The deadline is approaching on this month's Simpy Sweet Poppy challenge ........

Happy Monday ........

Did you have a nice weekend?  

I just wanted to pop by and remind you that the deadline for this month's Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook Challenge is coming up fast!  If you haven't yet played along, and would like to be in with a chance of winning the £40 voucher to spend on the Sweet Poppy website, you have until 5pm tomorrow to get your entry in.  That's 5pm (BST) on Tuesday 29th September.

The rules are simple ........

• Create a project using SWEET POPPY STENCILS as your focal point
• Follow this month's theme ...... Hues of Blue
• Post it on the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils FB page ....... including in your post .... Sweet Poppy Stencils Challenge .... Hues of Blue 
• Remember ....... you MUST ONLY use Sweet Poppy stencils.  Any entry found to be using another brand of stencil will not be included in the draw for the winner.  Other brands of mediums and inks can be used with your stencil, and stamps can also be used but,  your stencil MUST BE the main focal point of your project

This was created with a simple Brusho background on a piece of watercolour cardstock.  I sprayed the card with water, sprinkled over the Brusho powder and then let it do all the work.

I spritzed a little more water in places and dabbed away the excess with a paper towel until I was happy with the look.

Once it was dry, I used my stencil over the top with a navy ink .... building up the depth of colour gradually.  

To finish off I added a few dots of glitter to the ends of the flowers and my sentiments across the bottom ..... heat embossing one in silver 

and stamping another underneath using the same navy ink.

It's been a very popular challenge this month, there's lots of amazing entries in the gallery so far.  But you have to be in it to win it, so get those stencils out ..... the clock's ticking!

I can't believe all this nice weather we've been having, it's been lovely, although the temperatures are starting to drop a little now (sigh!)  Not a problem though last night ....... we finished our family staycation week back at home, sat out enjoying the stars.  

We took the little firepit from the van and finished the evening on the patio .......

There's something about sitting round a fire ..... it's mesmerizing.  Especially when we started burning these pine cones ...... Northern Lights Color Fire Cones from Lakeland ..... they were amazing!  They change the colour of the flames into blues and greens ......... really pretty.

Just wished we'd had some marshmallows ....... next time!!

Thanks for popping by ........ have a great week.

I'm off into town with Lauren today, would you believe Christmas shopping.  Wish me luck!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stencils: Cornflowers (Sweet Poppy)

Stamps:

Inks: Versafine Clair - Twilight

Others: Brushos Pigment Powder - Cobalt Blue; Fine crystal glitter

Happy Birthday Nancy! .......

Happy Friday to you .......

The weekend is here again!

It's also a very special day today ...... the lovely Nancy (scandinancy creates) is having a birthday, and to celebrate the occasion Loll is hosting a surprise Linky Party ..... SURPRISE!!! 

Happy Birthday Nancy ..... I hope you have a very special day, and to help you celebrate here's a little card from me, full of love and best wishes just for you!

This gorgeous stamp from the Colorado Craft Company is having it's first outing to mark this occasion.

Stamped and then heat embossed in gold .....

and coloured using Polychromos coloured pencils.

The tiniest touch of shading onto the bottle, and of course the sentiment .....

I finished with a little touch of sparkle for a very special lady ........

The linky will be open for 2 weeks so, if you know the lovely Nancy, and I know a lot of you do, then why not join in the fun and wish her a very Happy Birthday!

Here's to you Nancy!

As it's the first time I've used this gorgeous stamp, I'm also linking this card up to the NBUS Challenge #18

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day, and have a great weekend.  

We're all off home this evening, our family staycation has sadly come to an end.  

Roll on the next one!

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stamps: Big & Bold Perfume Bouquet (Colorado Craft Company)

Inks: Versamark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata Metallic Ink - Golden Glitz

Others: Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); Faber Castel Polychromos Coloured Pencils; Fine Crystal Glitter

Navy and Turquoise for the Color Hues Challenge .......

Hello again .......

How's your Wednesday going?

We're having a lazy day here ...... the sun is shining and we're all just chillin!

I'm playing along with the new Color Hues ..... the Color Challenge.  Yeah! I'm in plenty of time for this one ..... I think!

It's challenge #2 and the colours this time are Navy and Turquoise (what a nice combination!)

I think I'm definitely getting a touch of the festive spirit  ........  look it's another Christmas card!

It's a really simple one too (well if you can call four, or it might have been five, attempts simple!)  

I've used an old, wooden stamp from Hero Arts, so no MISTI ....... eeek!!  

One chance to get it right, no repeat stamping, which wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't have been using two colours of ink.  Getting the blend right where the colours met, and a result I was happy with, wasn't easy.  I got there in the end though.

(Wasn't easy taking the photo either ....... it was either too sunny or, not enough light.  And, I didn't have my photo boards with me ...... that's my excuse anyway!!!)

I used Versafine Clair inks directly onto the stamp,  and then a sponge to gently blend the colours together ........

Added a sentiment on the bottom using the navy colour of ink

And then I finished off with a touch of crystal glitter ....... I said it was simple!

I'm also going to link this up to the CAS Christmas Card Challenge ..... I think the deadline is tomorrow so I'm just in time!

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

We're having family quiz night tonight ....... it's going to get very competitive. 

Hubby is busy putting all the questions together and it's going to be based around the Walmsley family.  If you've ever watched the Friends episode with the quiz, it'll be something along those lines ..... how many categories of crockery does Mum have?  What makes Chris cringe?  What is Dad's actual job title?  You get the idea.

The kids are also cooking dinner this evening, so it's a nice easy day for me.  Now where did I put my craft bag?

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stamps: Tree stamp by Hero Arts; Sentiment was a magazine freebie (I think ....... no packaging!)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Twilight (Navy), Warm Breeze (Turq)

Others: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine Crystal Glitter

We're on staycation ........

Good morning!  Happy Wednesday ........

This week is flying by, mind you we have been a little busy.

We're here on our family staycation in a lovely place called Ballarhennie House, on the outskirts of Kirk Michael ..... and we've only been back home just the once (I knew we'd forget something!!)

Here's a few pictures of the place ........

A nice large garden ..... with plenty of room to play with the drone

We even have a pond ......

Inside is beautiful ...... 

it didn't take us long to settle in ......

And, if the weather does take a turn for the worse, there's plenty to keep us all entertained ......

Did you notice the bar?  I found this hanging on the wall .......

Love it!

We've spent time at the beach ......

 

September has been lovely so far ...... just look at that sky!

Nice sunset too ......

We've had a birthday ....... the little man was 10!!!

Of course there had to be cake ........

He's growing up so fast.  

He wanted to go tenpin bowling yesterday and we had a great time.  I'd forgotten just how much fun bowling was, it's years since we went.  I wasn't too rusty though ..... but Well Done Alex!!!

Not sure what we're up to today, I think Alex wants to stay at the cottage and play with his birthday present.  We bought him a drone like Grandad's, a smaller version, so if the weather holds I think the pair of them will be out in the garden.

I think I might just get my craft bag out. 

Thanks for popping by ...... have a great day.

I'll be back later .... I don't want to miss the Color Hues challenge again! 

Cheerio until then ......

Oh Christmas Tree! ......

Happy Sunday .......

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.  

It's a lovely morning here on the island, we've got blue skies, the sun is shining and this is the view from our bedroom window ..... we can see the sea!!

 

Yes ...... we're on our family Staycation.  

We arrived at Ballarhennie House yesterday and the cottage is beautiful.  It's so peaceful, and it has everything we could possibly need ..... including a cat that likes to make itself at home!  We've just got Lauren and Alex with us here at the moment, and Chris and Myra will be joining us tomorrow .... it's going to be fun.

I'll share more pics with you during the week.

I'm playing along with this month's CAS Christmas Card Challenge ....... again!  I must be getting the festive spirit!

The theme is Christmas Tree couldn't resist ....... you know me, I love a nice tree.

This one is so pretty ....... and it's really quick and easy to create cards.  

Simply stamp the image ..... I stamped directly onto my card base.  One layer cards are great for posting 

I then added a touch of colour to the baubles, or they could be lights I suppose, the stamp is called all lit up  

A little bit of sparkle to the branches with some fine crystal glitter, and a few splatters of gold and silver ink onto the background ........

A simple sentiment finishes it all off .......

That's another one for the festive box!

Speaking of trees .... look what someone found in the garden!

It's his birthday tomorrow (Monday) ..... I can't believe he's 10!!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy what's left of your weekend.

I think we're off to the beach later, making the most of the sunshine.  

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stamps: all lit up (Penny Black); Scribbly Christmas (Tim Holtz) for the sentiment

Inks: Versafine Clair - Pinecone; Delicata - Golden Glitz, Silvery Shimmer

Others: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine Crystal Glitter; Sparkle gel pens

Ooops! ....... I missed the boat!

Happy Wednesday ......

Don't worry, I didn't really miss the boat.  I'm not going anywhere, well apart from Kirk Michael at the weekend that is, and I don't need the boat to get there!

 

What I did miss was, the deadline for the first of a brand new Blog Challenge ....... Color Hues .... the color challenge

I do love a new challenge so, off I went, made my card and then realised that it's actually a two weekly challenge and the deadline was Monday!!  Oh well ..... must try harder next time!

The colour hues for the first challenge were Yellows and Greens ..... 

All is not lost though because this is perfect to link up to Darnell's NBUS Challenge

This Stampin Up! set has been on my shelf for months and has never seen an ink pad.  In fact, I don't think it had even been opened before ..... all the stamps were still connected in their piece of red rubber (shame on me!) making it ....... Never-Before-Used-Schtuff! 

I stamped the lemons and limes all over my card front and added one of the sentiments from the set ....

I did a bit of ink splattering on to the background, and finished off with a touch of shimmer to the slices using a clear Wink of Stella pen ..... done! 

I did added in a few Nuvo Jewel Drops here and there to give the look of juice ..... hmmm, is it too early for a G&T?!!

It's been really weird around here the last couple of days, hubby has been working back in the office.  After having him working from home since the beginning of March it's strange him not being around ..... the house is really quiet!!  

I don't think he's going to be in there everyday yet but, at least it's another positive step on the way to our new normal! 

Sadly though, our little island has seen the return of a few new Covid cases but, fingers crossed with all the regulations we have in place, and the fact that those who are travelling are isolating on their return, things are being kept under control ........ for now anyway.

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

It's been lovely here today, blue skies, warm sunshine and a lovely breeze.  I took full advantage and have been in the garden all afternoon.  I did mow the lawn whilst I was out there so I think I've earned that G&T ...... well it is 5 o'clock after all!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stamps: Lemon Zest (Stampin Up!)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Cheerful (Yellow), Verdant (Green), Nocturne (Black)

Other: Clear Wink of Stella  sparkle pen