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!

Happy Little Stampers - July 2015 CAS Challenge

Hi there

I'm delighted to be sharing a card today to mark my first post as a Design Team Member of the CAS Team at Happy Little Stampers. CAS (clean and simple) cards are my absolute favourite so to be chosen by Kylie and Loll as a member of this wonderful team is amazing!

So, for this month's challenge we would like you to show us some stamping.  Please also remember to keep your creations clean and simple.

Here's my DT card...

This card is made up purely of stamps and ink and a few little gems.  I started by masking off a vertical section to the right of the card while I stamped the large leaves, just as a guide to ensure they followed a straight line, then I removed the masks and continued stamping different elements following a repeated pattern.  I then stamped the simple sentiment in black and added some gems to the centres of the flowers.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Paper Smooches - Reflections, Chit Chat
• Ink: Versa Color - Turquoise, Magenta, Hyacinth, Seafoam, Atlantic; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Accents: Doodlebug Sprinkles - Silver

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

Virginia's View - Challenge #16 - 100% Stamped

I love using just stamps and ink and also creating one layer cards.  I used to dread one layer challenges but they are now one of my favourites.  There are lots of different techniques you can use with stamping and there are some great tutorials over on the challenge link up, here.  You will also find lots of great examples of stamped cards there created by my fellow teamies.

So, what are you waiting for?  The challenge will run until the end of the month and we'd love to see your stamped creations in the gallery.

Happy Stamping!

A Simple Sketch at Less is More

Good morning lovelies

There is a new challenge just starting at Less is More and this week we have something for you that we haven't seen for a while....

A Sketch!

All we need you to do is create a project using this sketch as your inspiration...

I have two cards to share with you today using the sketch as my starting point...

I die cut a curved rectangle from the top panel which was popped up on 3D foam strips after adhering some hot pink cardstock to the card base to show through the aperture.  I die cut the flower from white cardstock, adhered this over the aperture and accented with some clear Wink of Stella.  I then used the 'Thanks' word die to cut the sentiment from the same hot pink cardstock.

Materials used:

• Dies: MFT Dienamics - Stitched Rounded Rectangles (negative); Poppy Stamps - Small Posh Outline; Paper Smooches - Thanks Word Die
• Cardstock: Anna Marie Designs (white); Bazzill Card Shoppe (pink)
• Accents: Wink of Stella - clear

Challenge entry:

Creative Card Crew - Challenge #90 - Clean and Simple

My second card didn't translate exactly how I envisioned it would but I'm fairly pleased with it...

I cut two small rectangular masks from a post-it note.  Once placed on the card base I stamped a brush stroke image in rainbow colours over the top.  I then removed the masks and stamped the sentiments in black where the masks had been.  I finished by accenting with co-ordinating Doodle Sprinkles.

Materials used:

• Die: Clearly Besotted - Geometric Style
• Stamps: Inkylicious - Brush Strokes; Woodware - Salutations
• Ink: Versa Color - Scarlet, Orange, Marigold, Fresh Green, Cyan, Heliotrope, Pink; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Accents: Doodlebug Sprinkles

Challenge entries:

CAS on Sunday - Challenge #61 - One Layer
Loves Rubberstamps - Challenge #157 - Use a Die Cut (I used a die to create my masks!)
Ooh La La Creations - Challenge #183 - Happy Birthday

We'd love to see how you interpret our sketch this week and hope to see you in the gallery.  My fellow teamies have some great projects to share so I'd love for you to pop by their personal blogs and leave some love.

I hope to seen you again soon.

Addicted to Stamps and More #150

Hi guys

It's time for a brand new challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More and for this week's challenge we have a fabulous photo to inspire you.  Here it is...

You may take any element(s) of this photo to inspire you; colours, theme, etc.

This week's challenge sponsor is Sweet Pea Stamps who are offering a prize of 4 digis to our lucky winner.

Here is my DT card using the photo as my inspiration, I used the green background and the white flowers. This isn't very recognisable as my usual style but I wanted to try something different and I'm really pleased with the result.

I cut a panel of white cardstock slightly smaller than the card base and then squished some distress inks onto my craft mat and spritzed with water before smooshing them onto my card.  Kristina Werner shows this technique in her video, here.  Once this was dry I used my EK Success Powder Tool to swish over the area before stamping my large dahlia stamp in VersaMark and then heat embossed this in white.  I also heat embossed the sentiment in white on a scrap of dark green cardstock before trimming down to a small banner which I adhered flat.  The panel was slightly warped from the heating so I used lots of 3D foam strips to adhere the panel to my card base to ensure it was flat.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Evergreen Bough and Mowed Lawn; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Delicious Dahlia; Clearly Besotted - Many Mini Messages

Challenge entries:

The Friday Mashup - Challenge #214 - Monochromatic Theme
Brown Sugar - Challenge #151 - Monochromatic
Happy Little Stampers - June CAS Challenge - Sprays/Mists (technically only spritzed onto my craft mat not my card!)


Please swing by the ATSM challenge blog as my teamies have created some wonderful cards this week, all using this photo to inspire in different ways.

Thanks for visiting today, I appreciate you taking the time to look.

Happy News!

Hi there

I'm currently in the middle of my working day so hopefully the lovely Blogger has done it's job and you're now reading about my happy news!

A while ago I received a totally unexpected email from the lovely and super-talented Ardyth inviting me....yes, little old me....to join the Design Team at Muse!  O.M.G!!!  I was so gobsmacked but totally ecstatic to be asked so, of course, what else could I say but a big fat YES!  So, starting next month I am officially a...

There are also a couple more fabulous ladies joining the team starting in July and I'm so happy to be part of this fantastic line up. Please click here to go to the Muse challenge blog where Ardyth is introducing the new members.  

Those that follow Muse will know that the wonderful Marion Vagg and Vicki Dutcher are sadly stepping down from the team so I hope that I can follow in their fabulous footsteps and provide you with some inspiration with my designs.  

My first Muse post will be on 20 July so I hope you'll join me then and feel inspired to play along.

Yay!!

You Brighten My Day

Hi there

As promised, I'm back with another card which I made last night.

It's been a gorgeous sunny week in my part of the world so I decided to make a bright and summery card, using a few challenges as my inspiration.  I also used a new stamp I bought at the Sincerely Yours Papercraft Show last weekend, this beautiful butterfly.

I stamped the butterfly in VersaMark on some watercolour paper and heat embossed in white.  I then watercoloured the remaining parts of the butterfly, and the surrounding area using Distress Inks.  I used a pierced die to cut out the square which I then mounted on 3D foam.  Then I stamped the sentiment in a co-ordinating colour and also mounted this strip on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: IndigoBlu (Dinkies range) - Flutterby; Clearly Besotted - Sunshine & Smiles (sentiment)
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Inks - Shaded Lilac, Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn and Mustard Seed; Versa Color - Peony
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square Stax

I would like to link up at the following challenges:

The Card Concept - Challenge #37 - The Butterfly Effect (clean and layered style)

Fusion - Bright Butterfly (just using the photo as my inspiration)

Papertake Weekly - Ohh So Pretty


I may be back with more later although I really must do some housework today.  Although I've been off work this past week the weather has been so nice I've been out and about so the chores have taken a back seat!

I'll definitely be back tomorrow though when I'll be sharing some exciting news! ;)

For You, Dad

Hi guys

It's Father's Day today here in the UK.  I sadly lost my dear Dad in 2005 after a short battle with cancer so I always find special days like this pretty tough, especially as he was taken from us at only 57 years of age :(  He was such a lovely man so the happy memories always make it a little easier.


But, although my Dad is no longer here I did make a card for Matt's dad for Father's Day.  Here it is...

On a panel of kraft cardstock I stamped the little gardening image and coloured this with FlexMarkers.  I then stamped the sentiment, the Dad part then die cut with its co-ordinating die and popped up on 3D foam.  I matted the panel onto some striped patterned paper and then adhered flat to the kraft card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Little Claire - one of their Dinkies stamps (unknown name); Clearly Besotted - My Hero (with co-ordinating die) and Happy Everything
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versa Color - Bark
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Let's Polka
• Cardstock: Neenah - Desert Storm

Challenge entries:

Creative Inspirations - Challenge #318 - Male Creations

Loves Rubberstamps - Challenge #156 - Masculine Theme

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #141 - For a Man or Boy

Crazy 4 Challenges - Challenge #290 - Masculine Card

I'll be back again in a while with another card I made last night.

Happy Father's Day to all the lovely dads out there :)