Less Is More - Off The Edge

Good Afternoon

This is my card for this weeks' challenge over at Less Is More and also One Stop Craft Challenge

You'll be surprised (not!!!) to know that I struggled to get started with this card. I looked at the challenge as soon as I got up this morning! Then I thought, and thought, and browsed through all my stamps, and browsed again lol - I'm sure you get the picture. Anyway enough waffle, here's what I came up with.

I did numerous test stamps onto copier paper til I was happy with the design and then stamped onto some smooth white cardstock using a corner stamp from Dimension Fourth and a Big & Juicy Hydrangea ink pad. It took a long time to complete, and I really hope it meets the requirements for this weeks' challenge. It all looked a bit 'unfinished' so I stamped the sentiment using the same ink pad.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog :0).

Jo x

Never Underestimate The Power Of A Hug

Good morning

The sun is shining here once again and the primulas are flowering away in the garden, adding some much needed colour.

My card for today is made using one of the fabulous SWALK stamps. This is the first stamp I inked up when I bought the first set, and it is the one that I have used the most. It is suitable for so many occasions. Today I am using it to send some hugs to a friend of mine who has had to have surgery this week.

The shape of the card was made using my favourite Get In Shape template. The backing paper is from the SWALK cd-rom, printed onto centura pearl paper. I stamped the main image, and the flowers, onto watercolour paper using versafine ink. I then coloured them using watercolour pencils. They were attached to the card using foam pads, and then a little gem was added to each of her hair bows. The sentiment comes on the same stamp sheet, and was stamped using a brushmarker pen.

I am entering this card into the TotallyPaperCrafts Challenge

I am waiting impatiently for the postman to arrive in the hope that her brings some of my new goodies! During my stash diet last month, I had a refund from a returned item and a £10 Joanna Sheen gift voucher that I won, woohoo :0). Sooooooo, I have ordered some new fab Spellbinders dies, some Marianne dies, some Nellie Snellen dies and a couple of cuttlebug folders. Ok, so I may have spent a teensy bit more than the value of the refund and gift voucher, but I really did need these items :D

Have a super weekend.

Jo x

Enchanted

Good Afternoon

My card for today is made using the fabulous Enchanted Dreams cd-rom, available from Joanna Sheen. My eldest daughter gets some exam results at college today, so I wanted to have a card ready for when she gets home. Sarah really loves the images on this cd, so I'm sure she'll be pleased with this card.

The base card is a lovely pearlescent card from Papermill. The mats on the card are made using holographic card, which I ran through my big shot using a cuttlebug folder, the swirls remind me of the sea :-). The image itself is matted onto some silver holographic card. I then threaded a few shells and beads onto some strong thread and placed them onto the card using glue gel. I was tempted to add a few of my favourite flourishes but thought it may be a bit too much.

Thanks for you visit today, please leave me a comment so I know you've been :0).

Jo

Best Wishes

Good Afternoon

I'd like to start off by thanking all my lovely followers, it's so nice to have other crafters interested in my cards. You are all very welcome here.

Today's card is my entry into the following challenges.

Lili of the Valley, Challenge 86 - Sketch

The ABC Challenge - P is for Pearls

The Crafty Pad Challenge - use ribbon.

The image is from Lili of the Valley, which I cut into an oval and then matted on to a scalloped oval cut with a Nellie Snellen die. The papers I printed from the SWALK cd-rom. The flowers are made using my Nellie Snellen punch and embossers, made from the same backing paper. A pearl from my stash was placed in the centre of each flower and a few more on the oval. The flourishes were cut from silver linen card using Marianne dies.

I used white and dark blue organza ribbon, thinking dark blue would be a bit of a contrast. I ran little stitches down the centre of the ribbon with invisible thread, and then gathered it up until I got the length that I wanted. Finally, I added the Best Wishes sentiment to the card.

My Very First Blog Award Yippee!!!!

Good Morning

I am very, very pleased to have been awarded my very first blog award from the lovely Jan at lovestocraft. This was a lovely surprise and I want to say a huge thank you to Jan for choosing my blog. Mwah. Jan makes some gorgeous cards and her blog is well worth a visit.

Now I need to tell you 7 things about me, so here goes:

I have been married for 20 years and have 2 daughters aged 17 and 10.

I have a mad cocker spaniel called Murphy who is such good company.

I became disabled 10 years ago so am in the house most of the time.

I started cross-stitching in my teens and have made many, many birth samplers, pictures etc for lots of people.

I have been papercrafting for approx. 5 years now and my craft room is always a mess!

I sell cards to raise funds to send adults and children with disabilities/illnesses on a weeks pilgrimage to Lourdes.

I love home-baked cakes.

Now I need to think of 8 blogs to pass this award onto. I visit so many inspiring blogs so this really is the tricky bit.

Edna Another Day, Another Card
Anne Stargroves
Jackie Jackies Stuff
Sandra Stamping For Pleasure
Lyndsey Lynsey's Place
Wendy Crafty Butterfly Blog
Sue Sue's Rubber Stamping Adventure
Lin Twisted Witch:Crafty Cardmaking

These are some of the blogs that I visit on a regular basis and are well worth a visit.

I hope this award makes your day too :0)

May Your Christmas Be Merry And Bright

Hello, I hope your day is going well.

I decided in January that I was going to start making my Christmas cards much earlier this year. As a family we send approx. 150 Christmas cards! There is no way everyone is going to receive a handcrafted card, but I do send quite a few. Also I make Christmas cards to sell for my fundraising, so an early start is a sensible idea. So far I'm not doing very well!

Anyway, I also decided I was going to enter some challenges this year. I sometimes struggle getting started with cards, so I find challenges very useful for giving me a starting point.

This card is going to be entered in the following challenge:

Winter Wonderland :Snowflakes

And here it is!

The image is from the Jayne Nestorenko Adorables range, available from Crafters Companion, the sentiment came on the same stamp plate. I stamped her onto Crafters Companions watercolour card, and coloured her using my Lyra's. I wasn't really a big fan of glitter, until I was introduced to sparkling snow glitter which is available from Joanna Sheen. I added this to her hat and coat using pinflair glitter glue and I think it looks really lovely.

I die cut the rectangles onto pearlescent card using a Nellie's die and applied her using glue gel for some dimension. I cut round her hand using a craft knife so I could slot in the present she is carrying. I couldn't resist adding some pinflair snow dust around her feet and onto her shoes.

The backing paper is printed from the Adorables cd-rom onto Centrua pearl paper, and matted onto some silver mirror board. The corners are a Marianne die, cut out of white glitter paper with a few pearls added. The sentiment was heat embossed using silver fine detail embossing powder.

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post and thanks to everyone who leaves a comment.

Jo

Less Is More - Pastel

Good Morning

I spent many hours this weekend working on a competition card, which will be ready to go in the post this evening, when I'm happy all the glue has properly set!!!

When that was all finished I gave some thought to this weeks 'Less Is more' challenge. Full details of the challenge can be found here

After a lot of thought and test stamping this is what I finally came up with.

It does look better in real life! My photography skills aren't that great!

The image is one of the Bella panels available from Debbi Moore, which I stamped using a light blue ink. I then applied some blue chalk over the ink to add a bit of sparkle. I still wasn't happy (this was my 6th attempt at this image) so decided to try one of my favourite techniques, triple embossing, to give the image a 'tile effect'.

I embossed some blue and pale yellow card which I layer onto my white card base, cut a tag using a spellbinders die, and added some peel offs. I chose the words 'Just for You' as I think this card is suitable for a number of occasions.

If you're not familiar with this new challenge blog, why not pop across and have a look. Everyone there is very friendly. And on that note, I would like to thank everyone for visiting my blog and leaving me comments, it's a really lovely community to be a part of.

Thanks for your visit today. I'm off to have a look at some of the other entries.

Jo

Cream and Gold

Good Morning

Today's card is a birthday card for one of my eldest daughter's friends. She asked me to make a 'cream and gold' card. To start with I had a complete mental block!!! After a lot of thought and a good old rummage, I decided to use one of the Bella Panel stamps which are available from Debbi Moore designs. This is one of the first stamp sets I bought, and you get four panels in the set together with some additional accent and word stamps.

I chose the panel with the butterflies so I could tie it in with a cuttlebug embossing folder. I embossed some matt gold card, and then embossed some cream pearlescent card using a swirls embossing folder. The image was stamped onto cream pearlescent card and then heat embossed using a gold detail embossing powder.

I made a double bow using gorgeous cream organza ribbon from my stash and placed little pearls on the end of the 'twirly bits' (that's a technical term!). The label was cut using a spellbinders die and the Happy Birthday is gold peel offs, again from my stash.

I'm going to try and get a couple of challenge cards completed today - we'll see :0)

Jo

Floral Stitching

Good Afternoon

My card today is made using one of my favourite techniques, paper embroidery.

The design is stitched onto pearlescent card, then matted onto some vintage gold paper. The corners are punched using a Martha Stewart punch. The bow is made using organza ribbon from my stash.

Emma went into school today dressed as Mr Gum for World Book Day. She was delighted with her finished costume and here she is all dressed up and ready to go!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Jo

Less Is More - Take Two!!

Hello Again

Well I did say I wasn't happy with my card and couldn't work out why!! Thanks to a couple of comments, my brain kicked in!!! This is more like my original plan, but I couldn't fit it on a DL card. Why on earth I didn't just think to use a bigger card has me baffled, that's what comes of crafting late into the night :0)

I am much happier with this, and hope it still meets the CAS requirements? You must despair of me??? It'll click one day honest.

If you fancy having a go at the challenge full details can be found here. Everyone is very welcoming and supportive.

Jo

Less Is More - Three Squares

Good Morning

Well the beard is made, and the rest of the costume all together ready for tomorrow. Emma is very excited!

Today's card is for this weeks' Less Is More Challenge, which is 'Three Squares'. I'm really struggling with CAS cards at the moment. I've got so used to using lots of layers and embellishments on cards, it's difficult not to do that and be happy with what you make. I'm not particularly happy with my card, but can't put my finger on why not!

I used some stamps from Sheena Douglass, which I stamped three times. I used mica powders to colour these, mixed with water and used as a paint. I matted these onto some matt gold card. I couldn't decide which colour ribbon to use, so decided to plait all three together!

I'm sorry about the quality of the photo, I took 15 photos of this card and this is the best I can do!

Thanks for visiting today.

Jo

Going Round In Circles

Good Morning

The sun is shining here, although it's bitterley cold, but still a much better start to the day than depressing rain!

I ended up spending most of the weekend in bed with a migraine! They're such horrible things and really floor me. I think it's gone away again now, so I'm playing catch up!!!

It's World Book Day this Thursday, and so pupils are invited to go into school dressed as there favourite character from a book. Well Emma is a huge Mr Gum fan so that is who she is going to dress as. Today's challenge is to create her a beard and moustache :0). I'll show you then end result.

Anyway, todays card is my entry into the LOTV challenge which this week is Circles.

For this card I used one of their cute squares, I love this image. I cut a circle of silver linen cardstock to layer the image onto. I printed off a couple of the papers from one of the SWALK cd-roms, which I then ran through my big shot with a Marianne Doily die. The flowers were made from the same paper, again using a Marianne die, and then little gems added to the centre. The leaves were made using a x-cut embossing punch.

Details of the challenge can be found here.

Have a good day - I'm off to make a beard :-D

Jo