Celebrating another birthday over on the CAS WAtercolour challenge .....

Happy Tuesday .......

I'm playing along with the CAS Watercolour Challenge again today .....

As you can see the theme is ...... Bouquet of Flowers.  
There's also another birthday celebration going on over there ...... it's the lovely Bonnie's birthday today ......

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BONNIE!!

I hope you're having a fabulous day

Fingers crossed this is already with Bonnie (if not, it is on it's way!)

I stamped the pretty bunch of flowers onto white cardstock, and heat embossed them in white.

I then used a piece of acetate to smoosh a little bit of blue onto the background, trying not to get any on the flowers.

I used my new Catherine Pooler Mini Ink Pads to water colour the flowers ........ the colours are fab, they stamp beautifully and they work so well with water.  I need to add more to my collection!!
I used quite a bit of water to blend the colours and add shading, causing a little to bleed outside the lines.  I wasn't too bothered about this though, as I think it gives a nice watercolour look.

A few splatters of gold ink, and some dots of glitter glue to add a little sparkle ......

And a die cut sentiment to finish off .......

As I said I hope this has arrived in time.  Have a lovely day Bonnie ......

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Full of Glee (Penny Black); Simple Strips Background (Taylored Expressions) plus matching die
Inks: Versamark; Fiesta Blue, Tiki Torch (orange), Party Dress (pink) & Lime Ricky (green) - Catherine Pooler Inks; Delicata Golden Glitz
Others: White Embossing Powder (WOW!); White Blizzard Glitter Drops (Nuvo)

It's a special day today ......

Happy Tuesday ......

Can you believe we're half way through the year already!!
July's not a bad month though.  It's hubby's birthday coming up, our wedding anniversary at the end of the month and ..... we're off on holiday on Friday ....... whoo hoo!!  Lets hope the sun keeps shining.

But, enough about all that ..... today's a special day for a very special lady in Blogland.  The lovely Darnell (djkardkreations.com) is celebrating her birthday ........

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Darnell

Happy Birthday to YOU!!

The ladies over on the CAS Watercolour Challenge are marking the occasion with a special surprise event on the launch of this month's challenge. 

As you can see, the theme is ...... Bouquet of Flowers.  
Now come on ladies ......  we all love to receive a beautiful bouquet on our birthday ..... or any day for that matter!   So ...... I'm joining in the fun and wishing Darnell a very, very Happy Birthday, with a bouquet of pretty pink roses

These have all been stamped and heat embossed in gold, and then watercoloured using my ZIG Markers

I then fussy cut them all, and arranged them on the front of my cardbank.  The leaves have been glued directly onto the card, and the roses attached with foam pads, to add a little dimension.

I added the sentiments across the centre .....

And finished with a few splatters of ink and some dots of glitter glue ...... gotta have some sparkle for a birthday

I hope you have a fabulous day Darnell ........ sending lots of Birthday hugs  xx

Hubby and I thought we would also celebrate Darnell's birthday, so we off out this evening. 
Also the fact that there's nothing in the fridge that I fancy cooking means that we're going Thai tonight ..... yum!
Well, there's no point in me doing a load of shopping is there, we're going away on holiday on Friday morning!

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:
Stamps: Pure Florals - Rose (Uniko stamps); Simple Strips (Taylored Expressions)
Inks: Versamark; Delicata Golden Glitz;
Others: Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers, Glitter Drops (Nuvo)

Happy Birthday CAS Watercolour challenge!

Happy weekend .....

It's a very wet and windy one here ..... a good reason to stay cosy and warm indoors.

I'm playing along with another blog challenge today ......  the CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.
It's a special month this month .... the challenge is celebrating it's 2nd Birthday!!

Congratulations ladies ..... WOW! doesn't time fly when you're having fun!

This month's theme is all about colours .....  Orange, Green and Brown to be exact.

What a perfect combination for this time of year .....

The Autumnal shades turned my thoughts to leaves .... something we have plenty of at the moment.  all over the lawn!!!  If it stops raining long enough and the wind dies down a little they need to be cleared.  A job for next week's To Do list I think!

