WE HAVE A NEW LOVELY LITTLE FACEBOOK STORE, AND SOME MORE LOVELY PROJECTS TO SHARE TONIGHT!

We have just gone live with our new little Facebook store - and it is just sooo cute, so please have a look at it here:  http://apps.facebook.com/crafty-individuals and do let us know if you like it.  It features 30 of our most popular stamp designs, and they can actually be purchased on there using the normal payment methods.  Maybe you could be our very first customer - which gives me an idea too!  Our first three customers will also receive a few extra gifts as well to get the ball rolling, so do join in the fun if you can.

Now on to showing you some more mouth watering visual images.  Helen Chilton has made a couple more gorgeous Spring Challenge (still time to enter!) projects to inspire us all.  The first project 'London in the Spring' uses our two recently released 'Great Britain' sets of stamps CI-343 and CI-334 in a fabulous 'sprayed' colour scheme:

Very patriotic and I love the bunting touch!

Helen has also made a very pretty tag with CI-338 using oil pastels in the background (note to self - must re-find my oil pastels!)

I also have one of Lynne's very lovely delicate projects on my desktop to show you using the very same stamp, which I will download below:

Plus a close-up -

Two very different but equally gorgeous looks with the same stamp.  Both ladies have used elements from CI-342 (those lovely hearts again) to make a background.

I also have a couple of adorable card images to show you sent over by two of our customers.  The first is from Angela at Angela's Ink Spot which would also fit very nicely into the Spring Challenge theme idea:

And the second is from a lady called Monika from Finland who sent this image over to us on 14th February.  In Finland our Valentine's Day is called Friend's Day, and Monika made this lovely card for her friends (that's us!) - what a nice idea, thanks Monika.

Still lots more to come - but nice clean bedding beckons tonight, so I'm off for a nice warm bath, and a nice warm bed now, before its back to work tomorrow.

Nite all, sleep well,

Jean x

WHO HAS WON THOSE LOVELY HEARTS?

Well I can now tell you!  Thanks to all who took the time to leave a comment - so very kind of you.  We have 3 winners who will each get a set of the hearts on elements plate CI-342:

Comment number 3 - kjjc
Comment 22 - Mirka
Comment 34 - Deborah

If you are one of the 3 names mentioned above please email us (contact details are on the website), with your address details, and a set of hearts will be on its way out to you poste haste.  Enjoy!

Still on the heart subject I have some more scrummy projects to show you below.  Isabelle has been busy decorating Valentine's gifts and has sent over the beautiful pictures I can show you here -

A close up peek first:

And then the full thing - how nice to receive some chocs wrapped like this ..

Plus a second pack - mmmm could just eat those right now!

Isabelle also made this lovely gift out of a Tando kit, and our heart stamps:

Lynne Moncrieff also directed me to one of my favourite blogs at Ephemera's Attic, 
where lo and behold I found more hearts -

And whilst I was there I also spotted this beautiful card -

Hope Paula doesn't mind that I shared these with you, but they are too pretty not to be noticed.

Plus a final heart for tonight from Helen Chilton's lovely blog.  I wonder who the lucky recipient of this beauty was?!

Keep checking our Challenge entries at the bottom of our blog post HERE - we have some great ones coming in.  Still time to join in folks!

Bye for now,

Jean x

IS IT NEARLY SPRING YET?!

Well you would think it was looking at all the lovely entries being linked in on our Challenge page which you will find HERE.  Have a look at the thumbnails and then go and check out the participants blogs for a wealth of further crafting inspiration.  However it is still cold and grim here in the North East of the UK - so I'm surrounding myself with tulips and daffodils in vases and pots, because I just love them, and at least it means it looks very spring like inside my home!!

I have some rather lovely items to blog tonight, and whilst on the subject of warmer weather I have a couple of seaside projects to display to get us going.  The first is by DANIELE and is a gloriously colourful 'on the beach card', and I love it!

Daniele has used a couple of sheets from our Seaside Background Book, plus a clever use of stamp CI-302, and an image from Nostalgia Glossy Sheet 2 to assemble this pretty project.

The second seaside themed project is by lovely Di of Tando fame, who demoed a couple of projects recently at The Craft Barn, using our stamps and Tando Mini Stages - which we have for sale in our Must Have Section, along with lots of other good stuff!  Take a look at the Tando Blog for lots more Tando type projects.

Loving this - using our elements stamp CI-272!  Di also demoed the tall stage featured below:

Great colour schemes in these projects, and CI-332 used to great effect in this one.

Incidentally I am running a class at the Craft Barn in June, and also demoing at this their 2012 Extravaganza, which will be great fun as always I'm sure.  And the whole weekend Extravaganza is well worth a trip to leafy Surrey.  You will find info about the weekend on their website HERE - it would be great to meet you there!

I have recently been mooching around a great blog by Lee of CRAFTY LOOPS - you must have a look at her great flower making tutorials, and I also adore the Stick Pins she makes so beautifully. Well Lee also decorated a compartment tray using CI products which I am featuring below:

Lots of details in there Lee!

