Day 17 ..... the STAMPlorations Things With Wings Blog Hop

Happy Thursday ......

We're over half way through May already ..... doesn't time fly!  That also means we're half way through our month long Things With Wings Blog Hop and Linky Parties over on the STAMPlorations Blogs.  Have you played along yet?

All through May, the STAMPlorations girls are showcasing projects with the theme ..... Things With Wings 
Today we have a reminder for you from the CAS Card Challenge girls .......  pretty Clean and Simple designs featuring of course, Things With Wings.

Here's a really quick and easy design using one of my favourite techniques ..... inlaid die cutting/hidden sentiment .....

I stamped my butterflies onto a piece of white cardstock using Distress Oxide inks ...... I love how these inks stamp, they pick up all the detail, great coverage too!

This is one of the images from the STAMPlorations Trendy Butterflies set.

Using the CUTplorations 'happy' word die, I cut the sentiment across the butterflies.  I also cut it from plain white card and a co-ordinating purple card.
The plain white one was inlaid back into the stamped card along with all the bits you would normally throw away, from the word cut out of the stamped card (the little bits inside the p's)

Next I layered the purple happy on top of the white one, followed by the one cut across the buttlerflies as the top layer.
This completes the stamped images again and also adds a touch of dimension

A few dots of  Nuvo Crystal Drops here and there add the finishing touch.

Check out the STAMPlorations Blog for all the details of the hop, how to play along and link your projects, and of course lots more amazing inspiration from the rest of the DT girls.  Don't forget there are prizes along the way too!

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
It's been lovely here .... we've got blue skies and the sun is shining.  Lets hope it lasts, because this time next week final preparations will be underway for the start of this years Isle Of Man TT
Yes there's only 8 days to go before the excitement begins!

Cheerio until next time .....

Day 15 of the STAMPlorations Things With Wings Blog Hop .....

Happy Tuesday ......

I hope your week is off to a great start .
It's time for a quick reminder of this months STAMPlorations Things with Wings Blog Hop and Linky Parties.

The STAMPlorations girls have all got together for a month long celebration of Spring and Things with Wings.

Today its the turn of the TAGplorations team.  To play along here you need to create a project that is a tag or, has a tag/s on it. Don't forget the Things With Wings part either.

I've gone for butterflies today ....... on a simple tag

I cut the tag from smooth watercolour card, using the largest size of the TAGplorations Manila Tags Nesting dies

I then applied various colours of Distress Inks (blues and pink shades) to the back of the ARTplorations Shower of Flutters stencil, spritzed over the ink with water and then laid the stencil, ink side down, onto the tag

I gave the stencil a quick press down using a paper towel ....... this also mops up any excess ink and water ....... and then gently lifted the stencil off the tag, leaving the butterflies in this pretty watercolour effect behind

Once it was dry, I stamped the words over the top using Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink   I left my tag to dry naturally but, you could use a heat tool to speed things up if you don't like waiting 

I also heat embossed the sentiment with a clear powder ..... this makes the ink colour a little more intense.  This fab sentiment is called All Your Heart from the STAMPlorations Say it Big series

A few ink splatters here and there, and a couple of shimmery sequins and a few dots of glitter glue adds some sparkle to the tag ......

And to finish off, I inked around the edges with a little Wilted Violet Distress Oxide and added a bow from ribbon dyed using the same inks I'd used to colour the butterflies.

Hop over to the STAMPlorations Blog for more Things With Wings inspiration and all the details on how to play along and join in with the Linky party ..... there's prizes up for grabs!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off back to the craft room, finding room to put my new goodies that came home with me from the Happy Stampers show at Port Sunlight last weekend.
What a fab day we had ...... we laughed and chatted all day.  It was so nice to catch up with everyone, some I only see once a year at this event!  I even managed to find time to shop ......

Now I need to find time to play with it all.

Cheerio until next time ......

STAMPlorations CAS Card challenge is joining in with the Blog Hop ....

Hello again ......

