Meet Vonni Lane! A new Design Team Member...

Hi! I'm Vonni. I'm originally from Wollongong, Australia. I met my Kiwi partner in Sydney, 2001

and a year later we came to New Zealand for a holiday. 14 years later, we're still here!! We have 2 boys, Master 8 & Master 10.

How were you introduced to papercrafting?
I've always been a cut and paste girl. I spent my childhood cutting random things from magazines and pasting them into those old style newsprint scrapbooks. I became a traditional scrapbooker when I had my first son.

What type of papercrafts do you enjoy?
I am first and foremost a scrapbooker. I love scrapbooking our day to day lives. I have a clean & simple style and like to make my photos the star of the page. I enjoy traditional 12x12 layouts but these days I mostly use pocket pages. Such a fantastic way to catch up when you're years behind on your albums. Last year, I purchased a Silhouette Cameo and have started making my own cards and 3D projects. I love my Cameo and can't remember how I got by without it. I'm a huge fan of Lori Whitlock and like to use her cut files to create fun 3D projects, like the camera mini album below.

Where do you get your inspirations from?
I get loads of inspiration from craft blogs and Pinterest. I have good intentions of just popping over to Pinterest for a quick look and before you know it an hour or 2 has passed (I am sure most of you can relate). My Pinterest boards are overloaded with inspiration.

What are your favourite craft brands and why? 
I love working with brands like Kaisercraft, Echo Park and Simple Stories. I like having everything I could possibly need for a project in one collection pack. Gorgeous papers with co-ordinating elements and embellishments. I also love We R Memory Keepers punches, boards and tools.

What scrapbooking tools/products can you not do without?
My Silhouette Cameo sits right on my desk. I have a huge stash of cardstock in all colours. I can't go without my tape runner, a glue pen, black & brown ink and my paper trimmer.

What do you hope to try or improve on this year?
My crafty goals for 2016 are to do more off the page projects. Cards, shadow boxes, wooden projects. I will also like to try a mist spray on atleast one project. I love the look but have never been brave enough to try. I would also like to improve my pocket pages by adding more to the layouts. Extra sleeves, keepsakes, shaker pockets.

I am really excited to be a part of the Artfull Crafts Design Team for 2016 and I look forward to sharing more fun projects with you all soon.

Today we welcome Lisa Ryder! Intro post...

Hi all! I'm Lisa, and I am a returning Artfull Crafts  DT member this year-- thanks so much to Liz for keeping me around the place! I also work in the shop on Saturday mornings, so if you've ever phoned up or called in at the weekend, chances are you heard my voice or saw my face (or witnessed me doing battle with the shop till. We have a feisty relationship, shall we say. Ahem.) A little more about me: I'm Timaru born and bred, and I still live here with my husband, Ivan. We've been married for 27 years and counting. We have one grown-up daughter, Lauren, who is 19 and studying to be a chef as well as working part time at a local restaurant. She's moved out of home, but we still have one "kid" around the place-- our wee dog Ruby, who is my constant companion. (And who pops up in my layouts from time to time.)

It seems that I've loved playing with and creating things from paper for as long as I can remember. I kept scrapbooks as a kid -- the kind with the old-fashioned sheets of scraps that you cut out and then glued on the pages (anyone else remember those?) and I also used to make paper dolls cut from magazines, complete with many outfits for them, too. As a teenager, my scrapbooks contained mostly popstars --the majority being of Duran Duran. ( I still have those scrapbooks today-- always worth a laugh when I look back through them.) These days, I have a deep and abiding love for themed mini-albums, art journals, mixed media, collage and home decor items such as canvases and other BTP projects. I really love the Project Life concept and really want to get some more pages done this year. I have a huge (seriously, it's HUGE!) box of many, many Project Life cards that are all gorgeous and I need to actually DO something with them besides keep adding to the collection!

Where do you get your inspiration from?
As far as inspiration goes it can spring from something as simple as a photograph,  a page in a magazine, or even a piece of music that creates a visual in my head. Sometimes it's as simple as a combination of colours on a piece of paper, or a certain pattern. I also love to spend time looking at arty, creative blogs, and websites like Pinterest and Flickr. My instagram feed is also a constant source of beautiful eyecandy and inspiration.

Who is manufacturing your favourite crafty products?
When it comes to paper companies, Crate Paper are my absolute favourite, I think-- I'm pretty sure all of my layouts contain at least once piece from a CP collection in them somewhere! Other favourites are Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp, Amy Tangerine, Teresa Collins, and Simple Stories. I also really like Kaisercraft , and I'm sort of addicted to the Collectables they put out with each range.

What items do you reach for?
My everyday crafting basics are glue, double-sided tape, my trusty scissors and a black ink pad, but I would also have to add to that: sprays, distress inks and tiny attacher staples. Those all tend to appear on most of my layouts and projects lately. Top of the list, though, would have to be: WASHI TAPE. In all-caps, to try and convey the depth of my love. Seriously, stand still long enough around me and I might just decorate you with a roll or two of it. :D I love the variety of patterns and designs, and the myriad of things it can be used for: from a touch of it on a card or layout, to using it as the main design element in a project. Plus, it's re-usable, which is awesome.

Embellishment-wise,  a current favourite of mine is touches of gold and/or silver, from washi tape, doilies or sprays. I also love a spatter of black or white ink to "finish" a layout (to stop it from looking too picture-perfect, I think.) I love distressed, inked and hand-torn edges, and a mix of layers and textures. I really like to use a mix of different elements in my layouts and projects, including things like old maps, dictionary pages, hand-drawn-doodles, scraps of fabric and other ephemera. I like to reuse, repurpose and upcycle objects to turn them into something completely new, and love fussy-cutting elements from larger pieces of paper to use in whole new ways.

Who inspires you?
As far as inspiration from the craft world goes, I really love Ali Edwards' style: her layouts are what first drew me into scrapbooking after years of purely being a rubberstamper. I really like her technique when it comes to Project Life documentation, and I think she has the most amazing handwriting. Other favourites: Tina from lifelovepaper, Jamica Edgell, Jamie Waters, Tim Holtz, and oh-so-many others. I like to be inspired by a bunch of different people with different styles and techniques. :) My Instagram feed contains a mixture of eye-candy from creative folk all over the globe.

Crafty Goals for 2016
I have a couple of craft-related goals this year: a lot of my layouts lack journalling, so I would like to include a little more of that. I'd also like to complete some more mini-albums, some more PL stuff, and perhaps get back into keeping a regular art journal, too. I'm also keen to learn more about die-cutting machines and gadgets, as I don't have any myself, so it's all a whole new world to me. (I'm very old-school, and cut out everything by hand!) Liz, Juanita and Miss Betsy have been all very patient with me as I have learned a little bit more about all these goodies, and who knows, soon I might actually know what I'm talking about, haha! In the meantime, there is a myriad of information available on YouTube when it comes to learning about new things in the crafting world, and I'm a keen student. :)

Lastly, if I had a piece of advice for anyone just looking to start out in the crafting game, it would be: You can do it! So many people claim that they're not creative enough, or that it all looks too hard. It's really not! :) There are so many tutorials around for all kinds of projects, with clear step-by-step instructions. Also, Artfull Crafts offers a  variety of regular card classes and fortnightly craft evenings and there is no better way to begin crafting than with like-minded folk around to chat with and to help you out. :) The store's thriving facebook page is a great place to start-- there is always someone around who can surely answer any queries or questions you might have. And like I mentioned earlier, YouTube is always a great resource. If in doubt- just ask!

Here's to a wonderfully creative 2016!
Cheers,
Lisa

Welcome to new Design Team Member ... Michelle Van Oudtshoorn

Tell us a bit about yourself
I am originally from South Africa and my husband, children and I immigrated to New Zealand in 2010. We first started off in Ashburton - my daughter was 14 and my son was 17. New Zealand has been so good to us in so many ways and I have not once ever regretted our decision to come and live in this beautiful country.

What's your crafting story?

A friend of mine (who also happened to live in the same street three houses away from me) started a scrapbooking business from her house in 2004 - converting her garage into a shop. She invited me over to come and try scrapbooking and that was me .... totally hooked. I scrapped at every opportunity that I could and when I couldn't sleep in the wee hours of the morning I was at my desk scrapping away. Sometimes I would not sleep all night with ideas of layouts running around in my head. Perhaps the word hooked is a little under exaggerated ....maybe more like addicted! And it didn't help my budget that my friend lived so close by .... I was always in her shop!

What's your style?
My style of scrapbooking has changed over the years - and I love creating pages with flowers. I have a HUGE stash of flowers ... and I have to stop myself buying more. But a girl can never have enough flowers, right? I also love bling and I love chippies.

Who inspires you?
I am inspired by the likes of Anna Dabrowska (Finnabair) - her creations are just jaw dropping gorgeous. I am a little nervous of mixed media - something I really want to get more involved in - so perhaps my goal for 2016 and Finnabair as my mentor? Another favourite - Frank Garcia - his mini albums are amazing. And when it comes to layouts - Gabrielle Pollacco and Di Garling - create beautiful layouts.

What are your favourites?

I don't mind scrapbooking with any colour - if the range of papers are good, it is even easier (although I will admit that my favourite colour is teal). I love a number of companies - and probably would rate Kaiser Craft, Prima, Blue Fern Studios and Graphic 45 as my favourites. Graphic 45 is great for fussy cutting - and of course if you have the patience ... I am rather amazed at my patience, I can spend hours cutting out minute bits of patterns, but lack patience in other aspects of life ... go figure! 

Where do you get inspiration from?
I get inspiration from Pinterest and scrapbooking magazines, and I also follow numerous Facebook pages where other crafters showcase their amazing works of art - my favourite Facebook page is Paper People - there is some serious talent out there!

I am very honoured to be part of the design team for 2016 and look forward to creating with Artfull Crafts this year.

Design Team Announcement 2016!

Hi Crafter! It's with great excitement that we announce the 2016 Design Team for Artfull Crafts. We are very grateful for everyone who applied. There is a lot of talent out there in NZ and we're sorry for those of you that didn't make it this time. It's quite a process we go through to get a balanced team, but we have successfully covered the range of papercrafting hobbies - scrapbooking, pocket scrapbooking, card making, beyond the page projects, tags, colouring and more. And we've ticked off the vast number of styles -  vintage, clean & simple, eclectic, shabby chic and more. We do hope you like this year's line up.  We welcome back 4 local ladies who were invited to stay on for another year. We like to encourage a local scene of crafters here in Timaru, and we're pleased that Betsy Clark (Miss Besty), Christine Bonifacio, Lisa Ryder and Juanita Patrick have agreed to keep contributing. And we also welcome back Megan Gourlay from Christchurch who will continue to guest design for us (also on the Bo Bunny International DT).

And now ... drum roll... we welcome 4 new ladies to join our team! Please read and enjoy finding out a bit more about these talented crafters, and then make sure you head to the Artfull Crafts Pinterest Board and start following! Michelle van Oudsthoorn Michelle immigrated to NZ from South Africa in 2010 with her husband and 2 teenagers and now lives in Rolleston. She has experience being on other Design Teams (including a guest spot on an International Team!) She is very much a "girly" scrapper - layering flowers, bling, chipboard. Check out her blog at http://queenm1809.blogspot.co.nz/ and follow her Artfull Crafts Pinterest board here.

Debbie Ryan Debbie lives in Upper Hutt with her husband and 3 kids (13, 14, & 16), after immigrating from the UK. She is known in the blogging world for her vintage, grungy look, although she loves all styles. She enjoys altering 3D things, layering and being adventurous. She's been on various Design Teams in NZ and in the States, and we look forward to seeing her variety of projects - from tags to cards, 3D projects and layouts. Check out her personal blog (which is updated most days with unique fabulous projects!!) http://mybirdflyingfree.blogspot.co.nz and follow her Artfull Crafts Pinterest board here.

Diane van Diepen Diane has just moved to Timaru with her hubby and 3 children (12, 10 and  6), after spending 12 years in Westport. Her scrapbooking journey started in 2004 and her style would be considered shabby chic with a touch of contemporary! She loves beyond the page projects and mini album and sprays, flowers, Gelatos, inks, texture paste etc. Diane's blog is a work in progress and we'll let you know when she's launched it! Follow her Artfull Crafts Pinterest Board here.

Vonnie Lane Vonni is living in Wellington (having started life as an Aussie and then getting swept off her feet by a kiwi!). She enjoys a range of papercrafts, but her new favourites are her Silhouette Cameo and Pocket Pages. Vonni has designed for Warehouse Stationery catalogues and has a clean and simple style. When she's not in the craftroom she can be found working as a part-time librarian, at the kid's school or chauffering the boys to activites. See more of Vonni's work on her blog at http://scrappyvee.blogspot.co.nz/ or follow her Artfull Crafts Pinterest Board here.

We do hope you like the new additions to our team, and we invite you to comment on their blog posts, pin their projects and enjoy the inspiration that they are going to bring to you during 2016.

Christine S. - A Farewell Post

LIZ'S NOTE

Christine has been a prolific crafter and it's been a privilege and pleasure to have her work displayed at our shop. She's really enjoys using all the delicious product that we send her, and we are excited that she's about to start teaching classes in Auckland. Best wishes and we look forward to catching up at SENZ! 

CHRISTINE'S FAREWELL

A new year means a call for a new Design Team, so today I'm saying goodbye to the wonderful team of Artfull Crafts.  I had a blast creating with Liz's generous DT packs & I'm sure the 2016 team will enjoy it as much as I did.  The rest of the DT has been amazing & inspiring.  I'm so lucky to have worked with a diverse group of lovely talented ladies.

This year I'm stoked to be designing for another term on other teams of my favourite brands, & I'll be teaching classes at a local scrapbooking shop as well.  This will be my first venture in teaching & I look forward to inspiring more people in this craft.

Here's a recap of my favourite projects from last year:

(Secret Garden Card)

(A Touch Of Gold Multi-Purpose Box)

(Time Machine Layout)

It's been a pleasure & honor to design for Artfull Crafts last year, & I'd especially like to thank Liz & Graham for having me on the team.  Thank you to everyone that left lovely comments on the blog, I appreciate all of them.  I wish the applicants & new DT the best, & I look forward to your inspirations.

Thanks everyone!!!

Christine S.

So long.....farewell - Sharon Newport says Goodbye

LIZ'S NOTE
Sharon has an amazing team member. She has produced such quality layouts for us and I LOVE the way she uses all the gunk/sprays/embellies that we all buy! Our walls have been covered with Sharon's work and we have enjoyed reading her blog posts. We know we'll still be seeing Sharon and following her journey, as she continues to teach classes at SENZ. Thanks heaps Sharon for your support and input at Artfull Crafts.

SHARON'S FAREWELL NOTE 

Auf wiedersehen, adieu.
Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR scrappy friends!!!

With the new year comes time for me to say farewell from those of us on the current design team, and welcome to those lucky scrapers taking our places.
I have really enjoyed my time on the team, and the challenge of creating layouts with fabulous kits from Artfull Crafts.

I can honestly say, that 99% of the time I have opened the design team kit to find products which scream to me to "make pretty stuff", and that 1% of the time I have had to jump outside of my comfort zone and create with something that I was not initially drawn to.
I have found this 1% of the time to be truly rewarding as a designer of scrap pages, as every single page I have made, I have been 100% happy with in the end.  It has also been a good lesson to learn to use patterns and colours that are not normally resident in my scrap room. As a result, I have been able to look at products with new eyes.

Liz has asked us to share some layouts from our time on the team that were favourites . ( How can I choose...there are too many of them !!)

Here's a selection of them

2016 is going to be a wonderful year.... I can feel it in my bones!
This year you will find me teaching at SENZ again, and I have a place on another local design team so I do not fall off the wagon. I hope to get more of my travel album done ( which is essentially in project life format for the bulk, with just a selection of special photos given the "sharon treatment" ) Of course our new grand-daughter is keeping us amused with an endless supply of cute photos that demand a special place in our albums.

Thank you Liz and Graham, and the team at the shop for the opportunity to be part of a fabulous group of women doing the stuff we love. Best wishes to the incoming team....you won't be disappointed!!! Cannot wait to see what you have to share with us.

Cheers
Sharon

Louise - Farewell Post

LIZ'S FAREWELL NOTE

Today we say goodbye (again!) to Louise Forsyth. She has enjoyed a stint on our team twice in the past few years, and it's been great watching her interest in colouring grow during this time. She has inspired me to get my ink flowing! Louise will be sticking around the crafting scene with her involvement in the Southern Girls Challenges. Keep reading below to find out how to follow her more. Thanks heaps!

LOUISE'S FAREWELL

I am sure most of you know that Liz has put out the call for a fresh new Artfull Crafts Design Team, which of course means that it is time for the current team to say goodbye. I have loved my time being on the Artfull Crafts Design Team. Liz and the team in the shop are fantastic and it was lovely being part of the DT with such talented ladies. I am going to miss being part of this team as it was just awesome.

For 2016 I really want to focus more on my scrapbooking and pocket scrapping, although already I can't help myself and have a couple of colouring posts on my blog, I think I am REALLY addicted to colouring. We will be continuing to have challenges over at Southern Girls Challenges which is the challenge blog I co-own for Australian and New Zealand crafters so that should keep me busy.

I want take this opportunity to thank Liz for being an awesome boss and keeping us all motivated and Christine & Liz for the awesome DT packs they put together.

Thanks to those of you that left me comments and likes on my projects here and on Facebook. If you would like to continue keeping up with what I am up to you can follow me on my blog, instagram and facebook.

I will leave you with a few of my favourite projects from my time here at Artfull Crafts

Lou

Melissa - Farewell & Thank You!

LIZ'S FAREWELL NOTE
It's been such a pleasure having Melissa on our team. Her work is bright and cherry and packed with fun! We've loved adorning our walls with her work and we know that we'll continue to follow her crafting journey.

MELISSA'S FAREWELL

Hello it's Melissa here for the last time!  My Design Team term has come to an end,  and this is my final post to say goodbye, thank you and to reflect on the awesome time I've had here at Artful Crafts.

I've been on the DT since August 2013, and I still remember screaming and jumping with joy when I received an email from Liz telling me I'd made it.  Receiving the packages of DT goodies was so exciting, I think courier drivers must wonder what comes in the pizza box that makes me dance!!!

I've loved providing inspiration on the Artfull Crafts blog, and the following are my favourite projects.

A bright and colourful layout documenting my youngest eating a homemade muffin for the first time!

My birthday with photos taken by my 8 year old son.

A home decor piece for Christmas.  I still display this every year since I made it.

A mini album about my daughters role in her first school Christmas show.

A layout about my oldest daughters love for the library and books.

I adore colour, and this layout was perfect against the rather neutral photo of my son's first day of school in 2014 (aged 6).

A layout about my girls and their cute posing for my camera.

 And my favourite layout of all, where I attempted a minimal design (well for me anyway)!

You can continue to see my creations on my blog, Instagram and on my YouTube Channel.  I'm currently designing for Clique Kits Kit Club,  Lets Get Sketchy Challenge blog and The Crafty Maven Getaway.

I've been so blessed to have been on the team for over 2 years.  I just want to thank Liz for giving me the opportunity, it has truly been a dream come true.  I've loved working with all of the other lovely ladies on the Design Team, and I wish the new Design Team all the best.  Thanks also to the faithful Artfull Crafts followers and readers of the blog.  

Love & abundant blessings

Melissa xxx