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 5^th 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,