A second attempt

Here is a short video to show how you can make a length of straight border fit around a circular or oval shape.

Extending Dies

My son bought me a new web-cam for Christmas so that I could take some videos of various craft projects and tutorials.

All I need to do now is to get my head around how to use it!

Here is a practice piece!

I hope it will be useful to someone!

I will get better hopefully!

Thanks

This is one of a set of cards I'm making for a friend's Christmas present. She will be moving in the new year (I have two friends moving on the same day) and I thought she may like a few cards for when she moves.

I took the sketch from CAS(E) this sketch!

Th scallop and stitched edge and stars are from Simon Says Stamp, the sentiment from Cuttlebug and the embossing is from a freebie border folder.

I couldn't resist adding a few of the popped out stars around the sentiment!

Snow

I'm not sure if snow is forecast for us here in the UK this Christmas, but the thought is always more pleasant than dealing with the effects of it. However, the sheer beauty is almost unsurpassed.

Here is a card made using a Memory Box stencil and some daubed ink. (SU Soft Sky and Bashful Blue) The additional snowflakes are from Sizzix dies. I'm afraid I can't recall the make of the sentiment.

It's for CASology's SNOW challenge

I'm back home and my granddaughter is much more her old self again... thankfully.

Family at Christmastime

The challenge at Less is More for the next two weeks is entitled family.

I'm rather busy with mine at the moment as I'm in Bath looking after a poorly granddaughter. I think that the excitement of school Christmas preparations and festivities were a bit much for her. Let's hope she'll be back in fine form by the time the chap in the red suit arrives.

 Here are my cards.

Here I used a few of my new Simon Says Stamp stitched dies to make a little house. I used 2 sizes of squares and then re-cut the larger one to make the triangle for the roof. The mount panel was shortened slightly and the sentiment one was elongated a little to accommodate the word welcome .

I love the burlap, I made another card with the white and burlap in reverse.

I'm adding this one to the challenge at Addicted to CAS, whose challenge is also FAMILY.

I don't know who decides on their challenges but several times the subject matter of their challenges has been really similar to ours at Less is More... there must be some empathy or something going on... ours are decided months in advance!

Here's another in similar style using a Cuttlebug die. The sentiment was computer generated in KG When Oceans Rise font. 

I'm not sure if these little birds are siblings, but there's a definite family resemblance. They are from Technique Tuesday.

More of the family rolled up!

I saw this sentiment on the internet and thought it was so true...

There's not too much white space on this one, but I rather wanted to see some of the wood backdrop. If I'd had a larger card base there wouldn't have been an issue!

Here's a Penny Black image... I love all the ducks and chickens they have available, they have such great expression on their faces.

The sentiment is from a Cuttlebug die.

One Layer Week at "Less is More"

The theme for one layer week at "Less is More" is SNOW!

I have had such a busy time this week, with lots of engagements singing carols... three times at Manor Farm for their Nativity in the farmyard, one rehearsal on the Isle of Wight plus our normal choir rehearsal for our Christmas concert this evening. Phew!

Here is an emboss resist , with various snowflakes (mainly freebies), stamped in Versamark and clear embossed. The ink was applied with sponge daubers in Bashful Blue and Soft Sky SU ink. A few extra snowflakes were stamped on top of the ink and embossed in silver.

The sentiment is from Butterfly Kisses.

Here are a couple of digi images from Dearie Dolls. They are coloured with Mirage Pens and twinkled with Glamour Dust. I think they're fun!

For this last one I used a Memory Box stencil with Pearlescent White Embossing Paste, again sprinkled with Glamour Dust whilst still wet. In order to get the sentiment to match I did use a die from Clearly Besotted. To be truly one layer I should probably have used the negative of the die cut as a stencil too, but sticking all the loopy bits in was a little daunting and as I've had a busy week, I'm afraid I chickened out! It is also twinkled with Glamour Dust!

Case this sketch #102

Here is the sketch from  Case this Sketch this time where the much talented Hannelie has recently joined the design team.

As you can see this is a fairly close take on the sketch but one that I was messing about with for ages... things like inky fingermarks and things like wonky stamping all adding to the frustration. Anyway here it is. 

I may send it to my son and daughter-in-law as they were both successful in interviews last week for additional positions to complement their medical workload. I'm so very proud of them both.

Take it Make it

It's time for another Take it Make It challenge at the Craft Stamper Magazine Blog.This time the theme is to stamp or emboss in white!

Her I used a Dreamweaver Stencil and Pearlescent White Embossing Paste, which was then sprinkled liberally with Glamour Dust!

The dry embossing is from a  Couture Creations folder and the sentiment from Clearly Besotted.

Why not join in!

I'm off to sing carols with a group of friends in the Victorian Farm in Upper Hamble Country Park.  It's where the Wartime Farm was filmed. 

We've had this engagement for over 20 years and we always enjoy it...even though it's often VERY cold!

Elongating die-cuts

I have been asked the question today about the stitched dies I used to cut the panels for my snowman card in the previous post.

I used the Lil Inkers dies and I have both the large and small sets.

As these are American dies and the sizes used across the pond are a little different from those used in the UK, I do a little bit of jiggery pokery in order to make them fit UK measurements.

For this card I used the largest die from the Lil' Inkers Small set.

Here you can see it against my image.

You may notice that the die-cut is longer than the die!

This is how I achieve this.

• Begin by arranging the die around one end of the image
• Add the top plate and wind the die through the machine, STOPPING before you get right to the end of the die

• Winding in the reverse direction, run the card back out of the machine

• Now remove the die and arrange it around the other end of the image, ensuring that the stitches match with the previously cut ones. (I move the die and card together  from side to side so I can feel if the notches on the die are aligned in with the previous cuts) .
• When I'm happy that I have the stitches engaged with the previous cut and that the length is what I need, I run the card through the machine once more...again STOPPING before I reach the end of the die.

So that's how you make a die-cut, longer than the die that cuts it!

If you have any questions, DO email me, if you leave a comment requiring a response, answers don't always get back to you!

LIM Colour Challenge!

It's time for another colour challenge at
"Less is More".

This time we have this fabulous Design Seeds set of shades

Here are the cards I came up with.

I spotted this image yesterday at Tiddlyinks and decided that I needed it. What a cute snowman!

He's dusted liberally with Glamour Dust and coloured with Mirage pens.

Another digi here, this time from Bugaboo. Love these festive shoes... if only I could wear heels like this!

The sentiment is computer generated.

This is a favourite stamp of mine from The Stamp Gallery. I stamped the birds then painted each one with a little Elmers Rubber Cement, as a mask. I then added the colours for the sea and sky using a torn piece of Post It note as a mask and then overstamped with a couple of SU Gorgeous Grunge stamps, one inked and the other embossed with white EP. I removed the cement with an eraser when I had finished. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches.

Only three this week... I've been occupied with cleaning and finishing our conservatory which has just had the top part replaced... a somewhat protracted process as the roof didn't fit the first time! We have had a tarpaulin over it for a couple of weeks whilst new glass was made! Hopefully all is well now... just a few remedial things to be sorted and we'll be there!

I also put up our Christmas tree, for its 38th year! It's doing really well!

Have a good week everyone!

Time Out

At the recent NEC craft show, I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Wanford and we had quite a chat. I love her style of card making and was delighted to see that she is the Guest at Time Out with a fabulous inspiration card for us to case.

Here it is!

Aimes' style is similar to my own, we both love clean and simple and my card is a fairly obvious take on hers although I restricted my colour choice to this delicate shade of blue. I found this scrap of DP which I had printed from goodness knows where and thought that the colour was perfect for this card.

I used Lil Inkers stitched rectangles to cut the panel, but had to elongate the die-cut slightly to fit my card base, which is half a sheet of A4, cut lengthwise

The hearts are from Simon Says Stamp, the cloud and the snowflakes are from Lawn Fawn. The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted.

I'm quite pleased with the fresh look of this one!

Muse

The challenge at Muse this time is to take inspiration from this wonderful card by my blogging buddy Vicki Dutcher. Isn't it odd how we seem to 'know' people whom we have never met merely by the interaction on the internet... what a wonderful thing!

I took inspiration from the kraft and the holly sprig.

For the kraft I used a scrap of burlap and used the holly and sentiment dies from Penny Black. I know holly berries should be red, but I didn't have anything of the right colour and dimension... I tried colouring some pearls... very unsatisfactorily...hence the white ones!

We have been having the upper part of our conservatory replaced... it's a bit of a long story, but hopefully we should have a roof which fits by the end of the day. Fingers crossed!

Pink Christmas

Festive Friday has this picture inspiration

I think it's such a pretty scene.

My card  has a little Pink Petticoat paper in the recess, with part of a Memory Box landscape die inset. The embellishment is from WPlus9. I hesitate to call it a snowflake as it has the wrong number of points!

The sentiment is from clearly Besotted.

Three plus 1 challenges!

A card for three challenges!

The Paper Players have a game of Tic Tac Toe.. I chose top left to bottom right diagonal!

Clean and Simple as ever has a sketch!

 AAA Cards has the theme of Blue Christmas!

Sparkles Christmas Challenges
It's a blue, blue Christmas

My card has embossing from Couture Creations - Candy Stripe, a glittered  tree from Simon Says Stamp and a sentiment from Clearly Besotted! I'm not really sure what make the randomly scalloped border die is, I can't find the packet!

The tree was cut 4 times and each die-cut layered to give greater dimension.

Simples!