Saturday 25 April 2015

Allsorts Challenge Saturday - Bring on the Bling

Good Morning to you all,

Welcome to another Saturday and to the Allsorts Challenge day.
I hope that you have all enjoyed a lovely week and have had a share of the gorgeous weather.
Today we have been asked by our lovely team member Helene and she has asked us to show everyone a project using some Bling!

This is a project that we did yesterday in class and all the projects were based around Shrink Plastic.  Well, we did have some fun chasing the shrinking pieces around the table!!


I hope that you can see the Bling! I have sprayed the blue card under the lace panel and the scalloped circle with stick and stay glue and dipped it into my ultra fine glitter, this produces the best glitter card and always matches perfectly with the other card stock that you are using on the project!

The card is a 6" x 6" square so you can see how cute the stamped images are.  The lace is one of Joanna's newest dies and I know this is going to be a favourite of mine so I apologise now for the over use! It is called Harriet and we are very pleased to have them on the website - don't delay if you are interested as they are proving very popular! The bunting die and the flourish are also Signature dies from Joanna.  We also have a 10% discount off all of Sue Wilson dies on the website until midnight tonight just quote the code SUE22 and this will be sorted at the checkout for you.


We used translucent shrink plastic for this card and I stamped two really gorgeous stamps from Stampendous - the Teapot and the cups and saucers in midnight blue Stazon and then coloured the pieces before shrinking with Spectrum Noir pencils - these are a great medium for using on Shrink but you need to remember that you need very little as the colour intensifies when you shrink.


Today we have my gorgeous Neice's birthday party at the shop and so she is inviting 8 of her friends to get crafty so looking forward to this.  I hope that you are looking forward to a lovely weekend.  Don't forget to pop over to the Allsorts Challenge blog to check out the other team members fabulous work and maybe take part to win some fabulous goodies.

Must dash, need to get ready for our little ladies coming in,
Thankyou, as always, for popping in and please leave a comment if you have time, it is always lovely to hear from you.
I will be back on the blog on Tuesday so please pop in,
Bye for now
Jo xx











Thursday 23 April 2015

Gorgeous Butterflies from Tattered Lace

Hello My Crafty Friends,

This morning I have a couple of projects to show you that I did for the Tattered Lace Linen and Lace Shows last week on Create and Craft.
Both cards feature the large Butterfly that was also suitable for cutting fabrics and so made an excellent die for applique and patchworking projects too. The card base was 7" x 7" so this gives you an idea of how large the die it!


I simply cut this Butterfly and then sponged through the detail on the die with distress ink to highlight the detail.  I also went around the edges of the die to bring a little more of the colour into the design.  I used pearl drops around the flourishes to add a little more embellishment.  I also embossed the background pearl cardstock with the Tattered Lace Butterfly folder and used their Ultimate die at the bottom half.


This second project was again using the same die but cutting it in half and making it look as if it is just coming into the picture.  I cut 2 and layered it up with Pinflair Glue gel.  I used the open flourishes on the actual die to create the background with distress ink and then added a variety of flowers and leaves for more prettiness!

I hope that you like my 2 offerings today, please leave me a comment if you have time - I would love to hear from you.

Many thanks and bye for now
Jo xx

Saturday 18 April 2015

Week 307 - Allsorts Challenge - Quick and Simple today!

Good Morning!

I know, before you say, I didn't post Thursday! :( Our lap top decided to totally stop working and it had to take a trip to the Lap top Doctors! I have my I pad but that didn't seem to want to play at blogging either! So to make up for it I have 2 projects to show you today and the first one is for my Allsorts Challenge post and it is my turn to host this week and I have chosen ~
 
Quick and Simply Does it!
 
and this is my project -
 
I have made this for a friend who has been a bit poorly so I hope it cheers her up.
I have used some of my very favourite stamps from Paper Artsy and the set I have used is from the very clever JOFY.  We have a lovely selection of Paper Artsy stamps on the website. They are so easy to use and are already mounted so you can get started straight away.
I have used Spectrum Noir Aqua Tints to create a background on watercolour card and I have also painted the flowers and grasses in the Tints too. They are so easy to use.  A little Vintage photo distress ink around the edges brings the eye into the main part of the project.
A little tag, which is on the stamp set, just adds a greeting. 
Please pop over to the Allsorts Challenge blog to have a look at the other team members project and have a go at the Challenge we have some lovely sponsors with great prizes this week.
 
