Published in Craft Stamper Magazine!

I have some extremely exciting news to share with you!

My September issue of Craft Stamper Magazine arrived today and there on page 42 was my card of the Eiffel Tower!

The really exciting part is that for the next few months, there should be more of my cards appearing in this section of the magazine. 

I saw mention of this Gallery on Jo Capper-Sandon's blog... and the rest they say is history!

I feel extremely proud yet most humbled at the same time... so watch this space!

"Less is More" six months on!

"Less is More", our Clean and Simple Challenge Blog is 6 months old today. I know I'm getting old but I really don't know where the time has gone to.
It doesn't seem a more than a moment since Mandi emailed me to ask if I would be interested in a joint venture with her to create a new Challenge Blog for Clean and Simple cards! Boy am I glad that I jumped at the prospect!
I popped over to the island to meet her to try get things sorted. We had so much fun then and have continued to have fun ever since...and have become such good friends!
The details of our Feeling Fruity challenge and our cards this week are over on the "Less is More" blog.
ABC Challenge - Z for Zoo

I have had quite a busy week so far, with my daughter and her children staying for a few days... Thursday was spent at Peppa Pig's World at Paulton's Park. Daisy had a super time!

Have a great weekend and do join us this week, we'd love to see your creations!

WOYWW 112

I haven't managed to pop around the work desks of the world for quite some weeks... but today I thought I just had to show you what arrived this morning... I think the postman was up before breakfast today!
Yesterday was my birthday and on a whim, after struggling to emboss just part of a band of card and not managing to fit it through my Cuttlebug... I ordered this Spellbinders Grand Calibur... and this morning here it is. What fabulous service and FREE p&p too! I bought it from Card Craft UK... brilliant.
Now to have a play!
I was really impressed that there is an embossing mat included in the kit..
What fun!
Join Julia and friends snooping around the world's wordesks. There's a permanent link on my sidebar!
Have a good day everyone!

Week 25 at "Less is More"

We have a recipe at "Less is More" this week... not an excuse to add all sorts of folderols, just an opportunity to use ribbon or buttons.
Here I have used some ribbon  rescued from a gift last Christmas from my son and daughter-in-law and three buttons made from a Die-namics die and coated with Glossy Accents.
The gingham panel is stamped with a new addition to my collection from Waltzing Mouse.The heart is a Stampin' Up stamp, punched with the SU heart punch and decorated with a Woodware punched house and some tiny hearts from a corner punch that has been sculling in the drawer for many a while.
I made the sentiment on the computer in Fabulous 50's font and mounted it on an extended Spellbinder die-cut.
Phindy's Place -Doubling Up (2 Hearts)

This one has that cute teddy from Indigo Blu once more, simply stamped beside a sentiment from Studio G in SU Crumb Cake ink.
It's mounted on paper punched with a Martha Stewart border punch and embellished with grosgrain ribbon. There's a tutorial on the LIM blog showing how I added the bow onto the flat ribbon on the backing paper, using my bowmaker.
I hope to go to see a little cricket at the Rose Bowl today, hopefully the weather will be kind.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and do join in with our Clean and Simple challenge at "Less is More", we'd love to see your work.
Creative Card Crew - Animal Antics

Christmas in July

Since discovering sponging techniques some time ago, I have gained enormous satisfaction from creating cards using this medium.
Here is a Christmas Card using a sponged background with Adirondack Cranberry, SU Apricot Appeal and  Ranger Weathered Wood Distress inks, each applied with a sponge dauber over a masked section of the card.
The trees, a stamp from Artemio, were over stamped with SU Mellow Moss and Stazon Olive Green inks, both before and after the upper mask had been removed.
I finally added a  few prints of the tree using Encore Ultimate metallic gold ink, inking only the edges of the stamp so that some of the colour beneath would show through.
The sentiment from Penny Black is heat embossed in gold.
I had fun making this one!
Stamp Something - Christmas in July
Stampin with the dragon - Christmas in July
Winter Wonderland - Wet or Dry Embossing
Craft Us Crazy - Christmas in July
ABC Christmas Challenge - No Nonsense
Christmas Card Challenges - Christmas in July

Circles

When Mandi and I get together to come up with the ideas for our challenges, we are full of enthusiasm for them but sometimes when push comes to shove we find actually coming up with our demo cards quite tricky!
When thinking about this week's cards, I was stumped for a while until I took my inspiration for our circles challenge from this DP which Mandi gave me recently. I love the colour combination.
I cut the circle and surrounded it with the Martha Stewart border punched strip, adapted to fit the curve of the circle. There's a tutorial on the "Less is more" blog...plus details of how I made the card.

Here is another variation on the same theme! Same DP, same border punch, same colours, but a little stamping instead of rolled flowers and the sentiment is computer generated instead of stamped.
I think the colours are really calming.
Both contain circles and both are for the "Less is More" Clean and Simple challenge this week.
DO come and join us!

Popularity for One Layer Cards

It seems to me that the appearance of Clean and Simple and One  Layer Cards in challenges around Blogland is on the increase. I would love to think that in some part it's due to the influence that our challenge site "Less is More", is having... but this may merely be wishful thinking! We're so grateful for its popularity in any case.
Here is a One Layer Card made by masking and sponging colour (Adirondack Caramel and Cranberry inks) using  sponge daubers and then over printing, both before and after the masks have been removed.
The stamp set used is Stampin' Up's French Foliage... I simply love it.
Yesterday the washing machine was doing trojan service after the suitcases had been emptied of laundry from our holiday. Ironing awaits!
Crafty Cardmakers - One Layer Card

Back from Spain

We returned home last night from a couple of weeks holiday in France and Spain. We drove through France and met up with our daughter and her family who flew to Spain to spend a week with us in a resort just outside Fuengirola.
It was a shame that Daisy (our granddaughter) was feeling a little under the weather for a few days and even had to go the see the doctor. She had a problem with one of her ears.
Thank the Lord for Calpol!
I now need to catch up on a few card orders and this is for one of them... a card with cardstock buttons  for the challenge at Just us Girls and also one of the Best Wishes cards requested by my friend.
The sentiment was computer generated and uses the fonts One Fell Swoop and AL Fantasy Type. The paper is from Pink Petticoat and the butterfly dies are from Die-namics.
We stayed at some fabulous Paradors in Spain.
I was thrilled to see that there was a stork's nest  atop a chimney of the castle where we stayed in Olite, Spain, but I had to wait a while until it showed itself.

Now back to cardmaking!
Stamp Something - Butterflies

Something with Legs

Isn't this Ted just the best!

He comes from Indigo Blu and reminds me of a teddy which sits in my conservatory and was given to me many years ago by one of my pupils at the end of a school year (I taught tiddlers don't forget).

He is for our one layer challenge at "Less is More" which this week asks for "Something with legs". It's implicit that he has them although they can't be seen.

He was stamped and masked to add the manuscript 'behind' him. The sentiment is from the Wild Rose Studio.
Alphabet Challenge - Just one Word

More stamps here from Indigo Blu.

My favourite masking technique was used to sponge the central panel in blue, amethyst and green and the  tree was stamped in Early Espresso both before and after the mask was removed. I chose the position for the sentiment by stamping it onto acetate and moving it around the card until I was happy with the chosen spot. then using my lego corner to guide my stamp into place. The legs are on the birds in this one!

Here's a final quickie with legs... this time it's a table from Stampin Up's Scene in a Garden, but the the bird has legs too I guess.

Nuff said!

Shades of Blue

I just love making this kind of card!

It's for our Colour challenge at "Less is More" this week.

I began by stamping the 'Joie'  and the flourish  from Stampin' Up in Versamark and heat embossing using clear embossing powder. I sponged over much of the card with Bashful Blue ink, then stamped the splodges also using Versamark and embossed once more with clear embossing powder. The butterflies were stamped with Stormy Sky  Distress ink and also embossed. I stamped the small text stamp randomly across the card. I had a range of blue Distress inks and sponged around the embossed images with various shades, before cutting the card into three equal rectangles and inking the edges with some of the darker blue.

There's something about a triptych which I find most satisfying.

The sentiment is from Penny Black and both it and the image are mounted on two shades of blue card and popped on dimensional pads to add definition.