Smile ....... it's time to get those stencils out

Yes, it's me again ....... Happy Friday evening

This is a scheduled post, as I'm currently sat at the airport waiting to board a plane.  At least I hope I am ...... unless the weather has taken a real turn for the worse.

I know some places in the UK have had snow.  And whilst I'm typing this (lunchtime Friday) I believe snow is falling here up on the mountains.  The TT course apparently is quite treacherous.
Where I am it's cold, it windy and it's raining ...... lets hope that it doesn't get any worse,  we need to get off the island ....... we have a wedding to go to tomorrow!

It's time now though for a little reminder for the new CAS Stencil Challenge ...... have you played along yet?  Don't worry there's still time to join in.

All you have to do is create a card in the Clean and Simple style, using stencils.  You also need to follow the theme each month, which will be based on either a technique or a particular product.

This month the challenge is hosted by Loll, and we have a nice easy theme for you ....... one of the basic stenciling techniques ...... Sponging

I've used one of the brand new stencil designs from Sweet Poppy Stencils ...... the gorgeous Sunburst

I simply sponged shades of blue and green Distress Inks through the design onto a piece of white card.  The stencil is a nice large design but, you don't always have to use it all,  You can see above that I've gone over the edges of my card, keeping the design to one corner.

I die cut the centre circle and added a die cut stitched frame around the edge.

On the circle cut from the centre I stamped my little monster (Concord & 9th's Monster Love) and coloured him using Distress Ink and a little water .......

If you like the look of the die cut sentiment ...... you'll have to wait a little while longer (sorry!)  I'm teasing you with something that is hopefully coming in March from Sweet Poppy ..... watch this space!

I love it cut in the sparkly glitter card don't you!  I've layered it up a little with plain white ones just to give it a bit of dimension.

Don't just keep your stencils for the front of your cards .... why not add some of the design inside

Check out the CAS Stencil Blog Challenge for more Sponging inspiration from the rest of the DT.  On there you'll also find all the challenge details, rules etc.  There's also some great links on there, to videos showing how to use the sponging technique if you're not familiar with it.

Happy stenciling!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the weekend. And if it's snowing where you are ..... stay warm and cosy.  We're back on the island on Sunday ...... unless we get snowed in whilst we're in the UK!!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Uniko Challenge #51 .......

Good morning ......

We're almost at the weekend ....... have you got that Friday feeling?

Today sees the start of the first Uniko Challenge of 2019.

It's Challenge #51 and we've got a nice easy theme for you ......... it's Anything Goes.   
Too easy for you? ...... then why not use the optional twist too ...... make your project LOVE themed. Time to start thinking of all those Valentine's cards maybe.

I've gone for the CAS look, lots of white space just like the challenge graphic. I've included the single red heart and the optional twist too.

I used the latest Wonderful Day stamp set for the flower head ...... stamping it first onto my card using a black ink,  and then again onto a snippet of card and heat embossed this one in gold.

I then fussy cut one of the cute heart shaped petals and coloured it using a ZIG marker.  I also added a touch of shimmer with a Clear Wink of Stella pen.  I then attached it using foam pads to add a bit of dimension.

The stem and leaves are from Uniko's Flower Power #3, stamped and coloured with ZIGS

And the sentiment, from Uniko's Simply Said,  is stamped and heat embossed in gold, to match the red heart

I finished off with a few splatters of red ink onto the background

You can find all the challenge details and guidelines over on the Uniko Blog, along with details of the prizes up for grabs, and of course more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

The challenge is open until midnight (GMT) on Friday 22nd February so there's loads of time to play along.

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ...... have a great day, and enjoy your weekend.
OK ...... time for a coffee now I think, then it's a quick trip into town before I start on the packing ..... we're off to the UK this evening.

Cheerio until next time .....

New designs from Sweet Poppy Stencils .......

Happy Monday .......

This week is going to be a little crazy I think, if this morning is anything to go by!  Talk about multi-tasking ...... good job I'm female!!!

Before I lock myself in the craft room ...... and I'm not coming out until everything's done! ...... I want to share a couple of the new stencil designs with you from Sweet Poppy, launched at the end of last week.  There's something for everyone.

One of my favourites is the new Sunburst ..... this is going to be so useful.  Great for using to create backgrounds, or add detail and layers to your projects. But also fabulous to use on it's own, either in full .... it's a great size, or just part of the design.

Here's the design in full, on a 7x7 finished sized card ..... how fab does that look but it's so easy to create.

I've gone for nice, bright sunshine colours in Distress Inks, simply sponged through the stencil

I added a touch of glitter glue to highlight some of the dots.

A simple sentiment is all it needed to finish off ..... partly die cut (I'm teasing you here with something that's coming in March)

 And partly stamped .......

You don't have to make large cards though .... here's a little 5x5 design using the same stencil .....

I used the Sweet Poppy Stencil Medium in Gold this time and sprinkled gold glitter over the top

I used a die to cut out the centre, and popped my cute little monster behind .....

The new Monster Love stamp set from Concord & 9th just had to come into the craft room ...... it's so cute!!
I stamped one of the monsters onto a scrap of leftover card, added a touch of colour and then die cut him to fit in the centre circle.

I stamped the heart, added my sentiment, and fussy cut, and then attached it using a piece of folded acetate so that it moves around a little

Another of the new designs is this fabulous Carousel ..... just look at the detail

I've used some of the pastel coloured pastes through the design, then sprinkled with crystal glitter over the top ......

This is another large design which is perfect for those 7x7 or bigger, cardblanks.

I used Distress Inks to create the background, in the same pastel shades.  I simply swiped the inks onto a craft sheer, spritzed with water, and then used a paintbrush to splatter the colours onto my card

 A sentiment on the bottom ......

And a little of the design on the inside ......

All the new stencil designs can be found on the Sweet Poppy Website.  Just click on the New Products section.

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great week.

I've got so much to do this week, it's going to be a busy one. 
We've got Chris back at home,  it's Lauren's birthday on Thursday and then we're all off to the UK on Friday for a family wedding at the weekend.   In between the ironing and the packing, all the craft stuff, and my DT commitments, I have to get my hair done, nails done, birthday shopping with Lauren. I need to find a tie for hubby that will match my dress. Speaking of which ...... it fits, thankfully!! I tried it again over the weekend,  and the shoes I got to go with it are perfect.

We haven't been to a good wedding for a long time.  It's hubby's brother that is finally tying the knot.  Him and his girlfriend have only been together for about 25 years so I think it's time don't you!

Oooh!  I almost forgot, we have another little celebration ......... can you believe that my little old blog is 7 years old today!!

Happy Blogiversary to Life in the Craft Lane!!

That's a lot of blogging!!  And I've enjoyed every minute if it.

I'd like to say a BIG Thank You to all my Blog Friends and Followers for visiting, and commenting. I couldn't do it without you ...... mwah!!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Fancy a Blog Hop? .......

Happy Saturday folks ......

It's the weekend ....... whoo hoo!  Let's get it started with a bit of Blog Hopping fun shall we.

The Uniko girls are having a DT Blog Hop and Giveaway featuring our favourite Uniko products that were released during 2018.

Hmmm ...... not an easy choice, there were so many.
The chrysanthemum stencil, the beautiful French script background stamp (loved that one!), the great Birthday Sentiments (a useful addition to anyone's stamp stash), the Mehndi Mandala stencil, and not forgetting the stunning Peony in December's release ...... to pick just a few.

In the end, I couldn't narrow it down to just one so ..... here's two of my favourites

The Natures Treasures II Stencil and Mask ....... because you can never have too many leaves!  And the pretty silhouette stamp set Just Because ...... gorgeous floral image plus some great words!

I can't take full credit for the above design, I came across the idea on Pinterest and fell in love with it.  It's originally by the talented Laura Bassen, done for the Altenew blog I think, and this is my version.

Distress inks blended over a piece of cardstock, dividing it into roughly quarters.  I used Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry and Tumbled Glass

I then stenciled the leaves onto each of the quarters using the same colour of Distress Ink. I really like this tone on tone effect, it gives a pretty delicate look and adds depth too.

I then stamped over the top of the leaves using the pretty floral silhouette, only this time I used Distress Oxide inks in the same colours ...... apart from the yellow option.  The Squeezed Lemonade Oxide didn't really show up on top of the Distress ink, so I went for Mustard Seed instead.

I stamped my sentiment in the centre ......

and added a few dots of crystal glaze here and there.

I also used the stencil and stamp on the inside too .....

What's your favourite Uniko product from 2018?

I mentioned a Giveaway ..... there's a £25 Uniko eGift certificate up for grabs.  All you have to do is hop along to each of the Design Team posts, and leave a comment, and the winner will be randlonly chosen from all the comments left ..... easy.
You have until midnight on Saturday 19th January to comment, so there's plenty of time.

Here's a list of all the DT blogs .......

Bev

Carol 

Izzy 

Jane

Julie

Linda (that's me!)

Rahmat

Sarah P

Wiebke 

Happy Hopping!

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Are you playing along with the Craft Stamper challenge? .......

Happy Friday .......

How's your week been? Back into the swing of things yet?

It's all go around here.  January is always a busy month ....... birthdays, birthdays and more birthdays!
We've got a wedding to look forward to next weekend ..... must try my dress on again, hope it still fits!  And we've been looking at possible holiday destinations for this year, and next.  Exciting stuff!

There's lots going on in the craft room too, including ...... new stencil designs from Sweet Poppy (more about those soon).  There's a fun blog hop happening tomorrow from the Uniko DT and of course the current Craft Stamper challenge is well underway.  Have you played along yet?

As always, the theme is Anything Goes ....... just remember to include some rubber stamping on your project
You can have up to 3 entries, each one with it's own blog post.  And don't forget to link back to your actual blog post for your entry, not just your blog. The DT can find your project easily then, when we pop by to comment.
Only one project per post please, remember sets of cards, or ATC's etc, count as more than one project, and won't be eligible for the draw for the prize.   And please NO DIGI IMAGES either (sorry!) ...... we want to see actual rubber stamping.

The prize for the challenge winner this month is a fabulous Prima Art Daily bundle ...... that's 2 great stamp sets and some amazing sentiments,

And don't forget we also have a monthly Design Winner, chosen by the DT.

Need some inspiration? ....... here's a card that's really fun and simple to do, but looks fab.

Brushos ..... those little pots of magic, are what I've used to colour the flowers.  Just one pot gave all the different shades on those pretty peonies, I just let the water do all the work

I stamped and heat embossed the flowers in gold onto a piece of watercolour card.  This beautiful bloom is from the December release from Uniko ....... Pure Florals - Peony

I used a watercolour paint for the leaves then used the Brusho Pigment Powder to add colour to the flowers.
I painted the petals with a little water first and then sprinkled a tiny amount of powder (Crimson Red I think) on top and just let it to do it's thing.
Once the colour started to spread into the water I spritzed a little more to move the colour where I wanted it to go, and also create some shading,  keeping the pink away from the leaves as best I could. Because I'd heat embossed the flowers, the raised lines helped the colour to pool in places.
I love how the colour has spread outside the flowers too, and created this really pretty background.

I repeated the process a couple of times ..... more water here, a touch more Brusho there .... until I was happy with the result,  mopping up the excess water with a paper towel.

A simple sentiment, and a few pretty sequins here and there ......

And I also added a little touch of Fran-tage Shabby White Embossing Powder ..... this is a little bit like the Chunky White I like to use on my Christmas cards, except this has some added gold flecks in there .... really pretty.

I added one of the blooms inside too .....

Well that's one birthday card done ....... it's now in the post and on it's way.  Must ring the florist this morning!

Thanks for popping by ..... have a lovely Friday and enjoy the weekend.
We've got to go suit shopping ..... hubby needs a new one for this wedding we're going to.  Why do men always leave things to the last minute?  It'll probably mean new shirt, new tie, and new shoes too! 
You never know, maybe we could pop into the travel agents too.

Cheerio until next time .....

Welcome to the brand new CAS Stencil Card Challenge .....

Hello there ...... I'm back again

It's happy dance time today, to celebrate the launch of a brand new Blog Challenge (I do love a good challenge don't you?!)

Do you like using stencils?  Or do you have a collection and you're not sure where to start with them? Do you like to use different techniques and different products?  Is Clean and Simple your style? 
Well ...... you are in for a treat. 
It's time to get the brand new CAS Stencil Card Challenge underway ...... whoo hoo!
The latest addition to the CAS Challenge family, from the lovely Loll Thompson

I'm so excited to be part of this fabulous, and talented Design Team.  This is going to be fun!

Each month we will have a theme ..... based on either a technique or a particular product.  To get things started we have a nice easy one for you ...... Sponging

Simply create a card in the CAS style, using the sponging technique with your chosen stencil.
If you're not familiar with the technique then check out the CAS Stencil Challenge blog for links to some fab videos.  You can also find all the challenge details, the rules etc. on there too.

I've used one of my favourite Tim Holtz stencils here, and simply sponged Distress Inks through the design directly onto my card blank

A nice stamped sentiment  .......

A few sparkly sequins ......

And I finished off with some splatters of gold ink

I also added part of the stencil on the inside of the card too .....

Check out the Challenge Blog and see what the rest of the Design Team have created, and then why not join in the fun.

Happy stenciling!

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

Cheerio until next time ....