New stamps

Good evening all, 

Hope you are resting now after your day, 

feet up and cup of tea in hand. 

Well tomorrow is the start of the next Craft  show at the NEC.

Tracey has drawn some new stamps. 

They will be available at the show and also on the Lavinia website.

I have loved using them.

A fabulous tree. 

Stunning  foliage 

Just love these 

And a unicorn 

I have made a little video for this  one 

https://youtu.be/dbgFZNKMlj8

I hope you like these.

The boys have been getting ready for tomorrow night, 

They went to collect some pumpkins 

And then Adam created T-Rex

Just for Elliot and Jenson

Well done mate.

We are so excited as the boys are coming round tomorrow night,,,

Grandma and Grandad have your goody bags waiting.

Take care all 

Much love and hugs 

Jo Xxx

Autumn Retreat

Good afternoon all, 

I do hope your week has started well. 

It was very foggy here this morning. 

Well Friday we had another nightmare journey on the motorway, it took us an extra 

90minutes to get up to the Lake District., and the weather didn’t help. 

I was so pleased when we finally  arrived. 

Saturday morning soon arrived and so did the Crafters, eager to get started. 

We started with a warm up wreath card. 

Look at these beauties. 

Followed by decorating a gift bag 

After lunch it was time to create baubles, 

These are such fun to make, 

And they look stunning hanging on a tree. 

Tea and cakes really helps when making them too...

Our second day soon came round and yes, we all remembered to have an extra 

hour in bed 

I do love to use Kraft card 

We also used some grey board embellishments 

There were a few Posca splatters too...

Out afternoon kicked off with a card and envelope design 

Once again stunning makes by the ladies 

And a little tag to finish off the retreat 

The stamps are all from Lavinia, the baubles are too,,

It was so good to catch up with everyone, thanks especially to the ladies who drove down from Scotland. 

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends. 

Take care all 

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Brusho Powders and water

Good afternoon all, thanks for popping in. 

How is your week going ? 

Yesterday we had a lovely time in Hazel Grove playing with Brusho powders. 

Oh and then cleaning our hands. 

The Arm and Hammer toothpaste got a mention. 

Julie baked us  lovely cakes in the morning. 

Thank you Julie. 

We started with some white embossing resist. 

I do love this technique. 

Look at the detail. 

We used a lovely stamp set from Hobby Art. 

http://www.hobbyartstamps.com/Cottage-Garden.html

You can see more of the stamps in our second card 

I left this one without a sentiment as I thought it could be used for many 

different occasions, 

As the afternoon went on I began to get a migraine, and oh boy by the time 

I was driving home, my eyes were playing up and I felt so sick. 

I managed to get home and just left the car in front of the house and ran in to grab some medication as I 

didn’t have any with me...

Oh my, I haven’t had one that bad for ages .

My eyes are still not behaving today, 

So if I type anything wrong, 

Please forgive me. 

I have lots to do today, and I have had to try and get as much done as possible. 

The boys are here for a sleep over too, so I need to get sorted. 

We have news on Eric too, 

Bless him,

His hips seem to be the problem, and the x-rays show problems on both sides 

but the left one is the worst.

With the head of the femur nearly out of the socket. 

So , medication, physio, and management until he needs hip replacement surgery. 

Good job he is so good. 

It is our Autumn retreat in Cumbria this weekend, 

So I still have lots to do before we set off tomorrow. 

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Monday already

Good morning all, 

I hope you are well and that you managed to rest a little this weekend. 

It is a lovely morning here in Holmes Chapel. 

Karl left early , so me and Eric were up and on our walk by 7am...it was so lovely and quiet...but very dark. 

We are back at the vets this afternoon for more tests, so I though I 

would catch up with you this morning. 

I hope you managed to watch the fabulous Tracy Evans on HOCHANDA (Friday and Saturday)

She had some of her new stamps on. 

Oh they are fabulous, and I am not surprised that they kept selling out. 

Well done MRS.

and well deserved 

You work so hard. 

This is one of my samples. 

I used this gorgeous stamp #234 Brush Flower 

I love all the detail. 

I used a couple of distress oxide ink pads and a border acrylic block to add the ink to the card. 

When dry I stamped in black ink and added some clear embossing powder and heated.

I love to make a background layer, and the little numbers stamp that is in this set is just perfect for this. 

Some ink splats...

And some white Posca pen and job done. 

So simple but effective. 

I do hope you like it. 

Have a lovely day all

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

One Day Special.

Good afternoon everyone, I do hope today is going well. 

I have been busy in my craft room as I 

had a magazine commission to finish. 

So many jobs on my list at the moment, but I 

did manage to take a few hours off yesterday, 

It was grandma duties, and yes , I loved every minute of it .

Today I am going to share some sneak peeks with you.

These are samples that I have made for Tracy’s ODS on HOCHANDA. 

Her first show is at 6pm tonight,..

I am so blessed  to be able to have her as a friend. 

Even better is that I can deliver my samples to her and have coffee and catch up with her and Anne. 

Two wonderful, inspirational ladies, honest and genuine. 

Quite rare in the craft industry. 

I will pop back next week with more photos, and some photo tutorials. 

Next weekend it is our Autumn retreat in Cumbria, so I 

have so much to prepare.

Have a lovely weekend all

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Such a lovely day

Good morning all, I hope you are keeping well 

I am catching up with you as we travel back home. 

At the moment we are on the ferry, then we have our 6hr drive home. 

I do hope the motorways are kinder to us than they were on the journey up. 

Yesterday we decided to have a day off, you see on Sunday I was sat in our little motorhome 

making samples, no rest for the wicked !!!!

So yesterday we got the local bus and went down the road from the campsite and 

visited DownPatrick. 

What a beautiful place, 

And so much history. 

We visited the Cathedral 

and the final resting place of St Patrick. 

And the old jail, which is now a wonderful museum 

It was such a fabulous place to spend the day 

So lovely to spend time with Karl .

Mind you I have been wondering how Eric is, 

His first time in kennels without Tess.

We should be home between 8 and 9pm tonight. 

Then back to the long list of jobs tomorrow.

We may just stop at Tebay services for our evening meal.

Take care all

Love and hugs 

Jo xxxx

I am so lucky.

Good afternoon all, from a very wet campsite in Belfast. 

It has rained here all day so far, but it really doesn’t matter. 

We have been out for a walk around the local park and had a hot chocolate in the cafe.

Yesterday it was our regular workshop over here, 

and what a fabulous day it was. 

I have such wonderful friends over here who help and support me such. 

Thank you so much  ladies. 

It is always such a fabulous way to spend a weekend. 

We used stamps and stencils from Aall & Create. 

These are such fun cards to make. 

I really love this background mashup stamp. 

We mixed stamps, stencils and ink, plus the odd Posca pen splatter too,,

The ladies made the most wonderful cards, and I am so proud of them all. 

It really is like coming to visit family, and we can’t wait to come back next year. 

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday 

Much love and hugs 

Jo Xxx

Friday ferry.

Afternoon all, 

thank you for joining me today. 

We are just waiting to board the ferry over to Belfast for 

our workshop tomorrow. 

We drove up to Dumfries yesterday and stayed overnight. 

I do worry about such a long drive and missing the ferry. 

Well yesterday we sat on the M6 for 3 hours. 

There was a terrible accident and I do feel sorry for all those involved. 

Eric has gone into the kennels, it is his first time without Tess, 

But the staff are very good and have promised to look after him. 

On Wednesday it was our Hazel Grove workshop, and it was very sad 

without Elaine. 

We missed her terribly. 

We had a play with clean and simple cards that are quick 

and easy to make but look effective. 

We used stamps and stencils from Aall & Create. 

I do love the colours in this card made by Anne. 

And here is one of my demos .

Our second card involved blending through the stencil 

And here is another demo card 

It is always such a lovely day with such wonderful ladies. 

It was great to welcome a new member too. 

I must go, as we have just boarded the ferry and my internet will run out soon. 

Take care all.

Have a wonderful weekend, 

and ladies of Belfast 

See you in the morning.

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

That Friday feeling.

Hi all , thanks for popping in. 

Hope your Friday is going well so far. 

I managed to walk Eric and nip out to the shops before we had a power cut. 

The whole area was cut off, no electricity, no internet or phone signal. Even the traffic lights didn’t work. 

It lasted for a couple of hours, 

but seems to be so much longer. 

So I missed Jo Channon on Hochanda this morning. 

Thank goodness for catch up. 

I made a couple of samples using this fabulous stencil #36 by Aida. 

As you know I love playing with stencils. 

So many ways that we can use them . 

This one features a rather fabulous butterfly , by Tracy Evans. 

I adore this exclusive set. 

Jo is on again at 3pm. I hope you can join her. 

I am so delighted that I will be hosting a couple of shows myself in November.

Whoop. Thanks Abs. 

If you are going to Port Sunny tomorrow, have a great day and remember your list. 

I will be in the Lake District as it is my parents 60th Wedding Anniversary. 

We are having a large family gathering. 

Children, grandchildren and great grandchildren 

I am really looking forwards to some family time. 

Have a lovely weekend, 

whatever you have planned.

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx