A Chronology Bicycle Ride....

Well hello everyone... I'm really not certain what time of day you call this... is it late afternoon or early evening?

Today I was allowed back in the kitchen... Is Mr J MAD?!?!?!?!?!?  Clearly my attempts last night to set of the fire alarm and raise the fire service where not enough to put him off my cooking... though today I put together a warming, satisfying and comforting casserole in the slow cooker.... Well I hope that is what it will be anyway... Surely nothing can go wrong with a casserole in a slow cooker?????

What I can tell you is that here on the south coast it is dark, cold and wet....  Perfect crafting in a cosy little home weather eh?

My crafting task this afternoon & evening is to clear out my demonstration kit.  You see, yesterday I finished my last demonstration for the January/ February promotion so its time for me to remove the current products and pop them to one side for more home based crafting over the next two weeks and to free up space for my March/ April kit. 

Normal service resumes on Saturday 2nd March when I will be found getting very excited about new bits of gorgeousness at the Glitterpot!!!! So why not get that date in your diary right now and free up some time to come and see us... Mr J and I are travelling east for this one so please do pop in and say hello if this is nearer to you than my normal demonstration patch...

Now today I thought I would like to share another card made with the Chronology Bicycle topper - this design was from my demo two weekends ago at the Market Gallery in Poole... I can't put my finger on exactly why this particular topper appeals to me because I love them all but I think for me it evokes times gone by, warm summers and old fashioned cycles with flower filled baskets to the front... simpler times when my parents grew up, times I never knew myself but have heard many tales of...

And once again for me this is a feminine project - it just has to be - and in style it is very similar to the original card I made using this topper, except this time I've ramped up the embellishment and added some bling.  I love layering up graduating sized bows to make a real statement as I have done here and by tinting the edges of the paper roses with a little dark orange Artiste Dye Ink the colours are all pulled together perfectly.  Just take a look at flowers in nature - so often they have this shading on the tips of their delicate petals. 

The ticket style matt is actually the left over paper cut from the centre of the aperture on the Chronology hot air balloon decoupage "High Flyer" card from a couple of weeks ago and was perfect to anchor the topper to.  After all we crafters really hate to see anything like this go to waste.

Once again this design shows just how you can take elements from all of the January/ February Papermania products from Docrafts and mix them together to make beautiful creations... If you look you will find items from both the Vintage Notes (crochet flowers, lace and decorative pins) and new Capsule Spots and Stripes (lavender ribbon) collections. 

I'd love to know what you think of today's project and whether you are also finding the close up shots useful, as well as the main image of the full project.

Until tomorrow stay warm and dry!

With love
Becky
xxx