CAS Christmas Challenge ........

Happy Saturday .......

Thank goodness it's the weekend.

I'm going a little festive again today with another card for this month's  CAS Christmas Challenge ...... 

This little guy has been sat patiently all week waiting to be blogged.

I love this JOFY snowman ........ he's simply stamped and heat embossed in white, onto a piece of Kraft cardstock (I do like white on Kraft!)

I used Prismacolor pencils to colour him in, with a few touches of ZIG marker here and there (his carrot nose, arms, the band on his hat, and the tiny holly leaves)

I added a touch of sparkle to the baubles with a sprinkling of fine crystal glitter ...... everyone needs sparkly baubles at Christmas!

The sentiment sits nicely underneath .......

And to finish, I added a few dots of falling snow using a white gel pen, and I also doodled a stitched border around the edge 

 

I must admit I'm not really thinking about Christmas at the moment, not with the week I'm having!  

Now, you know me, I don't mind change ....... but really! ........ this week (sigh!) ........ it's been doing my head in!!!

  

Monday ....... I was getting in the holiday mood,  making plans for our first big adventure in the van. 

 

Tuesday (morning) ......... I get an email from our landlord to say he's putting the house on the market!  Funnily enough we've been looking at property recently and thinking about moving (again!) ..... itchy feet and all that but, suddenly it's become more of a reality. 

 OK, that's not a problem, we've done it before .... time for another clear out!

Tuesday (pm) ........ we had seen a house that we quite liked the look of, so hubby rang and made arrangements to view.

In the meantime I'm making many lists, and starting to prep the van.

Wednesday ....... government press conference is tomorrow with regards to border changes etc.  

The plan was our borders were hopefully being opened fully on June 28th, for both residents and non-residents, with all restrictions being lifted.  

However, because of the new Delta variant being in the UK, and infection numbers on the rise again, we knew that there was a good chance that this would not be happening.  

It was announced that government were proposing that our borders would remain as they are at the moment except that people who had had both of their vaccinations (both IOM residents and non- residents) would be allowed to travel freely to and from the island, assuming they had had their vaccines at least two weeks before arriving here ...... they're calling it the 2+2 stage!

OK that's fine ..... hubby and I are having our second vaccine on Monday next week,  only a week before we are due to travel I know,  but we checked and that's fine, it just means that we would still have to isolate when we came back, and get a test on day 2.  Not a problem. we could do that.

So at this point we're still going on our trip (yeah!), viewing a possible new house and, something else we've been looking forward to ......... we had a table booked in the evening at the new Japanese restaurant in Castletown

I say new, it's been open a while now you just can't get a table is so busy!  And after eating there I can understand why ....... the food is amazing!

We had a lovely meal ........ the little man tried everything ....... even the sashimi!

He was braver than me ...... I like my food cooked!  Sushi I can eat, but not sashimi.  I did try the eel though ....... still deciding about that one

We will definitely be back ..... when we can get a table!

So, we get to Thursday and we go to view this property we've found ........... it's perfect! 

Now the current property market on the island is moving very quickly so we decided to put the wheels in motion with a view to moving sooner rather that later.  But hey!  aren't we're going off island for two weeks soon?  When would I pack up the current house!!!!???  And then, there's the possibility of having to isolate when we come back, I could pack up everything then I suppose.  But of course there's a worse case scenario ....... what if we test positive!!!!  OMG!!! More isolation.  

Now we have many decisions to make .......... I don't know if I'm coming or going. 

Friday was just a blur ..... I can't think straight anymore! 

I do think the sensible thing to do is put off the van trip, and concentrate on the move, assuming everything goes according to plan of course!

There's going to be a few of these over this weekend ...... well it is Fathers' Day on Sunday

Thanks for popping by ..... sorry about the long post!  Enjoy your weekend

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stamps: JOFY 58 (PaperArtsy)

Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: White fine detail Embossing Powder (WOW!); Prismacolor pencils; ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Fine Crystal Glitter; Quickie Glue Pen; White Gel Pen 

LOVE TAGplorations ....... 7 day event

Happy Thursday,

And welcome to the LOVE TAGplorations 7 day Blog Hop event with the STAMPlorations girls.
Yes ..... seven days filled with tag making fun, showcasing lots of Love-themed or Valentine's Day tags.

It's Day 2 today and I'm joining in the fun with a cute little tag for you.  If you missed yesterday's projects don't worry ...... you can catch up here.

I love this set of Nesting Tag Dies ..... I've used the largest one for my tag, cut from Kraft card

I stamped one of the balloons from the Balloons and Banners stamp set  across the bottom of the tag, heat embossed with white detail embossing powder and then added colour using Prismacolor Pencils

I stamped the heart shaped balloon (from the same stamp set) onto the tag, heat embossed in white as before and coloured with the pencils again.

I added a layer of glossy accents to the red balloons .... just look how they shine ......

The edges of the tag have been inked with a little Festive Berries Distress Ink and then I doodled the faux stitching around the edge using a white gel pen

To finish off I added some words (from the STAMPlorations Rosebuds .... from the Bees Knees range) and a few dots of white gel pen here and there ......

You can all join in the fun too ...... hop over to the participating blogs and leave a comment, or why not create a tag and join in through the linky party.

Commenting and linking up is available until February 14th so there's lots of time.
There's prizes up for grabs too ......

- (3) randomly drawn winners from all comments left on the STAMP blog and participating designers blog will each receive a $10 gift certificate to the store

- (1) randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of stamp set (Pocket Blooms, A Full Heart, or Two of Us)

- (1) randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of any 2 of the new love-themed dies (Love, Always, XOXO, Forever, You & Me, Clustered Hearts)

- (1) randomly drawn participant in the Love TAGplorations linky party will receive her choice of tag set: Luggage Tags or ATC/Tag Builder

Happy hopping!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
We got the keys to our new place this morning .... excited or what!

Cheerio until next time .....

So grateful .......

Happy Wednesday ........

It's a very special day today ....... Welcome to the 2nd STAMPlorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop and Linky Party

And what a party it's going to be .....  are you ready! You might want to grab a cuppa ..... there's a lot in this post.

The STAMPlorations girls, along with 15 talented friends/designers have had some fun creating projects using some of the latest products from STAMPlorations .... amazing stamps, great dies, and gorgeous stencils.

It's so much fun working with great products ..... it's easy to create fabulous cards.  I'm so grateful to Shery for giving me the chance to be part of this amazing stamp family!

I've been playing with the STAMPlorations Oh So Grateful stamp set and the co-ordinating dies which are available in a fab bundle that comes with a beautiful stencil.

For this design I simply stamped the pumpkin using a brown ink pad and then coloured it with Distress Inks

I used the co-ordinating die to cut out the image ...... so much easier than  fussy cutting!

I added a piece of cardstock from my stash across the bottom of the card, die cut the word Grateful and attached that over the top ...... and then added the pumpkin.

Love this new word die ...... look at the stitching detail around the edge .....

Using the word die again, a totally different design .....

An acetate smooshed background using various colours of Distress Inks ......

I die cut the word from the background piece of card, and twice again from plain white cardstock.  I then inlaid one of the white die cuts into the background piece and then layered the other one directly on the top.  The coloured one was then added, slightly off set to give a shadow effect ....

I splattered some gold paint across the background to finish it all off.

Finally ...... a really Autumnal look using Kraft card

Simple design again ..... stamped the imaged onto the Kraft card, and coloured with Distress inks

Die cut the word underneath my stamped image.  Die cut it again from a piece of coloured card from my stash and inlaid the coloured one into the Kraft card

I added a layer of Glossy Accents to the die cut and smooshed a little bit of Distress Ink onto the background ..... .

There you have it ..... my inspiration for the Blog Hop.  Hopefully it's put you in the mood to join in the fun.

There's some amazing prizes to be had along the way for all you happy hoppers.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is stop by each of the participating blogs and leave a comment. You have until November 30th so there's lots of time to visit everyone.

One lucky winner, drawn randomly from all the comments left on the blogs will win a $50 STAMPlorations Gift Certificate ..... WOW!!!
Three more winners (randomly drawn from the comments left on the Blogs) will each receive a $20 Gift Certificate.

That's not all ..... if you leave a comment on the STAMPlorations Facebook page you could win a $15 Gift Certificate for yourself AND $15 for a friend tagged in the comment.
Or if you leave a comment on the STAMPlorations Instagram Account you could be the winner of a choice of one of the Giving Thanks bundles ...... Be Thankful, Oh So Grateful or Many Blessings

I mentioned a Linky Party ..... well, why not join in the fun there too by creating your own project with a Giving Thanks /Be Grateful theme and then link it up to the gallery on the main STAMPlorations Blog Hop post.
The Giving Thanks bundles (one of each) are up for grabs there and you have until November 30th to link up your projects.
What are you waiting for!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
Here's a list of all the participating Blogs ..... don't forget to visit everyone.





Happy Hopping folks!
Cheerio until next time

What a fabulous weekend ..... we should do it more often!

Happy Monday ......

What a great weekend we've just had .... hope yours was a good one too!

After a lovely crafty day last Friday, I was told that hubby and I HAD to be in The Saddle (Chris's place) that evening .... no matter what!
Hmmm ....... now I don't usually like surprises but ..... this one was a good one!
My brother and his wife had come across for the weekend ..... it was so nice to see them.  Chris was the only one that knew anything about it (and Sam his girlfriend), apparently they'd been organised it for weeks!!  Thanks love ....... what a fabulous surprise for your old mum!!

We all had a lovely night out ...... called in to Artisan see Lauren as she was working, she was as surprised as I was .... lots of squealing and hugging going on!!  It was also Chris's one year anniversary of having his name above the door at The Saddle ..... hasn't that 12 months gone quickly!!! ........ so as you can imagine, there might just have been a little bit of celebrating going on!!
We did it all again on Saturday too!! Oh yes .... you've guessed it ..... Sunday was a bit of a lazy day!

Not only was I out partying all weekend ....... it was workshop weekend too!!  There wasn't too much of a headache on Saturday morning ..... just as well really as we had the usual crew around the table, plus a few extras for this one.  The place was full .... and we had a great day.

Four cards, with matching tags, all done using Kraft Card.  
It's one of those things I think, you either love it (which I do)  or .... you're never quite sure what to do with it!  Well I gave them all a few ideas ...... starting with simply stamping onto it using a black ink and adding a some black and white cardstock ...... very elegant.

I gave them a choice too .... either everyday using the gorgeous Penny Black Poppies ......

or a Christmas version with the jolly Inkadinkadoo Snowman ......

Next we did some white embossing ..... which always looks stunning on Kraft card .....

I love my large Clarity Christmas Tree, especially with a touch of sparkle and some added falling snow .....

And why not add a bit of festive red into the mix ......

 Snowflakes white embossed again, but also stamped in Crimson Red Versafine .....

But, it doesn't have to be just Christmas cards ...... this colour combo works just as well for everyday designs

Tags to match too .....

Then it was on to some simple colouring on Kraft card ....... stamping with a brown ink and using water colour pencils ......

How cute is this little guy .....

Add some Picket Fence Distress ink around the image and a little falling snow and you're done.  A nice quick and easy, one layer card with matching tag ..... great for posting!

And of course .... there was an everyday option .....

This time stamped in Black and coloured using Prismacolor pencils ..... with a tag to match

And finally ...... we finished the afternoon with what was my favourite, and everyone else's I think ..... white ink on Kraft card.

Inspired by the ladies from Inkylicious ..... and using their beautiful stamps, two wintry snow scenes.

First option ...... using a stencil and white ColorBox ink to create the circle, then stamping the Inkylicious Winter Lodge over the top ......

This is where the MISTI is such a useful tool.  To get all the detail of the stamp clear, over the white ink I stamped the image about 3 or 4 times using a brown ink pad.  Then I added in some extra white detail, the snow on the roof and the trees, and around the bottom of the lodge, and then ..... I stamped the lodge again over the top.  Because I used the MISTI each stamping was perfect!

The other option was made using the same white ColorBox ink and a piece of copier paper to create the snowy hills ......

I used stamps from the new IndigoBlu Winterland Wood and the Inkylicious small Winter Cabin

With my copier paper masks in place I stamped the images first, using the brown ink again (Ranger's Java Bean Dye Ink)

Then I added in the snow ......

The ColorBox white ink works really well on Kraft Card .... I will say though they are quite a wet ink pad so less is definitely more.  I always like to use a brush to apply my inks and I start with very little on the brush and gradually build up the depth of colour.

Love how these two designs turned out.

I said it was a busy workshop ..... I think everyone enjoyed it though.  They've booked on the next one anyway!

Well .... that's Monday nearly over with.  It's going to be a bit of a whirlwind week I think ..... I've only 4 days .... 3 now ..... to get everything done, then I'm off on a little trip across to the UK next weekend ...... I'm so excited!!!!  More about that later.

Right now it's time I got on with the dinner .... tummy's rumbling!!

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

Cheerio until next time .....