Lovely papers and some photos

I popped onto Pink Petticoat's website to look at their gallery, and found they had a sale on. This set of 'Perfect' papers, twenty four in all, were just £1.25! Bargain! I bought some more too, which no doubt you will see very soon. I teamed them up with a Waltzing Mouse frame cut with Nestie labels 18. The Butterfly is an old Elusive Images/ Chocolate Baroque one coloured with promarkers.

 At Allsorts this week they are having a Free and Easy February, so I've decided to enter it into their challenge.
Well, I've got a week off school, so I'm going to indulge myself with a bit of crafting this week. Best place to be in this weather! I drove up to see my Dad for a couple of hours this afternoon and couldn't resist stopping to take a few photos. There is something about  the light on days like today that I just love.

Thanks for looking!
P.S. I'm feeling very honoured that Chrissie and Mandi of  "Less is More" chose my card as one of the showCASe cards for week 52.

A quick post

 I have managed to make a few simple valentine cards this week, so I thought I would share them with you.

I used a Crafty Individuals stamp for the heart and the writing stamp is from Inkylicious. I used antique linen and Victorian Velvet distress inks.

This uses the same writing stamp with an elusive images heart. Sorry about the strange angle of the photo!

 My final two are both very similar using Inkylicious stamps and an embossed heart. I used mainly wild honey distress ink on the central strip. The paper that the hearts are made from is some very old sugar paper that I used to line the inside of my 'spraying box'. It is mainly Crafty Notions creative colour sprays that I used on it in a vast range of colours and it saved my carpet from getting splattered! The sentiment on the second is from Elusive images/ chocolate baroque, stamped in versamark and brushed with cosmic shimmer.

I wanted to pop into blog land for a bit this evening to let you know that my visit are a little sporadic at the moment as Mum in law passed away on Monday. It is very sad, but now she is at peace, and we can start to remember her as she was before the dementia.
Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and for visiting me, even when I'm not able to visit you.

In the Garden with Sir Stampalot

Good morning! Hope this Sunday morning you are snuggled up warm and safe indoors! I think most of us got a fair amount of snow yesterday, and for once the forecasters got it right.  At Sir Stampalot, as it is the first Sunday of the month, it is time for a new challenge. To get you all thinking of Spring and Summer (and better weather!) we have chosen the theme  

In the Garden. 

Here is my offering.

 I made a tunnel card using mainly Art Impressions clear set for projects 1-3. This set is in the sale at stampalot at the moment so it is a bargain! I also used a few leaves from Lavinia, a butterfly from Chocolate Baroque, and a few tiny flowers from a See-D's set called springtime collection. The whole thing is stamped and coloured with a mixture of Distress, Adirondack and Memento inks. It is so hard to capture the 3d-ness of it in a photo. 

What is the prize I hear you say... feast your eyes on this lovely lot!

Isn't it a fabulous prize? Well, all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning it is to make something inspired by a garden and enter it into the challenge (with no more than 5 other challenge entries). Pop over to the challenge blog for some inspiration from my lovely teamies.
Thanks for looking!

Less is more - sketch

The challenge at Less is More this week is a sketch and I have to tell you this is my third attempt. I tried a variety of strips of patterned paper, but it just didn't look right. In the end I got my trusty dusters out and came up with this.

 I used Adirondack inks in sunshine yellow, sunset orange and espresso, along with distress ink in Tea dye. The stamp is from Inkylicious and is called Willow twigs. The sentiment is also from Inkylicious. I was trying to recreate one of those yellow sunrises you sometimes get this time of year, but I think the colour is a bit strong for that. Thanks for looking and I hope I will find the time to pay you a return visit. Steve had another operation on his knee today, so I am working from home tomorrow to keep an eye on him, and make sure he stays sitting down with his leg elevated.

Made it back to the snippet playground

It is a while since I joined in with Di's snippet challenge. I've had some carefully selected snippets waiting for me to do something with for well over a week, but I must have been naughty, because I ended up doing extra work with no time for play! Anyway, I'm joining my playmates again with this little number.

I've got a feeling that the stripy paper is K & Co, but I really don't know the other one. I think it could date back to 1997! The text stamp is from Crafty Individuals and stamped in versamark with cosmic shimmer powders brushed over. The Butterfly (Elusive images) is stamped in Currant Adirondack and layered up. 

 The top layer was heat embossed with kaleidoscope embossing powder. What I do is ink up my stamp with versamark, then apply the Adirondack on top of the versamark, then stamp and then put the embossing powder on. After heating it looks like this.

Very sparkly! I wasn't sure if it needed anything else, but decided to leave it as it is in the end. Hope Miss Di is pleased with my behaviour! Well, thanks for looking and I hope you have a great week!

Steve's birthday and a waltzing Mouse sketch

Today is my lovely Hubby's birthday, so we have just been out for lunch. Here is the card I made for him using a Sheena Stamp.

The papers are from a K & Co 6x6 pad kindly given to me by my lovely friend Milena. The fern leaves are hiding where I accidentally dropped the ink pad on the card! I coloured the image with distress inks. 

My next card is a little fussy for my taste, but it may well be a wedding anniversary card for my nephew.

I had been experimenting stamping patterns with waltzing mouse stamps and distress inks (Victorian Velvet and bundled sage) I decided to use it for the front of a card when I saw this week's Waltzing Mouse sketch.

All stamps are from Waltzing Mouse except the heart which was from Crafty Individuals.

Well, thanks for looking and I hope to see you again soon.

How long?!

I can't believe how long it is since I posted last! Truth is I think Mr Mojo is having a little holiday. I have made a few bits and bobs, but I'm not particularly happy with them. I even resorted to reworking a couple of cards I'd already made for an order. Anyway, here are two that didn't end up in the bin!

 This first one uses papers from my Artylicious Essence of Nature cd and an Aspects of design stamp. The sentiment is computer generated.

This second one feels like a bit of a cheat really because the paper was a freebie from Glenda Waterworth and the only stamp was the sentiment from Paula Pascual. The spellbinders border and ornate circle are from the Parisienne accents set.
Thanks for looking and I hope I will come up with something half decent soon. If you happen to see my mojo please send it back here!

Less is more birds

The theme at Less is More this week is birds and it needs to be a one layer card. I had a major reorganisation of my stamps over the Christmas holiday and rediscovered a sheet of Elusive Images stamps with lots of birds on, so I used those on my first card.

The ink dusting and stamping were done with big and juicy soothing sunset. I added a tiny bit of cotton candy distress stickles to the berries and the pattern on the bird.  Having seen Chrissie's and Mandi's cards this week I decided to take some inspiration from Chrissie's scene card on her blog and came up with this.

The landscape stamp is from stamp addicts and the bird of prey is from Inkylicious. I stamped all of it in Chipped Sapphire distress ink and  dragged colour onto the image with a damp paintbrush. I also added a hint of colour to the sky with my ink dusters. This was my second attempt, but I rescued the first by doing this with it (no birds, because I smudged the ink!)

both of these cards would be suitable for the stampalot challenge too, where the theme is monochrome. Have you seen the prize for stampalot this month? Feast your eyes on this little lot!

Isn't it a gorgeous colour combination?

Well, I'd better go as my niece and her boyfriend will be arriving shortly and we are going to go for a walk near Clumber park. Hopefully we will see lots of birds whilst we are out. Thanks for looking and I will hopefully get round to visiting you during the week.

Purple, snippets and paper piecing

I have made a few more cards this weekend. Thought I would try and squeeze in a few challenges before going back to school.
First up is my offering for this week's Less is More where the theme is 'predominantly purple' - one of my favourite colours incidentally.

I used ink dusters to make the background with purple twilight and eggplant adirondack ink. I then stamped the plant (indigo blu) with eggplant and added a bit of stickles to the flowers.
Next up is my snippet creation for this week.

I used snippets of snippets from last week's card and a larger piece that has been lurking for a couple of years I think! the flowers (Hero Arts) were stamped and cut from another snippet too, with added stickles.

 I coloured the centre of the flower with a promarker. If you want to join in with your snippets pop over to Pixie's crafty Snippets challenge.
Finally I have also completed some paper piecing for this week's theme at Allsorts.

This was done with snippets too. This fabulous Woodware Poppy was a Christmas present from a lovely friend.
Well, it is back to work tomorrow, so don't be surprised if it is a while before I post again! Thanks for looking!

Some snippet makes

I have been having a major sort out. My snippets are now all together, lots of my unmounted stamps are in A5 folders and I'm just waiting on a delivery of eze-mount before I continue. I had some lovely images I had coloured in before Christmas and found the perfect papers to complement them amongst my snippets.
First another Hobby art scene coloured with aqua markers and distress inks. Not sure where the papers are from (other than my snippet drawer!)

Next were some stamps I got free on the front of a magazine (Quick cards made easy). I stamped and coloured these on Christmas eve, but hadn't done anything with them. They go pretty well with the snippets of Pink Petticoat papers I found.

These remind me of one of my Christmas presents - a gift box of tea.

Aren't the boxes so pretty?
I'm entering all three of my cards into Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge, who has taken over the keys from the lovely Jules. Hey, Di - do you think those boxes would count as snippets?! Thanks for looking. I'm off to drink some afternoon tea!

Happy New Year

We spent yesterday walking through Sherwood Forest blowing a few cobwebs out and getting some much needed fresh air and exercise. The weather was perfect for a stroll, although the wind was a bit chilly, so it was good we were wrapped up. The afternoon sun gave everything a warm glow and I took a few photos of trees  and wildlife. I was particularly please with my Nuthatch.

These next photos of the river Meden are so different  to how it looked five years ago. Subsidence and flooding have created a permanent lake on both sides of the bridge.

 I am sure most of you are aware of my fascination with trees (stamps and real ones), and this area of Sherwood Forest has some beauties. It probably looks much as it did several hundred years ago, with no pylons, telegraph wires or buildings as far as the eye can see. It probably doesn't look that much like a forest to most - more heathland, I suppose.

I love this particular tree. It reminds me of the one on 'Who do they think they are?'
I had a great day, and aim to do more walking (and bird watching) in 2012, with my family. What else, though? I aim to try and lose a few pounds, although I hope to do it by more exercise and more sensible eating, as well as getting a bit more sleep, rather than dieting. On a crafting level I aim to use what I have got more, which may lead to buying a bit less - who knows? I have also decided to share the card making I do for work with another crafter, so hopefully allowing a bit more time for less directed creativity. I want to try and keep my desk tidier and finish more things before I start the next! You wouldn't believe the half made efforts I uncovered during my mass tidy on Christmas eve.
No cards in this post, but I will be back (probably tomorrow) with a few, I'm sure.
Happy New year to you all. May it be healthy, prosperous and full of wonderful things (particularly of a crafting nature) x

Happy Monochrome New Year at Sir Stampalot

Good Morning and a Happy New Year to you. Today is the start of a new Challenge at Sir Stampalot where the theme is Monochrome, and by this we mean your choice what colour you work with so long as your card is all in shades of the same colourway (you can of course use white cardstock).

I went for shades of Blue, in fact it is all done with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink.  The central scene is stamped on to water colour paper and the sky was done with ink dusters. I used a water brush to pull a little bit of colour from the stamped images. The images are all from the Hobby Art Scene it coastal set and the Harbour set. The background was created with Hero Arts Antique flower design block.
The card flourishes were cut with a Marianne Design Die. The card candy and charm were from my stash, but I found this lovely set of Nautical charms on Stampalot's website that I will be buying very soon. 

The prize this month is a fabulous surprise... hand selected by the lovely Janice. I am sure you will love it!

I am really looking forward to visiting you and seeing your lovely creations. Pop over to the Stampalot challenge blog and look at the fabulous inspiration from the Design team. 
thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments.