Pretty Things

Happy Tuesday everyone,

It's my turn to post on the Studio 12 blog at Polkadoodles today and I would like to show the project I was working on over the weekend.  It's something a little different today using the 'All Sewn Up' section of the 'Picknix - Volume 1' CD.  Here's what I made using just one image and one piece of paper (and a few bits from my stash) ...

I printed the mannequin outline and covered it with blue paper from the CD.  I used a wooden lollipop stick which I covered with two die-cuts for the upright part and secured it with glue gel to a base cut with my 'Circle' and 'Scalloped Circle' nesties.  The base is then decorated with a selection of flowers and leaves and a little 'With Love' sentiment.  The skirt is made by folding a piece of the blue paper concertina style and I added a piece of ivory lace around the bottom before securing it to the mannequin.  I trimmed the waistline with a piece of blue ribbon and added a flat backed pearl in the centre.  Finishing touches include a little necklace made from adhesive gems and a blue pearl heart on the bodice.  Hope you like it :)

Have a great day,

Hugz, Jan xx

Just Doodle

Happy Sunday evening to you all,

I hope you all had a great weekend - the weather here has been surreal! We had a massive snowfall on Friday night, followed by gallons of rain yesterday - the snow has all gone now! Let's hope that's the last of it.

I have been working on a DT project over the weekend which I can't show you yet - so thought I would show a picture from my zentangle journal instead.  I did this one while watching the TV one night - I find it difficult to just sit and watch anymore, I have to be doing something at the same time.  Here's my 'Just Doodle' work ...

This is all hand drawn using my black micron pen - hope you like it :)

I will be back on Tuesday with my DT project - hope to see you then.

Hugz, Jan xx

Monochrome

Hi there everyone,

It's Friday once again which means it's challenge time over at the Polkadoodles Challenge Blog.  This week our theme is to make a 'Monochrome' themed project using shades of just one colour. I must admit this is one of my favourite styles and my cards are often based around this theme - so this one was easy.  Here's what I made ...

I used the 'All Around & Everywhere' CD and printed off a sheet of mint green polkadot paper, a sentiment and a sheet of matching flowers.  After spending a few minutes cutting out the flowers, I inked and shaped them before assembling the card - then added a little glitter around the edge of the flowers (which doesn't show very well on my photo!)  Extra embellishments include some satin ribbon, a couple of die-cut leaves and some little punched flowers with gem centres to finish the design.

Don't forget to check out the blog for some more inspiration from my teamies and I look forward to visiting your blog and seeing your 'Monochrome' themed projects over the next week :) 

Hugz, Jan xx

A Special Lady

A midweek hello to all my crafty friends,

Just popped on to show you a birthday card that I made for a very special lady  - I'm sure she won't mind me showing you all.  My biggest decision was whether to make it using her own products, or something completely different! Well, I took the 'completely different' option and used one of my own favourites instead.  Here's what I made ...

I began with my usual 8x8" scalloped card blank in cream and covered it with a selection of gorgeous papers from Pion Designs, which have all been inked with Victorian Velvet distress ink.  The main image is one of my favourite Magnolia stamps - 'Tilda and her Bunny' from the Butterfly Dreams collection and is partly coloured with my Promarkers (the hat and top are paper-pieced with scraps from the backing papers to match).  I also added a piece of ivory lace which I threaded with some pink organza ribbon and made a double bow using ivory seam binding and some more ogranza ribbon (can you spot the little silver metal heart charm?)  I used a LOTV sentiment and embellished the card with pretty flowers, some die-cut leaves, a lace doily, a little stamped postcard, a couple of hearts, a TH 'Wish' ticket and some flat back pearl accents.

I love the shabby chic look that the card has - hope my friend enjoyed it as much as I loved making it.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Inky Chicks - Bingo (Flowers, Lace and Pearls)

Magnolia Down Under - Recipe (Pink, Lace and Metal)

Midweek Magnolias - In the Pink with Ribbons and Pearls

Sugar Creek Hollow - Tic Tac Toe (Lace, Ribbon and Pearls)

Bye for now,

Hugz, Jan xx

Ella Bella Buttons

Hello everyone,

It's my turn to post at the Scrapbook Stamp Society blog today and I have a card made using the gorgeous 'Ella Bella Buttons' image by Sherri Baldy - click HERE to buy her from the on-line shop. Here's what I made ...

I wanted to make a different shape card for a change and used paper from my stash.  I love these little girls and they are so easy to colour - I used 'Orchid' and 'Amethyst' Promarkers to colour her dress, shoes and bow and I added a little glitter on her dress for an extra sparkle. The little postcard and sentiment are both from LOTV.

I am playing along at the new Besties Challenge Blog with this one - Anything Goes.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Hugz, Jan xx

Hanging Hearts

Helloo from a very snowy Yorkshire,

We are thick in snow this morning - it snowed all afternoon and all evening yesterday and we have lots of it! My little doggies love it - Lacey keeps sitting by the back door wanting to go and play; she thinks she is a snow plough - she comes back in with a cute little pile of snow on her nose where she has been sniffing! Lol.

I have been working on some DT projects, but can't show you them just yet (one coming up tomorrow) - so I thought I would post a little project I made for my daughter's bedroom (which as you may have guessed, is decorated in purple!)  Here's what I made ...

I made the wall hanging using two chipboard hearts which I bought at a craft fair last summer.  I covered them with lush purple paper from the Tim Holtz Vintage paper stack and inked around the edges with distress ink.  I then went to town with the embellishments and added a bit of whatever I could find - there is a complete mixture of some stamped elements, some die-cut elements, some Frantage embossing powder, a gorgeous Tim Holtz key and a few other bits and bobs from my stash.  I was really pleased with the outcome, and so was my daughter!  Here's a couple of close-ups ...

I would like to enter this into the 'Stampin' for the Weekend' challenge which is 'Something Girly' - think this works, well it was made for my 'girly'. 

Stay safe if you have to go out in the snow, or why not stay in and craft like me ;)  Hugz, Jan xx

Keep Calm and Eat Cake!

Happy Friday,

Hope everyone is safe and warm in these arctic weather conditions! Lol.

It's time for a new challenge over on the Alphabet Challenge blog - we are up to the letter 'Y' and Sheena has chosen the theme 'Yummy', so we would like to see some yummy food on your projects. Here's my DT card ...

I used kraft card to make my 6x6" base card and covered it with some lovely lemon paper from my stash, which is inked around the edges with Antique Linen distress ink.   The main image is a 'Fizzy Moon' stamp called 'Birthday Treats', which is coloured with Promarkers and a little touch of glitter pen.  I couldn't find the sentiment I wanted, so made this one on my pc.  The punched flowers are handmade using scraps of the backing paper and I added a little bit of lemon polkadot ribbon behind the main image.

Why not pop over to the blog HERE and check out some more fab inspiration from my talented teamies?

Hugz, Jan xx

Happy Birthday Dad!

Helloo from a very cold Yorkshire tonight! Brrrrr.....

We had quite a bit of snow here yesterday, enough to close our school at lunchtime so the staff and children could get home safely - which gave me some extra crafty time (can't complain at that!)

Thought I would show you the card I made for my Dad's birthday at the weekend.  I always seem to struggle with cards for men, but here's what I made ...

I love this little 'Fizzy Moon' image and it was just perfect for my Dad! I coloured the bear with my Promarkers and then paper pieced the chair, stool and cushion with scraps of blue paper and then stamped on newspaper to paper piece the book (to make it look as if he fell asleep reading the newspaper!)

The side panel has been run through an embossing folder, then I added some distress ink to enhance the numbers.  I used a stashbox stamp for the greeting which is embossed with black powder.

Hope you like it.  See you soon,

Hugz, Jan xx

Fabulous 50!

Happy Sunday to you all,

First of all, I would like to say a big 'Thank You' to my new followers and to those who have been brave enough to try the Polkadoodles Blog Hop (see the post below if you haven't entered already).

It's been a very busy weekend here, which is quite unusual as I don't normally go far at the weekend! We were out celebrating one of my best friend's 50th birthday last night and have been out for lunch today to celebrate my Dad's birthday! Back on the diet tomorrow then, lol.

I thought I would show you the card I made for my friend - I have known here since we were both 16 years old (yes, those of you who can do the maths - that means it's my turn too for the big 50 this year!!!) Aaarrgh!  Here's what I made ...

It's a little different from my usual cutsie style, but I came across this fantastic style of writing/drawing while researching 'Zentangle' patterns.  I have hand-drawn the number '50' using a fine black micron pen and a couple of coloured pencils, after watching a tutorial by 'Joanne Fink' - I absolutely love the style and it's so easy to do.  You can find more information about Joanne's Zenspirational style HERE.

I have some more 'Zenspirational style' work to show you on another day too - it's very addictive!

Enjoy what's left of the weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx

We're Hopping!

Well hello everyone,

I've been back at school for a week now and can't believe it's Friday again so soon - but today is a special Friday over at the Polkadoodles Challenge blog because we're HOPPING!

The theme of our challenge this week is 'CUPCAKES', but to enter we would like you to use one of Emma Canning's gorgeous digital images which we are giving away free on the Challenge blog! And not only that, there are even more fab goodies available in the blog hop as some of my teamies may have hidden candy too - simply visit each link in the blog hop for a chance to win!

Don't forget - in order to be elible for any prizes, you must enter BOTH the challenge and participate in the blog hop.

Here's my DT inspiration using the free image ...

I used the gorgeous Emma Canning cupcake image as a focal point for a card this week.  Both background papers are from the 'Paper Boutique - Volume 1' CD and are inked around the edges with distress ink. The image is coloured with Promarkers and nestles on a pretty little paper doily which I thought fits the cupcake theme nicely!  The sentiment can be found on the 'Sugarplum Daisy' CD and the flowers are cut from scraps of the background papers using a template from the 'Candy Doodles' CD (one of my favourites!)  Added embellishments are from my stashbox.

If you've arrived at my blog from CLARE then you are on the right track, but if you get lost along the way simply go back to the Polkadoodle Challenge blog where a full list of participants are waiting.  Remember you need to leave a comment on each of the blogs, including Emma Canning's Flat Friends Challenge blog, in order to be in with a chance of winning the mega Polkadoodle prize!  If you click to follow my blog, I will try my best to visit and leave you a comment too :)

Now hop to KITTY who will show you some more fab inspiration on the theme.

Please be patient if not all the links are yet published – if you find a link is missing, please make a note of who you need to visit and come back later :)

Happy hopping,

Hugz, Jan xx

Calendar Days

Hello and Happy New Year

I have something a bit different to show today using a fabulous image by Mitzi Sato Wiuff which can be found HERE at the Scrapbook Stamp Society shop.  Here's what I made ...

I used Promarkers to colour the image and added a touch of glitter in places for some extra sparkle.  The background is made up from squares of leftover patterned paper that I had in my stash - I simply inked and stamped the edges for added effect.  Both the picture and the background are mounted on black card with a little calendar tab added at the bottom.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx

X Marks the Spot

Happy New Year everyone,

I do hope you all had a fab Christmas and New Year - I have had a lovely break and enjoyed the festive season with my family.  The decorations are all down now and the house clean again, ready for my return to school on Monday.

As it's Friday, it's time for the Alphabet Challenge and this week we are upto the letter 'X'. Shaz has chosen the theme 'X Marks the Spot' and we would like to see your projects using 'spots and stripes'.  Here's my DT inspiration ...

As I've made so many cards for the Christmas period, I decided to make something totally different for this week's challenge and decorated a little brown gift bag.  My 'spots and stripes' feature on the backing paper (which is from my First Edition - Sweet Owl paper stack) and on the stamped image (which is LOTV).  I've even used a different colouring medium this time - I stamped onto watercolour paper and coloured with my distress inks for a change! The little flower petals alternate between spots and stripes and I added a brown button centre for some dimension.  Added embellishments include a stamped sentiment (from LOTV), some pretty pink polkadot ribbon, three matching die-cut flowers from the leftover backing paper (each one has a brown candi centre), three punched pink flowers (each one with a sparkly gem centre) and a little pink heart on the bag handle.  

I shall look forward to seeing your creations over at the Alphabet Challenge blog.  Don't forget to pop over and check out some more fab inspiration from my teamies - just click HERE.

Happy crafting,

Hugz, Jan xx