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 ......

I bet you've forgotten who I am ......

Happy Thursday ......

Remember me?  I know it's been a while ....... how is everyone?

Thought it was time for a quick catch up.

I've been rubbish at blogging lately ....... sorry.  I've not had much to say, and not really been very productive on the crafty side either, apart from my DT commitments that is, and the odd online workshop. I think it's those that are keeping me sane at the moment! 

Had fun creating another dream catcher with Tracy Scott .....

I just love the whole process Tracy goes through, creating journal pages .... her use of colour is so much fun, then adding all the different layers and details, it's great watching them all come together.

And then something completely different ...... which I'm now obsessed with ...... Mandalas using pen and ink

These are so relaxing to do, and very addictive! They just take a while to do.
I finally finished this one yesterday, on a lovely crafty get together with the girls on the island, I just haven't taken pictures yet.
I think it was the lightest craft bag I've ever taken to one of our get togethers ...... I took my journals and a pencil case!!! 
It was really nice to finally catch up ...... I hadn't seen them all since January!

I've also been playing around with a canvas, again on online workshop, this time with the lovely Marion Emberson (Sugar and Spice Crafts)

It's a good job I like a bit of sparkle ...... this is full of it!
Chunky glitters, and sparkly glass fragments .....

It's so pretty when the light catches it ....... not so easy to photograph though!

The main reason I'm a little distracted I think is ..... we just want to be out in 'the van'.  Well with all this nice weather we're having, it's a shame not to make the most of it.  And we were hoping to have been up in Scotland maybe next month but, like all our holidays it's been put on hold for now.

We had a lovely weekend though up near Kirk Michael at a place called Cronk Aashen Farm

It was our first time here, but it definitely won't be the last.  It was lovely.
Out in the countryside, very quiet and very private. The weather was glorious, and we could see the sea

We virtually had the place to ourselves ..... one other motorhome, a couple of caravans that stayed just the one night, and a tent!

I do like it when we're out in the van ...... hubby does some of the cooking. Fillet steaks and grilled mushrooms were on the menu Saturday evening ..... yum!

And then we sat and watched the sunset, round the firepit with the lovely couple from the other motorhome.

We had a little stroll in the countryside on the Sunday ......

Found a pretty glen .....

And I just might have started thinking about Christmas .......

Who knows where we'll end up this weekend ...... depends on the weather I think!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
We're off out this evening to a brand new restaurant in Douglas ........ Rios's Brazilian BBQ & Rodizio.  Sound's like fun, plus Chris is managing the bar there now so we thought we'd better give it a try.

Cheerio until next time .......

It's been a journaling sort of weekend .......

Happy Monday .........

I hope you've had a lovely weekend.
Did you manage to see Lucy and Sweet Poppy Stencils on TV on Friday?  I hope you were quick off the mark if you wanted the new stencil designs and the snowflake die.  I couldn't believe how quickly everything sold out ....... even the advance orders!  If you weren't one of the lucky ones to get your orders in ...... try the Sweet Poppy website, you never know there maybe a little stock remaining on there.

We're still in quarantine after our trip across to the UK ....... today is Day 13 though, so only one more to go and then we're freeeee again!! 
We've already booked a campsite for Friday and Saturday night, along with dinner out on Friday, and lunch out with the kids on Saturday ......... I'm so excited!  I can't remember the last time we went to a restaurant.  I think it was my birthday back in March!! 
We're definitely making up for lost time, we're also out on Thursday evening this week at our favourite little place in Douglas.  We should have been there last week for Hubby's birthday but we were grounded so change of plan.
As I said, the last time we were there was the beginning of March and there's been a few changes since then ........

They've got BIGGER!!!  Can't wait to check it all out.

There was also another change announced on the island last week with regards to our borders.
The government had previously published a 5 Stage plan to getting our borders open again. 
Starting with Stage 5 -  Essential only ........ repatriation of residents who hadn't been able to get home before the borders closed, and also allowing residents only to travel on compassionate grounds, both cases needing permission to return, and 14 days quarantine.
As of July 20th, we're going into Stage 4.  This means that Manx residents can now choose to travel to the UK, and beyond, for any reason BUT they must still quarantine for 14 days on their return.  It's going to be a slow process getting our borders open fully but, I think it's better to be safe than sorry!

