Dragonfly Grunge

Good evening,

I have some exciting news!  I have more TV shows on Hochanda on Tuesday 29th October at 08.00am and 2.00pm.  I am excited to be featuring the brand new stamps by the brand new AALL & Create designer Janet Klein.  Janet's designs are quirky and cute and I am looking forward to demoing with them.
I also have some new characters by Olga Helwein, which are just fabulous, they are very me!!   I have got stencils too this time! Yay!!  Stencils are my favourite!  It was the stencils which attracted me to AALL & Create in the first place, I just love them.
I am a happy bunny!

The card tonight is one of the ones I made for the ODS show with Tracy. I love this card!  I don't often say that about my own work, but every now and then I do one which I really love.

It is easy!  I found an old brusho background in my stash.
I stamped #55 Layered Grunge by Tracy in black and added some white highlights.  I loved it at this point and didn't really want to cover it...
On separate card, I stamped and embossed the fabulous dragonfly from #230 On Dragonfly Wings also by Tracy.  I cut it out and added it to the centre of the card.  It didn't really stand  out enough, so I put a piece of handmade paper under it.
Then I just stamped embossed and cut out the Dragonfly word and added that.
I did a few white splatters et Voila!

Thank you so much for visiting, I hope you can join me on Tuesday
Janet xxx

Sunflower Hills and Houses

Hello folks,

It has been an exciting time for the team at AALL & Create recently, there was a One Day Special featuring the new release stamps by Tracy Evans.  They sold out in 12 mins!!!  Amazing but not surprising, they are lovely designs.  Luckily more stock was available on extended delivery. 

My first sample from the show features the lovely quirky fairy houses by Tracy.  These are a bit of a change from her usual style but equally lovely.  Clever lady!

I had the idea of using the top of the sunflower stencil as hills quite a long time ago and I have been waiting for the right stamps to come along, then Yay!!  Tracy's houses came along - perfect!

The first thing to say is that this is NOT a quick card!! 
I started with an A4 piece of card and blended various colours of distress oxides through the Sunflower Power stencil #77 by Olga
With the stencil still in place I also added blue around the edges then used my favourite stencil in the world ever (so far...) Lotza Dotz #39 by Abs to add more interest round the edges.
This is the long bit - I doodled round the whole lot with a fine black pen, it took ages and I had only intended to highlight certain areas, but got a bit carried away and did the lot!!!  I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it!
Once finished, I stamped the houses #261 Magical House and #263 Heart and Home on separate pieces of card, coloured them and cut them out and added them to the sunflower hills.  I stamped the little fairy, the heart flowers and the words in place.
As a finishing touch, I added texture paste through the little squares on the Lotza Dotz stencil and inked round the edge of the card.

Thank you so much for visiting!
Janet xxx

Quirky and Floral

Good evening everyone,

Have you visited the AALL & Create Fanatics group on fb yet??  It is the most amazing place to go to see some awesome and inspirational projects.  There is huge variety because the projects are posted by the stamp DT the Guest DT, the Hochanda DT and most importantly everyone else!! 
It is part of what AALL & Create is all about to provide inspiration and ideas for those of us who have bought their products.
Have a look, if you haven't already...

I have two clean and simple cards here today, both of which I demoed on Hochanda on Saturday

 My first card features stamps #69 Quirky Birds, #133 Makers Marks and #134 Dot Matrix, all by Louise Nelson.
It is very easy!  Just stamp, colour and add a bit of shading!

 The second card features stamps # 199 #200 and #210 Background Mash up all by Tracy Evans.

I cut an aperture out of some copy paper and placed it over the card, so I could brush some ink into a rectangle.
Keep the mask in place and stamp the daisy in the same colour ink, then the fabulous Background Mash up in grey

Stamp the two main flowers in place on the card and on to a separate piece of card.
Colour and cut out the heads of the flowers on the spare card, then place over the stamped image.
Add the greeting and a few gems..

Thank you very much for visiting.
Have a lovely evening
 Janet xxx

I Saw a Tree

Good morning everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend!  It is very rainy here today.  It is always interesting to see the cats' behaviour as the weather changes.  During the summer, when it is light and sunny, they spend all their time outside and only pop in for meals (although as they are getting older, they do tend to come in overnight too!) During the autumn and winter, they are mostly indoors all the time.  Today, I am surrounded by cats!!

I was back on Hochanda on Saturday, I had two shows demoing with lovely AALL & Create stamps.  I really enjoy doing the shows and for some reason, I don't feel nervous at all.  The presenters are lovely, they are friendly and put you at ease, and it is nice to know they are there guiding you through the show.

The first demo I did featured the large A4 stamp#142 Edison Game and the A6 set #46, both by Olga #30 by Bipasha BK #118 by Louise Nelson and #79 by Tracy Evans.

I have seen the large stamp many times, but it was only when I had the other set, which has the raven in it, that I saw the tree in the image.

Apologies for the rubbish photo, I forgot to scan it before I left it with Abs..
This was all just stamped and coloured.  The raven, the feather and the light bulb are all stamped on separate card, coloured and cut out, then layered over the top of the project.

Thank you so much for visiting today, I hope you enjoy your day
Janet xxx

Crafty Sunday

Good afternoon,

Well, it's another lovely day here, lots of lovely sunshine!!  Sadly I have lost my crafty mojo for the moment (I have been doing admin stuff which has stifled me a bit!) so thought I would still do something craft related and write a blog post.

On Sunday it was my workshop in Great Blakenham, always a delight to meet up with the lovely ladies and I had a special treat when some of them showed me some projects they had done following Abs' awesome demo on Hochanda the previous Thursday.  I always love seeing people's work and they had done some amazing pieces.

We did some Christmas cards which are a bit quirky (they are done with AALL & Create stamps after all!) 

 I had made a very similar card to the first one last year and sent it out as a Christmas card, but I really like it, so I thought It would make a good workshop card.
I adore the Quirky Bird stamp set #69 by Louise Nelson and just needed #78 Quirky Circles and stencil #35 Splashes by Aida  to go with it to do this card.
It is pretty much stamped, coloured cut out and layered, then finished with a bit of texture paste through the stencil in places

For the second card, I used #210 Background Mash Up by Tracy Evans to create the background, I used it on its side so the birds had a bit of 'ground' to stand on.
To add some extra interest, I spend a long and happy time doodling round the circles at the bottom with a fine black pen.  I can happily spend days doing this, I love it, but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, so I controlled my self and only did the bit at the bottom.  (Well, that's not true, I did a few little bits here and there along the side too!!)
It just needs a greeting adding...


I went a bit off piste for the third card because I didn't have a finished sample prepared, so I gave out the stamps made a few suggestions for how to use them and left the ladies to it!  I now realise they don't actually need me there at all!!  Everyone did something different and they were all totally amazing!!!  It was such a pleasure to see what everyone did.  I might do that again.....

Thank you so much for visiting I am off to sit in the sun and recover my mojo... actually a good place to look if you are seeking inspiration is the AALL & Create Fanatics page on fb, it is a little treasure trove of fabulous ideas and inspiration from the stamp designers the design team members and also AALL & Create customers and fans.  There are new projects all the time...check it out!  Show us your projects too, we love to see them..

Janet xxx

Crafting with Friends

Good afternoon,
It has been a lovely day here today, soft and sunny.  I have been doing the final preparation for my workshop in Great Blakenham tomorrow - we are making a start on Christmas!  I know it seems early but there aren't many more workshops before Christmas, so we have to get started

Following on from my last blog, the other exciting show I did on Hochanda was the craftalong with my lovely friend, Abs.  I was so excited when I first heard he was doing a craftalong, I knew he would be popular.  I may have dropped a few subtle hints like ABS, I WANT TO DO THE CRAFTALONG WITH YOU!!!! hahaha 

It was an absolute joy to be there watching him work and creating the fab projects along with him and all the lovely viewers at home.  I have seen so many lovely pieces of work, so I know many of you joined in and created along with us.  I didn't get anything finished on the day, but I have done them all now... I hope if you did join in that you post your projects for us to see, there is a wonderful group on fb called AALL & Create Fanatics and there is a wealth of inspirational projects on there, we always look forward to seeing what everyone does, so don't be afraid to show us! 

The lovely stamps we used are designed by Bipasha.  I love working with her designs...

Thanks you so much for visiting! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Janet xxx

Lots to catch up with!

Good evening!

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog, I have a bit of catching up to do.  So what have I been up to?  Well, I guess the most exciting things are my trips to Hochanda.  I did two shows on 8th September which I really enjoyed.  I feel very at home there, and don't feel too nervous.  I don't know why, I just feel at ease.  It was lovely to work with the delightful Niki and fabulous to meet Yiannis, he was lovely and put me very much at ease.
These are my demos from the shows...

Then a week later, I had the privilege of joining Abs for his first Craftalong.  I had such a good time, it was lovely to sit and craft with him.  I love watching him work and putting his projects together.   I have seen some amazing projects on social media, so I know many other people were crafting along at home.  I will do another post soon with my finished projects...

Thanks so much for visiting, 

Janet xxx

Three in a Row

Good morning,

I hope you are enjoying the warm weather, I know some people don't like the heat, but I love it!  I am pretending to do some gardening, I like to be outside in this weather, so I have a pair of secateurs with me and am doing a bit of dead-heading (but not too much, mostly it is sitting around!!)

Flowers seems like a relevant theme for a card..
This is a landscape DL card, with three elements across, I like doing this sort of layout.

I started by stamping #151 Layered Domino by Tracy Evans with Distress Oxide ink .
Stamp the three flowers from #70 Quirky Blossoms also by Tracy, across the centre.  I also stamped them on a previously made background and cut out the heads only to attach over the top of the images on the main card.
Round the edges, I added some inking through stencil #28 and some texture paste through stencil #39 Lotza Dotz both by Abs.
The words are from the Quirky Blossoms set.
Thank you so much for dropping by.

Janet xxx

I did it!

Good evening!

I have had a fairly lazy day today following all the excitement of the last few days.  On Saturday morning I did my first TV show on Hochanda, representing AALL & Create.  I had been really quite nervous in the few days leading up to it, but on the day, I was strangely calm and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
My demos went fairly well, apart from having a dried out inkpad (which had worked perfectly well the previous day!!) and losing the die (which did panic me a bit, but I found it in time, thank goodness!!!)
I have had lots of lovely messages from people saying they enjoyed the show, so thank you so much if you sent one, I really appreciate them.
Thanks also the the Design Team, for their support and encouragement, it is such a lovely team to belong to.  Thank you to Olga for making so many fabulous samples for the show, I hope I showed them all!
Finally a huge thank you to Abs for all his help, support and encouragement and for having faith and trust in me to represent AALL & Create on TV.
Here are the samples I made for the show...

Thank you for visiting

Janet xxxxx

Exciting news!!

Good evening!

No cards tonight, this is a photo of me at the Hochanda studios with Abs.  I was there for the 2nd Anniversary shows a few weeks ago.  I had a lovely time and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.  I asked Abs if I could tag along to see what went on because on Saturday 17th August at 08.00, I am going to be demonstrating for AALL & Create on Hochanda!! I am so happy and proud (and a bit terrified!!) to be representing this awesome company on TV.

You don't have to talk to me for long before you realise how much I love this company, the ethos behind it, the stamp designs, the stencil designs and now DIES!!  Dies which match stamp sets!!  Yay!! No more fussy cutting!!  These dies are an absolute must have if, like me, you don't like cutting out!
So guess what I've got on my first show?  Dies!  and the matching stamp sets - how cool is that!

It would be lovely if you could join me, I like to be amongst friends!
Thanks very much for dropping by
Janet xxxxx

Floral Fence

Good evening,

I have been doing my workshop in Great Blakenham today, it is always lovely to get together with everyone.  I will blog the cards tomorrow and share some exciting and nerve-wracking news...

For now, here is another of my projects which I did for the ODS show yesterday.  A bit outside my normal area, I made a little fence by gluing lolly sticks together. I did a bit of background stamping onto the actual sticks, then stamped the main flowers on separate card, painted them, cut them out and glued them to my fence.

I used stamps #199, #200 and #210  all by Tracy Evans

Thank you for visiting
Janet xxx

Rainbow Butterfly

Good evening,

Well, it was an amazing couple of days for the AALL & Create team.  It was so exciting to be part of the team during the One Day Special.  It sold out overnight and was on extended delivery for the day.  Abs worked so hard before the shows to make it all happen and Tracy Evans was just the most awesome demonstrator.  The design team produced such a wonderful array of projects using the stamps and stencils.  I am so happy and proud to be a small part of this fabulous team.

This card is one of the projects I did for the show

Inspired by Abs and Tracy and the team, I am doing more mixed media sort of cards, but I still love clean and simple and when pushed for time, as I have been recently, that is where I turn!
I adore this butterfly which is in the Time Flies A4 stamp '#143 and I love creating rainbow colours, so I combined the two!
One of the reasons I was first drawn to AALL & Create is their stencils - I LOVE them!!
I like using them in a variety of ways, but for this card, I just did the basic sponging ink through the stencil.  This one is #61 Circle Chain by Aida, a lovely design of circles and splatters, perfect for a clean look.
I just used ink colours of the rainbow for the design across the card, then stamped and cut out the butterfly on separate card and coloured with similar rainbow watercolours.  The sentiment is from #199 Eclectic Stems by Tracy.

Thank you so much for visiting, I have lots of samples still to show, so come back soon!
Janet xxx

Pretty mathematical

Good evening!

It is getting exciting in the AALL & Create camp as we are looking forward to the very first One Day Special launching on Friday 9th August, Abs will be there with the lovely Tracy Evans who will be demoing with some of her fabulous stamps.  The show times are:
Friday 9th August at 6.00pm and 8.00 pm Saturday 10th August at 9.00 am 1.00 pm and 5.00 pm.

The DT have been having a lovely time making samples for the show and there are some amazing creations for you to see!

My card tonight is one from the 2nd anniversary show Abs did a couple of weeks ago.  I enjoy putting together something pretty with something industrial or mathematical...

Nothing too clever here, just stamping..
I masked off a square in the centre of the card and stamped #30 round the outside of the square and # 29 on the inside. (both by Bipasha)
I edged the square with a black pen
I stamped , coloured and cut out the flowers from #195 Flowers and Gears by Olga.

Thank you so much for visiting, I am happy to report that my cat's eye has improved considerably and we now have to administer drops every 4 hours instead of every two hours, which is a relief for us.  I am hopeful her eye will be saved, although her vision in that eye may be impaired...

Don't forget to tune in for the ODS on Friday...
Janet xxx

Butterflies and Bees

Good evening,

I am on the all night shift again tonight!  One of my cats has a really nasty eye ulcer and the treatment is for her to have antibiotic drops in her eye every two hours including overnight.  Fortunately there are two of us, so we are taking it in turns to do the nights!  Tonight it's my turn!  I know from the days I used to be on call overnight in the blood transfusion lab that I function better the next day if I just stay up all night rather than getting an hour's sleep then being woken, then another bit of sleep and being woken, so I will be up until 03.30 then Simon will do the 05.30 drops because he gets up to go fishing.  Then me again at 07.30!!  I have crafty things I can be getting on with, so if you notice some weird samples from me in the next few weeks, blame sleep deprivation!  (I will be using that as an excuse for some time to come hahaha)

My card tonight features the beautiful stamp called Exterminati Sunt #81 by Olga with some background elements from #10 by Autour de Mwa

One of my favourite techniques is overstamping with several colours of ink, which is what I did here.  I use a stamping platform and add several colours  of distress ink to the stamp, spritz with water and stamp.
Allow to dry a bit, then ink with black versafine and stamp again.  I love the effect this gives!
I added several elements into the background and used the fabulous little blocks from #10 to edge the card (I think these are my favourite stamps in the set....oh and I love the circles...and the triangles...ok so I don't really have a favourite, I just love them all!)
I stamped and cut out one of the butterflies and the numbers on a separate piece of card and added them in place.

Thanks very much for visiting
Janet xxxxx

Understated Sewing

Good evening,

One of the things I love most about AALL & Create is the originality of the designs, especially those by Bipasha.  I love all the little details and the wording mingled in with the design.  They are lovely stamps to use if you just want to stamp in black and not do much else.

For this card, I did a subtle background starting by brushing ink through stencil #70 Diamont Life by Olga
I stamped # 203 Fly High by Aida in a pale colour
I used a black ink pad and clear embossing powder for all of the stamps in set #27 by Bipasha (I had practised the layout on some rough paper before I did it on the main card)
I used a grey pencil to put in a bit of shadow round the images to help them stand out from the background a bit.
At this point, I liked what I had done, but didn't quite know where to go with it until I thought of using the fabulous little blocks in stamp set #10 by Abs.  I love this stamp set!  The background elements are so useful, and in this case were just what I needed!
For a final touch I added white texture paste through the circles in stencil #22 by Abs
A few splatters and some ink round the edges, and it was done.
I used stamps and stencils by 4 different designers in this card and love the way they all work so well together.
Thank you so much for visiting, I hope you all have a great weekend!
Janet xxx

Seahorses and Cruisers

Good evening all!

Apologies for the lack of blogging, but I have had a busy time, much of it has been to do with crafting which makes me very happy!

I have just returned from a weekend in Stockton at the NE Art Workshops run by Sue Tucker.  The tutor was Olga Heldwein from the AALL & Create team.  She is such a lovely lady and a brilliant tutor, we made some lovely projects.  I will take some photos and show you soon.  I also had chance to meet and spend time with some of the Hochanda DT and Abs as well, which was lovely.

My card tonight features a brand new product from AALL & Create - dies!!  Dies which match the stamps - even better - because you know how I feel about fussy cutting!!

Having said that, I didn't actually have the stamps which matched these dies so I just used the dies...

Stamps #74 Classic Cruiser by Bipasha, #10 by Abs
Stencil #70 Diamont Life and Die #5 Seahorse by Olga

I had a nice, appropriately coloured background already in my stash, so I simply die cut the seahorses and shells, then inked round all the edges and shaped them with an embossing tool on a soft mat., then added black gems for the eyes of the seahorses.
I stamped the Classic Cruiser on another piece of the same background and cut it to size.
One of my very favourite stamps from AALL & Create is an early one designed by Abs, it is stamp #10, it has lots of lovely background elements and is one of the stamps that drew me to the company when I first saw Abs on TV.  I was really pleased to see it on the 2nd anniversary show and I used it on many of my samples!  In this case I brayered a little white paint on the circle stamp and added them in the background.  I matted the background on red card then added the seahorses and shells.. I used the rest of the paint to add a few splatters (well it would be rude not to!)
.

