Phoenix Inspirations

I've some more beautiful papers to show off today: Perennial Essence DSP. Twelve exclusive designs that are absolutely gorgeous - take a look Very Monet - esque these papers co-ordinate with the Floral Essence stamp set which also has a two matching paper punches: Leaf Punch and Perennial Flower Punch. it's all part of the Perennial Essence Suite - lots of perfectly co-ordinating products which makes your crafting both professional and effortless. Order these papers or any other products from the Annual catalogue from me. Pop into my online shop HERE Thanks for taking a look today - see you soon - J xx

I have another challenge card for you today. I am joining in the challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches And here is my card I have used my new Sailing Home Bundle isn't it gorgeous? I love anything to do with the sea and this set has ships, anchors, lighthouse,compass and rope - perfect for those hard to make masculine cards! So, I stamped my lighthouse and die cut it. The seaweed was die cut from some of my Perennial Essence DSP and the anchor from some copper foil card stock. The background was sponged with Bermuda Bay ink. All products can be ordered from my online shop - see links above. I seem to be burning the candle at both ends lately: get up early for work, get home early afternoon to catch up on housework etc, get mum settled for the night and then craft till my eyes close! I even managed to fit in some gardening today too! It makes me really happy though as I can remember a time when there was nothing but despair and I didn't...

I think I'm just in time to take part in this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches So to make my card I used some new stash - yes new stash!! I used the Daisy Lane Bundle. A stamp set and matching punch. It's the medium daisy punch included in the bundle and the larger punch is sold separately. By purchasing the bundle you save 10% on the price of the products. Contact me for details on purchasing and this month's Hostess Code. Now to my card I've used a very limited palette for this card: Soft Sea Foam for the leaves, Basic Gray for the flowers and yellow for the centres. Now it's way past my bedtime to I'll bid you goodnight and see you soon. Thanks for stopping by - J xx

Today's card is a Bridge Card - I would also like to share with you how I made it. Here is a small tutorial. I took a piece of coloured card sock and scored it into three equal sections. The two outside sections were also scored down the middle - all were creased with a bone folder. White card stock was cut to fit each section.  The images from Climbing Orchid were stamped, coloured, die cut and assembled. A branch from Seasonal Layers was also die cut.  The white card stock was stamped with the Hardwood stamp and the edges sponged. This was done with Crumb Cake ink and Early Espresso. The pieces were stuck down.  The orchid images were arranged and stuck down. A piece of card stock was attached to the card which enables the card to stand up. The strip is the length of the card when one of the side panels has been folded in. This means that it folds flat for posting.  More orchids were assembled to decorate the side panels.  A sen...

More crafting today and this time I was playing with my new Colourful Seasons bundle. Page 146/7 of the Annual Catalogue has the Colourful Seasons goodies. There is a whole suite - card stock, DSP and ribbon etc. Also if you purchase the stamp set and co-ordinating dies you save 10% on the price - bargain! Today's card use this bundle - take a look The white card base was stamped with the solid leaf stamp in Crumb Cake and then over stamped with the open leaf and Pumpkin Pie ink. The banner is Early Espresso and the die cut leaf is cut out of Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze card stock. The sentiment is stamped in Versa Mark ink and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. This card is being entered into the challenge over at The Paper Players All the products listed above are in the current Annual Catalogue and can be ordered direct from me and delivered to your door (p+p £4.95) anywhere in the UK. To place an order please email me of go to my on line shop...

Oh dear - it's been a while. My treatment for my fibro is continuing and it's not exactly been pain free. I was referred to the gym by my dr - I go twice a week and it's tough! Any way enough about me - I managed to fit in a bit of crafting today and I had another play with my Painted Harvest set. The background is So Saffron card stock and it has been stamped with the Hardwood stamp - it's huge it did the whole background in one stamp! It was stamped in Crumb Cake ink which was also sponged around the edge along with some Early Espresso. The diamonds were cut from So Saffron and Crumb Cake card stock - again sponged with Crumb Cake and Early Espresso ink. The Sunflower  - stamped in So Saffron and Crushed Curry ink was attached using Dimensionals. The leaves were stamped in Lemon Lime Twist and Old Olive ink and punched out using the co-ordinating punch. The sentiment is from the Graceful Garden set. This card is being entered into the challenge at C...

Painted Harvest is a set that I wasn't going to buy. I don't know why but it just didn't grab me when I first saw it in the Holiday Mini. However - I began seeing what other demonstrators were doing with it and it began to grow on me. So I bought it! Here is my first play with the stamps My card blank was sponged with Soft Sky and Pear Pizzazz ink to create a soft background. I then stamped and fussy cut a couple of the flowers. These are '2 Step' stamping - one stamp is coloured with a pale ink and then a second image is stamped over the top with a darker ink to add detail.  Before the flowers were stuck down I added the dark green fronds. I then stuck down two of the flowers with glue and the third with Dimensionals. The paler leaves are 2 step stamped as well and these are cut out using the matching punch - very quick and extremely easy. The stamp set and punch can be ordered as a Bundle - this saves you some money as it's a little cheaper ...