Glimmer snowflakes meets Gorgeous grunge topped vellum and some..!

Hi all

and happy Sunday everyone. I sincerely hope that any little visitors you may have had last night were the nice (and not the naughty!)  kind.

well fresh from yesterday's craft class, I came home with Christmas cards still an agenda item  so carried on and made a couple more, and here's one of them.

Inspired by the current sketch #no 210 over at  Freshly made sketches

I opted to flip the design to landscape.

but as am still having trouble with operating a camera  my photograph  is not perfect by any manner of means but the best I could manage... Must really brush up on my photography skills - thanks so much Michelle for the recent hints and tips - could not have come at a better time! I so  so needed them!

A vellum topper on some Pool Party card stock (yes.. another outing for my Home for Christmas card stock pack.!) Just love this and have used so much of it for my 'C-word' cards this year!  Some gorgeous snowflakes punched from the absolute Wow that is Stampin' Up!'s Silver glimmer card.. In my book this is foolproof glittering  without the pain of it ending up everywhere but where you want it!

I stamped a couple of 'renditions' of Gorgeous Grunge and my 'Merry Christmas' using  White craft ink on the Pool Party card stock first - left it for absolutely ages to make sure it was completely dry - then using my Stamp-a-majig I used the same stamps again, but this time in Metallic Silver, on top of the vellum, but slightly offset to hopefully give a hint of a white shadow effect below, which hopefully you can just make out!

I threaded my snowflakes on to some silver wire and suspended the 3 tiny stars, courtesy of the star punch from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch pack, below them

I love how it turned out  and hope you do too.

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store 

Home For Christmas A4 Cardstock Pack	Vellum A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Gorgeous Grunge Wood-Mount Stamp Set
Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad	Snow Flurry Punch	Itty Bitty Accents Punch  Pack

Or please just contact me if you have any questions or to place an order for you, if you would prefer.

Well, somewhat spurred on by today's venture into all things photographic will endeavour to repeat the process tomorrow for a couple of other items from the craft class,  if I can.

til next time - and in case you are wondering or are at all concerned -  I did read this somewhere and am sure it must be true so will leave you with this thought

'A cluttered desk is a sign of genius'

well all I can say is,  mine is very cluttered! 

bye til next time
Jan x 

Sassy salutations and a single layer challenge! - JUGS #317

Hello all

Happy Saturday - well what is left of it..   Hope you all managed to get up to something nice as it has certainly been a fabulous day weather wise - definitely non-seasonal temperatures for us here, for Halloween..

and Me?  Have spent a fabulous day crafting  with another local demonstrator - we were with a  lovely group of ladies all making Christmas cards of various designs - but concentrating on the, in my opinion  must have 'Home for Christmas' series with its beautiful vintage inspired Designer series paper,  toning card stock and related stamp sets, with a few accent pieces from a few others of the holiday season sets...

I had made quite a few samples for the class and ended up with a  couple of particular favourites and cannot say enough about  Stampin' Up!'s Glimmer paper - it is just the best -
but trying to photograph it to its best advantage is proving a challenge - so have passed that over to himself - so am hoping I will have something I can show you tomorrow!

In the meantime my post today is a mono-chrome card we made as an exercise in stamping and how to use the Stamp-a-majig for perfect positioning - works like magic, if its something you have never seen before, which was the case with my stampin' buddy today.

I ended up with a single layer card - well apart from the accent bow! so thought I would  enter it in the current ''Wild card choice" challenge JUGS #317 over at 'Just us Girls'!   where they want to see just that.. single layer designs.

I was very pleased with how it turned out, as was she.

We used Santa and his sleigh from 'Cozy Christmas', the bow, was die-cut from the Wonderful Wreath Framelits set ,  the holly border came from the Embellished ornaments set and the sentiment from Sassy Salutations.. all placed exactly were we wanted with the help of the Stamp-a-majig - a brilliant accessory in my book!

Must admit - it did look as if we needed something to finish it all off  so  decided on just adding a border line and the 3 rhinestones to set it all off.

and inside - 2 more repeats of the holly border again placed with the help of the stamp-a-majig..

what do you all think?

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store  

Whisper White A4 Cardstock

Embellished Ornaments Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Wonderous Wreath Photopolymer Bundle

Cozy Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Or please just contact me if you have any questions or to place an order for you, if you would prefer.


Well will hopefully be back sometime soon with a few of the samples for today's class if himself  has managed to come up with some reasonable photos.

Until next time and happy crafting.
Jan x

Merry Christmas - Lovely as a Tree means another card done ... yeahh..

hello All and a happy Sunday

what are you all  doing with your extra hour then? - Me - well,  probably in common with a lot of us,  means more time for stamps and inks am thinking..?..

and I put it to good use - a  tutorial by the lovely Heather Telford -  as have been meaning to do one of these night sky scenes for ages ..

and here it is - unashamedly and virtually CASE'd wholesale as a result of my following the brilliant step by step instructions Heather has so kindly made available - I just substituted current colours for the ones Heather had used.

Must confess to  enjoying all that sponging and the effect it produces though also managed to sponge myself quite well, into the bargain.!

I did resort to making use of a retired  set for my snowflakes - it is one of Shelli's signature collection - Serene Snowflakes which I can't bring myself to part with and still remains my 'go to' set for the odd snowflake or three!

All in all though am so so pleased how it turned out and even for someone like me who does not confess to having much of an artistic eye as it were - I think it worked really well  - what do you all think?

and inside I  just repeated  a 'stamped off', fading to virtually nothing, top and bottom border of more of those lovely snowflakes.

I just love the effect of the overall card.

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store  

Wisteria Wonder A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Stamping Sponges	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad
Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad	Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Or please just contact me if you have any questions or to place an order for you, if you would prefer.


And with this card, well am pleased to say my Christmas card haul has now made it almost to double figures...  another couple to go and we will be there - double figures I mean, not 'there' as in finished.! Still a fair bit to go for that, so not that organised you would probably say and I have to agree.

Come back later in the week and I will have another one for you - as have put my fussy cutting skills to the test  once again - when you get going it can be quite therapeutic I have to say.

with best wishes and have a lovely week everyone.
Jan x

Sassy Saluatations for Global Design Project for #GDP006

hello all

Well this last week or so has certainly  seen my pile of  Christmas cards increase dramatically - from none to 1 and now we have 4! - All  courtesy of Stampin' Up!'s lovely,  nostalgic and vintage feel,  product line that is  'Home for Christmas' - Everything from stamp sets and co-ordinating designer series papers and cardstock to trims, embellishments and more.

Inspired by the current sketch challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP006

and ably assisted by my helper and designer - in - chief (partner's 4 year old granddaughter!)  'we'  came up with this.

She knew she wanted Santa's sleigh and liked the sequins and the glimmer paper stars (one of the accessory dies from the Wonderful Wreath framelits set) so these all went on!.

Me,  I went for something in contrast so chose the really  modern and funky looking seasonal sentiment from Sassy Salutations, in of course the ultimate Christmas colour which is 'Stampin' Up!'s Real Red!.

The toning Mossy Meadow ribbon is sadly retired but having a fair bit left,  thought I would put it to good use as one of the co-ordinating colours.
All in all 'we' were very pleased how it turned out. 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store  

Home For Christmas A4 Cardstock Pack	Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper	Cozy Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad	Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Wonderful Wreath Framelits Dies	Silver Glimmer Paper	Metallics Sequin Assortment

Or please just contact me if you have any questions or to place an order for you, if you would prefer.

Saturday tomorrow - and a spot of retail therapy is called for am thinking - then back to my Christmas card makes as have a craft class the end of the month with the emphasis on the 'C' word and I think I ought to augment my 4 cards with a couple more at least !

so with whatever you all get up to,  hope you have a lovely weekend  and remember a day not spent crafting - well it just doesn't bear thinking about does it.

til next time

Jan x

happy birthday - - and 10 big candles

hi all

I know its been absolutely ages since I managed to post but well today saw my great niece reach quite a milestone in the birthday department - yes she was 10 today

so in honour of said occasion I just had to make a card with the all important 10 on it somewhere - so 10 candles to complement a die-cut from my own stash..

I chose Watermelon Wonder and Mint Macaroon from the new 2015 - 2017 In-colours for my cardstock, layering these as shown.

...and the papers I used for my candles and card topper were all from the new 'Cherry on Top' designer series paper stack available in the annual catalogue.  I managed to 'light my candles' using the wing shape from the Build a Bird Punch and a hint of glitter on each.

I used the Happy Birthday from the Sassy Salutations stamp set, handcut a really large blowsy banner popped this up on top of the candles with a few Stampin' Up! dimensionals and finished it all off with a some toning candy dots.

She loved it and apart from the rolling of the candles I liked it as it came together quite quickly..  a definite plus in anyone's language

Stampin' Up! Supplies for this card:

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store  
Pay just  £4:95 whatever the size of your order, and have them shipped straight to your address.. 

Please  contact me if you have any questions or to place an order for you, if you prefer.

2015-2017 In Color A4 Cardstock & Classic Stampin' Pads Kit	Cherry On Top Designer Series Paper Stack	Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Multipurpose Liquid Glue
Bird Builder Punch	Stampin' Dimensionals	Regals Candy Dots

Well its the start of my 2 week stint sat in front of the television keeping up with all that is going on at Wimbledon  so no doubt my poor blog will again be taking a back seat... abject apologies once more, everyone.

but am really excited as won tickets in the public ballot for next Wednesday which, if matches go as scheduled could see us watching the Men's quarter finals.. so fingers crossed for a certain Mr Murray and his quest for a 2nd Wimbledon singles title.

Until next time - have  a lovely week.
Jan

Retiring In-Colours 2013 - 2015

hi all

as well as the products and accessories that Stampin' Up! are retiring, this means we say good bye to the 2013 - 2015 In-Colours range  as well.

That's Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding and my favourite from this range - Strawberry Slush..

I was at my local craft class today so thought I would take the opportunity to ink some stamps up using these colours for probably their last outing..  well for me at least..

I decided to go with  Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar for my colour schemes - but then thought why not use all of them whilst trying out the 'Bokeh' technique which seems to be very in vogue at the moment as regards card-making.

Lots of lovely videos out there to showcase how to do this -  and I came up with this as my rendition on the subject.


I did learn a salutary lesson though! You do need to leave your card to dry for quite a long  time before applying the white craft ink - when you think it is ready - leave it for a bit longer to make sure!

and for the craft ink - again this takes a fair bit of time to dry and if you aren't careful you can easily transfer colour from your card to the White craft ink pad.


One suggestion I have read since was to transfer a little of the white ink to some thing like your stamp-a-ma-jig template sheet, or a blending sheet of some sort and use the ink from there. Uhm, wished I read it before class this morning!

With it being such a busy card topper, I just kept it the rest simple - matted on top of a layer of Strawberry Slush card stock, itself, matted on Whisper White.

I finished off the card with some toning Strawberry Slush Baker's twine and the really ornamental Happy Birthday from the Sassy Salutations stamp set, positioned just where I wanted it, by using my Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Although there is very little left of the 2013-2105 In-Colour range available now - obviously you can substitute colours of your choice and repeat the process with those and thankfully not everything I needed is on the retired list!.

Those Stampin' Up! supplies for this card: still available

Just click on the items below to easily access them in my on line store  
Pay just  £4:95 whatever the size of your order, and have them shipped straight to your address.. 

Please  contact me if you have any questions or to place an order for you, if you prefer

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Stampin' Trimmer	White Vellum A4 Card Stock	Sponge Daubers
Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Jet Black Stazon Pad	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Well tomorrow should really find me swapping my stamp sets and ink pads for dust pan and brush am thinking... but I also need to give some thought to the next home-grown mass outing for Stampin' Up! demonstrators.

May 16th will see in excess of some 300 demonstrators converge on Telford for a busy day of inspiration, talks, and possible hints as to what may be coming  up.

So speaking of swapping -  and certainly not house work related this time - this forms a very valuable and much appreciated part of the proceedings  - swapping samples with other demonstrators is a lovely  means of passing on ideas and gaining some in return, not to mention having a very nice time meeting and mixing with everyone  in that very happy family that is 'Stampin' Up!'

til next time - have a lovely week whatever you get up to.

Jan x