Springtime

Good morning all , thanks for joining me on this Friday morning. I do hope that you have had a good week.

Today it is a new Challenge over at the Fussy and Fancy Challenge blog.

Our theme is Springtime ,

And our host is my lovely and talented friend Annie..

Do check out her blog and those of the other dt members, here

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

Plus, why not enter the challenge ....you know you want too....

I decided to make a clean and simple design for Spring.

I Started by stamping the letters on a piece of stencil card, and then masking them.

The letterbox kit is so useful .

Now the eagled eyed amongst you will see that I actually stamped the letter N upside down.....but don't panic....I have a plan...( do tell, have you ever done that ? )

Next I stamped these springtime floral stamps,

And then added some Artistry ink

Followed by some Spectrum Noir pencils.

Some matting and layering.

And some must have white pen...I really couldn't live without my white pen...and this one from Posca is just fabulous. Have you noticed I have decoupage the letter N....it is now a design feature...shhh don't tell anyone that it was a mistake....

Next I added some spring flowers and a bow,

 

Followed by these lovely butterflies.

And the finishing touch , another favourite of mine is Enamel Accents , do try this product....it is very addictive

And they dry really well

So there we have it my take on Springtime

And the last couple of days we have had some spring like weather...the gardens are starting to wake up, and the spring flowers are looking wonderful.

Although I believe we are in for rain this weekend, typical as it is Clarity Cumbria tomorrow. I still don't have my new car, so I will have to borrow Karl's once again. Must remember to change that radio channel .

Lots of bags to get packed today...plus I am expecting a rather large and special order from Clarity...oh...I am just so excited....

More about that next week,

Enjoy your weekend all

Much love and hugs

Jo. xxx

 

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Jive

Good evening all, sorry I am a bit late, but it has been a busy old start to the week.

Karl is in Aberdeen so I have been trying to catch up with my long list of jobs...

I really need to get sorted for Cumbria on Saturday, Hazel Grove on Wednesday and then it is our first Clarity Glasgow retreat on the 25th and 26th.... Emma and me are so excited...and hopefully , fingers crossed We will have some surprises for everyone.. it is amazing how much organisation goes into a retreat...but I am sure it will all be worth it....

I have just a couple of things left to do tonight , then I can go and put my feet up for five minutes before bed...think I had better get some food too...

 

Before I do, I think we have time for a little dance..

.a jive to be precise...

 

The background paper is from the Brighton Rock paper pack , and I just added the word using the stencil and black Archival ink. Don't worry your stencil will clean up ok, I used nail varnish remover..

The topper is made using stencil card, distress inks and some bubbly water...

Then when dry more Archival ink this time through the jive stencil

A really quick but effective card design.

Just what I needed for tonight.

Still no news on my new car, so it is lots of walking for me...

Adam is slowly improving,,,,he is still having physio thanks for your lovely enquiries

Take care all,

Much love and hugs.

Jo. xxxxxx

 

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Clarity Manchester

Good evening all and thanks for popping in. I hope your Saturday has gone well and that you have a lovely evening planned.

I have my niece and husband here , it is so good to see them and spend time with them . So just whilst the food is cooking I will have a few minutes with you.

Today it was Clarity Manchester and we had some canvas playtime...we used some Clarity Stencils and stamps,,,I wonder how many you can recognise

There was some grunge paste,

Some book paper ( and yes I did check all the pages first )

Some paint and ink

Some white gesso

And some splats....( I do love splats )

We had a few ladies who were on holiday today and a couple who were unwell, but we still had a great time and as always it is great to spent quality time with friends.

The only down side was that the heating was broken so everything took ages to dry...thank goodness that we had a couple of heat guns...and everyone managed to complete their piece of art.

I am off now , food in the oven, Prosecco in the fridge ...

Enjoy your evening

Much love and hugs

Jo. xxxxx

 

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Ballroom Dancers

Good afternoon all and good to have chance to catch up with you today .

How has your day been ?

It has been another busy week here with magazine commissions to finish and I still don't have a car, so lots of walking for me...

Yesterday it was our regular workshops in Hazel grove and as always they were great fun. We had a play with the petite Gelli plates , and the ladies created some fabulous pieces of art.

Today I thought I would share a stencil piece with you

I do love the ballroom dancers, they are just so elegant... how I wish I could dance like that...

I started with a piece of backing paper from the New England Fall set of design papers...and used some plum Archival ink through the stencil. Once I had the dancers in place I used the edge of the ladies dress to give me a frame .

 

It works really well.

 

Some charcoal for shading and some gems for a necklace, such a quick card..

So that it is from me for today...I have dogs to walk and a meal to get ready...

Saturday is our Clarity Manchester workshop and we are going to create a canvas...and knowing me we will probably create havoc as well...lol...

And it is only a couple of weeks away from our first Clarity Glasgow retreat...oh I am so excited, but still lots to do...

Take care all

Much love and hugs

Jo. xxx

 

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More rain.

Good evening all, I do hope that your weekend has gone well. Karl and me have just been out for a lovely walk, and yes it was raining again but we didn't mind...we just walked and talked...it is good just to have time out don't you think?

It has been a busy old day catching up with emails , housework, and that mountain of ironing...

Yesterday I had a wonderful time at CJ's in Edgeley what a great bunch of ladies . We had an inky morning,

As you know I do love to make wreath cards...and this little spellbinders die works just a treat when combined with a Clarity swirl and butterfly stamps.

Look at this version that Sue T made , I do love it .

Makes a great frame...and look what you can do with the waste...

Great homework Susan..., thanks for emailing it to me...

After lunch , it was time to get our Groovi plates out..., I am such a fan of coloured parchment

And these new poetry plates.

I do love to use this squirkle frame.....that is what we have decided to call it as it uses the nested circle and nested square frame..

It is so good to use just part of the design...this one is coloured with Spectrum Noir pencils and has a little glamour dust added on the front.

The ladies enjoy the Groovi so much that our next class is going to be an all day one,..and I am so looking forward to it...

Time for hot chocolate and bed now..

I haven't been able to catch Barbara and Tina's shows yet, but they are recorded ready for me to watch tomorrow, whilst I am prepping for workshops..

So I will say goodnight...

Sleep well and call back soon

Love and hugs

Jo. Xxxx

 

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Nearly weekend.

Good evening and thanks for popping in. I really intended to write this post first thing this morning, but other things have just got in the way today...

We have had lots more rain over the last couple of days ....and Eric's puddle has got even bigger ...

Look.

He really is on his element..Tess still just dips her toes in..

Yesterday it was our monthly workashop at Grosvenor House papers in Kendal..Luckily for me, Karl managed to work from his office at home so that I could use his car...

The ladies were on good form as usual

And it did get quite silly after lunch....but I can't say anymore...!!!! What happens at Craft class stays at Craft class...isn't that right ladies??

We used the Jayne Nestorenko Rose stamps , the Northern Lights papers and a lovely die ,

It always amazes me how every card is so different

And individual

Look at the gorgeous colours

Beautiful, every one

I didn't manage to get a photo of every card , but i did get a few to share with you..

Fabulous work ladies.

Here we added some fine glitter as a border...just sets the whole design off.

And some pure Clarity stamping to finish before hometime..

I did do a little shopping before I left...well it would have been rude not too...

After visiting Mum and Dad it was time to drive home,,,today I have been unpacking my bags and then repacking them ready for tomorrow's classes at CJ Cardcrafts in Edgeley...It is going to be an inky morning and a Groovi afternoon. I am really looking forward to seeing you all...

Remember that our Barbara and Tina are on Hochanda this Sunday and Monday...

Have a fabulous weekend all,

Much love and hugs

Jo. xxxx

 

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Shall we dance?

Good morning, I do hope your week is going well. I have finally got my samples for Barbara finished and in the post. That's a job ticked off the list...

I couldn't believe it yesterday morning when we had snow...so it was a very cold dog walk followed by a meeting in Stockport. I still haven't got a car so it was walking and train for me...my Fitbit went into overdrive...

Today I have a magazine commission to get under my belt and bags to pack ready for our Grosvenor House

Workshop tomorrow. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get any more snow.

Today I thought we would look at a canvas that I created for Barbara's last Stamping show..

 

I started by painting the canvas with one of the paper artsy fresco paints, and let it dry...

Then I added some grunge paste through the stencil, and whilst it was wet , I sprinkled some gold embossing powder over the top.

At this point I like to leave the grunge paste to dry...I actually left it overnight

Then I heated the embossing powder...

I used grey ink...Watering can to add some detail around the edge of the canvas , I just felt that black ink would be too bold...

My trusty charcoal pencil came out again to add some shading...

And finally some gold Gilding wax around the edge...

Simple but effective...

I do hope that you like this, have you got any crafting to do today?

Or have you got other plans?

Whatever you do, enjoy your day, stay safe...and smile...

I am still in my little bubble and waiting for my hearing to return...

Catch you soon

Love and hugs

Jo. xxx

 

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