Two Little Blue Cards !

Hello ! 
Trying to get any crafting done of late has been a challenge and I often have to stop every few minutes to deal with some doggie issue ! Having said that my little baby pup Lilly, is so cuddly, soft and warm I have to confess to spending more time than I should bonding with her ! She is a major distraction when it comes to getting anything done but they are tiny for so short a time and she has already doubled in size in the six weeks that we have had her ! 
However I do have two small cards to show you both in blue - my favourite colour ! They use a variety of mainly Stampin' Up products with some additions from my older stash .

Such a simple card needs no explanation but I did like the effect of stamping on watercolour paper and then adding colour to the stamped image with a water brush and ink pad.

I love the colour blue with a pop of green and made this card for a very close friend who enjoys a birthday this week. the embossing folder gives a very nice effect on the inside of the card and I like to put a few little extras inside too ! 

Must try harder this week to put puppy down and do more crafting - she so cute though !!!!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane x

Mini Book for your Favourite Songs !

Hello !  Gorgeous sunny afternoon here in Worcestershire - a lovely early Autumn feel to the air too ! 
One thing I am really good at is starting projects and leaving them unfinished ; this is not a good trait , so I am trying to be good and get them finished and I did just that today with this mini book which was started way back in June !!!! The book is made using a circular Bigz die and I used some robust recycled card for the base. 

It is easier to cover your card with your designer paper first and then let it dry thoroughly and die cut it in one go - you get a neater edge too and then I usually sand the edges just to finish off.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am a big fan of the late and great Luther Vandross and I play his music constantly ( much to the annoyance of my family !!! Some people have no music taste ! LOL ! ). The words to his ballads are so beautiful and this song " Little Miracles " is one of my many favourites ! This project was done for a class and the idea was to gift the finished item to a loved one as a keepsake. The verses are out of order so I could show you each page ! 

I used a simple piece of twine to pull it together and added simple flowers and leaves to embellish . The key thing for me was to choose a nice font and paper to print out the words to the song. I chose to print on a cream parchment paper !

The finished mini book ! This is for me to keep, but you could use this idea to gift some beautiful quotes to a son or daughter for a 21st or 18th birthday . The book measures about 4 inches in diameter and I have of course inked the edges for definition, as usual !

Thank you for stopping by to take a look ! Must finish the rest of my projects now but fancy doing some Autumn themed cards too - so many lovely inspirational ideas out there in blogland ! 

Hugs Jane x

Regency Lady Vintage Canvas !

Morning ! 
I have a canvas for you today with antiqued finish. I love the Regency period and everything Jane Austen so this was my inspiration for this project. I am also Textile and Fashion trained and went to college in Regency Bath many moons ago now but I remember how lucy we were to have access to study some beautiful fashion plates from that era and also visit the fabulous Museum of Fashion in Bath. They made quite an impact on me and by doing a Google search found some gorgeous fashion plates online - this is one of my favourites.

The canvas is a cheap and cheerful one and I've downloaded my lady onto vellum and then used PVA glue to paste her to the canvas so I got a wrinklely effect ! Before that I inked my canvas with two shades of sepia and then stamped some lettering on top before using my heat gun to set and dry the inks. 

Here is a little more detail - I made the large flower ( which is becoming a bit of a signature flower for me ! ) from stamped recycled tissue paper and the others are from my stash. The flourishes are die cut and the paper lace is punched out from left over strips.

These projects cost next to nothing to make - the canvas was in a pack of two for £3.99 ! It's quite sizeable - the printed lady is almost A4 ! 

This is just one of the projects I am doing in my classes this term and there is always room for new ladies so if you live in the Worcestershire area and wish to join please contact me via the link on my profile above and I will be pleased to give you a call ! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my blog ! Have a great day -hugs Jane x

A Genuine Good Excuse - Lilly Mae !!!!!

Hello ! 
Just a very quick post to show you why I haven't been crafting or posting !!! I  had forgotten how much time a new baby takes up ! This is Lilly Mae and she is the new little bundle of trouble in our house - assisted by the established grown up bundle Lottie ! 

I am enjoying being a new Mum again - she is almost angelic and very sweet !

Apologies for my unforgivable lack of posts ; thank you so much for continuing to visit !

Back very soon with a vintage style canvas - maybe tomorrow !!! LOL ! 

Hugs Jane x

Lake District Scrapbook Pages !

Hello there ! 
Well, I have a good reason this time for my lack of posts - the traditional week away with my family to the Lakes ! We go every year and just love it and I managed to take some lovely photos this year as I treated myself to a gorgeous new camera about a month ago so had lots of fun experimenting with it ! 
That is not what I have to show you today though - I haven't been back long enough to craft and have only just cleared the enormous pile of washing and ironing !!! A few years ago when I began crafting I was a scrapbooker and looking back at what I produced in those days is quite interesting ! I have always worked in a style which uses soft colours and edges towards vintage and I love nature so that theme is always a strong feature. What always surprises me is how your style develops and of course you learn new techniques and inevitably do become a better crafter ! 
These pages that follow, were done in 2008 after our holiday ( quite a wet one I seem to recall with sunny spells ! ) and I thought I would share them with you to show how you can make very simple scrapbook  pages using embellishments that are downloads from the net to enhance your photos .

I probably wouldn't produce anything like this now as my style has moved on with current trends and they are very basic layouts but they were very inexpensive to produce and capture the essence of a lovely holiday. 

Rosie and I are big fans of all the beautifully illustrated Beatrix Potter children's books and along with a colour theme of greens and blues ( for the lakes and fells ) I used the little characters from her books to link the pages of the scrapbook. I also added some of her quotes and drawings  (this is a  personal scrapbook - remember that if you intend to reproduce and then sell on, that there are copyright laws ! )

I have use designer papers but if you look closely you will see that I have overstamped these. I also printed some of the images onto vellum just to add interest.

Thankfully my photography has improved slightly too in the last four years ( this may be due to the new camera though !!! ), but it's nice to look back on some lovely memories ! 

The stunning scenery of the Lakes is very hard to beat but it's nice to make up a scrapbook of your holiday snaps - so much nicer that just putting them into a photo album and choosing a theme makes the album " flow " when you look through along with a colour theme that links the pages too ! 

Hope you have enjoyed my little trip down memory lane and thank you for taking the time to visit !

Happy crafting ! Hugs Jane x

Framed Photograph !

Hello ! It seems that getting back into the crafting groove has proved a little harder than I first thought ! It's not that I haven't been crafting or teaching; I have just struggled to complete anything - until now !!! Beginning lots of projects at the same time has always been my downfall as I completely loose the plot and then nothing gets done ! 
The project I have managed to finish however, is actually a decorated frame for a wedding photo which is a first anniversary gift for a very special couple who's wedding we attended last year in Scotland. I don't have permission to publish the photo so I have substituted one of my lovely daughter and her handsome boyfriend instead - the colours of the flowers were to compliment the wedding photo but look equally good with this photo taken at Burford House Gardens near Tenbury Wells.

The frame measures around 35 x 45 cms so I printed the photo large onto A4. The wedding was in the Spring and the flowers were divine - all spring bulbs in pale yellow and greens which were very highly scented so I went with that colour theme just adding some butterflies stamped in grey to give an accent to the scheme (this picked up the black of the grooms jacket too).

Here is a little more detail :

The flowers are die cut and layered and the heart has been embossed in white. The little pearls are the exact colour that the brides attendants wore - such a pretty colour. The heart echoed the sweetheart bodice shape of the bride's gown - I tried to link everything together !

There are two stamped layers in a pale stone and olive green and everything else sits on top of the stamping - I have also added in some die cut scrolls and the lovely little butterflies were stamped and then trimmed out.

It would have been very easy to go over the top with this project as I had lots of space to play with but I think that less is more here - after all the object is to enhance the photo , not to overwhelm it !

This kind of project is a part of my business which I am in the process of developing ; it's just a stage on from a wedding album for those who don't want a fully fledged scrapbook. Quotes and other options are available on request via the e-mail address on my profile above ; I would be very happy to discuss your requirements !

Thank you to all my lovely visitors for still continuing to check out my blog for postings and I'm so sorry they have been rather sporadic ! Must try harder C- !!!!!!!

Hugs Jane x

Sorry it's Been So Long ...........

Hello ! 
It's not been a good few weeks in the Goldman household and I'm afraid my crafting and my blog have had to take a back seat but life beckons and it's time to move forward and get back into the driving seat !!! Thank you for still visiting - I really appreciate it !
I have a couple of very similar cards to show you today using the lovely DSP Twitterpated ! I love making these tatty vintage/retro inspired flowers and this DSP lends itself well to the style. 

I used a flower stamp to shadow the hand made flowers and I really like the effect; I stamped in a shade of green similar to the background card. 

The flowers were punched out and then scrunched, inked and layered. For a card of such simple concept it was amazingly time consuming and quite labour intensive as we found when one of my ladies made hers in class !

This card is made from a sheet of A4 - just score 10cms from one short edge and use your bone folder to get a nice crisp fold - it makes a nice substantial card without being overly large ! Here is a smaller card in the same style -

These flowers take a lot of work to get right and if you just punch out the shapes and layer them up flat your card will lack interest. This is a good example of how a bit of inking and tweaking can add that extra detail to your work.

Here is Suzanne's card; she chose such a pretty colour scheme and was thrilled with the finished results - I love it ! What I like the most is teaching people to craft; it's so lovely to pass on such a skill and watch people's creativity and confidence develop.

Thank you so much for your visit today - happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane x

Twitterpated Summer Scrap Book Page !

Hello ! As promised, I return with the afore mentioned scrap book page ! I actually started as a scrap booker and it was my daughter Rosie who was into card making. I gradually started making cards and tags and now I'll pretty much have a go at most thing paper ( except origami - no patience !!! )
This was one of the make and takes at the training day last weekend but I don't do speed scrap booking and didn't finish on the day ! Also, I'm not very good at copying a layout though it was a nice one and super for a demo. Being me I had to change it up a little (well, a lot actually - it's looks nothing like the original layout !), but I am pleased now I have fiddled for over an hour, with the end result !

The layout features lots of new lovelies from the new Summer Mini catalogue including the gorgeous Twitterpated DSP. The original layout was nice and simple but of course I had to add lots of frillies !!!

I think the colours of this DSP are really well thought out and are quite unusual and they work well for a Summer layout which was the theme of the page; the photo is not my backyard but a show garden I photographed at the RHS Tatton Park flower show last year ! I have added lots of detail to the layout in particular with inked edges; this easy technique can make all the difference to your finished work as it gives definition. This is vital when you are working on 12 x 12 inches of layout

I had a lovely new " Paper Dolly " join my class this week and having never made a card ever in her life produced this .... which I just had to share with you ....

Such a pretty card - I see I shall have to up my game to keep ahead !!! 

Thank you so much for your visit today - have a wonderful weekend wherever you are and happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane x

Sail Away - Two of a Kind !

Hello ! A little late for a post ( am supposed to be creating tea !!! ) but thought I'd show you a couple of very quick cards I made today using the a la carte stamp Sail Away. I've had this sitting in my box for ages unused but had a perfect chance to get it out as I had a birthday card for a friend of my husband to make and a card for some lucky friends who have just taken delivery of a gorgeous sailing yacht - it gets better - which will be moored up on Windermere ! We are going to visit when we go up in the summer for our regular holiday and I can't wait to see it !
These are two of a kind cards which I don't do often and they are very simple and quick to put together; not my usual style but designed with the recipients  in mind ! They would also make ideal starter cards for a workshop.

I have shaded this very simply with blue inks and worked on watercolour paper so my inks seeped nicely - here's a little more detail ...

This second card was made in 10 minutes and is beyond simple but we all know how much it would cost in the shops ! I've said it before - invest in tools and lovely card and paper and you can make cards for any occasion at the drop of a hat !

I have a scrap book page to show you soon which I started to make at the training day last Saturday - but of course I was too busy chatting and didn't get to complete it ( I can't roll out three make and takes in less than an hour and socialise at the same time !! )

If you have any questions about the projects shown here please contact me via the link on my profile. Have a wonderful weekend - wet and windy here again in the UK !!!!!

Hugs Jane x

Nature Walk Revisited !

Hello ! 
I have a small card to share with you today that I created with my favourite stamp set ( probably ever !!! )  Nature Walk ! I love it so much that I constantly go back and find a way to incorporate it into a current project. I have also added a lovely little butterfly from the Creative Elements set, some grasses from Pocket Silhouettes and some itty bitty flowers ( not again !!! ).... here it is ....

The base card is very vanilla and my inks are baja breeze, lucky limeade, old olive, crumb cake and I have added detail with my not quite navy Stampin' write marker. Her are a couple of close ups to show you the subtle details ......

I am currently expanding my classes to give more variety and choice and teach not just card making and scrapbooking but have on offer classes to make items for home decor and art journalling. If you are in the West Worcstershire area and are interested in doing a class please contact me via the e-mail link on my profile  ( see right  ). I will happily discuss any requirements you have !

Thank you for visiting !

 Hugs Jane x

Beau Chateau Heart Box

Hello ! I've missed not posting as my older little doggie has been unwell; it's amazing how dependant they are upon you when they are poorly. Sadly it's an ongoing condition which will not get better but at least now she is eating again ! Sophie has decided that she prefers ' some ' human food now so I spend ages trying to tempt her with various combinations and often have to feed her by hand; not that I am complaining, she is a fantastic little dog with a lovely temperament and been my constant companion for twelve years. I never cease to be amazed at how these little dogs come into your life and find a place in your heart; what a waste, all those years when I did not have a doggie in my life !
I taught my little class today and we made paper covered boxes so thought I would show you the sample I made. We often throw away really sturdy boxes that can be transformed with a paper makeover ! I saved this one; it had contained some champagne truffles ( !!!! ) and was already quite pretty so I did not cover it completely.

A nice light photo for a change; we had lovely sunshine here in Worcestershire today ! The box was already pale pink with some subtle gold edging so I worked with that and used Beau Chateau DSP to cover and decorate the top and base. I have vintaged everything as always as I think that suits this DSP and added some self adhesive lace ribbon from my stash to edge the side of the box.

I have enjoyed using this DSP, I suppose it suits my style and that's a very difficult thing to get away from ! I feel that I work better in my comfort zone and produce my most satisfying work then ! This is quite a simplified design as the box is quite small but it would be nice to go to town on a larger item !

I am off to a SU training day on Saturday ( my first ) so that should be interesting. Swaps are all done and just need to finish off my name badge !!!

I really appreciate you stopping by my little blog today ! Happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane x

Liebster Blog Award !

Hello !
No crafting to show you today but I have something nice to report !I had an e-mail a couple of weeks ago from the lovely Gill, fellow SU demo and Pinterest pinner  and she had very kindly nominated me ( along with four other craft bloggers ) for the Liebster Blog Award ! It's so nice to have your little blog acknowledged in this way and I'd like to say a big thank you to Gill for the nomination.

I have been checking out Gill's lovely blog regularly since I became a demo last summer and enjoy her gorgeous cards usually accompanied by a co-ordinating cake ( she is brilliant in the sugar craft department too ! ). You can see her blog at http://lilybygilly.wordpress.com/ - enjoy !
The Liebster ( meaning darling or beloved ! ) Blog Award is given to show appreciation for sharing creative ideas with fellow bloggers and it also raises awareness of really lovely creative blogs which perhaps are not yet quite as well known in the blogging world ! The huge upside of receiving the award is that you get to nominate five more brilliant blogs so here are my nominations :


1. www.pegcraftalot.com - the lovely blog belonging to Peg who is a respected, experienced crafter and a wonderful friend. Her blog showcases a huge range of crafting ideas and styles all made to the highest standard.


2. www.constantlystamping.com/constantly_stamping/ - this blog belongs to Connie Collins and is a source of great inspiration. Connie showcases lots of paper projects including cards, 3 - D crafts and altered items. Her blog is lovely and fresh and features beautifully photographed crafts.


3. http://stampingsusan.blogspot.co.uk/ - Susan shows lots of new ways of creating with your stash. Lots of fresh ideas and, as she is Mum to two small children there are many lovely child themed projects including some super scrapbook pages.


4. www.kristasstampspot.blogspot.co.uk/ - Krista's blog is a delight to look at with lovely clear photos of beautiful cards which showcase her wonderful eye for colour.


5. http://gentlework.blogspot.co.uk/ - this gorgeous blog shows Christine's stunning textile work. I had to include a textile blog as it is my first love and the work showcased here blew me a way when I first discovered it by accident !


The honour of accepting this award is traditionally done in the following way :
A) Show thanks to the blogger who awarded you by linking back to their blog.
B) Choose five blogs with less than 200 followers and let them know about your nomination by leaving a comment on their blog.
C) Post the award on your blog !

Do please drop by and visit these fab blogs; it's so nice to share ideas and creativity and thanks again to Gill - you are a sweetie and I hope we get to meet one day !
Hugs Jane x


P.S. As I am so useless at posting links, blog addresses appear here temporarily. All will be rectified when I talk to an intelligent computer literate person ! ( My poor OH didn't make the grade on this one as he's a microsoft man , sorry hubs !!! )

Top Note Postcards from Paris !

Hello ! 
Long time no blogging ! I have had some time out from my crafting over the Easter hols as I have moved my current crafting from my tiny cluttered craft room onto the dining room table ( the rest of it is still upstairs but sorted and I now have a good idea of where most things are ! ). I like to be downstairs with the doggies while I work and as we have a little breakfast room we can still eat at the table if we wish . Furthermore I want to teach more classes and I regularly have crafting pals round to play so it makes sense. Over Easter however, we did do more more entertaining than usual so all my goodies went upstairs for a rest and I was really too busy to craft, which sounds terrible , but you can't do everything !
I have a couple of samples to show you today ! I have been designing swaps for an upcoming SU training event and these are what I have come up with!

They are based on the top note die and naturals ivory card stock and I have tried to make them very representative of my particular style as I think the idea of swaps is to show different ways of using SU stash !

My little class started back yesterday and I am back in the groove, so to speak. I am quite excited about a new branch of craft that I want to get into and I am planning a class starting shortly as soon as I have finished all my samples. I went with my daughter Rosie to the craft show at the NEC in March and was thrilled to see all the lovely textile work on show. One lady had made the most amazing art journal based on a true love story and had added quotes, sketches, silk, embroidery, dried flowers, stamped tags and all sorts of lovely things, all mounted on a gorgeous textured Indian paper. I was bowled over by this piece of art and as I have a Textile background, was inspired to have a go at some mixed media creations. As far as I can see, Art journalling seems very loosely defined and I think that is really nice as you can mix all sorts of lovely things together and you don't need to be good at Art !! I'm very keen as you may have guessed !

Another reason why my blog has suffered a little is Pinterest; I love it and it has given me so much inspiration for projects and I really enjoy all the banter with fellow pinners ! So, to anyone visiting via Pinterest welcome and do come again ( I am usually a little more regular with my posting ! ). Also hello to new friends who have come via Gill's blog ( @lillybygilly )! I had a lovely surprise last week from the lovely Gill and will post shortly to tell you all about it !

Happy crafting !

Hugs Jane x

Elebration !

Hello !

I've been burning the candle at both ends of late and seem to be meeting myself in the middle ! I have a late Sunday lunch under control in the oven ! Hubbie and Daughter are out in the garden re - potting some older plants and adding in some new for Spring and generally making everything in the garden look pretty ! So, I have a few spare moments to share with you a little card I made using  a cute a la carte stamp from SU !

I used my favourite pretty in pink card as a base and topped it with pink pirouette and used lucky limeade, pretty in pink, soft suede and crumb cake inks. I really think that Elebration is the cutest stamp that SU make ! I'm not even going to mention the itty bitty flowers and the sentiment is from a retired hostess set stamped onto a punched scalloped oval.

I have shaded little Ellie with some crumb cake ink; this is easy as the lines are already stamped for you ! I have also used punches to add some edge interest !

Thankfully our temperatures have returned to average for the time of year here in the UK ! I hope you are having a lovely Easter Sunday; it's so good to see the garden in Spring mode, everything looks so fresh and pretty ! 

Thank you for taking the time to visit ! 

Hugs Jane x