Where did the week go?

My goodness, I have suffered this week for my weekend away...time has flown...

It started with me putting the finishing touches to samples for the Clarity shows this weekend...(Saturday...Barbara will be in the classroom at 11am and then Sunday she will have shows at 9am and 2pm...) 

Once they were in the post, I  went to see Glynis at CJ CardCraft in Edgeley...had a catch up and bought some goodies...

Then on to samples for Jenny at Hobby Art...oh, she has some lovely new stamps out...wait until you see them...

Jenny was a very lucky lady on Wednesday and went to a workshop with the legend that is Sir Tim of Holts . Not that I am jealous!!!!!!

More about Jenny on TV next week, for now I have two samples from the Clarity Take 2 show to share with you..

This first one uses the Gelli plate and Dove stencil...

The Joy to the world stamp is from Clarity and was stamped using Cranberry Adirondack ink..

A little scribble with Distress marker and job done.

For this second card I used Distress Inks to create a background...and then spritzed water through the cloud stencil....oh this gives a fab effect...

The dove is a Clarity stamp and was stamped twice using StazOn on to vellum...(one turned around..) colour was added with a white gel pen..

The Mistletoe was stamped using Bottle Adirondack ink ...cut out...Bakers twine added and positioned in the middle of the doves..

The brilliant cloud stencil has little holes in it and I drew around these and added white Acrylic paint...oh I do love playing with Stencils.....

I think they are going to be a new obsession!!!!!

Better go now...got another busy weekend....Adam our eldest son is home after his holiday in France...I have just finished Spring cleaning his bedroom...it was a dangerous job....well, he is 24 and I did clean under his bed!!!!! Never again!!! 

Enjoy your weekend....hugs....Jo. X 

P.S. thanks for the lovely afternoon tea today Bethan...it was great to catch up....x 

It's a quick 'Hello'......

From me today as, Karl, Tess and me have just got home after spending a couple of days in Aberdaron. We stayed at a lovely camp site, high on the cliff top and this was the view that we woke up too.

We went on lovely walks,

And Tess played on the beach....but anyone who knows her knows that she doesn't like water (not normal for Labradors!!!) ....so she didn't venture into the sea.

I hope you have had a good weekend too, I'm now off to put the washer on...

See you soon. 

Jo. X 

Bank Holiday weekend....

Here it is the last bank holiday before Christmas....

So time to relax, spend time with friends and family, and recharge our batteries before winter....

Today, I am going to share some of my Clarity DT work with you....oh, how cool does that sound!!!!!

Did you get chance to watch the show on Wednesday? I recorded it and watched it in the evening....oh Maria was fab and her demonstrations were brilliant....I was so proud when she introduced me....

This first card is made with the gorgeous snowman stamp, some Distress inks, masking, spritzing and a little colouring with watercolour pencils....

It is all one layer....

To achieve this design I inked through the Clarity stencil with Distress ink and then spritzed with water before removing the mask and patting dry....this really gives a great effect...I stamped the tree stamps in Black Archival ink, a few finishing details and job done...

This lovely Christmas tree stamp is so versatile and just shouted out Zentangle to me....so I stamped using Black Versafine ink and began to doodle.....oh how relaxing.....

I used distress ink and water to add a little bit of shade at the bottom of the design.

I do hope you like these.....

Have a great weekend and thank you all for looking in....

Hugs. Jo. X 

Wow what a day.....

Well today, was the day that the lovely Maria Simms let the cat out of the bag (or bunny as in Maria's case) and told the C&C viewers that I had joined the Design Team at Clarity Stamps....

After having a quiet summer Barbara Gray contacted me and asked if I would like to join her happy little band...well ....how could a girl refuse....

So I obviously said......Yes!

All this was happening whilst I was at my workshops in Hazel Grove....the poor ladies today....I did babble ....a bit....

This is the first card that we made ....

We used PanPastels, Versafine ink and stamps from IndigoBlu.....

This is the second card that we made.....

Today, was also Denise's Birthday .....so we had cake....yum...yum...

I'm now off to watch the Clarity take 2 show with a bottle of Champagne, Karl and Tess......

Cheers,....Jo. X 

Well Dressing...

Good evening all, what a fantastic day I have had...

I've  been in Taddington, Derbyshire demonstrating card making...

Thanks to Christine for looking after me and making me lots of cups of tea...and it was good to see you Chrissie, Margaret and Heather.

This is a photo of the Well Dressing, it is made totally from natural materials, such as, flower petals, berries and moss. They are all embedded into clay base which is wet and helps to keep the materials fresh.

What is Well Dressing?

The supply of water was very important in the high limestone area of the Peak District where water would normally seep away through fissures in the underlying rock and there are few streams. Villages grew up around wells that formed from springs.

Adorning the wells with flowers appears to have evolved as a way of giving thanks, hence Well Dressing. This tradition which was peculiar to the limestone area is known to be at least 300 years old, but may go back to pagon times. 

The inside of the church was also decorated..

There was music from the Hathersage Band, Classic Cars and Steam Engines, a BBQ and a variety of stalls .

I had a fantastic day and it was lovely to be part of a community that really do care and all look out for each other. 

Whilst I remember .....The very talented and lovely Maria Simms is on C &C on Wednesday 11:00. As it is workshop day, I will have to record the show....but it is going to be a must see......(all will become apparent........) 

Thanks for stopping bye today and have a good week all,

Love and hugs, Jo. 

Summer Time

Good morning and how is life treating you this Thursday morning?

Today, is the first Challenge over at the Sweet Lilac Challenge Blog...and the theme is Summer Time...

This is my DT card....I do hope you like it....

