May at Stamping Sensations

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

 ****An English Country Garden****

 As the title suggest we would love to see your hand stamped creations on that theme. I am sure you will come up with lots of fabulous designs involving flowers, gardening, etc 
 Our prize this month is provided by our fabulous sponsors, Chocolate Baroque. The lovely Lesley and John have donated two wonderful stamp plates for the lucky winner.

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 gorgeous designs from all my talented teamies! They really have made some beautiful cards again this month! 

Thanks for looking!

Rudolf Days for April

Hi there! It is time for another Rudolf Day over at Scrappy Mo's. This month, as I often do, I have two offerings for you, both using the same inkylicious stamp. the first is stamped in Chipped Sapphire and the second in Mermaid Lagoon. The stamp is quite a bit larger than the image you see here. I had already cut some squares of watercolour paper, so it was sensible to use them. I used a water brush to spread the colour a little.

For my second card I dry embossed the base card using a Sheena embossing folder and dusted more Mermaid Lagoon ink over it. I also added a punched border to cover the area not embossed.
Sorry it is so short and sweet.
Thanks for looking!

Mid month inspiration for Stamping Sensations

Here is my mid month inspiration for Stamping Sensations where the theme is 'April Showers bring May flowers'. The papers are from Be Creative - our sponsors this month. I stamped the Hobby Art Hydrangea in versafine and coloured with Zig real brush markers. I stamped the Inkylicious twinchie splatter stamp (as raindrops) around the edge of the watercolour panel before sponging a little blueprint sketch distress oxide around the edges.
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!
Thanks for looking!

Ladybirds and Daisies

Over at Allsorts this week there is a theme of Blossoms, butterflies, bugs. I have had a bit of a trawl through some of my very old stash this week, and from some of it came up with this. The stamp is Penny Black Lazy Daisies, stamped onto watercolour card and coloured with zig clean color markers. I have always loved this image. It reminds me of those warm spring days where suddenly there is a ladybird everywhere you look in the garden! The paper was from a very old Provo Craft Bitty Scrap pad - all blues, greens and purples, and I loved every one. What you can't see is the shine on the ladybirds and the shimmer on the centre of the daisies, from a gelly roll glaze and a gelly roll stardust pen. I also added the white marks on the ladybirds' faces with a white gel pen.
I am also entering this into the Penny Black and More challenge, where the theme is Spring.
I hope you are having a good week and thanks for your lovely comments.

April at Stamping Sensations

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

****April Showers bring May flowers ****
 As the title suggest we would love to see your hand stamped creations that reflect that phrase. I am sure you will come up with lots of fabulous designs involving flowers, gardening and the odd rain cloud, brolly or wellies! 
My card this month was made with a Woodware stamp that I stamped in versamark and embossed with Be Creative detail white embossing powder. I had used faded lilac, peacock feathers and cracked pistachio distress inks on the panel. I went over the flowers and leaves with distress markers to intensify the colour in places before splattering with a little water and gold mica spray. The base card was dusted and stamped with the inkylicious water droplets stamp in the same shades of ink.  
Our prize this month is a £25 voucher from our sponsors, Be Creative. Gordon and Justin have a lovely range of embossing powders, adhesives,  a stamping platform and the screen-pal as well as some fabulous layering stamps.

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 gorgeous designs from all my talented teamies! They really have made some beautiful cards again this month! 

Thanks for looking!

Northern Lights

I've spent many an inky hour trying to recreate the Aurora Borealis using brushos like watercolours on watercolour card. All stamps from Inkylicious and dots of white posca pen for stars. 

This round easel card was for Lynne's birthday (Creative Lynks) who gets to see the phenomena occasionally from where she lives. Short and sweet today and I will be back on sunday for the next Stamping Sensations challenge

March Rudolf Day

Hi there! It is time for another Rudolf Day over at Scrappy Mo's. This month, like last month, I have two Kraft offerings for you...

 My first uses stencils and stamps from Inkylicious on the main panel with additional snowflakes on the base card from Hobby Art. Some were stamped in white ink and some in Brilliance gold. Here is a close up...

 My second is a digi from Teri Sherman (Delicious Doodles Etsy shop), printed onto Kraft paper and coloured with watercolour pencils. I thought I'd made a bit of a mess on the lettering, but managed to rescue it with a white posca pen and some random dots 😀

Thanks for looking and do pop over to Mo's blog  - there is some lovely inspiration on show!

Feathered Friends

 At half term I was able to sit and watch a Crafty Individuals show on Hochanda and as always, I was inspired by Jean to make some cards with the stamps on the show I already had, whilst waiting for the ones I ordered to arrive! Here is the result...

 The first card has a Distress oxide background stamped with another Crafty Individuals stamp. The background behind the bird stamp was made with spectrum noir sparkle pens. One of the sparkly sequins is hiding a little smudge very effectively!

The second card's background was made using clingfilm, which was sprayed with ink sprays before placing a piece of silk art card into it. the cling film was wrapped around the edge and then the card was turned over to ensure coverage and a good arangement of creases. It was then left to dry. Again the bird was stamped with versafine clair over a spectrum noir sparkle background.  As this week's challenge at Allsorts is 'Feathered Friends', it would be rude not to enter, lol, so I'm taking these along to play. I was delighted to find I had been picked for the top 5 for my rainbow tree entry last week. Many Thanks to the DT!
I have since received the stamps I ordered from Crafty Individuals, so will share the cards I have made with them soon. Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments.

Mid month inspiration for March Stamping Sensations Challenge

Here is my mid month inspiration for Stamping Sensations where the theme is Somewhere over the Rainbow. For the first card I used the Inkylicious XL splatter circle and inked up with distress oxides. I also used the same inks and stamped the base card with Inkylicious worn paint background stamp. Both had a spritz of water before stamping. Once the splatter circle was dry I stamped Woodware 'Going to Seed' in Versafine Clair. I have added a few bits of sparkle with a gelly Roll clear stardust pen, but you can't see it here.

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!
Thanks for looking!

My Favourite Stamp...or is it?

The Challenge over at Allsorts this week is to use your favourite stamp... now that is a tricky one! I've ummed and ahhed  and thought about hares (my latest favourites), moons, leaves and trees, and finally came up with this tree from Inkylicious. The splatter circle is also a stamp and a very useful one too.

I stamped the Inkylicious splatter circle with second generation oxide ink in candied apple, fossilised amber, cracked pistachio, tumbled glass and wilted violet, sprayed with water. Once dry I stamped the inkylicious tree with versafine clair in Morning mist, grounded it with a little sponging and added buds with gold and green liquid pearls. The base card was sponged with the same distress oxide inks through an inkylicious stencil. You will be able to see the first generation stamping of the splatter circle on my mid month card for stamping Sensations Rainbow themed challenge, tomorrow.
A close contender for favourite stamp has to be one of my new purchases from Pink Ink designs. Here is my first inking of the lovely Meadow Hare.

 I stamped him onto a piece of watercolour card left over from another project and coloured him with Zig clean colour markers. I cut him out then stamped his tail again onto a snippet of white card, cut out and stuck in place with 3d glue gel. I did the same with the butterfly wings. I then stamped it once more onto a piece of smooth white card dusted with wilted violet, peacock feathers and citrus zest distress ink using a moon stencil. I coloured with the same pens and added dots of liquid pearls and glitter glue to the hare and the background. These stamps are such a joy to work with! I am taking this card to a couple of challenges. There is Cardz 4 Galz where the theme is March Hares or Rabbits and Miss Di's Snippet playground.

    Thanks for looking!

A card and some news

Hi there
Thought I would share a card I made a couple of weeks ago with you. It is very plain and simple. The teasel is a woodware stamp and the sentiment is from Bee Crafty and I LOVE it. I did the background with brushos. As the hexagons were cut from snippets I am popping over to the snippet playground. Sorry I have been absent for so long Miss Di! Onto my news...
  This summer marks thirty years since I became a teacher. Round numbers are good aren't they? I have decided that thirty is enough and it is time to stop being envious of my lovely hubby and time to join him in retirement.  I am looking forward to more baking, more walking, more card making, more blogging and more karate. I am also looking forward to watching TV instead of marking, being able to go to the loo when I need to and drinking more water (those last two are linked lol).  I might not be able to afford as many stamps as I can now but I will have the time to use what I have already got. Hoping to get a few more magazine commissions to get some spending money and maybe some DT work too. What I do know is that I will be happier, less stressed and not constantly guilty when I have 'me time'.
 Thanks for looking and for your lovely comments

March at Stamping Sensations

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

****Somewhere over the Rainbow****

As the title suggest we would love to see your hand stamped creations that reflect that song or the colours of a rainbow. I am sure you will come up with lots of fabulous designs.

My first card this month features gorgeous teasel stamps from Woodware. I created the background with Distress Oxide Inks on to a craft mat, spritzing with water, then laying over a piece of watercolour card. Once it was dry, I stamped with Versafine Clair in Nocturne.The sentiment is from Crafty Individuals, and is much straighter IRL than it appears in this photo!

 My second card was a respray and second 'dip' onto the same craft mat. I stamped the gorgeous Pink Ink Design hare onto the background once dry, along with the grasses and teasels from the same set. I stamped it a second time onto some smooth white card, cutting out and matting into place with a little 3d glue just under the ears. I am very impressed with the quality of these gorgeous stamps and I definitely need more!
Our prize this month is a selection of fabulous dies, which you can find more details of on the challenge blog.

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 gorgeous designs from all my talented teamies! They really have made some beautiful rainbow cards this month! 

Thanks for looking!