We're all mad here

Hello, it's time for my fortnightly design team post for Visible Image. Today I am sharing another of their fab new stencils with such a fun name.

Mad here

I knew I just had to team it with 2 of the fun Wonderland character stamps 

The Mad Hatter

and the very cheeky 

Cheshire cat

I also used the skull jar/pot stamp from the Alice in wonderland set

I decided to make a canvas to show them all off at their best. 

I had a piece of card from my stash on which I had made a rainbow of colour using distress inks in bands across the card adding a few flicks of water for extra interest.

I applied black gesso through the stencil

which gave me this cool background.

I set it aside to dry while I stamped and coloured up my characters, tea pot and jars with zig watercolour pens. I fussy cut them out and added glossy accents to the cat's eyes.

I then put my canvas together.

with a close up.

and one final shot

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

Gem of a challenge 1/3 anything goes
Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes
A bit more time to craft 1/3 anything goes
The artistic stamper 1/3 anything goes
Crafters' castle 1/3 anything goes
Love to craft 1/3 anything goes
Crafty calendar 1/3 anything goes

As you like it 1/3 cats or dogs mine has to be cats as my cat Billy is my blog avatar and we have always kept a cat since we lived here, such special souls.

All the Visible Image links are listed below

Visible Image group page on Facebook. Our friendly Group is here ...it would be lovely to see you there. You will see lots of gorgeous makes by the DT and customers to inspire your own creativity.

The main Visible Image Facebook page is here; there are regular giveaways...open world wide. Do check out the Facebook LIVES and videos where you will be able to see lots more samples and ideas. 

Their Instagram page can be found here

Pinterest here

And once again the shop web site is here; where all their gorgeous stamps and stencils can be purchased.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

A tea party over at Country View Challenges

Hi again, I am back with my second design team post for our May Tea or birthday party challenge over at Country View Crafts. We would love to see all you join us and one lucky randomly selected entry will receive a £20 gift code to spent on the website.

 All the details can be found here;
On Friday it was party time for the 75th anniversary of VE day and despite all the restrictions of Lockdown it was such a positive and heartwarming day. Our street came out in force and my Hb and I enjoyed afternoon tea in our front gardens and all chatted across the fences and over the road. It really did lift everyone's spirits so much. It was a glorious day and we were thankful to have the shade on our side of the street!

I made retro fairy cakes with sprinkles served on my Nan's vintage plate

So for today I thought I would go with an image that a lot of us associate with tea parties...Alice in Wonderland of course. This great stamp set is on the CVC website here 

Instead of using the slice of cake stamp in this set I thought I would use the fab little cupcake in 

accessorize as it looks more like my fairy cakes!

I made a bokeh rainbow background using distress re-inkers and when dry added white pigment ink through a hand made circles stencil.

I stamped and coloured the toadstall from the cool Caterpillar set.

 I set out Alice's  birthday tea party scene on the toadstall. She even has some presents to open which are from the Santa Claus stamp set. I stamped them onto patterned paper, cut them out and added glitter pen to the ribbons. The birthday sentiment stamp I used is this one.

Here is my finished card with Alice all ready for her birthday party tea. She is inviting you all and is even sharing a virtual cake!

and a close up

I hope I may have inspired you to join in with our May "tea party" challenge. You can use any stamps/products, the choice is yours. 

You can enter our challenge as many times as you like and combine with other challenges. There is also a £20 crafting voucher up for grabs to the lucky randomly selected winner to spend over on the Country View Crafts on line store. Remember that UK postage and packing from CVC is free on all orders over £7.50! Once again all the details for the May challenge can be  found here;

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

Happy Little Stampers 3/3 anything goes

We love to create 3/3 anything goes mixed media

Lil patch of crafting friends 2/3 anything goes

Allsorts 2/3 anything goes

Crafters Castle 2/3 anything goes

Creative fingers 2/3 anything goes

Craft stamper take it make it 3/3 anything mixed media

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

Stay safe, stay at home stay and a big thank you to everyone who stops by here too! 

Back soon

Bye for now

Jane x

A very wet June

Gosh we have had a very wet few weeks but between the showers the sun has shone and today has been lovely on and off. I took these photos of my flowers this morning as the drops of rain in the sunshine looked so pretty.

 Some of the flower petals are a bit rain battered but I am sure they will be fine.

My little photo bomber.

 Billy enjoyed getting out in the garden today too. 

My tiny lawn has really greened up and needs a cut, but that will need to wait until it's a bit drier.

My card today is one I have made for an Alice in Wonderland challenge on Facebook. It features an old discontinued Visible Image sentiment, which I still love, which I cut up into 3 parts. I teamed up with their fab Cheshire cat. I was inspired by all the fresh colour in the garden and got out my alcohol inks to make a bold background on glossy card stock. I continued the bold colour theme by giving the cat yellow glossy accent eyes too. 

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

Lil patch of crafting friends 2/3 anything goes
Sparkles 2/3 no patterned paper
A bit more time to craft 2/3 anything goes
Happy little stampers anything goes with dies
As you like it 1/3 favourite summer or winter colours I love these purple summer colours because they are so vibrant and really make you smile
CRAFT 1/3 summer
Cute card Thursday 1/3 summer
Addicted to stamps and more 1/3 anything goes

I have been very busy for the last few weeks making samples for Visible Image with the new stamps and also for Stamper's Grove.

To give a little heads up in advance I am delighted to tell  you that I will be demonstrating again for Stampers Grove, this time at the Stamperama show in Newbury, at the race course on SUNDAY 7 JULY.

Please spread the word and if you plan to come I would be thrilled if you stopped by the Stampers Grove stand and said hi! 

I will have some sneak peeks and more info/photos nearer the time.

Have a lovely, hopefully dry Friday tomorrow and weekend and thanks so much for stopping by today.

Back on Monday with another sample from the new Visible Image release..this time it will be my take on the really amazing Guardian Angel set.

Bye for now,

Jane x

May time play time!

Oh I do love May, it's time for the temperatures to rise and I should be able to get back to my studio and spend lots of time in my garden. Both the best forms of play for me!

and lots of days out with my DD and Jack.

It is also time for our newest challenge over at Country View. For May Teresa has chosen the theme of opposites. Now I will be honest I really did struggle with this one and if like me you need some inspiration try Googling the word opposites and you can find lots of examples, which is what I did. Of course you will also find more inspiration from my teamies over at the Country View Challenge blog and every other day we will be sharing some more inspiration for you.

You can enter our May challenge as many times as you like and combine with other challenges. There is also a £20 crafting voucher up for grabs to the lucky randomly selected winner to spend over on the Country View Crafts on line store. Remember that UK postage and packing is absolutely FREE! All the details for the challenge can be found here.

So after my Google search I came up with the following pair of words; Visible and Invisible and it didn't take me long to remember I had the perfect stamp set for this. My Alice in Wonderland Cheshire cat set by Visible Image (no pun intended!) He is out of stock at the moment over at Country View but if you put your email address in Susan will email you as soon as she gets new stock..remember that she also offers FREE UK postage too on all orders.
I made a Brushos background and coloured my Cheshire cat with watercolours adding Glossy Accents to his eyes. This is my "Visible" part of my card.

I then stamped the face from the set as the "Invisible" part, adding Glossy accents again to the eyes to make them shine out from the background.

I die cut a teacup and saucer and yellow embossed the fish bone.

I added a Clearly Besotted birthday and put everything together.
Here is my "Visible and Invisible" opposites card;

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

Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes

Lil patch of crafty friends 2/3 anything goes
A gem of a challenge 2/3 anything goes
Die cuttin Divas 1/3 anything goes
Through the craft room door 1/2 anything goes
We love to create 1/2 anything mixed media
Crafting by design 1/3 anything goes
Happy Little stampers watercolour challenge anything goes/happy
Time out 1/3 Playful

I hope to see lots of you joining in the fun..the details again are here.

 I will be back with my 2nd opposites card for Country View Challenges on Sunday. I have had fun with that one too...stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by today and for the kind comments you take the time to leave me.

Bye for now,

Jane x

Easter Monday relaxation

Good morning, it's the last day of the Easter holiday and what a wonderful one it has been. The weather could not have been better and we celebrated little Jack's 2nd birthday yesterday on the hottest day of the year in the hottest part of the UK. I will get my photos sorted out and a post up very soon but here is one from our sunny day.

It is also time for my Monday design team make for Visible Image and for today I thought I would share another project made some time back but never shared before. 

It uses the wonderful Mr Caterpillar stamp set.

I made this card for Creative stamping magazine last year and the colour scene was set for us as reds/greens/orange/yellows.
Using the set colours I made an alcohol ink mysterious background for my laid back Mr C to relax in and smoke his pipe.

I dripped the colours into the middle and loved the bubbles they formed.

I coloured up Mr Caterpillar with my Zig watercolours.

and then fussy cut him out adding glossy accents to make lenses for his glasses, plus some glitter and white pen accents.

I stamped, cut out and matted up the sentiment in the set and put my card design together.

Here it is;

With a couple of close ups.

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

Sweet stampin 1/3 recycle/anything goes

Crafty catz 2/3 anything goes
Creative fingers 2/3 anything goes
Creative artiste 2/3 anything mixed media
Crafter's Castle 1/3 anything goes

All the Visible Image links can be found here;

Visible Image group page on Facebook. Our friendly Group is here ...it would be lovely to see you there. You will see lots of gorgeous makes by the DT and customers to inspire your own creativity.

The main Visible Image Facebook page is here; there are regular giveaways...open world wide.

And the shop web site is here; where all their gorgeous stamps and stencils can be purchased. 

If you are quick this and lots of other stamps, stencils and even the new dies are on offer in the Visible Image Easter sale. But hurry as it finished at midnight. Here is a direct link. So if you are full of chocolate and keen to work it off with some crafting, hop on over before the Easter bunny leaves for this year. Also the stock is limited so he may well have sold out by the time this gets posted. 

Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy the end of the Easter holiday. The sun is still shining here and it looks like another glorious day is in store.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Jack Frost

Brr it was bitterly cold yesterday. I was lucky enough to have a day at home making some designs with the brand new Visible Image Wizard of Oz stamps which are available for pre order tomorrow. 

When I got up first thing the garden had obviously been visited by Jack frost.

I love the way the frost wraps itself around everything. I have been playing with my new camera and took these shots.

My hellebore is just about to bloom but for yesterday it was held rigid by the frost. 

Even my perky violas had taken a nose dive

but they will recover, they are such hardy plants.

I also loved the icy pattern on the leaves of my digitalis.

I am off down to Dotty's this morming and it is due to be a little warmer as is the weekend.

So today I think to warm us up cake and a smiling cat should feature on my card. It's a new Wonderland birthday one using my Visible Image Cheshire cat stamp set. I coloured him with Zig markers.The papers are ancient, the tea cup is Marianne and the music and butterfly dies are by The Works. I have stamped and embossed the fish bone from the Cheshire cat stamp set onto the cup.

I would like to enter it into the following challenges.

Sweet stampin 2/3 bright and cheerful

Artistic Inspirations 1/3 anything goes

Pile it on land or water animals

Crafty Hazelnut's patterned paper challenge January

Cute card Thursdays 1/3 critters
The house that stamps built 1/3 anything goes

It will be up for sale at Dotty's Tea House Carshalton High Street, SM5 2AE by lunchtime. 

Enjoy your weekend, it is supposed to warm up a little. I hope so as we plan to take friends who are visiting for a long local walk at some point. We might even end up in Dotty's for tea and cake at the end of it. 

I am back bright and breezy on Monday with my very first Wizard of Oz sample, stay tuned.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and for your kind comments.

Bye for now,

Jane x