The Other Side Of Me

Hello all, It's a bit nippy, isn't it?  We haven't had a lot of snow, though, fortunately.   I've had a week off work and I've been packing, but also doing loads of french and getting some cards made. In January the card swap group challenge was to use a definite shape on your card, like a square, rectangle, circle, etc.  As it turned out, the majority of people went for hexagons in one way or another and they were all fabulous. This is the card I made for Michelle: I've used Pool Party and Lucky Limeade, with some of the lovely Fresh Vintage paper. I can't believe I've still got some of that in my stash. It's been absolute ages since I made one of these cards and it's silly really because they're very easy and fun to make. The whole piece of Lucky Limeade cardstock measures 28cm x 11 cm.  I scored at 7cm from either end and folded it over.  I cut two pieces of matching dsp at 10.5cm x 6.5cm and stuck them to both flaps.  Then I cut...

Evening everyone! I'm gradually working my way through my card list for November and December.  Here's the latest creation: I've managed to use up some Everyday Enchantment dsp for this card.  The stamp is one from the Simple Soft stamp set.  I still adore these. I do love my days off work, where I get lots of time to craft. It's a good job really, as I've recently got my eldest daughter into Project Life. We are both doing December Daily this year.  I've made some cards for my daughter to use in her album.  Hope she likes them. Back soon Jane x

I made a card for a resident who's birthday is on St Patrick's Day.  Here we are:   I started off with a Lucky Limeade base (it had to be green, didn't it?)  I've been wanting to play with a couple of embossing folders that I have that you would place over a card.  Now I can do this without creasing the surrounding cardstock I just had to have a go. The other thing is that I've just got a new set of Sizzix dies in tag shapes.  I cut a piece of Fresh Vintage dsp in the Lucky Limeade and Pool Party colour, then drew around the same die and cut it out, to make a border.  I popped it on, lined up straight at the top.  Then it was just a case of using up a few Pool Party scraps to make butterflies (I actually have a drawer full of these in lots of different colours and sizes).  Et voilà Back soon, I'm sure Happy crafting! Jane xx

I've been keeping a journal since the summer.  I've always kept a diary but I've wanted to add illustrations for ages.  I've just had to wait for the perfect book to use.  This is actually a sketch book from W H Smith. It's part smash book, part diary, part art journal.  I'm very pleased with a lot of the pages And then occasionally one turns out to be a total disaster! Okay, it started out well, went down hill rapidly and then I dropped a stamp on it and didn't know how to cover it up! And all the while, I kept seeing articles and pictures on Pinterest about Project Life.  At first I didn't even understand what it was, but I've gradually put two and two together and decided I really like it.  Anyone who likes scrapbooking is bound to, really.  Then it took ages to find out if anyone stocks the stuff in the UK (Hobbycraft as it turns out.  Probably others).  And then I looked at the price! There's no way, with all th...

Hello all! Sorry I haven't been here for a while, things have been so busy.  I've hardly had time for crafting, let alone blogging as well. But when I have had time, I've been really enjoying myself.  Take the top card.  Sorry I can't remember where the inspiration came from, but I had great fun making this.  The green is Lucky Limeade.  I still love this colour, especially with black. This was the next one, with a different colour combination: I sent this one to my son in law.  I like the texture on these hexagons, but there is something lovely about the smooth ones on the first card, too.  You'll probably know the stamp set is Tape It from SU.  This is such a versatile set I'm using it on everything.  The blues are Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo and Midnight Muse, which match the striped stamp sections. The next step was to make this one: This was for my son's birthday at the end of August.  It's literally 3 strips of ...

Okay, it's not really the oldest card in the world, but it is for a lady who is 104!  How often are you going to be able to make a card for someone of that age?!  She is actually our oldest resident.  She is full of life, reads loads of books and walks down to the dining room and back, twice a day! The cardstock is Lucky Limeade, with my last, tiny bit of ribbon to match.  I've embossed the white background, embossed my oval frame and cut round it, adding a little Tim Holtz Broken China distress ink, otherwise it would have been Pool Party, but I still don't have the ink!  The little birds are from a now long retired set called Clearly For You, which was the first set I ever bought and return to again and again.  Anyway, the recipient loved the card, which made my day.  I've no idea how many candles they managed to fit on her cake, though... Back soon, I hope Jane xx

I am thrilled to say my friend Lynne has ordered 10 cards from me.  How fab is it to know someone who likes your cards so much they order 10 at a time?!  I've sent off 8, and this is one of them: I saw a very similar card on Pinterest from Lisa Martz blog here .  I liked the colour scheme very much, but realised I liked the tall image in the centre panel.  I hunted around for what I had in mind and found my lovely bay tree image.  I don't know who makes this, it's just in a set of stamps in the Born To Shop range. I made this, with it's Lucky Limeade cardstock, and then black and assembled all the parts, and then had to leave it in my drawer while the Pool Party ribbon winged it's way to me and then I put it all together.  It's lovely to think Calypso Coral is coming back, isn't it? I've realised I haven't put any sort of sentiment on it, but then she can use it for whatever she wants, can't she? I need to crack on and make her two more car...

Good morning everyone!  It's a dull rainy day here, but we are desperate for the rain, so I am not going to complain.  My horse needs grass! Anyway, I have a special card to share with you today.  Check this out: This is the front of what looks like a fairly simple card.  The dsp is Everyday Enchantment, with a large piece of Pool Party cardstock cut using my framelits dies and then run through the Bigshot with the square lattice embossing folder. (I still have lots of this dsp left, which is why I'm so pleased Pool Party is staying with us.) The stamp is Summer Silhouettes in Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral with Happy Birthday stamped with my new stamp set, but it's very similar to the one in the retired Elementary Elegance set. I didn't realise until the card was finished that the dots on the flower really reflect the dots in the dsp. I've popped a little piece of Pool Party ribbon on the side, to add to the softness of the card. But the reall...

I promise I will be back later with a post showing my birthday cards, but I need to be quick to get this card on before the deadline. These are the colours for this week's colour Q challenge: I have been dying to use my new Clockworks set from Stampin Up, especially for my son in law's birthday on April 1st.  So I have a masculine stamp set in my hand, and then I see these colours, which shout 'masculine' to me, so I put them both together and came out with this: The cardbase is Lucky Limeade.  I've substituted Garden Green for Glorious Green, too.  I stamped the sentiments in the middle, covered them  up with a piece of card, then stamped various images around the edge of the card, which leaves this lovely border.  The two small cogs are stamped in Lucky Limeade, as is the clock.  I had great fun with this, here is a close-up: This is actually heat embossed.  My stamp-a-ma-jig got quite a work-out here, as I stamped the clock face ...

Good morning all.  Just to say first of all that I had a wonderful birthday yesterday and received some of the most beautiful cards I've ever seen, all made by members of the card swap group.  It absolutely made my day, and I can't thank you enough.  You are a very talented bunch of crafters.  I'll be showcasing the cards on here very soon, because you just have to see what I got! And now for today's card.  I saw this on Pinterest and just had to have a go.  The hardest part was working out the measurements to get 4 equal strips of paper, and now I can't remember what they are!  I had to ask my engineering husband to work it out for me in the first place (I don't do maths!)  The card base is 7" x 5" in Lucky Limeade (my new favourite colour!) so the next layer is a 1/4" shorter all round, then I cut and stuck the dsp down, and then cut with the framelits dies.  The stamp is from Sprinkled Expressions, a retired set, but as with any c...

Hello everyone, I can hardly believe it's been just over a week since my last post.  I have actually just worked nine days without a break, and although it wasn't all strenuous, I'm so glad to be having some days off.  I've completed my course work (what a relief!) so now it's time for some crafting. I've recently made this for one of the residents, whose birthday was on Tuesday.  If there's one thing you can say about Trudy, it's that she loves her cups of tea, so I had to go with this: Although I'm always saying I'm not very good at challenge blogs, when you make a card for someone you know, you quite often have a challenge of your own, don't you?  On this card, I knew I wanted to use my tea cup stamps (from Do Crafts, I think) and the papers from that set as I have so many left. Sometimes I might see a card on Pinterest and it's not necessarily the whole card I want to try, but just a certain aspect of it.  In this case, I'v...

Evening, everyone! I've recently decided to cut down on the number of challenge blogs I follow to help myself stay focused a bit more, so the plan is to enter the ones I've got left as often as possible. So I've made a card for this week's Friday Mashup challenge, which is: 1. Make a project with a "Time Theme". 2. Or Make a project using the "Color Black". 3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project with a " Time theme using the color Black". I can't believe this challenge has come along the day after I've ordered the SU! Clockworks set.  Of course, it won't arrive in time for this challenge, so I had to get my thinking cap on.  It wasn't long before I did what any sensible girl would do, and ran to my local craft shop for inspiration. I ended up buying an embossing folder, and this is what I made: At first I tried embossing black cardstock, but didn't like it, so then I swapped and got some green core...

My daughter's birthday was at the end of last month, and this is what I made for her: This is my first real go at a card using the Pennant Parade stamp set.  I think it's more that I'm nervous about how the string will work, whether I'll get it in place, etc.  I've been cruising around on Pinterest recently (isn't it awesome?!) and found a card very similar to this by Ruth M.  I saw it and fell in love, instantly, and had to have a go.  The card base is a DL card in pool party.  This is my first go with whisper white cardstock, too, which was lovely to work with.  I dusted over it with bashful blue, which you can't really see in the photo.  Then I had fun stamping the banners in melon mambo, marina mist and lucky limeade.  The sentiment is from the Apothecary Art set, perfect for this card. The little birds are from an old Hero Arts set. The baker's twine was free with a magazine a while ago. I used a tiny flower punch to make the flower...

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a great Bank Holiday weekend (here in the UK), even if it is raining! Now, many of you probably already know Lesley Croghan, owner of the wonderful Always Playing With Paper blog, who runs her Merry Monday challenge from there.  If you don't, you certainly should pop over when you get time. Anyway, she's now hosting a new challenge, called Dynamic Duos, which you can find here : Her first colour choice is Pool Party and Lucky Limeade, and I couldn't resist having a go.  This is what I've made: The base is 5x7" in Very Vanilla.  (Neutrals are allowed, thank goodness!)  Then I've taken a piece of watercolour card, which is very similar to the vanilla, with the addition of a lovely texture.  I've punched out a flower using my Posy Punch, very close to the edge, so it leaves a gap.  I've put dimensionals on the back of the water colour paper and stuck it onto one of the sheets from the Everyday Enchantment ...

Hello, everyone, are you as fed up with this wet weather as I am?  Every time I step outside it's pouring.  Last Saturday  we went through a river and the water was up over my ankles.  I wouldn't mind, but I was riding Barnaby at the time! Still, the wet weather gives us an excuse to get some crafting done, doesn't it? I've come across another couple of cards that we made at the workshop a little while ago which I thought I'd share with you today.  So, here's one I made earlier: The 12"x12" papers are so lovely, so many interesting bits to use.  The colour scheme is: Pink Pirouette Early Espresso Lucky Limeade Some of the items use Pool Party too, like on this card: As before, I prepped as much as possible during the workshop, then put everything together at home, but the 'Just for you' sentiment stamp is my own.  You may have realised that I take very little urging to put a tag on a card, so these two were perfect for me. I had...

Hello there!  I am a big fan of The Paper Players challenge blog and follow it avidly week by week (yes I spend a lot of time reading blogs!) and so finally I'm able to join in this week.  It's a colour challenge: Now here's the silly thing... when I saw these colours I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them, but when I actually tried it, it didn't work!  So I played and played and had practically every stamp out that I own, and then in the end, this is what I made: The thing that's brilliant about these challenges is that they're helping me to learn about proportion, i.e. whether everything is to scale (you know what it's like when you have a tiny stamp that disappears on your card) and the way colours work together.  Years ago (yes, I'm quite old!) there was a brilliant book called Colour Me Beautiful which explained very cleverly about how to dress and keep colour and pattern in proportion.  It talked about main colours and accent c...

Good morning all!  We seem to have slipped temporarily back into winter this morning.  There was snow yesterday and ice everywhere today.  My poor horses don't know whether they're coming or going! My mojo is well and truly up and running and I've decided to combine two challenges today.  The first one is the ColourQ challenge .  I try to join in with this whenever they use colours I've got.  Here is this week's inspiration:       This is certainly a colour palette I can relate to. The other challenge is the St Luke's Charity Card challenge.   I did promise myself I'd have a go every month this year, but I haven't been able to until now.  It's for such a worthy cause, though, I'm so pleased I can enter this month.  They want to see cards with a spring theme.  You're probably already thinking how you could combine these two challenges yourself, so here is my take on it: All the colours used...

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a good week so far. As you know, I spent all day Saturday at a cardmaking workshop.  I'm finally able to show you a couple of cards that we made. We used the Stampin Up! Simply Scrappin set called Tea Time.  Although I've glanced at this set in the catalogue (UK p101) it's not something I'd buy, so it was great fun having the opportunity to work with it.  The colours used are Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso, Pool Party and Lucky Limeade.  Being SU, of course, everything works perfectly together. The way it worked was this:  Both organisers, Jo and Ann, made seven cards each.  They were put out on two tables, with a worksheet telling us how to make each one.  So we could go and collect a card from the table and make it there and then if we wanted to.  But if you decided to make each card in its entirety, you'd only get a few made in the alloted time. SO:  the trick is to take each card, read th...

Hi all! It's been a bit of a wild and wacky weekend here, which is why I haven't had a chance to pop a card on until today.  It was hard to choose my favourite of the cards we made last week at our craft group, but in the end I've plumped for this one: Every so often a card comes along that you keep on your desk for ages and don't really want to give to anyone, and this is definitely one of those (I am basically a very mean person!) The dsp is the Everyday Enchantment set, which is beautiful.  It's one of those where you want a set to use and a set to gaze at! The cardstock is Lucky Limeade and the little oval is Calypso Coral, which has been put through the oval Textured Impressions EF.  We've added a little lace and stamped the greeting from the Curly Cute set.  Have a look at a close up: The stamped image is from a retired set (you know the one I mean!) which I stamped using my Stamp-a-ma-jig (which may be called a SAMJ from now on, it's a bit of a m...