August Challenge

Please see the bottom of this for the July winning entry.

My August challenge deals with one of the things that I love about summer - BEACH HUTS

They sum up summer for me.  We used to rent one out at Bridlington when we were kids although it was called a beach chalet in those days. 

Candy colours are my favourites but I could easily obsess over anything beach hut related

This site gives a bit of the history of the Beach Hut.  Early ones looked  like this on wheels

These are some we found in a little cove at Ile de Noirmoutier in France a few years ago. I just love the little heart cut out on the window.

and this one which puzzled my little man as it was the same size as him

and now onto some crafty projects

How about this from letraset (home of promarkers).  There is even a tutorial

This is from folksy

Ipod covers from Etsy

Maybe you own or are renting a beach hut during August.  If you do then maybe your challenge could be to show a picture of it. Maybe you could put up bunting like this one or something else to decorate it.

What about a sand sculpture of a beach hut or a pebble picture?  Anything goes with my challenges. They can be any craft project you like as long as you make it fit the theme for the month which is Beach Hut. The only limits are your imagination.

and if anybody is looking for a digital stamp then look no further than this fabulous Little Musings freebie

Entry is from a minute past midnight on 1st August 2010 up until midnight on 31st August (GMT) and is via inlinkz (see below).

Your prize this month is this selection of goodies.

There were 27 entries for the July challenge which were put into random.org and came up with number 3 as the winner. 

Number 3 is Dorothy with this fantastic entry.

Entries for the design team call are being accepted until 15th August.  Thanks to those who have already submitted their gorgeous work.  Once the closing date has passed I will have a hard decision to make to pick everybody as there are so many lovely entries.  If you are still interested in applying then please see this post for full details of how to enter.  I would love to see your work. It is a one off call with no commitments other than creating something with the new releases as they arrive in August/September.  No 6 monthly commitments that you may struggle to keep to.

Thanks for looking and if you enter then good luck.

Design Team Call

For the current challenge please scroll down to the next post

With the new season products shortly to be released I am looking for approximately 4 or 5 people to be part of a one off design team to showcase the new goodies.

I will provide the embellishments (approx mid to end of August depending on shipping from the states to me - cuurently Prima are saying mid august shipping) and in return would like some inspirational work from you to put on my shop website and/or blog.  I am looking for cards and scrapbook layouts.  You do not need to do both unless you want to as I will make sure the team has an even balance of cardmakers and scrapbookers.  Once the products are with you I will need a reasonably quick turnaround of no more than a month so I can get the pictures in the shop gallery as soon as possible.

The products I provide will probably be in the same format as I sell them (grip seal bags of 10 flowers etc but obviously several packets of different types for you to work with).  You will need to provide your own card blanks if you are a card maker.  Looking at the preview of the new products there are some amazing new papers so I will provide some of those to go with your flowers.

International applications are also welcome.

If you are interested in this opportunity please email me by 15th August 2010 at craftgardenshop@googlemail.com with the following

1. Name:

2. Address: optional at the moment if you would rather not give it

3. Email:

4. Phone number:

5. Blog or website address: you don't need to have one

6. Links to any online galleries you may have:

7. Three samples of your work which use floral embellishments as this is the main part I need to showcase.

8. Details of any design teams you are currently part of or have been part of so I can see more of your lovely work.  I don't mind if you are part of another team so don't be shy.

9. A little bit about yourself and your crafting experience etc.

July Challenge

My research about this month for inspiration led me to the birthflower for July which is either the Larkspur or the Waterlily. Nobody seems to be able to narrow it down so in searching for a picture of either a Larkspur or Waterlily I came across this wonderful image of the Larkspur Fairy.

Isn't she lovely?  This single picture made my mind up about the challenge for this month. 

Your challenge is FAIRY in whichever way you wish to interpret it. 

As usual you may enter any craft you like - cards, scrapbook pages, knitting, sewing, embroidery, crochet, whatever takes your fancy.  Entry is by inlinkz below and entries close at 23:59 GMT on 31st July 2010.

I will chose an entry at random after that date as the winner.  Good luck everybody and here are some more fairies as inspiration

From Etsy

Etsy again showing that fairies can be for boys too

and of course those make believe Cottingley fairies at the end of the garden

The prize this month is this issue of Magnolia Ink Magazine

The link is below to enter.

Now for the June winner. Random.org chose number 9

which is Lisa-Jane with this lovely entry

I actually never got around to sorting out the prize for last month so it is a £5 voucher for the shop.  Lisa-Jane if you can email me at craftgardenshop@aol.com I will provide you with the details of how to redeem it.

Speaking of the shop - the summer sale has started and will continue until the end of July.  All sale items are in the bargain basement section of the shop with some items starting from just 25p.  As always free postage on UK orders over £10 and just 90p on orders below £10. International postage is available.