Tag time!!!!

Happy Friday evening folks!

How's your week been? I'm looking forward to the weekend I can tell you.  Let's hope it's a quiet one!

I had a nice lazy start this morning ...... no early alarm going off.   Hubby was on a late start (along with the rest of the office!) after yesterday's 'off site' day ....... told you he'd be late home and yes .... he'd had just a little bit to drink!!!

Anyway ...... today I've finally managed to make time to join in with Tim's 12 Tags again.  I can't believe I've missed the last two!!!!

Wasn't sure how I was going to do this one ...... haven't got the stamps, or the papers.  Couldn't even decide on a theme for it .... and with July being almost over I didn't want to copy the whole 4th July thing.
So ....... what was out on my desk ......... only these little guys ......

I've still followed all the techniques ....... used the watercolour paper to stamp on and then coloured the images using Distress Markers and a waterbrush .....

Applied the brand new Distress Micro-Glaze over the birds and polished away the excess .....

Then added a wash of colour to the background ...... the glaze acts as a resist to the ink so any excess on the birds can just be wiped away with a piece of kitchen towel .... clever or what!

I love how it's created a sort of halo effect around the birds too, and the texture in the watercolour card really shows through ..... love it!!

I added some large Chit Chat stickers to make up the sentiment .....

and a few Black Soot ink splats here and there......

And to finish, I used my Distress Markers to colour a piece of the crinkle ribbon to match ......

All done ..... with a few hours to spare!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your evening and have a lovely weekend.

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

It's a special day .......

Happy Thursday!

I can't believe it's 10 days since I blogged ........ don't know where this week has gone!  Well .... actually I do ..... washing, ironing and generally getting the house back to normal again.  I was only away for 6 days ..... you'd think that they could manage without me wouldn't you!
Apparently I was 'away so long' that dear old hubby learned to cook!!!  When he says cook .... what he really means is, he can now prepare a frozen ready meal ..... without help from me!!  The barbecue he has mastered .... the kitchen not so much!
I can't say too much though he did take me out for dinner when I got home on Sunday, and again last night.  It's our wedding anniversary today and unfortunately hubby has had a works 'off site' day (in other words ...... a day out!)  He's had a busy day ....... a presentation this morning, followed by lunch out.  Then the afternoon spent doing Laser Quest!!!! and a meal out this evening (at my favourite restaurant may I add!!!!) Bless him though ..... he did book a table there for us last night so I haven't missed out.  Don't worry though I won't let him forget that I spent our wedding anniversary ..... OUR special day ..... on my own!!!

OK! OK! ....that's not technically true ..... I've had a fab day actually.  The girls came round to me and we spent the day crafting ..... always fun.  And then this evening, Chris isn't working so, we've had take away supper and later I'm going to catch up with some TV ...... perfect!  Goodness only knows what time hubby will get in ...... no doubt he will be a little worse for wear!

Anyway ...... enough of all that.  I said I'd spent the day crafting well, we actually had a productive afternoon .... and that doesn't just mean polishing off all the cakes ..... I think we all managed to produce a least one piece of work we were happy with.

Here's one of mine ........

It's Special days all round this week ..... the Queen of CAS, and one of the co- creators of the Less is More Challenge Blog, has had a very special birthday ...... that's right, the fabulous Chrissie is 70 years young!!  Congratulations lovely lady ..... hope you had an amazing day.

To celebrate, this week's challenge is .......  a Recipe, and we have to use Snippets on our cards, still keeping things CAS.

My snippets are in the form of the pretty die cut butterfly.  You know me, I never throw anything away ......

The bottom layer is cut from a piece of cardstcok coloured using Distress ink and mica spray (I think ......  it's been in my scrap box for so long I've forgotten how it was done) and the top layer from just a piece of plain white card.

I did use Distress ink for the background (Wild Honey) through the  MemoryBox  Honeycomb stencil

Speaking of Distress Inks .... I wonder what the new colour will be for August.  Not long to go now before we find out.  I'm hoping for a nice lilac or purple shade, or maybe a new pink!!
Sorry, where was I?

I attached the butterfly over the top of the inked background and added in a nice sentiment .......

And, as always. there's a little of the design on the inside too ......

Right .... I think it's time for me to grab a nice glass of something chilled ......it is my wedding anniversary after all! ......  put my feet up and do that TV catch up.  Cheers everyone!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

My bags are packed ..... I'm ready to go ....

Cos I'm leeeeaving .... on a jet plane!!!!  Well, almost ....... I'm on one of these again ..... flying across to Blackpool.

Happy Monday folks!
(sorry for the ear worm!!)

Yes I'm off on a jolly again ...... and right now I should be just about boarding the plane ready for the short flight across to the UK.  You guessed it .... this is a scheduled post!!

