Only just made it with this one .....

Evening folks,

Happy Thursday nearly Friday.

I can't believe that its over a week since I blogged ...... so much has happened!
I've been away and come back, been on a fabulous craft retreat (can't tell you too much about that yet as there's still some days left .... it wouldn't be fair on the ladies that have yet to attend).   Caught up with a good friend, had a fabulous day, lunch out and a bit of a craft session thrown in too.   It was our wedding anniversary yesterday (26 years) and Chris has had his Uni results (all good!!!  I'm one proud Mum!) .... oh and my laptop is playing up again - oh joy!  One of the reasons for not blogging ..... I'm having to use the MacBook and I DONT LIKE IT!!!!!

Anyway ..... the reason for me biting the bullet and doing this late post is ...... yes you've guessed it ..... it's the last day of the month (last 40 minutes to be exact!)  so it has to be my Tag for Tim's 12 Tags of 2014.  What a rush this has been ...... omg!!!  But the important thing is I made it .... just!

Here's what Tim gave us to work from ...... gorgeous!!!

and here's my version ......

I won't go into all the details, you can find them on Tim's blog.  I will say though that this was so much fun to do, even though I was working against the clock.

The sea horse is so cute .....

And making my own sand was fun ..... I did think about cheating and getting some from Douglas beach but it wouldn't have been the same

The shell's real ..... that did come from the beach

At least I got it done, I didn't think I was going to .... now I just need to upload it onto Tim's site.

There's quite a bit going on family wise at the moment but hopefully everything will calm down soon and I'll be back to normal in the old craft room, and here on the blog.

Thanks for popping by ..... sorry its a bit short and sweet.

I won't say enjoy the rest of Thursday there's not much left.  If you're reading this before you go to bed ....  Night Night! Sleep Tight!  Or ..... if it's first thing Friday ..... good morning to you, have a great day!

Cheerio until next time ...

Linda

xx

Catching up with Merry Monday

Happy Wednesday!

It's another gorgeous day here on the island ..... perfect weather for travelling!
Travelling?? .... am I off somewhere again?
Well ...... I could possibly be flying off to Gatwick later this afternoon, meeting up with my lovely buddy Susan, to spend a few days in the south of England.  We're off to a craft retreat at the end of the week and I can't wait!!!

A bit of a problem this morning though, well yesterday actually .... hubby's car wouldn't start, again!!!
We left the car on the drive when we went to Vegas.  When we got back, he tried to start the car, to run Lauren and the little man home, and there was nothing ...... zilch! completely dead! 
It took a day to charge the thing ..... and it's been fine, sort of.  We haven't really been that far over the weekend .... not that there's far to go anyway on the island (it's only about 33 miles long, and 13 miles wide!)
Anyway, yesterday morning, he was dropping me in town on his way to work ....... came to start the car, and it was having none of it ...... flat as a pancake again!!! 
So ..... it's gone to the garage this morning and they've said he'll have it back by lunchtime.  Fingers crossed I hope they're right, he's supposed to be taking me to the airport later ...... I don't like getting a cab on my own!

Before all that though, I need to finish the ironing, tidy the place before I leave, and catch up with the Merry Monday challenges that I've missed while I was on holiday.  This could take a while!!

This week it's Challenge #118 ..... and it's all about using ribbons and buttons ......

It's hard thinking of Christmas designs when we've got this gorgeous weather to enjoy, but it seems that's all I've done since the old craft room re-opened.  Here's the latest one .....

I've used this cute little wintery scene again from Hero Arts, stamped in navy Memento ink (Paris Dusk I think it's called).

It's such a cute little stamp, it hardly needs anything else.  I've just added a sentiment,

some navy satin ribbon, and a button for the challenge.

A touch of fine crystal glitter ..... well, it is a Christmas card  ...... finishes off the design

And of course the inside has been decorated too ..... using the brand new Snowflake Lace from IndigoBlu

I missed 2 challenges while I was away, but I decided to make the cards anyway.  The first week was Challenge  # 116 ..... use shades of green and white

I went with Mistletoe .... that's green and white, and I ended up with 2

I know there's a cheeky bit of red on there, I couldn't resist

Then week # 117 was all about using sequins ...... not something I use a lot of, if any to be honest

I dug some out of my craft stash and gave it a go .....

I used one of my favourite Tim Holtz stamp sets ...... Deco Christmas (CMS176) and added a few white sequins to give the look of falling snow.

Phew!! That's me up to date with Merry Monday ..... for now! 

Thanks for popping by .... have a lovely day.  I'm off now to charge the laptop, do the last bit of packing then I need to get myself ready.  I think I may just sneak an hour in the sun first though!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Singing in the Rain at Less is More

Morning folks!!

Happy Tuesday!
The holiday is well and truly over ..... and I'm finally back on UK time - hooray!!!

Some of you may have been thinking I'd decided to stay in Las Vegas due to the lack of posts last week ..... as nice as that may sound, no I haven't thrown caution to the wind and taken up a life of poker (been there, done that, got the TShirt!)  I am back on the island, and glad to be home.  Although it's not for long ..... I'm off again tomorrow - whoo hoo!!  Another reason why there wasn't much going on here last week ...... I was washing and ironing for England so that I can pack my suitcase again ready for another little trip. More about that later.

One thing I did miss while I was away was my blog challenges.  I've been busy over the weekend trying to get back into the swing of things, however the old mojo isn't back up to speed yet.
I did have a lovely day on Saturday, catching up with some of my crafty buddies, so we're getting there.  Just as well really as I've got a pile of DT stuff mounting up!

Speaking of Design Teams, I'm so pleased to say that I've made it onto the Craft Stamper Challenge DT for a second term ..... whoo hoo (again)!!

 It's my favourite Craft mag and I'm so proud to be part of such a talented bunch!  Anyway .... get on with it Linda! (I can hear you)

Today's little crafty piece is for one of my favourite challeneges ...... Less is More.  I thought I'd start with something clean and simple.

It's a Theme week, and the girls have decided to go with using a song title to trigger the old imagination, and the song is ......

Singing in the Rain

 ........ are you humming along yet?

I've been dying to use this stamp ...... Dance in the Rain from Inkylicious, and this was the perfect excuse.

Very CAS, lots of white space ..... and one of my favourite sayings (so true)

The image and the words were both stamped using Black Versafine, then I stamped the brolly again using a red ink, fussy cut it and layered it over the top.  I used a white gell pen to add the spots, and Glossy Accents for the raindrops

I repeated the design on the inside and added a layer of red card to finish off.

Well ... I've made a start.
Maybe this coming weekend will give the old mojo the kick up the behind that it needs ...... I'm off on a craft retreat and I can't wait!!!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off into town this morning, usual stuff ..... bank, post office, food shopping (boring!!) but,  I am meeting a friend for coffee and cake later, and the summer sales are on so who knows, I may just grab a bargain (or not!!)

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Only 156 days to go ...... until Christmas!!!

Good morning everyone,

Happy Monday to you all ......  
Yes I'm back from my holidays, and just about over the jet lag!

It's the 21st of the month again and that means the launch of a brand new challenge over at IndigoBlu.

Before I give you this month's theme though, Congratulations go to .......

Claire C

our winner from last month's Tag You're It! challenge. Well done Clare ..... enjoy your prize!
As always there were some fabulous entries, thanks to everyone that joined in.

I know it's only July but ..... have you started thinking about your Christmas projects yet?  Well now's your chance.  This month's challenge theme is all about ......

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Ho! Ho! Ho! and all that .... it's time to get festive.  There's even some brand new IndigoBlu Christmas designs for you too, all available on the website.  I've used a couple of them on my inspiration piece for you today ......

The pretty new Snowflake Lace ...... a beautiful new background design, and the cute little Dinkie Merry Christmas Circle  (popular stamps with the rest of the Design Team too!)

I started by cutting a piece of white cardstock 5x5 inches square and added a touch of colour around the edges using a couple of shades of blue distress inks - Broken China and Stormy Sky.  I then flicked a little water over the top, let it sit for a few seconds, then mopped up the excess using kitchen roll.

I then stamped the Snowflake Lace over the top half of the card, using Majestic Blue Versafine ink, then sprinkled with a sparkly clear embossing powder

I then cut a layer of navy cardstock, and using the Snowflake Lace again, I stamped part of the design randomly around the edge using Versamark ink.  I then dusted over the image with a pearlescent white chalk

Next, I stamped the Dinkie Merry Christmas Circle onto white card, using the blue Versafine again and embossed as before

I mat this onto a larger circle of navy card, and attached it underneath the snowflakes.

I added a satin ribbon bow, and some clear crystal gemstones to give the look of a hanging bauble

A few more gems dotted here and there on the front of the card, and of course some of the design on the inside finishes everything off nicely .......

Now it's your turn ....... come on, let's get into the Christmas spirit ...... Ho! Ho! Ho!
You have until 8pm on August 20th to get your entries in ...... have fun and Good Luck!  Oh ..... and Merry Christmas (sorry .... couldn't resist!)

Thanks for popping by.  Have a great week.

Cheerio until next time

LindyLou

xx

Day 10 ...... the holiday is nearly over (sigh!)

Hello again from Sin City ......

Yes, our little trip to Las Vegas is slowly coming to an end ..... but we're finishing it with a bang!!

We've had another few busy days ...... well, I should say nights really.  We've been playing a lot of cards in the Venetian Poker Room until the early hours ...... hubby's not been doing too badly, me on the other hand ..... not so good!  Lady luck has not been with me at all ...... I'm just lucky that hubby doesn't mind me losing his hard earned cash!!!!  I had fun though.

It was Stephen's birthday on Thursday too ....... the last one before the BIG 50!  What a place to spend it eh!  He even got birthday cards .........

I managed to sneak them into the luggage then hide them away in the hotel room.
One from me (a bit quick and easy I know but I was running out of time .....)

One from the kids .....

And even the little man remembered ......

Not sure if you know but hubby is a bit of a country music fan, and one of his favourite songs is Toby Keith's 'I Love this Bar' ....... well,  there just happens to be an 'I Love This Bar' Bar on the strip, in Harrah's hotel.  So .... where did we spend Friday night .... oh yes ....... you guessed!

We had beer and far too many of these things ......

(Sorry about the picture quality but it was late and this was the third one!!!)  Yes, we were drinking cocktails from a mason jar  ..... a large mason jar ..... 32oz in fact!!!  As you can probably imagine I didn't see much of Saturday morning!!!  Reading through the text conversation I was having with Lauren back home, while we were in the bar ..... sounds like we had a good night though! 

Saturday night was a good one too .... we had tickets to see the fabulous Shania Twain in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace

She was amazing .... what a show!  I loved every minute, what a fantastic entertainer she is

We'd been told before the show no cameras, videos or mobile phones but people didn't seem to take any notice, and after Shania actually spent about 25 minutes in the audience having pictures taken etc.,  I took a few pictures at the end .....

Another great night in Vegas!

We've only got tomorrow(Sunday), and Monday morning left.   On Monday afternoon we have to check out and start our long journey home.  It's been fun though!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Can you 'Resist' a challenge?

Happy Friday folks!

Have you 'resisted' the current Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge?  There's still time to join in you know ...... as always there's a fab prize up for grabs ...... this month's sponsors are WOW! Embossing Powders

The winner of this month's challenge will receive a set of the latest, brand new Embossing Glitters in 6 fabulous mouthwatering colours and, not only that ...... the winner gets their work published in the best craft magazine on the market too!

I'm still living it up in Las Vegas ..... we've got a few more days left yet to enjoy the fun .... boy is it HOT!!!! over here though.  That'll teach me to come to the desert in July!

Not one to miss out on all the Take It Make It Challenge fun though,  I've got another inspiration piece for you today using the Embossing Resist technique

I've used the Stylised Flowers from IndigoBlu as my embossed image ...... stamped onto white cardstock using Versamark ink then embossed with a WOW Detail White embossing powder.

I then added my colours to the background using Distress inks ...... starting with the blue shades at the bottom and blending into the purple towards the top.  See how the embossing 'resists' the ink.  Once the colour has been applied to the background, to make the image pop that little bit more, polish over the top of the embossing just to remove any left over ink.

The moon was created by adding a punched paper circle onto the card before starting with the Distress inks

The sentiment is from Inkylicious, stamped with Black Versafine ink, across the top of the card.  And the silhouette grasses across the bottom are from an IndigoBlu set of stamps that make up part of the current Craft Stamper Subscription gift ...... stamped using Black versafine again, first and second generation stamping.

 
I must confess that the little butterfly was a last minute add on ...... a cover up!   You know the sort of thing I mean.  You've just about finished your design, you're really pleased with how it turned out then ..... from out of nowhere there's a black mark ...... a dirty great ink smudge, and there's nothing you can do to remove it .... argghhh!!!!

Butterfly to the rescue ..... I stamped the little guy onto the card (to cover the black mark) then stamped him again onto a separate piece of card, coloured with the Distress inks.  I cut him out and layered him over the top, raising one of the wings slightly to give a touch of dimension ......

Problem solved!  A great little cover up ..... saves doing the whole design from scratch again.

As always the design has been carried on inside the card ...... same colours of Distress, used the moon again and stamped the Stylised Flowers.

A bit of layering with some black cardstock and a touch of glitter to the flowers on the front is the finishing touch.

Now it's your turn.  You have until Wednesday 23rd July to get your entries in, and the winner will be announced on Friday 25th.  Can you 'resist'?  Good luck everyone.

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

Cheerio from Vegas!

Linda

xx

What a show .....

Happy Wednesday ....... oops! sorry it's Thursday over there isn't it

Well, whatever day it is when you're reading this ..... I hope it's a good one.

We've had a lazy day today (Wed) ..... it was a bit of a late one last night!!!

We ventured over to the Rio Hotel yesterday for a peek at what was going on at the WSOP (World Series of Poker)  Not very exciting really .... just a load of people playing cards ..... with A LOT of money at stake!

Then last night was dinner and a show, and we finished the day with a bit of fun on the Poker tables ..... if you can call it fun!  As usual I took a beating early on ...... think I have a good hand, get all my money in, but by the time the river (final) card comes out I ain't winning anymore!!  
I do have patience though (and hubby has the cash!) ...... and by the time we left at 3.30am  things weren't too bad ..... phew!!!

The show we saw was Rock of Ages ......... and we had a great time.

A classic Rock love story ..... great music, brilliant cast,  and hilarious script ........ we had great seats too!

pictures taken from Google

Today's been a little quieter ..... we watched the football (not as exciting as yesterday's game), relaxed at the hotel, and now it's time to choose where to go for dinner ...... it's a hard life!!

Until next time ......... Cheerio from Las Vegas!

Linda

xx

Tag ...... You're it!! Have you entered yet?

Good morning from Las Vegas, and happy Wednesday,

I think it's just about Wednesday here ..... we're eight hours behind you guys so it's the early hours of the morning when this post actually goes live ..... and I'm probably fast asleep (or sat at a Poker table possibly!)

Yes, I'm still on my holidays .... enjoying the sun and having loads of fun in Sin City (What happens in Vegas ... stays in Vegas and all that!)  But, I actually have a craft post for you today.  With the wonders of Blogger it means that I can still join in the fun with the rest of the Design Team and give you all a quick reminder that the current Blog Challenge from IndigoBlu is still up and running.  The theme for this month is .....

Tag You're It!!

We've already had some fabulous entries ..... but we want to see more!   As the title suggests, we want to see your TAG designs.   They can be gift tags, tag books, tag cards, a tag on a card.  Large tags, small tags, hinged tags, a tag on a tag ...... or how about a right old collection of tags, made into a wall hanging .......

The good thing about tags is you can use up all those left over bits from previous projects ...... no need to throw away pieces of card, just trim off the corners, punch a hole, and make a tag!  Arrange a few together and create a theme.  Mine is sort of a favourite IndigoBlu stamp/Friendship theme, but it could be anything at all.

This actually started out as a large 8x8 card, but by the time I'd finished I felt it was a little too heavy for a card, so I changed it into a wall hanging.

I started out by gathering a few tags together and played around with the layout before I thought about decorating them. 

I created my background card using a piece of Kraft cardstock, inked it around the edge using Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress inks and then splashed some ink across the card using a paintbrush.

With the script background from Sarah's Choice I then stamped randomly over the card using Versamark ink,  and then attached it to the front of an 8x8 cardblank, along with a layer of black card.

Now for the fun part ..... decorating the tags.

I cut my tags in various sizes and used some of my favourite IndigoBlu stamps to decorate them before arranging them onto my background card.

Jane had to be on there somewhere ....... I've also used the Diamond stencil and words from Sarah's Choice

And finished it off with a crinkle ribbon bow, dyed using Worn Lipstick Distress ink

Amongst other IndigoBlu stamps, I used that sentiment again ..... you know the one I mean, my favourite from the B.F.F. set

I filled in some of the space with a piece of card left over from another project .....

This beautiful rose is from the Clockworks stamp set, along with the cogs stamped on the tiny tag

And of course I had to use the Vintage Flourish somewhere ....... you all know how much I love this stamp

Stamped with Flitter Glu and flaked using Lancashire Rose

Once all the tags were done I attached them over the background and finished off with some string bows and some wire to hang it by.

Tag You're It! ...... Now it's your turn.

You've got until 8pm on July 20th to get your entries in, so come on get tagging!  Just think you could be our next winner, and be a guest on the IndigoBlu Blog.  Have fun and good luck!

Thanks for popping by .... don't forget to check out more inspiration pieces on the blog today from the rest of the Design Team.

Cheerio from Vegas .......

photo from Google

LindyLou

xx