Thursday 12 February 2015

Things to love about February

There are lots of reasons why I love February.....
 The sun is getting higher in the sky making the hours of daylight longer every single day...
and there is some definite warmth when the sun shines.
 Nests are beginning to appear in the bare trees....but wait a minute
the trees are not so bare now,  buds are starting to appear
 with the promise of new life contained within.
New growth is starting everywhere with gorgeous vibrant greens
 and the alpine plants in my garden are in flower,
as well as some crocuses.
Even Old Choc is sprouting out some new green growth

but one place that is still too cold for the moment is my beloved Studio which still has the blinds down and no one is home......perhaps another 6 weeks and I can venture out....roll on spring.

But two of the best things I love about February are two celebrations, my son's birthday on the 24th and of course Valentine's Day on Saturday. I am proud to admit that I am a soppy romantic and yes my Hb and I send and receive cards and token gifts and enjoy the day together. It is also 35 years ago on Saturday since we got engaged...wow where did that time go?

My card challenge for today is the Valentine Card I will be giving him on Saturday morning. together with some heart truffles.

I decided to try some stamping on hessian...a new thing for me and I rather liked the effect. I used the free stamp from the February Craft Stamper magazine.
I also added some heart stenciling using acrylic paint through my Tim Holtz heart stencil.
The base of my focal used corrugated card, distress inks and stains, book pages for texture and the tiny hearts left over from my Feb TH tag
and shhh, here is the final card
with a close up of the focal and my sentiment xox
I made another of my crunchy distress glitter hearts using my Cheery Lynn heart die, the inter linked hearts are by Memory box.

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

Craft Stamper take it make it stencilling
Mixed Media Think Pink I have some pink ink on my focal shown above, not too much as this is a male card but just enough to show some love ;0)
Natalie and Amy all about the love
Art with Heart projects to love
Our Creative Corner tic tac toe I have used the middle horizontal line; Paints (white acrylic) stamps (Clearly Besotted sentiments) and stencils (TH heart)
That Craft Place anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Mondays red or pink I like to use both
Papertake weekly hearts and/or flowers
Stamping sensations anything goes
Penny Black and More Anything goes
Jellypark love is in the air
Emerald Faeries all you need is love
The Artistic stamper love
Stamp and Create all you need is love
Party time Tuesdays anything goes
Inspiration Journal at Inspiration Emporium love is in the air
Artistic Inspirations anything goes with an option of a heart
Sweet stamping add a heart
Allsorts love is all around
Bunny Zoe for the girls
Fussy and Fancy it's all about love
Country View Drips and drops I have lots of drips and drops within my focal

I hope you are all loving February too and that you are seeing a few signs of Mother Nature waking up. If not I hope my sunny photos give a peep of things to come.

Happy Valentine's Day on Saturday everyone and can I send you a little love even if you can't or don't participate in the celebrations xox

Enjoy the upcoming weekend, we are seeing darling Daisy and her Mummy and Daddy on Sunday, she is growing so quickly and has even started using crayons and feeding herself with a spoon....and yes we are loving seeing her grow into such a sweet little person.
She even copies her Daddy and Nanna playing the piano
Don't you just love the hair slide ;0)


And finally a quote I love from George Herbert;

"A gentle heart is tied with an easy thread"

Go gently through the rest of February.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

32 comments:

  1. Well yes I absolutely love the hair slide!!! I always think little girls are not babies anymore when you get that first hair slide in, wait until the first little pony tail arrives!! :) She looks so cute at the piano!
    Love M's card, the hessian is a clever idea!
    Enjoy your weekend......be good! ;)
    V x

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  2. Love all the texture on your card and the stamping on the hessian. What an adorable granddaughter too!

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  3. Beautiful shots of spring where you are! It's still dark, dingy and white where I am, sad face. Love your card Jane, the stamping on burlap/hessian is a new favourite for me too, great minds think a like! Love the corrugated cardboard too!

    While I'm here, I will also say thank you for joining us at Our Creative Corner for our 'Tic Tac Toe' challenge! Hugs, Pamellia DT :)

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  4. I loved seeing Daisy playing the piano and how her cute hair slide is! Your spring pictures are lovely too, so cheering...and how well Old Choc is doing :) Your Valentine card is beautiful, I am sure your hb will be delighted. Have a great time, Jane!
    Helen xox

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  5. WOW, this card is STUNNING!! Your husband will absolutely love it! I truly enjoyed reading your blog post and seeing all the beauties of nature! Daisy is an absolute doll!

    Thanks for joining our challenge this week!

    Happy Valentine’s Day

    ~Hugs~
    Chelsey
    Simon Says Stamp

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  6. A gorgeous love creation Jane, thanks so much for sharing with us at Allsorts, PB&M and Stamping Sensations challenges this week. And also for sharing your lovely photos, doesn't that little girl grow.

    B x

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  7. Love your studio.I have a craft log cabin in my garden and I'm lucky enough to be able to use it all year round as it's heated. (and tv and internet).
    Gorgeous card.Love the different textures.Thanks for joining us at Sweet Stampin'
    Cass xx

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  8. Lucky husband you have... A generous card, and I love the way you see and feel february ! Thanks for playing with us again at Our Créative Corner.

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  9. Beautiful card lovely details. Thank you for sharing at Allsorts 'All You Need is Love' challenge and good luck x Susan x

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  10. What a happy post! I loved seeing all your Spring growth.. similar to mine. Your husband will be pleased with his card.. that is just wonderful that you two share such joy that day. Daisy is blooming, too! Little darling.. drawing and playing the piano! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  11. Hi Jane, Love so much seeing the blue sky, buds, and green back yard, it won't be long before Spring is really in your parts! So nice to see. But the best part has got to be seeing Miss Daisy! Love the hair clip and do I see curls?! She is truly a cutie! It is so fun to watch her grow from our view point. Thanks for sharing and Happy ❤️ Day, love the card and so will your Hb.
    xoRobin

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  12. A super masculine Valentine card and so inventive. Have a fabulous time at the weekend.
    Julie x

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  13. Thanks for joining us at the Take It Make It Challenge.

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  14. thank you so much for entering our challenge at Allsorts this week with your project and good luck!

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  15. What a lovely creation! Thanks for sharing at Fussy & Fancy and good luck with the Challenge. Judy x DT

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  16. wow, such a beautiful valentine creation! i love the texture, distressing and all the tiny hearts. beautiful pics too of landscaping and a budding artist and musician. thank you so much for playing along with us this month at penny black and more.
    linda

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  17. Precious photos of miss Daisy!
    I love your card Jane and wish you and Mr. a happy engagement anniversary & Valentine's day!
    I'm the same, I love this celebration no matter how "soppy" it might be for some!

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  18. Awesome! totally fabulous project xx Good luck and thank you for joining us at http://thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.co.uk/
    Sandie (That Craft Place Designer, proud DT)
    http://fairytaledaydream.blogspot.com/

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  19. What a fabulous masculine mixed media Valentine card. I just love all the textures. Thanks so much for playing at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

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  20. Great card! Thanks for sharing it with us at the Art with Heart Challenge. =)

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  21. Dear Jane,

    I love your February-post - we are dragging somewhat behind here but spring is definitely in the air! Enjoy your beautiful days, and that little sunshine of yours Daisy, she is such a beautiful (and getting bigger!) girl!

    Happy weekend!

    Yours,
    Mia

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  22. Fabulous card, love all the textures. I love your photos too, cute little girl and lovely hint of spring too

    Thanks for joining us at Stamping Sensations this month
    Joan

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  23. Great Valentine's card! Thanks for joining in with the TIMI challenge ..... good luck! Linda xx

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  24. Hi Jane!
    beautiful textures on your card, so lovely.
    We have still so much snow!
    Thank you for sharing at Allsorts;-))m

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  25. Me again!
    Thank you for sharing at Penny Black and more;-))m

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  26. What a lovely card Jane! Great idea to try the stamping on hessian too and I like the result! Beautifully layered creation. (love the rest of your post too!). Thanks so much for joining my Tic Tac Toe challenge at Our Creative Corner. Juliax

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  27. Ooooh just loved the book pages on the corrugated card. The stamping on the hessian was a brilliant idea and all the heart embellishments really made the whole thing pop. You can feel the love bursting right out of it. Thanks for submitting this to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge at Our Creative Corner, sure did enjoy linking over here to your blog!

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  28. Beautiful project! Thanks for playing along with the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

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  29. Great project!! Thanks for joining us in this month's Mixed Media Monthly Challenge!

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  30. Wonderful! Thank you for joining in The Artistic Stamper Creative Challenge this month x

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  31. Love the stamping on the burlap and all the different textures. One stunning creation. Thank you for playing along with us at Emerald Faeries Challenges- We sure hope you join us again!

    Amy- DT Emerald Faeries Challenges
    {Lil Cutie Creations}

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  32. wish my february looked even half as nice as yours! i'm still slipping on black ice here! love your project, corrugate is such a pretty way to add texture! Thank you so much for playing with the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge!
    -Rachel
    rwkrafts.com

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