In the Pink for the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils challenge ........

Happy Tuesday ........

I hope you're all well, and that your week has got off to a good start.  Can you believe this time next week it will be December ........ I really do need to get some Christmas cards done!  

Today though, I have a reminder for you for this month's Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook Challenge.  Don't worry, if you haven't got your entry in yet, you've still got a few days left.   The deadline is 5pm (GMT) on  Sunday 29th November, and the winner will be announced on the Facebook page on Monday the 30th.

The theme this month is ..... In the Pink!  Now, don't go thinking that means flowers, it can be absolutely anything, as long as it's pink.  If you read my challenge post from earlier this month I had a pink snowflake, and also the Sweet Poppy Highland Cow looked very pretty in pink.  

Have a look at your stencils, and just go for it!

How about a pink kitty cat ........

Using the Sweet Poppy stencil tape, I masked off around the edges of a piece of white card and then used a brush to apply a tiny bit of colour onto the background 

With the tape still in place, I added in the cherry blossom keeping the design to the top half and just one side edge of the inked background.

I removed the stencil tape and stenciled in the cat, taking the image over the edges of inked background 

For the cat I used a couple of shades of pink (Distress inks) and built up the colour gradually.

I then masked off the pink areas whilst I added colour onto the wall.

A little splatter of water adds a bit more interest to the brickwork, and I finished by adding a simple stamped sentiment and some glitter onto the blossom flowers.

There's a £40 voucher for the challenge winner to spend on the Sweet Poppy website (wouldn't that be a nice early Christmas present!)  Just follow the simple rules to be in with a chance of winning ......

Happy stenciling!

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

Time for a quick coffee them I'm off to the craft room ..... wish me luck!  I'm not coming out until I've made a start on some Christmas cards ...... I could be in there a while!

It is starting to look a little more festive around the house ..... the conservatory tree has finally been decorated

And this was how I spent the weekend .......

There's still a few gaps on the tree in the lounge, a few more baubles are needed I think! 

Cheerio until next time ...... 

Products used:

Stencils: Cherry Blossom, Cat on the Wall (both by Sweet Poppy but unfortunately the cat may be retired)

Inks: Distress Inks - Broken China, Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick, Tea Dye, Aged Mahogany; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Stamps: sentiment stamp from my stash

Other: Fine Crystalina glitter (Sweet Poppy)

It's getting a little festive around here .......

Happy weekend! 

It's looking quite nice here this morning, we have blue skies and sunshine.  It feels a bit chilly though, time to get the boots and the big jacket out I think.

It's been a busy week here, but things are calming down a little now.  

Lauren and Alex are all settled, and things are getting back to normal.  It is beginning to look a little Christmassy around here though, a bit earlier than usual but hey!  I think we could all do with some festive spirit right now.  The Christmas decorations are slowly appearing ..... we have three trees in place and decorated and the final one is in the lounge all ready to go.  Whether it will get done this weekend or not, we'll have to wait and see!

Time in the craft room has been very limited this week but, I do have a few Christmas cards to share with you though, more samples that were made for the Sweet Poppy Stencil shows on Hochanda this week. 

It was the last Sweet Poppy show for 2020 and we finished the year on a high.  If you didn't get to see the shows live they are available on Rewind on the Hochanda website.

There were new stencil designs, some of which sold out really quickly.  Some back in stocks and some old favourites.  One of which for me, is the gorgeous Mistletoe Wreath ..... I do like a nice wreath especially at this time of year.

This stencil is so pretty, and full of detail.  And it's great for making all different sizes of cards.

I simply used Distress Ink through the stencil ......

I stamped a simple bow on the top and made it look like a hanging bauble

A few dots of white enamel accents on the berries and some sparkly glitter highlights .....

And then a sentiment in the centre.

Really quick and easy, and just the one layer ........ great for posting!

Mix and match the wreath with background stencils ...... it looks fab with the plaid

I even had a die that was the perfect size to cut around the wreath .....

Or, why now use the stencil off the edge for another different look ......

I must make some time this weekend and get some Christmas cards done .... either that or I'll have to send out bought ones which is a BIG no no ...... I would be in trouble!

Thanks for popping by ..... have a lovely weekend whatever you get up to.

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stencils: Mistletoe Wreath, Plaid Back Plate (Sweet Poppy)

Stamps: Noel, Joy & Peace A6 stamp sets (Sweet Poppy)

Inks: Distress Inks - various shades of green, Delicata - Golden Glitz, Versafine - Crimson Red

Other: White Enamel Accents (Ranger); Gold glitter, Crystalina Glitter (Sweet Poppy)

Get ready ..... Lucy is back on the TV!

Happy Tuesday evening .........

I hope your week has got off to a good start.  

The last couple of days here are a bit of a blur ..... no I haven't made an early start on the Christmas spirit although that doesn't sound like a bad idea right now!

I've been helping Lauren clean her old place out before she hands the keys over tomorrow.  My goodness she has some stuff!! 

Only one more day to go, then I can put my feet up and relax!  The TV will be mine ..... Season 4 of The Crown, catch up with Strictly Come Dancing, and Lucy and Sweet Poppy are back on our screens on Thursday so I shall be tuning in to that.

Brand new stencil designs, some back in stocks and some favourites, and of course lots of tips, techniques and inspiration to show you how to get the best from your Sweet Poppy stash.

A new range of designs is a collection of aperture stencils ......  there's a square, a circle and two different triangle shapes.  These are going to be so useful to have in your stash.  

Use them to create simple background shapes that you can either stencil, or stamp, over the top of ...... simply inking through the square onto a larger piece of cardstock gives a pretty frame as your starting point.

I then simply added another Sweet Poppy design over the top, added a touch of sparkle to the blossom

 and finished with a sentiment .......

Here I've used the circle in the same way, slightly off the edge this time for a different look but stenciled over the top and added a sentiment.

If you saw my post from Thursday last week I also used the circle to create a Christmas bauble, well how about using one of the triangles to create a Christmas Tree ......

Two shades of green Distress Ink and a touch of glitter ......

And a simple sentiment underneath .....

Or create a whole forest ......

I used the tall triangle, Distress Inks and a little bit of masking ...... this was so easy to do but so effective I think

 

A few dots of White Enamel Accents, a touch of glitter here and there, and a pretty star stamped and heat embossed on the top of one of the trees ..... I love it!

OK ..... so I've used the aperture stencils on their own, why not use them all together to create really cool abstract designs

I think I was channeling my inner Eileen Godwin for this one ...... she loves her abstract designs.

Again I've used Distress Inks in various colours .....

 A little bit of highlighting with metallic gel pens

 and a few ink splatters here and there, before adding in a sentiment

That's just a few of my samples for the shows.  

Tune in to Hochanda on Thursday at 3pm and 7pm to see more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

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

I still haven't got any decorations on the Christmas tree in the conservatory yet ..... I haven't had the time! However, this happened over the weekend ....... tree number three!!

Well ....... it was a shame to leave it all packed away in the garage!  So it's now upstairs, outside the little man's bedroom door.  It's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and there's still one more tree to go! Maybe later in the week. 

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stencils: Aperture stencils - Square, circle, triangle, tall triangle  (Sweet Poppy Stencils)

Stamps: Family, Friends, Noel, A6 stamp set; Christmas Blessings A5 stamp set (Sweet Poppy)

Inks: Distress inks - various colours; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz Metallic ink;

Other: Crystalina Glitter (Sweet Poppy); Gold & Silver gel pens; White Enamel Accents

Mid month reminder for the CAS Mix Up challenge .......

Happy Sunday evening ........

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Can you believe it's the middle of November already ...... only five more weekends to go before Christmas!!!  I've still got all my Christmas cards to make ..... guess what I'll be doing next week!

As we're mid way through the month it's time to remind you about November's CAS Mix Up Challenge ...... it's the last one of the year!

It's a Watercolour challenge, that means watercolouring must be the main element on your design. 

Bonnie is our host and the theme she's chosen is ...... Off the Edge, one of my favourite looks.

This is a great technique for using larger stamps on smaller cards.

This is one festive design that I'll be making more of, I love how this has turned out. 

I used the gorgeous wreath from the Memory Box stamp set ..... Tidings Wreath.  It's quite a large stamp but I think it fits beautifully, just off the edge of a 7x5 inch card, and there's still room to get a sentiment on there too.

I stamped the wreath in Versamark ink and then heat embossed in gold.  

I know I say this every time but, heat embossing really does make it easier when watercoloring stamped images, especially when using metallic or pearlescent paints like I've done here.  

The raised edges from the heat embossing help to stop the colour from bleeding outside the lines, and it acts as a resist to the paint so that you still get those nice crisp lines and keep the detail of your stamped image.

I used LuminArte's Twinkling H2O's to colour the wreath.  Remember those beauties ....... little pots of  solid, high pigment paints, with added mica, and when you spritz with water and mix they become these gorgeous, rich in colour and very sparkly watercolour paints, and they work so well on black cardstock!

I added a simple heat embossed greeting on the bottom and the card was done.

As I said, I'll be making more of these!

The challenge is open until the 24th of November so there's still time to play along ...... it's your last chance for this year! 

It's been great seeing all your CAS Mix Up designs during 2020 and I look forward to seeing you all again in 2021!

Happy stamping! 

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

It's been all go here this weekend, getting Lauren and the little man settled in.  We're getting there .....  slowly!  

To make room for everything I've had to empty a few wardrobes and cupboards and oh dear, guess what's had to come out .... the Christmas decorations!

I'm afraid this happened over the weekend ....... oooops!  Our festive season has started a little early ...... Ho! Ho! Ho! (we haven't even had the lights switch on in town yet!)

Well, I didn't see any point in putting all the boxes away again.  To be honest, I haven't figured out where they're all going to go, so .......... this is as far as I've got, the conservatory tree is up, the lights are on and I have a hot date with Mr Buble and the baubles to look forward to next week ....... as well as making Christmas cards!!  

We're off out for a well deserved dinner this evening, and it's Chris's girlfriends birthday too so another reason to celebrate.

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stamps: Tidings Wreath (Memory Box); Mixed Christmas Sentiments (retired set from Happy Little Stampers) 

Inks & Paints: Versamark ink; LuminArte Twinkling H2Os - Mallard Green, Douglas Fir; Cosmic Shimmer  Iridescent Watercolour Paint - Red

Others: Gold Detail Embossing Powder (WOW!)

Non-traditional colours for the CAS Christmas Card Challenge ........

Happy Thursday .......

I'm playing along with this month's CAS Christmas Card Challenge ..... can you believe it's the last one of 2020!!  Considering the strange year we've had it does seem to have flown by just a little bit!  

The theme this month is ........ Non-traditional Colours

Hmmm ....... these days I think pretty much any colour can be used for Christmas, although I do like the traditional festive reds and greens, and you can't beat a crisp white snowy landscape with just a touch of sparkle.

But for the challenge ..... how about pink and brown

I've been playing with the new aperture stencils from Sweet Poppy (Lucy's back on the TV next week so I've been making samples for the shows ..... more about that later) and I thought this one fits in well with the challenge theme.

I started with the circle aperture stencil and Spun Sugar Distress Ink ..... building up the colour gradually, working from the outside edge in towards the centre 

Using the stencil, I created myself a couple of masks, just from copier paper ...... one for the actual circle, and one for the outside.

I then masked off the outside around the circle and used part of the Sweet Poppy Winter Stag stencil to add the design onto the centre

I added a touch of sparkle to the antlers with some fine crystal glitter ......

a pretty stamped snowflake, and dots of white enamel accents.

I stamped and heat embossed the bow ......

and finished off with a few gold ink splatters and of course a festive sentiment.

I do think these new stencils will be so useful.  There's 4 shapes ....... the circle, there's a square and two different sized triangles.  Now what could those be used for ...... watch this space!

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stencils: Circle Aperture, Winter Stag (Sweet Poppy Stencils)

Stamps: Noel A6 stamp set (Sweet Poppy); Bow stamp from my stash

Inks: Spun Sugar Distress Ink; Acorn, Pinecone Versafine Clair inks; Delicata - Golden Glitz

Other: Vintage Platinum Distress Glitter (Tim Holtz); White Enamel Accents