Celebrating May

Hi everyone, it’s May Day already … where is the year going to? April has flown past, so it’s time for a new Lavinia calendar page. This month’s calendar illustration was the cute mice celebrating and generally having a good time, so I thought I’d go with that. It’s also my birthday this weekend, so the celebratory vibe is also a nod to that! Also after nearly a month without a post on here they are suddenly coming along like buses - that’s two in a couple of days!

I cut a piece of stamping card 19.5cm x 14.5cm and stamped Teapot Cottage and the Fairy Path. I then masked them and created the landscape and sky by blending Elements inks using hill and circle masks. With the masks still in place I stamped flowers sprouting from the teapot and Tilly the mouse emerging - I always think she looks so joyful! I then removed the masks and stamped the meadow flowers, bench with a birdie perched on top, and more dancing mice. I added some background trees on the hills and stamped foliage and blossom on them using the tiny stamps which come with the Spring Trees. I coloured the teapot and path with Zig pens, and dotted the meadow flowers with white Posca topped with Spectrum Noir sparkle pen. I added some bluebells and yellow poppies to fill out the base of the scene, and added various white Posca and pastel pencil highlights to the scene. I finished off with  a butterfly and flock of birds in the sky. 

Confession time … the swirling mist coming from the teapot spout is to hide a few marks where my pink blossom somehow ended up in the sky as well as on the trees!

Stamps: Lavinia Teapot Cottage, Fairy Path, Bench, Tilly & Tango, Summer Flower, Wild Poppies, Garden Poppy, Bluebells, Dandelions, Tree Scene, Small Trees, Spring Trees, Magical Mist, Fairy Bugs, Bird Collection, Birds;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Olive, Pine, Lime Pinch, Blue Atoll, Lemon Drop, Sundance); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist, Shady Lane, Avocado, Very Peri, Baby Pink, Golden Meadow, Portobello, Acorn); Kuretake Zig Clean Color watercolour pens); Sakura Stardust pens (pink, yellow, clear); Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear); Posca pen (white); pastel pencil (white);

Tools: Lavinia Hill, Mini Hill and Circle masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Addicted to Stamps & More! #516 - Make Your Mark

Ally’s Angels #105 - Anything Goes

Crafts Galore Encore #147 - Anything Goes

Crafty Gals’ Corner #276 - Anything Goes with option Spring

Creative Artiste #126 - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Double D - Tea or Coffee

Ellibelle’s Garden Party #14 - Anything In or From a Garden - TOP PICK

Four Seasons (May) - Spring

Lavinia Creative Challenge (May) - Flower Spirits

Love to Craft #91 - Anything Goes

Outlawz Anything but a Card (May) - Anything but a Card

Paper Funday #86 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Monday) - 4 Legged Friends

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday #750/751 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Hope if you’re in the UK you enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend, whatever you’re doing.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,