It's started! ...........

Happy Monday .........

It's a bit of a chilly one here.  We've had our first frost this morning ......... brrrrrr!  Winter is coming!

Did you have a nice weekend?  It was a bit of a quiet one here so I decided to round up all the Christmas decorations ready to make a start on the trees.

Ooops! It looks like the day we moved in, again ...... there's boxes everywhere!  

Have we really got that many baubles ..........

Apparently ..... yes we have!  

I did make a start ...... the first tree was up in no time and not a bauble in sight

Then Mr Buble arrived, and Lauren joined in, and the first decorated tree is done ...... I think!

Looking at it in the daylight it might just need a few extras here and there.

Anyway, enough of the trees, I've got two cards to share with you for the final challenges this year at CAS Mix Up and CAS Christmas

CAS Mix Up is a Stencil challenge this month with the theme .....Stencil Monoprinting

Here's a really quick and easy card using a stencil monoprint that I found in my stash, along with a pretty frame die from Penny Black

The print was done by applying Distress Inks directly from the ink pad onto the stencil, spritzing with a little water, and then laying the inky stencil down onto a piece of watercolour card.

Mop up any excess ink, gently lift the stencil, and voila!!  One piece of pretty printed cardstock.

I used the Penny Black die to ........ a) cut out the frame from the centre of a square of white card, and b) to cut the frame from the printed card.

I then placed the white die cut frame back into the square card and inlaid the coloured pieces to create the complete square.

  I mounted this on a larger square cardblank, added a simple sentiment and a few sparkly gemstones.

CAS Christmas is all about ...... Christmas Critters

You can't get much more CAS.  The background was an embossing folder with just a touch of added glitter

Stamped and die cut this little guy ......

Added some colour using ZIG Markers ....... stamped my sentiment on the bottom of the card and attached the polar bear off to the side

Another Christmas card done!

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

It's time to sort through those boxes and get another tree done I think ......... are you ready Mr Buble!? 

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

Products used:

CAS Mix Up

Stencil: Floral Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz)

Inks: Distress Inks - Aged Mahogany, Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed

Other: Framed die (Penny Black); Sentiment Strip (Simon Says Stamp); Self adhesive gems

CAS Christmas

Stamps: Polar Bear Pals (My Favourite Things); Christmas Time 3 (Tim Holtz) - for the sentiment

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versafine - Crimson Red

Others: Polar Bear Pals Die-namics (My Favourite Things); Quickie Glue Pen; Fine Crystal Glitter; ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers

5 weeks today .........

Happy Friday ........

Yes, 5 weeks today and it will be Christmas Eve.  5 weeks!!!!!!!!!

I'm no where near organised yet ..... how about you?   It's a very slow process this year ...... I've still got all my cards to make!

I am playing along with the last CAS Christmas Card Challenge for 2021 so here's one more at least for the festive box

The theme is Christmas Critters, so out came the Penny Black stamps where I found this little cutie ..... 

His Christmas list looks a little bit like mine!

I stamped the sentiment first, just slightly off centre, using a red ink.  

I do love large Christmas sentiments, and this one is a real favourite ....... I love the different fonts.

I added a touch of sparkle to the word 'Christmas' using a glue pen and fine crystal glitter ..... not sure it comes across well in the photo but trust me, it looks so pretty when the light catches.

 I stamped my little critter off to the side and watercoloured him using Distress inks

I felt it needed a little something extra so, to finish off I added a few gold ink splatters ..... perfect!

I must say I am tempted to start decorating the Christmas trees ......... I helped Lauren with the one where she works yesterday so that kind of got me in the mood! 

We've nothing planned this weekend so maybe I'll start gathering all the boxes together, and then I can make a start.  Now where did I put all those new baubles!!!!!

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

Cheerio until next time ....... 

Products used:

Stamps: Chrsitmas Time 3 for the sentiment (Tim Holtz); Christmas Critters (Penny Black)

Inks: Versafine ink - Crimson Red; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Inks to watercolour - Vintage Photo, Antique Linen; Delicata - Golden Glitz for the splatters

Other: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine Crystal Glitter

CAS Mix Up Challenge ........

Happy Monday ........

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

We've reached the middle of November already, so that means it's time for a quick reminder for this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge.  Don't forget, this will be your last chance to play along for this year ...... there's no challenge in December.

Loll is our host, and is rounding things up for 2021 with a fun stencil technique ..... Stencil Monoprinting

If you're new to this technique and need a few tips then check out the CAS Mix Up Blog where you'll find links to some useful videos.  You'll also find lots of fabulous inspiration and ideas from the rest of the Design Team on there too.

Stencil monoprinting is all about applying inks onto your stencils, spritzing with a little water, and then using the stencil to print your design onto your card.  

This gives you a negative image of your stencil ...... instead of applying colouring through your stencil, you're actually colouring the background ...... cool or what!

You can then use the whole design for a quick and easy card or, why not use the prints with your dies. 

My balloon is die cut from a stencil monoprint.

I inked up the stencil using Distress Inks direct from the ink pad, spritzed with water and then laid the stencil onto a piece of white cardstock.

Once it was dry I used a large oval die to cut the balloon.

I then attached this to my card slightly off the top edge, added a little bow to the bottom and hand doodled the rest of the string using a matching gel pen.

I added my sentiment in two halves ........ first another die cut coloured using the same Distress inks and heat embossed with a clear sparkle embossing powder

And then simply stamped the rest undernearth using a black ink.

To finish off the card I added a touch of sparkle to the letters on the balloon using a glue pen and fine crystal glitter.

Die cutting is also a great way of using up any of your stencil monoprints that didn't turn out quite as planned!!

The challenge is open until November 24th so there's still time to get your entries in.

Thank you to all of you who have played along with the challenges in 2021, it's always a pleasure to see you in the gallery, and I do hope you'll be back to join us in 2022. 

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

Cheerio until next time .......  

 

Products:

Stencil: Jumbled letters stencil from my stash (sorry, not sure of the brand - no packaging!)

Inks: Distress Inks - Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet; Versafine Clair - Nocturne (for the sentiment)

Other: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine crystal glitter, Purple Gel Pen, Happy Die (Winnie & Walter); Clear Sparkle Embossing Powder (WOW!); Large Oval Die from my stash

Welcome to the weekend .......

Happy Friday to you ........

I hope you've had a lovely week ..... got anything nice planned for the weekend? 

November is flying by isn't it. I'm not quite sure where this week has gone!   

And guess what ........ six weeks today, it will be Christmas Eve!!!!!! ......... not that I'm counting.

I'm not panicing just yet though, things are slowly coming together, although I do need to get more Christmas cards done, there's no where near enough in the festive box!

With that in mind, here's one I've made, using the theme from this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge .....

I do like a bit of Stencil Monoprinting.  It's a quick and easy technique, although it can get a little messy, but it's a really different, fun way of using your stencils.

The stencil I've used is one of a two piece set from Lawn Fawn called Snowflake Background (you can never have too many snowflakes in your Christams stash!)

Instead of using an ink pad to apply colour to the stencil,  I reached for one of those little pots of Brusho pigment powders. 

I sprinkled a TINY amount of the powder directly onto my stencil ...... I say tiny because these little pots of magic are so full of colour and a little really does go a long way.

I added a fine mist of water over the top along with a spritz of Perfect Pearls Pearlescent spray to add a touch of shimmer

I then placed the stencil onto a piece of watercolour card, and applied a little bit of pressure to move the colour around.  

I gently lifted the stencil, mopped up some of the excess ink and then left it to dry naturally

The Brusho had pooled in some areas, the colour was more intense in places which was nice, and I love the touch of shimmer from the pearlescent spray.

I cut the panel down to size, leaving the white edge across the bottom.  Added a simple sentiment ....

and attached a die cut snowflake which I had covered in glitter, for added sparkle.

We're not quite at the half way point of the challenge so there's still plenty of time to play along. Get those stencils out and try monoprinting.

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

We've got a birthday to celebrate this weekend and we're going Japanese to do it which should be fun.

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stencil: Snowflake Background Stencils (Lawn Fawn)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne (for the sentiment)

Stamps: Small sentiment from my stash

Other: Brusho Pigment Powders - Cobalt Blue; Perfect Pearls Spray - Pearlescent; Sophie Snowflake die (Simon Says Stamp); Fine Crystal Glitter; Quickie Glue Pen

Stencil Monoprinting for CAS Mix Up ......

Happy Monday ......

Welcome to November! I hope you had a lovely weekend.  

Well Halloween has been and gone, our summertime here has officially come to an end (the clocks went back an hour at the weekend), there's only seven more Mondays until Christmas (really!!!), and ........ this is the last CAS Mix Up Challenge of 2021!!!

Don't worry we'll be back in 2022.

Loll is our host for the last challenge of the year, and it's the turn of Stencils this month.  

The theme is  ...... Stencil Monoprint, a real fun, and different, way of using your stencils.

If you've never tried this technique before, check out the CAS Mix Up Blog, where you'll find links to video tutorials, and a whole host of examples from the Design Team. 

Monoprinting is a real fun way of using stencils, it's all about applying ink onto your stencil instead of through it, spritzing with a little water and then using the stencil to print the design onto your card.   

It's also a great way of using up any leftover ink on your stencils when they have been used in the traditional way.

It's a great technique for creating quick cards too ........

I used Distress Inks for my card, simply swiped the ink pads over the back of the stencil, spritz with water, and then placed the stencil, ink side down, onto a piece of white cardstock .......... watercolour card is perfect, mixed media cardstock works well, and the one I've used is ..... Ink Me card by Hunkydory (I use this for everything!)

Just play around with what you have and see the different results. 

I like to place a piece of copier paper, or a paper towel over the top of the stencil and apply a little pressure with my hand, just to move the ink around a little and get a good coverage  ...... you could use a brayer instead of your hand if you find it easier.

Carefully lift up the stencil to reveal the design.  

Using this technique gives you a negative image of your stencil design.  Instead of colouring the stencil image, you've coloured the background  ...... cool or what!

Before I placed my stencil onto the white card, I'd masked off a strip across the bottom to give me some white space.

I tied some natural twine around the card to hide the edge of the print, and stamped my sentiment underneath ........ easy!

We have a fabulous Guest Designer this month ...... Steph (My Paper Corner) is joining in the fun so be sure to pop by and say Hello.

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

I can't wait to see your stencil monoprints in the gallery.

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

Products used:

Stencil: ARTplorations floral stencil (STAMPlorations)

Stamps: Sunflower Garden stamp set (Simon Says)

Inks: Distres Inks - Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: Natural Twine