CAS Butterfly

It’s Tuesday and I’m back to share another card with you made from products from the J & C Creations shop. This rather gorgeous Penny Black stamp is so pretty that I decided piling on the embellishments (as I’m wont to do!) would be unnecessary, the focus should be be the butterfly, don’t you agree? So I’ve left my card Clean & Simple and let the image do the talking! If you pop over to the shop there is a fantastic 25% off this stamp at the moment along with lots more bargains to be had.

Products from J & C Creations
Penny Black Slapstick/cling stamp - ‘Soft Wings’
Tim Holtz distress ink pad - ‘Victorian Velvet’
Ribbon
Pearls
Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder - ‘True White’
Dies used: Spellbinders ‘Ovals’ & ‘Floral Ovals’

Challenges:
'Not Cute' - Sweet Stampin

Natx

Pretty in Purple

Hi everyone, wow, Tuesday’s come round so fast! This is the first of 2 posts today and my second post for the J & C Creations Blog. I have a card to share which – apart from the card blank – is made entirely of products from the J & C Creations shop. This is ‘Dawn’ by Nellie Snellen, isn’t she sweet!? Not all the products are on the website, but if you give the girls a ring, they will be able to help you. If, however you are lucky like me to live close by, why not pop into the warehouse and have a nose?

All from J & C Creations shop

Image - ‘Dawn 02’ – Nellie Snellen coloured with Promarkers
Card – Coredinations
Pearls paper & ribbon
Dies used: SB ‘Leafy Squares’

Challenges:
’Anything Goes’ – I ♥ Promarkers
'Anything Goes' - The Hobby House

Thanks for looking
Natx

Bildmalarna Bargain

Morning everyone! 

I had some sad news recently - the J & C Creations challenge has closed. It's not all bad news for me though as I will continue to make cards for the warehouse and have been asked to post them on the J & C Creations Blog once a week. So, today I would like to share a card I made recently using a Bildmalarna stamp. These stamps are so sweet and are a dream to colour. J & C have absolutely loads to choose from and at half price you can afford to bag a bargain (or 2, or 3, lol!) I have used one of my favourite Spellbinder dies to make a gatefold card with a difference using a fab tutorial from Beccy's Place which I used a while ago and just absolutely love!

Products from J & C Creations
’Bildmalarna ‘Sitting Mimosa’ stamp coloured with Promarkers
Double-sided paper
Pearls

Other products
Chalks (around image)
Ribbon - Joanna Sheen
Dies used: SB 'Labels 25' & 'Tags'

Challenges:
'Shaped Cards' - Whimsy Stamps Inspirations
'Happy Birthday' - Divas By Design
'Cute' - Stampin For The Weekend 

Thanks for looking
Natx

Armed Forces Challenge at J & C Creations

Today is the start of a new challenge at J & C Creations and this month we want to see projects inspired by anything to do with the Armed Forces. There is a £20 J & C Creations voucher up for grabs to the lucky winner!

Well, I really panicked when I saw the theme for this challenge, no chance of cute ‘n’ cuddly, pink & frilly for this one, lol! I decided to go for browns & greens, but didn’t have a clue what image I would use and then Denise at J & C found this fantastic stamp set for me, talk about perfect! So, apart from my clouds being a little faint, I was really pleased how my tag came out!

Items from J & C Creations

Clouds, planes, fields & quote – Hobby Art ‘Flypast’ stamp set
Green card –Coredinations
Brown card
Ribbon
’Tumbled Glass’ distress ink pad – Tim Holtz
White embossing powder
The tag was cut from card using a chipboard shape as a template

Challenges:

’O’s & X’s’ – Crafty Bloggers Network (ribbon/sentiment/tag)
’Shaped But Not Square’ – Anything Goes
’No Squares Allowed’ – Dream Valley
’Makes For Men’ – That Craft Place

Thanks for looking!

Natx

Hug A Friend Day – 26th April

Today's card is another one for the J & C Creations calendar. 

26th of April is celebrated each year to cherish the feelings of love and understanding among friends. 

