10th Birthday celebrations at Allsorts challenge

Morning Peeps, today it's a special Saturday at Allsorts as we are celebrating our 10th Birthday but it certainly doesn't seem that long since I nervously published my very first DT post!! And dear oh dear I shudder when I look back at what I was creating then and not an Oxide in sight..............

This is what I made for the challenge launch 16th May 2009 and seems one thing that hasn't changed is my addiction to Penny Black stamps

We have some really special prizes to give away and have kept the theme nice and simple it's 'Happy Birthday'.

It's another photo heave post as it's mid way post time at Penny Black and More and Stamping Sensations plus my 15 minute quick and simple cards for Chocolate Baroque. I tend to put them all in one post as I feel it's unfair to expect visitors who are probably already busy to go to several posts all on the same day.

My top card features a Chocolate Baroque image and one I made for a Hochanda TV show a while back. The image was stamped with Versafine Clair and coloured in, then some stencilling and a sentiment which is also CB and finally a few pearls.

And this one a lovely Penny Black Poppy stamp, I masked the edges and applied Distress Ink, stamped the Poppies inking them with Distress Markers, stencilled some polka dots, removed the masking tape and stamped the sentiment which is also PB plus a PB Dragonfly.

My Penny Black shares (I've not gone into detail on the following PB & CB shares but please do mail me if you want to know anything specific).............

My Stamping Sensations ones..........

And last but by no means least my Chocolate Baroque shares.........

I do hope you are going to join in our Birthday fun and look forward to visiting your entries, as always I will do my best to get to you all.

 

Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog.

Spring photos from the Fen

It's been a beautiful day here in the Fens so I spent an hour going round the paddocks and gardens to take some photos to share which makes this a rather picture heavy post.

At the top a close up of blossoms on the May (Whitethorn) bush below which is in the hedgerow of the top paddock. My Dad plated the entire hedge with Whitethorn whips about 35 years ago.

We have a lovely patch of Cowslips which were transplanted from one of Dad's pasture fields

One of several Horse Chestnuts, we plated 50 forest trees 35 years ago. And if the old saying "The Oak before the Ask and we shall have a splash, the Ash before the Oak and we shall have a soak" is right then it should be another good Summer as the Oaks are all in full leaf and the Ash way behind

Apple blossom

Clematis

Not sure what this one is in the courtyard encroaching through the Red Robin but it smells lovely

One of the standard Ceanothus 

A Viburnum.......and nosey Lab

Potentilla 

Another Ceanothus........and two more nosey Labs

One of several Choisya and really aromatic especially in the evening

I know it's only Ivy but something I love, it was transplanted from a Mothering Sunday basket probably 20 years ago and now covers two walls of the secret garden

And I though I would share a couple of photos of our 'road', when I tell people it's remote where we live they never quite understand what I mean. It's a single track road, the top one goes nowhere other than a neighbouring farm, the bottom one takes you two miles to village civilisation. 

We've an abundance of birds nesting and as soon I get sight of them taking their fledglings out and about I will try and get some photos, I'm especially hoping to catch the Bullfinches with their young as they usually bring them quite close to the house.

Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog.

Party time

Morning Peeps, Saturday again so time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week it's all about 'Transport' with Wendy and a super prize of a set of Hunkadory vehicle stamps from Clever Cut.

It's going to be a busy day here in the Fens, we are hosting one of our family days which we have every now and then, it's always nice to get everyone under one roof along with a good number of dogs who love the freedom of the gardens, probably ten in a variety of breeds. I wasn't confident I could cope with all the catering as I'm still not 100% so Waitrose are doing the honours, when I used them before for a party it was great having everything delivered all laid out and bowled up ready for the table.

So onto my DT makes and confess I was totally stumped for a stamp to use for this theme, I had a vague recollection of the Visible Image stamp but was unable to find it anywhere so I started with a tractor but hubby though was a tad tenuous to the theme, then this week I came across the elusive stamp. An oxide ink background, Chocolate Baroque cog wheels stamped in Versafine toffee, the vintage car stamped in the same ink, cut out and mounted on foam tape, some string and chipboard cogs.

And rather like buses this Penny Black image must have been miss-filed as it popped out of the 'people' drawer......were else would it be...........when I was having a re-organisation of my PB's. I have several drawers of wood mounted ones but my stash of brushstroke and unmounted sets have grown in the last year or two so two more draws have been dedicated to them and it's scary just how many PB's I actually have, some going right back to the early ones of the late 1990's. I simply stamped it and added a little colour, a Penny Black sentiment, some twine, matted and layered and finito.

Happy weekend all.

Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog.

In an English Country Garden

It's time for our  new challenges at Stamping Sensations and Penny Black and More where our themes are 'In an English Country Garden' and 'All things Feminine'. I am also posting over at the Chocolate Baroque blog today and you can see my shares further down making this a bit of a lengthy post so a cuppa or glass of something might be in order.

My top card used one of my favourite Penny Black images called Venetian Summer although on this occasion my elegant lady is on a trip to Paris. After stencilling the Parisian background I created a frame using some really old dies and repeat stamped PB Summer Dream around the top inking the stamp with Distress Markers. I stamped and coloured the lady, cut her out and placed her in the foreground.

The card above used Chocolate Baroque stamps from the Honey Bee set which is one of our prizes at Stamping Sensations this month, I did a bit of masking to add the Digitalis which I stamped with Versafine Clair, stamped the words Summer also a CB stamp and cut out a couple of stamped and coloured Bumble Bees.

This lovely bloom is another new release from PB, I adore all the Brushstroke stamps as they are so easy to use especially with a stamp platform as you can build up the colour, I have listed all products over at the PB&M challenge blog.

I know it's rather indulgent of me buying rather more than I dare to admit last month and have just taken delivery of another order from the most recent release, but in my defence when I was so ill in the Autumn and Winter I lost all interest in craft and didn't buy any new stamps or crafty goodies, so am making up for it now.........what a lame excuse!!

The above piece is the New Home card I made for our eldest Granddaughter and boyfriend (the wedding is planned for May next year so exciting planning going on) who recently bought their first house. All stamps are Chocolate Baroque and some from the other stamp set which forms part of this month's SS prize. As an avid Liverpool supporter I was mortified when she told me the name of the road she was moving to was Everton Road and if you look closely I couldn't resist putting beneath the name plate 'aka Anfield Road', she took it all in good humour. 

And now for my Chocolate Baroque creations from our show on Hochanda TV last month, details of all stamps and techniques used can be fond on the blog here.

Thanks for popping in to take a look, I always appreciate your visits and words of encouragement.

 

Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog.

Pretty in Pink

Morning Peeps, time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week Tracy is our host and has chosen the theme of 'Pretty in Pink'.  Our winner will receive a pretty set of floral layering stamps from Buddly Crafts.

Sorry I've been a tad quiet around your blogs this week but I've been knee deep in design team samples for upcoming Hochanda TV shows, can't spill too many beans yet other than to say Pete Simpson of Artisan Designs has some stunning new floral stamps and sentiments and Ken Moody also has a new release later this month. And Lesley from Chocolate Baroque will be back on our screen on Monday and Tuesday, if I tell you I ended up with 25 samples you will know I enjoyed working with the stamps.................and just maybe there is a Poppy or two!!

I was going floral but had a Fairy moment one day and came up with this. After creating the base card using a score board and a circle die I used Oxide Inks to create the background on the mat panels which I cut slightly smaller. Then stamped the scene using a mainly Lavinia stamps with the exception of the small Hare which is Inkylicious and the bottom border which is Chocolate Baroque. All stamping is done with Versafine Black and the pink Versafine Clair.

And here are the tags I made to go in with our Birthday prizes when they are posted out, those who have been a winner at any of my challenges will know that I always tuck a little gift card or tag inside the package, so I made an extra batch and tried to keep them mostly pink to fit Tracy's theme. Oxide ink backgrounds, tags cut with a TL die, Lavinia Fairy's and also an Inkylicious one and lots of stencilling.

In two weeks on 18th May we will be celebrating Allsorts 10th Birthday and have a two week challenge planned. We think it's quite an achievement to reach our milestone so are making the challenge rather special with some really fabulous prizes so please do grab the logo above and help us spread the word.

 

Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog.

Artisan Design funky flowers for Allsorts

Morning Peeps, Saturday again so time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week Mervi is our host and as it's Mothers Day in many parts of the World she would like to see 'Feminine creations'. We have two lovely Woodware stamps for this weeks lucky winner. It's also my turn to post over at the Chocolate Baroque blog today and you can see my creation further down.

My thanks to all for their enquiries as to how my treatment went at hospital last week. I have to say it wasn't as bad as I thought, 32 injections in your head and face can never be pleasant but it was over quickly. If the treatment works then I should see some benefit in a few weeks although it could be longer, in other words not an instant fix! And if it does, then whilst it won't get rid of my migraines completely, to have half the month free of them would be wonderful and I'll happily go back every twelve weeks for the same.

My top card is another of the recent Hochanda TV samples I created for Pete Simpson on Artisan Design using the Funky Flowers, I confess I'm not sure which if the sets these come from as the eight came to me direct from pressing and ended up getting them all rather muddled and am yet to organise them into the appropriate sets. And keep a look out in May as Pete has some more beautiful stamps on their way.

After colouring oddments of card with Distress Oxides I stamped with sentiments from the sets using a slightly darker ink, dried and then stamped the flowers with Versamark and heat embossed with detail white EP and cut out. Using Pan Pastels I created a background and placed behind a die cut frame and placed the flower over the frame onto 'stems' made of coiled up jewellers wire. Finally again using Versamark and white EP I stamped and cut our some leaves from the sets, placed across the bottom and added a shrink plastic Butterfly which is Chocolate Baroque.

This one is a Chocolate Baroque make also for Hochanda TV, the beauty about working with such wonderful quality stamps (and Pete's are also manufactured by CB) is that the ideas just keep flowing with the result I always end up with far more samples that I need for the Chocolate Baroque blog.

After distressing the tag with inks and stencils I stamped the dressmakers mannequin with Versamark black, masked across the bottom and added a stand from another of the stamps in the same show to extend it down the tag. Next I gathered up some pale blue tulle and fixed on the skirt with a bow, a button cut out from another stamp set in the show and a little dress hanger embellishment which I seem to have had for years, seam binding and a Little Birdie Rose.

And now for my Chocolate Baroque creations from our recent shows on Hochanda TV, full details of the stamps and techniques I used can be found on the blog here.

Happy weekend all.

 

Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog.