Sketch Time at Less is More

We have a terrific sketch from Jen this week which gives loads of scope . I really enjoyed making these!

The first was as part of an exercise on my Silhouette. The project was to print and then cut out the image with a slight offset. There is so much I have to learn about the way things can be cut once printed, but it's going to take time.

The image is a free digi from Dearie Dolls.

The background was stamped with a texture stamp from Impression Obsession!

Here is a watercoloured bird from A Day for Daisies. I glazed over the colour and then added some Glamour dust around his eye area.

I don't know how I manage to get such variation of colour on my pictures when I think I'm doing the same thing every time. Both of these last two cards use the same cardstock although they look vastly different in the photos. Hey Ho!

The frog was also cut with my Silhouette, then the  splats were stamped and clear embossed, I then proceeded to add the various greens in Distress inks using sponge daubers,

We have our grandchildren here this weekend, whilst our daughter has a well deserved long weekend away. What fun we will have!

Pink and Blue

Here are a couple of cards I made yesterday, whilst waiting for the window replacement men to arrive... they were a little later than I expected!

This one uses a really cute image from a Day for Daisies. By the time I came to make the card after browsing through the fab images once again in the shop, I had forgotten what the challenge at ADFD was this week... and the ribbon was added because I thought my card needed it rather than because the challenge called for one. (It's Buttons and Bows).

I used the sketch from Mojo Monday

The frog was coloured with Spectrum Noir pens and glazed with Anita's 3D Gloss. I mde the sentiment on the computer and added the strip of Pink Petticoat DP.

Now for another card made employing my new Silhouette cutter. This little elephant was another of the files I chose with my $10 voucher. He's a cutie isn't he!

Again the sentiment was computer generated and I elongated a Stampin' Up die to accommodate the length of it. The eye of the elephant was one of the circles from the holey strip along the bottom of the card.

This is the sketch I used from Seize the Sketch!

More window fitters today, fingers crossed that all goes well!

Different shade of kraft!

I ordered a pack of kraft card from Paper Mill Direct. When it arrived I was rather taken aback  by the caramel-ness of it, but as they call it kraft I'll call it kraft too!

Here are a couple of cards using it!

Here I used the sketch from CAS(E) this sketch!

The frame was a bit of an experiment with my new Silhouette machine and this is one of the downloads I bought with my $10 voucher. I mounted it on another piece of kraft card which I then proceeded to deepen the colour with a few shades of Distress ink. I stamped a few splats and a butterfly with some Paper Artsy stamps before clear embossing the whole panel.

The sentiment is computer generated and mounted on reduced size Spellbinders tags.
It is also for Addicted to CAS's challenge of Get Well.

I had thought it might do for Dynamic Duos challenge of  Kraft and Black, but with the addition of the Distress Inks, I'm not sure if it would still qualify so I made another card using just kraft and black..

This one follows the sketch from Mojo Monday. The word and the tree were cut from a piece of scrap carton, which is a really close match to the Paper Mill card. The stamping is from  Stampin' Up builder wheel stamp.

Tomorrow we have the first day of window replacement taking place. What joy!

Felt or Fabric

A folded flower

I think that some of the themes for challenges at LIM seem to come through the stratosphere! This week Jen and I came up with the theme Felt or Fabric!

The ideas seem fab at the time but when it comes to making them, even though I thought of  them, what to do often eludes me!

Here I used a scrap of fabric which I discovered after a rummage in the loft. It must have been in a box since the 70's I should think. I can't see me using it for a garment, but it may come in as a contender for some patchwork.

I cut a strip using my rotary fabric cutter and mounted it on a strip of card with hand scored edges.

To make the flower...

