Less is More Challenge #425

Good morning

Happy Saturday and welcome to August!

And with another Saturday morning comes a brand new challenge over at Less is More.  This time it's the turn of our Theme challenge which is...

Joining us for this fortnight's challenge as our Guest Designer is the fabulous Meghan who was our June winner.  Please do stop by her blog to check out her lovely card and to say hi.

Ok, I have two sample makes for you this time, here's the first...

Apart from the inks, everything I used here from Clearly Besotted was being given it's first outing on my craft desk!  I began by stamping and die cutting this lovely hibiscus set with layered stamping, and did some spotlight inking where you see the dark pink areas.  I ink blended the background flag through a stencil and stamped the sentiment in black.  The die cuts were then adhered in a cluster, some flat and some on glue dots.

Materials used:

• Stamped: Clearly Besotted - Aloha Too (and co-ordinating dies), Mini Messages
• Stencil: Clearly Besotted - Flagged Down
• Ink: Altenew - Buttercream, Warm Sunshine, Ruby Red, Hunter Green, Evergreen; Distress Ink - Worn Lipstick; Versafine - Onyx Black

Challenge entries:

Alphabet Challenge - I is for Island Fun (Anything Tropical)

CAS on Friday - Challenge #185 - Summer

STAMPlorations - Summer Challenge

 

There is a hydrangea in my front garden which is in full bloom so that was the ideal choice for my second card...

I ink blended Distress Inks through a stencil then die cut the panel with a faux stitched curve.  Before adhering this panel to the card base I manipulated the sentiment stamp to follow the curve of the leaf and stamped in black.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Hydrangea (free with a set from Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine)
• Ink: Distress Ink - Spun Sugar, Shaded Lilac, Mowed Lawn; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Mini Messages
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Basic Edges

Challenge entries

Always Fun Challenges - Challenge #173 - Use Stencils

Uniko - Challenge #60 - In My Garden

Thanks so much for visiting.  If you need more inspiration please do pop on over to the main Less is More challenge page where you will see some lovely projects from my teamies and links to their personal blogs.  I hope you can join us and I'm looking forward to seeing lots of summer flowers in the gallery this month :)

Good Luck in your New Home

Hi guys

Today I'm sharing a card I was commissioned to make for a friend a few weeks ago but I forgot to share it here.

It's very similar to card I made two years ago, here.  I just changed up the colours and added a cloudy backdrop.

I die cut a piece of watercolour card with a stitched rectangle as I wanted a textured background.  This was then ink blended with a cloud stencil.  I die cut the houses from kraft cardstock and adhered it along the base of the panel.  I then cut a tiny section using the same die, from coral cardstock, and die cut the heart from it and adhered it in place.  I finished with a sentiment which was made up from three separate stamps.  The 'in your' part of it was from a stamp saying 'good luck in your exams' so it just required a little masking.  Thankfully I catalogue all my stamps using Evernote which made finding the sentiment I needed so much easier!  The card was finished by popping the panel up on fun foam onto the card base.

Materials used:

• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles; Happy Little Stampers - Village Die (retired); Lawn Fawn - Hearts
• Cardstock: Kraft - Neenah Dessert Storm; watercolour card from stash
• Stencil: MFT - Mini Cloud Edges
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Brush Sentiments; That's Genius
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass; Versafine - Onyx Black

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope you're all keeping well and keeping yourselves occupied at home.  I actually have a week off work this week so hoping to find more crafty time.  See you soon :)

Happy Little Stampers March 2018 CAS Challenge

Good evening guys

I almost didn't manage to write this post in time.  I planned to do it last night but got stranded at my office ten miles away by the snow and blocked roads so had to sleep on the office floor!  Such fun.....not! 

Anyhoo, I'm back home and cosy, even though we have horrific weather conditions outside so am here to announce this month's CAS challenge over at Happy Little Stampers. 

Here's the cue card...

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

That's all the info done, on to my card...

I used a die by HLS to cut the village scene in white cardstock and adhered this flat along the bottom of the card base. I then cut the same die cut from pink cardstock and then used a heart die to cut out a section from one of the houses.  I then adhered the pink heart in position over the first die cut.

