Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge ......

Happy Monday evening folks ......

I know, Christmas is probably the last thing on your mind right now ....... it's hard to feel festive with all this gorgeous weather we've been having but ........ it is time for this month's Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!

We've got the usual Anything Goes theme, with his month's optional twist being .....

JOY

As with all the Happy Little Stampers Challenges there's a $20 Gift Certificate for the challenge winner, to spend in the HLS store ...... and don't forget if the winner has used HLS stamps on their project then the prize amount is DOUBLED!

OK ..... now for a little inspiration.  How full of joy does this little chap look .....

CAS, one layer, great for posting.  Perfect for all those cards we need to send!

The image is from Penny Black .... stamped and coloured with a little Distress ink

He's sooo cute!!

I've added a few dots of glitter glue onto the falling snow ......

and smooshed a little under his feet .....

A simple sentiment adds the finishing touch ......

Check out the HLS Blog for more festive inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and then join in the fun.  See you in gallery!

Happy stamping!

This is actually my last post as part of the HLS Christmas Challenge DT ....... sigh!
It was a hard decision to make ...... there's been a few recently!  I won't go into all the details but, it's time for a change.
I've had a ball working as part of one of the best DT's out there.  Thanks to Kylie for having me on the team ..... but don't worry you can't get rid of me that easily, I still have Christmas cards to make so you might just find me joining in the fun now and again (and I'm not leaving the Happy Little Stampers family completely)

Thanks for popping by ....... enjoy the rest of your day.
We've had the family round today for another BBQ ..... I can't remember the last time I actually cooked a whole meal in the kitchen! 
Both of the kids had the night off after a rather busy start to TT Race Week, so we thought we'd make the most of it!
Time to relax in the hot tub now .....

Cheerio until next time .....

Feeling festive? It's the Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge .......

Hello again ......

I'm back with another Blog challenge for you, and it's time to get into the Christmas spirit for the Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!

As always the theme is Anything Goes with this month's optional twist being ...... STARS

Stars are not just for Christmas though .... this design could actually be used anytime of the year, just change the sentiment!

CAS and quick and easy ..... perfect when you have a lot of cards to make.

The stars have simply been die cut from gold and silver glitter card, and attached to the card front around the sentiment, which in case you were wondering, is from the HLS Let it Snow stamp set.

One of the stars I used foam pads, to add a bit of dimension

And I finished off with a few dots of glitter glue here and there.

This would make a fab Congratulations card don't you think ...... or a birthday card.  What about a party invite even ...... stars are definitely not just for Christmas!

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

Thanks to my early start this morning, I've had quite the productive day.  Things have all gone more or less according to plan  (there's always a first time!)  I think an early night is calling though ..... I've a busy weekend coming up. 
Hubby's out all day tomorrow, and I've got a workshop.  My lovely crafty buddies are gathering and we're going to be playing around with a Faux Bleaching technique, using plain old water along with Distress and Distress Oxide inks.
Sunday we're going to catch up with the kids hopefully.  They've both been really busy getting things sorted in their new places, and Lauren had her Driving Theory test this week too, which she passed!! You never know I may just get treated to Sunday lunch out!
And then on Monday we have the Bank Holiday, to relax ...... as if that's going to happen! According to the weather the sunshine is supposed to be back ...... fingers crossed, the last couple of days haven't been very nice at all!  Mind you, there's still lots to do in the craft room ...... new releases, show samples to do and there's still a few blog challenge projects to finish. If the weather is nice I'll be in there at midnight!

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend.

Cheerio until next time ......

Let's get Jolly for the Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge ......

Happy Wednesday evening .....

How's your week going? Better than mine I hope.
I'm still struggling with this back of mine ..... although it does seem to be easing up just a little bit.  At least I'm upright today which is a good sign.

Anyhow .... enough of all that ..... on to tonight's challenge.  It's the Happy Little Stampers again and this time we're going a little festive for the Christmas Challenge ......

As always the theme is Anything Goes, with this month's optional twist ..... JOLLY!
You don't get much jollier than this little guy ..... and doesn't he go well with the HLS sentiment from the Christmas Joy clear stamp set

I must confess he was a late edition to last years Christmas stash so didn't actually get used. I'll make up for that this year I think!

He's been stamped onto white card using black Versafine ink and then I've added colour to his hat and scarf using ZIG Markers and a water brush

A touch of fine crystal glitter to give some added sparkle .......

and a sprig of festive holly to add the finishing touch. 
The holly is from the same HLS stamp set and I've stamped it using a green ink, heat embossed in clear and then fussy cut around it, before using the ZIG pens again and a few drops of Glossy Accents on the berries

I inked up the sentient stamp using two colours of ink and stamped it directly underneath the snowman.
Now it's over to you.

As with all the HLS Challenges there's a $20 Gift Certificate for the winner, which will be doubled should the winning project have been made using HLS stamps.

Happy stamping folks!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I have to go and help clear a bedroom now ....... don't how much use I'm going to be!!  We have a new bed arriving tomorrow for the guest room so we have to move the old one out.  I can't lift it but I can help to push it down the hall ...... this should be fun!

Cheerio until next time .....

Is that rein-deer?

Happy Sunday evening ......

I hope you've had a good weekend.

It's time to get a little festive for the Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge. 
As always the theme is Anything Goes but there is an optional twist, which for March is ..... Reindeer

You don't get much more quick and easy than this .... great for batch making, perfect for children's cards and it's just so cute!!

The antlers have been stamped directly onto the card blank using a brown ink, and almost in the centre (I did use my MISTI to stamp them a few times to get a nice coverage)

I then added a couple of tiny googly eyes and a dot of red Stickles glitter glue for his shiny nose

A cute little sentiment stamped underneath finishes everything off

As with all the Happy Little Stampers challenges, the winner will receive a nice $20 Gift Certificate to spend in the store, and ..... if they've used HLS stamps on their winning project, then the prize will be doubled!!

Those eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that there's a whole load of new stamp designs available on the HLS Website ...... great little sets suitable for all occasions, there's even some Christmas in there too. 
Shhh ..... don't say anything but ......watch this space for a fun event coming up very soon showcasing those new designs.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy what's left of your day.

It's my birthday tomorrow .... Monday that is ...... which could be today for some of you reading this. Not the best day of the week to have a birthday ..... especially on the Isle of Man.  All my favourite restaurants are closed on a Monday,  so the celebrations will have to carry on into the middle of the week ..... at least!!  We're starting tonight with a quiet meal at home and my favourite bottle of red ..... cheers everyone!

Until next time ......

Do you fancy feeling festive .......

Happy Sunday evening ......

I hope you've enjoyed the weekend. 
Today sees the start of the Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge

As always the theme is Anything Goes, with this month's optional twist ..... Hearts

I've used this cute little stamp from the ever growing mountain of NBUS in my craft room (Never Before Used Stuff!) 

This cute little guy is from Unity Stamps ..... I'm sorry I can't give you the name of the stamp as it's currently sat somewhere in this mountain of stash, in what is going to be my new craft room ...... I'm not looking forward to sorting all that lot out ........ and that's not all of it!! 

Anyway ...... he's been stamped onto white card, using black versafine ink and then I add a touch of colour with ZIG markers

A touch of fine crystal glitter to add a bit of sparkle

And a sprinkling of Chunky White Embossing Powder to give the look of falling snow

A  simple sentiment to finish off .....

And a little something on the inside ......

Our challenge winner will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to spend in the HLS store  and ....... if the winner has used Happy Little Stampers stamps on their project then the prize will be doubled!!

Happy stamping folks!

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

We've been moving boxes all weekend ....... I'm sick of looking at bubble wrap and packing tape! Never mind, only one more day to go before the removal men arrive on Tuesday.
For now though, I have a date with a  G&T and a  large bag of popcorn ..... I've earned it!
Cheers!

Until next time .....

Just when you thought Christmas was over .......

Hello again, happy Thursday evening .......

I've spent most of the day packing away the Christmas decorations .... there's glitter everywhere .... again!  I'm still working on the tree ...... did I really hang soooo many baubles on there!

Anyway ..... just when you were maybe thinking of putting all those Christmas stamps and festive craft stash away ...... don't do it!!! 
January's Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge gets underway today ..... Ho! Ho! Ho! (Sorry)

As you can see the theme is still Anything Goes ..... with an optional twist of ...... CAS (Clean and Simple)

Here's one of my favourite little snowmen ...... and you couldn't get more CAS. 
(I do love black and white with just a hint of colour)

He's been stamped in black Versafine ink, and then just his hat and scarf coloured ..... oh and his nose!

The sentiment has been heat embossed in gold underneath ......

And then a few dots of white enamel accents have been added here and there, to give the look of falling snow.

As with all the HLS challenges there's a prize for the winner ...... a $20 Gift Certificate to spend in the HLS store.  And guess what ..... it the winner has used HLS products on their winning project then the prize will be DOUBLED!! ....... WOW!

Happy Stamping folks.

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

I'm off to finish taking the tree down ..... I've had enough now, I just want everything put away and the house tidy again.

Cheerio until next time ......

Merry everything .......

Happy Monday evening .......

It's the 4th day of December and guess what ...... I think I've finished the Christmas shopping! Well, the gifts anyway.
Lauren and I hit the town this morning and I think we're all done ...... with just a couple of little extras.  Everything that was on the list was crossed off by the end of the afternoon plus we picked up a couple of bargains in the 3 for 2 offers! 
I even remembered to buy the wrapping paper.  Guess what I'll be doing later!

First things first though ..... it's time to get this month's Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge started
As always the theme is Anything Goes ...... with an optional twist for December of ....... a Stencil

The gifts may be bought but, I've still got most of my Christmas cards to make so quick and easy, with stunning results is the way to go I think, and stencils are a great way of doing just that.

I love this stag don't you ..... he's a perfect size to make him the focal point on your card with just a simple greeting underneath (my finished card is 7x5 inches).  You don't get much more CAS!

I used white texture paste through the stencil and then sprinkled over with a fine gold glitter ..... love how he sparkles

I added a dot of red glitter glue for his nose and suddenly you've got Rudolph!

A few dots of white Enamel Accents here and there, and a festive sentiment, heat embossed in gold, and we're done

As always the challenge is sponsored by the HLS store, and the winner will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to spend on fabulous craft goodies. Why not join in the festive fun!

As we were out Christmas shopping today and, the festive menu was launching at the Prospect, Lauren and I thought it was only right we should go and check out the delicious festive baguette ......

Hubby joined us too, for a Christmas dinner, with all the trimmings, on a crusty baguette ...... yummee!!  We'll be having one of those again!!

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Fancy a festive challenge ........

Happy weekend folks .......

I hope you're having a good one.
I think the festive season has started early here ........ I was out last night at a lovely event ..... a bit of a girlie evening.  It's not often that Lauren and I get to go out together so it was extra special. We had a great time ..... cocktails and canapes at the event, then we met up with hubby and his crew for pizza and pasta, and we finished the evening off in Chris's place.
And ..... this is a scheduled post as I'm out again this evening ....... party animal or what!  I'll suffer for it tomorrow no doubt!

Anyhow .... enough about my galavanting, it's time to get November's Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge underway (only a little over 7 weeks to go until the big day .... just saying!)

It's an Anything Goes theme with the optional twist this month of ....... TAG!

Now you know me .... I do love my tags.  And I do really need to get started on my festive makes so here we are ...... a cute little gift tag (just need to make a start on buying the gifts to put it on now!)

A simple black tag spritzed with Perfect Pearls Mica spray to create the wintry sky

I then cut two pieces of white cardstock for the snowy hills, stamped my greeting onto one of them and attached them to the bottom of the tag ....... I did use foam pads to add some dimension

The trees have been stamped onto some coloured card from my stash and then fussy cut and added to the tag to create my little winter scene ......

A few glitter glue baubles to decorate the trees ....

And some holly alongside of the sentiment to finish off .....

All the stamps I've used are from the HLS Christmas Joy set.

Now it's over to you ...... happy Christmas crafting!
And don't forget, there's a prize for the challenge winner ..... a $20 gift certificate to spend in the HLS store

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I'm currently at one of my favourite bar/restaurants on the island ..... The Seven Kingdoms.  We're out with some friends so it'll be good food, nice wine and great company ........ with the odd G&T no doubt. Well it is a gin distillery after all!!

Cheerio until next time ......