GUEST DESIGNER I SPY CHALLENGE

I'm delighted to be a Guest Designer for Ellie and one of her challenge blogs which is I Spy.  This challenge is I Spy ....Warm and Sunny Colours. I look through my projects and realise I do an awful lot of grunge and not much brights or pastels.  So this was a challenge for me.  

I started off my background my smooshing some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink from a mini cube onto my Tim Holtz platform.  I then dipped my card into the ink and let it dry.  I used two stamp sets here both from a lovely set by Sara Naumann for Paper Artsy ESN62 which has lovely butterflies and sentiments on it.  

The first stamp was inked in stamped off Versafine Clair Morning Mist to give a soft gentle background.  I then added a die cut in white on top to give the other two butterflies something to sit on.  these butterflies are also from the same set and I cut them out and layered their wings a little to give them motion.  These were coloured in using Prismacolor pencils from their Botanical Garden Set.  I added some fine thread behind the butterflies and some glass droplets.

The sentiment has been stamped in Versafine Warm Breeze.  I edged the piece in Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy and mounted it on to a soft brown card stock. 

I'm adding this into the following:

Stamping Sensations - Butterflies 

Allsorts - B for Butterflies 

As you like it - my favourite colouring medium at the moment are my new Prismacolours as I love the intense colours they give 

Double D - Butterflies 

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 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #484 - ANY OCCASION

Happy New Year and welcome back to our challenges for 2025 at Addicted to Stamps and More.  We start off the New Year with Any Occasion so really anything goes. 

This is definitely not my usual colour palette as I tend to go for the grungy type of colours - I must just be craving some spring weather after all the miserable cold weather we've had lately.  It seems to have gone on for months here in Wales especially as we didn't have much of a summer.  I used some Versafine Clair inks in Baby Pink and Avodao and used Tim Holtz watercolour pencils to colour in the flowers with Villanous Potion and Picked Raspberry. 

I used one of Tracy Evans Boutique Stamps set called Malva TE8 for the main flower and added some of the stems from the Persicaria from TE13 Delight in Nature.  I have this plant in my garden and didn't even realise and I have even managed to make cuttings.  I stamped a smaller Mallow stamp from the set and added a pearl to the inside.  The background word stamping is from another of Tracy's stamps TE9 Take Flight.  The butterfly and the sentiment is from an old Simon Says Stamp set called Thoughtful Flowers. 

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Creative Inspiration - AG

Outlawz Challenge - AG 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - CAS 

Simplyellibelle - Wed - AG 

Beautiful Blossoms- AG 

Creative Crafters - AG 

PEARLY SPARKLES - ALL THINGS PINK/PEARLS AND/OR SPARKLE

September is a special month here at Pearly Sparkles as we remember Traci who created this challenge blog.  September is Traci's birthday month and we are remembering her with Traci's Recipe Challenge :

PINK, PEARLS AND/OR SPARKLE - use at least one of these

I started my card by using a colour wash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Kitsch Flamingo and Spun Sugar.  I then stamped my image which is a Tim Holtz rose in Versa Fine Clair Chianti.  The added stamping of the dots and the stars is also a Tim Holtz Stamp and I finished it off with some added Nuovo Crystal Drops. The sentiment is from Tracy Evans.

I'm adding this into the following:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - AG 

Shopping our stash - just because 

Tuesday Taggers - make it feminine 

Inkspirational - CAS 

INSPIRATION STATION - #64

A great mood board for you to work off this month from Inspiration Station and I look forward to seeing how you are inspired by all that lovely fruit. Searching through my stuff I found I really only had one fruit image I wanted to use and it's this great wonky pear by Tracy Evans.

I created a very delicate background with some distress inks in Twisted Citron with a touch of Dried Marigold.  I added the pear stamp and coloured it in using the same colours.  I added a bit of extra background stamping. The words are from the same set and they were popped up on dimensionals to give a bit of extra dimension.  I added the bird from one of Tracy's other sets and popped him on the leaf.

I do have a pear tree that we planted in our garden two years ago but so far no fruit - although the apple trees I planted at the same time are bearing fruit this year for the first time.  Fingers crossed for the pear tree for next year. 

I Spy With My Little Eye - something for boys or men - Guest Designer

I am delighted to be invited by Ellie of Ellies Corner to be a Guest Designer for her challenge  I Spy With My Little Eye this week where the challenge is something for boys or men.  I don't get so daunted at male cards as I used to since becoming a Design Team member for The Male Challenge but I still had to put a bit of a thinking cap on as I really don't have a lot of male type stamps!

I did find this old set from Creative Expressions which I had bought a few years ago as hubby, and my daughter, love to fish and I knew it would come in handy.

I started off by spritzing my watercolour paper with Distress Oxide Spray in Speckled Egg. 

Once that was dry I used a stencil which I think looks like fish scales and spritzed it with Walnut Stain and then turned it over and added it to the paper.  I love how it gave a messed up image of the stencil lol! 

I stamped the stamp which is all one image in Versafine Clair Nocturne and covered it in clear embossing powder.  I re-inked parts of the stamp such as the words and the fish and added them as embellishments.  The male image is one of Tim Holtz paper dolls and I cut him away from his friends he was standing with - after all fishing is a solo sport.  I added some twine at the bottom for his feet to look like fish netting.  This one will be set aside for Hubby's birthday. 

I'm adding this into the following:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Birthdays 

Daisy Chain - Boys/Men

Stencil Fun -  Background stencil 

Dream Valley - Man/Boy

We Love Stamping - Vintage 

Classic Design Challenge - male 

KRAFTY CHICKS #695 CAS

Oh it's CAS over at Krafty Chicks where I am still the Guest Designer for this month.  As regular readers to my blog will know I'm not great at the CAS cards - I love to throw everything at it in a Mixed Media type of way and find it hard to just leave it alone.  Here I've used some old Kaisercraft stamps - they are individual stamps but when you put them together they do create a tree shape.  I stamped them in different colours of greens to create my tree.  I added the star and a water droplet to the top.   The little pot is from Tim Holtz.  I really had to walk away then and not add anything else.

HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS - OPTIONAL TROPICAL

Welcome back to another challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  You can choose Anything Goes or add the option of Tropical.  I stuck to the AG as I really didn't have anything to suit Tropical.  

I'm sharing these gorgeous little robins from Creative Expressions called Bubble Robins.  I'm lucky enough to be on the Design Team for this company and get early product from them to have a play with.  These were some of my favourite Christmas stamps I received.  I do love robins.  I stamped the robins first and then coloured in with some Tim Holtz Distress Inks. I then did a light colour wash behind them and added some splatters in the same coloured ink. 

THE MALE ROOM - LEAVES

September has arrived and with it summer in the UK - we last had hot weather in June but this week we are back in 30 degree heat.  Just as we were all thinking of autumn!  

Our challenge this week at The Male Room is Leaves.  One of my favourite things to add to creative projects and here I've used a lovely set by Tracy Evans.  Tracy doesn't retire her stamps and doesn't date them but this one came out in 2021. 

I stamped and cut out some of the leaves and even found a very old leaf brad I had in my stash!

I'm adding this into the following:

 Retro Rubber

Double Trouble 

The Outlawz Challenge 

Stamping Sensations 

We Love Stamping

 

ONCE UPON A TIME - ENJOY THE JOURNEY

Welcome back to Once Upon a Time Challenge - the monthly challenge where Deanna gives us a child's book cover to inspire us.  Well, I have to admit I was stumped with this one for a long time.  I don't know the book and couldn't get past trying to use some sort of train!  Deanna suggested using the title for inspiration and that made something click in my head so here's my card and I'll explain my thought process for you.

I started with stencil#7 from Aallandcreate because to me the lines looked like train tracks.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Vintage Photo to create the tracks.  I then added some Distress Ink in Peeled Paint and Spiced Marmalade for the infill colours to match the book cover.  

My uplifting sentiments came from Visible Image stamp set Just Be Happy and I thought the journey one was perfect for representing the train.  I added some flowers to the side and the butterfly to represent the journey also - both stamps from Creative Expressions.  

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. 

HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS - WATERCOLOUR BRIGHT

Welcome back to another challenge at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour.  We have the added option of something Bright and this lead me to realise I really don't do bright very often.  Even all my inks are muted and rarely bright.  However I had a go with the Tim Holtz colours I had to try and make a nice bright card.  I think it was brighter in real life lol!

I started with a stencil from Visible Image stamps of the lovely flower burst and used Tim Holtz Spiced Marmalade and Twisted Citron for the background.  The sentiment is also from Visible Image.  The sunflower is by Tracy Evans and I used some of her stamps for the background stamping also.  

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Little Red Wagon - Warm colours 

Double D challenge - Flowers 

The sisterhood of crafters - birds 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - IC414

I hope you are inspired by our beautiful mood board this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I was drawn to those lovely pink flowers which look like Gerberas to me and I had those at my wedding some ahem 38 years ago lol! 

I started my card by using a stencil I found in my stash which I've never even inked up before.  Over on my Facebook Group the challenge this month is to use something from your stash that has never seen the light of day and then I found this.  It is from Creative Expressions.  I used Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers in Distress Oxide to create the background. 

The stamp is from Visible Image and is called Break Free.  I stamped it on to some card and then cut it out.  I coloured it with Distress Oxides and added some Tim Holtz Distress Icicle paste to make the glass shine.  I also stamped the flower on to a separate piece and cut it out and layered it to give it a bit of dimension.  One of the sentiments is from the set the other is from a Tracy Evans stamp set. I added some glass beads to add to the sparkle.

We are desperate here in the UK to get some warm sunny weather so I really wish summer would Break Free!

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CREATIONS - SNIPPETS

Welcome to our January challenge over at Christmas Craft Creations.  I am on the Reminder Team which pops up half way through the monthly challenge to give you all a little bit of extra inspiration.  

I started my card by using the wonderful stamp set from Sunny Studio called Holiday Style.  It has the most wonderful realistic bell with the set which I've used before in projects.  This card uses the bough stamp and the ornament hangers.  I used Distress Inks for my boughs adding a touch of brown for the stems.  For my snippets I collaged a variety of old papers and then used a stitched circle to cut them out.  I love that tree paper in the middle.  I added a touch of silver thread to give the impression of hanging the ornament and used one of the sentiments from the same set.

This would be a great card to batch make with different papers for the ornament.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Scraps of Life Rudolph Days 

Snippets Playground - the snippets are the papers on my bauble

ABC Christmas Challenge - both A anything Christmas goes and B for Bauble 

12  months of Christmas - AG 

Fiona 

Creativity.....

I was inspired to join in with Inspiration Station today on seeing their image above.  The cat spoke to me as my daughter had to put one of her fur babies down yesterday, an emotional time when you  have to say goodbye to them.

I found a background I had done on my gel press and I liked the colours, just adding a bit more Tim Holtz Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink to bring out the blues.  I used a tree branch stencil from my stash with Black Soot and stamped the cat image from Visible Image Curious Cats over the top.  I added some background stamping also from Visible Image and the sentiment is from their Brighten the World set.  The little bird is from a Tracy Evans stamp set.  I also added some Washi Tape from Tracy Evans.  I found some very old Luminart inks in my stash when sorting out and the green was just perfect for the cat's eyes.  I added a splatter of white paint just to finish it off.

I'm also adding this into the following challenge

SUYP - AG

Fiona 

COLOR MY HEART COLOR DARE #526

Welcome back to another challenge from Color Dare.  Shh,, don't tell hubby but this is actually his Christmas card.  I'm safe to show it as he never reads my blog and I'm not even sure he really understands blogland!  

I used Toffee Sage and Periwinkle style colours for my card and I'm really pleased how it turned out as they aren't my usual colours for christmas.

I used Tim Holtz CMS313 Carved Christmas for my main image of the stocking. I kept it simple with that soft blue colour.  The background behind has the same stamp which has been stamped in the toffee colour, spritzed with water then added to water colour card stock to give a soft impression of the same stocking.  I used the same blue to add colour to that layer.  The layer behind that was simply stamped with a stamp from Tim Holtz CMS 142 Mini Holidays - using the holly stamp just around the edges.

The foliage has all been made with Tim Holtz thinlets Holiday Greetings Mini.  I added a bow made from Sizzix and a piece of Ideaology to finish off the card.

I'm adding this into the following:

Inspiration Station - Stockings 

We love 2 create - AG

We Love Stamping - I love my husband, Christmas and Tim Holtz stamps  in that order lol!

COLOR MY HEART COLOR DARE #522

Welcome back to another colour challenge at Color My Heart.  Yellow - what a funny colour - is it one you use very often?  I know I don't - not as the main colour so this challenge took me out of my comfort zone which is what challenges are all about.  I chose to pair my yellow with that dark blue Sapphire so it would show it off and not be too washed out.

I've gone back to some Tracy Evans stamps here for this make. I used a double length stamp for the left hand side Feathered Bloom No 79- with all those lovely feathers I had to add a bird to the card.  The right hand side I left blank just with the yellow and some splatters.  I separated the two sides by using some old Washi Tape in grey.

The clock and flowers are from a separate set (Wildflower no 565) and I cut them out and added them with dimensionals so the bird could sit behind.  The bird is from  Birdsong no 393.  I don't often do these Double Length cards and love how this turned out.  

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #398

It's time for another sketch challenge here at Hand Stamped Sentiments. 

I turned the image around for my card.  I started by using a stencil for my background which has leaves on it using Tim Holtz Pumice Stone Distress Oxide Ink.  I used Fossilized amber for the circle and the tag and added some stamping from some Tracy Evan's stamps.  The butterfly is a new stamp I've got also from Tracy Evans. I wanted quite a vibrant butterfly colour so I used Lime Otter watercolour brush pens.  

The sentiment is a die and I cut it out a few times and layered it and added it to a tag with a touch of washi tape at the bottom.