Today's the Day .........

Happy Wednesday ........

It's the middle of the week already, and we've got a nice long weekend coming up.  Pity no one told the weather man!

Don't worry about the weather today though ..... settle down in front of the TV because Lucy and Sweet Poppy Stencils are back on Hochanda this afternoon ....... Sky Channel 673/Freesat 817/Freeview 85  at 1pm and again at 5pm, assuming there's stock available that is!

I shared some of my show samples with you yesterday, using the gorgeous new Christmas designs, if you missed them click this link to take a look.

The shows are not all about Christmas though, if you're still not feeling festive then there are new everyday designs for all those other occasions.
There's two stunning new back plate designs ....... large stencils, perfect for all over designs.

The beautiful Fairy Lanterns ...... designed for Sweet Poppy by Tracey from Lavinia stamps.  how gorgeous is this!

I used pearlescent white paste over a mop up piece of card from my stash ..... looks like it was probably done with Distress Inks

Once the paste was dry I added one of the Sweet Poppy foils over the top, and ran it through a laminator ..... love the shine!

I added a simple sentiment and finished off with a few gems .......

OK ...... I confess, the gems were added to disguise a few spots where the foil hadn't quite taken for whatever reason.  There's always a way to fix things!

Don't think that because the back plate stencils are quite large designs they're not for you,  they're perfect for using on smaller cards too.

Simply use part of the design or, even use the full stencil and then cut it down to create more than one card.

This was another mop up piece from my stash ...... a small piece of watercolour card this time

I used the same pearlescent white paste through the stencil, only this time I sprinkled over the top with some of the Sweet Poppy Fine Glitters .......

I added one of the Lavinia fairies ..... stamped in black, and I used my MISTI so that I could restamp the image, because of the slightly textured cardstock

And I finished with a Sweet Poppy sentiment, heat embossed in gold.

The other new design is the Fall Back Plate ...... a lovely cascade of Autumn leaves

I blended a little bit of Distress Ink onto a piece of white cardstock ........ Scattered Straw and Wild Honey ...... just to give a little colour to the background.  I then splattered water over the top, let it sit for a few seconds and then mopped up the excess to give a nice speckled effect.

I then placed the stencil over the top and added more Distress Inks in pretty Autumnal shades, blending different colours on the leaves

 A touch of sparkle with some Crystalina Glitter and a few sparkly gems ........

And again, I added one of the lovely Sweet Poppy sentiments

This stencil doesn't have to be just for Autumn designs, you can make your leaves whatever colour you wish

Looks gorgeous in green ....... this was done using the stencil paste over a simple ink smooshed background and a foil from my stash that has a few different shades and colours in there

Some ink splatters and a few co-ordinating gems are all it needs.

I added my sentiment on a vellum strip across the card ..... heat embossed in gold

I hope you love the new stencil designs.

Tune in at 1pm and 5pm to see more fabulous makes using the new stencils from the rest of the Design Team, and as always of course there'll be amazing demonstrations, with great tips and techniques from the lovely Lucy herself.

Just to warn you though, if you're planning to order today then BE QUICK!!  Especially if its the new Christmas Flourish Bauble from yesterdays post that you want.
It's already SOLD OUT once on the Sweet Poppy website, and now the first lot of pre-order stock has gone too ...... you are loving the bauble!
Don't worry there is more stock on the way, and it's available to pre-order again, on the Sweet Poppy website, from today.   If it sells out on TV later then I'm not sure if and when it will be available  again on TV
So ..... on your marks ladies!!!

I'll be watching from the motorhome .... hopefully.
We're off this afternoon to spend a nice Bank Holiday weekend in the van, on the campsite up at Cronk Aashen Farm again, near Kirk Michael.
I probably should't say this but ..... the weather looks like it might just brighten up a little later on, it's not actually raining at the moment, and I can see blue sky ..... whoo hoo!!  Fingers crossed it stays that way, although whatever the weather ..... I'm sure we'll have fun.  It'll be an adventure!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
Now where did I put the waterproofs?!

Cheerio until next time ......

OK ..... where's the sunshine gone?

Happy Tuesday .......

I hope the weather's a bit nicer where you are ........ it's wet and windy here today and the forecast for the next few days is not brilliant.  I think our summer is over for now, which is a shame as we're off in the van tomorrow for the long weekend (I'd better pack the waterproofs!!)
As well as it being a Bank Holiday on Monday next week, Friday this week is also a Bank Holiday here on the Isle of Man.
It's all because TT was cancelled and we didn't have the Senior Race Day holiday.  The powers that be decided to add the day to the late summer BH weekend, in the hope that the island was in a better position with the pandemic,  so that everyone could enjoy the break.  There's all sorts going on across the island over the weekend, so fingers crossed the rain stops at least!

Tomorrow is also a special day ...... especially if you're a Sweet Poppy Stencils fan.
Lucy is back on our TV screens with more fabulous new stencil designs.  And, if you're like me, and haven't started your Christmas cards yet then that may all be about to change ..... there's new festive designs!

We have the new Pine Wreath ...... beautiful for quick and easy cards.

This is using the pearlescent white Sweet Poppy stencil medium through the design onto black card, and then sprinkling the pretty Crystalina Glitter over the top whilst the paste is wet ...... easy!

Love the detail in this design .....

A simple sentiment stamped and heat embossed in gold in the centre of the wreath

A few dots of gold glitter glue here and there for added sparkle, and I finished off with splatters of gold ink and white paint onto the background

If CAS is more your style, with lots of white space, then this is perfect for those designs too.
I like to use my stencils off the edge of cards to give a different look .....

No stencil paste this time, just Distress inks ....... with a touch of sparkle added onto the pine cones

A few a drops of Liquid Pearls here and there

 Finishing off with a sentiment in the centre

OK .... now for my favourite of the new designs ...... the gorgeous Christmas Snowflake Flourish Bauble
How gorgeous is this!!

This is simply using the stencil as is, with coloured inks.  It looks fabulous.  Just think of all the different colours you could use.
I added a touch of sparkle and a sprinkling of chunky white embossing powder but, the bauble is such a great size, you really only need to add a sentiment.

Can I just say that if you want this design then BE QUICK!!!
I believe the stock has already sold out on the Sweet Poppy website (blame Eileen Godwin! ......  she's been doing amazing things with this on Facebook).  
It is available again on Pre-order with shipping on 9th September so not too long to wait but, if you need it right now then it will be available on Hochanda tomorrow but I'm not sure for how long!

Here's another version ....... I've changed the position of the stencil slightly here to make it look like it's hanging

I've kept to shades of blue Distress Inks, building the colours up gradually and adding shading to give a dimensional look

A touch of sparkle here and there,  a festive sentiment, and some simple shading around the edge

A few inks splatters onto the background and a touch of Stardust Gel Pen .......

So, the bauble looks amazing used as is but, why not add a little something extra .......

We've all got stamps to create winter scenes, more snowflakes would look amazing, or perhaps a pretty tree, or simply add your favourite festive sentiment to the centre of the bauble.
If you follow the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook page you'll have seen all the amazing designs on there using this new stencil ..... check it out!

I couldn't resist using my all time favourite snowman ...... and look, he was the perfect fit!

I stamped him first, and then added the stenciled bauble over the top.

More of those blue Distress inks, and lots of sparkle, and this time I added in a few stamped snowflakes onto the background, stamped using the same shades of blue inks

As I said, if you have to have this beautiful bauble then you're going to have to be quick.
Join Lucy tomorrow, that's Wednesday 26th August, at 1pm and again at 5pm (stocks permitting!) on  Hochanda ...... Sky channel 673  Freesat 817  Freeview 85

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'll be back tomorrow with a look at some more of the new Sweet Poppy designs

Cheerio until next time ........

A quick catch up .....

Hi there ....... Happy Thursday!

It's almost the weekend!
I hope you're enjoying your week, it's been a bit of a busy one here.
One day out and about in the south of the island with a friend which was lovely.  The little man has been here for a couple of days ...... always fun.  I've been moving furniture around, not the craft room this time, although I did think about it!! AND ...... the motorhome is all clean and ready to go again, not that we're going anywhere this weekend, the weather doesn't look too good.  We have Storm Ellen heading our way I believe.  Its getting a little breezy, but we do still have blue skies at the moment so it's not all bad.

I'm also catching up with crafty stuff, Design Team bits and bobs, and online workshops, so I've been in the craft room quite a bit this week ....... yeah!

Here's the finished mandala ....... loved doing this, so I have started another one!

Another of Tracy Scott's fabulous workshops on Facebook ..... this one was Adornment

How handsome is he!!!  I wasn't sure about the face when I started off, he looked a bit feminine, but once all the shading was done and the colour from his head-dress was there, I'm happy with the result.

I do love these Facebook workshops .... doing them live is fun but, if for whatever reason you can't make it live then the videos are always in the group, so you can just go back in and do them when it's more convenient. 
There's been one this week with Tracy (it's Day 4 today!) and all I've done so far is watch a little bit of each days video ..... I've a lot of catching up to do with that one!

OK, so it had to happen eventually ..... time to start thinking about, dare I say it ..........Christmas!!
If you're like me and still looking for festive inspiration well, next week on Hochanda Lucy is back with Sweet Poppy Stencils and there are a couple of beautiful, new festive designs.

Here's a quick look at some of my samples done for the shows ..........

There'll be a nice mix of Christmas and everyday designs ..... something for everyone.
I am loving the new bauble by the way ....... so many ways to use it!

I'll be back with a closer look at all these over the course of next week.

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Seas the Day ........

Happy Saturday ........

It's been another lovely day here.  I even ventured into town this morning, for the first time in ages. Hubby was off to the physio so I tagged along and did a little shopping whilst he was in there.

I've got a little reminder for you about this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge .......

It's a Watercolour challenge this month, hosted by Loll,  and the theme is all about the Beach.
What does that make you think of ...... soft sandy beaches, cool deep blue sea, amazing sunsets maybe or, has it got you dreaming of tropical holidays and delicious cocktails (not having any of those this year ...... the holidays not the cocktails!!)

I found this little beach scene in my stamp stash .....  oh! to be sat there now, dipping my toes in the water.

I stamped the image using a grey ink and then heat embossed with a clear powder. 

I then used Distress Inks and a lot of water to add the colour to the image and the background

I finished with a sentiment on the bottom

and added just a touch of shimmer to the water

There's still plenty of time to play along with this months challenge, and if you need some more inspiration then check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with on the CAS Mix Up Blog

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

We're staying at home this weekend, catching up on stuff.  And hubby's playing with his latest new toy ....... he's bought himself a drone. 
He's spent all afternoon charging batteries and watching YouTube videos ........ it kept the little man occupied too.  Alex is quite excited about it ..... maybe we'll buy him a smaller one for his birthday next month.

 
Cheerio until next time ........

Products used:
Stamps: Deck Chairs (Inkylicious); Mermaid's Tail (Ellen Hutson - for the sentiment)
Inks: Ranger Dye Ink - Cool Graphite; Distress inks - Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed, Scattered Straw, Carved Pumpkin, Antique Linen, Tea Dye; Delicata Ink - Silvery Shimmer
Others: Clear embossing powder (WOW!); Clear Wink of Stella pen