All is calm

Here we are, it's Christmas Eve. 

My very favourite day of the year. I love the whole of the Christmas period but to me Christmas Eve will always be such a special day. Everything is ready. The fridge is full, the presents wrapped and delivered and of course Santa will be loading up his sleigh to make his dash across the world.

I always like to reflect a little on Christmas Eve and remember all the 50 plus Christmases that I have had the pleasure to celebrate with my family. Over the years some faces have passed away from our table but new ones have appeared. That is life and life is to be celebrated. 

I like to keep lots of old traditions alive, including opening my last advent calendar window and playing my festive music very loud! Tonight my Hb and I will go out for a stroll before some of our family arrives on Christmas day. Over the 2 days we are fortunate that we will be seeing all our little family at some point.

This is a time of the year when the days are so short and darkness appears very early but there is still such beauty in Mother Nature. 

I took these photos on my last walk to Dotty's Tea house with my latest cards to sell. Despite it being the rush hour there was such a sense of peace and tranquility in the dusk.

 The colours and shadows were a joy to marvel at.

Even the swans came over to say hello.

I have a last Christmas card of 2017 to share with you all and to send virtually to you, my dear blog readers who stop by and take the time to read my posts. It was inspired but this lovely lamp which shines out bright over the ponds and it's wildlife. It's a place I often sit and reflect, even when life is so busy. 

I used all Tim Holtz products to make my card, just topping off the lantern with some gold edged ribbon. 

I would like to enter it into the following challenges;

A vintage journey winter wonderland 

Winter wonderland anything goes
Double D 2/3 baby it's cold outside/ Winter
Deep Ocean jingle bells
That's Crafty 1/3 anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge anything goes/use the word Christmas
Die cut divas 1/3 winter time

I would also like to share one of my favourite Christmas poems...

The merry family gatherings-

The old, the very young;

The strangely lovely way they 

Harmonize in carols sung.

For Christmas is tradition time

Traditions that recall

The precious memories down the years,

The sameness of them all.

(Helen Lowrie Marshall)

 Whether you wave or comment here I would like to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas. Thanks for the support and kindness you give me. May your days be bright and may your Christmas memories bring you peace for the new year.

I will be back before the new year but for now I am closing the pages of Jane's Journal to enjoy time with my darling family and to raise our glasses and celebrate the memories of Christmas past, present and those yet to come. 

Lots of love,

Jane x

Crackers for Christmas 2017

I know I'm like an old London bus....you wait all year for a post from me and then you get 2 in as many weeks.

Yes it's me Billy, firmly back on my green chair now that Bear has been returned home. If you missed all that caper when Norman the Tree arrive do have a look at my last post here.

I have also got a sweet pressie, well it's Jane's really but it was sent by her sweet Finnish friend Mia who makes wonderful things. How cute is this.

The button even has B for Billy...I checked that closely.

Jane has got some last minute Christmas prep to get on with so she asked if I would share not only the latest about Old Choc but also something called Christmas Crackers.....I think they are those things she puts on the table and then proceeds to tear to pieces. I see them each year and they explode too. A bit dangerous I think but then at this time of the year I am surprised by nothing. 

Old Choc is back in his rightful place although there are whispering's that he might be getting so old that he is on his way to the big Christmas tree wood in the sky after this year. He's had a good innings and rumour has it that like the Dr Who regeneration Not so Old Choc is out there somewhere.

 He has Jane's vintage ornaments displayed like a Chelsea Pensioners medals and of course now that Bear has gone home is also full of chocolate.

Us cats aren't as daft as dogs and would never dream of pinching a choc from Old Choc.

But they do look pretty and Jane doesn't know that I give them an occasional bat with my paw as I go past. 

So onto these cracker things....Jane has bought these serviettes for her Christmas table.

Goodness knows why they don't just use their paws to wipe their mouth with, it serves us cats perfectly well.

I digress.....she took this pile of things

and rolled them all together into tubes, stuffing them with little presents and tying them up with shiney strings.

Then she disappeared upstairs and started putting together these papery things. Jane never sits still like me...

She then emerged with her Crackers for 2017

 She has made 10 in total. Although some of the family won't be here until Boxing day she still likes to make them a cracker. Even little Jack has one although I think he will tend to try to eat his rather than open it. Perhaps I'll give him a hand. Babies do need a bit of help don't they.

So there we are, it's a wrap then from me and my posts. It is so tiring for my paws to write them,  and the keys on the computer are a bit slippery for my claws. Never mind it's all done....no hang on...I'm being given more instructions apparently Jane wants to enter these into challenges;

Here we go;

A vintage journey winter wonderland

Winter wonderland anything goes
Deep Ocean jingle bells
Fussy and fancy 3/3 Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge anything goes
Lil patch of crafty friends 2/3 anything goes
Sparkles Christmas
Simon Says stamp Monday party
Simon says stamp Wednesday party time
Double D Baby it's cold outside/winter
Moving along with the times 1/3 anything but a card

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy and healthy 2018....I have had a peep under the tree and there is something with my name on there..that makes we one very happy pussy cat. When I have a chat with the man in the red suit when he pops down the chimney on Sunday night I can tell him that I'm sorted!

Jane says that she is back on Christmas Eve with her very last countdown to Christmas post.

Before I close I must just share one of the jokes she put inside the cracker....it really cracked me up....

What does a cat on the beach have in common with Father Christmas?

Answer;  Sandy Claws.........

What's that,  can I hear you groaning, OK then
I need to get away from typing and back to what I do best..

It's a cats life I live here 😼

Thanks for stopping by.

Bye for now,

Billy x (and Jane x)

Deep and crisp and even

There are just 5 more sleeps until the man in the red suit pops down our chimneys. The weather has been very wintry and so dark and tomorrow is officially the first day of winter. 

We have to make the most of these crisp frosty days as it's all change again and the forecast for Christmas day is quite mild.

There was ice on the ponds as I walked down to Dotty's with some new cards  yesterday.

The leaves were frozen within.

 Mr Heron was keeping out of the freezing water and watched me from a tree.

Back at home my violas were still smiling at me despite their frozen petals.

My card today is a very unusual Christmas card I was commissioned to make. It was for a window cleaner who is an avid fisherman!

Now at first I didn't know where to start  but I then remembered that I had a fab Designs by Ryn fish stamp which I won a few months back.

 I stamped my fish and then

 used some frosty distress ink colours to create the icy water. I also used the bubbles and pond weed from my Visible Image stamps to create a winter wonderland under water scene.

Here is my card.

I coloured the fish with silver pen and added a LOTV sentiment and some Tim Holtz die cut snowflakes.

Here's a close up. It was great fun in the end making it as I really had to think "outside the box" for such an unusual Christmas card request. 

I heard that the young man this was made for was delighted with it.

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

Designs by Ryn December customer challenge

Allsorts 1/3 cold and frosty colours

A vintage journey winter wonderland (mine is an underwater winter wonderland!)

Winter wonderland anything goes

Happy little stampers anything goes with dies

I am taking a day off from my Christmas preps today to have lunch with my Hb in a lovely local tea rooms in nearby Woodcote. I hope you are nearly ready for the big day but are still able to take some time out to enjoy the excitement and festive spirit of my favourite time of the year. I have 2 last posts to share before Christmas day. Billy has busy typing up his post and will be here on Friday.

Thanks as always for stopping by and leaving your kind comments particularly at such a busy time.

Bye for now,

Jane x

Ring the bells

I am back with my 2nd inspiration project for our current Christmas, with optional red, green and rust challenge over at Country View.
This time next week it will be Christmas Eve....so exciting.

 There is nothing more Christmassy than poinsettia is there...I spotted these beauties in the week.

Remember that you can enter our challenge as many times as you like and combine with any other challenges. Your make can be anything creative! You may even be the lucky random winner of the £20 CVC voucher.

All the details can be found here

For this challenge I created rusty bells from card to make 2 Christmas cards.  I shared my jingle bells card on the 1st December here. 

Today I am sharing the card I made with the church bell die cut.

I added lots of texture and rust to my large bell and decided that this time I wanted a plain red background. I used a knitted embossing folder on my red card to give some texture. 

and finished off with an apt stamped sentiment and a nice big bow.

 I would like to join in with the following challenges;

Deep Ocean jingle bells
That's Crafty 2/3 tis the season
Simon says stamp Monday  2/5 Christmas/winter holidays
Crafty Catz 2/3 anything goes
Fussy and fancy 2/3 Christmas
A bit more time to craft 2/3 anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge anything goes
Lil patch of crafty friends anything goes

You have until 31st December to join in with our last challenge of 2017. It would be lovely to see you there. All the details can be found here

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

A white and merry Christmas

No I don't mean the weather although we did have a dusting of sleety snow on Monday....

and some really cold nights with heavy frosts.

The most festive thing that happened today arrived via Mo my trusty milkman who whatever the weather delivers my milk.

Look closely..that is no ordinary bottle of milk....

 Yes...squeal...the festive foils are back!

 Every single year I am never sure they will return as they must add to the costs but Mo has made me smile again today. Since I was a little girl I have looked forward to seeing my ordinary milk bottle caps turn festive. Yes I know...it's the little things that please me, but they really do.

This inspired me to put together a very red festive Christmas card using one of my favourite Christmas sentiment stamps which I stamped in red ink and die cut a frame. 

I die cut some of my favourite Christmasy images and added some gold gilding paste to the bauble. 

and here is my card

with plenty of bling

It was made for the following challenges;

The Funkie Junkie 12 tags of Christmas #12

If you would like to play along with Linda's challenge you can see all the rules here. There are some great prizes for the winners too. The challenge is generously sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique Linda shares a tag each week and you just have to take something from it and make something Christmas themed.

You can also combine it with any other challenges. Today is my final entry, I have had great fun playing along this year, despite my other crafting commitments. 

This is Linda's tag for week 12 here. I used the red and white background, the die cut snowflakes, the deer and the retro feel for some of my inspiration for my card.

A vintage journey winter wonderland

Simon says stamp Monday Christmas/winter holidays

Let's Craft and Create 3/3 anything Christmas

Frilly and Funkie 1/3 Most memorable Christmas gift This annual tradition (long may it last) of my milkman bringing my festive foils really is one of my memorable gifts to me at Christmas. I know that it is not a physical gift but its return takes me right back to those 1960s Christmases  and rekindles the magic of Christmas past, present and future.

That's Crafty 2/3 tis the season

Winter wonderland 1/3 anything goes

Happy Little Stampers anything goes with dies

Dies R us 1/3 Christmas carols Mine is In the Bleak Midwinter

Deep Ocean Jingle bells

I am hoping to get Billy to type up his Old Choc post soon, he is back downstairs now that Bear has gone home but needs a rest on his green chair first.

I am here again tomorrow with my final guest designer post for STAMPlorations so I hope to see you back very soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by and for the kind comments you take the time to leave, especially at such a busy time of the year. I am hoping to get my crackers started at the weekend...busy busy and the elf here is no help at all 😉

Bye for now,

Jane x

Getting the list ticked

I am getting more ticked off my list including writing and sending all my Christmas cards and buying my wreath for the front door. I love seeing this when I come home...a festive welcome every time.

 My vintage advent calendar is revealing such sweet scenes each morning

I have been very busy indeed looking after Bear but I did manage 2 days of Christmas shopping. One with my best friend Karen and one with my darling daughter and Jack...just look how he is growing...

My darling little man. 

I manged to make some crafty time as there are some fun challenges I wanted to join in with. 

Inspired by my retro advent calender and Jack's cool jumper I made my December page for my art journal. 

I had lots of spare Christmas die cuts sitting on the side so I stuck them down and added some gesso and also a holly mask to my paper.

I knew this would leave lots of lovely texture so out came my Distress paints and I got very messy!

After spritzing and spraying I was left with a cool background. 

I stamped out one of my favourite Stampendous stamps 3 times

 and water coloured a few as I wanted to decoupage the frame.

I put together a very festive scene but chilly scene. You can see how the holly mask shows up w

Peeping through the window to the cottage in the distance looking warm and cosy in the snow.

I made lots of inky and textured elements and tried to keep to quite a retro feel.

Of course mittens in the snow are essential...do you remember having strings on yours as a child? 

My art journal page was made for the following challenges;

The Funkie Junkie 12 tags of Christmas #11

If you would like to play along with Linda's challenge you can see all the rules here. There are some great prizes for the winners too. The challenge is generously sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique Linda shares a tag each week and you just have to take something from it and make something Christmas themed.

You can also combine it with any other challenges. We are up to the penultimate challenge.

This is Linda's tag for week 11 here. I used the red and white background and the fun mittens for some of my inspiration.

A vintage journey winter wonderland

The craft barn 12 month challenge December  I have really enjoyed playing along with this challenge and I managed to enter every month of the year. 

Simon says stamp Monday icy inspiration

Let's Craft and Create 2/3 anything Christmas

Try it on Tuesday  2/3 Twinkle twinkle, sparkles etc

The artistic stamper 2/3  Christmas

Rubber dance 2/3 glitter/colour option I chose the glitter option

Stamping sensations 2/3 Winter trees and flowers

That's Crafty 1/3 tis the season

We have an exiting weekend ahead as our babies are coming up to visit tomorrow. I have even made mince pies as they are my daughter's favourite. 

Enjoy getting your lists ticked too and have a lovely weekend. I will be back on Monday with the first of 2 Disneyland Paris Moments I have made.

Thanks so much for stopping by and for the kind comments you take the time to leave, especially at such a busy time of the year.

Jane x