Anyway .... back to my card.  I started by stamping the leaves onto a piece of Bristol smooth cardstock.   I've used the gorgeous Leaf Canopy stamp set from Altenew.  You get the outline image of the leaves and a seperate stamp for the full leaves.  There's also some really nice sentiments on there too.
I stamped the full leaves using the required colours in Distress Oxide inks ...... I do love the Oxides, and I can't wait to get my hands on the final 12.

I then stamped the outline over the top and heat embossed in gold ......

I used the same colours of ink around the edges only this time I used the regular Distress .... I think it was Dried Marigold, Carved Pumpkin, Peeled Paint and then a touch of Gathered Twig,
I gave it a little splatter with water, and mopped up the excess ..... I never get tired of using this technique, love the effect

I also splattered some gold ink over the top and finished with a sentiment from one of the Penny Black T for Transparent sets ..... stamped in Gathered Twig Distress Oxide ink

There's a few drops of Nuvo Crystal Glaze here and there too.

Happy 2nd Birthday CAS Watercolour Challenge!

It's been a busy few days here ..... lunch out, then a fab crafty get together yesterday which was fun.  I didn't actually do anything but, I think I have decided on one of this year's Christmas card designs which is a start.  Carol made a birthday card though, which was lovely and I helped a little bit!   
I made a great start on the Christmas shopping the other day  though .... I managed to get just what I was looking for, plus a few little extra bits too ..... ooops!  I just have to remember where I've put it all when it comes time to wrap it!! I'm not used to being THIS organised in October.  I've even ordered the festive feast ..... well, some of it anyway. 
Oooh! and look what arrived the other day ...... a little something just for me!

Yes I finally gave in and decided to order a new die cutting machine.  I've been toying with the idea for a while now.  Don't get me wrong, I still love my Big Shot (both of them!!), I just wanted something that's a bit easier to use.  Plus,  I got a great deal on it, so that helped!
Although, then came the decision, do I go for the big Gemini, the Gemini Junior, or the new Gemini Go?  Well ...... in the end, I went for the big one, on hubby's advice. 
He said if I bought one of the smaller ones and loved it, I'd only wish I'd bought the big one, which he's probably right ....... I'll let you know if I've made the right choice!

Thanks for popping by ........ have a lovely weekend. I hope the weather isn't too bad where you are.
I'm off to put my feet up, and browse the latest Stampin Up! catalogue ..... this could be expensive!

Cheerio until next time .....

CAS Watercolour challenge .....

Happy Thursday ......

It's been a busy week so far in the craft room ..... I've had birthday cards to make, presents to wrap along with all the regular stuff! It's been fun.

I'm playing along with this month's CAS Watercolour Challenge today.  The prompt for September is ...... Tree

Here's what I came up with ......

I found this piece of watercolour card in my bits box and I thought it would make a nice watercolour background for my tree ....... I think the colours are perfect for this time of year

It's been coloured using PaperArtsy Infusions ....... the Sunset Beach colour.  If you're not familiar with Infusions they're a little bit like Brushos in that they're pigment powders that you can sprinkle onto cardstock, spritz with water and just let them do their thing. But ..... they also have Walnut Stain crystals in them, which take a little longer to dissolve in the water, so you can get this lovely vintage look to the colour

I stamped the tree (SU Hopeful Thoughts) and heat embossed with my current favourite Rose Gold embossing powder from WOW!

And added the sentiment alongside ......

You can see how some of the walnut stain crystals haven't dissolved fully, giving this speckled look to the background ..... I love it!
In fact, I loved it so much I made some more ......

You might just see a few more designs shortly using these.

I mentioned I'd had birthday cards to make .... well, it's that time of year again when this little man gets a another year older .....

He's eight tomorrow ....... can you believe it!  We're all off out to his favourite Italian restaurant to celebrate tomorrow, then he's having a LaserBlast party with his pals at the weekend.
He's all excited today though because he's getting a new bedroom.  He stayed over with us last night because I was there yesterday helping to clear out his old bed,  clean the carpets, move the furniture round, put new curtains up.  His new bed is being delivered as we speak, so all his other presents are stuff for his new room ...... it's going to look so cool.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day. 
Me ..... I'm cleaning the hot tub (yeah!)  The wind blew the top open while I was out yesterday and now it's full of leaves (oops!)  Thank goodness it wasn't full of water ..... luckily, we had emptied it the day before ready for the big clean, so it's not that bad.
Time for a coffee first though. 

Cheerio until next time ......

Two cards ..... two challenges

Happy Tuesday ........

It's been a funny old day ...... it's been foggy here for most it, which was not good.  Our little island doesn't cope well with fog! 
First off the plane that brings some of the mail didn't arrive this morning ..... it couldn't land because of the fog.  Possibly why there was nothing through the letterbox today .... no craft stash delivery!!
And then the practice/qualifying session for the racing, which is due to run this evening because it was cancelled last night, has been a bit of a worry all day.
I think it is finally going ahead, a statement was issued earlier saying conditions have cleared considerably this afternoon on the mountain so, fingers crossed everything goes according to plan.  Did I mention we've got the MGP (Manx Grand Prix) on at the moment.  It's practice/qualifying this week, then race week next.
Oooh ..... the sun has just appeared, so we might just get a nice evening after all.  I hope it's shining where you are.

I'm playing along with a couple more challenges today ....... first up, CAS Watercolor

As you can see, the theme is Sunflower ...... 

I found this piece in my bits box whilst I was looking for something else, and thought it would go nicely with the challenge.
It's actually a leftover from a workshop I did I think ...... a stenciled mono print using a pretty design from Inkylicious.  I'm not sure but it may actually be a daisy, but I think it looks a bit like a sunflower so hopefully I'll get away with it!

I've used Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink (I think!) directly onto the stencil, spritzed with water and then placed the inky side down on a piece of watercolour card

I love how the finished image isn't perfect.

I swished one of my brown ink blending brushes around the centre to add just a touch of colour, and then stamped the sentiment over the top.

Now for something a little more festive .......... the CAS Christmas Card Challenge

I couldn't resist this one .... you all know how much I love my Christmas tree, and I love how this has turned out .... may just make a few more like this

The tree is from IndigoBlu, stamped in Old Olive ink from Stampin Up!

I then ran the card through my Big Shot with the Softly Falling Embossing Folder (again from SU)

I added a touch of glitter to the tree and some of the snow ......

And finished with a simple sentiment ......

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off back to the craft room to check on a mirror.  I'm painting the frame so that I can hang it in the spare bedroom.  It's only been on the to do list for about 5 years!!

You wouldn't believe what I've got done whilst hubby is in Australia.  My craft room has had a major clear out, I've been through nearly everything .... except my stamps.  That's too big of a job for now!  Kitchen cupboards and drawers have been sorted and cleaned.  Wardrobes sorted and tidied.
The refrigerator has been emptied and cleaned, we won't go into what was in the back of there!  And then this morning I started on the window blinds ..... he won't recognise the place when he gets home.  He definitely won't be able to find anything.  That'll teach him to go on a business trip without me!!

Now ..... what's next on my list?

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

CAS Watercolour Challenge .....

Happy Wednesday ......

I can't believe we're in the middle of the week already ...... there's too much to do!!!!
It doesn't help when my laptop is running sooooo slowwww ..... I think it's hibernating!
It took all day Monday before I could actually log in and do anything. I'm not exaggerating there ...... literally all day.
I tried to log on first thing .... nothing.  So I switched it off and re-booted.  Still nothing ....... just the little circle of dots to say it was thinking about doing something.   So ...... after a few choice words I just left it.  Patience is what hubby says I need.   PATIENCE!!!!!  A new flippin' laptop is what I say I need!!
Anyway ...... I went out for the day and forgot about the troublesome laptop.  I had a lovely catch up and lunch with a friend, followed by a bit of retail therapy.  We took advantage of the nice weather and ventured up to the north .... to Ramsey!  My favourite shop is up there so I had a lovely time!
Hubby has since said that I can have a new laptop ..... yeah!  Now I just need to decide which one!
Some research needed over the weekend I think.

