Happy New Year!

Well, here we are at the beginning of a brand new crafting year and I'd like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy and Healthy 2016 ... here's to a year packed with crafting!

To inspire you, I couldn't resist posting this fabulous list of 52 journalling prompts which will see you through the year, and will be perfect as inspiration for your scrapbook layouts!  They're from the fantastic blog Bloglovin' - The girl who loved to write about life and they certainly inspired me.  I got a beautiful Liberty notebook from my sister this Christmas and this is exactly what it'll be used for!

1. Write an "About Me" about yourself.

2. A list of things you're thankful for.

3. Small things that make you happy.

4. The last time you celebrated something.

5. The best thing that happened to you this week.

6. Something you want to change about yourself.

7. Something you could do right now to get you closer to where you want to be in life.

8. Someone you love.

9. A skill you want to learn.

10. Your favorite quote right now.

11. Something that you think holds you back.

12. A word that actually describes your life, and a word you wish described your life.

13. Someone you admire and why you admire them.

14. Something you're stressed about.

15. Something that's been making you laugh lately.

16. The happiest moment in your week so far.

17. Write a letter to teenage you.

18. What you like the most about yourself.

19. The one dream you have that you just can't stop thinking about.

20. The biggest way you've changed in the past year.

21. The last bad day you had.

22. The place you currently call home.

23. Your best quality.

24. The last time you tried something new.

25. Three rules you try to live by.

26. Your family.

27. Your bucket list.

28. 5 big goals you have for your life.

29. The last person you said, "I love you" to.

30. A list of things you love about this season of your life.

31. Pros and cons of your job.

32. How you've been spending your free time lately.

33. A list of your favorite books and why you love them.

34. Your best friend.

35. Something you're scared of.

36. Your dream job.

37. Something you're really good at.

38. Your bad habits.

39. A tradition you want to have with your own family.

40. Sum up what you believe in on one page.

41. Your favorite things about the town you live in.

42. Describe your day in 5 words.

43. The last time you broke the rules.

44. Where you hope to be in five years.

45. What you think you would be doing with your life if money didn't matter.

46. Write a letter to your future self.

47. Something you're really proud of.

48. Your favorite way to relax.

49. One way you'd like to grow in the next year.

50. Your favorite way to spend a Friday.

51. A project you're working on.

52. How you think you're making the world a better place.

Have you seen the amazing "12 Tags of 2015" for April over on the Tim Holtz Blog.  They are just beautiful and Tim has detailed and photographed all 50 steps you'll need to create them for yourself.

Later this month we're delighted to announce that we'll have new Tim Holtz stamps, cardstock pads and lots more Tim Holtz Ranger products arriving in store.

Check out Keisha's blog for card inspiration with Die-namics!I

We've been massive fans of Keisha Campbell's blog, A Bit East-Coast for many years and she never fails to inspire us with her crisp,clean, original designs.  She's currently using lots of the new Die-namics dies to create some stunning cards and we thought we'd show you a few.

We're excited to announce that from the end of the month we'll be stocking a great range of the Die-namics Dies. These steel dies will cut through cardstock, thin chipboard, 1/4 inch cork, felt, acetate, sticky back canvas, fabric, denim, sandpaper, 2mm craft foam, wood veneer paper, photo magnet sheets, and much more! They work with virtually any die-cutting machine that will accommodate wafer-thin dies and we know you're going to love them!

Miss Empire Double Layout Class Kits now available!

We have some kits left over from our Miss Empire Double Layout Class and you might like to get your hands on them.  The kit costs €10 plus postage and contains full instructions (with photos) to create these two gorgeous layouts.  The kit contains paper and diecuts and all you'll need to have in order to complete the layouts is some glue, a paper trimmer, craft knife, scissors and some brown ink.  If you have a white gel pen and a black felt tip pen you can add extra highlights to the layout also.  Layout 1 is suitable for a 5" x 7" portrait format photo while Layout 2 would suit some small business card sized photos.

You can purchase the kits on the site buy clicking the button below:

Simple Stories Inspiration!

We're huge fans of Simple Stories products here at TheScrapbookStore.ie so if you're looking for some inspiration check out their current projects over on the Simple Stories Blog.  They've teamed up with the fantastic sketch site Page Maps for a week and each day they'll post up a sketch and a corresponding layout to show you how you can interpret the sketch.

If you're new to scrapbooking or even if you've been papercrafting for years and are feeling low on inspiration then sketches can really revive your creativity.  You simply take a look at the sketch, grab a bunch of your favourite supplies and then decide if you want to literally interpret the sketch or use it loosely inspire you.  Go on, we challenge you, get over to the SS blog and get scrapping!

What's On? Our May 29th 2014 Workshop ... that's what!

I'm delighted to announce that our May 2014 Workshop will take place next Thursday 29th May 2014 from 7pm to 10pm in Whitehall Parish Centre, Dublin 9.  This month we'll be using the new Basic Grey Mon Ami Collection of papers and stickers to create 2 beautiful layouts!

These papers are really beautiful with a range of colours within the same collection including pinks, blues, oranges and greys and with some gorgeous unusual patterns too.

We'll be using a selection of the papers to create 2 beautiful layouts with an open theme so they can be adapted to suit any of your photos.  All you will need to bring along on the night are some cutting tools and adhesives and we'll supply you with all the papers and stickers you'll need to complete both layouts.  The Workshop is suitable for anyone with a basic knowledge of papercrafts (if you can use a paper trimmer and scissors - that means you!) and you don't need to bring along any photos as these can be added at a later time if you wish.

This is a great opportunity to get started and learn the skills of scrapbooking or if you're an intermediate or advanced scrapbooker - a chance to add two new layouts to your scrapbook!  If you fancy a night out just for yourself, to relax and use the crafty side of your brain, then come along for some great company, cakes and tea!

The Whitehall Parish Centre (attached to the Holy Child Church) is a lovely spacious Centre with plenty of parking and excellent facilities.  It is fully wheelchair friendly.  Booking is essential and tickets costing €25.00 can be purchased online HERE!  If you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact us on 086-8441159. Hope you can make it!

Sneak Peeks–Midsummer Workshop June 21st 2012

Hi everyone,

Our Midsummer Workshop is this Thursday June 21st 2012 in Whitehall Parish Centre, The Thatch Road, Dublin 9.

The papers we're using this month are the new Doodle Deux range from Prima with lots of bright reds, blacks and whites. The papers would suit a black and white or colour photo and we've used a 4" x 6" portrait format photo in our layout. We'll also be making a card but it would also be possible to make a 2nd layout from the papers.

The kit includes:

• Bazzill Cardstock 
• 1 12" x 12" sheet of Doodle-Deux Button Up paper 
• 1 12" x 12" sheet of Doodle-Deux All Overs paper 
• 1 12" x 12" sheet of Doodle-Deux Lucky Charms paper 
• 1 12" x 12" sheet of Doodle-Deux Doodle-Up paper
• 1 12" x 12" sheet of Doodle-Deux One-Up paper 
• 1 pack of Prima Doodle-Deux Assorted Flowers

Bring along a paper trimmer, scissors, glue, distressing tool, distress ink (walnut stain) and a black felt tip and white gel pen.

Places are limited and booking is essential. Workshop places cost €25.00 and can be BOOKED ONLINE HERE crop places just €10.00 if you just fancy coming along to craft and have a cuppa
Hope to see you there,

Annamarie

Finished Layouts from our May Workshop!

Thanks so much to Maria Jordan-Lloyd for teaching our May Workshop.  It was a fast-paced, creativity filled few hours and every time I looked, everyone was busy cutting, pasting, die-cutting and generally enjoying the crafty fun.  Maria inspired everyone with her enthusiasm and showed everyone how to create three gorgeous layouts and most people finished two, with enough to take away to finish the third.  To inspire you to finish off everything, we’re posting the finished layouts here for you to see.  All of the Workshop kits are sold out but we have some Webster’s Pages Sunday Picnic Collection Kits in stock.  Looking forward to our next Workshop, Thursday June 21st at 7pm,  if you’d like to book a place, details will be on the blog about two weeks before the date with online booking available then.  Alternatively, join up for our newsletter to be notified of upcoming events and new products arriving in store.  Each of our Workshops are stand-alone modules so you can drop in whenever suits you.  Hope to see you at our event soon!

Announcing our May 24th Workshop–Whitehall Parish Centre

Hi everyone,

Yay, we're ready to kick off our 2012 Workshops this month with a fantastic class from the creative talents of Maria Jordan-Lloyd.

Here’s a few sneak peeks:

The Workshop will take place in:

Whitehall Parish Centre, The Thatch Road, Whitehall, Dublin at 7pm on Thursday 24th May 2012.

This month we'll be creating 2 scrapbook layouts (and maybe a 3rd if we have time) using the new Sunday Picnic from Websters Pages.

The kit includes:

• 2 Sunday Picnic Die-Cut Scalloped papers
• 2 12" x 12" sheets of Blanket of Poppies paper
• 2 12" x 12" sheets of Rainbow Sky paper
• 2 Sunday Picnic Fabric Tickets
• 1 printed vintage envelope, roses printables and doilies.

For Layout 1 you'll need to bring:

• A distressing tool if you have one but you can use the edge of a scissors if you don't.
• Sharp scissors for fussy cutting.
• Sage green ink and a blender (if you don't have Sage, bring along something similar)
• White cardstock to die cut title
• Flowers – Maria used aqua coloured flowers from Prima and paper roses (total of 3 large, 4 small). You could also use pink, orange or cream flowers.
• One 4x6 photo (portrait) – Maria cropped the one on the layout to 4"x 5" portrait. A vintage or black and white photo works best on this layout.
• Tiny stickers for the date on the file tab punch although this can also be handwritten.

For Layout 2 you'll need to bring:

• Aqua flowers (x 3) or again you can use cream, pink or orange flowers
• 4" x 6" photo (portrait) which was cropped to 4.5"x 4.5" was used on the 2nd layout. A black and white photo would work best, if you want to use a colour photo, choose one with muted colours.
• A lace or doily effect border punch (we will have one to use on the night)
• Alpha stickers in pale green for the title (there is a title on the paper but you may want to add something additional). You may instead use pale green/sage or white cardstock to die cut a title.
• Aqua or white ribbon for tags.
• LOTS AND LOTS OF 3D FOAM.

If you'd like to reserve a place, you can book online from Friday or you can send us an email to info@thescrapbookstore.ie and we'll send you a Paypal Invoice. Places must be booked and paid for in advance. As always, crop spaces are available at €10.00.

Hope to see you there,
Annamarie

Layouts & cards and it’s about time too!

It’s been simply ages since I’ve blogged anything.  I’ve been so busy over the past few months, the blog has been neglected so I thought it was time to get things moving again with a crafting mega post!  Here’s a picture of some of the layouts and cards I’ve been creating, including the long awaited photos of our Christmas 2011 Workshop.  Don’t forget, our Workshops re-commence on Thursday May 24th 2012 at 7pm with a class by the fabby Maria Jordan-Lloyd using the new Websters Pages Sunday Picnic Collection, don’t miss it!   BOOK YOUR PLACE ONLINE NOW!

The Christmas Workshop was held a few months back and featured the MME Christmas Collection.  We created three different layouts so plenty of space of Christmas photos.  Just click on any one of the layouts to see them full size:

Next, I created a couple of cards using the gorgeous new Times and Seasons Collection from Echo Park.  It really is one of my favourite collections for a long time and I can see myself using this in loads more projects.  It’s currently on sale in the store priced at €16.50 for the 12” x 12” Collection Pack and €6.95 for the 6” x 6” Paper Pad.  It also features solid coordinating double sided cardstock so you won’t have to go searching for that perfect match!

Finally, I managed to get ahead of myself (crafting-wise only!) and made three end of term cards for my kids’ teachers.  I made them using the Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend Collection which I’ve been saving, knowing I’d eventually get around to using it.  The font used is called Cooper Black:

TFL and Happy Crafting,

Annamarie

Christmas Party Crop–Thursday 8th December at 7pm

Our Christmas Party Crop takes place on Thursday December 8th 2011 from 7pm to 11pm at the Whitehall Parish Centre, Dublin 9 and all tickets are sold out!

It's our final Crop of the year and promises to be a great night for all. For the ticket price of €30.00 you'll get a Scrapbook Workshop where we'll create three scrapbook layouts (if there's time, of course) with the new MME Lost & Found Christmas Collection Pack, then Michelle La Grue will show everyone how to create a beautiful home decor project using Christmas papers (bring your own favourites or we have loads of new Collections to purchase in the shop!) and a string of indoor fairy lights (white). Then there'll be loads of prizes and challenges too. Mix all that up with plenty of Christmas tunes and it's sure to be a great night.

Here's what you'll need to bring along:

For Michelles project:

• a variety of border punches
• a hole punch (spring type - there'll be one to share on the night)
• any range of papers
• matching journalling tags or embellishments
• matching alphabet letters
• scissors, wet glue
• and finally a string of 15 white lights

For Annamarie's Workshop:
Layout 1: Two 4" x 6" portrait photos with no border
Layout 2: Two 4" x 6" portrait photos and two 4" x 6" landscape photos with white borders
Layout 3: Two 4" x 6" landscape photos with no border

You’ll also need to bring:

• A rosette die (if you have one - otherwise you can make the rosette by hand with a border punch and glue)
• Craft knife, trimmer, foam pads, scissors, paper distresser and small piece of sandpaper
• A large red button or silver gems/silver star shape for putting in the middle of a paper bow

Don't forget to bring along your own drink of choice (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) and a plate of food and we'll bring the mince pies, soft drinks and tea and coffee.

Looking forward to seeing you all in festive mood next week,
Annamarie

Here’s what we did at our November Workshop!

Many thanks to everyone who attended our November Workshop last Thursday, we hope you enjoyed the class.  We used the new Basic Grey Picadilly Collection of papers, stickers and diecuts to create two layouts and a greeting card.  Here’s a peek at what we made:

A small number of kits are still available from the Workshop costing €12.50 so if you’d like one they’re now available ONLINE and include full instructions.
Don’t forget, bookings are now open for our Christmas Party Workshop on Thursday 8th December 2011 from 7pm to 11pm in Whitehall Parish Centre.  Tickets are available to purchase ONLINE now and cost €30.00.  It promises to be a fun night with a Scrapbook Workshop, a Home Décor Workshop and crafty and not so crafty prizes! 
Hope to see you there!

Dublin Scrapbooking Workshop–Thursday November 17th at 7pm

Hi everyone,

Just announcing details of our November Workshop at Whitehall Parish Centre this Thursday November 17th 2011 from 7pm to 10pm. For the month that's in it, we'll be hopefully brightening up the dark evening by using the new Basic Grey Picadilly Collection of papers and embellishments.

The kit (seen below) includes: 6 sheets of Basic Grey Picadilly 12" x 12" double sided papers, 1 sheet of BG Picadilly Elements Stickers and 1 pack of Basic Grey Picadilly Petals.

This month, we’re creating two layouts:

The first layout is open themed, with a blue colour scheme so it would suit photos with blues, reds and yellows in them. I used two 4” x 6” portrait format photos with white borders in this layout. I chose pictures of a little boy wearing a blue babygro against a blue background for this layout.

The second layout is again open themed with a green and red colour scheme so it would suit photos with greens, reds and blues in them. For this layout I used a 4” x 6” landscape format photo (no border) but you could use two 4” x 6” landscape format photos instead. I chose a close up photo of a little girl wearing green and sitting on a red slide for this layout.

You’ll also need to bring the following:
A paper trimmer
Glue
Foam Pads
A 1.5” circle punch
Green Ink (I used Versa Tea Leaves)
A white gel pen and a thin black felt tip pen
a small piece of sandpaper or a sanding tool
Red alphabet stickers (I used Basic Grey Jovial stickers) to add a title. It’s a great chance to use up those alpha stickers you have hanging around so bring along a selection of browns, blues, greens, yellow or black too.

Workshop places cost €25.00 and can be booked online HERE or paid for on the night. If available, spare kits can be purchased online about a week after the Workshop.
If you'd like to attend the Workshop just email workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie or telephone 086-8441159.

Hope to see you there,
Annamarie

Finished photos of our October Workshop with Prima Printery!

Thanks to everyone who came along to our October Workshop last night. We used the fabulous new Prima Printery Collection of papers, Prima Bretton Vines and Prima Say It In Crystals to create these beautiful layouts. If you didn’t manage to get both layouts finished I have emailed everyone who attended with close up photos of the finished layouts so you can finish them off at home.

Thanks to the lovely Tracy for her beautiful cakes, they were delish and we were well and truly spoiled!

If you fancy coming along to our next Workshop on November 17th in Whitehall Parish Centre you can find all the details on the forum www.scrapbooking.ie or on the blog closer to the time.

This weekend, we’re opening bookings for our December Christmas Party Workshop. It’s going to be a fun party night at Whitehall Parish Centre on Thursday December 8th from 7pm to 11pm packed with prizes, layouts and Christmas home décor ideas. Places will be limited and will have to be booked and paid for in advance. If you’re not already signed up for our newsletter, sign up now HERE and you’ll receive all the details of our upcoming events.

 

Thanks to our Guest Designer/Tutor ... Michelle La Grue!

Many thanks to our Guest Designer/Tutor Michelle La Grue for teaching our September 2011 Workshop. Michelle treated everyone to a beautiful layout and card made using the new My Minds Eye Lost & Found 2 Collection of papers, stickers and diecuts. Here's a look at the finished layout and card:

We'd really recommend you check out Michelle's blog www.whatsseldomiswonderful.blogspot.com and be prepared to be inspired by her amazing creations ... and energy! I was so impressed with her latest project that I just had to share it here with you ... WOW! It's made using the MME 12 Days of Christmas papers and Spellbinders Stars Nestabilities and we think it's AMAZING!!!

Our next Workshop is Thursday October 27th 2011 from 7pm to 10pm at Whitehall Parish Centre. Here's a look at the kit:

Bookings are now being taken and you can email us on workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie or BOOK ONLINE NOW. Workshops are suitable for all levels, including beginners. You'll need basic crafting tools to take part and full details of the Workshop will be posted here about a week before the Workshop date.

Hope to see you there,

Come along to our September 29th 2011 Workshop & Crop–Sneak Peeks!

Hi again,

We hope you'll be able to join us for the start of another season of Workshops at the Whitehall Parish Centre, Dublin 9 next Thursday 29th September 2011 from 7pm to 10pm.

This month TheScrapbookStore.ie is delighted to be joined by our guest tutor, Michelle La Grue, who will be teaching a fantastic class using the new My Minds Eye, Lost and Found 2 Collection. The Workshop involves creating a stunning card and a beautiful 12" x 12" scrapbook layout.

Here are a few sneaky peeks:

The Workshop Fee is €25.00 and includes a full kit, tuition and refreshments. The kit includes four sheets of double sided paper, a cardstock diecut title, a sheet of label stickers, twine and a toothpick.

To complete the Workshop you'll also need to bring along the following items:

• One 6" x 4" portrait Black & White photograph. The title on the layout is "Dream Big" so bring along a photo to suit the colours of the papers/embellishments and the title!
• Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink
• Foam Pads
• Double Sided tape
• Glue Dots
• Scissors
• Paper Trimmer
• Corner Rounder (we have one to share also)
• Leaf punch (we have one to share also)

The Workshop is suitable for beginners or experienced cardmakers and scrapbookers/papercrafters.

To book your place just email workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie or post your name below.

Hope to see you there,
Annamarie

Finished Layouts from the June Workshop and July Crop News!

Hi everyone,

Thanks to everyone who came along to our June Workshop.  As promised here are the finished layouts:

If you missed the Workshop, we have a few spare kits available in the store!  So don’t delay as stock is extremely limited!  Click here to BUY ONLINE!  The kits come with full step by step instructions and photos of the layouts and are so easy to follow.  If you have some butterfly stamps, punches or dies you could use them to create extra embellishments on the layouts.

And now for news of our July Crop.  We won’t be teaching a Workshop this month, instead we’re having a fun packed challenge night on Thursday July 28th from 7pm to 10pm in Whitehall Parish Centre.  Crop spaces cost €10.00.  The challenges will include:

• Layout and Cards Scrap Challenge
• A Super Sketch Challenge
• Tag Card Challenge
• and a few other fun challenges

We’ll be posting further details of what’s involved in the challenges and a list of everything you’ll need to bring later in the month.  All of the details will also be included in our July Newsletter so if you haven’t already signed up you can sign up online now!

Hope to see you there,

Annamarie