Flower Spirits

Hi everyone, I’ve still not been around much for the past couple of weeks as my mojo is still on holiday in Outer Mongolia, but I felt compelled to try to make another entry for this month’s Lavinia Creative Challenge - “Flower Spirits”.  Here it is.

I kept this one very simple, making it as a one layer card. I created my card blank by scoring a 30cm x 15cm piece of Pink Frog super smooth stamping card, then created a circle in the centre by sponging Elements ink through a circle mask then spattering with droplets of water. With the mask still in place I stamped various silhouette flowers and teeny fairies. I coloured the fairy wings and lantern with Sakura Stardust pens, then added white Posca accents to the flowers. I finished off with a sentiment stamped in the corner and highlighted with purple Stardust pen.

Stamps: Lavinia Foxgloves, Wild Poppies, Buttercups, Dandelions, Fairy Foragers, Believe In Magic;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Pink Elephant, Russet Orange, Flying Fig); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Sakura Stardust pens (clear, yellow, purple); Posca pen (white).

Challenges I would like to enter:

613 Avenue Create (May) - Anything Goes with option May flowers

Ally’s Angels #106 - Anything Goes

Beautiful Blossoms #41 - Anything Floral Goes

Crafts Galore Encore #147 - Anything Goes - DT FAVOURITE

Crafty Catz #714 - Anything Goes

Creative Crafters #100 - Anything Goes

Krafty Chicks #821 - CAS

Lavinia Creative Challenge (May) - Flower Spirits (2nd entry)

Love to Craft #92 - Anything Goes

Make My Monday #278 - Say It With Flowers

Mix It Up #83 - Anything Goes

STAMPlorations (May) - Anything Goes - WINNER

Triple B (May) - Birds, Blooms and/or Butterflies (2nd entry)

Try It On Tuesday - Keep It Simple

Word Art Wednesday #752/753 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting,

Hugs,

April in the Secret Garden

Hi everyone, this week it was time for me to get busy again to make my Lavinia April calendar page, and this month I managed to complete it with a day to spare - woo hoo! I was racking my brain trying to think of something slightly different from my previous springtime calendar scenes whilst incorporating the bunnies that illustrate the page, when I suddenly had a mini brainwave! I’ve always thought that the flowers which form part of the fairy stamp ‘Moments Like These’ look rather like open tulips, so I decided to use the fairy but also incorporate the flowers into the foreground too - a lot of very fiddly masking was required there, let me tell you! 

I cut a piece of white stamping card 19.5cm x 14.5cm, and created the background hills and sky by blending Elements inks using hill and circle masks. I then stamped the fairy, masking the flowers and stems with low tack tape, then stamping them using appropriate colours of Versafine Clair. I stamped the Spring Trees on the right mid foreground, and used the matching small foliage stamp to give them a cloud of green leaves. I stamped the tulips from ‘Moments Like These’ in the foreground in various colours, then added the bunnies. I added a little foliage amongst the flowers and hanging foliage top right, and a flight of geese. I coloured the fairy wings with Sakura Stardust pens, and added white Posca and Stabilo pencil highlights to the scene. Finally I thought that the centre ground still looked a tad bare, so I stamped the Secret Garden sign, then stamped again onto kraft card, cut out and attached before attaching the finished panel to my calendar.

Stamps: Lavinia Moments Like These, Spring Trees, Vine Flourish, Flower Pots, Wild Hares (large), Ducks, Secret Garden Sign;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Blue Atoll, Pine, Lemon Drop); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Avocado, Hawthorn Rose, Cheerful, Summertime, Portobello); Sakura Stardust pens (pink, yellow, orange); Posca pen (white); Stabilo pencil (white).

Challenges I would like to enter: 

Beautiful Blossoms #39 - Anything Floral Goes (2nd entry)

Card Concept #225 - Spring Flowers 

Creative Crafting Uncles #75 - Spring and/or Easter (2nd entry)

Creative Moments #280 - Bunnies and Blooms (2nd entry)

Fab ‘n’ Funky #634 - Easter/Spring

Four Seasons (April) - Spring

Lavinia Creative Challenge (April) - Faerie Glen

Love to Craft #91 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Love to Scrap #178 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Moving Along With the Times #188 - Anything Spring

Mix It Up #82 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

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

Papercraft #128 - Joy of Spring (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Sparkles #198 - It’s Springtime! (2nd entry)

Sweet Stampin’ - Spring or Easter

Word Art Wednesday #746/747 - Anything Goes

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

C.R.A.F.T. #776 - Guest Designer

Hi everyone, I was thrilled to be asked to be guest designer on this fortnight’s C.R.A.F.T. Challenge, where the theme for the next two weeks is 

*** Christmas - Children ***

The fabulous sponsor for this challenge is

All Dressed Up

The prize is 2 images from their online store.

The design team have made some fabulous projects to inspire you, so please do visit the challenge blog to check them out, and to link up your own entries. 

Here is my card for the challenge. I will hold my hand up that I did struggle a bit with this - I have absolutely no requirement for children’s Christmas cards so my stash is not really geared that way; but I decided a glittery, fantasy Christmas tree and fairy might work for a girl, so that’s what I went with!

I die cut a stitched rectangle of white stamping card, then stamped the Christmas tree in pink and heat embossed with holographic glitter embossing powder. I stamped the fairy with the lantern she normally carries masked off, then coloured her wings with Sakura Stardust pens. I hand drew a bauble in her hand using my White Orbs stencil,, which I also coloured with Stardust pens along with the baubles on the tree. I added a stamped sentiment and a few stars, then matted onto turquoise glitter card and a 7” x 5” card blank. To finish I added the absolute last star gem that I could find in my stash to the top of the tree!

This card is really VERY sparkly - here’s an angled picture.

Stamps: Lavinia White Pine, Dragonfly Keepers; sentiment and stars free with craft magazine; 

Media: Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Baby Pink, Bali Blue); Sakura Stardust pens (pink, turquoise, clear);

Tools: Hunkydory Moonstone Duo-Stitched rectangle die; Lavinia White Orbs stencil.

Challenges I would like to enter:

12 Months of Christmas #132 - Anything Goes Christmas

613 Avenue Create (March) - Anything Goes with option Things With Wings

ABC Christmas  - G is for Gems

Christmas or Not BINGO #18 - BINGO Card - TOP PICK

(I have chosen column “I” - Christmas / Pink / Stamping)

Christmas Crafts All Year Round (March) - F is for … Fairy

Crafty Catz #709 - Anything Goes

Merry Little Christmas #67 - Anything Christmas Goes

Outlawz Christmas (March) - Anything Christmas Goes

Peace On Earth #108 - Anything Goes Christmas

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Clean and Simple

Word Art Wednesday #744/745 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Thanks very much to the C.R.A.F.T. challenge Design Team for asking me to be guest designer this time.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Spring Has Sprung!

Hi everyone, it’s March and spring is officially here, though looking out at the weather here in the UK you wouldn’t necessarily notice! Confession time … yesterday was time to turn over my Lavinia calendar page for March, but due to a variety of reasons I hadn’t made it - eek! So yesterday afternoon I thought I’d better get busy, and here is the result. 

I cut a piece of stamping card 19.5cm x 14.5cm and first stamped the cottage and fairy path. I then masked them and created the hills and sky by blending Elements and Distress inks using my hill and circle masks. I stamped the fairy washing line (which I treated myself to last week specifically so I could make this page!), carefully masking it so that the washing was stamped in Nocturne while the end trees were stamped in Shady Lane VFC. I stamped Sky the fairy then added some stamped trees on the background hills, adding spring green leaves from the Spring Trees set. I then coloured the cottage and path with Zig pens, and fairy wings with Sakura Stardust pens. Unfortunately my Zigs didn’t blend well on the cottage - I have recently bought a new pack of super smooth stamping card and have noticed it definitely doesn’t blend as well as previously! So … I stamped another cottage onto separate card, coloured it with watercolour pencils, cut out and attached. I added a few finishing touches by stamping a fence, various foliage and bluebells around the cottage and the edges, a flight of birds and lastly some background spring wording.

When my husband saw the finished result he enquired about the absence of any March hares, or (having been brought up in Wales) daffodils. I had to tell him that sadly Lavinia don’t make any daffodil stamps (he replied that as a Welsh company, maybe they should!); but I added the hare sitting looking at the fairy, just for him! ❤️

Stamps: Lavinia Sky, Woodside View, Fairy Path, Fairy Washing Line, Skeleton Tree Scene, Trees, Spring Trees, Bluebells, Thyme, Winter Foliage, Gate & Fence, Forest Hares, Birds, Words of Spring;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Olive, Pine, Lime  Punch, Sundance, Lemon Drop); Tim Holtz Distress ink (Tumbled Glass); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist, Pinecone, Acorn, Shady Lane, Avocado, Very Peri, Lilac Bloom); Kuretake Clean Color watercolour pens; watercolour pencils; Sakura Stardust pens (pink, yellow, green); Posca pen (white);

Tools: Lavinia Hill mask and circle masks; My Favorite Things cloud stencil.

Challenges I would like to enter:

613 Avenue Create (March) - Anything Goes with option Things With Wings - TOP ROCKER

Country View Crafts (March) - Spring Into Life

Cardz 4 Galz #270 - Wings

Crafts Galore Encore #145 - Anything Goes 

Crafty Catz #708 - Anything Goes

Four Seasons (March) - Anything Goes

Lavinia Creative Challenge (March) - Spring Awakening

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

Simon Says (Monday) - Whatever the Weather

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

We Love 2 Create #2 2026 - Anything Mixed Media / Papercrafting Goes

Word Art Wednesday #740/741 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

I’m just hoping that the weather will finally get the memo that spring is here, and we can see an end to the relentless rain we’ve been having! 

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Teapot Cottage 🫖

Hi everyone, I’ve not had a lot of time for crafting recently, so I’ve been working my way patiently through the new release Lavinia stamps I bought when I visited the Dreamatorium a month ago. Here’s a card which uses the remaining stamp sets I hadn’t yet opened - namely Teapot Cottage, the poppy seed heads and teeny sunflowers.

I cut a square of white stamping card, stamped the teapot then masked it and stamped the fairy path. I then masked that and created my landscape by blending Elements inks using hill and circle masks. I stamped some flowers and foliage emerging from the teapot, the little background houses and the fairies holding the teapot lid aloft (quite tricky masking there!). I removed the masks and coloured the teapot and path with Zig pens, and added some mushrooms and poppy seed heads to fill the scene. I stamped two small sunflowers onto separate card, coloured, fussy cut and attached, then added some sparkle to the windows and fairy wings, and a sticker sentiment to finish. 

I was using a brand new VFC Nocturne inkpad, and with hindsight my stamping of the teapot looks a bit heavy but hey, it’s done now! 

Stamps: Lavinia Teapot Cottage, Fairy Path, Dancing Till Dawn, Fairy Foragers, Wild Summer Flower, Dill, Thyme, Sunflower Heads, Small Dwellings, Poppy Dwellings, Mushrooms Mini, Birds;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Blue Lagoon, Sundance, Olive, Pine, Green Parrot; Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Pinecone, Morning Mist, Shady Lane, Avocado, Verdant); Kuretake Zig Clean Color watercolour pens; Sakura Stardust pen (yellow); Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen (clear); Posca pen (white); 

Tools: Lavinia acetate Hill masks, Mini hill masks, Circle masks;

Other: Tim Holtz Small Talk sticker.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Alphabet Challenge - H is for Home - TOP 3

Country View FB Challenge (August) - Silhouettes

Crafts From the Fairy Den (July) - Anything Fairy Goes

Crafts Galore Encore #138 - Anything Goes

Girlz & the Art of Letters #6 - F is for … (2nd entry)

(Fairies, Flowers)

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge #8 2025 - Anything Fantasy Goes

Krafty Chicks #779 - Anything Goes

Lavinia Creative Challenge (August) - Beautiful Blooms (version without sentiment)

Love to Craft #87 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

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

Try It On Tuesday - Make It Magical - TOP 5

Word Art Wednesday #710/711 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Sadly the sunny scene on my card doesn’t remotely reflect the weather here today - it’s absolutely pouring down! Fingers crossed it will soon improve! Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Pixie Lanterns and Faerie Spells

Hi everyone, today’s card is another mixture of old and new Lavinia stamps - I decided to have a little rest from the sunflowers (though there are more coming along soon! 🌻) as I wanted to play with the new Pixie Lanterns, so I decided to make a simple fairy card. I also determined to use up a few snippets!

I die cut a stitched square from a snippet of white card, and created a soft inky background by smooshing Green Parrot Elements ink using acetate. I stamped the fairy and hanging lanterns, and coloured them using blue and gold Wink of Stella pens. I then framed the scene by creating soft lines of blended ink using the straight edge of an acetate mask. I stamped some background text and a couple of butterflies, added some white Posca and pastel pencil highlights, then stamped the sentiment onto a separate snippet, cut out and attached.

It was only when I came to assemble the card that I realised I hadn’t used my largest stitched square die as I thought - oops! - so I had to cut a larger stitched square for matting - and I JUST managed to cut it from the only snippet I had in the colour I wanted to use! I then assembled the layers onto a 6” square card blank.

Here’s an angled picture to show the sparkle …

… and a couple of pics of my snippets.

