside.

Tips: *This could be done using a craft knife if preferred. ** You could use printable vellum and print a pale orange colour onto it (as I did). *** To make the fence stand upright, score along the bottom section of the panel depending how high you want it, and fold it and glue into place.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products Used: Crafter's Companion Country Cottage Template, Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Kit #11, Die'sire 'Louise' Create-A-Card Die, Signature Collection English Country Garden 'Lazy Daisy' & 'Cottage Window', Signature Collection Autumn Morning 'Picket Fence', Die'sire 'Four Seasons', Crafter's Companion Matt Black Card, Crafter's Companion Printable Vellum, Crafter's Companion Acetate, Crafter's Companion Textures Embossing Folder 'Dry Stone Wall', Sheena Douglas Stamping Card, Diamond Press 'Love Today' Stamp & Die set, Core'dinations Cardstock 'Brights'

Other: Distressing Inks, Hand Drawn Images, 12" x 12" Black Card, Rectangle Die, Battery Tea Light, Manual Die Cutting Machine and Electronic Cutting Machine

Don't forget....if you want to see more Crafter's Companion creations made my lovely teamies why not join our Facebook page - just search for Crafter's Companion UK or USA, and for more magazine inspiration definitely checked out the Crafters' Companion Inspiration Magazine group.

Just a little heads up...we are also on Twitter, Instagram and have a Pinterest Board, so why not follow us.I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there or if you have any questions about the products - I'd love to hear from you :)

I look forward to seeing you soon. Why not leave me a message so I know who's out there - I'd love to hear from you!!

Challenge Entered:

Hugs & kisses

x Janine x