Final bookings for my cardmaking class...

This week is your last chance to sign up to my cardmaking class! If you have been thinking of trying some stamping and papercrafts but are not sure where to start, then come along and give it a try - my cardmaking class is on Monday July 12th (7.30 - 9.30pm) and you have until this coming Monday (5th) to book your place. My craft classes are taking place at my house in Essex. If you want some inspiration to revive your crafting hobby, this kit is a good place to start with lovely pastel card and embellishments.

The class will guide you through all of the steps to take home these three cards and a tag, fully completed, plus you get to keep the remaining contents of your kit. In this class you will have the chance to try lots of Stampin' Up! products such as those featured below...

(these are not being used for this class, but are an example)

Stampin' Up! products include stamps, ink pads, ribbons, embellishments such as buttons, patterned papers, punches - and they are all so easy to use which is why I love them and use them!

If you'd like to join me, book your place (on the right) today. Class places need to be booked by Monday at the latest. After this date, you can enquire for last minute bookings but these may not be possible as I order the kits in advance.

Picnics and plants

As these cards proved so popular before, I decided to make another batch to boost my stock of cards that you never know when you are going to need! They are very simple but so pretty. I've used a set of stamps from Stampin' Up! for the greetings, followed by the oval punch and the scalloped oval punch, also from Stampin' Up!. The greetings have been raised on the cards using small 3d foam pads, and some organza ribbon tied around the spine of the card to finish. Very quick and easy, and what I love about this Stampin' Up set of greetings is that I can cover almost every occasion with that pack.

Friday night I was treated to a lovely surprise - a picnic, wine and a ticket to the open air theatre in Regent's Park in London. It was a lovely evening, relaxing in the sunshine, we watched 'A Comedy Of Errors' which was also very funny, I'd recommend it!

Finally having a free day Saturday meant that we were able to harvest our first ever garlic! Two thirds of it seemed to grow reasonably well, just small, but we won't know until it's dried out whether it really had grown properly. All this, because we visited a garlic farm in the Isle of Wight!

With blazing sunshine, football and all manner of things, it's been very quiet in blogland, until today when everyone seems to be updating at the same time. I have some blogs to surf!

This is your last chance to win a free copy of one of my craft cd books - you have until Wednesday to click here!

Anyone not like pink?

*If you are looking for my free craft giveaway click here*
*If you are looking for my craft classes, click here*


It's so easy when making a card for a female to always reach for pink, but it never fails! This is a card I put together for someone a few days ago using Chatterbox patterned papers (aren't they lovely!), a Craftwork Cards scalloped panel and an image from the new stamps from Paula Pascual. I love to add ribbon to all of my cards so needed a little pink ribbon for this one, and some very old chipboard letters.


What are you making at the moment? with holiday season approaching, its been fairly quiet on some of the blogs that I read so feel free to link to your own here, or others that you read, for inspiration - I could do with a good read...

**Free Craft Giveaway**

Things are changing and I'm having an overhaul so to celebrate my blog changing and having a clear out, I've decided to give away a copy each* of my CD Rom books - 'Making Cards by Jenny Cocks' and 'Making Christmas Cards by Jenny Cocks with papers by Kirsty Wiseman'.

Making Cards contains two printable craft kits full of patterned papers, embellishements, ribbon strips and alphabets. The e-book is packed with step by step projects using techniques of eyelets, punching, dimension, heat embossing and printing on textured papers.

Making Christmas Cards has fabulous papers designed by Kirsty Wiseman and the two bright and modern downloadable kits contain patterned papers and embellishments you can mix and match in endless ways. The chapters in this book contain quick cards, cards you can make in bulk, cards to hang on the tree, tags and even home decor.

If you would to win one of these craft cds which give you an endless supply of craft materials always to hand, leave me a comment (and a link to some inspiration from your own blog would be good if you have one!) and I will pick two random winners on 3oth June 2010.

(If you are looking for my craft classes click here or on the classes tab at the top)

*please note - the cd books I am giving away have different packaging to those above. Open to UK residents only.

New cardmaking and scrapbooking classes in Essex

Would you like to try something creative and meet like-minded friends? I am teaching a variety of cardmaking and scrapbooking classes which are suitable for all levels of crafters, including beginners, so this is your chance to come along and create some papercraft projects with step-by-step guidance from me. In our cardmaking classes we will use a kit of materials with a stamp set to make a range of coordinating handmade cards. In our scrapbooking classes we will incorporate your photographs into a scrapbook page layout or a mini book in each session.

Pretty Pastels Cardmaking Class

Date: Monday 12th July, 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Where: My house, Barking (details upon booking)
Price: £10.00 (or £19.95 including 'My Sweet Pea' stamp set)

In this class we will be using a pastel cardmaking kit with the ‘My Sweet Pea' stamp set*. The price includes refreshments and everything you need to create three cards and a tag. If you wish to purchase your own stamp set to create more cards after the class, please choose the price including stamp set' on the right.

Rich Razzleberry Mini Scrapbook Class

Date: Saturday 17th July, 1pm - 4pm
Where: A church hall, Barking (details upon booking)
Price: £10.00

In this class we will be making an attractive folding mini scrapbook with space for your own photographs, using a new range of patterned papers and card* from Stampin' Up!. The price includes refreshments and everything you need to create a complete mini scrapbook.

For those new to crafting, you may use my tools if you are attending a class or two to try. All other products needed to complete the class, including the stamp set for cardmaking, will be available for you to use. You may take home any leftover materials from your kit.

To book your place follow the class links on the right hand side. Payment can be made on this site by paypal. Please contact me for details if you require other payment options. Your place will be confirmed to you by email upon receipt of funds. Places usually need to be booked at least one week before the date of the class to allow me the necessary time to purchase kit supplies for everyone.

Would you prefer me to come to your home to demonstrate some crafts to you and your friends? No problem. You can host a girls night in (at your home, or mine!), invite your friends over and have the chance to try some crafting for free, without any commitment. As the host you will even have the chance to earn some free products for yourself! Also ask me for further details on craft classes for hen parties, baby showers, and 5 for £5 workshops in your home.

Don't miss my next classes...
Cardmaking – Thursday 5th August
Scrapbooking – Saturday 21st August 2010.


*All items are subject to availability—in the unlikely circumstances that these products are unavailable, classes may have to be substituted at short notice with alternative products. This is at my own discretion. Prices of classes will vary each time depending on the products used.

Quick make birthday card

Are you in need of a last-minute Father's Day card for free? Then visit Kirsty's blog here! She has a digital download free on her blog, simply print it out and assemble it - suitable even for the non-cardmakers among you.

Here's a quick make birthday card, using Karen Foster patterned papers, a scalloped edge square from Craftwork Cards and some lovely ribbon, of course!

And a question for you bloggers - does anyone know how to link your blog to facebook, but so that when you click on it, it will take the person to your actual blog home page rather than the 'notes' section in facebook which is what it does to me when I export my blog at the moment. I have a friend who's link I click on and it takes me to the actual blog. It's driving me mad trying to solve it!

Father's Day Card

As it’s Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, I’ve gone for the typical ‘Father’s Day’ stamp from Stampin’ Up. I’ve teamed that with some patterned papers for a simple masculine card, those ones that we always find so difficult to come up with. I used a card for inspiration from Steph in Natalie's team, who I believe used it from a male class by Monica at Stamp With Us, lol, when I went along to some Stampin’ Up training with Natalie and I think the square format is quite effective.

Just a short one for today as I have lots of other things to be getting on with. I finished preparing my first card class at the weekend so I’m looking forward to sharing that with you. If you are looking for some craft classes in Essex and are interested in finding out more, drop me an email and I can let you know the details.

School Days

This is the final card from the school collection, I love the little wooden own - which is actually a wooden laser carved button. I've also used the 7gypsies book tape which I love with the alphabet all across them.


This then inspired the following layout about my school days:

Again I've used the Karen Foster rub-ons and patterned paper and the 7gypsies book tape. I kept it very simple with tags pointing in different directions and some coloured paper clips. I love the fact that I found this card a year or two ago in a drawer - I still remember making it for my mum when I was in infant school and I'd completely filled the aperture of the card with kisses, then decided I only wanted them around the outside of my photo so I painstakingly sat and rubbed them all out again! I loved being creative back then but some things never change as the drawings are supposed to be chocolates and flowers and its clear I still can't draw, even today!

Teacher Thank You Cards - Part Three

A couple more thank you teacher cards using Karen Foster patterned papers and rub-ons, I hope you aren't bored of them yet but as so many cardmakers make them this time of year, it's nice to have a choice of inspiration.

A few more random embellishments such as the letter tiles and the tag, anything waiting to be used up really went onto these cards with the Karen Foster products. Next I'll have the scrapbook page that I was inspired to make after completing these cards as a project!

Teacher Thank You Cards Part Two

Here are a couple more of the thank you cards for teachers, that I made for a magazine project some time ago. They are made using Karen Foster rub-ons and patterned papers with a few extra little bits. The wavy ric rak on this card is actually a brad paper fastener, but you can't tell from this photograph.

These mini books are from The Dolls House Shop and make great little embellishments for cards for teachers, students, graduation cards, good luck in your exams etc - plenty to choose from!

Cards for teachers

As it's coming to that time of year, I thought I'd share some 'thank you teacher' cards that I made for a magazine project some time back. These are made using Karen Foster patterned papers and rub-on transfers, but you could use your own teacher image stamps, stickers or downloaded pictures. I've also used random letter tiles, staples, ribbon etc from my old collections which you can find any to match your projects.

You'll have to excuse the American spelling on the rub-ons but I love the ruler, especially how it coordinates with the coloured paper clips, taken from my normal stationery. I've also used an Autumn Leaves flourish stamp on the second card here, that stamp never tires. I have more in this collection so will share them over the coming days. (Does anyone know why blogger sometimes rotates your images for no reason? When it does, I can't seem to get it back, even if I rotate the original!).

Don't forget to check back here for my cardmaking and scrapbooking classes in Essex coming soon!

Celebrity spotting

This is a very simple card but one that I really love! I really enjoy using 3d materials in my craft work, particularly buttons, and the textured cards seem to attract people too. The blue of these buttons stand out really well against the white background and the stitching adds an extra element of texture which finishes off the card nicely. The only thing I find hard is letting go of so many buttons from my button jars on one card!

We’ve just enjoyed a lovely weekend in East Sussex with the Souza’s and were very lucky with the weather! That meant we were able to enjoy being outside with crazy golf, the beach, nice meals and fun card games. We went into a lovely little backstreet gift shop in Rye which was tiny, and who should we find as our only other company in there - Paul McCartney and his daughter! What an unexpected addition to our day.

New cardmaking classes in Essex - dates announced

Are you looking for some craft classes to attend in Essex? If so, you’ll be pleased to hear that I am now holding new craft classes for both cardmaking and scrapbooking. The dates for my first cardmaking classes are as follows:

Mon 26 July – evening class
Thurs 19 Aug – evening class
Mon 6th Sept – evening class

We will be using Stampin’ Up products in these classes and they will be suitable for all levels of crafters including those new to the hobby. If you are interested in more information about these classes email me (my address is to the right) and I will let you know further information when it is available. Scrapbooking dates will be announced soon!

So I've shared the birthday book in my previous post, and here are the stamping cards that finish off the project for Crafts Beautiful magazine.

Continuing with the stitching theme on the BasicGrey papers, I've again inked the edges and layered the patterned papers. I've used cake themed stamps that are so worn out they now barely work, lol!

This slim card has glitter added to the cake for a bit of sparkle. Still love this project, and haven't lost my love of pink and brown as a colour combination yet!

**New cardmaking and scrapbooking classes coming soon**

I am going to be holding new cardmaking and scrapbooking classes from July, so if you live in Essex and are interested in finding out more information please email me for details at

They will be held in Barking, so easily accessible for anyone in Romford/Gidea Park/Goodmayes/Ilford etc.

I have shared this project before but I just came across the photographs again and realised how much I just loved, loved, loved this project - so thought I'd share it again! I think I have different blog readers to what I used to, so it might be new for many of you.

This was a project I created for Crafts Beautiful magazine, using a blank brown Paperchase album. I used BasicGrey papers and fibres, and some chipboard letters for the title.

Each double page spread has patterned papers and a month of dates printed from the computer, all with inked edges. The right hand page of each spread has a stitched pocket to hold birthday cards for those marked on the left page. I just love this range of papers, so gorgeously girly. The letters for each month were die-cut on the Big Shot machine.

The final page has a page for notes and any general cards that might be needed throughout the year. The pages all come out of the spiral bound book, which enabled me to stitch onto each one. I'll share some cards that I made to coordinate with this book in my next post.