Macmillan Raffle Winner

We would like to congratulate Mrs Marriott as the winner of our Crafts U Love raffle from our Macmillan Coffee Morning. All the proceeds from the raffle have been donated to Macmillan Cancer Support, so thank you everyone that took part.

Create & Take: Ladies Day

Hi bloggers, it's the start of another week and time to recap on Friday's Create & Take and also post some photos of our Macmillan Coffee Morning which was a great success! There was an abundance of cake on offer on Friday and it was very hard for us Crafts U Love girls to control ourselves as they all looked so yummy! We would like to thank everyone who attended the morning and joined in with the Create & Take or bought a few of the many cakes on offer. The total amount we raised for Macmillan Cancer Support came to an amazing £169.30! Thank you everyone!!

Last week's Create & Take was the last in the series of our 'family affair' birthday theme. The last week was a card for the female birthdays in the family, such as mum, aunt, grnadmother, cousin, sister and so on..... So let's get going with the products you will need and those all important instructions.

Products Needed:

A6 Kraft Card Blank

Graphic 45 Botanical Cardstock - Flora

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Tutu Pink

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Intense Kiwi

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Candlelight

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - White Smoothie

Die-Versions Pretty Hat

LR0145 Marianne Creatbales Flower Die Set

CR1201 Marianne Craftables Circle Die Set

Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circles LG Nestabilities

Penny Black Gratitude Stamp Set

Glossy Accents

Memento Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black

Papermania 2mm Adhesive Stones - Gold

Instructions:

1. Cut the Flora cardstock 14cm x 10cm and adhere to the base of the card.

2. Die cut the White Smoothie cardstock with the Marianne Circle die and adhere to the left side of the card.

3. Die cut the reverse side of the Flora cardstock with one of the scalloped circles dies and adhere on top of the circle die cut.

4. Cut the Intense Kiwi cardstock 10cm x 3cm. Make a fishtail cut at one end and stamp 'Have a Wonderful Day' from the Penny Black set using Memento Black Ink. Adhere on the card.

5. Die cut the Pretty Hat die from the Tutu Pink cardstock and Flora cardstock. Make sure to save the negative die cut pieces from the Flora cut out.

6. Adhere the Tutu Pink hat to the right side of the card using glossy accents. Fill in the top of the hat with the negative pieces from the Flora hat cut out using glossy accents.

7. Die cut the smallest flower from the Marianne Flower set with the Candlelight cardstock. Adhere to the top of the hat.

8. Finish by adding a gold adhesive gem in the center of the flower.

These new Die-Versions die cuts have a range of beautiful designs that are all perfect for a female birthday, therefore you could easily change that element on the card and keep everything else the same! Check out the new Die-Versions dies here.

Next month's Create & Take's will take on a more autumnal feel as we head into the new season.

Sack It Treats!

Hi bloggers! It's the end of another week and we have a little treat to share with you! New in this week are the Taylored Expressions sack it dies in the form of a reindeer, snowman and penguin.

Caz whipped us up an example of the Snowman sack it which has been decorated beautifully with a marvellous treat to fill the inside.

Sack It Penguin - £15.99

Sack It Reindeer - £7.99

Sack It Snowman - £12.99

Now before you rush off to snap up some of these dies, please remember that you will also need the main sack it die which has the die cut for the treat bag itself.

Sack It To You - £24.99

These treat bags are perfect for the festive season as table favours on Christmas Day or a Christmas treat for friends and family!

Create & Take: Gentlemen's Attire

Hi bloggers, it's the start of a new week and therefore time to recap on Friday's Create & Take. This one is for the sophisticated gentlemen in the family and makes use of a fabulous die from Die-Versions.

So let's get started......

Products Needed:

Square Kraft Card Blank

FabScraps Gentlemen's Club Cardstock - Gentlemen's Attire

Graphic 45 Good Ol' Sport Cardstock - Teamwork

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Tawny Light

Die-Versions Vest Card Die

Woodware Happy Birthday Stamp set

Woodware Baby Button Brads - Boys

Natural Hemp Cord

Memento Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black

Brown Pen

Instructions:

1. Cut the Gentlemen's Attire cardstock 13cm x 13cm and adhere to the base of the card.

2. Cut the reverse side of the Gentlemen's Attire cardstock 13cm x 3cm and adhere to the far left of the card.

3. Cut the Teamwork cardstock 13cm x 1cm and adhere next to the previous piece of cardstock, slightly overlapping it.

4. Die cut the Vest Card die from the Tawny Light cardstock and Teamwork cardstock. Make sure to die cut another set of pockets for the vest from the Tawny Light cardstock.

5. Cut along the score lines from the Teamwork cut out and stick inside the Tawny Light vest. Fold along the score lines of the Tawny Light vest.

