Something beginning with Z

Hello there,

I hope everyone enjoyed their extended bank holiday weekend - the weather wasn't up to much here, although neither was I to be honest. Still trying to make some tough decisions about the way forward - it's a near impossible task!

Anyway, on a more positive note, I have my next DT project to show you today, ready for the new challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz - this week Amy has chosen the theme

'SOMETHING 

BEGINNING WITH Z'

Well, no decisions to be made there then, Z nearly always means 'Zentangle' for me, if it's appropriate - here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

Just a micron pen, ruler, pencil and eraser (and some black and white cardstock). Fairly inexpensive to make, but clever results. I added a little LOTV stamped image in the centre, which could be changed to suit any occasion.

There are lots of other things beginning with 'Z' over at the challenge - why not pop over and take a peek.

Hugz, Jan xx

G for Girlie

Good morning,

Well, I made it to the end of the half term, albeit with some devastating news yesterday, but I will tell you about it when I get my head around it! It sure has put a dark cloud over my week's break (which I was so looking forward to).

It's time for the next letter over at the Alphabet Challenge and this time Tammy has chosen

'G for GIRLIE'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration, using my new 'Bloomin' Heart' Die from Stampin' Up ...

Design paper is from my stash, the heart is die-cut from cream cardstock and I included some pink polka dot ribbon, a stamped butterfly and a stamped sentiment (also Stampin' Up). The added little pink flowers are also part of the die set, and I cut them from some of the leftover design paper scraps to co-ordinate with the card. 

I hope you can join us with your own 'girlie' themed projects.

Hugz, Jan xx

A Little bit of Vintage

Happy Days,

Well, as it's Thursday, that means I finish work today for my half term break - yay! It's been a long eight weeks, but I am looking forward to my week off before the last section of the school year.

I'm back today with a brand new theme at Cardz 4 Galz and this week Aly has chosen

'VINTAGE or SHABBY CHIC'

So, you can choose which style you would like to enter - sounds easy doesn't it! I must admit it took me a while to decide as I love both of these styles, but I decided on Vintage. Here's what I created for my DT inspiration ...

I love using just sepia tones for this type of project - the design papers are from my new purchase paper pad - 'Floral Muse' by Dovecraft, I can see this one becoming a strong favourite!

I inked all the edges with Frayed Burlap distress ink to age them a little. The beautiful image is from a sheet I've had for ever - I have no idea who she is, but what a pretty little girl.

Embellies include some ivory seam binding, a piece of ivory lace, an ivory paper flower, a couple of die-cut pieces and some self adhesive pearls. I also included some little stamped letters which spell the word 'Love', in the absence of a sentiment.

Why not pop over and see which theme my teamies chose for their project.

Hugz, Jan xx

It's Hip to be Square

Good morning,

I have another new DT project for you today, for the new challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz and this week Jane has chosen the theme

'IT'S HIP TO BE SQUARE'

Now this can be interpreted any way you wish - simply a square card, or using squares on a card - as long as it has squares somewhere, it's good. Here's what I decided on for my DT inspiration ...

Well, I don't do anything by halves - this reminds me of those puzzles where you have to count 'how many of something!' Lol.

I started out with a piece of white cardstock and attached my Claritystamp 'Abstract Squares' stencil with some masking tape. Using my inkdusters, I brushed some Dried Marigold and Peacock Feathers distress ink through the stencil - producing lots of little squares (and rectangles) for my background.

Next I added three coloured squares cut from some scraps and placed them behind the piece of vellum which I stamped the word 'Remember' from one of my Claritystamp Wordchains in archival ink, then fastened it to the background using four eyelets.

I also wrapped a piece of turquoise twine around before I secured it to my turquoise mat, adding a couple of little brass keys as an extra embellishment.

Hope you can join us with your own 'Square' projects.

Hugz, Jan xx

All About the Girl

Happy Saturday,

Well, I managed week 7 of our 8 week half term, but it was a gruelling one - even the children have had enough now and are ready for a break. Just three and a half more days to go until my break begins. It's Science week at our school next week, so lots of interesting science lessons, activities, and assemblies for them to look forward to.

On a crafty note, it's time for our next challenge at Fantasy Stampers and the new theme for the next two weeks is

'ALL ABOUT THE GIRL'

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

I do love lots of different styles of crafting, but would say this one is most typically me! 

I used one of my many LOTV stamps called 'Birthday Fairy' and stamped her in Sepia ink and coloured her with my Promarkers (with the addition of a little glitter on her wings).

The pretty design papers are from a new pad that fell in my basket whilst out shopping this morning and is called ' Floral Muse' from Dovecraft. All the papers are muted pastel tones of peaches, cream and mocha - they have a real vintage look to them (and only cost £4 for the whole pad!)

I added some ivory lace, a little die-cut banner, some paper roses and a few flat backed pearls. The two little stamped sentiment tags are also LOTV.

Why not pop over and check out some more 'girlie' inspiration over at the main challenge blog - would love to see you there.

Hugz, Jan xx

Man's Best Friend

Good Morning,

I hope you all had a good weekend - mine was a very busy one, dashing around everywhere. I swear my 'To Do' list gets longer every day. On a positive note, my baby girl did pass her Driving Theory exam on Saturday, another proud mummy moment. Now she can get her practical test booked and passed, then hopefully we can put our 'Taxi' sign away to rest!

It's time for our next challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz today, and this week Julie has chosen the theme of

'MAN'S BEST FRIEND'

Now, I always think of my little doggies here - although I would argue that they are 'Woman's Best Friend' too. They are both my little shadows and make going out to work all the better, knowing they will be there to welcome me home at the end of the day.

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

This one is a LOTV stamp called 'Man's Best Friend' and the little boy and his dog are sat on a wooden bench. So, after two attempts and some clever masking, I managed to get the look I was after - the two of them sat on top of my stamped letters.

The image is coloured with my Promarkers and the letters are stamped using my Claritystamps 'Letterbox' set.

A bit of ink around the edges, along with some hand piercing (not the best I must say), together with a few layers and four blue adhesive pearls to finish off.

Hugz, Jan xx

F for Furry Friends

Happy Friday,

Well, it's my day off today and I have to go for treatment for my back, then do the grocery shop - now that's a mis-matched set of activities! Hope my back survives!

I have a new DT project for you today, as we launch the next theme over at the Alphabet Challenge. We are up to the letter 'F' and Tammy has chosen the theme

'F for FURRY FRIENDS'

Now who doesn't have a stamp/image for this one - I have hundreds!! Here's what I made ...

Yep! You spotted the LOTV stamp - I love this one, but then I love them all! It's called 'Fabulous Flower' and is coloured mainly with my Promarkers, but the actual flower is paper pieced using a left over piece of the design paper used in the background layers (which is also LOTV - Heartfelt).

The greeting is also LOTV (gosh, I'm getting boring now!) but they make such pretty cards.

I added a piece of pink organza ribbon, some cute little die-cut flowers and some adhesive pearls. Oh, and did you spot the button as a centre for the flower?

Why not pop over and check out what my team made - there are some fabulous projects for your inspiration.

Hope to see you there,

Hugz, Jan xx

Tea for Two

Good morning,

I trust everyone is having a good week - my last working day today, so looking forward to my weekend ahead.

I'm back today with a new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz and this time my teamie Jules has chosen the theme of

'TEA FOR TWO'

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

I tried to create the shape of a 'tea-bag'! I built up lots of layers using just scraps for this one, including a piece of peppermint coloured design paper (must be peppermint tea!)

I coloured the cute little digital image with my Promarkers and stamped the word 'tea' using one of my dinky alphabet stamp sets. 

Why not come and play along with your own 'Two for Tea' projects?

Hugz, Jan xx

Dig It!

Happy Tuesday,

Wow! I hope everyone was able to enjoy the glorious weekend - I can't believe how warm it was. I am back in my stuffy classroom today and the children get so irritable when it's warm.

Over at Cardz 4 Guyz today we have a brand new challenge, and our boss Caz has chosen the theme of

'DIG IT!'

Now, this can be interpreted how you wish - that's what I love about the challenges, seeing everyone's own interpretations. But I stuck with a traditional one and went with a gardening theme. Here's what I created for my DT inspiration ...

Quite a simple design, using an image from the internet which I coloured with my Promarkers. Lots of layers using kraft card and a piece of design paper from my LOTV 'Father Knows Best' paper pad. A couple of little banners and buttons and two brads to finish off.

Hope you will come and play along.

Hugz, Jan xx

Flower Power at Fantasy Stampers

Hello there,

Well, after a sad day yesterday, I'm back today with our next challenge over at Fantasy Stampers, and the new theme is 

'FLOWER POWER'

Now. there are so many possibilities for this one, and I definitely have far too many flower stamps to choose from, but decided on my new Stampin' Up set 'Flowering Fields' which was just sat there waiting to be inked up. So, here's what I designed for my DT inspiration ...

I have so many ideas for this cute little set of stamps, but decided on a mosaic tile effect so I could use each one (that way none of them would feel left out, right?)

First I measured all the pieces of card so they fit mosaic style on my layered card base. Then I stamped each flower using a black Versafine ink and coloured them with my Promarkers to match the pink layer in my base. The stamped greeting is from a different set of stamps from my stash.

I hope you like my design and we would love to see you over at the challenge.

Hugz, Jan xx

Black and White

Good morning,

I hope everyone enjoyed the long Bank Holiday weekend - it was nice to have a little extra time at home.

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

'MONOCHROME'

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

Now, I know 'Monochrome' is translated as 'shades of one colour', but for a male themed card, I don't think you can beat good old 'black and white' (which when I checked are opposite ends of the gray scale).

I used my trusty Stampin' Up stamps - 'Clockworks' and 'Gorgeous Grunge' again  - I love these two sets for male themed designs. I used Versafine ink in onyx black and smoky gray, masking the stamped images as I went along to create a collage effect.

The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment is stamped using my SU 'Sassy Salutations' (another favourite). 

Love the houndstooth check backing paper - although it went against my OCD to put the central panel squiffy! Lol.

Hope you can come and play along.

Hugz, Jan xx