Finished at last!!! .......

Happy Halloween ...... or Hop tu Naa as it's known in the Isle of Man,

I hope you're having a good week. 
Things are a little less busy here ........ thank goodness.  Although saying that, it's November tomorrow, and we all know what happens at the start of a new month ........ lots of Blog challenges, so you'll be hearing from me quite a bit in the next few days.
I'll also try and catch up with all my Blog visiting too.   I do apologise if I haven't made it over to see you yet ..... I will get there, I promise! I don't want to miss anything!

It's been a nice week actually .... the weather's been good, although I think all that's about to change.  I was in town this morning and it was a little bit cold and grey.   Fingers crossed it stays fine for this evening ....... there's a little velociraptor that's looking forward to going Trick or Treating (I've had to stuff a tail this morning ..... but we won't go into all that!)

Last weekend was workshop weekend ...... the last of the calendar pages  Whoo hoo!!!
Not everyone could make it unfortunately but, the ones that were there finished all three pages. 
I'm so proud of them, they've all worked so hard over the last few months to get their calendars finished and I think they were all pleased with the results ........ here's a little look at some of their favourite pages .......

Sorry but I can't remember which page belongs to who but there's ...... Carol W, Carol J, Lyn, Mandy, Jenny and Ruby.  Well done, your calendars all look amazing!

We had just three pages to do.  On the two calendars I've been doing I had August left ...... we used stamping and simple masking techniques, watercolouring and acetate smooshing.

November ........ I'm loving these new large stamps from the Colorado Craft Company.
More masking, this time masking off the background to add colour to the leaves using Distress inks

I also did some stamping with different coloured inks ...... very autumnal!

And we finished with October .......

The calendars have been a big project but, I do think it's been worth it.

The final workshop of the year is in November ...... and it's Christmas themed ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!
I just need to get a move on with my finished sample.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day, and have a fabulous Halloween or Hop tu Naa
Happy trick or treating!

See you in November! ........

Products used:
Stamps: Butterflies, Sentiments (Inkylicious); Elements of Style (SU! - discontinued);Handpicked Bouquet (Altenew); Big & Bold Oak Leaves & Acorns, Jack-o-Lantern (Colorado Craft Company); Trendy Leaves (STAMPlorations); Maple Leaf (Clarity)  
Inks: Various colours of Distress Inks and Distress Oxides; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
Others: 2020 A4 Calendar (Papermill Direct); Clear embossing powder, Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); 

We're nearly there ........

Happy Thursday .......

How's your week going ....... fast if it's anything like mine!

It's been busy in the craft room ...... I'm trying to get ahead with all my DT stuff as we've got a crazy few weeks coming up.  Would you believe our next free weekend is the beginning of November!!!  Hubby's away this weekend, then we're away on holiday next weekend.  We're back on the island for a few days then we're off to the UK for another weekend. 
Then it's workshop weekend .......that's going to be a busy one.  And then hubby's off to Blackpool for a weekend for a Poker Tournament.  It's all go around here!

Speaking of workshops, here's a little look at the last one.
We used Lavinia stamps to create beautiful moonlight scenes, in Autumn and winter shades. 

Easy scene building using masks with Distress Inks and Oxides ......

Pretty Lavinia fairies .....

Trees and foliage, and simple embellishments .....

We also went a little bit festive with the gorgeous Sweet Poppy Poinsettia stencil ....

Distress inks and oxides again, a little bit of the gesso resist technique, and LOTS of glitter

And of course a touch of my favourite festive product .... chunky white embossing powder

Another popular colour way was a green and gold version ......

Gold ink through the stencil on a delicate Distress Ink background and then covered with glitter

We were all a little bit sparkly by the end of the afternoon!

There's just three pages left to complete and  now, and we're doing them all next month! 
Not sure what's going on them yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out ...... suggestions on a postcard please!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
You can also find me on the Uniko Blog today with a little bit of DT Inspiration.  That's on a festive theme too.  Simple Christmas card ideas using stencils, pastes and different finishes.

Right back to the craft room ..... it's magazine stuff today.
Cheerio until next time .......

A midweek get together .......

Happy Thursday .......

The weekend is in sight ...... and the sun is shining, although it's not supposed to last. 
We were hoping to have a BBQ on Sunday, but if the forecast is right it's not going to happen!
Oh well!

I had a lovely day yesterday though ..... surrounded by my craft stash, and in the company of good friends.  And, there was cake of course!

It was workshop day.  Not usually held midweek, we all kept thinking it was Saturday ..... confused or what!!
We did complete two more pages on our calendars though ....... they're all coming along nicely.

There was a bit of everything yesterday ...... rubber stamping and heat embossing, watercolouring using ZIG Markers.

Pretty floral images in soft pastel shades ...... the embossing helps to keep the watercolour in place for a nice crisp finish

Not to worry though, if you do go over the edge ....... just add a little more water and make it part of the background, for a more softer look

And used the acetate smooshing technique to add colour onto the backgrounds ....... always fun to do, and very effective.

We used large sentiment stamps ...... they make great focal points and they were perfect for these quick and easy calendar pages

Smooshed Distress Inks again for the backgrounds, a little bolder this time though, with a touch of metallic gold in there.  The hardest part of these pages was, choosing which colours to use .....

We did a bit of Ink splattering, and a touch of doodling around the sentiments using a glue pen and glitter .....

Black fine liners, gold gel pens, enamel accents or crystal glaze ....... I even added a touch more colour to the little banners on the bottom using the Distress inks again

I think we're going Autumnal for the next lot of pages.  Rich, warm shades ........ with trees and leaves perhaps.  Hmmm ...... better get my thinking cap on!

