Pyrography feature

Good afternoon everyone, 

I do hope your Friday is going well. 

I am still suffering with this lovely cold, so I am not 

a happy bunny today. 

I need to get rid of it quickly as I have another really busy week, next week. 

Today I am sharing another magazine feature with you.

This one is on Pyrography, you know how much I love doing this. 

This is the piece. 

It is featured in Creative Stamping , Issue 82 

And it is a double page spread, 

Thanks Nicky 

I have used the fabulous stamps which come free with the magazine. 

You can get your copy here 

http://tidd.ly/9c460c6e

It is a great read, you just need a nice cup of coffee. 

Have a lovely weekend all. 

Take care 

Jo xxx

It’s raining again.

Good afternoon all, I do hope you are well. 

I seem to have caught this lovely little cold that is going round, 

so I am feeling a bit rough today. 

It hasn’t stopped me getting up at 6-15 and getting the boys up , dressed and to nursery. 

They do wake up in such good moods, such a pleasure to be with them.

Even at that early time. 

Both Adam and Danielle are working today and tomorrow so I am on grandma duties. I am off to collect them at 

5-30pm , take them home, bath them and get them ready for bed. 

I just love being a grandma. 

Yesterday it was our regular workshops in Hazel Grove, and as always 

it was so lovely to see everyone. 

It was great to meet Margaret too, I do hope your homework is going well. 

We used the small, gel press plates to create backgrounds and then added some Lavinia stamps. 

Julie provided some yummy homemade cakes again...

Thank you Julie 

Next we looked at ways of creating quick and easy backgrounds 

This one uses smoothies and ink 

This one uses Billy Brayer and ink. 

Thanks ladies for joining me. 

I was thrilled to be asked to contribute to the latest IndigoBlu box kit. 

This is one of my designs. 

If you would like a copy of this fabulous kit 

You can get one from Craftstash here 

http://tidd.ly/1a288df1

Well , it is still raining here, 

So I am off to make a nice cup of tea. 

Take care everyone 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Paintbrush

Good morning all 

Hope you are well today. 

I have walked Eric and been to the postoffice. 

Now I need to get into my craft room and pack my bags ready for Hazel Grove tomorrow. 

I thought I would just have a coffee and catch up with you first.

Today I am sharing an Aall & Create sample with you.

This was inspired by a piece that my Team mate Corrie, made. 

Now you know me, and am happy to tell you where my inspiration came from. 

Also I was very lucky and given a gift of 3 paintbrushes, ( Thanks Lisa ) 

I am a very lucky lady. 

I started by adding paint to my paintbrush, followed by some Distress Crayons through the stencil. 

Next I stamped my images, added colour, cut them out and then added them. 

I also stamped the sentiment onto a little wooden coffee stirrer...

( you see , I do need to have my Costa coffee. )

I also used a black fine liner pen to add some doodling. 

This was such fun to make. 

Are you having pancakes later? If so, how do you like them. ? 

We have snow forecast for tomorrow, 

I really hope they have got it wrong. 

My little fritillaries are just about to open...

 Have a lovely day all. 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxxx

Saturday in Cumbria

Good evening all, I do hope that your week has started well. 

Wow, we have had some rain, haven’t we. 

More to come, I believe, even some snow...

Definitely time to stay warm, drink hot coffee and craft. 

On Saturday we had our monthly trip up to Cumbria. 

It was another full class, I am sure the ladies just like to keep me on my toes. 

We started by having a play with the round gel press, some inks and some Brusho powders. 

These are the stunning cards that we made, honestly I am so proud of everyone. 

Such amazing cards. 

Next we used our piece of card that we had cleaned Billy Brayer on to make our background. 

These are the ladies cards , just stunning. 

After lunch we made another background using Billy.

This time we went for a Misty morning sort of a design

 

Look at these beautiful and atmospheric pieces, 

After tea  and cake, we made a quick Easter card 

Thanks Karl for doing the die cutting. Bless him..

I don’t think he will offer to do that again. 

It was such a lovely day, but I was ready to put my feet up when we got home.

Thanks ladies for your company. 

Today I have been making samples , it is another busy week. 

So many jobs on that craft  list of mine. 

Take care everyone 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Dancing fairies

Good morning all, 

How are you today ? 

I have just been to the post office and it is bouncing down out side. 

I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of getting wet. 

Eric and me spend our lives having very wet dog walks at the moment. 

Bless him, he is back at the vets later, 

He is doing well, but still in quite a lot of pain. 

He is such a love though. 

Today I am going to share one of my samples from the recent Lavinia shows on HOCHANDA. 

I seem to have so many samples to share with you. 

I really enjoyed creating this. 

I started off with a gel press and Brusho background. 

Then I stamped the fairies. 

Next I used a circle mask, to create some bubbles. 

I did the central one first, followed by the side ones. 

I thought this was quite a cool effect. 

In fact, I may just use it again. 

Next I added some foliage, some ink blending , and finally some background stamping. 

It was all finished off with my white Posca pen and some charcoal shading. 

I must dash, I have 2 magazine commissions to get in the post today. 

All before the vets with Eric and then picking the boys up from nursery.

Danielle has started her new job today and Adam is working nights, 

So grandma to the rescue. 

Take care everyone 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Saturday and the storm.

Good evening all. 

I do hope that you had a lovely weekend.

Did you get caught out with the bad weather ? 

The journey up to Carnforth on Saturday morning was ok , but 

the journey home was another matter. 

It was such a lovely class .

Unfortunately we had quite a few cancellations at the last minute, due to ill health or family difficulties.

Plus the pesky storm .

We still managed to have a wonderful day, 

We had lovely hot soup for lunch and there was plenty of coffee and cake. 

The ladies made the most amazing projects.

I didn’t get time to photograph them all. 

But here are some 

I do love the way that by changing the colour it can change the whole feel of a design. 

They all just need the finishing touches, 

The pencil, note  pad and the little tape measure. 

I really enjoyed making the tape measure 

Thank you Sharon for inviting me to teach for you. 

When I got home, 

our two little visitors were just eating their tea. 

So it was straight into Grandma mode. 

Food, bath, bottle then bed. 

Elliot and Jenson, that is, not me. 

Jenson woke up at 3am for cuddles , bless him. 

I was so pleased when he went back to sleep and I could get back into bed at 4-30am. 

It was soon 7-30am and the boys were awake, oh and ready to play.

We had football training and yes, 

Grandma and Grandad did join in. 

I can tell you that by 3pm when the boys had gone home, we had walked Eric and I 

had caught up with some ironing, we were both shattered. 

We certainly had a early night last night. 

Karl was up at 5am today as he has been in Glasgow for the day, so I got up 

early and got some samples made. 

They have been posted and are ready for the shows on HOCHANDA this Wednesday and Thursday.

My boss man Abs and Leonie , will be creating havoc together. 

A few sneak peeks for you. 

I am off now for a shower, and then a nice hot chocolate. 

I think that I deserve it. 

Take care all. 

And if you are under the weather.

I hope you feel better soon 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

My favourite flowers

Good morning 

I do hope you are feeling well today. 

I am sat at the hairdressers, oh I don't like  coming here. 

It is the mirrors you see, I just don’t like looking at myself...

They do make a nice coffee though. 

Yesterday it was our regular workshop in Hazel Grove. 

We had a chat about watercolour painting and how we can incorporate the techniques into 

our card making

We used a couple of the new release stamps from AAll and Create. 

I adore this new fritillary stamp. 

I must let you into a little secret.

I asked Tracy to design it as they are my favourite flower ever. 

I just love them, I am waiting for their tiny heads to start poking through in my garden. 

You are going to see a lot of designs  with this stamp on

Thanks so much Tracy. 

This is the same technique but this time using the  Amaryllis  stamp.

Gwen, my Amaryllis  is flowering beautifully. 

Thanks so much. 

We had yummy lemon drizzle cake made by Julie, 

Oh her cakes are just delicious, and she always thinks of me.

They are gluten and calorie free. Ok maybe not the last bit ...lol.

Our next design was more of a CAS design, this time using one of Olgas new stamps. 

I do love her botanical flowers. 

Tomorrow I need to get ready for this Saturday’s class 

in Carnforth. 

I always love seeing Sharon and the ladies, 

let’s hope that the weather is kind to us. 

Safe travels everyone

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Fabulous weekend.

Morning all, 

Hope you are keeping warm and safe, 

Wow we have had some horrible weather. 

We had a busy weekend.

It started on Friday with Jensons 1st Birthday and then his party on Saturday. 

I really don’t know where the last twelve months have gone, 

So much has happened. 

Jenson had a fabulous day, and enjoyed all the attention. 

Think he gets that from his brother,  dad and grandad. 

So lovely to have time with family and friends. 

Life is just so busy, 

Look this photo flashed up on my timeline today 

12 months ago, 

So cute. 

Mikey and Fran joined us and brought a fabulous cake 

Made by a friend of his. 

Thanks Layla so much 

She has an Instagram account and is based in Manchester if you need a special cake. 

https://instagram.com/laylajaynecake?igshid=1j9fzg721r8zk

I can thoroughly recommend her.

On Sunday we went to help Mikey and Fran pack up and move out of their flat in Didsbury. 

They are moving into a house next week...

So we now have all their belongings in our garage,,,lol..

So the last two days I have been making samples for television, doing some magazine work and 

today I have workshops in Hazel Grove.

So I had better get a move on. 

See you soon ladies. 

Thanks everyone for popping in 

Will catch up again tomorrow 

Take care with the weather, and there are some nasty bugs around ,

So I hope you all keep well...

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Me again.

Good afternoon all, 

Wow, can you believe I am blogging again. 

I think this must be a record. 

I just found five minutes to join you for a quick brew and a chat. 

It is all go here today , as we are getting ready for Jensons 

First Birthday party tomorrow. 

Oh my, the last 12months have flown bye. 

Our Amanda is on HOCHANDA tv today with some fabulous 

Lavinia stamps. 

I had such a great time creating this piece. 

Look at all the detail. 

I also used the same set of stamps on one of my bread boards. 

I just couldn’t resist it. 

Thanks for popping in, 

really must dash.

So much still to do. 

Have a lovely weekend all.

,

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Flying Owls.

Good afternoon everyone. 

How are you today ? 

I must admit, I am a little tired.

Karl had to be up at 5am , he has driven to Edinburgh to fix a machine up there. 

Poor thing he will be shattered when he eventually gets home late tonight. 

Oh , and I thought life was suppose to get easier ...

I hope you managed to watch Tracy Evans with her new release stamps. 

I am so excited as I have a very large box of them, ready for my workshops. 

Today I am going to share another one of my samples with you .

I made this one with my Mum , in mind.

She will understand why...

(Haha Mum , your secret is out , 

You see, my boys call her Granny witch of the north !!! ) 

Sometimes, I like to make designs, 

Just for fun. 

I started by adding some ink to my stencil, spritzing it’s with water and then applying it to my card. 

Clouds, I thought 

Then I created a landscape, 

Clever use of the stencil, don't you think . 

After matting and layering, 

I stamped the owls and the paintbrush. 

I added some colour, and some highlights. 

Then cut them out. 

Next, I added them to my design. 

I thought the sentiment went really well. 

So who do you think the owls are? 

They are certainly having fun on their broomstick...or paintbrush...lol..

Well anything is possible in art.

Oh dear, my mind. 

It is so strange at times. 

Fly height today and have fun

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx