CAS Mix Up Challenge .........

Happy Sunday .....

It's the first of March ..... and this is going to be a busy month!
There's a few birthday's coming up ..... including mine!  We've got Mother's Day and of course the first day of Spring ..... yeah!!! 
And only 9 days until we pick up the motorhome ...... not that we're counting.

A new month always means new Blog challenges ....... more fun themes for you all to play along with.
First up, it's the CAS Mix Up Challenge and guess what? It's our birthday this month ..... whoo hoo!!

Yes CAS Mix Up is 4 years old ..... can you believe it?  And we're celebrating!
There's some special birthday prizes up for grabs ........

a $25 Gift Certificate at Simon Says Stamp for the Challenge Winner 

and ..... a $25 Gift Certifcate at Simon says Stamp for one random draw from all the entries

(you must follow the challenge rules to be eligible for the prizes - check out the CAS Mix Up Blog for details)

OK, this month our host is Jenny  and the theme she has chosen is ...... Acrylic Paint 

There's loads of different acrylic paints out there and lots of fun ways to use them. 
If you need a little inspiration don't worry, check out the fab links on the CAS Mix Up Blog, to some great videos.

One way of using acrylic paints is on a Gelli Plate.
I must confess the Gelli Plate was one of those things that I had to have, in more than one size, but ...... they don't get used very often (shame on me!)  Saying that, when I do use them they are so much fun.
I haven't done anything amazing on the Gelli Plate but, just playing with a few colours of paint, a couple of stencils or stamps you can create some fabulous backgrounds.  And the good thing even if you're not completely happy with your results .... don't throw them away!  Use them with your dies or punches or, like I've done here for this card ........ stamp onto them, fussy cut and paper piece.

I've used one of my favourite stamps from ALL&Create.  I simply stamped it using a black ink, directly onto a card base, and again, onto a piece of card from my stash, coloured using the Gelli Plate.  I also heat embossed the images using a clear powder

I then fussy cut sections of the coloured one and paper pieced onto the image on my card.

If you're not that keen on colouring in your stamped images, this is a nice easy way of adding colour. It also gives a little bit of texture too.

I added some words onto the bottom using a co-ordinating ink. 

So .... that's Acrylic Paint - check!  Rubber stamping - check!  My Choice ..... paper piecing (or it could have been heat embossing) - check! 

I do hope you join in with our birthday celebrations.
We have a fabulous Guest Designer too ...... the lovely Betty (created by bjk) is joining us this month so please stop by and say Hello.

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy what's left of your weekend.
It's Sunday lunch at the Walmsley's today, the whole family round the table plus a couple more ... just the way I like it.  Good food, nice wine and great company .......  what better way to get March started!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Hexagonal Stem #256 (Tracy Evans for ALL&Create); Bloom - for the words(Tracey Hey) 
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Charming Pink
Other: Gelli Plate background from my stash made using acrylic paints; Clear detail embossing powder (WOW!)

Tweet ..... Tweet .....

Happy Tuesday!

Some more Clarity for you today using one of my favourite stamps ....... the beautiful Bird and Flower Rows.  These stamps come with their own sets of masks AND you get a FREE 9x3 mega mount too .... bargain!!!

I love these birds .... there's so many ways to use them.  Simply stamp and colour them in using inks, paints, pencils .....

Depending on what colours you use they can be any type of bird ..... even robins for your Christmas cards ...... too early for the 'C' word?  Sorry!!

Or ... something I like to do with them is paper piece ......

I've used an old Gelli Plate background for these little guys ...... how pretty do they look!

Using my Distress inks, I've added a touch of colour to the branch to tone in with the birds and added a few spatters of ink to the background

I've used some fine strips of the same background card to add a bit more detail to the front of my card

and added one of the words from the Clarity Word Chain #5

To finish off I coloured a piece of card using the same Distress inks as before ....... and the smooshing technique.
Swipe the ink pads onto a craft mat, spritz with water and then smoosh your card through the inks to pick up the colour.  Repeat as necessary until the card is covered, or you have the effect you're looking for .... simple!

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

I'm off to grab a nice warm drink and snuggle on the sofa until hubby comes home.  I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself today .....  think I'm sickening for something.  Even an afternoon playing in the old craft room hasn't done the trick ....... I ache all over and generally feel bleugh!!!!
I have however finally made a start on my travel journal ....... from week 2 of  Wanderlust.   I've been following the tuition from the lovely Kate Crane .......

Having fun creating patterns and doodling ..... and making the pages for the journal before getting messy with the paints!!

I still haven't plucked up the courage to put any paint onto my Wanderlust Book pages yet though ..... I've watched all the videos (more than once!) and they're fab, full of lots of great techniques ..... so it's only a matter of time!!!  There's no rush though ...... it's supposed to be a year long adventure!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx