IT'S A QUICK POST FROM ME TONIGHT...

It's a very quick post as I've had a horrible cold for the last couple of weeks - I'd go as far as to call it the cold from hell!  Malcolm has had it too and one of my sons as well.  I expect there are quite a lot of you out there who have struggled with the bugs yourselves recently?!  So I've very little energy for a long post.

I have pictures tonight of just a few makes from our last Hochanda shows.  I particularly like the colours in these especially the purples, yellows and greens.  I am on Hochanda again on the 24th January at 3pm and 7pm.  Lesley Wharton, from Chocolate Baroque, has kindly agreed to demo along with me to bring a touch of artistic variety!  We are very excited indeed!!

Here is a tryptych card, with a bit of lace in the arrangement - this is a great format to use to bring several different images together in a pleasing way...

Images do work so well together in threes.  I teamed one of the pretty tags we have on sheets here with two popular stamps CI-302 and CI-415.  The only rules seem to be that the colours work together and although the sizes of images may vary a bit the finished height is the same when matted and layered.

Here is another, although there are four different elements together here rather than three, combining CI-185 with CI-411...

I also used similar colours on this beauty below, again featuring CI-302 and one of those fabulous Scrapiniec laser cut items...

I also put together a card using a variety of our images along with our latest postcard stamp - love that stamp!!

Also loving that pretty heart laser cut frame!

That's it for this evening,

Back soon,

Jean x 

NEW YEAR, NEW TEAMIES, NEW MAKES...

Happy New Year to all our customers and blog readers - hope it is a happy one for you and yours.  We have two wonderful new teamies to celebrate in the New Year, both from the Netherlands, Dora and Gerrina.  Here are their links in blogland, please send them your good wishes:

http://dora-knutselhoekje.blogspot.co.uk/

https://gerrinascreatievewereld.blogspot.co.uk/

Here are a few makes by the ladies, just for a glimpse of things to come...

Dora was the talented artist who drew the branch idea for our latest robin stamp..

And you may remember this beautiful card she also put together recently - fantastic stamping - bring on the Spring!..

..Here are two more cards by Dora..

I have the following pretties to share by Gerrina, just to get us started...

We also have some guest designers on the cards this year, so all is looking good!

Back soon,

Jean x

ARE YOU ALL READY FOR IT!!....

Malcolm and I affectionately smile every time anyone asks us 'are you all ready for it', which we are asked many times by many folk at this time of year.  Well it's happening tomorrow whether we are ready for it or not, so....

'We wish all our customers, friends and bloggers, a very, very, Merry Christmas' xx

Here are a few Christmassy teamie makes to cheer us all on our way below.  My son has just brought me up a very nice long gin and fruity mixer with ice and apple slices (he bought me the gin for Christmas), which I will drink as I blog, and hope I get to the end of the post still sober - ha ha!

Several bright and cheerful makes by Sylvie....

Two more with the lovely snowmen from Joanna and Daniele....

The snowmen appear again amongst the images below, kindly sent over by Alison (who won the stamps in a blog giveaway recently)...

Lovely Alison can be located at craftytrog.blogspot.co.uk
Loving the watercolour backgrounds here Alison!

Another festive make by one of the teamies, but sadly I am not sure who right now (my system has failed me here), but I love it anyway...

 Then here is a beauty by Coco (who is having a year out)...

 Finally this evening I have a couple of bauble makes by lovely Joanna, and as the saying goes that 'Snowflakes are a winter's butterflies' I thought it appropriate that I would add them here, and I just adore these beauties....

Must make some myself next year!!

No links tonight - too time consuming!

.... and as I am now ready for my next G&T, that's it from me!
Have a great 'IT' everyone!!

Jean x

SHADOW BOXES AND WEEKEND SPECIAL OFFERS..

We've just sent out a Newsletter (hope you are on our website mailing list?!) and it featured some fabulous Christmas ornaments made by teamie Joanna..

 ..and here is another..

I love them - must have a go at these myself, so pretty!  Thanks for making these Joanna, taking the step photos and writing up the instructions, you are a star!

We have put many of our Christmas themed stamps on special offer over the weekend coming to celebrate Joanna's ornaments 'how to' projects.  You will find them mixed up on the Special Offer pages HERE and HERE.

We also showed you this very gorgeous Shadow Box by Daniele..

Daniele made this for our recent Hochanda show but unfortunately it didn't arrive until just after the event even though she had sent it first class - such is the postal system sometimes!  It is so beautiful it deserves to feature prominently I hope you will agree!  Lots of lovely sparkle on those butterflies and crackle on the background.  The flowery images are from one of our A4 Glossy Sheets and the butterflies from another Sheet that I was going to link to next but it seems it isn't on the site - must rectify that on Monday!  The Shadow Box itself is an easy 'build it yourself' make by a Polish company Scrapiniec, which you will find HERE.

On the show we also had this beauty by Flo..

It's amazing the different looks we can get with the one item! Scrapiniec also make all these lovely lasercut items too which you can find Here.

Daniele's delayed package also contained cards she had made for the show, and this one is particularly deliciously and delicately coloured, with that adorable little wheelbarrow bottom left..

Wow thanks ladies.

That's all for today folks,
Back soon,
Jean x

MAKES MADE FOR HOCHANDA.....

We had a great visit to Hochanda in Peterborough last Friday, accompanied by some very great makes by the teamies...

Firstly these beauties by Sandra...

....Using stamps CI-411, CI-449, CI-417, CI-415, and more.

 As well as these lovelies by Flo...

....Still loving those little birds from CI-230.

Plus some magical makes by Coco...

CI-302 and CI-185 both looking good here.

Lastly this evening the fabulous ornamentals below by Helen and Joanna...

Gorgeous, with the robin from CI-483.

Hope you managed to catch the shows?!

Bye for now
Back soon,
Jean x

HOCHANDA ON FRIDAY - YAY!

Hochanda beckons, and we will be trotting off to Peterborough on Friday early a.m. so that I can be live on air at 3pm and 7pm.  Please do join me from the comfort of your own armchair for great deals and demos. Exciting!

Jean x

WE HAVE TWO BLOG CANDY WINNERS TONIGHT....

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on our last post, we wish we could reward you all.  However we do have two random 'out of the hat' numbers for the blog candy winners, which are numbers 1 and 19.

Comment numbers 1 and 19 happen to be....
LAINE, and CRAFTYTROG,
who will need to email us please at: info@craftyindividuals.co.uk with your addresses so that we can send you your new stamps poste haste.

I now have a few card makes with one of the new stamps featuring those cute little polar bears...
One from me..

Two beauties from Coco..

Another lovely by Daniele...

And a final colourfully creative one from Sylvie...

All delightfully very different, I hope you agree!

Other news :- Teamie Coco is having a little break from her teamie duties for a year or so as she is a busy bee in her other roles as mother, wife and crafty teacher, but I'm sure that isn't the last we will see from her yet - we thank her and wish her lots of happiness and success.  Another teamie is retiring, due to other commitments taking over in life big time, and that is Laury. Again our thanks and good wishes go with you too.  As a result we do have a need for a couple of new willing and able lovelies to join us, therefore if any of you crafters out there would like to join us as a teamie, maybe you could email us with some pics of your crafty samples made with our stamps, with a link to your blogs, and we could then have a look at your work and a chat.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone,
Back soon,

Jean & Co x