Happy new year and welcome to 2019

Happy new year dear friends...welcome to 2019. I hope you all enjoyed seeing in the new year last night and are planning a quiet peaceful day today especially if you hit the bubbles whilst celebrating. Here is a lovely restful photo of a gorgeous rose I was sent by a dear friend for Christmas. How pretty is that red and the glitter sparkle is perfect for this time of the year.

As it is the 1st of the month it is of course time for our first challenge over at Country View. Our theme chosen by Christine is landscapes or cityscapes. I will confess I spent quite a lot of time umming and arhhring about what to make. I don't have any cityscape stamps or dies at all so I decided to go with the landscape part and also try to incorporate at Happy New Year card into it!

This is what I got up to;

I added a couple of oxide inks and some drips of water to black card just to give a hint of colour to my landscape.

 I then used my Visible Image, "Into the Woods" stamp set and stamped the background tree line stamp in white

 and the foreground stamp in gold ink.

This created my landscape. 

I then die cut some trees and stamped a very old Tim Holtz inspirational time sentiment and the Visible Image Happy new year and white embossed them.

Here is my new year, wintry landscape card. It went up for sale at Dotty's and sold the day it went in!

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

Sweet Stampin 1/3 New
Alphabet challenge 1/3 T for trees
As you like it 2/3 anything goes
Creative moments 2/3 anything goes
We love to create 1/3 anything mixed media

 You can enter our January 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.

My 2nd DT post for Country View will be on 11 January.

I am going to enjoy a very lazy day, I might even sit down to watch a film but I have a feeling a little crafting might feature too. 

Wishing you all a year of happiness and good health and thanks for continuing to follow my creative journey here at Jane's Journal. It's always so good to see you here. Thanks so much for stopping by and for the kind comments you take the time to leave me. 

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Smile. sparkle and shine into 2018

Happy new year everyone!

I do love the start of a brand new year. I am never one to make resolutions, I just look forward to what the year might have in store for me. Both challenges and pleasures will be there, life is certainly a journey along many different roads.
I am missing my garden...it always looks so lifeless at this time of the year and all I can do is look out to it from the kitchen window.

 Down at the ponds the trees are very bare

 and the ducks find the sunbeams to warm up in when the sun comes out.

As it also the first of the month it is time for the very first challenge for Country View for 2018. 

We have lots of fun themes in store but Susan thought we could ease everyone in with a nice and easy "anything goes" theme for January.

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.

I decided to make a new year card using a great quote to kick off the year. It is one of the brilliant Visible Image stamps and Susan has it in stock on the Country View website here and as always she posts for free within the UK.

I made 2 very different cards, the first one I am sharing today has a very inky background.  I chose to make this one look like the fireworks which went off last night to herald in the new year.
This is what I got up to.
I made an inky background using some very bright distress oxides

 and then added some stencilling using Tim Holtz stars.

I then stamped and embossed the quote and added my "fireworks" which are also Visible Image stamps. To add some extra sparkle I added sequins to their centres.

Here is my new year card

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

Sweet stampin 1/3 anything new mine is my New Year card
Fashionable stamping 2/3 celebrate
That's Crafty 3/3 anything goes
Simon Says stamp Monday party
The Artistic stamper 1/3 anything goes
Happy little stampers water colour challenge anything goes/optional glitter


I will be back on 21 Jan to share my 2nd DT piece for Country View  where I have gone for the complete opposite to this mixed media card.....a CAS (clean and simple) one using the same sentiment.

I hope you enjoy a very restful New Year's day and that you are getting back into the swing of normality after all the Christmas festivities and that you will be able to smile, sparkle and shine in 2018. Have a great year ahead.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

2017

Happy New Year!

Wow here we are at the start of a brand new year. Welcome to 2017 and I hope you enjoyed all your Christmas and New Year Celebrations. We went down to see in the New year with Daisy and Co and had such fun.

The weather turned so chilly for the end of December but Mother Nature as always looked so beautiful. We managed a walk in the woods which I will share soon but here is one of the photos.

Not only is it the start of the new year but it is also our very first challenge of the year over at Country View. It's a really simple theme for January an "Anything goes" challenge this time. 

You can share any handmade craft, it doesn't have to be cards or tags it could even be a knitted item.  There are no limitations to the number of other challenges or the number times you can enter. You can win a £20 voucher too so it's win win in my books! All the details can be seen here. 

I wanted to make a New Year card with an inked and stencilled background. I wanted some spirals and "whizzes" (you might not know what I mean but it will all make sense) but I have no stencils like that. Soooo I decided to make my own and rather that cut them out I decided to make them with my glue gun! I rarely use a glue gun and whilst looking at projects on the Internet I found that lots of people make their own stencils with them so this is what I got up to.

Mine is a real cheapie gun purchased from Tiger for £4.

I just drew my spirals and "whizzes" by hand onto a craft mat

when then had cooled I peeled them off

 and arranged them on a sheet of mixed media paper to make a master board

Out came my sprays 

first red 

then I washed and dried the stencils and moved them over so that I could spray gold

I loved this effect. 

I wanted to add some fireworks but the only thing I could find in my stash was this tree...no I'm not mad...............

I just masked off the trunk, inked it up

and hey presto, fireworks were now going off in the background. 

I wanted some final bling so I added some glittery stars through my star stencil, which I forgot to take a photo of but you can see in my final card photos.

I cut a piece of card from my master board and put on my creative hat  and this is my New Year's card.

The image is a sweet Nicecrane digi. It was sooo hard to show the background but here is a close up. IRL the gold shimmer and the paste really sparkle and you can see the fireworks exploding! If you want to see what I made with the remainder of my masterboard stop by again on this Thursday. I will give a clue that it has a rather "loving" feel to it 😉

I would like to enter my first card of the new year into the following challenges;

Time Out 2/3  with each sun rise we are given the chance for a new beginning I am certainly looking forward to 2017 and all that it brings.
That's crafty 3/3anything goes
Winter Wonderland someone special or happy new year mine is for new year

Pile It on 3/3 any holiday/celebration

Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes

Cute card Thursday 3/3 anything goes

CRAFT anything goes

                Creative Inspirations 3/3 anything goes with optional sketch

                     Allsorts 1/3 something new mine is the New Year!
             Dutch card lovers new year card

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a fabulous New Year everyone....

I found this great poem by Helen Hunt Jackson written in the 1892. It's a great way to start 2017.....and worth remembering,as Helen wrote, that we don't need a new year to make any resolutions or changes...each day starts anew as it is only a night from old to new!

Only a night from old to new!

Only a night, and so much wrought!

The Old Year’s heart all weary grew,

But said: “The New Year rest has brought.”

The Old Year’s hopes its heart laid down,

“The blossoms of the New Year’s crown

As in a grave; but, trusting, said:

Bloom from the ashes of the dead.”

And cried: “I have not half I need.

The Old Year’s heart was full of greed;

With selfishness it longed and ached,

True love it shall understand;

My thirst is bitter and unslaked.

But to the New Year’s generous hand

All gifts in plenty shall return;

I was a slave; it shall go free,

By all my failures it shall learn.

I have been reckless; it shall be

 The Old Year had its work to do;

Quiet and calm and pure of life.

And find sweet peace where I leave strife.”

Never a night such changes brought.

Only a night from old to new!

No New Year miracles are wrought.

All nights are sacred nights to make

Always a night from old to new!

Night and the healing balm of sleep!

Each morn is New Year’s morn come true,

Morn of a festival to keep.

    Each sunrise sees a new year born.

Confession and resolve and prayer;

All days are sacred days to wake

Only a night from old to new;

New gladness in the sunny air.

Only a sleep from night to morn.

The new is but the old come true;

Have a happy and healthy 2017 everyone. I hope that it brings you all your hearts' desire. 

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

New beginnings

Well here we are at the beginning of a new year and 2016 looks to being a very new chapter in Jane's Journal. Everyone is back at work tomorrow, the tree and decorations are packed away and it's time to look forward to what is in store. My Hb and I enjoyed several walks over the Christmas break. The weather mostly was very kind. Although we have lived in our house for nearly 33 years I never bore seeing my local area through the seasons. Down at the ponds there are new beginnings as we witnessed the ducks and coots starting to build their nests.

I thought I would share a few of the photos I snapped.

I also had some crafty time, still in my studio. which is usually far to cold for me to work in  at this time of the year......it's so good to be able to craft outside.

There are lots of fun card challenges which have the theme of new beginnings so I thought I would share a new baby card I made for a friend's baby granddaughter, Her name was Amber so I though a yellow theme would be perfect.

The image and sentiment is Lili of the Valley. The cute dies are Memory Box

.

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

Allsorts something new  this is the first time I have inked this LOTV stamp.
Crafty calendar something new New Baby
Crafty friends something new my first outing for this stamp
Pixie's snippets playground 1/3  #210 I used snippets of paper for my squares
Noor anything goes
Live and Love crafts Something new
Penny Black and More 1/3 One for the girls
Stamping sensations anything goes with dies
Crafting Musketeers 1/3 new beginnings
Sweet stamping 1/3 something new new baby

I hope the new year brings some enjoyable new beginnings to you all. Have a happy and healthy 2016 and thanks for visiting.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

A review of 2015 and my 5 favourite crafty creations 2015

Here we are at the end of the year......with a review of my year blogging and of my crafty creations. 

Grab a cup of tea as there is lots to see today. If you are just nipping in to see my challenge piece just scroll to the bottom of the page.

2015 has been a kind year to me and I have put a little montage together. My garden continues to inspire me and my little studio is such a perfect place to create in . I don't think any words are needed. I have shared all these moments with you on my blog this year.

2015 has been also been a very creative one for me.....I have continued to explore and expand into mixed media but I will never forget my cute origins either.

Debby of a scrapjourney kindly hosts her great 5 "favourites" challenges every year and I am very pleased to see she is doing so again this year. Thanks Debby and I hope 2016 proves an easier year for you.
 The first of her 2 "5 favourites" was for just for Christmas makes. You can see my post here for these.

 This is her second challenge which is for 5 favourite cards of 2015.
Here is the link to her post.
Now this really was a hard one....I have made so many different styles of cards this year. After a lot of deliberation this is my final choice....

My Hb's Valentine card

My Mum and Dad's Diamond wedding card

A special birthday card

The Mother's day card I made for my Mum

and my granddaughter's 2nd birthday card

Now I have made so many non card creations this year that I also decided to share my favourite 5 of these.

The mixed media picture I made for my darling son.

 The tags I made at the Wendy Vecchi workshop in the Summer

The rock pool niche I made for my Hb

The slashed canvas I made at Darcy's workshop

and the spell book I made for Daisy

While I was looking through my photos I also chose my 5 favourite art journal/Moments.

My Hb's birthday meal in January at Maze in London

My daughter's BBQ in July

 Our 34th wedding anniversary at Scotney Castle

Conker treasure hunting with my darling granddaughter

Pananging in the New Forest in October

and this final one below, which is new today. It is a Moment I have created for this Christmas... 2015.....using a gift tag given to my by my darling Hb as a focal. 

I had a lovely day yesterday in my studio, blowing off the cobwebs and I wanted to get my hands inked so I decided to make a festive page in my journal. I had lots of little off cuts from various projects this Christmas, including a piece of a masterboard I used. I decided to use some of these elements in my pages.

I stenciled some holly leaves first using texture paste and  then I chose some paints and got messy...

until I was happy with my background..... I added stamping and sprays too.

I stamped 2015 onto my little snippet of masterboard...click here to see this, if you don't remember it

 and then I had a play to create these festive pages.

I added lots of sparkle and the twine is from the other gift tags my Hb gave me.

They will remind me of the wonderful pressies my darling Hb bought me and of my Christmas crafting for 2015. My art journal is nearly full.....just one more page to go.

I would like to enter my 2015 Christmas Moment into the following challenges;

Frilly and Funkie 1/3 holiday hues I created my piece as a celebration of my Christmas 2015
As you like it anything goes 1/3 I love creating Moment of my year and my favourite piece of this one is my shiny 2015 created on a tiny piece of masterboard.
Simon says Wednesday  party I shall be partying tonight over at my parents' to see out the old year.
Art with heart Favourite things my journalling has been one of my favourite creative things this year.
Country View create a scene
A vintage journey a vintage Christmas Christmas 2015 certainly was a vintage one for our family
Bunny Zoe 3/3 sparkle
Love to create  anything creative/mixed media #26
Anything but cute you've got happy mail
Where the HeArt is Christmas colours

I hope you have enjoyed my review of 2015. I have really enjoyed sharing it, it's good to look back on a year's work.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my loyal followers, both old (not in age of course!) and the very newest 2 who joined me yesterday, who follow my creative journey here. Your visits and comments are so appreciated and I truly find joy in our blogging friendship. Thank you.

Tonight we see out the old year and ring in 2016............................................................................
I think these words from T. S Elliot are very apt to close the final page of Jane's Journal for 2015.

For the last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to  make a beginning.

See you in 2016,

 With love,

Jane x