Lucky Dip Week at Less is More

Whenever there is a five Saturday month, we have a Lucky Dip week with a Guest Designer at "Less is More". 

This is one of those weeks and we have Val from Canonbury Creations as our Guest this month, so do head over and join us!!

The challenge is Paper Piecing.

The stamps are from Wplus9 and the elephant was simply paper-pieced using a piece of gingham DP. The panel was die-cut with Simon Says Stamp stitched dies.
Sadly this is my only contribution this week as I have just returned from Disneyland Paris with my grandchildren, where we stayed at the Dream Castle Hotel. So here are a few pictures by way of excuse!

 

My little Prince and Princess

Enjoying a cuppa!

My daughter and grandchildren on a lovely day in Disneyland!

Here is granny, having just had a vanilla ice-cream (picture taken by Sebby Aged 4).  He thought I chose vanilla because it was the same colour as my hair!

Happy Little Stampers' Second Release Blog Hop

New stamps are out at

  Happy Little Stampers 

and there's a Blog Hop with lots of inspiration to celebrate this second release!

Prizes are there to be won, so do join in!

Here I used some of the fabulous new Fun Birthday Sentiments, stamped onto a square of card coloured by the Squished Flowers technique. 

I picked flowers and leaves from the garden and placed them between two pieces of fairly absorbent card, before running them through the Cuttlebug. The debris was scraped away and the card left to dry. Some really subtle and random effects can be achieved using this method.

This super butterfly is a firm favourite of mine and is from the last release from Happy Little Stampers...great news....there will be matching dies for these butterflies coming soon!

A different method was used to make the coloured background card here. I began by adding a little Old Silver, Inka Gold Paste to my craft mat then dropped some Peeled Paint Distress Ink onto it, I spritzed it with water and then took several smooch prints using absorbent card. A similar process was used to create the red card for the stitched berries, this time adding a little Festive Berries ink to the Inka Gold and spritzing again. The holly dies are from Poppy Stamps.
The bold sentiment is from the new HLS release Everyday Sentiments and they stamp simply beautifully straight from the packet... no having to prepare the stamps to make them accept the ink!

Here are the links to the blogs you will be hopping between, so enjoy the trip and remember to leave a comment at each stop on your journey for a chance to win a prize!
Happy Little Stampers 
Kylie Purtell 
Loll Thompson 
Joyce Mehrberg  
Gloria Lee 
Tanja Kabel  
Susan Bridgman 
LesLee
Gail Townsend 
Carol Steedman 
Melissa Lane 
Linda Walmsley 
Birgit Norton 
Kim Heggins 
Valentyna 
Sue T
Bonnie Klass 
Toni 
Chrissie (You are here... keep going, it's not long to the end of the hop!)
Anita 
Carol Dunham 
Ingrid Blackburn

Time for another sketch at Less is More

This week we have a sketch at "Less is More". It's really simple...just a partial panel and a sentiment!

Here I decorated the panel with a couple of  die-cut flowers, cut from a piece of card coloured using Inka Gold Pastes which were added to a craft mat and spritzed with water. Several prints were then taken from this medium using absorbent card. The panel was stamped with a Stamplorations script stamp.

The sentiment is from Art Impressions.

Here is another card utilizing the same batch of Inka Gold smooshed card. The flower is from a free die with a magazine and again the sentiment is from Art Impressions.

To complete the trio, here is a Memory Box flower added over a couple of strips of washi tape, with a simple stamped sentiment which complements the font on the tape.

It's surprising how many different things can be cut from a few pieces of coloured card!

Next week I'm off to Disneyland Paris with my daughter and our grandkids...fun to be had all round! I shall be coming home for a rest!

Simply sparkly Christmas

Here is a card I made a little while ago which fits perfectly with the challenge at Addicted to CAS as it's entitled Sparkle!

This card certainly does that x 2... the glitter and the sentiment!

Dies from Simon Says Stamp and Wplus9

My friend whom I have been staying with this week following her surgery, is doing really well and I'm delighted to see her recovering so well. Her operation was performed by a surgeon using a robotic machine which is really precise and less invasive than regular methods, maybe that had something to do with her excellent recovery!

Cards for Chaps

The Theme of the challenge at Less is More this week is Masculine!  

So I guess it could be for a chap, or an image of a chap...whatever link one's mind can conjure up!

Here are a few of mine!

This is a really simple one. I downloaded the image from the internet and added the sentiment, then stamped with a variety of splatty stamps in a variety of colours. I think I used Paper Artsy and Stamplorations!

Job done.

This is another CASE of Anita's fab card. I think her design is just ace! We are so lucky to have her on the DT at "Less is More" The 'happy' is Wplus 9 and the birthday from PTI.

I made this at the same time as one I blogged yesterday, but with the wording reversed...ie the happy is computer generated and the birthday die cut! I'm not sure which way around I prefer it.

This image, which I coloured some time ago, has been sculling around my craft room for ages so I thought it was about time it was utilised. It's from LOTV with a Penny Black die-cut sentiment!

I shall be going to stay with a friend from Sunday for a few days. She is a widow who lives alone and has just undergone surgery for bowel cancer, so she will be having me as a little friend and helper from when she comes out of hospital until she feels ready to cope on her own! She has done really well and has a really positive attitude which I'm sure will aid her recovery! My husband is happy to cater for himself whilst I'm away, bless him!

Simply words

Here is a simple card following the sketch from CASe this Sketch this time. I made the backdrop on the computer and simply layered the 'happy' word with three die cuts and superimposed it on the birthday sentiments.

The colours are quite jolly and would do for a male or female!

Still time for Paper Piecing

There's still time to join in the Paper piecing Challenge over at Happy Little Stampers

Here I used a  Woodware set which I have had for quite some time, which is perfect for paper piecing! I combined it with the Patchwork of papers from Cuddly Buddly (as was) now called Buddly Crafts. There are several papers in each set which of course are perfectly colour co-ordinated. 

This challenge is sponsored by

Winner will receive this stamp set

It's a great prize for someone, so do join in and get piecing!

Great reunion!

I had a lovely time at my old School Reunion at the weekend.  It was a little difficult to recall some of the names of old pupils, but recognition mostly dawned for the majority of them, with a little reminder now and again! This year all the girls who started Brownhills High School for Girls in Tunstall in 1956 reached their 70th birthdays this year, so I guess we were entitled to forget a few names.

I found my old Prefect's badge in my jewellery box and decided to take it with me!

I've always liked it; I don't know what metal it is made from but it looks rather like pewter.

When we got to the hotel, one of our number had made a special 70th birthday cake for everyone and her daughter had decorated it brilliantly in our school colours! 

Quite something huh!

It tasted good too!

My school which is in the photo in the top corner has now been demolished!

Not that the girls made me think of witches you understand, but this is what I made when I got home. It's for the challenge at Addicted to Stamps with this picture inspiration

I simply took the colours for the stripes in the stockings. It's a Bugaboo image with a die cut sentiment and a little Glossy accents added to the shoes.

It's also for AAA Cards Clean and Simple Halloween!

Weekend again!

This weekend we're heading north as there is a reunion from my grammar school taking place in Newcastle-under-Lyme this evening. It's the year that all the girls who began at Brownhills High School for Girls, Tunstall, in 1956 will have reached their 70th year! SO a whole bunch of old girls will be chewing the fat and reminiscing this evening! Should be fun!

My cards today are for the Less is More one layer Autumn challenge.

Both are really simple and I used one of the new colours of Distress ink, Fossilized Amber, which was a perfect Autumn shade. It's simply a masked panel, stamped with Stamplorations leaves and Paper Artsy splats, with hero Arts sentiment.

This one is in very similar vein.

Stampin Up's French Foliage being the stamp set this time.

Yesterday I had a real senior moment! I decided that after doing lots of die cutting for some wedding stationery which is just approaching completion, my craft room floor would benefit from the services of my Dyson. To cut a long story short, it wasn't picking up the bits so I decided to try to unblock it!  Having managed to get lots of it apart I could see all the bits of card which were the source of the problem so removing a piece of tubing and with the services of a knitting needle managed to clear the blockage!

Next came about an hour or more looking for a piece of the tubing which was curiously missing!  Both my husband and I went through just about everything but this piece was nowhere to be found. (I found a die I had lost which was great). SO I decided to look on the Dyson website and just order a new part. Having identified what I thought was the missing piece I rang the helpline and tried to explain to the operator what had happened and to ensure I had identified the piece correctly. During the course of this hilarious conversation, I realised that in fact the piece was not missing at all, but being made from a spring-like piece of tubing had jumped down into the space and was there all the time...still attached in fact, (I hadn't actually completely removed it as I thought I had, but had just removed it from its clip).

Long story short again... My floor is now clean!

Well, I am seventy!

Silly

I have to admit that when I saw the code word at CASology I was really tickled by it... it's the sort of thing that appeals to me enormously!

Here is a silly card, I'm not sure where I got the sentiment from but it was computer generated!

The wonderful duck is from Penny Black and is a firm favourite of mine. What a great expression on his/her face! It's simply coloured with a few Mirage pens, die cut and popped onto a few dimensional pads.

Still playing with Inka Gold

Here is a other card sontinuing my experiments with Inka Gold, For this I cut a butterfly from chipboard with a Mover and Shapers die and then coloured it with the Inka Gold, in Mint green and Graphite, over-stamping it with an Artemio script stamp. The backdrop was made just by applying the paste to a craft sheet and spritzing with water and taking a print from it. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

It's for the challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More CAS challenge.

Here is a Day for Daisies chicken with a paper pieced pinnie and gentle shading achieved with Mirage pens. The sentiment is from Cuddly Buddly (very old stamp... it was my very first design team I ever joined)

This is for the challenge at CAS on Sunday Polka dots!

Cased!

The challenge at AAA Cards this time is entitled Word Play.

My card is for a friend which I CASed from my Teamie Anita here.

I thought her card was simply fabulous and had to try out something similar!

I simply added my friend's name and a little butterfly! In fact I have made a whole bunch of these cards, stamping different words with the happy die-cut and other words altogether! It worked really well for a Christmas card and a thank you too!

SO a big Thank you Anita!

With Sympathy

Just us Girls this week has the challenge to make a Sympathy card... these are no-one's favourites because of the reason behind them, but I have just made this as the mother of one of my husband's childhood friends has just died. In fact for someone of this age, the occasion is probably more one of celebrating a long life, but there is sadness also.

The background was made with Amethyst and Old Silver  Inka Gold paste placed onto a craft mat, spritzed with water and a print taken from it using absorbent card. It can be buffed to a beautiful sheen when dry. The die cuts are Memory Box and the sentiment is from a Crafter's Companion die.

Jewel Colours

I recently decided it was time to try some Inka Gold pastes and so here are a few cards made by using them combined with Distress Inks.

The challenge at "Less is More" this week is to use Jewel colours and as one colour is called Amethyst and another Aquamarine I thought it a good idea to use these for the challenge!

Here I used the Aquamarine and a little Old Silver Inka Gold pastes, simply used from a craft mat after being spritzed with water and a print taken.

This one uses the Amethyst and Old Silver; they have a lovely sheen if buffed with a paper towel when dry.

For this I added some Festive Berries Distress Ink mixed with the Old Silver on a craft mat and after spritzing with water, took a print. When dry, I stamped the Penny Black poppy image with dye ink and then paper pieced the flower onto the stem. The octagon die cut was chopped up to give a patchwork effect and the pieces mounted onto dimensional pads. The LOTV sentiment was attached with twine and an eyelet.

Why not join us!

Happy Little Stampers - Paper Piecing

The CAS challenge at Happy Little Stampers this time is 

Paper Piecing

 I used Mama Elephant stamps and Pink Petticoat papers for this little card.

It is simplicity itself, just stamped, pieced and mounted onto a Spellbinder's square which is in turn on an MFT pierced die-cut.

The strip of dots and the hearts were stamped with WOW images.

It's simplicity itself.

This challenge is sponsored by

Winner will receive this stamp set

We'd love you to join in the fun!