Less is More Week 278

Good morning

I'm here today to tell you about the new challenge at Less is More, and this week we've got a Sketch challenge for you.  I struggle with sketch challenges more than any other but this one is fab and after seeing my teamies' samples this week, it's proving to be a really versatile design.  Here it is...

I made two very different cards this week, the first is super bright and fun...

On a panel of white cardstock I positioned a stencil and masked off the diagonal edge before blending through some red, orange and yellow Distress Inks.  I was originally going to stencil directly onto the card base but the stencil was slightly too small.  Next I die cut some balloons, these also blended with Distress Inks.  On a strip of black cardstock I stamped the sentiment (made up from a multiple word stamp set) in VersaMark and heat embossed in white before adhering to the panel with the balloons.  The panel was then adhered on 3D foam and some accents were added to the balloons with a white pen.

Materials used:

• Stencil: The Crafters Workshop - Mini Webbing
• Ink: Distress Ink - Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Festive Berries, Seedless Preserves, Broken China, Mowed Lawn; VersaMark
• Stamps: Winnie & Walter - Big, Bold & Party
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Dies: Wplus9 - Whole Lotta Happy
• Accent: Uni-ball Signo pen - White

Challenge entries:

Just Add Ink - Challenge #313 - 'B' (bright/balloons)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
AAA Cards - Game #65 - The 2nd Big Birthday Bash




And a more subtle design for my second card...

I blended some embossing paste with two neutral shades of Distress Ink before spreading through a brick effect stencil.  I then die cut the leaves from a scrap of cardstock blended with two shades of green Distress Ink.  This was simply adhered over the paste when dry, the die-cut 'Happy Wishes' then adhered and some smooth silver gems finished off the card.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Tim Holtz - Bricked
• Embossing Paste: Dreamweaver
• Ink: Distress Ink: Pumice Stone, Tea Dye, Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Leafy Accents; Wplus9 - Happy Wishes
• Accents: Gems from stash

Challenge entry:

Seize the Birthday - Adding Dimension

If you have the time please pop over to my teamies' blogs for more inspiration, they won't disappoint.  Thanks so much for visiting today and I hope to see your creations in the LIM gallery!

Less is More Week 277

Good morning

There's a new challenge just starting over at Less is More and this time we have a Theme for you.  We'd like you to include on your creation...

Something that Pops / Bangs

I had lots of ideas for this one but nothing much of help in my stash.  I did however manage three samples for you although not overly happy with two of them.  Once again, the last one I made is my favourite, this firework card.

Super simple to make.  I stamped the fireworks in three colours (the majority of which are actually stamps from a dandelion set!), added the sentiment in black and simply adhered the panel to the card base on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Dandelion Dreams, Window Dressing and It's a Celebration
• Ink: Versa Color - Opera Pink, Boysenberry and Mountain Lake

I'm going to link this one up over at Time Out Challenges to continue on with Sandie's birthday celebrations where the theme is CAS with the option of using purple.

I wanted to make a card featuring a Christmas cracker but was sure I didn't have any cracker images in my stash until I spotted this teeny one.  I'm not overly happy as it's not an image of it actually bursting but you get the idea!

I stamped the little cracker in VersaMark before heat embossing in gold.  I then masked it to stamp the bursting image behind in silver. I then stamped the sentiment, also embossed in gold before die cutting with a pierced square die.  The cracker was coloured with ProMarkers and I used a co-ordinating cardstock to frame the square before adhering to the card base on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Arctic Animals (cracker), Little Elves (sentiment), Dandelion Dreams
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Squares
• Coloured with ProMarkers

I loved the idea of this card but don't love the end result as it didn't translate how I saw it in my head.  Two for one on this one though, the champagne popping and someone has obviously popped the question for there to be an engagement! Go me lol!

I started by die cutting the heart from a piece of red cardstock and gently marked with a pencil where this would sit on the card base. Next I stamped the sentiment and the bottle, which I fussy cut as I didn't want the white edging left by the co-ordinating die.  I placed the bottle roughly where I wanted it and then masked a section of a stencil to create the bubbles.  The bottle was then popped up on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Mr & Mrs, Je T'aime
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Silver, Atlantic
• Stencil: Dutch Doobadoo - Wavy Stripes
• Coloured Cardstock: Papermania

My teamies have made some great cards this week so please do pop over and visit their personal blogs.  I'm sure you'll come up with some great ideas which will be translated much better than my cards this week!

Addicted to Stamps and More #194

Hi there

We've whizzed around another week to the start of a new challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More.  And this week we're back with one of my favourite themes...

Clean and Simple

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Happy Little Stampers and one lucky winner from this week's entries will win a $15 gift certificate!


I've used stamps by Happy Little Stampers on my DT card...

I started by stamping the butterfly in black and heat embossing with clear powder.  I then tried something new.  I coloured small areas with a teal green Inktense pencil and then blended the colour out using a Wink of Stella pen in clear.

I cut the butterfly out using a diagonal stitched rectangle die and found some co-ordinating teal cardstock to create a matching background.  I stamped the sentiment in black and mounted the image panel on 3D foam strips,

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Butterfly Birthday and Doodled Flowers 
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Rubber Stampede - Clear
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Inside and Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangles
• Coloured with Derwent Inktense pencil in Teal Green and Wink of Stella in Clear

Challenge entries:

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #164 - Stitching, faux or real

Crafty Creations - Challenge #315 - Monochromatic

My teamies at ATSM are sharing some lovely CAS designs this week.  Why not take a look and play along with us this week.

Thanks so much as always for your visit today.

Happy Birthday, Sandie!

Hi there

Today, I'm taking part in a surprise linky party to wish the fabulous Sandie of London Days a very special Happy Birthday!

Sandie is just the sweetest and very well known in blogland for her gorgeous CAS style and love of purple.  So for my card in honour of Sandie that's what it had to be, CAS and purple!

I used a stamp set from my fabulous Altenew prize pack for this card.  I stamped the flower stem in VersaMark and heat embossed in white.  I then blended two shades of Distress Ink over the image and stamped the sentiment in black.  The panel was then adhered to the card base using 3D foam before adding some co-ordinating sequins.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Altenew  - Beautiful lady
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Shaded Lilac and Wilted Violent; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Sequin: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - True Blue Shaker Selection

The linky party is being hosted by Kylie and you can find the link here.

I'm also linking my card over at Time Out Challenges as they have a special challenge dedicated to Sandie's birthday where the theme is CAS with an optional twist of purple!

So all that's left to say is Happy Birthday, Sandie!  I hope you have a wonderful day and some fabulous celebrations and I can't wait to finally meet you in July! xx

Less Is More Week 276

Hi there

It's a new challenge week over at Less is More and I can see lots of fist pumps coming up as it's One Layer week!  Or perhaps not, more like heads in hands! lol  Our theme this week is...

At Sea

Please check out the one layer guidelines if you're unsure, here.

I must admit my creative mojo floated off somewhere this week and the first two cards I made I wasn't overly happy with so I left it another day and managed to create another which I prefer.  I'll share them all with you anyhow.

Here's the last one I made which I was happier with, although the first attempt ended up in the bin as I ruined it right at the end!

There were lots of steps to create this one.  I started by masking to leave the horizontal panel and blended firstly with a light green Distress Ink.  I then blasted with my heat gun to make sure the ink was dry, brushed my powder tool over to remove any static and then stamped the ropes in VersaMark.  I then removed the masks before heating embossing with clear powder.  I then replaced the masks and repeated the process, this time with a darker green ink which the rope images resisted, letting the lighter green show though.  I then repeated by stamping the wheels and clear embossing these also.  Then came a teal colour before stamping and embossing the anchors, and then I finished off with a dark blue ink.  The main thing to remember with this technique is to make sure your ink is dry at each step and you remove any static, otherwise you'll get embossing powder over your whole panel!  A simple sentiment finished off the card.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clear Impressions - Sea Breeze (free with a magazine); Clearly Besotted - Make a Wish
• Ink: Distress Ink: Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Mermaid Lagoon, Chipped Sapphire; VersaMark; Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Embossing Powder: Rubber Stampede - Clear

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Emboss It

Fusion - Port O' Call Polaroid (I went with the nautical theme of the photo)

This next card I was originally going to share over at the LIM post before I made the one above.  Good job I made another as teamie, Sarah G, has created a fabulous card with the exact same layout and colours!  What goes on in our minds, Sarah?! :D

More masking on this card as well!  I started by stamping the speedboat and then created a mask over it.  I also cut an oval aperture and used this as a mask to blend my sky and sea in two tones of blue Distress Ink.  I then roughly covered up the top half of the oval and used the inks mixed with water and splattered to create the spray behind the boat.  I also used a few splatters of just water which lifted some of the ink away to create the paler splatters.  I removed all the masks, stamped the sentiment, added minimal colour to the boat with some colouring pencils and then added Glossy Accents to the screen on the boat.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up - Need for Speed; Happy Little Stampers - Mix Mash
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean
• Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Ovals
• Pencils: Derwent - Coloursoft
• Accents: Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

Just Add Ink - Challenge #311 - Masking

The Male Room - Challenge #35 - Transport

I loved the idea I had for the next card but it didn't really translate as I wanted it to.  It's still fun and cute so I thought I'd share it anyway!

