Crafter's Companion Blog - News, Views and Inspiration

Colourful get-together!

2012-02-27T14:59:00.007Z

Some members of the I'm a Crafter's Companion Facebook group met up last week at a local hotel for a colouring with Spectrum Noir pens session - a time when they could give each other inspiration, helpful advice and tips to improve their colouring. I read about the meet-up on Facebook and was decided to show my face for a surprise visit!

Here's Marcea and Rachel enjoying themselves as they're getting started on their next image...

Margaret was busy colouring away:

I was really impressed with her cool Spectrum Noir storage solution!

Pam looks very focused...

Louise was flexing her Spectrum Noir muscles :-)

The group are busy working out their next Colouring Day, and others have started talking about holding their own Colouring Days around the country too!

Happy crafting!

Sara x

Get Reddy to craft with Louisa

2012-02-27T10:59:00.004Z

Louisa will be back on Create & Craft this afternoon with some of your favourite Reddy kits including Monochromatic Florals and the oh-so-cute Cream Quackers die-cut decoupage kits. She'll be on your screens at 4pm today and then again at 8am in the morning.

Don't forget! The perfect partner for your Reddy decoupage kits is the fabulous Collall 3D Glue Gel which is available for just £5.49 per tube including tools - if you already have the tools, you can multibuy three tubes for just £10, saving over 25%! Please note that you will not receive any tools with this multibuy offer.

Marcea's storage solutions

2012-02-24T13:00:00.008Z

One of the questions we are often asked is how to store unmounted rubber stamps in an organised and orderly fashion, without them taking up a lot of room... there are lots of different answers to this question, and it really is down to personal preference! Design Team member Marcea has been busy organising her stash this week, and has shared with us how she stores her stamps... over to Marcea...

You will need:

A laminator and A4 laminating pouches
A4 ringbinder and punched pouches
Stamps
Crafter's Companion Stick & Spray
Rock-a-Blocks
Ink pads
Cheap A4 printer paper

1. Spray the reverse of your stamps with Stick & Spray. Leave for 30 seconds to become tacky.

2. Position your stamp on your Rock-a-Block and apply ink.

3. Stamp your images onto your paper.

4. Insert stamped paper into laminating pouch and laminate following manufacturers instructions. Allow to cool.

5. Place your stamps on the reverse of the laminated sheet. These will stick in place ready for use because you have already applied Stick & Spray.

6. Place laminated sheet with stamps inside punched pouch. I also like to keep the stamp insert inside the pouch for additional reference. This set is Popcorn the Bear Soufflé Collection - Say It With Flowers.

7. Store inside your ringbinder.

8. Repeat for all your stamps to create a super organised storage system!

I like to store my stamps on the reverse of the sheet so that I can see quickly and clearly what stamps are on that sheet. It is fab for all the accessory and sentiment stamps too because I always forget about these! I am hoping now that I can see what I have I will use them even more.

For more of Marcea's inspirational card designs, hints and tips, visit her blog!

Ali's charming Epiphany bracelet

2012-02-23T09:58:00.001Z

In visiting our Design Team members' blogs over the last few days, we came across this fantastic charm bracelet made by Ali Watson.

Her daughter had asked her to make some jewellery, and as soon as she saw the new Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Round 14 tool and Metal Charm Settings Round 14, she knew exactly what she wanted to make!

Ali used two pictures on her charm bracelet - one of her daughters wedding day, and the other of her grandson.

This is an absolutely brilliant way to create personalised gifts for loved ones - why not take a look at our sister company (Beader's Companion)'s website, where you'll find everything you need to get you started with a new hobby!

Don't forget too - the Epiphany Shape and Button Studio tools are available on a 3 for 2 multibuy (or £19.99 each), and the accessories and embellishments are available at any 3 for £15! Click here to check out the whole range!

Drum roll please....

2012-02-16T11:59:00.006Z

We're delighted to announce that the winner of the signed Spectrum Noir DVD is Sharon Smith from Leeds. Congratulations Sharon, we'll get your prize out to you as soon as possible!

Don't forget, we've got a fantastic offer available on the web site for Spectrum Noir, where you can buy all twelve 6-pen sets for just £75 plus you'll also receive two FREE cases to keep them all in!

Sara's February Challenge card

2012-02-16T11:00:00.000Z

Have you popped over to our Challenge blog this month? This month's theme is "Anything Goes" so you're imagination really is the limit.

Remember, you don't even have to use Crafter's Companion products to enter the Challenge, although if you do, you'll get an extra entry put in for you too! At the end of the month, one card will be chosen at random to win a £30 voucher to spend on the Crafter's Companion web site! To find out more about the Monthly Challenge, click here to read the rules.

Sara's asked us to post her entry on here to show you, in her absence. She says:

"I'm just loving the Flower Fairies range at the moment, so have featured one of my favourites - Wild Thyme - on my entry for this month's Challenge.

I've actually used papers from the SWALK Volume One CD to complement the image of the Wild Thyme fairy from the Fairyopolis Summer stamp set, all matted and layered onto card taken from the Core'dinations Super Assortment - Nostalgia pack.

I coloured the image with my lovely Spectrum Noir pens - here's the colours I used:

Skin Tones: FS3, PP1

Blues: TB1, TB2, TB3

Greens: DG2

Browns: TN7, TN8

Pastels: FS1, FS4, PP2, DG1

Darks: TN9

Don't forget to pop across to the Challenge Blog to look at the inspiration provided by our talented Design Team too!

Until next time, Sara x"

Sara's Valentines Card

2012-02-15T12:00:00.001Z

Well, I guess now Valentines Day is over it’s OK to share with you my Valentines Card!!! As I was making it in a state of relative blindness yesterday (yes I know, last minute as usual!) I had to keep it quite simple, and I knew EXACTLY the image I wanted to use... There’s this perfect image on the Humphrey’s Corner CD ROM which is quirky, but still uber cute, and which I knew hubby would love!!

The Papers, topper and sentiment are all from the Humphrey's Corner Crafting Collection CD, and for the background paper I’ve used one of my favourite embossing folders from the Darice range – it’s the Layered Hearts Embossing Folder which i’ve embossed onto a piece of Whitewash cardstock from the Ebony & Ivory pack.

Also, I'm still feeling very excited about the new Epiphany Shape Studio tools we have in stock now, so I punched out a little image from the Humphrey’s Corner backing paper with the Epiphany Heart 25 tool and used this with the Epiphany Studio Heart 25 bubble caps to create the little embellishment.

And he liked it!!! (Good Job!). What did everyone else make for their Valentine's card? And did you all have a lovely evening? Simon took me out for dinner (bless, what a sweetheart!) - we went to a lovely Thai restaurant in Durham that Leann recommended, and they had a special Valentine's Day menu on, so we had cheesy heart shaped prawns and swans cut out of bits of raw fruit – just the usual you know! Was a lovely evening though, and we made sure we went for an early seating so we could be back home by 8:45 ready to watch Leann’s Pick of the Day launch!

And didn’t she do well! I was so proud of her launching her Spectrum Noir DVD. She keeps calling in between shows to let me know how she’s doing and she sounds like she’s on cloud nine! She’s had loads of lovely emails into the studio and everyone seems to be loving the new DVD! Remember you can read all about it over on her blog too, and also we’ve got the clip of it on youtube for everyone to watch.

Hope you all continue to enjoy the shows today – she’s back on now (12pm) on C&C, then again at 1pm on Ideal World, 3pm on C&C, 4pm on Ideal World, 5pm on C&C and 7pm on Ideal World! Talk about channel hopping!

Happy Crafting until next time!!! Sara xxx

Blog candy - win a signed copy of the Spectrum Noir DVD!

2012-02-14T09:00:00.002Z

To celebrate the Spectrum Noir Pick of the Day, we are giving you the chance to win a Spectrum Noir DVD signed by both Sara and Leann!

All you have to do to enter is leave your name and a link to your blog, Facebook or Twitter page using Mr Linky below. We'll then select one name at random after 9pm on Wednesday night to win the signed DVD! It's as easy as that!

To see more of what the tutorial DVD has to offer, why not watch the short clip below:

The Pick of the Day live shows times (subject to stock) are:

Tuesday 14th - 9pm and 11pm

Wednesday 15th - 8am, 10am, 12pm (C&C), 1pm, 3pm (C&C), 4pm, 5pm (C&C), 7pm

Sara's been Fusion-ing!

2012-02-13T15:41:00.005Z

Have you been enjoying Sheena's Pick of the Week on Create & Craft? We're absolutely delighted that you all seem to be loving the range, and that it's opened the Paint Fusion technique up to so many more of you, who previously had been hesitant about the painting!

As manufacturers of Sheena's products, we've had our hands on the additions to the Paint Fusion range for a few weeks now, and Sara took the opportunity the night before her op last week to calm her nerves with a spot of Fusioning. Here's the gorgeous wall hanging that she made.

What's more, she even made a note of how she made it, so that we could post it up here for you - it's her way of blogging while she's out of action :)

Wall Hanging Project:

You will need:

Paint Fusion CD

Neenah cardstock

Snow White Centura Pearl A4 card

Versamark Watermark stamp pad

Platinum Sparkle embossing powder from the WOW Metallics pack

Heat Tool

Ribbon

Collall All Purpose Glue

How To:

1. Print off the hearts topper sheet from the Paint Fusion CD, on to Neenah card.

2. Cut out the hearts and draw round them onto Centura Pearl cardstock.

3. On the patterned hearts, ink the edges with Versamark and emboss with the Platinum Sparkle embossing powder. Heat set with the heat tool.

4. Cut a length of ribbon long enough to be double the length of the hearts in a row.

5. Sandwich the ribbon in between the hearts and stick down using Collall All Purpose Glue.

Spectrum Noir Pick of the Day

2012-02-13T08:40:00.004Z

As you may know already, our Spectrum Noir range is Ideal World's Pick of the Day tomorrow from 9pm! As well as the fabulous six-pen sets that you know and love, Leann will also be introducing to you her first ever tutorial DVD!

The DVD (which lasts for over two and a half hours!) will take you step-by-step through how to get the most from your Spectrum Noir colouring system. There's something for everyone, regardless of ability, with plenty of close-ups so you won't miss a thing!

The DVD is divided into section, so you can choose whether to focus on colouring skin, hair or clothes, as well as other essential items, using all your favourite Crafter's Companion characters, including Humphrey the Elephant, SWALK and Popcorn the Bear.

Watch this space for more information about the new DVD!

Epiphany shows on Create & Craft

2012-02-12T10:00:00.000Z

Hands up if you've got your Epiphany tools on order? Then sit back, relax and enjoy Leann's shows live on Create & Craft later on today :-) She'll be demonstrating just how easy the tools are to use, and showcasing the large range of shapes available and effects that are possible to create!

She will be on Tool Shed from 12pm today with the tools, and (if stocks last!) she'll be back on again at 5pm for an hour dedicated to these fantastic embellishment creators!

Before Sara began her time off for good behaviour (she had laser eye surgery last week), she had a bit of a play with these tools, and below are the results - not bad, eh?

Her range of choice was the fabulous Fairyopolis range (part of the Flower Fairies family).

Here's a close-up of the epoxy embellishment!

The gorgeous backing papers from the Fairyopolis 12"x12" paper pad really set off this card!

This silver metal setting is perfect as an easel card stopper too!

Don't forget to have a look at the cards our talented Design Team have created, in our online gallery! We hope you enjoy the shows today - don't forget to email the studio and let Leann know what you think of the tools!

Epiphany Tools - a How-To Guide

2012-02-11T09:27:00.007Z

Well this week the office has been literally buzzing with excitement about the launch of the new Epiphany range - they're launching on Create and Craft tomorrow afternoon, and they're simply fabulous! As you may have seen from our Epiphany gallery online, our Design Team have been just as excited as us, making LOADS of samples to show you just how versatile the tools can be!

We thought you might like to see some step-by-step guides of how to use the fabulous new tools (which, by the way, are available on a 3 for 2 multibuy right now!) alongside the bubble caps and embellishments you need to use with the tools (which are also on a multibuy at the moment, of any 3 for £15!).

Firstly, open the lid of the Epiphany Tool.

Insert your paper and line up the required design through the viewing area.

Insert your bubble cap, close the lid and punch.

You have now created the perfect embellishment to match all your crafting projects!

It really is that simple! Our Design Team members have been busy posting inspiration to their blogs throughout the week, including a number of other How-to guides.

Why not check out Margaret's blog, where she details how she's made this delicate floral embellishment. She also showcases some of her other Epiphany-ed creations too!

Lisa has been created this gorgeous flower embellishment with stunning heart epoxy detail, and has also written a tutorial on how to create in on her blog. Pop along to see the finished card, using the Blackthorn Fairy from the Fairyopolis Winter stamp plate too!

Watch this space for more inspirational cards from our very talented Design Team!

Paint Fusion CD

2012-02-10T09:30:00.000Z

Well today's the day! Sheena is launching the new elements in the Paint Fusion range from Midday today on Create & Craft, including a fabulous CD-ROM! Sheena created loads of brand new crafting elements including backing papers, borders, decoupage, toppers and embellishments using hand-painted designs! The CD can be used alone, or in conjunction with the rest of the Paint Fusion range to create your own style or enhance any project.

The Design Team have been busy creating beautiful samples for the shows, so I thought I'd share a few samples using the brand new CD-ROM for you!

First up is a gorgeous card made by Edna. The stunning Poppies tag toppers create a fabulous focus for the card front!

Lisa created this Pansy easel-card, and I think you'll all agree, it's absolutely fabulous!

This Tulip card was made by Ali - both the backing paper and the Tulip decoupage was taken from the CD - doesn't it just ooze Paint Fusion?

Katina made this beautiful Lavender card with Watercolour Card, as she felt the texture of it complemented the topper images perfectly. Just stunning!

Live show times for the Pick of the Week:

Friday 10th - 12pm, 3pm and 5pm

Saturday 11th - 8am, 1pm, 3pm

Sunday 12th - 4pm and 6pm

Monday 13th - 2pm and 6pm

Tuesday 14th - 12pm and 5pm

Thursday 16th - 8am (2 hours), 1pm and 6pm

Friday 17th - 9am

We've had an Epiphany!

2012-02-09T10:00:00.001Z

Well we're very excited to be bringing you a brand new range this week from American company, Epiphany Crafts. Have you ever wanted to create embellishments for your cards that co-ordinate perfectly with your project? Well now you can!

With the Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio and Button Studio tools - which are available in all sorts of shapes and sizes to fit all your crafting needs - you can create epoxy shapes and buttons quickly and easily! Here's a video from Epiphany Crafts showing just how easy they are to use - click here for more videos!

You could even personalise your cards with epoxy images of the card's recipient!

We'll be back later in the week with some of our Design Team's gorgeous samples made using the range!

Paint Fusion Pick of the Week

2012-02-08T10:00:00.009Z

Well, we let the cat out of the bag yesterday about some of our upcoming launches! Today, I'm allowed to give you a bit more information about the Paint Fusion Pick of the Week that Sheena has coming up next week!

This launch is a three-parter, and it's safe to say there's definitely something for everyone within it! First up, there are three brand new stamps to add to the range: Rose Bloom, Lilac and Fuchsia.

Here are a couple of samples that Sheena and her Design Team have created. First up, Sheena has used the Rose Bloom to create this gorgeous heart box, which would be perfect to store a Valentine's present in!

Linda, from Sheena's DT has used the Lilac stamp in conjunction with the Milestones and Moments stamp to create this stunningly dimensional picture.

For those of you who may not be keen on painting, Sheena has now made Paint Fusion available to you too, through her new Paint Fusion CD-ROM and transfer sheets! Both are packed full of Sheena's Paint Fusion artwork, with backing papers, toppers and decoupage (and much more!) on the CD and corners, borders and centre pieces on the transfer papers.

Linda has used the Small Round Boxes paper maché 3-pack to create the below gorgeous gift box set. She printed decoupage from the CD and built it up on the lid of the box.

Watch this space for more samples and details of all the live show times!

A busy week ahead

2012-02-07T10:13:00.006Z

Well, we've got a very busy week lined up, with plenty of live hours on Create & Craft and Ideal World!

Sheena Douglass has three fabulous new Paint Fusion stamps launching as part of a Pick of the Week on Create & Craft this Friday, 10th February. She's also put together a fabulous DVD and transfer sheets to enable you to create the Paint Fusion effect without having to get out your paints! Keep your eyes peeled for more information, and to see some samples as the week goes on!

We're also VERY excited to be launching a brand new range from Epiphany Crafts - an innovative company that produces a number of tools that allow you to make your own embellishments. Our Design Team has been very busy creating some simply wonderful cards with this range, and we'll be bringing them to you later in the week right here on the blog! Leann will be showcasing the range this Sunday 12th February, live on Create & Craft. Click here for show times.

Leann will be back on your screens next Tuesday with a Pick of the Day on Ideal World, featuring a brand new tutorial DVD presented by Leann herself. The DVD contains over 2 and a half hours of inspiration with a full guide to using the system, plus essential tips, galleries and demonstrations of more colouring techniques! Watch this space for more inspiration!

For information on all our live show times, please click here to see our calendar. Please note, show times are subject to change.

February's monthly challenge

2012-02-06T16:27:00.003Z

February's Monthly Challenge has now been posted on our Monthly Challenge blog. You could win a £30 gift voucher to spend on the Crafter's Companion web site!

This month's challenge theme is: Anything Goes

To enter the challenge, all you need to do is visit the Monthly Challenge blog and use the Mr Linky box at the bottom of the competition blog post to provide a direct link to your project. It's not necessary to use Crafter's Companion products on your entry, but those who do will be entered twice into the candy draw.

If you don't have a blog, you can also email us a picture of your project and we will upload it to the blog for you. Details of where to email the entry to can be found on the Challenge blog.

Our Design Team have been busy creating some inspirational pieces for you to give you some ideas - check out their work by clicking here! Here's Jacqui's gorgeous card made using the fabulous Strawberry Kisses range:

Spectrum Noir colouring tutorial

2012-02-02T11:46:00.003Z

Have you got our Spectrum Noir alcohol pens? Have you worked out which colours to use for each of our character stamp ranges (Snowman, Adorables, Popcorn etc)?

If not, then don't worry! We've now updated our Colouring Tutorial guides to include both the old and the new numbering system on the pens, so everyone can take advantage of the simple to use pen system.

Don't forget the colour charts too! We recommend you print the blank chart onto the medium on which you are going to stamp, for example Neenah card, in order to get a true representation of the ink colour.

Spectrum Noir refills - Available now!

2012-02-01T14:59:00.004Z

Give your Spectrum Noir pens a new lease of life with our fabulous Spectrum Noir refill bottles!

It's been lovely seeing all your Spectrum Noir papercrafting projects posted on our Facebook page, and on your blogs. It's great to know that your pens are getting so much use - so much, in fact, that many of you have started to experience your pens running out of ink. Worry not, as we now have re-inkers in stock!

Simply pull out the chisel nib, then use the included pipette to transfer the ink from the bottle to your pen. Early tests suggest that each 25ml bottle will refill your pen at least five times, making them great value for money at just £5.99 each!

The refills have been handily organised on our website by pen set, to make the refill you require easier to find. Click here to view the range.

Share the love - winner!

2012-01-31T10:00:00.001Z

Congratulations to Marie from Liverpool whose entry number 10 was selected by Random.org from all our online and email entries in our Share the Love blog competition. Marie, you have won a £25 voucher to be spent on the Crafter's Companion website.

Thank you all so much for entering the competition, and keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

Introduction to Luminarte

2012-01-29T10:00:00.000Z

Did any of you see our good friend Sheena on Create & Craft last week, whipping up some Luminarte magic? She took us through some gorgeous demos on the show and left us itching to get messy with Luminarte this week!

So, we've borrowed a couple of videos that the Queen of Luminarte has created, and will be bringing them to you over the coming days.

The first will teach you how to create gorgeous backgrounds using the Radiant Rain Colour Concentrates and Shimmering Mists:

The Radiant Rain misters and daubers are priced at just £5.99 each, but we've got a fantastic multibuy on the Crafter's Companion web site, where you can mix and match any two for £10! Click here to view the whole range!

Keep your eyes peeled for the next Luminarte video!

Free P&P until 9am on Monday!

2012-01-27T15:00:00.000Z

Time is running out for you to take advantage of the fantastic offers we have available in our January Sale. The offers have been selling out fast, but we've been replacing them with some equally fantastic products at special prices! From Sizzix dies to Derwent pencils and Core'dinations card to crafting sprays, we've got something for everyone in the sale!

Plus until 9am on Monday, you'll receive FREE standard UK delivery on all orders, so top up your craft stash now!

Just one week left!

2012-01-25T13:34:00.010Z

There's just one week left to take advantage of the fantastic offers in our January Sale! Lots of you have already taken the opportunity to stock up on crafting essentials such as our All in the Family Core'dinations card packs (available on a Buy One Get One Free offer for just £7.99) and Sheena Douglass' A Little Bit Sketchy stamps (available on a 3 for 2 multibuy for just £11.98) to name but a few!

Click here to see all the fabulous products that we have in our January Sale!

Plus, don't forget our "Share the Love" competition where you could win a £25 voucher to be spent on the Crafter's Companion web site. For more details, click here.

Busy Day in Peterborough!

2012-01-21T20:55:00.001Z

Well, I've had a busy day!!!

After a late night last night (and a bit of a headache this morning... That will teach me, anyone who was following my Twitter feed will have no doubt seen the embarrassing photo's!) I headed into the studio's early doors ready for the Clevercut Maxi launch!

I was with the lovely Ellis Ward for the launch show at 10am, and boy was it busy! I don't know where the hour went, it just flew by! I had so much fun though, I always have a giggle when I work with Ellis!

And it seems that everyone was loving the new Clevercut! If you didn't manage to catch the show, then all the information about the new cutter is over on our Website

The new tool has been developed primarily to use when you're needing to cut your Larger cardstock and in particular we've been asked for a solution for cutting larger card stock since we launched the Centura Pearl 16"x16" cardstock

If you've got the Enveloplus and you're wanting to make A4 size envelopes then it's the 16"x16" size cardstock that you need.

Then after the show I headed straight back to the flat where our Helen had my breakfast on the table!!! She's come over to visit me for the weekend, and my friend Meera is also down keeping me company!

Can't be bad! Then I embarked on the uber task of organising all of our samples - Helen helped me build some shelves and then I sorted everything out - Leann will be ever so proud of me when she sees!!

Then I had to head back to the studio's and I went on the hunt for mister may... I found him hiding in his dressing room..

It was another mega busy show and we ran around like a couple of loonies - our Nigel was so taken with the maxi that we switched roles and he wanted to have a bit play with the new tool (eer I mean 'demo'!) so I had to revert to giving out item numbers, web details and stock updates!

After the show, I rushed straight home to meet up with the lasses and we headed out for some tea...

Helen drew the short straw so she was driving, so me and Meera got to have a few cocktails!

Then we headed home to settle back on the couch to relax in front of the telly for a few hours before an early night ready for another big day tomorrow!

I'm back on the Tool Shed with Dean at noon, and then I've got a special wedding themed show at 3pm so if you're looking for ideas for wedding things (invites, favour boxes etc) then make sure you tine in for that special show!

Signing off for today... Big hugs, Sara xxx

Location:Create & Craft Studio's, Peterborough

Share the love and win!

2012-01-19T12:24:00.007Z

As Sara mentioned in her post yesterday, she's on Create & Craft tomorrow with some gorgeous Valentine's themed bundles, so here at CC HQ, we've been looking though all our romance themed products, and it's left us feeling truly loved up!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we've put all these items into a special category on the web site, making it easier for you to find the perfect products to make a romantic card for that special someone.

We want you to share the love with us, by creating a Valentine's Day themed card using Crafter's Companion products and post it on your blog, Facebook or Twitter page, then link to it on Mister Linky, below. The competition will close on Sunday 29th January and one winner will be picked at random after this time to receive a voucher for £25 to spend on our web site. Entries by email will also be accepted.

Two of our Design Team members - Louise and Gemma - each created a card to give you a little inspiration. Don't forget though - you can use images from any of our ranges!

Louise's card:

Gemma's card:

Valentines Day Card ideas

2012-01-18T14:57:00.001Z

Well love definitely seems to be in the air at the moment with Valentines Day just around the corner!

I've got some shows planned on Create & Craft this Friday at 1, 4 and 6pm featuring a brand new kit that we're doing with our valentines themed SWALK and Humphrey's Corner stamps and CD-Rom's

I've been busy this week beavering away in my craft room preparing some new samples and demonstrations using the stamps we've got and putting a valentines spin on them! Here is a little preview of some of the demonstrations I've got lined up...

This Humphrey's Corner stamp is one of my favourites - it's the Flower's for You stamp set.

I've stamped onto Watercolour card and then coloured using the Whisper's Pens

Then I've also planned some demonstrations using the stamps. Now the one that everyone immediately thinks of when they think valentines is the SWALK - A little kiss stamp set

However I think the Thinking of You set can be just as valentines themed if you do it in shades of pink

Again I've stamped onto Watercolour card and then coloured using the Whisper's Pens

If you're new to colouring using the Whisper's Pens and you're looking for home hints, tips and technique's that you can adapt in your projects, then make sure you tune in on Friday - the shows are at 1, 4 and 6pm on Create & Craft

And if anyone has any special requests of techniques they want me to cover in the shows, then just leave a comment on here and I'll try and answer any questions when we're on air!

Also, watch this space, as we'll be launching a competition on Friday to see what everyone else is doing for their valentines cards this year!

See you on Friday! Sara xxx

Location:Sara's Craft Room

Big show day tomorrow...

2012-01-17T21:56:00.001Z

Well I'm just chilling with the lasses at the flat ahead of a big day of shows tomorrow... I say a big day of shows, but no shows for me :( no I'm just down helping Sarah and Lou get ready for their shows!

We've got a big lineup! It's a special craft day over on Create & Craft and Ideal World, and Sarah has 2 Beader's Companion shows tomorrow featuring Chain Maille and Mix & Mingle. You can read all about it in our Beader's Companion e-newsletter

Make sure you don't miss her at 9am on Create & Craft and 1pm on Ideal World! And if you like our newsletter then you can sign up to receive them every week on our Beader's Companion Website.

Then our newbie Louisa is on at 11am (Create & Craft) and 3pm (Ideal World) with Reddy Steady Craft. We've got our best selling Monochromatic Floral Kit back in stock finally (but there's not as much stock as we would have liked mind!) and also some of my favourite kits back too!

So we've been busy doing last minute preparation for the shows, Sarah has been busy beading (you can read all about it over on the Beader's Companion Facebook Page and we're all just chilling in front of the telly now before we have an early night ready to be up and in the studio's early doors!

And before you ask, yes that's all our crafty stuff in the background there taking over the living room!

I hope you can tune in for the shows tomorrow and make sure you email in the studio's to be in with the chance of winning one of Louisa's cards or some of Sarah's jewellery!

And I'll be back down here on Friday for some exciting valentines shows... So keep an eye out for me then!

Signing off for now, Sara xxx

Location:CC-Peterborough HQ!

Jewellery gift box

2012-01-16T10:00:00.001Z

Hands up if you saw our Louisa debuting on Create & Craft last week? Did you also see Sarah Millsop from our sister company, Beader's Companion, on the channel on Wednesday? If you did, you might have seen the jewellery box that Louisa had kindly made for Sarah using the new Strawberry Kisses range, to keep her new Create jewellery sets in?

If you're a bit of a beader as well as a papercrafter, this gift box is a great way for you to combine your two hobbies. You can make a stunning jewellery set as a gift for someone, and then present it to them in this gorgeous gift box! Perfect!

If you'd like to know how Louisa made the box, pop over to the Beader's Companion blog, where she's uploaded a step-by-step tutorial for you!

We look forward to seeing your creations!

Spectrum Noir pens - back in stock!

2012-01-14T10:00:00.008Z

It's been a hectic few months having another batch of the Spectrum Noir colouring system produced as quickly as possible, but we're thrilled to announce that they are now back in stock! We know many of you have been patiently awaiting delivery of your pens, and these should be with you in the coming days.

During the second production run, we took advantage of the opportunity to react to customer feedback and make some improvements to the pens - we've made the colouring system easier to follow, with all pens being renamed according to their colour families. The pen lids have also been made easier to remove and replace, as requested by you!

For those who haven't yet tried the pens, Leann has recorded a short video introducing the pens, below:

The six-pen sets are available at just £6.99 each, or you can multibuy any four packs for just £25! We also have the 24-pen sets back in stock, which complement the colours in the six-pensets perfectly! These big value sets contain a spectrum of colours, packaged by tone (Pastels, Darks, Brights and Lights) which aren't available in the six-pen sets - so that means no duplicates! The 24-pen sets are each priced at just £24.99!

Don't forget, we've also got colouring charts for you to download (for free!) and use with your pens - for those of you who have pens from before, we've marked up the charts with the old colour naming method too, so you can use them as well. Available in A4 or A3, these charts are best printed on to the card that you will stamp on to, as then the colour gives you a true reflection of the colour you will achieve when using the pens. Click here to download your chart.

We hope you enjoy using your pens, and look forward to seeing some of your creations!

Crafty trends for 2012

2012-01-12T11:30:00.000Z

As part of the new product development process, we're always keen to look at new trends in the marketplace. Sara has been busy doing just that in the last few weeks, so we thought we'd share her findings with you.

"During the tail-end of 2011 we’ve noticed a resurgence of larger cards being made and I think this trend is here for stay for quite a while yet, especially with all the tools and materials available now that enable crafters to create embellishments and toppers in a larger format. It has also been noticed that whatever trends are happening in the fashion sector often follow quite closely in the papercraft world, so expect to see rich jewel tones coming through more on cards.

Bling is most definitely back in 2012 so grab your metallic embossing powders, glitters, gems and foils for cards with the wow factor. Shiny finishes are set to be popular so whether it’s adding a high-gloss finish to your work or using shiny papers as accents on your cards, small touches like these will definitely be on-trend. The trend for adding haberdashery items to papercraft projects shows no signs of going away – in fact, it’s going to get bigger and more adventurous!

Things like creating your own beaded embellishments (for instance flowers and mini frames) look like they’re going to be huge, as does simple wirework such as dragonflies, flowers and words. There has been more and more mixed-media crafting coming through in 2011 and the way things are heading this is set to become even bigger in 2012, so dig out your materials from your beading, sewing, knitting and painting stashes and get ready to have a LOT of fun in 2012!"

Sara's Challenge Card

2012-01-11T22:36:00.001Z

Many of you might already know about our monthly challenge (ran by the very talented Jacqui Dennis!) which happens over on our Challenge Blog - basically we give you a theme (or a 'challenge' every month and all do you need to do is make a card that fits that challenge, post a picture of your card either onto your blog, or Facebook page, and then visit our Challenge blog and leave your name and link in the 'Mister Linky' box and at the end of the month we choose someone at random who will win our prize!

The prize this month is a £30 voucher to spend on the website - so what are you waiting for, the challenge this month is 'Love is in the Air' so any card that fits the challenge, you are eligible to enter! You don't have to use Crafter's Companion products, but if you do, then your card will get entered into the draw twice, so you double your chance of winning!

Because our new launch this week was Strawberry Kisses, I decided to use one of the samples I'd prepared for my demo's on Create & Craft and make it love themed...

I used the Core'dinations Rosy Reds All in the Family set for the background card, and the Birthday Kitten stamp (it's from Set 4 of the stamps and also available in the Multibuy

I coloured the main image using my beloved 'Speccies' (Spectrum Noir Alcohol Pens) which by the way, are now finally back in stock! And it has been stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad onto Neenah Classic Crest card stock.

Here's the colours I used...
pinks:137,147
Purples 82, 84
Creams 109, 134, 36
Yellow 35,44
Grey cg1

And the flower is one which has been printed from the Strawberry Kisses CD Rom and I've printed onto our Printable light card to give a Matt, eggshell texture finish.

If you're interested in entering a card in our monthly challenge, then you could be in with the chance of winning a £30 voucher to spend on Our website and all the details, along with some really inspirational cards from our very talented design team over on the Monthly challenge blog

Right I must go... Big day tomorrow, i'm on Create & Craft at 8am and then again at 6pm then on Friday morning at 9am with our Strawberry Kisses Pick of the Week so I need my beauty sleep!

Signing off for now... Sara xxx

Location:Peterborough

Jean's been getting eCrafty!

2012-01-11T11:21:00.009Z

If any of you caught Leann's eCraft shows on Create & Craft last weekend, you'll have seen how easy to use they are, and how they will transform your crafting! The machines are in stock now on the Crafter's Companion web site, along with a number of fabulous SD cards packed full of images too!

We had a lovely email yesterday, from one of our regular Craftaganza go-ers, Jean Hopwood, who bought one of our fabulous eCraft machines at last year event.

Jean was emailing us to tell us that she'd finally had time to have a play with her new toy, and loves it! She sent us this gorgeous pic of her first card made with the eCraft! Isn't it fab?

Jean confessed to needing a little help with her eCraft when she first started using it, and turned to the free, online tutorial videos (one of which I've posted below), as well as fellow Craftaganza go-er Pam Leng (one of our talented Design Team), for a little advice and inspiration. Pam's become something of an eCraft agony-aunt on our forum of late, so check out the advice she's been giving! She also regularly posts projects on her blog made using the eCraft too, so if you've got a machine or are thinking about buying one, it's well worth a look!

If you're interested in attending Craftaganza 2012, click here for more information.
Happy crafting everyone!
Meg x

Party on with Jacqui and the Strawberry Kisses range

2012-01-09T11:00:00.000Z

We hope you're enjoying the live shows on Create & Craft featuring the gorgeous new Strawberry Kisses range! Don't the sample cards that our Design Team have made just look stunning? I thought I'd give you a close up look at some of the cards Jacqui created for us - absolutely gorgeous!

Pop over to Jacqui's blog to see some more of her inspirational designs.

Getting out of doing the housework...

2012-01-08T11:57:00.001Z

Well, Leann is on Create & Craft again today with the ECraft Machine (catch her on tool shed at noon) and so all I've heard from her all week is eCraft this and eCraft that, so I brought one of the machines home from the office and thought I'd give it a go myself...

You know me... I'm not going to do something plain and simple if I can 3D it, so I had my Boxer Board out, and was using the Core'dinations card stock in my favourite colour (of course)!!

I cut the card stock to 7" square and scored on the Boxer Board at 1.5" which gave me a box that was 4" square. The embossing on the front was from one of the corresponding colours (I find if you use the All in the Family packs then the colours match together perfectly without you having to think about it) and I used the Scroll embossing folder from Darice and sanded gently over the top.

Then I embarked on the topper with my eCraft and the butterfly is from the Fundamentals 1 cartridge (using images 11 & 12) and I cut it at 3.5"

Then I felt it was just missing a little bit of bling, so a couple of pearls and sprayed over the whole butterfly with Spray & Sparkle Iridescent glitter spray

What I was really trying to do (if I'm honest) was get out of doing the housework!! I'm in the middle of a massive spring clean (even thought it's not spring yet!) which has involved a bit of sorting in between watching Leann and our newbie Louisa on Create & Craft! The Pick of the Week looks great, and I'm gutted I'm not down at the studios with them, but I'm heading down on Wednesday evening with shows on Thursday at 8am and 6pm, and then Friday morning at 9am (if there's any stock left!)

Signing off for now! Sara xxx

Location:Casa Davies

Sneak peeks from across the pond!

2012-01-06T12:40:00.000Z

Did you see the new range launch at Midday? What did you think?

We're not the only ones launching the gorgeous Strawberry Kisses range this week - our US friends are doing the same across the pond!

Crafter's Companion USA have been showing sneak peeks on their blog throughout the last few weeks, and we wanted to share some with you now. Hop on over to have a look at the other inspirational designs!

Jen has created a gorgeous gift bag, that's perfect for jazzing up birthday gifts - in fact, the bag becomes part of the gift!

Carolyn brings a summery feel to this cold weather with her gorgeous Party Girl card!

Strawberry Kisses launch competition winner!

2012-01-06T09:52:00.003Z

Morning all! We're very excited in the office this morning, eagerly awaiting Midday for the launch of the Strawberry Kisses range on Create & Craft!

Earlier this morning, we used Random.org to select the winner of the 'comment to win' competition from earlier in the week, and we're delighted to announce that the winner of the twelve stamps and CD-ROM is MysticMoonflower, number 76. Please get in touch with the Customer Services team to arrange having your prize sent out for you.

Thank you all for your lovely comments about the range - we hope you enjoy the live shows throughout the week! Click here for live show times.

Strawberry Kisses - Pick of the Week

2012-01-05T10:00:00.000Z

As you may know by now, Crafter's Companion are launching Create & Craft's first Pick of the Week for 2012 - the brand new Strawberry Kisses rubber stamp and papercrafting CD range - tomorrow from midday. Catch Leann and Louisa on Create & Craft throughout the week with live shows:

Friday 6th: 12pm, 3pm and 5pm

Saturday 7th: 8am, 1pm, 5pm

Sunday 8th: 9am, 4pm, 6pm

Monday 9th: 2pm, 5pm, 6pm

Tuesday 10th: 8am, 12pm, 5pm

Thursday 12th: 8am and 6pm

Friday 13th: 9am

Back in October, we ran our annual Birthday Card competition, with the prize being a place on the Crafter's Companion Design Team for 3 months. The winner was Gemma Louise, and this is her first launch as a member of the Team.

She's been busy creating some gorgeous cards, so pop over to her blog to see more!

More marvellous inspiration!

2012-01-04T11:45:00.005Z

We hope you've been enjoying hopping around some of our Design Team's blogs in the last few days soaking up their inspiration ready for the new Strawberry Kisses launch this Friday.

The beautiful designs below have been created by the talented Marianne. I don't know about you, but I know a lot of people who the Party Animal card would be perfect for after the festive period!!

The ever-so cute Together Forever card below has the perfect sentiment for Valentine's Day, anniversaries and weddings (where colours could be made to match the colour theme from the big day!).

I think the sentiment on this card speaks for itself - YUM! And surely all the strawberries mixed in with the cream in the picture mean that despite my January diet, I could partake in some of this too...?

If you'd like to see Marianne's other inspirational projects, why not pop over to her blog?

To take part in our inspiration blog hop, click here to start.

Craftaganza 2012

2012-01-03T17:00:00.000Z

This year's Craftaganza event will be held from Thursday 22nd - Saturday 24th November at the Aston Hotel in Darlington.

We have five ticket types available: single crafter (including accommodation for two nights, all tools etc for your workshops and all food throughout the Craftaganza); two crafters sharing (accommodation for a twin room, all food and tools for workshops); double room (one crafter, accommodation for two in a double room, all food and workshop tools for crafter, breakfast and evening meals for non-crafter); day ticket only (all workshop tools, lunch on three workshop days), day & evening (all workshop tools, lunch on all three workshop days plus evening meal and entertainment on both nights).

The prices for each ticket type are below:

Ticket Type	Price
Single crafter	£375
Two crafters sharing	£325 (each)
Double room (1 crafter)	£425 (total)
Day ticket only	£185
Day and evening (no accommodation)	£220

If you require any further information, or would like to book your place, please don't hesitate to contact Meg at craftaganza@crafterscompanion.co.uk or call 0845 296 0042. To reserve your place there is just a £30 deposit to be paid now, and then the balance can be paid either in three instalments throughout the year, or in a single payment.

Behind the scenes at HSE in Germany

2012-01-01T14:28:00.001Z

Well, I'm over in Germany and thought I'd give you an update... It's a craft day on HSE (the german shopping channel) tomorrow (2nd January) but because of the new year, the flight times were very limited, so we flew in yesterday and spent a lovely evening at a new years eve party at a wonderful restaurant in Munich with a fabulous 10 course meal, some great live music, and one too many glasses of Prosecco!

Anyway, after sleeping off the hangover this morning, we headed to the studio's to get setup. My first show is 11am in the morning and I'm showcasing the Ultimate Advanced Boards and DVD and Sheena Douglass' Paint Fusion Range

I have to have special samples made for the Paint Fusion range which use the german sentiments...

And my main focus with Paint Fusion is using the Butterfly Rose stamp set which I just love to paint with!

I'm also on later in the day with the Mix & Mingle range and also a selection of products from Sizzix (but I haven't set up those tables yet, so more pica to follow!)

I'll let you know how it goes, but for all our german followers, make sure you tune in tomorrow at 11am, 8pm and 9pm for some great demonstrations!

Sara xx

Location:Munich, Germany

A new launch for the new year!

2012-01-01T11:00:00.003Z

Happy New Year to you all! We're very excited to start 2012, as we've got so much up our sleeves ready for you in the coming months... and there's no better time to start than the beginning of January!

This Friday, 6th January, we're launching a brand new range of stamps and a CD-ROM, with artwork designed by the creator of Humphrey's Corner - Sally Hunter. The Strawberry Kisses range will be Pick of the Week on Create & Craft from Midday on Friday.

To celebrate the launch, we’ve organised an inspiration 'hop' around the blogs of our talented Design Team! They’ve had a great time creating with the new range and will be showcasing their samples throughout the week. To start the 'hop', head over to Jane's blog.

But that's not all... We're also giving you the chance to win:

All twelve new stamps plus the co-ordinating papercrafting CD-ROM!

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this great prize is leave us a comment, below, about the range. On Friday January 6th, we'll pick one comment at random, to win the prize.

We hope you enjoy the sneak peeks – thanks for hopping!

Crafter’s Companion Design Team

Christmas Beading Afternoon

2011-12-31T10:56:00.001Z

Well, I had a houseful round on Wednesday... A group of 'budding beaders'! Ever since Sarah Millsop taught me how to bead, I've had my mum and a load of friends eager to have a go, so we decided that when we all had some free time over Christmas we'd make the most of it, and have a beady get-together!

As Meg also underwent the intensive Millsop-training, we split the group, and took half each! That's meg in the back you can see there beavering away, next to her is my mum-in-law (aka 'Simon's mum', or as she prefers to be known, just Val!), then there's Louise who is on our DT and lives just up the road from me, and of course you'll all recognise Chivs!

Leann has been on at me for ages to show her a few little tricks, so I decided to put her through her paces and throw her in at the deep end. Here She is looking very proud of herself (I'll be honest, that was a few hours in, the pictures from before then aren't pretty!)

If you want to see her sporting her new pieces, then make sure you watch her shows this week coming up as I know she'll be dying to wear them!

Meanwhile, meg was busy teaching Val and Joan (that's her boyfriends mum who is also a keen paper crafter and was eager to learn a bit about beading!)

It was coming along very nicely!

Meg of course finished hers in super time, and it looked fab!

And down the other end of the table I was busy helping Kamala (who now considers herself to be 'intermediate' (having watched several of Sarah's shows and taken her class at Craftaganza!) and embarked on a very time consuming seed-bead ensemble!) and my mum, who thinks because this is now her 3rd time with me showing her how to make her own stuff, despite not being able to remember any of it from one time to the next, decided to embark on an incredibly intricate and time-consuming full suite of jewellery that required hours of intricate loop-making!

But I'm glad to say it went well!

Several cups of tea later, she was still going strong with the loops there...

And finally she had enough made to thread onto a bracelet! I was VERY proud of her!

As I was of Val, who sat for hours threading on those seed-beads to make a beautiful necklace!

But my proudest moment, was Meera (that's kamala's daughter, and one of my best friends from school). She's always taken an interest in the various crafts I do, and often has a go (and she is always pretty good too!) but she turned up on the morning with a bracelet she recently was given when she was over in Singapore travelling that she didn't particularly like, and she cut it up, and made it into a whole necklace, bracelet and earrings set - completely on her own with no help at all, and even did all the design work herself!

I think you'll agree she did a pretty good job!

All in all it was a great day, and everyone went home having made at least a full set of jewellery. Because most of them were beginners, we used some of the new Create kits that Sarah has designed, and it was a great way for them to learn, because I knew they each could open a kit, have everything they needed, and then follow the instructions themselves, and I was just there to keep a beady eye on them! And they all went away with a couple of extra kits each to keep making!

I guess we'll be making this a regular thing now! Roll on the next get-together!

Sara

Location:Casa Davies (aka Sara's house!)

Meet Patty from the US team!

2011-12-29T10:00:00.002Z

The Enveloplus board recently launched over in the US and we just wanted to share some of the gorgeous samples that Patty (who oversees all our stamp production on the other side of the Atlantic) created for the launch. I'm sure you'll agree, they're absolutely gorgeous!

If you'd like some more inspiration using our products, why not check out the Crafter's Companion US blog...

This gorgeous design uses the flower from the Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats embossing board for the Ultimate Pro.The distress effect on this envelobox and accompanying notelet set below are absolutely stunning!The stunning soft pink and navy blue show each other offer perfectly in the below cards and enveloboxes.

Christmas Eve @ the Davies Residence

2011-12-24T21:40:00.001Z

Well I've had a busy Christmas eve! I had lots planned to get done, so I have to say, my throbbing head wasn't the best start to the day!

I was out with my old school friends last night... I had my new Christmas dress on and I'd made matching jewellery to go with it!

I even managed to get Simon to come out with us...!

But back to this morning... Believe it or not I still needed to make my Christmas cake! I know it's a bit late to be starting on the Christmas cakes, but it's the first day where I've had some free time in months!

Don't worry though, even though I hadn't had chance to make the cakes earlier, I've had the fruit soaking in all sorts of goodness for long enough so they should still be nice and tasty!

Job well done!

And while I was busy baking (not only did I do the Christmas cakes but I made some baileys fudge and prepped the nut roast, the stuffings and all the other exciting bits of Christmas dinner), while simon was busy preparing the veggies!

And once we had finished getting everything ready for tomorrow's big meal, I then set my wrapping machine away finishing the presents...

So now the tree looks complete with all the presents underneath!

I don't know where everyone is going to fit in the living room tomorrow with all those presents strewn all over the floor!

So now we're just relaxing with a glass of mulled wine and I thought it would be nice to make a little something for everyone on the Christmas table... So I beaded up these wine glass charms with everyone's initials which will be great in place of name tags and then double up as a keyring...

I've got 13 coming for dinner... So it's been a lot of beading!

Right, back to my glass of mulled wine then! I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas!

Sara xx

Merry Christmas from everyone at Crafter's Companion!

2011-12-23T16:00:00.001Z

Sara, Simon and the team at Crafter's Companion would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas, and a wonderfully crafty New Year! We've got lots of exciting things in the pipeline for you throughout 2012, so watch this space for more information!

We look forward to speaking to you all next year!

The team at Crafter's Companion

Sara, Leann and Michelle's Christmas message to you all!

2011-12-22T16:29:00.003Z

In case you've not seen them yet, I just wanted to pop on here and post the video messages that Sara, Leann and Michelle have all recorded for you!

Here's Sara's message:

And Leann's...

Last but not least, here's Michelle's Christmas message to you all:

Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-19T14:26:00.012Z

Well, Saturday saw the Crafter's Companion team take to the track for an afternoon on go-karting fun! As you can see, Sara and Leann were well up for it, before the 'Practice' session started! We had 15 minutes of racing, to qualify for the Grand Prix - which was 30 minutes of racing... in wet/icy conditions - made for lots of spinning off, but it was VERY good fun...

This is either Sarah showing great concentration and focus before qualifying started, or as she claims 'this is pure fear' :-)

Guess who won the Grand Prix........ our very own Sara! It didn't go down too well with one or two of the lads :) Here's Sara displaying her trophy, whilst Ross checks out the laptimes on the official results sheet!

On Saturday night we headed out on the town for a lovely meal and some(!) drinks...

Sara enjoyed her Tiramisu dessert :)

Below are a number of pictures from post-dinner drinks... see if you can spot the eyes getting a little more blurry, and the smiles a little bit broader :)

Leann and Kam:

Meg and Sharon:

Sara with James and Ross:

Sara, Louisa, Sarah and Leann, with Ran getting in on the photo at the back :)

Claire, Meg, Sharon and Michelle:

James, Ross, Simon, Paul and Ran in their best boyband pose!

I think you can see, a great night was had by all - lovely food, lovely company, and some 'lovely' dancing later in the night... you can see all the pictures from our Christmas party (across three albums!!!) on the Crafter's Companion UK Facebook page!

Have an eCrafty Christmas with Pam!

2011-12-17T11:00:00.003Z

One of our Design Team members, Pam Leng, has been busy creating fabulously festive projects using her much-loved eCraft machine! She's been lovely enough to write up a number of projects on her blog in step-by-step form, so that we can all have a go too :)

Below are just a selection of the wonderful step-by-steps and inspiration that you'll find on Pam's blog: Hooked on Krafts!

Look out for us on Christmas Day!!!

2011-12-12T19:22:00.000Z

Well what a laugh we had today... (I must say, I have a laugh every time I get to work with the infamous Mister May!)

He was just being silly while we were waiting around (oops, I mean planning and preparing) before the show...

We had an awesome crew on the job though!So i'll let you into a little secret... we stayed behind tonight to record a show to be broadcast on Christmas day... (come on, you didn't really think we were in the studio's recording live every year on Christmas day did you???). In fairness, it is the only day of the year that Ideal towers closes down for the day and we go to tape, and I look forward all year to recording the show! And today definitely didn't disappoint!Now you'll have to tune in on Christmas day to see what we got up to, but I can tell you it's definitely worth seeing (or at least recording for viewing at a later date if you're busy that day! :) ) All I can say is the pretendy-champagne was dreadful...

Although I have to say it doesn't stop Nig from downing several glasses in one go on air!!! And didn't we look festive in our getup!

But I do put our Nigel to work (it wasn't all play and no work!) and I've got him on demonstrating exactly how to use the Ultimate Pro - so if you want to find out more, watch out for the show, coming to a channel near you on Christmas day!!

Chocolate Card Instructions

2011-12-11T17:10:00.001Z

Hi everyone

Just had another fantastic show with our wonderful Mister
May and we had an email in from one of our viewers earlier asking me to do the bar of chocolate card again. So we did!

But just in case you missed the show, (or you didn't manage to scribble the measurements down quickly enough) i'm posting them here for you...

Start of with a piece of card cut to 6.5" wide (the width of a standard bar of chocolate - I had a bar if galaxy here, but I believe dairy milk is the same size bar). Using the box maker on the inches side butting against box lid, score at 3 3/8, then 3 7/8, then 7 2/8, then 7 6/8. And then turn right around and from the other side score 3/8 and 7/8. This will give you a glueing flap to fit around the chocolate.

For the decoration I embossed using the new Darice embossing folders, and as always, the core'dinations card stock works a treat with the embossing folders, and it scores a dream!

In the show we made the card in blue, and we didn't get chance to draw a winner from the cup from all the emails we had in, but we are going to draw someone at the top of the 6pm hour (and then we'll try and draw someone else to win whatever we get chance to make in the 6pm hour!)

Hope you can tune in at 6pm for more demo's! Sara xxx

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Create & Craft Green Room

Tealight Card instructions

2011-12-11T14:31:00.001Z

Hey all

I've just come off air after a very busy tool shed with the lovely Lottie, and right at the end there we did the tea light card. Now anyone who has the Advanced Construction Techniques DVD will have seen how to do the basic version of this card, and this version has only 4 tea-lights and they are in a separate slider box, so I thought I'd share the measurements with you.

To make the inner slider draw, start with card stock that is 7.5 x 3" and using the boxer board slotted into place on the Ultimate Crafter's Companion with the inches side facing upwards, score on box lid at 3/4" deep (that's the 6th line in from the handle). Assemble this as a box.

Then for the card itself, start with a piece of the Core'dinations 12x12 card stock cut in half to 6"x12" and rest against box base. Score at ha,f an inch, then fold, crease and butt the scoreline against the but bar again, then score 3/4". Fold and butt the crease line again and score at 1.5", fold and butt and again score at 3/4". Turn the card around and butt the other side against box lid and score at 3 3/8" (to form the front of the card)

Then I created the embossed topper using the new Darice Embossing folders.

We sent this card out to our lucky winner who was drawn from the cup of chance - Joan Goldup from Kent - Joan this is on its way to you now so congratulations, and thank you to everyone else who emailed in!

If you saw the show, you'll have seen that I also made this wonderful card below using the new Enveloplus CD-ROM, with a matching envelobox - well I thought I'd send this out to one of our customers too, so if you want to win this card, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post, and tomorrow evening I'll choose a comment at random and send the card to them!

Right, must go and prepare for my next show - I'm on again at 4pm and 6pm with the wonderful Nigel May! Then big night tonight - X-Factor final!

Will update you all again soon! Sara xx

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Create and Craft greenroom

Melanie's advent Calendar...

2011-12-10T08:30:00.000Z

So.... did you see my post a few weeks ago with my project from Craftaganza? Well I challenged you all to give it a go and then show me how you got on! Well Melanie Barbara Knowler posted onto my facebook wall her very own advent calender!

Here's a picture of the one I created, and if you want to read the instructions in the original post by clicking here... And also I made the toppers that I used available to download in the downloads section of our website which you can access here...

Anyway, i'm sure you'll agree that Melanie has done a super job with her version here...

And Barbara - is that some of the Core'dinations Christmas Special Embossed Cardstock i'm spotting there? Fabulous!And if anyone else attempts the Advent Calender please let us know! I'd love to see how you got on!!!

Sara xx

Fun and giggles behind the scenes thisafternoon...

2011-12-09T21:06:00.003Z

Well, was anyone tuned into Create & Craft during the 6pm show thisevening? If so, you'll have seen our Nancy and Debbie having some fun and games! It turns out that because they've got some new graphic gadgets in at Ideal World, there was some problem and the information on your screens (that they officially term 'The L's' in the big old world of shopping TV) kept disappearing.

In the end there were so many problems that they had to cut the live feed and go to a tape of Leonie instead, so Nancy and Debbie just sat on set and had a bit of a chin wag instead! (Alright for some!)

However, (and for those of you who were tuned in, you'll hopefully have had a laugh at this too!) they decided they would make their own L's (which im sure you'll agree, don't have quite the same effect...!)I told Nancy she was selling herself too cheap...But at least the floor crew all had a giggle!Never a dull day at Ideal towers! I hope you were able to join me for some of the shows today - the Pick of the Week proved to be unbelievably popular - I can't believe how many people went for the new Enveloplus board with the FREE CD ROM. If anyone has any questions about the new enveloplus, then just leave a comment on this post and i'll try and answer your question during one of my shows this week.

Speaking of which, the show times tomorrow (Saturday) are 8am, 1pm, 4pm and 6pm. Then on Sunday i'm on Tool Shed (12am-2pm) then again at 4pm and 6pm. And on Monday i'm doing 9am, Paper Clinic (11am-1pm), 2pm and 5pm.

And for all those of you stocking up on your Centura Pearl cardstock, then we've got a great special offer on where you can get any 4 packs (pick and mix whichever ones you like!) for only £30, plus if you're shopping this weekend, then remember it's double points! If you are going for the new Enveloplus board, then you'll need the 16x16" Centura Pearl Snow White if you want to make A4 size envelopes (which is included on this deal!)

Will keep you updated while i'm here this week! Sara xxx

Just landed home and a preview of what's in store...

2011-12-07T19:44:00.009Z

I've just got home after a fabulous few days away! My wonderful husband whisked me away for a few days of rest and relaxation ahead of what's set to be another incredibly busy month here at CCHQ!

We've been to stay at my favourite hotel in the whole world and we've just kicked back for a few days - enjoyed the sunshine, had some fabulous meals out, and recharged those batteries good and proper!

We didn't take many photo's but here's a couple I do have from the last few days...

And this was a belated wedding anniversary trip away - believe it or not, this was the first chance we've both had to steal a few days away in months (as I was down in sunny Peterborough recording shows on our wedding anniversary in September!), but the hotel were kind enough to organise a card, cake and some bubbly so we could still celebrate!

And now I'm feeling all recharged and refreshed it's back to a busy last few weeks before Christmas! It's all stations go back at the office as we're in the middle of our 12 days of Christmas Celebration with some spectacular deals on the website!

Plus I've only got a few days to add the finishing touches to my prep for this weeks Pick of the Week as we prepare for the TV launch of our innovative Enveloplus tool and a brand new resource CD to accompany it with loads of card companions, templates and step by step projects for some super-size cards! I'm launching on C&C on Friday at noon, and there are shows throughout the week.

If you haven't yet heard about the Enveloplus tool then here's a preview of what it's all about and how it works...

I'll be taking some behind the scenes pictures and also uploading instructions to any complex demo's I do throughout the week here on our blog, and also answering your questions - not only about the products featured in the shows, but any of your crafty dilemmas on our forum which you can access by clicking here - I really hope you can join us in the crafty conversations!

And remember you can keep up to date with myself and the rest of our crafty team on Facebook at our official fan page, or in the 'I'm a Crafter's Companion' group, or follow me on twitter @SaraDaviesCC

Hope to catch up with you during the week! Sara xx

Wrap up your Christmas shopping with our gift sets!

2011-12-05T16:41:00.003Z

At Christmas time it can be very difficult to find ideal gifts for loved ones, friends and family. If this sounds familiar to you, keep reading! This year we've put together some fabulous gift sets to help you. With prices ranging from £15 up to £45 and savings of up to 56%, we've got something for everyone with gift sets suitable for all levels of crafting ability!

Check out our Gift Sets category online to see some of the fab kits we have on offer!

12 Days of Craftmas

2011-12-05T10:00:00.001Z

Celebrate Craftmas with us this December, with twelve days of fabulous one-day-only offers! We've got everything from rubber stamps to crafty must-haves! Starting today and running through until Friday 16th December, we'll have a new offer every day starting at 10am. Remember, these offers are only available for 24 hours and when they're gone, they're gone! Visit our home page each day to find out the new deal!

To kick off, today's offer (available until 10am tomorrow - Tuesday) is a whole 250 sheet pack of Neenah Classic Crest card for just £30 - that's a saving of almost 40% against full RRP! Don't miss out - this high-quality card is ideal for use with all alcohol based colouring mediums (such as Spectrum Noir, Copics, Promarkers). This ultra smooth, solar white card is ideal for creating distress effects, and is great for use with digital crafting too, giving a professional finish to all your projects.

D0n't want 250 sheets of card? We also sell Neenah in a 20-sheet card pack for just £3.99 per pack, or you can multibuy any three of our printing packs for just £10!

Spectrum Noir pens update

2011-12-01T13:00:00.000Z

It's been a hectic few months having another batch of the Spectrum Noir colouring system produced in such a short timeframe, but we are pleased to say the shipment is on its way to us now, including all of the six-pen sets, the 24-pen box sets and the new refills! We've made some improvements to the pens too, based on your feedback!

To find out more about the improvements we have made, click here to read our dedicated News Story.

Make Your Own Advent Calendar

2011-11-29T15:08:00.006Z

Well I decided to really challenge everyone at Craftaganza this year and embark on an epic project to construct a full advent calendar! Don’t worry, I didn’t expect everyone to be able to construct the whole thing in our class of only 1h45min! But everyone did manage to successfully complete the top half and we had one or two people come back to finish their project on the evening! I promised everyone I’d include instructions on our blog, so here we go...

To create the drawer: Cut a piece of cardstock to 5” x 4” (we used Centura Pearl Snow White Cardstock in the class because it is ideal for construction as it’s 310gsm and scores beautifully on the Ultimate and we now have it in A4, A3, 14" x 14” and 16" x 16”) and then using the Boxer slotted into place on the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion Pro, butt the cardstock against the Box lid side (against the handle) and reading the measurements from the top ruler on the board, score all 4 sides at 1”.

Tip: score on the coated side of the cardstock using the smallest head embossing tool from the Ultimate Pro, and fold away with the pearl on the outside of the box. Fold and burnish the creases using the edge of the tool. To stick the sides together, we used one of the Crafter’s Companion Extra Strong Tape Pens for speed, which works perfectly, and for an extra strong bond I recommended rubbing the corners thoroughly after sticking to create some friction to heat set the glue even better. If you are more of a wet-glue lover, then the new Collall All Purpose Adhesive works perfectly, and you can hold the corners in place with a peg or paperclip while the glue sets. Your completed drawer size should be 3” x 2”.

For the Slider: Cut a piece of Centura Pearl Snow White Cardstock to 3” x 8”. Butt the short side against the Box Base side of the Boxer board (which is against where the hinges are on the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion Pro) and score at 2”. Score, crease and burnish the fold, then butt the creased part back up against the butting edge where the hinges are again and score at 1”. Crease, burnish, fold and butt again and this time score at 2”, then repeat the process one last time scoring at 1”. It’s very important to always score, crease, burnish and butt the crease against the hinges each time you score a line, because we are using the measurements on the box base side of the board to create a perfectly sized slider – resist the temptation to score multiple lines at once because this does not give you the space inside the slider for the drawer to move freely. I would recommend popping the drawer into place before sticking the glueing flap firmly into place to make sure everything fits perfectly. We used the Crafter’s Companion Extra Strong Tape Pens again to glue the flap down.

Tip: to help your drawer slide easily inside the slider, you can spray the edges with our Spray & Slide Embossing Lubricant. You need to create 24 of these boxes, and stick them together in piles of three. In the class we used then the new Collall All Purpose Adhesive as it gives you time to manoeuvre the pieces into place before it sets and then forms an incredibly strong permanent bond.

To assemble the project: Cut a piece of Card to 5”x5” and then glue four of your stacks of three boxes into place in a circular fashion. You should be left with a small hole in the centre. Then glue another piece of 5”x5” cardstock to the top of the boxes. Again we used the Collall All Purpose Adhesive and be careful not to get glue oozing down the sides of the boxes or in between the stacks as you stick them together as this will stop your drawers from opening freely. Then stick another round of boxes to the top, and again another piece of cardstock on top of these to hold them in place.

To Create the Large box on the top: Because we want a special box for the 25th December, we created a box to fit on top of the whole stack with expanding sides. Begin by cutting a piece of Centura Pearl Snow White Cardstock to 9” x 9” and score on box lid at 2”. In the corners score in half diagonally and then fold the corners inside of the box. For the lid, cut a piece of card to 7⅛”x7⅛” and score again on box lid at 1” on all four sides, then assemble the box lid. This should fit perfectly over the base. This then sticks on top of your 24 boxes again using the Collall All Purpose Adhesive.

To Decorate your box: I printed this beautiful snowflake paper from the SWALK Winter Cheer CD-ROM directly onto Centura Pearl Snow White A4 Paper. We then matted this onto corresponding Core’dinations Colour Core Cardstock. Tip – when matting and layering using Centura Pearl Snow White Paper you should use the Crafter’s Companion Extra Strong Tape Pens as the Collall All Purpose Adhesive shows through when dry. For the fronts of the drawers I designed perfectly sized fronts, which I’ve uploaded to the Craftaganza category of the Downloads section on our web site. You can access them by clicking here.

This is a great project to make this time of year, and especially great to make with the kids. It may look complex, but once you get into the swing of it, you’ll see it’s actually very simple (just lots of repetition of the same size mini boxes and assembly) – I promise – ask anyone who was at the Craftaganza! If you have a go be sure to let us know how you get on!

If you want to see more of the photos from Craftaganza 2011, click here to view the album on the Crafter's Companion UK Facebook page!

Happy Crafting until next time! Sara xx

Slider Box Card project

2011-11-28T10:30:00.006Z

Hey all – well here is the details of my card project from this years Craftaganza – I have to say, it went down an absolute storm with our crafting peeps, and it’s so quick and easy to make! As you can see, I designed this version of the project to fit perfectly the project which everyone made in Sarah’s beading class, but it can be easily adapted to fit tealights, or chocolates, or other small gifts so it’s just PERFECT for Christmas!

For the Drawer: First of all begin by cutting a piece of cardstock to 9½” x 3½” (I used Centura Pearl Snow White Cardstock for this project as it’s perfect for construction and we now have it in A4, A3, 14 x14” and 16" x 16”) and then using the Boxer slotted into place on the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion Pro, butt the cardstock against the Box lid side (against the handle). Reading the measurements from the top ruler on the board, score all four sides at ¾”.

Tip: score on the coated side of the cardstock using the smallest head embossing tool from the Ultimate Pro, and fold away with the pearl on the outside of the box.

Fold and burnish the creases using the edge of the tool. To stick the sides together, we used one of the Crafter’s Companion Extra Strong Tape Pens for speed, which works perfectly, and for an extra strong bond I recommended rubbing the corners thoroughly after sticking to create some friction to heat set the glue even better. If you are more of a wet-glue lover, then the new Collall All Purpose Adhesive works perfectly too, and you can hold the corners in place with a peg or paperclip while the glue sets. Your completed drawer size should be 8” x 2”.

For the Card: Cut a piece of Centura Pearl Snow White Cardstock to 16” x 8” (I used the new size 16x16 Centura Pearl Snow White Cardstock and you can get two of these cards from one sheet, by cutting it exactly in half down the centre). Butt the short side against the Box Base side of the Boxer board (which is against where the hinges are on the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion Pro) and score at ¼” (this is the second line in). Score, crease and burnish the fold, then butt the creased part back up against the butting edge where the hinges are again and score at ¾”. Crease, burnish, fold and butt again and this time score at 2”, then repeat the process one last time scoring at ¾”. It’s very important to always score, crease, burnish and butt the crease against the hinges each time you score a line, because we are using the measurements on the box base side of the board to create a perfectly sized slider – resist the temptation to score multiple lines at once because this does not give you the space inside the slider for the drawer to move freely. I would recommend popping the drawer into place before sticking the glueing flap firmly into place to make sure everything fits perfectly. We used the Crafter’s Companion Extra Strong Tape Pens again to glue the flap down, but extra strong double-sided tape would work equally well if you prefer. Then, turn the card around to score from the opposite side, and butt against the box lid (handle side) and score at 5”. The card should fold into place. If you find the card is rubbing slightly against the drawer, you may need to trim off a slither to neaten it up.

To decorate the card: In our class we used the Boxer Board to measure out an aperture on the front of the slider part, and we stuck acetate inside (if you’re making an aperture, you need to do this BEFORE you stick the glueing flap down). For the front I matted and layered some Gold mirror card onto another piece of Centura Pearl Snow White Cardstock which had been embossed with the beautiful Butterfly Embossing Folder.

We used a Japanese Screw Punch to punch the holes before matting and layering the top piece to the card using Extra Large Foam pads, but many people in the class chose not to punch the holes because they didn’t want to use the card for their Jewellery (most people said there was no way they were giving away their works of art!). For the top sentiment, I created the design on the computer using a Script font called ‘Edwardian Script’ and if anyone wants to use this same design, then i’ve uploaded the sheet to the Downloads section on our website, within the Craftaganza category, which you can access by clicking here.

I hope you find these instructions easy to follow, and for those of you who weren’t at our Craftaganza event, and have a go at this project, be sure to let us know how you got on!

For more pictures from Craftaganza 2011, why not check out the album on the Crafter's Companion UK Facebook page?

Happy Crafting until next time! Sara xx

The Christmas Gift Shop is now open

2011-11-16T10:39:00.004Z

Do you have crafty loved ones to buy presents for this Christmas? Or do you want to treat yourself this festive time (it's ok - we can keep a secret!)? If you've answered 'yes' to either of these questions, have we got something for you!

We've put together a selection of fabulous gift ideas in our Christmas Gift Shop, and each comes with a bonus gift absolutely FREE! From digital crafting CDs to crafting tools and machines, we've got gift ideas to suit all tastes and budgets.

As if that wasn't enough, we're also giving double Loyalty Points with each item too, meaning you'll be one step closer to getting a higher discount on all orders for the next year! To find out more about Loyalty Points, click here.

The offers are available until Friday 16th December, while stocks last. So, what are you waiting for? Click here to start shopping now!

On our way to India

2011-11-10T09:41:00.000Z

Hey everyone - I'm just sitting with my feet up in the lounge at Amsterdam airport and it seemed like an ideal time to update you all on my upcoming trip!

I'm on my way over to India with the lovely Ms Millsop who has been an incredibly busy bee the last few months! Because our sister company Beader's Companion has taken off in such a big way this last year, she came to me a few months back with the idea of designing her own kits because so many of our customers love making their own jewellery but we're finding that (just like me!) they like to have the design idea in place and we love having everything we need in one kit!

So she's come up with literally hundreds of different kit concepts, and we're on our way over to India to make the magic happen and bring them to life! We're working with a company who make custom glass beads of the most incredible quality! I'm so excited - I'm just coming along to carry the bags and be Sarah's little sidekick - I'm hoping she lets me have a little go!

Right, best get back to my coffee - we only have half an hour until we're boarding. Talking of coffee... I was missing Leann a lot, (it's not the same travelling without her) so in her memory I've made us a Drambuie coffee (any regular followers to the blog will 'get' our in-joke!) so here's to you Chivs!

Promise to keep you updated while we're away - you can follow our trip over on the Beader's Blog.

Sara xxx

All new Anti-Static Bag!

2011-11-09T13:58:00.004Z

Hi, it's Meg here - just thought I'd pop on the blog to let you know about our brand new anti-static bag that has just been put up on the web site! It'll help you eliminate static, smears and smudges from your work, and is great to use before heat embossing on your projects, as you won't get any stray flecks of embossing powder!

If you've not used an anti-static bag before, all you need to do is tap the bag gently on to your card to release a small amount of powder, then wipe the pad over the area to be heat embossed!

A little goes a long way, as our very own guinea pig, Ross, took it upon himself to test!

As you can see, with just a couple of taps, his face was covered! Luckily, any residue can be wiped off (although we didn't tell him that straight away...!).

The anti-static bag is available for just £3.99 on the web site, so click here to get yours now!

Embossing folders

2011-11-01T10:30:00.000Z

Have you seen the brand new embossing folders by Darice that are available to buy over on the Crafter's Companion site? They are simply gorgeous and best of all they are only £3.99 each!! There are lots of different designs to choose from and look fantastic when used with the Core'dinations cardstock ranges. Team them both together and see for yourself the results - you'll be amazed!

Snowman project download

2011-10-30T09:30:00.000Z

Now that we're well and truly into the festive season I thought you might like to download a nice Snowman project from our member's project section over on the Crafter's Companion site. The one that I'm going to link you to today is the 'Sending Christmas Hugs easel card' but there are lots more delightful cards that are available for you too. You can either view them on the screen or you can download them as project sheets - it's entirely up to you which you prefer to do. Today though I will just direct you to the page so that you can choose whichever option you want! Don't forget that you will need to be logged in to see the page! If you're not a member click here to join up!

Remember that there is an offer on the Snowman products in our birthday week celebrations so if you order before the end of the today then you will be able to get both the CDs and the rubber stamp set for just £20...plus you'll get free P&P too! Don't snooze - grab this Snowman bundle and save almost 50% while you can!

The Ultimate Offer

2011-10-28T10:30:00.000+01:00

This week is birthday week and, as you have probably already gathered, we've gone offer crazy! One of the offers that we have on this week on the Crafter's Companion site is an Ultimate Pro bundle where you can save 58% - yes you read that right, you can save a whopping 58% off the RRP. In this bundle offer you get the following:

Ultimate Pro board (RRP £39.99)
3 DVDs (RRP £14.99 each)
2 Advanced boards (RRP £14.99 each)
4 embossing boards (RRP £12.99 each)

All this equates to over £166 RRP but you can get them all for £69.99...saving you nearly £100!!!

If you're not sure just how versatile the boards are and what you can do with them then watch this video by Sara where she explains how to use the Ultimate Pro...

Spray and save!

2011-10-26T10:30:00.000+01:00

Do you know just how many varieties of sprays we have over on the Crafter's Companion site? Would you be surprised if I told you that there were 11 different types? If you're unsure of what they all do then I'll list them all below for you

Stick and Spray has revolutionised adhesives and brought them into the 21st century. This handy spray can be used on all kinds of surfaces from rubber to paper and even fabrics. This repositionable adhesive is the answer to all of your problems, from matting and layering and especially when mounting your unmounted stamps. Perfect for use with the Rock-a-Blocks this spray can allow you to reposition your stamps up to 50 times!

Stick Away is a powerful adhesive residue remover for a variety of surfaces including rubber, glass, plastic and china. This product was designed for use with our range of adhesives, but will also work with other sticky things like adhesive labels, plasters, chewing gum and tar. The product should dispense as a scented fine mist and is acid and lignin free.

Stick and Stay is a permanent, repositionable craft adhesive designed for use in all papercrafts, simply stick, adjust and then leave for a perfect bond. It can also be used with some fabrics, cardboard, plastic and polystyrene. The product is acid and lignin free, should dispense as a fine mist and will not mark surfaces.

Spray and Shine is a hard wearing high gloss varnish which forms a protective layer over your papercrafting projects, and is ideal for adding a layer of gloss to home printed decoupage sheets. Spray and Shine dispenses as a fine mist and is acid free and non-toxic.

We've combined a quality satin-finish varnish with ultra-fine glitter to create Spray and Sparkle - a fabulous spray which will add a dazzling seal to your crafting projects! Spray and Sparkle dispenses as a fine glittery mist which is completely acid free and non-toxic, so it's safe to use it with the kids and around the home. Use Spray and Sparkle to enhance finished projects or create your own encapsulated glitter backing paper/card sheets for use in your projects! Available in gold, silver, multicoloured and iridescent.

Spray and Slide is ideal for dry-embossing. Simply spray onto the reverse of the card you wish to emboss and use an embossing tool to glide through the design with ease. Spray and Slide won't mark or stain paper or card. It dispenses as a fine odourless mist and is acid free.

And the reason I'm telling you all about these fab sprays? Well, seeing as we're feeling uber generous this week as it's our birthday I wanted to tell you about the offer we've got going on with all the sprays. They normally cost £5.99 each but you can get 3 for the price of 2 this week. That's right, you can pick any 3 for £11.98, rather than the £17.97 that they would normally cost you. They are honestly the type of product that you wonder how you did your crafting without them so make sure you take advantage of this saving and stock up this week!

Paint Fusion project

2011-10-25T10:30:00.000+01:00

I thought that with all these gorgeous offers going on this week to celebrate Crafter's Companion's 6th birthday you may want some inspiration on ways to use our products so I've got another fab project for you today.

Over on the U.S Crafter's Companion blog they've created yet another superb project, this time using the gorgeous Paint Fusion stamps. Denise has made a door hanger and a pretty hair clip using one of the Christmas stamps so I will hand you over to her so she can explain how she has done it...

Sheena Douglass' Paint Fusion stamps are absolutely beautiful. When I heard that she was designing a Christmas Paint Fusion collection, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. After this coming week of sneak peaks, I bet you will feel the same. I saw the Christmas Rose Paint Fusion stamps and immediately began to think of all the different projects I could make with them.

My first thought was that these beautiful flowers would be perfect to decorate a door hanger with.

This door hanger was very easy to make. I started by painting a plain door hanger with white acrylic paint. I let the first coat dry, and then added a second coat to make sure the brown was covered. While the second coat of paint was drying, I pulled out some white glitter I had on hand and sprinkled it all over the wet paint. The paint acts as a glue while it is wet, so the glitter sticks really well to it. You could also use Spray & Sparkle for this too - just wait until the paint is dry and then spray over the top.

To make the flowers, I stamped out the leaves and flowers on my Paint Fusion stamp set and coloured them using my Copic Sketch markers. The colours I used for the flowers were R81, R83, R85, Y35, and Y38. I used Copic markers G21, G24, G28 for the leaves. Once they were coloured, I added them to the door hanger with a glue gun and double-sided adhesive foam.

To finish it off, I added a pretty bow I made with some leftover ribbon and letters spelling out, "Lara's Room".

While I was coloring the Christmas roses in pink, I also coloured a rose in red to add to a plain barrette. For this Christmas rose I coloured it with Copic Sketch markers R22, R24, R27, Y35, and Y37. Because I knew that this flower would be going on a barrette, I wanted to make it a little sturdier. To do this, I painted the flower with Chandelier Glimmer Glaze. The glaze has an almost starch like quality so it really stiffens up anything you use it on, as well as adding lots of glitter.

As you can see, the two projects were a huge hit with my daughter.

Birthday week offers

2011-10-24T10:30:00.000+01:00

Have you had a chance to hop across to the Crafter's Companion website yet to take a look what great offers are going on throughout birthday week?

If you haven't then you're really missing out as you can pick up some great bargains, such as 3 for 2 on crafting sprays, both Snowman CDs AND an original Snowman stamp for just £20, or the Fairyopolis papercrafting kit for less than half price - £15 instead of £34.99! There's so many more offers than just these ones here so go take a look and see what you can find. There are also daily special offers that last for just 24 hours so remember to keeping popping back each day to see what treats we have in store for you!

Birthday treats

2011-10-23T10:00:00.000+01:00

It's our birthday next week and to mark the occasion we're having celebrations on the Crafter's Companion website throughout the week...we hope you can join us!

As well as great offers on products you will also be able to pick up freebies every day! For the whole week there will be free standard UK mainland P&P and double points on all orders but then you will also get free Humphrey stamps with every order! The stamps are new and exclusive, and unavailable to buy elsewhere! Everyone, regardless of how small their order is, will get a free 'Christmas Joy' stamp in their order. If you order over £50 worth of products then not only will you get the 'Christmas Joy' stamp but you will also get the 'At Christmas' stamp too. Then, if your order is over £100 you will get THREE free stamps - 'Christmas Joy', 'At Christmas' and 'A present for you'. How ace is that?

There will also be a treasure hunt where you can be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher (click here to find clue 1), offers that last throughout the week and then daily special offers that will only last 24 hours. You can earn double points and there is a special 'ask Sara' section on the forum where you can ask Sara questions within the thread and she will answer them live each night (Monday - Friday). With even more exciting things going on all week on top of everything I've mentioned here it really will be one birthday celebration to remember!

The Crafter's Companion birthday week starts today (Sunday 23rd October) and lasts until Sunday 30th October. Make sure you don't miss out!!

New step by step project

2011-10-20T10:30:00.000+01:00

Today I've got a fantastic step-by-step project for you, courtesy of Carmi over on the American Crafter's Companion blog. It uses the gorgeous Humphrey's Corner collection - and I simply adore the stamp she used...don't you just love the huuuuuge squidge that he's giving her?!

I'll now hand you over to the lovely Carmi so she can explain how she has created the pop out card...

The pop out card was easy to create using my Ultimate. I scored two cards in order to make a front and inside for the card.

The score lines make it so easy to create crisp professional folds.

I also scored the half heart shape.

After cutting out the heart line I had a heart pop out shape!

I assembled the card and added some paper from the Fairyopolis paper pad. The theme of October and the seasons changing was what I was hoping to showcase.

After the card was assembled I also added this string in order to dangle my rubber stamped image.

And isn't this rubber stamp set the cutest?
I have the "Hugs for you" set. I stamped it on white card stock so it would dangle properly.

The Crafter's Companion Spectrum Noir markers are what I used to colour my image. They are amazing to colour with.

Here are my elephants. Happily snug as two bugs in this heart pop out.

Help is at hand

2011-10-19T10:30:00.000+01:00

Who's bought the new Snowman 'Walking in the Air' CD-ROM that has the ingenious frame, circle slider and accordion cards? Do you need a bit of guidance on how to perfect the techniques to create them? Well help is at hand with a set of three download-able instructions by DT member extraordinaire Nicola Joliffe! If you go to the Snowman section within the downloads area of the main Crafter's Companion site then you will see the three different PDF files that will explain how to do each technique. Simply click on the PDF icon on the bottom-right of each image and you will be able to download the files. You will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to be able to view the files so if you don't already have this then click here to download it completely free of charge. Hope you find them useful!

Fix of Winter Cheer

2011-10-18T10:30:00.000+01:00

Have you managed to see the new Winter Cheer collection from s.w.a.l.k yet on Create & Craft? It's the Pick of the Week this week so if you haven't managed to catch it on telly yet then you've still got time!

The 12 delightful stamps and the coordinating CD-ROM is the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas crafting so be sure to tune in and see just how adorable the new collection is!

To find out all about the new collection visit the dedicated section over on the main Crafter's Companion site...but be warned, you will fall in love with them and want them ALL!!

Hints and tips

2011-10-17T10:30:00.000+01:00

We all get stuck from time to time with our crafting, or encounter problems that we're not sure how to solve - and this is the reason we set up a 'hints & tips' section on the Crafter's Companion website. If you have a mountain of wooden-mounted rubber stamps that you're running out of space for & you would prefer to use on your Rock a Blocks anyway then you can find out the best way to remove the rubber from the wood. You can also find out how to remove an insert once you've placed it in your card (for instance if you've done like I have in the past and put it in upside down!). There are lots of really interesting and handy hints & tips on there, and if you know of any that you can't see then contact us and let us know so that we can include it on there. Go take a look for yourself and see if you will learn something new!

DT opportunity reminder

2011-10-15T13:00:00.000+01:00

Who's been busy creating their cards to enter the competition to become a Guest Designer on our Design Team for 3 months? More importantly though, who doesn't know what I mean?! If you missed my post last week then you can click here to read it again, but to sum it up briefly for you, to celebrate our 6th birthday on the 24th October we're holding a competition to get you all creative! We want you to make us a birthday card using our products and send it in to us at our offices by the 21st October. Don't forget to include your name, address and contact details otherwise we won't know how to tell you if you're the lucky winner! Get creating guys & gals!

Blog hop winner - congratulations!

2011-10-14T10:39:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Alison Bates whose number was picked by Random.org as the winner of the S.W.A.L.K. Winter Cheer stamps and CD-ROM that launch later today on Create & Craft. She correctly found the phrase LITTLE KISS hidden around our Design Team's blogs.

Alison - your stamps and CD are winging their way to you now! Enjoy!

For everyone else, the Pick of the Week launches at midday and the other live show times are:

Friday: 2pm, 3pm, 6pm, 7pm

Saturday: 8am, 1pm, 5pm

Sunday: 9am, 4pm, 6pm

Monday: 4pm, 6pm

Enjoy the shows everyone and Congratulations again to Alison!

Pull out tab easel card

2011-10-13T10:30:00.000+01:00

We have been inundated with requests for Wendy Foster's pull-out easel card so I'm happy to say that she has added the tutorial for it to her blog.

To make the card you will need a 6x6" card blank, Humphrey images, backing papers and embellishments.

How gorgeous is this card? Make sure you hop across to Wendy's blog to get the full step-by-step instructions on how to make it! Wendy has also created some lovely sneak peeks of the brand new s.w.a.l.k stamps so be sure to take a look at them while you're over on her blog! Isn't she one talented lady?!

Lovely lace border

2011-10-12T10:30:00.001+01:00

Did you love yesterday's post showing Leann's fabby creation? Want to see another one? Yes? Well you're in luck as Leann has been a busy, busy lady making this beautiful lacy card. I'll hand you over to Leann so she can explain to you how she put together this gorgeous look...

Following on with the Heartfelt range, I simply HAD to showyou this lace border die, isn’t it a thing of wonder and beauty? I just keeplooking at it and stroking it! A shocking admission but it’s true!

As if it isn’t beautiful enough I wanted to make it evenmore beautiful and glitter it! – so I thought I’d show you how.

Step 1

Run the die through your machine with some white cardstock. Iused 160gsm weight cardstock - it’s the light, printable one from the Crafter’s Companion website - as I wanted the finished result to be light and lacy. Remove the die from the machine and, on the reverse of the die, use a pokey tool to poke out all the little pieces which have been die-cut - leaving just the lace border in the die.

Step 2

Lift up the corner of the design and remove the lace border slowly and carefully from the die.

Step 3

This die has been very cleverly designed; if you look at thefar-left and right of the lace design you will see that it is exactly the same. This is so you can create more than one and make long borders which join perfectly for scrapbook pages orlarger cards. I love that feature! Having said that it is an exact 6"wide, which is perfect for me as I love 6"-square cards.

Step 4 (B Pic 4)

Lay your design in a spray booth (a plastic box lid for theun-initiated!)and spray with Stick and Stay. Using tweezers, transferthe design to a piece of scrap paper and sprinkle with glitter (I used crystalglitter). Shake of the excess and you will have abeautiful detailed glitter lace border, which is a thing of true wonder tobehold!

Step 5

The additional feature this lace designs has is perfectlyspaced eyelet holes for ribbon to be threaded through. I’ve used the double-sided satin and satin-edge organza, both from the pastels pack on the Crafter’s Companion website. I’ve layered them and threaded them throughthe die-cut lace border.

Step 6

I’ve matted and layered a 6"-square base card using somescraps of paper from my stash and a lovely burgundy from the Roy G Biv Core'dinations pad forthe card base. The lace border has been secured in place using Collall 3D glue gel behind the ribbon and whitedries clear PVA glue, also by Collall, in little dots on the lace border.

Step 7

Stamp the butterfly from the Posy Patch Garden Delightsstamp set using the Sweet Plum Memento Dew Drop. Add colour and blend toco-ordinate with the papers you have used on your base card. Make sure to go out of the lines as I have,as you will use the corresponding die to cut the butterfly out.

Step 8

Create a template for the butterfly die, as you did to cutout the lily petals in yesterday's project.Line up over the coloured image and cut out using the die from the Decorative Border Butterfly set. I lovethis as the butterfly is lacy, but has all the little dots and shading in theright places using this technique. I’llbe using this a lot!

Step 9

Create a second butterfly in the same way. Leave thebase butterfly flat and curl up the wings of the second butterfly. Stick the two together in the centre at the body to create a 3Dembellishment. Place at the top cornerof your card to complete the design.

To complete the card you could add a little sentiment too if youwish. I like to make my cards without sentiments until I want to send them,that way I can choose an appropriate sentiment for the recipient when I chooseto send it. If I add sentiments straightaway, you can guarantee I will want to send the card, but the sentiment is not appropriate, so I tend to leave them off until I need it!

Have fun

Leann x

Lovely Lilies

2011-10-11T10:30:00.001+01:00

Flower Die Cuts for Card Making

Today I've got a lovely project for you from our very own Leann Chivers. She's been having fun playing with a new range of stamps and cutting dies from Heartfelt Creations and the results are so beautiful that we just had to share the full step-by-step tutorial for you. So, without further ado, I will hand you over to the lovely Leann so that she can explain how she has made this gorgeous lily petal card creation...

Step 1

To create the lily I am using the Lily Petals stamp, Perfect Petals die cut and Memento coloured Dew Drop inks. I also have some lightweight white cardstock.

Step 2

Ink up the second largest petal stamp with Rose Bud Memento ink and stamp out six lily petals – do the same with the third largest lily petal and stamp out twelve. Put these to one side.

Step 3

We are going to create a template to cut out your stamped lily petals. Take an A6 piece of white cardstock and using the matching sized die for the petal. Run this through your Cuttlebug (or any die cutting machine that you use) and remove the centre die-cut image, leaving the die in the surrounding cardstock. Use some low tack (masking) tape and fix the die at one edge so it stays attached to the white cardstock and forms a hinge.

Step 4
Roughly cut around the lily petals, then line your template over the top of each single petal so you can see where it is going to cut.

Step 5
Close the hinged die over the top of the stamped image and run through your Cuttlebug Machine (or similar) machine to cut out the petals. Continue until all your petals are cut out.

Step 6
The stamped petals do look beautiful, but we want to make them even more beautiful! I used Cut and Dry foam and Spun Sugar Distress Ink to give the base of the petal a light pink hue. I then made the petal really pop using blend-able pencils - I have picked out the detail in the centre and around the outside of the petals too. You can also achieve this with your Spectrum Noir pens. It's really important to use Memento coloured ink, as it won't smudge, when you blend in the colours on the petal.

Step 7
Fold each petal in half with a good crease to give dimension to the finished flower. Punch a small circle from white cardstock and start to layer your lily petals evenly in a circle to start and build up the flower layers.

Step 8
Placing the petals into layers of three gives a more realistic effect to the finished flower.

Step 9
Repeat this process with the remaining twelve smaller lily petals and create two smaller lily flowers. Stamp out nine leaves using the Elegant Single Leaves stamp set (which in my opinion is a must for everyone who wants to make their own flower embellishments). I have stamped the leaves with New Sprout Dew Drop Memento ink and then coloured it with Shabby Shutters Tim holtz Distress Ink and Cut and Dry foam.

Step 10
Use a pokey tool to poke a hole in the centre of your lily flowers and punch through some stamens to give the lily a realistic effect. I bought mine from Wild Orchid Crafts – 160 for £1.01! Use five for the large lily and three for the smaller lilies.

Step 11
Create a base card for your Lilies. I have used the Rog G Biv, Cored'inations pad as it had the perfect pinks to match my lilies. This is why I love these Cored'inations pads so much - you can always find the perfect colour for your projects, and there are always the coordinating colours for matting, layering and embellishments. The Perfect Petals die set also has the most amazing filigree decorative corner die in with it, which is stunning so I've cut two from Cored'inations cardstock and placed them at opposite corners of the card to frame the lilies.

Step 12
Complete your card by arranging your lilies in the centre. Use Collall 3D glue gel to place your lilies on the card base as you want them to stay put when this card is passed around and admired! Arrange the leaves around the lilies, again using 3D glue gel.

I know that I am going to be making these lilies constantly as I think they are just stunning, but have a look at other Spellbinders Die Cuts on the Crafter's Companion website as it's not just lilies you can create, there is so much more. I think these stamps and dies are excellent value for money as I can make six different sizes of flowers with each die and stamp set - from really tiny (to add a small decorative embellishment to your card) to the larger versions like I have made here as a fabulous centre piece.

I will be back with more how to's with this range, as I am now just a little bit addicted!

Have fun!

Leann x

Advent calendar project

2011-10-10T10:30:00.000+01:00

Now that we're well and truly getting into the festive spirit (by my maths I've worked Christmas Day out to be in just under 11 weeks time...in fact it was 11 weeks yesterday!) I thought it would be good timing to let you know about the original advent calendar we have over in the projects section of the Crafter's Companion website. Here is the finished calendar...

...and if you want to know exactly how to create it then hop across here to get the full instructions. Step-by-step projects are available to all Crafter's Companion members so you will need to be logged in to see them. The advent calendar created here uses Humphrey's Corner images but you can use any images you want. The finished project would look just as good using The Snowman images or even the brand new s.w.a.l.k collection that's launching this week. You could even use Beatrix Potter A Winter's Tale or Popcorn Christmas...whichever collection you prefer!

Winter Cheer sneak peek

2011-10-09T10:55:00.002+01:00

I hope you've all been busy hopping around our DT's blogs finding the letters for our competition to win all twelve new stamps plus the coordinating CD-ROM, but have you had a chance to re-visit the various blogs to take a proper look at all the fabulous designs they've been creating? The designer to kick-start the blog hop for us was Linda and I wanted to show you a detailed stamped image that she has put onto her blog as the colouring is just spectacular.

The DT are creating sneak peeks all the time so remember to keep going back to their blogs once you've found all the letters to see all their wonderful new creations! If you're not sure of how the competition works then look to yesterday's post for all the details!

Share our Winter Cheer

2011-10-08T09:00:00.002+01:00

Well, you’ve been asking for it for a long time, so we’re very excited to announce the next launch in the SWALK range – Winter Cheer! The range will be launching on Create & Craft as Pick of the Week at midday on Friday 14th October, and consists of twelve stamps and a co-ordinating papercrafting CD-ROM which has been designed to perfectly complement the stamps.

To celebrate the launch, we’ve organised a Blog Hop along with our talented Design Team, around their blogs! They’ve had a great time creating with the new range and will be showcasing their samples throughout the week. If you take part in the blog hop, you could win a fabulous prize:

All twelve new stamps plus the co-ordinating papercrafting CD-ROM!

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this great prize is visit each blog in order and then go back to the Crafter’s Companion News Views and Inspiration Blog to leave your link on Mr Linky (below). Along the way you will notice that each Blog will give you a letter - make a note of these as they will make a phrase related to the new launch. We’ll ask you for this phrase if your number is drawn by Random.Org on the morning of Friday 14th.

PLEASE DO NOT TELL US WHAT THE WORD IS ON THE CRAFTER’S COMPANION NEWS VIEWS AND INSPIRATION BLOG, WE WILL E-MAIL YOU FOR THE ANSWER IF YOUR MR LINKY NUMBER IS DRAWN.

Your first letter is: L

From here, you need to hop to Linda’s blog.

We hope you enjoy the sneak peeks – thanks for hopping!

Crafter’s Companion Design Team

World Cardmaking Day competition

2011-10-07T13:42:00.002+01:00

Afternoon all, and happy Friday!

I'm pleased to announce that the number drawn from Random.org as the winner of the £50 cardmaking goody bag, is number 3 - that's Donka! Congratulations Donka!

Please can you email blog@crafterscompanion.co.uk with your details and we can arrange to have your prize sent out for you as soon as possible.

Well done and thank you to everyone who entered! We hope you enjoyed celebrating World Cardmaking Day with us :)

Free digi download

2011-10-07T10:30:00.000+01:00

Have you got hold of the free download of the month over on the Crafter's Companion website yet? If you sign up to become a member on the site (which you can do completely free of charge!) you will have so many member benefits, including the opportunity to download a paper set every single month.

This month we're getting in the Halloween spirit and have created for you a set of 5 papers and coordinating element sheets in a spooky theme! Below you will be able to see a montage of the different sheets you will be able to download - aren't they gorgeous?!

To download your set simply hop across to the site and go to the downloads section (remember you need to be logged in, otherwise you won't be able to see this section). There you will see the download of the month for October. Just click on the link to download the PDF document.

Below are some ideas of cards that you can make with the papers - we'd love to see what you create with them so be sure to send us your photos!

World Cardmaking Day - an amend

2011-10-06T11:49:00.004+01:00

Sorry to everyone who is trying to enter the World Cardmaking Day challenge... in setting something up for later on this week, we seem to have lost the Mister Linky for the World Cardmaking Day.

THEREFORE, if you still wish to enter, you can do so below here. Entries close at 12 Midday on Friday 7th October. In randomly picking a winner, we will add the total number of entrants below to the total number on 1st October post. The numbers below this post will carry on numerically from the numbers in the earlier post.

Apologies for any convenience this may cause.