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