Crafter's Companion Inspirers Design Team & Creative Stamping Magazine Feature

Hi everyone

I thought I would share one of  the big projects I did in 2016 as part of the Crafter's Companion Design Team. I was asked to create 5 card and accompanying tutorials for a feature for Creative Stamping magazine. My brief was to create 5 card using Leonie Pujol Christmas stamps and her glitter pens. The 5 cards had to be linked by a colour theme so that they would link together in the magazine, I chose blue and lilac. The cards and tutorials were in the magazine just before Christmas and produced a 3 page feature, I was chuffed to bits.

If you're a stamper or want to get into stamping, the monthly magazine is fabulous; it contains lots of photo samples and step-by-step instructions plus an A4 sheet of good size stamps, so definitely check it out. So here are my cards, and at the bottom I've included picture of the actual magazine article.

Thanks for looking x 

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

Crafter's Companion Inspirers Design Team - My Favourite 2016 Products

Hi everyone

Tonight I want to share one my Crafter's Companion Design Team projects that I made last year. We were asked to choose our favourite products of 2016, and I chose the Sara Signature Collection 'Little Angel'. I think the collection is really sweet, and so versatile because t could be used for so any occasions. My card and quote was added to the Crafter's Companion blog highlighting several different products...I was so chuffed.

For my card I decided to create a 'Baby's First Christmas' card using traditional colours, and I think it worked really well...I hope you like it as well.

Here's What I Did

I used an 7" x 7" white card blank  and matted it with a sheet of pattern paper. Next I die cut a frame from a sheet of strong white card and attached a piece of Bakers Twine from one side to the other, the frame was then added to the card front using foam pads.

The clothes were die cut using red, white, green and brown card and assembled. Glittery elements were added to the clothes and attached to the clothes line using mini pegs. To finish off  I created a computer generated sentiment which I die cut and mounted onto the card front along with some mini hand cut holly leaves.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products - Signature Collection 'Little Angel' Dies - My First Outfit, Baby Accessories,  Signature Collection 'Contemporary Christmas' Paper Pad, Sheena Douglass Stamping Card, Die'sire Essential Oval Dies, Gemini, Gemini Free Dies, Core'dinations 'Brights',

Other: Red Card, Bakers Twine, Glitter,  Funky Foam, Pegs, 7" x 7" Card Blank

Tip: Double up on your foam tape or funky foam behind a frame to create more depth in the aperture.

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

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirer's Design Team - January Project #1

Good morning everyone

Well I'm here today to share the first of my January 2017 Crafter's Companion Design Team projects with you. I used the gorgeous Colorista stamps-Elements 1. These are so pretty and such a great size to colour in as they're not too big, and there's quite a few in the set. I'm so happy how they turned out on my Kraft card, all I did was some simple masking. I coloured all the flowers in with Spectrum Noir ColourBlend pencils using pencil & pencil blending technique...no solvent used.

I kept the card quite simple as I wanted to highlight the beautiful stamps. I'm definitely going to be making more cards using these little gems..so what this space. Thanks for looking 💚

Here's What I Did
I used a 5" x 5" Kraft card blank, Before sticking the little yellow card mat to the base card I die cut the word 'hello' and the large butterfly from it's centre.....this is called 'gutting'. As the centre of the yellow card mat won't be seen when the stamped Kraft is topper placed over the top it's a great way of utilising all of your card.

I cut a piece of Kraft card to size and stamped some of the flowers I wanted in the foreground onto it first. The same flowers were stamped again on to a large post-it note and cut out, then placed over the top of the flowers on my card.  I stamped a few more flowers and making sure I added more masks where required.

Tip: Remember when you plan your topper, think about what you want at the front and in the background. To add any image to your background always stamp your foreground images first and mask them, then stamp whatever you like in the background. Always try to remember perspective if you are creating scenic pictures.

I coloured the flowers in lightly with my pencils, and blended with another to add depth and shade. In some areas I lightly used a white pencil first then add my coloured pencil afterwards, this gave a much softer look. When everything was finish I added dots around the flowers and into the flowers using a Moonlight pen, which is creamy and fluorescent under certain light. The completed topper was added to the card base along with the die cut butterfly and sentiment which was mounted onto funky foam.

To finish off I attached a few punched out butterflies and a touch of glitter.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products - Colorista Stamps - Elements 1, ColourBlend Pencils (White, Daffodil, Lemon, Avocado, grass, Amazon Green, Holly, Petal, Peony, Fuchsia, Nectarine, Honey, Cranberry, Verdigris, Reef Blue, Night Sky, Vivid Pink, Mauve, Blackberry), Core'dinations 'Pastel' Pad, Crafter's Companion Kraft Card, Diamond Press 'Hello & Butterflies' Dies

Other: Mini butterfly punch, Moonlight Pens, Glitter, Funky Foam

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

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirers' Design Team - Chick, Chick, Chicken

Hi there

I have another fabulous Crafter's Companion Design Team project to share with you. This time it's a stamped project using a cute image from Sheena Douglass aptly called 'Chick, Chick, Chicken and the brand new Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens.

