Sunset meadow

Good afternoon all,

Today I’d like to share the latest in my series of 5 inch square notelets … I’m pushing on in my mission to complete a set!!

The design of this one was inspired by another Jo Rice YouTube tutorial, though my card is a different shape so my flowers are closer together.  

I started by masking the top and bottom of my base card, then blending 4 colours of Distress Oxide ink from light to dark, to make a band across the card which I then spattered with water.  I then stamped my flowers using a mixture if Versafine Onyx, Versafine Sepia, and Sepia 2nd generation stamping to add dimension. I used my Lavinia circle mask and Distress Inks to make my setting sun, then coloured my poppies with a red Sakura sparkle pen, and highlighted the sun and other flowers with a gold sparkle pen. Lastly I stamped my sentiment directly onto the base card using my Press to Impress stamp positioner … job done!  I also stamped the envelope to match, but only used permanent ink so the envelope is suitable for posting.

Stamps: Lavinia Group Poppies, Wild Poppies, Dandelions, Field Grass; sentiment - Lee Holland set “You Are My Sunshine”;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Fossilized Amber, Sliced Marmalade, Ripe Persimon, Barn Door); Distress Inks (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo); Versafine (Onyx, Sepia); Sakura Gelly roll sparkle pens - red and gold. 

Challenges I would like to enter:

AAA Card Challenge #207 - CAS No Layers, with option Big Sentiment (3rd entry)

Crafter’s Cafe #281 - CAS (3rd entry)

Crafty Catz #580 - Anything Goes with option Add Flowers (3rd entry)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes (4th entry)

Time Out #206 - Friend Quote (2nd entry)

That’s all for today .. I’d better get back to my inky mission 😀

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Allsorts Challenge #661

Hi everyone,

It's Saturday again already, so it's time for another weekly Allsorts Challenge. This week Brenda has chosen the theme and it is

Anything Goes with option of Use A Stencil

This week we have 2 great prizes on offer:

this gorgeous AALL & Create stencil

and this adorable Woodware stamp

Here's my card for this week.

This card started from a smooshed background I had left over from another card I made a couple of weeks ago (here), which I thought would make a lovely background for a statement flower stamp. My current favourite is this fab flower by AALL & Create, so out of the box it came. First I stamped my flower then did a bit of background 2nd generation stamping with a couple of stamps from the same set. I inked through my stencil using Versamark and embossed with detail white powder, then stamped my flower again, heat embossed with clear EP, and coloured with Cosmic Shimmer mica paints. I fussy cut and adhered the flower head to the inked panel, then finished with my sentiment popped up on foam tape and a few co-ordinating gems.

When I was completing this card I deliberately chose what I thought was a different sentiment to the previous card I made with this stamp, only to discover afterwards I had used the same one, so the two cards are quite similar ... oops! 

Stamps: AALL & Create Textured Florals;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness, Squeezed Lemonade); Cosmic Shimmer mica paints; Versafine (Onyx); Versafine Clair (Warm Breeze); Versamark; Detail White embossing powder;

Tools: Darkroom Door stencil - Diamonds;

Gems from my stash.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #3 2022 - Anything Goes

As You Like It - Favourite Colouring Medium, and Why  (3rd entry)

(My favourite is Distress Oxides for backgrounds as you can create so many effects, but I also love mica paints for painting flowers as they are so twinkly 😀)

Colour Crazy Challenge #4 2022 - Anything Goes with Colouring 

Crafts Galore Encore #95 - Anything Goes (2nd entry) - DT FAVOURITE

C.R.A.F.T. #624 - Anything Goes  (2nd entry)

Crafty Catz #580 - Anything Goes with option Add Flowers (2nd entry)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2204 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Pixie’s Snippets Playground #420 - Use Snippets

(I save snippets of my stamping card and stamp my sentiments on them)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Sweet Stampin’ - Mardi Gras

(My stencilling reminded me of Harlequin costumes)

I look forward to seeing your entries this week. Don't forget to visit the challenge blog to see more fab inspiration from the rest of the team. Thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Stencilled Thankyou Notelets

Hi everyone,

Following from my post yesterday I’d like to share a couple more of the notelets I made earlier in the week. They are along the same lines as previously, except that this time I also did a little stencilling on my inked backgrounds.

Card 1

For this one I used the gorgeous new Bell Flower stamps from Lavinia’s latest release .. they are just soooo pretty!! I used the mini single head flower as an actual flower growing up from the ground .. I just masked a different flower and stamped the stems from that 😀 I also used my newly delivered field grass, inking in Morning Mist VFC and using 2nd generation stamping to give some dimension.

Stamps : Lavinia Bell Flower Vine, Bell Flower, Dandelions (stem only), Field Grass; sentiment - Penny Black “Salutations”;

Media: Tim Holtz Diatress Oxide inks (Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, Picked Raspberry); Versafine (Onyx); Versafine Clair (Morning Mist); Sakura sparkle pens - Stardust and pink;

Tools: Lavinia circle mask; Stencil from The Range.

Challenges I would like to enter:

AAA Card Challenge #207 - CAS No Layers (2nd entry)

Crafter’s Cafe #281 - CAS (2nd entry)

Creative Inspirations (January) - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Get Creative #107 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Happy Little Stampers: CAS (January) - Anything CAS 

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Through the Purple Haze #188 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Card 2

I never tire of this set of silhouette flowers by Unity Stamps, which I stamped over an inked and stencilled panel created by cutting a shape in a piece of card with a Deckled rectangle die. 

Stamps : Flowers - Unity Stamps “Insightful Meadows”; butterfly - Penny Black “Salutations”; sentiment - unknown;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Shaded Lilac, Villainous Potion); Versafine (Onyx); Sakura Sparkle pen - purple.

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Deckled Rectangles die (used to cut mask for inking and stencilling); Brick stencil from Crafter’s Companion set “Life Happens”.

Challenges I would like to enter:

C.R.A.F.T. #624 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Crafts Galore Encore #95 - Anything Goes  

Crafty Catz #580 - Anything Goes with option Add Flowers 

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2204 - Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations (January) - Anything Goes with Stamping and option Use A Die (3rd entry)

(I used a die to create my mask for inking and stencilling)

I have only started using stencils since I returned to crafting a few months ago, but now I really like them. Blending ink through them is a very relaxing pastime which has been greatly enhanced by the arrival  of these cuties from Amazon … I like them so much I may get some more!!

Take care, and thanks for visiting today.

Hugs,

Just a note(let)

Yesterday I took delivery of my latest Lavinia stamps .. a couple from the latest release but mostly older stamps to build up my core collection of fairies, flowers, trees and woodland creatures.  I just had to play with some of them as soon as possible, and having found some 5 inch square cards in my cupboard which are smaller than my usual cards, I decided to make a set of CAS one layer notelets to give as a gift along with matching envelopes. 

Here are the first couple I made …

Card 1

I used my Lavinia circle mask to blend three colours of distress oxide ink, which I then spattered with water. I stamped my dandelions, masking a small portion of each flower head to create a gap for the seed heads which I then stamped blowing away. I finished with a simple sentiment and lots of sparkly highlights with my Sakura pen, though as usual they don’t show up on camera.

Stamps: Lavinia Fairy Dandelions, Mini Seed Head; sentiment - unknown;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink (Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers); Sakura stardust pen; 

Tools: Lavinia circle mask.

Challenges I would like to enter:

AAA Card Challenge #207 - CAS No Layers 

Classic Design Challenge (January) - Anything Goes (4th entry)

C.R.A.F.T. #624 - Anything Goes

Crafter’s Cafe #281 - CAS

Creative Inspirations (January) - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Get Creative #107 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Happy Little Stampers: CAS (January) - Anything CAS Goes

Happy Little Stampers: Watercolour ((January) - Anything Goes with Watercolouring 

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Through the Purple Haze #188 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Card 2

For this one I masked my base card with 2 strips of spare card then blended a vertical panel of distress oxide inks.  I then simply stamped my images and stamped my heart charm again in pink pearlescent ink to make it stand out more.

