A little bit of playtime in my journal ........

Happy Tuesday ......

Well March is done and dusted .......... Hello April!  

We've got Easter to look forward to this month, a nice long weekend.  And, we're off on another adventure in the motorhome in a couple of weeks so I need to get things ready for that.  Fingers crossed the weather gets better before then ...... it's been quite the mixed bag here the last few days.  

One minute we're sat in the garden enjoying a lovely BBQ in nice warm sunshine then, a few days later ........ it's brrrrrr! back to freezing temperatures and SNOW would you believe!

I knew I shouldn't have changed my wardrobe over quite so soon ..... I needed my woolies again at the weekend.    Oh well, summer is hopefully on the way, it just may take a while to get here.  Now where did I put my boots!

It seems like it's taking me a while to get back to normal in the craft room too.  

I had to take a break last week from all the DT stuff ......... you know how it is, when nothing seems to go right.   The harder you try, the faster the rubbish bin fills up ........ it was not a happy place to be at all.  So, I decided to try playing in my journal, catch up with a workshop or two, and see if I could finish off a few half done pages to see if that helped.

A fabulous Tracy Scott online workshop seemed to do the trick .......... 5 very relaxing days, using nothing but a stencil, and coloured pencils ........ what do you think?

Meet Joseph ........ the Cat of Many Colours, and he was so much fun to create.

All hand drawn in one of my Dylusions journals using one of Tracy's shapes stencils, and then coloured with Prismacolor pencils

A few highlights with a white gel pen adds the finishing touch ......

I love him!

I've had my Prismacolor pencils for years and never really used them that much.  I found them quite hard to work with, and sharpening them was a nightmare ..... they're quite soft so you have to be careful.  But, after doing a couple of workshops with Tracy, and purchasing a new pencil sharpener, I am getting better with them, although I have a long way to go! 

I love how they blend, you have to have a bit of patience as it does take time but, the more you do it the quicker you get.  And the colours are so bright and vibrant, even on coloured cardstock.  Joseph above was done on Kraft card and he took 4 of the 5 online workshop sessions to complete so, on the 5th day we got to do a bonus project, which I drew onto grey card this time ........ still using the same stencil to create the shapes

I've still not got around to colouring it in yet ..... maybe I'll take it with me when we go away in the van!

If you haven't tried any of Tracy's online workshops give one a go, they are so much fun and so easy to follow.  Check out her Facebook page ........ Tracy Scott Creative Cafe for all the details.

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

Cheerio until next time .......

 

CAS Christmas Challenge ........

Happy Saturday .......

Thank goodness it's the weekend.

I'm going a little festive again today with another card for this month's  CAS Christmas Challenge ...... 

This little guy has been sat patiently all week waiting to be blogged.

I love this JOFY snowman ........ he's simply stamped and heat embossed in white, onto a piece of Kraft cardstock (I do like white on Kraft!)

I used Prismacolor pencils to colour him in, with a few touches of ZIG marker here and there (his carrot nose, arms, the band on his hat, and the tiny holly leaves)

I added a touch of sparkle to the baubles with a sprinkling of fine crystal glitter ...... everyone needs sparkly baubles at Christmas!

The sentiment sits nicely underneath .......

And to finish, I added a few dots of falling snow using a white gel pen, and I also doodled a stitched border around the edge 

 

I must admit I'm not really thinking about Christmas at the moment, not with the week I'm having!  

Now, you know me, I don't mind change ....... but really! ........ this week (sigh!) ........ it's been doing my head in!!!

  

Monday ....... I was getting in the holiday mood,  making plans for our first big adventure in the van. 

 

Tuesday (morning) ......... I get an email from our landlord to say he's putting the house on the market!  Funnily enough we've been looking at property recently and thinking about moving (again!) ..... itchy feet and all that but, suddenly it's become more of a reality. 

 OK, that's not a problem, we've done it before .... time for another clear out!

Tuesday (pm) ........ we had seen a house that we quite liked the look of, so hubby rang and made arrangements to view.

In the meantime I'm making many lists, and starting to prep the van.

Wednesday ....... government press conference is tomorrow with regards to border changes etc.  

The plan was our borders were hopefully being opened fully on June 28th, for both residents and non-residents, with all restrictions being lifted.  

However, because of the new Delta variant being in the UK, and infection numbers on the rise again, we knew that there was a good chance that this would not be happening.  

It was announced that government were proposing that our borders would remain as they are at the moment except that people who had had both of their vaccinations (both IOM residents and non- residents) would be allowed to travel freely to and from the island, assuming they had had their vaccines at least two weeks before arriving here ...... they're calling it the 2+2 stage!

OK that's fine ..... hubby and I are having our second vaccine on Monday next week,  only a week before we are due to travel I know,  but we checked and that's fine, it just means that we would still have to isolate when we came back, and get a test on day 2.  Not a problem. we could do that.

So at this point we're still going on our trip (yeah!), viewing a possible new house and, something else we've been looking forward to ......... we had a table booked in the evening at the new Japanese restaurant in Castletown

I say new, it's been open a while now you just can't get a table is so busy!  And after eating there I can understand why ....... the food is amazing!

We had a lovely meal ........ the little man tried everything ....... even the sashimi!

He was braver than me ...... I like my food cooked!  Sushi I can eat, but not sashimi.  I did try the eel though ....... still deciding about that one

We will definitely be back ..... when we can get a table!

So, we get to Thursday and we go to view this property we've found ........... it's perfect! 

Now the current property market on the island is moving very quickly so we decided to put the wheels in motion with a view to moving sooner rather that later.  But hey!  aren't we're going off island for two weeks soon?  When would I pack up the current house!!!!???  And then, there's the possibility of having to isolate when we come back, I could pack up everything then I suppose.  But of course there's a worse case scenario ....... what if we test positive!!!!  OMG!!! More isolation.  

Now we have many decisions to make .......... I don't know if I'm coming or going. 

Friday was just a blur ..... I can't think straight anymore! 

I do think the sensible thing to do is put off the van trip, and concentrate on the move, assuming everything goes according to plan of course!

There's going to be a few of these over this weekend ...... well it is Fathers' Day on Sunday

Thanks for popping by ..... sorry about the long post!  Enjoy your weekend

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stamps: JOFY 58 (PaperArtsy)

Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: White fine detail Embossing Powder (WOW!); Prismacolor pencils; ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Fine Crystal Glitter; Quickie Glue Pen; White Gel Pen 

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

A little reminder for February's Craft Stamper Challenge ......

Good morning,

Happy Valentine's Day ....... mwah!

I got woken with a nice cup of tea this morning ..... red roses ...... a beautiful handmade card and the promise of a fabulous day.  No! wait ....... I was dreaming!
What really happened was ...... I was the one up early,  woke hubby up with a nice cuppa, as I do every morning, and he got warm, freshly baked croissants this morning!

    Happy Valentines darling ...... love you!

I'm here this morning to remind you about this month's Craft Stamper Challenge ...... have you played along yet?  Maybe you made your loved one a Valentine's card ...... if there's rubber stamping on there then it's perfect for our February challenge.
The theme is Anything Goes so, cards, journal pages, an ATC perhaps, or even a piece of home decor is fine.  As long as you've done some actually rubber stamping on your project, then you're good to go.

How about a little concertina card ....... made using some gorgeous stamps, by Tracy Scott for PaperArtsy

Finished size is approximately 6x4 inches, folded.
I used a landscape A5 sized cardblank for my base ..... scored each side down the middle and then folded concertina style.

Here's the inside ......

and the outside, or if you'd rather ..... the front and back

I cut all my cardstock before I started and then coloured the pieces I needed to stamp on to.
I used Distress Oxides and the acetate smooshing technique to apply the main colour on the backgrounds .....

Blended more colours around the edges with brushes, and finished with a few ink splatters

Everything was stamped using black ink .......

and I heat emossed the flowers with a clear embossing powder.

The heat embossing made it a little easier when colouring the large blooms ..... the embossing acts as a resist to my Prismacolor pencils, leaving the image crisp and clean

Everything was mat and layered, and then attached front and back on each of the folded sections

I added some seambinding ribbon to the back of the end section, long enough to wrap around the card and secure it with a bow.
I'd coloured the ribbon using the Distress Oxide inks so that everything co-ordinated nicely.

There's a fab prize this month for the Challenge Winner ...... just look at that printing plate and fab stencil (I think I need to look for those!)

Don't forget we also have a Design Winner, chosen by the DT.  They get their winning project published across a double page spread in the Craft Stamper magazine, a Winner's Profile on the Blog and an invitation to be a Guest Designer on the Challenge.

To be in with a chance of winning either prize you MUST follow the challenge guidelines.  There's not many don't worry but, we have been finding lately that quite a few entries have had to be excluded unfortunately, when deciding on a winner.  This is such a shame ....... so, before you link up your entry please read the guidelines, you can find them all HERE on the Craft Stamper Blog but, here's just a quick checklist

• Entries MUST have stamping on them, stamping created with a polymer or rubber stamp.
• Entries MUST only contain ONE project in the post. Not a set, not a group, not variations on a theme. Just ONE project.
• Entries MUST mention Craft Stamper and link back to the current Challenge Post
• Only THREE (separate, NOT in the same post ) entries per person in total please.

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ..... have a lovely day
I'm going to spend mine in the craft room I think ...... there's a busy week coming up!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:
Stamps: ETS29, ETS30, & ETS31 stamps by Tracy Scott for PaperArtsy
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Oxide Inks - Worn Lipstick, Weather Wood, Tumbled Glass, Wilted Violet; White Acrylic Paint and Delicata Golden Glitz ink for the splatters
Others: Clear Embossing Powder (WOW!); Prismacolor Pencils, White seambinding

Guest Designer of this year's 12 Tags of Christmas with Loll and Friends

Happy Wednesday evening ......

Yes it's me again!   As you all probably know by now, and if you don't then where have you been?!!!! ....... it's the time of year when the lovely Loll Thompson hosts her 12 Tags of Christmas with Loll & Friends

It's year number 5 for this fun event, but sadly, this is the final one.
So, whether you're a regular to this event or, you've never played along before, this year is your last chance!

We're at Day 10, and there's been some amazing tags so far ..... so much gorgeous inspiration. Check out the blog ......  I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

As you know I've been playing along all week, but today, I'm thrilled to say it's my turn to be Guest Designer ...... thanks for having me again!

 

When Loll invited me to share in the event, this little guy had just appeared in the craft room. 
He's called Bundled Up ..... he's from Penny Black ....... and he's just sooo cute!!! I love him .... can you tell!

I've stamped him here onto Kraft cardstock using Distress Oxide inks and I think he looks fab!

I did use my MISTI,  stamped one colour at a time,  and built up the image gradually. 
So, I stamped the hat and his eyes with Black Soot, added the holly and the berries using Peeled Paint and Festive Berries, his carrot nose with Carved Pumpkin,  then I did the scarf with the red again ..... you see what I mean.

Once I was happy with the depth of colour, a quick blast with the old heat tool to make sure the ink was dry, and then I went over the top of the inks using Prismacolor Pencils in the same shades, to give a more solid, detailed look

To colour his face and body I used PaperArtsy's Snowflake Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint mixed with a little water, and finished with a white Prisma pencil over the top.

I heat embossed the sentiment across the bottom ......

A little bit of white ink dusted around the edges of the tag, lots of chunky white embossing powder to give the snowy effect, and some crystal glitter for a little icy sparkle to finish.

 
The festive red berries are Nuvo drops ......

I've had so much fun playing along with all the 12 tags events ..... thank you again Loll, for having me as one of your Guest Designers ..... it's been an absolute pleasure.

I do hope you can join in the fun, and make this final event the best one ever!
Full details, and a list of prizes up for grabs can be found over on Loll's Blog.

There's still lots of time to play along.  I know we're nearly at the end of the 12 Days of inspiration tags but, the actual link where you can add your own tag is open until November 23rd.

Happy stamping!

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Warm hands ..... Warm heart

Happy Thursday ........

I'm back!!!  and I thought last week was busy!! 

Welcome to the first of two posts today ....... first up it's time for a little more inspiration for this month's STAMPlorations CAS Card challenge

Anything CAS goes with the optional colour twist ....... and this month, that's BROWN

I think Kraft card is about as brown as I get!  

This was so quick and easy to do ...... great if you're like me and still have all your Christmas cards to make ..... well, nearly all of them!  

Both the winter mittens .... how cute are those! 

and the sentiment, are from the STAMPlorations Warm Hands, Warm Heart stamp set.

I've simply stamped them onto Kraft card and heat embossed in white, then coloured the mittens with Prismacolor pencils.

This is a great little stamp set, cute festive images and great sentiments.  There's also a co-ordinating set of dies too so if you don't like fussy cutting you don't need to, the dies will cut out the images for you.

I added a sprinkling of chunky white embossing powder ......

and finished off with a little bit of faux stitching around the edge

Told you it was quick and easy.

Check out the STAMPlorations blog for all the challenge details, and you'll also find more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team on there too.

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

It's been all go again this week although to be fair, Monday was a write-off.  We only got back on the island at 5.45AM!  so I just went straight to bed, and didn't wake up until after lunch.  

And I did go AWOL yesterday ..... it had to be done, one of my crafty friends is having a BIG birthday this weekend (Happy Birthday Gill!) and she's away, so we all had lunch with her yesterday and got the celebrations started early.

I will share more about my weekend away once everything has settled down a little ...... though I will just say I had a great time on the retreat ...... and it was nice to catch up with the family too.

Cheerio until next time ........ you won't have to wait too long!