Finished for another year .....

Happy Sunday to you .....

Welcome to my latest follower .... it's lovely to have you along.  Thanks for spending time here.
I hope you're all enjoying the weekend.  This time next week I'll be relaxing in a beautiful little cottage down in the Cotswolds, with the whole family.  I'm so looking forward to this break ..... it'll be the first 'family holiday' in a long time.

Things are finally getting back to normal on the island ..... TT is over for another year (sigh!).  Bookings are already being taken for 2015 though,  and I believe they've already had record sales.  This year we had something like 37,000 people that came to the Isle of Man for the two weeks, along with about 12,000 motorbikes!

There's not quite 12,000 bikes here .... but there was a few! 

We went up to the Creg-Ny-Baa on Senior Race Day, and these were just a few of the bikes parked up there ..... it's popular spot for catching the action of the TT Races.    

Yes, we were up bright and early after the Poker Stars Summer/TT Party on Thursday night ..... didn't have too much of the old champagne (hic!!)  So we decided to join in the fun and watch the final race.

It's a great spot up at the Creg, you get to see the riders coming at speed down the mountain road ..... blink and you miss them

You can see you're really close to the track so it can be a little noisy up there ......

 
Then .... they slow down to take the corner at the Creg .... this is where you can get a better look at them, especially if you've got your VIP tickets booked .... next year!!

We had the little man with us, he enjoyed it for a while but, when you've seen and heard one bike hurtling by, when you're three and a bit, I suppose you've seen them all! 
We watched the final two laps of the 6 lap Poker Stars Senior Race down at Govenor's Bridge.

Again you're really close to the road, you can hear the bikes roaring down from the mountain road then they slow right down to take the tight right-hand bend ..... great spot for taking pictures ....

I managed to snap Guy Martin coming in on the final lap ...... he finished third this year behind local lad Conor Cummins and the winner Michael Dunlop.

Oh well .... only 355 days until we do it all over again!!

I think I've bored you enough now with the TT .... sorry!  Onto the important stuff ......
It's time for Merry Monday and another festive make ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!

This week we had a colour challenge .......

Aqua and white, always a nice icy looking combination.  Makes me think of snowflakes and frosty scenes.

 
I kept things CAS and went with pink as my splash of colour.

The snowflakes are a mix of Tim Holtz stamps and Inkadinkadoo, stamped using Turquoise Gem Versamagic ink, first and second generation stamping, to get the shading

You can see the splashes of colour are in the gems, two shades of pink, and the sentiment stamped in Rose Bud Memento .....

Aa always I've carried on the theme inside the card ......

Same snowflakes, and a greeting from Penny Black

Thanks for popping by today, enjoy what's left of the weekend.  We're spending the afternoon with Lauren and the little one.  It's the last day for the fun fair down on Douglas prom and as the sun is shining it would be a waste not to enjoy it.

Cheerio until next time.

Linda

xx

Bleach Blocking ..... new Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge

Morning folks,

Happy Friday!  It may be the end of another week, but it's the start of a brand new Take It Make It Challenge on the Craft Stamper Blog.

We had some fabulous entries again last month, it seems you all really enjoyed the Potato Stamping.  You don't half make it hard to choose a winner though, but we got there in the end, and the prize went to  .......

Entry Number 17 .... from Ruth

Congratulations!

On to this month's challenge ...... it's all about  Bleach Blocking

You can find out more details on page 28 of the latest edition of Craft Stamper Magazine along with a stunning project from the lovely Hels Sheridan.

This technique is all about creating interesting backgrounds using Distress Inks and good old clean water, to give that 'bleached out' look

The 'block' bit comes from using one of the Ink Blending Tools along with a piece of Blending Foam to take away the colour.  If you don't have one of the blending tools, don't worry .... just use a piece of Cut-n-Dry Foam, you'll get the same effect.

I coloured my card using Worn Lipstick, Scattered Straw and Dried Marigold Distress inks.  The deeper the colour of ink, the more your bleach blocking will show.

I then attached a clean piece of foam to my blending tool, wet it with clean water and pressed the foam onto the inked cardstock.  It needs to sit for a few seconds to allow the water to react with the ink, then remove the foam and mop up any excess water.   Once the foam was lifted you get this nice bleached effect .....