Anyway ......... what did you get up to over the weekend? 
It's was journaling for me ..... with more online workshops.
I'm really enjoying these Facebook Live workshops.  It's nice to craft along in real time but, the good thing is if you do get behind a little, for whatever reason, you can always go back to the video once the workshop is over and watch it all again. 
Also good if you're sat having your morning coffee and FB pops up a notification to tell you the workshop is live and you suddenly realise that you've put the wrong dates in your diary!!!!
I moved fast that morning!

It's been an amazing three days with Tracy Scott ...... first up the Warrior Princess using Tracy's new stamps and stencils ........

This is BIG! She's done in the large Dina Wakley Media Journal which is just a little bit smaller than A3 size ...... it's a lovely journal (first time I'd used mine).
I got a bit carried away I think, and she ended up as a double page ........ I even hand cut the dream-catcher after drawing round one of Tracy's stencils.
 

Here's another double page spread ....... same stamps and stencil in the large Dylusions journal this time

So as you can see,  it's been a busy weekend. 

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely week.
Time to catch up with the housework now, but first ....... coffee!

Cheerio until next time ......

There's no place like home ......

Good morning ..... Happy Good Friday!

I hope everyone is staying safe and well, and enjoying the Easter weekend at home.

If you fancy spending some time in your crafty space, then why not play along with this month's Craft Stamper Challenge.  There's still plenty of time to get your entries in.

As always, the theme is Anything Goes, you just have to remember to include some actual rubber stamping on your project, and then you're good to go.

I've been searching for my mojo recently, and I thought maybe some time spent playing in one of my journals would help.
So ....... inspired by a prompt from an online journal course here's what I came up with .......

You've probably guessed the prompt was ....... Home

I used acrylic paints, Distress Oxide Inks, stencils, and a few JOFY stamps ...... and I must say I did enjoy the process.  It's good to get inky fingers occasionally!

I lightly sketched the hills across the bottom half of the journal pages and then used a brush to roughly apply the acrylic paints

I wasn't too fussy about applying the paints, I just wanted to get some colour on there and also a bit of texture.  And I quite like the fact you can see the brushstrokes in places ..... adds a bit of interest.

I did the same with the sky ...... and used a piece of sponge to add in the white clouds.

I did leave a space without any paint so that I could add in the sun  ......

For this I used a stencil and a thin layer of yellow acrylic paint, and then extended the rays a little using a yellow watercolour crayon over the top, and blending them together with a little water

I added a little extra detail using a flower stencil and white paint, and also defined the hills a little using a black pencil.

I stamped the trees onto white cardstock, and then used Distress Oxide Inks to add the colour before fussy cutting around them

The house was stamped onto a piece of cardstock from my bits box, coloured using PaperArtsy's Infusions I think.

Everything was then glued down over the background in my journal, and I finished off by stamping the various sentiments all around the edge, added a touch of doodling here and there using black and white fine liner pens, and of course added in the words ........

With what we're all having to go through at the moment, there really is no place like home!

As with all the Craft Stamper challenges, there's prizes up for grabs.
This month's randomly chosen, Challenge Winner will receive this amazing Woodware bundle .......

And, we'll also have a Design Winner.  They will receive a Winner's Profile post on the Craft Stamper Blog, they will be invited to be a Guest Designer on the Blog Challenge and, they will also have their winning project published in a future issue of the Craft Stamper magazine.
Check out the Craft Stamper Blog for more details.

I'm hoping to spend some more time with my journal this weekend ..... lets hope I've kicked started the mojo!

Speaking of the weekend, I think we're going camping!  Don't worry it's only going to be in the garden, well on the drive actually. 

We're spending some time with Remi ......

Have you seen anything on Facebook about the Great British Campout for NHS Staff? 
A guy called Ian had this idea of having a 'camp out' to raise some money to support the NHS staff and volunteers, for all their amazing work during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
So, last Saturday night anyone that had a camper or motorhome on their drive, or a tent in their garden could donate £2 each (or more) to the wonderful NHS staff, and then spend the night camping out.
The reaction he got was unbelievable!!  Even people without vans or tents were camping out in garden sheds, or making tents in their lounges ...... it was incredible. 
I think he said he was looking to raise a couple of hundred pounds .......... he did in fact raise over £100,000!!!! And that amount is still rising ....... amazing or what!

So ..... they're doing it all again for the Easter weekend, and hubby and I thought we would join in. 
We had planned to spend this weekend on one of the campsites on the island with Lauren, Robbie and Alex.  They would have been in George (the VW), and us in Remi ..... so, if we can't go to the campsite, we'll bring the campsite to us.  Let's hope the weather stays nice.

Thanks for popping by ....... enjoy your Easter weekend.
Stay safe ....... stay well ....... stay at home!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: JOFY 29, JOFY 9, 11, 12, 49 (for the words), JOFY Mini JM42 
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Oxides - Gathered Twigs, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn
Paints: PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints - Granny Smmith, Magic Moss, Blue Oyster, Snowflake, Cheesecake
Other: Jane Davenport AquaPastels (Yellow); Sunrays stencil (Visible Image); PaperArtsy Stencil - PS107 (flowers), White Gel Pen, Black Fine Liner

Bee yourself .......

Happy Friday ........

The weekend starts here! Although I think it's already started for some!

I've got a little reminder for you this morning about the latest Craft Stamper challenge .......

It's been up and running since last Friday and there's already some fabulous entries in the gallery.

It's the usual Anything Goes theme ..... as long as there's actual rubber stamping somewhere on your project, and our sponsor this month is the wonderful STAMPlorations .......

A fabulous online craft store, stocking hundreds of their own brand of clear stamps, stencils and masks ..... and metal cutting dies.  The designs cover a whole range of tastes ..... there really is something for everyone.

The prize on offer for this month's challenge winner (randomly chosen) is this set of three (3) amazing stamp plates ...... cool or what!

And ........ Shery has very kindly offered a little something extra for everyone.  For the whole of July, when readers/followers of the Craft Stamper Blog place an online order of at least $15 they can get 20% off by using the code CRAFTSTAMPER at the checkout.

Thanks Shery!  

Surprise!  I've got a couple of journal pages for you today.

Yes I'm still playing along with the Creative Journaling 365 group on Facebook.  Well, when I say playing along what I mean is I follow what everyone else is doing and feel guilty I haven't been keeping up!  There's no way I'll get to 365 finished pages by the end of the year but if I can keep doing something every now and again I'll be happy!

I've been playing with my Distress Oxides again ....... I love them!

I can't wait until the new colours arrive ....... talk about stalking the postman!

Anyway ..... I started the pages by applying the colours to the background.  I used another favourite of mine .... the acetate smooshing technique, or it was more of an acetate pouncing really. 

I smooshed the DO's onto my craft sheet, spritzed with water and them picked up the colour using a piece of acetate.  I then pounced the acetate over the journal page to build up the colour .... I love how you get this mottled look, and you can see I did leave a little bit of white space here and there.

I then added some foliage to the top of the pages using yet another favourite .... stamps from the JOFY range (JOFY 49 for the leaves) 

I love how you can stamp with the oxides and get clean, crisp images ..... and then use the same inks along with a little bit of water, to colour them in

I stamped a few grasses across the bottom of the pages, again in a green Distress Oxide and then stamped the large flower (JOFY 26) over the top using black Versafine ink and heat embossed them with a clear powder

 If you use more ink and less water you get this really cool, almost opaque finish .....

I added in a few little bees here and there, and finished off with the words ...... the new 'T' for Transparent set from Penny Black called be .....

Stamped and heat embossed in white, and I couldn't resist adding the extra letter ........ it just had to bee done (oooh .... sorry!)

Something else that had to go on there was the ladybug ...... stamped, coloured and fussy cut, and finished off with some glossy accents.
And finally I splattered some white paint over the pages and a few dots of gold .... just because I could!

Well that's 2 more pages done ..... and I love how they turned out.  I just wish I had more time to play.

Thanks for popping by ....... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend.
I'm off into the craft room again.  I had a lovely day up there yesterday, very productive too.  And no interruptions.  Hubby's on the work's 2 day 'off site'........ you know one of those team building/bonding sessions where they supposedly get lots done.  Yeah! Yeah! .... it's just an excuse for a couple of days away from the office having a jolly!!
Yesterday was spent at the museum ....... apparently, it was all meetings and presentations along with a quiz that hubby had prepared.   He said it went down really well with everyone, but things got quite competitive ..... no surprises there!   Then they had a meal out in the evening and a late night doing goodness knows what ...... there was probably karaoke at some point.  I'll bet there's a few sore heads this morning though, which is not good as they're all off kayaking and coasteering this morning ........ let's hope they all make it back in one piece!

Cheerio until next time ......