Another lovely day...

Good evening, hope you have had a nice Saturday...

I have been at C.J.Cardcrafts in Edgeley, Cheshire where I run my regular monthly classes....what a great bunch of ladies.....and today was a real tonic.....( no gin....but that will be later.....)

Glynis has a well stocked shop and as she is a crafter she is very knowledgeable and always on hand to help...

We used stamps, stencils, and dies today ....

This is my favourite design and I loved making this....a blend of die cutting with Clarity landscaping and stamping...

And look what fabulous cards the ladies made....

And

Also I gave Susan and early Christmas present....from none other than Our Barbara Gray.....how lucky is she...

Thanks Barb...you made her day...xx

I am off now.....Karl is cooking our meal....time to relax ....and day off tomorrow....

Thanks for popping in...

Love and hugs...

Jo. xxxx

 

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Top Class...

Good evening all, how has your day been ? I have just got back from a lovely day in Kendal at the Paper Warehouse ...what a fantastic bunch of ladies....and even better ...lunch is provided....

The shop is great and well worth a visit, also Janet is a very kind lady and a very talented crafter too.

I introduced the crafters to Ken Oliver's Color Burst powders...set 2 ...the new colours....perfect for Autumn...

This is what the backgrounds looked like whilst wet..

Whilst they were drying we made a couple of cards using some Clarity stamps and stencils.

A warm up card using Jo's Bubbles and the woodland stamps.

Next a good old Clarity scene...

Then it was time to have that wonderful lunch that I mentioned....I think I must be a real strict teacher as all the ladies ate their food and were back in their seats crafting in no time at all!!!

Next some mix and matching with stencils...

And finally those backgrounds became landscapes...

Look how fabulous these are...

And

We did laughter too....and some how talked about Chocolate, champagne and Nuts!!!! Don't ask.....!!!!

It did take me three hours to get home though...the weather was horrible ....

So I am off now for a lovely bath....

Take care all...and thanks ladies ...you are fab...

Live and hugs,

See you soon.

Jo, xxx

 

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So glad to be back...

Good afternoon all, oh my goodness have I missed chatting to you. What a week last week was.

It all started on Monday morning when checking my emails on my iPad and the screen just went black....

Yes it was fully charged, I tried the reboot method, nothing but a black screen!!!!!

I went to the Apple Store and they had no idea....other than it was dead.....so Tuesday it went off to the apple hospital.....and they weren't able to revive it......

As it was only six months old they have sent me a new one...now that is great news.....

The bad news is that unfortunately I didn't have it all backed up to iCloud......so I have lost all my photos....

So no tutorials for a while ...sorry....

Like all good lessons....the first thing I did with this new one was to switch the iCloud on.....so please learn from my mistakes....and double check that everything is backed up....

Honestly I felt so lost without my little mate...

It was workshop day in Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire last Wednesday...and we talked about the use of watercolour techniques for backgrounds and toppers. We also had some Gelli play and spent some time using Color Burst Powders.

On Thursday I went to the NEC and spent a wonderful day with Angela and Theresa, it is so good to catch up with such loyal and lovely friends.

The Clarity stand looked fab and it was great to spend time with Barbara, Paul, Maria, Heather, Len and Jayne....although I did miss seeing Dave...( but glad to know he is feeling better )

Friday it was time to take some new stock into Crookilleycrafts

Now I took these photos on my phone....just so that I would have something to share with you...

These are some new pyrography mirrors..

Also some hanging Pyrography Christmas decorations.

Also some with pyrography and paint

Then on to the weekend when we had a wonderful time making wedding invitations. My sister, niece and her fiancé came to stay , we did have some time off to eat and have the odd glass of wine....

The time just flew.....no photos sorry ....well not until we have sent them out....but they do look stunning...

Then yesterday I was up early as I had lots of projects to prep....

There, I think you are up to date now....

I hope your week went well....and that you had a lovely weekend too....

So good to be back,

Love and Hugs

Jo. xxx

 

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Flowers.

Good morning...hope your Friday has started well...

I am so pleased to tell you that today I am hosting the new Challenge over at the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge Blog...

I have chosen the new theme of.....

Flowers...

We are sponsored by two wonderful companies, Magnolia-licious and Sweet Lilac Flowers...

I do hope you can create something and enter our Challenge...remember it can be a card, canvas or piece of mixed media...I am really looking forward to visiting all your blogs and reading about your designs.

Here is my inspiration...hope you like it..

And here is how I created it....

I started with a piece of stencil card and this wonderful Olive branch wreath stencil, as always I taped it at the top to make a hinge.

Next I added some Lettuce Adirondack ink...

This is what I had when I lifted the stencil up.

Nice, but I felt that it needed more depth...so out with the Meadow Adirondack ink.

There that's better.

Next I added some shade around the edge of the card.

And a verse from Clarity to the centre.

I found a lovely little wooden dragonfly in my stash and I added some colour to it with DI

And then added it to the card

I gathered some of my Sweet Lilac Flowers and leaves

And then added them to my card design

 

Some glossy accents just finished the design off, it looks like water droplets on the flowers.

I do love this verse, it is one of my favourites.

If you would like to see the samples from the rest of the DT, and they are fabulous , just visit our blog...

http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.co.uk

That's it from me today...I am off out for a coffee with a friend....I seem to have been working so much recently that friends have taken a back seat,,,.so this week I have had a word with myself.....and already caught up a lovely friend of mine from our cub leader days...and today it is coffee and catch up with Bethan...

Friends and Family are so important....and I will leave you with that thought...

Have a wonderful weekend

Much love and hugs.

Jo. xxx

 

Bells...

Good evening all, and how is your week going? I have had a very busy few days getting some orders made...I am so pleased that my little order book is fit to burst at the moment...

Did you see Barbara on Sunday? Great shows as usual....and today on HOCHANDA a one day wonder....perfect for all Groovi Chicks ....

Do check out all the new stash on the Clarity website...( and as you know I love poppies...that is all I am saying...)

Today I am going to show you a step by step for one of my samples....

As you know I do love working with Stencils....and this design is so quick and simple...but hopefully effective...

It all started with a piece of stencil card and the bell stencil.

The top was taped to make a hinge...

I started with a stencil brush , some yellow and orange ink. ( and yes...I love my new carved pumpkin D.I. )

Next I added some detail with a make up sponge and torn paper. My top tip here is always remember to dab your sponge on the side of the stencil first....not straight onto the card...

When I took the stencil away...this is what I had

Next I covered this area up with the inner part of the stencil...and then added the outer part.

I then repeated the brush and make up part of the design....but this time I just went a shade darker....

This helps with the illusion that this bell is behind the first one...

Then I just added some ribbon and a seasonal flower.

I do love this type of illusion.....here is a closer look

I do hope you like this....or is it just not your cup of tea? Do let me know...

Before I go I need to just say Hi to a very good friend of mine who is under the weather at the moment...

I hope you feel better soon Sharon....and Mike....thanks for looking after her....hugs to both of you...

Time now to do the pots and then more pyrography....both boys are at work and Karl has gone to watch some football.......so me and the dogs are going to craft...

Thanks for popping in...

Enjoy your evening..

Love and hugs as always..

Jo. xxx

 

Papyrus

Good afternoon and thanks for joining me this Thursday afternoon.

Yesterday it was workshop day in Hazel Grove and we went Christmas crazy making cards ready for the festive season. Unfortunately our Birthday girl couldn't be with us ....so we ate her cake .....

After sending her this photo.....and yes It was a dare!!!!! ( workshop calendar coming out soon....lol....)

Oh we have such a giggle.....but then life is so much better when you smile...don't you think....?

Thanks Julie for the yummy cakes...

And as for the afternoon crew well all I can say is the camel was in the building .....wasn't it Eileen????

Onto today....I have a special blog step by step for my lovely friend Donna...

This is a card that we made in Cumbria...

And here is how we made it, I must admit the design came about quite by accident...it was an idea that went wrong....but then it turned out right in the end....just shows you....sometimes you just need to keep on joining ...

Start by stamping the lovely Papyrus stamp from Clarity...

Turn the card around and stamp again...leaving a small gap.

Next mask off to the middle...

And add the stencil....making sure that the middle off the stencil is in the middle of the flower.

Start in the middle section with Lettuce Adirondack ink.

Add Meadow around the edge..

And then finish off with Cracked Pistachio in the top right hand corner.

Remove the stencil...

Don't worry about inking the flowers , you won't see this when we have coloured them...

Turn the card around again....and repeat the process

Mask off.

Add the stencil, and then the inks...

Remove the Stencil

Add some Black sharpie pen around the edge....also my latest fad....faux bakers twine....

Now....I bet you are saying...what about the gap in the middle? ( and that black mark!!! There is always one )

Well simple...

Just draw in a thread and bow with your black fine liner pen..

And colour the flowers with your Spectrum Noir pencils.

Add it to a card blank....

 

And job done.....

I do think this would make a lovely design for a set of say Thank You cards....as the Papyrus design looks fab in different colours.

So Donna , I really hope that helps....

Also if you still need the Snow Globe Die...Glynis at CJ CardCrafts has some in stock and is happy to post them out.....just call her on 0161-477-7027

Well , my soup maker has just finished so time for a late lunch...

See you soon.....

Much love and hugs,

Jo. xxx