Dora's Horses

Here is a card made with one of Dora's new Horse Digi stamps. You can find them on her blog here. I coloured it with promarkers and used that Inkylicious splatter stamp around the edges. The papers came from Canon Creative Park, although this exact colourway doesn't seem to be there now (Some similar ones though). Do pop over to Dora's blog and take a look at all her lovely digis as well as the DT's beautiful creations!
Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments.

January Rudolf Day (there isn't one)

I thought I would just pop on to mention to anyone that doesn't know that there will be no Rudolf day Challenge this month because Maureen is having knee replacement surgery.The Rudolf Challenge will be back on the 25th of February 2019.

I'm still here posting a couple of cards as I'd already made them and got them ready. The first is a woodware stamp on a gelli plate background, with an inkylicious splatter stamp round the edge. I made a similar one last year.

My second card is a uniko stamp, watercoloured and then bordered with an inkylicious splatter stamp. The tartan papers are from Craftwork Cards.
Here is wishing Maureen a speedy recovery and a big thank you to the ladies on the DT for everything they do.
Thanks for looking!

Make it Masculine

There is a new challenge over at Allsorts where the Theme is Make it Masculine. It seemed the perfect opportunity to share some makes using new stamps with you. I have been busy making Steve's Birthday card and then I made a second using the same stamps...not sure which to give to him now!

 For both I used Inkylicious stamps - Celestial moons and planets and Reflections Alaskan Pines. I also used watercolour paper and Koh-I-Noor watercolour paints. This first one was a bit of a mistake. It was looking beautiful until I stamped the trees in Versafine clair and then put it through the guillotine before it was dry... More planets were needed to cover the fingerprints and smudges! The second went a little more smoothly!

Here is a close up of the base card - I stamped the planets in Versamark and dusted with a variety of cosmic shimmer powders.

I am also entering it at The Male Room, where the theme is Anything Goes with an optional twist of Beverages (Thanks Faith!) Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments.

More Inspiration for Stamping Sensations January challenge

Here is my mid-month inspiration for Stamping Sensations where the theme is Fabulously Feminine. As you can probably tell, feminine to me isn't pink and floral. It is a theme I struggle with way more than anything masculine!  These stamps are from Acid drops and Whatnots, whose stamps are still available I  believe at Craft Stash. I stamped in Adirondack Rust and used a waterbrush to spread the colour a little. The sentiment was stamped in Versafine Clair  - my new favourite ink! The papers were freebies from a magazine donated to me a while ago and the leaf die is from Pink Frog.
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!

Milestones

The challenge at Allsorts this week is Milestones, and they are asking for anything with a number on it. A little while ago I made this card for a friend's son. He loves listening to live music and so I made a background with a Bee Crafty Stencil and distress inks, before stamping the Visible Image drummer with Versafine ink. The Happy 21st Birthday is a stamp set from Little Clare (no longer available, unfortunately) that has interchangable numbers and greetings and is very useful. It is a very simple card but was well received and considered very 'on trend' by Meg and her friends! I am going to try a few more cards like this but using distress oxides and versafine Clair inks for a more grungy look.
Hope your week has gone well and thanks for looking! Your comments are very much appreciated. 

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. 

More December Sparkle

Here is my mid month inspiration for Stamping Sensations where the theme is winter sparkle. Our sponsors this month are Be Creative! For my card I used their black sparkle fine detail embossing powder with some Inkylicious trees ... take a closer look!

It is a subtle but rather gorgeous sparkle!
Sorry it is so short and sweet. The end of term is in sight!!!

December at Stamping Sensations

 

It is the first Sunday of the month and time for our December challenge at Stamping Sensations. This month we have a lovely theme....

****Winter Sparkle****

For my card this month I used stamps and a stencil from inkylicious and embossing powder and glitter glue from our Sponsors this month, Be Creative.

You can just see a bit of the Ice Blue Topaz glitter glue sparkle on this close up. The snowflakes were die-cut from wonder sheet and embossed using Wonder white Diamond embossing powder. The background was done with dried marigold and iced spruce distress oxide inks.

Please remember, we need you to play by the rules:

Please can I remind you we are a stamping challenge so must see a stamped image which reflects the theme as the focal element of your artwork , this means:

Stamping must be the central point of attention and interest

 We are pleased to welcome back Be Creative as our sponsor this month, with a fabulous £25 store voucher for our lucky winner. There are some wonderful stamps and other crafty goodies on their website
Do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at the fabulous creations from my talented team mates!
Thanks for looking!

Rudolf Day for November

It is already 25th November (I know! Where did that go?) So it is time for another Rudolf Day over at Scrappy Mo's. I have been playing with some more Uniko stamps (I couldn't resist, despite saying I didn't need any more Christmas stamps!) For all the cards I stamped onto watercolour card then coloured with zig clean color real brush markers.

This second one was a complete mistake! I had made a few mistakes on the colouring so sprayed water all over it and walked away. When I came back the colours had created a fabulous background, and I was able to colour it again, this time with the right glasses on! 

 The next two cards were stamped in memento desert sand and coloured. I love this 'no line' technique!

 Not sure if I should add a sentiment to these last two. What I sometimes do is save a couple like this and add a Happy New Year sentiment in case of forgetting to send a Christmas card. The tartan papers were from Craftwork Cards.
I seem to have quite a healthy stash of Christmas cards now, so Thank you Mo for taking the panic out of December!
Do pop over to Mo's Rudolf Days Challenge for some inspiration

Thanks for looking! 

Mid Month Christmas Inspiration

Hello! Here is my Mid-month inspiration for Stamping Sensations this month. I am here with a card made with another beautiful stamp from Woodware, their Stylish Reindeer. I had some bits of paper that had been printed using a gelly plate, then stamped on with inkylicious stamps. I stamped the reindeer in versafine black ink and added some liquid pearls and glitter glue. I stamped the base card with a small stamp from the same set and sponged a bit of ink around the edge too. A bit of matting and layering with silver and jade card and Voila- A very quick card! Pretty sure I can knock up another three like this one from the same sheet of gelly plate printing too. Might try some trees on the next one!
Thanks for looking and please bare with me as my visits to blog land are so infrequent at the moment. Real life does tend to get in the way of my cyber-socialising, and that is more because of work than play. The end of the tunnel is a long way away, but I can just about see it, and am hoping time passes quickly enough for me to race towards it!😜
I've just spotted that this is my 1100th post here on my blog...I wonder how many cards that is...😉

At the going down of the sun...

I made this card thinking of my Grandad. He spent most of his children's childhood away at war. He made the most of my childhood. I learned which berries were good to eat and which I shouldn't touch. I learned the local names for all the living things we encountered on our walks and quite a few simple folk remedies. The poppies are a digi stamp from Aurora Wings, coloured with alcohol based markers. The sentiment is a stamp from Inkylicious.  I am entering it into the current challenge at Allsorts.

 My grandad is top left here. He followed his dad at the age of 14 to the last year of WW1

He volunteered for WW2 at the very start of the War.

My mum was the youngest of four children he left behind.

Thanks for looking.
EDIT - delighted to have had my card chosen in the top 5 at Allsorts!