Saturday 3 February 2018

It's that time of year!


It seems almost a lifetime ago that Mandi and I had the idea to start a Clean and Simple Challenge in Blogland. It is in fact 7 years ago that we began "Less is More" and for the past year or so Sarah and her group and like minded buddies have continued the tradition.
Life somehow got in the way for me. We have been taking lots of vacations (we've just returned form a cruise to the Caribbean) and calls upon us as grandparents, helping out our busy offspring (our son is a GP and our daughter is HR Director at Ovo Energy) with the grandchildren has been both our pleasure and delight. However it's all a call on our time, so card making and blogging have taken somewhat of a backseat.
The other increasing problem for me has been cataracts and I will be having surgery on February 27th to rectify this.
Anyway it's my pleasure to join in with this week's challenge at LIM which has the theme - MUSIC.
The first card uses a little washi tape and a few simple die cuts. The swirl is from Sizzix, the butterflies are Penny Black and the sentiment, Tattered Lace and I'm not sure of the make of the foliage.
For this second one I used clear heat embossing of some IO manuscript for the background of the top section, die cut with stitched dies from Simon Says Stamp and Creative Dies from Craft Stash.
I get muddled with which butterflies in my collection come from which manufacturer and this is one that I am unsure of.
The sentiment was from a freebie set from Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine.
It's lovely to join in at Less is More once again and  I must congratulate Sarah, Anita and all the girls on their continued great work!
It's nice to be back even if only for a brief visit!

14 comments:

  1. It's great to have you guest designing for the birthday challenge Chrissie and always a delight to see your CAS-perfect examples. I was sure this theme would be right up your street and you've showcased your brilliance here. Thanks for starting this little challenge blog all those years ago and without you we wouldn't be celebrating today so big shout out to you too! Yeah! All the best with the surgery and thanks for sharing the LIM 7th birthday with us. x

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  2. FABULOUS makes today, Chrissie, glad to hear you enjoyed your recent cruise too.

    Wishing you all the very best with your upcoming cataract surgery - something you have in common with Darnell

    SEVEN YEARS? Hard to believe isn't it? HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY LIM!

    Kathyk

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  3. Both these cards are absolutely gorgeous! Fabulous designs. My brother has recently had his cataracts both done and he raves about it! In a good way of course! I am sure yours will be just as successful! xxx

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  4. Good to hear from you and to see more of your beautiful cards! Hope all goes well with your surgery, Jo x

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  5. We may be celebrating today the 7 years of Less is More but it would not be possible without you because it is partly your baby! So a big thank you for having created this challenge that allowed me to discover the world of the CAS cards and especially to know this incredible experience by being one of the members of this wonderful team !
    Your cards are always delicate, simple and very clean as we like them!
    Wish you all the best for you eye surgery and thank you so much for being our wonderful Guest Designer for this challenge.

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  6. So good to have you back, Chrissy. Sounds like you are keeping very busy with your family and a bit of traveling too:-) I LOVE your CAS Freestyle music designs. Beautiful textures and fun music elements. TFS Hugs...P.S. Good luck with your cataract surgery. That will brighten up your life:-) Hugs..

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  7. So good to see you back at LIM, Chrissie! Your cards are absolutely beautiful, so stylish and elegant with the neutral palettes and then the pops of red as a highlight... gorgeous <3 The cruise sounds amazing. Ever so slightly jealous here! Good luck for the cataracts surgery later this month. I hope it's straightforward and a really fast recovery x

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  8. Well, we've missed your elegant and classy cards Chrissie! These two are such beauties and have your trademark style written all over them. Sorry to hear about the cataracts and I wish you a very successful op later this month. You just carry on enjoying all that globe-trotting and precious time with your grandchildren. Thanks for coming back and GD this month. Hugs xx

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  9. Nice to have you back...we miss having you and miss your lovely cards!

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  10. Glad you are home safe from the cruise and how wonderful to have you back in Blogland for the birthday party, Chrissie! I miss you at LIM, but you will never be forgotten by all your mates and how you started this amazing challenge with Mandi! Both your cards are so you, clean and crisp and gorgeous!

    Good luck with your cataract surgery! I just had mine done; one eye on the 16 Jan and then the other one on the 23rd. The drops are a pain, so make a chart, lol, and they go on for weeks. It's a process (depending on the lens you pick) and things are a bit blurry until you can get new glasses to match your new eyeballs, but it will all be worth it! It is just like everyone says: the clarity and colors afterwards are unbelievable and I don't even have my new specs yet!! Lots of love and hugs, Darnell

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  11. Welcome back to LIM, Chrissie. Your card is lovely and elegant. Thank you for GD for us and good luck with your surgery.

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  12. So glad to have you with us for the birthday of your wonderful creation. Two fabulous cards, loving the black, white and pop of red theme on each of these. I remember that Less is More was the very first challenge I ever entered back in January 2013, and two years later you invited me to join your little team! Loved it then and still love it now, thanks so much. Big hugs and good luck with the surgery xx

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  13. Beautiful cards!
    Good luck with your surgery.

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  14. Welcome back, Chrissie! I'm one of the "newbies" in the LIM DT and I'm most grateful you started this challenge blog -it was one of the first challenges I ever played along and I'm super happy to be in the DT group nowadays! Love the collage CAS look of your card, very artsy yet clean! Best of luck with your surgery.

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Thank you so much for popping by, I appreciate your comments!
Thanks,
Chrissie