31 December 2015

Happy New Year

Well, December was much more manic than I wanted but I've just about survived.

I shall be having a little blogging holiday for a couple of weeks whilst I plan the year ahead.

If you (or anyone you know) would like to learn Quilling though I will be running a workshop at Yandles, Martock on Saturday 30th January from 10 until 12.30pm showing you all the basic shapes which you will learn and then make a couple of cards to practice them too.

Cost is £15 for all materials, use of any equipment and light refreshments.
Call Yandles Hobby Shop on 01935 822571 to book - I will follow on with a Spring Quilling workshop, then a Butterflies workshop in February and March too.

Yesterday - the worst day of the holiday weather wise - we had a day out at Longleat to visit the Chinese Festival of Light.  We made a day of it, getting rather damp in the process, visiting lots of animals and then the lights when it was dark, it's really worth a visit.

Unfortunately my ice skating excursion there with my Godson got cancelled due to the weather but we still filled the day.  Here are a couple of pictures as a taster:



The pagoda temple is made using 80,000 ceramic pieces (cups, bowls, plates and spoons) and is 52 feet high - very impressive!

Happy New Year and see you soon.
Jill

12 December 2015

Three seasons!


These are 3 pictures which I made for a recent commission.

They use the lovely Stampin' Up! set called Sheltering Tree.
I was only asked to make 3 frames but of course they also lend themselves very nicely to making a set for 4 seasons.

I've added one of the sentiments to the first tree and added some punched hearts.
The stamp set also features the swing, bike and broom that are shown on the pictures.

6 December 2015

Boofle goes snowboarding

A little bit of Christmas today!

This is a quick Boofle card I made with a decoupage pack I've had a while (one of the packs from the massive stash!!).

I cut out the layers of Boofle and added the picture to a red square which I rounded the corners on.

Sentiment from a retired SU set, punched and layered on another punch.

Everything mounted on a lovely kraft card and finished with card candi to match.

For anyone not keeping an eye on me on Facebook too I've also been modelling Christmas hats today which might amuse you!


29 November 2015

Debbie Demo Day

Yesterday I did a super little make and take workshop at Yandles.

I met up with a friend and we went early to have lunch and a gossip first.  We also met Val from Aquarius Blog and with a few other ladies had a fun afternoon.

Debbie Frost is a Woodware and Stix2 Demo.  She does demos and workshops for Liberty Craft in Exmouth and some great days with Janet in Exmouth - see Jan-Debz-Days on Facebook if you are enabled!

Debbie did a demo on a lovely bubble blooms stamp that I have so I will have to try that sometime.  We then used the same technique but on this card:


The background was made with water soluble pens and acetate.  The dots do have glitter in them too.

Last time I used a hot glue gun I wasn't a fan so we weren't convinced when we were told they were up for use yesterday BUT I might have to find mine and have another go - we made the 3 embellishments on the right of the card by making a dot of hot glue and covering with glitter.  They looked fab so I may have another go.

After some more great tips we then made a tag:


This used more Stix2 products - the stripes are red double sided tape with transfer foils.
The flower is covered in micro breads with another glue dot & glitter in the centre.

A great time was had by all, thanks Debbie and everyone that went along.
Jill


22 November 2015

Good Luck

Another commission today - I got back to work on Monday last week and had several requests which got added to during the week, no wonder I never catch up with myself!

This card was for someone at work who is being seconded elsewhere for a while.  I wasn't quite sure what to do but came across the Tatty Teddy image and thought it was quite suitable.

I used a stamp from SU Kinda Eclectic for the background of the card and added some little punched butterflies too, stamped from the same set and finished with a little added pearl.


19 November 2015

Graduating Owl


Catching up with pictures of recent commissions this is a second graduation card I made after seeing the idea on Pinterest.

I've used a selection of dies and punches to form the owl which I think is rather effective,

I even got to use the Happy Graduation stamp from my Teeny Tiny Sentiments set that I didn't think I would ever use.

15 November 2015

Brussels

I have returned from the Stampin' Up! event in Brussels so need to get going on everything again and keep you updated.

I had many more plans for today but long waits to get out of France meant I have been exhausted so I've thought about it all today instead!

Here's a picture of the Grand Place in Brussels at night, doesn't it look great?


We were a little early for the Christmas markets but they were putting up the huts in preparation during the days we were there.

Back to reality now! (well, after some more sleep).
Jill

10 November 2015

Too busy crafting!

With all the best intentions I haven't been able to keep on top of blogging recently although I have been very busy crafting (and at work - shocking!!).

I am off on a little adventure tomorrow though and I've added a few scheduled posts to JillStampsUp so do pop past to see what I've been up to.

Back soon!

Jill

5 November 2015

Graduation Day


A commissioned card for a graduation today.
I made another card and then suddenly remembered I had this image which is a die-cut Jolly Nation image from the stash!

I've layered him on a couple of die-cuts.  The books were on the same die-cut page.

The stamp is Sassy Salutations from Stampin' Up! and the little 'Happy Graduation' stamped across the back is from Teeny Tiny Sentiments - admittedly another stamp I thought I wouldn't use so it turned out to be handy.

23 October 2015

'Cup of Warmth'

I'll start again with one of the projects we did for Crafty Bunch this month.

 

The instructions can be found here.

I first saw this on Create and Craft with Clare Rowlands who is very talented and brilliant with copics.

It's a really effective project and the girls really enjoyed it - it's easy too and they all took a finished one home.

I've used some discontinued SU paper but the stamps are both from current sets, the penguin being a favourite of mine recently.

Each mug contains some mallows in a bag, a hot choc sachet, a decorated stirrer and I've added a candy cane in mine!

I also have a great bag to put these in I will add a picture of soon.

21 October 2015

Still here!

So, setting up a few posts before I snuck off to watch cycling in Manchester didn't go to plan as we suddenly left earlier than anticipated!!  A manic week since I returned but thankfully followed by 2 lovely relaxing days in the spa at Center Parcs - it was sooo lovely.

I was just going to add a photo but I have some better ones on my camera so I will find them tomorrow and update www.jillstampsup.blogspot.co.uk for today instead!

5 October 2015

Some Royal Quilling!

There have been so many things I wanted to quill since the Annual Display recently it was so inspirational.

This is a thank you card for the caterers that helped at our event.  Clever Cobbs in Sherborne did a super job for us providing drinks all day and lovely home made lunches and were so helpful to anyone with special dietary requirements.

They even made us picnic bags for the next day so we were very spoilt this year.  Do pop in if you are in the area for lunch or tea and cake!

The flower in the centre of this is called a 'royal flower' and is credited on Pinterest to Amna Al Fardh who is a super quiller.  I followed instructions from a blog here to make this flower which I demoed at the Quill, Chat & Quill day and you will be seeing lots more of.

I have then surrounded it with a selection of fringed and coiled flowers in shades of white and yellow.  I've added a stamped Thank You and a few solid coils in the corners for the finishing touch.

3 October 2015

Even more Butterflies

Still on a butterfly theme, and rather similar to another card I did recently, this is one I made for a special birthday.

The colours were chosen specifically for the recipient and I've used a selection of Stampin' Up! stamps, dies and an embossing folder.

Val at Aquarius Blog did a super case this week of my other card, it's great to see how different they look in the various colours too.







27 September 2015

Butterfly Anniversary

Taking a picture of my baubles didn't fare so well so I will return to those another day!

This card is a commission I did recently.


It uses Stampin' Up! supplies but some of them are now retired - including the rather lovely paper I'm afraid.

All the butterfly stamps and dies are still available though and I've used the colours of Crumb Cake and Rich Razzleberry to stamp and cut them.

A Teeny Tiny Sentiment with punches and some thread, lace, pearls and an embellishment to finish.

25 September 2015

White Christmas


This is a zoomed in pic of my tree on the day - I shall stage another photo shoot at the weekend so you can have a better look at the baubles.

I still wanted to add a few more to the tree but it looked ok and I did sneak a couple more in the early hours the night before the display!

22 September 2015

Quilling Regional Display

The Quilling Guild AGM and Annual Display has been and gone.  It was a great success and I thought I'd need a few days off quilling but I am actually all inspired and raring to go again after seeing such great creations and ideas at the weekend.

I have many photos to sort but thought I'd share the regional table that I assisted with.


The ladies from the Woolavington group did a great job in providing decorations so we could decorate all these trees.

I made some white snowflakes and put them in baubles which are all on the white twig tree - I'll add a clearer picture of these another day and get some close ups of the decorations.

With some decorated presents, cards and 3D figures the table looked lovely.
We came a very close second which I'm not sure if I wanted to know or not!!

16 September 2015

Quilling Display

Lots of commissions going on currently that I will start to share next week.
You can read about one of my recent projects over on JillStampsUp today (as previewed in pieces last time).

As, of course, there is quite a bit of quilling going on currently.

This Saturday 19th September is the Annual Display of Quilling hosted by The Quilling Guild at the Digby Hall in Sherborne (DT9 3AA).

We are open to the public from 12.30 to 5pm - do pop along and have a look at the great displays, competitions and be tempted by the traders.

We also have tea, coffee, cake and light refreshments available.
Admission is £1 and accompanied children are free.

6 September 2015

Busy, busy ...

A quick picture from the chaos!

Friday night I popped across to Woolavington for us to assess how the regional table is looking for the AGM and Saturday morning Butterfly Bright in Sherborne kindly hosted my pop-up demo/make and take.   This picture is from their Facebook page, thanks to everyone that popped in (and I look forward to seeing your creations Jose):


It's a super shop selling fabric, wool, cottons etc but also some gorgeous hand made goodies - do pop in and say hi.

They have kindly put my picture in the window to advertise the Annual Display too:


Like I don't have enough to do I have today finished off some samples and made up packs for the girls who I hope are coming to Crafty Bunch this week:


I really liked the project so I hope the girls do too.

All this before a well deserved relaxing and entertaining evening at the theatre to see The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain who are fabulous.

Phew.


1 September 2015

And finally ...

... the last few thank you's!

After doing the other cards in 2 different colour ways I had to do something a little different but not too snazzy as there were some time constraints!

I used the SU Sheltering Tree set again for the bike and made these:


The framelits and sentiment stamp are also from SU.

A bit of cutting out involved but the bike is really easy to stamp - even if I did have a pile to do!

All cycling thank you cards now done hopefully.

25 August 2015

More Thank You's

Many of you will be aware I am currently assisting in organising the Quilling Guild Annual Display in Sherborne this year (19th September!) so I'm sorry I can't share too much quilling at the moment.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Diane and Tris at JJ Quilling today as on Sunday I realised the white paper I had been using to make a load of pieces was 'warm white' and I had slipped in to using 'ultra white' - both very lovely but not together for what I was doing!
I put in a little order late Sunday night through their great website, it was packed and sent Monday and I received it in the post today - no quilling time lost and I can carry on seamlessly.

If you want to see their more than extensive range of colours (including many different shades of white!) they will have all their paper and goodies in Sherborne.  A must in itself before you admire what can then be done with it.

Anyway, back to a spot of non-quilling.  Whilst making some more cycling thank you cards the other day I remembered I still hadn't shared the second batch I made a few weeks ago.

They were just a different colourway to the first batch but still quite a few cards.
I used the SU Sheltering Tree set again.  I'll share batch 3 next time!


19 August 2015

Happy 40th

My brother-in-law was 40 at the weekend and this was his card:



He is a bit of a bike fan too so I used the Stampin' Up! set Sheltering Tree.
I've layered the image on some circle and starburst framelits.

The background card is from AnnaMarie and I've used an extra little bit to die cut the numbers out and layer like the main image.

Retired Bitty Banners used for the sentiment and finished with a few bits of card candi.

I then stamped the inside too to finish, the sentiment is from a Stampin' Up! hostess set called Happy Birthday Everyone.   The card was a rather fab 7x7" which is a great in-between size:



17 August 2015

Amazing Quilling

Well, what a super article Liz kindly wrote in the Western Gazette last week.
I hope you all have Saturday 19th September in your diaries!!

And if you or anyone you know would like to try quilling pop along to Butterfly Bright in Sherborne on Saturday 5th September and have a go for free - read all about them both below:


Many more reminders of this event to follow!

Jill

15 August 2015

More Mr & Mrs

Well, while the stamp set was out and I had a couple more wedding cards to make I tried a different colourway!


I am really trying to use up some paper from my stash - not that I'm using it quick enough.
The paper used on this card is an old DOCrafts pad.

I did remember to colour where the letters overlap this time with my copics which makes the letters blend a bit better.

I did one of these for a commission and one for a couple that I know that got married last week - both went down very well.

I have actually been busy quilling this week too but can't show you what I've been up to yet!

I better pop back tomorrow to remind/inform you of the Quilling events next month!!
Jill

11 August 2015

Lemon & Lime Wedding

A commission today with one of my much-used Woodware 'huge' stamps.

I was asked to make a card to go with the lemon and lime colour theme of the wedding and include a gin & tonic link if possible, so here it is:


I've used some suitable paper from my vast stash and paper pieced the letters, both the little sentiments are in the same stamp set.

Some punched hearts, the couples initials & some pearls were also added and the background was also stamped with a now discontinued SU set to refer to the g&t.  I added some glossy accents to the fruit & cherries on the drinks too which doesn't show as well in the picture.

It went down very well!

3 August 2015

Poppies

At Yandles craft fair a couple of weeks ago I had a play with some new Sheena Douglass stamps.

This new poppy stamp proved very popular:


This was a quick card just to demonstrate something different that could be done quickly.

I've stamped the image in memento ink twice, the second image I have punched out a circle containing most of a flower head and coloured it with copics.  This is then layered on a slightly larger circle to 'spotlight' it.

Simple but effective - you can't beat it!

Jill

31 July 2015

Drunk penguins

Another late night picture I'm afraid but this is a card I made for a leaver at work to be signed by everyone in the department, it is 8x8".


The inspiration being she rather likes a drink and is a big penguin fan!!

The penguins are made using the Stampin' Up! owl punch - they are sooo cute.
The drinks are from a now retired SU set which is quite handy - I've used it again today on another card.

The drinks were coloured with copics and some fluffy stuff added for the beer head and some glossy accents for the fruit on the drinks.

28 July 2015

More birthday cards

As promised if you click HERE you can see the lovely Birthday cards I received from the Bloomin' Buds - my Stampin' Up! team last week.

I was going to share another card I had made but Mr Blogger doesn't want to play!
I'll try again tomorrow.

Jill

26 July 2015

Another year older!

Another birthday this week and I was lucky enough to receive lots of handmade cards.

These ones are from Crafty Bunch and one or two other friends.  They are all lovely and I must mention Jenny who is new to our quilling group at Woolavington and who made me a card.

She had never made quilled roses before and I showed her a few weeks ago and that is what she has used on the card - fab job Jenny - many people run away at the mere mention of them!


I was also lucky enough to receive a selection from my Stampin' Up! chums at last weeks meeting - I'll share the link for these next time!

Jill

19 July 2015

'Twitching'!

Just another quick pop past - thanks to everyone that came past Yandles yesterday to say hello.

I had a busy day stamping and colouring with copics - I'll share some of the cards I made shortly.

Just a little teaser pic from my holiday today.  I only have a bridge camera which has a pretty good zoom on it but not as amazing as some of the kit I saw on the day we visited the Loch of the Lowes near Dunkeld.

I did manage to get this though and hopefully you get an idea of what a great view we had - I'll fill you in next time!


13 July 2015

Holidays

I didn't get to set up enough posts to keep my blog going for my hols I'm afraid and I haven't had great internet access so need to catch up with everyone else's.

We had a couple of nights in the Lake District  (as it's a favourite of ours) on the way to stay near Crieff in Perthshire.

This was our home for the week in Scotland:



It was a lovely little lodge next to a loch around which there was a great 1.5 mile walk with loads of birds and wildlife.




This was one of our views, I was just getting used to it!!

I'll look out a couple more pics of our walks to share another time but I must make a few samples for Yandles on Saturday - hope you are all coming!

Jill

5 July 2015

Fathers Day!

Forgot to share this one.  This was in a La Pashe kit I've had for ages and I think was one of those things you save 'for best' which is why I've never used it - now I have!


It's very suitable for my father in law who is a huge footy fan.

There was quite a lot of cutting out in it - one of those things you wish you had't started - but I'm really pleased with the result.

Maybe I should use the other images in the pack now!

2 July 2015

Sporty Birthday

It was my nephews birthday this week and as he is sports mad I came up with this card:


I've used the Simply Sports set from Stampin' Up!, using different colours and stamping the balls twice to 3D them in a different colour.

The messages are from the same set and cut out with matching framelits.

The pennants are now retired but these were punched out and the card was finished with a few stars and a die cut 9.

29 June 2015

Sympathy Poppies

A sad card today for a crafting friend who died this month.  Years ago after I said I would never get in to stamping I was given a heat gun and some stamps and thought I'd look at using them.

I went to a little group run by 2 lovely ladies in their house and have learnt so much over the years and made good friends.

Sadly after all sorts of illnesses one of my friends died after a fall suddenly which was very sad but we have to take the fact that she didn't suffer and has left us with lots of craftiness and the family with gorgeous creations she has made over the years.



This simple card uses an Inkylicious stamp called Poppy.

I've stamped the image in black on the card and again on a separate piece in red so I could cut out and 3D the flowers on.

The bordered is stamped using an image from SU Watercolor Wings.

