Soho Subway Travel Log !

Hello !! I have been photographing my travel log to share with you today before I put it all together - yes I have almost finished it !! It has been quite a challenge for me because there are so many fabulous journals out there but I wanted to do something from scratch that was all mine ! It doesn't come near the amazing creations that Peg my upline puts together but I am still a novice at this aspect of crafting ( i.e. anything that involves too much Maths !! ). Today I am showing you the basic journal made at this point from three sheets of 12x12 card stock - the finished item measures 7x91/2 inches but as you will see - it folds out to reveal lots of pockets, tags and surfaces to record your travels on and add photos, tickets etc....
Warning !!! Photo heavy post .....

The file folder pages are to be inserted using hinges made with the tag topper punches - the idea was to create lots of surfaces for photos ! What you are seeing here are the bare bones of the journal in the hope that you can understand how it was constructed when you see the completed article ! I have also used washi tape to make some of the hinges ! Two embossing folders were used to add texture - the Ampersand and Alphabet Press - DSP is Soho Subway which inspires the whole theme of the project and co-ordinates with my inks which are - crisp cantaloupe, early expresso, island indigo , soft sky , summer starfruit, smokey slate and marina mist . 

When it is put together it will all make sense so please do pop back to see the journal without it's photos tomorrow and then completed with photos at the end of the week ! 

Happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane x

Beautifully Baroque Card !

Hello ! We have had terrible rain storms here today and I've had to wait to get some decent light to take photos of todays card ! I loved the big single stamp Beautifully Baroque the minute I spied it in the annual catalogue and it mixes up so well with other styles too - I used a stamp from Flower Shop onto  some vellum to make my flower and the sentiment is from Perfect Pennants. Of course this card need some Gorgeous Grunge in the background !

The card stock used is whisper white ( embossed  with perfect polka dots ) and smokey slate with a tiny hint of soft sky and summer starfruit ( oh, how I will miss that colour when we loose it this Summer ! ). Inks are summer starfruit and smokey slate and I've added some special card stock - brushed silver and silver glimmer to lift the design. Some bling and a vintage faceted button complete the card with some bakers twine . 

Have a lovely crafty weekend and thank you for your visit ! 

Hugs Jane x

Happy Watercolour Thank You Card !

Good Afternoon !! 
Hmmm - I seem to be  a little late posting today - no excuses - just inefficiency !!! I have been battling with designing a mini book which has turned out not to be so mini ! The battling refers to my having to deal with the maths of it all - LOL - lets just say I'm better at the arty stuff !!! however - just to lighten the mood and give me a little light relief from my sums I have made two little cards - one to share with you today and the other tomorrow . I have tried not to overthink these cards - as I am prone to do and so they didn't take me very long and I like the simplicity of today's share especially ! 

The base card stock is whisper white and smokey slate and I have embossed it using Delicate Designs. Unusually for me I have used but one stamp set - Happy Watercolour - it's got lots of nice elements which obviously go well together but are versatile enough to team up with other stamp sets ! I have kept my colour scheme simple - blushing bride , basic black and smokey slate and added co-ordinating ribbons - basic grey and blushing bride stitched grosgrain.

Into battle again with the sums - nearly done now - then onto the fun stuff !!! 

Thanks for stopping by ! 

Hugs Jane x 

Open Sea Card for the Boys !

Good Morning ! I'm taking a long time to get going today - rather busy weekend and a late night last night !!!! Luckily I made this little card last week so I have something to share with you ! I have been doing a few boys cards of late trying to get away from the usual flowers and pretties !! LOL ! I have always loved the Open Sea stamp set so thought I would get it out and mix it up with a new background stamp Hardwood from the seasonal catalogue. The sentiment is from Perfect Pennants and I've added a bit of aging with Gorgeous Grunge and a small stamp from By the Tide which goes so well with the Open Sea set ! 

A star cut from the gorgeous silver glimmer card and a little bakers twine in Island Indigo just finished off the card nicely ! 

I'm off to deign a travel journal/album today - working out measurements is not my forte - where's Peg ???

Many thanks for your visit and happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane x

By the Tide Card Duo !

Good Morning ! I have been experimenting with a new stamp set - By the Tide - and have enjoyed it immensely - it's not my kind of set but going out of my comfort zone is good - take a look at the results ! 

Gorgeous Grunge and The Open Sea were the additional stamp sets used and soft sky and pistachio pudding were the base card stock . The bottle was cut from vellum and I added some sparkle and baker's twine ! My ink colours are pistachio pudding, costal cabana, crumb cake, sahara sand, pool party, soft sky and basic grey . You know I love to layer up my stamps and in these projects this technique helped to give that underwater feel to my cards - I hope ! 

Happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane xx

Sketched Birthday Tags !

Good Morning !! I have three cute little tags to share with you today - started one project yesterday but then got a little distracted making these - I do that often because my brain is overloaded with ideas !!! LOL ! I love the little stamp set - Sketched Birthday and it has a nice DSP which matches called Birthday Basics - they are both great to go to when you have a birthday card to make because the designs just go so nicely together - you don't really have to think about it !!! They are based on plain Manilla tags from my local stationers ! 

I think that for me the best thing that Stampin' Up do is to put together a whole package of colours which go together and to have inks that match the DSP is just genius because if you are colour challenged at all the work is done for you !!!

Returning to my By the Tide project now ! 

Happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane xx

Good Morning ! We are having the loveliest Spring here in the UK - at the proper time too - the Seasons are so mixed up  and we have a lot of un-seasonal weather at the wrong times !! The garden is beckoning and we did spend a nice day on Sunday doing some much needed tidying - so much more to do and when it's done then we can go and buy more plants !!!! As promised here is the final card - a larger A5 card very different to the rest but again heavily influenced by Peg's original card ! 

So, lots of little extras on this one ! Firstly the whole design is mounted on a 4 x 4 1/2 inch envelope in soft sky made of course on the envelope punch board ( how did we ever live without it ??? ) and then I combined some of the previous elements with a stamp set I love but haven't used much - Tea Party. The colours I have used in all three projects are - Sahara Sand , Crisp Cantaloupe , Blushing Bride , Pool Party and Soft Sky ! 

My daughter has 'By the Tide' and I plan to steal it today and have a play with it !!! Don't tell her !!! She won't find out because she doesn't read my blog !! LOL ! 

Thanks for stopping by ! 

Hugs Jane xx

Swallowtail and Hearts Collection !

Good Morning ! As I said in my last post - I got a little carried away with Peg's lovely card and it has inspired more than one card - the third is to follow tomorrow ( check out my previous post to see the card and link to Peg's blog ) ! Today's quick post is to share a simplified version using a sentiment from Friendship Preserves and with a lovely textured sahara sand background card using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder ! 

Many thanks to Peg for all the inspiration she gives me - she is the very best upline I could wish for ! 

Please come and visit tomorrow to see the final card - today I need to get my brain into gear and come up with some inspiration of my own ! I have too many ideas and don't always know where to start but sometimes it's good to make a project designed /inspired by someone else and just concentrate on improving your technique ! 

Happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane xx

Swallowtail Card Case !!!!

Hello - did I just say the CASE word !!!! I never copy a card or project - like everyone I am very influenced by the work of other crafters and inspired by new techniques and ideas but although this is not a direct copy it is very heavily inspired in every way by a card made by my fabulous upline Peg ! I just loved everything about it and the colour combination is gorgeous - have a look at the original here at http://www.pegcraftalot.com ! This is my take on Peg's card -

The main feature of the card is the large Swallowtail stamp - and the lovely butterfly from the Best of Butterflies stamp set . The tiny flowers are from Petite Petals and conveniently they have a matching punch !!! I have got a little carried away and there are more to come on this theme so watch out for more posts !!! Many thanks to Peg for allowing me to copy her card - I have really enjoyed it !!!

Happy Crafting ! 

Hugs Jane xx

Language of Love meets Sketched Birthday !

Hello ! I've been doing some crafting for myself this week and it's been really nice - I often don't get time for that luxury as I am always thinking about making samples for classes and promoting new products ! I have been indulging in the art of Casing - I don't often do this but the card was so spectacular it just had to be done - that will follow later this week ! For today though, I have a card which is my own design to share with you - it's for a very special friend who celebrates her birthday later this month ! 

I mixed up stamps from three stamp sets to make this card - Make a Wish , Language of Love and Sketched Birthday ! MY card stock is very vanilla and crumb cake and the lovely twine is from one of the free kits you can earn during the SALE - a - BRATION ! Not long now until the end of march - still time to get your order in and earn your freebies ! 

Thank you for stopping by ! 

Hugs Jane x

Mini Cards, Gift Card and a Tag !

Hello ! I've enjoyed a lovely day crafting with friends today - I love when you craft with others , you get to share ideas and come away buzzing with enthusiasm !! The question is - what to do first !!! 
I have some little bits and bobs to share with you today - the final pieces from the pastels and crumb cake range !! Firstly, some little cards followed by a gift card for holding a voucher or money and a tag ! 

The flap of the gift envelope above is stamped to look like the Sweet Sorbet DSP with the SAB freebie stamp set Petal Parade ! Not long until the end of the SALE-a-BRATION now - don't miss out on your freebies - get your order in before it's too late !!!

Many thanks for stopping by - happy crafting ! 

Hugs Jane x

Sweet Sorbet Cards - Part 2 !

Good Morning ! We have a good day weatherwise promised for today - 16 degrees according to the weatherman !!!!! We shall see !! I am teaching today and we'll be making this card, the one from yesterday's post and a gift envelope and tag all to match ! I have used heat embossing on the crumb cake card as it's the only way to get pastels/whites to show up - the colours I've used would also look good on a darker card stock like basic grey or early expresso .

I love these sorbet colours - so beautiful to work with and so many different ways to use them ! 

I'm experiencing a brain overload at the moment - so many ideas rushing round in my head - must write them all down before I forget them !!

Happy crafting and thanks for stopping by ! 

Hugs Jane x