"Less is More" - Week #252 - Theme

It is the weekend and time to share another "Less is More" Challenge with you.  This week our theme is Fruit.  My first card uses Heartfelt Creations stamps, which I got in a grab bag at a retreat a couple of years back, shamefully they are NBUS - or were until now!  I have coloured with Copics and Glossy Accents, the sentiment is embossed with WOW ultra fine gold.  The frame uses Simon Says Stamp stitched squares and rectangles.

My fruit wreath is a cut file.  I cut the Orange Wreath from the Silhouette Design Store twice and used one as a stencil,  brushing Distress Ink (Ripe Persimmon, Mowed Lawn, Crushed Olive) over it the colour the wreath.  As I had stuck the wreath down with Glossy Accents and a tiny bit had oozed out, the fruit got a coating of Glossy Accents!  The sentiment uses a Lawn Fawn die and was cut from card coloured with Ripe Persimmon.

So...  is it an Orange wreath, a Persimmon wreath, or a new hybrid fruit variety...?

A Trio of Challenges

I had a really happy afternoon yesterday, watching the racing on telly and making cards.  Perfect way to spend a cold afternoon!
This die cut Christmas card is one of the results.  The baubles are an old favourite, but the Crisp Bows are NBUS, both from Memory Box.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up.  I made my card for the CAS Colours and Sketches Challenge and for once, I had both cardstock and ink in one of the colours - Lost Lagoon!  So bows and baubles were cut from silver metallic, red cardstock and the aforementioned LL.
I followed the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch and I'm also entering Simon Says Christmas Challenge.

Less is More - Week #251

This week at Less is More our theme is numbers.  My card combines computer generated sentiments with a Tim Holtz Crazy Bird.  The splats are a MFT stamp.  Mr Bird is coloured with Copics and has Glossy Accents eyes.

Less is More - Week #250 - One Layer

 It is one layer week at Less is More this week and this week our theme is Santa.  I will never forget the first year I made all our Christmas cards and took them to the post.  I'd added layer after layer and loads of embellies - the postage bill was HUGE!  I've tried to have a good stash of one layer Christmas cards ever since!

First card uses a cute stamp from Little Claire, I bought lots of their stamps when I was at Sincerely Yours with Chrissie a few weeks back.  The sentiment is Dylusions.  I've used Koh-i-Noor pencils to colour it (remember them?) and added a touch of Glossy Accents to the specs, though it is hard to see.

For my second card I cut a Memory Box die and used the negative as a stencil, brushing DI Blueprint through it.  The sleigh and starry trail are both Inkylicious stamps and the sentiment is Stampin Up.  They use Versafine Majestic Blue and WOW embossing superfine Platinum.

Thinking of You

I bought a beautiful new Memory Box die called Woodley when I was at Sincerely Yours with Chrissie.  I've embedded it into kraft card here, given it a narrow black border and some black dotty ribbon.  Sentiment is Stampin Up.  I'm adding my card to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge.

Less is More - Week #249 - Colour

This week is the colour challenge at Less is More and our colour is FIRE.  I'm afraid I only have one card to show you as I have had such a busy week.  I've used Brushos to get my fiery coloured panel.  PostIts masked off one corner and I sprinkled orange, yellow and crimson then spritzed with water.  A Poppy die corner from gold mirri card, Mama Elephant sentiment and a thin black mat finish off the card.
I look forward to seeing lots of fiery CAS creations!

Less is More - Week #248

 This week at "Less is More" we are challenging you to make a paper pieced card.  My first card was made at elder son's request, one of his schoolfriends has just had a baby boy.  It uses Pink Petticoat design paper and digi image.  I am so sad that Liz is shutting up shop soon, her papers and images are well suited to CAS designs and I have many of them.  I made a frame for the elephant using Simon Says Stamp stitched squares and added some baby blue gems.

My other card uses snippets of bright Basic Grey papers on a kraft card background.  The stamps are Technique Tuesday and the sentiment is Whiff of Joy.  I don't have any of the enamel dots that are so popular at the moment, so I went retro and used tiny metal brads for some birdseed.

Non trad Christmas colours

I really need to get started on some Christmas cards, here I've used a sketch from CAS Colours & Sketches.  I've gold embossed Stampin Up trees onto orange and pink snippets and punched them out.  The grey background is partially embossed with a co-ordinating folder.  I have topped them with gold sequins.   A Mama Elephant 'Happy' and a SU 'Christmas' complete my card.  In real life the orange sentiment is a good match for the tree!

Less is More - Week 247 - sketch

This week at "Less is More" we have a sketch to challenge you.   At first it had me stumped, but once I got to grips with it I found it fairly straightforward to work with.  Hope you like my inspiration and I look forward to seeing lots of different takes on it :).

My cute Lawn Fawn dachsund was coloured with Copics and then masked so I could overstamp him with a brushstroke from SU Work of Art in Pear Pizazz.   The butterflies are from the same Lawn Fawn set and have Liquid Pearls added and a Clarity sentiment completes this card.

 My next card is a Christmas take on the sketch.  The Pear Pizazz ink was pressed into service again for both the pine branch and sentiment from Winnie & Walter Winter Woodland.  I punched a SU bird from kraft snippets and turned it into a robin with some Distress Ink.  A mat of kraft card to match finishes off this card.

And finally, this uses my favourite Christmas sentiment stamp (Magenta) from last year.  This time I've teamed it with the legs of a Dylusions chap, coloured with Copics.  I should point out that I am a red drinker and not white, but this always makes me smile.  Hope it raises a smile for you too :)

Less is More - Week #246 - masculine

Apologies for my lack of comments on Less is More, I have been away with no internet connection for a couple of weeks and hope to catch up on everyone soon!
This week our theme is 'masculine', which I think suits the CAS style really well.  I'vemade a die cut  card, with a Memory Box digger against a Memory Box sentiment.  The background was sprinkled with Brusho greens and then spritzed with water.  I coloured the digger with Copics and filled in its window with some Glossy Accents.

Less is More - Week #245 - one layer

 This week it is the dreaded one layer week at Less is More and this week our theme is autumn.  This little House Mouse looks like he's really having fun with the falling leaves! He's a Joanna Sheen stamp, coloured with Distress Inks on linen texture card,  I've not added a sentiment, if I need to add one it will be when I send the card...

This stamp came from a Unity Kit of the Month last year.  I think she may be meant to be winter rather than autumn, but I've given her autumnal colours using Copics.  She is dressed for the season, maybe she is at a bonfire night party with her cuppa?  House Mouse sentiment.

Less is More - Week #244 - colour

 This week at Less is More we have a really fun colour challenge for you:  Jewel Tones.  I've interpreted it fairly literally with my first card, with polished slices of agate.  The Winnie & Walter stamp is a section through a tree trunk.  I've coloured with Copics, matted and layered my strip with gold and black and I've used a Mama Elephant die and sentiment.  The centre slice is heavily coated with Glossy Accents, it took nearly two days to dry!

I just can't keep away from those Crazy Birds!  I've coloured this chap in shades of amethyst and gold, using Copics again, with a bit of Glossy Accents on the eyes.  He's framed with a Simon Says stitched die cut and the sentiment, stamped in DI Dusty Concord, is from Stampin' Up's Age Awareness set.  The frame is given dimension with some Pinflair glue.

Less is More - week #243 - recipe

 This week we have a recipe challenge at Less is More, to use something shiny.  I've opted to make a few Christmas cards with a bit of shine.  First up is a completely die cut card.  I've cut a blue panel with a Simon Says Stamp stitched rectangle.  The Lawn Fawn stitched snowflakes are cut from glitter paper and I've also added some shiny sequins.  The words are Tim Holtz die cuts.

 My next card uses the same blue, with an old favourite Memory Box ornament die.  The top layer is cut from silver mirri card and I added some shiny silver cord behind it.  The sentiment is heat embossed with WOW Blueberry.

And my favourite of the three has a shiny lamp post, I've inked the background with a halo of Mustard Seed Distress Ink along with Weathered Wood and Stormy Sky.  There's some orange Stickles inside the lamp for more shininess.  The bench and lamp post are Penny Black and the sentiments are Stampin' Up Endless Wishes.

Less is More week 242 - theme

Our theme this week at Less is More is Technology.  After a difficult week I just have one card to show you.  It is based on a card I saw on Pinterest.  Computer generated, the switch logo was downloaded and I added a sentiment with Problem Secretary font.  The card is one layer on a linen textured card.

Less is More - Week 241 - One Layer

It is one layer challenge week at Less is More and this week our challenge is Wishing.  I have used kraft card, with just black and white added.  I used embossing paste and a Memory Box stencil for the stars, the heat embossed figures are Clarity Wee People stamps and the sentiment is from Unity.  I drew the hill in with a Pigma pen.

Less is More - week #240 - colour challenge

 I'm so sorry not to have been around in Blogdom this last week.  LIMettes will know that my mum died suddenly last week and this week has been a bit difficult.  I escaped into a bit of cardmaking last night which felt great and have some cards to show you for this week's Less is More Challenge - a colour challenge,  green and gold.  First up are some autumnal leaves, coloured with a load of different Distress Inks.  The leaf is an Inkylicious stamp, sentiment is Hero Arts and I've wrapped some gold machine embroidery thread round the panel.

 Next up I inked up a couple of House Meeces with a sunflower and coloured them with Inktense pencils and also made a Copic version which hasn't yet made it into a card.  Which do you prefer?

 

Next up is a traditional Christmas card made with Winnie & Walter pine branch and fircones.  I've gold embossed the cones and the sentiment and cunningly covered up a blob with some gold sequins :).

 

And finally I've added a silhouette cut on my Silhouette to a green card, with gold sentiment and mat.

I look forward to visiting as many LIMettes as possible this week.

Less is More #238 - sketch

This week at Less is More we have a sketch to challenge you with, which is very clean and simple, giving you lots of opportunity to make it your own!

 My first offering is a monochrome card, based on the idea of a wall with a climbing plant growing up it.  I've used Memory Box Chloe diecuts in gold, bronze and chocolate snippets for the flowers.

My second card uses a Clarity stamp with a hillside on it.  Gorgeous image, isn't it - yet more trees to add to my collection :).  Of course, when I stamped it out I remembered that it slopes the other way to the sketch...  I've extended the hillside lines with a Pigma pen and coloured with Copics.

Less is More - Week #237 - theme

We have a theme at Less is More this week - congratulations.  I've a couple of cards to show you, first up is a Stampin' Up balloon inked with Mint Macaron.  It's accented with gold  sequins, ribbon, heat embossing and a gold cardstock mat.

More heat embossing on my second card, on vellum this time.  The Hero Arts flower is white embossed and layered up on top of the dotty cardstock with the sentiment also on vellum.

Less is More - Week #236 - one layer

Welcome to one layer week at Less is More and this week our theme is "The eyes have it".  My first card uses a freebie Craft Stamper stamp, though not the one I was looking for!  I've repeat stamped it in Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon and Faded Jeans and added some Paper Smooches sentiments.



This card has lots of eyes to look at, I made this for a farmer friend of mine.  The stamp is from Stampin' Up and I've added some googly eyes (slightly cheating on the one layer, though they are a minimal embellie lol!) and a doodled border.

 Need to persevere with my Brushos, so I stamped, coloured and masked some Clarity hare stamps.  Sprinkled Prussian Blue, Light Brown and Leaf Green then gave it a light spritz.  The sentiment is a magazine freebie.  You can see that this one layer needs a long period under something heavy to flatten it!

Less is More - #235 - colour

 This week we have a colour challenge at Less is More - berry shades.  I'm still playing with those Stampers Anonymous Crazy Birds and this little chap is berry shaded with Copics right down to his pink tinged eyes - is it conjunctivitis or just a hangover?  He's grounded with an MFT stamp and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. 
I'm entering my bird for CAS-ology's Wings challenge and my Happy card for Simon Says - anything goes.

I used the same MFT stamp set with an assortment of inks for my second card, as well as a couple of dies.  I've raised up the 'happy' with extra die cuts behind it.

Looking forward to seeing lots of berry shades from the LIMettes this week :)