Love is like a butterfly .......

Happy Friday folks .....

Another week has whooshed by ...... and what a busy one it's been.  Preparations are well underway for Lauren's move next week ..... boxes are being filled as we speak.

We're going to miss her and the little man ...... but it does mean there's going to be lots of space, if the old craft room needs to spread out a little .... just saying!

August's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge is also well under way ....... it's Take a Technique this month and it's all about Stencils and Masks. Just remember to also include some stamping on your projects too.

I love my stencils .... and I have to admit I do have my go to all the time favourites, tow of which I've used here on my inspiration piece ......

Stencils and masks can help you create the look of layers, and add depth to your projects, as well as allowing you to add fabulous textures by using embossing pastes.

I started out by adding a touch of colour to the centre of a piece of white cardstock using Victorian Velvet Distress Ink, some water and a piece of acetate to smoosh the ink around.
I then used the Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil with the same colour of Distress ink to add more detail, and another layer, to the background .......

I didn't ink through the whole of the stencil .... just the bit down the centre brushing more ink over some of the design to add shading.

Next came a little bit of stamping using a script background and Grey Versafine ink

Texture Paste next ..... and the Tim Holtz Flourish stencil (love, love, love this!!).  I used a pearlescent paste and I must say I really like the look .... sort of an ivory colour and then when the light hits it you get a gorgeous shimmer .... really pretty.

I stamped the Inkylicious butterfly directly onto the card ..... to get the antennae,  and again onto a separate piece of card, coloured it using different shades of pink Distress inks and then fussy cut it out and attached it over the image on the card.

I added my sentiment on the bottom .... ... (an old Stampin Up! stamp I think!)

and splattered a touch of black ink here and there to finish off.

I did pretty much the same on the inside only this time I stamped the butterfly first, created a mask to cover it over whilst I added the detail to the background ......

Same colours ..... same stencils .....

Hope you like it and that I've inspired you to enter this month's challenge.  We've a great sponsor for August ...... the fabulous  GioGioCraft

and the challenge winner will receive a set of FOUR gorgeous stencil designs

You'll find more fabulous inspiration and ideas from the rest of the Design Team over on the Craft Stamper Blog, along with all the challenge information and more details of the prizes up for grabs.

Happy stamping!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm getting ready for the weekend not that we're doing much .... mainly packing for Lauren I think. I'm trying to catch up with what I should have been doing during the week
We are going out for tea this evening I think ...... so no cooking again.  We have some good news to celebrate ....... hubby got promoted at work ..... whoo hoo!!!
It's all been a bit hush hush for a few days, but it was made official at the beginning of the week .... he's now Director of Business Analytics (I think I've got that right ...... sounds posh to me!!)
Congratulations love .... you deserve it!
The bottle of champagne that's chilling nicely in the fridge is going to have to wait a while longer though ..... I'm determined I'm sticking to the no alcohol this month!!!

Have a great weekend ..... hope the sun shines for you.

Cheerio until next time

Dream BIG! ...... it's the Craft Stamper challenge

Happy Friday folks ......

It's almost the weekend again ..... are you doing anything nice?

Let's finish the week with another Blog Challenge shall we.
Today see's the start of this month's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge and it's the turn of Take a Technique for August ........

STENCILS and  MASKS

Easy .... just use a stencil or a mask (or both) somewhere on your project .... and don't forget to include some stamping on there too ...... very important!

Our sponsor this month is GioGio Craft

And the winner (randomly chosen) will receive a bundle of 4 fabulous stencils (designs are in the picture below)

Don't forget there's also the Design Winner, chosen by the DT.
They get their winning project published in the Craft Stamper Magazine, they're invited to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge and they get a Winners Profile on the Craft Stamper Blog ..... fancy any of that .... then get creating!!

So .... stencils and masks .... we all have them but do you use them?
I've used two stencil designs on my project today, to help add detail to the background

Stencils are great for adding extra detail, creating layers and giving depth on your designs.  Use them with inks, or paints, texture pastes or gels ... the choice is all yours.

I coloured the canvas background using Brusho Pigment powders and LOTS of water to blend the colours together.  Once I was happy with it and it was totally dry, I stamped the butterflies randomly over the canvas using a black Archival ink and different sizes of butterfly stamps (Flutters 2 by Inkylicious)

I then stamped the butterflies again onto white cardstock, coloured them using Distress Inks and fussy cut them.

Next I added in some more detail to the background using two Tim Holtz Layering Stencils along with texture paste ....... Stripes (one of my favourites!) 

and the very pretty Blossom, to which I added some colour using my Distress Inks once the paste was dry.
I haven't use the full stencils, just parts of them here and there to fill in the background

I attached some of the fussy cut butterflies over the stamped ones on the canvas, and using a Molotow Liquid Chrome marker I highlighted parts of the stencil design .....

The focal point on the canvas is the super cute little WordGirl 3 designed by the very talented Trish Latimer (aka the Editor of Craft Stamper magazine and also 'The Boss' of the Challenge DT)

How cute is she ..... and she's available, along with a whole load of little friends from Trish's Etsy shop
She was stamped using black Versafine ink and embossed with a clear powder, coloured with Distress Inks and then fussy cut before attaching her onto the canvas.

As she says ..... Dream BIG.   And why not ...... she's certainly doing just that .......

This beautiful large butterfly (Inkylicious again) .... has been stamped onto white card, coloured using Distress Inks and fussy cut before being added as the finishing touch on the canvas .... that's one big butterfly!

I mounted the canvas, which is approximately 6x8 inches, onto a larger canvas board that had been given a couple of coats of black gesso ..... doesn't it make the whole thing just pop!  I love the bright colours.

Now it's your turn .... what will you create using your stencils and/or masks ..... can't wait to see them all in the gallery.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.
Mine starts this evening .... the usual Friday night drinks after work with hubby ..... or rather not the usual it's going to have to be soft drinks.  We've decided that August is going to be an alcohol free month at Walmsley Towers!!!  It's going OK so far .... but it is only the 5th! We haven't had a weekend yet.
Oh well .... at least I get dinner out ..... but hang on ....... does a red wine sauce with my steak count!?

Cheerio until next time ....

Have you entered the challenge yet? .....

Happy Friday .......

Time for a quick reminder of this month's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge ..... before I head off out for the day.
This year's TT is nearly over ...... it's Senior Race day, a Bank Holiday here in the Isle of Man so we're off to catch the last of the racing ..... weather permitting that is.  I must admit the forecast is not great for today but we can't really complain the last two weeks have been absolutely glorious!

Before I go here's another idea for this months challenge ...... Let's Get Inky!
We'd like you to use more than one type of ink on your projects ..... ink pads, ink sprays, acrylic inks, alcohol inks etc., OR use more than one colour of ink.  Don#t forget to include some stamping on there too!

I've used the PaperArtsy Infusions to create my background ..... which just so happen to be the prize for this month's challenge winner.

I sprinkled a tiny bit of the pigment powders onto the bottom corner of a piece of white card (you don't need much at all to get great results) ....... I used  Are You Cerice and Lemoncello, love these two shades together!
I then used a wet paintbrush to spread the colour over the card.  I love how I've got this sort of woodgrain effect from the walnut stain part of the Infusions ...... cool isn't it!

I kept the colours in stripes across the card, and brushed the colour in one direction until I'd covered the whole piece

The more water you add, the paler the colour you will end up with.

Once this was dry I stamped the gorgeous Daliha from Stampin Up! off the edge of the card using Versamark ink, then embossed with a fine detail white embossing powder.

I added a few splatters of Perfect Pearls to the background to add a bit more interest ......

and then finished off with a sentiment banner at the top

As always, I had to add a little something on the inside ....

Have you got your entry in yet? Pop over to the Craft Stamper Blog and see more fabulous inspiration pieces from the rest of the Design Team, along with all the challenge details.

As I mentioned earlier, our sponsor this month is PaperArtsy

and the winner will receive 5 bottles of the brand new Infusions, in the colours below .....

Happy stamping!

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

It feels like it's been weekend all week for me ...... the TT has a lot to answer for!!  We've been to the fun fair .... twice!! We've been down to the Grandstand  .... just look at that sky!!!

We've had picnics, and drinks on the terrace, the Red Arrows were over on Tuesday evening ......

photo from 3FM Isle of Man

and then I somehow found myself in the middle of Saddle-oke!  A special TT Karaoke night in the Saddle (Chris's place).

It's only a small place but boy can it hold a lot of people ....... warm doesn't begin to describe the temperature in there ....... it was positively tropical!!! And before you ask .... no I didn't do any singing ..... well, not with the microphone anyway :)
Then last night we had the Poker Stars TT/Summer Party .... all I'm saying is I'm glad it's a Bank Holiday today  I might have had just a few glasses of the bubbly stuff ... well it would have been rude not to.
But ... it's all coming to an end (sigh!) ..... until next year.
I'm off now to stake out a spot to watch this years Senior Race ........ can Hutchy make it four in a row?

Cheerio until next time .......

Let's Get Inky for the Craft Stamper Blog challenge .....

Happy Friday folks .....

Welcome to the weekend.
The sun is still shining over here.   We've had a great practice week of this year's Isle of Man TT .... the weather has been glorious! Sorry to keep going on about it ..... it's just been so nice!! Hubby's taking next week off work so hopefully we should get out and about and see some of the races up close and soak up the atmosphere (as well as the sunshine!)
The fun fair has arrived (oh joy!) ..... Douglas promenade is now full of fairground rides, side shows and loud music!  Bushey's beer tent at the end of the prom, is well and truly open ....... full to the brim everyday and beer served in plastic cups!
We've got the Red Arrows flying in with a display next week, and we also have the Poker Stars Summer bash next Thursday evening to look forward to .... always a fun night! And then we finish the week with a Bank Holiday ....... it's Senior Race Day.  Let's hope the sun is still shining for that one.
And then when all the TT fun is over, it's just 6 days before we go on our little family get together to Bourton-on-the-Water in the the beautiful Cotswolds .... can't wait!

Anyway enough about all that ..... onto the more important stuff.
It's the first Friday of the month and that means a brand new Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge on the Craft Stamper Blog.
This month it's the turn of Take a Technique and boy have we got a fun one for you this month .......

Let's Get Inky!!!

Use more than one type of ink on your projects (ink pads, ink sprays, stains, acrylic inks etc.,) OR use more than one colour of ink.  Don't forget to include some stamping on there too!!

The fabulous PaperArtsy are our challenge sponsors this month .....

And the prize for the challenge winner is 5 BOTTLES of the brand new PaperArtsy INFUSIONS!!!

Infusions are little bottles of magic ....... water soluble particles made up of 2 components ...... dye colour pigment suitable for paper/card etc.,  and fabric, mixed with Walnut Stain.  The colour pigment powder reacts with water faster than the Walnut Stain, so you can control the colour-to-brown stain ratio ..... clever eh!
There's a whole bunch of fabulous colours ..... 12 in all, and the winner will receive the 5 bottles in the picture below (Lemoncello/Blackcurrant/A Bit Jaded/Are You Cerice and Emerald Isle)

OK ..... I've used Distress Inks (my favourites!) in 3 different colours, Versamark ink for the embossing and I've used one of the Infusions to colour the flowers.  Oooh .... and there's also Versafine ink for all the rubber stamping.

I started by inking the background using my favourite technique at the moment ..... smooshing with acetate.  Applying the ink to a piece of acetate, spritzing with water and then using the acetate to place the ink onto my cardstock ...... I love it!!
I started with a couple of pale colours ..... Twisted Citron and Salty Ocean.  The more water you add, the paler the ink will be.  If it's too pale you can always add more ink.

I repeated the process using Mowed Lawn Distress over the green areas, to add a bit of shading here and there

Once the ink was dry I added a bit more interest to the background by randomly stamping and embossing some text, using a white embossing powder.

I stamped the pretty bunch of flowers (from Stampendous) onto my card and then again onto a piece of card that I'd coloured using one of the PaperArtsy Infusions ........ Are You Cerice, and embossed them with a clear powder.

With the Infusions I simply spritz a piece of white card with some clean water, sprinkled on a little of the Infusions powder and let it do it's thing.  To get it to spread a little more I spritzed again with the water and watched the colours change as the Walnut stain started to dissolve .... magic!

The flowers were then fussy cut, attached over the top of the image on the card and finished with a dot of White Enamel Accents in the centers.

I stamped a couple of the Inkylicious butterflies, embossed them with the clear powder again and coloured them using the same Distress colours I used for the background.

Again they've been fussy cut and attached onto the card front.

I finished off with a sentiment ..... from Penny Black's T for Transparent set Heartfelt

As always, there's a little something on the inside too ......

more smooshing and more of those pretty flowers

Now it's your turn ..... go and get inky and have fun.  Can't wait to see what you all come up with.
Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off out today .... we're having a little crafty get together. No doubt there'll be cake involved, lots of chatting putting the world to rights .... and more sitting in the sunshine.  It's a hard life .... but someone's gotta do it!!!
Have a great weekend ...... I hope the sun shines for you too!

Cheerio until next time