Less is More Challenge #424

Good morning and happy Saturday

Less is More has a new challenge beginning today and it's the turn of their One Layer challenge.  Lots of options for this one and time to get ahead as the challenge is all about...

Continuing as our generous sponsor for July is

and remember, just by playing along will put you in the running for our monthly prize.

A little ink blending and stamping for my sample card this time...

I began by die cutting a circle from a post-it note to use as a mask to create a moon.  I then ink blended with Distress Inks to create a wintery dusk sky.  I removed the mask and then stamped the branch and bauble in black to create silhouettes.  The string was hand drawn with a fibre tip pen.  I finished by stamping the sentiment in a co-ordinating shade and added some Glossy Accents to the bauble for some shine.  Apart from the drying time of the gloss, this was a pretty quick card to make.

Materials used:

• Die: Hero Arts - Infinity Circle Dies (for the mask)
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac, Spun Sugar; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Heliotrope
• Stamps: Fancy Foliage (free with Creative Stamping magazine); Card-io Majestix - Zendangles; Clearly Besotted - Sing It's Christmas
• Accents: Fibre tip pen, Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

AAA Cards - CAS Game #169 - Made in Minutes (Christmas in July)

Time Out - Challenge #166 - Peaceful

Thank you as always for taking a look.  Don't forget, you can find lots more inspiration over on the main challenge blog where my teamies are sharing some great makes.  

Less is More Challenge #423

Good morning

Less is More is back with a new challenge today and we have a Colour challenge for you this time.  Here are the details...

Our generous sponsor for the month of July is CAS-ual Fridays Stamps so by playing along will put you in the running for our monthly prize.

I found this colour combo a bit daunting when I first saw it but then ended up making two cards!  Here's the first one, super simple...

I'm a bit addicted to using a stitched upper panel aren't I!  All of the images and sentiment were from the same set, all stamped here in black, and the images were coloured with ProMarkers.  The panel was adhered on foam and...that's it!

Materials used:

• Stamps: MFT - Adorable Elephants
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Coloured with ProMarkers

Now, this next one took a while but I love the result...

I had this stamp set on my wish list for a very long time and eventually bought it (together with lots of other bits that fell into my online basket!).  This layering set is beautiful but there are so many different parts to stamp, and I didn't manage to align some parts perfectly in places but overall I'm happy with it and will be trying it with different colour combos.  Once stamped the flowers and leaves were die cut with the co-ordinating dies.  They were layered onto a die cut rectangular panel (shocker!) and the sentiment was stamped in a matching grey before popping the panel up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Altenew - Build-a-Flower: Peruvian Lily; Simon Says Stamp - Birthday Messages
• Ink: Altenew - Razzleberry, Rubellite, Pinkalicious, Warm Sunshine, Maple Yellow, Honey Drizzle, Sunkissed, Paper Bag, Lava Rock, Industrial Diamond, Silver Stone, Limestone
• Dies: Altenew - Build-a-Flower: Peruvian Lily; Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles

As always, the challenge linky will stay open for a fortnight.  And if you need more inspiration, please do pop over to the main challenge blog and take a look at the great makes from my teamies.  I'm looking forward to seeing the gallery of this colour combo!

Skull and Cross Buns - July 2020 - Selection Four

Hi there

I'm back this morning with my final few sample cards using products by Skull and Cross Buns.

The new stencils, as well as some of their existing best sellers will be showcased on Hochanda at 9am tomorrow, Friday 3 July 2020.  And don't forget, if you're unable to catch the show live, you can watch it later on catch up via the Hochanda website.

Ok, first up I've used the already available Crafting Is My Super Power set...

I cut a rainbow of different coloured cardstock strips, some smooth and some textured, and adhered them to a paper background.  I then stamped lots of the images from the set in Versamark and heat embossed in white.  Next I used a mix of dark grey ink and water and used this to add some splatters to my card base for a little background interest.  I matted the panel onto some black cardstock and adhered it diagonally to my card base and trimmed away the excess.  The card was finished with a stamped sentiment, also from the same set.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Crafting Is My Super Power
• Ink: VersaMark; Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Hickory Smoke
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White

Next up is the new Rainbow Pattern stencil...

I ink blended some cardstock with Distress Inks then, with the stencil, used the ghosting technique to spritz with water and blot away some of the ink.  Once dry I die cut the panel, stamped the sentiment from the Quirky Sentiments set and die cut three cloud apertures to make shaker windows.  3D foam was added to the back of the panel and then sequins trapped inside.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Rainbow Pattern
• Ink: Distress Ink - Broken China, Shaded Lilac, Spun Sugar; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamp: Skull and Cross Buns - Quirky Sentiments
• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Clearly Besotted - Cloudy Days
• Accents: Little Things From Lucy's Cards - Fairy Lights Shaker Mix

I've used the stencil again here, combined with the already available I Believe in Unicorns set...

For this card I attempted the stencil faux monoprint technique.  I tried with both Distress Inks and Distress Oxides and neither worked as well as I'd hoped, Jennifer McGuire makes it look so easy!  I inked up my background then stamped and heat embossed the images from the set in clear embossing powder.  The next step is to spritz liberally with water, and sandwich the stencil between the wet inked piece and a clean piece of cardstock before running through your die cutting machine.  As well as some of the ink transferring to the clean piece, the stencil also then leaves an impression.  The ink didn't transfer well with either attempt so I think I'll try again with different cardstock next time.  Once dry I die cut the panel and matted it onto some purple cardstock before adhering to the card base popped up on fun foam.  I then stamped a sentiment strip using the same stamp set.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Rainbow Pattern
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Spun Sugar, Tumbled Glass, Cracked Pistachio; VersaMark; Versa Color - Lavender, Petal Pink
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - I Believe In Unicorns
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles

Ok, below are the four new stencils which will be available, together with details of the show...

Thanks so much for visiting, I'll be back on Saturday morning with details of the next Less is More challenge.

(AD - some products kindly gifted for design team purposes)

Skull and Cross Buns - July 2020 - Selection Three

Good morning

A couple more makes today using Skull and Cross Buns products.  Don't forget, their products will be showcased on Hochanda on the 9am show this coming Friday, 3 July 2020.

Ok, the new stencil I've used today is called Elongated Triangles...

For this first card I used low tack masking tape to create a border on my card base as well as some random strips in different directions.  I then laid the stencil over each exposed area and blended through in bold ink colours, with each section having the stencil pattern in a different direction.  I then removed the tape and stamped the various sentiments from the Quirky Sentiments set and the star from the Planner Banners set was stamped in silver.  A simple but striking one layer design.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Elongated Triangles
• Ink: Distress Ink - Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Silver
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Quirky Sentiments, Planner Banners

I used the same Elongated Triangles stencil here, but with a masculine theme...

For the top panel I ink blended the background with three shades of Distress Ink then used the ghosting technique, which involves laying the stencil over the panel, spritzing with water and then blotting away the colour from the exposed areas.  Once dry I die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die and stamped the sentiment from the Quirky Sentiments set.  I adhered the panel, offset over a black panel onto the card base before finishing off with some stamped elements from the Planner Banners set.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Elongated Triangles
• Ink: Distress Ink - Black Soot, Hickory Smoke, Ground Espresso; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Pinecone, Charcoal
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles

Thanks as always for taking a look.  I'll be back with my final samples tomorrow morning, ahead of the show on Friday.

(AD - some products kindly gifted for design team purposes)