Got A Crush On Fancy Pants?

Loved working with Deanne's new sketch ... although it did take a li'l while to get everything to come together. I really wanted to shabby everything up for this one, so I had a bit of a play with some different techniques.

I used papers from Fancy Pants Crush line & the ledger paper is Holly Jolly. I sanded the edges of all the papers & for the journaling mat I used a distressing tool (remember the Making Memories distressing kit???) to shabby up the right hand edge - I created the torn notebook effect on the left edge by making holes with a cropadile & then tearing out from the holes to the edge ... then I inked it all up!
The photos were cut leaving a white border, roughed up with the distressing tool & then inked. I machine stitched the ribbons in place ... check out the printed leaves twill - it's Cosmo Cricket ... from the Mr Campy line.
I inked the chipboard flourish with olive pastel chalk ink (love chalk inks) & then aged the edge with chestnut roan chalk ink. The 'stems' were painted with crackle paint & then aged with chestnut roan too. I added a twist of rusty wire (scrapbook safe stuff that I've had lying around for 3 years!!) & the blossoms are made up from Prima Artful Collage, Kaisercraft (taupe)& self adhesive pearls (I used Blush)
I broke out the acrylic paint & my old foam stamps for the title ... haven't used them for ages either! If you got the september embellie kit, you'll have one of these fabric tabs (to the left of the bottom left photo) too - i just swiped with a bit of ink to make it look less 'new'

Do you follow us??

I know we have a whole bunch of regular visitors, so I've added the li'l 'followers' gadget to the blog. Sadly, it's looking a bit sad right now ... so come on over & let the world know that you are following us!
I'll be doing a random drawing at the end of the month from all our followers & sending some luscious goodies out. There's no telling how many li'l prizes there might be ... let's see how many followers we have first! LOL.
Oh! I guess I should say, international followers are also very welcome!!

Check out my blog too - there's another random drawing there for followers!

17 Ways to Say 'Thank You'

Deanne posted a fabulous sketch or two a couple days ago & I thought this one was just right to make a whole bunch of Thank You cards. Normally I create one-off cards but as I include a li'l thank you with every order at the webstore, I get through a lot! LOL.
The benefit of batch-making cards is you can create them assembly line style ... completing one step at a time on several cards. I make 5-10 at a time, using whatever scraps I have on hand. Why not have a go yourself & get ahead on all those thank you cards you'll need for the gifts received & party hosts over the Christmas holidays.

For this particular bunch of cards, I've used scraps of Bo Bunny Teen Chic & Fancy Pants Holly Jolly papers, Felt flower washers (included in this embellishment kit) & the yummy paper flowers from KaiserCraft ... these are such fabulous value as the 2cm & 3.5 cm ones (as used here) both come in a pack of 50 - so you can use loads without breaking the bank!!! That li'l pearl centre in the close up? Kaiser self adhesive pearls (I used Rose) ... bling without the mess & hassle of glue - I love them!

And just in case you missed the news ... we have 20% off absolutely everything all month long (including sale & clearance stuff already discounted!) ... Just use the code NOV2008 at the checkout (UK only ... sorry international friend-type guys!) You can use the code as many times as you like, all month long (which is great as we keep adding new stuff! LOL) & pass it on to your friends too.

In Luuuuurve With Kaiser!!

I love Kaiser & have finally taken the plunge & decided to stock this fabulous Australian manufacturer's lush lines. Brand new is the gorgeous Blushed range: Pinks, black, white & soft grey. From the top: Desire, Devotion, Passion & Romance
Perfectly lovely papers for weddings, romance, teen, BOM & anywhere that you want girly elegance - love them!!
& Great For Card Makers Too!!!!!

Kaiser in Da House!!

Or, more specifically, in the webstore. Yup! When we re-open on November 1st you will find a whole bunch of luscious new goodies from Australian manufacturer Kaisercraft - check out just a fraction of them here ...
yummy wooden shapes for scrapbooking, card making & altered arts: paint 'em, ink 'em, leave 'em bare, add glitter, add flock, embellish with rhinestones & pearls - the list goes on. Loads of yummy shapes & words to choose from!





Flowers, flowers, flowers ... Three different sizes of shaped paper flowers ...
from just £1.99 for a pack of 50 li'l ones & in white, taupe, pink, dusky pink & cream. Each size is a different shaped petal - these are gonna look great layered together, clustered or on their own!! The sizes are: 2cm, 3.5cm & 5cm









































Self adhesive rhinestones & pearls. We all love a bit of bling but maybe sometimes it's just too much hassle to try and stick them down. Kaiser's Rhinestones & Pearls are self adhesive - simple to use & hassle free! Each pack contains a variety of sizes ... imagine the possibilities!! & if that's too much hassle, check out the self adhesive rhinestone shapes!

You might have noticed a bit of a colour theme going on with the pinks, whites & black? Want papers to match? You'll just have to pop back tomorrow to see a fabby new double-sided paper range then!

Got Cosmo?

The webstore re-opens on November 1st, with some yummy new stash & looooads more clearance offers! Just check out the Cosmo loveliness below ...


House album
Jack's World
Mr Campy
Haunted. Yup! I know Halloween will have been & gone ... & Haunted products will be on sale for 30% off RRP - get 'em in for next year or get creative for all-year-round spooky fun!
Gracie's Album
This is just a li'l sneak peek at all the yummy Cosmo Cricket product that will be available on November 1st!! Exciting huh?

Taking a Break

Ohhhhhh! It's been a busy month or two at Crop 'Til You Drop & it's time to take a pre-Christmas break! There are sooooo many things that need tidying up on the webstore & a whole bunch more goodies - both new items & sale stocks that need to be added - the only answer seems to be to close for a li'l while until we catch up with ourselves.
The DT girls are going to take this opportunity to have a li'l break too - but will be back on this very blog, November 1st with lots of fabby new ideas to inspire & inform you all.
We hope you will all join us back here then - there might even be a RAK or two ;o)

The Penultimate One!!!

Day #39 of my 40-Days birthday event ... & the very last round of Guv's Celebrity Squares today.

As you can see ... my baby Auryn, #8, AKA DS4 was holding the prize for the last round ... I announced the winner on my blog yesterday, Stampinc. Now the boy is a li'l obsessed with stickers ... so there's a whole bunch of them on way to Cathy in the USA (TN if that means anything to you ... my American Geography is only marginally worse than my UK knowledge! LOL)
As we are not getting the thousands of correct entries that I'd hoped for each time ... this round is again open to everybody! Get your guesses in by midnight on August 14th for our final draw of this particular event! Good luck to you all ... & thanks sooooo much for joining in my birthday bash ... I hope that you will all become regular visitors and maybe join in with some of our other events in the future.

In case you need a reminder of who we all are: #1 Alix; #3 Guv (that's me!); #4 Elliemook; #6 Sean (DS1); #7 Phoenix; #9 Jay

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!

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!

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!!

Do you want to win stuff???

Ooooooh! Bumper freebie post today! LOL

First up, it is your very last day to enter the Guest DT Challenge - all entries must be e-mailed by Midnight (BST) We have decided to hold a public vote to find our winner. Voting starts tomorrow, so if you have entered, make sure to let everyone know to come on over & place their votes!!
Find all the deets here - but remember, you only have until midnight tonight!

Next, you might already know that I, the Guv'nor, am to turn 40 later this year ... in 40 days to be precise! So I decided to share out the birthday treats & along with a whole bunch of my blogging buddies we have a blog-fest to beat all other birthday bashes. Check out my blog for all the deets

Feeling Blue?

Just a li'l layout that I put together using the K&Co Blue Awning papers. We had been expecting to get the whole range with all the stickers & accessories ... but that's not gonna happen now - not to worry, we put a whole bunch of new, fab stuff online yesterday & will have more of those up-to-75%-off offers coming up over the weekend!
Anyway, back to the layout ... I wanted to show how you could create a pretty layout, without it being girly (which is definitely NOT allowed in my household! LOL)
So I combined flowers cut from the Zinnia Swirl paper with fabric ones from the yummy cupcake & dahlia blend boxes, some American crafts ribbons (from the lucky dip bundles), Tim Holtz game spinner (secured thru a ribbon knot to make the centre of the cream flower) and one of our new lightweight chipboard shapes. I have painted & inked it but you could just as easily cover it in paper.
And that's about it!

What's special about June 30th? you'll have to wait & see! LOL

New DT Debut!

I promised earlier to show some of the yummy creations that our new DT girls submitted as part of their entries - a bit late as it is technically tomorrow! LOL.
First Jayne: The first layout is a Cogsmo number - & anyone who uses this very 'boy' range on a girly pic & can make it work has to be worth taking a look at! LOL
Jayne's mini album in a baby shoe is simple but very effective - what a lovely keepsake either of your owns kiddie (as Jayne's is) or as a gift for a new parent - great idea ... & that's what we like!
I have included a third piece from Jayne, solely as it was DS1's choice. Those of you who know him will already be aware that he's not easy to impress but he really liked this one & thought I should pick Jayne on the strength of that alone. Obviously there was a bit more than that to it! LOL. It was the busy black & white with just a little colour that drew his eye (even if it is pink!!!) & I have to agree that it's very effective - and very different to Jayne's other entries.


I loved Laura's Bo Bunny Album - & it was also nice with both these submissions to see a product or two there that we stock/have stocked in the past - Makes it soooo much easier to see what they might do with our DT kit! With Laura's entry, I was really drawn to her mini books - luuuurve mini books! The 'Believe' one is just plain pretty! With the Bind It All book, it's the clever use of tags & pockets that I liked. I love to cram li'l hidden bits in my albums, so seeing something with all those hidden spaces was a big bonus.



So that's what I thought - but I'm sure you'll all have your own opinions & please do feel free to post your comments. Which is your fave???

All that's left is to say a huge thank you to everybody who sent in submissions - it was a tough decision to make and did give me a sleepless night or two along the way! LOL.

Don't forget the GDT Challenge - the deets are here!

Welcome Our New DT Girls

At last we get to announce our new arrivals! After much deliberation, soul searching & chocolate, we (that's me, Phoenix & Alix) are pleased to announce that Jayne (jay670120) & Laura (Elliemook) have joined our DT. This evening I shall be sharing a couple of the wonderful creations that they submitted as part of their applications, so be sure to pop back later.
Congratulations girls - we are very excited to have you on board & look forward to seeing more of your work very soon
Guv x

In the meantime ... pop on over to their blogs to see what they have been doing.
Jayne's Blog
Laura's Blog

And if you didn't make it on to the DT this time, why not have a go at our guest DT challenge? See all the deets here

Create With Cogsmo!

I don't often post on the blog ... but all that is about to change! With the new DT girls joining us later this month, we are planning to have a much more organised & regular schedule, with looooads of yummy stuff to keep you inspired, informed & entertained! Be sure to bookmark us ... it's gonna get much more exciting! LOL.
By now, you will probably have noticed the new slideshow at the top of the blog - we add the new challenge entries as soon as possible after you e-mail us ... check out this post for details of the current comp & how you could win a FREE kit & GDT spot on this very blog!!
Anyway, back to Cogsmo! I love, love, love this range by Cosmo Cricket & it is just perfect for all things boy ... whatever their ages. And it is available in the webshop right now!! As you can see, I have used it for Father's Day & Birthday cards, A birthday layout (that's DS1 - the morning after the night before IYGWIM! LOL) & to scrap my National Scrapbooking Day layout (so not just for boys then!). The range includes all the usual suspects: journaling cards (which also make great quick cards - like my Father's Day one); Die Cuts; Strip Tease sheets - great for easy titles; cardstock stickers (which alter really well with pens or ink); Double Sided cardstocks; Rub ons aaaand ... Blackboard shapes.
The blackboard shapes are black chipboard & are easily altered with colouring pencils (inktense work really well & we will be making a clearance offer available in the webshop later this month), paints (acrylic, crackle paints etc), covered with patterned papers but they also work really well left black - much more appealing than the naked grey stuff - they kinda jump of the page! Can you tell how much I like them???
You'll find more blackboard shapes (including alphabets) - and a selection of Cosmo rub ons here.
So that's about it for today ... Cogsmo Rocks, why not use it for your June challenge entry?? LOL!

What's special about June 30th 2008??? Watch this space!!

Do You Google???

We have been having major problems with our pop3 e-mail accounts - affecting both my personal & the store e-mails that I've finally given in and got a seperate gmail addy for the store. If you have sent us an e-mail in the past week I probably haven't got it - please send it again using this new address

That also means that I've not received account requests for the forum or DT entries - I will be extending the deadline to reflect that - it's only fair!! Best bookmark the new addy now so you have it when you need it! LOL