More La Blanche and Stampscapes

Hello everyone, hope you all had a good weekend. I want to say a big thank you to all you kind people who still come to visit, desipte me being unable to visit you. I really do appreciate it.

So just a couple of quick shares........"quick" seems to be my word of the moment, but the evil screen still plays havod with my eyes and balance......or it could be the other way round ? I rather think so, such is the nature of this illness.

The card above uses a number of Stampscape stamps onto a brayered and masked background and the card below is another of my samples for Sir Stampalot using the gorgeous new La Blanche stamps which I coloured with Copics and covered with a couple of coats of TH crackle glaze. DP is My Minds Eye and the flower made with TH tattered floral die

A special lady

Debs is hosting the challenge at Allsorts this week and has given us the theme of "for a Special Lady".

It's all a bit special for me with this one as it was the first entire card I created following my enforced craft and blogging retreat and I admit I was thrilled to have actually completed a whole card that I was passable happy with........I know little things and all that, but I so missed being involved in all things crafty.

The image is one I bought at Stamperama by B Line Designs, the company is totally new to me but I just loved the romantic image called Travellers.....I think they are in Italy.......just my romantic notion because it's where I most love to be.

I stamped the image with versafine black and embossed with detail clear, then masked the image and sun and brayered the sky with Adirondack dye inks and coloured the images lightly with Copics. The swirl is Hero Arts S5449 and the sentiment Hero Arts CL278 which I thought was perfect for the title of the theme. Finally I scribbled a freehand line around the image and added some swarovski crystals.....yes this does mean the card will be used for someone special........ flowers and punched leaves. This also fits the following challengres:

Craft your Days Away - For a special lady

Scrapbook Sisters - Anything goes

Crafts and Me - Anything goes

And this is my very last DT piece for Stamptacular Sunday having decided to step down..........much as I have loved working with all the girls, something has to give.

A pretty basic creation because it's such a beautiful stamp that it does not need much embellishment so as not to detract from the beauty of the picture. The image is Magenta 15276N stamped with Versafine black and embossed with detail clear, then coloured with Copics. I used a piece of mount board for stamping so that I could cover with several layers of UTEE to give a lovely glazed panel. This is also for the following challenge:

Delicious Doodles - Floral Fantasy

Win a little spending spree

Hello peeps, as promised a little something for all my lovely blogland friends. If I can't visit you, at least I can say thank you with some candy.

This time it's a chance to have a little spending spree.......your choice of whatever you want with a £30 voucher from Sir Stampalot......with so many new products hitting their website every day you will be spoilt for choice.....and they ship worldwide.

And as usual to spread the love a bit further, I will ask Mr Random Org to select a couple more names who I will send something crafty as well.

There are the same simple candy rules as usual, you are a follower and that you add my candy to your blog sidebar with a link back here to help spread the word, plus of course leave your name with Mr Linky below.

The candy is open to all and if you don't have a blog you can still enter, just make sure you leave a comment with your e.mail addy or mail me saying you would like to be included, then I can contact you if you win. The candy will run until midnight GMT 25th April.

Labrador parade and C&C reminder

Back left, Buffy....Peter Pan of the canine world.......at ten she still thinks she's one. Next to her Abbey, now eleven and in the front placid Lily on the left and sister Daisy who is still hyper as ever.

I've been promising this for so long and eventually I got a picture of the puppies together with the senior girls.....no boys allowed in this one.

There's a bit of a red theme going on here it seems, although not planned that way. The card above is another of my samples for Stamp Addicts new programme on Create and Craft this Thursday, 24th March at 11am. My card is watercoloured with Aquamarkers, cut with Grand Nestie labels one and the poppy made with TH tattered floral die.

And this one using one of the gorgeous La Blanche stamps I told you about last week here where you can see a close of of one of these rather different stamp which are available from Sir Stampalot. Also coloured with Aquamarkers and the background stamp is Hero Arts S5264.

Happy crafting everyone.

Thank you kind people

Hello all, I just want to say a huge thank for all your lovely words and understanding regarding the content of my post on Friday and I would like to share the words Elaine left me:

People who mind don't matter and people who matter don't mind

Such a simple quote, yet it has so much meaning........I did check with Elaine that I could share and she tells me she had no idea of it's origin, so being of inquisitive nature it set me on a hunting expedition.

It appears to be attributed to Prerna Chikersal of India and I found this quote dated 1993 "I am Prerna Chikersal (16 y.o.) studying in Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, I write all sorts of poems". I checked out the poems and wow, what talent !

Pandoras box

Good morning everyone......scheduled ahead so it should be when this pops up........ it's time for this weeks challenge at Allsorts where Helene would like us to make a gift box.

I really enjoyed making the box which I created using a scoring tool and ruler, covered with some DP from stash, ribbon, lace and decorated the top with flowers.

By coincidence, my Pandora bracelet fits inside a treat although that was not the original plan. Not many charms on it as yet, but only had it at Christmas so time to fill it a bit more and there certainly are some pretty ones I have my eye on.

My second share is my last but one DT peice for Stamptacular Sunday where the them is "Are you Talking to Me". I embossed a panel with a Cuttlebug folder after stamping with Penny Black 2695J and then lightly inked with distress inks to emphasise the embossing. The poppy is Hero Arts coloured with Copics.

A very difficult post

Good afternoon all my blogland friends.

This an an extremely difficult post for me to write and one I have been pondering on for weeks, but I don't think I can put it off any longer.

Lots of you know that I have been suffering a relapse of my MS since early January and was out of proper blogland action for several weeks. Although I am much better than I was and can get about again, albeit a bit like I've had a few too many some days, as always tends to be the case with this horrid condition, every time you get a relapse, some parts of you never quite go back to where they were before the relapse.

I am still finding working on the keyboard very difficult and this is further hampered by my poor balance and eye issues which are always the part of me that suffers lingering symptoms of optic neuritis, double vision and the inability to focus on the screen for any period of time. So of course I still can't drive my dear little car either which really clips my wings.

Now this part may sound like a cop out, but I can still craft reasonably well thank goodness, otherwise I would be climbing the walls and I am so grateful to Stampalot and Stamp Addicts for feeding my addiction and keeping me occupied these last few weeks...........more samples in the coming days.

And although close detail work such as colouring is still hard some days, working on larger pieces, inking and so on which don't require the same level of intensity are OK and where I have been concentrating most of my activity. And I do have a couple of demos coming up.......sitting is what I do best now, so at least I can still share some crafty interaction.

So I guess some of you will have already guessed where I am going here and hope you will understand that I have to be realistic about all of this and balance my time effectively. I have already reduced some of my DT commitments and am sticking with those I have been associated with for a long while now, Allsorts which I have been part of since day one, along with Stampalot and Penny Black at Allsorts monthly challenges, both of which I am proud to run. My fellow DT's are wonderful girls and I love working with them all.

This brings me to the bottom line and as much as I love visiting you all and so appreciate each and every one of your visits and comments here, I have to accept that for the time being at least, my blog activities are going to be limited to DT work and visiting entrants to those three challenges.

I will still share some work as and when........but the posts are likely to be short so that I can concentrate my 'screen' activities effectively. I so hope you will all understand and know that I am not ignoring you, just that for once, much as I hate the idea, common sense has to prevail, at least for the time being.

Great value new stamp range

(Stamped with versafine black, embossed with detail clear, coloured with a mixture of Copics and Aquamarkers and diamond glaze added to the flowers. The DP is one of the scrummy new ones from My Minds Eye)

OK folks, don't go into shock because I am doing two posts in one day..........quite remarkable after the lack of activity of late..........but it's only going to be short so I don't spend too long on the offending keyboard.

But I have been such a luck girl to get to play with some of the beautiful new La Blanch stamps and have to share..................you can find a whole range of them here at Sir stampalot.

(Stamped with archival black ink onto 600gsm Fabriano Atristico watercolour car and coloured with Aquamarkers. DP is Magnolia. Sentiment is PB 4070F)

Typically the weather has been dull all day here in the Fens and not the best of light for taking photos, so some are a bit on the gloomy side.

These new stamps are very different to any other I have ever worked with and when I first picked one up I though hmmmmmmm........here's a picture of what they look like close up.............

But wow, I need not have worried, they stamp beautifully. I have tried them with a variety of different inks, embossed with detail clear and even inking the stamp and spritzing. And the price is fabulous, check them out.

Above are the three on the cards in this post. They are all pretty fine detailed but stamp superbly - stamped above with versafine black.

(Inked stamp with Aquamraker and spritzing before stamping onto watercolour card. Sentiment is from one of the new Hero Arts sets which are shipping shortly)

This one was a really good test of the stamps, but again I got excellent result.

So in conclusion I can full recommend the stamps both for quality and value for money. Any questions about the specifics on any of my cards please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk

Change of date for Create and Craft

Good Morning peeps, a 'short and sweet' post as lots of you told me you had the date in your diary...................Sara has just let us know that the date for Stamp Addicts next new live programme on Create and Craft has been moved to 11am on 24th March.

The card above is another of the samples I made for the programme and there is one below using the gorgeous Gypsy caravan I have been banging on about.......can you tell I love it ? The one above uses the good old Speedball to brayer with Adirondack inks, some masking, stamping with Stamp Addicts Scenic stamp sets and sponging to create the furrows and rays of the sun.

Incy Wincy - For the boys

This card is one I just made for fun with Penny Black 40-024 Rain or Shine, colouring with Copics and Nitwits DP. The butterfly is one of Geraldine's lovely pieces of work which you will find at Little Snippets here.

This fits the following challenges:

Bunny Zoes - Birthdays and pearls
Creative Friends - Lace
Creative Craft - Lace
Lollipop Crafts - Let's make it with lace
Cupcake - Up in the air (butterfly)

And this is 'the' Gypsy caravan, isn't it a delight ? I stamped the caravan, then masked to stamp the hills and other elements which are all on the stamp set, then coloured with Aquamarkers. This fits the following challenge:

Jac inks - Masking

More TV samples and brayering

Hi all, apologies for the lack of activity this week, I still seem to be struggling and inordinately slow at everything, so apart from DT commitments that's about it on the blogland front.

Although I am crating fine now and making cards for England, work on the keyboard remains a real effort as my dexterity seems all awry still............luckily messing about with ink and paint does not show the 'oh dear I didn't mean to do that' bits.......and there is a good bit of that going on. At least doing a post gives the opportunity of time to properly review what's written and amend all the typos, but a quick chase round blogland leaves me utterly embarrassed when I see my comments on display. So peeps, I hope you will understand why I am not about in blogland too much still.

But at least I have some shares today.......top card and another down the bottom of this post.......are sneak peeks at some of my samples for Stamp Addicts new programme which is live on Create and Craft on 21st March at 11am. The scenic, transport and Gypsy caravan stamps have been a joy to work with, all are available to buy on their website....check the what's new section. I will share some more with you over the next few days.

We have a new challenge at Allsorts.........and I confess that when I saw the theme Amanda had chosen........'Luck of the Irish' I went totally blank and all I could come up with were leprechauns and four leaf clovers, none of which I have in stamps. Then I though green, so that's the route I have gone down with my card above.

My image is one of the new Sara Burrier stamps from Crafts and Me called Mourning, isn't she Divine ? The name suggests she is intended for sympathy cards, but I think her uses are far wider. She is coloured with Copics and the border around the image is stamped with Hero Arts F5042 Leaf Flourish. The DP is Magnolia and flowers and a swirl to embellish. The easel card was made with a new die from Go Create, they come in sets of three and are ideal for making base cards and matching mats as they are all larger than most of the nesties, but not quite as huge as the grand nesties.

Shabby Tearooms - Luck of the Iish
Crazy Challenges - Lovely ladies
Southern Girls - Use flowers

Charisma Cards - Easel card

Wags 'n Whiskers - More than one fold

Delicious Doodles - Use green

The card above is my DT piece for this weeks Stamptacular Sunday challenge........I got it a bit wrong last week, I really did think that was my last week but forgot I had already uploaded a couple more ready for the remainder of March........I tell you the lifts still not going to the top floor some days.

So a bit of simple brayering here with Adirondack dye inks, the good old Speedball brayer and Stampscape stamps. The sentiment is from a Sheena Douglass set which I thought went well with the little scene which was created using a circle mask.........sort of in reverse........I cut a large circle in a sheet of A4 on the Cricut then brayered and stamped through the aperture using several different stamps.

Oh la la - It's a mans thing

Moving Along with the Times - Card for a Male

Creative Card Crew - No flowers

Crazy for challenges - A tree on your card

And another of the cards I created for Stamp Addicts new show which I told you about above. I thought this was perfect for:

Res Q Challenge - A touch of pink

Thank you Mrs Patterson

Kirsten is our host at Allsorts this week and would like us to make some thing suitable for a teenager.

Always a difficult age group to create for I think, so checked with Anysia who's pushing nineteen and her answer was "well, OK for a youngish teenager", so I figure that's about as much confirmation as I am likely to get. I guess the sentiment says's it all.....how right Harry Enfield always was when he depicted that age group.............."thank you Mrs Patterson".........tell me I'm not that old and the only one who remembers that character ?

So on to my card, the image is one of the more recent Crafts and Me Hannah Lynn stamps called Frosted Rose which I coloured with Copics. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts sets called Whatever and the DP is Nitwits with borders punched with Martha Stewart Embossed Scallop. This card is also for the following:

ABC challenge - P is for pink

Alphabet Challenge - R is for ribbons

Pixie Dust - Seeing polka dots

Next for our new challenge at Stamptacular Sunday - "You lucky Duck" - not nothing to do with duck's actually, we would like to see good luck, congratulations or best wishes on projects.

My card was made as a good luck card for a colleague leaving work to have a baby. The lovely flower image is Penny Black 4042K Daisy Fields, inked with TH fired brick and spritzed with water before stamping onto a background stamped with Hobby Art GR1341F Shakespeare Sonnet.....I also stamped the leading edge of the base card with this. The punched border is made from Kaiser DP which I also used to make the green roses, the larger flower is Magnolia.

This will be my last post for Stamptacular Sunday as I have decided to reduce my DT's until I feel fully able to cope with typing and blogland again. I have enjoyed working with Priscilla and the team, they have such wonderful themes so perhaps I can join in their challenges now and then.

And last but by no means least, a couple of 'Scrap' card for my mate Jules who is on a mission to get us to use up our odds and sods. And my two here are just that, offcuts of DP, cardstock and ribbon and the stamps was a freebie, so I recon these fit the bill perfectly. The above card is for:

Stamping for the Weekend - Spring

Fab 'n Funky - Spring into action

Finally, don't forget that we have Spring themes running at both Stampalot and Penny Black at Allsorts challenges and some awesome prizes on offer.

Brayers in action again

Stamp Addicts Scenic Stamp Set

Hello folks, just a short post.....yes I am still being good so it will be limited to just some pictures...............some of the brayering I have been up to and another peek at some of the fabby stamps available from Stamp Addicts that will be showcased on their next live programme on 21st March. This is for the following challenge:

Crafts us Crazy - Be one with Nature

Stamps from Stampscapes and Art Impression

Driving is still a no no and the keyboard remains a struggle, but I am able to sit and craft reasonably well now, in fact I think I have been making cards for England this last week and have an abundance to share. This is for the following challenge:

Cards for Men - Water

Try it on Tuesdays - Song - Seven Seas of Rhye - Queen

Good old Penny Black

This one is for the following challenges:

Creative Inspirations - In the garden

Scrapbook Sisters - Spring

Cute Card Thursday - Signs of Spring

Everybody Art - Spring

Delightful Challenges - Welcome Spring

One Stitch at a Time - Card for mom

Spring is all around us

Good Morning peeps, it is I.......... here in person........my first proper post unaided for six weeks, wow what progress indeed.

I am pleased to say I really do seem to be headed in the right direction now, this relapse seems to have been very slow going, but everything crossed the progress will continue. I have told myself that I must still proceed with caution and not do my usual and throw myself back into things all at once, but I do intend getting round you all bit by bit a.s.a.p.

It's perfect timing really as today we have new challenges at Stampalot and Penny Black at Allsorts. And before I tell you about this months themes, I want to say a great big thank you to my design teams at both challenges for holding the fort whilst I have been MIA. You have all done a fabulous job girls, please accept my thanks for being so supportive.....a further thank you as well to all my blogland friends for all their wonderful support and visits here, although I have not been able to be active I have read your comments and each and every one is appreciated.

OK back to business and it will probably come as no surprise that the themes at both challenges are pretty similar.........I make no apologies as Spring is my favourite time of year and I never fail to be amazed by the wonders of Nature bursting into life as if by magic after the long dormant winter months.

So at Penny Black at Allsorts it is simply "Welcome Spring" and at Stampalot "Spring is in the Air".

It's a theme I could make dozens of cards for, but I whittled it down to just two for Stampalot but using the same set of stamps, the little girls is Art Impression T3093 and tree branches and fence are both Magnolia. In both cases I masked the little girl and then stamped the fence twice to extend it. Both are coloured with Aquamarkers and the DP's are offcuts which I think are Doodlebug. The top card is also for the following challenge:

Wild Orchid - Anything goes

Die Cut Dreams - Spring garden scene

Stamp Scrap Doodle - Easel card

Crazy Challenges - Here comes Spring

Now a couple for Penny Black at Allsorts. The one above is fairly plain and simple to show off the gorgeous flower and sentiment stamps. I started with a piece of silk cardstock and masked the edges and brayered Adirondack lake mist to the bottom corner, then with the masks still in place stamped the flowers, inking the stamps Penny Black 3587K Jonquil with distress inks and spritzing with water before stamping (as it's a coated cardstock you need to be careful as the wetness of the stamp can make it slip and blur). The sentiment is PB 3096K Host of Daffodils.

I then laid a post it note inside the edge masking before removing it to reveal the white edges and brayered the two corners with Adirondack sunshine yellow and overstamped with Hero Arts F5042F Leaf Flourish......this must be the most used worker stamp in my collection. Finally I squiggled a freehand line round to frame it the central stamping. This card is also for the following challenge:

By the Cute and Girly - Spring
Incy Wincy - Spring is in the air

My second PB card uses Penny Black 4039K Candid coloured with Aquamarkers and shaded round the edges with TH Mustard Seed. The sentiment is Hobby Art GR223. The DP is Jillybean. I stamped the flower heads twice more and added to one of the steps of the card, along with some borders punched with MS embossed scallop. The above cards is also for the following challenges:

CES - Flowers and flutterbys
Crazy 4 Challenges - Flowers