Have you entered the Craft Stamper challenge yet? .......

Good morning ... and Happy Friday!

The weekend is here .... again!  This week has simply flown by ....... could be something to do with all the birthday celebrations I suppose.

Time to calm down a bit now ..... I've a busy weekend coming up.
Let's get the weekend started with a little reminder about this months Craft Stamper challenge ..... have you got your entry in yet?  Not to worry if  you haven't, there's still lots of time to play along.

The theme as always is Anything Goes ..... as long as there's some actual rubber stamping on your project somewhere.
And don't forget you can have up to three different entries ..... each one must have it's own blog post and remember .... only one project per post.

I've been busy having fun with some new stamps this week ..... and here's a sneaky look at one of them
It's a brand new set called Dandelion Wishes from Happy Little Stampers made up of two gorgeous dandelion head stamps, and lots of lovely sentiments

I found a really pretty piece of cardstock in my stash that I'd used as a clean up piece for some gold and silver Delicata metallic inks that were left on my craft mat. 
I'd used the inks on another project and there was a little too much left on the craft mat to simply wipe away with a cloth so ....... I took a couple of pieces piece of plain white card and smooshed them through the inks.  I love how they turned out ..... I left them to air dry overnight so that all the gorgeous shimmer from the mica would settle on the top ......

Not sure if it comes across well enough in the photos but trust me it looks fab ....

I stamped the dandelion heads over the top using first and second generation stamping

and then finished off by stamping over the top of these using Versamark and heat embossed the image in gold ......

I added one of the sentiments, stamped in the gold Delicata ink and attached to the front of the card using foam pads

Inside I used the stamp again, first and second generation stamps as before .....

And I added another of the sentiments from the set .....

Watch this space over the weekend for more of the brand new release from Happy Little Stampers.

As always there's two prizes on offer for challenge winners. 
One is for our Design Winner .... chosen by the DT.  One lucky entry will have their winning project published in the Craft Stamper magazine.  They will also be invited to be a Guest Designer on a future challenge and, have a Winners Profile on the Craft Stamper Blog .... not bad eh!

The second winner will win the prize from our challenge sponsor and will be randomly chosen from all the eligible entries.
Our fabulous sponsor this month is our very own .......

Donna Gray .... designing for That's Crafty!

The very talented Craft Stamper designer Donna Gray has also designed her very own range of stamps for That's Crafty!  With 18 different stamp sets now in the range, there's something for everyone in there. And...... two of the brand new designs are the prize for this month's challenge winner (randomly chosen) ..... how cool is that! 

  

As they say .... you have to be in it to win it though so get those entries in!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a fab weekend.  And if you're a Mum, then Happy Mother's Day for Sunday too ..... mwah!!

Cheerio until next time .....

Hello ......

Happy Tuesday evening  ......

Sorry I'm late .......

Well that's another birthday over.
I had a lovely day yesterday. Thank you to everyone for their best wishes, cards and gifts.  As always I've been well and truly spoiled ...... with flowers, chocolates, jewellry amongst other things, and a meal out last night which we hadn't planned which was nice .

Anyhow .... birthday's over now (although the celebrations will probably go on for a few more days!)
It is however time for another challenge ..... a little bit of Mixed Media this time for Happy Little Stampers

I'm really in my CAS phase ..... what that really means is I'm still getting used to the new craft room. In other words, I can't find a flippin thing!!  And when I do  .... it's not exactly what I was looking for.  Oh well, I will get sorted .... eventually!

My take on this months challenge is not about lots of layers .... or getting messy with inks or paint.  There's not even an embellishment on there .... CAS like I said

I've used watercolour card, ZIG markers, rubber stamping and as you can see .... die cutting.

I sprayed the card with a little water before applying the colours using my ZIG markers.  I simply scribbled a little colour onto the wet card and then used a brush to spread it around and give this pretty watercolour effect

Because the cardstock was already wet the colours moved around very easily and blended so well.
I did add one colour at a time and allowed each one to dry a little before adding the next, so as not to mix the colours together but to blend them gradually

Once it was dry I die cut the word Hello from the coloured card and again from plain white, layering the letters together before inlaying the word back into the cardstock

A little stamped sentiment finishes off the front .....

and I used the same colouring technique on the inside .....

There's another $20 Gift Certificate for the challenge winner, and don't forget if the winner uses HLS stamps in their project ...... then the prize goes to $40!!

Happy stamping!

Thanks for popping by ... enjoy the rest of your day.
 
It's another busy week here, what with challenges, DT commitments, preparing for something special happening next week (oooh .....wonder what that can be ........ are there some new stamps being released perhaps .... hint! hint!) and ....... I've got a workshop at the weekend. 
And it is my birthday week ......  there's not enough days to fit everything in!

Plus another birthday present turned up today .... and I'm dying to have a play.  Nothing for the craft room but it's going to be fun ...... I hope.
Did I mention I'd asked hubby for a new food mixer for my birthday ....... well look what's found its way into my kitchen ......

 I'm going to have to treat myself to some new bakeware now I think .....

and find time to use it.  It's a while since I've done any baking!

Cheerio until next time ....

Is that rein-deer?

Happy Sunday evening ......

I hope you've had a good weekend.

It's time to get a little festive for the Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge. 
As always the theme is Anything Goes but there is an optional twist, which for March is ..... Reindeer

You don't get much more quick and easy than this .... great for batch making, perfect for children's cards and it's just so cute!!

The antlers have been stamped directly onto the card blank using a brown ink, and almost in the centre (I did use my MISTI to stamp them a few times to get a nice coverage)

I then added a couple of tiny googly eyes and a dot of red Stickles glitter glue for his shiny nose

A cute little sentiment stamped underneath finishes everything off

As with all the Happy Little Stampers challenges, the winner will receive a nice $20 Gift Certificate to spend in the store, and ..... if they've used HLS stamps on their winning project, then the prize will be doubled!!

Those eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that there's a whole load of new stamp designs available on the HLS Website ...... great little sets suitable for all occasions, there's even some Christmas in there too. 
Shhh ..... don't say anything but ......watch this space for a fun event coming up very soon showcasing those new designs.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy what's left of your day.

It's my birthday tomorrow .... Monday that is ...... which could be today for some of you reading this. Not the best day of the week to have a birthday ..... especially on the Isle of Man.  All my favourite restaurants are closed on a Monday,  so the celebrations will have to carry on into the middle of the week ..... at least!!  We're starting tonight with a quiet meal at home and my favourite bottle of red ..... cheers everyone!

Until next time ......

Sweet Poppy Stencils are back on our TV screens ......

Happy Sunday folks ......

I'm just popping in to let you know that our lovely Lucy from Sweet Poppy Stencils is back on the TV tomorrow ...... Monday 5th March.  Book your sofas for 12 noon and 4pm and tune in to HOCHANDA (Sky 663/Freeview 85/Freesat 817) to see some fabulous NEW stencil designs, some favourites too, along with some other brand new products ....... something you'll be die-ing to get your hands on (wink, wink)!!!

Watch Lucy for some fab tips and techniques on how to get the best from your Sweet Poppy stash

Here's just a little tease of some of the new designs that will be popping up (pretend you haven't seen the pretty flamingo ..... don't think she's making her debut this time.  I've been a bit naughty there .... but I just couldn't resist!)

So don't forget ..... 12 noon and then again at 4pm. See you there

Enjoy your Sunday ...... hope it's stopped snowing where you are.

Cheerio until next time .......

Home .... Sweet Home

Happy Friday evening ......

Is it really March already? What happened to February?  And what is going on with this weather!?? 
I must say we've hardly had any of the snow that is currently blanketing the UK.  Just one day this week it came down and caused mayhem ....... but boy is it windy.  It's been blowing a right old hoolie over here since Wednesday ...... and it's freezing!!! There's no boats, there's hardly any flights ..... it's time to batten down the hatches and wait it out. 
I found this picture on the BBC IOM Facebook page yesterday ..... I said it was cold!
 

Anyway ..... the start of a new month means a whole new set of Blog challenges.  First up for me this month is the Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge.  This month the theme is .......

Quite appropriate really seeing as we've only been in our new place a little over three weeks but its already feeling like home.

A quick and easy one layer design, with a little touch of watercolouring on there too.

I stamped the image in Black Versafine and coloured using my ZIG Markers with a water brush.

I then added the sentiment alongside ......

And finished off with a wash of colour around the cottage. 

We have a fabulous Guest Designer for the challenger this month .... the lovely Darnell is joining us.  It's always a treat when you visit the playhouse ... why not pop over and say Hi, I'm sure she would love to see you.

As always there's a $20 Gift Certificate for our challenge winner, to spend on HLS goodies and ..... if the winning project has been created using HLS stamps, then the prize is doubled!!

You have to be in it to win it though ..... Happy stamping!

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

We're off out tomorrow ..... shopping for birthday gifts.  My birthday gifts!  Not entirely sure what I want.  I have ordered a new food mixer which is something I've been after for a while, but other than that well .... who knows.  Maybe a big coat and new boots would be a good idea!!

Cheerio until next time .....