Frosty Festivities Announcement and Giveaway!

It's time to announce my next (free!) blog event: 'Frosty Festivites'! Read on for details, and enter to win a My Mind's Eye 'All is Bright' Collection Kit!

On Friday 16^th November – Sunday 18^th November I will be holding a Blog Event called ‘Frosty Festivities’. Over that weekend there will be posts every hour from 4pm-10pm Friday, and 10am-10pm Saturday and Sunday (GMT), all on the theme of 'Winter' including tips, tutorials, challenges, crafts, a blog hop, and lots of giveaways. The photo above shows you a mere snippet of  the projects and prizes!

I really hope you'll be able to join me for the weekend. The giveaways will stay open until Monday (19th November 2012) at 10.59pm GMT, so if you're away for the weekend you'll have Monday to try and catch up! The challenges will be open until the following Sunday (25th November 2012) too!

I've been getting very excited about it, especially as this event will have a couple of new developments:

1. This time there will be a 'Frosty Festivities' Forum for the weekend, and for the week following, so anyone reading the posts or joining in can also chat amongst themselves! I shall be available on there as much as possible to answer any questions you may have as well.
2. After the weekend has finished, there will be a Frosty Festivities PDF download available, containing lots of the weekend's projects from myself and the blog hop participants. This won't be available until the giveaways have closed, so you'll still need to visit over the weekend to have a chance of winning the prizes and to chat along! But if you can't make the weekend, or you want to be able to look back on all the projects easily, then you'll be able to download the PDF for future perusal!

What do you think? It should be fun! And to get the buzz going, I have a giveaway to ask whether you're excited about the weekend, and to encourage you to tell others about the event! You could win this My Mind's Eye 'All is Bright' Collection Kit (I LOVE this collection!):

I bought this kit from SJ Crafts - see more My Mind's Eye products in the store here!

Please note: To enter this giveaway you do have to click on the Rafflecopter Widget below. Just leaving a blog comment won't enter you - you need to then click on rafflecopter to say you've done so, and to say you've completed other options like sharing this post on Facebook or Pinterest for more entries! Of course you can also comment and share without entering the giveaway if you wish!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One winner will be chosen at random from all entries, after the Giveaway closes at 12.01am EST on Thursday 15th November - the winner will be announced here later that day!

Thanks so much for reading, I'll look forward to seeing you here on the 16th of November! Are you excited about the Frosty Festivities event? x

Tweet

Giggle Giggle!

These girls always make me giggle! I'm meeting up with my friends Rosie and Ali tonight for another Positive Planning session, and I'm really looking forward to it. These photos were taken at My 30th Birthday in June, where we had a lot of laughs:

Supplies: Pink Paislee Portfolio 'Outstanding Paper and Ephemera, Elle's Studio The Sweet Life Note Tags, Cut Outs, and   'True Happiness' Stamp; flair from 'Here & Now' Kit. Mr Huey 'Calico White' mist. Red Ink Pad, Black Journaling Pen, White Crepe Paper, Sewing Machine with White Thread.

We didn't get many shots with 'serious' poses, as we kept laughing so much!

The 'giggle giggle' title was cut using my Slice, and I stuck it down just along the middle, so it looks like it's landed on the page - I got the idea to do this from a layout by Lilith Eeckels here.

I used a mix of Pink Paislee 'Portfolio' and Elle's Studio 'The Sweet Life' cut outs to embellish the page:

And I added a strip of crepe paper, like I'm adding to all the layouts about my birthday party:

 I love this layout - it captures the fun we had! Do you have any people that always make you laugh? Have you got a photo of them laughing? If not, I suggest setting up a silly photobooth, and dressing up until you can't stop giggling!

x

Tweet

SJ Crafts Challenge #10

The latest challenge is now live at the SJ Crafts blog - this month is quite an easy one to join in with - the theme is birthdays! Who doesn't have a birthday photo still waiting to be scrapbooked, or a card to make for an upcoming birthday? The added extra this time is to use circles or ovals. Here's my layout:

Supplies: American Crafts Cardstock 'Seafoam', Bazzill Basics Cardstock 'White'. Studio Calico Hey Day 6x6 Pad. Crate Paper 'Eleanor' Little Bo Peep Paper and a Little Bo Peep Border Sticker. Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch. Echo Park 'Everyday Eclectic' Stickers and Alphas. Maya Road Numbers. White Crepe Paper, Sequins. 

This layout documents my feelings about life as I turned 30 - how I felt quite happy to reach this age as I'd already achieved my most important goals. I made the page bright and happy to echo the positive feelings, and scattered some sequins and stickers about like the table confetti that was at the party! I also added some crepe paper as there's crepe paper on every scrapbook page about my 30th birthday.

What birthday projects could you be getting on with? Link them up to the challenge before the 14 November at 1pm, and you'll be in with a chance to win a £5 gift voucher to the SJ Crafts online shop! 

I'm a busy bee behind the scenes right now, lots to share with you soon! x

Tweet

Silly Playful Fabulous + The Scrapbooking Soiree!

Sorry for the delay in posting this month's Scrapbooking Soiree, things have been a little hectic! But I'm getting back on track now. 

Before I share the details of September's winner, and open up the October Soiree, I've got a new layout to show you. Hopefully it will give you some inspiration and make you even more keen to join in the party!

Silly, Playful, Fabulous:

Supplies: Pink Paislee Portfolio 'Stupendous' Paper, Ephemera, Photograms, and Clear Stamps. Mr Huey 'Clay' Mist. My Mind's Eye All is Bright Buttons, and Winter Wonderland Enamel Dots. A few clear gems, yellow ink, a black journaling pen, 3D foam dots.

I've been having fun playing with the Pink Paislee Portfolio prize that I won, and this is one of the layouts I've made so far. I love how easy it was to create a really fun page, to match the pictures of my daughter acting silly in a photo shoot!

I tied embroidery thread around a couple of arrows to enhance the dressing up theme and add another texture.

I liked that I could make my title out of the Portfolio ephemera. I struggle with titles sometimes but these three words were perfect to describe my daughter in the pictures!

What do you think? I was inspired a little to use the yellow-grey-blue combo by Saskia's layout here from the last Soiree, it's such a lovely mix of colours. Have you ever tried it? 

Now for The Scrapbooking Soiree:

There were some lovely layouts last month, check them out here if you missed them! 

Sadly though, the number of entries has been dropping each month, instead of growing as I'd hoped. I'll only keep it going for another month or two if this continues. So, if you've ever thought about joining in but forgotten - please take part! Remember you can link up any scrapbooking project from the 8th of the current month to the 7th of the following month. So if you've already posted something on or since the 8th of October, you can link it up straight away! It can be linked to other challenges. And you'll be in with a chance to win a voucher to your favourite scrap store!

And, if you think it's a great idea, but you aren't able to join in yourself right now, then you can still tell others about it by pinning, tweeting, or sharing on facebook (links available at the end of this post).

And the winner of September's Soiree was:

That's Bonnie! Congratulations Bonnie, you've won a £5 Gift Voucher (or closest equivalent in your local currency) to your favourite Scrap Store! Send me an email at jennifergrace (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk and let me know where you'd like the voucher for!

Below is the linky for this month's Soiree. Please join in, and you'll be in with a chance to win a £5 voucher (or closest equivalent in your local currency) to your favourite scrap store! Full details of the Scrapbooking Soiree are here. And please stop by and check out at least one other link after adding your own - it's a great way to meet new bloggers and have some fun!

Cheers! x

Tweet

Make & Craft Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to the winner of the Make & Craft Blog Tour Giveaway winner:

That's Linda Rumsey! Congratulations Linda - email me at jennifergrace (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk with your postal address and I shall send the lovely Stitched Postcards book to you! 

Thanks to all who entered. Don't forget that the new magazine Make & Craft comes out today, so keep an eye out for it! x

Tweet

10 Things... new to play with!

Today it's the 10th, and that means 10 things - any random ten things, are blogged about by many lovely people, led by the fabulous Shimelle Laine. For my ten things this month I'm going to tell you about the new products that have freshly arrived in my stash, which I'm dying to play with and show you the results of:

1. Pink Paislee 'Artisan' Album - I wanted this as soon as I saw the Summer CHA reveal, and now that I have it I'm a little scared to start altering it! I will though (!):

2. Studio Calico 'Burst' Mask - Received today from SJ Crafts, and I can't wait to start misting through it:

3. Epiphany Crafts 'Flower 25' Tool - Which I won on the Epiphany Crafts Blog, and I'm going to use it once I think of the perfect project to show it off:

4. My Mind's Eye 'Bluebell' - I've bought a few bits and pieces from this collection as I just loved the colours -just look at that yellow and blue:

5. Elle's Studio 'Sweet Life' - I ordered some items from Elle's Studio - it's the first time I've had the chance to use their stuff - and I love these 'Sweet Life' Note Tags. You can expect them to appear on a layout soon:

6. Memento 'Gray Flannel' Ink Pad - I own very few ink pads, and I kept wishing I had a grey one! So I've finally bought myself this:

7. Maya Road 'Linen Album' - Which I won on the Maya Road blog. I have a plan for this one - for a mini about my favourite place in the whole world. I need to start splattering some gesso on I think:

8. Crate Paper 'Little Boy Blue' Tags - Remember the Tag Mini-Book I made using Crate Paper 'Little Bo Peep' Tags? Now I need to make a similar album, featuring photos of baby boy, for my Mother-In-Law's Christmas Present:

9. Studio Calico 'Wood Veneer Snowflakes' - I also snatched these up from SJ Crafts today, and I love them even more than I thought I would. They are going to be perfect for using on some projects for my Frosty Festivities Weekend, which brings me onto item 10:

10. Frosty Festivities Prizes! There's a whole lot of new stuff building up in my stash which I'm NOT ALLOWED to play with - because they are prizes for YOU to try and win during my next blog event! I'm not going to reveal them all yet, but you can expect a lot of lovely wintry products, including, just maybe, a set of the Wood Veneer Snowflakes above! 

Look out for the reveal post with more details about the event weekend, and a glimpse at the prizes and projects, coming some time next week!

A couple of other things to mention before I sign off:

• SJ Crafts is holding 2 giveaways right now - one to win a collection kit of your choice from the shop, and another to win a pack of mystery papers - you can find both the giveaways here - but hurry - they close at 10pm on Friday 12th of October so there's not long left!
• Sorry I'm a bit behind on a couple of blog posts - Both my September in Numbers post, and my Scrapbooking Soiree post, are overdue, but they'll be here as soon as possible I promise!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I'd love to hear what new items you have in your stash that you need to break open and play with! If you haven't got anything new, then what is it you'd love to get your hands on? 

Bye! x

Tweet

Storytelling Sunday - Dressing Up is a Family Activity!

The first Sunday of each month = lots of lovely bloggers telling tales of wonder, perhaps with a photo or two. To see more stories visit the Master Storyteller (Sian's) post here. This month I've chosen to follow Sian's suggested theme of dressing up!

My first memories of dressing up are from my granny's house. She had a whole, huge wardrobe in the second bedroom, full of dresses, bags, shoes, and most importantly, beads, which we could dress up in to our heart's content. My sister hadn't come along yet (she's 9 years younger than me) so my little brother had to adorn himself in necklaces instead (not that he seemed to mind):

And at least his necklaces were mostly blue! 

I'm going to miss dressing up at my granny's house. She passed away in January this year, and my Grandad just moved out of their house last month. I didn't return back after he started packing up, as I couldn't bear to see the memories being dismantled. Most of the dressing up items went to charity shops before we realised things were going, but thankfully I've got a few vintage dresses that my granny gave me a few years ago, so I shall treasure them!

At home we didn't have much to dress up in. I remember making a TV costume out of a cardboard box to win 3rd prize at a local fancy dress contest! But that wasn't 'pretty'. I had a bridesmaid dress I wore to my auntie's wedding when I was four, and I managed to squeeze into it until I was about eleven, so it was my standard dressing up outfit! We didn't have any 'boy' costumes as far as I can remember though, so again my little brother had to go girlie, in an old party dress of mine and a pink wig - don't tell him I showed you this photo! (The girl in the middle, called Cheryl, was my best friend for years - but we lost touch and now I can't remember her surname. I'd love to know how she's getting on in life):

My brother always liked to pose with crazy faces in photos, which is something my daughter loves too. In fact she's not that fussed about dressing up, unless I tell her she can pose for lots of silly photos, then she's happy:

She's not allowed to put things on her brother yet, though she'd like to dress him up! And he's too young to put things on himself. Except for maybe a plastic drawer, after he's tipped all the toys all over the floor - it makes a good hat:

So I don't suppose it will be too long until he's dressing up in beads and princess outfits that my daughter has outgrown!

After all, anyone who's seen my 30th birthday photos will know that in this family, dressing up is definitely encouraged!:

Thanks for reading! If you used to dress up, do you still love it? Would you grasp any excuse to put on a costume, or do you dread the suggestion? I know that just because I love it, it doesn't mean that everyone does!

Have a happy Sunday! x

Tweet

One Sketch, Three Cards - It's World Cardmaking Day!

Happy World Cardmaking Day! To join in with this event, started by the wonderful Paper Crafts Connection, I decided to break open my recent stash arrivals - some of the Pink Paislee Artisan collection. I was a little nervous about putting mist to paper, so to get me started I drew a sketch, and challenged myself to make three different cards from it:

I had so much fun with this! On all the cards I used Pink Paislee Artisan Resistable 8x8 papers, Elements Circles, and Zig-Zag Ribbons. I also used Heidi Swapp's 'Mint Green' Color Shine Spritz on each one, and the Lawn Fawn 'Grand Greetings' Stamp set. Then each card has a couple of different items too:

Happy Birthday:

The 6x6" Happy Birthday Card also includes some Pink Paislee Artisan Resistable stars, Mr Huey 'Pretty Pink' Mist, Tattered Angels Chalkboard 'Firefly' Glimmer Mist, and some 'White Opal' Liquid Pearls:

Thanks So Much:

 The Thanks So Much card was 6x6" Square, but I drew around a circle template and cut it out to create a circular card - making sure to leave a join on the left, and cutting a small flat line along the bottom of the circle too, to help the card stand up. 

This card has extras of a Sharpie pencil to colour the large Artisan Circle, Heidi Swapp 'Gold Lame' Color Shine Spritz on the ribbon (love how it sparkles), a cloud from the Artisan 'Family' Words, and some yellow gems:

Just Saying Hello:

 The Just Saying Hello card is 4x8", and I flipped the sketch a bit for this one. I used the Tattered Angels 'Firefly' mist on the background, so the resist pattern was very subtle, and then I splattered some Mr Huey 'Clay' Mist on top. I also used the Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger Border Punch on some Resistable paper, coloured in the circle with a Sharpie Pencil again, and added some green pearls and some 'White Opal' Liquid Pearls:

What do you think? Can you see how all three came from the sketch?

Are you joining in with World Cardmaking Day today? If you're looking for inspiration feel free to use my sketch! If you are making cards what products will you be using? Got anything new you could break into?

Make sure you check out all kinds of thing going on today - lots of manufacturers are having celebrations with giveaways or challenges, Paper Crafts Connection has inspirations and giveaways on the Paper Crafts Magazine Blog, and there's a Blog Hop you can check out with hundreds of bloggers posting something card related today!

I hope you have a wonderful day! x

(P.S. If you're new here, don't forget to check out my upcoming Frosty Festivities Blog Event, or my Tutorials page! And I'm quite happy if you want to 'pin' anything - just make sure you pin from the original post! You can follow me on Pinterest here.)

Tweet

Today You Totally Rock

You may remember I won an amazing Pink Paislee 'Portfolio' prize package a couple of weeks ago. Did you know they are running a similar contest now, to win a huge prize package of 'City Sidewalks'? This time the week is based on cardmaking, as inspiration for the approach of World Cardmaking day this Saturday.

I know I can't win again, but I was inspired to use some of my Portfolio prize to make a card based on the Shadow Box Card by Andrea Budjack today. I guess I was also inspired by the Masculine Card by Danielle Flanders on Monday, as my card would be great for a guy:

The supplies are mostly 'Portfolio', I just added the sunglasses ephemera from 'Nantucket', some 'Mistables' scalloped ribbon, and a bit of grey bakers twine. It's a fun card and it will be perfect for my friend who's in a band - I might give it to him after his next gig!

So, are you inspired to give the Pink Paislee challenge a go? Here's the prize I won, to show you just how lovely and generous they are:

What are you waiting for? Go join in! 

Are you joining in with any other World Cardmaking day celebrations? x

Tweet

Make and Craft Blog Tour - with Giveaway! (NOW CLOSED)

Today I'm excited to tell you there's going to be a new magazine coming out, called Make & Craft. It will be on sale on the 12th of October - available both digitally and in print! There's some great deals on subscriptions at the moment - £1 for three digital issues, or £3 for three print issues, check the offers out here.

What I really love about this magazine is the communtiy that goes with it - there's all kinds of things to get involved in at www.makeandcraft.com, including craft swaps, a forum, and a craft book club - where every month new books are discussed. And to get in the spirit of crafting and chatting about it, Make & Craft have kindly sent me a book to giveaway to one lucky reader:

Stitched Postcards, Edited by Christa Rolf, is full of pretty fabric postcards, from lots of designers. Here's a bit about the book from the publisher Search Press website:

'The lovingly created miniatures are richly decorated with a range of styles including landscapes, florals, vintage and architecture, achieved using special yarns, fabrics and embellishments. With the help of a detailed section on materials, clear explanations of the basic techniques, and the individual designers' tips, these postcards are quick and easy to make, and are ideal for using up scraps of materials and items found in nature and around the home.' 

I was inspired to get stitching, and I took inspiration from this project by Renate Bieber:

To make an Autumn stitched card for myself, using an A6 card blank and various scraps from my much neglected fabric stash:

It was quick and fun to make, and now I'd like to stitch some more! I'd like to make some landscapes, like these ones by Gisela Bunth in the book:

But I think I need to buy myself a freehand quilting or darning needle for my machine before I can attempt these!

So, would you like to win yourself a copy of this book? If so, all you need to do is register as a member of the Make and Craft Website, and then leave a comment on this blog post! The giveaway will close on 11th of October, at 10pm GMT. The giveaway is open internationally. I'll announce the winner on the 12th of October, the day the magazine comes out! (NB: NOW CLOSED - WINNER = Linda Rumsey!)

If you'd like the book but you can't wait, or you aren't the winner, then I have a special offer for you! You can call Search Press on 01892 510850 and quote 'Make and Craft Blog Tour' to receive free UK P&P when buying the book! It only costs £7.99, so it's a bargain anyway! (ISBN: 9781844484706)

Thanks for visiting my blog today, whether you are a regular reader or a newcomer! If you haven't visited here before, then I'm Jennifer Grace, and I'm mostly a scrapbooker and papercrafter, though other crafts creep in from time-to-time! 

You can see more about me here, and you can check out lots of my tutorials here. I'm also going to be holding a blog event on the 16th-18th of November, which will include lots of giveaways and winter themed posts, more about that here. I'd love for you to take a look around, and links to my twitter, pinterest, and facebook feeds are in my sidebar if you're interested! Here's a couple of examples of my recent makes that can all be found on my tutorials page:

Don't forget that this is a Blog Tour - there's a new book given away each day on various blogs! Yesterday was the turn of Tilly Mint Boutique, and tomorrow you should check out Sara Stacey's blog here. There's a full list of all the blogs taking part right here too!

Here's hoping you all have a lovely, crafty day! x

Tweet