Warm Sunshine Colours

Fresh back from my hols and time for another new challenge at Allsorts and his week it's my turn to be your host and I have the theme of "Warm Sunshine Colours', you know oranges, reds, yellow all those colours that remind us of hot summer days despite there not being too many of those in the UK since we came home. Our sponsors this weeks are QKR Stampede and Marianne Designs.

I used several colours of Dylusions to create the background and am quite happy how the colours intensified to give the sunshine appearance, you never can be sure as no two background are the same even using the same colours. I sponged sunrays using a stencil, think this is a Timmy one, some harlequins and then grunge paste. The flowers are all cut from a piece of card using the same colour Dylusions using a Prickly Pear die, some core and ivy and a piece of corrugated.

Happy weekend all and hope you will join in our challenge this week.

Purple Poppies

The last of my scheduled holiday posts, this time with my Prickly Pear Monday share and also my Penny Black and More mid month inspirational piece.

It's another Dylusions background for my PB creation - crushed grape, cut grass and fresh lime with usual spritz of glimmer mist pearl. The edges are stamped with PB swirls and bleached out here and there, random inking and grunge paste though stencils and poppies cut with PB field of dreams from card coloured with the same Dylusions.

And my PPRS share is a bit more inkyness using the lovely HH0044 Floral Silhouette stamp which was a Crafts Beautiful commission. The background is another of those using distress inks and an acrylic block - the sort with guidelines which give an interesting affect when used to stamp.

Have a lovely week everyone and will be round to you all very soon now

Summer meadows and a sort of blog hop

GG0082 Delphinium,  FF0104 Wheat Stalks, GG0175 Birds on wire and FF0018 Live Dance Laugh

Yet another scheduled post, today we are due to be in Genoa, another lovely Italian city with lots of heritage and once the home of Christopher Columbus, a highlight is wandering the Caruggi area of the City with it's famous alleys and take in the atmosphere of this ancient city.

So here are this weeks Prickly Pear and Nicecrane Designs DT creations. The above card is my PPRS piece crated with a masked a piece of Fabriano watercolour card, distress markers direct to stamp for the corn and flowers and Pan Pastles for the shading. Stamp details and links above.

Now on to the Hop, it's not quite the norm as this one is about sharing the work of ourselves and our blogging buddies and a little bit about ourselves and crafty habits as well. I was asked to join in by the lovely Julie from Rainbow Days who I have know for some years and who always has lots of inspiration to offer on her blog.

There are some question to answer so here goes:

Question 1 - What I am working on right now ?

This is a really difficult one to start off with as we are on holiday so the only thing I am probably working on right now is a tan and a glass of bubbles in my favorite Country Italy. This sounds like a real cop out but can only tell the truth !

Question 2 - How does my work differ from others of it's genre ?

Well this one might be a bit easier, I always think no two crafters are alike and this has been confirmed to me so many times in class over the years when I give all present the same 'ingredients' but no two finished pieces of artwork are ever the same. Equally I don't think any of us can call ourselves an expert in any given area of craft as it's a constant learning curve. I am not sure this really answers the question so perhaps the only thing I can add is that I tend to work with what to many are very off the wall colour palettes, usually Pan Pastels but also Distress Inks as well, but my theory is if you don't try them out how will you ever know.

Question 3 - Why do I create what I do ?

In the main my pieces or artwork reflect my love of nature, animals and the countryside, you could call it comfort crafting but is that not the catagorie a good many of us fall into ? That said I am always up for a challenge and will give anything a go, with the exception of lots of colouring in as I fail dismally every time.

Question 4 - How does your creating process work ?

Good question and made me smile as I thought about how to answer. I could say I have a piece of artwork all planned out in my mind and go for it but nothing could be further from the truth as invariably very few pieces end up as I anticipated. For me that's what makes crafting such fun as we are in charge and can change direction on a whim and end up with a very satisfying piece that bears no resemblance to the initial idea. For example many of my pieces have trees and flowers and not forgetting the sun or moon of course, but it's not until they are stamped into place and you start to build the scene that you really know what else needs adding or colours to enhance a piece.

Well that's it and if you have not already fallen asleep thank you so much for reading this post. I would like to nominate Tracy to carry on the fun. I first met Tracy some years ago when she came to one of my classes and although she doesn't live close traveled some miles to attend. Over the years I have seen Tracy's crafting develop so much as her confidence grew and she has a versatile approach to her crafting. She is one of my fellow Allsorts DT's and I hope you will pop along to her blog and say hello, she will be taking the hop to the next stage on Monday 18th August.

The little girl perched in the tree is another image from the Brisley Playing Children design sheet I used last week and yet again teams up perfectly with Graphic 45 DP's, some lace, a Penny Black sentiment and little die cut dragonflies.

Thanks as always for popping in, your visits are always much appreciated.

In the Pink

A scheduled post again as I am on my hols and about now leaving France and into the Bay of Biscay......will it be a good crossing I wonder, it's always unpredictable...........but should be on our way to some more nice warm Mediterranean sunshine and visits to Malaga, Villefranche, Florence, Pisa, Roma and Lisbon to name a few.

It's time for a new challenge at FlonzCraft Vintage Stamping Challenges where our theme is 'Summer Days' and as always there is a chance to win $20 stamps of your choice from FlonzCraft. And as it's Monday I also have my Prickly Pear and Nicecrane DT shares.

As with my last FlonzCraft DT card I have used some of the newly released DP's which you will find here along with Girl on a Windy Hill, another of my favorites and at $2.99 exceptional value for money. I love the pretty pattern and pinks in this DP and kept everything fairly simple adding just a organza bow and little rose embellishment.

FF0174 Starburst Daisies, DD0204 Grown in Grace and PPRS D031 Poinsettia die

My PPRS piece is one I made for a magazine commission and now it's been published I am safe to share. The stamps and dies I used are listed above along with links to them in the store.

And finally and in keeping with the post tile here is my Nicecrane share for the week. I love this image and have again teamed it up with Graphic 45 DP's, some gingham ribbon and bunting using a Penny Black die.

Hope your week is a good one.

The Kiss of the Sun

CLR014 Four Seasons and HH0044 Flower Silhouette

Morning Peeps, hope you all had a good weekend, as explained in my post Saturday it's scheduled posts for the next three weeks.

It's time for this weeks Prickly Pear and Nicecrane Desings DT shares and it will be a quick post as I am back at hospital this week and then.............fingers very firmly crossed.............our holiday right afterwards.

For my PPRS card above I masked a piece of Fabriano watercolour card and created a background with Pan Pastels and then stamped this lovely silhouette floral image and added a sentiment form one of the clear sets, as always details and links below the photo.

It's more flowers for my Nicecrane piece along with Graphic 45 DP's, I printed the image out twice and decoupaged the birdie, added some lace, twine and a cameo.

Thanks so much for popping in.

An evening stroll

JJ0061 Stella, GG082 Delphinium and CLR014 Four Seasons

As it's Monday it's time for my Prickly Pear DT share. I am not sharing a Nicecrane piece this week as the web site is down for maintenance but you will be able to check it out and see more new designs very shortly.

It's a first inking for Stella the rather elegant looking lady who has been paper pieced. The frame is the aperture left after cutting the Timmy wardrobe frame, I always keep the waste as it works perfectly for creating a little scene in this case using Pan Pastels, ripped paper to make the hills and clouds and some Prickly Pear flower and leaf stamps, all listed above with direct links.

Hope you all have a lovely week.

A day at the beach

GG0195 Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Happy Monday morning to you all, time to share my Prickly Pear and Nicecrane DT creations.

As most know I am not one for cute images and cards, comes of not being a natural when it comes to colouring in I think, but this sweet little girl does rather appeal and teamed up nicely with some shells I bought back from Majorca, Graphic 45 DP, sky and sun using Pan Pastels and bunting cut on the Cricut.

Another criss cross card........I feel there is probably a proper name for this style but not sure what it actually is, so criss cross for now.

The image is from the Brisley Playing Children design sheet, this little girls reminds me of a photo of me as a child complete with plaited hair.

As with so many Nicecrane designs this one matches perfectly with Graphic 45 DP, this one is from the Botanical Tea collection.

Have a good Monday everyone.

Dogs and dances

Golden Retriever GG0059 and Flourish die PPRS D045

It's time for a new challenge at FlonzCraft Vintage Stamping Challenges where Viv has chosen the them eof Face the Music and Dance and as always there is a chance to win $20 stamps of your choice from FlonzCraft. And as it's Monday I also have my Prickly Pear and Nicecrane DT shares.

The top one for Prickly Pear uses the lovely Golden Retriever which I have lightly coloured with watercolour pencils........as we all know I don't do colouring in too well so kept it simple........some DP from stash and a flourish using a new die from PPRS.

For my first FlonzCraft card I used some of the brand new Design Papers together with the Tango Dance couple paper piecing the ladies dress with the reverse of the floral DP, some punched flowers and Prickly Pear flourish, the same one as in the above card.

And this is my take on a Victorian Dance Card, I am not totally convinced the couple above fit into the same era but there is a waltz in there so with a bit of artistic licence I am linking the two.

I created an aperture in a panel which I also embossed and then rubbed with gilding wax and placed a FlonzCraft image into the aperture. I printed the dance list on the computer and stamped around the edges with a FlonzCraft Baroque corner and finished with some liquid pearls, tassel and beads.

I hope you all have a good week.

A Summers Day

 Four Seasons CLR014, Wheat Stalks FF0104, Live, Dance,Laugh FF0018

Monday morning and time for my Prickly Pear and Nicecrane DP shares. And before I tell you about today's makes I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their kind comments on Saturdays post, you are all so lovely and understanding.

As soon as I saw this stamp set I had to have it........well with a tree and a fence there was no decision to make. So I created a little scene with some hills and sky using Pan Pastels, the hint of sun peeping out form the clouds and this lovely inspirational quote.

And here I have made two cards using the new Jeremy Fisher Wind in the Willows designs from Nicecrane and also gave the new sewing machine which hubby bought for Birthday an outing trying out some of the different stitches. I really do like the earthy colours of these designs and the cheeky fellow which to my mind will work for all age groups.

On the first card I one teamed Jeremy up with some NitWits DP's and Obsession Impressions Bulrushes and dragonflies which are all in the same die set, a Timmy clock and message label. For the second I went with Graphic 45, a Spellbinder frame and twine.

Hope you all have a good Monday.

Inky, Pinky Monday

Using: CLR001 Butterflies clear set, CLR015A Bobbly Flowers clear set, PPRSD015 Blobbly Flowers die set, EE0131 Flourish stamp and Cheery Lynn lattice die.

Note added - what are your dashboards up to this morning ? Mine will only show the very latest posting of those I follow and although there is a 'view more' button it won't actually show any more. Tried on another computer in the office and the same so unless I sit and watch it all the time no idea who has posted what. What's Blogger up to now I wonder ?

Morning Peeps, I hope you all had a good weekend.

Time to share my Monday morning Prickly Pear and Nicecrane Designs DT pieces. It's all rather inky as I am struggling mojo wise with all the medical issues and treatments and getting inky is what I have found I am most comfortable with lately so apologies if it's all rather samey recently.

The background is Dylusions Bubblegum Pink and Pomegranate Seed................don't you just love the names they give them.............and the requisite spritz of Pearl Glimmer Mist. Over this I inked Picked Raspberry DI through a mask to get the wavy pattern and added some Gilding Wax around the edges, then overlaid the lattice which I painted with chalk paint and randomly tore at the edges and finally some pink Sparkle Medium through another mask, a really useful Timmy one with tiny holes.

Finally after all that messiness I cut the flowers, over stamped them and also he butterfly, all cut from a piece of card sprayed with the same mediums.

I would like to enter this into the current Butterfly Challenge................I don't do challenges as a rule due to the need to minimise screen glare to my dodgy eyes but I do make an exception here as I love butterflies. The current theme is monochromatic.

My Nicecrane creation is also rather pink, I have used the really sweet Children and Birds by N Brisley design sheet which is a newly released one, there are five different deigns in the collection so plenty of scope for a variety of cards. I have teamed it up with Graphic 45 Botanical Tea DP's, no matter which Nicecrane design I use there is usually a G45 DP that matches, they seem made for each other with their Vintage feel. I did a bit of stitching around the edges using the new sewing machine hubby bought for my Birthday, it's not until Friday but I was allowed to have it a bit early to start playing with. Some bunting cut of the Cricut and die cut flowers and leaves.

Hope you all have a good week.

Shadow stamping with acetate

Good Morning, it's my week to host a tutorial over at Prickly Pear and this is just a short one using acetate and shadow stamping, the technique is fairly subtle but using two contrasting colours gives a finish that's a little bit different.

Here are the products and materials I used: Prickly Pear stamps Floral Silhuettes HH0044 and Flourish EE0131, Distress inks, Black Versafine, Detail clear embossing powder, heat resistant acetate, watercolour card and Pearl mica spray

Distress the piece of base card with your chosen colours of distress inks and spritz with the mica spray. Whenever I create a background with inks or Dylusions I invariably add a spritz if mica spray as it helps bleed the colours, as well as giving a nice shimmer and added interest.

Randomly stamp around the edge of the card with the flourish stamp and then stamp the floral image slightly left of centre. Next stamp the floral image onto the acetate with the black ink, cover with embossing powder and heat. You will find dusting the acetate with an anti static bag or talcum powder really helps to stop your stamp slipping and also prevent powder sitting in unwanted places.

Lay the stamped acetate over the base stamping slightly to the right of the base image so you can see a slight shadow, then carefully glue the corners together with a dries clear glue. Mat and layer onto your base card and embellish as desired. I used some ribbon and butterflies using Mini Butterfly dies PPRS – DO23 and over stamped them with the same flourish stamp that I used around the card edges.

I do hope you will give this fun card a try and please do ask me if you have any questions.

I thought I had better also share my DT card which was on the PPRS store blog yesterday, clean and simple'ish' using the Clear Vase stamp set which you will find here.

Hope you all have a good Tuesday.

Bobbly Flowers and a blue hat

Using: JJ 0038 May your Life,  FF0104 Wheat, EE0103 Flourish, CLR051A Blobby Flowers,  GG0082 Delphinium, PPRS D015 Blobby Flower Die, PPRS D045 Flourish Die

It's a bit of inkiness for my Prickly Pear DT share this week and one I really enjoyed creating. I started with Dylusions and Glimmer Mist onto the reverse of Centrua Pearl, sponged some sunrays using a mask and randomly stamped with a number of Prickly Pear stamps including the lovely sentiment and then from another piece of card also sprayed with the same mediums made some flowers using the matching stamps and die and swirls using the new swirl die.

My Nicecrane DT piece this week uses another new design sheet called All Season Hats, I made a stepper card, some scraps of DP and overlaid them with trellis cut from linen cardstock using a Cheery Lynne die. Some rolled roses, feahter and a beaded pin in coordinating colours.

Happy Monday all. 

Blossoms

It's time for a new challenge at FlonzCraft Vintage Stamping Challenges where our them is Summer Blossoms, what a lovely easy one as we all love our flowers. And as it's Monday I also have my Prickly Pear and Nicecrane DT shares.

For my top card I have used a number of FlonzCraft stamps, Etched Rose and leaves, Buttertfly trio, small butterflies sheet and Floral Butterfly corner and sprayed them all with Dylusions before cutting out and decoupaging. Graphic 45 DP and TH weathered clock cut from Coredinations.

I am again entrering the Butterfly Bingo Challenge (after totally messing up yesterday's one - need more practice) and following the line of Butterflies, Dies and DP.

This one is probably the most difficult card I have ever had to make, when my latest DT package arrived from Prickly Pear I looked at this sentiment and lovely as it is wondered what on earth I could manage to do with it.

Using: GG1096 Loyal Companion

After thinking about it for a few days I decided I would make a card in memory of my lovely Buffy. The design and colours of the card, little UTEE fob and glazed flowers were inspired by Pere Lachaise in Paris, for those not familiar with it, it's the largest cemetery in Paris set on a hill with views of the City where many famous people are buried .......Sarah Bernhardt, Chopin, Colette, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf to name a few........although it is a cemetery it is unlike most and more of a tourist attraction with beautiful marbles, many flowers and ornate glazed photos to commemorate those buried there.

Finally my Nicecrane share is another using the elegant A Dream of Fair Women design sheet........can you tell I really like these, along with Graphic 45 DP's, a bit of paper folding, ribbon and flower.

Happy Monday all.

Inky Flutterbys and cute dogs

If you are on the Allsorts Birthday Hop, it's the post below this one.............

Butterflies 2 LT001A clear set, Delphinium GG082, Wheat Stalks FF0104, JJ038 May Your Life, FF0018 Live, Dance, Laugh

Again I must thank you all for your kind comments and mails asking how I am, truth is there is still an awful lot going on and to take in and at the moment I don't feel able to open up about it, so please bear with me as in time I am sure I will come to terms with everything.

I have gone all inky for this weeks Prickly Pear DT piece, or rather pieces as I have made a set of butterfly cards using a number of stamps all listed above with direct links to them. My background is created by masking the sections I want to colour on the cardstock, applying distress inks to an acrylic block and spritzing with water before stamping the whole block on the Farbiano watercolour cardstock. The more water you add to the blocks the better the inks blend and bleed over the sides to give a more random look. Unless you want your images to pop outside the box as I did for part of the one on the left, do your stamping before removing the masking tape.

And I have three Nicecrane pieces to share with you after a weekend of some crafty time.

The first above uses another of the lovely Dream of Fair Women designs along with Graphic 45 DP's.

I printed the image onto some new linen cardstock and am really pleased with the finished result.

The one to the left uses three images from Ignacio's new Cute Dogs here, I just love the sleepy dog in the last photo.

And finally an Oriental  one using the new Japanese designs which you will find here.

I thought lilies would go rather well and made two using Ruth's Tonic Punch and Stamp Lily set.

Happy Monday all.