January So Far

Despite the on going clear out in the basement, my work table still looks like a bomb has gone off on top of it. It’s littered with projects I’m working on which you’ll get to see soon along with some new craft materials I found last weekend at Expo Creativ in Luxembourg, exciting stuff. I visited Lux Expo with friends taking public transport to get there for a change. Honestly, I have no idea why I don’t do it more often. It’s so cheap and painless and in March it’ll be free too so it’s a bit of a no brainer! We were pleasantly surprised to discover a few new craft stands as well as some familiar faces. We have to continue to support this local event even though it’s tiny in comparison with Frankfurt or Dortmund. It’s still the only event of its kind in the country. Lena keeps telling me I need to have a stand there too, maybe one day!

My A6 bullet journal and cover embellished with materials from the January box from Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy

I’m continuing to use my A6 bullet journal this year, it’s the only one I regularly kept up in 2019. I’m using one called Scribbles That Matter which I found on line and it’s great. I don’t get any bleed through with my pens and I’m mostly using a Micron pen for my doodles. This little one won’t be used with watercolour paints as it’s for carrying around with me and on the go planning so has to be functional and practical. It does come with a nifty pen holder but I’m reusing my hand painted cover so the holder gets lost inside, but I’m sure I can knock something up if I need it.

January kicked off with the first Facebook challenge of the year on the WOW! Facebook page. The new theme is Love, Valentine, Wedding etc so it was a brilliant opportunity to create some hearts. I’m not an obviously, all pink and red hearts sort of person so jumped at the chance to try out some new colour combinations coming up with these two cards. I simply can’t decide which of the purple colours I like best, Royal Crush or Persian Indigo, they’re equally gorgeous. Photography isn’t my strong point and I really wish you could see how wonderful they are. I love that little splash of colour on the top one created by simply dipping a piece of watercolour paper into Distress Oxide inks on my craft mat. It’s a technique I love.

Have a great weekend I hope it’s a crafty one and I’ll speak soon.

Jaine xx

Summer Dandelions

What could say summer more than a dandelion just waiting to explode into the warm air? I think that is probably one of the reasons why I love this stamp set from WOW! Embossing. Teaming it with a simple watercolour background emphasises its delicacy I think!

I created this card for my blog post with WOW! this week which you can see here on their blog.

This version was created as part of the WOW! monthly challenge on Facebook.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Jaine x

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