John Next Door Christmas Stamps with Matching Dies

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How was your weekend? We had a quiet time at home. Being retired we do try to get out and about during the week and stay home catching up on things at the weekend. Of course the weekend it is a good time to see our daughter and son-in-law. 

Here are my makes for the One Day Special on the Craft Store. I used the Snowfall and Deerland stamp and die duos. There are lots of pictures in this post. 

Using the Snowfall die and stamp duo. 

Using the Deerland dies from the die and stamp duo with the Alphabet stencil dies. 

I just love the stag's head and the snowflakes. 

More snowflakes. I did do some foiling with my Kaleido. 

Can you see the snowflakes in this one? The stags are magnificent. 

They are lovely stamps and dies to work with. Having the added option to foil the stamps is a real treat. 

Here are all the cards together. I really didn't get long to make these. I thought I had until 10th August. In the end they were needed on 24th July. That's one reason why the cards aren't very inventive. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

The July Challenge at the Rudolph Days Challenge blog

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Happy Birthday Card for Sam

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

Well the weekend is nearly here. It doesn't make much difference at the moment does it? My hubby and I do try to have a plan for most days. We have found that the days go better when we have a plan. Our neighbour over the road has ten chickens and we have been enjoying the eggs which is brilliant. Our next door neighbour's daughter is a doctor and she has tested positive for the virus. It must be such a worrying time for them. We must all do our bit and stay home as much as we can.

There is a competition on the Crafting with John Next Door and Crafts-Too Facebook group to make a birthday card for Sam. His birthday is at the beginning of May. Now I had made him a card. In fact it is the only thing I have made this week. I have entered the challenge so I thought I would share the card on my blog too.

I started by making the background with the Tartan Stripe Stencil from the John Next Door range. I extended the range of the stencil easily. 

This Happy Birthday die is one from Creative Expressions. 

I used the large Champagne Bottle dies set from the John Next Door range to make the bottle and the stars. It was a bit tricky getting the angle of the bottle right with the corner of the card. 

I have said before that I am Doodling along with Barbara Gray at 10:00 am very weekday. This one took four days to complete. I am very pleased with it. 

I keep wanting to sketch things. I never thought I would be able to do draw like this.

I hope Sam likes this card. I will be posting it soon as the post seems to be taking a long time in some cases. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Challenge 189 at the Seize the Birthday Challenge Blog

Challenge 243 at the Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge blog

Stay safe and well. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Feel Better Soon Card

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How are you all doing? Are you managing to get everything you need? We are fine we even did a bit of shopping last week for  two older couples who aren't going out . The delivery slots are so difficult to get. We have told them to get in touch if they need anything else. On a positive note I have managed to get Attendance Allowance for both of my parents. My mum gets the higher rate and my dad the lower. The payments were backdated to when I phoned up and asked for the forms. Every little helps.

I don't know if you are like me but I am finding it very difficult to craft at the moment. If I do manage to make something I am usually not very pleased with it.

A little while ago I made this little feel better card.

I seached through my scrap box and found this background made with Distress Oxides that I had never used.

The banner was cut from a scrap of white glitter card. Both the banner and the sentiment are Crafter's Companion dies. 

The splats/fireworks are the stamen from the Cornflower die from the John Next Door range. I have found that if you layer a 2½ wide strip across the middle of the die you get two small flowers and all the stamen. Because of this I had lots of stamen left over (I still have). I do like how they look on the card. 

Is anyone else doing Barbara Gray's SHAC-Shack? It is at 10:00 every week day on Facebook. You sketch along with Barbara for an hour. I have done all of them and I can't believe what I have doodled so far. I have learnt so many tips and techniques already. The films are on YouTube as well. 

I would like to enter the following challenges: 

Challenge 375 at Pixie's Snippets Playground

Stay safe and well.

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Mother's Day card with a Window and Kitties

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I hope you had a good weekend and are ready for the week ahead. We visited our daughter and son-in-law on Sunday. We shared a meal together and then we viewed houses. The house they are interested in is very nice. There is a lot to do before they will get there. I do hope it works out for them. Of course we will help as much as we can. Already we have taken away some bits to take to the charity shop. As for me I am spending a lot of time sorting out things for my parents. I don't seem to be getting so much time to craft.  For that reason I might not be blogging as much. Though blogging does seem to be a dying art. What are your thoughts?

Here is the Mother's Day card I have made for my Mother-in-law she always likes the cards that I make.

I made the brick background with a stencil and Distress Oxides. 

I used a Spellbinders die to make the label. 

The window box die set is from Creative Expressions. I have had it for a while. The flowers were cut in white card and coloured with Promarkers. I had fun looking through my scraps to make all the little bits for this card. The ivy die is a John Next Door die. 

The cat die came from Crafter's Companion it was in the Advent Calendar. 

Mother's Day really isn't too far away. We will be visiting our parents the day before which is good because we can deliver the cards and gifts. On the actual day we have afternoon tea booked with our daughter and son-in-law and his parents. I am so looking forward to that. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Challenge 373 at Pixie's Snippets Playground

Challenge 39 at Crafting with Happiness Challenges (Anything Goes)

Have a great week. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Beccy's Place - Cottage Garden Clear Stamp Set

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? The schools are going back round here this week. This will make things a bit quieter when I go out for my walks. It is definitely starting to feel like Autumn now.

I was very lucky and Beccy sent me the Cottage Garden Clear Stamp set to make some samples with. This is available HERE.  Beccy does ship worldwide but there is also a  Digi set of these images available HERE. 

I started off by making lots of backgrounds using the smaller stamps and some Distress Oxides. For the main image on this card I embossed the stamp with gold embossing powder. Then I used Distress Oxides to paint the image this gave me more control over where the colours went. 

I used much the same method with this image. 

If you click on the logo you will be taken to the post featuring my cards. 

With this card I embossed the stamp with white embossing powder. I used the resist technique to colour the image. With the urn I lifted some of the colour with water to give a paler colour. 

Just a little card using one of the other stamps in the set. 

I also made a tag. The tag die set came from the works. 

Here are all my cards together. I do like these colours. I don't do much stamping now but I did enjoying getting inky and messy making these cards. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Weaving with Snippets

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? I have a busy week this week and on Thursday we are going away so that we can attend my uncles 85th Birthday lunch that he is organising himself. Today I will be helping at a Felting Workshop I think we are making bags.

When I made my thank you cards back in January I created background papers for them with Distress Oxides. I made the papers  a bit bigger than I needed. When the backgrounds were trimmed down there were small inky strips left over. Being  me I had to save them they just couldn't go to waste. So until now they have sat in a box waiting to be used. I saw a demo from Maria at Clarity stamps and she was weaving with strips of paper. I just had to have a go.

This is just a small card in fact just 4" x 4". I used the Gerbera Dies Square Background die, from the John Next Door range,  to create a pretty aperture. Then on the reverse of the aperture I stuck double sided tape. I only removed the top of the tape from two adjacent sides. Then I stuck strips going down along one side. Finally I used the remaining strips to weave the background. Once I had finished I exposed the rest of the sticky and stuck the ends down. All the ends were trimmed so they didn't show. 

You can see the detail of the weaving behind the Thanks die. 

I added some of the butterflies cut with the Small Butterflies die set from the John Next Door range. 

I do like to have a few thank you cards in my stash you never know when someone will be kind and you will need one. 

I would like to enter the following challenges: 

Challenge 348 at Pixie's Snippets Playground

Enjoy the rest of the week

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Woodware Tatty Daises and Distress Oxides.

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? I am glad the snow has gone. In fact our snow had disappeared by Friday evening. On Sunday we got to meet our four month old great niece. She is a little sweetie and we did get a few cuddles. It is so nice to have a baby in the family.

Sometime ago I made a panel using Distress Oxides and the Tatty Daisies stamp from Woodware. It has been lying around on my craft desk for ages. I have finally made it into a card. It is amazing what you find when you have a tidy up.

I know the background is made with blended Distress Oxides that was then flicked with water to make the spots. 

I can't remember if I stamped and embossed before I added the Distress Oxides to the paper or after. I did use water to remove some of the colour from the flowers and then I painted them with Pixie Powers made into a paint with water. 

The sentiment came from one of my sets of images from Beccy's Place. I had printed it and die cut it some time ago. 

This will be a nice flat card for posting. I really am trying not to make so many dimensional cards this year. The postage costs are prohibitive. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Enjoy the rest of the week. 

Happy Crafting 

Hugs Jackie

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Thank You with Flowers and Butterflies

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends

How is your week going? Are things back to normal for you now? Round here the children go back to school on Monday so they have a few more days to enjoy. My husband is back at work and I am slowly getting the house back to normal. I am hoping to have a big sort out this weekend. All the bits we have for Christmas have got a bit out of hand.

What do you need when you have had lots of lovely presents? Why thank you cards of course. So once I had got my craft desk sorted out after its Christmas move I was able to start crafting again.

I started by making a background with my Distress Oxides. I used watercolour card and lots of colours. I used lots of dies from the John Next Door range designed by John Lockwood. starting with  the stitched edge dies from the Snowflake background die set to make the two mats. I cut the Gerbera Square Frame die in dark purple. 

This thanks die  (from Crafter's Companoion)  cut from the waste  from  middle of the of the Square Frame die. 

I cut the flowers and leaves with the Gerbera Flower and Star Flowers dies all from a sheet of patterned pape with a white background. I changed the colour with Distress Ink. The butterflies were cut with the Small Butterfly die set. 

I did enjoy making this card. I need quite a few thank you cards so the rest will probably be a bit more simple. 

I would like to enter the following challenges: 

Challenge 152 at the Through the Purple Haze Challenge blog. 

Challenge 47 at the Crafting with Attitude Challenge blog

Challenge 83 at the A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge blog

Challenge 87 at the Cardz 4 Galz Challenge blog

Challenge 563 at the Cute Card Thursday Challenge blog

Challenge 114 at the Butterfly Challenge blog, using Imperial Purple, Die-cuts and butterflies. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Sent with Love

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I hope you had a good weekend and are ready to face the week ahead. This one will be a bit of a busy one for me. I will be helping with two Felting Workshops. Hopefully I will be making a purse at one of them. We visited the Royal Berkshire County Show at the Newbury Showground on Saturday. It was a good day the weather helped and there was so much to see and do. We even started our Christmas shopping. On Sunday we visited my parents who a constant source of worry. 

Last week I made a wedding card using these flowers and these colours. I had a lot of flowers  left over so I decided to made another card using them.  

As you know I have been struggling to craft. With John Next Door's Gerbera flower die you can make so many flowers so quickly in six different sizes. On the wedding card I used the smaller flowers. When the wedding is past I will share that card with you. The colours I used here are the colours of the wedding. I do think they go together very well. The background was created with one of the 3D embossing folders from Crafter's Companion. To bring out the detail I used Distress Oxide. 

This sentiment comes with the Small Butterfly die set from John Next Door. I think it is a lovely sentiment and I will be using it a lot. 

Here you can see the detail of the flowers I shaped them and added a pearl to each of the centres. The leaves were cut with the Star Flower Leaves die set from John Next Door. 

I think the butterflies made with these dies are really pretty. 

I was very pleased with how this card came out. I am not quite sure who I am going to send it to yet. I don't think it will stay in my stash for long. 

Have a great week. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Challenge 251 at Jo's Scrap Shack

Challenge 92 at the Crafty Friends Challenge blog

The Emboss Challenge at the Daring Cardmakers Challenge blog

Challenge 73 at the Crafting with Friends Challenge blog

Challenge 90 at the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge blog

Challenge 8 at the Creative Crafters Challenge blog

Challenge 220 at the Crafting for the Heart Challenge blog

Challenge 76 at the A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge blog

Challenge 141 at the Let's Craft and Create Challenge blog

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Not Just Cards Challenge blog - September Challenge

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? I got a bit confused and I didn't expect to be back so soon. The new challenge starts today  on the Not Just Cards Challenge blog and the theme is as always Anything Goes.

A few people we know have moved house recently and the free gift that came with Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine a few months ago was has been very useful.

I used a stencil and Distress Oxides to create the background. 

Why not join our challenge? They are always Anything Goes. Click on the logo and you will be taken there. 

The aperture and frame were cut with the Double Pierced circle dies by Creative Expressions. I used Pebeo gilding wax to add some interest to the frame. The house was cut with the dies that came free with the magazine. The background in the circle is one I created with ink and surgical spirit on shiny card. 

I added gilding wax to the sentiment. 

This was the first new home card that was sent out. In fact I should really make another one soon. 

Enjoy the rest of the week. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

The September Card Challenge at the Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge blog

Challenge 141 at the Let's Craft and Create Challenge blog

The Dies and or Punches Challenge at the Crafty Sentiments Designs Challenge blog

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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