Phoenix Inspirations

This is the fat page I made for October. The subject was Halloween and this is what I made I don't own any Halloween stamps or images so I improvised. The oval is a piece of waste rubber saved from a Stampin' Up set and it was inked up with Pumpkin Pie ink and stamped twice. I then inked it again with Tangerine Tango and stamped it again in the middle - hopefully it looks like a pumpkin! Vintage Vogue was then used to create some stem and leaves and a border around the page. I finished it off with some black glitter before posting it off to my swap buddy  Meggymay . This is the page I received from  Caz Caz is the co-ordinator of the swap and more details can be found on her blog  here  - pop over and take a look. - Jacqueline xx

It's Monday and time for another challenge over on  Make My Monday  and this week the subject is   AUTUMN LEAVES . This week I have gone for an Orla Kiely designer look to my card - take a look I have taken inspiration from her Stem Design and used the wing from my 2 Step Bird punch to create my leaves. I also just went through my scraps box picking out every autumnal shade I could find and then placed them randomly on the stems. This is the final week of our Autumn challenges so I hope you will hop over and take a look at all the lovely samples my design team have made - next week we will launch a brand new theme and series of challenges. Hope every one has had a good weekend and if you are out Trick or Treating tonight - have fun and take care. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx

Can you believe that it's nearly November? Not long 'til Christmas either! If you are yearning for those long gone summer days I have a card for you that just says 'summer' to me. My Mum has the most gorgeous garden and in the summer it is full of Agapanthus plants - huge clumps of beautiful blue flowers fill the borders and I love it. So when I received my new hostess set Simply Soft one of the first cards I made with it was with big, blue Agapanthus blooms. It's a two-step stamping system and the stems were stamped first using the new In Colour - Lucky Limeade. I then used a Pool Party marker to colour my stamp and add  in the flowers - I used a stamp positioner for this too. Pool Party card stock was used on Whisper White and I added a little silver clippy thingy to attach the sentiment. Hope this brings back some fond memories of summer for you oh - and don't forget to alter your clocks tonight. Just think we get an extra hour for crafting tomorrow!! ...

This is my newest of sets and totally gorgeous - take a look The set contains all these lovely stamps (and more) except for the sentiment and I have used Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Real Red and a Memento desert Sand ink. Stay tuned for more of this fabulous set coming soon! - Jacqueline xx

.............Over on  Make My Monday  this week our challenge is Orange and Black with an optional Halloween theme. It's also Wednesday which means it's Mid-week Motivation and this is what I made To find out how I made my Haunted House pop over to the blog 'cos all the details are there. However I will show you a close up here of my pumpkins.(!) These were just orange circles punched from card stock. They were then folded in half, the edges sponged with black ink and then 3 were glued together. This left two flaps which could be attached to the house - take a look I am also entering this creation into the  Just Us Girls  3D Halloween template challenge - see you soon - Jacqueline xx

It was Louise's birthday over the weekend and as I was seeing her today I waited 'til today to give her a birthday card. I used my new Hostess set Simply Soft and a couple of the new 'In Colours' Pool Party and Lucky Limeade - take a look This is the box card that was made at my workshop last week. The actual card was made from an A4 sheet of Pacific Point card stock and the flowers were stamped on to Very Vanilla. The card very conveniently opens up to make a box and is just the right size to pop in a little tag or book mark If you would like to make this card - you can pop over to my  Craft club Blog  where you will find a full tutorial. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx

I'm really falling in love with this set - today I have made a card with the flourish stamped in the centre to make a wreath shape - take a look To hide where the flourish met in the middle I stamped the ring of butterflies and cut it out, I then raised it on some 3D foam pads. Some of the butterflies were stamped directly on to the card but the larger ones were stamped and cut out, I also blinged them up with a few crystal gems. My son has just informed me that this is one of his favourite cards that I have made - an explosion of colour are his exact words! I think that I mentioned before that I have another Hostess set to play with - more of that tomorrow. thanks for stopping by - see you soon - Jacqueline xx

