Less is More - Challenge #200 - Lucky Dip

 I would like to says a big CONGRATULATIONS!!! to Chrissie for starting off the Less is More blog with Mandi and for making it the brilliant challenge community it is today.  Of course our theme this week had to be Celebrations, which gives lots of scope to make Christmas cards or perhaps cards for another occasion.  My first card uses an Acid Drops & What-nots stamp, with computer generated sentiments, coloured with Copics.  Inside it says "As do Anne and Sarah of course".  We all comment on every entry to the challenge, we love it when you visit us and comment on our cards and we love it when you comment on each other's card.  Thank you for all of you for joining us and supporting our challenge.

 OK I've finished my Oscars speech now!  Second card uses a Clarity stencil that came from my NEC haul, with Distress Inks brushed across it.  I intended to cut a panel from it but liked it as it was.  So I ended up making a huge (8") card with it so there is still some white space.  The sentiment, gold embossed, is also Clarity from the Stamp of the Month Club and I added a few gold sequins.

 Next up is a very simple one layer card, using Stampin' Up Endless Wishes for the snowflakes and the sentiment.  The ink for the masked rectangle and the snowflakes is Frosted Spruce Distress Ink and I added a few dots of red Stickles to match the sentiment.

My final card CASES a LIMette's card from a few months back, please do let me know if it is you, so I can credit you properly!  The sentiment is by Magenta and the legs belong to a Julie Nutting Prima stamp.  As the red Stickles was still on my desk, it got added to the shoes.

Over to you, can't wait to see your Celebrations creations!

Playtime

 I had a bit of free time last night and played around with some of my NEC goodies:  a Clarity stencil and some Inkylicious raindrop stamps.  The stencil is of umbrellas but I can also see it as morning glory or even petunias.  A recent demo on Barbara Gray's website shows the technique I've used for the stencil, there is some amazing inspiration on her site.
Brushed a variety of Distress, Memento and Adirondack dye inks onto the stencil, then ran it through my embossing machine and got a subtle embossing of the white.  Next I used WOW chunky clear embossing crystals on it, maybe my embossing ink is a bit aged, I had problems with this failing to stick.  It has given it a good sheen, but the heat embossing removed the dry embossing!

Next I cut a panel and mounted it onto black cardstock.  I added a Lawn Fawn diecut sentiment and then remembered the raindrop stamps.  Using these with a touch of white ink gave my card a different look.

What to do with the other panel I wonder...

I'm entering my card for a few challenges:

Loves Rubber Stamps - thank you cards or gifts
Perfectly Rustics - embossing
Sentimental Sundays - heartfelt thanks
Simon Says - thanks or Thanksgiving
Ladybug Crafts - bright colours
One Stitch at a Time - anything goes giving thanks

Ooh La La Creations Challenge #170

Today we have a new challenge at Ooh La La Creations, our last until the New Year as we are taking a small break.  Our theme is Christmas and the Design Team has some wonderful inspiration for you.  I've used an image and papers from the Christmas Presence CD.  Some gold mats, a bit of Glamour Dust, some twine and a fussy cut bird complete my card.
I'm entering my card for:
Challenge up your Life - banner,  garland, wreath
Crafty Calendar - all about Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - getting ready for Christmas

Less is More - Week 199 - Recipe

Hooray it's the weekend!  Time for a recipe challenge at Less is More and our recipe this week is "Jingle all the Way".

 First up is a Bugaboo funny.  I have a lovely, gentle dog called Stella, nothing like the tough broad in this Stella digital image!  The sentiment is by Stampotique, I bought it in the post-Christmas sale at Stamp Attic a few years back and love it, it always makes me smile.  Stella is coloured with Copics, Glossy Accents on her specs and some Glamour Dust.

I'm entering my card for the Sisterhood of Snarky Stamper's P is for Profanity Challenge, though this is rather mild and, more typically, I swear like a trooper!

 
My second card uses an image from Google of the music for Jingle Bells.  I've added some Distress Ink to it and stamped on Tim Holtz trees.  The diecut word is from a Tim Holtz set of Christmas words that I bought at the NEC.

Joy

I had a bit of a disaster in the craftroom the other night, involving an (undrunk) glass of red.  I can't begin to tell you how far it spreads on a large blending mat...  I had to re-make this card, but I'm glad I did, I really like it!

Happy Birthday to ATCAS, I based it on their sketch.  The Inkylicious reindeer is silver embossed onto the linen card with a Pink Petticoat sentiment added.  The two stitched dies come from Simon Says.  The baubles and ribbon are both coloured with a Copic pen to make them a perfect match.
I'm entering my card for the following challenges:
Addicted to Clean & Simple - sketch
CAS on Sunday - ribbon or twine
4 Crafty Chicks - make it sparkle
Crafty Ribbons - animals, Christmas, ribbon
Love to Create - make it for Christmas
Ruby's Rainbow - non traditional Christmas
Crafting by Design - get ready for Christmas

Less is More - Week 198 - theme - More Than One Tree

 Today's theme at Less is More just may be my favourite ever!  I love tree stamps and probably have more of them than anything else...  Think I may have made more cards than needed too this week lol...
First card uses Waltzing Mouse set called Flurries, I used various shades of green ink, added some gems to the snowflakes and some ric-rac across the card.

 
Second card has Stampin' Up Festival of Trees stamps, punch and even embossing folder!  Blinged up with gold embossing and a few mats of gold card, as well as one of the stitched dies, got these at the NEC and love them!

 Christmas trees were cut with my Portrait, both positive and negative shapes used.  The DP behind is a very old Basic Grey, called Dasher.  The sentiment is Pink Petticoat.

 Digi from A Day for Daisies has been printed out for, umm, at least three years waiting to be coloured!  At least now it is finished and in a card.  I added some Glamour Dust to the snow and used one of those stitched rectangles again.

 More NEC stash, the stamp and sentiment are both from Inkylicious, Adirondack Stonewashed and Lake Mist inks brushed on to the centre panel.

And finally a Lawn Fawn creation, photographed in artificial light.  The background is grey, influenced by some very stylish cards submitted recently to LIM by the very talented regular Viv.Unfortunately it looks a rather muddy brown here, hope to get a chance to take another photo in daylight.

Thank you for looking at my forest of tree cards (assuming you've persevered to the end that is!) and I'm looking forward to seeing plenty more trees to add to my stash.

Ooh La La Creations Challenge - more than one fold

Morning!  It's time for a new Ooh La La Challenge and this week we are asking for cards with more than one fold.  I kept my card very simple, with just two folds, in order to showcase the fab-ewe-lous image, Winter Woolies, from the Carnival of Colour CD, which is filled with artwork from Beverly Morgan.  I computer generated my sentiment, matted and layered my layers onto gold and added a few punched stars.

Hope ewe like it!

Remembrance

 Like so many others, on Friday I made the journey to London to see for myself the beautiful and moving installation on poppies at the Tower of London, one for each British/Commonwealth life lost in WW1.  It is a very effective way to convey the huge scale of numbers and certainly puts life in perspective.
The day before I went to the NEC with my LIM friend Chrissie and bought some new stash to play with.  But somehow it seemed more appropriate to reach for existing stash and make this card.

The CAS colour challenge of real red, vanilla and metallic gold fitted it perfectly, though my red looks very dark in the photos.  My theme comes from Simon Says, which dedicated its Thinking of You challenge to Remembrance Day.  I gold embossed a SU sentiment onto a panel, cut a Memory Box sunburst from it (which to me symbolises hope) and mounted it on a tentfold card.  Added Memory Box poppies, diecut some gold pods for the flowers and tied my bunch with gold thread.
A quick look at Paper Playful shows another few challenges to enter:
Allsorts - poppies, remembrance
Sweet Stampin - poppies or red for remembrance
Delicious Doodles - remembrance, thinking of you

Less is More Week 197 - one layer card - Starry starry night

Wow the non traditional colours challenge was popular, I need to get back to get round nearly everyone's cards, it has been a rather hectic week at work and at home!   This week we are at the dreaded (by some!) one layer week for Less is More.  Our challenge is "Starry, starry night" and the three cards that I have done that have made it to the blog are all Christmassy in style.
First up is stencilled onto a gatefold card.  The stencil is Memory Box and I've added tiny, tiny matt silver sequins and a Hobby Arts sentiment.

 Second card uses the Inkylicious sheep, aren't they gorgeous!  They are white embossed, coloured with Inktense pencils and I've drawn a groundline in for them.

