Design team make.....Country Chickens

Hello everyone ..Genny here. For today's design team makes I have been working with another set of Hobby Art Stamps.This set is called Cockadoodledo and makes some lovely country themed cards.

What I really love about this set is the fact that you can also build a country side image as well as the cockerel, hen and chick. You also get the stamp that enables you to create the chicken wire..which will be so handy in lots of my mixed media work.The chicken wire stamp comes in two different sizes and is really easy to join..so you can make a fence as small or as large as you need. All the sentiments that I have used are also from a Hobby Art set. For both of these cards, I have used my watercolours...but you could use any of your colouring mediums. If you have any of the Hobby Art scenic sets..you could also use them to extend your countryside views. I stamped all the images using my Versafine inkpad..but if I was going to use my promarkers or copics, then I would always use my Memento inkpad.

I had great fun colouring the cockerel. He reminded me of a cockerel that my Grandmother had when I was a little girl. This particular cockerel seemed to me to be enormous and goodness me he had a bad temper. I can remember the fantastic colours that he had...most of all I can remember the sun shining on his tail feathers and the colours contained there. To try and describe it is just too hard but it was a cross between blue and green with all the colours between.I was always fascinated by the colours and always wanted to see him..but he wasn't impressed with little girls and would chase me the length of the yard.If you can imagine a chubby little girl in a flowery dress and wellies running for her life...that was me..lol

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to answer. For any of your crafting or sewing needs or wants, please get in touch with Julie, here at JB-Crafting Supplies. Next week I will be featuring another Pinflair Kit. So until then...take care and happy crafting.

Design team make....Garden Birds

Hello everyone...Genny here. Today for my design team makes this week, I am lucky enough to work with this set from Hobby Art Stamps....Garden Birds. If you would like to buy this set..please get in touch with Julie here at JB-Crafting Supplies. In fact anything that you need, Julie is the person to source it for you. 

For all these cards, I stamped all the birds with my Versafine inkpad because I knew that I wanted to use my watercolours..and Versafine is what I use with them. If I had wanted to colour the images with my promarkers or any of my alcohol pens, I would always use a Memento ink pad.

The top two cards feature a coal tit and a great tit and below is a blue tit. I admit to not knowing many birds but I had a great reference book..so I could try to get the colours right. I thoroughly enjoyed working with these stamps and if like me you have lots of friends who bird watch either out and about or just at their own bird tables..these cards would be perfect to use for them.

What I also wanted to do but just didn't have the time..was to create some really funky coloured birds, alongside some funny quotes. I will try and make a couple for next week..just to show you a different way of using them. On the stamp set itself, you get 3 different birds, the flowers and some branches and leaves. I just love Hobby Art Stamps because they always stamp so well and combine really well .I was also thinking with some of the Hobby Art 'scenic stamps', you could easily make a scenic background and put the bird at the front. I may have to have a go at that as well.

I hope that you like the cards and get a little inspiration. For any of your crafting needs..just ask Julie. If there is ever anything that you would like me to feature in any future blogs..just get in touch and I will try my hardest to do it. So until next time..take care and happy crafting.

Design team make...Pinflair Kit

Hello everyone...Genny here. For todays design team make,I was lucky enough to work with this Pinflair Tissue Box cover. This is the third Pinflair kit I have made recently and I have to say that I love them. Julie, here at JB-Crafting Supplies has all the kits available, as well as a fantastic rangeof material...you're sure to find one that one that will fit in with your personal taste. I have chosen to work with this material that is covered in strawberries.

The kit itself comes with full instructions but I did notice one thing that wasn't mentioned and I have tosay that because it wasn't made clear, I ended up taking it to pieces and starting again.

To ensure that the top fits correctly on top..you need to ensure that the short endsare attached to the inside of the long lengths..hopefully the pictures above and below make this clear.If you don't do this..the top will not fit neatly

When they are in place properly... the lid part of the box fits perfectly. Because I had to take it apart again..I had run out of the gummed paper..so I used cellotape and it was fine. I added quite a bit of sellotape to fix everything securely.

Then I covered the top with a piece of the material. It is best to take your time gluing around the hole at the top. I cut through the material and made little cuts around the inside edge to ensure that I could get a smooth finish around the hole.One thing that I did think was that if I was making this as a gift, I would line the inside of the top..just to make it extra tidy. And thinking on this, I would use the top as a template and fix that in place to hide the stickings from the top. It doesn't need to be done but that's just a personal touch I would add if it was going to be a gift. And as far as I can tell..it would take just a little extra fabric. If you were using the Pinflair fabric as I did..there is more than enough spare to do it. In fact I have a little piece left..which I will be working with in the next couple of weeks to match in with the tissue box.

And here is the finished item. I am so pleased with it and hope you will take a look at all the wonderful kits that Julie has available. They can easily be made in an afternoon and are a pleasure to make.

Well that's it for me for this week.Next week I will be sharing some cards with you featuring some Hobby Art stamps.For all your cardmaking and sewing needs or wants..Julie can supply them. So until next week...take care and happy crafting.

Design team make....Wall Plaque and Cushion Cover

Hello everyone..Genny here. I wanted to share my two makes with you this week. The first one is a plaque that I have made using a MDF blank. I kept seeing these words on lots of home decor items and thought..I could do that..lol. I first began with the blank plaque and painted it with some light green acrylic paint. I then added some torn papers..the paper was from a pad from the selection here at JB-Crafting Supplies. I then inked the edges with distress ink in a green..I do have a bit of a thing for green..as I'm sure you all know by now..lol. The letters that I used on the plaque were from an alphabet that I've had lurking in my stash for a couple of years..but I'm sure that Julie could source some for you. I finally added some die cut flowers from my stash. If you don't have a diecutting machine you can of course make your own flowers in any way you like. There are lots of templates out there...looking through my stash, I have a few that I had totally forgotten about. I'm going to put this plaque on the wall in my parlour.

And now for my second make...I just had to share the story with you all. The picture is of a cushion cover that has only taken 40 years to finish. My Grandmother began this in the 1960's and I can remember her sitting sewing it. Sadly my Grandmother died in the 70's and all her embroidery got packed away..boxes of half finished projects. Now my Mother was a hoarder and all the boxes of embroidery and sewing moved house with her about 5 times. She passed away in 2004 and I had the job of sorting all her belongings and I moved the boxes to my house. Well I decided that the time had come to go through the final boxes that had been in my loft for the last 12 years. I went through the remaining boxes and came upon the box of my Grandmothers sewing. I had to smile..there was pieces of Crimplene..the wonder fabric of the 60's and 70's..and they are so in trend now..lol. The colours are as vibrant as ever..I may even make a top up using some of it. I also found lots of rolls of daisy edging and rick rack edging..I can remember it on my dresses. Then I dug deeper and found this cushion cover..half finished but with all the threads still in the bag. So I finished it and it's now about to sit on my couch. You can tell where I've stitched because the thread edges can be seen..where as where my Grandmother had stitched they have sort of blended. But as I look at it..it takes me back to the days when I was a little girl, sitting talking to my Grandmother whilst she stitched. Happy memories. So if you have anything that has been sitting around for a while, I would encourage you to finish it.

Next week I will be sharing another wonderful Pinflair kit with you all. So until then...take care and happy crafting.