Wednesday 29 October 2014

More red squirrels and more snowy treescapes

 After the lovely comments on my last post I thought I would share some more photos of the red squirrels at Eskrigg Nature reserve. These wonderful creatures are rare here in the UK, but well managed nature reserves like Eskrigg help to keep them going. This first photo was the nearest Lynne and I have ever been to a red squirrel (less than 2 foot away!) unfortunately it isn't as sharp as I would have liked - they move so quickly!





They were a joy to watch!
As you may have seen in my last post, this treescape stamp from Inkylicious is great for a very quick Christmas card! This time I decided to make a purple version...
I used memento Grape Jelly and diamond stickles on the snow for this one.
I also made one using Memento Paris Dusk, but this time used my sakura clear stardust pen for the snow...

Thanks for looking!

Saturday 25 October 2014

Simply Christmas for the penultimate Rudolf day and lots of Autumn!

Here are my two cards for Rudolf day this month. I used two stamps from Inkylicious. The tree scene (treescape 1) is a new stamp (Isn't it fab?) and 'walking in a winter wonderland' can be found on the website.
 This first one was stamped in memento Teal Zeal and then masked whilst I dusted the sky in the same ink. Then I dotted lots of quicky glue pen and glitter across the foreground.
The second one was done in exactly the same way but with Danube blue memento ink. Might try a purple version next!
I am entering them in Sarn's Rudolf Day challenge and Allsorts, where the theme is 'Just Christmas'.
Before Christmas takes over completely, I wanted to show you some photos from a lovely walk I took with Lynne when I went to stay for a few days. We visited Eskrigg Nature reserve near Lockerbie. The sun came out and we enjoyed the colours and the wildlife...
 red squirrels,
 glorious beech trees
 a king boletus mushroom,
 more beech trees,
 tiny toadstools (Possibly changeable agarics)
 a nuthatch
and more beech leaves!
Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed the autumn colours as much as we did!

Tuesday 21 October 2014

A Wonderful Weekend!

Last weekend it was Lynne's Birthday, which was the day before Stamp Magic, so she came to stay for a few days, so we could go to Doncaster together.
I can now share the card and a small gift I made for her.
 The card was made using ink dusters, Memento inks in dandelion, rosebud and elderberry and Inkylicious stamps, including the old beech tree, that was made from a photo of a tree near Lynne's house.
I made a stampboard pendant, using spring distress inks and grape jelly memento ink. Whilst the fern was still wet I applied clear embossing powder and set with a heat gun. As the challenge at Allsorts this week is embossing I am entering the pendant there.
We met up with some friends whilst we were at Stamp Magic. It was lovely to see you, Jane, Brenda and Lesley! Hope you enjoy playing with your new crafting goodies!
We bought quite a few new goodies too, and I am looking forward to sharing what I make over the next few weeks. It is half term, so I am enjoying a bit of playtime!
Thanks for looking!

Wednesday 15 October 2014

More scenic hills

Here is a card I made a little while ago, and forgot I hadn't posted it. I was quite pleased with the colours. The stamps are all from Inkylicious and I used adirondack inks in lettuce, citrus, eggplant, peach bellini denim and espresso. the sentiment is stamped in memento Danube blue.
I don't know what the weather has been like near you, but we have had quite a bit of rain here. Twenty eight 5 year olds who haven't been outside all day can be a bit lively by the time home time arrives! Tomorrow we are taking them to Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire for the day, which we are really looking forward to. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather improves and we can get out in the gardens for an hour in the afternoon!
Thanks for looking!

Friday 10 October 2014

Bees, flowers and gardens...

As the weather here has taken a down turn for a couple of days, I thought I would revisit my holiday photos to remind us what sunshine is! These were all taken on the gardens at Powis Castle and Chirk Castle during our summer holiday in Wales.
I was particularly impressed with the number of bees we saw.


I also loved all the hot colours


This stunning old English rose also smelled divine, and I am always fascinated by the passion flower, which are possibly Natures answer to steampunk!
Thanks for looking!

Thursday 9 October 2014

Autumn Owls

I am rushing in last minute for Allsorts this week! I made this card with Inkydoodles (owls, mushrooms, branch and butterflies) and Inkylicious (delicate vine) stamps, ink dusters, Adirondack inks and promarkers. I also added a bit of sparkle with a gellyroll clear sparkle pen, which hopefully you can see here...
The theme at Allsorts this week is Autumn, and the weather is definitely getting more Autumnal by the hour!
Thanks for looking!

Sunday 5 October 2014

Warm Autumn Colours at Stamping Sensations

Good Morning! How are you feeling this Sunday morning? Here it is time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations where our theme is Warm Autumn Colours. It was a great chance to use tree or leaf stamps so I am very happy!!!
Here is my card. I started off by running the Imagination Crafts leaf swirl stencil through the cuttlebug with a 5" square card and my no more shims mat. I then used my ink dusters and kaleidacolor autumn leaves ink to make the embossing pop.
For the main panel I sprayed the reverse side of some centura pearl card with Dylusions and glimmer mist, before stamping and embossing the Imaginations crafts Leaves decoupage stamp set. I added a bit of red glaze to the ladybird and a bit of ribbon from my stash across the top.
When you tilt it you can see a little bit of the sparkle from the glimmer mist.

This month we are sponsored by the very lovely people at Imagination Crafts, who are offering a whopping £35 voucher to spend in their store...wish I could take part!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2DEidFeZ4Rw/U1tef7dUEsI/AAAAAAAATP0/6K3PiprtrF8/s1600/ic.jpg 

Do pop over to the Challenge blog and take a look at the wonderful inspiration that my team mates have created, and I will look forward to visiting to see your fabulous autumnal creations!
Thanks for looking!