Back to normal .......

Hi there ..... I'm home!!

Happy Thursday to you.  Have you missed me?  No ..... I didn't think so.  I've missed you though.

The old craft room door is open again ...... can't get in there to do anything though, I can't see my desk!!!

I had a fabulous week and a bit across in the UK ...... the weather was great, the company couldn't have been better (thanks to Susan for putting up with me).  We had some nice days out, no doubt you've seen the pictures on Facebook ...... funny how I'm always eating cake!!!
We crafted, we shopped, we ate out quite a bit.
Port Sunlight was as good as always ........ the sun was shining and I got lots of new goodies to play with.  Thanks to my friend Maggie for bringing half of this stash home with her in the car!

It was so nice to see everyone ..... met up with some of my Design Team buddies for a good old chat, and finally got to introduce myself properly to Lucy and the Sweet Poppy crew.

Then on the Sunday I went to a fabulous workshop with the lovely Maria Simms (from the ClarityStamp DT)  We got all inky and messy with our projects .... right up my street.  Here's a little sneaky peek at what we got up to ......

Lots of paint, lots of mica.  Stencils and trinkets.  I believe it was a class originally taken by a very talented lady named Debbie Rock based on a beautiful gift that she made and gave to Maria.
I need to finish my project off and then you can see my version in full ....... another messy day in the old craft room coming up!!

Now it's all back to normal ....... my suitcase has been unpacked, the crafty haul is slowly finding its way into the old craft room, and I've finally got all the washing done!!
The house was tidy when I got home .... thanks to Lauren for that, however the mountain of ironing in the corner was not very welcoming!  And as the sun is still shining over here it's too nice to bother with it today!  Instead I'm going to look at booking flights for my next trip across .... did I mention I'm going on an Eileen Godwin workshop ...... whoo hoo!!!  OMG!!! I'm so excited ..... love this lady!!
While I was away it was announced that Eileen is travelling up north!!!  She's holding a workshop at the Craft Range over in Burnley ...... not that far from my buddy Susan.   Well of course we had to book on now didn't we .... would have been rude not too.  It's not until October so I've a little while to wait ... but I'm going!!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day. Hope the sun is shining for you too
I'll be back tomorrow with a little bit of inspiration for the latest Craft Stamper Challenge ..... if I can find my workdesk that is!

Cheerio until next time

Linda 

xx

Let it shine ........

Hello there again .......

I'm back with another challenge for you (told you it was a busy week!) .... this time it's the Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge, where the theme for May is ......

Like all HLS challenges, we're sponsored by the Happy Little Stampers store, and the winner of the challenge will receive a fabulous HLS stamp set.

There's a few ways to add shine to your projects ....... use mirri card, glitter, glossy accents or a glaze. Emboss with metallic powders, use metallic paints or add foil.
I've used Gilding Flakes to give the shine on my project .......

A few weeks ago I ran a small workshop, where we played around with embossing folders, using them to print/stamp with.  It's such a fun technique with different results every time.

You simply rub your coloured ink onto your embossing folder, spritz with water, place your white card in the middle, close the folder and press ..... and voila!  a great background to work with.

I used the fabulous honeycomb folder from SU which unfortunately has appeared on the latest Retirement List ..... shame!  Inked it with Wild Honey Distress giving me the perfect background for those busy little bees

The shine part comes from the IndigoBlu Gilding Flakes in the Chariot of Fire option ...... I love the rich gold colour.
I simply die cut the word from white card, covered it with Flitter Glu and then dipped it into the flakes. I made sure the word was completely covered, then rubbed away the excess using a soft sponge.
I layered the gilded word onto one cut in black to give it some depth, and then attached it to a strip of black card before adding it to the front of my card.

I then stamped the bees onto the honeycomb, stamped them again onto white card and coloured them before fussy cutting them out and layering them onto the card ..... Bee Happy .... get it!!!?

There's a little bit more of the design on the inside ....

with the words from the HLS Bold Birthday Sentiments

Now it's your turn.  Pop over to the HLS Blog for more inspiration from the Design Team along with our lovely Guest Designer this month .......  KalySto.  You must check out her inspiration piece ... it's amazing!
Happy Stamping!

OK .... that's me done for today.  I've got an early start tomorrow and a shopping list to write ...... not that I'll be sticking to it!!

Thanks for popping by again .....
Not only have I got the craft show to look forward tomorrow but, on Sunday I'm doing a workshop with the lovely Maria Simms .... more crafty fun!

Cheerio until next time .....

XX

Take a Stamp .... any stamp

Good morning!
Happy Friday folks ......

I'm still across in the UK and having a ball!!.  There's been the craft retreat, an SU workshop, we've done some sewing.  We've lunched out, there's been a spot of retail therapy, had a fantastic Indian meal out last night ...... and there's still more fun to come. I don't go home until Monday so roll on the weekend.

But .... as it's the first Friday of the month there's also the launch of May's Craft Stamper challenge.
This month it's the turn of Take a Stamp .... so that means Anything Goes as long as there's rubber stamping on there somewhere.
Don't forget .....

• you can enter up to three projects ......
• linkyour entry back to your actual challenge post not just your blog
• include a link to the Craft Stamper Challenge blog
• and please ...... only ONE project per post

This month the challenge is sponsored by ....... Designs by Georgina

And the lucky challenge winner will receive this fantastic bundle ......

Three fabulous stamp sets AND three brand new release stencils ...... great prize!

As always there's the Design Winner too ..... chosen by the DT.  Full details can be found over on the Craft Stamper blog

I've been playing with one of the new  Eclectica stamps set from PaperArtsy,  designed by the very talented Kim Dellow ...... EKD02

I just love these little birds!

I've kept things reasonably clean and simple ..... a nice quick and easy background made by smooshing Distress Inks onto a piece of acetate, spritzed with a little water and then transferred the ink to my piece of card by gently dabbing the acetate onto the card, building up the depth of colour as I went along

I stamped the branch for the birds to sit on, directly onto the card and coloured it using Distress Inks.
I also stamped the birds directly onto the card ..... sat on the branch ...... and then stamped them again on a separate piece of card, added some colour and fussy cut around them (minus the legs!!)

I layered  the coloured birds onto my card using foam pads for a bit of dimension .....

And then finished off  with  a few words ...... all the stamps I've used for the front of my card are from the same stamp set ......... EKD02

As always I've added a little something on the inside ......

More acetate smooshing .......  a Tim Holtz sentiment which I thought went quite well and more of those cute little birdies ....

Now it's over to you ..... Happy stamping!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day and have a fab weekend.
I'm off to Port Sunlight tomorrow for the Happy Stampers Art Festival ..... my first craft show of the year!!

There's a whole group of us going so it should be a fun day. Hopefully I'll see some of you there.

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

CAS for STAMPlorations .........

Happy Thursday folks,

It's time for this months CAS Card Challenge over at STAMPlorations.
As always the theme is Anything Goes as long as it's Clean and Simple, and this month the optional colour twist is ...... MAGENTA

The Design Team have been busy creating inspiration pieces for you, and we have a fab Guest Designer this month too.  Elaine (Craft-E-Place) is joining in the fun.

So ........ MAGENTA ...... how would you describe it?  Is it a reddish-purple, a mauvish-crimson or a pinky-plum with a hint of fuschia?  Hmmmm .......

Here's my take on it ..... I used Adirondak Soft Plum, mixed with a little water, to add colour to those gorgeous STAMPlorations Heleniums

Still keeping things CAS ...... I started by adding a wash of colour to the corner of a piece of white card to give me a bit of a background, then I stamped and embossed the flower using a white detail embossing powder

This is such a pretty bloom ...... lots of detail.

I then smooshed the Adirondak ink onto my craft sheet and used a water brush to pick up the colour and paint the flowers

A touch of wild honey Distress Ink for the centers, and I finished off by adding a little extra detail to the background using the ARTplorations Dots All Over stencil

I stamped and embossed the greeting (which comes with the flower stamp) onto a scrap of black card and used a punch to cut it out

Something pretty on the inside ..... and we're done

Now it's your turn ..... will you use the optional colour twist?  I can't wait to see all your fabulous creations.  Happy stamping!

What a glorious couple of days we've had ......  and dare I say it, but if feels to be getting warmer. The skies are blue and the sun is shining ...... is summer finally on it's way?  We're off to Bourton again in six weeks so I do hope so.

It's been a bit of a lazy day today ........ when I say lazy I mean we haven't been rushing around here there and everywhere. A little bit of craft, a few household chores (well a girl needs clean clothes!!) and then this evening we're off out for dinner.  We're going to one of my favourite Indian restaurants over here ...... Bukhara.  I guess the diet will have to wait another day!

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

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

EDIT .........  Hi!  Me again.  Thanks to the lovely Loll for the nudge ......... I'm linking my card up to this months CAS Mix Up Challenge 

• Stamping ....... got that
• Heat Embossing ....... got that too
• My choice ...... Watercolouring and stenciling 

Thanks for the nudge Loll ..... glad someone's on the ball.  I have had a busy week though and it's not over yet.

It's Gin & Tonic time now though ..... Cheers! 

xx

Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge

Happy Wednesday to you,

Or if you're in the land of the Happy Little Stampers (Australia) then Happy Thursday!

How's your week going? .... good I hope.  I'm having a fab time here in the UK.  So far this week we've made a bag in a bag ..... or rather Susan has made the bags.  She did all the sewing bit ..... I was in charge of the iron!
I spotted the design on a show on one of the craft channels, showed it to Susan, we worked out the sizes etc., and voila! ..... two bags made before the afternoon was over (she's good!)

The idea is the large bag folds up and goes into the smaller bag then it goes into your handbag.  No more paying for carrier bags when out shopping!  Sounds good to me.

Next on the list was cushions ....... inspired by the lovely Jenny Marples from IndigoBlu,  I wanted some calico cushion covers to stamp onto.  Susan worked her magic again and there's now two lovely cushion covers (well 4 actually ..... two for Susan) cut out and ready to sew (first job on the list for tomorrow!)

And then yesterday we had a lovely lunch out in one of my favourite places when I'm across in the UK ..... The Sanctuary.  The food is delicious ...... all made fresh on the premises, all organic and the desserts are yummeeee!!
We finished off the day with a Stampin Up! workshop run by my good friend Sally-Jo ..... always fun ..... and there was cake!
Anyway ..... enough of me enjoying myself ........ it's time to launch this month's Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!

The theme for May is ..... GIFT

The challenge is sponsored by the HLS store ...... and the lucky winner will receive a $15 discount voucher to spend in the store.

Have you started thinking about your Christmas cards yet?  I know it's only May but ..... just saying!!
What about this little guy .....

So cute, sat in the snow with his little Christmas gift.
He's from Penny Black and he's simply been stamped in the middle of a piece of white card and coloured using Distress Inks (Festive Berries and Mowed Lawn)

I then made a mask and covered him over whilst I stamped the trees to create the background .... those favourite Clarity Christmas trees are out already!

A touch of glitter adds a bit of festive sparkle .......

And I finished off the front with one of the sentiments from the HLS Mixed Christmas Sentiments

Oh look .... more of those trees inside!

Feeling all festive and inspired?  Not quite ....... need a little more?  Then pop over to the HLS Blog and see what the rest of the Design team have created for you, along with this months Guest Designer.

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

And for any football fans out there ....... a little late I know but ..... Congratulations! to Leicester City Football Club who won the Premiership on Monday night this week ..... without even kicking a ball. Well done to them .... they've played brilliantly all season and deserve to be crowned Champions!
My boys in blue (Chelsea FC) ..... not the best season for us but, we managed a 2-2 draw against Tottenham on Monday (yeah!!! well done lads!) and put an end to the title race.  The season's not over yet though ... there's still 2 games to go!

Cheerio until next time

XX