I'm off to meet up with my crafty buddy .... then it's a stopover at Susan's tonight, and tomorrow we're off on a road trip, down to the south of England for 5 days ...... including a two day Craft Retreat!!!  It's going to be fun, fun, fun!  And .... if it's anything like last year it'll be hard work too ...... two days spent in great company, being taught by the one and only, very talented ..... Barbara Gray (whoo hoo!!!)  Yes it's time for a spot of Clarity!!

Unfortunately I'm not taking my laptop with me so I won't be blogging ..... don't worry though I'll fill you in on everything when I get back!

What I am taking with me though is the project I've been working on for my nephew's wedding.  My brother didn't want just any old wedding card, he wanted something a bit special, so ....... I've made a Memory Box.
It's gone from this .....

to this ......

Sorry ...... but I can't really share the whole thing just yet ..... my brother hasn't even seen it!!! I hope he likes it because I haven't got time to start all over again. 

As we speak it's all parceled up, safe in my suitcase (I hope!) and it'll be hand delivered later today.

The wedding's not actually until August so you'll have to wait a bit longer to see it in full.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great week!  If you're off to the Clarity retreat ..... see you there.  If not, I'll see you when I get back.

Cheerio until next time 

Linda

xx

Life's a beach ......

Happy Sunday to you,

I hope you're enjoying the weekend ...... the sun is shining and we've had a nice quiet one just for a change!

In between getting my stuff ready for tomorrow ...... cleaning the old craft room ..... and of course getting the rest of the house tidy (always a fun job!!) I have manage to play along with this weeks Less is More challenge.  What's going on ..... a challenge entry done on the day after it was launched ..... almost unheard of in the old craft room.  I didn't want to miss out though and seeing as I'm off the island as of tomorrow morning this was my only chance!

It's a Theme week ...... to hopefully inspire us with thoughts of long, hot summer days (we've had a few of those recently!) and holiday fun (already had some of that too!)

The theme is  ........

Life's a Beach!

After searching through my stash, yet again, for a suitable stamp to use here's my contribution to this week's challenge .......

It appears that I don't have many 'beach' related stamps in my collection ...... what with no penguins either (previous post) ..... what do I have in my stamp stash!!??  I did come across this one though ......

another freebie from a while ago, from my favourite craft magazine ..... Craft Stamper.

It's been stamped onto a piece of card from my scrap box that has been coloured using the faux Mother of Pearl technique ......... apply white pearlescent paint randomly onto a piece of white card using a scrunched up piece of cling film, leaving some card without paint.  Once dry, apply colour over the top .... I used Spun Sugar and Stormy Sky Distress inks on this piece.  Polish off any ink that's on the paint leaving a gorgeous shimmery effect ..... faux MOP!

Not sure if I've captured the shimmer on camera but trust me it is there.

I then masked off a section on another piece of white card, added colour using the Distress inks again, and them stamped some pretty seashells across the border in Black Versafine ink.  Once they were dry I spritzed the border using Perfect Pearls to keep with the shimmery effect.

Foam pads give the topper some dimension ........ and a suitable sentiment finish off the front of the card

And ....... the inside has a little decoration too!

Well that's it from me ...... speaking of beaches though, here's the view from the beach at Glen Maye this afternoon.

A certain little man was having fun chasing waves and throwing stones into the sea .....

Oh well .....just a few bits to throw in my suitcase and then I'm done!!  I've checked the weather for the UK next week and it doesn't look bad at all ..... might just need the sun cream after all!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Ending the week with a festive feel .......

Happy Friday!

The weekend starts here (yeah!) ...... Hopefully this one will be a little quieter than last week. Although saying that, we are supposed to be off out this evening! There's another BIG birthday apparently ...... one of hubby's work pals is celebrating today .... although not quite as BIG as last weeks!

Before all that though it's time to get festive again.  I know, I know .... it's only July! ...... but if you start your Christmas cards now you'll have the whole of December to relax!! Well maybe not, but at least it'll be one thing less to worry about!

I'm actually joining in the fun over at Merry Monday this week ...yeah!!!  During July and August the challenges are running over two weeks instead of one, which is great .... more time to join in the fun!

The current challenge (which does finish this weekend) is all about ....... Penguins

Penguins ..... hmmmm ....... not something that there's a lot of in the old craft room.
After searching for a while, I did eventually come across this little guy ..... right at the bottom of my Christmas stash .......

