With great sadness ......a new beginning

It is with heavy heart that Clarity and I have parted ways. My Group.. That Was Clarity South West wanted to try something new with new products so with this in mind I have decided after much soul searching to leave the Clarity Team. A more wonderful bunch of talented ladies you will not meet. Warm and generous to a fault. I go into the new year as an independent tutor and with new and very exciting news that will be made public in the New Year.

So I wish all my friends who are still with Clarity a very Merry Christmas and to all my Friends who I have made through my Workshops I say thank you so much for you support and here is to the next chapter ....we will of course need a new name so thinking caps on! I look forward to Crafting with you at the new venue  :)

I will either PM you or E mail you the address closer to the time. Our next Workshop will be on the 23rd of Jan 2014 ......

May I take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you for your support over the year but especially the last month it has been a hard and difficult decision to make ......

Merry Christmas to you all May your Blessings overflow and your loved ones be with you this Christmas.

Much Love to all Bernie

Sweet Lilac Challenge And the First Day of Christmas....

I  Hope you are all well and full of festive cheer......I as usual have been chasing my own tail so much so this year that for the first time in many year I am BUYING Not making my own Christmas cake someone needs to invent a 30 hour day!

This is my offering this month I don't use buttons in my cards so despite looking I could find nothing suitable Lacey ribbon will have to do ! the Partridge and pear's are a favourite of mine Adding the ribbon and Sweet Lilac flowers just adds a little something extra I hope you like it.
Have a lovely Monday xxx

My Clarity Challenge make a scene ....the "Corrie Card"

Hi Everyone the Clarity Challenge this month is make a scene So using the Victorian mask a sun a ruler for the wall the cat and birds from off the rise and shine set I set about making a sunrise ...

First I put the sun mask on then the city mask over the top of it. Using Eggplant Adirondack I carefully brushed in the ink with the soft Clarity Brushes to make the street.  Being careful  and using a strip of paper to guide me were the rooftops should go I made those darker. Then covered the whole bottom part and put it the sky and sun I used a hint of Wink Of Stella to highlight the rooftops and the sun. That done I drew in the wall stamped the cat onto it and then the birds.....on the card blnk I stamped rise and shine at a jaunty angle and used the sunburst stencil in the opposite corner I used Butterscotch on this first then a little red pepper job done .....Many Thanks to Barbara Gray for commenting on my Corrie scene ...hope you like it too this is one I will go back and do time and again nice enjoyable card to do .....and as always Clarity.....Clearly a better stamp!

Birthday How Many Candles?

This month in Clarity South West we will be using the Gelli Plate these are just two of the samples I have made over the weekend.  Many of you will know it was my Birthday last Friday. Thank you all for your good wishes and cards friends and family are what its all about really......Friday morning I was whisked off for Coffee buy a good friend of mine Ali Walker we used to work together in Rory's school, before I left to work in one of the cafe's we used to have.....we went to have a posh coffee in Dingles and met up with a few friends there it was quiet the reunion of Mill Ford past and present! here is a photo of a few of my cards.

I had a lovely selection of cards One in particular stood out from my Darling Husband

It says on it.....To My Darling Wife A Christmas Wish! .......Good Job I love him. (Well someone has too) He has bought me  a stamp maker...maybe he thinks I wont spend so much on stamps If I can make them myself....I don't have the heart to disillusion him! Photos of that maybe tomorrow as I have Rory home and whenever I look at it he wants to help I need to play first to see if it's safe for him to help I don't want any accidents.

Well I hope you enjoyed this blog Crafty Hugs X

Sweet Lilac DT Tag With ClarityStamps

Playing with some of my stash from the NEC I split this pack of tags with some friends and could'nt wait to play the stamps are of course Claritystamps and I like the flowers, from Sweet Lilac Flowers with this tag and the distress look round the edge just seemed right I think the trick to this is know when to walk away

Clarity stampette's on tour. The NEC !

Hi Everyone sorry I have been quiet I have been away ....travelled to the NEC last Wednesday ....and came home Saturday.
Oh what a great time we had, we did workshops and learned new techniques. I have come home brimming with ideas and inkpads....rather a lot of inkpads! and some MDF tag's to alter and stamp for Clarity South West Workshops....here are a few of the photos.

The Highlight for me however was not the NEC or the shopping or meeting all the lovely People  though that of course played a part....No the highlight was a rather special Little Boy, Massimo Who is Theresa Pace's son he sends homework into Barbara and loves the Gelli Plate. Well Theresa was a star and looked after Yvonne, Jo, Sam and I really well so Saturday She took Massimo to meet Barbara.

He was one delighted little boy.

We came away Saturday having reaffirmed friendships. Made a few new ones and a lot of fun memories and Walking around the show with the girls I was thankful. Thankful to be part of such a great crafting community. And Proud to be associated with "A Banging little stamp firm" called Claritystamps.

Long may they go from strength to strength. 

Lesson 21 trees Homework

Don't you just love this set...so useful either with or without the tree mantles I like trees and landscapes a quick and easy card. add bold colours for the warmer months and more muted for Autumn and Winter
Hope you like these....
   A few of you have been asking About Clarity workshops well in Clarity South West we have been busy making star cards this month. there is a tutorial on here for those of you who would like to do one, scroll back to Sept 2012 and you will I hope find the instruction's easy to follow.
Our next meeting for those who may like to come and see what we do will be on 28th Nov and we will be Gelli plating giving you all a chance to see what the fuss is about. You will love it I'm sure.

This is a Christmas card using the dove stencil just brushed over on the corners in Stonewashed Adirondack using  the soft Clarity brushes on the corners of a rectangular card then took a piece of 4 inch x 8 inch piece of linen card and using a torn piece of copy paper put in sand dunes using Butterscotch Adirondack then a swipe of red pepper for the evening sky and to finish Stonewashed and Eggplant to darken the top and the corners....Stamp the three wise men in Archival Black Ink and Peace which is from the Christmas Bauble Set.  Then I used cosmic shimmer glue,  I "Inked" the Star with the glue and added Glitter flakes Pirate Treasure mat on a black piece of card and glue to card there finished .......

Sweet Lilac Golden Wedding

So the theme for Sweet lilac flowers this month was Love now sorry I am not very mushy!  But the paper with the gold swirls a few red roses and a red ribbon was just the job for a golden wedding card I had to do with a lovely Clarity sentiment which reads Love You Yesterday.  Love You Still. Always Have Always Will. Hope you like it

Clarity Joy Card

This is the Technique that Barbara Gray used on TV with the Clarity Noel and snowflake stencil ....This is my take on it using talcum powder not perfect pearls for the white snowflakes ....Hope you like it
You will need Gilding flakes Gold and Pirate Treasure. Double sided adhesive sheet JOY from the noel set snowflakes cut into two bits Leaving the wax paper on one side put the snowflake stencils on two corners, and joy stencil in the middle.that done cover the remaining sheet with Gold flakes rub over gently until all the stickiness has gone the sheet except for the snow flakes and joy should now be covered in gold flakes using a sponge finger brush off the remaining flake's. Next peel off the JOY stencil with the pirate treasure and a pair of tweezers pick out red flakes and place over where the joy stencil was when completely covered brush of excess flakes as before. Now gently peel off the snowflake stencils and  brush with talcum powder into the adhesive the talc will be the white snowflakes ....now take a sponge and polish off any stray bits of flakes or specks of talc I have mounted on a black background as I think it makes the image pop. Hope you like it. xx

TV PROJECT FOR CLARITYSTAMPS

Hi There. Hope you are all enjoying the Clarity Blockbuster weekend on Create and Craft. I know I am and my basket becomes ever heavier with all the stamps and DVDs stencils and so on that I know I NEED!

You may know Barbara asked me to work on the Claritystamp stand at Westpoint in Exeter when the hobbycraft and stitches show was on two weeks ago. While I was there I was asked if I could make a step by step card that was easy to follow using the stencil and the butterfly and petal stamps. Well I went away and had a play and being concious that Barb is against the clock when demoing on TV it had to be quick and eye catching. This is what I came up with.

You will need:

Thuva card
Copy paper
Low tack masking tape
Adirondacks Red Pepper, Butterscotch, and Espresso.
Swirl Stencil
Red Pro-marker I used Berry Barabara used Red Lipstick both work well with the Red Pepper adirondack.
Butterfly and Petal stamps
Clarity Soft Stencil Brushes.


Mask Thuva card off halfway and place stencil where you would like it to be and tape it in place with low tack masking tape then cover border around the card. I usually start with the lightest colour first which in this case is Butterscotch....gently load the stencil brush and tap off any excess off on a scrap sheet of copy paper.then brush across the stencil to build up the colour keep going till you are happy with the depth of colour then remove the tape covering the stencil  clean off and flip over, so you now have the stencil's mirror image on the other side of the card. Tape the stencil in place and repeat the process building up the colour with the brushes but this time using Red pepper, This is a lovely warm colour and you may think the butterfly in red won't show but it does.

Take away the stencil and the masking tape you should have a sharp clear Yellow on one side and Red on the other with the white where the stencil has been ...Using Espresso ink the butterfly and place centre so one half is on the red and the other half in the yellow then inking the petal *Flower Stamp* from the Petal set stamp the first petal centre so again half in the yellow half in the red,

Then just colour the Butterfly in red and the petals within the petal stamp there we have it my TV Project for Barbara Gray and Clarity stamps Thank you for taking a look I hope you are enjoying the shows as much as I am . xxxx Have A Crafty Weekend  xxxx

Just a few more Christmas cards to go with some I have already done....I have 4 batches of 25  (100) to do and not a lot of time to do them is this looks hard but is pretty straightforward really. I used theuva card for this. Make a mask for the Border's and one for the moon stick in place. Then using Ink Brushes I have a set of Clarity's brushes lovely to use as they are nice and soft. I always start with the lightest colour first so with Butterscotch  Adirondack take a little ink on the brush and start with a ripped sheet of copy paper put your sand dunes in layering and gradually becoming fainter the further up the card you go this will create the illusion of distance. Now for the sky I used Stonewashed Adirondack very lightly where the sand ends and gradually become darker as I go up the page I finish with a little Eggplant at the top of the card  ....the inking done I take Archival black and ink up the three wise men stamp placing them on the sand dunes I notice one of them pointing so.....pointing the star in was quiet easy but instead of inking it I used glue and gilding flakes Then used the Oh star of wonder stamp around it....viola job done I hope you like these xx

Hi Everyone the Clarity Challenge this month is WINTER so the Winter Deer scene stamp seemed perfect for this as we were using out HOLLY &IVY Stamp in the workshop last month I thought I would give it another outing so it looks as you are peeping at the deer from the other side of the holly bush.everything has been embossed with silver with and coloured using promarker's lovely quick easy card ....the WINTER was stamped using the Clarity Letterbox set and the snow flake is the one that comes with the Deer set

Autumn days

As Summer sadly draws to a close and the evening become short the weather cooler and rain splatters the window's.... My thought's drifted far away to a summer afternoon on the way back home from walking the dogs the bees were going about their business and one of the gardens we happen to pass had the most glorious array of hollyhocks. I adore these they bring back memories of going to visit the rich side of the family !!!  Not that any of the Uncles and Aunts were very rich but in my youthful ignorance anyone who could afford their own house and have such a beautiful garden must be rich indeed. My Uncle Harold and Auntie Jan Live there still. He will be 90 and she is a sprightly 83, wonderful they were each others first love and their devotion when I go to see them, which is not nearly enough still shines through. Well this card put me in mind of their garden with the flowers from my childhood the lovely Hollyhock's that were taller then I. The Daisy's (Margarite's)   the snapdragons wall flowers and roses all had their tale to tell in that garden. Sadly now though still tended with love the garden has lost it's glory age and time have taken their toll but I have only to close my eyes and I'm back as a child dancing in the Hollyhocks.

Project's for Clarity South West.

Two Project's using the holly stamp One a wreath using the large  Clarity Holly and Ivy stamp. Lots of masking and careful stamping You Need to stamp and cut out 2 masks .....There is a trick to this Draw a circle about 4 inches round in pencil on a white piece of theuva card. place one mask at the top going from the twelve o clock position on the circle Now as you look at the holly and ivy stamp the second holly leaf at the tip of the branch this is the one that needs to be placed directly onto the circle you will need to hover over the top of the mask as we dont want the branch to show ....this bit will be hidden by the mask the rest of the stamp once inked and stamped out will have a gap at the back were the branch should be.... carry on stamping and masking all the way round the circle. Do not remove the first mask, This makes is easier to judge where the last piece of the Holly and Ivy wreath goes. When you get to the last piece you will see a gap in the leaves insert the last image inbetween the leaves. This will complete the wreath. Colour in using promarkers and darken the edges with juniper ink using ink brushes  Stick on gems and Heat emboss in gold the Deck the halls stamp also by Clarity. I hope this makes sense if not and you fancy having a try at this PM me on Facebook and I will do my best to talk you through it.


The bottom project was a bit of fun a door hanger gilded with the Holly and ivy stamp set in silver and then painted in twinkling H2Os the Flakes were bought from Barbara Gray at Cowdon Claritystamp retreat.  The glue was I think was from cosmic shimmer???? but the label has come off so I would'nt swear to that. Anyway I hope you enjoyed our workshop makes I think our group did. xxx

Hi Everyone ...oh dear I have been a bad blogger sorry stern talking to self must do better! Well summer is paast and autumn with the cooler morning's and dark evening's has returned and once more our thoughts as card makers turn to Christmas...You either love it or hate it. I Love it, More then any other time of year the magic of Christmas still enthrall's me.

Both these cards Using the same set of  Clarity stamps. While shepherds watched their flocks. And Thought I would combine it with the calligraphy Angel to make the scene. Quick and easy to do.... the gold card has been heat embossed  in clear embossing powder with the swirl, and gives an engraved effect. Thank you for looking  Hope you like it. xxxx

This is my design card for the Sweet Lilac Flowers challenge. The theme this month is vintage
I used the Clarity Butterfly Montage for this and The lovely flowers from Sweet lilac finish it off nicely. Hope you like it

Clarity Challenge Vintage.

This Clock Kit from Karen Clare was a Joy to make up the instructions are straightforward and concise and easy to understand Go and take a look on Karens FB Page Karen Clare the Clock Lady she is on Barbara Grays DT and a great source of insperation.

I really enjoyed making this for choosing the design to making it up it took me less then an hour the hardest part was deciding what I wanted to do and what stamps to use after several changes of mind I picked the Paris Montage The Gent's Pocket Watch the Corset and the NDC Cow Parsley stamps a bit of simple masking and then coloured with pro-makers. Hope you like it. x

Swirl Homework

These were just a couple of very quick cards made for Barbara Grays homework  using the leafy swirls.
The first made with Gold flakes on back card I used glue to ink the stamps  you can buy a pad that holds the glue, Fat foam I think its called. and you use this by adding the glue to it and spreading it even over the pad then using the now sticky pad as you would an inkpad once "INKED" with the glue place stamp onto where you want the Image to go on your piece of card.  Do be very careful to make sure you clean the  All glue off your stamp or you will wreck it, and that's the last thing you need after investing so much money in your stamps I use warm water soap and a old toothbrush that gets into all the nooks and cranny's and if you have any glue left still on the stamp take some NAIL VARNISH REMOVER and with a baby-wipe wipe any remaining residue from the glue away.you can feel when it's clean. the glue is safe to leave for a few mins while you go and do this ....come back to the card and leave the now clean stamp to dry. Next hold the card over the box of gilding flakes and scatter them over the top of the glued image. have a baby-wipe and a paper towel to hand. Once the card is covered in the flakes wipe any excess glue off fingers! and dry with a paper towel then with the sponge ( I use a dry Green Backed Sponge Scourer ) Gently wipe in a circular motion over the flakes making sure all the  glue is covered  and also keeping your card over the box of gilding flake's the excess bits will fall back into the box for you to use next time.

SPLAT was fun and easy....MANY MANY THANKS to the Wonderful the one and only Eileen Goodwin.for sharing the technique with me.
You will need a selection of Distress stains by ranger ...All you need to do is turn the bottle upside down and give it a good whack as you hit the card ....you will get a splat I just picked a few colours I thought would match and randomly whacked them.....then stamped over the top with clear versamrk and heat embossed in gold the backing paper was made on the gelli plate in similar colour's using the Clarity Trellis stencil  Matt and layered it.... Job done.

These are just two of the cards I made this month though the top one didn't make it to the homework pile for Barbara, the Bottom one did I have used the Leafy Swirl in the  background clear embossed onto antique gold card with a pretty strip of gold ribbon.  Then gold heat embossed the Angel into the middle of thevua card and stamped the sheep and shepherds underneath.......A bit of scenery and that was it. Lovely quick card I do like it when a plan comes together

Bernie plays nice!

I had a little play the other day started on the Gelli plate then saw this stencil which screamed not Gelli but ink's at me. This is Claritystamps Leafy Swirl Stencil by the way.
Having Squeezed Lemonade and Tumbled Glass Ranger distress inks I thought I would give the stencil a bit of a work out. I taped the stencil with low tack masking tape to white cardstock and then swirled Squeezed Lemonade onto an ink duster and gently went in a circular motion to add the ink.  Then added a little Tumbled Glass just to the corners and a little running across the edges now lift the stencil off.
Using the large Leafy Swirl stamp I inked in Archival Black and stamped it twice, then the butterfly which I coloured in water colour pencil's lastly  stamped the verse.  I still thought it needed something so Inking the small Leafy swirl in versamark I placed it in the bottom corner and heat embossed with gold cosmic shimmer embossing powder and added a strip of lime ribbon finally matting it on black card ....I hope you like this I really enjoyed watching it come together as when I first started I had no idea where it was going to go.....

Summertime with Claritystamps and Sweet lilac flowers

The first thing I look for when making a card is the colour.  I had some lovely lemon and lilac paper flowers from Sweet lilac and matching brads so putting them to one side I went to look for a stamp to bring out the colours I wanted to use I had a play with both Topaz and Madeline both Claritystamps and favourite stamps of mine,  then I happened upon Beatrice.....Perfect the way she holds her wrap on her hand as she leans across to open the gate into a secret garden.  I cut the oval with Spellbinders  and used second generation Espresso Adirondack to stamp out the image, coloured her in in lemon and lilac added the brads to the flowers and glued them to the outer of the frame.  I found a strip of lilac ribbon matted and layered cream and lilac card and added the final three flowers to the ribbon. Stamped a simple Thank you (Clarity again!)
And there we have it job done xxxx Hope you enjoy looking.
Sweet lilac have a blog challenge...come and Join the theme is Summertime you could win a prize
www.sweetlilacflowers@yahoo.co.uk.

This was a technique I had been itching to try but never quiet had the courage to do ....why I don't know because it was soooo easy. The stamps are from Claritystamps, The Birdhouse Set. the first thing I did was stamp and clear emboss the cat. then Stamping the rest of the images in white with a white pigment inkpad.
Now to colour them.....My water colours pencils have gone AWOL so asking Rory if I could borrow his pencils I started to add colour over the white. Lovely to do and very relaxing I hope you like the end result I will be doing this again. Lovely easy make.
 xxx Have a wonderful day crafty hug's B xxx

Homework for Clarity. The Bird House.

I loved making this ...the birdhouse and images stamped on one side of acetate and the inks gently dropped on the other side. Then two brads one either side to attach the acetate to a piece of white card then the whole thing matted onto black very simple easy and quick to do.
Hope you like it.

These were a few of the Christmas samples I made for Clarity South west workshop we had a productive, if rather odd day with peeps coming and going and two no shows, but a big welcome to Sara Hart who was able to come along and I think enjoyed our workshop.  Hope to see you again soon. Andy wish you better sorry to hear you have hurt yourself. xx And Sylvia I hope you had a fab holiday. xx See you all soon. xx

I had my New Clarity Christmas Stamps Arrive last week and couldn't wait to play, Just a bit of Simple embossing and some "colouring in as My DH Call's it! Hope you like these. xxx