Food glorious food ........

Happy Sunday ......

We're having a nice relaxing day today, with a family Sunday lunch later .... what better way to finish off the weekend.
The lazy start to the day had nothing to do with the fact we were out last night ...... yeah right!
We spent a fab day down at the Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival ..... as always we tried everything and came home with a nice little stash of goodies ..... also found out there's a new Thai restaurant opening in October ..... can't wait to try that one!

We got the Christmas pud sorted ..... have to have one of those!   Some delicious hot smoked salmon (today's starter I think) and a fab collection of spices to name a few things that coma home with me. Oh .... and the freezer is all ready and waiting too, for the arrival of a full lamb (sorry to any vegetarians out there) ..... legs, shoulders, racks, all prepared and ready to go ..... yum!!

We followed all that with an evening down at one of my favourite places ..... the Bath & Bottle .... a nice little cocktail bar in town   More food and drink with Lauren and Robbie .... think there was a little more drink than food though ...... oops!

Anyhow .... enough of my weekend shenanigans, lets get a little bit festive shall we (less than 100 days now ..... just saying!)

I'm playing along with the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge again.  This week there's an inspiration photo ..... how fab does this look

I've used the large stars as my inspiration, along with the colour red .....

The star is an SU stamp, stamped using a red versafine ink and then I've added a touch of sparkle to the flourish design using a fine crystal glitter

Embossed the Christmas greeting with my current favourite embossing powder ..... Ranger's Liquid Platinum (love it!!)

and added a bit of mat and layering with some red and wait for this ...... silver mirri card!!! Something I haven't used in a long time ..... but I think it works well here

Well .... that's another one for the Christmas box done. It's starting to fill up ..... slowly.

Thanks for popping by ... .enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I'm off to get the roast in the oven then sit down and check out some hotels online.  Hubby and I are hoping for a short break across in the UK ...... a chance to catch up with family and friends in the northwest, and then off up to Scotland for a few days of R & R just the two of us.

Cheerio until next time ......

On the 8th day of December ......

'tis the season to be jolly ..... falalalalalalalala!

Happy Tuesday,

A little late I know, but as they say .... better late than never!!

How's your week going ..... deep in the preparations for Christmas?
We're not doing too badly here, we got most of the Christmas present shopping done over the weekend .... despite the weather! Cards are nearly all done and written, I've just one more lot that needs posting (thank goodness! ..... I tell you, it's one layer all the way next year! Either that or everyone gets a facebook message!!)
The tree is getting there .....  I still say it needs more baubles on .....  hopefully that will be sorted sometime this week ...... oh, and the Christmas menu has been finalised!!
Hubby took a couple of days off work so we had a nice long weekend ...... lazy starts, lunches out and a leisurely stroll around the shops.  I even managed to find a dress for the Poker Stars Christmas do ..... finally!!! Just as well .... the party's on Saturday!

Anyhow, enough of all that ....... I'm playing along with the Merry Monday Christmas Card challenge again this week.
The theme is ......

Candy Canes

And it just so happens that I made a card over the weekend that fits in quite nicely ......

It's that Crazy Bird again ...... and look what he's holding .... a candy cane!  Perfect!

Those favourite Clarity trees of mine are back out on my workdesk .... simply stamped along the edge of a paper mask to give that nice snowy landscape

Distress inks to colour the sky ...... spritzed with a little water then snowflakes added over the top

A touch of fine glitter here and there ...... and of course a festive sentiment

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

Well that's it from me today ....... I'm off to tidy the old craft room.  There's a small group of ladies coming round tomorrow and I need to get things ready.  Last minute Christmas cards and tags ..... CAS design with a bit of basic masking ... should be fun.

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Ready for another tag ......

Hello .... it's me again

You'll be fed up of me before today's out.  Everything's coming all at once ..... there's not enough week left!

I've got my Day 2 tag to share for Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas event .......

Everyone's having a great time .... why not join in the fun.  Make a mixed media Christmas tag, link it up to the event on Loll's Blog and you could be in with a chance of winning one of the fab prizes that are up for grabs.

Here's my tag #2

A little on the sparkly side maybe ...... well, it is a Christmas tag after all!

I cut my tag from a piece of white cardstock and added colour using Distress Inks (Festive Berries, Fired Brick and a touch of Aged Mahogany)  Nothing fancy, just applied the colours using brushes, starting on the edges and bringing the colour into the centre, gradually building up the depth of colour and adding shade.
I then flicked water over the top, let it sit for a few seconds and then mopped up the excess.
Using the Aged Mahogany Distress ink I then stamped the script over the background

Once everything was completely dry I used the Tim Holtz Poinsettia stencil, white texture paste and his brand new Vintage Platinum  Distress Glitter Dust ..... this is so fine and sooooo shiny!!!

How gorgeous is that!

I stamped and embossed  my greeting, in gold, onto a torn strip of vellum and attached across the centre (ish!) of the tag

and finished it all off with a nice festive red bow ..... 2 tags done .....  10 to go!!

Luckily, this also fits in with this week's Merry Monday Challenge (anyone would think I planned it!!)

It's all about Red and Gold  ....... very festive.  I just hope it's OK to enter a tag!

And while we're on the subject of Tags ..... I'll also link this to the current HLS Christmas Challenge .... that's all about TAGS too.

Oh well .... can't sit around blogging all day (sigh!) stuff to do!  
Not sure if the fireworks down on the beach will go ahead this evening .... it's still raining!!  The little man has just informed me though that he still wants his hot dogs for tea ..... fireworks or not.  That's me told!

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

Cheerio until next time (it'll be sooner than you think)

Linda

xx

Where's my Christmas spirit .......

Happy Sunday folks,

How's your weekend going?
Just a quick post this morning ..... the clock is counting down on the latest Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge and I don't want to miss it.

This time the challenge is to use Light Green, Dark Green and Red!

Hmmmm ...... nice festive colours, very traditional.  Could I come up with anything ....... NO!!!  My Christmas spirit is no-where to be seen I'm afraid ...... Bah humbug!!
This is as good as it gets this time .........

VERY CAS ...... but I have used all the colours.
The light, and the dark green for my holly leaves ......

I used a punch to cut the leaves from a piece of white cardstock then added coloured card to the backs. A touch of red glitter glue for the berries and a nice festive sentiment stamped with red ink

I did similar on the inside of the card ......

Again, using the punch for my holly leaf ......

Backed with green card and a touch of red sparkle.  Ho! Ho! Ho!

Well ....... we've had a lovely weekend so far ..... doing absolutely nothing!!! And today is going to be more of the same I think. There's no rush to go here there and everywhere in two days because ..... it's the Bank Holiday weekend (whoo hoo!) and ..... hubby's taking all next week off work ..... yeah! No early starts.  You never know ...... I might just get breakfast in bed one morning .... for a change (hint hint).
We're hoping the weather stays nice so we can have a few days out ..... explore a little more of the island maybe ..... see some of the racing in the Manx Grand Prix and just generally recharge our batteries.
We started our little break on Friday evening ....... with good food, nice wine and great company. We went to the french restaurant in Douglas ..... L'Experience and had a beautiful meal. I finally tried escargot for the first time (hubby had ordered them)  I won't be trying them again any time soon I can tell you ....... I've decided ..... I don't like snails!!!!
Hopefully dinner tonight will be nice ..... yes we're off out again.  Tonight we're going to my favourite Italian on the island .... La Mona Lisa up in Laxey.  They've been advertising on Facebook that my favourite dish is back on the menu this weekend ..... Lobster Linguine ..... yummee!!!

Hope they've got some left!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend.

Oooh .... before I go .... don't forget the lovely Barbara Gray is back on our TV screens with Clarity stamps .... whoo hoo!!  In case you haven't heard ...... Sky channel 663, Freeview 39 and Freesat 822 is the home of the brand new craft channel ....... HOCHANDA (Home of Crafts Hobbies and Arts)
Barbara had a great show yesterday and she's back at 10am this morning (Sunday).  Tune in if you can .... it'll be fun!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Cutting it fine ..... again!!

Happy Sunday .....

Are you enjoying the weekend?  Hope you've got better weather than we have ..... it's raining over here!

Just a quick post this afternoon as I'm up against the clock (so what's new!!)  
The latest Merry Monday challenge is coming to a close today ..... only a few hours left, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss out.

It's all about using Hearts this time .......

As usual I've left things to the last minute so ...... CAS was the way to go.  As I don't have any actual Christmas stamps with a heart on I had to add my own ......

I said it was CAS ...... a nice festive sentiment stamped in Cranberry Adirondack ink .... one of my favourites from the Hero Arts Miracle of Holiday clear set

The hearts are double-sided peel off stickers ..... yes you read that right, I've used peel offs!!  

Now don't get me wrong .... peel offs are great ..... these are the only ones I have in my stash though .... I prefer to use stamps.

I covered the hearts with fine glitter and added a few tiny gemstones to 'hang' them from my sentiment

And there it is ..... another one for the festive box!

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

I'm off to finish a 'little job' I started earlier ...... sorting out the old craft room!  Do I really need so much stuff ..... of course I do!!

Cheerio until next time ......  I've got a bit of exciting news to share with you all next week!!

Linda

xx

2 for the price of 1

Happy Thursday!

I don't know whether I'm coming or going this week ...... still trying to catch up with stuff from last weekend ..... and it's all getting ready to start again ....... and it's nearly the end of the month!!!  I could do with an extra few hours each day I think .... maybe I give up sleep for a while!!!!

I have managed to squeeze in a couple of blog challenges this week ...... I've done a 2 for 1!  I know ...... that doesn't happen very often.

It's another one for the Christmas box ........

I'm entering this into the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge .... where the theme this week is to ......

use Newsprint

I stamped my sentiment in the centre(ish) of a piece of white card and added a few sprinkles of Fran-tage embossing Enamel (Shabby White and Chunky White) to add a bit more interest to the background.

I then glued an old bookpage on to a piece of white card and die cut my festive blooms using the Spellbinders Poinsettia die ..... there's my newsprint used!