Sentiment from SU Teeny Tiny Sentiments and a couple of SU punches used.

Looking back I've got lots of tips over the years and realise on seeing all the family together how long we've known each other as they are all grown up with families now.

So rest in peace Rene x

21 June 2015

Bike thank yous

For anyone that has been keeping an eye on for me a while you may remember I occasionally produce a set of thank you cards for the bike races that I get involved with.

Well, it's that time of year again and I thought I had used all my cycling related stamps but then I remembered I have the Sheltering Tree set from Stampin' Up!.

This is the card I chose for the current crop of thank yous:


It's a great set to use and was great for a little production line!

The set has 14 different stamps so you can build a picture - I've used the grass, tree trunk, green leaves, then used a little stamp to add the yellow accents in the tree, the bike wheels/saddle are a stamp and the frame is a separate one so it can be a different colour!

I've then stamped a sentiment and punched it out, layering it on another punch to tie in the card layer below the main image.

These were handed out at a race today and I've just made another set for future use which I'll share when they have been passed on.



Did I mention I made 20 of these?!

Jill

17 June 2015

Stamping Demo!

A bit of a change to throw in to the mix for July as I will be doing some stamping demos at Yandles.
Do visit their Facebook page if you get the chance to see what else is on - there will be lots of demos with make & takes and workshops and a craft fair which has some great looking stalls lined up already.

I won't be doing anything too fancy - just trying to cover some of the basics and sometimes forgotten tips of stamping.

Tell all your friends!



13 June 2015

Quilled gifts

Some quilling? At last I hear you cry!!

At the last Quilling group meeting in Woolavington I cut out some little purse and curvy keepsake dies for the ladies to quill on.

I then used a few different ideas so that they could decorate the item whilst maybe using a technique they hadn't used before or for a while.


Sorry the picture doesn't show up these first two very well.
The purple box has a flower with grape roll petals on.  The cream box has a flower where the teardrops are edged in a contrasting colour, this is really effect and easy to do, although I could of done with another loop round of the yellow paper!


 Then I've made a butterfly with wheatears/loops and some fringed flowers.


And finally some 'dreaded' folded roses which quite a few ladies had a go at - they do look lovely on this little purse.

21 May 2015

Club night cards

A couple of cards from our last Crafty Bunch night.

All the girls were given some sheets of paper from The Potting Shed paper pack from Craftwork cards, along with some of the toppers.

I did a few samples, a couple of them are below:



The top card has some 3D wellies and I've only added the hessian ribbon, button and yellow & silver card to the pack.

Love the papers on the bottom card - I've had to sneak in my SU bow punch for this one and some card candi.

18 May 2015

The Perfect Blend

Another birthday card today - this time for a man!

Men cards are difficult sometimes.  Luckily this one is for a coffee drinker and I've used the Stampin' Up! set Perfect Blend.


I've stamped the cup twice on kraft card then stamped the lid on white card and layered it on, the same with the 'wrap' round the middle.

Sentiment is from Petite Pairs and I've used some card and paper from the stash - and the ever useful SU oval & scalloped oval punches.

17 May 2015

Happy 30th Balloons

Happy 30th Birthday to my cousin (and God-daughter!) Katie today.

This card is mainly Stampin' Up! supplies but not 100%.


I've used the stamp set Celebrate today from SU which I'm really pleased isn't going to retire because I love it and it's really useful.

I've used different colour inks and stamps to make the balloons and cut them out with the matching framelits.  The banners & bow were also cut with framelits.

The numbers were cut from a retired SU numbers set and the background stamped with some stars from Pictogram Punches before bakers twine was added to the balloons and gathered under a bow to finish.

10 May 2015

Workshop Cards

I can't believe I hadn't shared the cards I made at a workshop organised by Liberty Craft in Exmouth a few weeks ago.

It was a great day and we had 3 mini workshops during the day.

We had one session with the lovely Janet that used to own Japonica, one with Debbie who was Janet's assistant and Dorothy from Woodware made the very long journey down south for the day.

These 2 cards are from Debbie's workshop.  It was a lot to do in the time but I loved the cards.



The backgrounds used different stencilling, sponging and stamping techniques and the stamp set is one of those that looks nothing until you use it and then you have to buy it!

The set is called 'Doodle a Flower' and contains several stems, petals and flower centres for you to build a flower literally one petal/leaf at a time, great fun.

Do have a look at Liberty Craft particularly if you are on Facebook they have a page, as do Jan-Debs-Dayz with details of more exciting workshops.