Flutterby Butterfly!

I just adore butterflies, and when I saw these chipboard ones in my kit I was over the moon! I eventually decided on a mobile type window hangar, and they do look lovely in the sunlight but unfortunately for the photo I had to blue-tack them to the wall and they don't look half as good!! :( So apologies for that!
They came from the Bare Element Dimension - Wings pack, you get three sheets all in different sizes and shapes(I haven't even used a full sheet yet!) and best of all over in the webshop they are 30% off!!!

I decorated them with papers by English Paper Company, which are only 13p a sheet. On the big butterfly I covered in paper and inked all the edges, then I used one of the smaller butterflies as a template and cut loads out of paper scraps which I stuck on, some flat down and others with their wings loose.

For the next butterfly, I popped out the chipboard in the wings, and covered the frame in paper and glamour dust, I covered the inside pieces seperately and inked them and put them back into place.

The third butterfly I covered in paper and added wing designs from scraps, and the fourth I covered and glittered again. The large butterfly is approx. 7 1/2 inches high, right down to 1 1/2 inches on the little one!

I strung them all together with some ribbon from the pound stop and hung in my window!

no so *happy* scrappy...

Hi guys, its me, Alix, again!

I've been having a bit of a scrapping epiphany lately...as I look back through my albums...it seems that I only really scrap the *happy* things that happen in my life...and although I strongly believe focussing on the positive is a great thing...I do also believe that we should acknowledge the rest of life's events too; its the quickest route to acceptance I find! :)

So here I am, scrapping something that has been troubling me lately {if you're not into this...just don't read the journalling!}

To create this 6x12 LO I've used the Coffee House papers which have a lovely watery/dreamy feel to them that seemed just right for sharing some of my more intimate feelings. I've mixed them with some papers from the 12x12 lucky dip which is sold out now!! To embellish the LO, I've doodled around the entire edge of the page with a white pen and added 2 HOTP Really Big Brads which I've also doodled on.

So what do you guys think? Do you scrap only the jolly things that happen along the way? Or do you sometimes do cathartic scrapping like this?

OK, that's enough from me for today...*waves...* xxx

ps...my next LO to share is a super happy one btw :) one of my favourites in a while, actually!

Coffee House papers

I've been playing with the gorgeous Marah Johnson Coffee House papers from Creative Imaginations.

For this layout, I used the Harlequin Scroll and Coffee Carnivale papers, cut into various sizes and layered under the photo.

I dry brushed a little brown acrylic paint around the edge of the cardstock, to go with the "mucky" theme of the layout!

I then added a die cut title and some elements, and finished off with 3 of the great little button brads from HOTP.

We still have some bargains to be had in the 75% off sale - but hurry, it's selling out fast!!

My Word Album

Seems like ages since I posted on here, but in the meantime I have time to prepare this little beauty! It's a BoBunny word album and I love it! I decided to use photos of my beloved pussy cat, my very special "friend" while I was growing up, and I managed loads of journalling on the later pages.
I used loads of Fancy Pants paper from the Crush collection and the nearly a whole sheet of the titles & tags sheet too!

The papers I used on this page were In Love, Head over Heels and Whimsical, along with some of the tags and ribbon.



The second page I am going to show used the In Love paper again and
Devoted. Once again I decorated it with the tags.
I tied all the pages together with some ribbon from the pound stop grab bag unfortunately the satin ribbon is now sold out but there is still baby ribbon and organza grab bags available, and finally I added a little pastel, flowery charm.

Fun with Brad Buddies!

The thing I love about HOTP Brad Buddies is that you can create a really quick and simple card that looks great in seconds! And the fact that they are so cheap in the webshop at the moment helps too!

For this first card I used the Fancy Pants Holly Jolly papers (again - I just love these!) and the dragonfly brad buddie from the Winged Things pack and the blue flower brad buddie from the Swirly pack. The scalloped oval was cut with this Marvy punch.

For the second card I used some gorgeous pansy and happy birthday vellum from the vellum lucky dip pack, as well as a strip of paper from the 12 x 12 lucky dip pack. The butterfly brad buddie is from the Winged things pack.

For the last card, I again used papers from the 12 x 12 lucky dip, and some congratulations vellum from the vellum lucky dip pack. Both the brad buddies come from the Graduation pack.

and the February Winner is....

Elaine Charters!!!
Well done Elaine, we all loved your handmade dream catcher and overall card design. Remember to e-mail your postal address to the Guv so she can send out your prize! :) I hope to see you entering again next month...and come on all you shy types out there...give it a go...you might just win too!!

OK, so what else do I have to share? Well, here is a 12x12 LO of my OH and me at our engagement dinner {looking a bit hot and flustered but there you go...lol}.

The base card, the two matts and the chipboard embellishments are from the Promenade collection {one of my current faves :) } The flying embellishment is made from my left-overs from the Crush collection {papers and die-cuts} and they are tied together by inking all the edges with red chalk ink {currently 20% off...see here}. The title is stamped using an old alphabet {sorry don't even remember who its by!} but could just as easily be die-cut or made from stickers, etc. Finally, I have a useful notebook to show you. I am cognitively challenged and find life much easier if I constantly write down the things I need to do/remember...so I thought I'd make myself a cute little notebook! I've used one of the huge butterfly chipboard shapes and cut it in half to make book covers. These chipboard shapes are 30% off atm...so get them while you can!!

As you can see, I've covered the covers {so to speak} and made the pages from the Vanessa Arbuthnott papers...which are a staggering 13p each {75% off!!!}. These papers are super pretty, pale enough to write on, and at that price...cheap enough to use for a super pretty shopping list!! The book is tied together with ribbons from the Lucky Dip selections and although the satin has sold out...the organza is still available here. The embellishments on the from cover are some I made a while ago from the Friendly Felt selection...and if you still haven't tried this stuff...please do!! It is a dream to work with...looks fantastic...and is available here with 50% off !

So that is me for today...off for a lie down and a browse through a wedding magazine...its getting pretty close now!! Have a good day yourselves...and see you again soon.

xx

Cheap as chips!

Seriously, this LO has been put together for literally pence!

I used 3 different papers from the 12 x 12 Lucky dip (12 sheets for just £1) along with some lucky dip satin ribbons (15m for £1) some buttons (just £1 a bag) a cute little charm (just 90p a pack) and some great fabric stickers (just 45p a sheet). In fact the most expensive thing I used was this fab punch to make the tag - and that's only £5 and better still you've got it for life!

And I've still got loads left to make more stuff!

You can find all the fab bargains HERE.

P.S. Make sure you check out the Arty Girlz challenge this week - Crop til you Drop are sponsoring it and you could win a HOTP Cardmakers kit! (or if you just want to buy one for the bargain price of £6.99 you can find them HERE).

Challenge #32

Time for another challenge!! So this week your challenge is to use chipboard, in my examples I have papered it, inked it and painted it! Just go for it and enjoy using it!

My first example is a LO using Samantha Walker Day By Day papers, I used the Black Leaf and the Quadrant, plus one of the stickers from the Tags & Accents Sheet. The chipboard butterflies came from the Bare Element Dimension - Wings set, these are fab, you get three sheets of die cut shapes, in this case butterflies and they are so lovely!! I used two of the smaller butterflies and inked them all over and cut some scraps of the Quadrant paper to fit.

My second example is a card, the papers and ribbon came from one the HOTP card makers kits, these are excellent value at the moment as they are 60% off in the webshop!! The chipboard heart I coloured with a black pen and glued on, I filled the inside of the heart with glue and a heavy sprinkling of glamour dust.