Hug a friend day is rejoiced with enthusiasm and affection, especially among the youth. For those people who are in struggling phases of their lives, having piles of official work and other businesses, this day provides an excuse to let their old pals know that you still love and care for them. Think about the difference that a single hug would make to your friend’s day or even life, and go on to spend this commendable day with your friends. You don’t have to think hard to do something special to celebrate, just hug your friends.

When I saw this Penny Black stamp I knew it would be perfect for this card!

Items from J & C Creations

Stamp – ‘Squeeze Til I Squeak’ – Penny Black coloured with Promarkers
Double sided paper – Best Creations
Ribbon & pearl
Dies used: SB ‘Heart Circles’, ‘Classic Circles’ ‘Tags’ & ‘Floral Doily Accent’ & Heartfelt Creations ‘Daisy Patch’

Other Items

Cream card & brad from stash

Challenges:
‘Blossoms & Bows’ – Penny Black & More @ Allsorts
’Bingo’ – Catch The Bug (ribbon/glitter/pearl)
’Use Circles’ – Whoopsi Daisy
'A Square Card With Something Round On It' - I ♥ Promarkers
'Die-cuts And/Or Punches' - Stampin For The Weekend
'Bingo' - Love To Create (flowers/die-cuts/ribbon)

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Humorous Day - 19th April

Today's card is another one for the J & C Calendar and is for 'Humorous Day'. Founded in 1976 by Larry Wilde the intent of the ‘Humorous Day’ is to focus on how  the "therapeutic value of laughter can improve health, boost morale, increase communication skills and enrich the quality of one's life."
I decided to make something other than a card this time and made a bookmark, the tutorial for which originally came from Lena Katrine's Blog. I believe that laughter is very therapeutic and have chosen to use this Penny Black stamp as it always makes me want to laugh when I look at it!

As the theme was humour I opted to pop some silly, but somehow funny (well, to me anyway!) jokes on the back of my bookmark.

Available from J & C Creations shop

Stamp – ‘The Sensations’ – Penny Black, coloured with Promarkers
Papers (double sided)
Flowers
Pearls

Other items
Pink card from stash
XCut Daisy border punch
Anita's Glossy Accents (on the pig's pearl necklace)

Challenges:
'Not A Square' - Whoopsi Daisy

'One Paper Taker' - Papertake Weekly
'Anything But A Card' - Dutch Dare
'Friendship' - Stampin For The Weekend

Thanks for looking!

Natx

Minding Shelty

The months seem to be flying past at such a rate of knots at the moment, here we are again on the 13th for a another challenge at J & C Creations. This month the theme is ‘Nurturing’ and we have a fab £20 voucher from the J & C Creations shop up for grabs.

When I first saw the theme I was a bit flummoxed as nurturing usually is from a parent to their child and I didn’t have anything suitable, so I have cheated a little as my image is a hedgehog looking after a pony!

Items available from J & C Creations shop

Stamp - ‘Minding Shelty’ – Penny Black coloured with Promarkers
Pink card – Coredinations
Double sided paper – Best Creations
White flower – Prima
Ribbon
Dies used: Spellbinders ‘Labels 2’ & Tim Holtz/Sizzix Alterations On The Edge ‘Brackets’

Other items

Brads from stash

Challenges:
’Friendship’ – Stampin For The Weekend
’Blossoms & Bows’ – Penny Black & More @ Allsorts
’Pretty In Pink’ – Whimsy Stamps Inspirations

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Sisterhood!

Wow, 4 cards in 4 days, I need a lie down, lol! Today’s card is for J & C Creations monthly calendar and I have chosen April 10th as it  is ‘National Siblings Day’. National Siblings Day is the brainchild of  Claudia Evart, who thought up the day as a way for siblings to honor, recognize and celebrate each other.
I knew I just had to use this fab stamp from Penny Black, not only do I love the characters, but the stamp is called ‘Sisterhood’ – perfect! I have been admiring the different card shapes I have seen on other Blogs and wondering where they can be bought and then whilst rummaging through my dies I had a light bulb moment and realised that I could re-produce one of the shapes using a Sizzix/Tim Holtz die and here is the result. Makes a nice change from my usual square scalloped cards!

