Wednesday, December 30, 2015

2015 Christmas Countdown Winners!

Happy New Year! The Christmas Countdown has come to an end. THANKS to everyone who joined in the challenges. We had over 70 entries again this year and its always fabulous seeing other people's ideas. We hope you have an enjoyable Festive Season and Happy New Year.

Head to the Gallery to see all the amazing entries and leave comments on the projects that you've enjoyed. We all love encouraging feedback!

We still have 40% off ALL Christmas related products and there are plenty of 20% -50% off bargains in the Specials category. Enjoy!

In each category there is a winner and also a drawn winner. Could the winners please email info@artfullcrafts.co.nz with your address and let us know which challenge you won. The prizes will be sent out after Liz returns from her holiday in mid-January.


Challenge One - Cards

Challenge Winner: Liz Crabbe with a set of elegant cards




Drawn Winner: Hanna Maryam with a set of cards

Photo Gifts & Layouts

Challenge Winner: Sue Smith with a layout using interesting elements and frames

Drawn Winner: Vicki Parker with her elfish layout


Home/Tree/Table Decorations

Challenge Winner: Sally Robertson submitted a fabulous Mini Shadow Box and a Gingerbread House


Drawn Winner: Deborah Smith with her angel decoration


Gifts


Challenge Winner: Kylie Clifton with her cute little gift box with interior decorating


Drawn Winner: Brenda McKay with her Photo Gift Box


Tags, Wrapping & Stocking Stuffers

Challenge Winner: Sophie Frizzell's white-on-white window tag was inspiring

Drawn Winner: Anne Squire's owlish tag

A Shout out to the Wild, Weird and Wonderful

We really enjoyed looking at a few usual entries this year! We haven't got an official category for these, but they are worth a mention.

Wild

Check out Sophie Frizzell's upcycled Palmolive Bottle Tree

 

Weird

Anne Squire's little snowmen have been on some adventures! Check them out on her blog here
 

Wonderful

Jenny Parry found a white lantern and made some improvements


Happy New Year!
May I take this opportunity to thank you for your support this year. We do appreciate it and look forward to serving you in 2016.

Shop and Website Hours
Don't forget that the physical shop is closed for 1st and 2nd January. Otherwise we're open on shortened hours 10am - 3pm Monday - Friday and 10am - 1pm Saturdays. Normal hours resume Monday 11th.January . For those who live out of town, the website is open all hours and Lisa and Kayrn are working in the shop to pack and send your parcels.


Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Hey Everyone in Scrappyland ....Robbi here

for the final time for 2015
What an amazing year it has been but boy has it gone quick
My Mum always said the older you get the faster time goes and yep Mum was right! (but then Mum's always are)
so what has been your highlight for 2015?  .....   Me? well I have had a few from teaching at AE and SENZ which allowed me to meet more wonderful ladies in the scrapping industry whether they were class attendees or other tutors I have really enjoyed meeting everyone and that is the one thing about the scrapbooking hobby everyone is so eager and friendly it is an honour to know you xxx
But another highlight I cant overlook was our much anticipated trip to Europe and the UK. It seemed to be forever coming but then WOW 4.5 weeks came and went and we were home again and back into work....highlight of that trip was Cinque Terre an amazing collection of 5 little villages off the coast of Italy, but then I also loved Gibraltar and the Barbary Apes, Unfortunately Paris and I didn't agree....was it the rude people, the lack of little cafes and bakeries I expected to see or finding eating places difficult. Don't get me wrong the iconic places were absolutely amazing and I would go back to see them again in a heartbeat....maybe it was just the end of a long time away and I just wanted to get home to my scraproom lol
Anyway I'm sure your highlight was amazing and one you hopefully got to scrap ...if you didn't get pics then look out 2016 as I'm sure you will be clicking away to your merry hearts content and making some amazingly wonderful layouts or OTP items
Ok so as this is my last post for this year I better put up some pics and stop reminiscing over another year that's almost gone

Card 1
This (as I have used in the last few blog posts) is a card made using Kaisercraft SilverBells Collection
I have also used some of the Bo Bunny Vintage Blue cardstock....I am in love with this cardstock and the Coffee Vintage is certainly up there on my must have list!
this card is made using the EK success punch with the stars....great for cards for both males and females, boys or girls, old or young...I love versatile punches and stamps

A couple of closeups of the front cover of the card, and in true "Robbi" style has a doily, flowers, ribbon and a dangly embellishment
 
Card 2
I love the style of this card and think it would work for any theme card you are making
using a 6x12 strip of cardstock score and fold at 3" and  9"
 then add your layers and as you will see the inside has pockets for vouchers or money or a nice note or photos
for the recipient
Just cut a strip as deep as you wish and punch along the top then trim to 3 pieces and add using red wonder tape to create the pockets

Closeups of the front folded pieces to create the cover....I have added some glitter snow (gesso with glitter added) around the edges and made it quite lumpy...I love the effect it gives, If you want more sparkle use some stickles from your finger so you don't squirt out to much in one place, a nice red or gold glitter would be really effective.
To the top pic I have layered the baubles and used stickles on the lines to give some definition and very lightly inked the edges using vintage photo.

Ok well that's it from me I sincerely wish you and your families all the best Christmas you can possibly have and please be safe over this time especially New Years - Drive safely - Drink responsibly but enjoy yourself we do want you back in the Artful Crafts fraternity in 2016 and beyond
Take Care and Love to All


Robbi xxx









  



 
 



 
 
 
 

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Lisa - Kaisercraft Sail Away and Provincial layouts

Hello hello! Lisa here, interrupting the lovely flow of Christmas goodies with a couple of layouts I've made using two of the recent releases from Kaisercraft: Sail Away and Provincial.  They're both really nice and might have slipped your notice in amongst all the festive releases, so maybe this might tempt you to treat yourself for the New Year. :)

My first layout uses Sail Away, which is a travel/nautical themed range, with lots of red, white and blue.  I've layered three of the patterned papers as a base for my photograph (taken beside the sea at Oamaru one Sunday) and then added clusters of various embellishments around it- some of the Collectables, some washi tape, some wood veneer, and a couple of other bits and pieces from my stash. (I've been hoarding those little seagulls for years-- I knew I'd find exactly the right project for them eventually!)



A few ink splatters finish it all off. Some closer shots below:



The second layout is made with the gorgeous Provincial line- a French-inspired, shabby chic range with lovely muted colours. I wanted a textured look for this layout, so chose some of the Cobblestone paper as the main focus, pairing it with a quote cut from the Willow sheet.  A scalloped border from the small paper pad spans the space underneath.


I've then added a selection of layered embellishments on the right hand side: a gold doily, some Collectables, paper flowers, acetate shapes, a wee cork tag and some washi tape.

A closer look:


And that's it! Two lovely collections that are well worth checking out in the shop here

As always, thanks so much for looking, and I'll see you again soon! Local ladies, I might even see you in the shop-- I'm working some days over the holiday period so please do say hi when you pop in to stock up on goodies. :)

Cheers,
 Lisa :) 

Friday, December 18, 2015

Hey Everyone in Scrappyland....Robbi here

A week away from the big day.......Are you sorted - Prezzies bought and wrapped, turkey in freezer ready for thawing, stuffing prepared and of course who could forget the Christmas Pomp with real custard and money hiding inside.....
My answer to that is NO!!!
This year we are having a very quiet Christmas but I cant wait for it....The kids are all going to be with their respective partners Families and then they are coming to us in Cromwell sometime during the afternoon and we will have a BBQ tea
so probably not turkey but nice yummi steak and salads and Trevor's world famous (well it is in our family) Cheesecake with lollycake base. Then we will do our secret santa prezzie swop and indulge in a few celebratory drinks.

Anyway the theme this week for the challenge was Tags...I have made 2 one a little bit cute and the other one of my favourite styles nice and messy and lots of muslin and straw flowers and gesso.

I have used the Large Prima tags for both these tags

I made this fun little tag (although its not that small) I have used the wonderful collection from Kaisercraft that I have used a bit during these games - SILVER BELLS and one of my favourite little boy pics
I wonder what he is wishing for....

and this is my favourite of all time...its well and truly "Robbied" lots of layers , muslin and straw along with the usual flourish die cuts and flowers                                                      

Here is a close up of the centre of the tag, I have used a very large Poinsettia removed the yucky yellow stamens and added white ones then covered them in stickles to make them pop
The paper I have used for this is from the Kaisercraft Holy Night collection - this paper was Star
and I have layered it twice
How are your tags going for the challenge, hopefully this post has given you a couple of ideas
 
I will be back for one last post next week for 2015 and hopefully by then you are relaxed and ready to celebrate the festive season.....above all remember to enjoy the time with family and friends but PLEASE be safe we want you back next year.
Love to all and best wishes xxx
Robbi


 


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Simple Tags - Melissa

Hello! It's Melissa here, I hope you're getting some crafting in during the build up to Christmas!  It's like a winters day here in Queenstown today, all thats missing is snow!   Today I have three simple tags to share with you that I made with Shimelle's Christmas Magic collection.  


I cut all of the tags by hand from papers in the collection that have small repeating patterns.  The first tag is made from a cut apart card layered with a fussy cut wreath.  All embellishments are from the pack that Liz gave us all.  I used foam tape to provide dimension on each of the layers.


For the second tag I fussy cut some of the presents, and then adhered them in two layers with foam tape.  I tucked in a Christmas Tree and the heart.  


For the final tag I used a cut file from The Cut Shoppe and cut it on my Silhouette Cameo.  I added the die cut "Joy", a peg and a gem and some stars.


These tags could be used to dress up gift wrapping, and I'm really happy with how simple they were to make!

You can purchase the Christmas Magic Collection here.

Bless you
Melissa

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Betsy - Tags.

Hello all. Betsy here this morning to share some Christmas goodness.

We have been having a lot of fun at Artfull Crafts, as we build up to Christmas. The Christmas events day was most enjoyable and prior to that we had the visit from Finnabair which was a fabulous day. The ladies all went away on an absolute high, with their completed projects. Betsy didn't participate, as she's not so keen on getting her hands dirty, LOL, but it certainly was amazing watching all the fun and of course admiring all the finished canvas's etc. She did get some hints and ideas though!

As you no doubt know, I am just a card maker, so was a little out of my comfort zone again making these tags. Anyway, I will share them with you and would love to know your thoughts.








For both these tags I have used  Couture Creations, Christmas Emporium, which is lovely. It has a rather vintage feel to it which I seem to be drawn to.








Very simply and quickly made ladies.

It is gift tags, wrapping and stocking fillers for this week, with the challenge finishing midnight Wednesday, 23rd December. Do enter the fun ladies, there are prizes to be won and we love seeing what you all come up with. There is also 40% discount of all Christmas stock in store, so do take advantage of that for next Christmas.

" This season, keep your eyes and heart open for unexpected ways that God will reveal to you the hope of Christmas."

God bless you all,
Betsy.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Chistine S. - Home For Christmas Tags

Hi there, how are you today?  Christine S. here posting a set of Christmas tags for the last week of Artfull Crafts' Christmas Countdown.  I've been enjoying creating with the Home For Christmas collection this year & my last share for this range is with a set of tags.  The base of these are actually sold by Kaisercraft as a wooden garland set,  but I decided they would make lovely tags as well.  The recipients can then hang the tags on their trees or as a little piece on a wall, etc.

Home For Christmas Tags

Now let's have a closer look at each piece.

5     7

The tree with the crossword puzzle paper has a few Artfull Embellies on them, plus a gold star brad that can be purchased at the shop.  The other tree has paper layers with some scrap pieces of crochet in between.

009     011

Don't they look great as tree decorations? A Christmas Bell Wooden Shape has been added & topped with some ribbon & Pastel Polka Dot Button on the heart tag.  The dove tag is simply adhered with papers from the collection with the added bow.

012
Last but not the least is the star tag which is layered with a few Artfull Embellies as well, which are the Red Glitter Butterfly, Small Wooden Shape, Natural Wooden Peg & itty bitty bloom that can be bought at the shop too.
There's also 40% off on all Christmas stock at the shop, so grab yourself a bargain now before they all run out here.

As always, thanks for dropping in & keep an eye out for more gorgeous inspirations from the design team this week.  We look forward to seeing your beautiful creations. :)

Have a very merry Christmas & a great New Year to one & all!!

Cheers,

Christine S.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

1.5 weeks to go and 40% off most Christmas stock! Last Christmas Challenge is Tags, Wrapping and Stocking Stuffers...

We hope you've enjoyed the all the challenges so far. This is the last one and you have until Wednesday the  December 23rd to enter in any of the challenges so far - Christmas Cards, Layouts/Photo Gifts, Home/Tree/Table Decorations, Handmade Gifts and now Tags, Gift Wrapping and Stocking Stuffers.

We're also clearing any remaining Christmas stock this week and we're offering a 40% discount. Hurry - there's not much left! Applies to stock instore only and excludes kits.


1 1/2 weeks to go CHALLENGE!
Gift Tags, Wrapping & Stocking Stuffers

It's great spending time making Christmas gifts - but have you thought about wrapping them nicely and adding a fun Christmas Tag? What about showing us some interesting stocking stuffer ideas. We want to see what you can come up with and our Design Team will help to inspire you for the next week. This is the last of the challenges where you can win prizes.

There will be TWO winners for this challenge!

1) Overall Winner and the Drawn Winner will each receive a $30 gift vouchers!



You have until midnight Wednesday 23rd December enter your projects in the Challenge. (Maximum of 3 entries per challenge per person please). It's really easy!! We look forward to you joining in the fun!



Inspiration
This will be the last week that the Design Team will inspire you with Christmas ideas. We hope you've enjoyed it so far! Here's some tags and wrapping ideas from previous year's Design Teams.

Megan Gourlay with a lesson in gift wrapping

 Beverley Cuningham with Tags and Girft Wrapping Ideas

 Christine Santos with some Christmasy Tags

 Fiona Angus with Gift Box made from the Punch Board

 Jessica Toulmin spreads her gift wrapping joy

 Lisa Ryder Christmas Tags


 WEEKLY CHRISTMAS SPECIALS  

40% off most Christmas Stock!!

Head to the Christmas Store now and pick up a last-minute bargain. We have stamps, stickers, papers, beyond the page, embellishments, projects and more!



We wish you a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the challenges.