I then used the lovely Daisy Stencil from Imagination Crafts along with some texture paste to add my design

Once the texture paste was dry I added some colour to the petals using the new Spectrum Noir Pencils, then I placed the stencil back over the design and coloured the centres and the stems with Distress inks.
The butterflies were also done in the same way ......

To add a bit more interest to the background I used the IndigoBlu Script Background stamp, with a white ink and stamped randomly across the card.  I stamped the sentiment ..... one of my favourites, from the IndigoBlu set B.F.F. onto some white card, and cut it out in a banner shape

To finish my card I mat and layered using white cardstock and, a piece that I'd coloured using the same shades of Distress inks along with my favourite technique of flicking water over the ink to get that spattered look.

A co-ordinating ribbon bow and a couple of sparkly gems add the finishing touch to the front

I've done more Bleach Blocking on the inside of the card .....

I masked off the centre square, coloured the outside using the Distress inks and used the Blending Tool and Foam to do the Bleaching again ..... simple but so effective.

Why not give the challenge a go ...... as always there's a great prize up for grabs, and the winner gets their design in the magazine too!
Have fun Bleach Blocking .... can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Thanks for popping by .... cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

Wake up and smell the roses .....

 Happy Thursday folks!

I'm getting towards the end of this weeks 'To Do' list .... just as well really because I may not be up to spending time in the old craft room tomorrow.  We're off out tonight ...... it's the Poker Stars Summer/TT Party so we shall burning the midnight oil a little.  Good job it's a Bank Holiday on the island tomorrow, no getting up early to get hubby off to work!!

The evening starts with a champagne reception at 7pm, followed by dinner at 8pm.  Then we shall be dancing the night away, finishing off with the surprise of the evening ...... a fireworks display!  This should actually be tomorrow night (Friday) for the end of the TT, but from what I can gather a decision has been made to move it to this evening, something to do with the weather!!

Today's main aim was to get my entry done for the latest CC3C (Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge).
Hosted by the lovely Linda Ledbetter, Challenge Number 3 is all about .........

FAUX TEA ROSES

As you can see from the picture above, details of this technique can be found on page 65 of the book. 

Here's the results of my efforts ......

I've used my roses to decorate a pretty wooden box that needed a little cheering up.

It's been painted using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints (Spanish Mulberry and Vintage Lace) and Crackle Glaze

I've used the stamps from Tim Holtz's Papillon stamp set to add some detail and I've also added some Fran-tage Aged Rose Embossing Enamel to give a bit of texture to the piece.

The beautiful crystal on the top is actually a drawer knob, it does make the box quite heavy but it looks really pretty in amongst the blooms

I added some lace, and a ribbon bow, a couple of old hat pins, and a bit of greenery in there too.
The final touch was a pretty butterfly, stamped using Papillon again onto coloured cardstock.

The question is now .... what do I put inside?  I'm sure I'll think of something.

As it's an odd numbered challenge again it's sponsored by Inspiration Emporium.  There's a whopping $50 Gift Certificate up for grabs .....

As well as a prize from Tim and Mario!  I'd better get my entry in while there's still time.

Thanks for popping by ... enjoy the rest of your day. 
I'm off now to try and get the ink and paint off my hands before attempting to make the old nails look half decent!  Gesso and mulberry paint is not a good look for holding those champagne glasses!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Linda

xx

More than one stamp .......

Happy Wednesday to you!

How's your week going then?  I'm slowly working through the mahoosive list of 'Things To Do' before next Friday ...... only 8 more days to go until we board that ferry across to the UK (not that I'm counting!)

One of the things on the list was the Less is More Blog Challenge.  I couldn't not enter this week, as I'm proud to say I was ShowCASed again last Friday ..... whoo hoo!!

Week 172   Flowers

Because Saturday was weekend number 5 in May (the day the challenge is launched)  we have a Lucky Dip challenge ....... we have to use

MORE THAN ONE STAMP

So here goes ......

Can you guess how many stamps I've used ......... it's definitely more than one.  The answer is FIVE!  Three from the Stampin Up! set - Gorgeous Grunge ...... one from Tim Holtz's Simple Sayings and the IndigoBlu Penny Farthing Dinkie stamp

I've gone for a masculine look this week ... well Father's Day is fast approaching.

I've stamped the Gorgeous Grunge images using Potting Soil Archival ink and Crimson Red Versafine

The Penny Farthing was then stamped using Onyx Black Versafine ink and embossed with a Clear Detail powder

I added the sentiment across the bottom and it's job done, nearly.

I mat and layered with some Kraft and white cardstock and attached it to the front of a black 7x5 cardblank.
In true LindyLou fashion the inside has been given the finishing touch too .....

TT Race Week is in full swing with more races running today.  In fact it's been race day every day due to the weather.  Let's just say it's been a bit changeable (nothing new there).  We've had sun, we've had rain, but it doesn't damped the spirits of the TT fans.  Senior Race Day is only 2 days away (Friday) .... and it's a bank holiday on the island too.  You never know we may just get up close to some of the action.  That's if we don't party too hard on Thursday night, at the Poker Stars Summer/TT Party!

We were down on Douglas Prom last night .... well sort of, we were actually more on Onchan Head.  We went in to hubby's place of work and took over a balcony overlooking Douglas Bay .... why?  Because the Red Arrows were flying in to do a display

The little one didn't know which way to look ......

They didn't half put on a show ...... finishing just as the evening ferry was leaving (I'll be on that a week on Friday!!!)

Oh well, back to the old craft room it is.  I've got DT stuff  to do, Blog challenges to enter ..... a craft shopping list to write for when I'm in the UK.  I intend to stock up ..... seeing as we're in the car!!  All that before Lauren goes to work at 3 and I'm back on Grandma duties.  I'll be glad when TT's over and things get back to normal ....... whatever that is!  I think we're all going to be ready for that holiday.

You can find me on the IndigoBlu Blog today too ..... here's a sneaky peek at what's on there

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Linda

xx

Pinch and a punch .... it's the 1st of the month!

Happy Sunday!

And a Happy 1st of June ........ that means there's only 206 days until Christmas!!!!  Ho! Ho! Ho!

Sorry!  Couldn't resist that ....... it is time for Merry Monday though so I suppose it's a good enough link.

This week we had to use Christmas Food on our design ....... hmmmm.   The first thing I thought of was turkey ..... don't have a turkey rubber stamp.  Next was all the mince pies and Christmas cakes ...... don't have an image for that.  Chocolates and sweets ..... no! none of those either.  Christmas pudding .... I must have a rubber stamp for that ......  but, sadly no!  In the end, I made my own  Christmas pud ......  simple, but it does the job!

I embossed the bottom section of a piece of white cardstock and added my sentiment just above

Finished it with a cute sprig of holly, coloured with Copics and then fussy cut.

The pudding was made using a circle punch, textured brown cardstock and some white glitter card 

Another sprig of holly on the top ..... one Christmas pudding - simple!

I attached it using foam pads for dimension, and of course finished with the inside

That's Christmas card number 25 done ...... the box is filling up nicely.

After a bit of a wet start last weekend, the 2014 Isle of Man TT Races are well underway.  With the Practice week over, Race Week got underway yesterday, and what a glorious day it was.  The sun was shining and the crowds were out ...... we had our first bar-b-que of the summer with the familiar hum of the bikes in the background (we're only round the corner from the start line and the course), and the usual bunch of seagulls gathered waiting for leftovers.

The whole island is buzzing, there's bikes everywhere, and we have a fun fair down on the prom.
We ventured down there on Friday evening with the little man ....... Grandad had to go on the Ghost Train with him ..... we did say it would be scary but the little one insisted.  Let's just say he didn't want to go on it again!

This was more his cup of tea .....

And the Fun House ......

And of course we had to go on the big slide

 He looks so small up there .....

After all that excitement we had to finish off with a visit to McDonalds ..... little man's choice
A Happy Meal and Grandad's smoothie was the perfect end to a busy day

There's no racing today ..... it all gets underway again tomorrow.  Just as well really, looking out of the window it looks like we're covered in mist ........ that's Isle of Man weather for you!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx