Oh Christmas Tree! ......

Happy Sunday .......

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.  

It's a lovely morning here on the island, we've got blue skies, the sun is shining and this is the view from our bedroom window ..... we can see the sea!!

 

Yes ...... we're on our family Staycation.  

We arrived at Ballarhennie House yesterday and the cottage is beautiful.  It's so peaceful, and it has everything we could possibly need ..... including a cat that likes to make itself at home!  We've just got Lauren and Alex with us here at the moment, and Chris and Myra will be joining us tomorrow .... it's going to be fun.

I'll share more pics with you during the week.

I'm playing along with this month's CAS Christmas Card Challenge ....... again!  I must be getting the festive spirit!

The theme is Christmas Tree couldn't resist ....... you know me, I love a nice tree.

This one is so pretty ....... and it's really quick and easy to create cards.  

Simply stamp the image ..... I stamped directly onto my card base.  One layer cards are great for posting 

I then added a touch of colour to the baubles, or they could be lights I suppose, the stamp is called all lit up  

A little bit of sparkle to the branches with some fine crystal glitter, and a few splatters of gold and silver ink onto the background ........

A simple sentiment finishes it all off .......

That's another one for the festive box!

Speaking of trees .... look what someone found in the garden!

It's his birthday tomorrow (Monday) ..... I can't believe he's 10!!

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

I think we're off to the beach later, making the most of the sunshine.  

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stamps: all lit up (Penny Black); Scribbly Christmas (Tim Holtz) for the sentiment

Inks: Versafine Clair - Pinecone; Delicata - Golden Glitz, Silvery Shimmer

Others: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine Crystal Glitter; Sparkle gel pens

A Happy Hello and Birthday Balloons .......

Happy Friday .......

The weekend is here again!  Although I thought it was Friday yesterday, and then today has felt like Saturday so, my weekend is almost over!
  
It's time to give you a little reminder about this month's CAS challenges.
First up ....... the CAS Mix Up Challenge.

I'm Hosting this month and the theme is Gesso Resist

This is just another fun way using gesso.

If you're still not sure about the technique, check out the CAS Mix Up Blog for links to some really useful videos.

Gesso is great for stamping with, especially when doing the resist technique.  You just have to remember to clean your stamps straight after use .... don't let the gesso dry on there.

I've used an old Penny Black, wooden stamp here. 

I simply put the gesso onto a craft mat, brushed it out to a thin layer and then used it like I would an ink pad to ink up the stamp. 
I then stamped the image randomly over a piece of watercolour cardstock ......

Once the gesso was dry, I spritzed over the top with Distress Ink sprays and let the colours sit for a while.  I then mopped up the excess and the stamped images started to show through.
I repeated the sprays until I got the depth of colour I wanted.

Once that was dry, I used a circle die to make my topper.  I stamped a sentiment, added a touch of pen work using a white gel pen and a few sparkly gems

To add a bit more interest to the card, I used the same floral stamp to add the design to the actual card.

CAS Stencil challenge next ......

This month is all about Layering your stencils ........

Again, if you need to know more, check out the CAS Stencil Blog for links to some great videos

I've gone for a really quick and easy design here, using just one stencil but, layering the balloons over the top of each other .......

I used various colours of Distress Inks, applied through the stencil with blending brushes, across the bottom of my cardblank

I added a simple sentiment above ......

And finished off with a few ink splatters

The CAS Challenges are open until the 24th of the month so there's still lots of time to join in the fun.

Just to let you know that from next month (June) there's going to be a few changes to the CAS Challenges. 
Three of the challenges are coming together to make up a new CAS Mix Up Challenge which will include Mixed Media, Stenciling and Watercolour.  More details will be in June's CAS Mix Up post.

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:
CAS Mix Up
Stamps: clique (Penny Black); Happy Mail (Gina K)
Inks: Distress Ink Sprays - Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Catherine Pooler inks - Party Dress, Tiara, Tiki Torch
Others: White Gel Pen; Nesting Circle Die; Clear Gemstones

CAS Stencil
Stencil: Balloon stencil (Uniko)
Stamps: Tiny Words - Birthday (Mama Elephant)
Inks: Distress Inks - various colours: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Gold and Silver Delicata inks for the splatters
Others: Black gel pen