For the Boys

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a great weekend and all the mums out there were spoiled rotten. My gorgeous girlies bought me a beautiful canvas for my lounge which has a piccie of my beloved fur babies on - they know me well! Lol.

On a crafty note, it's time for our next challenge over at Make My Monday and this week Fliss has chosen the theme of

'FOR THE BOYS'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using my favourite stamp company ...

I chose to keep this one 'clean and simple' to show off the stamp - it's called 'Super Striker' by LOTV and is coloured with my Promarkers. I printed the sentiment on my pc and mounted the whole piece on red cardstock to compliment his little football shirt. 

Sadly, this will be my last post for Make My Monday as I have decided to step down from their design team to focus on my other crafty commitments. I would just like to say a big 'Thank You' to Jacqueline for having me and wish her and the girls good luck for the future.

Hugz, Jan xx

Fantasy Stampers - Challenge 7

Good morning crafty friends and followers,

Just wanted to say a huge 'Thank You' first to everyone who visits and leaves me such kind comments about my work - they are always very much appreciated and do truly make my day better.

Now, onto the next challenge over at my very own challenge blog

'FANTASY STAMPERS'

For the next two weeks we would love to see your projects using

I can't wait to see how you interpret this one - will it be the traditional black silhouette, or do you have another idea to share (but remember, you must include some stamping).  Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I think I kept it reasonably simple this time - using just two or three techniques. My main silhouette stamped image is from a Stampin Up set called 'Serene Silhouettes' - I stamped in archival black ink, then masked the moon out and added some 'Broken China' and 'Dusty Concord' distress inks using my inkdusters. Then I decided to cut the circle into four uneven pieces before mounting them on a black scalloped circle.

The background started out as a blank piece of coconut white card - I stamped across the bottom with my archival ink using a Clarity foliage stamp. Then I embossed the top section and added a littleco-ordinating ink to highlight the edges. A simple sentiment and a few drops of Perfect Pearls around the circle to finish.

I hope you will come and join us with your 'Silhouette' projects - why not pop over to the challenge blog and check out the fantastic work my team made (we also have a brand new team member this month).

Big hugz, Jan xx

Spring in the Air

Happy Friday everyone,

I have to work today, so scheduled my post ready for this morning. It's time for our midway motivation over at Polkadoodles for the current challenge, which is

'SPRING IS IN THE AIR'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using the fabulous 'Sugarplum Daisy CD' ...

This one is an 8x8" scalloped edge base card, covered with lush papers from the CD. The image is also printed from the CD collection, together with the cute little sentiment. All other embellishments are from my stash.

Why not pop over to the blog to see some more fantastic inspiration from my teamies - and if you would like to come and join in the fun, you have until Friday 4th April to submit your entries.

Hugz, Jan xx

Gone Fishing

Hello everyone,

I'm back again today with our next challenge over at Cardz4Guyz and this week Janice has chosen the theme of

'GONE FISHING'

Now, although my other half isn't a fisherman, this could be the perfect theme for many of the guys in our lives and I had the perfect stamp sitting in my drawer. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I used this cute little Fizzy Moon stamp and coloured it with my Promarkers. Papers are from my stash and are mounted on a neutral sand-coloured cardstock. The sentiment was produced on my pc and I added a few extra embellishments to finish off.

Hugz, Jan xx

For Mums

Hello again,

I'm back with my second post today as we begin a new challenge over at Make My Monday. This week Suzi has chosen the theme of

'FOR MUMS'

So we would love to see your beautiful projects just in time for Mother's day. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I have seen loads of these little box cards recently and made my first one with a crafty friend last weekend. But here's my first effort on my own - it's made from scratch using a piece of A4 kraft card which I measured, scored, cut and folded to make the box. I covered it with pretty papers from my LOTV 'Always and Forever' paper pad - all of which have been inked around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink. Then I stamped, cut, inked and shaped lots of little flowers, hearts and butterflies to fill the inside with. I also added the lettering 'Mum' using my Clarity letterbox stamp set. A stamped greeting finishes it off on the front panel. 

Hugz, Jan xx

For Mum

Good morning everyone,

It's another special Monday over at the 'My Besties UK Challenge Blog' - not only do we have a brand new challenge, we are HOPPING again just in time for Mother's Day here in the UK. The theme this time is  ...

'FOR MUM'

So you can enter the challenge as normal with a crafty project that showcases the theme and have the chance to win a some of Sherri's 'My Besties' digi images from our selection.  Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using image 215 which you can buy in Sherri's on-line store HERE ...

I used an 8 x 8" scalloped card blank and layered it with some pretty lilac paper from my stash, together with some silver mirri card and some lilac satin cardstock.  I added my Bestie image which I coloured with my Promarkers, then mounted on matching cardstock.  Embellishments include a die-cut butterfly border, lots of lilac adhesive pearls, a doily, a wooden butterfly embellishment which I embossed with frantage powder and a greeting banner which I made on my pc.

************

You can also come and HOP with us for the chance of winning extra candy by visiting all the participating blogs, following and leaving us a comment. Here's the order of the hop:

Gill (DT co-ordinator)
Donna 
Jan
Anita
Carol

Pixie

Michelle
Jenny

So, if you've arrived at my blog from DONNA then you are on the right track.

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

I shall look forward to reading your comments and don't forget to check back on the main blog for details of our lucky winners.

Hope you have fun,
Good Luck,
Jan xx

Tag It!

Happy Tuesday,

I'm back today with our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week it was my turn to choose the theme. So, for the next seven days we would love to see your projects using

'TAGS'

You can make a tag, or use one on your project - here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I love making tags, so this one was an easy decision - but I have never made a male themed one, so it's a first! I used my usual tag template and covered it with some brown textured paper from my stash and some map paper, which I tore and inked. I ran the whole tag through an embossing folder and highlighted bits of it with some guilding wax (you can just see a bit behind the ticket at the top). The image is from an old sheet of steampunk designs. I added a Tim Holtz 'Soar' ticket, which is secured with a mini bulldog clip (I thought this was a little more masculine than some ribbon). The two little hinges on the right hand side are stamped and cut out and the wording was produced on my pc, torn and inked before securing in place. I delved into my box of 'metal' and found the brass cog and mini timepiece to finish off.

Hugz, Jan xx

Beautiful Butterflies

Good morning,

I just wanted to say 'welcome' to my new followers and thank you to you all for your lovely comments that you leave on my blog - they are always very much appreciated.

It's time for our next challenge over at Make My Monday and this week it was my turn to choose the theme. Well, it has to be another of my favourites, so this week we would love to see your projects showcasing

'BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES'

I always think that butterflies and flowers are so easy to pop onto your cards, so as long as you use a butterfly somewhere on your project, you're onto a winner. Will it be a main feature, a shaped card, an embellishment, a die - the choice is yours. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

Now, I made something similar to this about a year ago for another challenge blog and I absolutely love this image. It's a digital image by Mitzi Sato-Wiuff and I thought it was perfect for this challenge (and a little different to the usual butterflies that I use). It is printed directly onto a piece of design paper and I created the quote on my pc - so pretty much a digitally created card, but a good result I think. I printed an extra butterfly, which is coloured with my Promarkers to match and then layered on top of the original.

Hope you can come and join us this week with your butterfly creations.

Hugz, Jan xx

Fantasy Stampers - Challenge 6

Good Morning everyone,

What a great week of lovely 'Spring' weather, just perfect for our last challenge over at

'FANTASY STAMPERS'.

Once again we had some fantastic entries, but it's now time for our next challenge and our new theme for the next two weeks is

We would love to see your projects featuring 'Roses' and with Mother's Day creeping up on us, what a prefect opportunity to make a card.

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

Now this piece is most definitely inspired by the very talented Hels Sheridan. 

I started with a piece of old recycled card and peeled some bits off to reveal the corrugated bit. I covered it with a coat of cream acrylic paint and then added some distress inks around the edges, before finishing with a little gold embossing powder (just to highlight the outside edge).

The next layer is a piece of music script design paper, which I tore around the edges to keep the shabby feel, before inking the edges with 'Vintage Photo' distress ink. I secured a piece of pretty ivory lace to this before sticking it to my base piece.

The lush roses are by Visible Image and are stamped in Vintage Sepia ink. I stamped each one several times, coloured with 'Ivory' and 'Vanilla' Promarkers, then cut them out and layered them up before adding a little crystal glitter to highlight them.

The sentiment is by Inkylicious and is stamped in Versamark ink and embossed with gold embossing powder. This is mounted on a scrap of gold netting which I found in my stash.

A few bits of bling and a little die-cut dragonfly finish of my project - hope you like it.

Why not come and join us with your own 'Rose' themed projects - I can't wait to visit your blogs and see.

Big hugz, Jan xx

C for Country Flowers

Good morning,

Well, TGIF - thank goodness it's Friday! It's been a tough one this week, so I'm glad my day off is here!

It's also time for our next letter over at the Alphabet Challenge - we are upto the letter 'C' and for the next two weeks Jennifer has chosen the theme of

'COUNTRY FLOWERS'

Now, flower stamps I have in abundance - but country flowers, I had to think about this one. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I decided to try something different today, in more ways than one. First of all I made a landscape DL card, something I don't do very often (I always seem to prefer my square designs). Secondly I made my own background again, using one of my embossing folders and some distress ink. And thirdly, I stamped onto watercolour paper using distress inks!!! Yep, not a Promarker in sight! (Did I hear you all gasp then?)

I decided to use one my silhouette stamps, which I think looks like a country type flower. I inked up the stamp with 'Tumbled Glass' distress ink on the flower heads and 'Bundled Sage' on the stems/leaves. Then spritzed with a little water and stamped onto the watercolour paper. This was repeated with 'Dried Marigold' and 'Bundled Sage' to created the row of flowers. I added a little extra foliage across the bottom using 'Peeled Paint' distress ink. I used my ink duster brush to apply a light covering of blue to the sky (leaving a little masked area for the sun), then stamped the little birdies in 'Frayed Burlap'.

I thought the sentiment was perfect for this one and stamped onto a little die-cut tag, adding a twine bow to finish. 

Why not come and join us this week with your pretty floral creations - which country flower/s will you choose?

Hugz, Jan xx

Typography

Good morning,

I'm back today with our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week Julie has chosen the theme of

'WORDS or a NAME'

So, we would love to see your male themed cards showcasing wording as the main feature - this can be just one word, a greeting, a name - the choice is yours. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I chose the word 'Star' for my theme and built the card around a word cloud in a star shape. I printed a little extra wording to complete my sentiment and added a hand cut black star (which has a white star shaped brad in the centre). I finished off with a hand drawn border and a couple of black gems.

I hope you can join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz.

Hugz, Jan xx

Flower Power

Hi folks,

I'm back with a second make today - just in time for our next challenge over at My Besties UK. For the next two weeks our theme is

'FLOWER POWER'

Here's my DT inspiration ...

For this one I used flowery paper from my stash, together with Bestie image 880, which is coloured with my Promarkers. I added a large paper flower made using a selection of flowers, including some Papermania blooms and popped a co-ordinating brad in the centre.

Now who doesn't use flowers? I hope you can join us over at the challenge blog.

Hugz, Jan xx

Spring is here!

Happy Monday to you all,

What a great weekend - I hope you were all able to enjoy the sunshine we had yesterday, I sincerely hope that Spring is on its way!

It's time for our next challenge over at Make My Monday and it couldn't be more appropriate at the moment - Rosie has chosen the theme of

'SPRING'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

It measures 6"x6" and I decided to keep it simple to show off the stamp. I used an old Magenta wooden block stamp which I have had for ages - but it always stamps up well. I used layers of green and yellow textured cardstock to highlight the images, which are stamped and coloured with my Promarkers. The wording was printed from my pc and I added three little eyelets as a decorative touch.

Why not come and join us with your 'Spring' makes this week - we would love to see you.

Hugz, Jan xx

Mum's the Word

Good morning,

It's Friday again which means it's time for our next challenge over at Polkadoodles, but first some news about Nikky's latest collection. We have a brand new CD available which includes a set of ten adorable themed 'Work & Play' characters for only £8.99 - click HERE for more information.

And for the next two weeks our new theme is

'MUM'S THE WORD'

We would love to see your projects especially for 'Mum' - will it be a Mother's Day card, a birthday card or just a little something special - the choice is yours. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I made a little word book using the template from the 'Candy Doodles CD'. I covered it in pretty papers from the 'Cherryblossom Lane CD' and then added lots of extra embellishments, also from the same CD. These make great gifts and you can add some little photos inside as a surprise element.

Hope you can join us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Nature

Happy Tuesday,

It's time for our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guys and this week Kim has chosen the theme of

'NATURE'

I am loving being a part of this new challenge blog - it has given me a new found appreciation of male themed cards, something I always avoided where possible in the past. It has been a pleasant change to make more masculine projects, rather than my usual cutie, over-embellished style!

Here's what I came up with for this weeks DT inspiration ...

The size of this project was dictated by the 3.5cm squares of book paper - I punched these out first and arranged them on my cardstock to see what size I needed (matted and layered the project measures 17.5cm x 13.5cm). The book paper squares are tinted with 'Antique Linen' distress ink and edged with 'Walnut Stain' distress ink. The stamped image is called 'Bullrushes' by Inkylicious and is stamped with Vintage Sepia ink - I added a few little mounds of earth using the ink and a sponge to anchor them. I also stamped the birds and the little 'nature' lettering at the bottom. I decided to tear the edges of the card and ink them with matching ink to give a more rustic feel. Finally I added a piece of brown twine around the card before securing it to the background layers. Hope you like it!

If you have a minute, why not pop over to the blog HERE and check out some more fab inspiration by my teamies.

Hugz, Jan xx

Babies

Hello again,

Well, it's back to school for me today - where did that week go! Having said that, I got loads done in the house and lots of crafting, so all is good. Great to see some sunshine too, let's hope it's here to stay.

On a crafty note, it's time for our next challenge over at Make My Monday and this week Jacqueline has set the theme of

'BABIES'

We would love to see your 'baby' projects - will it be a birth card, a scrapbook page, a baby gift - the choice is yours. Here's what I decided on for my DT inspiration ...

I made a little baby name plaque for a nursery door using lots of scraps from my stash (yep, the NY resolution is still going strong - although you wouldn't believe it if you saw my stash, it doesn't look any different!!)

I started with a piece of strong cardboard (recycled dog food box!) measuring 18cm x 9cm and covered it with some pink design paper left over from a previous project. The little teddy is stamped and coloured with my Promarkers and mounted on a pink scalloped circle. The lettering is stamped with my trusty Clarity letterbox stamp set and cut out (and I printed the date onto a piece of scrap paper which is torn and inked). Extra embellies include a piece of pink gingham ribbon, a little pink button and some punched flowers with pink gem centres.

Hope you can join us this week.

Hugz, Jan xx

Beautiful Buttons

Good morning crafty friends and followers,

Well, today sees the end of my half term break and it has made a pleasant change to do some crafting 'just for me'.

I have a little crafty project today which I made especially for the challenge over at 'Midweek Magnolias', who are also running a DT call at the moment - I am just a little excited, to say the least! I came across this whilst commenting on my new challenge blog over at Fantasy Stampers.

Here's what I designed using one of my favourite Tilda stamps - I think this is a true representation of my style ...

I decorated a gift bag with design papers from my LOTV 'Country Lady' paper pad and layered them with kraft card to match the bag. The edges of the papers are all inked with 'Walnut Stain' distress ink for extra definition. I used my Doohickey 'Tilda Lace' border die to cut the edges of the kraft card and design paper on the second layer, which is embellished with a selection of buttons and pearls to meet the challenge theme - 'Beautiful Buttons'.

The stamped feature is 'Princess Tilda' and she is coloured with my Promarkers - here's a closer look ...

Added embellishments include a piece of ivory lace, a gorgeous ivory feather, a Doohickey 'Leaf Swirl' die-cut and a couple of Doohickey 'Doily Flowers' which have pretty pearl centres. 

Finally I ran a 'Vintage Tag' through my printer, adding the words 'Fit for a Princess' before embellishing and adding to my project. Here's a little peek ...

Right I'm off to enter this into the challenge/DT call now - I have my fingers firmly crossed, wish me luck!

Midweek Magnolias -

Beautiful Buttons challenge (ends 4th March)

Big hugz, Jan xx 

Fantasy Stampers - Challenge 5

Good morning everyone,

Are you ready for a new challenge over at

'FANTASY STAMPERS'?

We had some fabulous entries last time - why not pop over and take a peek at the winners.

For our fifth challenge we would love to see your projects showcasing

As we leap into March already and the weather seems to be picking up (a little, anyway!) what reminds you of spring? Please remember to include some stamping on your project.

 Here's what I decided on for my DT inspiration ...

I always think that seeing the little crocus pop their heads up through the grass is one of the first signs of Spring - hence my choice of colour theme. 

This one is an 8x8" scalloped edge card blank decorated with papers from my stash. I ran the lemon piece through my honeycomb embossing folder for a little added texture. The image is one of my favourite Magnolia stamps - 'Tilda with her Bunny' and is coloured with my Promarkers. The flowers are all handmade using my Dreamees stamp (I am very quickly becoming obsessed with this one - it makes such pretty flowers). I dusted them with a little crystal glitter for a bit of sparkle before adding little lilac pearls into the centres. I made the bunting by hand (as I don't have a die - yet!) and the sentiment was printed on my pc. All other embellies are from my stash.

Hope you can join us this time - can't wait to come visit your blogs to see what you create.

Hugz, Jan xx