It's done!!!!!

Happy Friday folks,

What a lovely day we've had on the island today .... the sun has been shining, the birds have been singing and I had a lovely morning with the house all to myself ...... just me and my Tim Tag!

No hunting around the old craft room needed either, I did pretty well on the ingredients list this time.  The only things I didn't have were Frayed Burlap Distress Stain (why!!!), the metallic stickers and the trim ...... but I improvised and got there in the end.

Here's Tim's February Tag .......

and here's my take on it ......

I love the new Hearts stencil, and the new Random Quotes stamps are fab. 
I'm still on the fence about my chalkboard effect though....... I gave up after 4 attempts and used the best of the bunch.  I think I need to invest in some decent chalk if I'm going to give this another go (I said this last time we used this technique!)

I do love the glittered heart though and my little Idea-ology metal arrow

Instead of the Industrious Stickers and Borders I used Tim's Vintage Lace die and cut my own.  I covered a piece of cardstock with some of the metal foil tape then die cut the border ......

I even managed to keep all the lacey bits in place ..... I wanted more of an embossed look rather it all being cut out.

To finish it all off I added the red seam binding .... trust me, it is red.  I know it doesn't look it in the photo ...  must be the sun ..... I'm not used to taking pictures when it's shining!

Well, that's me nearly done for the day.  Just got to get the little man in bed ..... Yes I'm on Grandma duties again.  Then it's time to settle down with a glass, or two, of something chilled (I've earned it this week!) and catch up on this week's TV.

I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's Merry Monday Challenge.  Enjoy your evening.

Cheerio for now

Linda

xx

A little bit of Metal ........

Hello there,

As promised yesterday, I'm back with my latest make for Less is More
It's Recipe week this week, and the girls have chosen ......

METAL 

We have to add something made from metal to our designs ....... it can be anything from charms to diecuts, brads to eyelets .... the choice is ours.

Here's mine .......

I've added a cute little metal bird charm ......

and ..... I've also used some gilding flakes, adding a nice metallic finish to the birdcage  ...... not sure if this counts though.

I masked off a section down the side of a piece of white cardstock then added some colour using Distress inks.  The masks were then removed and the Kaisercraft Bird Cage was stamped using Black Versafine ink.
I stamped the bird cage again, moving it slightly to the right of the first image and this time I used IndigoBlu Flitter Glu and then added Sheffield Steel Mega Flakes .....

You can still see some of the black stamped image coming through, adding more detail to the cage.

The sentiment is from Magnolia ........

and the branch at the top is an old Hero Arts stamp.

As always I've finished off the inside too ....

Well, that's another job done for this week ...... still no Tim Tag though - sigh!  Hopefully that's tomorrow's task .... no wait ..... that IS tomorrow's task!  No matter what, it's got to be finished .... last day of the month and all that.  It's also my day to post on the Creative Studios DT blog ...... good job I got my project done today then isn't it! 

Thanks for popping by .... see you all again tomorrow.

Cheerio until then .......

Linda

xx

Slow the week down ... I wanna get off!!

Happy Wednesday nearly Thursday!

It's the middle of the week and the first chance I've had to Blog!  Don't know what I'm doing with my time but I don't seem to have any spare at the moment. Mind you I have spent the last 4 hours caught up in a poker game which the other half was hosting.  Not a great night win wise ....... but at least I didn't lose anything.  The company was good and there was pizza - yum!!

It was a bit of busy weekend too ..... my brother and his family were on the island.  Dinner out on the Friday, craft workshop all day Saturday, with Grandma duties in the evenings.  A spot of retail therapy on Sunday (nothing very exciting .... just my favourite deli and kitchen shop), and finished off with afternoon tea before my brother and his crew went home. All in all, a good weekend.

As we're hurtling towards the end of another month it's the usual mad rush to try and get all the jobs crossed off the 'To Do' list ....... all my DT projects and posts nearly done, the odd birthday card here and there done .... I haven't managed to start my online class yet (sigh!) and I still haven't done my Tim Tag but there's no need to panic just yet ....... I still have 2 full days!

I have got my ATC's done for the monthly Swap that I'm in ..... next month's that is!  Well, I had an idea in my head and decided to play around with it while it was there ........ here's a sneaky peek at what I came up with ......

Oooh la la  ......... can you guess the theme?    No it's not Paris!  It's acutally Anything Goes ... but we have to use stripes and spots.  Think I've got it covered.

I've been busy ticking off the blog challenges this week, and I'll be back later in the week with those.  And it was my day to post on the IndigoBlu Blog today .......

Something nice and bright to get you in the mood for Spring ..... whenever that arrives.

Speaking of IndigoBlu ........ you might be interested to know there's brand new stamps on the website .... so new in fact the DT haven't got them yet!  They're on their way as we speak though.
Kay's back on our screens soon on Create & Craft.  Sunday 9th March ...... I think it's 9am and 3pm ... and some of the new sets will be launching then.  Check out the Nottingham Lace set ...... just gorgeous! and the other one is More than Words ...... it made me giggle!

Oh well, I'm only early Grandma duties in the morning .... Lauren's on a breakfast shift.  Let's hope the little one has a lie in!

Thanks for popping by.  I'll be back sometime tomorrow with a little bit of 'Less is More' I think

Cheerio until then .....

Linda

xx

Going for Gold!

Morning everyone, Happy Friday!

It's February 21st ...... it's 10am  ..... and it's the new IndigoBlu Challenge - yeaah!!

Thanks to everyone that took part in last month's From the Heart challenge ..... we had a fabulous selection of entries.
We have a winner, chosen at random ...... Congratulations this month go to Bianca, entry number 2, a very worthy winner indeed.
And don't forget, we also have our Top 3 Runners up, chosen by the DT ....... If you entered last month pop over to the challenge site ...... one of them could be you!

The theme for this month is .......

GOING FOR GOLD!

Inspired by the Winter Olympics, we thought it would be a good excuse for you to all add a bit of bling to your creations ....... gilding flakes possibly.

Here's my inspiration piece for you ...... keep your standards high girls ... that's my advice.

I've used one of the early IndigoBlu stamp sets ....... Brideshead  It's a really nice collection of vintage images .... you even get a miniature version of Aloysius - soooo cute!!  I've teamed the set up with the gorgeous Vintage Flourish (have I mentioned before how much  I love this stamp!)

I started out by masking off a strip across a piece of white cardstock (finished card size by the way is A5), then added some colour using Distress inks.  I used Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Scattered Straw and finished with just a touch of Mustard Seed - it looks kind of golden coloured.  With the masks still in place I flicked over some clean water and let it sit for a couple of seconds, then removed the excess with kitchen roll.

I then stamped the bank note image from the set using a grey Versafine ink, and stamped off the edge of the card.  Now for the gold touches ...... I used the Vintage Flourish stamped with Flitter Glu, again off the edge of the card, and then added Chariot of Fire Mega Flakes over the top .....

The flakes were used to highlight more of  the stamped images from the Brideshead set ...... the pocket  watch

The champagne label ..... every girl likes a bit of Bolly!!!

And of course the sentiment says it all .....

I finished off by adding the car ...... embossed with clear powder to give it a nice showroom shine ...

And as always I've carried the design over to the inside of the card

Feel like giving it a go? Why not ...... there's another fab prize up for grabs this month.  

Check out the Challenge Blog for more inspiring ideas from the rest of the IndigoBlu DT.   

Thanks for popping by today.  Remember you have until 8pm on March 20th to get your entries in .......What will your take on GOING FOR GOLD be?  Good luck everyone.

Cheerio for now ...... have a great weekend.

LindyLou

xx

Time for Merry Monday .....

Happy Thursday folks!

Busy day ahead ...... there's still quite a bit on the 'To Do' list for this week, and it all needs to be finished by the close of business TODAY!  It's time to lock myself away in the old craft room and get some work done!!
I've a  nice weekend to look forward to though, starting tomorrow ....... my big brother and his family are coming over for the weekend - yeah! That's why I need to get everything done.

It's Merry Monday time again ....... my weekly Christmas card!  Yes I'm still keeping up with this challenge ..... I received another Honorable Mention last week for my Rudolph card,

Thanks ladies ...... it's most appreciated.

The theme this week is .......

Use HOLLY on our cards

I had to think about this one .... then I remembered I had a die that I didn't get around to using when doing last years festive makes (hmmmm .... there's a surprise!) so I thought I'd give it an outing.

The die's from Penny Black - Holly Berries (51-019).  It's a really pretty, delicate die and cuts beautifully.

I used green cardstock, and added the berries using fine red glitter

You can see I've been Fran-taging again (I love this stuff!!)  I stamped my sentiment onto a piece of white cardstock (Penny Black stamp 3243F .....the most)

and then sprinkled the chunky White Embossing Powder around the words, to give the look of snow and add a bit of interest to the background

I cut two of the holly sprigs, and cut one down a little for the front of the card.  Nothing was wasted though as you'll see later.  I added a pretty satin bow to tie them both together

I mat and layered with the traditional red and green colours (to match the holly) and here's where the left over bit went ......

..... to decorate the inside, along with one of my favourite Christmas sentiments .... another from Penny Black.

Well I suppose I'd better get a move on ..... things to do and all that.

Thanks for popping by today, enjoy your Thursday.  

I'll be back tomorrow for the new IndigoBlu Challenge.  If you haven't entered the current one there's still a little bit of time left ..... the theme is From the Heart and you have until 8pm TONIGHT  to get your entries in.  As always there's a great prize up for grabs ...... but you have to be in it to win it!

Cheerio for now ......

Linda

xx

One for the chaps .......

Happy Tuesday!

What's going on ...... not even the middle of the week and my Less is More entry is already done - whoo hoo!!  Am I actually getting organised ......... I don't think so!   These stamps were still on my workdesk and when I saw the theme for this week's challenge I thought let's go for it!

This week's theme is .......

MASCULINE

It doesn't matter what age group ..... as long as the card is for the male gender.

Here's mine ......

This would be perfect for my man ...... he's definitely NOT a morning person.  You're all going to think I've lost the plot now but .... he gets breakfast in bed EVERY morning!  I know, I know ..... he's spoiled rotten, but ..... it's the only way to get him out of there in time for work.

Anyway ...... the cute little bear is Sleeping George from the IndigoBlu Dinkie stamp range ..... and I love him!!!
He's been stamped using Versafine ink so as not to lose any of the detail

and I've highlighted the crown with a touch of gilding flakes.

The decorative strip across the card has been stamped with another IndigoBlu stamp, this one is from the recently launched Good Times set.  It's a fabulous background stamp, so useful too.

The words and the Zz's are from the Bear Hugs set (IndigoBlu again), and finish off the design perfectly.

As usual the insides's been stamped too ...... along with a matching decorative strip

This little guy is actually a mini version of Aloysius which you'll find on one of the early IndigoBlu stamp sets .... Brideshead


I suppose this one could have also been an entry for this week too.......

One of the new Woodware stamps which I just couldn't resist!

We had a brief visit from the sun over the weekend ..... Sunday was a lovely day so we decided to go for a walk.   We found ourselves down in Port Soderick Glen and even though there were no leaves on the trees and it was a little bit on the muddy side it was still very pretty down there .....

We saw the first signs of spring too ......

The daffs are coming!

Little one enjoyed himself wandering in the woods ......

and we finished the afternoon with a stroll on the beach

Port Soderick was once a busy tourist attraction on the island ..... not so much now.  The buildings that remain are all boarded up and abandoned ..... shame really.

Thanks for popping by today, enjoy the rest of your Tuesday.  I'm off to a craft workshop with the lovely ladies in Ballaugh.  It'll be tea, cake and craft all afternoon ..... perfect!

Until next time .....

Crafty hugs

Linda

xx

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer ......

Morning ..... (it is still morning I think ..... just!)

Happy Sunday ....
No I haven't gone mad and started singing Christmas carols in the middle of February ...... I have however been making Christmas cards again ..... well one more to be exact (that'll be number 6 though in the ever growing collection!)

It's for the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge, and this week the theme is ........

USE AN ANIMAL on your Christmas cards

Hmmm ...... festive furrry or feathered friends ...... there's so many to choose from.  In the end there could be only one for me ............ RUDOLPH!

Just look at those eyes ......... how cute is he!!  It's a stamp by Hampton Art (Rudolph  4611) and I think he's still available if there's anyone out there who, like me, just has to have him in their collection.  

He's been stamped onto white cardstock using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then coloured in using Copic Markers .....

 

His nose of course, had to have the glitter treatment ........ well he does have 'a very shiny nose' and I also added a touch of fine crystal glitter onto his coat ..... trust me it is there, I didn't do a very good job of picking it up on camera ......

The background card has been stamped with some snowflakes to add a bit more interest, and then I added some co-ordinating red ribbon tied with a couple of jingle bells on some baker's twine .....

Following on with the same reindeer theme, the inside of the card has been decorated too ....

I used the snowflakes again, added the small Santa which is from Clarity, and the words are a Penny Black stamp (3901E ......to all)

I love how he's turned out ......... I might just have to make a few more!   I hope you like him too.

It's been a busy few weeks in the old craft room, I'm hoping things are going to ease off a little ..... for a while at least! I want some 'Crafting for ME' time.

There's been quite a bit of talk in blogland recently of the Online Card Class .... Stenciled.  I've seen quite a bit of the homework from blog friends that have signed up and done this class and it looks like fun.  So ....... I know I'm a bit late and I missed working along with the 4 day class live, but you can sign up anytime and get access to all the tutorials and videos etc., and seeing as I have a box full of stencils that I don't seem to use that often,  I've taken the plunge and signed up, I'm going to give it a go ...... yes I'm going back to school!!  I'll let you know how I get on.

It's a beautiful day here on the Isle of Man ....... haven't said that in a while.  After a bit of a lazy start it might be nice to get out and about and enjoy the sunshine (while it lasts!)

Thanks for popping by today, enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

Cherrio until next time ......

Linda

xx

Another magazine article ......

Happy Valentine's Day ........

Have you all been opening lots of Valentine's cards today ....... no ..... me neither!  After nearly 28 years I think hubby and I are past all that (Valentine cards ........... it's a medal I need!!! .....  Sorry sweetheart if you're reading this ..... you know I love you dearly xxx)

Has anyone seen the latest editon of Papercraft Essentials? .... Issue 104. 

There's a rather good piece in there all about the Dinkie Range of stamps from IndigoBlu ........... written by the lovley Kay Halliwell-Sutton and ....... yours truly!!

The Dinkie stamps are fab ..... really good sized images and they're only £4.99!!  I just love Sleeping George
 he's sooo cute....... great for men's cards too

If you fancy a read, the magazine is on sale now ..... you get a free embossing folder and co-ordinating stamps too!

Thanks for popping by today.
It's looking more wintery outside as the afternoon goes on ...... I think it may just be snowing up on the mountains!  The old craft room is nice and cosy though ...... time to get all festive I think with this week's make for Merry Monday.  See you over the weekend with the results.

Cheerio until next time ......

Linda

xx

Blowing in the wind .......

Helloooo,

We had a bit of wild night last night ...... no I'm not talking about a Walmsley Wednesday again.  
Windy doesn't come into it.  In fact all the schools on the island cancelled their after school clubs, evening classes were cancelled, flights didn't go and of course the ferries were cancelled because of the weather.   Some of the gusts actually shook our house.   
I very nearly had a Mary Poppins moment at one point ..... the other half and I had to do battle with the garden brolly ..... and we lost ...... miserably!  I've been saying for a while we need new garden furniture ..... well we do now!!! 

I said yesterday I'd be back with my Less is More entry for this week ......and here it is

It's the dreaded ONE LAYER WEEK ....... and the theme is

ANYTHING GOES!

I actually don't mind the One Layer Weeks anymore ..... it's the 'anything goes' that's the hard part.  And One Layer Cards can sometimes take the longest time to produce ...... no mistakes allowed.  Surprisingly this was only my second attempt ..... it usually takes me a lot more before I get one right!!

I took inspiration for the design from one of the brand new JOFY stamps ..... one from her Minis range.  I spotted them whilst checking out the new stuff over at Country View Crafts (better get the bank card ready - it's going to get expensive!)

I used the Burlap panel from the IndigoBlu stamp set - Sarah's Choice and stamped it using Vintage Sepia Versafine ink.

I then overstamped the leaves, from the Hero Arts Clear stamp set - Delicate Leaf Clusters in black.

The words are from the Simple Sayings set from Mr Holtz

Like I said, this was my second attempt ..... the first one ended up with the dreaded black finger mark on it (arggghhh!).  All was not lost though ....... a cheeky little wooden button did the job in covering it up ....

but ...... now it was no longer one layer ...... so I had to do another one.   I got there in the end.

It's been a little bit calmer on the island today, thank goodness.  The wind's still blowing mind, just not as strong - yet!!!

Thanks for popping by today.  I do hope the weather's being kind where you are ....... stay safe and warm.

Cheerio until next time ......

Linda

xx