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Hello Lovely (Concord & 9th); Sentiment stamps from Inkylicious; Be the Reason - Lil'inker stamps
Inks: Versafine; Distress Inks -  Stormy Sky, Shaded Lilac, Picked Rapsberry, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade,Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron,Wilted Violet; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata Golden Glitz
Others:  A4 Calendar (PaperMill Direct); ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Acetate for smooshing, Gold & white gel pens, Stardust Glitter pen, Fine crystal glitter, Enamel Accents, Crystal Glaze

More calendar pages .......

Happy Thursday evening .......

At last ..... time to sit down and blog.
What a busy week it's been, and it's not over yet!  I've got this evening to myself though, hubby's out with work and I'm home alone.  So it's PJ's on,  catch up on some TV, and an early night I think.  There's been enough partying for me this week!!

First though, here's a little look at last weekend's workshop.  We did a couple more calendar pages, playing with simple masking techniques, lots of rubber stamping and a little bit of scene building using the gorgeous Lavinia stamps.

 
Page One ...... easy masking using Post It notes.  I went all floral for one of my designs ...

And Butterflies for the other ......

All coloured using ZIG Markers and a water brush ...... it was a very quiet afternoon at one point!

Page two ....... simple scene building.
I do love Lavinia stamps ..... I don't know why I don't use them more often.

It's so easy to create magical scenes, with a little bit of masking, a few Distress Inks and some of those gorgeous Lavinia fairies

Add in a bit of foliage, some flowers and of course a touch of glitter ......

Change the colours of your inks, and change the season ......

I did a little bit of faux bleaching on my design .....

I think everyone enjoyed their day.

As I said it's been a busy week.  On the craft side, there's been magazine stuff to do, new release samples for Sweet Poppy Stencils, a shopping list to put together for Port Sunlight at the weekend .... it's all go! 

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
Time to put my feet up!

Cheerio until next time .....

Calendar Girls .......

Happy Wednesday .......

And Happy World Malbec Day for all you red wine lovers!!

We're off out this evening for a special dinner to celebrate (any excuse!)  Our favourite little restaurant is hosting a five course tasting menu, all paired with the perfect Malbec wines ...... there's even a Malbec ice cream ....... we had a cheeky tasting on Monday and it's delicious!!

Enough about food and wine ........ Last Saturday was out first crafty get together of the year, it was so nice to see everyone and we had a lovely day.  We made a start on creating calendars for next year.  A little bit early but, we're planning to do about three pages each month, and then decorate the covers so it's a work in progress.

Inspired by the very talented Eileen Godwin, we'll be using different inks, different techniques with stamps and stencils and just generally having fun.

We're using the Create-a-Calendar from PaperMill Direct ...... the quality is amazing and the pages take the inks really well. 

Here's a quick look at how mine are coming along ...... I have one calendar that I use to plan the pages and then another one to re-create on the day, with the ladies.  When I say re-create I don't mean copy exactly.  Each page is slightly different, the inks don't always go on the same, and I might use different stamps etc.

Pretty snowflakes for the start of the year .....
The one on the left was my sample .... the one on the right is the one I did on the day ..... see hwat I mean about them being different, I've used exactly the same inks but I've been more heavy handed on the second version

Simple ink blending using Distress Inks ....... three shades of blue applied with a brush, working from the top down to the centre, and the bottom up leaving some white(ish) space in the middle

A few splatters of water then some rubber stamping, finishing with some heat embossing on the large snowflake.
And I decided to add some words to this page ..... a simple sentiment stamped in black and a cute little silhouette which I'm going to continue through the calender if I can .....

More ink blending for the second page ..... Memento inks this time

This was one of Eileens designs ...... again see how the second version is so different from the first.  I've used more ink on the background and splattered it with water ......

I changed the colours of the foliage slightly too .....

Finally, inspired by Eileen again we tried the Gesso Resist technique with stencils

This was so much fun ...... and my two pages ended up completely different. Same techniques, gesso through the stencil,  ink applied over the top and then carefully wiped away from the gesso. 
I changed my ink colours slightly, and I only did a small area of stenciling on the second one .....

Love the look of these coloured inks for the foliage ...... but I also like the black

We all followed the same techniques but didn't always do the same months so each of the calendars will be completely different when they're finished ....... we are going to try and do another three pages next month!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
It's beautiful here, the sun is shining and it's finally warming up out there.  Let's hope it lasts for the Easter weekend.

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
January
Stamps: Snowflakes - Tim Holtz, Hero Arts, Stampn Up!; Sentiment - Hero Arts; Bunny - Lavinia
Inks: Distress Inks - Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire; Distress Oxide Ink - Stormy Sky for the small snowflakes;Silver ink (Deliata); Versafine Clair - Twilight, Nocturne
Other: A4 Create-a-Calendar(PaperMill Direct); Nuvo Drops - white; Stickles Crystal Glitter Glue; Low-tack stencil tape

February/March
Stamps: ELB30 from PaperArtsy; Cat and the mouse are both from Lavinia
Inks: Memento - Nautical Blue, Potter's Clay;  Versafine Clair - Twilight, Chianti, Nocturne; Archival - Orange Blossom, Red Geranium; Dandelion
Other: Low tack stencil tape

March/May
Stamps: Leaf Sprig - Stampendous; Wildflower, Hare - Lavinia
Inks: Memento - Pear Tart, Morocco; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Archival Rose Madder, Leaf Green
Other: Heavy White Gesso, Stencils - JOFY; Funky Fossil, White Posca pen