Image - ‘Sisterhood’ – J & C Creations shop coloured with Promarkers

Sentiments printed on my pc
Green card – Coredinations – Crafter’s Companion
Double sided paper & flower – J & C Creations shop
Ribbon – The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop
Brad from stash
Dies used: SB ‘Classic Ovals’ & ‘Floral Ovals’

Challenges:
’Anything Goes’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
’Blossoms & Bows’ – Penny Black & More @ Allsorts
’Birthday Fun’ – Dutch Dare
’Happy Birthday – Dream Valley

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Music Day

March 18th is 'Music Day' and I wasn't sure how to interpret this for my card at the J & C Creations Blog, I didn't have any musical orientated stamps, however I did find this lovely background paper at the J & C warehouse. So I decided not to use an image, but chose this very famous quote instead! Hope you like it!

All items from J & C Creations
Black card

Musical note paper
Black & ivory ribbon
'Fancy Buttons'
Spellbinders 'Decorative Labels 8' die
Tim Holtz 'Antique Linen' distress ink pad

Challenges:
'Seeing Double' - Anything Goes (buttons)
'Anything Goes' - Cute Card Thursday
'Anything Goes' - Love To Create

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Something Different!

Firstly, I would just like to say hello to my new followers, thank you for joining me! Also, sorry to my existing followers – there are not enough hours in the day at the moment and sometimes I get behind visiting all your lovely Blogs, so my comments are a bit delayed!

Today is the start of the new monthly challenge at J & C Creations Challenge and this month it’s a nice easy one – ‘Easter’! There is plenty of inspiration over on the Challenge Blog, do pop in to see all the different takes on the theme from the fab DT . The prize is a fantastic £20 voucher to spend in the online shop.

Regular visitors to my Blog will probably have been expecting some cute bunnies or chicks on my DT card and that’s nearly what I had decided on when I saw this rather beautiful stamp in the J & C warehouse – not my usual style, but it really took my fancy! I stamped the design in 'Rich Cocoa' instead of my usual 'Tuxedo Black' as I thought it would soften the image a little.

Items from J & C Creations

Stamp & Sentiment from Heartfelt Creation's 'Wrought Iron Cross' set
Papers - Craft Creations Pearls Flowers
Memento 'Rich Cocoa' ink pad
Tim Holtz 'Antique Linen' distress ink pad
Dies: Spellbinders 'Ovals' & 'Floral Ovals' & Marianne Designs 'Flowers & Leaves'

Other items 

Promarkers 

Kraft card from stash
Ribbon – Joanna Sheen shop

Challenges:
’Spring/Pastel’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
’Buttons Or Bows’ – Whoopsi Daisy
’123’ – Papertake Weekly (1 image, 2 papers, 3 flowers)
’Spring Fever’ – Cute Card Thursday
’Easter/Spring’ – C.R.A.F.T
’Springtime’- Allsorts

Thanks for looking!
Natx

National Pig Day – 1st March

Here is another card made for the J & C Creations Blog. National Pig Day is an event held annually on the 1st March  in the United States to celebrate the pig. The holiday celebration was started in 1972 by sisters Ellen Stanley, a teacher in Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Lynne Rave of Beaufort, North Carolina. According to Rave the purpose of National Pig Day is "to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man's most intellectual and domesticated animals.” The holiday is most often celebrated in the Midwest.

National Pig Day includes events at zoos, schools, nursing homes, and sporting events around the United States. It is also recognized at "pig parties" where pink pig punch and pork delicacies are served, and pink ribbon pigtails are tied around trees in the pigs' honour.

I’m not quite sure how eating pork delicacies is a tribute to pigs, lol! As this card was made for  the J & C Creations Blog, I have used one of the many Penny Black stamps which are available on their website.

Items available from J & C Creations shop 
Stamp – ‘Party Animals’ – Penny Black coloured with Promarkers
Paper – Craft Creations
Pink card – Coredinations
Pearls
Tools: Marianne Designs ‘Picket Fence’ die, SB M-Bossabilities ‘Whimsy’ embossing folder

Other items

Hunkydory’s Diamond Sparkles ‘Angel Whispers’

Challenges:
'Animals' - Allsorts
'Add A Sentiment' - Whoopsi Daisy
'Use Embossing' - CRAFT

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Public Sleeping Day – 28th February

Here is a card I made for the J & C Creations Blog. February 28th is the annual Public Sleeping Day. That means today, wherever you are, sleep, nap, doze, snooze, rest your eyes, inspect the back of your eyelids or watch a movie on the inside of your eyes. Today is your day! (Sounds like my kind of day!!)

All this cold weather makes me yearn for summer, as that is a long way off, I’ll have to make do with  a summery image of this cute cat in a rather novel hammock!

Items available from the J & C Creations shop
Stamp - ‘Uplifting Occasion’ – Penny Black, coloured with Promarkers and paper pieced
Paper – Craft Creations
Prima flowers
Fancy buttons (flower centres)
Spellbinders ’Labels 25’ die

Other items

Kraft card
Ribbon
Cheery Lynn ‘Fanciful Flourish’ die

Challenges:
'Add A Sentiment' - Whoopsi Daisy
'Paper Piecing' - Tammy's Scrapin Corner
'Birthday' - Creative Card Crew
'Mother's Day or Birthday' - Inky Chicks
'Anything Goes' - Divas By Design
'Something Old' - Cute Card Thursday (I've had these flowers for ever!)
'Animals' - Allsorts

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Friends Like Ewe!

Today’s card is for the new monthly challenge at J & C Creations Challenge where the theme is ‘International Friendship’, the challenge started on 13th February, but there is still plenty of time to get your entry in. In the meantime, if you pop over to the Challenge Blog you will see some more inspiration from the DT. So we want to see your creations based on any friendships, be they human, animal or a bit of both! The winner will receive a fantastic £20 voucher to spend in the J & C Creations Shop.

I have used a very aptly named stamp from Penny Black - ‘Friends’. I just love these cute sheep! It’s quite a big stamp, so I didn’t want to leave a lot of white around the image. I used distress ink for the grass, but I wasn’t brave enough to use it for the sky, so I went for some subtle (maybe too subtle – can’t see them very well!) clouds done with chalks. As the image takes up most of the card, I went easy on the embellishments!

Products from J & C Creations Shop 
Penny Black stamp - ‘Friends’ coloured with Promarkers
Pearls
Spellbinders ‘Labels 25’ & ‘Decorative Labels 8’
Tim Holtz distress ink pad ‘Bundled Sage’

Other products
Paper – Dovecraft’s ‘Back To Basics II’
Kraft card & ribbon from stash
Sentiment printed on my PC

Challenges:
'Anything Goes' - The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop
'Four Legged Friends' - I ♥ Promarkers

Thanks for looking!
Natx

(Lame) Duck Day 6th February

This is another card made for J & C Creations this time for Lame Duck Day. I mistakenly thought this would be a day celebrating ducks, however it's actually all about politics - not exactly a card friendly topic, so I cheated and made a cute and cuddly card!

Image – Penny Black ‘Duckling’ coloured with Promarkers
Yellow card – Coredinations
Paper - Docrafts 'Me To You 'Spring Chic'
Ribbon, pearls, leaf charms & flowers - J & C Creations
Dies used: Spellbinders ‘Decorative Labels 8’, Cheery Lynn 'Fanciful Flourish'
Duck buttons from my local wool shop and doily from stash
Hunkydory's Diamond Sparkles 'Angel Whispers'

Challenges:
’Ribbon and/or Lace’ – Whoopsi Daisy
’Tic-Tac-Toe’ – Dutch Dare (ribbon/buttons/pearls)
’Something Metal’ – Stampin For The Weekend
’Let’s Get Cute’ – Allsorts
'Monochrome' - Anything Goes
'Anything Goes' - Papertake Weekly

Thanks for looking!
Natx

National Weatherperson’s Day – 5th February

This is a card I made for J & C Creations. We used to make cards for the shop/shows following a monthly theme, but since January, Sue our DT leader has come up with a fab idea. She has supplied us with a monthly calendar with different events on different days, we have to choose 2 dates and make a card/project interpreting the event in our own way. Unfortunately due to a mix-up I had to change my first choice of event and chose 'Weatherperson's Day' instead. Then I went and got crafter's block for quite some time until I finally ended up making this! I couldn't get the colours right in the photo, they look a bit washed out and I have got some weather embellishments on order that would have been perfect, but they have not arrived in time :(  But you get the general idea!

 

Items available from J & C Creations Shop
Images from Penny Black’s ‘Zoophabet’ clear stamp set coloured with Promarkers
Card - Coredinations
Compass charm
Ribbon from stash
Tools: Spellbinders ‘Classic Squares’ & ‘Scalloped Squares’ and  Sizzix/Tim Holtz Alterations ‘On The Edge’  dies, Cuttlebug ‘Swiss Dots’ embossing folder and Hougie Board 

Challenges:
'Ribbon and/or Lace' - Whoopsi Daisy
'Anything Goes' - Crafty Bloggers Network
'Anything Goes' - Papertake Weekly

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Less Is More

Well, we had peace between my boys after all on Monday when my younger son's school closed for the day as well, thank goodness for that, I don't think I could have stood the sulking, lol! Today's card is one I made for J & C Creations a little while ago and it is very CAS. As I have collected more crafty goodies and got more confident in my card making, I have fallen into the trap of putting more & more embellishments on my cards, but as much as I love to do that, I thought this pretty stamp deserved to be the focal point with no distractions! I'm pretty pleased with the photo, now if I could just remember the settings I had the camera on  for next time I'd be laughing!

Image - 'Poppies' - Hobby Art (CSS002) coloured with Promarkers - J & C Creations
Pearls & Coredinations red card - J & C Creations
Ribbon from stash
Tools: SB 'Floral Ovals' die, Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder

Challenges:
'Red and/or Hearts' - Tammy's Scrapin Corner
'Flowers' - Crafty Bloggers Network
'Flower Power' - Allsorts
'Tie Up Your Loose Ends' - Papertake Weekly
'Anything Goes' - I ♥ Promarkers

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Something Old, Something New

Ok, last post for today! The New Year sees a new challenge over at J & C Creations Challenge  and the theme is 'Something Old, Something New'. There is a £20 J & C Creations Shop voucher for the winner and you have all month to get your entries in. I was getting serious withdrawal symptoms as it’s ages since I used a Penny Black stamp, so I have remedied that! As usual the colours have not come out too well on my photo, in real life the colours are warmer and to me, prettier, but there’s only so long you can spend faffing around with camera setting and editing programmes, lol!

Image – from Penny Black’s ‘Wonderful’ clear stamp set coloured with Promarkers & chalk for the edges
Green card – Coredinations
Papers – from a free CD
Pearls, leaf charm & pearly ribbon – J & C Creations Shop
Brads & flowers from stash
Dies/Punches used – Spellbinders ‘Labels 25’, Cheery Lynn ‘Exotic Butterflies’, Xcut Flower Doily border punch (corners) & Hobbycraft Butterfly punch

Challenges:
’Flowers’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
’Dies & Punches’ – Whoopsi Daisy
’Anything Goes’ – Inky Chicks
’Anything Goes’ – Divas By Design
'Sketch – Dutch Dare
’Anything Goes’ – Dream Valley
’Dies & Punches’ – Allsorts

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Coffee & Cream Christmas

My mojo has up and left for a holiday! I have discovered that there are disadvantages to working for your husband, one of them being that a cold is not a good enough excuse not to go to work :( so by the time I’ve got home in the past few days all I’ve wanted to do is curl up on the sofa and feel sorry for myself! However, I hate not posting at least once a week, so I’ve got a card to show today that I made for J & C Creations a little while ago on the theme of ‘Contemporary Christmas’. I had already made a pink & blue card for their monthly challenge and so decided on a brown & cream colour scheme for this stepper card.

 

Stamp from Penny Black’s clear stamp set ‘Christmas Fashion’ coloured with Promarkers
Snowflakes cut using Marianne Designs Christmas Creatables ‘Swedish Ice Star’
Sentiment cut using Spellbinders ‘Fleur de Lis Rectangles’ die
Stickles ‘Frosted Lace’ Brown card, brads paper & ribbon from stash

 
Challenges:
’Christmas Anything Goes’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
Anything Goes’ – I ♥ Promarkers  
’Non-Traditional Christmas’ – Dream Valley 
’More Than 1 Fold’ – Come & Get It  
’No Square Allowed’ – That Craft Place  
’Fancy Fold’ – Dutch Dare  
’Anything Goes’ – Creative Card Crew  
’Shaped/Fancy Folds’ – Christmas Cards All Year Round

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Christmas Box Card

Today’s card is one that I made for J & C Creations . Having time to craft is a real problem for me and so I don’t tend to do many ‘fiddly’ projects, however being on the design team at J & C I like to try and do something other than a square card all the time, so here is my Christmas Box Card (still square though, lol!) – I’m afraid I went a bit overboard on the photos! 

 

Image - Wild Rose Studio's Annabelle 'Posting Letters' coloured with Promarkers
Papers - Wild Rose Studio 'Annabelle's Christmas' 6x6 pad
Snowflake charm, die cut trees & pearls
Dies used - Spellbinders 'Classic' & 'Scalloped Circles', 'Labels 2' and 'Floral Doily Accent' (corners)
’Frosted Lace’ Stickles
All the above are available from the J & C Creations Website

Ribbon from stash
Fiskars Daisy Border punch

Challenges:
’Christmas Anything Goes’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
’Traditional Christmas Colouring’ – Whimsy Stamps Inspirations
’Hip To Be Square’ – Incy Wincy Designs
’Anything Goes’ – Creative Card Crew
’It’s A Gift’ – Allsorts
’Cold & Frosty’ – Joanna Sheen
’Anything Goes’ – Dream Valley
’It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas’ – The Crafty Pad
’Snow People’ – Sweet Stampin
'Use 2 Or More Patterned Papers' - Divas By Design

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Floral Delight

Today is the start of another challenge at J & C Creations Challenge & this month the theme is ‘Floral Delights’. Denise & Jenny are offering another fantastic £20 voucher to the prize winner which will be only too easy to spend in the online shop as it is packed with all sorts of lovely crafty stuff! 

 

So, onto my card – no cute image for this card, so a little out of my comfort zone, but these stamps & dies work so well together, it really wasn’t a very hard card to make!

Stamp - ‘Daisy Patch Bouquet’ by Heartfelt Creations coloured with Promarkers
Dies used: Spellbinders Heartfelt Creations ‘Daisy Patch’ & SB ‘Circles’, ‘Scalloped Circles’ & ‘Fleur De Lis Rectangles’ & Cheery Lynn ‘Exotic Butterflies’ small
Papers – Docrafts Me To You ‘Spring Chic’
Gems – Anita’s
Clear Dewdrops - The Ribbon Girl
Kraft card & ribbon from stash
Available at J & C Creations Website

Challenges:
’Any Die Will Do’ – Penny Black & More @ Allsorts
’My Favourite Things’ – Dutch Dare (dies, butterflies & my new favourite - Kraft card!)
’Anything Goes’ – Dream Valley
Sketch – Cute Card Thursday
'Anything Goes' - Tammy's Scrapin Corner
'More Than 1 Punch and/or Die Cut' - Crafty Cardmakers
'Anything Goes' - Sweet Stampin

Thanks for looking!
Natx