AAA Cards CAS Challenge ........

Happy Monday .......

Did you have a nice weekend?  I hope you did better weather wise than here on the island ..... it wasn't very nice at all. 

I had plans to go to a felting workshop, a first for me but, due to a number of unfortunate circumstances, first off with the car, which we can't get into the garage until Wednesday (arghhh!) and then the weather, it just wasn't to be.   Oh well, I'll have to wait a little longer to learn that particular craft!

I did get to play in the craft room though, trying to re-stock the birthday box as well as prepping for Blog challenges.

Here's the first one for ....... Game #189 at the AAA Cards CAS Challenge

I'm not sure that space creatures can be classed as mystical but, I have only used a third of my card so I think this is OK for the challenge.  Plus I need some cards for the kids section in my stash and this little guy was already sitting in my bits box!

I placed a strip of low tack masking tape across my card leaving the top third for me to work on.  I stamped and heat embossed the planet first, made a mask to cover that, and then coloured the galaxy sky using Distress Inks.

I used blue shades, pinks, a touch of yellow.  A bit of purple here and there, finished off with a dark blue and black to blend everything together

I splattered with water, let it sit for a few seconds then mopped up the excess ...... I always love the effect from this technique.  

Once everything was dry, I splattered again, this time with gold and silver inks.

I added some colour to the planet, again with Distress Ink, and finished off the top section with a thin strip of double sided tape covered with gilding flakes ........

before stamping the sentiment underneath.

I attached the spaceship with foam pads .........

and the little alien with a wobbler so that he can move ...... so cute!

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

It's been a bit of a special one here.  I know it's Monday but, what a way to start to the week.  Champagne and lobster at lunchtime (I could definitely get used to that!) and then an afternoon spent with the family.

We are celebrating a little ........ I'm not sure if I've mentioned before but, we're going to be grandparents again, I am so excited!!  And today, Chris and Myra went to the hospital for their 20 week scan.  They'd already decided to ask whether it was a boy or a girl so, when we all met for lunch they announced that we will be getting another Grandson in September ...... whoo hoo!!!  

Of course I had to do a bit of shopping this afternoon ....... baby clothes are just sooo cute! 

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

Products used:

Stamps: Out of this World (Clearly Besotted)

Inks: Versamark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Inks - Faded Jeans, Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers, Wilted Violet, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot; Delicata - Golden Glitz, Silver Shimmer

Other: Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Clean Color Markers; Gold and Silver Gel Pens, Double sided tape; Gold Gilding Flakes

Relax ......

Happy Wednesday .........

I can't believe it's May at the weekend ...... another month has whooshed on by.  

Things are looking good though ....... our little island is moving in the right direction finally,  the 1st of May sees our border restrictions starting to lift (yeah!!)    

Anyhow, I'm just popping in today to play along with the latest challenge at AAA Cards.  It's CAS Game #188 ....... 

As you can see the challenge is ...... a one inch strip (got that!) with an optional twist of using small stamps (didn't really follow that one ...... although the sentiment is a small stamp!!!)

My one inch strip is a little bit of Distress ink blending across the width of my card

I masked off top and bottom and then used a brush to apply the inks, building up the colour gradually and blending the two shades together in the middle.

For a bit more interest I splattered some water over the top, let it sit for a few seconds then mopped up the excess with a paper towel (I never get tired of using this technique with Distress inks, you get different results every time!)

I stamped the dog onto a piece of white card, and water coloured him using Distress Inks 

I fussy cut around the image and used foam pads to attach him to the card ...... he fits perfectly in the one inch strip (if the sun comes out later this will be me ...... relaxing in the garden!)

And here's my small stamp .......... 

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

I'm off to make a start on getting the van ready for the weekend.  As it's a Bank Holiday weekend we're making the most of it and having a few nights away ...... on the island of course  (I'm not brave enough to travel further afield just yet!) 

It's been a while, so all the checklists are out ....... and he needs a wash!  No doubt that will be my job too so, looks like I've got a busy day!  

It's not all bad though, hubby is taking me for a belated birthday treat this evening ........ a meal out at a very nice little Italian restaurant in Douglas.  I think I'll have earned it!!   

Cheerio until next time ........  
 

