Birds/Feathers at Try It On Tuesday

The weeks are simply flying by (no pun intended) and it's a new challenge over at Try It On Tuesday - the theme is Birds and or Feathers!

Some time ago I saw a painting depicting a bird who had escaped from it's cage and I wanted to try and make a card along the same theme.

We have so many lovely birds singing in the garden and they always sound so happy (they make me feel happy too) so my make this time is a combination of bird song and freedom which to me means - - Happiness!

This little bundle of feathers is out in the tree celebrating the fact that someone has left his cage door open and he is free.

Ink blended background of Picked Raspberry, Spun Sugar and Antique Linen.

I used Black Soot along the bottom and stamped the grass using Card-io stamps from the Textures set.

My birdcage is an old die - has a branch attached to it so I cut it off!

Bird and the tree branch is also Card-io.

Thanks for looking today! x

Gilded

I haven't played with Gilding Flakes for a while - mainly because I am messy at the best of times and gilding flakes are really not something I should be allowed to get my hands on.😳

I did though manage not to have too much of the stuff floating about the place this time - a minor miracle!

I have used both of these stamps before (card is HERE) but thought I would try the flakes with the same stamps to see what it looked like.

The verdict is - not too bad at all considering I am a 'flaky' novice!

The bird house is a really old stamp from Chocolate Baroque formerly Elusive Images.

I decided at the time that adding more foliage was probably a step too far as no doubt I wouldn't have got it positioned right but on reflection maybe I should have been brave as the bird house does look a little lonely on just a gold line drawn thread.....

And typical me - the black card I used wasn't big enough for my normal size makes so the gold strip was added - which I think finishes it better - so happy necessity!
Am sharing over at
Use Your Stuff - Add Gold
TTPH - CAS
Retro Rubber - Anything Goes
Thanks for looking today - I appreciate you coming to my blog! x

Tree House!

 A very very windy and cold day here - occasionally we get a patch of blue sky but the wind is blowing the clouds in as quickly as the blue sky appears, so it's heating on and sat at the desk day for me I think! 

Had a bit of a watery fest with some Distress Oxides and made this card.
The Stampendous birdie is a recent acquisition for me, previously loved and I have decided I love him too.

Once my smooshed background was dry I stamped him and his branch. I fiddled about a bit with the branch using both Peeled Paint and Twisted Citron to give more leafy bits!

Birdie was stamped again with DO's, watercoloured and fussy cut then popped back on his branch.

The bird house is from a stamp set called 'Live Out Loud' which I have had for a long time - from Chocolate Baroque before it became Chocolate Baroque!

I think that birdie is eyeing up this very posh ornate house 🏡 and imagining himself in there snuggled up with Mrs Birdie! 💕

It was a change for me to stamp in the DO colours and I probably wouldn't have done so had I not seen the idea on Pinterest - I like the way the stamped images pop out of the co-ordinated background and will definitely be doing this again.

Thanks for looking today! x
Sharing at-
613 Avenue Create - In the Garden
SOSS#182 - D for Distress
Country View Crafts - Birds and/or Bees
Beyond the Blue - DO Background

A late mid month reminder!

I was supposed to show this post over the weekend - but here I am nearly in the middle of the next week and just remembered it!
Following this months 'Close to Nature' theme at Stamping Sensations, and in honour of the glorious sunsets we have been having lately whilst enjoying our lovely weather here is my card.

 I used a mix of stamps for this one -
And a mix of colours for the background! The whole yellow/orange range of my Distress Inks in fact!

There is something wondrous about sunsets I think.
We sat last night and watched as the sun went behind a cloud here - then there was a little slit in the cloud and all you could see was a bright orange/red glow- for a couple of seconds it looked like the sky behind the cloud was on fire - then the cloud closed over and we were left with a few rays streaming down from the sky. It was simply beautiful to watch.

My sentiment stamp is an old one and is much loved.
 There have been so many lovely entries into our challenge so far but you still have plenty of time if you have not had time to join in or would like to share another creation.

Our sponsor is Chocolate Baroque and there is a lovely Nature Inspired A4 stamp set to be won.

I hope the sun is shining where you are and you too have many wonderful sensets to watch.

Thanks for taking the time to look - have a great day whatever you are doing! x 

Challenges -

Make My Monday - Hint of Summer

HeARTful - A/Goes + stamp

Crafty Friends - 'B' - (Bird, Birdhouse)

SOSS - I for Inky

10 days????

Cannot believe it is 10 days since I last posted! All of the days are now blurring together a little although we have been blessed with in the main good weather - just 2 days of drizzly rain - notably when the MEN arrived for the start of their 2 weeks! The ladies had great weather for their Championships!

