September's CAS Mix Up Challenge ........

Happy Thursday ........

Well, we're in September!!  It's going to be a busy month I think.  There's two birthday's coming up.  We're going away in the motorhome in a couple of weeks (finger's crossed!), so I need to start getting things ready for the trip.  And, it's been quite the emotional day today.  Schools are back, and our eldest grandson, Alex, has started his final year at secondary school (where has that time gone!) and, for the youngest one, Arthur, it's his first day at Infant School (he's growing up too fast!!!)

But, that's not why I'm here ........... a new month means a new Blog Challenge.

Welcome to September's CAS Mix Up Challenge. 

Bobby is our Host this month, and the challenge is a Watercolour Challenge.

Watercolouring Sunflowers to be exact.

Sunflowers, for me, are happy flowers.  They always make me smile.

I don't know about you but I'm always a little nervous when it comes to watercolouring.  I love the look of watercoloured images but it's not always easy to create.  As they say ........ practice makes perfect!

One easy way of achieving the watercoloured look is to use stamps, and water reactive inks.

I've used one of the stamps from an old Stampin Up! set ...... Painted Harvest.  (I'm not sure if its still available or not.  I haven't bought from Stampin Up! for a long time!)

There's two layers to the flower, the base layer I used Mustard Seed Distress Ink, then the second layer I used Fossilised Amber, then Wild Honey over the top

I inked my stamp using the ink pad, then before stamping I spritzed the stamp with water, not too much just enough to react with the ink.

You can repeat the stamping process until you're happy with the depth of colour.

I used Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain to colour the centre, applied with a paint brush.

I stamped my sentiment underneath using a brown Versafine Clair (I think it was Acorn), and I finished off with a few splatters using the Distress colours.

I also decided to have a go at painting my own sunflower ...... what do think?

(I can't take full credit as the idea came from Pinterest)

This time I used my Altenew Watercolour Paints, and a small brush ......

It's not perfect but, it's a start ..... maybe next time I'll go for the full flower!!!

I masked off the edges of my card, painted the sunflower, then doodled the frame around the edge using a black fine liner.

A tiny simple sentiment, a bit of sparkle and some gold splatters to finish it all off

Check out the CAS Mix Up Blog for more Design Team inspiration for this months challenge.

You'll also find some links on there to some great videos using this technique.

We also have a fabulous Guest Designer this month.  Barbara is joining us from My Creative Room so be sure to pop by and say hello there too.

Remember, follow the simple challenge guidelines (you can find these on the Blog), use the monthly prompt, and keep your cards CAS (Clean and Simple) .......

I look forward to seeing you in the gallery!

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Inks ........  Distress Ink - Mustard Seed, Fossilised Amber, Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain; Versafine Clair - Acorn; 

Stamps ....... Painted Harvest - Stampin Up!; Siunshine Wishes - Inkylicious; Tiny sentiment from Soul Whispers stamp set by Tracy Easson
Other ......  Watercolour card, Altenew Watercolour Paints, Small Heart gemstone, Black Finer Liner, Gold Ink for splatters

CAS Christmas Card Challenge

Happy weekend .........

The sun is shining again ..... yeah!   The temperature has dropped a little though ........ over here it has anyway!  And I must confess, the 'C' word (dare I say it .......Christmas!) has been mentioned a couple of times lately.  Don't worry, I'm not going full on festive just yet but, I am playing along with this month's CAS Christmas Card Challenge ...... well, I have to make a start on those cards at some point!

As you can see the theme is .... Santa's Sleigh

I smooshed a little bit of Distress Ink onto my card using a piece of acetate ...... I love this technique.  Everytime you smoosh the results are different, and no matter how hard you try you can't repeat one particular 'smoosh'.  I know this because, it took me three, no wait four attempts to create this finished card!  The harder you try not to make a mistake, the more they happen ....... don't you just love CAS designs.  Anyway, I got there in the end!  

Once the smooshed ink was dry, I stamped the cute little Santa and Sleigh over the top, using my MISTI and a black Versafine Clair ink.

I dotted around some falling snow using a white gel pen, and added in a few dots of glitter glue here and there to give a touch of sparkle.

To finish off  I stamped my sentiment ...... the words in red are an old wooden Penny Black stamp (yes I do still have a few wood mounted stamps that have survived all the clear outs).   

The small text underneath is from a Stampin Up set.

I do love CAS card, even though they can be a little difficult to achieve!

Thanks for popping by, enjoy your weekend.

We've got the Manx Grand Prix going on, so I don't think we'll be going very far this weekend.  

Oh well, at least there's horse racing on the TV and the football season is underway so, every cloud and all that!

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Inks ........  Distress Ink - Chipped Sapphire; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versafine - Crimson Red

Stamps ....... Holiday Home stamp set - Stampin Up! (Santa & Sleigh and small sentiment); Wood mounted ..... to all - Penny Black
Other ......  Acetate (for the smooshing); White gel pen; Crystal Stickles Glitter Glue

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ..........

Good morning ...... Happy Tuesday!

Ten days to go until the big day ...... are you ready?

I'm getting there ..... all the decorations are up now, presents are bought.  I've made a start on the gravy for Christmas dinner with the help of Jamie Oliver.  The cranberry sauce will be made later this week, and guess what ...... the Christmas cards are finally finished ... yeah!   

There's just a few more to write then I'm off to get them in the post, and hopefully they'll be delivered in time.

(Note to self ..... don't leave things so late next year!!!!)

For the last few cards I decided on pretty poinsettias ......... Christmas wouldn't be the same without those glorious blooms

  

and some festive foliage ........ not exactly a Christmas stamp set this one but, I think it works in the festive shades

The poinsettias are from the Colorado Craft Company ...... and are perfect for slimline cards.

I stamped and heat embossed in gold, and then used Twinkling H2Os to colour the blooms ......

A simple sentiment in the centre and a few splatters of gold onto the background ...... very festive!

But, how elegant do those poinsettias look left without colour and just a touch of sparkly glitter ..... gorgeous!

On these ones, I stamped the sentiment in red and added a few dots of white enamel accents onto the background

For the foliage cards I used a Stampin Up! set which I've had for a while (one of those MUST HAVE stamps, then when it arrives it doesn't get used ...... you know the ones) 

I used Distress Inks to stamp the pretty foliage around the edge of a square piece of card

Added my sentiment across the centre, and added some gold splatters ...... easy!

To finish, just a few touches of glitter here and there to add a little Christmas sparkle

And that's it ..... this years Christmas cards all done!   

Next job, post office.  Coffee is needed first though.

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used .......

Poinsettia cards 

Stamps: Big & Bold - Slimline Poinsettias (The Colorado Craft Company)

Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine - Crimson Red (sentiments); Delicata - Golden Glitz (splatters)

Other: Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); Quickie Glue Pen, Fine Crystal Glitter

Foliage cards

Stamps: Forever Fern (Stampin Up!); Season's Wishes (Mama Elephant)

Inks: Distress Inks - Evergreen Bough, Pine Needles, Festive Berries; Delicata - Golden Glitz (sentiment & splatters)

Other: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine crystal glitter

Happy Birthday Bev! .......

Welcome to Tuesday ......

It's a special day today.  The lovely Bev from Uniko is celebrating her birthday!!

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday dear Bev

Happy Birthday to You!!! 

It's not just any old birthday ..... it's a big one!  I don't think she'll mind me telling you ..... it's the big 4 0!!!!
To help her celebrate her special day the Uniko Design Team have gt together and we're having a Surprise Birthday Blog Hop ..... whoo hoo!!

Happy Birthday hun ....... hope it's a good one!

I'm not sure how Bev is feeling about turning 40 (I know I wasn't happy when it was me!!) so I thought I'd keep my design CAS, and make the number a little understated ......

Inlaid into the stamped image ......

Gold shimmer ink to stamp with, coloured using ZIG Markers,  and a few little crystal drops to finish

I know Bev has received this, because I gave it to her at the weekend when I saw her at Port Sunlight.
If you would like to join in and wish Bev a Happy Birthday ..... just design a card and add it to the linky on the Birthday Blog post on the Uniko Blog ...... she'll love it!

Speaking of Port Sunlight we had a great day on Saturday.  The weather was fab, the ferry crossing was perfectly calm (both ways) and the shopping was fun.  I even came back with money in my purse which was a bonus!

It was so nice to see everyone, it's just a shame we don't get more time.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off to the craft room now.  It's a short week for me this week, so I need to get move on!
Hubby and I are having a few days away ....... we're on the boat again on Thursday and then we're off up to Scotland I think.  Let's hope this nice weather holds.
Speaking of the weather, did I mention that hubby had bought himself a little present?  He's bought himself a telescope.

It's a bit bigger than I imagined ..... my hubby never does anything by half!!!

Anyway, as you can see it's all set up ...... well almost.   Apparently, you have to align it using the stars so that the telescope knows where it is, you can then tell it what you want to look at, and it will move around to view different parts of the sky ...... makes sense, I suppose!  Well ...... since it arrived we haven't had a clear night ..... and the thing's just been sat in the lounge.  That was until Saturday. 

The Isle of Man is known for it's dark skies and where we are there's not much in the way of street lights etc., it's all countryside around us so, on a clear night the sky is full of stars.  When I got home around 10ish the house was deserted.  I eventually found him, on the patio, with the telescope, looking at the moon!  Bless him .... my little stargazer!  

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Happiest of Days (Stampin Up!)
Inks: Delicata - Golden Glizt
Other: Number dies (Stampin Up!); ZIG Brush Markers, Crystal Drops (Nuvo)

Time for a tipple anyone ......

Happy Wednesday .......

Only joking ...... it's a little bit early for me.  Although as the saying goes ....... it's 5 o'clock somewhere!

I am however playing along with this month's Twofer Card Challenge  hosted by the lovely Darnell.  As you can see the theme for July is ....... Beverage

The idea is to create TWO cards, for TWO different occasions using the same stamp and/or die ...... a Twofer!

I've gone with the same stamp.  I've used the Stampin Up! set called Half Full,  and I've created a birthday card, and a Christmas card.  Both designs would be great for guys too ...... which is always good!

Both are very CAS designs, in fact the birthday one would be one layer, except for the added die cut ......

I simply stamped the wine glasses in the centre of my card and coloured using ZIG markers and a waterbrush .... easy!

The sentiment (from the same SU set) was stamped directly underneath, and I also added a nice shiny die cut ..... layered to raise it up a little

The glasses were given a coat of Glossy Accents and I added a few tiny dots of glitter glue above one of the glasses to give the look of bubbles

I put the birthday bit on the inside ......

Card number two ...... same stamp, but now a little bit festive ......

I love this Christmas saying ...... perfect for all those wine loving friends

Again I stamped the glasses and coloured with ZIGs, and added a coat of Glossy Accents

The little holly leaves come in the same stamp set ..... and I used a foam pad to attach them to add a bit of dimension

I finished off the front with a sprinkling of Chunky White Embossing Powder ........

And put the red wine on the inside ......

And that's my Twofer ....... what's your favourite beverage?

We've got fresh salmon on the menu tonight ...yum! So it's probably going to be a nice glass of white with dinner this evening .... Cheers!

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Have you entered the challenge yet? .....

Happy Friday .......

Time for a quick reminder of this month's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge ..... before I head off out for the day.
This year's TT is nearly over ...... it's Senior Race day, a Bank Holiday here in the Isle of Man so we're off to catch the last of the racing ..... weather permitting that is.  I must admit the forecast is not great for today but we can't really complain the last two weeks have been absolutely glorious!

Before I go here's another idea for this months challenge ...... Let's Get Inky!
We'd like you to use more than one type of ink on your projects ..... ink pads, ink sprays, acrylic inks, alcohol inks etc., OR use more than one colour of ink.  Don#t forget to include some stamping on there too!

I've used the PaperArtsy Infusions to create my background ..... which just so happen to be the prize for this month's challenge winner.

I sprinkled a tiny bit of the pigment powders onto the bottom corner of a piece of white card (you don't need much at all to get great results) ....... I used  Are You Cerice and Lemoncello, love these two shades together!
I then used a wet paintbrush to spread the colour over the card.  I love how I've got this sort of woodgrain effect from the walnut stain part of the Infusions ...... cool isn't it!

I kept the colours in stripes across the card, and brushed the colour in one direction until I'd covered the whole piece

The more water you add, the paler the colour you will end up with.

Once this was dry I stamped the gorgeous Daliha from Stampin Up! off the edge of the card using Versamark ink, then embossed with a fine detail white embossing powder.

I added a few splatters of Perfect Pearls to the background to add a bit more interest ......

and then finished off with a sentiment banner at the top

As always, I had to add a little something on the inside ....

Have you got your entry in yet? Pop over to the Craft Stamper Blog and see more fabulous inspiration pieces from the rest of the Design Team, along with all the challenge details.

As I mentioned earlier, our sponsor this month is PaperArtsy

and the winner will receive 5 bottles of the brand new Infusions, in the colours below .....

Happy stamping!

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

It feels like it's been weekend all week for me ...... the TT has a lot to answer for!!  We've been to the fun fair .... twice!! We've been down to the Grandstand  .... just look at that sky!!!

We've had picnics, and drinks on the terrace, the Red Arrows were over on Tuesday evening ......

photo from 3FM Isle of Man

and then I somehow found myself in the middle of Saddle-oke!  A special TT Karaoke night in the Saddle (Chris's place).

It's only a small place but boy can it hold a lot of people ....... warm doesn't begin to describe the temperature in there ....... it was positively tropical!!! And before you ask .... no I didn't do any singing ..... well, not with the microphone anyway :)
Then last night we had the Poker Stars TT/Summer Party .... all I'm saying is I'm glad it's a Bank Holiday today  I might have had just a few glasses of the bubbly stuff ... well it would have been rude not to.
But ... it's all coming to an end (sigh!) ..... until next year.
I'm off now to stake out a spot to watch this years Senior Race ........ can Hutchy make it four in a row?

Cheerio until next time .......