Creatures of all sizes!

July already, and time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations! It's one of my favourite themes too!

* * * * * ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL * * * * *

We want to see any type of real creature on your projects - animals, wild or domestic, birds, bugs, butterflies - but no teddy bears or fantasy creatures such as unicorns or dragons! And please note our usual rules, that they must be the focal point of your entry, and they must be stamped and fit the theme. A small stamped element added to a mainly stencilled or die cut project will not be eligible. We prefer conventional hand stamping, but do allow digital images as long as they are hand coloured.

If you don't have any creature stamps, look no further than our wonderful July sponsor Crafty Individuals, who have the most amazing designs of all types of animals, birds and butterflies, as well as all sorts of other stunning stamps, papers and accessories. The have donated a fab £25 voucher for the winning entry, to be spent in their online shop.

Crafty Individuals have been one of my favourite companies ever since I first discovered them, many years ago now, not just for their fantastic products but also for their excellent customer service. All the stamps I have used on my card are by Crafty Individuals.

During my most recent craft room tidy up I rediscovered some old ink sprays. Many of them were dried up and had to be disposed of, but a few were still ok, so I decided to use them to make a background. A couple that I had were shimmery, the others were plain. My background is a mixture of both.

I stamped the Hare And Moon (CI-508) first on watercolour card, and masked it, before spraying the background. I did actually spray some of the shimmery ink through a stencil (by Bee Crafty) but it doesn't show up very well, though I rather like the effect. I grounded the hare by using another mask and sponging with pigment ink. I stamped the crow (from the Crow Plate CI-361), and the grasses from CI-495 Perching Pied Wagtail (masking off the bird before inking) and from CI-207 Ferns And Grasses set.

It just so happened, (quite unintentionally!) that where I stamped the crow was over some of the shimmery spray, and the shimmer showed through the ink. It gave the crow a sort of ethereal, dream-like quality, which tied in rather nicely with the sentiment, which is also from the Crow Plate. Serendipity!

My teamies  have come up with some superb samples once again, so do pop over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at them. I promise you will not be disappointed. I am really looking forward to seeing this month entries!

Even More Colour!

I'm loving this month's theme at Stamping Sensations! Entries are coming in nicely for our "Make It Colourful" challenge and it's great to see such bright and cheerful designs.

I made another card using stamps from our June sponsor, Visible Image.

I stamped the flowers and butterflies with Versafine Clair Ink on Cass Art hot press watercolour card and coloured them with diluted Distress Ink reinkers, using a waterbrush to blend the colours. I splattered drops of the inks over the design with a fan brush and added liquid pearls to the butterflies' bodies. I hand wrote the sentiment and stamped the colour splash (a magazine freebie designed by Visible Image) over the appropriate word.

It was a very quick card to make, and I really enjoyed the process. Sometimes I prefer to work with more muted colours for a softer effect, depending on the subject, of course, but at the moment I'm definitely going through a bright and colourful phase!

Our June challenge runs until the 1st of July, so there's still plenty of time to enter if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning a fab voucher to spend in Visible Image's online shop.

Let's brighten things up!

Wow, we had a bumper bunch of floral entries for last month's challenge at Stamping Sensations! It was a real delight to view them all. Hopefully we will have a similarly copious crop for our June challenge, the theme for which is

* * * * * MAKE IT COLOURFUL * * * * *

This should be a nice, easy challenge! We want to see lots of colour in your projects. However, please remember our challenge rules. We are a stamping challenge, so the main element of your design must be stamped, and must reflect the theme. (We prefer hand stamping, but hand coloured digital images are acceptable). Your entry should contain a link to Stamping Sensations Challenge. The full list of rules can be found here. Sadly we had to discount several entries last month which did not adhere to our rules, such a shame as it meant they were not eligible for our prizes or top 3 spots.

This month we have a return visit from our wonderful sponsors Visible Image, who have generously offered a fab voucher for our lucky winner to spend in their online shop. They have the most amazing stamps and stencils, so please do check that your entry qualifies to be in with a chance of winning.

All stamps and stencils on my card are by Visible Image.

I began the design with only the vaguest of ideas as to how it would proceed. First I stamped the flower, stem, butterflies and sentiments and embossed them with clear embossing powder. During my most recent craft room tidy up I rediscovered my Twinkling H2Os. Couldn't remember the last time I used them. I had forgotten how bright and pretty they are! I decided they would be perfect for colouring the elements of my design. Unfortunately their beautiful sheen doesn't really show up in the photo. 

