Less is More Challenge #457 ... and some news

Good morning

It's Saturday and time for a new challenge over at Less is More.  The Design Team will be taking a short break throughout December so this will be the last challenge of 2021.

...and it is with a heavy heart that after six and a half years (how is it that long?!!!) I have decided to step down from this fabulous challenge Design Team.

After a few weeks as a Guest Designer, I joined the team in May 2015 (Challenge #225!), creating alongside the wonderful Chrissie, Sarah and Anne.  I had the pleasure of meeting these gorgeous ladies at a Craft Retreat a few years ago organised by our amazing Kylie, and later met the lovely Sharon, who has been running the challenge brilliantly in the most recent years.  They are all such great friends and will continue to be beyond Less is More.  And, of course, not forgetting my other LIM teamies past and present, I've learned so much from a fantastic bunch of CAS designers so I'm sending a huge thank you to all of you.

I won't be disappearing, I just feel like I need to have some time without the commitments and deadlines of a Design Team.  I would like to find more time to use my stash and just play!  

Ok, enough of the sadness, here's the info for the new challenge...

Image by monicore from Pixabay

Here's my card, I think you can see how I was inspired by the photo!

I began with a die cut panel of kraft cardstock.  I then grabbed some paper that has been in my stash for many many years, I think it was part of a bigger kit.  The red paper is shimmery and has a kind of jacquard pattern/print on it.  I used a stitched die to add the dash lines and then cut into a couple of strips.  I then used a bow die set and cut this from the same paper.  I die cut some pine needles from white glitter cardstock and a little tag from white card and stamped the sentiment.  It was then just a case of positioning and adhering.  I originally wasn't going to add the tag as the 'ribbon' already displays the sentiment but I think the tag finishes it off nicely.

You can see the design of the paper a lot clearer in this photo...

Materials used:

• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Paper Smooches - Dots and Dashes; Frantic Stamper - Small Solid Bow; Marianne Design Creatables - Petra's Larix Larch; MFT Die-namics - Blueprints 26 (tag)
• Stamps: The Greetery - Budding Beauties Winter
• Cardstock from stash

Thank you so much, LIMettes, for all your support and encouraging comments on my designs for Less is More.  Clean and simple is the style I love and I also love how this challenge has taken so many of you out of your comfort zones to try CAS designs.  

So this isn't goodbye, I'm sure I'll be a participant of LIM as I always have been since I began this blog xx

Less is More Challenge #403

Hi there

Apologies for the lack of posts lately, I have been crafting away behind the scenes but haven't been able to share those makes yet.  Lots to come over the next few days though so stay tuned :)

Back to the purpose of today's post, and of course it's new challenge day over at Less is More.  And as August has an extra Satuday we have a Lucky Dip challenge for you this time.  Here is the cue card...

Funky Fossil Designs continues as our sponsor for this challenge so please do play along for a chance to win our monthly prize!

I only have one card to share with you this time but I'm excited to say...I have my first 2019 Christmas card in the bag! 

Here it is...

This was very simple to make.  I started with a stitched circle die cut and heat embossed the sentiment in copper.  This was then popped up on fun foam.  I then die cut the pine needles from green cardstock, the bells from silver mirri card and the bow from gold mirri card, and layered and adhered these in a cluster.

Materials used:

• Stamp: Happy Little Stampers - Mixed Christmas Sentiments
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Copper
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Double Stitched Circles; Clearly Besotted - Tag Along Die Collection (bow); Marianne Design Creatables - Petra's Larix Larch; Xcut - Jingle Bells
• Cardstock from stash

I really appreciate your visits, thanks so much for stopping by.  Please do pop over to the main Less is More challenge post for more inspiration from my teamies and to see how they've incorporated metallics into their CAS creations.  And the challenge, as always, is open for a fortnight so there's plenty of time to link up in our gallery.  Hope to see you there :)

Festive Stag

Hi guys

I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas.

I'm back sharing the last of my Christmas cards today.  This one was made at the same time I made the festive foliage cards, here. 

I began by embossing the card base with a stitched rectangle die.  As the card base is textured it didn't really work but I went with it anyway :)

I die cut the stag from dark brown cardstock, the die has some embossed detail as well as just an outline so I think it worked well with the textured base.  Over the base of the stag I adhered some foliage which was leftover from making the previous batch of cards.  I then stamped, embossed in clear and die cut the bow from deep red cardstock.  Then under this I tucked in the sentiment flag which was embossed in gold on paler green cardstock.

The gloss from the embossing, and the texture can be seen more clearly in the next photo...

Materials used:

• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Xcut - Woodland Stag Wreath; Marianne Creatables - Petra's Larix Larch; Clearly Besotted - Joy to the World
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Joy to the World, Flag It
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss, Metallic Gold Rich
• Cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #418 - Anything Goes Christmas/New Year

Happy Little Stampers - December Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Thanks so much for visiting, I hope to be back shortly with another make.

Christmas Card Multiples - Festive Foliage

Hi guys

Here are more of my Christmas card multiples.

For these I used some linen textured card bases I've had in my stash for years.

These were time consuming due to all the die cutting but once done the cards were really quick to put together.  The only stamping was the sentiment which was embossed in gold and die cut with the co-ordinating die.  The rest of the die cuts were cut from coloured and metallic cardstock, layered up and adhered with liquid glue.

Materials used:

• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along Die Collection (bow); Britannia Dies - Fern Strip; Marianne Creatables - Petra's Larix Larch; Xcut - Woodland Stag Wreath
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Christmas Calligraphy (and co-ordinating die)
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich

Challenge entry:

Happy Little Stampers - December Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

I'll have more of my Christmas makes to share this weekend, thanks for stopping by.

Less is More Challenge #374

Good morning, crafters!

We're enjoying some lovely weather here in the UK at the moment so I'm up bright and early to enjoy the best part of the day.

It's time for a new challenge over at Less is More and I think you're going to love this one.  It's a Recipe challenge and we want you to use...

Continuing as our June sponsor is the fabulous Uniko who are offering a choice of an in stock stamp set to our monthly winner, so please do play along for a chance to win!

We have a fabulous Guest Designer joining us this week, Skye who was our April winner.  Please do pop over and say hi, she's created a lovely card for this recipe challenge :)


I have a bits folder rather than a box....or so I thought.  I actually have FOUR bits folders!  This was a great opportunity to use up some backgrounds/die-cuts/scraps, and even breathe new life into some bits I wasn't happy with when I originally created them.  Not only that, I actually found that these were really quick to make.

I have three for you, here's the first...

This panel was cut from a background I created whilst away at Sarah's last November, after the Happy Little Stampers craft retreat.  The floral images were created by sprinkling Brushos through a stencil onto watercolour paper and then spritzing with water and quickly removing the stencil.  This part was leftover from another card I made a while ago.  So all that was left to do was die cut with a stitched rectangle, pop it up on foam on the card base and stamp a sentiment below.  Easy!

Materials used:

• Stencil: STAMPlorations - Bloom Silhouettes
• Ink: Brusho - I think I used Leaf Green and Emerald Green; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Brushed Sentiments
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangle Stax

Challenge entries:

Moving Along with the Times - Challenge #74 - June Blooms

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #297 - Make Your Mark

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #21 - Use a Previous Challenge (I chose Challenge #12, TicTacToe and chose the line 'Sentiment/Watercolour/White')

For this next card, everything other than the stamped sentiment came from my bits folders...

Once again, whilst attending the Happy Little Stampers craft retreat, but this time in the summer of 2016, Sarah die cut some panels for me using a stitched die (I think by MFT) so I used one of these as my main panel for this card.  I found a die cut 'you' which had been cut from some textured black cardstock and stamped part of a sentiment in the opening underneath.  The butterflies I remember were cut from a piece of cardstock I blended with Distress Inks which I cut at the same time as cutting the flower to make this card.  These were simply adhered flat to the panel which was then adhered on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Dies: Avery Elle - Simply Said You; Marianne Design Creatables - Tiny's Butterflies 2
• Ink: Butterflies blended with Distress Inks; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Lovely Lilies

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Bright and Cheerful

Daring Cardmakers - What a Wonderful World (I chose the line 'the colours of the rainbow so pretty in the sky)

Happy Little Stampers - June Challenge - Anything Goes with Dies

This card started life as a panel stamped with balloons from my bits folder...

I remember when I first stamped this cluster of balloons, I really didn't like the mix of colours but when I saw it again in my scraps I thought it would make a great gender neutral card.  I stamped the sentiments below, trimmed the panel down and adhered flat to a blue card base. 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Let's Party; Altenew - Party Time, Celebrate
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Altenew - Silver Stone, unsure what colours were used to stamp the balloons
• Coloured cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations - June Challenge - Anything Goes

This challenge has certainly inspired me to try to use up lots of scraps instead of cutting into new cardstock each time I make a card.  And it's surprising how you can get inspiration from something which didn't give you any creative motivation previously.

I hope you can find time to play along with us over the next fortnight. 

Muse Challenge #252 - Butterfly Meadow Shaker

Hi there

I'm your designer for this week's challenge over at Muse and I've gone for a pastel Spring card, and one I made for my best friend.

The idea at Muse is to use the designer's card as inspiration for your own creation.  It could be the theme, colours, layout, technique, etc.  Just see where it takes you, and I hope you can get some inspiration from mine this week.

Here it is...

I started with a panel of white cardstock and stamped the grasses in pastel greens and pinky nudes.  I then stamped the sentiment over these in black.  I die cut the butterfly and made a shaker window with acetate surrounded by 3D foam and filled with sparklies from two different shaker sets.  I trapped the sparklies inside and adhered the foam backed panel to the card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Simple Silhouettes, Make a Wish
• Ink: Versa Color - Sage, Cinnamon, Seashell, Laurel Leaf; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: Marianne Creatables - Tiny's Butterflies 2
• Accents: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Phosphorescence, Itty Bitty Stars Clear Iridescent

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you find time to play along this week, and don't forget to visit your fellow participants along the way, and vote for your favourites at the end of the challenge.