Autumn retreat part 3

Me again, 

Wow this has tested my patience 

Blogged really doesn’t want to play today

Anyway..

Hopefully we are getting there...

So our Sunday afternoon card was a lovely sunny one 

And would you believe that the sun did come out

Perfect for our drive home 

Look at these 

More fabulous cards 

I had such a great time catching up with so many friends,

Great to see our Scottish friends, 

Thanks for travelling so far. 

Also thanks for being so kind and generous, 

From chocolates, cake , Prosecco and even some bulbs for my new garden 

I am truly blessed 

Thank you ladies . 

I must go as we are off to Blackpool tonight 

We are taking Adam , Danielle and Elliot to see the illuminations. 

I just hope I can stay awake ....

Take care all.

Much love and hugs 

Jo.Xxx

Retreat part 2

Welcome back 

And thanks for joining me again. 

Our main project was a flower jar .

Now I was very excited about this as I had been planning it for ages 

and it took so much work to find just the right jar,

I was so pleased with the results 

Just look at these beauties 

I love them all 

And honestly they look even better in real life..

I must admit that I have saved a jar,

So that I can make a snow scene for Elliot..

Pop back to see the part 3 

Xxxx

Autumn retreat part 1

Good afternoon all, 

I hope you had a lovely weekend. 

Wow it was busy in Cumbria...

And what weather we had...

So many roads were flooded and a couple were completely blocked 

So I really must thank the lovely ladies for making such a great effort to spend two days , 

crafting with me. 

Also to Karl and Sheila for their help and support, and the endless 

supply of coffee. 

We started on Saturday with a warm up card 

Using pixie powders to add colour, 

The stamps are from Hobby Art, such a funky flower style 

I love them .

Then we made a lollipop card 

I think these are going to be the next trend 

Don’t you ? 

These are wonderful, 

I really am so proud of the group.

Such wonderful makes by all. 

Our main project was a flower jar..

But I will have to show you that in my next blog post 

As I have too many photos for blogger

So see you in a mo

Love and hugs 

Jo.Xxx

Happy Birthday Little Bro

Good morning all, 

Thanks for joining me on this Thursday morning. 

Well, I am so chuffed that the new bird feeder is being used...

We have had the usual Robin, bluetit, coaltits And hedge sparrows. 

Then we had a nuthatch who came for some breakfast, honestly I was so delighted to see him..

Love the way he feeds upside down. 

Yesterday a pair of blackbirds arrived and today a Jay, 

I really feel at home now,,.

Although I must get on and stop watching them, 

It is our Autumn retreat in Cumbria this weekend,,,

We have 30 ladies booked in...

Wow, I am so chuffed that you want to come and play for the weekend...

I do love our retreats 

Mind you , to be honest, I do get a bit stressed at this point...

You see , it is just me...

No team of helpers behind the scenes...

So all the planning, buying, emailing, cutting card etc 

It is little old me...

I worry, have a forgotten anything, will the Crafters like the projects..

Oh and did I pack that bottle of Prosecco !!!!

I will let you know next week...

Today I am sharing a card with you, 

I made this for my brothers recent Birthday 

I do love the way we can personalise cards..

Don’t you ? 

You see my brother has a couple of allotments , 

And he won first prize last year for his ..

Well done little Bro,,,

( I love to call him that , obviously he is so much taller than me )

I used a couple of stamp sets from Hobby Art..

They were just perfect , 

You see he grows, sunflowers, everlasting sweet peas, 

Various vegetables..

And onions...

Well 

Just look at the size of the one he gave me 

And did you notice..

I added his name on the plaque 

I actually used the word Christmas...

And just cut it down..

It fit perfectly 

Right better get a move on..

Have a lovely day all..

Take care ...

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Always Proud to be in Print .

Good morning all, 

I hope you had a lovely weekend,

We actually managed to get our 30 Laurel bushes planted, 

But I can tell you we were shattered last night

And this morning,

Well , 

I ache all over...

But the garden birds are happy as we got some bird feeders up.

We also found a nest of fieldmice 

And had a visiting pheasant

This is all in the week that we found a wasps nest...

Life in Holmes Chapel...

It is still a work in progress, but at least we have made a start.

Did you tune into Hochanda last week,? And see 

Chloe,

With her latest box kit..

Well it sold out...

I am so thrilled that I was asked to contribute to this issue..

With some seasonal stamping 

Some background stamping 

And the obligatory wreath card 

And it is always great to get a design on the front cover 

Thanks Chloe .

If you fancy getting your copy,

You can get one by following the link , 

From Craft stash..here 

http://tidd.ly/50abad34

It really is fantastic and has over £50 of crafting goodies inside. 

Right that is my early morning cup of tea finished 

So time to walk the dogs

And get into my craft room

Have a lovely day all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Fall, Bingo Board

Good morning everyone 

and thanks for popping in on this Friday morning. 

Today it is a new challenge over at the 

Fussy and Fancy Challenge blog 

Our new theme is a Bingo Board 

Here you choose a row , either horizontal, vertical or diagonal 

And make your design up using the items listed..

It is great fun...( and it makes you think ) 

Our hostess this month is my lovely friend Beth,,,

This is what I came up with 

I chose the second row,,,horizontally 

Shaped card, Butterfly, Fall leaves, Colour Orange, and Die Cut 

I also added a few extra squares

Bow, String, Acorn and Fall Embellishment 

I started with a shaped card 

And added some ink 

Followed by some water flicking 

And then some stamping 

Using a bubbles stamp from IndigoBlu 

and a splats stamp from Hobby Art 

Next , I cut out some leaves 

And edged them with ink 

I then cut out a couple of butterflies , 

And added some ink to them too. 

I then began to assemble my card, 

First I added some leaves , 

This is my favourite part, just arranging all the elements 

Next, I added the string, 

Followed by the butterflies, 

And finally a metal embellishment and some liquid glass 

Just look at the detail..

Pure Autumn Colours..

Thanks Beth, I really enjoyed making that ..

If you would like to join in with the challenge   Just pop along here 

http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.com/

I hope you have a lovely weekend planned 

Before I go , 

I just want to say 

Happy 80th Birthday Mum...

Hope you have a lovely day..

Happy 50th Birthday little Bro 

And would you believe 

Happy Wedding Anniversary to my Mum and Dad..

Wow that was a busy day making those cards..

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Midweek workshops

Good afternoon everyone, 

Hope your week is going well. 

We have had 30 Laurel bushes delivered today...

So it looks like we are going to be kept busy planting  them..

Yesterday it was our Hazel Grove workshops..

And we had a play with a fabulous little stamp from Lavinia 

Fuchsia 

First we used it with some backing paper from Clarity..

The sentiment is from Hobby Art,

I do love to mix and match don’t you ? 

We added a little extra ink around the large moon mask to give more detail. 

Plus some script stamping . 

For our second card we used the petite gelli plates. 

These are so good for quick backgrounds. 

The little splat stamp and the sentiment are both from Hobby Art .

We were treated to homemade jammy dodgers too, thanks Julie , 

They were yummy..

It was another day full of laughter, especially from the naughty table..

And we all know who sits there,,

Don’t we...

Nudge, nudge, 

Wink, wink..

It is funny,,.

There seems to be a naughty table at all my workshops..

( wonder why !!! ) 

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx