In the Garden

It has been a week where I have felt that I have been incredibly busy but looking back I don't appear to have achieved very much at all!

I have been catching up with all the 'bitty things' - actually assembling rather than being creative! 

Here's one that I finished this week

 This Stempelglede Vintage Garden stamp ranks amongst those that I like a lot but it doesn't see ink often enough.

And look 😲😲 I even made a matching envie! Unheard of!

Stamped onto watercolour card before painting and I used one of the flourish stamps from the set randomly round the edge before matting onto black card. 

The sentiment is from Altenew.

Sharing over at   

MAWTT - Wings

A2S+M - A/goes.  

TIOT - In my garden there is...... 

Thanks for visiting today - I hope your week is going well! x

Winter

It seems very odd to be making a winter card when we have amazing temperatures and glorious sunshine!

I like the sun but it has been very hot today so I escaped to the craftie space for a little while  - the weather has been a nuisance really as I bought some pre loved PB stamps from a crafting buddy and have been itching to try them - but as most of us here in the UK feel that we have to make the most of the sunshine as it doesn't appear very often!

I am very much a novice when it comes to colouring these beautiful stamps and welcome any tips/techniques to make me improve!

My first attempt with this PB Hidden Lane stamp was in Autumn colours (saved for later). Didn't turn out too bad and will share at some point.

Flushed with success 😊😊, I thought I would try a wintry scene which involved some masking and I used another PB tree on the right side of the card.

I am really happy with how this turned out considering I am not very confident! I have left it without a sentiment for the time being - need to have a think about it!

I am sharing over at PBSC - where the theme is A.Goes with the option of watercolours.
The DT over there are incredibly talented so they may give me some constructive criticism or pointers which I am happy to take on board! 

CAS Watercolour

I had several tiny pieces of smooshed card mounting up - they were about to see the inside of the waste bin as really they were too small to be of any real use and I am trying to continue in my  quest to keep the desk tidy 😇😇- but then I remembered I had a small butterfly punch that might fit some of the odd pieces.
 So that was the basis for this card!

The die cut squares were also left over from other things so I am feeling rather pleased with myself that I managed to make this from scraps!

The smaller die cut was already smooshed with Stormy Sky DI and I just added a few spatters in Picked Raspberry.

The chrysalis on the branch is a very old (and small!) clear stamp and I coloured with my watercolour pens and added a teeny bit of sparkle. .

The sentiment is from SU's Butterfly Basics.
I painted the bodies of the tiny butterflies then just layered it all up.

CAS Watercolour's August challenge is Colourful Butterflies.

It's also been a little while since I have managed to go to The Playground, so am sharing my make over there too.

And at TIOT the challenge is - In My Garden there is....... ! 

We have had such a wet few days - sunshine one minute then heavy rain the next. Not what we want during August which is supposed to be our summer!
Thanks for taking the time to look today, wherever you are I hope your weather is better than mine! x

CAS Stencil - Mid Month!

I'm here with a reminder that the CAS Stencil challenge is mid way through this month -  and the challenge that Robyn set us was to use sprays with your stencils.

At the beginning of the month I used a spray I had made up myself using Brushos in the usual way of simply spraying through a stencil - if you've not already seen my card, it's here.

I watched a couple of videos and rather liked the idea of mixing an Ink Mist Spray with embossing paste to create texture and colour  so thought I'd have a play with paste and get messy!

The spray I used was a Cosmic Shimmer Ink Spray Mist called 'Paradise Pink' and the stencil is 'Beautiful Baroque Swirls' by Hunkydory.

Using a palette knife I scooped some white embossing paste onto a craft sheet, added a few drops of the ink and mixed them together thoroughly.
I layered this through the top of the stencil then added a few more drops to darken the colour, repeating twice more and applying through the stencil, ending up with an ombre effect.

Before the paste dried I sprinkled a teeny bit of Glamour Dust down the centre - doesn't show up very well on the pic but it looked very pretty in real life!

The die cut sentiment was triple embossed.

My thanks go to Svitlana for inspiring me to have a go at this technique and I hope I have inspired you to do the same and join us if you haven't already! x

Sharing at
Creative Knockouts - Sparkle and Shine

Mid Month - Stamping Sensations August Challenge

Here's my mid month reminder for you for our 'Things with Wings'  challenge at Stamping Sensations.

The butterflies are from an SU stamp set stamped in Versafine Crimson red,  fussy cut and popped on with foam pads for a bit of dimension.

The script stamp and leaf stamp are from my stash and are that old I have no idea what make they are!

If you've not joined us this month there's still plenty of time - the challenge runs until 28th.

And the prize from out great sponsors Rubber Dance is DEFINITELY worth having - Go to the blog to see!  Please read our challenge rules carefully before submitting your entry - we are a STAMPING challenge!
 Also sharing over at -
Alphabet Challenge - K for Kind Thoughts
Cardz 4 Galz -  Wings

Thanks for looking! I'll be back later today with my reminder for CAS Stencil! x

On a Roll!

So I wait 8 months to make a Christmas card and in the space of 48 hours I have now made 2!

I have been having fun with paper towels again - and so on an odd bit of watercolour card I placed another piece of ink soaked paper towel and sprayed with water.

I ended up with a lovely pale green and pink background piece that I thought may provide a good backdrop for my die cut holly.

Turned out not too bad at all I don't think!

Here's a close up of the glitter on the berries.


Very schparkly!!
(And so's my desk......  no idea how a teeny miniscule tub of glitter has managed to pervade every corner of my desk  - and the floor and beyond😞)

Again there's not a lot of glitter on the card but there IS a bit so this will be my second card for this month's CAS Christmas challenge!

It still seems weird to be making Christmas cards when there are 36 sleeps to go to my holidays (not that I'm counting you understand.......😏😏😎)


Hope you're having a nice day and thanks for stopping by. xx

Bring out the Bunting!

Been a little while since I last posted - the National Championships are in full swing so have spent a few days there, came home for a few days and off again later this week.
BUT.....
BRING OUT THE BALLOONS🎈🎈, SET OFF THE FIREWORKS🎆🎇, TRUMPET FANFARES PLEASE🎺🎺.......................
I HAVE MADE A CHRISTMAS CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't faint!!
Here it is - for the challenge at CAS Christmas. 


OK - there isn't a lot of glitter but there is some!

A VERY CAS card but I quite like it so probably will make a batch of smaller ones.

The sentiment was silver embossed and added a few sparklies for a bit more glitter.
The die for the snowflake I'vr had for a while and no idea who's make it is.
A snippet of glitter card which I found in a drawer came in really useful!
Quick and easy!

Don't know about snow but we've had some really weird weather over the last few days - torrential downpours, thunderstorms, bright sunshine - nothing like our summer as I remember them!
Today we have a stiff breeze and white cloud  - perfect for drying the washing but not warm enough to have a cuppa outside!

Sounds to me like a perfect excuse to sit in the craftie space for the rest of the day (only whilst the washing is drying you understand..... 😉😉 )
Have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Large Stencil

 I used an Inklylicious Stencil to create my background, inking it in Shaded Lilac and Spun Sugar.
The stamps are from Inklycious and Lavinia and the sentiment stamp was a freebie last year.

I didn't have any really tiny tree stamps so the trees next to the Castle are simply the top of the Fir Tree stamp, after masking the bottom of the card.

I inked up the largest circle in the stencil on a separate piece of card and cut it with a circle die before stamping again.
A little bit of pink ribbon and my tag was created!

Mop Up Your Mess!

I have been saving the paper towels I use for mopping up my mess for a little while (there's a lot 'cos I am VERY messy😁😁), because I saw a technique to reuse them to make backgrounds.

And that is the challenge at CAS Mix Up this month.
(If you've not done this technique before there are some videos over at the challenge blog!)

So here's my card -  

I had a small piece of watercolour card left over from a previous make so I took my dried paper towel, laid it on top and liberally spritzed it with water.

Pressing down on it the colour transferred onto the watercolour card - I was more than a little pleased with myself  when I lifted it off and was left with this soft pastel background in shades of yellow and pink.

The die cut was another scrap piece of watercolour card and I coloured with Distress Inks. I adore cherry blossoms - you know that once they flower spring is here.

A square card for this make, as the die seemed to look better inside the circle aperture.
A stamped sentiment and a few sequins to finish.

Here's my paper towel!
Mostly Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilized Amber  (I think!).

Am also sharing over at Uniko, the Playground, the Flower Challenge  and Make My Monday this week.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog today and if you have left me a comment, I am really grateful!
Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

CAS Stencil - August

Robyn is hosting our challenge this month at CAS Stencil and she has set us the task of using Sprays.

If you're like me you may have an odd one or two which you hardly use for your cards - I tended to use them for canvases and other mixed media projects so this was a first for me.
Having looked at the few colours I possessed I decided I would have a go at making up my own.

I bought some small spray bottles to fill with holiday essentials and had a couple left so I got out the Brushos and made some sprays up in a few colours to stretch my stash without buying!

I used 'Leaf Green' for this - and yes I know it's NOT a bamboo but you will just have to use your imagination!
(And anyway Pandas eat other leaves not just bamboo.... according to Google!!)

My green leaves were done on watercolour card then placed inside a die cut frame.
The panda stamp is from a 'panda panel' from Woodware and I just cut him away from his fluffy friends.

There's lots of things you can use to make up a spray colour - all you need is a spray bottle of some sort (a mini mister is fine), some water and whatever colour/type of powdered pigment you have. - Oh and you need a cardboard box (or similar) with high sides to put your stencil in  before you start - that way the spray doesn't decorate your desk, your walls and your clothes, as well 🙈🙈

There's a couple of videos on the challenge blog which may give you some help too - and while you're there have a look at the amazing designs from my talented teamies and our wonderful Guest Designer Amy and pop over to their blogs for more inspiration!

Thanks for looking today - happy crafting. x

August at Stamping Sensations

Hello Crafty People!

August already! And the Stamping Sensations challenge is ' Things With Wings' - so  a lot of scope there - please remember though you MUST stamp and have the 'thing with wings' as the FOCAL point of your entry.

I had a bit of fun with a few stamps and ink!

Stamped the butterfly first then masked off.

The diamond background stamp is from Kaiserkraft and I just inked it with a few co-ordinating Distress Ink colours and stamped away on the background. Used an old circle stamp from a textured collection and randomly stamped a few circles.

Sentiment came next

Sponged the edge and matted onto green card before popping onto the card base and done!

We have a great prize for you again - our sponsors this month are the fabulous 'Rubber Dance' - pop over to the blog to check it out - and visit my wonderfully talented teamies - they love comments!

Bold

Well we have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous since my last post! Searing temperatures first then we have had 2 days of lashing rain! Cannot win! Yesterday was a lovely sunny day again but thankfully much cooler than recently.

My card to share today is one that used a single big stamp. And I mean BIG!

Huge isn't it?!
Not made for anything specific in mind - another for the stash box.

Stamped in Versafine onto watercolour card then painted with my watercolour brushes.
Added the sentiment and a few black ink spatters and done.

Sharing my card over at Inspire.Create who's challenge this time is Birthday.

Am planning on a nice relaxing crafty day today, so am hoping Mr Mojo decides to put in an appearance - sometimes it is really annoying when I prepare myself to craft and then end up staring at the pile of stamps and paper with a blank mind!!

Thanks for stopping by today - have a lovely day whatever you're doing. x

Happy

We are currently experiencing some very hot weather for the UK!
As is usual here in this country we are completely unequipped to cope with extremes of temperature or weird weather!
If it snows, everything grinds to a stop, if it rains heavy  we can't seem to cope with floods and if it's very hot we can't deal with that either!
Dire warnings about what you should and shouldn't do in the heat this last few days - sometimes I think that people are incapable of thinking for themselves and having basic common sense!

My friend here on the front of this bike is also not very sensible - no hands!!!
And high heels??? 🙈

But how wonderful to be so full of life and simply enjoy - being! 
A bright dress, a big hat, your fave shoes - and being happy with your 'bezzie' and your doggy and doing something daft like freewheeling on a bike - we all need a bit of happy abandon now and then (however old we are!) 

The stamp is from Penny Black and I coloured with my waterbrush pens.
I saw a similar card where only part of a stamp was coloured and thought I would give this a go.
I stamped the rest of the image on the inside so it looked like they were travelling along  (but forgot to take a pic!)

Sharing over at
Back2Basics - Off the Edge
Sweet Stamping - Friendship
PB+M- Summer Colours
CTD #553 - Orange/Pink/Yellow

Thanks for visiting, I am sorry I have been absent for a little while - real life caught up with me this week - I could have done with a bit of freewheeling! x

CAS Stencil Mid Month

Half way through my first month as member of the CAS Stencil DT and I have another card to share.

The challenge this month is being hosted by Cathy and she has chosen Alcohol Inks/Alcohol Lift.

As I did the 'lift technique' with my first card, I decided to try some basic use of the inks with a stencil by simply applying with a piece of felt on an applicator onto Yupo paper.

I used Butterscotch first then spotted a teeny bit of Orange Sunset onto the pad and just dabbed over the honeycomb stencil.

The mottled effect turned out fine (I think😌)

The bees were stamped, the larger one fussy cut and both were coloured with watercolours.
I used some Glossy accents on the wings and they really DO shine!

A curvy die and a couple of black gems finished my card.

The ladies at CAS Stencil have some amazing examples of how to use your stencils with Alcohol Inks - please pop over and leave them some comments - and of course - get your own inks and stencils out and join us!
Other challenges -

CAS on Friday  - 'Use a Stencil'
Addicted to Stamps - CAS Summer card
Thanks for looking today! x 

Mid Month at Stamping Sensations

Time for a little reminder for the July challenge - we want to see inspiration for your makes from the  well known quote of  Emerson -   'The Earth Laughs in Flowers'
Stamping Sensations is lucky to have Crafty Individuals as our sponsors this month and they are giving a whopping £25 voucher to our winner!
Please pop over to the challenge blog , read the rules and then make something and join us!

Purple/Lilacs are not colours I use often but thought I would try them for this card.

Sponged inky piece, some random stamping with Smokey Grey ink provided the background.

The flowers and stems stamped and clear embossed before watercolouring

Fussy cut then added some Nuvo pearls to the centre.
Finished with a scrap of lilac gingham ribbon and a sentiment before mounting on dark purple card.

My teamies have some great inspiration for you over on the challenge blog too!

Happy Crafting. x

Complete Overhaul (and a long post!)

A week since my last post. I sit now in a completely overhauled craft 'studio' - taken almost a week to do, but it has been worth it as the room had become cluttered and untidy and a revamp was long overdue!
It's not quite finished as it needs painting but at least now I have all my crafting stuff neatly to hand and dear husband has a proper area now for his electric piano to sit  alongside his iPad and laptop. Just to the right are his main PC and 3 screens (don't ask - but apparently they are an ABSOLUTE necessity when you command the Starship Enterprise😵 or are a General in War Planet Online😉😉!).

Having been able to actually sit at a desk yesterday I spent my time making up a few cards from my saved 'practice' bits.
I had messed about on some small pieces of Yupo with Alcohol Inks trying out different colours. I put them to one side to dry then promptly forgot about them until we began the big re-vamp! So here's one -  I topped it with a NBUS die cut (another odd bit!) and a gold metal butterfly.
Gold embossed the sentiment.
Quick, easy and more bits used up so am calling in on my good friend Di at Pixie's Playground with this make and also sharing at the CAS challenge at Allsorts.

Whilst my first DT card at CAS Stencil involved Alcohol Inks, (my card is HERE)  the challenge at CAS Mix Up called for  Alcohol Ink Lift Technique.

I found this technique much easier using a dry baby wipe with blending solution wrapped round a stamping block and applied to the stamp rather than using the Lift Ink Pad.  

Easier ?  Yes but happy with the results? Not really!!

My seahorse and seaweed stamp design looked so much better in my head!
But I will have another go at this I think as I like the soft etheral look  that is achieved using the blending solution to lift off the colour (and I have LOTS of bits of Yupo to use!)

I have a couple of plants to pot up outside then I am planning to enjoy my lovely new 'studio' (and use up the rest of the bits on the desk!)
Thanks for looking - enjoy your day whatever you're doing. xx

July at Stamping Sensations

Today our challenge is a well known quote for you to interpret - it's Emerson's  'The Earth Laughs in Flowers'.
Stamping Sensations is lucky to have Crafty Individuals as our sponsors this month and they are giving a whopping £25 voucher to our winner!
Please pop over to the challenge blog , read the rules and then make something and join us!

I got out the Brushos for this one!
I have found that I am much better wetting the card and sprinkling on the Brushos rather than the other way round.
If I put the Brushos on first then water I end up with far too much colour all over the place - if the card is wet before you apply them you can see how the colour is developing..... well it works for me anyway!

The stamp is from Crafty Individuals called 'Spring Flower Garden'. Stamped onto watercolour card, clear embossed and when dry added the water then the Brushos.

Luckily for me I had the challenge theme saying in a sentiment stamp!

CAS Stencil July Challenge and NEWS!

So - here I am - with my very first ever post as a member of the Design Team at CAS Stencil!
Scary eh?????
Am petrified!

But was very, Very, VERY excited to have been asked to join another team with such incredibly talented crafters and an opportunity too good to miss!
It also makes me deliver CAS cards which I have been leaning more towards and of course to use Stencils which I have never used a lot of before.

The challenge this month is being hosted by Cathy and she has chosen Alcohol Inks/Alcohol Lift.
Here's my contribution -

 I used Raspberry and Sunset Orange Alco Inks on Yupo paper.
I am still very much learning with Alco inks despite having had them for a long time - I have found that Yupo paper (although not cheap) is the easiest to work with when using Alcohol Inks.

My stencil is a 'Morrocan Tile' Effect and using the 'Lift' technique I carefully removed the  colour from the inks using blending solution sponged through the stencil.

Once finished I blotted with a paper towel and then carefully removed the stencil (Holding my breath!).  Some solution had run under the stencil on one side but I simply trimmed the piece slightly.

Mounted the finished piece when dry onto basic white card to give a bit more stability to the Yupo, chopped in two and after stamping the sentiment direct onto the card base stuck on my two 'Tile' pieces using foam pads.

If you're new to stenciling or using Alco Inks check out the video tutorials over at the Challenge Blog and also see the beautiful cards from my teammates and our July Guest Designer,  Janet.

I hope that you will come along with me whilst I travel down the road of CAS Stencil and maybe we can learn to use our stencils in different ways together!

A Birthday Bouquet

It is my blogging buddy Darnell's birthday today! (Shhhhhh - don't say how old🙊🙊)
Clever Darnell is part of the wonderful DT at CAS Watercolour and they are celebrating her birthday with the challenge of a 'Bouquet of Flowers'.


 I hope Mr Postman delivered my card to Darnell in time for today but just in case it hasn't arrived across the pond yet I have made one to share with her via the Challenge as well.

I have recently acquired this stamp and matching die set. I love it!
I stamped and heat embossed in gold and used my new watercolour paints before die cutting.
The background in the circle is a simple colour wash and some gold spatters and a heat embossed sentiment.

Happy Birthday Darnell! xx

Tidy up

Since arriving back home from my few days away I have been chasing my own tail a bit catching up with washing/ironing/shopping for M-I-L etc (note there was no mention of housework in there....😉😉) and the last 3 days have just disappeared.
Today I intend to sit and play with some new stamps but before that I had a quick tidy up of the desk (this counts as housework in my opinion😏😏)

It's actually amazing what you find when you clear away  ....🙈🙈

I remember doing this and not being happy with it at the time.
Looking at it this morning, it's rather grown on me - but only a little -  although I still don't know if I will put it in the Card Box.
It was a bit of an experiment and a practice with pencils for colouring on dark card and my original intention was for a Sympathy card but maybe it is too dark and brooding?

Stamped and clear embossed the stamp  - from Joy Crafts I think but is that old I can't remember?!!)

Coloured with Inktense Watercolour Pencils.
I think maybe the centre could have been a bit more vibrant and am considering going over it with a brighter colour - although if I am not going to use it I mightn't waste time!

Sharing over at
Make My Monday - the letter B (Bloom and Black)
Crafty Friends - the letter B (Bloom and Black)
Paper Craft Crew - #342 Stamping/Floral/Feminine


Desk now cleared and ready for action - but am going to get a cuppa and come visit you all first!
Thanks for visiting today - and if you have left me a comment I thank you very much! x