This makes me Happy!

I love the theme at Less is More this week - it's simply to make something that makes you happy and to say why.  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/week-213-this-makes-me-happy.html

Well recently with a full-time job and and running a craft store in my "spare time" I've found little time for crafting, so at the moment making ANY card at all makes me very happy!   However, I decided to take it a little further than that making a card from a stamp brand whose images always make me happy when I colour them and a technique that I find both happy and relaxing.

This images makes me really happy as it reminds me how I never want to wear 80s fashion again!!!  I stamped Farrah (Stamping Bella) onto copic colouring card and then rifled through my scraps draw for suitable paper to stamp all her clothes onto as the technique that makes me happiest is paper-piecing - I really love the look of it and cutting all those fiddly bits like the shoes!   I coloured her body and hair and tights with copics and then set about dressing her up with her paper clothes - just like those dress up dolls I had as a kid in the 80s!  The radio is copic coloured and paper-pieced on top.  I added a little shading to the paper-piecing with copics too.

To create the frame I used a Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle but made it narrower using the technique Chrissie has shared on LIM several times.  The sentiment is an old one by Personal Impressions trimmed with a Lawn Fawn stitched circle.  All mounted onto a new Avery Elle card base.

Thanks for visiting :-D

Wings

The challenge this week at Less is More is "wings"  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/week-212-wings.html   There were already a lot of birds and insects in the gallery so I opted for something mechanical!

This is an as yet unreleased set from Avery Elle which will be on sale on Friday.  As I managed to get them early it will be on sale in my UK store at the same time as it gets released Stateside along with the rest of their release which is a stunning one.  There are so many sets I want myself!

This is called Fly By and comes with other sky writing sentiments which are such fun.  I heat embossed that in white and added some frosted lace stickles.  The clouds are outlines which I coloured in using grey and white ink with a cotton bud to get a fluffy feeling and added some stickles to the top too.  The plane is paper pieced using Avery Elle's Happy pad which is also out on Friday.

Catch you later!

One Layer Love

It's a handy theme at Less is More this week as I woke up this morning to find a valentines card on my pillow as my husband is away today and had said he wasn't doing a card.  Whoops!  Luckily he won't be back whilst late so I had time to make one for him....

It is one layer week at Less is More, so you'd think die cuts were a no-go, but with a liner on the inside, you can do embedded die cuts on a one layer card and nest them back in to the finished card.  In this case I used some copics to add shading first.  The hearts banner die is by Lil' Inker Designs.

The little excited penguins and matching sentiment are from Mama Elephant's love quotes and I watercoloured them lightly with distress markers and a paintbursh.

Here's the challenge link if you want to play along.  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/one-layer-challenge-week-211.html

Going Retro

Another quick post so I can link this up before the deadline closes.  February is a busy month for me on birthdays - I have two valentine babies amongst my friends.   I used this weeks' retro sketch for the layout on this one  http://retrosketches.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/retrosketches-152.html

The fabulous diva is by Kraftin Kimmie and I did a quick watercolour job on her with distress pens, a spray bottle and a paintbrush.    The glittery panel is by Neat and Tangled and the sentiment is one of my favourites by Avery Elle.

 

All Creatures Great and Small

That's the challenge at Simon Say's Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week and they are highlighting Paper Smooches. http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-all-creatures-great-and-small/

Well as it happens, I made a card for the guy I share an office with to give to his girlfriend, who is a bat inspector, which fits the theme on both counts so I thought I'd join in again this week.

Really simple card as he didn't want anything too girly.   Copic coloured bat from Falling for You fussy cut with a die cut PTI tree maskerading as a branch for him to hang on.  I did a bit of scissor surgery on the sentiments to mix them up taking "for you" from the nutty sentiment in the set.  Layered with Lil' Inker Designs stitched square dies.

Purrfect Love

I made a quick card for a friend to give to her partner for Valentine's day and thought I'd enter it in this weeks' CASology challenge as their theme is love  http://casology.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/week-133-love.html

It's a simple watercolour of the cute cats from Mama Elephant's Purrfect Pair on some stitched mats from Lil Inker Designs.  A little glossy accents to finish off the milk bottle et voila!  Quick and simple but very cute.

Bright and Beautiful Birthday

The current Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is all things bright and beautiful and as I wanted to make a bright birthday card for my great nephew's 6th Birthday yesterday I thought this was the perfect opportunity to break out Simon's Farmyard Birthday stamps and play along.  http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-all-things-bright-and-beautiful/

I coloured the animals with copics, fussy cut them and layered them in and around presents made with a Simon's die and some scraps of brightly coloured papers from my ever increasing supply from my scrap box.  I know, these tiny boxes aren't going to make much of a dint in them but at least I didn't go straight for fresh sheets!  The number 6 is from Quinn's numbers by Lawn Fawn and it was mounted onto a white card on a stitched rectangle also from Lawn Fawn.

Happy 4th Birthday Less is More!

I was really thrilled when Chrissie asked me to guest again over at Less is More today to celebrate their 4th Birthday.   I can hardly believe this challenge site has been running for 4 years.  I found it on week 2 and have played along as often as I can ever since and really found my CAS style through their challenges so I have a lot to thank them for!

The challenge today is a colour theme of pink and grey and I decide to give it a birthday twist in honour of the challenge with a host of pink balloons!

I stamped the balloons using one shape from the Whole Lotta Happy stamp from Wplus9 using Blush, Piggy Bank and Lollipop pigment inks by Mama Elephant.   I die cut the birthday from grey card using the birthday script die from Mama Elephant and stamped wishes from the Whole Lotta Happy stamp underneath using grey versafine.   I drew the balloon strings by hand using the pumice stone distress marker.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESS IS MORE!

Magic Ink

I learnt this week on one of the online card classes that Versamark ink has a magic property when used with Hero Arts Shadow inks and its a really cool technique so I thought I'd share it with you.   Here's the finished card and below there is a little photo tutorial showing the magic of how it works!

So it may look I did and emboss resist technique, but it isn't!   For this technique you start with the direct to paper technique with any colour of Hero Arts shadow ink and colour your white paper entirely.   For this card I used Ultra Pink all over and then added a little Orange Soda around the edges straight from the ink pad - don't panic about how much ink you are using, these pads are really juicy and last for ages.

I wanted to create a repeat pattern all over my card that had detail but worked just as an outline, so I opted for one of the gorgeous floral groups from Paper Smooches Blossoming Buds set and inked it up well using Versamark ink.  I started deliberately over the edge to give it a feel of a piece cut from a larger piece.

Now this is where the magic starts - don't ask me to explain the science bit, I'm no Sheldon Cooper, but essentially something in the versamark reacts with the coloured ink and after a few seconds your image starts to magically appear from the background!

It is very pale to begin with so can be a bit tricky to see where  you stamped your last image (if you looks closely I did a bit of a mistake and overlapped a tiny bit but I think I got away with it just!)  If you want to be more precise just wait a couple of minutes in between stamping each image as the longer you leave it the brighter it gets.

So by the time you stamp your last image, the first ones are nice and bright, but leave it overnight and it gets much whiter still as you can see how bright it is on the finished card which I photographed after 24 hours.

 To finish it off I added a big bold sentiment from Altenew's Super Script set embossed in gold on a strip of vellum.   I felt the whole piece had a bit of an Indian wedding look so thought this worked well as a sentiment and brought out the gold a little further with a few gold sequin highlights.

As it's anything goes week over at Paper Smooches Sparks - I'm going to link it up to their challenge
http://papersmoochessparks.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/february-1-7-anything-goes-wk1-challenge.html

Little Ones

It's a five week month over at Less is More which you all know is my favourite challenge site so I was thrilled to be asked to be the guest designer this week and join in the fun.   The theme is little ones which had me head scratching for a bit before I hit on the idea of using some "little ones" to make a "big one"!

I used 5 shades of distress to colour a piece of card from deep red, through pink into orange and then used the super cute tiny hearts die set from Paper Smooches to die cut lots of little hearts.  I lightly drew a big heart on my base card and then arranged my little ones inside the line using the dark at the bottom and light at the top.  To get the effect right you need to make sure that the hearts touch the edge of your pencil line all the way around and then your eyes fill in the gaps between to create the shape once your rub out the line.

I finished with an appropriate sentiment heat embossed onto a strip of vellum so you can still see the hearts underneath.  This one comes from one of my favourite sentiment sets - Avery Elle's So Happy which is so very useful!

You Got This!

It's sketch week at LIM and it's a lovely easy one to interpret so I played along for my card at Make the Day Special Stamp Store this week.

This is a new set from Mama Elephant which I just had to get my hands on as I live with a huge comic book fan so super heroes are right up his street!

For this card I used the new lots of stars die 4 times to create the banner shape on the sketch from a card panel and then used distress inks on the base card to get a blended background behind the star shaped holes.

I coloured the super hero copics and cut her out and added her on top.    The sentiment is from the same set and I stamped it in blue to pull the colours together.

Stretching Cats

 No it's not some kind of weird torture technique - I am a cat lover as you know!  It's just what I did with the new stamp from WaffleFlower I couldn't wait to play with.

I made a gate fold card and using masking and selective inking stretched the cat stamp over the front and right through the middle of the card to make a super-looooonnnnng cat!   I grounded her simply by using a pencil to create a rug for her to stand on.

The sentiments in the set didn't quite say everything I wanted, but again with some selective inking I managed to change day into say and then stamped the sentiment inside with added space to emphasise why everything is stretched.

I took my colour inspiration from the photo of the latest WaffleFlower challenge - the chairs are grey and I used the red lamp as my highlight colour.  http://waffleflower.com/2015/01/waffle-flower-challenge-january-12-25-2015/

On My Mark

Recyling Challenge

Our challenge at my store this month is to recycle something or use household items in your crafting.  I opted to make a pot to hold my new copic ink refills and all you need is a pringles tube, a craft knife, some paper and stamps!  http://makethedayspecialcards.blogspot.com/2015/01/january-challenge-week-1.html

Trim your pringles tube to your desired height with your craft knife (draw a line measured from the base and follow it - use bluetac to hold the tub still to reduce the risk of injury when using a blade to cut something that can roll.....)

Measure your paper to be a couple of centimetres higher than your tube and the right width to go all the way around (I used a sheet of polka dots in my favourite colour from Lawn Fawn)  Use double-sided tape at the top and bottom of the outside of the tube and where the edges meet to secure the paper to the outside.

You then need to make cuts at the top at every centimetre around the tube - this allows you to easily bend the excess over and get a smooth top.  The inside of a pringles tube is resistant to double-sided tape so even though you can see that on the picture above, what actually held the paper on the inside in the end was some pva!  Just spread it around and then fold each tab over in turn and rub more pva over the top when finished to ensure the tabs stay stuck!  (You could tidy the inside up with some washi tape if it's not too neat)

You can stop there, or if you like, you can decorate more with stamps and dies.  I went for a simple rainbow border of pens and pencils using Smarty Pants from Paper Smooches.   I stamped it and cut it out as a border and stuck it on.  For the sentiment (from Headliners) I wanted to go direct to the tube which is a little trickier but it is doable - select your stamp - stick it to your desk and ink it.  Then carefully roll your tube over the stamp in one smooth and even motion.

You could make a whole range of these in different sizes and make your own desk tidy - would be a fun project to make with your kids too.  Once you start looking for containers to upcycle you'll be amazed at what you'll find!

Simply love

A new year and a new challenge at my favourite challenge site.  If you come here often then you know that LIM is the challenge I play along with the most, particularly now crafting time is limited.  I'm such a fan in fact, that I am back as a sponsor this month with my Store so do play along this month as you get some vouchers to go on a little shopping spree if the LIM ladies pick you as their winner!  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/week-205-colour-challenge.html

This week's challenge is a colour one mo - to use black and metallics with a colour of your choice.  I went for red and a theme of love.  Classically simple.

I used the new scripty love die from Lawn Fawn which is great as it cuts as a whole word not fiddly individually letters and added it over the top of a red glittery heart cut with a Wplus 9 die.   The black background is unusual for a love themed card but it adds strength and drama and I really like it!

Waltzingmouse Final Challenge

It's a sad day today, but as we've not managed to build up the number of players over at Waltzingmouse Fanatics, we've decided we have to close the challenge so this is our final one ever!   And thanks to Claire we have a great £20 voucher up for grabs and it's an ANYTHING WALTZINGMOUSE GOES challenge.

I decided on a fun Christmas card  using the new Jolly Old Elf set paired with Tis the Season.

I stamped him in red but then drew over some lines and details with black.  A washi tape border brings out the festive fun.

Do play along if you have any Waltzingmouse Stamps - it's your last chance!  http://waltzingmousefanaticschallenge.blogspot.com/2014/12/challenge-33-anything-goes-and-some-news.html

200 Less is More Challenges

My favourite challenge site has reached a milestone today - 200 challenges and counting!  WOW that's an awful lot of commenting by founder LIMette Chrissie over the last 4 years - thanks so much - we all appreciate your hard work!

Of course I had to join in this week and the theme in honour of this milestone is celebration http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/200th-challenge.html

I went a bit out there and made a simple wedding card - they're a cause for celebration right?

I used the awesome new Sketchy Landmarks set from Altenew which is one of the sides of Westminster Abbey and I just love it - simple yet intricate.  I embossed it in white and then used distress markers scribbled on my acrylic block with a paint brush and water to get a soft water colour look.   I made a mitred corner mount using washi tape and mounted the stitched detail panel on top and finished with a sentiment from the same set.

Thanks for visiting.

Bunny Christmas

I get so little time to craft for fun at the minute but I was really taken by this sketch when I saw it at Retro Sketches tonight that I forced myself to make a quick card before the deadline closes in a few hours.  http://retrosketches.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/retrosketches-142.html

Made with a SSS die, LF Snowday stamps and papers and some washi tape.

Santa's coming to town

I have loads of stuff I SHOULD be doing today, but in the true spirit of the procrastinating crafter, I'm doing stuff for fun instead!  So I made a card for this week's "anything Christmassy" challenge at Less is More  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/week-199.html

I just went really simple with the Joy to the World set from Avery Elle on a small square card.  Stamping the "santa" version of the globe in a nice bright red with the stark black santa silhoutte and sentiment really works for me.  The globe base had to be metal so I went for a cold silver.  I think I may be knocking up a few of these as I am badly behind on Christmas cards and these take about 30 seconds!

Right, I have an exciting gift project I need to finish for tomorrow - catch you later.

PJs and Trees

Today is Waltzingmouse PJ party day and I've managed to combine their sketch challenge with this week's LIM challenge which is to feature more than one tree  http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/week-198-theme.html

Here's my take on the sketch which I've included below for reference.

I used the row of trees from Flurries and a bit of inking with a dauber over scraps of torn paper to get some hills to ground them on.  I wanted to tie into the "warm" in the sentiment so decided to add a large low yellow sun rising behind the hills.  I put my die cut panel onto a soft background of snow created using texture paste and a SSS stencil.

I didn't manage to do all the challenges this month but I did have a go at the Scandi Tag too.

I decided to do a sparkly red snowflake - not traditional but I think it works - particularly with this spikey number from the last release.  I added a little scani-ribbon and a simple sentiment along with a dashed border and hey-presto - a quick and easy gift tag.   I really love to wrap with plain coloured papers at Christmas and let my trimmings do the talking so these are going to look great on my red wrapping with lots of natural hemp twine.

It's just the day for a PJ party here - cold, grey and foggy.  What could be better than staying in and getting inky!

Savannah has a Star

I had a little birthday splurge on my favourite stamps for "colouring in" this weekend - I do soooo love an Uptown Girl from Stamping Bella.   It's a brand I don't sell myself though, so if you want them, then like me, head on over to my mate Elaine's fabulous store Quixotic Paperie and pick up a  lovely leggy lady (or 12 like I did!!!!)

I always like to try and play in my favourite weekly challenge - Less is More - and this week, they want us to feature a star on our one layer project - hope this one isn't too subtle ladies - she does have a star and it's even in the name of the stamp but it is a bit little!

 

I had such fun colouring Savannah in - and I love the idea of wearing a Christmas tree!  I stamped her on a kraft base card and used the stitched mat square dies from Lil' Inker Designs to create an embossed border and then traced the solid line in red to make it pop between the dashes.  I coloured her with Polychromos pencils - using just 3 shades of green to get some depth in the shadows and highlights on the tips.  I love using pencils on kraft - you can get such a grown up finish from a medium considered so childish!   I finished with one my favourite Christmas sentiment sets by Hero Arts.