Happy to be in print again.

Good afternoon everyone, 

Hope your week is going well,

It certainly is racing here..

Today I am going to show you a fabulous magazine that 

I was very lucky to be asked to contribute to. 

I say magazine, it has so many free gifts with it..

It is just wonderful, 

I got to play with the embossing folder

And I loved every minute of it, 

.

You may have seen some of these designs on Hochanda tv last week 

If you want to know how any of them were made...

You need to buy the box kit 

It is available here.  http://tidd.ly/70d46cfb

And it is a great price too..

I must admit that I had yesterday off work...

And I looked after Elliot for the day..

We went for a car ride...

We also went for a walk ...and got caught in a hail shower..

He thought grandma looked so funny  wet through...

Bless him..

Oh he does me me smile..

Must get on...

Take care all.

Good to catch up, 

Pop back soon

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Cumbria workshop

Good afternoon all, 

Thanks for joining me .

I hope you had a lovely , relaxing weekend...

Mine was lovely, quite busy,,,with lots of friends, 

Giggles and cake 

It was our cumbria Spring retreat...

Unfortunately a couple of our ladies had to cancel at the last minute , due to 

health issues. 

We did miss you and hope you feel better soon. 

We stated on Saturday with a nice quick and easy warm up card. 

And after coffee we moved onto our main project..

We made a journal , using the Eileen Hull , journal die. 

We created this in stages , 

And finally finished it on Sunday afternoon. 

This was my favourite card design of the weekend,,,

And I love all the ladies creations..

Mind you these are stunners too...

We had free facials using Tropic products for those who wanted them on Saturday evening 

Followed by a Chinese meal.

Some of us had a little glass of bubbles too. 

Sunday soon came round and look at these fabulous journals, 

And to finish off with we had time to make an ATC and have another swap...

We made little pockets inside our journals so that we have somewhere 

to keep our ATC’s.

Thanks to Sheila we had lots of yummy cakes...

We even had a Scotch corner...didn’t we ladies,,,,!!!!!

It is amazing how quickly the time goes...it takes months of preparation 

to organise a retreat and before I knew it 

It was time to drive home,,

I was shattered last night, 

But so happy and contented after spending such a wonderful weekend. 

We need to send a group hug to Elsa one of our ladies...

Group hug , lovely lady...

Thinking of you..

We have dates for our Autumn retreat , 

And it is open now to the ladies who have been on one before...

And then it will be open to other Crafters. 

I have my thinking cap on already..

Off now to walk the dogs...

We collected them from the kennels this morning 

and boy have they missed us..

Enjoy your evening all.

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxxx

Add a Die cut .

Good morning everyone, 

I do hope that you managed to enjoy some of the lovely weather yesterday .

Unfortunately I only managed a quick five minute coffee break as things are a bit hectic here.

You see it is our Cumbria Retreat this weekend...

And there is so much goes on in getting everything organised. 

Fingers crossed that I haven’t forgotten anything .

Before I go and pack the car , 

I need to share the latest Fussy and Fancy card with you .

This is Challenge #210

Add a Die Cut 

And it is hosted by the lovely Gina. 

Here is what I came up with . 

And here is how I created it . 

I started by selecting a piece of Clarity Backing  Parchment, 

And decided where I wanted the sun to be placed 

Then I attached a circle aperture stencil in place, directly onto the card blank. 

And added some ink, and some water splats 

I do love blending these colours 

Next I added some splats of gesso to the parchment and let this dry. 

( we did this in Anglesey last weekend, and some of us got covered in white splats!!!! lol ) 

But I won’t name any names!!!!

I used a die cut , called Bird Flourish from Apple Blossom dies 

And a sentiment from Hobby Art...

I attached the die and the sentiment to the front of the parchment ,

So that I could use red liner tape behind them 

This gave me an invisible way of attaching the parchment to the card blank 

Next some bakers twine , and a button 

And a few drops of glossy Accents 

I do love the way the sun shines through the parchment 

Although it is very cloudy here today...I do wonder if the sun will break through later. 

I would love you to pop over to the Fussy and Fancy blog and see what my fellow dt have created 

http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

Oe even better ,

Why not enter the challenge 

Just before I go I wanted to show you this fabulous cake 

Julie made it for Marjorie , 

One of our Wednesday morning ladies...

Here is Marjorie with the top layer...

We had eaten the rest and very yummy it was too..

Happy Birthday Marjorie..

And shh...you look fab at 85....years young 

I have decided that all workshop cakes are now .

Calorie , sin and guilt Free...

I am sure we are going to be eating more cakes this weekend..

Those who are coming to the retreat 

Safe travels and see you soon

Love and hugs 

Jo. xxxx

 

Anglesey workshop

Good afternoon everyone, 

How are you today and how was your weekend? 

It is very cloudy here,,,but I believe we are in for some  sunny weather over the next few days .

It was lovely and sunny in Anglesey on Saturday..

And what a lovely day we had .

Such a great group of ladies, 

Unfortunately Julie was in hospital and couldn’t join us,,,and 

We did miss her...

But she is home now,,,so that is good...

And Karen did a grand job as the refreshment lady..

Thanks Karen.  

We started off by stamping on Clarity backing papers..

These are fab ladies...

Then we used a piece of Clarity parchment...and a die cut ...

 After lunch we had a play with Distress Oxide ink pads..

I do love these...

So versatile..

Look at these beauties...

Using Lavinia Stamps...

I didn’t manage to get a photo of all the last cards...but these are a  few of them . 

We used a stencil to add some faux bleaching interest in the background. 

It is amazing how quickly the day went...

And the sun was still shinning when we got back to the campsite 

So we just had to go for a walk...and enjoy the views. 

It was such a lovely day it really made Karl andme feel so much better . 

You see on Friday we had a phone call to say that the cash buyer has pulled out of our house sale...

This could mean that we could loose our deposit and the new  house 

Fingers crossed that another buyer will come along soon...

It is so stressful...

Good job I have the dogs , my crafting and a certain little man to keep me busy. 

He is crawling now, and he has had a haircut...

He looks even more like his daddy...

This was Elliot this morning...

See you later little man...

I had better get a move on, it is our regular Hazel Grove workshop tomorrow..

And lots still to do..

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

April’s tag

Good morning everyone , 

I do hope that you have had a good week , it has been another hectic week for us 

Oh and a muddy one,,,

I really can’t wait for some better weather...

Although Eric did go for a paddle again in the big puddles in the field today .

We are off to Anglesey later , 

So that we are there ready for tomorrow’s workshop...

Another full class, and I am really looking forwards to seeing everyone,,

Before we go, 

I just have time to share a tag with you 

This is my April tag ready for the tag swap 

I used a fabulous new stamp set from Hobby Art , 

Designed by my lovely friend Lisa...

And oh , I love these stamps..

I started with a ready made tag...

And added some Oxide inks and water , 

One colour at a time 

I added some purple around the edge...

And oh yes Karen,,..my blog is turning purple,,,(testing...testing....lol ) 

I do love to just add some extra black,..just gives more definition 

Next I added the stamps,,,and oh these so stamp beautifully 

Then added the black fine liner . 
I also did some repeat stamping on a spare piece of paper 

Next , I added some colour 

Then cut out the shapes. 

And used 3d glue gel to add them 

Nearly there..

We just need some white splats...well I am just addicted to them ...

There , that’s better ....

To finish off , 

Some glossy Accents , 

And some ribbon...

Yes , 

I love that ..

Look, at the detail 

I really loved making this . 

Before I go, 

I just want to send a special hug to my lovely friend Fiona...

I know she will appreciate a group hug..

And finally , 

Well the little man is on the move....

we went to spend the evening with him...

And there is no stopping him now..

You definitely need eyes in the back of your head 

Have a lovely weekend all.

Much love and hugs...

Jo xxxx