Wake up awesome

It's that time of the year when Mother Nature is just about waking up. I am spotting more and more blossom on my walks to Dotty's.

 The fowl are starting to pair up too and I am sure in plants surrounding the ponds nests are being built.

My card today is one with a very positive message because at this time of the year we are all beginning to get a little more energy as the daylight returns. 

I used a distress oxide background. The stamp is Visible Image.

It is up for sale now at Dotty's Teahouse, Carshalton, SM5 2EP

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

Time Out unique I love that I was able to make so many unique flowers from 1 set of stamps.

Emerald Creek dares 3/3 Ordinary day

Creative artiste 3/3 anything mixed media

Happy Little stampers watercolour challenge 2/3 anything goes

A gem of a challenge 2/3 anything goes
We love to create 2/3 anything mixed media

I also made something that I could join in with the birthday celebrations over at my friend Brenda's challenge, A Vintage Journey. They are celebrating  their 5th birthday and want us to make something to celebrate our own crafting journey. In the 5 years since their blog started I have embraced mixed media and love incorporating it in my own art work...Jane's Journal Style of course!

They are very hard to photograph but I used a gelli prints background made using my Art Rebel Visible Image stamps and some Tim Holtz paper dolls.
Happy Birthday A Vintage Journey! Thank you for all your wonderful inspiration and thanks to Brenda for being such an amazing friend and artist.
This is the link

I am back on Saturday with my 2nd DT post for Country View. I am off to catch up with my dearest best friend Karen today...we will put the world to right over lunch..I definitely woke up feeling awesome today!

Bye for now,

Jane x

Blooming and growing

Things really are blooming and growing around here. The recent hot spell caused an explosion of gorgeous blossom around me.

and the wildlife on the ponds were sunning themselves at the top of the waterfall.

Today is my weekly dose of design team inspiration for Visible Image stamps. I made a card using
the fab

Bloom and Grow stamp set

 You might have seen my card as it was published in the March edition of Craft stamper. I made a "baby plant" card. 

The background is a blend of green distress inks.

I stamped the fingerprint in brown archival ink and then black embossed the baby on top. I coloured in the flower with white and green gel pens.

I stamped the sentiments onto inky mop up card and cut them into leaves and a stalk. I distressed the edges by rolling them slightly and then using a distressing tool.

Here are some close ups.

and one last shot.

This is such a unique baby set and the words work so well with other stamps too. 

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

Creative Inspirations 3/3 springtime

Card Mania 1/3 spring

Crafty Catz /3 anything goes
Love to craft 1/3 anything goes
Time out 1/3 spring

All the Visible Image links can be found here;

Visible Image group page on Facebook. Our friendly Group can be found here ...it would be lovely to see you. You can add work to the "Show and Tell" album where one randomly chosen winner each month wins a £25 coupon to spend on the website.

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

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

You can also follow via:

 Pinterest

Twitter

and

 Instagram

 Thanks so much for stopping by and for all your very kind comments. We had a such a fab Saturday celebrating our Jack's 1st birthday and I will be back in the next couple of days to share his cake and his card. 

Enjoy the warming sunshine.

Back soon

Bye for now

Jane x

From spring to winter to spring

What extraordinary weather we have had over the last week. Last Friday I walked down to Dotty's and I revelled in the warmth of the sunshine. I thought that spring had arrived. 

Blossom was out everywhere

and in my garden pots I spotted my first tulips nearly in flower,

However Mother Nature had other ideas and this started  the very next day.

Dumping another lot of snow.

 and just look at my tulips 24 hours later!

Brrrr.

Today's make to share is another of my Easter projects. This time it's an Easter tag.

I created the background with distress inks and some Tim Holtz stamps. The dies are all by Tim including the butterfly frenzy.  The chit chat words work so well for so many occasions too.

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

Rubber dance Colour or theme March challenge I've gone for circles and die cuts.
A vintage journey Treasure my treasure in my tag is my weathered clock die cut. This die is no longer made and it is the favourite die I own and I really do treasure it.
Sparkles spring is in the air
Butterfly challenge L I have gone with layers, lemon and letters
Pixie's snippets playground #322
Try it on Tuesday 1/3 Spring moodboard I have gone with the birds and the greens and yellows in 2 of the photos.

Moving along with the times 2/3 Easter
The cutie pie challenge 3/3 spring cuties

Simon says stamp Wednesday Easter inspired

Noor spring

Simon says work it Wednesday 1/3 inky techniques mine was using distress inks

Yesterday it warmed up enough to melt all the snow but there is still a very chilly Northeasterly wind. Here in the south though I think we have finally seen the last of the snow.
 The first day of spring was yesterday but and I want to hear those birds singing in warm sunshine soon. Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind comments and especially the birthday wishes you left for my DD on my last post. They were most appreciated.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Blossoming well

I do love seeing the wonderful blossom growing at this time of the year. It really is quite spectacular especially when seen with a background of clear blue skies.

 I have taken snaps of some of the local blossom around me...it's like confetti on trees!

My card today takes uses the inspiration of this beautiful confetti blossom and is one of a series of wedding cards I have made recently for Dotty's Teahouse.  They have proved very popular indeed and have been flying out.

I have found that it does not pay me to sell cards where I hand colour intricate stamps. I love my Lili of the Valley rubber stamps and I still do colour some in for special family cards but as they can take me over an hour to colour a single image it is not practical for making these as cards to sell. However I recently noticed that Lili of the Valley are selling lots of their designs in a format called Simply Print. They are coloured digital images which you "Simply print at home".  I decided to buy one of their gorgeous wedding images. They are brilliant.

Here is one of my white on white creations using one. I embossed a white background and added lots of gorgeous white die cuts. I finished off with a hand stamped sentiment and some sequins. This one sold with a day of me taking it into the shop!

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

The ribbon girl 3/3 use any image
Artistic Inspirations 3/3 anything goes
Lil patch of crafty friends 3/3 anything goes
Noor UK  flowers
Card Mania April showers brings May flowers

I hope that you are enjoying the gorgeous blossom too...it's everywhere...just remember to look up when you are outside! It's turned very chilly again for the last few days too so don't be tempted to put any tender plants out just yet.
Thanks for all your kind wishes re our darling little Jack...he's doing well. Here he is this morning as we stayed last night.

He's blossoming too 😍

 I will be back with some more photos very soon...and his card I have made for his Birthday 😊


Bye for now,

Jane x

Blossom

What a gorgeous day it's been today...blossom is bursting open everywhere...

 Even Mrs Swan has returned to the ponds....

 and it was 18c in the afternoon...wow!

My card was inspired by the beauty and simplicity of all the blossom around me...it's one of 3 Mother's day cards I have made for selling at Dotty's Tearooms.

The sentiment on the tag is Lili of the Valley. The background script is a now discontinued Visible Image stamp. The die cuts are my fave Tim Holtz..the original wild flower set.

I would also like to give a shout out for the candy over on the Craft Barn Challenge page here. They are giving away some amazing PaperArtsy Infusions (I used some to colour my die cuts above). Wow!


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

Ribbon Girl 2/3  March card challenge
Fussy and Fancy 3/3 anything goes
Stamping sensations 1/3 close to nature
Craft Heaven 1/3  Keep calm love spring
Penny Black and More 1/3 anything goes
Sweet Stampin 2/3 no designer paper
Simon Says stamp Monday make your own background
Simon Says stamp Wednesday for a special lady/girl
Addicted to stamps and More make your mark
Card Mania 1/5 pastel colours
The Artistic stamper 1/3 spring time
Noor! UK spring
Double D 1/3 think spring

I hope the sunshine made it to you today...if not I'll send some your way. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

The trees are in leaf

The recent warm spell has been meant that all the local trees are now in full leaf...so much new growth. New leaves are such a gorgeous shade of green.

or sometimes red, as in the case of the copper beech.

The blossom is still out too

It's almost time for me to go up to the local nurseries and buy my bedding plants. I need to remember not to "Cast a clout til May be out" and the Hawthorne is not yet in flower ;0) I adore fuchsia and although  it's too early to plant any out I thought I would use my new Chocolate Baroque stamp set to make a card with the fuchsia image.

I have been water colouring some images making cards for the Tea Rooms which opens next week.
Here is one, it's such a pretty fuchsia stamp. I coloured it with distress inks.

I made a background with my bark embossing folder and distress paints similar to the one I made my April Tim card. Here is my finished card. The lovely die is by Joy Craft.

I would like to enter it into the following challenges;

Chocolate Baroque colour challenge #22
 
Noor spring flowers
Penny Black and More 3/3 anything goes with stamping

Card Mania 2/3 flowers

Deep Ocean 2/3 flowers everywhere
Crafty Friends 1/3  in the garden
Sweet Stampin  2/3 flowers
Artistic Inspiration 1/3 Anything goes/use a die cut
Everybody Art 1/3 flowers
Stamping Sensations 1/3 anything goes


We had some rather welcome rain today, I could not believe how dry my garden was getting. I think the extreme heat of the weekend has settled and we are back to our normal spring temperatures for the next few days. We had a fab time at the weekend, it was steaming and yes that BBQ got fired up too.
This was Daisy Jane making Nanna a "cuppa" in the garden. It was so hot we had to find some shade.... she is so funny..........

 and yes even in 28c she wants to wear her wellies ;0)

and this was the late afternoon sun at the coast

 just bliss.

Thanks for visiting me today and for the kind comments you take the trouble to leave.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x