Friday 26 August 2016

Uniko August Challenge Reminder

Hello!

Have you had the chance to play along with us at the Uniko August Challenge yet?  It is a great theme this month - to create a design inspired by a song title!

I decided to make a start on my Christmas cards....well summer is nearly over ;)  The song title that I used was Jingle Bells:


I used Uniko's Christmas Labels set to emboss the circle in gold and copper to create two ornaments with some gold glitter tape at the edges and a pierced line to create the effect of them hanging down the front of the card.  I like the metallic colours and touches of festive bling :)

I hope you are able to find the time to create a song inspired card.  The challenge closes on 9 September and the rest of the talented DT have more reminder inspiration to share with you at Uniko!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Saturday 20 August 2016

Less is More #290

Hello!

Here we are back again with a new challenge for Less is More :)  This week we are looking for exotic cards which got me thinking of all things tropical....that gave me the perfect excuse to play with the fabulous stamps that Uniko released earlier this summer and I came up with 3 cards:


I love the beautiful hibiscus flowers in the Paradise stamp set - they create instant impact.  I simply stamped and cut out two of the flowers and mounted them on a circle of green card.


Next I played with the Paradise Leaves stamp set.  I masked a panel and stamped the leaves in different shades of green, masking them to create a layered look.  I stamped and cut out two of the leaves and popped them up for some dimension.


Finally, I used the lovely hibiscus flowers again - stamping and masking them to create a one layer card.

I hope you like my exotic creations!  I look forward to seeing what you make for our challenge at Less is More this week.  The lovely DT have lots more inspiration to share with you too.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Friday 19 August 2016

Uniko August Challenge

Hello!

It is time for our monthly challenge at Uniko and it is a fun one to use a song title to inspire your design.  I used it as an excuse to make a birthday card for my Dad whose birthday is at the end of the month.  The song title that my card reflects is Sailing.....



I used the fabulous Nautical Treasures stamp set and paper pieced the sails.  Blue card behind the circle aperture creates dimension and a sea like background.

It is a simple design but hopefully a good one for a masculine design.

What song titles will inspire your card?  It is great to use prompts and ideas like this to kickstart your mojo :)

Do check out what the rest of the DT have created over at Uniko - they have some great ideas to share.  The challenge is open until 9 September so there is plenty of time to play along!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Saturday 13 August 2016

Less is More #289

Hello!

Here we are another week closer to the end of the summer :(  I hope you are still enjoying some sunshine....

This week at Less is More we are looking for cards that have a French theme and are one layer!

I came up with a couple of ideas:

 
I used the fab radio and sentiment stamp from Create A Smile and simply stamped a woodgrain stamp from Waltzingmouse along the bottom to create the look of a shelf or table.  The radio is coloured with pencils and i added a touch of glossy accents to the heart.
 
 
I created a French style Christmas card using a wreath stamp and sentiment from Papertrey Ink.  I gold embossed them and coloured in the leaves with pencils.  A very simple design.
 
Going with French sentiments seemed to be the most obvious way to go to me but you may other French themed ideas to share with us.  The DT have their own creative interpretations of the challenge over at Less is More - do check them out!
 
Thank you for stopping by today!
 
Sarah x
 

Thursday 11 August 2016

Uniko Revisit

Hello!

We revisit a different Uniko stamp set each month - hopefully to give you ideas for making more use of your crafty stash and because it is good fun to think of different ways to use these beautiful stamps. 

This month we are playing with Pure Florals Chrysanthemum which is one of the earlier designs that Bev designed out and one of the most popular.  It is a gorgeous intricate floral design in both outline and solid formats and in two different sizes.

Here are a couple of cards that I created:

 
First up I stamped the outline flower in the background in a pale purple and stamped the solid flower in a slightly darker shade.  I watercoloured the leaves with distree ink.  I embossed a Uniko sentiment from another set in purple on to a vellum circle and layered it on top of the stamped card base.

 
I went with a really soft CAS design for my second card and stamped the flower in yellow and coloured with pencils.  I added the sentiment from the same set and finished with some pearls.  The flower doesn't stand out very well in the photo but looks better IRL ;)
 
If you have these Uniko stamps it is definitely worth getting them back out for another look - they are perfect for creating summer floral cards!
 
Thanks for stopping by.  Do check out what the rest of the DT have created over at the Uniko blog :)
 
Sarah x
 
 

Saturday 6 August 2016

Less is More #288

Hello!

Normal service is now resumed from us here at Less is More after our extended challenge over the past fortnight whilst members of the DT were otherwise engaged with holidays and the recent retreat. Today's challenge is a colour theme which is to use brown and blue.  They are not colours that I typically use together and I was interested to see what I could do with them.

Here are a couple of examples - all one layer as I couldn't remember if this was one layer week (it is next week in case you wondered!).

 
First up I used a beautiful stamp from Clarity which I have had for ages and never inked up!  I stamped it in coffee archival ink and coloured with pencils.  It took me a little while but was very relaxing :)
 
 
This card is using another (new to me) stamp from Woodware.  I love the simple flowers and again, I coloured with pencils.  I like how CAS this card is.

 
Finally, I stamped and masked a butterfly and inked up a dotty stencil behind it.  The butterfly itself is softly watercoloured with the same distress inks (Broken China and Stormy Skies, I think).
 
I hope you like my ideas for using brown and blue together.  I am sure that you can come up with something much better and the DT have lots of fabulous designs to share too over at Less is More.
 
Before I go, I also ought to mention that we are sponsored by the fabulous Seven Hills Crafts this month.  Tara has the absolute best range of US stamps and brands in store and a brilliant store blog with inspiration from the talented DT every day!
 
 
 
Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by,
 
Sarah x