Create Something Beautiful... just because you can!

2012-01-25T10:37:00.001Z

A colourful card today to brighten us up on this damp day! This card has been created using alcohol inks onto glossy card. Blotches of bright colours in a random pattern. I've then stamped using the Andy Skinner Antiques set using black Archival ink. Highlights next - black patterns using a letraset fine marker and white & silver highlights using gel pens - it just helps to define the image over the darker areas of colour. Then to finish - a few swirls cut out of black card with a Marianne Designs die and a simple colour mount. Very effective and vibrant!
enjoy!
Jane

Pretty Blue Flowers

2012-01-22T21:45:00.000Z

I was so pleased with the photographs I took whilst I was in Cornwall last October and I was determined to use them in my crafting. This lovely shade of blue (I think it is a Phlox) caught my eye and I put it together with a pretty blue flower paper I had amongst my stash (origins unknown I'm afraid!). It needed a bit of a highlight so I thought the polka dot would go nicely. I was really pleased with the result!

happy crafting
Jane

Lovely Butterflies

2012-01-19T19:28:00.001Z

I've finally had some time to get creative - so there will be a few new cards appearing on the blog. This one is a simple design using Crafty Individuals Butterfly motifs and background papers.

Such a lovely paper it didn't need a lot of detail. We've got lots of Crafty Individual papers in stock - click here to have a browse!

happy crafting
Jane

20% off Clarity Stamps

2011-11-27T22:03:00.001Z

A massive 20% off Clarity Stamps for a limited time on our website! Lots of new stock arrivals too - Nestabilities, New embossing folders, Cosmic Shimmer PVA pearlescent coloured glues, many many new beads including pearlescent shells, acrylic beads, shell chips and much more! View our latest newsletter for all the info! http://ymlp.com/zc1bL3.

Go on - grab a coffee and have a browse on the website - lots of Christmas presents for your friends (or treat yourself!) :-)
www.aldridgecrafts.co.uk
enjoy!
Jane

Winter 2011 Distress Inks available to Pre-Order

2011-11-04T11:56:00.001Z

We've just secured our stock of the Limited Edition Winter Distress inks from Tim Holtz. We are expecting delivery at the end of November - but you can pre-order them now! A pack of three lovely Wintery colours - Evergreen Bough, Festive Berries and Iced Spruce. See Tim's blog for lots of ideas already! We have them at just £15 +P&P per set. If you are quick - we stil have just ONE pack left of the gorgeous Fall set - and our supplier has already advised they are sold out - so no more can be obtained!

Click on the picture if you want to order!
enjoy!

Jane

My three favourites

2011-10-23T21:08:00.000+01:00

I had a productive day on Friday and got quite a few cards made up from all thos toppers I've made during all my demonstrations! Here are my three favourites. Please excuse the photography - I was in a bit of a hurry to photograph them before my craft fair!

This is a woodware peel-off coloured with ProMarkers and then accented with a Marianne Designs Die cut flower

Woodware peel-off again - but this time coloured in with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks - Persian set plus a little brown and black from the natural set too.

The bird is a Marianne Designs die, the scrolls are also from the same range - it's the centre piece from a border die - really useful!.. and the border is from a set of Nestabilities. I've also embossed the background behind the bird, but then fed the embossed card back through the Cuttlebug under the folder to flatten it back down so you are left with the pattern - but not the height - as it didn't quite fit for this card. Liking the colours on this one!

Had more deliveries this weekend - more charms including some lovely dragonflies, lots of bead caps and also loads of Pandora style beads. Also a restock of Cosmic Shimmer Drawing inks - plus some of the new colour sets, more Nesties and some fab stamps too - lots to tempt you all with at Suffolk Papercrafts show at Bury St Edmunds - it's on next Sunday (30th Oct) 10-4pm at the Leisure Centre. hope you see you there!
happy crafting
Jane

The wire has arrived - share ideas to win a free wire sample!

2011-10-18T17:50:00.000+01:00

Just got my big box of wires - 1.5mm, 0.5mm, mixed silver and knitted wire - in so many colours it'll make you drool!! It's going to take a bit of time to get all these up on the website - so bear with me - but you'll love them I promise!... I'll also be making up some samples ASAP so you can have some ideas of what you can do with this fabulous wire too!

Meanwhile - if you would like to share some ideas and suggestions of your own of what you would do with this wire - I might just see fit to sending some out for a good suggestion or two!
happy crafting
Jane

Sale now on!

2011-10-17T08:35:00.001+01:00

Come have a rummage - 15% off everything until Wednesday - and remember that our P&P is only £1.25 too. Lots of major brands included - Martha Stewart Punches, Spellbinders dies, Chocolate Baroque stamps - so lots of items to choose from.

Happy shopping
Jane

Lots of new products online

2011-10-08T23:45:00.000+01:00

We've had a busy day - lots of tidying up on the website - removing the old and out of stock to make way for the new stock!... We've uploaded loads of new products to our New Stock Arrivals section. Everything from Rubber stamps from Inkadinkado, Umount, Artemio, loads of reels of fab organza ribbon (a bargain at £3 for 20m!), Scrapbooks in a tin in lots of different shapes, Chippies and even some Cuttlebug old designs we didn't know we still had - Xmas designs that once they are gone, they won't be restocked!
We now stock a range of different colours of quilling papers too.
We've also reorganised our jewellery & beading department. We're getting more and more in stock now so we've split some of the categories to make your searching a little easier.
We're still going through stock here to find out what other gems are not yet on the web - so more will appear soon!

So grab a coffee and have a browse- you are sure to find something you'll like!
enjoy!
Jane

2011-09-17T16:40:00.001+01:00

Have just delivered my latest batch of jewellery to Sparkle & Flair in Harleston. Here's a selection if you want to have a look!.
Jewellery creations album

oooh new beads are finally online!

2011-09-10T22:49:00.003+01:00

It's been a mammoth task - but I've managed it. All the new beads and charms are now all on the website. So put those drool covers over your keyboards and go have a browse. Be ready with "that's my favourite.. no that one... hang-on it's got to be that one"....
.... here's a few pics to tempt you!

seed beeds and bugle beads in all sorts of colours

can you see the shine on these lovely glass beads.... yummy!

Octopussies... or is that Octopii.... whichever it is they have big happy smiles!

Already buzzing with ideas on using these large 30mm metal rings......

I'm hoping to get creative with some of them if I can tomorrow... purely of course because I know you'll all want some ideas for these beads and charms... not at all because I couldn't resist topping up my own supplies hee hee! If I manage to get anything made - I'll post up the pics!

enjoy!
Jane

This Week's theme - Summer

2011-08-30T08:07:00.000+01:00

A summery theme this week - bright scenes, bright colours - whatever you feel represents summer! As usual here's a few ideas to get you started...

enjoy - I look forward to seeing your projects!
Jane

New Creations & Theme for this week!

2011-08-23T15:04:00.000+01:00

A simple theme this week - Flowers. I've had a creative session this week to make up some more jewellery. I've had these felt flowers in stock for ages - but not had a chance to play - and set myself the challenge to use them. I decided on two big chunky acrylic bead necklaces and attached the flowers using wire slightly off centre. They looked quite effective when finished. The brown bracelet was created using four strands of memory wire and some flower beads with double holes (I'll put some stocklist numbers below if you want to get any yourself from the website to have a go!) It was a bit fiddly - and I restarted from scratch a couple of times whilst I was learning the do's and don'ts of putting it together - and to share - the 'dos' were - do try and work out your pattern before hand rather than making it up as you go along - I tried to be spontaneous - but it wasn't a good idea!.... and the don'ts... keep each strand thread up to the same point, if you go ahead and finish the pattern on one strand you may find the spacing doesn't work on the next strand and because the double holed beads alternate across the strands (strands 2 & 3 then strands 1&2 and 3&4) if it doesn't line up it leaves gaps! I was very pleased with my finished bracelet - and as soon as I took it into the shop (Sparkle & Flair in Harleston) for sale, it didn't get any further than the counter and was sold straight away - hurrah... so I'll definitely be making up some more! it was worth the 2 hours it took to make!
I hope you enjoy the theme - have fun and let's see some of your creations!
Jane

Hamish & Molly

2011-08-14T17:14:00.000+01:00

I downloaded the Craft Artist compact from Serif - it's free trial software you can use - and I've had a play and this is my first page - it's great fun!. This is Molly and Hamish when he visited last weekend and we took them both on a lovely long walk to Outney Meadow near Bungay.

this week's theme - coastal/seaside

2011-08-14T13:42:00.000+01:00

didn't get a chance to put up a theme for last week - but here is the theme that will run until next Sunday - all things coastal & seaside!
Get inspirations from those coastal colours, or perhaps you have peel-offs or stamps on the theme - or maybe a nice beach themed scrapbook page - we'd love to have a look at your projects. As usual, comment with a link to your blog, post onto our Facebook page or email me with your image for posting. enjoy!

I just love fabric panels - used simply on their own as above, or with a little layering and spritzing with cosmic shimmer misters below - you always end up with a lovely card.

this has been created using Umount Coastal and Aged Mahogany Distress inks. Coastal doesn't have to be all beiges and blues!

From a distance I though this was quite seeweed like!!... and of course those coastal blues!

any requests!

2011-08-14T13:33:00.000+01:00

We are ordering from Personal Impressions, Creative Expressions and Woodware this week - we are happy to add items to order - or just hear your suggestions of anything you would like us to get in stock!
www.personalimpressions.com
www.woodware.com
www.creative-expressions.uk.com
if you'd like to have a browse!

this week's theme - circles!

2011-08-01T08:23:00.000+01:00

This week's theme for your project is circles. It can be any sort of crafting project and I look forward to seeing your creations!. You can email me your pic, or post it on the facebook page - or post a comment with a link to your blog. Have fun!

Jane

You don't get much more circular than memory wire bracelets!

Anyone fancy a weekly challenge....

2011-07-24T20:58:00.000+01:00

Who's up for a challenge? I thought it may be fun to challenge ourselves this week to making something creative to a theme. It can be a card, scrapbook page, ATC, jewellery piece - whatever you fancy! This week's theme is 'peaceful greens' inspired by the green bead mixes I'm busy weighing and sorting at the moment!. You have until next Sunday - email me with your pic, post it up on the facebook page, or on your own blog and post a link in a comment to share your creations.... To get you started, here's some I made earlier as they say....

Created using toned shades of Bazzill card with a simple flower punch

OK.. well it has a bit of pink too - but it's artistic license on interpreting the theme :-)

Enjoy the challenge...

Jane

new beads & charms on their way....

2011-07-18T20:44:00.003+01:00

We are awaiting a delivery of new beads and charms... everything from owls, cats and bags, glass beads, crystal beads, acrylic beads too... so keep an eye on the website for the new goodies appearing soon!....
Jane
(images courtesy of snowfall beads)

It's been such a long time....

2011-07-14T18:41:00.006+01:00

I know... I haven't blogged for ages!... My laptop got the lurgy so I couldn't get logged in as my links were on there!... but now I'm back!

I've been busy getting ready for the papercrafting exhibition in Bramford near Ipswich this Sunday. I've had a delivery full of fab peel-offs, sakura stardust pens and glaze pens and soooo many bottles of stickles - ready for my demo!...We've got all the stickles colours in stock - including the new colours - which include some really vibrant shades. I've already started making lots of butterflies and accenting them with the stardust pens and they look so fab and are so simple to do!

The Scrapbooking and Cardmaking Papercraft event is being held at Bramford School Sports Hall, Bramford, IP8 4AH this Sunday (17th July) from 10-4pm - £2 entry - hope to see some of you there!

Don't forget if you are on Facebook - we have a page on there too.. come and 'Like' us to get more pictures & updates!

happy crafting

Jane

Alcohol Inks, Andy Skinner & more!

2011-05-08T18:00:00.006+01:00

It's been a while since Sincerely yours at Thetford - a big hello to everyone who came and chatted with me! Here are a few of my favourite samples to emerge from my demonstrations during the day. I played with Alcohol inks, Glossy Card, Shrink Plastic and used stamps from Andy Skinner and Crafty Individuals and Inkadinkado. I'm posting up the alcohol inks onto glossy card today - and I'll put up the shrink plastic and glass samples later this week. I hope you enjoy the samples and they inspire you to get out your alcohol inks!

My favouriteof the day! Start with glossy card, then spritz with the chalk Cosmic Shimmer mister - yellow and green and dry with a heat gun. Then apply Alcohol inks - the mister ink resists the alcohol ink and you end up with these interesting cloudy patterns. Then stamp over the top with the stamps - from the Andy Skinner Antiques set using Archival Jet Black ink. Then a few final highlights with a white gel pen to finish. It's really worth experimenting with misters and alcohol inks - you get some great effects!

You can keep it subtle in colour by using some of the natural tone Alcohol inks. This has been applied using felt on an applicator tool. I've then stamped using a mix of Crafty Individiuals using Archival Black ink and also Versafine Sepia. Finally highlight and accent with patterns using Letraset fineliners and white gel pen. I usually cut my Crafty Individuals stamps into individual designs - ie the four cottages are now four stamps and the set of 9 motif designs 9 tiny stamps - even cutting up the words on sheets into individual stamps if you've got the patience is really worth it! It gives you much more flexibility in using the stamps to greater effects.

Play around with striped effects too. A few dots of colour onto the felt on the applicator tool and then drag it across your card in stripes. The stamps used here are from Crafty Individuals.

Another example of going bright - a few drops of bright colours onto white glossy card and then I've used Inkadinkado Inchies Dogs stamps and accented with the flourish stamp from Andy skinner's antiques set. Again a few highlights in black and white pens finishes off the design

If collage isn't your style - you can keep it simple, just create a simple background with a few drops of Alcohol inks and drag it across in waves - same sort of thing as the stripes - but add a few curves for interest. Then I've stamped with a Crafty Individuals stamp and then added a few details in Blue Versafine ink with the Crackle stamp. Again a few highlights to finish.

Now go grab those Alcohol Inks and get playing - you'll love it!... and if you need to top up your supplies and treat yourself to a new colour... or two.... have a look here we've many colours in stock!

enjoy

Jane

Chocolate Baroque are here!

2011-04-26T17:19:00.003+01:00

We've had our delivery and put all the designs up on the web - currently to be found in the New Stock Arrivals section - some lovely designs to choose between - enjoy!

Jane

Chocolate Baroque are coming......

2011-04-18T18:50:00.001+01:00

We've just placed an order with Chocolate Baroque... lots of gorgeous stamp designs will be in stock soon!!.... Jane

Andy Skinner Stamp samples...

2011-04-15T17:45:00.003+01:00

I promised some samples with the Andy Skinner stamps... I found an interesting effect today. This is glossy card, with Distress Stains wiped over then spritzed with teal wash mister and a water spray then dried. Then I built up the stamped images with a mixture of Archival ink and Versafine. I felt it didin't have enough punch to the colours so I got my 3 colours of stains back out and started dabbing so there was lots of pools of ink and then dried with the heat gun. The ink pools away from the stamped image - resisting the ink which gives you extra bobbles of colour. A final fine spritz of water again gave it a few more interesting bobbles. Finally I added a few accents with a white gel pen. The bradded on piece is done with alcohol inks onto frosted shrink plastic.

Simple and quick this one - alcohol ink dropped on and blown across the page before topping with stamps

Alcohol ink background all swirled over rather than dabbed. Then simple stamps over the top.

happy crafting

Jane

Andy Skinner stamps now in stock

2011-04-15T16:07:00.003+01:00

We have had a delivery of the fabulous new Andy Skinner Stamps from Personal Impressions. If you like the artsy style you'll love these designs. We'll be rustling up some samples with them shortly - but meanwhile you can get inspiration directly from Andy's blog. The stamps have a good size of designs and the sets approx A5 in size for just £9.99 so excellent value. click here to see the full range. We've also stocked up on shrink plastic, memory glass and introduced some of the colours to our range of Archival ink pads.

enjoy!

Jane

our latest newsletter....

2011-04-12T22:02:00.002+01:00

Check out our latest Email newsletter.....http://ymlp.com/zUWtsg

Lots of 12x12s....

2011-04-11T00:15:00.004+01:00

We've had a busy weekend and loaded up over 200 different Scrapbooking 12x12 papers onto the website. This includes our stock of Bazzill Classic, Bling and Embossed card and also the versatile Cordinations Core colour card packs too! We've still a few more to photograph and add to make the stock online complete.. but almost there!... enjoy your browsing!

Jane

Believe....

2011-04-09T14:57:00.003+01:00

Sometimes you've just got to believe it'll work. I'm busy creating samples for my demonstration at Sincerely Yours at Thetford next weekend (hope to see lots of you there!)... and I'm going to be doing some interesting things with Alcohol Inks. So I'm experimenting. Seeing what works, what doesn't work so I can share my experiences with you all. And I created this background.... .... and I didn't like it one bit! Too blotchy, too bright, what on earth can I do with this!!... well I thought I'd set myself a challenge to make something nice out of it. So I grabbed a few stamps - some Dog Inchie stamps from Inkadinkado and some odd words I have here and there... and played.... .... sort of there - but still quite dark.... so of course... out comes the silver and white gel pens to add some accents (Yes Sarah H of Attleborough, I can hear you smirking at me from here).... I can't emphasise enough how much these little accents can make such a difference to your creations!... there I said it... again :-)

And here is my final piece... and I LOVE it!!. So Believe that you can create someting beautiful out of something you don't quite like at first.... and for all those other owners of crazy dogs... I thought believe was quite appropriate wording to go with my dogs - especially when you've spent as much time at dog training as we have :-)

Attention Bargain Hunters!.... We've set up a Sales section in the shop - lots of stamps particularly that have been priced to clear... we want to make some room for new exciting things.... so grab a coffee and go bargain hunt!

Keep em peeled - I may just give you some more sneeky peeks of my samples in advance a little later this week if I get time!

Jane x

Sale on Messy Rabbit & Lofty Giraffe

2011-04-04T16:28:00.002+01:00

For a limited time while stocks last we have a massive 30% off all our Messy Rabbit and Lofty the Giraffe stamps - that means instead of paying £5.35 per stamp - you'll pay just £3.75 each - bargain!!

enjoy!

Jane

More goodies on their way...

2011-03-29T10:41:00.002+01:00

Just ordered more goodies!.... Finally a restock of the fabulous Tim Holtz scissors - once used, completely addicted!... These scissors are excellent for cutting out unmounted rubber stamps as well as your general crafting use. Also on their way are some of the new Tim Holtz sizzix dies, some Me and My Big Ideas and Basic Grey 12x12 paper packs and some Adirondak Dimensional Pearls.... oh and a restock of Alcohol ink Blending solution for anyone who is waiting on some! Keep em peeled - this lot have got to come all the way from Holland so may be a week or so before they arrive.... happy crafting! Jane

I did it!!!

2011-03-28T10:57:00.005+01:00

My friend Pauline always creates these amazingly artistic journals that get me all inspired and it has been my plan for a very long time to use that inspiration and have a go myself. I went out a bought a book (over 2 years ago...).. but never quite found that time to sit and do it. Probably one of those 'where do I start' moments! Well I saw Pauline's latest journal this month and decided that my goal for March was to sit down and create! Well yesterday I found the perfect excuse to use it as my demonstration piece at a craft fair and here are the resulting creations.... A background created using Eco-green Orchid paint, Distress ink peeled paint and distress stain Forest Moss (I love the way distress ink goes muted over the paints) The stamps are Inkadinkado Inchies Dogs set.

This is a crafty individuals stamp - as it the beauty words too. I have spritzed the background with a mixture of the new cosmic shimmer mister colours - teal wash, mango blush and rose pink and then handdrawn the swirls with the words with a letraset fine marker. Finally it needed a little more grunging so I used my crafty individuals crackle stamp (a must for every stampers craft box!!) with a little Aged Mahogany distress ink to fill in some of the background area.

This owl is from Elusive Images - as re the branches in the corner (retro vases set). I started again with a spritzed backround - teal wash, ice blue and a hint of rose pink. I stamped my owl with archival black and hand drew in the branch. The image stamp is also elusive images. As a final finishing touch it was a little empty at the bottom so I've handrawn little stitched borders and wording.

This hasn't scanned very well - it's much more vibrant in real life! This is really simple in design. Spritzed background again - same colours as before but heavier. Then a little tattered rose distress ink directly over the top - ink pad to paper - then I've stamped the Elusive images design using archival black in a pattern around the page and coloured in using my cheap & cheerful 50p gold gel pens as seen on the website!. Finally I've written the title - but if you were not confident using freehand - use letter stamps to create your heading.

Would love to know what you all think!!

enjoy

Jane

Beautiful Butterfly...

2011-03-24T10:06:00.003Z

I'm still in the midst of my stock take here - so no time to be creative at the moment - so I thought I would share a couple of cards that I liked from last Saturday's workshop! The first created by Debbie I thought had just the right amount of inking and love those gems just to finish it off and that Phoenix is gorgeous! The second made by Karen is created using Nestabililities and a Marianne Designs Butterfly. With just a finishing touch of glitter - it shows how simple clean lines can be so effective. Thanks for the inspiration ladies!

now back to the stock take... is that a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.... no it's someone with a torch bringing me another box of products to count!!.... :-)

keep crafting

Jane

1, 2, 3, 4.... now where was I up to!...

2011-03-22T09:27:00.002Z

oooh lovely... lots of alcohol inks!!

OMG.. so many brads where do I start....

It can be a bit of a mountain to climb doing our stock take.. counting all those brads, decoupage sheets and peel-offs seems endless at times!.... however on the positive side I get a reminder of all those little gems still in stock that I'd forgotten about... and some of them we just need to see go because we need the room for all the new stuff!... so keep em peeled on the website later this week as we are compiling a list of special offer items to be offered - including lots of stamps from top brands!....

Meanwhile - you can enjoy browsing through the new items on the website - lots to tempt you with at the moment!

Jane

Lots of new products online!

2011-03-21T12:54:00.003Z

Lots of new products are now up on the website.... including new release designs from Spellbinder, the new Cosmic Shimmer Chalk Misters and also their new dazzle paints and drawing inks, plus the full range of Tim Holtz Distress Stains, new embossing folders from Creative Expressions, New masks from That Special Touch as well as some more stickles colours and much more. We've also had a complete restock of every colour of alcohol ink too! Still to come are the Eco-green paints and we'll have them up on the website soon!

so grab a coffee and have a browse - happy shopping!

Jane

The Distress Stains have arrived!....

2011-03-19T07:53:00.002Z

They are here - hurrah... Tim Holtz's new distress stains... New ways to play with the distress ink range... Apply more vibrant colour over bigger areas, combine with your distress inks, experiment with other mediums too! More to come about these inks and they'll be on the website by the end of tomorrow but couldn't contain my excitement!

happy crafting

Jane

just one or two bottles of alcohol inks then....

2011-03-15T18:06:00.005Z

well just over a 100 actually.... a big delivery has arrived and the boxes are crammed full of restocks like the fantastic alcohol inks and blending tools and cut n dry foam, as well as new goodies from Cosmic Shimmer like the new drawing inks and dazzle inks, embossing folders, chalk misters plus new dies from Spellbinders.. and a lot of eco-green paints!!... ooh it's just like christmas!

Keep your eyes peeled on the website - I'll be busying myself behind the scenes to get them all up on-line as quickly as I can... but it may take a few days as I've also got lots of events on this week too!

no drooling on the computer screen now at all these goodies!!

enjoy

Jane

latest arrivals

2011-03-14T22:07:00.002Z

New on the website -Martha Stewart edge punches, grungepaper, shrinkles, new peel-offs, memento dew-drops are now all back in stock - as are those favourite ink pads - memento large tuxedo black, stazon black and versafine black too!... more stickles in stock... and there's still lots more to arrive that's been ordered yet!

enjoy!

Jane

New clusters...

2011-03-11T08:47:00.003Z

Getting ready for a craft fair at the weekend so thought I'd make some more clusters as per the sample I made at Birmingham - and here are the results!

enjoy!

Jane

What a busy club night!

2011-03-10T07:44:00.007Z

It was Diss club night last Monday - and we had a room full of enthusiastic and chatty crafters - great fun! Everyone was very productive this month and we all managed to craft in between our chat! Walking round the table there was quite a mix of crafts - rubber stamping, decoupage, using alcohol inks, beading, brayers and inks, even a lady doing chicken scratch (a form a stitching onto gingham fabric). I did a demo using the Eco-green paints - hope you all found that interesting. It's always nice when club has a busy buzz about it. If you are in the Norfolk area and want to join us we meet in Diss once and month and I also run a club in Harleston twice a month. Details on the website of venues and dates.. new members are always welcome!

happy crafting

Jane

A productive weekend...

2011-03-06T14:35:00.002Z

It doesn't happen very often that all three are present at once... that (a) I've got the time to craft (b) I'm in the mood to craft and (c) I've got the inspiration to craft.... when all three come together it results in a productive weekend!

I continued working with the pieces I created yesterday to make them into cards. As you can see I've managed to convert my painted pieces into a variety of cards. I'll feature some in more detail in a later blog to give you more information about how they were created

hope you like them.

happy crafting

Jane

Eco Green Paints - Part One

2011-03-05T17:25:00.006Z

pic One -background painted, main colour painted over lines ready to be buffed back to reveal the embossing

pic Two - the whole design has been painted in - just needing the white gel pen highlights

Pic Three - the finished piece

I've been playing with the Eco-Green paints this weekend... so look out for some blogs over the next week or so with some hints and tips to get you started with these fab paints.

Today's project is using your paints to 'colour in'. I've started with a piece of greyboard - but you can use your paints on ordinary card, or even mount board. I painted the whole piece with aged gold and allowed to dry thoroughly. Next I have embossed the lady stamp (from UMount) in the usual way - firstly rubbing over with my anti-static mat, then inking up with VersaMark and using a detail black embossing powder. Then heat your powder until ready. You need to make sure your first coat of paint is properly dry before doing this - if you try to rush it, there's a chance that your embossing powder will stick to your background.

Use a small pointed brush to paint in the detail so you have lots of control. I always put a little paint onto a non-stick mat that can then act as a paint palette. The embossing will be a bit of a resist for the paints. You can paint over the edges slightly and then buff back to show the embossing through. Bear in mind that if you put lots of coats of paint over the embossing, it will be trickier to get it to show through - so if you need to build up your colours, paint a coat, rub it back, then paint your next coat and so on. These paints also buff up to a high shine - just use an old towel or tea towel for a good result. Don't be tempted to hurry your paint drying with your heat gun - remember there's embossing underneath and you don't want to overheat the embossing or it'll disperse into your card!

I've used butternut and orchid for the flesh tones and pomegranate and periwickle for the dress colours.

As a final handy hint - a few highlights with a white gel pen can make a big difference. If you compare the before with the after pictures above, you can see how much zing it brings to the finished piece. We stock some fabulous value gel pens for just 50p a pen, available in gold, silver and white and I highly recommend them!

More to come this week on Eco-Green techniques...

happy crafting

Jane

oooh new goodies - yippee!

2011-03-01T18:24:00.003Z

oooh the goodies are starting to arrive that I ordered last week. I've got a huge box of plastic boxes - A4, A5, A6 & ATC all to unpack and load up on the web, and also a box from woodware to sort & upload... including the fab owl stencil from Dreamweaver pictured above. We've got brayers back in stock as well as a selection of new stencils, peel-offs and stamps & ribbons too!.... we'll get them up on the website as soon as we can - but bear with us - it always takes far longer than we think to upload everything and put onto our stock system!
what will arrive next... oh the anticipation!
happy crafting
Jane

Wirework ring...

2011-02-27T18:57:00.004Z

One of the workshops I did at Birmingham with Beadalon was on creating wirework rings. I kept my design quite simple and had a fantastic Swarovski crystal to use to create in our piece. The concept was quite simple - but I think it's an art that would just get better and better with practice. There's a few knacks to learning about the sizing - it's a learning aspect to understand how much the wire loosens from the sizing you start with. I might go back to this piece to have a play with some finer wire in a complementing colour to experiment with some more techniques. If I do I'll post another picture up for you! So needless to say a ring mandrel and more wire is now on my shopping list!!

happy crafting

Jane

Charms Necklace and dragonflies

2011-02-23T20:26:00.005Z

I spent ages at the trade fair at the learning table with Beadtime who supplies many of the beads and findings I sell. Their fantastic tutor took us through lots of hints, tips and techniques to create gorgeous jewellery. This particular example we made using the Indian Glass Beads we stock on our website. This is a fab way of using these more luxurious beads to really show them off. A cost effective piece of jewellery as you only need half a dozen beads, accented with a focal bead (I used a heart) and a few charms. The lovely dragonfly is made using seed beads, a few small spacer beads and the dragonfly wings. The beads are fixed onto headpins and then onto a small piece of chain using split rings. The piece is then hung on a length of faux suede finished with a box closer and toggle clasp. I haven't got the dragonfly wings in stock yet.... but as you can imagine, the class has left me brimming with new ideas which requires new beads and findings... so I'm in the midst of putting together an order for all sorts of goodies! If you have any particular requests to add to the order - email me in the next couple of days!

More inspiration to follow over the next few days... I won't fill up your heads with all the samples I made all at once!!

happy crafting

Jane

Tim Holtz Demos & exciting products!

2011-02-21T23:38:00.004Z

Just back from the trade show at Birmingham. As you can see - I got to meet Tim Holtz and watched his fabulous new distress stains being demonstrated!... watch the website for stock to appear!... I think they are fab - no more worrying that you are running out your inkpad to cover a card project with your favourite inks tones. Lots of new stuff to excite at the show... and I am still placing orders this week so still lining up the new goodies for you all! Particular highlights are new cosmic shimmer mister colours - plus the new chalk spray range! I've also found fab templates from BCE. As for jewellery, I've learned lots of wiring techniques - creating wire rings and creating wired jewellery too.. so I'm hoping to get some samples rustled up this week once I've finished all the ordering!

Too many things to list in one post... so more to come!

happy crafting

Jane

bead restock...

2011-01-30T23:14:00.001Z

All the glass crackle beads are now back in stock. Also.. watch in New Stock Arrivals as we are putting on the remainder of the beads that are yet to reach the website... more appearing during the week!
enjoy!
Jane

new downloads

2011-01-29T17:38:00.001Z

I've added on my sample board using Stampbord onto the website. Click on the downloads link to go through to 4shared to download lots of project ideas and papers!
enjoy!
Jane

Oriental Card

2011-01-29T17:01:00.005Z

This card is all about layers.

1. Apply pale colours to your white card surface using cut n dry foam. I've used a mixture of distress inks - shabby shutters and antique linen. Then stamp your leaf design using antique linen (mine is from Elusive Images Retro Vases set).

2. Stamp a random pattern using the same leaf stamp onto acetate using black stazon ink

3. Cut a strip of black card and stamp and emboss in gold powder an oriental shape - I've use one from an old set of rubbadubadoo stamps I have - but the Clarity stamp Asian Bamboo (6534) would be good too. Do the same on a smaller strip for the top right hand corner.

4. Take a piece of glossy white card and apply your distress ink colours directly to your card surface. Use a piece of foam if you need to do any blending. Then allow to dry (use a heat gun to hurry it along). Give it a light spritz with a gold irridescent spray - perhaps a Cosmic Shimmer Mister or a Glimmer Mist - anything with a pale ink but a bit of sparkle

5. Stamp your oriental lady using black archival ink and set aside to dry. My stamp is from Magenta called Geisha (not in current stock but can be ordered in on request).

6. Cut a small strip of glossy card to mount behind my lady - stamp your leaf design using versamark and allow to dry, then go over the top with the same distress inks then stamp over the top of your versamarked leaves using the same stamp but using archival black so it gives a shadow effect.

7. You can then assemble your card. Fix your piece on top of your acetate first, then you'll know where you can apply double sided tape behind the front layers so no-one can see your adhesive marks.

I've also posted up an image of another design created by using the same layers, but this time using stamps from Elusive images Retro Vases set. You can also spritz your background card with an ink spray too if you want a bit more glitz!

I challenge you all to make a card using this style of layers - it doesn't need to be the same colour scheme - but I'd love to see what you all do with inspiration from this card - so email me with your creations or post on your blog and send me a link!

These cards were created from an original project from Craft Stamper I saw quite some time ago - sorry can't remember the date of the mag - but I can route it out if someone really wants to know!

enjoy!

Jane

Sale now on..

2011-01-08T13:14:00.001Z

Happy New Year to you all - come browse in our sale - 20% off everything until next Tuesday. Check out our latest e-mail newsletter: http://ymlp.com/z4n8vt.

Happy Shopping!

Jane

Birdhouse Card

2010-12-06T22:38:00.002Z

Another idea for the birdhouse stamps - you don't just need to make birdhouses - you can also use the front section to create a fab card too! Just trim the roof pieces down and if you create a flap you can use this to stick behind the birdhouse front. I've also accented this with the gorgeous cosmic shimmer ribbon too!

happy crafting

Jane

Busy Times!

2010-12-05T16:29:00.002Z

Well it's been a busy weekend with the Oriental workshop on Saturday and a craft fair today and still Diss club night tomorrow to go!

Today I thought I would share the picture of the jewellery set I made with a mix of seed beads, crystal rondell beads and glass pearls - all in shades of blue. These jewellery sets are easy to make and are fabulous Christmas presents too! There are lots of beads to choose from on the website and I'm working on putting the latest delivery of beads online too!.. so more to come!

happy crafting

Jane

Birdhouses

2010-12-03T10:44:00.005Z

Finally... I've found the time to put up the pictures of the birdhouses!. Those of you who visited me at Bury St Edmunds saw me demonstrating with these. They are created using the birdhouse stamps from UMount and make lovely tree decorations. You can also convert them to a gift box and I thought they would also make lovely place names for the Christmas table - the roof space is ideal for putting your guests names onto! Finally why not go non christmas with the Eco-green acrylic paints. Simply stamp the design onto card, cut and score all your pieces then decorate the other side - you are then free to create any design you wish!

There are two designs available - poinsettia and holly

Nestie Snowflakes

2010-10-15T21:17:00.003+01:00

Had a lovely crafting session today with my friend. Neither of us were awake enough to be particularly creative - but still managed to have a few creative sparks! I created this card using a die from a set of snowflake nestabilities and also a circle nestability. It's all done with mirri card - and the picture doesn't do it justice! Just goes to prove it is always worth experimenting with your dies!

happy crafting
Jane
PS - I haven't forgotten about putting up the samples - they'll be appearing soon!

more pics!

2010-10-08T08:40:00.003+01:00

be back later with pics of my samples!

Jane

Workshop Creations!

2010-10-08T08:25:00.005+01:00

OMG - where did this week go... can't believe its Friday already - I'm so behind this week! I've got loads of pics to put up on here.. Had a delivery including stuff from Papermania and finally some of the Tim Holtz folders & dies & more.... and it's still sitting in the box awaiting my attention!.... Got another delivery due today with Stampsaway stamps and some fab new masks... I'll get them up as quick as I can... promise!! :-)

Well last week's workshop was fab! A room full of 14 excited crafters.. and a lunch with a fabulous chocolate cake (thanks Maggie!)... what more can you want in a day! Some of the ladies were kind enough to let me take pictures of their creations to share with you all...

These are of the never-ending card project. I'll put my samples up for you later too!

more pics to follow....

Jane

and the winner is.....

2010-10-04T22:16:00.002+01:00

.... our poll was a dead heat so I'll rustle up a project using UMount stamps and Nestabilities to post up later this week!.... watch this space for the pictures of the fab projects from Saturday's Workshop. I'll try to get them up in the next couple of days for you all to see!
Happy crafting
Jane

World Cardmaking Day - 2nd October

2010-10-01T17:37:00.002+01:00

Did you know it's world cardmaking day tomorrow? If you make a card on Saturday, scan it in or take a photo and send it through by email. If I get more than 20 then I'll put the best five up on my blog and a prize for the winner! Email your cards to janealdridgecards@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing all your creations!
I'll be off having a crafty day myself so it couldn't be a better way to spend world cardmaking day!
Jane

ooooh more goodies hurrah!

2010-10-01T13:35:00.002+01:00

We've just had a delivery here from Creative Expressions - so watch the web for some new stamp plates including the lovely Winter Wonderland!....and the Tim Holtz Rulers are now back in stock. We're still awaiting our order for some new versatile masks that can also be used as embossing folders - should be anytime soon too.
We've just ordered (to arrive next week) a selection of Tim Holtz dies and embossing folders as well as a selection of goodies from papermania too!... so lots of goodies in the pipeline!.

I'm busy preparing today for our all day workshop tomorrow - three fab projects and I'll put some pictures up of the samples onto the blog next week so you can all see them! should be a great day!
Jane

Little Boy Blue!

2010-09-25T21:33:00.003+01:00

It's nice sometimes to play around with different layouts. I wanted to create a bright and funky card for a boy, and this seemed to fit the bill! It's great how just putting your backing at an angle just gives a different look - always worth experimenting! The stamp is from Woodware and has been coloured in with ProMarkers and then cut out with layers using the Nestabilities.

I've had a good day today making up samples for next week's workshop and playing with the new Crafts Too Folders and some of the dies from Nellie Snellen & Marianne designs too! I'll be putting up pics after the workshop so you can all see the samples.

I'm off for ideas and inspiration to Ally Pally tomorrow - be good to watch all the demos!

happy crafting

Jane x

Come and vote in our poll on facebook!

2010-09-24T13:08:00.003+01:00

We'd like to know your favourite product and the winner will be used in the next step-by-step project! Poll closes on 1st October. Choose between Martha Stewart Punches, Nestabilities, Indian Glass Beads, Umount or Crafts Too embossing folders. Click here to vote!
Jane

Let's get embossing!

2010-09-21T21:32:00.004+01:00

oooh the excitement of a new delivery. I have a big box ready to be unpacked. This one is from Crafts Too and has their new embossing folders in it - as well as restocks of the popular Noel and Baubles folders (amongst others) - that flew out at Thetford! I'll be busy getting them up onto the web in the next few days - bear with me!.... but just had to share a sneaky peak of some of the new designs! There's also new dies from Joy Crafts and Marianne Designs and more of those gorgeous glass pendants too!

happy crafting

Jane

No more scraps!

2010-09-19T18:22:00.003+01:00

One of my favourite cards to make is using bold prints from the Dovecraft Wild Blossom pack of papers and just adding a few accents with glitter and ribbon. Whenever I do a card sale - these cards always fly out! But cutting a 5 or 6 inch square out of an 8 inch sheet of paper leaves me with lots of offcuts that seemed a shame to throw away. So I had a play today and found the perfect way to create some gorgeous cards using my lovely scraps of paper. I've kept it simple as usual, just three strips of card and accented with glitter. I did play around with the idea of adding some flowers or ribbon - but it didn't seem to add anything to them - so I left them as they were!... hope it inspires you to get raiding your scraps supplies!!

happy crafting

Jane x

one border, two cards!

2010-09-17T21:32:00.004+01:00

Two cards for you tonight - as I won't have time to blog tomorrow! Following on from yesterday's card I have used the other die from the same border set on these two cards. This lovely lattice border has been used on a 5" square card. The border is slightly smaller thatn the length of the card so gives a nice finish top and bottom. I've then just lined the right hand edge of the inside of the back piece of card with a contrasting colour to make the most of the delicate pattern. The first image of the lady is from the fabulous Joanna Sheen Fashion Boutique CD - an all time favourite of mine. The dog is a stamp from Wild Rose Design and has been coloured using ProMarkers and cut out using a nestability die. Simple designs but so elegant and very effective. If any of you are creating lovely things using your nestabilities and border dies, I'd love to see them - email me an image and I'll put the best ones up on a future blog!

here's hoping you all find time to craft this weekend!

Jane

Something Fishy.....

2010-09-16T18:29:00.002+01:00

A combination of techniques on this card. Firstly I've created the fish image using a Dreamweaver stencil and Gold embossing Paste - a really easy and effective technique that I highly recommend you trying!. I've used my nestabilities to cut out the oval and the scalloped oval surround. I've then had a play with my border nestability - part of the pendants range - and cut out the border in black and then gold mirri and pieced the cut out gold pieces into the black piece. I just put double sided tape on the reverse of the black piece so my gold pieces stayed in place.

happy crafting!

Jane

Pretty in Pink

2010-09-15T16:59:00.002+01:00

Here's the first of my creations. It's not the best picture in the world I'm afraid, but hopefully you can see the detail. I've cut 4 squares from white card and embossed 2 with a dot folder and 2 with a flowery folder. Then mounted the four squares onto Black card then onto a large square card. Then I've used my nestabilities to cut the two mounts and my stamped girl (a Woodware stamp) that has been coloured with ProMarkers. Then mounted it on top of the squares. I like the bold contrast of the pink black and white on this card.

happy crafting

Jane

I'm Back!

2010-09-15T13:07:00.002+01:00

I know... it's been ages!.... it's been a busy time for me - but unfortunately not much time for crafting!... but I've had the bliss of having a couple of days this week to play... and not for any particular reason - no samples to make - just able to play!.... so I promise, watch this space for lots of new card samples and jewellery ideas to appear soon... I'll have lots to show you to make up for being such a bad blogger... promise! Jane

Decisions decisions.....

2010-06-13T23:08:00.002+01:00

You all know what it's like.. you are at a show and have a set amount left to spend... and just what do you go for... you want everything... but have to make a decision - it's always so tough!... Well I have had the same dilemma this weekend over what stock to order! As ever I have my shortlist of what to next order.. and after several different contenders I've decided and ordered more Martha Stewart punches. I was blown away by the reaction I got from my customers when these first arrived this week - and having tried them out I can see why!

I've also finally got my beading order in.. so expect lots of lovely charms and beads and chains and watch faces.. oh lots of lovely things on their way.

It'll be a busy week sorting out all my new stock and getting ready for Needham Market next Sunday - always a fun event - if exhausting!... so you'll soon get to see some new projects on the blog where I'm preparing my demo and also for the workshop in July!
happy crafting
Jane

Clarity Stamps & Martha Stewart Punches

2010-06-10T22:25:00.006+01:00

Yippee - the deliveries have arrived - so more Clarity stamps and new Martha Stewart punches have arrived... they are already selling very quickly so providing I have some left they'll be up on the website this weekend!

Stamping Workshop - 3rd July

2010-06-08T18:41:00.002+01:00

Come join us at our workshop! It's on Saturday 3rd July 10-4pm in Harleston.

We will be doing 4 projects teaching you 4 different stamping styles and techniques.

Project 1 will be grungeboard bracelets (or if we can't get stock of grungeboard then Clarity stamp corners)
Project 2 will be stamping & colouring with Promarkers
Project 3 is Using Distress Inks
Project 4 is Big n Juicy ink pads with Brayers. This last project will be a duel project - a simple technique for beginners and some more advanced techniques for those a little more confident with their crafting.

More information on the website and you can also book and pay online.

Workshop charge is £15.

Come and have fun!

Jane

Golfer card

2010-06-05T16:18:00.005+01:00

It's not long until father's day (20th June) so time to get planning on a card to make for your dad/grandad or perhaps for your other half for your children to give. A quick an easy card is this one with the golfer. We have used a fabric square panel. Simply take some scrap card (cereal packets come in handy!) and cut a square to the same size as your picture panel. Add some glue - pva/gluestick or even double sided tape and stick your panel onto the card. Turn it over and cut off a triangle off each corner to make room to then fold each edge over and stick to the reverse of the card. You can always add a little bling to your panel with some glitter applied over a quickie glue pen. Next cut a larger square of a matching paper and stick at an angle on a 6" square card. Then place your square panel on top. Sticking them at an angle hides any wibbly edges I've found as it can be tricky to get your panel mounted perfectly symetrically. As a final touch - my favourite one of 3 peel-off dots on each corner and voila!... a quick & easy card made. These fabric panels come in lots of different designs - so if golf isn't his thing.. you may find something else - and with 6 square panels for just £2 they won't break the bank either! Click here to see our selection of fabric
Happy crafting
Jane

More from Create a Scene Cottage

2010-05-31T21:45:00.003+01:00

More from the Create a scene cottage set of stamps. This time we've used a selection of stamps to create a scene - start with the greenhouse in the middle. Then stamp the flower pots in the foreground. then the wheelbarrow on the left and fill in with the flowers. I've coloured with the promarkers. I only have a couple of greens, so use a yellow to add highlights to your green areas. A good colour for your green house is a pale blue - like pastel blue - just a few dashes here and there in the panes of glass is enough to give it some life and depth. More from this set of stamps later this week! Happy crafting

Jane

A new name.. how exciting!

2010-05-28T12:21:00.002+01:00

Well finally it's done. It's been talked about long enough and I've finally got into action and changed the company name! Jane Aldridge Handmade Cards originated when I started doing wedding stationery and handmade cards. Over the years my business has changed to card crafting supplies and now diversifying out further to include other crafts such as scrapbooking, jewellery and I'm sure more new trends will come along that I'll want to include too!... so the old name just didn't seem right any more... so from here onwards we are known as...

Aldridge Crafts

We've a new web URL of www.aldridgecrafts.co.uk and a new email aldridgecrafts@googlemail.com, but don't worry - we see no need to get rid of our old links that many of you have bookmarked - so there's no hurry to change your links. Our old email address will remain active too.

And best of all - we are celebrating with a sale - 10% off everything for the Bank Holiday weekend! With some new stock to tempt you to! Wild Rose Studio stamps, CDs and papers, Marianne Design creatables gorgeous die cutting stencils and new embossing folders from Crafts Too!
enjoy your weekend!
Jane

Distressed Cottage

2010-05-25T22:10:00.006+01:00

Here is the second Cottage card as promised.

This time I've kept it ever so simple. Stamp your cottage with Distress Ink Black Soot. Then take a waterbrush or a paintbrush and a little water and drag your colour. Try to make it quite rough on the roof in the line of the angle of the roof as it adds to the effect of the thatch. Then just look at where you have shadows to make those areas a little darker but basically if you just drag a little colour here and there, you'll still have a fab result - you don't need to be an artist! Try to keep your touch quite light - you'll have a much better finished picture if you have light areas and dark areas. Try this technique with all different colours of distress ink - brown works really well - but any colour will look effective and sometimes it can make for a different style card if you use something unusual like red or purple. Whatever colour you choose - you can keep your background simple so that it accents the simplicity of the stamped design - so either stick with a neutral colour like black, perhaps a gold or silver depending on your colour scheme or if you've used a colour ink, match it in. Don't forget if you haven't got a coloured cardstock to match your ink colour - just cut your mount to the correct size and then use your ink pad either with cut & dry foam or just directly with your inkpad to paper for darker colours. You only need to ink around the outside as you'll be covering up the middle!
Here are a few handy links if you want to get started with getting some of these supplies...
Click here for Distress Inks
Click here for Create-a-scene stamps
Click here for Cut & Dry Foam
Click here for Waterbrushes
Happy Crafting!
Jane

Country Cottage

2010-05-22T20:21:00.003+01:00

I've been playing with my Create-a-scene Cottage Stamps. This lovely cottage is such a lovely stamp. For this card I stamped my cottage in Memento Tuxedo Black, then coloured it using my Promarkers. It's quite a large stamp so it's best made into an A5 card. I mounted the cottage onto a card that is shimmery gold/brown and cut it slightly longer than my cottage so I could tie a piece of cream ribbon around the end piece. It needed something behind it so I cut a piece of black card, ran it through the cuttlebug with an embossing folder and highlighted the design with a Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pad. A final touch of a few peel-off dots just for a little detail was all it then needed! I'll post another one later this week - same stamp - but a different style of card.
Off to Wymondham tomorrow for a craft fair... it was nice to have an excuse to make up some cards today!
happy crafting
Jane

it's been a while....

2010-05-09T13:16:00.004+01:00

I know.. I've been a bad blogger.... I've been laid low with a nasty bug and just haven't had time to blog... so I'm going to try and catch up! Had a fab day with the Attleborough crafting group yesterday doing projects with them - and I got to craft on their fab projects too!.. A lovely group of ladies and we had quite a giggle!

Today's card has been made using the Woodware Wine Buff set. This is a nice set to create a card for men - so would be ideal for Father's day cards. However, after making a few masculine cards with these stamps - I thought I would do one with a more feminine feel as I'm sure there are one or two ladies out their who appreciate a good bottle of wine!! :-) So for this one I stamped and coloured the image in with Promarkers and then used my nestabilities to create this lovely frame. I thought a lilac theme would be nice - so I embossed my panel with the paisley embossing folder and then added a little inky highlight to the raised sections. Finally a piece of gingham ribbon just added the finishing touch!

Did you know you can buy 2m of ribbon for just 50p from the website? We've lots already listed on there - but have some new colours in stock that we'll be putting up soon too! Ideal for that little extra something on your card!

It's a busy week this week - Diss club on Monday then Harleston club on Wednesday... better get making some ATCs to swap!

happy crafting

Jane

Bank Holiday Sale - Joanna Sheen Stamps

2010-05-02T23:47:00.001+01:00

Just a quick one to let you know we are having a Bank Holiday Sale. Get your Messy Rabbit and Lofty the Giraffe stamps at just £4.50 each this weekend. Savings on other Joanna Sheen stamps too.
Happy Crafting
Jane

Lots of bling!

2010-04-29T17:33:00.002+01:00

I'm relatively new to jewellery making - but already hooked! I've been making up a few new designs this afternoon - partly as I'm keen to learn new techniques and try out different designs so I can share with everyone - but also as I'm doing the Tasburgh festival on Saturday - I thought it may be nice to have to some jewellery to sell too! So here are a few of my favourites that I've made so far...

always nice to learn something new!

happy crafting

Jane

Tasburgh Festival this Saturday

2010-04-29T08:59:00.003+01:00

Hi all - sorry it's been a while - I've been laid low with a nasty bug, cough cough. Just a quick one to let my local followers know that I'll be at the Tasburgh Festival (off the A140) on Saturday (1st May). It'll be a great day - its open 11 til late and has lots of events planned throughout the day. If you are on facebook just search for their page for lots more info! I'll have a small selection of (weatherproof!) craft supplies for sale on the day alongside some cards & jewellery for a change! so come along and say hello! I'll be back card blogging soon... I know I still haven't told you all about my workshop with Sheena!!.... Jane x

Gone Fishin'

2010-04-17T22:19:00.004+01:00

My Uncle turned the grand age of 84 on Monday. So the challenge was to make a card for him. He loves his fishing - so I thought it was an ideal opportunity to create a card using my brayer and my Big n Juicy inkpad. I already had a silhouette stamp of a fisherman so I set about using my brayer to create the water by first running it over some scrumpled paper. Next I inked up the fisherman and ran the brayer over the image then transferred it onto the waterline. Then I inked up the stamp again and stamped it so it lined up with the reflected image. Next I ripped some paper into a hill shape and masked off the waterline and then ran the brayer over the hill then flipped it upside down and inked a lighter reflection. I repeated the action on the left side of the picture. Then I inked up the brayer again and applied the colour to the corner. Finally I stamped the tree details on both side. Considering I've not done much brayering - and I only have the small inkssentials brayer - which isn't the ideal one to use for this technique - I was very pleased with my finished results! I used the Waterfall Big N Juicy and the trees were created using the clarity stamp naked tree and leaves set.

happy crafting

Jane

The Aliens have landed!

2010-04-14T08:07:00.004+01:00

This fun card has been created using the UMount Outer Space (item 6472) stamp set. I started with a square of black card and spritzed it with Cosmic Shimmer Misters - Blue Lime, Bronze Blush and Lilac Night. Then I ripped some scrap paper into a hill shape and placed in down onto the card like a mask and sprayed it heavily with Ocean Sunlight to create the land at the bottom. I punched out a circle in white and spritzed it with lilac night and silver misters. Next I stamped my aliens onto black card. I created a mask for the green alien using a sticky note so I could have a row of three! I coloured in using Promarkers - tea green for the 'ghost' alien. Orange and true blue for the tall one and lime green for the 3 eyed aliens!. Then just assemble it all together for a fab fun card! I've a busy week this week with 3 craft events to do - but I've lots of cards to post up as well as the creations from the fab workshop I attended on Monday with Creative Expressions - so watch this space, I'll pop on later in the week to post up some more!

Happy Crafting

Jane

Those lovely ladies...

2010-04-05T20:32:00.002+01:00

I haven't had time to make up any cards over the weekend - and thought I would have a browse through some creations I made a while back - sometimes it reminds you of stamps, designs, layouts or colours that you haven't used for a while and renews the inspiration. This is the card that leapt out to me. Created using a couple of images from the Joanna Sheen Fashion Boutique CD. I have spritz the background with a glimmer mist, mounted the two images, add a few holographic peel-off dot details and a simple polka dot ribbon... simple and elegant! I definitely need to make up some new designs with this CD... there's lots of favourite designs I use over an over again, but there's also often a gem of a picture you just didn't spot last time you looked!

Happy Crafting!

Jane

Can you hear the Easter Bunny?

2010-04-01T15:28:00.002+01:00

Sorry I haven't blogged for a couple of days.... been a busy week! Spent ages drafting out my newsletter for it not to save properly and had to do half of it again grrr - If you didn't receive it yesterday and would like to be added to the mailing list - just drop me an email - my address is on the right hand side of the blog and I'll add you on!.. you get to hear about new stock and special offers - and don't worry you won't get bombarded with mail like you do with some mailshots - 2-3 times a month at most!... anyway.. back to the topic in hand - Easter.... Just a quick simple card this time using the gorgeous bunny from the latest Joanna Sheen CD - Jayne Netley Mayhew Part 2 - I love this CD - it has lots of lovely animal and plant images to choose from - I could make endless cards from this CD alone! I hope you are all ready with your chocolate eggs... mine has been sitting on the shelf tempting me for a fortnight - but I've been good - it's still intact! I'll be spending time with my family over Easter - catching up with my brother which will be nice!
Poor Molly has been poorly today and had to go back to the vets - but she's feeling much better now and is barking at the top of her voice as I type - probably at some poor cat who has ventured into the garden as usual - so she's definitely feeling better!
I've been busy making some jewellery this week and researching new suppliers to introduce the jewellery and beading stock to the website soon - first order has gone in today for all the findings... so watch for it to appear shortly!
Have a lovely Easter!
Jane

More New Shoes!!...

2010-03-29T21:45:00.003+01:00

I've created this shoe with the same technique as yesterday's card - using the leafy corner again to give some pattern in the background. This time I've coloured in using a pink theme (Promarkers again) but to give it some pizazz - I went over the whole shoe with glossy accents. I added a final finishing touch of some glitter flowers from the Dazzlers range from Petaloo and a small peel-off greeting in black.

Happy crafting!

Jane

Two Blue Shoes

2010-03-28T14:40:00.003+01:00

Well I promised you shoe cards - and here is the first. I have created masks using sticky notes (a how to guide on how to do this to appear shortly!) and then stamped the two shoes using Memento Paris Dusk. This is a lovely colour to stamp in a dark purply blue. I've then created a mask so I can stamp using the leafy corner in the same ink colour. The beauty of these stamps is as they are clear, you can decide which part of the pattern you want where - so I could position the corner into the corner of the shoe which would allow me to later add a sparkly gem. I used the leafy part of the design to fill in the rest of the shoe and then repeated along the rest of this and the other shoe. I then coloured the shoes using Promarkers - sky blue for the main shoe, pastel blue for the inside of the shoe. I added a little shading with a grey promarker to add a little definition. I then cut out the shoes and mounted onto sandstone swiss dots bazzill card and then onto a blue mount with a final flourish of a vibrant blue ribbon.
Stamps used - Sketchy Shoe from Clarity (item 6530 on web) and Leafy Corner from Clarity (item 6511 on web)
I've got more promarkers on order at the moment which should arrive soon, so I'm looking forward to seeing all the latest sets!
happy crafting
Jane

Bed Wars!!!

2010-03-27T20:30:00.001Z

It had to happen. As soon as Barney decided to go eat his dinner - Molly spotted her opportunity. there's going to be trouble.....!

Cosy Kitty.....

2010-03-27T15:37:00.003Z

Barney has never had a proper cat bed. In his younger days he wouldn't be seen dead in one!.... but we've noticed that in his 'middle years' he keeps nesting on anything he can find - a rogue jumper, a towel, my boxes of newly delivered stock!... so we thought we would buy him a bed. We took a chance that he would take one look and walk the other way... but no - he was straight in there pummeling away until he'd got the mattress scrunched up just how he wanted it - and he's not moved since! Let's just see if the novelty wears off or whether it's his new best friend!!. .. I've been busy playing with my Clarity shoe stamps today - so watch this space for a few different card ideas to appear during this week!
happy crafting!
Jane & Barney!

Simple .. but beautiful!

2010-03-27T09:13:00.002Z

This lovely card has been made using the Clarity stamps honesuckle corner stamp. The corner stamps are fab and so versatile - you can stamp them in different patterns to create beautiful patterns, or side by side to create a border, they are also nice to use as a subtle background stamp with a delicate colour ink. I've stamped this one in VersaMark and embossed it using a silver sparkle powder which looks very striking on the black card background.
happy crafting!
Jane

Going all artsy!!

2010-03-26T10:27:00.004Z

My friend Chris kindly lent me a whole box full of Clarity stamps (lucky me!!)... here's what I created using them. I've been inspired by a card I saw in the gallery on the Clarity stamp website! I've used sticky notes to mask off areas and applied Distress inks with a Cut n Dry foam and then stamped with a pattern stamp (I used the honesuckle corner) in the same distress ink, then finally stamped my main image over the top. Gradually build up your design by moving around your sticky notes. Inks used: Peeled Paint and Black Versafine on the first image, Broken China, Antique Linen with Walnut Stain to stamp the main image. Give it a go on an ATC - you can get some interesting effects! I think I might take these pieces back into the craft room and add some extra highlights with some glossy or crackle accents too.

happy crafting

Jane

Spring Card...

2010-03-25T17:32:00.003Z

My first entry to one of the Passion for Promarkers competitions (Spring Theme with an animal) - hope you like it! You can view all the other fab designs at their blog here http://promarkerchallenge.blogspot.com/
The stamp is from Wild Rose Studio designs as is the paper pack (florals).
happy crafting
Jane

Mmmmm yummy colours...!

2010-03-25T11:57:00.004Z

Well I finally found the time to play with the new Cosmic Shimmer Misters and use them to create a colour chart. I always spray them onto white and black card as they can look completely different on the two! Particular favourites of mine are Bronze Blush - has a hint of green mica - lovely!... Blue lime - a lovely zingy lime ink with a hint of blue mica and also the stunning Red Firefly - a vibrant orangy red wiht a hint of gold mica. I think that the Angel Mist and Sunlight Mist will prove very useful - they don't look so much on white - very pale - but they'll be fab for sprizing over printed papers to give that element of shimmer!
I intended to blog earlier in the week - but I've been nursing my dog Molly this week who had her visit to the vets on Monday to be spayed. So I've had to keep an eye on her this week - but it did at least give me time to catch up with some paperwork (yawn...), and also get the new 12x12s onto the website too. I did attempt to start stocktaking the decoupage ready for the web.... but there's such a lot of them I didn't get very far!!
I'm now going to spend the rest of today crafting before getting together with some of my crafting buddies this evening - who are all itching to see all the new supplies!.... so I would imagine there will be a few projects I'll be able to blog over the next few days!
happy crafting
Jane

FREE P&P over £10!

2010-03-22T13:52:00.001Z

Just a quick note to let you all know we have a special offer this week - we've lowered our free P&P limit to just £10!... so if you spend £10 or more you will have no postage costs! enjoy!
Jane

Metal Squares with Alcohol Inks

2010-03-20T17:48:00.005Z

Chris, Pauline and I had a fab time in our workshop this morning. We spent the morning playing with different techniques using metal sheets and alcohol inks and by the end of the morning all three of us had very inky fingers! Above is a picture & closeup of the card I created. It's a simple technique but very effective - cutting out shapes using the cuttlebug and then embossing an applying the alcohol inks. There are endless possibilities that you can create using this technique when you consider the different shapes and layouts you can do, the different colour metal sheets you can use, as well as different inks, whether to sand or add black ink highlights, use texture tools or rubber stamps too. I've created a full downloadable and printable project sheet to create this card and you can download it via 4shared by following this link. I would love to see any cards you create inspired by this project, post a comment back to this blog with a link to you picture, or email me a pic that I can post up for all to see!

happy crafting

Jane

Coastal scenes

2010-03-19T22:56:00.006Z

Well I did promise the next project to be more artsy - so here are a some cards I've made using the Create-a-scene Coastal or Village sets and Distress Inks. I've really taken to the create-a-scene stamps. So far I've only got the Coastal and Village set in my collection - but I've made so many different cards from the sets. I like the flexibility that lets you decide how big you want your scene to be and also how complex. They also mix and match nicely too as you'll never find two elements the same on the sets - even the grasses and clouds vary on all the different sets. These cards have been stamped using Distress inks - an ideal companion for these stamps. Simple stamping in just one colour then drag a little of the colour using a waterbrush to give a little softness to the images and then perhaps a few touches of glitter or Stickles to add a little detail. Any of you who know me well, knows I can't stop at just one or two cards when I can post six... that involves deciding which two and how could I pick! In a future post I'll give more detail on how to achieve the background of my first card - a handy technique to know!

I've found a handy tip with using these stamps is to ensure that your elements are always touching something else. So rather than putting in a rock all alone, just touch it up against something, grass, sand, the boat, it seems to help with the perspective of your piece. Also when using the waterbrush, don't try too hard to paint in the detail, just a few strokes with the brush to spread the colour it sufficient to give it some body. The inks used here are broken china (the pale blue), aged mahogany (that lovely burgundy) and peeled paint (green). I hope it gets you inspired to give them a go - they are great fun!
happy crafting
Jane

Meet Milton the Bear!

2010-03-18T23:55:00.003Z

Meet Milton the Bear!... isn't he cute! He's part of a new range of stamps from Wild Rose Design which includes cute dogs, cats, bunnies and also some sassy ladies too! They also have four different 6x6 paper packs which are all a nice selection of designs and even have matching brads sets too - so if you like a co-ordinated look they are a great choice!
Grab a coffee and have a browse - lots of new products have been put on the web over the last couple of days!
happy crafting
Jane

Clarity stamps yippee!

2010-03-17T15:27:00.003Z

I've just found a big box of clarity stamps waiting for me - hurrah... so watch the website for them to appear later!!!

a happy Jane :-)

It's Lofty!

2010-03-16T20:14:00.004Z

For today's card I've used a lofty the giraffe stamp. I've stamped him in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and then coloured him in using Promarkers. To make the image stand out I've outlined him in a pale grey - this is also a handy way over covering any little strays over the lines. I've then used my labels dies to create the mount and then taken a sheet of patterned beige paper and run it through the cuttlebug with a Quickutz Vines embossing folder. Then add a little brown ink across the raised part of the card to add a few accents. Finally a little knot of rust coloured ribbon provides the finishing touch! I do like this style of card - you'll see similarilities in other designs I've created. I find that if you have a bold image, keeping the background quite crisp and clean only highlights the main design. I'll find you something a bit more artsy for my next project - show you something a little different in style!

happy crafting!

Jane

Vineyard card... and a furry helper!

2010-03-14T23:10:00.006Z

OMG how did it get to 11pm on Sunday night - where did this weekend go!! At least I have a pile of cards to show for my efforts this weekend - all packaged up and ready for the craft fair next Sunday.... and I'm almost through coding up all those new peel-offs... my pet hate.. they just seem to go on forever!.. and I haven't yet been brave enough to tackle the 12x12s for the same reason!

Here is today's card - it's been created using Woodware wine buff clear stamps and I have coloured them using Promarkers. I created the background by scrumpling up some white card into a ball, then flatten it back out, spritz with random colours of Cosmic Shimmer Mister and allow to dry. Then once dry, I spritzed some more mister onto my craft mat and dragged the scrumpled card across the surface so all the peaks picked up more mister. This creates a great effect because the crumpling of the card damages the surface of the cardstock so it soaks up even more ink and mica powders. If you want a very flat finish, you can always iron the cardstock flat again, but I like it slightly rumpled for a bit of texture. Finally I've used my old favourite trick of 3 little dots of stickles in the corners - this time I used a dark blue.

.... I had a little help tonight from my furry friend Barney... perhaps I should get him to do the next blog?.... if you look carefully his paw is just reaching for the mouse pad...!
happy crafting
Jane

10 tips for using Stickles

2010-03-11T17:39:00.006Z

I've had my Stickles for ages and after an initial play, they lay forgotton and unloved in my craft box until I rediscovered them again last year!... now there's no stopping me and I've found that they are such a useful product to use in many ways - here's a few ideas to get you started, so go and find those forgotton Stickles and give them a little TLC!....

1. They make an ideal accent. Place three small dots in a line at the corners of your card for a sparkly detail.

2. Fill in a whole area with Stickles - such as a dress or handbag for an image with a bit of bling (see my last post for an example!)

3. Before using them give them a sharp shake downwards to move the glue down towards the nozzle end, this helps get rid of air bubbles

4. Keep a pin handy in your toolkit just in case you get an occasional blocked nozzle

5. Apply a clear stickles such as Crystal or Diamond over decoupage or a project and then smear it over the surface with your finger for a fab sparkly finish!

6. Use to accent the centres of flowers - whether stamped, decoupaged or on a printed paper. You can make a fab card by just taking a decorative paper and adding accents - like the card sample below!

7. You can never have too many colours! and they last a very long time so they are good value for money. I've never run one out yet - not even my crystal which is used most cardmaking sessions and in many workshops too!

8. Give them a gentle squeeze to apply your glue, that way you can control the flow and get very fine detail - have a bit of a practice on some scrap paper first just to make sure you have mastered the flow and got rid of any air bubbles.

9. If it goes somewhere you don't want it to (or you put your finger in it!!), if you are quick you can remove it by scraping it off your card. I find my curved ended tweezers are ideal for this

10. Experiment and get artsy!.. you can create flowers and swirls and squiggles and all manner of effects by mixing the colours too!

This card is made with a simple black and white paper with flowers. I've added accents using a dark blue Stickles to transform it into a card with lots of bling! It just shows that you can made a lovely card with the simplest of papers!

Hopefully this has inspired you to reach for your Stickles, and if you need to add some more colours to your craft box, you can buy them at the shop here with 10% discount until 15th March!
Happy Crafting!
Jane

Just a bit of sparkle!

2010-03-09T18:07:00.003Z

I've been playing with my new Winestool Nikki stamp from Ladybug Crafts Ink. They are new clear stamps very reasonably priced and stamp very nicely! I took my cue from the beautiful samples I saw at the show and thought I would sparkle her up! So I've coloured her in with my Promarkers and then used a turquoise stickles glue to give her dress and shoes a bit of bling factor! I then used my nestabilities labels to make the layers for the card and was very pleased with the results!

Happy crafting

Jane

Have I cracked it....?

2010-03-08T21:28:00.001Z

I may just have cracked the techie stuff after all.... if this appears on facebook I'm there!!!!