Welcome to June .......

Happy weekend ........

Welcome to June!   Can you believe we're almost half way through 2023 ....... it's crazy!

I hope you've had a good week.  It's been absolutely glorious here.  We've had beautiful blue skies, and warm sunny days all week, it's been great!! 

Perfect weather for all the islands TT visitors.  

We were up at the Grandstand earlier in the week, to soak up a little bit of the atmosphere ......

grab a cheeky beer, or two, in the Trackside bar .......

and of course, pick up this years stash from the Merchandise tent!

Just need to catch some actual racing now!

Because the sun's been shining I haven't spent any time in the craft room this week ..... naughty of me I know, especially as I should be in there ........... deadlines are approaching!!  Dare I say it ..... Christmas is coming!!!!!  More on all that later.

I have got a little something to share with you though, a journal spread I did before we went away.

This was an online workshop with the lovely JOFY (Jo Firth-Young), started way back in the days of lockdown, and I've only just got around to finishing it (I've actually got a few of those!!)

That's the good thing about the online workshops, once you've signed up to them, the content is always there.  So, if you don't get chance to do them live, you can go back and finish them whenever you like.

I really enjoyed playing around with this, spending a few hours using paints and stencils, and pretty patterned papers, which is something I don't use very often these days (maybe that will all change now!)

creating my little garden of flowers.

 

The flower heads are all hand drawn onto the papers, and then fussy cut and layered together, in true JOFY style, to create these bold, funky styled, blooms ...... love them!

To make them stand out, each one was finished with some penwork, outlining each of the petals and adding little doodled details here and there.

I finished off my pages with some paint splatters and a couple of stamped words and I also added a little ladybug, stamped onto a snippet of card and layered onto one of the leaves ..... so cute!

You can see in the background that some of the stencil work has also been highlighted using a white gel pen ....... small detail but so effective.  Helps to create the look of more layers which is what this workshop was about.

This really was so much fun to do, and what a great way of using up all those pretty patterned papers!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your weekend.

I can just about hear the roar of the bikes ........ time to start the racing!

Cheerio until next time ......

Come and join the birthday celebrations ........

Happy Monday ........

Just a quick reminder about this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge.  There's still plenty of time to play along, and don't forget we're celebrating this month.  It's our 5th Birthday! so why not join in the fun ..... there's some special prizes up for grabs.

Bonnie (Stamping with Klass) is our host this month and she would like us to do Print Making using Die Cuts.

I must admit I hadn't really tried this before but ....... what a fun technique!  Such a clever and different way of using our dies.

For this card I took a simple daisy die (not sure what brand ..... I think it may be from a Stampin Up! set but please don't hold me to that!)

 

I cut the daisies from watercolour card and then used Distress Inks to add the colour ...... I simply swiped the ink pad directly over the die cut daisy, repeating until I had a nice depth of colour

I then sprayed the inked die cuts with water, flipped them over, and laid them onto another piece of watercolour card to print my daisies ........

Some of the ink from the die cuts transferred onto the card creating pretty, pastel images of the daisies. To define the flowers a little more I roughly drew around the petals using a black fine liner pen ....... I like how this gives the flowers a hand drawn look

I added some highlights and detail with a white gel pen ......

 and finished with some ink splatters, a few dots of glitter glue here and there, and a simple sentiment.

And ...... I also have three, pretty coloured, die cut daisies left over to use on another card ...... bonus!

Our challenge runs until March 24th so you have plenty of time to play along and join in the birthday fun.  I look forward to seeing you in the gallery!

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

Speaking of birthdays, we had another one over the weekend ......... Remi, our little motorhome was one year old on Saturday!

It's twelve months since we brought him home to the island ........ and unfortunately he's spent quite a few of those months just sat on the drive (sigh!)  

Hopefully, at some point this year, we'll be able to get out and about again, and who knows maybe even go a little little further afield with him.   Although, our current 21 day lockdown has been extended today, only by a week, (fingers crossed!) so the Easter weekend is looking like a possibility for our first trip of 2021! 

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

Products used:

Stamps: Happy Snippets (Penny Black) for the sentiment   

Dies: Daisy Die (not sure of the brand ..... may be Stampin Up!)

