Saturday 1 August 2020

Launching the new Sweet Poppy Monthly Challenge .......

Happy weekend ......

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month ........ welcome to August!!!
Not quite sure what happened to July but ..... here we are.  Only 146 days until Christmas ..... eeek!!
I'm not getting into the festive spirit just yet though.  I usually say nothing festive until I've been away on holiday but that's not going to happen this year.  We should have been in Florence Italy last weekend for our wedding anniversary but it wasn't to be.  Next year hopefully.
Instead we're having another weekend away, on the island, in the motorhome.  Not quite the same but, I'm sure we'll have fun!

It's the beginning of a new month and I'm excited!!!   There's a brand new challenge launching today from the fabulous Sweet Poppy Stencils.  You know me, I love a good challenge and I do love Sweet Poppy Stencils so this should be fun.
It's a monthly challenge, running on the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook page. It starts on the first of each month and will run through to the 29th of the month.
There's a few rules to follow, nothing difficult, and the winner will be randomly chosen at the end of each challenge from all the eligible entries.

The rules are ......
  • Follow the monthly theme 
  • Post your entry on the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook page 
  • Include on your post the words ...... "Sweet Poppy challenge -  theme name" (so that we know to include it in the draw)
  • Each person can enter a maximum of THREE entries into each challenge ..... and
  • ONLY Sweet Poppy stencils must be used - other brands of inks, mediums and stamps can be used on your designs, but your stencil must be the focal point.
Each month a winner will be randomly chosen and they will receive a fabulous £40 voucher to spend online only on the Sweet Poppy Website.

What are you waiting for ....... get those Sweet Poppy stencils out and create something fabulous!!

Need a little inspiration?  OK.  The first Sweet Poppy Challenge theme is .......... 

Hot Summer Colours

These could be pretty tropical shades or maybe like me, you think of hot summer days and gorgeous sunsets ........


I simply blended Distress Inks onto a piece of white cardstock ........


I then splattered a little bit of water over the top, let it sit for a few seconds and then mopped up the excess.  Because Distress inks react with water you're left with this fab speckled effect on the background ...... the more water you use and the longer you let it sit, the more ink you will remove


I placed my stencil over the top and used a sponge to apply another Distress Ink through the design, building up the depth of colour gradually.  


I used one of the large word stencils to add my sentiment ......


And to finish I added a few highlights to the letters using a gold gel pen ......


and a few splatters of gold ink, to add a touch of shimmer to the card.


I'm looking forward to seeing all your Hot Summer designs in the Simply Sweet Poppy Facebook Group.

Happy stenciling!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed the sun keeps shining!

Cheerio until next time ......



Products used:
Stencils: Black Orchid, Inspirational Word stencil - Dream (Sweet Poppy)
Inks: Distress Ink - Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, Abandoned Coral, Worn Lipstick (all for the background), Aged Mahogany (for the flower); Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz (for the splatters)
Others: Gold Sparkle Gel pen

2 comments:

Bonnie said...

Hot and dramatic, Linda! Love the shimmer on the letters and that gorgeous flower!

Loll said...

Gorgeous card Linda! LOVE your hot summertime colours! Amazing ink blending that is smooth as silk. The stencil you've used over top is gorgeous! Have to say that I finally make my first order from Sweet Poppy and received my stencils a couple of days ago. That are so awesome! xx