CAS Christmas Card Challenge ......

Happy weekend folks ........

What are you up to this weekend? 
Not to worry you but ........ there's only NINE more Saturday's before Christmas ...... eeeeek! Scary or what!!!   

If you're like me, and need a mountain of Christmas cards and you haven't really made a start on them, don't rush out and buy any just yet ....... although I must say I have seen some in town that are looking like a nice option right now .... oh yes! I have looked!!  But, I'm not giving in just yet. Instead I'm playing along with this month's CAS Christmas Card Challenge .......

As you can see, the theme for October's challenge is ...... Birds
And I couldn't resist playing with one of my favourite little bird stamps .... well, three of them actually .....

I never get tired of using these cute little guys and they're perfect for quick, CAS designs.

I simply used my MISTI to stamp the birds, and heat embossed them in a clear powder ......

What did we ever do before the MISTI ...... such a great tool for batch making (I can see a few more of this design being made!!)

I coloured the Santa hats with ZIG markers and used my Distress Inks and a water brush to colour the birds .....

A touch of glitter on the hats for a little festive sparkle .....

A sprinkle of snow, using Chunky White Embossing Powder (something I use on nearly all my Christmas cards) ......

Finished off with a simple sentiment stamped in gold ..... again done on the MISTI

Ho! Ho! Ho!  Well ..... that's one more for the festive box!

No Christmas card making for me today though ..... I'm still trying to find some tubs for the patio.  I need to find some soon .... I have bulbs that need planting!!!
I did look the other day but I think the shiny, sparkly, festive stuff got all my attention ......

A little treat for me in there too ...... dark chocolate Lindor, my favourites! 

We're off out this evening .... the second (oops!) third little blip in our sober October.  We were only supposed to be allowing ourselves the two ...... our meal out the other weekend which had been planned for a while, and this Saturday but .... we had a family roast dinner during the week and I weakened.  I only had 2 glasses of wine though ..... well it would have been rude not to, wouldn't it.  Hubby on the other hand had a little more.  No will power!!

I think I'll be having a little more tonight though .... we're off to an Oompah Night down at The Railway, on the Quay

Bavarian beer, food and music with Baron Otto's Brass Band.  Should be a fun night.  Lederhosen optional, thank goodness.

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

Cheerio until next time .....

More Sweet Poppy samples .......

Happy middle of the week ......

How's your Wednesday going?
I'm off out for lunch with Lauren and then we're popping over to the garden centre.  I need a few bits and bobs ..... yes, me ..... gardening!!!  When I say gardening I mean I have bulbs to plant and I need new pots.  Bulbs are easy, the flowers are already in there they just need planting! 
It also happens to be their Christmas launch today ......... I know it's only October but, it'll be here before we know it.  And you all know how I love buying new Christmas decorations!

Before I go I want to remind you that Lucy is back on HOCHANDA tomorrow with lots of new Sweet Poppy Stencil Designs ..... some festive, some not so there's something for everyone.

I shared quite a few festive designs with you on Monday but if you're really not into making Christmas cards just yet, or you're one of those really organised people who have all theirs done by now ...... there's something for you
How cute is this little guy ........ the new Fairy Seahorse

Designed for Sweet Poppy, by the lovely Tracey Dutton from Lavinia .... he's gorgeous! Just look at all the detail

I found a Brusho background in my stash that was perfect for him ...... used the white paste through the stencil and then sprinkled with glitters ......

I added the pretty new Forest Stem along the bottom .....  used the stencil with the paste and glitter and then cut using the matching outline die .... makes great seaweed!

Instead of a card I thought he deserved to be in a frame. 
I decorated an old photo frame with black gesso and metallic waxes and added a few shells and art stones to the bottom

A few drops of Nuvo Crystal Gaze give the look of water droplets .......

and I also added some to the glass

The sentiment is one from my stash ...... fits perfectly don't you think!

Another of Tracey's designs is this beautiful Indian Moth .....

Again just look at the detail ......

On this card the stencil does all the work ..... pale blue paste onto black cardstock, sprinkled with crystal glitter.
A few splatters of gold and silver ink in the background  along with a few dots of white acrylic paint

finished with a stamped and embossed sentiment ...... job done!

Don't forget Lucy's shows are tomorrow (Thursday)  at 12 and 4pm on HOCHANDA
If you're a Lavinia stamps fan too then you're in for a real treat ...... Lavinia AND Sweet Poppy on the same day ..... back to back shows actually, I think.  I'll be watching!

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

Cheerio until next time ....

Book the sofa, grab the remote ..... Lucy's back on our screens

Happy Monday ......

A busy week coming up.  I thought I'd start it by letting you know that the lovely Lucy and Sweet Poppy Stencils are back on our TV screens this week ..... yeah!! 
Put the date in your diaries, book the sofa and the remote control, or set your box to record.

When? ...... Thursday October 18th 

What time? ...... 12pm and again at 4pm

Where? ....... HOCHANDA (Sky channel 673/Freeview 85/Freesat 817)

There's some brand new stencils, designed by the fabulous Tracey Dutton from Lavinia Stamps, all with dies to match.  And of course, all the other fab Sweet Poppy products will be available ..... pastes, glitters, stamps.

Here's a little look at a few of the samples I sent off to Lucy last week.
There's a little bit of Christmas ....... with the beautiful Holly Tree

A gorgeous Christmas tree, so full of detail.  Looks stunning in classic black and white .......

This is simply glossy white stencil paste, sprinkled with crystal glitter and finished off with a sentiment heat embossed on the bottom.

It's perfect for CAS Christmas cards ......

I added a pretty ribbon bow to decorate the tub .......

And why not make your gift tags too .....

Glossy white paste again with green glitter this time, and a touch of red for the berries .... very festive

Use the stencil with your inks too, to create fab backgrounds ......

The perfect backdrop for all your festive sentiments ...... 

All the sentiments used above are from the Sweet Poppy stamp sets .... Noel and Joy and Peace

It's not going to be all Christmas designs though ....... there's some gorgeous new foliage.

There's a pretty Large Fern ....... great detail on this 

Looks great over all those inky backgrounds.
And the matching die is fab ...... cut's beautifully too!

I've simply cut the ferns from plain cardstock and then heat embossed them with various metallic powders ...... very Autumnal!

One of my favourites from the new designs is the Forest Stem ..... how pretty is this, it's so delicate

I've used the stencil onto my inky background with a green Distress Oxide ink  (the stamp that I've also used is from the Sweet Poppy Stamp set ..... Season,  stamped, second generation using a Sepia Versafine ink)

I've then used paste through the stencil onto black cardstock, added glitters over the top and used the matching die to cut it out ......

When I first saw this design, I must admit I immediately thought ..... mistletoe!!  I think it's perfect.

Distress Oxide ink ...... white enamel accents for the berries (you could use tiny pearls or even Liquid Pearls) 

A touch of gold and silver splattered in the background, and a festive ribbon bow 

Finished with a sentiment ..... love it!!!

Maybe it's just me but ..... I also saw a Christmas tree too ....

I think I'm getting in the festive groove now don't you ...... that's one excuse I suppose!  I can't blame the Christmas spirit yet ..... Sober October continues!!! (only 16 days to go)

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

There's a couple more designs to show you but I'll leave those for a little later in the week.

Cherrio until next time .....

Happy Birthday CAS Watercolour challenge!

Happy weekend .....

It's a very wet and windy one here ..... a good reason to stay cosy and warm indoors.

I'm playing along with another blog challenge today ......  the CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.
It's a special month this month .... the challenge is celebrating it's 2nd Birthday!!

Congratulations ladies ..... WOW! doesn't time fly when you're having fun!

This month's theme is all about colours .....  Orange, Green and Brown to be exact.

What a perfect combination for this time of year .....

The Autumnal shades turned my thoughts to leaves .... something we have plenty of at the moment.  all over the lawn!!!  If it stops raining long enough and the wind dies down a little they need to be cleared.  A job for next week's To Do list I think!

Anyway .... back to my card.  I started by stamping the leaves onto a piece of Bristol smooth cardstock.   I've used the gorgeous Leaf Canopy stamp set from Altenew.  You get the outline image of the leaves and a seperate stamp for the full leaves.  There's also some really nice sentiments on there too.
I stamped the full leaves using the required colours in Distress Oxide inks ...... I do love the Oxides, and I can't wait to get my hands on the final 12.

I then stamped the outline over the top and heat embossed in gold ......

I used the same colours of ink around the edges only this time I used the regular Distress .... I think it was Dried Marigold, Carved Pumpkin, Peeled Paint and then a touch of Gathered Twig,
I gave it a little splatter with water, and mopped up the excess ..... I never get tired of using this technique, love the effect

I also splattered some gold ink over the top and finished with a sentiment from one of the Penny Black T for Transparent sets ..... stamped in Gathered Twig Distress Oxide ink

There's a few drops of Nuvo Crystal Glaze here and there too.

Happy 2nd Birthday CAS Watercolour Challenge!

It's been a busy few days here ..... lunch out, then a fab crafty get together yesterday which was fun.  I didn't actually do anything but, I think I have decided on one of this year's Christmas card designs which is a start.  Carol made a birthday card though, which was lovely and I helped a little bit!   
I made a great start on the Christmas shopping the other day  though .... I managed to get just what I was looking for, plus a few little extra bits too ..... ooops!  I just have to remember where I've put it all when it comes time to wrap it!! I'm not used to being THIS organised in October.  I've even ordered the festive feast ..... well, some of it anyway. 
Oooh! and look what arrived the other day ...... a little something just for me!

Yes I finally gave in and decided to order a new die cutting machine.  I've been toying with the idea for a while now.  Don't get me wrong, I still love my Big Shot (both of them!!), I just wanted something that's a bit easier to use.  Plus,  I got a great deal on it, so that helped!
Although, then came the decision, do I go for the big Gemini, the Gemini Junior, or the new Gemini Go?  Well ...... in the end, I went for the big one, on hubby's advice. 
He said if I bought one of the smaller ones and loved it, I'd only wish I'd bought the big one, which he's probably right ....... I'll let you know if I've made the right choice!

Thanks for popping by ........ have a lovely weekend. I hope the weather isn't too bad where you are.
I'm off to put my feet up, and browse the latest Stampin Up! catalogue ..... this could be expensive!

Cheerio until next time .....