Picked Just for You

Happy Saturday everyone,

What a fabulous day - I'm so glad the sunshine has lasted until the weekend. We've been for a lovely walk this afternoon with my two little dogs - I even think my lily-white skin has picked up a little bit of colour!! Lol.

I have a little 'Thank You' gift to show you today - it was made for a friend after she helped me in the garden and is made from two beer mats ...

The base is an oval beer mat, covered with blue marbled paper from my stash.  The main feature is a square beer mat, covered with a paler blue paper from my stash and edged with a silver marker.  The cute little stamps are from 'Art Impressions' and have been masked and layered to create a garden scene, then coloured with my Promarkers.  The sentiment is stamped and cut out using a Labels Seventeen nestie, backed with blue pearlised card.  The 'Thank You' sentiment is from 'Just Rite' and is stamped and cut using a Circle nestie.  The flowers and brads are all from my stash.  

I hope the sunshine stays with us tomorrow - enjoy the rest of the weekend.  Hugz, Jan xx

A Bit of Vintage Paris

Wow! 4 days of fantastic sunshine - I'm now being cooked in my crafty conservatory, rather than coming out like an ice-cube!!  Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend - BBQ time I think.

I have been busy working on my youngest daughter's birthday card over the last couple of days, but can't show it yet as she sometimes pops on my blog, and I would hate her to see it before the day.  I can't believe how organized I am, but she is due home from university tomorrow for the summer, so I thought I would try and get ahead!

I have picked another card, which was made for a work colleague, to show you today.  It's a little different from my usual style (just to show I can!) Lol.  I am always being teased about my 'cutsie' style, so here goes ...

It's a 6x6" card matted with brown pearlised card and then paper from the Tim Holtz 'Vintage Shabby' paper stack which is inked around the edge with distress ink.  The main stamp is called  'Collage Take Time' from Hero Arts and is stamped onto ivory pearlised card and embossed with copper embossing powder. I tore the edges and inked with one of my all time favourite distress inks - walnut stain.  The two tickets are stamped using 'Invoke' stamps and cut out.  The card is finished with a die cut swirl, a couple of punched leaves, three co-ordinating buttons, a couple of amber adhesive gems and some 'birthday' wording.  I think it definitely has a 'vintage' feel to it - hope you like it.

Hugz, Jan xx

Happy Birthday Polkadoodles

Wow! What an exciting day - the Polkadoodles Challenge Blog is 3 today - Happy Birthday!

We are celebrating with a special 'Birthday Challenge' and giving away an extraordinary amount of prizes worth over £200!!  The whole design team have been involved and were challenged to make a birthday card using three of something - here's what I made ...

I chose a DL sized cardblank for a change which is layered with brown pearlised cardstock and pretty papers from the fabulous range of Polkadoodles CDs  (the flowered one is from the 'Sugar Birdies CD' and the striped one is from the 'Candy Doodles CD') and as you can see they compliment each other perfectly, even though they are from different CDs.

I love this yummy cupcake stamp - perfect for celebrating a birthday.  I stamped it once on card and coloured with Promarkers, then twice more onto shrink plastic and coloured with watercolour pencils before I shrunk them - so cute.  These are mounted onto a pink nestie circle, which has faux stitching around the edge and then a brown lacey circle cut from matching brown cardstock.

The sentiment is printed from the 'Candy Doodles CD', cut using a nestie circle which also has faux stitching and mounted onto a brown lacey circle to match the main image.

Added embellishments include a pink border cut using the nestabilities Parisian border die, together with some lush pink and brown checked ribbon (one of my favourite colour schemes) and a few pink adhesive gems to finish off.

All there is left to say is a huge 'Well Done' to the very talented and generous Nikky Hall and I hope I am still around to help celebrate the next three!

Get yourselves over to the blog quick and snaffle yourself some fab prizes.

Hugz, Jan xx

Birthday Presents

Morning everyone,

I'm back from a fantastic day with crafty friends yesterday, very tired but buzzing with new ideas to try out.

I have another little cutie card made for a work colleague which I thought I would share with you today, using a new stamp from Wild Rose Studio.

Card Recipe

Image

Bella with Presents (Wild Rose Studio)

Colouring Medium

Promarkers and crystal glitter

Papers

From my stash

Sentiment

Just Rite

Embellishments 

Lilac organza ribbon, sea green organza ribbon, 

die-cut swirls and lilac adhesive gems

I love the colour scheme on this one - hope she likes it.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Hugz, Jan xx

  

It's in the Eyes

Hi there everyone,

I hope you are all ready for the weekend - I'm visiting a good friend up north as we speak, so I hope the scheduling works!

More art journaling today - this is a very addictive hobby and a fab way to express thoughts/feelings to paper.  Today's page is about the 'Eyes' and oh what a nightmare trying to draw them and get them right. Here's how it ended up ...

It is A5 in size again and the background is made using Broken China and Faded Jeans distress inks applied with an inking tool.  The usual selection of stamping and ink is applied over the top.  I did actually draw the eyes, after looking at loads of images on the computer - I can't believe how long it took to get them just right!  I am definitely feeling more confident with the handwriting - it's all my own this time and lots of doodling with black and white pens.  Hope you like it.  I want to try some acrylic paints on the next one, so watch this space.

Have a great weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx

Something Old, Something New ...

Morning everyone, it's Friday which means it's challenge time again over at Polkadoodles.  This week's theme is 'A Wedding card with a Difference' - we were challenged to make a card incorporating the four elements from the traditional wedding quote 'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue.  Here's what I made ...

I chose an easel card this time which is decorated with gorgeous blue paper from the 'All Around & Everywhere' CD.  The cute little 'Bride and Groom' stamp is brand new to me and is coloured with Promarkers and a touch of crystal glitter and is mounted on a blue nestabilities Lacey Square.  

The sentiment is also from the same CD and is printed onto a little Magnolia die-cut tag, which is finished with a piece of blue ribbon (which was cut from a pair of old pyjamas)!  

Embellishments galore include a pretty white doily, a white feather (which is my borrowed item, from my daughter's stash), a white Doohickey die-cut swirl, lots of die-cut flowers with blue brads/blue adhesive gem centres, some gorgeous white lace, two little blue pearlised hearts, two white adhesive pearls and three clear little Polkadoodles dew drops. Well, I did say embellishments galore! 

The whole card is mounted onto pieces of blue lacey circle, which I cut and stuck behind the original easel to give an extra dimension - I hope you like it and maybe find a little inspiration.

I shall look forward to seeing your entries over at the Polkadoodles Challenge Blog - see you there.

Hugz, Jan xx

No Internet and the Boys

Well, I felt a bit like this yesterday when I got home from school to find out that the BT contractors who were trying to fix a fault on the phone line had actually severed the cable completely!!  Internet and phone line gone in a snip!  I didn't realise how much not being able to get on here would upset me! I need to get out more.  Anyway, all is good and I think I have caught up with everything - thank goodness it was only one day. Lol.

I thought I would share this with you tonight - I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who is planning to go, but Westlife were absolutely fab on Sunday night, so just a little taster of the boys for those who are interested.  So sad to think it is their last tour :(

Off to watch another favourite now, Mr Damon Salvatore no less (Vampire Diaries).
Hugz, Jan xx

Flower of Hope

Well, my beach scene card on Friday must have been a sign - we have had some lovely sunshine here today, actually got some jobs done outside!

I had to fit some crafting in too - I have my second art journaling page to show you today.  I definitely think this one is an improvement on the first and I even used more handwritten lettering (instead of cheating on the pc!)  Here's what it looks like ...

It all began with a piece of plain white A5 card - the background is made using Victorian Velvet and Peeled Paint distress inks applied with an ink tool.  I then added loads of interesting features using a similar array of items as the last one - I also used some twinkling H2Os to add a bit of glimmer.  The flower is partly drawn and part paper pieced from stashbox scraps.  I used a combination of black micron pen and white gel pen to doodle and the handwriting is all my own this time (very daring!)

I'm off to see Westlife on their final tour tonight, so won't be around until later.  Enjoy the rest of your day.

Hugz, Jan xx  

Fairy Wings

How time flies when you're having crafty fun - I can't believe it's lunchtime already.  Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend - we have some sun, at last!

My card today is for the Glitter Geeks challenge whose theme this week is 'Wings and Things' - one of my favourites.  I haven't used these cute little stamps for ages and thought they deserved an outing - perfect for a pretty pink card.  Here's what I made ...

Card Recipe

Image - Fairy Doodles from Buzzcraft

Colouring Medium - Promarkers and a lil' bit of glitter

Papers 

All Around & Everywhere CD (Polkadoodles) and raspberry cardstock

Sentiment - Fairy Doodles from Buzzcraft

Tools

Sewing machine/picot edge circle, plain circle and labels one nesties

Embellishments 

Large Papermania polkadot flower, stashbox flowers, 

raspberry organza ribbon bow, white doily, white feather, 

white Doo Hickey swirl and pink baby dragonfly, 

clear dew drops and pink adhesive pearls and gems.

Hugz, Jan xx

On the Beach

I wish! Is it every going to stop raining?

First, I just wanted to say a warm 'welcome'  to all my new followers and thank you for taking the time to have a look around and leave me some really nice comments - I always appreciate what other crafters have to say about my work (good or bad).

My card today is to enter into the 'Try it on Tuesday' challenge, which have a beach theme this week.  Here's what I made ...

I had some real fun with this one.  It started life as a plain white 6x6" card blank which I layered with a piece of black textured cardstock and then a piece of beach themed paper, which I have had in my stash box for ever - I knew it would come in handy one day!  The main image is a freebie stamp from 'Craft Stamper' magazine (which I think is upside down, now I look at it!) Lol.  I tore the edges and inked with dried marigold distress ink to match the sand then mounted it on a piece of the black cardstock and then onto a 'fleur de lys' square cut  from the same backing paper with my nesties.  The embellishments consist of a piece of black ribbon, some fibres, a stamped star (it's meant to look like a starfish!) and then I added lots of cute little shells and some sand for extra texture.  The fibres are secured with a little pebble which I retrieved specially from the thousands in my garden (and yes, I washed it first!) Although it's a fairly simple design, I'm really pleased with the result.  Hope you like it.

Hugz, Jan xx

A Little Gift Box

Hi there, hope everyone has enjoyed their Holiday Monday.  After a visit to the supermarket to stock up on food, I returned to my craft room to play! What better way to enjoy the extra day - it's raining outside again anyway.

I thought I would play with templates again today and found this adorable little gift box on the Polkadoodles Paper Boutique (Volume II).  I have a colleagues birthday coming up soon and thought it would be ideal to pop a little gift in.  Here's my finished product ...

How cute is that!  I printed the template onto the reverse of my chosen paper (which is from the 'Sugar Birdies' CD) and cut it out.  After a bit of scoring, folding and much inking my little box emerged, but it was crying out to be embellished.  I cut pieces of a second paper (from the same CD) and added panels to each of the four faces.  I made a sentiment which is cut with my nesties and layered it onto a scalloped circle cut from raspberry cardstock.  A little paper flower completes the front.  I made a larger flower from the same papers which has a pink button centre and added raspberry ribbon to hold the box closed. Voila!  These templates are so easy to use and provide the perfect starting point for a variety of projects.

I think a few choccies are in order to fill it for my friend - I'm sure she will love it.

Hugz, Jan xx

Art Journaling

Happy Sunday - hope everyone is enjoying their weekend - we even had a bit of sun here this afternoon!

I have been playing with my inks today and now have very messy fingers, but have produced my first 'Art Journaling' page.  I chose my favourite song of all time for my first attempt - I think it looks ok, what do you think?

I started with an A5 piece of smooth cardstock and had great fun making the background.  First I applied Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade distress inks with my brayer, then added some Fired Brick around the edges with an inking tool.  I used bubble wrap, pen lids, a text stamp, a star stamp and a dotty stamp to add extra detail in the same colour inks, then added stamped cogs to two corners using the Fired Brick.  Background complete I added the song title (which is printed from my pc).  I printed the three song words onto paper which had been tinted with the same ink, then tore and inked the edges for extra dimension.  I don't particularly like my own handwriting, but as journaling is all about writing I felt there should be some on my page, so I had a go!  The winged heart is made up of two stamps and the whole piece is finished with a gold embossed flourish in the top left corner.

I really enjoyed making this and already have some ideas for the next ones.  Enjoy the bank holiday,

Hugz, Jan xx

Lots of Layers

Morning everyone,

I had a major panic this morning when my internet crashed and died!  Then found a BT engineer sat on the pavement outside my house fiddling with the telephone cables. Lost contact with the outside world for a while, but all is well now - thank goodness!

I decided to go back to an old favourite and work in monochrome yesterday - I picked shades of brown (one of my favourite colours).  This one is for the 'Layers' challenge over at Stampin' for the Weekend - here's what I made ...

The base card is my usual 8x8" scalloped blank which is topped with a layer of yummy polkadot paper matted onto brown cardstock.  I used two other gorgeous papers (all from my Polkadoodles CDs) and matted different sized pieces onto the same brown cardstock to form the first two layers of my card.  All the edges are inked with Scattered Twigs distress ink. The next layer is a little doily which is also inked for effect and then a layer of cream organza ribbon, before I added the stamped image layer which is cut using a Labels Seventeen nestie and is backed on the same brown cardstock.  The image is 'Thinking of You'  from the Swalk range and is coloured with my trusty Promarkers.  The sentiment forms the next layer and is printed from the CD and mounted on a couple of nestie shapes.  The final layer is a selection of Magnolia doily flowers which are coloured with my vanilla Promarker, an extra brown Prima flower with a button centre, a Doohickey heart swirl and some pearl stamens.  Added embellishments include a little 'Hugs' tab printed on my pc, brown candi and adhesive gems.  I make that seven layers (or five if the paper matting isn't allowed).

Off to enter it in the challenge now, hope you like it.

Hugz, Jan xx

My Polkadoodles Debut

Morning everyone, I am so excited - it's challenge time over at Polkadoodles and my debut as a member of their fantastic design team.

This is my very first project made as an official design team member and I had so much fun choosing papers and elements from their amazing range of products.  The theme this week is 'De-Stress' - an opportunity to show off all those fabulous distressing techniques.  Here's what I made ...

I have used my favourite 8x8" scalloped card blank as a base which is matted and layered with some gorgeous papers from the 'Sugar Plum Daisy' CD.  The pink papers are torn around the edges and inked with Victorian Velvet distress ink - the green polkadot paper is distressed around the edges with a pair of scissors and painted with white acrylic paint.  I have curled some of the corners for an extra distressed look.

The cute little image is also from the 'Sugar Plum Daisy' CD and is coloured with Promarkers (her dress is paper pieced with the matching green paper and she has glittery wings).  I have also torn around the edges of the image and inked with Peeled Paint distress ink to match the green paper.  

The flowers are from the 'Candy Doodles' CD and are printed onto matching papers and layered up with green brads for centres.  I have added flourishes cut from the green paper and white stamens, along with some tiny little punched flowers for extra detail.  

The sentiment ticket and little fence piece are also from the 'Sugar Plum Daisy' CD and the card is embellished with some pink ribbon, a little dragonfly, pink brads and a selection of adhesive gems.

I am really pleased with my first 'official' project and hope it provides some inspiration - pop over to the Polkadoodles challenge blog and enter your own creations for a chance to win a fantastic prize.

Hugz, Jan xx