INSPIRATION STATION - #81

Welcome back to another year of inspiration from Inspiration Station.  I hope you like our first image and I'm looking forward to seeing how it inspires you.  

It reminded me that I have this lovely squirrel stamp set from Visible Image which hasn't really  had much inking over the years.  I created a snowy scene for him, together with a few friends from Tracy Evans Boutique Designs and Lavinia Stamps.   The berries are also from Tracy Evans.  Seeing everyone using Dr Ph Martin's bleed proof white I had to get myself some for the wintery cards and it really is worth it.  It's great for creating those snowy effects. 

MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES - WINTER WONDERLAND

Welcome back to another challenge at Moving Along with the Times where our theme is Winter Wonderland. 

My little scene includes stamps from Tracy Evans Boutique Designs with the trees and the background words and the hare and the toadstools from Lavinia Stamps.

I simply used torn photocopy paper to create my snowbanks and then stamped the trees in various colours and heights.  The sentiment is an old one from my stash - I added some glitter to the snow with a Spectrum Noir sparkle pen and then splattered over some white ink for snow. 

I'm entering this into the following:

We Love Stamping - Christmas 

Stamping Sensations - Christmas 

Peace on Earth - wintery scene 

Girlz Creative Christmas 

Carlin's Cards - White Christmas 

Merry Little Christmas - AG 

LOVE TO CRAFT - CHRISTMAS MAGIC

Welcome back to another challenge at Love to Craft where we love to see what has inspired you to create over the past few months. 

I recently purchased one of the new stamps from Lavinia Stamps from their new collection - I chose this cute little mouse stamps Pipspell although a few other Lavinia stamps did fall into my basket lol!

I was inspired to create this card by Lisa Taggart.  I love how she created the branches and I used some Tim Holtz Stamps for the tree and the foliage.  I think the addition of the white ink really makes them pop.

I used some of Tracy Evans Boutique Designs little baubles to hang from the tree.  They were coloured in some handmade inks my daughter bought for me a few years ago - they have a gorgeous sparkle to them.

I created some snow banks for the little mouse and added some footprints in the snow.  The bottom left has the Winter Magic stamp embossed in white embossing powder.  I also added some stars with a mini star stamp from Lavinia.   The sentiment is from Tim Holtz Mr Frostie set.

I'm adding this into the following:

Dream Valley - a card for a child 

Inspire Create - Christmas 

Stamping Sensations - Christmas 

Girlsandtheart - Magical 

A perfect time to craft - AG

12 months of Christmas 

Critter Crazy - AG 

Merry Little Christmas - AG 

Mix It Up - AG 

ROBINS AND MICE OR BOBBY AND PIPSPELL

I'm loving playing with some new stamps from Lavinia - and why I hadn't spotted this gorgeous robin stamp Bobby before now I'll never know.  

I used some watercolour paper to create this scene - masked off to circles just with some paper and used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Stormy Weather, Chipped Sapphire, and Dusty Concord to create my sky.  I added the Tree Branch from Lavinia and some branch leaves in Iced Spruce and Brilliance White ink.  I stamped the robin on the branch and coloured him in with Prismacolor pencils. 

I used some Pastels to add some colour to the mouse.  The lanterns were coloured in with Mont Martre glitter pens. I added the gorgeous Winter Magic stamp in Versafine Twilight and added some star stamps in the white ink.

I'm adding this to the following:

Inspire Create - Christmas 

Peace on Earth - Christmas mood board - trees 

Rudolph Days - Christmas 

Alphabet - N is for night 

Creative Moments - things with wings 

Outlawz Festive - Christmas 

AUTUMN BLESSINGS

I've torn myself away from the Christmas projects I've been making to refocus on Autumn - time enough for Christmas but I always get impatient!

I have this leaf mask by Lavinia Stamps that I haven't used much - I tried doing a press on the gel press of it but wasn't overly impressed with what I got.  I used it anyway and put the mask on top and used some Tim Holtz Distress Inks to add some extra details. 

