Merry Christmas 2012

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to be the first to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous year in 2013.

Have a wonderful time and happy blogging.

Love
Janine and family XXX

Anniversay card

Made this for my mum and step-dad's 26th Wedding Anniversary. She loved it!  I was inspired by the layout on one of Debbie's November cards over at http://debby4000.blogspot.co.uk.

Here's what I used:

Paper: white and Brown CS, First Edition Boho Chic

Dies: Rose Creations, Circle Nesties, Cheery Lynn Designs Fanciful Flourish

Punch: Tonic Perfect Petal Petite, Maratha Stewart Edger

Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots

And: Ribbon, Brads, Glitter, and computer generated tag

Hope you like it.

Janine X

Sorry Everyone!

Sorry I've not posted many cards lately it would seem I've lost my Mojo (don't know why really). Most likely because my beautiful daughter has gone on tour again for 3 months, she's touring around schools in Essex performing a play about road/car safety. I'll miss her loads...she's my best friend and my rock.  Break a leg darling!!!

I've also been a little pre-occupied because I've been preparing for my first ever cruise. My hubbie and I thought it would be a fitting treat for our 25th wedding anniversary that we're celebrating this year. We fly to Amsterdam from the UK and then onto New York where we meet our ship. From there we travel up the coastline toward Canada dropping into different ports along the way. We always said we'd do the cruise thing for our anniversary and I've always wanted to go to Canada, so we thought we'd combine the two. 

For the past few months I've been busy buying clothes, including a couple of evening dresses from anyway and everywhere that had something that would fit my size 12 body that didn't make me (a) look like frump and (b) mutton dressed as lamb. It's not until you start looking for clothes that you realise that there's a lack of woman's clothes stores that don't include NEXT and Debenhams.  I sort of managed in the end but in particular I've really struggled for shoes. Blimey they must think that every woman wears shoes that requires you to use a scaffold to get into them and a zimmer frame to walk in them! The other alternative are Flossie's which are everywhere at the moment.  Maybe I should just go 'hippie' and go barefoot.... well it would be simpler. Anyway we are really excited.......and nervous as you can imagine. 

I am trying really hard to keep focused as I have a couple cards to get ready for November.  So wish me luck lol.  I'll post them when they're done.

Janine XX

Variation on a Theme

Here's another version of the gorgeous 'Cali Girl' digi stamp from Crafts & Me.  This was made for my sweet niece who recently turned 19...god I feel really old now!

Here's what I used:

Prisma Pencils and Sansdor
Digi image: Crafts & Me - 'Cali Girl'
Paper: First Edition - Boho Chic
Dies: Cheery Lyn - B117 Fanciful Flourish, Tim Holtz 'Tattered Florals', Flower Punch, Sizzix Tags/Bookplates
Plus: Glitter, glue
Watermark - I made myself

I hope you like it, thanks for passing by.  I'd love it if you left me a comment.

Love Janine XXX

Finally a card for you....Simple Acceptance

Finally got my photos to upload, but I have to upload them to Pisca first though. But I suppose I can at least get them onto my blog.  Go know what I'll do when the storage capacity runs out!

Anyway, I made this sweet little card similar to the baby girl one. It's such a a quick card to make, I can't help myself I just love this Spellbinders die - it's just so elegant.

I used:
Papers: First Edition 'Summer Breeze' pad
Die: Spellbinders 'Persian Motifs', Nestibilities
Pearls: Waco Pearl Make 'Crystal'
Distressed Ink: Spiced Marmalade
Sentiment was computer generated
'Created By' watermark was designed by me.

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you like it.

Janine XX

Grr having a blog moment!!!

Sorry folks, I had planned on uploading some new cards but I'm getting an error message when I try.  It says 'Server returned invalid response' whatever that means. Well, I suppose it means I CANNOT UPLOAD MY IMAGES!! drr.....lol

If anyone out there in blogland has had the same problem and solved it....please, please let me know.  Thanks!

I will upload my pics as soon as humanly possible.

Janine X

Orange Delight

I made this orangey card for my closest friend's daughter recently....I used some really delish coloured papers from First Edition.  This beautiful digi stamps was so lovely to colour in, I really enjoyed using my prisma pencil...this was only the second time I'd used them.

Here's a close-up piccie - wow isn't she gorgeous.

Here's what I used:
Prisma Pencils and Sansdor
Digi image: Crafts and Me -  'Cali Girl'
Paper: First Edition - Boho Chic
Dies: Cheery Lyn - B117 Fanciful Flourish, Tim Holtz 'Tattered Florals', Flower Punch

Hope you like it. I'd love it if you leave me a comment.

Thanks for blogging by.

Janine XXX

Footnote: I entered this card in the Crafts and Me challenge 'Autumn Colours' wish me luck!

Oriental Bliss

I made this A5 card a few weeks ago for my mum to send to my nephew's girlfriend - Kat, to celebrate her birthday.

The colours were inspired by the beautiful paper I used from First Edition's 'Summer Breeze' pad. The photo doesn't do it justice really - I'd buy the whole collection if I could. I enjoyed making this card, but it took quite a bit of working out to get the scene right and what and where mask. I'm happy with the final product and hopefully Kat was!

Here's what I used:

Stamp Set: Docrafts Tulip 'Oriental Garden'

Paper/card: First Edition's 'Summer Breeze', Orange, Teal, Glitter cardstock

Promarkers/Flexmarkers: Aquamarine, Glacier Blue, Honeydew, Duck Egg, Apple, Orange, Forest Green

Copic: YR02, E95, E00, E11, E38, E37, 100, ER32

Dies: Cheery Lynn Design Fanciful Flourish B117, Marianne Designs Small Poinsettia

Glitter, computer generated sentiment, Tumbled Glass Distressed Ink

Hope you like it.

Thanks for visiting, why not leave me a message/comment!

Janine X

Sweet Baby Girl

I made this cute little card for my neighbour's daughter, she's just given birth to a baby girl called Gracie.  Sending all our congratulations and love to both her and her husband.  Wow, I feel really old now as she used to babysit my daughter when she was little, my daughter's now 23....and now she's a mum!!

The things I used:

Digi Image: 'Diaper Crew' from Mo Manning Digital Pencil

Pens: Copic, Promarkers

Card: White Decorative Edged 6 x 6 CS, First Edition 'Summer Breeze'

Die: Spellbinder Shapeabilities 'Persian Motifs' 

Pink Organza Ribbon, Computer Generated Text Tag, Pearl Maker by Waco

Thanks for looking.

Janine XX



Good Luck - New Job - New Home

Made this simple wee card for my closest friend's daughter. She's just moved to Leeds to start her career as a children's nurse at Jimmy's children's hospital.  She's such a lovely girl and a pleasure to know. I've watched her grow up...and just I'm so proud of her!  Well done Helen, you deserve it.

Here's what I used:

Card Stock: Decorative edged 6 X 6 card, Pale Pink, First Edition 'Summer Breeze'

Stamp Set: Papermania -  Lucy Cromwell 'Bunting'

Pro & Flexmarkers: Various

Distressed Ink: Worn Lipstick

Thanks for looking

Janine XX

Chocolate & Mint...Yummy!

Made for my closest friend's son who turned 18 last week.

I used the fabulous boy with his laptop, drawn by the equally fabulous Mo Manning.  I wanted to make a simple card with an earthy look suitable for a teenage boy, and I didn't want to make it over complicated. I bought First Edition's Summer Breeze paper pad for another card I'm doing and I was so inspired by the paper designs and colours that I decided to go with a brown and mint green theme.  I must admit the papers in this pad are gorgeous! I must admit I can colour till the cows come home but I always struggle with my background layers, so after seeing many blog cards recently with the banner strips I decided to try them out, and hopefully they work well.

I used:

Pens: Promarkers, Flexmarkers, Copics, Spectum Noirs

Papers: First Edition ' Summer Breeze'

Ink: Black Memento, Tea Dye Distressing Ink

Computer generated sentiment

Image: Computer Boy from Mo's Digital Pencil

Thanks for looking, hope you like it.

Janine XX

Heart to Heart

LOL, I made this for my husband for our 25th anniversary to give him a giggle. It was so simple to make.

I cut out 2 card using my Cricut,which I distressed and dashed. I glued them together overlaying them slightly.  I computer generated the message to my husband and hand cut it to make a banner, and distressed the edges again.  The digi image was printed off 3 times, coloured and cut out and then layered up; this was then glued onto the front of the hearts.  The very apt sentiment came with the digi couple, which I printed off, distressed and layered up onto the front of the heart. I added glossy accents to their glasses...it makes their eyes bulge!!

The hard part was making it stand up.  So I had to devised a standing mechanism, it took several attempts to get it right...but I did finally.   Here it is.....it's not the best photo I  know, but it was hard to get the shot right,

Here's what I used:

Digi Stamp/Sentiment: Bugaboo 'SL One Person To Annoy'

Selection of Pro & Flexmarkers, Copics, Cricut machine and Cricut cartidge 'Plantin Schoolbook', Glossy Accents

Hope you like it, my hubbie did!!

Janine X

Have a Hoot

Made for my step-dad's 80th birthday a couple of weeks ago. I always find making cards for men really hard (like we all do) - he really likes owls and luckily I found this stamp set in The Range. They're so cute.

I wanted the owls to appear as though they were peering out of the hole of tree, so I stamped the owls, outer leaves and flower frame about 6 times.  I cut out circle in the same woodgrain paper and placed the owls inside it with a small piece of the brown card as the background. On top of the circle I coloured in and cut out lots of the leaves, branches and flowers that I had previously stamped to add depth. The branches were cut out using my Cricut, and the leaves were cut from a swirl die and coloured with promarkers. It took quite a bit of time to do but I was happy with the end result.  I just love dimensional cards.

This is what I used:

Stamp: Neighbourwood 'Owlets'

Paper: First Edition 'Desert Blooms'

Leaves: Cherry Lynn Designs 'Fanciful  Flourish' B117

Branches: Cricut, Cricut Cartridge '

Pro & Flexmarkers: Ivory, Putty, Pastel Yellow, Sandstone, Lemon, Sandstone, Caramel, Canary, Pumpkin, Satin, Ruby, Orange, Berry Red, Forest Green, Leaf Green, Meadow Green

White Pen, computer generated sentiment, 'Tea Dye' distressing ink

Hope you like it, and thanks for looking.

Janine X

White Wedding

Card made for my daughter to give to her friend who was getting married in Wales yesterday .

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH - WISHING YOU A LONG AND HAPPY LIFE TOGETHER.

The digi image and sentiment was printed directly onto the card. I used a grey promarker to outline the image again, then silver leaf and gems were added to the image and date tag.  Finally I added a diecut swirl and roses.

Things I used:

Image: Papercraft Inspiration magazine freebie
Promarkers: Cool Grey
Dies: Cheery Lyn Designs - Fanciful Flourish (B117), Marianne Creatables (LR0162)
Cardstock: White, Silver mirra card
Plus: Gems, Silver leaf
The sentiment and tag were computer generated.

Hope you like it.

Janine X

Saltburn

I thought I would share a few photos of Saltburn-By-The-Sea, on the North East coast.  This is where my hubbie and I had lunch on our anniversary, it's about 10 minutes down the road from us.  Lunch was lovely and the sea air blew a few cobwebs away.  It was packed with tourists, locals and surfers.  The first photo is shot from the pier and the view is of the Victorian tram which is in full working order. The second photo is again from the pier looking at the headland.  Gorgeous!

Thanks for looking.

Janine X

Happy 25th Anniversary To Us!

It's our 25th wedding anniversary today, and we had such a sweet day.  It was a quiet day but lovely, full of romance and love (sorry if that sounds corny...but it's true). Our day was finished off with a bottle of bubbly (yep the good stuff!), 'Pizza Hut' pizza and the Muppet movie, our lovely daughter Heather helped us celebrate.

It was a very special day!

We've had our 'ups and downs' Tony but we've ridden the storms, and here we are 25 years later stronger and better for them. Thank you my babe for 25 wonderful and interesting years - full of love and laughter.

I love you.

Janine X

Pretty In Pink

Made for my lovely niece...not sure if I've gone a bit heavy on the pink!!!  You know what it's like, you get an idea and you've just got to run with it.  This was terrible to photograph, I find it so difficult to take a good shot of an easel cards...this was the best I could do. Although it wasn't planned I've decided to put into 'Passion for Promarkers' challenge (153) this week - the theme is 'lots of layers'...handy eh!  I've also just entered Bunny Zoe's Craft Challenge 25 - Girls;, Girls, Girls.
Wish me luck!
I used 'Wee Stamps' Silver Fairy digi stamp and coloured her in with markers twice, cut bits out and layered her up.  I just love her, she's so pretty and a joy to colour in.

Stuff I used:
Grand Calibur, Circle Scissor, Glitter, Inkdusters, MS Leaves Punch, Distressed Ink, Pro & Flexmarkers
Dies: Spellbinder Grand Scallop Circle, Perisan Accents & Edgeabilities, Marianne Designs - LR0120 Swirl & LR0162 Swirly Roses, Cheery Lyn Designs - Small Exotic Butterfly
Stamps: Silver Fairy digi stamp - Wee Stamps, Sentiment Circles - Lili of the Valley

Thanks for looking, I hope you like it.

Janine X

Father's Day

Made for my step-dad for Father's Day and also my entry into 'A Passion for Promarkers' challenge 152 - Red, White & Blue.

 I stamped and coloured in the gorgeous 'Fizzy Moon bear a couple of times, cut out and layered up certain sections to give dimension.  I just love him, he's  just sooo cute!

The things I used:
Paper: First Edition - Up, Up & Away, Desert Blooms
Pro & Flexmarkers: Light fawn, Saffron, Caramel, Artic Blue, Celestial Blue, Cadet Blue, True Blue, Ivory, Putty, Lipstick Red, Poppy, Crimson
Distressed Inks: Tumbled Glass, Tea Dye
Other bits & bobs used: Grand Calibur, Grand Spellbinder Die, Cocoa Memento Ink
Sentiment was computer generated.

Hope you like it, thanks for visiting.

Janine XX

Seaside Serenity

Made for my great cousin who lives in Holland for his birthday next week.

I decided to make a simple DL card...the design come from my imagination...well that's a scary thought!

This is what I came up with - I used my Inkylicious Ink Duster and stamps, distressed ink for the dunes and sky, and used my promarkers to add the fence and a splash of colour (get it!!).  The shells were stamped, coloured and glazed...they're very realistic.

This is what I used:

Inkylicious: Ink Dusters, Seascape Memories
Distressed Ink: Tumbled Glass, Antique Line, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye, Worn Lipstick
Promarkers: Aqua, Denim, Coll Blue, Sky Blue, Caramel, Sandstone, Burnt Sienna, Canary
And: White Gel Pen, Glossy Accents, White Card, Blue card, Cork look-like paper (wallpaper scrap), computer generated text

Hope you like it - thanks for visiting.

Janine XX

BLUE KITTY

Made for my daughter to give to my SIL next week - the layout was inspired by a card made by Pickles on her blog 'A Load of Pickles'. Thanks!

Stamps used: Hunkydory 'Kitty in the flowers', LOFV Female Circle Sentiments
Promarkers and Flexmarkers used: Spice, Apricot, Saffron, Blossom, Rose Pink, Satin, Artic Blue, Soft Lime, Sky Blue, Lime Green, Canary, Lime Zest, Meadow Green, Leaf Green, Soft Green (I know, I know I used a lot of colours but hey-ho what can I say...I like to play!)
Distress Ink: Tumbled Glass (Used for the sky)
Papers: First Edition 'Up Up & Away
Die: Marianne Creatables LR0120 Flourish'
Lastly a touch of peach/orange glitter was added.

Hope you like it, and thanks for visiting.

Janine X

HAPPY DIAMOND JUBILEE

I've been watching the Jubilee celebrations all day, and just finished watching the Diamond Jubilee concert in The Mall, London....it was fantastic. It made me feel proud to be British!

Congratulations your Majesty on your 60th year - you are a true diamond.

Janine X

3rd and Final Entry

This is the last of my entries for the Passion for Promarkers 'birthdays' challenge.  I decided to go with a patchwork background because I was inspired by a card on A Load Of Pickle's blog; which come in handy as I couldn't make up my mind which papers to use as First Edtion's Boho Chic pad is so gorgeous.

CARD 3

I used pro and flexmarkers, a stamp called 'kitty in the flowers' from Hunkydory, First Edition 'Boho Chic', distressed inks, glitter, Marianne Designs LR0162 swirly rose & leaves die.

Thanks for visting and wish me luck.

Janine X

My 2nd Card Entry

Here is my second card entry for the Passion for Promarkers 'birthdays' challenge.  I printed Trudy out a few times, coloured in and cut out and finally layered her up.  She's so cute...Mo is such a talented lady!

CARD 2

I used Pro and flexmarkers plus a digi stamp from Mo Digital Pencil - called Trudie, Kanban Floral pattern stamp. Sizzix Flower Layer Set, Big & Juicy ink pad.

Thanks for visiting and wish me luck.

Janine X

My Card Challenge Entries #1

I have decided to enter more competions so here is the 1st of 3 cards I've made for the Passion for Promarkers 'birthdays' challenge.  All cards have been coloured with pro and flex markers....obviously :)

CARD 1

I used Pro and Flexmarkers, a stamp collection called 'Floral Chic' from Hunkydory and a few stamps called  'Flutters 1' from Inkylicious, an old birthday text stamp, distressed inks, glitter, nestibilities, spellbinders.

Thanks for looking...and wish me luck!

Janine X

Baking Babes

To celebrate the newest member of our family...our new Kenwood Kichen Machine - Heather and I made bread sticks and cupcakes this afternoon. We then loaded our cupcakes  with lots of 'Mr Whippy-like' buttercream topping with silver balls. OMG I've just had one and they are gorgeous...and way too moreish. Both were our first attempts, and  even if I say so myself my breadsticks were fabulous, particularly my plaited ones...thank you Loraine Pascal for your recipe.

Now back to my card making for the Passion for Promarkers challenge.

TTFN
Janine X

Butterfly Colours

Made for my closest friend's birthday today.....Happy Birthday Karen!

I used Inkylicious Ink Dusters and stamps,. I used a variety of different ink mainly to give me a few more colours and shades - I used distressed, Mementos and Big & Juicy ink pads.  It was a really easy card but I did fiddle with the colours and shades a bit to make it more vibrant. Finally I added a touch of Stickles for a little sparkle. The camera really doesn't do it justice.

Here are the ingredients I used:

Big & Juicy Pads: Vibrant Primary, Waterfall
Distressed Inks: Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans, Budled Sage, Worn Lips, Peeled  Paint, Mustad Seed,
Memento ink pads: Tuxedo Black, Rose Bud, Danube Blue
Inkylicious Stamps:  Flutters 1, Create A Collage, Make A Wish, Dandelion Wishes

Thanks for looking....hope you like it!

Janine XX

I did it!

Wow I made Passion for Promarkers Top 5.......thank you for choosing me! 

Thanks Coops for sending me the info, I appreciate it.

Janine XX

50th Birthday card

Sssh, I've just made this easel card for my sister!  I'm giving it to her tomorrow, so it's a good job she doesn't read my blog.  I just hope she sees the funny side as she always sends me humerous and unflattering card.

I drew a few ballons and pressies to add the digi stamp (Stella) and put the text in a speech bubble. I then printed off the whole image a few times and coloured with promarkers, flexmarkers and copics, then cut out certain areas and layered up.  To finish off the image I added glossy accents to her specs and a splash of glitter.  To add a pretty touch I cut out some flowers, leaves, a swirl and a butterfly.

I loved making this.

Digistamp: Stella Firemen Calling image/sentiment from Bugaboo Stamps (I changed the sentiment and drew my  own balloons and gifts)
Papers & cardstock: Papermania CS and Fizzymoon
Promarkers & Flexmarkers: Aquamarine, Surf Blue, Sky Blue, Pink Pearl, Wild Orchid, Amethyst, Lilic, Saffon, Caramel, Satin, Canary, Pumpkin, Blue Grey
Copics: E21, E11, E95, E35
Flowers: Swirl (LR0162) - Marrianne
Butterfly:Small Exotic Butterfly die - Cherry Lynn Designs
Swirl: Fanciful Flourish die - Cheery Lynn Designs
Disressed Inks: Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord
Spellbinder: Labels 4 die
To finish off I added a touch of glitter and some glossy accents

Hope you like it and thanks for visiting.

Janine X

Fantasy Flowers

My deliciously hand drawn flowers - well something like that!!

I was inspired by Heather's entry on her blog, and thought I can do that. It's great fun, and sooooo easy. My flower were drawn with a pigment marker and coloured with promarkers, and dusted over with distressed ink.

Hope you like it.

Janine X

Summery Flowers

This is another April collection - Summery Flowers. It was made for a commission for a 40th birthday. She wanted it colourful with flowers (hopefully this is what she meant!).

I used the following:
Paper: First Edition Boho Chic (I just love, love these papers) and peach coloured card, white glitter card
Flowers: Tim Hotlz - Tattered Florals, Spellbinders - Rose Creations, Marianne Designs - Swirly Flowers (LR0162)
Swirl: Marianne Designs (LR0120)
Border & Leaves: Spellbinders - Damask Accents (I love these too!)
Name Banners: Computer generated

I hope you like it!

Thanks for visiting - I appreciate it.

Janine X

April Appetisers For You

Here's the first of a few cards I've made recently, hope you like them. 

Well it's Sunday and the weather here is dull, wet and windy....so I guess it's crafting weather then...aah poor me! :)

So I've decided that I'm going to  have a good play with the crafting goodies my gorgeous daughter Heather and my lovely hubbie bought me for my birthday - my new inyklicious stamps, distressed inks and prismacolour pencils. I'm also going to scan in a couple of pictures created by moi of my flower doodles, there were inspired by the brilliant and very talented Heather Telford on her blog Bit's & Pieces. Thanks Heather!

The card was made for my Auntie using my new Spellbinder dies, a really old stamp and distessed in - a very simple card to make.

Thanks for visting.

Janine X

St George's Day

Yey, it's St George's Day and it's my birthday....and I'm now officially in my 50's (51 to be exact). OMG how did I get to be this old LOL!!!   I have the mind of a 21 yo and the body of a 51 yo - so how does that work then??

So I guess it's a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!

I got pressies - I got a box of  72 Prismacolor Pencils and some Copic for my birthday from my lovely hubbie Tony...thank you my babe (I love you loads xxx).  And yes I got them a few days early but who's counting.  Plus I had a lovely meal out with Tony and my daughter Heather...total bliss, fab meal and great company.

TTFN
Janine X

Flowers for my sweet

A cute little card for a 1st birthday.  This was right out of my comfort zone but I have to admit I totally, totally enjoy making this card, and will definitely make more like it.

The little girl digi image was from the  'Rosie Collection 1' set from the New in March category from DigiStamp Boutique. She is 1 of a set of 3, and they are sooooooo cute and such a dream to colour in.  The base rocker card was cut on my Grand Calibur using the largest scallop die and scored in half, I did however cut a slither of the bottom section so it would sit flat on a surface as it originally tilted to one side....much better  The rest of the circles and scallops were cut using my Circle scissor and circle dies and layered up.

 OMG she is so cute, I just love her!!!

Here's what I used:
Papers: First Edition (again) Up Up & Away (used for layers, name, flower and leaves)
Kanban: Die cut Silver background flower shapes
Spellbinder dies: (Grand and normal)
Grand Calibur
Promarkers: Leaf Green, Lime Green, Forest Green, Powder Blue, Pastel Blue, Yellow, Pastel Yellow, Canary, Caramel, Burnt Sienna, Saffron, Pumpkin
Spectrum Noirs: 132. 133, 135
Distressed Inks: Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass
Brad and glitter
EK Success Circle Scissor
Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die

Hope you like it., thanks for visiting!

Janine X

Computer Boy

I made this square card for Chris, my daughter's boyfriend who is an avid gamer in between acting jobs. This was a different style for me, as I'm not good at layering like this but hey-ho, what the hell. So here's my attempt!

Stamp: Digi stamp from Mo's Digital Pencil (Paul Typing)

Paper: First Edition Desert Blooms, brown paper (roll of paper used inside Xmas paper)

Promarkers: Saffron, Apricot, Pumpkin, Satin, Leaf Green, Meadow Green, Pastel Green, Grass, Powder Blue, Pastel Blue, Cornflower, Caramel

Spectrum Noirs: WG1, W3, 142, 100, 132, 133, 135

Distressed Inks: Tea Dye

Grand Calibur and Spellbinder circle die

Computerised text letters and birthday stamp

Hope you like it.