Inks: Distress Inks - Kitsch Flamingo, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other:  Black Fine Liner Gel Pen; White Uniball Signo Gel pen; Stickles Glitter Glue

Are you ready for this month's Craft Stamper Challenge .......

Happy Friday ......

The weekend starts here!
It's the first Friday of the month so, that means it's time to launch the new Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge

It's the regular Anything Goes theme ...... just remember to include some actual rubber stamping on your project. 
You can enter the challenge up to three times, with three different projects, each with their own blog post. 
Remember your project must be ONE item only ..... no sets of cards or ATCs etc.  A set counts as more than one, and you won't be eligible to win the prizes.

This month I'm feeling quite pleased with myself ..... I've started an Art Journal (again!) 
I've dabbled with it in the past but I've never felt that confident about what I was doing.  I know your Art Journal is a personal thing, and there's no real rules or do and don'ts but, I still wasn't 100% happy with my results ..... up until now that is!

One of my crafty friends recently ran a small workshop, and explained how she art journals.  It's all starting to make some sense now.  I loved creating my first spread!

I took the plunge and opened up my large Dylusions journal ...... it's only been on the shelf for about 3 or 4 years!!  Well it was such a big space .... I didn't know where to start.
Finally .... I took a deep breath and went for it! 
There's paints on there, old book pages, and some stenciling.

I did some rubber stamping with one of those mahoosive stamps from AALL & Create ......

I did doodling, and paper piecing, and a bit of paint splattering.  I even used the Gelli Plate to colour some old diary pages to stamp the flowers onto before paper piecing them.

It's a great way of using up all those bits ..... and you know me, I never throw anything away so I have lots to go at ..... this is going to be fun!

Anyway ...... the challenge closes at midnight on Sept 25th so there's lots of time to get your entries in.

This month's prizes are ......

• The Design Winner - chosen by the DT.  They will have their winning project published in the Craft Stamper Magazine, a winner's profile, and the chance to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge
• The Challenge Winner - randomly chosen from all the eligible entries.  Their prize this month is an amazing set of POSCA Glitter Paint Pens and an official POSCA Pen Case (oooh! perfect for Art Journaling!)

Check out the Craft Stamper Blog for full challenge details, along with more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a fabulous weekend.
We're out tomorrow evening, but apart from that it's going to be a quiet one here I think.  Guess where I'll be ...... in the craft room!

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Stamp #109 Blossomed Numbers (AALL & Create); Manuscript a la plume (Carabelle Studio); JOFY 49
Inks: Archival ink - Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne;
Others: White Gesso; Various colours of Acrylic paints; old book pages; Gel Medium; Lotsa Dots stencil (AALL & Create); Black and white POSCA pens; Stardust Gel pen; Gelli plate; old diary pages

Wherever you go ........

Happy Friday ......

Sorry I'm a bit later this morning ..... had to find my laptop!
Well .... we're all settled in the new house.  There's still boxes everywhere, and I haven't even started on the craft room yet but it's beginning to look, and feel like home.
We've done this a few times now, and it seems to get easier, and quicker, each time.

Before I start unpacking today's boxes, I've got a little reminder for you for the Craft Stamper Blog Challenge  .......

You've already seen some amazing inspiration pieces on the launch post last week, but if you're still looking for ideas, then what about a little ATC block .....

I've definitely got a thing for hearts this month.  Well I suppose it is Valentine's Day next week after all.

This is my second little ATC block .... they're so much fun to do!

It started out as a simple block of wood ..... the size of an ATC (two and a half by three and a half inches).  I gave it a couple of coats of black gesso and then stamped the red heart onto the two larger sides.

I used a red Versamagic Chalk Ink for the heart, and a stamp from a set by Leonie Pujol called Off She Flew.  No MISTI this time, but as it was a clear stamp I did manage to re-stamp the heart two or three times, until I got the coverage I wanted

I then doodled dots around the edge using a white gel pen.  I just love how the texture of the wood still shows through.

Once the ink was dry I stamped my sentiment (from STAMPlorations Say It Big series) over the top of the heart using Versamark ink, and heat embossed in gold

I stamped more hearts on the sides of the ATC block ......

and added a small painted cotton reel to the bottom, for it to stand on ....

All the edges have been sanded back a little to give a worn look ......

The challenge this month is sponsored by Darkroom Door ..... and the challenge winner will receive 2 fabulous stamp sets with matching stencils!

Why not join in the fun ...... make something amazing, anything goes but just remember to include some rubber stamping on there somewhere, link it up to the challenge and you could be the winner.  Can't wait to see what you create.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.
Mine's going to be spent unpacking my craft room I think, after I've taken my mobile phone in for repair .... again!  House move = Linda's mobile taking a dip!
Yes, my mobile phone ended up down the loo ..... again. Ooops! This happened almost exactly a year ago ..... same phone, different loo!  Must remember NOT to keep mobile in back jeans pocket!!!!

Oh well .... better get on.  The new sofas are arriving later today and I need to clear a path to the lounge!

Cheerio until next time ......

Do you like to doodle ......

Hello there ...... I'm back again

It's been a busy day ....... and it's not over yet! That'll teach me to go galavanting at lunchtime.

It's time for another blog challenge this evening ....... do you like making ATC's? If you do you're in the right place ....... it's time to get this month's Happy Little Stampers ATC challenge underway.

The theme is Doodling ....... do you doodle?
I must admit it's not something I do a lot of however a little bit here and there can give a project a real fun look.

My ATC's have got a bit of a floral theme going on but there is doodling on there too ......
They started out as plain Kraft card and each one has been given a coat of pretty metallic paint from Sweet Poppy ....... Persian Blue

Bamboo .....

and Strawberry Sorbet .......

I then stamped the flowers (from PaperArtsy EEG14) over the top using a black ink and heat embossed them with a clear powder.
Each one was then coloured using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints  ..... these paints are fab and cover brilliantly

Spotted the doodling? (sorry!)  I added the dots to this flower, using a white gel pen

More dots on this one ...... ditsy groups of three, I love how this looks.

and stripes on the last one.  All of my ATC's have the faux stitching around the edges and a handwritten word on the bottom

I suppose you could say the painted dots are also doodled ...... I didn't use my usual brush to splatter the paint, instead I picked up the colour with the tip of an embossing tool and dotted the paint around the blooms

What will you doodle? .... I can't wait to see.

The challenge is sponsored by the HLS Store  and the winner will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to spend on their next order .... get doodling!

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

Cheerio until next time

Oh my Doodle! LIM Blog Challenge

Hi everyone,
I hope you've all had a nice week and are looking forward to the weekend.
My first blog this week is my Less is More Blog challenge entry.
First off, I'd like to say Thank You to everyone that looks and leaves comments on these Blog posts.  I appreciate every single one of them. I enjoy doing the challenge each week and it's so nice to know that you enjoy reading my ramblings, and looking at my designs.  You are all such a nice bunch of Limettes, and I'm proud to be a part of it.
OK it's week 63, the second week in the month so it's a One Layer challenge, with a 'Doodling' theme.  Some of the entries on there this week are stunning, there's some great doodlers out there.  Check them out, you'll find some great blogs on there that are well worth a read  LIM
Now I don't mind a little bit of doodling, in fact, I do it quite a lot on my cards.  I like to doodle faux stitching around the edge of layers, or add groups of little dots to fill in empty space, but to doodle on one layer had me thinking a little. I must say though, once I 'd decided on the design, this is one of the quickest LIM cards I've done.  First attempt was just right.
Here's what I came up with, not as spectacular as some entries, but I doodled.  The sentiment was hand written too.

I used the fabulous Stampin Up! Pick a Petal stamp set, and decided to only stamp in one corner leaving lots of white space.  I didn't stamp by eye on this one either, the old stamp positioner came out of the drawer.  I stamped the flower with So Saffron and Rose Red inks (SU again) and then doodled around each petal in a fine black Sakura Micron pen.   
Now my handwriting is not good, so I took a chance and wrote the word 'Hello'.  Adding the little dots to the ends of the letters takes the 'handwritten' look off a little bit.  I think the finished card looks kind of cute.

Thank you for taking time to look, hope you like it.
I'll be back later with more on what I've been up to this week.
See you soon

Linda

x