Lotus

A very foggy damp day - can't even see the fields at the bottom of the garden, so another day of staying put (not that we could go anywhere even if we wanted to! 😄)
I was supposed to be trying for a 'no buy' month this month after us having a rather hefty bill for a new central heating boiler -  - - I can at least say I tried.....???

As soon as I saw this new stamp set from Sarah over at Funky Fossil, I had to have it. I just loved it. 💝

I have made a few cards with it and a first for me - I have actually used all the stamps in the set! So there will be more to show in the future but today I am just sharing a quick CAS make.

The stencil background is also from Funky Fossil (it just sort of fell into my basket🙈) - simply inked in Cracked Pistachio and Spun Sugar.

The single blossom stamp heat embossed, watercoloured and fussy cut and just popped on with foam pads.

I like the simplicity of this card - at a time when there is so much uncertainty and sadness I needed to make something serene and uncomplicated.

Linking up at
Stamplorations Stencil -A/Goes.
Unicorn -  CAS
TTCRD - A/Goes

Thanks for looking and wishing you all a lovely day whatever you're doing. x

 

Got to be China!

Cold and snowy here still, perfect for staying warm indoors and playing with paper and ink!

My Mum would never drink tea out of anything other than a china cup and saucer - once I left behind the station canteens where there were big thick (invariably cracked) mugs (talking about drinking vessels not my fellow officers...😄), I of course adopted another of Mum's traits and demanded china for my cups of tea.
(She WAS right - it does taste better!)

So this stamp reminded me very much of my lovely Mum - it was always time for tea!

The stamp is from Crafty Individuals (CI 547 - Time for Tea).
Stamped then onto watercolour card and spent a lovely time painting. (Finding watercolouring very restful and an escape from the world around us at the moment.)

I ink blended the background using Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar and Twisted Citron and although it doesn't show up very well in the photo, did some second generation stamping with a script stamp and a small trio of teacups which were free in a mag some time ago.
The sign is from the same free set.

I've yet to decide if I am going to add a sentiment but have left space at the bottom just in case!
Have some more images stamped so am planning on spending my weekend colouring in the warm craftie space.
Thanks for looking today - stay safe and warm wherever you are in the world. x

Blazing Sun

No blazing sun here - wet, windy and not very nice at all!

I have had this stamp set for a long time. It was one of those that I was desperate to have and one of those that once I got it didn't do a lot with it!
I have made this - (Thank you Pinterest and Virginia Lu.)

A mix of watercolours for the big sun and then my Arteza pens applied direct to the stamps for the branches and blossom

(I love cherry blossom - it just reminds me that spring is beautiful!)
I agonized over the bird - (ridiculous I know!) Blue? Pink? In the end opted for the same colours as the sun.

Some liberal spattering of the pink as I wanted to try and achieve the sight of the blossom being blown everywhere in a breeze... not sure I succeeded!

Apologies for the awful pic - the light here is dreadful - a real grey winter's day!
Linking up at
613 Avenue Create - A/Goes
Gem of a Challenge - A/Goes
ABMTTC - A/Goes

It's a little perplexing  how different areas are at different points in administering the vaccine for this dreadful virus.
Whilst by current calculations I am not expecting my first one until May/June I know of several people in different parts of the country who are over 80 and have received their first dose, 3 others who have in fact received BOTH - yet M-I-L who is classed as 'extremely vulnerable' and has been shielding since last March has not even received her letter telling her to make her appointment! Crazy.

Thanks for calling in - Stay Safe. x

Cas Mix Up Mid Month Reminder

Half way through this month's challenge at CAS Mix Up - Hilary is hosting and she chose 'Splatters' as her challenge!

As  I always struggle with male cards I have done one for my stash using this months challenge theme.

This really was a quick CAS card and to comply with our challenge rules, in addition to the stamping I added some clear heat embossing on the sentiment.

To start with I used the same stamp from Visible Image as on my Challenge launch card here.

I used Distress Oxides inks and after stamping each colour got out the paintbrush, inked it up and splattered!

Am thinking this will be a versatile card suitable for many ages!

The DT have some great makes this month so please pop over and visit them - and we hope that you will join us and splatter some ink! x

Twofer Guest Designer

Two posts in less than 12 hours! (Scroll down for the other!)

Delighted to have been asked to be Guest Designer for the Twofer Challenge this month - the prompt word is 'Flowers'.
For those who are wondering about 'Twofer' - you have to make two cards for different occasions using the same stamps/dies/stencils. It certainly makes you think!
I used a NBUS stamp set, Penny Black Dahlias. Have had it a while and thought this was a good opportunity to let the set see ink!

First card uses white heat embossing of the largest stamp in the set.

I smooshed the background with Picked Raspberry and Shaded Lilac.

I sometimes don't like the effect I get just inking direct onto my craft mat so I used Acetate instead - that way you can have a little control over the distribution of colours and see if they are too much.

Originally I was going to simply heat emboss the sentiment direct to the inked piece but changed my mind and went for the vellum instead.  A couple of pink enamel dots and done.

The second card was a little bit more complicated time wise as it involved a lot of masking and stamping.

Gold embossed this one and watercoloured it - used the same biggest stamp and a couple of smaller ones.
I used Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber and Wild Honey for the flowers and gave the background a very light colour wash of Tumbled Glass and a few ink spatters in Amber before gold embossing the sentiment.

Popped it onto a die cut square and used hammered cardstock for a bit of added texture.
Here's a pic below of the two cards together and the challenge runs until 24th of the month.

Thanks to Darnell and the team at Twofer for inviting me to be Guest Designer this month and thanks to you for looking today.
Sharing over at
NBUS #

Of the Sea

I was making sure that I had my scheduled posts all ready for Twofer and CAS when I realised I had not posted anything this week.
I was lucky enough recently to win a prize over at the Crafty Individuals Facebook Group just before Christmas and I chose this fab newly released stamp called 'Of the Sea'. (CI-559) A lovely Christmas present!

I love the sea and although we are blessed here with the most amazing countryside views, I would maybe one day like to live near the sea, so this stamp was made for me!

I stamped the image onto Mixed Media card, watercoloured and fussy cut. Once dry I distressed the edges a tiny bit, then used Antique Linen DI.
The background was done simply by smooshing Chipped Sapphire and Scattered Straw DI's onto acetate before transferring to the card.

The corner compass, the fishing net and some sandy texture (Sweet Dixie stamps) all done with the same Scattered Straw and then used the sentiment from the same set.

I will make no apologies now for the fact that I have several more of this lovely boat image stamped on the desk waiting so there are more to come.

Linking up with -
A2S+M - Make Your Mark
Lost Coast -  Beginning with 'B'
SOS - New
HLS Watercolour - A/Goes

We have had quite a bit of snow over the last few days and it is still here with no sign of a thaw just yet and here's a pic from the back of the house.

I love looking out when the world is white - and it currently lifts my spirits a little.
I hope you are all safe wherever you are and thanks for dropping by today. x

CAS Christmas!

Just when you thought it was time to forget about Christmas here's another Christmas card!
Once again this year I am going to try and take part in  the monthly challenges at  CAS Mix Up's  sister blog CAS Christmas.    (My DT card for Mix Up is the post below this one!)

This month's challenge prompt was Silhouette.

My bauble stencil is one bought from Inkylicious a long time ago.
I used Scattered Straw and  Speckled Egg for the background, with a little inking of Squeezed Lemonade to highlight the stars.

The Nativity scene stamp was part of the Sentimentally Yours set by Phil Martin and was a magazine freebie - I used it a lot this year.

I added a small piece of cord to the top and I lightly inked the edges of the white card before matting it onto black. The sentiment is from Penny Black.

Another card for the 2021 pile and a nice quick make!

We've had quite a bit of snow here over the last few days - and it is really cold.
In between the snow falling we have seen some stunning blue skies and if it wasn't for the white stuff on the ground from inside you would think it was summer!

I hope you're safe and warm wherever you are in the world and thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today. x

2021 and CAS Mix Up is back!

So we say goodbye to what has been such a difficult year for so many people and let's hope that 2021 brings us better times. I am blessed and thankful to have had support and friendship from so many fellow crafters and my crafting has been my 'escape' from the mad mad world outside.
CAS Mix Up is back after our little December break, Joanna has stepped down (miss you Jo) but we welcome two new members to our team - Leslie and Coni!

Our first challenge has been set by Hilary -  and she has chosen the theme of 'Splatters'.
I am a Splatterer!
Without doubt it's one of  my favourite things on CAS cards as it gives a bit more interest yet still retains the uncluttered un-embellished space.

When I read the challenge theme I knew right away what I wanted to do.

I have had these red rubber stamps for such a long time and they hardly ever get used.
This was a reasonably quick card to do - made slower for me because I have got so used to clear stamps and MISTI positioning that working with red rubber ones now presents a bit of a challenge!

To comply with the Mixed Media element of the challenge my elements are Heat Embossing, Stamping and Watercolouring.

I did a light grey watercolour 'grounding' of the ink pots to try to achieve a bit of depth. 

The large ink splat is from Visible Image and I used a Black Posca pen tapping it with a cocktail stick for my other spatters, masking off the top part of the card in order to keep the white space clear.

Hope you will kick off your year by joining us this month - our very talented Guest Designer  Elaine (Craft-E-Place) and the rest of the DT have made some great cards!

Thanks for stopping by. x