Mid Month CAS Mix Up

It's mid month reminder time for the challenge at CAS Mix Up. This mixed media month has the theme of BOTANICAL PRINTS.
This is a fun technique and although I am struggling to have any inspiration for card making, I did enjoy the theme set by Bonnie.
Lots of gorgeous examples from the Design Team though and our special Guest Designer Izzy along with some video tutorials all on the blog!

As I steered away from Autumn shades in my launch card, I used them on this one but opted for the duller brown shade rather than the vibrant red and orange with which we always relate this time of year to.
This botanical print was done with leaves from a rather large oak tree which sits at the bottom of the path in this rental house.

I used Espresso Truffle ink to get the impression.

Some soft ink blending for a bit of background interest and matted onto brown card.

The acorns were from a free set with a magazine, stamped, embossed, watercoloured and fussy cut then I added some glossy accents to make them shine.

I apologise for the poor picture which really looks rather 'flat' and doesn't show the colours very well at all - there simply isn't a place anywhere here with good light to take images - soooo frustrating!

Thanks for looking and hope you will join us this month. x

Unmotivated!

I broke my New Year resolution to myself last month by failing to enter the CAS Christmas challenge - it was the first month I have missed this year.

I am finding it very difficult to become motivated or interested in doing much, although things are starting to move a little on the house front although an actual move is unlikely to take place for a few weeks yet.

I was determined to make something for CAS Christmas and not miss another month but found myself staring vacantly at card and ink!
In the end I did a simple remake of a card I made a couple of years ago - altering the colours to comply with the challenge theme of Gray and Red.

Another thing about this house we're in is it is simply impossible to get a decent photo of ANYTHING!

Am disappointed because after stamping my foliage in Smokey Gray ink and my flower heads in Memento Rocket Red, I took out the Nuvo Gloss Drops and painstakingly applied tiny red drops to all the flower heads. - It simply does not show either gloss or dimension on the pic - but it looks OK in real life.

And as I am struggling to come up with anything at the mo, this is the best I can do and I'll just have to accept it!

The sentiment is one of my favourites at Christmas and is from Stampin' Up I thought about altering it to say 'May your season be blessed with a new house'!!

I apologise again for my sporadic (sometimes non existent) visits to you all -fingers crossed for something approaching normality soon!

Thanks for looking! x

CAS Mix Up October Challenge

Bonnie has set this months challenge at CAS Mix Up.
It is mixed media time this month and she chose the theme of BOTANICAL PRINTS.
I had only ever tried this once before and my results weren't brilliant so was a little apprehensive, but I watched some more tutorials and took the plunge!

I was quite pleased with how my attempts turned out - done using leaves from a rose bush.
I wanted to try a different colour than the usual Autumn shades so turned to one of my fave colours - Grape Jelly.

As my Big Shot is still packed away, I just inked the leaves and popped them alongside each other, took another piece of card and just pressed down.
Held my breath when I lifted off the card and leaves but was amazed to find that the impressions were really not bad at all!

Linen textured card, die cut frame, a little bit of ink dusting, some watercolour shading and job done.

The Design Team have some simply beautiful makes using different methods of getting these prints, please pay them a visit and we have  Guest Designer Izzy (Izzy Scrap), who has also made a stunning contribution to our challenge this month!

So put your coat on, go outside, grab some leaves and come and join us!

Ups and Downs

It has been a few weeks of ups and downs so unsurprisingly I've not felt like doing anything.
DOWN - The purchase of the house we have been trying to buy since May has fallen through with the buyer (after weeks of messing us about and running up our solicitors bill) deciding he didn't want to sell it after all.  I have had some not very nice and very uncharitable thoughts about this person.
UP -  The search for another home proved fruitful and we made an offer which was accepted.
DOWN - The lady selling has not yet found somewhere else to live so we are stuck here in the rented house for several more months.
UP - Trying to make the best of things we set to and shifted some of the cardboard boxes and other stuff which were surrounding us in the room where we had temporarily put the work desks and my storage shelves were put back together. OK the other room is like Cardboard Mountain but here in what is now the 'Office' and 'Craftie Space' is tidy and I have rescued some more (not all) of my stash from the packed cases. 

I just fiddled about a bit and made this slimline card using pastel coloured DI's, a Flourish stencil and a stamp that was free with a mag eons ago.
The sentiment is from an Altenew set.

So that's the update from here - and I now have a stable internet connection too which means I can have some time visiting you all. Thanks for looking today! x
Sharing over at -
Cardz 4 Galz - Stencils
Mod Squad - Slim Cards
HLS Stencils September - A/Goes

CAS Mix Up September Challenge

CAS Mix Up September challenge is a WATERCOLOUR one and the theme is AUTUMN COLOURS which has been chosen by Leslie.

I did this card whilst most of my crafting supplies were still packed away and am really happy with the way it turned out!

The stamps were a freebie with a craft magazine last year - an assortment of Autumn stamps, trees, acorns etc. I really liked the small scattered leaf stamp and there were also a couple of really small ones which although fiddly did the job.
After stamping the leaves at the bottom, I used a wet brush and smudged the ink a little.
Am hoping that I have projected an image of an Autumn woodland floor!

We have a great guest designer this month and the rest of the team have made some beautiful cards to share with you all - hope you can find some time to watercolour something with those lovely colours that Autumn brings and pop it in the gallery over at CAS Mix Up!

Making Do for CAS Christmas!

 At the beginning of the year when I made the (now rash) promise of joining CAS Christmas' challenge every month, I didn't know that space and supplies would be at a premium.

I spent a little while searching for my Kraft card without success  - undeterred though, I decided the best thing I could do when living in a cardboard box filled house was to take a pair of scissors to one of them!

I chopped a square(ish) piece and ripped it a bit   (I can't wait to be doing that to them all I can tell you 😈)

The stamps are all from a never before used Creative Expressions set called 'Inky Christmas'. I just chose two of the smaller bauble stamps and a grungy spotty stamp, stamped the cardboard and heat embossed in white, with a bit of random embossing elsewhere.

This is definitely NOT one of my better efforts  -   hey ho 🙅....... and I doubt if it will stay on the white textured card base but the cardboard from the box was simply too thick to make a card with (or even cover the front of a card blank).  I think it will look so much better on a Kraft one. If it doesn't then it will find it's way out with the rest of the cardboard.....💣
Still, am content because I have kept my word to make a card every month for the challenge!

CAS Mix Up August Mid Month Reminder

The move to our  rented accommodation went relatively smoothly - despite it being the hottest day of the year - the poor removal men were melting!
We're surrounded by boxes - and are just waiting for the legal process to complete so we can buy and move into our next home - likely to be another 3-4 weeks at least - which is trying my patience a little.... so dear husband thought it would be a good idea to set me up a small work area (and it IS small compared to what I had!) before I went completely crazy!
He also bought some wireless thingies that plug into the back of the PC so I can get on the internet occasionally!

We found a cardboard box which had some crafting stuff - not much but better than nothing - and as I really wanted to try and join my teamies at CAS Mix Up for the mid month I cobbled together a card!

The challenge set by Jenny is to 'stamp through a stencil' and I used a crackle stamp on my ink blended butterfly, embossing the crackle in Platinum.
The grungy diamond stamp was the only one that I could find in the box that looked OK to highlight the butterfly.

I need to find somewhere where the light is good to take my pics too but at least I managed to make something and stave off the withdrawal symptoms a little - not sure how I will get on with other makes whilst we are in this state of limbo but well see! 

I will try and visit everybody when I have a good internet connection and thanks for looking today. x

CAS Mix Up August Challenge

 Scheduled post!
The challenge this month at CAS Mix Up has been chosen by Jenny and she has set us the task of 'Stamping through a Stencil'. 

This flower stencil was a present and I really do like it!

These 'hot' colours are ones I don't use very often either!

I added some tiny stones to the flower centres for a little bit more interest and used the same WOW Polka dot stamp on the base card to reflect the  stamping on the flower petals.

(I really wanted to use orange base card but having packed it away in a removal box it wasn't an option!)

We have two guest designers this month too -
Bobby (bits & pieces) and  Michelle (I Card Everyone) so please pop over to see their lovely creations and those of the rest of the DT.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by the blog today.
Appreciate it! x

Absent

 I've scheduled this post as I wanted to share another make for the challenge at CAS Mix Up which is to use Alcohol Inks on Vellum. My other posts for the DT are here and here
Also sharing over at  MMM - Trees

My vellum sky was done using Watermelon, Orange Sunset and Citrus alcohol inks, mixed with a liberal helping of blending solution.
The trees were popped onto the base card and the vellum piece with 3d foam and it has quite a good dimension in real life.
The sentiment was inked in Memento Canteloupe which is not a bad match at all!

I will be absent from blogland for a while as I'm taking an enforced break from crafting.

We have sold our house and are having to move into a rented property on 21st July as the purchase of our next home will not be completed until September.

 

So the craft room has been finally all packed away - I am hoping to be able to do a little whilst in the rental as I will get withdrawal symptoms if I have to wait till September to get out the card and inky stuff!

 

We also are in the process of the sale of mum-in-law's flat and purchasing a new apartment for her so as you can imagine we are currently meeting ourselves coming back and I can honestly say it is now official - I HATE CARDBOARD BOXES!🎁
I will visit you all as soon as I am able to! x

CAS Mix Up Mid Month Reminder

 Half way through our challenge this month at CAS Mix Up and the challenge is a mixed media one set by Coni who wants us to use Alcohol Inks on vellum.
I had a little bit of inky fun using some of the blues from my AI collection and came up with this.

I was a little apprehensive about heat embossing the sentiment - thankfully the vellum behaved itself and didn't warp!

This wavy stitched die is one of my more often used.
I stamped and heat embossed the shells and starfish then fussy cut, a couple of heat embossed seagulls finished it all off.

I rarely use my Alcohol Inks so it was good to dust them off for this challenge and it reminded me that I do like making an inky mess from time to time!

I'm particularly happy as the vellum used was a left over piece as were the 3 wavy die white pieces - so it's off to visit Miss Di in the Playground too!

We have some great cards done by the DT and in our gallery - lots of inspiration to be found. Grab that vellum and come along and join us!
Also sharing over at
Krafty Chicks - CAS

CAS Christmas - July

 Even though at the moment my life outside the craft room can be only described as 'madly chaotic' - (nothing sinister - more of that will be shared in due course!) - I yesterday found time to continue with my quest to participate in every month's challenge at CAS Christmas.

The challenge this month is 'Poinsettia'.

The die was a present from a friend and it is such a pretty one.

Cut the petals twice then watercoloured one green and one red then layered them - VERY fiddly to do but was happy with the result!.

I fiddled and faffed about for ages in deciding on a background and then just did a little watercolouring with no rhyme or reason!

It didn't look too bad and I added a little bit of stamping with a small berry stamp from an old Choc Baroque set to give it some interest.
The 'Joy' sentiment is from SU.

Sharing over at
Shopping Our Stash - Christmas in July
Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas in July
Addicted 2 CAS - Christmas

Thank you for looking and for leaving any comments, I really appreciate it. x

CAS Mix Up July Challenge

 It's time to get inky!
Our challenge this month at CAS Mix Up is a mixed media one and has been set by Coni who wants us to use Alcohol Inks on vellum.

Using AI on vellum is something that although I have done before, is one of those techniques that I don't do very often, so this was a lot of fun for me!

I started by die cutting my lovely Crocus in vellum and mixed some Purple Twilight AI with a few drops of blending fluid to colour the flower heads and did the same with the stems using Lettuce AI, then just put them to dry then dropped a teeny amount of gold AI on the flower heads.

I covered my card blank with another sheet of vellum and used Stencil Sparkle Paste for the butterflies and heat embossed the sentiment.

A gold Posca pen was used for the butterfly bodies (and the antenna which you can't see on the pic!) when the paste had dried.

I finished by using Cosmic Shimmer glue to stick my die cuts onto the vellum base.

We have the wonderful  Hannelie  as our Guest Designer this month, please go visit!
Lots of inspiration too from the rest of the Design Team and we really hope you can have a go with this technique this month!

Sunny Dreams

Still not a lot of crafty stuff going on here and I apologise for my sporadic visits to you all. 

The yellow Brusho was out on the desk at the time of this make so splatted a little of that in a couple of places first.

Different grungy stamps used for the background, all stamped in Fossilized Amber. (I love this colour as it always makes me think of sunshine)

The flower head is from Altenew and I paired it with the stem and leaves from another stamp then watercoloured.
The bee was stamped twice, once on the card and once on another scrap, fussy cut the wings and glittered them a little.

Finished by stamping the word 'Dream' and a couple of my fave 'splatters' and thanks to Hermine for the inspiration whilst my mojo is AWOL!

Sharing over at
Crafters Cafe - Insects
Mix It Up - A/Goes + stamping
Daring Cardmakers - Into the Garden

Framed

Firstly thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes, cards, messages - I really appreciated it!
My days are really busy just now and there is little time left for me to play with my crafty stuff which is not making me happy!😞 Making me even less happy is that when I do find an hour my head is full of many other things except creativity!

When Mr Mojo did put in a (very brief) appearance, I made this.

I seem to be on a bit of a 'fantasy fest' as I have made two or three things in the last month which are all mermaid/fairy related.

I used a variety of stencils for the background and use shades of Wilted Violet, Cracked Pistachio, Salty Ocean and Salvaged Patina.

The mermaid is of course Lavinia, and although it doesn't show up very well in the pic, her scales are irridescent - painted with Mica Pearls in shades of blue, green and yellow.

I decided to frame her rather than make her into a card - no idea where I am going to put her but am sure I will find somewhere!

Sharing over at
Sisterhood of Crafters - Water
Fairy + Unicorn - Anything Fantasy
CUYL - Water

Thanks for visiting and thank you too for any comments you leave. x

CAS Mix Up June Mid Month Reminder

I chose the word prompt of  'FLIGHT' for my host month at CAS Mix Up  and we're half way through so there's still time to add your make into the gallery!
(It's my birthday today too so it would be a lovely pressie if you fill our gallery with gorgeousness!

Followers of my blog will have seen this sentiment before because I love it!

I black heat embossed the feathers and the emerging birds first.

Smooshed Twisted Citron and Salty Ocean Oxides onto a piece of acetate and then simply pressed the acetate sheet down onto the card where I wanted it.

I like being able to see where I am putting the colours - if I do random smooshing direct to my card when I turn it over it's normally a muddy mess!

Sentiment also black heat embossed.

Please pop in on the rest of my lovely teamies!

Have a lovely day - I am planning on eating cake - lots of it!🍰🍰🎂

Snow - (bird) Men?

 Well it's the 6th month of the year and I am still keeping my promise to make at least one card for CAS Christmas.
This month's challenge though had me a little stumped - a simple enough theme you would think until I realised that amongst this stamp mountain I possess I own precisely ONE snowman stamp 😦
What to do????

I remembered that when this stamp from Crafty Individuals (CI- 569) was released despite it being called 'Seagulls of Seaton Carew', I immediately thought of snowmen! Maybe it was the scarves and the bobble hat?

Stamped and heat embossed in white and chopped off their legs!

Stamped, coloured and paper pieced the scarves,  bobble hat and googly eye and just popped them onto a white snowy background. I added a row of die cut white trees behind them.
(I think if I did this again I might make their black beaks orange like carrots)

In my head they looked like they were lost or simply couldn't make their minds up which way to go so the addition of the sign with a couple of choices -

Do we behave and go home?
Or do we go and find adventure?

Big choices for 2 (legless) Snow (Men)......😄
Sharing over at
Fezziwigs - Cold and Frosty
Krafty Chicks - Christmas
A2S+M - Christmas

Thanks for looking today - have a lovely day whatever you're doing! x

Chaos Kindness

A couple of weeks back I got some surprise happy mail.
Knowing that I was coveting a certain stamp set a really kind blogging buddy (Thank you Sarn!x) sent me some stamped and embossed images - and also some masks 'just in case'!
Just a lovely gesture and I was really grateful.

Using the masks over the flower heads, I opted for an ink blended background using Salvaged Patina DI as a base (love this colour!).

Added some other colours and made an abstract design with the edge of some acetate blending outwards.
The 'create' word came from an old red rubber Typography set which I have had for an eternity!

A few flicks with a black Posca pen added some spatters.
Once the piece was matted, I went to put it on a white card base and didn't like it - so simply blended a little of the base colour onto the base card.

Sharing over at
Alphabet - E for Easy
Krafty Chicks - Stamp Act

We have had some glorious sunshine this week - summer finally arrived!
Thanks for visiting - hope the sun is shining wherever you are too! x

CAS Mix Up June Challenge

YAY MY TURN!! 😀😀
I am hosting this month over at CAS Mix Up and it's a WATERCOLOUR challenge this time round.
I have chosen a word prompt for my challenge and it gives lots of scope for you to get out your paints/inks/anything that has to be mixed with water and make us something beautiful and CAS!
The word is  - FLIGHT -

We often see a Barn Owl hunting for his tea across the fields below us so it seemed an apt choice for my first make this month.
(The Barn Owl is a stamp before anyone thinks I have suddenly become an amazing artist!😊)

I stamped Owlie onto a square piece of watercolour card.

The rest of the scene was watercoloured freehand - and I am rather proud of myself as it looks like a field with trees and a fence!

I have used ivory hammered textured card for my base and frames simply because it blended better with the image.

We have  Joyce (Cards-by-the-Sea)  as our wonderful Guest Designer this month and her lovely make is over on the Challenge Blog so go see - And whilst you're there check out the awesome cards the rest of the DT have done for my challenge!
I really hope you will try and join us this month and am looking forward to visiting you all to see how you have interpreted the word! x

Shades of .......................... Blue!

Colours sometimes can change a stamp completely can't they?

I made a card using the same stamp (HERE) a little while ago using normal Summer/Autumn shades and decided to go for a complete change with this one!

My ink blended background was overstamped with a crackle stamp, some text and some grungy circles

I used a small dots stencil and a small dots stamp to finish the background off.

Stamped and triple heat embossed the flower (Crafty Individuals CI-560) in platinum, then watercoloured using Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire DI.

Really happy with the shine achieved by the triple embossing - here's a close up!

I have yet to decide on a sentiment - I thought perhaps I may use it for a winter card so have just popped it in my personal card box until I make my mind up!
Linking up at
A2S+M - Make your Mark
House that Stamps Built - Embossing
Sisterhood of Crafters - Flowers as Focus

We have a holiday weekend here - and the weather forecast looks good for a change - some time outside tending to my rain/wind battered plants is planned!
Have a great weekend wherever you are. x

Blissful

It's been a week where real life has simply got in the way and when I have had time to myself, I haven't done a lot!

I am in desperate need of sunshine after the weather recently (where is Spring? The end of May is not a time to have to put on your central heating!) and with once again grey skies and damp drizzle outside I decided to make my own.

Lemon brusho background - a nice sunshiney colour!

I used Squeezed Lemonade for the stencilling then did a bit of overstamping in black, Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilised Amber.

Orange brusho used to highlight the butterfly and the sentiment is from an old SU set.
Popped on a couple of lemon enamel dots.

Sharing over at
Cardz4Galz - Wings
TIOT - Feminine
Thanks for looking today - have a great weekend! x