Signs of Spring from Dora's digis

Here are two DT offering for Dora's Digis which are here on her blog. I coloured them with Be Creative Alcohol markers. The background paper for the first was in my stash for many years and there are only snippets left of them now. They were double sided too. The ribbon was the last bit of some that I received from a friend.

My second card features Dora's daffodils which I used to frame an ink dusted  scene stamped with Card-io stamps. The papers are from a Craftwork cards 8 x 8 pad of non-traditional tartans.
I'm off to the Snippet Playground with the first one, and hoping Miss Di doesn't put me in detention, lol.
You will be pleased to know I am well on the road to recovery and have been able to return to work. I think I have also caught up on sleep I had been missing 😊😊😊
Dora has some gorgeous digis and these would be perfect for a Mother's day card (It is a week on Sunday here in the UK)
Thanks for looking!

At the end of the rainbow

I've been wanting to play with the Inkylicious birch trees 2 stamp set for some time, but had been struggling for time and mojo. Then this week I got shingles. I have been very lucky as it was a very mild dose and I got treatment very quickly. As shingles is contagious in the form of chicken pox to those who haven't had it yet (especially children), I was told I had to stay off work. I have rested, crafted, surfed the net and generally enjoyed myself whilst taking some huge tablets (5 a day, 4 hours apart)
Anyway, on to my card. I used distress inks in stormy sky, dusty concord, picked raspberry, fired brick, spiced marmalade, twisted citron, mermaid lagoon and chipped sapphire with my ink dusters for the background. The panel is mounted on black and silver paper and I added a few dots of white gel pen.
I am entering this into the current challenge at Penny Black and More where the theme is Anything goes and Cards in envy where the theme is 'keep it simple'
Hoping life gets back to normal this week. Oh yes, Before I go a big welcome to my new followers. Sorry if you have been here a while and I hadn't noticed - what a bad blogger! Hope to get over to visit you soon.
Thanks for looking!

Stamping Sensations Challenge for March

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...........

***Close to Nature***

As the title suggests we want to see your projects inspired by the natural world this month..........

 I feel closest to nature when I am out walking in the countryside, so I am sharing the card I made for my Dad's birthday with Hobby Art Stamps (Country Ramble Scene-it set). I water-coloured it with a mixture of Zig clean color markers and aqua markers.

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.

 Here is the fabulous prize this month.....



                       
I wish I could enter myself!
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!  
Before I go I want to share a photo with you. Last Tuesday I got my accreditation to be a Karate Sensei for GKR! I'm still pinching myself 😀😀😀

Thanks for looking!

Rudolf day for February

I've made two cards for Rudolf day this month. The first is a very simple die cut from Be creative wonder sheets, popped onto some deep purple pearlescent card. I stamped the base card with a snowflake from crafty individuals.

For my second card I used crafty individuals stamps, except for the sentiment, which is from Inkylicious. The main panel is sparkly with glitter, but you can't see it on the photo. The lower layer is also quite sparkly as it was sprayed with a range of colour and glimmer sprays. The snowflakes are embossed with Be creative jack frost embossing powder, which has some lovely sparkles too.
If you fancy joining in and getting organised for next Christmas, please pop over to Scrappy Mo's and take a look at the inspiration.
Thanks for looking!

Cats from Dora

Here is my latest DT offering for Dora's Digis which are here on her blog. I coloured them with Be Creative Alcohol markers. The background paper was in my stash and the bow and tag are die cuts. Although the image was drawn with Valentine's day in mind, I am using this as a wedding anniversary card for my nephew and his wife.
I'm entering this into the challenge at Allsorts this week where the theme is 'anything goes'. Short and sweet from me this week as I am back to work tomorrow and we have spent the day out in Derbyshire with Meg and her boyfriend, Grant. We blew the cobwebs out on Curbar Edge and had a lovely meal in Baslow.

Thanks for looking!

Hearts for Valentines day

I've been busy working on my Valentine card for Steve. Inspiration for a valentine card for a man who doesn't do cute are few and far between, so I resorted to a scene in a heart shaped aperture. I used my ink dusters and distress ink to create the background, then stamped with memento ink. The one job Steve has done outside in the torrential rain this morning is feed the birds, so it seemed apt to add his feathered friends. All stamps are from Inkylicious. I added dots of stickles and liquid pearls for the buds and water droplets on the branches that make up the border.
The theme at Allsorts this week is hearts and/or flowers, so I am entering this one there.
This is my thousandth post - I can't quite believe it! 
I will leave you with a few photos of buster the squirrel who is enjoying our bird food so much, lol.

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! 
     

Steve's Birthday card

Two posts in two days?! I know, but don't get used to it. I'll be back to weekly posts soon enough.
I just wanted to share Steve's birthday card with you. I used all inkylicious stamps except the moon which is from Lavinia. The papers are from craftwork cards. I have a thing about tartan and when I saw their tartan goody bag after Christmas I had to have it!
So, Steve is another year older, but feeling very upbeat as he is now counting down to retirement! Hopefully once he is retired we will get the chance to go and enjoy scenes like this at October half term or during the Easter holidays. Right, I'd better go and finish my dad's card and Meg's boyfriend's which are both next week.
Thanks for looking!

Rudolf day for January

 January seems to have flown by! It is time for this months Rudolf days, so here are my cards. The first is a lovely little scene stamp from Crafty individuals with minimal colouring and a scrap of card sprinkled with brushos and stencilled with glitter glue.

My second card has stamps from Hobby art, a bit of liquid pearls and glitter glue and an ink-dusted background. The hobby Art stamps come from the holly and Ivy set and the Nature Trail set.
Do pop over to Scrappy Mo's and take a look. I can totally recommend joining in each month and getting organised for next year.
Thanks for looking! 

Another walk around Rufford

Steve and I had another walk around Rufford a couple of weeks ago in the hope of spotting that kingfisher again. It was a bright Frosty morning so we donned our thick coats and set off. Here are a few snaps...

 The Kingfisher wasn't there, but a Heron was

 So were these black headed gulls

 This is the view from the bridge and at the foot of that big tree was where I saw the kingfisher last time

 Here is a view down the lake to the Mill where there is a cafe and a shop selling outdoor clothing

 The Greylag Geese were enjoying the sunshine...

 This little fellow was gorging himself on the bird food!

 I had taken some bird food with me and found a convenient fence post near the Ice House. The birds are used to people feeding them here it seems...

 especially the blackbirds and robins

 The shaft of sun picked them out beautifully...

Then we walked back to the car. It looks like mid afternoon, but it was only about midday when we left.
Hope you enjoyed the stroll. Lets hope for some more bright frosty mornings soon.
Thanks for looking!

Wood Anemones - a reminder of spring!

Here is my latest DT offering for Dora's Digis which are here on her blog. I coloured it with Be Creative Alcohol markers. The background paper is from Be Creative and the ribbon and lace were in my stash. Dora drew this from my photos of wood anemones that we often see at Bluebell time...

They come in a variety of shades of pink and white....

Hope you are all coping with the variety of weather being thrown in this week. We had only a few flakes of snow and now it is grey and wet.
Thanks for looking!

A bird and a cat

I've just finished a couple of birthday cards so I thought I would share them with you. The first was for my Brother, a keen birder and he was very complementary about my colouring describing it as a very accurate representation! I used Hobby Art stamps for the oval and an Inkylicious background for the base card. I am entering the card into the Challenge at Penny Black and More where the theme is anything goes. Here are some photos of goldfinches taken on our bird feeders so you can see for yourself.

My second card features a creature that I prefer not to see in my garden, because more than likely it is after the birds! A few weeks ago I drew back the curtains to see one hanging by the front legs from my birdhouse. It got a good soaking from my squeezy bottle that I keep by the patio door!

A very simple card, but I think it works. The stamp is from Inkylicious and the papers and embellishments are from Craftwork Cards. I am entering this into the Challenge at Allsorts where the theme is Cats or Dogs.
Thanks for looking and I hope you have a good week!