new DT members...new challenges...are you keeping up?

Hi everyone!

Alix here, and wow its busy around here lately! Have you checked out our new DT members? Welcome to both of you :) and have you entered our monthly challenge yet? *if not...what are you waiting for...their is stash at stake here!!! lol*

Here is my latest project...altered mini-cubes. These wooden cubes are only 99p for three, which I think is a bargain...and they are little so they sit perfectly on your desk, or window sill, even on the mantel piece without taking up too much space.

I've decorated mine with pp from the HOTP PS Kits, using a glue stick. Easy. I've stamped some sides with our initials using a selection of alphabet stamps {but you could use letter stickers or a die-cutter}, and added photos of us both {me on the A cube and him on the D cube}. The other cube is stamped on each side with an ampersand or a star from the HOTP Thingamajigs stamp set. Even the other half likes these, so they must be quite cute!! lol

Project #2 today is the evening LO from my friend's recent birthday. Its called *Lets drink...PINK* and I've made it using the gorgeous Mira collection papers. Do check these papers out, they are such a fun, artistic, colourful and happy collection...perfect for all sorts of occassions.

I've also used American Crafts ribbons, red blooms, pink flower gems and some felt accents. The circle is from the die-cut felt sheets and the pink butterfly is punched from Friendly Felt...you remember how much I love this stuff, right? ;)

So there it is...my contribution for today. I hope it inspires you in some little way to get on and make a little something *NOW*

Enjoy.

:)

May Challenge

Yep, it's my turn to challenge you this month, and that challenge is to create a project that includes felt or fabric.

Here are a couple of examples for you, both using the Fancy Pants Holly Jolly range. For this layout I used some gorgeous Queen & Co felt fusion, the title was hand cut from friendly felt and I also added one of these really cool fabric yo yos. For the card I used this really yummy pink swirl felt fusion.

There's lots of ways to incorporate felt and fabric into your projects, and we can't wait to see what you come up with! You have until 7th June to get your entry in, and just leave us a comment with a link to your project.

Have fun!!

and the February Winner is....

Elaine Charters!!!
Well done Elaine, we all loved your handmade dream catcher and overall card design. Remember to e-mail your postal address to the Guv so she can send out your prize! :) I hope to see you entering again next month...and come on all you shy types out there...give it a go...you might just win too!!

OK, so what else do I have to share? Well, here is a 12x12 LO of my OH and me at our engagement dinner {looking a bit hot and flustered but there you go...lol}.

The base card, the two matts and the chipboard embellishments are from the Promenade collection {one of my current faves :) } The flying embellishment is made from my left-overs from the Crush collection {papers and die-cuts} and they are tied together by inking all the edges with red chalk ink {currently 20% off...see here}. The title is stamped using an old alphabet {sorry don't even remember who its by!} but could just as easily be die-cut or made from stickers, etc. Finally, I have a useful notebook to show you. I am cognitively challenged and find life much easier if I constantly write down the things I need to do/remember...so I thought I'd make myself a cute little notebook! I've used one of the huge butterfly chipboard shapes and cut it in half to make book covers. These chipboard shapes are 30% off atm...so get them while you can!!

As you can see, I've covered the covers {so to speak} and made the pages from the Vanessa Arbuthnott papers...which are a staggering 13p each {75% off!!!}. These papers are super pretty, pale enough to write on, and at that price...cheap enough to use for a super pretty shopping list!! The book is tied together with ribbons from the Lucky Dip selections and although the satin has sold out...the organza is still available here. The embellishments on the from cover are some I made a while ago from the Friendly Felt selection...and if you still haven't tried this stuff...please do!! It is a dream to work with...looks fantastic...and is available here with 50% off !

So that is me for today...off for a lie down and a browse through a wedding magazine...its getting pretty close now!! Have a good day yourselves...and see you again soon.

xx

6x6 Paper Pads for 75p???

Yep! that's right! As part of our massive clearance sale we have English Paper Company 6x6 paper pads from 75p and looooads of other bargains under £1. Be sure to check out our clearance section; special offers and new 'Pound Stop' for huge savings.
You'll find bumper packs of ribbon - Satin Ribbons:15 metres for £1.00, Bo Bunny Ribbons at 62p, Organza Ribbons: 5 Metres for £1.00.
Love stamping? Look out for A Muse stamps at under £1.50, HOTP clear stamps sets under a fiver with lots more designs still to be added.
We've got some great Deals on Fancy Pants Biggest Board, Bo Bunny 'My Word' albums & Bare Elements books at 20% off; 50% off friendly felt (our DT's favourite product!!); Stickers from 45p; Brads and charms at under £1 per pack.
Not yet tried HOTP Personal Shopper kits? Choose from Card Makers kits at £6.99 (60% off!) or Scrapbooking at £9.50 (53% off!)
We are adding new sale products every day, so be sure to check back regularly for the best bargains!

Want Free Stuff? Write a review for any of the products you see in our webstore and be entered into the draw to win £30 of goodies. It only takes a few minutes & absolutely no purchase is necessary, so why not write more than one & increase your chance of winning! The draw will take place on March 16th, so hurry if you don't want to miss out! Check out the deets here!!

Mother's Day & New Home

Hello, well Mother's Day comes early this year on 2nd March so I thought I'd do mine early!

Here's a little pressie idea, a plant pot decoration. So easy to do you could get your children to make it. I found an old plastic drinking straw and decorated it. First I cut out some flowers using the friendly felt . As I'm not too good at drawing I used some chipboard flowers to act as a stencil. For the leaves I used a template free from the net. To add a bit of decoration I threaded some ribbon through one of the buttons that I had from a big bag of buttons that you can get from the Crop til you Drop webshop. And what a bargain!! A bag of buttons for only £1!! To the "stalk" I added more ribbon and a "Happy Mother's Day" which I printed off from my computer.

My second piece is a Mother's Day card. I had to use the Vintage Sara Papers from Hot Off The Press again for this one. They are so right for this sort of card. So I covered the card blank in the papers, tearing a co-ordinationg piece to add to the right side and also some little corners. To the corners I added the little star shapes. In the middle I used two big blooms held together with a big brad. The "MUM" was made by sponging distress inks onto vellum letters.


My third piece is a "New Home"card. I used the American Crafts papers to cover the card, adding a strip of co-ordinating paper to the side. The little house was just right so that went into the centre and then I added some buttons for a bit of dimension. Finally the "New Home" was printed out on my computer and layered onto some card.

Scrapping with scraps!!

Hi Guys,

I'm thinking that everyone is a bit skint in Jan/Feb, just like me...so I've done some projects that literally do use the last scraps of my kit, to show just what you can achieve with not much stash!!

OK...umm...no laughing please ;-p This is my first school photo and yes...I do want to run and hide now!! lol

I've used the remnants of 4 sheets of American Crafts The Goods pp's and a sheet of plain purple cardstock. I've made my own embellishments out of Friendly Felt and a couple of brads. I've journalled with a white pen, using my non-dominant hand...which is all wobbly and reminiscent of my 4 year old writing! Finally, I've stamped a huge bracket and an exclamation mark {fromt the HOTP Thingamajig stamp set} in white to tie the papers and my stylish shirt together!

Et voila...something out of *nothing.*



This little card really does use the scraps! If anyone remembers the Advent Calendar I made back in November...well the felt frame on this card is made by cutting around the waste from the title letters which I cut using a friend's Big Shot! I've embellished the frame with more felt, some butterflies, a circle and 2 different flowers all of which I punched out using regular punches. However please do be careful...in my enthusiastic jumping up and down to punch through the felt...I did break one of my punches!!! Ooooops! Finally, I added a jewel brad to the flower and inked the edges all the way around. Job done!

Finally, I've used the remnants of all those yummy sheets of Friendly Felt...did any of you notice just how much I loved this stuff!! I've made an assortment of embellishments ready for my next projects...very handy when you're in a bit of a hurry to have something ready made!

I hope you like what I've done? Do leave me a comment to let me know...and E-mail Beverley for any of these productts...apart from that...happy *scrapping*...and see you again soon! :)

Challenge 24!

Hi Everyone,

Its *that time* again...time to set a lovely new Challenge! This week I am thinking all about the New Year and new possibilities...so I challenge you to do something new...anything new! This is a very open challenge, you could try a new technique, use a new product, try a new craft...or even just use a new colour {one you usually avoid makes for an interesting challenge!!}

To get you started I've done a few *new* things myself:

I've tried my had at box making and I'm really pleased with the results! I've made this little cutie out of friendly felt {which is on an amazing special offer in the webshop}, embroidery thread and a button.





















Thinking about what other new ideas I could conjure up for this yummy felt...I hit upon the idea of making a little giftbag {I am always short of these and I love them because they are so much more fun than wrapping paper.}

All thats left now is for you to show me your creations. Remember this challenge is open to all types of paper crafter...cardmakers {maybe use a new sketch}, scrapbookers {maybe try a new technique} and I think this time we'd better include general crafters too {as my examples use no fabric...why should yours!! lol}

As usual send your entries by e-mail and be sure to post a comment so that we all know to go and see what you've done! There is a fabulous prize awarded at the end of the month to the favourite entry as judged by the DT...so go on...I bet we'll love what you do!!

Happy New Year!

As I'm lucky enough to get the first post of the year I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! The rest of the Design Team and myself are really looking forward to providing you with lots more projects this year, so don't forget to check back every day to see what we've been up to, and Saturday's at 6pm when the weekly challenges go up!!

Well, now Christmas is over I don't want to see another card until at least October LOL! But I have started scrapping my Christmas pictures which is great fun.

For this Layout I used some scraps of the Bo Bunny Homespun Holidays papers, and a strip of friendly felt, on which I drew and hand cut a scalloped edge. The ribbons are from the HOTP December 06 Personal Shopper kit, as are the great big brads. The chipboard button was painted with white acrylic paint and I then sponged some black ink over the top very lightly. I then cut a scalloped square from white cardstock and drew on some rough lines and added my journalling, then finished off with some doodling around the edge of the Layout.

Friendly felt and child-friendly projects!!

Hi Guys!! Check out the frame above! Its made from the stiffened friendly felt which holds its shape, and I've die-cut the swirls and flowers, hand-cut the leaves and stitched on the leaf detail by hand. The flower centres are brads. Its sooo easy to make, super as a gift idea, and all you need is 3 different colours of the felt...so i reckon you could make 4 for just over £1.50!!! That is what i call a bargain :D Mine is super bright...but the felt comes in all sorts of colours {check them out here} so you could easily adapt it to suit tastes/decor. I've even stitched a small loop on the back so it can be hung on the wall...

These little ornaments are also made from the felt, and are a super project to do with the kids on a soggy/bored/argumentative day! Simply cut your chosen shape out of the felt, and decorate with brads, more felt shapes, buttons, blooms or eyelets. Tie with a ribbon and hang on the tree/attach to school bags/bedknobs/totes/etc. The felt is so versatile, you can even use your cropodile on it!!

Next time I have more paper-based crafting to share...but for now...I just can't use anything else. Wonder if I can get a job as a felt-crafter anywhere?? ;-)

Challenge # 18 - Celebrations!

Welcome to our lastest challenge!
Shary has kindly agreed to post this up for me as it's my birthday tomorrow, so I'm out on the town tonight!!
And, coincidentally, my birthday has prompted the theme for this week's challenge - CELEBRATIONS!
So we want you to create a LO, card or whatever else you want on the theme of celebrations - so a nice big scope this week!

Don't forget to leave a comment, so we know you've completed your challenge and email it to sales@croptilyoudrop.co.uk for inclusion in our gallery. This week is your last chance to enter November's challenge competition - you may win a fabby prize!!

A couple of ideas to get you going:

For this LO I used the Bo Bunny Homespun holiday papers. The Christmas tree was cut from Friendly felt (this amazing stuff is pre-stiffened so it cuts like a dream!) I then added a friendly felt star and some Bo Bunny ribbons and some buttons. I painted these mini cotton reels with red acrylic paint and then wrote the letters on them to spell Christmas. I threaded them on to ribbon, set some eyelets into the tree and threaded them through.

This card was made using the HOTP Citrus Creative Pack and Instant card art and Ribbons. The parcel was cut from friendly felt.








Enjoy the challenge - can't wait to see what you come up with!

Looby x

Oh I wish it could be Christmas.....

Mind you if it was Christmas every day I would need a bigger book for all my journalling! This is my latest project with my kit. I was thinking of making an advent calendar with my Bo Bunny Advent paper, but Alix already made a fab one here, so I thought I would try and do something a bit different with mine. So I though - why not make a Christmas Journal and use the numbered squares to date the pages? So that's what I did!

And also - it gave me another excuse to use some of this fab and very friendly felt again - this time for the covers of my book. I just did a rough drawing of the Christmas tree and cut it out, and then set eyelets into it, and tied a bit of ribbon around for tinsel - which I also added to the book rings that I held it together with. The ribbon is from the classic cardmakers ribbon pack from HOTP, and comes packed full of cool coordinating Christmas colours. I then pierced a couple of designs - the lime green border and the red shape in the corner and stitched into the felt. Added a star brad to the top!


As you can see here - I cut out the squares from the Bo Bunny paper (advent) and stuck them back to back on each page (also Bo Bunny Papers, I used Frost and Ornament - fab papers and double sided!!). The Advent papers also come with some really cute Christmas art on them - great for embellishing your projects - I'm going to use them to add to the completed pages. These papers have a 20% discount on them at the moment so its well worth popping over and having a good old shop (lots of other bargains and discounts to be found too ;o)!

I'm going to take a pic of my son each day leading up to Christmas day, and write a little bit about each day now he's starting to take more notice of it all.

Hope you like it - why not make your own Christmas Journal?

Oky doky guys I shall see you next Thursday when I post my next project - but don't forget - its challenge night tomorrow - and there's some fabby prizes up for grabs!! You'd be mad to miss it!!

Its a Gift!

Hello again guys! Hope you've all been busy crafting away..? I've been working on a couple of gifts this week...very handy at this time of year...I hope you like them!

Firstly, I've made another wall hanging {I don't seem to be able to stop making these atm!} but this time, I've made it as a Christmas card alternative to send to my relative in New Zealand {hence the tag on the bottom which says *love from England*}.

The base for this hanging is the left-overs of a sheet of Buck Naked Chipboard Shapes which I've covered with the gorgeous stripey HOTP Christmas paper from this amazing kit {now half-price!!!} I've used the matching ribbons, and some of the HOTP cardmakers' word fragments. The middle section is cut from the HOTP frosted acetate sheet which is in the kit...and its beautiful :) Finally, I've added a few buttons for added embellishment and a couple of slightly dodgy photos! he hee

Also, its been my cousin's 4th birthday this week...and so I've made him this card {he is bonkers for cars!!}

This is made from the HOTP Boys to Men Kit. I've also die cut letters from the Friendly Felt that we've all gone berserk for, and used one of the gorgeous charms from this selection. The ribbon on the tag is from the gorgeous Bo Bunny selections.

OK, that's all for now folks...hope you're all keeping warm and cosy...and checking out the specials in the webshop...there are some amazing bargains to be had!!

And have you entered this week's challenge yet? You have until Saturday...and as they say...you've got to be in it...to win it!!

A 'busy scrappers' mini book and some Christmas bits n pieces!

Good evening guys!! Thought Id share with you some of my most recent crafty makes with my DT kit. First, a couple of cards I made with some of the lovely Christmas papers available over at the Crop Til You Drop webshop. The card on the left is made using papers from the personal shopper kit for Dec 06 (which are on special offer by the way!!) - love the paper on the bottom half of the card because it reminds me of those lovely and very cheesy Christmas jumpers that everyone should wear around this time of year!! The card on the right is made using Bo bunny papers , which are fab quality papers and have a lovely sheen to them - hence the shine on that card due to the flash on my camera! I tied some coordinating ribbon through a chipboard frame, and added this to the card. You could paint or ink this white but I embossed it with some white embossing powder. I stamped into a few layers of silver embossing powder to get the snowflake image you see inside the frame.

Next is this little mini book (click on the image for a better view). I made this using the busy scrappers boys to men papers and embellies. These papers are really fun to work with, and perfect for a little boy layout or book - this book is a pressie for my sons uncle. I kept with the star theme of some of the papers and stamped or cut out some of the cool little star images available in the pack. I used a bind it all to bind my book together but you could easily use book rings or ribbon. There are some lovely truck, rocket and sport images in this pack, and some really handy letters and numbers. All you have to do is cut them out and add to your projects!

And finally, a little something I made using my new best crafty product - friendly felt. Now this is just a little project - a little photo frame I made. It would be perfect to keep in your bag or to give as a little gift - the felt is really durable and tough, and it is perfect for stitching. I have a mini book on the go with some of this felt - it is perfect for the covers of my book as it is stiff - hence the name friendly felt! It is a fab way to incorporate felt (which is so popular at the mo!)into your crafting projects.
Hey - did you see the challenge uploaded last night by Roo? Fab scraplift challenge - and dont forget - all entries will be eligible for this months DT challenge prize, judged by the design team! We have had some fab entries to our previous challenges and have so enjoyed seeing everyones interpretations - why dont you join in? Come on, you know you want to!!

See you soon guys, and happy crafting!