It's never too early for a Christmas carol ........

Happy weekend,

Have you got snow?  Ours has all disappeared (sigh!).  It came down on Wednesday evening, and disappeared on Thursday.  It stuck around on the mountains a little while longer but even that's all gone today.
If you've got a covering of the white stuff ..... stay cosy and warm.  Why not join in the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge ..... it's definitely the weather for it!

This week it's all about Carol Singers or Music ....... 'deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la laaa la la la la!'

(ooops .... sorry for the ear worm!)

It's going to be those trees all over again (used on nearly every card from last year!!) .... only this time it's my little carol singing mice .......

Yes they're having another outing on this weeks entry ...... to be honest they were never put away from the Critters week!!

A bit of a different look though ...... I've kept their colours to neutral shades with a little splash of red

The words and music is a Clarity Stamp ...... I've stamped it directly onto the white card, then stamped it again on a separate piece, and embossed it using a clear powder.

I then cut away the words leaving just the band of music.  Colour was added using Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress inks, and then it was layered over the top onto the finished card

The final touch was to add the holly leaves ..... stamped, coloured with Copic markers, then cut out and attached to the edge of my snowy scene

I kept the inside clean and simple .....

more holly, and one of my favourite sentiments from Clarity Stamps.

Well .... that's January nearly over. The 'To Do' list has been done so I can have a nice relaxing weekend.  I don't even have to cook this evening, it's take away for tea ..... the football's on! Important game this evening ........ VERY important!!!  My boys in blue (Chelsea) are taking on Man City.  We're currently 5 points clear at the top of the table, and we'd like to make the gap bigger!!! So maybe this evening won't be so relaxing after all ...... tense I think would be a better description.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your weekend.

Cheerio until next time ........See you in February!

Linda

xx

It's time to do it all again ....... the first Tag of 2015!

Hi there .... me again!

Twice in one day! .... whatever next!?  You've probably guessed what's coming ...... after all, the last day of the month is fast approaching, and that can only mean one thing in the old craft room ..... yep! I'm doing it all again this year ...... Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2015 ..... yeah!!

I know!......I know! .......  I said I wasn't going to leave them until the end of the month this time but, it hasn't been the best start to the year, what with one thing and another.  At least I've done it .... and there's still a whole day left!!!

This was Tim's inspiration ..... a nice but of bling to start 2015!

It's not my favourite tag, I must admit ..... but it is full of fab techniques.  I won't go into detail here but if you'd like to see how it was all put together there's a great, easy to follow, step by step guide over on Tim's Blog

Here's my version .....

I gave my tag more of a pinky tone to it (sorry about the picture .... no natural light!)

My glitter is a mix of Antique Linen Distress Glitter and a bronze shade from my stash, and you can see I've used an Idea-ology Pen nib instead of the arrow ..... I only had the large ones left in my stash and they were a little too big! (note to self ..... order another pack of the metal arrows!)

I used lots of the Chit Chat stickers .....

And I think I was a little heavy handed on the spritzing of the Gold pen ..... but it works.  The tag is lovely and shiny in real life!

Well, that's January's tag done ......... let's see if I can get February's finished a little earlier in the month shall we!

By the way, look what popped through my letterbox this morning whilst I was out .......

...... lovely new stash!!!!  Guess what I'll be doing this weekend, if I get the chance!!!

Thanks for popping by ...... have a fabulous weekend, whatever you're up to.  And ... if you've got snow, then stay warm and stay safe!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Well ..... was it you?

Happy Friday folks!

Just a quick post this morning ...... I'm going AWOL from my old craft room, to spend the day in someone else's craft space .... always fun!  We're going to be playing with Brusho's I think ..... can't wait!!

Anyway ....... before I go, I want to remind all you lovely, talented people that entered the January Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge ...... all 181 of you ........ that the challenge is now closed.
The winner of that MAHOOSIVE  prize has been randomly chosen, and this morning you can find out who that lucky person is ............... over on the Craft Stamper Blog ..... it might be you!!!

Not only that, there's the 'Design Winner' ..... they will get their artwork in the magazine, and have a Winners Profile on the Blog ..... AND ...... there's a list of winners from the Blog Hop too.
Remember ..... there was a prize up for grabs on each of the DT Blog Hop posts ..... someone was randomly chosen from the comments left on each post and they'll receive one of those fabulous mixed media substrate packs, and the original piece of artwork from the author of the blog.

OK .... all the names from my post went into a hat (it's not mine!!!)........ by the way, huge thanks to everyone that left me a comment, it was so much fun reading them all.

Then once the Blog Hop was closed, hubby put his hand in there .....

gave them a good old shake up ........ and chose the winner

Congratulations to  .......

Yeah!!!  Well done Nikki ......... 

Nikki Acton28 January 2015 at 11:24

I do hope so! Lovely stamping ans great creation. Nikki x

It certainly is your day!   Enjoy your box of goodies and I hope you like the calendar.

Congratulations go to all the winners, and thanks to everyone for taking part in the challenge and Blog Hop.  I hope you all had as much fun as the Design Team did.

Don't forget the next TIMI challenge starts a week from today (Friday 6th Feb).  It's the turn of 'Take a Technique' ........ I do hope you'll join in the fun.

Thanks for popping by ...... time to get tonight's dinner in the slow cooker before I go out!

Cheerio until next time.

Linda

xx

It's Sketch time ........

Happy Wednesday!

Middle of the week already .... and it's February on Sunday ..... where the heck did January go??!
Another case of 'time flies when you're having fun'!!

The island is bracing itself again today ....... with strong winds, rain and possibly snow on the way, the ferries have been cancelled again!  It's time to batten down the hatches and retreat to the old craft room I think.

It's Sketch time over at Less is More ....... for this week's challenge this is what we have to follow ....

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

I used the Hardwood background stamp from Stampin Up for the panel down the side ...... masked off a section of the card, stamped the image using Grey Flannel Memento ink, then added some colour with Weathered Wood Distress Ink

The words are from Tim Holtz (Simple Sayings)

And the pretty butterflies are my favourite IndigoBlu design that came free on a Craft Stamper magazine some time ago ......

I stamped the image directly onto the white cardstock, overlapping the stamped panel,  then overlaid the actual butterflies with ones stamped onto scraps of inked card from my 'bit box'

As always I added a little of the design to the inside ....

Same stamps, same techniques .....

If you read my blog at the weekend you might remember I was toying with the idea of a little Giveaway .......... when I reach 200 followers.  Well, there's not that far to go ..... there's already 190 of you!
When we top the 200 mark (once I've picked myself up off the floor!) ....... I'll do a random draw ...... and one of you will get your hands on this little lot ......

My way of saying 'Thank You' for spending time here.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day. And if the weather's a bit on the wintry side where you are ..... stay warm!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

CAS-ology ...... Friend

Happy Monday!

Here we go again .... another week.  Lets see if I can do a little better with the old blogging this week shall we!

We'll start the week with a last minute entry for the challenge over at CAS-ology.  This was a brand new challenge for me last week and seeing as I got an Honorable Mention for my first entry (thanks ladies!) I thought it was only right that I should play along again.

This week the cue card was .......

Here's what I came up with ......

I've been having a play with new stash ..... the cute little soft caress die from Penny Black.  It's a great little die, perfect for Valentine's ....... which is approaching fast, but you can use this anytime ..... weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, just because cards, and of course for those special people ........ FRIENDS

I stamped my background onto a piece of white card, using Vintage Sepia Versafine ink and the hessian panel from IndigoBlu's Sarah's Choice stamp set.
I then stamped my sentiment underneath ..... how true are those words!?

I cut the full die from green cardstock and then cut the hearts again, twice from red.
I layered the hearts together over the top of the green and then gave them a coating of Versamark ink followed by  Clear UTEE.  I heated this and added a tiny sprinkling of crystal glitter before the embossing powder cooled

Look at the sparkle and shine .... so pretty!

I attached this over the stamped panel and finished off by adding a few inksplats.

For the inside of the card, I used the left over piece of card from my die cut, as a stencil

and added colour using Distress Inks.

Well, that's Monday done.  I hope this week is a little less busy than last, we've no birthdays to celebrate at least .... although we do have a housewarming party to go to on Friday evening.  There's the doctors on Wednesday morning, I need to go to the bank at some point, so that means a look around the shops too, oh and there's coffee and craft with friends on Friday morning ........ not such a quiet week after all!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx 

From our house to yours ........

Happy Sunday folks!

How's your weekend going?

First off I'd like to say Hello and Welcome to my latest followers ..... thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, it's nice to have you with me.
I can't believe I'm up to 190 ..... when I get to the 200 mark maybe we can have a little Giveaway perhaps, what do you think!?

What have I been up to since I last blogged ..... well ....... Lauren's home from her little break in the UK so that means Grandma duties are no longer a priority.
Chris is now 25 (ooooh! ...... that makes me feel old!!) He's finally come through the celebration night (which was Friday by the way!)  The 'mother of all hangovers' got the better of him yesterday I think! 
Oh, and ..... we've been looking at new houses ....... AGAIN!!!
You would think we'd have had enough of this moving lark by now ..... but, because everyone's back at home permanently now, we really need somewhere bigger!!
Bigger house .... means bigger craft room (hopefully!)  We've seen a couple of possibilities ...... and had a viewing on ours so things are underway.

I had a nice surprise this morning too ..... I found out I was one of the lucky winners of Darnell's third NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) Challenge .......

If you don't know Darnell you should pop over to her blog, make a cuppa first though, and have a good old read!  You'll find all sorts of goodies on there, probably cry with laughter at some of the posts, and find loads of inspiration too ........ be prepared to spend a while!

Anyway .... the main reason I'm here today is this week's Merry Monday Challenge (there's only a few hours left .....eeek!)

The theme this week is ......

 Houses

I'm still in my CAS phase I think ........ which isn't a bad thing

I love this tiny winter scene ....... I think it's from Stampendous but I wouldn't swear to it

And I've no idea about the sentiment .... I think it came from a sale bin years ago, but I love it!

I did all the stamping, added a touch of colour to the house using Spectrum Noir pencils then masked off the section above the scene.  I used Distress Ink to colour the sky, spritzed with a little water then finished off with some Fran-tage chunky white embossing powder for the falling snow

A little of the same inside ....... and jobs done!!

I suppose I'd better get on over to Merry Monday and get my entry in before the deadline runs out. Then it's decision time ..... do I go and make a start on the mountain of ironing that's been growing since Wednesday, venture into the garage to make a start on sorting through the stuff that's been piling up in there (that's what hubby said we should be doing this weekend) or, go into the old craft room and see if I can get any further with my art journal ..... hmmm tricky one that!  Craft room here I come!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

A touch of red ........

Good Morning!  Happy Wednesday!

It's the 21st of the month, it's 10 o'clock and it's the launch of the first new challenge of the year over at IndigoBlu.

We had some fabulous entries at the end of last year,  for the Glamour & glitz challenge. Congratulations to Shelagh, our first winner of the year ...... enjoy your prize!

Our first challenge of 2015 is all about ......

 A Touch of Red

Perfect for all those Valentine cards maybe, that we're going to need in February.

I'm still not back in the full swing of things with my DT work but, you know me, a touch of red is one of my favourite colour ways ...... I love to team it up with black and white.   And, there's a perfect stamp in the brand new IndigoBlu/Limor Webber collection that's just been released at CHA ....... so I couldn't resist having a play for this challenge ......

Looking at the Challenge Blog this morning, a few of the DT have had the same idea ...... we've used the same stamp but that's great because each design is so different.  Just shows how colour can change things so easily.

I've gone for a bit of a layered look and added in some old book pages for the background.

I stuck the pages onto a piece of white card using IndigoBlu's Slap It On ....... I coated the white card, put the book pages on the top, then sealed them with another layer of Slap It On.

Once it was all dry, I added a touch of colour around the edge using Distress ink

I then stamped the Limor Splattered Heart in the centre and embossed with a Clear, fine detail powder

I stamped and embossed the image again onto a piece of white card, and cut out the centre heart.

I painted it using the English Cottage Artist's Acrylic Paint, in the gorgeous Ruby Slippers, and then shaped it a little using a large embossing tool

This was then attached over the original image using foam pads to add dimension.

To finish off I did a bit of mat and layering with some red, black and white card and then added a few more splatters to the design using the Ruby Slippers paint 

I didn't think it needed any words on the front, but I did, as always, add a little something to the inside

A bit of torn book page, applied as before, and inked around the edge.  And finished off by using just part of  Limor's Heart stamp to add the splatters.

Hope you like it ..... now it's your turn.
You can find more inspiration over on the IndigoBlu Challenge Blog ..... the DT have been busy with lots of ideas to get you started.
You have until 8pm on 20th February to get your entries in ...... so get those stamps out and start creating.  Have fun!

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

Cheerio until next time

Happy stamping!

LindyLou

xx

Friendship isn't a big thing .........

Happy Monday folks!

It's going to be a busy week this week, I'm having to squeeze in some time in the old craft room whilst the little man is at nursery ..... then blog in the evenings once he's in bed!   His mum's having a few days away so Grandma's in charge!  HaHa!! who am I kidding ..... not too sure who the boss is exactly when he's around!

Any how, this morning I took the opportunity to enter this week's Less is More Challenge.  It's a Theme Week, and it's all about ........

FRIENDS

We can use any aspect of friendship for our design but, it has to be Clean and Simple (CAS) of course, with lots of white space.

Here's mine ...... wasn't too sure about it at first so I put it to one side for a while.  It's growing on me a little now!

The words for this weeks card weren't a problem, I knew exactly which stamp to reach for ........ IndigoBlu's B.F.F.  I love this stamp!!!

 I then stamped the ladybug friends just above, and added a little colour using Spectrum Noir pencils ..... cute!!

I also added a touch of sparkle using a Clear Wink of Stella pen, just to their spots .... you can just about see it in the picture ... trust me though, it's there! 

I also stamped some of the image on the inside too ....... wouldn't be me if I didn't!!

As I said, I wasn't too happy with the first attempt so here's card number 2 ....... same words, but this time I went with a more delicate, feminine look .....

I masked off a section of the card, then added some colour using Distress inks.  I then stamped the sentiment underneath 

The birds on a branch are from the Stampin Up World of Dreams set, and they've been stamped slightly over the edge of the inked panel, using a navy Memento ink.

To add a bit more interest to the design I embossed some lines top and bottom of the inked panel to act as a frame

And of course there's a little something on the inside .....

Well, that's Monday over ..... only 3 more sleeps until Lauren's home!

Thanks for popping by ....... enjoy your week, I hope it's a good one!

Before I go, a quick reminder that there's still time to get your entries in for this months Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge ...... have you seen the prize!!!!! (I wish I could enter!)
We've already had a record number of entries this month but there's time for more. And, just in case you haven't heard, there's a Craft Stamper Challenge Blog Hop going on too.... with more fab prizes up for grabs there.
Yours truly is part of the hop ....  thanks to everyone so far who has hopped over and left comments, and thank you to my new followers too who have taken the time to join me, I really appreciate it!  To find out more and join in the fun, why not check out Friday's post.

Cheerio until next time .......

Linda

xx

Ooooh ...... there's another blog Challenge that these will fit into.  Thank you to the lovely Sarah (aka Sazzle Dazzle) from Less is More  for the tip off. 

So .... I'm entering the latest Uniko Studio Challenge which is all about ......

Love and Friendship

I must admit this is a new company to me, but looking at their website I can see we'll be getting to know each other very soon!

TTFN!