Last day of the year .

Good afternoon and thanks for joining me today, 

on the last day of 2018.

I know it has been a struggle this year for some of our ladies, 

you are in my thoughts, each and every one of you. (and you know who you are ❤️)

We are having a quiet night in tonight and hopefully going to pick up 

the little man tomorrow. 

He is coming to stay for a few days, but he has been unwell again. 

Another virus, this time with a rash....

So I am keeping everything crossed that he is well enough to come and stay. 

Karl is working from home today, 

and I am hoping that he will have an early finish...

Monday 

It really doesn’t seeem like a Monday...!!!!

Here are some more of your cards 

More fabulous creations, 

I am so lucky to have received so many..

Still not seen yours yet...

Well I still have more to share with you .

I am keeping them for another day .

Before I go, 

I just wanted to say a big Thank you, 

Thanks for reading my little blog, 

Leaving your lovely comments.

Also for those of you who put up with me at our workshops. 

Most importantly 

Thanks for all your friendship and support 

It means the world to me

Take care all

See you next year 

Love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Lots of Love

Good afternoon everyone , 

thanks for popping in. 

I do hope you have had a lovely festive time. 

It has been so lovely here in our new home, 

Especially when both Adam and Mikey were here together,,,

We have had two Christmas dinners, lots of chocolate, lots of laughter, 

Some great card games, 

Plus some gin and Prosecco.

Fran was my partner in crime with the Prosecco...

It has been lovely to have so many of our friends and family visiting us.

I have been blown away by the most amazing cards and gifts that you lovely 

Crafters have given me,,,

You know me so well, 

Chocolates, Prosecco, Gin, cake, plants, candles, hand cream and so much more .

Thank you all so much. 

Your cards are just amazing ,

So I wanted to share them with you all, 

If you don’t see yours here today , 

Don’t worry , 

I have more photos to share tomorrow 

And here is one of a certain little man on 

Christmas Eve....

He was so excited , 

and yes he got lots of presents. 

I hope you all got spoilt, and got something crafty to play with..

Karl surprised me with an enormous box of watercolour pencils...

I can’t wait to use them, 

Not today though....changing beds, washing and ironing for me. 

Take care 

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Christmas blessings

Good evening all , 

thank you so much for popping in. 

I hope that you have had a lovely weekend ,

and that you are all ready for the big day. 

I just have some fresh vegetables to buy tomorrow and then that is it. 

Our new home has its decorations up, 

the fridge is stocked , guest bedrooms ready...

We even had time to visit relatives today and just relax in good company .

I know a few of my friends have lost loved ones this year, and 

that Christmas is going to be a hard time for you...

So I am sending you much love 

and a big group hug.

Also for those of you who will be on your own,

You are in my thoughts too.

My Dad was quite poorly when we went to visit last week, 

So a special mention and big hug for him too

Just remember that once winter is over Spring will return..

It always does.

Take care everyone

Love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Wedded Bliss

Good afternoon all, 

thank you for popping in today.

How are you doing with your Christmas preparations? 

I really hope that you are getting everything sorted , so 

that you can relax and just enjoy the festive time. 

Today I am sharing something completely different with you...

Some projects that I created for the Die Cutting Essentials box kit 

I used the Brother Scan N cut machine .

I created projects with a Spring Wedding in mind....

I loved making this little jar for a tea light...

The box kit is packed with inspiration and free gifts 

You can get your copy from Craft Stash...

Here....

http://tidd.ly/e73f6689

Oh look what just arrived, 

We have some fabulous friends, 

Even better,

Look inside 

Champagne and chocolates.

Plus ,

Look at the box.

Now that is going to make a great storage box...

Right , I am off to tidy my craft table...

It really needs it 

Take care all, 

Nearly there 

Love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Christmas inspiration

Good morning everyone, 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

We went over to Leeds on Saturday evening to have a meal with 

Danielle’s parents. 

The meal was fabulous but the journey there and back was just horrible , 

I am so glad that Karl drove, he was such a star...

It is his Birthday today, 

He is working but we are going to try and nip out for a coffee and hopefully finish early 

and go out for a meal this evening. 

I still have presents to buy and wrap. 

How are you doing ? 

I have some more Christmas card inspiration for you today 

I love these stamps , 

They are from IndigoBlu 

They make lovely little cards 

and are great for batch card making 

I love to just change each one slightly.

Kay is on Hochanda today , so do be sure to watch her .

Enjoy your Monday everyone

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

Christmas / New Year

Good morning everyone, 

thanks for popping in today. 

I had a lovely morning on Wednesday , catching up with the lovely ladies from Hazel Grove.

Then yesterday I went to work with Karl, as he had quite a few hospitals and laboratories to visit to drop of Christmas cards and Chocolates. 

He did treat me to a Costa , which was rather nice. 

Today it is another new Challenge over at the 

Fussy and Fancy Challenge Blog.

Our theme is 

Christmas / Winter 

Here is my inspiration 

Unfortunately this will be the last Challenge as in January the F&F Challenge will be closing. 

This is really sad for me as I have been on the dt for many years now , and 

I was invited to join by Sazzle who created the Challenge blog. 

I stared my design with Billy Brayer..,well it is Christmas , 

Followed by some water splats. 

Then I did some stamping 

and created the wreath, 

I added some blending around the edges of the design, plus a moon 

and some hills. 

The deer is made from MDf , once he was in place, 

I added some splats of gesso. 

Then it was time to play with embellishments, 

I do love this part...

You can see the other dt inspiration here. 

https://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.com/

Here is an alternative design, 

I have had such fun with these fabulous little Lavinia Stamps. 

I hope your Christmas preparations are going well, 

We have a busy weekend planned with lots of catching up with friends and family. 

Have a lovely weekend 

Much Love and hugs 

Jo. xxxx

Fun weekend with Abs.

Good afternoon everyone and thanks for popping in. 

Welcome to our new blog follower, 

do come in, grab a chair, coffee and mince pie. 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, 

I told you that I was going to a two day workshop, 

well it was in Carnforth, 

and it was Abs from AALL and Create

What a fantastic and inspirational teacher he is. 

Oh and so funny too, 

I did try and behave, 

but unfortunately my naughty elf side seemed to appear...

I blame his French accent....!!!!

Well when he asked us to 

Show him ours and he would show us his,,,,!!!!

It did make me chuckle,,,

Those of you who know me, 

will know exactly where my mind went. 

This is my journal cover that I made on Saturday 

Messy, painty play ,

it was fabulous .

Sunday , we created backgrounds on tags 

These are my favourites , all stamped up and finished .

This was our naughty table,,,,

Abs, Rachel, me and Karen .

This is our group photo...

It was great to meet new crafty friends and I hope to see you all again soon, 

Thanks Sharon for organising it , I know how much hard work goes in to these things 

Now this is my absolute , favourite piece from the weekend. 

I love everything about it , and will 

certainly be using these techniques again. 

I can’t wait to play with my new stamps, 

Thanks Rachel for being my partner in crime, ( although , I have to say 

You were very well behaved ) 

I am off now to order some water colour pencils, ( Inktense by Derwent)

Naughty Abs, making me Need them .

Looking forwards to seeing you on Hochanda on Thursday, 

Remember to wave at us all. 

Take care 

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

In print again.

Good morning all , 

good to have you join me today. 

I am so thrilled to have some cards in this months issue of 

Creative Stamping magazine. 

The magazine is full of great ideas, tips and stunning designs. 

The stamps are fabulous too.

12 months of flowers. 

A really useful stamp set, 

With a massive amount of stamps, 

I know I will be using mine over and over again. 

The magazine is available from Craft Stash here 

http://tidd.ly/59a9a01e

Such a great price too.

And they have a special offer today , 

If you spend over £20 you get a free set of Nuevo pens.

I had better get on, 

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

I am off to attend a two day workshop.

I am so looking forwards being on the other side of the craft table. 

I will tell you all next week.

Have a lovely weekend all

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx

A little botanical number

Good morning all, 

thank you for joining me today. 

Yet another wet dog walk this morning .

Karl left early again so it was me and the dogs, oh 

and lots of puddles.

We have had Elliot with us for a couple of days so that was fabulous , both 

Adam and Danielle came straight from work yesterday and had their meal with us, 

so lots of Elliot cuddles were had by all. 

Today I am sharing a botanical design with you 

The stamp is from AALL and Create and is designed by the fabulous 

Tracy Evans. 

It is a very large stamp , and has so much detail , I couldn’t wait to have a play with it. 

I started off by blending some ink onto my card. 

Then I added some water through a stencil to create some ghosting. 

I do love this effect. 

Next , came the stamping.

Followed by some splats of Copper Inka Gold, and black ink blended around the edges. 

I then stamped the fern once more onto Rice Paper , 

Added some colour using distress Oxide ink and water and left it to dry, 

before  attaching it to a log slice .

Then it was out with a white marker pen .



I stamped the image once more onto stamping card , and cut out some embellishments. 

I added these, plus some liquid glass. 

As this represents a botanical sketch, and field notes I thought I would add a pencil too. 

I love all the detail in this stamp 

And I had a great time just playing with it. 

I hope you manage to have some creative time today. 

I am off out for coffee this morning with a friend...

It has been a while since our last catch up. 

So lots of coffee and chatting , with a few mince pies thrown in. 

Have a lovely day whatever you do 

Much love and hugs 

Jo. xxx