This is the Life Project Life accessory pack

Let’s talk about Project Life. Now, stop that. I can see some of you rolling your eyes. Personally I love the concept and wish it had been invented when my children were small as it would have made scrapbooking a LOT easier for me. But I know it’s not for every scrapbooker, and I appreciate that not everyone scrapbooks. 

But wait. Even if you think Project Life isn’t for you, I want you to take a look at the Accessory Packs. These are add-ons to the Project Life card kits, but they offer many more possibilities. 

Scrapbookers… can use these as embellishments for traditional scrapbooking. Ready-made journalling panels, little pieces of DSP (you were only going to cut up the big sheets anyway) and fun embellishments in small quantities were exactly what I was looking for when I was scrapbooking more frequently. Now they’re here… and they’re in SU colours so you can match them to your existing supplies. 

Non-scrapbookers… will be harder to convince so take a look at these cards. Think of these accessory packs as a sort of a card kit; you can create quick and easy projects by combining them with your existing craft stash. You’ll have lots of variety so won’t get bored and your projects will look different to everybody else’s because not everyone has thought of using the accessory packs in this way! Yes, some of the cards have words on them which don’t always lend themselves to cards, but there’s always the other side which is invariably word-free. 

I made these three cards in a very short space of time. I used “Way to Go” and “Hi!” to cover up the words on the Project Life cards (I could have turned them over but I liked the colours better on this side) and the “Hello” card did most of the work for me, although I did back it with some Basic Black cardstock and use some of the washi tape to highlight the strip. Yes, you get washi tape in these accessory packs… NOW are you convinced?

138461	138342	121688	135314	138317
138712	138324	132708	133787	133519

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

New catalogue and a SNEAK PEEK!

Before you scroll down for today’s project, I want to talk NEW CATALOGUE with you!

The new catalogue is fabulous and you really do need one in your hands. You also need to attend my Annual Catalogue Launch Party where you can see and play with the brand new products! So read on for how to make both these dreams come true…

My Annual Catalogue Launch Party is on Saturday, 27th June, 1.30pm-4pm at our usual venue in Horsley Woodhouse (DE7). I know this is after the catalogue goes live, but it gives us a wider choice of products for us to play with. 

Everyone who attends will get a free catalogue but I’m not so heartless that I’ll make you wait until then.  If you book for the event, you may collect your catalogue as soon as you wish – just drop me a line and I’ll tell you when it’s available. 

The event will be a relaxed afternoon of Make & Takes, demonstrations, games, refreshments and chatting with like-minded crafters who are all as excited about the new catalogue as you are. The price is £10, with discounts for my club members and for accompanied children (age 10+ only please).  To register, please CLICK HERE.

As some of you know, we’re having some major building work done on our house this summer and my craft supplies may have to be - gasp! - packed away, so I need to get prepped for this event super-early. 

To encourage early booking, I’m offering a special incentive: anyone who books before 31st May will be entered into a prize draw to win a Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack.

But what if you can’t make it to the event? How else can you get a catalogue?

It’s very simple. You could book a party - I take bookings VERY far in advance - and you’ll automatically get a new catalogue in your hostess kit before the event. Or you could simply email me to order your copy. They are free with a £30 order. Otherwise £3 collected from me, £4.50 if you want it posting to you. So what are you waiting for? Drop me a line!

And now I suppose you want to see a project...

This is a mix of old and new; a little sneak peek from a brand new stamp set called I Think You’re Great (I accidentally ordered the wood-mount version, doh!) and some retiring Project Life products. I have to confess here that I don’t know if the card came from the card pack or the accessory pack, but I wanted to a) use them up a bit and b) show that you don’t have to scrapbook with them! 

Hope you like it!

138712	135301	135298
130931	131286	131171

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Mixed Media Project Life pansy plaque

This is a product-heavy creation, but I really enjoyed creating it, sitting in my own little world, stamping away. The beauty of mixed media projects like this is that it’s very difficult to go wrong. If you do something you don’t like, you just cover it up with something else!

Here’s how I created this project:

1. The MDF plaque had been painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint - you can just see glimpses of this through the yellow at the top.
2. If I remember correctly, I may have painted some white acrylic over the top and then, while it was still wet, painted it with reinkers. I found that the water lifted the white paint off in certain places, so went with the flow and allowed this to become part of the project.
3. Once the background was fully dry, I stamped over it with Cherry Cobbler ink using bubble wrap as my stamp. I love this effect.
4. Next I stamped in black with various Project Life stamp sets. I chose happy words, like “Saturday” and “summer”, as well as elements such as brackets, dots and arrows.
5. On top of this, I stencilled with homemade texture paste through the chevron stencil from the Build a Banner Kit. I deliberately kept this rough and ready.
6. I stamped the stems and leaves with the Build a Bouquet stamp set in Garden Green.
7. I created the petals with the Pansy Punch, cutting each out one individually and piecing them together on the plaque. Same for the smaller flower, but using the Petite Petals punch.
8. The centre of the flower was cut out from one I’d previously stamped onto Typeset DSP, and topped with a rhinestone.
9. Finally, I gave the whole lot a coat of Mod Podge to seal it all in. This is completely optional.

137779	130942	130698	133322	135785
135787	137166	133507	135861	132178
132708	126966	119672	131164	109020
126973	119246	133704

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Hello Life project hack

Happy Easter! I hope you have a pleasant and restful day.

This project is something completely different for me. I made it at our homemade crafty retreat last weekend.

In the later planning stages, I mentioned that I fancied having a go at the Hello Life Project Kit on page 6 of the Spring/Summer catalogue, but unfortunately we’d left it a bit late to order in time for our event.

But we are crafty ladies, remember, and will always find a way. So, using the powers of next-day delivery, we ordered some black cooling racks and decided to see what we could come up with.

After removing the legs with pliers, and with only the photo in the catalogue to go on, we set to work.

It turns out that the Project Life Accessory Packs are PERFECT for a Hello Life project hack. (It also turns out that I NEED a lot more Project Life Accessory Packs - they are exactly what lots of us are looking for… a wide variety of embellishments in small numbers. And you can use them for lots of projects, not just scrapbooking!)

With the contents of several craft rooms on hand (lots of us had over-packed!), we had not problem creating our own take on this fabulous project. The only thing I couldn’t lay my hands on were window sheets for the shaker element, but we compromised with a cello bag.

My top tip for creating this project comes from my friend, Ann. After noticing how tricky it was to peg your elements onto the frame, she decided that glueing them on was the way forward, using the pegs merely for show. However, my glue dots weren’t co-operating, which is why my striped heart shaker is at such a rakish angle! Sticky Strip would be better. You could still peel them off later to change the display. 

My second tip would be to ditch the pompoms, as they are very time-consuming to create!

The frame with the white background is for a photo, which can be slid in the side. The banners are made from a combination of cardstock and Project Life cards. 

135301	119980	131302	132173	130921
135861	127526	129406	133320	135638
137547	106549	121688	135298

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com