Friday, 7 November 2014

Modern Christmas

Hi there, sorry for my absence recently.  No reason, just doing other stuff lately.

I've made a Christmas card in non-traditional colours for the Less is More challenge, although I'm not really a red and green girl anyway, so most of mine tend to be silver, gold, purple, jade etc.

 
I used some white embossing paste through a snow stencil after sponging the jade ink onto the card.  I then added various die cuts, including a double layered Peace.
 
I made a similar one like this:
 
 
Enjoy your weekend.

Bye for http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/week-196-colour-challenge-non.htmlnow.


Friday, 3 October 2014

Mostly words

Hello

I hope you're enjoying your Friday evening and looking forward to a great weekend.

I made this card a few days ago for the Less is More Challenge and then forgot to post it.  So as per usual it seems I'm squeaking in at the last minute.

We have been asked to make a card that is mostly words.  I hope my one word is sufficient.

 
I die cut the word and the snowflake three times in white card and once in silver glitter card and layered them up for depth.  I punched a tiny hole in the Y and used a jump ring from my jewellery stash to hang the snowflake so it swings freely.

 
Just for once I think this might be an idea of my own and not a rip-off CASE of someone else's brilliant idea.
 
I'd better finish this before I actually miss the deadline.  One day life will slow down and I'l get more time to devote to this wonderful hobby.
 
Thanks for looking, bye for now.
 
 

Friday, 12 September 2014

CHOCOLATE!!!

Well hello there.  Happy Friday to you.

I thought I'd share a little card with you, that will be for my husband, not sure which occasion yet.  Maybe just because.


He knows how much I love mint aero chocolate bars, so he's understand how I feel about him.

I'm going to link it up to the colour challenge this week at Less is More, which is chocolate and mint.  Two of my favourite flavours, along with banana. Why don't they make banana filled aero?

While you're here, shall I show you another card I made last night?  It's for a friend's birthday on Saturday.


I made the white keys glossy by cutting the rectangles, then laying some wide clear parcel tape over the card and folding the edges under, then rounding the corners.  The black card was already glossy when I bought it!

The little peel-off border was to fill in the space I left by misjudging where to print the greeting.

Thanks for popping by, enjoy your weekend.


Friday, 29 August 2014

Shaker card

Hello all

I am running a card class next week at my craft group I attend and wanted to show the ladies an example of what they will be making.

So, for my Farnborough girls, here you are:
 
 

It's a shaker card with a complete clear front panel, with seed beads inside, so you can see the greeting inside the main card.  It is embellished with punched flowers, mine are trying to look like water lilies, but we can experiment with different shapes and colours.

If you have any other ideas and would like to bring some card and embellishments for that instead, that would be great.

See you next week ladies.

Happy Christmas

Ha!  That caught you out.  Just checking you're awake.

I've made a quick Christmas card for the Less is More challenge, which this week is a sketch.  And it's voluntarily one layer as well.



I copied Ardyth's idea of shading only the corners to imply a frame all around the picture.

Must dash.  Have a good weekend.

Friday, 22 August 2014

Is a butterfly an animal?

Hello and welcome to the weekend.

I have made a butterfly card using the fabulous technique demonstrated most beautifully by Maile Bells here.

I think it's a lovely simple variation for a card layout, and can see me using it for my Christmas cards this year.

I'm hoping that a butterfly counts as an animal, so that I can link up to the Less is More theme this week.

 
Enjoy your longer than usual weekend if you are in the UK.

Monday, 11 August 2014

Flat foliage


Happy Monday to you

I can't believe I'm five days earlier than usual for my submission to the Less is More challenge.

It's one layer week (so glad I actually remembered in time) with a theme of foliage.

I've made two Christmas cards using the same Dreamweaver stencil.

This one was my favourite until I stamped the greeting downhill :-(  It looked straight on the clear block too.  May just have to add a better one over the top.


I like the crass stitched look.


To get the writing through the stencil I had to ink the stamp and lay it face up on the desk then press the card down into it (I also dry embossed it first).



As an unrelated item, I also made another Christmas card (go me!) where the same image is stamped onto acetate and then you tuck the acetate into the border in the right to make it stand proud to give a three dimensional effect.



Enjoy your week.  Bye for now.

Friday, 8 August 2014

Butterfly Birthday

Hi there

This is a really quick post to submit to the Less is More challenge this week, which is a range of colours including yellow green and blue.

 
I sponged some vellum with various colours of Brillaince ink, then die cut Memory Box butterflies and inlaid them.  Stamped greeting in brilliance Sky Blue and a few sequins to be on trend.
 
Have a good weekend.

Friday, 25 July 2014

Rain clouds and silver linings

I've had a good couple of weeks, as I've been on holiday (a staycation as our American friends like to call it) and although I haven't been as crafty as I would have liked, I have found the surface of my desk today!  Apparently it's beech, who knew.

However, sometimes life brings you rain clouds.  I hope that when it does, you find a little sliver of silver lining like my card here.


I've used a new die (yay, more NBUS) for the tree, it's a Memory Box set, you get five plain trees in various sizes and a second set gives you the five outlines.  I can see lots of uses for the plain trees, balloons, lollipops...

You can't really see it very well but there is a silver cloud slightly offset underneath each grey one.

It's the closest I could get for the challenge at Less is More this week for their Singin' in the Rain theme.

Looking forward to tomorrow's challenge.  Enjoy your weekend.

Friday, 11 July 2014

Earth Tones

Happy Friday. 

I made a simple thinking of you card in cream and pale orange for the weekly challenge at Less is More.

 
As I say, very simple.  I'm itching to add some glitter to those hollyhocks and maybe a cream satin ribbon down the left hand side, but I'm never sure with thinking of you cards, it always feels wrong for it to be too 'pretty'.  What do you do?
 
I have some time off next week so I really hope to get away from the decorating and into my craft room.
 
Enjoy your weekend.





Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Happy Birthday Darnell

Many of you know and love Darnell.   That lovely lady who is creative not only with her crafting but also with her words.  Today is her birthday and I'd like to wish her a very happy day.

 
Darnell, thank you for sharing your life and creativity with us, helping us to laugh, smile, support and empathise with you and your friends and family.

Friday, 27 June 2014

Water colouring is In

Hello.  I hope you are enjoying your Friday and are looking forward to the weekend.

I have a quick card for you and for the Less is More gang, who asked for watercolour on our cards this week.


I heat embossed the image, which is new to me, bought from a friend's craft sale.  Then I smooshed distress inks onto a craft sheet and swiped the card through the inks.  I forgot how inky your fingers get when you do that, I now have attractive mustard yellow finger tips.

I hope this counts as watercolouring.

And as the stamp is new to me and was clearly unused when I bought it, I hope this counts as NBUS Darnell?

Must dash, I'm supposed to be working, sssh.



Thursday, 19 June 2014

Hello

Hi there.  I hope you are enjoying your day and have some sunshine wherever you are.

I've made a little card in sunshine yellow to celebrate our summer that has finally arrived.

 
 
I took my inspiration (ok, so I copied) from the HeroArts blog here.
 
Gotta dash, starting work in a minute.  Bye.

Friday, 6 June 2014

Party invitations

These are five variations on a party invitation that I have designed for a friend of ours.  I just need him to choose the wording in the waves, whether he wants the sails coloured in and if so what colour.





Thursday, 8 May 2014

Butterfly birthday

Hello

I hope you are enjoying your week and getting some crafty time in.

I have made a birthday card for one of my friends that I have known since school, which means that we are all reaching the grand old age of 50 this year (I did mine last year in fact).



This lady is indeed fabulous at fifty, as she has been all her life.  In fact even more than me, she just can't be that old!

I used green blue and lilac so I'm entering this into the Less is More challenge this week which is to use three colours or three shades of a colour.

I used my old but still wonderful PearlEx watercolours and painted a piece of card randomly with blue and green.  I then die cut the butterfly and swirls and used up the scraps with baby butterflies.  I computer generated WordArt greeting and some bling and it's done.  Thanks to this card for my inspiration.

Friday, 2 May 2014

Sketchy Birthday

Hello world

I hope you are all looking forward to the extra day's holiday on Monday we get here in the UK.

This week at Less is More, we have a sketch to follow.  It's a lovely one too, so thanks Chrissie.

Here is my offering, a pretty literal interpretation.


I wish I hadn't added the dragonfly now, but I found the punch in one of my boxes of punches (ahem, I have three, two large crates and one small one) and decided to add it.  Maybe it's just the glitter glue that make it look a bit odd.

Ah well, 'tis done now.  Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Thursday, 10 April 2014

Happy Birthday Debbie

Today is my friend Debbie's birthday.  She was the first person to show me stamping and embossing, around 12 years ago and the rest is history :-)

I didn't actually manage to get the card in the post until today, but I wanted to share it with you all.

Happy Birthday Debbie, you are a truly amazing, strong, courageous and beautiful lady.


 
 
I'm also linking up to the Touch of Turquoise week at Less is More.

Friday, 4 April 2014

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad

Happy Friday!

I made an anniversary card for my parents last week, it's their 55th which is emerald, so I wanted to make a green card although green is not a colour I usually work with very much, apart from the odd leaf here and there.

I brayered green Kaleidacolour ink onto a piece of vellum, and used a new stamp from Inkylicious and stamped it onto the green.  I then covered the whole area in Versamark and clear embossed it and sprinkled a little stardust glitter before heating the powder.

I die cut the aperture in the card and left the circle in the card as a mask whilst I stamped the border using the edge of same stamp (I love that this stamp lets you do this, what a thoughtful design).  Next I attached the vellum panel to the back, covering the excess vellum with a white circle border (i.e. two concentric nesties cut at once) to neaten the inside.

Finally I realised that I had forgotten to add the two people embracing (the stamp set comes with two optional stamps, the couple or a little girl on a swing - another fab idea) so luckily as I'd used vellum, I could stamp the couple on the inside of the card and you can still see them from the outside.  Don't tell my mum, she thinks it's a lovely idea to have them on the inside and that I meant to do it :-)



As it's a circular card and there are also some roundy swirls, I thought I'd make a late entry into the Less is More challenge this week for Round and Round.

Phew, if you followed all that, well done, take two days off.

Thursday, 27 March 2014

Three's not a crowd

Hello.

The challenge this week from the Less is More team is a recipe to include three of something on your card.


 
Sorry about the dreadful quality of the photo, I had to use my iPhone.
 
I have three 's's in my greeting, three colours and three metal studs on the right hand side.  The letters are layered with the same three colours.  IRL they are very dark blue, turquoise and white, which someof you might recognise as the Spurs colours.  This card is for a colleague at work.
 
Enjoy your day.
 

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Spring Flowers

Hello, happy Thursday.

I have managed to use some more of my recent purchases to make a one layer spring card for the Less is More challenge this week.


I used some new Card-io Majestix stamps, which individually are tiny but together make up a pleasing effect.  I just loved these funky solid and outline matching flowers.  I found an Art Impressions watering can to support the flowers.

Confession time - it was a square card but my doodles went a bit weird so I trimmed the card.  Now I have to find or make a suitable envelope :-)

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Monday, 3 March 2014

New flowers

Happy Monday everyone

In contrast to the grey dizzle we have today, I've made a cheerful yellow and green card for the challenge at Less is More.

I've used a new die from Heartfelt Creations called Delicate Asters (NBUS as Darnell would say) that I bought at the Make It show at Farnborough on Friday.



The flowers look speckly, but that's the glitter glue.  I embossed the circle with a large nestie die and cut a Memory Box leaf spray.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Friday, 21 February 2014

Claret and Blue - what else??

Hello, happy Friday.

The Less is More challenge this week is to make a masculine card.

I don't tend to make many cards for men, but I do make most of the ones I give to my husband, because he has to be nice about them.  He's a West Ham supporter and for those of you who don't know, their colours are claret and blue.  Which does give me a good colour scheme to work with.

Thank you Ardyth for the inspiration.

All I have to do now is save it until his birthday next January, what are the chances of me finding it again??

Enjoy your weekend.


Sunday, 9 February 2014

One layer

Hello, happy Sunday to you all.

The lovely ladies over at Less is More have given us carte blanche for our one layer card this week.

I've kind of followed the sketch from a couple of weeks ago as well.


I stamped the main flower first then stamped the border flowers and masked the edges and sponged it.  I probably could have stamped the main flower last actually, but never mind.  A few diamonds and a greeting and I'm done.

Hope you enjoy your week.

Pat

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

I can sing a rainbow

Hello

Sorry, did I wake you?  I know I haven't been here in forever.  Life's been very busy lately and I just got out of the habit of blogging, but I'm back now and hope to be here more often.

One of my earliest childhood memories is of my mum singing the rainbow song to me, even though it has all the wrong colours.  Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue.  So if I do want to design a rainbow, I have to resort to that old school chestnut, Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain.  Why do these mnemonics work for us?  I can still remember the one for the planets (in the days when Pluto was a planet as well as a dog) Since Mount Vesuvius Erupted Many Jolly Scientists Usually Never Panic.

Anyway, I digress.  I made two very similar cards for this week's birthday celebratory challenge at Less is More (Happy 3rd Birthday LIM).




You can't really tell but the greeting is gold mirror card.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Pat