Stamping Sensations mid month Our Furry friends

 

It's mid month inspiration time over at Stamping Sensations where the theme is Our Furry Friends, or if you prefer you can always go with the A/G option.

I'm showing another page from my little Fairy Journal which has little rabbits and a playful fox.

All the stamps I've used are from Lavinia and I've coloured the little scene using Distress inks and Inktense pencils.

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

Thanks for calling in, Avril xx

Cheers!

Hello, this is something unusual, me posting when it's not a DT piece!

There's a fairly new challenge called Tag-Along (and ATC's) and although I did intend to join in last month....well it didn't happen.  This month the theme is 'Drinks' and as I have a few 'drinks' related stamps, I couldn't miss joining in.

My image is an old favourite from Stamps Happen, called "If only Men Could Read" (the words on the left hand side which I've masked off).  She was stamped, then masked off while I inked a stencil with Picked Raspberry DI, spritzed with water and randomly 'stamped' the background.  I've added the sentiment, which I've had for years and has lost it's packaging, using black ink and matted the tag onto black cardstock, and all it needed was a bottle of wine!

We've a week off while the twins are away on holiday, so we're making the most of it and having a few days away  next week - a much needed rest I can tell you.

Thanks for calling in, Avril xx

 

In the Garden at TioT

 

 The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is In the Garden, a nice easy one.

I've used a Crafty Individuals stamp on a soft inky background and coloured the flowers and leaves with Inktense pencils. It's quite a large stamp and easily makes a 5"x7" card when you add a border.

The rest of the team have some lovely garden inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main challenge page for all the details.

Life has been a bit hectic lately, I've been doing extra Grandma duties as Laura has picked up extra work covering for holidays.  I don't mind - making the most of it really as they will be off to school in September. They're growing up fast, and had their Nursery Graduation photos taken last week!

As always, thanks for calling in, Avril xx 

Our Furry Friends at Stamping Sensations

 

The new challenge at Stamping Sensations is Our Furry Friends or there's always the Anything Goes option if you prefer.  We have a fabulous prize of 2 Penny Black stamps from Buddly Crafts for one lucky random winner and of course there's always our Top 3 Picks.

I've stamped up this sweet girl  and her dog from the Andy Skinner set of stamps that I bought earlier in the year, giving her an inky background scene by adding some grass stamps.  She's layered up on an inky mop up piece.

The rest of the Design Team have some wonderful inspirations for you, so please pop over to the main challenge page where you will find all the details.  Just don't forget, you must include some 'real' stamping on the from of your entry to be eligible.

Thanks for calling in, Avril xx

Things With Wings at TioT

Things with Wings is the new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight and I chose to ink up, for the first time, this' Rockin Robin' who's called  Geoff, that I got last Christmas from Crafty Individuals.

He was stamped onto white card, coloured and fussy cut before placing him on a brick stencilled background.  The photo isn't very good - and I've taken about a dozen, he's much brighter in real life.

The rest of the DT have some fabulous and varied inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main challenge pages, where you will also find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in, Avril xx

Mid Month Inspiration at Stamping Sensations.

It's Mid Month Inspiration time over at Stamping Sensations for our current challenge where the optional theme is Feminine.

For my make  I stamped the lady image onto white linen card, then stamped again onto an inky mop up scrap and fussy cut just the dress, which was added after colouring the original.  I've used an old favourite wooden stamp from Hero Arts for the sentiment and the flowers were fussy cut from a Crafty Individuals stamp CI599 and coloured with Intense pencils.  To make it extra Feminine, I added some small sequins to her dress.  Matted and layered up onto an 8" x 8" card base.

Please pop over to the main challenge page to see the gorgeous array of sample from the DT and also you'll find details of the prize from Grafton Crafts.

Avril xx

Keep it Simple at TioT

 The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight is Keep it Simple.  

When I bought these Andy Skinner stamps I knew I wanted to use this pair to make pictures for the twins bedroom.  

I stamped onto watercolor paper and colored the image using Intense pencils and then both pictures were then given a watery background wash.  They look lovely framed sis by side.

The rest of the DT have some lovely samples to show, so please pop over to the main challenge page for all the details.

The craft room's been neglected this last week, we've been making the most of this gorgeous weather getting the garden ready for summer and lovely days out with the twins.  I keep wondering how long it will last.

Thanks for calling in. Avril xx 

Friends and Chocolate

It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month the theme is Feminine, or you can always go with the Anything Goes option if you wish.

I've used a very old IndigoBlu stamp Elsie, stamped in black onto white card and masked before adding my inky smooshed background and then a little stencilling for some interest.  After removing the masking fluid, she was coloured with distress inks.  The sentiment is DarkRoom Door.

The rest of the D.T have some wonderful Feminine samples to show so please pop over to the main challenge page where you will also find details of our prize from John Next Door Stamp and dies from Grafton Crafts.  Just remember you must included some actual stamping on your entry to be eligible to win.

Thanks for calling in, 

Avril xx

 

Deep in the Forrest at Try it on Tuesday

 

Deep in the Forest is the new challenge at Try it on Tuesday, so anything you'd expect to see in the forest.

I've used Lavinia's Scenescapes papers that I won recently at We Love Stamping, this is the first time I've used these papers to create a background and I must say I loved the colours.  I've used various Lavinia stamps to create the scene stamping in black and adding some white highlights with a gel pen.

I do hope that fox isn't looking at the pheasant and thinking he looks tasty - but as it's a magical scene I'm sure they are forest friends.

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

Thanks for calling in, 

Avril xx

Mid month at Stamping Sensations

It's time for some mid month inspiration at Stamping Sensations where the option this time around is Birds, Animals, Flowers and Nature, and we have some fabulous prizes from Lavinia Stamps.

I've used Lavinia stamps Moss flowers, Woodland Fern leaves and two of the smaller stamps from the Flower Collection .   I began by shading around a circle mask and then stamping and masking off two of the Moss flowers to build up my little arrangement and then with the masks still in place stamped the fern leaves and the two flower elements. After removing the masks I coloured the flowers with Intense pencils.

The rest of the team have some fabulous samples to show, so please pop over to the main challenge page for all the details.

Thanks for calling in and I hope you have a lovely Easter weekend. Avril xx 

Oh So Sweet

 Oh so sweet is our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight - a challenge with lots of options.

After seeing lots of fabulous cards  made with this set of Andy Skinner stamps, which were released last year and thinking- no I don't need any more stamps - yet. I gave in at Christmas but this is the first card I've made.  She's stamped on watercolour paper and coloured with watercolour paints.  I've used a mop up inky background for the base and stamped a different sentiment to the one included with the image.

The rest of the team have some lovely inspiration for you, so please pop over to TioT's and hopefully you might be tempted to join in the challenge.

Well, my week of catching up didn't go exactly as planned and I didn't manage all the blog visiting I'd intended but as usual Life Happens!

Anyhow, thanks for calling and we'll see what this week has in store.

Avril xx 

SS Nature /Flowers/Birds/Animals-( Lavinia)

It's the first Sunday of the new month and time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations where the theme is Nature/Flowers/Birds/Animals or you can always go with Anything Goes, but remember your project must feature a stamped element on the front to be eligible to win one of the two fabulous prized of Lavinia stamps.

For my card I've used a Geli print background and some 'naughty artistic licence' to stamp Lavinia's Mae, but as I didn't want the beautiful fairy on my card, I masked the top flower and then stamped the flower heads plus a couple of extras onto white card, which were coloured and fussy cut.  After arranging them, I drew in 'extra' stalks and stamped the Orchard Grass.

The rest of the DT have followed the Nature theme, so please pop over to Stamping Sensations to see all the lovely creations, and you'll also find details of the fabulous prizes.

We've had a lot going on here which has left me with no crafting time, but I've got a week off while the twins are on holiday, so after a relaxing couple of days away, I hope to do some crafting and a good catch up at the latter end of the week.

Thanks for calling in, Avril xx

 

Rainbow Flowers

The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Rainbow Colours and how you use the colours is up to you and I hope you don't have 'I can Sing a Rainbow' playing in your head as I did!

I decided on Rainbow flowers, so I stamped my flowers onto watercolour paper, coloured and fussy cut and then arranged onto a rainbow splattered background.

The rest of the Design team have some very ingenious ways of using their rainbow colours, so pleas pop over to TioT's for lots of inspirations.

Thanks for calling in, Avril xx

Spring Fling at Try it on Tuesday

 The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Spring Fling - a good opportunity for me to get ahead with the twins Easter cards.

I borrowed an egg shaped stencil from my crafty friend and used a gold gel pen for the outline, leaving a gap so I could dry emboss my Sweet Poppy stencilled bow.  I've used Lavinia stamps to create the little spring scene for the hares.

The rest of the Design Team have created some lovely Spring projects to share with you, so pleased pop over to TioTs, where you'll find all the challenge details.

Thanks for calling in,

Avril x

Hello Spring

 It's time for some mid month inspiration at Stamping Sensations where the theme this month is as always Anything Goes with the option of  'Hello Spring'.  

I've used a combination of stamps - I stamped 'In the Bucket' from A&C and coloured with Distress Crayons and because the crayon are water resistant, I was then able to spray with Dylusions Vanilla Custard and Dirty Martin ink sprays along with some Broken china Distress spray and then a good spray of water, letting all the colours run and mix, I love to watch how they leave the wax colouring intact.  I then stamped the tulip heads - a magazine freebie, onto spare card.  These were coloured with crayons and fussy cut and then placed over the original flowers, giving the original stamped image a completely different look!  A little second generation script stamping and a liberal splattering with white acrylic paint to complete.

The rest of the DT have some lovely samples to show, so please pop over to the main challenge page, you'll also find all the challenge and prize details.

I'm entering this at We Love Stamping - Hello Spring

Two posts from me today -  but it's just the way the challenge dates work.                                          Thanks for calling in and have a great day.

Avril x

For a Lady at TioT

The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is For a Lady and as it happened I needed a card for my DiL, last month, so a nice opportunity to make something really feminine.  I stamped my lady onto white stamping card, then stamped again onto a geli print and fussy cut the dress.  I used two different circle masks to create some background interest and added an old Rubber Stampede Cherry Blossom stamp.  Matted and layered onto an 8 x 8 card base.

The rest of the DT have some gorgeous inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main challenge page where you will find all the details.

Thanks for calling in.

Avril xx

 

Hello Spring at Stamping Sensations

 

It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month as always it's Anything Goes with the option of Spring.

One of my favourite Springtime flowers is Freesia and as I really wanted this image to stand out, I stamped it on a Geli plate print made with Oxide inks that had turned out a bit too pale, but which still  found its way to the ever growing box of  backgrounds and not the bin!  I coloured the image with Intense pencils and a little white highlight using a white pastel pencil.

The rest of the DT are also following the Spring theme, so please pop over to the main challenge page where you will also find details of two great prizes on offer  from Lisa Horton.  Just remember, you must include at least one element of real stamping on your project to be eligible.

I am entering this at We Love Stamping - Hello Spring

Thanks for calling in  Avril x 

Boss It at TioT

Our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Boss It - so that's Embossing of some description to you and me.

I've used a Geli print and for my background and then heat embossed Lavinia  Forest Flowers using a Stewart Gill Marcasite Embossing powder, which has a lovely glittered effect, but of course it doesn't show in this photo and I haven't had a sunny day to take a photo.  I've used glitter gel pens to colour with a white pen highlights.

The rest of the DT have a great selection of samples to show, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

Thanks for calling in, 

Avril x

 

Romance Mid month at Stamping Sensations

It's time for some mid month inspiration at Stamping Sensations where the theme this month is A/G with the option of Romance.

I've made another Anniversary card, this time using stamps from Lavinia.  I started by drawing a very feint line round a heart shape mask as a guide before stamping the foliage and flowers. I used DIs for grass and sky to create the scene before stamping the cute hares.

The rest of the DT have some great samples to show, so please pop over to the challenge page, where you will find all the details of the great prize from ALL&Create,   just remember, you must include at least one element of real stamping on your project to be eligible to win.

Thanks for calling in,

Avril x

Romance at Try it on Tuesday

It's time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday and this fortnight it's Romance, so any romantic themed project will be eligible.

I don't send Valentines cards, but thought I'd have a little fun with this little bird who rarely sees any ink.

I've stamped him against a stencilled heart and given him a heart shaped balloon which was embossed with WOW Red Tinsel EP, the Love You (a magazine freebie) was stamped and embossed with Silver EP.

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

I am entering this at We Love Stamping Challenge - where the theme is A/G with the CAS option

It's been busy, busy here and lots of extra Grandma duties, but I hope to start catching up at the weekend.

Have a great day, Avril x

Romance for Stamping Sensations

It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations, as always it's Anything Goes with the  option of Romance.

I've made an Anniversary card using a home made heart stencil - die cutting a heart shape in acetate and then using the negative space.  I used Salty ocean DI -( I really had trouble with getting the colours right with this card)  For my stamping I used an old Tim Holtz rose spray, coloured with Inktense pencils, again the colours don't reflect the true deep red.

The rest of the DT are also following the Romance option, so please pop over to the main blog, you'll also find the details of 3 fabulous prizes from AALL&Create, just remember to be eligible to win, you must include some real stamping on your project.

Have a great day, Avril x

 

Oh What a Night!

 Oh What a Night is the new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight and this can be any kind of night that you choose.

I'm showing the New Years Eve Party from the little Fairy Journal that I've made for the twins, the fairies are dancing the night away under a magical sky and everyone is welcome.

All the stamps are from Lavinia apart from the 'fireworks' which are 'dandelion heads' an old Inkylicious stamp which were embossed with WOW Red Glitz and Metallic Gold Rich which doesn't show up well in the picture.  I've also added 'extra' snow with WOW White Puff.

The rest of the team have some very varied inspirational pieces to show, so please pop over to the main blog, you won't be disappointed.

Avril xx

Hand Coloured image Mid month

 It's mid month at Stamping Sensations where the theme is A/G with the option of a Hand Coloured Image.

This was the card I made for Teddy's birthday a couple of weeks ago. It's an old Penny Black image and the boy should have a dog at his feet but I masked that off before stamping.  The colouring was all done with Inktence pencils and a water brush, apart from using a red sparkly pen on the stars on the planes wings.  I added a little background colour with DIs.

A rummage through a box of patterned papers (can't remember the last time I was in that box) and I also found some builders tape, which I coloured with Chipped sapphire stain and a die cut banner to complete.  It's an 8" x 8" card so lots of room to add bits.

The rest of the team have  lots of lovely colourful inspiration for you, so pleased visit the main challenge page where you will find all the details of the fabulous prizes on offer but remember to be eligible to win, 

you must have at least one element of stamping on the front of your entry.

Avril xx 

Feeling Blue at TioT

 

It's time for our first challenge at Try it on Tuesday and it's Feeling Blue - quite appropriate now that the festivities are over and the weather here in the UK isn't the best at the moment.

I've used a Lavinia image called Moments Like These and built up the scene around her with various foliage stamps mainly Lavinia, all stamping was done with Versafine Clair inks Twilight, Paradise, Artic and Warm Breeze, I've also used 3 different shades of blue glitter and Stardust stickles on her wings.

The rest of the DT have some fabulous Blue inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main challenge page for all the details.

The twins celebrated their 4th Birthday yesterday, I keep wondering where time has gone - they will be starting school in September!  They had a fabulous party at the weekend with about 20 friends from nursery and my very talented DL made their cakes. 

                 

 Unfortunately, Grandad wasn't there, he was admitted to hospital 3 days before Christmas and spent the holidays there in a room by himself to minimise infection, and although he's home now,  it's a bit of a slow road to recovery.  Christmas was a bit of a strange event with plans being changed last minute, but at least I got to spend time with family between hospital visits.

Thanks for calling in, I know I'm not the best of bloggers - the New Year's resolution is to improve.

Avril xx

Hand Coloured Image at SS

Morning and a Happy New Year to You.

New Year New challenge at Stamping Sensations and it's Anything Goes with the option of a Hand Coloured Image, and there's prizes of some fabulous stamps from Grafton Crafts.

On a recent 'play day' with my crafty friend, I used her Lavinia stamp of Erwin I also stamped a 'mask' on a post it note,  which enabled me to then stamp my Gus by his side and leaving the mask in place, I stamped the Vine Branch.  I've used Distress inks to colour the background, and the image was coloured with my new Derwent Pastel pencils.

The rest of the team are all showing their colouring skills, so please pop over to the main challenge page for lots of inspiration and you'll also find details of the prizes on offer.

Thanks for calling in,

Avril xx