Warm hugs

Good morning everyone, 

Hope you are having a decent Tuesday. 

Mr Cough is playing up today, I think the cold air doesn’t help. 

Hey ho

I know it could be worse. 

Today I am sharing one of those cards that we really don’t want to make. 

But unfortunately I seem to have made too many of them recently. 

When I need a sympathy card my go to stamp set is the Magnolia one from Hobby Art 

It is such a beautiful stamp too, 

I just wanted some subtle colour, so I used my chalk pencils 

They blend so beautifully 

Just a few little splats of colour in the background to finish off the design 

And a black sharpie line around the edge. 

At the moment so many of my friends and family are in need of hugs, 

So I am sending a big group hug on here 

Take care everyone 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Monday catch up

Good morning everyone, 

I hope today finds you well, and 

that you had a lovely weekend. 

It was our online workshop on Saturday 

and we made a start on Christmas cards. 

I must admit our garden looked a bit like that this morning 

Here is another design using the same products. 

It was such a lovely workshop and I am just so blown away by the amazing cards that everyone created. 

My voice and cough even behaved. 

I must admit , night nurse has become my bedtime beverage, 

Yesterday it was our little Jenson’s  2nd Birthday 

Adam , Danielle and Elliot had a little party at home for him, 

And as we are in their bubble (plus had negative Covid tests on Wednesday ) we got to see them for an hour 

in the afternoon. 

 

He loves painting already...

Right, I am off now, 

Lunch time here. 

Oh yes, warm soup again today 

Take care everyone 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Sunshine and flowers.

Good morning all, 

Hope today finds you well. 

I am struggling again with Mr Cough...

and he kept me awake most of the night..

So I definitely need an early coffee today. 

A couple of our lovely craters have messaged me to say that Mr Mojo 

has definitely gone on holiday...

How rude.

So I have created a little video ,

Just so we can craft along together and see if we can get him back.

I thought we would go for some simple but effective blending and stamping , but put 

a bit of a twist on it with some white space..

A sort of half and half ‘sh card 

Now you can alter the colours, add a sentiment, use different stamps, 

Add the stencil in the background. 

The great thing about this design is that it is a fun place to start. and get your creative juices flowing..

You can craft along with me here 

https://youtu.be/KvLI-AUb0R4

I hope you enjoy it 

Take care all

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Take joy from Life

Good morning , 

Welcome to Tuesday and welcome to our new follower.

I really get excited when I see we have a new member to our crafty family. 

Socially distancing coffee at the moment I’m afraid. 

I hope you are keeping well, 

My throat is playing up again...grrr

So looks like Karl is in for some peace and quiet 🤫 

Yesterday I managed to make another little video 

It was in answer to an email about one of our Aall & Create stamps, 

So I used it and came up with this design, 

I have also used one of my new coffee stirrers, 

Thanks so much Janet and Susan .

If you would like to see how I created this or you would like to craft along with me 

The video is here 

https://youtu.be/ePtFoDi8j60

I hope you enjoy it . 

Take care everyone 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Snow Blizzard

Good morning all, 

Pinch, punch, first of the month 

February already, 

At least we are moving closer to spring, 

My bulbs are peeking through the soil, 

So something to look forwards too.

Today we have a new Lavinia Challenge over on the website 

Our new theme is 

Snow Blizzard 

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

I tried to create the feeling of that cold, bitter wind along with the snow 

I started by adding a little background colour onto my multifarious card, 

Billy was happy as he came out to play 

Next , I added some stamping , I used torn copier paper to mask off my snow. 

So this is what I had when I removed the copier paper 

Then more stamping and some atmospheric background ink , plus some oil pastel work , 

You know how much I love using charcoal pencils to add shade. 

Well Karl bought me a pack of oil pastels to have a play with.

Oh I love them 

Just look at that sky.

Followed by more detail , using a stencil 

I love how this stencil looks like the wind, whipping up the snow into a blizzard 

I then added some mica minerals to give the frosty look 

Some stamping and white embossing powder to give more depth to the design 

And finally the snow blizzard , 

White acrylic paint and a fan brush. 

Some matting and layering and my design was finished. 

I really enjoyed taking my time and creating this piece. 

I hope you will have a play and create a piece of your own and enter it into the challenge. 

Remember the winner will get a £40 Lavinia voucher, and it is chosen at random. 

I am off now for a warm up and a hot coffee after all the snow and bitter cold wind. 

Take care everyone

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Friday tidy up.

Good afternoon all. 

Friday again, we have made it through another week.

I must just take a minute to thank all the wonderful 

crafters who have emailed me photographs of their amazing 

Pieces of art after following my online prerecorded classes. 

I get such a thrill when I see your beautiful pieces, I am so proud of you all. 

Today I am sharing a piece with you, that nearly went in the bin , twice. 

You know the ones, 

I fell in and out of love with this background so many times...

I think we all have pieces like this don’t we 

Anyway here is the finished piece 

And here is how I created it..

I am really enjoying playing with the Elements ink pads, 

Oh yes Billy Brayer too, 

Such vibrant colours 

Next came some gesso 

This was one of the times it nearly ended up in the bin 

I decided to add some stamping and see how it progressed 

Some more stamping 

Some ink to frame the design, 

Followed by the addition of white posca highlights. 

As usual I haven’t added a sentiment, 

I will add that later before I send it in the post. 

I believe we may get more snow this weekend, 

Just when our snowman has finally melted, 

I hope you have a restful weekend, 

Maybe count the birds in your garden for an hour..

Obviously you will need pen and paper, coffee and cake too. 

Take care everyone 

Much love and hugs 

Jo xxx

Fun with Florals

Good afternoon all, 

and get me 

Two days on here.

Hope you are impressed.

Don’t worry, it won’t last. 

Today it is another dark, cold , grey day here , 

So I thought it was time for some fun.

So I decided to make a little YouTube video, 

Some embossing , and some watercolour painting 

Well my take on it, you know how much I love these type of techniques. 

Some crafty fun, plus a brew and a cheeky biscuit. 

You can find the video here 

https://youtu.be/kW35d0xzsA8

I do hope you enjoy it, and that you have a play. 

Take care all 

Love and hugs 

Jo xxx