More CAS Christmas cards .......

Happy Sunday .......

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.  

I'm full of a cold! ....... just what I need when we're off on our travels again next week!! 

I am supposed to be getting the van ready today, but instead it's time to curl up on the sofa with a hot drink and try to shake this thing off!  We don't leave until Wednesday so I've got a little bit of time.

I've been busy making more Christmas cards, pretty CAS designs again. 

Same card, two colourways ..... you can't go wrong with a bit of festive sparkle.

And, seeing as the theme is Anything Goes over at Less is More I thought I'd link these up to their latest challenge

I simply stamped and heat embossed the tree (Penny Black's all things evergreen) using WOW's Gold and Silver Sparkle Embossing Powders

I added a few ink splatters around the trees 

and finished off with dots of White Enamel accents.

A simple sentiment stamped in festive red adds just a tiny pop of colour.

EDITED  ....... well I was going to link up to the Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - Challenge #53.  The theme is Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas, so these definitely fit the bill but, unfortunately it's proving a little difficult to get my link on there.  It's probably me, something I'm doing or not doing,  but I'll have to come back to it later!

I'm not planning on taking any craft bits with me in the van this time, but I will be taking the box of finished Christmas cards, in the hope that some of them will actually find their way in the post!

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

Now where did I leave that box of tissues!

Cheerio until next time ......

Simply Less is More Challenge ........

Happy Thursday! .......

We're fast approaching the weekend again, and we've got a busy few days coming up.

I have been back in the craft room, I'm trying to get some more Christmas cards done before we go off on our adventure in the motorhome next week.  It's proving to be a rather slow process but, I think I'm getting there, with a little help from Blog Challenges  and Pnterest!

One such Blog challenge is ....... Simply Less is More. 

Their latest challenge is ........ Anything Goes (keeping it CAS of course)

Now I do love a CAS design, they're great when you're batch making for Christmas.

I used a brand new stamp set (the only Christmas one I've bought this year, so far!).  It's called Mod & Merry and it's from MFT (My Favourite Things). It's a lovely set with lots of stamps, floral designs, pine branches, stars and snowflakes but, what sold it for me were these cute little baubles.

I stamped them using Distress Oxide inks ...... Kitsch Flamingo, Tumbled Glass and Spun Sugar.  I did use my MISTI, and stamped each one a few times to make sure I got full ink coverage.

I then added a few ink splatters to the background, a touch of glitter to highlight the baubles and finished off with a few dots of white Enamel Accents and a simple sentiment.

I do have a confession to make ...... this card was actually made for the last LIM challenge (the Colour challenge .... use Blue, Pink and White) but, I was too slow and missed the deadline ..... ooops!

When I saw the new challenge theme was Anything Goes ..... I though bingo!  I hope this still fits the bill.   At least I'm in time for this one!

I've also finished decorating the first of our Christmas trees.   Well, when I say 'finished', it's done for now.  All the baubles are on but, there's definitely room for more.

Maybe a little something from the Christmas markets next week will find its way home with me.

We're off out this evening.   It's Beaujolais Nouveau Day! THE international event in the month of November .... apparently! 

 

Every year, on the 3rd Thursday in November the new Beaujolais Nouveau is released.  

I'm quite partial to a nice glass of Beaujolais, and as it doesn't stay around too long I don't want to miss out.  So, we're off to Wine Down this evening to try this years release ..... you never know, we may just bring a bottle or two home with us if it's nice ....... Cheers! or should I say Sante!

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Pastel colours for Christmas .......

Happy Sunday .........

How is everyone?  I hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  The weather here is not very nice at all today but, it is November so I suppose its to be expected.

Speaking of November, I can't believe that we're heading for the middle of the month already ........ how did that happen!!!?  Christmas is only six weeks away (eeek!!) and all I've done so far is order the turkey, the wine.  I do have lots of lists though, and we are off to the Christmas markets soon so I'm sure that we'll be full of the festive spirit by then. 

I've also made a start on my Christmas cards ..... finally!  Last weekend was one of our crafty get togethers so it was the perfect opportunity.  More about those later.

Today, I'm playing along with the Color Hues Challenge

As you can see, the colours for this challenge are Light Blue & Purple ..... such a pretty combo.  And as I'm now in Christmas card mode then it had to be festive

I blended the blue and purple inks around the edges of my card ....... Tumbled Glass and Villainous Potion Distress Oxides, then splattered water over the top and let it sit for a few seconds, before mopping up the excess with a paper towel.

An old and simple technique that I never get tired of using!

I then stamped and heat embossed my sentiment across the centre of the card ...... Merry embossed in WOW's Gold Sparkle Embossing Powder

and then the extra words simply stamped using Versafine Clair Monarch (purple) ink

I stamped a few tiny accents around the sentiment using the Blue Oxide Ink, and finished off with dots of fine crystal glitter here and there for a little added sparkle.

I love large word stamps and this set was from Simon Says Stamp, last year I think.  It's called Holiday Sparkle Greetings ...... 4 large words (perfect for DL cards), along with lots of cute little accent stamps to create backgrounds and add sparkle. I believe there's also a matching set of dies which I don't have, maybe I'll have to  change that at some point!

As it's the first time this stamp set has been used (shame on me!), I'm also linking up to the NBUS Challenge

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

I'm off now to decorate a Christmas tree ........ too early??   

We're away in a little over a weeks time, and we don't get home until December 5th, so I don't really want to leave them until then.

So, everywhere's been cleaned, furniture moved, and then last night all the decorations came out (the house looks like the day we moved in, there's boxes everywhere!) 

The first tree is up, the lights are on, and the angel is on the top.  Time to get those baubles out!

'Alexa, get the Christmas music on'

Cheerio until next time, 

Surprise Party Guest at the Seize the Birthday ........

Happy Thursday! .......

It's challenge time again!

I was so pleased when I recently had my card chosen as Challenge Winner over at Seize The Birthday, and now I'm absolutely thrilled to be a Surprise Party Guest for their latest challenge.

As always the theme is Anything Goes - Birthday and for Challenge #272 the optional 'topping' is ......

Add a Sky

The brand new Tweet Life stamp and stencil sets from Concord & 9th just happened to arrive in the craft room this week ..... great timing or what!

I just had to give these little guys a try ..... how cute are they!?

I used Distress Inks and one of the stencils to create the bodies of the birds ....... Peacock Feathers, Spiced Marmalade and Twisted Citron

and then a second stencil and Distress Oxide Inks this time, to add the wings ....... Evergreen Bough, Crackling Campfire and Cracked Pistachio

All the finishing details came from the co-ordinating stamp set ........ simply stamped onto the birds with a black Versafine Clair ink ........ how easy is that! The stamps line up perfectly with the stencils.

It's a fabulous little collection, 5 stencils to create 11 different bird shapes, nine small ones like those above, and two larger birds, and the matching stamps include all the little details to bring your birds to life, along with a whole host of sentiments.

To add the sky I used a cloud stencil from MFT and Salty Ocean Distress ink onto a separate piece of white card

I stamped a simple sentiment underneath the birds,  fussy cut around the top edge of them,  and used foam pads to attach them over the top of the sky.

To finish off  I added some enamel dots here and there in matching colours.

Thank you again to Seize the Birthday for inviting me to be a Surprise Guest, it's been an absolute pleasure!

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

As its the first time I've used these fun stamps and stencils, I'm linking my card up to the NBUS Challenge #55

This may be the first time I've used them but, I can guarantee it won't be the last ...... I love them!!

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

Two-fer Tuesday .........

Happy Tuesday ........

I do hope your week has got off to a great start.  

It's school half-term here this week so we've got Alex at home ........ life with a 13 year old, ohhhh I remember it well!!!

I've got a two-fer for you today ....... two cards, and two challenges. 

First up ....... Simply Less is More. 

It's the dreaded One Layer Card challenge (always fun to do), and the theme is Hello Sunshine

(I remember what that is I think!)

I started by stenciling the sunshine (Julie Hickey Designs) on the top corner of a piece of white cardstock, blending shades of yellow Distress Oxide ink from the centre of the sun outwards.

Next, I stamped the flip-flops (Newton's Nook) ...... stamped the right one first and made a mask to cover it, then stamped the left overlapping it just a little bit.

Coloured them using ZIG Clean Colour Brush Markers.

I finished off  the card with a heat embossed sentiment. That's the One Layer done!

Next up is the Color Hues Challenge

For this challenge the colour combination is ....... Yellow & Kraft

The yellow part was still out on my desk ....... the Distress Oxide inks, and the Kraft bit was easy, always happy to add in a little kraft card

I smooshed a little Distress ink onto a piece of white cardstock using a piece of acetate to create a background.

Next, I used the Etched Layered Daisy Stem die from Simon Says stamp, cutting the flower heads from white cardstock, and the stem from Kraft.

I used two shades of yellow Distress Oxide Ink (Scattered Straw and Squeezed Lemonade) direct from the ink pad to colour the daisy heads and layered them together.

I attached the stems onto the card, added the pretty layered daisy heads, and finished off with a few splatters of Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink (hope this can be classed as a shade of Kraft), and a tiny tag for my sentiment

Both challenges are open for another few days if you fancy playing along.

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

Cheerio until next time ......