The Beauty of Nature

The Beauty of Nature is the new challenge at Try it on Tuesday and as always it's up to you how you interpret the theme.

My journal page embraces Nature in lots of different ways - yes I've used my lovely floral image, but my sentiment has more meaning to it!!!

My inky page was an experiement last Spring after reading an article in an old Craft Stamper about using fresh flowers - sandwiched between two pieces of card/paper and then running through a die cutting machine (not a powered one).  So if you look closely you can see that I used pansy's.  I stamped and fussy cut the flowers from another piece of pansy card.

Different results depending on what you use, and can you believe, I'd forgotten about these and found them lurking in the bits box the other day.

It would be lovely if you could join us and if you need any inspiration, please head over to the main blog where you will find all the challenge details.

I am entering this at Stamping Sensations as their current challenge is Spring Florals

Stay safe,
Avril xx

Dance Away

I bet we all wish we could dance away in these strange times!  Although skipping into the craft room is almost as good, unless you decide to tidy - but the good side of that is you find 'things'.  I'd started to sort the bits box and at the bottom were quite a few bits of card that had been embossed when finishing off the last pot of paste before opening a new one.
Looking through my stamps thought this AALL&Create poppy fit nicely, soI stamped and clear embossed before using Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender/Shaded Lilac on the background.  The poppy heads were stamped and fussy cut after colouring with Picked Raspberry Distress crayon,  the sentiment is Tim Holtz.

As you can guess, they 'tidy' didn't get very far - but there's always another day, in fact I think there
may be 'lots' of other days.

I'm a bit forgetful about entering challenges, something I need to remember, so I am entering this at
  Stamping Sensations -  Spring Florals
  Penny Black & More - Spring Flowers
  Craftlandia - Pink and/Blue

Stay safe and keep crafting.
Avril xx

Where Would You Like to Live?

Hello and I hope you're all keeping as safe as possible in these strange times, we've been self isolating for almost a week now and I must admit that when the doorbell rang this morning I felt panic!  It was only a delivery man who had put a parcel in the porch and was nowhere to be seen when I opened the door.

Our theme at Try it on Tuesday is New Home/Where Would You Like to Live - I think I would like to live in Fairyland just now - and you still have another week to join in.

The Lavinia fairy houses stamp was borrowed from my crafty friend (something we'll not be able to do for a while) and my background is a mix of Lavinia and Inkylicous stamps,  I've used Distress inks for colouring.

Yesterday while out in the garden this beautiful Peacock butterfly decided to visit and rest awhile and didn't mind me taking photographs.

Thanks for the kind thoughts for SIL, I'm pleased to say he's feeling much better, just a runny nose and sneezy, so hopefully just a common cold.

Stay safe and thanks for calling in.
Avril xx

Beautiful Story

Hello and Happy Mother's Day to all the Mums celebrating - or should I say trying to celebrate in these strange times of social distancing and self isolation.

Tag Tuesday's theme this fortnight is Women/Mothers Day/Feminine , a lovely theme for this time of year, and it gave me a chance to use my new Prima stamps. I've also added some roses from a  napkin.


 I hope you're all staying safe - although this social distancing is hard.   My daughter had decided she was still visiting today, albeit  in my back garden - she kept her distance by sitting on a chair at the back in the sunshine while I sat and talked to her from inside the house with the patio door  open.  I still made her a coffee, putting it on the step just outside and closing the door as she collected it.  Unfortunately she's self isolating after her hubby was sent home with a fever yesterday.  The joys of front line pharmacist's.  It really does make you appreciate ALL staff who need to work to keep the country running at the moment.

Home Sweet Home/Where would you like to live

The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Home Sweet Home/Where Would You Like to Live, so lots of scope there for how you interpret this theme.

I've made a New Home card as our neighbour and good friend will be moving next month, they're only going about 5 minutes walk away, but they will be a miss in our small close.

I've taken my inspiration from something I saw at Christmas time, and as my crafty friend had the  little house die, I thought it would be good for a new home.

The rest of the Design team have some great inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main blog where you will also find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in
Avril xx

We All Need Friends!

 The current challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Try A New Technique, a great opportunity to try something you have seen somewhere or read about.

My journal pages uses a technique I read about somewhere, making your own stamps with string/rubber bands/lace or whatever would leave an impression.

I decided on a circular string pattern to match in with my girl's hair style!!  Just some thick glue stick smeared on an old acrylic block and the string wrapped round - as you can see after use it's starting to uncurl a bit, but it did the job inked with Salty Ocean and Wilted Violet in the background on an inky mop up page.

You still have one more week to join in, so get creative and show us some technique that's new to you.

Thanks for calling in,
Avril x

We'll Always Have Paris

The theme over at Tag Tuesday this time is Paris, so I decided to use this old Stampendous image, along with this paperdoll couple.  I've stamped an old Chocolate Baroque greeting which was heat set with clear EP on vellum.

A short post but I've had such a busy week and I've lots of catching up to do.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,
Avril xx

A New Technique for Try it on Tuesday

The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is to Try a New Technique,  hmmm...... what to do???
While I was thinking about it I  "visited"  Linda and she had used Alcohol Inks floating in water on a die cut, something I hadn't tried, so thanks Linda for the prompt.  I did have quite a few experiments!

For my card background, I added a few drops of  Aqua AI into water, dipped the card and then let it air dry, then I did the same using Purple Twilight.  For this I did use glossy photo card.   I stamped the flowers using Versafine Clair - oops - should I have used Stazon, but it was OK and dried and didn't smudge.  To highlight the flowers  I stamped onto vellum, fussy cut and added just a little glue on the stamped edges.

For my first attempts I used  plain cardstock and various colours at once

 next I tried the glossy photo card using less colours.

A productive afternoon and a new technique learned with some new backgrounds for the box!

I do hope you will join in the fun at TioT and learn a new technique and tell us all about it.  If you need some more inspiration the rest of the Design Team have some great projects for you, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

Have a great day,
Avril x