New images, new stamps, new TV

Good Morning peeps, it's a lovely morning here in the Fens and hope it's the same wherever you are.

Before I tell you about my artwork, I must say thank you to all the lovely people who visit me so regularly, despite me not being able to do much in the way of blogging still outside my DT commitments. I live in hopes that the screen and my eyes will eventually achieve a better understanding of one another.

I have a few shares for you using Ruth's latest A Passion for Stamps artwork and Stamp Addicts latest stamps due to be showcased on the next Create and Craft programme on Sunday 19th June, but they are available on their website now.

Ruth's latest floral stamp is a lovely sketch of the beautiful Cosmos flower. We used to have no end of these in the garden, in beautiful pinks, purples and yellows, sadly they all seem to have died out and we really should plant some more.

For the one above which is the Cosmos, I did some paper piecing, stamped the diamonds using a really old Hero stamp to add a bit of definition. The frame is cut from a Nestie, the flower TH tattered floral and the DP is Basic Grey

The card above is the largest elephant stamp from the Jumbo stamp sheet and the sentiment from one of the two new Sentiment Circles sheets.The image is coloured with Aquamarkers, some leaves using a Nestie die and I think the DP is Kasier, but not 100% certain.

My final share is another of Ruth's lovely stamps, this one the Rhododendron which I printed twice, coloured with Aquamarkers and decoupaged. The card itself is cut with a Marianne die and the DP is Doodlebug.

All of these card use odds and ends of DP so I am joining in Jules snippets weekly fun.

The NEC looms and Molly Blooms

A day off work to get some last minute NEC samples finished and final preps for an all day class at Sir Stampalot on Saturday, so an early post before I get stuck in.

I can't share any of that work yet, but I do have a some shares. My first card uses three of the super Molly Blooms stamps available from Stampalot. This little fellow always reminds me of Billy Bunter who I have vague recollections of from my childhood....showing my age here. I Stamped and masked the little boy, then stamped the wall with versafine black and embossed with detail clear, then coloured with Copics. I cut some green bazzil to make a grass border and decoupaged some stamped and coloured toadstools. This card is for the following challenges:

Midnight Madness - Sketch

Cards for men - Anything Goes (male of course)

The second another really quick and simple card using Penny Black 3074K Hello Sunshine inked with Tim Holtz barn door and olive and spritzed with water before stamping onto a piece of grid pattern Basic Grey DP. I highlighted some of the image with a versamark pen and embossed with detail gold. The torn edges are also embossed with the same powder. I stamped the leading edge of the card with Penny Black 2410K Penmanship and added some lace and cord. This card is for the following challenges:

Everybody Art - Photo Inspiration

Craft your Passion - Glitter and Sparkle (the ribbon is really glittery and the flowers are highlighted with gold, but hard to show on photo)

Papertake Weekly - Sparkly and Bright (as above)

My last share is an easel card created with a Marianne stencil and circles cut from K&Co DP with Nesties. I stamped the background of the main piece with Hero Arts H2365 Old French Writing using Tim Holtz sage, then inked Hero F5075 Sparkle Poinsettia with TH fired brick and spritzed with water before stamping. I added gold liquid pearls to the flower stamens and a sentiment to the base. Again, a nice quick card and ideal if you have a bundle to make. This is for the following challenges:

The Crafty Pad - Christmas
A Spoonful of Sugar - Lets get punchy

Creative Card Crew - Lets punch it

New Challenges, Fabby Prizes

It's the first of the month and that means new challenges at Stampalot and Penny Black at Allsorts.......and my wedding anniversary.......hubby will have had his usual rummage through my baskets of cards trying to remember which ones I said I especially liked.

I know I promised to think outside the box a bit more when I came up with challenge themes although its clear it did not work this month, but they were sent a while back and the girls were all enjoying making their DT cards so left things as they were. Mind you, judging by some of the lovely work in blogland the last week or two, it's a theme you all enjoy.

