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About Me

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Hi......I'm Jo, welcome to my crafty corner where I aim to share my adventures in paper crafting, baking, cross stitch & cats.....hopefully with some hints, tips & inspiration thrown in too! Please leave a comment if you call so I know you've been, I would love to visit you back and please become a follower if you like what you see. Thanks for popping by.........
'She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted the sails' - Elizabeth Edwards

Sunday 24 January 2016

A male card!

Hey lovelies, hope you're all well.
Wouldn't you think with having 5 sons I'd be forever making male themed cards? Nope, I've got to be honest, they're not something I've made too many of recently......better get a stash built up I think cos you know what's gonna happen now I said that lol.
So for today's card I used a page from the Vintage Line kit from Studio Light, all die cut pieces so easy to pop out especially if you struggle with your hands. Some inky edges & an extra layer of co-ordinating paper & that's it....job done. 
Rightio, off to enjoy the rest of the evening wandering around your blogs. Thanks for popping in, see you tomorrow.
x

Saturday 23 January 2016

Chalkboard Love....

Hey lovelies, hope you're all well & having a lovely weekend.
I had a little craft time today & so had a play with the Creative Chalk kit from Studio Light, a gorgeous die cut pad packed full of lovely bits & pieces......perfect for when my hands don't allow me to colour an image. I layered my pieces onto my beloved black card & added the turquoise sheet from a Making Memories paper pad....everything else came from just one die cut sheet & I still have enough left over to make a little tag.
Another cold, dark & damp day here today hence the awful photo......couldn't seem to catch a good light anywhere. IRL the colours are much more vibrant, much sharper looking. 
I'm going now to get myself a cuppa & have a browse around your lovely blogs. Thanks for calling.....see you tomorrow. 
xx

Friday 22 January 2016

Share an Oldie this Friday!

Hi crafty friends, hope you're all ok & looking forward to the weekend. 
We've had rain all day,  it's freezing cold & oh, so dark......good job I had no errands to run....and if it continues I don't think I'll have any tomorrow either!
So as it's Friday it's time to join in with Erika over at Snappycrafts as she invites us to share a weekly look back over past crafty makes. All she asks is that you leave her a comment so she can visit you back.
I have a card to share today, sweet pirate Edwin all ready to sail the high seas in search of treasure....isn't he adorable? Seems like years ago I made this card & I'm ashamed to say I've not used the stamp since. So off I toddled to my stamp drawer thinking I'd ink him up.....and was he there? Nope, he was nowhere to be seen.......3 hours later I still couldn't find him......I've been in drawers, in cupboards, upstairs, downstairs.....and still no sign. I imagine he'll turn up one day & probably in the place I'd least expect.
Rightio, off for a wander around your blogs before tea....thanks for calling.....see you tomorrow.....and if you want to there's still time to enter my little giveaway!
xx

Thursday 21 January 2016

ATC's

Hi crafty friends, hope you're all well.
Just a quick post to share a pic of some of the ATC's for our December 15 swap and to remind you that there's still time to join in January's swap......the theme this time is BOOKPRINT & you can find all the info here.
xx

Wednesday 20 January 2016

B is for Butterfly......

Hi my lovely crafty friends, hope you're all well.
These late night posts seem to be getting a bit of a habit for me recently so I'll try to keep it short & sweet. This year I found the Alpha Dictionary Challenge over at The Craft Barn. It works like this: every 2 weeks we're given a letter of the alphabet, we than have to create a tag, atc, journal page etc  of something beginning with that letter. It has to include the letter/word AND the definition. The 1st letter we were given was B, I chose to make a journal page, think it'll be kinda cool to have an alphabet journal....and I chose the word BUTTERFLY. My background is acrylic paint, I added some light inky stenciling in a couple of colours & whilst still damp a sprinkle of frantage. The next layer is soft, dreamy cheesecloth then the top is the corrugated die cut butterfly which I rubbed with some more acrylic paint. Lastly, I added the glittered chipboard letter B & the dictionary definition.
Can't wait to see what the next letter is! Rightio, better get myself off to bed. Thanks for calling......see you tomorrow.....and don't forget I have a little giveaway HERE....would love you to enter.
xx
challenges
I is for inks at Butterfly Challenge
January Blues at Crafting for the Craic
Anything Goes + Chipboard at Creative Artiste Challenge

Tuesday 19 January 2016

Another little giveaway!

Hi friends, hope you're all well.
Just popping in with another little giveaway.....this time a set of three sentiment dies by Spellbinders - the sentiments are 'With Love', 'Hello Friend' & 'Thank You'.....all brand new & unused. If you can give them a good home just leave me a comment. I'd love you it if you're a follower & if you want to pop a pic on your sidebar then that would be even better! I'll leave it open for a week then draw a random name. Thanks for popping by & good luck!
xx

Monday 18 January 2016

Journal pages

Hi my crafty friends, hope you're all well & warm!
 'What are you saying yes to in 2016?'. That's the week #2 prompt over at Journal 52. I picked things that I want to say an extra yes to, make a bigger effort with & enjoy more. I started with an inky, messy, colourful Dylusions background then just dabbed & doodled & stencilled away for an hour, ok 2 hours lol. Could have sat there for even longer but these blooming awkward hands of mine put paid to that....and if I'm honest my beloved Posca pens were calling out for a rest!
Thanks for popping by & for any comments you might leave.....every one much appreciated!
See you tomorrow.
x

Saturday 16 January 2016

Crafty Calendar reminder!

Brrrr, it's a bit chilly here today.....dry thankfully but oh, so cold......but I'm not complaining cos I get to stay indoors & play in my toasty warm craft room!
Today I have a Crafty Calendar Dt make to share, there's still a couple more weeks of the SOMETHING NEW challenge to go so if you fancy playing along do pop over, we'd love to see you. I made another page for my little scrapbook of 2016 Dt images, this little cutie is called Little Skater & you can find her here in the All Dressed Up store.
Coloured with Copics, I added her to some distressed layers, punched borders, chit chat words, snowflakes, gems.....and finished with some doodling.....I do love a doodle!
Now I'm off to clear up the mess I made........enjoy your evening &.
 I'll see you tomorrow.
xx
challenges
anything goes at 613 Avenue Create
anything goes at Craft Your Passion
Winter/Christmas at A Snowflake's Promise
Winter + snowflake at Clear It Out
A is for Anything Goes at ABC Christmas challenge
not a card at C.R.A.F.T
anything goes at Crimbo Crackers
Winter fun at Kitty Bee Designs
anything goes at All Dressed Up

Friday 15 January 2016

Share an Oldie Time!

Morning crafty friends, hope you're all well.
 I swear someone keeps pressing the fast forward button on time cos it surely can't be January 15th already! And it's Friday....so you know what that means.....time to share an oldie with our lovely hostess Erika over at Snappycrafts. Our weekly just for fun look back at past crafty makes. Any style, any theme......if you made it then that's good enough. Just don't forget to pop over & leave Erika a comment then she knows to visit you back.
I'm sharing a little easel card I made, seems quite appropriate with all the rain we're having & just as the sentiment says.....we have sunshine today & gorgeous blue skies! Got to be honest though......the colouring on that brolly looks a bit dodgy lol. I do still quite like the rest of it though.....I do love an easel card, must make another one soon.
Rightio, off to do the nasty h****work then I can have a nice crafty weekend.
Thanks for calling......see you tomorrow.
xx

Thursday 14 January 2016

You Make Me Smile!

Hi lovelies, hope you're all well, warm & dry.
We've had rain, rain & more rain today.....it's still pouring down.....and it's tried to snow as well! I've spent most of the day in the warm having a crafty play....ooh, I do love my craft room lol. So today's offering is the simplest of tags....an inky snippet just begging not to be thrown away so what was I to do? I added a few more layers using caran d'ache pastels & a water brush, once dry I stamped using a black Stazon then added some snippets of seam binding that I dyed using the same colour pastels.Got to be honest, I got itchy fingers & wanted to add more....but I was good & sat on my hands....& I do love the simplicity of it. Rightio, better go feed the masses.....thanks for popping in.....see you tomorrow!
xx
challenges
January blues at Crafting for the Craic
CAS at QKR Stampede
labels/tags at Addicted to Stamps
not a card at C.R.A.F.T

Wednesday 13 January 2016

Christmas ATC's

Hi friends, hope you're all well. Have you had a good day? I been chasing my tail all day so no crafty play time for me! I do have something to share though, a set of ATC's for December's swap when the theme was Christmas. We were a bit low on numbers last month what with Christmas and all so I made 2 different sets. Loved making these, so simple but I love how they turned out. I used the tea bag trick to age the music paper then simply layered onto some card that I'd lightly sanded back then added a die cut tree, a chit chat word & some ribbon.....do love me a bit of gingham!
So that's it for tonight, hope to see you tomorrow.
xx
ps - if you fancy joining our monthly ATC swap group just let me know, we'd love to have you.......you can find ATC Swap info here.
challenges
A is for Anything Goes at ABC Christmas Challenges
Anything Goes at PDE Linky Party
Anything Goes at Craft Your Passion
Christmas at Dream Valley
Anything Goes at A Snowflake's Promise

Tuesday 12 January 2016

Oooops......I did it again!!

Hi lovelies, how are you all today? Good, I hope.....sending hugs to anyone who wants them!
Now, you're not gonna believe this but I've only gone and done it again - I finished another x stitch! This was actually finished a good while ago then I noticed a mistake so had to unpick some of it but at least now it's finished again. Bit disappointed at how it looks in the photo but IRL it looks gorgeous......lovely lilacs & purples with a hint of green & lemon.
Rightio, off to make a cuppa & catch up with Emmerdale....ooh, the goings on in that village lol! 
See you tomorrow
xx

Monday 11 January 2016

Finished!

Good evening crafty friends & bloggers, hope you're all well.
Well, I've only been & gone & done it.......I finally finished some x stitch!
I love this, don't know what I'm gonna do with it but I got to say it's so satisfying finally
finishing something. Daren't think how long it's been stuck in a drawer but yay, it's 
done........ I'm on a roll now so watch this space!
xx

Sunday 10 January 2016

A little something for Sunday......

Hi crafty friends & bloggers, hope you're all well and had a lovely weekend!
Me? I'm never making plans again & the to-do list was out the window by about 10 am Saturday morning! Suffice to say I got sidetracked & ended up having a craft sort out.......as you do lol soooooooo I hope you don't think I'm being cheeky but I have a few goodies that need a new home.
There's a Papermania Craft Collection paper pack & a stamp set for starters, both unused, if you want them just leave me a comment. I'll leave it open til next Saturday then randomly pick out a name.
See you tomorrow!
xx

And the winner is........

Hello my crafty friends, hope you've all had a lovely weekend.
Just popping in to let you know the winner of my little giveaway last week......and the winner is......it's you **scrAPpamondo**
Congrats to you my crafty friend, if you email me your address I'll pop it in the post for you this week!
Thanks so much to all who commented on my little giveaway......keep watching cos there's more to come!
xx

Saturday 9 January 2016

Tag time!

Hi lovelies, hope you're all well & enjoying the weekend.
Another later than usual posting for me today, been one of those days when you never stop but don't seem to get much done....oh well, there's always tomorrow.
I have a tag to share today....I started with a blank tag then coloured columns of colour with my caran d'ache wax pastels then used a water brush to soften the edges. While it was still damp I rolled a kitchen roll over it to give a mottled, blotchy look. I stamped in black over it using a script stamp then used a clear embossing powder & heat embossed it. I added a die cut butterfly, words from Tim Holtz & lastly I added the huge bow......seam binding that I dyed black.
If anyone fancies swapping tags (cos I have way too many) just let me know....this one will be up for swap. Rightio, off for a quick cuppa then I better tidy my desk.
Thanks for calling......see you tomorrow.
xx
challenges
letters/numbers at Try it on Tuesday
anything goes at As You Like It
anything goes at PDE Linky Party


Friday 8 January 2016

Share an Oldie Friday!

Hi friends, happy Friday!
Do you have something nice planned for the weekend?
 I have a 'to-do' list a mile long so I'm hoping to try & work my way through that,,,,,and maybe squeeze in an hour (or 2) at my desk! 
Today being Friday means it's time to share an oldie with Erika over at Snappycrafts as she invites us to share our crafty makes. If you made it you can share it, simply pop on over to Erika's & leave her a comment to let her know. 
Today I'm sharing a little card I made using a stamp from the Greetings farm....Miss Anya all dressed up in her Winter finery.......wonder where she's going!
Rightio, better go do something constructive. Thanks for calling, have a lovely weekend.
xx

Thursday 7 January 2016

Dude!


Hey lovelies, hope you're all well.
I have a birthday card for a 'dude' to share tonight, almost exactly the same as one I made a couple years back for one of my boys. That one was in lime green & black.....this one though is in grey & black, looks a but dull here  but IRL it looks fab....I gave the chipboard verse a coat of distress crackle & oh my, it worked a treat! The paper is from Lellibot & I think the verse is from DCWV, they were both snippets from my bit box....and the little black words & letters are peel offs.....does anyone still use them? Not used mine for years but with a coating of black Copic they worked a treat.
Rightio, thanks for looking, I'm off up the apples & pears now.....night night.
xx

challenges
anything goes at 613 Avenue Create
anything but square at Cardz 4 Guyz
monochrome at Crafting for all Seasons
anything goes at The Male Room


Wednesday 6 January 2016

'Christmas' Atc's

Hi lovelies, hope you're all well.
Running a bit late today so I'll keep it short & sweet......just wanted to share the ATC's I made for my December swap. The theme was CHRISTMAS & I was on a mission to use up some gorgeous vintage scraps so I made the simplest of ATC's. Some simple layering, inky edges, some glitter for extra sparkle & white gel pen snow and that's it.....job done!
Thanks for calling......see you tomorrow.
xx

Tuesday 5 January 2016

Journal 52 week 1 - 'Peace'

Morning lovelies, hope you're all well.
 I'm joining in with Journal 52 again this year...... hopefully I'll get further than I did last year lol but you know what it's like when real life gets in the way. So the prompt for week 1 is 'Word of the Year'. An easy one for me as I'd already chosen the word PEACE....my house is full, like really full, full to bursting....there's me & my daughter, Rebecca.....and my 5 sons! I could easily have chosen the word smell cos with a chef, a mechanic, gym bags, rugby boots, aftershave, shaving gel (who knew that came in so many smells!) and the rest........you can imagine all the smells in my house! Add in Miss Rebecca's perfume, bath bombs, hair products, make up etc, there's definitely a journal page just waiting to be done! Anyway, I digress....last year was the toughest in a long time & I found myself forever searching for 5 minutes for me, a little piece of calm in all the chaos & chatter. Don't get me wrong, I love them all being home but heck, peace is hard to find! So this year I'm gonna try & find me some PEACE every single day....even if it's only 5 minutes.  For my page the idea was that in all the crazy madness of everyday life I would find my little piece of peace......and frame (enjoy) it! IRL the colours are much more vibrant, all the different shades of teal/blue show up much better but it's so dull here there's no way I could get a decent photo.
Rightio, I can hear that nasty housework calling.......wonder if I dare ignore it?
xx


Monday 4 January 2016

Favourite 5 of 2015

Hi crafty friends & bloggers, just popping in to link up with Debby & share my
favourite 5 cards of 2015.
My daughter's birthday card....so love Gorjuss.

A 'just because' card.....and freebie papers too!

I won a magazine challenge with this card.....and was published!

Who could resist that sad, sweet face?

And another 'just because' card.

Thanks for looking......see you tomorrow.
xx

Sunday 3 January 2016

Favourite 5 Christmas Cards 2015

Morning friends, Debby has invited us to share our 5 favourite Christmas cards of 2015. I didn't make as many as I thought but thankfully I had enough......just!
Here's my 5:
My favourite colours...and I love setting everything off with black!
Definitely a bit fussy & fancy but great fun to make!
Another favourite colour combo.

The papers on this were all freebies!
Quick & easy.....but oh, so cute!

So that's my 5 for 2015......not gonna be that long before we start for 2016!!
Thanks for looking.
xx



Saturday 2 January 2016

Something New with Crafty Calendar!

Hi crafty friends....happy Saturday!
Just popping on to share my Dt make for the new challenge over at Crafty 
Calendar where the theme is SOMETHING NEW!
I decided this year that rather than make cards that I don't always need I'm gonna make mini scrap albums for each Dt I'm on.....so that's my new! For my 1st page I used the Cool
 Dudes image from All Dressed Up....everything else came from a bit box full of Christmas/Winter bits & pieces........so I got to use up some stash too!
As usual, any & all makes are acceptable just so long as you stick to the theme &
we have 2 fabulous sponsors:
All Dressed Up are offering our winner 2 of their fab digi images
.

Wild Orchid Crafts are giving a £10 gift voucher...you'll be spoilt for choice!
You have until January 28th to enter & if you're low on inspiration please pop
over to the Crafty Calendar blog & check out the fabulous Dt makes.....hope to see you there!
xx

challenges
Winter blues at 2 Crafty Girls
Y is for your choice at ABC Challenge
anything goes at Paper Creator's Crafts

Friday 1 January 2016

ATC Swap 2016!


Hi crafty friends, hope you're all well.

I can't believe we're at the start of a brand new year of ATC swaps, the last year has
flown past & I now have a gorgeous collection of fabulous ATC's......and I can't wait
to do it all again this year! In fact I'm so excited I made a new badge! Hope you like it &
 will pop it on your blog with a link back to mine.

So this month the theme is BOOK PRINT ......any way, any how, any technique just
so long as it's ATC size of 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches.

You get to make & send me 4 & once everyone's arrive I'll send you back 4.....and if
 you could enclose a stamped addressed envelope that would be great!
Don't forget to leave me a comment to let me know you're in..........and so's I know
to watch our for Postie.

Have fun!
xx






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