Do more of what makes you happy ........

Good morning ........

It's Friday!!!  It's a Bank Holiday weekend for us ..... fingers crossed the weather stays nice.

It's also time to remind you about this month's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge.
As always the theme is Anything Goes, just remember though, you must include some ACTUAL rubber stamping on your projects.

I've been playing with some new JOFY stamps ..... I love this large flower! There's also a matching stencil which is great.

Something else I've been playing around with is the gesso resist technique.  A different way of using your pots of gesso.

I started off by stamping the words in the background using white gesso .....

Using a paint brush I applied a thin layer of gesso directly onto my stamp and then stamped the image in the usual way.   You could use a brayer to apply the gesso, or another way of doing it is to paint a thin layer of gesso onto a craft mat and then use it as you would an ink pad ..... taking your stamp to the gesso.  Whichever way you choose, stamp your image and then immediately place your stamp into water, you don't want the gesso to dry on your stamp.

Once the gesso was dry, I used Distress Sprays over the top to build up the colour. 

I mopped up the excess ink and you can see that the gesso has resisted the colour and the text shows through .... cool eh!

Once the spray ink was dry I used the new JOFY stencil and some white paint to add the large flower.

When doing the resist technique with gesso you can get a flat surface, as opposed to using the emboss resist which gives a raised finish. 
It's then easier to add more layers over the top with stencils, or rubber stamping.

I let the stenciled paint dry and then took the matching rubber stamp and stamped the outline over the top using a black ink, and heat embossed with a clear powder. 
I also stamped some smaller flowers around the edges and heat embossed those with a sparkle powder

I finished off with a few sparkly sequins and added a stamped sentiment ......

OK ... now it's your turn.  TAKE a stamp and MAKE something fabulous!

As with all the Craft Stamper challenges there is a prize .... two in fact.
Our Designer Winner, chosen by the DT, will get their winning project featured in the Craft Stamper magazine, a Winner's Profile post on the Craft Stamper Blog, and an invitation to be a Guest Designer on a future Craft Stamper challenge.

Our second winner is randomly chosen from all the eligible entries, and they receive the Blog Challenge prize which this month is ........ this amazing Eileen Hull die from Sizzix

Seeing as I'm hosting this month's CAS Mix Up challenge, and the theme is Gesso Resist it would be a shame not to link up my card there too.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your Friday and have a lovely weekend.
I'm joining in with another journal wokshop tomorrow which should be fun.

Cheerio until next time ........
 

Products used:
Stamps: JOFY 89, JOFY 93, JOFY 38 (for the words) - PaperArtsy
Inks:  Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versafine
Stencils: JOFY stencil PS185 (PaperArtsy)
Other: White Gesso, Distress Ink Spray - Picked Raspberry, Scattered Straw, Sparkling Sand Embossing Powder - JOFY Dockside Trio (WOW!); Crystal Sequins

There's no place like home ......

Good morning ..... Happy Good Friday!

I hope everyone is staying safe and well, and enjoying the Easter weekend at home.

If you fancy spending some time in your crafty space, then why not play along with this month's Craft Stamper Challenge.  There's still plenty of time to get your entries in.

As always, the theme is Anything Goes, you just have to remember to include some actual rubber stamping on your project, and then you're good to go.

I've been searching for my mojo recently, and I thought maybe some time spent playing in one of my journals would help.
So ....... inspired by a prompt from an online journal course here's what I came up with .......

You've probably guessed the prompt was ....... Home

I used acrylic paints, Distress Oxide Inks, stencils, and a few JOFY stamps ...... and I must say I did enjoy the process.  It's good to get inky fingers occasionally!

I lightly sketched the hills across the bottom half of the journal pages and then used a brush to roughly apply the acrylic paints

I wasn't too fussy about applying the paints, I just wanted to get some colour on there and also a bit of texture.  And I quite like the fact you can see the brushstrokes in places ..... adds a bit of interest.

I did the same with the sky ...... and used a piece of sponge to add in the white clouds.

I did leave a space without any paint so that I could add in the sun  ......

For this I used a stencil and a thin layer of yellow acrylic paint, and then extended the rays a little using a yellow watercolour crayon over the top, and blending them together with a little water

I added a little extra detail using a flower stencil and white paint, and also defined the hills a little using a black pencil.

I stamped the trees onto white cardstock, and then used Distress Oxide Inks to add the colour before fussy cutting around them

The house was stamped onto a piece of cardstock from my bits box, coloured using PaperArtsy's Infusions I think.

Everything was then glued down over the background in my journal, and I finished off by stamping the various sentiments all around the edge, added a touch of doodling here and there using black and white fine liner pens, and of course added in the words ........

