More from the May Kit...

I'm back with another layout to share from the May kit. This layout features a photo of my Dad and my Uncle enjoying a trip to the beach when they were young boys. I think you can tell from their grins they must have been having a great time digging in the sand!

I only used a little bit of the patterned paper on this layout and added some of the Teresa Collins die-cuts that came in the kit. I coloured some white foam letter stickers with ink to change their colour for my title, a technique I saw in a recent edition of Scrap365.

Lily Bee also has some other lovely new ranges out at the moment which you can check out in the shop.

May Kit

It's kit time again (where does the time go?) and this month the kit contains papers from Lily Bee in pretty spring-like colours - blues, yellows and soft greys as well as some coordinating stickers and die-cuts from Teresa Collins. This is my first layout with the kit, the photo is my niece dressed up as an explorer (sadly I can't take credit for the lovely photo it was taken by a talented friend of my sister).

I had fun working out how to construct the folded chevrons/zig-zags for my page, I was pleased at how they turned out and they add dimension without being too bulky. I also used some zig-zags cut from card as a mask before spraying over some glimmer mists.

It's Just Scraps

It's been a while since I've done a "scraps" for you. But with a kit as lovely as this, how could I resist? I wanted to use up every last little bit and this is what I made:

My inspiration for this page was actually a sheet of  Bazzill patterned paper. It has a line of labels and tickets done the right hand side and I thought it would be an easy trick to try so I used my Slice and a couple of punches to reproduce the effect. The strip on the left hand side is, of course, simply from the bottom of one of the sheets in the kit and the title is cut from the green cardstock in the kit. Give it a try!

Dear Lizzy..

..we think we love you. April's kit is here and it's a beauty! Dear Lizzy's Neapolitan sounds as good as it looks (or should that be licks?). This collection has been selling out all over the place, so I'd be quick - grab all the best bits while Sandra has a couple of kits left.

I made this one with the kit alone..

And then think about adding in a couple of lovely extras. Maybe the Tile letters? or the Ticket Flowers? So pretty!

...and this one with a few added rubons from my stash and lots of Slice cutting

March Kit

If you haven't seen it yet the March kit contains a lovely mix of papers from MME's Miss Caroline collection. I realy like the wood effect papers as a background for layout, so for this one I used the paper with the printed cluster of flowers in the corner and designd my layout around that.

I used some white embroidery thread to stitch around the edge of my circle and to add a flourish. The letter stickers are from Echo Park.

I also made a quick birthday card using a some scraps of papers and some plain black card.

There are still kits available to buy in the shop if you would like to try one, and if you would like to get a kit sent to you every month I see that Sandra has subscriptions available at the moment....

Sorry Clare ... jumping in again, on your post :) .... just to say that the April kit, will be on sale - Wednesday 11th.

Girls Allowed

We are completely loving the new Echo Park collection This & That here at Gotta Craft. Clare took Graceful and discovered that it wasn't just for girls. Now I've found out that you don't have to be a boy to be Charming

Choose carefully, add some white and a couple of little extras and Charming goes girly. Girls are definitely allowed.

Not Just for Girls.....

The February kit was full of lots of pretty papers and I have to say all of my layouts made with it up until to now have featured my daughter and have been very feminine and soft. Being that I have a son as well I decided to see if I could use the papers in a masculine way to scrap a photo of him, so I teamed the Echo Park papers from the kit with some extra  kraft card to make this layout.

I used the sides of the papers that featured the geometric patterns, and the 'starburst' design on the layout was inspired by this project that I saw on 2 Peas recently. The letter stickers are Thickers from American Crafts. Despite the temptation to add a couple of flowers I went for some banner type embellishments instead!

Cards vs. Layouts

Which do you do make first when you get a kit? Even though I love making both I probably go for layouts first and then see what I've got left over afterwards to make cards.

So following on from my layouts using the February kit I have some cards to share as well. For the first one I used one of the Glitz Design Whatnots from the kit with a pretty rose design, trimmed around it and then mounted it onto some card. I added texture to the white backing card with an embossing folder before colouring it with Distress Inks.

The next card I've already shared on the Gottacraft Facebook page, its a mix of pretty greys and greens and uses another one of the Glitz Design Whatnots. I used some plastic packaging for the centre of the frame which I embossed first.

This next card is quite simple, just some punched circles and a bit of patterned paper and finished off with some layered flowers. These were cut from plain card and then spritzed with some glimmer mists before adding some buttons from the kit to the centres. All I added was some kraft card from my own stash.

The last card is made up with some squares of the Echo Park papers left from the kit (there's not much of mine left now!) I added some sparkly vellum and used some punches to make a quick Anniversary card - I like to keep a couple of these at hand for those last minute panics!

I hope these cards give you some inspiration for ways to use the kit, let us see what you've created if you have been busy with your kits too. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Valentine's Day....

If you like papers with a touch of romance then the February kit will be right up your street. This month it features patterned papers from Glitz Design's Beautiful Dreamer and Echo Park Upscale. As usual Sandra has added lots of co-ordinating embellies including amongst other things some Glitz Design Whotnots, an alphabet sheet and some pretty lace.

The little letter stickers are from Authentique as are the phrase stickers which are underneath my rosettes.

 

As we've seen some fantastic layouts recently from you using the monthly kits we'd love to see what you make from the kit this month......

Something Spooky.....

So Halloween has been and gone as well as Bonfire Night (where does the time go!) and if you have some pictures to scrap from Halloween then the October kit is perfect. My two dressed up for the occasion so I decided to scrap some of the pictures of them in their costumes.

I had already used most of my papers on the mini book and card that I made so I cut some of my scraps into diamonds and laid them out a bit like patchwork onto my kraft card background. It is hard to tell from the picture but a lot of the papers  have glazed designs on them which make the papers feel very luxurious and it gives them an extra dimension. The title was cut out from one of the papers as was the little owl on a branch that I stuck onto the journaling card.

If you already have the kit we'd love to see your Halloween layouts made with it, and if you don't have it already there are still some kits left in the shop.

Have a great week x

Note to Self: Buy More Memorandum

So there I was, crouched in the wet grass, with no coat on, taking pictures of pumpkins and thinking "Sandra, these papers better be worth it".

And of course, they are. November's kit has Lily Bee's stunning Memorandum. This collection is beautiful! every last little bit of it. Honestly, I have already been back to the shop and ordered a Tiny Tablet because I am thinking about using it for my Christmas album this year. See how it looks with a Christmassy page?

The patterns are truly lovely; but what makes this collection so special is the ledger paper reverse sides. Each one is a winner - very easy to use as a background or cut into journaling blocks or mini albums. Check them all out in the shop. But don't hang around taking notes for too long - just remember, supplies of the Memorandum kit and its lovely add on won't last forever!

And those pumpkins? Here they are.

We faked it this year. These ones came from a shop. You'll find that pretty blue ribbon in the kit, along with some cute things I have even started on yet. I'll be back with more..

October Kit - Pink Paislee Phantom

This month's kit is filled with lots of lovely Pink Paislee Phantom - perfect to get your Halloween photos scrapped or maybe make a mini album? I love the glittery orange alphabet that comes with the kit and there are lots of letters on there to keep you going!

This is my mini album, I based the design on one I saw here and as you can see there are lots of pages to decorate, here are just a few of them here -

 I tied the whole album up and secured it with the ribbon that comes in the kit, I used some black Distress Ink to make it darker.

You will find that the papers are quite versatile and they also work fantastically with your non-Halloween layouts and cards too. Most of the papers have some glazing on them, making them feel very luxurious!

To see another card and a layout created with the kit you can check out the Gottacraft Facebook page here.

Loving the Farmhouse

Well the guessing is over .... yup, September's kit is full of Crate Paper's Farmhouse.  Now I'm probably more of a Autumn/Winter girl anyway (I loovvee the whole warm clothes and boots thing lol) so, this collection is right up my street, with it's lovely warm tones and colours.

Anyway, not to long ago, Simon and I celebrated our 23 wedding anniversary! ...shocking to me, as it still seems, as if I'm only 23 years old myself :)  Still, it was a rare day that the sun was out - so while we were sitting in the garden - I did the ususal, you know .... hold the camera out in front and take a picture; and this was the result.

I used the September kit to create the layout... but the papers can be found here ... and also the alphabet sticker sheet to match the papers, can be found here.  I'm really loving this alphabet sheet, as not only do you get two different letter types, but also some words and tags.   Please don't forget to link here if you create anything with the kit ... we'd really love to see it.  

Still Blissful

I'm still feeling the bliss from August's kit, how about you?

This page was inspired by the chipboard banners in the kit. I covered them with patterned paper and then added in a few more cut with my Slice. The buttons came from my stash and the little flashes of pink paper are from one of the new stock Authentique 6x6 paper pads. I added some punched butterflies for dimension and a few paint splatters to make my dark background a bit more lively. And at the end I squeezed in my journaling right round the sides.

Now I'm off to see what else I can make with those pink 6x6 squares. .

What have you done with your August kit? Leave us a link!

Blissful - August's Kit

You've caught me in a reflective mood today. It's all because of Authentique's beautiful yellow and grey Blissful Collection. As soon as it arrived here I looked out a photo of me in a favourite grey shirt and I made this:

These papers are so heavy and luxurious they were easy to distress, so I roughed them up a bit. I thought the raggedy edges would reflect the them of my layout which is really about how much my family means to me right this minute. And how I know they are growing up and will want to move out into the world; so my thinking is a bit rough around the edges too! The little fold up journaling card was perfect for my private notes and I added a little brad from my stash to hold it shut.

Here's a bit of detail so that you can see the little flashes of pink on some of the paper.

The colours really are lovely, aren't they? I don't think this kit will hang around for long - so don't delay, buy one today!

Customer Creations

I've been getting myself back into the world of blogging this week, and slowly catching up with all the creative and talented people out there.  So a happy smile came over me, when I clicked into read some posts and came across you talented lot, and what you've been doing with this month's kit.

First up with have the lovely Michelle with her blog ... Scraps of Me, do visit her, the woman never stops crafting :)

Next is Jo, and her blog Buckingham's Palace... I've showcased many a layout from Jo before - she always manages to find the perfect photo to go with the kits at the crops :) and she's used all the goodies from July's kit in her entry for UKS's House challenge this month.

And lastly (for now) is Suzy, over at Sea, Glass & Sand - who although hasn't shown what she's created yet with July's kit, has done a lovely layout with the Lilly Bee one :)

I'm leaving you with a layout sent from Michelle using last months kit. Thanks guys :)

Although July's kit with its gorgeous Odds & Ends papers has sold out, you can still buy some of them as individuals, HERE.

Right, Sian will be along in a day or so with more of her amazing work :) and I'll be sharing soon with you some of the new goodies that are coming to Gotta Craft.

If you have any projects on your blog you'd like to share - please drop me an email and I'll happily do that in future posts.

Have a fun weekend ... and here's to us all seeing the sunshine. 

Odds & Ends - July's Kit

Have you ever not wanted to go on holiday? No, neither had I. Until Sandra sent me the July kit and I realised I wasn't going to be able to fit in all the things I wanted to make! It's Cosmo Cricket's Odds & Ends, and it's absolutely beautiful.

It's a kit for cutting into right away, so that's what I did:

with this page about some retro kitchen accessories from a recent shopping trip. The little paper dolls are cut from one of the sheets of paper. I cut the big doiley shape and the red numbers with my Slice and the lovely cream alphas come with the kit. My favourite piece? I think it's that blue dotted paper, but that could change, I'm not finished yet. In the shop here

I'm just butting into Sian's lovely post, to say that July's kit will be going on sale on Saturday 16th.  And to say a HUGE thank you for everyone's kind words, and cards - it's really meant a great deal to me and my family.

Out With the Old

When I get new papers I'm happy to dive straight in with the scissors and start chopping away but after that initial enthusiasm I will ususally put the rest of the papers neatly away and move on to the next exciting arrival! So every now and then I make a point of digging out papers I've had for a while and make something. So this weekend with that in mind I dug out the lovely Glitz Design Hoopla papers that came in a kit back in November (the papers are still available singly if here you missed out on the kit).

I added letters, ribbon, gems and buttons from my own stash, and used smaller bits of paper to make the flowers and the paper ruffle under my circle (thanks to Sian for the inspiration/method for making these!)

So for those of you who have half-used kits lurking in the back of the cupboard, how about digging them out and getting them used up? As a bonus I think you can definitely justify buying more new stuff if you've used up the old!!

Ok ... sorry to butt into your post Clare ... but as I adore this gorgeous layout, and if you guys want to play along - Glitz Hoopla goodies are now our weekly special and until Sunday 3rd July - you'll find them with a yummy 50% off :)

A couple of kit cards

I know I say each month, but truly I ADORE June's kit.  The papers from MME, Lime Twist are just perfect for all occasions.

This month, I thought I'd have a go with the kit, so came up with a couple of cards, that I'd like to share with you.  The first was done, using the add-on kit - which at £5, gives you papers, cardstock and fun embellishments, including the chipboard cupcake and little charm. It's perfect to just grab for a evening session of crafting or to take to a crop and have a play.

The second card is using some scraps that I had left from playing around with a layout.  The bunting stamp should be back in stock soon. 

The "Happy Birthday is stamped with these mini alphabet stamps, from Hampton Arts and then punched with this mini circle punch.

And one from me

Each month I always think that, that months kit is the best ... and this month again is no different.  I really like the mix of crate papers that you'll find HERE -

I really enjoyed using them with the photo that I took recently - when the moon was at it's largest.  

Don't forget to send in your creations with the kit ... we'd love to see what you've created.  I'll be sharing more of Clare's beautiful layouts on the site soon - and on here, she's really gone to town with the kit, that's for sure.