It's been fun ........

Hello there .....

Happy Monday evening. I hope your week has got off to a good start.

It's been crazy around here, getting back to normal after a week away on a little family staycation.  

We all had a fabulous week, over in Peel, with a guest appearance from a friend of ours who joined us for an evening but, more about all that later.

This is not an easy post for me to write as it's my final DT post for the Perfectly CAS Challenge (sigh!) 

After nearly two years of being part of this fabulous challenge, I've made the tough decision to step down from the Design Team

I wish Kylie and the rest of the DT all the best for the future, and send huge Thanks for having me as part of the Perfectly CAS family.  I'm gonna miss you all but, I'm sure you will see me in the gallery again at some point, you all know how much I love my CAS cards!

Anyway, I've not gone just yet so ....... here's my final Perfectly CAS inspiration piece .....

It's Challenge #16, and this time it's not just about using one third of your card space, you must also keep your design to just One Corner of your card.

This pretty bunch of tulips is from Penny Black.  

Using a black ink I stamped the image off the edges of my card, keeping the image to the bottom right hand corner 

Then using watercolour paints, I added colour to the blooms

I also added a few splatters of paint onto the background for a little more interest, and then finished off with a simple sentiment on the bottom

Well that's it from me.  

Thank you for all your support and comments on my Perfectly CAS posts, it's been an absolute pleasure designing for this challenge.

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

There's not much in the diary for this week so, I'm hoping for some time in the craft room.  Although I do have to start getting the van ready for our first big adventure off the island ........ exciting or what!!

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

Products used:

Stamps: splendiferous; happy snippets (Penny Black)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Golden Glitz (Delicata)

Other: Watercolour paints (Altenew)

Ink, stamp, repeat ...... ink, stamp, repeat ........

Happy Friday evening ........

I hope you've had a good week.  

The weekend is just around the corner .... have you got anything nice planned? 

There's not much in the diary, so I think it's going to be a quiet one here.

It's time for a new challenge over at Perfectly CAS, and the prompt for this one is ..... Repeat Stamping

This is a nice and easy one ..... simply pick your favourite stamp, ink it up and stamp away.  Remember to keep to the challenge rules though ......

• keep your cards CAS (clean and simple)
• follow the challenge theme
• and only use one third, or less, of your card space.

I've gone for a rainbow of colour but, your repeat stamping could all be in the same colour, or maybe  different shades of one colour ....... the choice is all yours.

I'm loving rainbow colours at the moment and the Distress Oxide inks are perfect for stamping with ...... nice bright shades, great coverage, and they layer beautifully over the top of each other 

I stamped the butterfly down the centre of my card, changing the position of the stamp each time to add a bit of movement to the design.

I used a black ink for the sentiment and stamped it in the centre, over the top of the butterflies 

A really quick and easy, CAS, one layer card.

Here's another option ....... how about some birthday candles

Again, stamped using various colours of Distress Oxide inks ........

and this time I used two sentiment stamps for my greeting .......

and added the flame to just one of the candles 

Check out the Perfectly CAS Challenge Blog for more fabulous repeat stamping ideas.

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

I'm hoping for some nice weather then we can spend some time in the garden.

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

Products used:

Butterfly card

Stamps: Tim Holtz Watercolor stamp set (Stampers Anonymous); Better With Age sentiments (Penny Black)

Inks: Distress Oxide Inks - Candid Apples, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Birthday Candles

Stamps: BIG & BOLD Wish (Uniko); Better With Age sentiments (Penny Black); Happy Birthday from a Happy Little Stampers stamp set which I think is now retired

Inks:  Distress Oxide Inks - as above; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Perfectly CAS Challenge #14 .......

Happy Wednesday ........

I hope you're enjoying your week.  It's been lovely here so far, Spring has finally arrived.  

The BBQ is back in action, the hot tub is up and running .... and the grass is growing!  Guess what I'll be doing later in the week!

It's time now though to get the next Perfectly CAS challenge underway.  It's challenge #14 and the theme this time is ...... WINGS

Before I share some inspiration, a quick reminder about the rules for this challenge.  We've noticed a few entries recently that don't quite fit the bill.  The main requirement for Perfectly CAS is ........ that you only use one third of your card space, or less. 

 

So, what is Clean and Simple (CAS)?   For me it's .........

• one main focal point
• Lots of white space
• minimal layers
• minimal embellishments

Of course one persons idea of CAS can be completely different to the next but, if you stick to using just one third of your card space you can't really go wrong.  Your cards will always be Perfectly CAS.

Check out the grid below ......

Divide your card space into thirds, use just one row/column and leave the other two blank ....... easy!   

Using my MISTI, I stamped the bee not quite in the centre of my card.  

With the card still in my MISTI ....... and I didn't remove the stamp ...... I added a touch of colour to the bee using Prismacolour pencils.  Because I hadn't removed the stamp, or my card, it was easy to re-stamped the image over the top of the pencil crayon, to put all the detail back in again

A tiny sentiment underneath and the card is done!

