The Other Side Of Me

I'm feeling pretty perky this morning as the time has come for my break from work quite quickly this time round.  I'm not back in work until Monday morning, which gives me plenty of time to craft and blog.  I really look forward to these times.  There's nothing nicer than spending an hour at your desk getting creative, is there? I have a few cards to catch up on with you, so we'd better start straight away: I don't even know where I got the inspiration for this card, I just went with the flow.  I'd spent a week looking through my stamps to find something suitable for a colleague at work who is only about twenty.  I did struggle as most of my stamps are geared to older women, until I unearthed this stamp from a set that was free with a magazine quite a while ago.  I used a kraft card base and a strip of So Saffron dsp, with a touch of Rose Red card stock.  This is such an awesome colour and I don't use nearly enough of it.  I stamped the lit...

Hello everyone!  It's still a bit nippy, isn't it?  We've had snow all day.  I've been on a course in Nottingham and was worried about getting home, but we've made it. The good thing was, we had a late start so I had a chance to photograph the Valentine card I've made for John while he was out of the house! The other blog challenge I want to keep up with this year is the Cards For Men challenge .  This is challenge no. 3 and they want to see Valentine, Anniversary cards etc, so here is my entry: So many cards on the internet are pink, aren't they?  But as most cards are made by women to give to the important man in their lives, I just wondered if there ought to be more of a focus on masculine cards.  I've seen a few cards like this though, and love this kind of design and just had to have a go. The base is kraft card, followed by very vanilla, which I distressed with Tim Holtz old paper ink and went round the edges with some soft suede ink, befor...

Hi folks, hope you're having a good weekend.  I can hardly believe I'm posting again so soon, but I really wanted to get this card on before it's too late. Here are another couple of challenge blogs I've been following since just before Christmas, but I haven't had enough supplies to be able to join in.  The first one is the Colour Q challenge  which as you can see, wants us to use the colours shown in the picture, put together beautifully in the skirt.  I don't have any of the Stampin Up! In Colours yet, so this is the first time I've been able to have a go.  The second challenge blog is Freshly Made Sketches.  I saw this and wondered if I could combine the two challenges. And so here is my card: First of all, I rotated the sketch, I just couldn't work it that way up! I decided to use a kraft card base, and stamped the image (sorry I can't remember the name of it) which I'd inked up in Old Olive, Real Red and More Mustard. ...

Hi there!  I've decided to make this my last  post before Christmas, as the chores are mounting up and, frankly, if I don't do them, no one else will!  This is the card I sent to my dear friend Margaret .  I just think the sweet simplicity of it sums up the true meaning of Christmas. (And I hope she liked it!) I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all the joy of the season, and to thank you so much for all the kind and uplifting comments that you've left me this year - they've meant a great deal.  The friendship of the crafting community in blogland has become very special to me. Watch this space, though, as I will be back some time between Christmas and the New Year, to do a little awards ceremony of my very own.  See you then. Best wishes, everyone! Jane xx

I'd like you to meet the card I made that made me take the plunge with Stampin Up!: This beautiful dove is from a stamp set called 'Special Blessings.'  As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it and I bought it in the nick of time before it retired.  It comes with a cross in the same design and some sentiments regarding baptisms and weddings.  The cross would be beautiful for a sympathy card and for Easter. I'd seen this card in a book by Kimber McGray and it's another one of those that took me a month to collect everything together so I could make it. I've run the white cardstock through my Bigshot with a polka dot embossing folder, then stamped the dove and the polka dots on the kraft card.  I didn't think it was very bright so I heat embossed it with white embossing powder and was very pleased with the result.  The ribbon was a bit of a bargain in Derby market, as it was only 19p a metre.  I decided to splash out (the last of the big spenders!)...

I am a big fan of all things involving cake, so card making is no exception.  I decided it was time to pull out one of my favourite stamps for the card I made yesterday: Apologies for the photo quality as I'd put this card in a bag before realising I hadn't photographed it.  I can't take it out again without ruining the label on the back, so I had to take a picture in situ.  I had a bit of a saga with this card, as the paper I really wanted to use is by Papertrey Ink.  The whole paper pack only cost $8.  That would have been fine, but the delivery charge was $37!  That's a bit of a no-no, isn't it?  Even for me!  I really don't understand why shipping is so expensive, or why they don't get a distributor in the UK, as their papers and stamps would be very popular here.  Hey-ho!  So I started searching for another paper, and I'm delighted to say I found this paper from October Afternoon.  They never let me down, do they?...

Continuing my love affair with kraft card, this is what I made yesterday: I love the clean, simple look of this kind of card. I love red with kraft card. Hope you like it! Recipe: stamps: freebie from Pink Petticoat in a magazine ink: Memento black Papers: October Afternoon Thrift Shop (again!) Embellies: 3 gems from Wild Orchid Crafts P.S. After reading Linda's comment below, I have decided to pluck up the courage to enter this card at the Less Is More Challenge .  It is my all-time favourite challenge.  I follow it faithfully, but have never had the nerve to enter it, but as their aim is to get to 1000 entries this time I think I'll put mine in.  Obviously most of their cards are white, but I've had a look and a few of them are coloured this time, so I may as well have a go, don't you think? Thanks for dropping by today.  Jane

Hello there!  Isn't it windy?  We are certainly feeling the side effects of Hurricane Katia here!  It's the perfect opportunity to batten down the hatches, grab a stash of coffee and biscuits and huddle up at the crafting table.  Here's what I've been working on: This card makes me realise how far I've come, as it was last Christmas that I really started to get to grips with card making and started to understand what could be done.  But I didn't have kraft card back then, I didn't have this stamp and I didn't even have my Bigshot so I couldn't have cut out the circles with the letters on.  But one year later, I am able to put a card like this together, completely from my own imagination, and I am thrilled! I started out with the red/green/brown colour combo in my head, which was something I fell in love with last year.  The reindeer is by Little Claire's Designs and I love him.  I bought him at the Summer Crafting event I went to and have been ...

It is my eldest daughter's birthday at the end of this month, and my grandson's just before that, so I thought I'd better get a move on.  I hate being caught out at the last minute. I've finally sourced some Kraft card and I am in love with it.  I knew I would be.  You know you see pics in magazines and blogs and think, 'I could make that, if only I had...'  Well, here's my first ever play with it:  My daughter's obviously going to be 30, hence the numbers in brown Memento ink.  I've rounded off the corners, which I'm doing on most of my cards these days, I've noticed.  The papers are October Afternoon (Thrift Shop) and I've cut the sentiment out with my Sizzix die.  You can't see it very well, so here's a close-up: Kraft card is very rough and ready compared to normal card (they don't tell you that in magazines, do they?) but it's beautiful stuff to work with. It goes very well with red cardstock and papers. You can c...