A little reminder for the CAS Stencil Challenge ........

Happy Monday .......

I do hope your week has got off to a great start.
I seem to have had one of those days ...... I've been busy, but haven't achieved much!

I've just popped by to remind you about this month's CAS Stencil Challenge ......

Our host this month is Julia and the theme is ....... Ghosting
There's some fabulous entries in the gallery so far, but don't worry, if you want to play along there's still time to get your entries in.

If you're not familiar with the Ghosting technique then there's links on the CAS Stencil Blog to some really easy to follow video tutorials ..... go on, give it a go!  Just remember to keep your cards in the Clean and Simple (CAS) style

I've gone for a bit of a masculine look today ..... well with the colours at least!

I blended Distress Oxides onto a piece of smooth watercolour card, then placed my stencil over the top.

Using a damp baby wipe I gently rubbed over the stencil design, removing some of the ink from the design

The stenciled panel was then attached to the bottom of a 7x5 inch cardblank.

I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the length of the card blank and then die cut a fancy edge along the bottom

I added my sentiment and then attached this to the front of my card blank, overlapping the stenciled panel.

To finish off I added a few drops of Nuvo Jewel Drops around the sentiment.

We've also got a lovely Guest Designer this month ...... Ishani is joining us, so please pop by and say Hello.

Happy stenciling!

I'm also linking this card up to this month's Country View Crafts Challenge where the theme is Letters and/or Numbers

Thanks for stopping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day, and have a lovely week.
We haven't much in the diary this week, it's a bit of a quiet one for a change.  Lots to do in the craft room though.

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Birthday Love (T for Transparent set by Penny Black)
Inks: Distress Oxides - Faded Jeans, Gathered Twigs; Versafine Clair - Nocturne
Other: Numeric Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz); Stitched Fancy Edge cutting die; Nuvo Jewel Drops - Sea Breeze

Uniko Challenge # 52 .....

Happy Friday ........

It's almost the weekend again .... these weeks are just flying by!  At least the weather has calmed down a little since the storm in the middle of the week.  Let's hope it lasts ..... hubby's planning on having a BBQ on Sunday!!

Anyway ........ let's get that Friday feeling shall we.  Fancy a blog challenge? 

It's time to get the new Uniko Challenge underway.   It's Challenge #52  and the theme is Spring, with the optional twist this month being ..... Easter

I love the inspiration picture ...... our bunnies are back in the garden, happily munching away at the grass.

I haven't used the twist this month, I was inspired more by the colours and the Spring element.

I started by stamping the daffodil (my favourite Spring flower) onto a piece of smooth watercolour cardstock and heat embossed the images in white.

I then blended Distress Oxide inks over the top ...... starting each colour on the edge and working my way towards the centre until the colours blended nicely together. 

The embossing acts as a resist to the inks so once I was happy with the colour I gave it a quick polish over with a soft cloth and removed any left over ink on the embossed images, so that the white really popped out against the background.
You could do the Distress inks first, then the heat embossing but ..... you would have to make sure that the backgound was completely dry before applying your embossing powder otherwise you risk not getting a perfect, crisp image.  Also, remember to use your anti-static bag before doing any kind of heat embossing.

I splattered some water onto my inked background, let it sit for a few seconds then mopped up the excess with a paper towel leaving this fab splattered effect on the background.

I never tire of doing this, it's a great way of adding some detail and interest to your projects, and the Distress inks, both the original and the oxides, react so well with water. 
And the great thing is no two backgrounds will ever be the same.

Next I die cut the word 'Happy' ..... once from the centre of the inked card, and twice from plain white cardstock.
I inlaid one of the white die cuts back into the coloured card, layered on the second white one and then finally the coloured one on the top.  This is sometimes called the hidden sentiment technique, or camoflagued sentiments.  I love it. 
You can add as many or as few layers as you like, just remember when you inlay the first layer you need to add in the bits from the centres of letters or gaps in the word that are cut from the coloured version (the one that will be the top layer!).  This means that your finished piece will be complete again ..... does that make sense?

I added a little stamped banner with the rest of my sentiment

You have lots of time to play along, the challenge doesn't end until midnight (GMT) on 19th April.  Although thinking about it, it will actually be midnight BST (British Summer Time) ..... the clocks go forward here on March 31st!!  But hey! you still have loads of time to enter.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your day and have a great weekend.
Mine's starting early .... I'm off into town later to meeting someone for coffee, followed by a bit of retail therapy and a quick lunch with Lauren, and then hubby and I are out this evening. It's all go here!

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Spring Botanicals - Daffodil (Uniko), Birthday Sentiments (Uniko)
Inks: Distress Oxides - Salty Ocean, Cracked Pistachio, Versamark ink, Versafine Clair - Nocturne
Other: Detail White Embossing Powder, Platinum Embossing powder (WOW!), Big & Bold Happy Designer Dies (Uniko), smooth watercolour cardstock, white card

Happy 3rd Birthday CAS Mix Up .......

Happy Wednesday .......

It's a bit of a cold and blustery one here today.  There's no boats, trees down everywhere .... it's blowing a right old hoolie out there!   There's nothing like starting your day chasing garden chairs in your PJ's!!!
Everything is safe and sound again though and the hatches have been battened.  Let's hope Storm Gareth doesn't hang around too long.

I'm playing along with the CAS Mix Up challenge today and guess what ..... they're celebrating their 3rd Birthday.  Congratulations ladies!

The theme for March is Faux Stained Glass ..... something I've not tried before.
If you haven't tried it either, check out the links on the CAS Mix Up Blog, there's a couple of ways you can do this technique

I chose to use die cuts and Crystal Glaze ..... this was so much fun to do and I love how it's turned out

Faux Stained Glass technique/Rubber stamping/Heat embossing

I started with a scrap of cardstock coloured using Distress Oxides.

I then die cut the butterflies FOUR times ...... three from scraps of white card and once from a piece cut to 7x5 inches, to fit the front of my cardblank.  Behind this I attached the piece of coloured card and then, inlaid one of the die cuts back into place along with two more on top

I filled each of the sections with Clear Crystal Glaze and then set it aside to dry.

For the final layer I inked over each of the butterflies using Versamark ink and then heat embossed with a Platinum embossing powder.
Once the glaze was dry I added the embossed butterflies on the top ....... I love the dimension

A simle sentiment was all it needed to finish off ..... very CAS!

I'm definitely going to give this technique another try.

Thanks for popping by ..... have a great day.
I'm off back to the craft room I think ...... it's nice and cosy in there.

Cheerio until next time .....

Products used:
Stamps: Birthday Sentiments (Happy Little Stampers)
Inks:  Distress Oxides - Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Versamark ink
Other: Butterfly Trio Die (Poppy Stamps), Ink Me white cardstock (Hunkydory), Platinum Embossing Powder (WOW!), Nuvo Clear Crystal Glaze

Uniko Design Team Blog Hop and Giveaway ....

Happy weekend ......

Let's hope it's a good one.
After my busy birthday week, I'm hoping for a nice quiet one ...... spend some time in the craft room, or catch up with some TV maybe.  What have you got planned?

OK ..... let's get the weekend started with a little bit of Uniko fun shall we. 
As there's no new product release this month, we're having a Non-Release Design Team Blog Hop & Giveaway, featuring some previously released stamps and a pretty stencil.

We've got a bit of a Spring theme going on ...... well, it's not that far away, hopefully!
We're showcasing the pretty Spring Botanicals Daffodil and Snowdrop clear stamp sets and the Bright Butterflies Stencil

Here's a couple of ideas for you ..... a nice CAS design, using just one of the butterfly shapes from the stencil .......

I stamped my sentiment first .... from the Daffodil stamp set, using a black ink.

I masked off the area around the butterfly I wanted to use, and then with a stencil brush, I used shades of pink Distress Oxide ink to create my design across the card, working around the sentiment .....

I added a little detail to the butterflies using a Stardust Gel pen ..... love how this shimmers when it catches the light

And to finish off, a few sparkly gems here and there

Daffodils are definitely a sign that Spring is on its way ..... they're such happy flowers. I thought they would make a nice Mother's Day card too

Using my MISTI, I stamped the pretty daffodil all over a piece of white card using a gold ink

I then coloured in the flowers with the new Tri-Blend Markers (I think that's what they're called) from Crafter's Companion ...... one pen, split into 3 shades of the same colour ....... clever!

I used some of the words from the stamp set to create the sentiment on the front of the card .....

and used another on the inside .....

Don't forget to comment on your way through the Blog Hop,  there's a fab prize up for grabs.
One lucky hopper will win the gorgeous Spring Botanicals Daffodil Clear Stamp set and the Bright Butterflies stencil (or an alternative to the same value if the winner already has these in their stash)
You have until midnight (GMT) on 16th March to complete the hop and leave your comments ..... have fun.

Happy Hopping!

Here's the list of Blogs on the hop ..........
Bev
Carol
Izzy 
Jane 
Linda (that's me!)
Rahmat
Sarah G
Sarah P
Wiebke 

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

Cheerio until next time ......

Products used .....
Butterfly card
Stamps ......  Spring Botanicals - Daffodil (Uniko)
Inks ...... Versafine Clair (Nocturne), Distress Oxides (Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry)
Others ...... Bright Butterflies stencil (Uniko), Stardust Gel Pen, Clear gems

Daffodil card
Stamps ....... Spring Botanicals - Daffodil (Uniko)
Inks ......  Versafine Clair (Nocturne), Delicata Metallic ink (Goden Glitz)
Others ...... Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend Markers (Crafters Companion), Clear gems 

Love You to the Moon and Back ......

Good morning .......

The weekend is just around the corner ........ have you got that Friday feeling yet? 

It's time for a quick reminder of this month's Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge
All you have to do is TAKE a stamp and MAKE something fabulous!
The theme is Anything Goes, so that means you can create whatever you like ..... a card, a journal page or a tag.   ATC's or coins, jewellry or a piece of home decor .... it's up to you.
All you have to remember is, there must be some actual rubber stamping on your project  ..... easy!

I've got a cute little card for you today, that could actually go in a frame and hang on a bedroom wall perhaps,

I don't really do super cute these days but, I just couldn't resist this little guy from a recent Penny Black release ......

He's been stamped onto a piece of white cardstock, coloured using ZIG markers and then fussy cut.  I also gave the moon a little shimmer with a clear Wink of Stella Pen

Something else that recently arrived in the craft room and I've been waiting to play with, are the brand new Distress Oxide Sprays.  Have you tried them yet?  They are so much fun .... and they look great on black cardstock.  Which is what I've used for my galaxy background

I spritzed the Oxides onto the black card, giving each colour a quick blast with a heat tool.  I used a blue, purple, pink and a little bit of grey (I've listed the exact colours below)

I added a few splatters of gold and white over the top, and used some glittery die cut stars in the background.
I framed my galaxy sky, and attached the little bear using foam pads for extra dimension

I do love this sentiment .......

As always there's two prizes up for grabs ..... the Design Winner chosen by the Design Team.  They will be featured in the Craft Stamper magazine along with their winning entry, be invited to be a Guest Designer on a future TIMI  challenge, and have a Winners profile on Craft Stamper Blog.
The second Winner is chosen at random from all the eligible challenge entries and they receive the Blog Challenge prize, which this month is ...... a fabulous Tim Holtz stamp set

Check out the Craft Stamper Blog for all the challenge  guidelines and Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by, enjoy the rest of your day.
We're off out again this evening ..... yes the birthday celebrations are still going on!  This is the last though .... I think. There's nothing planned for the weekend .... yet!

What do you think of the new look? Nice isn't it!
I felt it was time for a change ....... something more clean and fresh.  I LOVE it!!
A huge Thank You goes to the lovely Loll Thompson from Stamping with Loll who did all the hard work on the header design and the graphics, and also did the change over ..... you're a Star!

Have a lovely weekend.
Cheerio until next time ......

Products used .....
Stamps ..... Space Reserved (Penny Black)
Inks ......  Versafine Clair (Nocturne), Distress Oxide Sprays (Mermaid Lagoon,Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry and a little Iced Spruce), Delicata Metallic ink (Golden Glitz), 
Others ....... ZIG Clean Colour Brush Markers, White acrylic paint, Stitched frame die