I started by stamping the turtle in waterproof ink as I knew I'd be colouring using water later.  I then masked him off and blended Distress Inks through two different stencils, shifting them slightly to create the layered waves and fill in the white areas.  The wavy dots don't really work but hey ho, I went with it anyway! I then removed the mask and replaced just a mask to cover his face, neck and left front leg before stamping the umbrella so the shade was behind him but I wanted him to be holding it (as turtles do!)  I then finished by water colouring him with my Zig pens and stamping the sentiment below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Cool Dude; Mama Elephant - Up and Away
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Evergreen Bough, Broken China, Chipped Sapphire
• Stencils: Dutch Doobadoo - Wavy Stripes; MFT - Waves
• Coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens

Challenge entry:

Sunday Stamps - Challenge #126 - Create a Scene with a Sketch

Sorry for the long post, if you're still with me, thanks for getting through all that.  I like to explain how I make my cards and even though these look simple, one layer cards often have a lot more steps to create.

Please pop over to visit my teamies who have worked hard to create some great cards this week.  We know you lovely LIMettes won't let us down and hope to see you in the gallery!

Muse #165 - Fabulous Friend with Mica Powders

Hi there

There's a new challenge just starting over at Muse and this week it's my turn to be your designer.  I hope you can take inspiration from some elements of my card this week, e.g. coloured 'white' space, embossed images, layout, colours, shimmer, etc.

I've used the gorgeous floral image from one of the new sets from Clearly Besotted's May Release, it's a lovely image to colour/paint.

On the pink cardstock, after removing any static with my powder tool I stamped the flowers and the sentiment with VersaMark ink before heat embossing with white powder.  I then painted the flowers and leaves with a mixture of mica powder and water.  I was going to add some sequins but liked it how it was so just mounted the panel to the card base using 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Coloured Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - To You With Love and Say It In Style
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Mica Powder: Honey Doo Crafts - White Opal and Green Emerald

Challenge entries:

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - May Flowers

Fantasy Stampers - Challenge #62 - Flower Power

I've had a wonderful week off and for once got lots of luck with the sunny weather but it's back to work today.  I want to take this opportunity of thanking you all for your lovely birthday wishes over the weekend, I sure have been feeling the love! :)

Paste in Pastels

Hi there

Where is this year going?  Can you believe we are into May already?  And so, as it's the first Saturday of the month it means that Less is More has a Colour challenge for your this week.  And we've got a pretty one for you...

Pastels

And for the month of May we have a fab new Sponsor which is Happy Little Stampers.

I've only managed one card for you this week.  It's my birthday today (yikes...getting far too old!) and I've had the week off work and have been out and about each day so not really had much time at home for crafting.

And as I've only created one for you I tried to make it an interesting one and had a play with some embossing paste and a new stencil...

I started by squidging a small amount of three shades of Distress Ink onto my craft mat before mixing these with the white embossing paste to create three pastel shades.  On a white cardstock panel I laid down the rose stencil and applied the paste just through a selected area.  This is a small stencil but I didn't want a hard edge as I wanted the design to be soft to match the colours.  I white heat embossed the sentiment onto an aqua fishtail flag die cut (cutting off the fishtail part!) and also die cut the 'you' from a scrap of pale blue/grey cardstock.  Once the paste was dry I adhered the die cuts across the base and then mounted the whole panel to the card base on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Tim Holtz - Mini Stencil Set 14
• Embossing Paste: Dreamweaver
• Ink: Distress Ink - Picked Raspberry, Cracked Pistachio and Shaded Lilac; VersaMark
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Thank You
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Fishtail Flag Stax; Avery Elle - Simply Said You

Challenge entries:

Freshly Made Sketches - Challenge #235

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Stencil It

Seven Hills Crafts - May Challenge - Embossing

The Crafter's Cafe - Challenge #148 - Feminine

That's all from me today, thanks so much as always for visiting.  I'm off to have a lazy day ahead of a Tex-Mex meal out with friends tonight.  Enjoy your day!

Clearly Besotted May Release - Mr and Mrs Hoot and A Class Act (Guest Designer!)

Hi there

Today's the last day of the Clearly Besotted teasers before these fantastic new stamp sets go on sale at the Clearly Besotted store at 10pm tonight!  If you've got your eye on some of these then don't delay as every month there are sell-outs...and fast!

I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to Stephanie for inviting me to Guest Design once again, it's such an honour, and to the rest of the amazing Design Team for their lovely comments.


Ok, let's get to it.  Today I'm sharing the final two sets of this release - Mr and Mrs Hoot and A Class Act.


Mr & Mrs Hoot
This mini set has an adorable image of a bride and groom owl together with a swing and some lovely marriage themed sentiments.

I stamped the owls and then masked them before stamping the swing.  These were then coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers.  I masked the whole design and cut some clouds from post-it notes to also used as masks, before blending the background to create the sky.  I wanted the scene to appear that they were swinging from a branch high in the sky.  I then adhered this behind a white cardstock panel which I had die cut to create a heart shaped aperture.  The panel was mounted on 3D foam and I then added some Wink of Stella to Mrs Hoot's veil and Glossy Accents on their eyes.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Mr & Mrs Hoot
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Cloud Trio; X-cut - Nested Hearts
• Coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers
• Accents: Wink of Stella - Clear; Glossy Accents

Challenge entry:

Daring Cardmakers - Wedding / Anniversary

A Class Act

This set features cute little animals with a school theme and sentiments for back to school and for teacher thanks.

Lots of masking involved for this card.  The cat, desk, chalkboard, owl teacher and even the little piece of paper are all separate stamps.  I masked these and then stamped the hardwood image across the scene to create the wooden floor.  Then I used the chalkboard technique on the teeny chalkboard!  I clear embossed the chalkboard onto black cardstock.  The 'abc' was handwritten with an embossing pen which I heat embossed in white and then gently swiped across it with white pigment ink before fussy cutting and adhering to the scene.  I used stitched rectangle dies to cut the scene and the kraft border before adhering to the base on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - A Class Act; Stampin' Up - Hardwood
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa; Versa Color - White; Whispers - Embossing Marker
• Coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles
• Kraft Cardstock: Neenah - Desert Storm
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White

Challenge entry:

Penny Black and More - May Challenge - Anything Goes with Stamping

Thanks as always for visiting, I appreciate each and every one of you.

Clearly Besotted May Release - Cool Dude & All In Onesie (Guest Designer!)

Hi there

Welcome to Day 3 of my teaser cards for the upcoming Clearly Besotted May Release.  All the sets will be available to purchase from the Clearly Besotted store on 5 May at 10pm BST.

Today my cards have been made using two great sets, Cool Dude and All In Onesie.


Cool Dude
This mini set features the most adorable turtle images with fun sentiments.  I think this is my favourite from the whole release this month.

I started by blending some blue Distress Inks up from the bottom corner.  I then inked through a stencil to create the seaweed using two shades of green.  This is a stencil I recently purchased at a papercraft show and is actually hanging vines, so I flipped it and used it upside down.  I then stamped the turtle, fish and bubbles in waterproof ink before watercolouring with Distress Inks.  I finished by heat embossing the sentiment in white onto a green die cut flag from Clearly Besotted's Tag Along set and mounted my panel on 3D foam to the base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Cool Dude
• Stencil: The Crafters Workshop - Mini Moving Vines
• Ink: Distress Ink - Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Gathered Twigs, Brushed Corduroy, Crushed Olive, Spiced Marmalade; Archival - Jet Black; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along (discontinued)

Challenge entries:

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #174 - Anything Goes (optional Beach/Nautical elements)
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Water theme
Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #423 - No Patterned Papers
Dream Valley - Challenge #130 - All Creatures Great and Small

All In Onesie

This cute set features charactors wearing animal onesies and birthday sentiments for ages one, two and three.

I decided to use the little character wearing the penguin onesie and made it into a Christmas card!  I used a pierced square die to cut the snowy background from patterned paper, and also cut a white square and used the Clearly Besotted Tree Landscape die to create the foreground.  I don't have any dark enough grey ProMarkers so I stamped the image in waterproof ink and watercoloured with my Zig pens.  I then masked the onesie image to stamp the present, also from this new set, which was also watercoloured with Zig pens.  I then used the sentiment from the Clearly Besotted Santa Baby set.  The two layers were adhered together and mounted on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - All In Onesie, Santa Baby
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Let's Bokeh In the Snow
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Tree Landscape Die

Challenge entries:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #279 - Anything Goes

Of course, the amazing Design Team and my fellow guesties are sharing more teasers with you today which you can find linked from here.

Thanks so much for popping by.  I'll be back tomorrow with my final two teaser cards ahead of the launch tomorrow night.  Hope to see you soon!

Addicated to Stamps and More #192

Hi there

There's a new challenge just starting over at Addicted to Stamps and More and following our challenge sequence, this week we're back with our regular challenge...

Make Your Mark

Please include the use of markers, paints, chalks, watercolours, etc. on your creation

Our Sponsor this week is the fabulous Sami Stamps who are offering a prize of a $12 gift certificate.

I decided to have a go at no line colouring and chose to use a Zig pen and water.  For some silly reason I chose a really detailed stamp and every petal had to be coloured separately.  I think I overworked some areas but not too bad for a first attempt, I won't be giving up the day job any time soon though!

I stamped the Chrysanthemum in a pale Distress Ink onto some mixed media paper and set to work.  I added a tiny amount of ink from the pen to the base of each petal and then drew the ink out to the tips with a wet brush.  You really don't need to add much ink as these pens are very highly pigmented.  And this was all done with one pink pen! I'm a bit disappointed that the stamped lines can still be seen, I was hoping they would soften more with the water.  Perhaps I'll try a different type of paper next time.  I finished off by adding the sentiment in black and some scattered sequins, and then mounted flat onto a purple card base (which is showing up a lot bluer in my photo!)

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals Chrysanthemum; Clearly Besotted - Brushed Greetings II
• Ink: Distress Ink - Antique Linen; Versafine - Onyx Black; Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pen - Pink
• Cardstock: Daler Rowney - Mixed Media; Bazzill Basics - Purple
• Accents: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Sparkling Rainbow Sequin Mix

Challenge entries:

The Crafter's Cafe - Challenge #148 - Feminine
613 Avenue Create - Challenge #174 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

My teamies have created some lovely cards this week which can be found over at the main challenge blog.  Lots of different mediums can be used for our Make your Mark challenge so we would love to see your creations in the gallery this week.

Bye for now.

Clearly Besotted May Release - Just The Two of Us & To You With Love (Guest Designer!)

Hi there

I'm back today to share some more teasers of the fabulous Clearly Besotted May Release.  All the sets in this month's release will be available to buy from the Clearly Besotted store on 5 May at 10pm BST.  Over at Stephanie's blog you will find links to the Design Team and other guest designers who are also sharing more teasers.

Today I'm sharing cards made with two more sets, Just the Two of Us and To You With Love.


Just the Two of Us
This set has adorable images of parent and baby animals, with co-ordinating sentiments, ideal for Mother's Day and Father's Day.

I opted for the cute little panda pairing for this card which I stamped and masked.  I also masked before ink blending the grass, then swapped the mask around to blend the sky.  With these masks still in place I stamped the bamboo from CB It's a Celebration set (limited edition - now discontinued) and used second generation stamping to stamp again alongside.  I finished by stamping the sentiment and adhering to the card base on 3D foam, and some Glossy Accents was added to the pandas' eyes.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Just the Two of Us and It's a Celebration (discontinued)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Green Tea; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass and Mowed Lawn
• Accents: Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

Retro Sketches - Challenge #213 

Penny Black and More - May Challenge - Anything Goes with Stamping

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #423 - No Patterned Papers

Crafty Creations - Challenge #314 - Black and White and a Pop of Colour

Dream Valley - Challenge #130 - All Creatures Great and Small

To You With Love

This mini set has a gorgeous floral image and sentiments.

I wanted to have a go at the Distress Ink Lifting / Watercolour Bleaching technique with this gorgeous stamp.  And I chose an usual colour of Distress Ink which I've never used before, Iced Spruce.  I really liked this when I first made it, but now I'm not so sure.  I would love to know your opinion as I'm still very much on the fence with this one!

I started by stamping the image and sentiment in VersaMark ink and heat embossing in white.  I then blended the Distress Ink up from the bottom corner gradually fading it out diagonally.  The next part is where the magic happens.  Armed with water, a small paint brush and a paper towel I painted water onto the petals, left for a few seconds and then blotted with the paper towel.  The colour then lifts away revealing a paler shade.  I believe this only works with Distress Inks.  To add a little interest I finished by adding some splatters of a mix of mica powder and water, to add some shimmer, seen much more clearly in the next photo.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - To You With Love
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Iced Spruce
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Mica Powder: Honey Doo Crafts - White Opal

Challenge entry:

Fantasy Stampers - Challenge #61 - Monochrome

Thanks so much for popping by.  I'll be back with more CBS release teasers tomorrow morning.

Happy Little Stampers May 2016 CAS Challenge

Hi there

As we are now into the month of May the new challenges are starting over at Happy Little Stampers and today it's the turn of the CAS challenge.  This challenge is all about making clean and simple cards and each month we have a different technique for you.  This month it's...

If you are unfamiliar with this technique there are some video tutorials included over on the challenge blog.

Happy Little Stampers is the sponsor for this month and one lucky winner will receive a stamp set!

So, onto my card.  I wanted to use a leaf die that is new to my stash and decided to create a sympathy card in soft colours.

I started by die cutting the leaf from a panel of white cardstock.  I then stamped the sentiment in black.  Next I cut a panel of beige cardstock, slightly larger to create a border, and adhered the white cardstock to it ensuring that there was lots of adhesive behind the leaf aperture.  I then die cut the leaf again from the same beige cardstock and gently blended the edges with Distress Ink before adhering in the aperture.  The whole panel was then adhered to the cardbase using 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Die: Memory Box - Pointed Leaf
• Stamp: Happy Little Stampers - Doodled Flowers
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Crushed Olive
• Coloured Cardstock: - Bazzill Basics

Challenge entries:

Fantasy Stampers - Challenge #61 - Monochrome

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #174 - Anything Goes

My teamies have created some great cards to inspire you this month.  We would love to see you in the gallery this month so why not play along.

Clearly Besotted May Release - Let's Party & Feeling Fruity (Guest Designer!)

Good morning, crafters!

Well, I'm super excited and honoured this week as the fabulous Stephanie from Clearly Besotted has asked me to be a Guest Designer to showcase the wonderful May product release.  If you follow my blog you'll already know how addicted I am to this brand, I just adore the stamps and dies, so I'm thrilled to be joining this fabulous team once again.

This month there are eight new stamp sets being released, four A6 and four of the mini A7 sets.  All of these will be available to purchase at the Clearly Besotted store on 5 May at 10pm BST.

Today I'm sharing cards to showcase the new Let's Party and Feeling Fruity stamp sets.


Let's Party
This mini set features lots of balloons in solid images and party themed sentiments.

I stamped lots of the balloon images overlapping in bright colours onto my card base.  On a panel of white cardstock I cut the aperture with a stitched window die and stamped the sentiment below in black.  I then adhered some acetate behind the aperture and made this into a shaker card with lots of brightly coloured sequins and confetti.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Let's Party
• Ink: Memento - Dandelion, New Sprout, Summer Sky, Danube Blue, Grape Jelly, Lilac Posies, Rose Bud, Tangelo; Verafine - Onyx Black
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Rectangle Peek-a-boo Window
• Accents: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Kaleidescope Shaker Selection

Challenge entries:

Penny Black and More - May Challenge - Anything Goes

House of Cards - May Challenge - Clear Papers (Vellum or Acetate)

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #423 - No Patterned Papers

AAA Cards - Game #63 - CAS Shaker

Time Out - Challenge #55 - Celebrations with optional twist of Die Cutting

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
Pinterest Inspired Challenge - May Challenge

Feeling Fruity
This set features lots of cute little fruity mice and fun co-ordinating sentiments.

I stamped the mouse in waterproof ink and watercoloured him with Distress inks.  I then framed him using the strawberry vine wreath from CB Simply Scrumptious set, die cut with the co-ordinating die.  The sentiment was stamped below in black.  I adhered some red striped paper to the card base and adhered the white panel to the top edge.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Feeling Fruity and Simply Scrumptious (and matching die)
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Green Tea; Distress Ink - Festive Berries, Mowed Lawn, Hickory Smoke, Spun Sugar
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Let's Bokeh in the Snow

Challenge entries:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 361 - With a Cherry on Top

Dream Valley - Challenge #130 - All Creatures Great and Small

Thanks so much for visiting today.  Please pop over to Stephanie's blog where you will find links to the super talented Design Team and my fellow Guest Designers.  I'll be sharing more cards made with each of these new sets over the next few days, right up until release day and would love for you to drop by.

Bye for now.