Just to say...

Hello everyone,
Thank you for joining me, these are the other cards we made at the Claritystampers East workshop last weekend.   It was a workshop of nice and easy cards......

 For those of us who still write a 'Thank you' card, I thought January is a good time to make one.
Using the circle aperture, blend some ink (I used blue and green here), then stamp the Thank you stamp in the same colours, keeping the stencil in place.  The aperture stencils are a bit thinner than normal, so you don't get too much gap round the edges if you press hard enough.
Colour a spare piece of card, the stamp the butterflies and cut out.
Add to the card
I also stamped the 'ever so much' for balance.

This is actually a notelet.  Fold a piece of 160gsm copy paper to make the base for the notelet, then use another piece cut to size to work on for the front.
On the separate piece of paper, place a mask in the centre, then blend ink round the edge and stamp the grasses.
Remove the mask and stamp the poppy in place, then colour.
Sponge a little ink through a dotty stencil (remember to mask of the edges of your frame first!)
I drew a double fine line round the frame, then coloured that and stamped the 'just to say' in place.
Using Barbra's technique, I edged with a black sharpie pen and attached to the front of the notelet.

Finally, we didn't actually make this at the class, but I just show it because sometimes even something as simple as stamping and colouring can look fab!  Just add a strip of masking tape along the bottom of the card and stamp each grass just on the tape, then you know they will all be in a straight row (as long as your masking tape was straight to begin with!!)

Have a great Sunday
Janet xx


Links to stamps and stencils:
Meadow Grasses
Butterfly tree
A Million Thank Yous
Line sentiments
Circle dots stencil

Sending you Sunshine

Hello and thank you for joining me today.

Here in Norfolk, we have a lovely spot of sunshine, I have the back door open so I can hear the birds twittering away, so what better card to share than the one we made at the Claritystampers East workshops over the last two weekends.

Before I do that though, I just want to pay tribute to a lovely lady who died recently - Jayne Nestorenko.  Many of you will know Jayne and from reading all the tributes about her on fb, it seems she was the one who started many people on the road to card making.  I went to a couple of her workshops when she visited Norwich many years ago and we did Fantasy Film and Fibres and Twinkling H2Os.  She was also known for her medallion stamps and glitter!  It was lovely to hear her voice on Hochanda a while back during the launch of her fabulous winter scenes stamps.  How wonderful for her to know that her designs had been turned into stamps and Groovi plates and were well loved by many people.
Rest in Peace Jayne, you will be sorely missed!

All the cards we did were simple designs, I haven't had much energy following the cold I had over new year, so kept to the basics for this workshop!
I used the arch aperture stencil and added some shaded lilac distress ink, then sponged some seedless preserves over the top.
Keep the stencil in place, then add the sun rays coming in from one side and add yellow then orange.  Remove the sun rays stencil (keep the arch on place) and add more yellow.
Stamp the flower from the meadow grasses set in place, then colour in.
Using a fine black pen, doodle round the frame and add a bit of ground for the flower.
Stamp 'Sending you Sunshine' and mount onto  backing card.
Nice and easy!

I originally did the same thing but with a circle aperture - this one is waiting for a different greeting..

I hope the sun is shining where you are,
Take care,
Janet xx

Tea bag folding

Good afternoon,
I hope you are having a good weekend.  I am doing the Great Blakenham Claritystampers East workshop tomorrow, so having a bit of a rest today.
Today's card is one made using the fabulous new papers from Clarity.  I like using pretty papers to do tea bag folding.  I prefer using papers rather than the proper patterned squares designed for the job. You don't have to be quite so precise with your folding!  It is not so much in fashion at the moment, but I do them every now and then, I think they make a good decoration.

I did my fold and glued it all together, then stuck it to a small piece of square card (which doesn't show) to stabilise it.  I like to put a brad through the centre.
These papers are all double-sided, which is good for folding because you don't get white bits showing.
I went over the top with a glitter pen.
I stamped and inked a piece of matching card, using the corner stamp from the Sketchy Set of stamps and added the word 'Special' from the word chains, then stuck that to another piece of the same paper

Thanks very much for visiting, have a great day!
Janet xx

After the rave.....

Good evening all,

Thanks for dropping in.  It was the first Clarity workshop of the year on Sunday, it was at Bawburgh and we started with a bit of excitement!  Apparently there had been a 'party' there the night before and it had 'got out of hand'  Turns out it was more of a rave!!  The hall is in a village just outside of Norwich and I think almost everyone had been disturbed by it.  At around midnight the police were called and the hall caretakers were trying to disperse everyone.  No violence - just lots of noise, drink and drugs!

The guys had done a sterling clear up job and apart from the smell and a some dodgy marks on the floor, the hall was fit for us to use.  It was rather scary how many of the 'old rock chicks' in the group recognised all the smells and canisters left around!

I will post the cards we did after the next workshop, in Great Blakeneham, so for now I will show one of the cards from the last TV show.
This one is done using some of the lovely new papers from Clarity, designed by Dee Paramour and Barbara.  They are lovely designs and superb quality, as you would expect!

The background is made by cutting strips of the paper and sticking them down on a piece of card, start with two long strips across the diagonal, then fit other strips round them.
I stamped the fab sketchy bag and shoe on a separate piece of the paper and cut them out and stuck them on the background.

Take care,
Janet xxx

Ray of sunshine

Good evening,

I thought I had better get round to blogging again, or I will get out of the habit!  This card is one I did for the Diva Red workshop on Saturday.  It is really easy, but I am pleased with the effect.

I used the Sunshine stencil and the Deerscape stamp

 To start, mask off the bottom of the card , then use yellow ink first, then orange to colour through the stencil,  Remove the stencil, but not the paper mask, then add a bit more yellow.
Remove the mask, then stamp the deerscape in place. - How easy is that!

I edged the card with a sharpie pen, then drew another fine line on the inside with a black pen and ruler.
Add four gems to finish, then mount onto the base card

Thanks for visiting
~Janetxx

Review of 2016

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, I have not been feeling too good!  It is only a cold, but it is making me fed up.  I don't feel so bad now, but I am not getting much sleep because I can't stop coughing!  I know many of you will be suffering too, so you have my sympathy!  I also know there are many people with much worse health issues, so I will stop moaning now.

I think I have blogged all my cards for the moment, I am doing some for the next TV show, but can't show you those until the weekend. - look out for those new paper pads, they are fabulous!!!
I am also prepping cards for the workshops coming up, so can't show you those yet either!  The new dates for the Claritystampers East workshops are on the relevant pages on here, so if you fancy joining us, get in touch!

S, while I am sat here couching away, I thought I would show a selection of my favourite cards from 2016 - some are DT cards, and some are from the workshops

Thanks very much for visiting - hopefully it will be business as usual very soon!

Janet xxx