Stamps: Lavinia Tree of Faith, silhouette Foliage Set, Pipin, Fairy Charms; sentiment - Lee Holland “You Are My Sunshine”;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Rustic Wilderness, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean); Versafine (Onyx); Versafine Clair (Pinecone); 

Challenges I would like to enter:

Ally’s Angels #54 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Cutie Pie Challenge #167 - CAS and Cute

Krafty Chicks #596 - All Occasions

Simon Says ( Monday) - Furry Friends

Time Out #206 - Friend Quote

(My card features flowers and will form part of a set of notelets for a friend)

That’s all from me for today, though I already have several more simple notelets in the pipeline, then I’ll be moving on to some new full blown Lavinia scenes 😀

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Allsorts Challenge #660

Good morning everyone,

It's Saturday so it's time for another weekly Allsorts Challenge. This week Lorraine has chosen the theme and it is

For A Child

We have a bumper prize crop this week, with 3 great prizes on offer:

Ruth Hamilton Design is kindly donating 3 digi images from her store

and

we also have this set of Wizard of Oz stamps for a second winner.

and 

a single Wizard of Oz Tin Man stamp for a third winner.

Here's my card for this week.

This theme fell quite nicely for me, as I needed to make a card for my niece’s little girl’s first birthday. I don’t have a lot of reasons to make children’s cards but I immediately thought of a much loved old LotV stamp … who wouldn’t love this cute teddy peeping out of a gift box?

I coloured my image using Promarkers, then matted fairly simply using patterned papers and glitter card. I added some faux stitching using my pokey tool and various colours of fine liner, a die cut number and a sentiment popped up on foam tape. I deliberately didn’t use any embellishments such as gems or ribbon so as to keep it as safe as possible for a toddler. 

I was in a bit of a dilemma … I didn’t want to make the card overwhelmingly pink as I don’t know if my niece would consider that a reinforcement of gender stereotypes; but I was struggling to find any papers that grabbed me in other colours, so I compromised with a mix of pink and blue with a bit of green - hope she likes it!. 

Stamps: teddy - LotV; sentiment - See-D;

Media: Promarkers, Flexmarkers;

Papers: LotV Nitwits "Bonnets and Bowties";

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Squares die; Provo Craft Hippie Chick number die.

Challenges I would like to enter:

As You Like it - Favourite Colouring Medium (and why) (2nd entry)

(Promarkers were always my medium of choice until I came back to crafting six months ago, and would probably be my favourite again if  I could get more practice and restore my confidence in colouring)

Country View Challenges (January) - Your Year to Sparkle and Shine (5th entry)

DRU #185 - Anything Goes with die brand sold by DRU

( I have used Spellbinders)

Fab ‘n’ Funky #543 - 2 or More Patterned Papers

My Time to Craft #473 - Floral (2nd entry)

Passion for Markers #624 - Use A Die

Daring Cardmakers - Think Of A Number

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Four Legged Friends (2nd entry)

Stamping Sensations  (January) - Anything Goes with Stamping and option Use A Die (2nd entry)

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Hope you can join us this week, and I look forward to seeing your entries. Don't forget to visit the challenge blog to see more fab inspiration from the rest of the team. Thanks for visiting and hope you have a great weekend..

Hugs,

Mystical Aurora

Hi there,

This morning I would like to share the results of my latest inky experiment, namely to create a distress oxide smooshed background and then introduce a moon onto the already inked background. I think this kind of look is best suited to mystical cards and as I still only have the 2 Lavinia fairies, so this is another outing for Aurora.

I created my smoosh background with 3 colours of DO, and tried for the first time dabbing my ink pads onto acetate and taking that to the card, rather than dabbing them onto my mat and taking my card to the mat. I was able to ink up two card panels with this method ... the other one has lighter inking and will appear on a future card. 

I then used my Lavinia moon mask and Versafine Clair (Twilight) to ink the moon ... who knew it would stand out so much on an already inked background?? I then inked my hills using Lavinia hill masks and a mix of DO and VFC, before stamping my fairy, flowers and foliage in a mixture of colours of VFC ... and of course the adorable Pipin who is getting his first outing today.  I finished off by highlighting the moon, fairy wings and flowers with Sakura sparkle pens in Stardust and gold ... I didn't add a sentiment as I couldn't decide what would look best so I'm leaving that for now. 

Looking at the finished piece I think maybe I should have stamped some of the base flowers in black to create more depth,  but I will try that next time.

Stamps: Lavinia Aurora, Pipin, Birds, Dandelions, Group Poppies, Silhouette Foliage Set,  Mini Branch, Mini Leaf 1;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress oxide inks (Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron, Squeezed lemonade, Rustic Wilderness); Verafine (Onyx); Versafine Clair (Twilight, Rainforest, Warm Breeze);

Tools: Lavinia acetate hill masks and moon mask.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #2 2022 - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More #421 - Make Your Mark

As You Like It - Favourite Colouring Medium (and why)

(my favourite is Distress oxide as there are so many effects you can achieve and I am learning new techniques all the time)

Classic Design Challenge (January) - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

C.R.A.F.T. #624 - Anything Goes - TOP 3

Get Creative Challenge #107 - Anything Goes

My Time To Craft #473 - Floral

Simon Says (Monday) - Insects/Birds - DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Four Legged Friends

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting today - take care, stay safe and see you soon.

Hugs,

Allsorts Challenge #659

Good morning everyone,

It's Saturday so it's time for another weekly Allsorts Challenge. I'd like to start by thanking everyone who joined in with my first challenge theme last week - I really enjoyed visiting all your blogs to see your fab entries, though it was extremely difficult to pick my top 5 amongst so much talent! 

This week it is Mervi's turn to choose the theme and it is

❤️❤️❤️ Add A Heart ❤️❤️❤️

So we would love to see your makes featuring a heart, whether for Valentine’s Day, Anniversary, Wedding, or any other occasion where you can make it fit.

This week we have two fab prizes:

Firstly - a £15 store voucher kindly donated by Pearlywinks 

Secondly - this beautiful Bee Crafty stamp.

Here's my card for this week.

This is the second of two Lavinia fairies that I received for Christmas, and all the other stamps were also in my Christmas stocking - a couple of which I am also using for the first time.

I decided to have a go at the inked acrylic block technique as per another Jo Rice tutorial, but me being me I had to also try to introduce a different element to put my own stamp on it (excuse the pun!). So after I inked my block, before laying it down on the card I placed a circle of masking paper down so that the ink could squish around the "moon". Not sure whether this was altogether successful, but I decided to run with it anyway as the moon could be argued to have an "aura".

I then simply completed my stamping, and highlighted everything with Sakura glitter pens in silver and a shade of blue, which I thought complemented both the sky and my blue glitter matting cardstock.

As ever the sparkle doesn't show up very well in photographs - this card is actually VERY sparkly!! here's an angled shot ...

Stamps: Lavinia Aurora, Group Poppies, Silhouette Foliage Set, Vine Flourish, Fairy Charms; sentiment - unknown;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Rustic Wilderness, Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire, Barn Door); Versafine (Onyx); Versafine Clair (Twilight); Sakura sparkle pens - Starlight and blue.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Country View Challenges (January) - Your Year to Sparkle and Shine (4th entry)

C.R.A.F.T. #623 - New  (2nd entry)

Crafty Calendar (January) - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Dream Valley #261 - Anything New (2nd entry)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2202 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Stamping Sensations (January) - Anything Goes with Stamping with option Add a Die 

(option not taken up)

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Through the Purple Haze #188 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Try It On Tuesday - In With the New (2nd entry)

We Love Stamping (January) - Anything Stamped with option of Wings (3rd entry)

Hope you can join us this week, and I look forward to seeing your entries. Don't forget to visit the challenge blog to see more fab inspiration from the rest of the team. Thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Echinacea and Moth

Good morning, today I would like to share my latest card using a gorgeous new Woodware stamp “Echinacea and Moth” that I got for Christmas, plus a stencil I have had for a little while but haven’t got round to using until now. 

Today’s card was actually inspired by wanting to have fun with stencils as per the current Simon Says (Wednesday) challenge, and I thought this gave me a perfect opportunity to also ink up the Woodware stamp, and to get back to a bit of colouring with my alcohol markers which I have rather neglected recently.

Firstly I stamped my flower and coloured with Promarkers, then I masked it and inked through my stencil using two colours of distress oxide ink.  I added a little bit of 2nd generation grungy background stamping round the edges using Versafine Clair, sponged round the edges with more DO, and added my sentiment. Lastly I stamped my moth, stamped again onto a snippet of card, coloured and adhered on top of the original image, leaving just the original antennae showing. I finished off with my matting and a few sparkly gems. 

Stamps: Woodware "Echinacea and Moth", "Additions" (background stamp); sentiment - Lee Holland "You Are My Sunshine";

Media: Promarkers; Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness);

Tools: Darkroom door stencil - Polka Dots.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Ally’s Angels #54 - Anything Goes

Country View Challenges (January) - Your Year to Sparkle and Shine (3rd entry)

C.R.A.F.T. #623 - New - TOP 3

Creatalicious #226 - Anything Goes with option Something New (2nd entry)

Dream Valley #261 - Anything New (2nd entry)

I ❤️ Promarkers #501 - Anything Goes - WINNER

Passion for Markers #623 - Going Dotty - TOP 5

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Fun With Stencils

Try It On Tuesday - In With the New - TOP 5

We Love Stamping (January) - Anything Stamped with option of Wings (2nd entry)

I'll be back later over at Allsorts to announce the winner and top 5 of my challenge theme, and back tomorrow with my DT card for a new Allsorts challenge. Until then, take care and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Getting AALL & Create-ive

Hi peeps, today I would like to share another card made using my new stash, which today is all goodies by AALL & Create. As previously mentioned I chose the fabulous “Textured Florals” set when I won the Simon Says Monday Challenge in November, and today is the first time I have used the main flower stamp which I think is completely awesome 😍. I also used some new Christmas stash, namely the A & C background stamp and stencil, and last but not least I used two new colours of distress oxides (Squeezed Lemonade and Rustic Wilderness)  that also found their way into my Christmas stocking 😍

This card was partly inspired by a Jo Rice YouTube tutorial  though I changed a few things too. I started by creating a smoosh background with my DO’s then stamped my flower with Versafine Onyx. I added background stencilling using more DO’s, stamped my hexagon background stamp using 2nd generation with Versafine Clair in Rainforest, and stamped a couple of random background words using 2nd generation with VFC in Morning Mist. I stamped and heat embossed the flower head onto a separate snippet of card, coloured with my old Twinkling H2O’s and Cosmic Shimmer paints which I have recently rediscovered and really love, and then fussy cut and mounted on top of the original image. I matted the panel onto blue and black card, added my stamped sentiment popped up on foam tape, and finished with a few white paint spatters using my Posca pen.

The watercoloured flower actually has a beautiful iridescent gleam to it due to the mica paints I used,  but as always photos don't capture this very well ... here is another angled shot which shows it a bit better.

Stamps: AALL & Create #531 - Textured Florals, #383 - Scripted Hexagons;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness); Versafine Onyx; Versafine Clair (Rainforest, Morning Mist); Twinkling H2O’s and Comic Shimmer paints; white Posca pen;

Tools: AALL & Create stencil #110 - Digits Checked.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #1 2022 - Anything Goes

Country View Challenges (January) - Your Year to Sparkle and Shine (2nd entry)

Crafter’s Cafe #280 - Use Your Favourites (3rd entry) - TOP 3

(DO’s are my favourite for backgrounds, and the floral stamp set is my newest favourite)

Crafty Calendar (January) - Anything Goes

Dream Valley #261 - Anything New

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2202 - Anything Goes

Sheepski #58 - Square - TOP 3

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Something New (3rd entry)

Sweet Stampin’ - New  (2nd entry) - TOP 5

Through the Purple Haze #188 - Anything Goes

This is my first card made totally with AALL & Create stamps and stencils, and I rather like this style so will make more along these lines. Thats all from me for today, though I’ll be back soon with some more inky experiments 😀

Take care and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,