With what we're all having to go through at the moment, there really is no place like home!

As with all the Craft Stamper challenges, there's prizes up for grabs.
This month's randomly chosen, Challenge Winner will receive this amazing Woodware bundle .......

And, we'll also have a Design Winner.  They will receive a Winner's Profile post on the Craft Stamper Blog, they will be invited to be a Guest Designer on the Blog Challenge and, they will also have their winning project published in a future issue of the Craft Stamper magazine.
Check out the Craft Stamper Blog for more details.

I'm hoping to spend some more time with my journal this weekend ..... lets hope I've kicked started the mojo!

Speaking of the weekend, I think we're going camping!  Don't worry it's only going to be in the garden, well on the drive actually. 

We're spending some time with Remi ......

Have you seen anything on Facebook about the Great British Campout for NHS Staff? 
A guy called Ian had this idea of having a 'camp out' to raise some money to support the NHS staff and volunteers, for all their amazing work during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
So, last Saturday night anyone that had a camper or motorhome on their drive, or a tent in their garden could donate £2 each (or more) to the wonderful NHS staff, and then spend the night camping out.
The reaction he got was unbelievable!!  Even people without vans or tents were camping out in garden sheds, or making tents in their lounges ...... it was incredible. 
I think he said he was looking to raise a couple of hundred pounds .......... he did in fact raise over £100,000!!!! And that amount is still rising ....... amazing or what!

So ..... they're doing it all again for the Easter weekend, and hubby and I thought we would join in. 
We had planned to spend this weekend on one of the campsites on the island with Lauren, Robbie and Alex.  They would have been in George (the VW), and us in Remi ..... so, if we can't go to the campsite, we'll bring the campsite to us.  Let's hope the weather stays nice.

Thanks for popping by ....... enjoy your Easter weekend.
Stay safe ....... stay well ....... stay at home!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: JOFY 29, JOFY 9, 11, 12, 49 (for the words), JOFY Mini JM42 
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Oxides - Gathered Twigs, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn
Paints: PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints - Granny Smmith, Magic Moss, Blue Oyster, Snowflake, Cheesecake
Other: Jane Davenport AquaPastels (Yellow); Sunrays stencil (Visible Image); PaperArtsy Stencil - PS107 (flowers), White Gel Pen, Black Fine Liner

There's still time to play along with the Craft Stamper Challenge .......

Happy Friday .........

I've just realised it's Friday the 13th ........ not that I'm superstitious, well not much anyway.

I hope you've had a good week.
We're travelling home later today after a brief, but busy, trip to the UK. 
It's been a little quiet in The Craft Lane this week, because we've been across to pick up 'the van' finally!   Yes, we have our new motorhome and he's having his first ferry crossing to the Isle of Man.  We've decided it's definitely a He, and we've named him Remi ...... Remi ,the Rapido!

But, enough about 'the van' for now.  It's time for a little reminder about this month's Craft Stamper Challenge.

The theme is Anything Goes ..... as long as there's actual rubber stamping on your project somewhere.  Be sure to check out the Craft Stamper Blog for the full challenge guidelines ...... you need to follow those to be in with a chance of winning one of the prizes.

As always we have two prizes up for grabs .......
(1) the Design Winner chosen by the DT.
They will get their winning project published in the Craft Stamper Magazine on a two page spread!!! A winners profile on the Craft Stamper Blog and, an invitation to be a Guest Designer on a future Craft Stamper challenge.

(2) the Challenge Winner ....... randomly chosen from all the eligible entries.
They receive the Blog Challenge Prize and this month it's a cracker!  I wouldn't mind getting my hands on these little babies ......

OK, now for a little bit of inspiration ......

I love these new large stamps from AALL&Create.  Designed by the fabulous Tracy Evans, they're perfect for cardmaking or journaling but also they're a great size for creating pieces of home decor.

I simply took a piece of mop card from my stash, and stamped the full image using a black ink. I love all the details.

I also stamped the flower heads onto some scraps of white card, heat embossed them with a clear powder, and coloured them using ZIG markers before fussy cutting.
I then layered up the flower heads and attached them onto the stamped image using foam pads to add a bit of dimension

I found an old photo frame that fit perfectly ...... well almost.  Not a problem though ...... I just removed the glass from the front and because I'd used foam pads to attach the flowerheads they just fit nicely over the edge of the frame.

I finished off by adding a layer of Glossy Accents to the bottles .....

The challenge closes on Wednesday 25th March so there's plenty of time to join in.
Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.
I'm hoping for a nice calm crossing this afternoon.  We have a cabin though so if it is a little bumpy we can try and sleep through it.

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Daisy Elegance #266 (Tracy Evans for ALL&Create)
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne
Others: Clear Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Glossy Accents

A little reminder for February's Craft Stamper Challenge ......

Good morning,

Happy Valentine's Day ....... mwah!

I got woken with a nice cup of tea this morning ..... red roses ...... a beautiful handmade card and the promise of a fabulous day.  No! wait ....... I was dreaming!
What really happened was ...... I was the one up early,  woke hubby up with a nice cuppa, as I do every morning, and he got warm, freshly baked croissants this morning!

    Happy Valentines darling ...... love you!

I'm here this morning to remind you about this month's Craft Stamper Challenge ...... have you played along yet?  Maybe you made your loved one a Valentine's card ...... if there's rubber stamping on there then it's perfect for our February challenge.
The theme is Anything Goes so, cards, journal pages, an ATC perhaps, or even a piece of home decor is fine.  As long as you've done some actually rubber stamping on your project, then you're good to go.

How about a little concertina card ....... made using some gorgeous stamps, by Tracy Scott for PaperArtsy

Finished size is approximately 6x4 inches, folded.
I used a landscape A5 sized cardblank for my base ..... scored each side down the middle and then folded concertina style.

Here's the inside ......

and the outside, or if you'd rather ..... the front and back

I cut all my cardstock before I started and then coloured the pieces I needed to stamp on to.
I used Distress Oxides and the acetate smooshing technique to apply the main colour on the backgrounds .....

Blended more colours around the edges with brushes, and finished with a few ink splatters

Everything was stamped using black ink .......

and I heat emossed the flowers with a clear embossing powder.

The heat embossing made it a little easier when colouring the large blooms ..... the embossing acts as a resist to my Prismacolor pencils, leaving the image crisp and clean

Everything was mat and layered, and then attached front and back on each of the folded sections

I added some seambinding ribbon to the back of the end section, long enough to wrap around the card and secure it with a bow.
I'd coloured the ribbon using the Distress Oxide inks so that everything co-ordinated nicely.

There's a fab prize this month for the Challenge Winner ...... just look at that printing plate and fab stencil (I think I need to look for those!)

Don't forget we also have a Design Winner, chosen by the DT.  They get their winning project published across a double page spread in the Craft Stamper magazine, a Winner's Profile on the Blog and an invitation to be a Guest Designer on the Challenge.

To be in with a chance of winning either prize you MUST follow the challenge guidelines.  There's not many don't worry but, we have been finding lately that quite a few entries have had to be excluded unfortunately, when deciding on a winner.  This is such a shame ....... so, before you link up your entry please read the guidelines, you can find them all HERE on the Craft Stamper Blog but, here's just a quick checklist

• Entries MUST have stamping on them, stamping created with a polymer or rubber stamp.
• Entries MUST only contain ONE project in the post. Not a set, not a group, not variations on a theme. Just ONE project.
• Entries MUST mention Craft Stamper and link back to the current Challenge Post
• Only THREE (separate, NOT in the same post ) entries per person in total please.

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... have a lovely day
I'm going to spend mine in the craft room I think ...... there's a busy week coming up!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: ETS29, ETS30, & ETS31 stamps by Tracy Scott for PaperArtsy
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Oxide Inks - Worn Lipstick, Weather Wood, Tumbled Glass, Wilted Violet; White Acrylic Paint and Delicata Golden Glitz ink for the splatters
Others: Clear Embossing Powder (WOW!); Prismacolor Pencils, White seambinding

It's Friday ..... it's the first one of the month ...... it's The Craft Stamper Challenge!!

Happy Friday ....

The weekend is almost here.  I hope you've had a good week.

It's time to get the final Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge of 2019 underway.
Why not take a break from all the festive preparation, and play along.  Go on .... spend some time with your craft stash!
If you're like me, you're still making your Christmas cards ..... oh yes, I'm not done yet!

This design was inspired by the lovely Jennifer McGuire, using the Distress Oxide Spray Resist technique, and then finishing with an iron!

I love the Oxide Sprays ....... I'm hoping Santa brings me the final set of 12 (hint! hint!)
I really like how they work on coloured cardstock, and this technique is so much fun to do.

I used the gorgeous large snowflake from the Colorado Craft Company and heat embossed it with a clear powder onto a piece of teal coloured cardstock.
I then used the Oxide Sprays, spritzing gently down the card and over the top of the embossing.
I used a couple of different colours, allowing each layer to dry before adding a different colour.

Once it was all dry, I place a piece of copier paper over the clear embossed snowflake and used a hot iron over the top, to remove the embossing powder.  I love the effect that this gives.
The heat from the iron melts the embossing powder and it's soaked up into the copier paper, along with any of the Oxide Spray that may be sat on top of the embossing,  leaving this beautifully smooth image behind.

