Inspired by Sunsets

 Our lovely friend Lynne has taken some stunning photos of sunsets recently. Several of them feature a very beautiful old Beech tree, which Deby at Inkylicious made into a stamp a few years ago. This prompted talk of ink colours and bending brushes, followed by Lynne challenging us to recreate the scene. We had a choice of photos, but this was the one that I chose, and here is my card:

Nowhere near as beautiful as the real thing, but I'm happy. The base card was stamped with Crafty Individuals stamps in dried marigold and versafine black. The sky behind the tree was done with Distress inks and ink dusters, using mustard seed, fossilized amber, spiced marmalade, ripe persimmon, rusty hinge and fired brick. I stamped the tree in Archival black and extended the ground and fence to fill the width of the card with a black pen.

Please do take a look at everyone's beautiful art work, inspired by Lynne's gorgeous photos.

I am sure Lynne, Sandma, Viv and Joan would love to have you visit them. These lovely friends are so wonderfully supportive and their creations on their blogs and on facebook are a real feast to the eyes. 

Whilst I am here, I've got a quick reminder for you that Jean Hardy is on Hochanda tomorrow with some stunningly beautiful new stamps designed by Sandma. The programmes are at on10am and 2pm, straight after the lovely Lesley Wharton of Chocolate Baroque (9am and 1pm) I will leave you with a sneaky peek at one of the cards I made for the show 😁

Thanks for looking!

Mid month inspiration for May

It is mid-way through May so time for our mid month inspiration for Stamping Sensations where the theme is

***Say it with Flowers***

 My mid month creation has a sentiment from Hobby art, and two recent woodware stamps - Vetch and Cow Parsley over an ink dusted background. I added a few highlights in white and silver pens. I do hope you get chance to enter the challenge. 

How are you doing? Hope you are okay and staying safe and well. I think we are all on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster at the moment. It is important to realise that it is okay to not be okay at the moment, but equally, talking about it can help. I'm keeping very busy with various things including some really amazing new stamps from Crafty Individuals that are going to be on Hochanda, along with shows from Chocolate Baroque on 2nd June.  see if you can catch the shows - you won't be disappointed! I'm continuing with the craft sort out, doing some sewing and crochet, doing karate on Zoom 3 times a week as well as helping to manage the Crafty Individuals facebook group. We would love for you to join us there if you haven't already - just click the link. We have a project of the week award for a stamp prize, a monthly challenge (ATCs this month) for a larger prize and Jean also does giveaways on her Facebook Lives which are at 2.30pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.  

Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments!

 

How is it going?

I hope you are well and coping in these strange times. Three weeks into social isolation here and this week I haven't had a whole lot of mojo. I've sat in front of my craft table and not done anything constructive, card-wise several times. It just didn't feel right to be having fun creating with everything that is going on. On Thursday I knew I had to get myself motivated to make a birthday card for Meg, which needed posting and I will share with you in due course, and finally found a bit of inspiration. After that I decided I should create a scene I'd like to walk through, even though the countryside is a little too far to walk to at the moment.

So here is my riverside scene with stamps mostly from Crafty Individuals except the one at the top, which is from Inkylicious. The background scene is on satin finish art card, brushed with very old adirondack inks. the background stamping was done with memento ink. I stamped the kingfisher in versafine clair onto watercolour card and coloured with zig clean color markers and a bit of white gel pen. Finally I cut her out, shaped her a little with an embossing tool and stuck her on with 3d glue. Did you know the female kingfisher has a black upper bill and a red lower bill?
I'm entering this at Allsorts, where the challenge is something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. The old is my adirondack inks in mountain rose, pool and peach bellini, and the blue is my kingfisher.
I'm also entering it at Penny Black and more, where the theme is Anything Goes.
I hope my card gives you the same feeling of peace that I got from making it. Maybe we could have a virtual stroll along the river and spot kingfishers together.
Thanks for looking!

January Mid month inspiration (it's another moonscape!)

It is time for my mid month inspiration for Stamping Sensations, so I've used a moon again and teamed it up with some new Lavinia stamps. The Lavinia berry wreath, crow set and meadow mushroom minature were all christmas presents. The background was created on silk art card using ink dusters, sponges and memento inks, then the foreground was stamped in versafine clair. If you are doing this you need to leave the versafine clair to dry naturally for a long time, or use heat carefully on the coated card stock.  I added gelly roll stardust pen to the berries before adding translucent nuvo drops over the top. White gel pen was added to highlight the mushrooms and the base card was stamped with the inkylicious splatter twinchie.
You still have plenty of time to enter the challenge, so do pop over to the challenge blog for more inspiration. Don't forget to check your entry against the challenge rules and take a look at the fabulous inspiration!
Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year and a few favourites

So here we are approaching 2020. I am looking forward to starting the new year with crafting, karate, walking, cooking and enjoying nature at the top of my list of things to do.  I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few of my favourite crafty projects with you. It is a very quick and randomly selected top ten, that If I looked again I would probably change, lol.

 First up is one of my favourite Inkylicious tree stamps and that XL spatter,

 Next is a tree from Bee Crafty and that gorgeous sentiment. I made this after a walk in the woods when I'd decided that I was going to resign, so holds a special place in my heart!

 I invested in many hare stamps this year, but this was my first and I loved how well it worked on that background.

 More inkylicious stamps on this one. The wolves are great for male cards.

 This was my first foray into candle decorating, which ultimately led to joining Crafty individuals DT and craft fairs and tables, sales and lots of fun!  

 I've enjoyed having the time to work on my colouring skills, like this 'no-line' Hobby Art christmas wreath coloured with zig clean colour real brush markers.

 Whilst we are on the subject of Hobby Art, this little owl had to be on here somewhere. He flew off to a friend in Japan, and is going to be framed. A little owl is not just for Christmas!!! 😂

 My Crafty individuals robin and kingfisher candles were popular too.

 Here's more of my favourite inkylicious stamps on Meg's christmas card,

and finally this is the plaque I made for my lovely friend Lynne (we met in about 2002 or 3 when we taught together...I think we were boh dragons, lol!)
Thank you all for your continued crafty friendships and support.  I really appreciate each and every one of your comments and I look forward to visiting you all in 2020 to see more of your wonderful creations.
                                   Happy New Year! 

Trees and Leaves at Allsorts

 

The theme at Allsorts this week is Trees and Leaves, so of course I had to enter, lol. I am here with two one layer cards using Uniko stamps, Stamped in memento and dusted with distress inks. I used masking tape to cover the area where I later stamped the sentiments. Both were finished with a 'few' drops of liquid pearls. This lovely simple stamp set is so versatile, and I have used it lots since I bought it, and for all 4 seasons, not just Autumn. 

The sentiment on this second one is from a Woodware set.
I've just discovered that the latest challenge at Uniko Studio is Anything goes with a twist of Autumn, so I am entering my card there too.
 
Do pop over to Allsorts and Uniko and check out some of the amazing inspiration on show.
Thanks for looking!

Anything goes at Allsorts

The theme this week at Allsorts is 'Anything Goes' so not too much thinking required, lol. I thought I would share a card a neighbour asked me to make. When she said she liked horses, I remembered I had some by Lavina, so a 'scene' card was the result. The stamps are all Lavinia or Inkylicious, except the sentiment (Little Claire) and the scrabble tiles. I coloured the card with ink dusters and a variety of inks. A fine black pen was used to add grass under the horses and a distant fence.
As this is another card featuring animals, I'm also taking to Penny Black and More for my second entry there.
Thanks for looking!

Beside the Sea...

Back in June I made my Dad's Father's Day card with the Hobby Art Stamp sets called Water's Edge and Shore Scenes. I used the Inkylicious waves stamp for the water. More recently I used the same stamp sets to create another scene for my Pearl Wedding Anniversary card for Steve.

These stamps are so beautiful! I think I might be playing with them some more soon. Both cards used a panel of silk art card for the scene and then the bird was coloured with Zig Clean colour markers on watercolour paper, cut out and stuck on with 3d glue.
Thanks for looking!

Clean and Simple at Allsorts

The new challenge at Allsorts this week is Clean and Simple, a perfect opportunity to share this card. I dusted the background with citrus twist, mermaid lagoon and wilted violet distress inks, placing a moon mask over the top after the first dusting. I stamped Inkylicious tiny script in memento lulu lavender, then stamped the Woodware fennel and sentiment in versafine clair ink.
Thanks for looking. I'm hanging on for dear life as we stampede towards the end of term... just 10 more 'get-ups' to go!

January at Stamping Sensations

Good Morning and Happy New Year! I feel like I have neglected you rather, but you will be pleased to know that I've had a wonderful time being a domestic Goddess as well as getting inky and painty. You will see the results in the fullness of time! As it is the first Sunday of the month, it is time for our January challenge at Stamping Sensations. This month we have a lovely theme....

****Fabulously Feminine****

For my card this month I used stamps and stencils from Inkylicious and a little glitter glue for the fairy's wings.

  The background was created using ink dusters and distress inks in shabby shutters, mermaid lagoon and seedless preserves. A little memento black was also used to create the hills and dust around the edges. The moon was dusted first with Brilliance white then, once dry, it was stamped with the same ink. Highlights were added with Sakura white and stardust pens.

Please ensure you check our challenge rules before entering. It may save you embarrassment and make sure your entry receives comments from the team and is entered into the prize draw: We run our challenge for fun in our spare time. It is your responsibility if entering to make sure you check our challenge rules, it is not our responsibility to read your posts and remind you if you fail to comply. If you do not follow the rules we will simply ignore your entry.

Do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at the wonderful hand-stamped creations from my talented team mates and to take a look at the fabulous prize! I do hope you will enter and share your lovely hand-stamped creations with us.
Thanks for looking!

Hope you had a good one

 Hi there! Christmas has come and gone very quickly, but I am happy to say a good time has been had by all, here. As usual we had a quiet Christmas day and then lots of family visiting with a full Christmas dinner and tea time treats on Boxing Day.
Anyway, I thought I would show you the last three Christmas Cards I made. The first was for Meg and Grant who had just returned from a trip to the Galloway Forest Park. They spent an evening at the observatory there, where they watched a meteor shower. Stamps are all from Inkylicious and the background was created with Brushos then sections were bleached for the snow

 My second card was for Steve. All stamps on this one were from Card-io and the background was dusted with Blueprint sketch and chipped sapphire distress ink.

My final card was for my Dad. He loves his scenes so I combined inkylicious stamps to create a snowy mountain and lakeside scene for him. this was coloured with watercolour pens.

I am now 'procraftinating' trying to re-organise my craft table (our big dining table that gets cleared every boxing day) and not put as much back on it as I took off! All I have managed so far is to unwrap my Christmas present stamps and find homes for all but two. There is still a huge pile of bits and bobs in the spare room waiting to return downstairs. When I retire I will have to do some serious sorting! 

Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments over the past few weeks. I don't intend to be absent from Blogland as much as I have been. My new years resolution is to look after me a little better and not let work take over. 

Autumn Stag

The theme at Allsorts this week is Autumn Glory, and as it is my favourite season of the year I had to play along. My card was made with the new Inkylicious stamp, Forest Stag, zig clean color markers, inkylicious fern stamp, memento inks and ink dusters. The tartan papers were from Craftwork cards.
Thanks for looking!

Anniversary

Steve and I have just celebrated our 29th Wedding anniversary and this is the card I made for him. The moon, sentiment and leaves on the base card are all from Inkylicious and the Hares and Grasses are from Lavinia. I added a few highlights with a white gel pen. I'd better start thinking now about next years  - this was very last minute and I wasn't sure if it was dry when I put it in the envelope!
Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments.

A quick reminder

Here is a quick reminder that the theme of 'Close to Nature' at Stamping Sensations still has until the end of the month to run, so get your entries in!
Here is a quick bit of inspiration using one of the latest releases from Crafty Individuals

I used a mixture of Izinks and memento inks and my ink dusters for the background. Short and sweet from me today I'm afraid. I will try and catch up over the bank holiday weekend and share some photos of a little trip out we took yesterday.
Thanks for looking and for leaving comments despite the GDPR headache x

Square Allsorts

The theme at Allsorts this week is Be there or be square! If you look closely there are many many squares on my card! The stamps are all from Hobby Art and the flowers, grasses and seedheads are coloured with zig clean color markers. Do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at the DTs fabulous cards.
Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments

Rudolf Day for March

Here I am last minute with two cards for March Rudolf day, so just in time for another Rudolf day over at Scrappy Mo's.

 Both were made using Inkylicious stamps, ink dusters and distress and memento inks - DI weathered wood and Memento London fog on the first, and Memento Nautical blue on the second.

I also used a gelly roll sparkle pen and a spectrum noir clear sparkle pen on the snow and moon, but you can't really see it here.
Lets hope we don't see lots of the white stuff this weekend! Things to do and people to see!
Do pop over to Mo's blog to see the beautiful inspiration and join in the Rudolf fun if you can!
They were both made using snippets as well, so I'm off to Miss Di's snippet playground with them too! 

Dora's Digis for March

Carrying on with the African theme I have been playing with my ink dusters to create a background for Dora's fabulous Elephant that you can find here. The background stamps are all from Inkylicious and the inks are Izinks. I coloured the elephant with alcohol based markers.

I also made a card with one of the squirrels which you can also find on the realistic animals page. It was a sunny morning for once so the base of the easel card is a bit too washed out in the photo.

I'm hoping it got to it's destination on time.
Here is a photo of our resident squirrel during the recent snow

 
Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments.

African Animals

With all this cold weather around I decided to escape to Africa on my craft table and here are the results 😀

All stamps from Inkylicious except the birthday sentiment on the first card. I used Izinks on the first card and I am impressed! They seem really good.The zebra was heat embossed with black sparkle embossing powder, so it is more blingy than it looks on here!
Hope you are keeping warm and snow doesn't spoil your plans! Sorry it is short and sweet. Work is keeping me super busy at the moment
Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments

March at Stamping Sensations

Good morning, It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month we are looking for

********Woodland Friends********

As the title suggest we would love to see your creations featuring any creatures that live in the woods. It could be mammals, birds, insects or invertebrates!

My first Card this month was made with Lavinia stamps. I created the background with inkylicious ink dusters and distress inks.

My second Card was one I made as a commission for Creative Stamping Magazine. More details can be found in Issue 51 (along with the stamps I used)

Please can we remind you we are a stamping challenge so must see a stamped image as the focal element of your artwork, not just a stamped sentiment or stamping in the background, this means:

Stamping must be the central point of attention and interest 

Our sponsors this month are Tattered Lace and they have donated this lovely prize!

 

Do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at the gorgeous designs from all my talented teamies! They really have made some outstanding cards this month! 

Thanks for looking!

Rudolf day for January

 

Hi there! It is already approaching the end of January and so it is time for another Rudolf day over at Scrappy Mo's. For my Cards for 2018 I am kicking off with a wintry woodland scene using stamps from Inkylicious and my faithful ink dusters. I added red berries with garnet liquid pearls and added some snowflakes with fluffy puffy stuff and clear spectrum noir sparkle pen. I added a little to the snow drifts and the deer footprints too. 

My second card was made with an Artful Stamper wood mounted stamp bought many moons ago. It has been about 10 years since I last used it, but as I was having a clear-out I rediscovered it. It makes a very simple and quick Christmas card. I coloured it with alcohol markers and added liquid pearls as the berries. The sentiment is from a Honey Doo set.
I hope you have managed to stay warm in the recent cold snap and the snow or thaw hasn't troubled you too much.
We are looking forward to the weekend as we will be hosting a belated Burns night supper with some old friends and also taking part in the Big Garden Bird Watch.
Happy Crafting and thanks for looking!