Sale A Bration on Saturday - Daffodil Afternoon

But before I start... sorry (yet again)... but New Horizons papers now delayed further and forecast for w/c 31 January 2021... 

Another product video for you... featuring the Sale A Bration promotion earn-for- free with every £45 ordered... Daffodil Afternoon papers...

Which co-ordinate beautifully with the Daffodil Daydream bundle in the new Spring Summer seasonal (aka Jan-June)  mini catalogue... AKA buy this bundle and get the papers for free!!

Such pure images of Spring... so hope you are now feeling uplifted... 

Spring always has that effect on me... and I do so love daffodils.... I was lucky to grow up in a house "in woods"... with the most magnificent host of daffodils in view from the front windows... Though luckily our garden now has a fair crop of the wonderful bright trumpets too...

And (completely at a tangent!) ... for those of you in the UK lucky enough to also live in North Yorkshire (or within striking distance!) don't forget to check out the Farndale walk if you like to see a host of golden daffodils... highly recommended but busy for a few weekends when they are out!! Usually mid March to mid April time... about 40,000 people visiting during those very few weeks! I really must visit some other time of year too... though I might not like all those gates as much  nowadays!

A Host of...

Quick share of the cards we made at the last Monthly Training session with Julie... as I thought it high time to share some fresh and bright Springtime makes in this week of cold and snow in the UK! 

So introducing You're Inspiring... with beautiful daffodil images... and a host of greetings needed at this time of year... be it for Easter, Mothers Day or just birthday wishes... though I would have to chop up the Happy Mother's Day stamp to make it more punchable with the Classic Label Punch that we used...

A bit of Stampin Blends action... and a little discovery for us as we went along... 

You will notice that the trumpets are mainly white with just a touch of yellow on the following landscape A6 card...

All care of just a little touch of Light Daffodil Delight and then blending out with the Color Lifter... works a treat... 

Compared to the full Daffodil Delight with a touch of Pumpkin Pie blending on the portrait A6 card...

And the insides of the cards are decorated too...

Note the difference of the Light Pool Party Stampin Blends shading around the daffodil images inside the portrait card... makes the images pop just a little bit more...

Thank you Julie... lovely bright fresh cards showcasing such a lovely stamp set for this time of year... 

Easter Treats for Jems March Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Jems Team Blog Hop from Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa...

Officially the theme is anything for Spring or Easter... but for me it had to be something for a treat with chocolate in! Caramel chocolate of course! Though any of the small easter egg treats would fit...

And a re-visit of a Craft Spa Scalloped Tag Topper Punch classic for you... just click here for the Tutorial... for Charlie Chick! (as the lovely Doreen nicknamed him)

With a very simple update for 2018... as somewhat unusually... everything is still current for my little Easter treat project... apart from the Wide Oval Punch... though we now have the Layering Ovals or Stitched Shapes dies to do the same job...

So just an update to the greeting really... Crushed Curry HAPPY from Perennial Birthday... plus Pumpkin Pie EASTER from Teeny Tiny Sentiments (aka Teeny Tiny Wishes for those of you in the US) ... both partial greetings...so simply marker inked as required...

And of course... containing a Caramel Egg instead of a Creme Egg... so DS will be happy!

And I have to laugh... as it is amazing how many characters Charlie Chick takes on depending on the angle of the camera lens... particularly as I am looking at about 15 photos...

Some look more feminine... some more masculine... some more cheeky... some more aloof...

Kind of like an e-Moji on chocolate ... Reckon I will now call him e-Chicki!! Now there would be an idea if only I had more hours in the day!!

And now it is time to say Happy Easter & Goodbye from me... and Hello & Springtime Welcome to the lovely Uma... just click on the arrow below to go straight to her Springtime post... 

And in case of any early link gremlins... or if you prefer to hop back and forth from a list... here you go...

1.    Sarah-Jane Rae

2.    Amanda Bates (YOU ARE HERE!)

3.    Uma K

4.    Karyn Davies

5.    Lynn Smith

6.    Julie Dix

7.    Sarah Lavelle

Lovely as a Spring Tree...

Finishing off my Watercolor Pencils and Lovely as a Tree series... Happy Spring everyone...

 So here is the full series round up picture... call it a Tree for all Seasons...

Back to the Spring trees... Spot the details...

Blossom Trees care of Melon Mambo Watercolor Pencil blended out with an Aquapainter... then I added lots of Signo White gel pen (retired - sniff!) dots to calm it down a bit!

Daffodils care of the short grass stamp in In The Meadow and my partial Damp & Stamp technique (Part 3)...as explained earlier in this post...

Birds from High Tide... I just inked up the smallest 3 using a Basic Black marker pen...

Grass is Old Olive pencil coloured direct stamped onto the panel and then blended out with Aquapainter... Sky is watercolour washed Pacific Point from a plastic sheet... as explained in the earlier post...

Oh and I used Shimmery White for the stamped panel this time... whereas all the others have been on Watercolor Paper... works a treat!

Happy Easter from the Circle of Spring stamp set

And I have to laugh at myself... how can something so simple use 4 different stamp sets!! Oh well it had to be...

Happy Spring Scenes....

Now I have been hearing a few grumbles..... and I don't like to hear those...so...

Here is a simple card in a series to show that the Happy Scenes stamp set isn't just for Christmas, Winter and Autumn makes...

I have made cards for all seasons.... and today is the turn of  celebrating Spring....

With a  lovely Springtime Cherry Blossom tree...

Care of the flat side of the snowflakes/blobs stamp inked up in Pink Pirouette ink & stamped

Then turn the stamp over , ink up the snowflakes/blobs in Rose Red & stamp over... maybe fill a few blobs in with your marker pen if you wish....

Hey...can we call this Sheltering Tree in miniature.. perfect size for my windows!! 

CAS Sheltering Tree Spring Blossoms & Tulips…

Well I was popping onto post a lovely tutorial for you for Easter Monday!!

But my PC is on a VERY GO SLOW…and I just have not got the patience!! Sorry! So a very quick share of something simple instead… maybe it will speed up later and I will be back with the tutorial….

In the meantime though I have to say…. please check back with me about 9.30 am on Wednesday 8th April – I think I will have something very exciting to tell you!!!! Up till then my lips are sealed!!

But 2 littles trick to point out on this card….

Firstly - spot the green silhouette behind all the pink blossom…. That is also stamped with the “blossom/leaves” stamp in the Sheltering Trees set…. but using the flat/back side of the stamp instead of the pattern side!!

Yes I inked up the “wrong side” of my stamp with Pistachio Pudding, then stamped off onto scrap paper & then then stamped onto the tree branches to form the silhouette.

This was a tip shared at the Stampin’ Up! Leadership event in  the USA earlier in the year…. pretty cool huh….. I have been looking at the flat side of my photopolymer stamps in a totally new light ever since!

And secondly, the “texture” in the sky is added by using the blossoms/leaves stamp the right way round…  Soft Sky inking keeps it nice and subtle….

SU! Products Used

Stamps - Sheltering Tree

Inks – Pistachio Pudding, Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Sahara Sand

Card – Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Rose Red