Spring flowers

With all the time in the world I'm finding it very difficult to concentrate on doing any crafting, I have spent this afternoon making a load of cards using some free Hunkydory toppers and papers, mindless assembling really although the images are lovely hares and they do look quite nice, will help to fill up my box for selling cards for charity when can do that again.

In my post this morning I received a letter from DWP advising me that from next week I will get an extra 25p in my pension as I will be 80, wondering what I can spend it all on.! Joking apart I am well aware that we are fortunate to get our pensions paid every week when so many folk are suffering financial hardship right now. We are in our third week on self isolating and I am happy that we are able to do this and also have access to fresh air in the garden, missing seeing family though.

Anyhow back to my card , I have had these Crafty Individual daffodils for ages and had forgotten about them until I saw a beautiful journal page by Sandra . I messed up the first attempt and so I cut round the top of the flowers and added a piece of inked paper behind them. The littel sentiment is Hobby Arts.

Christmas Critters

The April challenge at Sparkles Christmas has been chosen by Helen and she is asking for Christmas Critters.
I have used a toppers and papers by Hunkydory for my card.  Hope you will visit the challenge blog and see the inspiration from the design team and join in our challenge.

The beauty of nature

 Time for a new challenge at Try It On Tuesday and this time it's the beauty of nature. I've used mostly Crafty Individual stamps for my card, the blossom at the top is a free stamp from a magazine
The design team have lots of inspiration for you over on the challenge blog so hope you will visit them.

At My Grandfather's house

The Male room challenge has a rather unusual theme this time and it made me think about family.
My Grandparents were both professional musicians, my Grandfather was a violinist and my Grandmother played the Cello although they both played other instruments too. I have had this violin stamp for a very long time, came in a set from The Stampman. The corner stamps,sentiment and notes are from various other sets. Entering my card into

The Male Room Challenge - At My Grandfather's house
and
Allsorts Challenge  - Men/Boys

I

Just playing

I treated myself to a few new  Crafty Individuals stamps and this is the first one I played with.Just randomly dabbed distress inks onto a piece of white card, spritzed with water and let it blend, then just stamped the collage on it. Stamped just the butterfly on another piece of card and cut it out, coloured it with the same colours of DI and 3d'd it over the top.

Hope you are all staying safe. We are self isolating as we are both quite old (79 and 88) and I do have quite a lot of health problems so safer to stop home. It's getting a bit hard to get groceries delivered but I have always kept a good amount of tinned food and my freezer well stocked, I'm suffering from lack of chocolate though !

Spring Flowers

Better late than never so they say, I forgot to do my post for Stamping Sensations mid month !  My card I used an Inkylicious stamp I've had quite a long time. The background stamp is a cover a card stamp by Impression Obsession, the little bee is a freebie from Crafty Individuals, all the colouring is done with distress inks. There is stlll plenty of time to enter the challenge but please make stamping the focal point of your entry if you wish to be considered for one of the prizes.

By the sea

The new challenge at Try It On Tuesday is where would you like to live or home, sweet home. I've always imagined living by the sea and always dreamt of retiring to the coast but was not to be, having said that I'm very happy at where we live now, in a nice village with a good community spirit and mostly lovely neighbours too.   For my card I have used a very old Stamps Happen stamp and a distress ink background.  Hope you will visit the challenge blog and see the lovely samples by the design team.

I had also made this card , the stamp is a Stampin Up one and the image is Runswick Bay in Yorkshire, a place we used to love to visit until it became too hard for me to walk up the very steep hill from the village to the car park at the top. I love the tiny thatched cottage on the very end of the headland. Unfortunately I smudged the birds at the bottom when assembling the card even though I thought I had dried the ink with my heat gun. Can't think of a way to rescue it right now.

New technique

The current  challenge at Try It On Tuesday is "New Technique"  I knew I was going to do a project using some transfer papers BUT when I actually came to do it I found the papers no longer work ( I have had them quite a while LOL )  Second try was to do a journal page, used torn up book pages ,inks and white paint. The fairies were stamped on tissue paper and the image comes through the other side of it which means there is a mirror image. I'm sure this is not news to others but it was new to me. I'd also like to enter Art Journal Journey's challenge which is Green

Spring Flowers

Time for the March challenge at Stamping Sensations and the challenge this time is Spring Flowers. I have used an old LOV stamp , coloured with watercolour paints. The background is a distress ink mop up piece randomly stamped with the little leaf.  I couldn't find any matching paper for the flower image mat so coloured the edge of a piece of white card with the same blue water colour I used on the flower container.  We are sponsored this month by " Thirsty Brush" an online store with stamps, dies, papers and much more.

Hope you will join in our challenge but please remember that to be in with a chance of winning you MUST have stamping as the main focus of your entry. 

Anything but...

Sparkles Christmas challenge for March was chosen by Angela who asks for Anything but a card.

I have chosen to make a money/gift card envelope using scraps of Christmas papers.  Sorry that everything is a bit wonky but I have had a cataract op on one eye which is brilliant BUT is means  that until I get the other eye done I cannot wear my glasses for close work so I am finding it a bit difficult, 

Feminine 2

Time for some mid month inspiration at Stamping Sensations, the design team have some lovely samples on the challenge site.

For my card I have used a Crafty Individuals stamp which I have had for some time, using up some more papers from my stash which never seems to go down ! Looked  abit plain so added some ribbon and a few card candies

Its all Green !

The new challenge at Try It On Tuesday starts today. The theme this time is to use all green or use something recycled.  I thought it was an easy choice to go for the green but there are so many shades of green and not all of them blend together well.  I found this butterfly die which I don't think I've ever used and cut it from a piece of card I had coloured with distress inks , even though I used the same two inks on the mat and the little butterflies they look an entirely different colour.  The design team have some lovely inspiration over on the challenge site so hope you will pay them a visit.

Show some love

The new challenge at Try It On Tuesday asks us to "show some love".  I was a bit stumped with this one as I don't do Valentine stuff but when I started looking through my stamps I actually found quite a few I could use, finally settled for Ginger and Fred Mo Manning stamp, I think it makes a lovely anniversary card for an older couple, used up a bit more DT paper from stash and a couple of die cut hearts.  The design team have some fab inspiration for you over on the challenge site.

Make It Feminine

The new challenge at Stamping Sensations is Feminine. We are sponsored this month by Bee Crafty who is a card making, rubber stamping and scrapbook supplies shop.


and
 JMC Designs. All images are hand drawn by Julia McNeill, an artist who lives in the north of Scotland


For the first card I have used a very old Papermania stamp set for the flower and text, background done with brusho and a bit of stencilling. I am trying to use up some DP and the background is a piece from my stash. The butterflies are a little freebie stamp and I've no idea where it came from.

My second card is using a digi stamp called  Cosmo Polly from JMC designs,

coloured with Copics and again using some background papers from my stash.

White Space

Finally got down to making a card after a long break from crafting, two stays in hospital and lot of outpatient appointments.   Made this card for Try It On Tuesday challenge which is "White Space or

colourful grunge"  I used a new stamp I got for Christmas, Stampendous Flutters and Flowers, coloured with water colour paints and 3d the blue butterfly.  Hope you will visit the challenge blog and see the teams inspirations.