In The Garden

With the weather in the UK really nice ,many of us will be spending time in the garden. My Nan and Grandad had a lovely old fashioned deck chair like the one featured in my stamp "deck chair " by Little Claire. Little Claire stamps are made and sold in a place about  a mile away from our house but I bought this one from the craft shop in Llangollen. I also bought a Lavinia stamp , they are based in North Wales and are sold in an artist / craft shop in Llangollen where every thing is hand made .

 I've taken a picture to show you and the cute caravan outside. The lady that works there said the lady behind Lavinia stamps is also a very talented potter.

I've coloured with promarkers, the papers are first edition Spring drop and the charm was in a set of charms from a vintage craft mag.

Our day in  Llangollen was lovely the icing on the cake was a big black steam engine pulling into the Victorian station. The driver waved and later blew the whistle, it was so loud I screamed in fright , what a girl!

 my hubby Bob enjoying a pint of Ruddles County (real ale ) I joined him but only had a half, it was grand.

challenges entered:
allsorts : in the garden
totally gorgeous : anything goes with flowers,
stamping sensation : summer blooms

Im off to enjoy the garden , have a great weekend. janex

Strawberry Girl

Nothing says summer like strawberries , especially freshly picked from the garden , mine are nowhere near ready to eat but they are in flower.
This image from mo manning called "strawberry girl " is adorable , I coloured with my pro and flex markers using a scalloped oval punch to give a cloudy sky effect.
The papers are strawberry hill digi's from Raspberry road. I've machine stitched the edges , added mesh from my local craft shop , a ribbon free gift with a card mag and a pink strawberry button from a buttons gallor set.
We have finished the bedroom and done a shabby chic effect of the old pine bedside tables. I have took a few pics if you fancy a nose.
The weather has been nice this week, we walked along the river in Chester yesterday , gaping at the beautiful houses lining the Dee and watching the rowers. Nice glass of real ale in the Boat House pub, we sat in seats in a kind of beach hut, very cute .
We are leaving shortly for Llangoland , in North Wales , gorgeous place with a great craft shop.

challenges entered :
paper take weekly : anything goes
allsorts : here comes the girls
mo's digital pencil : children
I love promarkers : all stitched up

enjoy your day. janex

Make A Wish!

Do you remember telling the time with dandelions when you where a kid , if I see them in the garden in their yellow form they are quickly dugout as the seeds soon spread, they look kind of magical when in seed , in mass blowing in a field.

This Mo Manning image "make a wish " really appealed to me , she is a cutie but her red canvas vans style  boots give her a great modern twist. Mo really knows how to capture children.

I coloured with pro and flex markers to match the papers. The papers are Family Ties by first edition , I've inked the edges in chalk ink. The heart ribbon is docraft and the sentiment a great impressions stamp. I used a nestie circle die to cut out the center and a round woodware punch for the sentiment.

challenges entered : 

sketch n stash : followed the sketch bellow 

Mo's digital challenge : summertime

creative card crew : punches/dies

The hobby house : anything goes

 

The above pics of my garden taken through the bathroom window , the clematis is always a welcome sight.
Well I wished for sun and my wish came true , Bob is in the garden painting pine furniture , we are giving it a distressed shabby chic look. I'll post some pics when it's finished.
Enjoy your day and a big thanks for the kind comments regarding our friends death , my thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Happy crafting. janex

Gone To The Beach

We are still in a state of shock over Gary's death , his wife has posted pictures of them together on facebook. It doesn't seem real because I was talking to him last weekend and he was walking their dog Meg.
Life is short so make the most of it!

My card today is inspired by sun sea and sand , well I'm looking out onto a nice sunny day with lovely blue skies so it's kind of fitting.
The stamps are a set from Docraft , I've coloured with promarkers. The paper is by K&Co and the button shells , ocean view by craftime. I've added some flower soft sand for an beach look .

challenges entered :
catch the bug : anything goes
The squirrel and the fox : summer or winter ( had to be summer for me)
cupcake inspiration :     at the beach (see pic above 


Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend and manage to enjoy some sun. janex

Poppy Fields ,red and green.

First of June and the sun is shinning, there is a bit of a cold wind blowing so that takes the edge of the enjoyment.

We heard very sad news today of a friend who has died young , in this 40's . He was a lovely family man and never complained , he had cancer and it spread to his brain. I have just spoke for about an hour to his sister and my son Sam who is good friends with their son went to the house with flowers.
I had a couple coming to view the house , I cried as I cleaned the house ready for inspection. They where a lovely young couple and I hope they buy it.
My card features an often used stamp "poppy fields " by Penny Black, one of my favourites.
I coloured the image in traditional colours of red and green with pro markers and added some stickles to the butterflies and poppy centers.
The red gingham paper is craft creation and the green spot paper is by do craft. The sentiment is from a lili of the valley pad. The shaped card is craftwork cards and I've inked in red chalk ink.

Challenges entered : 

the sweet stop : followed the sketch above

enjoy the rest of the weekend. janex

lili of the valley cupcakes

Normally we use  printed  papers and stamp and colour an image , today I've done it the other way round.
My background papers are stamped using inky doodles fabulous fabric stamps . I used whisper purple ink and black memento for the stitching. The image is a lili of the valley pre coloured image , it was just lilac and white so I used a yellow promarker and also on the ribbon on my little tag.
The sentiment is a woodware stamp , part of a set with a floral stamp called modern spray (worth buying just for the great sentiment I think). To do my flat bow I make 2 holes with the largest hole punch on my cropadile , feed the ribon through the back and cross over , then feed it through the front again , then cut to the required lenght . I like the way it looks , not to bulky and you only use a small amount of ribbon.

challenges entered :
lilies little fairies : purple and yellow
polkadoodles : the colour purple
crafty sentiments : show us stitching
totally papercraft :anything goes

well the sun is shinning today , hence the good pics of my card . Got a young couple viewing the house tomorrow so fingers crossed.
Have a lovely weekend and happy crafting. janex

Inky Doodles, fabulous fabrics

Hi crafting friends , weather is still rubbish here in the UK, lots of rain and on the cool side ,I'm sick of it!
Thank goodness for crafting. I was watching create and craft on the tv the other day and saw a lovely lady called Sarah demonstrating some new stamps (well new to me ) they are called Inky Doodles . Her cards where just fab with a folky homespun look I love. I went to her website (free postage if over £15 ) and bought a set of polymer stamps called fabulous fabrics 2 stamp set. Seems like I bagged the last set.

They are wonderful for creating background papers.  There are single stiching stamps to , as shown on my card, these are going to be so useful.
I used some tim holtz distressing ink ,rusty hinge , to give them a vintage faded fabric look. The bird stamp and sentiment are pink petticoat and where free in a card mag. I've coloured with promarkers to match the papers, added a ribbon , flower buttons from do craft and the clouds (this was found out by chance ) are the same background paper ,punched with a large woodware flower punch, cut in half,   inked and mounted on foam pads.

challenges entered :

divas by design : tie a ribbon
stampavie : ribbon or lace
simon says stamp : anything goes
craft inspiration : anything goes (with buttons option )

have a great day and happy crafting. janex