Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Here's hoping you're all prepared for the impending trick or treaters that tonight will no doubt bring - I know I've got my chocs and lollies in a pot by the door ready for when the kids come round in costume. I'll admit I've had a couple, but have so far managed to restrain myself from eating the majority!

Piccie one of the fine Halloween shots from www.freeimages.co.uk.

NitWit news

If you're a big fan of NitWit Collections then you'll be pleased to hear that the new blog is up and running, so you can visit and register for your chance to win prizes and take part in challenges and contests.

The folks at NitWit Collections will be making regular posts with sneak peeks, news, product releases, techniques and designs, as well as creating a place for like-minded NitWits to interact with the team.

Check out http://nitwitcollections.com/blog/.

Flight School

The ever-popular NitWit Collections have just announced the release of a brand new digital Christmas collection in the form of Flight School.

This latest release gives you the usual fabulous selection of printable patterned papers, whimsical characters, embellishment and word art, which is conveniently combined in the FQB download kit. It's also possible to get the bits and bobs seperately with Alphawits, digi stamps, extra papers and Lil Bits for your Christmas creations.

Die'sire deals

As part of their on-going birthday celebrations, Crafter's Companion are offering even more deals as the days go by this week and today are giving us a buy one get one free offer on their fabulous range of Die'sire dies. As if this wasn't enough, you can also take advantage of the double loyalty points and free standard UK P+P to celebrate their 7th year and choose from the 2013 die shapes as part of the BOGOF offer until 28th October so make sure you head over to www.crafterscompanion.co.uk to check out the shapes available!

Haunting Halloween products

There's a great selection of Halloween products available this year for our creepy creations including fab offerings from Pebbles Inc. with their Tricks & Treats collection and the American Crafts Pumpkin Patch range.

Pebbles Inc. bring us their usual whimsical style for really fun double-sided paper designs, accompanied by a great range of embellishments to compliment our projects including alphabet and accent stickers.

American Crafts has also given us the Pumpkin Patch collection that gives us a great choice for not only Halloween projects, but also seasonal creations as well with a lovely autumnal colour scheme and imagery.

Cherry Blossom Bakery

I embarked on the second stage of learning how to properly ice cupcakes last night by attending a Pretty Pastel Cupcake Class at Cherry Blossom Bakery with my mum and sister and we had a great time!

Our host Antonia, one of the owners of this fabulous little establishment, was bright, bubbly and really knew her stuff! It was a great pleasure and lots of girly fun to get covered in icing sugar and try our hand at buttercream icing, fondant embellishments and more.

I'm actually rather tempted to book on the Belgium Chocolate Cupcakes class she has one place left for on the 30th!

Here's a hint of what we got up to - actually rather pleased with myself!

Romantic ribbons

Berisfords have just released images of their upcoming Valentine ribbon designs in the Natural Charms and Essentials ranges, so take a look at these! These new designs are ideal for your romantic makes, whether creating cards for that special someone, adding finishing touches to handmade gifts or even wedding and anniversary themes!

To find stockits of these fab ribbons call 01453 883581 or email berisfords@stockistenquiries.co.uk.

Create your own buttons with Hemline

If you're wanting to add fabric to your projects in subtle ways, or even create your own buttons for a handmade item of clothing or altering an accessory for a unique look then be sure to get your hands on some self-cover buttons from Hemline.

These fab little things are available in 11, 15, 18, 22, 29 and 38mm sizes, plus directions for how to cover the buttons and a cutting template are included with each pack. As well as covering with fabrics or felt, why not try covering these with patterned paper and distressing the wrinkles to coordinate with your card or scrapbooking projects?

Email crafts@stockistenquiries.co.uk or call 01453 883581 for stockists details.

Cute candle holders

Take a look at these rather fabulous silver-plated cake candle holders from Vivi Celebrations, which are ideal for adding those extra touches to a boys' birthday party!

These lovely little transport themed candle holders are available in sets of 5 and are perfect for boys both young and old! Also available are other stunning designs including crowns, hearts, angels and more.

XOXO from American Crafts

The new XOXO collection from American Crafts is sure to give you everything you need for traditionally coloured Valentines creations from scrapbooks to cards for that special someone!

Whether you're documenting the day through your scrapbook pages, creating an anniversary mini book, scrapping a wedding day or similar romantic themes, then XOXO will give you all the double-sided papers, embellishments, page accents and Thickers alphas you need to give them justice.

Also an ideal range for pretty-in-pink little girl themes and therefore also a great one for décor pieces such as wall hanging art and more to decorate their bedrooms!



Darling Dear

The new collection from Studio Calico is well worth a look for your upcoming scrapping, with a selection of double-sided papers perfect for masculine and other themes and featuring stars, chevrons, speech bubbles and more with a bold colour scheme to boot!

Darling Dear also features a broad selection of super embellishments including stickers, wooden veneers, new colours in the popular Mr Huey's sprays, calendar pocket tags, gems, badges and more so take a look!

CSV Make a Difference Day

The CSV (Community Service Volunteers) are preparing for their Make a Difference Day which takes place on the 27th October this year, and are asking crafty types to colour flowers and donate them to a local homeless shelter, school or community club as part of the biggest single volunteering day in the UK.

As well as colouring your own flowers, CSV is giving away several other free how-to guides to promote the skills you can gain or use as a volunteer including gardening for good, baking, building and knitting a difference and being a professional volunteer.

With activities taking place over the next two weeks, you can register your event on the CSV Make a Difference website here to promote and encourage attendance. You can also claim a free action pack including stickers, certificates, t-shirts and more.

Autumn additions

New at Scrapbook MAX! are a selection of stunning downloadable products which are perfect for autumnal creations including the fabulous Amazing Autumn collection from A-Manda Creation.

You can choose to download the printable Amazing Autumn kit as a whole, or even buy the individual elements for your projects which include page titles, layered papers, journal cards, extra papers, floral clusters, cluster frames, borders and alphas.

A stunning kit!

Pony colour-coding

Pony have recently released new colour-coded sewing needles, with the eye of each needle now featuring a different colour according to size which makes for easier recognition as to which needle to use for your specific projects.

There are three different needle types in all (crewel & beading, tapestry and chenille) and each needle type is available in three different colour-coded sizes:

Crewel & Beading - Size 10 red, Size 11 blue, Size 12 black
Tapestry - Size 24 black, Size 26 blue, Size 28 red
Chenille - Size 22 black, Size 24 blue, Size 26 red

Packs are available containing 6 needles in either the same or assorted sizes for £1.25, plus extra-long beading needles are available for £3.55.

Check out your local craft or knitting shops, or for specific stockist details you can email crafts@stockistenquiries.co.uk or call 01453 883581.

Mini Masterpieces midnight release

Lili Of The Valley have just announced their scheduled midnight release of 16 new Mini Masterpieces, so be sure to check out www.liliofthevalley.co.uk when the clock strikes 12 UK time!

Mini Masterpieces are stunning A4 sheets of die-cut toppers with each sheet giving you a selection of topper sizes and at just £1 a sheet they're a bargain!

Little Suzy's Zoo

Look at these adorable new additions to the Little Suzy's Zoo range which will soon be available from Joanna Sheen!

These lovely characters and designs from artist Suzy Spafford are now available from Joanna Sheen in yet more cute rubber stamp designs as well as coordinating decoupage sheets for your projects, as well as cross stitch kits. Great for all kinds of occasions!

The eBosser is landing!

Crafter's Companion have announced the impending arrival of the Craftwell eBosser, the fully-automatic embossing and die-cutting machine allowing you to craft with paper, cardstock, fabric, leather, sugar sheets and more in up to A4 sizes.

You can still take advantage of the pre-order deail on this great little machine, but it's limited to as long as it takes for the first shipment to clear Customs so don't delay! The starter kit include the eBosser, power adaptor, instruction manual, all the cutting and embossing platforms, shims, mats and a free A4 embossing folder to get you started!

Take a look at the demo video on YouTube here to see what you'll be missing!

Heritage revamped

Be sure to check out Bazzill's newly revamped Heritage line which was released today and includes a stylish selection of papers, word stickers and more for vintage, family history and other themes!

New additions from the older range sees patterned papers with vintage receipts, journaling cards, tabs and more, so don't miss out!

British Wool Week

Next week (15th - 21st October) sees British Wool Week and specialists Artesano are supporting this great cause using their new British Wool by encouraging knitters to create socks and hats for the troops in Afghanistan.

Both Wool Week and National Knitting Week taken place together and Beaker Button will be open from the 16th, with make do and mend demonstrations focusing on recycling and with an aim of knitting as many pairs of socks and hats as possible using the Artesano British Wool. These will then be sent to our troops.

Beaker Buttons are inviting anyone in the area to drop in and try it out, so head to their shop at Studio 11, Fairground Craft & Design Centre, Weyhill, Andover SP11 0QN if you can!

Big Stamp & Scrapbooking Show here we come!

Here's looking forward to heading down to the Big Stamp & Scrapbooking Show in Kettering tomorrow with Chris from the sales team. I can't wait to have a good look around now the show has moved further up north and catch up with some old contacts like Stamposaurus and Clevercut.

Sat nav and car snacks well and truly prepared!

Merry & Bright

I'm loving the new Merry & Bright collection which has just been released by NitWit Collections!

This latest release features a lovely contemporary colour scheme, which is perfect for modern Christmas makes in greeting cards, home accessories and even creating your own decor for the tree! Designs feature the usual high-standard with whimsical characters, papers and embellishments galore all being available in the FQB download bundle. I'm particularly taken by the little white reindeer!

Limited Edition ProMarker gift set

Following on from the announcement of the Limited Edition Winter ProMarker 6-pen set, Letraset have also now revealed their 2012 Limited Edition Seasonal Gift Set which is great for crafty friends, newcomers to papercraft or even to go on your wish list for Santa!

This new set features all 24 colours from the 2012 Limited Edition seasonal sets, now all available together in one convenient package!

Get full details at www.letraset.com.

Autumnal products at Papermash

Papermash have well and truly embraced the season with their stationary ranges this month and a selection of leaf and autumn themed products including cute placecards, nature tags, notebooks, Washi tape, a lovely letterpress print designed exclusively for Papermash by Abigail Borg and more!

Christmas Wonderland from Cupcake



There's a new CD-ROM just been released by Cupcake Crafting in the form of the traditional A Christmas Wonderland disc.

 

With licenced artwork from Cheryl Seslar, A Christmas Wonderland featured whimsical and endearing characters including reindeer, chickens, polar bears, winter scenes and more.

 

Printables include backing papers, card fronts, decoupage, toppers, alphabet tiles, sentiments, boxes and more, so for £12.99 it's a bargain for your Christmas makes!

www.cupcakecrafting.co.uk





NitWit 2013 calendar released!

Digital papercraft specialists NitWit Collections have just announced the release of their 2013 printable desktop calendar.

These are always a popular choice for papercrafters and make great projects for the dark autumn/winter nights ahead, so why not download yours now and get creative for 2013?!

Each page prints at 8x8" size, so you can easily print these on A4 and then either tie the pages together with ribbon, attach using book rings or get even more crafty and mount each onto cardstock, decoupage the page elements by printing each sheet multiple times and create a grid-style calendar to hang on a door?

www.nitwitcollections.com

Clover crochet

These double-ended Tunisian crochet hooks from Clover are just the thing for creating double-sided fabrics worked either flat or in the round with Tunisian techniques using simple and purl stitches. The high quality, bamboo hooks are lightweight but strong and silky smooth, plus each is packaged with a fully illustrated leaflet featuring diagrams for a selection of techniques.

The leaflet also features a step-by-step guide for creating a handy little crocheted phone pouch, which is a great starting project for newcomers to crochet!

 

For stockists details email clover@stockistenquiries.co.uk or call 01453 883581.

Limited edition ProMarkers

The new Winter 2012 ProMarker pen set is now available and gives you 6 lovely coordinating colours for your projects, so get creating your Christmas and winter cards using these versatile pens!

The set includes the colours Polar Blue, Winter Berry, Frosted Leaf, Eggnog, Pink Mittens and Icicle. Each pen is double-ended giving you a broad nib for large area filling and a fine, bullet-tip for detailed work.

Get them now from Joanna Sheen and save a £1!

New Carta Bella collections

Check out the new Traditions and Winter Fun collections shipping now from Carta Bella Paper!
Traditions, designer for Carta Bella by Samantha Walker, features a warm and rich palette combined with highly decorative and beautiful patterns for this any-occasion collection.

The seasonal Winter Fun range gives you a great selection of wintry elements. The colour scheme is largely typical winter colours with pale blue shades, but designer Carina Gardner has mixed things up by throwing in the off kraft and red colour to keep things spicy!

Each new range features 9 double-sided patterned papers, 3 double-sided solids, element and alphabet stickers. You can also get a handy Collection Kit or keep things smaller for cards and mini books with the 6x6" paper pads.

Kaisercraft additions for October

There are yet more super releases from Kaisercraft this month with offerings being in the form of the Butterfly Kisses, Just Believe and Periwinkle ranges.

Butterfly Kisses is a playful range designes for girls, with pink and purple focal colours combined with designs including butterflies, birds, florals and love heart elements.

Just Believe is another stunning Christmas collection which joins the ranks with the September releases of Mint Twist, Turtle Dove and Twig & Berry. This new festive range gives us gorgeous patterns featuring musical notes, flora, dots, stripes and more.

Periwinkle is a beautifully dreamy collection combining soft peach with turquoise and imagery of hot air balloons, feathers and birds. This is the kind of collection you can use for any theme!

See all the Kaisercraft products available here.

Jones Crafts are the UK distributors for Kaisercraft, so you can also email craftsales@jonesnottm.co.uk to find a stockist.

Colour Therapy



The new Colour Therapy DVD is now available from digital papercraft specialists Polka Doodles.

The DVD features 7 different video tutorials in which Nikky Hall takes you through the craft fundamentals of using alcohol markers on your projects, with over 100 minutes of footage showing you the ins and outs.

Colouring topics included on the disc are skintones & hair, blending techniques, directional light & shade, sepia tones, finishing touches and much more.

 

Check out www.polkadoodles.co.uk for full details.

Vivi celebrate 10 years

Vivi Celebrations are celebrating their 10th birthday and want you to join in the festivities by entering their Great Lucky Dip from now until Christmas! There are 10 prizes up for grabs which are taken from Viviana's collection of silver jewellery, stunning cake decorations and Christmas keepsakes.

Click here to go to the Vivi Celebrations Facebook page and enter the competition!