How's your Thursday going?
It's time for the STAMPlorations CAS girls to join in the fun for the Things With Wings Blog Hop and Linky Party

All the STAMPlorations teams are joining together for a month long Blog Hop ..... that's 31 days filled with winged-themed spring projects.  All five challenges will have the same theme for the month of May ...... Things With Wings and you can play along as many times as you like.

It's the turn of CAS today .......

I've used one of the birds from the Fowl Play stamp set, from the Bees Knees range, along with the balloons from Balloons and Banners, and one of the sentiments from Birds of Paradise ..... all of which are available on the STAMPlorations website

I stamped the bird onto a piece of white cardstock along with the balloons making sure they overlapped the beak ......

I stamped the bird again onto a separate piece of card, coloured him, and the balloons on the card, using Distress Inks and then fussy cut around the body of the bird before attaching it over the stamped image .....

This cuts out the need to fussy cut the legs!!! and also makes it look like he's holding the balloons in his beak
You can see I also stamped the wing again, fussy cut it and attached it using a foam pad for dimension.

The sentiment was stamped in the same colours of Distress that I'd used for the balloons ....

and I added another little bird on the inside .....

Hop along and join in the fun ....... there's prizes to be won

•  a $15 Gift Certificate for the winner, voted by the DT
•  and two randomly chosen winners of a $5 Gift Certificate each

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
We're off out this evening.  We're off to the Villa to see the Magic of Motown with some friends.  It should be a fun night!

There may be a little Dancing in the Street going on ..... everything will be Signed, Sealed, Delivered and there Ain't No Mountain High Enough!  
Sorry ...... I love Motown!!  Takes me back to when I used to go night clubbing.

Cheerio until next time ......

Things with Wings Blog Hop and Linky Party

Hello again .....

I said it was going to be a busy month ..... what with new releases, the usual Blog challenges, a workshop, trip across to the UK for my favourite craft show and of course we've got the Isle of Man TT in a little over 3 weeks.   Get all that over with, and we're off on holiday again!

But first it's time to get this month's Blog challenges underway.
This is going to be fun. We're starting May with the STAMPlorations Things With Wings Blog Hop and Linky Parties
All of the STAMPlorations girls are joining forces for ONE, month long Blog Hop.  That's 31 days of Blog hopping fun, celebrating Spring and Anything with Wings!

Why not join in the fun, it's easy ....... create a winged-themed project and link it up to one, or all of the STAMPlorations challenges.
All the challenges are back to their usual launch dates, it's just we'll all have the same theme .... Things with Wings
The TAGplorations team are getting things started,  and to play along here you need to create a tag, or a project with a tag (or tags) on it somewhere, and don't forget those 'wings'

I put my tag on a card ....... a simple tag, cut from plain white cardstock using the CUTplorations Manila Tag Nesting Dies.
I then coloured the tag using Distress Oxide inks ....... swiped directly onto the tag then blended with a baby wipe, before stamping with the STAMPlorations Trendy Leaves using the same colours of Oxide inks, to create the look of layers.

I added some splatters to the background and used the edge of an old credit card to put a little more detail on there with some lines of white paint

The birds were cut from a snippet of coloured card from my scrap box, using the CUTplorations For the Birds dies  and again from plain white cardstock.

I cut the branch off the coloured version leaving just the birds, and I coloured just the branch on the white one.
I brushed around the edges of the birds with a little Vintage Photo Distress ink to give them a bit more definition, before layering them onto the white die cut, sitting them back on their branch.

The sentiment is from the co-ordinating For the Birds stamp set 

Now it's your turn .... what will you create?
If you link up a project you'll be in with a chance of winning some fab prizes ......

• $15 Gift Certificate for the winner, voted for by the Design Team and
• two randomly chosen winners of a $5 Gift Certificate each.

You can link up as many projects as you like, just remember to follow the rules for each challenge. And make sure that each entry has it's own Blog post. You don't have to use STAMPlorations products by the way ..... but it would be great if you did!

Happy hopping!

