Springtime at the seaside

Last weekend my Son in law arranged a surprise birthday lunch for my daughter. They live at the seaside.  It was the most glorious day...the first sunny day we had enjoyed for a while. We sat in the small private dining room of a local pub,

 looking out to the Isle of Wight.

 There were even people enjoying lunch outside. 

The walk back to their house was so delightful, the sea was literally glimmering in the late afternoon sunshine.

We even stopped for an ice cream....my daughter really enjoyed her birthday surprise lunch.

My card today is quite a patriotic birthday card.

The stamped sentiment is Lili of the Valley

The dies are a mix of Sizzix, Spellbinders and Memory Box. The paper is ancient from my stash. 

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

 Creative fingers 3/3 anything goes

Creative moments 3/3 anything goes

Crafty friends 3/3 spring colours

Addicted to stamps 3/3 spring

Lil patch of crafting friends 3/3 anything goes

Die cut divas 2/3 fave colour combination one of mine is red white and blue

Crafty sentiments 2/3 anything goes

Happy little stampers 2/3 anything goes with dies
Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes

Thanks for stopping by and for the kind comments you take the time to leave me. Have a lovely weekend and hopefully we will get some good weather too. 

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

October morphs into summer

The Indian Summer continues here in the south of England and we even had overnight temperatures of 18c during the last 2 nights. It is so lovely to extend to the summer. I have enjoyed an outside week, with lots of catching up with friends and family. Yesterday my Hb and I went down to the South Coast to catch up with our DD and Jack on her day off.

We enjoyed a walk along the beach in the sunshine, the sea sparkled 

and Jack took in the view while relaxing in his buggy after lunch.

 Lots of other people had also taken the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful October warmth.

I also had the joy of seeing Daisy's face when I collected her as from school as a surprise 😁

My card today is a new baby card for Dotty's with lots of blue, just like the sky and sea we saw yesterday. I have used my really old House Mouse hummingbird stamp coloured with Promarkers and a knitting pattern embossing folder for the background. It is up for sale at Dotty's Teahouse, Carshalton High Street, SM5 2AE

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

House Mouse and friends Mondays Anything goes

I love Promarkers anything goes

Passion for Promarkers animals

Thanks for stopping by, I'm off to visit Chartwell with my Mum and Dad today...and yes the sun is still shining. Sending some your way if you need it.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Who said that summer is over?

Wow it has been the most amazing few days in the South of England where temperatures have got to 24c most days this week. I went down to babysit for my daughter on Tuesday and stayed over. On Wednesday after dropping Daisy off at school we walked to one of her super local cafes by the coast. This one is called Breezes and is like a marine version of Dotty's Teahouse. I loved it.
This was the back room, there is even outside seating in cabins too.

 We parked up sleeping Jack

and enjoyed an hour of girlie catch up

followed by a walk back to my DDs house in the sunshine

 How about that for a view (it's the Isle of Wight you can see in the distance).

Such a lovely way to spend a few precious hours.

My project today just had to reflect the delightful nautical theme of the cafe, the seaside and our hour of precious Mum and daughter time. I used the Visible Image Dare to swim stamp set, capture the moments sentiment and their fibres stencil. It is a simple small canvas  made with distress inks with the perfect words.

Here are a couple of close ups. I added glitter and glossy accents to one of the jelly fish.

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

Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes
Addicted to stamps and more 3/3 anything goes
Fashionable stamping 3/3 quote away
As you like it 1/3 favourite season mine is summer as I do adore the long sunny day and the feel of warm sun on my skin. (But don't mention the C word as I love that too!)
Lil patch of crafty friends 3/3 anything goes
Crafty Catz 1/3 anything goes
The alphabet challenge N for nature

The sun came out again today and the weekend looks set fine too. Just looking out at the sunshine is in itself a very precious moment.

Just to give you all a heads up...there is a sentiment sale over at Visible Image and all the individual sentiments, including the one I used today, are 50%...yes 50% off! Just follow the link by clicking here.

Enjoy your weekend too.

Back on Monday,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Last days of August

Hello and I hope those of you who are in the UK are enjoying a restful bank holiday. Dare I say that this is the last one before Christmas! What a wonderful summer it has been this year. Warm, sunny, blue skied filled days, the best I can remember since the Summer of 1976

I have loved spending time this year at the beach, both here and abroad and I still have our holiday in Rhodes to look forward too. There is nothing quite like sun sea and sand is there?

I'm here with my Monday design team make for Visible Image and I thought it was a good time to share a card I made earlier in the year which was in the June edition of Making Cards. Myself, Pauline and Sharon from the DT made projects with a red, white and blue colour scheme and used the
create your calm stamp set.

I made an alcohol ink sea inspired background

I added some blue archival ink through the fibres stencil

I wanted some seaweed for my seahorse to hide in (they are very shy creatures you know 

😊) and added some red seaweed using the Dare to swim stamp set

I stamped and red embossed the seahorse twice and fussy cut one out.

I stamped out the sentiment and added glossy accents to the bubbles to add some dimension. 

I also stamped and white embossed the jelly fish and added glitter and glossy accents to them too. 

and the inside of the card continued the red, white and blue theme too. 

So here is my finished card.

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

Pixie's snippets playground #333
Let's craft and create 3/3 anything goes/lots of layers
TIME out 2/3 be bright
Lil patch of crafting friend's 2/3 anything goes
Let's craft and create 3/3 anything goes
Fussy and fancy 1/3 anything goes
Rubber dance 3/3  nature

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. 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 their gorgeous stamps and stencils can be purchased. 

September beckons us and the nights are beginning to draw in. I find that my colour palette changes so much with the seasons so expect to see something more autumnal inspired next week.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for all the kind comments that you take the time to leave. Enjoy your bank holiday.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Finding joy in the little things

We had a fab time at Southsea last week and the weather was really kind, sunny but not too hot. We had lunch at the 10th hole again which I have shared with you in the past so I didn't take any new photos.  If you missed it one of my previous posts can be seen via the link here This is a super lunch spot and I highly recommend it if you are in the area. 

Daisy and Jack had a super time in the swing park and I took a couple of fun snaps...just how much joy can a swing bring!

This was Daisy in the same swing park 4 years ago....bless!

Daisy took Jack down the slide too

It's the little things isn't it! You can also see that Jack is wearing his first pair of shoes...yes he is now toddling everywhere...and getting into places you would not believe!

You may remember me sharing photo of the swan boats on our previous visits... ..always tied up..

well on this visit I was delighted to see that people were out having fun in them.

I did offer Daisy a ride but she found the swings far more exciting!

I thought my card today should be just as joyful and fun. It is a new baby card for sale at Dotty's...and no before you ask there is no hidden meaning here with new babies in the family (other than my niece who is expecting number 2 in December). 

I love this Lili of the Valley baby quote stamp and it is a popular sentiment down at Dotty's.

The sweet animal die cuts are a sizzix set I got in one of Country View's sales a while back. The other dies are Cheery Lynn and Joanna Sheen.

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

That's crafty 2/3 animal magic

Penny Black and More 3/3 I spy something beginning with B My Bs are bird, beak, babies (stamp), brad, blue (brad and some of the flowers) 

A bit more time to craft 1/3 anything goes

Lil patch of crafting friends 3/3 anything goes

Time out 1/3 how bright can you be?

It's nearly the weekend again and I hope you take a moment to find some joy in the little things too. 

Thanks for stopping by and as always thanks for your kind comments too.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

Breaking heatwave records

Goodness me just when I thought it couldn't get any hotter this week it did. My darling granddaughter Daisy came to stay and we had such a fab 4 days. She really is my little crafting partner in crime. Like me, she can think of nothing better than working down in my garden studio. We also had another visitor who has come to stay too.
My darling Daisy with the lovely Bear.

It is Daisy's Mummy and Daddy's wedding anniversary today and so we decided to make some cards.
She finds die cutting absolutely fascinating so she wanted to die cut lots of shapes. I had a stamped Happy Anniversary Lili of the Valley sentiment in my box which she started with. Daisy chose everything for this card I just helped with the die cutting, cutting papers, lining things up straight and sticking.
She colours the edges of her paper with distress inks like a pro.

 whilst Bear kept lookout for us.

She wanted to colour her die cuts with markers (well who says there are any rules in crafting!)Don't you just love that the doves have smiley faces!

Apparently the green one is Daddy and the blue one Mummy. She added some long dark hair to the blue one. Here it is finished.

and I quickly snapped a close up. Not bad for a 4 1/2 year old eh!
I told Daisy I would enter this into some challenges for her.

Pixie's snippets playground #331
Simon says stamp kids vacation challenge

My card today is the anniversary card I have make for my daughter and son-in-law.
I made some alcholol ink backgrounds and I had a first play with lift off alcohol ink.

 I used the background below, made on yupo, on the left and got some watercolour card ready on the right to receive the ink.

 I used my Visible Image seahorse stamp and the seaweed and jelly fish from their Dare to swim set.

After using the lift off ink technique I got these 2 cool backgrounds. On the right is the ghost, the other is the ink transfer. How amazing it is to be able to stamp with alcohol inks!

I decided to use the ink transfer one to create their seaside card. I blended on some yellow and blue distress inks and then added some splatters of water.  I stamped a LOTV sentiment. The seahorses are  Cheery Lynn and cut from alcohol ink mop up card. The leaves are Tim Holtz and cut from distress ink mop up card.

Some close ups

This technique has soooo many possibilities, I can't wait to play some more.
I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;

Pixie's snippets playground #331

Crafty sentiments 1/3 anything goes

Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes

Addicted to stamps and more make your mark

Crafty catz 1/3 anything goes

We have actually had our first rain this afternoon since June 14th...yes seriously.  They have been downpours at last my lawn got some rain. The air has cleared a little and we may get some more thunderstorms today but we are told we are then in for even more heat again! Phew we are breaking the record of 1976.

We plan a quiet weekend looking after Bear now that my darling Daisy has gone home. 

Enjoy yours too.

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x