Less is More - Week #268

Hi guys

It's new challenge time over at Less is More and we have a great Theme challenge for our LIMettes this week which is...

What's Outside Your Window

(you can use your imagination and dreams!)

We also have a lovely Guest Designer joining us this week, and someone from my neck of woods, Lou from A Devon Kitchen Table.  If you have the time please pop over to her blog and leave her some love :)


Ok, my first card is quite realistic for what's usually outside my window.  Until about a fortnight ago I think a day hadn't gone by this year without us having some rain!  Pretty normal for England so not just April showers!

On a white cardstock panel I masked a square and used Distress Ink to blend the blue background.  I then stamped the stems, flower heads and the raindrops.  After the mask was removed I stamped the sentiment and added some hand drawn dash lines with a black fine liner pen.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versa Color - Evergreen, Rose Red and Sky Gray
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - A Little Something, April Showers Additions, April Showers II
• Pen: Derwent Graphik Line Maker

Challenge entry:

CASology - Week 189 - Doodle (hopefully my hand drawn dash lines will qualify!)

For the next card I created a view I would love to see from my window.  I live in a first floor flat and have a very small garden, and as there are lots of cats in my neighbourhood a bird bath wouldn't be a success!

I printed the digi image onto some white cardstock and coloured it in with my some Flexmarkers.  I used a stitched rectangle die to create the panel and stamped the sentiment before popping it up on 3D foam.  Super simple.

Materials used:

• Digi image: A Day for Daisies - Daisy Bird Bath
• Stamp: Happy Little Stampers - Doodled Flowers
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles

Challenge entry:

Moving Along with the Times - Challenge #16 - In the Garden

Right, I'm going to wind up this post as I'm having internet problems which is driving me mad.  Thanks so much for visiting today, I hope to see you in the gallery this week.

A Yummy Christmas Selection

Hi there

I'm back to share another little batch of cards I made earlier in the month to add to my Christmas card stock.

These use a lovely little set of images from Pink Petticoat called Merry Christmas Sweetie.  Pink Petticoat is due to close but it seems digis can still be bought at the moment so it's worth a look as you can grab some wonderful images and papers at knock down prices.

These were super simple to make.  I printed the images onto an A4 sheet of card, cut each one out with a stitched rectangle die and coloured them in with my ProMarkers.  The image panels were then adhered to card bases using 3D foam, the berries were accented with Glossy Accents and some Wink of Stella was also added to give some festive sparkle.

Materials used:

• Digis: Pink Petticoat - Merry Christmas Sweetie
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accents: Glossy Accents; Wink of Stella - Clear

Challenge entries:

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Food and Drink
My Time to Craft - Challenge #311 - Last Minute Christmas Makes
Craft Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #261 - Anything Goes Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for December - Anything Goes Christmas
Brown Sugar - Challenge #178 - Christmas
CASology - Week 178 - Merry (I was going to enter the previous 'Pie' challenge with the Merry Mince Pie but missed the deadline)

Thanks for popping by.  I have more Christmas cards to share but may share these with you tomorrow as there's a bottle with my name on it calling from the kitchen! :)

Have a lovely evening whatever you're up to.

Let's Get Technical!

Good morning

It's Less is More new challenge time and this week we have a theme challenge for you.  And the theme for this week is...

Technology

Please remember to keep you creations clean and simple.

Not only did I struggle with the theme this week, my creative mojo decided to go for a wander to who knows where!  I did manage to create three cards to share with you though, so here they are...

I stamped the phone in pink and die cut with the co-ordinating die.  The rest of the images were stamped separately in various inks and the headphones onto a white cardstock panel.  I rounded the bottom corners of the card base and the panel to echo the shape of the phone, adhered the phone flat to the panel, and the panel was popped up on 3D foam

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Text Me (and co-ordinating die set)
• Ink: Versa Color - Opera Pink, Canary, Heliotrope, Turquoise, Sky Gray; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Tools: Tonic Corner Rounder

Challenge entries:

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
CAS-ual Fridays - Challenge #143 - Musical



I had the idea for this next card in my mind for a while after I saw the challenge theme.  It took three attempts for me to be able to actually translate it onto a card!

I masked off the V shape with post-its and the curves of the Wi-Fi logo were created using a straight stripe stamp which I manipulated into a curve. The three curves were embossed in platinum embossing powder.  Because I used a textured cardstock the embossing was a little uneven but I actually like the effect it created.  Instead of the usual dot at the bottom of the logo I changed this for a heart and this was also heat embossed.  The coloured cardstock was cut with a stitched rectangle and the computer generated sentiment (font - Frosting for Breakfast) was cut with a tag die.  As I changed the dot for a heart I thought this sentiment could perhaps be used for a Valentine's card, maybe?  A few glazed gems were added to accent.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Basic Stripes; Stampin' Up - Work of Art
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles; Clearly Besotted - Tag Along
• Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
• Accents: Papermania - Glazed Gems

Challenge entries:

Just Add Ink - Challenge #280 - Glimmer


And my third card this week...

I found this cute digi image at Sliekje's Digi Stamps.  The images created by Angelique are gorgeous and have a sketchy feel so I printed this one off and coloured it in, very sketchy, using my Derwent Coloursoft Pencils.  I added a sentiment stamped in black and then cut the image down and framed it on two sides with black cardstock.  I then layered this up with some patterned paper which was cut using some fishtail dies.

Materials used:

• Digi Stamp: Sliekje's Digi Stamps
• Stamp: BoBunny - Sentiments
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Coloured with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Let's Polka
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Fishtail Flag Stax

Challenge entry:

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Animal Magic



Technology is all around us these days so there should be plenty of ideas to give you some inspiration.  And my LIMette teamies also have some great inspiration for you so if you have the time, please pop by their personal blogs.

That's all from me at the moment, have a fab weekend.

Addicted to Stamps and More #160

Hi guys

At Addicted to Stamps and More there is another challenge just starting.  Continuing with our sequence of challenges, this week we are back with a...

Photo Inspiration Challenge

You may take any element from the photo that inspires you.  It may be the colours, an image, a theme, etc.

Here's the photo...

Our Sponsor for this week's challenge is Stitchy Bear and the prize up for grabs is 3 images up to the value of $10.

I've used an image from our sponsor for my DT card this week, here it is...

I printed the digi image onto some cardstock, choosing to print it in 'draft' mode to soften the black a little.  I cut the cardstock down to the size I wanted and then stamped the sentiment in charcoal grey.  I didn't want to spend ages colouring my image only to mess up the sentiment at the end (this has happened to me before!).  I then coloured the image with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers.  Next I laid a speckles stencil over the image, masking off around the mushrooms, and then applied some white embossing paste through the stencil to add the dotty texture.  The panel was then matted onto some orange cardstock before adhering flat to the card base.

Materials used:

• Digi Image: Stitchy Bear - Mushroom Delight
• Stamp: Woodware - Salutations
• Ink: Versa Color - Charcoal
• Stencil: Tim Holtz - Speckles
• Embossing Paste: Dreamweaver
• Coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers

I hope you'll be inspired by our photo this week and hope to see you over at ATSM.  My teamies have some great projects to inspire you so why not check these out and leave them some love.

Thanks so much for visiting today.  I'll be back later this evening to tell you about the new challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

Addicted to Stamps and More #156

Hi there

I'm back to introduce the next challenge which is just going live at Addicted to Stamps and More.  We are continuing on with our regular sequence of challenge themes so this week we are back with everyone's favourite...

Anything Goes!

Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Sami Stamps.  Although I don't often use digis the images in this range are gorgeous, and even better, the winner of this week's challenge will win a $12 gift certificate!


I've used a Sami Stamps image for my DT card this week called 'Birthday Kitty'.  Being a cat lover I couldn't resist this one but I've used it here to create a baby card...

I printed the digi onto some white printable cardstock and coloured it in with ProMarkers.  I then used a stitched rectangle die to cut it out.  I adhered some green polka dot paper to the cardbase, stamped the 'welcome' sentiment onto the white panel before adhering this over the paper.  The yellow die cut word 'baby' was then added to finish.  It's always handy to have some baby cards which aren't specifically pink or blue, so you have a card ready for those 'unknown until arrival' arrivals!

Materials used:

• Digi Image: Sami Stamps - Birthday Kitty
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Child's Play
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - In and Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangles; Clearly Besotted - Baby Word Die
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Let's Polka Mon Amie
• Coloured with ProMarkers

Challenge entries:

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #150 - Animals or Birds

Daring Cardmakers - New Beginnings

Brown Sugar - Challenge #157 - Animals

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #384 - Citrus Colours

Moving Along with the Times - Baby Baby

There is lots of inspiration over at ATSM created by my wonderful teamies and as it's an Anything Goes week, you can link up anything you create.  Looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

Less Is More - Guest Designer (week three!)

Hi there

Well, here I am again, back to help out the lovely ladies at Less is More while some are sunning themselves in exotic places!  Thanks for all your fabulous entries over the last couple of weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting you all :)

We have a new challenge just starting and we are back to the (dreaded by many!) One Layer Week!  So, this week's challenge is to...

Make a One Layer Card with the theme 'Water'

Please visit the Guidelines page here if you are unsure of the rules.

Here's my card.  After trying to think of an idea using watercolours or a water technique I ended up going in a completely different direction and used this bathtime digi!

I printed this image, 'Lola Rose Bubbly' by Pink Petticoat and coloured it with ProMarkers.  I then, of course, added some Wink of Stella to the bubbles.

And, as she's showing off her teeth in this image I went with this funny sentiment, from the 'Laugh Out Loud' set by Clearly Besotted, and it fitted perfectly under the bath!

I'm going to link this card up at the following challenges:

I Love ProMarkers - Challenge #268 - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz - Challenge #278 - CAS

Passion for ProMarkers - Week 295 - Keep Calm and Chill Out

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #122 - Anything Goes Feminine

Inkspirational - Challenge #81 - Word Prompt - Space (lots of white space here!)

So, why not have a go and join in the fun with your One Layer Water creations.  It will be great to how this theme can be interpreted.

Take care and I hope to see you again soon.

Addicted to Stamps and More #132

Hi there

Those of you that visit me regularly will know that there's a reason for a post late at night on a Tuesday...and that reason is a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.  And this week it's time for another challenge where we want you to...

Make Your Mark

You must 'make your mark' on your creations using materials such as markers, paints, chalks, watercolour, sponging, etc.

This week's sponsor is QKR Stampede who are offering 3 digis to one lucky winner.

Here is my DT card this week, using one of our sponsor's images...

I printed this adorable digi image onto some white cardstock and coloured it in with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers,  This is a great little image which can be used for any love related card or even a friendship card.  I stamped a sentiment above the image and cut the whole image out using a fishtail flag die.  I covered the card base with some woodgrain patterned paper and then die cut some co-ordinating dotty paper using a smaller die from the same fishtail die set.  I adhered the two die cuts and then punched out some tiny hearts from black cardstock and adhered these next to the sentiment before giving them some shimmer with some Wink of Stella.

Materials used:

• Digi Image: QKR Stampede - Watching Together
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Paired Up
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Patterned Paper: Doodlebug - Kraft in Color - Kraft
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Fishtail Flag Stax
• Punch: Craft Creatives - Mini Heart
• Accents: Wink of Stella - Clear

I would also like to enter this card at the following challenge blogs:

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #132 - Love, Love, Love

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - All Creatures Great & Small

Simply Create Too - Challenge #79 - Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #111 - Anything Goes

There is some wonderful inspiration for you over at ATSM from my fabulous teamies, all so very different.  So why not pop over, show them some love, make your mark and share your creations with us this week.

I'd love for you to join us, and I hope to see you again very soon.

Ooh La La Creations - Guest Designer!

Hi guys

Today I'm back to share my second card for my Guest Designer spot for February with Ooh La La Creations.

Thanks so much to Anne for inviting me to join her team this month and to the rest of the Design Team for making me feel so welcome.

For this new challenge we want you to 'Add Something Green' to your creations.  Here's my card...

For this card I started by adding some Ooh La La Creations digi paper to my card base.  I chose this strawberry design and then used a stamp set by Clearly Besotted to carry on the strawberry theme.  I used a scalloped edge die to cut the bottom of the white cardstock panel and then cut a couple of notches on either side at the top to secure the twine in place.  The white cardstock panel was then adhered using 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Digi Paper: Ooh La La Creations - Watermelon Mice collection from the Everyday Occasions CD Rom
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Tasty Treats
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tasty Treats and Scalloped Edges Die Collection
• Ink: Versa Color - Burgundy, Olive, Ash Rose and Sage; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Twine: Hemptique - Emerald collection

I would also like to enter this card at the following challenge blogs:

Brown Sugar - Challenge #133 - Use a Bow and a Die Cut

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #111 - Anything Goes

Simply Create Too - Challenge #79 - Anything Goes

Why not 'add some green' to your projects and link up, it will be great to see your creations in the gallery.  Thanks so much for popping by.

 

Namaste

Hi there

This is going to be a super quick post as it's already past my bedtime but I wanted to get this card linked up.

I made this one for my bestie who celebrated her birthday last week.  She loves her yoga so I found the perfect digi image for her from Pink Petticoat.  And I must have been psychic as the colours I used for this are the same as the colour challenge at Less is More this week!

Here it is...

I began by printing the digi on white card, coloured it in with ProMarkers and then cut it out with an oval stitched die.  I then masked of my card base, leaving the bottom corner free and applied embossing paste through a stencil.  This is a new one I purchased recently and I love the effect, I think you could be seeing this one a lot more!  I stamped the sentiment, popped the image panel up on 3D foam and lastly added the friend die cut which was cut from pink card.

Materials used:

• Digi: Pink Petticoat - Lola Rose Namaste
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Dies: Lil' Inkers - Stitched Ovals; Clearly Besotted - Friend Word Die
• Stencil: Memory Box - Texture Scraped Paint
• Embossing Paste: Dreamweaver
• Stamps: Stampin' Up - Fabulous Phrases
• Ink: Versa Color - Sky Gray

Challenge entries:

Less is More - Colour Challenge - Pink and Grey

Happy Little Stampers - February CAS Challenge - Embossing

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #360 - Perfectly Pink

That's all for today, I'm off to bed now.  I hope to see you again soon.

Addicted to Stamps and More #128

Hi guys

Well, I'm back with my first card of 2015 for Addicted to Stamps and More.  We are sad to have lost a few members of our Design Team but are also happy to welcome some awesome new teamies, some of whom you will have met already if you managed to pop by at ATSM for last week's challenge.

So, onto this week's new challenge which is...

Holiday

We would like to see your creations using any holiday such as Christmas, Easter, a National Holiday, or feel free to interpret this as meaning a holiday destination, etc.

Not only do we have some new Design Team members, we also have some fab new sponsors for 2015.  And for this week's challenge we are sponsored by Deedee's Digis who are offering a prize of $15 to spend in the store.

So, without further ado, here is my DT card.  After making so many Christmas cards and with the weather being very dull here in the UK I decided to bring a little Spring to my crafting and found this lovely digi which I thought would be great for an Easter card.

I downloaded this free digi from Opal Manor and printed it onto some white card before colouring in with my ProMarkers.  I cut the panel to the width of my card base and die cut the bottom with a curved die.  I then did the same with two different patterned papers before layering them up.  I thought the curved cuts would work great with the curvy image.  I then stamped the sentiment before adhering the white panel.

Materials used:

• Digi Image: Opal Manor - Easter Lily
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Fresh Flowers (sentiment)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Patterned Paper: Doodlebug - Kraft in Color - Color
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Snow Drifts

Challenge entries:

Without Words - January Challenge - Dreaming of Spring

Crafty Catz - Challenge #262 - New Beginnings (new season - nothing signifies the start of Spring more than a daffodil!)

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #107 - Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion - Challenge #245 - Anything Goes

So, whether you want to get a head start on this year's Christmas cards (!!!) or fancy making another holiday themed card, why not link up with us at ATSM.  As always, my fellow teamies have lots of inspiration on offer for you so why not pop over and show them some love :)

Oh, and before I go, those of you with eagle eyes may have noticed my fab new watermark on my photos.  Our wonderful 'boss', Kylie has designed these for each of us on the ATSM Design Team, and she also designed my other watermark too.  If you'd like a watermark unique to you please contact Kylie, details below, and she will be more than happy to help you...

Thanks for popping by and I hope to see you again very soon.

Addicted to Stamps and More #118

Good morning

Well, we've whizzed around to Wednesday again and Addicted to Stamps and More has a fresh new challenge for you.  This week's challenge theme is...

Holiday

How you interpret this is up to you...it could be an annual holiday such as Christmas, Easter, etc. or a holiday destination/theme

Our fab sponsor this week is Eureka Stamps and the winner's prize will be 3 digis from their store.

Here is my DT card using a digi image by our sponsor...

I printed the digi onto white card and cut it out using a Spellbinders die.  I then coloured the image with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers and added some Wink of Stella to the gold trim of the sleigh and the stars on the tree.  I covered the card base with some green jacquard Christmas paper and adhered the die cut onto this.  I stamped and die cut the sentiment banner and popped this up on 3D foam and added a snowflake and some stars which were die cut from glitter paper.  I'm not overly happy with this card, it's not really my usual style as I needed to print the digi fairly large to be able to colour the detail and I then struggled a bit with my layout.  As a Christmas card, I like it.  I just prefer my more CAS designs.

Materials used:

• Digi: Eureka Stamps - Sleigh with Presents
• Coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers
• Accented with Wink of Stella
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Mini Banners
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Labels One; Clearly Besotted - Mini Basic Banners; Uniko Studio - Designer Dies Snowflakes
• Cardstock and paper from stash

Now, why not pop over to ATSM to get some Holiday inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.  There is a lovely selection of cards this week to get your mojo going.

We'd love you to join in and share your creations with us.

Have a great day!

Addicted to Stamps and More #108

Hi there

Well, it's Wednesday so that means there's a new challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More.  And this week we're back with another great theme which is...

Addicted to Holidays

We'd like you to create something based on your favourite holiday season, eg. Easter, Christmas, Halloween, or perhaps base your entry on a favourite holiday destination.

Here's my DT card this week...

Our Sponsor this week is Rick St. Dennis and this week's prize is 3 free digis to one lucky challenge winner!

For this week's card I used a digi image by Rick St Dennis which I coloured with ProMarkers and added some highlights with Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents.  As the image is quite detailed I wanted to keep the rest of the card fairly simple so I covered the card base in some patterned paper and stamped the sentiment onto a fishtail flag strip.  The image and sentiment were popped up on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Digi Image: Rick St. Dennis - Winter Friends
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Modern Christmas
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up - Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stack
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Rectangles Large; MFT Die-namics - Fishtail Flag Stax
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accents with Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents

Why not pop over and take a look at the cards by the ATSM Design Team for some wonderful inspiration.  And if you haven't already, why not use this as a great time to start making those Christmas cards, and you could bag yourself three free digis as well!

As always, thanks for dropping by.   

Little Boy's 1st Birthday

Hiya

I was just sorting through some photos on my laptop and found some pics of a commission card I made a few months ago but never shared.

So here it is...

I chose to use a digi from Stamp Fairy for this little boy's 1st birthday card.  I inserted the digi image into MS Word and added the sentiment below it before printing on white card.  I then coloured the image with ProMarkers.  The '1 Today' was also computer generated before cutting out using a tag die.  I covered the card base with patterned paper (apologies, but I can't remember what brand this paper was) then punched some notches in the edge of the white cardstock panel to hold the twine in place before adhering the white panel to the base.

Materials used:

• Digi Image: Stamp Fairy - Barry Balloons 4
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along
• Twine: Hemptique
• Coloured with ProMarkers

Challenge entries:

Let's Craft and Create - Challenge #95 - Ribbon or Twine

The Crafter's Cafe - Challenge #74 - Use a Digi

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Love to Create - Challenge #127 - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting, I'll be back shortly with something different to share with you.

Addicted to Stamps and More #106

Good morning!

It's Wednesday morning and time for a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.  This week we have everybody's favourite challenge...

Anything Goes

Just have fun and share whatever you create

Here is my DT card...

This week's Sponsor is Eureka Stamps and they are offering 3 digis to our lucky challenge winner!

I used a digi image by our Sponsor this week and had great fun colouring it in with my ProMarkers and Flexmarkers.  I make very few cards for children so felt I needed at least one in my stock!  I like to keep my cards fairly simple but wanted to stamp some kind of background so I picked out some colours used in my image and stamped the dotted squares in corresponding ink colours and used this row of blocks to form a background for my sentiment banner.  The die I used for the sentiment strip was actually a fishtail flag but I put it back through my Big Shot and cut it shorter with the straight edge at both ends.

Materials used:

• Digi Image: Eureka Stamps - Baby Animals
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Geometric Style and In the Frame
• Ink: Versa Color - Sky Blue, Sky Gray, Umber, Topaz; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Rectangles Large; MFT Die-namics - Fishtail Flag Stax

I'd like to enter this card at the following challenges:

Simply Create Too - Challenge #66 - For a Child

The Crafter's Cafe - Challenge #73 - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz - Challenge #241 - Anything Goes

Brown Sugar - Challenge #104 - For the Boys

Why not pop on over to ATSM to grab some inspiration from the fab creations my fellow Design Teamies have shared this week.  Anything Goes is an easy-peasy challenge so what are you waiting for?  You could win yourself some free digi images :)

I'd love to know what you think about my card so if you have time, please leave a comment.  Have a fab day whatever you're up to.