When using the one third rule, you don't have spend time measuring and getting everything exact ....... if you go over just a little bit that's fine.  

If you see below, my ink splatters have gone outside of my chosen third, but the overall design is still very CAS.  Splattering ink is not always easy to control!  I suppose I could have covered it up but, I didn't ...... oh well! 

You don't always have to use small stamps to create CAS cards ....... my favourite butterfly was a little too big to use in full so, I just stamped it off the edge

Smooshed some Distress Inks over the top and added in the splatters ......

I added a bit more colour with some coloured pencils, and a few gold highlights here and there, before finishing off with my sentiment.

Happy stamping!

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

Our little island is preparing to get back to some sort of normality.

Fingers crossed, we're hoping that from next Monday most, if not all of our current restrictions can be lifted ...... except for the borders I think.  We'll know more tomorrow but,  the kids will all be back at school on Monday ..... thank goodness.  Non-essential shops can open up again ........ yeah! and I believe that the hospitality trade will be back ..... whoo hoo!!   We've already booked a table at our favourite restaurant for Wednesday, so we're hoping for good news!  I'll keep you posted.

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Card 1

Stamps: Queen Bee Mini (IndigoBlu); Warrior (Tracey Hey) for the sentiment

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: Prismacolor pencils 

Card 2

Stamps: Perspective (Tim Holtz); Tiny Words (SSS)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Ink - Kitsch Flamingo, Cracked Pistachio

Other: Prismacolor pencils;  Gold gel pen

Challenge #13 at Perfectly CAS ........

Happy Sunday evening ......

I do hope you've enjoyed your weekend.  It's been Mother's Day here (another one in lockdown) so I hope all you lovely Mum's out there have had a fabulous day. 

It's time to get the next Perfectly CAS Challenge underway ...... you know, the one where you use one third of your card space.  

If you find the Clean and Simple (CAS) style hard to create, then using a third, or less, of your card space makes it really easy to leave all that white space.  Less is definitely more for this challenge!

It's challenge #13 and the theme is a nice easy one ....... Birthday!

You don't get much more Clean and Simple than this ....... and it's one layer too!!

I do love these stamp designs from Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Co., they're all sooo cute, especially the bunnies!

I stamped the bunny in the centre of my card, using a grey ink instead of black as I wanted a softer, more hand drawn look ........

I then used Faber Castel Polychromos colouring pencils to colour him in.  

I need to practice more using these. I love them but, I can sometimes be a bit heavy handed with them.  They do blend beautifully, and as you can see, the card I used has a little bit of texture to it and the colouring pencils have brought this out which I like, especially on the bunnies fur.

I stamped a sentiment from the same stamp set underneath, keeping everything in that centre third column of my card

And I finished with just a touch of shading underneath the bunny, just to ground him.

Now it's your turn.  Check out the Perfectly CAS Blog for more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and then join in the fun.  See you in gallery!

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

I'm off to put my feet up and enjoy a nice glass of something chilled ...... I've earned it!  

Cheers! ............ Happy Mother's Day xx

Products used:

Stamps:  Birthday Wishing (Anita Jeram stamps Colorado Craft Co)

Inks: Ranger Dye Ink - Cool Graphite; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Others: Faber Castel Polychromos colouring pencils 

Make a splash for the Perfectly CAS Challenge .......

Happy Sunday evening .......

And a Happy Valentine's Day to you 💖  I hope you've had a lovely day. 

It's time to get the next Perfectly CAS Challenge underway ...... you know the one, where you have to use just one third, or less, of your card space.

We're on Challenge #12 and the theme for this one is ........ Splash

I decided I'd go cute for this one ..... 

I started with a stencil and Distress Ink to create the look of waves along the bottom edge of my card

I added a touch of sparkle to the sea with some fine crystal glitter ........

....... and then stamped my sentiment just above the waves

The cute little dolphin was stamped onto a snippet of left over card, coloured using Distress Ink and a water brush, and then die cut using the matching dies

He was then attached onto the card with foam pads to add some dimension.  I also stamped the 'splash', coloured with the same Distress ink that I used for the stenciled sea and then added a layer of Glossy Accents over the top to give it a wet look (not sure this shows well in the photo, but trust me it's there).

So, how will you make a splash for this months challenge? ...... can't wait to see your designs in the gallery.

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

It's take away and movie night for us, with the little man.  We're working our way through The Hobbit films (again!) ..... Alex hasn't seen them before. We're on the second one this evening .... lets hope I can stay awake, we're watching the extended version!!

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

Products used:

Stamps: Friends with Fins stamps and matching dies (MFT); Sentiment from my stash

Stencil:  Waves stencil (SugarPea Designs)

Inks: Distress Inks -Tumbled Glass, Hickory Smoke (for the dolphin); Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine crystal glitter; Glossy Accents 

We're back!! .........

