Spring had Sprung and this weeks candy

I am hoping Mr Blogger is playing the game over Easter as this is scheduled as we are in Paris to watch one of our son's run in the Marathon, it's all part of his prize from the Runners World/Ascis Athlete of the year awards. 

Since his win in November, he's been mentored by their expert personal trainers, physios and dieticians, receive lots of lovely running gear along with the all expenses paid trip to Paris and next he is off to Munich for another marathon at the end of the month. He has been training so hard and thinks nothing of popping out in the morning for a swift 20 mile run, as you do.

So now on to this weeks challenge and it's all about Spring at Allsorts this week with Jo's lovely theme of Spring has Sprung and we have two great sponsors, DigiStamp Boutique and Crafty Ribbons.

My card at the top is a bit of inky indulgence with a Dylusion background, lots of random stamping and gold embossing, a lattice window using one of Ruth's Tonic Pick of the Bunch dies and birds and branch are all Timmy dies. The little butterflies are from the same Pick of the Bunch stamp sets and the sentiment computer generated.

Now for this weeks candy is a 8x8 paper pad and the winner will be selected at random from all comments left during the week......... if you leave more than one then you get entered again, simple as that and the only other requirement is that......................

1) I would love if you were a follower (candy only blogs will be discounted)

2) Leave a comment and add the logo from my sidebar to your own blog

And last weeks lucky winner is Rosie from Mondays post, congratulations please mail me with your full posal addy and I will get your stamps off to you as soon as I get home from Paris.

For my second DT piece I have used Roses stamp sheet from DigiStamp Boutique which is paper pieced onto these pretty Spellbinders, an embossed panel at the bottom and the top section is stamped with a Hero Arts rose stamp using distress inks. The rose and leaves in the bottom corner has been made with Pick of the Bunch stamp and punch Rose set.

I really do hope you will find time to join us this week as we have two great prizes on offer from our sponsors DigiStamp and Crafty Ribbons so double the reason to enter.

The age of the horse

Good Morning to you all, thought I would do a quick post as I am off to Paris tomorrow which means my new challenge posts over the weekend will be scheduled, so fingers crossed Blogger does what he should but you never can be sure with him.

My card is a trip back to farming as my Granddad knew it, when he was young he was a horseman and saw so many changes to mechanised farming as time progressed, I often think it must have been a very hard transition for farmers of those times.

My scene has been created through an oval mask, I first stamped the horses which are from the Stamp Addicts rural scene sets, masked them and added the hills, coloured with Pan Pastels then stamped the poppies in the foreground using a stamp from Clarity. The corners are Spellbinders and I tied the spine with raffia to carry the rural feel.

I shall do my best to get round today but will be MIA for a few days and back again on Tuesday so will catch up with you all again then.

Blog celebration until 8th April

Hello Peeps, hope your Easter has got off to a good start, it's a quiet one here so hoping to get in some crafty time and magazine and TV work out of the way.

As we are closing in on the end of the month I thought I had better let you know what I am doing about my blog celebration here as I did say in my original post that I would let it run until at least the end of March. I have been overwhelmed by all your wonderful entries and humbled by the great lengths everyone has gone to in really considering their pieces of artwork, so a huge Thank You to each and every one of you.

As I am off to Paris just after Easter I thought it would make sense if I let things run until I return which will allow anyone still wanting to join in a little more time to do so, then I will do the drawn for all the prizes after I get home on 8th April. Hope that's OK with you all.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter.

Spring blossoms and butterflies

Happy April everyone, we have new themes for you at Pretty Little Ribbons and FlonzCraft Vintage Stamping challenges.

At Pretty Little Ribbons it's my turn to choose the theme and being just a tad transparent when it comes to  choosing themes and the fact it's also the first of April it had to be 'Spring is in the Air'...................not that you would ever know looking out of the window in most parts of the UK. And over at FlonzCraft the emphasis is on 'Thank You'.

There is a great sale going on at Pretty Little Ribbons this month so do go check out the bargains.

My card at the top if my first DT piece for Pretty Little Ribbons and may well get you grabbing your sunnies as it's a tad bright, but when I saw the lovely fresh green gingham ribbon and fuchsia pink lace from Sarah I knew exactly where I would go. So I created a background using green and yellow Dylusuions and stamped the gorgeous Elizabeth Bennett stamp which is a new one from Indigo and stamped with archival black.

I love all things Brontë and Pride and Prejudice is probably one of my favourites so I've also read the sequels written by Linda Berdoll, if you are a fan and have not read them yet then you really should.........mind you I think Miss Elizabeth Bennett would have had a fit of the vapours if she had foreseen what a racy young woman she turned into at the mercy of Mr Darcy. But the books are great escapism.

I bleached out the colour from the face and flowers, coloured with watercolour pencils and decoupaged some of the flowers, the butterfly and the bird. The charm and flowers are also from PLR, I coloured the white daisies with the same watercolour and green ones are as they came and match nicely.

My FlonzCraft card is fairly simple, an embossed background, some FlonzCraft butterflies inked with distress markers and some Aged Gold Frantage added randomly and the good old TH caged bird, although I let this one of of his cage. I created the sentiment on the computer as I wanted it in Italian which translated reads 'thank you for your kindness'.

My final piece is another one for Pretty Little Ribbons, simple matting and layering using Spellbinders, some bazzil and Magnolia DP, silky crushed ribbon and satin leaf trim from PLR. The two lilies are made with Tonic's stamp and punch lily set.

I hope you can join in our challenges this month and look forward to seeing all your creations.

Simply vintage and this weeks candy

This week at Allsorts Catherine is inviting us to a spot of Vintage, one that's perfect for me and I am sure a lot of you as well.

I started my card by distressing the reverse side of a piece if Centura Pearl with vintage photo, tea dye, victorian velvet and picked raspberry, spritzed with glimmer mist iridescent gold and then randomly sponged vintage photo through a swirly stencil and finally heat embossed some gold powder here and there.

The birds and birdcage are all TH alterations dies, I threaded some beads onto the bottom of the birdcage and added a couple of words from Stamp Addicts dream stamp set. A few punched flowers, some seam binding and a button from this weeks sponsor Lots of Buttons.

And of course as it's Saturday it's time to show you what you can win this week..............a set of Crafters Companion stamps. As usual a winner will be selected from all comments left on  my blog during the week, if you leave more than one then you get entered again. Simple as that and the only other requirement is that......................

1) Leave a comment and add the logo below to your sidebar

2) I would love if you were a follower (but candy only blogs will be discounted - and I do check)

Jackie, you are this weeks luck winner with your comment on Mondays post, please mail me with you full postal addy so I can get your goodies posted off to you.

I really hope you will join in our challenge this week and look forward to seeing all your fabulous entries.

Wishing you all a lovely Easter whatever you may have planned and if you are out and about in the UK wrap up warm.

Tonic meets Stampendous

Hello craft Peeps and welcome to my new followers and also a big thank you for all your comments on my last post, I think it's fair to say that a good few of us would like to be on that tropical beach right now. How about we charter a flight for a few crafty days in the sun...........now that is a good idea.......and if we are really lucky Captain Jack Sparrow aka Johnny Depp might happen to pass our island and drop in.........you all know I live in a fantasy world so just humour me.

Anyhow, back to reality and I thought I would share a bit of spring through my card above, violets are such pretty flowers with the most amazing scent and when I saw this Stampendous stamp had to have it. I have coloured the image with watercolour pencils and made some violets to embellish using the small petal punch from the Rose stamp and punch set from Tonic. The leaves which I thought reflected those on the image so well are stamped into bazzil using  Ruth's Pick of the Bunch Lily set.

I thought I would have another go with the Flitter Glue and Gilding Flakes, I bought it months ago but have never been happy with the results and usually end up with a  desk full of mess, but I was so pleased that this time it worked and I seem to have mastered it at long last. The frame is another of Ruth's products, the Lilies Window Die....................I am so impressed with these Tonic dies, even the more intricate ones still cut like butter, there's non of this faffing about having to run them through the machine several times to get a good cut. I cute the frame a second time onto black cardstock and cut out the lilies and bee, then overstamped with the matching stamp set using the flitter glue and gilded them. The ivy in the background is from the same stamp set and again gilded as is the central sentiment.

That's it from me today, back to proper work and get my desk cleared before Easter.

Another tropical shore

Good morning to you all, how's the weather your way ? I've seen snow in March before, but never in the volume we seem to have had the last few days and it's not in any hurry to shift. And there was me thinking it's almost Easter so it must be Spring.

I have my mid month inspiration for Craft a Scene challenge where the March them is 'Tropical Shores', I am not actually on the DT any longer as I decided to step down, but I already had this months work prepared so would like to share it and remind people about the challenge.

I would also like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has joined in my Blog Celebration so far, I am totally overwhelmed by the beautiful and varied creations and humbled by the great efforts to which you have all gone to create such special pieces of artwork. I know there are still some of you planning to join in and as I said in my initial post I am going to let it run for another week or two yet.

My card uses in the main stamps from Stampscapes, although the sentiment is from Printworks and the surfer image one I had specially made to make cards for for our second eldest son who is a keen surfer. I first stamped the images and reflection in the water then masked a sun before adding colour with Pan Pastels and a bit of shading with watercolour pencils.

As always thanks for popping in with your kind comments and hope you have a good week.