Have been a VERY busy bee today with so many deliveries arriving, including the first of the Summer CHA releases and loads of Tim Holtz Idea-ology…

• If you love Tim Holtz (and really, who doesn’t?! Have you seen my photo on Facebook?) we have loads of Idea-ology new in here…

• It’s no secret that I adore Cosmo Cricket and these new lines are no exception! Mitten Weather, Togetherness and Pixie-Licous – how cute are these Chipboards?! (don’t forget to take a look at the 12″x6″ version too)

• How about all the new Cosmo alphabets here…?

Have fun looking!

Happy crafting

Jane

As I mentioned, it was my DS’s birthday last week. He was 6 and he loves jokes! So when I’d spent some time scratching my head about what to do for a card, I thought I’d go with a joke (if not a very good one!) and came up with this:

Supplies used: Kraft card stock, Basic Grey Archaic collection pack, Basic Grey Archaic Chip Stickers (my last one – boo hoo!), Colorbox Chalk Inks – creamy brown, chestnut roan and olive, Memento Tuxedo Black and some little individual letter stamps – mine are wood mounted on pegs and nameless but you might want to try these, not such a nightmare for lining up!

While I was looking for a dinosaur joke, I came across this strawberry one which made me smile, so made one for this too (the punch line is ’strawberry jam’ btw!)

Supplies used: Cosmo Cricket Jack’s World paper crafting kit, Kars Fruity stamp, Copics for colouring,  Memento and letter stamps as before.

BTW this is my favourite joke of all time – it’s bad but I love it, kills me everytime! Doesn’t make a good card though

Three pieces of string are out for a walk one day. The sun is shining and as they pass the pub they stop for a drink. The first piece of string takes the orders and goes inside…
He walks up to the bar and asks the landlord for 3 pints of beer
The landlord looks at the string and says, “We don’t serve your kind in here.”
The string walks outside and tells the others what has happened.
The second piece of string says, “Don’t worry I’ll sort this out” and heads into the pub.
He walks up to the bar and says, “Look, please may I have 3 pints of beer now!”
The landlord looks at the second string and says, “I told your friend, we DON’T serve your kind in here.”
So the string walks outside and tells the others what has happened.
The third piece of string ties himself into a knot, frays up the ends of himself and walks back into the bar.
He walks up to the bar and says, “I’d like 3 pints of beer please.”
The bartender says, “Look! I told you before we don’t serve your type. You’re one of those strings who was in here earlier aren’t you?”
The string says, “Nope! I’m a frayed knot.”

Happy crafting

Jane

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We’ve had a great extended family day for DS’s birthday today and the sun shined on us – hurrah!!!

Let’s talk gift boxes – do you make gift boxes? I love to make gift boxes and bags – I think it really adds a special something to a gift but would have to admit that it’s something that I don’t get to do as much as I would like…  when I start my Christmas cards this week, I’m going to have do either a box/bag too… start as I mean to go on!

These beautiful boxes made by Amanda our guest designer are a fabulous inspiration – who wouldn’t be delighted to receive one of these?

“These triangle boxes are a perfect size for that special little Christmas treat, designer paper was cut to 8”x4½” and is held together with ribbon that has been threaded through punched holes. Handmade Christmas crackers are a fun way to decorate your table putting in a personal gift for each of your guests. Both these projects have been made using tutorials found on the internet.”

Supplies List:

Dovecraft 8×8 Let It Snow Glitter Paper,  Dovecraft Adhesive Gemstones, Hero Arts Create Your Own Snowman Stamp set,  Craftie Charlie Festive Ribbon, Kraft Cardstock, Rustic Jute Button Twine, Large Corner Rounder, SU! Close to Cocoa Ink, EK 1 ¼” and 1 3/8” circle punches, Scallop Circle punch.

Happy Crafting

Jane

I don’t know what the weather is like where you are but it’s been terrible here today in Sheffield – closer to snow than August sunshine!

It’s definitely the weather to put you in the mood for starting your Christmas cards – it’s my DS birthday this weekend and once the celebrations are complete, I’m going to get started on mine

Today we have two lovely snowman cards from our guest designer Amanda – they are quite different in style but both just gorgeous!

First up is this paper pieced little guy – SO cute:

“Snowman has been paper pieced and cut out, twigs were stamped onto the card before snowman was added. Two pieces of cardstock were embossed and edged to add dimension topped off with matching ribbon and sparkly gems”

Or how about this – so simple, so perfect! Doesn’t that beautiful paper just deserve to be shown off?

“This is a very simple card made from one of the fabulous designer papers from Dovecraft’s Let it Snow Pad. After cutting paper to size I added chipboard letters and matching ribbon. Hey presto a 10 minute card!”

Supplies List:

Dovecraft 8×8 Let It Snow Glitter Paper,  Dovecraft Adhesive Gemstones, Hero Arts Create Your Own Snowman Stamp set,  Craftie Charlie Festive Ribbon, American Crafts Thickers Dear Lizzy Bliss White,  SU! Close to Cocoa & Not Quite Navy cardstock, Memento Tuxedo Black Dye Ink, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder.

Hope you enjoyed today’s projects, back on Sunday with the gorgeous boxes previewed on the newsletter

Happy crafting

Jane

Are you getting started on your Christmas projects and are looking for a some inspiration?  Well, you’ve come to the right place because we have SO many beautiful projects to share with you from our second guest designer here at Craftie-Charlie, Amanda Gill.

Some of you will already been familiar with Amanda’s gorgeous creations over at her blog http://littlespaceofmyown.blogspot.com/ and those of you who aren’t are definitely in for a treat! Here’s a little bit about Amanda:

“I have always loved craft…….. as a youngster I tried everything from knitting, crochet, macramé to making my own clothes. Later in life I had a go at cross stitch and then moved on to card making.

By day, I am a Teaching Assistant at our local Primary School which I find extremely rewarding and I even manage to take my hobby with me as I run a craft club during some of the lunch breaks, which is always over subscribed! It’s lovely to see the children getting great pleasure out of something they have made themselves.

My projects tend to be very simple and I use rather a lot of Kraft cardstock, which I adore. I particularly enjoy making packaging for gifts with matching cards and tags. I usually start with an embellishment or a paper that has caught my eye and work from there……..nothing very technical !

I have been a Design Team member for Papertake Weekly Challenge Blog since it first began in 2007. The world of blogging is a fantastic way to be in contact with so many lovely craftaholics!”

Today’s project is just SO cute – I have to confess that I do actually own this snowman set and have never used it (blush!) but if you are a member of my family, look away now, as I think you might be receiving a card very similar to Amanda’s come December

“Dots make a fab background, giving dimension to a project. White pigment ink added to borders allows a design to stand out, worked especially well here with the snowmen, which were stamped and cut out first. Glossy accents gives a really fun shine to the snowmen faces on the card.”

There is one small snag with my plan – I realised when reading Amanda’s descriptions that we don’t stock a white pigment pad, arghh!  But don’t worry, I’ve ordered some, they’ll be here in the next week or so – phew!

See you on Friday for the second instalment

Supplies List:
Dovecraft 8×8 Let It Snow Glitter Paper,  Dovecraft Adhesive Gemstones, Hero Arts Create Your Own Snowman Stamp set,  Craftie Charlie Festive Ribbon, Kraft Cardstock, Rustic Jute Button Twine, Large Corner Rounder, Polka Dot Background Stamp, Jumbo Eyelets, White Pigment Ink, SU! Close to Cocoa Ink, EK 1 ¼” and 1 3/8” circle punches, Glossy Accents, Cropadile.

Happy crafting

Jane

Just wanted to make sure you’d all seen Charlotte’s giveaway on Facebook…

When we reach 100 facebook fans, 1 random fan will receive the K&Co Scrap kit of their choice! Tell your craftie friends!!

Pop along a sign up for your chance to win! Just don’t ask me how, as I am a complete Facebook virgin

ETA: Here’s a link to Craftie-Charlie on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm#!/pages/Craftie-Charlie/315516992121  – thanks to DH for the assistance

Happy crafting

Jane

We made it! Charlotte and I survived the first Craftie-Charlie demo afternoon The ladies at our local craft group had very kindly asked us along to spend the afternoon with them and even provided choccie bickies – yum!  As with all craft groups there is a big range of different interests and levels of experience so we decided on two activities so we had something for everyone. I had taken my camera along so I could get some pics of everyone creating but forgot all about using it

Our first activity was 5 cards using a limited range of materials (the ladies make a lot of card for fundraisers so don’t want each one to cost a huge amount) but with lots of different ideas and techniques  to give some inspiration for those new to card making.

Here’s the five cards designs that we made on the day (with a couple of minor changes, I did change one of the papers and added and black mat to the one with the bow).  I think that the one with scallops made from 1″ circles is my favourite – really soft and calm

All made using:

Dovecraft C6 card blanks, Dovecraft Eastern Promise 8×8 paper, Martha Stewart 3 in 1 butterfly punch, Bazzill Avalanche, Vintage Pink and Blackbird, Kars 1″ Circle Punch, Personal Impressions Double Sayings stamp set, Memento Ink Tuxedo Black, Dovecraft 1mm foam tape, 6mm Black Organza ribbon, Dovecraft Christmas gems and Dovecraft dotty adhesive roller.

Here’s the rest of the samples that we took along – all made with pretty much the same list of supplies!

Happy crafting

Jane

Sorry – no new projects to share again this week, it’s just been so crazy!  We”ll definitely have something next week as we are doing our first demo next Thursday – eek!!

So instead we thought we’d have a special offer for you   So many of you mentioned how much you love Martha Stewart punches when we asked about what you have on your Wish List so for this week only* we have 10% off all Martha Stewart Punches on the web site (you’ll see the special prices shown in red)

Happy Browsing!

Jane

* from now until Sunday 11th 23:59:59 or until we’ve run out!

Vicki Cowley!

As usual we did the draw the old fashioned way with a hat and lots of little pieces of paper, drawn this time by my DH

Thanks to everyone who entered – we’ve loved seeing all your suggestions and you’ll be seeing as many of them as possible on craftie-charlie in the near future. Congratulations to Vicki! Get in touch and we’ll get your goodies off to you.

Happy crafting

Jane

It’s finally arrived – it’s blog candy time!!  I had lots of fun rifling about in the stock room picking out some of my favourite things – I hope you like them as much as I do   These are definitely my picks, so maybe next time, I’ll get Charlotte to pick her favourites!

Anyway, here is today’s candy (RRP over £40!):

We have

DCWV Linen Closet Matstack

Craftie-Charlie ribbon selection in soft neutrals

Personal Impressions ‘Big Sentiments’ clear stamps by Paula Pascual

EK Success Double Embossed Dotted Lace edge punch

American Crafts Ultimate gel pens in white

5 sheets A4 Kraft cardstock

Ranger Stickles in Crystal

Memento Ink Pad in Rich Cocoa

phew!

All you need to do have a chance to win this fab selection is:

1.  Leave a comment under this post (you need to be logged in) and tell us what’s on your crafting wish list. We’re always on the look out for new things to stock so let us know what you love that we DON’T stock!!! Top of my list at the moment is anything by October Afternoon

2.  Post a link to this post on your own blog (if you have one – if not you can still enter of course!) and mention a bit about our candy

The draw to find the lucky winner will take place at 17:00 BST on the 30th June. We’ll announce the winner on the blog and they can then contact us with their mailing details for their prize! Easy peasy!

We’ll keep this post at the top until the draw takes place

Good Luck!

Charlotte & Jane