CAS Mix Up ....... I can't resist a challenge

Happy Wednesday ......

It's the middle of another week ........ and we've got Easter coming up at the weekend.  I'm looking forward to a few nice relaxing days.  And as the little man is off on holiday on Friday with his mummy and Robbie, it's going to be very quiet around here.
They're all flying off to Tenerife for a week ...... it's alright for some!! I'm getting ready for some warm sunshine I can tell you.  Although it's been lovely here ..... just need the temperature to go up a notch or two!

Have you heard about the brand new challenge that launched at the beginning of March?  It's called CAS Mix Up ...... sounds like my sort of fun!

And I'm so trilled to say that it's the brand new baby of two of my lovely blog buddies ..... the very talented pair ..... Loll Thompson (Stamping with Loll) and Bonnie Klass (Stamping with Klass)

This is right up my street ..... CAS (clean and simple) along with a little Mixed Media thrown in.
The rules are simple ..... check them out here on the blog.   You'll also find all the challenge details and the definition of CAS Mixed Media along with a list of  "Your Choice"options to get you started.

As usual I'm on the last minute with a challenge entry ..... but better late than never as they say.  I wasn't going to miss the first challenge now was I!

As you can see ..... for March we had to include Stamping .... check!  Watercolouring ...... check! and for my choice element I went for stenciling with a little bit of texture paste and a touch of Gilding Flakes

I was inspired by an article in the April edition of Craft Stamper magazine by the lovely Kim Dellow, all about layering.

I started by giving the background a wash of colour using the acrylic block technique to give this watercoloured look.  I applied Victorian Velvet Distress Ink directly onto an acrylic block, spritzed with water and then 'stamped' onto my piece of card
I repeated this until I had the look I was after

I then stamped onto the background using a grey ink with stamps from the Stampin Up sets ....... Gorgeous Grunge and the new Timeless Textures (love this set!!!)

I stamped the butterfly onto the front of the card using Dusty Concord Distress, and again onto a separate piece of  white card and then used a wet paintbrush to bring out the colour from the edges giving this nice delicate watercoloured look.  It was then fussy cut and placed over the top of the stamped imaged (no need to cut around the antennae!)

I applied some texture paste through a stencil randomly onto the background and whilst it was still wet I sprinkled white embossing powder over the top and heated it .... love how this adds to the texture.

A light touch of FlitterGlu in places and some silver gilding flakes give a little bit more detail and shine

A simple word stamped on the front ......

and a little something on the inside finish everything off nicely

Like I said, I'm a little late joining the party but there's still time left if you would like to join in the fun.  The challenge runs until March 24th so be quick!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I need to tidy my desk before I start on the next job on the 'To Do' list.

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

A Wee bit of Clarity .....

Happy Monday!

Another weekend over .....  and the birthday celebrations are all done (again!) ......... well, until this weekend that is.  Yes we'll be doing it all again on Sunday ..... Chris's turn next ..... told you January was a busy month for us!!!

Speaking of next weekend ..... Paul Church is back on our TV screens with more fabulous Clarity Stamp designs.
Put the date in your diary then you don't forget .....
When ...... Sunday January 24th
Where ..... HOCHANDA ..... that's Sky channel 663/Freeview 39/Freesat 817
What time .....  10am  and again at 2 and 5pm
That's next Sunday sorted for all you Clarity fans.

Before all that though I've got a nice quick and easy card for you using some of the stamps from Barbara's shows at the beginning of January.
We saw the launch of the new Wee Shops and Houses  ..... remember these ..... how cute are they!!!

A great addition to the Wee range.

There was also the Wee Folk and those fabulous Word Chains ...... such a useful set of stamps to have in your collection.

For this design I used one of my acrylic blocks to add the colour for the background, and then stamped directly over the top ...... easy!
Simply swipe your ink pads over the acrylic block to apply the colour...... I used Distress inks for my design.
Spritz over with a little water .... not too much,  then use the acrylic block as you would a stamp to lay down the colour on your piece of card.  Apply a little pressure and watch the colours blend and spread .... cool eh!

 Once it's dry, take one of the Wee Folk stamps and stamp onto the coloured panel using a Black Archival ink .....

Add one of the words from a Clarity Word Chain and you're done.
Or ..... use two like I've done on my card.  The 'friends' part is actually the word Friendship from Chain #8..... I've just masked off the end bit!!

We also had the Wee Foliage  and the trees

Another simple card ...... Mask off a panel and brush some Distress inks onto your card. You can see I used one of the Moon masks to create the sun ...... the inner bit to get the circle shape, then the outer part to add the colour.

I stamped the foliage across the bottom using first and second generation stamping

I removed the mask and added a length of Double-sided tape along the edge of the stamped panel .... I used the ultra tacky stuff, you know the one I mean with the red backing tape.
I then covered this with gold gilding flakes to give a nice finish and used another one of those fab word chains to add a greeting.

Don't forget ....... make a note of the date and join Paul for more fabulous Clarity products along with great demos full of tips and techniques.

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx