Summer Flowers at Stamping Sensations

 It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month the theme is Anything Goes with the Option of Summer Flowers.

I've followed a video tutorial by Jo Rice to create my Poppy Meadow using mainly Lavinia stamps on an Oxide background.

The rest of the Design Team have some gorgeous inspiration for you, so please visit the main blog where you will also find all the challenge details.  There's also a prize for one lucky random winner of a £25 store voucher for Crafty Individuals.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

Here Comes Summer at Try it on Tuesday

 At Try it on Tuesday this fortnight we're welcoming Summer with our new challenge so basically it's what summer means to you.

I've always enjoyed reading and what could be better than reading in the garden on a Summer day, although I don't think I'll be doing much of that this summer with two little terrors to look after, but we can always live in hope.  So I've made myself a summer bookmark.

I've used Crafty Individuals  CI-278,  and coloured with Distress inks.

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

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

Make it Masculine Mid month at Stamping Sensations

 

We're mid way through our current challenge at Stamping Sensations  -  Make it Masculine  and the Design Team have some great inspiration for you.  Also, don't forget there is a fabulous prize for a lucky random winner, courtesy of  Craft Stash, so please visit the main blog for all the details.

A very clean make for me this time, a Tim Holtz image to which I added a stamped and fussy cut balloon, and a little stencil work.

Thanks for calling in, and I hope you have a great weekend.

Avril xx

Recycle at Try it on Tuesday

 Our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Recycle. 

I've got lots of boxes and containers just waiting to be recycled, so with this challenge at least I've made a start.  I used the top half of this chocolate box, which I covered with a textured napkin, then sprayed Tumbled Glass and Bundled sage oxide inks.  I've used various Lavinia flower stamps and if you look closely, you will see the wild hares hiding in the grass.

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, I do appreciate it.

Avril xx

Make it Masculine at Stamping Sensations

 Good morning, it's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and for this month we would like you to Make it Masculine.

I borrowed this Sheena Douglas stamp set from my crafty friend (it's always nice to play with someone else's goodies).  I started with an Oxide inky background and  stamped and fussy cut the basket and tools and used a piece of embossed woodgrain paper for the shelf.  The sentiments are also included with this set.

The Design Team have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please visit the main blog, and you will also find details of a prize donated by Helping Hands Craft.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril x

Sun, Sea and Sand GD at Allsorts

 Good morning, I've been asked to Guest Design this week on the Allsorts Challenge blog where the theme is  Sea, Sun and/or Sand.

I've used some free stamps from a magazine to make up my relaxing seaside scene, all colouring was done with Distress inks.

The Design Team over at Allsorts have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please visit the main page where you will find all the details, along with information of the prize you could win.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

For the Man in Your Life at Try it on Tuesday

 Our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is For the Man in Your Life.

I've gone for a fun option and used the Crazy Dogs along with a stamped sentiment from Art Impressions.

My background is ink splattered and my dog was stamped, coloured and fussy cut and I attached threads to his tail before gluing to the background.  The balloons are attached with 3D foam for dimension.

I thought I would give him goggle eyes and tried 2 different sizes to see what looked best, anyhow I decided one of each gave him a real fun look.

The rest of the DT have some great inspiration for you, so please visit the main blog for all the details.

I'll be around later in the week for a catch up.

Have a great day, Avril xx

 

Flora and Fauna Mid month inspiration at Stamping Sensations

 It's mid month inspiration time at Stamping Sensations where the current challenge is Flora and Fauna.

I've made another floral card, this time the image was stamped onto a background of Oxide inks on glossy cardstock, and there's some Distress ink stencilling thrown in for good measure.  The image was coloured with DI's.  The card isn't quite as pale as in the photo - must have something to do with the glossy cardstock.

The rest of the DT have some lovely inspiration, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details and there's also news of a wonderful prize from Oakwood Archer

Two posts in two days - shame I only seem to be completing DT work at the moment, but at least I'm still able to send out handmade cards to friends.

Have a great day,

Avril xx

Butterflies at Try it on Tuesday

 The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Butterflies and the Design Team have come up with some wonderful inspiration for you.

I have used this Crafty Individuals stamp on an Oxide inky background, I re-stamped the butterfly, fussy cut and coloured with Distress inks so it would pop more against the muted background.

A short post from me today as I'm on Grandma duties and I'll catch up with you on Thursday.

Thanks for calling in, 

Avril x

Use a Stencil at Try it on Tuesday

Use a Stencil is the new challenge this fortnight at TioT and as there are lots of ways of using stencils in your work, it would be lovely to see you playing along.

I've used a mono print background from my box that was done with various  ink sprays.  I had intended using this background with a different flower image,  but then decided it didn't look quite right and the background was put in the box waiting for inspiration.  This time I've used just the bloom from Chocolate Baroque's Movie Strip Collage, coloured with watercolours and a magazine sentiment to complete, quite happy now.

The rest of the Design Team have some great inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

 

Anything Goes with the Option of Flora and Fauna at Stamping Sensations

It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and for this month the theme is Anything Goes with the option of Flora and Fauna.

I've use the Strelitzia from AALL&Create on a mop up inky background and coloured with Distress crayons with little white highlights.

The rest of the Design Team have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main blog, where you will also find details of the prise of a trio from Oakwood Archer's Doodles in Bloom collection, dies, stamps and stencil for one lucky random winner.

Thanks for calling in, have a great weekend.

Avril x
 

I can Hear Music at Try it on Tuesday

Two posts in two days - very unusual - but it's time to tell you about the new challenge theme at Try it on Tuesday and this fortnight it's I Can Hear Music, which could be your favourite song or just inspired by music.

When I was thinking about this challenge I heard  Dancing in the Moonlight on the radio and as I'd just had a crafty afternoon with my friend and stamped her  Lavinia mice, well they just had to dance in the moonlight.

The rest of the Design Team have some great inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

 I'm back on Grandma duties  today - that sounds as if I've had the weekend off - no! but I'm not complaining - especially as I now have this special photo to show - how the photographer managed to get them to sit still - wish I knew!  At 15 months they're walking all over and faster than me!

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

Mid Month Inspiration Time at Stamping Sensations

 Happy Easter and I hope you've been enjoying the Easter break and having some good weather.

As it's the middle of the month it's time for our mid challenge inspiration at Stamping Sensations where the theme this month is I Love...

I don't get  much time for crafting these days, but I did have a little spend recently and bought a couple of stamps from Lavinia, and I'm loving this little 'Bella' fairy.  I also (I don't know why it has taken me so long) bought a Gelli plate which I love.  This background was done with Distress inks, I also stamped my foliage onto the Gelli plate with Versafine  Clare.  My fairy was stamped onto the print.

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.

Have a lovely day,

Avril x

Spring Colours at Try it on Tuesday

 

The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Spring Colours.

For my card I've used Lavinia flower stamps in various spring mauves and pinks and the lovely Pipin and Wild Hares set to complete the little scene.

We'd love to see your projects and if you need any inspiration the Design Team have some great inspiration for you.

I am going to enter this at Allsorts -Any 'real' animal.

Thanks for calling in, life's a bit busy at the moment, I'm doing extra Grandma duties as DD is covering holiday and sickness, I love every minute of being with the twins but it sure is exhausting!

Avril xx

I Love.......at Stamping Sensations

I Love......... is the new challenge at Stamping Sensations, so really it's whatever you love as long as we can see stamping as a focal point on your project.  There are some fabulous prizes to be won from Penny Black, so please visit the main blog to see all the challenge details

I Love ....... well it's no secret that I love floral stamps and  this one from Tim Holtz Dearly Departed set is one of my favourites.

I've stamped my image on a linen base, masked the flower and stamped the script through a mask with a circle cut out and then lightly inked over the script and added a few inky splatters.

The rest of the Design Team are showcasing their 'Loves' to please pop over the the main blog to see.

Thanks for calling in,

Avril xx
 

Say it with Flowers at Try it on Tuesday

Say it with Flowers is our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight, so it's a  first inking for this AALL&Create stamp that I bought  a while ago.  I really must try to find more time for crafting!

Stamped onto white linen card and watercoloured,  some stencilling in the background with Bundled Sage and add a sentiment.  Simple, but the white linen card adds a nice texture.

The rest of the Design Team have some great makes to inspire you, so please pop over to the main blog where you will find all the details.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

 

Mid Month at Stamping Sensations.

 Spring is in the Air is the theme for this months challenge at Stamping Sensations and the Design Team have some great mid month inspirations for you over on the main blog.

I've used an old Elusive Images stamp of Snowdrops,  and for me, as soon as I see the first snowdrop poking through the soil that signifies Spring is on it's way.

I've used an inky background of Twisted Citron and Speckled Egg., stamped the image in Black Versafine, then bleached out the colour on the snowdrop heads, before colouring with Picket Fence Distress crayon.  The image looked a little lost, so I used an acrylic block and drew a black line.

I added the Just a Note from the same set of stamps as this is now a pretty cover on an otherwise plain notebook.

Do check out the inspiration from the rest of the team, you won't be disappointed 

Thanks for calling in, especially as I'm such bad blogger at present, but 3 days Grandma duties doesn't leave much 'free' time.

Have a great day, I'm on 'extra' duties as Laura is on a Training Day, hope to catch up over the weekend.

Avril xx

Black and White + 1 at TioT

Black and White PLUS 1 is our new challenge this fortnight at Try it on Tuesday/

I've used my new Lavinia fairy Bella along with the English Bluebell.  I added colour around the moon mask before adding shading to the moon.  I used the same blue ink to stencil lightly over the  background for some added interest. The sentiment was a magazine freebie.

The Design Team have some great inspiration for you, so please visit the main blog where you will also find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in,

Have a great day, Avril xx

Spring Is In The Air at Stamping Sensations

The new challenge at Stamping Sensations is Spring is in the Air, so we would love to see your Springtime stamping and if you need some inspiration, there's a Mood Board on the challenge blog for you. There's also a prize from Bee Crafty for one lucky random winner.

I love Spring flowers and one of my favourites is Freesia, especially the mauve coloured ones.  I stamped my image onto white linen card and used Distress inks to colour and added some light background stencilling in the same colour.

The rest of the Design Team have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please visit the main blog, where you will also find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

 

We're Adding Texture at TioT

Add Some Texture is the new challenge at Try it on Tuesday

I used Transparent Texture Paste on white cardstock through a Wendy Vecchi stencil before spraying with Speckled Egg Distress ink, I blotted some areas and left 'puddles' in others.  My TH wildflowers were coloured with DIs and I used various shades to build up the depth of the flowers.

The rest of the Design Team have created some wonderful textures to inspire you, so please visit the main blog where you will also find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in, I'm on Granny duties, so I'll probably not be around until Thursday.

Have a great day whatever you're doing.

Avril xx
 

More Wings for Stamping Sensations

It's mid month inspiration time at Stamping Sensations for the current challenge of Anything Goes with the option of Wings/Tails.

I must admit I'm not usually one for Fairy cards and up till a month ago I only possessed two Lavinia fairies, but on a little spend recently I couldn't resist this little couple.

I made a little scene using Distress inks, then built up the foliage using other Lavinia stamps.  I haven't added a  sentiment yet, but it will probably be used for an Anniversary card.

The rest of the Design Team have been very creative with their samples, so please visit the main blog, where you will find all the challenge details, along with details of a great prize from Uniko Stamps for one lucky random winner.

We've had our first 3 consecutive days of looking after the twins - wish I was 30 years younger and had an extra pair of eyes in the back of my head! I'm just hoping it gets easier as they get older (or am I kidding myself).

Have a great weekend, Avril xx

 

All Loved Up at TioT

 We're All Loved Up at Try it on Tuesday, well that is the theme of our new challenge,  You could choose any Romantic occasion or you could simply choose to show someone just how much you love them, especially with Valentine's day soon.

I've had a little splurge on some Lavinia stamps and couldn't resist the little Hares along with the Fairy Bell set.  I created a little moonlight scene and also used some freebie stamps and sentiment.

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

Have a great day, Avril xx

Anything Goes with Stamping and the option of Wings /Tails

It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month it's  another Anything Goes Stamping with the option of Wings/ Tails.  We have a great prize for one lucky random winner of a package from Uniko.

