STAMPlorations CAS Challenge .......

Happy Thursday ......

The weekend is almost here ..... have you got anything nice planned?  Me ..... I'll be spending most of it packing I think.  Just a few bits and bobs to finish off in the craft room, then it's time to pack it all into boxes ready for the move.

Today, it's time for a quick reminder of this month's STAMPlorations CAS Card challenge ......

The theme, as always, is Anything Goes with the optional colour twist this month of ..... SILVER

I've used the colour twist for my sentiment ...... heat embossed one the stamps from the STAMPlorations  Typografia range
I do love these stamps, there's some fabulous words and phrases suitable for all kinds of projects.  The one I've used here is called Plan A ........

I stamped it onto white card, heat embossed in silver and then die cut around it with a stitched circle die from my stash.

Leaving the die in place I added a touch of colour over the words using Distress Ink.  Leaving the die means that you get this crisp white edges around the design ...... it gives the look of layering without having to use the cardstock.

I used the CUTplorations Upper Case Alphabet Plate Die to cut the letters for the background and attached  them randomly around the edges of a piece of white cardstock.  I love doing this, it gives such a great effect, it looks like embossed card almost

I also added a few to the inside too ......

You can find all the challenge details over on the STAMPlorations Blog along with lots more inspiration from the rest of the DT .... why not pop over and take a look.

Happy stamping!

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Little Monsters ......

Happy Thursday ......

Finally I'm feeling a little better today .... throat's still sore but at least my appetite is coming back!

I've got another challenge for you today ...... the STAMPlorations CAS Card Challenge

The theme is Anything Goes ...... it has to be CAS (Clean and Simple) though, and as always there is an optional colour twist.  To get 2018 started we've gone with ....... SILVER

I've got a little fun design for you this time ..... perfect for all our little monsters!

I've used both the Big Monsters stamp set (for the sentiment), and the Little Monsters for the cute little monster robot

I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in silver onto a piece of white card ......

Stamped the little monster onto a seperate piece of card, heat embossed again in silver and then fussy cut him (or her)

I added some colour using ZIG markers and then attached him to the card just above the sentiment.
I used a small piece of folded acetate that acts like a spring so that the monster actually moves

A few stamped accents from the Little Monsters set add a little more detail to the background, along with a few splatters of gold and silver ink ......

The piece of card was edged with a silver pen before attaching it to the front of a 7x5 inch cardblank, and I had to add another little monster to the inside too ....

Now it's over to you ...... Happy Stamping!

You can find all the challenge details on the HERE on the STAMPlorations blog along with more CAS inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.

Don't forget there's still time to grab a bargain in the STAMPlorations New Year Sale, check out the website for all the details.

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

I'm starting to feel a little better today, thank goodness.  The bug is on it's way out I think .... I hope!
I've finally made a start on taking all the Christmas decorations down.  The kitchen, the dining area, the hallways and the doors are all done.  Just the tree to do now ..... this could take a while!

Cheerio until next time ......

Not long now .......

Happy Thursday ......

Only four more sleeps until the big day ..... that's come around fast!!!  We're getting there with all the preparations ..... slowly, but the list is getting shorter.

One family who have had a very special delivery this Christmas is the Russ family.  Baby Winter Rainbow came into the world yesterday ...... and she's an adorable addition to the STAMPlorations family.  Huge Congratulations to Shery and the family ...... Kat has a baby sister, the best Christmas present ever!!

Speaking of STAMPlorations, it's time for my last challenge piece of 2017 ........ for the STAMPlorations CAS Card challenge

The theme is Anything Goes ..... anything CAS that is.  There's also the optional colour twist, and for December that colour is ......... GOLD

Another of the STAMPlorations Typografia stamps ...... Most Wonderful Time.  If you're anything like me you'll be singing along now ....... sorry!

I've stamped using Versamark ink, and then heat embossed in gold ..... simple

I've then die cut the phrase using one of the CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Rectangle Dies

And attached it to the front of my card using foam pads

To finish off I added a couple of holly leaves punched from glitter card and coloured using my Copic Markers ...... as I didn't have any green glitter card I had to use white instead.  The Copic Markers do a great job of adding colour to the glitter without taking any of the sparkle away.

So that's it ..... all my Design Team inspiration pieces for 2017 are all done! 
It's been another fabulous year ..... thank you to everyone for your support.  Here's to another year of challenge fun in 2018.

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off out for a little bit of late night shopping to get the last of the stocking fillers.

Have a lovely Christmas and New Year.

Cheerio until next time ....

STAMPlorations CAS Card Challenge .......

Happy Thursday .......

It's the 7th day of December and on the blog today ........ is the launch of the final STAMPlorations CAS Card challenge of the year

Usual theme of Anything Goes, and the perfect optional colour twist this month is ........ GOLD

I do like these Typografia stamps, they're perfect for making CAS cards ..... quick and easy too. 
Use the phrases on their own on your cards, they're a great size and look fab, or add a little more detail to the background as I've done here .......

I stamped the snowflakes first using Gold and Silver metallic inks .......

then I stamped the phrase over the top, and heat embossed it in gold

The Christmas phrases are lovely with gorgeous detail.  This is one of my favourites from the range ........Like Christmas

Check out the STAMPlorations Blog for all the challenge information and details of the prizes. You'll also find more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team on there today too.

Don't forget ..... there's a great Holiday Sale going on in the STAMPlorations store ..... Dec 1st to 31st.

 
Grab yourself some bargains while you can ..... call it an early Christmas present! 

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

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!

All things are possible .......

Happy Thursday to you .....

And Welcome to November!  It's going to be a busy one!

A new month means new challenge themes, so let's get things started with this month's STAMPlorations CAS Card challenge

As always the theme is Anything CAS Goes ..... with an optional colour twist.  As you can see this month that colour is ..... BROWN

Bit of a tough one for me this ....... the CAS part I can do, but the colour twist ..... hmmm
I think Kraft card can be classed as brown don't you!

This design is using one of the fabulous STAMPlorations Typographia stamps ....... it's called With Coffee, I don't know about you but I need my morning coffee!!

I simply stamped and heat embossed the words onto a piece of cream cardstock using a copper embossing powder ....... I do think this makes a nice change from the usual gold or silver

Look at the shine when the light hits it .......

I then stamped the coffee pot from the What's Brewing set underneath, using a brown ink

And added a thin layer of Glossy Accents to the pot

I think this should go in a frame and hang over my workdesk!!

Don't forget there's prizes up for grabs ...... a £10 Gift Certificate for the challenge winner and £5 gift certificates for each of the Top Picks.
And ..... if we get over 50 entries into the challenge, then one randomly chosen person gets to choose either a 3x5 stamp set ..... OR 2 standard sized stencils ...... OR 1 CUTplorations word/phrase die.

You can enter up to three CAS cards ....... you don't need to use the colour twist ....... and you're OK to use non-STAMPlorations products ...... so why not join in the fun.

Oooh .... nearly forgot ..... if you do want to shop in the STAMPlorations store then why not use my special discount code.
Once you're at the checkout, if you enter the code STAMPGIRLLINDA you'll get a 20% discount on your order!

I said it's going to be a busy month ...... what with all my regular stuff, Blog challenges, a workshop in the middle of the month  (we're going have fun getting inky with that one!)  Christmas deadlines to meet with commissioned projects, a couple of lunches out with the girls ...... and ........ a trip to the UK for a craft retreat ...... November is going to fly by!!

Yes .... this time next week,  we will be on our last trip of the year.  I'm off to Manchester for a craft retreat weekend with the Happy Little Stampers crew, and hubby's coming along, not to the retreat, no, he's going to be spending the weekend with the lads!   We're going to catch up with family and
I'm also hoping to fit in a spot of Christmas shopping whilst we're over there ...... well the Christmas parties and festive do's get underway soon ....... and you can guarantee I'll have nothing to wear!!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and Happy Stamping!

Cheerio until next time ......

Are you playing along with the STAMPlorations CAS challenge .....

Happy Thursday ......

It's time for a quick reminder of this month's STAMPlorations CAS Card Challenge.  We're getting back into the swing of things after our summer break.

As always the theme is Anything Goes ..... anything CAS that is, and don't forget there's always an optional colour twist.  For October's challenge that colour is ..... Orange 

Here's a fun design for you that could be used for so many different occasions ...... big birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby cards or, new job perhaps.

I've used the CUTplorations Word Art Die ....... Congrats as my focal point on the card, it's a great size and it says it all!
I simply used the die and cut a piece of white card that would become my card front, and also cut it from a piece of coloured card from my stash.  This was a leftover piece from a previous project, coloured using the watercolour tissue technique .......

use Distress inks and water to colour plain tissue paper, once dry scrunch up the tissue, open out and stick onto a piece of white card leaving the creases in.  When the glue is completely dry lightly rub over the top of the creases with a Versamark ink pad, sprinkle with embossing powder and then heat set ....... I used gold on this piece

The coloured die cut was then inlaid into the white card and I finished off by adding a few stamped images from the STAMPlorations Balloons and Banners set

and a few dots of glitter glue

This is another of those designs that will look totally different depending on the colours you use .....  a great little die to add to your stash.

Speaking of stash ..... don't forget if you are shopping in the STAMPlorations store use my special code at the checkout ........ STAMPGIRLLINDA ...... and you can get 20% discount on your order.

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

I must confess this is a scheduled post as I'm probably still out today with the girls.
We were meeting for coffee this morning, which will have probably run into lunch somewhere, followed by a little retail therapy.
It was also the big Christmas launch down at the garden centre last night too.  I couldn't make it so we may just have popped in there on the way home ..... finish the day with a little sparkle!

Cheerio until next time ...... 

Hello CAS fans ..... We're Back!!!!

Happy Thursday ......

And welcome to the STAMPlorations CAS Card challenge.  Have you missed us?
Well .... we're back after our summer break ...... all refreshed and raring to go.  Are you ready to create those CAS designs?

Rules are the same as before ..... it's Anything Goes (CAS that is) and as always there's an optional colour twist.  For the month of October that colour is ..... ORANGE

Not a colour I tend to use except at this time of year ..... orange works so well with all those autumnal shades.

For my inspiration piece for you today I've used a technique I came across from the lovely Jennifer McGuire ...... split colouring.
This is a great little technique because you can create two cards at the same time by mixing and matching the pieces

Using my MISTI I stamped the gorgeous STAMPlorations Blossom Spray #2 first onto a piece of orange cardstock using Versamark ink and heat embossed the image with a clear powder.
I then stamped the image again, this time onto a piece of white card with black Versafine ink and heat embossed in the clear again.
Using the MISTI to do the stamping means that I get the image in the exact same position on both pieces of cardstock ...... so that when I chop them down the stamped images match up perfectly ....

I coloured the flowers using ZIG Markers and a water brush to blend the colours

I then cut both pieces of card in the same place and pieced together the top part of the white card with the bottom of the coloured.
A simple strip of black and white card hides the join and gives a neat finish.

A simple sentiment and a few splatters of ink across the background and we're done!

So .... will you use the colour twist, or not? 
The challenge linky will remain open until the end of the month, and you can enter up to three times.  You don't have to use STAMPlorations products to enter ... although it's great if you do! And you can find full details of the challenge ..... the rules, prizes etc., if you click HERE

It is nice to be back!

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

Cheerio until next time ....