Otter video

My husband managed to capture on his phone this video of the otter playing in the river! Only glimpses of it (you can see it a bit better in full screen mode), but one day I hope to get a better one!

Floating.....

Yes, I know, two posts in one day from me must come as a bit of a shock! However, I came across a rather gorgeous background technique on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try it out. It's called reinker float. Basically you emboss a design on to your card, soak it with water and then "float" the reinkers on the water so that they spread and merge. I won't go into all the details now as you can see just how to do it in a tutorial by Selene Kempton here.

I don't have any "shimmer white cardstock" (which Selene recommends and which I presume is from Stampin' Up), so I used some pearlescent card which seemed to work fine. (Bought it a long time ago so can't remember exactly what type it is, but I think it was from PDA and the colour is "ice white".) The main criterion is that the card should hold the water on top rather than absorbing it. 

Most times when I try a new technique it takes several goes before I master it to my satisfaction, but I'm actually quite pleased with my first attempt at this one! Of course it helped that it was easy to do! Using the pearlescent card gives it a lovely shimmer, almost mother-of-pearl like. The photo doesn't do it justice. 

The flower stamp is by Technique Tuesday. I stamped it with Versamark ink and embossed with clear powder (you could also use white powder but I wanted the sheen of the card to show through). Having thoroughly soaked it, I then dropped on Distress reinkers (Dusty Concord, Shaded Lilac and Antique Linen).  The card didn't need much besides the flower panel to finish it off. (Sentiment by Technique Tuesday, butterfly by Justrite, paper flower by Prima.)

I had avoided joining Pinterest until very recently, knowing that if I did I would end up spending quite a lot of time there! However, I've succumbed, and I'm so glad I did! There is so much inspiration out there and my boards are filling up very quickly. That's why I wanted to give this a go straight away rather than spend so much time browsing that I never got round to making anything. Must keep that thought in mind.......

Stamping Sensations May Challenge

Well, at last it's beginning to feel a bit more like spring up here! I'm looking out of my craft room window on to a bank of beautiful daffodils across the road. They were at least three weeks later opening than last year. It's even getting warmer - we only need two jumpers on now instead of three! Roll on summer, though, we need more sun!

Anyway, we have a lovely new challenge for you at Stamping Sensations, and our theme is

***** EMBOSSING AND TEXTURE *****

Any kind of embossing will be acceptable, dry or heat embossing, and there is endless scope for adding texture to your projects.

Our sponsor this month is the fabulous Tonic Studios, who have donated an awesome prize! A Peruvian Lily Stamp and Punch set and a gorgeous lattice window die, both from the Pick of the Bunch range designed by our very own super-talented Ruth Hamilton!

What a gorgeous prize! I want one! The Punch and Stamp sets really are stunning. Just imagine creating a lovely window box full of flowers in front of that lovely lattice window.

So, on to my card. I have incorporated both types of embossing.

The dry embossing helps to create the texture, as do the layers and embellishments. I stamped the fuchsia (from Tonic Studios' Pick of the Bunch range by Ruth) and heat embossed it with Wow! Neutral Ultra Shimmer embossing powder, which has a gorgeous sparkle. You can just about see it in the next photo. It was then coloured with Promarkers and cut out with a Nestie Labels 4 die. 

It is sitting on a background dry embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The left hand side of the background has a lily (also from the Pick of the Bunch range) stamped over Gelli printed paper. The join is covered with a strip punched with a Tonic Studios border punch. The diecut butterfly is by Cheery Lynn, and the sentiment by The Craft's Meow.

My lovely teamies have some absolutely gorgeous samples for you this month, so do pop over to the Challenge Blog where I'm sure you'll be inspired!

At last!

There are otters in the river here, and although I've seen them occasionally, I've never managed to get a photo of one. Until today! Just beyond our back garden there is a steep bank which goes down to the river. Went out into the garden this morning and there was the otter, swimming and diving, looking as though it was playing without a care in the world! I rushed back inside to get the camera, by which time the otter had moved upstream, so I went into the field next door and just managed to get the photo before it went too far away.

I don't think there can be many people in this country who can see otters from their back garden. We are so lucky to live here. A lovely start to the day.