It turned into a bit of a back to front card, as I did the background last! With the embossing protecting the main elements, I was able to paint the background with Brushos, which I then overstamped (the yellow dots) and stencilled (the purple blobs along the bottom, which are part of the Butterfly Ink stencil). Finally I sponged pigment ink around the edges to pull it all together. The finished card is nothing like I had originally envisaged, but I quite like it, and it is certainly colourful!

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.

And More Rainbows!

We're midway through the month but there's still plenty of time to enter our April Challenge at Stamping Sensations, where our theme is "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", quite appropriate at the present time. Full details over on the challenge blog.

I've been taking advantage of the extra spare time, during this period of lockdown, to explore some different artforms, one of which is pyrography. I bought a kit a while ago but hadn't had much chance to try it out until now. I've been inspired by Richard Dickson who, as The Pyronautist, does some fabulous work. Do go and have a look at his Facebook page. He mentioned on his page that he had been burning designs on watercolour paper, which made it possible to produce cards with pyrography designs, so I thought I would have a go at that. It works a treat!

I stamped the flowers (Woodware) on to the watercolour card with Desert Sand Memento ink, and then outlined and shaded the design with my pyrography tool. I wanted to add the rainbow background but didn't want the flowers to be coloured, so I used a Versamark pen to cover them completely and clear embossed them to act as a resist.

I sprayed the card with clean water and brushed various shades of Distress inks over in a rainbow shape, drying it with a heat gun so that the colours didn't continue to spread. I wiped away the excess colour from the flowers with a damp cloth.

The watercolour card, which I thoroughly recommend, is Cass Art Hot Press 300gsm. It's called "paper" but 300gsm is actually quite thick, more like card. I don't think I would want to risk burning on to anything thinner! It also takes the water very well and is perfect for stamping on as it is smooth. I wanted to keep the design clean and simple, so I just added a die cut butterfly (Cheery Lynn) and a sentiment (magazine freebie). For a first try, I was quite pleased with how it turned out, and will definitely be doing more.

We have had some absolutely gorgeous entries for our Rainbow challenge so far, but we would still like to see lots more. Let's fill blogland with this symbol of hope!

Rainbows!

I do hope you are all staying safe and well in these uncertain times. We crafters are very lucky to have our hobbies to keep us busy, and we hope you will be able to join in our April challenge at Stamping Sensations, where our theme is

* * * * * SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW * * * * *

Although the theme was chosen quite some time ago, it has proved to be very apt at present as rainbows are seen as symbols of hope, and many children recently across the UK have been drawing rainbows and putting them in their windows to cheer passers by.

As the title suggests, you can take inspiration from the song or you can use the colours of the rainbow in your project (or both!) but the focal point of your entry must reflect the rainbow theme.

We are sponsored once again this month by BeCreative, who will be giving our lucky winner a fabulous £25 voucher to spend in their online shop.

I've chosen to be inspired by the colours and by the song. Singing is a great thing to do, and it is proven to be beneficial for both physical and mental health. I think the Italians, in lockdown, singing from their windows and balconies recently, had the right idea!

I began my project by using my ink dusters to brush various Memento inks through the music stencil to make the rainbow background. I stamped the singer on a separate piece of card, cut her out and adhered her to the rainbow panel with foam pads. The sentiment was stamped directly on to the panel, which was then matted first on to purple card and then on to a 6" x 6" base card. This was a very quick and easy card to make. The stamps are by Visible Image and the stencil is by Bee Crafty.

 

I am extremely lucky to live in a beautiful rural area, and am able to take my daily walk along the banks of the river which runs by our house. It is so quiet and peaceful there, the only sounds being the rippling water, the birds singing, and the wind in the trees. Truly special! I thought you may like to see a few photos from one of my recent strolls.

My teamies and I are so looking forward to seeing your rainbow-themed projects! I'm sure you will have no trouble at all in deciding what to make, but do go and have a look at the gorgeous examples which we have for you over on the Challenge Blog, as one can never have too many rainbows in one's life, and we certainly are in need of something to cheer us all up just now. Stay safe everyone!

Roll on Spring!

Well, I'm glad February is over and done with. What a dreary and dismal month it turned out to be. It is still very cold, very wet and very windy up here in the north, but there are signs of spring at last. The snowdrops are glorious, our daffodils are not far off flowering, we even have a few primroses out and the local birds have been seen gathering nesting materials. I just wish it would hurry up and get a bit warmer.

Talking of spring flowers brings me to our new challenge at Stamping Sensations, where our March theme is

* * * * * SPRING FLORALS * * * * *

We want to see lots of lovely floral creations to brighten up these dull days! To comply with our challenge rules and be in with a chance of winning, please ensure that flowers are the main subject of your project (a few tiny ones in a corner won't be eligible, flowers must be the focal image), and that they are hand stamped (or hand coloured digis).

We have a fab new sponsor this month - Thirsty Brush, who have a gorgeous range of  hand drawn stamps, along with an extensive range of accessories to complete your designs. I have used a stamp from their "Modern Floral" stamp set for my card, along with the matching die.

I coloured the image with Arteza coloured pencils, diecut it and adhered it with foam pads to a tag die from Stamps By Me. I matted the tag on to two layers of coloured card which I cut out by hand. The sentiment is also from Stamps By Me (diecut with a magazine freebie die), the butterfly die is by Cheery Lynn, and the background paper is from The Works.

My teamies have some blooming gorgeous inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog! We hope you enjoy our March Challenge, and we are really looking forward to seeing your floral creations.

It's Feminine February At Stamping Sensations!

I have to say February is my least favourite month. Christmas and New Year are long gone, it still seems ages until spring, my favourite season of the year, and although the days are beginning noticeably to lengthen now, they are often cold, wet and grey. Just as it is this morning! There is nothing particularly exciting to look forward to in February, its only saving grace is that it is shorter than the rest!

However, it is not all gloomy, as we have a new Stamping Sensations Challenge to brighten things up, and this month our theme is

* * * * * FEMININE * * * * *

Plenty of scope here, as we want to see anything suitable for a lady or girl. Please do remember, though that the focal element of your project must be hand stamped and reflect the theme if you want to be in with a chance of a prize or top 3 place. And we have not just one, but two prizes on offer this time! Our regular sponsors Bee Crafty have donated a fantastic £25 voucher to spend in their online shop, and we also have a sponsor who is new to us, JMC Designs, with hand drawn digital images by Julia McNeill. She is offering a selection of her gorgeously quirky designs for one of our lucky winners.

I am on a mission this year to use up old stash! So my first sample this month is not a card, but an A5 notebook, which has been taking up space in a drawer for longer than I can remember, just waiting for the right project to come along! I have been having a major craft room tidy up, and came across a pack of mixed media fabrics and threads which I have had for even longer than the notebook, possibly for at least 20 years!! I decided to combine the two.

In the pack was a piece of hand dyed fabric, on to which I stamped the Bee Crafty Doodle Art dragonfly (Regular size). I coloured parts of the image with Arteza fabric pens, and then highlighted the body and wings with space dyed threads and sequins from the pack. I added a few more sequins around the dragonfly for extra sparkle. The central lines on the wings are in a sparkly thread, but unfortunately it doesn't show up well on the photo. I inserted the dragonfly behind the cut out window in the front of the notebook.

A long time ago I bought some gorgeous wrapping paper from Ik*a, and had a little bit left over, just enough to cover the front of the book. It is almost like mulberry paper, with a very subtle debossed floral pattern, perfect for a feminine project. Over it I stamped various Bee Crafty stamps from the Doodle Art Dragonfly and Doodle Art Sunflower sets and coloured them only lightly with Arteza coloured pencils, as I wanted the debossing still to show. I sponged a bit of extra colour over the background too, and finally stamped the sentiment from Bee Crafty Creativity Words set. A glittery ribbon (bought at one of the very first Stamp Magic shows 10 years ago!) around the binding added the finishing touch. As the sentiment implies, I will use the notebook for jotting down thoughts and ideas for future projects.

My second sample showcases one of Julia McNeill's delightful digis, the lovely "Marcelle".

I've coloured her with Promarkers, stamped a few hearts from the Bee Crafty Doodle Art Dragonfly set,  matted her over a floral background paper (VERY old stash!) and added some Bee Crafty Ticker Tape Words (Set 1).

My teamies have a bumper selection of stunning samples for you over on the Challenge Blog, so do go and feast your eyes on some fabulous feminine inspiration. And have fun creating your own feminine projects. We can't wait to see them!

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.