Snail Mail

I'm loving pretty much all of the stamps Flora and Fauna bring out, the sets mix and match so well and you have endless possibilities whenever you add to your collection!!.
I couldn't resist making a snails-eye-view scene on this one layer note card....

I stamped everything in Distress Oxides and just moved the colour around with a damp brush......well, apart from Mr Snail.... I had to add extra colour to him.

More details on the Seven Hills Crafts blog here 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Thanks a Munch, Slow Down Snail and Snail Mail - Flora & Fauna

ColourQ Campervans

Hi There :0)
I'm a bit behind sharing some of my MtDS blog projects this summer and the ColourQ palette jogged my memory of a recent one layer card I made using the camper vans from Avery Elle... the colours are a brilliant match so I just hope Arielle and the girls wont mind me entering it despite it's apperarance on the store blog :0)

To jazz these little vans up I made a reverse mask to add some personalised decoration using the motifs in the set....

Don't they look cool with the graphics overlapping the windows too..... I would love one like this :0)

                                                              

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Just Desserts!!

Hi there.... it's Saturday and if this scheduled blog post appears as planned we should be enjoying breakfast 'al fresco' on a campsite in Oxfordshire!!! Lets hope the weather is good... fingers-crossed :0)

I'm popping in to share my DT card over at Make the Day Special which was inspired by the One Layer challenge at Lawnscaping but also fits for Desserts at CASology and Summer at Addicted to CAS... triple score.. yes please :0)

           

I'm also feeling smug that I fooled blogger and got all three of those challenge graphics in one line... ahh, its the simple things in life :0)

I used a couple of Lawn Fawn sets and some masking to arrange these yummy desserts. They are coloured with Inktense and regular watercolour pencils... I like adding white gel pen highlights too, it's like the magic finishing touch that brings them to life!!

Right that's me done, I'll have to link them up when I get back home :0)
Thanks for looking and hope you have a great weekend.
Jenny x
Stamps: Here's the Scoop, Many Thanks - Lawn Fawn

A Stinkin' One Layer Card!!!

No, no, no..... I really do love the one layer weeks at Less is More... okay perhaps some more than others but this week is a really good one because we have to use a coloured card base other than the usual neutrals. This mean't it was time for the Prisma coloured pencils to put in another appearance and I'm always in the queue when there's colouring to be done :0)

A red base seemed the most natural choice for this little stinker and I just love how he pops off the card... prisma's are just amazing at colouring on darker colours too :0) Both he and the sentiment are from a set called Scent-sational by There She Goes, the sayings in the set are all punny and usable :0)
I had a quick check online to make sure I coloured the correct bits black and white as these little critters aren't native here.. thank goodness :0)

It took longer to take a decent photo of the card than it did to colour him... red is a nightmare to get true to life in a photograph!! I had to use the natural light coming in from the patio doors, which isn't a lot on such a dreary day, instead of the artificial lights round my light tent.

Okay lets get this post up because I've got to get dinner on the go :0)
Hop over and take a look at the gallery at Less is More... it's a piece of art in itself with all the different card blanks on view!!

Thanks for your visit
Jenny x

'Fin'tastic!!!

Hello there :0)

It's a very tricky challenge this week at Less is More.... one layer week and a card inspired by a film!!!
Luckily it doesn't have to be a favourite film because this one is certainly not !!..... although it's pretty iconic and easy for you to guess....

.... yep it's Jaws!! I do remember watching it but not for long and mostly from behind a comic or magazine!!
Funny when you look back, with film animation and computer graphics as they are nowadays, you realise how plastic Jaws really looked :0)

When you open this card you'll see this little chap from Clearly Besotted stamps is not such a scary shark either, although his teeth still look sharp!!

I know, I know... sorry for another punny sentiment, it's how my brain works I'm afraid and the only way I could make this a usable card with a shark in it :0) I coloured him with promarkers and wrapped a strip of vellum across him for the water. The sentiment is stamped using a Lawn Fawn Alphabet, very handy when you're making up punny sentiments and they are so easy to line up on the acrylic block too :0)

Thanks for your visit today :0)

Jenny x

AEI♥U March Challenge

Hello there :0)

My new Avery Elle stamp sets arrived this week and I had to get them inky straight away

 and play along with the March AEI♥U challenge....

Below is the photo inspiration..... it took some thinking about but hopefully you can 

see that I picked out the horizontal and vertical converging lines as well as the 

colours and texture. I love the diagonal stripe border, it really gives the impression 

of texture on these recycled card blanks from Paperchase .... I went with a 

one layer design so that pattern could show through behind the bike :0)

The weathered jetty gave me the idea to use White Distress crackle paint on Sahara Sand card

before punching out the stars and lightly sanding the edges for a wooden effect :0)

Avery Elle stamps are available here in the UK at Make the Day Special

The sets I used below are Roll with it and Celebrate... aren't those bikes 

brilliant with all the extras you can add to them :0) 

 

Right that's all from me this week, we are going to fetch our girlie home from Uni this

weekend for her Easter break... can't wait to give her 

a hug again, James is more excited than normal for a Friday evening too :0)

Thanks for looking

Jenny x

City Spots and Stripes!!

Hello there,

I'm early this week with my card for the Less is More Challenge#110 which is a one layer week and the remit is spots and stripes. It's times like these when I'm glad I kept a select few of my older wooden backed stamps because I found a Rubber Stampede 'Shirt Stripe' stamp which I paired up with an older Woodware set called 'His Birthday' to make a trendy guys card....

You can see from the picture below that the shirt and tie are plain so with some careful masking and stamping I made a rather fetching shirt and tie combo that would suit any trendy city gent :0)

Not sure I could persuade my hubby to wear a tie this bright and bold, James would love him too... he chooses his dads tie each morning and this would really appeal !!!

Thanks for your visit :0)

Jenny x

Hearts and flowers

Morning all :0)

Talk about sporadic blogging!! I'd love a few more hours in the day to get everything done but I somehow think it would still not be enough!!!

Lets start with Less is More this week which has a fabulous CAS sketch to work with drawn up by Jen.... soooo many possibilities but I decided to use the ColourQ palette this week which is yummy.... seriously those colours look edible to me!!!

Anyhow, as you can see I went with Spring blossom instead of food and I have to tell you about the texture on the cream panel which I embossed with a piece of hessian, or burlap if you prefer. I saw the idea on Pinterest and had to give it a go with some trial and error making a sandwich to go through the bigshot..... I think it was Multi-purpose platform (no Tabs), Acrylic plate, rubber embossing mat, hessian, card, shim (I used a piece of chipboard) and then Acrylic plate. Have a go, it gives you a texture a bit like Aida fabric :0)

This is my DT card from Saturday but I haven't had chance to blog it yet and it just so happens to fit in the Addicted to CAS challenge which is 'Heart'..

I wanted to try the "no-lines" style of colouring so I used the button from a Lawn Fawn set and stamped them in Memento Ladybug before shading with Red and white Prisma Pencils..... I love how 3D they look on a One Layer card!!! .... fooled hubby :0)

So that's all from me today, I need to go and tidy up my craft-desk...or should I say find it!!!

Thanks for stopping by

Jenny x

 

My Sunshine on a Snowy Day!!

Hi there

If you're living in the UK you've either woken up to loads of snow this morning or anticipating it's arrival later and all the chaos it will bring!!

.....so in the midst of all this chilly talk I have a warming card to share for this weeks OLW which is being hosted by Heather here.
The challenge of a one layer card is quite useful for this new die from Memory box... which reminds me of the sun, so with some PP behind it thats what I've gone with alongside a sentiment from Papertrey Ink ...

oooo I can feel the heat already from blazing sun :0)

My own ray of sunshine is 17 today, yes it's James's birthday and he would have loved a day off school because of the weather.... his wish may still be granted!!
I always think birthdays on a school day are a raw deal but he happily went in with his box of sweets to share out with classmates :0) Here's the card I made him this year.....

Strange.... how many 17 year olds know what a washing machine is let alone have one feature on a birthday card but this is James's most favourite passtime and always has been since he could shuffle across the floor to peer inside the drum!!! The die is a larger Quickutz die that I found on ebay and had to buy it, just for him :0) I've made the door part into a shaker component with some left over circles from the die used in the sunshine card above. Love the bubble die from Memory box too...makes a perfect background.
On opening it he told me that it was a Hotpoint washing machine!! I haven't checked but there probably is a model that looks similar to this.... he takes that much notice :0)

Hannah has come home for his birthday and wisely changed her plans to travel yesterday instead of today because of the impending chaos with the snow so it was a total surprise for him when she walked through the door last night.... lets just say the hug lasted ages :0)

Take care if you're travelling in the snow and have fun in it if your not. *wink*
Thanks for looking and thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post, your support is truly appreciated :0)

Jenny x

Late to the New Year Party!!!

Hellooo-weeee :0)

Is there anybody still there?? Sorry for the long unscheduled abscence, we are all okay, crafting just got pushed to the bottom of the pile before and over Christmas but now it's time to drag this little crafting place into 2013 and wish you all a Happy New Year...... I'm sure you're all sick of looking at that Christmas card in my last post just as much as I am too :0)

Anyhow, it was the one layer challenge this week at Less is More that caught my eye, probably because I don't have a wide choice of stamps that come under the exercise/sport theme but this cute and rather neglected stamp came to mind...

Now this looks like my kind of exercise... it's certainly what James loves doing in our garden although not today because the trampoline is covered in snow, although if you're wrapped up well that could be quite an interesting spectacle!!!

I dug my Prisma pencils out to colour these fun-loving hedgies from Little Claire and apart from a slight smudge of colour I'm kind of happy with the result seeing as I haven't used them for a while. 

Not really sure how to do sky with Prismas but I think it'll pass for a bit of blue :0)

Sentiment is from this set by Imagine that

I also wanted to share the news that I'm joing the DT at Craft Stamper magazine :0) I was so excited to recieve an email from Katy Fox a couple of months ago and now it's been officially announced here I can tell you all too..... I'll be joining some talented designers including Chrissie to bring some CAS stamping to a couple of new features, how exciting :0)

I have posted a few cards on the Make the Day Special website over the CHristmas period that I just never got round to showing you so I thought I'd pop them in here.

The first three are all using Paper smooches stamps and the last are Avery Elle stamps, all available in the store here and check out the blog here

Well that's enough from me... time for lunch and then a dog walk in the snow and it's just started to fall again!! What fun :0)

Thanks for looking and promise it wont be so long til the next post!!

Jenny x

A One Layer Neighbourhood

Helloooo..... it's been a while since I played along with the challenges at Less is More and this week is a one layer card so a great way to start flexing those crafting brain cells :0)

The theme is HOUSES, the perfect opportunity to use these little Stampin Up houses that I won as a spot prize from Chrissie and Mandi a while back and I used the colour combo from Dynamic Duos this week too.

The sentiment is from a 'There She Goes' stamp set and I hadn't realised that neighbourhood is obviously spelt differently in the US until after I stamped it!!

I'm quite happy with how it turned out and love those two colours together although looking at it now my version of Sahara Sand is slightly off but hey ho.... I'll enter it anyway :0)

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Two Cards, One Stamp!!

Hello crafty friends

It just so happens that I have a couple of cards for this weeks One Layer Wednesday which is being hosted by Susan this week...... I haven't played along for ages and it's a complete fluke that my cards fit this weeks theme which is to use one stamp in two different ways.

I've used the leaves from Wplus9 'Fresh Picked' as they were meant to be on the first card but then couldn't help wonder if I could use them to make a Poinsettia on a CAS Christmas card...... They are such pretty flowers but I can never get them to flower again the following year!!!

I haven't got round to posting on my blog (apart from DT stuff) since our Nephews wedding a couple of weekends ago so I thought I'd share a photo of the kiddos on the day..... no snaps of us all together yet, that's why I have the camera round my neck on these occasions.... so I'm always behind it *wink*

This is about as smart as James gets and it's always a challenge to keep him looking that way! Hannah was complaining how short she felt!!! well at 6'4" I suppose he does tower over a lot of people :0)

Thanks for looking :0)

Jenny x

New Digis from Deasy Designs!!!

Hello Everyone.....

I'm in the end stages of shaking off a rotten head cold, I don't suffer from illness very often... I think that goes with having kids and being exposed to all sorts!!!... but when I do go down with something, oh boy do I suffer :0(

I was feeling more human just in time to make a card with Melania Deasy's newest Digi Stamps, I only had the energy and time to make one and it fits in nicely with Less is More this week which is to use three of anything on a one layer card ....

I always think it's more of a challenge using digi stamps on a one layer card and my techno guru isn't back from her trip yet so I fiddled around in Photoshop to create this image and even added a sentiment in word and somehow it all worked out!!!

I printed onto Linen cardstock because I fancied trying to use Prisma pencils on the texture... I quite like the effect, the sky is SU Bashful Blue applied with a brush... love that shade for skies :0)

I love the little cafe table and chairs which comes from the new Frame it set that Melania is launching this week... here are the two sets

If you pop over to the Deasy Designs blog you can see more ideas on how to use these new digis and I'm pretty sure there's a giveaway going on too :0)
These two sets work well together and I'm definitely going to be using some more of the images soon :0)

We are rather excited today as Hannah is coming home tonight.... seems like she has been away more than 2 weeks, we have only had limited contact and we've missed her loads... although I suspect James is looking forward to a suitcase full of dirty washing to get started on!!!

James's room is ready for him to move back into but we still have to find a new carpet and furniture, so not quite finished and no photos as yet :0)

It seems like I'm forever apologising for not keeping up with your crafty makes recently but I am going to catch up... honest.....who slipped life into 5th gear eh???
School finishes on Friday but whether that makes a difference or not is anyone's guess!!!

Thanks for looking today :0)

Jenny x

A Toast to the Happy Couple

Morning everyone :0)

I'm here today with my card for Less is More which I'm also sharing on the Make the Day Special blog.

Its the dreaded One Layer Week, although it's not such a feared concept now amongst the Limettes judging by the number of entries so far!!!..... we have to use three stamps only, no more, no less....mmm  this needed some thinking time....
I'm filling in for Ruby's post this week over at Make the Day Special because her wedding day is approaching, so that sparked my idea for a theme and I used the Wedded Bliss set from Flourishes to make this card.....

My three stamps are the image and sentiment stamp from the flourishes set and a bkgd stamp from Hero arts... I have to say I love the three couples silhouettes in the set, perfect for elegant cards or wedding stationary :0)
I was quite pleased how the sentiment nestled nicely behind the bride and thought the three pearls were need to balance everything up.
I felt her dress needed a little touch of something to make it special so I plumped for a glitter gel pen but teeny tiny rhinestones would look gorgeous too I reckon.

I'm so pleased I've finally mastered the way to emboss my nesties as frames... it's partly due to using washi tape to hold them in place. It's easily removed therefore re-usable and is so thin it doesn't mark or leave lines on your card either :0)
Edited to add : I've made a photo tutorial to show how I embossed the nestie die here

Sorry about the photo...these white space cards are a nightmare to photograph, can't wait until they come up with a camera as clever as the human eye.... Lol, think that'll be a bit of a wait still !!

Thanks for stopping by
Jenny x

A One Layer Poppy

Well the month of May is upon us and this means a new challenge over at St Luke's Charity Card Challenge blog and what a challenge it is this month..... A One Layer Card!!!

Your card can be for any occasion, all we ask is that you do not add any layers..... you can stamp, draw, colour, emboss or any other technique you might think of as long as you do it on the card base :0)

If it's a new style of card to you, please give it a try..... lets face it a one layer card is easier and cheaper to send as well especially with the postal prices having just gone up in the UK too!!

I went with a very CAS design and used the sketch from Less is More too......

I love colouring images...yep I was never far away from a colouring book when I was a young girlie, and I really wanted to try shading a realistic study of a flower so these poppies from 'There She Goes' caught my eye recently and this months challenge seemed the perfect chance to try them out with my newest crafting addition.... Prismacolour pencils :0)

I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt... I have to say the photo doesn't do it any justice because it looks much more 3D in real life!! 

The edged square I stamped the poppy onto is a very old Hero Arts stamp that I've hardly used and looks like this...... 

..... yep that's the price label still on it, shows what little use its had but I reckon it's earnt its place in the stamp draws now :0)

It's not the most original take on the photo inspiration but I'm also entering this card into the Virginia's View challenge over at Lily pad cards :0)

Oh and one for Simon Says Stamp which is anything goes this week!

So please join us this month at St Luke's with your one layer cards...you never know it could be a style you enjoy making!! We have two stamps donated by Lili of the Valley to be won...

... and of course, not forgetting the aim of the challenge blog, to raise much needed funds for St Luke's Hospice by donating your cards to be sold and support the much needed care given to patients and their families. 

Please visit the blog to see the rest of the DT cards and info about the hospice as well as the address to send your cards too. My fellow teamie, Deborah is taking this month off whilst she and her family un-pack and settle into their new home across the pond... hope your enjoying discovering all your stash again Deb :0)

Sorry for such a long post and thanks for making it this far :0)

Look forward to seeing your cards

Jenny X