I simply finished with a sentiment from one of the new HLS stamp sets, Dandelion Wishes, which was stamped in charcoal ink.

Materials used:

• Dies: Happy Little Stampers - Village Die; Lawn Fawn - Mini Hearts
• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Dandelion Wishes
• Ink: Versa Color - Charcoal

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #281 - Anything Goes
Cards in Envy - Give it Some Heart
AAA Cards - CAS Game #109 - Die Cuts only (stamped sentiment allowed)





Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be able to play along, the linky is open until the end of March :)

I'll be back in the morning with the new challenge details at Less is More, although my post may be a little late as I'm struggling to keep my eyes open right now after virtually no sleep last night, so heading to bed very soon!

Home Sweet Home

Goo evening

Just thought I'd pop in quickly and share the most recent card I made.  This one was for my Brother and Sister-in-Law who moved into their first purchased property this weekend.

They love nature, particularly birds so I chose to stamp with a little birdhouse...

I blended up from the corner of a white cardstock panel with three shades of Distress Ink before splattering with water and blotting away some of the colour.  The birdhouse and sentiment were simply stamped in black before popping the panel up on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Hot Off The Press - Sweet Tweets (free with a publication); Woodware - Home Sweet Home
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade

Challenge entries:

Allsorts - Challenge #403 - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #229 - Clean and Simple

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you've had a wonderful weekend.

Less is More Week #312

Hi there

It's Saturday morning so I'm back to tell you about this week's new challenge at Less is More.  It's the turn of our Theme challenge and this week we would like to see...

New Beginnings

I've had a case of missing mojo this week but I did finally manage to make two cards to share with you.  For my first New Beginning theme I chose a wedding card...

This was a fairly easy make.  I started by die cutting the pierced square and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in platinum powder.  The panel was then adhered to the base on 3D foam.  I then die cut the two laurel cuts from pearlescent cardstock and adhered these to the panel and added a couple of glitter enamel dots.

Materials used:

• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square Stax; Poppy Stamps - Peppini Laurel
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Love Blossoms
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Platinum
• Accents: My Mind's Eye - Antique Enamel Dots

Challenge entries:

Time Out - Challenge #75 - CASE Ksenija
Uniko Challenge #39 - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Love
Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #180 - New Beginnings
CASology - Challenge #232 - Cut
Happy Little Stampers - January Anything Goes with Dies
STAMPlorations - January CAS Challenge - Option of Silver/Grey





For my second card I chose a new home card...

Another simple make, this time a one layer card.  The sentiment and the image were both stamped in black and I coloured the image with Derwent Coloursoft pencils.  A glossy heart embellishment was added as smoke coming from the chimney.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Altenew - Succulents (sentiment); Woodware - Home Sweet Home
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Coloured with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils

Challenge entries:

Simply Create Too - Challenge #123 - New Beginnings
My Time to Craft - Challenge #337 - Something New

Thanks very much for popping by today and I hope you have the time this week to join us and take part in this challenge.

Less is More - Two-Weeker!

Good morning crafters

There is a new challenge just starting over at Less is More.  This challenge will run for two weeks to cover the Christmas/New Year break.  We've worked our way around our usual sequence and we're back with a Theme challenge which is....

Homespun

Not an easy challenge for me but I've got two sample cards for you today showing how I interpreted the theme.  Here they are...

I stamped four different stitch designs on a white cardstock panel and topped with a faux stitched heart, stamped and die cut from some patterned paper.  I tied some twine in a bow to the back of a button, adhered this with a glue dot and stamped the sentiment to co-ordinate with the button.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Hot Off The Press - Stamped Stitches; Clearly Besotted - Love Hearts (and co-ordinating die)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Celadon
• Patterned paper from stash
• Accents: Twine - Hemptique - Ruby Collection; Button - Stampin' Up - Subtles

And my second card...

I embossed a white cardstock panel with a patchwork quilt design.  I then stamped the sentiment onto a strip of white cardstock and the image onto some gingham patterned paper.  I swirled some jute twine and anchored it in place when adhering the image on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Embossing folder: DoCrafts - Boofle
• Stamps: Woodware - Home Sweet Home
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Patterned Paper: DoCrafts - Boofle
• Accents: Jute twine from stash

We'd love to see how you interpret this theme.  And don't forget, this challenge will run for a fortnight, with the next challenge starting on Saturday 2 January 2016.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

CAS in Red, White and Blue

Good morning

As it's Saturday morning I'm back to introduce the new challenge at Less is More.  This week we have a colour challenge for you, which is...

Red, White and Blue

Please remember to keep your creations clean and simple and include some lovely white space

I've got three cards to share with you today, here's the first...

On a white panel I stamped the woodgrain image and the sentiment label.  I then stamped and die cut the leaves, and stamped the red flowers and used the co-ordinating punch to cut these out.  These were layered up onto the card base and a few white pearls added to accent.  Who says leaves have to be green?!

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Background Builders II, Leafy Accents (and co-ordinating die); Altenew - Label Love; Stampin' Up - Petite Petals (and co-ordinating punch)
• Ink: Versa Color - Atlantic, Baby Blue and Camelia
• Accents: Hobbycraft - 3mm white pearls

Challenge entries:

Seize The Birthday - Anything Goes with Option of Red, White and Blue
Crafty Catz - Challenge #286 - Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations - Challenge #320 - Anything Goes
Virginia's View - Challenge #16 - 100% Stamped

My second card...

I die cut two pierced squares, one in white and one in blue.  From the white square I then die cut the house detail.  The sentiment was then stamped before adhering the two die cuts together.  The complete square was popped up on 3D foam and I added a small red die cut heart, covered in Glossy Accents.

Materials used:

• Dies: MFT Dienamics - Pierced Squares; Clearly Besotted - On The Line, Recipe for Love (small heart)
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - So Tweet
• Ink: Versa Color - Sky Blue
• Accents: Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

Brown Sugar - Challenge #153 - Red, White and Blue
Crafty Creations - Challenge #292 - Red, White Blue



And my final card is super simple...

On a die cut stitched rounded rectangle I stamped the jeans and sentiment in blue and red.  I wanted there to be some interest behind my image panel so on the card base I stamped some splatters in red and adhered the panel over the top using 3D foam.  A single gemstone was adhered as the jeans button.

Materials used: 

• Stamp: Stampin' Up - Patterned Occasions, Gorgeous Grunge
• Ink: Memento - Lady Bug and Danube Blue
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Rounded Stitched Rectangles
• Accent: Gem from stash

Challenge entries:

Loves Rubberstamps - Challenge #158 - Celebrations
Just Us Girls - Challenge #300 - Congratulations

My teamies at Less is More have some inspiration on their blogs too so I'm sure they would appreciate you popping by.

That's all from me for now, have a wonderful Saturday!

One Layer Home

Hi guys

Well, 8.00am on a Saturday means there is a brand new challenge over at Less is More.  And, just to cheer you all up, we are back with our dreaded (by some!) One Layer Challenge.  Our theme this week is...

Home

I'll admit I did struggle with this one, I love one layer cards but my stash was a bit thin on the ground for this theme but I managed to create two cards.  Here they are...

Lots of masking was involved with this card.  I started by stamping the curtains then masked these off before stamping the window frame in VersaMark ink and embossing with clear embossing powder.  The mask was put back in place so I could blend the sky through the window with Distress Ink in Salty Ocean.  I then stamped the vase and flowers and the sentiment below.  The sentiment is from the 'Home Sweet Home' stamp set by Woodware and all the other images are from Clearly Besotted's 'Window Dressing' set.

Here's the embossing detail...

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

Crafty Creations - Challenge #291 - Embossing
Happy Little Stampers - June Sketch Challenge

And my second card...

I started by using an MFT Die-namics Stitched Rectangle die to emboss the central frame, using an embossing mat with my Big Shot.  I then simply stamped all the image elements and sentiment using Clearly Besotted's 'So Tweet' stamp set and Versa Color ink.

Challenge entries for this one are:

Crafty Catz - Challenge #283 - Clean and Simple

Brown Sugar - Challenge #150 - In the Garden

Thanks for all your wonderful entries last week, the gallery was so pretty filled with sunset colours.  I hope you'll be able to join us this week.

Home Sweet Home

Hi there

Apologies for not posting for over a week.  My mojo disappeared for a few days but I did manage to make a couple of cards at the weekend but have been unable to share them until now.

The first one is this new home card I made for a very special friend of mine.

I stamped the little cottage and sentiment on some white cardstock and used a stitched oval die to cut this out and then coloured it in with my ProMarkers.  I added some Glossy Accents to the windows and some Wink of Stella to create smoke coming out of the chimney.  I then used a patchwork embossing folder to emboss a white cardstock panel and added touches of Wink of Stella to some of the embossed flowers, dots and stars.  I think the patchwork works well with the cottage image and the stitching detail on the oval die cut.  The oval was adhered to the panel using thin 3D foam.  I then wrapped some twine around the panel before popping the panel up on 3D foam strips.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Woodware - Home Sweet Home
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Die: Lil' Inkers - Stitched Ovals
• Embossing Folder: Tri-Boss - Boofle
• Twine: Doodlebug - Brights Selection
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accented with Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents

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

STAMPlorations - October Challenge - Stamps and Embossing

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Anything Goes

That's all for now.  I'll be back tomorrow to introduce the new challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More and would love for you to pop back.

Until then, have a lovely day.

Addicted to Stamps and More #112

Hi there

Well, quick as a flash we're back to Wednesday and that means a new challenge is now up and running at Addicted to Stamps and More.  And this week we're back with a challenge with the theme...

Make Your Mark

We'd like you to 'make your mark' on your projects using markers, pencils, paints, etc.

Here is my DT card...

This week our Sponsor is the fabulous Stitchy Bear Stamps who are offering 3 images up to the value of $10 to one lucky winner.

I printed off the digi image onto white cardstock and coloured it in with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers.  This was then cut out with a rectangular die.  I stamped the sentiment on the same white cardstock before die cutting with a tag die.  I than ran my base card through my Big Shot embossing the front in an embossing folder.  The folder is called 'basket weave' but I think it resembles a cottage wall so thought this would tie in nicely for this new home card.

Materials used:

• Digi: Stitchy Bear Stamps - Window by My Heart Pieces
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Sweet Little Sentiments
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Rectangles Large; Clearly Besotted - Tag Along
• Embossing Folder: Sizzix - Basket Weave

I would like to enter this card at the following challenges:

Let's Craft and Create - Challenge #96 - Anything Goes

Simply Create Too - Challenge #69 - Show Us Something New (new digi image)

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #127 - It's Summertime (nothing more summery than having the windows open, listening to the birds singing and seeing the flowers in bloom!)

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #122 - Make an Impressions (Dry Embossing)

Craft Room Challenge - Something Old, Something New (old - embossing folder, new - digi image)

STAMPlorations - September Challenge - Stamps and Markers

If you're in the mood for making your mark why not pop over to the ATSM challenge blog and get some inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, they are sharing some real beauties this week :)

Thanks for visiting me today, and I hope you can join in the challenge fun this week.  See you soon.

Home Sweet Home

Hi guys

My craft stash is up in the air at the moment as I've had to move it all to the lounge as I'm having a new carpet laid in my hall tomorrow, which is where my craft stash cupboard lives!  So today I will share a couple of cards I've made recently but not yet posted here.

The first is a new home card which I am going to enter at the current challenge at CASology where the cue word is 'Pet'.  I had a couple of pet tortoises when I was a child so I thought this would be an ideal entry.

Really simple stamped image, coloured with ProMarkers and cut out with a rectangular die.  I mounted it on some jute ribbon (an absolute bargain at £1 for a roll at my local garden centre!) and added some Wink of Stella to the hat.  Although, I have no idea why this little chap is wearing the hat on his shell and not his head! lol

Materials used:

• Stamps: Woodware - Home Sweet Home
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versa Color - Green Tea
• Jute Ribbon from stash
• Accented with Wink of Stella

I'll be back very soon with another card I made recently.  Hope to see you shortly :)