Happy New Year..

Good evening to you all and thanks for looking in...well here we are another year nearly gone...

I would like to thank you all for such wonderful support over the last 12 months...those of you who read this blog, those who leave comments and those of you that I have met at workshops or shows... ( oh and you Mum.....I do love the fact that you read this little blog...)

 

I do love to meet you all and to craft with you...

Every New Year brings new challenges and exciting times....and that is exactly what 2015 has in store....

So with that in mind a few of us have stepped down from the Clarity Challenge Blog Design Team...so that we can concentrate on new projects with Clarity...

I have loved being part of the Challenge DT and will miss it but the new members are very talented and I am sure you will love their work..especially Angela and Emma who are regulars on here...

So I thought I would share some of my favourite projects with you...remember this one....I used my toes!!!!!!

And as you know I do love Pyrography...

And stencils....

Oh and this one...

And this one..

And recently this one.....created with the mini blending tool...

So out with the old and in with the new...

I hope it will be a very Happy and Healthy year for us all....

Just before I go....Karl and me spent a wonderful day ( even if full of a cold ) yesterday with my sister and her family...

 

We went for a long walk and Eric had his first swim ..oh he did love the water....

Look how he has grown...

Enough from me...

Enjoy your evening.....and see you next year...

Love and Hugs....

Jo. xxxx

 

Take an Owl and a Squirrel.....

Good evening and thanks for looking in today...

How was your Christmas? I do hope you had a lovely time .

Ours could have been better, poor Mikey was ill and didn't even manage any Christmas Dinner...and now I seem to have this wonderful cold that is doing the rounds....I am just so glad that I have had my flu jab and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a quick recovery...

Today I managed to get to the post office with some samples for the Clarity show on C&C on Sunday...not as many as usual I am afraid...but it did remind me that I still have some from the last show that I need to blog...so here goes.....

This is one of my favourites and I really enjoyed making it...

I started with a piece of Kraft card and the Flare Frame Stencil from Clarity...

Next came some Grunge Paste..., when dry I coloured it with Adirondack ink and a Stencil brush..

Then some vibrant colour with Inka Gold Paint...( it washes off the stencil really well)

This is what it looks like when the stencil is removed...

Next a little trick that I got from Barbara Gray....to scratch the GP back to white using a blade...

How effective is that? I do love this ...thanks Barbara....I think I will be using this a lot....

I created a card blank with more Kraft card, and some faux stitching...

The centre topper was made using the Remountable Owl Squqre stamp... And coloured with Spectrum Noir Pencils...

And then all positioned together...

Then just some more stamping....some leaves, some cutting out and a word from the word chains...

 

And design complete...

The second card uses the Large Leaves stencil and the Remountable Squirrel Round stamp...

I started by using a piece of Gelli card, Distress inks and a mini blending tool...

Adding one colour at a time...

And then some shade..and water droplets...

And black lines..

Next the topper and some added Zentangle..

Plus some more of those lovely leaves..

Just the job....

Thanks for popping in today...

See you soon.

Warm hugs...

Jo. xxxx

 

Warm Wishes to all....

To all my lovely family, friends and followers, Thanks for finding the time to read this, especially at this very busy time of year.

I just want to send you all much love for a very Happy Christmas...

Stay safe and enjoy this special time , and remember to notice the little things....

I do find that sometimes we all get so carried away with those adverts for a perfect Christmas...you know...those tv ads....those unrealistic expectations....

Just spending time with special people is the answer...Time....that is the key....

Our little man is growing .....and yes he is still good but does like to get into everything....I can see wrapping paper everywhere!!!!!

 

 

Sorry, but couldn't have one without the other....I would be a naughty mummy.... ( I do hate favouritism )

 

Before I go and tackle some ironing I would just like to say a very big Thank You for all the fantastic Christmas cards that I have received....far too many to mention everyone by name....but they are all very special ....and the gifts are under the tree....so I haven't opened any yet....

To my workshop ladies....I am blown over with your work and I can see that I will have to make the projects header next year....lol.

Much Love....now and always.....

Jo. xxxx

 

 

Take five minutes out.....

Good morning all, how is it going? What a hectic time of year.....

So today I am here to suggest a five minute break for you....the latest issue of Creative Cardmaking is on sale now, and what a bumper buy it is ....with a fabulous die as a free gift...

Just the perfect read for a coffee break .....

I was lucky to have a play with the die and it is wonderful....

Here is one of the card designs...

 

Notice those gorgeous butterflies from Claritystamp....

There are full instructions inside for all the designs.....

Including this photo frame...

 

And gift wrapping ideas..

So go on treat yourself.....or even better ....get a subscription for a gift....

Thanks for popping in today....

I have samples to finish today...for the Clarity tv show on the 4th of January...

Oh once again there are some gorgeous new stamps....one set in particular I just can't put down....

Also it is off to the doctors again....

So what ever you are doing I hope you have a good day....and I must just say to Rachel....I am so chuffed to hear good news about Shaun....love to you both..

Right ladies....must get on....I know I can talk for England.....yes Mum...that is why you used to call me ' chatterbox' !!!!!!

Much love,

Call back soon....

Jo. xxxx

 

Nearly there...

Good evening all, well are you ready ???? Go on ask me......

At this point in time the answer is no....but said with a smile....and those of you who know me well, know that I will have my lippy on.....but still it is no......

To be honest I don't mind because as long as we are all fit and healthy that is all the matters...not whether I have made and posted cards....or bought expensive presents....or even cleaned the house...

Saying that I have been to visit my parents today , caught up with my sister...and sent their gifts off to Santa.......so I am getting there...

Earlier this week it was Karl's Birthday....oh Bless . It was his 50th...and yes he is my toy boy....

I have been so busy that I was making his card the night before his Birthday....thank goodness for Clarity Stamps ....

Here is what I came up with.....and I only had 15 minutes....

Karl's hobbies are football and cycling....( notice Jo's bubbles stencil....I just had to use that too)

Yesterday I spent a few hours with my good friend Becky.....I spent many years as Kaa to her Akela at cubs...we did our training together...got our wood beads and saw many boys go through the ranks...it was so good to catch up over coffee....,

And tomorrow I am catching up with Jane.....to me this is what Christmas is all about....time with friends and Family....how precious Time is....

Although Jane is coming here for coffee, so I am just hoping that Eric is on his best puppy behaviour....

Fingers crossed...

I hope you have a good weekend ....with lots of catching up too.

Hugs.....

Jo. xxxx

 

 

 

 

A Deer little Tag....

Hello , and thanks for sharing a few moments with me today...

I need to start and blog some of my samples from last Sundays Clarity show on C&C , so I thought I would start with a little tag that I made....when this was on Facebook it got some lovely comments (...thanks ) also one of my friends Violet asked how it had been made....luckily I took photos as I was creating....so here we go....

I had been using three colours of Distress ink and there was some left on my mat....so I added some water with my spritzer bottle and dragged a tag through the ink....I must say this is not my technique but it the work of that very talented Mr. Tim Holtz.

I left the tag to dry whilst I had a cup of coffee and chocolate biscuit.....very important part of the technique.....

After my coffee break I added some distress stain...

And then some shade around the edges

Then some stamping.....I used the Oak and Deer Stamp set from Claritystamp.....this great leaf stamp makes a brilliant border.....

 

Plus the stags head..you could leave it there ....but well ...you could also add a bit of shimmer....

So out with the Perfect Pearls....I do love to add water and paint with these...( oh and more splats...!!!)

 

To give more definition to the edge I used some Black Soot Distress ink...and painted the stag with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink and water...

Some more stamping, cutting out and adding the ribbon....this was coloured with the same three D.I.'s and water so that it matched perfectly.

The stamps, inks and Perfect Pearls can all be found on the Clarity web site....

http://www.claritystamp.co.uk.

This really is a great way of making backgrounds....plus cleaning up so it is a win. Win.....

Before I go I would just like to share a couple of photos with you....yesterday it was very frosty when Karl and me took Tess and Eric down the fields close to our house....

I can't believe how Eric is growing....but he is still really good ...and both our Christmas Trees are still standing...here he is waiting to pounce on Tess.....Bless her....she is so good with him...

 

I had better get on....still lots to do....Thanks for sharing my coffee break...

Hope Sunday is kind to you....

Much Love..

Jo. xxx

 

Snowflakes and Ribbon.....

Good morning, wow Friday already....just where has this week gone? Is it just me or is December flying ???

I have been really busy this week making samples for Clarity in the USA.....have you seen you can watch Barbra on C&C USA? It is a really exciting time for us all....

Back to today....we have a new Challenge over at the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge Blog...

Our new theme is Snowflakes and Ribbon....and is hosted by our lovely Mary Lou.....with our sponsor being Fresh Brewed Designs....

This Challenge will last for four weeks....plenty of time to submit and entry....

Here is my take on the theme...

I started by colouring a tag with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and a mini blending tool....keeping the edges darker...

Next came some stamping to create the scene using a really useful set of Clarity stamps ...the Christmas miniatures..

 

For my focal point I used a little Deer that I had in my stash again coloured using Distrees ink and I added a couple of stamps too.

 

Now for the card base...to carry on with the theme, more colour and stamping...

Next to make the snowflake embellishments...I used a snowflake die from Marianne Dies...

Cut all three out and assembled them with a gem in the centre ...

Then to the fun bit ...to assemble together and arrange the embellishments...and the ribbon...

 

I do love all the embellishments that are around at Christmas...

One final touch ....and a lovely sentiment at the base of the card....

 

Another fabulous stamp from Clarity...

So there we have my finished card....one of only five that I have made so far...!!!! Grrrrrrr

I know....I need to get a move on....

I would love you to go the the Challenge page and check out the inspiration from my fellow DT members ...

http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.co.uk

Also if you are inspired by the gorgeous stamps you can check them out plus more other goodies at ...

http://www.claritystamp.co.uk

That is it from me today...thanks for looking in...I do hope that you have a good weekend...and spend time with people you love...

Call back soon,

Love and hugs,

Jo. xxx