Featured Design Team Series: Cross-Posting DT Member, Amber's, Heffy Doodle Elfish Antics Blog Post

Guest Writer: 
Design Team Member-Amber MacMurtry
Owner of Doodles Paper Playground
Visit her Blog: Here

Tonight I am sharing a pair of super cute cards I created with one background I created using a variety of the supporting image stamps from Heffy Doodle's absolutely adorable Elfish Antics stamp set from the November 1st 2017 release, available to purchase now in the White Rose Crafts store.

Who doesn't love a 2 for 1 deal? Amiright?

I knew I wanted to do some coloring on Recollections kraft cardstock using my Spectrum Noir Colored Pencils-Primaries set, so I decided to use the small, supporting images included in the stamp set and create a random pattern on my kraft panel. I used Versafine ink in Vintage Sepia and my Misti stamping tool to ensure that I got crisp clear images with a softer, tone on tone look on the kraft background. I also stamped each of the elves and one of the candy canes on a separate piece of kraft paper. Then I used traditional Christmas colors to add some very simple coloring on all of the images. I used colored pencils to lay down a base on the elves and extra candy cane before using Sakura Glaze pens in White, Red, Green and Yellow to help make the colors pop. Finally I fussy cut the images leaving a bit of a kraft border.

I trimmed my panel by 1/8 inch on each side and chose a deep red Neenah cardstock cut to 4 1/8x5 3/8" to mat my background on. I then used the second largest oval die from my Darice Embossing Essentials nested oval dies to cut a window in the center of my colored panel. I adhered my panel to the red layer and tried layering my elves inside the window, but they blended into the red more than I liked, so I used the largest Darice oval die to cut a piece of vellum to layer on top. I liked that it overlapped the kraft panel a bit. I took a piece of the kraft card and used my Versamark ink pad and Recollections Snow white embossing powder to heat emboss the cute and punny sentiment and trimmed it down. I felt it blended into the background a bit too much, so I inked the edges of the banner with Versamark and heat embossed them with the same white powder. I used double sided tear tape from White Rose Crafts to layer the adorable girl elf on top of the vellum oval, after deciding that both elves made the design too busy, and used foam tape to pop sentiment banner on top. I used 1mm foam tape on the back of the vellum, hidden behind the elf and sentiment, and adhered it in the center of the red window. I mounted the panel on a top folding US A2, portrait card base made using Recollections 110# White Cardstock, leaving a tiny white border around the edge. I felt the card needed just a little bit more definition, so I used my White Sakura Gelly Roll pen to draw faux stitch lines around the stamped kraft panel and a double stitch line around the edge of the vellum oval, to look like a stitched seam. For the final touch, I added a double coat of Spectrum Noir Clear Overlay Sparkle Pen to the sentiment banner.

I didn't want to waste the center oval from my background or second elf, after doing all the work to stamp and color them, so I took a piece of the same red cardstock I used on the first card, cut to 4 x 5.25 inches--so there would be an eighth inch white border around the edge when I mounted it on my card base. I adhered the colored kraft oval in the center, using double sided tear tape and cut a second vellum oval to layer on top. Using my Misti to stamp the Warm Hugs sentiment from the same named Heffy Doodle stamp set (also from the November 1st release) in Versamark ink, I heat embossed it using Recollections Snow white powder. Then I put it back in the Misti and stamped it again with Versamark and used a clear glitter Recollections embossing powder called Glitz to add some sparkle. I also inked up the edges of the sentiment banner and heat embossed with the same Glitz powder. I then mounted my little boy elf and sentiment strip on the vellum oval using double sided tear tape. I hid 1mm foam tape behind them and mounted the vellum oval centered over the colored panel. I then took my white pen again and drew faux stitch lines around the edge of the vellum as well as the red panel before mounting the finishe panel on my Top Folding A2 card base.

I wanted to bring the design to the inside of these cards, so I used the Merry Christmas sentiment from the Elfish Antics stamp set, and stamped it in Candied Apple Distress Oxide ink on the inside of both panels. Then I took the small stocking image from the same stamp set and stamped 4 of them hanging from the sentiment, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink & colored them with red and green Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I finished the design with a touch of sparkle overlay pen on the cuffs of the stockings.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and I hope you enjoyed reading my process for making this cute pair of Christmas cards. You can find links to the products I used below.

Until next time,
Amber

Disclaimer: As a design team member, I receive some products for free from White Rose Crafts LLC to create promotional projects. The links for products available in the store are not affiliate links and I receive no monetary compensation when you make a purchase.

---Supplies Used---
Heffy Doodle "Elfish Antics" stamp set
Heffy Doodle "Warm Hugs" stamp set
Double Sided Tear Tape
Woodware 1mm Foam Tape
Sakura Glaze Pens
Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen
Spectrum Noir Color Blends "Primaries"
Spectrum Noir Clear Overlay Sparkle Pen
Recollections Heavyweight White Cardstock 110#
Neenah Creative Collection Cardstock
Darice Nesting Oval Dies
Recollections Kraft Cardstock
Recollections Clear Vellum Sheets
Versamark Ink Cube
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Recollections Detail Embossing Powder "Snow"
Recollections Glitz Embossing Powder
Distress Oxide Ink "Candied Apple"

First Ever White Rose Crafts Open Design Team Call: January-April 2018 Term

Owner, Kay Barnes, and the rest of us at White Rose Crafts are absolutely thrilled to announce that she has decided to expand our new design team! We are looking for enthusiastic, dedicated candidates with a variety of strengths and styles, who must be able to take clear, bright, quality photographs of their work and be familiar and comfortable with posting on a variety of Social Media platforms. If this sounds like you, please see below for application requirements and details!

We are looking to fill 2, four month term design team spots on our growing team, as well as a few first quarter Guest Designer spots.

We are very interested in adding at least one member whose strengths are in Mixed Media & Altered Arts to diversify the team, but will consider all design styles. 

One of our top priorities is adding a member with an established YouTube presence and following that would be willing to make quality, informative videos featuring projects created with your DT package from White Rose Crafts, twice per month.

Term Design Team Requirements:

• Must reside in the USA or Canada.
• Must Love Papercrafting and creating with a variety of products.
• Must love working with products from a variety of different companies (visit www.whiterosecraftsllc.com to see the brands and products we carry).
• Must be able to take clear, bright, quality photographs of your projects
• Must have an active Instagram and Facebook account. You must be able to interact with the design team in our Secret Facebook group, as this is the fastest way for us to communicate with the team as a whole. We prefer that at least one member have an active, established YouTube account, but it is not a requirement for application. Pinterest or Personal Blogs are a bonus, but not a requirement.
• Must be willing to help grow and increase exposure for the Store and be an active, up-beat, and supportive member of the team. We expect posts on behalf of White Rose Crafts to be professional in nature. We ask that you are encouraging and supportive both with the other team members as well as existing and potential customers. We want you to present your projects and feel comfortable sharing feedback, ideas, favorite products, tips and tricks.
• Design team members are required to share a minimum of 4 projects per month using products available at White Rose Crafts, to be posted weekly, that will be featured on our Facebook page, Instagram and Blog. You will not be restricted to use only products sold at White Rose, but we do ask that they be the primary focus. Please do not use image stamps or patterned paper packs that are not available for purchase at whiterosecraftsllc.com.
• Must be willing to create at least one additional project using one or more featured themes or companies on certain promotional months. (You will receive additional product in your design team packages for these months.)
• Must be willing to post design team projects on your personal social media pages and in any Facebook groups you are a member of that will allow it. We ask that you link back to whiterosecraftsllc.com wherever possible and always use your personalized watermark that will be provided to you.
• Design team terms are 4 months (this term will begin in January and end April 30 2018), with the option to extend as long as design team requirements are being met and the owner is pleased with your performance. You may be on other Design Teams for digital artists, stamp/die companies or product manufacturers, but we do ask that you are not on a permanent design team for another online retail craft store that carries multiple brands, as it is a conflict of interest. However, you must be able to keep up with your White Rose Crafts design team requirements.

Note: Guest Designer requirements and compensation will be discussed on a case by case basis.

Term Design Team Compensation:

• $20 per month in store credit (plus free shipping) to purchase a design team package of your choice. On certain months, you may be asked to include at least one product from a specific theme or brand. You will receive additional store credit or a specific product selected by Kay on those months, and will be expected to create a 5^th project using promotional products.
• 25% exclusive, unlimited store discount for the length of your design team term.
• Additional exposure for your work, as we will be featuring it on our company social media pages and Blog.
• Links back to your personal blog, and tag backs on Instagram and facebook for all posts featuring your work.
• A supportive team, dedicated to encouraging each other, building collective confidence, and sharing knowledge and expertise in our strength areas.

To Apply for the January-April 2018 White Rose Crafts Design Team term, send an email to WhiteRoseCraftsLLCBlog@gmail.com with “WRC Design Team App” in the subject bar, so we know it’s not spam, and include the following information:

• Name, Location, and a brief description of who you are and your crafting journey.
• All of your social media links (must include Facebook and Instagram, but Pinterest, Twitter or a Blog are a bonus) Any qualified applicants with established YouTube presence will receive priority, until that position is filled.
• 3-5 quality photo examples of your work
• Links to 1 or 2 examples of videos you have shared, if applicable.

