Flowers, Mice and a New Baby

Morning everyone, a quick post with shares for the new challenges at Snippets Playground, Path of Positivity and Lavinia.

Below my snippets for the card at the top which uses Penny Black 40-669 Radiant and coordinating die which was stamped with DI's onto an off cut, the colour dragged out and placed on the brayered background. The background stamping is Lavinia Faerie Spells, the focal words from my new sentiments stamped onto a black snippet and very frugally for me the black mat is just a narrow frame cut from the leftover after cutting an arch card base. A matching envie and some funky twine

Before I move on to my other shares meet Cecilia Joy, the newest member of the family who arrived at 16.48pm on Saturday 1st March weighing 7th 12oz. All went well at the birth and they came home the following morning, all seems to be going OK as they settle into their new routine. We were so chuffed to see Joy in the name as it's my middle name and also Azaria's Mum's (our eldest Daughter) name. She was only an hour or so old in this photo, the red blotches have all gone and already she is putting on weight.

At the Path of Positivity this month the brief is 'Create a project you wouldn't normally make'. Wasn't sure where I would go with this one until I opened a draw and languishing at the bottom a bag of bookmarks which I bought may years ago intent on using and never have. So definitely something I wouldn't usually make. 

First I used Oxides and water onto a piece of acetate to ink the bookmark, then stamped Lavinia Honeysuckle, coloured in with watercolour pencils, added some stencilling and words and finally some funky fibres to match the colours. Each one comes with it's own little acetate pocket.

Finally, an entry into Lavinia's Animal Magic challenge using one of the stencils from Sticker Stencil 11 which I inked with a mixture of Elements and Clair, the Mice are Minni and Moo and Basil and Bibi and inside the jar some Thyme. Around the bottom Leaf Spray, some stickles, the wording is Words of Spring and some Magical Mist coming out of the top of the jar plus more sparkle. In the background stencilling using Stone stencil.

Many thanks for your visits, your kind words are always appreciated.

Spring flowers and Bunnies

A new month has rolled round with challenges at We Love Stamping and Stamping Sensations, themes are both Spring, now theres a coincidence! Prizes of Penny Black stamps from Buddly Crafts, one of the few UK stockists of Penny Black these days and Lisa Horton embossing folders and stencils.

The background of the above was one of several I created back in the Autumn. I had been on the lookout for a Maple tree for this very purpose and purely by chance we drove past a garden centre where I spotted one in their car park, so of course we diverted and I availed myself of a few of their leaves!

Using DI's and water I created several backgrounds suitable for different seasons and the great thing is no two are alike. With the background already made it was pretty quick to finish the card stamping Penny Black 3355K Iris, 1483E Cherish Yesterday and 40-592 Lilac with different colours of Versafine Clair.

I've loved this AALL and Create Bunny since the day it was released, in fact it was one of my very first sets from them, it's an A4 set called In the Wild (529) and still available from several stockists. It's teamed up with Elegant Spring Florals (623) another A4 set still available. An inky stencilled background, the images stamped and coloured with Ecoline pens and a matching envie.

Today is also reveal day at the Card Chain Challenge and above is the card I sent to Imke in Germany following the colour palette of Cherry, Butter and Sage and a loose hint of Celestial with the stars, the design is a take on one I saw on Pinterest, all stamps are from Lavinia. I received a lovely card from blogging friend Kath.

Fly Free at Allsorts

Morning to you all, this week at Allsorts our theme has been selected by Helen and is CAS with the usual A/G, our prizes come from Oakwood Direct.

For me it's that difficult theme again but one I make myself use now and then as it's therapeutic to step outside the comfort zone. The background stencil is one I created with acetate on the scan and cut after seeing a similar one for sale and inked with Elements, the Reeds and Birdie are a Sweet Poppy stencil and inked with Clair Onyx and the words from an AALL an Create set.

My second card uses what is a sort of gel plate, I saw my team mate Val use it a while back so had to buy one but no longer have the packing so no idea of the make any more (update, Val's just told me it's from Crafty Roo - who have a closing down sale) After inking the plate to create the base I simply stamped Lavinia Lumus, a Bee from Bumble and Hum and words from Bumble Words.

Robins Noel

A mega quick post for the new Rudolph Days challenge, with it being a short month we only have a few days to join in and if I don't do it now chances are I'll not get time as have demands on my time next few days.

I used a Sweet Poppy stencil and Elements to ink the bauble, added two little Lavinia Robins sitting on a snowy branch and the word Noel, love the font on this Lavinia set. Plus an envie to match with a larger Robin.

Musical notes and Snippets celebration

Morning Peeps, it's mid month inspiration time at We Love Stamping and Stamping Sensations where our themes are CAS and Romance along with the usual A/G options.

For my card above which I hope is CAS(ish) I used Lavinia Basil and Bibi, Musical Notes and Glory stencil simply stamped in black over a stencilled base.

It's the 500th challenge over at the Snippets Playground and Misses and Di and Sarn are marking the milestone with a special challenge and the mandatory theme of Celebration and it's a must to include a photo of your snippets. My celebration is a new baby, in this case a new Great Granddaughter due any day now to Granddaughter Azaria. 

All stamps are Lavinia, the little boat is Liberty, the flowers Bell Flower, masked to stamp about three quarters and masked again to extend the branch around the circle and more flowers paper pieced here and there using Mini Bell Flower. I also stamped the buttons again and paper pieced to add some dimension. A die cut Baby word and finito. It was suggested I enter this into the Beautiful Blossoms challenge, so thought I would do just that!

 Below a photo of my snippets. 

My romance share is one I made for a crafty friends 50th Wedding Anniversary before Christmas but not blogged so thought it fitted the bill. It uses AALL and Create Elongated Hearts (156) and Shadowed Heart (896) and a pretty old sentiment which I think is from Clarity. The heart and sentiment are embossed with detail gold EP and die cut numbers.

Have a good Tuesday one and all.

Herbs and Delights in Blue

Morning Peeps, a new challenge at Allsorts where Liz has selected the theme Shades of Blue as well as the usual A/G option. We have two super prizes of Lavinia Stamps so I thought I had better put ink to stamps and created a couple using the new Herbs and Delights and Stickers Stencils and Labels Bundle that have been idling on my desk too long.

For the top one (Gardening by night!) I used Elements Della Blue and Dark Denim to create some clouds and shade the edges. Versafine Clair Twilight for the stamping along with Artic and Very Peri. This fits in nicely with Lavinia's Humble Abode challenge, when I showed Hubby the comment was "a long way home for those little legs", rarely do his comments reflect what's actually been done to create the card!

For this one the same inks as above plus Versamark and white EP for the Thyme along with one of the blues from the new Mica Minerals for the words. If you've not tried any of the Sticker Stencils and there's quite a collection now, I urge you to give them a go, so easy to use and they do maintain their adhesion which I was sceptical about initially.

One more which is for the current Path of Positivity challenge, not a Valentines this time, but with a positive sentiment which like the stamps used to build up the scene is from Lavinia.

Happy weekend all and as always my thanks for your visit.

Fairies in the garden of delights

Morning to you all, another just because post with a couple of shares. Not a lot of mojo going on this week, my diabetic meds have changed and sugars a bit all over, but managed these two. But do need to get more productive as a delivery of new Lavinia goodies arrived, rather quirky, fun and different, check them out here, you just might be tempted.

Above for the current Snippets Playground using various AALL and Create stamps and snippets, along with a few TRR springs of foliage onto a background stencilled with crackle texture paste. I even remembered a photo of my snippets. It was a tad cold in the treehouse this week so I've hidden a bottle of something 'spirited' in my bag for those who are up for it.

The card below is for the new Path of Positivity challenge which started this week, the focus this year is the Unexpected, this month it's send a Valentines to someone not expecting it. I usually only make them for DT work so I decided to make one for GGrandaugter Margo, three and a half. She was fascinated watching me make Fairy cards recently, she doesn't quite understand the Fairy concept yet so this one might help guide her towards GG's (yep, that's what she calls us both and nothing to do with the horses) world of fantasy.

I used Lavinia stamps Fairy Chain (part of), Leaf Creeper, Fairy Bugs, mini stamps Leaf, Single Heart and Group Hearts. I lightly inked a heart shape stencil, stamped around it and then three of the Fairies using a mixture of Versafine Clair inks and a little sentiment, wood mounted and years old, I think Art Impressions.

Have a good weekend.

A February Rose

The first Sunday of the month means new challenges at We Love Stamping and Stamping Sensations where our themes are CAS as selected by Faith and Romance (which I think I may have selected) with prizes from Lavinia Stamps and AALL and Create

I warned yesterday that AALL and Create Rosy Daze (1251) would be popping up again, this time in red, Frayed Frames (26) cut in white and black, then for the outer frame I used the border dies in the same set and extended to create a larger mat, the hearts from the same set as yesterday and the background stencil Rosy Posy (138).

This one using Lavina's lovely Large Humming and one of the Bees from Bumble and Hum stamped into circles created with a glue pen and Gilding Tilsen. Colouring done with Posca sparkle pens, some gold splatters and word from Bumble Words.

Today is also the day to showcase our Card Chain Challenge exchange cards and for once I've got the date right! This is the one I sent to Dagmar in Poland following the colour palette of Walnut, Lavender and Jade along with Cat options. A gelli plate oval, all stamps are Lavinia and the strooms one of their new stickers. I received a lovely card from my blogging and DT friend Carol.

Romance and Music

Morning Peeps, a new challenge at Allsorts where Gail is our host and her theme is Romance and/or Music along with the usual A/G. Our prizes come from AALL and Create.

I've used one of the beautiful new floral stamps from Abs at AALL and Create called Rosy Daze (1251) along with Roadway Vistas die (48) which I cut twice to provide a shadow effect and placed onto a black card base. Several random worker stamps and little hearts from Heart marks the Spot (46) also cut in different colours to reflect the frame and base, the Rose coloured with Ecoline pens and a matching envie.

Many thanks for your visits, I'll be back tomorrow and this Rose just might be popping up again.

Snippets and Rudolph Days

Morning Peeps, this is a just because post as are the cards I'm sharing for the Snippets Playground and Rudolph Days, it was so nice to create cards just for the fun of it. Though I would also share one following the current Close to Nature theme at Allsorts as we are at the midway point there.

Miss Di has thrown in the optional them at the Playground of Love is in the Air so I've gone with that using soft lilac colours, AALL and Create Elongated Hearts stencil (156) and Crocus (624) which I've given a coat of crackle glaze. The sentiment is from my own Moments set available here. 

Here's my snippets and I was mega frugal as only had one sheet of the lilac so gutted the largest mat after cutting down from the A4 sheet to get the smaller mat for the Crocus and die cut the heart from inside that. Was thinking the optional theme might allow a clandestine game of kiss chase, whose up for it?

It's the first Rudolph Days challenge of the year and above my share. My card was made before Christmas as it was created especially for a blogging friend who is a book lover. It uses Lavinia Wizardry, Luka, Fairy Crook, Arch of Angles plus several mini stamps to build up the scene.

And my Close to Nature card, fields, sky, flora and a Hare along with a Fairy who I know doesn't actually fit into the Nature category so a bit of artistic licence. The background was built up with Pan Pastels then stamping with Josie who is one of my favourite Lavinia Fairies,  Celestial Tree, Woodland Hare, Orchard Grass, Snow Shrub and Tree Hives.

Happy weekend all and many thanks for your visits.

Close to Nature

Morning Peeps, a new challenge at Allsorts which I am hosting, it's the usual A/G along with the theme of 'Close to Nature'. We have three super prizes of A5 stamp sets from AALL and Create.

Your comments, mails and cards following my last post were so kind and appreciated, thank you all.

It's a bit of a lengthy post as I also have my mid month shares for We Love Stamping and Stamping Sensations so I'll try and keep the blurb limited.

For the top card I've used A&C's new Polygon (56) die, patience needed is all I'll say and not ideal for those with dodgy dexterity but I got there in the end! The Butterflies are from Wiggle and Dance (1174) and the rub ons in the panels Cultural Gems (16).

I used one of the older A&C sets for this one Wire Birds (394) plus a couple of worker stamps for the squiggles. It's out of stock at A&C but if you hunt round there are some good deals to be had at some stores. A brayered background using Oxides, the bird and feathers cut out to decoupage and some twine wrapped around.

Above a share for the current Lavinia challenge 'Blue Hues', a Gelli Plate circle, Quinn sitting on Vine Branch having a chat with Small Pixie Fairy. Worker stamps Leaf Creeper, Group Poppies and Maple Leaf and Faerie Spells stamped third generation. There's a liberal helping of glitter on the wings and hair although you would never know from the photo.

Above for WLS using AALL and Create Inflatably Awesome (1143), Red Wine rub ons (10) and Heart Marks the Spot (46). As colouring in required not stamps I would choose if buying, but given them my best shot.

Again AALL and Create, this an A4 stamp set called Clocks and Flowers (558) which is still available from several stores and at decent prices. I would like to enter this at The Path of Positivity challenge, the optional theme is Embrace the Unexpected so I think this will have to follow the A/G route.

A card for Daisy

Hello to you all.

Yesterday we said a very sad farewell to our Daisy, know in the family as Sweet Daisy May. Fourteen and a half is a very good age for a Lab, but that doesn't make it any easier, she stopped eating about a week ago and nothing would temp her, not even freshly roasted chicken which she loved. She then refused water, became weaker and that dreadful decision had to be made.

When I saw the new theme at Path of Positivity earlier in the week I had no idea what I would create, but yesterday I knew exactly what it would be. I wanted to focus my mind to try and quell the outbursts of tears so this morning started the above card, the first five efforts went into the bin, this one is about right. Daisy was a yellow Lab, but creating that colour on a card is almost impossible, I've tried many times.

The theme at P of P is always Anything Goes with a twist, this month's twist is 'Embrace the unexpected'. Whilst Daisy's arrival was by no means unexpected, the impact she went on to have in our lives was. She became the most trustworthy and reliable friend one could wish for, I don't recall a single time when we needed to chastise her, even as a puppy, she was a remarkable dog and was truly the matriarch of the family and other dogs. Poppy, Holly and Rosa are so subdued and clearly missing her direction.

So Daisy this is for you, it is a card that will never be used, made purely for one purpose. Should anyone wonder, the little phial and label is fur the Vet trimmed from her as a keepsake.

Petal Pops and a snippet

We have the first challenges of 2025 at We Love Stamping and Stamping Sensations where we have the themes of 'Anything but Square' as selected by Emma and 'Hand Coloured Image' at Stamping Sensations. Prizes come from AALL and Create and Grafton Crafts which is the only craft shop in my neck of the woods about fifteen miles away, it's a well stocked bricks and mortar and on line shop offering fee p&p on all orders over £15.

It wasn't my intention but DT shares appear to follow a very similar colour palette. For the above triptych card I've used A&C's Rosy Daze (1251), Petal Pop (1259) and Wiggle and Dance (1174) plus a few older worker stamps. Oxides for the background and Ecoline pens to colour.

Again A&C stamps and base die which is Heart marks the Spot (46) and stamp Best you every Had (1176), but currently on offer. Coloured best I can using Ecoline pens, never an easy ask of me!

Last but by no means least a new challenge has started over at the Snippets Playground, there are rumours of a party to celebrate 13 years since Miss Di took on us lot, so here is my share using a one of the new A&C stamp sets, this one is Sunny Splash (1250) and base dies Frayed Frames (25) currently on offer. Sunflowers stamped several times onto snippets, coloured and cut out, sentiment from Power of the Word and Birdie, both stamped onto snippets.

I do hope you will come and join us this month, I know there are some awesome colourists our there so would love to see you creativity.