It’s February, and Love Is In the Air!

Hi everyone, here I am back again with a second post today - anyone looking for my Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge guest DT post, please see here.

Towards the end of last year I started decorating a Lavinia 2025 calendar, which is a really fun though very intricate and time consuming project. By the end of the year I had completed 5 of the 12 pictures, meaning I need to complete the remaining ones this year before a particular month rolls around and I need to turn the page over! The first missing one was February, and for one reason or another I had kept putting it off until I finally sat down to it at 4:30pm on January 31st!! Talk about last minute! However I managed to get it finished in time and here it is.

I can’t photograph the whole calendar page as the calendar is now in use, but the illustration for February is of 2 hedgehogs so I decided to make that the focus of my picture, which I wanted to reflect both a romantic and wintry theme. 

I cut a 19.5cm x 14.5cm piece of stamping card and created a heart by blending Della Blue Elements ink through a stencil (the colour is pretty faint … methinks I need to replace that inkpad as it is very well used!). I edged the heart with stamped mini leaves in Arctic and very Peri Versafine Clair, then stamped some teeny snowflakes alternating between Medieval Blue VFC and Platinum Planet Brilliance ink. I stamped the 2 cute hedgies from the Wallace family inside the heart then added some landscape with blended Elements ink using a Mini Hill Mask. I added a few background trees in various shades of blue VFC and a dangling heart Fairy Charm. I stamped the sentiment in Medieval Blue then added some random scattered hearts in Hawthorn Rose. To finish I edged the panel with Dark Denim Elements and a dark blue marker pen, and added a few white Posca highlights here and there. 

Stamps: Lavinia Wallace Family, Small Pine Trees, Christmas Tree Group, Fairy Charms,  Snowflakes, Mini Leaf 1, Group of Hearts Mini, The world is full of beauty (retired);

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Della Blue, Dark Denim); Versafine Clair (Very Peri, Arctic, Medieval Blue, Pinecone, Hawthorn Rose, Nocturne); Posca pen (white);

Tools: Press to Impress heart stencil; Lavinia acetate Mini Hill masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Addicted to Stamps & More #485 - Diecuts and/or Stencils

Classic Design Challenge #1 2025 - Anything Goes with option Winter Fun  (3rd entry)

Country View FB Challenge (February) - Romance or Friendship

Crafty Animals #91 - Include an Animal

Crafty Calendar (February) - Hearts

Creatalicious #285 - Anything Goes with option Love Is In the Air (2nd entry)

Dream Valley #329 - Use Pink or Red

Four Seasons (February) - Anything Goes Winter

Heart’s Quest #70 - Include a White, Pink or Purple Heart

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #201 - Hearts Galore

Outlawz (February) - Anything Goes In a Card Free Zone

Papercraft Challenge #114 - Winter Wonders

Path of Positivity #127 - Anything Goes Positive (4th entry)

Pearly Sparkles #104 - Love Is In the Air

{PIN}spirational #322 - Quilt of Hearts

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

Sweet Stampin’ (February) - Love

I’m definitely hoping that I will manage to get on with my calendar during the next month … that was a bit too close for comfort!

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge - February Guest DT

Hi everyone, well here we are in February already …. Where does the time go?? I was really thrilled to be asked by Becca to be a guest designer for this month’s Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge (formerly known as The Fairy and the Unicorn), so of course I said yes! 

The theme for HQFCB is always

Anything Fantasy Goes

This month there is also the additional fantasy option of Leprechauns.

Please do pop over to the challenge blog to see the wonderful fantasy creations from the design team and to link up your entries.

I don’t have any leprechaun images, but as my regular visitors will know I DO have a selection of Lavinia fairies, so I thought it about time one of them should come out to play. Here is what I made.

I die cut a large stitched square of white stamping card and created my background by blending Elements inks using Lavinia Mini Hill and Circle masks. I then stamped the fairy and a selection of coordinating flowers, with 2nd generation stamped field grass behind. I coloured the poppies and fairy wings with Sakura Stardust pens, and added some shadow to ground the fairy with grey Inktense pencil. I added some hanging vines to the top of the scene, then highlighted everything with fine white Posca pen and clear Stardust pen. I stamped a magical sentiment, which I thought seemed particularly appropriate as this fairy always looks to me so pensive, as if she is daydreaming. To finish I added a flight of birds in the distance and matted the finished piece onto a 6” square card blank.

Here’s an angled picture to show the sparkle.

Stamps: Lavinia Moments Like These, Group Poppies, Field Grass, Vine Flourish, Birds; Crafter’s Companion Magical Sentiments;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Confetti, Della Blue, Dark Denim, Graphite); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Twilight, Hawthorne Rose); Sakura Stardust pens (pink, blue, purple, clear); Nktense pencil (grey); Posca pen (white);

Tools: Hunkydory Moonstone duo stitched square dies; Lavinia acetate Mini Hill masks and circle masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Beautiful Blossoms #25 - Anything Floral Goes (2nd entry)

Fab ‘n’ Funky #609 - Include a Stamped Image (2nd entry)

Krafty Chicks #753 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Little Red Wagon #792 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Mix It Up #75 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Path of Positivity #127 - Anything Goes Positive (3rd entry)

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

Try It OnTuesday - Oh What a Night

I’d like to thank Becca for asking me to a guest designer at HQFCB this month.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,