Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge .......

Happy Tuesday evening ......

Welcome to October!  I know ..... I can't believe it either. 
I do love this time of year though, all those gorgeous, rich Autumnal shades, and I must confess I am looking forward to crisp, frosty mornings ..... brrrrr! 

Of course a new month means new Blog Challenges.  We've already made a start on the Happy Little Stampers Blog with October's Watercolour challenge.  Now it's time for a bit of CAS .......

  The theme for this month's challenge is .......... Vellum

Not something I use a lot of I must admit but, when I see it being used I do love the soft look it gives.

One way I like to use vellum is to heat emboss my sentiments on there,  tear the edges and then add the strip over the top of my cards

I love how the design underneath still shows through, but with a much softer look.

The flowers were stamped onto a piece of watercolour cardstock using the Nocturne Versafine Clair ink.  (The pretty bloom is from the HLS Especially for You set)

I then sprinkled a tiny amount of Brusho onto each of the flower heads ....... I think the colours I used were Alizarin Crimson and Gamboge
I then spritzed each flower with clean water and let the Brusho pigment work it's magic, mopping up any pools of excess water, and used a paintbrush to spread the colour over the petals

A couple of dots of the clear Nuvo Drops here and there, and the vellum strip attached across the bottom, securing it on the back ....

How will you use your vellum?

As with all the HLS challenges there's a prize for the winner.  A $20 Gift Certificate to spend in the Happy Little Stampers store which ........ will be DOUBLED if the chosen winner has used HLS stamps on their project ..... not bad eh!

Happy stamping!

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

The temperatures may be dropping just a little but, we had a nice bit of sunshine today. 
There's still time to use the hot tub too.  It's been emptied, cleaned and refilled, and the water temperature is back up to a nice warm 39 degrees C.  It's time to light up the patio I think, jump in and relax.  No gin tonight though, hubby and I are staying alcohol free and Sober for October ...... we're trying anyway, with the exception of a couple of evenings which were booked a while ago. So it's tonic only for me ..... cheers!

See you next time ......

 

Something new from Happy Little Stampers ........ 'Spotlight on .......... '

Happy Thursday ......

It's almost the weekend .... not sure where the rest of the week went though!!  It's been a bit of a busy one but, I don't seem to have got very far.  At least the sun is still shining though .... for now.

There's something new going on over on the Happy Little Stampers Blog.  Each month, starting with July,  Kylie is going to be putting the Spotlight on one of the fabulous HLS stamp sets, and if any of the DT have got that particular set in their collection then we can join in with the showcase.

To start things off this month's Spotlight is on ....... the super cute Whimsical Friends

I love the little birds in this set, they're so much fun ......

Perfect for fun, CAS designs, suitable for many different occasions, and they're even great for those men in our lives

They can be any colour you like ....... I've used ZIG markers to colour these little guys in .....

With a touch of shimmer on their tails from a Stardust Gel Pen ....

One of the sentiments from the same stamp set ..... with a few added words from my stamp stash

And plenty of ink splatters to finish off .....

Use them on your die cuts too ...... they're a great size

Now this isn't a challenge post but, if you do have this stamp set and fancy giving it an outing you can always link up to the NEVER ENDING Challenge using HLS stamps, or .... if you fancy getting hold of this fun set then just click HERE and pop over to the Happy Little Stampers store.

Happy Stamping!

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Smile! ..... it's the Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge

Happy Saturday evening ......

Welcome to June ....... we're almost half way through 2018 ...WOW!!
I hope you're having a good weekend.

It's time to have some fun and get this month's Blog challenges underway.
Happy Little Stampers are already off to a great start with the Watercolour Challenge, you can check out the details here.
If watercolouring is not your thing, then how about Clean and Simple?  We've got a great theme this month for the CAS Challenge ......... go on, join in the fun and give us a Smile!

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

You don't get much more CAS than this ........

Lots of white space ........ with one focal point

I used stamps from the HLS Smile! set to create the sentiment. 

Using a gold metallic ink I stamped the large 'Smile' in the center of the card ...... my MISTI made it easy to get a nice deep, even coverage of ink ....... ink and stamp, ink again and stamp, and repeat as necessary.  Perfect every time!

I then stamped the other half, using more of the words from the Smile set, underneath using a black ink.

The cute little smiley face is from Visible Image ..... stamped with Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink.  I used the MISTI again for this to ensure I got a good coverage of ink but, I must say these ink pads are so juicy it really didn't need to be stamped again

I used a punch to cut it out, and attached it with foam pads for dimension ...... all done!

I also added a smiley on the inside of the card too

Check out the HLS CAS Blog Challenge for more inspiration, and smiles, from the rest of the Design team.

Happy stamping!

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

I've a busy week coming up ..... lots of blog challenges, and a workshop to get ready for next weekend.  It's my last one for a while, but more about that later.

TT Race Week started today, and it all ends with Senior Race Day on Friday ..... hope its a great week and that everyone stays safe.  

We were down at the new Bushy's TT Village last night with a bunch of friends and we had a great time ........ my favourite gin and the best pulled pork I've had in along time.  The atmosphere was amazing!

  

The Red Arrows are here on Tuesday evening, flying over Douglas prom ...... well worth seeing.  I've promised the little man a trip to the fair ground too ..... lets hope its a nice evening.

And then there's the Poker Stars summer party to look forward to on Thursday ..... always a fun night. I just need to find something to wear!

And of course ....... it's what's known as Mad Sunday tomorrow.  I think we may just go to the Grandstand and soak up the atmosphere there.

I love TT fortnight!

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

Fancy another challenge .......

Happy Thursday evening ....

It's time for the last of this months challenges from Happy Little Stampers.  It's the turn of the ATC challenge this evening.

What are ATC's, or Artist Trading Cards?
Well, they're miniature pieces of art work, that measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches.  They can be swapped or traded ...... hence the name Artist Trading Cards ..... but never sold. And they must also have the artists details on the back, and be dated when they were created.

Each month, HLS hosts an ATC challenge, with a different monthly theme to follow.
For May that theme is ...... GOLD

I immediately thought of Gold Embossing ......

I came across a piece of black cardstock in my stash, that had been smooshed with metallic inks and I thought it would make a fabulous base for my set of ATC's

I cut it down to size and then using silver and gold metallic inks I stamped one of the the pretty images from the HLS Dandelion Wishes ..... heat embossing the gold ones

I love how these stand out ......

Each one of the ATC's is the same ...... but different, if you know what I mean

 A simple sentiment ...... again embossed in the gold onto a simple white strip across the bottom of each of the ATCs

A different  sentiment on each one .....

As with all the HLS challenges the winner will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to spend in the HLS Store.  And don't forget, if the winner has used HLS stamps in their project then the prize is doubled!

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day/evening.
Its been a busy day again here ...... but everything is done!! And the old craft room is clean and tidy.  I can actually see my desks!! And I have floorspace .... for how long who knows.
There's stuff happening in the next few weeks ..... changes going on, as well as another little holiday coming up but, more about all that later.
Tomorrow I need to get things organised for my little trip across on Saturday.  Yes, I'm on the early  morning boat ...... fingers crossed it's a calm day.  I'm off to Port Sunlight for a day of craft shopping, catching up with friends, and more craft shopping!  Only two more sleeps!

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 ......

Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge .....

Welcome back .......

This is becoming a habit isn't it .... twice in one day, again! I did say it was going to be a busy week.

OK  .... own up ..... who's pinched the sunshine?  Whoever it is please can we have it back .... it absolutely poured down this afternoon.  Come on ..... I've got garden furniture that needs sitting at!

Enough about the weather ..... it's time for another blog challenge ....... why not pop over to the Happy Little Stampers and join in the fun with the CAS (Clean and Simple) Challenge
(I bet it's not raining in Australia!)

What exactly is CAS?  Just in case you're not sure here's the HLS definition .......

Not only does your card have to be CAS for this challenge ....... the theme for this month is ....... One Layer.  Always a favourite ...... or not!!

Don't get me wrong ...... I love one layer cards, they're great for posting!  They can be a bit tricky to create though.  No room for error ....... you can't just cover up mistakes, or that 'how did that get there' ink splodge (technical term there!) with another layer, or that pretty butterfly!!

It only took me two attempts to get this one right though ........

I used the pretty HLS Dandelion Wishes and stamped the images directly onto a white 7x5 inch, landscape, cardblank using Black Versafine ink

I let this dry and then took a circle stencil, placed it over each of the dandelion heads and inked through with various colours of Distress Oxides.

If you haven't got a circle stencil in different sizes, use punches or dies and a piece of acetate, or even just copier paper, and make your own.

I added one of the sentiments from the same stamp set, and just a touch of fine glitter to the dandelions ...... all done!

There's a $20 Gift Certificate for the challenge winner and if they've used HLS stamps on their project then the prize money is DOUBLED!

Check out the HLS Blog for more CAS, One Layer ideas from the rest of the Design Team.

Happy stamping!

It's a busy week all round this week .... lots of changes going on.  Both the kids have got new pubs this week ..... well when I say new, Lauren is actually going back to The Prospect only this time she's the Manager.  and Chris, well he's going to be managing The British down on the Quay.  Not quite sure what that says about us as parents ..... when both children run public houses!!!!  It's great for our social life though!

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

Cheerio until next time .....

A new Blog Challenge for CAS Christmas cards

Happy Thursday folks ......

It's almost the weekend ..... yeah!

March saw the launch of a new Blog Challenge, especially for Christmas Cards.  And, as the brains behind it are two of my lovely blog buddies ...... the talented Loll Thompson and Bonnie Klass, what else could it be for but ......... CAS Christmas Cards,  one of my favourite styles.

The challenge started on the 3rd of the month and runs through to the 24th ...... so I'm a little late joining the party but ..... I made it!

As you can see the theme is Holly ....... surprisingly I don't have a lot of Holly stamps in my collection, not ones I wanted to use anyway!!  In the end I decided on this little guy ..... he's got holly

He's a little Penny Black hedgie from one of their T for Transparent sets and he's been stamped in the centre of a square card and coloured using ZIG markers

A little sentiment underneath (from Happy Little Stampers) stamped in gold ink.

A few dots of white Enamel Accents here and there to give the effect of falling snow .... very CAS

and I've used the holly sprig on the inside too, as a little decorative accent for the sentiment

A bit of masking tape over hedgie before inking up the stamp ...... easy!

Well that's another Christmas card for the box ..... I think that gives me four now!  I think I'll need a few more than that come December.

Thanks for popping by ... enjoy the rest of your day.
In our quest to watch all of the Marvel Super Hero movies ..... from the first one, and in the right order, we watched The Hulk last night ..... glad that one's out of the way that's all I'm saying!! 
It's Iron Man 2 next I believe .... at least there's Robert Downey Jr to look at on that one!

Cheerio until next time ....