Ally Pally Day 1 and Hochanda Live

Hi Bloggers.

I'm heading off down to Ally Pally early this morning to join the rest of the Creative Expressions team for 2 days of demoing. I'm doing a demo in the tent (as we call it) each day (can't remember the times but it will be in the program if you're attending) and I have an hour live on Hochanda this afternoon at 3pm with Charlie. Phill Martin has a live hour at 10am today and John Lockwood has a live hour at 2pm tomorrow. I hope you can join us, one way or another.

I have a two-fer for you today -

This card features the Woodware Geraldine Giraffe but I've only used part of her - she looks like she's peeking around a corner and the sentiment is quite appropriate I think.

I stamped Geraldine onto Watercolour Card using Versafine Ink and cut her out using Sue Wilson's Double Pierced Squares. I coloured her in using Distress Crayons from Set 4 - I used Pumice Stone onto my Craft Sheet and used a Water Brush to apply it to the image. I then added a little Squeezed Lemonade Crayon from the same set and completed my colouring. I edged around the die cut with Pumice Stone Distress Ink using a Smoothie and matted onto Black Card cut using Sue's Double Pierced Squares Set B.

I stamped the sentiment that comes with Geraldine, trimmed it, edges it with Pumice Stone Distress Ink and matted onto Black Card.

I popped a couple of papers from Phill Martin's Frosted Essentials Paper Pad onto Black Card and added my topper and sentiment panel. I popped these onto a Coconut White Card blank. I completed my card by adding a Craft Consortium Pearl Heart to each corner.

Here's your second card which features Geraldine complete and coloured using Graphmaster Alcohol Markers -

I stamped Geraldine onto Bright White Card using Tuxedo Black Memento. I coloured in using Graphmaster Alcohol Markers. I used - Browns 103, 93, 96, Warm Greys 2, 4 , 6, Reds 12, 10, 11, CG4, Oranges 34, 24, 23 and Yellows 45, 37 and 35.

I used a Brown Pigma Micron Pen to doodle around the edges, matted onto Chestnut Card and then onto a Bright White Card blank.

I stamped one of the sentiments that comes with Geraldine, again onto Bright White Card using Memento. I doodled around the edges again and matted onto Chestnut Card. I added it to my card using Creative Expressions Mounting Cushion.

I'm offering 10% discount on items I have from the 3 shows we have from Ally Pally this weekend. You can find them on my website here. Offer applies till midnight tomorrow night or while stocks last. Discount will be applied at checkout.

I have added pics of the samples I've made for the show to the Gallery Page of this Blog and to my Julia Watts Crafts Facebook Page.

I'm happy to report that my Dad's test was favourable and he doesn't need to go back again.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders over £10 (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).

Freebie Friday

Hi Bloggers.

Here's this week's card that needs a new home -

You can read how this card was made here.

To go into the draw for a chance to win it, leave a lovely comment below. I will announce the winner on Monday.

New girl, Liz Borer has shows on Hochanda today at 11am and 2pm. Her samples look amazing. She'll be showing some techniques with Alcohol Inks and Yupo Paper. I'm offering 10% discount on items I have in stock on my website from the shows. You can find them here. Offer applies till midnight tonight or while stocks last. Discount will be applied at checkout.

Thanks for stopping by.

 Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (16th December) - Phill Martin Sentimentally Yours - Blossom Small Rectangle Frame 'Special Friend' only £2.99!

Freebie Friday

Hi Bloggers.

Here's this weeks card that needs a new home -

You can read how this card was made here (ignore all the Amazon links!).

To go into the draw to win, leave a lovely comment below. I will announce the winner on Monday.

Thanks for stopping by.

 Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (9th December) - Phill Martin Sentimentally Yours - Scribbled Birthday Verses Stamp Set only £8.99!

Monday Giveaway

Hi Bloggers.

I'm off on another little beading holiday today. While I'm away I thought I'd offer up a card giveaway each day. I'm also having a flash sale on my website each day - details of that at the end of this post.

Here's the card that's up for grabs today -

You can read how this card was made here.

To go into the draw to win it, leave a lovely comment below. I'll announce the winner next Monday (14th November).

Lisa Horton is continuing with her One Day Special on Hochanda today with shows at 9am, 12noon, 4pm and 7pm. I'm offering 10% discount on products I have on my website from the shows. You can find them here. Discount will be applied at checkout.

As mentioned earlier, I'm running a series of Flash Sales over the next 5 days. Today's Flash Sale is 25% off Cosmic Shimmer Colour Clouds. Discount will be applied at checkout and is valid till midnight tonight or while stocks last.

Please note - all website orders placed this week will be dispatched from Friday 11th November onwards.

The winner of the card from Freebie Friday on Friday 4th November is ...........................

June Horrocks

Please email me at juliawattscrafts@gmail.com with your address and I'll pop it in the post at the end of this week.

Thanks for stopping by.

 Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (7th November) -  Phill Martin Sentimentally Yours - Friendship Verse Collection only £8.99!

Freebie Friday

Hi Bloggers.

It's Friday again! That means I have another card that needs a new home -

You can read how this card was made in this post.

To go into the draw to win it, leave a lovely comment below and I will announce the winner on Monday.

Lisa Horton is launching a One Day Special on Hochanda this evening at 8pm. I'm offering 10% discount on items I have on my website from the shows. You can find them here. Discount valid till midnight tomorrow night or while stocks last and will be applied at checkout.

Thanks for stopping by.

 Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (28th October) - Designs by John Lockwood - Daisy Heart Stamp only £2.99!

Thinking of You

Hi Bloggers.

I finally caught up with all my website order backlog yesterday - a good feeling, I can tell you. Thank you all for being so patient. Too hot to do much else other than the post and sit on my pc yesterday. Needless to say, I didn't tidy my Craft Room - I haven't even emptied my bags from the Studios. At least I didn't have to do any prep yesterday. I have a little gap from TV till 26th September but I'll still be busy.

I have a few dates for your diary -

I have a Christmas themed workshop at Yardley Gobion (just outside Milton Keynes) on Saturday 24th September (date change). We'll be doing a mix of stamping and die cutting. It's £40 for the day - you can book now via my website here.

I am also doing a Christmas themed workshop at CE HQ on Wednesday 21st September. Again, we will be doing a mix of die-cutting and stamping. They will be different projects to the workshop in Yardley Gobion. Bookings are not being taken for this just yet as I haven't designed the projects yet but you can register you interest with Tracey Laughton either by phoning her on 01536 481 778 or emailing her at tracey@creative-expressions.uk.com.

Looking a little further ahead, I am running a Backgrounds Masterclass at Yardley Gobion on Saturday 15th October (book here) and a Stamping Masterclass (by request) at CE HQ on Wednesday 12th October (booking now being taken by Tracey - see contact details above). I have also booked the hall at Yardley Gobion on Saturday 29th October for a Christmas Playdate - on this day, I will bring my Christmas Dies and Stamps and you can use them to your hearts content (but share nicely!) to really crack on with your Christmas Card Making. You can book here for that - just £15 for the day.

Of course, we have Ally Pally on 17th and 18th September - don't forget, if you're a Hochanda Freedom Member you can get the tickets half price! They're reasonably priced anyway so do consider going - it's a lovely venue and some great retail stands plus Hochanda will be broadcasting live from there again.

I'm also demoing at Phill Martin's new shop in Sheffield on Sunday October 9th - that should be fun!

Right, I'd better get on with sharing a card -

This card was inspired by the Justrite Stampers Blog - well worth a visit. I started by stamping the Justrite Text Background onto Coconut White Card using Coffee Archival. I made sure it was dry and then dragged a Frayed Burlap Distress Ink Pad across it to make it a bit distressed (surprisingly!). I then inked around the edges with Scarlet Woman Colour Cloud using a Smoothie.

On a separate piece of card, I stamped 1a and 3a from the Justrite Multi-Step Poppies Clear Stamp Set using Jet Black Archival twice each. I then stamped 1b and 3b on top using Crimson Kiss Colour Cloud using a Smoothie. I stamped 1c and 3c on top using Scarlet Woman Colour Cloud, again applied using a Smoothie. Finally, I stamped 1d and 3d on top using Onyx Black Colour Cloud, again applied using a Smoothie. (Acutally, it's not necessary to stamp 1d as it's hidden but it's good practise just in case you change your mind and use the image in a different way.) I cut the flowers out by hand using scissors and stacked the 3 images on top of the 1's.

I stamped the leaves directly onto my background - I stamped the stem (6) using Basil Leaf Colour Cloud, leaves 8a and 7a using Olive Archival, 8b and 7b on top using Chic Moss Colour Cloud and then 8c and 7c on top using Basil Leaf Colour Cloud. I added my flowers to the top of the stems.

The sentiment is from the Justrite Meadow Circles Clear Stamp Set. I stamped it using Jet Black Archival and cut it out using a die from the Justrite Four in a Square Die Set. I inked around the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and Scarlet Woman Colour Cloud. I cut a mat from Black Card using Sue Wilson's Melbourne Die Set.

I assembled the card as shown adding some 5mm Black Pearls and piercing around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat. I inked my Coconut White mats the same way as my background.

John Lockwood is launching a One Day Special on Hochanda this evening at 8pm with his Autumn range of stamps and birthday year. I am offering 10% discount on items I have on my website from the shows. You can find them here. Offer valid till midnight tomorrow night or while stocks last. Discount will be applied at checkout. I am still waiting for the new stamps to become available for me to order on the CE website. As soon as I spot them, I will order them.

My latest post has gone live on the Spellbinders Blog here. It would be lovely if you have the time to leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (25th August) - Sue Wilson Frames & Tags : Zoe only £7.99!

Beach Day

Hi Bloggers.

Today I have an 8 x 8 Scrapbook Page made using the DCWV Stencils DIY Project Stack.

The photo I've used is from about 15 years ago (shh! don't tell my kids). I found it on my desk and picked the backing paper from the stack to co-ordinate with the colour of Kathryn's swimming costume.

