January theme and sketch challenge at STAMPlorations

Hello and welcome to our January theme and sketch challenge over STAMPlorations, the first of 2019. 

We have a fun theme this month

and a lovely sketch to work with

 Before I share my January inspiration I just wanted to give you a heads up of a great giveway which closes on Monday here This post is where Shery shares her fave 3 of each designers' makes from 2018. If you would like to see which of mine she chose just head on over.  You can win a $50 package of stamps just by leaving a comment over there so please don't miss out and yes it is open to everyone, internationally. 

 So back to our January theme and sketch challenge. The rules in brief are that you need to use stamping on your projects. You don't have to use STAMPlorations stamps to enter but of course we love it if you do! You can link up 6 times with new blog posts and you need to add our logo to your post. You can go with the theme, the sketch or both, the choice is yours. There are some fab prizes to be won too!

Today I am sharing my first card to hopefully give you some inspiration to join us. I have chosen to use both the theme and sketch.

I used this sweet stamp set called Tweet love

and the sentiments from party time

I love the "stitched" feel to the Tweet Love animal stamps so I got out my sewing machine to add some sewing both to the edges of the card and to the panels of stamping.

I stamped and coloured the images with Zig watercolour markers (I didn't use them all in the final card)

Here is my final card, mounted onto a Kraft card blank.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges

Mix it up 2/5 anything goes

Love to craft 2/5 anything goes
A bit more time to craft 2/3 anything goes
Happy little stampers watercolour challenge anything goes

You can see more inspiration and get more info over at the main challenge blog post here.  There is a $15 voucher for the winner, voted for by the DT as well as 3 $5 gift vouchers to the 3 runners ups. it would be lovely to see you join us. And remember that if you use my code STAMPGIRLJANE at the checkout you could save an extra 10% off in addition to any current discount on the shop website here

Enjoy the weekend ahead.

Thanks for stopping by,

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

A little colour in January

I am still being delighted by a little colour from the plucky little violas in my ports in the garden.

I deadhead them regularly and they just keep blooming and blooming. 

 I also spied that my bulbs, planted in the autumn, are pushing up. 

We are promised a bit of a cold blast of weather for the next week but I am sure that my bulbs will keep snug.

I also have a little ray of sunshine in the house...my darling Daisy has come to stay for a few days.

We have been crafting, especially die cutting which she finds really fascinating.  I have lots of new crafting bits to show her too. Santa was kind to Nanna, so perhaps I must have been good after all 😃

I have been also making some stock for Dotty's and today's card challenge entry is a very cheery and colourful one.

This is a simply print digi image from Lili of the Valley. The stamped sentiment tag is also LOTV. I have used my Tim Holtz swirling stars die on the background...I think this is my favourite ever die!

It is for sale at Dotty's Tea House, Carshalton High Street, Surrey, SM5 2AE

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

Mix it up 1/5 anything goes

Love to craft 1/5 anything goes

Dies R us 1/3 anything goes with dies in the store mine is the Memory Box stitched rectangle I used to die cut the image.

A bit more time to craft 1/3 anything goes

Crafty Hazelnut's patterned paper January

Must dash, my little ray of sunshine is calling.

Thanks for stopping by,

Back tomorrow with my first STAMPlorations inspiration for 2019

Bye for now,

Jane x

Cold and frosty January days

Now that Christmas is packed away, Bear has returned home and a routine has returned I decided to have a creative day all to myself. I love it when I can just make art for arts sake...neither for selling at Dotty's teahouse or to fulfil my  DT duties....just for pure enjoyment. I also wanted to get out my acrylic paints, which have not been used for a while.

There are some fun January challenges in blog land and on Facebook a the moment and I decided to look at their requirements and make something suitable. Lots of challenges are also asking us to use something new or a new technique so I got out a brand new stamp I bought. The weather has remained very cold and frosty and I thought a chilly January art journal page would be just the thing to make.

On one of my early morning walks with bear I photographed the colours in the sky as the sun rose.

 There was just a hint of pink in the freezing blue sky

The frost patterns on the leaves were so pretty...almost like snowflakes.

Bear never seemed to mind how cold his toes get!

I decided to use the colours in the sky, the silhouettes of the naked winter trees and the sparkle of the frost as my inspiration for my project.

I recently bought some lovely Clarity stencils and decided to use this one for its first outing

 I used white, blue and pink acrylic paints and roughly splodged them through the stencil to give the hint of a cold winter tree background.

 Next I gave the first inking to my gorgeous new Stampendous stamp I bought. It arrived too late to make any Christmas cards with but was perfect to use for a winter's day scene.

For the Craft Barn challenge I needed to include a wellington boot with a bird on it. This caused me a bit of a problem as I own no boot stamps...so.... I made my own boot which I then coloured green. 

I also die cut some snowflakes using  my new Tim Holtz thinlets...I love this set.

I gave them some texture and sparkle with some crackle paints, distress ink and Glamour dust

I also coloured some die cut birds.

Next I put on my creative hat...and this is my finished January art journal page...

and some close ups...

The bird in a wellington boot

 some white ribbon on this snowflake

Plenty of chilly crackle and sparkle to remind me of those walks which really did make my feet and fingers glow.

My art journal page was made as an entry for the following fun challenges;

The Craft Barn twelve month challenge January . "The Months" poem  by Sara Colleridge is being used for inspiration. For January there is the added twist of including a wellington boot with a bird. The first 2 lines of the poem are included on my art journal page.
Craft stamper take it make it January anything goes
Rubber dance colour inspiration January blue, red and white with optional winter theme
Creative Carte blanche baby it's cold outside
Creative artiste#22 anything goes
Emerald Creek dares 1/3 bring on the new mine are the stencil and stamp
The Artistic stamper 3/3 anything goes
Crafty catz add ribbon
Time out winter
Frilly and funkie  new year's goals inspirations another goal for this year is to try to fit in some "me crafting time". I spend a lot of my crafting time making cards for Dotty's and I really do need to try to have some fun, creative, experimenting time too in my art journal.

Yesterday turned mild again and I think this week it may stay that way but the forecasters say a blast of cold air from the North is heading our way by the end of the week.
Remember the saying...The north wind will blow and we will have snow.....I wonder if we will?
Keep snug and safe. I understand that my Finnish and Amercian buddies are having a really cold time at the moment. We had -8c overnight one night and that was a record for many years. I cannot image what -22c is like.....brrrrrrrr...

Thanks for visiting me today and for your very kind comments.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x