Finding some sparkle in January

Good morning, January always seems to be a long month. Christmas seems long ago and spring still seems a long way away. As I walked down to Dotty's Teahouse in the High Street of Carshalton I decided to look for some sparkle and shine and even on such a dull, dreary day I spotted some of Mother Nature's sparkle and shine on the plants;

rain sparkling on the winter aconite

on the plucky viburnum flowers

and on new shoots.

For my Monday design team inspiration today I went with the sparkling rain theme using the fab 

Sparkle in the rain stamp set

The background is a stencilled ink one using the 

Grungy union Jack stencil

I added some distress oxides to my card 

 then stenciled salty ocean and squeezed lemonade oxides through the stencil.

These photos are quite dark you will see the true colours in my finished photos.

I stamped the rain in blue Archival ink

and then I added my lady by embossing her in blue and also stamping the quote stamp

dream big

You can see that I masked and split the words. The top words are stamped and embossed in  black 

and the unrivalled in green glitter.

I would like to link up my card into the following challenges;

Crafty Catz 1/3 anything goes
A vintage journey put your stamp on it

Craft stamper take it make it 3/3 January

Mix it up 4/5 anything goes

Stamping sensations 3/3 fabulously feminine
Card mania 1/3 baby it's cold outside
Happy little stampers 2/3 watercolour
Fashionable stamping 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 can add work to the new challenge album where one randomly chosen winner each month wins a £40 coupon to spend on the website. For December and January the theme is "Christmas/Winter".

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 their gorgeous stamps and stencils can be purchased. 

Our Christmas/winter challenge on Facebook runs until the end of January a couple of weeks to make something and be in with a chance of winning the £40 voucher to spend on the web site. The winner is selected by random so everyone has an equal winning chance.

 Thanks so much for stopping by and for the kind comments you take the time to leave. I would also like to welcome my newest 2 followers, it's so good to see you joining me on my creative journey here at Jane's Journal.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Gems in the rain

The weather has been very fickle for the last few weeks. Dismal rainy days followed by glorious sunshine. In 12 hours we can go from saturation to blue skies. British weather certainly is not boring.

I have been trying to get out into the garden to tidy up a little but realistically there is not a lot I can do at the moment. I still love looking around and seeing what is going on in my little patch of earth. I spotted raindrops on my new lupin leaves and thought how beautiful they looked trapped in their centres. I grabbed my camera and took these photos.

 To me they looked just like little sparkling gems..so beautiful.

I have been busy making new stock for Dotty's Teahouse and I finally had a chance to play with a gorgeous new Lavinia fairy stamp I won a few weeks back in the Ink Arts challenge over on Facebook. I made my card and then thought I would add some jewels (gold glitter) to the centre of my flowers and also a few sequins for extra sparkle. Mother Nature gives me so much free inspiration for my cards, even in the rain!

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

Stamping sensations 1/3 anything with flowers
C.R.A.F.T Mother's day/female
Crafty catz 1/3 anything goes
Fashionable Stamping 1/3 one for the girls

The weekend weather is looking pretty good and yesterday was a gorgeous blue sky one so I may well be able to get out into the garden. Enjoy yours and I will see you bright and breezy on Monday morning with my weekly Visible Image DT post.
Thanks for stopping by today and for the kind comments you take the time to leave me, I really appreciate every single one. I would also like to warmly welcome my newest followers, it's lovely to see you joining me here on my creative journey.

Bye for now,

Jane x

Welcome rain

We have been threatened with a hose pipe ban in the South of England this summer unless we have some more rain. We had the driest April for many years and until last week no real rain fall. However there were a few days last week when we finally had some rain for my parched garden and I really want to share these photos today.

I love the smell in the garden at this time of the year after it has been raining, that gorgeous earthy, green smell...it's as though the ground is alive and breathing. I took these photos

My foxgloves lapped up the rain and are racing away, Old Choc, my Christmas tree was pretty happy too...

I have pink and white foxglove blooms this year, they all self seed and every year I have different shades.  I also spotted a visitor below

Well hello Mr Bumble

How pretty the rain looked on my shrubs

So I was inspired to finally ink up my Lavinia Green Man stamp which I bought at Ally Pally in April and decided to create an enchanted garden scene.

I made an inky background with distress inks. I added some honeycomb stencilling, as inspired by Mr. Bumble.

So I would like you to meet my first Green Man card...

It's a fab stamp and I added lots of his leaves in different shades and types of ink. I also added a border of Lavinia leaves and flowers and gave him a few white pen highlights.

I have put him up for sale in my Etsy shop here

I would like to enter him into the following challenges;

A bit more time to craft 3/3 anything goes
Artistic Inspirations 3/3 anything goes

Creative Inspirations 2/3 anything goes
Fashionable Stamping 3/3 let's go wild
Emerald Creek Dares 2/3 dream a little dream
Crafty Cardmakers 1/3 floral profusion
Fussy and fancy 1/3 flowers

We have enjoyed steaming hot weather this week and yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far. The temperature topped 28c and more sunshine is promised this weekend here in the South, although Monday looks as though we may get some rain. Perfect for my garden, if not for a bank holiday.

Enjoy your weekends and your gardens if you have them. They are such enchanting places at this time of the year and who know, you might even stumble across the Green Man 😉

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Too wet for the ducks

Goodness me the rain yesterday was incredible.....it fell like sheets in biblical quantities in the early hours. Over last few weeks we have seen so much rain that I think if it didn't rain now til September we would still have plenty to keep us going.

Despite the rain it's very mild. Yesterday it was in the mid 20s and felt very muggy. I decided to still walk down to Dotty's rather than drive to deliver my latest cards. The rain was just drizzly at this point and I do try to take a very brisk water every single day. The ponds look glorious in any weather.

I noticed that the little coot's nest had new life in it....and the baby coots were being led out to swim by their Mummy....

 Baby coots are so cute and woolly.

What amused me though was seeing all the mallard ducks sleeping  out of the water

it was obviously too wet for ducks.

The fellow on the left didn't even want to stand both feet in the wet.

The waterfall was roaring with so much rain...I love that sound

and all the brooks were babbling beautifully.

As I walked home I decided that I had to celebrate the new baby coots and remember the rain by making a Baby Shower card.
I have the brilliant Ryn raindrops stamp so I dug it out. I also used one of my Nicecrane digi images.
And this is what I made.

I just love this stamp.

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

Moving along with the times new baby
Simon says stamp Wednesday 1/5 add shimmer my gold card has a wonderful shimmer to it as does my organza ribbon.
Simon says stamp Mondays 1/5 use patterned paper my backing paper is from an ancient Jack and Jill pad.
Crafting from the heart 2/3 anything goes
As you like it 2/3 favourite die and why mine is my MB stitched rectangle set...they are brilliant for framing images.
Emerald Faeries 2/3 anything goes
Designs by Ryn June customer creations
Crafty Hazelnut's patterned paper challenge june
Crafty Claire's 1/3 create a scene
Ribbon Girls 2/3 any image

Last night heavy rain returned again....perhaps, like the image I used for my baby shower card, I should be building that arc! However this morning I have woken up to warm sunshine just in time for a day out with my girlies...good timing.

Thanks for visiting me today and for your kind comments.
Keep dry if the rain is affecting you and enjoy the upcoming weekend. I am still waiting to cut my ever lengthening lawn!

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

After the storm

After the dreadful storm we endured here in the UK on Friday night we have been given some optimism that that may have been the worst of the weather. I wrote this post over a month ago when we hoped the torrential rain was over,  little did we realise that the worst was yet to come. A lot of poor souls still have flooded properties and I just count my lucky stars that we have stayed dry so far. On Saturday afternoon the sun came out and there was a little promise of hopefully sunny days ahead and spring. Despite the rain we have had a mild winter and my bulbs outside are well ahead. This time last year I had nothing in bloom but this year I have snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils swaying in the breeze. On a walk around our local park I snapped this pretty patch.

the ponds looked gorgeous in the late winter sunshine

There is still so much water around and the river is flowing so quickly

When I got home I spied some more crocuses and snowdrops in my front garden

and I also noticed the water drops still hanging from the ivy leaves

and on the leaves of my violas which have braved the winter in a hanging basket.

All this natural beauty inspired me to sit down on Sunday and make a card...incorporating the lilac and blue colours, the joy of mother nature,the raindrops and of course a little bit of magic ;0)

I chose 3 Distress Inks and blended the colours onto some card. I made another stencil this time using my lovely Joanna Sheen Ivy die and stamped through this with more  Distress Ink. I created this ivy border on both side of the card.

I then got busy with my tiny flowers stamp and made lots of little flowers by repeat stamping. I stamped a floral "hedgerow" around my card and  I decided I needed to have a fairy on this card. I also wanted to incorporate the rain drops I had seen on my viola. So here is my little creation....

Here are a few close ups

The fairy stamp is made my Lavinia and the water drops stamp by Ryn.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges

Winter Wonderland fairies
Artistic stamper use distress
Craft stamper make and take repeat stamping
Stamping sensations wings real or fantasy
ABC challenge F is for flowers, I have multiple flowers in my stamping border
As you like it Inspired by an object my object is the viola flower in the photo above. The reason why it is my favourite object is that I adore flowers and even with rain drops on I think they still look so beautiful. The viola despite being tiny is such a survivor!
Stampin for the weekend flower power
Pan Pastel UK anything goes
Fashionable Stamping build it up
Deep Ocean love is all around

Have a great week everyone, I have also been finishing off my long awaited giveaway projects, stay tuned.....

Let's hope the rain dies down now after that incredible storm. The daylight is certainly lengthening every day, which is a sure sign that the first day of spring is now only 31 days away......I for one can't wait.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x