The top card is my DT card for Stampalot Challenge where the theme is "Autumn Breezes, Buttons and a Bow". I created a background with Tim Holtz rusty hinge, frayed burlap, olive and Glimmer Mist iridescent gold. I then stamped the leaves with bleach using Inkadinkado 97513. The sentiment is Hobby Art GR1353 with a frame made with Nesties using Basic Grey DP and the bird Magenta 41014I. Some lace, punched leaves coloured with the same TH inks and embossed with detail clear, buttons, cord and a flower made with my Tattered Floral Die. This card is also for the following challenge:

Stamping for the Weekend - Autumn Inspired

Everybody Art Challenge - Friends

Another card for Stampalot Challenge, a background created by stamping leaves from Hero Arts CL457 with TH frayed burlap, then covered with Diamond Glaze. When dry I inked the whole piece with TH barn door, wild honey and sage, then overstamped with Hero Arts H2365 old French writing. The fairy is from an unmounted set by Personal Impressions embossed with iridescent powder and her wings glittered. The leaves are punched, the border Martha Stewart woodland branch and buttons, ribbons and raffia to finish. This card is also for the following challenges:

Flutterby Wednesdays - Glitter and Shimmer

Moving Along with the Times - Fairy or Fantasy

Glitterbabes - Embossing wet or dry

This one is my DT piece for this months Penny Black at Allsorts challenge where the them is "Colours of Autumn".......told you I was repetitive. It's quite a quick and simple card to make, but I quite like the effect. I used various Autumnal coloured inks to brayer the backgrounds with masks to represent the changing phases of the moon. The tree is Penny Black 3880F Fantasy, stamped with versafine black and embossed with details clear with stickles added here and there amongst the branches.

I did say there was a lot of it about didn't I, so I am entering the above cards for the following challenges:

Simon Says - Autumn

For Fun - Fall

My Time to Craft - Looks like Autumn

Finally a bit of Christmas. I was sent this new Magnolia die to try out. It's a half circle which you need to match up to cut the other half. I though it was a bit of a faff at first, but once you get used to matching up the dos it's easy and makes a really pretty doily like circle.

I created the easel card on the DS and Cricut Plantin Schoolbook. The DP is K & Co and the image is Penny Black F5075 Sparkle Poinsettia inked with Tim Holtz fired brick and sage and spritzed with water before stamping. I made the poinsettias with punched vellum, added pearl stamens, punched and glittered leaves using Martha Stewart pine branch and gems to embellish. I also decorated an envibox........I found these on the internet the other day, they come flat packed and are brilliant for cards with a bit of dimension that don't really fit into a regular envelope. This card is for the following challenges:

Creative Cottage - Bling it On
Creative Inspirations - Christmas in September
Charisma Cardz - Christmas
ABC - An Easel Card

Stamp Something - Celebrate Something

Elegant fairy

Hello peeps, hope your all well. Just a quick post with a couple of cards.

The first a touch of indulgence........you know me, any excuse to use a fairy and this one is such a beautiful one from Crafts and Me called Eternity. I brayered a backround using a mask for the moon with Tim Holtz Victorian velvet and vintage photo. I coloured the image with the same inks and glittered her wings. Stamped a few leaves round the top with an Art Impressions stamp, some flowers and punched butterfly. The DP is Basic Grey and My Minds Eye. This is for the following challenges:

Cupcake - Pink and Brown

Paper Sundaes - Things with Wings

Creative Card Crew - Bloomin' Marvelous

Oldie but a Goodie - Pink and Girly

My second card is my anniversary card for my hubby later this week. He always says he needs to check my blog to know what I'm up to, but he's so busy at work this weeks that's unlikely so think I'm safe to share. Not your conventional anniversary card, but he's not a hearts and flowers sort of guy and will love the colours of this one as yellow is his favourite colour and all things Nature. I masked a section to create the background and inked with TH rusty hings, mustard seed and barn door with a spritz of Glimmer Mist iridescent gold. The tree from Creative Expressions, the border Martha Stewart cornice edging and the sentiment computer generated. It is for the following challenges:

Stamp Something - Fall colours

Cards for Men - Autumn

Stamptacular Sunday - Seasons Change/Fall

Tuesday Taggers - Here Comes Autumn

De Jas Vous

Hello everyone, another quick share. Dare I say that the packing is no further forward than yesterday, lots of little piles scattered across the dressing room but that's about it.

Sods law we have been really busy at work and it was nine before I finished last night and this morning had been earmarked to take Anysia to college to see the one and only Mary King do a fantastic masterclass......it's not every day you get to see an Olympic multi gold medal winner in the flesh and for Anysia who has only just got the OK from the hospital to start gentle riding again, it was a not to be missed occasion.

Hands up that my card may well yell de jas vous at lots of you, but I had the image all coloured up so went with it. But the colours are different from yesterdays card, so I figure that counts as different enough.

The image is one of the lovely Sweet Pea stamps.......I had a little delivery this morning, part the prize I won from Crafts and Me plus one or two I 'needed', but stamping them up will have to wait until after our hols. Finding Crafts and Me led me to their challenge which is new to me, they have a great sketch this week which I followed for my card.

The image is coloured with Copics, the DP Basic Grey, borders punched with Martha Stewart garden trellis and the peach rose is Magnolia. Liberal helpings of glitter and another rather too speedy card, but needs must and packing is essential else I shall end up with half of what I need never making it to the boat.

My card is for the following challenges:

Crafts and Me - Sketch

Belli Challenge - Something that moves (fairies wings)

Creative Cottage - Touchy Feely, texture, ribbons, flowers

Wild Flower Patch - Lace and Sparkle

Don't forget that I have a very special post scheduled for Friday, a little treat for you all when I am away.

A day playing Sizzix

Hello everyone, Friday and only just getting round to posting what I planned to do yesterday and tell you about a bonus day at Stampalot yesterday.

Wednesday just as we were off to hospital my beloved MX5 went AWAL on me, no power, no nothing, so we used hubby's car and it was evening before I could call the RAC. But the good news is they could find nothing sinister in the tests and what they did find can be dealt with OK (won't go into gories). So a huge, huge relief, it's seemed forever waiting.

Mr RAC could not fathom the problem with my car so ended up having to take it to the main dealer yesterday. Apparently the battery was not holding a charge so they replaced it........I only had it new at Christmas, so what that's all about I have no idea. I just hope it's fixed because we are taking it to France......really fancy the journey across France with the top down.

So what did I do whilst it was in the garage, well Sir Andy Stampalot was a gem and collected me and I idled the day away at the shop and just by chance Chris and the gang (Mel and Judith) were in so we took over the classroom and did a bit of crafting.......well that's a fib really, I talked mostly and played with the new Sizzix Pro and dies, it's a wowser piece of equipment.

In full wedding plan mode this weekend, the bride and groom left for France last evening to arrange all the final bits and pieces, we go early Tuesday and the rest of the family follow in dribs and drabs during the week. The missing dress never showed so that one's still a bit in the air and the Matron of Honor might end up as a guest because matching a suitable dress is proving almost impossible, leaving only white, but that's not a real option with the bride in that colour. So the chief bridesmaid might be our girl on crutches.....who said my family did anything by the book ?

A quick card, not for anything specific, just a share of a Stampalot sample. A bit tardy of me but hope you will forgive all the details other than Hero Arts CG181 bird in a circle, Tim Holt rusty hinge and bundled sage, Martha Stewart woodland branch around the page and Basic Grey DP.

Birthday fun

It's our Birthday !!

Here we are a yEar on and Allsorts Challenge has become so popular and exceeded all our expectations. So we want to say thanks to you lovely blogErs who keep coming back week after week.

Of coursE we have some special Birthday celebrations planned as you might expect. Our challenge theme is Birthdays leaving you scope to create anything you wish and we also have a fabulous Blog Hop which starts at the challenge site and takEs you on a trip round all the Design Teams blogs whEre each are offering a prize in addition to the challengE and Blog Hop prizes. All the details arE the on the Allsorts Challenge blog. And our very first sponsor Sir Stampalot have provided a fab Heritage Glimmer Kit for the challenge winnEr and as this is a special week we also havE a second prize from another of our regular sponsors Digi Stamp Boutique

For our Birthday I have crEated an easel card and matching gift box. The main image is Hero Arts S5362 Dogwood which I stamped out several times, cutting some out to decoupage and colouring all with a mixturE of Copics and Marvy pens, inked with versamark frost and spritzed with Glimmer Mist pearl to help the colours blEnd and give a nice sheen.

The Basic GrEy DP is one of their lovely new designs courtesy of Stampalot of course and the borders Martha Stewart eyElet lace, ribbon, pearls and punched leaves added to Embellish.

Now on to the blog hop, you should havE arrived here from Emma's blog and after collecting your letter from here.........no I'm not giving it away that easily, but there arE lots of subtle hints in this post which are not typos.......and you need to move on to Kirsten.

Here's what I'm offering the winner at this stop on the Blog Hop

Don't forgEt you must leave me a comment below to be in with a chance of winning my candy and to make life a bit easier for me visiting all of you I have sEt up Mr Linky.

Good luck everyone and havE fun.

Stampalot challenge April

Good Morning everyone, it's seemed ages coming but at last the day has arrived when we launch our Sir Stampalot challenge.

Our very talented Design Team have come up with some awesome projects for our theme of "Fantasy". And as promised Sir Stampalot are providing a very special prize for our winner........a Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter no less plus a Pooh font cartridge......... plus we will be selecting our Top 3 who will be able to display our special blinkie.

My project is a box card, using shades of blue, a colour I don't work with that often, but somehow I felt it matched what I was trying to depict. The background was brayered and masked with Big and Juice waterfall. The fairy called Fairy Dust is from Lavinia stamps inked with versamark and embossed with iridescent. I rolled the brayer over the stamp to pick up the image and create a reflection in the water. The cherry blossom and flowers across the bottom are from Magenta CS-043 and the grass and reeds Art Impression. DP is Basic Grey. The tiny fairy at the bottom flap - which folds down - was stamped onto shrinky and colored with Brilliance inks.

A footnote: As you might guess this post was scheduled but though I would add this bit to tell you that this little box has just found a home. Anysia who is studying Equine Husbandry at Cambridge.........I have shared pictures of her riding.......had a bad fall yesterday and has a broken femur.

They could not operate until the swelling reduced and bleeding stopped. But she is in surgery now and they say it will be about three hours before she comes back up, so have popped home to get some bits for her and collect the fairy box which will give her something to look at instead of flowers.......the hospital does not allow them. She is going to be in hospital most of Easter, so I may not be about much, but there are a few scheduled posts to go up.

Allsorts challenge 38

This week at Allsorts it is my turn to host the challenge and I have chosen the theme "Get distressed with button/s and a bow". As always your project can be anything you have made, card, box, scrapbook page, the choice is yours.

We have a great prize on offer from this weeks sponsors Sir Stampalot, who lots of you will know have a very special event with some rather special candy on offer taking place at the moment. Details are at the top of my blog, so don't forget to join in the fun.

For my card I started by inking a panel with Tim Holt distressed inks Spiced Marmalade and Tea Dye, then stamped with bleach using Hero F5042 Leaf Flourish which lifted the colour where I stamped. I distressed the edges and heat embossed with detail copper powder and did exactly the same with the background DP which is Basic Grey.

The leaves and flower have been stamped several times onto the same DP, cream card and acetate with Hero CL375 Big Flowers Pattern then cut and layered up with a button and cord bow in the centre. I used a swirl cut on the Big Shot for the stem and the sentiment is computer generated.

All go at Sir Stampalot

Ciao peeps. Hope you all had a good weekend. Ours went according to plan and I think my hubby might be in demand as a Derby mascot as they beat Peterborough 3-0. And the way our team Liverpool are playing this season he might be converted, although in reality I doubt it.

Saturday Jules and I had a whale of a time........what better way to spend the day than at Sir Stamplaot unpacking boxes of the new Hero Arts stamps and other goodies and stacking them all onto racks.........drool, drool........I was able to introduce Jules to most of the gang and it was such fun helping Andy and Janice with the move to their new store which is just amazing. And even better was seeing customers faces light up when they saw the fantastic new shop and all the space. And Louise was doing a Copic demo and showed us how to make her flowers which we decided were a floribunda/wild rose - thanks Louise.

I have lots of new Hero stamps and inks which I need to get creative with, but for now I have one card to share for this weeks Penny Black challenge which has the colour combo of Blue, Cream and Gold and I have followed the sketch at Stamping for the Weekend designed by Fiona.

I created a background with Brilliance gold, Mediterranean blue and sky blue by dabbing the inks onto a silicone sheet, spritzing with water and rubbing the card into the mix. I part dried it with a heat gun then spritzed with Glimmer Mists midnight and gold. Next I stamped Penny Black 3817K Tigress using versfine black and detail clear embossing powder and coloured in with Twinkling H2 0's. The circles are all cut with Nesties through the Big Shot and the greeting PB3419D in the same way using a Nestie ribbon slide. The DP's are Daisy Bucket and Basic Grey. Borders and corners are Martha Stewart double loop.

To create two of Louise's roses I spritzed a piece of plain paper with the same Glimmer Mists and gold brilliance, scrunched up whilst still wet and then punched out when dry and made up the flowers. Louise used the Copic air gun system to colour hers, my method was rather messy by comparison.......but you know me, if I don't have mucky fingers I'm not having real fun.

Allsorts challenge 31

Wow wow you guys, did you come up with some wonderful projects for my theme last week at Allsorts. You are such a talented lot so thanks to one and all.

This week Debs is hosting the theme which is "Anything but a card", another one to get those creative juices flowing.

I am sharing a tag book I made in response to a request for a Birthday card for a secretary named DEB who has a fetish for Post It Notes. Inside the book I have made a little pocket that holds a pack of them. I cut the pages from a 300gsm cardstock on Cricut Plantin Schoolbook and Jasmin welding the elements together on the DS. I cut a replica of each page from Basic Grey DP's and stuck them together before punching the ends and inserting the wire binding using my Zutter.

More roses.......sorry if they are becoming monotonous, some punched leaves pearls and ribbons to decorate.

One for Mel (and Stampalot)

A few weeks ago at one of the crafty sessions at Sir Stampalot..........don't let anyone try to convince you that these are really an excuse for idle craft chatter and gossip.......perish the thought........Mel -who is a whiz with all things sizzix, so do check her out, convinced me that I 'needed' this Martha Stewart bunny punch.

Now Mel loves her bunnies so this one is really for her and I thought this new Rachelle Anne Miller stamp which I have named Raggy Annie and which Janice asked me to create some samples with, really does lends itself to the whole rural theme. So bunnies, scarecrows, birds and garden raffia.

The image has been stamped with versafine black and embossed with detail clear and coloured with Copics........all going well on that front I am pleased to say, a real joy to work with. The metal panel was run through the Bug using the Bird Call folder and then sanded to show the base colour. The bunny border is the so needed Martha Stewart punch.......have to confess I do rather like it and I also cut off a few more of the bunnies and placed around the image. I added chopped raffia to the scarecrows arms and legs some flowers and leaves to embellish. The DP is Basic Grey.

Don't forget Sir Stampalot's Bid Demo Day is not far away now - 5th December, so mark it in your diaries. Here is a little taster of what I have been preparing and will be sharing lots more with you very shortly.

Passion for Promarkes

Morning Peeps, wet and windy - again, so hope lots of you are using the excuse for some serious crafting activity.......or are you all counting your pennies out ready for the NEC ?

Over at Sir Stampalot central (stand H05) it's a hive of activity packing and loading ready for the big event, as it is at Stamp Addicts (stand H30) and I'm sure lots of other locations around the UK. And come next week those of us lucky enough to go to the NEC will be bursting with inspiration all rushing to show off our new goodies on our makes........but with empty purses what else will we be able to do ?

Three challenges here, a great sketch from Tina at Everybody Art Challenges, and Passion for Pormarkers who have the colour theme of 'Grass and Canary' and wow do these two colours look great together and Creative Card Crew who want to see 'Ribbons and Gems'.

On to my card, a bit of a busy one for me, but it's sort of growing on me. My image is Sarah Kay Rose Garden, stamped with versafine black and embossed with detail clear and coloured with the two required Promarkers. The DP is Doodlebug and Basic Grey and the border punch Fiskars Threading Water. I made the three roses from the same DP and for a change I added some pearl stamens which I think works quite well. Leaves are punched from my new L-Em Ashe Tree Family 2 punch which I told you about yesterday. The little birdie and butterfly are from Penny Black 30- 034 and the flowers next to the image are from the Tilda range but afraid I have no idea of the code.

Cupcake challenge

Bank Holiday Monday and of course the weather is dull and grey and rain in the air.......what more could we expect in England ? So what else can one do than immerse themselves in a morning of crafting and as its Monday time for another Cupcake challenge which this week has a recipe: 3 buttons, 2 DP's and 1 ribbon.

So my card.......I decided to follow the weather and go Autumnal and used three of the stamps from one of the new sets from Inkadinkado 97513 which I stamped onto Basic Grey DP using versafine sepia (yes, you did read right, no embossing !). I 'roughed' the piece up a bit, distressed the edges with Tim Holtz brushed corduroy then embossed with detail copper......had to get the heat gun out somewhere. The backing DP is Hot off the Press which I stamped all over with Hero Arts H2365 French writing using Brilliance cosmic copper and again distressed the edges.

The five leaves down the side were stamped with the same brilliance and TH inks onto shrink plastic. Finally some flowers, the three requisite buttons and tied raffia - I used this instead of ribbon as it fits the theme of my card better and hope this is acceptable for the challenge rules........I will soon know if it's not, because they will throw me out of the Mr Linky list.

Rosie dees challenge week 45

Another great week at Rosie Dee's challenge, it's been great blog hopping to look at all your creations for our Sympathy/Thinking of You theme. Here's the full reveal of my DT card.

I have kept it very simple and light. The main image is Magenta41017.K, stamped and embossed with versafine black ad clear embossing powder onto a Glimmer Misted background of lemon zest and pearl. I stamped a second time using black stayzon onto acetate, cut out the two large flowers and butterfly, glittered the back and decoupaged. The DP is Basig Grey, some black pearls added and lines scored around the base card to add definition.

Magenta elegance

This is likely to be the last 'proper' post I get round to before we take to the high seas until 17th August.........but I have done lots of scheduled posts so by the magic of Mr Blogger you should still see some new stuff arriving here every few days. Unfortunately I wont have Internet access so aplos I shall not be visiting any of you until we get home........I was hoping to take my laptop for that purpose, but the idea didn't go down too well with my family.......can't imagine why.

The one I am sharing here is from the new sample board created for Sir Stampalot last week using some of the elegant Magenta stamps they have for sale along with My Minds Eye DP's, plus a little bit of Basic Grey. The image has been made up using six of the stamps in the Magenta CSET29 set, all are butterfly orientated and include several inchies.

I arranging the stamps on an acrylic block then stamped out on to the Basic Grey DP using Versafine sepia and embossed with detail clear. The butterfly stamped onto vellum is also from the set. Scalloped borders were pounced using Fiskars threading water punch and some ribbon and pearls added to embellish.

Allsorts challenge 9

Goodness me, it's week nine already at Allsorts, time flies when you are having fun. This week Debs has set the challenge with a great sketch and there's some super dupa candy on offer from our newest sponsor Stamp Addicts, who also have a new show due to be aired on Create and Craft this week ........ scary I know but it's a Christmas one.

Following Debs sketch I have created a card using a set of Inkadinkado inchies - 98852. I stamped them with versafine majestic blue onto a piece of Basic Grey DP and embossed them with detail clear, then matted them onto a piece of dark blue cardstock. The borders are using my new Martha Steward doily lace punch........isn't this just the prettiest one in the range ? The greeting is Penny Black salutations and the circles cut with nesties on the bug. Main background DP is Daisy Bucket and the striped one again Basic Grey. Finished off with some ribbon and buttons.

Penny Black challenge

The Penny Black challenge follows the patriotic theme Red White and Blue in honor of the "Stars and Stripes". I confess I find this a difficult colour combo to work so took a piece of Basic Grey DP with these three colours as the basis of my card and worked from there. Having completed the card I'm not particularly happy with it, but hubby likes it and as he tends to be my main critic I'll stick with it.

My image is Penny Black 3633K stamped with versafine black and embossed with detail clear. The flowers have been filled in with red sticklers and mounted white onto white pearlescent card. The greeting down the side has been created with punched circles and flowers from the same DP and stamped with a set of letters which I'm afraid I do not have a source name for. Red ribbon, a ladybird which I thought just matched, a button and a corner cut from Cricut Jasmine which I heat embossed with iridescent powder.

Penny Black, Cupcake and Rosie Dees challenges

Good evening peeps, it's a bit warmer here today but no sign of the sun, I live in hopes flaming June will arrive before 1st July.

I wanted to follow my butterfly theme so had a firm idea of what I wanted to do for this weeks Penny Black challenge which is to use embossing on your project and prepared a piece last night which I ran through the Cuttlebug using old writing folder, spritzed liberally with Glimmer Mists key lime, pineapple and gold, sanded down when dry and added more gold. Then this morning I saw that Rosie Dees challenge was Pink and Lime and Cupcake's a lovely sketch, so time being at a premium, all three have all come together rather well in one project. Think I can let on that this will be my last entry for Rosie Dees as I have been asked to join their DT.

My pink and lime DP is Basic Grey and stamps Penny Black 3864F and 3868J. The butterflies have been stamped using Stayzon timber brown onto acetate and a piece of glittered pink vellum, cut out and layered adding wire antenna and liquid pearls to the thorax. The flowers have been stamped onto the same vellum, cut out and again liquid pearls added. Circles were all cut using nesties.

ABC challenge

R is for Roses this week at ABC challenges and gives me the perfect opportunity to create a card I have been thinking about for a few days. One of our rose bushes, given to us by our eldest son and his wife for our wedding anniversary, was showing colour on it's first bloom of the season this morning. It has huge flower heads and a wonderful scent and when I photographed it early this morning the drops of overnight rain were still sitting on the petals and picked up on my piccy really well.

The photograph has been cut with nesties labels and simply matted and a strip of lace added down the side. I stamped swirls from Inkadinkado 97632 onto the DP which is Basic Grey and roses onto vellum with my Magnolia which I'm afraid doesn't seem to have any reference, in both instances using Stayzon black. These magnolia roses are actually very lifelike and I lightly coloured them with Marvy pens, cut out and decoupaged, placing them over the swirls to give a trailing effect. Finally added some of my swarovski gems to embellish ........ these only go on special cards, so who am I going to give this one to ?