Products used:

Stamps: Doggone Sweet, Happy Snippets (Penny Black)

Inks: Distress Ink - Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron, Tea Dye, Rusty Hinge, Festive Berries; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: Low tack masking tape; Water 

Did somebody say cake? ........

Happy Wednesday ......

I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend ....... for once I didn't eat my body weight in chocolate eggs!! Too busy in the craft room trying to find my mojo instead.

I'm playing along with the AAA Cards Clean and Simple Challenge again.  It's game #187 and the challenge is ........ to use Two Quarters of your card. 

I hope this fits the bill .......

I've used the top two quarters and stamped the cute little monster in each one ....... don't think it quite meets with the optional twist though

I've stamped them both off the edge, one each side keeping plenty of white space in the middle, and I used Distress Inks and ZIG markers to add the colour

I added a strip of washi tape across the bottom, and a touch of shading with Distress ink to sort of ground the little guys,  and finished off my card with a fun sentiment.

We've had snow here on the island the last couple of days.  In fact, over the Easter weekend we've had weather for all four season's of the year!!  The Isle of Man weather is changeable if nothing else! 

The end of last week we thought Spring had definitely arrived.  The sun was here, and it was warming up nicely.  We took full advantage and mowed the lawns, pressure washed the patio and got the garden furniture out. We cleaned the barbeque, and even filled the hot tub! 

Saturday/Sunday we thought summer had arrived.  Glorious sunshine and it was warm.   We had a lovely, socially distanced of course, get together with the rest of the family, now that we're allowed gatherings of up to 10 people outside, and we enjoyed our first barbeque of the year.

Glad we made the most of it when we did ..... what a difference on Monday.  It was sooo cold, it felt like winter again.  The wind was howling, and the snow came on Tuesday.  Thankfully it didn't stick around.  We had some today but again it disappeared as fast as it came.  We just need the temperature to go back up now.  Don't think we'll be using the hot tub again just yet ....... brrrrrrr!!

Another bit of excitement over the weekend was ....... the world's largest sailing yacht has been sat in Douglas Bay ........

                                       (photo taken from Facebook ....... Isle of Man by Drone)

Apparently it's owned by a Russian billionaire, cost an absolute fortune, and it is HUGE!!!  I think it's been sheltering from the weather but, who knows!  The can't come onto the island as our borders are still closed!

                                       (photo taken from Facebook ....... Isle of Man by Drone)

                                        (photo take from Facebook ....... Isle of Man by Drone)

Just to get a sense of scale of the yacht ...... look at the guy checking the mast!!!!!  This thing is huge!!!

Thanks to Isle of Man by Drone for the photos ...... hope they don't mind me taking them from Facebook!

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stamps: Monster Love (Concord & 9th); Birthday Messages (Mama Elephant)

Inks: Versafine /Clair - Nocturne; Distress Inks - Salty Ocean, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed

Other: ZIG clean Color Brush Markers; Washi tape from my stash

Along the Edge for AAA Cards ........

Happy Monday ......

I hope you all had a nice weekend and that you're looking forward to the Easter break coming up ..... a nice long weekend.  Who am I kidding ........ every weekend is a long weekend at the moment.  In fact, during this lockdown I'm never entirely sure what day of the week it is ..... I thought it was Tuesday today!  We'll blame that on the clocks going forward shall we ....... hahaha!

I'm playing along with the latest CAS challenge at AAA Cards ....... 

My spring cleaning phase continues ...... in the craft room this time.  I took on the task of sorting through all of my rubber stamps (again!!) and came across a Simon Says stamp set that I thought was perfect for this challenge theme .....

I opted not to use the twist and kept to just rubber stamping.

I simply stamped the images in black ink, and then used a water brush and ZIG markers to add the colour ......

I kept the sentiment simple, and finished off with a few sparkly gems ......

As it's the first time I've used this pretty stamp set I'm also linking up to the NBUS Challenge #24

I'm ashamed to say that I came across quite a few pretty stamp sets that have yet to see an ink pad ...... I must do something about that soon!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great week!

It was vaccine day for hubby and I today ...... whoo hoo!  Our first dose all done, we were in and out in no time, and I didn't feel a thing!

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

Products used:

Stamps: Stronger Together (Simon Says Stamp)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; 

Other: ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Small self adhesive gems

Got there in the end ..........

Happy Thursday .......

I hope you're enjoying your week.  I've been catching up with all the boring stuff like ....... housework (boring!), paperwork (even more boring!!), washing and ironing (why are there so many clothes ..... we haven't been anywhere!!! I'm sure I've washed the whole of Lauren's wardrobe this week!)  I've even started cleaning out the kitchen cupboards ..... what's that all about!?

I am playing along with a couple of Blog Challenges today though.  

First up ........ I've got another Christmas card for this month's CAS Christmas Challenge.

The challenge is to use Kraft, Red and White ......

I've used a Julie Hickey stamp set, heat embossed with white powder and then coloured using a red Distress Re-inker ...... using the ink straight from the bottle, with a fine paintbrush.  I love the depth of colour from the re-inker .........

I coloured in the leaves using a white pencil and then I stamped the pretty poinsettia again, onto a separate piece of kraft card, heat embossed and coloured it in the same way, and then fussy cut before attaching it using a foam pad to add a touch of dimension. 

I stamped my sentiment top and bottom ......

And finished with a few white paint splatters .......

It's their 3rd birthday this month at CAS Christmas so ........ Happy Birthday to you!

This next challenge caught my eye on Facebook.  It showed up on my timeline via a FB friend and I thought I'd join in.

AAA Cards Challenge #185

It's been a while since I made anything this small ...... and you'd be surprised at how long it took me (and how many attempts!!!) In the end I went with this one, I think it was the third attempt ....... you don't get much more Clean and Simple!

It's a little 6x4 inch card and the stamp I used is from a lovely set by Tracy Easson.  I think it's called Just a Girl and her Forever Friend

I stamped the tiny image with black ink, directly onto my card blank. 

I was going to leave it at that and go with the optional twist of Black & White but, I felt it needed more. It was just a little too CAS even for me!  So ..... I added in the colour using an old Stampin Up! stamp and Distress inks ....... now I'm happy!

CAS, even something so small, can turn out to be the hardest cards to make.  This was my first attempt .... same stamped image, but I felt it need more.   By the time I'd added more  it was bigger than the required one inch!

Second try ....... something different this time but ..... broke the rules again!  By the time I'd added the word Art and the splatters,  it was bigger than one inch on the front ..... arggghhhh!!

I got there in the end though, just in time too as the challenge ends on the 20th!

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

CAS Christmas

Stamps: Christmas Joy (Julie Hickey Designs)

Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine ink - Satin Red; Distress Re-Inker - Festive Berries

Others: White Embossing Powder (WOW!); White Polychromos Pencil (Faber Castel); White Fresco Finish Chalk paint (splatters) (PaperArtsy)

AAA Card Challenge

Card 1

Stamps: Just a Girl & her Forever Friend (Tracy Easson Illustrations); Playful Backgrounds (Stampin Up!)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Ink - Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean

Card 2 

Stamps: Just a Girl & her Forever Friend (Tracy Easson Illustrations); Sarah's Choice (IndigoBlu)
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Festive Berries

Card 3

Stamps: Hey, Chick (Stampin Up!)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: Small Circle Die

One card ..... two challenges

Happy Wednesday ......

Middle of the week already.
Just a quick post today as I'm off out later ..... the sun is shining and I'm meeting up with the girls in Ramsey for lunch.

Before I go, I want to play along with the latest Less is More Challenge

It's One Layer Week .... whoo hoo!! and the challenge is to use a coloured card base.  Not something I do very often but I think this fits the bill perfectly ......

Definitely not white .... and only one layer.  It was hubby's birthday card.

The wine bottle image was stamped using Crimson Red versafine ink .... I think the stamp is an old Inkadinkadoo one 

And then the sentiment (from Penny Black's T for Transparent set ..... Birthday Love) stamped over the the top in black

I added the Happy Birthday to the bottom .... stamping in the red ink first, then in black over the top but slightly offset to give a shadow look

It's a bit different over at LIM this week with the challenge running for 2 weeks ..... so no excuse not to enter.   AND ...... they're also joining forces for this challenge with the AAA CAS Card Challenge .... so I'll be playing along there too!

I must dash, I'm still in my PJ's ..... can't go out for lunch like that now can I!

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

Cheerio until next time .....