Less is More - diecuts and punches

 I think C&S cards lend themselves to showcasing diecuts and I made a couple more cards for this week's challenge.  I treated myself to a new set of stamps from Waltzing Mouse, 2 frames with words that fit the gap.  The first card uses a Sissix Daisy diecut in spotty and stripy Echo Park DP, I added buttons at the corners. 

Second card is white embossed onto Kraft and uses a Stampin' Up bird on a branch punch, I inked the body of the bird.

My cards are for the following challenges:

Less is More - diecuts and punches

 Cute Card Thursday - flower power (card 1)
Crafty Ann's - bold & bright (card 1)
Papertake Weekly - (card 2)
Kenny K's - emboss it (card 2)
Stampin' Sisters in Christ - feature a flower (card 1)
Crazy4 Challenges - dots and stripes (card 1)

Waltzing Mouse Spring Hop meets OLW

 

This week's One Layer Wednesday Challenge is to use at least three stamps.  Remember tapestry stamps?  I dug out one of the sets of tiny stamps on wooden dowelling, this one is Wisteria.  We have a stunning wisteria on the front of our house that flowers in Spring, so I wanted to show this card as part of Waltzing Mouse's Spring blog party.  The sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse.  There a 4 tapestry stamps and the two words are separate, so that makes six stamps on my one layer card!  The inks were Distress Inks, Dusty Concord, Bundled Sage and some Sepia Versafine.  Here's our Spring Wisteria:

My card is for:

Waltzing Mouse Spring Blog Party

One Layer Wednesday - stamp, stamp, stamp

Cute Card Thursday - flower power

Phindy's Place Challenge #89 - Shaped Cards

Good morning and welcome to this week's Phindy's Place Challenge,  this week we want you to use a shaped card:  no straight edged squares or rectangles please!  This threw me into rather a panic but I found a Go-Kreate die and cut my card with it, using the same die to cut the DP to by cutting it down and fiddling around.  I used the image Big Girl's Class, which is one of my all-time favourites for making a girly card, beautiful isn't it!  There was little room for embellies, so I added a couple of gems and a dotty ribbon.  Sentiment is Personal Impressions.

My card is entered for:

Cute Card Thursday - music and dance

Pixie Dust Studio - going dotty (ribbon)

Creative Inspirations - birthdays

Stamp'n'Doodle - birthdays

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #59 - No floral embellishments

Good Morning, I am excited to be able to tell you that I have been picked as part of the Design Team for Crafty Cardmakers and here is my card for this week's challenge, which is sponsored by both One Stop Crafts AND  Digi Doodle Shop.   The challenge is to use no floral embellishments on your card or project; I have still made a very flowery card but with no floral embellies.   I used a stamp and sentiment from a new set I've got called Engraved Flowers by Stamp Addicts, the lily is coloured with Copics and Glossy Accents.  I've embossed the border with Swiss Dots after I punched it, the DP is Basic Grey Sweet Threads and there are little pink pearls accenting the card.  Oh, the ribbon is recycled from a box of chocolates:)  I do hope you'll join us and play along with the challenge.
I'm also entering:
Basic Grey - something new (new stamp set)
One Stop Craft - Bingo (embossing, diecuts, flowers diagonal)
Cute Card Thursday - what's new (stamp set)
Crafty Emma - anything goes

Traditional scene, non traditional colours

This is a Stampington stamp on loan from my dear friend Val.  I've gold embossed it and inked the background.  It is mounted on some scrap card that has been edged with embossing ink all round and then embossed with the same powder, which makes a perfect match.  I've moved away from traditional Christmas colours but I realised as I added some green contrast it doesn't fit some of the non-trad challenges; oh well.
This card is for:
Sketch Saturday - sketch
Sarah Hurley - Christmas
Cute Card Thursday - anything goes
Joanna Sheen - Christmas Wishes
Crimbo Crackers - embossing
ABC Christmas - anything Christmas goes
Crafty Cardmaking - heat embossing
Kraftin' Kimmie - heat embossing
Incy Wincy - non traditional Christmas colours
StampsRUs - emboss it

Santa Tag

I'm enjoying a visit from my mother, not much time to craft but last night I sneaked a few minutes to play with new stash from the NEC and made this tag. I'm very into red and white for Christmas at present, what do you think?   The top is shaped with a new label Nestie, the white embossed Santa and sentiment are from a Butterfly Kisses stamp set, again bought at the NEC and unused till now.  The tag was a little flimsy so I added a white back, punched a border to show the white, punched a few snowflakes and gave them red gem centres and added some baker's twine.
My tag is for:
CAS-ual Friday - tag you're it
Stamptacular Sunday - punch it
Cute Card Thursday -reds for remembrance
Pile it On - traditional Christmas
Fabulous Friday - embossing
Christmas Stampin' All Year - stamp never seen ink
Shopping our Stash - never been inked
Pink elephant - embossing
Hooked on Craft - something punched
Bows'n'Berries - tags

Autumn Tree

Today I have another card made with those stunning tree stamps to show you, a fairly masculine card, I never seem to have enough cards for men:).  I've followed a many-layered Sketch Saturday layout, with Stampin' Up DP, embossed card, Kraft card with a stamp from the Scenic set stamped onto with, with just the trees coloured, some recycled raffia from a present and a few gemstones.

Main image is stamped onto glossy card and coloured with Distress Inks.  Background uses masking, inking with dottiness stamps, I drew in my birds with a permanent pen.

My card is for the following challenges:

Sketch Saturday - sketch

Cute Card Thursday - tree-mendous

Sweet Stamps - lots of layers

Top Tip Tuesday - layer it up

Incy Wincy - recycle (raffia)

Paper Sundaes - Halloween or Fall (Fall colours)

Lia Stampz - use 2 stamps

Tree-mendous stamps

 

 There are new stamps at Stamp Addicts and, as a tree stamp addict I was so excited to get the tree set, among others, to work with.  This is the willow, I've brayered the reflection onto the water and used the dotty stamp to extend the bank of the river.  Ink is Olympia Green Versafine and Distress Inks were used to coluor the tree and brushed on to the background.  Used the dotty stamp again in Memento Sand on hammered card for the background paper.  Sentiment is from Pink Petticoat.

My card is for:

Cute Card Thursday - Tree-mendous (great challenge name!)

Dutch Dare - sketch

Wags'n'Whiskers - Fall colours

The Artistic Stamper - Autumn colours

Stampin' for the Weekend - colours of Autumn

National Chocolate Week

Did you know this is National Chocolate Week?  I shall of course be attempting to eat my own weight in chocolate this week but nothing new there:).  I have a suitably chocolately card to show you today, which was started months ago but didn't look right as it was.  I had die cut a scroll that was too large for the space below the image and trimmed it down which ended up with it looking unbalanced.  Last night I rescued the card by gently prising off the scroll and adding card candi, also I decided to add a little colour to my image with Copics.  Darkroom Door stamps were used with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, sentiment is torn and distressed a little, DP is Basic Grey I think.  I'm much happier with the card now:)

My card is for the following challenges:
Tuesday Throwdown - think pink
Woodware USA - anything goes
Truly Scrumptious - distressing
Cute Card Thursday - time for cake
Stamptacular Sunday - so distressing
Paper Sundaes - favourite colour combi - LOVE pink and brown together

Best Friends

Well that weekend did not go to plan!  I had a fun day at the Berkshire Show on Saturday, though I thought it wasn't as good as it has been in previous years.  Sunday was scheduled for garden tidy up, watching Stamp Addicts on TV and lots of crafting to get ahead.  So it was not helpful to trip over a low piece of trellis and fall - hard- onto the stone patio around the pebble fountain.  In the end, all I get done was the TV watching and some pruning before I fell :(.  Nothing is broken but I am bruised and very sore...

Anyhow back to cards and I made this for my Mum, Friday was the first anniversary of Dad's death.  The ribbon is navy and the DP pale blue, can't seem to get the colours quite right on this one.  The boy and his dog are an image from A Day for Daisies, DP is Memory Box.
I'm entering my card for;
Sweet Sketch Wednesday - sketch
Cute Card Thursday - anything goes

Aly's Sunday - add a bow
Card Cupids - anything goes
Crafty Emma's - embellish me more (ribbon & bow, button, twine, brads)
Papercraft Stars - anything goes
Bearly Mine - button it up

Phindy's Place Challenge #72 - Christmas is creeping up on us...

It's feeling very Autumnal right now and I have realised that I need to get cracking on the Christmas cards, you may have noticed a few being made over the last week or two:).  This week's challenge at Phindy's Place should help you out, we want everyone to make a Christmas card or creation and share it with us.  You don't have to use one of Phindy's images but if you do you get two chances to win the random prize of $5 to spend in store.  
I've chosen Sleigh Ride, which is my all-time favourite image and those of you who follow my blog are probably bored of seeing this one lol!  Before I became a member of Phindy's DT she drew a gorgeous Christmas Colt and I begged her to draw a horse and sleigh, preferably pulled by a Fjord horse as I own one of these beautiful animals.  Phindy came up with this amazing image and I have been her biggest fan ever since:).  It is simply coloured with Copics here, the DP is by Memory Box as is the die that cut the snowflake border.
My card is for the following challenges:
Simon Says - Sing It - Jingle Bells with a bit of poetic licence, this is a two horse sleigh but close enough lol!
Cute Card Thursday - anything goes
Digital Tuesday - celebrate the season (winter)
Woodware USA - happy holidays
Paperplay Challenges - punches & dies
Creatalicious - anything goes
Crafters Companion - Christmas wishes
Christmas Cards all year round - something at least a year old (3rd year I've used this image!)

Snowy Village Mark 3 (or is it four?)

I'm waiting for the builders to arrive, the sitting room is stripped bare and waiting for some floor destruction, time for a quick card to be posted:).  I realised that I hadn't yet played with the snowman stamp in the Snowy Village set, so I thought I'd better make a little scene using him, which grew into a card using the Papertake sketch.  Image is coloured with Copics, white gel pen and Distress Inks.  DP is Memory Box.  I used a marker pen t just ink Merry Christmas from the sentiment stamp included in the set, so that it fitted the space on my card.

My card is for the following challenges:
Papertake - Dawn's sketch
Cute Card Thursday - a pinch and a punch - use at least 1 punch
Crafters Companion - Christmas Wishes
The Paper Shelter - anything goes
Fab Funky Challenges - go mad with embossing

Green Door

Here's that lovely Christmas Door set from Stamp Addicts used again, this time I've added nothing but the wreath to it.  I've followed the sketch at Cute Card Thursday, using Memory Box DP and a piece of embossed and torn cardstock.  In real life it's a lovely deep red,, will try to take a better picture later if the sun ever comes out, it looks brick coloured here!  I've added Stickles to the card candy and the wreath Glossy Accents to the fanlight.

My card is for the following challenges:
Cute Card Thursday - sketch
Aud Sentiments - anything goes

Inky

 

I've unpacked from the Quilt Show, bought a new washing machine (sigh) which arrived at 7.15 this morning and am making an attempt at resuming normal service with my Less is More cards for this week.  We're using ink and making one layer cards.  I may try and do something new later in the week but for now I've two cards using a favourite technique of making backgrounds with my duster brushes and inks.

First card uses Distress and Adirondack inks with a mask for the sun and torn paper for the hills.  Stamps are Stampin' Up.  Second card is almost the same as some I made last Christmas, a great quick easy card that is light to post.  Edges of card masked off before inking, then Tim Holtz trees added and given some Stickles baubles.  I put a Stickles dot on the "i" of the sentiment, looks better irl than on the picture.

My cards are entered for:
Less is More - one layer inky
Cute Card Thursday - clean and simple
Cards for Men - anything goes - pheasant card

Crop Circles?

 

This card solves a dilemma: I was dying to play with some lovely new stamps that arrived when I was away on holiday and I also wanted to enter this week's Less Is More, which has a circles theme.  The stamp set is Stampin' Up and came from the Lady LIM herself, Mandi, gorgeous stamps Mandi, thanks!  I made a circly background for my card by using masking tape to punch out circles and also to mask off the top and bottom.  I've been using Post-Its but decided to get my masking tape out and give it a go.  Even on the glossy cardstock it worked fine, will definitely keep it out now!  I punched the circles into tape stuck onto paper, it glues the punch up otherwise.  Ask me how I know this...  :).  Sentiment is a Sheena Douglass stamp, inks are Spiced Marmalade and an Adirondack Lemonade. images use Sepia Versafine.

My card is for the following challenges:

Less is More - Circles

Shopping our Stash - turnback technique (masking tape)

Allsorts Challenge - free and easy July

Cute Card Thursday - going round in circles

Jac-inks Papercraft - monotone

Steppin' into Summer - June Tiffany Doodles Challenge

Good morning and welcome to summer - I hope!  Yesterday it felt like the return of winter but at least the sun is shining today.   We have a new challenges for you at Tiffany Doodles and some new DT members to introduce to you.  They are Anette, Sally and Judy and I'll link them here because I've just removed my sidebar list of Tiff's Team by mistake and will have to put it back later - ack!  All three ladies are awesomely talented, please do check out their blogs and welcome them:).

OK now onto the challenge, which is Steppin' into Summer.  There's a great prize of a $10 shopping spree in the store and if you don't know which image to pick there is a cute crab design as the current Thursday freebie if you check out the shop.   Fishing is the sign that summer really has arrived in this household, as DH heads off to the Windrush and the Leach and other Cotswold rivers, so I decided to use the Gone Fishing set which its stunning realistic drawings.

I've coloured with Copics, my Bass has a load of Glossy Accents which have given him a very lifelike shine and DH kindly let me have some feathers from his flytying stash.  I asked for teeny tiny feathers and that is what I got at first, I'm not sure I could see them without my glasses!  In the end he handed over some more visible feathers lol and I glued them to the fly.  The sentiment is from Create with TLC, the background in Dsitress Inked with Bundled Sage and Faded Jeans and overstamped in the Sage with an Elusive Images flower stem to look like weed.  The "line" is a striped rayon embroidery thread.  If you click on the picture you can see it better:)

My card is for the following challenges:
Moving along with the times - no designer paper
Digital Tuesday - outdoors
Paper Sundaes - let's get sentimental
One Stop Craft Challenge - texture
Stamp Something - June digi day
Cute Card Thursday - embellish it
Do it with digis - all about the boys
Fussy & Fancy - card for a man
Creative Inspirations Paint - card for a male
Pile it on - summer heaven

Wishing you lots of everything wonderful...

With all these lovely extra days off I've had a chance to get busy crafting and here's a second card for today, using an image from The Stamping Boutique that I was lucky enough to win recently.  I've used a layout from Sketch & Stash and my neglected stash is the Papermania sticky borders of fabric flowers, also the blue gem flowers, think they were from Hobbycraft when I first began making cards.    The image is coloured with Copics, some Stickles on her wings and edged with Distress Inks.  The sentiment is Hero Arts, the border punch is Martha Stewart and the Coredinations card has been dry embossed and then distressed. 

My card is for the following challenges:
 Sketch'n'Stash - free choice sketch
Cute Card Thursday - use a sketch
Stamp Something - with wings
Fashionista Friday - things with wings
4 Crafty Chicks - distressing
Delightful Challenges - distressing
Everybody Art Challenge - fairies
The Stamping Boutique - winged things
Magical Mondays - monchromatic

Phindy's Place Challenge #49 - humour

 Welcome to Friday, which happens to be April Fool's Day today!  To celebrate, we're not playing any tricks on you at Phindy's Place Challenge, but we are making you smile, I hope, with our funny cards.  The DT have come up with some brilliant and witty cards, do go and check them out, they are fabulous.
I've used one of the Mrs Comfy images, they make me smile without even looking for a funny sentiment, this one is Mrs Comfy and Rose do Coffee  and my sentiment is computer generated.  I've based my card on this week's Simon Says sketch and used Basic Grey Kioshi DP.  Image is coloured with Copics, the purple DP has dry embossed swirls, the Baker's Twine is from Quixotic Paperies and the swirl is die cut with a Marianne Creatables die.

My card is for the following challenges:
Simon Says - Domi's sketch
Cute Card Thursday - couples - couple of friends
Colour Create - pastels
Papercrafting Journey - for the ladies in your life
Claudia & Company - use butter, rose, pale green, lavender
KB Cute Monday - food and beverages
Card Cupids - April Fool's day

Spring is in the Air!

You know, I thought a few days away would leave me full of ideas and energy for crafting, but it has turned out to be quite the opposite and I have been trying to find my mojo:).  I've finally managed to finish up a card with a Fred She Said crocus image that I coloured a week or so back.  I't's part of the Spring Flower set with paper pricking frames, a really useful set that you can buy here. 

I've used a fun sketch by Christine, from Cute Card Thursday with some of that gorgeous Basic Grey Kioshi paper, I'm now using up my second pad of this:).  The crocus are coloured with Copics, Stickles on the stamens and Glossy Accents on the flowers.  The 3 layers of circles are each popped up onto pads to give lots of dimension, I've made the flowers from 3 different punch sizes and a leaf punch and that big thick velvet ribbon is from stash, no idea where or when it was bought!
My card is for the following challenges:
Cute Card Thursday - sketch
Allsorts - make your own flowers
One Stop Craft - spring flowers
Crazy4Challenges - flowers
Stamp Something - with flowers
If the Shoe Fits - purple
Wags'n'Whiskers - punches
Creative Cottage - fabulous florals
Bunny Zoe - flowers everywhere

Here comes the Spring - maybe!

Isn't this House Mouse adorable?  He is from a Joanna Sheen unmounted sheet that DH bought me for my birthday.  I'm sticking to my stash diet and enjoying using the things I have, so out came this lovely spring image for colouring.  I've used the sketch from Create4Fun for my card, colouring with Copics, Stickles, Glossy Accents and some Distress Ink for the background.  The dotty paper is a Bearly Mine digi download, the green DP is Prima.  I've used a Cuttlebug folder then Distress Ink on white cardstock cut our with a Marianne Creatables die.  The sentiment is computer generated, I like this one for Get Well cards.
My card is for the following challenges:
Create4Fun - sketch
Quirky Crafts - dots, embossing
Sweet Stampin' - spring flowers
Cupcake Craft Challenges - McDonald had a farm - OK this may not look like a farm animal to you, but have you ever known a farm that doesn't have mice? :)
C.R.A.F.T. - roll of a die
Cute Card Thursday - banish the blues
For Fun Challenges - spring or winter
Papertake Weekly  - anything goes + flowers
StampsRUs - animals