Wednesday 30 November 2011

Whiff of Joy Christmas Blog Hop!

Good Morning! Welcome to your next stop on the Whiff of Joy Christmas blog hop! I have been looking forward to today for weeks and am so glad I can finally share my card with you. If you are following the hop you should have already seen some gorgeous cards and your last stop will have been the very talented and lovely Jane's blog. If you are lost you can go back to the start of the blog hop at Katharina's blog and see the full list of blogs to visit.


I have used the adorable 'Wee and Reindeer image for my card which is available here from Whiff of Joy. I love the little Norma Fickel gnomes, they are so lovely to colour in! I coloured my image to match the Echo Park papers I sewed onto a scalloped red square to make a mini card.

The image was coloured with Promarkers and I added glitter to the antlers with a brown Wink of Stella pen before cutting the image out with my craft knife and adding a little pearl for the reindeer's nose. I added some sequin trim to the card and then added a Martha Stewart doily on the top to pop my image onto using foam pads. I then die cut a banner shape and stamped it with a mini sentiment before setting it with an eyelet and adding it to my card with twine. I added a wooden snowflake topped with a button as a finishing touch.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Your next stop on the blog hop is the fabulous Jeanette's blog.



Make sure you are leaving comments along the way as each of the DT have a prize to give away and there is a grand prize of a year's subscription to the Whiff of Joy stampkit! Wow!! I will be giving away a Wee and Reindeer stamp to one lucky commenter on my blog.

The hop is open until midnight (GMT+1) on the 5th of December.

Have fun!
Jane
x


Tuesday 29 November 2011

Whiff of Joy Christmas Blog Hop reminder!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all well, I apologise for my absence the past few days, Hubby and I had a long weekend in Brighton to celebrate his 4oth Birthday, it was so relaxing! Total bliss!

WoJ_AdventCalendar

This is just a quick post to remind you to drop by tomorrow for the Whiff of Joy Christmas blog hop starting at 10am GMT on Katharina's blog. I have been dying to share my card with you so am so excited! There are lots of wonderful prizes to be won, a fab pre-Christmas treat!
See you tomorrow!
Jane
x

Thursday 24 November 2011

My Quick and Simple Christmas cards tutorial on the Whiff of Joy blog

Good Morning Everyone! I hope you are having a good week so far. I have a tutorial on the Whiff of Joy Inspirations blog today to show you how to make some Quick and Simple Christmas cards.

You can see my tutorial here. Have a great Thursday!
Jane
x

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Country Cousins - Contemplation

Good Morning Everyone, it's my turn to share a card on the Sugar Nellie blog today and I have made a card using the gorgeous Country Cousins Contemplation image which is available here from Sugar Nellie.

Iused papers from the Fancy Pants Summer's End pad and layered patterned papers in similar colours onto brown patterned papers to create a simple layout and added stitching around the edges of the papers. The lace which coordinates beautifully with the paper is available here and the matching button is available here.

I coloured my image using Promarkers. I added some flowers from my stash and a sentiment die cut with a label shape and some turquoise pearls as a finishing touch.
Have a lovely Wednesday!
Jane

Monday 21 November 2011

A Special Pollycraft Challenge, some new images and a freebie!

Good Morning Everyone!! It's Monday again! How does this keep happening! It will be Christmas before we know it! We have a very special Challenge for you this week at Pollycraft, this week see the beginning of a SUPER SPECIAL 4 week long challenge!! and the theme is Christmas Fun!
Paula is releasing some lovely new Swings and Slides images and she is also has a fab new freebie which is perfect for those moody teenage boy cards!

I used some Echo Park papers and embossed a square of Kraft for my card and added a square of glitter card behind the kraft and sewed the layers together. I added some gingham ribbon and then mounted my sentiment onto a glittery snowflake cut from more glitter card. Casper was coloured with Promarkers and I then cut him out leaving a small border and mounted him on my card with foam pads.
I hope you will be able to join us for this special challenge. We have some fabulous prizes on offer from our fantastic sponsors. Here is what you have a chance to win:

Prize 1
Rainbow Studios

Rainbow Studios are offering one lucky winner a Musical Amelia Stamp Set:



Prize 2
gif maker


Bunny Zoes Crafts are offering one lucky winner a £10 Voucher!


Prize 3
The Ribbon Girl are offering one lucky winner a Mini Green Ribbon kit



Prize 4
Crafty Emmas Store are offering one lucky winner a £10 Voucher!

The Design team have made some fabulous projects this week to inspire you! Check out the Challenge details and their fabulous cards here.
Have a great Monday!
Jane
x

Saturday 19 November 2011

Sugar Nellie Birthday treats

Good Morning Everyone, it's the weekend! Finally! We are still celebrating at Sugar Nellie and there are lots of birthday treats in store for you today. The first being a digi release of a very popular Christmas Sugar Nellie image...Warm Winter Wishes. It is so popular, it is always selling Linkout so if you have been waiting to get your hands on it now is your chance as it is available in digi format here.

I have used the image to make a card using the fab sketch on the Sugar Bowl Challenge this fortnight and some lovely papers by Echo Park. I nearly had a disaster with this card as I fixed the first layer to the card and then managed to turn the card upside down so all the layers were the other way and the mittens ended up the wrong way so I had to pull it all apart which is why some of the stitching went a bit baggy but at least I managed to save it!

Here is a close up of my image coloured with Promarkers. The ticket sentiment is by Magnolia.
The second birthday treat is a Simply Sassy bloghop to celebrate the new release. I have already bought the full set and can't wait to receive them. The DT have made some amazing samples as usual and the hop starts over HERE
.


You can see the new stamps here. I hope you enjoy the hop and have a lovely Saturday!
Jane
x


Friday 18 November 2011

Sugar Nellie DT - Chillax

Good Morning Everyone! Yay it's Friday! This week has been a long one and I am so glad it is nearly the weekend! I have a card to share with you today which I made using the gorgeous Chillax image from the latest release at Sugar Nellie.

I have used some gorgeous rose patterned paper from the Crate Paper Random pad and wrapped it with gingham ribbon before adding it to the card. I die cut a pink scalloped square from pink embossed card and added a square of kraft card on top which I stamped with a Hero Arts stamp before sewing around the edges.
I stamped the image and coloured it with Promarkers to match the papers and then cut it out with a small border before adding it to the card with foam pads. I added a gingham bow topped with a button and a few flowers as a finishing touch.
I hope you have a lovely Friday.
Jane
x

Thursday 17 November 2011

My candle tutorial on the Whiff of Joy Blog

Good Morning Everyone! I hope you are having a good week so far. I have a tutorial today on the Whiff of Joy Inspirations blog to show how to decorate a candle using a stamped image.


I have used the beautiful Christmas light image which is available here from Whiff of Joy. You can find all the instructions to make the candle here.
Have a great Thursday!
Jane
x

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Some of my Pollycraft cards in Complete Cardmaking

Hi Everyone! I hope you are well. I have a quick card to share with you today which I made for Complete Cardmaking Magazine. The current issue has a great CD with lots of Paula's fabulous images on it, including 'Poorly Chester' who is one of my Pollycraft favourites!

I was so excited when I got the Magazine to see my card in the top left of the cover! As you know, I am very lucky to be published in Quick Cards Made Easy and am always thrilled to see my cards in print but there is always something special about seeing a card on the cover!

Paula and Faye from the Pollycraft have also made some amazing cards which are in the Magazine and there are two more cards from me in there too.
Have a great Tuesday!
Jane
x

Monday 14 November 2011

Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Friends and Friendship

Hi Everyone! I can't believe it is Monday morning, I need another weekend already! There is one good thing about Mondays...it's time for a new Pollycraft Challenge! This week the lovely Joey has chosen our theme and she has chosen....Friends and Friendship.

I have made a card for this week using the adorable Swings and Slides Sweet Love image. I used Echo Park papers and did a bit of sewing with my machine and some turquoise thread. The sentiment I used is from Pink Petticoat and the ribbon was bought from Tesco's a long time ago. I added a little wooden flower topped with a button as a finishing touch.

This week we are sponsored by the lovely Elaine from Quixotic Paperie who is offering the winner a £10 voucher :) The fabulous Design Team have created some fabulous cards to inspire you this week. You can check them all out on the Challenge blog here.
Have a great Monday!
Jane
x

Sunday 13 November 2011

Whiff of Joy DT for the Whiff of Joy Challenge - Let it snow

Hello Everyone! I hope you have been having a good Weekend. We took advantage of the sunshine today and went out to visit of one of my favourite National Trust Properties, Clandon Park near Guildford. They had special tours of the house today showing how they cleaned the precious antiques before putting the house 'to bed' for the Winter and we also had a tour of the attic which is normally out of bounds. I loved seeing the areas that had not been restored yet in the attic, the worn wood and scraps of precious antique wallpapers still on the walls and distressed by the passage of time are almost as inspiring as the beautifully preserved rooms which are normally open to view.
I have been doing a bit of distressing of my own for the Whiff of Joy Challenge. The Challenge theme this fortnight is 'Let it Snow' and I have decorated a bauble shaped decoration for my tree using the adorable 'Penguin's first Snow' image which was released this month at Whiff of Joy.

To make the decoration, I started with a papier mache bauble shape which I painted with picket fence crackle paint and then made it crackle with my heat gun before taking the colour back with distress inks. I stamped snowflakes with Perfect Medium and then heat embossed them with silver glitter embossing powder and also dragged the pad around the edges in some places and added more powder to create embossed edges to the ornament shape. I added a strip of burlap trim which I then topped with a Martha Stewart doily shape and then made some snowflake embellishments by die cutting snowflakes from glitter card using the Whiff of Joy snowflake die. I added a bow from vintage seam binding topped with a pearl brad .
I die cut a banner shape using the Whiff of Joy banner die and added a sentiment from the Christmas Banner set. I coloured the adorable Penguin using my Promarkers and glittered him before cutting him out and added him to the card with foam pads. As a finishing touch I added a little gem. I took the photos outside at Clandon Park for a change. I really enjoyed making this bauble as it was something a little different for me and this will have pride of place on my tree this year :-)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Jane
x

Saturday 12 November 2011

Sugar Nellie Country Cousins Blog Hop -

Good Morning! It's a very exciting day today as it is release day at Sugar Nellie and to celebrate the release of 6 beautiful Country Cousins images we are having a blog hop! The blog starts on the Sugar Nellie blog so click here if you would like to follow the hop from the start. If you are following the hop you should have arrived here from the lovely Vicky's blog.

Now, onto my card for today. I have used the beautiful Daydream Cassie and I have coloured her to match some gorgeous Authentique papers from the Endless and Fair Weather pad. I layered the papers onto Bobunny double dot papers and stitched through all the layers. The image was coloured with Promarkers and then I cut it out before adding to a scalloped circle. I added a Whimsy stamps sentiment and a gorgeous bow tied from cotton tape and finished with some flowers from my stash.

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I hope you are enjoying the hop and are loving all the new stamps as much as we do! Your next stop on the hop is the very talented Marianne. Make sure you leave comments on your way to tell us what you think of the gorgeous Country Cousins, I heard a rumour there will some sweet candy to be had!
Have a great Saturday and a fab weekend and make sure you check out all the new releases in the shop too!
Jane
x

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Sugar Nellie DT - Dreamer

Good Morning Everyone! It's my day for posting on the Sugar Nellie blog and I have a card to share with you this week using one of the range of stamps which were the first Sugar Nellies I ever owned. I love the quirky Leanne Ellis images and this one called Dreamer is one of my all time favourite Sugar Nellies.

I used a very old pad of papers and a brand new colour combo for me which I will definitely use again. I never would have thought of combining these colours had I not seen them together on these papers! I cut the card base use a Grand Nesties shape and then matted and layered papers for my very simple layout. I added a Hero Arts sentiment and flowers and a bow from my stash to match the colour scheme and coloured my image with Promarkers.
I hope you have a lovely Wednesday!
Jane
x

Monday 7 November 2011

Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Cazza's sketch

Good Morning Everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend. I have been struggling with my mojo lately and didn't get as much crafting done as I would have liked but I have had a massive clear up and tidy of my craft stash so things are a bit easier to find now. I didn't make it to the NEC but I do hope to go there next March.

Monday is Pollycraft Challenge day of course and we have a great sketch by Cazza for you this week. I have used the cheeky Chester for my card and some My Mind's Eye Christmas papers with a Pink Petticoat sentiment.

I added some flowers as an extra and some gems and tied the card with twine topping the bow with a tiny brown button.
Here is Cazza's lovely Sketch:


Make sure you pop over to the Challenge blog to check out all the lovely cards from the DT and I hope you will be able to join in with this week's Challenge, if you do, you could win a whopping ten Digital Images from Pollycraft:

Have a great Monday!
Jane
x

Saturday 5 November 2011

Sugar Nellie Simply Adorable release day

Good Evening Everyone! I hope you are all well and had a good week. I apologise for my absence this week, I have been so tired since we came back from New York I have not felt like doing much crafting at all. I think my mojo is still in the Big Apple as it took me ages to make the card below and I am still not very happy with it! :-( I hope it comes back soon as I have lots of DT work to catch up on and so many lovely new stamps to play with!


Sugar Nellie has released 6 gorgeous new 'Simply Adorable' digi stamps today and I have made a card using Victoria and have coloured her in to matxh the patchwork of papers from my scraps I used when I followed this fortnight's sketch from the Sugar Bowl.

The wonderful Design Team girls (who are far more organised than me!!) have made some gorgeous samples using the new images and you can see them all on the Sugar Nellie Blog here.

Here is the fab sketch from the Sugar Bowl Challenge. I added a little bow as extra to hide some very dodgy stitching! I hope you have a great weekend. I am off to try and make another card and then to do some tidying up of my craft stash in the hope it kick starts my inspiration!
Jane
x

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Whiff of Joy DT - New stamps preview

Hi Everyone! I hope you had a good Halloween, I can't believe it is November already! After more than a week away from crafting I finally got a chance to play with my new Whiff of Joy stamps last night. I treated myself to some Prisma pencils when I was in New York and had my first attempt at colouring with them on this gorgeous new Henry image...a bit more practice needed I think!!! I don't find them as easy to use as my Promarkers but I am going to persevere and keep trying!

I have used some papers I bought in Michaels and some glitter card from my stash. I picked up the ribbon in a huge haberdashery store near Macy's and made the snowflakes by stamping the Whiff of Joy background text stamp onto kraft card and embossing it with white powder and by die cutting it with the Whiff of Joy snowflake die. The sentiment is from the Christmas stamp kit which is being released today with some fab new Henry and Penguin Christmas stamps. You can take a look at all the new releases here.
Have a great Tuesday!
Jane
x