And so the countdown begins .......

Happy Monday ......

I hope you all had a good weekend.  Ours was fab ..... lots of family time.
Did you see the royal wedding?  Wasn't it beautiful ..... very emotional.
Then the football went in our favour too ..... my boys in blue lifted the FA Cup. Well done lads!! All in all ..... a great weekend.

We're looking forward to the next couple of weeks too.
It's that time of year again when our little island in the Irish Sea is preparing for 'the world's ultimate road race'.  Yes, this coming weekend sees the start of the 2018 IOM TT fortnight.  Fingers crossed this great weather holds ....... if it does it'll be an amazing two weeks!!  Hopefully we'll get to see some of the racing, and of course spend some time down at the Grandstand.

But, before all that gets underway there's something else to look forward to.
It's the countdown to the next Sweet Poppy Stencil TV shows ...... whoo hoo!
Yes, the lovely Lucy is back on our screens this week, with more gorgeous new stencil designs.

When? .........  Friday May 25th 

What time? .......  10am and 3pm (book your place on the sofa now!) 

Where? ...... HOCHANDA of course ..... Sky channel 673/Freeview 85/Freesat 817.

As always there'll be new stencil designs, the brand new Sweet Poppy Dies, all the stencil mediums along with the pretty shimmer paints.  There'll also be great demos from Lucy too .... showing you how to get the best results from you Sweet Poppy stash.

I've been playing with the stencils, here's a quick look at some of the samples I give to Lucy at the Happy Stampers show the other weekend ...... something for everyone. 

Dare I say it .... there's even a bit of the 'C' word in there too! 

One of my favourite designs from this show is the stunning Flamingo ..... I just love her, or it could be a him I suppose!

What a great size stencil it is ..... here she is on an A5 card.

I coloured a piece of watercolour card using Distress Oxide inks ........ smooshed directly from the ink pad onto the card and then blended with a damp baby wipe where the colours joined together

I then stenciled the bird onto the card using the Glossy Black stencil paste, and sprinkled Black Glitter over the top whilst the paste was wet ...... love the swirly detail!

When this was dry I used another Sweet Poppy stencil .... the pretty Cherry Blossom to add a little more detail

Glossy White stencil paste this time and crystal glitter ..... so sparkly.
I like how the paste has picked up a little of the Distress Ink colour too .....

To finish off ..... a simple sentiment stamped and heat embossed in gold

Same stencil, same technique for the background, different colours of glitter .....

Black paste again  ....... and I think it was a peach glitter I used on top, with a little bit of gold on the beak

Different foliage on the bottom too ....... the pretty Dancing Bells and before you all shout yes I know it's upside down but doesn't it work!!

I stenciled it first using a green Distress Oxide ink, and then used the Glossy Black stencil paste over the top to give it depth .......

Last one of my flamingos ........ I did say it was my favourite!

I love how this turned out.  It's a large 8 inch x 8 inch card (I don't do that many large cards these days!) and it could be an engagement card, a wedding card, a baby card for twins maybe!!

I simply stenciled the flamingo one way, turned the stencil over and did the same again .... easy!

I used the pretty Peach Pearl stencil paste and sprinkled with pink and glitter on one of them

Then for the other one I used the Pale Blue Pearl paste and crystal glitter for the top part of the flamingo  ....

And the peach paste for his legs!

The background was simply various inks splattered onto the card using an old paint brush.

A cute little heart stamped between them, and a simple sentiment heat embossed in gold ....

This is actually from one of the new Sweet Poppy Stamp sets. You'll be seeing a few more of these popping up here and there.
Oh Yes,  there's some fab new sentiment sets to go with all your Sweet Poppy stencil designs.  A really good collection of words for all occasions, along with some verses and sayings.  I'm not sure whether they will be on the TV show but they are available now on the Sweet Poppy website 

Just a couple more designs before I head off back to the craft room .......  so CAS, using the Dancing Bells again

I know, I know ....... it's upside down ....... I like it this way!

Stunning detail as always from Sweet Poppy.
And here's another one of those brand new Sweet Poppy stamps .....

And another one ...... I love this one

Really simple, using Distress Inks this time through the Cherry Blossom stencil ........

a few dots of White Enamel Accents to the centers .......

and finished off with the sentiment, a little ink brushed around the edges and a few splatters here and there.

So, don't forget ...... Lucy's back on HOCHANDA!  Friday May 25th ...... 10am and 3pm.  See you there!

Thanks for popping by  ..... enjoy the rest of your day.
I'll be back later in the week with a few more of my show samples.

Cheerio until next time ......

Sweet Poppy Stencils ...... and dies!

Happy Thursday .....

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month ...... welcome to February!  January didn't hang around did it!!

If you're on Facebook, you may have already seen that there's something exciting going on over at Sweet Poppy Stencils. 
Not only are there some fabulous new stencil designs available now on the website ...... you'll also find the brand new range of Sweet Poppy 'Buddy' dies ..... whoo hoo!!
Not all of the stencils will have a matching die but, sometimes a particular design needs a 'buddy' .... a little help to cut out the design and give it a 3D look. 
There's six available in the first release and I've been lucky enough to have a play with them. See what you think ...... you might want to grab a cuppa, there's a lot of pictures!

First up, the Large Poppy Head ..... a two piece set which cuts both sizes of petals.

First I used the matching stencil to do the leaves with Distress Oxide ink on a piece of white card

On a separate piece of card I used the stencil again this time with the glossy white stencil paste through the flower part of the design, and sprinkled red glitter on the top whilst it was still wet.
I did this twice so that I could cut the different two layers and make the poppy dimensional

Another beautiful flower design ...... the Poinsettia.  A three piece set this time to create really full dimensional blooms

Again I used the paste through the matching stencil, sprinkled the three layers with crystal glitter and let it dry

Look how beautifully the dies cut, even when you've used the paste and glitter on top too.

The idea is you used the stencil as you normally would to create the design whether that be with inks or pastes etc., then you place the dies on top and cut out your design.  They're really easy to place once you get used to them.  If you've used the paste you can feel where it is when you place the die over the top you just need to take you time.

As you can see I've also used the largest die simply on it's own to cut an extra layer to create my leaves

The pretty Mehndi Flower also has a buddy ...... another three piece set great for layering

I've used the Translucent stencil paste mixed with mica powder to create the soft coloured layers, and I've added in an extra layer to the back, done with white paste and the crystal glitter

I had real fun with this one ...... I created the whole flower three times .... one pink, one green and one glitter, then cut the various layers in each and mix them up on the front of the card using foam pads for the bottom layer the inlaying the rest

If you like the look of the coloured pastes but fancy mixing your own ... well, you don't have to, Sweet Poppy now have 50ml pots of coloured stencil pastes in a whole range of colours. Available as single pots or you can get the set.

OK .... next up Boozy Bubbles (one of my favourites!)  A great tow piece die which I just kknow is going to come in for so many occasions.
The bottle .......

Paste, glitter, die cut and attached on to a simple background using a piece of folded acetate to create a sort of spring so that the bottle actually moves

Just think .... special birthdays, engagements, weddings, anniversaries, congratulations ..... just about anything really.

And of course the glasses ..... perfect for wedding cards

Use the dies to cut apertures .......

Then place the glasses on the inside ....

The pretty Rocking Horse ..... love this too

Pretty in pink ....... and beautiful in blue ....

And last but not least ..... the Biplane and Banner

A canvas this time ..... painted using the Sweet Poppy Shimmer & Sheen Lustre Paint

Clouds added with white paint sponged along the edge of a template cut from copier paper .....

The Biplane is simply Black paste through the matching stencil and I've highlighted here and there with a Liquid Chrome pen

Again I've used acetate to make a spring so that the plane is raised and moves around

Flying the banner behind ......

Simple die cut letters to create the words ......

Phew! 

I believe some of the dies will be on TV at the beginning of March on Lucy's next HOCHANDA show but, if you can't wait until then, Sweet Poppy will be at the Creative Craft Show at Event City Manchester this weekend, or you can find them all on the Sweet Poppy website along with all the brand new stencil designs ..... there's a gorgeous flamingo, can't wait to play with that one once my new craft room is up and running!

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

I'd better get back to the packing we move in 5 days .... eeeek!!!  There's already quite a bit of stuff at the new place.  We've been moving all the small things ourselves ...... kitchen stuff, clothes, pictures etc.  Some of hubby's office is there and most of my craft room, it's just in boxes!  I'll be starting unpacking that at the weekend.

Cheerio until next time ....

Book the sofa ..... Sweet Poppy are back!

Happy Monday .......

I think Ophelia has definitely arrived on the island .... it's blowing a hoolie out there!
The ferries have been cancelled, so have all the flights.  We've already got roads closed across the island because of fallen trees and even the shops have closed early.  Batten down the hatches folks, things are getting a little lively out there!

My advice is stay safe and warm ...... in front of the TV.  Grab the remote and book your front row seats because Lucy's back on our screens tomorrow. 
Yes .......Sweet Poppy Stencils are back on HOCHANDA (Sky channel 663/Freeview 85/Freesat 817) Tuesday 17th October ....... 11am and 3pm  with some gorgeous festive stencil designs

Here's a quick look at some of my samples I sent off to Lucy last week ........ warning photo heavy post coming up!

I love this beautiful Poinsettia ...... perfect for making CAS Christmas cards

All I've done here is used the largest flower (you do get three different sizes on the stencil) with the Glossy White stencil paste and then sprinkled some red fine glitter over the top

Nothing else needed except a festive greeting .....

It doesn't have to be a red poinsettia either .... gold looks gorgeous too!

With a little bit of white paint splattered onto the background to give that snowy look

I think white would look stunning too ....... might just have to try that one!

Use the whole stencil to create beautiful card fronts ..... would make a gorgeous background too don't you think

The paste and glitter again this time onto Kraft card, with a little bit of white heat embossing to add some detail in between

A few dots of glitter glue and a pretty ribbon add the finishing touches

Why not make a matching tag too ....... perfect for those special gifts

You can even use your stencils on some MDF to create pretty decorations

I've used the Sweet Poppy Crackle Paint on here too .... and then inked through the poinsettia stencil using Distress Oxide ink ..... the large one on the front ....

and the smaller ones on the reverse.
I added some sparkle embossing powder over the top and heat set and added some Christmas sentiments

A touch of fine crystal glitter around the edge gives an icy look

Another stencil I've been using is the Holly Borders ...... two pretty designs on this one

Use it to add a touch of colour to your black and white designs .....

Add it to the bottom of tags .....

It doesn't always have to be green either ...... how about white holly leaves to frame your stamped designs ......

White paste, crystal glitter on the top with just a touch of blue added in there

Use the borders to create CAS cards ...... top and bottom of your sentiment

or side by side to create a central panel for your greeting.

Don't forget ..... tune in at 11am and 3pm tomorrow (Tuesday) for more fabulous ideas on how to use these stencils, along with more beautiful festive designs.

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

Stay safe and warm ....... wherever you are.

Cheerio until next time