May Penny Black & More Challenge

Hello my lovely crafty friends. The first sunday of May is here so time for the new challenge over at Penny Black & More @ Allsorts and this month the challenge is

Anything Goes

The Design Team have been hard at work with their Penny Blacks and have some gorgeous inspiration to share with you over on the challenge blog here along with all the details.  You can use any brand of stamp except digi (NO DIGI IMAGES), the focal point of your project must be stamped to be in with a chance of winning one of our fabulous prizes. One lucky winner using a Penny Black stamp will be chosen to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge.

Stamps Penny Black 4155L Flower Amongst Flowers

Die Penny Black Flicker & Flutter

Aquatints & Sparkle Pens

Gems

We have been generously sponsored by....

Penny Black 

Crafts U Love

Another glorious day here so as the grandchildren are here for a stay we are heading south to the Highland Zoo and hoping for a glimpse of Hamish the new baby polar bear, we are taking a picnic and making a day off it.

Thank you for stopping by and for your comments x Susan x 

Allsorts Challenge 466

It is saturday again and that can only mean the start of the new challenge over at Allsorts.  This week my lovely teamie Mervi is the host and she has chosen

Fancy Folds

Check out what my lovely teamies have to share with you here along with all the challenge details.
As l have an old pack of gate fold cards it made sense to use one of them. I decided to go all out with the inks for this one, be gentle as still practising. I used drawing gum for the first time - just wish l had more time to play.

Stamps by Sheena & CC & Stampin Up

Sparkle pens & Aquatints

Gold embossing powder

We have been generously sponsored by DigiStamp Boutique

Looks like we are in for a lovely weekend, we have the 3 grandchildren staying with us for 5 days while parents having a break in London so it is a bit hectic hereas school is having a long weekend (Fri & Mon). With the dry weather at least they can play in  the garden, you can see Esther & Rosie at bottom of the border.  Here is a picture of the long border l created last year, when we moved in there was not a single flower here just a massive hole the previous owners dug to create a sunken garden then dumped rubbish in it !It cost a fortune to have it filled, l planted some perennials and 1000 + spring bulbs - most of them here. My dining room is currently full of seedlings and getting bigger every day.

Hope to see you over on the challenge x Susan x

Allsorts 465

It is Saturday again and that can only mean the start of the new challenge over at Allsorts.  This week my lovely teamie Brenda is the host and she has chosen

All About Animals

April is Pet Awareness month and this week is RSPCA Week, both promote the care and welfare of domestic animals be they small or large, the clue is in the title but basically we would like to see anything from mice to canaries, cat's and dogs right up to donkeys and horses.
Check out what my lovely teamies have to share with you here along with all the challenge details and please don't forget DOMESTIC ANIMALS ONLY, this does not include bears or wild animals

Stamp - Man's Best Friend from LOTV

Coloured with copics

Papers Penny Black Gentle Whisper

Dragonfly die, gems

We have a lovely cat stamp by Woodware as a prize this week

Also some animal stamps

Hope to see you over on the challenge x Susan x

Allsorts 464

It is Saturday again and that can only mean the start of the new challenge over at Allsorts.  This week my lovely teamie Helene is the host and she has chosen

Use Pearls

A nice easy one for you all to join in, everybody should be able to follow this theme. Check out what my lovely teamies have to share with you here along with all the challenge details.
I have been playing with my new stamps and aquatints but they just looked like slodgy messes when l finished so went back to sparkle pens and black ink on stamp for outline rather than directly inking stamp with colour. Not the greatest card as still practising and ran out of time.

Stamp Sheena Born to be Wild

Sparkle Pens

Pearls

We have a lovely prize from Marianne Designs

We have had gorgeous weather here all week and hope you have too. I planted lots of seeds on sunday and am amazed to see most of them have germinated already. The garden has 'greened up' and all the trees are bursting into leaf. the garden looks different everyday and l love walking around it as l always see something new.
I love this time of year with longer daylight and everyone seems more cheerful. we even had our first BBQ on wednesday.
Hope to see you over on the challenge x Susan x

April Midway Penny Black & More Reminder

Hello my lovely crafty friends, we are now halfway through the Penny Black & More @ Allsorts challenge for April which is

 Black/White Plus One Colour

You still have plenty of time to join in..

My teamies have some lovely pieces to share with you over on the challenge blog here along with all the details. You can use any brand of stamp except digi's - any entries using digi images will not be eligible for a prize. The focal point must be a stamped image.  If you use a Penny Black stamp you could be chosen as a Guest Designer for a month.

Stamps Penny Black 4361J Warm Embrace
40-353 Lets Chill (Sentiment)

Coloured with copics 

Spellbinders Poinsettia die
Ribbon & Stickles

We have some great prizes from our lovely sponsors so pop over to the challenge post to see all the details - You have to be in it to win, as the saying goes.

We have jumped a season in the space of a few days, the weather has been glorious over the last week. We have had our first hot water from our 2 solar panels - free hot water at last. Hubby got the hose out on the garden last night as we had a warm wind which dries the ground quickly. And tonight....we are having our first BBQ. Now, l know some of you down in England have not had it so good yet but hopefully you will soon. Although we have had a bitterly cold winter we didn't get much snow either, we have a bit of a micro climate here around the Moray area :)

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you over on the challenge x Susan x

Allsorts challenge 463

It is Saturday again and that can only mean the start of the new challenge over at Allsorts.  This week my lovely teamie Ellie is the host and she has chosen

Spring Flowers or Showers

Check out what my lovely teamies have to share with you here along with all the challenge details. I have used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps this week.

Stamp Penny Black

Papers Craft Creations

Background Aqua & Sparkle Pens

Copics, glossy accents

We have 2 lovely Woodware stamps as prizes this week

I am still practising with my Aqua pens which l used for this background and just dropped a little water on to create the rain drops.
A mixed bag of weather here this week, some lovely sunshine to bring on the daffs and everything is starting to green up at last.
Had a lovely afternoon tea out at the Drumossie Hotel in Inverness with my daughter and granddaughter this week - if anyone is up this way l definitely recommend it.
Have a good week whatever you are doing and hope to see you over on the challenge. x Susan x

Allsorts Challenge 462

It is saturday again, they seem to be coming around very quickly - so time for the new challenge at Allsorts. This week Kath is our lovely host and she has chosen

Be Square

No shaped cards, keep it all square on your project - no circles, oval etc. Check out all my teamies inspiration and challenge details here.

I have been having a little play with a new stamp set and my new aqua pens, still practising so lots will be coming though here in the near future. A few stamp sets are sitting on my desk just waiting for a play too.

Stamps Set CC Magic Garden

Aquapens

Gems & stickles

We have 2 lovely sets of dies from Tattered Lace for this weeks lucky winners.

The calendar tells me it should be spring but it is still sooooo cold, l think we must be about 4 weeks behind with growth in the garden and not even thinking about starting my seeds off yet. If anyone knows when spring is due please let me know so l don't miss it
My daughter and grandaughter are coming up for the week so really looking forward to sharing some time together :)

Hope to see you over on the challenge, happy crafting, Susan x