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!!

Sweet Pea

I am totally in love with these Fancy Pants Sweet Pea papers - they are soooo sweet!

For this layout I used the Emma paper as the background, and it's so pretty I didn't want to cover too much of it up, so I kept the design the the bottom right corner which is quite plain. I layered the photo onto strips of the Noah and and reverse of the Brenna papers, and added a couple of lengths of ribbon and ric rac and some buttons. I finished it off with a few of the die cuts (which are sadly out of stock) - a couple on the photo, and some others layered up to make a larger embellishment.

There are no less than 20 gorgeous paper collections in stock in the webshop and you can find them all HERE.

More Personal Shopper!

Here's another Layout from the HOTP Personal Shopper kits - this time I've used the July 06 kit.

Again, everything on the LO is from the kit, with the exception of the Queen & Co Black Celtic Felt Fusion.

I used 3 of the papers from the Retro designs. For the scalloped circle I used a Marvy punch, then threaded the turquoise grosgrain through the metal book plate and positioned over the top. The "remember" card was attached using this gorgeous little clip, and I attached the plastic tile with black brads and then wrote on it with a permanent marker.

You can find all the Personal Shopper kits, at just £9.50 each HERE.

Personal Shopper

Here's a LO I've created entirely from the November 2006 HOTP Personal Shopper kit - that's the beauty of these kits, they contain absolutely everything you need to create tons of great LOs - and cards too for that matter! Even better, they're on offer at just £9.50 each in the webshop! Find them all HERE.

And don't forget to check out Alix's monthly challenge here - take part and you could win a fab prize!

And also, the fab new bargains Beverley has added to the webshop HERE.

English Paper Company

I've made these 4 cards from just 2 sheets of English Paper Company 12 x 12 paper (along with a few other bits) and as they're just 13p a sheet - that's a real bargain!

I used the Blue Cornflowers paper and the blue dots (now sold out). I also used the white reverse of the paper for matting.

The sincere thanks and congratulations stamps I used are both by A Muse and are just £1.50 each in the sale. The scalloped shapes were cut using Marvy punches, and I added some ribbon from the Lucky Dip satin selection.
The white flowers are these DCWV cardstock ones and are great as they can be used plain or chalked, inked, painted etc. They look great with button centres too! The chipboard butterfly in the first picture is from this Creative Imaginations pack, and you get loads for your money!

Check out the new products as Beverley has added some more fab bargains!

Coffee House papers

I've been playing with the gorgeous Marah Johnson Coffee House papers from Creative Imaginations.

For this layout, I used the Harlequin Scroll and Coffee Carnivale papers, cut into various sizes and layered under the photo.

I dry brushed a little brown acrylic paint around the edge of the cardstock, to go with the "mucky" theme of the layout!

I then added a die cut title and some elements, and finished off with 3 of the great little button brads from HOTP.

We still have some bargains to be had in the 75% off sale - but hurry, it's selling out fast!!

Fun with Brad Buddies!

The thing I love about HOTP Brad Buddies is that you can create a really quick and simple card that looks great in seconds! And the fact that they are so cheap in the webshop at the moment helps too!

For this first card I used the Fancy Pants Holly Jolly papers (again - I just love these!) and the dragonfly brad buddie from the Winged Things pack and the blue flower brad buddie from the Swirly pack. The scalloped oval was cut with this Marvy punch.

For the second card I used some gorgeous pansy and happy birthday vellum from the vellum lucky dip pack, as well as a strip of paper from the 12 x 12 lucky dip pack. The butterfly brad buddie is from the Winged things pack.

For the last card, I again used papers from the 12 x 12 lucky dip, and some congratulations vellum from the vellum lucky dip pack. Both the brad buddies come from the Graduation pack.

Cheap as chips!

Seriously, this LO has been put together for literally pence!

I used 3 different papers from the 12 x 12 Lucky dip (12 sheets for just £1) along with some lucky dip satin ribbons (15m for £1) some buttons (just £1 a bag) a cute little charm (just 90p a pack) and some great fabric stickers (just 45p a sheet). In fact the most expensive thing I used was this fab punch to make the tag - and that's only £5 and better still you've got it for life!

And I've still got loads left to make more stuff!

You can find all the fab bargains HERE.

P.S. Make sure you check out the Arty Girlz challenge this week - Crop til you Drop are sponsoring it and you could win a HOTP Cardmakers kit! (or if you just want to buy one for the bargain price of £6.99 you can find them HERE).

How cool is this paper?!

I am totally in love with this Drop Dead Red paper from Creative Imaginations - it's so cool! (and only 25p a sheet!)

For this LO I used the paper as my base, and added 2 matts behind the photo in red and black card and doodled on them with a white gel pen. I scalloped the edges of a strip of red card, doodled again and added to the right hand side and put some gorgeous Black Celtic felt fusion on top. Finally I added some ribbons from the HOTP Classic collection and some Drop dead red brads and chipboard (sadly now sold out).

Don't forget to check out the amazing deals in the webshop - but you need to be quick - it's selling out as quickly as Guv can get it on there!

Challenge #31

My turn to challenge you all this week!

In honour of Mothering Sunday tomorrow, the challenge is to create something for/about the special women in our lives (not necessarily mums!). It could be a Mother's Day card, a minibook or LO about a special woman or even a little handcrafted gift for that special lady!

For this LO of me aged 18 months and my wonderful mum, I've used the Fancy Pants Holly Jolly papers and die cuts (they're not just for Christmas! LOL) and some American Crafts ribbons (which are on an amazing deal in the webshop!). The journalling spot was cut from this paper, with a Marvy scalloped punch.

Don't forget to email your challenge entries to sales@croptilyoudrop.co.uk so that we can put them in our gallery (also leave a comment on this post so we know you've done the challenge). At the end of the month, the DT will pick their favourite and the winner gets a fabby little stash prize!

Oh My Word!!

I am totally in love with these Bo Bunny My Word Albums!! The one I've used for this project is the Party one, but they're also available in Baby, Friend and Love too - and they're 20% off in the webshop!

To cover the pages of the album I used the We R Memory Keepers Promenade papers, which are beautiful heavy weight, double-sided papers. Having covered all the pages, front and back, I sanded and inked the edges - then it was time to decorate and add some photos! I used the Promenade layered chipboard tags, some satin and organza ribbons, some cute little charms from the "party" pack and finally the gorgeous black celtic border felt fusion.

Don't forget to check out the special offers in the webshop - but be quick, at these silly prices, they're selling fast!

Fun with vellum.......

Beverley sent us the most gorgeous vellums to play with in our DT pack - and I couldn't believe it when I saw the price - 10 A4 sheets for just £1!!

For the first card I attached this fun fishy vellum to the card blank with some brads. I then cut out some fish shapes from the old faithful friendly felt, added some A Muse twinkle gems as eyes and bubbles and finished off with a computer generated greeting.

For the second card I attached the cute sheep vellum to the card blank, again with brads. I found this little sheep image on the internet, printed him onto white card and then matted onto green card. The scalloped squares were cut using Marvy punches. I finished the card with a computer generated greeting and a length of satin ribbon.

Don't forget to check out the clearance and pound stop sections for more crazy priced bargains!!

Some quick and simple cards

For these cards I used some of the gorgeous papers from the English Paper Company, and not only are they stunning, at 75% off - they're just 13p a sheet - what a bargain!!

For the first card I covered a card blank with this paper and then painted one of the Bare Elements butterflies with pink acrylic paint and matted onto this paper. I finished the card with a length of organza ribbon (also at an amazing price!)

For the second card, I used the same 2 papers, hand cut some heart shapes from our old favourite Friendly felt and added a button. The sentiment was added with one of these bargain rubber stamps.

For this final card I covered a card blank with this butterfly paper and added a strip of the daisy paper. I added 2 more chipboard butterflies, again painted with acrylic paint, and finished with some glamour dust for a bit of sparkle!

You have to check out all the amazing bargains in the webshop at the moment, particulary the clearance and Pound stop sections - loads of bargains to be had!!

Papers are for life, not just for Christmas!

Who says Christmas ranges have to be used just for Christmas projects? Check out the gorgeous Holly Jolly Range by Fancy Pants - and don't let the name fool you - they're very versatile!!

When Guv sent us our new DT kits - I just knew that this Giant Butterfly from the CI Bare Elements Dimension pack was destined to be a wall hanging for my craft room! These packs are on special offer at the moment - and you get 3 12 x 12 sheets full of shapes too!

For this project I covered the Butterfly with the Snowflake paper from the Holly Jolly range, and then die cut my name from the Merrie Merrie paper. I added a butterfly and a heart from the die cut sheet and then added some flowers and a crown from the Fancy Pants Fashion Sense Felt (With Love) fabby little felt die cuts and you get LOADS in a pack!

For the actual hanging part, I plaited together 3 lengths of satin ribbon from this amazing clearance pack - 15m of ribbon for just £1!!

Let's kit together!

I love the HOTP Personal Shopper kits - everything you need in one box and all perfectly co-ordinated for you!

For this LO I used the February 07 kit. I used a plain paper for the background, a couple of lengths of the patterned paper, some ribbons and the gorgeous crocheted trim. The little circles come from the artwork sheet in the kit. The "family" acetate overlay is also from the kit, and I attached this to the photo with brads. I then added a doodled frame, and some doodling in the bottom corner.

You can purchase this kit from the webshop HERE (and at an amazing 25% off!!) And if you want some more inspiration on how to use it, why not check out Guv's class over at My Creative Classroom? It starts on February 14th and runs for 6 whole weeks. It includes tons of projects, all from this one kit, including scrapbooking, cards and altered items. You can find all the details HERE.

Eye of the tiger

This LO is a fab way to use up scraps of paper. I used scraps from the HOTP Boys to men busy scrappers solution papers.

First I took a piece of plain beige paper, inked the edges and then stuck it to the centre of a piece of brown cardstock. I then tore random strips from the different patterned papers, inked the edges with a chestnut roan fluid chalk ink pad and randomly stuck them down to the left hand side. I matted the photo onto some plain brown paper, again with torn and ink edges, then added 3 brads from the HOTP masculine embellishabilities.

The title was stamped with A Muse alphabet stamps and then cut out. I then added some journalling and doodling with a brown fineliner. Finally I swept a cream ink pad around the edge of the LO.

Don't forget there's still time to take part in my challenge this week to use EYELETS - you can find all the details in this post.

Challenge #26

My turn to challenge you all again, and this week I want to see your EYELETS!

It can be any sort of project you like as long as it includes eyelets somewhere - and no you don't have to use as many as I did! LOL (thank goodness for crop-a-diles is all I can say!!)

For this layout I used the Dovecraft BRIGHTS eyelets, but there are tons of different ones in the webshop, and if you want to stock up you can find them all here.

The buttons I used are HERE and these fabby little bags are such good value that I used tons on this layout without batting an eyelid!

So, get those eyelets and setters out and off you go!! Don't forget to leave us a comment so we know you've done the challenge, and then email a picture of your project to sales@croptilyoudrop.co.uk so we can add it to the gallery - then at the end of the month the DT pick our fave and the winner gets a prize - so what are you waiting for?!

I'm in the mood for LOVE!

Yep, I've been thinking about Valentine's day already. If you want to send that special someone a card to tell them how you feel, here's a few ideas for you.

I've made all these cards using the gorgeous papers from the February 2007 HOTP Personal Shopper kit. (These aren't in the webshop at the moment, so email Beverley at sales@croptilyoudrop.co.uk if you'd like one).

For the last card I also used some of the fabby Friendly Felt (which is on an amazingly cheap bulk offer in the webshop!) I cut out some heart shapes, and then stitched some buttons onto them.

Don't forget to check out Ruth's fabby challenge this week - it's great fun and will really get those creative juices flowing!!

Loving Aubrey!

Yep, I am TOTALLY in love with the Renae's House Aubrey Range from Creative Imaginations! Check them out in the webshop HERE and I guarantee you'll love 'em too!

I've used the papers, chipboard, cardstock stickers and brads for these 2 projects.

First up, a clipboard that I bought ages ago in the poundshop. First I painted round the edges with some purple acrylic paint. Then used the Floral paper to cover the front. I added a strip of the reverse of the Surprise paper to the bottom and added a chipboard flower and a cardstock sticker. I then added some scraps of ribbon to the clip, and added a notepad.

Then, with the scraps of paper I made the card. I covered the card blank with the Surprise paper and added a strip of the reverse side (the stripes) and a strip of the Floral paper. I then added a Heidi Swapp bloom with one of the Aubrey brads in the centre.

Don't forget to check out the webshop to see some of the other gorgeous new paper ranges!

A non-Christmassy project

I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to get fed up with Christmassy projects! Mainly because I'm love Christmas, and don't want reminding that it's all over for another year! And as the weather is generally grey, dark, foul and miserable I thought a nice bright project might cheer us all up a bit!

All the supplies for this LO came from the September 07 Personal Shopper kit, which includes the Use 'em for anything pastel papers, monograms, blossoms and brads, and some ribbons. I love these gorgeous pastel shades and they were just perfect for this picture of my mum and future MIL - and the perfect excuse to use loads of flowers! LOL

Don't forget, there's still time to take part in Charli's sketch challenge - the new challenge goes up at 6pm on Saturday - and you could win yourself a fabby stashy prize!