CAS

A picture heavy post.

My share today is a very CAS card, made using pale grey cardstock (which really IS a much better colour than the pic shows!).

A simple die cut frame for my Gerberas which were inked with my Arteza Brush Pens and water spritzed before stamping.

Finished with a die cut sentiment and couple of small enamel dots.

It has been a strange kind of week - we have had some lovely weather which has enabled me to continue to potter about outside and push to the back of my mind the sadness of losing friends and being unable to say goodbye  - there's not much to do here really and on several occasions this week I have missed the enormous plot of land that we had in our old house.

Then I remind myself that although much loved it simply was becoming a huge chore as we got older - so have contented myself with the glorious view we have and looking after the pots/baskets here.

I am very thankful that we have such a space during the continued lockdown and grateful for our little Barn community of 6 houses where we are able to spend time outside in our own space but not completely isolated as we can all see each other and chat from our gardens. We are luckier than most.

This pic on the left is where we step out onto  the right hand side of our patio and the one on the right looks down our lawn into the bottom of the valley and you can see that we can sit out and talk to our neighbours over our fences!

The one below is the view from the top of the garden across to the hills (and of course the wind farm!)
Hang in everybody wherever you are in the World. Even in the darkest of times there is still some beauty around. xx

CAS Stencil May Challenge

Hilary is our host at CAS Stencil this month and she has chosen the theme of 'Layered Stencils'.

I started by creating a soft spotty background using a pale grey ink, fading it out as I moved across the card.

I have a bit of a 'thing' about blue poppies! I love the red ones but I had a blue Oriental Poppy in the garden of our previous house and once it began to bud I checked it lots - (sometimes several times a day 😉😉!)  - as I loved to watch it unfurl and flower.
Although this one isn't a frilly oriental one I decided I wanted to make it blue!

The layered stencil is from Altenew and this is the first time I have used it (it won't be the last!)

The sentiment from Penny Black stamped in Grey ink.

Our Guest designer this month is GRETA - please go visit and see her lovely creation!
My team mates have also done some fab work again this month and if you need any help there's also links to a couple of video tutorials.
Hope that you will create something and share it with us!
There's a few changes afoot with our CAS group of challenges starting next month. CAS Stencil will be combining with CAS Watercolour and CAS Mix Up into one monthly challenge and the new CAS Mix Up Challenge will include a rotation of challenges ... Mixed Media, Stencil, Watercolour (repeat).
We hope that you will come and join us at the new CAS Mix Up from June onwards! x

May Challenge at Stamping Sensations

'Say it with Flowers' is our Stamping Sensations May challenge and this month we have prizes from Chocolate Baroque and our teamie Dora , who has a wonderful artistic talent and produces some beautiful hand drawn images.

For my first card this challenge I have used one of Dora's fab images - I love Hellebores so as soon as I saw this one I had to have it!

I coloured it with watercolours and fussy cut.

The background behind the die cut trellis was some by smooshing the ink used for the flowers onto a piece of acetate and transferred to the background card. I find that using the acetate is easier for managing where and how much ink you want rather than just pressing the card direct into the ink on the craft mat.

Finished Dora's pretty flower with some Nuvo Pearls for the stamens and the flower centre.
Sentiment is from Altenew

Hop over to the Challenge Blog and check out my team mates creations this month - then grab your stamps and join us! (Don't forget to read our rules - we're a stamping challenge and stamping has to be the focal point of your entry).

Have a great day. x

Butterfly and a Birthday

The sun has decided to abandon us for a few days so I had no excuse not to do some dreaded h****work this morning.
I didn't go overboard though cos you have to leave yourself something to do in the coming days don't you?? 😉😉 (like every other room in the house apart from the lounge......)

A CAS card to share today and although I have been getting on with my DT cards for the months ahead,  like many I have struggled to 'just make' for 'just making's' sake, so in times of trouble there's always Pinterest!

An inky background from the ever mounting pile of experiments on the desk and a few background stamps in Smokey Gray ink.
Butterfly was coloured with my Arteza Brush pens and then battered within an inch of its life with a couple of coats of Glossy Accents - the shine is immense!!