We're definitely celebrating Spring here at the moment, the weather has been beautiful for the last few days and we've been making the most of it.  Well we did get some new garden furniture at the weekend so it would have been a shame not to use it ........

It's been BBQ every evening ......... it's great, hubby won't let me near to do any cooking, all I have to do is brush it clean when he's finished ....... pity it doesn't work like that in the kitchen!

I did do this though ........

Spicy bourbon marinated beef rib ..... slow cooked on a low heat. Yum!!!

There's no cooking for me tonight either ....... we're on the leftovers this evening, after a nice G&T in the garden I think ......

Lauren brought us this back from her trip to the Lake District ..... Grasmere Gingerbread (possibly THE best gingerbread in the world!) and a new gin to try ...... cheers!

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

Cheerio until next time ....

Final day of the STAMPlorations Blog Hop .......

Happy Wednesday to you ......

And welcome to the final day of the Things With Wings Blog Hop and Linky Party with the STAMPlorations girls.

We've spent the last 3 weeks celebrating Spring and showcasing winged themed projects each week using stamps, stencils and dies from the fab STAMPlorations range.  Have you joined in with the fun yet?

Don't worry there's still time ..... the Blog Hop and Linky party is open until April 30th.  To be in with a chance of winning one of the great prizes up for grabs all you need to do is hop along through the blogs and leave a comment or .... why not create your own winged themed project and link it to the party.
Full details and a list of prizes can be found on the STAMPlorations Blog.

So .... Things with Wings ....... for me, that means butterflies! And I love these designs from the Winged Things stamp set from the Bees Knees range at STAMPlorations.

I smooshed some Distress Ink (Salty Ocean) onto a piece of white cardstock using the acetate smoosh technique, stamped the words in the centre from the Noteworthy 2 stamp set, and then added the butterflies to frame the sentiment.

I used more Distress Inks, Mustard Seed and Cracked Pistachio this time, to add colour to the butterflies and I gave each one a quick coat of shimmer using a clear Wink of Stella pen

I used the same techniques on the inside of the card too ......

I hope you've enjoyed the Blog Hop ..... we've certainly had fun.
Happy hopping!

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

It's been a busy week here trying to catch up with lots of DT stuff, and I've got a workshop at the weekend, so preparation for that is well underway.  At least it keeps me out of mischief!

Cheerio until next time .....

Things with Wings ......

Happy Wednesday ......

Fancy a Blog Hop?  Well you're in luck.  Today sees the start of the STAMPlorations Things With Wings Blog Hop and Linky Party with the STAMPlorations girls.

And it's a big one!  It all gets underway today and runs through to April 30th.  That's 25 days of Springtime fun, showcasing lots of gorgeous new winged-themed projects from the STAMPlorations girls every Wednesday.  Birds, butterflies, dragonflies they'll all be there ..... on cards, ATC's, Tags you name it.

You can join in the fun too ..... hop along with us and leave comments along the way, or why not even create a spring project with a wings theme and link it up to the party.   You could win one of the fabulous prizes up for grabs.  There's stamps and dies, and gift certificates to be won .... full details and a list of all the prizes can be found over on the STAMPlorations Blog

OK lets get this party started ......

A nice CAS design using one of the latest stamp releases from STAMPlorations ........ Flutter Zen Row, and a brand new CUTplorations word die ........ hello sunshine

I simply stamped the Butterflies across a piece of white cardstock, and then added colour to the background around the butterflies using Zig Clean Color Markers and a waterbrush

I die cut the words from the coloured card, and again from a plain piece of white card.  I inlaid the white die cut into the coloured card and then layered the coloured version on the top giving the look of a hidden message, but with a touch of dimension.

A few splatters of ink onto the background ........

And I stamped the butterflies again on the inside of the card .......

Don't forget ....... there's those prizes up for grabs.  All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is, hop along through all the blogs and leave a comment, or create a project and link it to the party ...... you have until April 30th to join in so lots of time.

Happy hopping!

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

Cheerio until next time