Less Is More than one!! :)

Hey everyone!! :)

Well, you probably guessed this but I’m back to show you what I’ve come up with for this week’s Less Is More challenge... and I’ve even managed to make more than one card so I’m a happy bunny!! :) I know many of you have made many more than this as this week’s sketch is both inspiring and very easily adaptable to pretty much anything you want to do but I’ve had to stop myself at two- despite so many more ideas screaming to be let out of my head- as I still have to get my mum’s Mother’s Day card made yet!! That was what I was supposed to be doing when I sat down yesterday but I seem to have a total mental block on it for some reason and I ended up distracted by the ideas for these cards as I knew exactly what I wanted to for the first at least, and that led into the second!!lol

So, here they are:

 They are both DL as per the sketch and both use fairly muted colours, but I think they come out looking very different- somehow the sketch being so simple seems to mean more room to think creatively rather than being too distracted by having to get all the bits in the right places/ the right sizes :)

The first was very simple, especially as I had the flowers (Tim Holt Tattered Florals die- gorgeous!! :) ) I used already on my desk leftover from another card I made last week (bit of a cheeky teaser there- please pop back on Monday to see my first ever DT project!! :) ). They already had the brown swirls (from a My Paper World set) stamped on them as well as some shimmer mist, so I just inked the edges with some more DI in Forest Moss and Vintage Photo and attached them all together with a giant ‘Snap’- I think that’s what it said on the packet but it basically a big, solid-fronted eyelet!!- from We R Memory Keepers and my Cropodile. The parcel paper border is another leftover that’s been sitting on my desk for weeks- I’m doing well here people!!lol- and is punched with MS Cherish border punch. I doodled on the brown dots as I just felt it needed something on that top edge. I wasn’t originally going to add a sentiment but I just had a quick look at my stamps and saw that this one (from Woodware’s Clear Magic ‘Salutations’ set) would nestle in nicely under the flower. There is a lot of ‘white’ here and that is, at times, making me a bit uncomfortable but generally I like it so am resolutely pushing those thoughts aside!!lol

The shimmer spray is so pretty!! :)

This card didn’t come out how I’d intended it really!! I wanted to try a couple of new things- embossing with a Nestie and colouring onto coloured/Kraft cardstock with my Prismas... but then I couldn’t find the stamp I was going to use anywhere so the focus changed completely from flowery feminine to this more masculine design- though I guess it could work for a woman, too!!lol Anyway, embossed the Nestie shape-second time lucky, the first went right through the card!! :S – and then my Hougie board to get the border for the sketch. Then I used my Prismas and blending solution to get some contrast between the embossed shape and the rest of the card and then to colour the image- another that’s been sat on my desk for an age, I really was on a roll!!- which I cut out and attached with 3D Foam. I handwrote the sentiment again... but it was more through laziness than necessity this time as I do have a stamp almost the same size and style as this!!lol And that was that!!

And a close-up for you- at least, unlike the last time I used this image, I did remember to colour the wine in the glass the same as the grapes... I remembered ages after selling the last one that I’d coloured them differently last time... how silly did I feel!!lol

I’d like to enter both of these in the Less Is More challenge :) And I’d also like to enter the first card at: Bows and Berries – Inspired By Nature :) ; Paperplay - Distressing :) And the second one at Cards For Men – Embossing :)

Right, I’m going to link those up then have a rest before I get back to it- really hope the crafter’s block on my Mother’s Day card will clear soon as I’ve got lots of other things to do but don’t feel I should til that’s safely finished!! :S Wish me luck, please!! :) hope you’re all having a lovely day- despite the crafter’s block, I have had another exciting couple of days... will share soon!! :)

hugs,

Christmas in Springtime...