I added some extra Lavinia silhouette stamps to add to the scene.  The sentiment is from Altenew 

I'm adding this into the following:

Unicorn Challenge - Autumn 

Double Trouble - 3 colours of autumn, 2 images - 1 stencil 

Outlawz - October Poem 

Inkspirational - seasonal

TGIF - seasonal autumn 

Just us girls - moodboard 

INSPIRATION STATION - #76

Welcome back to another Inspiration Station - I hope you are inspired by our lovely picture above - please let us know when you enter what inspired you.  I chose the Unicorn and the fact that it was a birthday cake.  My little granddaughter was 6 in June and she is just at that stage where she loves pink and unicorns. 

All my stamps were from Lavinia stamps.  As my little girl loves all things pretty I added the little ribbon and the gem - not something I would normally add to my cards.

I'm adding this into the following:

Simon Says Stamp Monday - Happy Birthday 

Allsorts - AG Animal 

Heart's Quest - Fantasy

Send a smile 4 kids - birthday card 

Critter Crazy - AG 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE - BIRTHDAYS #488

Welcome back to another challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More and this time we are back on Birthdays.

March is a very  busy month in our household with no less than four birthdays for my daughter, son, son in law, and husband just sneaks in on 1st April but still four major birthdays in a two week period!  

This was the card I did for my daughter this year - I love using these stencils by Lavinia Stamps and creating a little scene inside.  All inks are Tim Holtz.  I did add a few drops of Nuovo along the edge of the bottle too. 

I'm adding this into the following - 

Addicted to CAS - stencil - not sure if this is CAS enough though 

Allsorts - Feminine 

Heart's Quest - Fantasy

Polkadoodle - AG 

Creative Moments - for a special lady - this was for my daughter 

Creative Knockouts - Birthday Wishes 

THE MALE ROOM #196 - MIXED MEDIA

It's time for another challenge at The Male Room and we want to see your Mixed Media cards this month.  This challenge is just perfect for me as I do love a bit of mixed media and regulars to my blog will know this is one of my favourite ways of playing with our hobby.

I started off by using a gel press to create my background and some Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Salvaged Patina and Victorian Velvet.  Once it was dry I white embossed one of Alison Bomber's stamp sets EAB30 for Paper Artsy Stamps and the William Shakespeare words from that set.  Why Shakespeare?  Well that will become clear when I tell you about the sentiment!

I also added some extra texture with some texture paste through a small leaf stencil by Creative Expressions.

The leaves are Tim Holtz Thinlets called Leaf Fragments. They were in my stash as the result of another play with the gel press and some Pixie Powder from Cosmic Shimmer.  

I stamped a tree from Lavinia Stamps on the far left and attached the leaves. The sentiment is a quote from Shakespeare - it comes from a little pack of cards I found recently which I had bought about 20 years ago for hubby as he loves Shakespeare.  Each card has a quote and information on where that quote was used.  I think this one really suited the leaves falling off the trees. It is taken from Shakespeare's King Lear.

I'm adding this into the following

Unicorn Challenge Blog - Male Cards 

Simply Ellibelle - AG 

Paper Funday - AG - twist of weather - wind 

Simply Ellibelle - I Spy - no DP

Simon Says Stamp - favourite technique - mixed media especially using texture paste 

ZURI THE UNICORN

My little granddaughter who is 5 is slowly moving her attention away from dinosaurs and to Unicorns!  I had to buy this one from Lavinia Stamps over Christmas and haven't had a play yet so today was the day - inspired by a few challenge blogs.

I used all Lavinia stamps to create the little scene and the words come from a word stamp called Sacred Spells. I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks and Versafine clair ink.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Critter Crazy - AG with an animal 

Creative Fingers - AG 

As You See It - challenge - this year I will use the stamps I have bought and make sure they get inked!

FAbnFunky - include a stamped image 

Crafty Animals AG 

Creative Crafters - AG 

Unicorn Challenge - Stripes of the unicorns mane and the hanging flowers 

PEARLY SPARKLES - SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW - JANUARY 2025

Welcome back to Pearly Sparkles and a new challenge for 2025 which is Something Old, Something New.  My something new uses some new stamps from Lavinia and an older sticky stencil from Lavinia.  I love these sticky masks - they are so easy to use and I've used the circle one here as part of the moon.  I added some Nuovo drops in silver all round the outside of the moon shape.  

I look forward to seeing what you all got that was new this Christmas. 

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Creative Inspirations - Something old, something new 

Make My Monday - #235 create your own background 

My time to Craft - something new 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - something new 

CREATIVE ARTISTE MIXED MEDIA

Welcome back to another month's challenge here at Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge.  We love seeing all your mixed media and the huge variety that the concept of Mixed Media envelopes. 

This month I've been channelling my inner artist - and it is so inner it's hard to find.  I find it amazing that I now make art - my older brother was the artist in the family and it was never something I ever thought I would do yet here I am.  This is a painting I have made with a few Lavinia stamps.  The inspiration came from a youtube artist Lisa Taggart and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

From a Mixed Media point of view I've used a variety of colouring tools to create this including ink for the stamps, watercolour inks for the backgrounde, soft pastel sticks, and oil pastels for creating the heathers and the trees. 

I'm adding this into the following challenge

We love 2 create - 

Stamping Sensations - Magical 

Ally's Angels - AG 

Crafters Cafe - AG Magical 

Hearts Quest Fantasy

ADDICTED TO STAMPS - #480 DIE CUTS/STENCILS

Welcome back to another challenge at ATSM  and we are asking you to use your die cuts or stencils.  I must admit I don't use a lot of die cuts - I do have some Tim Holtz which get used especially at Christmas but generally I don't use them a lot.  So with that in mind - I've used a stencil lol!  This is one of the Sticker Stencils from Lavinia stamps. I love them - so easy to use and so far mine still have their sticky qualities - and you get the positive and the negative image so that's two in one.

This one is just one of the plain ones that I've used to create a snowglobe/jar.  The little Christmas tree being decorated by the fairies is also by Lavinia stamps as is the saying which is Merry Christmas in Welsh. 

IT'S A KIND OF MAGIC......

Having a play with some Lavinia stamps again - I really think I need to add another fairy to my collection cause I only seem to have the one - Seren.  I used a background that was in my stash which I'd made with a gel press a few weeks ago - not sure it's not too busy for the scene but hey ho - I've gone with it. 

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Allsorts 802 - Magic Myths or Legend

Conjuror of Dreams - AG 

Crafty Calendar - AG 

Heart's Quest - AG 

Simply Ellibell - AG 

PEARLY SPARKLES - FANTASY

Welcome back to another challenge at Pearly Sparkles and our theme of Fantasy.  

I've recently discovered Lavinia Stamps' stick on stencils and they are amazing.  Such a great idea and my first purchase was the lovely vases.  They are quite big though but I think they also do a smaller size.  I used the stencil to create my scene within the vase.  I've used a lot of Lavinia stamps for my scene with a few infill of foliage stamps by Tracy Evans.  I'm finding these scenes quite addictive to create! 

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Allsorts - AG - opps sorry I got the last one wrong Brenda lol! 

More than words - my spirit animal is the Hare and you will find them all over my house and garden. The hare spirit animal is one of new beginnings and that's certainly true for me in the last few years.

Double Trouble - AG  

DARING CARDMAKERS - LEAFY LUSHNESS

Leafy Lushness is our brief over at Daring Cardmakers.  I created a stencil with a cut out of a leaf to create my scene using Lavinia Stamps.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Bundled Sage and Wild Honey for inside the leaf.  I added just a soft amount of the Sage around the edge of the card and some words from Lavinia. 

I'm adding this into the following:

Shopping our stash - leaves 

Stencil Fun - plus autumn 

I have a new rescue cat Luna who at only 2 had already had a hard life.  She was a farm cat for a year and then became a mum and the cat rescue found her and looked after her.  For a year she lived outside in one of their pens then we came along in July to add her to our brood of 13 year old cat, 14 year old dog and 18  month dog.  For the first two months she stayed in her bedroom only coming out to stay at the top of the stairs.  Slowly paw by paw over the last month she has gained in confidence and is navigating her way around the house and coming to realise the other pets aren't going to hurt her.  She's even started going outside and feeling grass under her paws for the first time in over a year.  Her favourite place at the moment is to come and sit by me while I craft.  This is a huge step for her and it's lovely to have her company.