Up2Scrap

2010 Elite Team and winner of last month's challenge

Congratulations to the four women who won a place on Up2Scrap's Elite Team...

• Annelie Maddock (Whangaparaoa)
• Sonya Pickles (Duntroon)
• Pauline McArdle (Napier)
• Dianne Hanson (Timaru)

With two of these women living in the North Island and the other two in the South Island (Main Land to some!), we hopefully have New Zealand covered in regards to innovative papercrafting features for the next year!

On another note we'll be giving our monthly blog challenge a rest over Christmas so we can organise our fabulously talented new team, so be ready again in January for a whole new year of ideas and inspiration from these lovely ladies.

Last month's card challenge attracted some excellent entries, but our winner is Christine Cleary who made this very cute one:

Congratulations! I'll be in touch shortly to organise your prize.

October 31ST Craft fest

As the Summerhill Shopping Centre is hosting it’s first Craft Festival, we thought it timely that we join in with a range of Christmas make ‘n’ takes, designed to get you organised and inspired for the holidays!

We are hosting this in the empty shop at the end of the courtyard, just two doors away from Secret Squirrel Papercrafting Shop, which will also be open. If you would like to join us and take part in the Christmas inspired time table below, please contact us ASAP and book your spot so we can put your make ’n’ take kits together.

TIMETABLE  FOR SATURDAY OCTOBER 31ST BELOW:

“Glittering Gift Bags”

• 9.30am to 10.30am
• $15pp (bookings essential)

Make an awesome gift bag for Christmas featuring Cuttlebug Embossing Folders, embossing powders and K&Co Christmas themed product.

“Go Crackers”

• 10.30am to 11.30am (time slot 1)
• $15pp (bookings essential)

Make a gorgeous Christmas Cracker from the Pavlova Papers template, using recent release Creative Imaginations die-cuts, Spellbinders “Poinsettia” and more.

"Christmas Centerpiece" (or gift basket)

• 12pm to 1pm
• $15pp (bookings essential)

Make a stunning centerpiece/gift basket to hold Christmas sweets and/or baking, using Glazed Bazill, We R Memory Keepers or K&Co Christmas themed papers and more...

“Gift Tags Galore”

• 1.30pm to 2.30pm
• $10pp (bookings essential)

Make six small gift tags using Spellbinders, stamps and embossing powders, K&Co product and more.

“In Stitchz”

• 2.30pm to 3.30pm
• $10pp (bookings essential)

Using one of the Institch’z Christmas templates, learn how to make a Christmas card featuring a handsewn title - it’s easy with Bazzill Institch’z!

Note that the Altered Album class previously advertised for October 31st and November 7th is now moved on to November 7th and 14th.

Christmas Cards using Die-Cuts Challenge

Elite Team member Sarah Punnett has come up with a great card challenge using die-cuts this month - give it a go and be in to win a gorgeous KaiserCraft MDF "Bird House" and "Love Album" - together retailling $25.

To add dimension and interest to your cards, try making your own die-cuts or buy ready made die-cuts. A die-cut is a shape cut out of paper or card made with one of the multitude of die cutting machines available on the market today, eg. cuttlebug or punches.

The following 3 cards have been created using die-cuts made with the cuttlebug and various punches. This months challenge is to make a christmas card using die-cut/s on the card. My cards are made using the new Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper range.

Card 1

materials

• 1 x A5 card
• 10cm x 14cm piece paper(plum)
• 6. cm x 6.5cm piece patterned paper(santa)
• 4.5cm x 14cm piece co-ordinating patterned paper(holly)
• 1cm x 14cm strip paper(plum)
• Peelcraft merry christmas sticker(coloured green)
• Cuttlebug present die
• Fiskars threading water punch
• sewing machine

method

1. Using threading water punch to create scallop edge on 4.5cm x 14cm paper. Adhere to 10cm x 14cm paper(see photo)
2. Adhere 1cm x 14cm strip of paper(see photo)
3. Stick merry christmas on right hand side of strip of paper
4. Stitch round edge of 10cm x 14cm paper(including all layers). Adhere to A5 card
5. Using cuttlebug and the present die cut a present from the 6.5cm x 6.5cm square of paper. Adhere using foam mounting tape on bottom left hand corner of card.

Card 2

materials

• 1 x A5 card
• 10cm x 14cm piece patterned paper(pink)
• 3cm x 14cm piece plain paper(plum)
• 7cm x 20cm piece co-ordinating patterned paper(reindeer)
• Peelcraft merry christmas coloured green
• 2 inch scallop circle punch
• sewing machine

method

1. Adhere 3cm x 14cm piece of plain paper to 10cm x 14cm piece of patterned paper(see photo). Stitch round both pieces of paper(see photo) and adhere to A5 white card.
2. Using punch create 3 die cuts from the 7cm x 20cm piece of paper. Adhere to plain strip using mounting foam(see photo).
3. Stick merry christmas sticker in bottom right hand corner.

Card 3

materials

• 28cm x 14cm card folded in half
• 13.5cm x 13.5cm patterned paper(blue pattern)
• 9cm x 9cm piece co–ordinating patterned paper(santas and eskimos)
• 11cm x 11cm piece of plain paper(plum)
• Peelcraft merry christmas sticker coloured red
• 1 inch square punch
• 1 1/4 inch square punch
• sewing machine

method

1. Stitch around 13.5cm square of patterned paper and adhere to 14cm square card.
2. Punch out 9 x 1 1/4 inch squares from the plain paper.
3. Punch out 9 x 1 inch squares from the co–ordinating patterned paper.
4. Adhere each 1 inch square to the center of a 1 1/4 inch square.
5. Adhere each square to 13.5cm square as shown in photo.
6. Stick merry christmas to the center square.

Thats 3 ideas for you to start with, now show us what you can do with die-cuts by making your own using machines or punches.

Congratulations...

to Sonya Pickles for her winning entry in last month's blog challenge!

We loved all your fabric and stitching details and will have your prize to you shortly. Check back soon for this month's blog challenge and be in to win!

October Classes

“My best summer holiday” - layout class with Steph Milne
October 6th, Tuesday morning 10.30am to 12.30noon or Tuesday night 7 to 9pm*
$25pp for beginners, $35 for more advanced which will include additional product (bookings essential)

Celebrate a wonderful late summer holiday memory with the gorgeous new “Indian Summer” range from Basic Grey.  This class will suit beginner scrapbookers as well as more advanced.  Requires one colour 7” x 5” photo (preferably landscape) but you could also use an 8” x 10” photo. *We are offering two time slots due to school holidays but note children under 8 years are not able to attend.

“October Pizza Crop” - with tutor Steph Milne on hand
Friday, October 9th, 6 to 10pm
$18pp** (secures your place for the crop plus half a gourmet pizza and complimentary drinks)

The perfect time to complete any Paper Parfait projects or just unwind with a group of women who love papercraft.  Please call Amy on 06 357 7547 for a pizza menu plus more info.**$12pp if pizza not required!

“My Dad and Me” - layout class with Steph Milne
Tuesday, October 13th, 7 to 9pm
$35pp (bookings essential)

Pay tribute to your dad/grandad, with this portrait layout using latest release Paperloft papers, Carolees Creations product and more. Will require one colour 7” x 5” photo (preferably portrait) plus smaller complementary pics to fit in a ‘film’ strip.

“Xmas is Coming” - start getting prepared for Christmas and make a fun trio of cards with Steph Milne Tuesday, October 20th, 7 to 9pm
$25pp (bookings essential)

Use a combination of Imaginisce and Spellbinders to start making those Christmas cards that you need to get out early overseas! 

“Altered Album Workshop”
Two consecutive Saturdays, October 31st and November 7th, 11am to 1.30pm on both days
$55pp (bookings essential - 8 places only!) plus $30 (or $35) deposit for album and ScrapFx lettering***

Your 12” x 12” Carven fabric album (RRP $28.90) will be painted, stamped, embellished etc. to showcase a classic oval portrait photo (colour or B&W) sized 7” x 5”. Albums must be ordered and paid for two weeks in advance of the class (call Amy re available colours), along with your choice of a laser cut chipboard numeral or monogram (ranging RRP$3.90 to $4.50).

Each participant will receive a paint colour of their choice, one packet of laser cut wood or chipboard corners/motifs, four double-sided KaiserCraft papers, 2m of braid and 1m of ribbon (all from shop stock) plus misc. KaiserCraft bling/pearls to suit your design.***For the additional $5 we can pre-order for you a large chipboard motif or wordlet from Scrap Fx, to further embellish your album.

Digi/Hybrid Tips and September Challenge

Adding Digital and Hybrid to your work

Well the Elite Team Call is well and truly on, so I hope you're all busy with your entries to win a place on the team! It's an awesome opportunity and I'd encourage you all to give it a go. Part of this years' criteria includes using a digital technique, and this probably sounds more daunting than it is so I thought I'd give you some ideas on what digital and hybrid can be - and they're things you're probably already doing!

Many scrappers are already doing their journalling on their computers, or are adjusting their photographs before printing and scrapping them traditionally - these are both digital/hybrid techniques that are easy and effective to do. Other ideas include printing your own transparencies from images downloaded from the internet or a technique I like to use to make my rub-ons go further is to scan them in (which also allows me to adjust the colour and size - more digital techniques!) and print them off on transparencies or paper, which I can then cut out and layer with foam tape for height or sew onto my page for an interesting detail. How about adding filters and styles in your photo editing program? sometimes just playing with your settings can give amazing effects for your photos and can make your layouts really stand out.

It doesn't have to be scary and I hope this gives you some direction about techniques you can use in your Elite Team entry. It's easy and inexpensive and once you start experimenting, you'll be adding hybrid and digital items to everything you do - the possibilities are endless.

September Challenge

Now for the September Challenge from our Elite Team member Vicki Morris. Her challenge this month was to add stitching/fabric to a layout and here's the gorgeous example she's created - I love all the details and using fabric for the background is just inspired!

