Final day of the STAMPlorations Blog Hop .......

Happy Wednesday to you ......

And welcome to the final day of the Things With Wings Blog Hop and Linky Party with the STAMPlorations girls.

We've spent the last 3 weeks celebrating Spring and showcasing winged themed projects each week using stamps, stencils and dies from the fab STAMPlorations range.  Have you joined in with the fun yet?

Don't worry there's still time ..... the Blog Hop and Linky party is open until April 30th.  To be in with a chance of winning one of the great prizes up for grabs all you need to do is hop along through the blogs and leave a comment or .... why not create your own winged themed project and link it to the party.
Full details and a list of prizes can be found on the STAMPlorations Blog.

So .... Things with Wings ....... for me, that means butterflies! And I love these designs from the Winged Things stamp set from the Bees Knees range at STAMPlorations.

I smooshed some Distress Ink (Salty Ocean) onto a piece of white cardstock using the acetate smoosh technique, stamped the words in the centre from the Noteworthy 2 stamp set, and then added the butterflies to frame the sentiment.

I used more Distress Inks, Mustard Seed and Cracked Pistachio this time, to add colour to the butterflies and I gave each one a quick coat of shimmer using a clear Wink of Stella pen

I used the same techniques on the inside of the card too ......

I hope you've enjoyed the Blog Hop ..... we've certainly had fun.
Happy hopping!

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

It's been a busy week here trying to catch up with lots of DT stuff, and I've got a workshop at the weekend, so preparation for that is well underway.  At least it keeps me out of mischief!

Cheerio until next time .....

Today's the day .......

Happy Friday ........

Today's the day when Lucy and Sweet Poppy Stencils are making their HOCHANDA debut .... whoo hoo!! Go Lucy!!

Tune in if you can ....... Sky 663/Freeview 85/Freesat  817, or record the show and watch it later. There's some gorgeous new stencil designs and the DT have been busy working their magic to give you some great ideas on what you can create with them.  Lucy will also be demonstrating just what you can do with these amazing stencils and the various mediums available from Sweet Poppy

Today's stencil from me is the stunning Chinese Lanterns ..... I love this one!

A beautiful design ..... and so versatile.   Use it on it's own to make simple yet stunning cards suitable for all occasions ..... Birthday's, Anniversaries, Get Well.  Thank You cards,  Wedding Invitations or even Sympathy cards
Classic black and white, always works well ......

Simply apply the Glossy Black embossing paste through the stencil and leave it to dry ..... easy as that.

The detail on these stencils is amazing, and the pastes are so easy to use.
Always tape your stencils in place using low tack tape, and use a magnetic sheet underneath your cardstock. Because the Sweet Poppy stencils are stainless steel the magnetic sheet holds them in place perfectly and you get a nice clean, crisp image every time.

Add a simple sentiment ...... I stamped mine using my new Gold Delicata pigment ink (thanks to the lovely Loll Thompson for introducing me to this ...... I love it!!)

And I finished the whole design off by adding a few dots of gold glitter glue here and there for added sparkle.

I used the paste on the inside of the card too .....

You can see I turned the stencil over and had the design sweeping the other way around and used it off the edge of the card as i only wanted part of the design.

Why not use your stencils to create backgrounds as well as being the main image ...... the result is perfectly co-ordinated designs

Add a little colour in there too for a completely different look

I took a piece of cardstock from my stash which had been coloured using Brushos and used the Glossy White paste with the stencil directly over the top .....

Whilst the paste is still wet, sprinkle over some fine crystal glitter and leave to dry.  This gives a nice delicate sparkle to the design

I then took a piece of black cardstock and used the stencil with the black paste to create a subtle, coordinating background design.

Simply apply the paste through the stencil around the edges of the card to create a frame for yur main image

Add a simple sentiment and you're done.

Tune in to HOCHANDA today ..... 1pm and again at 6pm ....... to watch Lucy create more fabulous designs using the amazing Sweet Poppy Stencils ....... I'll be watching.

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Pretty pastels .....

Happy Thursday ......

Hope you're having a good week ..... not long until the weekend.

It's time for a little more inspiration for this month's STAMPlorations CAS Card Challenge.
The theme is Anything Goes ....... anything Clean And Simple that is ...... and don't forget there's that optional colour twist which you can use.  This month it's all about pretty PASTEL shades ...... blues, pinks, lilac ..... what's your favourite pastel shade?

Here's a very quick and easy, CAS design using the really pretty ARTplorations Happy Flowers stencil (the small version)

I simply blended various shades of Distress inks through the stencil ..... starting with a very light application and building up the colour until I was happy with it ..... Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed and Mowed Lawn

I added a few splatters of ink to the background and a few dots of glitter glue to add a touch of sparkle ......

And finished off by adding a strip across the bottom stamped with my greeting.  

This is a current favourite of mine ..... using strips of card to add cute little sentiments.  Not only does it make use of all those tiny greeting stamps that don't always get used but ..... it makes use of those off cuts of card that would normally end up in the bin!  You know I don't like to waste anything.

I added more stenciled flowers on the inside too ......

There's still plenty of time to play along with the challenge ........ and there's some great prizes up for grabs.

You can enter up to three CAS cards, and you don't have to use the colour twist.  You don't have to use STAMPlorations products either ..... but it would be great if you did!

The challenge winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to spend in the STAMPlorations store and there's $5 gift certificates for each of the Top Picks.

Don't forget that if you shop for anything in the STAMPlorations store, use the following code at the checkout and receive a 20% discount on your order .......

use code ........ STAMPGIRLLINDA 

Happy stamping!

A quick reminder too ....... we have the STAMPlorations Things With Wings Blog Hop and Linky Party going on at the moment ..... 25 days celebrating Spring!

Check out the details on the STAMPlorations Blog

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

I'm taking a break this afternoon and doing a spot of retail therapy with Lauren and the little man ..... could prove expensive!!!

Cheerio until next time ......

More Sweet Poppy designs

Happy Wednesday .....

Middle of the week already ..... and it's raining here.  I hope it's nicer where you are.

I'm back today with a few more of my DT samples for the Sweet Poppy Stencil show on HOCHANDA later this week.
The lovely Lucy is back on our screens on Friday, for her first shows since the move over to HOCHANDA ..... no pressure!!!  She'll be great as always, showing you lots of ways to use your stencils and giving great tips and techniques on how to get the best from the Sweet Poppy range.

Today I've got the Tree of Seasons for you ...... how pretty is this

Two different looks using the same stencil ...... first up a pretty, feminine, spring look

PaperArtsy Infusions for the background ...... not sure of the exact colours I used, this came from my background stash box!  It was a pink shade and a yellow, sprinkled onto a piece of white cardstock and then spritzed with water and left to dry.  I love how the walnut stain in these pigments doesn't completely dissolve and gives this lovely speckled look

I used the Gold paste through the stencil and then randomly sprinkled over various colours of the Sweet Poppy Super Fine Glitters ..........

These glitters are incredibly fine, super sparkly and come in a stunning range of colours.

Because they're so fine you can use them on the most intricate of designs and you won't lose any of the detail
Sprinkle them over wet texture paste, leave to dry and then brush off any excess .....
You can see I didn't cover the tree completely I wanted to leave some of the gold paste showing through to add texture and interest to the design

A simple sentiment finishes off the front ......

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

Distress inks this time, in shades of green and brown, brushed through the stencil ......

A cute little tag shaped card next, with a more autumnal feel to it maybe.  That's the beauty of this stencil .... change the colours and you can change the season

I found the tag in my stash box .... previously coloured using the faux mother of pearl technique

Apply white pearlescent paint to cardstock ...... use a piece of scrunched up cellophane to get that random look.  Leave this to dry.
Apply Distress Inks over the top blending colours as you go.  The pearlescent paint acts as a resist and gives this gorgeous shimmery MOP look .... so pretty.

I used a manila tag, white pearlescent paint and then I think it was Bundled Sage and Victorian Velvet Distress inks ..... how pretty is that pearlescent shine

I stenciled the tree over the top, slightly off the edge of the tag, using the Glossy Black paste and then sprinkled the beautiful black super fine glitter over the top.  Not only does this give a nice sparkle, it gives texture too .....