I'm playing along with the CAS Watercolour challenge today .... there's a couple of days left before the deadline.  The theme this month is ......

There's not much going on in our garden yet ..... a couple of daffodils here and there, but that's pretty much it at the moment.  Hopefully as Spring goes on things will begin to bloom .... we'll have to wait and see what comes up.

I've been playing with one of my favourite Penny Black stamps .... dancing daisies, along with my Distress Inks ......

I've used my MISTI to stamp the image, repeat stamping to slowly build up the colours, and spritzing with water to blend the inks and get this watercoloured effect .....

I used one colour of ink at a time and spritzed in between stamping. 

The stems were first, starting with Twisted Citron, followed by Peeled paint ......  

The sentiment was stamped with Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide ...... I love these inks for stamping with!

Mustard Seed and Wild Honey are the colours I used for the flowers, with a little bit of Rusty Hinge for the centres

I added in a few splatters of ink to the background, and finished off by brushing around the edges with Antique Linen Distress Oxide ..... possibly not quite as CAS as it should!

The inside fits the bill ........

Same technique but I masked the stamp and used just one of those daisies this time ......

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

We've had the SKY TV engineer here today .... we eventually got around to telling them we'd moved and that we needed our TV sorting.  Not that we've missed SKY that much ... we've been watching Amazon and Netflix.  We've just reached the end of a few series that we've been watching ..... Vampire Diaries, and the spinoff The Originals which was good.   We've just finished something called Colony, and the next series of that isn't out yet so, we needed something new.  

Guess what ..... hubby's chosen the Marvel Superhero films ....... oh joy! We're watching them all apparently .....from the beginning ...... in order.  There's loads of them!  And there's some that we've seen already ..... but we have to watch them in order.  This could take a while.

Cheerio until next time ......

 

Happy 1st Birthday CAS Watercolour challenge ......

Happy Wednesday ......

Middle of the week again .... and I'm playing catch up!  I spent most of this morning on the internet trying to get concert tickets ...... as if I've nothing better to do!!
The island has gone crazy because .....  are you ready for this ...... Gary Barlow is coming across to do two nights at the Villa Marina.  When ...... TT Practice Week next year ..... that's when!!!
Lauren wants tickets, my brother wants tickets ....... I wouldn't mind a ticket but .... I'm not paying £172.50 ..... each! ...... I don't like him that much!!
Tickets officially go on sale on Friday this week but I managed to get priority booking through Amazon. which started at 10am this morning.  I needn't have bothered!!
There was I all logged on and ready to go at 10am ..... by 4 mins past it was impossible to get tickets except the VIP ones of course.  I was curious to see if any of these were actually available so I put 4 into my basket.  Oh yes they were available ....... I could have had four seats, four rows from the front with an aisle seat, for a little over £700!!!!! including booking fees ...... no thank you.  Hubby would have had something to say if I'd have made that booking.  Never mind, I'll try again on Friday.

Anyway .... the real reason for today's post is, I'm joining in the fun with this month's CAS Watercolour Challenge and their 1st Birthday Celebrations

Whoop! Whoop! ladies ...... congratulations on a whole year of fun challenges.

This month the theme is Fall Leaves ......

We have a few of those in the square outside the house after ex-Hurricane Ophelia's visit on Monday .... there's hardly any left on the trees!

Here's my card ......

CAS with some watercoloured, die cut autumn leaves.

I smooshed various colours of Distress ink onto a piece of watercoloured card then spritzed with water to blend the inks together.
I then die cut the leaves and stamped onto each one to add a touch of detail

The sentiment is from a Stampin Up! set called Colorful Seasons, and has been heat embossed with a copper coloured powder

I couldn't resist splattering some more ink onto the background ...... I mixed each of the colours I'd used for the leaves with a little water, and then used an old paintbrush to flick the ink onto the card

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off to do what I should have been doing this morning ...... prepping for a workshop on Saturday.

Cheerio until next time