Spring Flowers

A very Good Morning to you all, I hope you are having a good weekend.

As it's the first Sunday in the month it means it's time for new challenges at Sir Stampalot and Penny Black and More, the card at the top is one of my DT pieces for the latter.

At Stampalot it's a challenging month for the DT as I set then all a task of creating two cards with two kits. I sent them all two kits of products much the same and today we are revealing what they came up with using the pearls and swirls kit...................their other makes will be shared later in the month. Of course I didn't expect to escape the challenge myself and here is what I came up with, but you really do need to go over the the challenge blog to see everyone else's wonderful work and to see what the theme is.

The DP's which form the basis of my card...........yep another easel...............are Alla Prima and I used one sheet to make the rosette onto which I added the focal image which is Hero Arts K5576 Newspaper Tulips which I inked with TH Mustard Seed, embossed with detail clear them sponged with TH tumbled glass.

Springtime is the theme at Penny Black and More this month, my favourite time of year so the theme was inevitable. I have ended up with three DT cards as the new release stamps from the Full of Surprises collection literally just landed here in the UK so I had to get inking and you will see two of the stamps on my card at the top of this post. The flowers are a Penny Black slapstick stamp 40-104 Spring Beauty so that had to be used for this months theme and the sentiment is PB 4263F Garden of Life. Both were stamped onto Fabriano watercolour card and embossed with detail clear, then coloured with Derwent watercolour pencils from the beautiful wooden box collection of 48 hubby bought me this last week.

The borders are cut with some of the new TH border dies using My Minds Eye DP which I also used for the mat behind the image cut with Go Create dies. The little embellies are some new metal ones called Floral Spacers from Stampalot which have holes through the middle for brads, although I just stuck mine on and added swarovsky crystals to the centres.

For my second card, I stamped Penny Black 3381K Aspire with Adirondack citrus and meadow, then stamped over this with Penny Black 3157H Growing Free using versafine black, cut out with Nesties 20 and layered onto a black panel cut with Nesties Fleur de Lis rectangle. That back panel is embossed with a Sizzix folder and I added some ribbon, leaves and flowers made from organza ribbon.

And finally just one more that was already in the mix before the new stamps landed, the technique is a bit involved so I will try and explain best I can. Please do mail me and ask if any part is not as clear as it might be.

For this second Penny Black DT piece I started by stamping the two images Penny Black 4039K Candid and 1483E Cherish Yesteday................as you can tell by the code this is a real oldie..............with archival black ink onto a piece of double sided adhesive. To do this I peeled away one side to do the stamping then placed the covering back on top but leaving about 1cm of the sticky showing at one end. Onto this exposed area I placed a piece of acetate cut ready to the size of the sticky piece and gradually peeled away the backing to allow me to lay the acetate directly onto the stamping.

Next I took a piece of tissue, scrunched it up and lightly inked using direct to paper with TH mustard seed, shabby shutters, sage used sparingly and Versamark champagne to add a bit of sparkle. I scrunched the tissue a bit more between each inking to expose more creases to pick up the ink. When I was happy with the tissue, I removed the reverse side of the double sided sticky paper and placed the tissue onto it.

Working from the tissue side I gently coloured the flowers with Copics..................doing this over a light source or against a window helps. You need to be a bit gentle so as not to tear the tissue, but it's amazing how much colour you can add at this stage. Finally I matted and layered onto the base card which I randomly stamped down one side with Hero Arts H2365 Old French Writing, a punched border, some pearls and cord. Finito !

I really hope you will be able to join in our challenges this month and look forward to popping over to your blogs to see what you created.

A special lady

Debs is hosting the challenge at Allsorts this week and has given us the theme of "for a Special Lady".

It's all a bit special for me with this one as it was the first entire card I created following my enforced craft and blogging retreat and I admit I was thrilled to have actually completed a whole card that I was passable happy with........I know little things and all that, but I so missed being involved in all things crafty.

The image is one I bought at Stamperama by B Line Designs, the company is totally new to me but I just loved the romantic image called Travellers.....I think they are in Italy.......just my romantic notion because it's where I most love to be.

I stamped the image with versafine black and embossed with detail clear, then masked the image and sun and brayered the sky with Adirondack dye inks and coloured the images lightly with Copics. The swirl is Hero Arts S5449 and the sentiment Hero Arts CL278 which I thought was perfect for the title of the theme. Finally I scribbled a freehand line around the image and added some swarovski crystals.....yes this does mean the card will be used for someone special........ flowers and punched leaves. This also fits the following challengres:

Craft your Days Away - For a special lady

Scrapbook Sisters - Anything goes

Crafts and Me - Anything goes

And this is my very last DT piece for Stamptacular Sunday having decided to step down..........much as I have loved working with all the girls, something has to give.

A pretty basic creation because it's such a beautiful stamp that it does not need much embellishment so as not to detract from the beauty of the picture. The image is Magenta 15276N stamped with Versafine black and embossed with detail clear, then coloured with Copics. I used a piece of mount board for stamping so that I could cover with several layers of UTEE to give a lovely glazed panel. This is also for the following challenge:

Delicious Doodles - Floral Fantasy

Allosorts literally

Good Morning everyone, well the snow arrived here last night, how about you ?

Not a lot, but it looks really pretty. It was the puppies first encounter with the white stuff, neither Daisy or Lily were took keen and both wanted to get back to their respective baskets.

I thought I would share the easel box card I made last week for Azaria, it used the really cute slapstick from Penny Black 40-038 Kindness, which I stamped and embossed three times, coloured with Copics and decoupaged. The DP is My Minds Eye, the swirls a sizzix die and the border Martha Stewart trellis fence. The flower is made using Tim Holtz tattered floral die, soaked in water to shape then spritzed with Glimmer Mist pearl. This is for the following challenges:

Crafty Catz - Christmas

Something Completely Different - Let it Snow (it is with glitter)

Over at Allsorts we have a brand new challenge this morning were my teami Amanda would like to see Monochromatic projects.

For my DT work I have created a shaped card using Nesties.........it's not huge but I do love the shape of these new labels 17........ which I spritzed the card itself with Glimmer Mist gold. I used Stamps by Judith (Stamp Addicts) 0-90 which I stamped with versamark and embossed with detail clear, then distressed with Tim Holtz scattered straw and tea dye. I then overstamped Stampendous long agapanthus in versafine sepia. The bottom section was run thorough the Big Shot using Cuttlebug bark folder, some ribbon, Swarovski crystals and a small sentiment to finish. This card is also for the following challenges:

Our Creative Corner - Tag it

Alphabet Challenge- E is for embossing
Lots to Do - Embosing (used dry and heat)

Rhett and Scarlett

Hello, how is everyone today ?

Thank you to the kind peeps who have left messages and mailed over the last few weeks to ask how I am doing. I know I'm still more than a tad slow on the blogging and posting, but seems to be taking forever to get my energy levels restored and not helped by the infection playing havoc with my blood sugars which are on a roller coaster and my diabetes right out of control.

So peeps what I am saying is that I have thought long and hard about it and somethings got to give until I feel back to some semblance of normality healthwise. This means I need to prioritise for a week or two and I am going to concentrate on the essentials of looking after my DT commitments and only do what and when I can on my own blog. I'm not saying I won't be posting or blogging at all but it might be intermittent.

The support I receive from everyone in blogland is appreciated so much and I am going to post a little candy later just to show I do still love you all, even if I am non too active at the moment.

Meanwhile I do have some work to share which I have had prepared and which fits a few challenges.

I feel quite nostalgic with this first share, must be my low mood I think. It's a card I made a few weeks back based on a very similar one I did last year, I have make a few variations but used the same colours as they work so well and of course emulate those of the room where 'the kiss' took place. I am taking of course about Rhett and Scarlett from my all time favourite book and movie Gone With the Wind.

The image is one purchased in the States and has been simply stamped in black stayzon onto white cardstock and a touch of green watercolour added to the curtains. I used My Minds Eye DP, made some roses from the same DP and added a Sizzix swirl and some lace. The sentiment is an unmounted one and I really have no idea where it came from, but it's definitely associated with the movie and exactly what Rhett said to Scarlett. This card is for the following challenges:

Cupcake - Books and Stories

Tuesday Taggers - Books

Everybody Art - Handmade Flowers

The second is a tag created using the distress technique I had on a card last week using acrylic paints. I stamped with Hero Arts S5449 Fabulous Flourish using versamark and embossed with JudiKins malachite embossing powder. I stamped round the edges with Hero H50432 leaf flourish and embossed with detail gold and distressed the edges and again embossed with gold. I added lace to one edge and some ribbon and Swarovski crystals. The flower was made using a Cuttlebug cut and emboss set and the flower my TH tattered floral die, both using My Minds Eye DP. This is for the following challenges:

Lets Ink it Up - Tag with a Vintage feel

Stamptacular Sunday - Distress it

Daring Cardmakers - Sapphire

My Time to Craft - Jewelled

Glitter and bling

Stampalot DT card

Continuing my holiday itinerary and your next clue for the candy.....how to enter in the post at the top of my blog......today sees us in a beautiful City that only a few years ago was ravaged by war.

Standing in the beautiful walled City of turrets and towers it is hard to imagine such atrocities such a short time ago until you look at the bullet and shell marks still evident on the City Gate below. Sitting on the coast in the Adriatic Sea, it used to be part of Yugoslavia and following the Civil war in 1991 changed to Croatia. Nine letters, the first is 'D' and the last 'K'.

And as it's the first of the month, Stamplalot Challenge and Penny Black at Allsorts both have new challenges, here are the themes:

Stampalot: Bring on the Bling

Penny Black at Allsorts: Glitter and Glitz

There are similarities and I can see quite a few being combined here, but equally I am sure lots of you will see totally different ideas. And both have some wonderful prizes on offer, Stampalot have a whole collections of craft essentials and Penny Black at Allsorts have six prizes on offer.

For my Stampalot DT card above I used Penny Black 4039K Candid stamped with versafine sepia one a background created with Tim Holtz olive and mustard seed, spritzed with Glimmer Mist pearl and then over stamped with Magenta 32090M crackle background. I stamped the flower heads again and coloured with the same two TH inks and spritzed with GM to make them pliable before decoupaging them onto the main image.

The DP is from stash and I have no idea of the make, I so wish I did as I love the colours of it. The border are punched with Martha Stewart double loop and the swirl is a sizzix die. For the bling I added some Swarovski crystals, so when I use them it means it's for someone special..........our daughter whose birthday is whilst we are on holiday.

My second card is my DT work for Penny Black at Allsorts:

Penny Black at Allsorts DT project

Its ages since I made a box easel card, so time to put that right. I have used some on the new Cosmo Cricket DP's to cover the box, the colours of this one are so yummy. For the main element I masked a piece of cardstock and sprayed with Glimmer Mist turquoise and sunflower to create a panel effect background. I then stamped Penny Black 3948 Fireworks over the GM's section and Penny Black 3940 Life to the side.

The borders are punched with Martha Stewart embossed scallop, the punched leaves and roses glittered liberally and Liquid Pearls added to the stamped flower heads plus more glitter.

Don't forget to pop back tomorrow for the next candy clue.

Punch it challenge

Still relying on Mr Blogger to do his stuff, this will hopefully pop up on the first of June to tell you all about the next Stampalot Challenge where we would like you to:

"Punch It"

With so many beautiful punches available and knowing most of us cant refuse the odd one or four here and there, we though our new theme will give you the perfect opportunity to get creative with them. Apart from needing to use at least one punch on your project, the rest is down to you. And of course there is an absolutely brilliant prize on offer again, just tale a look here:

For my DT card I have gone for a fairly simple card using some more the the new Hero Arts releases and of course a bit of Penny Black thrown in for good measure. I started by stamping Hero K5058 Friendship Writing at an angle across a piece of cardstock using Hero soft apricot ink. Next Hero CG185 Elegant Weeds......two stamps in this set, what we call Keksi here in the Fens.......to lots of people Cow Parsley or to give it it's Latin name - Anthriscus Sylvestris and good old common Thistle - Carduus........grief, sounds like a biology lesson, getting a bit carried away here I can see.

I inked the first with Tim Holtz barn door and olive and he second with dusky concord and olive and spritzing both with water to give a watercolour effect. The sentiment is Penny Black 4070F Dreams also stamped with barn door. I punched round the card with Martha Stewart round the page eyelet lace, added some punched butterflies, Swarovski crystals and liquid pearls.

Poppies

For the first time in I don't know how long I was able to take a picture in the sunlight and even got a little shadow to prove what a lovely day it is here today.

I made this card following the sketch at Everybody Art Challenges and although I don't like combining more than a couple of challenges very much, I found this fits four of those I take part in....... Tuesday Taggers has the theme "Swirls and Curls", the theme this week at Cupcake is "Round and Round" and Creative Card Crew want to "Celebrate".

The main image is from my new stash from Sir Stampalot and I just love this one, Penny Black 4036 Poppy Poem. I stamped it several times with versamark and embossed with detail clear, coloured with Marvy pens then cut out three layers making each a bit smaller so I could layer them. I then inked them with versamark frost and spritzed with Glimmer Mist pearl to make the colours blend and shine.

The Kaiser DP is from one of the new 6x6 pads with rich reds and black and some sheets are beautifully foiled plus at the back of the pad I discovered there are die cut sentiment mats and borders. The corners are punches with Martha Steward double loop, the swirl is a Sizzix die run through the Big Shot and the butterflies punched from some glitter paper. I added red and black swarovski crystal to embellish and the sentiment is Hobby Art GR223.

Keep it Simple

So how simple is simple ? The new challenge at Cupcake is "Keep it Simple" and I am really hoping this one will fit the bill, no embellies, pretty border punches or ribbons just some strightforward inking and stamping.

The card is one I made for The Stampman using the new Kay Carley Funky Flowers stamp sheet which the lovely Jill sent to me recently. The stamps are so pretty and detailed I felt they needed a simple approach to show off the lovely images.

For the background piece I stamped randomly with one of the single flower heads using versamark and embossed with detail clear. I then applied Tim Holtz worn lipstick and dusky concord using a blending tool to reveal the images then spritzed with water and Glimmer Mist pearl.

I used the same inks to create a background for the main image again spritzing with water and GM to bleed and blend the colours. The main image was then stamped using versafine black and clear embossing powder.

I stamped the flowers heads of the main image onto crystal shrink plastic and placed the shrunk pieces in the centres of the large flowers and to finish added some white Liquid Pearls and a couple of Swarovski crystals.

Allsorts challenge 33

Hows everyone feeling today ? Hopefully any sore heads from Thursday night are wearing off by now and you can think about a whole new year of crafting.

Our Allsorts challenge this week is being hosted by my mate Jules who has come up with the them 'Old or New' which means you can use up old stash that has been sitting around for far too long or showcase some of your new goodies that Santa delivered. Our sponsor for this week is Funky Hand who are giving this weeks very lucky winner one of their fab CD's.

I took advantage of Funky Hands free downloads as my DP's for this card and these ones are so pretty, I love the soft green and brown with a touch of pink thrown in. My image is Penny Black 3865K Gossamer coloured with Copics and the mats cut through the bug with Nesties.

My old stash are the brown Swarovski crystals which I bought in three sizes for a Christmas commission last year, but of course me being me, ordered far too many just in case. I made three brown roses, two of which were using a 1/2" punch.......the first time I have tried them that small and boy was it fiddly...... and finally I punched three tiny butterflies with the same crystals for the thorax.

By the Cute and Girly January challenge

Happy New Year everyone and wishing you a really crafty and inspirational 2010.

Although this post is being scheduled, when it pops up on my blog it will be time for our new challenge at By the Cute and Girly with the very apt theme of New Beginnings. A pretty open theme really, baby, wedding, new job, interpret as you wish. And the Inspirational Team have again come up with some wonderful work to help get your creative juices flowing so you can get your creations entered to be in with a chance of winning one of the three great prizes on offer this month. The theme this week at Stamping for the Weekend is also New Beginnings and this is my entry for that challenge.

The first of my projects are the wedding invitations I made for our second eldest son and his French fiancee who are getting married in Saint-Gilles, Croix de Vie on the west coast of France in May. Preparations are well under way now and the whole family are beginning to get excited, especially the four girls who are all being bridesmaids. In addition, two friends of the bride are being Maids of Honour (that's what they call the older bridesmaids in France), so there will be six in total. I was so thrilled to be invited to the wedding dress fittings and have seen the design of 'the' dress. The next appointment with the seamstress is in a couple of weeks when the bridesmaids are also having their first fittings.

I created six sample invitations for them and this is the one they selected. I used white linen cardstock, ran the embossed panel through the Bug using the hearts folder, the flowers and leaves have all been created with various punches and luxury finishing touches of Swarovski crystals and silk organza ribbon to carry the colour theme. The wording was stamped with Hobby Art GR201 MC using versafine black and detail clear embossing powder.

In line with French tradition, the invitations went out in November, much earlier than we send them in the UK, with the wording in both French and English. Now all I have to do are the Order of Service cards and Menu's, which will follow the same theme, but be slightly less ornate.

Cupcake challenge

My second share today is for this weeks Cupcake challenge who have a sketch from DT Caryn. As it's such a great sketch I decided to keep my card fairly simple using this very pretty DP from K & Co's Peppermint Twist Christmas pad as my base colour. Plus an outing for a new Martha Stewart punch from Sir Stampalot.......they have a huge selection of these punches so if you are in 'need' of one as I was when I got this, you know where to go. And of course they will be at the NEC - Stand H05 with lots of goodies, inspiration and live demos, so do go say hello to the gang.

The image is Penny Black 3997K Majestic stamped with versafine blue and embossed with detail clear and shaded round the edges with Hero shadow ink soft pool. The sentiment which I absolutely love is Hero Arts C2604. The snowflakes are punched with Martha Stewart single snowflake and the butterfly is an X cut punch......I know it's a bit unconventional having a butterfly on a Christmas card, but with that sentiment I somehow feel it's right. The gems are Swarovski, so this card will be for someone rather special.

Allsorts challenge

Saturday morning can only mean one thing........a new Allosorts challenge. And this week Lisa is hosting the challenge and has chosen Autumn Days as her theme. Such a beautiful time of the year and a chance to use all those glorious rich colours on our cards.

I have made a card with a matching gift box which my hubby came home with a few days ago........he got them from the pound shop and thought they "looked like me".......OK then, three plain cardboard boxes. When I questioned his comment he tried to redeem himself by saying what he mean was he knew I would make them into something pretty.

So here is what I did. First I made my own DP by stamping a sheet of heavyweight cream paper repeatedly with one of the leaf collage stamps from Inkadinkado 97513 using Brilliance copper, crimson, thyme and chocolate. I used this to cover the box and the card, distressing the edges of the piece on the card.

The tree is from the same stamp set and stamped with the same inks and the ovals cut on the Bug with Nesties.

The leaves on the box lid and panel on the card were stamped with the single leaf from that set onto shrink plastic, again with the Brilliance inks. The scallop border is punched with Fiskars threading water and the panel stitched using my vastly expensive new buy from Dunelm........all £12.99 of it - remember I gave my 'proper' sewing machine away. I edged the box with lace and aded a piece to the card to carry the theme and some pearls and swarovski gems.

Allsorts challenge 19

This weeks Allsorts challenge chosen by Kirsten really reminds us that perhaps we should be thinking about making those Christmas cards as her theme is Snowflakes in September. Endless possibilities here to get your creative juises flowing.

For my DT card I have used a new set of clear stamps Penny Black 30-035 In a Pear Tree, together with some new double sided DP's from S.E.I. called Winter Song which really have to be stroked to appreciate the flocking and foiling. I stamped the little birdie twice.......I figure he is actually the partridge from the pear tree......with brilliance red onto Bazzil cardstock, decoupaged him added diamong glaze and Swarovski crystals for his eye and tail feathers. The snowflakes have been cut on Cricut Christmans Cheer and Accent Essentials from the same colour bazzil and acetate then crystal glitter added to the acetate ones. The sentiment is from the same PB set. The border is punched from Martha Stewart Embossed Snowflakes.

Passions for Promarkers and Creative Card Crew

I got such a lovely surprise this morning when I went to look for the new challenge over at Passion for Promarkers - last week I made the Top 5 again with this card........will teach me to remember to check in future. So thank you girls for selecting my card, I will have a smile all day.

On to this weeks theme, there is an 'open' invitation on colours but with the emphasis on "Girly and Glitzy", how good is that. And at Creative Card Crew the theme is "Pink, Black and White" so I felt these two themes lend themselves to one another.

My image is the very chick Stamps Happen 80436 Paris Socialite which I stamped with versafine back and embossed with detail clear and of course coloured with Promarkers. Her fur stole is encrusted with diamonds courtesy of crystal glitter and her bag, hat and corsage have black Swarovsky crystal gems to decorate. I added lace and ribbon, a feather, hat pin and beads to embellish. The border is Martha Steward embossed scallop.

Friday Sketchers

Afternoon all and a follow on from yesterdays post Friday using the new Magenta stamp 14315.O which Sir Stampalot asked me to create some samples with. This one is a bit of a lengthy process, but I will share it as that's all part of this blogging business.

This time I have used it in a totally different way following this weeks super sketch from Friday Sketchers, which is very 'me' nice and symmetrical. Quite a lot of elements used here, but real fun and a bit messy too ........ right up me street. I stamped the image onto a piece of ivory linen cardstock using Tim Holtz spiced marmalade, then while it was still wet brushed gold perfect pearls over which gave me a nice shiny finish but with some of the orange still showing through. I then spritzed the piece with Glimmer Mists gold and terracotta and finally roughed up the edges and distressed with more of the TH ink.

I used the same stamp again onto a pieced of tan cardstock stamping with versafine brown and embossing with detail clear, then bleached out the flowers ........ the bleach worked really well on this card, it's always a bit hit and miss as they all react differently, but I was really pleased with this finish.

The butterfly and swirls were cut in Cricut home decor/accents, and 'splodged'.......this is most definitely a technical terminology.......with Adirindcak acrylic dabbers copper and gold. Finally a band across the middle punched with my MS embossed scallop, a button, some raffia and some gems ........ swarovski ones so this card must be for someone special - ah just remembered, it has a home in Peterborough !

Cupcake challenge & Creative Card Crew

I was so pleased to discover today that Cupcake challenge is going to continue after all ........ last week Lisa announced she was closing the challenge due to time restraints but Donna has stepped in so it is to continue, which is great news. Their challenge this week is Black and White and I am combining this card with Creative Card Crew challenge which this week is to use Ribbon on your project.

I love monochrome and have selected a tiny stamp from Impression Obsession B5179, which I have stamped several time on black card using versamark and detail white embossing powder and white card using versafine black and detail clear. Each square has been mounted onto a tiny silver scalloped mat cut on Cricut storybook which has then been mounted onto black gloss cardstock and then the whole piece onto a white card. The centre butterfly has been cut with an XCut punch, one in black vellum and one white, layered with silicone, wire antenna added and black swarovski crystals, plus some black spotty and white ribbon.

Passion for Promarkers & Spoonful of Sugar

I'm combining two challenges together on this one, Passion for Promarkers there the challenge is to use Cocoa and Cornflower Blue and A Spoonful of Sugar which ask that you use hearts on you projects.

I have used Art Impression T3094 (Sir Stampalot) as my main image stamped in versafine black and embossed with detail clear. To incorporate the hearts I used a Stamps by Judith (Stamp Addicts) stubby stamp to decorate her dress, colouring the hearts with the cocoa and the cornflower blue for the main part of her dress. As I have said before, I have problems with solitary figures, so my little girl is walking across cobbles stamped with Art Impression L3297, has some chalked clouds above her and some little birds using part of Art Impression G3234. My DP's are Daisy Bucket and Doodlebug, the top panel was run through the bug using the hearts folder to carry the theme and finished off with three flowers and some swarovski crystals.

ABC challenge

R is for Roses this week at ABC challenges and gives me the perfect opportunity to create a card I have been thinking about for a few days. One of our rose bushes, given to us by our eldest son and his wife for our wedding anniversary, was showing colour on it's first bloom of the season this morning. It has huge flower heads and a wonderful scent and when I photographed it early this morning the drops of overnight rain were still sitting on the petals and picked up on my piccy really well.

The photograph has been cut with nesties labels and simply matted and a strip of lace added down the side. I stamped swirls from Inkadinkado 97632 onto the DP which is Basic Grey and roses onto vellum with my Magnolia which I'm afraid doesn't seem to have any reference, in both instances using Stayzon black. These magnolia roses are actually very lifelike and I lightly coloured them with Marvy pens, cut out and decoupaged, placing them over the swirls to give a trailing effect. Finally added some of my swarovski gems to embellish ........ these only go on special cards, so who am I going to give this one to ?