June Workshop

Just a quick reminder of our workshop tomorrow. We will be looking at background techniques using various forms of inks and resists. Kay has made a couple of examples above, using a batik effect. I will be using glimmer mists with stencil masks and Michelle will be working with Promarkers and archival ink on acetate. 

Don't forget to bring our challenge backgrounds too so you can swap and complete someone else's card for next month. If you haven't had time then you can always use the background you create tomorrow night! The winners will both receive half price entry into the next workshop.

We will also be announcing the winners of the Membership Pack card competition.

Village Day 2012

Well here is a photo to prove that we were at Village Day even if nobody could find us!! We were not allocated the best spot this year, but the sun shone, the wind blew, and the rain stayed away - hooray!

And although it was definitely not our best year for card sales, we did well with selling the owl gift boxes and jubilee gift bags, thanks mainly to Gabby's son Max who did a great job!! Thanks Max! Click here to see how to make the triangular gift bags.

We also had the Competition Cards judged by Evan Davis (BBC Economics Journalist and Dragon's Den presenter). Find out who he chose as the next card-making entrepreneur at the next workshop on 27th June!

Too whit too woo!!

Hope you have all recovered from various Jubilee celebrations at the weekend. The fun continues here in Ashtead with Village Day on Saturday - let's hope we will be lucky with the weather. Just a quick (mainly photos) update this time and a sneak preview of some of the items made at Card Club on Wednesday, ready for sale on the stall on Saturday.  Lots of people enjoyed making the owl gift boxes, some even made little owl families!

Several people made red, white and blue themed cards and enjoyed colouring in our newly purchased Little Claire's stamps. Hopefully we will see some of these for sale on Saturday.

Our toffee filled gift bags will be on sale too, as well as kits to make more personalised ones. (Click on the links for tutorials on how to make the torn paper roses and the triangular gift bags below) 

Well done to everyone who entered our white on white card challenge and especially well done to Brenda, our winner, who receives free entry into one of our workshops. Highly commended cards were by Mandy and Kay.

Mandy's Highly Commended card

Kay's Highly Commended card

Brenda's winning card

Next month's challenge is to create a background for a card which you will then swap in a lucky dip. Another club member will complete your card and you will complete someone else's. Winners will receive half price entry into a workshop as the prize will be shared by both people contributing to the card.

All for now - hope to see you on Saturday.

Jubilee Jamboree

With two big events coming up next week, i.e. the Diamond Jubilee and of course a Jubilee themed Village Day hot on its heels, we thought we had better plan a workshop for Wednesday that incorporates both of these themes. I will be demoing how to make red, white and blue themed gift bags (available also for sale on our Village Day stall!) complete with an English rose tag. You will have the option of making a complementary paper piecing card too, using up the scraps of red, white and blue papers left over from the gift bags.

Michelle has found some cute little owl gift boxes on the "Card a la carte" blog and will be showing you how to make them. Would be good to have some of these to sell on our stall too as they will add a bit of colour and "aaah" value! So if you don't have anyone in mind when you make yours, label it clearly with your membership number and we can put it up for sale (or adoption!) on the stall.

Also a little reminder checklist of other things to bring to Wednesday's workshop:

• Cards for selling at Village Day - in cellophane bags and clearly labelled with your membership number and sorted into categories please.
• Membership Pack Card Competition entry (any theme, but the card must contain at least 5 elements from the Membership Pack), to be judged at Village Day. 
• "White on White" club challenge card. This will be judged on the night for a chance to win free entry into one of our monthly workshops.

The crafting just never stops! Michelle, Karen and I had a craft-filled day on Saturday at one of the Little Claire's workshops down in Crawley. We all made eight cards each, using the Little Claire design stamps (which just happen to be Karen's favourites!)

Thank you to Georgina and Heidi from the Design Team at Little Claire's, and to Steve and Heidi's husband who kept us well supplied with tea! Check out their blog and see if you can spot us in the photo hard at work! I have now added a link to both their shop and blog on the sidebar too.  Please let me know your favourite inspirational blogs, websites, online shops etc so we can check them out, then add them to our lists to share with others.

See you all on Wednesday.

Take one Coredinations card as inspiration...

Claire's Demo Card

...mix in two pads of Vintage Collection Coredinations papers, a roomful of crafters, several cups of tea and biscuits, an hour and a half of paper sanding, tearing and rolling and here are the results. Well done Tadworth ladies and gent! Click here for a tutorial on the torn paper roses.

Cuttlebug Masterclass photos and Saturday Workshop News

Well we didn't let the weather put us off on Wednesday and we all had fun with tried and tested cutting and embossing techniques along with a few new twists.  There is not a step by step guide as such this month, there is a useful guide to setting up your Cuttlebug "sandwiches" or "stacks" for the various different dies and techniques used on Wednesday. Click here or on the sidebar.

Aperture card using Nestabilities

Embossing modelled by a shy and retiring crafter!

Embossing and sanding textured card

Our first Saturday workshop for this year is only just around the corner. We have a new venue - the Scout Hut in Ashtead. Click here for a map if you are not sure where it is. The workshop will run 10am - 4pm (full day) or 10am - 1pm or 1pm - 4pm (half day). We will be creating altered art items (see below). Techniques will include acrylic painting, texture techniques, stamping on tissue, creating embellishments, alcohol inks and Stampbord. 

Altered canvas and frame with altered mint tin

Altered notebooks using alcohol inks and Stampbord

If you have any items you wish to alter then please bring them along, otherwise we will have a selection of photo frames, mirrors, canvases, tins, notebooks etc. for you to purchase and personalise. We will have available a range of rubber stamps and dies to cut out embellishments, but if you have a specific theme in mind please bring along any stamps or embellishments of your own eg shells, washers, nuts etc. You may also like to bring an apron! The workshop cost for members will be £6 for half a day and £10 for a full day. Non members will be £7 half day and £12 full day. Items for altering will be an extra cost on top of that, depending what you choose to alter. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided. If you wish to bring your own packed lunch you may, but we can arrange to order sandwiches etc. from a local cafe, as we have done at previous workshops.

We will also be getting ready for Village Day at this workshop. You may decide to sell your artistic creations on the stall. If so please make sure you clearly label your items, so we can allocate your money to you when your masterpiece sells! We plan to make sweet filled gift boxes to sell on the stall too. Profits from these will go to the Club, but if you feel you can spare a few minutes helping out with these then that would be great.

We will need to know numbers for the workshop in advance, so please confirm by replying to the email I sent you if you wish to attend.

Cuttlebug Techniques

Just to let you know that Wednesday's workshop is a "Bring your Cuttlebug to Club" month. Michelle and I will be covering some of the basics and showing you more techniques with your Cuttlebug. So if you have one then bring it along with you!

You still have another month to complete your white on white challenge and there will be opportunities to make your challenge card on Wednesday night if you don't have time to do it at home. Don't forget the winner gets free entry into a workshop.

See you tomorrow.