The wait is nearly over ...... for some things

Happy Thursday folks .....

The last day of August ........ what happened to the rest of the month!?!

Just a quick post today.  How's your week been ...... are you GoT (Game of Thrones) fans?  OMG! I've just one thing to say .... March 2019 ..... really!!!!!!

I'm sorry I've nothing crafty to share today ..... there's lots of other stuff going on at the moment!   This is happening today ......

Yes .... Chris's pub opens it's doors again for business, and it would be rude not to go and wish them well now wouldn't it.

I'm on Grandma duties today ..... learning all about Pokemon!  The little man is here seeing as his mummy is busy running around helping Chris with the final touches ..... although she did pop in for a little while, she brought me her new shirts to iron .... as if I haven't got enough to do!!! She says I do them so much better than she does ....... yeah OK!

Both kids are going to be working together now ........ Chris, the Manager, and Lauren is joining his team as his Assistant Manager.  Good luck to them both ...... I know they'll be a great team!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
It's dinner out with hubby later, and then off to the Prospect ...... it could be a late start in the morning!

Cheerio until next time

What a nice weekend ........

Happy Bank Holiday Monday .........

I hope you're enjoying the long weekend.  It's been lovely here.

We ventured up to the Grandstand yesterday ..... there was no Grand Prix racing but it was nice up there, not busy at all.   A nice cold beer and one of the best pizzas on the island hit the spot perfectly! We caught up with Chris as well which was nice ..... we only get to see him lately when he's working ..... he's a busy man!

Speaking of busy, my crafty ladies gathered on Saturday and we had a lovely, fun afternoon playing with inks and tissue paper.
They loved it.  Just plain old white tissue paper, nothing fancy, and a whole load of  Distress inks .... great fun!

Inspired by Loll Thompson (www.stampingwithloll.com), we added colour to the tissue paper using Distress Inks.  Check out Loll's YouTube video to see what I mean.
It's such an easy way to get beautiful coloured pieces of paper with a gorgeous watercoloured look. You can then use these to create beautiful backgrounds for your projects or use them with your dies and punches ........ here's what I mean ....

Pretty textured backgrounds  ........ once it's dry glue the coloured tissue to a piece of white card to make it easier to work with, and it also makes the colours a little more intense .....

Adding more creases and texture whilst gluing it down gives a little more interest.

Die cut it ..... these pretty little dragonflies have been cut from a leftover piece (me and my scrapbox ..... they all come in handy!!)
Add a nice die cut sentiment coloured to co-ordinate ...... and you're done!

Here's another version ....... this time we added in a little touch of embossing powder to highlight the texture ......

Just a piece of the coloured tissue, again on white card, then I've gently rubbed over the top with a Versamark ink pad so that it's just the raised areas that picks up the ink. If not not confident using the whole pad, just dab your finger into the ink and lightly rub over where you want the embossing powder.  Sprinkled over the embossing powder and heat set. If you end up with too much embossing powder, or powder where you don't want it, just take a soft paint brush and brush it away before you heat it.

I love how it highlights the creases and texture .......

A bit of inlaid die cutting (saving the coloured die cut for another project!) and some rubber stamping completes the sentiment ......

You've seen the next few cards on the blog before ...... but these were popular designs on Saturday.  I think they liked how you could get so many different looks from using the same die.
Die cut the hello from a piece of black card .......

Cut one from a piece of your coloured tissue ......

And also a white version .....

Because the die cuts the word and the outline ..... you can mix and match each one.
It was nice and quiet when they were doing this ....... putting all those little inlaid pieces in took some concentration!

We did do a little bit of rubber stamping onto the tissue too ...... but sorry, you'll have to wait to see the finished result of that one ...... it's for a September Blog challenge!!  Check back here on Friday.

Thanks for popping by ..... have a great week and enjoy the Bank Holiday if you have one.
We're off for a sneaky look at Chris's new look pub this afternoon.
Yes, it's almost finished.  We drove past it last night and all the scaffolding from outside has gone. The outside looks really nice ..... I'll try and get some pictures to share but I might have to wait until it officially opens on Thursday.

Cheerio until next time .....

There's a new watering hole on the island ......

Happy Friday folks .......
Are you ready for a nice long weekend?

It's workshop time again for me ....... it's been a while.
My group of lovely crafty ladies are all gathering around the table tomorrow for a day of craft, coffee (or tea) and no doubt there'll be biscuits or cake!!  We may just even get some finished projects done too.

We're going to be playing with tissue paper this week .... thanks to the inspiration from the lovely Loll Thompson (www.stampingwithloll).
She's kindly agreed to me using her techniques for my workshop ..... so ladies, I won't be taking all the credit for this one!!
Check out her YouTube video on Watercolouring Tissue Paper ....... this lady is amazing!

Here are a few sneaky peeks at some of my inspiration pieces .......
We'll be colouring tissue paper first then ....... stamping on to it ......

Using it to create pretty textured backgrounds .......

Die cutting it .......

And even adding embossing powders on to it .....

Should be a fun day .... can't wait.

My weekend actually started last night.  Hubby took me out for dinner to a new bar/restaurant that's opened down on the Quay in Douglas .... yes another one! And what a lovely meal we had too.
The place is called Seven Kingdom and not only is it a lovely restaurant and a nice bar ..... it's a distillery too.  They make their own GIN!!!

After the delicious meal I had to try it out .... it would have been rude not too!  Just the one mind ..... although it was a large one!

Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic, blueberries and a little cucumber ..... very nice.

Then it was onto Silent Pool ..... a new gin for me.

Slimline tonic (of course!) and a slice of orange .... now that was nice!  I'll be having that one again! The bottle is soooo pretty too .....

As you've probably guessed  Seven Kingdom gets the thumbs up from me ....... and hubby, seeing as how they also have a great collection of single malt whiskys too!  I can see it becoming one of our regular places to go.

We've got a nice Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and dare I say it ..... the weather seems to be behaving itself.  The Manx Grand Prix practice week is finishing a lot better than it started, so let's hope that race week is good too. We haven't actually seen any of the practice racing ..... been up to the Grandstand though. Chris was managing the beer tent again at the beginning of the week so we just popped in to say Hi.  He's back in his own place now though, getting things ready for the grand re-opening of The Prospect next week.

Oh well .... must dash, I'm off out for lunch later and a spot of retail therapy, but before I go I must get the old craft room tidy .... there's stuff everywhere!
A quick coffee and a look at this morning's view first though I think.  Looks like we've got visitors ...

Thanks for popping by ... enjoy your day and have a lovely weekend.  Make the most of the Bank Holiday .... it's the last one before Christmas!

Cheerio until next time .....

CAS Mix Up ......

Happy Wednesday ......

Well here we are .... the  middle of another week.  At least the sun is shining again!
I thought I'd catch up with everyone seeing as I have a little bit of time on my hands.  I'm waiting in for the carpet cleaner to arrive.  Hubby had a mishap with a glass of red wine ..... on the lounge carpet (oh no!).  He couldn't have spread it any further if he'd have tried!
I managed to get it all off the sofa! and most of the wine off the carpet but it's left a lovely pink stain on my nice light coloured carpet. As you can imagine ..... hubby's on the naughty step!  Let's hope the carpet cleaner can get it out, otherwise I'll be buying a rug!

Anyway .... onto alcohol of a different kind.  I'm playing along with this month's CAS Mix Up challenge today.

and as you can see, this month it's all about using Alcohol Inks ...... I really don't use these little bottles enough!!

The pretty background is a piece of glossy cardstock which has been smooshed with alcohol inks .... I I'm not exactly sure what the colours are as this was done some time ago and it's been lying in my bit box waiting to be used ......

I love the delicate shades, and the hint of pink looks so pretty .... not sure it really comes across that well in the photo though.

I stamped the flowers over the top, using Versamark ink and then heat embossed them in gold .....

Using the MISTI ........ I placed a piece of white cardstock down and then laid the alcohol inked card on the top, and then stamped my sentiment so that the words went across both pieces.
I removed the inked piece of card and stamped the sentiment again just to make sure that I got the full image without any gaps around the edge ...... I do love my MISTI 💗

To finish off I added a few dots of the Nuvo Jewel Drops in the Sea Breeze shade ..... one of my current favourite products, they're going on everything!!!

