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

Golden Birthday

Hi Crafty Friends

Well, the weather is getting better - we've even been HOT in craft central (aka the conservatory). Crafting in the sunshine, with the doors open, and the apple blossom and the bluebells at their loveliest - what could be better?

My lovely friend June lent me this gorgeous Sue Wilson filigree die for club use, so feeling summery, I went for a sunshiny gold. I found some fab paper in my stash  (a bit like patterned vellum) and decided to layer it over gold mirri card for a subtle gold. I love the effect behind the fancy die.
The frame and matting layers were made with the ever-useful Spellbinders matting basics, but as it's a big card (A5) we had to emboss the background old style, with a bit of ball tool and scoreboard action.
The flowers are Sue Wilson, open and solid petal dies. We made the solid flowers from more of the 'frosted gossamer paper' (well that's what it says on the packet) I think they look really pretty and delicate.
I went with a basic birthday greeting, but I think this would make a pretty card for a wedding, anniversary or even a 'thinking of you' so I hunted out lots of stamps that fit the oval so people could choose their own sentiment.

Here are some close ups, but I still haven't managed to capture the subtle sheen of this frosted paper.

Happy sunny crafting
Jx

catch up

Hi Crafty Friends

I'm still trying to catch up blogging with all the class cards. When we had our anniversary, I festooned all the cards we've made over the year, around the conservatory, and it made me realise how far behind I am.
Here is the card we made about a fortnight ago. Margaret had asked for a stepper card, so I decided to do a side stepper. I designed the shape I wanted and made a template for the card base which everyone could copy. This cut down on all the measuring, so we could spend loads of time on decorating - and there was quite a lot of decorating to do.

The flowers are by Heartfelt Creations, a matching set of dies and stamps ('Sun Kissed Fleur', I think). The fancy oval is by Apple Blossom and to my delight the oval is the same shape as my Marianne ovals, so we could do some very close matting. the butterflies are by Memory Box (Butterfly Exhibit) and the gorgeous sparkly embossing powder (which doesn't look as sparkly in the picture) is by Wow. We inked the flowers with a variety of DIs, e.g. Spun Sugar, Dried Marigold, Tattered Rose, and Bundled Sage for the leaves.

I was pleased with how it turned out so I made another one for my sister-in-law.
Hope you like it
Happy Crafting
Jx

Now We are One

Hi Crafty Friends

Well, here we are in May, and for now the weather is beautiful. The garden is at its (not marvellous) best, and this week is our one year anniversary of the club.

It has been so much fun, so a massive THANK YOU to all my lovely friends - for the laughs, and the cakes
Happy Birthday to us!

Here are some of the Wednesday group (sorry I forgot to take a photo on Tuesday)

And hard at work

And after a long search, this is where Keitha found her tape - stuck to the back of her card!

And this is the card we made, a fully loaded shabby chic number.

The cage and bird are by Sweet Dixie, the flowers and leaves are Joanna Sheen (matching stamps and dies) The borders are Sue Wilson, the oval is Apple Blossom and the sentiment by Clearly Besotted. A massive amount of die cutting, especially since the birdcage is cut 3 times and stacked.

here's to the next year of craftiness and fun!

jan x

Flowers and Filigree

Hi Crafty Friends

A bit late, but here is another card I made for the club a few weeks ago. A die cutting extravaganza.

The main central piece is Sue Wilson, with Apple Blossom additions. The scalloped edge is Spellbinders (doctored to fit), as are the leaves and flowers.

And this is one I made while I had the dies out. The flowers are Tattered Florals

Happy crafting
J x

Cards for Men

Hi Crafty Friends

Here are two more cards we made in class, at different times, but I thought I'd blog them together. They're both ArtKure stamps. They do beautifully detailed scenic stamps, which stamp really well. I'd order more from them, but I've had issues with them over deliveries/refunds so I'm wary of risking  it again. The first is Crail harbour in Fife, Scotland. I love it that it says what the place is. We just added a little colouring with DIs, so a fairly quick card to make.

Sadly this one doesn't tell you where this scene is. We stamped the image in black and then embossed it with clear powder before inking it with DIs. I've just realised that I put flag tails on all men's cards (I did it on the Wetlands card, too). Will have to try to avoid that on the next one.

Seems I stick to a blue/aqua/brown scheme too.  I guess for the next man's card I make I'll have to challenge myself to pick different colours and avoid flags (help!)

happy crafting
jan xx

Three of a kind

Hi Crafty Friends
As usual, I've got very behind with posting our club cards. I'm going to try to catch up over the next few days. To start off, here are three variations on a theme. I love doing tile cards because I love all the opportunities for little embellishments. It was fun seeing how everyone pick-and-mixed all the elements of these cards

Happy crafting
Jx