Bluebells!

A quick reminder of our May challenge at Stamping Sensations, where our theme is "Say It With Flowers". Full details of the challenge, sponsors and prizes are on the challenge blog. The challenge is open until the 3rd of June, so there is still plenty of time to enter!

My first sample for the challenge (see my previous post) used a beautiful digital image by our lovely DT member Dora, who is one of our sponsors, and for the one shown here I have gone for the lovely bluebells from the "Spring Foliage" set by Chocolate Baroque, our second sponsor for May.

The background is watercoloured and stamped with another stamp from the Spring Foliage set. The butterfly, bee and sentiment are magazine freebies. I coloured the image with Zig Clean Colour pens and die cut it with a die from The Works..

The bluebells around here have been glorious! Another good year for them, I think. We are lucky enough to have some in our garden.

The bees like them too.

Today was the first really dull and damp day we have had in several weeks, but a gorgeous male yellowhammer dropped into the garden to brighten things up.


We have several visiting regularly, and it is a joy to watch them, along with all the other beautiful birds, butterflies and bugs we get here. Even this monster beetle, which scuttled right by my foot in the bathroom yesterday!

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.

Mid-month Inspiration At Stamping Sensations

Just popping in with another card for our November challenge at Stamping Sensations, where the theme is Traditional Christmas Colours, ie. red, green and gold.

My main image is a lovely Woodware stamp, which I coloured directly on to the stamp with Arteza brush pens. I then splattered the panel with diluted Distress inks, using a fan brush, and sponged some red ink around the edges. The background stamp is also by Woodware, and the sentiment is a magazine freebie.

There's still plenty of time to enter the challenge, which is sponsored this month by Chocolate Baroque, who have kindly donated two of their stunning stamp sets as the prize.

You'll find lots more inspiration from my teamies on the Challenge Blog, so do go and take a look. Hope you are able to add an entry (or two, or three!), and good luck!

Red, Green, Gold

Well, it's that time of the year again, you know, the one where I start to panic because it's November and I have made the grand total of 3 Christmas cards! I start the year with the best of intentions to do a few each month, but somehow that never happens. I do manage to get them done in the end. If only it could be in an atmosphere of calm relaxation instead of a frantic rush ! Oh well, maybe next year.....

Were it not for this month's Stamping Sensations Challenge, my grand total thus far would have been two! However, our November theme is to use

* * * * * TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS COLOURS * * * * *

and so my sample became Christmas card No. 3!

We would like to see your projects in the traditional colours of red, green and gold. You may use any or all of those colours, but the main focal image must be stamped and reflect the theme, otherwise it will not be eligible. This month we are delighted to be sponsored again by Chocolate Baroque, who have very kindly donated these two gorgeous stamp sets for our lucky winner.

             

I have used the beautiful Christmas rose stamp for my card.

I used the no-line colouring technique, stamping the image with Desert Sand Memento ink, and colouring it with Arteza coloured pencils. I cut it out with a Spellbinders die, sponging a little red pigment ink around the edges before I removed it from the die. I covered the base card with a background paper by Dovecraft, mounted the image to it with foam pads, and added some tartan ribbon, die cut sentiment (Britannia Dies) and holly sprig (magazine freebie) to finish it off.

I love hellebores, they are such elegant flowers, so the Christmas rose is one of my favourite Chocolate Baroque stamps. It's lovely to colour, and in fact I did manage to have quite a relaxing hour or so doing it! Here's another close up.

I must admit to being a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas, so I am really looking forward to seeing lots of entries in those Christmas colours. I'm sure you won't have any trouble coming up with ideas for this theme, but do go and have a look at my teamies' samples on the Challenge Blog anyway, just to feast your eyes on their loveliness. Meanwhile, I had better make a start on card No. 4........

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!

Back to winter!

Well, after all the water which came down in March, April turned out to be a great month! Dry, warm and sunny for the most part. Anyone would have thought it was summer already! It was obviously playing tricks on us, though, as right now it's so cold it feels as though we're back to winter, at least up here in the north. And even further north it's been snowing, apparently! Minus temperatures are forecast for us tonight. I think I put the thermal undies away too soon! How all that fits with global warming, I've no idea, so I'll just move swiftly on to this month's Stamping Sensations Challenge, where our theme for May is

* * * * * IN AN ENGLISH COUNTRY GARDEN * * * * *

We'd like your projects to show what you might find in a typical English country garden, so you could include, for instance, flowers, trees, birds, insects, wild animals, etc., or perhaps garden furniture, shed, greenhouse or even washing on a line! Whatever you choose, your main image must be stamped and relevant to the theme, otherwise your project will not be eligible. See here for our full challenge rules. You will not want to miss out on the chance to win this month's fab prize of these 2 beautiful A5 stamp sets, kindly donated by our lovely sponsors Chocolate Baroque.



I have used Chocolate Baroque stamps on my card.

I created the background with my Gelli Plate, covering it with Distress inks and then lifting off some of the colour with stamps from the Chocolate Baroque Spring Foliage set before taking the print.

The central image is from the Home Sweet Home set and the robin is cut from the main image in the Robin the Spruce set. I coloured the butterflies (Just Butterflies set) to look like Orange Tips, which have been visiting my garden during the past few weeks. The flowers on the grass at the front are from "The Spinney" Design A Tree set.

The main image is coloured with Polychromos pencils and cut out with a Spellbinders die. I used Arteza brush pens for the robin and butterflies.

There is some truly delightful inspiration from my teamies over on the Challenge Blog, so please do go and check it out. I am so looking forward to seeing your entries for this theme.

Mine is a Scottish Country Garden but it has plenty in common with an English one! I'll leave you with a few recent photos.

Orange Tip butterfly. Hard to photograph as they are hardly ever still!

Lesser Redpoll

Auricula

Ivy Leaved Toadflax, growing in the garden walls. In our garden, the wildflowers sit happily alongside the cultivated ones. We do not have weeds!

Bank Vole. We have a family of them living in the undergrowth behind the bird feeders. The baby ones are so cute!

Yellowhammer. Due to recent population decline they are now classed as an endangered species. Not apparently so in our garden! Last year we counted 20 here on one occasion. Not so many yet this year, but still several pairs visiting regularly.

Bluebells. This seems to be a really good year for them as there are lots about, both wild and cultivated. 

Sycamore. The warm April weather brought most of the trees bursting into leaf. This is my favourite time of year, when everything is fresh and new.

Heron. Not in our garden, but I took the picture from the garden as it took off from beside the river which is next to our house. We are so lucky to live here, surrounded by beautiful wildlife. It makes up for all the rain!

It's only natural

We have a lovely new challenge theme for May at Stamping Sensations, and it's one of my favourites! This month we would like you to get

* * * * * CLOSE TO NATURE * * * * *

and show us your projects depicting the natural world. Lots of possibilities here, but please do remember that the main image of your design must be stamped and must fit the theme if you wish it to be considered for a prize or top 3 place.

Our sponsor for May needs no introduction, I'm sure - it's the fabulous Chocolate Baroque, who have donated one of their stunning Wild Meadow A4 Stamp Sets plus a sheet of mounting foam for the very lucky winner.

For my card I used some of the stamps from the Wild Meadow set, along with some from one of my all time favourite Chocolate Baroque sets, Spring Foliage, which features bluebells, pussy willow and alder catkins, all of which are in flower around here just now, timed perfectly for our theme!

I stamped various flowers and foliage from the two sets on the base card, stamped the bluebells and coloured them with Zig Clean Color pens, diecut them with a die from The Works, and attached them to the base card with foam pads.

 A tiny butterfly and sentiment from Hobby Art completed the design.

My amazing teamies have some absolutely beautiful samples to show you over on the Stamping Sensations Challenge Blog, and they would be so pleased if you were able to visit their personal blogs too, where you can see their projects in more detail. I'm really quite excited about our nature theme, and am hoping to see lots of lovely entries! Good luck everyone!

Flowers in December!

It's time for our final challenge of the year at Stamping Sensations, and what better than some bright and beautiful flowers to lighten up dark and dreary December days? Hence our theme this month is

* * * * * FLORAL FANCIES * * * * *

We want to see flowers as the focal element of your entry, and, as usual, because we are a stamping challenge the focal point must be a stamped image (hand stamped rubber or clear, or  hand coloured digi). Any type of flower is eligible, doesn't just have to be winter ones. And please note: if we do not comment on your entry it will be because it does not follow the theme, qualify under our rules, or because we are asked to sign in or provide additional data to comment. We do not want to be rude but we do want to be fair to those who do follow the rules.

Our prize this month is a superb selection of items from Sizzix, and who wouldn't be delighted to win this little lot?!

But that's not all! In the spirit of Christmas, the top 3 will also receive a surprise gift from us this month! So no excuses, get those entries in!                            
I love flowers, and couldn't possibly pick a single favourite, but tulips would certainly be high on the list. I've used the beautiful tulip stamp (A Year of Stamping Issue 2 - February) from Chocolate Baroque for my card, and coloured them with my new favourite pens, Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, which have such gorgeously vibrant colours, making them ideal for these tulips.

I matted the image on to a Spellbinders diecut and added a couple of butterflies ("Magical Butterflies" dies by Sue Wilson).

The backing paper is some I have had in my stash for years (think it came from Lakeland when they sold craft items) and I've been hoarding it because it's so pretty! However, it was just perfect to go with the tulip image, and fortunately I had two sheets, so I still have one to keep! Sentiment is by Inkylicious.

My  talented teamies have really excelled themselves with some stunning samples for you to admire, so do go and have a look at them over on the Challenge Blog. I am so looking forward to seeing this month's entries!

We have had wonderful support for our challenges this year, so thanks very much to everyone who has entered. It has been a pleasure viewing all your beautiful projects, and we hope to see you again in the New Year.

More Bits & Pieces

You could have knocked me down with the proverbial feather when I found out that my entry into Crafty Individuals' May Challenge had been picked by Malcolm as one of the five winners! This was my winning project (also my DT sample for Stamping Sensations May Challenge). For details of how I made it, and more photos, see my earlier blog post here.

My  prize was a free stamp of my choice. I chose the beautiful Butterfly Trio Panel, which I have long admired but for some strange reason never got round to buying, so I was delighted to have the chance to add it to my collection.

The first thing I made with it was a thank you card for Jean and Malcolm.

I embossed it with copper embossing powder on to black card, diecut the corner of the card with a Sizzix/Tim Holtz die and matted it with a paper from Crafty Individuals' "Travels In Italy" background paper book. The girl image is from the Crafty Individuals A4 Glossy Sheet "Domino", mounted on to Spelbinders diecuts. The smaller diecut is also copper-embossed around the edge. Sentiment by Crafty Individuals (a freebie). Can you tell they're one of my favourite stamp companies?! Not only for their stamps, but also for all the other gorgeous bits and pieces they sell to go with them!

I am, though, still loving my Altenew stamps, particular the "Beautiful Day" set, which I have used again for a birthday card for a friend.

She asked me to put it on my blog and explain how I made it. Hmm! I think it was actually much easier to make than to describe the method! But I'll have a go!

1. Stamped the silhouette part of the flower twice and the leaf spray three times on to post-it notes and cut them out to use as masks.
2. Stamped the left hand flower (four-part stamping) and masked it.
3. Stamped the right hand flower and masked that too.
4. Stamped the leaves three times and masked them all.
5. Keeping all the masks in place, sponged the entire background with various colours of pigment inks.
6. Overstamped with the harlequin and text stamps (Cherry Pie), butterfly (Chocolate Baroque) and flower sprays (from the Altenew set). The harlequin stamp was only partially inked as I didn't want the hard edges to show.
7. Removed all masks.
8. Sighed with relief, as that's the point where you find out whether the design has worked!
9. Coloured the butterfly and added shading around it and the main flowers and leaves with pencil crayon to make them stand out a bit.
10.Sponged pigment ink around the edges of the picture to define them.
11. Mounted it on to a 6" x 6" blank card.
Phew! Definitely easier to do than to describe!

Since I wasn't able to get to the recent Stamp Magic show (see my previous post) I decided I was fully justified in cheering myself up by spending the petrol money I saved on new stamps! Thank goodness for mail order! Haven't had time to ink them up yet, but the school hols will be here in a couple of weeks so watch this space! Thanks for looking!

Creature Comforts!

Well, best laid plans and all that! I should, when this post goes live, have been down at Sally's and getting ready to go with her to Doncaster for some retail therapy at our favourite show - Stamp Magic. However, a particularly nasty virus has put paid to that! I'm fortunate that I'm rarely ill with anything like this, so it's sheer bad luck that I should get it this week, and very annoying! I've had to send Sally my shopping list (thanks, Sally!) but will really miss having the chance to watch all the demos and marvel at new stuff, not to mention meeting people and soaking up the fantastic atmosphere which is the hallmark of Stamp Magic.

However, it's also time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations, and at least I can take comfort in the fact that we have a great theme for you this month, and a truly fantastic prize! Our topic for June is

* * * * * FEATURE A CREATURE * * * * *

Plenty of scope here, but please do remember that as we are a stamping challenge, your entry must use a stamp (rubber/clear or non-pre-coloured digi) as its focal point.

We are sponsored once again by the fabulous Be Creative, who make an extensive range of innovative and exciting products for your crafting. One of their latest releases is the amazing WONDER CRYSTALS, a set of which will be included in the stash going to the very lucky winner! These extra thick embossing crystals are simply stunning, and they sold out on their recent introduction on Hochanda TV, so if you want to get your hands on some, here's your chance!

For my card, I was inspired by the beautiful heron which we see regularly by the river next to our house. The sentiment I've used (Chocolate Baroque) is particularly appropriate, because the heron will often sit for hours at a time on a tree branch which overhangs the river. Sometimes it will be preening itself, sometimes just watching......

My heron is a stamp by Inky Doodles. I've coloured him with Be Creative Alcohol Markers. He's watching over a lake scene created with Inkylicious ink dusters, masks and stamps, and Memento inks. The background paper is by Be Creative, from their Nature's Portrait 8"x 8" paper pad, which, along with all their other pads, is on special offer (half price!) at the moment.

This is always a popular theme, so I am hoping to be able to sit back, put my feet up and have lots of wonderful projects to peruse whilst I recuperate! Thanks for looking!

New Stash!!

Had a lovely weekend staying with Sally, so we could go to the Be Creative Open Day at Once Upon A Stamp and also the Stamp Magic show in Doncaster. Sally was doing some make & takes for Be Creative, and I endeavoured to assist her, which meant I got to play with some of their lovely new goodies! I'm certainly impressed with the quality of the new range, particularly of the alcohol markers and the paper pads. I was delighted to be asked by Gordon & Justin to make some samples for them, and here is my first card!

I've used both the alcohol pens and some of the papers. The paper pads (8" x 8") are a good weight (180g) and double sided, and the designs are gorgeous. The pens are comfortable to hold, the ink is top quality and they blend beautifully.

I made an easel card, which I covered with two different designs of papers. They are so pretty that I didn't want to cover them up too much. I stamped the large rose (by Woodware) with Memento ink and coloured and shaded it with the alcohol markers. The stamp wasn't made to go with the papers but it could have been, they co-ordinate so well!

I don't have the full range of markers (yet!) but by blending several colours I managed to get the rose to tone with the papers. I found the Blue Grey (code BG5) extremely useful. By shading with it first where I wanted the shadows to be, and then blending over it with other colours, I was able to achieve the depth I wanted. (At least I hope I did!)

Being alcohol based, the markers are very versatile of course. In the new Be Creative range there are some beautiful embellishments, including tags, buttons, pearls and clear gems. No need to buy lots of different colours, they can be coloured with the markers! I tinted some of the gems blue to act as stoppers and scattered a few more randomly on the card. The tag wasn't quite the right colour, being mostly pink and green, so I sponged some Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink over it and then it matched perfectly! A sentiment by Chocolate Baroque, a length of sparkly ribbon and a butterfly cut from one of the papers completed the card. Here's a side view.

The papers are a perfect weight for making paper beads, so I'm thinking a bracelet and gift box to go with the card might be nice. Watch this space!