Feminine at TioT

Our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Make it Feminine, which is great as I need some 'girly' cards.

I've used an old Flonz image, stamping onto a reverse stencil print background.  I stamped the image again onto red card and fussy cut the dress.  The sentiments were freebies from an old Creative Stamping magazine.

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

You would have thought a week of walking and various activities in the Lak District would have exhausted the twins, but NO!  They were absolutely hyper when they came for a sleepover on Saturday night, their energy continued all day Sunday - wish I could have had some!

Avril xx

Spring At Stamping Sensations

 It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month the theme is Spring.

I've used AALL&Create Crocus #624 stamping onto a Gelli plate background.  I also stamped the flower head a second time,  (I wasn't satisfied with the colouring over the yellow of the background) so coloured and attached this after randomly stamping  parts of the scrip of another A&C stamp #304.

The rest of the Design Team have also followed this theme, but if you prefer you can always follow the A/G option.

There are two prizes this month of Sweet Poppy stamps and stencil, but remember to be eligible to win you must have some real stamping on the front of your project.

A busy day ahead as I have the twins today, they've just had a week in the Lake District.  They got their first pair of 'proper' walking boots - they climbed to the top of Castlehead - their first mini mountain!

I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.

Avril xx

Nostalgia

 

Slightly late, but I'm managing to keep my 'intention' of journaling - (so far) with a page for this months theme at Art Journey Journal which is  Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place with Anyone chosen by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

It's quite a loose theme and I've chosen 'childhood with a friend'

I started by lightly  spritzing the page with Antique Linen before assembling my various bit of stamped ephemera - old Tim Holtz stamps, some fussy cut poppies( for remembrance)  and of course my sweet friends.

Let's just hope I won't be as late with joining in next month.

Avril x

Mid Month Favourite at Stamping Sensations

At Stamping Sensations we're halfway through our current challenge of Favourite Stamp. I love Lavinia stamps and my favorites are usually the flowers, but I do love this fairy  from Moments Like These,  she looks so peaceful. 

I've used another of the Scenecape papers and then built up the scene around her using Bell Flower Vine,   Fairy Buttercups,   Orchard Grass   and the Leaf Creeper stamp.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but I painted Diamond stickles on and around the foliage.

The rest of the team are showcasing their favourite stamps, so pleas pop over to the main challenge page where you will also find all the challenge details along with details of this months prize of Lavinia Stamps.

Avril xx

3-2--1 at Try it on Tuesday

 

The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight is Countdown 3-2-1  

For my card I've picked 3 Flowers - 2 stamps - 1 stencil.

I started with a white card base and used embossing paste through a TH stencil.  When the paste was dry, I spritzed with Victorian velvet  and although I dabbed colour off the paste, it needed brightening up so I dabbed white Gesso through the stencil.

My  2 stamps are AALL&Create 304 Heartfelt and an old Hero Arts Birthday greeting.

3 die cut flowers coloured with Picked Raspberry DI.

The rest of the DT have been very creative with their 3-2-1, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

Avril xx 

All Loved Up at TioT

February is the month of Love and we're feeling All Loved Up at Try it on Tuesday.

I've used one of the lovely Scenecape papers from Lavinia for my tag and stamped the fairy couple gazing at the moon. The sentiment was a magazine freebie from a while back.    My tag is very similar to a card I made a couple of months ago and the two are apparently being used together, lucky someone is getting a gift for Valentine's day!

The rest of the DT have some fabulous Love themed inspiration to share, so please pop over to the main challenge page where you will also find all the challenge details.

Some challenges for my tag - Shopping Our Stash - Love Me Do

                                                Creative Moments - Love  and Romance

                                                The Dream Factory - Love Actually

                                                Sweet Stamping - Love

Avril xx 

 

Favourite Stamp at Stamping Sensations

February!...   where did January go........ 

  

The first of the month means it's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month it's chosen by Lynn and she would like you to use your Favourite Stamp and of course tell us what it is.  This month we have two prizes of Lavinia stamps but remember to be eligible to win, you  must have some real stamping on your project.

I have a few favourite stamps and it was hard to just pick one but Lavinia's Flower Divine Set has to be one of my favourites, I really do love those quirky flowers.  I've stamped them onto a Gelli plate background along with the Orchard Grass stamped with Twisted Citron DI, and coloured them with some neglected Sparkling H2O paints, and of course there's a good sprinkling of glitter, which sort of shows in the photo as tiny dots.  I then used a stitched and plain circle die to frame them, then mounting onto white linen card.

The rest of the team are showcasing their favourite stamps, so please pop over to the main challenge page to see, you won't be disappointed.

Some challenges for my card

Beautiful Blossoms - Florals challenge 37

Moving Along with the Times - Floral

Avril x

 

Tag-Along

 

The current challenge at Tag-Along (and ATCs) is  Love and Romance and I've got a few neglected old vintage style stamps that are perfect for the challenge and it's such a shame that they hardly get used.

My tag uses  Rubber Stampede 'Dreaming of You' stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia, I fussy cut around the image. For the tag background, I used Antique Linen DI and I spritzed this with water, when dry I used Embossing paste, (another neglected item) through a script stencil, to finish I added some Sizzix die cut lace. under the quote.

I'm also entering this at    -   Alphabet challenge - Texture - embossing paste

                                              Neglected Stuff challenges

Avril x

Add Some Text at TioT

It's time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday and this time it's Add Some Text.  

I used a mop up background for my flowers and coloured them with Inktense pencils. I used Spiced marmalade DI through a stencil before randomly rolling an old script stamp with second generation ink over the background.

The rest of the DT have been very creative with adding Text to their projects, so please pop over to the main challenge page where you will also find all the challenge details.

Avril xx 

 

Mid Month I Spy

 

Can you believe we're halfway through January!  and halfway through our first challenge of 2026 at Stamping Sensations.  Our theme this month is I Spy Something beginning with 'B'

My 'B' is Blue although you might have guessed that - but it's also for beginning as this is the first page in my NEW journal.  It's a mop up background, and I've used TH Floral Outlines, stamped with Chipped Sapphire and then spritzed with water before stamping.

I thought this quote from Visible Image  'Take the Moment'  was quite apt - it's stamped on Vellum with Twilight Versafine Clair and heat set with clear EP.

The rest of the DT have some great 'B' inspiration for you, so please visit the main challenge page, where you will also fin all the challenge details.  Don't forget, there's also a fabulous Visible Image stamp and stencil prize, but to be eligible to win you must include some real stamping on your entry.

I am entering this at Inkspirational - Shades of Blue

Crafty Calendar - Something New - New Journal

Love to Craft - Anything Goes

Thanks for calling in, Avril x

Take the Moment stamp

Art Journal

 

It's a good while since I did any journaling,  lately I've just concentrated on DT work, but a New Year and I'm trying to start off with 'good intentions' - so I've made a start in a new journal I bought just before Christmas.

I'm following Erika's theme at Art Journal Journey which is What's Up?

I've used the quote from the stamp set as my inspiration of Dreams Taking Flight and added lots of different coloured balloons for the many dreams we have in life.   A very  CAS page with simple colouring done with Inktense pencils and a water brush.

I've got quite a few stamps which I don't use, but are perfect for journaling, so let's hope I can keep up the 'good intention'.

Avril xx

It's Cold Outside

It's our first challenge of 2026 over at Try it on Tuesday and this time - very apt for us living in the UK -  It's Cold Outside.

I've made a Wintery card that will no doubt come in handy next Christmas.  I've used my favourite Tim Holtz Snowman a a Nellie Snellen stamp called Nesting box with birds. along with some small fir trees that came free with a magazine a long time ago.

The rest of the Design Team have some great inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main challenge page, where you will find all the challenge detail.

We had a few inches of snowfall on Saturday morning before we left home for the twins 5th birthday party in Durham,   Durham had no snow and we had more falling late afternoon when we got home, so  Sunday morning the phone call came - can we play in your snow.  I should have taken a couple of photos, they had so much fun and apart from a demolished snowman I have 'snow Angels' all over the garden.

Can you believe the twins are 5 today!  Time really does fly.

I am entering this at Allsorts - Winter Animals

                                 Four Seasons Challenge - Winter

Avril xx 

I Spy Something Beginning with B

Happy New Year!

It's our first challenge of 2026 at Stamping Sensations and we're playing  I Spy - Something beginning with B  or you can always follow the Anything Goes option if you prefer, and there's a stamp and stencil prize from Visible Image for one lucky random winner.

For my card I chose Bloom and Blue and used one of my favourite stamps from Visible Image called Total Chaos.  I stamped it onto white linen card and used a stitched rectangle die to cut the panel, offsetting the flower.  I also stamped the flower head again and coloured it with pencils and then used some old  Sparkling H2O paints, which gave it a lovely pearlised finish.  The panel didn't quite stand out as I had expected, so I cut a border, which was coloured in the same way as the flower head.

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

Avril x