A quick catch up .......

Hello there, happy Sunday!

I hope you're having a lovely weekend.

It's been a busy couple of weeks here ...... sorry I haven't been around on the blog much! 

I haven't been spending much time in my craft room, well I have but, it's not been very creative.  Although, I suppose you could say it has, in a way ..... I've been clearing out and tidying up.  Re-arranging and packing stuff away because, you guessed it ..... the move is on!!   We get the keys in less than two weeks ....... eeek!  

We're not actually moving in fully until the 27th/28th of this month so it's not too bad.  We have a bit of time to get organised and move some of the smaller stuff before the removal guys come in.  

I'm getting good at this ..... we've done it all before, once or twice!

We're here on the island, so that means we cancelled our trip in the van (sigh!).  It was the sensible thing to do, there were too many 'what ifs' that could have happened when we returned that could have potentially been a problem for the move.

We'll have loads of time to go travelling in the van.  We're all fully vaccinated now, so that means we have no restrictions on our borders, we just need to get the move done.

As you can imagine things are a little crazy around here ....... there's boxes appearing everywhere which is driving me insane!  I am clearing through my craft room though, which is good, and I came across these ..... something crafty to blog after all! 

They're my cards, done a while ago, under the expert tuition from the fabulous Eileen Godwin on one of her online workshops.

It was all about creating layers using stencils and stamps along with paints and inks ....... right up my street!

I know I've said this before but, if you haven't done a workshop with Eileen you should try one.  They are so much fun, and you learn loads!

We used paints and inks, and different sorts of cardstock ......

Building up layers and textures using stencils and stamps .......

I do like black and white.  

And my favourite piece from the class ........

I love the background on this one!

I think workshops will have to wait for a while now, whilst I get everything packed away.  

I have kept a few bits and pieces in a bag though, just in case I get five minutes to play!

And I have just done a taster week for an online journaling course starting on August 1st, which was fun.  I'll share more about that with you later ........ I need to finish some of the projects first!

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

It's a long one here on the Isle of Man,  we have a Bank Holiday tomorrow.  

It's Tynwald Day, the island's national day. Always celebrated on July 5th, unless that falls on a weekend, then it's the following Monday.  Fingers crossed the weather's good as there will be lots going on. 

Cheerio until next time .......

One of Eileen's online workshops ........

Happy Thursday .......

How are you today?  

It's lovely here on the island, the weather has finally noticed that Spring is on its way I think ..... I hope so anyway.  It's nice to see some sunshine.

I've been catching up with some online workshops lately ..... these have been keeping me sane over the last few months!  

My crafty mojo hasn't been up to scratch, I've taken a little time off from some of my DT commitments and I've been spending some days in my craft room just doing things for me, and learning a whole load of stuff too!

Workshops with the very talented Eileen Godwin have been loads of fun.  The link will take you to her Facebook page ......... check it out if you haven't already, she's amazing!

These are my projects from last month's workshop (I haven't done February's yet ..... it's on the list for next week!)

This was right up my street.  Great layering techniques using designer papers, paints, stencils, stamps, inks ..... whatever you've got.  I loved it!!!

If lots of layers aren't your thing,  we created CAS designs too ......

I even managed to save one that I wasn't happy with.  You know how it goes ...... ink where it shouldn't be, colours that weren't blending as I wanted them to.  

You all know I don't like throwing things away so, I went back to it a couple of days later.  Carefully added a touch more ink to get a better blend,  managed to get most of the ink off where I didn't want it (I love my Distress inks!), used a large sentiment stamp over the top, and a few strategically placed gem stones and  ...... voila!!

I Love it!!  There's always a way to fix things!

As the weather seems to be changing for the better ..... fingers crossed ...... it's time to get the van ready again so we can enjoy exploring our little island (and hopefully further afield later in the year!)

Our little motorhome is almost a year old and poor Remi has been sat patiently on the drive all winter.

We have been checking him regularly, we just need to restock the cupboards, top up the gas, give him a wash and polish and then we can get out and about again ........ let the adventures begin!

Thanks for popping by ....... have a lovely day.

Cheerio until next time .....

Happy Halloween .......... mwahhahahaha!!

Happy weekend to you ......

We're at the end of October and it looks like its going out with a bang, here on the island anyway.  

We've got weather warnings in place for strong winds and heavy rains.  The boat's been cancelled, again, and it's not looking too good for the Halloween, or should I say Hop Tu Naa celebrations that may or may not be going on this evening.  

It's been a busy old week in the craft room, getting ready for the blog challenges at the start of November, working on ideas for samples for the next Sweet Poppy TV show, and of course Christmas cards! ...... not that I got very far with those. 

The cards I am sharing with you today are from a Facebook Live Workshop with the fabulous Eileen Godwin ..... I call her the Queen of Colour   If you don't know Eileen then please look her up, she's amazing! 

These are my finished cards from the workshop.  Eileen did them as one layer cards, straight onto card blanks.  I wasn't that brave, so I did them on pieces of cardstock and them made them up after the workshop had finished. 

I crafted along with Eileen, adding my own little touches here and there ........ a little bit of sparkle to the antlers on the deer using a glue pen and fine crystal glitter .......

I used a Stardust Gel Pen to draw around the stenciled dragonfly for an added highlight and touch of shimmer ........

I gave the butterfly a little more colour using coloured pencils ......

And completely changed the size of card for this one, and used the stencil twice to fill the space.

I think there's more workshops in the pipeline from Eileen ....... I hope so anyway.  It's a great way to spend a morning or afternoon.

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

I've decided to leave the broomstick in the garage this evening it's a little bit windy out there!! 

Instead hubby and I are having a cosy curry night in front of the TV ...... much better option!

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stencils: Geometric Stag, Dragonfly Duo, Thistle (Funky Fossil); Plaid Back Plate (Sweet Poppy); Floating Leaves (Simon Says Stamp); Bubble stencil from my stash

Stamps: Tim Holtz Perspective stamps set (butterfly); Various sentiment stamps from my stash

Inks: Distress inks - various colours; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz

Other: Quickie Glue Pen, Fine Crystal Glitter, Ranger White Enamel Accents,  Chunky White Embossing Enamel