Last weekend we worked really hard on the website. We've made lots of changes and we think it's looking great! We're implementing a Browse by Brand system - just in time for the explosion of new products that we're going to be stocking in the upcoming weeks.

We're going to be expanding and expanding. Just as well we moved into the shop!

SCRAPATHON DAY warning!
Next Saturday (6th Feb) from 10am - 10pm. Come along with your craft projects. We'll have a Pizza dinner, make-and-take, tea and coffee, prize draw and a lot of fun. Head to the website to book - or call us on 688 8566.

Here are a couple more of those layouts that I did on that big scrap day last year.
This is our friend's cute boy. I've used the Basic Grey Colour Me Silly papers (which I've had stashed for ages). For the embellishments I used some Sassafrass chipboard, I cut out some of the critters on the paper and used some good old American Crafts white foam thickers.

This photo is of Graham and I at our good friend's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and the beautiful top material just happened to match some scrapbooking paper I had stashed. Actually - it's not a true paper. It's a fabric with glittery bits on it.

Add some Prima flowers, more American Crafts thickers and a cute ribbon buckle from Bella and it's complete.

Enjoy the weekend.

We've been busy here at Artfull Crafts HQ preparing our class schedule for February and March. We're still uploading them to the website - but here's a link that will show you the list.

And here's a sneak peek at the front cover of a clear album class that we will be completing on Feb 8th. This one will be gifted to my lovely husband - but you may want to do one for a friend or family member.




And the other exciting news is that we found the sun today. We'd been hunting high and low - and wow - there it was in the sky! Apparently it was there all along .... Just obscured by a cloud that persisted since we got back from our holiday. And that was 12 days ago!

I thought I'd start the year with a photos of the best event in 2009 - my brothers wedding in Thailand. Graham and I were following the bride and groom up the beach during the photographic session and decided to take advantage of the lovely sunset.

I've used the new Prairie Lane papers from Kaisercraft and a few random leaves and a bow from Thailand. It's a simple page - but the papers are busy enough without going over-the-top! I love the way Kaisercraft papers have plenty of 'cutting out' pieces - ie the journalling tag. And who doesn't love their pearls?


This page is a reminder of a great weekend we had celebrating a friend's 30th birthday party in Hanmer. It's time to start printing out random photos and scrappin' up those fun events.

We're back from the holiday and I've been on go-slow all week! I'm wandering around the place not sure what to start first...

There are so many things we want to do at Artfull Crafts this year - but where to start!? We are going to be getting a HEAP more products in store this year. Here are a few new brands that we'll be stocking...

Bo Bunny
Cosmo Cricket
Daisy Bucket
Fancy Pants
Heidi Swapp
Little Yellow Bicycle
My Mind's Eye
Pink Paislee
Sassafras Lass
Three Bugs in a Rug (arriving early next week)
Webster's Pages

Mmm - I'm pleased we've moved into a shop!

And of course I have grand ideas of loading items onto the gallery and blog on a daily basis just to keep you all inspired. We also want to run more classes, crops and competitions and grow crafts in the South Canterbury area. I also want to keep on top of the website stock levels and create a 'browse by brand' area in the website. That will mean you can bring up all the Kaiser products...

Well, that's just a start of what we want to do this year. But firstly I must finish off what I started last year! I was in the middle of putting up the layouts I created at my own Scrap Day. So here goes:

The first photos are of our friend's daughter when she was camping with us last year. I love the Basic Grey Bittersweet papers and I'd hoarded them for so long. Each time I looked at them I felt hungry...!






The last 2 photos are of me when I was a little button. The cardstock had a glittery, embossed surface and had also been kept in a box for a while. ANd who can resist Prima Flowers?

Here's a challenge for the week. Why don't you dig out those nice papers you've been hoarding, print a 5x7 photo and have a play...

Yay! Kaisercraft have the Q3 magazine ready to go and they have made available 'Made with Love' and 'Shaken not Stirred' Collections - along with 3 Beyond the Page projects. I can't wait to get my hands on one of the Storage Drawers.. (or maybe more than one!).

They will be releasing another 2 full Collections and 3 projects during February and another 2 Collections and 2 projects during March. The Magazine is jam packed with amazing projects and craft ideas and free lift-out samples.

Ah, what a great start to 2010! We've already placed our first order - and if you want to get the first shipment then head to the website and Pre-Order. The stock is expected to arrive mid-late January.

We're still happy camping in Nelson, although it's pouring with rain today. Thank goodness for the heater...

How exciting! It's Jan 2nd 2010 and I've just finished (and posted) my Christmas Cards! We're up here in sunny Nelson and I haven't managed to hook up all my photos onto this laptop - so sorry I haven't shown any more layouts. But I sure have had some fun crafting. Most days I find myself sitting at the trestle table under the tent awning and I indulge in some scrapbooking or card making. If I need a break I lie on the outdoor beanbag and read a craft mag, play Kubb with friends and drink peachee. It really is a great life!

Since I've finished my Christmas Cards I can now get on with making cards for the florist. I might try and make 600+ cards this time. Then I can get on and do some scrapping! We do have another 2 weeks here - so I should have enough time...

I hope you are having a lovely holiday too.

Today we started packing the trailer for the holiday - and I still haven't worked out how to automatically load the blogs. Luckily we're taking the laptop and will have some interent access - so every now and then I'll be able to blog the rest of these layouts! I did spend all of yesterday packing the craft stuff that I want to take on holiday... it's about 1/5th of the trailer...


Layout #6
This page was such fun. I'd wanted to do some machine stitching for ages and now that we have a big workshop space I have been able to use it.

Shown in the photo is my good friend, her 2 boys and her neice. Theo was celebrating his 1st birthday in this photo. Today he celebrates his second birthday! (It only took me a year to scrap the page...)


All the bits and pieces were from the Daisy D's Wonder Years Sticker Collection and Daisy D's rubons. I love them!


Layout #7


Here we are in Laos at a Tourist Village with our good freinds Andrew and Karen. Strangely enough in the middle of nowhere there is a little photo booth set up to take advantage of us tourists. I wasn't going to say no! I'm not sure if I like this page or not though. I love the papers (Basic Grey Wistera Collection) and the matching stickers are fun too - but for some reason I haven't decided if I really like it or not. It might get a tweek in the New Year. Maybe the title 'friends' needs to run down the right-hand side of the page...


We're off on holiday tomorrow - I hope you get a break too!

We love summer holidays! We go to the same place each year to relax and enjoy the Nelson sunshine. Each year we go with friends and this year we enjoyed the company of these sweet children. We enjoyed going down to the estuary area and playing in the shallow river that runs to the ocean. The water is really warm and is perfect for pulling a boggy board along. The kids love it too! The Cherry Arte papers are bright and lovely for summery photos.

This year our friend's daughter turned One! I created a gorgeous Kaisercraft cupcake album for them to keep and then sort of wished I had one myself....! So here's the layout with Bella's Kindred Spirit range (love that) and a bit of pink fozz felt. I love that stuff. Makes me think of Candy Floss!!
A bit of Kaisercraft Rhinestone bling, some sticky flowers and a Bella journalling tag and it was all finished.

Talking about Candy Floss, I'm looking forward to my yearly chomp this summer...

This layout was the first one I did. I LOVE the paper from Creative Imaginations.The edges on it so beautiful. A couple of years ago I went around to see her to talk to my Great Aunt (right) about the family history and to borrow her photos albums. I spent some time scanning them into my computer hoping that one day I will get around to doing to a Heritage album. Anyway, she had 3 copies of this photo and so I was allowed to keep one.

I have kept this page relatively simple - since the paper is very fussy and detailed. I used a lovely big black Petaloo flower followed by a couple of Prima flowers, a bit of bling that I shaped from the Kaisercraft rhinestone strips and some lovely antique looking lace. I originally had another title - but I didn't like it and changed it. So this one is Take-Two! I also painted the big letter S and added a touch of gold glimmer mist...


I can just see me not getting through these before Christmas (and we do go away on holiday for 3 weeks) so perhaps I had better show you another one. One of my lovely customers mentioned to me that you can set up your blogs to come on when you're away - so I might have to investigate that option.

Layout #3

I'll just keep to the Heritage theme today! This is my Grandad (brother of the 2 ladies shown in the first picture). This is also Creative imaginations paper and as I love doing double layouts I decided to use the same Prima flowers and Rhinestone bling.

I'e also used the Basic Grey Mini chipboard again. (You'll see that more than once). It's a perfect size for the layouts and it's alreay coloured... I also found an old frame that I had been hoarding for something - I just hope the glue holds it on.

Please enjoy and pop back tomorrow for another one or two...

After many weeks of renovating, moving and opening shop (then moving house, cleaning and gardening) I decided I really needed a weekend off. I was dreaming of scrapbooking layouts and planning them in my head. So I penciled in a weekend and 2 weekends ago I actually did it!

I started crafting on the Friday night and went through until Sunday night! Firstly I went to the computer and randomly selected a whole lot of photos that I thought I might like to scrap up. Just random ones - of friends and family. I banned myself from doing travel ones (that's what I normally do!).

I tottered off to Harvey Norman and printed out a whole heap of photos 7x5 (and was pleasantly surprised to see them on special!). I've never really done layouts with 7x5 before - and I had decided that I was going to scrap in a style that I'd never really attempted before - that really heavily embellished style!

Next I cleared all the tables (6 of them).

Then I proceeded to dig through all my papers. I was looking for those papers that I have been hoarding. You know the ones - the ones that are too nice to use!!



Then I got all my boxes of embellishments and laid them across another 3 tables...


Then I gave myself a little space and started working. Wow! What fun! Every now and then I'd open up a magazine - but on the whole I didn't need any inspriration - I was full of it just looking at the papers and the photos!


I had the best time. I went from layout to layout - about 15 mins on each one. I didn't let myself think too much about them - I just started sticking stuff down.

I did have a few interludes - the Christmas Parade on the Saturday and then a Christmas Service on the Sunday. My lovely husband even did the final tidy up at the house we'd just moved out of and went off to the dunp by himself to let me scrap. (xoxox)

But apart from that, my weekend was exclusively for crafts. At about 9pm Sunday night I just felt like stopping. (A bit like Forrest Gump where he just stops running and turns around and goes back home). So I photographed all the layouts (with the intention of blogging them the next night...) and then I started to tidy up. What a mess I made in such a short amount of time!

So, now the photos are on my computer and I plan on showing one or two of the layouts each day or two until they run out! You'll get a few days worth - I completed 18 in total...

So, please enjoy... Here's the first one. And maybe one of my favourites.. we'll I couldn't decide actually!