Less is More Challenge #455

Good morning

Apologies that it's been two whole weeks since I last posted here, life just becomes busy sometimes and I haven't found time to craft and share.

As we have five Saturdays's in October, Less is More have an extra Lucky Dip challenge for you starting today.  So, I'll get straight to the cue card for this one...

I thought I'd make a card using just dies for this one, it's been a while since I didn't reach for my stamps but I enjoyed making this one...

I began by raiding my stash and fishing out some different white cardstocks.  For some background interest I chose a linen cardstock for my main die cut panel.  I then die cut the poinsettia ribbon from some off-white pearlescent cardstock, i thought that would showcase the detail on the flower, and the Merry Christmas frame was die cut from some white glitter cardstock.  After adhering the panel to the card base I adhered the poinsettia ribbon, leaving the flower without any adhesive at this point.  I then adhered the frame, gently lifting the flower petals through, which I then finally adhered using some glue dots for a little dimension.  To finish, I added some glitter jewels to the centre of the flower.

Materials used:

• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Poppy Stamps - Poinsettia Ribbon; MFT Die-namics - Merry Christmas Circle Frame
• Cardstock: a selection from my stash
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Jewels - Iced Snow

Challenge entries:

Happy Little Stampers - October Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Happy Little Stampers - October Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for taking a look today.  I'm hoping to get some cards made this weekend, I really need to make a start on my Christmas cards or it will be the usual mad panic at the end of November when I realise I still need about 70 more!

Enjoy your weekend, folks x

Less is More Challenge #451

Hi guys

At Less is More this morning there is a Theme challenge just starting.  Here's the cue card for this fortnight's challenge...

A pretty simple theme, just add some sparkle to your clean and simple designs.

And joining us as a wonderful Guestie for this challenge is the super talented Viv of Daizy-Mae Designs.  Viv is a loyal participant at Less is More and I'm sure many of you are familiar with her beautiful work.  Please do pop over to take a look at her project and to say hello.

I've not even begun my Christmas cards for this year so thought it was good time to get at least one made!  Here's my DT card and I decided to make a shaker...

I started with a die cut rectangular panel and then die cut using the snowglobe to form an aperture.  A then cut a second snowglobe from white glitter cardstock and set this aside.  Next I stamped the sentiment in dark green ink.  I adhered some acetate behind the window and covered the rear of the panel with 3D foam.  Next I die cut some trees from green cardstock and added some 'snow' using a white pen.  I adhered these to the card base, positioned so they would show through the aperture.  I then piled some glitter jewels over the trees and spread it out slightly before then adhering the panel over the top, trapping the shaker filling inside.  To finish, I adhered the white glitter snowglobe die cut over the acetate to frame the scene.

Materials used:

• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Clearly Besotted - Snowglobe Die; Craft Emotions - Pine Trees
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Mini Messages
• Ink: Altenew - Evergreen
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer - Glitter Jewels: Iced Crystals; Signo Uniball pen - white
• Cardstocks and acetate from stash

For more inspiration, take a look at the main Less is More challenge post, where my teamies are sharing lots of different ways to use sparkle and, surprisingly, only one of my teamies has also made a Christmas card!  Sparkle isn't just for Christmas, eh!

Less is More Challenge #433

Hi there

Today, I'm back to announce the new challenge at Less is More.  This will be the last challenge of the year in order to give the Design Team a little break throughout December.

And just to cheer you all up, we're finishing with a One Layer Challenge!  But I can assure you it's an easy one, here's the cue card...

And we also have a familiar face joining us for this one.  Our previous leader at Less is More, the lovely Chrissie, was our October challenge winner and is therefore joining us as our Guest Designer.  Please do pop over to take a look at her lovely CAS project and to say hi.  It's so great to have you back, Chrissie!

I have two one layer makes to share with you this time.  The first was a super quick make and I'm actually really loving this one...

I masked off the back of the green card base and then lightly blended some green ink from the upper corner, fading it out.  The holly (from an oldie but goodie stamp set, now retired) was then stamped in dark green ink and the sentiment in VersaMark.  I then heat embossed the sentiment in gold before finally adding some holly berries with Nuvo drops.

I'm still way behind on my Christmas makes this year, so as I love this design so much I think I may make more of these, and some variations of the same layout.  Although this was a one layer card, made from one piece of green card, to stretch my coloured cardstock I'll more than likely make panels to adhere to the fronts of more cost effective white card bases.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Christmas Poinsettia, Sing It's Christmas
• Ink: Distress Ink - Pine Needles; Altenew - Evergreen; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Accents: Nuvo Crystal Drops - Autumn Red

Challenge entries:

Time Out - Challenge #175 - Quick

We love Chocolate Baroque - November Challenge - Christmas

And while we're on the subject of holly, I wanted to share this picture with you.  I took it a couple of weeks ago when visiting a local Country Park.  I've never seen a holly bush with so many berries, it looks so festive!

Ok, would it even be approaching Christmas if I didn't make a winter scene card using my Card-io stamps?  Here's card number two...

I masked off a central rectangle on my card base and then chose a selection of images from the different scene-builder sets and roughly planned the layout.  Using some paper scraps cut with curves I gently blended the glow and evening sky, the snow banks and shadows where my images would be, and gave the edges a touch of ink to frame the scene.  Then it was just a case of stamping the images in black ink, the church and trees with a mask in place, and the foreground foliage in first and second generation stamping.  To finish, I adhered some fine glitter with a glue pen, which you can see more clearly below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Festive Fun, Festive Scene, Greenery 1, Mini Tall Trees, Dear Deer, Branching Out
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Marigold, Neptune
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn
• Quickie Glue pen

Challenge entries:

Uniko - Challenge #62 - Tis the Season (option: Sparkle)

Thanks so much for taking a look today.  As usual, the challenge linky over at Less is More will remain open for two weeks.  Looking forward to seeing lots of one layer makes in the gallery in the run up to Christmas.

Honey Doo Crafts - January 2020 Release - Selection Two

Hi there

As promised, I'm back with the rest of my samples using the new dies from Honey Doo Crafts as well as some existing products in the range.

And don't forget, Amanda from Honey Doo will be showcasing the new dies, along with some of their existing products on Create & Craft TV tomorrow, Friday 17 January 2020 at 9am and 1pm.

Ok, let's get to it, and first up are two cards using the new Tartan die...

I die cut a rectangular aperture in the front of the card base and also in some cardstock to be used as the upper panel.  I then cut the tartan die cut in half and adhered these back to back so there were no raw edges.  These were then sandwiched between the card and panel and the panel was adhered to the base using 3D foam.  I stamped and heat embossed the flower twice on yellow vellum, fussy cut these and adhered them together.  I added some decorative crystals to the centre.  The sentiment was stamped on a die cut tag and adhered under the flower, and a bow added to finish.

Materials used:

• Dies: Honey Doo Crafts - Tartan; Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; MFT - Stitched Rectangles, Stitched Traditional Tags
• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Chrysanthemum, New Job
• Ink: VersaMark; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Jewels - Iced Crystals
• Vellum and ribbon from stash

Challenge entries:

Dream Valley - Challenge #216 - Something New (new crafty stash and new start)
My Time to Craft - Challenge #413 - New Stash

Happy Little Stampers - January Anything Goes with Dies
Moving Along with the Times - Challenge  #114 - All Things New (new crafty stash and new start)

Here I used the Tartan die again to partially cover the background...

I adhered some mid grey cardstock to the card base then used the tartan die on dark grey textured card.  I trimmed this on the diagonal and adhered it to the bottom corner.  I stamped and heat embossed the flowers and leaves on clear vellum and coloured on the reverse with Zig markers.  These were fussy cut and layered up and adhered in place.  The sentiment was also heat embossed on a die cut piece of vellum and adhered under the flower with a glue dot.

Materials used:

• Dies: Honey Doo Crafts - Tartan; Spellbinders Nestabilities - Reverse Wonky Rectangles
• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Chrysanthemum, Retirement
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White
• Vellum from stash coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Challenge entries:

Allsorts - Challenge #554 - Say It With Flowers
Penny Black and More - January Challenge - Make It Feminine

Next up I've used the new Encircle die...

I die cut a white panel with a stitched rectangle die and cut a circular aperture.  I die cut the Encircle die once from teal coloured cardstock and again from patterned paper.  I added some adhesive to the card base, trimmed down and adhered the positive part using the teal die cut.  I then inlaid the negative sections using the patterned paper die cuts.  I stamped the sentiment before adhering the upper panel on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Dies: Honey Doo Crafts - Encircle; Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Hero Arts - Infinity Circle dies
• Patterned Paper: First Edition - Wildflowers; teal cardstock from stash
• Stamp: Honey Doo Crafts - New Job
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black

And finally, I've used one of the existing stencils, Mosaic, along with two stamp sets, Budding Flourishes and Repot Rose...

I blended a die cut panel lightly with Distress Inks before adding the stencil and then deepening the colours.  I stamped the floral image in black ink directly over the blended background.  To finish I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in gold onto a strip of vellum, wrapped this around the panel and adhered it to the base.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Honey Doo Crafts - Mosaic
• Ink: Distress Ink - Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Broken China; Versafine - Onyx Black; VersaMark
• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Budding Flourishes, Repot Rose (sentiment)
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #372 - Make your Mark (ink blending and stencilling)
Sweet Stampin - Attitude of Gratitude
STAMPlorations - January Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes





Thanks again for visiting, I hope you can take a look at the products and demos on Create & Craft tomorrow.  If not, you can watch the shows on catch up on the website.  And don't forget, all the Honey Doo products are also available to purchase direct from their store, here.


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

Winter Wonderland Walkies

Hi there

Back again with two very similar cards, and using more Card-io stamps that I just love for winter cards.

This first card was made for my bestie, she became mum to a puppy earlier this year which was my inspiration for this design...

On a die cut panel I masked a curve with some scrap paper and blended the sky and sunrise.  With the mask still in place I stamped the fir trees using first, second and third generation stamping for some depth.  Using the mask again I blended a little colour at the base of where my images would be, and then stamped the dog walker, the tree and the sentiment.  I then used a glue pen to add some glitter to the slope of the hill.  To finish I sprinkled on some embossing enamel for the snow.

The next card I made for my brother and sister-in-law, who recently re-homed two beautiful dogs...

This card was made in exactly the same way, just using a few different stamps and these little images were perfect for what I wanted.  And I've only just noticed I forgot to add the embossing enamel for the snow!

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Mini Tall Trees, Winter Trees, Festive Fun; Winter Wonderland - free with Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine (sentiment on Card 1); Enchanted Corner - free with Papercraft Essentials magazine (sentiment on Card 2)
• Ink: Versa Color - Neptune, Orange, Marigold; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn; Stampendous - Chunky White Deep Impression Embossing Enamel

Challenge entries:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #470 - Anything Goes

Christmas with the Cuties - Challenge #34 - Christmas Cuties

Creative Inspirations - December Challenge - Festive Fun!

Happy Little Stampers - December Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

STAMPlorations - December CAS Cards Challenge - Anything Goes

Just one more Christmas card to share with you from my 2019 makes, I'll be back with that one very soon.  I'd love for you to pop back x

Christmas Card Multiples - Stencilled Baubles

Good morning!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and hopefully some relaxation following the madness that usually occurs in the lead up to the festivities!

Ok, back to it, and I'm sharing more of my Christmas card makes today.

These were super quick one layers...

I used part of a festive stencil to ink my hanging baubles and graduated the ink blend using three colours of Distress Ink.  The sentiment was stamped alongside in black ink.  To finish, I added some dots with a glue pen in the stripes of the baubles and sprinkled on some fine glitter to add some Christmas sparkle (see the last photo for a detailed view).

Materials used:

• Stencil: Imagination Crafts - Christmas Holly (the holly is the top part of the stencil I didn't use here!)
• Ink: Distress Ink - Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feathers; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Christmas Poinsettia
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn

Challenge entries:

STAMPlorations - December Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting, I'll be back a little later with more of my 2019 Christmas cards.

Christmas Card Multiples - Starstruck Silhouettes

Good evening

Yes, you've guessed it, I've got more Christmas card multiples for you! 

After I made my DT card for the latest Perfectly CAS challenge, here, I just had to make more cards using the gorgeous animal silhouettes in the Card-io Starstruck set.  I just love it.

So I made two each of five different designs, all one layer mini cards...

Each design follows the same basic principle, gently ink blending away from a curved piece of scrap paper to create the snow hills.  Rather than using a blending tool I wrapped some kitchen paper around my finger and gently blended the pigment ink, fading it upwards.  I then stamped the silhouettes and sentiments in black ink.  The only design that was created slightly differently was the front facing fox as he has a white chest, so I stamped him first before masking him and then ink blending the background.

For my previous card I heat embossed the star but as these were one layer cards I didn't want to risk warping the card bases with the heat so instead I stamped them with silver pigment ink then used a glue pen over them and sprinkled on some fine glitter to create the sparkle.  I then finished by adding some detailing with a white pigment pen.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Starstruck; Penny Black - Wonder Collection
• Ink: Versa Color - Neptune, Silver; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn; Signo Uniball white pen

Challenge entries:

Christmas with the Cuties - Challenge #34 - Christmas Cuties

Happy Little Stampers - December Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Try It On Tuesday - Christmas is Coming

Dream Valley - Challenge #215 - Christmas

Yes, I still have more to come!  I'd love for you to check back :)