Craft and Quilt Fair

I went to the Craft and Qulit Fair today....and there is usually some lovely quilts to see.

This year there were so many innovative and truely stunning or beautiful quilts it was awe inspiring! There were many I would have happily taken home.

I LOVE quilting fabrics - much like the way I LOVE scrapbooking papers. I often wish many of the quilting materials were paper.

Some companies are cross selling their designs in scrapbooking paper and quilting fabrics. Fantastic!! I see many designs I'd love to have to play with.

Off to Stamp Art Studio tomorrow night and I'm at Arnold's all day Saturday so I will see quite a few of you soon. Hope you are in the mood for some fun and creativity!!

Happy scrapping,

Jane

How messy are you?

In my case, the answer to "How messy are you?" is VERY.

This is a temporary work space while I am housesitting. My friend Sharon came over to be creative with me - this is after I neatened up a bit.

One of the best things about craft is that we can all just be however we are and scrap however we like - there is no right or wrong, the aim is enjoyment. I am messy, chaotic and think perfection is overrated. I LOVE craft. You might be my opposite and still LOVE craft. Great isn't it?!

Be happy,

Jane

Flat out!

Wow, it's been so long since I blogged, it's a wonder I remember how :)

All I can say is I have been flat out with teaching at Stamp Art Studio and Arnold's Scrapbook and Craft Warehouse, teaching card classes and catering too.

Plus I have been working on making lots of new samples for class and cards for a project for birthdays and Christmas.

I did manage to fit in 2 days of cropping with my girlfriend Sharon too! Yesterday we spent the day being crafty and getting layouts and cards made. I can't believe how many cards Sharon has made...I think its 170 ish!

Get creative everyone,

Jane

Classes, layouts and cards!

Wow! It's been a really busy time lately with classes at Arnold's and Stamp Art Studio PLUS my continuing card classes hosted by the Burpengary Library.

We have also had a bit of catering to do and I am onto my second housesitting job in a row. If fact the cute dog I'm minding is sitting on my feet as I type this very entry.

So I hope you have all been well and getting creative as usual. I am planning on a big scrapbooking fest this weekend! Yay!

I include a card I made for my cousin's birthday and a photo of the lovely ladies who came to the library for a laugh and to make some quick and easy cards.

Now I must go feed the dog as its his dinner time!

Be happy,

Jane

September card class!

Birds and dragonflies....beauty takes flight.

Book yourself in to make these 3 beautiful cards. with their embossed backgrounds, scallops, ribbon and soft pretty colours. Lovely!

I will be teaching a card class "Beauty Takes Flight" at my home workshop on Friday 10th September from 10am to 11.30am with a cuppa and chat to follow.

Price is $12 and covers all materials. Please bring a bone scorer, scissors, glue, double sided tape and foam tape or foam dots.

Booking is essential so contact me at liveoutloud43@y7mail.com

Cheers all,
Jane

Spring is here!

Hi everyone - can you believe it's spring already?

Halloween and Christmas papers are flowing into stores near you. Don't mention the guy in the red suit, ok? Some people have already started or even MADE their cards! Who are these people? Superwomen I'm thinking :))

I'm still working away at Arnold's and Stamp Art Studio and enjoying all the creativity we share. Thanks to you all.

Ho ho ho,
Jane (just smile, it's the best alternative)

Sydney and back

I have been to Sydney for a week and am back!

I saw some amazing photography at both the Powerhouse Museum and The Art Gallery of NSW.

The Powerhouse had fashion photography by Bruno Benini (wow!) http://powerhousemuseum.com/benini/ ...

and a display of winners from a photo competition which was held on Flickr whose theme was Trainspotting http://powerhousemuseum.com/photocompetition/

Lucky me, I also saw an exhibition at the NSW Art Gallery of Alfred Steglitz (1864-1946) who was among the first to recognise the artistic potential of photography. His photos are rarely displayed and it is only the third time some of his 150 photographs have been shown to the public throughout the whole world. http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/current/stieglitz

And then there was all the other stuff I saw... but I'll tell you another time :-)

Inspired again,

Jane

Oh I Forgot!

Forgot to add that I have been sorting out all my layouts...YES, all 7 years worth.

