Clean and Simple Christmas

Hello again,

I do hope everyone is having a good weekend - I am planning to get some Christmas shopping done today and then put my tree and decorations up tomorrow.

On a crafty note, it's time for the next theme at my own challenge blog 'FANTASY STAMPERS' and this time we are hoping you will play along with your projects for a

'CLEAN AND SIMPLE 

CHRISTMAS'

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

Although my style is usually put as much on the card as possible, I do love making these clean and simple cards - and they are really good if you are in a hurry too (this one only took 20 minutes to make!)

It's a plain 6x6" white card blank which has my LOTV 'Snow Cute' image stamped in black ink and is coloured with my Promarkers (I added a little glitter for some extra sparkle too).  I also added a black die cut border which is called 'Frostyville' by Memory Box, and a few self adhesive crystals. Job done!

I shall look forward to seeing your projects over the next two weeks, then we will be taking a break over the festive period. We will be back on 3rd January 2015 for our first birthday celebration.

Hugz, Jan xx

V for Variety

Hi there everyone,

Well it's been a tough one at school this week - everything is getting manic as we approach Christmas and working with a class full of very excited 7 year olds is proving exhausting!

I'm back today with news of the next theme over at the Alphabet Challenge and this time Tammy has chosen 'VARIETY' for the letter 'V'. So we would love to see  a variety of 3 different embellishments OR 3 different design papers on your projects this time.

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

I decided to stay pretty 'clean and simple' due to time constraints, but love the way it turned out. I used my new Stampin Up 'Festival of Trees' stamp set, together with the co-ordinating punch to cut out three trees in three different scraps of design paper, then decorated them with the extra stamps. I added the little buckets (also part of the stamp set) and punched 3 gold stars and a sentiment to finish off.

Hope you like it. 

Hugz, Jan xx

Favourite Christmas Colours

Hi there,

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

'FAVOURITE XMAS COLOURS'

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

Although I do love the contemporary style Christmas cards, I am also a sucker for the traditional - so I went with 'Red/Gold/Green' option for my card this week.

I stamped the gorgeous reindeer (which came free on a recent crafting magazine) and embossed it with gold detail embossing powder. I also stamped and embossed the 'Happy Christmas' greeting too.

Papers are from Kaisercraft and are layered onto gold mirri card. I also made a rosette out of the paper left over and added a little gold button to the centre.

I hope you will join us with your own Christmas Colours this week.

Hugz, Jan xx

Wish upon a Star

Happy Monday to you all,

Well, I have actually started my Christmas shopping over the weekend - early for me! Still got a way to go yet though and certainly don't have anything wrapped up yet!

On a crafty note, we have a brand new challenge over at My Besties UK and although we run an 'Anything Goes' theme, our leader Carol likes to challenge the design team. So, this time we have the optional theme of

'STARS'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using Sherri's gorgeous image 213, which you can buy from her on-line store HERE ...

The image is coloured with my Promarkers and is matted on gold miri card. Design papers are from my stash, together with lots of embellies, including a paper doily, some die-cut gold stars and a couple of gold brads. The sentiment was made on my pc.

Hope you can come and join us for our new challenge.

Hugz, Jan xx

Food or Drink

Hi there crafty friends and a big welcome to my new followers,

Glad you could pop back - it's time for another challenge over at our male-themed blog - Cardz 4 Guyz. This week Kim has chosen the theme of

'FOOD OR DRINK'

So, here's what I came up with for my DT inspiration ...

I love this little fella and he seems to fit the bill perfectly with his champagne bottle and glasses - wonder what he's celebrating?

It's a 6x6" black card base - I have matted a layer of white cardstock on top which has been passed through my dotty embossing folder. I also added a leftover piece of design paper from my stash. The image is stamped with black versafine ink and coloured with my Promarkers and pencils. I mounted it on a black scalloped circle and added a few buttons as embellishments. The only trouble with male cards is I can't cover them with my usual flowers and butterflies! The sentiment was created on my pc.

Hope you can come and join us with your own creations.

Hugz, Jan xx 

Cute Christmas

Good morning,

Well, we had enough rain come down last night for a week - bet there is a lot of local flooding!

It's time again for our next challenge at FANTASY STAMPERS and for the next two weeks we would love to see your projects showcasing

'A CUTE CHRISTMAS'

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

This one measures 6x6" in size and consists of a milk card base covered with Christmas papers from my stash. The stamped topper is 'James with Pile of Presents' from LOTV and is coloured with my Promarkers. I added a little liquid pearl to the fur and bobble on his hat too. Extra embellishments include a stamped greeting, some die-cut snowflakes, a piece of matching ribbon and a little hand cut bunting across the top.

I hope you can pop over and see the other design team work and I would love it if you could join us in the challenge.

Hugz, Jan xx

Christmas Stocking

Hi there crafters,

It's time for another challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week Julie has chosen the theme of 'CHRISTMAS STOCKING'. Well, this challenge definitely 'challenges' me - do I have a christmas stamp with a stocking on - no! So here's my improvisation using a cheeky little digital image and a tag stamp from my stash ...

Thought I might make a few of these to add to my christmas pressies this year - much better than shop bought ones and all made from my scraps!

Hope you can join us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Curls at My Besties UK

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I'm back today with news of our next challenge over at My Besties UK where we run an 'Anything Goes' theme, but also have a chosen theme for people to try, if they wish.  This time the design team have made projects to the theme of 'CURLS'. Now, Sherri's gorgeous artwork just lends itself to this theme, so the hard part was choosing which image to use. Here's what I decided on for my DT project ...

I made a normal 6x6" card with papers from my new LOTV paper pad 'On a High Note'. My chosen image is no. 208 and can be found in Sherri's online store HERE. I coloured her with my Promarkers, added a few little white highlights and a pretty bow in her hair. Added embellishments include a stamped LOTV sentiment, some die-cut 'curls' and a couple of die-cut flowers.

I hope you will pop over and join us for our challenge.

Hugz, Jan xx

What are you Thankful for?

Happy Tuesday,

First I would just like to say a warm welcome to my new followers - so glad you wanted to join me on my crafty journey (it wouldn't be the same without you all).

I will be at school as this post goes live, but I know we will be taking a break at 11am with all the children in school to have our 2 minute silence in remembrance of those fallen in the wars. We did a lesson on Remembrance Day last week in preparation and created some artwork for our local church - it never ceases to amaze me how interested a class of 7/8 year olds can be in something they can barely comprehend. I was so proud of them.

Righty then, onto crafty things and over at Cardz 4 Guyz we have a brand new challenge today and the theme was chosen by one of our new team members, Andrea. For the next week we would love to see your male themed projects showing thanks, so

'THANKSGIVING/THANKFUL'

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

I decided to stay with the CAS look this week and chose kraft card for the base. The added splash of autumnal colour was made using a piece of cream cardstock and treating it to a liberal coating of distress inks in Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade and Tea Dye. I then stamped over the top in Vintage Photo using a text stamp to create the background. After dusting with a little talc I stamped the leaves with Perfect Medium ink and embossed with fine detail gold powder.

The sentiment was created on my pc and I added a single piece of twine and a lovely wooden leaf embellishment, which is also coloured with Tea Dye and Vintage Photo distress ink to co-ordinate.

I know we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK, but I do have lots of crafty friends over the pond and as it's coming up to that time of year, I would love to send 'Thanksgiving' wishes their way.

Hugz, Jan xx

Red Alert!

Hello there,

I hope everyone has some nice crafty plans for the weekend - it's starting to get cold here, so heating is on now.

It's time for our next challenge over at my challenge blog 'FANTASY STAMPERS' and for the next to weeks our theme is

'RED ALERT!'

Now I was thinking about Remembrance Day when I chose the theme, but my own DT card turned out to be a Christmas one - here's what I made ...

I used one of my new square embossing folders for the background which has poinsettias on (difficult to see on my photo, I know!) 

The main stamped image is part of a freebie set from a recent magazine purchase and I stamped it onto some book paper and then coloured it with my Promarkers. 

Some simple matting and layering with red cardstock and a stamped sentiment to finish off.

I hope you will come and play along with us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Toys for Boys

Hello there,

I'm back today with our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week Jane chose the theme of 'Technology/Toys for Boys'. Now this one got me thinking - I don't have anything that fits this theme, so off I went onto clipart and found the phone image and took it from there. Here's how it ended up ...

I used my Stampin Up 'Gorgeous Grunge' stamps with Black Soot and Peacock Feathers distress inks. I masked the phone out first, then just got to stamping with the different stamps. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! I matted and layered on co-ordinating cardstock, then black before adding it to my card. A simple 'Happy Birthday' sentiment finished it off.

Hope you will join us this week with your own interpretation of our theme.

Hugz, Jan xx

So Christmas Begins ...

Hello again,

Well, that's my half term over - back to school today for the run up to Christmas. And on a Crafty note I have my very first Christmas post today - over at My Besties UK we have a 'Christmas' theme for the next couple of weeks, so out came my Christmas box and this is what I made for my DT inspiration using Sherri's gorgeous artwork - if you would like to use this image you can find it in Sherri's online store HERE ...

I used Christmas papers from my stash and coloured the image with my Promarkers to match.  I printed the whole thing out and included a greeting. Added embellies include some co-ordinating ribbon and a couple of die-cut snowflakes. 

Hope you can join us over at the challenge blog.

Hugz, Jan xx

Metal Magic

Good morning,

Well it's day two of my half term and I didn't even make it into my craft room yesterday - so many other things to do! Lol

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

'METAL'

So, here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

Out with the old metal tape again - I love this stuff and it's so easy to use. I covered a piece of white cardstock with my metal tape and then ran it through my Calibur using a Clarity cogs stencil - to create an embossed effect. I then painted over it with white gesso and wiped most of it off with a clean baby wipe, then added some black archival ink by smearing the inkpad over the top of the raised areas (the plan was to give the metal a grungy look!)

I decided to keep it fairly simple to show off the metal effect, so just added a stamped sentiment which is embossed with black embossing powder and then cut with my dies.

I hope you can join us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Something Spooky

Hello there,

Well, I made it to the end of the first half term and now have a week off to look forward to. I plan on getting my christmas stash out and making a start on all things Christmas in an attempt to get ahead. I will let you know how I get on.

Today we have a new theme over at my own challenge blog, FANTASY STAMPERS. For the next two weeks we would love to see your projects showcasing

'SOMETHING SPOOKY'

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

I love working with my distress inks and decided to make a tag for this one. I began with a piece of white card and inked it with Seedless Preserve and Dusty Concord distress inks, taking care to mask out the moon area first.  I added a few hills in the background using torn paper and then stamped the tree with archival black ink (remembering to remove the moon mask first!)

I also stamped the witch and cauldron, together with a few pebbles at the bottom and some leaves around the left edge. I didn't have any stamps of bats, so I drew a couple in with my micron pen! I added Black Soot distress ink to the edges once finished and then mounted onto a piece of black cardstock.  I also cut a smaller piece of the inked card and stamped my 'Happy Halloween' sentiment and added to it to the bottom of the tag. 

I hope you can come and join in with our challenge this time - see you there.

Hugz, Jan xx

It's Spooky Time!

Hi there everyone,

I'm back again today with a new challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week we would love to see your 'SPOOKY' projects ready for Halloween.

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration (which I must admit is CASED from a project on Pinterest), but I just loved the idea of it ...

It measures 6x6" with an orange embossed layer matted on black cardstock. The front panel is hand drawn onto kraft card and matted on black cardstock.  I added some little googly eyes from my stash and the lettering is stamped using my Clarity Letterbox set.

I hope you will join us this week in preparation for Halloween.

Hugz, Jan xx

Pencil Colouring

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a good weekend - I made a little trip to Doncaster yesterday to the craft fair at the Dome, and must confess I did add a few things to my stash! Naughty girl!

On a crafty note, it's time for our next challenge over at My Besties UK and this time Carol has included an optional theme of 'PENCIL COLOURING'. Now this one made me think - I don't have a decent set of colouring pencils, only watercolour ones! But I must admit I really enjoyed this one and I am reasonably pleased with the outcome. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using Sherri's gorgeous image 'Fancy Pants 74' which you can buy from the store HERE.

Design papers are from my stash and I made the flowers and little die-cut gate from leftover scraps.

Hope you can come and join us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Easel Cards

Hi there,

Are you ready for another challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz - our male-themed challenge blog? Well this week Helen has chosen a new theme and we would love to see your 'EASEL' projects this time. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I used the traditional 'easel' shape, but included a twist by adding a transparent topper! The main card measures 6x6" and is folded in the traditional way. I then used one of my Spellbinder dies to cut away the topper shape. Next I cut a blue frame using the same shaped die and added a piece of acetate behind it, before securing the Wellington Bear topper. A little band of blue and my sentiment forms the stopper on the bottom. A few die-cut stars and some adhesive pearls to finish off. Ta da!

Hope you can join us this week with your own makes.

Hugz, Jan xx

Time Flies! at Fantasy Stampers

Good morning,

Well, I think I'm just about over my 'man flu' now, just have a very irritating cough left but feeling much better. Thank you to those of you who sent well wishes - I think they worked :)

Today sees the start of a brand new theme over at my challenge blog 'FANTASY STAMPERS'. For the next two weeks we would love to see your projects showcasing the theme

'TIME FLIES'

Now this is open to your own interpretation, but I have gone with the more obvious option for my DT inspiration. Here's what I made ...

This one is not what I planned at all, but was very short on time this week. I decided to used my every trusty collection of 'time' stamps which I have had for ever! 

I used a couple of design papers from my stash, then added the stamped panel. Each clock on the vertical panel was stamped and masked individually to create the panel, beginning with the little pocket watch with wings. I stamped this one again on the lighter colour paper and paper-pieced it over the original stamp, then used a little glossy accents on the face to highlight it as the focal image in the collage. 

I used a couple of cog stamps to create corners on the lighter piece and added a couple of stamped butterflies and a 'Time Flies' sentiment.

I hope you can join us over at the challenge, remembering that we are a stamping challenge (so no digital images please).

Hugz, Jan xx

R for Round/Rectangle

Happy Friday,

I'm back again with a brand new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge and this week we are up to the letter 'R'.  My crafty teamie Caz has chosen the theme 'R for Round or Rectangle' - so here goes with my DT inspiration ...

As I am hopeless at making decisions, I decided to use both on my card! Lol. The black rectangle was passed through an embossing folder and I cut out a round section to add the main image. The heart stamp was a freebie on one of my many Craft Stamper magazines and is stamped with Cranberry ink and layered on a red circle (another R!)  I also added some smaller die-cut circles and a stamped sentiment too. Hope you like!

Hugz, Jan xx

Time to Retire

Hello there,

I'm back today with our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz - my how time is whizzing by! This week it's my turn to choose the theme and I think there was a little wishful thinking going on when I chose it. For the next seven days we would love to see your projects showcasing the theme

'TIME TO RETIRE'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using some of my brand new Creative Expressions stamps ...

I absolutely love this set of stamps and couldn't wait to get all inky. It's a hand made background using Peacock Feathers and Tea Dye distress inks, then I stamped over the top with the script stamp using Sepia ink. Next I passed it through my script embossing folder and inked around the edges for a little extra definition.

The topper is the main feature of the stamp set and is also stamped with sepia ink and I added a little colour using my coloured pencils. The sentiment was created on my pc and printed on a spare piece of inky background.

Hope you can join us this week - I look forward to seeing your creations.
Hugz, Jan xx

Buttons and Besties

Morning everyone,

Wow! That weekend seem to speed by, maybe it's because I popped into work on Friday.

Are you ready for another challenge over at My Besties UK? As always we are now running an 'Anything Goes' challenge, but our leader Carol likes to challenge the design team and there are extra rewards on offer if you can follow our theme. For the next two weeks we would love it if you could use 'BUTTONS' on your beautiful creations.

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using Sherri's gorgeous 'Garden Bestie' which you can buy from her Etsy store HERE ...

Papers are from my stash and the image is coloured with my Promarkers.  Flowers are hand made from some paper scraps and I used the pretty pink buttons as flower centres.

I hope you will come play along with us this time

Hugz, Jan xx

It's still about the Girls!

Hello there,

First I would just like to say hello and welcome to my new followers - there seem to have been a few recently. I hope you will keep popping back to say hello.

I have a new make to show you today for our 'Midway Motivation' post at my own challenge blog 'FANTASY STAMPERS' - which currently has the challenge 'Here Come the Girls'.

We have had some fabulous entries so far, but if you haven't had chance to join us yet there is still plenty of time - the challenge doesn't close until 10th October.

I wanted to show something different to my original 'cutie' style card that I made for the challenge and this one uses lots of paper scraps from my stash. Here's what I came up with ...

Now I did CASE this design and tweak it a little for my own design, but couldn't resist the girly pinks.  The back piece is run through an alphabet embossing folder then inked with Walnut Stain distress ink.

I added a doily, some paper ribbons, a few die-cut stars, a piece of pink twine and lots of gems.  

I realised afterwards that the only stamping was the sentiment - which is from Stampin Up 'Sassy Salutations' (but it is stamped so I think it passes for the challenge!) Lol.

I hope you will come and play along with us with your own 'girly' creations.

Hugz, Jan xx

No Balls Allowed!

Good morning,

Well, that was a weekend I would like to forget - I had the worst 'man flu' descend on me, proper poorly! Quite ironic when I am booked to have my flu jab next weekend, don't you think. Anyway, think I'm on the mend now - well at least  I am upright! Lol.

