Butterfly snippets

Morning all, theres a new challenge at the Snippets Playground where the new term has started so had better get my homework in early.

A messy play creating an inky background, random stamping with A&C stamps and decided to use up some of the long neglected lace idling in the box placing three pieces onto the base and arranged Butterflies all cut using A&C dies. I buy very few DP's as prefer to create my own backgrounds, but I do keep the odds and ends, these ones were left after cutting Fairy dresses for Lavinia stamps a while back. A piece of coordinating thread and sentiment cut from the same offcuts.

And here are my snippets. Also linking to Creative Artiste, Just Add Ink Stencils and Dies and Creative Fingers

Have a good Sunday everyone.

Poppies, Herbalums and a Squirrel

It's the fourteenth of the month which means mid way time at Tag-Along (and ATC's) where we have Lynn's theme of Circles, can be just one circle or lots! Our prize is a bundle with tag dies, stencil, stickers and twine.

My tag above has a brayered background plus stamping using an A&C worker stamp, a really old TH die to create the circle holes with an inky piece laid beneath, Two Red Robins Poppies, coloured twines and a word sticker. Poppies are Bright so linking 613 Avenue Create, Creative Knockouts Lots of Layers, Just us Girls Bold and Blooms for Triple B, Blooms, Birds or Butterflies.

A set of ATC's, my circles are the sun/moon with a whole host of Lavina stamps which include Herbs and Delights with Pixie Herabalum's gardening and the little Bunnies coming along to eat everything that grows, just as they do in our gardens. Sewing the Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears is my song for A Place to Start and the AG option at The Little Things.

This was my Sunday afternoon experiment for the Snippets Playground, not sure if it worked and certainly far more gold splatters than planned....my left hand and arm remain wonky since surgery and index finger doesn't move anymore, so if I'm not using a stamp platform everything that happens is all rather hit and miss! 

My snippets below shows the middle parts left after cutting apertures for Christmas cards (which will pop up later this week) onto which I stuck snippets of Autumnal (Amazon) DP's onto them and cut out the circles. A brayerd background, random stamping with A&C and Lavinia stamps, then just arranged the circles. Adding at Love Those Pretty Papers.

Wonder if Google will get the reading list issue sorted this week, we live in hope, I'm trying hard to check on those I visit regularly but sure some are falling through the net so apologies if I've missed some visits.

Simple blooms

Good morning, time for a new challenge at Allsorts where Gail is our host with the theme of Sympathy/Thinking of you/Get Well. Our prize is a bundle of dies and artwork from Highlight Crafts. 

Above a card and box with sufficient room to add refresh wipes or hand cream sachets for someone unwell. The hexagon and honeycomb dies are really old Tattered Lace, from when I first started on their DT in February 2015, Two Red Robins and Reflections soon came along and the flowers are from Flower of the Year. All cut out on the Scan and Cut (something I use rarely as have a love hate relationship as eyes not good enough for the small pop up screen). Cut it Up theme is In shape, at Craft Rocket it's Dies and Frame It at Let's Craft and Create.

For my second card I used a mop up from my spray box for the background, the box has a sheet of ribbed card in the bottom and gives some interesting unpredictable patterns, the blooms are a fairly old A&C set called Unfurling Petals and the sentiment is from Penny Black Words of Kindness. The theme is Not Square at Unicorn Challenge and Thinking of you at Aud Sentiments.

From what I've heard most of us are suffering the reading list issue, mine last updated Tuesday so with all the will in the World impossible to remember all the blogs you would normally visit. Blogger seems to lurch from one problem to another the last few months, I blame AI!!

Vibrant blooms and Autumn snippets

Morning all, mid way inspiration day at We Love Stamping where we are following Avril's theme of Summer Blooms. Prizes are Penny Black stamps and stencil from Buddly Crafts.

Rather criminal how I created this one but I knew exactly what I wanted as a finished piece but with the exception of Penny Black Natures Jewels all the PB stamps are really old wood mounted ones (Blush, Floral Silhouette and Aspire) and could only be achieve using the spin tool off their blocks, so what did I do? Yes, I carefully peeled all three from the wood blocks and along with Versafine Clair inks created my floral wreath...........then stuck all back onto their wood blocks! Try it on Tuesday's new them is Inspired by a Song so as an opera lover The Flower Duet from Lakmé came immediately to mind. Also entering another at Beautiful Blossoms under A/G this time and In the Garden at Cupcake Inspirations and Off to the Tropics at Retro Rubber.

