One of those days

Have you ever had one of those days when everything you try just misses the mark somehow?

It's kind of alright, but not as dramatic or exciting or pleasing as one would hope; today was one of those days and this is about as good as the idea for this card got!

I used the colours from Colour Me.

I inked the four main colours through a stencil with sponge daubers, using the nearest colours in Distress Ink, namely Fired Brick, Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers.

The sentiment is from Mama Elephant and the panels were cut with Simon Says Stamp stitched rectangles. What a wonderful buy they were! The little Memory Box butterfly was twinkled with Glamour Dust and a few little pearls added.
Here's my second not quite there card!

Die cuts from Joanna Sheen (cot and mobile) Paper Smooches (Welcome) and SSS (Stitched rectangle)
I thought the cot was really cute and so this one is for Addicted to CAS CUTE

I may be back with another for this challenge!

Now back to the drawing board!

Take three!

At "Less is More" the recipe this week is to 'take three'..... previous challenges that is... and combine them into one creation.

Here is a favourite Art Impression stamp... just love chickens as most of you know... and I've got a new sentiment for these girls this time. It reads, 

'I'm not bossy, I just know what you should be doing!'

It makes me smile anyway!

The combined challenges are Week #11 Frame it, Week #121 Humour and Week  #40 Red and Orange.

Details for this one are on the LIM blog. He's from Art Impressions too and also makes me smile!

The challenges are Week #7 Masculine, Week #121 Humour and Week #65 ( Sketch 5)

This last one combines Sketch #4 , Colour Week #44 Green, Week #15  Embossing.

We made the stipulation that cards do not necessarily have to be one layer for this particular challenge.

Have a great weekend.

Another for Darnell!

Quite some time ago I bought a couple of sets of Alpha dies made by Quickutz which were in a special promotion package and were being sold off for £15. I couldn't resist the bargain and so bought them. In fact they have hardly seen the light of day and the larger of the two sets hasn't been used at all, probably because they are so large. However, when I decided to make this card for a friend of mine who is ALWAYS posting on Facebook, the letter f was perfect for the job!

In fact the f has a curl on the bottom but I just cut that off. The rounded square is cut with a Spellbinder's die and the f has been inlaid into it.

The sentiment is computer generated in a colour to match the square.

SO here's another one for your NBUS Challenge Darnell and thanks again!

New Stamps

My bi-monthly club shipment from Stamplorations arrived today, I just had to have a play with this fabulous shoe.

I stamped it in Ranger Black Tie dye ink and then masked it to stamp the second shoe behind it.

The sentiment is from the same set, mounted on a Spellbinders fishtail tag, lengthened a little to fit. The tiny flower is from an old Cuttlebug alpha die and the stitched dies are from Simon Says Stamp.

I'm not sure of the make of the trellis die.

I used the sketch from Mojo Monday and and the theme from the cue word Style at CASology

                                                        

I stamped one pair of shoes and die cut it only to drop it on the floor and run over it with my whizzy chair, leaving track lines all across it, so I had to start again!

So what's new I hear you say...tell me others do this kind of thing too!

Blue Bird?

The indomitable Darnell has a new NBUS challenge for us! 

Her posts always bring a smile to my face, her energy is unlimited and her commenting legendary.

This old guy was bought when I went to the craft show on Saturday. I love the humour of Art Impression stamps and this, with its sentiment, is so incongruous, that I just had to get it!

I love the expression on his face!

The background was embossed with a fab Sheena Douglass EF which I  also picked up on Saturday as one of 12 items I bought for £10. These included some dimensional pads (also used in this card) some magnetic sheets, a pack of acetate and a couple of embossing folders... I was well pleased.

Well Darnell, I hope this guy brings a smile to your face too!

Monday afternoon.

I looked at the inspiration card at Muse Challenges and this Indigo Blu stamp came to my mind. I embossed it with copper EP but it doesn't look too coppery in this picture. I'm having to take pics with my phone as my camera is playing silly kids. 

