Summer Flowers and candy winners

Good evening everyone out there in blogland.

Home at last, seems like we have been away forever and straight back to work today and so no chance yet to catch up on blogging, but have this evening earmarked for a bit of a hop. The wedding was fantastic, the whole week wonderful and so much to tell you but as I don't have any pictures yet because I just did not have the opportunity to take any myself, I am going to save it all for a post on it's own which I will hopefully get done later this week.

So all I have to share is one card.........but taken in the garden close to one of the kolkwitzia bushes (picture above) which matches the colours perfectly..........and my card incredibly fits a number of challenges as there are several of my 'regulars' which have very similar themes and time being in short supply until I get myself back into home mode, I am doubling up a bit, I don't think I have ever managed more than 3/4 before. So the challenges, Penny Black have the theme of "In the Garden" which goes very well with Cupcake challenge of "Summer Delights" and Everybody Art Challenges which is also "Summer", then Creative Card Crew want to see "Pink and Green" typical summer colours, ABC's theme is "V for Vintage" and I have followed a sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches and finally Tuesday Taggers would like to see "Texture".

My main image is Penny Black 4036K Poppy Poem stamped onto a background of Brilliance inks and Glimmer Mists to create a hazy colour. The flower head have been decoupaged after colouring with Marvy pens and spritzed with Glimmer Mist pearl. The DP is My Minds Eye and Basic Grey, all nicely distressed. The swirls and die cuts from Magenta, inked with brilliance and embossed with detail clear. Ribbon and liquid pearls added to finish.

Goodness, almost forgot to announce the winners of my little candy prizes who are:

Julie

The Sparkly Fairy

Well done to both of you, please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk with your addy and I will get them off in the post to you.

Blooming roses

Well whatever happened to Spring ? After a promising start to the week we have rain again.........hubby tells me that's good as we needed it to wash in the fertiliser he spread on the paddocks Monday. I know he's right, but oh for some warmer brighter weather.

I have created quite a quick and simple card following the sketch at Inspiration Card Sketches, but have twisted it a bit which hopefully they won't mind and it still fits the challenge OK. The rose image is Penny Black 3815J and I have coloured the roses with my new Prismacolor pencils drawing on the pastel shades of the Scrapbook Walls DP. I made three roses from the same DP and added a border and corner punched with Martha Steward Eyelet Lace. To embellish, some pearls, punched leaves and Diamond Glaze to the stamped roses.

A Special Blog Buddy Class - Is anyone interested in filling a space that has just come up on Saturday 5th June ? It's something I have organised by special request just for blogging friends and will consist of a whole day's class at Sir Stampalot (normal £25 class fee plus just for this special day, lunch on the go as well) where myself and Chris will be bringing everything along to make some special projects.......they are so special that we have not even decided what they are yet ! Our VIP group are coming from far and wide so if you want in, mail me a.s.a.p. as it will be on a first come basis.

Finally, there is a one last Hero Goody Bag on offer over at Stampalot Challenge blog so don't forget to add your name to be in with a chance of winning.

Inspirational Card Sketches

I am back again with my take on this weeks sketch at Inspirational Card Sketches and in an effort to build the stack of Christmas cards have opted for the seasonal theme for my card.

I have used Mr Happy and Cool - Penny Black 4003F, in fact three Mr Happy and Cools as I masked and decoupaged him to make a trio of snowmen going up the snowy hill.....do I live in fantasy world or what ? I have simply coloured them with Sakura pens and glittered them liberally. The DP is My Minds Eye and the large snowflakes are cut from the same paper and silver mirri through the bug with this super new snowflake cut and emboss folder and the small ones from a regular punch. The greeting is Penny Black 3995F, some gem brads in the centres of the snowflakes and glittery falling snow in the sky......fantasy world again.

Inspirational Card Sketchers

As usual Dawn B has come up with another great sketch for this weeks Inspirational Card Sketches.

I decided on a Christmas theme and have used My Minds Eye DP's ......just for a change I hear you say ! Well they are lush and this one with it's cool blues really lends itself to snowmen. So my image is Penny Black 4003H Happy and Cool........only a snowman could be happy that cold I guess ? I stamped him twice and decoupaged him, colouring him with Marvy pens. The mats were cut with Nesties through the Bug, the large snowflake is a Cuttlebug cutting and embossing set and the border Martha Stewart doily lace punch. I distressed the edges with Tim Holz broken china and added some smaller snowflakes using a punch. The greeting is from Penny Black30-035.

A card at last

Progress indeed, a completed card ! I really don't like to combine more than a couple of challenges into one project, but to utilise my crafting time while I feel semi human I confess to four in one here.

I have followed another of Dawn B's great sketches for this weeks ICS challenge and combined it with this weeks Passion for Promarkers which asks us to use "Apricot and Cool Aqua plus Flowers", Creative Card Crew which requires "All that Glitters" and ABC which this week is "E" for "Embossing".

So what did I do.......this is where it gets difficult, remembering through the fog.......only two more days of pills then hopefully normality will return. The main image is Penny Black 3979H - Simplicity, stamped with versafine black and embossed with detail clear then coloured with the two Promarker colours, going over some leaves several times to gain depth of colour. The sentiment if from one of my new Verve stamp sets which I won from Friday Sketchers challenge earlier this month.

DP's are My Minds Eye and the piece of Bazzil across the card was run through the Bug using my new daisy folder, then flowers, leaves and buds cut on Cricut Storybook which I coloured lightly with Tim Holtz inks soft pool and peach and glittered. Finally I added Diamond Glaze to the vase.

I also want to say thank you for Kari for kindly sending an award my way. Kari makes some beautiful cards so do go pay her a visit.

A real mixture

Oh goodness me, I completed this card for Inspiration Card Sketches, a great sketch as ever from Dawn B and realised that quite by chance it fits in with three others........I sometimes manage to combine two but even when I try can't stretch it beyond that. I really don't like doing this but my time is such this week I hope I will be forgiven in combining it with A Spoonful of Sugar which is looking for 'Autumn/Fall' projects, Everybody Art Challenges which has the theme 'Shabby' and the final one I realised fitted was Cupcake challenges theme of 'Pearls and Swirls'.

Afraid the picture is pretty poor folks, I have taken it so many times now but the light is so dreadful today.......and it's raining as well this afternoon and I think this is the best I am going to achieve.

The image is a stamp I have had forever by American Artstamps called Pear. I stamped with versafine and embossed with detail copper then shaded and distressed with Tim Holt Peeled Paint, Antique Linen and Fired Brick and used the same inks to colour the fruits. I roughed up the edges, ran a versamark pad round them, dipped into detail copper and heated to give a nice aged feel. The edge of the card itself has been stamped with Magenta Crackled Background 32090M again with versamark and detail copper embossing powder. The swirls were cut on Cricut Storybook and stippled with Adirondack Acrylic Dabbers sunset, gold and copper. Lace, pins and pearls added to embellish.

ICS DT call

I thought long and hard about this one - Inspirational Card Sketches DT call and really could not make up my mind. But I always try and enter this challenge as I love Dawn Baty's sketches, they really are as the challenge name suggests "Inspirational", so I am throwing my hat in the ring, mind you the competition is good and there are some stunning entries already.

I should of course have known better when I made this card as we all know only too well that acetate does not lend itself to photographs, so I can but apologies for the quality here. The image is Hero Arts CO115, one of the new cling stamps which has a 'thank you' sentiment in the middle of the frame but I masked that out so that I could add my own sentiment behind the acetate. I stamped onto the acetate using versamark and embossed with detail copper. The card itself has been stamped round the edge with swirls from Inkadinkado 97513 using Tim Holtz Antique Linen which I also used to distress the edges of the card and DP's which are My Minds Eye. The small section has been stamped with Hero 2635 Old French Writing.The flowers have been stamped several times more on to acetate and heat embossed in the same way and decoupaged along with a couple of daisies punched from the same DP and held in place with gem brads. Two lace panels laid down the card, a sentiment added which is Penny Black (sorry no code) and ribbon down the side to hold the acetate in place.

Inspirational Card Sketches and Passion for Promarkers

Apple time in the fens...................

Good morning one and all, what's the weather like your way ? Here in the Fens we have our normal serving up of rain and cloud, even the dogs are non too impressed today and their early morning apple hunt didn't last too long.......they love this time of year with all the windfalls........Buffy, George and Abbey are cute cookies and roll their finds to push off the wasps, poor Bernie on the other hand learnt the hard way !! Here's some pictures of the gang this morning, although not Abbey, she's feeling her age with arthritis bless her and made a quick return indoors - with her apple of course.

And not forgetting the horses who enjoy the odd apple of four, checking here to make sure ones got the same as the other...... Big Ben (on the left) is a bit of a bully when it comes to food so baby (well 15.3hh) Heskey has to bide his time and grab them when he can.

On to my card for this weeks Inspirational Card Sketches which is another of Dawn B's fantastic sketches and Passion for Promarkers which has a colour combo of Sandstone and Blue Pearl.

My image is Sarah Kay Time for Apple Pie.......how apt is that I thought......and the tree Magnolia Swirl Gran. Both stamped with Memento black and coloured with the two requisite Promarkers. The sentiment is a skinny stamp SK-LG-207 from Stamps by Judith, DP's from stash, punched edge using Martha Steward Embossed Scallop and run through the Bug using Swiss Dots folder, then lace and pearls added to embellish. Edges were shaded with Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy.