Autumn Florals for the Sweet Poppy Stencil challenge .......

Happy Monday .......

I hope you've had a lovely weekend ..... did you remember to put your clocks back?

We're racing towards the end of October, and the deadline for this month's Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Flowers and Blooms Challenge.  

I've dug deep into my Sweet Poppy collection and found this pretty little stencil ....... Floral Love Birds 

I've gone for an Autumnal look, using shades of orange, yellow and red Distress Inks, applied through the stencil with a sponge, building up the colours gradually.

When I'm using a sponge with Sweet Poppy stencils I tend to gently pounce the ink through the stencil. 

I try to avoid using a circular motion, the stencils are metal and the edges can be sharp, so they can damage a sponge if you're a little heavy handed, just be gentle with them (take care cleaning them too especially the very detailed stencils, they can cut fingers ...... trust me I know!!)

Once I was happy with the colour I used a black fine liner pen and drew around the edges of the design.  I did it free hand but you could just as easily do this with the stencil still in place.

I added a few highlights to the flowers using a white gel pen, and gently inked around the edges of the card with Distress ink

The challenge closes on Thursday the 29th and this months winner will be announced on Friday 30th.

There's a £40 voucher for the winner, to spend on the Sweet Poppy website.  To be in with a chance of winning please, please, please follow the rules ......

We've had quite a few entries this month that sadly we have had to disqualify.  The theme is Flowers and Blooms, not trees or leaves, holly or pine sprigs.

You MUST use Sweet Poppy stencils ONLY (it is a Sweet Poppy challenge after all), and the stencil MUST be the focal point on your design.

If you use stamps they can be any brand but, please keep them small, accents only.

It's not fun having to tell someone that their beautiful design, that they have spent precious time creating, unfortunately can't be entered into the challenge because ......... they haven't followed the rules! 😢

Thanks for popping by ..... have a lovely day.

It's half term here, so a busy week for me.  

The little man will be around at some point,  we've got a pumpkin to carve for weekend.  And I've got a crafty get together tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to ....... haven't seen the girls for ages!!

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stencils: Floral Love Birds (Sweet Poppy)

Inks: Distress Inks - Wild Honey, Scattered Straw, Carved Pumpkin, Crackling Campfire, Aged Mahogany

Stamps: Cheers A6 stamp set (Sweet Poppy)

Others: Black Fine Liner, White Gel Pen

There's still time to play along with the Sweet Poppy challenge .....

Good morning!

Is it Monday already? ........ I hope you've had a good weekend.  

We did absolutely nothing ..... well apart from catching up with all the boring stuff like washing and ironing, paperwork and tidying the craftroom, not a job I look forward to!  

But, everything is done now, so I can concentrate on organising and packing for our family Staycation coming up at the weekend. 

Don't forget Lucy and Sweet Poppy Stencils are back on Hochanda tomorrow (Tuesday 15th Sept) at 3pm and 7pm.  

And speaking of Sweet Poppy, have you played along with this months challenge? ...... there's still plenty of time if you fancy joining in. You never know, you could be the winner of this months mahoosive £40 voucher to spend on the Sweet Poppy website.

The theme this month is .......

   

Hues of Blue 

The rules are simple ......

• Create a project following the challenge theme and post a picture on the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook Page
• Include in your post "Sweet Poppy Challenge ..... and the theme"
• Each person can have a maximum of three entries per challenge
• Use ONLY  Sweet Poppy stencils on your project ...... but other branded mediums can be used with them ..... pastes, inks, paints etc.
• If you use stamps, on your designs then please make sure that they are an accent only.  Your stencil MUST be the focal point on your card ....... this is a Sweet Poppy challenge after all!

There's been a few questions this month regarding what you can and can't use.  

To be in with a chance of winning the challenge prize, using OTHER BRANDED STENCILS is a definite No! No!, even if they've only been used as a background ....... this is a Sweet Poppy Stencil challenge

As it states in the rules,  stamps can be used, but only as accents, so that means small images and sentiments. Your stencil design MUST remain the focal point on your project.

I've used a stamp as an accent on my inspiration piece, but the stencil design is still the main part of the card

I used the Teardrop Background with various shades of blue Distress Inks .......

I added a few splatters of ink onto the background and some dots of Nuvo Crystal Drops here and there

I also highlighted around the edges of the teardrops using a Stardust Gel pen

I added in the sentiment and attached the frog using a piece of folded acetate so that he moves

Fancy having £40 to spend on the Sweet Poppy website? ...... well get those stencils out and create something fabulous!

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

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

                               

Products used:

Stencils: Teardrop Background (Sweet Poppy)

Inks: Distress Inks - Broken China, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Stamps: Toadily Happy (Penny Black); Sentiment from my stash

Other: Clear Stardust Gel Pen; Nuvo Crystal Drops (Tonic)

Hot Summer Colours for the Sweet Poppy Challenge .......

Good morning ..... happy weekend!

I can't believe how quickly these weeks are going by, we're already in the middle of August!

I just want to remind you about the brand new monthly Challenge that launched on the 1st of this month, from Sweet Poppy Stencils. 
If you haven't played along yet don't worry, there's still plenty of time, the challenge is open until the 29th of August.

Our first challenge theme is all about Hot Summer Colours ........ perfect for the weather we've been having recently.  It's definitely been Hot! Hot! Hot! here.

There's been some amazing entries so far, but if you're still looking for inspiration how a pretty floral design.  You can never go wrong with flowers. 

This was really quick and easy to do, the hardest part was choosing which one of the beautiful Sweet Poppy floral stencils to use!

Once I'd decided, I simply inked through the design using various hot summer shades of Distress Inks 

I added a sentiment on the bottom ......

And finished off with some dots of gold gel pen in the centers of the flowers, and a few splatters of gold ink ...... done!

The challenge rules are simple .......

• Create something fabulous following the monthly theme
• Use ONLY Sweet Poppy Stencils on your projects.  Other branded inks and mediums etc., are OK to use alongside your stencil.
• Post your entry on the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook page making sure that you include the words Sweet Poppy Challenge - and the theme for the month,  in the title of your post
• Each person can enter a maximum of up to THREE entries per challenge.
• And there's a whopping £40 voucher to spend online at Sweet Poppy Stencils for the winner, which will be randomly chosen once the challenge closes.

Good luck everyone ...... I can't wait to see all your entries.

If you're a Sweet Poppy Stencils fan and you feel like adding some new designs to your collection then I've got a date for your diary.

Lucy is back on our screens on Hochanda (Sky channel 673/FreeSat 817/ Freeview  85), on Wednesday 26th August ..... at 1pm and 5pm with some gorgeous, brand new stencils.  You're going to love them.

I've been busy making samples for the show so, watch this space for some ideas on how to use them.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your weekend.

I'll be back later with another challenge reminder  ...... see you then

Products used:
Stencils: Wall of Poppies (Sweet Poppy Stencils)
Inks: Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Delicata Metallic Ink - Golden Glitz (for the splatters)
Stamps: Friends A6 stamps set (Sweet Poppy)
Other: Gold Gel Pen