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

Less is more challenge 2

The challenge  at Less is More this week is to use only one layer and flowers or trees. I stamped the daisies (Sheena Douglass) in Memento new sprout. I coloured with promarkers in lime zest, buttercup, almond and pale pink. The sentiment is from an elusive images plate and was stamped in Versamagic Green tea.
I was hoping for a pale watercolour effect, although the pale green outline made it harder to colour!
 I have been a bit sporadic in my visits to other blogs and posting too. I've just got my school laptop replaced after the previous one stopped working in June. I am so relieved to have a decent machine to work with, as I have been using a very old one that is incredibly slow - not great when you have a class full of children who have to wait for something to load for up to five minutes! Anyway, I've been loading all the software I need on it this week in the evenings, so crafting and blogging took a back seat. There's only a week left of this half term  before we have a week off, so I will hopefully do some catching up then. Thanks for looking!

Less is more Challenge 1

here is my card for the first Less is More challege where the theme is pink, black and white. I stamped the hearts on stems (Craftwork cards) with versamagic pixie dust and black ink, adding a bit of diamond stickles once dry. Hope you can see the twinkle in the next photo.

I layered this strip of card onto a piece of pink bazzil punched with an EK success border punch. The sentiment from Little Clare Designs was layered onto a scrap of the same bazzil. It ended up being a bit less C&S than I had originally intended, but I think it still fits the bill.
Thanks for looking!

Scrap Sunday and an award

Last week I got a bit carried away with my scrap Sunday project, as inspired by Jules. I found some little offcuts of spritzed and sprayed paper and decided to weave it. It was very fiddly and time consuming and took longer than I'd intended! I added a couple of roses and some leaves punched from the same scraps of paper.  What do you think? I'm not sure! My scrap project for this week is much more to my liking. I went for a sepia tones for this one.

The main stamp is a very old Stampourium one stamped onto watercolour paper using Walnut Ink DI with a hint of wild honey DI in the colouring of it.

Finally I would like to say a huge thank you to Kay Carley who gave me this award. This one is REALLY special as not only has it come from an amazingly inspirational crafter, but the winners get to qualify for a free digi stamp from Digi's With Attitude!  How cool is that?

In order to qualify for your $5.00 Digi's With Attitude! Gift Certificate you must state 3 things that make you different from everybody else and nominate 5 blogs. Lastly you need to display the Blog Award Badge (above) in your sidebar and link it back to the Digi's With Attitude! Challenge Blog.

So, here are my three things:
      1. I LOVE spiders, but am afraid of bees and wasps
      2. I drink my coffee black with sugar but my tea white without
      3. I have been known to appear as Freddy Mercury and Jon Bon Jovi at the school talent show!
I now need to pass this on to 5 people, although I could choose so many more! Here they are:
1. Lynne 
2. Lisa
3. Chris
4. Brenda
5. Jules
Thanks for popping by x

Experimenting for Allsorts

It's been another busy week so far, but in a bid to have a go at the Allsorts saving nature challenge I dug out some bits of Amazon packaging that I had a go at spraying and altering a little while ago. I really liked the effect, but hadn't really though about making them into a card. Here is a close up first to show you a bit of the corrugated packaging.

 

I sprayed it with crafty Notions creative colour sprays, then when it was dry I added a variety of glitter, seed beads and  micro beads. I used gold acrylic paint around the edge and heated it to make it bubble.

I stamped a paper artsy castle, embossed in Sheena's wow powders (Brass) and coloured with distress inks. I mounted it on a base card stamped with the same stamp and brushed with pearl pigments in gold. 
My final offering is another very simple scene masked and sponged with distress inks. The tree is a Lavinia stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Sir Stampalot challenge

Good Morning! It's the first of February and time for another Sir Stampalot Challenge. This month our theme is All Creatures Great and Small, and here is my offering.

The background was created with distress inks on watercolour paper and then spayed with glimmer mist. When it was dry I stamped Clarity Stamp's elephant in two shades of Memento ink. The base card was stamped with a leaf stamp by Rubber poet in Kaleidacolor creole spice. 
Pop over to the Sir Stampalot Challenge blog to see my lovely teamies inspirational creations and I do hope you will join in with us this month. As February is a shorter month the closing date for entries will be the 25th February. Now I can hear you saying what about the prize? Well, as soon as Andy and Janice get back from the States we will tempt you a little more with pictures of the fabulous prize! Happy Crafting!