I added some fine crystal glitter onto the snowflake ........ well it is Christmas! and then heat embossed my sentiment on the top with a white embossing powder .....

I finished off with a few splatters of gold and silver ink onto the background, and added a few sparkly gems.

The theme for the challenge is Anything Goes ...... cards, journal pages, 3D projects, scrapbook layouts, whatever you like.  Just make sure there's actual rubber stamping on your project somewhere.  No Digi images please, new original work only, and ..... please keep to the one project per blog post, a set of something such as cards or ATCs count as more than one.

You can enter the challenge up to three times, just make sure that each entry has it's own blog post, and don't forget to include a link back to the Craft Stamper challenge.

As always there's two prizes up for grabs ....... 

• the Design Winner, chosen by the DT.  They will get their winning project published in the Craft Stamper Magazine, a winners profile, and an invitation to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge.
• the Challenge Winner, randomly chosen.  They will receive this months fabulous prize .... a set of Jane Davenport Brights Watercolour Paints.

Happy stamping folks!

The Christmas spirit has finally found its way here ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!  and the house is looking more like Santa's grotto each day.
The trees are finally up ....... both of them!  It took me a while but, we got there in the end!

Most of the Christmas shopping is done, and the party season starts this weekend!
We even watched our first Christmas movie last night .....

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day, and have a great weekend.

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Winter Wishes Snowflake (Colorado Craft Company);  Merry Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Inks: Versamark ink; Distress Oxide Sprays - Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon; Delicata - Golden Glitz, Silver Shimmer (for the splatters)
Others: Clear Embossing Powder,  White embossing powder (WOW!); Quickie Glue Pen, Fine Crystal Glitter; Clear crystal Gems

It's the first Friday of the month .........

Happy Friday .......

It's almost the weekend ..... whoo hoo!!  I hope you've had a good week.
It's been a bit crazy around here but, only one more sleep then it's time for some R&R!  That's if I ever get the suitcases packed!  At the moment I've got my pj's, toiletries and a swimming costume in there, oh and my flip flops .... I suppose I could manage with those at a pinch!
We don't actually fly to Santorini until Sunday morning, but we're flying over and staying at Gatwick tomorrow night .......... I've still loads of time to pack!

Before all that though, it is the first Friday of the month so, that means it's time to launch October's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge

As always there's no particular theme to follow ....... it's Anything Goes.  Anything that has actual rubber stamping on there that is .... so NO DIGIs please!
You can find all the guidelines for the challenge over on the Craft Stamper Blog, along with the details of this months prizes.  There's also some amazing projects on there from the Design Team
if you need a little inspiration to get you started.

Before I get full of the Christmas spirit and go all festive, which will no doubt happen once I get back from holiday (I hope anyway ...... I've still got all my Christmas cards to make!)   I've got a pretty floral design using one of my favourite stamps at the moment from Altenew .....

I masked off around the edges of a piece of white card using low tack tape.  I stamped the pretty floral image onto two opposite corners (I do like working on the diagonal), and heat embossed in white.

I used my ZIG Markers to add colour to the flowers and quite a bit of water.  I like to paint the petals with water first, then add a touch of colour using the pens and then, add a little more water to my paintbrush to move the colour around giving a nice watercolour effect ..... great for adding shading too!

I used the acetate smooshing technique to add the background colour ....... smooshed Distress Ink onto a craft mat, spritzed with water and then used a piece of acetate to pick up the colour and then 'smoosh' it on to the background .....

All this, by the way, was done with the masking tape still in place around the edges.
Once everything was dry then the tape was removed, and I was left with this lovely framed look, without having to add another layer of card.

A simple stamped sentiment in the centre, and a few sparkly sequins finish it all off.

The challenge is open until Oct 23rd so there's plenty of time to get your entries in.
As always we have two fab prizes on offer ......
1.  The Design Winner ..... chosen by the DT.  Their winning project will be featured in the Craft Stamper magazine along with a Winner's Profile, and they will also be invited to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge.
2.   The Challenge Winner ..... randomly chosen, will receive this month's fabulous challenge prize
Two x Prima Redesign Moulds ...... In the Garden and Leafy Blossoms.  How pretty are those!

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ...... have a lovely day and enjoy your weekend.
I'm off to finish up in the craft room and then try and get it tidy ..... if that fails I can always close the door and no-one will be any wiser!!
I'll also be back again later with one more blog challenge for you, then it's sun, sea and greek salads for me!!

Cheerio until then .......

Products Used:
Stamps: Handpicked Bouquet (Altenew); Special Sentiments (Penny Black)
Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
Others:White Detail Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Low Tack Masking Tape; Sequins