Happy Thursday ........

The weekend is in sight ......... whoo hoo!!  Not that weekends are any different than weekdays really when you're in lockdown!! 

For all you blog challenge fans out there, and if you love Clean and Simple (CAS) you'll be pleased to know that the Perfectly CAS (using one third or less) Challenge is back!

We've had a nice long break, and now we're raring to go.  

You'll see that the challenge blog has had a bit of a make over ...... ooohh! and we have some brand new designers joining the Design Team ....... a big welcome to Bozena, Charlotte (Lady Joyful), Darlene, and Joy  it's nice to have you on board.

So, we're starting the year with a nice easy theme for you ......... Stencils

If you're not familiar with the Perfectly CAS Challenge, it's all about using just one third (or less) of your card space ........ if you struggle creating CAS designs this makes it really easy!

Remember the rule of three .......... imagine your card in 3 sections across, and 3 sections top to bottom 

Now if you keep you design to just one of those three rows (top three, middle three or bottom three, or ..... left top to bottom, middle top to bottom or right top to bottom or, even either of the diagonals I suppose) you'll have used a third of your card leaving lots of lovely white space ..... does that make sense?  If not, check out the rules on the Perfectly CAS Blog 

Something like this maybe .......

I've used a stencil for the speech bubble with a couple of shades of Distress ink .......

Stamped my greeting inside .......

And then added in this cute little guy at the bottom ......

Stamped in Versafine Clair, and coloured using Distress inks and a waterbrush ....... really quick and easy.

He's from one of the Anita Jeram stamp sets from the Colorado Craft Company.  I managed to get my hands on a few sets before Christmas and this is the first time I've used one of them so, I'm linking this card up to January's NBUS Challenge. 

Don't forget keep your challenge entries CAS and follow the theme.  Can't wait to see you in the gallery.

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

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

Products used:

Stamps: Birthday Wishing (Anita Jeram - Colarado Craft Company); Birthday sentiments (Happy Little Stampers)

Stencils: Say What! (Funky Fossil)

Inks: Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade

Leave a little sparkle .........

Happy Sunday evening .......

I hope you've had a nice weekend.

It's time to launch the latest Perfectly CAS Challenge.  You know the one ...... CAS designs using just one third (or less) of the space on your card ..... easy!
Or maybe not.  Perhaps you struggle with Clean and Simple (CAS) designs ....... can't quite keep to the 'less is more' or, maybe all that white space is just a little too scary! Well, if you keep to the one third rule you really can't go wrong.  Check out the Perfectly CAS blog for lots of inspiration and fabulous CAS designs.

The theme for this challenge is ...... Sparkle

I do like a touch of sparkle ........whether it's from glitters or pretty gemstones, sparkly inks or even embossing powders.

I also have a thing for large sentiment stamps ..... perfect for creating CAS designs.

I simply stamped the words directly onto the front of my card using a gold metallic ink and keeping to that centre third of the card

I then sprinkled a sparkly gold embossing powder over the top and heat set ...... so pretty!

A few tiny gemstones and a splattering of gold and silver ink onto the background and I'm done ..... simple!

How will you add your sparkle?


A NOTE FOR ALL YOU PERFECTLY CAS FANS ......

Perfectly CAS will be taking a break after this challenge, but don't worry we'll be back again in the New Year.
Here's a little note from the lady that does all the hard work ........

A QUICK NOTE TO OUR REGULARS

We are going on hiatus after our June Challenges. After 8 years of running challenge blogs, I need a break :) So, all my challenge blogs will be having a 6 month holiday at the close of the June challenges. Thank you for your understanding!

Kylie

We've been out in the motorhome again this weekend ..... down in the south of the island this time.  We've had a lovely, quiet weekend ....... well, apart from when the family came to visit on Saturday!! We've been at a place called Glendown Farm Campsite, inbetween Port St. Mary and Port Erin.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon so we've had three nights there. The weather wasn't great but it didn't spoil our fun.  It rained Thursday evening and some of Friday ....... but we did manage a walk into Port Erin once the rain stopped (I needed some new jigsaws!)
Saturday was completely different though ..... it was glorious! 
As I said, the family came to visit us .... to eat mainly!  And I actually did an online journaling workshop with Tracy Scott in the morning, in the van!!

I didn't make any mess either, which was a bonus!

Last week wasn't great so it was nice to get away for a while and just chill for a few days.
I won't go into too much detail but ...... my father-in-law passed away on Wednesday.  We knew it was going to happen at some point but, that doesn't prepare you for when the call actually comes. And because of all the travel restrictions etc., at the moment we haven't been able to get across to the UK yet.  Hopefully we can sort everything next week and be there for the funeral.

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: Leave a Little Sparkle (STAMPlorations)
Inks: Golden Glitz, Silvery Shimmer Metallic Inks (Delicata)
Others: Unicorn Magic Embossing Powder (WOW!)