This week at  Make My Monday  the challenge is to create something ORANGE AND BLACK with the optional extra of making it Halloween themed. Here is my card The owls are made using my 2 Step Owl punch and two are quite happily sitting on a branch. The third owl was supposed to a scary Dracula owl with his bat - like wings. Maybe I should have drawn some fangs on him too! Please pop over to the blog to see what the DT have done for you this week and you might even want to take part - Jacqueline xx

This is one of my new hostess sets - Precious Butterflies. I was having a play and this is what I made I used Old Olive and Tempting Turquoise inks plus a few blue gems stuck on using a glue pen. It was all stamped on a piece of white card stock which was sponged around the edge with Old Olive ink, this was then attached to the card blank. I am going to enter this card into the challenge over on  Flutter By Wednesday's . This week it is an open challenge which means all you have to do is make a card with a butterfly, fairy or angel. Thanks for looking - I will be back tomorrow with some more butterflies and maybe a peek at my other hostess set - Jacqueline xx

I made this card a couple of days ago using a sketch from one of the daily challenges on the  Splitcoast Stampers  site. I used one of my favourite stamp sets and some retired DSP - Springtime Vintage. The DSP is matted onto some Kraft card stock which has had the edges sponged with Chocolate Chip ink. The flowers were stamped and then coloured with some Stampin' Write markers and the bird was stamped and cut out before being attached with 3D foam pads. He was coloured using pencil crayons. The green ribbon was some I unearthed from the depths of my ribbon bag - I think it's from an Anna Griffin set I bought some years ago. Now luckily when I extracted my ribbon from the bag it wasn't too crumpled but I have been told that crumpled ribbon can be made smooth and flat again by running it through hair straighteners!! (Don't have then too hot though as it will probably melt!). The little label is a Nestability shape with a sentiment from the set Just Believe. Thanks ...

This week at  Simply Stampin'  there is a colour challenge to follow Some of the ladies on the design team have done Halloween themed projects but I'm afraid I don't do Halloween and I have come up with this instead This is the very lovely Fresh Cuts set which Bev lent me to play with today and I think it looks fab stamped in the Old Olive ink. The middle panel has been raised up on 3D foam pads but you can't see that on the photo and the sentiment was heat embossed using black embossing powder to make it stand out better. Short and sweet today folks as I have an evening of meetings tonight - see you soon - Jacqueline xx

Good morning every one - and welcome to all my new followers. It's lovely to have you and I hope you continue to like what you see - it's great to get all your comments too - thank you. OK - on with the job in hand. It's Monday and that can only mean one thing  Make My Monday  challenge blog. This week's challenge is still Autumn themed but with the added addition of some Flora and Fauna Inchies. As you know I have been pretty obsessed with all things geometric lately so this was an easy one for me, although I didn't count on it taking me all afternoon and most of the evening to make! I am rather pleased with it though - take a look It originally started with just the six squares on the left ...... but then it just grew! I used some ATC blanks to stamp my images on to and then coloured and sponged them and then cut them to size. The birds are made using the 2 Step Bird punch and all the different coloured leaves were added by hand. Stamps used - Stampin'...

Today's card is one that has been inspired by the Stampin' Up Idea Book and Catalogue. It uses the Ornate Flowers stamp set and some rather intricate cutting out - take a look I started off by taking a piece of Kraft card stock and stamped on to it using Memento Desert Sand - it doesn't show up very well on the photo. I used the same stamp on the middle panel which is Tangerine Tango stamped with Pumpkin Pie ink. The flower panel is Old Olive and a separate flower was stamped and cut out and then raised up on some 3D foam pads. The cut out flowers were inked with Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write markers. I can't wait to show you the card I made today for the Make My Monday challenge blog - it actually took me all afternoon to make (I was watching telly at the time!!) but I was really touched when my 18 year old son came into the room, picked it up and said 'wow mum that's really awsome' - high praise indeed. But you will have to wait ...

What a lovely day for getting together with friends and crafting. What's even better is having someone come to your house and letting you play with all their Stampin' Up goodies.  Today Paula (click here  to visit her blog) came to demonstrate products from the new catalogue and we all made a lovely card using the Pennant Parade stamps and matching punch. We also got to try out some of the new In Colours - take a look These gorgeous colours are Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo. We also got to play with the Big Shot and cut out the Top Note shape and then embossed it with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. The little flower was punched out using the Boho Blossoms punch which I was able to get as part of my Hostess gift - yay! So I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Paula for coming and a huge THANK YOU to my crafting ladies for coming, spending their money and enabling me to get some wonderful Hostess Gifts which I shall be showing you as soon as they arrive! ...

My next workshop is on Thursday October 20th at 7.30pm - we will be making Box Cards. Now these can be Christmassy or not the choice is yours but remember that there will be a full tutorial after the workshop on my Craft Club Blog (link at the top of the page). Here are some pictures This is what it looks like closed. When you open it - it looks like this It will hold gift tags or bookmarks - possibly even one of those little calendars that you buy in newsagents. And finally a closer look at the gift tag It's been lovely weather here today so it felt quite weird to be making Christmas things! I have another Christmas workshop coming up so stay tuned for more details. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx

Here is the sketch for this week's challenge at  Simply Stampin' And here is my card I started with a base of Crumb Cake and then I used some small pieces of Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla for the matting and layering. The scalloped edge was created by stamping the circle from Just Believe twice and then cutting them in half. Inks used were Melon Mambo and Chocolate Chip - I also used a bit of Melon Mambo spotty ribbon. Stamps were mainly Just Believe with the butterfly from Flight of the Butterfly stamped, cut out and added to the top circle. Can't stop - got to tidy the house as I am having a Stampin' Up Party on Saturday. I can't believe that the new catalogue is 2 weeks old and I haven't ordered anything yet! Thanks for stopping by to take a look today, see you soon - Jacqueline xx.

For the Mid-week Motivation spot on  make My Monday  I created an Autumnal Scene. This time I left my brayer alone and used sponges - take a look All the details on how this card was made are over on the blog. The challenge over on the  St. Luke's Charity Challenge Blog  this month is 'Lets Hear it for the Boys' so this card is going to them  - hope they like it! I have a million and one things to do today after spending a lovely weekend away - so I'm off to get started. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx

It's week 19 at  Make My Monday  and this week we want to see your AUTUMN TREES. Take a look at mine I think I may have mentioned before my 'thing' at the moment for geometric shapes on my cards. Today is no exception and here you can see that I have stamped four trees and then sponged over the squares with autumnal shades of ink. I have threaded some twine through some brown buttons and also added a tag with my sentiment on. I used the oak tree from Stampin' Up Lovely as a Tree stamp set and the colours I have used are: So Saffron, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. I also used some Very Vanilla card stock and some Kraft card. Hope you can find the time to pop over and take a look - my design team have some lovely samples to show you. See you soon - Jacqueline xx

My ATC  Stamp and Swap Blog  is in it's third month and we are celebrating AUTUMN SPLENDOR. S just for inspiration here is a little something I knocked up Friday night whilst watching .........Autumn Watch!! Hope you like it and will pop over to the blog and have a go - Jacqueline xx

Today is a busy day as I am off to see Mum and Dad and of course Mum and me will be going out for some girly shopping and lunch so I have scheduled this post. I made it Thursday afternoon while Bev was paying a visit and I have used the perfect stamp set for the season - Autumn Days - take a look I love adding squares to my projects at the moment and this time I decided to add less squares and put some stamping behind them. I used autumnal shades from my palette of Stampin' Up inks and also added a little rust coloured ribbon. My aim was to make the leaves look like they were blowing about in the wind - it's been very windy here lately! Hope everyone has a good weekend and the weather is not too chilly - bye for now - Jacqueline xx

Today's challenge at  Polka Doodles  is all about hand made flowers - punched, die cut, stamped or decoupaged. I love making flowers and spent a long time this morning making some roses However when it actually came to putting these flowers on my card - they just didn't look right. So they have been shelved and the rest chucked in the bin. Back to the drawing board! The card I made was inspired by one of my favourite bloggers -  Vicky  - I didn't copy it but just used the general layout My hand made flowers were stamped using Stampin' Up Growing Green. I stamped them onto decorative paper and cut them out. I then stamped them again and just used the middles attaching them with some 3D foam. The leafy fronds are from the same set and coloured with a Pear Pizzazz marker. The sentiment is from Vintage Vogue. I am much happier about this card - hope you like it - Jacqueline xx

Yikes - it's cold today. I'm sat at my computer all bundled up in a thick cardi - might even have to have a hot water bottle!! Today's card is a side step card. I demo'd it at a workshop a while ago and had it made up but not decorated. It uses Stampin' Up Butterfly punch and Pocket Silhouettes stamp set The little butterflies are from a mini punch and I don't know if you can see but there is some silver thread wrapped around the large butterflies leaving a bit for their antennae. Each panel on the different sections has been sponged with ink before being stamped with the foliage. I am entering this card into the  Flutter By Wednesday's  challenge - you need to include a butterfly on your card. Hope you like it, bye for now - Jacqueline xx

Make My Monday  this week is going all Autumnal with resist techniques. So for the Mid-week Motivation spot this week there is another technique that you may be unfamiliar with. It uses Vaseline and a brayer and if you are intrigued and want to find out more - please do pop over and take a look. Meanwhile after the technique has been executed - this is something that you can make with the finished card stock The stamp is one of my own designs - Fancy Leaf Branch  and the inks are various yellows, oranges and reds. The dark red is Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler and it just so happened that I had some gros grain ribbon in exactly that shade in my ribbon box. The background card stock is also Cherry Cobbler. A heart shaped paper clip is attached to the sentiment. Thanks for stopping by today - I love reading your comments and I'm really grateful for any that I get - Jacqueline xx

Today at my workshop I revived an old classic - the waterfall card. I had four lovely ladies attending and at 10 o clock this morning we all started the mammoth task of cutting all our bits out.(!). I must admit that there is a lot of work involved in making this card however, the result is rather good - take a look So - this started life as a 5" x 5" card blank (I always use this size, I buy them from The Works as they are relatively cheap). I then matted and layered some card stock and DSP. The waterfall slider is stamped with Stampin' Up Just Believe as is the image that I stamped directly on to the paper and the slider is then attached using brads before attaching the background papers to the card blank. There is a full tutorial on how to make this card over on  The Craft Club Blog  - I hope you can pop over and take a look. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx

It' October and that can only mean one thing - AUTUMN . Over on  Make My Monday  the challenge this week is to muse a RESIST TECHNIQUE - take a look at what I came up with The leaf images were stamped with Rich Cocoa Memento ink and then coloured over with a white wax crayon. I then used some Stampin' Up inks - Pumpkin Pie and Really Rust and sponged these over. The wax crayon resists the ink and gives a really bright highlight to the card. When you look to the side you can see that this is a different style of card - I found one here on  Ruth's  blog and she had a link to a YouTube video tutorial which I followed. Here is the inside panel This card uses the French Foliage stamp set. The theme over on the  ATC Stamp and Swap  blog is also Autumn and I have used this technique to create my ATCs Hope you can pop over and take a look - Jacqueline xx

It's time for another challenge at the  Simply Stampin'  challenge blog, the dt position is still open and so I am having another go with this week's challenge - Pearls and Swirls. I started with a blank 5" x 5" card and using Pear Pizzazz stamped the border from Vintage Vogue. I then added a mat of Poppy Parade card stock and another of Very Vanilla. I stamped the Vintage Vogue border again and in the middle I stamped the swirly leaf flourish. The Vintage Vogue flowers were stamped in Poppy Parade ink, cut out and placed on the card using 3D foam pads. I placed a pearl in the middle of each one. I then stamped one of the butterflies from Butterfly Prints - the one with the swirly pattern inside and that was also stuck on with 3D foam pads. It's been a busy day today - I have had my Mum, Dad and Grandad over for lunch and also my Mother - in - law so I'm looking forward to having a rest now and a glass of wine! Hope you all had a lovely weekend - se...