JUNE CHALLENGE COMING SOON .....

Our packing for The Craft Barn Extravaganza is almost done, and we will be on our way tomorrow!  Lovely to hear that so many of you will be visiting us there.  However I thought I had better compose a very short blog post to let you know that the Crafty Individuals June (bi-monthly) Challenge details will be posted next week.  I won't be able to post on the 1st June because we will be in Surrey, but I haven't forgotten about it, and the Team have been sending in their very lovely inspirational projects for me to blog soon!

Until then I will leave you with a couple of beautiful images from Effie - firstly a layout that I really like using CI-228 as the main feature..

And I know this is very much out of season but I love everything about this tag with the 3 ships sailing by from CI-330 ..

Back soon,

Jean x

BITS AND BOBS...

We are now busily putting things together for our visit to The Craft Barn next weekend.  We will have some new stamps to release for the Extravaganza, and if you haven't visited The Craft Barn as yet, or haven't been to the Extravaganza - you are missing out on a fabulous shop, and a really creative couple of days.  The Craft Barn is now established in its new premises and the photos of the shop look great - can't wait to see it in reality!  Its pretty much at the other end of the country to us, but we love it there in the leafy lanes of Surrey, and the shop is packed full of a myriad of crafting goodies - ooooo I just love crafting goodies.  Do come and join in the fun on the 1st and 2nd of June.

I have been busily playing with Distress Inks, a crafting sheet and a water spray.  Inspired by Helen's recent make with our new Summer Meadow stamp I am loving the effects I am getting with our satin finish stamping card and the inks after patting them on a crafting sheet adding a little water from a spray and picking up the inks with the card.  As I dry off the card with a heat gun I am adding a little more water from the spray, and this gives lovely coloured mottled effects.  The resulting card is great to stamp onto directly, or also great for cutting out using our new dies.  These are a few of the cards I have been making....

This one features CI-210, Pretty Poppy stamp, and the Lacewing Butterfly Die.  I have also added a small 'postcard' stamp to the edge from CI-307, and a few little flowers to finish.

There's quite an assortment of goodies on this card.  I've used stamp CI-333 on this plus a couple of our masks in the background.  All topped with two die cuts from Victoria Corner and Sweet Flying Bird.  Nice and pink - just how I like it!

This tea-party card is nice and simple using the image from CI-269 and the bunting from CI-370.

I have another couple of very simple one-layer cards to show you that I made recently ...

Both of these use our Floral Frame Mask, Distress Inks applied with a stencilling brush, plus a part of CI-247 in the top centre, and a part of CI-302 in the bottom centre panel.

We do hope you will pop along to the Extravaganza where you will see our makes 'in the flesh' so to speak.  You will also get to meet the lovely Helen Chilton, and the lovely Giovanna Zara - both members of our creative Team.  Gio is travelling from Italy to demonstrate for the first time at The Craft Barn, and I'm going to close tonight with a couple of very pretty makes by Gio, which kind of fit in nicely with the colours I've used above...

The stamps used here are CI-267 and the tea party stamp again CI-269.

Hoping to see you next weekend?!

Jean x

A NICE DAY, WITH A STING IN THE TAIL.....

Malcolm and I had a nice walk with Monty Moodle today (he got all involved with a Spaniel, and got extremely dirty running around - white is not a practical colour for a dog!), and then we popped into Darlington to visit an art market - did a little shopping, and had a lovely lunch at a little restaurant, out in the open air, in the sun, in the middle of town.  The sting in the tail was a parking ticket when we arrived back at the car - its a Sunday for heavens sake - don't these folk have better things to do than worry about you being just over the hour you had initially paid for!

Well that's my moan for today!  Now on with the artworks!

I have some very gorgeous pretties to show you in tonight's post.  I collect the beautiful images the team send over in files on the computer, and I am delving deeply into them to display the wonderful assortment featuring below.

But firstly I have a superb card to show you by one of our lovely customers from Guernsey - Katie Conway..

Fabulous colours here Katie, and featuring the Alice Palace Puffin, plus beach huts from CI-278!

Talking of the seaside Daniele has been framing up the new lighthouse stamp CI-384 - gorgeous, gorgeous Daniele!

Lots of lovely texture on that frame too and a Tando compass attachment amongst other delights!

Talking of lovely this hanging by Lynne celebrates the 'Love Lovely Life' theme from another Alice stamp CI-382 ...

And quickly followed by another little beauty from Lynne ...

Lynne hasn't been too well recently, so all our good wishes are being sent your way, and hope you feel much, much better soon!  Love everything about Lynne's creations, and this one features an older stamp which I still love to bits CI-148 - Floradora Girl, with such a pretty background of perfume bottles from CI-341.

Then back with the Alice stamps I have some stunningly coloured crafty pieces by Sylvie below:

The goose from CI-380 has the 'Wow' factor here!

Brenda has also been playing very nicely with the Alice stamps ..

More lovely colour work here too!

And finally a couple of adorable cards by Gio ..

I'm sure my little dog would also love to get his paws on some tasty cake!

Hope you have enjoyed the glorious display above -
Back again soon,

Jean x

YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE .....

After a brilliant show with the Happy Stampers at Port Sunlight on Saturday, we are now back home, the van is unpacked, and I'm exhausted!!  Just time for a little chat with you tonight before I get some much needed beauty sleep.

How's this for a superb bit of home decor designed for the love of your life?!

Just the right shape to display nice and big on Blogger - this is beautifully made by Effie, using CI-384, Grace Darling's Lighthouse, mounted on a section torn from a map and standing on a piece of driftwood secured with florists wire. Loving the bunting!!

Also by Effie I have the following images to show you ..

Here featuring The Party Puffin from the Alice Palace rubber stamp collection,- plus CI-035 and a ticket from CI-307 ..

Plus another page from her altered book/journal, again featuring Mr Party Puffin ...

Then finally another project, this time using embroidery cotton and thread.  Effie has had her needle out here and has cleverly adapted CI-385 into a piece of embroidered loveliness ...

And back at the lighthouse Paula has so very nicely decorated a plaque, also with CI-384 -

Then focusing on another one of our new stamps CI-386, Summertime Sylvie has used elements from this stamp in a scrap layout - very stylish indeed!

Thank you ladies for the beauties featured above, and thank you all for visiting us here.  Must have another catch up session soon, as I still have sooo much waiting to be displayed.

Jean x

FIVE VERY FASHIONABLE CRAFTERS .....

We are delighted to be able to show you tonight Gio's choice of five projects for our April 'Spring in Fashion' Challenge, and very gorgeous they are too.  Gio had to make some difficult decisions here as the standard of entries is so very high - but decisions do have to be made - and the chosen ones are featured below.

We have a very creative card made by Nicola at http://paperprofusion.blogspot.ie/2013/04/spring-dressforms.html - splendid!

And a very fashionable bulldog - love it! - by Katie at http://inkyangelcreation.blogspot.ca/2013/04/spring-into-fashion.html -

Plus a very pretty card by Ellie at http://elliecreahoekje.blogspot.nl/2013/04/spring-in-fashion.html, just full of sunshine -

A superbly intricate jewellery box by Joanna at http://joannakrog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ucji-urodzinki-ucjas-birthday.html - just stunning! Do have a look at Joanna's blog to see the full story...

And a beautiful linked up book by Myra at http://madebymyra.blogspot.nl/2013/04/ci-spring-in-fashion.html ..

For more images and lots of good stuff do have a look at the blogs concerned.  Well done to all who entered - you can see all 33 linked in entries by clicking HERE.  If the 5 ladies mentioned above would like to email us at: info@craftyindividuals.co.uk with their choice of CI rubber stamp, we will post them off to you as soon as possible.

Before signing off for this evening I would also like to show you 3 very lovely images of projects by a lovely lady called Ute at http://wolkentraum.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/albumkarte/ ..

Thanks for sharing Ute - and you will find most of the ingredients for all the above projects at www.craftyindividuals.co.uk

Back again soon folks,

Jean x

p.s. Hope to see lots of you at the Happy Stampers Festival at Port Sunlight, next Saturday, 11th May -