The Perfectly CAS challenge ......

Happy Tuesday evening .......

I hope your week's off to a good start.
Fancy a blog challenge?  It's time to get the Perfectly CAS ..... (using only one third) Challenge started.  It's the first one of 2020 and the theme is ...... One Layer

 
One Layer cards ....... sounds easy enough but, that's not always the case.  These can sometimes be the hardest cards to make, more so when only using one third of your card.  There's no room for mistakes, you can't cover anything up, because that would make it more than one layer!

I've gone for a really CAS look, using the middle third of my card ..... top to bottom

I stamped my image using a black ink, and then coloured it with ZIG Markers and a water brush.
(it only took me three attemps ........ inky fingermark on one (arrrggh!), too much water on my paintbrush so my coloured marker bled outside the line (sigh!), but I got there in the end!

A few gold ink splatters in the background, still trying to keep within that middle third .......

and a sentiment to finish ....

Check out more inspiration from the rest of Design Team over on the Perfectly CAS Blog.  You'll also find all the rules and guidelines on how to play along.

Happy Stamping! 

We've already had one birthday this week ..... my mother-in-law yesterday. I forgot to post her birthday card at the weekend ..... sorry Mum!  I did arrange flowers though, and there's gin on the way, so I think I'm forgiven. 
We have another birthday coming up on Friday ........ my baby girl is 28 this year!!!!  This card was made with Lauren in mind .... it's definitely all about her this week!

It's also this little Blog's anniversary today.  Yes, Life in the Craft Lane has been around for 8 years ..... that's a lot of blogging!

Thank you so much for reading, commenting and following my crafty journey.  Without you it wouldn't be as much fun ...... mwah xx

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

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Uptown Girl Opal the Optimist (Stamping Bella); Special Sentiments (Penny Black 'T' for Transparent set)
Inks:Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata - Golden Glitz (splatters)
Others: ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers

The Perfectly CAS Challenge .........

Happy Saturday evening ......

I hope you're having a good weekend.

It's time to launch the last Perfectly CAS (using one third or less) Challenge of the year .........

As you can see the theme for this challenge is ..... Celebrate.  Something we're all doing a little of that at the moment I think.

I'm still making Christmas cards ...... well not right now I'm not because we're away for the weekend, but I shall be back in the craft room on Monday morning.
Thankfully there's only a few more to do,   and I must admit CAS is the way to go when making cards on the last minute!

This little guy is one of the designs from Stamping Bella, called One Sip Too Many Gnome ..... remind you of anyone?!   I just couldn't resist him ..... he goes so well with the sentiment!

I simply stamped him onto white card, coloured him using ZIG Markers and then used the matching die to cut out the image

I cut the beautiful bow again and layered it over the top using foam pads to add some dimension.

I gave the bow the Wink of Stella treatment, and added a touch of sparkle to the gnome's Santa hat .... awwww, he looks so peaceful!

Check out more CAS designs using the one third rule, from the rest of the Design Team and I look forward to seeing you in the gallery.

Happy stamping!

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

We're actually out celebrating this evening, with my big brother and his wife.  It's Liz's birthday tomorrow so I might just end up having one sip too many!

Cheerio until next time ........

Products used:
Stamps: One Sip Too Many Gnome (Stamping Bella); Sentiment (Magenta)
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne;
Others: One Sip Too Many Matching Die (Stamping Bella); ZIG Clean Colour Brush Markers; Clear Wink of Stella pen; Fine Crystal Glitter

There's still time to play along with the CAS Stencil challenge .......

Happy Sunday .........

I hope you're enjoying your weekend. 
I've got a little reminder for you of this months CAS Stencil challenge.

Robyn is hosting the challenge this month and she wants us to use ......... Sprays.  Another fun way of using our stencils.
There's a couple of links on this month's challenge post to videos with some great tips for using this technique.

It's a great way of making backgrounds, like I've done here for my Oddball Turtle (I love this little guy!).
I used a simple brickwall stencil, and Distress Oxide Spray.  I love the look of texture you can get from these sprays just by altering how you actually spray them ........ press the spray hard and you get lots of ink, and great coverage, half press the spray and you get a finer mist that creates this great look of texture ..... 

I die cut a circle from a piece of white card, off setting the die over the edge.  I then placed the brick wall background behind, and attached it to the front of my cardblank.

I stamped the turtle onto a piece of white card, used ZIG Brush Markers to colour him,  and then cut him out using the matching die ......

I doodled a few white dots onto his shell, and then attached him to my card using a wobbler.  These little plastic springs add a bit of dimension to your die cuts and also give them a bit of movement when you touch them, they're great fun to use.

To finish off I added the sentiment which comes with the turtle ......

We've got a couple of Guest Designers on the challenge this month ....... Hilary and Amy are joining in the fun so please pop by and say hello.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
I've been busy in the craft room most of the day.  I decided to give it a good tidy and have a change around.  Not the best idea I've had this weekend ...... it's anything but tidy now!!!  Let's just call it a work in progress shall we.

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Oddball Turtle (Stamping Bella)
Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Distress Oxide Spray - Fossilised Amber
Stencils: Brickwall stencil
Others: Stitched circle die; ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Oddball Turtle Die (Stamping Bella)

The Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge ......

Hello again .......

How was your day?
I've got another blog challenge for you this evening.  It's Happy Little Stampers this time and  their CAS Challenge 

One of my favourite styles.  Clean ...... I do like a lot of white space, and Simple because, sometimes less is definitely more.
As you can see the theme this month is ....... Only One Third.  A nice and easy layout for CAS designs because it means two thirds of the card should be clean.

I've gone for the bottom third on my card ..........

A bit of simple masking, and some acetate smooshing with Distress Inks to create the inky strip across the bottom .......

I stamped the cute little gnome from Stamping Bella, onto a seperate piece of white card and die cut him using the co-ordinating die

I coloured him using ZIG Markers and then attached him onto the bottom of my card

The sentiment comes in the set, and has been stamped in Versafine Clair ink, and I added a few drops of glitter glue to finish off.

There's loads of time if you fancy playing along, the challenge doens't close until midnight (AEST) on 31st August.  And if you need some more inspiration then check out what the rest of the DT have been up to on the HLS Blog.

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ....... have a great weekend.

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:
Stamps: Flowery Gnome stamp and matching die (Stamping Bella);
Inks: Distress Inks - Picked Raspberry, Mowed Lawn; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
Others: ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Clear Crystal Glitter Glue

Looking forward to the weekend ......

Happy Friday .......

I hope you've had a great week.
The sun is shining, we have the weekend to look forward to, and Easter is just around the corner.  And .......... the countdown is on, for the premier of the final season of Game of Thrones!!!!!
Not a fan? ...... I know there are a few out there that have never watched a single episode (why!!!)  We, on the other hand have watched it many times and cannot wait for the final series.  We've spent the last few evenings watching the last series (again!)   The whole family are GoT fans here.
The Sky box is set to record ..... twice! ..... and series linked.  That's  2am on the Sunday night/Monday morning when it actually premiers in the US, and then again at 9pm on Monday evening, just in case anything goes wrong with the first one!  In fact, the kids are thinking of staying up to watch it as it airs ....... hmmm, can I stay awake I wonder. We'll see.

Today though, I have a little reminder for this month's Craft Stamper Blog Challenge.
As always the theme is Anything Goes, just remember to include some actual rubber stamping on your project.
You can find all the challenge details on the Craft Stamper Blog along with some great inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, and the guidelines you need to follow, to be in with a chance of winning either of the monthly prizes.

How about a nice, easy, fun CAS card .......

I love this image from Stamping Bella ...... and I do enjoy a nice glass of wine!

She's been coloured using ZIG markers and a water brush, and I added a few ink splatteres onto the background

This fab sentiment is from My Favourite Things ......

The only trouble with our wines is they're never in the wine rack long enough to be classed as old!!!

You have until midnight on April 24th to get your entries in so come on .... get those stamps out!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend.
I'm off to finish prepping a workshop for tomorrow.  It's the first one this year ...... I've missed our little get togethers.
Inspired by the fabulous Eileen Godwin, we're going to be starting on calendars for next year.
Here's sneaky peeks at some of the pages .......

It's going to be a work in progress ........ using inks and blending techniques which can all be used on cards too, along with some rubber stamping and stenciling.  It should be fun.
Time for a quick coffee first though!

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: uptown girl Wilma Loves Wine (Stamping Bella); Uncorked (MFT)
Ink: Versafine Clair - Nocturne
Others: ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Waterbrush; Clear Stardust Gel Pen

Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge ......

Happy Saturday evening ......

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

It's time to get February's Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge underway.
We've got a great theme for you this month .... Friends

We were out with a bunch of friends last night ...... great food, nice wine, good times.  The perfect way to start the weekend.
I think my card says it all ........

I've used the new Squishy Cats stamp from Stamping Bella, coloured with ZIG markers and a waterbrush

The sentiment is from Polar Bear Pals by My Favourite Things stamped in a gold metallic ink

And I added a few dots of Liquid Pearls to finish off ...... very CAS!

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day.
We're having a cosy night in tonight.  A delicious steak dinner, followed by an evening curled up in front of the TV I think ...... there's been too many late nights recently!

Cheerio until next time ......