I inked around the edges of the flowers with a little Distress ink, to give a bit more dimension and then layered up each one adding in a few festive red layers too.  A bit of green foliage, and a few gems for the centres and jobs done.

Now for challenge number 2 .......  this week's Less is More.

It's Recipe week and we have to .......

 Use Some Metal

As you can see my piece of metal is a small jingle bell in the centre of one of my poinsettia's.  A nice CAS design, lots of white space.  I love it when things come together!  

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

It's the weekend!!! .....

Happy Friday folks!

An early start for me again (yawn) ..... I've to be at the airport at 8am this morning so unfortunately  I haven't got a lot of time to chat.
In fact this is the start of a busy few weekends for us .... I'm away this weekend, it's hubby's turn next week ..... TT starts then too (that's soon come around!)  The weekend after that my brother is over here for a few days .... the beginning of race week.  Then it's the Summer Party where hubby works (always fun!) and we finish off with Senior Race Day (a bank holiday over here) on June 12th ..... phew!!!  Good job we've got a holiday booked for the 19th June ..... we're going to need it!!

Before all that gets underway, and the chaos begins ....... I want to get my entry in for this week's Merry Monday Christmas card challenge ......

Hmmm .... non-evergreen trees ......... will this do? ......

CAS .... but I'm pleased with the result'

I started by masking off a section down the side of a piece of white cardstock.  I then put another mask in place for the hills, and using a masking fluid and a paintbrush, I splattered the fluid across the piece of exposed card.  Once the fluid was dry, I added some colour with Distress Ink (Stormy Sky and a touch of Chipped Sapphire) to create the sky.  Once I as happy with the colour I rubbed away the dots of masking fluid leaving behind the white card underneath, giving the look of falling snow .......

I added a bit more shading down the rest of the panel to give the look of snow drifts and then removed the masks.
I stamped the little twiggy tree .... from Penny Black's clear stamp set ..... on the town ....... over to one side, to create my winter scene, and added a sentiment across the bottom

To finish off I added a touch of fine crystal glitter to the branches of the tree to add an icy sparkle

And of course there's a little something on the inside

Hope you like it.

Well .... I'm going to have to love you and leave you I'm afraid ...... I've got that plane to catch.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend.

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Embossing for Merry Monday

Happy Thursday to you,

I've been playing along with some blog challenges again today .... well trying to that is!

It's been one of those days.  All I'm going to say is ....  I should tidy up my desk and put finished cards SOMEWHERE SAFE ..... before starting to play with paint!!!!!!  It was only a little bit on my craft sheet .... but it doesn't half spread when you don't want it too!!!

Anyway ....... second time of trying (again!!) with a few choice words muttered here and there ...... I finally got something finished.

It's time to go all festive again ..... just for today anyway.
Merry Monday's challenge this week is all about ......

Embossing

I've gone for a simple, but elegant, white on white, with just a hint of red ....... (you can imagine a splodge of blue paint across the bottom was not the look I was after  ....... not even I could cover that up!!!) Anyway ... second time around ..... minus the paint ...... ta dahhhh!! ........

Very CAS, using a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder for my design, with a touch of added sparkle .....

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

Well that's another one done for the festive box.  Now I just need to re-stock everything else.  I hadn't realised just how few cards I had in my stash!

It's cards of a different kind at Walmsley Towers this evening.  Yes ... there's a friendly poker game going on. 

Maybe I should stick to what I know best .... I need my cash for the craft show at the weekend!!!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

A festive little kitty ......

Happy Sunday,

Well I may have been taking things easy on the craft front recently but, you'll be pleased to know nothing's changed ..... I'm still on the last minute with my challenge entries.  But hey .... at least I've been in the old craft room today!!!
There's been a little sorting out, and tidying up going on .... I can see my desk .... yeah!!!  Things have finally been put on shelves etc.,  and I've come across stuff I'd forgotten I had.  Let's hope I get the time, and the mojo to make use of them.

I'll apologise now if this post seems a little rushed, or I seem distracted ..... it's just I'm trying to blog whist watching the football!!  I can't wait until the match is over .... challenge deadline approaching FAST!!!!  and my boys in blue are playing Arsenal ...... it's currently 0-0 and we're just past the hour mark!

Anyway, enough of the football, what have I got for you today?  Well I know the sun is shining and it's still April but I'm starting back with my festive makes ..... I've missed the last 4 Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenges due to moving house etc., I didn't want to miss another one.

This week's challenge is .......

to use a Cat or a Dog

Hmmmm .... not an easy one for me but, here goes ......

The stamp is from Penny Black ..... coloured using Distress Inks mixed with a little water

I added a touch of Glossy Accents to the baubles and sprinkled on some fine crystal glitter

Added one of my favourite Hero Arts sentiments ......

And finished off using one of my favourite techniques at the moment ..... a few ink splatters here and there .....

Oooh .... we had a chance there!  Sorry ... I was watching the match then!

Well that's another Christmas card done .... I've a bit of catching up to do with the challenges I've missed but I'll get there.

Thanks for popping by .....enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off to watch the last 15 minutes of the game ...... it's still 0-0 but whether it'll end that way who knows!!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx