It's never too early for a Christmas card ........

Happy Thursday .......

The weekend is almost here!  It's going to be a busy one too I think.

I can't believe I'm saying this but, I have a Christmas card to share today ........ I know, I know, it's only June but, the CAS Christmas Card Challenge is up and running again this month ..... Yeah! it's nice to see it back.

I do love a good Blog Challenge, and CAS is one of my favourite styles of card, although not always the easiest to create ........ no room for error.  

Not only did this card take a couple of attempts (out of practice I think!) I struggled getting a decent photo. But hey ho!  here we go ........

I started by stamping the tree using a grey ink.  Grey gives a softer look than black which I thought would work well with this image from the Penny Black stamp set.

Once the ink was dry I brushed a little Distress Ink (Weathered Wood) over the top to create a bit of interest behind, and also to ground the tree

I then stamped the bird from the same Penny Black set, onto the tree and coloured him using Brush Markers, and added my sentiment in a matching red ........ love the pop of colour!

A little bit of water splattered here and there, which I left for a few seconds on the ink and then lifted with a paper towel.  A real easy technique for creating the look of falling snow.

 

I finished off with a touch of glitter here and there for a bit of festive sparkle!

First Christmas card of the year ....... done!

Thanks for popping by, enjoy the rest of your day.

I'm off to catch up with todays results at Royal Ascot.  It's Gold Cup day today and I might just have a penny or two on the race!

And, for any England fans out there ...... didn't we do well last night!  4-2 ....... a fantastic opening game, and a great score against our long standing nemesis - Croatia.  

Could this be it, is football finally coming home?  A bit early to start singing that I think.  Anyway ..... well done England!

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used ......

Stamps ...... Woodsy - Penny Black Slapstick/Cling, Sentiment from Christmas Time 3 - Tim Holtz

Inks ....... Versafine Clair - Morning Mist, Distress Ink - Weathered Wood, Versafine Ink - Crimson Red

Other .......  Zig Clean color Brush Markers, Clear Crystal Fine Glitter

Embossing Washi Tape .......

Happy Tuesday to you,

I hope you had a great weekend and that your week has got off to a good start.  

We actually had a little bit of sunshine over the weekend, so out came the BBQ which was nice.  I got a day off cooking as hubby's the one who cooks outside!

I've got a card to share with you today ...... it's been a while!

I saw this technique on Facebook, from Stamptastic Designs ........ I think I've got that right, I hope I have!

You may have already seen this done but I must confess, I hadn't and I just had to give it a go.

It's simply, using washi tape (we've all got rolls of that!) and an embossing folder ....... how easy is that!  But WOW ....... love the results!!

I've had this roll of Washi Tape forever, so I doubt that this particular design is still available .... sorry! 

It was from Altenew, and it was called Painted Fantasy. 

Now you're thinking ........  how could she possibly remember that!?  Well, I didn't.  What I do remember is, using it once before on a Blog Challenge so, I did a search here on my Blog.  And guess what ...... I found it!  I said I'd had it a while but, really ......... 2019!!!!!!!  Oh my goodness.  Oh well, at least I'm using it now.  I saved it for this very card.

So,  the technique ............. I simply put the washi tape onto a piece of white cardstock.  The tape is nearly 4 and a half inches wide so it's great for making card fronts.

I then took the panel and using the pretty Piped Floral Lace 3D Embossing Folder from Altenew, which has recently found its way into my craft room, I ran it through my Big Shot.

Voila!  How easy is that ....... and the results are gorgeous!

I trimmed it down a little and mat it onto a piece of white cardstock before attaching it to my cardblank.

There's so much detail from the 3D embossing folder,  adding to the already pretty floral design of the washi tape, I don't think anything else is needed.

Except a sentiment of course ......... stamped and die cut. 

I am going to have to get some more washi tape ........ this technique is soooo cool!  I love how this has turned out and I know exactly who the card is going to! 

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.

Are you following the World Cup?  We're huge football fans here so we're looking forward to tomorrow evening, when England play their first game.  There's been quite a few surprises in the games played so far, so who knows what's going to happen tomorrow. 

It's also Royal Ascot this week (I'm a horse racing fan too).  This could be an expensive few days!!

Cheerio until next time .........

As this is the first time I've used the EF I'm going to link this up to Darnell's June NBUS Challenge (Challenge #87)

Products used ......

Embossing Folder ....... Piped Floral Lace 3D Embossing Folder (Altenew)

Stamps ...... Opposites Attract Sentiment Stamps (The Greetery)

Dies .......  Opposites Attract Matching Dies, Opposites Attract Script Dies (The Greetery)

Inks ....... Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Distress Oxide - Picked Raspberry

Other .......  Painted Fantasy Washi Tape (Altenew) no longer available (sorry!)

Creating Balance .......

Happy Friday .........

I hope you've had a good week.  It's been a bit quiet here.  

The island is slowly getting back to normal after the TT.  It isn't quite so busy everywhere, not as many motorbikes!  Not that we've been out anywhere.  The weather's not been great (there's a shock!) ....... someone needs to remind the sun that it is June!

We have been busy making plans though.  We're off up to Scotland in just under two weeks, in the motorhome, so we've been making a start on getting things ready ....... lots of lists!

It's nearly two years since we were in the Highlands, so we're really looking forward to the trip.  It's going to be a few favourite places along with a few new ones, it should be fun!

I've also spent some time in the craft room this week which has been really nice.  There's been a bit of everything ....... planning, prepping, tidying up!  I've even made a few cards (more about those later).   I've watched a few YouTube videos, catching up with what's new.  Made a list of craft stash that I really need (haha!), and I've also found time to play in one of my journals (Large Dylusions journal)

Ever since I bought the 8x8 Pebble Stacks stencil from Funky Fossil I've been wanting to use it in a journal, and I thought this clean up page would be the perfect place.

I have quite a few of these sort of pages .... places where I clean off my brushes, or use left over paint and ink.  I also use these spaces to try out new stamps or stencils,  so there's lots of pages with just random colours here and there, and images that don't necessarily go together but, I think this kind of works.

I used Distress Oxide Inks with the stencil to create my pebbles ......  I love the coverage these inks give, and I like how the paint from underneath still shows through some of the colours giving the pebbles the look of some texture.

I also added a bit of shading using Prismacolor Pencils

The words, I came across on Pinterest ........ 

 

I used the same Distress Oxide Inks to colour some offcuts of white cardstock.  I then die cut the letters using Spellbinders Be Bold Upper and Lower Case Alphabet dies, layering each letter with one cut from plain white cardstock, to add a little a touch of dimension to the page.

A bit of black pen work on, and around the pebbles,  some black and white ink splatter here and there, and I finsihed it all off with a little stamped bird, perched high on the pile of pebbles ..... so cute!

The right balance is always good, sometimes hard to find though. I do think that we manage it most of the time!

Thanks for popping by ........ have a great weekend.

We're hoping for a BBQ on Sunday, so fingers crossed the weather improves.

And, if you're a football fan ......... enjoy the World Cup.  We'll be watching the games here.

C'mon on England!!

Cheerio until next time ........

Products used .......

Stamps ........ Space Reserved Clear Stamps (the bird ) - (Penny Black), 

Inks ......... Distress Oxide Inks - Pumice Stone, Weathered Wood, Speckled Egg, Tattered Rose, Old Paper, Versafine Clair - Nocturne (my go to black ink)
Dies ........  Be Bold Upper and Lower Case Alphabet Dies (Spellbinders)

Other ....... Large Dylusions Journal, White cardstock, 8x8 Pebble Stacks stencil (Funky Fossil). Black Finer Liner Pen

I finished it!!

Happy Friday .......

We're almost a week into June already.  And what a week it's been!  I should have kept my mouth closed about the weather I think.  Shall we say ....... it's been a little mixed here this week!  

Not great seeing as it's been TT Race Week ..... well sort of.  There has been some racing but, the week has unfortunately been plagued with delays due to the weather and some races cancelled.  There's still the weekend though, so fingers crossed it all goes well.

The beginning of this week saw the end of the #100 Days Project ........ and I did it!!!  All 100 days.

A flower every day, inspirational words or a saying, and a little bit of love from a red heart.

My bits box has never been so empty ...... though I'm sure it won't be like that for long!

The project has been a great way of using up leftover bits, re-discovering my craft stash and exploring my stamp collection, although since my mahoosive clear out that's not as big as it once was!   

It's also been a nice way to re-visit favourite techniques and try a few new ones.   It's been fun, and it's definitely got me in the mood to spend more time in my craft room.  Hopefully you'll see a bit more of me now ......... not sure if that's a good thing or not!!  Watch this space.

Thanks for popping by.  Have a fabulous weekend.  I'm hoping for a quiet one!

Cheerio until next time ......

It's that time of year again .......

Happy weekend to you .......

The weeks are flying by.  I can't believe we're almost in June already.

And yes, it's that time of year again ......... it's the IOM TT fortnight!!

Lots of visitors to our little island, the sound of motorbikes everywhere, and Practice Week has been glorious weather wise .....

I could get used to seeing this everyday but, here in the Isle of Man, the good weather is not always guarenteed to last.

Race Week was due to get underway today (Saturday) but, unfortunately it's a little quiet as that's not going to happen.

No blue skies and sunshine today I'm afraid.  Instead we have fog, mist, and a little rain, so we'll just have to wait for the racing until tomorrow.

One thing that is still on course is my #100 Days Project.  The finish line is within sight, only 3 days to go and I must confess, I am running out of ideas!

As you can see from the photos above, I cheated a little bit and did a 4 in 1 ...... they are all different though!

I must say, my craft room is looking a little messy, and I'm getting to the point where I can't find things on my workdesk now so, a good clean up will be needed next week, once all 100 days are done. 

Thanks for popping by, have a lovely weekend.  

Fingers crossed we get the sunshine back tomorrow.

Cheerio until next time ......