Metal!

The challenge at "Less is More" this week is to use metal.

I love the effect of this cuttable, emboss-able metal on kraft card!

I stamped it with a script stamp and then ran it through an embossing folder, sanding the raised part lightly afterwards. Popped onto a pierced mount and matched with a piece of ribbon, I think it needs no sentiment!

Here is a card I made for a commission. What an amazing achievement to celebrate 60 years of marriage! I thought 40 years was pretty good going!

The dogwood blossom is from a Sizzix set of dies. I enjoyed colouring and shaping the flowers.

The metal on this one is the little heart charm. The sentiment was computer generated.

I have only two cards this week as I am off on holiday to Australia on Monday and I have been trying to get cards made for all the "Less is More" challenges until we return. Quite a marathon!

I hope you'll forgive my lack of visits whilst I'm away.

Jump

When I saw the the cue card was JUMP this week at CASology, my mind immediately 'jumped' to this image from Penny Black.

This young lady is one of a row of exercising chickens... but she was doing the required action... so she was the one I opted for. I masked out the rest of the girls and so here she is jumping her heart out!

I really love Penny Black chickens, they are such characters.

As I am off to OZ very soon I probably should have chosen a kangaroo... but maybe that will come later!

So long!

Casual Friday's challenge this week is for a long thin card with a farewell theme.

Here's mine. I little alligator from Stampin' Up's Zoo babies, stamped, embossed, cut out and mounted on dimensionals. The little heart footprints were stamped with one heart from the stamp in SU's Confetti set.

The sentiment was computer generated in Sunshine Poppy font.

The theme may be so long, but this is sort and sweet!

Masculine

I was sitting at my desk looking at a piece of black card and somehow got the idea to make a tuxedo card.

I cut two pieces for the sides of the jacket and then wondered what I would do to make the lapels. I decided on using a square and a rectangle cut with my Nesties and so after diecutting them, I snipped off the edges to make the different sections. A square was used for the upper part of the lapels and a rectangle for the lower sections. I cut a strip for the shirt placket and added faux stitching and some shirt 'studs' to that. A bow tie from my Dienamics die and it was done.

I could add it to the "Less is More" masculine challenge this time, but as CAS on Sunday also has the same theme I will add it to that instead!

I was quite pleased with this one!

Another couple of cards!

I saw this sketch at CAS(E) this sketch and loved it immediately. I love how the sentiment encroaches on the main focal image.

This is my version using Stampin' UP stamps.The background is Off the Grid, the butterflies are Papillon Potpourri and the sentiment is Curly Cute... all stamped with Pool Party ink. I stamped the butterflies and clear embossed them before masking them and then stamping the background.

The sentiment was cut using an SU Framelit die.

This one was made on a whim. I thought this little smiley face was so cute so I cut out the pieces on my Silhouette and coloured them in yellow and black with Copics before adding Anita's 3D Gloss.

The sentiment is from SU's Geometrical set on a little tag using eyelets and a length of ribbon which was cut from a sweater. I can't stand it when those darn things show, popping out of the neck of jumpers etc.

It's for a couple of challenges

  

                         CAS.ology BOLD          &      Dynamic Duos  Black and Yellow

This evening we are dining with friends and today hopefully we'll be able to meet up with our son and his wife in Worthing where they are once more house hunting. There have been complications with the house they had intended buying and he starts in his new practice in 2 weeks time... as yet they don't have a house to go to... I think his mother-in-law may well have some lodgers for a spell!

Anyone for coffee?

In true senior mode, I don't remember the make of the stamp or the origin of the coffee cup image!!

I think the stamp may be from Rubbernecker as it is grey and their stamps are usually grey. If anyone knows differently please do tell me.
I'm really grateful to Stef who has informed me that the stamp is from a set from Crafter's Companion called Sentiment Swirls.
Thanks Stef!

The other file was printed and cut using my Silhouette machine... don't remember that either but I cut a bunch of them and popped them in a drawer to use at my leisure, which Is why I don't remember where they came from now!

Anyway this is the sketch from Fusion... I was delighted to have a shout out from them last time, and the theme from Addicted to CAS.

We have the most amazing coffee machine and get the most delicious coffee beans from a local store. My husband nearly had apoplexy the other day when he thought we had run out of beans... luckily I found a kilo bag in the cupboard...panic over!

Relaxing colouring

I find sitting to do a little colouring quite relaxing... unless it goes wrong of course... but this little Penny Black image from the Garden Critters set did the trick. I coloured him with Copics and enjoyed the process.

It's simply mounted on Nesties. Why don't they make the rectangles to fit as mounts? The length of the next largest size is always too long compared to the width. I have to run the mounts through the Cuttlebug twice in order to chop off the excess!

Anyway the sentiment is from Stampin' Up !

At Simon Says Stamp, the challenge is to use Kraft!

 

I used the sketch from another challenge which needless to say closed before I managed to get around to making the card!

Cards for a chap!

The challenge at "Less is More" this week is to make a card for a man.

I made this card, thinking that it could be used for someone who was ill or similar but didn't think it would be used so soon.

Sadly it is on its way to a neighbour of my BIL whose wife died yesterday.

The dies are from Impression Obsession, coloured with markers and glazed with Anita's 3D Gloss. I used Stampin' Up's French Foliage stamps to add a little interest to the background.

This is a little zebra from SU Zoo Babies. He was inked with white ink and then the stripes coloured with a black marker before stamping! The white stripes actually look a bit whiter IRL!

A sentiment will be added later.

I love Penny Black chickens! This one is "Totally Excited" and I just love it! I've never coloured one in brown before, but I quite like it this colour.

The chicken wire die is from Cheery Lyn, I think it's great, it even has the little twisty effect which really makes it look like chicken wire.. The sentiment is computer generated.

Craft Stamper Challenge 7

There has been a bi-monthly challenge on the Craft Stamper Blog for some time, but from now on you're going to have the chance to enter a NEW challenge each month!

Great stuff!
This time it's to use a small stamp several times to create a pattern or background or main focus of the card/tag...whatever.

Here's my CAS (as ever) contribution!

It's another take on a card I made last week, but this time I used my new ink from Stampin' Up called Pink Pirouette and it matches my Paper Mill pink cardstock perfectly.

The stamps are all from Stampin' Up and  the tiny banners were punched with an SU punch. The stitching is faux I'm afraid, drawn with a Gelly Roll Clear Star pen.

Why not give it a go this month!

Love

Some time ago I bought this roll of washi tape from a stationery store and today I found this cut file with a matching image. SO I put the two together and came up with this card.

I think that the love die is from Wplus 9, I used the die cut form the letter 'o' for the top of the image!

It's for Addicted to CAS love challenge!

I've been busy making 4 cards for a friend today. She has just called to collect them and now my craft room looks like a spot of tidying wouldn't go amiss!

One Layer Time

Yesterday was my grandson's third birthday and we drove to Bath to celebrate it with him. It was lovely to see him. We paid a visit to the Bath City Farm. The pigs seemed to be enjoying their mud... and there was plenty of it! Here he is having a chat with the goats!

The journey in both directions was a nightmare with howling wind and rain and not inconsiderable traffic queues! Still, all's well that ends well.

It's One Layer week at Less is More and I have a few cards here to share.

This is a card I made as one of my experiments for one which is in this month's Craft Stamper magazine. The published one is very slightly different with a different sentiment, but is very similar in overall effect.

It's done with emboss resist with a Stampendous Acapanthus stamp. If you have the mag, you could play 'Spot the difference'.

I had several goes at this one too!

I tried with different card stock to see the what the finished effect would be.

This one is on hammered cardstock... you can see where the texture of the card prevented  total coverage of the large flower stamp. Sometimes this is a more pleasing effect!

In fact the first one was a second attempt and there is more stamping on the back of the card, so I re-jigged it and made a new card from it and it ended like this... don't want to waste anything do I!

Obviously not one layer any longer!

I may have some more to add later.

Have a great weekend.

Love

Addicted to CAS has the theme of LOVE this time and here are a couple of Valentine cards.

I sell quite a few cards to choir member and so sometimes like to put little musical references on cards. Here I have a couple of Sizzix hearts with a little washi tape added. The die is from Paper Smooches.

I was really pleased how I managed to get the paper piercing evenly around the corners of this card!

Here is another Valentine card using Pink Petticoat DP and a Memory Box die to form the seam between the papers.

The sentiment is a Cuttlebug die-cut

Less is More is 3

It may be because I'm getting old, but the three years since Mandi and I started Less is More have completely flown.

She is terribly busy with her Wedding Business and is doing  really well! Long may it continue!

The colour challenge this week at "Less is More" is Rainbow.

As I have kinda been involved with stencilling this week I thought I would do some for this challenge. This used a mask for the three primary colours and a few stamps plus a bit of spritzing for the rest. I had hoped that all the colours of the rainbow would be evident with the overlapping colours but they are not too clear. I can see a bit of orange and a bit of green and a speck of purple, but I decided to add some purple splodges just because I could!

The sentiment was clear embossed before I started using any colours!

More stencilling here. I die cut the base butterfly from Memory Box from scrap card and used it as a mask to daub the rainbow colours inside. I then used the matching die to make a template for the filigree part.I popped this inside the the first aperture and sponged the black colour through it!

It was fun to do!

This last one used my new Simon Says Stamp heart banner die, together with a die cut sentiment from Tattered Lace. I coloured the inserts of the hearts and then twinkled them with Glamour Dust.

I hope everyone has a bit of fun with this one.