Christmas Plaques for IndigoBlu

Hi everyone and welcome. It's my turn to share a project (well three actually!) using the new Clearly IndigoBlu stamps over on the IndigoBlu blog today. Here's a sneak peek to tempt you into joining me over there...

If you fancy seeing me create one of these IRL then you're in luck - I've one more to put together at the IndigoBlu Open Day this coming Saturday 18th July at the Retford HQ between 10am and 4pm!!! With all the new releases, lots of demonstrations, a well stocked craft shop, homemade cake and even a free prize draw it's going to be a really fun day and we'd love to see you there.

For now take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

The adventures of Flat Susan continue...

Hi everyone and welcome. I've been hosting a well travelled little friend recently and it's my turn to share that time with you. For those of you who aren't familiar with Flat Susan she is the brainchild of the lovely Neet (Hickydorums) and has been travelling the World (in her very own suitcase!)

Living right next to the Trent and Mersey Canal it was essential that Susan got to see it's delights and as luck would have it there was a floating market taking place. I marvelled at the fact that so many clever people could live and work in such a small place but Susan reminded me that it was all a question of being organised when you're small. Funny, that would prove to be somewhat prophetic! 

And there was another fortuitous event for Susan to attend. I got the chance to meet up with fellow creatives Anne Redfern (Redanne) and Tracy Evans (Craft Addicts) for a wonderful pub lunch. Bless her, Susan found it almost impossible to get a word in sideways! It's so very rare I get the opportunity to leave the confines of the craft room and this was a real treat.

Talking of confines... I've been kinda chained to the laptop more recently (the necessities of setting up a new DT and managing another) so Susan became a rather constant companion in these endeavours. In fact she's really got the hang of touch typing, not bad for someone who's reach only extends to about four keys at a time! Remember what she said earlier about 'it all being a question of organisation'? I've discovered that Susan is very good at making lists and cracking the whip...

Something else she's become a 'dab hand' at is using FlitterGlu. So whilst I got to grips with the stamping side Susan worked that Scoochy like a pro. I'm telling you, that girl has an amazing eye for detail!

And so, with her CV nicely extended and a new tag in hand, it's time to head off to visit Rosie (Crafting at S G) down the road. It's been a joy to host this special little lady and I look forward to seeing where she travels over the coming weeks and months. Jenny xxx

Something to Say... at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome to my regular Frilly and Funkie post. Today sees the start of the second week of this fortnight's challenge and I'm the host! I picked the challenge theme, 'Something to Say...'. There are so many fabulous quotes and sayings now available for use on our projects. Whether you stamp it, print it, write it or die cut it, make your sentiment the main focus of attention on your vintage or shabby chic entries.

The winner will earn the chance of a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. AND, there are new Top 3 Badges for three outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team, because choosing just one winner has become so hard!

And so to my Funkie side of the DT offering. To make those words the real focus it had to be a journal page for this one, though it has to be said this didn't turn out anything like I expected!!!

(click on the images for a closer look)

I'd gesso'd the base diary pages and was all set to stencil away with a flowery theme in mind (in fact I started and scrapped the paste off again!) but as this 'journal' has developed the surfaces become less even and harder to work on. So, Plan B. I grabbed a sheet of 'Correspondence' paper (one of my favourite designs from this collection), cut it to the required length and got stamping. Part of the design includes red, open flowers which look similar to one in the 'Flower Garden' stamp set, so I added to that design with more flowers and a few stems for good measure in Red Geranium Archival Ink. These were painted with a mixture of Distress Markers, Distress Stain and a little water, though this diminished the petal and stamen details. Out came my Snow Cap Pigment ink (you could use Glacier White equally well) and a white gel pen to stamp/redraw in those details.

Now back to that stencilling; white paste through the 'Blossom' Layering stencil which then absorbed some of the inks. I tried adding some Picket Fence Distress Paint but it wasn't quite strong enough so then came a layer of 'Merci Beaucoup Mint' embossing powder - perfect! Having blended Frayed Burlap Distress Ink around the edges of the paper I stamped the main sentiment from the Life Quotes set, added a Big Chat and Small Talk sticker (more Frayed Burlap around that too) and splattered Black Soot Distress Paint over the lot.

Now I'd love you to pop over to the Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see what my fabulous new Funkie team mate Shelly Hickox has created (it's positively AWESOME!) and one of my creative heroes, Linda Coughlin has conjured up (SENSATIONAL as ever!) Aren't I just the luckiest person to get to play 'alongside' these industry leaders! And then get those entries in to be in with a chance to win.

Whatever you're up to for the rest of the week I wish you a great one and remember to take care of yourselves. Jenny xxx

Bin Diving? Nothing gets wasted here...

URGENT UPDATE: My crafty buddy and DT team mate Sue Carrington who you all know and love has had a horrible weekend - her blog has been hacked!!! As a result she's got to start all over again (can you imagine - that's everything from 2009 gone! - and yes, every which way has been tried to recover it). Anyway PLEASE make sure you follow her on her new blog and help spread the message;
http://stampssuestyle.blogspot.co.uk/


***********************************************

Hi everyone and welcome, including my latest followers - so glad to have you joining in the fun! First up I need to give you a 'heads up' about the Blog Candy Giveaway that's running here through Sunday, July 26th. Please make sure you follow the link HERE (or on my sidebar) to find out how you can be in with a chance to get your hands on some fab crafty stash...

Now on to today's offering. I've been 'bin diving' and it's all thanks to the lovely Ruth (a love to create) an incredibly talented person I was lucky enough to meet recently at Stamp Magic. If you haven't seen her blog yet I can highly recommend a visit. Ruth is part of the DT over at Stamps and Stencils and recently shared a clever way of reusing those ink stained baby wipes HERE. Well that was it, no argument here, into the bin for me! retrieving all the old, previously discarded wipes, removing the scraps of paper that had become entangled with them, and flattening them out. Here's the first card I made using one of these 'revived' wipes...

(click on each image for a closer look)

The joy of this idea is that you don't have to start from a blank page. The ink patterns and colours are already in place and it's simply a case of enhancing them and working with the design they have predetermined. I have no idea which colours were mopped up with this particular one, just that dark blues, light browns and a touch of black were mainly in evidence. So, having adhered the wipe firmly to a piece of card to stabilise it, I reached for the IndigoBlu 'Circle Dot Background' stamp and some Midnight Blue Stazon ink (as it won't bleed on the fabric surface). Over the top I layered some white texture paste, stencilled randomly through an old circular stencil picked up as a sale item some long time ago.

To top this all off I die cut some cogs and gears, giving them a liberal covering of gold embossing powder and swiping Jet Black Stazon ink over the top to 'age' them. They work well when teamed with Tim Holtz Idea-Ology cogs and gears. The sentiment always makes me chuckle and comes from the IndigoBlu 'Little Voice' set. I thought it would appeal to my Father In Law's sense of humour as he celebrated his birthday - let's hope! A little 'watercolour' edging just helped to make the panel appear raised when added to a plain background.

It really didn't take long to put this together and with a small pile of used wipes sitting on my desk I now have a place to start when the old mojo takes a hike. Please make sure you pop over and see Ruth's tutorial for even more ideas.

I'll be back on Wednesday with my next Frilly and Funkie project. In the meantime PLEASE make sure you follow http://stampssuestyle.blogspot.co.uk/ and update your dashboards so you don't miss out on this incredible lady's work.

Thank you (and make sure you backup your blogs!) Jenny xxx

Destinations at A Vintage Journey

Hi everyone and welcome! I'm hosting the latest challenge over at A Vintage Journey this month. So many people are taking trips to far flung places or exploring locations closer to home right now. With this in mind we would love to see creations based on a destination or place of your choice. Tim has provided stamps themed around the United States, Great Britain and Paris but don't let this restrict you! Let your favourite destination inspire you. Our challenge is a monthly one and a randomly chosen winner will receive a £20 gift voucher from our very generous sponsor, Country View Crafts. We also award our Pinworthy badges to the Top 3, chosen by the Creative Guides.

(click on each image for a closer look)

I was particularly inspired by a single strip in Tim's 'Cityscapes' stamp set and worked on recording my thoughts and feelings about the city in question in my journal. The city is of course Rome and though I've not yet visited (it's on the bucket list!) the intense heat here in the UK at the moment definitely triggered all sorts of colours and images in my mind. It also gave me a reason to play with the new Distress Micro Glaze - WOW!!! (and since playing with this stuff myself I see Tim has added it as one of the ingredients for his July tag! Timing...

Back in 2013 Tim Holtz led an Artful Adventure in Tuscany, Italy and clearly those memories stuck with him, with a few of the stamp sets released since that time echoing recurring themes and designs. For my journalling I headed away from the vineyards, olive groves and green rolling hills of Tuscany and dove straight into the hustle and bustle of Italy's capital city.

Imagine the heat, noise, dust and dirt of an historic place trying to cope with the demands of modern life; traffic jams were probably not considered when the Romans built such landmarks as the Colosseum!!! So many architectural gems crammed into one city - the Pantheon, Circus Maximus, the Trevi Fountain, basilicas and piazzas, and of course the vast number of tourists they bring all vying for space in the soaring temperatures of Southern Europe. And for the current inhabitants of this incredible city the reality of everyday life and work, only enjoying their ever present surroundings as the evening sun sets and different attractions delight the senses.

So if I've not been there how come such a vivid description? As well as our mini heatwave causing a rush of blood to the head! I remember well the years of living in another historical city, London. Same amazing scenery crammed in cheek by jowl, same hustle, bustle, dirt and dust, same influx of traffic and tourists, and all the while those of us who scurried to waiting desks like worker ants had no time to fully appreciate all that surrounded us.

