A spooky start to the week ......... mwahhahahaha!!!!!!

Happy Monday ......

Have you missed me?  Didn't think so.

Happy Halloween .... or Hop tu Naa as it's known on the Isle of Man. I still haven't got around to carving my pumpkin yet ...... it's on the ever growing list for later!!!

I know .... I've been neglecting my poor little blog this last week or so.  Serves me right for going away ......  I don't know what it is but each time I get home it's taking me longer to catch up with stuff.  I wouldn't mind but I was only away 2 days .... I went Friday afternoon and I was back home on Sunday afternoon!!
Had a great time though .... shame it wasn't for longer.  It was lovely to catch up with my best buddy ..... good food, nice wine and the perfect company. And a craft workshop too .... fabulous weekend.
 
Eileen's workshop on the Saturday, over at the Craft Range in Burnley, was so much fun.  It was lovely to finally meet the lady herself, and I learned so much.  Her Masterboard Techniques are fab ...... inks, stencils, stamps, gesso ..... great fun! There were so many familiar faces there too. No surprises I didn't actually finish my projects ..... too much time spent chatting, and shopping probably! They're on the to do list for later too!!

If you get the chance to attend one of Eileen's workshops ....... DO IT!!!!  You won't be disappointed .... trust me.

It's going to be a busy old week again ..... the start of a new month tomorrow which means new Blog Challenge themes get underway.  You'll be pleased to hear (or maybe not) I'll be around quite a bit this week I think ....... that's if I get anything done! I'm still tidying away stuff from the workshop at the weekend .... more about that later.  I've just time for a quick coffee then I'm calling on Mr Mojo .... lets hope he's ready to play.

Thanks for popping by ....... enjoy the rest of your day.  And if you're off out for Trick or Treat tonight ...... have fun and stay safe.

MWAHHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Looking forward to the weekend ......

Happy Friday folks .....

It's going to be a great weekend!!!
Just a quick post before I dash off and finish the packing for my little trip this afternoon. My craft stuff's all done and in the case but, a girl needs some clean clothes ..... I am there until Sunday!!

Yes .... today's the day I'm off to the UK for the weekend, for a lovely catch up with my crafty buddy, hopefully a meal at one of my favourite Indian restaurants over there ..... Bukhara (had to be food involved somewhere) and .....we're booked on a workshop tomorrow (Saturday) with the fabulous Eileen Godwin .... whoo hoo!!! 

Before I go I want to get my entry in for a brand new Blog Challenge that started at the beginning of October.

 
Run by the lovely Loll Thompson and Bonnie Klass it's the CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.
Now you all know I love CAS ...... and I do like the odd challenge so here goes ......

Rules are ..... cards must be CAS (lots of white space), must include watercolouring, and they must follow the monthly theme.
The theme for the first challenge is Autumn .......

Makes me think of falling leaves and all those gorgeous Autumn colours .......

I've stamped the leaves onto a piece of watercolour card using various shades of Distress inks. Then using a brush and a touch of water I went over the leaves to move some of the ink around a little
and give a more water coloured effect

Not too much though as I didn't want to loose the fine detail on the leaves .....

I gave the background a wash of colour using Antique Linen Distress with just a touch of Tea Dye, and finished off by splattering over the top with some Gathered Twig Distress Ink mixed with a little water.

You can see I also added touches of Liquid Platinum embossing powder to the edges of some of the leaves ......

and the corners of the panel ........ adds a nice shimmer when the light catches.

The perfect sentiment stamped and embossed, adds the final touch

OK .... that's me done.  Time to throw a few bits in the suitcase, grab a quick lunch with hubby then I'm off to pick up a friend who's also coming along before heading off to the airport.

See you all next week.

Thanks for popping by ... enjoy the rest of your day and have a fab weekend .... I know I'm going to.

Cheerio until next time.

Quick reminder for the STAMPlorations CAS Card Challenge .....

Happy Thursday to you ......

I hope you're having a good week.
We're more than half way through the month already .......... October isn't half whooshing by!

It's time for a little reminder of this month's STAMPlorations CAS Card Challenge ..... have you entered yet?  Don't worry there's still plenty of time to join in the fun.

As always the theme is Anything Goes, with an optional colour twist.  This month it's BLACK.

I love using Black on cards, especially the classic Black and White combination with just a touch of colour, it's a winner every time.  However, for my inspiration piece today, I've added in more than one colour and I love it!!
A nice CAS design, and really easy to do.
I've used a die cut word but if you haven't got a die, you could just stamp the word BIRTHDAY across the bottom using a black ink, and then emboss with a clear powder,  to make it stand out more.

