Its beginning to look a lot like....

HALLOWEEN!!

ha - you thought I was going to say Christmas didn't you! ....  I've had a day off from from christmas & embraced Halloween!..  I wanted to make something just for fun - a play day - and sometimes they are good days to have - however busy you may be - it clears the mind and something can always be learned from playing & experimenting...

There's been a halloween project idea buzzing around in my head for a while and it all came together this year - its not a big project... and after visiting a couple of places I got the inspiration I needed to put it in motion...

Inspiration 1:  While I was at Birds in the Barn the other weekend I was inspired by the papers Sue had used on her beautiful projects - the lovely Graphic45 Steampunk Spells papers...

I bought an 8x8in pack and brought it home... and looked at it... and looked at it some more - there's so much on the papers its hard to know which elements to use :o(  luckily there's 2 of each design in a pad.

Earlier in the year I used the outside of a configuration box to make this project:

which meant I had lots of little boxes from inside left over, empty, waiting to be made into something or thrown away (and believe me I was very close to throwing them away!)... I happened to visit France Papillon's blog (while following a link for something else) and she'd used the same left over boxes to create a little hinged box....(thats Inspiration 2)
This was perfect for what I had in mind - little boxes to fill with spooky stuff and using up the now-frankly-just-getting-in-the-way-&-cluttering-up-the-place boxes.  Bingo!
It looks like a mini trunk! (and we know how much I love a trunk... or two..)

I painted 2 boxes black, covered them with Graphic45 papers added a (surprising fragile) closure (I broke 2!!!)...
Here is the finished project - which surprisingly doesn't have any stamping on it! shock-horror!! none at all...

This is the front:

The hinge is a Tim Holtz pieces, the black elements are 'gold scrap' from my stash.. and the arms are from a skeleton I bought in Asda last year.. (Inspiration 3:  Asda - its a great place for Halloween bits and pieces...)

The back:

.. has one of my favourite images - the cat - taken from a French Art Nouveau poster (Chat Noir cabaret?).. and because we have a slinky black cat :o)

The sides:

This is what I like about the papers - lots of different size versions of the same images - perfect for my little box 'trunk'

Inside things aren't quite so pretty..... mmmwaaaahhahahaaa (thats my evil halloween laugh!)

In one section there is a cobweb covered scull, and in the other is a spell, a bottle of potion and a spider... I wanted the trunk to look as if it hadn't been opened for a long time so I added 'cobwebs'... The black 'ironwork' in the top right hand corner is more black goldscrap - so glad I remembered I had a bag of this is several colours - this is why I buy 'stuff' when I see it - you never know when you might need it!)...
(and the cobweb 'material' is THE most evil element on the whole project - it sticks to EVERYTHING but not always what its supposed to!... evil I tell you!  Use at your peril! lol)

So there you are... definitely NOT a christmas project!

Deck the halls...

... with branches of baubles.. falalala laaaaaa lalala laaaaaaa

This is a simple card made for the demo day at the Craft Barn a few weeks ago - finally got around to blogging it!

Another shocker! only one stamp set used!

If I made this card again I would possibly 3d mount the tree and some of the bauble to add a bit of texture/dimension....and colour in some of those stars around the edges (liberal use of stickles - well it is christmas, and christmas expects sparkle! lol)

xx

We three trees of JOFYland are.....

.... stood in a row on quite a big caaaaaard.....

ahem, quite enough of that methinks...

This card is created using  JOFY20 - what?! I only used ONE stamp set! shocker!! lol

I love stamping the tree image onto different kinds of papers - great for tying in with a particular colour scheme - and it can be blinged up as required or left plain as below..

I've taught this 'technique' in a couple of classes - its so simple and yet so effective..  & we all love a bit of that don't we?!

Here come Santa Claus...

... and this year he's taking his boots off at the door (or should that be at the chimney???)..

('hohoho' is from Dovecraft, papers are EchoPark/CartaBella(?), buttons are from my never-decreasing-stash! lol)

I think my new craft 'addiction' may be spotted paper! big, small, varied - love them all! lol
its a happy little pattern and on the card above its suitably festive.

The Holly and the Ivy....

...  ready for christmas crafting... & on JM28 they're much less prickly than the real thing!

Its a useful stamp, great for backgrounds or for motifs on cards and projects:

(fyi: 'joy' is by Dovecraft, snowflakes are Tando)

Something to tap your toes to...

I love a bit of Robbie Williams...

.. and I love a Big Band Swing tune...

so you can imagine how happy this makes me!  Enjoy!

Presents, Gifts, Parcels....

.... what ever you want to call them...

JM30 is fast becoming a favourite of my 2013 JOFY stamps (but sssshhh don't tell the others)

I like to stamp it onto 3 types of papers, painting the details:

.... cut them apart and mix up the piles (bit of simple paper-piecing) - makes them more interesting:

.. and add them to card blanks with various layouts and greetings/stamps - quick'n'easy   :o)  The corner sentiment on the left hand card is from JOFY03, centre sentiment is from JOFY19, and the snowflake border is JM07

(the eagle-eyed among you may notice that the presents on the cards aren't the same as the ones in the top two photos but its the same technique/process)

Great way to create a few cards co-ordinated cards with minimal supplies (and effort) which is sometimes what we need at christmas isn't it.

(always happy to help)

So much Christmas... so little time!!....

... phew.. its been a busy few weeks.. christmas is all over the place.. the crafting shops have been stocking it for a while but now its creeping into the department stores...

Leader of the pack is Primark - or Premarche as we like to say here in Essex lol - with some fab christmas sweaters - this is my choice - and at £12 its cheap'n'cheerful festive fun!  and its has bells and sequins!!! purrrfect.. get it? cat.. purrfect?! oh nevermind
hohoho

I've been running a few workshops.. at Birds in the Barn where it was christmas workshops one day and summery the next:
Here is one of the cards from the class (lighting fail on the other photos I took!)(note to self - pack camera!!):

The 'summery' class was the triptych- the class was quite small but it was great as the attendees had time to play with colour options (Denise's on the right, Deb's on the left):

.... and here are the lovely ladies with their finished triptychs:

They created lovely finished pieces - the black/white polka dot washi tape is really dramatic with the purple flowers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

... and I've just returned from another weekend in Warwickshire at Pink Tulip Creations... where I taught a lovely Christmas themed weekend!
Thanks to everyone at Pink Tulip for their help and for being such a fab group, and thanks to all the lovely ladies that came along... some dressed ready for christmas:

(if you would like to know what your elf name is (that's what the above label says!) go here ... and from 01st December you can call me Puddin'-Sparkely-Toes!  (hubby is Twinkle Sugar Socks! lol  LOVE!)

Saturday was a card workshop - cards created included this one made using the Sizzix Accordion Album Flip die - such a clever-effective-simple die! I can see me using this A LOT! lol

On Sunday the group created a wooden box frame - its so festive!! it has presents, a sleigh, snowflakes, a christmas tree - the only thing missing is Father Christmas! lol

.. and finally here are some (not all) cards created for the two classes at Birds in the Barn and Pink Tulip...

Hopefully everyone left inspired & geared up for christmas crafting...  especially as the perky christmas app on my phone tells me that its only 65 days..... #justsayin'  #don'tshootthemessenger

xx

Brace yourselves.. I'm going to mention....

CHRISTMAS!!!!

80 days 'til the big man in the red suit squeeeeezes down your chimney!... & I'm only mentioning this to help you avoid the rush in December!
... and so to help I'll be running the first of my christmas workshops this weekend.

I'll ease you into it gently with a card workshop... if you want a bit of JOFY christmas on your cards then come along to Birds in the Barn on Friday 11 October - morning or afternoon session...call the shop to book a place..

but if you're really not quite ready to embrace christmas just yet then come along on Saturday when I'll be running a much more summery workshop:

Look forward to seeing you!

A fun filled weekend...

... full of arty-craftiness..

Saturday was spent at The Craft Barn as one of the demonstrators for a festive MiniFest - was good fun - lots of people came and watched the demos - lovely to see everyone....  and thanks for all the lovely comments about the new Christmas JOFY stamps.
If you fancy a day of card making using the stamps then come along to the Craft Barn on 10 November - call the shop for more details.
ho ho ho!

(Please remember:  designs shown in demos are to inspire & encourage you to get crafty.

please don't recreate for classes or projects for publication online or in print. ta muchly)

I'll blog better photos of the samples in another post.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sunday I ran a workshop at Its Crafting Time - 'Sun, Sea & Sand'.. a fun day - nice to see everyone.. and one of the lovely ladies bought some VERY yummy bakes! too yummy! Thanks for that! (yum yum yum)

Lots of lovely beach huts were painted by everyone (and 2 of the ladies gave the sand on their project a 'pebble' effect because that's what their local beach has, instead of sand - love the effect they created):

Thanks to everyone for coming along!

What better way is there to spend a weekend!

xx

A colourful bit of this and that....

Several days of last week were spent making samples for The Craft Barn demo day on saturday but I also had a few cards to make to send to family and friends - 2 of our nephews had birthdays (on consecutive days!) during the week...
I used one of my favourite 'go-to' stamps for boys - he's such a dude!  from Stampotique.

Happy there was a number '10' on this Bingo card - perfect for the card! Love it when things come together like that. 

The cards are both on a theme.. but different... lots of splashed ink, resisted layers, and boyish colours....

I've just run a distress ink workshop and I think the techniques are still running around in my head because all the cards I've made recently have been influenced by that.. here's a couple of 'thank you' cards I made:  LOVE how they turned out...

(apologies for the weird angle of the photo!) The colours were really quite vivid - Wild Honey & Picked Raspberry Distress Ink (with a touch of Barn Door)... hot pink & orange - LOVE!

... and finally a quick photo of a late arrival in our garden - I do love Dahlias - such 'juicy' flowers! The petals of the flower are orange/pink in the centre fading to yellow - its just gorgeous and I've managed to keep it safe from the slugs (I'll take a picture of how and post it on here tomorrow - such a simple idea!)

I bought the plant at the Hampton Court Flower Show, really pleased it has flowered this year.

... and last but not least... I have a couple of Japenese Kokeshi dolls which I love.. and when I was at 'Its Crafting Time on sunday I noticed a box on a shelf - a 'paint your own' Kokeshi doll kit!!!!! OMG!!! I could paint a JOFY one!!!!! How cool would that be!!

Here they are (with my 2 dolls) - lovely plain wooden blanks - just waiting for a bit of Fresco Finish, a JOFY stamp or 2....  made me very happy to find these! lol

(I'm itching to paint them but I have to be good and clear my 'to-do' list first....)

xx