Hopefully I've captured some of this 'vision' in my journal, with warm yet sun bleached colours, architectural details and travel ephemera, Remnant Rubs and Small Talk stickers provoking thoughts and those tiny 'postcards' grabbing the attention of onlookers. That's where the Micro Glaze came into it's own; colouring the cityscape with various Distress Inks allowed for the layering and blending of marble and terracotta tones. I used a fine nib brush to cover these parts with the Micro Glaze before dipping the postcards into a mix of Tumbled Glass and Tattered Rose Distress Stains. Of course the Glaze worked perfectly to form a resist, leaving the 'painted parts' untouched! LOVE it!

Now, you've visited Rome vicariously with me, it's time to move on to the next of your Destinations, a task with which my fellow Creative Guides will be happy to help you with. Hop on over to A Vintage Journey and let them whisk you off to more far flung places. And then we need you to return the favour by sharing your favourite destination with us to be in with a chance to win.

Looking forward to seeing you soon. Take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Distress Paints, Inks, and essentials, Idea-Ology, Sizzix Dies and Tim Holtz Stamps can all be purchased at Country View Crafts.

Polka Dots at the Make ART Challenge Blog

Hi everyone and welcome! Long time no see (lol - only joking!) The Funkie Junkie Boutique is sponsoring July's Make ART Challenge and I was thrilled to be asked to make a little something to provide some inspiration. The theme for this month is to 'include polka dots' on your project. Well as luck would have it I'd already created a background using Wendy Vecchi's Reverse Dot's background stamp so that was a great starting point...

(click on each image for a closer look)

As you can see the centre panel has been stamped using that Reverse Dots Background design and Jet Black Archival Ink. I then mounted it onto a larger piece of card, masked it off and added a Crackled Texture Paste border with Shaded Lilac used to make the cracks more pronounced. At this stage the border was 'stabilised' with a thin coat of Glue n Seal before I added the border from The Beauty of Art stamp set with Violet Embossing Powder. So that's the outside, now for the focal point...

The Hydrangea heads from the Stamp It Stencil It set were stamped onto Newsprint paper, coloured with Violet, Hydrangea and Fern Green Archival Inks and mounted onto Clearly For Art Blackout Modeling Film (again with that Glue n Seal). Once cut out they were easy to mould and layer. Of course every plant needs a pot so a Mat Mini was perfect for the job. I used Wendy's tutorial last month and began by covering both layers in more of that Violet Embossing Powder. Then I rubbed a little Hydrangea Archival Ink onto it, reheated the surface and allowed it all to mottle. YUMMY! Of course if you are giving the gift of a potted plant here in the UK it usually comes with a bow of some kind. In this case I used the bow from the Holiday Art stamp set and 'kiss stamped' it with that Reverse Dots stamp and more Violet Archival Ink. And then to finish a gumdrop was coloured with diluted Hydrangea Archival Reinker - hey presto!

So now I've shown you mine, it's time for you to get busy with your own polka dot creation (which must include at least one Wendy Vecchi product to have been used on it to qualify) and head over to the July Make ART Challenge Blog. Linda is generously offering a $25 shopping voucher to The Funkie Junkie Boutique for a random winner and the July challenge ends on July 30th.

Thank you for joining me again today. Don't forget there's a Blog Candy Giveaway running (see my sidebar for details) and I'll be back tomorrow to host the next A Vintage Journey challenge. It's all go! Whatever you're up to take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Something BRAND NEW from IndigoBlu!!!

Hi everyone and welcome! So today promises to be the hottest day this year in the UK - the perfect conditions for letting everyone in on something SO NEW from IndigoBlu it's sizzlingly hot off the press!!! No sneak peeks here I'm afraid - you're going to have to head over to the blog today to see what's got the designers at IndigoBlu all hot under the collar...

And a couple of other announcements/reminders from moi;

First up I'm hosting the latest Frilly and Funkie challenge where we all have 'Something to Say...'. Please pop over and see what my Frilly team mates have created as they've pulled out all the stops on this one.

Secondly the latest edition of Craft Stamper magazine is on sale in the shops this Friday July 3rd (it's also downloadable) and I'm thrilled to have a number of pieces published in it again. To have work featured alongside the likes of Hels Sheridan, Trish Latimer, Anna-Karin Evaldsson and Christine Dark (to name but only a few) is still one of those 'pinch me I'm dreaming' things and I for one want to know how to create a stunningly beautiful portrait like the one being shown on the front cover.

Thirdly, and finally, if you haven't yet entered my Blog Candy Giveaway there's still plenty of time but you need to be in it to win it!

Find all the details here or click on the link on my sidebar.

Whatever you're up to today keep cool and take care of yourselves. Jenny xxx