The deadline for first term applications is December 22, 2017. 

We will do our best to respond to all applicants, but depending on the volume of applications we receive, that may not be possible. Thank you for understanding.

Applicants who are asked to join the team or are invited to be guest designers will be notified by email no later than January 1st. Please make sure you add WhiteRoseCraftsLLCBlog@gmail.com to your safe senders list. 

We will announce the new term team members during the first week of January.

Thankful For You Giveaway, Discount Code & Freebie, Oh My

We at White Rose Crafts are Very Thankful for So many things this month, let us count the ways:

- We are launching our new Design Team with 2 very talented founding members, Amber MacMurtry and Anna-Marie Batz.
- We started a sponsorship program with Zippy Zebra Smiles & Hugs, an organization that pairs card senders with children with chronic illnesses and disabilities.
- We  have forged new international retail partnerships with Heffy Doodle, Wild RoseStudio, LemonCraft and Your Next Stamp! 

That's a lot to be thankful for, but most of all, we are So Thankful for our loyal customers and followers! 

To show our Gratitude to all of you who make the store successful, we are hosting a 
Thankful For You Giveaway, ends December 18, 2017
AND
10% Discount on All Orders, including sale items, through December 31, 2017. 
AND
Freebie Mini Christmas Sequin Mix from Doodles Paper Playground included with every order, While Supplies Last!

PROMO CODE: THANKFUL (Expires Dec 31, 2017)

Thankful For You Giveaway Details:

-          ~ To enter, you must be 18 years of age or older, follow our Facebook page and tag at least one friend in the comments of the Facebook Thankful For You Giveaway Post who might be interested in seeing more from White Rose Crafts by 11:59PM EST on November 30 2017.

-          ~ For a second entry, find our Giveaway post over on Instagram for a chance to win a second Prize Pack! Just follow the directions there!

-          ~ The Giveaway closes at 11:59PM EST on December 18, 2017. Winners will be chosen at random, using random.org and announced on December 20, 2017.

-         ~  One winner will be chosen for each giveaway at random from all of the entries on each platform. Winners will be tagged and contacted via Private Message on whichever Platform you win on (either Instagram or Facebook).

Giveaway Winners will receive:

-          1 Wild Rose Studio, 3x4 inch Snowmen Stamp

-          1 Wild Rose Studio, 6x6 Winter Bauble Paper Pack (36 single sided sheets, 12 designs)

Disclaimer:

This giveaway is open internationally, and the prizes include the cost of shipping. No purchase necessary. Random winners will be chosen using random.org. This giveaway is not affiliated or sponsored by Facebook or Instagram in any way. All prizes provided by White Rose Crafts LLC. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes by sending their name and address by email to WhiteRoseCraftsLLCBlog@Gmail.com. If prizes are not claimed within 48 hours, new winners will be chosen. Employees, and Design Team members are ineligible to win. Discounts are applied to order total before tax and shipping are applied. 

Introducing Design Team Member, Anna-Marie Batz

We would like to introduce our second founding Design Team member, Anna-Marie Batz.

Anna-Marie currently resides in Vestal New York. She attended Suny Oneonta and studied to become a registered dietitian. After obtaining her degree, Anna-Marie developed a love of all things creative and crafty. She also loves animals, movies, and making other's lives happier with her creations. She describes herself as a "kitchen table weekend warrior creator" with a huge passion for creating beautiful cards to send to her friends and family. She is blessed to have her very own Director of Creative Development in charge of quality control, her beloved special needs fur baby, Kalley-Cat, who has final approval of all card creations.

Anna-Marie began her stamping and cardmaking journey about 10 years ago when she attended a Stamp Camp with her mother, in Rochester. It was set up in stations and attendees rotated through them round robin style to create different cards at each station. Creating that memory with her mother and having the opportunity to share her creativity and make something special to brighten another's day brought her true happiness. Ever since, she has found that cardmaking brings her a sense of peace and well-being in an otherwise chaotic world.

Over the past year, Anna-Marie was able to share her love of creating cards with her parents as a means of brightening their lives following her father's diagnosis of a rapidly progressing form of ALS. This Cardinal card holds a special place in her heart, being the final card she sent prior to her father losing his battle with the disease in June. Anna-Marie takes comfort in knowing her father looks down on her and share's her mother's pride for this new leap she's taken with her hobby. Anna-Marie continues to share her creations with her mother, sending her paper hugs across the miles to let her know she's always in her heart.

This will be Anna-Marie's first foray onto a Design team. She says, "I am truly excited, honored and humbled to be a part of the Design team." She has been an enthusiastic addition to the team and looks forward to sharing her inspiration projects using the unique, high quality tools, embellishments, stamps and papers available at White Rose Crafts with all of you. She feels as though her life has been enriched by those she has contact with through this mutual love of paper crafting. We know we look forward to seeing what she has in store for you as a design team member!

Thanks For Visiting,

White Rose Crafts

Introducing Our Design Team Captain: Amber MacMurtry

Today we would like to introduce our first design team member, Amber MacMurtry; owner of Doodles Paper Playground.

Amber has been the pioneer member of the White Rose Crafts Design Team, helping Kay Barnes to develop the team guidelines and requirements and offering support and training to the other design team members (and Kay, on occasion) when needed. Amber is a Vermont native since she was 6 months old. She enjoys singing, reading fantasy novels, animated and B rated horror movies and, of course, paper crafting. Amber has been crafting in one form or another since she was a little girl creating dioramas to accompany her book reports for school, but she really began paper crafting in college. She began her journey by starting a scrapbook as a gift for her stepmother following the birth of her baby sister, 18 years her junior, but never really caught the scrapbooking bug--the evidence of which is that unfinished first scrapbook still sitting in her stash today!

Created October 2017 with
Fiskars-Thanks a Latte stamp set

In her mid 20s, Amber went through a divorce and found herself with more personal time than she'd had since college. She decided in the fall of 2009 that she would try to save herself money and make her own Christmas cards to send to friends and family. (Its okay, I'll wait until you stop laughing). 10 weeks and about $200 later, her cards were complete and she was hooked!

Fast forward to 2014.

Amber had continued to create homemade Christmas and Birthday cards for her friends and family
since she caught the bug 5 years earlier, and even attempted to start an Etsy store to sell her designs, unsuccessfully. In September of 2014, her son was born with a birth brain injury due to oxygen deprivation. She was devastated and felt herself slowly descend into an abyss of depression over the next few months. Knowing that paper crafting had been cathartic and therapeutic for her in the past, Amber began using the supplies she had collected over the years and started developing her arsenal of cardmaking techniques. She found that being creative helped her take her mind off of the unknowns of her son's condition and prevented her depression from worsening.

Fast forward again to 2017.

For the past 3 years, Amber has continued to hone her craft adding new supplies and coloring mediums to her tool box and constantly seeking new and interesting techniques to try. She would describe her style as a combination of clean and simple, bright and cheerful and scene builder cards.

In September, she was asked to join her first Design Team. Although it didn't prove to be a good fit, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Shortly after, she found herself chatting with Kay after she had placed one of several supply orders and they started discussing the possibility of developing a design team to promote the fantastic and affordable products available in the White Rose Crafts LLC shop. Almost as fast as you can say Craft Supplies, the White Rose Design team was born. Over the next few weeks, Kay and Amber added two other talented members to the team and worked on dotting the I's and crossing the T's on the team guidelines and requirements. Amber has become a valuable asset to Kay over the past weeks--encouraging her to expand her product line and social media presence--and together, they have come up with an exciting schedule of events for the next few months. So stay tuned!

Thanks for Visiting,

White Rose Crafts LLC

Introduction

Hello and welcome to the new White Rose Crafts LLC Blog Space!

We are excited to share Design Team projects, announcements, new products and shop related news on a semi-regular basis! Please follow us, so you don't miss any important info and feel free to leave comments (just keep them kind and clean, please!)

White Rose Crafts LLC is a Virginia based online Craft Retail Shop owned and operated by Kay Barnes. Kay is a UK native, and specializes in bringing the high quality products available in Europe to her US buyers at affordable prices, as well as stocking some of the US based brands you know and love! White Rose is a growing business, operated by Kay and one part time employee, although she has hopes to expand in the future!  She has recently partnered with Heffy Doodle, Wild Rose Studio, Your Next Stamp and LemonCrafts as an official US retailer. You can shop these and lots of other great products, Here!

The month of November has been very exciting! We are launching a brand new Design Team, featuring 3 talented ladies who hope to bring you lots of inspiration using products available in the shop! Look for our next couple of blog posts that will be showcasing each of the team members!

Thank you for stopping by! We really hope you'll follow the blog, Facebook, and Instagram so you don't miss any of the fun things we have planned in the coming weeks!



Come back soon,

White Rose Crafts