James Bear has Presents

Hello everyone,

I have actually managed to make some of my Christmas cards on my days off this week - very proud of my little self! Still have a few more to go, but I'm not usually this organised, although I haven't even started on the Christmas shopping yet!

I have a cute little 'Clean & Simple' card for you today - my DT inspiration for the new challenge at Fantasy Stampers. Here's what I made using one of my favourite Christmas stamps ...

Now this one is a little more fancy than a normal 'CAS ' style, but it only involves two stamps and a die-cut, so compared to some of the projects I make - it is 'clean & simple' for me!

I simply die-cut the top section of my square cardstock using the 'Frostyville Border' die from Memory Box, then added a scrap of red Christmas design paper behind it.

The stamp is LOTV 'James with Presents' and is coloured with alcohol markers (and a little added glitter around his hat). A quick stamped sentiment and one little clear dazzler to finish off. 

Hope you will come and join us with your own CAS designs.

Hugz, Jan xx

CAS Christmas

Hello there,

Well I have to say that things have been getting away from me the last couple of weeks!

After mum being in hospital, I'm still struggling with my back (I have been referred back to the hospital next week) and we have had some personal family stuff going on, as well as manic times as the school term hurtles towards Christmas (Christmas market, nativity production, pantomime, cards, calendars, parties, coffee morning - you know how it goes!) And then there is all the Christmas shopping to come! I say every year that I will start sooner, but alas I am once again struggling to keep up.

My crafting has also taken a back seat, but I am back today with news of our last challenge for 2015 over at Fantasy Stampers - we will be back in the New Year to celebrate our 2nd birthday!

Here's what I made for our new challenge - 'Clean and Simple Christmas' ...

This one uses five stamps from a freebie set called 'Winter Wonderland' which came with a recent craft magazine. I used black archival ink to stamp out the little scene, then I used the snow stamp with Perfect Medium ink and dusted with Cosmic Shimmer 'Enchanted Gold' mica powder (I think you can just see it in my photo) to create a snowy sky.

The scene was mounted on a scrap of black card before I added it to the card base. I stamped the sentiment in black archival ink to finish off. Definitely a simple one!

I hope you can come and join us for our last challenge of the year.

Hugz, Jan xx

Steampunk Snowman

Good morning,

I'm back today in my role as Guest Designer at My Besties UK and have some alternative Christmas artwork to show you for our posting today. As we have five Mondays in November, the design team showcase some of Sherri's gorgeous images and one lucky commenter will have the chance of winning either my chosen image (or my teamie's chosen image) as a prize.

Here's what I came up with using Image 781, which you can buy in Sherri's online store HERE.

This definitely has to be the most 'alternative' Christmas cards I have ever made, but I just love him to bits! I coloured the snowman with a combination of pencils and Promarkers and added a little glitter - well, you can't have Christmas without sparkle, can you - even if he is Steampunk!

The design paper and all embellishments are from my stash - the two chipboard cogs have been embossed with fine detail gold embossing powder to create a metal effect finish.

So why not pop over to the blog and see what Sue made for her project, and don't forget to leave a comment on the main challenge blog for your chance to win a free image!

Hugz, Jan xx

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

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

Clean and Simple for Christmas

Hello again,

I'm back with my second post of the day with a brand new challenge over at Make My Monday. This week Suzi has chosen a great theme to finish off our year. We would love to see your 'CLEAN AND SIMPLE' Christmas projects this week - nice and easy just before the big celebrations begin.  Here's my DT inspiration ...

This one was really easy and only took about 15 minutes to make. I stamped the 'Three Wise Men' and the little star in black archival ink and quickly added clear embossing powder before heating. I used 'Scattered Straw' distress ink around the star and to create a few hills, before adding the text. Hope you like it.

If you have a minute, pop on over to the main blog and check out what my teamies did for their CAS Christmas!

Hugz, Jan xx

A Frosty Scene

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of blogging this week - it's such a busy time at school that I have been shattered when I get home. We are knee deep in rehearsals for our Christmas production which is on Wednesday and we also had our Christmas market last week. Still have lots to do for the children to make this a special time of year for them.

Right onto crafty things - we have new challenge for you over at Make My Monday and this week Rosie has chosen a very seasonal theme:

' A FROSTY SCENE'

So we would love to see your projects getting all frosted up this week - here's my DT inspiration for you ...

I loved making this one - I used a masking technique to create a space inside the large bauble to stamp my 'frosty scene' using lots of little stamps.  I added some pale blue Promarker and lots of glitter to create a frosty look. Hope you like it.

Have a great week,

Hugz, Jan xx

Christmas at MMM

Good morning,

Well, that's another weekend over and another week closer to Christmas and I haven't even started my shopping yet.

As it's Monday, it's time for our next challenge over at Make My Monday and this week Laura has chosen the theme of

'ANYTHING BUT A CARD - CHRISTMAS THEMED'

So, we would love to see your Christmas themed projects this week - but remember it has to be something other than a card. Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I love making Tags so this was an obvious choice for me. I used some 'freebie' stash that came with the 'Simply Cards & Papercrafts' magazine that I bought this week - I must say it's a great freebie if you haven't seen it yet!  The papers and 'Merry Christmas' sentiment are Kaisercraft and you even get a packet of the little tags too. So all I did was did my own tag template out and get sticking, plus a few embellishments of course!

I shall look forward to seeing your entries this week over at the challenge blog.

Good luck, Jan xx

Christmas is Coming!

Good morning,

Well, it's Friday again already - so it must be time for another challenge over at Polkadoodles and this week we are all preparing for Christmas with the theme 'CHRISTMAS IS COMING'! I can believe it's almost that time of year again.  This time the design team were challenged to make a card using more than one fold, so here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I used a 'Three Panel Screen Card' and covered it with papers from the fab 'A Home for Christmas CD'. Each piece is layered on gold mirri card, then a complimentary coloured card and I added the cute little border (also from the CD).  The greeting was printed from the sentiments section of the CD and mounted on a die-cut scalloped circle. The baubles are from the embellishments section of the CD - I printed each one three times, cut them and then stuck them together to create another folded 3D element to my card. A few bits of holly to decorate and some fab Polkadoodles dew drops to finish.

I hope you can join us this time in our lead up to Christmas - I shall look forward to seeing your entries.

Hugz, Jan xx

Christmas in July!

Hello, I'm back today with our next challenge over at Make My Monday and this week Laura has challenged us to make a christmas card, hence the 'CHRISTMAS IN JULY' title!

Well, I almost went into a flat spin - never before have I opened my christmas craft box in July! But as they say, there's a first time for everything and boldly overcoming my fear I opened the box and made the following for your inspiration ...

Although I am a traditional girl at heart, I do love a contemporary christmas - hence the purple! I adore this little teddy bear image from LOTV - he has to be one of my favourite christmas stamps, so out of the box he came and I coloured him with my Promarkers and added a little glitter to his hat. You can't do christmas without a bit of sparkle!

The paper is from my stash and I added a white snowflake border which is embellished with little adhesive gems.  I thought the card looked somewhat plain, so I added some fancy corners in a dark purple (which are actually cut from a Spellbinders Fleur de Lys square cut into four pieces). Hope you like it!

Hugz, Jan xx

Winter White

Hi there everyone,

My it's been a cold week here - the temperatures haven't been above freezing all week.  My poor little car has been doing a fab impression of an ice cube every morning!  Hope everyone is staying safe in all the ice and frost.

It's time for a new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge blog today and we are up to the letter 'W', so we would like to see your 'Winter White' projects this week simply using just white!  This one suits my love of monochrome, but don't think I have ever used just white before - definitely a challenge.  Here's my DT inspiration ...

I used a 6x6" plain card blank which is topped with another square of plain white card.  I added three strips of card which have been run through my little dotty embossing folder for some texture. I touched the edges of the card with my silver Promarker just to define them a little. The horizontal strip is cut with my 'Fleur de Lys' Spellbinder edging die and I have wrapped a piece of 'Merry Christmas' ribbon around the centre.  The card is finished with a die cut snowflake and a white flat backed pearl, together with a little rub-on sentiment. I think it looks very crisp and definitely matches all this frosty weather we have been having recently.

Don't forget to pop over to the blog to check out my teamies fab work too.

Hugz, Jan xx

Polkadoodles Challenge Day

Good morning everyone,

I've got that Friday feeling, which means it must be challenge time over at the Polkadoodles blog.  This week we would like to see your 'Square cards' that include a 'Round element' on them.  Simples!  Here's my DT card for a little inspiration ...

Back to the Christmas cards this week - I used the 'Here Comes Christmas CD' to print papers, the snowman and sentiments before assembling the card.  The snowman image is decoupaged to give some depth to the card and the 'round element' includes a little snowman joke. Well, what do snowmen eat for breakfast, I hear you say ...

Snowflakes, 

of course!! Lol.  

Just twist the top circle, which is held in place with a brad, to reveal the answer hidden underneath.

I shall look forward to visiting your blogs to take a peek at your entries - don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog to see some more fab inspiration from my teamies.

Hugz, Jan xx

Xmas Decorations at Studio 12

Good morning,

I hope the weekend finds everyone well.  It's my turn to post over on the Studio 12 blog today and I thought I would show you a simple little Christmas ornament that I made using the Picknix 2 - Gingerbread Twist CD ...

