Its all about the boys 'n' bots....

... in my class this coming Saturday (16.04.16) at The Craft Barn..

we'll create a group of cards featuring the latest JOFY stamp releases along with stencils, Fresco Finish paints, Distress Inks & a touch of die cutting.. (& I'm not sure I'll be able to resist adding googly eyes to those cute little 'bots much longer!)

You can find all the details for the class HERE on the The Craft Barn's website.

Hope you can join me!

x

ACP2: RED + D

This post on the ACP2 project is brought to you by the colour RED and the letter D... as with C there is lots of craftiness beginning with D.. and I had different plans for a 'D' project until I was hit with a cold/cough/sinus bug that floored me for about a week... sniff sniff cough sneeze lol  but I rallied (thanks to Sudafed, Strepsils, Karvol and Meltus lol)(other medicines are, of course, available lol).. and my project took a different route.

I've chosen to mix all shades of red from 'blood' red through to orange...  and my chosen topics were distress and doodling....

I like doodling... but its 'controlled' doodling - it has to have some sort of plan, structure.. purpose..
So I've been doodling in my small sketchbook/journal - it measures 6x4 inches - great for mopping up paint, gelli prints or just mini journaling or sketches..

Recently I've been starting my doodles by stamping images on the pages and working around them - the ones below started by stamping a Hero Arts flower (which I LOVE - I used it on a masterboard project for Craft Stamper - you can see snapshot HERE) (shocked to see that this was SIX years ago!!) aaaaanyhoo I digress.. here are the two spreads I made with that stamp..

There is something striking about the black and white isn't there.. I like leaving the white space in the centre - gives breathing space...  I wanted to give each flower a different pattern...

So that was all very nice and relaxing.. but its not RED is it!.. but I was in a doodling mind set so I bought a pack (from Amazon) of white (and black) blank zentangle squares (shown by Chris Cresswell in a photo on a Facebook page).  The 'tiles' are 9.5x9.5cm so not too big, not too small - ideal for what I had in mind.

So that's the 'doodling', the 'distress' part of my project comes in the form of Distress Inks.  I haven't played with these for a while and I'd forgotten how easy they are to work with.  I pulled out all the red and got busy ( Barn Door, Ripe Persimmon, Festive Berries and Dried Marigold)

I taped four of the tiles together to make a...... yep, a masterboard lol well I couldn't wait until 'M' to create one of these - M's not due as part of this project until  JULY!

The distress inks used were. I created the spots using the tried&tested old favourite technique of water flicking/splashing. :o)

Next came the doodling - I methodically doodled each type of image - worked each of the leaves, then small circles, etc - I like to be organised and methodical about the (apparently) free doodling. :o)
and eventually it looked like this...

It was ready to broken apart and used - I created two cards (I like to mount these panels on different coloured backgrounds because they can look so different depending on the mount..) I also added more doodling - this time in white pen... These panels remind me of batik printed fabrics...

The sketchbook I used earlier for the black&white doodles is shown above - now with a nice masterboard panel on the front cover.

I hope this has inspired you to doodle around stamped images - give them your own spin - or dig out some inks or paints you haven't used in a while (as I did here with the Distress Inks) - or just to doodle!

I'll see you back here on the 1st of March (if not before) for a new colour and 2 more letters of the alphabet - E & F - if you have any suggestions for crafting themes for those letters add them in the comments section on this post and I'll add it to my lists.

As part of my 'research' for the Alphabet Colour Project I created boards on Pinterest for each colour - you can see my RED inspiration board HERE

Thanks for stopping by.

J

A mini 'masterboard'...

... was part of a class I taught recently.

It isn't strictly a masterboard - more of a strip that we created and cut up....  This is the demo/sample I created in class (unfinished/unrefined) that I cut up and gave different borders to.

In class we mounted the panels onto white and kraft card blanks because I wanted to show how different the panels can look when you mount them on different colours... (apologies for the dodgy photo quality)

Here are the panels from the top photo mounted onto different backgrounds:

I really like how they all look - the black backgroun makes the panel look 'dramatic', while the white is very 'fresh'.