Hello!! :)

Just a quick post for you today to share another couple of last year’s Christmas cards that I didn’t get around to blogging at the time!! As I was frantically trying- and failing :S – to get all my Xmas cards made last year, I was full of the panic-induced determination to just keep making them all through the year in order to avoid a repeat performance next December... but so far- yup, you guessed it- I haven’t made a one!! :S Ooops!!lol But terribly predictable for me, I’m afraid... maybe if I keep looking through  the pics of last year it'll reawaken the enthusiasm... ?!lol

Anyway, here they are:

 These are made with some gifted images from a lovely friend so I don’t know the names of the stamps and am not even sure of the designer/manufacturer- though I suspect that may be Rachelle Anne Miller?! Whoever they’re by though, they are very, very sweet and I really enjoyed using them!! :) 

I coloured the first image with Promarkers- can’t remember the colours anymore, which is a shame as I like some of the combinations!!lol- and added a few touches with my- at the time very new- Prismacolor Pencils. The second is all with Prismas. Then I added them to the base cards which I had run through my ’bug in the C’bug Snowflakes embossing folder and then inked with DIs- looking at the pics, I think it would have been Stormy Sky and Dusty Concord, two of my fav DI colours :) I then spritzed over the whole front- masking the un-embossed bottom bit for the greeting- with Perfect Pearls Shimmer Mist in Pearl :)

 A little bit of Sakura Clear Stardust and some Crystal Stickles gave a bit more sparkle to the images :)

 

The greeting is repeat stamping of a clear stamp from a Daisy and Dandelion Christmas set in Stormy Sky and Broken China the drawn over with Clear Stardust :)

So, I hope you’re all well and had a good weekend!! :) We’re enjoying some surprise sunshine here- even nicer when it comes as an unexpected bonus, isn’t it?! :) Thanks for popping by and to those who left comments on my recent posts- very much appreciated!! :)

hugs,

Something a bit different... and my exciting news... :)

Hi!! :)

As my post title says, I have a slightly different type of card to show you today- no images, no DPs, no punches... basically just a couple of pieces of card... oh, and a Promarker!!lol 

A couple of weeks ago I needed to make a card to welcome the sons of a friend of my mum’s to the UK- it’s been so long since the boys have even seen their mum, who’s been here a few years already, that it was a very special time for them and it deserved celebrating... but coming up with a card idea to fit the bill was tricky!!lol I finally settled on this idea- to the point but nothing too fancy-looking... they are boys after all!!lol

It was fairly simple really- I googled the Union Jack image to check on proportions and which of the white lines around the diagonal cross were the thicker ones... my mum somehow can always remember this and is a stickler for it so thought I’d better get it right!!lol Then I cut a rectangle of blue card for the background and set about ‘measuring’ the lazy way with various widths of ruler- wasn’t having a good brain day and I’ll do pretty much anything to avoid thinking in numbers on such occasions!! ;) – to get the cross and strips for the diagonals. Once they were all sorted, I coloured the red bits with a red PM (possibly Cardinal to match the slightly muted blue card, but couldn’t swear to it!) and stuck it all together... et voila!! Decided against a greeting as it was for the boys and their mum so ‘Welcome’ or the like didn’t really work for her- plus, I liked the strong graphic effect of the flag as it was!! :)

I did go around all the edges with my Paper Distresser- which made it look a bit more interesting and hid my slightly shaky scissor cut lines!!lol

 

This one’s just playing with my camera again but thought you might as well see it!! :D

So- this card was supposed to be going in to the My Partner In Crafting Crime Retro Cool challenge, which ended last weekend, but the photos of the card seem to have gotten hidden under a deluge of other pics on my memory card and I didn’t rediscover them quite in time :S But, I thought that posting this would give me the perfect opportunity to share that bit of exciting news I mentioned in my last post with you because... I am now a member of the My Partner In Crafting Crime Design Team!!!!! :D :D :D Woohooooo!!! :D lol It all happened rather suddenly last Tuesday and to be honest I’m still pinching myself as being on a DT was something I have always considered would likely be impossible for me with my health issues, but the lovely Robin and Jenny have given me the chance and I am very grateful to them and even more excited to be part of this fab new team!!! :D The current challenge over there is to ‘Use 3 or more buttons’ and, though I wasn’t on the team in time to make anything for this one, my fellow DT members (eeep!! :D lol) have come up with some fab inspiration so please do pop over and take a look- there’s still a week to join in with a fab prize for the winner from Bows and Berries Digital Stamp Shop!! :) You can visit the personal blogs of all my fab and talented teammates from there or from the links in my sidebar, too!! :) And I’ll be back with my first ever DT Project (eeep again!!lol) on Monday the 4^th of April when the next challenge will go live- I’ve already made my card and can’t wait to share it with you so I hope you’ll come back then!! :)

