Flowers All The Way!

Whilst butterflies feature high on the list of my favourite topics, flowers are also right up there so I am delighted that the theme for our May Challenge at Stamping Sensations is

* * * * * SAY IT WITH FLOWERS * * * * *

We want you to show us your very best floral creations! Please remember that we are a stamping challenge, and the focal element of your project must reflect the theme. This means that flowers must be the main subject of your design. A few added flowers as an embellishment will not fit the criteria, and will not be eligible for the prizes. We prefer conventional hand stamping, but do allow digital images as long as they are hand coloured.

We have not one but two fabulous prizes this month! Our sponsors are the wonderful Chocolate Baroque, who have generously donated some of their fantastic new Blueprint stamps, and our very own Dora, who as well as being a member of our DT, is also a designer of the most beautiful digi stamps. She is offering a choice of four of her lovely images for the lucky winner.

As tulips are amongst my favourite flowers, I have used Dora's gorgeous tulip image for my card.

Having printed out the tulips onto watercolour paper (Cass Art Hot Press), I coloured them with Arteza watercolour pencils and diecut the image with a die from The Works. Before removing the panel from the die, I sponged around the edge with pigment ink.

The background paper has been in my stash for years! I bought it from Lakeland back in the days when they used to have a craft section in their shops. There were several different papers in the pack (I bought two packs!) and I have used up most of them, but the one I have used here has always been my favourite, as it is so pretty with the tulips and lovely spring colours. I did think twice about cutting it up for the card, but it fits so perfectly with the image, and since I had two sheets left, I decided to do it!  I will be keeping the remaining sheet!

Because the paper already has an appropriate printed sentiment within the pattern, I didn't think it needed anything adding to it, other than a little diecut butterfly (magazine freebie die).

 

Our lovely daughter, who is doing the shopping for us during the lockdown, surprised me yesterday with this gorgeous bunch of the real thing!

They are currently on the windowsill of my craft room, where they are outshining the needle felted one I made recently!

My teamies have a profusion of beautiful floral samples for you - they really have excelled themselves once again. Do go and have a look at them over on the Challenge Blog. We are so looking forward to seeing your entries and hope you will enjoy this month's challenge.

Another Favourite Stamp

Here's another sample for this month's Stamping Sensations Challenge, where the theme is "Favourite Stamps. We've had some superb entries so far, and there's still plenty of time to enter and be in with a chance of winning a fabulous prize from our January sponsor Tattered Lace. Full details, including our challenge rules, are on the challenge blog.

 I think I like this Aall & Create stamp (#206 Hexagon Stem), again by Tracy Evans, even more than the one in my previous post.

I made another background on a gel plate, this time the 5" x 3" one, which I attached to an acrylic mount so I could use it like a stamp. I brayered distress oxide inks on to the plate, flicked some Brushos on to it with a fan brush, sponged some ink through an AAll & Create stencil (#39 Lotza Dotz) to add a bit of texture and then pressed it down on to a piece of Cass Art hot press watercolour paper, which is very smooth and excellent for stamping on.

The stamp is quite large and needed an A5 size base card to accommodate it. I stamped it over my background and lightly flicked some more Brushos over the whole piece. I then stamped the stamp a second time on a separate piece of the watercolour paper. I coloured the flower head and several of the hexagons with my favourite Arteza Watercolour Pencils, cut them out and decoupaged them over the main image with foam pads. Having tied a strip of raffia down one side, I matted it with a thin purple border on to the base card. The sentiment, by the way, is part of the stamp.

The Aall & Create range is quite different from the styles I usually go for, but I think it's good to step outside the comfort zone now and then. It makes one think in different ways and stops boredom creeping in. I'm really enjoying working with these stamps and stencils.

More Things With Wings

Just a quick reminder of this month's challenge at Stamping Sensations, where our theme is "Things With Wings". See the Challenge page for full details.

Here's another of my samples.

The butterfly stamp is one of my old favourites, by Hero Arts. It was one of the first stamps I ever bought (must be over 25 years ago now!!), and I still love it. I coloured it with Arteza watercolour pencils, diecut it with a Lawn Fawn die, and sponged pigment ink around the edge before removing it from the die. I matted it on to a piece of lilac card.

The background is a section of the printed layer of a paper napkin (separated from the plain layers), which I affixed to a piece of white card and then matted on to the lilac card. The tiny sentiment and butterfly were magazine freebies.

There's still plenty of time to join in our "Things With Wings" challenge, and there's a fab prize on offer of a £25 voucher from our lovely sponsors Rubber Dance, but of course, you've got to be in it to win it!

Flap and Flutter!

For our August challenge at Stamping Sensations we return to one of my favourite themes, which is

* * * * * THINGS WITH WINGS * * * * *

I love to watch the birds and butterflies in my garden, so it's not surprising that they frequently find their way on to my cards and projects. Of course, anything with wings will be eligible for our challenge, so this could include insects, fairies, dragons or even aeroplanes, as well as butterflies and birds. To be eligible for our prize or Top 3 your "thing with wings" must be the main focal point of your project and must be stamped, and you must put a link to Stamping Sensations Challenge in your post. For the full list of rules, see here.

For my card I stamped some butterflies from Inkylicious, coloured them with Arteza watercolour pencils, blended the colour with a water brush, and cut them out. I used a Spellbinders die to cut a piece of white card unequally in two, matted the pieces on to purple card and stamped a sentiment by Chocolate Baroque on the larger piece. The beautiful backing paper was a magazine freebie. A few flower sequins added the final touch.

Also returning this month are our lovely sponsors Rubber Dance, who are giving the lucky winner a fantastic £25 voucher to spend in their online shop.

I can't wait to see this month's entries! My teamies have plenty of gorgeous inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog, so do go and take a look!