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.

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

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



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.


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)!

LIZ'S FAREWELL TO ROBBI
Today we farewell a fabulous crafter from the Artfull Crafts Design Team. Robbi Bell is a true talent and we are going to continue to be associated with her. We know many of you have enjoyed attending her classes at SENZ and she will plans on teaching and we'll still pop up at her Dunedin events. Many thanks Robbi for inspiring us! 

ROBBI'S NOTE “The time has come," the Walrus said, “To talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings and so on and so on which means all good things must come to an end
so today is my farewell post from the Artfull Crafts Design Team.

It has been an honour to have been part of such an awesome team of creative ladies and during the last few years I have made some wonderful friendships and learnt a lot about myself.

It is hard work sometimes coming up with new and exciting ideas to inspire the wider community of fellow scrappers especially when a mind blank happens and these can sometimes last for days but then "wella" its back and the next thing your scrapping up a storm. Liz and Graham have been wonderful team leaders and allow the team to grow and find their own pace and place on the team and the never ending goodies that just arrive at the door is amazing and very well considered for each member.

I know I say this time and time again but it never fails to amaze me that you give a room of ladies the exact same product and they all come up with something different which is also how the Design Team works and I'm sure over the last years of the Artfull team you have been spoilt for choice by the amazing products the ladies have created for you.

I wish everyone the worlds best for their future endeavours but don't think I'm gone for good I will still be lurking in the background and you never know when I might just pop up.

Liz asked us to include some of our favourite creations so here are a couple of mine:







I hope in some way I have inspired you over the years and given you the opportunity to perhaps go beyond your comfort zone...even if just a little
Best of luck to anyone who makes the next Design Team for Artfull Crafts. I know you will love your time here and to those that miss out....try again next year never give up!

Take Care and
Happi Scrappin'

Hello there! My first post for 2016, and here we are in February already. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and that there is sunshine and blue skies wherever you are. Here in Timaru, after a week or so of cool, grey weather, the sun has made a comeback and it's wonderful to see. :)

I have a couple of quick & easy layouts to share today, made using two of the latest Kaisercraft ranges: My Year, My Story, and the #me collection.

First up: My Year, My Story. This range is designed to use with the range of Kaisercraft planners, but as I am currently planner-less, I figured I'd use it to make a layout instead.


I started with a base of kraft cardstock, and then added a patterned sheet from the 8x8 paper pad. Several of the designs (including the one I used) are gloss-embosssed with subtle patterns, so they take well to inks and sprays. Here I've used some Tattered Angels spray in black, which has helped highlight the embossed hexagon pattern. Once that dried, I added my photo (of Ruby Delilah, my constant four-legged companion) and also added a variety of embellishments, including some of the Collectables, some washi tape, and some wood veneer pieces from my stash. A splatter of black indian ink and a few bling dots finish everything off.

A closer look:


The second layout features the #me collection, which is currently available for pre-order here. It features some lovely quotes, and I've chosen to base my layout around one of them. I used a piece of chocolate-coloured cardstock, a simple black and white selfie, and the quote- along with a floral strip from one of the patterned papers to tie it all together.


The rest of the embellishments are from my stash, and include gold doilies, bling dots and various diecuts. A closer detail shot is below:



The My Year, My Story Collection is instore now, and #me should be arriving very soon!

As always, thanks so much for looking, and I will see you here again soon! (or in person in the shop on Saturday mornings!)

Cheers,
 Lisa :)