Accordian Tag Book

Happy Saturday to everyone,

Hello and welcome to any new followers, it's good to have you on board.  Sorry if I haven't been around as much as usual over the last few days - I managed to get my nose stuck in my ancestry search again.  I received a phone call a few days ago from an elderly relative with some updated information, and once I get on the ancestry website I swear, time actually disappears!

Anyway, I have still been crafting too and thought I would show you something a little different today - I have been challenging myself to step away from my favourite 8x8" workspace and here's what I came up with ...

I bought a few of these little accordian tag books at a recent craft fayre and they are such fun to play with. This is the front when the book is closed. I inked around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink and stamped along the top edge with a little swirly stamp from my stashbox. I used some of my new stamps (also bought at the fayre) - this one is a 'Little Claire Designs' and is called 'Trailing Birdhouse' - it's sooo pretty. It is coloured with my Promarkers - thank goodness I had some fine nibs!

These are the first two tags with the edges decorated to match the front.  I have layered kraft card and papers from the Wild Rose Studio 'Vintage Rose' paper pack before adding some more stamps by Little Claire Designs.  The left hand side is 'Sweet Little Mary' and the right hand side is from the same stamp sheet as the front cover.  

These are the second two tags - edges decorated and same papers as above.  The sentiment on the left hand side is from a LOTV stamp sheet and the little birdhouse on the right hand side is Little Claire Designs again.  A selection of stashbox embellishments and some antique cream ribbon complete the project.

Here is the book open showing all four tags.  I hope you enjoyed looking as much as I did creating it.

I am entering this project into the 'Stampin for the Weekend' challenge which is 'Show us your Style' - mine always seems to be 'cute', but I think this one is a little 'shabby chic' too.

I am also entering it at 'Try it on Tuesday' - Anything Goes.

Enjoy the weekend, 

Hugz Jan xx

Fairies, Fantasy and Flitter

Good morning,


It's Friday already, that means it's a new challenge over at Polkadoodles - this week Emma set us the challenge of 'Fairies, Fantasy and Flitter'.  Our cards have adopted a real fantasy theme this week, with a selection of fairies all scattered with a dusting of glitter. Here's what I made ...

I made a door hanger for a girl's room this week instead of a card.  The project measures 20cm x 10cm and started out as a piece of white card.  I covered it with a pretty pink paper from the 'Sugar Plum Daisy' CD, rounded the corners with a punch and inked the edges with Victorian Velvet distress ink.  The fairy, toadstool and butterfly wings are all printed from the same CD and are layered up to give some dimension.  The sentiment is also from the 'Sugar Plum Daisy' CD and is layered onto a pink picot circle cut with my nesties.  The pink flowers are printed from the 'Sugar Birdies' CD and have been embellished with pearl centres and pink adhesive gem centres, together with white feathers and a white swirl.  The whole project is edged with a pink lacey border cut with my Doohickey dies.  A few Polkadoodle dew drops accent the corners and it wouldn't be fairyland without a liberal sprinkling of stardust glitter! Hope this gives a little bit of inspiration for the challenge and I look forward to seeing some of your creations over on the blog.

Enjoy the weekend,
Hugz, Jan xx

A New Baby

Wow! Where did the weekend go? Can't say that I like a two day weekend - looking forward to my normal days next week, with my usual three day crafty weekend.  It's been a busy one this time too, hence no post yesterday - sorry.

I have a new baby card to show you tonight - I made it for a friend of my daughter who, after a very difficult pregnancy, has just given birth to a healthy little baby boy.  They are both doing well and my daughter is over the moon after being asked to be baby's god mother!  Here's what I made ...

Back to my 8x8" workspace on this one - I do like the extra space it gives me to play.  Papers are mainly Polkadoodles, with a scrap or two from my stash.  The image is 'Fizzy Moon - Wish upon a Star', coloured with my Promarkers.  The sentiment is LOTV and the bunting is hand made and stamped with some of my alphabet stamps. Embellishments include a couple of stamped stars and some blue candi - no adhesive gems or pearls this time - are you shocked!! Lol.

If you would like any other information, give me a shout.  

Have a good week everyone.

Hugz, Jan xx

A Bit of Brown

Hi there,

Well, I've spent all day at school today (after my Monday off) renewing my First Aid certificate - so I'm all ready for any casualties I may come across! Lol.

I have a cute little card to show you today which was made for a work colleague who has just got engaged.  I used one of my new LOTV stamps which I bought recently at a craft show, which I think fits the theme perfectly.  Here's what I made ...

It is a 6x6" card blank layered with a piece of kraft card (also a new purchase and I am in love with it!)  The paper layer is from the Wild Rose Studio 'Vintage Roses' paper pad and is inked around the edges with Pumice Stone distress ink.  The LOTV stamped image is called 'Close your Eyes' and is coloured with my Promarkers and layered onto a Fleur de Lys square cut from the same kraft card.  The sentiment is also LOTV and is accented with WOC flowers and a couple of punched leaves.  Four pink brads finish off the corners of the card.  I think the kraft card and colour scheme give this one a real 'vintage' look.

I would like to enter it in the following challege:

Simon Says Stamp and Show - A Bit of Brown

It's my wedding anniversary tomorrow, so I'm off to make a card for my hubby - good to see I'm nice and organized!! Lol.

Have a good weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx

Fairy Sparkle

Hi there everyone,

Back to school today, hence the late posting.  Today's card was made for the Sketch n Stash challenge - it's the first time I've used a sketch to make a card, but I really enjoyed it.  This week you could choose from a catalogue of sketches and here's the one I chose ...

This card uses two of my favourite things - shades of purple and fairies. Here's the finished design ...

Part of the challenge is to use some new or neglected stash on your card - I managed both! Lol.  The gorgeous papers are by Karen Nueburger and have been in my stash for what seems like forever!  The new item is the pretty little fairy stamp by Whimsy, which was part of a free set on the current issue of Papercraft essentials magazine.  She is coloured with my Promarkers and her wings are all sparkly with glitter (which doesn't show very well on the piccie!)  I think I managed to follow the sketch, adding a LOTV sentiment and a metal corner just to balance out the design.  If you would like to know anything else, please leave a comment below and I will answer.

I would also like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Emergency Crafters - Butterflies, Birds or anything with Wings

Make my Monday - A Midsummer Night's Dream

See you all soon,

Hugz, Jan xx

Studio 12 Blog goes live!

Morning everyone,

Well, this is a strange feeling - I don't have to go to school today, that's a first! I have swapped my day off and am working on Friday (there's always a downside) Lol.

It's an exciting day over at Polkadoodles following the successful launch of 'Studio 12' with Nikky's new 'Picknix' collection. Their sister blog at 'Studio 12' goes live today and is all about 'hybrid' crafting. "What's that?" I hear you ask - well, it's where you combine CD crafting with all your own papercrafting goodies and come up with a cross between the two. If you need some inspiration, the design team have been up to their tricks and posted some fantastic ideas of what you can do with Nikky's new collection.

Here is one of the samples I made for the TV launch show ...

I made a tag using the 'All Sewn Up' section of the CD.  I covered a handmade tag with paper from the CD, stitched around the edge and then inked the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink.  The little rag doll was printed from the embellishment section of the CD, coloured with Promarkers and her dress is paper-pieced with a left over scrap from the CD, before I added her to the tag.  The sentiment is also from the CD and is mounted on a contrasting scalloped circle, cut using my nesties.  Embellishments include some real buttons which are stitched to the tag to accent the theme, together with a die-cut flower, some ribbon and a few adhesive gems.  

This is a fantastic collection to work with and has so many elements to choose from - no wonder the launch show was a sell out!

Don't forget to pop on over to the new blog and check out the DT creations too - see you there.

Hugz, Jan xx

Happy Father's Day

Morning everyone,

Sending best wishes to all the fathers out there on their special day - and yes, it's another perfectly good reason to make a card. Hehe! I lost my own dad when I was 13, so Father's Day is always a special day to remember him.  I have a wonderful stepdad though and today's card is made for him ...

It's an 8x8" again today, layered with sage green textured cardstock and spotty paper from my stash, which has been inked around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink.  I doodled a border around the edge for extra effect.  The image is 'Lazy Afternoon' by LOTV and is coloured with, yes you guessed, my Promarkers.  The lettering is made using alphabet cardstock stickers from Making Memories and are mounted onto circles/lacey circles cut using my nesties.  Added embellishments include some green organza ribbon, two fancy corners topped with adhesive pearls and some tiny green adhesive pearls to accent the image.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenge:

Craft Punked (formerly Glitter Geeks) - Father's Day

I'm also sending big hugz to a special friend today who lost her dad recently - I know today will be a tough one for her - I'll be thinking of you, hun xx

Enjoy your Sunday,

Hugz, Jan xx

Happy Birthday, Mum

Hi there everyone,

Well we had some extremes of weather here yesterday - one minute it was lovely and warm in my crafty conservatory and the next minute the rain was so heavy on the roof I could have done with a pair of ear defenders, then to top it off, we had a thunderstorm! Let's hope today is a better one, I need to get outside and tidy up the garden a bit (groan!)

Anyway, it was my mum's birthday earlier in the week so I thought I would show you her birthday card today.  Here's what I made for her ...

The papers are from my stash, which incidentally never seems to go down! Lol. Edges are inked with 'Tattered Rose' distress ink.  Flowers are Prima and WOC, lace is from my stash and the little fence piece is a Doohickey die-cut.

This is one of my favourite Magnolia stamps - 'Princess Tilda' from the Fairytale collection and she is coloured with Promarkers and accented with crystal glitter.

The sentiment is from 'Just Rite' and is stamped onto a Doohickey 'Bloomy' die-cut tag and embellished with a little organza ribbon and some flowers/leaves.

Extra embellishments include, white paper doily, little silver heart charm and the usual sprinkling of adhesive pearls.

I would like to enter this project into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes

TOMIC - Anything Goes

Try it on Tuesday - Anything Goes

Wild Orchid Crafts - Anything Goes

See you all soon,

Hugz, Jan xx

A Summer Scene

Hi there - it's Friday again, that means it's Polkadoodle time.  Over at the challenge blog this week, Clare challenged us to make a card showing a summer scene and although we haven't seen much 'summer' here yet, there are some fab DT samples over on the blog to give you some inspiration.  Here's what I made ...

I imagined a lovely meadow when I thought of a summer scene, so I used this gorgeous little piece of fencing from the 'Sugarplum Daisy' CD.  I repeated the image three times to make the scene for my card, making sure that each piece lined up with the other to make one long fence.  I printed it onto a piece of plain sky blue paper from the 'Sugar Birdies' CD which has been inked around the edges with blue ink.  Although the image can be printed in colour, I chose to print in black and white and coloured the whole thing with my Promarkers, using the fine tip nib for all those intricate little vines.  I then added some fab flowers from the 'Sugar Birdies' CD and decoupaged them behind the fence, as if they are growing in the meadow.  The large flower has a brown button centre and the two smaller ones have brown adhesive gems in the centre.  The 'Summer' bunting is printed onto some scraps of blue gingham paper (the gingham pattern always reminds me of summer) using the template from the 'All Around & Everywhere' CD and is hung on a piece of blue thread.  Three little blue adhesive pearls decorate the top left corner and a sprinkling of crystal glitter highlights the vines on the fence (this bit doesn't show up very well on the photo, sorry).

I hope my 'Summer' card cheers you up a bit in all this dreary weather, and don't forget to pop over to the blog for some more fab inspiration.

Hugz, Jan xx

Calling all Designers ...

Wow! The fantastic Polkadoodles is having a 'Design Team Call' - if you think you have what it takes to join this fab team of crafty creators pop over to the blog here and check out the details.

If that's not enough - Studio 12 (Polkadoodles new sister brand) which combines paper and digital elements into 'hybrid' craft projects is also looking for new Design Team members - pop over to their new blog here and check out the details.

All I can say is Polkadoodles is a great company to work for with a very talented owner and I can't wait for all the new and exciting things planned for the future.  If you are interested in joining our team, check out the links above and let us know.

Hugz, Jan xx

Show Samples

Hi there everyone,

Wow! It has been a busy weekend - my birthday girl had a fab day yesterday and we all went for a lovely meal together last night.  I have been crafty shopping this morning at a local craft show and spent far too much money!  I have just caught up with my commenting duties and uploaded my card for next week's challenge over at Polkadoodles. Phew! I need a rest and a cuppa next. Lol.

Speaking of Polkadoodles - the show went so quick yesterday and the stock even quicker! A total sell-out before the end of the first show - well done Nikky.  I thought I would show you some of my samples that I made for said show using the new 'Picknix' CD - I've just picked a few for now (will show you some more another day).  Here goes ...

A card made using papers and elements from the 'Welcome Home' section.

Another card made using papers and elements from the 'Welcome Home' section.

A scrapbook page made by importing papers and elements from the 'Welcome Home' section 

into 'Craft Artist' software.

A card made using papers and elements from the 'In the Garden' section.

I've just realised that the pictures I chose are nearly all cards and from the 'Welcome Home' section! I did make some samples using the other sections, honest.  I will show you some more another time - hope you like them and maybe find some inspiration in there somewhere.

I am back at school tomorrow, so unfortunately my crafting has to take a step down the ladder - but only a little one, I shall be back in my craft room straight after school :)

Hugz, Jan xx

Happy Birthday!

Good morning,

Well, it's my baby girl's birthday today - I can't believe she is 20 (gosh it makes me feel old!) Lol. I thought I would share her birthday card with you today - she is studying music at university in York and loves all things musical, so I tried to echo this in her card together with two of her favourite colours. Here's what I made ...

My favourite 8x8" scalloped card blank is layered with a square of olive green textured cardstock and a square of teal polkadot paper, which is embossed around the edges for extra texture (both from my stashbox).  I used a template to draw around for the layer of sheet music and inked the edges with 'Broken China' distress ink.  I added a strip of lime green dotty paper which has the bottom edge punched and wrapped a piece of olive green ribbon around the middle.  The little hearts are stamped onto scraps of green cardstock and cut out.  The sentiment is from Creative Expressions and is cut with an 'Oval' nestie and layered onto a 'Scalloped Oval' cut from the olive card.

The image is a digital download from Kenny K, called 'VikkiLeeVicious' and is coloured with my trusty Promarkers - perfect for my musical themed card.  The edges are inked with 'Broken China' distress ink and the image is layered onto two more pieces of co-ordinating cardstock set at an angle for effect.

The card wouldn't be finished without my usual array of embellishments - the more the better! Lol.  The flowers stamps are from Creative Expressions and are stamped onto matching cardstock, cut out and layered together with brads.  I added a Doohickey swirl which is also coloured with my Promarkers to co-ordinate with the project.  The little silver guitar charm and key are from Mei Flower and add a finishing touch to the ribbon.  Extra embellishments include a little 'U Rock' tab (printed on my PC), tiny little punched flowers and some adhesive gems to finish off.

Needless to say, Sammy loved it! 

Enjoy your weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx

Studio 12

Hi everyone, hope you all enjoyed the bank holiday weekend and Jubilee celebrations.

I've had a very busy weekend, mostly crafting with the odd BBQ thrown in for the Jubilee :)  I have been working on samples for the new 'Studio 12' range at Polkadoodles ...

 
Sshh ... I can't say too much, but tune in to Create & Craft on Saturday at noon and all will be revealed.

See you there,
Hugz, Jan xx

Just be You

Morning everyone,

Well, I can't keep up with the weather - it's raining and so cold here again this weekend, so much for the jubilee celebrations.  BBQ under the carport at this rate!

On a positive - at least I don't feel guilty sat in my craft room! Lol.  I have been very busy designing for a new launch at Polkadoodles (but all is top secret for now).  Tune in to Create & Craft next Saturday (9th June) at noon and 4pm and all will be revealed.

I thought I would show you my latest art journaling piece - the colours were inspired by the lovely sunny days, which I think I imagined last week.  Here goes ...

The background was made using Mustard Seed and Shabby Shutters distress ink, with a little Peeled Paint inked around the edges.  The usual array of bits and pieces I had lying around helped make the background, with a good old splash of water too.  I used some white gesso on the edge of an old credit card to make the white lines top and right.  Lots of freehand doodling, which I am feeling more confident with now and some text torn from an old book; I still shudder every time I attack a book, but have to remind myself that it is being recycled in the name of art.  Lots of handwriting scattered about too, if you take a closer look.

Right, back to the design board - hope everyone enjoys the bank holiday weekend, rain or shine.
Hugz, Jan xx

Diamond Jubilee

Hi folks, it's Friday which means it's Polkadoodles challenge day.  We have a new challenge for you this week based around the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  We were challenged to make a card using regal colours and lots of bling to help celebrate the upcoming event.  I chose to use the traditional red, white and blue colour scheme and here's what it looks like ...

I used my favourite 8x8" scalloped card blank and matted it with a square of silver mirri card before layering a piece of blue denim-look paper (which is distressed around the edges with white paint) and then stitched onto the mirri card for added effect.  I drew around a chipboard piece on the union flag paper, then cut it in half and layered it behind a strip of red polkadot paper which had been run through my pc first to add the dates.  This was also distressed around the edges with white paint.  All the yummy papers are from a collection designed by Nikky Hall.

The bunting is made from matching papers using a template from the 'All Around & Everywhere' CD, hangs on a silver thread and is embellished with clear adhesive gems.

The '60' topper is also from the 'All Around & Everywhere' CD and has been edited to include the word 'Diamond' before being seriously glittered in red and mounted on a blue scalloped circle die.  The little crown is from the same collection as the paper and sits nicely on top of the '0'.

The card is finished with four red brads in the corners and four red adhesive gems on the red paper strip.

I hope my card may inspire you to join us at the Polkadoodles challenge this week. Hope to see you there. 

Hugz, Jan xx