It's time for our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week Caz has chosen our theme. We would love to see your male themed projects showcasing the theme 

'NO BALLS ALLOWED'

 (SPORT)

Well, this team is really challenging me - both my sporty stamps have the use of balls! So off I went to search and came up with this cute digital image (I hope it's classed as a sport!). Here's what I made ...

My apologies for the poor picture quality - the only way to describe the day here is GREY!! 

I printed both the image and the quote from my pc, then coloured it with my Promarkers. I used my Clarity brick stencil to brush a little Tea Dye distress ink along the background to create the effect of a wall, then used my SU 'splatter' stamp with Fired Brick distress ink (I was going for the graffiti look in my mind). Hope you like it.

Why not pop over to the main blog and take a peek at what my teamies made too - see you there.

Hugz, Jan xx

Here Come the Girls

Hi there everyone,

I'm back today with details of the next theme over at my own challenge blog at Fantasy Stampers. We had a terrific response to our Autumn Colours last time - so if you came and played along, thank you so much.

For the next two weeks we have a real easy theme - so I hope we will see you all again with your makes for our challenge

'HERE COME THE GIRLS'

We would love to see anything girlie - it can be any kind of project, it doesn't have to be a card. Although I did stick with the traditional for my DT inspiration this time - here's what I made ...

This has to be one of my favourite kind of cards to make - all pink and girly, and I made it using some of my favourite products with the Lily of the Valley monthly challenge in mind. Their theme is 'Pretty Papers' and they have some gorgeous ones too - I used three different patterns from the 'Always and Forever' pad (all pink, and all nice and girly too).

I made an 8x8" card all layered up with lots of different shapes, backed with a lovely co-orinating burgundy cardstock.  Each layer is inked around the edges using Victorian Velvet distress ink.

The main image is also LOTV - the 'Birthday Fairy' and she stamped twice, coloured with my Promarkers and layered to give a decoupage effect (although this doesn't show well in my photo).  

I also used the LOTV postcard as part of my background layers and a little sentiment is stamped from their 'Everyday Grungy Sentiments'.

Extra embellies include a little die-cut bunting using scraps of the card and paper, a chipboard flower which I embossed with pink frantage powder, a piece of polkadot ribbon and a few aurora adhesive crystals.

Very much my usual design - now step away from the card Jan! Lol.

Right I'm off to go enter the challenge now. I hope you can come and play along with your own 'girly' makes - see you there. 

LOTV Ideas to Inspire Challenge - Pretty Papers

Hugz, Jan xx

Water

Hello there,

Wow, how the weeks pass by - it's time for our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week Kim has chosen the theme of 

'WATER'

Now this one presented a problem - I had a total blank when I thought about which stamps I could use for this one, so decided to improvise instead. Here's what I came up with for my DT inspiration ...

I began with a 6x6" white card blank and added a slightly smaller white layer which I ran through a dotty embossing folder (sort of looks like bubbles, I thought). 

The top layer is a print I pulled from my geli plate - I used Tumbled Glass ink first, covered the geli plate, then removed a little of the ink with a piece of scrunched up paper, then pulled the first print. I repeated the same process with a little Broken China distress ink (sort of looks like water, I thought). 

The quote was printed on my pc, together with the little water droplets, which I covered with glossy accents to make them look realistic. I added a stamped 'Get Well Soon' quote, together with a piece of ribbon and a few aurora self adhesive crystals. I hope it fits the theme!

Hope you can come and join us with your own 'Water' themed projects.

Hugz, Jan xx 

Blue at My Besties UK

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a great weekend - mine involved some impromptu crafty shopping with my baby girl. I bought one or two bits and pieces to add to my stash - including a fab new paper pad which was reduced in the clearance section - bargain!

On a crafty note, it's time for our next challenge over at My Besties UK and this week Carol challenge the design team to use the colour blue. So, I decided to be a little alternate today and use one of Sherri's little boy images for a change - here's what I ended up with for my DT inspiration ...

I delved into my stash of plain tags for this one and covered it with a piece of card which I had inked with various blue distress inks. I also ran it through my hexagon embossing folder and applied a little gilding wax to highlight areas to make the background.

The image was coloured with my Promarkers and added to the tag, along with the wording 'Little Boy Blue' which I created on my pc, then tore and inked around the edges.

Embellishments include a piece of pale blue polkadot ribbon, a few blue buttons, some blue die-cut stars and a couple of blue brads. Righty, I think there is sufficient blue there, don't you! Lol.

Hope you will come and join us with your own 'blue' creations this time - if you would like some more inspiration, why not pop over to the main blog and check out what my teamies made too.

Hugz, Jan xx

No Pretty Papers!

Good morning,

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

'NO PRETTY PAPERS'

Now, normally I would be lost without my enormous stash of pretty papers, but I must admit I am beginning to enjoy making my own backgrounds and this challenge provides a great opportunity to play. So, here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

This one is made with my brand new stamps from Creative Expressions. The background is stamped using the script stamp and Faded Denim distress ink (first and second generation to get the difference in shading). I then ran it through a script embossing folder for extra detail and texture.

The main focal stamp is one of the gorgeous old cars from the 'Vintage Cars' stamp set. I have coloured it with my Promarkers then added glossy accents to the blue paintwork to make it shiny.  The sentiment is also from the same set.

Added embellishments include a piece of navy ribbon and a few card candi, coloured with my Promarkers to match the colour scheme.

I hope you will come and play with us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Autumn Colours

Good morning,

I hope you all have plans for a great weekend.

It's time for our next theme over at Fantasy Stampers and for the next two weeks we have a photo inspiration challenge based around 'AUTUMN COLOURS'. Here's the photo we used ...

I love this time of year - the colours are fabulous and I tried to echo this in my DT project - here's what I made ...

This one is 6x6" in size using brown cardstock for the main card - layered with burgundy and then cream. The sentiments are stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with copper powder. All the leaves were stamped out onto a piece of book paper that I coloured with Dylusion inks, then embossed with copper powder and cut out - it took me ages! I also used some extra die-cut foliage to build up the corner. There is also a little pumpkin nestled in the leaves which began life as a silver charm, but I also embossed him with copper powder to blend in. A few inky splatters, some adhesive pearls and a bit of copper glitter to finish off.

I hope you will come and play along with your own Autumn projects - see you there.

Hugz, Jan xx

P for Pretty Petals

Hi there everyone,

Well that's another of my working weeks over - time to play in the craft room today!

Over at the Alphabet Challenge we are ready for the next letter and this time it's my turn to choose the theme - so for the letter 'P' I chose

'PRETTY PETALS'

I adore making flowers to put on my cards, so this one was an easy one for me. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

My apologies for the rubbish photo - I forgot that we are losing daylight at an alarming rate and left it a little late to take my piccie!

My card is 6x6" layered with pink vellum and then another, slightly smaller layer of white card which I passed through one of my embossing folders.

The flowers are Stampin Up 'Petite Petals' and are all stamped on white vellum using a Versamark inkpad. I embossed half of them with white embossing powder and the other half with pink embossing powder, then punched them out using the corresponding Stampin Up punch. I added co-ordinating pearls to the centre of all the flowers before adding them to my card.

I added a torn strip of the pink vellum to the bottom of the card, which has the word 'Inspire' stamped and embossed in white - this was then wrapped around the card and I also added a couple of pink brads for effect.

Hope you can join us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

CAS at Cardz 4 Guyz

Hello there,

I'm back today with our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week Julie has challenged us to make a 'CLEAN & SIMPLE' (CAS) card. So, here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

After all my usual 'put as much as I can' on a card - I am really getting to like making these clean & simple looks. This one measures 6x6" and I used just one piece of plain milk card. I stuck a small 'Post It' note in the centre to mask out the plain square, then used a range of my clock stamps to make a border. I added a little Walnut Stain distress ink around the edges and then removed the mask. I stamped a little 'Good Luck' greeting and added three tiny tags, each stamped with the letters to make 'Dad' and secured them with three brads. Simples!

I hope you can join us this week with your own Clean & Simple projects.

Hugz, Jan xx

Winged Fairies

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a great weekend, despite the awful rain on Saturday - we were struggling for it to get light all day here!

Are you ready for another challenge over at My Besties UK? Although our challenges are now always 'Anything Goes', our leader Carol still likes to offer the option of a theme and challenges the design team to use it. So for the next couple of weeks we would love to see your projects using

'WINGS'

Here's what I created for my DT inspiration using Sherri's gorgeous 'Winged Fairies' image ...

This one is an 8x8" design using backing papers from my stash layered on co-ordinated cardstock. The image is coloured with my Promarkers and I stamped and embossed all the way around the edge, and added a little glitter to their wings.  Added embellishments include some die-cut butterflies, a die-cut fence, three pretty paper roses, and some adhesive pearls.  The sentiment is stamped using a Clarity word chain.

Hope you can join us this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Man's Best Friend

Happy Tuesday,

It's time for our next theme over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this one is a very apt one for me, as those of you that know me, know I lurve my little doggies! So for the next week we would love to see your projects showcasing the theme

'MAN'S BEST FRIEND'

Now, one of my little fur babies has been poorly over the weekend with a bad tummy bug - but after three trips to the vets and some antibiotics I hope she is on the mend. So in between returning to school yesterday and a trip to the vets, here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

It was quite a quick one using another freebie stamp from my Craft Stamper magazine - I love this little pooch. I stamped him three times in Sepia Ink, then punched out the squares and coloured the images with my Promarkers. I arranged them on three different layers, together with a pc generated sentiment and hey presto. Hope you like it!

Hope we will see you over at the challenge this time.

Hugz, Jan xx

Hearts and Flowers at Fantasy Stampers

Good morning,

Well, this is my last weekend before I return to school on Monday - where did that six weeks go?!

It's time for our next theme over at my own challenge blog 'FANTASY STAMPERS', so for the next two weeks we would love to see your projects using

'HEARTS AND FLOWERS'.

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

I decided to use one my many chipboard hearts for this one and covered it with a design paper from my stash. I inked the edge with Walnut Stain distress ink then stamped a flourish all the way around the edge using my Versamark inkpad, before embossing with copper detail embossing powder.

I covered the heart with loads of embellishments, including the stamped rose - this has to be one of my favourite flower stamps (it came free with one of my Craft Stamper magazines) and it's also great for layering up. I added a little copper glitter to highlight the shaded areas of the stamp too. Other embellies include some paper roses, a couple of handmade flowers from the leftover backing paper, a corrugated kraft card heart, a metal birdcage, metal heart and gorgeous metal key, a Tim Holtz 'Love' ticket, together with some buttons and a few adhesive pearls.

I hope you can pop over to the challenge blog and check out what my team made and we would love to see you play along too.

Have a great weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx

Steampunk Tag

Hi there crafty friends and followers,

I'm back today with news of our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week it's my turn to choose the theme. I decided on one of my favourites for male themed cards

'STEAMPUNK'

So, interpret as you wish - there are hundreds of possibilities for this one. Here's what I came up with for my DT inspiration ...

I decided on a tag, rather than a card - gives me a little more freedom. Believe it or not, this started out as a basic white tag! Then I gave it everything I had! 

First I inked the background using three different distress inks - Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold and Fired Brick. Then I added some Walnut Stain around the edges for definition - no project seems complete without some Walnut Stain!

Next I inked up part of one of my stencils with Versamark and positioned it over one side of the tag, before passing it through my Calibur. I added some copper embossing powder to highlight. Then I used my Clarity brick stencil and covered a portion of it with Walnut Stain ink, positioned it on the other side of the tag and passed that through the Calibur again (transferring the ink onto my tag). Finally I put the whole tag through an embossing folder and highlighted the results with a little blue gilding wax.

I stamped out several elements to use on the tag and coloured them with the same ink - those three fellows have been stuck to my noticeboard forever (can't even remember where they came from), but they seemed to fit today. A few stamped cogs, some black ink splats and some brass embellishments to finish off and voila!

I can't wait to see your Steampunk projects - I shall look forward to visiting your blogs this week.

Hugz, Jan xx

Something Old/Something New

Good morning,

I hope everyone is enjoying the bank holiday weekend - I have plans for a little retail therapy tomorrow before returning to school next week.

Over at My Besties UK we have a new challenge this morning - as always you can enter an 'Anything Goes' project, but we also have a specific theme if you want to follow that. For the next two weeks Carol chose 

'SOMETHING OLD, 

SOMETHING NEW'

So, your project must use something old (something you have had for a long time) and something new (a recent purchase) and don't forget to tell us what you used. Here goes with my DT inspiration using Sherri's gorgeous little sailor mermaid image 396 ...

I decided to use an old silver starfish charm on my project - I have had a selection of these for ages and always forget about them on my cards. I suppose you could also call my trusty Promarkers 'old' too!

My something new is my lush LOTV paper pad which was purchased at a recent craft show to go with my 'collection' - I nearly have them all now! This one is called 'Beach Bliss' and has a perfect colour palette for my card - I also used some kraft card for layering.

Extra embellishments include a die-cut border - I thought this one could represent the ocean waves! I also used an LOTV stamped sentiment, a couple of hearts, a few adhesive pearls and some pretty frantage powder around the image to accent the bubbles.

I hope you can come and play along with us this time - I shall look forward to seeing your projects.

Hugz, Jan xx

By the Sea at Fantasy Stampers

Good morning everyone,

Well, I'm happy to say that after four weeks I think my back is finally on the mend - I feel much more human again. The trick now is not to do too much at once and set it off again!

Now onto crafty things and it's time for the next challenge over at my own blog 'FANTASY STAMPERS'. For the next two weeks we have a new theme

'BY THE SEA'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration, which after I made it seems more like 'under the sea' but there you go ...

I knew exactly what I wanted this one to look like. I began with a piece of white Neenah cardstock and stamped out my gorgeous little mermaid image from LOTV in black ink. I then stamped again on a sticky note and cut it out to make a mask to cover up my stamped image.

Then to work with my trusty distress inks - I used a combination of Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Peacock Feathers and Dusty Concord and applied them with a distress ink tool and felt. Once I was happy with the colour distribution I began adding extra detail - a few water splats (it is meant to look like the sea after all), some ink splats using one of my Stampin Up grunge stamps, a few circles using an old lid of something, and some little swirls all the way around the edge using Faded Jeans. Finally a little sprinkling of frantage powder in opposite corners.

Once finished I removed the mask and coloured my little mermaids using my Promarkers and a little added glitter on their wings.

I added a couple of skeleton leaves and some shells to finish off and layered the whole thing on a piece of shiny turquoise cardstock before adding it to my card base.

I hope you will come and play along with us for this one - why not pop over to the blog to see what my team created, there is some fabulous examples.

I am entering this in the challenge over at Creative Inspirations - Under the Sea.

Hugz, Jan xx

N for Natural

Good morning,

It's time for our next letter over at the Alphabet Challenge today and Sheena has chosen the new theme for the letter 'N'. For the next two weeks we would love to see your projects using something

'NATURAL'

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

I knew straight away that I wanted to use natural colours and I love using kraft card. But the idea of this challenge is to use something on your project that is 'natural' and not 'man-made'. So out came the thinking cap - the obvious choice to me seemed to be wood as that matched the kraft card colour theme. 

So I made a little frame for my stamped image using four wooden cocktail sticks - now weren't they fiddly little buggers to stick together. Hubby to the rescue when he returned from his man shed with some balsa wood glue! I then wrapped each corner with some cotton thread, still not totally trusting the glue.

The background kraft card is run through an embossing folder and inked around the edges for definition. I cut an aperture in the cream cardstock so my rose stamp could peep through. This was one of the freebie stamps that came with my Craft Stamper magazine months ago, but is still a firm favourite and is great for layering up (although not really visible on my photo).

I stamped the sentiment in brown ink and added a piece of hemp cord and a wooden button (coloured with my Tan Promarker to co-ordinate) and a little adhesive pearl in the centre. 

I hope you will come and join us this time - there are lots of other interesting natural things to play with too - feathers, hessian, shells, dried flowers, raffia, wool, leather just to name a few.

Hugz, Jan xx

Camera/Photo at C4G

Hello again,

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

CAMERA/PHOTO

Now this one challenged me a little and I don't think it's my best work - but here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I used a collection of things found in my stash and 'borrowed' a little camera image from the internet (shame!) The wording is stamped with one of the Clarity word chain stamps in Sepia Brown ink.

I am looking forward to seeing your entries this time - I think you can lots better than I did! Lol.

Hugz, Jan xx

It's all about the Flowers

Morning everyone,

Well, I definitely think we felt the effects of Hurricaine Bertha last night - had to practically nail everything down outside  it was so windy! I hope everyone is safe out there.

It's time for another challenge over at My Besties UK today and although you can now play along with an 'Anything Goes' theme - we challenged the team to use 'FLOWERS' as an extra element. Well now, that's an easy one - I think I put flowers on nearly everything I make (except for the guys, of course!)

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration using Sherri's gorgeous 'Garden Girl' image 734 ...

I knew straight away which image I wanted to use - I love this one with our little Bestie peeking out through all those beautiful flowers. She is coloured with my Promarkers - the flowers using Cool Aqua and Duck Egg. Think I went a bit mad adding extra die-cut flowers around the edges - but it is the main theme! Extra embellishments include an LOTV stamped sentiment, some pretty lemon polkadot ribbon, a little dragonfly brad and lots of adhesive pearls.

Hope you will come and join us with all your own lovely flowery projects.

Hugz, Jan xx