Another kraft card, this uses a fab Stampin Up set called White Christmas.  It is white embossed and the shading is done with an Inktense pencil.  No sentiment as this card was getting to be More rather than Less so I left it alone!  What I REALLY like about this set is that it's clear and the gap between the single tree and the group of trees is a long thin line which is easily shaped up or downhill to give a different look.

Less is More Week 196 - colour challenge

What a wonderful week of newsprint entries we had for last weeks' Less is More!  This week we have a colour challenge, to use non-traditional Christmas colours.  So many colours are used for Christmas cards these days, but I decided that, as long as I avoided red and green, it would be non-traditional!  My first card is a tentfold.  It uses some gorgeous Penny Black silhouette stamps against a Distress Inked background with a SU sentiment, I've created shadows with second generation stamp.
 
Second card uses pink and white, a very non-trad Christmas combi for me! The background paper and the sentiment are both from Pink Petticoat and I've diecut with a Memory Box die and added a few gems, like this CAS layout.

 
My third card is very Pinterest influenced, I've free-cut my tree trunk and branches and added them to a Kraft background cut with my Simon Says Stamp die and added a die cut bird and an SU sentiment.

I look forward to lots of CAS inspiration for Christmas!

Silhouette?

I've quite a few things printed off and waiting to be used, including this beautiful image from the Halcyon Days CD.  Being contrary, I've entered it for CD Sunday's Silhouette challenge, though my seagull silhouettes are white - don't know whether this counts or not?!
I've stitched around the frame, added some twine and used a couple of papers from Pink Petticoat that were also printed out.
I'm also entering my card for:
Simon Says - anything goes
Crafters Cafe - things with wings

Less is More Week 195 - recipe - newsprint

 This week we are challenging you to use newsprint in your CAS creation.  I have cleared so many books from my home this last year and couldn't find anything to cut up, so I went to Pinterest and found a free printable dictionary page for my cards.  Not sure which is my favourite...

First card uses Memory Box butterflies on a monochrome tentfold card.  I drew in the antennae, the tag and rectangle are both cut with Simon Says Stamp dies.  I was lucky enough to win a voucher to spend with them recently, thanks to Splitcoast Stampers and the dies, along with the bird, were part of my purchase.  A Hero Arts sentiment and some black and white twine finished this card off.

Next card uses Stampin' Up holiday home.  The lights in the windows are coloured with Inktense pencil and the colourful house at the front is shaded with Copics and popped up on Pinflair glue.  The sentiment is by Lindsey Duncan.
I'm entering my card for:
CAS-ology - home

 

My final card has a Scribbly Bird stamped onto the newsprint.  I've used the Inktense pencils with a bit of water to bring out the colour, and added a Paper Artsy sentiment embossed onto the kraft card. 

I'm entering my card for:

Simon Says -  get crafty and use kraft

Jingle Belles - holiday card with a creature

Crafting by Designs - get ready for Christmas

WTF stands for...

...Who's turning forty of course!  Made this card for a friend to send to his sister, it uses a set of CAS-ual Fridays stamps, which really make me smile.  Heat embossed for the WTF with Wow glittery blue and with Wow blueberry on the circle row and the question mark.  I had a few specks of powder on the card so, of course, I added a few sequins - got some tiny, tiny mixed ones at Ally Pally Knitting and Stitching show, love them!
I'm entering my card for:
Allsorts - embossing
Hiding in my Craft Room - embossing
Crafty Sentiments - use a sentiment
Digi Choosday - Happy Birthday
Crafty Cardmakers - it's only words
CAS on Sunday - emboss it

A Few Challenges

 I spent a bit if time playing in my craft space yesterday and have some cards to share :).  First up is a card for the colour challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches.  I didn't have any of the SU colours for this challenge so I've substituted Versafine Olympia Green and Distress Inks Barn Door and Wild Honey.  I think they are fab autumnal shades together.  The wreath is stamped with a branch from Card-io, using first and second generation inkings, the SU Petite Petals are punched out with gems in the middles.
I'm also entering my card for:
Patties Creations - autumn colours
Alphabet Challenge - R is for round
A Creative Need - yellow and orange
Docerela - fall colours
Kitty Bee - dies and or punches

 Second card is a birthday card for a lady who likes elephants.  I've used a Pink Petticoat digi, matted and layered a few times, and following the layout at Sketch Saturday.
I'm also entering my card for:
4 Crafty Chicks - happy birthday
Crafty Little Fairies - only 1 DP (pennant)
Milk, Coffee - lots of layers
Seize the Day - anything goes birthday

 

Third card is one of my favourite Pink Petticoat Ewe images, paper pieced in polka dots with a bow and stitching added.

I'm entering my card for:

Creative Knockout - animal friends

Digi Stamps 4 Joy  - animals

Less is More - Week 194

 This week at Less is More Sarah has chosen the very cute theme of "Little Creatures".  My first card has a jar with tiny ladybirds.  The stamp set unfortunately has a typo so I computer generated my sentiment.  I used lots of Glossy Accents on my jar.

 Second card and the little creatures are slightly bigger, with wings this time.  I've coloured the die cut with bright jewel colours with my Copics and mounted their branch on top of some chicken wire embossed card.  The sentiment is by Whiff of Joy and I added some washi tape.

My third card has the largest little creatures, some adorable Avery Elle bunnies.  I have seen this set used to great effect several times at LIM and had to add it to my collection...  Cut my background out by hand from some Memory Box DP scraps.

Hope you like my Little Creatures :)

Ooh La La - Inspired by Nature

We have a super theme for you at this week's Ooh La La Creations Challenge - Inspired by Nature.  I reached for my Carnival of Colour CD with Beverly Morgan's artwork and then came the difficult bit, choosing which of the gorgeous images to use!  I chose Yorkshire Quilt, a beautiful autumnal/post harvest scene and used it for a card for my father-in-law, his birthday is on Tuesday.  DP also from the disk, I added some punched leaves and a bit of ribbon

Less is More One Layer Week

 This week our one layer challenge at Less is More is to use Two of Something.  My first card uses a totally stunning Impression Obsession stamp with a Woodware sentiment.  The only colour is in the hats, which are coloured with an Inktense pencil.

My second card has a Hero Arts tree masked and stamped using Lyra Aquacolour crayons, misted with water before stamping.  The stars are part of the stamp and where I have a blotch the sequins came in useful :)

Lost lagoon

A quick last minute posting for CAS colours and sketches where this week's colours are lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake and Soft Sky.  While I love SU I don't often buy their inks, never mind papers.  But for once, I have both cardstock and ink in Lost Lagoon!  I've added in kraft paper and Bashful Blue ink, using the Festival of Trees stamps and punch, as well as some washi tape.

Hare today...

Fell for both the tree stencil and the hares from Clarity and came up with this card to represent spring and mad March hares.  My photo isn't brilliant though, the greens are brighter IRL, this picture could be Autumn!  Brushed Distress Inks through the stencil, outlined the circle with a grey Copic and added a few dots with Copics to the leaves budding on the tree.  The sentiment was cut with my Portrait and I pierced the edge of my square by stitching around it on a 3.5 length stitch with no thread.
I'm entering my card for:
Clarity Challenges - seasons (I picked spring)
Amusing Challenges - trees
Crafting when we can - no designer papers
Addicted to CAS - stencil
Stamping Boutique - stitching real or faux - hmm... is it a stitch without any thread??

Less is More - Week 192

Wow the Mostly Words theme was certainly popular, you've all kept me busy with commenting on your wonderful cards!

  This week's Less is More theme is Autumn Bounty and once I stopped getting hung up on the 'bounty' part of it I had a lot of fun with my cards this week.  First up is a one layer card.  Clarity stencil was taped down then I stamped some Jenny Mayes scene-it stamps into the leaf and coloured with Distress Inks.  The wheat and birds were added after I removed the stencil.  Sentiment is Stampin' Up.  I'm really pleased with this card, hope you like it!
I'm entering my card for:
House that stamps built - Fall
Ladybug Crafts - autumn/Hallowe'en

 This card uses Darkroom Door leaf stamps with a Clearly Besotted sentiment.  I scribbled over the stamp with Lyra Aquacrayons and then misted it with water to get a soft effect.  Masked and repeated, then drew round the outlines with a Pigma pen.
I'm entering my card for:
Moo Mania - autumn colouring (but not a moo!)
Ruby's Rainbow - autumn leaves
Whimsie Doodles - autumnal colours
Craftroom Challenges - seasonal colours (spring or autumn depending where you live!)

And finally some more wheat, cut with my Portrait this time and with a doodled Pigma pen border.
Looking forward to seeing lots of CAS autumn bounty
I'm entering my card for:
Scrapper's Delight - no design paper