Night Owl...or an early bird?

It's 05.30 in the morning and I can't sleep. So here I am at last on my blog... long time no see.

I seem to have been making Christmas cards forever and needed a change of scene so that's why I've chosen my owl card. I drew this picture may years ago and have now made it into a stamp and I like the results especially when I can use the paper piecing technique. The stamp set is on the Woodware label of course and can be found at The Glitter Pot and other Woodware stockists (I hope!).

Christmas card making classes this year have been a very busy affair and it seems you all like my Bubble Wreath set. When customers come to my classes and show me the cards they have made (Clarissa, has done loads!) I am so impressed and just when I think I can't teach another class I look at these cards and say 'Jane, I just love everybody on my classes and must continue!" So I'm already planning next years dates at The Glitter Pot right up to September 2011 (do I get a holiday please?).

My last class of the year at The Glitter Pot is on December 11th and we go out with a festive flourish of boxes, tags and such for Christmas. I'm also planning a fun lunch that day too. We had one last year and everybody brought something to eat and shared it so I hope you will join me again on the 11th.

Must get back to finishing next summer's stamp designs once it's daylight! So watch this space.

Have a Heart hang up card

I know it's been a while....but here I am at my computer, the sun is just coming up and I've been up since 4.00 am, too many things on my mind with thoughts about cards to make and ideas to get down on paper. I have just come back from a wonderful day up in Kendal with Grosvenor Papers. The craft shop there is wonderful and I just love the girls who work there, they always look after me so well. I was demonstrating my new Christmas stamps which you can now see on the Woodware web site.

This photo is not Christmas I know but a new idea I have for making large 'hang up' cards. This heart is from a template I drew and it's about 20cm across. We made this card at The Glitter Pot last week or was it two weeks ago (time flies when you are having fun!). I cut up strips of patterned papers 2cm wide and long enough to cover the width of the card. My colour theme was green and chose a real mix of papers with texture, glitter and embossed finishes.

I also used some of Tim Holtz's crackle paint and painted a large Bazzill flower for the centre piece. I really like the paint effect but it does take several hours to dry. Try it on chipboard, grundgeboard or just about anything that has a bit of body to it. You can spritz it with distress inks after it has dried to emphasise the cracks a bit more.

The wording is from my Essential Birthdays stamp set JGCL519 by Woodware. This can be found on The Glitter Pot web site.

For the Demonstration weekend at The Glitter Pot on the 4th and 5th September I'm going to make some other shapes of 'hang up' cards perfect for Christmas using some of my new sets. So see you there, don't forget to bring your cameras, there will be lots of very clever and inspiring people at the demo weekend and you won't want to miss a thing.

Things you can do with a scallop circle....

I made this card some weeks ago at The Glitter Pot, and I've only just got round to putting it on my blog! How lazy am I. Actually, I've been very busy creating some more Christmas stamp designs and then making up the samples. They should be in the shops by early August or if we are lucky end of July. I was making the samples during that amazing heat wave we had three weeks ago, it was 28-30 degrees here in West Sussex - I think that was summer.

Back to the card... you need three different sized round scallop punches or dies, closed tweezers, a medium daisy punch, a large daisy punch, patterned paper/card (which ever goes through your punch), contrasting ink pads and PVA glue.

Punch one circle from each punch and two from the smallest punch, (you now have four circles) edge all the circles with an ink pad. Cut the circles into half, then quarters, then eighths. Holding the shape from the scallop end uppermost in the closed tweezers, roll it around the tweezer till it spirals. Take it out of the tweezer and repeat to all the shapes.

Punch four daisies from same paper. Stick the curled shapes from the point onto a daisy petal. You will now have eight shapes per daisy. You have to keep the differently sized circles together on one daisy. Make up four daisies. Put one inside the other using PVA glue. Shape the large daisy to fit in the middle. And there you are - a fabulous flower for your card.

Weekend at Craft Range

Just got back from a teaching a brilliant Floral Punch Craft workshop to 15 gorgeous ladies in Burnley, Lancashire at Craft Range. Not only was I treated like royalty, I had great fun too. I stayed with Deb and Mick and on my last day looked out of my bedroom window to see two deer walking casually round the front garden.

The shop is full of wonderful things and some very inspiring samples. The staff are lovely especially Janet who looked after me most of the time. She is a very talented lady and gave me some great ideas for card making and products to buy!!

I hope to be going back there in October to teach another FPC class. So if you are in the area why not pay them a visit and come and make some paper flowers.

A bouquet of roses

I've just finished a wedding card for a friend's son's wedding in a weeks time. Although the roses didn't take long to make, I had such trouble getting my layout right!!!! Wedding cards are so personal, especially those made by hand for a very special person in your life.

The brides bouquet is to be a hand tied posy of cream, pale pink and pale apricot old fashioned roses. I wanted it to reflect that and keep the card simple. So a large cream base card was made. I created a flat, wide hinge on the fold on the left of the card, covered it with a Magenta vellum which was held in place with a cream ribbon and an adhesive behind the rose posy.

The circles a die cut from cream and pale green card. All the leaves were punched and then stamped onto a leaf stamp to create the realistic veins, they were then shaped and added to my arrangement. I was pretty pleased with the result and my friend loved it. I hope the bride loves it too! I enjoyed making it.

New Zealand rain forest....

On my last class at The Glitter Pot we used peel offs - not a product I use a lot but these Magenta leaves are rather special. We peeled all the leaves off the backing sheet and stuck them onto pale coloured vellum, such as pink or yellow. We then sat around chatting while we cut the leaves out right up to the peel off edge. To give the leaves some movement, they were placed on a moulding mat and we used a floral punch craft tool to curl them. After the base card was decorated and covered in suitable pattered paper, we applied a nice big blob of silicone glue and took each leaf, starting with the biggest, and arranged them in a (nearly) circle pushing the end of the leaf into the glue. We finished with the smaller leaves and some seed beads in the middle. As you can see, the effect is stunning and the flowers are great made with either copper, gold or silver peel offs.

Cutting the leaves out is not too tricky, just take your time and do what I do, sit in the garden on a nice sunny day with your ready stuck leaves on the vellum and snip away. It took me half an hour to cut out one sheet of peel off leaves.

I know you would much rather see a photo of my latest card...but I must share a couple of holiday piccies with you. I had such a great time in New Zealand and have been very inspired and rather obsessed with leaves, trees and dark, damp places! This photo is of the wonderful New Zealand fern taken from above...I just love the green.

I know you would much rather see a photo of my latest card...but I must share this photo with you. I had such a great time in New Zealand and have been very inspired and rather obsessed with leaves, trees and dark, damp places! This photo is of the wonderful New Zealand fern taken from above...I just love the green. I have lots more...but won't bore you now. On the long flight out to NZ, I designed my Christmas stamps which are now be made in the US. Can't wait to get my hands on them and I hope that you will like them when they come out in August (we hope).

Shoe shop at The Glitter Pot

Following my class last week where we made shoes at the lovely Glitter Pot. I thought it only fitting that I take a photo of all the shoes we made, and don't they make a wonderful picture?

We had a lovely day and everybody said the class was very relaxing, even Gill thought so too! I love to see Gill on my classes. Always news about her sheep and her fabulous photos to look at. I'm sure she has been enjoying Lambing Live on BBC 2 this week.

We also made a fridge card and a pretty box to put it in. It makes a perfect and unusual card.

I'm off on my hols soon, going to New Zealand and I can't wait. Must buy some Ugg boots and take loads of photos. Missing you all already.

Have planned lots of new classes for my return in April so look forward to seeing you all soon at The Glitter Pot. Meanwhile keeeeeeeeeep stamping!