Less is More Week #358

Hi there

We're flying towards Christmas at full speed and I'm now in panic mode as I still haven't finished making my Christmas cards!  So, more mass production will be taking place today!

But before I start that, I want to introduce this week's challenge over at Less is More and we're back with the love/hate challenge that is One Layer week.  Here it is...

And the awesome Happy Little Stampers continues to be our sponsor for this month so please do play along for a chance to win the monthly prize.

Just one card from me this time.  I was hoping to make more for this challenge but a combination of a chest infection, lack of sleep and working means I've just not managed any more I'm afraid. 

Anyway, here's my offering this week...

This one layer card is a combination of stamping, masking and blending.  I started with a piece of scrap paper cut into a curve and used this to mask the bottom section and gently blended to create the snow bank using a purple/blue ink.  With the mask still in place I stamped the little trees in black, some in second and third generation stamping to create some depth.  I then removed the mask and stamped the main tree trunk and branch.  I worked out where I wanted to place my lantern and before stamping it I blended the candle glow with yellow/orange ink.  To finish I stamped the sentiment, hand drew the lantern string and added some glitter to the snow.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Mini Tall Trees, Vintage Christmas, Tall Trees; Marion Emberson - Sparkling Christmas (sentiment)
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Imperial Blue, Marigold, Scarlet
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Icy Inspiration mood board
Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #271 - Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations - Challenge #284 - Winter / Christmas
Dream Valley - Challenge #169 - Christmas
Penny Black and More - December Challenge - CAS
Stamping Sensations - December Challenge - Winter Trees and Flowers
Christmas Cards All Year Round - December Challenge - Anything Goes
AAA Card - CAS Game #104 - Christmas
Uniko - Challenge #44 - Christmas
Alphabet Challenge - 'T' for Trees

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I've still got lots of cards I haven't shared with you yet, I just need to find the time to get them on here!  So hopefully I'll be back soon.

Happy Little Stampers June 2017 CAS Challenge

Good evening, crafters

We're back at the start of a new month and with that comes a flurry of great challenges over at Happy Little Stampers.  Today, it's the turn of this month's CAS challenge and here's our cue card for June...

There are lots of ways you can 'smoosh' on your projects but please ensure that your entries meet our CAS criteria as follows...

The winner of this challenge will receive a $20 coupon from the Happy Little Stampers shop.  Please check out all the rules over at the main challenge post.


So, onto my DT card, and this time I used the HLS Birthday Friends stamp set...

I started by stamping the hippo onto some watercolour card, did some basic watercolouring initially and then used a negative mask to cover the surrounding area before smooshing the hippo into some watered down ink.  One dry I swapped the masks so that the hippo was now covered, then smooshed the surrounding area into some blue and purple ink spritzed with water.  I used post-it notes as masks and the second one became a little saturated so some of the blue ink did migrate over the image but for this technique I think it looks fine with the random effects created.  I stamped the sentiment below before die cutting with a pierced square die, then mounted this using 3D foam onto a card base that I scored vertically down the centre.  As a finishing touch I added some accents with a white pen to brighten his eye and teeth.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Birthday Friends
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Altenew - Evening Gray, Moon Rock; Distress Ink - Dusy Concord, Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square Stax
• Accents: White Signo Uni-ball pen

Challenge entries:

Happy Little Stampers - June Watercolour challenge - Anything Goes (Mask)

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #244 - Clean and Simple

My HLS teamies have created a lovely selection of smooshed projects so please do pop over to the main challenge post for some inspiration.

And don't forget, the HLS challenges run until the end of the month so plenty of time to play along.  And keep your eyes peeled for the other challenges going live over the next week :)

Less is More Week #297

Good morning, crafters

At Less is More this week we're back with our regular, dread-evoking One Layer Challenge.  Our theme for you this week is...

Dreams

This wasn't an easy one for me this week but I do have two cards to share.

Here's the first...

I used Strathmore Bristol cardstock for my card base as I knew I'd be using my Zig markers to colour my image and they blend really well on this cardstock.  I started by stamping the cat before masking it and stamping the cushion.  I then stamped the thought bubbles, the small dots being from a leaf stamp set and the main bubble from a shadows set.  I then stamped the mouse and the sentiment in black.  To finish the card I coloured my image using Zig markers blended with water.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - You're Purrfect, Stylish Flowers (sentiment); Paper Smooches - Leafy Greens, Shadows
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black; Versa Color - Sky Gray; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Challenge entry:

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #446 - Anything Goes

I'm not overly happy with my second card.  The watercolouring isn't great and it was very warped from the water and heat embossing but I managed to straighten it out under some heavy books and decided I would share it anyway...

I watercoloured the central area in two 'dreamy coloured' Distress Inks.  Once dry I flicked some water onto it and lifted some colour as well as adding a few splatters.  I blasted it with my heat gun and used some anti-static powder before stamping and heat embossing the sentiment and butterflies in white.  The images and sentiment didn't stand out as much as I had hoped so I went back in and added more watercolour.  Although I like the colours I'm not so happy with the hard lines and I think it looks a little 'overworked'.  I may have another go soon with a similar design.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick; VersaMark
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Flutterby Dreams
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #214 - Clean and Simple

CAS on Sunday - Challenge #93 - Heat Embossing

Addicted to CAS - Challenge #98 - Watercolour

The Crafter's Cafe - Challenge #158 - Use Lots of Pink (Breast Cancer Awareness Month)

Time Out - Challenge #67 - Breast Cancer Awareness/Friendship + Embossing and/or Use Pink

My teamies have created some fabulous one layer cards this week so please do pop over to their blogs if you have the time.  I hope you'll join in with us this week.

For a Beary Special Friend

Hi guys

Today I found photos of a card I made for a friend a couple of months ago and completely forgot to share it here on my blog.  My friend is called Claire, and is also known as Bear so this stamp set was perfect to make a card for her.

I started by stamping the bear in waterproof black ink and then watercoloured with Distress Inks.  I stamped one sentiment at the top in black and then heat embossed the other sentiment in white on a strip of black cardstock which was popped up on 3D foam.  As a final touch I added some clear Wink of Stella to the balloon and the present and added Glossy Accents to the balloon which can be seen better in the next photograph.

Materials Used:

• Stamps: MFT - Beary Special Birthday
• Ink: Distress Ink - Ground Espresso, Brushed Corderoy, Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke, Barn Door, Wilted Violet, Salty Ocean; Versafine - Onyx Black; VersaMark; Archival - Jet Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Accents: Wink of Stella - Clear; Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

Addicted to CAS - Challenge #98 - Watercolour

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #445 - CAS

CASology - Challenge #217 - Cute

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you are all enjoying Word Cardmaking Day today.  I've made a card this morning (which I can't share until Monday), have watched a few videos, scheduled a couple of blog posts and now I'm off to make some long overdue swatches! :)

Less is More Week #292 - Peacock Feather

Hi there

Honestly, where does the time go?!  At Less is More we've whooshed around to the beginning of another month which means today marks the start of another Colour challenge.  And this week we want to see colours of...

Peacock Feathers

When I think of peacock feathers I think of greens and aquas, and also deep indigo/purple shades, as well as what seems to be a shade of gold.

I've made two cards this week, here's the first...

On a panel of white cardstock I stamped the flower and leaves image in waterproof black ink.  I then watercoloured using my Zig markers.  I used Strathmore Bristol cardstock as this works brilliantly when blending with these markers (thanks to my LIM buddy, Sarah, for the samples!) so the panel was adhered directly onto the card base.  The die cut Thanks was then adhered, this cut from some pearlescent gold cardstock.

Materials used:

• Stamp: Stampin' Up - So Very Grateful
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black
• Coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Bush Pens in Light Green, Deep Green, Blue, Turquoise Green and Violet
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Twice the Thanks
• Gold cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #209 - CAS

And as this thanks die is a shiny new addition to my craft stash I just have to link up at the lovely Darnell's NBUS challenge.






And for my second card I made a shaker, and decided to leave it sentiment free...

I started by die cutting the smaller stitched rectangle from some white cardstock.  I then die cut the butterfly from it and adhered some acetate to the back.  The same butterfly was cut from some pearlescent gold cardstock and inlaid into the aperture.  I then filled with sequins to create the shaker.  I was going to adhere the small rectangle to the card base but it looked a little incomplete so I inlaid it into a larger stitched rectangle and then adhered this to the card base on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Rectangles; Memory Box - Vivienne Butterfly
• Sequins: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Rainforest Shaker Selection; Doodlebug - Various

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - It's a Stitch Up

Moving Along with the Times - Challenge #28 - All Kinds of Everything (Butterflies)

CASology - Challenge #213 - Stitch

My Time to Craft - Challenge #328 - Something that Flies

My teamies have created a wonderful array of cards using these colours this week, if you have the time please stop by at their personal blogs for more inspiration.

I'm looking forward to the colourful gallery of entries this coming week!

Less is More Week 279

Hi there

The first Saturday of the month means that our new challenge this week at Less is More is a Colour challenge.  And this time we would like you to...

Use Some Purple

Our wonderful Sponsors for the month of June are Dies to Die For and STAMPlorations.  

For my first card this week I've used some stamps by STAMPlorations, sent to me by the super generous Shery!  Thanks so much for my happy mail, Shery!

I stamped the rose image with waterproof ink onto some watercolour paper and coloured it with my Inktense pencils and water.  I then stamped the sentiment from the same set in black ink.  The plan was to add diagonal stamped stripes to the corners but I messed up my stamping so I saved my panel by slicing off the two corners and then mounting it to my card base which was first covered with purple polka dot paper...phew!  I think I prefer this look anyway, so never throw away creations that could be used after all!  A few sequins finished off the card.

Materials used:

• Stamps: STAMPlorations - About a Rose
• Ink: Archival - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Coloured with Derwent Inktense pencils
• Patterned Paper: Dovecraft - Back to Basics IV 6x6 Designer Paper Pack
• Accents: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Sparkling Rainbow Sequin Mix

Challenge entry:

Addicted to CAS - Challenge #89 - Petals

I did a bit of masking to create this next monochrome card...

I started by masking a cardstock panel with the aperture created from a circle die, which I placed off the edge.  I blended within the mask with Distress Ink before splattering with water.  I left the bottom part of the mask in place but removed the top half before stamping the foliage in three different purple shades extending above the circle.  The sentiment was stamped in black before adhering the panel with 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Wilted Violet; Versa Color - Imperial Blue, Boysenberry, Heliotrope; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Inkylicious - Meadow Breeze; Clearly Besotted - Brushed Greetings II

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Mask It

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Monochrome

CASology - Week #200 - CAS

Thanks so much for visiting today.  My LIM teamies and I would love for you to join in this week so if your creation is CAS and uses purple, why not link up?!

Hope to see you again soon.

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!

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.