I  stamped the word Happy from the STAMPlorations Sentiment Builders range down the centre of a piece of white card using various colours of Memento inks

I then die cut the word 'Birthday' across the bottom and again, this time twice, from a piece of black card. Love this CUTplorations die .... the font looks fab!
I layered the two black die cuts together and then inlaid them into the space left when I cut the die from the stamped piece of card..... does that make sense

I added a few dots of glitter glue here and there, and a layer of black card just to frame the design

Now it's your turn.  Check out the STAMPlorations blog for more CAS inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, and then join in the fun.

OK .... I've only one more sleep to go then I'm off to the UK for the weekend.  And what a weekend it's going to be ...... it's ages since I've been across and I've been looking forward to this trip since the beginning of May!
Not only will I be spending time with my crafty buddy but ........ we're off to a workshop on Saturday, with the amazing Eileen Godwin ... excited or what!!!

But .....I still have a few bits and pieces to finish off in the old craft room before I leave so I'd better get a move on.

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

Cheerio until next time ....

What a fabulous weekend ..... we should do it more often!

Happy Monday ......

What a great weekend we've just had .... hope yours was a good one too!

After a lovely crafty day last Friday, I was told that hubby and I HAD to be in The Saddle (Chris's place) that evening .... no matter what!
Hmmm ....... now I don't usually like surprises but ..... this one was a good one!
My brother and his wife had come across for the weekend ..... it was so nice to see them.  Chris was the only one that knew anything about it (and Sam his girlfriend), apparently they'd been organised it for weeks!!  Thanks love ....... what a fabulous surprise for your old mum!!

We all had a lovely night out ...... called in to Artisan see Lauren as she was working, she was as surprised as I was .... lots of squealing and hugging going on!!  It was also Chris's one year anniversary of having his name above the door at The Saddle ..... hasn't that 12 months gone quickly!!! ........ so as you can imagine, there might just have been a little bit of celebrating going on!!
We did it all again on Saturday too!! Oh yes .... you've guessed it ..... Sunday was a bit of a lazy day!

Not only was I out partying all weekend ....... it was workshop weekend too!!  There wasn't too much of a headache on Saturday morning ..... just as well really as we had the usual crew around the table, plus a few extras for this one.  The place was full .... and we had a great day.

Four cards, with matching tags, all done using Kraft Card.  
It's one of those things I think, you either love it (which I do)  or .... you're never quite sure what to do with it!  Well I gave them all a few ideas ...... starting with simply stamping onto it using a black ink and adding a some black and white cardstock ...... very elegant.

I gave them a choice too .... either everyday using the gorgeous Penny Black Poppies ......

or a Christmas version with the jolly Inkadinkadoo Snowman ......

Next we did some white embossing ..... which always looks stunning on Kraft card .....

I love my large Clarity Christmas Tree, especially with a touch of sparkle and some added falling snow .....

And why not add a bit of festive red into the mix ......

 Snowflakes white embossed again, but also stamped in Crimson Red Versafine .....

But, it doesn't have to be just Christmas cards ...... this colour combo works just as well for everyday designs

Tags to match too .....

Then it was on to some simple colouring on Kraft card ....... stamping with a brown ink and using water colour pencils ......

How cute is this little guy .....

Add some Picket Fence Distress ink around the image and a little falling snow and you're done.  A nice quick and easy, one layer card with matching tag ..... great for posting!

And of course .... there was an everyday option .....

This time stamped in Black and coloured using Prismacolor pencils ..... with a tag to match

And finally ...... we finished the afternoon with what was my favourite, and everyone else's I think ..... white ink on Kraft card.

Inspired by the ladies from Inkylicious ..... and using their beautiful stamps, two wintry snow scenes.

First option ...... using a stencil and white ColorBox ink to create the circle, then stamping the Inkylicious Winter Lodge over the top ......

This is where the MISTI is such a useful tool.  To get all the detail of the stamp clear, over the white ink I stamped the image about 3 or 4 times using a brown ink pad.  Then I added in some extra white detail, the snow on the roof and the trees, and around the bottom of the lodge, and then ..... I stamped the lodge again over the top.  Because I used the MISTI each stamping was perfect!

The other option was made using the same white ColorBox ink and a piece of copier paper to create the snowy hills ......

I used stamps from the new IndigoBlu Winterland Wood and the Inkylicious small Winter Cabin

With my copier paper masks in place I stamped the images first, using the brown ink again (Ranger's Java Bean Dye Ink)

Then I added in the snow ......

The ColorBox white ink works really well on Kraft Card .... I will say though they are quite a wet ink pad so less is definitely more.  I always like to use a brush to apply my inks and I start with very little on the brush and gradually build up the depth of colour.

Love how these two designs turned out.

I said it was a busy workshop ..... I think everyone enjoyed it though.  They've booked on the next one anyway!

Well .... that's Monday nearly over with.  It's going to be a bit of a whirlwind week I think ..... I've only 4 days .... 3 now ..... to get everything done, then I'm off on a little trip across to the UK next weekend ...... I'm so excited!!!!  More about that later.

Right now it's time I got on with the dinner .... tummy's rumbling!!

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Sweet little jam jars ......

Good morning ........ Happy Friday!

I hope you've had a good week .... looking forward to the weekend are we? I know I am.

For those of you who visit here regularly ..... sorry I've been AWOL (again!)  It's been a funny old week!  Busy ...... but weird!
Hubby's been away on business so I've had the whole house to myself .... boy has it been quiet!!  I've spent nearly the whole week in my craft room ...... it's been bliss, well most of the time!  Got loads done which was good.  The little man wanted to know if I was lonely without Grandad .... bless him! I wasn't the only one who missed him!

Back to business today though ...... time to remind you about this month's Craft Stamper Blog Challenge.
It's Take a Theme for October and it's all about creating Autumn projects (or Fall).  Use Autumnal images, trees, leaves maybe, nice cups of steaming hot drinks.  Or, go for the Autumn colours ..... rich reds, oranges, greens and earth tones.  Whatever you decide, remember you must include some stamping on your project somewhere.

As always we have a challenge sponsor ...... this month it's the fabulous That's Crafty

And what a prize there is for the winner ..... 8 brand new stamp sets ...... yes I did say 8!!
Take a look at these .....

If you fancy getting your hands on this little lot then you'd better enter the challenge .... that's if you haven't already done so.  Although you can enter up to 3 times you know.

I've done a little bit of re-cycling for you today ....... these started out as two little jam jars .....

and now they're pretty autumnal lights ...... with the help of a couple of sets of those really useful battery operated fairy lights .... how cute do these look!

I fell in love with the shape of these little jars, and didn't want to just throw them away so ...... a coating of alcohol ink on the inside to give them some colour .... a mixture of Honeycomb and Sunshine Yellow in one ......

and the new Valencia (orange) in the other ......

I simply squirted some alcohol ink into the jar along with a little Blending Solution and then swished it around the jar until the glass was covered.  I did this a couple of times until I was happy with the colour.

I then tried out a technique I came across some time ago, by the fabulous Tammy Tutterow, on the Tim Holtz Blog, using Glossy Accents and Distress Crackle Paint in the Clear Rock Candy.

Once the jars were dry .... which didn't take long, I gave the outside of each one a coat of Glossy Accents and then left it to dry.
Next came a coat of the Rock Candy Crackle Paint ....... and a sprinkling of the Clear Rock Candy Distress Dry Glitter over the top whilst the paint was still wet ......

I love how the fine cracks appeared, and how the glitter gives this nice frosty look ....

I wrapped some natural twine around the tops of the jars and added some seasonal foliage ......

A few die cut leaves that have been over stamped to add some more detail, a few berries and twigs and a couple of small pine cones .......

I finished them off with a tag cut from a piece of left over card from last weeks Craft Stamper project and some beautiful words that sum up Autumn perfectly .....

You can see the lights fit nicely inside ....... no plug required, just a couple of small batteries in the battery pack which you can hide round the back of the jars

Switch them on and see the pretty Autumnal glow ......

I love how these turned out ..... just need to eat more jam now then I can make some more!!

Don't forget to check out the Craft Stamper Blog today for more Autumnal inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

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

It's a busy one here .... it's workshop weekend for me tomorrow and I've got a FULL class!!  But before that I've got some of the ladies coming round later .... we're having a bit of play day.  One of us is doing a canvas, someone said they were making a start on their Christmas cards, one wants to play with the MISTI and me .... well who knows what I'll be doing.  A bit of everything ..... or a lot of nothing more than likely.   I should be making a start on some things I have on order but ...... the ideas are not flowing yet! Maybe a coffee and some cake will help!

Cheerio until next time