It's the first Friday of the month .........

Happy Friday .......

It's almost the weekend ..... whoo hoo!!  I hope you've had a good week.
It's been a bit crazy around here but, only one more sleep then it's time for some R&R!  That's if I ever get the suitcases packed!  At the moment I've got my pj's, toiletries and a swimming costume in there, oh and my flip flops .... I suppose I could manage with those at a pinch!
We don't actually fly to Santorini until Sunday morning, but we're flying over and staying at Gatwick tomorrow night .......... I've still loads of time to pack!

Before all that though, it is the first Friday of the month so, that means it's time to launch October's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge

As always there's no particular theme to follow ....... it's Anything Goes.  Anything that has actual rubber stamping on there that is .... so NO DIGIs please!
You can find all the guidelines for the challenge over on the Craft Stamper Blog, along with the details of this months prizes.  There's also some amazing projects on there from the Design Team
if you need a little inspiration to get you started.

Before I get full of the Christmas spirit and go all festive, which will no doubt happen once I get back from holiday (I hope anyway ...... I've still got all my Christmas cards to make!)   I've got a pretty floral design using one of my favourite stamps at the moment from Altenew .....

I masked off around the edges of a piece of white card using low tack tape.  I stamped the pretty floral image onto two opposite corners (I do like working on the diagonal), and heat embossed in white.

I used my ZIG Markers to add colour to the flowers and quite a bit of water.  I like to paint the petals with water first, then add a touch of colour using the pens and then, add a little more water to my paintbrush to move the colour around giving a nice watercolour effect ..... great for adding shading too!

I used the acetate smooshing technique to add the background colour ....... smooshed Distress Ink onto a craft mat, spritzed with water and then used a piece of acetate to pick up the colour and then 'smoosh' it on to the background .....

All this, by the way, was done with the masking tape still in place around the edges.
Once everything was dry then the tape was removed, and I was left with this lovely framed look, without having to add another layer of card.

A simple stamped sentiment in the centre, and a few sparkly sequins finish it all off.

The challenge is open until Oct 23rd so there's plenty of time to get your entries in.
As always we have two fab prizes on offer ......
1.  The Design Winner ..... chosen by the DT.  Their winning project will be featured in the Craft Stamper magazine along with a Winner's Profile, and they will also be invited to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge.
2.   The Challenge Winner ..... randomly chosen, will receive this month's fabulous challenge prize
Two x Prima Redesign Moulds ...... In the Garden and Leafy Blossoms.  How pretty are those!

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ...... have a lovely day and enjoy your weekend.
I'm off to finish up in the craft room and then try and get it tidy ..... if that fails I can always close the door and no-one will be any wiser!!
I'll also be back again later with one more blog challenge for you, then it's sun, sea and greek salads for me!!

Cheerio until then .......

Products Used:
Stamps: Handpicked Bouquet (Altenew); Special Sentiments (Penny Black)
Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
Others:White Detail Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Low Tack Masking Tape; Sequins