Right, excited rambling over for now!!lol I shall leave you all in peace to enjoy your weekends!! :) I hope you all have a good one and see a little sunshine at least wherever you are!! :) Thanks for stopping by!! :)

hugs,

Argh, men... ;)

Hello!! :)

...well, making cards for them, anyway!!lol Not a favourite task for many of us crafters, is it?! But that’s the task set for us by Chrissy and Mandi over at LIM this week and I have to say I actually quite enjoyed making this card, which is often the way for me after the initial agonising over what to do in the first place!! :)

So this one’s pretty simple- I’d been waiting for the Kraft card blanks I ordered to arrive and as soon as they did yesterday I got started on my favourite of the ideas I’d had for this week’s Less Is More Masculine challenge!! I always seem to have several ideas but as I don’t have the energy to make more than one of them- as per my previous post, just getting one made for the challenge each week has me over the moon!!lol- the hardest thing is often choosing which to do and I do sometimes wish I’d chosen differently... but that’s life all over!! ;) Anyway, this one won this week and I’m glad it did :)

I’ve been playing with my Cricut this week- it needs more exercise and I’m determined now that it will get it as I’ve had so much fun with it this last few days!! :) The card is simply made up of the clock face/numerals, the two coloured circles behind it and two hands, all cut on the Cricut and layered up. I attached the hands with a tiny brad before I stuck it all to the blank. Then, as the sentiment I’d also tried to cut was a bit small for the machine to handle and came out mangled, I bit the bullet, grabbed a Fineliner and handwrote the greeting- I really wanted it to say ’time flies’ and I haven’t got a stamp or enough courage to try printing direct to a card blank!! Think I just about got away with it for a change, though it helps that the font I’d tried to cut is much like my handwriting... the font matters so much, especially with CAS!!

A couple of close-ups for you :) I luckily found a sort-of handmade looking and flecked off-white card in a stack a family friend gave me (from the stash she’d had when her Grandaughter used to craft at her house so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened the box, but there’s some really good stuff in there!! :) ) which I think really added some interest to the face :) The hands, I’ve just realised, would never be in those positions relative to each other- I had enough trouble deciding where to put them between this position and slightly further round between the two and three but they’re not glued down yet so I guess I could move them... if I decide I should let reality win out over artistic license and aesthetic balance!?!lol

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Less Is More Week 7 – Masculine :) ; Crafts and Me – Anything Goes :) ; Cupcake Crafts – Monochromatic :) ; Simply Create – Monochromatic :)

Thank you to all the LIMers and others who left comments on my cards last week- I truly do appreciate each and every one and only wish I could get around to you all in return but this hasn’t been my best few weeks on the commenting front- stuff just seems to have got in the way and sapped my energy before I get there at the mo’... but I'll try to do better this week as I'm constantly amazed at the talent and inspiration out there just waiting to be found!! :)

Right, I’m off now as I’m kinda tired- spent a while out in the garden this afternoon to catch a bit of the sunshine while the going was good, it was absolutely lovely to sit in the sun, which was beautifully warm, and even ended up having a good natter with a friend/neighbour who I’ve not seen for a quite a while, which was extra lovely... but I stayed out there for a tad longer than I probably should have and am even more tired as a result!! Worth it though!! :) I hope you’re all okay and have been able to enjoy some of this gorgeous weather wherever you are!! :) I will hopefully be back soon as I had a *very* exciting day yesterday and don’t think I’m going to be able to keep myself from sharing it with you for too long!!lol

hugs,

Going over the edge...

Hello!! :)

Yay!! :) I made it- this is not going to be the first week I miss entering at Less Is More!!  And you have no idea how happy I feel about that... that’s a ‘bl***y M.E. stops me doing the things I want to and it’s not getting the better of me this time’ kind of reaction... and I’m now thinking that the way I’d intended to start this post (by saying that ‘no, my post title alludes to the challenge not my state of mind’) may seem a tad ironic... !! lol Ah, well, on with the card before I scare you all off, eh!?! :D

So, the challenge this week was a One Layer Card with the theme of ‘Off The Edge’... and the additional criteria of ‘no scored lines’... hmmm!! :S Well, I can honestly say, Chrissie and Mandi, that you really stumped me with that last bit (was a tad peeved for a while if I’m honest!!lol) as, having finally got to grips with my Hougie for last week’s card and knowing that this was one layer week, I had had several ideas buzzing around in my head waiting to be adapted to the theme... and every one of them involved scored lines!!! :/ So, back to the drawing board for me then!!lol But I love going off the edge with images- makes things look so much more interesting and it is meant to be a challenge after all... and in the end I’m glad as I wouldn’t have done this with lines involved and I actually really enjoyed it and like the result!! :)

 

As part of my continuing efforts to use more of my old and neglected- forgotten even, shame on me!!lol- stash as well as the newer stuff, I’ve been trying to think about exactly what I’ve got hidden away (can’t just go looking unfortunately as I have enough trouble moving myself around some days so moving heavy, teetering piles/boxes of stash is a no go!! :S).  One of the things I thought of this week was my beautiful Brilliance Lightning Black inkpad, as well as my neglected embossing powders and this gorgeous butterfly stamp that’s been sitting out by my desk for months in the hopes I’d get round to using it!! I combined them all with a new swirl stamp and finally tried masking and over-stamping properly for the first time for a card that was actually pretty quick to make for a change as well as pretty!! :)

I knew the intense gold shimmer in the ink would look good with the gold sparkle powder but I’m always blown away by just how beautiful this ink is, so I like it even more than I thought and love the masking effect- though you can see I trimmed the mask in a bit too far on one edge of the butterfly :S I’m not quite sure on the sentiment placement and wonder if it would have been better down in the bottom left... but then the middle would probably look too bare instead... lol

The butterfly is from a wooden set from Panduro Hobby, the swirl from a clear set by My Paper World (Viva Decor) and the greeting is from Woodware Clear Magic’s ‘Jane’s Script’ set :)

So, thank you ladies for a real challenge to get my thinking cap on this week!! :) And thank you to everyone who commented on LIM my cards last week- as I said in my post on Wednesday (here if this is the first time you’ve been back), I really appreciated you sharing your favourite of my two cards, I found it very interesting to know what you all thought!! :) Sorry I’ve not managed to comment on too many of the other entries so far this week- from the Linky pics there are some fantastic ones so I’ll hopefully get to a few over the weekend!! :) Hope you all have a good one!! :)

hugs,

Monochrome Bears :)

Hello again!! :)

Two posts in two days for the second week running- what has come over me!?!lol Well, last night I was moving all the Forever Friends images I coloured during my colouring binge last week when I decided to make a couple of very quick cards to go in my box with a couple of them, inspired by the current Monochrome Challenge over at the FF blog... so a quick post with a couple of quick cards!! :)

Back to the CAS with these ones- still haven’t done my OLC for this week’s LIM challenge so maybe this will have got me back in the CAS flow!! – with some very simple matting and a teeny bit of gorgeous grosgrain ribbon :)

I used:

• FF images stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa
• PMs as in my last FF post for the bears- Ivory all over to help the blending, Oatmeal for the shaded areas and Vanilla all over to blend together. Then a few touches of Sunkissed Pink for cheeks and ears and Satin for shade below feet :) Amethyst and Lilac for the flower on the purple card, Ivory and Cool Grey 1 for the glass with Ivory over the whole background of that image :)
• Nestie Ovals and Scalloped Ovals- the scallops were cut from copier paper and coloured with PMs again in Lilac and Cinnamon
• Grosgrain ribbon in brown and white coloured with Lavender PM (as I didn’t have the right tone of purple anywhere... always the way when you're trying to be quick, isnt' it!?!lol)
• Greetings from Woodware Clear Magic ‘Salutations’ set stamped in VersaMagic Jumbo Java and Spring Pansy inks

I really like adding just these little loops and tails of ribbon to simple cards to break up the lines :) I’m so loving working with these gorgeous bears again after them lying neglected for too long- they’re so cute and I find myself smiling whenever I look at them!! :) I think FF images are so well suited to CAS style cards, too, which is great for me as it means more cards made with less energy :)

I'd like to enter this in the Forever Friends Fortnightly Challenge - Monochrome :) and the Forever Friends Monthly Challenge - No Designer Papers as I've just realised it'll fit perfectly in that one, too!! :) ; I Love Promarkers - Men's Cards (with the cream and brown card only!!) :) ; Charisma Cardz - To 'Die' For :)

Right, I shall go and link this up then contemplate which of the many ideas I’ve had for the LIM challenge I might actually have enough energy for... ;) Hope you’re all well and having a good day :)

hugs,

Fairies, Flowers and Flutterbies... :)

Hey bloggers!! :)

Hope you’re all okay and having a good week so far- I had a slow weekend again with little energy but managed to make a card from an image I’d coloured on Monday which made me feel better... well happier at least, if also achier and more exhausted but it had to be done!!lol 

This one was inspired by a combination of challenges- it began with a DoCrafts forum challenge to make a LOTV card that was ‘Pink and Girly with plenty of embellishments’, then came the LOTV blog challenge to ‘Say it with flowers’... nice and compatible, I thought :) Then I saw the Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight was to make your own backing papers- be that digi, by stamping, etc.- and that gave me the push to make some more spring-like digi papers of my own, as I’ve been thinking I should for a while since I’ve been missing using the papers I made for Xmas!! :) I had spent rather a lot of Sunday afternoon looking at free font sites- think I’m officially a turning into a font junkie!!lol- and found some lovely butterfly dingbat fonts, which seemed like the perfect thing for spring-y papers and this was what came of all those ideas:

I used my simply gorgeous LOTV fairy stamp for the first time- thought I should try and ink up the rest of the last ones I ordered before the new ones arrive... it truly is an addiction!! ;) - with ‘the out of the box’ technique (which I think looks so much better with the Nestie shape embossed, too- seems to make the cut lines far less noticeable) and then my Blossom Nesties for the mat and to make the flowers... just to really get into the spirit of the LOTV challenge!! :)

The full list of materials went something like this:

• Gorgeous LOTV stamped image- Garden of Wishes, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black
• Promarkers to colour: Dress- Fuchsia and Blossom (top layer), Amethyst and Fuchsia (under layer), Amethyst and Cerise (flowers and trim) ; Wings- Amethyst, Fuchsia and Blossom ; Skin- Ivory, Satin, Blush and some Dusky Pink for cheeks, I think!! ; Hair- Cinnamon and Walnut ; Star- Marine, Soft Green and Pastel Green ; Ground- Soft Green and Satin  ; Sky- Pastel Blue drawn out with the brush tip of the new Copic Blender Pen I got as I thought the softer tip might make this kind of blending-to-nothing easier- think it will do the trick with a bit more practise!! :)
• Circle and Blossom Nesties
• My new Butterflies Digi Paper :)
• Fuchsia and Blossom PMs to colour mat layers (cut from copier paper)
• Tim Holtz Paper Distressing tool on all edges
• Scraps of already embossed and sanded Core’dinations Whitewash cardstock for flowers
• Marianne D Swirl Die- cut from copier paper and coloured with Soft Green PM
• Birthday Wishes sentiment from LOTV Girly sheet stamped with Brilliance Orchid ink (always forget this ink looks so pale on fine stamps but glad it’s not overpowering in the end :S )
• Dew drops attached with Stickles and Pale Purple Flat-backed Pearls
• Oodles of Crystal Stickles on the image and generally all over the edges of everything- was in so much pain squeezing the bottle- but you have to suffer for your art and all that!! ;) - and had to give up and come back later to finish it but it really brought the whole card to life!! I LOVE Stickles!!lol

And a couple of close-ups :)

You can’t see that much of the papers so, as it’s part of the challenge, I’ve taken a pic of the leftovers and some of the other colours I printed out, too :) I used a ‘splatter’ image from within my graphics program to get a bit more colour and interest behind the butterflies and I love that it makes the whole thing look a bit more random than the butterflies alone would :) I did have a bit of trouble getting things arranged on the page in the order (in terms of what appears to be on top) that I wanted- thought I was there but when I printed them, apparently not!!- so will go back and do some more tweaking but generally I’m happy... and the result kind of justifies the afternoon spent on font sites... right!?! ;D

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Lili of the Valley – Say It With Flowers (woohoo- that’s two out of the last three I’ve managed to enter!! :) ) :) ; Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight – Make Your Own Papers :) ; Wild Orchid Crafts – Dieing To Punch It Out :) ; Bunny Zoe’s Monthly Challenge – Happy Birthday with lots of pearls :) ; Cupcake Craft Challenge – Up In the Air with optional green :) ; Papertake Weekly – Triple Tastic :)

Thanks so much for all the comments on my last post and thank you all for sharing your preference of the two cards- I still don’t know which I prefer (think it’d come down to my mood at any given minute and the recipient, I guess!lol) but I found it really interesting to see what you thought... I think the Lilac one seems to have come out on top which just proves that even amongst cardmakers it’s not always all about how much you pile onto a card!! A liberating idea perhaps!?! :D Though I did enjoy this more embellished card for a change, too!!lol

Right, off to link up and leave you all in peace- sorry I’ve gone on so long again but it takes less energy to ramble than try to edit and be succinct at the mo’!! :S Thank you if you’ve taken the time to read it all and I hope you liked my card enough to feel it was worth it!! :)

ETA: I wrote most of this last night as my brain simply won't work well enough this early in the morning, but just have to add that my new release LOTVs dropped through my letterbox earlier... they are sooo gorgeous- I can't wait to have the energy to play with them!! :) :)  

hugs,

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,

CAS meets Shabby Chic...

Hello everybody!!  :)

Back again so soon, I hear you ask!?! lol Well, yes- I’ve managed to make a card to enter into this week’s Less Is More challenge…  four weeks in a row, must be some kind of record for me!!  :) I’m having a good week this week, creatively at least- lots of ideas and finally a little bit of energy to try some of them out…  shame about the stupid hand pain but I decided last night that actual crafting would probably aggravate it less than trying not to craft and hurting my hand by checking out everybody else’s blogs online!!lol

So, this week’s LIM challenge is a Recipe of ‘Three Squares’ and this is the card I made:

 

I had the colour scheme in my head and also knew I wanted to use my new MS Butterfly punch and have an ongoing mission to uncover and put to use some of the mountains of old stash I’ve got hidden away... this time it’s the lovely blue card blank. I’m sure you all be nodding along when I say I get so carried away with my new bits and bobs that I’ve forgotten so much of what came before- and after almost seven obsessive crafting years, there’s a lot of it!!lol 

I started by covering some squares of kraft card with Distress Crackle Paint in the gorgeous Weathered Wood (another *fairly* new acquisition  :) ) and then waited a loooong time for it to dry before taking to it with my heat tool as I just couldn’t wait any longer!! ;D It’s only the second time I’ve tried Crackle Paint but I wanted big cracks to show the card through, unlike last time, so I applied it pretty thickly- it would probably have dried on its own eventually but using the heat tool was actually really fun as I got great cracks before my eyes!! :) I also spritzed some parcel paper with Perfect Pearls Shimmer Mist to punch the butterflies from :) Then it was on with cutting, punching, inking and sticking as normal... and when I call this card CAS rest assured that the simple part only applies to the layout- I don’t know if maybe I didn’t feel as okay as I thought I did or what, but boy did it seem like hard work getting all the bits of paper the right size and the punched borders matching!! :S And as for what angles the butterflies should be at... well, don’t even ask how long I faffed around and I’m still not really happy!! If anyone can put a finger on the problem for next time, I’d be grateful for your thoughts!?! :)

The full list of ‘ingredients’ was:

•          Dusky Blue A6 card blank from Lakeland years ago, when they still did craft stuff (another ongoing mission this year is to try not to always use square base cards (something I do unthinkingly since starting blogging!!) and the two combine nicely as so many of my old card blanks are rectangles of varying proportions!!)
•         Blue paper from a matching envelope to the blank for layering
•         Parcel paper for all the brown paper layers and butterflies
•         Perfect Pearls Shimmer Spray in Pearl on the butterflies
•         Scraps of a kraft card blank for the blue squares
•         Distress Crackle Paint in Weathered Wood
•         Heat Tool
•     Antique Linen DI on edges of the painted squares, blue paper and butterflies for a bit of depth
•         Greeting from Woodware Clear Magic Jane’s Script set, stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia
•         Mink Flat-backed Pearls

And a couple of close-ups to show the shimmer and lovely cracks!! :)

I would usually consider Shabby-chic as something I love but just don’t do well so it wasn’t my idea when starting out on this card but I think, between the Crackle Paint, dusky blue tone and brown kraft, this has that kind of feel to it...?! Maybe there’s some hope yet!!lol

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Less Is More – Recipe- Three Squares :) ; Cupcake Crafts – Anything But Square :) ; Paperplay – Shabby Chic/Vintage :) ; Papertake Weekly – Anything Goes :) ;

Dream Valley – Anything Goes :)

I’m still really enjoying the inspiration of the Less Is More challenges and am pleased that I seem to have broken through the one-layer thing I’ve had going on the last few weeks... I just hope this will count as CAS still as I did take a lot of inspiration from the fab DT card Chrissie made?! Thanks again to anyone who stops by and leaves comments- they’re all much appreciated!! :) I’m off to bed when I’ve linked this up- I hope everyone has a great weekend!! :)

hugs,

Rosie Posy’s Pretty In Pink :)

Hey!! :)

Wow- I’m finally managing to enter a LOTV Challenge!! :D I’ve had ideas for just about all of their challenges this year but my body/energy levels and the list of other things and cards that had to be made first  have seemed to have other ideas entirely unfortunately!! :S But I’ve spent the last couple of days’ energy on this one and have really enjoyed myself- I’ve tried my new nestie technique again, as well as making another long overdue tent card and some more of the fabulously easy and fun Lollipop flowers I tried for the first time not long ago, as well as inking up a gorgeous new LOTV stamp... so, all in all, feeling very happy and creatively satisfied!!lol :)

On the downside, I’m having problems with my hand again this last couple of days and it’s already complaining so will try to keep this short from here... nothing will stop me getting this in that LOTV challenge this time!! (Asking for a power cut- or something worse!!- there aren’t I!!!lol)

So here it is:

 I love this sweet image and a have been wanting it for quite a while- I cut her out using the technique I described in my post with the CAS Tulip card below and then just played about with plenty of pretty papers and colours that made me think of spring :) I tried to get a bit more of a sketchy style with the colouring- I always seem to overwork things and never have any of the lovely light areas I see with others colouring so that was my aim this time... could do better but closer, I think!! ;)

I used:

•          LOTV Rosie Posy image stamped in Memento and coloured with Prismacolors
•          Nestie Circle and craft knife to cut away behind image
•          Nestie Labels 1
•          All papers from the Forever Friends Pink Parfait pad- even managed to use up some of my scraps for the flowers (circles cut freehand)!! :)
•          Spun Sugar DI on the main paper panel
•          Brilliance Pearlescent Inks in Orchid and Lime for the flowers and Orchid and Purple mixed for the words
•          Words from Woodware Clear Magic Family Christmas set
•          Sakura Clear Glaze pen on words
•          Pale Purple and Green Flat-backed Pearls
•          Lots of Crystal Stickles- love the intensified colour you get by using Stickles over DIs!! :)

  

A couple of close-ups :)

And one to show the 'Tent Card' bit for anybody who's not seen it before :) I decided that a tent card would suit the cut out front as it holds it all together and lets you see the background paper piece better- might make the folds closer together next time, though...

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: LOTV – Circles :) ; Sweet Stampin' – Oh So Girlie :) ; Wild Orchid – Anything Goes :) ; Papertake Weekly – Anything Goes :) ; Crafty Catz 71 – Friendship :) ; Dream Valley – Anything Goes :) ; Bunny Zoe’s Crafts – Spring... Flowers Everywhere :) 

Eeep- hope my hand lasts out while I link all those!! :S Thanks to all who left comments on my last card (and to my mum for helping me to type some of this last night!!) and hello to my new followers- if I can find a link to your blogs in my followers list then I’ll visit you soon but there are some I can’t find links for, I’m afraid :S Well, we have more of the same beautiful sunshine this morning as we had yesterday- but with the same bitter cold, too, so the urge to throw open the windows and welcome in what looks like summer will have to wait for a while!!lol I hope you’re all okay and have had a good and at least partially sunny week so far!! :)

hugs,