We're nearly there ........

Happy Thursday .......

How's your week going ....... fast if it's anything like mine!

It's been busy in the craft room ...... I'm trying to get ahead with all my DT stuff as we've got a crazy few weeks coming up.  Would you believe our next free weekend is the beginning of November!!!  Hubby's away this weekend, then we're away on holiday next weekend.  We're back on the island for a few days then we're off to the UK for another weekend. 
Then it's workshop weekend .......that's going to be a busy one.  And then hubby's off to Blackpool for a weekend for a Poker Tournament.  It's all go around here!

Speaking of workshops, here's a little look at the last one.
We used Lavinia stamps to create beautiful moonlight scenes, in Autumn and winter shades. 

Easy scene building using masks with Distress Inks and Oxides ......

Pretty Lavinia fairies .....

Trees and foliage, and simple embellishments .....

We also went a little bit festive with the gorgeous Sweet Poppy Poinsettia stencil ....

Distress inks and oxides again, a little bit of the gesso resist technique, and LOTS of glitter

And of course a touch of my favourite festive product .... chunky white embossing powder

Another popular colour way was a green and gold version ......

Gold ink through the stencil on a delicate Distress Ink background and then covered with glitter

We were all a little bit sparkly by the end of the afternoon!

There's just three pages left to complete and  now, and we're doing them all next month! 
Not sure what's going on them yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out ...... suggestions on a postcard please!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
You can also find me on the Uniko Blog today with a little bit of DT Inspiration.  That's on a festive theme too.  Simple Christmas card ideas using stencils, pastes and different finishes.

Right back to the craft room ..... it's magazine stuff today.
Cheerio until next time .......

More calendar pages .......

Happy Thursday evening .......

At last ..... time to sit down and blog.
What a busy week it's been, and it's not over yet!  I've got this evening to myself though, hubby's out with work and I'm home alone.  So it's PJ's on,  catch up on some TV, and an early night I think.  There's been enough partying for me this week!!

First though, here's a little look at last weekend's workshop.  We did a couple more calendar pages, playing with simple masking techniques, lots of rubber stamping and a little bit of scene building using the gorgeous Lavinia stamps.

 
Page One ...... easy masking using Post It notes.  I went all floral for one of my designs ...

And Butterflies for the other ......

All coloured using ZIG Markers and a water brush ...... it was a very quiet afternoon at one point!

Page two ....... simple scene building.
I do love Lavinia stamps ..... I don't know why I don't use them more often.

It's so easy to create magical scenes, with a little bit of masking, a few Distress Inks and some of those gorgeous Lavinia fairies

Add in a bit of foliage, some flowers and of course a touch of glitter ......

Change the colours of your inks, and change the season ......

I did a little bit of faux bleaching on my design .....

I think everyone enjoyed their day.

As I said it's been a busy week.  On the craft side, there's been magazine stuff to do, new release samples for Sweet Poppy Stencils, a shopping list to put together for Port Sunlight at the weekend .... it's all go! 

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
Time to put my feet up!

Cheerio until next time .....

Let it shine ........

Hello there again .......

I'm back with another challenge for you (told you it was a busy week!) .... this time it's the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge, where the theme for May is ......

Like all HLS challenges, we're sponsored by the Happy Little Stampers store, and the winner of the challenge will receive a fabulous HLS stamp set.

There's a few ways to add shine to your projects ....... use mirri card, glitter, glossy accents or a glaze. Emboss with metallic powders, use metallic paints or add foil.
I've used Gilding Flakes to give the shine on my project .......

A few weeks ago I ran a small workshop, where we played around with embossing folders, using them to print/stamp with.  It's such a fun technique with different results every time.

You simply rub your coloured ink onto your embossing folder, spritz with water, place your white card in the middle, close the folder and press ..... and voila!  a great background to work with.

I used the fabulous honeycomb folder from SU which unfortunately has appeared on the latest Retirement List ..... shame!  Inked it with Wild Honey Distress giving me the perfect background for those busy little bees

The shine part comes from the IndigoBlu Gilding Flakes in the Chariot of Fire option ...... I love the rich gold colour.
I simply die cut the word from white card, covered it with Flitter Glu and then dipped it into the flakes. I made sure the word was completely covered, then rubbed away the excess using a soft sponge.
I layered the gilded word onto one cut in black to give it some depth, and then attached it to a strip of black card before adding it to the front of my card.

I then stamped the bees onto the honeycomb, stamped them again onto white card and coloured them before fussy cutting them out and layering them onto the card ..... Bee Happy .... get it!!!?

There's a little bit more of the design on the inside ....

with the words from the HLS Bold Birthday Sentiments

Now it's your turn.  Pop over to the HLS Blog for more inspiration from the Design Team along with our lovely Guest Designer this month .......  KalySto.  You must check out her inspiration piece ... it's amazing!
Happy Stamping!

OK .... that's me done for today.  I've got an early start tomorrow and a shopping list to write ...... not that I'll be sticking to it!!

Thanks for popping by again .....
Not only have I got the craft show to look forward tomorrow but, on Sunday I'm doing a workshop with the lovely Maria Simms .... more crafty fun!

Cheerio until next time .....

XX

Darnell's NBUS challenge .....

Happy Friday folks,

Phew!  What a busy week .... and it's not over yet!!
Talk about being on the last minute (as usual!!!) ...... but I was determined I wasn't going to miss this

  
My lovely blog buddy Darnell is hosting her 5th ..... yes 5th NBUS challenge!! And what a popular challenge it's turned out to be!  There's been an amazing number of entries, the list of sponsors is spectacular and the prizes ...... well!!!  Pop over and say 'Hi' to the lovely Darnell and check out all the details here.

If any of you are wondering who is Darnell ..... and what is NBUS ..... where have you been?? Darnell is one of the Queens in blogland .....  she's talented, funny, brings a smile with every blog post, and is one of the best blog buddies you could wish for!  As for NBUS ..... well the badge says it all ...... NEVER BEFORE USED SCHTUFF!!!  Come on .... own up .... I bet you've got a small box full of schtuff that hasn't seen the light of day since it found its way into your craft room ...... hahaha ..... small box???? and only one??? Hmmm .... well now's the time to use it.  You'll have to be quick though the challenge closes tonight (I did say I was on the last minute!)

I'd better get a move on then hadn't I ...... here's my entry

I dug deep into the box of schtuff, and found this little guy .... never seen an ink pad (awww!) and he's sooo cute!!! He's the Moon Gazing Hare from Lavinia stamps
I have this thing about hares ...... there's a couple in the lounge ....

And one in the dining area ...... another one gazing at the moon .....

And there's even one on my crafty 'write it down or I'll forget' note book ......

Back to my card ...... I stamped my little hare onto a piece of white card and then masked around the edge with some low-tack tape.

I added my sentiment ..... another stamp that hasn't been inked (I'm afraid I do have a few!!) ..... I thought this one was perfect to go with my little hare ......

I added coloured to the words using Spectrum Noir pencils and then created my moonlight scene using Distress Inks and some hand cut masks for the hills.
To finish off I added a touch of fine glitter to the moon and dotted a few stars in the sky.

Oh well .... must dash ..... the clock is ticking.

We've got a bit of a busy weekend ahead ..... it's the Isle of Man Food Festival ....... one of my favourite events .... time to buy my Christmas pud!!!   Hubby's parents have arrived on the island for the weekend, so we'll be out and about a bit with them,  and ..... we've also got a birthday party tomorrow for a certain little man who's five on Monday ...... I wonder who that can be .....

There'll be no time to spend in the old craft room I'm afraid ....... so it looks like next week will be a busy one too!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day, and have a fun weekend.

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

It's all about Love ........

Hello there,
Happy Friday!

Just a quick post this morning.
It's the weekend again already ...... I don't know what I've been doing all week but this is the first real chance I've had to blog!  Not much to show for the week either .... a few jobs crossed off the 'To Do' list (I'll share them with you over the weekend) and a few boxes piling up here and there.  Yes .... the packing has started ..... in the old craft room at least.  

I have played along with the Less is More challenge again this week though.   It's One Layer Week ..... couldn't miss that,  and the theme is .....

LOVE

That's One Layer, CAS design, lots of white space and minimum embellishments ..... what do you think ......

My favourite colour combo ..... black, white and a touch of red

The beautiful sentiment is from a set of  Tim Holtz stamps and I've just stamped it in black Versafine ink across my card and attached a tiny, punched red heart at the end (hope this is minimum enough!)

The fairies are from Lavinia ..... again stamped in Versafine with just a touch of fine glitter added to the wings

And there you have it ...... one layer card done!

OK ...... as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I really need to get a move on.  Busy day today ....... I'm off out in less than an hour, for a nice crafty get-together and I'm still in my PJ's!!!!  (at least my craft bags are packed!).  I'm on grandma duties for a couple of hours later, then hubby and I are off out to try a new Indian restaurant in town this evening.  The weekend starts now! 

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Starry Starry Night .......

Good morning!

Happy Thursday to you.  At least it's not raining this morning ...... yet!!  One of the joys of living on the Isle of Man ..... the weather can be a little changeable, usually by lunchtime!

It's not all bad though ..... hubby sent me a link the other day, 45 Reasons Why Living in the Isle of Man Ruins you for Life!  see what you think!

It's the dreaded One Layer Week over at Less is More ....... always fun!  And this time the focus is ....

Starry, Starry Night!

We still need to keep to the CAS rule, lots of white space, and there must be stars on there (obviously!)

I decided NOT to go all festive on this one ...... I needed a change, I'm getting all Christmas'd out!!

I used Distress Inks to colour the panel (Stormy Sky/Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire) after I'd stamped the stars using Versamark and Clear embossing powder.
The embossing powder acts as a resist to the ink ..... once I was happy with the colour I buffed over the stars with a piece of kitchen roll removing any ink left on them.  The darker the ink, the more the stars show through

I then stamped my favourite Lavinia fairy .....

Added some foliage around the edge, and my sentiment ....

And a touch of Clear Wink of Stella to her wings ....... a girl needs sparkly wings!

One Layer Week ..... done. Thank goodness!

Here's something else about the Isle of Man ...... not everything means the same over here as it does in the UK (or anywhere else for that matter!)  Check this out ...... it made me smile!

Thanks for popping by ........ have a great Thursday!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx