Happy Little Stampers June 2021 CAS Challenge

Hi there

The CAS Challenge for June is now live over at Happy Little Stampers and we have a fun theme for you this time...

For my Design Team card I chose a stamp I've had in my stash for a long time.  I've only used it once before, many years ago, so it was about time I inked it up again...

Pretty simple execution for this one.  The upper panel was die cut with a scalloped rectangle.  I then stamped the main image and coloured it with Copics.  I found a co-ordinating sentiment stamp from another set and stamped this in black, adhered the panel to the card base and then there was just one thing left to do....add sparkle to the shoes of course!

Materials used:

• Stamps: Stamping Bella - Uptown Girl Reilly Loves to Relax; Reverse Confetti - Clink
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Scalloped Rectangles
• Coloured with Copics
• Accents: Spectrum Noir Shimmer Pen - Clear 

Thanks so much for taking a look.  The challenge link will remain open until the end of the month so there's plenty of time to join in.

Eye, Eye!

Hi there

This morning marks a brand new challenge at Less is More and we've whizzed around on our rota and we're back with that challenge that everybody loves......ahem.....it's our wonderful One Layer Challenge!  And our theme is...

The Eyes Have It (something with eyes)

Please have a look at our guidelines here if you're unsure of our One Layer rules

I've got three cards to hopefully give you some inspiration this week and for two of these I've used digi stamps...go me!

Here's my first card...

I printed the monster digi stamp (part of a prize I won a while ago) together with the sentiment using font KB Noodle Monster onto some Neenah Solar White cardstock.  I then coloured him in with FlexMarkers using little flicks and dots to try to get the look of fur (not bad for a first try!).  I then printed him out again onto a piece of paper with a post-it note stuck in the same position and then used this as a mask while I blended the circle of dots through a stencil to create the the background.  Some glossy accents were then added to his big eyes to give a glossy embossed finish.

Materials used:

• Digi Stamp: A Day for Daisies - Monster Joe
• Coloured with FlexMarkers
• Stencil: MFT - Concentric Circles
• Ink: Distress Ink: Antique Linen
• Accents: Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #135 - Anything Goes (Happy Birthday)

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes Embossing

Happy Little Stampers - August CAS Challenge - Masking (playing for fun as I'm on the DT!)

My second card...

I only bought this stamp last week and couldn't wait to use it.  I stamped the owls image onto some Neenah Desert Storm cardstock (my fave kraft cardstock as it's quite light).  I then coloured the image in with some Derwent Coloursoft pencils.  I used a sponge dauber to add some white pigment ink through a cloud stencil and then added the sentiments, these from two Paper Smooches sets.  I then added Glossy Accents to all the eyes.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Stamping Bella - Branching Out Owls; Paper Smooches - Chubby Chums and Sentiment Sampler
• Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - White
• Coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils
• Stencil: MFT - Cloudy Day
• Accents: Glossy Accents

Challenge entries:

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

Crazy 4 Challenges - Challenge #294 - Critters

And a freebie digi for my third card...

I couldn't resist this little kitty when I found him as a freebie over at Opal Manor.  Those eyes just drew me in, it's such a cute image. So I printed him onto some Neenah Solar White cardstock and coloured him in with FlexMarkers.  The sentiment was then stamped alongside and that was it, finished.

Materials used:

• Digi Stamp: Opal Manor - Hang in There
• Stamp: Mama Elephant - Up and Away
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Coloured with FlexMarkers

Challenge entry:

CAS(E) this Sketch - Challenge #135 (I flipped the sketch from left to right)

I do generally struggle with digi stamps but on one layer CAS cards they are a good alternative and you're guaranteed to get a good impression (unlike my stamping skills sometimes as I still don't have that MISTI!) 

Please pop by my teamies' blogs as they'll have more samples to share with you.  Can't wait to see lots of eyes in our gallery this week! 

Have a great weekend.

It's All About the Legs!

Good morning

I want to start by saying a massive thank you to everyone for all your lovely comments and congratulations for my new role on the Design Team at Less is More.  The crafting community is fabulous and you've made me feel so welcome, so THANK YOU!


And, as we're on the subject of Less is More we have a new challenge just starting and as it's a month with five Saturdays, this week we have a Lucky Dip week for you and our theme is...

Two or Four Legs

I did quite a bit of rummaging through my stash before making these and I was quite surprised by how many options I actually had for this theme.  I have two cards to share with you.

I couldn't let this theme pass by without using this fabulous stamp for the first time.  I only wish my legs were nearly this long and slim.  The only similarity here is the wine glass in hand!

I stamped the image, 'Uptown Girls Reilly Loves to Relax' by Stamping Bella and coloured with my FlexMarkers.  The sentiment is from the 'Happy Hour' set by Stampin' Up.  I then mounted the image panel on some red Bazzill Basics cardstock before adhering to a square card base.

I am linking this card up at the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Loves Rubberstamps - Challenge #153 - Coffee, Tea or Favourite Beverage

Dream Valley - Challenge #107 - Anything Goes

Now on to my second card...

I die cut a circle from white cardstock and trimmed off the edges so it would sit in the corner, and then stamped the sentiment from Clearly Besotted's 'Be Merry' set.  The sentiment was masked before spreading embossing paste through a Tim Holtz 'Speckles' stencil.  The reindeer was stamped and die cut using Clearly Besotted's 'In Stitches - Christmas' stamp and die set, then popped up on 3D foam.  Of course, I had to add some Wink of Stella for some subtle sparkle for his nose!

The challenges I am entering for this card are:

Moving Along with the Times - Texture Challenge
Addicted to CAS - Challenge #64 - Animal
Simply Create Too - Challenge #86 - Keep It Simple


For this week at Less is More we have a Guest Designer joining us, the super talented and wonderful Rebecca of Melly Moo.  So please pop by and take a minute to leave Rebecca and my fellow teamies some LIMette love!

That's all for now.  I've no idea where the time has gone over the last week so apologies for not sharing very much, hopefully I can grab some more crafty time soon.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Fabulous Friend

Hi guys

Well, after almost two weeks of no posts I've finally found some time to craft today.  I'm still living in a mess, and will be for about the next month while my kitchen is sorted but the majority of the dismantling and boxing up is done, so it's just a case of making a pathway amongst the chaos so I have a route from craft stash to table!

Here's what I've made today, I thought I'd have a bit more practice with my Promarkers...

I stamped the image and coloured it with ProMarkers.  I'm still struggling with blending as I don't have enough of the tones of each colour so that's my aim this year, to purchase a few more each month so I've got more options.  I then cut some patterned paper to leave a border each side of the image panel.  I then had this (not so) great idea that I'd stamp the 'fabulous' sentiment so that it flowed across the three layers.  It wasn't the easiest technique but I got there in the end.  I started by stamping it on the card base, then I used some low tack tape to hold the patterned paper in place while I lined it up and stamped it again.  And I then did this again with the top panel, only inking up as far as the 'u' so I didn't overstamp what I'd already done.  I then adhered the panels ensuring the sentiment was lined up and finished by stamping 'friend'.  I added some clear Wink of Stella to the drinks but I couldn't capture this in the photo.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Stamping Bella - Uptown Girls Victoria & Juliette; Uniko Studio - All Occasions Sentiments #3; Stampin' Up - Fabulous Phrases
• Ink: Impress - Jet Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Let's Polka
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accented with clear Wink of Stella

Challenge entries:

Less is More - Week 207 - Friends

Uniko Studio - Challenge #17 - Love and Friendship

Brown Sugar - Challenge #129 - Birthday for a Girl

Simply Create Too - Challenge #77 - Happy Mother's Day (or For a Female)

I hope to get back into some kind of routine now that I can access my stash a bit more easily.  

And don't forget my Candy Giveaway which can be found here.  The link will be open until the end of January so please link up for a chance to win.  I realise that with my Bloglovin followers and my subscribers I have more than 100 lovely readers but it's difficult to gauge exactly how many as some of you use more than one method to keep up with your blogs.  I am grateful to ALL of you, whichever way you follow me and I hope I can continue to give you some inspiration with my projects.

Bye for now, see you soon :)