CAS Mix Up Challenge reminder.......

Happy Friday ......

It's the weekend! ....... and here's nothing in the diary for this one (yeah!!)  Time to put my feet up and relax.  Fingers crossed the nice weather continues.

It's also time for a quick reminder about July's CAS Mix Up Challenge.

I'm Host this month, and it's a Watercolour challenge with a little added twist ........ Things with Wings

So far we've had entries with beautiful butterflies, birds and bees, and also angels ........ can you think of anything else?

There's still time to play along, the challenge runs until July 24th.

I must admit Watercoloring is always a bit of a challenge for me ........ it's a little hit and miss as to whether I get the look I was after!  It keeps my bit box full though, you know I don't like to throw anything away.  All those pieces that didn't turn out quite like I planned go in there to be used at a later date!

For me watercolouring is all about keeping things simple ..........

You don't get any easier than this.  

I used Distress Inks to watercolour the background ....... simply smooshed the ink pads onto a craft mat then brushed the colours across a piece of Hot Pressed Watercolour card using a very wet paintbrush.  

I used Tumbled Glass for the sky, Salty Ocean for the sea, and Mustard Seed for the sand ..... easy!

Once this was dry, I stamped my images over the top using a black ink.  I do love these little birds from the old Wetlands stamp set from Stampin Up! 

I added a sentiment, and a little mat and layering ...... perfect!

Remember I mentioned all those pieces that end up in my bit box ....... well, a great way of using those up is to die cut them.  It's still watercolouring, and you can choose exactly where to put your dies so that you cut on the best bits and avoid the bits you don't like 

These pretty little Memory Box butterflies were cut from a piece of cardstock watercoloured with Brushos ......

I cut the full butterfly from the coloured card, and the outline from white and then payered them together ..... so pretty.

I embossed a piece of white cardstock and then cut this into circles.  attached the circles onto my card front and added the butterflies.

A simple two piece sentiment finishes off the card

Here's another one ..... birds this time

Again, cut from a piece of Brusho coloured card (I have quite a few of these pieces of card .... Brushos can be a little unpredictable!!)

A little bit of simple watercolouring in the background, and an embossed panel on the bottom to ground them

 A stamped sentiment underneath and a tiny strip of that Brusho card to finish it all off

I hope you've enjoyed this months challenge.  Check out the CAS Mix Up Blog for more Watercoloured Things with Wings inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.  

Hopefully I'll see you in the gallery ..... have fun!

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

Hubby's just been in to tell me he's checked the weather forecast for the island.  Apparently the next four days are just going to keep gettting warmer and warmer ....... sounds good to me!

This week has been all about school leavers.  Can you believe that Alex is going to high school in September!!!!!  It's been Awards Assembly and School Leavers Assembly this week, class photos and getting all their shirts signed by their friends ..... Lauren's needed the tissue box a couple of times bless her.

The official last day of term isn't until next Friday, when all the schools finish for the summer break but, Alex and his year are away next week on their school trip so it was all done early.

We're so proud of him.  He's growing up too fast though!

Cheerio until next time .....

Supplies

Card 1

Stamps: Wetlands stamp set (Stampin Up!); Sentiment from Simple Sayings (Tim Holtz - CMS155)

Ink: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Inks - Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed

Card 2

Stamps: Sentiment stamps from my stash 

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: Brusho Pigment Powders; Floral embossing folder, Memory Box Butterfly dies, Circle punches, Gemstones

Card 3

Stamps: Happy Birthday sentiments (PinkFresh Studio) 

Inks: Distress Ink - Broken China; Versafine Clair - Nocturne;

Other: Brusho Pigment Powders;  For the Birds die (CUT-plorations); Brick embossing folder (Stampin Up!)

Got there in the end ..........

Happy Thursday .......

I hope you're enjoying your week.  I've been catching up with all the boring stuff like ....... housework (boring!), paperwork (even more boring!!), washing and ironing (why are there so many clothes ..... we haven't been anywhere!!! I'm sure I've washed the whole of Lauren's wardrobe this week!)  I've even started cleaning out the kitchen cupboards ..... what's that all about!?

I am playing along with a couple of Blog Challenges today though.  

First up ........ I've got another Christmas card for this month's CAS Christmas Challenge.

The challenge is to use Kraft, Red and White ......

I've used a Julie Hickey stamp set, heat embossed with white powder and then coloured using a red Distress Re-inker ...... using the ink straight from the bottle, with a fine paintbrush.  I love the depth of colour from the re-inker .........

I coloured in the leaves using a white pencil and then I stamped the pretty poinsettia again, onto a separate piece of kraft card, heat embossed and coloured it in the same way, and then fussy cut before attaching it using a foam pad to add a touch of dimension. 

I stamped my sentiment top and bottom ......

And finished with a few white paint splatters .......

It's their 3rd birthday this month at CAS Christmas so ........ Happy Birthday to you!

This next challenge caught my eye on Facebook.  It showed up on my timeline via a FB friend and I thought I'd join in.

AAA Cards Challenge #185

It's been a while since I made anything this small ...... and you'd be surprised at how long it took me (and how many attempts!!!) In the end I went with this one, I think it was the third attempt ....... you don't get much more Clean and Simple!

It's a little 6x4 inch card and the stamp I used is from a lovely set by Tracy Easson.  I think it's called Just a Girl and her Forever Friend

I stamped the tiny image with black ink, directly onto my card blank. 

I was going to leave it at that and go with the optional twist of Black & White but, I felt it needed more. It was just a little too CAS even for me!  So ..... I added in the colour using an old Stampin Up! stamp and Distress inks ....... now I'm happy!

CAS, even something so small, can turn out to be the hardest cards to make.  This was my first attempt .... same stamped image, but I felt it need more.   By the time I'd added more  it was bigger than the required one inch!

Second try ....... something different this time but ..... broke the rules again!  By the time I'd added the word Art and the splatters,  it was bigger than one inch on the front ..... arggghhhh!!

I got there in the end though, just in time too as the challenge ends on the 20th!

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

CAS Christmas

Stamps: Christmas Joy (Julie Hickey Designs)

Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine ink - Satin Red; Distress Re-Inker - Festive Berries

Others: White Embossing Powder (WOW!); White Polychromos Pencil (Faber Castel); White Fresco Finish Chalk paint (splatters) (PaperArtsy)

AAA Card Challenge

Card 1

Stamps: Just a Girl & her Forever Friend (Tracy Easson Illustrations); Playful Backgrounds (Stampin Up!)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Ink - Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean

Card 2 

Stamps: Just a Girl & her Forever Friend (Tracy Easson Illustrations); Sarah's Choice (IndigoBlu)
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Festive Berries

Card 3

Stamps: Hey, Chick (Stampin Up!)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Other: Small Circle Die

Ooops! ....... I missed the boat!

Happy Wednesday ......

Don't worry, I didn't really miss the boat.  I'm not going anywhere, well apart from Kirk Michael at the weekend that is, and I don't need the boat to get there!

 

What I did miss was, the deadline for the first of a brand new Blog Challenge ....... Color Hues .... the color challenge

I do love a new challenge so, off I went, made my card and then realised that it's actually a two weekly challenge and the deadline was Monday!!  Oh well ..... must try harder next time!

The colour hues for the first challenge were Yellows and Greens ..... 

All is not lost though because this is perfect to link up to Darnell's NBUS Challenge

This Stampin Up! set has been on my shelf for months and has never seen an ink pad.  In fact, I don't think it had even been opened before ..... all the stamps were still connected in their piece of red rubber (shame on me!) making it ....... Never-Before-Used-Schtuff! 

I stamped the lemons and limes all over my card front and added one of the sentiments from the set ....

I did a bit of ink splattering on to the background, and finished off with a touch of shimmer to the slices using a clear Wink of Stella pen ..... done! 

I did added in a few Nuvo Jewel Drops here and there to give the look of juice ..... hmmm, is it too early for a G&T?!!

It's been really weird around here the last couple of days, hubby has been working back in the office.  After having him working from home since the beginning of March it's strange him not being around ..... the house is really quiet!!  

I don't think he's going to be in there everyday yet but, at least it's another positive step on the way to our new normal! 

Sadly though, our little island has seen the return of a few new Covid cases but, fingers crossed with all the regulations we have in place, and the fact that those who are travelling are isolating on their return, things are being kept under control ........ for now anyway.

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

It's been lovely here today, blue skies, warm sunshine and a lovely breeze.  I took full advantage and have been in the garden all afternoon.  I did mow the lawn whilst I was out there so I think I've earned that G&T ...... well it is 5 o'clock after all!

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used:

Stamps: Lemon Zest (Stampin Up!)

Inks: Versafine Clair - Cheerful (Yellow), Verdant (Green), Nocturne (Black)

Other: Clear Wink of Stella  sparkle pen

CAS Christmas Card Challenge ......

Happy weekend ......

I hope you're all doing something nice this weekend. 
It's lovely here on the island today ..... we've got autumn sunshine.  It's a but chilly though, so my cosy, warm layers are starting to come out of the wardrobe.

As I mentioned yesterday, there's only 13 more weekends before Christmas ....... eeeek! I'd better get those lists started!  I must confess I did actually look a some Christmas cards in town yesterday.  Well, I was in the card shop with Lauren, waiting for balloons for Alex's birthday party today, and as I don't venture in to card shops much these days I thought I'd have a look round.  Don't worry, I didn't buy any, well not yet anyway.  The way things are going though I might just have to at some point!!!

I do have one more for the festive box ...... I'm playing along with this month's CAS Christmas Card Challenge.   As you can see, the theme this month is .... Wreath

I do like a nice Christmas wreath, you'll always find one on our front door. And here's my entry for the challenge ......

This cute little wreath is from the Stampin Up! set called Feeling of Christmas.  I think it was last year but don't hold me to that!
I simply stamped and heat embossed in gold, and then coloured using ZIG Markers.

For the berries I used white Enamel Accents, and I added a touch of sparkle to the cute little baubles using a Wink of Stella pen then put a layer of Glossy Accents over the top .....

The sentiment is from a Penny Black clear stamp set, stamped in gold metallic ink

and I added a few splatters of the same ink onto the background.

The design follows through on the inside .......

Same colours, same splatters ......

I might just make some more of these.

Speaking of Christmas a very large box arrived yesterday full of goodies for the festive workshop.  Looks like I'll be getting into the Christmas spirit, and full of glitter next week ..... can't wait!
Ho! Ho! Ho!

We had a great evening out with the birthday boy last night.  Alex chose the restaurant ..... Alessandro's in town, and we had a lovely meal. 
He discovered that he likes a medium rare, fillet steak, after eating most of Grandad's, saving his pepperoni pizza to take home!  He also had queenies with pancetta cooked in garlic and white wine, but he's not too keen on Beef Carpaccio.  He's developing great taste for an eight year old!!!
There had to be cake too of course .....

thanks to Robbie for the photo

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I'm looking forward to a nice cosy evening in front of the TV.  There's a beef casserole that's been cooking slowly all day ..... it smells delicious,  with a bottle of our favourite red to go with it ....... perfect!

Cheerio until next time .....

Getting an early start .......

Happy Friday ......

A nice early post to get the weekend started ...... lots to do today.

I'm playing catch up with this year's 12 Tags of Christmas with Loll & Friends event ......

It's Tag number 10 this morning ...... I'm nearly there

This cute little tag was made using leftover bits ..... I haven't had time to clear my desk this week so there's stuff everywhere!

The tag is one I rescued from earlier in the week ..... things didn't go according to plan, I didn't like the bottom of it but I didn't want to throw the whole thing away, so I chopped it down ....... I knew the top would come in handy

The flower is made using the smaller layers from the Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia die.  I've been cutting a whole bunch of these for a workshop coming up soon ...... I need more of the larger ones than the small so they're piling up on my desk.  By the time I've finished that project I'll never want to see a poinsettia again ..... but that.s another story!

They've been cut from smooth watercolour card, inked around the edges with Fired Brick Distress Ink, and then I spritzed them with Perfect Pearls and left them to dry.  I love how the ink has blended over the card and mixed with the Perfect Pearls ..... looks really pretty.

Once it was all dry I added some extra foliage behind ...... found in my box of many left over die cut bits, and attached a jingle bell to the centre.

The sentiment is from Stampin Up's Tin of Tags  ....... a great little stamp set designed for tags, but not just Christmas ones so you can use it all year round

Well ..... only 2 more tags to go.  Time to get out of my PJs and get on with the day.  I'll be back later with Tag number 11 ..... see you then!

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

Cheerio until next time

White space ..... but not WHITE space

Happy Thursday .......

How are you today?  It's another busy one here in the old craft room .... I've got two posts for you today!
I'll be back later with the start of another challenge for the month of April but first a little 'Me' time.
I'm playing along with this weeks Less is More challenge ....... yeah!!!   Missed the last two .... not a happy bunny!

It's a Colour Challenge this week ....... and the focus is on WHITE SPACE, or rather NOT WHITE SPACE!!!

Leaving white space on a card can sometimes be a problem ...... the Clean and Simple style requires a lot of white space ..... that means an area of the card that has no image, no layers and no embellishment ..... not as easy as you may think!
Me .... I love this style, but sometimes my designs don't end up as CAS as I would have liked!!!

The challenge this week is to still have the 'white' space however, it has to be coloured ..... I can do that ......

I love this colour from Stampin Up! ..... Mint Macaron and I really like the white embossing on the top.
I simply cut a piece of the SU cardstock to fit the front of my card blank.  Stamped the beautiful butterfly from the Tim Holtz stamp set Perspective and embossed it using a fine detail white embossing powder

Then using the Stampin Up! ink pad in the Mint Macaron shade, I stamped the words along the bottom, from the All Occasions Sentiments set by Uniko (who, it just so happens, are this months sponsors for Less is More)

I also used the ink pad to add a touch more colour to the butterfly.  I swiped some of the ink onto my craft sheet and instead of spritzing with water, I used Perfect Pearls instead and it gave this gorgeous shimmery wash to the butterfly

Me being me though, couldn't stop there (this is what I mean when I say my designs don't end up as CAS as they should be!) Because there was ink left on my craft sheet I just had to get my brush and add a few splatters here and there didn't I!!!

That beautiful butterfly also makes an appearance on the inside

This time .... stamped using the Mint Macaron ink and colour washed with the shimmery mix ..... so pretty when the light catches it ...... not sure the photo has captured it though.

Oh well .... I'd better get a move on .... the list is long today.  I'll be back later with another challenge for you ..... see you then.

Thanks for popping by ....

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx