A quick reminder for the CAS Stencil challenge .......

Happy Monday ......

I hope you've all had a nice weekend ...... I'm still getting over mine! (more about that later)

It's time to give you a little reminder of this month's CAS Stencil Challenge ...... the last one of 2019!

I'm your host this month and the theme is .......... Stencil Monoprinting
This is such a great technique to do, the DT are really having fun with it.
Simply apply your inks, or paints etc., directly onto your stencil, spritz with water and then place the inky side of your stencil onto your card and print the design ..... easy!
It's also a great way of using up any ink on your stencils when you've been using them in the traditional way ....... don't just wipe it all off with a cloth, give it a spritz with water and print onto a piece of card.  Great for making backgrounds!

I've used a Tim Holtz stencil here with Distress Oxide Inks ........ these work really well for this technique

I smooshed the ink over the whole of the stencil, spritzed well with water and then placed the stencil onto a piece of watercolour card. 
I laid a paper towel over the top to mop up any excess ink. and gently smoothed over the stencil to make sure that the ink spread over the whole of the design

Carefully remove the stencil, mop up any excess ink and leave to dry.
You're not always going to get a clean, crisp finish ...... it does happen, it depends on the cardstock, how much ink you've used, how much water, even the stencil design. 
I like the grungy, not quite perfect look but, that's just me!

Once the ink had dried I used a glue pen over the petals of the poinsettia flowers, and then sprinkled over the top with some clear crystal glitter

A few dots of gold glitter glue for the centres.

To add a bit more interest to the card I decided to cut the poinsettia panel in two, and instead of cutting straight across, I went with a bit of an angle.

I die cut part of my sentiment, once from white cardstock and once from gold mirri. Layered the two together and placed it in between the two panels.  The rest of the sentiment I stamped and added underneath.

Here's another card made using the same technique, and the same ink (DOXs), just a different stencil

I did everything exactly the same, except I used Mixed Media cardstock, and I got a much crisper finish on this one.

You never know what results you're going to get and I think that's all part of the fun of this technique!

Check out the CAS Stencil Blog for more fabulous Monoprinting ideas from the rest of the DT, and our lovely Guest Designer ...... Lucie (LucieG Cards)

Happy stenciling!

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

We had our first frost this morning ....... I looked out the window at 7.30am and everywhere was white over, it all looked so pretty!  Not so nice when Hubby had to de-ice the car before he left for work though ..... Winter is coming!

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Card 1
Stencils: Poinsettia stencil (Tim Holtz)
Stamps: Christmas Cheer (Simon Says Stamp) 
Inks: Distress Oxide Inks - Aged Mahogany  
Other: merry die , gold mirri card, white card, Clear Rock Candy Glitter (Ranger); Gold stickles Glitter Glue

Card 2 
Stencils: Roses Layering stencil (Tim Holtz)
Stamps: Simple Strips (Taylored Expressions) 
Inks: Distress Oxide Inks - Aged Mahogany, Rusty Hinge, Peeled Paint 
Other: Stitched Wonly Rectangles die (STAMPorations), Gold Twine, Clear Crystal Glaze (Nuvo)

A little reminder for the CAS Mix Up Challenge .......

Hello again ........

I hope you've had a nice day.  It's been lovely here ..... cold, but at least the sun was shining.
And, I managed to get all my jobs done in town which was great.

It's time for a reminder about this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge.
It's the last challenge of the year,  the DT are having a break in December so that we can catch up on all our festive preparations.

The theme for November's challenge is ..... Oxidised Metal  and is hosted by Susan. 
We also have a fab Guest Designer too ...... Arlene (Sundaystamper Papercrafts) is joining in the fun so be sure to pop by and say Hello!

So ....... Oxidised Metal?  Have you tried this technique?  I must say, it was pretty new to me.
If you haven't tried it yet,  check out the CAS Mix Up Blog for links to some great video tutorials on how to create this fab finish.

I used Alcohol Inks onto silver mirri card, heat embossed with a clear powder, and then die cut my fir trees from the finished piece

I love the effect ..... not easy to photograph though!

I added a touch of crystal glitter to the tops of the trees.

To make the card I used a stencil with some white texture paste sprinkled with crystal glitter to create the snowy background.

I then die cut the trees again from white cardstock and layered the metal effect ones over the top.
I love this die (Memory Box) because it cuts out those gorgeous trees, and keeps the bottom part of the card attached allowing you to create little winter scenes.

I stamped my sentiment on the bottom and then attached the piece over my snowy background using foam pads, and then finsihed with a touch of glitter along the edge.

Here's another CAS design using an oxidised metal effect die cut ...... I think I'm hooked on this technique now!

I used a mop up piece of card from my stash for the background ....... it's simply Golden Glizt Delicata ink mopped up off my craft mat

I used a piece of gold mirri card and alcohol inks to create the oxidised metal effect, and then sprinkled on some Black Magic Embossing Powder from WOW!, just a little here and there, before swiping over the whole thing with a Versamark pad and heat embossed again using a clear powder this time

I then die cut the stag from the card, and again from white card and then layered them together and attached them to my card front usng foam pads

Here's a close up of the embossing powder ...... note the added red nose too!

A sprinkling of Chunky White Embossing Powder on the background and a simple sentiment

I'm linking up this card with the Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge, where the theme is ..... 'tis the Season

I hope you give the Oxidised Metal Effect a try, it really is fun to do.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day, and have a lovely weekend.

I've got a Christmas workshop tomorrow, and then we're out in the evening ...... dinner in town followed by a 'surprise' birthday gathering.
Things are starting to get a little busy now in the run up to the festive season, so the Christmas workshop is a little earlier than normal.  Here's a sneaky peek at the project ......

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

Products used:
Card 1
Stamps: Christmas Cheer (Penny Black T for Transparent); Christmas Sentiments(Inkylicious)
Inks:  Delicata - Golden Glitz; Alcohol inks (Ranger) - Patina, Mermaid, Pebble
Others: Silver Mirri card; Alpine Trees die (Memory Box); Falling Snow stencil (Sweet Pea Designs); White Texture Paste; Fine Crystal Glitter

Card 2
Stamps: Christmas Sentiments(Inkylicious)
Inks: Delicata - Golden Glitz (mop up); Versafine Clair - Nocturne;  Alcohol inks - Terracotta, Slate, Sepia, Raisin
Others: Gold Mirri card, Stag die (not sure what brand this is ... sorry!); Chunky White Embossing Powder(Stampendous); Cranberry Stickles Glitter Glue

Uniko Challenge #56

Good morning ........

Happy Friday to you.
Brrrrr ....... it's a bit chilly this morning.  Time to dig out the winter scarf and gloves I think!

Let's get into that Friday feeling with a Blog Challenge shall we.
It's time for Uniko's last challenge of the year ....... Challenge #56
As you can see from the graphic the theme is Christmas (whoo hoo!! ......that's another card for the festive pile!)  There's an optional twist too ..... Tree (very Christmassy!)

I love decorating the Christmas tree, so I had to go with the twist .........

And why have one tree when you can have three!!

I cut three triangles from green cardstock,  and then used Uniko clear stamps to add the decoration

I heat embossed the outline designs in gold and silver .......

and then used glitter gel pens to add some colour

I've used green card for my trees as I'm a bit of a traditional Christmas girl, but you could used any colour of cardstock ....... blue would look nice, pink for a more contemporary, fun look, or even white on white for a real snowy look.

A few ink splatters in the background and a simple sentiment underneath .......

The tubs for the trees to sit in are just tiny squares of Kraft card, with the sides cut off at a slight angle and then I added a touch of Distress Ink to the edges, to add some shading.

There's a whole load of festive inspiration from more of the Uniko Brand Ambassadors on the Uniko Studio Blog today, along with this month's Guest Designer ...... Nonni (Nonni's Handmade Cards) so be sure to pop by and say Hello!

As its the last Uniko challenge of the year, you get an extra week to play along. 
The challenge ends at midnight (GMT) on December 27th, and the winners will be announced on the Uniko Studio Blog, on Jan 3rd 2020!!!

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
I will be back later with a couple more Christmas card ideas ........ the festive mojo is finally kicking in!

Cheerio until then .....

Products used:
Stamps: Wonky Stripes Background Block, Background Builders Christmas 2018; Background Builders Christmas (retiring) (Uniko)
Inks: Versamark ink, Delicata Golden Glitz for the sentiment; Gathered Twigs Distress Ink (to colour the pots)
Others: Green Cardstock; Scraps of Kraft card; Glitter Gel Pens (Sakura); White Gel pen (Uniball) 

Perfectly CAS Challenge ........

Happy Thursday evening .......

Fancy a Blog Challenge?  Do you need more Christmas cards? Are you a fan of Clean and Simple (CAS)? 
If the answer is Yes to any of the above then why not join in the fun with this month's Perfectly CAS (using one third or less) Challenge

The theme this month is ........ Christmas.  Ho! Ho! Ho!
There's no getting away from it ..... it's creeping up fast!!

I do love large sentiment stamps, and this is one of my favourites ..... the swirly font is gorgeous.

I've simply stamped it onto my card using a gold ink. I did use my MISTI so that I could repeat stamp it and build up the depth of colour

I added a cute Christmas bauble just to the side, heat embossed the image using a clear powder, and added a touch of festive colour with my ZIG Markers

I also went over the top with a little gold shimmer, and added just a touch of sparkle with some crystal glitter glue dotted here and there but still keeping to the one third rule

By keeping to the one third, or less rule,  you'll find it easy to create perfect CAS designs, every time. 

Happy stamping!

I've a busy weekend coming up.  I've got samples to finish and get in the post for the next Sweet Poppy TV show, coming up on the 21st of the month I think it is, more about that later.

It's also workshop weekend ....... time to get all festive on Saturday with our Christmas project ......

I'm going to be covered in paint, glitter and snow.  We're off out in the evening, so that should be fun!

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:
Stamps: Merry Christmas sentiment (SimonSaysStamp); Baubles (Pink Ink Designs)
Inks: Delicata Golden Glitz;  Versafine Clair - Nocturne
Others: Clear Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Crystal  Stickles Glitter Glue; Gold Sparkle pen (Spectrum Noir)