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

Contemporary Christmas

Hi there everyone,

It's my turn to post on the Studio 12 blog and I have christmas project for you today.

I have been reading a lot about the cutting files that Nikky included on the Studio 12 Picknix CDs and Lou's snowflake card yesterday was lush, but sadly I do not have a cutting machine (hope Santa's listening!) Lol.

Anyhow, I have avoided choosing them from the pantry menu on the CD up until now, but thought I would take a little look at the files and what did I find!  Some gorgeous black silouhette .png images that can still be exported into your chosen publishing software to play with.  Maybe I'm a bit dim, but I didn't know you could use them like this - thought they were just for cutting, doh!

So after playing around with them in Microsoft Word, here's what I came up with ...

I made a Christmas card and matching gift tag, using just two of the many gorgeous images from the cutting file choices.  

I cut my background paper to the chosen sizes for the project, then went to work with my distress inks for a change, instead of using a backing paper.  I layered up four colours using a blending tool, starting with Mustard Seed, then added Dried Marigold, then Spiced Marmalade and finished with Rusty Hinge (I just love the names on these inks!)  I then stamped around the edges with a little snowflake stamp in some of the same colours to build up the background.  

Once I had manipulated my chosen images to the right size for the project, I printed them onto the inked backgrounds.  The easiest way I have found to do this is to print the images onto a piece of plain copier paper, then position your background pieces into the right place using a little repositional glue (I use my tape runner) then pass the paper back through your printer.  This allows perfect alignment of the images, ready to use in your project.  

Mine are backed onto black glossy card to accent the black images and I drew a funky pot under the tree to fill the gap. Some black adhesive gems and a bit of sparkle and hey presto - a bit of contemporary christmas!

Enjoy the weekend,

Hugz, Jan xx

Autumn

Hi there crafters,

It's Friday challenge time over at the Polkadoodles challenge blog and this week's theme is 'AUTUMN'.

I love the colour palette that this week's challenge offers and decided to make a word book for my DT project using the letters and template from the 'Candy Doodles' CD.

Here's four easy steps to make your own word book:

Step One:  

Print out your chosen papers (details of where to find mine below):

Brown polkadot - Picknix 2 'Gingerbread Twist'

Red polkadot - Pen & Paper Circle 3

Orange crosses - Sugar Birdies

Brown circles - Paper Boutique Vol 1

Step Two:  

Cover your letters and template with chosen papers 

and cut around the letters.

Step Three:  

Align the letters and trim all pieces to the same length, 

punch and secure with your chosen fastening.

Step Four:  

Embellish to your hearts content!  

All my embellishments are printed from the 'Sundae of Seasons' CD.  

A couple of ribbon ties, some bling and the little 'FUN' pennants 

are from my stash.

Hope you like my project this week - don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog for some more great inspiration from my fab teamies.  I shall look forward to seeing your entries.

Hugz, Jan xx

Zentangle

Hi there,

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

I haven't been well all weekend and have subsequently done very little!  I will be playing catch up all week now.  Whilst sat watching the X Factor last night I decided to have a little doodle in the style of 'Zentangle'.  I have played around with this before with very little success, but after a bit of research I designed my very first display piece.  I am pretty pleased with the outcome, so thought I would show you what I came up with ...

It all started out with a group of different sized circles - some overlapping and some separate.  Then I doodled for two hours with my micron pen and added a bit of pencil shading. 

Back to school tomorrow - hope I feel a bit better.

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

Wings and Things

Hi everyone,

It's Friday again, which means it's challenge day over at Polkadoodles and it was my turn to choose the theme this week.  I had to pick something which allowed me to use one of my favourites - butterflies, but I am looking forward to seeing all the different interpretations of 'Wings and Things'.  Here's what I made for the challenge ...

I chose a pretty pink paper, some gorgeous black silhouette butterflies and a lovely sentiment from the Candy Doodles CD to make a wall hanging for my craft room.  I started with the paper and arranged all the black butterflies and sentiment before printing it out.  I then masked some of the butterflies before adding lots of extra interest to the paper with some 'Spun Sugar' distress ink.  I cut out another butterfly and treat it to a sprinkling of pink glitter before adding it to the oval nestie focal point. The project is mounted on black mirri card, then again on pink card before I added a piece of black ribbon for hanging and the usual sprinkling of adhesive gems for a bit of extra bling!

Don't forget to pop over to the blog for some great ideas from my fab teamies.

Hugz, Jan xx