Blog love from the June issue of Scrapbook Inspirations
Every month I collect up my favourite blogs and websites in the Blog Love column of the magazine. I read a huge range of blogs - plenty of scrapbooking ones, but also ones about design, food and photography. Here are the ones I included in the June issue of ScrapBook inspirations, on sale now:
* Copy & Paste is a new joint venture by creative whiz kids Julie Kirk and Kirsty Neale. Drawing inspiration from music, design, photography and more, they whip up all manner of creative projects. Very exciting and definitely one to watch. Above is a one of Kirsty’s projects, a painted printer's tray filled with tiny handmade goodies.
* Lia Abdullah’s blog, Organised Clutter is one of our new favourites. Lia’s scrapbooking style is big on pattern and colour with generous helpings of glitter and flowers. She’s on several design teams including Pink Paislee and Maya Road.
* Fans of Elle’s Studio on Etsy should definitely pay a visit to her blog. You’ll find free envelope templates to download, designer project ideas using Elle’s tags and stamps and updates on all the latest goodies to appear in her online shop, elles.etsy.com. Above is a set of My Dear Journaling tags from Elle's Studio.
* We love Maya Road’s range of chipboard and embellishments so it was great to discover the company’s Design Team blog. There are new projects being posted all the time and many include instructions to help you recreate a look or try a new technique.
Do you have a list of blogs you love to read? We'd love to hear about your favourites! Let us know in the comments below or email scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.com.
Thursday June 18, 2009
Camera strap cover tutorial
I recently invested in a new DSLR camera - such a treat! While I'm loving learning more about photography and experimenting with my new camera's potential, I'm also enjoying looking for just the right kit. The camera came with a decent strap, but it's not the prettiest thing in the world so I was thrilled to spot a camera strap cover tutorial on Design*Sponge.
I've got a good little stash of fabric building up so I've got a few contenders and may make a few so I can match my strap to my bag.
Monday June 08, 2009
June reader gallery call from Scrapbook Inspirations
We are currently looking for your original page designs for a Reader Gallery on the following themes:
Travel
Whether you've voyaged to far-away lands or explored the best that Britain has to offer, we want to see your pages all about your travels.
Rub-ons
They're probably one of the most versatile supplies there is, found in in every scrapbooker's stash. Show us what you've done with yours
Email a digital image (please make sure they are not huge files) of your layout at our dedicated address scrapbook.gallery@futurenet.com. Remember to add your choice of theme to the subject line. All we ask is that your layouts are your own work and that you haven't submitted them to any other magazine. ScrapBook inspirations does not accept layouts that have been published elsewhere, that are being considered for publication or have been entered in any competitions.
Please include the following details with your submissions:
About you
Your name and address
A daytime phone number and email address
About your layout
Title of your layout (a few words to describe the story behind the photos and what inspired your design)
Tell us about the techniques you used and your favourite products
What supplies you used and where you got them from
About your hobby
How long you've been scrapping and what inspired you to get started.
Have you ever had any of your work published before?
What's your favourite product?
See there's nothing to it and you've got plenty of time as the closing date for entries is 29 June 2009. You'll receive an email if we'd like to feature your layout.
Tuesday June 02, 2009
Shimelle Laine's month of colour
Design team member Shimelle Laine is celebrating June with a month of colourful project ideas, challenges and tutorials on her website. A month of colour is completely free - to take part all you have to do is visit Shimelle's site and take in the inspiration. The first challenge, scrapbook your favourite colour was posted yesterday and there's more to come. So go on, what's your favourite colour?
Friday May 22, 2009
Quick! Get 20% off Letraset Pro Markers this bank holiday weekend
With the bank holiday weekend approaching, we've found the perfect way for you to treat your stash to a colourful top-up… without breaking the bank! Letraset are offering 20% off their ProMarker Theme Sets over the bank holiday weekend, and ScrapBook inspirations magazine and website readers can claim a BONUS additional 10% discount on top of that, totaling nearly 30% off these must-have pens!
How to claim your extra discount...
As of today (Friday 22nd May), simply visit www.letraset.com, browse their Themed Sets of ProMarkers then enter the code PCR010 when you check out. As well as Letraset's bank holiday 20% off deal, you'll be able to claim an additional 10% discount too! PLUS you'll find more details about which pack of pens is best for you and even how to guides to using pens on your layouts!
Find the perfect pen for you
ProMarkers are dual-tip pens with a broad chisel tip at one end (use it a bit like a brush to fill large areas of colour on your layouts) and a finer, bullet tip at the other end to add doodling and journaling to your creations. Best of all, they contain alcohol-based ink, so you can use them on all sorts of surfaces as well as paper, including usually ink-resistant surfaces like acrylic, wood or glass.
Choose between four sets of ProMarker pens for this special offer...
Sketching Set offers transparent tints which you can overlay and blend to create watercolour effects without the need for brush, paints or water
Hobby & Craft Set offers dazzlingly bright colours plus subtle pastels so it's our favourite rainbow starter set for scrapbookers
Garden Design Set is made up of natural colours and subtle tones inspired by the great outdoors... ideal for layouts about days out and holidays
Fly-tying Set has been designed to help you create natural effects using your pens - see the how to guide here.
This special discount will last from Friday 22nd until Tuesday 26th May 2009... happy shopping everyone!
Wednesday May 13, 2009
Blog love from the May issue of ScrapBook inspirations
Every month we pull together our favourites from the blog world for your viewing pleasure. We read a lot of blogs - scrapbooking ones on the whole, but we also visit design, inspiration, art and family blogs. Here are the ones we featured in the May issue of ScrapBook inspirations, on sale now:
* As you might have noticed we’re big Sassafras Lass fans in the office so imagine our delight when we found the Sassafras Lass blog! It’s as colourful and inspirational as you’d expect with a super design team dishing up fabulous ideas for layouts and more.
* Australian scrapbooker Carole Janson creates the most impressive layered designs. We love the handcut details and pop-up butterfly on these layouts she created as part of her role on the Pink Paislee design team.
* The Photographic Dictionary brings together beautiful and quirky photography with dictionary definitions – sounds simple, and it is, but the result is nothing short of inspirational.
* Finding the perfect colour of cardstock to match your patterned paper can be tricky, thankfully the clever folk at Bazzill have realised this and set up a fabulous new service called Matchmaker. Browse to the company you’re searching for you’re presented with coordinating Bazzill colours for each of the latest collections. Currently the site only includes suggestions for the very latest designs, but Bazzill say they’ll planning to add more patterns as they’re released.
Do you have a list of blogs you love to read? We'd love to hear about your favourites! Let us know in the comments below or email scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.com.
Wednesday April 22, 2009
Blog love from the Spring issue of Scrapbook Inspirations
Every month we feature our newest discoveries and oldest favourites from the blog world. All sorts of blogs and websites catch our attention - scrapbooking ones mainly, but we also seek out the beautiful, the inspirational and the useful. Here are the blogs we featured in the Spring issue of ScrapBook inspirations:
* Creativity Prompt features regular prompts and project ideas under three headings: inspiration, creativity and, helpfully for scrappers, journaling.
* Sheila Daniels, aka Cheeky Magpie is one of the most creative people we’ve ever come across! She’s also not afraid to get technical – her digital cutting files are a real bonus.
* The Art is Found brings together ideas from a group of super-creative designers. Every week they post a new prompt and inspirational selection of projects – everything from photography and layouts to jewellery and home décor items.
Seen a blog you'd like to nominate? We love to hear about your favourite blogs. Or perhaps you've just started your own and you'd like to attract a few more readers? Leave a comment below or email us at scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.com.
Friday April 17, 2009
Latest reader gallery call from Scrapbook Inspirations
We are currently looking for your original page designs for a Reader Gallery on the following themes:
Holidays
From trips of a lifetime to distant lands through to happy bucket and spade weekends on the beach, we want to see every kind of holiday page.
Bright colours
No pastels, no neutrals, no soft tints, just bold, vibrant colour - share some dazzling layouts that'll have us reaching for our sunglasses!
Email a digital image (please make sure they are not huge files) of your layout at our dedicated address scrapbook.gallery@futurenet.com. Remember to add your choice of theme to the subject line. All we ask is that your layouts are your own work and that you haven't submitted them to any other magazine. ScrapBook inspirations does not accept layouts that have been published elsewhere, that are being considered for publication or have been entered in any competitions.
Please include the following details with your submissions:
About you
Your name and address
A daytime phone number and email address
About your layout
Title of your layout (a few words to describe the story behind the photos and what inspired your design)
Tell us about the techniques you used and your favourite products
What supplies you used and where you got them from
About your hobby
How long you've been scrapping and what inspired you to get started.
Have you ever had any of your work published before?
What's your favourite product?
See there's nothing to it and you've got plenty of time as the closing date for entries is 1 May 2009. You'll receive an email if we'd like to feature your layout.
Clubs update, 17 April 09
I've just updated quite a few of the clubs pages here on the blog with some new details. Above is a photo of the Cleo Crafts monthly crop, our Spring issue Club of the Month (you can find their details here). We've got over 200 clubs listed here, so if you're looking for a group to join you're in the right place. If you've never looked for clubs here before, I've got a few tips to help you:
The first thing to know is that the clubs are divided into rough geographical groups. I made the groups and I'll be the first to admit they're quite general. It's worth looking in the different groups that might be near you too - especially if you live near a county boundary. I've tried to keep the lists alphabetical as well as adding subheads to help find what you need.
If you choose 'Clubs' from the Categories list up on the top-left of the blog you'll be able to see all the posts labelled 'Clubs and Crops' on the blog.
Without further ado here are the regions:
* Scotland
* East (including Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire)
* North West (including Cheshire and Manchester)
* North East
* Wales
* South East (including Kent, London, East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton & Hove, Essex, Surrey, Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire)
* South West
* South coast (including Hampshire, Dorset, Southampton and Jersey)
* Yorkshire
* Midlands (including Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire)
* Northern Ireland
If you click on any of these you'll be taken to a page with all the clubs I currently have details for in that area. Remember to check in the magazine too - the latest club details are always listed in there.
If you run a club or crop and your details aren't on the blog, drop me an email at scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.com. I need your club name, meeting time and place and contact details. A lot of these club details have been with the magazine for several years so it's likely that some clubs have closed, or changed their times. Unless someone emails me to tell me I won't know! If you want to update your details, email me at the same address and tell me what's new.
If you're planning on going along to any of the clubs or crops listed here, it's definitely a good idea to contact the organiser first as the details may have changed. Every club varies - some charge a small entry fee to attend, some provide tools or materials and others nothing at all, so it's best to call or email first so you know exactly what to expect!
Clubs and crops in Northern Ireland
Here's our list of scrapbooking clubs and crops in Northern Ireland. Why not get in touch with one? It's a great way to meet new people and find out more about scrapping. At the moment we don't have many crops to list so if you know of one - or you run one! - drop me an email and I'll add it to the list. Check the details at the bottom of this list.
Ballyclare Scrappers
When? Every Monday 7-9pm Where? Ballyclare Community Concerns Building, Doagh Road, Ballyclare, N Ireland Contact Email Alison Kirk on alison.kirk23@sky.com
Cleo Crafts Monthly Crop
When? One Saturday every month, 10.30am-4.00pm Where? Monkstown Village Centre (above Tesco), Jordanstown Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland Contact Louise on 07884 003617 or email info@cleocrafts.co.uk
Scrap Angels
When? Alternate Wednesdays, 7-10pm Where? Bangor Elim Church, Bangor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, BT19 7WP Contact Esther Allen on 07849 665 459 or email esther@bangorelim.com
Do you run a scrapbooking club or crop in Northern Ireland? Would you like to be added to our list? Or do your club's details need to be updated? Let me know and I'll sort it out! Email me scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.com and if you'd like to be considered for our Club of the Month please mention it in your email.