Beleive

Good morning Peeps from an extremely cold Cambridgeshire Fen but the welcome to my new followers and visitors is a very warm one.

It's still -9 outside with freezing fog but the most beautiful hoar frost making everywhere look magical and dreamy which is rather fitting as my card above uses the new Dream stamp from Stamp Addicts, one of the stamp sets which will be featured in the new programmes on Create and Craft TV next Tuesday 22nd January.

And typically because it's been the coldest two days so far this winter our combi boiler decided to stop working on Tuesday night, but Calor Gas were absolutely brilliant and were out here 9am yesterday morning......... apparently the disabled get priority call outs !  All was working okay yesterday then last evening exactly the same happened again and it seems it's to do with the gas pipes coming across the garden to the house from the underground tank (as we live in the sticks we have no mains services) reacting to extreme changes in temperature which cuts off the gas supply.

The card above is fairly simple with a Go Create frame cut from some scraps of DP, a lattice using a Cheery Lynn die over a background stamped with music script. I used just one of the words from the stamp set and added some roses made from Pretty Little Ribbons sheer organza ribbon, a seam binding bow from the same source and spellbinder leaves.

My second card is a bit outside my comfort zone, but it's good to stretch yourself sometimes and uses the Home for Gnomes stamp. I stamped, coloured and cut out the two gnomes, stamped the toadstool house onto the front of the card and cut round the top so that I could create a background scene on the inner part of the card. Then just mounted the two gnomes onto the front.

I kept my third card very simple and stamped the Golfer image in black archival ink and coloured just the jersey of  the golfer to match the ribbon.

Keep warm everybody and if you're like me your craft room is the perfect haven from the cold weather.

News on the horizon

A very good morning Peeps, still very crotchety at this end, why is it that I always take twice me long as 'normal' folk to mend............well of course I know the answer to that one, but it still irritates like fury when my wings are clipped and everything takes twice as long as it should.

Anyhow, I can still pass on my news (below) and as it's Saturday we have a new challenge for you over at Allsorts and this week my lovely teami Debs would like to see anything but a square or rectangle. And no, I've not lost the plot, the square card at the top is not my DT one for Allsorts, they are below. 

The one above is for Flonz Craft.....................I was invited to join their new DT a few weeks ago ........been bursting to share my news...........and it took my just a few moments to accept, it may seem like a moment of insanity but since I was introduced to their stamps only a matter of weeks ago I absolutely loved working with them so the answer was easy really. You may ask why do I take on more, well the less mobile I am the more I take refuge in my crafting............it maintains my sanity...........there are those who would question that but it's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

There's more Flonz news to come which I will be sharing with you in a few days time, so watch this space.

So now for my Allsorts DT cards and two for me this week, the easel card below using an image from one of our sponsors DigiStamp Boutique and some paper piecing which I thought worked well with this particular image. The other one is using the lovely Go Create arched dies, a little bit of inking and a sun of course and the lovely Hero Arts poppy image which is also paper pieced plus some stamping in the background with Hero Arts Harlequin and Old French Writing.

Whenever you had planned, I hope you have a lovely weekend and as always many thanks for dropping by.

Butterflies and birds

Morning Peeps, dare I say it looks just a tad like summer out there this morning, well at least it's not raining and there is a distinct hint of sun behind the clouds.

Not too much to share that's new, so a few samples I made before our vacation as I am busily beavering away with samples for next Monday's Stamp Addicts Create and Craft TV shows...................Monday 2nd July at 2pm and 7pm and I can tell you we are in early Christmas mode and will share some later this week.

Meanwhile some brayering and inky indulgence with some wings thrown in for good measure, samples for Sir Stampalot, basically different colour takes on similar themes I've done before. I'm still totally smitten with the TH birdcage and Papillion stamp set.................does it show just a little ? And now I have the bird on branch as well, you will get a look at what I've done with that on Sunday when Penny Black, Stampalot and Craft a Scene go live with our July challenges.

Lots of distressing on the top one, Frantage embossing powder and distress inks and on the fairy one, a masked moon and sponged sun rays and hills and the lovely Go Create arch die. List of ingredients below.

Have a lovely day everyone and as always thanks so much for popping by, I am always really appreciative of your visits.

Fairy silhouettes

Good Morning to you all, I hope you are having a lovely Easter holiday. If you are in the UK then you might well have rain as we do, but what better opportunity than to stay in and craft.

Our internet went down yesterday and this morning is on an off so thought I had better post this quickly before it goes again.

All the goodies I used are below, basically some simple brayering and stamping using the lovely arch dies, I was unable to find them anywhere to give the link, but they are made by Go Create which I bought at Stamperama and I am pretty sure it was from Once Upon a Stamp, so it just might be they are out of stock at them moment as they are not showing on their web site.

I would like to enter this card into this months challenge at Craft a Scene whose theme is 'Silhousttes'.

Thanks for dropping by, I always appreciate your visits so much.

Molly Blooms in the pink

Morning peeps, hope your week is going well.

It's been an off mixture of weather here in the Fens this week, we've had rain, sun, fog and still the overnight frosts............my in house weather man reports it was minus four again in the garden last night, but at least that does usually lead to a nice day so fingers crossed.

It's no secret that I just don't do cute and always struggle when it involves anything other than flowers, fairies and trees, but I'm always ready to rise to the challenge which was what was called for when a bundle of the new Molly Blooms stamps landed on my doormat a few weeks ago. The samples were for the launch of the new Circus and Fairground stamps at the NEC Trade Show last month, which I can now share and you can buy them from Sir Stampalot.

The card at the top using the big top and ringmaster Molly were paper pieced using DP's from stash. The little tickets are also amongst the new release stamps. The card base was cut using Nesties labels 23, the rose is made from punched five petal flowers.

My second card uses the lovely carousel stamp which really is my favourite from the new releases which I coloured with Derwent watercolours, decoupaged and added a frame cut with a Go Create die. Then added a bow and stick pin to embellish.

Whatever you have planned, hope you have a good day.

Onwards and Upwards

A Passion for Stamps roses image

Good Morning peeps, I am starting off on a rather different note and sharing a quote from Mother Theresa ................................

"Your honesty and frankness will expose you to problems but your work should not stop for it means the world to so many people"

I will not elaborate why I am sharing this quote as many of you will know and understand why I find it's content so inspirational and apt. Suffice to say it summarises recent events which I have overcome because of the support and friendship of you dear friends.

During the last few months, the inability to get out has endorsed my view.............. which I know is shared by many of you............that craft goes much further than just providing us with the ability to express ourselves artistically................it provides the far more important role of offering a distraction from the pain, both physically and mentally of the everyday rigours live throws at us.

So onwards and upwards as they say and I hope you all had a good weekend and enjoyed some of that lovely sunshine which was kind to lots of us here in the UK the last couple of days. I'm still not able to go far due to my legs unwillingness to play the game, so yesterday was a real treat to be taken for a drive in the sunshine. We went in my car so had the top down and it was really nice and warm, but it did mean not enough room for my wheelie, so apart from a few gingerly steps at the woodland where dad is buried, I took in the air from the car which was lovely.

And to prove I am still crafting and enjoying it, a few shares of cards I've made recently for Ruth at A Passion for Stamps. To create the one at the top of this post I printed Ruth's two roses image onto Fabriano watercolour card and coloured with Derwent watercours, then masked a sun and did some gentle sponging with Adirondack denim and meadow. The card base was cut using Go Create dies and the sentiment an old unmounted Hero Arts one.........sorry long since lost the code.

The second card  using Ruth's hawthorn blossom image was printed onto the same Fabriano watercolour card and coloured as above. The card bases is cut using Picot Edge and Grand Nesties, the Kasier DP is one of the brand new designs and the sentiment Penny Black 3419D.

Have a good day everyone and thanks so much for popping by, your visits are always much appreciated.

Star and Engraved flowers

Good morning Peeps, I hope everyone is OK.

I thought I would share a few more of the samples I made for Stamp Addicts new TV show which is scheduled on Create and Craft this Friday, 9th March at 1pm.

This is the front cover of the tri fold card at the top

The Star and Engraved Flower stamp sheets which you will find here are right up my street and I thoroughly enjoyed working with them along with the new sentiment sheet which is really useful to have in your stash.

To create the above card I inked the stamps with Aquamarkers and spritzed with water before stamping on to Fabriano watercolour card, cur with Go Create dies and mounted onto some October Afternoon DP.

For the above card I simply stamped the flower image onto a piece of DP which I think was Kaiser, cut out and placed on a circle of sanded and embossed coredinations. The background DP is the reverse side of the sheet.

The stamp sheets are great value at £12.99 as both have several large flower stamps on them as well as some greetings on one of them.

I am entering the top card into this months Pretty Little Ribbons challenge who have the theme Spring colours and blossoms.

A fairy called Henrietta

Would you believe it's taken me all day to get this post up, or to be more precise to get the picture loaded, Blogger was having non of it and seems to have fallen into his old ways of having Monday hissy fits.

I had another play with my ink dusters and created the background for this one with Adirondack butterscotch, purple and hazelnut. The fairy which I have totally fallen in love with is a new one called Henrietta from Lavinia stamps..........she also comes in a smaller silhouette stamp and before you ask, yes I got that one as well. The poppies and branches round the edge are also Lavinia and I also stamped the poppies with the same purple ink onto the lilac base paper. I stamped Henrietta with versafine black and embossed with detail clear before colouring with Copics and adding the obligatory glitter.

The easel card was made using the new Go Create arch dies and the borders are cut from Spellbinder Fleur de Lis dies. To finish I made a rose made with a five petal punch, white paper and inked with the same purple round the edges.

Thanks for dropping by and have a good Monday evening.

Crocuses in bloom

Hello all, it's Free and Easy week three at Allsorts and my lovely teamie Fleur is in charge this week.

Our sponsor is Ruth from A Passion for Stamps so it gives me the perfect opportunity to use her lovely new crocus image.

Crocuses along with snowdrops always herald the promise of Spring, although there's not a sight of them coming through here in the Fens yet, the snow probably sent them back underground, but hopefully soon they will soon be showing their pretty faces.

For the top card I printed on to Fabriano watercolour card and coloured in with my new Derwent watercolours. I masked a sun and lightly dusted Adirondack butterscotch using a Inkylicious ink duster...........I'm a newbie to these but think I am going to get a real liking for them and have more makes to share shortly............then sponged some rays of sun coming down onto the crocuses. The shapes were all created using the new Go Create die set that seemed to fall into my basket at Stamperama last week, I just love the shape and have been on the lookout for an arch for ages, so was one really happy bunny when I spied them on the rack.

For my second card using the same image I printed onto Copic cardstock and coloured with Copics. The background DP is Magnolia, some lace, a seam binding bow a button and bakers twine.................does anyone know why it's called that ?

Before I go I need to let you know who Mr Randon Org., picked our of the hat to win my little giveaway earlier this week and I am pleased to say it's Caroline.........................I'm not sure if we know each other Caroline and no idea where you are in the world, but it's always lovely to meet someone new, so please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your full postal addy.

Thanks for popping by and enjoy your weekend.

Down on the farm

A very Good Morning to you all, I hope everyone is OK and ready for the weekend.

At Allsorts today we are kicking off our Free and Easy February, a whole month of creating whatever takes your fancy and this week the lovely Debs is our host and our sponsor is In2Stamps.

My share today is something I made some months back for a Stamp Addicts Create and Craft TV show, but I never got round to blogging it so here it it today at long last. I think this is a sort of shadow box which I created using a scoring board and cut the window with a Go Create die. To make the scenes within the frame I used stamps from a number of the Countryside stamp sheets as well as the Gypsy Caravan sheet and you will find them all on their web site. All colouring with done with Aquamarkers.

Whatever you have planned for the weekend, have fun.

A real Passion for Stamps

Hello peeps, did you all have a good weekend ?

Mine sort of passed by in a flash, hubby's has been poorly for the last week and somehow all those things I planned to do never quite got accomplished. Never mind, I can at least share a couple of my sample cards I made using more of Ruth's lovely artwork which you can buy here at A Passion for Stamps.

The top card..................yet another easel I know, is Ruth's Acidanthera flower. I have made one or two cards with it, but each time it said to me "try making me into a Poinsettia" so I had to give it a try and I think it's quite effective. I printed the image out several times, cut the flower heads out in decreasing sizes so I could decoupage them, after colouring with Aquamrkers, inking with versafine frost the spraying with Glimmer Mist pearl to make them flexible to shape and of course give a lovely sheen to them.

The sentiment is Penny Black 3227K Hope is Born, I really have fallen in love with this sentiment and it's popping up on quite a few Christmas cards this year. A bit of distressing with TH fired brick and the easel was cut with Go Create dies.

My second card a leap from my comfort zone but when Ruth sent it to me and said she understood if I didn't use it, there was my challenge.............so I lightly coloured the Mannequin image with Copics, used some Cosmic Cricket DP, pins, bits of ribbon and lace and there was my card. The measuring take is also from the DP stack.

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a good week................and get some of the sunshine they forecast in the UK...............I'm a bit of a sceptic when it come to the weather forecast so shall wait and see.

It's that ellie again

Good Morning, an early and really quick post as I am off to Stampalot today (will share some of the new samples with you shortly), but wanted to post a couple more of those I made for Stamp Addicts (below) next C&C programme on Sunday 19th June and another made using Ruth's latest Cosmos stamp (above).

The Cosmos was coloured with Aquamarkers and decoupaged, an easel card using Go Create dies and October Afternoon DP.

You will find all the stamps under the 'new' section on Stamp Addicts web site....................yes, I do love this Ellie.

Famous china and surprising news

Good morning everyone, hope you are all having a good week.

I thought I would share one of the samples I did for Stamp Addicts last TV programme using some of their lovely new silhouette stamps which were a joy to work with. You will find them under the 'all new products' section.

I also have a bit of surprising news to share. Almost everyone who knows me, knows that I just don't do digi's, until this week that is when Ruth from A Passion for Stamps mailed me asking if I would join her Design Team.

Now I have turned down a couple of invites to join Challenge DT's in recent weeks as I still have to moderate my screen activity, however this is not a challenge, but designing for Ruth's own gallery which means the pressure of DT commitments is removed. And once I looked through Ruth's wonderful floral and Nature images which are all drawn by her, I couldn't resist and said yes. So I will be sharing some of my creations using her images very shortly.

Back to the artwork in this post and as you will probably guess, my inspiration was taken from Wedgwood. It was actually quite a simple piece to make using blue cardstock which I cut with Go Create dies and Nesties and embossed the images with detail white embossing powder.

I made some roses from matching blue paper, added a liberal helping of glitter and used them to decorate the front along with some pearls, the obligatory butterfly and ribbon to hold it closed.