Finally made it back to less is more

Well, it isn't one of my best creations, but I finally managed to make a card for 'less is more', where they have a sketch theme this week. I seem to be having a bit of a seaside thing at the moment...my subconscious telling me I need a holiday maybe?! The stamps are all from crafty individuals and the inks are denim, pool and juniper Adirondack inks. Thanks for looking - pop back in the morning for details of the Sir Stampalot Birthday challenge!

Another birthday card and more hospital!

Here is another birthday card I made for another of my work colleagues this week using the Hobby Art harbour set of clear stamps. I coloured them with promarkers. The DP is from the Joanna Sheen oriental dreams cd.
As mentioned in the post title, we have had another visit to the hospital today, this time with Megan. She has a fracture on her little finger on her right hand. Not the best news as her guitar playing will have to be restricted to just strumming for a few weeks. It didn't look too bad until the bruising started to come out... now she looks like she has been rolling it in Stormy sky distress ink! She has been very brave about the whole thing. It happened in a PE lesson when she tried to catch the basket ball. Bless her, she was more concerned about me having to set foot in 'that' hospital again than her own injury! She says she didn't think it was broken because it didn't hurt that much. I'm putting a photo on, so don't scroll down any further if you don't want to see!

A very quick post

Hi everyone
Another very busy week, but I'm okay! Thanks so much for your kind words and for popping on to comment. I have been making a few cards for colleagues at work - March is a very popular month to have your birthday at our place! Here are two I made for the lovely Teaching Assistant I share my class with, one from all the staff and one from me.

This is the one from the whole staff on an 8x8 card using that huge butterfly by Elusive images. I coloured some watercolour paper with a mixture of Twilight and cranberry Adirondack ink, sprayed with glimmer mist and then stamped and embossed the butterfly in Sheena's platinum WOW powder. Not the best photo I'm afraid, and I can say the same about the next one too!

This one was a very quick make as I suddenly realised it was needed the evening before. The freehand cut numbers are a little naff, but I was quite proud of the roses in the top corner. I saw these being made on C&C last weekend and loved them! The bottom right flower is another Elusive images stamp and if you look closely you will see my favourite stamp on the base card. the papers are a papermania capsule collection set. Thanks for popping by. I will try my best to visit you over the weekend.

Long time no post

Crikey! It's nearly a fortnight since I last posted. Steve's Mum is now out of hospital and at home with support from carers for getting up, going to bed and one meal a day. It is early days, so we will have to see how it goes.
Last weekend the four of us who had visited the hospital came down with a very nasty bug, so there was no visiting for four days, whilst we recovered. It wasn't very nice! Since then I've been trying to catch up with all the jobs I didn't do at the weekend as well as visiting the hospital.
Anyway, I've managed to find a picture of a card I made a little while ago and hadn't posted yet, so here is is.

I used a Stampendous flower with Adirondack inks in twilight and cranberry to create the background. The central flower used the same backing paper but I embossed the flower in Sheena's platinum sparkle wow embossing powder. I added some seed beads in the centre. I mounted this on a circle cut with a nestie and stamped with a dotty border (Waltzing Mouse stamps). It looks better IRL and that embossing powder is gorgeous!
Here is a close up of the flower.

Hopefully I might find a few minutes to spend at my craft table this weekend. Hope you all have a great weekend with some lovely spring sunshine x

Less is More- pastel colours

Here is my card for this week's Less is More, where the challenge is to use pastel colours. I wasn't sure whether I would manage to join in this week, but I managed to squeeze in a ten minute craft moment this afternoon. The flower stamp is from Hero arts and the sentiment is from Personal Impressions.
Steve's Mum is still in Hospital. Her speech is even more mixed up than it was, so communication is frustrating for all involved. Please bear with me if I don't get round to comment much this week, but with work and hospital visits I can see the computer may not even get switched on. Think of me tomorrow. We are having our Book day dress as a character day. I'm going to be the bad tempered ladybird! After school it is parent's evening, so I'll be speaking to parents dressed as a ladybird - do you think they will take me seriously?!

A couple of teenage cards

The Allsorts challenge this week is for teenager cards, and it falls at just the right time as one of Meg's friends and a friend's son both have a birthday this week. Thought I would include them both.

 The first features a Mo Manning Digi coloured with promarkers and the papers are a free download from Canon creative park. The sentiment is from Creative Expressions. The second card is for one of Meg's friends who has loved pink and girly  for as long as I can remember!

This one used the same sentiment, punched flowers and a stamp from Sugar Nellie called 'Searching', again coloured with promarkers. The papers were a freebie from Tinker and Co.
You will have to forgive me if I don't reach blogland much this week. Steve's Mum is in hospital so we are visiting regularly. This is only her second ever stay in hospital in all her 86 years, and she is finding it very stressful. I've also got parent's evening on Monday and Wednesday after school. No rest for the wicked, eh? 

Spring colours at Sir Stampalot

Good morning and Happy Saint David's Day! It is 1st March and time for a new challenge at Sir Stampalot. This Month the theme is Spring is in the air and is a colour theme. You need to use blossom pink, fresh green and yellow on your project.

I created the background using shaving brushes and distress inks in Spun sugar, Wild honey and Crushed olive. I stamped Hero Arts Friend definition in Spun sugar over the top and added some sponging through sequin waste using spun sugar and wild honey. The main panel was cut using a Go Kreate die (XL frames frilly #1). I stamped it with Hero Arts Silhouette Grasses in Versamagic tea leaves and embossed in clear . The paper for the flower was made in the same way, but also sprayed with Iridescent gold glimmer mist.  The flower was made using Shapeabilities flower creations 3 and an x-cut embossing punch. The border punch is from EK success.

Here is a close up of the flower with some added stickles...

...those silhouette grasses...

...and my background. I really enjoyed making this card, and I'll definitely be trying it in different colour ways too.
So, pop over to the Sir stampalot Challenge and get some inspiration from my wonderfully talented teamies. They have produced some real masterpieces this month. We hope you will be able to join in, because there will be another fabulous prize on offer. What is it? Take a look at this lovely lot!

Happy Crafting!

Less is more Challenge 4 - three squares

Less is More this week has challenged us to make a CAS card using three squares. I'd been playing with some Adirondack inks to make some backgrounds and decided that I'd use some for my Less is more project.

The stamps I used are from the Elusive images wild meadow theme plate, on a background of stream, twilight denim and aubergine Adirondack inks. I used Sheena's wow embossing powders, and I have to say I'm impressed! Here is a close-up of the shimmer and shine!

I also sprayed it with iridescent gold glimmer mist. I added a few embossed lines with my score-pal and a waltzing mouse sentiment (I think that should be a bit lower looking at it now).

I was delighted to receive an email from Chrissie this morning telling me that my card from last week has been showCASed. I am over the moon! I get to display this lovely badge now.

Thanks so much to everyone who visited, and to Chrissie and Mandi for setting up such a wonderful Challenge. Thanks for choosing my card too! May Less is more go from strength to strength!

Oldies but goodies

The theme at an Oldie but a Goodie challenge this fortnight is Spring is in the Air, so I thought I would use a few more of my tulip stamps (I've got quite a few, but not as many as I have trees!)

This one is by Outlines rubber stamp company, and I think I've had it at least eight years! I coloured it with promarkers and mounted on funky fairy papers. The sentiment is by Little Claire. I'm still not sure about those magenta tulips though, so I found another stamp and made this...

This is a magenta stamp (about 9 or 10 years old), stamped and embossed onto cartridge paper and watercoloured with my aquatone pencils and a water brush. I added an embossed panel and some stickles.
I thought I would also share with you some pictures from a walk along Cromford canal yesterday afternoon. The sun came out and we had a lovely stroll, watching the ducks and swans. There were lots of catkins and snowdrops too.

It was lovely to get some fresh air and exercise. Thanks for looking!

Inspired by Nature

Well, first of all I'd like to say a big thank you to Fleur at Allsorts - Why? Because this week's theme is right up my street, being inspired by nature. It is also half term, I've just bought some new stamps from Sheena Douglass's little bit sketchy range and have been itching to ink them up! Perfect timing! I've really enjoyed making this one.

I stamped the gorgeous blue tit on branch in Memento and coloured in with promarkers. I coloured over the promarkers with a versamarker and embossed in clear EP. I stamped the green branches in bottle, meadow and juniper Adirondack, then sponged the background using distress inks( Dusty concord, spun glass and shabby shutters) The top of the fir tree (Stampin' up) finished off the bottom edge. The background paper was made with Adirondack inks and shaving brushes (you use a circular motion, as with make-up brushes), then over stamped with the moments text (Hero arts) and the small pine sprigs (Tapestry stamps). This card would also fit the Sir Stampalot challenge, but hurry as there are only three days left! Thanks for looking and for leaving such lovely comments.

Some spring cards

It has been a whole week since I last posted, but I have managed to make a few cards. The first one was knocked up at 6.30am on Friday morning, so I could get it in the post and it arrive at it's destination by Saturday! My nephew and his wife have been married for a whole year, so this was their first anniversary card!

The heart stamp is from an elusive images A4 sheet, simply stamped in red chalk ink and with two gems added. Clean and simple saved the day!
My second card is for this week's Less is More challenge where the theme is spring.

The tulip image is from Penny Black and the spring words are from Hero Arts. I stamped using memento inks in Rhubarb stalk and Bamboo leaves. I used a post it to mask the tulips before stamping the sentiment. This was another very quick and simple card, apart from the fact that it took me two goes to get the words straight. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig in the end. This challenge has been so lovely to participate in and the comments I have received from others taking part have been so kind. Many thanks to you all x x x
Finally, I decided to use the same penny black stamp to make a 'not clean and simple' card for the Penny Black at Allsorts challenge this month, which has a theme of 'Say it with flowers'.

The tulips are from Penny Black, as is the friend background text. All other stamps are Hero Arts. I used a mixture of memento and distress inks for this one.
It's half term (Wooo hooo!), so hopefully I will get chance to visit some more blogs this week and leave you a few comments. Thanks for dropping by!

Something a bit different

A work colleague asked me to make her niece an eighteenth birthday card. I said no problem. Then she said she is into theatre and acting. I thought there must be those masks out there somewhere as a digi stamp, but I couldn't find one. In the end I gave up and drew one, which I scanned back into the computer and got rid of the smudges in photoshop. Here is the result.

The background stamp is from crafty individuals, and although you can't see it in the photo there is quite a bit of silver mirri board in the matting and layering. The sentiment is computer generated. I'm hoping she will be happy with it.
better go - I'm in the middle of Steve's valentine card and it isn't great. Thanks for looking x