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Tuesday, 11 August 2026

Take Time to Smell the Flowers

Hi everyone.  I have a card today for a birthday and I know by the time it reached her it will have been very late...I had a few to make when that spell of hot weather hit and I just could not get my head round doing any of it in that heat, even with a fan on in the room.  I am using a recently acquired set of stamps which came with Creative Stamping Magazine 162 designed by Françoise Read, with a sort of mixed media/ephemera look to them and they are a bit different to any other stamps that I have and the set also comes with two stencils which work together for a postage collage look which I haven't used yet.  This is one of the four big stamps.  


I needed to keep it relatively simple as time was of the essence, so I did an acrylic block background using Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink and luckily I had a block which was exactly the right size.  I lay the inks down on it and then spritzed and added it to a piece of white card to fit a 5" x 7" card base.  I did it several times varying the amount of each ink to get good coverage although I think there is still more of the blue then the green but still OK.  I then stamped it using Versafine Smokey Gray ink and then I used some of my Lyra pencils to colour the flowers and leaves and also to add a bit more blue to some of the images.  I then added the sentiment which is also one of the stamps in the set again using the Smokey Gray ink and heat embossed it using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.   When I had mounted it on the card I decided to give the flowers, bird and hands on the two clocks a bit of sparkle with my Clear Wink of Stella brush pen as a finishing touch, the recipient will appreciate this touch I think...lol.

This card has been waiting for its turn for rather a long time but better late than not at all..lol.  Thank you for coming to visit me here today and I'll see you again soon.







I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Aug. '26 Summer Blooms/Anything Goes.
Allsorts Challenge - No. 855 Colours of Summer/Anything Goes.
AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 88 Flowers.
Simply Clean & Simple Challenge - Aug. '26 Anything Goes.
N.B.U.S. Challenge - No. 89 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

22 comments:

Diane said...

Very pretty and creative!
Thank you for joining our challenge at Simply Clean & Simple.
Diane
{Nellies Nest}
Simply Clean & Simple Co-Owner

Susan B said...

Love that collage-style stamp you used - perfect as a background for the pretty flowers.

LesleyG said...

A fabulous card Pat! I love how you laid the ink down, and added special touches to the stamped image xxx

brenda said...

That a lovely collage effective image, very FR and works so nicely colouring just the flowers within the design. Lovely yo see you at both Allsorts and We Love Stamping Sensations challenges, thank you.

B x

brenda said...

You can delete this one Pat, just as explanation! As I posted my comment realised there was an extra word n challenge name, clearly not thinking straight this morning.

B x

Aquarius said...

Lovely work with the large stamp from that excellent set which seems to have been a popular magazine cover gift. The summery colours are perfect for the current Allsorts challenge - great that you shared this with us. Thank you

Marjan said...

I hopped over to see if you had posted anything, because I coudn't
see you in my bloglist. And yes, you did :) Another wonderful card, Love that backgorund, the colours and the pretty flowers are a wonderful combination and I love the white frame around it! Just like you very littel hobbying, antoher heatwave coming tomorrow, pffff ... but witth the new HR++ glass and suncaoting a lot more bearable in the house thankfully!

Linby said...

Well at least you have used your wonderful stamp set, mine is still waiting lol! It's a beautiful card with the lovely soft colours and the highlight of the flowers. Thanks for sharing with us at Allsorts.

Donna said...

Striking card for your friend, glad you shared your card with us at Allsorts challenge!

Sarn said...

LOVE what you've made with this popular stamp set from Creative Stamping mag. Delighted to see another idea with it (as I have the same set).

Thanks for sharing this great card at Allsorts. xxx

Sarah said...

A really stylish card and perfect for our colours of summer theme at Allsorts. Thank you for sharing. Sarah

Liz said...

Fabulous card, Pat. I love the stamp. I nearly bought this magazine, but by the time I made up my mind to get it, it was too late.
Liz xx

Loll said...

Beautiful card Pat! Love that acrylic block background! The blue is a beautiful backdrop for your collage stamping. Lovely colouring of the flower and leaves. xx

Kathyk said...

I've struggled to create in this hot weather too, your make is lovely, well worth the wait - even if it does arrive a little late

Have a fab weekend

Kathyk

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

OH! This is gorgeous, I love the colouring, a great stamp. I'm sure it wouldn't matter that it was late with a striking card like this to open. x

Cathy said...

Love the watery effect background Pat, looks fab with the collage style stamp. Hope you get some cooler weather soon, Cathy x

Jane said...

Pretty combo of clocks and flowers. It gives a vey vintage vibe. Thanks for playing at AAA Birthday, hope to see you join in with future challenges too. Stay safe and keep crafting!

Christine said...

So pretty Pat,, the little flowers add the perfect touch of colour. I'm sure the recipient will love it even if it's late xx

Mervi said...

Fabulous vintage stamp, lovely card.
Thank you for sharing at We Love Stamping Challenge.

Mrs.B said...

A lovely card with this image and I like the way you've made the flowers pop.
Thanks for sharing at We Love Stamping.
Avril

Inkyfingeredcat said...

Oh this is beautiful - I got that magazine but not had a chance to use the stamps yet but you’ve given me some inspiration

Thanks for joining us at Addicted to stamps and more!
Happy crafting!
Catherine x DT

foleysfriend said...

Pretty card. Love the pop of color with the flowers and leaves. The background is gorgeous. Thanks for joining us at Addicted to Stamps and More!

sue n.