Happy 2021!!!!

Happy New Year's Day .........

Well, we made it .......... it's 2021!!!  This year has got to be better than the last one.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and enjoyed some New Year celebrations ...... a little different than the norm I expect but, we did it!

So, it's the first of January, and after our little festive break the CAS Mix Up Challenge is back ..... whoo hoo!!

We're starting the year with a Mixed Media Challenge.   Hilary is our host this month, and the theme is (I'm really excited about this one) ........ Splatters!

I love adding splatters, to cards or journal pages, or anything and everything really.  I think they're a quick and very effective way of creating fun backgrounds, and they're also a great way to disguise or hide small mistakes (ooops!), or happy accidents should I say.

This was really quick and easy to do ....... I stamped and heat embossed the numbers using gold and silver embossing powders

Using a ruler and metallic gel pens, I added in the 'strings' to the tops of the numbers, to give the look they're hanging .......

And then used gold and silver metallic inks to do the splatters ........ I simply swipe some of the ink onto a craft mat, spritz with a little water and then use an old paintbrush to pick up the colour.  I then gently tap the paintbrush across my finger over the area where I want the splatters ...... the harder you tap and the more ink you have on your brush, the bigger the splatters.  I do love this effect, especially metallic inks on black cardstock ...... perfect for my New Years card!

To finish off I stamped the 'Happy' onto a snippet of black card, heart embossed in the gold powder, and cut it down to fit in just above the numbers ........

I also added three small crystal gem stones to give a touch of sparkle.

This is a New Years card but, the design could be used for birthdays or any special date, and just think of all the colour options!

We have a fabulous Guest Designer for January ...... Elaine (Craft-E-Place) is joining in the fun, so please pop by and say Hello.

As always, the challenge is open until January 24th so there's lots of time to play along.

Happy splattering!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day, and I hope 2021 is a great year for all of us!

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

Products used:

Stamps: Number of Years stamp set (Stampin Up!)

Inks: Delicata metallic inks - Golden Glitz, Silvery Shimmer

Other: Gold and Silver Fine Detail Embossing Powders (WOW!); Gold and Silver metallic gel pens, ruler; water spray; clear gems stones

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas .......

Happy Tuesday .......

Not long now until the big day.

Before this week gets even more crazy, I just want to say a big Thank You to all who have visited my blog over the last year.  I really do appreciate the support from each and every one of you, especially this year!

The craft room door is now closed for the rest of 2020,  I've decided to take a much needed break and hopefully recharge my mojo!

Don't worry, I'll be back, raring to go, on January 1st for the start of 2021's Blog challenges ...... see you then.

All that's left for me to do now is wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Health New Year.  

Make it a good one!

Thanks for popping by ....... see you on the other side!

xxx

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ..........

Good morning ...... Happy Tuesday!

Ten days to go until the big day ...... are you ready?

I'm getting there ..... all the decorations are up now, presents are bought.  I've made a start on the gravy for Christmas dinner with the help of Jamie Oliver.  The cranberry sauce will be made later this week, and guess what ...... the Christmas cards are finally finished ... yeah!   

There's just a few more to write then I'm off to get them in the post, and hopefully they'll be delivered in time.

(Note to self ..... don't leave things so late next year!!!!)

For the last few cards I decided on pretty poinsettias ......... Christmas wouldn't be the same without those glorious blooms

  

and some festive foliage ........ not exactly a Christmas stamp set this one but, I think it works in the festive shades

The poinsettias are from the Colorado Craft Company ...... and are perfect for slimline cards.

I stamped and heat embossed in gold, and then used Twinkling H2Os to colour the blooms ......

A simple sentiment in the centre and a few splatters of gold onto the background ...... very festive!

But, how elegant do those poinsettias look left without colour and just a touch of sparkly glitter ..... gorgeous!

On these ones, I stamped the sentiment in red and added a few dots of white enamel accents onto the background

For the foliage cards I used a Stampin Up! set which I've had for a while (one of those MUST HAVE stamps, then when it arrives it doesn't get used ...... you know the ones) 

I used Distress Inks to stamp the pretty foliage around the edge of a square piece of card

Added my sentiment across the centre, and added some gold splatters ...... easy!

To finish, just a few touches of glitter here and there to add a little Christmas sparkle

And that's it ..... this years Christmas cards all done!   

Next job, post office.  Coffee is needed first though.

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used .......

Poinsettia cards 

Stamps: Big & Bold - Slimline Poinsettias (The Colorado Craft Company)

Inks: Versamark ink; Versafine - Crimson Red (sentiments); Delicata - Golden Glitz (splatters)

Other: Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); Quickie Glue Pen, Fine Crystal Glitter

Foliage cards

Stamps: Forever Fern (Stampin Up!); Season's Wishes (Mama Elephant)

Inks: Distress Inks - Evergreen Bough, Pine Needles, Festive Berries; Delicata - Golden Glitz (sentiment & splatters)

Other: Quickie Glue Pen; Fine crystal glitter

A flurry of snowflakes ......... on my Christmas cards that is

Happy Friday ........

The end of another week ...... I hope you've had a good one.  

Can you believe that two weeks today it'll be Christmas Day ..... two weeks!!!  I need to get a move on and find the festive spirit.

My cards are nearly all done, thank goodness.  Just a few more designs to share with you.

It's snowflakes today ...... always have to include some in my Christmas cards

These might not look CAS but, they were really easy to do.  I used my MISTI for most of the stamping and heat embossed with white, a sparkly gold, and silver embossing powders.

I love how different they look on the coloured cardstock ....... I had to include a festive red

A classic navy for a real stylish look ......

And a frosty turquoise blue, which I think is actually my favourite .....

I did the stamping and heat embossing first, then filled in any spaces with smaller snowflakes, stamping these in inks the same colour as the card.

I then sponged some of the ink around the edges of the card to add some depth, stamped my sentiments in gold ink, and finished with a few dots of glitter here and there, and a splattering of white paint over the top.

If you're not keen on all that stamping and heat embossing, how about these one layer designs, using the gorgeous Blizzard Hugs stamp set from The Ton

I stamped using gold and silver metallic inks

And then added a touch of sparkle with a Quickie Glue Pen and some fine crystal glitter .....

The large snowflake looks fabulous heat embossed .......

And then lots of sparkly glitter added ......

I also stamped it using a coloured ink ......... so pretty.

There's a whole blizzard of snowflakes there ...... thankfully it's only on the cards.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.

Cheerio until next time ......

Cards on coloured cardstock

Products used:

Stamps: Swirly Snowflakes, Mini Swirly Snowflakes (Tim Holtz); Small snowflakes are an old Stampin Up! stamp;  Slimline Poinsettias (Colorado Craft Company) for the sentiment

Inks: Distress Inks - Aged Mahogany, Chipped Sapphire, Speckled Egg; Delicata - Golden Glitz, Versamark

Other: Embossing Powders - Metallic Silver, Bright White, Metallic Gold Sparkle (WOW!); Fine Crystal Glitter, White Acrylic paint

One Layer cards

Products used:

Stamps: Blizzard Hugs (The Ton)

Inks: Delicata Metallic inks - Golden Glitz, Silvery Shimmer, Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Harmony by Spectrum Noir Opaque Pigment ink - Oasis

Other: Quickie Glue Pen, Fine Crystal glitter

A CAS Snowy Lodge ...........

Happy Tuesday evening ........

I hope you're having a nice week.  

Mine's got off to a bit of a slow start after the weekend of Christmas parties.  

We had a great night on Saturday although we did leave early.  It was really nice to catch up with everyone, it was the first big social gathering from hubby's work since the beginning of the year so everyone was there.

Then on Sunday it was Christmas lunch with my crafty ladies ...... always fun when we all get together.

It's been blowing a right old hoolie here all day.  The good news is I didn't have to go out in it and ...... I'm almost finished with the Christmas cards ..... whoo hoo!!

Keeping things clean and simple seems to be my theme this year ......... 

I do like a bit of Kraft card for the festive season, and I love the contrast from the black stamping.

I used my MISTI to stamp the snowy lodge, then with the card still in the stamping platform, I coloured the snow using a white gel pen.

Once this was dry I re-stamped the image again over the top of the white gel pen, to put back any of the detail that I might have been covered up.

I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment using a fine detail gold embossing powder ......

added a touch of sparkle here and there with some fine crystal glitter ......

and finished with few splatters of white paint onto the background, and a little bit of white ink brushed around the edges, to give a real snowy look ...... brrrrr!

That's a few more done, just need to get them in the post now!

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

I'm off to tidy up this mess just a little bit ...... it's been a snowflake kind of day today, I'll share the results later in the week

Cheerio until next time .......

Products used:

Stamps: Winter Lodge (Inkylicious); Big&Bold Slimline Poinsettias (Colorado Craft Company) - sentiment

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versamark; Distress Ink - Picket Fence

Other: Gold Embossing Powder (WOW!); White Gel Pen; Fine Crystal Glitter, White Acrylic Paint (PaperArtsy);