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! 

Coffee and Cream at Stamping Sensations

Good Morning and a Happy New Year! I trust you are feeling ready for the new year when you read this! 😉 Not only is it the first day of 2017, but it is the first Sunday of the Month and time for a new Challenge over at Stamping Sensations! This month's theme is...........

********Coffee and Cream********

As the title suggests we want to see lots of browns and creams this month..........

I've chosen a rose from Honey Doo Crafts, stamped in versafine sepia and coloured with Zig Clean color pens. This was mounted onto some Indigo Blu mega flake called Chocolate box and a brown layer. The base card was stamped with a Crafty Individuals stamp (CI-430) again in the versafine ink. A little brushed corduroy Distress Ink was dusted around the edges.

 

The prize this month is a selection of Mixed media goodies , and the top three will also be receiving a little prize from us!

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.

We do hope you will be able to join in this month. Do pop over to the challenge blog where my talented teamies have produced some amazing artwork in these fabulous colours.

Merry Christmas!

I've been crafting and baking so hard I've sweat glitter for the past two days 😁
Here is the result...

First is the card I made for Meg, using a mixture of inkylicious, Hobby Art and Lavinia stamps. It was a bit of an experiment and I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I am pretty happy with it. The only thing I would change if I did it again would be to not use my largest circle die for the apperture as I had to hand cut the semi circles from  the white card on the front.
Next are two cards using various hobby Art stamps and inspired by the one that Lynne (Creative Lynks) made me.

I used Zig Clean color markers to colour them all and versafine to stamp them. The sentiment on the last one is from Inkylicious.

I just want to say that I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and I will no doubt be in blog land again once Boxing Day is over. Hope Santa is good to you all! I'd offer you a mince pie, but Tescos were all out of mincemeat, so its Spiced apple muffins instead and a drop of Gluwein!

Merry Christmas!

Apologies and some photos

My visits to blog land are very few and far between at the moment. So sorry if I haven't managed to visit your blogs. I still have two days at school to go, and have ticked off 4 panto performances, a Christingle, a nativity, a Christmas party, and an awards assembly.  There is chicken pox, winter vomiting virus and a nasty chesty cold going round so I'm thinking of suggesting a whole class nap lasting both days!
I did a bit of Christmas shopping a couple of weekends ago and popped to Rufford Park where there are a few shops selling nice food, warm hats, gifts and books. When I got there I discovered the shop didn't open until 10.30 so I had nearly an hour to kill. I popped back to the car and grabbed my camera (I tend to take it everywhere with me) and set off towards the lake.

 A group of Mallards came running to greet me but quickly lost interest when I had no food for them.

The reflections in the lake of the winter foliage were beautiful...

and the black-headed gulls seemed to be enjoying a the peace and quiet as much as I was.
As I stood watching them I saw a splash in the water, and then another a few minutes later. I trained my camera on it and zoomed in. Please forgive the awful quality of the photo (I will go back soon with a tripod).... It was a kingfisher!

After a few minutes I was joined by a robin, who may well have fed from my hand if I had taken some food - he was so tame that his feathers brushed my elbow as he hopped by.

I realised the shop had been open for a good 20 minutes by this stage and reluctantly continued on my way. Further round the lake I spotted a Goosander (another poor photo I am afraid)

That hour of solitude in the company of nature left me feeling so much happier than Christmas shopping does! I hope your Christmas shopping is done and you are able to enjoy a few minutes peace doing something you love.
Thanks for looking!

Chalkola Markers

Take a look at these lovelies! They arrived at the weekend. I have been asked to put them through their paces and review these Chalk markers from Chalkola
 The Markers are for use on Non Porous Surfaces like Chalkboards, Whiteboards, Glass, Plastic and Windows. They are also great on glazed ceramics. As a teacher I will be taking these to work and using them in the classroom - great for diagrams and drawings on the whiteboard or blackboard. As a card maker I was eager to find out what they were like on coated card stock and can say I am very impressed by the chalk finish and depth of colour. Here are the Earth tones...

And here are the party colours (neon)

They have been designed to be erasable from non pourous surfaces, and they certainly are, but if you want them to be more permanent, you can heat set them. They are odourless and non-toxic too, so great for crafting with the kids.
I was able to use them like a paint and dilute them with water as well as mixing colours together. The chalk finish was still there with diluted colours. I will continue to experiment!

Please excuse the quality of the photos - I am not home during daylight in the week at the moment.
These pens would also be wonderful for writing up menus in bijou tea shops and cafes ...
Chalkola are being very generous, because if you want to try them for yourself, they would love to offer readers of my blog a 20% flat discount on all Chalkola Products. You can get this by quoting this coupon code - 20OFFSTR
Here are a couple of links to the products
6mm Pens - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chalk-Pens-markers-Whiteboard-Chalkboard/dp/B00VVOWCSC

Earth Colors - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chalk-Pens-Whiteboard-Chalkboard-Blackboard/dp/B01E17WAQO
Thanks for looking!

December at Stamping Sensations

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...........

********Floral Fancies********

As the title suggests we want to see lots of flowers this month..........

I've chosen roses and started by creating an inky background with distress inks on Silk art card. I then placed a stencil over the top and removed some of the ink with a baby wipe. Once this was dry I stamped the rose image (Inkylicious) in memento back ink.

This card is done in the same way but different colours and a touch of glitter on the tips of the petals.

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.

We have a fabulous bundle of Sizzix goodies from one lucky winner this month, but there is more......in the spirit of Christmas our Top 3 will also receive a surprise gift from us.

Sizzix, there's no bigger or better place for craft materials, custom dies and machines that can die-cut, emboss and texturize many materials, including cardstock, paper, construction paper, fabric, faux fur, felt and foil plus much more.

 

 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!