Finally I want to show you a few items by Lynne of ADORN which are just fabulous.  I am just so taken with the card below - don't you just looove our new king!

With a couple of close-ups -

And another patriotic card in a similar style:

Wow!

Its Valentine's Day tomorrow and if you would like the chance to win a set of CI hearts (pictured below) - then leave a comment please and you might just be picked to be the lucky recipient of one of the three sets we have to giveaway!!

With a set of these you could be creating gorgeous cards like the one below, again by Lynne of Adorn.

Jean x

IT'S NEARLY VALENTINE'S DAY ..........

And as the fabulous Joanne Wardle (of Craft Stamper fame) has recently posted a simply beautiful card using our new 'Elements' rubber stamp CI-342 I thought I would share it with you in time for the big day - 14th February.  Check out Joanne's blog as she has some great ideas!

I have lots of other lovely items to show you waiting in the wings, so I will make a start with a few more today.  I have several projects so beautifully made by Lynne on my computer desktop, two of which I will insert below:

The first is a postcard made with stamp CI-335 -

And the second is some pretty and delicate inspiration for you relating to our current Challenge entitled 'Spring'.  To join in our Challenge add your Spring project link to the bottom of the post which you will find HERE.

Loving that hydrangea head detail!  Thanks Lynne.

Now I have a very lovely lacy piece sent over to us by Maureen to show you - mmmm!

Look at all that decoration, and you know how much I love that lace! Very vintage!  Maureen has used CI-331 in this project.

Lastly tonight I have two projects by Isabelle, both of which could be interpreted as some more 'Spring' inspiration, as they are very pretty and gentle.

Isabelle has used CI-301 in making this card.

She has also made another printer tray look delightful, this time the Mini House Tray from our 'Must Have' section:

Lots of our stamps and images and papers appearing in this house full of goodies, so why not check out our website online store HERE, and see how many goodies you can spot today!

More to post soon!

Jean x

OUR FIRST CHALLENGE OF 2012 STARTS TODAY ...

A little late, but not too late all things considered, to give you the details of our now bi-monthly Challenge - the first one of 2012.  However before I begin I must just mention that the new issue of Craft Stamper is again featuring lots of lovely projects to feast your eyes on, and also has several great articles concentrating on different ways of using CI products by Louise Crosbie - Zuzu's, Helen Chilton, and Riet van Zundert.  There is also a mini project by me too.  You can order a copy of Craft Stamper from us HERE - definitely a 'must-have' item in your crafting life.

Anyway back to the Challenge for February - Malcolm is in charge this time, and Malcolm just loathes Winter!  So he has chosen the theme of 'Spring' which you can interpret in your own way as long as you incorporate one or more Crafty Individuals products in your design please.  We would be sooo happy if you can join us this month to kick off 2012 in true crafting fashion - so no excuses, just get those fingers inky and your craft table messy, and play along with us - there are prizes to be won!

You will be able to submit your designs up until midnight on 28th February using the usual inlinkz tool and I will paste the general guidelines below:

.....

CHALLENGE GUIDELINES

To enter this month's Crafty Individuals Challenge please put together your project, following the subject matter outlined in this post (your project must include at least one Crafty Individuals product please), then:

Post your Challenge Project on your blog, before the end of the month, and include a link back to this blog, then leave a link in the URL box to take us directly to your Challenge Project, etc., which will  appear here on this blog as if by magic, as a thumbnail image - so that we can all see your wonderful work.

At the end of the Challenge the CI Team and/or guests will set about choosing five lucky participants, each of whom will be invited to choose a CI rubber stamp from our large range.

Go for it and enjoy the Challenge x

.....

And now I have some inspiration for you to get you thinking:

My own offering today is a little stage set - the Tall one, from Tando - which you can purchase on our website HERE:

A floral fantasy in which I have used pages from our 'Shades of Summer' mini background book, hand dyed silk ribbons, and lace and images from 3 of our rubber 'Elements' plates - CI-292, CI-206, and CI-329, plus some hand dyed muslin and stick pins.

Had great fun with that!

Next I have 2 very pretty cards sent over by Kim Woods where she has incorporated elements of CI-334 in the first card, and the whole of CI-320 in the second one:

Nice colours Kim!

A springtime butterfly lady is our next offering from Lucy Edmondson, so very joyful Lucy!

Lucy has used our Springtime Background Book plus stamps CI-235, CI-258 and CI-108 in her 'flight of fancy' project.

Helen Chilton has decorated a slide mailer to make a very pretty springtime gift for a lucky lady:

Helen has incorporated pages from our mini books plus stamping from CI-226 and CI-207 here.

Now I have a delightful creation from Sue at Paper Paradise -

Always loving Sue's work - and all I'm going to say here is that she has used lots of our stamps (I've run out of linking puff!) in a totally 'Spring' hanging.

And my final images tonight are from Carol (Ginger), who has come up with an amazing creation using the word 'Spring' in an interpretation of her very own - Wow!

A very unique use of CI-333 - very Steampunky and springy!!!

Now its over to you - looking forward to seeing your 'Spring' ideas.

Back again soon,
Jean x