A date for your diary .......

Happy Monday evening ........

I hope you're all well.  It's been a busy few days over here but, finally I can put my feet up, grab a cuppa and check in with you guys.
We've had family gatherings, dinner's out, a get together with hubby's work pals, the decorators have been in and the in-laws have been across, which was more evenings and lunches out.  And ....... on top of all that, hubby's gone to Australia this morning, with work.  He's going to be away for nearly three weeks!!!!
As we speak, he's on his way to Dubai, for a quick stopover before his flight to Melbourne.  I can't believe he's gone without me!  He'd better bring me something nice back.
Next time ..... if there is a next time ..... I guarantee  I'll be on that plane with him!

I know I've been a little quiet on the blog front recently but everything is fine, just life taking over as it does from time to time.   I am getting back into the craft room though ........ and I think my mojo is returning, although it's taking it's time! There's been a few new goodies arriving though and I'm looking forward to having a play!

One job on this month's to do list was Sweet Poppy Stencils ..... always a pleasure to use.
The lovely Lucy is back on our TV screens ........Thursday 16th August on HOCHANDA (Sky Channel 673/Freesat 817/Freeview 85) and I think the time's are 12pm and 4pm but you might want to check the TV schedule.
There's no new stencil designs however, I believe there's some new stamps.  So new in fact that the DT haven't had chance to use them.
There's lots of favourite stencil designs on the show along with the pastes, glitters etc., and of course Lucy will be sharing lots of tips and techniques on how to get the most from your Sweet Poppy stash.

Here's a quick look at what went in the post at the weekend .....

Are there Christmas cards there ..... oh yes!  Well, it is August after all. We need to think festive at some point!

The beautiful Mehndi Snowflake makes such gorgeous Christmas/Winter designs ........

I simply took a blue Distress Oxide ink pad and swiped it a couple of times, across a piece of white cardstock, and then used a damp baby wipe to spread the ink over the whole card

I let this dry for a little while and then used the stencil with the Glossy White paste over the top of the colour, and finished with a sprinkle of crystal glitter ...... so sparkly!

You can see I've kept the snowflake on the corners of the card, and used different amounts of the stencil design, leaving space in the middle to stamp my sentiment ......

I also added in a few dots of White Enamel Accents here and there

Here's the same stencil, this time I've used the whole design and inked through with Distress ink instead of using the paste ......

I die cut the snowflake using nesting circle dies, cutting a larger circle to mat each layer on to ......

It looks as though I've used glitter card for the layers, but I didn't.  It's just plain white cardstock and I've used a Quickie Glue Pen around the edges and sprinkled Crystal Glitter

I used foam pads to layer up the snowflake to add dimension ......

and added a touch more glitter here and there for extra sparkle .....

A little bit of Distress Ink brushed around the edge,  a simple festive greeting, and a few sparkly gems to finish off ..... so simple

One more quick and easy design ...... I love black white and gold!

Snowflake done using the white paste again along with the crystal glitter ...... slightly off the edge of the black cardstock

A sentiment stamped and embossed in gold ......

And then I used gold and silver metallic ink, mixed with a little water and then splattered across the card with a paintbrush

Have you started your Christmas cards yet?  No, either have I!!  There's loads of time ........

I'll be back tomorrow with a closer look at a few more samples ..... don't worry they won't be Christmas.

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

I think it's an early night for me ........ it's been a long day.  It's going to be a VERY long three weeks,  I don't think hubby and I have been apart for so long before .... sigh!

Cheerio until next time .......