Phew! That was close!

Happy weekend folks,

I see I have another new follower ........ we're getting closer to that 200 Giveaway!  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit, it is nice to have you on board.

Guess what ..... it's the last day of February ...... it must be tag time!!!

I'm on the last minute as usual ..... no excuses except it's been a bit of a busy week.  Good busy though ..... I've been out to lunch twice (I could get used to that!!)  I think I've found a new sofa that I like the look of, just need to see if it will fit in the new house!  And had a successful trip to the shops this morning ..... even though I did end up getting soaked in the rain!!
There's not much packing been done though .... and it's only 3 weeks to go before we get the keys to the new place ..... eeek!!!

I won't go in to all the details of how I made my tag ...... Tim has a great tutorial over on his Blog. Easy to follow step by steps, on all the various techniques he's used to create this month's fabulous tag.

Here's my version ..... not exactly the same

The collage background was done using left over pieces of paper from the Menagerie Paper Pad ......

I added a heart cut from chipboard and glitter card ..... no room to get the sewing machine out!!!

I love these metal arrows .... this is my last one (must remember to re-stock with those!)

And how cute are these little heart charms ...... attached using some coloured wire to match the sparkly heart

I finished off with a touch of lace, and something else that's my last one .... the word band (time to do a  stock take of my Idea-ology stash I think!)

And that's February's tag done .... just in time!

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

Next week's going to be a busy one ...... I need to get all my crafty stuff done at the beginning of the week, along with all the boring stuff (housework!).  I've got lunch out and a craft workshop on Wednesday, meal out with hubby on Wednesday evening, then on Thursday ..... have I mentioned it's my birthday!?! ...... I'm off on a craft retreat for the weekend, with my bestest craft buddies.  It's my first trip of the year off the island, and I can't wait ...... my bags are already packed!

But before all that my boys in blue are playing tomorrow ...... it's the League Cup Final .... Chelsea v Tottenham.  So ..... it's Sunday lunch at ours, a quick trip round to see the new house to measure up for a few things, and then it's time to settle down and watch the match.  Come on Chelsea!!!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Things with ..... Wings

Happy Wednesday,

How's your week going ......... good I hope.
I had a lovely day yesterday ...... lunch out with a friend and a bit of shopping in town.  Didn't buy anything major .... just window shopping really, things for the new house.  As we're moving to a bigger place we are going to need a few bits and pieces ...... furniture shopping .... always fun and usually expensive!!!

Hello and Welcome to my latest followers ...... I've spotted you on the wall of fame up there!  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and join me in my little piece of blogland, it's nice to have you on board.

Another CAS design for you today ...... this time it's for the Less is More challenge.
It's Theme week ..... and it's all about

WINGS

When you think about it, there's quite a few things with wings ...... birds, bees, dragonflies, angels, fairies, aeroplanes and of course ........ butterflies

How gorgeous is this new butterfly? It's from one of Tim Holtz's latest stamp releases ...... Perspective (CMS 213)

It's such a fabulous size, great to colour and easy to fussy cut too!

I started by using the new Cracked Pistachio Distress ink (my new favourite Distress colour by the way!...... although that could change very soon ...... Abandoned Coral found it's way onto my workdesk yesterday ..... and I've not had chance to play with it yet ..... guess what I'm doing today!) 

I applied the gorgeous new Distress colour through a stencil to give a nice background for the butterfly, and a little bit more interest to the card

I stamped the butterfly over the stenciling using a black Versafine ink and added the sentiment (Chocolate Baroque's Butterfly Dreams)

I then stamped the butterfly again, this time onto a piece of cardstock coloured using one of my latest addictions purchases ...... Brushos!

I LOVE these little pots of magic! I'm still getting used to how they work, and how they react on different card etc.,  and getting a nice collection of coloured card to play with as a result.

Anyhow ..... I stamped the butterfly on one of these pieces of card and then embossed him with a clear powder, fussy cut around him and attached him over the top of the one stamped on the card 

To finish off I used a paint brush to splatter some of the Cracked Pistachio Distress ink around the butterfly (another of my addictions at the moment!)

It wouldn't be me if there wasn't something on the inside too ........

The same stencil and stamp, clear embossed again, only this time the butterfly was actually coloured using Distress Ink ..... Cracked Pistachio (gorgeous!!) and Salty Ocean .... what a combination!

This doesn't happen very often, but, I can actually do a two for one with this card .... yeah!!  

The current CAS Challenge over at Happy Little Stampers is all about ......

EMBOSSING

I think this fits the bill ...... there's embossing on there, and seeing as there's a couple of days left before the challenge closes I thought I'd enter.

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

I'm off to check the February 'To Do' list ........ there's still things left on there that need doing before the end of the month ..... guess what ..... Tim's Tag is top of the list .... no surprise there!!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Seeing Stars ........Proud to be Guest Designer again for Merry Monday

Happy Monday!

And what a great start to the week it is too!
I'm absolutely thrilled to be Guest Designer again over at Merry Monday.  I was chosen as the weekly winner for Challenge #145 .....  and that means I get to be part of the fabulous, talented design team for this week!  Always a pleasure.

For this weeks challenge Bonnie's chosen ....... STAR(S) as the theme

We'd like you to create a Christmas card with a Star on it ...... or Stars, the choice is up to you.

I've got some ideas to hopefully inspire you to join in the fun ..... see what you think

First up, a nice CAS design, which I think could be used for any occasion, not just Christmas, just change the words!

I stamped my sentiment across the centre of a piece of white card ........

Then using the Sizzix Bigz Die ..... Crescent Moon & Stars by Tim Holtz, I cut the stars from gold and silver glitter card, and arranged them top and bottom of my sentiment.

I added a few dots of fine glitter around the stars for a little added sparkle

Next up, I've made my STARS into hanging ornaments .......

I stamped the flourish (from Everything Eleanor by Stampin Up) using Crimson Red Versafine, and embossed with a clear sparkle powder

I arranged my stars underneath, and then drew in the lines to 'hang' them from the flourish using a clear Stardust gel pen

A few gems .......

....... and a festive sentiment (SU again) finish it all off

Finally ...... a STAR on top of a Christmas tree

CAS design again .... and so quick and easy to do.
I stamped the tree, in green.  Added the sentiment in red (very festive!)

Sprinkled a touch of Chunky White Embossing Powder (Fran-tage) over, and around the tree

And finished off with another of my glittery STARS on the top!

Don't forget about the inside ..... use your stars in there too

OK ..... now it's your turn.  Why not join in the fun and make a start on this years Christmas cards! I'm looking forward to seeing all your designs.

Thanks again to the team at Merry Monday for having me on board ..... it's been a real pleasure as always .... MWAH!!

And thanks to you for popping by ........ have a fantastic week.
I think mine's going to be a busy one .... as well as all the usual stuff, there's a trip to the dentist on the calender (looking forward to that ... not!!) And I really need to make a start on some serious packing (cupboards won't empty themselves!) ..... and no the garage didn't get done as planned yesterday (there's a surprise!) A drive out, and a trip to my favourite deli was much more fun! Oh well ...... there's still 4 weeks until we get the keys to the new place .... no need to panic just yet!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Santa Claus is coming to town ......

No..... I haven't lost the plot ....... it's that time of the week when I get all festive on you

Happy Sunday folks!

Santa's not really coming to town, not yet anyway.  It's just he's the theme for the latest Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge .........

We have to design a card using the big man himself .......

I was inspired by a gorgeous tag I spotted on Pinterest using this stamp ......... unfortunately I didn't make a note of the designer ...... I'm so sorry!!  If, like me, you spend hours on Pinterest I'm sure you could do a search and find him .... he is rather gorgeous!

I stamped the Santa collage onto my square of white card using Black Versafine ink.  I then added the colour around him with Stormy Sky Distress ink.  I did my favourite thing of splattering water over the top and removing the excess with kitchen roll

I then stamped more snowflakes over the top, some using Black Versafine and some with Versamark ink and added white embossing powder.
You can see I also used my fine-liner pen to add a few dots here and there to continue the design of the stamp all the way to the edges of the card.

I added just a touch of colour to Santa's face using Distress Inks and finished off with touches of fine crystal glitter, and a Stardust Gel pen for his spectacles

A bit of matting and layering and a festive sentiment .......

and a nice CAS finish to the inside ...... that's another one for the festive box done!

You know what ...... I might even make some more of these ..... I quite like him!!

I was dancing around the craft room at the beginning of the week when I found out I was last weeks Merry Monday Weekly Winner ..... whoo hoo!!

Thank you so much ladies  ...... I really do appreciate it.
It also means that I'll be joining the challenge next week ..... tomorrow even ..... as Guest Designer, I can't wait!!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy your Sunday.
We're supposed to be making a start on sorting out the garage today, ready for when we move ...... oh joy!   I've got a better idea ...... let's not!  It's been on the 'To Do' list for weeks .... we just keep putting it off!!  I say let's it if off again ....... a little retail therapy sounds like a much better option to me!  Why not add to the mountain of stuff we've already got!!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Spring Greens ........

Happy weekend folks!

Are you doing anything nice this weekend?  I'm hoping for a quiet one myself, maybe spend some time in the old craft room (if I'm lucky!)

