Springtime in all it's Glory

Morning Peeps, time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week I am hosting the theme of Spring, a season I am so looking forwarding to and already there are lots of signs it's well on it's way, snowdrops have been out for weeks as have the daffodils and crocuses. We have a very fitting die and embossing set for this weeks winner.

Been one of those weeks, the Internet was down last weekend, that took my desktop computer out with it so I was without one until Tuesday when then new one arrived, was ready to get that set up that evening when my kidney problems kicked in again.......sooooo annoyed as they've been behaving  since they put those things on hold while the other issues were going on, so I'm back on that merry-go-round again and waiting for another CT scan.

Anyhow, my Spring card, they are ones that I always enjoy creating and as I often do I reached for some favourite Penny Black stamps, stamping first a background using Versafine Clair inks and the the main image again using the same inks and repeat stamping the Daffodils and lovely William Wordsworth poem which is a really old PB stamp which I have had for years and comes out year after year.

Do pop over to the challenge blog and see what my team mates have created and also I do hope you will join us this week.

 

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New floral stamps and mid month shares

Good morning to you all, as well as my mid month shares for Penny Black and More and Stamping Sensations I have a few of my creations coming up in a show on Hochanda TV tomorrow, it's been my pleasure to work with the new floral designs from the very talented artist Pete Simpson of Artisan Design so if you are a fan of all things floral I sooooo hope you will tune in. I have to say I was blown away by the designs and the sentiments in my view fill a romantic void in the crafty market.

 

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Coffee and walnut cake and a lavendar cushion

Morning Peeps, time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week Mervi is our host and would like to see 'Cooking, Baking, Kitchen' themed creations, our winner will receive a set of Gingerbread stamps. 

The lavender cushion, well I could have made a lavender cake I guess but I do have a coffee cake to fit the theme which you can see further down and find out about the cushion and also some Chocolate Baroque Hochanda TV shares so a bit of a photo heavy post.

I admit to being totally stumped with this theme, I did have a Penny Black stamp that would have fitted the theme very well, but it wasn't really me and after one inking gave it away to a crafty friend, so I came up with the idea of creating a wedding cake with card, ribbon and flowers, simple as that really, what more can I say!

And an offering of a coffee and walnut cake for family afternoon tea.

And I really should have shared my lavender cushion which you will see at the top last week, it was one I made with one of the new Chocolate Baroque fabric panels which Lesley showcased on Hochanda recently, they are made from the most beautiful fine silk cotton fabric which takes colour so well, I used a mixture of watered down acrylic paint an coffee....espresso of course.......and then edged my cushion with some pears which I sewed on by hand and of course filled with lavender gathered from the garden last Summer.

I am also sharing my 15 minute cards from today's post over at the the Chocolate Baroque blog, for this months posts I made a little gift box of note cards and decorated envelopes using the Perfumery stamps which featured in the January shows on Hochanda. For all of my shares I used Versafine Clair inks, I find them ideal for these cards as the inks do all the talking making without the need for any or little colouring in which suite me just fine.

Happy weekend all.

 

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A frosty London morning

Morning Peeps, time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week I am your host. The theme I have chosen is 'Winter Sparkle' and this weeks winner will receive a bundle of all things sticky and sparkly from Stix2.

I have created a scene using a few Art Impression stamps, a skyline stencil and a sunray stencil stamping the scene first, adding soft shading with Pan Pastels then using a glue stick through the sun ray stencil, removing it and sprinkling glitter to create the illusion of sun rays..........making sure I washed the stencil quickly afterwards before the glue dried! My thinking it's London on a cold frosty morning but by all means let your imagination run where your mind takes you.

Do pop over to the challenge blog to see the inspiration my lovely teamies have on display.

 

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So it looks like Poppies all the way

It's time for our  new challenges at Stamping Sensations and Penny Black and More where our themes are 'All things bright and BEAUtiful' and 'Anything Goes with an option of Tags'. As always there are wonderful prizes to be won at both and at the latter there is a slight twist with prizes so please do check it out on the challenge blog. 

For my Penny Black and More piece at the top I used a Bee Crafty monolith tag base which I adore working with, covered it with gesso, acrylic paints and crackle glaze and some flourishes using texture paste and some gilding wax to add highlights. Then I decoupaged an arrangement of Poppies from the beautiful Penny Black 40-613 Parade of Flowers.

For this one I created an Oxide ink background and stamped Bee Crafty's  BEAUtanicals Poppy along with some background textures, coloured the Poppy........this is a Himalayan one I guess judging by the colour I've gone with and some twine to finish.

Added on Thursday: Rather late to the party due to all this silly illness stuff so hope I'm not breaking any backlink rules but would love to add my thanks to Miss Di and of course Parsnip and squeeze in as the classroom gates close with my offering of the Poppy monolith, the Poppies were all cut from snippets and hope I'm not sent straight off to the naughty corner for being missing for so long but hope exceptional circumstances will be taken in to consideration....pretty please Miss.

Phew rather a lot of writing after so long unable to do any unaided so here's the link to Darnell's blog who is very kindly hosting this special thank you to Di who has been in charge of us rabble for a whole seven years, where has that time gone one wonders. I could write so much more but alas I can't without the help of hubby and dare not tear him away from his office on a weekday for something "as trivial as bog stuff"!.

 

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Love is in the air

Morning Peeps, time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week Helene is preparing for Valentines Day with the theme of 'Love', we have a gorgeous Indigo Blu stamp for this weeks winner.

Apols I've not been visiting too much this week, I was doing fine with the increased meds at night but Monday when the extra morning ones started was I spaced out or what, so it's been slow going for a few days but all going to plan some crafty activity over the weekend.

Not new makes, if fact both were made for Chocolate Baroque TV shows some time back and never blogged so now seems the perfect time. My cards at the top is pretty simple, two two die cut hearts using TL dies, Distress Oxide inks for the backgrounds and hears and Chocolate Baroque stamps.

And I'm super excited because Alex our youngest son who's on his European road trip with partner Zoe following their athletic race calendar is flying home home Monday for a few days to visit. And he had a fab marathon in La Palma Gran Cranaria last Sunday with a PB (Personal Best) of 2hr36mins so was well pleased with that, but being a true athlete told me he could have shaved another minute  if he'd done better in the last two miles.

My second card also uses Chocolate Baroque stamps, these ones from the Mackintosh collection and again TL dies.

 

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