In Bloom

Don't the weeks fly round, it's Saturday again before I know it and a new challenge at Allsorts where Helen would like to see flowers on our work for her 'In Bloom' theme. Right up my street Helen.

My card is something I made when I was bored one Sunday and I had the urge to make lots of flowers.........as you do. So basically that's exactly what I did using various dies, coloured papers and distress ink to shade the edges, a little bit of quilling...........which I might add is definitely not something I do very often, but I thought it lent itself to the stems rather than more die cut leaves.

I added some pearls here and there and built up the picture onto some neutral coloured DP layered onto the base card.

Have a super weekend everyone.

Christmas come early at Stamp Addicts

Stamp Addicts are getting the DT well ahead for Christmas and will be showcasing their new Christmas stamps in Create and Craft TV on Monday 2nd July at 2pm and 7pm. 

But before I tell you about my card, I would like to says a great big thank you to everyone for the birthday cards, wishes and gifts I received yesterday. It's a bit of a manic week, hubbys birthday was Tuesday mine yesterday as well as Zacharys 18th, then one of our granddaughters tomorrow, so the weekend is going to be a bit of a celebratory one. I just hope the weather holds out.

Now for the new stamps and I am really liking the Twelve Days of Christmas stamp sheets and was happily working away with them until my little back issue last Friday...............which does seem to be on the mend thank goodness.................put paid to any crafting for a few days. So it meant I've not made as many samples as I would like, but who knows the stamps may come back at a later programme and I can get some more made.

Here are just a few of the samples I made for the programmes, the one at the top uses all twelve of the stamps. I wanted to use them all together so made this Christmas wall hanging stamping all twelve images onto Fabriano watercolour card, which I first inked with distress inks and then embossed the Judikins garnet embossing powder. The frame was cut on the Cricut using Design Studio to weld the squares onto the frame. The scallop borders were cut with Nesties.

This one is not traditionally Christmas in colour, but again I wanted to incorporate as many of the stamps as possible. Another background inked with distress inks and spritzed with Glimmer Mist, then sections randomly created using a ruler and black distress marker and then embossed with detail clear powder. I masked each section with post it notes as I worked across the piece stamping into each section.

The concertina card used several of the stamps from the Mr and Mrs Christmas and Reindeer sets and I did some paper piecing to carry the colours along with water colouring.

My last share for today uses just one of the twelve days of Christmas set with the matching sentiment and has been coloured with Copics.

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.

A bit of sand and water

Hello Peeps, it's time for me to share my very first DT piece for Craft a Scene challenge. Although the new challenges goes live on the first Sunday of the month, I was still on my hols when this months challenge started and didn't even know I was part of the team at that point. But as the Design Team take it in turns to share a second piece on Sunday's following the months theme I have been able to join in this week. 

The June them is 'A bit of sand and water', I think my card is more water than sand, but with artistic licence I am confident there is sand down the rocky bank on the left of the picture ! I used one of my favourite techniques, reverse masking to ink and stamp through the oval aperture using Adirondack due inks and a mixture of stamps (thumbnail links below). I brayered a second piece of gloss cardstock with the same inks as a base for the sentiment and to carry the colour theme. The sentiment is a wood mounted from Printworks which came from Stamp Addicts but I am unable to locate it to add the link, but I'm sure if you give them a call they can advise you if it's still available.

I am sorry I have not got round to visit for a few days, this back but paid to spending too long sitting, but I think the 'fire and ice' regime is working and it seems to be easing a bit, so hopefully I will be back to normal soon. Meanwhile thanks so much for taking a peek, I so appreciate your visits and kind messages and how  understanding you all are when I'm not as speedy as I would like.

I really hope you will join in with this months challenge and get those inks flowing.

I am entering this card into:

Pan Pastels - Anything Goes
Gingerloft - Red white and blue

All the best laid plans.............

What do they say about all the best laid plans ? I had my weekend all planned out, a crafty get together with a friend, some essential crafty shopping at Stampalot and then lunch, but my back put paid to all of that. All I did was go get an acrylic block out of a drawer, then an almighty click and a pain from one side to the other and now I am on the ice and heat regime yet again. I am so hoping it's just a pulled muscle and will ease quickly...................but the reality of my body means it may not me that simple, time will tell.

Anyhow, it's Saturday morning again and it's Jo turn to host the theme at Allsorts and she says "Any Die will Do" this week. I know Jo loves her dies and I am rather fond of using them as well so I really enjoyed making this one.

Lilac and green are a colour combo I love..........if I'm honest I love lots of colour combos, but I always thing these two colours are made for each other.

All the 'ingredients are listed below, but basically I cut the different elements from the Spellbinders set and matted them up...............no stamping again, odd for me I know............and created a background by inking a mask with versafine, running it through the CG with the ink side up against a piece of cardstock, removed the mask and dusted cosmic shimmer so it adhered to the inked negative sections. Made two roses from organza ribbon and threaded some co-ordinating beads onto a stick pin.

I hope you will be able to join in our challenge this week. Have a lovely weekend and thank you so much for visiting me.

A Passion for Flowers

Afternoon Peeps, what happened to the sun, it's been raining think the clappers here in the Fens since the early hours ? And  looking at the long range forecast it's not going to get much for before the end of the month, so basically typical Wimbledon weather.

I am pleased to report that Poppy is progressing well, she's still a hop along pup and acquired a lovely side kick with her poorly back leg as she darts about full of energy and despite her size thinks she is equally as big as the Labs and St Bernard.

Nothing new to share, so I am showing a few of the samples I made a while back for Ruth at A Passion for Stamps. All are paper pieced using a selection of her lovely floral images, it's the prefect way to use up scraps of DP.

I used various Nesties to create the mats and frames, some embossing along with offcuts of ribbons plus gems to embellish.

Have a good Thursday everyone and hope you weathers not as dismal as ours.

Puppies and horses just don't mix..............

Morning (edited Monday evening to say it was when I started this post !) everyone, it seems like it's going to be one of those weeks, poor little Poppy was settling in so well until she decided horses looked like a good option for playtime. On a routine 'loo' trip Sunday morning she took off like grease lightening, across the garden through the electric fence, across one paddock, past placid Ben who just watched her and into Heskeys paddock.

Bad move, he's got some Arab in him and dances like a prima ballerina as a normality and as at least two cockerels have discovered to their peril, he hates anything round his feet. One massive yelp and we really feared the worse, but she is one lucky pup. Sunday afternoon was spent at the vets and again yesterday for more checks and they confirmed nothing broken just cuts and bruises, something of a miracle when you consider her size against Heskey. So lots of cuddles as she is feeling pretty sorry for herself, but things could have been far, far worse.

Needless to say no crafting happening here, so my share is one I made a few weeks ago with some basic inking and masking, Art Impression and Lavinia stamps and Adirondack Ink. We have so many rabbits jumping about in the fields the last few weeks which inspired this card.........artistic licence with the sun as that's still is short supply here in the UK.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

Pans Pastels - Summertime

Simon Say's - A bit of brown

Thanks for popping in, I am doing my best to get round all my blog buddies, but it's taking time with the poorly furry bundle to look after.