Off to Japan!
Hi there
What a lovely Saturday we have had today. The sun was bright and shining in through the window early in the morning, and my absolute favourite tree – which I can see from the bedroom window – is coming to life! Can you guess what it is? The Magnolia Tree! It grows so well in this area. But it’s the one that waves from all the gardens, telling you that Spring is almost here! Spring officially arrives on 20th of this month, but sitting in the Strandkorb with Dave this afternoon, listening to the birds singing and twittering away, I would have to argue that it’s come early.
The Cherry blossoms will follow shortly. It’s a lovely drive to work, counting the cherry blossom trees, the magnolias and the magpies. I love it.
Speaking of cherry blossoms – it’s JAPAN MONTH AT CLARITY
Yesterday we launched a fabulous Bijou set of Japanese Butterfly rounds. All three rounds in one A5 set. I love em.
Here’s the simple demo I did in the 10am show.
I showed you a little trick how to cut out the stamped circle accurately by using the larger nested circle to get your eye in. Here it is in photo steps:
If you missed it, then you can always watch on Catch up at Claritycrafts.com
Great stamp set. Perfect for so many occasions! From birthdays to get well soons, from anniversaries to thinking of you’s. The larger, individual stamps, which come complete with stencil, are immaculate. AVAILABLE here
an additional set of decorative stencils
some Japanese symbols
Also available in Groovi
We then turned them into squares in our Fresh Cut Dies
How about a lovely gallery from our design team:
Original Stamps & Stencils
Fresh Cut Dies
All available HERE
Check out the little snowdrop in the centre of that stencil above. Remember those SHAC panels we drew? So Japanese too, don’t you think? I am sure there was a Japonica panel in this series too. Yep.
Do you remember them? I think I’ll blog about them tomorrow.
Love always,
Barb x x x
16 thoughts on “Off to Japan!”
It has been a lovely warm sunny day in Chester today and after gardening today I also sat down and listened to the birds singing to me as well, I am glad that Dave was up to getting out into the garden enjoying the sun and bird song with you.
It’s amazing how a bit of blue sky & sunshine can lift your mood. Primroses and violets emerging in the lawn and daffodils beginning to bloom always the promise of better things. Glad Dave was able to make it into the garden with you xxx
I think these rounds are even better in bijou size.
Spent an hour tidying in the garden this morning, first time this year. Enjoy the sunshine tomorrow before the cooler wetter weather returns next week. X
Beautiful day in Oxford too, great week to be honest, a lot of sun and able to spend some time even sat in the garden with a cuppa. Thanks for the gallery. I need to check on what I’ve got and what I’ve not before I order as I know I have a couple of the dies and definitely one of the Groovi plates. Had my Groovi class arrive today and the little plates, they are so pretty. Finished Mum’s 95th birthday card for Monday now must start nephew’s 40th but he’ll be in Rome and I wont see him till Thursday so a bit of a reprieve !
Hope you and Dave enjoyed your sit out today and Dave is mending nicely now. Lima, next door, has a small magnolia in the front which we can see from the window, it’s full of bloom getting ready to erupt. Hope we don’t get any hard frosts to ruin them. Travel gently xx
Sunny up here in London too. So good to see Dave is up to sitting in the garden with you. I hope he continues to improve x
It has been a lovely sunny day here as well so we spent the morning in the garden & washing my car. Glad Dave was able to make it out into the garden with you to sit in the Strandkorb. Nothing better than the warmth of the sunshine to make you feel better – helps the aching joints as well xx
On checking my stash I don’t appear to have any of the dies, only one Groovi plate but all the original stamps & stencils so now I need to decide which I really need 😊
love all the design team’s samples xx
Lovely design team art. Sunny in Staffordshire today too, washing all dried and ironed, and a tidy up in the garden with a bit of help from my dog, who delights in finding a sunny spot to sit in, even if its not on the lawn, but on the garden! Pleased you both were able to enjoy the sunshine. My sale orders arrived today, so have had a enjoyable evening, unpacking my parcels. xx
Beautiful day here too. I love magnolia blossom – it always reminds me of my Mum as she loved it too and had a beautiful one in the garden. They aren’t quite out yet here but I don’t think it will be too long. And the birds singing are delightful 🎶🎵
Fabulous samples as always. The tip with the circle dies was great, thank you, very useful!
Take care Barbara and remember to travel gently. Sending lots of love and best wishes to Dave xxx
I sadly didn’t see much of the lovely weather today as I was on stage for two shows today. Another two tomorrow and we can put The SpongeBob Musical to bed and I can relax, well, catch up on gardening, crafting and work.
I got some of the previous Japanese stencils and stamps in a bundle at the charity shop – they’ve been sitting on my desk for a while so I must have a play with them soon.
How pretty these stamps are! – I was watching the shows feeling rubbish with a cold and it gave me the urge to go and use the ones I have. Just what I needed! – How uplifting for you & Dave to sit quietly in the sun yesterday, just what you both needed too! – My favourite time of year. Full of hope for better days ahead. Onwards & Upwards!! 😃 x
Pleased you and Dave were able to enjoy the sunshine in the garden.
We woke up this morning to brilliant sun and the noise of lawn mowers. Spring is the loveliest time of year when nature is coming to life. The snowdrops have gone but the daffodils are making a glorious show in the back garden but the small deer ( monk jack ? ) have made a mess at the front.
The cherry blossoms are starting to bud and many trees are starting to shake out their leaves. When we moved here we had to leave our three magnolias behind, they were too big to move. I miss them but a few of our neighbours have them in their front gardens, a joy to see.
I have all the original Japanese stamps, stencils and dies so was delighted to see these smaller ones showcased. Never thought to cut into rounds so thank you for the “how to” tip. My order was placed and I look forward to using it. The gallery shown here is beautiful work, inspirational.
Setting up to do a mountain of ironing now and will watch the shows later, feet up and a cup of coffee.
Take care .
Lovely weather in the Isle of Man on Saturday and Sunday morning also feels as though Spring has arrived. How sun, birds and flowers can lift our spirits. So glad Dave is on the mend and you were both able to enjoy the lovely weather. Enjoy some rest Barbara. xx
Hello Barb, hope Dave’s recovery is going well. We had lovely sun for a few days. The best is the washing can go on the line and not the airer or dryer (if desperate). I have the original stamps, stencils and dies, including the symbols, and this beautiful collection of samples is making me itch to get creating, but have to deal with the garden first, and planting seeds etc. Have a lovely Sunday everyone. Bx
Dear Barb
Loved the shows on Friday – I watch on the website. Your tip about cutting out a stamped circle with circular dies and Paul’s technique with the masking tape to position adhesive felt die cuts are great.
I went to a local village crafty sale yesterday and found an old Clarity 7×7 stencil- double vine. The seller said she used to watch your shows as you always made her laugh. I mentioned your new shows on the website/Facebook/YouTube and suggested she log on to read your blogs. It is always great to watch your demonstrations and listen to all the chat. Keep it up – we all love you.
Just one last quicky from a fellow knee replacement body –
17 years. I was advised not to stand still with a straight knee.
I made up a little movement routine and still do it. So I keep moving and crafting!
They call this fool’s spring up here – I put some new beds in my allotment over the weekend, but no planting yet, as there is frost and possibly snow forecast this week!!! Lovely artwork from the design team, and glad to hear Dave is improving slowly xx
Happy to read that Dave and you were enjoying the sunshine.
Enjoying improved weather in Canada the last week with warmer temperatures but the snow came back today – my snow shovelling skills are still getting a workout 🙂 .
TV shows on Friday were fantastic- thank you Barbara, Paul and Grace. The stamps are beautiful. Thank you Barbara and Paul for the fabulous demo’s and tips/tricks shared. I admire and appreciate and am always in awe with the incredible projects completed by the amazing Design Team. Wow, the creativity, skills, colours and more by the team is incredible.