Fancy a Challenge?

I am sooooo excited to finally be able to spill the beans on a new venture. Along with Colette Bate, I am launching a brand new challenge blog. What's that? 'Oh no! Not another challenge blog?' Well yes ... but this one is different!
Colette & I first met on the Journaling Junkie DT ... & when Stella announced that she was going to close the blog down, I got to thinking that we could do it ourselves ... only different! So I convinced Colette to join me ... & the result is Pen Pals.
Our first challenge goes live on Friday & will also reveal the yummy loveliness in that sneaky peek piccy there (you'll find the papers here if you need more clues). We are keeping the first challenge open for 2 weeks to give everybody the chance to find us & after that, we'll have weekly challenges. Each challenge will give entrants a chance to become our 'Pen Pal of the Week' & there will mostly likely be some RAKs & prizes along the way too! This first challenge has an extra prize in honour of the 40 days celebrations too!

So I said this is different & I'm guessing you want to know how:

• We won't have a big DT ... just me & Colette ... plus our Pen Pal of the Week
• We will focus on the journaling ... so although we'll show you our pages, journals etc it's all about the words
• You don't have to scrapbook ... it's all about the words (might have mentioned that already!)- so you can create layouts, cards, journals ... or just blog on the topic
  

I hope you are as excited about this as we are ... it's going to be great fun! Why not pop over there now & take a lookie ... & please do leave us a comment to let us know what you think ... You never know when there might be a li'l impromptu comments RAK! LOL

Oh! & make sure you don't miss out on today's 40 days event. It's here
Aaaaaand ... there's still time to enter this month's challenge & grab yourself a kit & Guest DT spot on this very blog - you have until midnight tonight ... here's the details!

Silly Pix!

For most of us, a big part of our crafting is scrapbooking ... & that means photos. So, for today's 40 Day event we want to see your silliest photos. We all have them, so from the mildly amusing to the downright daft, leave a comment with a link to your blog/gallery so we can come see. No blog? e-mail them instead!
And here's mine: DS4 has a big thing for clothes pegs ... and will beg & plead 'peg me, peg me!' whenever we hang out the laundry. Silly? I think so! LOL
Get your entries in by Midnight BST on August 8th & the DT will pick their fave to win a scrappy RAK from us!

Word Up!

The Design Team Girls & I have been busy behind the scenes working on a new idea ... & we think you are going to like it! It all came about around a month ago when I asked them what they most needed from their DT kits - the bits they can't live without & the bits of which they need a bigger selection. The answer all around was embellies ... but more than that, a wide selection of 'stuff' rather than lots of the same thing. So I spoke the the ladies in my class & would you believe ... the same answer. It seems that maybe we don't always want a dozen of the same pins, charms or whatever but a wide selection of 'tasters'.
Well, being one who likes to give 'em what they want ... & always up to the challenge ... here is the first 'ScrapJunkie Embellishment Kit'. And yes, if you have been with me since the beginning of the Crop 'Til You Drop journey you will notice that we have revived the ScrapJunkie kit name (was deliberating over what to call the kit & DS4 said ... revive ScrapJunkie, it was a good name then & it's a good name now ... duh! why didn't I think of that!)

We are very excited about this new monthly kit, which will launch on Friday (August 1st) as a limited edition, & the first release is a wordy affair. Just take a look at that sneak peek. Metal words, tickets, journaling spots, printed ribbons, tags, banners, alpha stickers, coasters, die cut alphas and more. And the manufacturers? How about Maya Road, Tim Holtz, Basic Grey, American Crafts, Cloud 9 Design? Sound Good?
And yes, it all comes wrapped in tissue and packaged in a pizza-style box. The RRP is in excess of £15 & will be available at the bargain price of just £10.

One is already on way to Zoe, who will be joining us as Guest Designer for August and I'm already planning kits for the next few months. We have some great products filling these li'l boxes of loveliness ... many of which are not available in the webstore! Don't forget we have the current search for September's Guest Designer too ... you only have until Thursday to get your entries to me!

We are expecting these to sell out very quickly, so if you would like to pre-order one ... just drop me an e-mail & you could be among the first to have your kit dispatched on Friday (you will be sent a paypal invoice & we will dispatch upon receipt of payment). Exciting stuff huh?
We are also considering a subscription service (with all the freebies & special extras that should accompany such a deal & reward your loyalty to us) for future kits, page & project kits ... so many plans!
We love to receive your feedback too ... so please do leave a comment & let us know what you think!

Guv's Celebrity Squares ... Round #3

Oh dear! We aren't doing too well with this li'l game so far! LOL. Our first winner hasn't been in touch & nobody guessed that #2, Dean (DS3) had the prize this time. Now my Dean is known to be a bit of a charmer ... so the prize he holds is a bunch of charms!
The good news is that we'll be drawing both prizes from everybody that entered round #2 ... and anybody can enter this round ... so we are starting afresh in effect!!
So, using the random generator to pick our two winners (the first one for this round; the second is the re-draw from round #1) from the comments on this post, we have ...

3 5 

Timestamp: 2008-07-28 22:09:26 UTC

Congrats to: Jacey's Mom, who get's the charms & Ruth, who gets the metal stuff from the last round!! Get your snail mail addys to me & your prize will be in the post!!

OK - so this round is open to everybody (whether they have played so far or not!) All you have to do is post a comment by Midnight BST Saturday 2nd August & guess who has the prize ... your choices are:

1: Alix 3: Guv (That's Me!!) 4: Elliemook (Laura) 6: Sean (DS1) 7: Phoenix (Ruth) 8: Auryn (DS4) 9: Jayne (Jay670120)

Check back tomorrow for a sneak peek of something new & exciting!!

Every One's A Winner!!

A couple of catch up posts today ... it's been a bit of a fraught month & I've somehow managed to fall right behind - so here are a big batch of lucky winners! LOL. And as I find it sooooo hard to choose one over another with these challenges, I've used the random number generator to choose ... So here we go:

Day #12: Elliemook's Pink Challenge is ...
Kikimama for her fabby pink thank you card.
She wins this pink & lovely stash!




Day #13: Phoenix's 'Close Ups' Competition. This was a toughie ... only 3 people managed to get all 12 correct ... so congratulations to Zoe Stupples, Janean Campbell & Olive O'Keeffe. Our winner is ...
Janean Campbell, who wins a bunch of stickers.
BUT ... if Olive & Zoe e-mail me by Sunday, I'll send a couple of sheets their way too ... Loyalty people, it's all about loyalty! (I stole that 'loyalty' idea from Julie Comstock on the Cosmo Cricket blog ... been dying to use it! LOL)

Check out the next post for more 'Guv's Celebrity Squares' ... & even more winners!

And don't forget the search is on for September's Guest Designer - check out the slideshow at the top of the blog to see the entries so far ... & if you fancy a shot at a free kit, GDT spot on this very blog AND, in honour of my birthday celebrations, a fabby li'l mini book - handmade by our very own Alix & ready for you to fill with happy li'l memories! Deets are here but you gotta be quick - you only have until midnight Thursday!

40 Days Recycling Challenge

Guv is ongoing guest DT member for the Arty Girlz Recycling Challenge. In honour of that and because I can never bear to throw stuff away, today's 40 days challenge has the theme of recycling.

I created a layout using a sheet of plain paper from my March 07 Personal Shopper Kit as the base. I used a piece of lovely wrapping paper I had saved from a gift instead of patterned paper and then created the title using letters cut from a magazine and a flattened bottle cap from a bottle of beer.

So basically, I challenge you to rummage through all those bits of useful stuff (rubbish ;o) ) you have collected and create something beautiful. Use found items to make a card, layout or atc or maybe alter a piece of packaging to make a gorgeous storage box for your scraproom. Post a link to your creation in the comments or if you don't have a blog then email your entry to the Guv. Closing date is Midnight BST Tuesday 5th August 2008.

Guv will be by later with details of the yummy prize up for grabs!

Cloud 9 Birthday Card

Have you checked out the range of Cloud9 Design goodies in the shop yet? The designs are beautiful and each sheet has a plain colour on the other side making them so versatile for card making or scrapbooking.

I used a sheet of Paradise Large Floral paper for this card along with a chipboard butterfly from the Li'l Butterflies pack. I inked the butterfly with pink pigment ink and then embossed with holographic embossing powder. For the greeting I stamped onto a piece of ribbon from the American Crafts lucky dip using a permanent ink.

Don't forget to check out Guv's blog to see where the 40 days party is today!

40 Days ... Guv's Celebrity Squares!!

You guys, LOL!! So the majority picked Auryn, my li'l cutie but that was just a li'l bit obvious for the first round, I thought. The guy with the prize was #5, Martin but as only one person picked him, I'm making up the rules now as a go along (cuz its my birthday bash & I can if I want to!) So what we are going to do is this: everybody gets to go through to the next round!! But before we get to that, lets talk winners & prizes ...

Now Martin is a bit of a metal-head ... so the prize is also a bit metal: Check out this bunch of metal embellies, which are gonna head on over to Fiona, who posted anonymously ... so long as she e-mails me by Sunday, July 27th - if not, we'll have 2 prizes drawn on the next round! If you enter online competitions, please do make sure to either give folks a way to contact you (blog links are fine) ... or keep checking back for the results!

1: Alix 2: Dean (DS3) 3: Guv (That's Me!!) 4: Elliemook (Laura) 6: Sean (DS1) 7: Phoenix (Ruth) 8: Auryn (DS4) 9: Jayne (Jay670120)

So, this round will end on Saturday, July 26th at midnight BST & the winner will be announced (I promise this time) on Sunday!!

All you have to do is post a comment and guess who is holding the prize this time - all those that guess correctly will be entered into a draw to win this round's prize & will also go through to the next round!

Good Luck!!

My little project today is ....

I have made a page from a old CD . Sorry its a little post today , ive been on my hols and havent had much time to get something together.

Ive used my cropodile to punch a hole in the cd so i could hang it and adding paper & ribbon from my HOTP Personal Shopper Kit - Sept 06 This kit is a bargain and has tons in it for the money . Also check out my BLOG later today for chance to win goodies in my 40th Celebrations Blog challenge today. xx

Helping hands!

Just a quick layout from me today, using some American Crafts papers that came in the 12x12 lucky dip which is on offer at the moment giving you 12 assorted sheets for just £1! What a great bargain! I used a full sheet of double sided paper as my background, used a second sheet as a large mat for the photo and then used the reverse of another sheet to cut out my title and journalling strips. If I keep going at this rate I'll be able to make about 6 or 7 layouts for just a pound!

Don't forget to keep checking out Guv's blog as there's something new each day during her 40 days celebrations. Also if you haven't already done it then pop over to my blog to tell me what you love to do on your birthday and you could win my mini book. As if that wasn't enough goodies then the pink challenge is open until midnight on Sunday so don't forget to email your entries before then!

June Guest DT Challenge - Winner

We had some fabulous entries for the June GDT challenge & decided to do a public vote ... we were totally amazed at the number of votes cast too! LOL. The overall winner was ...

ZOE xx !!!

Your kit will be dispatched by Monday & you win a Guest Design Team spot with us for August. Congratulations!!!!

If you'd like a chance to guest on this blog, you have until the end of July to get your entries to us! And as we are hosting the challenge as part of the '40 days' celebration you will also receive a fab mini book, handmade by our very own Alix, as well as the usual kit & guest DT spot! All the details are here!

Birthday wall hanging

More Urban Rhapsody from me today - I really do love these papers.

It was my mums birthday last month and because she has always kept all the cards I've made for her I thought I'd make something that could be displayed even after her birthday.

I used some chipboard which I covered in patterened paper on both sides and punched holes along the edges. I then laced them together using lots of yummy American Crafts ribbons and tied another ribbon at the top to hang it up.

I decorated the front with letters cut from scraps and a few blossoms. On the back I stuck photos from our recent holiday to Spain.

Just a reminder, have you checked out Guv's blog to see where the 40days blog hop is off to today and what yummyness is up for grabs?

10,000 Hits Winner

Ooops! Sorry - posting a li'l later than promised - loooong day!
Anyways, I used the random integer generator, & it said #6. That was...

GINNY

who said: 'I love Laura's Bo Bunny Album'.

So Ginny gets the goodies ... & I'll be sending a li'l something to Laura (Elliemook) too!!

Guv's Celebrity Squares ... Round #1

Today we have a brand new game to play as part of the '40 days' celebrations ... Guv's Celebrity Squares! The Grid below contains pictures of 9 well-known celebrities (!) and one of them has a fabby prize to give away ... In case you are not up on the celeb gossip they are ME (obviously - a legend in my own lunch hour, me! LOL), the rest of the DT & my four fabulous boys! To help you, the squares are numbered & the list of names is below.
1: Alix 2: Dean (DS3) 3: Guv (That's Me!!) 4: Elliemook (Laura) 5: Martin (DS2) 6: Sean (DS1) 7: Phoenix (Ruth) 8: Auryn (DS4) 9: Jayne (Jay670120)

To play, All you have to do is post a comment with THE NAME of the 'celebrity' that you think has the prize. Everyone who guesses correctly by the closing date Friday July 18th, Midnight BST, will be entered into a draw to win the prize. Only those who guessed correctly will qualify for the next round and another fabby prize!
As it is all random (& no-one knows who has the prize ... only me!) I'm going to let the DT play along with this game too!
Please make sure that you check back on all the 40 days events that you have entered - we have a few winners who have not yet claimed their prizes - if we don't have e-mail addresses for you, we can't let you know!!

There are also tons of events still open - and even more still to come, so do be sure to check this post daily to find out!

I'll be back a li'l bit later today with the winner of the 10,000 hits draw & maybe a li'l project to share!

40 days - the pink one!

Do you like pink? I know that the Guv does and so do I. My challenge to you today is to create something predominantly pink. A card, a layout, a mini book or a piece of altered art, whatever you fancy. If you email your creation to the Guv, she's is going to select one lucky winner to receive all this scrummy pink stash. Don't forget to put a comment on here so we can all go and have a look at your work.

I created my first card using papers from the March 07 personal shopper kit and a chipboard birthday cake from the chipboard bumper pack. To embellish it I used a piece of American Crafts ribbon. For the greeting I used a Tim Holtz Adage Ticket, I added the words "make a" with rub ons and attached it with a cool paperclip which came in the ps kit.

For my second card I used some of the fab Core'dinations cardstock which I embossed and then distressed with an emery board. I got out my craft knife and cut one of the cute feathered birds in half and stuck him to the front of the card (I know it seems cruel but I couldn't fix the whole bird on there and now I have another one to use for something else!) I stamped the greeting onto some more paper from my ps kit and raised it up on foam pads. To finish off I embellished the bottom of the card with some American Crafts ribbon and a cute little arrow brad from the ps kit.

Just to let you know, you need to email your entry by midnight BST on Sunday 19th July 2008.

flower embellishment

Flower Embellishment for card or scrapbook page.

Heres my project for today. Its a flower Embellishment . you can make it any size you want according to the sizes of the circles you use at the start and you can just use a few less petals slotted together to make a bud too , You can use double sided paper for a different effect but i used patternend paper from the lucky dip HERE and even add sparkle HERE or doodling with pens HERE ect...Just experiment !!!Lastly I Just need to credit my Scrapbooking friend Cleo Jarvis where I pinched how to do this from her xxx

THINGS U NEED.

Piece of 12”x12” Paper or smaller if you are cutting small circles.Circle cutter or Compass, pencil and scissors.Bone folder (optional) BARGAIN ONE HERE sticky tape(opt but helps) HERE

INSTRUCTIONS

Firstly Cut eight identical sized circles out of 1 sheet of patterned paper.Fold every circle the same way as below …Fold 1 ..Fold circle in half vertically.

Fold 2 ..Fold circle in half horizontally .

Fold 3 & 4 ..Using your previous folded lines as guides fold up the bottom right edge as shown below..Then fold the left bottom edge up as shown.
Your folded circle should look like this ….

NOW FLIP CIRCLE OVER

Fold the left and right edges into the centre line.
Your finished petal should look like this …

sRepeat same folds to all eight circles then arrange 8 folded shapes so they form a flower shape .See below. I have stuck a square piece of tape to the centre and this keeps my points stuck in place & is easier to arrange.

Urban Rhapsody

Have you checked out Guv's blog for her 40 days post today?

I really love the K&Co Urban Rhapsody range, the colours are nicely muted and the birdies are beautiful. My mum wanted a place to store the plant tags from her garden so I made her a little book full of pockets for her birthday.

I used a sheet of Active Imagination paper which I cut into 6x6 pieces and stuck to the front and back of 2 pieces of chipboard to make the covers. I then cut some cardstock to 6x12 and folded it to make tabbed pockets. (If you want a pattern for this post a comment to let me know and I'll try and work out how to post it on here!) The new Core'dinations cardstock would be good for this, especially if you want shabby chic look, just sand it lightly to distress it and expose the different colour underneath.The lovely blingy frame on the front is in the sale at the moment and comes with 2 cute photo corners which I'm saving for another time! I backed it with a scrap of paper and stamped the title on (you could print your title on the pc and stick it behind the frame instead)

My mum is going to draw a little plan of each part of the garden and pop each one into a pocket with the relevant plant tags, care information, etc for the plants in that area.

10,000 visitors (plus a few more now!)

Yup! Earlier in the week we had the 10,000th visitor to this li'l blog. So the DT are feeling particularly loved right now! LOL.
To celebrate, we have this bunch of goodies for one lucky winner - cuz you can't have too many blossoms, buttons & ribbons, right?
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is have a look thru the previous posts & tell us which is you fave project so far & why. This is a li'l bit unfair on the new girls as they've not had much chance to post as yet ... don't worry girls, we'll do it again for another occasion! LOL. Post your answers to this post (I'm not gonna go searching them out) by midnight (BST) Saturday 12th July - so you have until next weekend - & I'll announce the winner on my 13th July post.
And yes, international entries are allowed!

Happy Birthday Countdown!

Have you been following our 40 days blog hop? Well in case you haven't...we're celebrating the upcoming 40th Birthday of our very own *GUV*, with a prize challenge every single day until the day itself!

Today is day 6 {I think!}, so you're not too late to join in...and here is today's challenge...I want to see your LO's, minibooks, cards or ATC's celebrating the best thing that ever happened on your Birthday...whatever it is...a special someone coming to visit...and special present...or a super outing...I want to know what is the best Birthday you've had, and why?

Because its Challenge Saturday, you have all month to enter, by e-mailing your projects to our Guv, and posting in the comments section below. The prize will be...to win the little book I've made below *40 things that make me happy* and a selection of goodies to enable you to easily finish the book {with your own journalling and photos...you probably don't want a book recording the things that make *ME* happy, right? ;) }

You will also get a kit from the Guv, enabling you to be the next months' Guest Designer...so what are you waiting for!!!

The book I've made is bound on a BIA and all the papers are from the Fancy Pants Crush and Sweet Pea collections. I've used velvet ric rac, American crafts ribbons, a cute charm and assorted *bling*.

Do join in the fun...and I can't wait to see all your creations!! :)

My first DT project on here. EEEEKKKKK

Hiya everyone, Jayne (jay670120) here.

This is my first ever posting on this blog so i'm sorry if its a bit sparce.

Today its Sunny outside in Bristol but to celebrate the good old British weather (a lady i met visiting from Greece said english were obsessed with weather !!!) I thought i would do this L/O.

Ive used AMERICAN CRAFTS PAPER in the lucky dip HERE . 2 sheets as its double sided it looks like four :) bargain.

tim holtz ticket HERE , chipboard shapes (link added later)

The title and Rain drops were drawn onto paper by hand and cut out . Then i added a few buttons from my own stash to add a little bit of detail but heres some bargain buttons HERE . I hope you like. xxx

have you *bagged* yourself an entry yet?

Hi everyone!

Today is my day on the 40 days blog hop, so do pop over to my blog, you just might *bag* yourself some goodies!! Good luck!!

Today's LO is another one for my sister's wedding album...its that great moment when you sign the register and use your *new* name for the first time!!

The pp's I've used for this are from the Mira, HOTP PS and Day by Day collections. I love to combine ranges, it means that your page is a one of a kind, as its pretty unlikely that anyone else will choose all the same pp's! All I've added except pp is a few dots of acrylic paint, a flower shaped charm and a length of ribbon! Easy as pie really :)

Remember to vote above...and to look out for the new challenge which will be here on saturday!

Woooo-Hooooo!

So today this li'l bloggy of ours reached 10,000 hits & I think we want to mark the occasion! This caught me a bit by surprise so I don't have anything planned just yet! LOL.
So, on Sunday, when it's my turn to post again (the DT let me have a go once in a while) I shall announce a challenge, or RAK - or something! LOL. And if you want to pop a li'l comment on this post with an idea or two ... well maybe there will be a li'l RAK for that too!

Voting Time!

June's Monthly Challenge has no closed and it's time to vote for your faves! This is a public vote, open to anyone, so please do have your say!! The winner will receive a kit from us & a guest DT spot on this very blog during August!
The vote closes on July 14th!!