There's a new Snippets challenge and I have one to share there as well. I've always enjoyed playing with A&C's Crunched Leafdrops and Leafinity Detailed (currently on offer as a set following the second link) and after seeing a card on Pinterest using black for leaves decided to give it a go with the A&C ones.

Autumn with a difference creating the base with A&C Starflight dies, background with Oxides then stamping the leaves onto the base layers and then black card and all heat embossed with detail white EP (no idea why some look red tinged in my photo). A tad busy but went all out with everything on my desk including some scrim I'd just dipped in coffee to colour it and some washi tape. The sentiment is PB Happy Wishes. Classic Designs would like Die Cuts and it's Washi Tape at Girlz Rebel.

And my snippets.

Fashion icons

It's mid way time at Tag-Along (and ATC's) where Pinky selected our theme of Fashion with a prize of an AALL and Create tag set. 

For my tag I adhered as oddment of MCS DP onto a piece of white card to give it more strength to then cut using using AALL and Create Tag it Yourself. I applied crackle texture paste through a stencil around the focal 1890's lady in hat, some lace, Butterfly stamped onto another snippet and frayed silk ribbon at the top.

My ATC was created with different MCS collections to create a floral frame and the 1950's Dior style fashion icon sized down to fit within the flower and foliage frame. Linking to The Little Things A/G option.

Summertime

Good morning, a short post, usually have them written well in advance, seem to have slipped up on this one, explanation further down, sure you are as weary as me with excuses! 

We have new challenges at Allsorts with Sarah theme of Colours of Summer and prize from Visible Image and at Tag-Along (and ATC's) with Pinky's Fashion theme and prize from AALL and Create.

Above using Visible Image Love Life Now, a rainbow effect background inked background then Butterfly stamped first in grey and again in black, the kaleidoscope of Butterflies also stamped in black and the sentiment (looks wonky but straight face on). Linking to Carz4Gals Rainbows theme.

My tag uses AALL and Create's Sirens of Spring, Kraft tags, offcuts of DP, added stencilling, image coloured with Zig Clean Colour pens and flowers from same stamp set on the smaller tag and tied with seam binding rubbed into some watered down Oxides to carry the colour.

A very simple ATC using images from MCS scaled down in size, machine stitching around the edge and a couple of sticker words.

Another for Allsorts using Visible Image Butterfly Ink stencil coloured with pastel shades of DI, then the same stamp set as above and Butterfly covered with crackle glaze. The sentiment is made up of two stamps from VI Colourful Life.

Nearly forgot I also made a bookmark a few weeks ago, both stamps wood mounted, Penny Black (discontinued) Christmas Gorgeous and sentiment another oldie from Art Impressions, stamped and coloured with Zig pens and stencilling in the background. Linking this to Penny Black Saturday challenge A/G.

A tad incapacitated yet again, Cervical Spine procedure went pear shaped last week so aborted due to a bleed, told another cervical microdiscectomy same as May on different discs was only option. To my surprise called in again Thursday and all went top plan, now just the frustration of recovery and limited craft/computer time for a week or two.

Really hope you can find time to join us at both challenges,

Lady in Red

Morning everyone, a rather hurried post as clearly the heats addled my mind!

I thought this card for the Card Cain Challenge was in my post at the weekend and hadn't even realised it wasn't until checking a couple of scheduled posts and found it in one for 18th, so sorry Gail and Jo. My card went to Joanne in the UK and I received one from Arlene in the USA.

I used AALL and Create base dies and image called Art of Bouquet simply stamped in back and coloured to follow the colour options of Black and White plus One. Linking to Unicorn Challenge, no DP's.

I also have one for Christmas Kickstart challenge who have the theme Grace us with your Presents, had to think long and hard about this one as the A&C stamp is about the only one I have to fit the present element, then remembered this in my unused folder, think it fits the bill using A&C Sack of Joy. Stamped, coloured, lots of sparkle and some stencilled stars. Just happens to fit Fab'n'Funky's new Christmas in July theme and Creative Knockouts Christmas in July. Also Stencils/Patterns at Crazy is our Fame.