How cute is he ..... and he's having 'snow much fun' by the looks of things (sorry .... couldn't resist that!)
He's actually from an old Inkadinkadoo clear set of stamps called ..... Cute Holiday Favourites  (he's definitely that!)     
I've stamped him about half way down on a piece of white cardstock and coloured him using Spectrum Noir pencils

I then fussy cut around the top half of him and cut away the top section of the white card, leaving space at the bottom to stamp my greeting.  You can see I've also added a few drops of white enamel accents, here and there and coated them with glitter for added sparkle!

On a separate piece of white card I inked about the top two thirds using Distress ink (Stormy Sky with a touch of Chipped Sapphire around the edges)
To get the effect of falling snow I used white texture paste through a stencil, and while the paste was still wet I added fine crystal glitter

Once everything was dry I used foam pads to add a bit of dimension, and attached my little penguin to the snowy backdrop.

Inside has been kept very CAS ...... just a dusting of ink and a little touch of the texture paste and glitter again

All done!

Thanks for popping by ..... this is my 600th post ......  all that rambling on, what do I find to talk about!!  Thanks to you for reading them and for all your comments ...... I do appreciate them.  They let me know that I'm not talking to myself all of the time!!!

Enjoy the rest of your day, and have a fabulous weekend! The sun is shining at the moment ..... how long it will last who knows, so lets enjoy it while we can.

Cheerio until next time

Linda 

xx

It's One Layer Week ...... for the boys

Hello there!

Me again ...... just a quick post, I hadn't realised the time!

It's One Layer Week over at Less is More ..... and you all know how much I love those!!  And .... as if that wasn't tricky enough, the theme this week is .......

Masculine

That's right ..... it's got to be ONE LAYER, CAS ...... and designed with those fabulous MEN in mind!

OK ..... I'm always up for a challenge ..... what do you think?

Definitely only one layer ...... and I know a few guys I could send this too!

I've used this months cool, freebie stamp from the Craft stamper magazine ..... coloured using a set of the new Prima watercolour pencils ......

I made myself a mask for the camper van, put it in place and then used the zig zag stamp from the Stampin Up! set ..... Work of Art, to add a little more interest to the background.
I finished off with a few co-ordinating ink splats here and there using Distress inks mixed with water, and added the perfect sentiment ...... job done!

The inspiration for this came from a cute little VW camper van, owned by my daughter's boyfriend .... meet 'George'

Here he is parked down by the beach yesterday.
Quite the little home from home .....

Even the little man thinks he's cool .....

Perfect for making the most of those sunny days!

Thanks for popping by (again!) ..... enjoy the rest of your evening. I'll be back tomorrow with the last of this week's Blog challenge entries.

Cheerio until next time.

Linda

xx

Time for a touch of Christmas in July ........

Happy Thursday!

Only 4 more sleeps before it's time for my next little trip across to the UK.  Not that I'm really looking forward to it but ..... my case is almost packed!!

Things in the old craft room are coming along nicely too ....... I probably shouldn't say this but, isn't it great when things go according to plan!

It's time to get a little festive I think ....... we haven't had a Christmas post for a while ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!
There's a new challenge on the block too ...... Happy Little Stampers have launched their brand new Christmas Challenge 

Each month, on the 5th, there'll be a new challenge along with a WORD, Christmas related of course, that must be used on your projects.

This month we've got .......

Now you know me, I love my Blog challenges, and I do like making my Christmas cards.
Here's what I came up with .....

This pretty little die, from Penny Black, had been sat in my stash since last year, never used so, I thought it was time for it to make it's debut in the old craft room.  Not bad for a first appearance!

I kept things quite simple .... cut the tree from plain white cardstock,  and then spritzed it with a little Perfect Pearls.
While it was drying, I inked up my background piece using Distress inks and a few splashes of water

I then attached the tree over the top and added some fine crystal glitter

A bit of matting and layering to finish off the card, along with a nice festive greeting

You can see that I've edged around my little winter scene, and the added layer with a silver pen ..... one of those wide nibbed leafing pens that you can get in gorgeous metallic colours.
I just placed the nib on the edge of the card, and then applied a little pressure as I moved the nib around the edges.  The more pressure you apply, the thicker the coloured edge will be.
This is quite a good technique to use as it adds the look of an extra layer of card without adding the bulk, or the extra weight ...... great when you have to pop your cards in the post!

Oh well .... must dash.  I've still got a list of things to do ..... one being finish off that special project that needs to go across with me next week.  It's almost done, thank goodness. I'll give you a sneaky peek later.  Fingers crossed I can get it over there without damaging it (gulp!)

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Have you joined in the fun yet ......

Hello there,

A quick reminder for you about the latest Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge ......

This month it's all about keeping those designs clean and simple, with lots of white space but also adding in some .....

STAMPING

There's already been lots of fabulous entries ...... you all love your stamps!  Just in case you're still looking for inspiration here's a very CAS design for you ......

Flowers again .... from my favourite stamp set of the moment ......Penny Black's T for Transparent Enamor ...... I love it!!!

I've gone for a really girly look, with pink flowers, but you can use whatever colour you like.

I simply stamped the image using Black Versafine ink, coloured each bloom using Spectrum Noir pencils and then added a drop of Enamel Accents to the centres ..... simple!

A nice sentiment and a few ink splatters here and there, finishes off the front, and then a little more stamping for the inside

Now it's your turn to join in the fun .......... Happy Stamping!

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

I notice that I have another new follower ....... Hello and Welcome to Karen.  Thank you for taking the time to visit, it's nice to have you on board.

It's another busy week here in the old craft room ....... nothing new there!!!
I'm away again next week so I really need to get myself organised.  I've one project that has to be finished, because it's got to go across to the UK with me. I'll let you have a sneaky peek later in the week.
I've got DT stuff to do, and of course my favourite Blog challenges to enter and .......... I'm still trying to get the house back to normal after hubby's birthday celebrations last weekend.  By the way ...... hubby says Thank You to everyone for all your birthday wishes xx

I think everyone enjoyed themselves ..... the food went down well (there wasn't a lot left!) the champagne flowed (there was none of that left!!) ..... along with the beer, the wine ..... and everything else (Cheers!)
Some of us did end up going to a cocktail bar at one point ....... followed by a night club (if that's what you can call it!!) until the early hours. It seemed like a good idea at the time but ....... shall we just say, I was a little on the delicate side on Saturday morning, and from what I've heard over the last few day, I wasn't the only one!!!   I had to be out of the house early though,  for a craft day with the usual crew (thanks ladies for understanding!!)  Lemon cupcakes and lots of black coffee ...... perfect hangover cure!
Oh! .... and I'm STILL finding streamers all over the house from the party poppers that exploded over the course of the evening ...... I'll be lucky to get the place tidy again in time for Christmas!!!  Thank goodness he's only 50 once!!!

Cheerio until next time

xx

It's a very special day today ......

Happy Friday!

And a very, very Happy BIG birthday to my darling hubby.  I don't think he'll mind me telling you ..... he's 50 today!!! You're catching me up sweetheart!!!  And NO you can't have a motorbike!!!

Before I dash off to start getting ready for the celebrations I have a little reminder for you about this months Craft Stamper challenge.
It's the turn of Take a Stamp this month ........ and its basically Anything Goes!

I love my stamps ...... and I've had the clever idea of starting to catalogue them all ......yeah right!!!
Can't see that getting finished anytime soon!!!
It's fun though going through all the boxes, finding stamps I'd forgotten I had (there's a few of those!) ..... stamps that haven't seen an ink pad since the day they were bought (shame!) and of course all my old go to favourites that get used all the time (like the little guy above in fact!)

The stamp I've used for today's little project is a Stampendous one ...... Rose Branch Border, which I've used very simply, nothing fancy, just stamped onto white card, cut down to size, and then put in a pretty, inexpensive frame to create this beautiful wall hanging ......

It's such a pretty delicate image, I used Vintage Sepia Versafine ink so as not to lose any of the detail

And you can see that I've added a few highlights with a gold gel pen ..... just to the centres of the flowers, to add a bit more interest and also shimmer a little when the light catches them

I also stamped a little vintage script alongside the flowers, just to fill in the open space.  Stamped with the same colour of ink only this time I used the second generation stamp, to get a more faded look

And there you have it .... a pretty, elegant hanging frame, with a real vintage look.

Now it's your turn.  If you haven't entered the challenge yet why not give it a go.  Or ..... even if you have entered, you can enter more than once you know ...... you can have up to 3 entries in fact.  That's 3 chances to get your hands on one of those prizes.

This month our sponsor is ......  the fabulous Art Journey .......

The challenge winner (randomly drawn) will receive 4 ..... yes FOUR fabulous stamp plates.  Check out the Craft Stamper blog for full details of which ones.

Then of course there's our Design Winner, chosen by the DT.  They will have their winning project published in the Craft Stamper Magazine, be a Guest Designer on a future challenge AND have a winners profile on the Craft Stamper Blog!  So ..... get out those stamps and start creating!  Have fun and Happy Stamping!

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

I've got a busy day ahead ..... house to clean and get ready, and food to prepare.  No, I'm not baking a birthday cake ...... best left to someone else that one!!!   I've just got a birthday buffet to put together. Nothing too big .... just a small gathering of family and a few of hubby's friends/workmates but no doubt it's going to get loud ....... and it's going to get messy! Good job we've mentioned it to the neighbours!!!

It'll probably include a poker game at some point, and a trip to the local cocktail bar.  Well .... you're only 50 once!  Headache it is in the morning then!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx