Phoenix Inspirations

Make My Monday  are following a Vintage theme all this month and this week the challenge is to create a Vintage Wedding card. Again I have struggled with this but we don't call them challenges for nothing so here goes - I have used my Vintage Vogue stamp set along with Whisper White and Almost Amethyst card stock. I also used some Old Olive, Concord crush and Almost Amethyst inks. I made the edges of my card and flowers look a little more vintage by sponging with some distress inks. My finishing touches are some seam binding ribbon and Liquid Pearls. Please do and take a look at the other dt cards - they are so much more appropriate than mine and I will see you soon - Jacqueline xx

Isn't great when you find a challenge blog that catches your eye and inspires you to create - yesterday I found  Just Add Ink . Their challenge this week is to take a look at  Delys Cram's  blog, find something that inspires you and then case it. I found this lovely sun-shiney card And here is what I created I used Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stock along with my Boho Blossoms punch. My sentiment is from Vintage Vogue. Instead of polka dot patterned paper I ran my card stock through my 'Bug in the Swiss Dots folder. Hope everyone is having a great weekend despite the awful weather - I got wet three times today!! - see you soon - Jacqueline xx

Yesterday was my monthly Tuesday morning workshop and we made 'Spring Fold Cards' - take a look The one in the middle is the one we made first and I have a close up as you can't see it very well in the picture above! I used some basic coloured card stock to make this along with some pieses of the gorgeous Stampin' Up DSP - Beyond the Garden. Stamps used were from the Greenhouse Garden and Field Flowers sets and I used Peach Parfait and Tangerine Tango inks plus a little Old Olive. The next two cards were a technique  quickly demo'd at the end of the workshop and are 'Side Spring Fold Cards'. So using more or less the same materials these cards were made using a tecnique I found in the resources section on Splitcoast Stampers - stamps used were Everything Eleanor (swirl) Field Flowers and Fabulous Florets - also a sentiment from Vintage Vogue. The scalloped edge square was die cut on my Cuttlebug. As always - all tutorial details will be ...

I have just got back from a craft workshop where I was actually one of the taught and not the teacher and we made a 'Never Ending Card' Jo - our leader had some Papermania kits that were pre-scored which we used as templates to cut our own and then decorate. Here's mine It's the same all through the card - I had some 12" x 12" red paper with me and a few stamps. The stamps I used were from Everything Eleanor, Vintage Vogue, My Friend and Just Believe. The card works by firstly opening the vertical centre sections Then the middle sections are opened horizontally There's another vertical opening to get to the back of the card This is so easy to make - look out for a quick tutorial tomorrow on  Make My Monday . See you soon - Jacqueline xx

Morning all - it's Mid-week Motivation time again at  Make My Monday  and the card I have made is this It's a Spring Fold card which I have decorated using my Vintage Vogue stamp set. The border was stamped onto a separate piece of card stock so that I could cut around the edges and sponge them. The border on the base was created in the same way. The gorgeous plum colour is Stampin' Up - Rich Razzelberry and I have teamed it up with a touch of Blushing Bride. The finishing touches that make this card are a few flat backed gems from Martha Stewart in amethyst and a piece of vintage lace. A spot of adhesive on the bottom point helps the card to stand up. Here is a view from the side The instructions to make this card can be found on the blog  here  so pop over if you want to have a go. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx

Good morning - it's another challenge at  Make My Monday  and this week we want to see some VICTORIAN ROMANCE Here is my card This week my stamp set of choice is Vintage Vogue, mixed with some Springtime Vintage DSP, Very Vanilla card stock and inks in Old Olive, Rose Red, Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz. The centres of the flowers have all been splodged with Liquid Pearls and hiding behind the centre panel is some vintage lace. A sentiment from Hot Off The Press adds the finishing touch. Can't wait to see what you all come up with - see you over there - Jacqueline xx

The lovely ladies at  Less is More  have this week given us the challenge of using the colour AQUA . I had a look through my sets and decided on one that I haven't used for a while - Vintage Vogue. I also had a bit of a play and made a 3D rose - I love making these. Here is my card My colour is Stampin' Up Stampin' Write marker - Pool Party. The middle panel is raised and the rose is placed just off this panel with some stamping on the card it's self. Here's a close up Thanks for looking - Jacqueline xx

The challenge at  Less is More  this week is just that - Predominantly Purple. One of my favourite stamps to use at the moment is from the SU Hostess set - Simply Soft, here is my card I have used a variety of Stampin' Write markers to colour my flowers in starting with a pale pink (Blushing Bride). This was then coloured over with Wisteria Wonder and finally some Concord Crush was added to deepen the colour. The sentiment from Vintage Vogue was stamped in Concord Crush. I couldn't bring myself to leave the flower stems so I'm afraid I used some Pear Pizzazz too!! Thanks for looking, bye for now - Jacqueline xx

Simply Stampin'  have a sketch challenge for us this week And here is my card The light has completely gone this afternoon and we have had torrential rain so i apologise for the photography. I have used the utterly gorgeous Everything Eleanor stamp set to create this card and a colour palette of Rich Razzelberry, Blushing Bride and Lucky Limeade. The sentiment is from Vintage Vogue. Hope everyone has a good weekend and a safe Bonfire Night - Jacqueline xx

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

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

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...

This is my first post on my new lap top. My computer was very old and was just taking too long to do anything so for the last couple of days I have been transferring files and generally getting acquainted with my new lap top. It also takes up less space in my craft room - more room now for new stash me thinks!! Today's card is an anniversary card. I have fallen in love with the swing card shape and used a base of Pear Pizzazz card stock to start me off. This is the front and I have used some Very Vanilla card stock which has been stamped around the edge with the border stamp from Vintage Vogue using a Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker. I then changed over to the Baby Blossoms stamp set and on a separate piece of card stock stamped out numerous roses using Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango ink pads. These were then cut out and glued on with a glue pen. The little leaf branches have been stamped in Old Olive ink. The dotty label was stuck on using 3D foam pads to add som...

Yes that's right it's our 6th challenge already over on the Make My Monday  challenge blog. This is going to be a quick one - it's 4am in the morning here. I can't sleep as I have a very sore throat and earache. I'm just waiting for the painkillers to kick in before I go back to bad! Any way the theme is VINTAGE and the challenge is to include some EMBOSSING . Here is my card for the dt I have used a cream card blank and a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock. The cs has been stamped with Versamark ink, sprinkled with gold embossing powder and then set with a heat gun - the stamp I used was from Stampin' Up Vintage Vogue. I then ink distressed some paper on to which I had downloaded some vintage music and then added some butterflies. Hope you had a great weekend - please spare a thought if you can for my nephew Matthew today - he is having surgery later on a suspected brain tumour. It's a worrying time - bye for now - Jacqueline xx

Today on the Make My Monday  challenge blog the monthly theme has changed to VINTAGE. The first week kicks off with  a colour theme take a look To go with my Brown and Cream I chose Pink  I have used Very Vanilla card stock along with some Early Espresso. The pink is some from my local craft shop. I distressed the edges of the brown with the edge of my scissors to give rough, shabby effect. The stamps are from Stampin' Up - Vintage Vogue and I have used chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink inks. Now it's your turn - hop on over and have a go - bye for now - Jacqueline xx.

Oops - nearly missed this one! Goodness knows where the time has gone this week. I've got a busy weekend ahead as my husband is flying out to Oslo so I know I will be washing, ironing and packing 'cos lets face it men are rubbish at doing things like that - or is it just my husband??? Anyway the challenge was to use these colours I know these colours are very masculine but I chose to do feminine instead and dug out my Vintage Vogue set Now I have a small confession to make - I had to substitute the Concord Crush and instead use Elegant Eggplant - sorry. I do think that these colours go so well together though. So all that remains for me to say is pop over to Simply Stampin'  check out the challenge and have a great weekend - see you soon - Jacqueline xx.

First of June today - yikes how time is flying! Time for another Mojo Monday  challenge too. Here is this week's sketch I went for the easy option and chose the square card to make - although not so easy lining up my paper for those triangles - take a look This is a whole mixture of stuff - Elegant Soiree and Springtime Vintage DSP, Bliss and Vintage Vogue stamp sets and (nicked form Bev) a flower die and ribbon. Also used Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy inks. So glad I didn't opt for the circle sketch although I do think that this technique makes a lovely effect. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx.

You Know I really enjoyed making the card in my previous post. It was a one layer card with hardly any embellishments and no matting and layering. But then again I love getting as much on a card as I can possibly get away with. This one is just that - it's for the challenge on CAS-ual Fridays  and the theme is Buttons and Twine. Here is my card My 5" x 5" card blank has been layered with some Baja Breeze card stock and then a piece of DSP from the Elegant Soiree collection. I have used the Vintage Vogue stamp set and Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze ink pads. My twine has been woven through my vintage lace and I have put my buttons in the flower centres along with a bit of bling. Some of the flowers have been layered up using 3D foam pads so this card is quite high - especially with the buttons as well. I'm off now - thanks for looking - Jacqueline xx.

Hello folks - sorry I've been away a while. I had not been very well over the week end, Bank holiday Monday I felt a little better, did a bit of gardening but had to admit defeat and come in as I started to feel poorly again. So I took the time to make my Husband's birthday card. It was quite a large birthday as you will see from the pics and I thought rather cheekily that I would use my 'Vintage' Vogue stamp set. I know it's very feminine and flowery but the border stamp looked very nice stamped around the edges. What do you think? Here is a pic of the middle And this is the card open Now, this is the card that I thought I would enter for this week's Simply Stampin' Challenge . This week it is a colour challenge so I got out what I thought were the required colours ( Whisper White, Basic Grey, Always Artichoke and Rich Razzelberry) and made the card. Thing is I had a senior moment and instead of using Rich Razzelberry (which I don't have anyway!) ...

This is just a short post so I can enter this week's challenge over on Simply Stampin' Challenge . The challenge this week is to use Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy, Wild Wasabi and Pink Pirouette. Unfortunately I don't think I will come up to scratch this time as I don't have any Wild Wasabi or Pink Pirouette - yet! I have substituted Pretty in Pink and Garden Green instead - I hope this is O.K...........? Any how - here is my card As you can see - it is impossible for me to leave Vintage Vogue alone at the moment, however I have teamed it up with some roses made using my Paperartsy Grunge Flower die. Please go and check this blog out - there is a great prize up for grabs at the end of the 4th challenge - bye for now - Jacqueline xx .