6. Using the brown pen, draw stitch lines around the vest and pockets. Adhere the pockets to the vest.

7. Stamp 'Happy Birthday' on the inside of the vest with Memento black ink.

8. Pierce two holes on one side of the vest and add some button brads in the colour of your choice.

9. Adhere the vest to the card at a slight angle.

10. Finish by adding some Natural hemp cord around the left side of the card and tying a small bow.

A little tip.....if you want the vest to stay closed when displaying the card, just add a little bit of repositionable glue to the insides so that the vest can open and close.

This Friday will be the last of the 'family affair' birthday cards and is likely to be the most popular with a card for a female birthday. And don't forget that Create and Take is running alongside our Macmillan Coffee Morning, so this week is definitely worth popping along with lots of cake and biscuits up for grabs!

Hope to see you there!

Sue M's Vintage Christmas Configuration Book

Christmas came early this week at Crafts U Love with Sue M's Vintage Christmas Configuration Book class. This class was fully booked with everyone waiting in anticipation to see what they would be making and taking home with them that day.

Filled with yummy christmas papers from the new FabScraps range and an adorable mini house included, this book is sure to look fabulous on a shelf or centre piece on a table this Christmas.

The front of the book was decorated in a beautiful damask patterned paper (FabScraps Christmas Joy Collection), with a distressed vintage poinsettia (Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia) placed in the bottom corner.

A closer look inside the book you can see that Sue added a glass bottle at the top with a 'Christmas Wishes ' label wrapped round, filled with glitter and sparkle. The tiny window below features a stamped image on the inside, made to look as though you are looking out onto a snowy winter night.

This adorable little house (Marianne Christmas Village High Collectables Die & Stamp Set) at the bottom of the box was transformed into a 3D embellishment using a paper gusset in between the two die cut houses. Add a little bit of lace for curtains and some snow edges to enhance the look and feel of the house. This section of the box was finished off with a 'Joy to the World' (Teresa Collins) stamp.

There is so much more you can add to this box to make it your own Christmas piece that you get out year after year to display Christmas ephemera and ornaments or even photos and memories of Christmasses before.

These mini configuration books are available at Crafts U Love as well as many of the embellishments and papers used within the box.

Create & Take: Fairy Birthday

Happy Monday bloggers! It's the beginning of another week and time to review last week's Create & Take with all the products you will need and the instructions to make it. Last Friday's 'Family Affair' birthday card was for the female youngster in the family, so let's delve in....

Products Needed:

Square Kraft Card and Envelope

Bazzill Basics Kraft Cardstock

Bazzill Basics White Smoothie Cardstock

Bazzill Basics Sea Salt Cardstock

Bazzill Basics Rain Cardstock

Studio Light Tres Chic SCRAPSL11 Cardstock

Tonic Studios Happy Birthday Pansy Die Set

Tonic Studios Circle Die Set

Maranne Fairy Star Die

Prima 'Love Dream' Stamp Set

Oasis Blue Dew Drops

Crystal Stickles Glitter Glue

Cloud White Versamagic Ink Pad

Instructions:

1. Start by cutting the Bazzill Basics Kraft cardstock 13cm x 13cm. Stamp the corners with the 'Love Dream' Prima stamp using the Cloud White ink pad. Stick to the base of the card.

2. Die cut the Pansy die in White Smoothie cardstock and stick to the centre of the card.

3. Die cut a circle from the Tres Chic cardstock and stick to the centre of the Pansy die cut.

4. Die cut two fairies, one in Rain cardstock and the other in Sea Salt cardstock. Adhere the darker shade on top of the lighter shade slightly to the left so you create a shadow effect. Stick to the centre of the card.

5. Die cut the small Happy Birthday die from the Happy Birthday Pansy die set from White Smoothie cardstock and stick across the centre of the card.

6. Finish by adding some blue dew drops and some Crystal Stickles.

This birthday card is so pretty and feminine and would even be suitable for teenagers as well as younger children. The next two weeks of 'Family affair' Create & Take will focus on the older generations of the family, including mum, dad, aunt, uncle, grandma and grandad so make sure you visit the blog every Monday for your Create & Take update.

World's Biggest Coffee Morning

Hi bloggers, I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend and have some creative time planned in at some point.

This week's post is about our Macmillan Coffee Morning that we will be hosting on Friday 26th September. Our Create & Take on a Friday will be running as usual with proceeds from that also being donated to Macmillan. However we will also have lots of cakes and biscuits on sale for you to buy and eat of course!! We welcome any cake donations from yourselves as you can never have too many cakes in our opinion!

For extra information about the World's Biggest Coffee Morning, please click here or watch the advert below.

Create & Take: #1 Fan

Good morning bloggers and welcome to September Create & Take's on the blog. As usual every week we will post the Create & Take from the previous Friday to provide you with the products you will need and the instructions to make it.

This September Create & Take is going to be a 'family affair'. We will be making cards for family birthdays, making them versatile enough to be used for sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, mums, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc.

The first 2 weeks will be dedicated to the youngsters in the family, whilst the last 2 weeks will be celebrating the slightly older generations. We will be sure to cover both male and female so you can use them how you wish.

This week is for the male youngster in the family.....

Products Needed:

Lawn Fawn Into the Woods Cardstock - Maple

Bazzill Basics Worldwide Cardstock - Chevron Stripe

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - White Smoothie

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Candlelight

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Brick

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - Intense Kiwi

White Card Blank - A6

Taylored Expressions Cling Stamp - Moka Aidan

Taylored Expressions Die - Reach for the Stars Border

Spellbinders Die Set - Labels Seventeen

Watercolour Pencils

Water Brush

Memento Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Wild Honey

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain

Woodware Corner Rounder Punch

Stickles Glitter Glue - Silver

Micron Pen - Green

3D Foam Pads

Instructions:

1. Cut the Bazzill Basics Candlelight cardstock 10.5cm x 14.9cm. Use the corner rounder punch to round each corner. Also use the corner rounder punch on the corners of the white card blank. Use a little bit of Wild Honey distress ink around the edges of the candlelight cardstock and adhere to the base of the card.

2. Cut the Chevron Stripe cardstock 9.2cm x 13.7cm and adhere to the middle of the card.

3. Die cut one of the dies from the Labels Seventeen die set from Bazzill Basic's Intense Kiwi cardstock. Using the Micron pen , illustrate some stitching around the edge of the label. Adhere to the top part of the card.

3. Stamp 'Aidan' on some White Smoothie cardstock with Memento Black Ink. Using the watercolour pencils and water brush, colour in Aidan and then cut round him. Adhere to the middle of the Label using 3D foam pads.

4. Cut the reverse side of the Maple cardstock 2.5cm x 8.5cm. Stamp the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment with Black ink. Make a fishtail cut at each end of the cardstock and add a little bit of Walnut Stain distress ink to the edges. Adhere to the bottom of the card using 3D foam pads.

5. Die cut the Stars border from Bazzill Basic's Brick cardstock and cut out 2 stars for each side of Aidan and adhere to the card.

6. Finish by adding some Silver stickles to Aidan's t-shirt.

This card can easily be changed up using different colours for the football outfit and you could even personalise a number on the shirt if you know someone who plays for a team or has a favourite player.

Be sure to check back next week for our card for the female youngster in the family.

Create & Take: From Our Home to Yours

Good afternoon bloggers, I hope your weekend has been full of creative projects in some form or other. Sometimes re-arranging your craft room is a full on creative project alone!

Anyway, last Friday was the last in the series of Christmas Create & Take's throughout August and we have to say that we had a lot of fun getting in the festive spirit this far in advance but with all the new Christmas dies and paper collections arriving in store, we just couldn't wait to get started.

So here's what you'll need and the instructions to make the card....

Products Needed:

Debi Potter for Sizzix Thinlits Die - From Our Home

Bazzill Basics Cardstock -  Pomegranate 

Carta Bella Christmas Time Cardstock - Holiday Banners

Bazzill Basics Cardstock - French Vanilla

Tonic Studios Layering Die Set - Circle

Cream satin with gold edge ribbon

Gold Stickles

Cream Square Card Blank

Instructions:

1. To start, fold the front of your card blank in half so you turn it into an easel card.

2. Cut the Carta Bella cardstock 6.8cm x 14cm and stick to the bottom half of your easel.

3. Die cut the circle from Bazzill Basics Pomegranate cardstock.

4. Die cut the Sizzix die from the Bazzill Bascis French Vanilla cardstock.

5. Adhere the red circle to the reverse of the house die cut out.

6. Place glue on the bottom half of the house die cut and stick to the Carta Bella patterned cardstock.

7. Cut a piece of Pomegranate cardstock 6.8cm x 14cm.

8. Before adhering the cardstock to the card base, wrap a piece of ribbon around the centre and stick to the back.

9. Make a flat bow from the same ribbon and adhere to the middle of the ribbon.

10. Adhere foam dots to the back of the red cardstock and stick to the card base, this will allow the easel to stand up.

11. Finish off by adding some Gold Stickles.

Well thats it for Christmas Create & Take's throughout August but don't worry as I'm sure we will be sharing some more Christmas cards and gift wrap ideas as we get closer to the holiday season.

As usual all products used in Create & Take can be found at Craftsulove.co.uk