• Cut 4 scalloped circles with a Nestie  
• Fold each one in half

• Place one folded circle on top of another folded circle... the second at right angles to the first

• Place a third folded circle on top of the second one..again at right angles to it 

• The final circle is placed on the top of the pile, again at right angles to the previous one, tucking in half of it behind the first circle... as you would when folding down the flaps on the top of a cardboard carton

The centre of the flower if secured with a few small stitches through all the layers in the corner of each piece. The addition of a button for the flower centre finishes it off.
It means that because of the folds in the fabric a little more depth is achieved.

Here ready made Stampin' Up felt shapes were used for flowers, but these would be SO easy to make with a few small dies and scraps of felt! The stems were stamped with the edge of a piece of thick card.

Here is a more complicated felt shape. Dies cut felt easily, but it is delicate when cut in fiddly shapes, so I add double side adhesive to the back of the felt before cutting, so that it's easy to peel and stick on your project.

The way I position the sentiment to fit in a given shape is explained on the "Less is More" blog.

Here is another in similar vein, again using die-cut felt for the butterflies.

With my recent cruise and then being in Bath looking after my grandchildren overnight last week I don't seem to have got into the swing of card making, something I must remedy very soon.

A few challenges

When I saw the colours chosen for the Dynamic Duos this week, I thought I would have a go, as they are not colours I feel immediately drawn to.

For this card I have used astrip of Pink Petticoat little elephant paper which teams really well with the little elephant from SU's Patterned Occasions set. I masked out the sentiment and inked the stamp with So Saffron ink before adding a touch of green with a marker to the leaves.

The sentiment was computer generated using exactly the same colour as the paper.
PS
Would you believe it ... I missed the challenge, I'm sure it was still open when I decided to make this card this morning!

It's also for the challenge at CAS on Sundays where the challenge is Oh Baby!

This one follows the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and uses a Slapstick stamp from Penny Black.

 I combined with a  sheet of stars  die-cut from  die by Memory Box... it may be one that is distributed by Simon Says Stamp. I used some of the star cut-outs to embellish the length of ribbon!

We have guests for dinner this evening, they gave us lifts to and from the ship for our last cruise and we just want to say thank you! I've just re-joined Slimming World, as the cruises we've been on in the last year have sabotaged last year's weight loss! The menu this evening is probably more calorific than it should be, but I am trying to keep things tasty yet healthy!

One layer time again!

I must apologise for my lack of appearances in Blogland over the past couple of weeks, but I have been enjoying a fabulous cruise on the Queen Victoria to the Baltic. We had a wonderful time and I'm afraid the internet didn't loom largely in our itinerary!

Here we are doing a spot of sightseeing in St Petersburg. We were delighted not to have our visit curtailed because it coincided with the G20 talks which were taking place that day!

I shaped the sentiment for this Get Well Card (which is the challenge at Less is More this week) by using the Framelit used to emboss the arch, as a template! So once arranged onto the acrylic block  it fits the embossed shape perfectly!

I don't recall the make of stamps sadly!

This simple One Layer card is made with a two step stamp set from Stampin' Up.

I keep this ready stamped acetate sheet (to use with my stamp positioner), in the box with the stamps so that each time I want to use the set, I don't have to start from scratch stamping the secondary stamps on acetate.

I used Stazon for permanence on this sheet!

I do this with various wood mounted sets, I find it saves a lot of time. I use the acetate packaging from dies etc., cut into rectangles for this purpose.  My stamp positioner is actually several Duplo blocks (donated by my grandkids) made into a right angle corner!

Enjoy your weekend!

Colour Challenge!

We have a colour challenge at Less is More this week. 

The colours are taken from this fab photograph!

Here I used a stamp from Unity over a background of Distress ink and Perfect Pearls stamped with an acrylic block!

           The inspiration picture is this dramatic image of a young girl.

I recently purchased a Silhouette Portrait cutting machine and I have been having a bit of a play with it! For this card I was practising welding letters together. I think that I will be doing this kind of thing quite a lot as I really fancy having the versatility of being able to use any font on my computer!

I could do with finding somewhere nearby that does classes for the Silhouette... I learn better by seeing and doing rather than reading how to!

Have a great weekend!