Try and keep cool, not easy in the current ongoing heat.

Basques, blossoms and a snake!

Morning everyone, time for our new challenge at Tag-Along (and ATC's) where it's my turn to choose the theme which is Favourite Colours. 

After choosing the theme I wondered at the wisdom as I love using most colours, but with me it's perhaps more colour palettes such as above, I love purple and green together and here I've used Lavinia's new Loomweavers collection along with some older stamps onto a background brayered with Clair inks.

Purples with pinks for the above, Lavinia Cherry Blossom, it's one of my very first Lavinia stamps way back about 2008, it's just beginning to crack so probably time to replace. Birds are Magpies and Bluebell (I know they're pink!), sticker words and again a brayered background. Chris has selected Something with B as her theme at Fab 'n' Funky, I have Blossoms, Birds and Bow and Try it in Tuesday In the Garden.

I had in mind to see if something as small as an ATC coin could be stamped on the spin tool, it does work, so a simple little make using two Lavinia mini stamps with stencilled leaves in the middle finished with a sticker sentiment.

I also have a bookmark, when I got the go ahead for some limited computer and craft time I thought they would be less taxing projects so made a few. This one uses an A&C stamp, a lightly brayered background, little Butterflies and another tassel from the bundle I found a while back.

Not a great deal of change in available flora, the Roses are still enjoying the warm weather and above the first Snake of the season picked up when poo picking the other day (for those not familiar with keeping horses, an essential daily task to keep pasture clean). It's only a youngster but not my favourite creatures. 

The Hemerocallis (Day Lily) below struggled initially with the dry weather but is picking up now.

Timeless Poppy

 

Hello all, a non scheduled post, but still several scheduled ones in the pipeline till normal service resumes.

From my files for Snippets Playground, Gelli Plate background, Penny Black Poppy, Lavinia script, Butterfly A&C and photo below of my snippet. Also adding to Try it on Tuesday's Circles and backgrounds for Little Red Wagon.

Things were going well, then a kidney, followed by diverticular infections kicked in which was always a risk. But just got the OK for up to hour a day computer/crafting time to test the water with another MRI and consult next week, so prioritising is going to be a challenge but hope to do a few short blog visits.

Here's a few photos of what's in bloom this week.

Potentilla with Bee collecting nectar, below yesterday there were 37 Poppies in bloom, but couldn't get all in the photo angle, as they continue round the tree, it's a spectacular year for them.

Below, Pyracantha, Peony and first of many to come Lupin's.

Huge Rose, as big as my hand.

Thank you all for your continued visits during my absence, they are so appreciated.

Birthday celebrations and Poppies are blooming

Knowing my crafty wings would be clipped for some time, I'm preparing this well ahead for our special challenge at Allsorts where Lynn is our host to celebrate our 17th Birthday, sobering wondering where all those years went. But it's wonderful that so many entrants who joined us way back then still do so, that makes it all seem very worthwhile.

We have some fabulous prizes of vouchers and physical goodies from Lavinia Stamps, Buddly Crafts, Art Impressions, Highlight Crafts as well as some surprise goody bags. Plus don't forget the special discount from AALL and Create of 15% until 31st May on all items in their store using the special code: AllsortsBD17

My first share at the top uses Lavinia Meadowbrook Tales, the new collection released last month. I did all the stamping first, masked the focal images, then created the background by simply brushing watered down Oxides. Colouring done with a mixture of pencils and Zig pens and some white pen to highlight here and there.

I found this frame along with a few others from a session when I had the sewing machine out, so used the red as my inspiration. AALL and Create have a new designer Soizic, this image from her is called Art of Bouquet, her designs have a lovely quirky feel, stamped very simply in black and limited red added with a Zig pen and a couple of sticker words.

Added by DIL Friday 22nd: A couple of the early Roses and first Oriental Poppies in our little Poppies garden, plus it seems a Lab's bum, both Rosa and Fleur spend time there, it's as thought they know.

And a message of thanks for the beautiful cards and messages received. It's slow going as now have a kidney infection, but was never going to be straightforward!

We really hope you will join us for this very special challenge, as always you can enter up to five times so lots of chances of winning one of those super prizes.