Less is More #339

Hello!

How is your summer going?!  Well, I hope.....it seems to be whizzing by quickly.  We are looking forward to a few sunny weeks in Spain before it is back to school and the autumn routine.  However, in the meantime, we have another challenge to keep you entertained at Less is More. 

Before I get on to my cards, I wanted to let you know that today is my last post as a member of the DT.  I am sad to be stepping down but my work and home commitments are taking up a lot of time at the moment and I haven't been able to do as much crafting as I would like!  LIM is one of my favourite ever challenges and it has been a huge honour to spend the past 18 months on the DT with one of the most talented and lovely teams in blogland :)  Every week their cards are a great inspiration to me and they work so hard behind the scenes too.  I definitely plan to play along whenever I can.....

 

This week we are asking you to include some form of piercing on your design.....here is what I came up with:

 

I used a pierced hole border die to create the panel in the card and used some thread to give a stitched effect.  This was popped up over some patterned paper and combined with a die from Papertrey Ink and a stamp from Uniko.  It is very simple but I think it has a clean, masculine look.

 

My second card is much more feminine and soft with a die cut butterfly from Stamplorations popped over some stencilled foliage.  I pierced some flourishes to give some movement to the design and completed with a sentiment from Hero Arts.

 

Check out the pierced inspiration from the rest of the DT and remember that our sponsor this month is Happy Little Stampers.

 

Thank you as always for stopping by - I really appreciate your comments :)

 

Sarah x

Less is More #338

Hello,

As July flies by in a blur we are back with another challenge to keep you on your crafty toes over at Less is More. 

This week we want to see CAS designs which use stencils, dies and anything other than stamps.  I have loads of dies and find myself using them increasingly on cards so that is what I used for this challenge:

 

I die cut the sentiment (Lil Inkers) from navy cardstock and added some of the fab Stamploration flower dies around it. The navy panel is popped up for some added dimension.

 

Using more of the same navy cardstock I die cut a flourish with a Sizzix die in mint green and attached it to the navy panel.  A die cut sentiment from Penny Black completes the design.

 

Both very simple cards and quick to make as they didn't involve any particular skill, colouring etc.  It is great to be able to use dies to get accurate and quick results!

 

I look forward to seeing what you make without stamps this week.  The DT have more ideas to share with you over at Less is More.

 

See you again soon,

 

Sarah x

Uniko Challenge #42

Hello!

We are back again with the latest challenge over at Uniko and, as we are enjoying the summer time, we have gone for a floral theme:

There are so many fabulous floral images in Uniko's range that I was spoilt for choice....

Here is what I made:

 

I stamped and masked the Pure Florals: Cosmos flowers across the bottom of the card and watercoloured them with distress inks.  I added a white embossed sentiment on a black strip.  I stamped some splatters too to add to the watercolour effect.

 

In contrast to the watercolour effect of the first card, I went bold and bright for my second card using the stylised florals from Uniko in shades of yellow and orange with a few touches of black by way of contrast.  The sentiment is from All Occasion Sentiments #6.

 

The challenge is open until 25 August so there is plenty of time to play along.  We are also joined by two talented guest designers for this challenge - Cornelia from Fun Stamping and Elaine from Craft-E-Place who have fab inspiration for you along with the rest of the DT.

 

Thank you for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Uniko Revisit

Hello,

Today we are celebrating a previously released set from Uniko - Marvellous Mehndi.  I have to say that this is one of my all time favourite designs that Bev has come up with.  It is such a versatile set and the main mandala works perfectly as a focal point and the paisley elements can be combined in a never ending series of combinations.  Can you tell that I love it?!

I have only had time to make a few cards but this is what I came up with:

 

I stamped the mandala around the edges of a white card panel in shades of hot pink, orange and yellow and added paisley elements in the corners.  The fabulous sentiment is from All Occasion Sentiments #1.

 

I just went super simple here and white embossed the mandala on pink card and added a bit of shading with white pencil.  The intricate detail of the mandala creates a striking image whether you colour it or leave it as line art.

 

Do check out the fab inspiration from the rest of the DT over at Uniko - I hope we have reminded you how gorgeous this stamp set is :)  If you comment along with the hop before midnight on 18 July you will have a chance to win a set or a voucher of equivalent value.

 

 

See you again soon,

 

Sarah x

Less is More #336

Hello,

The summer is rolling by and we are back with another fun challenge at Less is More.  This challenge will run for 2 weeks to give you more of a chance to play along.  AND it is an extra special challenge as we are linking up with the fab team at AAA Cards to take part in a joint challenge.  The bad news is it is one layer cards and we are looking for cards made using a coloured card - anything other than white.
.

       


I had lots of fun with this challenge:

 

I used navy cardstock to make the card base and white embossed the sweet bears (I think they are Mama Elephant) and a sentiment from MFT.  I inked white pigment ink through a circle punch for the moon and highlighted the bears in white.



 

 

I white embossed this fun design (from Sizzix) on to a kraft card base and coloured in with pencil.  The sentiment is from Paper Smooches.  I also embossed lines around the main focal point to add a bit of texture but they haven't come through very well on the photo!

 

Finally, a super quick card where I white embossed this gorgeous floral stamp from Concord and 9th on to a purple card base and added a sentiment from Paper Smooches.

 

I hope you like what I created and remember there is the double bonus of inspiration cards from the DTs of both LIM and AAA!  It is also great to welcome Kylie as a guest designer this week as Happy Little Stampers is our generous sponsor this month.

 

 

Thanks as always, thank you for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Word Power

Hello!

A super quick post from me to share the cards that I made for my youngest, Jack's, 12th birthday this week.  He has had a great week and seems to have celebrations lined up for the next 3 weekends!

 

I painted the chipboard letters and numbers and covered in glossy accents and put them against a card panel which I have stamped with Hero Arts birthday definition stamp.  I will join this card up at AAA cards where the theme is to make words the focal point.

 

 

 

I also made a card featuring stamps from Uniko and Waltzingmouse for Jack.  The blue and grey colour combo looks really nice.

 

Thank you for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Less is More #335

Hello!

Here we are in July already.  It has been a very wet and chilly week in the UK so I am hoping that July brings the return of some sunshine.  We are back today with our latest challenge at Less is More which is to use colours from a country's flag:

Quite predictably my first card features the colours of the union jack - blue and white with just a touch of red:

 

 

I stamped some hearts from Waltzingmouse Stamps repeatedly across the top of the card in navy ink and combined it with a sentiment from Altenew.  A little red heart creates a pop of contrast.  I will also link up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where it is Anything Goes.

I then decided to remove red from the mix and just focus on the blue and white of the Scottish flag.

This simply features some patterned paper combined with a die from Waltzingmouse and a sentiment stamp and die from Papertrey Ink.  I thought this would work well for a masculine birthday card. I will link this one up at Time Out where the theme is celebrations with the optional twist of one layer. 

The rest of the DT have other fab designs to share with you over at Less is More.  And, as we are at the start of the new month we have a new sponsor - the wonderful Happy Little Stampers. 

I look forward to seeing which flag you choose to take inspiration from :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Honey I Shrunk the Kit!

Hello!

It genuinely does only feel like a week or two ago when we were sharing our creations with the last mini kit which Shona put together for us but it was actually back at the beginning of May and we are in July already!

This time around the lovely Hazel did the honours and created such a sweet and quirky set of images and elements around the theme 'Going Up'.  I had such fun with this and have 4 makes to share today:

I absolutely fell in love with the sweet Bella Stamps in the kit:

 

I gently inked the middle of the card and added a strip of die cut clouds.  I coloured the girl with spectrum noir pencils and the balloon with zig brush marker and wink of stella.  The sentiment is from Stamploration and I thought it worked well with the girl floating away.  I will link this card up at Simon Wednesday's Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes.  I will also play along at CASology where the cue card is Fly.

 

 

I watercoloured the image and inked the card base with raindrops to add to the rainy scene.  The lovely sentiment is from the kit too.

This koala and accompanying sentiment from Gerda Steiner is such fun.  I inked some clouds in the background and coloured the image with pencils.  The die cut sentiment is from MFT.

 

Finally, Hazel included some gorgeous die cut butterflies in watercolour paper in the kit and I used zig markers and a lot of colour to create an ombre look on them.  The bright colours look cheerful against the crisp white.  The sentiment is another one from Stamplorations.

 

I was really inspired by this kit - thank you, Hazel!  Check out what the other honeys made with the kit here:

 

Shona Chambers

Sarah Platt

Hazel Hodgkins

Anita Bowden

 

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Sarah x