Uniko May Release

Hello!

I am popping in to share some cards made with the fab May release from Uniko which is due to go live on Saturday, 6 May.  Today we are introducing two background block stamps - Doodle Flower and Horizontal Stripe.  Each of these stamps is so versatile and will work with lots of card designs....

Firstly here is what I made with Horizontal Stripe:

I inked up the stripes with Hero Arts Navy ink and used them across the bottom of the card base and to paper piece the sails on the ship from Uniko's Nautical Treasures.  The stripes are a great width for backgrounds and for adding details too.  The sentiment is from a set coming later this week :)

The Doodle Flower background block has a lovely, loose sketchy feel:

 

I simply white embossed it and inked over with distress inks.

Here I stamped it several times to cover the card base in black ink and combined it with a whimsical style flower die from Sizzix.  Another sentiment from a set in this release.....

I hope you like these designs.  The rest of the DT have fab inspiration for you:

Bev

Deborah

Jane

Lindsey

Rahmat

Sarah G

Sarah P

 

You can find more information about the May release over at the Uniko blog and I shall be back tomorrow with another gorgeous stamp set to share :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Less is More #326

Hello!

It is another bank holiday weekend here in the UK so I am hoping that I can be productive in sorting out our overgrown garden - as long as it stays dry!  However, before I get started on my chores I wanted to tell you about our challenge this week at Less is More.  We want you to access your dark side as the theme is Shadow:

You can either use shadow stamping on your design or feature a shadow in some way.  I have to admit that I found this one a bit challenging but after some head scratching, I came up with 2 cards:

 

When I thought about shadows, I thought of a light in a gloomy room and tried to create that look with some Mama Elephant stamps combined with distress inks in dark blues and warm yellows.  I will link this up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

 

 

 

Secondly I made a card featuring a stamp from Clarity which I always think looks quite dreamy combined with a sentiment from Mama Elephant.  The lady is watercoloured in distress inks and I shaded in a long shadow cast by the light behind her.  Lots of splatters complete the look.

 

I will also link this card up at Addicted to Stamps who are looking for clean and simple designs.

 

I hope you like these two shadowy designs.  I can't wait to see what you do with this week's challenge.  Check out the rest of the inspiration from the DT over at Less is More too!

 

Thanks for stopping by, Sarah x

Less is More #325

Hello!

Well, Easter has come and gone and now I am looking forward to the summer :)  I had a lovely break in Spain with my parents and the boys in April and am missing the sunshine already.  However the british rain does give me plenty of opportunity to spend time crafting.  This week at Less is More we are wanting you to use stripes on your design:

Lots of options with this theme.  Here is what I came up with:

 

I went super CAS with my first card and created 3 stripes using a dotted border die and putting some coloured card behind each line.  I combined this with a sentiment die from Stamplorations and a heart.

 

Stripes always make me think nautical so this is the look that I have gone for on my second card using a background stripe die from Simon Says Stamp.  As you can see, it has not stamped solid colour but I quite liked the weather beaten look!  The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse and anchor die is from Memory Box, I think.

 

Lastly, I stamped a striped background (can't remember who the stamp is by) on my card base and used that to ground the floral die from Sizzix.  The sentiment is Paper Smooches.

 

I hope you like my trio of stripy cards!  The rest of the DT have fab ideas to share with you over at Less is More along with our super talented guest designer, Tae Eun from Rainbow in November.  I look forward to seeing what you create.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Less is More #324

Hello!

Well, spring is in the air and this week our challenge at Less is More is focusing on the theme of a 'spring walk'.  What a lovely subject with lots of potential for pretty creations!

I have a few ideas to share with you celebrating all things springlike.....

 

I used this lovely image from Mama Elephant and watercoloured over the white embossed lines with distress inks.  The die cut sentiment is Concord and 9th whilst the stamped hello is from Altenew.  I finished with some pale blue splatters to accentuate the watercolour look although they could also represent the inevitable spring showers!

 

Tulips are one of my favourite flowers so they had to feature in my spring walk.  I coloured this image from Stamplorations with pencils and combined it with a Paper Smooches sentiment.

 

Two simple cards but I hope they give you the sense of spring.  Do check out the rest of the DT inspiration over at Less is More and visit the lovely Wendy from Pink and Dotty's blog as she is our GD this week.

 

I hope you have a lovely Easter weekend :)

 

Sarah x

CASology Guest Designer!

Hello!

I am delighted to be guest designer at CASology this week where the cue card is STRONG.

This one had me stumped initially and then I thought of super heroes....they are super strong :)

This is what I came up with:

 

I used one of the sweet super heroes from Mama Elephant against a half tone dotty background from Uniko Studio.  The sentiment is from MFT.

This is a quick post as I am away at the moment so hope that blogger is playing nicely :)

Thank you to the fab CASology team for letting me play along this week.

Thanks to you too for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Less is More #323

Hello!

One layer week is back with us again at Less is More and this time we want you to feature a curve on your design.  I had a few ideas to share with you.....

Firstly:

 

I used a gorgeous bold stencil from Stamplorations and inked through in various colours with a curved mask covering the bottom third of the card where I popped a sentiment from Papertrey Ink.  Very simple but the rich colours and oversized florals look great.

 

Still playing with my Stamplorations goodies I stamped their fabulous butterflies in a curved line, masking as I went.  I coloured them with pencils and lefts some areas black and white.  The sentiment is from Papertrey again.

 

I hope you like these one layer cards - there are, of course, lots of other ways to add curves to your designs and the fab DT have more ideas to share with you over at Less is More.  Have fun!

 

Thanks, as always, for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Less Is More #322

Hello!

Welcome to April :)  Our first challenge of the month at Less is More is a colour challenge to use 3 pastels on your card.  Pastels are perfect for spring although I don't tend to use them very often! 

Here is what I came up with:

 

I think that pastels look pretty on new baby cards so I simply coloured this Memory Box die cut in soft pink, mint and yellow.  A stitched die along each edge and a sentiment from MFT in grey complete the design.  I will also link this card up at AAA Cards where the challenge is to use a die cut.

 

I used a new Hero Arts hydrangea stamp in pink, light blue and lilac to create a background on this card.  It involved quite a lot of masking but creates a soft background image that doesn't overpower the design.  The sentiment die cut is from MFT with additional stamped words from Uniko.  I will also link this card up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

I hope you like my two pastel designs and check out the rest of the great inspiration from the DT over at Less is More :)  As we have started a new month we can also announce a new sponsor for April which is the fab Lili of the Valley.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x