The sentiment is a part doctored one from Visible Image (I masked off the 'my darling'!!)
I think there are a lot of people who are struggling right now so the sentiment reflects that.

AND TALKING OF TOUGH  - Happy 100th Birthday 🎂 to Captain (now Colonel!) Tom Moore who has raised £31 million (yes THIRTY ONE MILLION!!!) for the NHS by walking laps of his garden through this lockdown.

He has made a record which is one of my favourite songs (the anthem of my beloved Liverpool FC)  which sits on top of the record charts!!

One of his favourite phrases is "Tomorrow is a better day" and whilst we are in the grip of this terrible pandemic we have to believe that.

Captain Tom, Sir - you are an incredible human being and You'll Never Walk Alone. 💖💜💛💚💙

Live Simply

Almost a week since my last post 😱!  And it's not as if I have been mad busy is it?? 

I have though been enjoying some time outdoors with the weather being so good. The local garden centre delivered my order mid week so I have managed to tidy up some of the pots - although I ran out of compost so am now waiting another delivery!

I had stamped and embossed some stamps so armed with them and my watercolours I went outside yesterday, - it was such a beautiful day.  I sat under the parasol listening to nothing but birdsong and painted.
It was soooo peaceful.

Today I set about turning what I had painted into cards.

The focal stamp is from Penny Black Berries Delight set.
I masked it off then gave it a brick background.
The sentiment just appealed to me!

Linking to
PBSC- Anything Goes
AAA - One Image

The weather is set to turn cooler and more unsettled  this week so maybe I will spend more time in the craft room and not idling outside!

Whatever you're doing and wherever you are, I hope that you are secure, safe and well. Thanks for stopping by. xx.

Bleaching

I have never had much success with Bleaching techniques but the challenge over at CAS Mix Up this month was just that,  so thought I would have another go.
The background was an experimental piece trying colours out together and left in the 'may get

round to using one day' pile!

I gold embossed the flower stamp and then lifted out the colour. I was tempted to simply use water but determined to have another effort with the bleach!

There are a couple of places where I went outside the embossing slightly but it didn't turn out too bad.

Instead of leaving it, I tried to colour it with Distress Inks - not sure that this was a success or not as apart from anything else my shading leaves a little to be desired! Can't quite make my mind up about this card -  I think it may have been better left alone as the background is quite dark but too late now!

My elements for the challenge are Bleaching, Stamping, Heat Embossing and Watercolouring.

Also entering over at
Sweet Stampin' - Bloomin' Wonderful

Thanks for looking! x

April Mid Month at Stamping Sensations

Back with my mid month reminder for Stamping Sensations!
Our 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' theme is proving popular but there is still time for you to enter!
Pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at the great prize from Be Creative - and if you're still seeking inspiration the DT have done some great makes on the original post HERE and also on the reminder post! Please take some time to read our challenge rules before submitting your entry!
Once again I used the Rainbow colours as a base for my card.

Making these rainbow coloured cards made me feel quite contented! There is something quite therapeutic and soothing  about these shades I think.
Distress inks used (from the bottom of the card)- Faded Jeans, Twisted Citron, Mustard Seed, Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, Spun Sugar, Festive Berries, Shaded Lilac.

The Cherry Blossom stamp is one of the first wood backed stamps that I bought. At some point I have removed it from it's wood backing! Stamped in Versafine and used Gathered Twigs on the branches, and coloured the flowers with a white Gel pen, adding a little Gold Pearl to each flower centre.
A couple of punched butterflies, a sentiment and a black card mat to finish before popping it onto the white card base.
Am sharing over at - 

Allsorts - Flowers
Alphabet - A for A/Goes
Stamplorations - Stamps and Flight
Just Add Ink - Photo #501 colours

Hugs to everyone - have a good weekend. xx

CAS Stencil Mid Month

I am here with my mid month reminder for our challenge at CAS Stencil set by Cathy.
Cathy chose Gilding Flakes for her theme and we hope that you can come along and give this technique a go - my Gilding Flakes were gathering dust in a drawer until this month!

I used the same stencil for this card as I did for my first one but instead used black card as the base.(My first one is HERE)

I wanted a card which would be OK for a bloke - (hate 😖doing man cards) hence the black and silver colour scheme.
I simply used some circle dies to cut out my gilded piece and a wavy die so I could insert the piece of silver card which has a matt finish rather than a mirri one.

Using the same stencil on different coloured card gave a completely different finish  and although it was difficult to capture the shine on the circles but happy with the finished piece!

There's some video links over on the challenge blog - so dust off the flake jars and join Guest Designer  Mac  and the rest of our really talented team and upload a make into the gallery! 

Christmas Song

It is like a warm sunny summer's day here today so it seems even more strange than usual to be sharing a Christmas Card!
CAS Christmas this month has the challenge of 'Christmas Song'.

This card shape is a bit of a change for me - I found two of these at the back of a drawer so thought I should use them.

The crown stamp is very old and very neglected! Stamped and gold embossed then layered each onto a piece of gold glitter card. I didn't like them just added onto the card base so put another layer of white card on glitter card - and stuck the 3 crowns on - happier now!

I made a second card whilst the stamp was out - using up odd bits of card - I have a feeling I made something like these once before some time back!
Anyway it's 2 more for the Christmas box, so have achieved something!

I'll be back later with my reminder post for CAS Stencil but am popping outside with my cuppa to enjoy the sunshine for an hour.

Hope the sun is shining where you are too. x

Heroes

A make this morning to enter the challenge over at AAA Cards.

I am not normally drawn to cute but I made an exception for these Clearly Besotted 'Super Pug' stamps.

At this time when we have so many working for the benefit of others, I thought I may make a few of these.

Of course over at AAA, there has to be maximum white space without any texture or embossing added so this was a quick make, stamped, heat embossed and coloured - finito!
(I did silver emboss the stars but they haven't shown up very well on the pic - the sun has deserted us today and we've been left with a lot of cloud which isn't the best for pic taking!)

Cloudy or not, I am going to put on my jumper and take my coffee outside for my daily dose of fresh air.
Have a safe day everyone - especially our superheroes. x

Sunshine

Whilst visiting blogland, I am noticing that there are some struggling with the enforced lockdown - having your normal day to day activities curtailed (albeit necessarily), is difficult to come to terms with  -  but it just makes you thankful that this is only temporary. We may be in the same situation for a while yet but I keep reminding myself that it IS only temporary and I am lucky to be safe and sound.
Not for the first time in the last few weeks I have been glad that I no longer have to don a uniform and enforce laws and have to put up with idiots who simply don't know the meaning of the words 'STAY HOME' -  (and thankfully I am now too old to volunteer to go back!).
I have divided my time between being in the craft space and our little outside space.
I have set myself one small task a day outside whilst the weather has been nice - just one - as there is not much to do and if I did it all in one go I would then be bored! Today it is to re-pot a Rhododendron which is struggling now in it's too small container - so that's where I will be headed after today's share.

Dried Marigold, Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade on watercolour card and liberally spritzed with water.
When dry ran through a sun ray embossing folder.

The gerbera is from Uniko, stamped and clear embossed, watercoloured and fussy cut.
I am not normally one for 'uplifting' sentiments but this one touched a chord with me when I hear about how many people worldwide are affected by this dreadful pandemic.

So sharing a little bit of Sunshine with my visitors and I am glad that you came to see me today. 

Joining in over at The Flower Challenge and at Inkspirational

STAY HOME, STAY SAFE, SAVE LIVES.

Combination

Please scroll down the page for my CAS Stencil and Stamping Sensations Design team posts!
Weather here has taken an upturn which means that at least I have blue sky to look out on - currently we have a very strong and chilly wind so fresh air limited to quick cuppas on my patio!
Sad though that as yet am unable to go and visit my fave garden centres and buy lots of plants for my pots, so there's a couple of them that are looking quite bare, but they'll have to stay that way for now.

I made a really quick card using up some of my Never Before Used Schtuff (NBUS) and a stamp and die from a new set - well when you can't spend on plants what else you gonna spend it on??? 😁

The background was masked off and I used Cracked Pistachio for the solid dots and Fossilized Amber for the stripes and dots on a never before used Crafters Companion layering stencil set.
Quite like these 2 shades together!

The scribbly flower is from Uniko's new 'Kindness Blooms' stamp and die set (which you can get here)
There's a great assortment of stamps in the set and the matching dies mean intricate cutting is easy! 

I used some twine from my stash and finished my flower centre with a small gold pearl.

The sentiment is from Altenew (another never used!!!)

Am sharing this speedy make over at 

AAA - Made In Minutes + Use a Stencil

Uniko- #58 Spots and Stripes + Use a Stencil
NBUS #13
AAA Birthday - Dots/Stripes


Thanks for calling to see me today. x

April Challenge at Stamping Sensations

Our theme this month at Stamping Sensations is called 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'. 
We want to see rainbow colours or something you have interpreted from the words of the song and we have the wonderful Be Creative as our sponsors this month.
I have used the colours as my inspiration for this card.

My background was done with lots of different Distress Inks and a stencil. This was the first time I have used this stencil (which was a VERY cheap one) and I was really pleased with how it turned out.

I stamped the ballerina and clear embossed.

The odd grunge stamps  are from an old Textures set - I wanted to show her as emerging from the bottom into the rainbow light.

Matted onto black before layering onto the base card.

Hope you will have a go this month - details of the brilliant prize and brilliant cards from the rest of the DT are over on the blog - just remember -
We are a STAMPING challenge and stamping MUST be the focal point of your entry!
Happy Crafting! x

CAS Stencil April

Time for another challenge at CAS Stencil and this month, Cathy has chosen the theme of 'Gilding Flakes'.

Oh boy was there some fun in our joint Office/Craft Room/Gaming Room when the husband decided to be nosey and see what was in that jar of shiny papery stuff................now everyone knows that shiny papery stuff is not to be messed with - particularly by someone who hasn't a clue what he is doing -  and tipping the jar slightly when opening is definitely not recommended. We had lovely papery confetti EVERYWHERE. After a massive clean up operation I think in future he may just leave my side of the room well alone.....
So here's my card

Laid my stencil over a piece of white pearl cardstock and applied the glue.
A few Gilding Flakes next on the top of the stencil and glue and I have a small 'Scoochy' Polishing sponge (similar to a piece of Stamp Cleaning pad!) to work the flakes in.

I picked out the copper colour of the flakes using a piece of copper mirri card to frame the gilded piece and die cut a leafy branch.
The sentiment is done in Copper Metallic Ink.

I have used this stencil quite a lot and was pleased with the different effect of the gilding flakes -definitely stretching my stencil stash!

Lots of inspiration and a couple of links to tutorials over on the challenge blog - and a gorgeous make from our wonderfully talented Guest Designer  Mac   - please join us this month - we love to see your work in the gallery!

Spring

I like Spring. With all the madness going on there is something quite serene about seeing banks of daffodils and bright crocuses poking their heads out.  In my old house I had a small flower bed underneath a tree and every year the snowdrops multiplied a bit more and gave me a white carpet.

CAS Watercolour's challenge is 'Spring Flowers'.
As Snowdrops are known to be the first Spring flower  (even though they often poke their heads up above snow!)
I chose to use them on my card.

I did a simple watercolour background and fussy cut  my snowdrop stamp after painting.

Although you can't see it in the photo I dusted a little sparkle over the petals.

The sentiment is a well used one!

I hope that you are safe wherever you are in the World and if you are experiencing Spring like we are, that your World is full of Snowdrops.

Thanks for looking. x

Kind

I was struggling last week to come up with anything constructive (like a lot of people!) and then on Friday last I managed to hurt my back/hip
(making the bed - don't ask!)
and it has been really painful for a couple of days so I didn't feel much like doing anything anyway except feel sorry for myself! Thankfully today it is a bit better but I don't intend to be doing any Can Cans for a while!

With no clear sense of what I intended to do but determined to do something -- (ANYTHING!)  I took this stamp set and gold embossed it onto a piece of watercolour card and coloured it with watercolours.

The sentiment is from Uniko.

It's a bit weird having lots of time to craft and then finding you can't think of anything to do - I am trying not to watch the news more than once a day as what is happening at the moment is just making me sad.
I am really glad that you've come to visit me as this self isolation thingy  can become a bit wearing can't it?
Thank goodness Blogland is here for us crafting junkies!
Stay Safe wherever in the World you are. x

Sunshine

We are blessed today with clear blue skies and some warm sunshine - for a short while I have sat outside listening to nothing except the sounds of birds singing - and have been able to put all the worries about what everyone in the world is currently experiencing to the back of my mind.
Solitude is far better in the sunshine than underneath grey skies! 
I am sharing my own little bit of sunshine with you in this card.

I thought the sentiment was very apt as Nature does really seem to laugh in the sunshine.

My smooshed background is a small piece left over from another project and has some Mica powders mixed in so in real life it has lovely sparkle.
The 'corn' is part of a Woodware stamp, heat embossed in white and the die cut butterfly was cut from an odd piece of pearlised black card.

I received a card similar to this last year from a blogging buddy and it really was sunshine in an envelope!

I hope you too are blessed with a nice day wherever you are and that everyone is staying safe.
Thanks for visiting me today. x

For You

I have found it quite difficult to actually set to and create anything over the last few days and I suspect there are many like me at the moment with all that is going on.

Our lives have changed dramatically over the last week or so and without doubt there are more changes to come.
What I cannot get my head round is why people though seem incapable of doing as advised and just think that they can carry on like this is party and holiday season - hearing reports of pubs still open, car boot sales taking place, queuing up to get onto the top of mountains (I mean SERIOUSLY???)  and clearly not observing social distancing -  so sooner rather than later I hope that more stringent measures are enforced before more lives are lost.

So now my little rant is over I will share the single make since Tuesday!

It doesn't show in the pic but the dots are actually pearly - achieved by using an old gift card and dragging some acrylic pearl paint across the inside of the embossing folder.
Looks quite pretty in real life so not too bad considering I am struggling for ideas.
Linking up to -
Cardz4Galz - Spring Flowers (my die is called Cherry Blossom!)
Krafty Chicks - CAS
Crafty Gals - Flowers

I hope you are all safe and well wherever in the world you are. x

Spring Florals - Stamping Sensations Mid Month Reminder- March

I have copied the message from our Stamping Sensations challenge blog - 

We hope everyone is keeping safe and well during these unprecedented troubled times, it's all quite surreal and the daily news bulletins from all around the World suggest we are going to have to weather some stormy times before it improves. 

Amidst all that's going on posting a mid month reminder seems futile, but we know craft has helped many through difficult times in the past and perhaps now more than ever we will be grateful of our hobby to help us through and keep us sane. We as a team send our love and thoughts to everyone.

 Our challenge is Spring Florals and we have a new sponsor this month - Thirsty Brush - so pop over to the challenge blog and take a look!

Whilst I had the vellum out for my sparkly Christmas card (below!) I used up some of the small pieces and stamped a scribbly flower and heat embossed in white. 

I thought about colouring the back of them but then decided to use coloured card base instead so I stamped the stems and leaves, heat embossed and added a little colour before popping on the fussy cut flower heads.

Thanks for looking today - I suspect that I (and lots of you) will be posting more over the coming weeks whilst we keep ourselves occupied during self isolating or following the advice to 'socially distance' - at least the power of blogland will keep us all in touch with each other.   

I appreciate all my visitors and never more so than now! Stay safe. x

Sparkly Flower

(My reminder post for CAS Stencil is below this one - Please scroll down the page!)

The sun is shining here today for a change! We have lovely blue skies, although it is still a bit chilly we managed to get out for an hour and a walk - it was lovely and peaceful and we were able to not dwell on the current situation all over the world for a short time and just enjoy the fresh air.

I am keeping my promise to myself to enter the challenge at CAS Christmas each month (listen to me - it's only March!!! Call back in October and we'll see how I've done then!) - this month the challenge is 'Winter Flower'.

It's also their SECOND BIRTHDAY so Happy Birthday to everyone at CAS Christmas!

I used a Penny Black poinsettia stamp, stamping first on gold glitter paper then embossing.

I stamped the flower again on some vellum and heat embossed, and used the stem from another set for the stalk and the leaf.

Fussy cut and then added some sequins for the centre.

I managed to find enough hammered textured card to make this card. I think I am going to have to buy some more as I am beginning to like it a lot better than plain white!

The card is quite sparkly but delicate in real life and another Christmas card for the box!
Sharing over at
ABC Christmas - E=Embossing/G=Gold

CAS Stencil Mid Month

My Heat Emboss challenge is half way through at CAS Stencil - so there's a little time left for you to share something with us in our gallery.

There are some great makes over at the blog and some links to a couple of tutorials if this is something you haven't done before.
We also have a beautiful make from our Guest Designer - 

I don't use colored card very often considering I have a simply huge stash of it and think maybe I should at least make an effort to make a small dent in it!

I used Slate Grey for this card base and heat embossed in white through a feather stencil from Bee Crafty.

The sentiment (also from Bee Crafty) was one I simply had to have - I love it!

Stamped and embossed the sentiment and the inside of the card has a PC generated sentiment - 'Spread your wings'

I added a couple of sequins to the front to finish.

Thanks for stopping by.
Have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Dirty Leftovers Part 1!

Following on from my last post this is the 2nd card made with my finished 'Dirty Pour'. I've  a smallish square bit left which will be subject to a third and final post in due course!! But I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who visited and left me so many wonderful amazing comments - I was happy with my card but even happier that you all took the time to visit!

I have no idea why this frame looks like it isn't square! Cos it is...........................

Anyway -the background of the frame was the leftover piece from the embossed background on the first card.

I stamped a few grassy bits in Smokey Grey ink, then added a couple of pale pink flowerheads and a couple of small dots.

The flower is a die I have had for a while and never used and happily two small pieces cut off from the heart fitted so I was able to paper piece.
I haven't added a sentiment yet as can't make my mind up!

The same with the middle of the frame that I now have left over and have to decide what to do with it! Such decisions!!

Linking up to
CAS Mix Up - Acrylic Paint (Stamping/Die Cutting/Paper Piecing)

Flower Challenge - Anything Goes
Pixies Playground - # 373

Thanks for looking today. x

Dirty Technique!

I have made such a mess!
Not that's anything unusual - but I have made more of a mess than normal..... I was going to take some pics of the desk but decided it would be unfair to those of a nervous disposition!
This mess though is another to add to my list of  - FUN THINGS TO DO!

I have been DESPERATE to try the Acrylic Dirty Pour Technique and this months challenge at CAS MIX UP is to use Acrylic Paint - so bought a very cheap set of acrylic paints and watched millions of videos - well 3 or 4 anyway....

I covered the desk with some plastic, donned a pair of rubber gloves and had a few practice sessions mixing small amounts of all kinds of daft colours and pouring onto on odd bits of card  - (now I know why it's called DIRTY pour!) - before I was confident enough to use a piece of precious Yupo.

I AM SOOOOOO PLEASED WITH MYSELF! Turned out pretty well I think? Even the critic in the room said it was 'cool'!!!

Added bonus is I have quite a bit left
after cutting out my heart so have made another card (a later share) and have a small piece left for a third!

It's CAS MIX UP's 4th Birthday too so Happy Birthday and thanks for setting challenges which make me try out new things!

TIOT also has a challenge of New Technique so am linking my dirty poured heart (😁😁) over there too
and popping in at Crafty Gals Corner where the challenge is Add a Heart!

Can recommend having a go at this if you've not done it before - there's something simply amazing watching the paints run into each other and make yummy patterns - and it's well worth the mess! x