Friday 15 September 2017

Happy it's the weekend ........

Good morning ........

Have you got that Friday feeling? ..... I know I have.  It's been a busy old week and I'm so looking forward to the weekend.

Did you catch Lucy on the TV yesterday?  I still have the afternoon show to watch.
What do you think of the Christmas designs? And what gorgeous samples from the rest of the DT ..... each one so different.
I think my favourite stencil was the wreath ....... or was it the tree .... or wait, there was that gorgeous, large holly background.  Decisions, decisions .... I just love them all!

Here's a closer look at some of my samples you may have spotted on the shows ...... you might want to grab a cuppa this could be a lengthy post!
Let's start with that pretty Christmas Tree Swirl ......


Black cardstock, spritzed with Perfect Pearls and left to dry naturally .....


The tree was then stenciled over the top using the Glossy White paste and sprinkled with the Crystalina glitter


I added tiny dots of coloured glitter glue to give the look of lights or baubles, and created a snowy landscape to ground the tree by simply sponging white ink along the edge of a piece of copier paper.


A simple stamped sentiment attached with some silver twine is all it needed as a finishing touch.

Here's the same stencil, done in the same way but on a different background ...... I love the icy look to this and only the one colour too


The background was simply a piece of white cardstock painted with the Sweet Poppy Persian Blue Lustre paint ..... how pretty is that


Just by adding a little more water in places to the paint  I got this pretty two tone effect.

As Leonie said on yesterday's show .... don't think you always have to use the whole stencil.  You've probably guessed I like to this with the stencils .... and with my stamps ..... it just gives a different look


And to finish off this one .... a simple stamped and embossed greeting along with a few white enamel dots  .......


Again ... same stencil .... completely different look .....


See how I've used part of the stencil to create a bit more interest in the background .....


Next up .... the Christmas Wreath .....


Done with the paste and glitter again ...... and then fussy cut before attaching onto an embossed background


A pretty ribbon bow and a few dots of glitter glue on the berries and you're done!


CAS and off the edge again ..... I love how this turned out


Love the detail ....... these stencils are top quality!


Don't just use them for card designs ...... here's a large MDF tag for those BIG boxes under the tree


This was so much fun to do ..... the Crackle Paint onto the background .....


A little touch of Distress ink around the edges and the stencil over the top .....


A festive die cut sentiment across the middle .... with a touch of Glossy Accents


Some festive foliage and  more of the pretty Crystalina glitter to add a frosty look


And last but not least ..... hope you're still with me .... that gorgeous, large Holly Back Plate
This is a lovely BIG stencil but don't let that put you off ... it's so useful.  Makes great backgrounds obviously, as Lucy demonstrated so well on air (looked fab with the Translucent paste).  But why not use that large design to make lots of different cards ......... you've already seen this one, think how many die cut baubles you could get out of one piece of stenciled cardstock


Or how many fussy cut pieces of holly ..... might take some time to do but,  great little embellishment for your festive designs.


Cut the design into smaller pieces if you like to send smaller cards ......


A little bit of Distress Ink around the edges and a simple strip stamped with the sentiment ....


Or use a large part of the design to make your 8x8 cards and you'll still have some left over to die cut
I made this look like a parcel ......


Festive ribbon and a cute little tag for the greeting ......


This stencil works great with inks too ......


Mask off a panel on the front of your card and use Distress Inks ......


You can still add your glitter glues or liquid pearls to the berries ......


I edged my design with a strip of double sided tape and then used gilding flakes over the top ...... and a simple stamped and embossed sentiment ..... another pretty CAS design using only part of the stencil


Why not mask around one or two of the bunches of  holly and use on the inside of your cards to decorate your sentiment ..... the uses for this design are endless.


Phew!  I think that's the lot.  Well done if you're still with me. I hope I've given you plenty of festive inspiration.

I'll be in the craft room most of today ........ it's a workshop weekend tomorrow and I've still got prep to do!!!
We're going to be playing with black cardstock ..... by request from one of the ladies.
Here's a little sneaky peek at one of the designs ........ pearlescent paints .... they work great on black (just wish I could photograph it better!)


Do you remember back in February(ish) I mentioned we had decided to order a new dining table. Well ...... the wait is finally over!!!!  We've had a couple of problems along the way but, Charlotte at the furniture store has been wonderful and our new table is now here.  It's BIG!!!  It's not actually the one we ordered originally ....... it's bigger.  It's solid too .... a beautiful piece of oak


It's a whopping 3.5m long when fully extended and 1.2m wide ..... perfect for Christmas dinner and family Sunday lunches.  And loads of space for my crafty ladies ...... after its been well covered of course! (Luckily we have plenty of chairs!)

Not only is it a workshop weekend ...... but ..... one of my favourite events is happening over the next two days ..... the IOM Food and Drink Festival!


I'll be popping off down there first thing tomorrow to get some shopping done ..... must get this year's Christmas pud, amongst other things ..... yum!!

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

Cheerio until next time ......

5 comments:

Mac Mable said...

So enjoyed this post...Great to see the many different uses with the fabulous stencils. Loved how you can stencil over the cracked background and it still looks fabulous. Also fussy cutting the leaves of the holly individually and ...best stop there because I love them all and thank you so much for the amazing inspiration. What a stunning table and great for crafting! Enjoy the food and drink festival, that would be right up my street x Thanks again x

Cheryl Robertson said...

Hi from California,

I just love the Christmas Greetings sentiment you used on these cards and a couple in the past. I know you said it was an old Stamping Up stamp set. Would you share the name of the stamp set with me? I've been looking on eBay for it but no luck so far. There are so many on there. Thank you!

Linda said...

Hi Cheryl .... thanks for stopping by and Thank you for your lovely comments. the 'Christmas Greetings' on the cards above is actually from a Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz stamp set called Deco Christmas (CMS176)
This should make it easier to find. It's a gorgeous font..... one of my favourites. Hope this helps. Enjoy the weekend xx

Mrs.B said...

A fabulous collection of samples Linda, very creative ways of using the stencils. Enjoy the Food and Drink Festival, have a great weekend.
Avril xx

Cheryl Robertson said...

Thank you!