Style Beautiful in Naturals Ivory and Basic Grey!

Hello !
Hope you are having a relaxing Sunday ! After a well earned lie, in Richard and I decided to be pro-active and groom and clip the doggies this morning ! So after lots of wiggling, woofy protestations and bribing with dog treats we now have two smart little girls with new hair cuts ! We're exhausted and the whole process makes so much mess that we have had to have baths/showers/hairwashes and Richard has hoovered and steam cleaned the entire kitchen/breakfast room and utility ! Thankfully we only have to go through this battle four times a year ! Our eighteen year old daughter slept through the whole thing and is finally emerging at 12.30; the stresses and strains of being a uni student !!!
I have two cards to share with you today made from one sheet of A4 naturals ivory card stock. I have also used the gorgeous style beautiful stamp set which you don't see featured often ! I think it is really elegant and I have stamped in basic grey ink to keep it all quite subtle.

I have added edgings made from the eyelet  and scallop edge border punches and used the patterns stack DSP in neutrals for some contrast. Pearls and ribbon add texture to a very simple card.

A similar format with this card with the addition of a punched decorative label and stamping from the very useful four frames set ( the first stamp set I ever sold to a customer ! ). I have changed how I draw attention to SU products used in my projects by highlighting in a different colour; do let me know if this is helpful.

Sorry that my photos are a little underexposed; the light levels are terrible here today so I have edited and therefore the colours are a little out !!

Off to get Sunday lunch done and then a relax and maybe a movie; it's too cold and foggy here today for outdoor excursions, even the dogs prefer to be in !

May I just say a special hello and thank you to Helen " down under ", I have no way of contacting you so hope you get this message, your comment was lovely and much appreciated !

Thank you for your visit, have a good day !

Hugs Jane x

P.S. Have re-done these photos today ! Not sure if they are any better but at least they are more colour accurate !!!

Quick and Easy Valentines !

Good Morning !
Bright, cold and sunny here in Worcestershire today and I hope it lasts into the weekend as it would be nice to get out and enjoy some fresh air as I have felt rather cooped up this week as it's been cold and dank !
The upside of this is lots of crafting has taken place and I had lots of fun putting in a nice big order to SU and I am looking forward to receiving lots of free merchandise and two half price items !!!!

The Valentines I have for you today are quick and easy cards ! I have used the following stamp sets : Valentine Love , Notably Ornate and Vintage Vogue. Whisper white card stock was used as a clean and simple base and I added regal rose and rose red card to accent. The butchers twine is from my own stash and was just right for this card ! The hearts are made using the scalloped heart of hearts embosslit die.

This card again uses the same die as a mask, which was stamped around and over to reveal a white blank heart in the centre when the mask was removed ( use a low tack dry adhesive to attach the heart ). Then I simply stamped the sentiment in the centre.

Here is a little more detail, I added some tiny SU pearls to the foliage for a bit of texture. 

I make little flowers ( punched from the itty bitty punch set ) from every scrap of waste card and store them for use later, so I've used some to make a heart. I just drew a heart and made a template and transferred the shape by lightly dotting in in pencil onto my card. Dots don't need rubbing out like a line does and just disappear, which is quite convenient !

Vary the colours and patterns on your flowers and don't try to make a pattern ! Random is best but keep it balanced ; I've added some SU pearls but not to every flower !

 There are huge benefits to being a Stampin' Up demonstrator and if you join in the next few weeks there is the additional bonus of an extra stamp set offered by SU ( value up to £44.95 ) and of course there is also the advantage of the Sale- A -Bration at the moment. Too much to detail here but if you are tempted to join my team I am also offering an extra bonus of my own until the 31st March so please do contact me via the e-mail address on my profile and I will gladly get back to you with more details.

Thank you for your lovely comments; they are very much appreciated and I love to read them !

Have a wonderful weekend !

Hugs Jane x

Sweet Floral and Rich Razzleberry !

I was just about to wish you Good Morning and realise it's actually afternoon ! Where did the morning go ? I also seem to have missed lunch !
I have  one card to share with you today; we made this plus one other in my little class yesterday and whilst I have blogged this card design before thought I would show the one I did for my demo in a different colourway !
It showcases the gorgeous sweet floral stamp on crumb cake card stock and is stamped in rich razzleberry and early expresso inks. 

I love this combination and have added some chocolate pearls from my own stash for a bit of definition. I also used my water brush and RR ink to enhance the petals and added some stamens using my write marker in elegant eggplant. The inside of this gatefold card is lined with crumb  cake DSP ( patterns stack - neutrals )

The oversized label is stamped from my lovely Everything Eleanor set and the sentiment is from Sincere Salutations. It has been nice to have a day off pink, but I still have more ideas for Valentines !!!

Welcome to my new visitors from around the globe ; it is really exciting when I check my stats and see that you have paid me a visit !

Happy crafting !

Hugs Jane x

Petal Cone Valentine !

Good Morning !
Chilly and dull here in Worcestershire today and once I have got the chores done I hope to get some crafting in as it's not an outdoor kind of day !

I have been using the petal cone die to make valentines and it makes a very nice little gift pocket / card. Lots of demos have made a petal cone die valentine and this one is my version ! 

Starting with pink pirouette card stock  I cut out the main cone and then used pretty in pink for the scalloped half circles, the heart ( embosslit die - scalloped heart of hearts ) and the Eiffel Tower ! I also backed the heart with another cut from chocolate chip card. I inked up my stamps with chocolate chip and crumb cake ( stamp set used are : artistic etchings and french foliage ). My ribbon is retired but pink pirouette is available in the taffeta.

This photo gives a peek of the inside and shows the gorgeous antique brad I added to neaten up the join and hold the ribbon in place. I really enjoyed making this and thought that some little postcards with messages on could be put in the pouch along with some chocolates !

I plan to do some simpler cards for Valentines Day so do visit again !

Also, the Sale-a Bration starts tomorrow with a free stamp set or DSP for every £45 that you spend; there are four stamp sets to choose from and a lovely vintage style paper set ( I want them all !!! ).

Have a good Monday , wherever you are and thank you for stopping by !

Hugs Jane x

Valentine Love Take Two !

Good Afternoon ! 
I just don't know where the week has gone ! Obviously one of those weeks where I should have made a list !!! I have found time to craft though ( it's the business side that always seems to suffer ! ) and I've got an A5 card to share with you today. I have been using the petal cone die to make valentines and this is the first to be finished. This extra large bigz die has been such a good buy from SU as it is so versatile and lots of demos have used it for valentines ( just Google it !!! ); more recently the lovely Monica Gale has featured a beautiful valentine pouch on her blog made from the die and it prompted me to go and play !

I started with a base of pink pirouette card and cut out my heart from the die in Beau Chateau DSP; I used some scraps to make the banners and the pink scallop around the heart ( punched using the scallop edge punch ).
The stamps used were : valentine love and vintage vogue and I hand pleated the rosette from a strip of DSP, neutrals patterns stack. My eyelet border punch was used to frill the edge of the rosette before pleating and I finished off the card with some pearls ( note the loop made from one row of pearls ). All supplies are from Stampin' Up !

Here is a bit more detail; I used three inks : pretty in pink for inking the edges and crumb cake and soft suede for the stamping .

I hope you have a good weekend ! I will be doing my usual farm shop tomorrow  and as we will be quite near might have a look round Stratford; we have't been to see a production at the newly re-vamped theatre yet, but I quite fancy having a look around and it's always lovely to have a walk along the riverside there.

Thanks for stopping by !

 Hugs Jane x

Valentine Love !

Hello ! I have had a lovely play with the new Valentine Love stamp set from Stampin' Up and found that as with almost all the SU stamp sets, they mix very well together. So I have two small cards to show you using a cocktail of the following sets : Valentine Love, Everything Eleanor, Vintage Vogue and Artistic Etchings !

The main card used is pink pirouette and I have inked in soft suede and crumb cake. My favourite eyelet border punch is ideal as it is so feminine and romantic and I have added a heart doiley which came in a mixed pack from my local cake decorating shop ! This is a five minute card so easy to put together. Looking at SU blogs home and abroad, crafters are making the most gorgeous cards which outshine any I have seen even in really upmarket shops. The card above cost about 25p to make ( C6 size ) !

I have added some chocolate chip card to this one and the costing on this is even less at around 15p. I made some little flowers using the itty bitty punches and put tiny pearls in the centres. I also drew in faux stitching on the label using my chocolate chip marker. Inks are pretty in pink, chocolate chip and soft suede. 

I shall be sending a card to my hubbie and daughter on Valentine's Day and we usually have a little treat too ( usually of the chocolate variety !!! Any excuse !!! )

However, I still have more projects to show you on this theme so do tune in  again if you are looking for inspiration !

Thank you so much for visiting and for all you lovely comments; it's so good to hear from you !

Hugs Jane x

Very Pink Valentine !!!

Good Morning !
I have just one card to show you today; I hope you like pink !
As you know , I have been having a good crafty spring clean out and in doing so have come across lots of lost stash and some cards that I had forgotten I had made. This time last year I was not involved with SU and thought you might like to see one of the cards I made then !

I thought I would share it with you, as I particularly like the layout and will probably have a go at replicating it using my SU stash. It also illustrates how your style changes depending upon what materials you have available. 

The bit I like the best is the raggy heart ( click on the photo for a close up ), I used heavy watercolour paper which I stamped over and then lightly pencilled my heart shape onto. I then took a waterbrush with plain water and worked this into the pencil line. When it was damp enough and the water had absorbed into the paper, I gently tore out the shape with a little coaxing ! I learnt this at a craft club I used to go to and it's a useful technique particularly for irregular shapes !

This is one of my fiddly cards with lots of detail and sometimes I really like to get my teeth into one of these !

I have more valentines to show you over the next couple of posts, so do please stop by to have a look !

If you are anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, stay warm and wrap up well!!! Thanks for you visit !

Hugs Jane x

Mini Valentines !

Morning ! It's a cold and frosty one here with lots of bright sunshine; my kind of winter weather ! I have a couple of tiny valentine cards to share with you today. They were quite quick to put together and they are pink and chocolate coloured which are the two colours that come to mind when I think of Valentines day !!

I worked on pink pirouette card stock and used a tiny amount of chocolate chip behind the heart frame. The chocolate chip was stamped in whisper white and the pink card in chocolate chip ink ! Stamp sets used are : Valentine Love and Vintage Vogue; little cherub was enhanced with some glitter and some gold gel pen on the bow and arrow before adding dimensionals to make him stand out! Some SU pearls decorate the edge,  punched using the scallop edge punch.

I have had a lot of use from this embosslit - Heart of Hearts die as I have from my itty bitty punches used to make the flowers. The waste from the heart made the frame used in the card above (I don't waste anything !!!) and I used the de-bossed side for a change. Again I have used an edge punch - eyelet border and added some chocolate pearls. The seam binding bow adds texture to what is a very simple little card. The key is from the stamp set - Artistic Etchings and it will get lots of use over the next few days as it lends itself well to Valentines.

I like my Valentines cards to be very pretty and most certainly PINK !!! If you are not a pink girl , then I do apologise in advance as there will be lots more to come on this theme !!!!

Have a lovely weekend wherever you are and thank you for visiting !

Hugs Jane x

Sweet Floral Cards !

Today I have been playing with a lovely large single stamp from Stampin' Up called Sweet Floral; it's great for larger cards and the image can also be stamped and then cut out into smaller parts and then re-configured. I have teamed it with Everything Eleanor and Sincere Salutations stamp sets ( the mother's day sentiment is from a retired set ). I have returned to one of my favourite colour combinations and used soft suede, crumb cake and pretty in pink inks with crumb cake, very vanilla and pink pirouette card.

My first card is a gatefold and I've overlapped the cut out stamped images so that it looks balanced when it is standing up ! I popped some Beau Chateau DSP on the inside to give a pretty background and used the eyelet border punch for the two edges. I also stamped just the flower heads in a lighter ink to the main image onto the main card.

Both cards are A5 and this one is a standard fold which I usually do; I'm not very adventurous !!! I have to say that I find small cards more difficult to design as I am more used to working on a bigger canvas, so these come together more quickly for me . I used to do a lot of watercolour painting (flowers !!!) and before my daughter came on the scene I ran my own design business making bespoke wedding gowns in silk! I loved this as working with brides and their Mums was lovely and so rewarding and I used to go along to the weddings to arrange the gown for the photographer! Happy days !!!

Anyway I digress ! Back to my cards ! I have added some first edition speciality DSP to this card and again stamped the background. I think Sweet Floral would work well stamped in a solid ink onto some watercolour paper and then double mounted in a frame for home decor as it is a very strong image !

I think I'm getting back to where I was before with my crafting; that is before all the Christmas chocolate fudged my brain and made me think I couldn't craft anymore !!!

Valentines next, I think and maybe some tags to get me used to working on a small scale again !

I appreciate the time you have taken to drop by; do come again !

Hugs Jane x

Old Favourites Re-visted !

Good Morning !
I have been having a good old sort out and reorganisation of some of my craft stash and tools and have moved back onto the dining room table temporarily until my room is workable ! Over the last month it has become a dumping ground for just about everything and the whole room needs redesigning so I can find and access all my stuff ! Moreover, I need to get back to where I started in paper crafting and that is scrap booking and making mini books. I have so much I want to do I need to take stock and get sorted; that is what the new year is all about after all !!!
I ran my little class yesterday and tried to make some cards before to get me in the groove ! It is amazing how your creative mojo can go into hiding. However , after teaching I was up and at it and made these three small cards from one sheet of A4 crumb cake card !

I have used some of my old favourites for these cards. The stamps sets shown here are: Vintage Vogue, Nature Walk and Creative Elements.

This little bird is so gorgeous and I use this set so much; it's nice to do some Spring cards and explore some different colour themes.

I used marina mist card for a pop of colour and the patterns DSP in neutrals. I have had the linen thread for so long but rarely use it so I thought I would give it an airing; so much lovely stash which I have rediscovered with my tidy up !

I love white ink and mixed it in with crumb cake and basic grey. Tools used were the jewellery tag punch and scallop edge border and the tiny hole punch.

The sentiments on these cards are ones I hope to live by this coming year; to love life and create !!! That is once I have all my crafting stuff in order !

Happy crafting and thank you for your visit !

Hugs Jane x