Catching up...

Morning bloggers,

I have just realised that I haven't posted any of my samples from the last TV show, and the next one is only next week, so here are a couple of cards from the show at the beginning of September.
Both use the same image, but the first one is a stamp and the second a stencil

 I cheated a bit here and found a gelli plate background I had in my stash, I picked out one of the colours from the background (purple) and simply embossed the image with purple embossing powder, tore round the edges and mounted onto dark purple card, then white base card
I had a piece of the background left, so used it to make the strip.
Add a few pieces of card candy et voila!

This card is actually quite a bit bigger than the first.
Again, I found a background from my gelli stash and this time I attached the stencil and squished versamark ink through, then removed the stencil and added white embossing powder.
I added a few hills in the background, then mounted on white, dark green and the base card

I always use plenty of talc on the card before embossing to help prevent those unwanted speckles!!

Stamp used is Bird Tree
Stencil used is also Bird tree stencil

One of my new favourite images, although watch out for a beautiful image in the same sort of style - coming up next weekend.....!
Have a wonderful day
Janet xx

Around the World Blog Hop

Good Morning everyone and especially welcome if you are visiting my blog for the first time.

I have been nominated to take part in the 'Around the World Blog Hop' by my sister, Christine Barnsley.
Christine is  very talented at needlework, she does sewing, quilting and crocheting and makes lovely things.  Her blog is Patchwork Allsorts and is well worth a visit.

I have to answer a few questions about me, so here we go:

What crafty thing am I working on? 

My only craft  is card making, I was introduced to this about 15 years ago - I saw it on the TV and wanted to give it a go straight away.  I enjoy stamping and anything inky and currently teach workshops for Claritystampers East,. I also run monthly workshops with my friend Moira 

My actual current project is preparing cards to make at the next workshop, so I won't show you those as it will spoil the surprise but here are some examples of previous ones

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

My work is similar to others in that we all use similar techniques, but all have our own style - mine is clean and simple.  I don't normally do fussy cards, but every now and then I do go bright and glittery, just to keep people on their toes!!

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 

My day job is based in science and I enjoy using my creative side as a contrast.  There is something very satisfying taking a blank piece of card and creating a small piece of art.  I also enjoy the teaching I do, it is wonderful to see ladies at the class start by being very unsure and gradually gaining in confidence and being surprised and delighted with the work they do. 

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I usually try and have an idea of what I want to do before I start, although it very rarely turns out the way I planned it!  I am happy to go with the flow and let the card develop.
I am delighted to be part of the Claritystamp Design Team and am so fortunate to get sent stamps and stencils every month to work with.  I often stamp these out first, just to see what they look like in different inks and then go from there...

I now have to nominate three other blogs:

My first one is the blog of Lynne Hammond, a fellow member of the Clarity Design Team and a very talented card-maker, her cards often have a quirky touch of humour! Lynne's blog is  Lynne's Crafty Little Blog

My second nomination is Nikki Acton, her blog is called Addicted to Art and it is full of wonderful grungy projects, mostly not cards, but lovely works of art.  I met Nikki when she came to one of the Claritystampers workshops. 

I would also like to mention two other blogs, although I am not actually nominating them to take part in the blog hop:

The first is Moira's blog Craft Ecletia Moira is my crafty friend and we spend many hours together chatting about crafty things.  Moira has just been nominated by another friend, so I am not nominating her again.

Finally, no blog post of mine is complete without a mention of Barbara Gray. Her blog is Barbara Gray's Blog One Day at a Time Barbara owns Claritystamp Ltd and is a remarkable lady who has inspired many, many people with her amazing talents as a card maker and so much more besides.  I owe her a huge thank you for inviting me to join the Clarity Team - it is a wonderful place to be!!  Barbara is a very busy lady and she blogs every day, so there is always something new to see there.

Well done if you made it through to the end of this post!  I have enjoyed it - I wish you many happy hours of crafting, wherever you are in the world, and thank you to Christine for nominating me

Janet xxx

Cards from Easton

Good morning everyone,

Happy Sunday to you!  I hope you are having a great weekend.  It is a bit overcast here today, so a good day for making cards, which is just as well because I have lots to do (as always!!)

Today's cards are the ones we did at this month's workshop at Easton.  The ladies make three cards in three hours, so they have to be fairly quick to do.  There has to be time to fit in coffee and cake too!

This for this card, I used some lovely Christmas paper and did a bit of teabag folding.

The foliage is the large Holly and Ivy  and the small Holly and Ivy stamp coloured using distress inks as watercolours

For the second card, I wanted a more vintage feel, so started with cream linen card and inked using various shades of browns to cover it.  Then spritz with water and blot.

Stamp and colour the large Holly and Ivy for the background and a beautiful Celtic Merry Christmas  greeting

The final card is made using one of the Stained glass window stencils, this one is the dove window stencil

Attach the stencil to some card, then brush ink through , I also used a make up sponge to get more depth of colour
Create and aperture of the centre of the stencil (the bit you want to glitter) then place that over the stencil and image and sponge some PVA glue through the aperture (You have to keep the stencil in place or you lose the lines!)
Remove the mask and stencil and add glitter
I know my style is fairly simple, but I think this needs a bit more - maybe a gem in each corner?

All stamps and stencils used are from Claritystamp



I hope you like them!  Thanks very much for stopping by
Janet xxx

Yule Goats

Good morning all,

I hope you are having a lovely weekend so far.  I should have been going to the Clarity open day in Catterick, but I was not feeling very well, so decided to cancel.  I am very disappointed, it would have been great to meet up with everyone and meet some of the northern Clarity girls who I have befriended on facebook but have not met yet.  One day I will get to meet you ladies!!

Today's cards are ones I did a while ago for the last German TV show.  They are made using the Yule Goats.  I have to confess that I didn't quite know what these were about when I first saw the stamps, but it is a Christmas tradition in Scandinavian countries.  The goats are made of straw with red ribbons, so I decided to use Kraft card to compliment them...

For the first card, I masked off the centre area, the stamped the lovely straw stars that also came with the set on the TV. I used red and brown inks
Remove the mask, then stamp and colour the Yule Goat, add some shadow, then a squiggly line round the edge of the frame

Stamp the greeting on a separate piece of Kraft card, mat on to red card and then on to more Kraft card

The second card is also stamped and coloured in the same sort of colours, but with a different layout


I hope those of you who are going to Catterick have a wonderful time!

Janet xx

Diva Red workshop

Good morning everyone,
I hope you are all well!  I am not feeling brilliant today - not sure why, just a bit yuck!  Still, onwards and upwards!  The house will be a bit chaotic for the next couple of days as I am having some decorating done - so all my craft stuff will be out of action, which means I can't do the prep for my workshop (which I usually do on a Thursday) which means I have had to cancel my plans to go to the Clarity open day in Catterick.  It was always a bit mad - it is a 4-5 hour drive from Norfolk!
I did go to the one in Crowborough though, so I know those of you who are going will have a brilliant time!!   I will be thinking of you!


Today's cards are the ones we did at the Diva Red workshop last weekend..the first two are mine..

Using perfect pearls through the starry wreath stencil and the Father Christmas large bauble both from Clarity

Stamp the carol verse first, then mask and create some hills using the good old torn copy paper trick, put a moon mask in place and add some ink for the sky, then remove all masks and stamp the trees in place.  Add some shading to the scrolls on the verse and under the trees.
Add a bit of glitter and draw a fine line round to outline the scene


The next two are my versions of  Moira's cards...

A lovely simple design, based on an idea from Eileen Godwin

A beautiful image coloured by mixing liquid pearls with distress ink.  It gives a nice sheen to the image, which doesn't show up very well on the picture here.

Hopefully, Moira will post these on her blog soon
Link to Moira's blog

Claritystampers East weekend

Hello everyone,

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you are doing okay.

I am busy with cards as always these days.  Last weekend I did the Claritystampers East workshops in Bawburgh (Saturday) and Great Blakenham (Sunday).  As always, we had a good time, thanks to all the ladies who come to these workshops, you all help make it a good time.  It never ceases to amaze me how you can give the same example card and set of instructions to a group of people and get such different results.  That is the joy of creativity!

These are the cards we did (well, my version of them!)  All Christmas cards using the small and large Christmas Bauble sets, the large and small Holly and Ivy stamps and the Holly Wreath stencil from Claritystamp

Simply stamped and coloured in (it all goes VERY quiet when there is lots of colouring!!)
The Deer and Fawn round was stamped on a separate piece of card, cut out and mounted on a die cut circle of black, then gold

The Holly Wreath stencil was attached to a piece of card and run through my Grand Calibur, then, with the stencil still attached, squish some versa mark ink through the stencil, remove the stencil then brush with Perfect Pearls

Stamp the Merry Christmas with versa mark, then brush with Perfect Pearls too

Stamp a little bit of the Holly and Ivy stamp in the corners with Distress Ink, then watercolour,

Add a bit more ink round the edge of the square card, then mat and layer

The last card uses the stencil again, but this time in a more random fashion to create the strip along the card.  I used green ink, then added glitter to make the berries red
The large round is stamped and coloured then glittered and mounted on a gold die cut
The Holly and Ivy is stamped along the edges of the base card.

Hope you like them!  Have a wonderful day
Janet xx