Crafting in Comber

Good afternoon all, 

and thanks for popping in. 

I must admit , that I am a little tired this afternoon 

after a busy but fabulous  last few days. 

On Saturday it was our Autumn workshop over in Belfast. 

And we had a special visitor, 

Bonnie came for a play day...

And she was so good...oh and so cute...

We started the day with a nice warm up card..

I do love these foxglove stamps from Lavinia. 

Then we had a little play with some mixed media...

Now I have to say that I got the inspiration for this card from Bev Hilton..

So thank you Bev  and thanks for letting me share...

Here is a closer look..

The ladies made such wonderful cards, 

We also had a rather yummy cheesecake , thanks Norma. 

As you know, I do eat my way through workshops...

We had three new ladies join us, and I am happy to say 

they enjoyed their day and are coming back to our next one,,

(As soon as I get a date.) 

After lunch we made a quick Christmas card ,

And finished the day with an ATC...

Sharon , is so good at looking after us, 

And Michael cooks a marvellous Full Irish breakfast...

Then we finished the day with a meal out...

Such good friends , good food , and good giggles..

We then got the overnight ferry home, so that today we could pick the dogs up,

And get on with some jobs. 

Karl is out early in the morning and we both have another really busy week..

Lots to do including having a certain little man visiting on Tuesday..

Workshops on Wednesday, and bedroom furniture being fitted on Thursday...

So off now to make a cup of tea..

And watch 

Escape to the Country...

Have a lovely evening all...

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Good friends .

Good evening all , and thanks for popping in. 

I hope you had a lovely weekend,,,

I had a weekend off and went to visit some very special friends of mine. 

You know I have met some wonderful people through my love of crafting...

and this group of lovely ladies are just the best.

I have known them for quite some years now...

And each year our friendship just grows stronger and even more special. 

It was funny though , I had to get the train down to Taunton...from Holmes Chapel..

Now we haven’t even been to our local railway station yet,,,

Never mind Crewe and Newport where I had to change..

It certainly was an eventful journey 

On Saturday we all met at a local hall,,,

We chatted, crafted,  ate cake and just had a wonderful time, 

Terri brought lots of craft stash and we just played, 

These are some of makes 

This one is my favourite, I love the detail. 

I also made some toppers ready for Christmas...

I really am getting on well with my cards this year 

And this was my scrap.

We all did different things , some cards, some canvases, some jewellery and even some crackers for Christmas 

And then after lunch we all had a go at the messy paint string thing...

Remember , the one we did in Cumbria...

Now that was fun...and messy...

So much so we needed a take out meal and wine to recover .

Sunday morning we all met up and chatted over a full cooked breakfast...

You really can’t put a price on true friends, ,

The weekend went far to fast...

Yesterday and today I have been getting up to date with a couple of magazine commissions..

Time now to walk these two...

Enjoy your evening...

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Wonderful Wednesday

Good morning everyone, 

Thanks for joining me, early this Friday morning. 

I had a busy day yesterday , it was a Grandma and Elliot day .

So nothing got done in the house or the craft room, so I have lots of catching up to do today. 

Wednesday it was our Hazel Grove workshops. 

It was so lovely to see everyone , 

We had a play with another of the fresh cut dies from Clarity. 

For our first card we cut the card blank , created our background on another piece of card and attached it behind .

The sentiment and butterfly are Stamps from Hobby Art. 

This was our second card 

Using black card for the die cut , and some ink blending for the background. 

Dew drops finish off the design. 

These dies are great for quick cards and look fabulous when used with ready made backing a papers...

For those times when we Need a card really, really , quickly....

And we all have those moments...don’t we??

I hope you all have a lovely weekend..

Are you doing any crafting? 

Spending time with family? 

Or just relaxing ? 

I am off on a train journey today (trains and weather permitting ) 

I am heading down to Bristol. 

To spend the weekend crafting with some wonderful friends...

I am really looking forwards to it...

What ever you do , enjoy, 

Take care all

Love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Tuesday catch up

Good afternoon everyone, 

Thanks for joining me today .

How is Tuesday treating you ? 

I have just got home after spending a few hours with Karen, 

I used to live next door to her...

I can’t believe that we have been here for five weeks now..

We are just getting to the end of our boxes , 

and it was great excitement the other day when our bins arrived .

Karl was out and had our number on them quick as a flash 

It will be great to use them and not have to take everything to the tip.

I must say we have been blown over by the lovely messages, cards and gifts 

that we have been given 

Thank you all so, so much 

We really appreciate them all....

My craft room is slowly getting sorted, 

I have a light now .

And the dogs have found a place to sleep whilst I work 

Look 

Can you see them both, under the table ? 

I still need to buy more storage units, 

But that will have to wait, workshops and magazine commissions to do first 

I did manage a play the other day with a new die from Clarity 

This is what it cuts out 

And this is what I created 

I do love to make my own backgrounds (as you know )

I started by blending my inks. 

If you remember I like to add the top and bottom ink first 

Then add the middle one blending it into the top and bottom, in one go. 

It really makes it so much quicker and easier 

Do remember to put a bit of time and effort into the blending 

And you can go from this to 

This 

Next I added some water splats 

Love that 

To enhance it more , I added some splats of Inka gold (silver )

When dry , I assembled the card 

I find that dries clear glue works well to attach the die to the card, 

Using a fine nozzle or a cocktail stick to apply it 

Here is a closer look 

I do love the contrast with the autumn colours and the white...

I do believe we may be getting our first autumn storm tomorrow..

Safe travels ladies and see you in Hazel Grove .

Before I go,,,

Here is a photo of a certain little man at the zoo,

He is a big fan of ice cream...

Thanks for visiting,,,

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Another great day in Cumbria

Good afternoon all, 

I do hope that you had a lovely weekend. 

It was our regular Cumbria workshop on Saturday 

and what a great day it was. 

Lots of lovely Crafters, 

We laughed, crafted , ate cake 

and  generally had a brilliant day.

A couple of ladies were on holiday , 

But don’t worry , 

We ate your cake too. 

It was a bit of a Christmas party really

as we made a start  on our Christmas cards...

Well, it really isn’t far away ,

In fact   I even bought a lovely, but very large Christmas decoration yesterday 

For the hall of our new home,,,

We used a wonderful stamp set.

Lisa’s Collection - Snowy Wishes 

I do love your designs.  Lisa B...keep them coming 

Our first card, was a nice quick and easy warm up card. 

Just look at these beauties 

S

Next we did some heat embossing and the resist technique 

Once again, 

Great cards ladies and gent 

After lunch 

We used some of the smaller Stamps 

To make toppers for 6x6 cards 

Billy Brayer even came out to play...

And one of the foliage Stamps makes a great wreath...

It was Surprise Birthday cake for Debbie...

Happy Birthday for today Mrs,,,

And then we used Kraft card to finish off the day 

I kept this design very simple so that it could be used for someone who 

doesn’t like a lot of fuss, or might be having a bit of a hard time at Christmas.

After all it isn't everyone’s favourite time of year...

Sorry , I didn’t get to photograph all of the last cards..

But we do pack a lot into our day...

Don’t we ????

 I must admit , I was shattered when I got home. 

But , 

Shattered in a good way .

Karl is away tonight , so I am going to try and catch up with some jobs on my craft a list 

Blog post done , that’s one tick 

I did add, 

Walk the dogs , so that got an early tick...lol..

Must put some washing in too. 

 I have a magazine piece to write up and email. 

Plus some prepping to do for Wednesday’s class in Hazel Grove..

So I had better get on...

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Happy Birthday Dad

Good evening all, hope your week is going well. 

It has been another hectic day here 

You know what it is like when you come  back from holiday 

The washing, catching up with the post, shopping and then all the jobs you haven’t done 

whilst being away 

So today I am sharing a special Birthday card with you...

Recently it was my Dads Birthday and this is the card that I made for him..

I started by blending a couple of distress Oxide inks onto four small 

pieces of card and then added some water droplets 

I then used some Hobby Art Stamps to add some design 

These are perfect for my Dad as he keeps hens...

And I must say they lay really yummy eggs 

Next I stamped a couple of words so that I could cut out the letters that I needed 

Also some images that I coloured and cut out , 

I love these Wellington boots 

I also added some dots with coordinating inks...another favourite stamp 

Of mine from Hobby Art 

Then some assembling 

And this is what I had 

This is the inside...

It is good to add some detail to the inside too. 

Right I must go...

Just been for a little walk with Elliot...

Adam and Danielle have taken him to Chester Zoo today...

Then he came to show us his new shoes...

He is such a little star...

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx