I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas !

Good Morning !
Actually I'm not  ! Especially after last winter; us Brits are bemoaning the dreadful weather we endured during the last Christmas season and beyond (and before !!!). I'm not sure we'll ever stop talking about it !

Anyway, I have some snowy cards for you today as I continue with my white on white theme . I have embossed both these cards and used a background stamp ( "Bella Toile " ) which sadly retired  but " French Filigree " or " Parlour Prints " from the new catalogue will give a similar effect or a smaller swirly type stamp randomly repeated like the one from "Creative Elements ".

The card stock is whisper white and naturals ivory for the embossed designer frame; I have also used some vellum left over from one of  the cards in the previous post. My punches are getting lots of use nowadays; the white band across the card is made from the lace ribbon border. The snowflake is stamped from " Delicate Doilies " and the sentiment from " Winter Post ". The pale gold powder is non SU as I wanted a very pastel finish to this card. I then added some SU pearls but I need to do some detective work as one seems to have made the great escape (I've just spotted it's missing as I am writing this post ) !

Here is more detail; I use sahara sand to stamp the sentiment as it is so subtle.

I started with a very vanilla base for my next card and used the gold powder again and some white too, just to lift the scheme. Everything else SU except the swirls, it just needed something extra ! Similar swirls could be stamped and trimmed out from " Everything Eleanor ". The smaller snowflake is from " Winter Post " and the frame embossed from the set of designer frames.

I love working in this limited colour palette; white, silver and grey  (use the second and third print from the ink basic grey ) also look lovely enhanced with some rhinestones and don't be afraid to mixup all the pale neutrals as they look gorgeous together !

I have my lovely ladies coming later for their fortnightly class (Christmas cards of course)!

Thank for your visit, do stop by again ! 

Hugs Jane x

White Christmas !

Morning ! Hope you are enjoying your Sunday ? I have finally managed to get some half decent photos today as we have lovely winter sunshine here in Worcestershire today (  jolly cold wind though ! ) . It struck me that I was not adding enough texture to my white on white cards and I think that may have been why I was having little success. So I have tried to put that right; see what you think !
Both cards are 15 X 15 cm and based on whisper white card with a punched edge. This one has a topper made from the scallop circle die in naturals ivory card which has been run through the perfect polka dots embossing folder after I had stamped my trees from " Lovely as a Tree " in crumb cake ink !

The lace ribbon border was used to punch from the neutrals DSP paper stack and the frame is embossed using the oval from designer frames.

The sentiment is from " Welcome Christmas " and has been trimmed down and  mounted on a little banner. Snowflakes are waste from a non SU punch and I have added some SU pearls.

Here is some more detail, I think that texture is the key on neutral projects and of course all white is hard to get right so add in neutral colours; for both these cards I have used crumb cake, sahara sand and soft suede inks.

The next card appears to be another wreath ! I am a bit obsessed with them and a couple of Christmas ones have appeared in my house already ahead of the big decorating session ! This one was randomly stamped  and then trimmed out middle first ( this is easier and more stable to cut than the other way round ).

I have used a piece of white vellum mounted and edged on top of my base card. I used the lacey holly stamp from the gorgeous " Pines and

 Poinsettias " and just stamped using whisper white ink in rows until I had covered the background. The ink needs time to dry on vellum so leave it a good half hour ! To punch on vellum, use a dry non permanent glue to attach the vellum on top of a sheet of printer paper ( line up the edges

 accurately ) and then punch the two layers as one .Then peel off the printer paper and use your fingers to roll off the unwanted glue and then use as desired ! If you don't do this the punch will eat the vellum !!! The vellum will have a nice curly edge which I like but it can of course be flattened if you prefer. The sentiment is from " Christmas Post " and I use a bit of card left over from the first card for the banner and added some very vanilla seam binding ribbon to complete

This close up shows the detail on the stamped vellum, it gives such a pretty effect and you don't need to be too accurate with your stamping ! I added some pearls and a little glitter glue to finish. I'll continue with this theme at some point as there is lots more to explore !

In the meantime here is something deep and meaningful for you to ponder by Lou Holtz !

" Ability is what your'e capable of doing,

Motivation determines what you do ,

Attitude determines how well you do it !" 

Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by !

Hugs Jane x

Oh No ! Not more Christmas Wreaths !!!

Hello!
I do apologise for no posts so far this week and I have no white on white cards for you !!! There is a reason for this, to be truthful I have really struggled to put together anything worth posting and they are not easy to photograph ! I've also been playing with heat embossing , can you believe that I have never tried this technique until now ! I love it but now need more powder colours, as is always the case when you try something new ! So, to sum up, I have lots of bits which will evolve into cards eventually !
I do however have a couple of wreath cards to share as I have been trying to perfect the art of using a good eye for judgement as I am too impatient to measure out my stamp spacings ! They are a variation on some I did earlier, but these are simpler as they are stamped entirely on the card stock with the exception of the sentiment.

I have used my favourite Christmas stamp set from SU " Pines and Poinsettias " and worked in two inks - lucky limeade and old olive. The bling is glitter glue and the sentiment from " Welcome Christmas ".

Here's a little more detail. This is another 10 minute card; I have been designing lots of these of late as my cards, as you know tend to usually be far too detailed. Looking at lots of other lovely blogs you learn that some times simple is best. That's not to say I won't spend several hours making cards for my daughter and OH this year, as I will and probably on Christmas Eve ( as is unintentionally traditional ) !!!!

I went down the soft suede and crumb cake route for this one with a bit of old olive  for the holly ! The sentiment sits on a decorative label punched from real red card stock and edged in soft suede ink - the sentiments for both cards are stamped in cherry cobbler ink.

I am going now to persevere with my white cards ! I will not be beaten !

Hello to new viewers from Down Under and the Far East; thank you for stopping by ! Have a great day wherever you are and happy crafting !

Hugs Jane x

Stampin' Up Baby Cards !

Morning !
As promised I have a few more baby card ideas for you today !
Using the same Stampin' Up stamps , inks and papers as in yesterdays post I ran up some more very simple cards which are quick and easy to make !

This card has a little taffeta ribbon and some flowers punched from all my scrap card using the itty bitty punches.I never waste anything and always punch out shapes from waste card and store them in box for future use !

This card has been embossed to create a frame for the baby using the designer frames and I have added a background stamp for the sentiment from " Everything Eleanor ".

These final two are 10 minute cards. So simple and uncomplicated to make! 

I'm getting withdrawal symptoms from Christmas crafting and plan to do some shades of white cards over the weekend, if I get time ! Today my daughter and I are making our mincemeat and Christmas puddings as it is her day off uni and she needs some time away from assignments ! So we're going to dig out the Christmas CD's and enjoy some special time together !

Have a great weekend !

Hugs Jane x

Hello Baby !

Hello ! I have had a couple of days away from making seasonal goodies and thought I would show you some baby cards I have been creating. We are just coming to that time in our lives when some of our friends children are getting married and you know what usually comes after that !!!
I have made these using two new a la carte stamps - " Elebration ", which is the cutest little ellie I have ever seen , and " Bring Baby " which is traditional and features a delightful waving baby carried by a stork !!!
I love pink and blue together, so have made cards that are very plain and traditional in theme.

My colours are bashful blue and pretty in pink and I have also used the polka dot paper from the patterns DSP stack ( white with a grey dot ). Edge punches are - the eyelet border and scallop edge border and I used the fancy flower punch and 2.5cm circle punch in addition to the scallop circle bigz die. To add some texture I ran some of the card through the perfect polka dot embossing folder. 

The new " Letter It " alphabet is lovely and I like that you don't have to cut out the actual letter, which can be so fiddly. I added some onesies from 

" Bundle of Love " to break up the lettering.

I rarely do cutsie, but this is the most adorable little ellie, which lends itself to baby and children's cards. These cards are so basic but it's nice to do a uncomplicated card when the image is so lovely; it doesn't  need any more fuss !

My last card featuring the waving baby !!! I've mounted him/her on top of a couple of hearts made from the scalloped heart of hearts embosslit die and added a sentiment from a retired SU stamp but I've just checked and there are baby sentiments in both " Petite Pairs " and " Teeny Tiny Wishes "

I have more to come on this theme ! Not sure what will evolve, so do watch this space !

May I just welcome any new visitors from here at home and all around the world, it is so good that you took the time to check out my little blog ! I tend to post 2-3 times a week so do come back and see what I have been creating !

Hugs Jane x

1920's Vintage Christmas !

Hello ! Hope your Sunday is good !
Just a very quick post today to share with you two simpler vintage Christmas cards. These are less fussy and use images from the 1920's, so I have still used layering but in a neater way just adding a simple drawn line as an accent. The colours are typical of the era ( think Clarice Cliff  ) and the beautiful images are the main focus with very little extra adornment !

The 1920's were all about fashion and here we have a well co-ordinated mummy and daughter ! I have picked out the teal and orange tones from the picture in the card I have chosen. The die cut doily frames the top of the picture and follows the shape; I've tried to make the card a little Art Deco without being too obvious ! A little glitter glue adds to the snowflakes !

I found this image just too cute ! Again I have kept the frame simple and just added a few punched snowflakes and some glitter to add interest.

When printing, use the best quality setting on your printer and print on to good card. Todays projects are quick to make; the key thing is getting a strong, clear image as it is the main feature of your card !

If I can offer any help on any of the projects featured, please do mail me via the link on my profile above; I'll be happy to help !

Until next time -

Hugs Jane x

Vintage Christmas !

Hello ! I have something a little different for you today. I have been working on some samples that I have made for my class; they are going to be making  Christmas cards, with the emphasis on distressing and vintage ! Some cards are inspired by the Victorian era but I love the 1920's and have used some lovely images from that era too. There are lots of sites which allow free downloads of vintage ephemera and these are good to use as a main focal point for your card.

I concentrated on adding lots of layers and punched lace edges to a cream card base. This card features a doily which I stained with a wet tea bag, some designer paper, some stamped holly leaves and an insert made from some very old tracing paper.

The rossette is made from paper ( 30 x 3.5 cm, then punch the edge ) which features MOP buttons and I've added a snowflake and stamped sentiment and edged with a platinum glitter.

These little 1920's children were printed onto vellum and cut out and then using vellum tape applied over the paper; I really like this effect as it is very delicate and pretty, as you can see I couldn't resist adding a little glitter !

I love Toile de Jouey and this was the inspiration for this card which uses red and tones of cream/stone. The red card base is layered with some red and stone parchment printed paper and then a torn punched layer of more paper, followed by the  Santa topper cut from a sheet of designer paper. I added in a stamped and cut out holly image and a Merry Christmas stamped sentiment. 

This message strip is easily cut from card and rolled around a pencil to coax it into shape. These cards always look good with a bit of bling, beads or glitter, but keep the aged effect by not choosing anything too brash.

For my last card I started with a cream base card and punched the edge and then inked about 1-2 cm in from the edge in red. Then I cut a piece of paper printed with vintage tape measures the same size as the front of the card and tattered and rolled the edges before adding some stamped red holly leaves, inking the edges in sepia and blinging with more platinum glitter. When added to the card it reveals the red underneath.

Two more layers of paper in green and red were added before popping on the topper and a punched lace edge, oh, and a green gingham bow !

Vintage cards from the Victorian era through to the Twenties and Thirties were quite detailed , so add lots of layers and fancy edges to get the look. These cards are actually quite simple in concept but take a little time to make as they are labour intensive with all the edgings and distressing effects, plus there is quite a lot of measuring ! 

I have more simple vintage style cards to come featuring lovely 1920's Christmas images, so do stop by and check out this space soon ! To find your own toppers try searching - ' vintage Christmas ' , ' 1920's Christmas ' , ' vintage Christmas children ' , ' Victorian Christmas ' and you can always use the word ' postcard ' in your search because many cards then were in the form of postcards.

Until next time, thank you for your visit !

Hugs Jane x

Paisley Petals Cards !

As promised I have been beavering away so I can share these cards with you. I got a bit carried away with the flower from the " Creative Elements " stamp set; it prints so well and looks three dimensional, I love it ! The papers go well with this stamp set and I enjoyed mixing the elements together. I hope you like the results !

This card is all gorgeous cherry cobbler; such a grown up red ! The card stock is naturals ivory and I have added some punched lace in very vanilla, sentiment is from " Sincere Salutations ". Here is a close up view of the flowers; the paler one is the second print in cherry cobbler ink !

I shall be making some of these cards with my craft group in the new year; just in that little lull you get before you launch into making Valentines cards ! It is still too early to be doing all Christmas crafts but I have to admit that it is tempting as I have so much to make !

Sometimes I like to add small amounts of DSP to a card, just to add some interest. This is a mix of layered elements and I've added some texture to my marina mist card stock with the perfect polka dots embossing folder. There is more card lace and a sentiment from " Notably Ornate ". These colours go so well as they are from opposite ends of the colour spectrum, the flower is stamped in cajun craze.

This next card on marina mist card stock was stamped with whisper white ink before added a few flowers some of which are set over the edge of the page; everything doesn't have to be in the middle !

More lace and a sentiment and a bee ! This quick card is simple and uses a limited colour pallet as a nice contrast to the previous more complex design where I got a bit carried away ! 

My last card is a combination of two papers from Paisley Petals; I'm saving the larger patterns for covering journals and scrapbooking.  Everything SU except the punched border. I had a little play dissecting punches and stamped images  and added more of those lovely flowers stamped in old olive , cajun craze and sahara sand. The middle flower was inked with the neutral and then I used my cajun craze stampin' write marker to add detail.

Here is a closer view.

Must go and tidy up now before starting my next project ! I'm so messy when I am crafting; I just don't know how it happens ! I will leave you with a funny quote from an unknown author which I think probably applies to us all !

"I'm creative - you can't expect me to neat too ! "

Have fun crafting today and thank you for your visit !

Hugs Jane x

Creative Elements !

Good Morning !

Such a dull November day here in Worcestershire, I am afraid we have finally given in and have the heating on at last ! You can't craft if you are cold !!!  I have been playing with the new  Paisley Petals DSP and took my colour inspiration from these. The colours are so soft and have a vintage chintz feel so I did one nature inspired quick card and a tatty vintage one !

This took 10 minutes to put together, simply edge some very vanilla card stock with a punched design and using the wildflower stamp from " Nature Walk " randomly stamp a meadow in lucky limeade, baja breeze and pear pizzaz inks. Then using blues and greens from your stampin' write markers, carefully ink up the lovely little butterfly from the new stamp set "Creative Elements ". The effect is worth the effort and takes seconds; the sentiment and twiddly are also from this very useful set (move over "Everything Eleanor ", just for a while !) 

Here is a close up of the butterflies, I use this really easy technique a lot and it works very well with flowers too.

It's so hard at this time of year to get good photos for my blog as I like to take them in natural light so the flash does't wash out the colours. I have had to work hard on the editing of this one, the card is baja breeze but appears brighter  here ! I enjoyed a bit of controlled vandalism when making this card; firstly filing the card edges to distress them and tearing, filing , inking and rolling the first edition speciality DSP which I have used to mat my other elements onto. The bird, eggs and bee are from "Nature Walk " and the sentiment is from "Style Beautiful ". The tiny tag punch and linen thread were just right for this card.

I'll be back with cards made from the Paisley Petals papers and more from "Creative Elements "; it is such a lovely stamp set.

Have a good day thanks for stopping by !

Hugs Jane x

Christmas Post !

Hello ! Hope your Thursday is going well; nearly the weekend ! 

I have been busy making cards to sell under the banner of  Petite Fleur Paperie , my little card making business and thought I might share just a few of them with you. Su fans will notice I have used some of their stamps   ( and inks of course, what else is there ! ) : these are  "Pines and Poinsettias", "Christmas Post ", "Lovely as a Tree" and "Welcome Christmas".  Each card is unique and part of my "White Christmas " range. I have also used the new lace border punch from SU and the stamped numbers are from the "Number It " stamp set.

A little photo heavy for this post and less of my chat ! I haven't included info on how to make as I had just hoped to give a little inspiration to you! If you need any pointers just mail me on the profile link above !

Thank you to all who take the time to post comments; it gives me so much encouragement and I so enjoy reading your very kind words. 

I am hoping to get time to play with the new paisley papers today and over the weekend , so do come back and check out what I have been up to ! Then I have Family cards to make for Christmas ( personal and business ! ) and some vintage christmas card samples for my lovely ladies who attend my little class. It's nice to be busy; you achieve more when you do more !

Until next time ,

Hugs Jane x

Christmas Gift Boxes !

Hello !
Gosh, I must think of some slightly more imaginative tiles for my posts; they are a bit obvious !!! I thought I would share with you what we have made in my little class this afternoon; it was so warm we could have crafted in the garden ( until it started raining !!! ).
We will be doing mostly Christmas crafts now as there are lots of gorgeous thing you can make for your home as well as cards.

Today we made these three little boxes suitable for chocolates, jewellery or makeup/skincare. The papers are now discontinued but can easily be substituted with the new Christmas DSP ( which I don't have yet! ) The stamp set used is " Pines and Poinsettias " and I have used the new lace ribbon border punch.

I tried out the new petal cone die as I had seen it on so many blogs and thought how versatile it could be and it is so cute and quite a usable size.  Inks are old olive and riding hood red. This goes together nicely but as with all 3-D projects neatness and nice crisp edges are important so use your bone folder for good results!!!

This little box is aptly named the Three Kings box ! I have  wrapped a ribbon of punched lace and added a rosette and warning ! If you want to gift heavier items choose a stronger card stock and use a reliable glue !

The box is simple here but I've added an oversized flower made from the fun flowers bigz die. I stamped this on vellum with whisper white ( let this dry for a good half hour before you touch it ) and the die coped well with cutting such a flimsy paper. Gift boxes are so expensive and these cost so little to make and we had fun making them ! 

Next time we will be making vintage Christmas cards and learning some distressing techniques, so I'll be posting some samples soon !

Happy crafting !

Hugs Jane x