These are fun to create and make 'batch' card creation much easier - they're the same but different.. I like that.

x

The demo desk from both sides...

Last weekend was a fun one!

On Saturday I was at The Craft Barn where I had the first chance to demo my NEW stamps!! yes, new stamps.  

Its always a lot of fun to demo new products - but I'm not sure customers on Saturday were ready to contemplate Christmas - I think we're all enjoying the gorgeous weather we have here in the UK at the moment to think about Christmas just yet... and so I found myself demo'ing the flower stamps and stencils. When I demo the samples are along the 'less is more' 'clean & simple' lines because I want the stamp designs to be the focus..

(& look at the amount of YELLOW I've used on these cards - I am embracing yellow!!)
One of the new plates has a design created to be stamped over the top of the my flower stencils as shown below (and also doubles as a lovely fragile snowflake...):

I also created a couple of christmas cards.. but I'll show you those later in the week.. easing you into the festive seasons gently..

You will start to see the new stamps arriving at your local PaperArtsy stockist but they're not 'officially' released until later this month....oooh and paint - lets not forget the paint!! (more about that later in the week too...)

On Sunday I dosed myself up against a thumping migraine/sinus headache and went to Stamperama in Stevenage.. and I'm so glad I did - I had a really good time..
Much as I love demonstrating and teaching it was nice to be on the 'other side' of the demo desk.  I was able to walk around the show, see what was new, chat to the crafty people I know that were there, watch demos (love watching demos!) and SHOP!!  :o)
Its been a while since I've been to Stamperama and I forget how easy it is to get to and what a nice show it is - not too big and all the stands are craft specific... smaller than in previous years but still worth the visit.

x

When paving becomes pretty...

... our garden patio has paving slabs - they came with the house & I quite like them - its like ordered crazy paving... I like the straight lines and the simple design - & I often look at them, see patterns and how it could be translated into a art/craft idea...

(that's Bertie by the way, doing that 'pay me attention' thing that cats do!)

... inspiration from the paving slabs gave me the idea for this:

.. another project created using the masterboard I created for this and this post over on the PaperArtsy blog.   It is a canvas panel (PaperArtsy has a nice range of these that can be found here) which I rough painted with Chalk, Snowflake & French Roast Fresco Finish paints (go here to see the range).
I wanted this project to be less 'pristine' and so I coloured the edges of the board (with Frescos) and all the edges of the cut out patterned paper/card squares/rectangles (with Distress Inks).
I played around with the layout and combination of papers, flowers and shapes.... I moved them about A LOT!! but there comes a time when you have to walk away, have a cuppa, come back, STOP FAFFING with the project and stick the pieces in place!! lol

Tomorrow I'll have another project for you using the masterboard - oh yes I still have some pieces left to play with!

I hope you're having fun with the masterboards you've created.

x

Oops... I created, I photographed...

... I delivered to the relevant lovely ladies ... but I forgot to blog these Mothers' Day cards!!  So here they are, better late than never..

I created these cards with JOFY stencil PS007, JOFY Limited Edition paints - Dusty Teal & Chalk, and stamp sets JOFY13, 23, 24.

Give me some kraft card, stencils, fresco paints & stamps and I'm a happy little crafter! 

xx

Stamping, stamping and more stamping...

... was the plan at The Craft Barn today.. we stamped, painted, stamped, embossed, & stamped some more..
:o)

Thanks to the customers who came to the class - look forward to see you again soon!  Have fun with your purchases!

BLOG COMMENTS:

Thank you for all the comments you leave on the blog - it is very much appreciated!
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xx

Deck the halls...

... with branches of baubles.. falalala laaaaaa lalala laaaaaaa

This is a simple card made for the demo day at the Craft Barn a few weeks ago - finally got around to blogging it!

Another shocker! only one stamp set used!

If I made this card again I would possibly 3d mount the tree and some of the bauble to add a bit of texture/dimension....and colour in some of those stars around the edges (liberal use of stickles - well it is christmas, and christmas expects sparkle! lol)

xx

Here come Santa Claus...

... and this year he's taking his boots off at the door (or should that be at the chimney???)..

('hohoho' is from Dovecraft, papers are EchoPark/CartaBella(?), buttons are from my never-decreasing-stash! lol)

I think my new craft 'addiction' may be spotted paper! big, small, varied - love them all! lol
its a happy little pattern and on the card above its suitably festive.

So much Christmas... so little time!!....

... phew.. its been a busy few weeks.. christmas is all over the place.. the crafting shops have been stocking it for a while but now its creeping into the department stores...

Leader of the pack is Primark - or Premarche as we like to say here in Essex lol - with some fab christmas sweaters - this is my choice - and at £12 its cheap'n'cheerful festive fun!  and its has bells and sequins!!! purrrfect.. get it? cat.. purrfect?! oh nevermind
hohoho

I've been running a few workshops.. at Birds in the Barn where it was christmas workshops one day and summery the next:
Here is one of the cards from the class (lighting fail on the other photos I took!)(note to self - pack camera!!):

The 'summery' class was the triptych- the class was quite small but it was great as the attendees had time to play with colour options (Denise's on the right, Deb's on the left):

.... and here are the lovely ladies with their finished triptychs:

They created lovely finished pieces - the black/white polka dot washi tape is really dramatic with the purple flowers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

... and I've just returned from another weekend in Warwickshire at Pink Tulip Creations... where I taught a lovely Christmas themed weekend!
Thanks to everyone at Pink Tulip for their help and for being such a fab group, and thanks to all the lovely ladies that came along... some dressed ready for christmas:

(if you would like to know what your elf name is (that's what the above label says!) go here ... and from 01st December you can call me Puddin'-Sparkely-Toes!  (hubby is Twinkle Sugar Socks! lol  LOVE!)

Saturday was a card workshop - cards created included this one made using the Sizzix Accordion Album Flip die - such a clever-effective-simple die! I can see me using this A LOT! lol

On Sunday the group created a wooden box frame - its so festive!! it has presents, a sleigh, snowflakes, a christmas tree - the only thing missing is Father Christmas! lol

.. and finally here are some (not all) cards created for the two classes at Birds in the Barn and Pink Tulip...

Hopefully everyone left inspired & geared up for christmas crafting...  especially as the perky christmas app on my phone tells me that its only 65 days..... #justsayin'  #don'tshootthemessenger

xx

A colourful bit of this and that....

Several days of last week were spent making samples for The Craft Barn demo day on saturday but I also had a few cards to make to send to family and friends - 2 of our nephews had birthdays (on consecutive days!) during the week...
I used one of my favourite 'go-to' stamps for boys - he's such a dude!  from Stampotique.

Happy there was a number '10' on this Bingo card - perfect for the card! Love it when things come together like that. 

The cards are both on a theme.. but different... lots of splashed ink, resisted layers, and boyish colours....

I've just run a distress ink workshop and I think the techniques are still running around in my head because all the cards I've made recently have been influenced by that.. here's a couple of 'thank you' cards I made:  LOVE how they turned out...

(apologies for the weird angle of the photo!) The colours were really quite vivid - Wild Honey & Picked Raspberry Distress Ink (with a touch of Barn Door)... hot pink & orange - LOVE!

... and finally a quick photo of a late arrival in our garden - I do love Dahlias - such 'juicy' flowers! The petals of the flower are orange/pink in the centre fading to yellow - its just gorgeous and I've managed to keep it safe from the slugs (I'll take a picture of how and post it on here tomorrow - such a simple idea!)

I bought the plant at the Hampton Court Flower Show, really pleased it has flowered this year.

... and last but not least... I have a couple of Japenese Kokeshi dolls which I love.. and when I was at 'Its Crafting Time on sunday I noticed a box on a shelf - a 'paint your own' Kokeshi doll kit!!!!! OMG!!! I could paint a JOFY one!!!!! How cool would that be!!

Here they are (with my 2 dolls) - lovely plain wooden blanks - just waiting for a bit of Fresco Finish, a JOFY stamp or 2....  made me very happy to find these! lol

(I'm itching to paint them but I have to be good and clear my 'to-do' list first....)

xx

A (di)stress free weekend...

I spent Saturday at Birds in the Barn running a Distress Workshop - effects and techniques you can create with the inks, (paints) and stains... we painted, bleached (love the effect of the bleach!), resisted and marbled - all very inky!!

.. and relaxing and everyone went home surprisingly clean! .. must have been something to do with the bleach and shaving foam! lol

Sunday was spent in the garden - tidying it up, digging it up, moving plants and furniture about.... gardening is a great form of exercise! I ache all over! lol  but it was worth it - the garden looks great (especially the patio where MrJoFY removed all the weeds from between the slabs! weeds had grown a lot because we sprayed the flower tubs on the patio with 'miracle grow' so of the course plants and weeds grew! lol as if weeds don't grow fast enough anyway! gggrrr)

... and sadly we had to cut down the five sunflowers I'd grown - was quite proud of these - probably slightly misplaced pride because even small children can grow sunflowers so for a 42yr old (that's me!) to grow them is not overly impressive! (and especially if you saw my f-i-l's sunflowers - size of dinner plates - amazing!)

But I grew them, kept them alive (sunflowers are quite high maintenance- need LOTS of water!) and so I'm happy:

xx

This weekend... Next weekend...

This weekend I'll be having fun teaching a couple of workshops at Pink Tulip Creations while a lot of you (I imagine) will be having fun at AllyPally at the stamping and scrapbooking show...  Enjoy!

Next Saturday I'll be at Birds in the Barn running a workshop with Distress Inks..
So if you want to rediscover your Distress Inks, learn some new techniques and generally get inky then come and join me (aprons are recommended!) - contact the shop to book a place.

A lovely inky painty time.....

.... pretty much sums up last weekend where I spent the weekend running 2 workshops...

I think I walked through the door twice before I noticed the writing on the door (after it had been pointed out to me)! lol   oops - sorry & thanks!

I completely forgot to take photos on Saturday's card making workshop! sorry everyone! here's a detail photo (mine) of one of the cards they made.. lovely cards were created in all sorts of colour options - love it when that happens!

In Sunday's workshop we decorated a triptych... and here are the inky painty participants with their lovely creations:... those smiles are ones you get from saying 'tinned peas and guacamole' instead of 'cheese' for a photo.. lol

The photo shows the inside of the triptych's - my sample had minimal decoration but time allowed for additional painting and decoration:

Helen painted her outside flowers in lovely green with orange 'berries':

 I love Elaine's doors with additional bud heads:

... and Judy painted the flowers inside in  lovely shades of blue and green and so used the same colour scheme outside.  Love it:

:
Everyone created very lovely projects!  Gold stars all round!
Thanks to everyone for coming - hope to see you at the 'Christmas' classes - 23/24 November - cards and a project.

xx

PS - on the way to The Stamp Attic I was driving on the M25 - the MAJOR London FOUR LANE, VERY BUSY motorway... when I watched the most muppetry piece of driving, only ever normally seen on the TV:  a 4x4  realised it had taken the wrong exit and so had REVERSED BACK DOWN THE SLIP ROAD, DRIVEN OVER THE GRASS AT THE END WHERE THE CHEVRONS RUN INTO GRASS & REJOINED the M25 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh. my. word!! what goes through peoples heads! lol where in the highway code does it says thats a good idea! numpty! lol

It was all about love...

... and marriage in our house on Monday when MrJoFY and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary.

The card was made, as requested by MrYoung, with one of my new stamps - one of the non-christmas christmas stamps.. mini22 the textblock heart... I love this little block of romantic words - great for wedding anniversaries, as I've used here, or for valentines day (come on you old romantics out there...) or just to tell someone you care... the choice is yours...

The card has hearts punched from card coloured with 'Barn Door' Distress Ink - 1 heart for each year we've been married (as I mentioned last year this is a good idea now but the longer we've been married the trickier its going to be to accommodate the hearts... smaller hearts/bigger card may be the answer...) .. .anyhoooo ...the background is blue check as MrJoFY does love blue check :o)

Love you Matt!

Craft Stamper October...

... issue is out now - and I have a 3.2.1 article showing some things to do with one stamp - yep just 1 stamp! how often do we make projects with just.one.stamp...
I know I rarely do- the more stamps the merrier lol

Another great issue - so go take a look....

xx

A trip down memory lane: 10 Years of PaperArtsy Creativity/ madness/ & fun fun fun...

* * Happy 10th Birthday PaperArtsy! * *

As I said over on the PaperArtsy blog:   10 YEARS!!  oh my, that is a long time to have fun and be encouraged down a creative path... which is what PaperArtsy does.... and if they think I'm a 'tad loopy' (see the post on the PA blog) I learned it all from them - its brushed off! :o)

I don't live far from PaperArtsy - I 'pop' over to do stuff - & when hubby hears that in the morning he knows he has to get his own dinner! lol  PA HQ is like a vortex - one filled with crafty wonderness - like a craft version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.. but sadly without the umpalumpas... well, there are Elves but they're not the same (or orange, even if they do live in Brentwood..lol)

So, I've been working playing creating with PA products for 10 years (still can't quite believe that!) & I've been looking back at some of the projects I've made with their products...

First came the Stamps:

These images were (still are) some of my favourites.. Petals from the Ink & the Dog Collection

LOVE this little book in a tin.. its about 10x10cm but approximately 1m long..

As part of the original Design Team it was always fun to create different items... anyone fancy a game of dominoes?:

Not one of my quicker projects - didn't really realise when I started how many dominoes are in a set! lol   Fun to make though with some distinctive single images.

Squiggly Ink - cute hand drawn images - I was a big fan of the winged images.  Stamp sets from the Squiggly Ink 'Tops & Tails' & 'Swirls&Curls' Collection

This is the first project I ever had published in Craft Stamper - always going to be a favourite:

Oooh Hot Picks - who doesn't love the Hot Picks plates!
(using HP1005, HPxmas01)

 Especially the Haberdashery ones:

And then came FRESCO FINISH!!!!  I feel that there should've been a fanfare or drumroll there.. lol

There's many more colour than those shown above - and brace yourselves - more on the way!! Exciting!

Look at that lovely crackle glaze effect!!  If anyone reading this does not have a bottle of this amazing stuff I suggest you go and buy some NOW - amazing, never fail, product - LOVE IT!!

(nb. & fyi  the above images are by Claudine Hellmuth for Ranger, pic is just an illustration of the crackle)

JOFY stamps!! :o)
... I was so pleased when PaperArtsy asked me to design stamps for them - I love designing the stamps and seeing what people create with them - amazes me what people can do!  I never thought 10 years ago that I would one day be designing stamps for them - couldn't be happier!  THANK YOU MR & MRS PA!!

So I think that brings my brief stroll down memory lane to an end - I hope you've enjoyed seeing a few of my favourite projects - and if any of its inspired you to get creating 'stuff' then I'm pleased.

One last thing.  Here is my 'Birthday Project' - all the details and instructions can be found HERE on the PA blog.

I love it muchly - much bigger than my usual projects - 30x30cm - and more surprisingly - no book text!!! not a single piece & only 2 buttons - on a piece this size!!! shocking!! lol
Most unusual.

That was the last 10 years of PaperArtsy - thanks for the inspiration, the fab products and the fun Mr & Mrs PA - its been a blast - looking forward to the NEXT 10 years!


Thanks for bearing with me on this long blog - makes up the fact I haven't blogged for 10 days!.. hopefully :o)

(not that I've been slacking ... secret stuff in the pipeline....)