Scrapbook Apprentice - Your winner!

Even though we are a couple of days before the official release of the November issue of Creativity Magazine (the new home of Creativity Life) issues have already started to hit the shops! The big news is that this issue sees the reveal of the winner of the Scrapbook Apprentice!

After months of hard fought competition and much deliberation we are happy to announch that the new member of the Creativity Life DT is...

Melanie Marshall!

We (and you!) loved Melanie's work throughout the competition and we were equally impressed with her attention grabbing and inspiring editorial  that we were treated to throughout the competition as well as her versatility when working with different products. Melanie is currently working hard on her first full commissions for the January issue!

There is plenty more to see about your winner in Issue 18 which is hitting the shops right now!

Scrapbook Apprentice - Final Decision Time.

The end of the month saw the end of the public voting for the hotly contested Scrapbook Apprentice competition. The four remaining contenders had really pulled out the big-guns this month and the judges have spent a tortured weekend agonising who would be the unlucky contender to fall at the penultimate hurdle.

After much debate and deliberation the judges votes were tied so in true Realtity TV style we have made the executive decision that we just can't bear to let one of them go at the moment! This months creations were top-notch so we have made the decision to take all four girls forward to the final challenge. Congratulations Girls!

To this end we will now ask the would-be apprentices to tackle their biggest challenge yet! Real life commissions for the September issue of Creativity Life Magazine (now found within the pages of Creativity Magazine). They will create with real life deadlines and their work will appear in Issue 17 on Sept 1st.

Keep your eyes peeled for the magazine to see how they cope under the pressure!

Scrapbook Apprentice - Challenge 8

And then there were four. Four challengers to face the next hurdle to becoming the Scrapbook Apprentice.

The theme for the next challenge is SPACE. The candidates needed to think about how space can be used on a layout to best effect, it might be positive or negative space or another aspect of using space in their designs.

As with previous rounds the candidates had to show they could create inspiring and striking cards and scrapbook pages using the We R Memory Keepers Tiffany's range, all while sticking to the brief and theme.

Take a good look at all the projects, thinking about which is not only your favourite but also which shows the principle of space to best effect. Once you've chosen, vote in the poll over on the right hand side. The judges will then make their decision.

Debra Conroy

Emma Whyley

Lynn Foley

Melanie Marshall

 

 

Scrapbook Apprentice - Results Challenge 7

As the end of the month comes around yet again the Scrapbook Apprentice Judges have had another really tricky decision to make this time around.

Not only were we judging the quality of the projects - we were lucky enough to have 5 full magazine features to read, of which we shared a snippet of each) and had to consider how the candidates had worked to our brief.

After much deliberation (not helped by the sweltering heat here at Creativity Life HQ) the judges came to their decision. So this month we have to bid a fond farewell to...

Kelly Couttie

Thanks so much for playing along Kelly - your work has been fabulous! It won't be the last we see of Kelly either, some of her projects will be appearing at www.docrafts.co.uk very soon!

Come back later for the next round!

Scrapbook Apprentice - Challenge 7

With 5 Scrapbook Apprentice candidates now left to fight it out we wanted to challenge them to a trial run of a magazine commission. Each candidate was sent a limited parcel of supplies and was asked to create using a KIT. They each received a Doodlebug Colour Coordinates kit along with some Boutique Brads and Trims plus some Doodlebug jewels.


Each candidate was asked to create whatever projects they liked in order to show the kit in it’s best light and then to write some inspiring editorial to go along side. Just like if they were creating for the magazine for real!

The only rules were that they had to create at least one Scrapbook page and only craft basics (inks, tools etc) were allowed as additions to the kit, nothing else.

Take a good look at each entry including a snippet from the intro of their copy, and decide which candidate has shown off the products to best effect, which work best fit the brief and which would be the best fit as a magazine feature? Once you’ve decided all that remains is to cast your vote over on the right hand side.



Debra Conroy

'Everyone loves getting new scrapbook stash but sometimes it can be hard combining the new papers with other colours and embellishments you own. When you receive a kit all the hard work is taken out of it for you, all the patterned papers co-ordinate, the cardstock matches, and the embellishments complement. I loved the purple tones in the latest Doodlebug kit and instantly felt inspired to go and play.' 

 

  

  

  

Emma Whyley

'Emma Whyley unleashes some summer fun with Doodlebugs new Colour Co-ordinations Obviously Orange Kit, which is bursting with summery colours and perfect for scrapbooking, cards and other crafty ideas! Doodlebugs new summer kit is perfect for summer craft projects full of juicy oranges, sunny yellows and hot lime, the kit is bursting with patterned paper, matching cardstock and a selection of embellishments that co-ordinate perfectly.'

 

  

  

Kelly Couttie


'Kits are fantastic, everything is already matched up and packaged for you to let your creativity rip on the luscious pieces of paper and coordinating embellishments. This ultimately, leaves you more free time, to cut ink and glue to your hearts content. I adore opening the kit and indulging in its magnificence knowing that someone else has done all the hard work in putting it together.'

 

  

  

  

  

Lynn Foley

'Picture the scene ... you’ve got a couple of precious hours to get some paper crafting done. You rummage through your supplies trying to find the perfect paper, those beautiful brads you know you left somewhere, and all those other bits and pieces you have scattered in various boxes, containers and drawers! Now rewind ... and imagine you have a kit. No need to rummage, forage or scour ... just open the box and you’re ready to go.'

 

  

  

 

Melanie Marshall

'We have all been there, stuck in a creativity rut with time anxiously ticking away, a healthy amount of stash to use but an endless and time consuming task to find anything that co-ordinates. I want to stop letting crafting time pass me by and the delicious Doodlebug Colour Co-ordinate kits are so crammed full of goodies that they had me reaching for the scissors within seconds. My only trouble now is how to use the kit up.. it seems to go on forever!'

 

  

  

 

At the end of the month the candidates with the least votes will face the scrutiny of the judges who will put the projects and their creative writing under the microscope! Voting closes 30th June 2009

Scrapbook Apprentice - Results Challenge 6

Another great round of projects from our Apprentices meant another month of furious voting and ultimately another very tricky choice between the two candidates with the least votes this month, but after much deliberation and debate the difficult decision has been made.

So without further ado I can reveal that the next candidate to leave Scrapbook Apprentice is...

Sam Gilliam-Scott

We're sorry to lose you Sam, you've produced some stunning work over the last few months and we are sad to see you go!

The next round of projects will be up shortly for your viewing pleasure!

Scrapbook Apprentice - Challenge 6

 With only 6 Scrapbook Apprentices left in the running we set our candidates the challenge of using one of our favourite new release (in the shops today!) The Papermania Boutique collection designed by Jesse Edwards - the range includes 12x12 and 8x8 paper and some gorgeous Clear Stamps.

To celebrate we set the candidates to show us some Creative Stamping – we wanted to see innovative and inspiring ways to use stamps on cards and scrapbook pages, showing us some great techniques along the way.

So take a careful look at the projects below and then place your vote over on the right hand side of the blog. The candidates with the least votes will then face the scrutiny of our judges and be assessed on design originality, use of product, and how well they adhered to the brief (including full supplies lists and write ups on how the product was used creatively).

Debra Conroy

 

Emma Whyley

 

Kelly Couttie

 

  

Lynn Foley

Melanie Marshall

Sam Gilliam Scott

The deadline for voting is 31st May so get voting!

Scrapbook Apprentice - Results - Challenge 5

It's that time again... the time when the judges have to make the difficult decision as to which of our Apprentices we have to say goodbye to...

This time it really was a tough choice, but one that the judges had to make - so this month we are sad to bid adieu to...

Caroline Gatenby.

We're sorry to lose you Caroline - thanks so much for playing along.

Don't forget to check back later for the next round.

Spotlight: St Neots ScrappyKatz Craft Club

St.Neots ScrappyKatz Craft Club meets ever month - go along and and meet other crafters to chat, share ideas, have a laugh and even a cuppa!  A warm, friendly welcome awaits you from Mandy and Sue.

 

Take along your own scrapbooking, card making or crafting projects to work on and enjoy Refreshments and a raffle!

 

First meeting is on Sat. 25th April, 10am - 2pm at Priory Park Infants School, Almond Road, St.Neots,Cambs. For more info contact Mandy on 01480 352041  or  Sue  on  01480 384102.

Basic Bargains

You can now grab all BasicGrey single sheet patterened paper at the Clearance Sale at 'docrafts' for only 25p a sheet! That even includes the double sided papers in the Wassail collection so an even bigger bargain - get caught up with your winter scrapbooking or stock up for Christmas cards right now!

I particularly love the Eva collection - gorgeous shades of pink, yellow and burgundy!

Also available are Ambrosia, Offbeat, Granola, Urban Prairie, Cupcake, Archaic, Boxer, Sultry and Sugared as well as loads of matching embellishments!

So pop on over and pick up a fab bargain!

Scrapbook Apprentice - Challenge 5

With only 7 Scrapbook Apprentices still standing we set our candidates loose with one of the favourite supplies of the Creativity Life team plus a vibrant palette of colours with which to show it off.

This month we got our candidates to get creative with Ribbon – we wanted to see innovative and inspiring uses as well as looking gorgeous! 

The girls were each sent a kit of yummy products that included Doodlebug and Anita’s ribbons.

As well as producing cards and scrapbook pages we wanted our candidates to show that they can also work ‘off the page’ so we cryptically asked them to produce ‘something else’ as well. The world was their oyster!

As the winning candidate will be producing work for web and print we need them to write concisely and informatively so each candidate produced a paragraph describing their techniques and inspiration – we share some of these below!

So take a careful look at the projects below and then place your vote over on the right hand side of the blog. The candidates with the least votes will then face the scrutiny of our judges and be assessed on design originality, use of product, and how well they adhered to the brief (including full supplies lists and write ups on how the product was used creatively).

Caroline Gatenby

 

 An altered cheap wooden boat! Pink ribbon stitched together, flags hand stitched in position. Paper cut and stitched to the sails, one edge open for journaling cards. Photo on sail and 'Matelot' title in cardstock stickers. Edges were inked to add depth and shadow. Ribbon around boat edge.

 

Debra Conroy

My scrapbook room, (spare bedroom), is decorated in white and black with hot pink accents so I made the door hanger for that room. I thought the black organza ribbon bow made a strong statement but was off set nicely by the large rosette and bright glitter letters, and I loved the velvet flower centre that I hand sewed.

Emma Whyley

For the additional item, I created bunting by cutting chipboard triangles and covering them with patterned paper or weaving a selection of the ribbons provided. I accented each triangle with trim, flowers, and hearts and added the word 'Celebrate!' The bunting was set with eyelets and strung together with more ribbon.

Kelly Couttie

 

 

I used the ribbon literally here, recycling the ribbon bobbins and leaving ribbon on to decorate them, and replacing some with patterned paper. Also by adding ribbon around the edge of the base of the bobbins and to the edge of photos adds detail and focal points.

Lynn Foley

For my wall hanging, I attached some of the lovely embossed Doodlebug cardstock to a page from a chipboard album and used my crop-a-dile to punch holes. After adding the letters, stickers, and some brad, I tied various ribbons through the holes.

Melanie Marshall

 

 I had fun creating flowers by sewing ribbons down one edge and pulling the thread tight. The silk ribbons rouched perfectly and when layered with other textures they created a unique frame for the bags photograph - A little like scrapbooking but with ribbons!

 

Sam Gilliam-Scott

This treasure box is made from and old chocolate box. I have used the ribbon around the edges of the lid and base and have used knotted ribbon as the centres of the flowers. This gives the box a real tactile, home decor look.

The deadline for voting is 30th April so get voting!

Results time...

The poll is closed... the votes have been counted and verified and the judges have retired to consider their agonising verdict... so we can now announce that the next person to leave Scrapbook Apprentice is.....

Sarah Carrington

We have adored your work and are gutted to have to lose you!

Thanks so much for playing along - we'll miss your fab work!

We have a winner!

The randomly chosen lucky winner of the goodies from the last post is.... mandyjeffery!

Drop me an email with your address and I'll get it in the post to you!

Congratulations!

There are only a few hours left to vote for your favourite projects for this month in the Scrapbook Apprentice - Scroll down to see this months entries and then vote over on the left.

Countdown...

With just over a week to go until the next cut in the Scrapbook Apprentice (don't forget to cast your vote!), I thought it would be nice to share the love with a little freebie consisting of some of the bits that the girls have been working with this month. As you can see it's a bold colour scheme and I can assure you that the girls are rocking the supplies with this one!

For a chance to get your mitts on this little lot (and I may even sneak a few more bits in there, in the lead up to decision day) all you have to do is become a follower of this blog. Easy Peasy!

A random winner will be picked on the morning of the 31st March, just before the judges retire to make their tough decision!

Bargains: BasicGrey

Now's your chance to pick up some fab BasicGrey bargain! Just added to the 'docrafts' Sale are single sheet papers from the Cupcake and Offbeat ranges. At only 35p a sheet they are going to be hard to resist! There are also matching embellishments at amazing prices!

To get you inspired here are some fantastic projects by lovely Lida using the Cupcake selection.

 

Scrapbook Apprentice: Challenge 4

 

Our number of Apprentice challengers has now dwindled to single figures and after the tricky task of scrapping without patterned papers last month, the judges wanted to redress the balance a little by including a wonderful selection of We R Memory Keepers patterned papers (and embellishments) in this months kit.

However that wouldn't be a tricky enough challenge for our intrepid team so we challenge them to include STITCHING on their pages. (Papermania has some wonderful new Stitching Templates that are available in 'do crafts' stockists right now!) We also challenged the girls to use the BOHO CHIC style.

The candidates were challenge to make a multiphoto layout and a card showing how the design principle (Boho Chic style) and the technique (stitching) could be applied in a creative way.

So take a careful look at the projects below and then place your vote over on the right hand side of the blog. The candidates with the least votes will then face the scrutiny of our judges and be assessed on design originality, use of product, and how well they adhered to the brief (including full supplies lists and write ups on how the product was used creatively).

Caroline Gatenby

 

Debra Conroy

Emma Whyley

 

Kelly Couttie

 

Lynn Foley

Melanie Marshall

Sam Gilliam Scott

 

Sarah Carrington

 

  

The deadline for voting is 31st March so get voting!

Scrapbook Apprentice: Decision Time - Expect the unexpected...

All good reality TV shows and contests have a round where the judges spring a surprise on the contestents... and the Scrapbook Apprentice is no different. You may or may not have noticed on the last challenge that we did not specify that we would be judging from the bottom two... that's because this month the judges have been assessing the bottom 3!

It's DOUBLE ELIMINATION TIME!

So rather than go to a commercial break to prolong the agony we have to reveal that this month we are so sad to be losing both CLEO JARVIS and TRACE GEWORSKY.

So sorry to see you go ladies, we have loved your work and appreciate all your hard work! Thankyou!

Keep tuned for the next challenge...

Scrapbook Apprentice: Challenge 3

And then there were 10... This month the Scrapbook Apprentice Judges wanted to really challenge our candidates - as you can probably tell from their previous work, without exception they all adore working with patterned paper - but what if we challenged them to go without?

This month each candidate was sent a parcel jam-packed with Core'dinations cardstock and absolutely no patterned paper and were given the challenge to create a single photo layout and a card showing how they could get creative with Cardstock. They needed to inspire and show the different ways the product could be used. Each candidate also had to tell us how they used it creatively.

So take a look at the projects and then cast your vote over on the right hand side. The candidates with least votes will then face the scrutiny of our judges and be assessed on design originality, use of product, how well they adhered to the brief (including giving us full supplies lists and write ups on how the product was used creatively).

Caroline Gatenby

Cleo Jarvis

Debra Conroy

Emma Whyley

Kelly Couttie

Lynn Foley

Melanie Marshall

Samantha Gilliam-Scott

Sarah Carrington

Trace Geworsky

The deadline for voting is 28th February 2009 so get voting!

Scrapbook Apprentice: Decision Time

It's that time again - when we have to say goodbye to one of our hard-working apprentices. You've cast your votes and the judges have deliberated over the two with the least votes.

After taking into consideration all the parts of the design challenge including providing appropriate supplies lists etc, we are sorry to have to say goodbye this time to Lori Laing

We loved your work Lori - thanks so much for your hard work!

Next the remaining 10 face a tougher challenge!

Document your life...

At the end of the day scrapbooking is all about documenting your life - the big events, the special moments but also about recording and preserving the little things that make you, who you are. How wonderful would it be to have a record of some of the little things that happened in your ancestors lives? What they liked, where they went and how they feel about life in general.

The good news is you can provide exactly that.. whether as a legacy for your children or grand children to know more about you in years to come, or just so you can look back yourself in the months and years to come.

One of the perfect ways to kick this off is to take more pictures - and lots of scrapbookers are embracing a year long project to take a photo a day. Embarking on a 365 is a big commitment, but it's great fun and once you get into the swing of things (and especially once the weather improves and the days get longer) it becomes much easier! The most important thing to remember is to take your camera EVERYWHERE! You never know when something might grab you!

On any one day you might like to document the significant, the mundane, or just a random snapshot of life. I'm now two weeks into mine (I started on the 1st Jan but there is no reason you shouldn't start right now!) and for now i'm blogging about them and uploading to my online gallery, but i've also already scrapbooked several of them and plan to do a 'Month in Review' page every month. It's wondeful having a nice big pile of new pictures to scrapbook!

If you'd like to see more of my photos you can visit my Flickr gallery. If you are undertaking a photo or scrapbooking challenge or are thinking of starting a 365, leave us a comment below for us to take a look at how you're getting on!

Scrapbook Apprentice: Challenge 2

 Our 12 Scrapbook Apprentices did themselves proud in the first round, and after the sad loss of our first candidate, the other 11 face the next challenge on the way to becoming our Scrapbook Apprentice and a fully fledged member of the Creativity Life Design Team.

Each candidate was sent a yummy parcel of goodies including the brand new January Papermania releases (before they hit the shops - a perk of the job!) to create cards and scrapbook layouts.

The theme of the second round was RULE OF ODDS (following the design principle that in design things often look bettter in odd numbers) and the layouts of course had to include CREATIVE JOURNALLING and had to be MULTI-PHOTO.

So take a look at the projects and then cast your vote over on the right hand side. The two candidates with least votes will then face the scrutiny of our judges and be assessed on design originality, use of product, how well they adhered to the brief (including giving us full supplies lists and write ups).

Caroline Gatenby

Cleo Jarvis

Debra Conroy

Emma Whyley

Kelly Couttie

Lori Laing

Lynn Foley

Melanie Marshall

Samantha Gilliam Scott

Sarah Carrington

Trace Geworsky

The deadline for voting is the 31st January 2009.

Scrapbook Apprentice : Decision Time.

After some serious deliberation (that took longer than we expected due to such a high standard) the judges have had to make the choice to lose one of our Scrapbook Apprentices.

The bottom two this time round were Julie Carter and Lori Laing - we loved Julies inventive inking and swathes of torn cardstock, but Lori's sumptuous layering and decadent distressing won us over this time.

So with great regret we have to say goodbye to Julie Carter. Thanks so much for sharing your projects with us - you were a great apprentice!

Get Boxing...

CreativityLife.com has some awesome value BasicGrey kits for sale including this Boxer selection...

Jane Dean got busy with this one and she's made these stunning creations - a gorgeous layout... using papers that might at first look masculine, but for a page featuring her gorgeous daughter. Jane says 'These papers were perfect colours for my photographs of Georgina and her horse. I used the red flowers cut from paper and layered with foam tape to create a rosette accent. Journaling is on strips to allow the patterned paper to show through, they are easy to replace if you make a mistake with your writing!'

And a fantastic circle mini-book which we at CLcom adore! Jane says ' I love interactive layouts and books, this one was a result of me playing with a circular menu while waiting for a meal in a restaurant. The pages are folded circles with pop ups. The pop up mechanisms are simple strips of co-ordinating paper with chipboard accents fastened to them. Once conpleted the pages are glued together then the outside edges covered and decorated. The book looks great opened out on a coffee table.'

Keep tuned for more projects using these fun BasicGrey kits. Why not pop one in your basket for a treat for the New Year??

And the winner is...

The lucky winner of the last Creativity Life challenge is...... Zoe H! Here's her page in all it's glory!

If you'd like to drop me an email i'll get your prize in the post asap!

We're going to take a little break from the challenges for a couple of months while the team are working on your next issue of the magazine - but we'll be back soon!

Beckie's Advent Calendar

I was so excited to receive this picture in my Inbox this morning - the wonderful Beckie Dreyer sent me her gorgeous Advent calendar - it's made using Doodlebug and I love it!! The sweetheart has even given us step by steps so we can make our own!! Thanks Beckie!

Supplies
24 Matchboxes
24 Little Gifts
DBG 369 Doodlebug Christmas Kit
DBG 1458 Doodlebug Brads
PMA 7783 Red Flowers
PMA 7781 Green Flowers
PMA 8121005 Ribbon
11050 Red Acrylic Paint
CPT 123 Small snowflake punch
STI 5000 Sticky Glue
Black Whispers Pen

How To
Empty matches from boxes and glue them in stacks of threes

Cover each set of three in different sheets of Doodlebug Christmas paper

Cut some stiff cardboard to measure 4 x 4 inches and cover with Doodlebug Christmas paper

Take four sets and adhere to one of the 4 inch square piece, making sure that one of the long side of patterned paper is next to three drawers. Continue around to make a square.

Adhere the top layer on the same but alternate the drawers.

Adhere the other 4 inch square on to the top of the boxes to secure

Remove each drawer and paint with the acrylic paint. Adhere a small piece of paper on one of the ends.

Using the ‘pokey’ tool attach a brad to the front of each drawer. Place drawers back in the box.

Punch out little snowflakes and add a number between 1 and 24 of each one. Adhere to drawers.

Adhere some Christmas embellishments to the large sections of the box.

Adhere flowers and ribbon to the top of the box with brads and foam pads. Decorate with Christmas embellishments.


Designer Tip!


These little boxes can be used to fill with treats for a count down to Christmas and when Christmas is over make them with other papers as a perfect little gift for a dressing table!