Are you ready to start feeing festive? ..........

Happy Wednesday ......

It's the middle of the week, and it's the last day of July ....... how did that happen?!!
Oh well, twenty-one weeks today it will be Christmas Day ..... just saying!

Have you even started thinking about the festive season yet? ...... I know I haven't, not really.
Well, not until last week that is!  We all know Christmas comes early in the craft world.

If you're looking for some Christmas ideas, or you need a little festive inspiration then you're in for a treat.  Lucy is back on our TV screens later this week with the first of the new Sweet Poppy Stencils Christmas designs ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!

When? ...... Friday 2nd August

What time? ....... 10am and 3pm

Where? ...... Hochanda  Sky channel 673/Freesat 817/Freeview 85

There'll be some gorgeous new designs on the shows, and some old favourites.  There'll also be stamps, stencil pastes, glitters etc.  Lucy will have some fab demonstrations and lots of tips and techniques.  I'll be watching ..... will you?   

I've been busy with a few samples for the shows.  It was weird coming up with Christmas designs in all that heat we've been having, but I got there in the end!

Here's a quick look at a couple of the new designs.
There's a lovely new Back Plate called Knit and Stitch ....... perfect for creating those all over designs.
And not just for Christmas ..... how cute would this look used on baby cards.

I used the whole of the stencil with Distress Oxide ink to create my background ..... very quick and easy.

I then used another of the new designs over the top ....... Glossy White stencil paste and red and green glitter over the top.

The words are slightly off set on the stencil, and I wanted my greeting to be in a straight line so, I used just one the words, masking off the holly on two of them ..... sounds tricky but it was really easy to do.

I stamped one of the new Christmas sentiments onto a strip of vellum and heat embossed with a clear powder, before wrapping it around the bottom of my card.

How about something a little CAS ...........

I used gold ink this time ....... and only part of the design (the rest can be used on another project)

A festive red ribbon across the bottom, one of those new sentiments stamped in two different colours (red and gold) and then layered to add a touch of dimension

I finished off with some die cut holly leaves, cut using a new cute little die set from Sweet Poppy (Holly Trio)

Speaking of dies, background stencils are great for using to add detail to your die cuts ...... here's a sneaky peek at another of my samples, but you'll have to wait until Friday to see this in full!

Remember the Ho Ho Ho! stencil on the previous card, where I used just part of it, well here it is in full ......

Stenciled onto a background left over from a previous Sweet Poppy project.
In fact, it was something that didn't turn out as planned.  I couldn't throw it away though, it's got such a beautiful shimmer to it when the light catches.

I'd used the Sweet Poppy Poinsettia stencil and Distress Oxide inks but I'd been a little heavy handed with the ink and it had bled under the stencil so I didn't want to use the background.
Then I thought what if I sprayed it all with water and let the inks spread, maybe it would look OK, so that's what I did ..... I sprayed it with water, lots of water, lots and lots of water!!!
I kept going back to it and spraying it again.  I loved how the inks moved and spread, giving this sort of watercoloured look.  The last spray that I did was with Perfect Pearls to give the pretty shimmer on the top.  It took a while to dry and was on my desk for days but I love how it turned out. Bet I can't recreate it though!

I stenciled the sentiment over the top using the Glossy White Stencil Paste and sprinkled Crystalina glitter over the top with a touch of green on the holly

A simple Merry Christmas stamped and cut into a banner, and finished with a sprinkling of Chunky White Embossing Powder.

Feeling festive yet?  That's just a little taster of what's coming on Friday's shows.  I'll be back later in the week with some more Christmas inspiration.

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:
Stencils: Knit & Stitch Back Plate; Ho Ho Ho!, Poinsettia, (Sweet Poppy);
Inks: Distress Oxide ink - Stormy Sky, Festive Berries, Peeled Paint; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz;
Stamps: Christmas Blessings Clear stamps; Joy & Peace clear stamp set (Sweet Poppy);
Other: Glossy White stencil paste, Red, green and Crystalina fine glitters, Holly Trio Die (Sweet Poppy); Vellum paper; Clear Embossing Powder; Chunky White Embossing Powder (Stampendous)

Phew! ....... that was a busy few days

Happy Sunday ..........

And breathe!
What a week that was.

We've had the Uniko new release, which seems to be going down amazingly well (no surprise there!).
Lucy and Sweet Poppy Stencils are back on the TV this next week so I've been busy creating for that (get ready to feel a little festive!).
The school holidays are in full swing, so we've had the little man for a couple of days (always fun).
We went to the cinema on Thursday to watch The Lion King and he loved it! He sat on the edge of his seat most of the time, bless him.  Mind you, his mum was the same when she went to watch the original ...... she cried back then, and there were tears again this time!!

Life also threw us a little curve ball this week too.  We had a bit of a scare with hubby but, he's fine.  The local hospital did a thorough check .... blood tests, x-rays etc.  Had me worried for a couple of hours I can tell you, but as I said, he's all good.

Anyway ........ as things have calmed down a little in the craft room I thought I'd share a few photos from our recent family holiday.  It seems like such a long time ago now.

I would thoroughly recommend a week on a boat, on the Norfolk Broads.  It's so relaxing .... well unless you're with my lot!!  Only joking .... we had a great time messing about on the river

The weather was a little wet when we set off but ....... hubby still insisted on steering from outside .....

The rain didn't last long though.  The sun came out, and it was gorgeous!

It wasn't as busy as we expected either.  Quite a few times we had the river virtually to ourselves

One little stop was to visit the ruins of St Benet's Abbey ......

We also made new friends along the way ......

And of course we had to sample the local food and drink .....

The New Inn at Horning 

The Maltsters at Ranworth 

The Lion at Thurne

The Ferry Inn - Alex's first game of pool

It was also hubby's birthday whilst we were away ......
Start as you mean to go on ...... pink champagne and a special lunch on the boat

Then off to a very nice seafood restaurant in the evening ...... someone enjoyed his smoked salmon!

As always, it was over far too quickly ........

Lots of happy memories though ........ and a few souvenirs

A rather nice cowboy hat that Chris 'bought' off a guy in a bar for a tenner (£10) ....... turned out the guy's wife wasn't too impressed.  They were on the boat moored behind us and she saw Chris coming home with it.  Lets just say the husband got a talking to when he got home!!

I found a pretty gin glass .... perfect for my Mermaid Gin .....

And remember this little guy from last year ......

well .... he now has some friends ......

The lady that makes these beauties Tracy Whinray is from Feltwell in Norfolk.  Hubby always said that if we were in the area I could add one of the large hares my collection so, I'd been in touch and Tracy invited me to her home and studio.
I was so excited ..... her studio was amazing. Tracy and her husband were so welcoming and of course I couldn't resist adding to my collection ....... the little grey ones are gorgeous!

I think he likes his new home!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your weekend.
It should have been a workshop weekend for me but, with everything else that was going on I re-scheduled.  Instead I had a lovely day yesterday down in the south of the island, with my crafty buddies, just playing around with stuff!
There was cheescake too ..... yum!
Anyhow ...... I'd better go and unpack my craft bags now, and get ready for a new week. I wonder what's on the To Do list?!

Cheerio until next time ......

Uniko New Release Design Team Blog Hop and GIVEAWAY .......

Happy Friday .........

It's been a busy week ..... and a HOT! one too. 
But, the weekend is almost here and guess what ..... it's Release Day for the brand new collection from Uniko ..... yeah!!!

Over the last few days, along with the rest of the Uniko Design Team, I've been introducing the latest Uniko release.  There's not long to wait now before it's all available on the Uniko website.  Check out the New Arrivals section from 9pm (GMT) this evening.

There's FIVE brand new stamp sets, a re-released set, and FIVE new stencil designs.
Here's a little reminder .......

Background Builders - Classics ...... a fab collection of useful borders.

Sentiments Outlined ....... you can never have too many sentiments!

Large Background - Tropical Paradise ....... this is gorgeous!!

There's also a new Background Block - Nautical Stripes ...... just think of the possibilities for this one

The re-released set of stamps ....... Nautical Treasures, goes so well with this new release

And finally another set of words ...... Wild!

The stencils designs are ...... Fleur De Lis 

and Anchors ...... great background designs, but also good for adding small accents.

And there's the new animal print designs  ........ the Tiger

the Zebra .....

and last but not least, the Giraffe ....

Well ..... what do you think?  Another fab release or what!
I've been busy playing working with them this week .......

Something really quick and easy, using the Sentiments Outlined and just one of the Background Builders Classics ....... just think of all the colour combinations you can use on those sentiments

The new Large Background Tropical Paradise is perfect to use with the Uniko Paradise Stamp set

and you don't always have to use it all.  I've just die cut a small circle to use for my background here.
Stamped and heat embossed in white, and then coloured using ZIG Markers and a water brush.

Next up, a bit of a nautical theme ...... using the re-released Nautical Treasures stamp set and the Fleur De Lis stencil .....

As I said, great for creating backgrounds .......

and perfect for adding accents ......

The ship is great for colouring ......

How cool do those Nautical Stripes look ...... and there's those Outlined Sentiments again

I added some 'drops of water' using Nuvo's Crystal Glaze.

And finally ....... the animal print stencils, so on trend!

I love this Zebra print.  This was so quick and easy, but definitely makes a big statement.

For a bit of a different look, I fussy cut the large word from the new Wild stamp set 

and last but not least .......

I used the Tiger print stencil to add the detail onto the large word.  It took a little bit of time to mask off the letters, but it was worth it.

Another fabulous Uniko release!  What's on your shopping list?

As with all the Uniko new releases, we're having a Design Team Blog Hop and a Giveaway.

All you have to do is hop on through the Blogs and leave comments.  You have until midnight on the 3rd August, so plenty of time to get round them all.  

The winner will be chosen at random from all the comments left on the blogs ...... so the more you comment the more chances you have to win.  

And the prize up for grabs is ...... THE ENTIRE NEW RELEASE!!  That's right all 6 new stamp sets and the 5 new stencil designs.

Happy Hopping!

Bev

Carol

Izzy

 Jane

Julie

Linda (that's me)

Lindsey

Rahmat

Sarah G

Sarah P

Wiebke

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.
I hope the weather stays nice, although a little cooler would be good!

Cheerio until next time .....