Thank you so much for visiting
Hope you have a lovely evening
Janet xxx

Ladybug

Good evening,
I hope everyone is well and enjoying the warm weather. It has been a week of ups and downs for me but it is beginning to settle down again now...

Tonight, I have chosen a card made featuring the lovely Ladybug stamp by Tracy Evans

Stamp sets 161 Ladybug by Tracy Evans and
118 Border Marks by Louise Nelson

For the background, I added some ink to a piece of acetate, then spritzed it and pressed onto the card.  I repeated with two colours.
When dry, I stamped the ladybug, this is an A4 stamp, so I just inked the part I needed.
I also stamped the border along the edge of the stamped image
I stamped the ladybug on a separate piece of card, coloured it in and added some glossy accents, when dry I cut it out and attached it over the main image
Then I just spot coloured a few of the squares and some of the lines in the borders.
Thank you for visiting! 
Janet xxx

Monstrous Wishes

Good morning!

Yesterday was not a good day for me!  I had planned to have lunch out to celebrate my niece's graduation, she has done brilliantly well, has won a prize for coming top in her year and is now a doctor!  Scary - it only seems like yesterday she was a baby!
My plans were thwarted however because one of the cats has a really sore eye and needed to go the the vet.  Of course the only appointments available were at lunch time, so I cancelled lunch.  The cat then disappeared completely and I didn't see her again until 9.00 in the evening!

The better part of the day was chatting to lovely Sammy in Kenya and planning my next trip out there.  I had planned to go in January, but that can't happen now for the very best of reasons - Sammy has a job booked for January through to mid March.  This is the low season so he is really lucky to have work, so I am happy to reschedule.
We had a lovely time chatting and planning what we are going to do when I go, and I am looking forward to seeing what Sammy organises for us.  We will go to different places and will get to meet his Mum, which will be amazing!

On to my card...  I love these little monsters by Olga, they are so quirky! 

Stamps 218 Monterous Wishes by Olga,
117 Organics by Louise
Stencil 36 by Olga

I can't remember the exact order I did things for this, it is one of those cards which is completely different to my original plan.
I used stencil #36 by Olga to make a little background behind each monster
I stamped and coloured the base for each monster with one of the stamps from #117 Organics by Louise
I stamped the monsters separately, coloured and cut them out ~(I know Veronica, I am getting worried now!!!) then stuck them in place.
I stamped and coloured the greeting under each monster
It all looked a bit bare, so I added the leaves from set #117 and coloured them too and added a bit more stencilling.
I think that's it! Oh!  I added a few splatters....

Thank you so much for visiting!
Have a lovely day!!
Janet xxx

It's all black and white...

Good morning,

It is a bit grey and overcast here in rural Norfolk today, but that doesn't bother me because I am off out soon for Sunday lunch with my family to celebrate my sister's birthday.

I had a wonderful day yesterday at a workshop at That's Crafty in Essex.  Aida had come over on holiday and ended her week here by teaching a mixed media workshop.  It was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed it very much and am really pleased with my finished pieces.  I still have a bit of finishing to do, then I will show you...

I do enjoy making cards with layers and texture, but every now and then I have to keep it simple...
This card is really simple..

Stamp set 208 Hexagonal tiles by Tracy Evans

I stamped out all the hexagons and cut them out, decided on my arrangement then stamped the words directly on the card and added some die cut borders
Run a black pen round the edges and stick it all together, then you are done!

Have a fab day!
Janet xxx

Collage in Orange!

Good evening!
Jo Channon was on Hochanda today with stamps and stencils from AALL & Create, she did a great job and made some lovely projects.

This is one of my samples which I did for the show..

I love watching Abs putting together a collage, it always looks as if everything is meant to be there.  I am not so keen when I have a go...it often looks like a random bunch of stuff plonked down!  I binned my first attempt with these stamps, but I decided to give it another go and am fairly happy with this one.  I am going to keep practising though because I like collage!
I kept the colours pretty simple and added some stencil work in the background.   I love this face by Kaitlin Paltridge - very edgy!

Thanks for dropping by,
Janet xxxx

Botanicals

Good evening,

An evening blog today.  It has been lovely here today and after a nice family Sunday lunch out, I came home and spent some time in my garden.  Yay!  I finally got some gardening done!!  I am hoping I will get more done tomorrow too!

So on that theme..tonight's card is made with two lovely sets by Bipasha and a stencil by Abs

Stamps #153 Botanicals and #207 Botanicals Modified by Bipasha
 and stencil  #30 by Abs

I decided I wanted a bit of a vintage feel to this..
I started by putting ink on the stencil, spritzing with water and pressing on to the card, making sure to blot up any seepage!
I stamped the images all round the card and included some the words too. I added a bit of extra ink round the edges.
I coloured everything in with Inktense pencils and added an extra greeting on a die cut circle
Mount on kraft card and tear round the edges, then mount on the base card.
Thanks very much for visiting
Janet xxx

Hanging about!

Good morning!

July already!  Is it me or is time going by more quickly??  July promises to be an exciting month for me in a crafty sense: I have a workshop with Aida to go to in Essex, a weekend workshop with Olga in Middlesborough and a couple of other exciting things in the pipeline (if they work out!)

stamp set 215 Sleepy Sloths by Olga and stencil 39 Lotza Dotz by Abs

I thought this card had a nice lazy summer feel to it.  This one is pretty much stamping and colouring!  There is also a tiny bit of stencilling in the sky, which doesn't show so much in the picture...
Have a lovely day and thank you for visiting
Janet xxx

Back to Pink!

Good evening,

I still have plenty of samples so I am keeping up with daily blogging!  Today was the workshop I do in Bawburgh and last Sunday it was the one in Great Blakenham.  I have been doing these for years now and many of the ladies have stuck with me since the very first one!  I so enjoy meeting with everyone, it is good to chat and share crafty ideas (and other ideas, for that matter!!)  I provide the original idea then everyone puts their own spin on it (That is a polite way of saying that no-one does what I tell them!!) 
Thank you so much to you lovely ladies for supporting the workshops and making them such fun to do.
These are the cards we did.... Pink is actually one of my favourite colours and I realised I hadn't been using so much recently, so I have rectified that....
We used a selection of stencils and stamp sets 200 Hope and 210 Background Mash Up both by Tracy Evans

Thank you for looking!

Janet xxx

Flowers and Gears

Good evening!

Today was one of those days when you think it's all going well, then you make a basic school boy error......

I had finished most of the card and was just sticking it to the base.  I use double-sided tape and had taken the back off so it was all sticky.  I realised that I hadn't got any base card out, so I popped the card sticky side down on my mat while I went to get the base card... did you spot the error there???

I managed to get the card off the mat with no damage to the card (thank goodness!) but it left lots of sticky tape behind on the mat, which I promptly forgot about until I couldn't get another project I was working on off the mat!!!

Some days I really think I am getting the hang of this lark, then other days I do stuff like that!

Stamp set 195 Flowers and Gears by Olga 

I made this one a while ago now and can't quite remember what I did..but it was something like this...
I blended ink on the card and spritzed and blotted for the background colour, then stamped the smaller gears from the set in the same colours and stamped the bigger gears in black
I stamped the gorgeous peonies separately, coloured and cut out (I know, Veronica!  More cutting out - I think I am ill!!)
I stamped and coloured the leaves straight on the card (you can have too much cutting out!!)
added the greeting and some screwhead brads and a few gems.
Thanks so much for dropping in! 
Janet xxx

Floral scene

Good evening,

I hope you aren't getting fed up of me but I still have loads of samples to show you.....

Tonight's is a clean and simple card made using the delightful Flourishing Vase stamp set by Tracy and Abs stencil #30

I have just posted this card on the AALL and Create Fanatics page (well worth joining!) and had a lovely little conversation with Tracy.  I have only recently come to realise how important doing these tiny bits of art is to me.  It is not just a hobby, it is not just something I do, I have finally realised it is part of who I am!  That is quite a thing to realise!

So onto the card...

Stamp 213 Flourishing Vase by Tracy and Stencil 30 by Abs

For the background, I masked off the bottom part of the card, then inked the back of the stencil with distress inks (I vaguely used blue towards the top and green towards the bottom) I made sure the top of the stencil had ink but I wiped some away from the sides, then spritzed with water and pressed onto the card, making sure to cover with plenty of tissue to mop up any seepage.

Once dry, I stamped the flowers in place and coloured them.  I drew in a line along the bottom of the stems and added a few squiggles, then added some washi tape and stamped the sentiment!

Done!  Nice and easy....

Just a little note, the stems of the flowers can be bent slightly to change the shape of the flower

Thanks very much for visiting!

Janet xxx

Kaitlin's ladies

Good evening,

This evening I thought I would share two cards made using the lovely ladies by Kaitlin. I love these images...

Stamps 218 Flower Kido by Kaitlin and 202 Gears and Elements by Bipasha

Stamp 217 Bug by Kaitlin

I went a bit vintage with this one.  I liked the idea of mixing the two different types of image...
I did a vintagey background with distress oxides, stamped the gears and elements then coloured a few of the elements with darker and lighter shades to add a bit of interest
I stamped the lady on separate card and coloured her in matching tones, then cut her out.  I also stamped and cut out the flowers from the set and put them in place with green brads.  I gave the lady a bit of green eyeshadow to match!  (Is it just me, or does she look like a naughty secretary??)

For the second card, I blended some inks over the card then stamped the lady in place.  Avoiding the lady, I stamped the rest of the images from the set in matching tones all over the background and also used black to add the bugs
I did a bit of shading on the face and added some white highlights with a pen.  It all looked a bit dark, so I decided to stamp the sentiment in white paint over the background too.
I also stamped it in black and added to the card.
I love this sentiment, even though it doesn't apply to me - I would never make 99% angel!!
Thank you for visiting!
Janet xxx

For Him

Good evening everyone,

Ask me how much gardening I got done the other day - yep, none!!  I got a few phone calls and a visitor, then I had to pick up my car after its service, then it was raining etc, etc, so my poor garden is still looking a bit neglected!  Still, there is always next Saturday...

Here is another card made with the sexy man stamp by Bipasha.  I have never noticed before, but I am seeing men with this hairstyle all over the place now!

Stamp 916 For Him by Bipasha and 211 Count on You by Aida Stencil 30 by Abs

I placed the stencil on the card and brushed blue and brown ink over.  Keeping the stencil in place I drew all round it with a fine black pen and still with the stencil in place, stamp the numbers from the set Count on You by Aida.
Now for the fiddly bit, I went round and filled in all the bits where the numbers overlap. so the number on top is complete.  I then went round and added some shadow where the numbers overlap.
This takes a while, but it is the sort of thing I enjoy, I find it relaxing!
Once the background was done, I stamped and coloured the lovely man, cut him out and placed him on the card and added some washi tape.
(The little random blobs on the number 2 are not actually on the card, I have got something stuck to my scanner, which I didn't notice until I'd sent the cards off)

Thanks very much for dropping by
Janet xxxxx

The Rabbit Card

Good morning!

It is a lovely day here in rural Norfolk.  I have a rare day when I don't actually have any cards to make, so I am going to get out in the garden.  It is looking a bit neglected and needs some attention.  Also, I like being outside with the birds twittering away....

So on that theme, my card today features the cute (and one grumpy) rabbits by Olga.  These are such wonderful images, I love them!

Stamps 214 Bunnies by Olga and 210 Background Mash Up by Tracy
Stencils 77 Sunflower Power by Olga and 67 Broken Circles by Abs (and other stencils too!)

 I decided I wanted to use the border die and have the rabbits kind of 'coming out of their warrens'.
I chose a background I had made at a workshop with Abs (don't read this bit Abs!)  I loved the background I made by layering paint and stencils on a gelli plate and taking the print, but I knew I wasn't going to do a very good job with the project we were supposed to be doing,  so I kept this one back for later!
Lucky I did, because it was a perfect background for rabbits and carrots!
I cut a circle, then used the die to cut the slits for the rabbits.  I added a bit of ink to the edges of the cut just to make it stand out a little bit.
I did some stamping to add some interest to the background and added some washi tape under each slit.
The rabbits were all stamped on separate card, coloured and cut out - yes I cut out all of them!  including the fiddly bits round the leafy tops - people who know me will know what a miracle that is!  but it was the only way for the card to work, so it had to be done!  It was worth it though because once I had put them in place, I loved the finished result.  I was going to just stick to the three with the carrots, but decided that the grumpy rabbit was too nice to miss out, so I added him too!

Thank you so much for visiting, I hope you all have a lovely day - I'm off to find my secateurs!
Janet xxx

Tracy's Flowers

Good evening,

Today I have been prepping for a workshop tomorrow.  Just at the last minute, I was looking for one of the stencils I wanted to use and I hunted and hunted looked everywhere at least three times, couldn't find it....eventually found it down the back  of the sofa - don't know why I didn't look there first!!   Why was it down the back of the sofa??  I have a bit of a habit of carrying stuff round with me and leaving it in random places because I get distracted and start doing another job instead of finishing the one I am supposed to be doing.  I must have rested the stencil on the cushion and moved onto something else, then it fell down when someone sat on the sofa.
Anyway, I found it, that's the main thing!

On to the cards..
These are two cards I've made with Tracy's lovely Eclectic Stems stamp set, this is such a lovely set, the flowers are really nice to use and there are some good sentiments too.  I used the fabulous Background Mash Up stamp too, this is an amazing background stamp!

I added some ink to one side of the card, then stamped the numbers from Aida's set 211 Count on You.  I did some stencilling with my all time favourite Lotza Dotz and one of my other favourites, No. 6 both by Abs
I stamped the flower then stamped the head and leaf on a separate piece of card, coloured and cut out.
I used the Background Mash Up to add touches of text.
I added some texture paste and the sentiment, then stuck the flower and leaf over the top and finished with a bit of splattering and doodling.

For the second Card, I found a background I had previously done, and added some stamping with the Background Mash Up.  If I am honest, the background started quite big, but I kept going wrong and didn't like the way I'd positioned things, so I kept cutting it down, until I ended up with quite a small piece!  Anyway, I got there in the end.  I stamped and coloured the flower head separately, then added it over the stamped image at the end.
The edge at the bottom is done with a wonderful border die from DIY & Cie It just adds a nice little finishing touch.  (I love them and have been using them a lot!)
I also added some circles with the distress crayons a la Abs.

Thanks very much for visiting!  Janet xxx

More samples...

Good evening,
A bit of late night blogging here tonight!  I am a bit of a night owl really, but life at the moment dictates that I have to get up early, which is not a natural state of affairs for me!
Anyway, did you see the shows with Abs?  I always enjoy watching him create his lovely art.  I also love seeing the samples from the team too.  I have often seen photos of the cards before the shows, but it is not the same as seeing them on the TV.

I have lots of samples, so I am posting them two at a time...

Stamps 198 Voyager and  Stencil 71 Steam Cogs by Olga  and stencil 28 by Abs 

                                                                            This is the first one and is one of my favourites.  I love the background I did here, if only I could remember what I did!!
I started by blending three colours of distress ink,
I had wanted a blue/brown combination, but I picked up 'Chipped Sapphire' instead of 'Faded Jeans' and got a much brighter result than I normally get - I really like it!
I then used two stencils and added colour through the stencil, but I used the same colour on top of the colour which was already there - I loved the result of that.
Then I stamped, again the same colour on top of the one underneath.
I stamped one verse in black and the other in white paint and added some white splatters..
The topper is stamped and coloured with pencils

Stamps 204 Planetary and 195 Flowers and Gears by Olga

I love using things like flowers and butterflies with geometrics

For the second card, I stamped the 'Planetary' stamp in place, and added some of the pattern around it in black and colour.  I stamped. coloured and cut out the beautiful flowers.  To add a bit extra, I used the little pattern stamp in the set to stamp on the flowers too.
Piece it all together and add some screwhead brads.
Run a fine black pen around the edge then do a second line to even out the one that wasn't straight!! (and pretend you meant to do it like that all along!!)

Thanks for visiting!
Janet xxx

The Bright Side

Good morning,

I am off to work in a moment, but thought I would do a quick blog post first!  The card for today is one I made using a lovely set by Aida, there are some really nice background elements to this set and I enjoyed using it.

Stamp 212 Bright Side by Aida and Stencil 39 Lotza Dotz by Abs

I stamped the circles in the background with distress inks, then stamped the rest in black ink.  The pink on the flowers is one of the stamps, just overlayed over the top of the black image.
I also added some dots in the background using my favourite stencil in the world ever, Lotza Dotz by Abs.
I added some brads in the centres of the flowers.
This is a bit different for me, but I had fun making this one.

I hope you have a great day,
Thank you for visiting.

Janet xxx

A lovely man!

Goo morning all,

I hope you are enjoying the sunshine! 

 I was at a wedding yesterday and it was a lovely day, luckily the rain held off, the bride looked totally stunning (a bit biased as she is my niece!  but she really did!) and the whole ceremony went well.  It always nice to catch up with family at these occasions and bizarrely, all the ladies in my family, even baby Sophie turned up wearing the same colour - like it was planned - but it wasn't!

The card for today is one of my favourites!  I love, love,love this stamp!  It is so wonderful to have a really good male image on a stamp.  We have christened him 'the sexy man'

Stamp 196 by Bispha for AALL and Create

Having said I love the stamp, I then had to do it justice! and I pondered for quite a while thinking of what to do with him (keep it clean!!)
I eventually found a nice background which I had done earlier with paint on a gel press, (I think this may have been a 'mop up' bit)
I stamped him on the background, then coloured with pencils and black and white pens and added a bit of distress ink. and a few white splatters.
I saw Janice on TV trying to decide what the bird is and I am pretty sure it is a red cardinal (which is why I coloured him red!!)

Thanks very much for visiting, enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Janet xxx

Rainbow animals

Good evening!

I have had a lovely day today at a workshop with my favourite crafty man, the lovely Abs.  I have a bit of finishing to do, then I will show you what we did

In the mean time, the new release stamps have been launched!!  I have enjoyed making the samples for these stamps soooo much.  The designs are fabulous and it was great to see Abs on TV launching the first stamps.  He is back on 20th June with more, so don't forget to check that out.

Today's card is made with three of Fiona's lovely animals, these really are gorgeous designs and sold out on the TV, but will be available from AALL and Create stockists.

I stamped the images, then created the rainbow around them by inking onto acetate, spritzing and placing the ink on the card.  I did one colour at a time across the card.

All that was left was to colour them in and stamp the words

 Stamps 222, 224,226 by Fiona Paltridge from AALL and Create

Have a wonderful evening and I hope you have a lovely weekend, I am off to a wedding tomorrow - hope it doesn't rain!!
Thanks very much for visiting,
Janet xxxx