Nearly Easter choccie time...

Morning all... well, after a sod of a day yesterday with one thing or another, I decided to go into my Craft room and chill doing a little bit of what I love bestest. Colouring in. And here's what I managed to make... 

Sometimes, don't you just have those days where your inner feelings nag away and overthinking takes priority? Well, yesterday was one of those days... all my cards and projects were rubbish, I hated everything I created, and other feelings that were buzzing around my head. So last night was the last straw really, and I thought 'chuff it' and decided to create a little bit of something just for me.

I'm sure it's just the creative mind to be honest, as most crafters I speak to have little confidence in their work from time to time. Pair this up with anxiety and it makes the perfect combination for feeling out of sorts!

So... my little colouring expedition used pencils, just back to colouring, blending and having a little fun... and this little cutie was born... I did look round my pile of print outs for something to colour, and as I have a range of these beautiful Besties printed out, it just had to be one of those didn't it... lol.

I went with a very simple colour palette of blues and pinks - two of my favourites - and as you can see, added some irridescent glitter glue to the frill of the dress.

You see my doily? OH HOW I LOVE MY DOILY!!!! This is the reject section from my Xcut doily die and guess what... it's just a j-cloth wipe...

I tend to use a dry baby wipe or j-cloth to help cut out my intricate dies, and this was a remnant of the said piece after my demo last weekend. So I decided to add it to my card as the base was a blue colour. I inked it up with Chocolate Artiste inks and plonked it behind my layer.

The papers are from the digital downloads on the Creativity Club. Have you checked them out?? Blimey, there are some right beauties on there and this one with the flowers, hearts and plainer background work perfectly with this image.

Well... that's all I have for you today.. more tomorrow - and something that I'm pretty sure you're going to love...!

Until then... happy Crafting everyone!

It's been a while...

There's no rest for the wicked I suppose is there?

It's been a while since I've managed to get on here to upload you any projects, last Friday in fact, but I promise I will have more things to share with you by the end of the week.

This week has been taken up with trying to finish projects for the May Creativity magazine, and hopefully that will be done tomorrow. I'm also trying to get ahead with sample making for my forthcoming demo's using the new range of products from Docrafts... lush, lush, LUSH is a word (or in fact, three!) that spring to mind.. you're absolutely going to love them.. we have a little Forever Friends, a little Gorjuss and a little travel to whet your appetites.

All totally different type of product, but all equally beautiful! I go with the cute anyday though... but then that shouldn't be a surprise to most of you. lol.

Anyways, enough about me .. what about you? What have you been upto since I've been absent?? I hope lots of good creative moments have been filled, and you've achieved a few things that have been up your sleeve...

Drop me a line and let me know... it would be lovely to hear from you... xx

Two shades of blue..

Hi-de-hi... Evening campers...

How are we all?

I've had a full on sort of day today - starting off with adjusting a little pattern I'm creating at the minute for the Creativity magazine, then straight onto pom poms, funky foam and felt! I've been preparing for a demo this weekend over at Ackworth Garden Centre, and it's a childrens demo this time.. so there'll be lots of ideas and inspiration for children of all ages - including mine!

Tonight, however, I want to share a little make with you and it's another Bestie girly. Loving these images so much at the minute. They are a doddle to colour, and of course, because they are digis, they can easily be put into the Digital Designer and resized accordingly to fit onto your card.

Here's the finished card..

I've kept the layout quite simple, mainly because I think the image needed to be kept nice and focal, so I decided to just add a bit of a handmade bunting, and a punched border. I'm not one for using too many flowers on my projects... I tend to like my cards less cluttered.

Here you can see the colouring in slightly more detail. I've used pencils for this card, just laid on quite thick and blended out a little. And she's got the perfect little cheeks to add some blush too... isn't she beautiful?!

I've added some glitter glue to the skirt and around the ears and tail, and also some Anita's 3D gloss to the shoes to give them a little shine.

And here's the bunting.... simply made from the fantastic Papermania twine in pale blue, and some craft tape over the top, folded then cut to a flag shape... simple!

I really hope you like the card tonight... it was made in about an hour, so a bit more rushed than usual.. but hey.. time waits for no man (or woman!)..

I'm entering this into the Besties Challenge - Two shades of Blue.

I'm also entering it into the following challenges.

• four Crafty Chicks - Just twine
• Crafty Ribbons - Buttons

Well.. that's it for tonight... my bed is calling me and the woofers are snoring like troopers!! Night all..... 

WOYWW - 194

Oh my, oh my, oh my....

I've seen this quite a few times over on Jackie's blog, so thought I'd take part today seeing as I had a few spare minutes to snap a picture!

I must admit... I've lost all track of time this week. Yesterday, I rang Katy at Docrafts thinking Emma wasn't at work, only to find that Emma was in fact at work and it was Tuesday instead of Monday! Derr!! Brain not functioning!

So, today, it is Wednesday ... and here's what is on my desk. Mind you, if you're averse to messy craft areas, then you're probably best not looking!!!

This is the view straight onto my desk.. here you can see I'm in the process of getting 'stuffily creative!'.. I have a little project to make so the stuffing is sat on my part created pattern, complete with pins, scissors and  coffee stirrers for prodding the stuffing in! The hershey kisses are for another little project in the pipeline for next weekend.

This is to the left of my desk, and I have my 'bit' carousel, full of scissors, gems, bling, glues and anything else that I need to lay my hands on in a hurry. Next to that, I have some mirror card, some fuzzy pipecleaners, googly eyes, Me to You papers, and again, bits of patterns..

Oh heck... this is a little embarrassing.. lol. I didn't realise it was quite in as much mess as it is.. lol. Looking at it tonight though, and I must say it's not quite as bad as this!

In the green tub is a collection of glues, all for different projects and different purposes. There's offcuts of cards, baby wipes for cleaning, border punch for, well, punching.. and a labelling machine.

That's my desk today.. what's on yours??

Evening all....

Hi everyone.. 

How are we all today? It's another late one here as I've just been having a little browse around the net before I go to sleep, but thought I'd show you all a card I made the other day with a Besties image.

I've been struggling a little with tiredness and general worn-out-ness this past couple of weeks, so haven't had much energy (or inclination!) to do alot of anything really. I've been for my B12 jab today, so hopefully that will make things a bit better in the next week or so. It's a couple of weeks early, but I know that's what's wrong. I was the same a few months ago when it was due. 

The weekend went by in a bit of a rush really... I had a fantastic demo on Saturday up in Ackworth, near Pontefract. The shop was lovely, staff were so helpful, and everyone loved the projects I'd made and the ideas we shared. I'm back there again this weekend to do a Childrens demo, so pop by if you're passing.. there'll be allsorts going on - not just for the children, but us grown up big kids too! 

Anyway onto today's card. These images are so cute. And this little beauty was just sitting on my desk waiting patiently to be coloured in. lol. I usually start by importing them into my Digital Designer because I find it easy to scale the image to the size I want. I then print out onto my paper ready to colour in.

I have used the fab downloads from the Creativity Club for the backgrounds, and decided to add in some flowers, some die cuts, a bit of ribbon and some of our fab Docrafts twine...  and a punched border.. oh, and this little addition to her headband....

I like how she turned out, and as a finishing touch added some gloss over her glasses to give them a more realistic look. Do you likey?

Isn't she sophisticated? I love the little snail that she's holding too... it's cute face just finishes the card off I think. I'm all for cuteness me...

Anyway.. nighty night for now.. see you again tomorrow!

An interview with .....

Happy Wednesday again everyone!

Today, I would love to introduce you to a fantastic Graphic Designer who brings us some of the wonderful Creativity Club downloads, just like these beauties!

Aren't these just fab?

So... who is the person behind these designs... well, it's no other than Docrafts very own

Jill Pryor

One of my earliest memories of my love of drawing was in my Grandma’s garden, when she taught me how to sketch a tree! Something seemed to connect and from then on anything to do with art became my first love.

I went on to study Illustration at the Bournemouth and Poole college of art and design, funding my HND course with weekend craft demonstrations, teaching craft workshops and freelance commissions. This was my first taste of inter-reacting with other crafters and as well as being great fun, I was inspired by the whole concept.

One of my clients was Design Objectives (docrafts) when it was in its infancy over 12 years ago. I became employed full time shortly after I began working for them and joined the docrafts team on their amazing journey to inject the inspiration of craft into consumers worldwide!

I had the privilege to be editor on the docrafts Creativity magazine and be involved in brand and product development and design, plus, implement the original docrafts website and nationwide demonstration program (currently headed by the lovely Becky Ironside!). It was an exciting, creative, whirl wind period of my life, with new skills being learnt at every corner, including the love of taking craft to another level.

Since the birth of my two beautiful daughters, I have been lucky enough to continue working alongside the docrafts team on a part-time basis, working closely with the fabulous Emma Collins on developing the Creativity Club weekly downloads as well as in-house graphic design and e-marketing. 

 

I LOVE the challenge of coming up with new designs, papers and digi-stamps and have recently started to convert the artwork into digital cards, which I have to admit, has become quite addictive! 

I get my inspiration by daily absorbing the colours, patterns and shapes around me and am constantly sketching ideas for use in the future. 2013 is going to be an exciting year for docrafts and I can’t wait to be a part of it! 

Pretty grunge...

Evening all.. 

A very quick post from me today as I'm a little late getting on the computer. I'm also really tired tonight - the day catching up with me I guess, well, that or the fact it's coming upto my B12 injection time again... 

Anyway, I thought I'd show you this little card. I've played around with some more feminine type of Chronology creations, and this is what I came up with at one of my demo's. 

I have showed how to create the little felt flowers and leaves on a Creativity Club video, so hopefully you are a member of the Creativity Club to see that - it's a fab place to be part of... ! Loads and loads of inspirational videos and some of the most awesome downloads you can dream of!

Anyway.. here's a couple of close ups of the card elements.

And here's the textured, distressed flower. I love making these.

I hope you liked todays post.

Have you used the Chronology range? Do you love felt and fabric? Show me your links and I'll pop around...

A great day...

Evening all... it's been quite a good day - and last night was fab too!

Why? Well... I was out doing a demo today at Ackworth Garden Centre, and boy, do they have a fab little craft area! Everyone was so lovely... Fiona and all were so helpful and nice, it made the day go perfectly. We shared lots of hints, tips and ideas, and both myself and others went away with a few extra techniques under their belts I'm sure. 

I can't wait for next weekend when I'm up there again doing a Childrens Demo... we've already lined up what we're going to do, and it's all very exciting!!!

So.. onto my other good news last night. 

You know I've discovered Sherri Baldy digis, and featured them on my blog this past few days? Well, the wonderfully talented lady herself has only asked me to be part of the Design Team. Well, I took an oodle-second to think about it, and immediately said YES!! 

I really like these images.. downloadable, and they work with the Creativity Club downloads and the rest of the Docrafts range so perfectly too... and they're great for sitting and practicing my 'colouring in'. 

Here's the card I've made the other day. I chose to do it in Pink and Brown. I decided to do another one for the besties challenge blog, and use sepia watercolour as my base. The pink was added as a highlight colour, along with purple shading! lol. 

 Here are a couple of pictures in the process of being coloured.

 She looked so perfect that I thought she needed a little tiara. I knew I had one I bought aaaaages ago, and it only took me a few minutes to find it and plonk it on. What do you think? Doesn't she look perfect?

I hope you like my card today... and I promise to be posting more of my demo samples soon. I was asked by a few today, so will make sure I get them up on here this week for you.

Happy Sunday everyone... I'm just going to have a lovely day at home chilling with the Mr. What are you doing?

A Challenge? Well... I don't mind if I do...

At last. Friday. It's been a very long week in one way or another. But one good thing is that I've managed to get some crafting done for me. I've sat and done a little bit of what I love - colouring in!

I came across a fab digi stamp artist a while ago called Sherri Baldy. Honestly, her characters are stunning... so today, I decided to open up my wonderful Docrafts Digital Designer and import a few characters to colour.

But then, I thought, why stop there... so I took a nosey at the Creativity Club downloads in the Docrafts website and chose a few papers to print out too! They matched perfectly with the style of card that I wanted to create... and here it is...

Isn't she adorable?? I love these images with their big eyes and beautiful shape faces. Just charming! And those papers... just beautiful!!!

Here are a couple of close ups for you. Here you can see some details of the papers, flowers and a little of the colouring.

And just look at these papers.... the downloads in the Creativity Club section are fab. Straight at your fingertips and ready to print out! 

I have decided to play along with the Besties Challenge blog, so as my very first S.B. image I've spent time colouring (and totally enjoying!!) here's my entry.

Cameo... cameo... where for art thou cameo....

Yes, I've been having a play this evening. So much so (in between talking with my sister in law and making pancakes!) that I lost all track of time and it was about 10pm before I knew it. So here I am again, laptop on my knee and laid in bed with the woofers, tappy typing you a little blog post. 

It's been a funny old day of all sorts really. A little emotional for one reason or another, but really, a day that's been the 'busy but got nothing done' type of day! A day of snow. A day of cleaning. And a day of trying to tidy up the hovel of a craft room! Most of which got done... I think.. 

I did, however, manage to run up a couple of quick cards this evening... Not sure what's wrong with me recently, but I seem to be in black and white mode!! So what sparked this episode tonight? Well, there's a challenge over at the Shabby Tea Rooms where they were wanting cards based on 'Sweet Silhouettes'. 

So, I thought about it for a while, then the memory of these beautiful Xcut dies came to the forefront of my mind. These are the cameo dies, and I'm ashamed to say, they've never been out of the packet! Until today... 

I decided to go nice, clean and simple on these two cards. By simply embossing the background, you don't really need to add anything else onto the card.

The frame was cut from another Xcut die, and the two side sections came from my box of dies, so not sure who's that one is... I seem to think it's Joy.

As you can see, the little cameos cut out perfectly. The set of dies is a set of 6, so great value for money too! The frame on the card below was made using the cameo's and the frame.

Here is the first card I made this evening. I just sort of sloshed it all together in a hurry, and now don't know whether the red and black AND cream entirely go... but its growing on me!

I opted for just a quick flash of red to bring out the black, and also to stop it from looking too set. And after all, black and red are the most difficult colours to use..

Here's the little frame for the cameo.. isn't it delicate and lovely? And talking about red, black and white, and being delicate, take a quick squizzles at this card too.

This card is one we made at Craft Class last night.. nice, quick and simple. Just using dies and embossing cutting dies and a litle splash of colour again on the poppy.

Well, I hope you enjoy these two quick and easy projects.. I will be back tomorrow with a few more items for you to look at.