Spring Inspiration!

Happy Friday and hello spring? The end of February was glorious where we are, warm, sunny and dry. I think we got a little carried away with ourselves and started to imagine outdoor activities and ice-cream! I know, I’m guilty of pushing the woolly pullies to the back of the wardrobe.

However, March came in and whoops!! Stormy, wet and cold weather was back. My wardrobe is a mess, as the woollies have been dragged over the spring garments and scarves pulled out from under thin tops. Ah well, it was a bit bonkers to be honest not to mention worrying.

My morning walks with Cooper are a good opportunity to watch the season change however and gather some inspiration along the way.  The pine branch above will find its way into my sketch book and may even be used next Christmas.  The fern will be used in a print I think and already I’ve added a small piece in my Simple Stories planner layout. I touched it with a brayer and a little white ink to tone it down and help it blend into the page better.

It fitted perfectly with my spring like theme for March and the Simple Stories Spring Farmhouse collection ephemera from Paper Pen and Plan.

I also used a little on my WOW! Embossing Powder Facebook challenge piece. This month the challenge is all about foils and I was desparate to use mine in an abstract way. I love abstract backgrounds and using them this way over a smooshed ink layer was so much fun.

I’m declaring March Nature Inspiration month just because I can! Why not try including a little nature in your work?

Have a good weekend

Jaine x


Studio Sunday, Black Hearted!

IT’s a stormy Sunday here in Luxembourg with the wind and rain lashing outside, but inside it’s cozy and warm and I don’t feel bad about spending it in the basement studio cutting and sticking and doing what ever comes naturally!

Collage on Prima Mixed Media insert page

It started with a simple clearing out of my bits and pieces cupboard and ended up with a collage page made using tea dyed paper, tea bags and a leaf collected on a forest walk. I love a bit of collage and picking up this leaf one day last week, I knew what I would do with it. I adore the black pages in this mixed media journal from Prima and I’m considering painting all of the other pages black too. However that would mean I’d not be challenged by the other pages in the journal which are vellum and Kraft as well as white.

This week I posted on the WOW! Embossing web site with a few hearts made using one of the new TRIOS collections. Read the full blog post here.

It’s not that I’ve a black heart inside but I love a bit of drama and cutting these hearts and mounting them on black created just the right sort of drama I was looking for. The particular set I used is called Confetti and consists of these three fabulous colours which contain flecks of silver powder. The effect is stunning.

I did make a card with a more conventional coloured background but I’ve plans for these black hearts so watch out! The new Trios will be in the shops from March and the other collections are just as amazing.

On a different note, another heart from last week is this one for the new February Facebook challenge which is hearts, pink, red and anything else in between. You can discover the other amazing projects here on Facebook.

I love a bit of black for creating drama and showing things off so amazingly. I hope you do too?

Happy Sunday everyone

Jaine x

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells…

Wow, December 1st has arrived and it’s time to start bombarding social media with Christmas makes!!  My work table looks like a bomb has exploded in my studio, seriously!! I have to vacuum the floor every day to pick up the glitter before the animals tread it through the house on their paws!

Last weekend I hosted a workshop for the Mozaik ladies where we made a Winter themed canvas. We had a wonderful day and I have to say it’s the first time everyone actually finished a project from start to finish so I’m hugely proud of all of them. 

I’ve been promising the ladies for quite some time now a mixed media canvas project and for one reason or another we’ve never quite taken it on. So I was determined this time to go for it and throw all sorts of materials and techniques at them and they really embraced the theme. Every one of them produced something wonderful which made me very happy.

As it’s the first of the month, that means a new WOW! Embossing Powders Facebook Challenge and the final theme of the year is Silver and Gold.

I brought out my favourite stamps, which I use every year without fail (everyone has their favourites), the script stamp is from IndigoBlu and the star is a wood mounted one from Stampers Anonymous and paired them with Metallic Silver and Atlantic Seaspray Embossing Powder from WOW!. 

Right now I’m crafting myself silly preparing for a Christmas Market where I’ll have a small stand.

Have a good weekend and I’ll be back soon.

Jaine x

WOW and Studio Katia Blog Hop

Today two amazing companies are teaming up and invite you to WOW! Embossing Powder and Studio Katia Collaboration Blog Hop! Our Design Team members are sharing their creativity with you through stunning and inspiring projects they created using fabulous products from these two amazing companies. Be sure to check every stop on the way to enjoy all the inspiration we have for you and for your chance to win some fabulous prizes!

You can win TWO $25 CAD Gift Certificates to Studio Katia Store and 6 WOW! Embossing Powder powders of your choice along with a WOW carry case to store you powders safely in.

Winners will be randomly chosen from the comments left on ALL THE POSTS and announced on WOW & Studio Katia Blogs on November 27, 2018.

Here’s how to enter:

– Leave a comment on this blog post and on every stop of the Blog Hop

– Follow Studio Katia and WOW! Embossing Powder on Instagram

– Like Studio Katia and WOW! Embossing Powder on Facebook

– Make sure to leave all the comments by Sunday, November 25, 2018, 11:59 pm GMT
Make sure to leave a comment on each stop of the Blog Hop for your chance to win great prizes!

And what have I made? Well, let me show you. I was very kindly sent a beautiful tea themed stamp and die called ‘A Cup Of Thanks’ which was crying out for some gorgeous colouring. I embossed the image with Oasis powder before choosing my colours. Even though the image would have looked lovely in glorious colour, I thought it best to stick to just three colours so it wouldn’t look too busy.

In the package, I also received some fabulous little packets of sequins and beads which gave me the inspiration to make a shaker card.

The ‘Thanks’ is also part of the teacup die set from Studio Katia and once cut I gave it a coat of Calypso Embossing Glitter.

After colouring my teacup, I over inked with the Embossing pad and sprinkled over Clear Sparkle to give it a lovely glittery look.

It would make a lovely thank you to go with a little gift at Christmas, maybe make a tag to match perhaps?

Jaine x