It's made using two papers and a sentiment from the CD, plus two die-cut scalloped circles and lots of bling!   I cut a scalloped circle from dark red pearlised card, then added a slightly smaller scalloped circle cut from one of the red papers, which was inked around the edge with Walnut Stain distress ink.  The next layer is a concertina paper rosette made using the second red paper and the topper is a sentiment from the CD mounted on another dark red scalloped circle.  Bling it up to your hearts content and add a piece of hanging ribbon and 'Voila' - a simple decoration.

You could easily adapt these to include an image in the centre, or even personalise them with family greetings.

See you all soon,

Hugz, Jan xx

Christmas for the Girls

Hi there everyone and Happy Halloween,

Wow! This is my fifth day in a row posting - never been done before! Lol. I am definitely liking being at home and trying not to think about next week back at work.

I have a little card to show you today, made for 'Lili's Little Fairies blog challenge' - the theme this week is to make a Christmas card for the Girls.  Well, what better reason to get all my purple stuff out then :)  Here's what I made ...

This one's a 6x6" card blank covered with some pretty lilac snowflake paper from the 'Snowman paper pack', which is mounted onto some lilac card..  I added a piece of lilac organza ribbon across the middle before adding my topper.  The stamped image is LOTV - Twinkling Star and is coloured with Lilac and Amethyst Promarkers.  I added some sparkle to the little stars and snow with a glitter gel pen. The image is mounted on a Fleur de Lys nestie cut from the same lilac card as the background mat.  I die-cut some snowflakes from a piece of scrap and added self adhesive gems/pearl to the centres and finished with a little Christmas sentiment.  A fairly simple little card, but the LOTV stamps never fail to impress every time I use them.

I would also like to enter this card into 'That Craft Place's' challenge which is 'Tic Tac Toe' and I chose the left hand side column - Gems/Sentiment/Ribbon.

Thanx for taking the time to have a peek and enjoy your day, whatever you're doing.

Hugz, Jan xx

It's Candy Time ...

Morning everyone,

I hope you are all tucked up nice and warm and not having to battle any snow! I can't believe it snowed in October!

Well, as another month passes us by it's candy time again over at the Studio 12 blog - the design team have been very busy with some fab inspiration for you and there is some fantastic candy just waiting to be won.

In preparation for christmas I've made a Carol Sheet, ready for when I go carol singing!!! It would really be snowing then, I hear you say!! Lol.

I used the gorgeous frame from the 'Candy Wraps' jar in the Picnix Pantry on the 'Gingerbread Twist CD'.  I added the 'Jingle Bells' title and then typed out the lyrics for this popular christmas song.  The little bell embellishment is also from the CD. All together now ...,

Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend,
Hugz, Jan xx

Beautiful Moments at Studio 12

Happy Saturday everyone,

It's my turn to post over at Studio 12 again today and I have another quick and simple Christmas card to show you.  I love this particular sentiment from the 'Picknix 2 - Gingerbread Twist CD' and thought it deserved to be the focal point on the card, instead of my usual coloured image.  What do you think?

I used a plain white A5 card blank and added three different strips of blue paper from the 'Picknix 2 - Gingerbread Twist CD'.  The silver ribbon is from my stashbox and I embellished with a couple of punched snowflakes and some self adhesive gems.

Don't forget to check out the blog tomorrow for the October giveaway - oops, did I say that out loud!! Lol x

Have a great weekend (and don't forget to change the clocks tonight!)

Hugz, Jan xx

Gingerbread Gift Box

Hi everyone

It's my turn to post over at the Studio 12 blog today and I thought I would show you another of my TV samples for the amazing Picknix 2 collection 'Gingerbread Twist'.  This little box template is so versatile and can be used for almost any occasion - this time I made a little christmas gift, using the gingerbread theme and filled it with gingerbread biscuits.

The paper and all the different elements are from the 'Gingerbread Twist' CD, with the addition of some die-cut shapes and my favourite 'Walnut Stain' ink to define the outer edges of the box.  The box template can be found on the Polkadoodles 'Paper Boutique - Vol 1' CD.

I am definitely planning a few more of these for little christmas treats this year.  

Hugz, Jan xx

A Gingerbread Christmas

Morning everyone,

It's my turn to post over on the Studio 12 blog today and I can't believe just how many gorgeous ideas have been shown over the last couple of weeks - I consider myself very fortunate to work with such a talented bunch of people.

I thought I would show you one of my TV samples that I made for the launch of the new Picknix 2 collection.  I just adore all those little gingerbread people and couldn't resist popping one straight onto a card the minute I received them.  So, here we go ...

I love this shade of green, I think it's much softer than the traditional christmassy green and I used three different papers that all co-ordinate nicely for the background layering on the card.  The little gingerbread girl is sooo cute with her little mop cap and christmas stocking - I printed her straight from the CD and layered her onto some matching cardstock.  The sentiment is also from the CD.  A piece of organza ribbon, a couple of sprigs of holly (also from the CD) and some red adhesive gems finish off the card.  Hope you like it!

Have a great weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx