Week - Lavender and Lace Allsorts Challenge

Hello Everyone,

I hope this finds everyone well.  My apologies for not being around on blogland this week - I'm afraid that there has been a lot going on over the last couple of weeks and I just ran out of time.

My Dad has been very poorly in hospital and ended up have a triple heart bi-pass operation.  There have been a few complications but he is now doing really well and starting to get inpatient so he must be starting on the road to recovery.

As well as Dad to worry about and keep visiting I had another marathon on Create and Craft which was the World Launch of the brand new Christmas Spellbinders and what fabulous shows these have been.  I think that everyone really likes them!! 

I did promise to post some pictures on my blog but unfortunately I forgot to take photographs of my samples and they are at the studio at the moment.  I will be collecting them on Wednesday when I am next in so I promise this will be sorted straight away.

I hope that if you have ordered the dies and folders that you are enjoying them.  It isnt often that we get any new crafting product before the American's  but we did this time!! 

This week's Allsorts Challenge is Lavender and Lace and I am sure we are going to get some really pretty cards with this title.

This is my offering .........

This is a card that was a project in my class this week and it has a stunning Kaiser craft stamp as the main feature.  I stamped it in Momento ink and coloured the butterflies with Pro-markers. These were also decoupaged up to give some lovely dimension.  I distressed it using 2 colours - Seedless Preserves and Tattered Rose.  The BP is from the House of Zandra and the sentiment is from a Creative Expression stamp (sorry I dont have the name for it).  The die on the side of the design is a new Joy die that arrived in the shop only a couple of days ago so I had to try it out!! 

Some cotton lace finished off the design.

I would love you to leave a comment if you have a minute - let me know what you think.

As I mentioned earlier I am on C and C on Wednesday (8am and 11 am) with some Spellbinders at really great prices (sale prices I think?)

I hope that you all enjoy a lovely weekend - so much sport to watch - Wimbledon, Grand Prix and the Tour de France (if you are interested!) - Wimbledon is the one for me - come on Murray no excuses this year please!! 

Must dash we have a demo day at the shop today - I am demonstrating our new stamp range.  Thankyou to our lovely Brenda as she has used some from the set on her Challenge card this week and I must say it is stunning.  Thankyou for all of your support with this Brenda! x Please pop over to the Allsorts Challenge blog at allsorts.blogspot.com and have a look at all of the team fabulous work.

Take care and hope to hear from you all soon,

Bye for now

Jo xxxxx

Week 211 - Time for Tea

Hello Everyone,

Thankyou for popping by again.  

It is my turn to host the Allsorts Challenge for this week and I have chosen 

Time for Tea!

As crafters we love a lovely cup of tea so I thought that it was really fitting as a Challenge.

This is my take on the Challenge - 

This was such a quick card and it is such a great card to use for so many occasions.

The stamp is a Kanban stamp and it is a single tea cup and I have masked it and stamped it again.

It is very simply stamped in Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and the ribbon is Cosmic Shimmer.

I really love this stamp and have used it on a few cards.

I would like to say a massive thankyou to all the ladies at Dandie Crafts in Wales where Mark and I visited last weekend.  We had a fabulous time and were made soooooooo welcome.  I have been asked back in November so looking forward to that.  Thankyou to Anna for the fabulous cakes, move over Mary Berry Anna is here!! 

Painting on Parchment with Maria Maidment today so really looking forward to this.

I hope that you all have a fabulous weekend and you can join in the Challenge so that there are lots of entries for me to choose from on Friday.

Please pop over to the Allsorts Blog ( allsortschallenge.blogspot.com) to check out my fellow DT members and their gorgeous designs.

Thankyou so much for taking the time to pop in,

take care and hope to see you soon.

Bye for now

Jo xxx

Week - In the Garden

Hello Blogger Friends!

How are you all? I hope that you have all had a fabulous week.

A busy one as usual for me.  I attended the Age Uk Summer Festival at the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire.  What an excellent event and I gave a 45 minute talk and demonstration which was really well received.  

Yesterday I had an excellent show on C and C representing Crafty Notions with the fabulous Nigel May.

We also travelled across to Wales where I am demonstrating today at Dandie Crafts, Caerphilly.  If you live in the area please pop in it should be a great day and they have promised some very tasty cup cakes!!

This week at the Allsorts Challenge has been set by Catherine and is .....
In The Garden

This is one of the projects that I have made to demonstrate today at Dandie Crafts.  The Poppy stamp is from Fun Stamps and stamps out really well.  I have coloured it using pro-markers.  The image was stamped onto board that was crackled using acrylic paints and pva glue.  Crafty Notions flake (Pirates Treasure) was added to the edges using Crafty Notions pva glue to adhere it down.
The background was created using Chloe stamps Lattice and Sepia Adirondack ink.  Creative Expressions Gold pearl glue has been dotted in between each line.  Again, I have edged the background with flake.
The tag has been made and stamped using an Inkilicious stamp .  A few gems and ribbon finish off the design.
I hope that you like it.  Please leave a comment - I would really appreciate to hear what you think about this weeks challenge and my take on it.
Also please pop over to the Allsorts Challenge Blog to check out all the other Team's work.
Thankyou also to our sponsors this week.
I must dash as we have planned to meet with Deb and Mandy for a cooked breakfast before the demo day begins.  What a way to start a fabulous day!
I hope that you have a great weekend, the weather man says it is going to be great weather (we will see!)
Thankyou so much for popping by,
Bye for now
Jo xxx

Week 209 - Here Comes the Girls!

Hello Everyone,

I hope this finds you all really well and happy to see that fabulous sunshine at last (or until it lasts anyway!)

May I first of all say a HUGE welcome to all of my new blog followers I have tipped over 500 followers and  I am so grateful that you all spend your time to pop in and leave all of your lovely comments each week.

This week, of course, has been very exciting as it has been the Allsorts 4th Birthday and the Blog Hop has been really great.  As you all know individually all of the design team have been giving away individual prizes and I have chosen a winner from all of you that kindly left a message and the winner of a set of Let's Create stamps of their choice is ............................................

***MAY***

and you can find May's fabulous blog here

Congratulations May and thankyou for taking part.  Please e mail me at lets.create@btinternet.com

Now onto this weeks challenge from Tracey

Here Comes the Girls

and I immediately thought about showing you a little project that I completed for my Crafty Notions show on Tuesday on Create and Craft 

This is a Twiddlybitz floating frame and was fabulous to work with.  The Twiddlybitz are so solid and very durable when assembling and painting.  I have decorated it with the main focus being a beautiful topper from The Secret Garden collection from Graphic 45.  I am loving these papers at the moment and have to stop myself using them!!! The corner pieces on the frame are also Twiddlybitz and the flowers are from The Hobby House collection along with the pearls. Lace around the topper really sets it off.

This is a closer shot of the topper ...................

isn't she adorable!

I hope you like my take on the theme this week and don't forget to pop over to the Allsorts Challenge Blog to check out the other Design team members ideas.

Today I am popping over to Sir Stampalot in Peterborough with my friend Caroline and I am taking part in a workshop designing a canvas.  If it turns out ok I will show you what I have been up to!  It is such a pleasure to go to a workshop myself instead of teaching in one.  I am quite excited about being a student!

I hope that you all have a great weekend and that you have a chance to enjoy some of the sunshine.

Pop a comment in if you like my project let me know what you think.

Thankyou, as ever, for popping in.

Bye for now

Jo xxxx