Flowers

Me again!  This time I’m back with a card for The Sketchy Challenges and we have a wonder theme of ‘Add Some Bling’.

Something a little different from me today. I was having a tidy up and came across a lot of stamps that haven’t been used for a while. So thought it would be a good idea to have a play with them:

The stamps are an old Hero Arts set that I have heat embossed in white and then watercoloured. My heat gun got a good old workout as I heat embossed the chipboard sentiment as well.

Supplies:

• Colouring Medium: Watercolours
• Card: Kraft Card, White Card and Hot Pressed Watercolour Card
• Dies & Punches: Go Kreate Frilly Frames #10
• Stamps: Flowers/Leaves Hero Arts and Hearts Docrafts
• Ink & EP: Perfect Medium Inkpad, White Detail Embossing Powder and Gold Details Embossing Powder
• Embellishments: Pearls

If you would like to see some more fabulous inspiration please hop across to The Sketchy Challenges to see what the other girls have created.

Thanks for stopping by

Lisa

LIM….at last!

I have been trying to make a card for this weeks ‘Foliage’ Challenge at LIM since Sunday and would you believe all I had to show for my efforts until tonight was five or six disasters. And no I’m not kidding, they were really that bad.

I think my trouble was I was trying to combine to many techniques, colours, stamps, etc, and I was just over egging the pudding. So tonight I pulled out a Clarity corner stamp and stuck to a nice symmetrical layout and here is what I came up with…

   

…I just hope the Holly counts as foliage.

The base is a 15cm square Kraft card blank. The sentiment (from a Hero Arts set) was stamped in Graphite Black Brilliance Ink and then the Holly corner was stamped using Memento Cottage Ivy Ink. The berries were coloured with a Whispers Brush Marker and the sentiment was highlighted with a clear At You Spica Marker. A few red gems and my first completed Christmas card of 2012!

I’m trying to blog my cards as I make them at the moment as otherwise I tend to make things and then weeks later find I’ve forgotten to blog them, but tonight this means it’s got a bit late and I can hear my bed calling. So goodnight and thanks for stopping by.

Lisa

Counting Sheep

Normally I’m a great sleeper, but not tonight. I couldn’t settle and rather than counting millions of sheep I thought I would have a little play in my craft room.

I have made a card for this weeks LIM Challenge, something I haven’t had time to do for  while (and I do miss it!). This week Chrissie and Mandi have set us a colour challenge and it’s to use predominantly yellow on our cards. Here’s mine…

I’ve added two photos, but neither are great. As you can imagine the light isn’t great at 1:30am, but seeing as I made the card I thought I would blog it now before I forget.

I took a C6 White Linen Card Blank and embossed the diagonal lines using a scoreboard. The panel has been inked with two shades of yellow ink and stamped using a Lili of the Valley Grunge background stamp and a couple of Hero Arts stamps. The panel has been matted and layered onto a scrap of yellow card and added to the card blank with foam pads. The sentiments are from a Personal Impressions set and are stamped in Brilliance Graphite Black Ink. Finally a few pearls to finish.

Little One and I go to Tumble Tots in the morning and then visit my parents so I suppose I ought to try and get some sleep. Perhaps I’ll try counting those sheep after all.

Thanks for stopping by

Lisa

Less is More – Scraps

Just a quick post from me as it’s been a long day and my bed is calling.

The challenge this week at Less is More is to use scraps. This is perfect for me as since the start of the New Year I’ve been making a conscious effort to use up some of my massive pile of scraps. Anyone who knows me well will tell you I like order and things to have their place so my scraps are actually very well organised (by plain or patterned card and then into colour groups…sad I know!) but there are just too many of them and I hate to throw something out when I know that something could be made from them.

My scraps are the flowers and the corrugated Kraft card. The paper the flowers are stamped onto was originally some scraps and the flowers themselves are scraps as they were left over from another card I made about six months ago.

