A Difficult Subject?!

Do you, like me, often struggle with cards for men, or boys? If so, never fear, Stamping Sensations is here! Our August challenge theme is 

* * * * * MAKE IT MASCULINE * * * * *

and the Design Team have some fabulous samples for you to give you some inspiration. You can see them on the Stamping Sensations Challenge Blog. Not only that, the prize for this month is this trio of gorgeous stamp sets, all of which would be suitable for male relatives and friends (though I'm sure that anyone would appreciate the beautiful designs).

To be eligible for the prize, the masculine element of your project must be the main image, and it must be hand stamped, or a hand coloured digital image. Please take a few moments to read carefully our challenge rules, which are HERE. It is such a shame when we have to disqualify an otherwise gorgeous entry because it doesn't fit our requirements.

I don't often use clean and simple designs on my cards, though I do like them, but I needed a birthday card in a hurry, and I thought the CAS style would suit this lovely new Oystercatchers image from Woodware.

I simply stamped all the images straight on to the base card and coloured the birds' beaks and feet with Zig Clean Colour pens. A touch of Gelly Roll clear glaze pen gave them a glint in the eye. The large oystercatcher image and the small flying birds are from the Woodware set, the sentiment is a magazine freebie. It probably took me about 10 minutes from start to finish, very simple but I do like the graphic effect, monochrome except for the pop of red. 

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!

More Flowers

Just a quick reminder of our September challenge at Stamping Sensations, where the theme is "Anything Goes With Flowers", sponsored by Bee Crafty. A £25 voucher to spend in their online store is the fab prize for this month's winner. All stamps and the stencil I've used on my card are by Bee Crafty.

I sponged the background with pigment inks, added more ink through the stencil, and then stamped the borders and sentiment. The flowers and leaves were stamped separately on watercolour card, coloured with brush pens and cut out. They were then adhered to the card, with some being raised on sticky pads to give a bit of extra dimension.

 We have some wonderful entries so far, and there's still plenty of time to enter, as the challenge runs until Wednesday 2nd October.

Somewhere Under The Rainbow!

The other week it was the Pink Ink Meadow Hare that bounded through my letterbox. This week a Sea Turtle swam through! Another stunning Pink Ink Designs stamp. I wonder what will come through next. You'll have to watch this space!

As our topic for this month's Stamping Sensations Challenge is "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", I decided to give my turtle a rainbow shell. So he's under the rainbow, rather than over it, but I think he'll still count!

I made a background with Distress Oxide inks and overstamped the turtle. Then I stamped him again on a separate piece of card, along with the seaweed and fish, cut them all out and coloured them with a mixture of Arteza and Zig brush pens. I then stuck the turtle on top of the original stamped image, added the fish and seaweed and matted the resulting picture on to an A5 card. All stamps are by Pink Ink Designs.

The Pink Ink Meadow Hare is still my favourite, but the turtle is coming a close second. He's fabulous to colour.

There's still plenty of time to enter our Rainbow challenge. Full details are over on the Stamping Sensations Challenge blog. There have been some brilliant entries so far. Judging this month is going to be tough!

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!

Summer at last!

We are currently in the midst of what is, for Scotland, a most unusual heatwave! Wall to wall blue skies and sunshine! It won't last, of course, but for now we can make the most of it. And since the school hols have just started, there's plenty of opportunity to sit out in the garden with a glass of something cold and simply relax. That makes our July challenge theme at Stamping Sensations very appropriate, as it is

* * * * * IN MY GARDEN * * * * *

Floral images spring to mind, of course, but you could also depict garden birds, creatures or insects, the veggie plot, garden shed, tools, water features, or garden activities. I'm sure you could add plenty more to the list! But as usual, please remember that your main image must be stamped for your entry to be eligible for our prize or top 3.

We are sponsored this month by the fabulous Crafty Individuals, who have a wonderfully eclectic collection of rubber stamps and accessories. These include many garden related images, several of which I have used on my card.

All stamps by Crafty Individuals, except for the sentiment which was a magazine freebie. I used Versafine inks and pigment inks for the stamping, and Zig Cleancolor markers for colouring.

My teamies have some absolutely gorgeous inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog. We are looking forward to seeing lots of lovely summery garden themed projects! Hope you enjoy the challenge!

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!

Right up my street, or rather my woodland path!

One of the joys of living where I do is the abundance of local wildlife, which I love to see. So it should come as no surprise to learn that this month's challenge theme at Stamping Sensations is one of my favourites! We would like to see your creations filled with

* * * * * FOREST FRIENDS * * * * *

Lots of lovely creatures to choose from, but your Forest Friend/s must be the main image of your project and must be stamped (hand stamped or hand coloured digi) if you want to be in with a chance of winning one of our  fab prizes. Our sponsor for March is Tattered Lace, and here's what our lucky winner will receive! Beautiful ribbons, a storage box to keep them in, a bow maker and an inspiration book!

 I decided to make an easel card to showcase my forest friends.

I used paper masks and ink dusters to create the landscape background. The trees, leaves and creatures were stamped individually on a separate piece of card, coloured with Zig Clean Color pens and cut out. The components for the easel card were cut with stitched circle dies by The Works and then assembled. The base was covered with a gorgeous leaf print paper by Bee Crafty, and finally the creatures, leaves and sentiment were added. All stamps by Hobby Art.

The creatures depicted on my card are all to be found in the woods and fields around here, but in fact we have seen all of them on occasion without even having to leave the house! I do tend to spend quite a lot of time by the window with my camera! I could have added otter, stoat, rabbit, owl, mouse, hare and vole to my picture too, but there wasn't enough room!

I am so looking forward to seeing this month's entries! My lovely teamies have got some gorgeous examples for you over on the Challenge Blog, with oodles of the aww factor! Do go and have a look, and remember you can enter up to 3 projects. Hope you can join in, and good luck!

Winter Trees and Flowers

It's time for the final challenge of 2017 at Stamping Sensations, and our theme for December is

* * * * * WINTER TREES AND FLOWERS * * * * *

Last month's theme of one layer cards seemed to be a little too challenging for some of you, but this month we hope you will find it easier, and you can layer and embellish as much as you like!

However, please do remember that we are a stamping challenge, therefore we must see stamping as the focal point of your artwork - ie. stamping must be the central point of attention and interest.

We have a fab prize from Stix2 for our winner, with a smaller prize for second place.



I chose a winter trees stamp from Circa Design (Unmounted Stamp Company) for my main image.

The pheasants, fox and kestrel are by Hobby Art, and the sentiment is a freebie from Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine.

I used a punched circle to mask where I wanted the sun to be, and also masked the top and bottom of the card, and everywhere below the line of the hill before colouring the sky with Memento ink using ink dusters. I then reverse masked the sun and coloured that too. I removed the hill and sun masks, stamped the tree scene and added some shading to give the effect of snow. I had to extend the trunk of the tree covering the right hand side of the sun, with a fine black pen, otherwise it would have appeared suspended in mid air!  Finally I removed all other masks and stamped the fox, kestrel and sentiment. The pheasants were stamped on a separate piece of card, coloured with Zig Clean Color pens, cut out (minus a few extra lines which I didn't want to show in the picture) and glued in place.

As always, if you're not quite sure how to interpret the theme, or just need some ideas, pop over to the Challenge Blog, where my teamies have created some wonderful samples to inspire you.

The run up to Christmas is always busy (and I still have several more cards to make!) but I do hope you will be able to find time to join in the challenge. It needn't take long, or be complicated, and the closing date is not until until the 3rd of January. A bit of quiet card making time between Christmas and New Year will be the perfect antidote to all the stress of the big day!

Close To Nature

For our March Challenge at Stamping Sensations we're staying with the natural world, but whereas last month's topic belonged to the animal kingdom, this month we're opening it up to anything nature related, with the theme

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

As usual, you may interpret this however you wish, as long as the main element of your design is hand stamped (or a hand coloured digital image) and reflects the theme. Please do check that your project fits our rules, otherwise it will not be eligible for the prize or top 3 and may not be commented on, in fairness to others who do follow the rules.

You certainly would not want to miss out on the chance of winning this month's prize, as it is a stunner!

Quite some time ago I bought the Kingfisher set by Hobby Art, and for some inexplicable reason, as it's the most gorgeous set, I hadn't got round to using it. However, it was perfect for our nature theme, and here's the card I've made with it.

I also used stamps from other Hobby Art sets to build up a scene around the main kingfisher image. I coloured the background with watercolour pencils, and the main elements with Zig Clean Color markers to make them stand out. I matted the picture with some Lawn Fawn paper, the colours of which complemented the kingfisher beautifully. All stamps by Hobby Art.

My lovely teamies have created a wonderfully diverse set of superb samples, which you can see over on the Stamping Sensations Challenge blog. Nature themes are my favourites (you probably guessed!) and I'm anticipating lots of entries for this one, especially with such a fabulous prize on offer! Can't wait to see them all!

Mid-month Inspiration at Stamping Sensations

The DT's current mid-month theme at Stamping Sensations is "My go-to stamp", and I have to admit that my heart sank a little when I saw it! For me, trying to pick a go-to stamp is like attempting to choose a favourite piece of music - there are so many I like and all so different. How do I narrow it down to one above all? Well, if I have to decide, I guess it must come down to trees or butterflies. And as this month's challenge theme is Animal Magic, I've gone with a butterfly. It's by Hero Arts and I have it in three versions: the original rubber, clear (in a set), and a rubber cling which is part of a Sizzix Framelits set. Oh, and a digi version! Sadly I think they are all now discontinued, but some occasionally pop up on eB*y.

The original one is one of my oldest stamps, but I still use it a lot, often as an embellishment to something else. This time, however, I decided to let it take centre stage, which, since it is so pretty, it certainly deserves to do. And it's wonderful to colour.

I made a background by dusting with Memento inks and overstamping the butterfly in two colours. Then stamped the butterfly again on white card, coloured it with Zig Clean Color pens and cut it out and matted it with Spellbinder dies. Sentiment by Stampingallday. Here's a closer look.

There's still time to enter our Animal Magic challenge, with a fabulous prize from sponsors Tattered Lace. Thanks for looking!

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.