Last Challenge Of The Year At Stamping Sensations

I can't believe it's December already - this year seems to have flown by! Whether you have all your Christmas makes done and dusted, or you're like me and having a last minute panic, we hope you'll find a few minutes to enter our final challenge of 2019 at Stamping Sensations.

We appreciate that it's a busy time of year, so we have a nice easy theme for you:

* * * * * ANYTHING GOES * * * * *

The subject of your entry can be anything you like - however, please note that our challenge rules do still apply (see them here), otherwise your entry sadly will be ineligible.  We would hate you to miss out on the chance to win the fab prize from our lovely sponsors Be Creative. See the challenge blog for details.

My sample is a Christmas card (I actually managed to get two done!)

I used the brilliant "Deck The Halls" turnabout stamp from Concord & 9th. I love the turnabout stamps, they are so clever. You can find all the stamps and how-to info on the Concord & 9th website.

I stamped Deck The Halls 4 times, using a different colour each time. The first layer was embossed in silver. Should you wish to try this, make sure your embossed layer is the one you do first, otherwise the embossing powder will stick to all the previous layers, unless you've made sure to dry them completely first. Which I didn't, on my first attempt, so you now have the benefit of my experience!

I cut the bauble with a Spellbinders die, sponged pigment ink around the edge before removing it from the die, then added the stamped sentiment (magazine freebie). A ribbon bow completed the design.

Here's card No.2 in a more traditional colourway.

My teamies have some absolutely gorgeous inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog. I hope you'll pop over and take a look, and that you'll be able to join in our last challenge of 2019. We look forward to seeing your projects!

Been a bit wet here lately!

This year I think the April showers came along with the March winds! At least, I hope they did, and that we're not going to get them again this month! The river by our house, usually calm and placid, turned into a lake.

Fortunately our house is well above any possible flood level, but it is quite scary to see nonetheless.

February was lovely, much warmer than usual, but March certainly made up for it, and though the daffodils came out a good few weeks early, no doubt spurred on by the warmth of February, they are probably wishing they hadn't, as they are now being battered by the winds, sleet, and hail showers, and shivering in single figure temperatures! And it's only a couple of months until the longest day!

Still, hopefully all that water will be put to good use, which brings me nicely to our theme for our April Challenge at Stamping Sensations, which is

* * * * * APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS * * * * *

As usual, it is up to you how you interpret this, but the main image of your project must be stamped and relevant to the theme. Please check out our full challenge rules here to ensure your entry is eligible.

Our lovely sponsors this month are Be Creative who are offering a fab £25 voucher for the lucky winner to spend in their online store.

I had a gorgeous new background stamp from Concord & 9th which I was itching to use, and it happened to be perfect for our theme. It's called Lovely Blossoms and is a turnabout stamp. If you've never come across turnabout stamps before, there are many Youtube videos on the subject that are worth watching.

Having stamped and matted the background on to a 6"x 6" base card, I used the emboss resist technique to create the circle element. I stamped all the images with Versamark ink, embossed them with clear powder, and sponged various colours of pigment ink over the top. Wiping away the excess ink with a tissue made the stamping pop. I added a bit of extra colour to the main flowers with brush markers, and the result was nice enough, but didn't quite have the impact I was hoping for. After a few moments thought, I decided to stamp and colour the three large flowers again, cut them out and attach them over the original stamping with sticky pads. That simple addition made a huge difference and gave depth to the picture. It just needed something in the bottom corner to balance the composition. I had a Concord & 9th flower die which was similar to the stamped flowers, so I cut it twice and used the cutouts from one to fill in the other, with a piece of  Card Candi from Craftwork Cards for the flower centre. All stamps by Concord & 9th, except for the raindrops, which was a magazine freebie. Circle dies from The Works. The sentiment is computer generated.

In case you're stuck for ideas, there's some gorgeous inspiration from my teamies over on the Stamping Sensations Challenge Blog. We are looking forward to seeing lots of lovely flowery showery entries!

Getting there!

Well, I have managed to make a few more Christmas cards!

I'm particularly pleased with this one, because the background is not printed paper, believe it or not, it's stamped! I love tartan and plaid backgrounds, as they are colourful and go with many themes, so when I saw this new stamp set by Concord & 9th, I was delighted! I can now make my own plaid papers in whatever colours I like!

For the topper I've used the Woodware Lino Cut Wren (which I think could also be a robin!) and embellished with poinsettia dies by Marianne Design and pine branch by Britannia Dies. The sentiment is computer generated and cut out with a die by The Works. Stitched circle dies also by The Works.

This card also fits our November challenge at Stamping Sensations, where the theme is "Get Ready For Christmas!" There's still plenty of time to enter. Pop over to the Challenge Blog for all the details.

Now, only another 60 or so Christmas cards to go.............

Autumn Colours

The theme for our October challenge at Stamping Sensations is one which I'm sure will be a favourite for many people.What better to showcase at this time of year than the

* * * * * SHADES OF AUTUMN * * * * *

The subject of your entry can be anything you choose as long as the main element of the project is stamped and you have used typical autumn colours, such as greens, yellows, oranges, reds and browns.

Nothing says Autumn to me more than the changing leaves in all their multicolour glory, so that is what I have portrayed on my card.

I stamped various leaves (both solid shapes and outlines) from a set by Stamps By Me, leaving spaces to cut out three more leaves with a die by Concord & 9th. I made a background with Brushos, using autumn colours, and adhered it behind the stamped piece, after which I fixed the diecut leaves back into their cut out spaces so that the Brusho background showed through. I was quite happy with the result but felt that it just needed a little more, so I added the sentiment (Inkylicious) and stamped a few splatters (Concord & 9th) to finish it off.

There's a £25 voucher from our fab sponsors Stamp Addicts for our lucky October winner, and my lovely teamies have some gorgeous inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog.

Whilst autumn is not my favourite season of the year (too close to winter and the cold weather!) I do love the autumn colours, so I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of lovely entries. Good luck everyone!

The Glory of Autumn

In my previous post, I mentioned that whilst I don't look forward to the shorter days and cold of winter, I do like to see the glorious autumn colours. So I'm very happy that our October theme at Stamping Sensations is

 * * * * *AUTUMN GLORY * * * * *

We'd like to see your interpretation of Autumn. I'm thinking reds, greens, oranges, yellows, browns, leaves, trees, acorns, conkers, autumn flowers, berries, toadstools .......   well, that's what Autumn says to me. What does it say to you?

Please do remember that as we are a stamping challenge, the focal element of your project must be stamped (rubber/clear or hand coloured digital image) if you want to be in with a chance of winning a prize or top 3 place. Our sponsor this month is Stamp Addicts, who are giving a fabulous £25 voucher to spend in their shop or on their website.

I had been having a play with some Distress Oxide inks on watercolour paper, and by accident rather than by design, found that I had a pattern that made me think of a lake scene and morning mists, such as we often get on our local loch at this time of year. I decided to use it as the base for my autumn card.

A few stamps from Inkylicious (including the sentiment) brought the scene to life, and I matted it with some papers in autumn colours which have been in my stash for years! Think I have been subconsciously saving them because the colours are so rich and, well, autumny!

I felt the card needed a bit of embellishment, but I didn't want to detract too much from the lake scene. My recently acquired leaf dies from Concord & 9th fitted the bill perfectly. Considering I had no fixed idea in mind at the start of my project, I was quite pleased with how the card turned out. Something a bit different.

And that's what I'm hoping to see in this month's entries - something different, outside the box thinking, serendipity even! Just so long as they show the beauty and glory of this spectacular season. My teamies have have come up with some simply stunning samples, over on the Challenge Blog. Don't miss them!

I've been looking forward to this for ages, and really hope to see lots of entries on what I'm sure will be a popular theme. Good luck everyone!