So ..... I've done the stamping, used Alcohol inks and the 'my choice' element is heat embossing.

It's been a bit of a mixed bag this week in the craft room ..... DT stuff, Blog challenges, a workshop at the weekend to prep for and, a little bit of Christmas.  Yes, the December workshop is sorted!! Project is finished ..... two different looks done, and I must say I'm pleased with the results.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!  Look away now if you don't want to see a sneaky peek.  Talk about sparkle!!!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day, and I hope the sun is shining where you are.
Now where's my carpet cleaner got to?!

Cheerio until next time .....

Where did the last week go?

Happy weekend folks .....

What happened to the last 7 days!!?!! It doesn't seem five minutes since we were having Sunday lunch with Chris and Sam, relaxing in the sunshine.
Since then it's all been going on!  We've had sunshine, strong winds and LOTS of rain  ........ a nearby road was closed because part of it had washed away! Thank goodness the rain didn't last long, and the roads been repaired.
We had a lovely big cruise ship in the bay ...... luckily not on the day it rained.  One of the IOM ferries is out of action (again!)  The Manannan hit the quay side whilst docking so that's in for repair. Just in time for the start of the Manx Grand Prix (MGP) ..... practice week gets underway this evening (oh joy!) And ...... LLB (Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen) has been on the island!!!  Apparently he's filming for a new TV series and has been out and about on the Isle of Man.  He was at a store just around the corner from me earlier in the week, and then yesterday he visited my friend Claire down at Grenaby Studios ..... he even bought some of gorgeous her jewellry (exciting or what!) He'd better not have bought my ring that she's making for me!!

Most of my week has been spent in the old craft room.  It's been like a little holiday for me, Lauren, Robbie and the little man are in Spain, so I've not been on Grandma duty this week. It's been very quiet around here .... too quiet in fact.  I've missed them!
It has been busy though ...... I had a lovely day with my craft buddy.  I actually made a card, Lilian on the other hand spent the afternoon on the internet ....... craft shopping!!
I've also been catching up with all my crafty commitments ...... DT stuff is up to date, and this year's Christmas workshop project is almost finished...... the craft room floor looks like backstage at Strictly Come Dancing!  I think there's more glitter on the floor, my table and me than is left in the pot.
Note to self ..... add glitter to the shopping list!

I've also had time to play along with a couple of Blog Challenges ....... this month's CAS Watercolour Challenge, and if I can get a move on ...... I'll also be linking up to the current  Snippets Playground. This does close in less than and hour though so I'm going to have to be quick!

This month's CAS Watercolour challenge is  ...... use Salt

This is something I haven't done before ..... surprisingly! so I thought I would give it a go .... what do you think? I quite like the results

I just used rock salt from the kitchen cupboard .... sprinkled onto a smooshed Distress Ink background whilst the ink was still wet.  I did use watercolour card with quite a bit of water, and I left the crystals to dry overnight.  I love the result ......

I thought it had a frosty look to it so I went with snowflakes over the top.
I die cut a little piece of the card and heat embossed the snowflakes ..... don't they look pretty

A simple die cut frame and a stamped sentiment and we're done

I had to add some sparkle on there so I finished off with a few dots of sparkly glitter glue

I'll definitely be playing around with this technique again.

As I only used a piece of my inked cardstock I'm playing along at the Snippets Playground again .... hopefully I'm in time .....

It was my first time playing along with this challenge a couple of weeks ago and I got a lovely welcome from Di ...... thanks for the mention hun. I'm going to try and play along more often.

Thanks for popping by .... have a lovely weekend.
I'm off out today ..... one of my crafty friends is hosting a Stampin Up party (craft shopping ... always fun!) and as it's also her birthday there's a little celebration going on ..... that means cake!!

Better dash and make those challenge deadlines .........
Cheerio until next time ....

Good Friends .......

Happy Friday folks ......

The end of another busy week ....... let the weekend start now!