 

And here's the sketch:

This month's prize is this amazing new "GreenCraft" magazine from the publishers of Somerset Studio. This is more like a book than a magazine, is chock full of amazing ideas and is valued at $44.95.

 

So now your challenge... should you choose to accept it (and you should!)... is to create a layout based on the sketch that incorporates both fabric and stitching. Easy huh? Just send your layout to me (Louise) at info@eidou.com, by midnight 30th September along with your name and contact details and you're in to win this truly inspiring prize! Good Luck!

September Classes

Pizza  Crop night is Friday September 4th - a great time to finish any class  UFOs before Paper Parfait! Usual pizza crop fee applys.  

Also available on  Pizza Crop night to purchase and make up with Steph's assistance - a  $15 Fathers' Day kit, so you can make a stunning card for Dad  using one of the new paper releases from Paper Loft along with Carolees  Creations product. Bookings essential.

Saturday September  12th, 10.30 to 1.30pm - "Purrrfect Pets" layout to  celebrate the cat/dog in your family using the gorgeous new glitter papers  from Die-Cuts-With-A-View. Suit one 7 x 5" colour pic"plus accompanying  smaller ones.  $35pp, bookings essential.

Tuesday September  14th, 7 to 9pm - "Spring into Summer" - the second of our  "Four Seasons in One Day" layouts featuring the recently released "Lemonade"  collection from Basic Grey. Will suit a variety of summer  themed, colour photos (one 6"x 4" plus more small accompanying  images).  $35pp, bookings essential.  NB: This will be  the last class offered at Secret Squirrel Papercrafting Shop before Paper  Parfait!

Win a place on our 2010 Elite Team!

Where has the year gone? As we say farewell to our 2009 Elite Team (along with a huge thank you for all their hard work and innovation), we also extend an invitation to Australasian-based papercrafters to send us a portfolio of prescribed work, to win a place on the 2010 Elite Team for Up2Scrap!

What are we looking for?
We are looking for a total of four papercrafters who demonstrate through their work, originality, professionalism, attention to detail, innovative technique, an eye for good photography and an imaginative use of texture. Also very important is the ability to follow written design briefs, communicate instructions well, stick to the provided contract and show a keen awareness of emerging trends in the craft, including digital/hybrid.

How to enter:
You will need to submit a portfolio by September 16th, 2009, which contains three pieces of work and a two paragraph blurb about yourself (both personal and craft related) including reasons why you would like to be part of our team, plus contact details.

Prescribed portfolio items include:

•    A single 12” x 12” layout that demonstrates your love for New Zealand and includes a digital related technique. NB: You will need to provide instructions/screen shots for same.
•    A collection of cards (invite, RSVP) plus goodie bag and party favour of your choice, for either a contemporary wedding, a 21st party, or a Christmas celebration.
•    An altered/off-the page item that uses innovative stamping techniques along with inclusion of fabric/recycled materials.
  

Submissions can be made in two formats:

•    Email digital images (low resolution i.e. no larger than 150k per photo) to steph@fusiongroup.co.nz
•    Send colour photocopies to Up2Scrap, PO Box 12188, Palmerston North 4444, New Zealand.
  

Do not send original items! If your entry makes the shortlist, we will contact you and request that you provide the original portfolio pieces then. See www.up2scrap.co.nz for more info.

Take your scrapping hybrid

Going hybrid doesn't have to be difficult, and design team member Delys Cram has shown just how beautiful and effective using digital elements and scrapping them traditionally can be. She's printed out multiple copies of digital elements, cut them out and layered them with a paper tole technique for a beautiful, dimensional look that is both easy to achieve and very cost-effective.

 

Your challenge this month is to create a hybrid layout based on the sketch below. You can either create a digital layout and then add some traditional elements, or do what Delys did and simply print and scrap digital elements. There are many freebies available on the web, Delys used elements from the kit called Love Letters, by Digital Fingers and available from www.eidou.com.

 

Send us your layout (email it to me, Louise at info@eidou.com) by midnight, August 31st and you could win 7 CD's containing the latest SENZ released kits by Digital Fingers as well as 4 compilation digital CD's, all from Eidou. Check out the website on www.eidou.com.

July's challenge winner

Running a bit late this month but we have a winner for last month's Inky Fingers challenge. Firstly here were the entries we received:

  by Sonya Pickles

  by Heidi Barclay

  by Tracy

All amazing, gorgeous entries but we can only have one winner, and the amazing prize pack from SANZI this month goes to:

Heidi Barclay! Congratulations - we loved the way you used Magic Mesh as your mask and inked over it with Distress Ink, and then sprayed with Purple Glimmermist. Also how you used a dark pink colour to colour in the one butterfly which you'd printed off onto transparency, and for the swirls: using Pinecone Ink directly onto Transparency and then embossing it. So much detail and love your use of inks.

I'll be in touch with you shortly to send you your prize!

We'll have another challenge up for you soon so check back regularly and be in to win a fabulous Digi/Hybrid prize!