Stamps: Lavinia Moments Like These, Pixie Lanterns, Faerie Spells, Butterflies, Deeper Than the Ocean;

Media: Lavinia Elements (Green Parrot, Lime Punch); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Blue Belle, Bali Blue); Wink of Stella (blue, gold, clear); Posca pens (white, gold); pastel pencil (white);

Tools: Hunkydory Moonstone Duo-Stitched Square dies.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Crafts from the Fairy Den (June) - Anything Goes with option Fairies (2nd entry)

Creative Moments #272 - Use a Die Cut - TOP 4

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge #7 2025 - Anything Fantasy Goes - TOP 3

Lavinia Creative Challenge (July) - Once Upon a Time (3rd entry)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2527 - Anything Goes

Sisterhood of Crafters - Stripes and/or Dots

Snippets Playground #510 - Use Snippets

Sparkles #189 - Fairy Tale or Storybook

Tic Tac Toe #274 - Tic Tac Toe

(Flowers/butterfly/any sentiment OR die-cut/free/butterfly)

Word Art Wednesday #706/707 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

That’s all from me for today. Hope everyone is coping ok with the scorching heatwave we’ve been having here in the UK. 

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Forest Flowers

Hi everyone, this month’s Lavinia Creative Challenge is Flower Festival, and what’s not to like about making floral creations? I seem to have found a bit more crafting time than usual, so here is my second entry for the challenge.

I cut a 5 1/2 inch square of stamping card, and stamped and heat embossed the focal flowers. I then blended Elements inks from the centre outwards, then spattered with water. I coloured the flowers with coloured Wink of Stella pens and added white Posca accents. I| then stamped the two fairies and coloured their wings with Sakura Stardust pen, and added stamped foliage in various shades of Versafine Clair. I stamped Pipin gazing up at the flowers, then added highlights to the scene with white Posca and Stardust pens., and gold Posca spatters. Finally I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment onto separate card, cut out and attached with a teeny heart gem, then matted the finished piece onto black card stock and a card blank.

It's another very sparkly one, so here's an angled picture.

Stamps: Lavinia Forest Flower, Leaf Creeper, Vine Flourish, Fairy Foragers, Tree of Courage, Pipin, Heartfelt Verses;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Lemon Drop, Pink Elephant, Flying Fig); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Hawthorn Rose, Lilac Bloom, Blue Belle); Wink of Stella (pink, blue, gold); Sakura Stardust pens (pink, purple, yellow, clear); Inktense pencil (grey); Posca pens (white, gold).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Alphabet Challenge - E is for Embossing

Beautiful Blossoms #30 - Anything Floral Goes (4th entry)

Crafts From the Fairy Den (June) - Anything Fantasy Goes with option Fairies

Daisy Chain #97 - Birthday (4th entry)

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge #6 2025 - Anything Fantasy Goes with option Fairy

I.D.E.A.S. Calendar - A = Anything Goes

Lavinia Creative Challenge (June) - Flower Festival (2nd entry)

Little Red Wagon #812 - E is for Embossing

Moving Along With the Times #179. - Birthday (4th entry)

Paper Funday #77 - Anything Goes with option Embossing (heat or dry) (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Monday) - Spritz and/or Spatter (3rd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #704/705 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Believe In Magic 🧚

Hi everyone, time seems to be flying by at the moment and I am trying to enjoy the beautiful weather we’re having here in the UK, but I have managed to have a little crafty playtime, and here’s the result.

I cut a piece of stamping card 6.5” x 4.5” and created a background with blended Elements inks. I stamped a variety of Lavinia flowers using Versafine Clair in Nocturne, interspersed with Summertime and Sand Dune to add dimension. I stamped the hovering fairies and coloured their wings with Sakura Stardust pen, then added white Posca and Stardust pen highlights to the whole scene. I added a little more depth by blending some Elements with torn paper to form wispy clouds, then I stamped, cut out and attached my sentiment before matting the finished piece onto a black border and card blank. This is another very sparkly card which unfortunately I just can’t capture on camera!

Stamps: Lavinia Wild Poppies, Garden Poppy, Dandelions, Fairy Foragers, Believe In Magic;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Lemon Drop, Sundance, Russet Orange, Paprika, Truffle, Graphite); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Summertime, Sand Dune); Posca pen (white); Sakura Stardust pens (orange, yellow, clear);

Tools: Lavinia acetate circle masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

613 Avenue Create (May) - Anything Goes with option Floral Delight (2nd entry) - TOP ROCKER

Beautiful Blossoms #29 - Anything Floral Goes - TOP 5

C.R.A.F.T. #755 - Anything Goes - TOP 3

Crafts Galore Encore #135 - Anything Goes

Do Al(l) Kreatives #101 - Anything Goes with option Flowers (2nd entry)

Dream Valley #336 - Things With Wings

Ellibelle’s Garden Party #3 - Anything In or From a Garden

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge #5 2025 - Anything Goes Fantasy (2nd entry)

Inkspirational #341 - Hot - TOP PICK

Lavinia Creative Challenge (May) - Secret Garden (2nd entry)

Path of Positivity #131 - Anything Goes Positive

Simon Says (Monday) - Things With Wings

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Things With Wings

Sisterhood of Crafters - Flowers

Word Art Wednesday  #698/699 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,