One sausage ...... two sausage ........

Happy Friday ........

The weekend is here ..... have you got anything nice planned?

We're off on our adventure tomorrow ..... everything's ready, well almost.  Just a few more bits to throw in the van.  It's so much easier than packing suitcases!

Before we go though, I wanted to play along with this month's Twofer Card Challenge.  

It's challenge #41 and it's the last one, so I didn't want to miss it.

That's two cards, for two different occasions, made using the same stamp, die, or stencil and of course following this month's theme ........

 

I do love having a tidy up and a good old sort out in the craft room.  

As I was packing up ready for the move I came across quite a few stamps that I'd forgotten about, or that had been sat in the NBUS box for a while.  This set was one of them ........ Happy Birthday Sausage from the For the Love of Stamps range by Hunkydory

First up, a birthday card.  How cute is this little puppy?!

Stamped directly onto the card base ....... and water-coloured using ZIG markers

His little jacket is an extra, stamped onto a snippet of coloured card from the bits box, fussy cut and attached over the top.  I added the spots with a white gel pen for a bit more detail.

I stamped the sentiment underneath (from the same stamp set) ......

and finished off with some gold ink splatters.

My Twofer is an anniversary card ....... or, it could be for an engagement or even a wedding card if you changed the colours.

I stamped the happy couple, and coloured them using the markers again.

Gave each of them a different coloured jacket ...... again using snippets from the bits box

And finished off with the sentiment and a pretty heart balloon (all stamps are from the same stamp set)

As these stamps are having their first outing I'm also linking up to this months NBUS Challenge (Never Before Used Schtuff)

Thank you Darnell for the last four years of the Twofer Challenge, it's been fun!

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

I'm off now to finish packing the van.  

As I said, we're off on our travels tomorrow, on the morning boat.  Fingers crossed the weather's good, I haven't checked the forecast yet.  We have booked a cabin though, so if it's bumpy I can sleep through it!

See you on the other side!

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stamps: Happy Birthday Sausage (Hunkydory)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz (for the splatters)

Other: ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Water-brush; Snippets of coloured card

We have internet again!!!!!!! ........

Happy Thursday ......

And what a happy day it is too!  We have internet, finally ........ whoo hoo!!!!!

It's been a real struggle without it ...... and a flippin' struggle to get it sorted!  

We've been with the same telecom company since we came to the island (that's over 10 years ago now ..... time flies!) and we have never had any problems before.  This time however, it's been one thing after another.  In the end hubby wrote a letter of complaint and voila! ......... things are now sorted.  

Hubby's happy, I'm happy and little man is extremely happy.  No more hot spotting, and fighting for the 4G signal.  We have Alexa again, and my printer is now happy that it's back on the wi-fi.  And, we don't have to watch Netflix and Amazon in 24 parts because the signal is buffering ....... it's great to be online again!

Hopefully things should get back to normal here on the blog too. We are going away for a few days so it will be a bit of a slow start craft wise, but we'll get there.

I'm playing along with the CAS Christmas Challenge again today ..... the big day will be here before we know it!

The theme is Decorations.

I love decorating the house for Christmas, and this year is going to be fun, finding new places for all my festive favourites.  You never know, I might be able to squeeze in a few new ones too! 

These little guys look busy.

Clean and simple, and quick and easy ..... perfect for all those Christmas cards.

I started with the sentiment, stamped in gold, directly onto my card base

I then stamped hedgie, three times over the top ........ I did use the MISTI to make sure I got the positioning right

I used my ZIG markers to watercolour each of the images ......

and added in a touch of metallic ink for a little festive shimmer.

I couldn't resist finishing off with a touch of sparkle here and there.

Well that's another card for the festive box done ..... now I just need top remember where I've put the box!!!

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

Time for a coffee and a little web browsing I think ..... I've some catching up to do!!

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

Products used:

Stamps: Holly Day Critters (Penny Black)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz

Other: ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Clear Startdust Gel Pen, Quickie Glue pen; Fine crystal glitter

CAS Mix Up Challenge Reminder

Happy Sunday ......

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

As we're half way through August already (WOW!) it's time to remind you about this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge.

Jenny is our host this month, with a fun theme which is all about stencils, and stamping through them. 

This is a great little technique to add extra detail and texture to all your fabulous stencil designs.  

The more open the stencil, the more of your stamping will show through. It gives your stencils a whole new look.

I've stamped through one of my favourite leafy stencils for this design.

I started by using a circle stencil, and a pale green Distress Ink, to add some detail to the background.

I then took my leafy stencil and inked the design over the top of the circle using a different shade of green Distress.

With the leaf stencil still in place, I inked up an old script stamp with black ink and then stamped the script through the leaves, using first and second generation stamps (stamped twice without re-inking my stamp in between)

I stamped my sentiment using a gold ink .....

and finished off with a few ink splatters from the same ink pad

The challenge is open until the 24th of the month, so there's still plenty of time to play along.

Check out the CAS Mix Up Blog for more ideas from the DT using this fun technique, and also our two Guest Designers ....... Bobby (bits and pieces), and Michele (I Card Everyone) who are joining us this month.

It's going to be a busy week coming up.  This time next week we'll be on our first, off island, adventure in the van!  Yes we're finally taking Remi on a road trip ..... whoo hoo!!

  

I'm a little bit nervous about travelling but, hubby and I are both full vaccinated, we're totally self contained in the motorhome and, I suppose we have to get out there again at some point!   

It will be nice to see family and friends over there ...... it's been a while!

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

We've got the family coming round for Sunday roast ..... the first one in the new house.  Yes, I've finally figured out how to use the ovens! 

Cheerio until next time .........   

Products used:

Stencils: Confetti Circle stencil (WOW!); Natures Treasures II stencil (Uniko) 

Stamps: Script stamp from my stash (I think it's an old Tim Holtz one!); Special Sentiments (Penny Black)

Inks: Distress Inks - Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz

CAS Christmas Challenge ........

Good morning ....... Happy Friday!

How have you all been?  

We're settling into the new place nicely.  there's still a few jobs that need doing ...... hot tub needs connecting and we're STILL waiting for the internet!!!    I mean, how difficult can this be!!! I'm not really sure what the problem is.  Apparently, there's internet already at the property, we've had the necessary tech equipment delivered, all they need to do is flip a switch at their end, which I'm told could take 7 to 10 days, or longer!!!!  It's driving me crazy ........ you don't realise how much you use the internet these days.

Anyway, enough of all that.  We're out in the van for a couple of nights, having a change of scenery ....

We're down in Port Erin again, and guess what ...... the internet here is great so I thought I'd make the most of it!

I wanted to play along with this month's CAS Christmas Challenge ...... yes, the craft room is almost sorted and I managed to spend a little bit of time in there this week.

The theme is Decorations ...... and you all know how I love my Christmas baubles, so I had to play along.

I used the Baubles stamp set from Pink Ink Designs, and simply stamped the images onto my card using a black ink.

I then used a mix of watercolour paints and metallic ink to add just a touch of colour to the baubles

A few gold ink splatters and some dots of glitter here and there give a nice festive sparkle

I added a sentiment ......

And finished with a gel pen to 'hang' the baubles

I think I read somewhere that it's only 19 weeks until Christmas ..... eeek! how did that happen!?

I need to start thinking about where the tree will go in the new house!

No more festive thoughts today though ....... it's a lovely here, and the locals are not too bad

We're off for a stroll in the sunshine now, and an early lunch I think.

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

Cheerio until next time .......

 

Products used:

Stamps:  Baubles (Christmas Series) - Pink Ink Designs; Sentiment from my stash

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz

Others: Watercolour paints (Altenew); Quickie Glue Pen; Fine crystal glitter; Clear Stardust Gel Pen

I'm back ........ for the CAS Mix Up Challenge!

Happy Sunday ......

Welcome to August!  I hope you're all enjoying the weekend. 

After taking July off from the CAS Mix Up Challenge ......... we should have been away in the motorhome but, we ended up moving house instead! ........  it's so nice to be back for this month's Stencil Challenge.

Jenny is our host for August, and she's chosen a fun technique for you.  Maybe it's something you’re already familiar with or, it could be that you haven’t tried this before ...... Stamping through stencils.  A great way of extending the use of your stencil stash, and your stamps too!

I’ve kept things relatively simple for my inspiration piece, using circle stencils to create the look of apertures, and then used my stamps over the top .........

With the stencil securely in place, I applied Distress inks through the circles using a blending brush.

Then, without removing the stencil, I stamped the little characters in place .......... so cute!

I then used coloured pencils (Faber Castel Polychromos) to colour them in.

I added a bit more interest by inking a few more circles here and there to create a bokeh effect, and then finished off with a stamped sentiment and a few sparkly gemstones.

This is such a fun technique to try. Experiment with your stencils, the more open the stencil design is, the more stamping you will see. It’s a great way to add design and texture, and give your stenciling a different look. I can’t wait to see your cards in the gallery.

You’ll find lots more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team over on the CAS Mix Up Blog, and this month we have not one, but two amazing Guest Designers.  Bobby (Bits & Pieces) is joining in the fun, along with Michele (I Card Everyone), so be sure to pop by and say Hello.

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around here, as I said we should have been going away in the motorhome on our first adventure off the island, but plans changed and we ended up moving house instead.

We’ve spent the last two weeks packing and moving boxes (we have so much stuff!!!!!) but we’ve finally moved in to the new place!  It still looks a bit like a bomb site, I can’t find anything, and it’s ‘fun’ trying to find out how all the new kitchen appliances work but, we’re getting there slowly.  I've only changed my kitchen cupboard contents around twice since we moved in, and my desks in the craft room have be changed around a few times but, I think I'm happy now!

There is just one major problem ..... we have no internet yet (argghhhh)!!! There’s a problem, apparently, with the supply to the house and they need to do maintenance on the ‘pole’ outside. We found this out on the day they came to install it ........ last Thursday!!  The little man is not happy.

We’re having to hot spot our mobile phones and use the limited signal as and when we can, which is not good!  This blog post has been a challenge I can tell you!

They are on it ...... apparently.  Things will get interesting tomorrow (Monday) when hubby is back at work ...... he might just have to go into the office for the first time in months!!!

Because of all this things may still be a little quiet for the next few days here on the blog but I promise normal service will resume eventually!

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

We're off out for Sunday dinner with the family, the rest of the unpacking can wait!  

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

Products used:

Stencils: Bokeh Stencil Set (multi layer design) (Newton's Nook)

Stamps: Jungle Friends (Creative Expressions); Critter Crowd (Simon Says); Happy Birthday from my stash 

Inks: Distress Ink - Broken China, Mowed Lawn; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz

Other: Faber Castel Polychromos Pencils; Small gem stones