Christmas cards

Hi Crafty Friends

As ever, I'm behind with my blogging. I've had a great time away on my hols but now I'm back and trying to catch up. here are two cards we've made in class recently.

This one is a small stepper. It's a fancy fold I really like, and it's quite quick to do. The snowflake is, I think, Apple Blossom and the poinsettia is my favourite, Tim Holtz, Tattered Poinsettia

This was also pretty quick, just a bit of die cutting. The larger bauble is on acetate so it could be raised on foam tape, which I think gives it a lighter delicate feel. The border is memory Box, Frostyville border, and the baubles are Spellbinders. The sentiment tag is Sue Wilson plus another pierced oval that came free with a mag. So nice to discover they nest beautifully.

Hope your Christmas crafting is going well
jx

catch up part 2

Hi Crafty Friends

I had a lovely break on my friends' narrow boat on the Staffordshire and Worcester canal. Lovely scenery and a good time with my pals. Good weather too.
But it was soon back to crafting. This week we made this card

I've been keen to try out my new Die'sire card maker die. It took a bit of trial and error to turn it into an easel card without the fold showing when it's shut, but I'm quite pleased with how it came out. The flowers are an old Woodware punch with a snowflake for stamens.

Now for some more catch-ups. This one uses the same damask paper as the one above, but teamed with black, it's a different look. The filigree panel die is a Tonic drawer front die, from a set I picked up at a show for £1! bargain or what?? The butterflies are heat embossed on acetate.

Now this is a bit different for me. I used a layout from a magazine, sorry I can't remember which. I like the spotlight technique.

And here's another departure from my usual style, I've been thinking I need to ring the changes for the classes. I loved this stamp when we used it at Susan's class, so I had to think of something different to do with it. It's a very easy stepper. We embraced our inner 5 year olds to make the mottled paper used for the leaves and matting layer - blowing bubbles in Brushos and squishing them on the paper. Please don't tell me Mateus Rose comes in green bottles! We coloured the image with my new Inktense pencils and added extra glitter with Spectrum Noir glitter pens

Nearly there! What could this be? Is it perchance a lilac coloured flower?? See I can't keep away from  it for long. This is one based on one I worked out with my pals Debbie and Janet, adapted because I don't have the same stamps, embossing folder etc. I love the idea of colouring the background flowers /leaves then embossing over them.

Right I think that's it.
I'm off to Copenhagen soon - see you when I get back
Happy crafting
Jx

Class Catch Up

Hi Crafty Friends
Sorry, it's been so long since I posted. As you probably know, I have actual real work in the summer, but now that's over, I've got loads of projects to share with you.
It's August, right? so it must be Christmas in craft-land. I'd been asked to do a reprise of the Pringle tube gift box, gussied up for Christmas, so here it is.

And here's a close up of the top

I found the poppy heads on an unpleasant foray into my loft. I'd sprayed them gold ages ago, so it just goes to show craft hoarding syndrome may actually be a good thing!

And here's the card we made this week. We embossed vellum with Swiss dots, running it through the bug twice to expand the pattern, and then layered it over blue paper. We used Spellbinders matting basics for the frame, a Sue Wilson filigree background die, Nellie's Choice ovals. I think the Santa is Britannia and the trees, Memory Box. Very quick and easy, after the rigours of box making the week before.

Here's another, even quicker, version I made with an embossing folder that came with Quick Cards mag which arrived yesterday. IRL the background is the same colour as the other one. Who says the camera never lies.

I'm off on a couple of jollies over the next 10 days, so it may be a while before I'm back with part 2 of this catch up, but in the mean time
happy Chrissy crafting
jan x

Lily Card

Hi Crafty Friends

First of all, huge congratulations to all my lovely friends who just carried on crafting despite the spifflicating heat. What dedication!
On Tuesday as the conservatory edged up to 40 degrees, we decamped to the micro dot of shade in the garden. Luckily as there were only 5 of us, we could squash round one table and crafted al fresco.

June spoiled us with gorgeous cakes, lemon, and a fruitcake - delicious. Thanks June.

On Wednesday there were too many of us to fit in the "shade" so we just boiled!

And after all that, what have we been making?

First up is this card

As you can see, it's very dimensional. I was watching a vid of someone making pretty flowers with a die I DIDN'T HAVE!! (how did that happen???) So I had to leap (or stagger in my case) out of bed and make flowers using dies I had to hand. And these were the result.

  Then of course we had to make a box for it. I've left the tag blank, until I have an occasion for it.

Here's what we used:

Cream card, Papermill

Gold Pearlescent card, Ross paper

Patterned cardstock, from my stash (now defunct Crafty Bits, I think)

Green Card, Shades

Dies: Britannia flowers and ivy, Lea abilities, pine, Heartfelt creations stamens, Marianne corner die, Spellbinders Borderabilities, Go Kreate tag

Border punch Martha Stewart.

Happy (cool) crafting

Jan xx

Triple bendi-fold card

Hi Crafty Friends

This week I kept everyone busy with a tri-bendi card. I love the harlequin paper and as it's plain ivory pearlescent on the back we were able to use it to make lots of flowers which we inked with archival inks; they still look really shimmery in real life.

It was great to see all the different looks people achieved with the flowers.

I used Spellbinders Borderabilities for the flaps (this S shaped one is my favourite set). I can't remember whose is the trellis die (Britannia?? All Occasion???) We did simple punched flowers as the die cutters were in demand for the rest of the card.

Happy crafting everyone
Jx

ATCs

Hi Crafty Friends

This week's post is a real blast from the past. I have quite a lot of pics I never blogged which were trapped in my old computer, which won't talk to my new computer (as you may know, I'm not the most computer savvy person in the world). Anyhoo, I have managed to liberate some of them, so I thought I'd post a few every now and then, starting with some ATC's I made when I was in an ATC swap.

This set was made for International Women's Day. The first pic is of the slip cases, the cards are below.

I chose to highlight a different quality on each card:nurturing, strong, stylish, unique, serene and mysterious

For this one, the theme was TRAVEL. I had fun with this. I drew a rocket, cut it out and covered it in sticky backed foil. then drew in the markings. The stars at the top are punched out and backed with silver. The others are table confetti. I embossed the flourish in silver and wrote the text on a die cut acetate tag.

The theme for this next one was LOVE, so I wanted to suggest a pile of old love letters.  I stamped over two aqua patterned papers, and embossed the kiss stamp. I drew the hearts, cut them out, coloured & stamped them, then covered them with several layers of clear embossing powder, till they looked enamelled, and then threaded them on embroidery floss.

This one was for a sea themed swap, so I went with a rock pool. I went a bit mad with the rocks, fashioning them out of scrunched up tissue and painting them. It's VERY dimensional, to say the least. I embossed the water a lot to make it ripple-y, but I don't think it's come out v well in the pic. The crab was a right pain! I had to cut him out twice, to decoupage the body (and I had to make 6 of them!)

I hope you like them, let me know if you'd like to see any more, and I'll see if I can prise them out of the old lappy.

Happy crafting

Jan x

Ahoy there

Hi Crafty Shipmates

The lovely sunshine was very short-lived, but crafting continues at craft central whatever the weather, and this week we had a nautical theme.

My lovely friend, Wendy wanted a beach/nautical card for her SIL and I really wanted to use my new Marianne Punch Dies - so it just had to be.

Jackie ( from the Thursday class I go to) showed us some card she had inked to look like wood, so I thought I'd try that technique too. I used white card instead of craft, and used different colours because I wanted a more sun-bleached look.

I'm delighted to say that the waves in the porthole were stamped with a stamp I made myself, over a year ago - I'm so pleased to have found a use for it (and thanks Clare for the tutorial)

Stuff used:
Super Smooth white card (Papermill Direct)
Sand coloured paper from my stash. scrap of blue paper
Acetate, string, netting
Marianne Punch dies- Fish, Shells
Spellbinders nesting circle dies
Docrafts stamp
Home made stamp

Happy Crafting
Jx