So go and get your chipboard and have a play, don't forget to email your challenge in , so we can put in our gallery and all see your wonderful creations! And don't forget to leave a comment on this post so everyone knows to go see your entry!
My third example is another card, once again the papers and ribbon are from one of the HOTP card makers kits. The chipboard is actually from We R Memory Keepers Promenade collection, I have used most of the papers but I still had some chipboard tags left, so I painted the centre of the flower with acrylic paint (only 50p in the shop and selling out fast!!!) to match my card and stuck the Happy Birthday on top!


Don't forget there are prizes for the best challenge each month so email your challenge in , so we can put in our gallery and all see your wonderful creations! And don't forget to leave a comment on this post so everyone knows to go see your entry!

How cool is this paper?!

I am totally in love with this Drop Dead Red paper from Creative Imaginations - it's so cool! (and only 25p a sheet!)

For this LO I used the paper as my base, and added 2 matts behind the photo in red and black card and doodled on them with a white gel pen. I scalloped the edges of a strip of red card, doodled again and added to the right hand side and put some gorgeous Black Celtic felt fusion on top. Finally I added some ribbons from the HOTP Classic collection and some Drop dead red brads and chipboard (sadly now sold out).

Don't forget to check out the amazing deals in the webshop - but you need to be quick - it's selling out as quickly as Guv can get it on there!

It's my turn to blog today, so here's a couple of layouts that I have taught in our classes locally. The first uses Fancy Pants Holly Jolly papers and the second is Fancy Pants Sweet Pea. Check out the sweet li'l chalked flowers on the second layout - they started life as these. If you don't live nearby & moving house is out of the question, watch out for deets of my new online classes coming to the webshop - and this blog - within the week.
Anyway - let's talk bargains. Today, I have added more A Muse wood mounted rubber stamps to the sale - at 75% off. There are now around 90 designs to choose from (with more coming v. soon!) I also added a special offer on the Fancy Pants Fashion Sense Felt - 25% off while stocks last - but you'll have to be quick - there's only a couple left!
If that's not enough to tempt you, we still have a few 8x8 albums at under £4, Brad Buddies at £1 and 500+ products all at big discounts. These offers are strictly while stocks last & I don't suppose it's much of a surprise that they are selling out almost as fast as I can get them online! LOL.
There are 10 days left to write a review and enter the draw to win £30 of absolutely free stash - so what are you waiting for??? Get all the deets now!

I also have a li'l bit of v. big & exciting news myself - check it out here!

Have You Made a Tear Bear Yet??

I just love them, they are so cute and so easy to make!! This is my first ever Tear Bear, I used paper from one of the Handmade Lucky Dip Paper selections in the Pound Stop. Basically you use a wet paintbrush to draw your bear shapes on the paper and tear them out while they are wet, then use a firm bristle brush (an old toothbrush works well) and fluff them up round the edges, be careful not to fluff them to much though or you will wear the paper out and he will end up with a bald patch!!!

And here he is again, with a friend!! For this LO I used We R Memory Keepers Promenade Papers, these particular ones were Dance, Imagine and Petticoat. I inked all the edges in blue and used a Tag Shape punch for the title, which I then traced my letters onto. I added a self-adhesive chipboard tag to the journalling block along with some ribbon from the pound stop and sat my little tear bears in the corner!

Challenge #31

My turn to challenge you all this week!

In honour of Mothering Sunday tomorrow, the challenge is to create something for/about the special women in our lives (not necessarily mums!). It could be a Mother's Day card, a minibook or LO about a special woman or even a little handcrafted gift for that special lady!

For this LO of me aged 18 months and my wonderful mum, I've used the Fancy Pants Holly Jolly papers and die cuts (they're not just for Christmas! LOL) and some American Crafts ribbons (which are on an amazing deal in the webshop!). The journalling spot was cut from this paper, with a Marvy scalloped punch.

Don't forget to email your challenge entries to sales@croptilyoudrop.co.uk so that we can put them in our gallery (also leave a comment on this post so we know you've done the challenge). At the end of the month, the DT will pick their favourite and the winner gets a fabby little stash prize!