Friday In The Studio – A Look At The March Projects

March has been a funny month so far. The beginning of the month was super cold, then the sun came out and we had a brief taste of Spring and then the snow and cold temperatures returned just to keep us on our toes and after another hint of sunshine the rain has returned to make us feel miserable again.

Meanwile in the studio there have been lots of projects on the go.

This card made using WOW embossing powders and glitter along with the fabulous quote stamp went up on the WOW blog a couple of weeks ago.

The theme for the month of March is Sparkles and the quote was the inspiration behind the card. It was a brilliant opportunity to go over the top with glitter, something which normally makes me nervous but it gave me great pleasure this time around. I only wish my photo would have captured how much the die cuts do sparkle, it’s amazing.

The beginning of March I did something a bit different and contributed to a new online magazine called the Creative Planner by submitting a coloring page for their self care challenge. If you’d like to download and use my colouring page or indeed read the whole magazine you’ll find it here. The Creative Planner are on Facebook and Instagram if you want to follow them too.

For a while now I’ve been sewing notebook covers in felt which have been very successful with orders coming in for custom sizes and applique designs on the front. I’ll continue to make these notebook covers which you can find here on my Etsy store at basementsixtyfive along with pen holders also in felt but I’ve also been making covers in canvas which brings other possibilities like being able to paint on it too. This little A6 version was made using canvas from Canvas Corp and I created a blog tutorial showing how to get the design on the canvas fabric.  I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more of this and others in the future. The design is of course my stamped houses which looks just so cool here on the front.

I’m still experimenting with different bullet journal layouts but the one thing I’m sticking with for now is my hand drawn style and the watercolour paints. I know this one is far from perfect but it’s definitely the style I want to continue with. The mini stickers come from Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy   They’re just the perfect size too.

Have a good weekend everyone and I’ll catch up next week.

Jaine x

Planner charms

Hello everyone and hello to March. This week has been so absolutely cold and taking morning walks has made it feel like my eyeballs have been freezing in their sockets but at the same time we’ve had some gorgeous sunshine to with it so the countryside has been beautiful.  Cooper loves it but then he’s got the perfect coat.

A couple of weeks ago I posted on the WOW Embossing Powder blog a tutorial using Melt It which you can see here.

It was my first time using the Melt It powders and I was absolutely thrilled with how it worked out. I think this heart which I made into a planner charm is my favourite one so far.

I only had to make a little leather dangly bit and another one from gold thread to turn it into a gorgeous charm.

It goes on my travelers notebook superbly well.

Have a good weekend and stay safe in the cold weather.

Jaine xx

Lots Of Crafty Stuff From The Studio

Well January has been a bit of a mixed bag so far. My lack of blogging has been due to a broken laptop which has gone away to be fixed so I’m left using my tablet for writing which is a slow process and my phone for photos. I’m getting a bit fed up of one fingered typing. My fat fingers keep making mistakes and the auto correct changes my text into something altogether rubbish, sometimes totally inappropriate too.

That’s not good…… Hopefully it’ll come back soon before I go bonkers.

Meanwhile…….having a bit more time on my hands meant I could have a bit of a tidy up in the studio and as a result came across a pile of leather pieces. I’d almost forgotten about them in the back of a cupboard. Given to me by my friend Lena, they originally came from a sofa swatch book so are mostly A4 size but with odd holes and stitching where they were held into the book.

They’re just the right size  and stiffness for making into notebook covers like this. I broke four needles sewing the strap on but it was worth the effort.

I’ve made this green one big enough to take four to six notebooks comfortably with a wrap around and button closure. I love it. I might make some more this weekend.

One of my goals for this year is to journal more so last Friday in the studio I did just that and had a blast. I missed the paints and inks alot last year so I intend to bring my journal out as much as possible in 2018.

It was a perfect opportunity too to use my house stamps. After stamping and cutting them out I was happier to leave them uncoloured againsed the crazy background and I think it worked.

For this Friday in the studio I’ve turned to the journal in my travelers notebook where I’m going to start documenting the months. I’ll add some photos, notes, ephemera and stickers and keep it sketchy and informal. It’ll be a place where I can highlight everything which happens during the month plus I can add some arty backgrounds in too.

That’s it for this week. Have a good one and I’ll speak soon.

Jaine xx



Phrase Of The Year 2018

You might at one time or another find yourself overwhealmed by having  so much going on or a big project/idea you really want to put into motion but just getting started is difficult and it’s easy to become disheartened, and loose focus. Everyone suffers from it at some time or another and the easiest way to deal with it is to give up and not bother. After all, why carry on if everyone else seems to be making a better job of it?

Well, take heart in the fact that this is me most days. What am I going to do about it?  Telling you lot for starters. That’s a load off, then I’ll add this quote to my bullet journal where I’ll see it almost every day. It’ll be a little reminder in those times of self doubt that this is my mantra for the year.

The original sketch was part of a doodle challenge or in my case a sketch challenge hosted by Paper Pen and Plan on Facebook.

Once it was in my brand spanking new bujo I set about colouring it in with the watercolours which came in the January Sweet Treat box from Paperpenandplan on Etsy. I love these cards for carrying around in between the pages of my journal. They’re handy for traveling too.

I’m having a great time sketching random objects.

I’m looking forward to filling my sketchbook with more random stuff.

Jaine xx