OFF TO WHITBY - BUT BEFORE WE GO ....

Malcolm and I are off to Whitby on Saturday for a week.  During this time we are running two days of workshops, as those who are signed up to the website mailing list will already know.  I haven't mentioned the workshops here on our blog as they became fully booked very quickly - which is great for us of course.  I have made two quite substantial projects for the days that I'm pretty pleased with and hopefully the ladies attending will enjoy.  I will be able to blog one of them at least on our return, and just snippets of the other one, as this particular project will then be going off to Traplet for magazine publication, therefore I won't be able to show you the whole thing.

Because of our Whitby visit I won't be blogging until our return, and as Mother's Day here in the UK is nearly upon us, I thought I had better show you a few more projects that I have (in addition to Sue's lovely book in the last post), with a Mother's Day theme in mind, before we go.

The first two are cards by myself - the first was made when I finally had a chance to play with our new hearts element plate CI-342 for the first time - its a great set of stamps for layering up as well as creating backgrounds.

I used a Tim Holtz Sizzix Cabinet Card die to made the corrugated card itself and added a frame charm and some torn calico ribbon that I had spray dyed and stamped plus a sentiment from CI-256, which is a very useful stamp!  I also popped a beaded heart stick pin through the little central heart.

Hearts are such pleasing shapes to work with.

Next I have been having quick and easy fun with nested dies.  This is a very simple card made with some X-Cut nested dies which I must say are excellent value for money and widely available (my set was £7.99 from The Range). I cut two of the larger squares, scored one of them near the top and bent it back, and then glued the top edges together.  This then makes a lovely standing card.

I used an image from our Nature's Beauty mini book for the main frame.

Now I have another gorgeous hanging from Lynne of Adorn made especially for Mother's Day -

Lynne has used the hearts stamp again in the background stamped onto fabric -

With a 'People and Places' mini book image in the centre frame.

And I'll just add a little postcard again by Lynne, which would also be rather apt for the same occasion.

And as hearts and corrugated card seems to be the flavour of tonight's post - here is a delightful card by Isabelle incorporating CI-338 beautifully....

Hope you have enjoyed checking out that little lot?!  Thanks for all the continuing kind comments which I love reading.  Have a great Mother's Day - has anyone told my own boys by the way???!!

Back in a little while.

Jean x

QUICK POST - LATE AT NIGHT - AGAIN!

Where does the time go?!   Well I have no idea, but I certainly don't have enough of it in my life to get everything that I want to do done in a week!  It is late at night again, but I want to do at least a little blog post as I have lots of superb projects building up again on my computer desktop - which like the rest of my house is very untidy I'm afraid.

Firstly here is one that should have been posted during the last 'Spring' Challenge - but due to email problems didn't ever reach my own computer!  It is a beautiful project by Helen, using CI-337 with a very pretty background created with Cosmic Shimmer inks, all mounted on to an old stamp woodblock, with 'springs'.

Then quickly on to one of Isabelle's lovely creations, using CI-340, with a cookery theme!

I've got that Tim Holtz Sizzix cabinet card die, and I love it!

Now another project by Lynne - with a 'man' theme this time - just adore her crafty creations!

Lynne has used an image from our People & Places 2 mini image book plus paisley details from CI-342 and a couple of other 'Individuals' stamps in the background.

Plus here is a card that matches very nicely too ....

So you see making very attractive cards for men can be done!

To end tonight Sue has been very busy in between being a 'hands on' grandmother to two tiny ones, and has made this gorgeous 'Mother's Day' book, using several of our stamps which you will find details about on her blog Here.

What a great gift for your mother!!

Thanks to all the ladies for their delicious contributions.  Hope you have enjoyed looking at them?!

Jean x

FEBRUARY CHALLENGE WINNERS, AND AN APRIL ISSUE OF CRAFT STAMPER ..

Malcolm was in charge of the February Challenge, and he picked 'Spring' as a theme.  We had 36 fabulous entries which you can check out at the bottom of the post HERE, and they were all sooo good he couldn't make a decision.  He whittled the choices down to around 11, and then we had to kind of choose the five by rolling the dice.  His comment was 'its hard this judging lark!'.

So here are the final five - well done, and thanks to everyone who joined in to make the Challenge a success.

Izzwizz - loving those dangly charms!

May - Great colours - check out how she went about making this tag on her blog -

KJJC - Great idea, and very pretty -

Giogio - Another very original idea - loving those textiles -

And Kath - a great combination of grunge and loveliness -

As usual ladies if you would send us an email to info@craftyindividuals.co.uk with your choice of stamp, plus your address, we will be delighted to send it out immediately.  Thanks again.

The next Challenge will be starting at the beginning of April and I hope you will be joining us then.

Just to finish tonight I would like to say in an 'over the moon' sort of way that one of my own projects has made the front cover of the April issue of Craft Stamper - and I am totally delighted, of course.  It is a decorated mini Tando Printer Tray which you will find on the CI Website in the 'MUST HAVES'  section, and it features several of our stamps and papers.  There are also lots of other great projects inside, and you will find the magazine for sale on our Website HERE.  The mag is definitely a must have for anyone interested in stamping!!

Bye for now.

Jean x

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