I removed the stencils from the stack and chose one of the frames. I secured it to my paper using Low Tack Tape and spread Phill Martin CS New Gold Sparkle Texture Paste through the stencil. I removed the stencil and put the paper aside to dry (approx 2 hours). The stencil cleans up easily under the tap.

While the Texture Paste was drying, I stamped the shells, seahorse and starfish from the Justrite At the Beach Stamp Set onto a piece of Kraft Card (from the stack) using the Ground Espresso Archival Ink from the Distress Permanent Mixed Media Ink Palette. I cut them all out using Justrite At the Beach Dies. I also cut the 'Beach Day' title out of Kraft Card using the same die set.

Once the Texture Paste was dry, I stamped the foliage stamp from the At the Beach Stamp Set in 2 of the corners of my background paper using Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I inked around the edges of the background piece with Frayed Burlap using a Smoothie. I also used 2 more stencils from the stack and inked through them as shown.

I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set using Ground Espresso Archival.

I matted by background onto Kraft Card. I matted my photo onto Kraft Card too (I used DS Tape rather than CS Glue on this occasion).

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (7th August) - Sue Wilson Auriga Gemini Die Set only £6.99!

Snowflake Kisses

Hi Bloggers.

I managed to have a very quick play with some of Lisa Horton's new Christmas Stamps -

 I've used Lisa's Snowflake Kisses Stamp Set and Midnight Waltz Stamp Set. I've stamped using Stormy Sky Distress Ink and Jet Black Archival.

I coloured in the 'snowflake kisses' with Stormy Sky Distress Marker - and actually wished I hadn't as it popped more if I had left it white. Oh well! So, to try and bring it back, I added some Quickie Glue and CS Sparkle Star Diamond Frost.

I'm itching to spend more time on these stamps and as I said, I will definately be using them in my Christmas Workshops.

Lisa is continuing with her One Day Special on Hochanda today with shows at 9am, 12noon, 4pm and 7pm. I'm offering 10% discount on products I have on my website from the shows. You can find them here. Discount applies till midnight tonight or while stocks last. Discount will be applied at checkout.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (6th August) - John Lockwood Daisy Corner Elements Stamp Set only £8.99!

Show on Hochanda today

Hi Bloggers.

Had a great workshop day yesterday, thank you ladies. Next workshop at Yardley Gobion is Sunday August 14th.

I have 3 hours on Hochanda today with shows at 11am, 2pm and 5pm. I hope you can join me.

I have another two-fer for you today!

For the background, I used a piece of Coconut White Card and cut the inner die only from the Spellbinders Holiday Botanical Strip. I then cut it again, offsetting it slightly so that the top of the next row snuggled into the recess of the previous one (I'll try to demo this). This left me a little gap on one side but I was able to re-seat the die in place and extend that line. I cut it once more to make a 3rd row, positioning the die into the recess of the previous row. I popped a piece of Double Sided Self Adhesive Sheet onto a piece of Black Card. I removed the backing and added my die cut background to it. I then added some CS Diamond Snow in the exposed adhesive.

I cut a frame out of Coconut White Card using Sue Wilson's Double Pierced Squares and Double Pierced Squares Set B. I added it to my backfround using 3D Foam and cut away the excess using scissors.

I cut both dies together from the Spellbinders Fancy Tree Die Set out of Coconut White Card and inked through the dies with Black Soot Distress Ink using a Smoothie. I cut a tag from the Spellbinders Christmas Tag Set out of Black Card.

I stamped the sentiment from the Justrite Holiday Magic Stamp Set onto Coconut White Card using Jet Black Archival. I cut it our using Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics A and cut a mat out of Black Card using Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics B.

I assembled the card as shown adding an 8mm Black Pearl to each corner of the frame.

Here's your 2nd card -

This is so very simple. I've embossed a piece of Coconut White Card using the Couture Creations Jolly Christmas Embossing Folder. I ran it through a second time to extend the design.

The trees are from the Spellbinders Art Deco Trees Die Set - I cut them from Silver Shine Pearl Card. I cut the fat one and a star once and the thinner one twice with 2 stars.

I stamped the sentiment that comes with the Creative Expressions Snowflake Bauble Stamp, onto Coconut White Card using Clear Perfect Medium and embossed with CS Silver Shine Detail Embossing Powder. I cut it out using Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics B.

I assembled the card as shown adding some little 3mm White Pearls to the stars and some 8mm White Pearls to the corners. I pierced around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat.


Unfortunately, I don't have many of the products from the shows in stock on my website yet but I've popped 10% discount on the ones I do have. You can find them here. Offer applies till midnight tonight and discount will be applied at checkout.

I have removed the paypal express facility on my website as a number of people have experienced problems when paying via paypal. This does mean that for the time being you will not be able to pay via paypal if ordering via a mobile device only - you can still pay via credit or debit card. I have already contacted paypal on this but not heard back so I will try to chase on Monday. I'll let you know if Paypal Express becomes available again.

See you later.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (10th July) - Phill Martin Sentimentally Yours Chic Floral Occasions Border Sentiments only £8.99!