One week to go .......

Happy Thursday .......

This time next week we will have the keys to our new home ...... fingers crossed.  And everything will start getting a little crazy around here ..... crazier than normal that is!
Before all that though there's a whole load of new challenges to get underway ..... I love the beginning of a new month.

We're starting February with the STAMPlorations CAS Challenge ...... it's the usual Anything CAS Goes theme, with an optional colour twist.  This month it's  .....

HOT PINK!
(one of my favourites!)

Here's a really easy CAS design that can be used with any colour at all and will look fabulous every time. And it's a great way of using up all those small pieces of cardstock we have lying around.

My finished card measures 7 inches by 5 but you can easily change the size to whatever is your preferred card size.

I simply took a strip of white cardstcok ..... an cut off from another project ...... and stamped the pretty STAMPlorations Daisy Row from the Artsy Borders range across the card using Versamark ink.  I then heat embossed using a fine detail white embossing powder

I then swiped a Picked Raspberry Distress Ink pad onto my craft sheet, spritzed with water and then smooshed the card through the ink to add the colour onto the background ......

Using a paintbrush I picked up a little more of the colour and painted over the petals to make them stand out more from the background colour.

A layer of black card underneath to give a small border along one edge, a simple sentiment stamped above and the finishing touch ...... a pretty little matching gemstone.

Check out all the challenge details on the STAMPlorations Blog where you'll also find lots more fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team ........ Happy stamping!

Don't forget it you love the STAMPlorations range of products and you place an order, use my special code to get a 20% discount ...... on all stamps, stencils and dies!

use code ....... STAMPGIRLLINDA

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

Cheerio until next time

CAS for STAMPlorations .........

Happy Thursday folks,

It's time for this months CAS Card Challenge over at STAMPlorations.
As always the theme is Anything Goes as long as it's Clean and Simple, and this month the optional colour twist is ...... MAGENTA

The Design Team have been busy creating inspiration pieces for you, and we have a fab Guest Designer this month too.  Elaine (Craft-E-Place) is joining in the fun.

So ........ MAGENTA ...... how would you describe it?  Is it a reddish-purple, a mauvish-crimson or a pinky-plum with a hint of fuschia?  Hmmmm .......

Here's my take on it ..... I used Adirondak Soft Plum, mixed with a little water, to add colour to those gorgeous STAMPlorations Heleniums

Still keeping things CAS ...... I started by adding a wash of colour to the corner of a piece of white card to give me a bit of a background, then I stamped and embossed the flower using a white detail embossing powder

This is such a pretty bloom ...... lots of detail.

I then smooshed the Adirondak ink onto my craft sheet and used a water brush to pick up the colour and paint the flowers

A touch of wild honey Distress Ink for the centers, and I finished off by adding a little extra detail to the background using the ARTplorations Dots All Over stencil

I stamped and embossed the greeting (which comes with the flower stamp) onto a scrap of black card and used a punch to cut it out

Something pretty on the inside ..... and we're done

Now it's your turn ..... will you use the optional colour twist?  I can't wait to see all your fabulous creations.  Happy stamping!

What a glorious couple of days we've had ......  and dare I say it, but if feels to be getting warmer. The skies are blue and the sun is shining ...... is summer finally on it's way?  We're off to Bourton again in six weeks so I do hope so.

It's been a bit of a lazy day today ........ when I say lazy I mean we haven't been rushing around here there and everywhere. A little bit of craft, a few household chores (well a girl needs clean clothes!!) and then this evening we're off out for dinner.  We're going to one of my favourite Indian restaurants over here ...... Bukhara.  I guess the diet will have to wait another day!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

EDIT .........  Hi!  Me again.  Thanks to the lovely Loll for the nudge ......... I'm linking my card up to this months CAS Mix Up Challenge 

• Stamping ....... got that
• Heat Embossing ....... got that too
• My choice ...... Watercolouring and stenciling 

Thanks for the nudge Loll ..... glad someone's on the ball.  I have had a busy week though and it's not over yet.

It's Gin & Tonic time now though ..... Cheers! 

xx

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

Merry Monday #101

Hello again,

Twice in one day ....... things must be going ok (oops! .... let's hope I don't regret saying that!!)

I mentioned earlier I was off to do the latest Merry Monday Challenge ...... the ladies have put out their reminder blog post today so I thought it was a good a time as any to make a start. 
We have another colour challenge again this week ....... a bit more on the neutral side than the last one ......

I love the wreath on the inspiration picture, I think it looks so elegant.   Here's what I've come up with .....

Not that much grey really looking at it now, but there is some on there.

The little winter scene is stamped in Watering Can .... a grey Archival ink, and I've just added a touch of fine Crystal glitter ...

I've then cut out a bauble using one of the Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments set of dies and added a circle aperture to the centre.  It's then been stamped using Versamark ink and my favourite Vintage Flourish stamp from IndigoBlu.  I've then used white embossing powder over the top.

I've used the flourish again to create my backgrounds  .... first onto corners of some red cardstock,

and then also onto a piece of white card.  I used the Versamark to stamp with and then this time instead of embossing powder, I dusted over the design using a white pearlescent chalk

It's come out quite grey looking on the red, and I really like the delicate effect on the white ...... subtle I think you'd call it.

I mat and layered using grey cardstock, placed the winter scene as though it was inside the bauble and finished off with a pretty red bow, a touch of red glitter card and a few gemstones.  The sentiment is a festive favourite from Penny Black.

I must say I do like this colour combo ...... this could even be the family card this year.

Well that's it for today ..... the old craft room door is closed (so I can't see the mess that's in there!).  It's on to the household stuff now ..... things like ironing and cooking dinner (oh joy!)

I'll be back in there tomorrow though .... still lots to do before I board that plane on Friday.

Thanks for popping by (again!).  Enjoy your evening.

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

From the Heart ........

Good morning everyone,

A nice early(ish) post today ....... which probably means it was scheduled!!!!
I'm currently running around like a headless chicken doing what we ladies do best ...... multi-tasking,  doing 10 jobs at once and still managing to get ready for an afternoon out.  It's a good job I've got the house to myself this morning.

It's January 21st which means we have a brand new theme over on the IndigoBlu Challenge Blog.
Before we go into all that though ....... Congratulations go to .....  

 Sheila 

the lucky winner of the mahoosive prize that was on offer for the final challenge of 2013.   Check out the Winners button over on the blog to see Sheila's pretty winning design (she's used one of my favourite stamps .... the lovely Wild Flowers)

It was really nice seeing which of the IndigoBlu stamps have made it onto all of your 'favourite' lists. I don't know about you,  but my favourite changes everytime there's a new set of stamps out!
Enjoy all your goodies Sheila, I'm sure you'll have a few more IndigoBlu favourites very soon.

We've decided this year, as well as the winner,  the DT are going to choose a Top 3 each month to show how much we appreciate all your fab entries.   There's a new 'I Made the Top 3 at IndigoBlu' badge  along with a badge for the winner, which we hope you'll all display proudly on your blogs if you're chosen.
So ..... if you entered the challenge last month, pop over to the Blog and see if you're one of our first Top 3.

The challenge rules are still the same, and as always there's a great prize for the winner so get out your IndigoBlu stash and create something fabulous.

This month's theme is ......

FROM THE HEART

Here's my inspiration piece for you .......

I've gone for the pretty Love is ...... rubber stamp,  a beautiful heart that's full of detail.

The layout of the card is quite a simple design.  I started by cutting some kraft card to the sizes that I wanted (the finished card is approx 8x6), then I used my Distress inks to add a touch of colour around the edges - Tea Dye and one of my current favourites - Aged Mahogany.  I then did my usual trick of flicking water over the inked card, let it sit for a couple of seconds, then mopped up the excess using some kitchen roll.

Next I used the IndigoBlu Script Background stamp to add some detail to both sides of the larger piece of kraft card

I stamped using Versamark ink then added a Fine Detail Embossing Powder.  I also added a few splatters of black ink too for a bit more interest .......

and attached a piece of ivory organza ribbon across the card before any mat and layering.

The heart was also embossed in white then I stamped the two flowers from the centre again onto Kraft card, this time using a red Archival ink.  These were then cut out and attached using hot glue for a bit of dimension.

You can see how detailed the heart is, and because I used a fine detail embossing powder none of it has been missed ...... so pretty.

The sentiment is from the stamp set Grand Tour II and has been stamped using the red Archival again and then cut out using Nestabilities dies

Once everything was put together I finished it all off with an organza bow and a cute little wooden heart button .....

What do you think?  Valentine's card perhaps ....... I think it's definitely 'From the Heart'

If you fancy taking up the challenge, you have until 8pm on February 20th to get your entries in and be in with a chance of winning a fab prize.  I can't wait to see what you all come up with ........ good luck!!

Thanks for popping by.  Enjoy the rest of your day.  I'm off to a craft workshop this afternoon, with the lovely ladies from Ballaugh again.  I'm not teaching this time so I'm looking forward to an afternoon where I can play ...... I hope I've packed everything!

Cheerio for now

LindyLou

xx