And choosing the 6 best designed double page layouts. Not easy I assure you. I got it down to 30, then to 15. I am calling in helpers for opinions....

Here's some of the pages laid out on the floor of the garage. Scary isn't it.

Right, now I am finished LOL

Cheers,

Jane

Happy Birthday Lindy!

Today is Lindy's birthday -Happy Birthday girlfriend!

If you click on the title of this blog post it will take you to Lindy's blog - and it's jam packed with goodies to look at :)

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I have made a birthday card for her from the Born to Shop range of stamps. It is a from this month's Do Crafts magazine Creativity. I had great fun colouring it in with Copic markers and highlighting it with a Spica pen. Both Arnold's and Stamp Art Studio carry these pens.

The other card is one I made as part of a stash. Lindy loves green. As she is out and about today and then we are having morning tea Thursday for her birthday.

I like being able to personalise birthdays with gifts we make because we are creative people. And who better to give them to than other creative people? They understand the effort and appreciate the creativity!

Hope the cold westerlies of August aren't rattling you too much and creeping under the door.

Have a great day everyone,

Jane

This time last year...

Do you remember what you were doing this time last year?

I make a note on the back of my layouts with the date they were made...so this time last year I was creating this "Love U" page with Amelie. She hadn't started having her growth spurt yet. At 2 and a half she is very tall at 1 metre and the size of a four year old.

She won't be a shorty like her Aunty Jane!

I was also housesitting and dog minding for a friend this time last year...and this year I have just finished housesitting and dog minding for another friend.

What were you up to in winter last year??

Be happy,

Jane

Monday already...

The weeks are flying by...and I always think "AHHHHHHHHHH!" when those pesky Christmas in July classes start being advertised. The momentum will start picking up now, so get creative!

In this photo left to right: Margaret, Alison, Lorraine and Glenda.

I promised photos of the ladies at my Saturday class and here are 8 of them, sorry Diane and Anna. I forgot to take more photos to capture you all. Not as funny as my other mistake though...

In this photo left to right: Tanya, Lorraine, Sharon and Lesley.

Margaret informs me early on that there is a mistake in the handout for the first class. I think, "Darn, not again!" She encourages me to look at it...and I find that instead of three separate drawings there are 3 drawings but 2 are of the same layout. LOL

So I drew a quick copy of the 'missing layout' and copied it for them all. Remember girls, if you want the 'proper' drawing just email me at liveoutloud43@y7mail.com

Well I had the giggles after that and we had a great day where I got them all working very hard and laughing our way through the day. I came home with a stack of new papers from Stamp Art Studio too.

But I have to add one more thing - it's my birthday Wednesday and I finally got my Cricut Expressions machine off layby because everyone is chipping in for my gift! Yay! Tracy at Arnold's was very happy for me. Thanks :) I will be 44. I think that's quadruple trouble.

Be happy,

Jane

What a day!

Wow! What a great day...

I am pretty tired after working with 10 lovely ladies today at Stamp Art Studio. Thanks to Lesley, Sharon, Tanya, Lorraine, Glenda, Lorraine K, Alison, Margaret, Diane and Anna.

You all rock! Will add your photos soon, so look out!

Happy Saturday!

Jane

Pretty, oh so pretty!

I have two of the songs from West Side Story singing through my brain this morning! A friend is going to see the stage musical in Sydney and now I can't get the words out of my head...oh well, may as well go with it.

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty,

I feel pretty and witty and bright,

and I pity any girl who isn't me tonight!"

Which is partly why I have added this photo of Gay's birthday card to my post this morning. I hope you had a great day sweetie! This card is in the Jane Balke tradition - simple, colourful with ribbon and bling added!

You can never have enough ribbon or jewels. :-)

The sun is shining today - yay!

Jane

Burning up the hours

I am sure there is a syndrome related to scrapbooking or cardmaking for hours on end!

Think about it...

Do you have a sore neck and an aching back after hours of creativity?

Do you forget to drink water and eat food?

Are your eyes a little weary?

Do you ignore everyone and everything else?

If you answered "YES!" to at least 2 of these, then you are on the way to a syndrome I am going to call OMAN aka 'Oh my aching neck!" LOL

But hey! I got heaps of work done....now where's the menthol rub and a heat wheat pillow?

Happy Monday,

Jane

Celebration

What a great day!

I am a very tired, happy and satisfied woman tonight. Some friends and I got together to celebrate our friendship, our creativity and our friend Gay's birthday (a little early).

Gay was thrilled with part one of her birthday present which was a stash of handcrafted cards. I include a photo of one of the cards here.

We had white chocolate fairy cakes each with their own candle. So cute! More importantly they taste fabulous according to the girls :-)

Time to put my feet up,

Jane

Card fun...with Jane

Did you read Dick and Dora at primary school? I always remember the book being called Fun With Dick and Dora. I remember they had pets: Nip the dog and Fluff the kitten.

No, I haven't regressed to childhood, the Card Fun with Jane made me think of it. I do have a double page layout about my love of reading and the books I loved as a child. I wasn't a dolly girl, I wanted books! I loved The Famous Five and the Secret Seven, Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldon and even the Hardy Boys.

Anyway, my point, and I do have one (;-) is that today's class was fun and many thanks to Gwen, Jan, Karen and Dawn. Pat on the back to the ladies who had last minute problems and couldn't come. Rest assured girls, we ate your cake too.

The last card is one we made today and I promised to highlight on this blog how you can simply change something to make it look different.

Tomorrow is a crop with friends...oh the joys of creativity, girlfriends, laughter and cake!

Have a great weekend everyone,

Jane

Fixing up the workshop

WOW! How much scrapbooking and craft stuff do I own?

Storage and organisation are not my strong points. I am more a 'work-in-chaos' kinda gal.

But I have been working on it and with the help of my sister Belinda yesterday after 4 hours of back breaking slog, we have got it 90% sorted.

I am imagining many of you have your own organising dramas...and let's face it, the magazines all have plenty of ideas about storage, but in the long run, it has to be what works for you!

And now I am off for a cuppa and a slice of chocolate cake because I deserve it!

Cheers all,

Jane

Scrap For A Cure

Hey, why don't you get involved with this? It sounds good...and another great cause.

I won't be there as I am working at Stamp Art Studio, but Arnold's Scrapbook and Craft supplies will be. :)

If you wish to know more try http://www.ovariancancer.net.au/events/supporter-activities/scrap-cure

Scrap for A Cure

July 17, 2010 - 10:00am - 10:00pm

Scrap For a Cure
Raising vital funds for Ovarian Cancer Australia

Where: Strathpine Community Hall, Cnr Gympie Road & Mecklem Street, Strathpine.
When: 17th July 2010 at 10am until 10pm (You may leave beforehand)
Cost: $40.00 per head. This includes a light lunch and BBQ dinner. Snacks and drinks will also be up for sale at the event.

Scrap for A Cure is a 12-hour long scrapbooking day. Great for everyone from beginners to advanced. Many stalls will be available for all those great bargains, great raffles, make and take classes and so much more. A great day to be had by all. All for a great charity: Ovarian Cancer Australia.

If you would like to buy a ticket or reserve a seat, please call Michelle Moore on 0458 437 440 or email at scrapforacure@gmail.com

Do not miss out, only 200 tickets for sale!!

Happy scrapbooking!

Cheers,

Jane

Keeping an eye on me

The cat has been keeping an eye on me....and complaining loudly that i am working too much and NOT paying him enough attention. Sorry Elliott.

I got all the kits ready for the card class Friday and finished off some birthday and congratulation cards too.

Elliott even followed me out when I went to take some photos of them in the dying afternoon light. Here he is peeking around the letterbox which served as a display shelf.

We had morning tea together with the family and Amelie managed to polish off her little scone, an apple juice, some baby cino, a bit of my cup of tea and chocolate cake too. I forgot to take photos - I was having such a nice time. :)

Hope you had a nice weekend,

Jane

Lots of layouts

Yes! New pages have been made...I worked my butt off today :-) I need to get lots of layouts underway for upcoming classes AND get some new ideas together for the card kit classes.

It took ages for me to select the photos I might use next...there's always so many to choose from! I don't have a system, I just dip in anywhere and grab something that appeals to me at that moment.

The photo is a favourite layout from this time of year in 2008! I still have Great Ocean Road photos left to scrap (trip-Jan 2008)...

Colours I've been working with are pink (surprise!), green, brown and even orange today - and not all on the one page I might add.

My subjects have been me, a friend, dusk and a lovely old heritage photo featuring my maternal grandmother when she was only 21.

A good day, but I am tired and my neck feels a little sore. Scrapper's neck is a new syndrome right? Many of you have it too.

Stay warm at the scrap table,

Jane

Happy Scrappy Feeling

We had a great afternoon at Arnold's Scrapbook and Craft Supplies http://scrapbooking.arnolds.net.au/ at a class designed for every level of scrapbooker.

I run a class where you bring any photo or photos you like and I help you turn them into lovely layouts! What could be easier? Of course, having taught scrapbooking and craft for 7 years I have heaps to share - including layouts, sketches and help choosing paper, card and accents.

Leisl, Debbie and Cath were great company and very enthusiastic women. We enjoyed the class and made some fantastic pages. Robyn kindly took this photo of us! (That's the rather shy Leisl hiding behind some layouts.)

I bought a few more Copic pens (a new addiction) and plan on getting some time to colour in - um, I mean time to work hard at creating things to share. Yes, that sounds more like it :)

Hope your Saturday was as nice as mine and see you soon at Arnold's, Stamp Art Studio or the Burpengary Library. Oh and don't forget the card class at my workshop too! Details are in the right hand column.

Make Sunday your day,

Jane

Thursday night creativity

Well it was a full house at Stamp Art Studio again last night...

and thanks to the lovely ladies who came to learn something about colour Jane-style. Thanks especially to Maureen who asked great questions, something I thrive on.

I think quite a few of us get stuck in a rut of using our favourite colours over and over and hardly ever push outside our comfort zone. And just to prove my point the layout above is orange and yellow - 2 colours I hardly ever use. I am always happy to get you looking at colour differently.

I love it when students say, "I would never have thought of using those colours but it looks fantastic!" That is a great reward for me.

Thanks again to Alison, Margaret, Lesley, Glenda, Tanya, Mia, Maureen and Wendy. I had lots of fun.

Rosemary, the lovely owner of Stamp Art Studio, tells me there aren't too many spots left for my July classes, so contact Stamp Art Studio soon if you want to grab the last spaces!

Tomorrow I will be teaching at Arnold's again so I will see some of you there.

Have a great weekend,

Jane

Saturday fun at Stamp Art Studio

What a great day at Stamp Art Studio... (click the title of this post to go to Stamp Art Studio!)

This page is one I used during class of the lovely flowers at Floriade in Canberra. Lots of fabulous interpretations of my sketch and ideas gals - well done!

We scrapped all day and made 3 single pages and 2 double page spreads! Lots of photos are now in new layouts. It's so easy in a class, especially if you would like a hand selecting paper and card.

As you know, I provide the sketches and a sample of my interpretation of that sketch. It makes it a usre thing that you will get variety and NOT get stuck in a rut doing the same old same old.

Hi to all the ladies who attended class, and these are photos taken during the Multiphoto Magic class. Thanks to Margaret, Alison, Jo, Glenda, Tanya, Belinda, Lorraine and Sharon who posed for the photos good naturedly.

See some of you Thursday night for the Colour My World class too! Oh you know I love colour so i bet I get a 'bit' enthusiastic!

Smiling at the winter sunshine,

Jane

16th birthday card

Just finished this card for Rachael's 16th Birthday...

My niece is quite an arty, creative young lady :-) I used an ribbon, a Chinese charm and 2 jump rings, an old Asian theme stamp, Memento black ink, the new Copic pens (yay!) and some Bazzill card.

If you want to see more about Copic markers go to http://copicmarker.com.au/ or visit your local art and craft store. Arnold's sells a large range of them and has classes on technique.

I wanted to make something a bit more special for such an important birthday.

Teaching 2 classes at Stamp Art Studio at Aspley tomorrow and the classes are full, so I will see some of you fabulous creative people tomorrow...

Enjoy your art,

Jane

Inspiration and new things!

Hi everyone. Hope you had a great long weekend...

As usual I saw many wonderful things at the Papercraft Expo and can't wait to play with my new purchases. needless to say I bought stamps from Heaven Scent http://www.heavenscentcrafts.com.au/ where I worked all weekend.

Debbie and Cheryl were lovely and carry some fabulous and unusual ranges of stamps. One of each would have been very nice!

Soon I intend sitting down and creating some lovely cards... meanwhile this morning I am teaching at Arnold's Scrapbooking and Stamp Art Studio all day Saturday. I hope to see you there!

Have a happy day,

Jane

Hello crafty gals!

Hi everyone!

It was great seeing some of you at the craft show the first 2 days. I look forward to seeing more of you tomorrow.

I will take some photos tomorrow and show you Heaven Scent crafts stall. It's pretty nice meeting and talking to people who love craft...and we all know how shy I am. :)

Cheers,

Jane

Flower Power!

Thanks to the lovely ladies in my card class at Burpengary library today: Amanda, Kerryn, Shirley, Jan, Gwen, Joan, Jeanette, Dawn and Robyn.

I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much, but I do. We all made 3 cards with a floral theme.

Apparently I gave them some ideas they say they never thought of....thanks girls! I look forward to the next one.

Speaking of crafty, its the Scrapbook and Papercraft expo at the Brisbane Convention Centre at Southbank this long weekend. No doubt heaps of you will be going in for a look and a little retail therapy. Come say hi, I will be at the Heaven Scent stand (No 71) helping out all weekend.

If you want to know more click here http://www.scrapbookexpo.com.au/Brisbane2010/

I hope to get a look at some of the fabulous things on offer...don't you love being creative? So much to play with :-)

Happy weekend all,

Jane

Wow Sydney!

Amazing!

My trip to Sydney was truly inspiring. I did not want to come home because I was having such a great time.

And I didn't even get to see everything because I just ran out of time. Darn!

I did learn some great stuff about using my camera for night shooting and photographing lights. Thank you Martin :-)

I include just 2 photos from the whole trip...St Mary's Cathedral illuminated for the Vivid Festival which finishes on June 20. Wish I could have seen even more of it.

Expect some more projects from me as soon as I get some time. Hope you are all taking advantage of the season and getting creative.

Keep warm,

Jane

Sydney tomorrow!

Tomorrow I am flying to Sydney to catch up with friends and see the sights! My camera will be out and busy.

Got my act together today and made a friend's birthday card, but I won't pop it on here until she gets it in the mail!

Don't want to be leaving you without any visuals though so here's another vintage card some ladies made in my class..and a page(half the layout) from an upcoming scrapbooking class.

More photos will be coming!

Jane

More cards!

I seem to be on a roll with cards lately...

Here's some of the girls making cards...and some of the cards.

Working on more designs for classes too.

Get crafty!

Jane

Cards and crops

Another day of getting creative for upcoming classes...

The card uses a tulip stamp and I have only inked the stem and leaf with Chalk ink in Tea Leaves. The paper flower was pale blue and I added 2 shades of aqua or teal also in chalk inks.

I added the tiny butterfly with a foam pop dot and 2 more inside with the sentiment. Yes, that is a tiny aqua gem on the dot of the 'j' in "just".

The sentiment "Just because..." continues inside with "I miss you".

The card below uses the same stamp and idea in another way.

Off to give a class at Arnold's Scrapbooking and Craft Supplies at Rothwell tomorrow, then giving a card class Friday and finally on Saturday a day spent with my friend Sharon playing with our new Copic pens, stamps, and Sharon's Cricut and Big Shot.

Yes, it's hard work, but someone's got to do it!

Loving yellow at the moment! What are you in to??

See the colours around you,

Jane

Who Messed Up My Workshop?

So I would like to know who messed up my workshop?

I can't have been me surely? I haven't even been in there very much lately!

But seeing as no one else has been either I must conclude it was the pixies, or the cat....Darn it Elliott, stop working on projects and not tidying up after!

If you don't hear from me this week send in a rescue team please!

The card is a simple but cute one I made for Tracy's birthday and I had to include this super cute one of Amelie. Hasn't she grown? She's 2 and a half years old now. Those pigtails are SOOO cute. Must scrap it soon. But have to be able to get into the workshop....oh well, back to the cleaning up.

Whatever you do, do it with a smile,

Jane