I've used Bella and Bell Flower Vine from Lavinia on a background that was sprayed with Antique Linen DI,  I then  used a circle mask and blended Speckled Egg outward.  I stamped the stars using Brilliance Platinum Planet, which gives a very subtle sparkle. The sentiment was a magazine freebie.

The rest of the DT have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please visit the main blog where you will also find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Avril xx

 

Add a Quote at TioT

Add A Quote is the new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight and we'd love to see what quotes you can add to your project.

It's ages since I found time to play in my journal but this challenge just seemed to be the inspiration.

I started by spraying Antique Linen DI onto my page and moved it around with a tissue before using Victorian Velvet through a stencil. I had decided where my image and pieces of torn tissue were going, so avoided those areas and then stamped my quote direct to my page (with fingers crossed).

The rest of the DT have used some wonderful quotes, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

I haven't played along  with Art Journal Journey for a while, but this month Erika has chosen  Let's Face It for the theme, so I'm going to join in over there.

I've been a rubbish blogger lately, but I've been on quite a bit of Grandma duty as DD prepares to go back to work and has needed to do some refresher training as she has been off almost 2 years due to Covid rules and pregnant women.  At least when she does return we'll have a 3 day routine.

Thanks for calling in and have a great day.

Avril xx

 

Mid month at Stamping Sensations for Anything Goes with the option of a Die

 

We're mid way through our challenge at Stamping Sensations where the theme is Anything Goes with the option of using a die.

I've used Tim Holtz Flower Jar stamps and die on a stamped background from the Vines and Roses set along with some die cut lace and I've also used dies to cut my layers, I was surprised to find out that in all I'd used 12 dies in all!

The rest of the Design Team have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main 

blog, where you will find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in,

Avril x

In With The New at Try it on Tuesday

Our first challenge of the year at Try it on Tuesday is  In with the New.  This could be new crafty goodies, a new technique, or even a new style of crafting that you want to try.

As long as you let us know what's NEW, we'd love to see you join us.

I had a  'little' spend at Lavinia and this 'Berry Wreath' was one of the things that fell into my basket.  I know it's a Christmas stamp, but I saw some fabulous makes using this, and couldn't resist, so here's my first Christmas card for 2022!  The wreath was stamped twice and I coloured the berries with red and white gel pens.  Some subtle stencilling and a simple stamped greeting, I think there will be a few made using this stamp.

The rest of the team have some lovely 'new' inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day,

Avril xx

 

First Birthday!

 

Hello, things have been a bit quiet around here, but I've been occupied with two little people who have just had their First Birthday - I can't believe how quickly this last year has gone.

As Peter Rabbit is their nursery theme, I had to use Peter Rabbit stamps, mine are not as big as I would have liked for these cards, so I stamped and then resized and printed them out on watercolour paper and fussy cut.  The floral wreath was from a freebie set of Christmas stamps (lots of good intentions, but they didn't get used at Christmas)  so this is the first time inking here.

We had a lovely Birthday Tea and DIL made a fabulous cake.

I didn't get around to showing the Christmas cards I made, I used a very old Sugar Nellie Snowman, along with a couple of freebie magazine stamps, there's lot of glitter which of course doesn't show and I used Flowersoft  for the fur on the jackets.

Well, that's about caught up for now and I'll be back on Tuesday with the first challenge of the year at Try it on Tuesday which is ??????

Thanks for calling in,

Avril xx

Anything Goes Stamping with the Option of a Die at Stamping Sensations

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas and let's hope 2022 is a good year.

Starting off the year we have our new challenge at Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes Stamping with the option of using a Die on your project.  We also have a great prize for one lucky random winner of a £25 package from Oakwood Archer

I've used  my Dancing Lady as my focal stamped image, the  background was stamped a while ago,  using Floral Outlines stamp, inked and spritzed with water onto an inked background.  The sentiments are magazine freebies.  I've used the option of dies with my stitched square layers and a bunch of wildflowers.  I coloured the dress and die cut flowers with long neglected H2O's for a lovely sparkly sheen.

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