A quick reminder for this month's CAS Challenges ........

Happy Sunday .......

It's been a busy weekend for blog posts.

Time to remind you about this month's CAS Challenges ...... first up CAS Mix Up .
March is a special month for us ..... we're celebrating our 4th Birthday ..... whoo hoo!

To mark the occasion there's prizes to give away ........

a $25 Simon Says Stamp Gift Certifiate for the Challenge Winner

and ....  a $25 Simon Says Stamp Gift Certificate for one random draw from all the entries

(you must follow the challenge rules to be eligible for the prizes)

Our host this month is the lovely Jenny and the theme she's chosen is ........ Acrylic Paint

We all have them ..... we don't always use them though, especially for card making.  But, all those bottles and tubes or tubs of pretty coloured paints can give amazing results and effects.
Still not convinced ...... then check out the CAS Mix Up Blog for links to some really useful videos full of tips and techniques.

I've used my acrylic paints to add colour to the flowers on this design .......

The piece was originally done for one of my workshops where we were using a faux bleaching effect.

The background was coloured using Distress Ink applied directly from the ink pad onto the card and then swiped across using a wet wipe

Once the ink was dry, I stamped and heart embossed the flower bouquet using a white embossing powder.  Then with a water brush and a paper towel I 'bleached' out the colour from the stamped image.  Simply paint with water over the flowers and leaves and then dab away the colour with a paper towel.  This removes the colour from the image allowing you to paint over the top with pencils, or markers, or in this case acrylic paints

I used opaque Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics from PaperArtsy and mixed them with a little water to make them easier to paint with.

I added a simple stamped sentiment to finish.


Are stencils your thing?  Then how about playing along with the CAS Stencil Challenge .....

This month's theme is all about using your stencils with Heat Embossing

I've simply used Versamark ink through my stencil design ....... applied using a sponge ....... and then sprinkled gold and silver embossing powders over the top and heated in the usual way.

If you wanted a little more dimension to your stencil design, use stencil paste instead of the Versamark, sprinkle with embossing powder whilst the paste is wet, and leave to dry.  Heat the embossing powder once the paste is dry.  This also creates a little more texture too.

I die cut the word star from three snippets of card, layered two of them together and covered the third with Versamark ink and used the embossing powders again.  I did this a couple of times, to create a thicker embossed layer

I attached the embossed word on top of the others and then inlaid it into the stenciled panel.
Finished of the sentiment with a little stamping.

Another fun way of using your stencils.

See you in the gallery!

Thanks for popping by ........ enjoy the rest of your weekend.
We've got the family coming round later ..... don't think they're here to see us, they want to check out the new motorhome I think!

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

CAS Mix Up
Stamps: Hello Lovely (Concord & 9th); Simply Said Blocks (Uniko); Tiny Words (Simon Says Stamp)
Inks: Distress Ink - Picked Raspberry (background colour); Versamark;
Acrylic Paint: Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic - Wisteria, Lavender, Magic Moss, Granny Smith, Lemon Meringue (PaperArtsy)
Other: White Embossing Powder (WOW!);

CAS Stencil
Stamps: Written in the Stars (MFT)
Stencils: Shooting Stars - Funky Fossil
Inks: Versamark, 
Other: Gold & Silver Embossing Powders (WOW!); Shining Stars Die (MFT)