 A sentiment on the front ......

 a pretty ribbon bow on the top ......

And the tree stenciled on the inside using the same colours of Distress that were used on the tag

Lucy will be on our screens on Friday April 21st at 1pm and 6pm ...... and you're in for a treat!  Tune in to HOCHANDA ...... Sky 663/Freeview 85/Freesat 817.  I'll be watching!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
I've got the little man again today ..... school's not back until next Monday!!  So there won't be much going on in the old craft room today.

Cheerio until next time .....

Sweet Poppy Stencils have moved .......

Happy Tuesday to you ......

I hope you all had a nice Easter.  We had a fab time with family and friends ..... very relaxing.  And I didn't eat my bodyweight in chocolate for once! Made up for it with the Hot Cross buns though. Never mind ..... the diet starts now (again!)

If you're a fan of Sweet Poppy Stencils ..... and let's face it who isn't! ....... you may have heard that our lovely Lucy and the team have moved ...... TV channels that is.  Sweet Poppy are now going to be on HOCHANDA  ..... yeah!!! (Sky 663 ....... Freeview 85 ....... Freesat 817)  Their first show is on Friday this week ...... April 21st 1pm and I think it's 6pm I will check that though.

There's brand new stencil designs and there'll be demonstrations full of fabulous tips and techniques from Lucy.
The Design Team have been busy too ..... here's a couple of my samples using one of the new designs.

I know I shouldn't really have favourites but, I do love this design ..... the pretty Delphiniums

It's a nice sized stencil with great detail ....... use it as is with your inks, paints or texture pastes onto your favourite backgrounds to create quick and easy cards ......

I've used the faux woodgrain technique here ........ pva glue onto cardstock and left to dry.  Scored lines on the back of the card (side without glue) then Distress Ink (Weathered Wood) applied directly over the glue covered side ...... love this effect

I then used the stencil along with the Glossy Black embossing paste  directly over the top ..... look at all that pretty detail .... gorgeous!

A few dots of glitter glue to the centres of the flowers adds a touch of sparkle and I finished off the front with a simple stamped strip of card across the bottom.

I added just one of the blooms to the inside of the card ..... again using the black paste and a touch of glitter glue

OK ...... same stencil, but a completely different look ...... I love how this turned out

Again really simple to do ....... using a couple of different shades of blue Distress ink and the Glossy White paste this time

I used the new Faded Jeans Distress Oxide ink to colour the background.   I'm loving these new inks .... they're so different to the regular Distress but you can still do all the fab techniques with them.
I simply smooshed the ink directly onto my craft sheet, spritzed with water and then swiped a piece of white cardstock through the ink.  I repeated this until the whole piece of card was covered then I dried it off with a heat tool.  Love the effect

Using regular Distress ink this time I applied Chipped Sapphire through the Delphiniums stencil, applying more ink in places to give a little shading, and repeated the design across the whole of the card.

I then die cut the word 'happy' from the card, and again from a piece of plain white cardstock and a piece of black, giving me three layers all together

I inlaid the plain white one back into the stenciled card making sure to put all the little pieces from the coloured card, that would normally end up in the bin, back into place ....... the centres of the letters and the piece from the gap in between the a and the p.  Even the tiny bit in between the two p's had to go back in.  I know this seems a little fiddly but, it needs to be done to complete the finished scene ..... you don't want any gaps! Hope that makes sense!

The black 'happy' and the one from the stenciled card were then layered together, and put to one side whilst I added more delphiniums using the paste ......

You can see I covered the white paste with fine crystal glitter .... this looks so pretty and gives a nice delicate look to the flowers

The 'happy' was then put in place .... you can see I slightly off set the two layers to give the look of a shadow and I finished off by stamping the second part of the sentiment just underneath

Again I used the stencil on the inside .......

Don't forget to tune in on Friday to see Lucy work her magic.  I will confirm the times with you later in the week when I'll be back with a few more designs for you using more gorgeous Sweet Poppy stencils.

Oh well .... as much as I'd love to stay and chat the 'To Do' list is calling.  Lot's to get done this week ..... and there's only 4 days!!!

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

Cheerio until next time