Aud Sentiments #255 – Christmas in July

Hi crafty people, I hope you are all doing well. There is a brand new challenge up at the Aud Sentiments blog. All you need to do is make a Christmas theme project and make sure it has a sentiment. The current challenge is sponsored by Leann’s World 101

The design team were all gifted a fun image to use for the challenge and I was delighted to receive the Presents digi stamp.

I coloured the beautiful image using coloured pencils to give the tree some texture. I fussy cut it out before adding glossy accents to the baubles and stickles to the tinsel. I used a green card blank (15 x 15 cm) and added some Christmas musical paper matted ontop of red card. I added a panel down one side with patterned paper and some craft card embossed with a Christmas wreath folder. I added some colour to the raised details with polychromos pencils. I added a sentiment from a Crafter’s Companion set heat embossed in white into craft card and the tree with some 3d pads for a little dimension.

I hope you will come and join in with our challenge!

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!)xx

Butterfly Embellishments

Hi crafty people, how are you all today? I’ve not been on the blog for a few days and I’m aware I have quite a few comments to respond to and blogs to catch up with. Very sadly my father in law passed away very suddenly at the weekend so we have been pretty shocked and trying to get our heads around it. We are not able to travel to South Africa for the funeral due to the lockdown so we will be watchng it online on Friday morning which will be very strange. Thank goodness for technology in times like this.

I shared some handmade embellishments on my youtube video today as part of a collaboration. I thought I would share a few pictures and say hello.

There are also some cute mini envelopes and mermaid rosettes in the video which you can watch here.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate every comment and like left on my blog. I’ll be back tomorrow for another blog post, hope you are all doing well.

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx

T is for Technique

Hi crafty people, how are you today? I hope you have something nice planned for the weekend! I’m here today as a guest designer for the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge as I was crowned the Queen of Snark for their M is for Magic challenge with my witchy Stella project.

Part of my royal duties (well all of them really!) is to be a guest designer for a challenge so here is my post for the brand new challenge….. T is for Technique!

I decided to use die cutting and stamping as they are my most used techniques. I chose to use the Life Happens stamp set from Hot off the Press and the chocolate squares die from Tattered Lace.

I used centura pearl card in chocolate brown and a cadburys purple colours and added some nuvo glitter drops.

I hope it made you smile and that you have some chocolate today!

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx

Aud Sentiments Challenge 253

Hi crafty people!  I hope you are doing well today.  There is a new challenge over at the Aud Sentiments Challenge and it’s an anything goes one so everyone can join in no matter what you are making!

This time we are sponsored by Oddball Art Co by Lizzy Love and they have very generously offered a $10 gift certificate for the winner of the challenge.

I was lucky to be gifted the Monday Mornings Frazzled Fran needs her coffee digi stamp.  I printed the full page version twice, once on white card stock and once on spotty patterned paper.

I coloured Fran using watercolour pencils (although I didn’t blend the hair at all, just built up 3 different colours in hair strands)  I fussy cut out the mug and glued it onto the white card version and added one of the three sentiments.  I then fussy cut out the whole thing (just as well I love fussy cutting!).

Once I had done this I realised I didn’t have a card base big enough (oops!) so I folded an a 4 card in half and added some patterned papers from my stash.  I added a mat across the card to support the cup handle.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, I hope you will say hi in the comments and hop over to the Aud Sentiments Challenge  to see the projects my fellow design team members have made.

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx

Stand Tall by Catherine Pooler Designs

Hi crafty people, I hope you are all doing ok during these troubling times. I don’t really want to talk about everything going on but I am trying my best to listen to the black people and learn from their experiences about how I can be a better supporter to help change happen.

Anyway I’m back with my second blog post in a day which is unusal for me, but I have a very good reason! I am delighted to share that for the month of June I am a guest design team member for the Little Paper Tree .

Today over on their blog my first post is up, so you can head over there to see one of my projects. I am here to share another fun card using the stamp set the kindly gifted me which is Stand Tall by Catherine Pooler Designs.

For this card I started by making an inky background using some distress oxides and distress inks. I used one of the stamps in the set to build up some reeds around the water which I think started to add some dimension.

I stamped both of the flamingos in archive black ink and coloured them with picked raspberry distress ink and a waterbrush before fussy cutting them out. I added some ripples to the water with another stamp in the set and popped the flamingos into the scene. I added some layers behind the scene and then glued it onto a card base which I had folded to create an easel card.

Inside the card I stamped the zig zag line using picked raspberry distress oxide. The sentiment was also stamped in this ink before adding some mats and layers and popped up on 3d pads.

I hope you like my card today and that you will check out my guest post at The Little Paper Tree blog today. There will be a few more designs with this set over at my instagram too.

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx

Fairies, Mermaids and Butterflies Collaboration

Happy hump day crafty people! I recently started sharing crafty videos on my you tube channel and today I’m joining in with my first collaboration, organised by the lovely Poetspice.

Here are my first projects which I shared in today’s video.

To see the process you can watch the video on the Jenny Ginger Ninja Crafts channel here:

If you would like to join in you can share any projects featuring fairies, mermaids or butterflies on You Tube or Instagram by using the hashtag #crafterscpwithpoetspice

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, I’d love it if you left a comment and I hope to see you again soon!

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx

Random Acts of Cardness

Hi crafty people, I hope you are all safe and well.  I’m typing this as we are waiting for today’s announcement from our Prime Minister and I’m anticipating that we are about to be put into lockdown as things seem to be escalating across the UK.  I think it would be a relief actually as it’s unbelievable to see so many people who have been ignoring the advice and going out in crowds, or gathering together in homes.  I’m baffled to say the least!

So in times of worry and staying inside I feel very lucky to have a crafty stash that I can enjoy.  I made a little video (well 2 actually as the first one cut off mid way!) and if you fancied seeing the process you can pop over to the Ginger Ninja Crafts Facebook page.  I think I need to learn some video skills during my time at home!

I recently subscribed to the Simply Crafts and Papercraft Magazine and this was made with the gift from my first issue.  These peony stamps are perfect for the start of spring. The sentiment is from a Technique Tuesday stamp set and it felt so appropriate for this time when we are physically apart but need to keep connected.

I’d like to enter this card into Cardz for galz challenge #117 – Spring Flowers.

I’d love to hear how things are for you, so let’s have a chat in the comments!

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja Crafts!) xx

What I read in January 2020

Happy Friday crafty people!

Last year I set myself the target of reading 50 books and I managed to squeeze in 57.  This year I am aiming for 52 and I thought I would share with you what I’ve read each month.  I always love seeing what other people are reading so I thought I would give this a go.  I keep track of my books on Good Reads and give them a rating , from 5 stars.  So without further ado, these are my books from January 2020…..

Every Dead Thing by John Connolly – This is the first book in the Charlie Parker series (I read the 3rd last year and enjoyed it so I’m going back to read the rest in order).  The story follows Charlie Parker, an ex policeman, following the brutal murder of his wife and young daughter as he searches for their killer and gets involved in a missing person investigation.  This is a pretty gruesome read but I found the story very interesting and I was compelled to keep reading to find out what would happen next.  I gave it 4 stars and I’ve ordered the next book in the series!

Nothing to Hide by James Oswald – My husband gave me this book at Christmas and I was excited to discover a new to me Scottish crime author.  This is the second book featuring DC Constance Fairchild.  The book takes place between London and Edinburgh (my home town) and starts with the discovery of a very badly injured boy near to Con’s home.  I really loved this book and read it very quickly as I didn’t want to put it down.  I rated it 5 stars and I’ve ordered the first one in the series from the library.

Midnight Son by James Dommek Jr, Josephine Holtzman & Isaac Kestenbaum – I listened to this audiobook as it’s an Audible original.  It is set in the Alaskan Arctic and tells the story of a local man who is on the run following the death of his mother and his reported experience of encountering the Iñukuns (a mythic tribe).  This was really interesting as I knew nothing of the lives of people in this really remote wilderness and the Inupiaq community and their folklore.  I gave it 3 stars and I wonder if the listening experience wasn’t as enjoyable for me as reading a book.

Dying Light by Stuart McBride – The second in the Logan McRae crime series set in Aberdeen.  This was a great book, although again pretty gruesome.  The story follows a couple of different investigations as Logan struggles to keep out of trouble in his police job.  I’ve ordered the next one in this series from the library as I really enjoy the thriller aspect as well as the cast of characters and the challenges they face!  I gave this book 4 stars.

Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance by M.C Beaton – I’ve been working my way through the Agatha Raisin series and as expected I thoroughly enjoyed reading this installment.  Agatha has started her own private investigation business and starts to get cases from death threats to missing pets.  These books always make me smile, I love the characters and the (mis)adventures that ensue!  I rated this one 4 stars.

The Five – The untold lives of the women killed by Jack the ripper by Hallie Rubenhold – This is a fascinating exploration of a well known tale from a totally different angle.  The author is a social historian and she has done a fantastic job of piecing together the lives of these five women who were all murdered by Jack the Ripper.  Traditionally known as “just prostitutes”, Hallie challenges this and tells their stories.  I would say this is more of a social history than a true crime book and I loved it, 5 stars.

Haunted St Andrews by Geoff Holder – I picked this up on a visit to St Andrews as I have lots of happy memories of childhood holidays in the town.  The book is less than 100 pages but it covers lots of different spooky tale from the White Lady, haunted student residences and poltergeists!  It is a good balanced read with the author challenging reports and identifying some of the ghostly sightings are more folk tale than paranormal experiences.  I would definitely pick up another book by this author.  Mr Darcy was enjoying these spooky tales too!  We give it 4 stars!

I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of these and what you’ve been reading this month.  You’ll also find me here on Good reads if you want to connect there!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, I hope to see you again soon.

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx

Aud Sentiments Challenge #243

Hi crafty people!  How are you doing?  I can’t believe this is my first post in 2020!  I’m back today with a new project for the  new challenge at Aud Sentiments Challenge  which is one for everyone to enter as it’s theme is anything goes so you can enter any project as long as it has a sentiment on it!

This challenge is sponsored by Fabrika Fantasy  and they very kindly gifted us all an image to use for the blog.  I was delighted to receive Betta Fish Crowntail which is a beautifully detailed fish design and lovely to work with.

I hope you like my fishy card!  Thanks so much for visiting the blog and I hope to see you again very soon.

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx

Aud Sentiments Challenge 241

Hi crafty people!  How are you today?  I’m still busy making stock for a weekemd of two craft fairs (not sure why that seemed like a good idea!!) but I’m sneaking in with a blog post for the new Aud Sentiments Challenge which has the theme of a Christmas or winter sentiment.

The new challenge is sponsored by Polkadoodles who very kindly gifted the design team an image to use for this challenge.

I was lucky to be gifted the “decorations up” image and here is my project….

I hope you will join in too!  Thanks so much for visiting the blog.

Crafty hugs

Jenny (AKA the Ginger Ninja!) xx