Rudolf Day for May

 It's time for Rudolf day (25th of every month) where lots of us make a couple of Christmas cards in readiness for the festive season. I love the fact that it gets me organised, although the last two months have been a bit of a disaster organisationally! Anyway, to make up for short falls I am posting three cards this month.

 

I don't know about you but I received quite a lot of monotone cards with a hint of red both last year and the year before. There were some M&S ones with the same colour tones and lots of glitter too.  I used memento grey flannel (London fog would probably have been better, but I only have a dewdrop pad that needs replacing) on my ink duster and a mountain valley stencil to create the background. I hadn't put away the Inkylicious birch trees stamps and thought they would make a great snowy woodland scene.The trees in the background are just second generation ink.I finished them with more inkylicious stamps and stickles in frosted lace and star dust. The red berries are garnet liquid pearls.

Do pop over to Mo's blog and take a look at the fabulous DT cards. I love the Rudolf Community - everyone is always so friendly!

Fairies

I'm going to share something with you... prepare yourself for a shock...my new favourite stamp is not a tree!!! I have fallen in love with the inkylicious Moonscape stamp and stencil set, and it seems to be featuring on every card I make at the moment, lol! 

I've made two cards for young ladies who like fairies...

Both feature the inkylicious moon, some Lavinia stamps and lots of ink (Memento, Adirondack and Distress inks) applied with ink dusters.

I've added fairy dust in the form of liquid pearls and glitter glue. The moon is equally effective whether stamped in bold colours or pastels, and with the mask being the perfect size it enables you to get 3d effects! 

Both of these cards would fit the current theme at Stamping Sensations. If you haven't seen the inspiration there then please pop over and try entering this month. There are some lovely goodies to win! 

I will be back soon with more moons no doubt, lol!

Dora's Digi and a Bluebell Walk

Hi there! I'm here with a card that is my DT offering for Dora's Digis which are here on her blog. I coloured it with Be Creative Alcohol markers. Again I am a few days late, I'm afraid! The papers are from an Artylicious CD rom (Chocolate Baroque - not sure if they are still available) I do love a dragonfly 😊
Whilst I am here I thought I would share some photos from my belated birthday lunch and bluebell walk with my Sister and Brother in Law, last weekend. It was a beautiful day!

 A lovely view across Linacre reservoir. There are three dams and three lakes all surrounded by woodland on the outskirts of Chesterfield.

 Marsh Marigolds (a member of the buttercup family), affectionately known as May Blobs by my grandfather

 And lots of Bluebells

 Don't you just love the contrast of the fresh greens, the old beech leaves and the bluebells?

 Ransoms (Wild Garlic) in amongst the bluebells

 These two trees remind me of a Lavinia stamp....
I hope you enjoyed the stroll in the sunshine. Apologies for not making it into blog land as much as I'd like at the moment. It is pointless government test time in primary schools. Don't let anyone tell you that we don't have to do them any more, because we do and they are making them harder and harder. There are questions on the KS2 paper that are like the ones that were on O level papers in my day. I'd better get off my soapbox and go and cook tea.
Thanks for looking!

May 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.....

***Butterflies, Fairies and Fantasy*** 

As the title suggests we want to see your projects with one of these items as a MAIN FEATURE. The perfect opportunity to ink up all those butterflies, fairies and other magical images, the choice is up to you but we do need to see something stamped and associated with the theme focally on your artwork.......a small punched or die cut Butterfly will not suffice. 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.
 For my card I created a distress oxide background (smooshing technique), then stamped with the Bigz Butterfly 1 from Inkylicious in versafine black, embossing in clear embossing powder. I added glossy accents over the butterfly to give some dimension and it helped to highlight the colours too. I used a grey pencil rayon aroundthe betterfly to gibe the impression of a shadow. My verdict on distress oxides? I NEED all the colours!!!
What is the prize I hear you ask? Feast your eyes on this lovely lot! 

I wish I could enter!  

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 some photos from Last Sunday's walk at Whyming Brook Nature reserve, a 20 minute drive from Sheffield. It really is a most beautiful place...

Thanks for looking!