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)