Afternoon all.

Good afternoon ...and how is your week going? I must admit I have had one of those days where it has been one step forwards and two steps back!!!!!......and not many jobs ticked off the list.....

Oh well.....at least I got the washing in just before it started to rain....I really needed to make some samples for TV today...one...that is all I have managed....good job I am not on the last minute.....mind you I do love the new stamps....and when you see them ....you will know why......

So today I thought I would share one of my favourite type of cards with you....a wreath card....now this was featured on C&C but I have waited until now to blog the ' how too' as it was one of our projects at Clarity Cumbria on Saturday....

It starts with a piece of gelli card and the smaller dare I say stubby ( sorry Mandy) stamp from the Shepherds Purse collection...

Stamp it in the middle at the top of the card..

Next turn the card 90 degrees and repeat, again....and again...And again....

Next the aim is to stamp into the gap that is left....once again...turn the card In between each stamping...

The couple from the Wee Folk wedding set look right at home inside...And notice I have made some shrink plastic doves....

Now....stamp onto vellum , using black ink and clear embossing powder....and heat then cut out....oh I do love a bit of fussy cutting...

Before attaching this to the wreath add some bakers twine...I used 3d glue gel......also I added a little colour using my Spectrum Noir Pencils...

Here is a closer look...

As usual I added a little charcoal shading....I don't think I make any cards without using charcoal these days...

I do hope you like this....and it would make a wonderful wedding card especially if you could match the colour of the vellum to the bridesmaid dresses....

Thanks for looking in today...must go , still jobs to tick off that list....

Hope your day is more productive than mine......

Love and hugs...

Jo. xxx

 

Sunday...a day to rest...

Good afternoon all and thanks for popping in today....how is your weekend going? Today I am having a rare day off....it was another busy week last week ....Wednesday was workshops in Hazel Grove....always a great day....and always so much laughter...and this week Julie made gluten free cakes....and oh they were delicious....thanks Julie....( sorry that you missed them Wendy x )

Then yesterday it was Clarity Cumbria, another highlight of my crafty life...so off I set at 7 am and Sheila had my breakfast waiting for me...now this is another group of the most lovely, friendly and kind crafters that you could wish to meet...as always we did have cake....Sheila makes the most wonderful cakes...I was spoilt again with gluten free cake...thanks ladies...Freda brought extra sweeties....and Rachel brought us chocolates...( well we do like to nibble whilst we are creating!!!)

We started by making a gift card, that had two cards inside....This was based on the wedding invitation that I designed the other week for TV...

Our class stamp was the Shephers purse stamp set...and yes Mandy...I told you I just can't put it down...

This would make such a lovely gift....and could have a gift card or voucher inside...here are the ones that the ladies and gentleman made....( don't want to forget you Peter)

And this is the insides...

Next we did some wreath stamping....you all know how I love yo make wreath cards...

Look what a great job the crafters did....

Now our next card did cause such laughter....mind you I think my book choice could have been better.....!!!

I thought I had vetted the pages!!!!

But you know some people will find naughty words anywhere.... ( but not me!!! lol..)

The venue that we have is just perfect , with plenty of light....if you ever fancy joining us, just email me ...all the dates are on my workshop dates page on here....

Must go now....Mikey needs a lift to work...did I say I was having a day off? ....well may be half a day....

A long walk with Karl and the dogs is just what I need....Eric has started hiding in the grass...

Can you see him?

Is that better?

I think he is playing hide and seek for Labradors.....

Enjoy your evening all, and have a lovely Bank Holiday Monday tomorrow....

Karl is on call so I have a long list of jobs to keep me out of mischief ....

Much love and hugs....

Jo. xxxx

 

Hello Sunshine...

Good afternoon and thanks for looking in today....oh it has been very wet, cold and dark here in Cheshire today..

So when I noticed that the new Challenge over on the Less Is More Challenge was themed..

...Hello Sunshine..

.I just had to join in... http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/week-224-theme.html

Do pop over and have a look, or better still spread the word and join in....go on you will enjoy it......

Out came some inks and some of my favourite Clarity stamps...this is what I came up with ....

 

And do you know ...it instantly brightened my day...

I started with a piece of Gelli card and an aperture Stencil..

Next I took a selection of Distress inks, normally I work with three but as I wanted as much dimension as possible I decided on five colours...

Oh look how they blend....it is amazing what a little elbow grease can do...And a spritz of water...

Next came some stamping ..

And a tree...

And then the all important sentiment...

Add into the mix a black Sharpie pen..

And a lovely ...sunny...happy card is born...

I do hope that I have brightened your day too...

