More Masculine Makes

 Here's my mid-month reminder for Stamping Sensations August Challenge, where our theme is "Make It Masculine". 

The background was made with Distress Oxide inks on watercolour paper, which I stencilled over with a stencil by Aall & Create. The music stamp is also by Aall & Create. The sentiment is a magazine freebie. Background paper from my stash.

We have had lots of lovely entries for the challenge so far, but there is still plenty of time to enter and be in with a chance of winning a fab trio of stamp sets by Crafts Too, all of which would be perfect for masculine designs. The challenge ends on September 2nd.

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.

New Favourite Stamps For The New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone, and happy new challenge at Stamping Sensations! For our first challenge of 2020, we would like you to showcase your

* * * * * FAVOURITE STAMPS * * * * *

For this challenge, your favourite stamp should be the main element of your design, and must also follow our challenge rules, which can be found HERE, if you want it to be eligible for our prize or top 3 place. Our sponsor this month is Tattered Lace, and there will be a fab prize for the winner. Full details on the Challenge Blog. 

Now, I thought this would be an easy challenge! But trying to single out a favourite from all my thousands of stamps (I've been collecting them for over 30 years!) proved well-nigh impossible! So I decided I would have to choose one from my latest favourite stamp range, which is Aall & Create, and in particular the stamps designed for them by Tracy Evans.

I've used one of Tracy's most recent designs, the gorgeous teasel from set #240, for my card.

The circular part of the background was made with distress oxide inks, brushos and an Aall & Create stencil (#61) on my round gel plate. The corners were sponged with ink and some detail added with another A&C stencil (#27). The leaves and flower head were lightly coloured with Arteza coloured pencils. The sentiment is from Aall & create set #213.

As usual, there's plenty of inspiration for you over on the Stamping Sensations Challenge Blog. It's really interesting to see the variety of stamps which the DT have chosen as their favourites. We look forward to seeing yours!

Easy Peasy With A Floral Touch

Well, we're into September now, about which I always have mixed feelings. Sad that the summer is coming to an end, happy that the autumn colours will soon be in evidence, and sad again because once the summer holidays are over it feels as though we're at the start of the slippery slope to winter and (sshhh!) Christmas! I'm one of those people who wish they could hibernate over the winter and wake up in spring, my favourite season. I hate the cold and the dull, gloomy days. But at least the long dark nights are the ideal excuse for more crafting!

But not quite yet, though. Hopefully there will still be a few fine days to come, and we've given you a nice easy challenge this month at Stamping Sensations, for which the theme is

* * * * * ANYTHING GOES WITH FLOWERS * * * * *

An easy topic, but please remember that our usual rules still apply. Your subject matter can be anything you choose, but your project must include flowers and the main element/focal point must be stamped or a hand coloured digi. For full details of the rules, please look on the challenge blog here.

We have a very welcome return visit from our fabulous sponsors Bee Crafty, who have generously donated a £25 voucher for our September winner. They have the most amazing and eclectic range of stamps, stencils and card making accessories, some of which I've used for my card.

I decided to use the "Daisy" set from the Beautanicals range. This set also includes the Serendipity sentiment, which turned out to be very appropriate! I made the background first by dotting drops of Distress Oxide inks (from reinkers) on to my glass mat, misting them with water and laying a piece of watercolour card on top to pick up the inks. The inks are very concentrated, so I blotted the card with a piece of kitchen roll to lighten the colours. The result of this was that the dotty embossed pattern on the kitchen roll transferred itself to the card, which I have to admit was quite unintentional and very serendipitous!

Having got this unexpected bonus, I didn't want to cover it all up. I used one of the discs from the Inkables "Texture Discs Set 2" to stencil a few areas with pink pigment ink,and stamped the daisy three times down one side, masking where necessary. I added a couple of butterflies (Birds & Butterflies Set 1) and coloured them and the daisies with Arteza coloured pencils. The sentiment completed the picture, or so I thought. However, I wasn't happy with it, it seemed a bit lifeless. This is how it looked at that stage.

I often find the hardest part of a project is determining, in the first instance, what you're going to make. The next hardest is knowing when to stop! I didn't want to introduce another element in case it spoilt it. After some pondering, I decided to define the flower centres with Nuvo Crystal Drops, and to bling up the butterflies' wings with a clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen (a bit hard to see in the photo). Still not sure if it made enough of a difference, but it is certainly better than it was before.

Anyway, I hope you like my serendipitous card! There is some gorgeous inspiration from my teamies over on the Challenge Blog, and I will look forward to seeing lots of lovely entries to keep these last few days of summer bright and happy!

Blue, Purple, Turquoise

It's hard to believe, but already we are halfway through our 2019 challenges at Stamping Sensations! This year is flying by! We've had some great themes so far, and loads of wonderful entries, and there are plenty more to come.

For June we would like you to

* * * * * SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS * * * * *

By, that, we mean use your favourite colours in your project! This is a nice and easy theme, and one you probably shouldn't have to think too hard about. However, please do remember that your entry/entries must still follow our challenge rules, which you can read here on the challenge blog. 

We are delighted to welcome back Visible Image as our fab sponsor this month. They are offering a super £25 voucher for the very lucky winner to spend in their online shop. I'm a big fan of their amazing stamps, several of which I have used for my card.

My favourite colours have always been those at the cool end of the spectrum - blues, purples, turquoises, and greens. Shades of the sky and the sea, and of the earth and the trees. Calming and soothing hues. I think one of the reasons I feel so much more relaxed living in this beautiful rural area than in the city which was our previous home is that I look out every day over rolling green fields, majestic trees and distant hills, with stunning big skies overhead, although the latter are looking pretty grey at this moment!

My card reflects those heavenly colours. The circle background was done on a gel plate, with Distress Oxide inks, then I used a fan brush to flick some diluted Brushos over the whole square. I stamped elements from Visible Image's "Creative Chaos", "Wings of Change" and "Random Art of Kindness" sets, using Versafine Clair ink, and coloured them with Arteza coloured pencils (my new favourite art medium!). I sponged the edges of the picture with pigment ink to define them before matting it onto a background made with alcohol inks. No, I hadn't intended seeing how many different media I could use on one card, that's just how it turned out!

Occasionally I like to challenge myself and tiptoe outside my comfort zone with a different colour scheme, but I did so enjoy creating this card! I can tell by my teamies' beautiful samples that they also enjoyed indulging themselves, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed if you nip over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at them. I am looking forward to a rainbow of entries!

A Moment

Just had a play with some lovely new stamps from Visible Image, Distress Oxide inks and watercolour pencils.

What's your favourite?

We're well into the summer holiday season now, so to keep things nice and easy our August Challenge at Stamping Sensations is an "anything goes"one but with a twist!

* * * * * ANYTHING GOES WITH YOUR FAVOURITE STAMP * * * * *

The choice of topic is yours, but your project must include your favourite stamp as its focal point! This can be an all-time or current favourite; if you are anything like me, you'll find it hard to decide! My current favourite tends to be whichever one I've just bought! However, I have several old faithful stamps which I find myself going back to again and again.

So, on my sample I've used a current favourite and some all-time favourites!

My current favourite stamp is the gorgeous "Coneflower" by Rubber Dance, who happen to be our lovely sponsors this month. They have an amazing collection of stamps and have donated a fab £25 voucher for the lucky winner.

I stamped the flowers on to a background coloured with Distress Oxide inks, stamped and cut out two extra flowers to decoupage on the front, and then embellished with my all-time favourite Hero Arts butterflies. The flowers and butterflies were coloured with Zig Clean Color markers. Backing paper is by Bee Crafty and I cut out the easel shapes with dies from The Works. Sentiment by Hobby Art.

It has been interesting to see the selection of favourites that my teamies have come up with - lots of flowers and butterflies, animals, gorgeous girls, and a touch of fantasy too! Do pop over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at them. I can't wait to see yours!

No stress!

We have a nice stress-free challenge for you this month at Stamping Sensations, as our theme is

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

Well, maybe just a tiny bit of stress! We are a stamping challenge, so the main image or focus of your project must be stamped, but apart from that you are free to choose any subject for your creations.

Our fab sponsor for June is Visible Image, and I've used several of their amazing stamps on my card.

I simply stamped them directly on to the background music paper (which I've had in my stash for years!) and added a few music notes which were diecut from gold card to finish it off. The dots & squares were stamped first with Distress Oxide inks and spritzed very lightly with water. All stamps by Visible Image, from their "Jazz It Up", "Soul Music" and "De-stressed Backgrounds" sets. See, even the stamps are stress-free! Here's a closer look.

Over on the Challenge Blog my teamies have some super samples to inspire you. Do go and have a look at them and I hope you will be able to join in this month and enter a project (or three!).

A Cold And Frosty New Year!

Happy New Year  everybody! Hope 2018 is a year of peace and happiness for all. It's been a bit nippy lately up in our neck of the woods, and that makes Stamping Sensations' first challenge of the year quite appropriate! We'd like you to use

* * * * * COLD AND FROSTY COLOURS * * * * *

We're thinking blues, purples, lilacs, whites, silver etc. for the main colours of your project. And as always, please do remember that we are a stamping challenge, therefore we must see a stamped image as the focal element of your artwork, not just a stamped sentiment or stamping in the background. This means that stamping must be the central subject of attention and interest. 

We have a super prize for our winner, this wonderful assortment of products from Sizzix!



I've used Distress Oxide inks (Broken China and Wilted Violet) and Inkylicious stamps for my card.

This was the first outing for my Splatter Circle, which I bought at last October's Stamp Magic show but haven't had chance to use until now. It's a fabulous stamp, very versatile, and huge! (My card is 7" x 7"). I inked it up randomly with the two inks and then lightly misted it with water to blend the inks. Once the image was dry, I overstamped it with the Winter Birds (another new favourite stamp!) and went over the snow with a white gel pen. I coloured the berries with a Promarker. The sentiment was cut out with a Spellbinders die, and I added a couple of gems for a bit of sparkle. A snippet of glitter paper found amongst my stash was perfect for matting the picture, and I also used some DP which was a magazine freebie. All stamps by Inkylicious.

Although we haven't had much snow yet this winter, we have had some very hard frosts. There are still a few berries around here for the birds, and we have lots of visitors to our feeders every day. Recent ones were these stunning bullfinches. We had three pairs one day, flitting amongst the brambles at the edge of the garden.

  I managed to capture a bit of video of them.

We get not only most of the common garden birds, but also some more unusual ones. For example:

Goldfinch

Yellowhammer

Siskin

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Nuthatch

Lesser Redpoll

the gorgeous Pheasant

And my favourite cheeky, chirpy Long Tailed Tits!

I never tire of watching the birds, and I don't even have to leave the house to see them. All the photos were taken through my kitchen window! We are so lucky to live where we do, with nature all around us. I'm never short of inspiration.

Talking of which, if you should need any to help you with our Cold And Frosty Challenge, do fly over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at the beautiful samples which my talented teamies have produced for you. Can't wait to see your cool creations!

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!

August at Stamping Sensations Challenge

Hi everyone, we have another easy theme for you this month at Stamping Sensations! For August it's a case of

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

Just a little reminder, however. Although the theme can be anything you like, your entry must still adhere to our challenge rules, which you can read here. We are a stamping challenge, so stamping (using either conventional rubber/polymer stamps or hand coloured digital images) must be the focal (ie. main element) of your project. 

For my card, I decided to go with something old (the large butterfly, by Prickley Pear, small butterflies in background, by Crafty Individuals, and sentiment by The Craft's Meow), something new (Distress Oxide inks) and something new but old (the flourish frame by Bee Crafty) which I've had for quite a while but never used before!

I coloured the background first with the Oxide inks, and then overstamped the butterflies with the same inks. Stamped the frame on top with Versafine ink and cut out the middle. Stamped the sentiment on a separate piece of card and glued it behind the aperture. Stamped and diecut the large butterfly and attached it with a line of glue (used a Be Creative Wonder Glue pen) down the body only, so that the wings could be raised up for display, but would lie flat for posting. Finally matted it with a black border on to a 6" x 6" white card.

We have a brand new sponsor this month - Swedish House Crafts! This is a relatively new company run by the lovely Suha, and she has some fabulous designs! Check them out, along with the rest of her stock, in her online shop on the above link. She has very generously donated not just one but three prizes for our lucky winners! A £25 voucher top prize and two £10 vouchers for the runners up!

As you might expect, given that Anything Goes this month, our DT samples are delightfully diverse, and really showcase my teamies' varied talents! Do go and have a look at them on the Challenge Blog, and it would mean a lot to them if you were able to visit their individual blogs too.

I hope you can join us this month, and thanks for looking!

Flowers all the way!

I have a feeling our July theme at Stamping Sensations is going to be very popular. It's certainly one of my favourite topics, and I have more stamps on this subject than any other, more even than my beloved butterflies! I can't imagine there is anyone who wouldn't like

* * * * * ANYTHING WITH FLOWERS * * * * *

So we want to see projects filled with floral delights. However, please do remember that we are a stamping challenge, so a hand stamped (or hand coloured digi) image depicting flowers must be the focal point of your project. A tiny punched flower in one corner will not do! And you will not want to miss out on the chance of winning one of our prizes this month. Prizes?? Yes, that's right, we have not one but two!

Our lovely sponsors for July are Crafty Individuals, who have given us a fabulous £35 voucher for our first winner to spend in their online shop. Our second winner will receive a mystery prize!

It so happens that Crafty Individuals produce some of my favourite flower stamps, one of which I've used for my card.

I made the background with Distress Oxide inks and overstamped it with text and butterfly stamps. Then stamped the main image and coloured it with Distress Oxides. The sentiment was stamped on a spare piece of the background paper and matted with co-ordinating colours. I shaped the corners of the sentiment with an X-cut punch. All stamps by Crafty Individuals.

I am so looking forward to seeing lots of floral entries this month! I doubt anyone will be short of inspiration, but even so, do go over to the Challenge Blog and take a look at the wonderful projects which our design team have to show you. They're blooming marvellous! Good luck everyone!

Decisions, decisions!

Wow, we had some fabulous entries last month at Stamping Sensations! With all those stunning butterflies and fairies, I was in heaven! But this month it's not just about my favourites, but about everyone's, because the theme for our June Challenge is to

* * * * * USE YOUR FAVOURITE STAMP * * * * *

Favourite stamp?? How could I possibly choose one favourite?! There are so many that I like and use frequently.

I wonder whether you will have the same difficulty in choosing a favourite stamp as I did! I am really interested to see people's selections, but please do remember that our Challenge Rules require that  your project must use a stamp (which can be rubber, clear, or hand coloured digi) and the stamp must be the focal point (main element) of your project, if you want it to be eligible for the prize or top 3. You will certainly not want to miss out on the chance to be our winner, as from this month we will be giving not just one but two prizes! For full details of this month's prizes, see the Challenge Blog

Since my favourite topic is butterflies, my favourite stamp would have to be one of those, and and very possibly it would be one by our lovely sponsor for this month, the fabulous Visible Image. So I've used the butterflies from their Own Kind Of Beautiful set for my card. The sentiment is from their "Live In The Moment" set, which includes some beautiful dragonflies.

I also used my favourite inks of the moment, Distress Oxides, in my favourite colours, for the background and all the stamping, which I think shows the versatility of these amazing inks. The three main butterflies were cut out by hand and affixed with sticky pads.

My fab teamies have come up with a very eclectic selection of gorgeous designs for you this month (just goes to show we all have different tastes!), so do go over and take a look at them on the Challenge Blog. I'm hoping to see lots of creative entries for what I think should be a really interesting challenge. Hope you enjoy it too!

My favourite themes!

I'm loving the Stamping Sensations May Challenge, as our theme combines three of my favourites! Of course, it's

* * * * * BUTTERFLIES, FAIRIES, AND FANTASY * * * * *

So much scope for beautiful designs and colours. It's the perfect opportunity to ink up all those butterflies, fairies, and other magical images, the choice is up to you. However, we do need to see something stamped and associated with the theme as the focal point (ie. the main image) on your artwork: a small punched or die cut butterfly will not suffice. We don't have many challenge rules (check them out here), but there are a few things we insist on to make it fair for everyone, so please do make sure your project qualifies if you want to be considered for our prize or top three.

And it is a superb prize this month! The stunning Mariposa Butterfly Collection of dies by Couture Creations.

Couldn't resist making two samples this time. My first is a card.

All stamps by Lavinia Stamps. (The tiny birds were hand drawn,) I think this fairy is my all time favourite fairy stamp! The background was made with Distress Oxide inks. They were great for this theme as I found I could get lovely misty, ethereal effects with them.

The idea for my second project came when I saw some logs that my DH was chopping for the fire. One had a sloping face, which I then sanded smooth, stamped on to (stamps by Inkylicious), and coloured with Distress Oxide inks. Once it was all dry, I polished it with wax polish to seal and protect it, covered the base with a piece of self adhesive baize, and I now have a handy paperweight!

Needless to say, I can't wait to see this month's entries! And my teamies have come up with some stunning samples to inspire you, so check them out on the Challenge Blog and then see what you can come up with. Good luck everyone!