So another full couple of weeks left for me - the rest of the National Championships (until Sunday) then off on another road trip for 2 more Celebration matches next week, a day at home then away to Yorkshire for the Northern Counties Championships. This will be followed by a trip to the Junior Mens' Internationals in Oxford AND THEN I SHALL BE HOME AND ABLE TO SLEEP IN MY OWN BED FOR MORE THAN ONE SINGLE NIGHT!!!!!! 

I had a bit of an inky session though on my day off but one is not finished so can't show it! This one was done also on Sunday - a CASE of one that I saw on Pinterest a long long time ago.
It is a mixture of a digital bird cage stamp printed in black onto white textured card  then over-stamped with a foliage stamp in Shabby Shutters DI. It is a tiny (old) stamp and I can't remember where it came from but know it was part of a set originally!
Used up some old striped cardstock (which I bought the last time I visited a craft show in 2013!) layered onto black, stamped the sentiment then die cut, added some black ribbon and a few black pearls.
Probably not everyone's fave colour combo but hey not bad effort considering it was just from a few bits I brought with me!

I am longing to get home properly as I have some new dies and stamps to play with.... roll on 17th September!
Challenges -
Use Your Stuff - Anything Goes
Paper Nest Dolls' - Anything Goes
Pennys paper Crafty - Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Once again thanks so much for sticking with me whilst I am blogging so infrequently - just that at the end of the day I am so darn tired I don't have the energy to do anything!x
Have a great time whatever you're doing until I catch up with you again. x

Anything Goes with a Die

 Tattered Lace are this months sponsors over at  Stamping Sensations and our challenge theme is 'Anything Goes with a Stamp and a Die'. They are very generously offering one lucky winner a £50 store voucher to spend at their on line store
I am currently away for the entire month at the National Championships so I hope my scheduled post behaves itself and publishes!

This was a reasonably quick card using coloured cardstock from SU throughout.
I really  like the pale green which probably has some delicious name (as all the SU cardstock does!) and I used that as my base.

I used an Indigo Blue large script stamp inked in Vintage Sepia onto the lighter card then matted onto dark brown.

The birdcage die is from Memory Box and I think the Ivy and tiny bird are Marianne (but don't quote me!).

I used a snippet of the base card for the ivy trail and whilst still in the die sponged on some Shabby Shutters DI  which highlighted the 'veins' in the leaves.
The little birdie got the same treatment and the birdcage was cut from another piece of the left over darker card, so this will be going into Pixies Snippets Playground!
Finished it with s small green pearl and a tiny stamped tag.

Challenges - (to be linked if I have time!)
Glitter n Sparkle - Anything Goes
Paper Creator - Dies
Gem of a Challenge - Birds

Thanks for looking - hope you can find time to join us this month too! x

Eggstra!

A choccie type post today and not a card!
Saw this  on Pinterest - made these from a template by Mel - found here. She has tons of fab templates for everything imaginable! She made one of these to give to a friend who was moving into a new home - and she filled the inside with bird seed for her friends new bird table - Thought that was a really nice idea and  think that it could be adapted for anything with the right filling.

'Cos it's nearly Easter I filled mine with mini eggs. I sold quite a few at Macmillan Day but have two left - the eggs are looking at me so I'm probably going to eat them........LOL
The 'houses' are made from one sheet of card. The left overs of the sheet after cutting out the basic shape I used to make the 'boards' for the front. The roof pieces are 3" wide offcuts from A4 card which I had used to make a set of small notecards with - so am hopping across to the Playground this week.

I used a crackle stamp on the 'roof' in a sepia colour - it really doesn't show very well in the pics but I didn't want anything too overpowering, but think it would have been OK in a darker colour.
Like Mel advised I ran a white ink stamp along the edge of the 'boards' on the front to give a slightly weathered look.
The sentiment stamp for the tag was a freebie from a mag some time ago and I simply cut it with a label nestie die.
Used a different variety of string, ribbon and twine to make the bows on the tops to secure. 

They were really simple to make and made a change from cards - if I have one comment though - I had a devil of a job making the 'roof' stick properly - tried everything - glue, double sided tape, tiny cut and loop velcro pieces. In the end I stuck (excuse the pun) with the double sided tape - wasn't perfect but I figured that it would be getting ripped off soon enough anyway to get at the contents! (You know your own tricks best don't you???? LOL)

Challenges -
All Crafts - Anything but a Card
Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Fresh Brewed - Eggs
Challenge up your Life - Easter
Choc, Coffee and Cards - Something Yummy
Simply Create Too - Easter
Dream Valley - Easter
Papertake Weekly - A cut above

It's a really weird day here - rain and grey skies first thing this morning, then sunshine, we have just had a SNOW shower would you believe and now we have a bright blue sky! 
Thanks for looking in - have a great day. x