due to popular demand

well two people mentioned it!!
this is the tag that I sent to Audrey with the nest in a jar.

nest in a jar

On the forum I visit, we recently had a challenge to create a mixed media piece with a spring theme. This was my piece, It is a nest in a jar. I found this flat sided jar and had to use it for something. I made the nest with raffia and used a skeleton leaf in side the jar. I put one stamped egg (inka) so it stood up in the nest. I also sprinked a little flower soft into the jar for a bit of colour. I stuck the large bird from inka to the outside of the Jar. I glues some floral fabric and a fake flower to the lid,

The hardest thing was photographing it!

April's Inchie swap: Children

The Guest Artist for this month's inchie swap is Jo Capper-sandon (a master stamper according to stampington magazine, lol). Jo is a good friend of mine and has been a huge inspiration to me. Her blog is full of the most wonderful elegant creations.

This inchie she made is no exception.



This is her introduction to this months swap

Inchies to me have always been a challenge as the space is... well,... only an inch, so the image that is used I feel is so important as there's usually not enough room for a lot else!

On being asked to guest design for Joannes Inchie Swap (thankyooooou Joanne) I opted for Children as the theme, as there are quite a few stunning children themed stamps/images out at the moment. Spoilt for choice I opted for this one which is part of a larger stamp by Paperbag Studios. I used Flowersoft at the base of the inchie (inspired by Joannes use of it in earlier creations of hers), text and glitter.

I hope you are inspired by the theme to join in and take part in the swap.

The rules are the same as always, and the inchies are still sent to me, I am still organising the swap, Jo's work is done!
1) Make 9 inchies, send 8 of them to me.
2) If you are in the UK enclose a SAE with a LARGE stamp.
3) if you are out of the UK, send me a small gift, or an ATC and I will cover the postage. please also send an envelope with your address on.
4) They can all be the same, or all different, whatever!!
5) they can be any media you like as long as they are 1" square.
6) there are no rules how to make them or finish them.
7) you do not need to mount them (just make sure they won't fall out of the envelope)
8) the swap is open to anyone, even if you have never made inchies before.
9) put your name on the back of each inchie
10) let me know by email, or by commenting on this thread, that you have posted your inchies, and then I will know to expect them.

closing date 30th april just email me for my address if you need it.

FAO creative christin - of course you can take part, email me through the link in my profile and I will send you my address.

make a moo

this weeks theme at make a moo or two is text. I made this quick moo, using stamps from art by moonlight and invoke arts.
not my best piece, but I made this while crafting alongside my five year old as he wanted to do some crafting

purple tag

The theme at wednesday stamper is purple, and the theme at TGIF is tags.
so I thought I'd combine the two to make this purple tag.
The tag is from a large punch that I "borrowed" of my mother in law about two years ago. I've done the background with purple distress ink and moonglow mists. I also used some purple background paper which I distressed.
The stamps are by Inka. I have used Glysy and the leafy flourish. I've done two pictures as I've tried to capture the sparkle.

happy easter!!

Hope you all have a great easter. we have snow here, which is pretty cool!
This easter card is the very first thing I made for the Inka design team. it was another challenge to myself to make a easter card using no easter themed images. I made the background by stamping the harlequin image through an egg-shaped mask, then shading it.
I of course used erica!! and she's holding an egg!!!! yay!!! and I thought just to finish it off she could have bunny ears!!

TGIF

I've decided to take part in TGIF this week. I've never taken part before, but this week's theme is stamps and ribbons, how could I resist.
I made this card for Paula's birthday. it uses lots of Inka's stamps and some purple ribbon

40th birthday card

I have made this card for my friend's fortieth birthday. I've used an image form Inka, papers from the papermania retro flowers pad (love that set) and letters cut using my new sizzlit alphabet, which has all the letters uppercase and lowercase on one long die, very clever! I can see that being very useful.

Happy St Patrick's Weekend

and apparently St Patricks day too! according to sources St Patricks day has been moved this year to 15th March due to a clash with Holy Week.

I'm not Irish, and I don't celebrate st Patricks day (although I feel that I've read nearly enough Marian Keyes books to qualify as a bit Irish, lol) but I made this card for the Inka gallery. it was a little challenge to myself to make a st patricks day cards without any themed stamps, so I've used Erica (surprise, surprise) and I've used The vine background on the freehand cut hearts. I've embossed this with a verdigris powder, which I think you can see better in the close up.

my very first image transfer

I know it's not perfect, but it's a start! I've been wanting to try image transfer onto fabric ever since I received this gorgeous tag from Carrie. (yes it's mine!!)
Carrie does a fab tutorial here
on how to do this.
now I know mine is not a patch on Carrie's, but we all have to start somewhere.
The image is by Inka, as is the speckled egg stamp. and in case you are wondering, yes that is real stitching on the card.

wednesday stamper: in your garden

The theme at wednesday stamper this week is "in your garden"


I had been playing with this stamp from Inka stamps to make a quick card, and I felt it fit the theme. the rest of the stamps are from the See Ds whimsical garden set. it's a very small piece only 2.25 inches square. I have since mounted on to a square card to send to someone.
it is supposed to be a fairy making the flowers in the garden appear by magic, because sometimes that's how it seems that the flowers appear in my garden, it's certainly nothing to do with lovingly nurturing them!! lol
heres a picture from a different angle to try to capture the glitter


and for completeness, here is the quick card I made with this stamp. it's such a lovely whimsical stamp, perfect for quick cards

make a moo or two :children

This week's theme at make a moo or two is children, so I thought I'd whip up a couple using some of my favourite Inka stamps. I used two of the lovely photo stamps, Erica (of course) and Athaya. I conbined these with some retro floral papers from papermania, and the new ringer stamp from inka.

a couple more Inka Cards

This first one uses an inka collage image on vellum. I wasn't quite sure what to do with this one at first, because of course attaching vellum has it's own problems. I didn't want to go the normal route of a brad in each corner, so I decided to sew it. This is the first time I've really had a go at sewing on a card. I will definitely do it again.
This also uses the background writing stamp.This card was a birthday card for my good friend Galina


For this second one I had stamped and watercoloured the nude zodiac from inka, and I was looking for a background. I decided to make my own. I used the background vines stamp, which will cover a c6 card in one stamp. I also stamped a flourish from inka over the corner. I embossed the vine stamp again on the scrap accross the card and embossed with copper. I made the scratches using a ruler.

the spring inchies

here is the result of the spring inchie swap I have not included my own inchies on here, as there wasn't quite enough room to present them nicely and I've already shown them here

these are by
Ana
Vickie, louise
Carol, Anne, Karin
Mandy, Audrey
Elisa

make a moo or two :favourite colour

I did it! I actually made two!!
This weeks theme at make a moo or two is favourite colour. well no struggle there, my favourite colour is most definitely purple. I always think it's such a magical mystical colour. so with that in mind, I chose two stamps from the non-sequitur mystic dream plate.
I also found a little bag of mixed purple beads that I bought "because they were pretty" so I have used those on it as well. The background is done with pearlescent pain and distress ink.

my bird inchies

Here are my inchies for my march inchie swap, for which Kaz chose the theme.
the post is here in case you missed it

All of the stamps I have used are by Inka, I have used the crows and gothic railing from the new stamps
(don't forget my blog readers can still claim a 30% discount in celebration of me joining the design team, just mention my name when you place your order)

The Inka Design Team

I am very proud to anounce that Inka has invited me to be on the Inka Stamps design team. Regular readers of my blog may have noticed that I have rather a fondness for these stamps, they suit my style so well, are lovely quality and due to the favourable exchange rate very affordable too!! You can visit the inka stamps site through the link in my sidebar. while you are there check out Inka's collage sheets, including some free printables, The gallery, where there are ideas for lots of occasions, and Inka's Projects. truly inspirational stuff.
If any of my UK readers are cautious of ordering from the states, don't be. email Inka and she will be able to answer any of your queries. I know it takes longer for them to arrive (about a week) but they are worth the wait.

To celebrate joining the Inka Stamps design team, my friends and blog
readers can get 30% off by mentioning my name (Joanne Wardle) this month
:) (The discount is not available on items already on sale, grab-bags or
items on the Vintage found items page). Inka will be offering other
discounts and specials offers for the design teams friends and blog readers
off and on through out the rest of the year.

Here are some pieces I have done for the design team


using some of Inka's gorgeous new stamps


collage images (this is a mothers day card for my mum)


and more of the new stamps