Wednesday 14 January 2015

New beginnings

When I was driving home last night I noticed how much lighter it is getting already. Also this morning I saw the same thing....the daylight is returning...bliss. Although it has been quite chilly today here in Surrey we have really escaped any wintry weather so far. The north has seen quite a lot of snow but none here so far.
As I walked home this afternoon I actually did a double take as I saw 2 daffodils, yes daffodils in full flower. I grabbed my camera and walked back and took this shot,
 How astonishing is that! They were quite a way up someone's drive so I couldn't really go any closer I just zoomed my camera.
I decided to check how my own bulbs are going and this is what I found
daffodils springing up here in my front garden, the flower head nearly ready to burst open
 and plenty of shoots in my pots in my back garden.
Wow amazing new beginnings.

At the weekend I also decided to try something new with my card making. As I am sure you have all worked out by now I am a crafter who constantly love to try new ideas. I don't have a fixed style with my crafting and I love to use lots of different ones. The one style of card I have never made is what is know as CAS or clean and simple. I know some very clever CAS card makers who make this style of crafting look easy but it certainly isn't . The key is a very clear design and lots of white space. Less is most definitely more. Whilst having some crafty play the other day I decided to try my hand at my first CAS style card.

I came across a left over butterfly from my 2015 wall hanging, which if you have not seen is here. These are the butterflies which I stamped and embossed onto distress inked card and then cut out. The stamp is by Visible Image and is one of my favourite stamps



I decided that I would use my left over butterfly as part of the focal of my CAS card. So then it was time to think of a very simple but eye catching design for my card. Now this really does take some time and patience.
I was looking through my Craft Stamper magazines and I saw on the front of one of them the free stamp from last year still attached. I thought it would be perfect, just a simple flower. The sentiment is a Clearly Besotted stamp.
So this is what I came up with.




I was pleased with this, my first attempt at CAS
here is a close up
I also thought that this would work well in other colourways too.

So today, inspired by the wonderful daffodils I spied on my walk home,I decided to make a yellow version. I stamped and embossed some more butterflies onto some other card which I had made using various Distress inks


 ....what do you think?

I have put this card up for sale in my Etsy shop here and if it sells well I may well reproduce it in different colours.  I may also put different sentiments on as it would work for many different occasions, get well, engagement, anniversary etc. I will also try different embossed backgrounds too...............hmmm lots of possibilities. 

I really enjoyed my first dabble into CAS.

I would like to enter my yellow happy birthday card into the following challenges;

Pan Pastels clean and simple
Craft stamper Take it make it Take a stamp
Fashionable stamping something new my something new is my first attempt at CAS and the flower stamp is new.
Country View use something new to you this is a new style I have attempted...CAS and my flower stamp is new.
Natalie and Amy all things new my style and flower stamp are new
Crafty boots out with the old in with the new  it's old butterfly stamp, new CAS style and flower stamp
Winter wonderland things with wings
Papertake weekly It's all new
Addicted to stamps and more make a mark 
Creative Inspirations anything goes 


So there are lots of new beginnings going on around here...Mother Nature certainly gives me so much inspiration and she has also reminded me that spring is not so far away. 

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x







29 comments:

  1. Yes she does Jane, it's where most of my inspiration comes from. It's yet another odd winter as although they have had more wintry weather further north, it's quite mild here and our bulbs like yours are well ahead. And how odd is this, we still have roses on one florabunda (spelling doesn't look right!) and in the same bed forsythia already on flower.

    B x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your CAS card Jane, your butterflies are wonderful and the simplicity of the whole card is lovely!
    Yes there are bulbs popping up everywhere, our weather however I'd not playing ball at the moment though!! It's pouring down and blowing a gale here at the minute but thankfully we weren't far enough north for the snow!!
    Have a lovely evening,
    V x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had to do a double take at the Daffodil too. Our bulbs are starting to burst through and like Brenda we still have a rose bush flowering, although I haven't been outside for a couple of days and we have had snow, so may not be flowering now. Love your card and I agree these can be very hard to do.
    Julie x

    ReplyDelete
  4. gorgeous pics and lovely cards! You are way ahead of us with your bulbs... ours are barely showing here. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, your daffodils are way ahead of ours, although ours are starting to peek out. I adore your butterfly cards! I'm currently working on a Queen Anne's Lace scarf for my GDs. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Superb flora pics and cards !! I have also become your latest blog follower !

    ReplyDelete
  7. You excell no matter what the style Jane ;)
    Love these two cards of yours and my oh my!!
    Daffodils in January?! That's insane!
    Do you know, we won't see ours before the month of April?!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Daffodils, you must be kidding, if I didn't see them with my own eyes, I wouldn't be able to believe it!! We are covered in snow and will not see green for some time....it was a treat to see these photos! I love the CAS cards, so lovely, less is definitely more sometimes, love the yellow one! Take care dear Jane, xoRobin

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fabulous design. Love the idea of stamping the butterflies onto distressed backgrounds. Both versions are gorgeous. Thanks for joining in at Crafty Boots Challenges this time.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Commenting with my Craft Stamper hat on.... these are terrific cards Jane!
    Thanks so much
    Chrissie
    Craft Stamper Designer

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, the butterflies are amazing! lovely card, must try out this! So glad you joined us at ATSM.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The daffodils seem to get earlier and earlier.

    Your butterfly cards look awesome, great design and fab way to create your butterflies. Thank you for sharing your work with all of us at Crafty Boots Challenges.

    Dionne

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your butterfly cards are all so pretty - Thank you for joining us this week at ATSM:) xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely bunch of creations. So bright and lovely. Thanks for joining us over at Winter Wonderland.
    Love n hugs
    Marie

    ReplyDelete
  15. How wondeful to be inspired by the flowers. You should do CAS more often, you have done an amazing project. The buttefly looks stunning as the focal point. Great to see you at ATSM

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful butterfly cards and great garden photos too.
    Thrilled you've linked up at ATSM
    Sarah (ATSM) today!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful butterfly cards thank you for joining us at the Craft Stampers challenge, Elizabeth x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lovely butterfly cards! Can't wait for spring here in New England. Thanks for joining us at the CS Take It Make It Challenge. Wishing you the best.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh my! I adore all the gorgeous butterflies - both cards are simply lovely. Thanks so much for playing along with ASM this week!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Such a pretty card. I love white on white embossing, and the butterfly looks beautiful on it. Enjoy your flowers. I had about 8" of snow this week. Brrrr.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Fabulous pictures .... and beautiful cards! Thanks for joining in with the Craft Stamper challenge ..... good luck! Linda xx

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love how you can turn your hand to so many styles and create fabulous cards every time. Keep nurturing your amazing talents. Ken bought me my first daffodils last weekend and they were grown in the UK, I so love the first signs of Spring and the promise of warmer weather to come. xx

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hello Jane,
    Well done for trying a different genre, the butterflies and your card look wonderful.
    Thanks for joining us at CVC again with this entry.
    Smiles:)
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hello dear Jane,

    Wow - all that green around you, and those daffodils, I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT! It looks like Easter-time around here... We have snow snow snow everywhere - I am so waiting spring! Lovely butterflies-creation, goes beautifully with the spring-in.the.air theme!

    Happy weekend, dear friend!

    Yours,
    Mia

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love CAS cards and this is a stunner Jane.

    Thank you for sharing with us at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.

    Warm crafty hugs from Shirl x x x
    ShirlsCards.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Beautiful card. Love butterflies.Thanks for joining us at Wednesday's Creative Inspirations!!! I hope you get to join us again for our next challenge. Agnieszka DT

    ReplyDelete
  27. Beautiful post Jane..gorgeous card! Thank you for joining us at pan pastel UK xx

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Jane and wow those butterflies are gorgeous! Love the photos too, its good to be reminded that Spring isn't too far away. Thanks so much for joining us at Fashionable Stamping Challenges this time
    Claire xx

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for leaving a comment; I really enjoy reading every single one of them.

To comply with the new Data Protection legislation (GDPR) May 2018 I wish to state that any comments left here are with your consent that your name & comment are visible to anyone who visits my blog and that you accept that your personal information is being used for that specific purpose.

Jane x