The paper scraps were from a MME pad (I think) and the flowers stamps are the ‘Dotted Flowers’ by Hero Arts. I’ve added a couple of bits and bobs I picked up in Farnborough at the weekend, some Washi tape and some Card Candi as the flower centres. I’ve also added a sentiment written on my little Dymo Junior Label Maker.

Thanks for stopping by and again apologies if I don't get round to many of you, my laptop is still broken and Hubby thinks the restore disks that we need may have been packed up and be in storage.

By for now

Lisa

Less is More… with a hole

Afternoon everyone. Just a quick post from me while I have a quick cuppa as I’m knee deep in housework. Moving house/house hunting/Christmas has really upset my routine, I normally just do a little bit of house work each day and I keep on top of things but at the moment everything seems to need doing all at once. And don’t get me started on the dust….our last house was a new build and we didn’t get anywhere near as much dust as we do at the moment. Wipe, blink and the dust is back again that quick!

Anyhoo rant over I’m actually here to share the card I made for this weeks LIM challenge where Chrissie and Mandi have asked us to ‘Cut it Out’

I cut an aperture using my largest circle Nestabilities and keeping the die in place embossed the edge of the aperture. Using a Hero Arts stamp set (Dotted Flowers) I stamped a leaf three times onto patterned green paper and the flower onto plain pink card and cut all out by hand. I glued the leaves and flower together and then to the card base (using Glossy Accents as it dries so quickly). Finally adding a sentiment (from a Personal Impression set), a piece of patterned paper on the inside of the card and a fabulous bit of bling for the centre of the flower. The bling was a real bargain, I got a massive sheet of clear gems of various sizes in a 99p store.

Ooh and I forget to mention I’m going to be a guest designer with ‘Moving Along With The Times’ for the next month so pop back tomorrow when I will share my first card.

Right tea break over, thanks for stopping by.

Lisa

A bird and a Chicken

Just a quick post from me as I’ve got some other things I should be doing.

In my earlier post for the ‘Bird’ challenge over on the LIM blog I said I had a card that needed a repair, well I haven’t had time to make the repair, let alone photograph it again so I thought I would post it anyway. It’s only a little gem on the bottom right flower that has slipped slightly so just imagine it’s on the flower.

I used a small Hero Arts set that I have had for years and stamped with Timber Brown Stazon so that I could watercolour the birds and flowers, also adding some grass and a tree trunk.

I also made this little chicken card with the free stamp that came with this months Craft Stamper. I used some dies cuts to mask and ink the frame and then stamped the chicken in Memento ink and coloured with ProMarkers. The sentiment is a Polkadoodles stamp that came free with a magazine.

Thanks for popping by

Lisa

My Top 5 of 2011

Debby, whose cards I’ve admired for a long while now, is doing a round up of 2011 and asking us to share our Top 5 Cards of 2011. Here are mine:

1. I love pink and butterflies, so this one had to make my top 5!

2. This year I started joining in the LIM challenges and this is my favourite, both WoW and CAS!

3. I loved making this card using all Digi Papers, image and sentiment from Pink Petticoat and it won their ‘Celebrate Spring Competition’

4. My Dad turned 70 this year and I had to make him a special card so used my favourite DP of this year and one of my favourite stamps too!

5. Finally this made my top 5 as it was one of the first cards of 2011 where I tried to embellish a bit more. I’m not good at adding things to my card, much like in real life as can’t accessorise an outfit!

All in all this has been a good year, I managed to win the Pink Petticoat Competition ‘Celebrate Spring’, be a runner up in Pink Petticoats ‘O Christmas Tree’ Competition, I got a third place in the Madeira category in Cardmaking and Papercrafts ‘Cardmaker of the Year’ and I was a runner up in Papercrafts Essentials ‘Papercrafter of the Year’ (getting my cards pictured in the current issue was the best Christmas pressie I could have wished for!). And with us looking for a new house at the moment and perhaps thinking about extending our family, 2012 promises to be a good year as well.
Thanks Debby for letting us share and Happy New Year to all.
Lisa

Less is More–Week 26

Just a quick post from me. The challenge over at LIM this week is Feeling Fruity.

I’ve used a cherry stamp that part of a cupcake set by Hero Arts. Whilst stamping out some cherries and colouring them in I was reminded of arcade machines. The sentiment is computer generated using word art on MS Word.

Less is More – Week 25 take two

Now I’m going to set you a little test with my second try for this weeks LIM challenge….something is wrong with my card, can you spot what? I’ll tell you at the bottom of this post. I must admit I am really annoyed with myself as I really like the way the card turned out.

I’ve stuck with the same patterned paper as my first try. This time I’ve paper pieced the butterfly and raised the edge of the wings up using foam pads (but I don’t think this shows in the pic). I masked and stamped the other two butterflies and coloured them with an Ivory ProMarker and a white gel pen to give them a little bit of definition. Added the ribbon and a sentiment.

Items: Pale grey card from Papermill Direct, First Edition ‘Summer Breeze’ patterned paper, ProMarkers, white gel pen, corner punch, Memento Sweet Plum inkpad, Hero Arts Cling Stamps Butterflies and ribbon from stash.

Did you spot the big boo boo? I stamped the sentiment onto the ribbon and it looked great, but by the time I came back to take a pic the ink had faded and seeped into the ribbon. IRL you can still read it but it doesn’t stand out….oops.

Critter Sketch Challenge #74

We have a fab challenge over at Critter Sketch Challenge which is to make a card for ourselves…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Now the sort of card I would like to receive myself is a tricky one as I like lot’s of different styles….CAS, Bling, Glitter, Patterned Papers, Stamping, etc, etc. So I combined a little bit of it all and I’m quite please with how it came together.  Do you think it’s a bit early to give it to Husband for him to give back to me on my birthday….it’s not until March?…lol.

Head on over to Critter Sketch Challenge and see what the rest of the DT have been up too.

I’d also like to enter my card in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge of Anything goes.

Items: C6 White card blank, white card from stash, Striped Patterned Paper from Paper Cellar, Flower Stamps Hobbycraft own make, Sentiment from Pink Gem, Cupcake stamp from a set by Hero Arts, ProMarkers, Perfect Medium inkpad, Pink Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder, Ranger Stickles Glitter Glue and Onyx Black VersaFine inkpad.

Less is More – Week 22 take two

Me again…I posted an entry to LIM earlier and I knew exactly what Lady LIM or Diva LIM were going to say when I was typing the post…. “Not quite enough white space” lol.  So now the glue has dried I thought I would share the other two cards I made.  Lot’s more white space…

On the second card as well as the two blues on the snowflakes and the blue on the sentiment there are also two shades of blue ink on the background but it doesn’t shoes in the photograph.

I do have one more card but I need your help. At the moment it’s just a panel and I don’t know whether the finished card should be the same size as the panel or should be mounted onto a larger card base….what does everyone think?

Items: Various white card blanks, other card from stash, Sentiments from Pink Gem, Hero Arts Snowflake Stamp set, Little Claire Christmas Eve Stamp, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, pearl from Wild Orchid Crafts, Perfect Pearls Powder Interference Blue, Dark Blue glitter, clear embossing powder, WOW blue glitter embossing powder, Alcohol Inks Stream and Denim, VersaFine inkpad Majestic Blue, Brilliance Inkpad metallic blue, VersaColor inkpads (various blue)

Less is More – Week 21

Phew what a hectic week. Been under the weather with a nasty cold and so much to do. Been busy making cards and a cake for my MIL’s 60th Birthday. I can’t share the cards yet as they are also cards for the DT’s I belong to but when the icing on the cake is dry I’ll pop back to share a pic. Anyhoo I’m here to share the cards I’ve made for this weeks LIM challenge. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I’m just no good at following sketches, I think I focus too much on the sketch and it then squashes Mr Mojo and I dislike most of what I make. Here they are:

Honest feedback please….I do appreciate it.

We’re off to Portsmouth to the In-Laws tonight so I need to get the packing started, will update the post with supplies later.

Bye for now xxx

Less is More – Week 20

Just a quick post from me tonight as I wanted to share my creation for this weeks challenge over at LIM where the theme is Monograms.  My followers will know I have been on holiday for a week and only got back this afternoon. So I have had a week to think about this challenge and really I’ve been a bit stumped all week. It wasn’t until I actually sat down with my stash that this idea came to me. My card is a wedding card for my Sister and I’ve used her and her fiancé's initials as the Monogram:

Apologies for the poor photo, it’s so gloomy here this afternoon and that always makes for a bad photo.  Anyhoo onto the card… I stamped a strip of purple card with a small flourish stamp from a Hearts set by Hero Arts, embossed and then washed over it with a mix of Perfect Pearls and water. The Monograms were also stamped and embossed and then I stamped the heart (from the same Hero Arts set) over the top, also adding glitter glue to the letters. A bit of matting and layering on some purple, white and black card and finally a rub on sentiment.

I’ll edit with the supplies later.

Ta for now xxx

DT call at Allsorts

My answer is yes I would love to be.  The DT call is open till 14th June at 6pm. You have to make a specific project just for the DT call, so click on the badge above (or on my sidebar) to go to their blog and find out what you need to do to enter.
At first I was thinking of making a ‘Circle Table Top Card’ but then on Tuesday I was lucky enough to win the gorgeous (and very versatile) Room With A View - 4 Seasons stamp set from Little Claire, it arrived in the post Wednesday morning and as soon as I opened it I decided I wanted to make a little room scene, yet I still wanted it to be a card that would fold up.
So using some scrap paper I had a play. I figured if I used a square instead of a circle and only do one square not four (still with me…lol) then it would look like a little room but would still fold up to be able to post.  Here’s the end result…

I’ve used the stamp set to decorate the inside, doing a bit of paper piecing, a bit of decoupage and some colouring. I’ve also made a little picture frame to hold the sentiment. On the outside I have used anther Little Claire stamp set Room with a View - Dog in a Window and also cut some bunting from patterned paper and stamped letters to spell the word party.
I’ll be back later with my entry for this weeks Less is More challenge, early for me this week, lol!
Item’s: plain card from stash, DP is First Edition Animal Antics, Memento Tuxedo Black Inkpad, Balers Twine from Ribbon Girl, Papermania Flower punch, wood beads from stash, sentiment from Hero Arts, ProMarkers, Stickles Glitter Glue and Little Claire stamp sets Room With A View - 4 Seasons and Room with a View - Dog in a Window .

The Stamp Man - May ATC Swap

Just a quick post as we are going out for a meal. I just wanted to share a quick picture of the ATCs I've made for The Stamp Man's May Swap. I'm a bit late getting them in the post so hopefully they'll we get there in time.

Critter Sketch Challenge #66

It's a new challenge today at Critter Sketch Challenge Blog.   This weeks challenge is:

Recipe: 3 different solid colors, 2 buttons and 1 ribbon 

I've used the 'Magical Friends' image, which was a dream to colour and I've made a little easel card

Item's: Digi Image 'Magical Friends' from Wags 'n Whiskers, Pink, Yellow and Lilac card from Stash, ProMarkers, Lilac and Diamond Stickles glitter glue, sentiment from Hero Arts, Circular Sentiment from Pink Gem, Liquid Pearls, Papermania buttons, Pearls from Wild Orchid Crafts (coloured to match with ProMarkers), Versafine Imperial Purple inkpad and ribbon from stash.

We're being sponsered this month by:

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to hop on over to Critter Sketch Challenge Blog and take a look at the cards made by the other DT members.

Less is More - Week 15

Over at LIM towers this week it's the dreaded one layer card..lol. Also it has to include some embossing (dry or wet). Well after last weeks WoW I needed some colour so I've gone with a very hot pink and used one of my favourite stamps of all time, a cupcake, part of a fantastic set from Hero Arts. I stamped and embossed the cupcake and sentiment with dark purple embossing powder, coloured it lightly with shimmery watercolour paint, masked it and then stamped and embossed the dotty background stamp in clear sparkle embossing powder. It looks like there's a smudge in the bottom right corner but it's not honest...it's a shadow on the picture and isn't there IRL.

Item's: Hot Pink card from stash, Sentiment and Cupcake stamp from Hero Arts set, Dotty background stamp from Dimension Forth, Versacolor inkpad, Perfect Medium inkpad, clear sparkle embossing powder, dark purple embossing powder and watercolour paint.

Less is More - Week 14

I'm still grinning and yes I was right I do have face ache (see last post....I won the Pink Petticoat Celebrate Spring Competition).  Anyhoo I'm back with my entries for this weeks challenge at LIM. This week it's white on white and I have to admit I found it much harder than I thought I would, although I think it was more to do with my idea getting stuck somewhere between my head and my hands than the WoW challenge.  The first card I had an idea set in my mind but I just couldn't get it to come out on the card as I'd imagined...it's woven ribbon layered up with a sentiment. However, the second card just flowed and I'm thrilled with it...it's so me. I've made the two layers using my scoreboard to emboss diagonal lines and some criss cross lines, inked and embossed the edges, stamped and glittered a butterfly and added a sentiment.

 

Items: White 6x6 card blank, white card, white satin ribbon 1cm and 2cm widths, Papermania white fibre paper, MS Scoreboard, Stickles Stardust, Sentiment from Pink Gem, VersaFine Onyx Black inkpad and white gel pen.

 

Items: White DL card blank, white card, MS Scoreboard, VersaMark Clear Ink Pen, Clear Sparkle Embossing Powder, sentiment from Pink Gem, white gel pen, Memento London Fog inkpad, Hero Art Butterfly Cling Stamps, various shades of white glitter (one looks pink in photo but it really isn't),  Stickles Frosted Ice and some little flower stamens (for the antennae).

Less is More - Week 13

...just made this start to finish in 20 minutes (normally I'm an hour at least) bbl to update with details but need to get this linked to LIM, would hate to miss a challenge.

 

The liquid pearls are still wet ..lol.

Item's: Cream A5 card blank, Gold Mirror Card, Antique Linen and Peeled Paint Distress inkpads, Perfect Medium inkpad, clear sparkles embossing powder, Gold Liquid Pearls, Clear Design - Friend from Hero Arts and sentiment from a Little Claire Set.

ATC Challenge Blog - Challenge 1

I’m excited!  The first challenge starts today over on the ATC Challenge Blog and this is my first ever DT post. To ease us all in gently the theme is: 

ANYTHING GOES

Below is my ATC but don’t forget to take a look at the blogs of the other DT members for more inspiration:

A little birdie told me... Base is covered haphazardly in silver coloured leaf and then coloured with alcohol inks, a piece of tissue paper stamped with a hessian background stamp has been glued on and a sentiment added, a scrap of glittered paper (handmade using pva glue, tissue paper, glass paint and glitter), a decoupaged bird covered in glossy accents, some punched leaves to make a branch and finally some lace coloured to match with alcohol inks. Stamps used are from Hero Arts and Dimension Forth.

As this is the first challenge it will be open for three weeks but after this the challenges will run fortnightly and don't forget to take a few seconds to read the challenge rules.

A little reminder of the fabulous prize for the winner of the first Challenge… 

A DCWV paper stack

And finally if you want to swap your ATCs then head over to the Craftymess and take a look at the ATC swap group.