A bit of a catch up ..... and a sneak preview

Happy Wednesday,

How's your week going?  We've had the first snow on the island this week ....... it didn't half come down yesterday,  I watched it roll in over the mountains.  Thankfully it didn't stick around ...... it's still pretty cold today though and the wind is getting up again.   Time to batten down the hatches again and stay cozy and warm in the old craft room I think. 
The sofa day on Sunday seemed to do the trick ..... coughs and sniffles are no worse, mind you they're not much better either.  But ....... I won't let them get the better of me, one day off is enough.

I've just popped another box of samples in the post today ..... they're off to Kay at IndigoBlu then hopefully they'll be on their way to the NEC in Birmingham for the Trade Show which starts at the weekend.  Yes it's that time of year again when Stitches gets underway ....... more new products!!!

Here's a little preview of a couple of new Indigo Blu stamps that will be launching this weekend, and will be available to buy very soon ......

The stunning Miss Austen ....... she's so beautiful.   Here she is along with the brand new Sheet Music that launched last weekend and some of those fab Altered Egos.

You have seen a version of her before on the Mr Darcy stamp set, but the new one is larger, more detailed, and has the gorgeous frame around her

And then there's a stunning new floral design ...... Rose Blush

How pretty is this ...... I've just kept the design really simple, just black and white with the tiniest hint of pink in there

Just look at the detail .......

Watch this space for more designs using these stamps, and also the IndigoBlu Blog.  The rest of the DT will be posting more fabulous makes using these I'm sure.

Speaking of the Blog, I've posted on there today if you fancy taking a look.  Grab a cuppa first though ..... it's a long one!!!

Oh well,  that's Wednesday nearly over.  Better get on with the dinner now.  thanks for popping by,  I'll be back tomorrow with this weeks card for the challenge over at Less Is More

Until then ..... cheerio for now.  Enjoy the rest of your day

Linda

xx

Sniff, sniff ..... cough, cough

Happy Sunday,

I hope you're all having a nice weekend.  Did you see Kay on the telly yesterday with IndigoBlu?   Two more great shows full of fabulous products (did you like the new stamps?), along with great tips and techniques from the boss, and lots of inspiration ideas from the DT ..... well done girls, great job!!

Well I should have know it wouldn't last ...... everyone around me has been coming down with one bug or another, coughing and sneezing everywhere, and I've managed to escape them all ..... until now that is!!  There it was this morning ........ headache, sore throat, stuffy nose ..... just what I need!!  So ...... to try and stop things getting any worse I'm taking the day off!  I'm taking to the sofa with a box of tissues, some hot lemon and the TV remote!

Before I do though ..... here's this week's little bit of festive spirit for the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge

The theme this week is .......

USE A STOCKING

Here's mine .....

These little stockings are soooo cute ....... and how true is that sentiment!

The background was created using my favourite favourite IndigoBlu stamp - Vintage Flourish  along with the Flitter Glu and Flake (Chariot of Fire) stamped onto some red cardstock.  It's not an actual 'Christmas' stamp but I think it works so well ....... very elegant.

I then stamped the words in the centre of a square of white cardstock, and embossed using a red embossing powder. It's a cute little cling stamp from Stampendous called 'get socks' (CRF218)  and it always makes me giggle ...... great for those dreaded mens cards I think.

I stamped the snowflakes around the edges using Versamark ink and then lightly dusted over the top with pearlescent gold and silver chalks

My 'stockings' have been hung onto the bottom of the words.  They're a cute little stamp from Art Impressions that I've had for a good few years, I just stamped them onto white cardstock, coloured them with Copic Markers and cut them out .......

A bit of matting and layering, and some sparkly gems finish the card nicely.

That's another one to go into the Christmas box ..... I've even done the inside so it's all ready to go.  I'm getting quite the collection now.

The fun part is going to be deciding who gets what.


Thanks for popping by today.   I see I have another new follower this week too ...... thanks for joining me, I do hope you enjoy the journey.

Until next time ........

(a sniffly and croaky)  Cheerio for now

Linda

xx

Happy Birthday LIM .......

Happy Thursday,

The clue is in the title as to what I'm posting today ........ yes it's a birthday card and it's for the girls over at Less is More.  This fabulous weekly Blog challenge is 3 years old ...... congratulations ladies and thanks for all your hard work in putting together all the fun challenges each week.

It's a COLOUR challenge this week and it's .....

RAINBOW

There's lots of fab inspiration over on the challenge blog, with some special guest designers too.

Here's what I've come up with ......

I've had this Memory Box die for a while and thought it was about time it came out of the packaging.  The rainbow bit is all the colours behind the cut out circles ....... each one coloured using a Copic Marker ...... really simple

The little sentiment in the centre is a Penny Black rubber stamp ...... so cute!  

A bit of mat and layering and the card is done ...... very clean and simple.  A little different from the first one I made

 

A bit too More is More I think ....... the idea was ok, but once it was finished I couldn't make my mind up about it ...... and when hubby said 'isn't that a bit too much for LIM'  I thought maybe he was right, and made a new one - everyone's a critic eh!!!

The cute little balloons on this one were cut using the Penny Black die - uplifting (51-004), from various scraps of Core'dinantions cardstock (a great way to use up all those little bits of cardstock you just can't throw away)

I added some highlights using a white gel pen and did a spot of doodling on one of the balloons .....

Some natural twine bows finish them off and the sentiment is from the Tim Holtz set - Simple Sayings (CMS155).  Too much?  What do you think?

I'm on Grandma duties this afternoon ...... everyone's out so it's just me and the little guy.  Time to have some fun I think.

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

Until next time .......

Linda

xx

This week's going ok ....... so far

Happy Wednesday,

We've reached the middle of another week ........ I probably shouldn't say this but, things are not going too bad this week.  DT samples are all done (phew!) and are now in the hands of Mr Royal Mail.  The old craft room is .... wait for it ....... TIDY!!!! And the 'To Do' list is looking ok.  Not to mention I had a fab day yesterday crafting with two lovely ladies - Sue and Maggie.  We took over the kitchen for the day and just played ...... it was so nice.  The ladies wanted to do some rubber stamping, and they decided they wanted to make one of my Christmas card designs I'd done recently ....... the silhouette gent that I'd done for Merry Monday a couple of weeks ago. 
The two of them did all the work, I just pointed them in the right direction.  There was a bit of everything, stamping, Distress inks, die cutting, embossing powders ......  I even got Sue flicking water over her project (Sue doesn't do messy ...... or should I say she does now!).  We had loads of fun, I hope we can all find the time to do it again.

Speaking of Merry Monday ...... I received another Honorable Mention this week .... for my Baubles card from my last post.  Thank you so much ladies, I really appreciate it, and I shall be joining in with the fun again this week .... that'll be another Christmas card ....... watch this space!

The reason I've been so busy this last couple of weeks is Kay's back on our screens at the weekend.  IndigoBlu are on Create & Craft, Saturday 8th Feb at 11am and 4pm.  That means new stamps of course along with lots of other goodies too.  Here's a little sneaky peek at what I've been up to .....

I don't suppose the DT should have favourite's but ...... this is definitely my latest one .... I just love this stamp, it's so pretty

So all you IndigoBlu fans, it's Saturday 8th Feb, 11 and 4 on Create & Craft ..... you won't want to miss all the fun.

I've also posted on the IndigoBlu DT Blog today ......

Please pop on over there if you'd like to see this in full.

Well that's it from me for today.  I'm off to make a mess in the old craft room .... well it just doesn't look the same when I can actually see my workdesk!


Enjoy the rest of your day.  Thanks for popping by.
Until next time .....

Linda

xx

The calm after the storm ......

Happy Sunday everyone,

Enjoying the weekend? ......... We've got a lovely day here on the Isle of Man ...... the sun is trying to show his face at last.  It's a lot better than the day we had yesterday ....... the heavy rain and the strong winds that were forecast definitely turned up, along with the high tide at lunchtime.  This was Douglas Bay at around 12.30 .....

You know how the other half likes to 'storm chase' ..... we decided to drive up to Onchan Head and take a look, and we weren't the only ones, there was quite a crowd.
It was a little on the breezy side up there .... and very WET!!!  The spray from the waves crashing in was being carried all the way up there on the wind, but I managed a few pictures without the camera getting soaked.

As you can imagine the prom was closed, again .......

and I doubt that the ferries were sailing.  It would have been like riding a roller coaster ....... wouldn't fancy that!!!

It's all calm today though.

I'm having a lazy day in the old craft room, putting the finishing touches to my Design Team stuff that needs to be done and dusted this next week.  I feel like I've been at these for ages.  I was even in there burning the midnight oil last night determined to get things finished.  It's always a bit of a worry though .... late night crafting, my craft lamps are just not the same as natural daylight.  I've had a few mornings, I can tell you, when I've gone back into the craft room, took one look and thought ........ hmmmm 'just what where you thinking girl!!!'  Not the case this morning though ...... everything looks fine. Thank goodness.

I'm keeping up with the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge  ........ that's 4 out of 4. Not bad eh!
I received another Honorable Mention last week too .... thanks ladies, and thanks to everyone for your lovely comments on my Colours and ribbon card .......

This weeks challenge is all about ......

Ornaments

Here's my entry ......

Very clean and simple, using one of my new (unused) stamps from last year.  It's one of the pretty designs from the Penny Black  cling set  ..... ornatley (40-252)
I've inked the stamp using colours from the Wendy Vecchi Archival ink range, and stamped the image directly onto a piece of white cardstock.
I then stamped the beautiful bow section again and cut it out, attaching over the top using foam pads

A touch of fine glitter to give the baubles a bit of sparkle ..... well it is a Christmas card after all

And then I finished off  with one of my favourite Christmas stamps ..... I love the font on this one (another one from Penny Black)

And there you have it ..... festive design number 4.  I might even do a few more of these, well the stamps are still on my workdesk.

I'm hoping next week is going to be a little less manic in the old craft room.  After a good old clean and tidy up I might even get chance to play with some of the new stash that's continuing to pile up.

Thanks for popping by. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and look forward to the week ahead.

Until next time .......

Linda

xx