I have used Distress inks for the background and a bit of water spritzing...Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed...

The main image is a really lovely new stamp from Hobby Art.....it is called ...

A Gaggle of Geese....

I stamped it using Vetsafine ink...Vintage Sepia and took the colour away with water...(I do love to do this technique...thanks to Sheena Douglass)

White highlights were added with a gel pen, some ribbon, hat pins and of course the flowers....Sweet Lilac really do supply the most gorgeous flowers.

I needed some white leaves ......and I had one of those moments of inspiration...(I wondered what it was at first .....I am not used to them!!!!) 

I cut one of the flat white flowers into pieces and hey presto....white leaves.

I would love it if you could join in and enter this Challenge....why not pop along and check it out and the other fabulous DT samples....

Click HERE.....

That is all for today....ttfn....Jo. X 

Hello

Well, here we are another Monday and the start of another week. My day started at 5am with Karl getting up to drive to London....and me being me couldn't get back to sleep so it was up, walk Tess and get on with the Craft List....first on the list, two cards that have been on order for a while....I can now say they are done, been collected and ticked off the list. 

Next was a magazine piece to finish,... tick, bank to go to....tick, then post office.....tick ....coffee was next not on the list but needed....

Oh, I do love my lists....

Anyway, today is a quick card ....you know the ones...that you need to make and get in the post.....5 minutes ago...

I simply masked off the middle section, blended Distress inks and stamped using one of my favourite Clarity Stamps...

Thanks for visiting today....hugs. Jo. X 

Bingo Board...

Hi everyone and welcome to another new challenge over at the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge Blog...

This one is all about the Bingo Board.... 

I have chosen the top line....Flower, Pearls and Blue.....for my inspiration...

Here is my DT card....

I have used a lovely foam mounted stamp from Hobby Art for my main image..

I have also used this to make my background ...this time using second generation stamping and Faded Jeans Distress ink.

I do love a bit of water spritzing too.

The flowers are from Sweet Lilac flowers .....a few hat pins and some glossy accents and the card was finished...

This Challenge is hosted by the lovely and very talented Sazzle, I do hope you will enter....go on....have a go....

Have a great weekend....I am back in St Helens tomorrow for another all day workshop.....they must be mad ...asking me back!!!!!

Whatever you are doing, I do hope you enjoy it and stay safe.....

See you soon.

Jo. X 

A Gaggle of Geese

As promised yesterday, I'm going to share with you the two cards that I made for the lovely Jenny Mayes over at Hobby Art stamps...

I used one of her new stamps ...A Gaggle of Geese ..this is a foam mounted stamp and it just fab.....so ...fab...I had to use it as soon as I got it.... Just couldn't wait....

I made two cards using the same technique and products ...the only thing that I changed was the colour of Distress Inks that I used...

Here is Summer....

Using...Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Vintage photo Distress Inks...

And here is Winter..

Using Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans and Shaded Lilac Distress inks...

I do love the contrasts...

I would love to know what you think....

Tomorrow, is a new challenge over at the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge Blog..so pop back to see what it is.....wow ...that will be three days in a row!!!!

Take care.....Jo. X 

Biscuit Blindness....

The last couple of days have been really busy with more magazine stuff, secret stuff and workshop planning...I even managed to get a couple of sample cards posted to Jenny at Hobby Art.....I will show you those tomorrow....

Today, was workshops in Hazel Grove and as usual we all had a great time and a big Thank you to the three Musketeers who bought Karl and I a gorgeous bunch of flowers....

This morning, we even had an episode of Biscuit Blindness.....yes, it's not just the craft stash that hides but biscuits also......(even though it was right in front of Rachel....lol...) 

This is the first card ...

We used Distress inks, water spritzing and the In Stitches stamp set from IndigoBlu...

Our second card as contrast was a much simpler and crisper card...

We stamped using Gray Flannel Versafine ink, did some masking and then added a little decoupage.

Thanks for looking in and pop back tomorrow.....two posts in a row....what ever next...

Jo. X 

Time for Gelli

Good afternoon, I am writing this whilst Karl is driving us home. We have been with Tess and some friends for a night at a lovely campsite in North Wales...and Sue, I am checking if you read this!!!!

Yesterday was workshops at C.J. CardCrafts in Edgeley, Stockport, where I always have a great time and meet lovely crafters..Glynis is always so helpful and her shop is really well stocked ....so if you haven't been yet, Do go and pay her a visit.

Whilst I was there Barbara Gray was on Create and Craft with her Classroom show.....I had to record it and will be watching it later.

I'd sent her two cards that I had made with Gelli plate and Clarity stencil backgrounds, plus the birdhouse stamp set.

I do hope you like them

A very good friend of mine Sam Crowe has joined The Clarity Design Team and her work with the Gelli Plate is really inspiring. Sam is a very talented lady and her blog is brilliant.... http://homecookedcards.blogspot.co.uk/

Congratulations....Sam.....x 

Right as we are nearly home, I will sign off for now....

Another busy week ahead, more workshops, more samples for a magazine and a very exciting, secret project to work on.....

Crafty hugs, Jo. X 

Summer Weddings

Oh, I do love a lovely Summer Wedding.....

If you are looking for the perfect embellishment for your wedding stationery then have a look at Sweet Lilac flowers ....

http://www.sweetlilac.co.uk

Here is a quick wedding card that I made using a topper. Patterned paper and ofcourse flowers from Sweet Lilac....

It's Friday and the sun is shinning, so Karl and myself are off to walk Tess, then I am packing my crafty bag ready for tomorrow's workshops at C.J.CardCrafts in Edgeley....

Enjoy your Friday all. 

Jo. X