Friday 20 December 2013

Our Final Gift Pick

Are you still thinking about what to get? None of our ideas quite hitting the mark? How about our final gift pick for this year......................


It's not too late - we will e-mail the voucher to you in a PDF for you to print off and include with your card to that special someone

Happy Christmas from all here at Sarah's Cards Ltd xxx

Thursday 19 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Sixteen

Day sixteen's gift pick is from me!  My friend is just getting in to cross stitch; these kits contains everything you need to complete your project, and this one is just her style.




Just one more gift pick to go, see you tomorrow!

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Fifteen

We hope you are liking the team's choices to date.

Today's gift pick is from Vanessa who says "Another one for my daughter, she is into cardmaking and doing her nails - these micro beads would be very well used for both"

 

Die-Namics!

Hello all,
This month I chose to work with papers from the Lily Bee Sweet Shoppe collection. I also bought the fab hexagonal die set from Die-Namics. As soon as I saw these I knew they had the potential to be used many times. I have a couple of LOs to share with you now, and will be back soon with a couple more I have on the go, but haven't managed to finish with all the end of term/pre Christmas madness!

The first LO is about Drew and his silly camera pose! We had some professional photos taken a few weeks ago and most of them showed Drew... well, being Drew! I also used a sheet of Pebbles - Love You More - Zach paper, and a sheet of Fancy Pants - Swagger - Moustache Fever.
I used a mix of the large and small hexagon die cuts, in cluster groups.
I didn't add a title to this LO as I didn't think it really needed one.


The second LO is of a group of friends and I all dressed up for a black tie do! The same professional photographer took the photo, and the papers I used were just perfect. The main patterned paper behind the photo is by We Are Memory Keepers and is adhesive washi paper. In the top left corner I punched a circle from the paper, and punches go through it easily.
I raided my thickers collection for the title and found this lovely font... Unfortunately they were in baby blue. A quick go over with a black permanent marker and they were just right for my LO.


I'll be back soon with more using the same papers and the Die-Namics hexagon set. Make sure you come back every couple of days to see what the rest if the team have been creating.

Louise

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Fourteen

Another great gift pick today from Tracie who says: This is a great stocking filler for my granddaughters who love writing and journalling.




See you tomorrow for another gift pick!

It's not too late....

...for the last Christmas post, or too late to whip up a few last minute cards for your nearest and dearest either!

Basic Grey's True Love range caught my eye whilst browsing the shop - despite being a valentine style range, something about the candy cane red, marshmallow pink and crisp icy blue colour combination cried Christmas at me, and so I decided to use the range to make some Christmas cards.


 As well as patterned paper from the range, my supplies included the amazing Die Cuts & Transparencies pack.

Now this is a big claim to make - but these may be my favourite embellishment pack I've ever bought! There is absolutely loads in there to play with, and a variety of textures - some are printed on card, some on vellum and some on plastic transparencies, far more economical than buying several different packs of differing types of embellies. Some of the pieces also pop into separate shapes and frames - giving you endless options and combinations. This really is an amazing-value-for-money-pack and I whole-heartedly love them!

I also got the stickers and elements sheets which includes a whole host of stickers which were perfect for my project.


To realise my Christmas dream, I added a new set of AC Peppermint Express stamps in to the mix:


Here are six cards I made, hopefully something for everyone!


This quick card was created easily by layering a vellum heart from the die cuts pack on top of a journalling sticker from the element sheet, over patterned paper from the range (Love's Garden and Vintage Love). I created the greeting using a variety of stickers from the alpha sheet and sticker sheet. Using some AC embossing powder in Powder blue, I stamped a border using different images from the pack, and cut out a stamped, embossed holly leaf which I added a few gems and a stick pin to.
I wanted to use the "Christmas" part of the "Merry Christmas" stamp, so covered the merry with a piece of washi tape when I inked it up, and whipped it off before stamping on to my card as seen below.


Card 2 above used a piece of Cupid's Shower as a base, on which I strung a garland of bunting made from the flag stickers on the elements sheet, and popped some tiny die cut hearts from the die cut packet in between for added depth. At the bottom of the card I stamped the reindeer, first in red, then in dark green. To achieve the lighter green reindeer on the left, I stamped him a second time without reinking first. The stamped greeting, a transparent arrow from the die cut pack and a couple of veneer stars completed the card.

Card 3 feels a bit more traditional with rich reds and greens making an appearance. I used strips of both sides of the Little Things paper as my background, punching three small scalloped circles along the bottom one - the perfect size for the bauble stamp to fit right into, stamped directly onto the card base before being coloured in. The floral border sticker from the elements sheet joined a strip of washi to make a base for my greeting, which I made using a mixture of alphas from the sheet and the Love die-cut transparency. To further decorate the blue side of teh true love paper, I stamped the baubles using a watermark inkpad.

The technique on card 3 is a bit of a tried and tested method of card making for me! It's a great way of using scraps and pulls a pretty card together quickly. I simply punched several squares from the different papers using a 1" punch, and arranged them on the red base piece of Simple Elegance paper and added a faux zig-zag stitch with a black pen. I punched a journalling spot from the grid side of Cupid's Shower which I popped my greeting on to; which was created using a mix of stickers from both the elements and alpha sheet, a die cut banner from the pack and the Merry Christmas stamp.

Card 4 has a clean, modern feel and was quick to put together. Again, Cupid's Arrow formed the base (grid papers are always so useful!), and a quick clusyer of embellishments was created using the vellum starburst and a cardstock scroll from the die-cut pack, along with the deer and wonderland ticket stamped images. A "shower" of stamped snowflakes and veneer stars completed the wintery theme.


The last card has a pretty, wintery floral feel to it.
Strips of both sides of Love's Garden formed the base, which I ran a strip of washi tape across. The main focus of the card is a large envelope-effect journalling sticker from the elements sheet, which I gave a festive customization to using the AC stamps. A little banner sticker from the alpha sheet (oh yessssss, you get more than just alpha stickers on there - thank you Basic Grey!!) and some heart die cuts accompanied a stick-pin button to add the finishing touch.

I was really pleased with how, with a spot of creativity, I was able to customise the love-themed stash to make festive cards for my nearest and dearest! The Basic Grey sticker and alpha sheets and die cut packs really are jam-packed with goodies - making them excellent value and really useful in your projects. Go on, treat yourself - it's Christmas!! ;)


Monday 16 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Thirteen

Another great gift pick today from Jen N who says: These fun sticky notes are perfect for my friend who likes to go through all her cookbooks and label the many recipes she wishes to try out next!



Come back tomorrow for another gift pick x

Sunday 15 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Twelve

Day Twelve's gift pick is Tracy's choice, who says:

"My friends daughter is into fashion and customizing her own clothing, pumps and bags. So I thought these would be a perfect gift for her to do some embroidered embellishments."

Saturday 14 December 2013

{Festive fun}

Happy weekend everybody! Jen N here today. In the spirit of Christmas I have been scrapping some festive photos this month using some gorgeous products from the shop.

I have used products from several ranges for these pages:
Studio Calico Magical
Fancy Pants Merry Little Christmas
My Mind's Eye Mistletoe Magic
Simple Stories December Documented
October Afternoon Silent Night

This first page features our "holiday photo" from this year that we sent out to family with their Christmas cards. Taking a decent photo of both children together is a whole new challenge for me! I cut the photo down to just under 4" square and then cut various pieces of patterned paper to arrange in a grid pattern on the page. I layered some up and then embellished with stickers, wood veneer and tiny gems.


The second page I made this month is another Christmas page, but is a photo from last year of my son digging into his stocking. He really "got it" last year on the day and was excited to open presents, but this year he's been hugely excited for the whole run up and we are greatly looking forward to celebrating Christmas with him - the whole season is so magical at his age and it's wonderful to see! I cut the photo and papers to just shy of 3x4" and then added a flutter of wood veneer, plastic shapes and gems in a diagonal across the layout. The background for this page is actually from the non-festive Printshop collection by Studio Calico, but the powder blue was a good match for the other papers and the stars fitted well with the page so I went with it!


I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, I'll see you next year!


Friday 13 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Eleven

It's day eleven already and only 12 sleeps till Christmas!  Today's gift pick is a great idea from Nat who says: Quite a few of my friends either enjoy giving their handmade creations as gifts or sell their crafts, and would definitely love from these cute stamps to incorporate a crafty feel into their product packaging! The perfect stocking filler price means I can treat more than one friend to them, too!




See you tomorrow!

Thursday 12 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Ten

Ifa has chosen today's gift pick, about which she says:

"I know a young girl who would love to fill this mini book with her adventures and thoughts"

Wednesday 11 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Nine

Today's gift pick is from Sarah who has chosen this fantastic Basic Grey Calendar Kit.  Sarah says: This is a great gift to make for family members, my mum would love it filled with pictures of the grandchildren.

The kit contains everything you need to create a gorgeous personalised 2014 calendar, just add photos!


Tuesday 10 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day 8

Today's Gift Pick is Jen N's, who says:

One of my favourite products, glitter tape can be used on just about anything and is ideal for the festive season. It would be ideal for my mum who likes to make her own crackers and place cards for the Christmas table and would jazz them up nicely"

 
 
Be sure to check back again tomorrow for another fabulous gift pick from our fabulous team - liking what they're choosing so far? Let us know!

December Challenge

Hello, hello! How festive are you feeling ? Ready for another sketch challenge ? This is what I've made for you.



I wanted a simple layout that everyone can join in. I have included some stars to the sketch to bling it up for December.  You don't have to use stars if you don't want to as you can see in the layouts that the lovely DT members made.

Jen G made this layout, using 3 photos in the space of the one in the sketch. I love how the compact cluster in the sketch has been expanded here.


Jen N bright and cheerful page is pretty much as per the sketch.  The happy colours made me smile.


Claire has rotated the sketch for this adorable baby photo.


A late addition from Tracy,


Lastly mine features a sprinkling of snowflakes for a Christmassy layout.


I know you are all super busy but I hope some of you will make time to join us.  As usual, the winner will get £20 e-voucher to spend at Sarah's Cards.

Talking of winners, bring me to the announcement of November's winner. The DT have had the pleasure of looking at your gorgeous layouts and after much deliberation have decided that we love Alba's rainy day layout.  So Alba, please contact Lianne for your prize.




Monday 9 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Seven

Wow, it's already day seven in our gift pick series!  We'd love to hear what your favourite has been so far.

Today's pick is from Vanessa who says: These would be great for my daughter,to add something different for her school files, in her first year at high school.



See you tomorrow for another gift pick!

Sunday 8 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day 6

Today's Gift Pick is from Tracy, who says:

"My Niece is expecting her first baby on Boxing Day. I'm thinking a Project Life kit for her to record all those precious moments of his first year would be the perfect gift for her"

 
 
Be sure to come back again tomorrow!
 

Saturday 7 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day five

We hope you're enjoying our gift pick series so far and it's helping you out with a bit of gift inspiration.  

Today's pick is from Natalie who says "My friend had pinned a project to her Pinterest board using old jars for pretty storage with chalked labels - I thought these may make her project one step closer to reality, without the need for messy chalkboard paint!!"



We'll be back tomorrow with another gift pick!

Friday 6 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Four

Today's Gift Pick is from Jen G, who says:

"Some of my teacher friends would love any of these paperclips. This Allison Kreft pack is the perfect price for Secret Santa at work too!"

 
 
Check back tomorrow for another great gift pick!


Thursday 5 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day three

Today's gift pick is from Tracie who says "Because of the time of year i have gone with stocking fillers with my granddaughters in mind".  We think this is a great fun choice as a stocking filler for kids who love stationary and crafts.



American Crafts Amy Tangerine Photo Op Roller Date Stamp - £4.99


Check back tomorrow for another great gift pick!

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Gift Pick - Day Two

Today's gift pick is from Helen, who says:

"One of my friends is getting married - this would be the perfect gift to display her photos"



Be sure to check back tomorrow for another gift pick!


Getting festive!

Hello ladies, Tracie here!

With Christmas getting closer by the day I've come over all festive!
These lovely wood veneer journal cards from studio calico really caught my eye, although I had something other than journalling in mind for them!

I started off by painting them white with acrylic paint


I then glued them together along the edges, and added a bit more glue and lots of lovely microbeads -

by popping it over a candle (to be on the safe side I used one of the battery operated ones that are widely available now)  I had myself a cheap and easy Christmas decoration.


As is usually the case, when my daughter saw it she wanted one too, so I set about making a gift box to put it in!
This is where the pizza boxes that my yummy stash arrives in comes in handy!!

This was a very basic box, as I was going to be covering it with paper anyway I didn't worry too much about the sides being perfect and literally just stuck it together with some tape


the photo isn't brilliant but this was my basic shape

the lid was made in the same way
 *note, I made the lid larger than it needed to be because I wanted to add some lace under it, if you aren't using lace trim you'd need to adjust the size accordingly*



I chose the lovely Amy Tan papers to cover the box, along with some trim, MME enamel dots and decorative buttons




 and topped it off with one of these adorable cotton reels from Maya road threaded onto some wire.


and of course every gift box needs a tag!




So that's all from me for now, but I would love to see all your Crafty Christmas makes, so please feel free to leave a link to your work in the comments box so we can all have a look!


Tuesday 3 December 2013

Gift Pick Day 1 - Let the countdown begin!

Hello lovely readers!  

To help you get ready for Christmas, we'll be posting one great gift idea a day until Friday 20th December to help provide some gift inspiration.  Our team have chosen their favourite gift ideas covering all price points, be sure to check in each day for some great gift ideas!

Day 1 is from Ifa who says: "I am getting a set of Simple Stories Sn@p! stickers for my friend Amanda. She would enjoy labelling her jars and her folders."



See you tomorrow for more another gift pick!

Monday 2 December 2013

Anyone for coffee?

I love coffee and I love cute coffee jars like this one.  I often wash them out with intentions of doing something crafty with them, and for once I have. I washed out this little cutie and soaked off the labels.
Then I gathered together some of the new Christmas supplies from the shop:

In no time at all I turned that cute coffee jar into this Christmas Gift Jar.
 With a little tag made from Kraft card and an eyelet it is ready to fill with sweeties, mints or hot chocolate mix.
  The whole process was so quick and easy that I decorated a second:

then filled it with Wine Gums especially for a special friend of mine who happens to love Wine Gums.

I need to finish another jar of coffee before I can decorate a third jar in this way, but I also have a stash of these tins:
 Yes I know - I have a coffee problem! 
Anyway.
 This one needed to be covered in masking tape first as the MME Decorative tape is quite delicate. Once I had covered the tin with masking tape I covered that with the MME decorative tape along with some other washi tapes from my stash.
I covered the lid with a circle of tape covered card and added some coordinating sticky gems. This tin is big enough to house a gift card for my son. Much more fun than a boring envelope and I can surround it with Jelly Beans. 
I hope you like my little Christmas project. If you have any you would like to share with us please leave a link in the comments. I'm off for a coffee or three!