Stamping Sensations Challenge for Febriuary

Good Morning! It is the first Sunday of the Month and time for a new Challenge over at Stamping Sensations! This month's theme is...........

***Animal Magic***

As the title suggests we want to see animals of all shapes and sizes this month, even mythical ones if you wish..........

I chose a Hobby Art Highland Cow stamp for my card this month, teamed up with some tartan paper from Craftwork Cards, sticking with the Scottish theme! I used my zig clean colour markers and added a die cut bit of heather and a bow.

Please can I remind you we are a stamping challenge so must see a stamped image, sentiment or quote as the focal element of your artwork. Conventional rubber/acrylic stamps and digital images are acceptable, but pre-coloured digital images and toppers are not. 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.

 The prize this month is from Tattered Lace. Take a look!

Do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at all the fantastic creations by my lovely teamies. There is some wonderful inspiration again this month! Hope you get the chance to join in and I'll look forward to seeing all your lovely creations! 
     

Red Squirrels in Scotland

Meg and I had a lovely time visiting Lynne last week. On our last day we visited Eskrigg Nature reserve, a red squirrel hot spot...

 We had a chuckle at this one...

 who finally emerged from the peanut store.

 Some were a little more refined in their dining habits!

 Some liked to make the other squirrels jump with Jack-in-a-box type moves!

 Some tried to blend in with the trees, keeping a close eye on us humans...

 I think this is my favourite shot of all the ones I took (96!) 

 And finally, this little fellow was eager to pick up the food that others had dropped on the floor. 

 It was so lovely to spend a very quiet couple of hours in the company of these delightful creatures (Meg and Lynne included!)
Thanks for looking! 

Bird photos from Scotland and News!

 Before I show you my photos, I want to share a bit of wonderful news we had yesterday. Our Daughter, Megan got the A level grades she needed to get in to the University of Sheffield to study Medicine. She won't be too far away (just over an hour to get there) and she gets the chance to follow her dream! We are over the moon and so proud! The past eighteen years has gone so fast. Now we will need to get busy shopping for all those extras she will need - Ikea here we come!

Now on to some more photos. Here are a few of some of the birds we saw on holiday.

 Our first walk down to the beach on holiday revealed this little fellow, a male reed bunting with a beak full of insects.

 This pheasant was right outside the kitchen window when we got up. I guess he was there all night as you can see how saturated he was in the rain!

 Later in the week I was pleased with this shot of a swallow I took at Caerlaverock castle... until I took this one below the following day at Threave - Don't you think he just epitomises joy?

 This nuthatch below was also taken at Threave.

 I ummed and ahhed as to whether I should include the next one as it is such a dreadful photo, but I decided to anyway - a Barn owl taking a rest from his hunting, from the living room at the first cottage

 There were lots of chaffinches at the second cottage and I took this rather handsome male from the dining room window.

 Outside the House Martins (and swallows) fed their fledglings on the flies and midges...

 We visited the Red Kite feeding station at Ballymack Hill Farm and saw some breathtaking red kite action!

 But photography-wise I seem to have had most success with the more common garden birds like this Blue tit at Ken Dee Marshes.

Thanks for looking!

Back from my Jollies

Hi There! We arrived home yesterday after a fortnight away. We went to Scotland this year, spending the first week in a cottage on an RSPB reserve on the Solway Firth, and the second week in a cottage in the Galloway Forest Park. It was very enjoyable and relaxing, despite being a bit cold and wet at times. I have taken nearly 500 photos and I am still working my way through them, but I will share a few with you over the next few days.
Our first cottage was a 10 minute walk from the beach, which was deserted most of the time, but especially once the reserve was closed to the public. It had amazing views across to the Lake District on clear days...

Our second cottage was three miles down a single track road, not too far from Clatteringshaws Loch, which we saw in many different moods...

Hope you have enjoyed the views. I will be back with more photos as soon as the washing is finished and I have caught up with some commissions and other jobs. I hope you don't mind if I don't go back over the blog posts you have done whilst I have been away, but I hope to catch up with you very soon.
Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments on my scheduled posts. Very much appreciated x

A little pink creation and some photos

Hi there! I have just returned from a few days away visiting my dear friend Lynne. I needed to make a card for a work colleague who loves anything French, and as I used quite a lot of pink I thought it would be a good time to remind you that Pink is our current theme this month at Stamping Sensations.

I used Inkylicious ink dusters and stamps for all the backgrounds and used Distress inks in Victorian velvet and tea dye. The Eiffel tower (Dovecraft) was stamped on a snippet of card in starlight black brilliance ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I cut the ferns, a rather wonderful little die from Frantic Stamper (available from Once upon a Stamp) from two snippets of burgundy card. I cannot recommend Frantic stamper dies enough. They took one run through the cuttlebug and popped straight out of the die so easily! The sentiment (Little Claire) was stamped on another snippet of card, cut with a spellbinder die, and even the ribbon was a snippet! With so many snippets used I am nipping over to Di's snippet playground with this card.
Before I leave you I will share some photos from my trip to Scotland.

 Mute and whooper swans.

 Whooper swan

 Wild primrose

There is nothing quite like fresh air, sunshine, blue sky, good company and exercise to put a spring in my step! Oh yes, and seeing 47 species of bird in just one day!
Thanks for looking and for your lovely comments. Do bring your pink creations over to Stamping Sensations this month as there is a whopping prize of £40 worth of goodies from PDA to win!

A couple of evening scenes and some photos

I needed a few cards in a hurry at the end of term, so I reached for my snippets of silk art card and made two quick evening scenes with ink dusters and Inkylicious stamps. I used Memento Grape Jelly and Lilac Posies and a water spray. After it was dry I added the stamped images and white gel pen. Here is a close up of the panel.

The second panel was much the same, but this time I put it onto a square card. As these were both made with snippets I will take them to Di's snippet playground. Hope the sun is out!

We have just returned from a few lovely days in Scotland with Lynne. (If you pop over to her blog you will see the gorgeous guest DT card she has made for Mrs A's butterfly challenge.) We had a wonderful time - just what was needed at the end of a long term. Here is a photo taken at Grey Mare's Tail nature reserve.

I don't know why, but I am still surprised at how much taller than me Megan is now! The view from the hillside on the right was wonderful!

I will finish with a photo of a red squirrel taken at Eskrigg Nature reserve near Lockerbie.

 Thanks for looking, and for your lovely comments.

Exciting news!

It is the school holidays and I haven't posted for days, in fact I have been quiet all fortnight. I will tell you why... as well as visiting Dad regularly and having a couple of days away at Lynne's in Scotland, I am working on some cards for Inkylicious!!!! Deby asked a while ago if I would be interested in making some samples for her when she next had a TV show, and I jumped at the chance! I just know lots of you will love the stamps that I have been playing with, and I can't wait to show you. There are going to be two Create and Craft shows coming up quite soon, so I will let you know the details in the next week or so, as well as giving you some sneaky peaks of the things I have made. I might just keep saying 'My cards are going to be on telly!!!'  - please forgive me, as I am very excited about it!
What I will show you today are some photos of our visit to Scotland.

 We had a lovely walk along the river,

 taking in views of the Moffat Hills. It was bracing, but the fresh air and exercise were just what was needed!

The following day we went to Caerlaverock WWT centre, followed by a visit to Caerlaverock Castle.

 The castle's curtain wall forms a triangle, and there is a substantial mansion within it's walls.

We saw lots of wildlife too - a Peregrine falcon, lots of Buzzards, deer, teal and widgeon, to name but a few. We also saw the footprints and spraint of an otter, but he wasn't going to show himself this visit. A big thanks to Lynne for letting us visit again, and showing us some of the lovely places around her home. 
Hopefully I will be back soon with something crafty to show you. Thanks for looking!

A visit to see Lynne

Meg and I had a little trip to Scotland to see Lynne this week. Despite the forecast we had a good couple of days and managed a walk or two as well as a trip to Sweetheart Abbey and the National Costume Museum.
Thought I would share a few photos.

 The grass really was that green!

We loved the fifties dresses. So beautiful! Reminded me of my Mum. Come back tomorrow to find out what else I've been up to. Thanks for looking!