Janine X

Happy Easter

Happy Easter for you all, hope you're having a lovely time. I'm desperately trying to have a good time but my damn shoulder and neck are causing me huge problems, just typing this is, is complete agony.  I'm still waiting for my physio appointment, I just wish it would hurry up.  I can't wait to get started so that this trapped nerve and pain will go away.  I've suffered with wear and tear in my neck and shoulder for the past 30 years due to a daft accident I had, but this is on the opposite side and the pain on a scale of 0-10 is a def 20. Plus these pins and needles in my arm and hand are a nuisance and I don't want to do anything....but you have to keep on going, don't you!

Anyway enough of my moaning, here are a couple of cards for you today.  I hope you like them!

Janine XX

A Litle Star

I made this little 'Well Done' 4 x 4 card for my niece (Lily) who was appearing in her school's production of Oliver! - she was one of Fagin's gang. Both she and the cast were fantastic - well done King's Academy, Middlesbrough, I really enjoyed it. I think she's another actress in the making, talk about keeping it in the family!

I used my Fizzy Moon stamp cos he's just soooo cute and coloured him with Promarkers, and added a sprinkling of glitter, and tada done!  Not bad considering I have a trapped nerve in my neck, and in absolute agony.

Things I used:

White card blank
Promarkers: Ivory, Saffron,Burnt Sienna, Satin, Duck Egg, Cool Aqua, Sky Blue
Spectrum Noir: Blue Grey
Paper/Card: First Edition - Up Up & Away
Spellbinders: Circle and Scallop Circle

Hope you like it.

Janine X

NEW CARDS FOR YOU

Mother's Day Card
This is the card I made for my mum...Happy Mother's Day mum.

I stamped the same flowers several times with versamark and embossed with clear powder.

Then I used the brilliant ink dusters from  Inkylicious Crafts to add colour to the background using pink and brown ink. I've only used them a few times, and take a little getting used to but I found them much easier to use them a brayer.  As they're double ended I keep one end for one colour to avoid contamination.  They're a simple and effective way to build up and blend colour slowly using all of your water based inks eg distressing, adirondacks, pigment and even mica powders etc.

Note: Never use permanement inks as they stain the brush

I stamped the text across the background with brown (2nd generation ink as the ink pad was brand new and very juicy), and then randomly stamped the darker flowers using the same brown as before (2nd and 3rd generation ink).

I tore a strip of parchment for the sentiment, and then stamped the text stamp with Flitter Glu and added gold gilding flakes. This glue is from Indigo Blu and is fantastic, it's great for adding gilding flakes to delicately stamped images/text. It looks like PVA but it's much, much stronger, you basically coated it onto a piece of cut 'n' dry foam to make what is essentially an ink pad.  You can then pat your stamp with it, then stamp your image (don't press too hard as it's incredibly strong) and add flakes, glitter or beads etc. It's fabulouas and definitely worth a try! I spotted both products and demo's on Create and Craft TV.

The flower was made using my Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and coloured using the same pink and brown inks. The whole thing was then matted onto brown card and the based card. All in all this was a really easy card to make.  The gilded text can be seen now - sorry the camera couldn't quite pick it up but it looked stunning and so professional.

Stamps: All from Inkylicious - wonderful mother, flowers and background text

Inks: Memento Rich Cocoa brown),Memento Rose Bud (pink), Distressing ink Tie dye (brown)

One for the boys

Here's a few of the boys cards I made recently...I hope you like them.

Army Boy
Made for a little boy who loves the army. Apparently he loved it and I've been asked to make another one for another little boy. The digi kit was from Digi Printables . I printed the images several times and layered them up to keep it simple but dimensional.

Sk8r Boy
Made using the Sk8r boy digi stamp from Polly Craft Designs, which I multi printed, coloured using promarkers and then layered up.

