Curiosity is the key.........and now all is revealed

Time for our new monthly challenges at Stamping Sensation and We Love Chocolate Baroque........yes a whole new direction for us and I have to say it's been a pretty manic week or so putting everything in place, not helped by Blogger repeatedly trying to change to the new format. You can read more on the challenge blog. Our themes are 'The Great Outdoors' and 'Wings with an Anything Goes option' and of course great prizes to be won.

A heads up that Lesley of Chocolate Baroque will be launching a One Day Special on Hochanda TV at 6pm Wednesday with some must have stamps.

It had to be a Butterfly and lots of inkiness for my Chocolate Baroque challenge creation. Oxides were added from a piece of acetate to get a more controlled application, worker stamps from Make your Mark which is becoming one of my most used CB sets, the beautiful Butterfly from Tangled Garden and inspirational quote from Artistic Affirmations stamped onto vellum and cut into three. To finish some index clips.

My Stamping Sensations scene uses Penny Black stamps, Distress Inks to build up the background, a masked sun and an Emerson computer generated sentiment printed in white onto back card.

I do hope you will join us this month and look forward to visiting all your entries.

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Let the Butterflies Dance

Morning Peeps, it's been a bit of a hectic week, I've been busily working at something which will be revealed tomorrow and I had a new first on Wednesday, I was invited to attended a NICE appraisal meeting as their Expert Patient Witness. The Zoom meeting was to consider if Emgality (Galcanezumab) which is the migraine injections I've been on since April and the first drug that has ever worked in reducing my chronic 20 a month migraines, should be made available on the NHS in England (it already is in Scotland). So after the presentations by the drug company, doctors etc., the 62 present were invited to question me, they were kind and I didn't feel under pressure and actually found the whole experience interesting. The decision is awaited, I will be notified as soon as it is although had to sign a NDA so won't be able to share until it's made public.

Onto our new challenge at Allsorts, our host this week is Ellie and she would like to see 'Hand coloured images'. Our prize comes from Chocolate Baroque who will be back on our screen for a One Day Special starting 6pm Wednesday 9th September, the new stamps are stunning........I know I am biased, but honestly they really are.

Most know I'm not a colourise, it's something I just don't enjoy or am very accomplished at, but a challenge is a challenge!! So I have combined a bit of colouring on a Butterfly with a comfort zone inky stencilled background of Oxide inks, Chocolate Baroque stencils and worker stamps. A whiteboard circle feature onto which I placed a Butterfly from the new Floral Clock set which was so popular and sold out on Hochanda last month.

Our 11th Birthday at Allsorts was way back in May but we just didn't feel it was appropriate to celebrate at that time with World events as they were with the Pandemic. The Word remains in turmoil and it's slow progress returning to some form of normality, if indeed we ever will, but we decided a belated Birthday celebration might be just the thing to give us something different to focus on. So I hope you will help us spread the word by displaying the above banner on your own blogs and joining us next week.

 

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Going round in Circles

Morning Peeps, it's Saturday and time for a new challenge at Allsorts, our host this week is Kath who is sending us 'Round in Circles'. We have a Bee Crafty stamp for this weeks winner. Please also read my footnote at the bottom about an upcoming craft giveaway!

My blue and yellow creation was one of my samples for this months Chocolate Baroque Hochanda shows, the three new stamp sets all featured around Vintage clocks intertwined with Flowers and one with Strooms. The background is Brushos overstamoed with a couple of the smaller worker stamps, Parsley Clock stamped in Versafine black, a strip of white card and die cut circle. I stamped the Parsley again and cut out which was a real labour of love, coloured and placed over the circle. The sentiment is from Floral Clock and to embellish a small metal clock hand.

This one is a fairly simple creation, a die cut circle base card, Oxides and some music stamping with a Penny Black stamp, the sentiment is Inkylicious, the Butterfly another PB stamp and Heartfelt Flowers.

Each week in September there will be a prize giveaway here........or you can click on the photo and it will take you to the challenge blog. Please share the above photo on your own blog and keep an eye out to see what you can win each Tuesday in September.

Have a good weekend everyone.

 

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Flowers are the music of the earth

Morning Peeps, time for our mid month posts at Stamping Sensations and Penny Black and More challenges, I also have a couple of shares from my post over at the Chocolate Baroque DT blog a couple of days ago.

So did you get the storms and rain at the weekend? We did, it dropped 5.5inches in one afternoon resulting in two rooms flooding but we are on split levels and with some persuasion digging trenches outside it drained quickly and damage minimal. Unfortunately not the same for our daughter across the courtyard, her house sits slightly lower than ours and three of her living rooms flooded, it was like a huge paddling pool. We got some of her smaller furniture moved to the kitchen and library but it was a losing battle as the water kept coming. The insurance assessor has recommended everything  needs replacing including the oak floors, skirtings and re-decoration and even the piano is being sent away for a refurb as he said black water will cause long term damage.

So onto my cards and a very lemon one at the top using stencils and Distress Inks to create the background, a Penny Black bloom called Dreamy which is a good few years old along with a new PB sentiment from Blooming Sentiments. Finally some doodling around the edge and flicks of white pen..........on the white pen front I would be interested to know which ones you find the best for 'flicking', I've got two or three but it seems difficult to get a good solid white.

My Stamping Sensations card also uses a Penny Black stamp, Distress Inks to add the colour and simply matted and layered, a quick and easy card.

You will find all details of my Chocolate Baroque shares on the DT blog, link above and the stamps from the Native American collection here and here.

Have a good week everyone.

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Summer fun

Morning Peeps, it's Saturday and time for a new challenge at Allsorts, our host this week is Wendy who wants to have some 'Summer Fun', this will be the last of our two week challenges, the prize will be a Chocolate Baroque stamp.

And don't forget to tune in on Sunday afternoon for another Craftalong with Lesley.......she has a very special guest joining her to craft along.......David, we know he makes wonderful stamps but we're all looking forward to seeing his crafting skills, it should be fun!

I have used CB Butterfly Dress which I think is rather fun as my focal image using a hexagonal Tattered Lace die to create the base card and mats, the image is stamped with Versafine Clair and coloured with Distress Markers, the word Summer is from the CB June Fairy set and the Butterflies I think.....I have rather too many of them and my sets tend to get mixed up, but I think they are from Just Butterflies.

As it's a two week challenge I though I would pop in a second card, this one using Lavinia stamps, Pan Pastels and Distress Inks, it's Summer Solstice for the Fairies and this trio just look to be having fun to me.

I do hope you will join us this time round and look forward to seeing your entries, meantime stay safe everyone and have a good weekend.

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S'troom o'clock

It's the first Sunday of the month so time for our new challenges at Stamping Sensations and Penny Black and More challenges where our themes are 'Make it Masculine' and 'Say it with Flowers'. 

My SS creation at the top is an early preview of one of my samples for this coming Tuesday's Chocolate Baroque Hochanda shows when Lesley will be launching some stunning new stamps, this one is called The Stroom Clock.......well of course it is! Whilst this one lends itself to masculine cards there are two more sets with a distinct feminine feel to them but still carrying a clock theme. The shows are at 10am and 3pm so do tune in or set record.

The background is watery Oxides blown around and some stencilling using CB stencils, the main clock and mushroom image stamped with Versafine Clair and the the mushrooms stamped again, cut out and triple embossed with details clear EP and some gilding was around the edges. I added some metal clock hands and a sentiment from the same stamp set.

Oxides again for the masked strip on this one, the masking tape removed and the beautiful Penny Black Orchid stamped using Distress Markers direct to stamp.

Have a good Sunday everyone.

 

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Be Peaceful and Stay Strong

Morning Peeps, it's Saturday and time for a new challenge at Allsorts, our host this week is Tracy who would like to see "Masculine' cards suitable for men and boys. 

Our sponsor is Chocolate Baroque who will be showcasing some exciting new stamps on Hochanda TV on Tuesday 4th August at 10am and 3pm. Lesley will also be on our screens on Sunday 16th August with a new Craftalong, the kit for that show is available to purchase with a £5 discount from Hochanda here.

This is one of my samples from the July shows on Hochanda which showcased a new collection of Native American stamps. A tri-fold card with an Oxide and stencilled background and various elements from Catching Dreams, Do Right Always and Hold On as well as the Beautiful Russian Princess Katya stamped without her headdress and an Indian bandana added so she has becomes Haiwatha. She evokes memories of the very old and tatty book Hiawatha which captivated me as a child, contrary to what many believe she was in fact female but you have to go back almost 100 years before Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem about Chief Hiawatha and his fictional wife Minihaha.

Can I thank you for so many kind messages over the last three weeks whilst I was poorly. It's many years, if ever, that I was confined to bed for over a week totally drained of strength. A raging temperature (negative COVID test done as a precaution although I had no other symptoms) and a migraine which did't let up for over a fortnight. Lots of test were inconclusive and it's one of those that will in all probability be put down to the medics favourite word when they don't have a clue "a virus". Pleased to say I am now feeling much stronger and venturing back into blogland.

 

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