Bootfull of blooms and Fairy magic

It's mid month inspiration time at We Love Stamping and Stamping Sensations where we are focusing on Birds, Bees and Flowers at SS and Flowers at WLS, with prizes from Personal Impressions and Lavinia.

Both makes from a few weeks ago, above using TH Stampers Anonymous French Garden, a stencilled base layer, berries from the same set as Daisies, a torn page from an old book sprayed with Oxides. The flowers stamped, coloured and cut out and popped into A&C boots and some faux grass. Lots of snippets so popping to the new challenge at the Playground. I don't have a photo of my snippets so ready for a spell on the naughty step.

What is probably my favourite Lavina Fairy Zemira, I say Fairy but she doesn't actually have wings. An inky background and distant fantasy town stencilled and masked sun. Zemira is releasing her Flutterbies accompanies by Jaylar and the scene built up with Bluebells, Leaf Spray, Fairy Buttercups and Vine Flourish. Four Seasons challenge theme is Anything Summer and that big sun suggests it's definitely Summer on my scene which follows on nicely for the Create a Scene theme at Cards 4 Galz.

As mentioned Saturday, due in hospital for a couple of days but that's at the back of my mind with Holly so poorly and dreading the vet this morning.

'B' for Bunny and Butterflies

Good morning, we have a new challenge at Allsorts and our theme is 'I spy something beginning with B' which has been chosen by Ellie. We have some lovely matching die and stamp sets to be won.

Above it's my current favourite bunny Mr Rabbit from TH/Stampers Anonymous onto Kraft card and envie, I'm on a mission to use it more often as I do like the look. A Gelli Plate background, stamped Mr Rabbit and coloured with Derwent Inktense, added some red dots to carry the colour of his jacket, some twine and matching envie and finito. Over at Little Red Wagon challenge they would like to see Kraft, so entering there.

One more above, this time 'B' for Butterfly using various colour Versafine Clair inks to try and achieve an ombre effect and a Visible Image stamp and sentiment.

I also have a share for Ellies new Garden Party 6, it's an Anniversary card made for Grandson Zachary and wife Faiths third Anniversary. The design was based on her love of Sunflowers, what I didn't realise until they called in last evening was that Sunflowers symbolise the third year of marriage. 

After the last Sunflower card using the new Lavinia Twilight Tea collection I vowed not to cut any more out, but I did! A masked an A&C heart, more hearts using an A&C stencil, a sentiment and the Sunflowers arranged in a partial wreath. I just saw the mood board for the new Beautiful Blossoms challenge on a team mates blog and thought this fitted perfectly.

From the Orient to the Serengeti

Morning Peeps updating an already scheduled post. Been a mixed and non to pleasant week, Holly had her surgery, not totally successful and may have given her only limited time, so a day at a time.  

So craft on the back burner at the moment, times like this I'm grateful I work ahead as it's time for our mid month inspirational post at Tag-Along (and ATC's) challenge where we are travelling the World for Pinky's Travel theme, along with the usual Anything Goes option.

My travels take me to Japan and Kenya, I've yet to get to the former, one day maybe. I crated my tag above in MCS using a recent release called ?? After arranging the various elements onto a base scene I printed out on Premium Pure Print 300gsm and cut the tag shape using a basic die. Some seam biding and twine to finish. Linking this up to The Outlawz no cards.

For my ATC I stencilled a background with bold colours to represent a Serengeti sunset which are absolutely amazing, then stamped the Animals, bunting and sentiment from Penny Black 40-194 Lets Go Wild (2013). To make the animals pop I heat embossed with detail black EP and made a little matching pocket for the ATC using Kraft card. Popping this to ATC's around the World and Simon Says' Wednesday (which I was so lucky to win recently - thank you) whose theme is Not a Card and finally Craft Rocket would like to see Animals.

I hope I have inspired you to pop over to the challenge blog and join in with us.

Finally a cautionary note, sure some of you have already found the little blue (pencil and star - automatically insert Google search links into your post) icon on the screen to the right when your creating or editing a post, unless you want a link to numerous Google pages DON't click. Being curious I did and ended up spending ages removing all the links it decided my post needed, some so far removed from the actual content it was scary. It's all too easy to accidentally insert them by just hovering the cursor over the icon, as yet I've not found a way to remove the non too helpful option, if anyone has please do tell.

Dance like no one's watching

A new month means new challenges at We Love Stamping and Stamping Sensations. At WLS our seasonal theme of Flowers has been selected by Hilary and we welcome Personal Impressions offering a £25 store voucher to our lucky winner. Whilst at SS Carol has selected something equally seasonal with Birds, Bees and Butterflies which happen to feature on the Lavinia stamps as prizes.

For the above card I used Tim Holz French Garden, there is no indication of the type of flowers but to me they look like Peonies so I've gone with a traditional colour for their blooms. An inky background and leaves stamped roughly where I wanted to place the flowers which were stamped onto inked offcuts, cut out and paper pieced. The quote is my favourite from Penny Black and the stitching another TH set called simply Stitches. Finally an envelope to match. I don't have a photo of the offcuts but am hoping I can still pop to the new challenge over at the Snippets Playground, also Ellies Garden Party and new to me Glitz of Art Letters 'F' which of course if my Flowers,  finally Triple B, mine is Blooms.

A Lavinia make using Moss Flowers stamped into a circle, masked and some worker stamps in-between, flowers coloured with pencils, then Twila stamped in the centre and some of the Bees from Bumblehums. To use just part of a stamp place a piece of masking tape over the parts you don't want, ink, but don't forget to remove the tape before stamping....sometimes I still forget and ruin everything. The sentiment is another real oldie wood mounted from PB, I went searching to discover when it was made as I seem to have had it forever, was 2001, the one at the top is newer 2010. 

Festive Friday is celebrating National Honey Bee Day and would like at least three items from their list on entires, I have Flowers, yellow, black and Bees. Tic Tac Toe, my three elements are sentiment, summer and any colour and also Sunday Stamps with a colour palette, three required.

Margo who will be four in a few weeks and Penelope who is seven had their first Gymkhana last Sunday and at another today. Seems rather young to me, I must have been five or six before I started but times move on! We weren't sure how she would take to it, but her face says it all, only downside seemed to be when the judge gave the first rosette to her, she answered "that's not my favourite colour"!! Her Mum was mortified but doesn't think the Judge heard, lets hope not because she may well come up against here again.

Many thanks for your visits, always appreciated and for your kind words about Holly, I will update after her surgery.

Out in the meadow

Good morning, we have a new challenge at Allsorts and a theme of Animals as chosen by Helen. We have two prizes from Lavinia Stamps. 

The scene above is just outside the window (with a bit of artistic licence as we don't have a foal), the mare and foal grazing the paddock under the shade of a tree and some Ducks flying over. I uses Lavinia Horse and Foal, Tree of Hope, Tree Branch, Vine Set, Ducks and Orchard Grass. Elements inks used to build up the background and stencilled sun and rays and a matching envie. I would like to enter this at Crafty Animals challenge.

A masked and inked circle and flowers stamped using various Versafine inks with a Woodland Hare eyeing up the Butterfly. Flowers used are Woodland Fern, Bluebell, Foxglove and Wildflower. I'm hoping my Hare is considered appropriate for Crazy Critters challenge, if not please disregard.

It's also reveal day at the Card Chain Challenge, for once I've got the day right! My card went to my blog friend Greta in the USA, I received a beauty from fellow DT Hilary, photo below. 

I followed (loosely and the green looks rather intensified in the photo) the colour palette of Turquoise, Smoke and Olive and the window option. The focal stamp is Penny Black 40-675 Together, ink applied direct to stamp using my stamping platform and Ecoline brush pens and stamped several times to build the colour.

The garden and greenhouses are producing an abundance of produce so pickle making is well underway along with oodles of pasta sauce and ragout, make two varieties of that, one the Napoli way using San Marzano tomatoes and home made soffritto in preparation above and the bowl at back, the other the Napoli way using Super Roma tomatoes and no soffritto. I make lots of lasagne and cannelloni and freeze down for Winter and of course some get shipped out when the children visit.

Sweet mustard pickle, batch two of the week. There's loads of basil this year for the sauces and ragout, green going well, but the purple seems to be late and not ready for picking yet.

The cooking activity has kept me busy this week for which I've been grateful after the news about Holly which I mentioned yesterday, your kind words appreciated. 

The Grand Tour

Morning all, time for our new challenge at Tag-Along (and ATC's) where Pinky has chosen the theme of Travel and as usual there's the Anything Goes option. We have another lovely set of tag shaped dies to give away to the months lucky winner and as always the three of us will each choose our favourite from the months entries. Even if tags and ATC's are not your things, why not given them a go?

I've decided my couple above are from the Edwardian era, recently married from an aristocratic background and doing the Grand Tour (humour me please!) and currently in the Eternal City which is one of my favourites. 

The base tag is A&C, the stamping various Penny Black stamps and the tickets and elegant couple TH ephemera. Finished with some fancy twine and a bow. The theme at A/G in a Card Free Zone is 'I'd wear that' so think my tag might fit.

My ATC uses images from my Gecko Galz win a few weeks ago. I never fail to think of Princess Diana when I look at photos of The Taj Mahal. She looked so sad sitting there in the red jacket, purple shoes and skirt, her marriage was falling apart which to this day I find so sad and the fact she's not our Queen. There's a new challenge at ATC's around the World so am linking up.

Our Holly is poorly and having surgery on Tuesday. After losing both Daisy and Poppy this year we were devastated this week to discover that she has an aggressive tumour on her chest. She's no spring chicken so surgery comes with it's own dangers, I'm praying it's successful and she can enjoy a little longer with us. 

I'll be back tomorrow and again Sunday, posts like buses this weekend.