Thursday 10 March 2011

Pastels... and the long overdue return of some adorable little bears :)


Hello!! :)

How are you all on this very blustery day? The perma-gales aside our weather in Manchester doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing- raining one minute and bright the next- isn’t it a shame the beautiful, settled sunshine couldn’t last a bit longer?! It was lovely, though, and I’m sure it contributed to my extra creative energy last week!! :)

Well, after that very productive crafting week things seem to have slowed down a tad- I’ve still got plenty of last week’s ideas just bursting to get out of my head and into full-3d card form but so far it’s only these two cuties that have made it as I’ve been a little lower on energy this week... also a little slow on the brain-power front so apologies in advance for any parts of this post that don’t seem to come out looking much like English!!lol Fairly simple cards, though, so shouldn’t be too hard really... ;P

Now, one of main creative focuses for the week has quickly become the Less Is More challenge-  I already can’t imagine what I did before LIM and it’s only in its 5th week!?!- which this week is ‘Pastel Colours’... I know, from my very happy travels through the LIM Linky portal, that this has freaked some people out but I have to say that I found thinking in paler tones quite restful for my tired brain- simpler somehow and less chance of those (all too common for me!!) accidental colour clashes that spoil the whole thing when it comes to putting it together!!lol So, armed with the newest additions to my Promarker collection- some paler shades, as I didn’t seem to have many despite the boxful of pens!!- and some gorgeous stamps, I set to work :)


I’ve also been having a rather Forever Friends-obsessed week this week- I gave in and decided to get the new Easter sets I’ve been wanting since they launched in January (I couldn’t choose so a big thank you to my mum for giving me one as an early Easter pressie!! :) ) but I’d also realised I’d been neglecting the not insignificant collection of wooden ones I already had so I stamped several sheets worth of them out ready to colour- they are so lovely to colour that I know when I do one I’ll want to carry on and do another one... or ten!! :) Managed to stop myself eventually, though, and got these two on to cards!! :)



I used:

  •        Gorgeous Forever Friends wooden stamp from Papermania, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa
  •        Promarkers in Ivory, Oatmeal and Vanilla- the Vanilla is one of the new ones and I think I’ve finally hit on a combination I’m really happy with!! :)-  plus a teeny bit of Sunkissed Pink for cheeks and ears. Rose Pink & Blossom and Lilac & Lavender for the flowers and vases, and Satin under the bears’ feet :)
  •        Nestie Ovals and Scalloped Ovals with PMs to colour the Scalloped layers to match
  •        Greetings from Woodware Clear Magic’s ‘Salutations’ set with Versa Magic Spring Pansy ink
  •        For the first card only- Cuttlebug D’vine Swirls folder and Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender Distress Inks (the SS always looks just a bit too bright to me so the ML softened it a bit!!)
  •        And for the second card only- my Hougie Board and an embossing stylus for the frame. This is the first time I’ve been happy with the results from the Hougie and I think that was down to the stylus... I really don’t like the little green tool it comes with- I get bigger dents in my index finger than the cardstock with that thing!! o_O
I’m not sure which of these is my favourite- I love the swirly embossing on the first but there’s something about the white space (an unusually large amount of it for me) and the neat border on the second that really appeals, too- my mum’s vote definitely went to the swirly one but I’d love to know what you think?! :)



I did actually add some Stickles to the centres of the flowers after I took these but since I have to clear off my desk to make space to take pics at the mo’, I haven’t re-done them, I’m afraid!! ;D It does look pretty... though I kinda wished I hadn’t bothered when I knocked the card off my desk and on to the carpet- jam side down, ofc, just like toast!!lol Thankfully the glitter came off the carpet easily enough- getting the glue smudges (and carpet fluff :/ ) off the card took a bit longer!! :S

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Less Is More – Pastel Colours of course :) ; Wild Orchid – Anything Goes :) ; and also in the Forever Friends Monthly challenge – No Designer Papers as it’s been a while since I played over there and combining these two challenges was perfect :) 

So, I’ve waffled for far too long again (and if you didn’t read it all I can’t hold it against you!!lol) but thank you for popping by and for any comments this week or on last week’s cards- I’m really pleased that you liked the Shabby-style Butterflies as it was so different for me!! :) I hope you’ve all had a good week and hopefully I’ll be back before too long as I have a couple of cards waiting to be shared!! :)

hugs,

22 comments:

Little K Smith said...

Beautiful cards Rachel, adore these lil' bears! Love the swirly embossing too :)
Kelly.x

Wishcraft said...

Both fab cards Rachel. Super cute bear and love the swirly embossing... but I think my favourite is the 2nd one with the white space and frame :o) Lisa x

Lynne said...

Two fabulous cards. Love the bear and your embossing.
Lynne xxx

Donna said...

I really like both of these cute cards but the 2nd is my fave - gorgeous x

Vicky said...

They are gorgeous hun! perfect less is more cards and such cute images too ~ I love them sweetie :o)

hugs Vicky xx

Susan said...

Rachel, I think I love the card without the embossed background...both are very pretty!

Mandi said...

Hi Rachel
Two FAB cards, for me the blue one, the Just For you is the best, perfect CAS
Thank you for entering and all your kind comments
It means a lot to us
mandi
"Less is More£

Anonymous said...

fab cards, love them both

ali x

Fleur said...

Beautiful cards Rachel.
Hugz Fleur xXx

Diane said...

Beautiful cards both fab, but my fave is the one with the white space! the simple embossed border just sets off that cute image.
Diane x

coops said...

gorgeous cards rachel.i love the ff bears and beautiful pastel colours.i love the embossing on your 1st card :D

xx coops xx

Chrissie said...

Hi Rachel,
I'm so pleased you are enjoying our challenges. Two great cards here , but the best one for me is the blue one... love that white space!
Looking forward to seeing your next submission!
Chrissie
"Less is More"

Sarn said...

TOTALLY ADORABLE. These are super cute and your colour matching is sublime.
Hugs, Sandra

Rachael said...

Well Rach I think Im gonna have to go with the embossed pink one - I just LOVE the colours! Brilliant colouring of the FF bears too - I really need to practice mine!
Hope youre well
Rachael :) xxx

Sarn said...

Thank you for your kind words on my latest LOTV card xxx

If you CAN'T WAIT for your EZ mount to arrive, you can stick your LOTV stamp onto an acrylic block with Pritt stick type glue . . . it just washes off afterwards . . . just a thought hun!
Hugs, Sandra

Sande said...

Hi Rachel!

Both of your cards are very beautiful! Love your backgrounds!

Thanks for joining us at Forever Friends challenge! Hope to see you soon again!

Hugs, Sande

Carole of Brum said...

Rachel, you should call this post Less is More and Lesser is even more"! You are so brave with that second card, not having any background is just plain scary, look I'm all dizzy just thinking about it! lol. Seriously, I can't do LIM but I adore it when I see it done well. Love your 2 cards and nice to see some Forever Friends images again. Thanks for dropping by my blog, I keep meaning to pop in and visit yours especially after I happened upon your name on Docrafts too. I find it hard to keep track of everyone's blogs when energy is low. Know what you mean about brain fog too, oh the joys of M.E. lol. CoB

Lynne K said...

Absolutely adorable! Couldn't choose between them, they're both gorgeous. Lynne x

Esme said...

Beautiful cards Rachel - very elegant! I followed you over from the FF monthly challenge!

Esme x

Pink Dandelion said...

2 beautiful cards Rachel, if I had to choose I would go for the lilac one. Good luck in the challenges. Take Care Debs xx

Jacq said...

What absolutely gorgeous cards, and who can resist those little bears lol. Now thats a toughie choosing a fave but i'm drawn to the lilac one.
Hugs Jacqui xxxxx

Anonymous said...

hi rachel! thanks for taking the time to comment on my FF card and taking a peek through my blog; much appreciated! i love both of these, but if i had to pick one, i'd go with the embossed pink one just because i'm partial to the distressing. :) i browsed through your blog too and i love how you pay so much attention to detail on your cards. i especially like your cutwork and 3D cards - and you said you're impatient? i rarely do any cutting because of my hands, but i probably still wouldn't take the time to do it if i could. :)

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