Have you played along with this month's Craft Stamper challenge yet?  No .... well there's still plenty of time.  And ...... if you have already entered don't let that stop you joining in the fun again .... you can have up to three entries, just as long as they all have their own blog post!

The theme is Anything Goes ..... as long as there's rubber stamping somewhere on your project.

Here's an idea for you ....... a pretty little wall hanging

I spotted this idea of using black ink with this type of stamp, and stamping onto Kraft card and I LOVE IT!!!  Thanks to Heather Hoffman (one of the Penny Black DT) for showcasing such a fab technique, I'm hooked.

I simply stamped the image onto a piece of Stampin Up Crumb Cake cardstock, using an old Black Versafine ink pad. I used my MISTI so that I could repeat stamp the image (Penny Black's dancing daisies) until I got a good depth of colour ......

Even though you're using a black ink you still get all the shading on the stamped image ..... love it!

I then stamped and heat embossed in gold, the sentiment ....... you can see I've gone slightly over the top of the flowers with this as it's a lovely large stamp (from Stampin Up's Lovely Friends clear set)

A little tip for you ...... make sure that the black ink is completely dry first, and use an anti static bag over the card before you stamp the words .... this way when you sprinkle on the embossing powder it will only stick to the stamped sentiment, and not on the flower image too. Why am I telling you this ..... I've no patience so the first attempt saw gold powder everywhere!  Oh well .... it's only a piece of card.

I added a few splatters of Black Soot Distress Oxide ink onto the background and a few dots of glitter glue to the centres of the flowers.

I then mat and layered using black and white card and edged the white layer using a gold leafing pen to create the look of a pretty frame.

To mount the design I used an 8x8 square canvas ..... I added a little texture paste here and there using my favourite brick wall stencil

then I painted the whole thing black with a couple of layers of black gesso .... I love the matt finish.

I finished off with a touch of gold wax ..... gently rubbed over the brick wall texture to bring out the detail.

As always we have a challenge sponsor .... this month it's Keep On Crafting

And the prize for the challenge winner is ....... 2 fab stencils along with 2 great stamp sets (see the picture below)

All the challenge info can be found over on the Craft Stamper Blog, along with full details of the prizes ... don't forget we have a monthly Design Winner too!!
You'll also find more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team too ..... Happy Stamping!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds out ..... we've got a whole load of friends coming round for a BBQ this evening, so guess where I'll be this afternoon ..... yep! in the kitchen ..... prepping!  Hubby does have these great ideas. At least I just have to get everything ready ..... he'll be doing all the cooking!

Cheerio until next time ....

Do you like to doodle ......

Hello there ...... I'm back again

It's been a busy day ....... and it's not over yet! That'll teach me to go galavanting at lunchtime.

It's time for another blog challenge this evening ....... do you like making ATC's? If you do you're in the right place ....... it's time to get this month's Happy Little Stampers ATC challenge underway.

The theme is Doodling ....... do you doodle?
I must admit it's not something I do a lot of however a little bit here and there can give a project a real fun look.

My ATC's have got a bit of a floral theme going on but there is doodling on there too ......
They started out as plain Kraft card and each one has been given a coat of pretty metallic paint from Sweet Poppy ....... Persian Blue

Bamboo .....

and Strawberry Sorbet .......

I then stamped the flowers (from PaperArtsy EEG14) over the top using a black ink and heat embossed them with a clear powder.
Each one was then coloured using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints  ..... these paints are fab and cover brilliantly

Spotted the doodling? (sorry!)  I added the dots to this flower, using a white gel pen

More dots on this one ...... ditsy groups of three, I love how this looks.

and stripes on the last one.  All of my ATC's have the faux stitching around the edges and a handwritten word on the bottom

I suppose you could say the painted dots are also doodled ...... I didn't use my usual brush to splatter the paint, instead I picked up the colour with the tip of an embossing tool and dotted the paint around the blooms

What will you doodle? .... I can't wait to see.

The challenge is sponsored by the HLS Store  and the winner will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to spend on their next order .... get doodling!

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

Cheerio until next time