Door hanger

Good afternoon all, 

I hope you are well and keeping cool.

 Wow , it is a hot day out there today. 

Yesterday we had our online workshop and it was so lovely 

to spend the morning with such lovely people. 

Today I am sharing a door hanger with you. 

It is one of my samples for the ODS on HOCHANDA tomorrow and Tuesday

It features stamps and stencils  by Janet Klein. 

Here is a close up 

I started by adding some ink to my stencils, spritzing with water and building up my background. 

This was then added to my door hanger, and I used an emery board to smooth out the edges. 

Next I added some more depth and detail to the background. 

Finally I stamped my focal image, added some colour , cut her our and added her to my piece. 

As you know I like to use cotton wool, so I added some of that to the clouds. 

A lovely hanging heart, couple of words and my piece was complete. 

I really enjoyed making this, 

It would be lovely with a little girls name on it too. 

What a nice gift that would make. 

Karl and me are off now to walk Eric again, then my pots need watering 

Take care all, 

Keep safe 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Friday catch up

Good afternoon  everyone, 

I do hope that you are well.

I am just taking five minutes out to catch up with you. 

It was my Birthday yesterday and such a lovely day. 

I wasn’t looking forwards to it, 

because of lockdown etc, 

but it was such a fabulous day. 

It was so lovely to FaceTime the boys, 

I had so many cards and gifts, 

Honestly I just can’t thank everyone, 

Look these are some of the hand crafted cards 

And would you believe more have just arrived.

Honestly I am sat here with a tear in my eye, 

Gift vouchers, gin, prosecco, chocolates and flowers. 

Thank you all so much 

These arrived yesterday and Ian has just been back with two more bouquets 

I am blown away. 

Oh Ian is my postman. 

I feel so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends. 

I must go now, 

Online class tomorrow...

And my craft room is such a mess. 

Take care everyone.

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxxx

Bird of Paradise

Good evening all, 

Hope you are ok .

I am a little late today as I have been making samples for tv all day. 

No sitting in the garden for me...

I need to get them in the post tomorrow, just to Make sure that they get there in time. 

Today I would like to share one of the new Aall & Create stamps with you. 

Look at this fabulous Bird of Paradise stamp drawn by Tracy. 

This is how I created it 

I stamped the image twice. 

Then I added some of these fabulous little splats. 

Followed by a splash of colour. 

I then added some colour to the flowers, and fussy cut them ready to decoupage. 

The little Grow, tag , I added some clear embossing powder , I love how this looks. 

A piece of garden string and the design was complete. 

I do love this stamp. 

That’s it for me today, 

I am shattered. 

Take care all.

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Lockdown Lavinia Homework week 9

Good morning everyone, 

Hope you are feeling well, this Bank Holiday Monday 

It is a beautiful morning here in Cheshire, and the sun is shinning. 

As it is Monday , 

I have your weekly Lavinia Homework. 

Week 9. Wow. 

This week we are going to be playing with panel cards. 

Now your design can use any size of panel, any colours, 

just have fun and include some of your lovely Lavinia stamps. 

Here is some more inspiration for you. 

This is one of those old techniques that we keep revisiting, 

Top tip though, do make sure your tape is Low Tack !!!!

It is a great way to practice your blending too, 

After blending , I do like to add some water flicks too, 

You can keep your stamping inside the panel. Or extend it out. 

I have added a splash of colour using pencils 

As always I have to add some Posca pen. 

The sentiment makes me smile, the thought of the little hare sitting on the flower, 

hiding from everyone, just because he can. 

He is expressing his individuality.

He is also social distancing, a real sign of the times. 

Take care everyone, 

Enjoy your day. 

Perfect for coffee in the garden 

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Mini canvas

Good afternoon all, 

Hope your afternoon is going well. 

It is such a lovely day today but oh my goodness , it is so windy. 

I think we are in for rain tomorrow , mind you 

the gardens do need it. 

Today I am  sharing a mini canvas with you. 

I love making these. 

I have used some shrink plastic too, now you know how I love that stuff. 

I started by stamping the thistle stamp from Tracy on to the shrink plastic. It is best to use a staz-on ink for this. 

Next I added some colour with pencils, cut a tag shape and then heated with my heat tool. 

Remember the colour will intensify when the design shrinks 

Look at the size difference. 

I usually flatten the end result using an acrylic block but I loved the uneven edges to this. 

I painted the 

 mini canvas with acrylic paint and when dry added some stamping 

I love the little details in designs, so here I added some bakers twine.

I thought it would be a nice idea to stamp directly onto the easel too, 

I was so pleased with this design, and it was lovely to see it on HOCHANDA too, 

Hopefully it reminds you about projects using shrink plastic as I do think it is one of those things that some crafters forget about. 

Thanks for joining me. 

Have a lovely weekend, 

Whatever you do, 

I think we may go out for a picnic on Sunday 

Karl, Eric and me...in our garden 

Don’t need to go anywhere else..

Take care all

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Thistle

Good morning all, 

From a lovely, sunny Cheshire. 

I do hope you have some sun today, it really does make everything seem that bit better.

I know that a few of you have got to the stage where you are struggling now.

Please just keep going for a bit longer, 

Hopefully things will slowly start getting back to some sort of normal. 

Yesterday it was the ODS on HOCHANDA for Aall & Create, and 

It featured some fabulous new stamps by Tracy.

This is one of my samples, and I was so pleased that they 

got to the studio in time. 

I am lucky to have some lovely crafty friends north of the border and this thistle stamp is just perfect 

for them, so I was thinking of them when creating this design.

I started off by finding a map, and yes, it actually is Scotland. 

I tore the edges , added some ink and some stencil work. 

Next I stamped the thistle, added some colour and gave it the vintage treatment too, 

Next to the assembly, and I knew I had some ribbon somewhere that would be perfect. 

Oh it took me ages to find it, 

You know what it is like 

In our craft space...

As you know I love the finishing off details, so a scrabble letter and a rusty safety pin.

In my head the ribbon reminds me of a kilt and the safety pin is the kilt pin.

And that is all I am saying !!!!

I do think that this type of design would be good for a man’s card too.

I still get excited when I see my designs on tv, 

Leonie made some wonderful pieces too and all Tracy’s samples were fabulous. 

I hope you managed to tune in.

Today I have craft jobs to do this morning but I 

have promised myself the afternoon in the garden. 

Sometimes we just need to take five minutes out, and that is how I feel.

I know it will just refresh me as I have another busy couple of days ahead. 

Thanks for popping in 

As always 

Take care 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Lockdown Lavinia homework week 8

Hi all, 

I hope you are feeling well.

As it is Monday , it is time for some more 

Lockdown Lavinia Homework.

I can’t believe that we are on to week 8.

So this week I thought we would create a little gift. 

This is four cards 

Each with a matching envelope 

And all wrapped up in matching tissue, tied with a ribbon. 

This would be a beautiful gift, just because. 

Just to show somebody that you are thinking about them.

I started off by creating my backgrounds. 

Now this really is a less is more technique. 

So please don’t be heavy handed with the Brusho powder. 

Just a light sprinkle, 

Followed by a light spritzing  with water, 

When dry, I added some stamping , a moon mask, some colour and a lovely sentiment. 

All the envelopes were stamped to match. 

When stamping the matching tissue, it is advisable to have some copier paper underneath, 

as the ink can go through the tissue. 

I hope you can join in with the homework, 

I do love to see what you all create. 

Take care everyone, 

Coffee time here, 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Elegance

Good afternoon all, 

I hope your day is going well. 

I know a couple of you are struggling at the moment, 

So I am sending a big 

Group Hug. 

I am just popping in to share a wonderful technique with you. 

As you know I love using stencils, and I am 

always looking at different ways of using them. 

Here is one..I hope you like it. 

This is using one of the new Aall & Create stencils, Elegance by Olga. 

Here is how I used it. 

I started off with a canvas, I added some paint, and let it dry .

Next I used the stencil and added some grunge paste. 

Once I had removed the stencil, I then added some embossing powder. 

I used a detailed gold. 

I then left this overnight to allow the GP to dry completely. 

Then the magic happens, as you use the heat tool. Look. 

I just adore the result, and the texture too, 

I made some embellishments, added them 

Plus some white paint, and attached it to some black card. 

I was so happy with the results, 

I hope you like it too. 

As the sentiment says, 

Best Wishes, Today ,  Tomorrow and Always. 

Take care all

Have a lovely weekend

Love and hugs 

Jo xxxx