Tropical Happy Hour

My store, Seven Hills Crafts, is sponsoring my favourite blog challenge again this month - Less is More - so I am guest blogging for their first challenge this month which is all about tropical colours.  When I thought tropical, the first thing that came to mind was cocktails (yeah I'm sure that came as a shock to those who know me lol!   I do love a drink with an umbrella!!!) so here's what I came up with.

I used the fabulous "cocktail mixer" set from Newton's Nook and coloured all the images with zig clean color pens and a waterbrush to get a bright but still translucent look.  I love colouring with zigs this way as you can layer the colour up to get a bolder/brighter look but also get a pale shading effect without having a million colours.

I added a couple of strips of citrus themed paper to ground the glasses and finished with one of the fun sentiments from the stamp set which is a pretty decent philosophy on life if you ask me ;-)

Have fun with the challenge this month.

Tara

Tin Anniversary

It's our 10th wedding anniversary today and as the traditional gift for 10 years is tin there was really only one way I could go with the card! 

I hand cut my tin from a sheet of thin metal I've had for longer than we've been married and used an embossing tool to score some lines into it from behind.

For the tin label I drew the shape and then cut it 3 times from white, red and blue going a tiny bit bigger each time so create layers.  I used red white and blue to fit the theme over at less is more this week - the colours of my flag.

I die cut the letters from MFT's Little Letters Dienamics in blue and a Lawn Fawn Heart in red - I die cut that 3 times for dimension and added a layer of glossy accents to finish it.   It needed something dark to stop the tin blending into the white base card so I added a layer in blue cut to size and embossed with the largest die in Lil' Inker Designs Silly Stitched set which just embosses the wonky lines.

Thanks for stopping by.

My World

I have an entry for this week's LIM challenge which is to use peel offs or stickers somewhere on your CAS card.  This may have turned out to not have enough empty space but I think it is still generally CAS.

 

I used a new set from Altenew called Big World which stamps the globe in 3 layers and I die cut it with a circle die.  I used a spinner disc so the world does spin to match the sentiment which is embossed in white.  I used a white pencil and a clear wink of stella to create the glow around the world.

For my sticker element, I used some peel offs and die cut the stars from the "waste" around them.  I finished with a few dots from a gel pen to complete the galaxy.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tara

Cryptic Christmas

I've got a super quick, super last minute entry to this week's Less is More Challenge as I had a last minute idea for a Cryptic Christmas card using their theme http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/week-289-one-layer.html

I decided to leave it exactly as is with no sentiment as I "hope" its self explanatory!   The hen stamp is from an old Waltzingmouse stamp set.

That's all for now, need to link it up before it closes!

Tara

Repetition

The challenge at Less is More this week is to have something repeated on your card.  I thought this was the perfect theme for a new stamp set I just got so went to town with a rainbow of colours and just one of the images from the set.

Perfect for the mini heatwave we are supposed to be getting this week too!   The stamp is from the 3rd Birthday release from Newton's Nook and is called Party Pops and there are 6 different lollies to choose from but to keep it CAS I stuck to the one style and just changed the colours each time.  You add the stick to your lolly of choice.  I added the sentiment directly over the top to keep is super-CAS.

Hope you all get the sunshine this week.

Tara

Konichiwa!

It's weeks since I managed to find time to play along with my favourite challenge but I managed to squeeze in a quick take on their sketch this week.  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/week-278-sketch.html

I used the adorable new stamp set from Avery Elle called Konichiwa which I just love as you can change up the geisha with all her facial options.  I used the tiny flower in the set to change her kimono too - using a post-it to stamp some over the edges of the fabric to make it look more realistic.  I stamped the cherry blossom onto the pink card which forms the basis of the sketch and shaded with a white pencil.  Adding my sentiment onto a strip of blue to tie in the blue flowers on the kimono which have a glitter finish with a wink of stella brush pen which really doesn't show up in photos!

Thanks for stopping by - actually I should say Arigato!

Outside your window

I had a bit of a journey for my entry into the Less is More challenge this week - it's about the view from your window.   The view from my window is not great so I wasn't inspired to play, but then we watched the documentary about Heston's space food and I thought, hey Tim Peak has the best view from his window so I'm borrowing his!

I decided I wanted to include the space station, and going back to windows, I thought one of the dies from Mama Elephant's Window Watching kinda looked like the solar panels - so I cut them in silver and added a strip and a circle and it's almost believable!

The sentiment, moon and alien space ship all come from one of my all time favourite sets 'Out Of This World' from the now defunct There She Goes.  I embossed the moon using white pearl from Hero Arts that got a translucent feel on the black and added some white ink with my finger and some depth using a white pencil.   The alien space ship was coloured with copics and pencils and fussy cut.

Thanks for visiting.
Tara

Making a Statement Sentiment

I've had lots of fun this morning with teeny-weeny-tiny stamps and used them to make a big bold statement sentiment for this week's Less is More Challenge.  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/week-267-one-layer-sentiment.html

Firstly I cut the word hello from some scrap thin card (I think the dies are an old memory box set but I can't remember) and temporarily adhered it to my base card.   Then I went to town with 5 of the tiny stamps from the Bountiful Blessings set from Mama Elephant (2 leaves, 2 flowers and a heart) with 5 shades of ink, stamping them through the stencilled word.   The trick to this technique is to ensure you overlap the edges in as many places as you can so your eye will then fill in the gaps to create the outline to the word.   To give it a more 3D effect, I used two shades of grey pencil to create a soft shadow on one side of the letters.   I framed the word using the same two pencils to create a shaded line at the top and bottom of the card.

Hope you like it.   Thanks for stopping by.

Citrus Birds

I've managed a few minutes to play along with this week's LIM challenge today so I give you a pair of citrus birds!  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/colour-week-citrus.html

I stamped the two birds from MFT's Tweet Friends into an embossed stitched circle on a one layer card and coloured them with zig colour brush pens in lemons and limes with a hint of oranges to cover all the citrus shades.   I hand drew the wire for them to stand on and the notes they are tweeting to each other.  Sentiment is from the same set.

Silhouettes

I'm playing with the challenge at Less is More today and they are looking for CAS cards with silhouettes.  I had a few ideas but couldn't find everything I was looking for but a dig through my old stash did stir up some unused stock so I've made 3 cards!  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/week-260-recipe.html

I started with a set I think is by Craft Work cards but its from before I labelled things!  Simply stamped the cage on a tiny 3x3 card and stamped the silhouette bird inside it.  The sentiment is by Elzybells.

Then I found this old car - no idea who its by.  Did a little distress inking with some water splatters and stamped the car over top.  The sentiment is kaisercraft I think.

Finally I faked a silhouette using a Little Claire Christmas cats set and stamping it and colouring it in with a sharpie before cutting it out.  Did some more distress inking and trimmed a window frame with a craft knife (cos I did the inking first and my die was too small to cover it!)  Added a moon with picket fence dauber and some stickles for a glow.  The sentiment is Elzybells again.

 Thanks for visiting.

Tara

 

Spreading a little love....

I've been waiting in vain for some decent light to take a shot of this card I made on Saturday for the latest LIM challenge which is to use neutral colours, but it looks like Sheffield is never going to emerge from under the grey skies so this is the best I can do.  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/week-257-colour.html

I used a super cute stamp from Stamping Bella's new "stuffies" range - this is one is ellie loves phant and I just think it is totally adorable and it is such fun to colour.  To keep with the theme of the challenge I used nothing but cool and warm greys and am really pleased with how the colouring came out.   I framed it using a MFT die and added a sentiment from Mama Elephant as it filled the frame better than the "I love you" that comes with the stamp.   I added a few grey die cut hearts to link the two together - they are by Paper Smooches.

Right - back to work - I have lots to do on getting our new store site up and running this week!

Thanks for visiting
Tara

What's in your stocking?

The challenge at Less is More this week is a one layer card featuring what's in your stocking http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/week-254-one-layer-challenge.html.   I made a couple, but one isn't one layer so fails the criteria but it made me giggle so I'm sharing it anyhow.

Here's my one layer version featuring the cute little elf from Santa's Elves by MFT.

I used a die with an embossing mat to create a one layer frame and then coloured the image with pencils so the colour doesn't show on the inside.

Now for my not quite one layer version. This one features a stamp by Waffle Flower called Stockings and what's inside the stockings is, for those who know me well, definitely what I'll be wishing for on Christmas Day ;-)

I covered up the "You" in the sentiment with a word stamped with alphabet stamps and added the tops of bottles from a Simon Says Stamp set called Adult Beverages.   All backed with the classic gin bottle green ;-)   [Although my preferred gins these days come in a clear bottle!]

Right I really must make a few more quick cards so I can get them written and in the post on Monday!

One Layer Santa

I have lots of stuff I should be doing right now, but I decided to give myself 10 minutes off to play along with my favourite weekly challenge.  Less is More this week want One Layer Santa cards http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/one-layer-week-250.html and this is my super quick take on it.

I die cut a moustache using some Paper Smooches dies through post-it tape and sponged unicorn white ink through.  The sentiment is stamped using Violet's ABCs from Lawn Fawn and then the whole thing got fine white embossing powder.

I did make a pair of these whilst I had the supplies out to boost my stocks for Christmas, but my Tip of The Week is do not try and wipe the dust from your embossing buddy off  before the embossing powder cools down...........

Doh!

Piecing Naptime

Paper piecing is probably my favourite paper crafting technique.  I do love it so couldn't resist the LIM challenge today.  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lucky-dip-week-248.html

I used a stamp with a very familiar image in my house - what is is with cats and clean washing????  You'd never find mine in the dirty pile!   This is Newton's Naptime from Newton's Nook and I simply stamped it a few times on a variety of scraps of patterned paper to make a nice comfy pile for him to sleep on.  He's pieced from a scrap of kraft and coloured with lots of lines using pencils to get a tabby look.

As I used a lot of scraps from my snippets drawer, I'll link this up to Pixie's Snippet Challenge when it opens later tonight too http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.co.uk/

I could do with a little nap myself now!

Pearly Snowflakes

I missed playing in the LIM challenge last weekend as I was at the races on Saturday so I had to make sure I played along again this week!   The challenge is a sketch  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/week-238-sketch.html

I started with a new stamp from Hero Arts which I just fell in love with as soon as I saw it - beautiful hand-drawn snowflakes and I embossed it onto glossy card stock using the new pearly white embossing powder also from Hero Arts.  I inked over the embossing with 3 shades of Hero Arts inks (mint julep, cornflower and emerald) which gave a verdigris look so I decided to pair it with copper snowflakes for the before and after look!   The sentiment is from Winnie and Walter's Big Bold and Seasons and the snowflake is a Lil' Inker Designs die cut embossed with copper powder.

As the snowflake stamp is a 6x6 background, I had another triangle to play with so I made a second card, which doesn't quite fit the sketch, but it was still inspired by it.  Cutting the panel in half means you get 2 cards for the price of one!  Same sentiment just on a flag this time and a different snowflake gives two different looks.

Thanks for looking.   If you're a Hero Arts fan, then all the new Autumn and Winter range is now available in my online store Make the Day Special Stamp Store

 

Berry Wedding

The challenge at Less is More today is berry colours and I immediately thought of the rich ruby reds so I thought I'd make a ruby wedding card.  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/week-235-colour.html

I die cut some letters using Waffle Flower's Papercut Alphabet dies and layered them over a heart gem from Winnie and Walter's My Precious embossed in red and coloured with distress markers and wink of stella for a touch of added sparkle.  I spelt out wedding using Violet's Alphabet from Lawn Fawn.  An embossed die cut frame holds the design within the card.

Not my most imaginiative take on the colour scheme so I may google berries and be back....

CAS Scraps

It's a fun challenge today at LIM - using scraps from your scrap stash and Di is joining in from Pixie's Crafty Snippets challenge too which I haven't played in for ages - as you can see - I need to - this is just ONE of my 6 scrap drawers and this one won't even fit in the drawer anymore so it sits on top!

The two cards at the top were made yesterday but all from scraps so they fit the challenge.  Scraps from the drawer plus some cool arrow word dies from My Favorite Things cut from more scraps of black.

This one I made today specifically for the challenge so I used as many scraps as I could.  The stamps are from Lawn Fawn's party animals - the bear is stamped onto a kraft scrap and shading with polychromos pencils.  The birds, cake and hats are all paper-pieced from more scraps ad I made a CAS background with 3 more scraps and stamped the sentiment in an arc to match the background paper image.

My Husband The Hero

My husband was visiting his friend last night who are having some building work done and when he arrived the builder (his friend's brother in law) had an accident and fell off his dumper truck which ended up trapping his leg.  So that's when the hero part comes in - my  hubby and another friend lifted the truck up so they could pull him out (luckily he had only just fallen so there was no risk of making it worse my removing the trapped leg).  He had quite an eventful night - paramedics, ambulances and even the police had to make visits.  The builder is OK but is having surgery today to pin his ankle bone which was broken in the fall.   So I made a card for my hubby to send to him.

The band aids seemed an appropriate choice. I die cut them from some ranger card stock, arranged them on a square of white card and then die cut the get well word die from the panel (keeping the little bits in the loops of the letters.  I die cut it again from red and pieced it back together.  Both sets of dies are Paper Smooches so as it's an anything goes week on their challenge, and I'm just about in time for it, I thought I'd link it up.

I also made a card for this week's Less is More Challenge today which is one layer masculine using the new My Favorite Things products I now stock in my store.

I used the split diagonal background stamp and applied 3 shades of distress inks in greens and blues using a blending tool and letting the stripes fade off on the right.

A simple sentiment from Brushstroke birthday paired with a couple of balloons from Birthday Wishes and Balloons both stamped in bold black give it a masculine feel for me.

Thanks for visiting.

Let's Procaffeinate!

I'm back quicker with this week's LIM challenge which is based on a sketch but I just released I got it upside down!   That'll teach me to have the challenge open whilst I'm designing my entry!   http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/week-230-sketch.html

I used Coffee Set stamps and matching dies from Waltzingmouse Stamps.   I love this set as it makes me think of canal barges and the lovely artwork that they are often decorated with.  Simple stamping, die cutting and then layering the elements over some die cut stitched rectangles from Lawn Fawn (I used the same die but cut one panel narrower by moving the die half through cutting)

Right, time to make dinner....

Hey You!

I'm very late to the Less is More party this week - the challenge closes in a few hours.  I did have a play on Saturday with stencils and marbelling ink but I just made a big ole mess!  So I had another go last night and here's my card for the stencilling theme combined with the current sketch at CASe this sketch. 

I used a memory box stencil called "shine" but instead of going for the classic yellow I decided to take the grunge route and went with grey card stock and inked through the stencil with versamark and scattered it with clear, grey and silver powders for a random look to the embossing.

The balloons are Lawn Fawn dies cut from vellum and coloured with yellow copics - grey and yellow is one of my fave colour combos of all time.

The gorgeous sentiment is from the latest release at Waltzingmouse and its called Best Day stamped in stazon so it will stay over the vellum and embossing powder.

Thanks for visiting.