Happy New Year

A final pic from 2012.  This year we escaped from the Christmas visiting merry-go-round and had a lovely week at Center Parcs at Longleat.

The last few months have been very hectic and stressful so we planned to just have a rest and really enjoyed it.  Lots of pottering in the pool, sitting in bubble pools and wandering from coffee shop to restaurant!

I packed a little cross stitch as I haven't done any for ages and it was easier to sort out than craft stuff - even when I just go downstairs to craft I always leave something and have to keep running up and down so leaving the house gets too complicated!  I did a little cross stitch which gave me the bug for doing some more now.

This is a visiting reindeer on Christmas Eve - just before he disappeared off with santa to deliver presents!

I will get back to some crafting shortly - turns out the tidy fairies didn't sort out the mess I left behind and there really is too much in my little spare room now - very jealous of Karen over at Serendipity Dragonfly who is just about to move in to her new craft room.

Merry Christmas

Due to some other activities today is the last day I had to get ready for Christmas - needless to say some things have bitten the dust!

I had been hoping to make this image in to a card but I have at least finished the image.

It's a fab Kanban stamp, coloured with copics, finished with some sparkly/fluffy glitter and some gloss on her boots.

This will be my last post for a week as I am going to have a small blogging break but I will catch up on everyone elses blog as I am a few days behind with all your activities!

Have a lovely Christmas.
Jill

Nativity Scenes

Still colouring!  I spent quite a while on these cards and still could of done more with them.

Just for Val these are even more Digistamp Boutique images - they aren't all from this year I downloaded some last year too.

I was asked to make 6 colourful nativity cards in different bright colours - so here they are!

Images coloured with copics and each card has a few details picked out which I printed a second time and decoupaged on to the card.

There are a couple of images below that you can see more clearly - don't get very good pictures at the moment when I leave home in the dark & get home in the dark (although it was also pretty dismal in between today!).

Penguin

And another Digistamp Boutique image.

The design for this card I have also very much stolen from an example on the website.

I've coloured the penguin in copics and punched out, mounted on a scalloped circle then mounted on a couple of different sheets of Christmas paper from the stash and red card.

Added some twine for a different effect and finished with a stamped sentiment from a set I can find the name of if required - I've just buried it whilst trying to find some printer ink I know I have somewhere!

I have actually ticked a few things off the list today so fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Christmas Robin

This rather cute chap is an image from Digistamp Boutique.

I have just simply coloured him with copics and added some fluffy glitter to his hat.

I printed out a second Merry Christmas to give it a 3D effect and just layered him on matching card on a 6x6" base card.

Trainee Reindeers!

And from the chaos ... another card!

This is a fab stamp from Stamposaurus.  I was very tempted with some of their stamps at the Newbury show but was very good and walked away - so when I saw them again at Taunton I had to have a treat!

This image I have simply stamped and coloured with copics.  Little fluffy red noses added then layered the image.  Sentiment was also in the set.

Card is mounted on a lovely sheeny ridged card from my payper box stash and finished with some punched snowflakes.

Merriest CHristmas Wishes

This stamp is a lovely 3.5" square Hero Arts Cling stamp - named as per the title of today's blog entry.

I've stamped it in versamark and heat embossed it using some very lovely Christmas red sparkle Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder - the picture doesn't really do it justice.

I've then just left a small border round the design, cut out and mounted on a black card.

Sentiment is from a Kirsty Wiseman 'many greetings' set of stamps, also embossed and punched out with an SU label punch & slightly edged with red ink to blend in.

It's been quite popular as a 'simple but effective' card so I am making a few more.

Jingle Bells

Well, this Christmas organisation isn't going very well!  But I have made a couple of cards now.

This is a Woodware set - one of the reasons I bought this (and a lovely wreath one last year) is that I thought the 'holes' would make lovely circles for quilled coils.

On this occasion though I have 'cased' the card from a sample at The Paper Warehouse in Kendal.  I have stamped the bell and ribbon on card and embossed with white powder.  I have then cut these out and added to the pink card which is layered on a white 5x7" base card.

I'm not really a pink person but thought I needed to try some different colours and it worked with the card candi which has ended up in the larger dots on the bell, with a few more added next to the stamped sentiment which was also in the set.  The smaller holes in the design have then been filled with glitter glue.

Sunny Days

I am meant to be making less cards in purples & lilacs but this image was so lovely!

A request for a work colleague whose wife likes teddies & flowers.
I was doing a spot of internet shopping recently and this CD popped up at a very good price so I felt compelled to try it.

It is the Wellington Sunny Days disc from DOCrafts for Digital Designer.  The original Wellington that came out was aimed at 'men' cards with images in lovely sepias, the images on this CD are brighter and more female.

The image is a decoupage sheet that I printed and cut out before layering on lilac & purple which I've then used to add a sentiment from the SU Sassy Salutations stamp set.

The background paper is also from the CD.  Finished with a few card candi.

Thanks so much to Philippa over at Quilliance who has set up a new Quilling Guild members only blog (just think what you could be missing if you haven't joined yet).  I logged in today for the first time to find a link to my blog on the front page.  So thanks for visiting if you've hopped across and I had better start adding some more quilling!

Thank You

This really is the final post related to the Wedding that I did the stationery for recently.

I made them some Thank You cards as a gift.

I did check with them first and gave the Bride & Groom some choices and this is what they preferred.

They actually would have liked the words 'Thank You' on the front but fell in love with the font of this 'Thanks' stamp which is from a now retired SU set  called Thank You Kindly.

I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed with gold ink then punched out using an SU punch which is then mounted on another SU label punch.

The pictures don't do the card justice, I used the same as the other stationery which was Crafters Companion snow white pearl card so it has a lovely sparkle.

I've added a plain insert to all of them too and there are 50 - it kept me quiet for a bit.

December!

Christmas sort of seemed such a while away - it really isn't!

So much for catching up with myself and trying to get ahead.  Have been failing miserably on all fronts but will see what I can rustle up in the evenings this week - this weekend has kind of disappeared.

I shall catch up on everyone's blogs tomorrow and will have a picture to post.
I might make some Christmas cards yet!
Jill

Sunshine!

No finished cards today and after yesterday's dampness I thought I'd add a brighter picture!

We made it to Torquay yesterday - nearly didn't make it back.  The roads were fine for the journey down but the constant rain meant after a couple of big floods on the way home we then came across a road closure on the A303.  The long and the short of it (mainly the long!) was that having to also avoid the M5 and Taunton we came home via Bridport - to those in the vicinity you will know that is not an entirely direct route.

But after discussing whose door we could turn up at in the middle of the night we did make it.  Very thankful we are luckier than some of the houses we drove past last night that were bailing out.

On a cheerier note - this picture was taken last Sunday in a moment of dryness.  The day after the wedding we went to we climbed Beacon Hill which is on the Quantocks and from the top looks out across the coastline and towards Dunster and Minehead (and Hinkley Point the other way!).

Marry Me

Today's little card is made using the Stampin' Up 'Marry Me' set.

I've used SU Bravo Burgundy ink to stamp the image and sentiment from the set.

Main image just simply layered on some lovely Anna Marie card and the sentiment punched out and mounted on SU punches.

A little stickles added to the brides headdress and some ribbon attached to the side (which I have straightened since taking this picture!).

Hope everyone is staying dry - we are just off to see a show in Torquay which will be interesting given the dampness but we'll see what happens!

(sorry if the font looks weird on this post!).

Extravaganza Update

Just a quick post today.
As eluded to several weeks ago this is a picture of all the goodies we made on Jenny's fabulous Christmas Stampin' Up Extravaganza.

Now everyone at Crafty Bunch has had their day I can share this for anyone else to see what we made.
It was an action packed day!
Firstly we decorated a tin and then made 6 cards to go in it (2 each of 3 designs).
Then we decorated a box and made 4 mini cards & 4 tags to go in that.
Then we decorated another tin and made the lovely wall hanging in the middle of this picture - isn't it great.

The stamp set is 'Chock-full of cheer' and potentially looks uninspiring when you first see it but Jenny came up trumps and we made some great goodies and can now make many more as we get to keep the stamp set.

More doodling!

To complete the Zentangle story from last week are my final samples I made for Crafty Bunch.

Anne sent me the stamped images that were going to be handed out to everyone and I had another doodle whilst looking through a couple of Zentangle books, trying to use different patterns.

Some of them got a bit too detailed but I do have a habit of doing things a bit fiddly.

The dresses contain quite a few patterns so I just used one pattern in each wing of the dragonfly.  The top one contains 4 different patterns, the bottom one I have made more symmetrical with just 2.

Each of the sections of the body contains a different doodle though!

The cards could of done with a bit of doodling round the edges or corners but because I stuck them together the night before it was a bit late - maybe next time.

I was quite excited a while ago after first trying Zentangle that I found a pack of multi-coloured fine liners (I might of forgotten about) which I thought would make some lovely coloured cards as Elizabeth over at her lovely blog said she has tried.

Needless to say this trial is still on the long to-do list!

A lovely Wedding

Congratulations to Eve & John who got married yesterday.

I made the Wedding Invitations and the place names that featured on here more recently.

This is the card I made them which ties in with the colours used.  It is a design I have used before but because it is so versatile I have to keep using it!  It uses a tag punch, matching card, punched hearts and some lovely wedding vellum and then I've personalised it with names, date & venue.  The 'new Mr & Mrs' stamp is from the SU Marry Me set.

St Audries Park (on the North Somerset coast) was an amazing venue and I can see why they wanted to get married there.

I also made this box as the bride wanted to keep all the invitation replies.  It is another trusty criss-cross box made from the materials 

used for the wedding stationery.

Even the weather  was lovely so it was a very enjoyable weekend.

We got to stay too so had a lovely walk on the Quantocks before lunch in Dunster to make the most of the sunshine on the way home.

Just some Thank You cards to finish now and we're all done!

Tangled Flowers

One of the subjects at Crafty Bunch this month was 'Zentangle'.  Something I would like to have more time to do because I do find it very addictive.

I looked through my stamps to find reasonable size designs with open space in them for tangling and was surprised I didn't have too many options.

I then had a thought and made a stencil using my Stampin' Up Blossom punch.  I punched the design then used the 'hole' as a stencil on card which I then cut out with a circle punch and layered on to a large scalloped circle.

For the first card I did a different tangle pattern in each petal, adding a circle in the middle too.  The outer circles were added using a stencil of a little circle punch.

The second card uses the hollibaugh pattern in 3 petals and different patterns in the rest.  Circles in the corner added in the same way but filled in with different patterns this time.

It seemed to go down well on the night - helped by the lovely samples from Anne, Karen & Janet and I think we got some new converts to the art.

Cheers!

This card was a bit of a quick make but I'm really pleased with it and might do more!

The stamp set is the now-retired 'Cheers to you' from Stampin' Up.  I stamped the 3 glass images and coloured them slightly with copics.  I then added a little gloss to the berries/olives.

I punched these out and mounted them on a square of card.
The sentiment was in a lovely little set from Ladybug Crafts called 'It's Only Words 2' and I had these glasses in mind when I bought it.  I stamped this and layered like the images.

I was then trying a passing navy square card for size and was quite happy with how it looked so stuck them down quickly!

Wedding Table Names

I have emerged from the chaos temporarily!
If you regularly keep tabs on me you may recall that I completed some Wedding Invitations a few months ago for some friends.

Today's picture is the table names which I have made for the Wedding.  They are slightly bigger than the invitations and are the largest square I could get out of a sheet of A4.  Again made with Centura show white pearl card and a strip of burgundy ribbon round them.

The letters are cut out using my little Impress machine, layered on the pearl card then burgundy - again to copy the invites.

Those of you that know me well will not be surprised to find out there is a cycling link and all the tables are named after jerseys in famous cycle races.

The Wedding is next Saturday so looking forward to it now - we get to stay the night too in the lovely venue.

Got a bit addicted to Zentangle again today making some samples for Crafty Bunch on Wednesday - must go to bed now!

So busy!

Not quite made it back to blogging yet as far too many things this week that don't fit in to the available days.

I held another 2 Quilling Workshops last weekend which were a repeat of the snowflakes I did last month.  I had 9 lovely ladies and they all had a successful time, especially the complete beginners who really didn't believe me when I said they would take some completed quilling home - it was lovely to see their amazement when they completed a snowflake card - some of them even got a little adventurous too.

Sunday was a trip to the Sincerely Yours show in Taunton where a few more things I didn't really need had to come home with me.  It was quite a social too as being local I met several crafty friends and through various courses or just turning up too much I know some stall holders to chat to as well.

Off to a Craft Fair tomorrow - amazing how many cards I have when I rustled them together - not including all the partially finished cards & gift boxes I keep finding.  Mulled Wine & Mince Pies, along with 26 stalls, available at Long Sutton Primary School for those in the vicinity.

I shall return at the weekend with some pictures from the chaos of this week!
Jill

More quilled flowers

Oops - scanned these cards in and neglected to blog them - sorry!

These are a couple of the quilled cards I made this week, I did them in different colourways too.

These are always popular sellers and were made up to give someone else from work a choice as they specifically wanted quilled cards.

I made them with 2mm paper in the hope they would sneak through the post better but I'm not entirely sure about the success of that - I will conduct an experiment at the weekend.

Not much else to say really!  The purple flowers are mounted on layered squares and a 'Sassy Sentiment' stamped from an SU set.  The small card has a punched envelope with a stamped message appearing from it, all of which is layered on an oval edged with matching ink and finished with a couple of peel off corners.

A crazy week ahead but I shall endeavour to keep up with some posting!

Quilled Flower Pots

I have been trying to finish some quilled cards the last couple of days - as I haven't quite I am going to re-post an image from a card from earlier in the month.

You may remember I bought a kit at the Quilling Guild AGM from JJ Quilling.  At the time the kit was not available to buy on line but I am pleased to report this week that you can now purchase the 'Flower Pot Trio' kit from the JJ Quilling website and for the bargain price of only £1.95.

This is the design I made up and then added it to a larger card and added a sentiment.

Excitingly this is one of 6 new kits just launched including a fabulous one based on the very en vogue 'Keep Calm' saying.

Browsing the kits also reminded me of a kit I have in my stash that Diane Boden produced last year inspired by 'Strictly' for all you fans out there.  Do pop over and have a browse (and a little treat!).

Secret day out!

Well, I have had a lovely day today but unfortunately I can't reveal many of the details on here!

I have been to a Stampin' Up Extravaganza day with the lovely Jenny.  I would usually enjoy this day with the local Crafty Bunch ladies in East Coker but cannot attend the day next month as we are off to a Wedding.
After my initial disappointment at missing out I managed to book a place on the same workshop but nearer Jenny's house down towards Poole.

It wasn't the same not knowing most of the ladies there but Jenny and her fab Mum Sue looked after us, the latter making sure we had plenty of beverages through the day (and some great cake of course).

I am not going to share any photos yet as it has to be a surprise to everyone that hasn't been on the day yet - and to be honest I need to finish off a couple of the projects.  Jenny excelled herself in what I think must be the most ambitious set of projects yet for the time we had - there was barely time for lunch.

I (nearly) have 3 lovely projects though, some more great ideas and another great new Stampin' Up stamp set.
I think Crafty Bunch will thoroughly enjoy their day but I recommend a good nights sleep beforehand because I am now exhausted.

As a note to Karen I can report that neither myself nor my Mum won a raffle prize (not that I ever have).  Mum did win a table prize (she always does) but donated it to me!  Good luck on your day - the chances are much higher with my Mum not turning up to steal all the goodies.

Simple but effective

This card is an idea I found on kraftsbykatemartin.blogspot some time ago and thought how effective it was.

Handily enough Crafty Bunch had purchased this Stampin' Up lace ribbon border punch (now discontinued) so I borrowed it to have a go.  The punch never appealed to me until I saw this card - just goes to show that someone else's use of something can lead you down a completely different path.

The border is backed by coloured 1" punched circles and a little gem in the middle of each 'flower'.
For those that can't bear to throw anything away Janet from Crafty Bunch also recommended keeping the little punch scrap flowers too for making little hydrangea flowers!

Stamped sentiment from SU Curly Cute set and mounted on card to match the circles.
A break from crafting last night as I got a ticket to watch an advance preview of the new James Bond film - thanks to his use of one of the company helicopters in the new movie.  It was a great film (and always better for free).

Plenty more to blog at the weekend - thanks for popping by.
Jill

Birthday Flowers

Another quick colouring-in today!

Had a request from work for someone that has had a few cards before so I tried to rustle up a few things within the criteria that he hadn't had before.

This is a Personal Impressions stamp that I have had quite a bit of use out of.  Coloured with copics - the 'outfit' used BV11, 13 & 17 from the new Limited Edition box so I made sure I used the fine tip too!

Punched out using a scallop punch and dabbed the edge with matching ink.

Simply layered on matching card.  The base of the card I added some matching paper from a Country Companions set that I also added a little sparkle too.

Sentiment is from my new SU 'Sassy Salutations' set which I bought because I loved the font - the Christmas one will feature shortly I hope.

Owl Gift Box

And yet another criss cross box for a present.

I've done a few of these now but I enjoy making them and think they make a really nice, useful present.

They are designed for 6 cards but I've snuck 8 in to this one!

The box is decorated with paper from a Papermania pack.

The cards then use some of this paper and matching card and a rather large array of Stampin' Up punches - including Owl Builder, Bird Builder, Photo Corners, Modern Label, Decorative Label, 1.75" circle & Word Window! 

I couldn't find my SU scallop punch when I wanted it (unearthed it now!) so had to use a woodware one.

At least I am getting my money out of the punches which I do use a lot.

I've added little peel off greetings on 6 of the cards, leaving 2 blank and finished off some with some matching card candi.

Molly Blooms Workshop

Finally I have finished the card I started in a workshop last week.

We had a couple of days in the Lake District and I always visit The Paper Warehouse near Kendal when we go as it is a lovely shop.  Last year I was lucky enough to visit on their Christmas demo day which was superb - whilst checking what was on this year it turned out I was in the area on a day when the lovely Clare Rowlands - creator & designer of Molly Blooms stamps was running a workshop.  Obviously I had to go!

Clare gave us this stamped image which combines 2 of her new Christmas designs - the skater & the lamppost.  Our pack also had a card with all the paper required to make this fab card.

What also appealed about the workshop was the fact that Clare uses Copic pens.  I have coloured the image, used glitter on some of the white areas for Christmas sparkle, added glossy accents on the boots and I loved her use of the little white dots on the girls face and scarf.

A selection of cutting, stamping and 'distressing' with London Fog Memento ink gives this fab card.  There is a picture of the inside too!

Clare has also just released a great magazine, worth it for the stamps alone but it also comes with papers, buttons, ribbons and a great stamp set - click 'here' for the link to her blog page about it (& all for £7.99).

I met some lovely ladies too and do visit the shop if you are lucky enough to be in the area.

Flowerpot Birthday

A similar, but slightly different, card to one from a recent post.

I had enough brown quilling paper left for another pot - I must have more in the house but didn't have any to hand so decided to make one pot a feature of this card which was for a Crafty Bunch birthday.

Flowers made from the kit from JJ Quilling.  I have mounted the pot & flowers on some X-Cut dies and some matching pearly paper which are all layered on to a lovely shaped card from Craftwork Cards.

Some Anita's gems added in the corners and an SU stamped sentiment punched out and mounted on further SU punched labels.

I am now off to glitter the ongoing card that I might post soon!

Champion

Well - is it just me that has had a spot of bother with Mr Blogger for the past few days?  I'm afraid I ran out of time to schedule posts before I had some time away so there has been a small break in posts again - but back to it!

Another request (of which I did two for different relatives) for a gold medal winning sport-related card.

I've punched a gold 'medal' and added London Olympic colour ribbon to it, name & age added with peel offs.

I've then used my Woodware sport stamps set again in different coloured inks and mounted them on matching card.  Stamped sentiment punched out and mounted and the whole card finished off with some little stamped gold stars.

Just need to complete a card I started at a workshop last week and I can report on that too.

Floral Birthday

I actually quilled a card again - hoorah!

This design caught my eye at the recent Quilling Guild AGM and I bought a kit from JJ Quilling run by the very talented Diane Boden (very well assisted by Mr Boden I must add).

Apologies the kit isn't available to buy on line and I'm sure I will be told if you aren't allowed to see this image!

I made up the card for Mum's birthday and she was really pleased with it.

I cut the A6 card that came in the kit and mounted it on green & brown card to make it bigger and so I could get a sentiment on - this one is a Stampin' Up one from the Curly Cute set.

Parchment Day

A lovely non-crafting crafty day out today!

I went along to a South West gathering of the Parchment Craft Guild and what a great day it was.
I first started parchment about 20 years ago when Pergamano was first introduced to the UK.  I was lucky enough to be taught by a fabulous quiller who had been one of the first Pergamano tutors taught by Martha Ospina.  As I then got in to rubber stamping and many other things I have lapsed in and out over the years but still love it.  It's a shame it is one of the more time consuming crafts when we all seem to have so few hours in the day.

Today there were 40 very friendly ladies and we were lucky enough to get 4 different 'sessions'.
Alison Yeates from Kingfisher Crafts did a great demo using watercolour (and the lovely polychromos pencils) on parchment, Linda Williams who is Chair of the Guild had some great tips on using grids and gave a demo on shadow writing as featured in a fabulous (currently out of print) Christmas book she has written and Gail Sydenham made painting with acrylics look amazingly easy!
We all had to miss one of the 4 demos so the demonstrators could have a break, unfortunately I didn't get to see Christine Coleman today but thanks to Sue Pritchard for telling us all about the Guild exam system, showing us examples and giving us some tips.

Well done to Celia Preston for pulling off a great day and keeping us fed and watered.

Much more inspiration and I will have to now see what parchment tools I can dust off to use!

Bookworm

Apologies (especially to Janet!) for going missing - an exceptionally mental week.

Another commissioned card today for a special birthday.

When I asked if there was a particular theme or hobby for the card 'bookworm' was suggested and I immediately thought of this digi image that I've had in the stash for ages (sorry I'm not sure where it came from).

I coloured it in Copics and have 3D'd the image by adding a second layer of the bow, open book & bottom pile of books.  I have then added these to a couple of 'pages' stuck to the card.  The paper is from a Country Companions pack which I added some sparkle too.

Computer generated sentiment layered on matching card.

New pens!!

Ooooh, look what I picked up from the post office on the way to work today - needless to say my work colleagues did not share my excitement on what was in the box!

As the box says this is a limited edition Copic sketch set - they are black bodied pens and have the normal brush tip but also a fine nib end.

I believe there might still be a set available from Stamps and Memories.  After thinking I would like them I decided to see if I could sell enough cards in the meantime to fund the set (work would definitely not understand how much a set of pens has to cost too!) - and I did, hooray, I think that makes me feel less guilty!

Aren't they lovely?!

Quilled Snowflake Cards

As promised, the sample cards I made for my workshops yesterday.

They are 4x4" cards and I die-cut some matching backings with an x-cut nesting die which set the blue & turquoise snowflakes off nicely.  I used punches for the red snowflake.

I had some beginners in my classes but also some ladies who had mastered the basic shapes so I added some filigree shapes 3 of the cards.

The blue snowflake uses tight coils, teardrops &  marquise shapes.  The turquoise one incorporates some 'p' shapes, the red one some filigree hearts and the last one 'feelers'.

I made 3 of each card so everyone could see one 'for real' in front of them - I like to see what I am working towards if there is a specific target.

I also had other Christmas designs if anyone wanted to try something else and had some examples of snowflakes quilled in 5mm and 10mm paper which look lovely hung on a Christmas tree.

The beginners made some lovely cards, even with some variations to the patterns (so many combinations of these shapes are possible), my Japanese visitors cards were beautifully & finely quilled and Val over at Aquarius blog did a grand job and finished a third card for homework!

International Quilling Workshop!

 A couple of pictures from one of my Christmas workshops in Somerset.

A slightly daunting prospect for me today because Shiro & Noriko from Japan came.

They came to the UK last week to visit the Quilling Guild AGM and are staying in the country for a couple of weeks.  They saw my workshop advertised on the Guild website and asked if they could come along.

Their work displayed at the AGM was fantastic and I have only just read that Shiro is in fact a Fellow of the Quilling Guild.

Sue also came along who is one of the other Guild local contacts for Somerset.  I had 2 absolute beginners and 3 other ladies who have done one workshop with me before.

I provided some Snowflake card options, as well as other Christmas options if anyone wanted to have a try at something else.

Today's beginners took to it brilliantly - you can see the hard work in this picture!
It was lovely to see Shiro & Noriko's work in action up close as their quilling is quite fine and so neat.  Everyone took away at least 2 snowflake cards and wants to come again.

After a quick lunch and a tidy another 8 ladies turned up for the afternoon session - apologies but we were so busy I forgot to take a picture (some of my blog visitors may be relieved to know that).
More snowflakes and keen quillers so a very successful day.

I will add pictures of the cards tomorrow.  Thanks for popping by.
Jill

Harvest

Just passing again!

This is one of the pieces I made for the regional table in the previous blog post.

The fruit bowls and contents were based on                 patterns in one of my quilling books (slightly buried as I type this but I can let anyone know if required!).

The bowls were solid coils, pushed out to form the shape and covered in glue so they stayed in shape.
Apples, oranges & grapes are also a selection of tight coils.

The basket was also based on an idea in the same book and involved graph paper and latticing.  The handle was plaited.

The basket is then filled with carrots which did create a bit of interest at my last demo when I was making a few.  They are made from 2 tight coils, one pushed right out for the 'body' and a little one (slightly smaller) sat in the top.  Leaves are trimmed pieces of 10mm paper.

To scale this picture, the carrot bodies (excluding leaves) are less than 1".

Quilling Guild regional display

Another report on my trip to the Quilling AGM at Lutterworth at the weekend.

I am a local contact in Somerset for the Guild, along with Sue near Bridgwater. A group of quillers meet one Friday evening a month and twice a year all day on a Sunday in Woolavington - something I started to attend over 20 years ago as we discussed at the weekend!

From these groups and ourselves we had a theme for our regional table as harvest festival/autumn and brought together all the contributions. At the beginning of the week we thought we had half a dozen items so were rather surprised that one table wasn't enough when we put the display out.

We were very pleased with how it looked but unfortunately knew straight away that some of the other tables had that extra 'factor' that would make them winners. There were some lovely things on display.

I will get some better pictures of the pieces that were my contribution for future posts.

A great weekend

I finally made it back from a few days away and it has been great.

A trip through the Cotswolds stopping off in Bourton-on-the-Water and Moreton-in-the-Marsh whilst heading up to the Quilling Guild AGM in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

The AGM was on Saturday with displays, competitions, goodies to buy (& many people to chat to!), followed by a shared ideas day on Sunday which was so enjoyable.

Today was a much longer day than planned but we stopped off at the Cotswold Wildlife Park on the way back - I was very impressed and had a great day.

I have just plugged my camera in from the weekend and it has taken a while to download all my photos.  I've rescued a quick Giraffe one for today - I don't think I've ever been so close to one and they really are weirdly fascinating.

I shall report back on the Quilling days and probably more exciting animals this week in between preparing for more workshops at the weekend and that will be another tale for the weekend!
Thanks for popping by.
Jill

Boofle

A quick Boofle post before I go away Quilling for a few days, sorry for the lack of posts again.

Boofle was stamped using the 'kiss' technique.
I inked up a texture stamp in gold and a Boofle stamp in brown and 'kissed' them together and stamped on my card.

I then used my SU stamp-a-ma-jig to align his outline over this stamped image and he's nearly there.  I then stamped his nose and heart out separately on coloured card and stuck these on, then cut the complete Boofle out.

Papers are from a Boofle pack.  Peel off greeting mounted on SU oval punches and Boofle on large circle and scalloped circle punches.

More Snowflakes

Still busy quilling, but some things are still work in progress I'm afraid.

These are a few more snowflakes to add to the collection.

Nothing amazing or too complicated but just to show how different shapes and varying combinations of them come together.

I have found all sorts of patterns in the books and magazines I have and plan to make some of the fancier filigree ones at the weekend where I am demonstrating at Yandles, Martock, Somerset.  Then the following week it's off to the Quilling Guild AGM in Leicestershire before 2 quilling workshops the week after that and then a slight rest!

'Marry Me'

There just aren't enough hours in the day!
Trying not to get distracted from my quilling samples but my order of Christmas Boofle & Michael Powell came today - I may have to relapse a little at the weekend, they are so lovely.

I have made 2 of these cards for a request this week.

Stamp is from 'Marry Me' Su set, stamped in Bravo Burgundy ink,

mounted on burgundy & gold card.

Congratulations sentiment from Forever Friends wedding set and also double mounted.

I then rather painstakingly made a pile of burgundy quilled folded roses to add as a border and quilled some little leaves and a few tendrils to finish off.

Snowflakes

Another quick post - sorry!

These are a couple of quilled snowflakes I've mounted on cards for one of the many September Quilling events!

They are just simple shapes - a tight coil in the centre and teardrops in 2 colours.  The turquoise is a fabulous shade and the black is pearlised paper which you really have to see for real!

These are beginner snowflakes - I'm working on some more fancy filigree ones to show the range of options.

These are mounted on shapes cut using Papermania dies in matching card colour and a stamped greeting from the first issue of Creative Stamping.

Rabbit

And another request ...

This is a lovely Woodland Folk rabbit from the decoupage set.

I've mounted him in a scalloped circle and added to a card which I've covered using a piece of paper from a Papermania pad.  

Using Stampin' Up Punch Potpourri I've stamped the flowers and punched out with the matching Boho Blossoms punch.

Peel offs layered on to matching card for a greeting.
Mainly on to Quilling now for many events in September - amazing how many other things you suddenly find you want to do when you should be doing something else!