When I chose this stamp to work on I'd already decided I wanted it in with shades of aqua and yellow as I wanted a fresh look to it. It's such a cute stamp, and perfect for Easter or anyone who lives on a farm...or maybe keeps chickens. Thanks for looking.  😃

Here's What I Did
I cut down a white card blank to create a 5½" x 7"card blank. Next I printed off a pretty blue patterned paper from the Crafter's Inspiration CD-Rom #11 and attached it to the card front.

The image was stamped onto a square piece of Neenah card and then onto a post-it note which I cut out to create a mask. Using distressing ink and a cloud template cut from thin card I coloured in the clouds. The images was coloured with Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens and a sentiment was stamped in the top right corner. When the image was completed I cut inverted rounded corners and mounted it onto complimentary card and attached it to the card front using foam tape.

The flower was created using flower layering die and then glued together, The fish tail banner was hand cut made from coloured card white card that was dry embossed using a border embossing folder. Both embellishment were glued in place onto the card front, then to finish off I added a large pearl to the flower centre.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products - Sheena Douglass - A Little Bit Sketchy 'Chick, Chick, Chicken' Stamp Set,  Core'dinations 'Pastel' & 'Brights' Pad, Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Issue #11, 
Spectrum Noir Illustrator Pens - TN3, BO2, FS3, FS6, FS7, MB1, MB2, CT1, CT2, LG3, DG2, DG3, HB1, HB2, HB3, TB1, TB2, TB3, BT1, BT5, AB1, Crafter's Inspiration Magazine Freebies # 11, Sheena Douglass Stamping Card, Neenah Card

Other: Flower Die, 5½" x 7" Card Blank (cut down), Cloud Template, Pearl, Corner Rounder Punch, Tumbled Glass Distressing Ink, Black Pen, Foam Pads, Manual Die Cutting Machine

Tip: Create your own cloud template by overlayering circles and sticking them together, or glueing cloud die cut shapes together to create a cloud border.

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

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirer's Design Team - Catitude Digital Card

Hi everyone 😊 

Wow, I'm on a roll with another Crafter's Companion project showing off the cuteness that is the Catitude CD-Rom. The stamps, embossing folders, dies that compliment the CD are also fab; they so pretty and very useful. 

If you're interested in purchasing the Catitude CD-Rom it has 2 disks. Disk 1 is the Papercrafting section and contains images, papers, card companion sheets, plus pre-designed toppers in a PDF format which can be printed and fussy cut out.  Disk  2 contains similar content but it's 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.  Digitally created cards are brilliant to batch make to save time when you're in a rush and can save on your postage. But definitely check out the rest of the launch products...they stamps are sooo cute as are the dies. 💛💙💜

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

Here's What I Did
I opened my graphics program (CraftArtist 2), then I put the Catitude CD2 into the computer drawer and waited for it to load. From the pop up screen I clicked onto Card Companions and selected everything I needed to make my card. I layered all the elements to create the topper I wanted, then 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 black card and added it to a 7" x7" card blank using foam pads. To finish off I added glitter and a few gems.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion: Catitude CD-Rom Digital Elements), Matt Black Card

Other: 7" x 7" Card Blank, Glitter, Gems, CA2

Tip: Add depth to digitally created card toppers by using a few mat and layers of card stock before adding to your card blank.

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

Crafter's Companion Inspirers Design Team Card - Catitude Bag

Good morning everyone

Wow, I'm on a roll! I'm here once again to share a Crafter's Companion Design Team project with you using the fabulous Catitudes CD-rom. I just couldn't resist using the digital cat elements of the CD this time...they're all sooo gorgeous.

This time I decided to decorate a plain brown paper bag using a cat topper, patterned papers all from the CD, a few die cut flowers, lace and a sprinkling of gems. Simple!

Here's What I Did

I used a small brown paper bag and decorated it with elements from the Catitude Twin CD-Rom. From the CD I took the pale pink background paper into a graphics program and added a sentiment to the bottom of the sheet and printed it off, along with a cat topper to compliment it. I also printed  a sheet of the spotty patterned papers onto thin white card to die cut flowers from it later on.

I matted the pale pink background paper and a strip of the spotty card onto black card and attached them both to the bag, along with a strip of black lace. Next I matted the cat topper onto black card and attached that to the bag as well using foam tape, to it give extra dimension.

Using both black and spotty card I die cut a few flowers and then layered them up. The flowers were added to the bag front along with a few leaves and flourishes cut from black glitter card.  I attached a few gems and a large pearl into the flower centres.

To finish off I attached a lace bow around the handle.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products - Catitude Twin CD-Rom, Crafters' Companion Matt Black Card, Sara's Signature 'English Country Garden' Collection 'Grand Floral', Collall Glue, Gemini Cutting Machine

Other: Small Brown Paper Bag, Foam Tape, Black Glitter Card, Gems, Black Lace, Large Pearl, Glitter, CA2, Printer, Flourish Die

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

Crafter's Companion Inspirers Design Team Card - Catitude Happy Family

Good morning everyone

Well I'm here today to share another Crafter's Companion Design Team project with you. This particular card was created using our newest range of stamps and CD collection...it's called Catitude. The images are really cute and could be used for so many occasions. The CD collection has soooo many elements to it, paper, printable and play elements and layouts, plus there's a digital collection with lots of png files to use in a graphics program so you can be your own designer.

On this particular card I used one of the fab stamps in the collection called 'Happy Family', one of the printable papers from the CD, and Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens to colour the cat family in with.  Aren't they so sweet. Thanks for looking :)

Here's What I Did

I used a Kraft card blank and cut it to size and matted it with a piece of patterned paper printed from the Catitude CD. I stamped the cat family onto the top section of a piece of colouring card stock, and used my alcohol pens to colour them in with. The finished image was then cut down to size and the corners rounded off, this was matted onto another piece of Kraft card. A strip of the patterned paper was glued into place beneath the cats along with a sentiment badge. The completed topper was then mounted onto the card front using foam tape

To finish off I attached a few glittered die cut hearts and some pearls.

To make the card more stable when standing up, I folded a strip of Kraft card into valleys and folds and glued it to the inside bottom of the card.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products - Catitude CD, Happy Family Stamp, Spectrum Noir Illustrator Pens - MB1, MB2, EB2, GY1, GY2, GY3, PP1, PP2, PP4, PP6, Diamond Press 'Love Today' Dies & Stamp Set, Core'dinations Pastels & Brights Paper Pad, Spectrum Noir 'Clear Overlay' Pen and PP6, Diamond Press Stamp & Die Set 'Love Today'

Other: Kraft Card 8" x 8" Card Blank (cut down), Glitter, Pearls, CA2, Corner Rounder Punch, Distressing Ink, Gold Pen, Foam Pads, Manual Die Cutting Machine

Tip: Why not cut down a pre-scored card blank to create a card in a size to match your needs.

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.

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

Crafter's Companion 'Inspirers' Design Team - Winter House Project

Good morning everyone

Well I'm here today to share another one of my Crafter's Companion Design Team project with you. I've again used the 'Country Cottage' template...yep the same one I used for the Halloween House.

I had such a blast making this one. All the little features on the house have been made using Crafter's Companion products. In the 2nd photo I have placed a battery operated tealight inside and it glows beautifully through the door and windows. I have to admit by the end of creating this I was absolutely covered from head to toe in glitter and snow...and sparkled beautifully. Lol

UPDATE - I've just checked the Crafters' Companion store and unfortunately the house template has just sold out...sorry!

 

 

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" white 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 also done for the oval window ready for the door to be added. All the panels were then dry embossed and distressing inks was added. I glued white vellum behind the windows.  

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.

Door: I cut a rectangle from white card and a slightly smaller one from blue card, I cut an oval in blue in exactly the same place. I dry embossed the blue door using an embossing folder, a piece of white vellum was sandwiched and glued between the white and blue card. To embellish the door a pink heart, letterbox and a door knob was added to it. The whole door was then glued onto the front of the house.

Windows: I die cut 2 window frames and a 2 circle frame from white 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 cut into one side to accommodate the chimney, then glued together. The roof was covered with sheets of white foam and faux snow ands glitter was glue on top.

House Base: I matted a piece of white card 7¼" x 8¼" and covered with a piece of white foam and faux snow ands glitter was glue on top, I die cut lots of fence panels from strong white card which I attached to the base, and left one open to create a gate.

Tip: * 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.

Embellishments: I die cut a Christmas Tree 3 times from strong white card and added blue distressing ink. To make it free standing - I scored each piece down the centre, glued them all together and added glitter to the branches. To make the house glow I place a battery operated tea light inside. To add smoke to the chimney I used toy filling. The reindeer and sleigh were die cut from silver glitter card and added to the back of the roof using strong acetate. To complete the house I printed off a 'Santa Lives here' sign and die cut it into a circle and then added post from strong white card. I cut strip of the same foam used on the roof and ground, then cut points into the strips to create icicles, these were finished off by adding snow and glitter.

Here's What I Used
Crafter's Companion Products Used:-  Crafter's Companion Country Cottage Decorative Template (this has just sold out -- sorry!), Signature Collection Contemporary Christmas 'Stylish Tree' and 'At Christmas Time', Sara Signature English Country Garden Collection 'Cottage Window', Signature Collection Autumn Morning 'Picket Fence', Die'sire Essentials 'Ovals', 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, Gemini Die Cutting Machine, Crafter's Companion Luxury Cardstock Pack - Silver, Collall All Purpose Glue, Collall Tacky Glue

Other: Colour Cloud 'Summer Sky', A3 White Card, Rectangle Die, Battery Tea Light, Manual Die cutting Machine, Toy Stuffing, Silver Thread, Pink and Blue Cardstock, Faux Snow, Brad, Foam, Glitter

Tip: Toy packing makes excellent an smoke effect - just scrunch and mould it to make it look more realistic.

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