As promised here is a second project for the day -
 

 
This is a project that we did in class yesterday and we were using Sheena's Perfect partners stamps, dies and embossing folders.  Mark has been busy putting all of  these lovely goodies on the website so have a look if you fancy having a play, they are gorgeus to use (the picture has a little bit of shine as I have used pearl card). I embossed the folder and added inks to make a background and then cut the branches and leaves out and layered them over the embossed image.  This gives a lovely 3d effect with such little effort.
I hope you have enjoyed looking at both projects.
 
Please leave a comment if you have time - recently I have had several of my blog friends ask how do you leave a comment so I hope the following makes some sense as I explain how to do it :-
 
At the end of each blog post, you will see the word "comment" and it will show how many comments have been left. Just click on that word and it opens up another page where you can read everyone's comment and there is a box in which to type your own comment. You will then need to choose an identity from the list below this. You don't have to have a google account, if you have tick that box, if not pick "anonymous" however, you must add your name to the end of your comment or I will not know who it is from. You then need to press PUBLISH and this will then show in the comments on my blog.
I really appreciate anyone taking the time to leave a comment, I feel that it is all worthwhile!
I must dash now, a busy day ahead and hope that you enjoy your weekend,
Hope to see you again on Tuesday,
Bye for now
Jo xx
 
 

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Fun with Liquid Buff-it!

Hello fellow crafters,

Good Tuesday morning to you all and I hope that you are all well.
Today I thought I would share with you a decorated notebook that was one of the projects on our recent Dabble Day at Let's Create.
This was a very plain and very boring grey board notebook when we started and it finished off to be quite a pretty and glitzy one.


First of all we covered the grey board front and back with acrylic medium and covered this with tissue paper and created some texture by wrinkling the tissue paper up whilst still wet.  We then covered the tissue again with the acrylic medium and put aside to dry.
I had previously cut out die cut flowers for everyone so that we could save a little time.  You could choose whatever die cuts or punched pieces that you like and that would fit in with the theme of the decoration.
Several layers of die cuts were stuck together to create a thicker board like appearance and then adhered to the tissue layer.  We also added small squares of hessian and a few buttons to give more interest and texture. We then brushed black gesso all over the front and back and at this point the whole project looks a little daunting! Now came the exciting part - we stippled (or brushed according to preference) the liquid buff-it to cover the die cuts and hessian mixing the colours in patches. the buff-it dries quite quickly so we didn't have to wait too long before fixing the notebook back together with the book rings and added some final detail with the organza ribbon around the rings.

Everyone said that they enjoyed the project and will definitely be trying it again on other projects as well as on notebooks.
We have the liquid buff it on our website letscreateartandcrafts.co.uk in a range of different colours if you would like to have a go at this yourself.  Have a look at the gorgeous colours that we have. Remember P and P is free over a £10 purchase!
Thankyou for popping in and taking a look at todays offering and I would really appreciate if you left a comment to let me know that you have been and what you think to the project.
I will be back again on Thursday but until then, take care and 
Bye for now
Jo xx


Saturday 11 April 2015

Week 306 - Allsorts challenge blog - Bingo!

Good morning everyone,

A gorgeous day yesterday hope that you enjoyed the weather, hope that the weekend goes in this direction too. 
It's Saturday again and so Allsorts Challenge it is and our lovely Team member Tracey who has chosen a great theme -

Bingo!

We have been asked to choose 3 items from the grid that Tracey has given us - you can check this out on our Allsorts Challenge blog and have a go. - it's great fun to challenge yourself with the different items on your project.

I have chosen this Spring card to show you and have used
Lace, Flowers, Sentiment, Die cut and Pearls ( more than 3 but I am sure nobody will complain!)


I have used the Bubble Bloom (Michelle) stamp from Woodware and covered the image with card candy and pearls and coloured the leaves in with pro-markers.  The greeting is also from the stamp set.  The die cut that I have used is from Joanna Sheen's Signature die selection and is called the Trellis Aperture.  The background checked card is from the Hobby House and I have finished off the project with some cotton lace and some adorable scorable.
The stamps and the die are available on our website letscreateartandcrafts.co.uk and remember postage and packing is free when you spend £10 or over!

Today we have the very talented Hel's Sheridan coming to the shop to demonstrate for the day and I am really looking forward to this.
I will try to take some pictures of the demos and pop them on later in the week.
Please pop over to the Allsorts Challenge to see what the other team members have done with this great title this week.
Thankyou, as always for popping in and hope that you can spend a minute leaving a comment.
Bye for now
Jo x



Tuesday 7 April 2015

A little bit funky!

Good Morning Everybody,

I hope that you are all refreshed and have enjoyed a lovely long weekend. We had a couple of fabulous days with great friends Caroline and John and a super family day with our lovely 2, and close family having a lovely Easter roast lunch, good time had by all.
I have something a little funky today and it is a project that we made in class last week.

we used 2 really great sets of stamps from Woodware the shoes are from the Sneakers set and the words from Graffiti. Excellent cards for teenagers - girls and boys depending on the colours that you use.  I used promarkers to colours all the stamped images and added a little graffiti of my own onto the letters. 
The background paper is from Kaiser and it goes so well with the whole project.  I stamped the background with a spolge stamp from my stash - I think it is one of Sheena's.
I was pleased with the finished result and really enjoyed getting it all put together.
Hope you like what I have done with the stamps - please leave a comment and let me know.
The stamps are available from the website if you fancy having a go.
Enjoy your day - we have sunshine so hope you do too.
Please pop back on Thursday for another post.
Thankyou, as always for taking the time to pop in,
Bye for now,
Jo xx

Saturday 4 April 2015

Allsorts Challenge - Week 305 - Easter

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that you are enjoying a lovely Easter weekend - Easter is always a time that I look forward to as the weather seems to be improving and the lighter nights are here again.  The gardens are starting to come alive and people generally start to feel a lot more cheerful.
Today is Allsorts and our lovely team member Wendy has chosen Easter as our theme and this is the project that I made that fits the bill.

It really is a simple design and has no ink involved! the print is from a really lovely paper pad from Daphne Brissonet available from Joanna Sheen and they are fabulous.
It doesn't show too well but the lemon background paper is glitter and the blue is a pearlescent card. I have distressed the edges on all of these layers as well as the image. 
The dies are from Joanna Sheen's Signature range and we are very honoured to have these available to buy on our website and our special Spring discount is still available until and including Easter Monday so dont miss out on this.  All you need to do is quote the code SPRING15.
I would love to hear from you by leaving a comment - let me know what you are doing for this lovely Easter Break.
Please pop over to the Allsorts Blog and have a look at the other team members lovely work.
Thankyou, as always, for popping in and hope to see you again on Tuesday,
Bye for now
Jo xx



Thursday 2 April 2015

A little bit of Love!




Wow Thursday already! and the Easter weekend is almost upon us.  
I have chosen a project today with a little bit of love in it.
Yesterday Mark and I had been together for 32 years! so I thought this would be appropriate! 
(so a bit mushy I know!!)


It really is quite a basic card but could be used for a Wedding, Anniversary and Valentine card and the colours can be planned around the occasion.  It could even be used for an invitation idea.  
The background embossing folder is from Sissix and really creates a lovely backdrop without taking your eye away from the main focal point which is a Spellbinder Die-lite from some time ago. the swirl is from Joanna Sheen's signature collection of dies and the flowers are from a Tonic punch.  A little stamped greeting, a feather and ribbon bow finishes it off and brings it all together.
I hope this inspires you in a direction that needs a little love!
Thankyou so much for popping in and hope to see a comment from you if you have time.
I will be back on Saturday with the Allsorts Challenge post as usual and look forward to seeing you!
Enjoy Good Friday and don't forget to have a Hot Cross Bun it is the law on Good Friday!
Bye for now
Jo xx