Summer at last!

Just hoping the last two weeks aren't all we're going to get! For once, Scotland seems to have had better weather than the rest of the country but as we start our school holidays this week, I fear things will probably revert to form before long!

Anyway, it's a new month, and at Stamping Sensations we are brightening things up whatever the weather with a theme of

***** SUMMER BLOOMS *****

Garden glories or wildflowers or weeds, we don't care which, just show us flowers galore! But please do remember, as we are a stamping challenge there must be some hand rubber stamping on your project. Entries containing only digital images will not be considered for the prize or top 3.

 

Making a return visit as our sponsor for July is the wonderful Heartfelt Creations, who are generously offering a voucher to the value of $60 to spend in their online store.

 

 

They have asked us to point out that should the prize winner live outside the USA, a charge for postage, packing and shipping will apply.

 

For my card I've taken inspiration from the masses of beautiful wildflowers adorning our hedgerows just now.

 

The background was colour washed with diluted Distress Inks on water colour paper, then various flowers and a couple of butterflies were stamped over. Some of the flowers were coloured with Inktense watercolour pencils. Stamps used were from Lavinia Stamps, Chocolate Baroque and Crafty Individuals. The sentiment is by Inkylicious.

 

Flowers are, of course, one of my favourite topics for cards, so I am really looking forward to seeing lots of lovely entries full of summer blooms! My fabulous teamies have definitely excelled themselves this month with their gorgeous creations, so don't forget to check them out on the Challenge Blog if you are in need of inspiration. Thanks for looking!

Summer Blooms

There can't be many people who don't like flowers, so I think our June Challenge at Stamping Sensations will be very popular! The theme is

SUMMER BLOOMS

We have a wonderful sponsor this month too - Heartfelt Creations, who have given us a gorgeous prize. Some lovely floral stamps and a set of matching dies.

I decided to make a tag for a change, and have chosen a Dutch Iris as my summer bloom. The matching stamp and die sets are by Heartfelt Creations. (They don't appear to be on their web site now, but there may be some shops which have them in stock still).

Irises were my late mother-in-law's favourite flowers. She had them in her garden in various colours, one of which was a gorgeous deep purply pink. For the background to my tag (which is from Inkylicious), I used a technique shown by Andy Skinner in a video on his blog. He calls it Alcohol Ink Floating Background. Very easy to do, and a lovely subtle marbled effect. I overstamped it with a Texture Fragment stamp and a Floral Edge stamp, both from Chocolate Baroque, and a text stamp by Stampin' Up. The little butterflies are also by Chocolate Baroque, and they and the iris were coloured with Derwent Inktense pencils (which I found at Dunelm Mill last week for half price - a bargain - and I love them!). Having sponged ink around the edges of the tag, I matted it on some green card and finished it off with a sentiment by Hobby Art, some ribbons and fibres and a bit of lace. 

My talented teamies have some bloomin' gorgeous samples for you this month! Do go over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at them, and then show us your summery projects. We can't wait to see them!