I over stamped with SU French Foliage splats and embossed in black adding a few home made squuins and some tiny pearls. The sentiment is from Rubber Necker stamps. I did try to add a little washi tape but couldn't find anywhere that improved the look of the card, so I left well alone! 

Here is the inspiration card.

This next one uses a few stamps from SU's  Painted Petals set and a sentiment from Hero Arts.

I used the colours from Colours and Sketches

and based my layout on the sketch at Retro Sketches

I inked the flower head  stamp with yellow ink and then rolled a red ink pad across the tips of the petals. I just love these stitched dies from Simon Says Stamp.

Lovely time

I had a lovely time yesterday, I went with Anne to the Hobbycraft show at the NEC where we met up with Sarah... all the current "Less is More" DT together for the first time!

It was great fun.

Today I've been having a bit of a play with some of the things I bought, although I wasn't exactly overwhelmed by the show this time.

In fact I didn't use any of my new stash to make this card which uses the sketch from 

CASe this Sketch and the colours from Colour Me and another for CASology

                      

The backing die-cuts for the flowers and the sentiment are from dies from Sizzix and the flowers are from Simon Says Stamp.

I stamped and embossed them in white, then coloured with Distress Inks in Scattered Straw and Frayed burlap, adding lots of water, die-cutting them when dry. I really like this colour combination.

Less is More Theme

At "Less is More" this week the challenge is to make a CASE of one of the DT cards!

Here's mine!

I've liked this sentiment for a while so when I saw it on sale recently I was quick to buy it. It's from Penny Black and I feel it is so true. How precious those moments are.

The flowers are from Stampin' Up. The panels, cut with a Sizzix Framelit square and reduced in size somewhat, are raised on dimensional pads.

Today I shall be at the NEC craft show with Anne and hopefully we'll catch up with Sarah too!

Quite an occasion! All the LIM DT together!

I shall be carrying my Less is More tote bag... if you're there and you spot it come and say Hi!

JUGs

As often seems to happen these days, I woke at silly o'clock and saw that Just Us Girls has a new challenge which I really like the look of... black and white + 1

Probably because of my love of CAS, a limited colour palette suits me and is one I tend to favour.

It's also for Time Out
Black & White plus a Splash of one colour!

This card has a horizontal band from a Stampin' UP wheel, a sentiment from Clearly Besotted, a butterfly from a Memory Box die and a couple of hexagons cut with Sizzix dies. I can't remember the make of the foliage but I will find out!
It's a layout I also favour quite often and was the very first sketch ever used at "Less is More".

I'm off to the NEC soon, what fun!
Look at this!

This is a card from Petra Swart. I must have seen this card some time ago and thought it a great idea and now weeks later, remembered the idea of using hexagons.
This is fabulous Petra, I must apologise for not acknowledging my subconscious inspiration! 

Love these flowers

Today has been one of those days when I intended much but achieved little!

I did finally manage a card for the Color Throwdown challenge, having 'misplaced' the die-cut flowers for quite some time... it's the story of my life... things just disappear!

I stamped the flowers onto vellum and embossed in white, then coloured from the back with alcohol markers,

The dry embossing is from Crafters Companion  and the sentiment from SSS and Tattered Lace. I mounted each flower onto another paper die-cut so that the navy from the mounting sheet didn't show through the flowers.

It's also for Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes

One thing we did succeed in doing was to book a cruise for next year... so that was exciting!

Lovely sunshine

I really must apologise for this dreadful picture, I will do another when I have the chance but I took this quickly with my phone this morning before driving down to my son's to wait for the delivery of a couple of chairs for him and his wife. Being doctors their time is rather precious, so I'm happy to do this for them!

It's a water-coloured flower which I had stamped with Antique Linen DI and then coloured with other distress inks.

It's over-stamped with Gorgeous Grunge splats in a couple of shades.

The sentiment is die-cut using the same card as the base with a Poppy Stamps die.

It's for CASology Blossom

and also Seize the Birthday focus on sentiment

You may wonder why this post has the heading lovely sunshine... in fact I'm looking out at my son's garden which is bathed in beautiful sunshine at the moment even though it is a little chilly!

Flamingo

I saw this set of stamps some time ago and really loved this flamingo. I finally managed to source a set and I really don't think it needs a lot more to make a pretty CAS card. It's from Reverse Confetti and has matching dies. I used Ranger dye ink to stamp and it was a great combination of stamp and ink!

AAA Cards has the challenge Bare Naked, so I think this fits quite well!

More green

Having made a green card the other day for Colour me challenge, another challenge popped up also with the cue word green so here is another card for that.

I used an old SU set, stamped in Antique linen and water-coloured with Distress inks. I think my technique is a little rusty!

It's accompanied by a sentiment from Hero Arts and mounted on one of two raised panels. Simples!

Addicted to CAS has this stimulus!
ALSO for

Paper Players  CAS - Floral

Here is a panel made with a few shades of Aqua Tints behind a Memory Box die cut which I in turn made a frame for with a Lil Inker Stitched rectangle. The flower is from a Creative Time die and the tag from Lili of the Valley!

It loosely follows the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches

Have a great Mothering Sunday!

One Layer Time at Less is More

Couldn't resist this little Penny Black Easter bunny!

He's coloured with watercolour pencils, blended with a water brush! The sentiment is also Penny Black.

I am having to take pictures with my phone at the moment as my camera has gone into a decline and is refusing to give up the SD card. When I attach the cable to the camera, the only images available are the ones saved to the camera's memory, not the SD card's. Something is very wrong!

Here is one of the little elephants from the Unforgettable set from Wplus9. He is also coloured with watercolour pencils.

This last one is a cow from Artemio and the bee and grass from Avery Elle. The sentiment is computer generated.

Water colour pencils once more!

This last card is for a few challenges.

The frames were cut with SSS stitched rectangles, lengthened slightly to fit a British card base, the stamps are from SU Kinda Eclectic and Gorgeous Grunge, stamped with DIs  in Mowed  Lawn, Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord and Antique Linen. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, embossed in WOW Pale Gold EP and die-cut with a SSS Stitched oval.

Case this Sketch

Color Throwdown

...and Just us Girls - Splatters

We have our grandchildren here for the weekend for Mother's Day... we should have fun!

Another butterfly!

I seem to have a bit of a thing bout butterflies at the moment and here's another!

This follows the sketch from Colours and Sketches this time

I used a Sizzix border folder for the horizontal embossed panel and some pieces of card from my scraps drawer with the remains of some squished flower pressing.

I shortened the Dienamics pierced, fish tail pennants slightly and to begin with had the base of the butterfly in the coloured card and the top white, but decided that it looked better the other way round.

Considering the fact that I mis-cut the smaller pennant the first time when shortening it, then decided to do the butterflies the other way round, I was lucky to have just enough card left to cut out the Sizzix love sentiment.

I was pleased in the end!

Colour Me Green

Yesterday was a bit of a write off as far as doing anything I had intended was concerned, as we woke to find we had no power.

I called the Electricity people who investigated and discovered that there were just 7 houses in our road without power and the the fault was with a cable under the pavement just outside our house. By 9.30 am a crew arrived who began digging so we decided to go out for the day and keep well out of their way.

We returned to find a very large hole across the edge of our driveway.... BUT the power was back on!

This morning there have been two more different crews here, the first to collect the spoil and fill in the hole and the second to put down the tarmac.

Crew 1

Crew 2

This second crew are just finishing the surface of the pavement as I type.

All would be well you might think, except once the power was back on we realised that the central heating wasn't working, so today I'm awaiting the arrival of a gas service engineer to sort that!

There's also an error light on one of the freezers, but the food all seems to be fine!

Enough of that and on to this card which is Colour Me

I cut the stencil on my Silhouette and it was quite a job to get all the bits of acetate off the carry mat afterwards. But I thinking making stencils in this way is great.

The inks are Mowed Lawn and Bundled Sage and the panel was cut with a SSS stitched rectangle. The butterflies are from Memory Box and the sentiment from Clearly Besotted.