It's the 21st of February (already!) and our latest challenge gets underway today over on the IndigoBlu Challenge Blog.
Thank you to everyone that took part last month, as always we had some fabulous entries.
Time to do it all again though ....... This month's theme is all about ......

Spring Greens

Use your fabulous IndigoBlu Stamps and create something amazing in gorgeous shades of green.

Here's a little something to hopefully inspire you .....

I've used one of  the gorgeous new releases from IndigoBlu ......  'Peony Posey' along with my new favourite colour of Distress ink ...... Cracked Pistachio ..... I love it!!!!!

I stamped the image onto a piece of white card and embossed it with a clear powder ...

Look at all the fab detail, and the centre peony is just stunning!  I can see this becoming a firm favourite of mine!

I then swiped the Cracked Pistachio DI onto my craft sheet, spritzed with a little water and used a paint brush to add colour to the image. 

The touches of pink are Picked Raspberry DI, applied in the same way (a gorgeous combination for spring with the new Distress colour) 

I then used the IndigoBlu Diamond stencil, again with the Cracked Pistaschio DI, to fill in some of the white space around the stamped image

To add a little bit more interest to the background I used a paintbrush to flick the watered down distress inks over the design ..... I'm loving the grungy splattered look at the moment.

To finish off  I coloured a piece of white seam binding using the new Distress colour (told you I love it!) 

and used it to attach one of the words stamped from Sarah's Choice

With the front all finished I had to do a little something on the inside

I used part of the Peony Posey image just in one corner ....  stamped, embossed and coloured just like before

Added a little more of the stencil design, and used another of the stamps from Sarah's Choice

Now it's your turn. 

You've got until 8pm on March 20th to get your entries in ..... have fun and happy stamping!!

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

Cheerio until next time

LindyLou

xx

It's all about Love ........

Hello there,
Happy Friday!

Just a quick post this morning.
It's the weekend again already ...... I don't know what I've been doing all week but this is the first real chance I've had to blog!  Not much to show for the week either .... a few jobs crossed off the 'To Do' list (I'll share them with you over the weekend) and a few boxes piling up here and there.  Yes .... the packing has started ..... in the old craft room at least.  

I have played along with the Less is More challenge again this week though.   It's One Layer Week ..... couldn't miss that,  and the theme is .....

LOVE

That's One Layer, CAS design, lots of white space and minimum embellishments ..... what do you think ......

My favourite colour combo ..... black, white and a touch of red

The beautiful sentiment is from a set of  Tim Holtz stamps and I've just stamped it in black Versafine ink across my card and attached a tiny, punched red heart at the end (hope this is minimum enough!)

The fairies are from Lavinia ..... again stamped in Versafine with just a touch of fine glitter added to the wings

And there you have it ...... one layer card done!

OK ...... as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I really need to get a move on.  Busy day today ....... I'm off out in less than an hour, for a nice crafty get-together and I'm still in my PJ's!!!!  (at least my craft bags are packed!).  I'm on grandma duties for a couple of hours later, then hubby and I are off out to try a new Indian restaurant in town this evening.  The weekend starts now! 

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Candy Canes for Merry Monday

Happy Sunday!

I hope you all had a nice day yesterday ........ I take it all back what I said about hubby.  He may not have chosen my Valentines card himself but ..... these were all down to him .....

Gorgeous aren't they!  I even got lunch out ..... so I had a lovely day!

On to the crafty stuff ..... it's that time of the week again for my little bit of festive cheer ........ it's the Merry Monday's Christmas Card challenge.
This week it's all about Candy Canes .....

Not something I have a lot of in my Christmas stash I'm afraid ..... but here's this week's entry

Very CAS ..... I love white on white .... and I found some of the required Candy Canes

I die cut the letters .... 2 of each, from plain white card stock, and layered them together for more depth

I attached them across the centre(ish) of a piece of white card and stamped the word 'Christmas' underneath ..... from the SU stamp set Endless Wishes.

I stamped my little Candy Canes twice onto a separate piece of card and coloured them using Copic Markers.
I then fussy cut them .... one the whole image, and just the bow from the second one.  These were then layered together and attached to the card using foam pads ..... so cute!

You know I had to decorate the inside too .....

Well ... that's it from me for today ........ short and sweet.  We've got family and friends coming round for a Sunday lunch and I really should be in the kitchen with my domestic goddess hat on, and not sat here in my PJ's!
We're having smoked salmon to start, followed by traditional roast sirloin of beef with all the trimmings. New York cheesecake with mixed berries and cream for dessert, or cheese and biscuits. I'd better get a move on ...... the vegetables won't prepare themselves! (Maybe one more coffee first though)

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your Sunday!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx