Across the Miles

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Gail is hosting. Her optional theme for the next two weeks is Sympathy, Thinking of You or Get Well. And as always, the Anything Goes option is there too. The prize comes from Highlight Crafts, three die sets plus reflections and paper.

I used another new to me 8x8 paper pad by Stamperia for the focal point, this one is called Sunflower Art. I actually purchased it at the end of last year so it took me a while to actually use it. Lots of pretty papers and it always hurts to cut into them so I used a large portion of one for my card front. I did add some splatter using a black Posca pen, some glitter to the flower centers, distressed the edges and then used my sewing machine around the edges. I layered the card front onto matching cardstock from SU (I'm not sure about the name of the color and it's probaby long retired). The card front is a heavy weight kraft card.

Sentiment is from the Penny Black clear set Eloquence. 

I plan to share the card with these challenges:

• Crafty Calendar - Summer 
• Crafty Catz - AG
• Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Patterned Papers
• Paper Rock Scissors - Paper and/ or Scissors (I used scissors for distressing and all layers are paper)
• The Card Concept - Sunflower Delight (I was inspired by the sunflowers and think my card would fall into the shabby/vintage style)
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Triple B - Blooms, Birds or Butterflies
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

As always, thanks so much for visiting and hope you're having wonderful sunny weekend!

Edited to add: Still no updates on the reading list through blogger. 

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The Great Outdoors

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Brenda is hosting with the optional theme of "All Creatures Great and Small". Always a favorite one as I love working with creature (animal) stamps just as much as I love florals. This time our prize comes from Lavinia stamps so I took this opportunity to play with some of mine. Sadly I have to admit that they have been neglected recently.

I started with a die cut circle mask for a moon and used Lavinia's Feather Leaf stencil with Dried Marigold and Mowed Lawn Distress inks. Before removing the mask I used Marigold ink again just around the circle. Next I stamped the large fox from Lavinia's Fox Set 1, Pixie Lanterns and Field Grass. I colored the lanterns using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. Next I used a torn paper mask for some grassy hills. While looking for a sentiment to use I found this one from a set by Tracy Evans for Aall and Create (Blackbird - retired) and remembered the cute little foxes from a recent Tracy Evans set (Blossoms of Hope) so I stamped that right above the sentiment. I finished off the card with a few black Posca pen splatters and a Sakura clear sparkle pen over the lanterns and around the moon.

I am sharing this card with these challenges:

• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• Double Trouble Challenge - at least 3,2,1 Recipe (I used 3+ stamps, 2 colored ink pads, 1 stencil)
• Just Us Girls - Stencils
• Krafty Chicks - Masculine
• Simon Says Stamp - AG
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Try It On Tuesday - Inspired by a song (anyone remember "What does the fox say? "😊)
• We Love Stamping - Summer Blooms
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

As always, thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend. Supposed to be cloudy over here but we're expecting another heat wave next week!

Embossing (Heat or Dry) at Allsorts Challenge

Hello everyone, today is the start of a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Lynne is hosting this time. For her optional theme she chose "Embossing - Heat or Dry" and of course there is always the Anything Goes option too. Our prize is die, embossing folder and layering stencil bundle from Lisa Horton Crafts. As always, the challenge runs for 2 weeks.

I decided to use an embossing folder by The Paper Studio (from Hobby Lobby) in 2 color ways.

After embossing I was just going to ink the raised texture but it wasn't easy to keep the backbround white, so I decided to ink all of it, then use a darker shade of yellow on the flower centers with a small make-up applicator that attaches to your finger (something like this).  I saw a box of these at Marshall's and bought them specifically for the craft room. I flicked some black ink from a Posca pen onto the background. Sentiment is from the Tim Holtz Small Talk Quotations sticker booklet and added the die cut butterfly to finish it off. Inks used here are Distress Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed.

Sharing with these challenges:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• Can You Handle The Pressure? - Embossing Folders
• Classic Design Challenge - AG
• Crafty Gals Corner - Summer Vibes
• Cupcake Inspirations - in the Garden
• Cut It Up - Add a sentiment (plus a die cut)
• Triple B - Blooms, Birds or Butterflies

I made this one before I made the yellow card. I added ink before running it through the big shot machine but then added more later. I flicked some water onto the card for that "bleached" look reaction and glitter to the flower centers. Sentiment is from a Penny Black set and was stamped with Versafine Clair Very Peri ink. I thought this turned out a little darker than I wanted that's why I decided to try again with shades of yellow but thought this one was also nice enough to share :) I'm don't remember exactly which inks I used on this one besides Blueprint Sketch in the flower centers. I somehow ended up with another color on a blending tool too that wasn't supposed to be there.

Sharing this card with these challenges:

• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• Beautiful Blossoms - AG with Blossoms
• Crafts Galore Encore - AG
• The Creative Crafters - AG
• Word Power - Words in focus

Thanks so much for visiting. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! It looks like it'll be another rainy one here. We've had some heavy rain and thunderstorms over here for a few days now. It was needed but too much at once now!
 

PS: Yesterday I shared a non-crafty photography post for Kym's Photo challenge. You can click here if you'd like to see what photo promps we had this time and what I chose for my pictures.

Summer Colors for Allsorts Challenge

For my second post of the day I'm sharing my card for the new Allsorts challenge where Sarah chose the optional theme of Summer Colors. We have a beautiful stamp set and stencil from Visible Image to give away to one lucky winner. 

This dragonfly stamp set (Dragonfly Dreams) from Visible Image is new to me and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to ink it up. The inky background in shades of lime green/yellow-ish was found in my box of extra background, I decided it was a good summer-y color to start with. I stamped the dragonfly image (the map themed stamping is part of the dragonfly stamp) directly onto the background and then again onto a scrap piece of Bristol Vellum paper to color and fussy cut the wings. I used Derwent Inktense colors. They were more of a hot summer pink (Fuchsia color) to start with but then I added a purple-ish color at the edges and used my waterbrush again so the wings turned more purple than I had intended.

The sentiment is from a set by Tracy Evans. I added glitter to the wings and a puple button with black twine onto the center of the dragonfly. Colored cardstock is by Stampin Up, probably a long retired color and then I used a white card base. 

I am linking up here:

•  Little Red Wagon - One Thing (one dragonfly or one button)
• Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
• TIME OUT Challenges - Mother Nature

If you'd like to see my first post of the day you can click here: Four Seasons August Challenge.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Wild Horses at the Seaside

Hello everyone, today is the start of a new Allsorts challenge and Val chose the theme of "At the Seaside" as an option and of course Anything Goes is always an option too if you'd like to go that route. Our prize is a collection of stamps from  Stamp Addicts.

I don't know where my mojo went and I was uninspired by my "seaside" stamp collection although I definitely would have had more than enough to choose from. Instead I decided to use some more pretty papers from a Stamperia paper pack.

These are from the beautiful Stamperia Silent Sea 8x8 paper pack. I decided on a tall card so I didn't have to waste the other half of this pretty paper (there was another gorgeous print on the opposite site and this helped save that for a future project). All patterned papers here are from the same paper pack, including the sentiment "the wild sea". Small bottle and seashells at the bottom right are also part of this pack. They were fussy cut to add to the card. I decided to use a Sepia pencil (mine is a Faber Castell Polychromo pencil) around the horses, sentiment at the top, bottle and seashells for a little more definition. As I mentioned in a previous post, I like to add stitches to these designer paper cards and I've done that here too.  For an embellishment I added some jute twine and a blue button. 

The blue paper is a retired color from Stampin Up  and I used a white card base which I inked lightly with Tea Dye Distress ink.

Some of the links included are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no extra cost to you.

Linking up with these challenges:

• Crafty Animals - Animals
• Craft Rocket Challenges - Animals
• Creative Crafting Uncles - No Stamping
• Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge  - Coastal
• Paper Rock Scissors - Papers or Scissors (all layers are paper and I fussy cut using Cutterbee Scissors)
• The Paper Funday - Summer Splash

With Brave Wings She Flies

Hello everyone, it's time for the new Allsorts challenge where I am hosting this time. For my optional theme I chose "Bees, Blooms and Birds". Any or all, and then there is always the Anything Goes option if that works better for you. 

It's a bee themed card from me, always love them but somehow I rarely make them. Maybe I need more bee themed stamps!!

Some of the links included are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no extra cost to you.

The focal point is a large bee stamp from the Visible Image set Bee Happy. I stamped with Versafine Onyx ink, colored with my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils, then fussy cut. For the "honeycomb" background I used my Chickenwire stencils (old by TCW) with Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey Distress inks. I used a circle die to cut out the honeycomb, inked around the edge with Wild Honey Distress ink then glued onto the Posted die cut by Penny Black. I used foam tape to add the bee to the posted die. Those of you in the UK can find the Posted die set at Buddly Crafts along with many other goodies!

The patterned paper on the background is from my stash and I don't know what brand it is. I think it was included in a package of patterned papers I found at a thrift store some time ago. Sentiment is a sticker quote from Tim Holtz's Small Talk sticker booklet. I used a glue pen to add loose glitter to the bee's wings. It's very shimmery in real life unfortunately my camera didn't capture that very well.

Linking up here:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• Die Cut Divas - AG with a die cut
• FarmQuest General Store Challenge - Anything Farm or Country Goes 
• Make My Monday - Stencils
• Paper Rock Scissors - Papers and/or scissors (I used scissors for fussy cutting and all layers are paper)
• Shopping Our Stash - Summertime
• Simon Says Stamp - Things with Wings
• Sweet Stampin - Anything but birthday
• The Creative Crafters - AG 
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Try It On Tuesday - Flying High
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

Thanks so much for visiting!

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Magic Surrounds Us In The Garden (and a few more vacation photos: a short trip to the Alps)

Hello everyone, today is the start of a new Allsorts challenge and our theme is Anything Goes from the Garden. Or the option of Anything Goes. We have prizes from Oakwood Direct and AALL and Create. 

I'm also sharing some more vacation pictures at the end of the post for those interested, or simply scroll down to the commens if you like to leave one :)

I decided to make a scene from the garden. While my constant companion Thomas is no longer following me around and supervising my garden work in physical form, my gorgeous cat Fussy took over some of his duties part time and many evenings she is by my side as I water the plants. There are also some 4-legged feline visitors from the neighborhood, some snacking on the cat mint, others just passing through or to do their "business" LOL.  So this is definitely a scene from the garden. 

I used stamps from Lavinia to make this card.. They've been a bit neglected, especially that cat stamp has only seen ink once when I purchased it in 2018) so it was time to reach for them. The sky was done with Distress inks/Oxides (Antique Linen, Victorian Velvet, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire). I flicked some water droplets onto the card for a starry sky or tiny "orbs" (as the sentiment suggests). For the bottom portion I used Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress inks/Oxides. 

All stamps are from Lavinia - Star Blossom, Magic Surrounds Us and Witches Cat (this one appears to be only available in digi form now?? It was one of my very first Lavinia stamps purchased so possibly has been retired as a clear stamp). Flowers and the cat were stamped with Versafine Onyx ink, words with Versafine Clair Very Peri. 

The card fits these challenges:

• Crafty Catz - AG
• Crafty Animals - Animals
• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• FarmQuest General Store Challenge - Farm or Country (a country garden)
• Heart's Quest Lovable Quotables Challenges Blog - Quotes (mine is by Tracey - owner of Lavinia Stamps)
• If You Give a Crafter a Cookie - Outdoor Garden Theme
• Neglected Stuff Challenge - This cat stamp is my neglected item, I've only used it once when I first purchased it in 2018, almost 8 years ago!!!
• Paper Rock Scissors - Papers and/or Scissors (all layers are paper - no scissors used this time)
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

I want to share a few more photos from my vacation back in April. We visited extended family in the North-Western part of Austria for a couple of days and they showed us around the area where they recently moved to. Just about 2 weeks before we arrived it had snowed so it was still in the early days of spring here, luckily most snow in the valley was gone.

I don't share photos of my family because it is their wish but my dad probably won't mind :)

One of King Ludwig II. of Bavaria palaces was closeby (in the German Alps) so we stopped for a walk on the palace grounds. We have been here before many years ago when we also toured the inside so we skipped the tour this time. This is Schloss Linderhof.

And one last stop at Ettal Abbey (also in the German Alps) which was located in the village of Ettal along the way. I highly recommend a stop if you are closeby as it is absolutely beautiful. 

 This organ took my breath away!

I do have one more set of photos I plan to share ... hopefully soon!

If you'd like to see what else I've posted from this trip so far, you can see them in these posts:

• Milan
• Varenna on Lake Como
• Verona

Thanks so much for visiting and hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Hearts Butterfly for Allsorts Birthday Challenge (and a few more Vacation Photos- Verona)

Hello everyone, a new theme at Allsorts challenge is starting today and Lynn is hosting this special challenge as it's Allsorts' 17th birthday. We are celebrating with many prizes from Lavinia, Buddly Crafts, Art Impressions, Highlight Crafts  and there are also some goodie bags from the Allsorts prize box. The challenge runs for 2 weeks and our theme is simply Anything Goes.

Something a bit different from me today as I don't normally use die cuts as focal points but surprisingly I do love how this turned out.

The star of the card is the gorgeous hearts butterfly die by Penny Black available from Buddly Crafts if you are in the UK and several retailers in the US.

I cut the butterfly from white cardstock then used Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide ink and a blender for color. As you can see, with this die you will get lots of little hearts. I saved them all and added 4 to the card as embellishments. On the background I used an old Tim Holtz mini tile stencil and the same pink ink. The large postage die cut was done with Penny Black's Posted, also available at Buddly Crafts in the UK or several retailers in the the US such as scrapbook.com. 

On the background I used a script stamp from Tracy Evans stamp set Magnolia. A button with some twine was used as another embellishment. 

Challenges I am linking up with:

• A Cut Above - Die Cut Challenge Blog - Die Cuts
• Craft Rocket Challenges - Not Square
• Crafting from the Art Challenge - AG
• Crafting Happiness Challenges - AG
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils
• DL.ART Thankful Thursday - AG
• Dragonfly Dreams - Die Cuts
• Girlz Creative Crafts - Dies
• Girlz Rebel Challenge - Buttons
• Heart's Quest Challenge - Pink or blue hearts
• Moving along with the Times - Butterflies
• Neglected Stuff Challenge - Butterfly die was purchased at a going out of business sale a couple of years ago, this is my first time using it.
• Paper Rock Scissors - Paper or Scissors (all layers are papers)
• Pearly Sparkles Challenge - Butterflies
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Triple B - Butterflies, Birds or Blooms

💖Verona 💖

Today I am also continuing with some more vacation photos, this time it's a few snapshots from Verona. This was just a short stop as we were on our way to my sister's house (north of Munich) but since we had to change trains in Verona I decided to book the train tickets separately so we could spend a few hours in Verona. And we were not disappointed about our decision although I wish we had a little extra time. But when your family lives over 4000 miles away then you plan to spend as much time as possible with them therefore I didn't plan a full day in Verona. 

Verona has one of the best presevered Roman Amphitheatres, still used today. If you have watched this year's winter Olympics then you may already know that the closing ceremony was held here.

Enjoyed some window shopping... 

and saw several vintage/antique shops.

Cats!!!

How cute is this??!!

And some fun souvenirs at a market stand.

We did try to see Juliet's balcony but unfortunately as of April 2026 you are no longer able to see the balcony for free. We would have happily paid to get into the courtyard where you can see the balcony from but with a very short time window there just wasn't any time to wait in line for a ticket. Oh well.... the city was beautiful and we fully enjoyed it without seeing the balcony. 

Loved all these wild poppies growning along the train tracks. I am having such a hard time to grow poppies here in Illinois!!

The 5+ hours long train ride from Verona to Munich was anything was boring as we got to enjoy some beautiful views from the window as we made our way through the Alps.

The next 10 days we spent in Germany and Austria with family.. I will share a few more photos as I sort through them. 

If you missed my first 2 sets of vacation photos and would like to see them, you can find them in the links below: 

• Milan  
• Varenna on Lake Como