Oh talking of things that make us smile....there was a story on our local Radio about a lady who will be 100 years old at the end of the month, she is in a nursing home and hasn't any family or friends....so they asked to see if anyone would send her a card....I just had to join in....

So out came so faithful stamps , I rustled together a card and got it in the post....I know I will probably never meet the lady ...but I just hope she will feel loved on such a special day...

You know the world really is made up of lots of little acts of kindness....

Must get on now...dogs to walk....meal to cook...and then time to sit and relax....yah....

Enjoy your evening...

Love and hugs...

Jo. xxx

 

Exciting News....

Good afternoon all, I do hope that your weekend is going well....

I have some exciting news to share with you today.....I have been working hard with the help of some special friends...Eileen and Emma....thanks ladies....and can now tell you that .....

Clarity Glasgow is a go......

We now have a venue and three dates...for this year...

Saturday June 20th......August 8th.....and October 10th....

So any of our friends north of the border who fancy a day with crafty friends....with coffee and cake thrown in....just email me at ....jrcrafts28@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you......

Whilst I remember I must wish one of our lovely followers.....Donna Brooks.....a very Happy Birthday....hope you are having a great day lovely lady...xxx

Before I go , I will just share a photo with you...from yesterday's workshop at C.J.Cardcrafts in Edgeley, Stockport...

We made mount board art using PanPastels and Clarity Stamps...As always it was a great day....filled with good company and lots of shopping ....

Speaking of shopping I had a Clarity order delivered on Friday....it was great fun opening the box....I had two helpers....

Eric kept running off with the packaging......

Time to put the dinner on....hungry males to feed...

Enjoy your Sunday Evening and hope next week is kind to us all...

Love and hugs.

Jo. xxx

 

Lavender and Yellow...

Good morning,,,,, and welcome to Friday...and a new Challenge over at the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge blog...our new theme is Lavender and Yellow.....and it is hosted by the lovely Diane....

We are very lucky that it is sponsored by Sweet Lilac Flowers and Fresh Brewed Designs...

Here is what I came up with, do hope that you like it...

 

I started by stamping this gorgeous Shepherds purse stamp from Clarity....( designed by my lovely teamie Mandy )

Then I decided to use some of my new Graphic 45 paper stash...oh it was a hard decision....

This is from the Time To Flourish Collection.....and is the month of May....

I added some colour around the edge of my card.....these new Distress inks from Mr. Tim are rather lovely too...

 

I added some colour using my Wink Of Stella pens....

Then came the butterflies,,,,stamped on Vellum and embossed with clear embossing powder...

Plus stamped onto card, coloured and cut out...

I do love this butterfly stamp...

And now the design begins to come together..

Some ribbon and bling...

And then the 3d butterflies...Plus some fab leaves from Sweet Lilac Flowers...

Yes....I do like the extra vellum..

And there we have it...

Plus the inside to match....

I do love to see what everyone creates so please do pop over and have a look...better still enter a design...

Here..... http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.co.uk

Thanks for looking in today....I am off now ...shopping then packing my bags ready for workshops in Stockport tomorrow...

I am at C.J.Cardcrafts doing two workshops....all the dates are on the workshop Dates page here on my blog...

Have a good weekend....and be kind ....it is amazing how much better the world is when we are all kind to each other...

Love and hugs

Jo. xxxx

 

New Pearl Medium....

Hi , hope today finds you well...

Although it started off very sunny here today it had now clouded over....so lots of crafting for me today and lots ticked off the list...

One of the things that I have been playing with is the new Pearl Medium PanPastels....

And I have created this little tag...

I started with a tag, Clarity stencil and added some VersaMark ink through the stencil. ( remember to wash the stencil straight away..)

Next I used the White fine medium....oh this gives such a lovely effect, and when you sponge other colours over the top they become all shiny.....it's like magic....

Next came some stamping using the bubbles and sunburst stamps from Clarity...I used my rotating eraser to rub out the pastel from inside the bubbles...

I love to colour ribbon with PanPastels , and this time I used the Black coarse medium...I also used this around the edges of the tag to form a frame...

The butterflies were stamped, coloured using Distress inks , cut out and added....Then I used a sentiment from Clarity, stamped it and cut it into separate words before adding them to the tag...

I really enjoyed making this and the tag has such a shine.....it doesn't show up very up...but believe me...it is there...

I would like to enter this into the Challenge over at the new PanPastel Challenge blog....now the We Love to Create blog.../

http://welove2create.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/challenge-10-anything-creativemixed.html

Do pop over and see what the DT have created...oh they are all very clever....

That is all from me for today....I now have a date with an ironing board....oh lucky me....

Enjoy your evening...

Hugs...

Jo. x x