Promarkers: Lime, leaf green, forest green, powder blue, cornflower, sky blue, caramel, henna
Spectrum Noir: 132, 135, 196
Distressing inks: tumbled glass, peeled paint, faded jeans
Sentiment: computer generated
Papers: Up Up & Away (First Edition) Paper Pad - great price from Dunelm Mill or The Range store.
Stars and Number: Paper (as above) cut using Plantin Cricut cartridge

I hope you like them all.

Janine XX

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there, and to those that have passed on you'll always be in our hearts and minds. We love you!

My gorgeous daughter Heather bought me a beautiful bouquet yesterday (I know it was a day early but who cares). We also made a cake together with lashings of pink/strawberry frosting and little pink and white sugar flowers. I had a slice, or should I say a 'chunk' this morning with a cup of coffee...it was divine! No doubt it will be on Heather's blog at some point, as she documents everything.  She also bought me a beautiful art deco card and a lovely necklace...talk about being spoilt. It I didn't have to cook a Sunday lunch I would have described it as a perfect day...lol!! Never mind.

Snow...where did that come from?

Well I've just looked out of my living room window, and that grey rainy day outside has now turned into a grey snowy day...well where the hell did that come from?  I wasn't expecting that today!


The only upside is that I don't think it will lay.....well here's hoping.


Love
Janine XX

My Scrapbook Page

Just to let you know I've now started to add my digi scrapbook page, so why not check it out.

Thanks for visiting.

Janine XX

Anniversary Couple

This monochrome card was made for my sister and BIL's  anniversary on Monday (so ssh! don't tell them), who aren't really into lovey dovey stuff. It was really simple to make, it was just a case of printing out the backing sheet  and cut out.the shapes using my Cricut and Grand Calibur and sticking them down.

CS: Kanban White Scalloped card, Co-ordinations Black Card, RymanWhite card
Cricut: Sweetheart cartridge
X Cut: Tags/Bookplate Die
Background CS: Pink Petticoat Elegance White (Black - Negative)
Embossed Background CS: Cuttlebug Swirls Folder
Nestibilities: Circle and scallop circle dies
Gem, Brads and black ribbon

Hope you like it.

TFL
Janine XX

Super Mini

Afternoon everyone

This is an easel card was made for my lovely hubbie Tony for his birthday before Xmas (sorry for the late post).  He just loves mini cars as we had one in our courting days, and if we win the lottery it's on his wish list.  Yer keep dreaming Tony!!

Things I used

Stamp: Retro Cars - Kanban

Promarkers and Flexmarkers: Berry Red, Poppy, Black, Warm Grey 4, Satin, Apricot, Cool Grey 2

CS: Navy, Red, White

Distressing Ink: Tumbler Glass

Glossy Accents: Used for windscreen and lights

Nestibilities: Circle

Circle Scissor

Thanks for looking.

Janine XXX





Some New Cards

Afternoon everyone
I've just finished tweaking my header using Serif CraftArtist (which I love, love, love!), it now looks so much better.

Anyway here are a few cards I made recently as promised, I hope you like them.  Both cards were made using digi kits.

Buttercup Fairy



The cute little girl, embelishments and background paper is from a really old digi kit from Cuddly Buddly called 'Buttercup Fairy', no doubt you'll probably still be able to buy her.  I printed the image and text onto my white background base card. Then I printed another 4 of the images onto another piece of card and cut out different sections of them, so I could layer them up to give her dimension - she was so easy to cut out. I used pinflair glue to layer her up, and finally I added glitter. The background cbase ard was cut at the top and bottom using my Grand Calibur and a Edgeabilities die.

The Big Red Bus

Here's the next card, I made it for a little boy who just loves buses especially red ones.

Made from a great digi kit called 'Cool Britannia' from The Lilypad (.http://www.the-lilypad.com)
I used Serif's CraftArtist to create this card.  The background and bus banner was made from bits of other digi kits and a little digital drawing/writing from me. Again this was printed off a few times and cut out.  I add a piece of acetate behind the cut out windows (sorry my photo's not very good!) for a bit of realism.  I used foam pads this time for dimension (mainly because I hate using glue...because I make such a mess...lol).

Hope you like them.

Janine XX

Footnote:  Annabel and Joseph loved their cards...particularly Joseph who couldn't stop talking about his big red bus LOL :)