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

 

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

 

 

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

Less Is More #286

Hello!

We have a 2 week challenge starting at Less Is More this week and it is a really interesting one!  We are looking for cards that use something tactile so think about ways of adding lots of texture whilst keeping it CAS.

Here are a couple of offerings from me this week:

 

I love to use felt on my cards to create a tactile element.  This is a simple design using PTI dies and a sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps.

 

 

On this card I used texture paste (mixed with blue distress ink) through a Stamplorations rain drop stencil combined with a rainbow die cut from glitter paper and sentiment from Avery Elle.  The texture paste and glitter add texture to the design.

 

I hope you like these ideas for creating tactile cards.  The design team have lots more fab inspiration for you over at Less is More and remember that you have two weeks to play along with us for this challenge :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Less is More #285

Hello!

Hopefully I should be in lovely Spain when this post goes live so I hope that blogger behaves itself!  Our challenge this week at Less is More is to use repetition on your designs.  I have a couple of very simple cards featuring a repeating element to share with you today:

I have gone with repeating an element 3 times on each of the designs which seemed to please my preference for symmetry.  I rarely make DL sized cards but liked the way these 3 Stamploration daisy images looked in a vertical row combined with a Stamploration sentiment.  I coloured the images i with pencils.

 

This is a very quick and simple CAS card featuring 3 punched out butterflies popped up on punched out circles.  I like all of the white space!  The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse Stamps.

 

 

Finally I used another Waltzingmouse set to stamp the feather three times in a deep teal (I think it is an Altenew ink).  I used a border die to create the circle lines at the top and bottom of the central panel and a sentiment from Waltzingmouse too.

 

I hope you like my 3 simple cards and enjoy creating something with a repeating image this week!  The rest of the DT have more inspiration to share with you over at Less is More too.

 

See you again soon,

 

Sarah x

Less is More #284

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying a sunny Saturday and are ready for our next challenge at Less is More!  It is one layer week and the theme is clockwork/time. 

I remembered the one layer rule when making my cards for a change and this is what I came up with:

 

This card is very simple but I love the Tim Holtz stencil/mask which creates a striking background for the sentiment from Clarity Stamps.  I dusted Pumice Stone distress ink over the stencil to create the soft background.

 

I masked off the top third of this card and dusted the bottom section with Broken China and Tumbled Glass distress inks before stamping the watch from Uniko randomly.  I drew a black line across the top and stamped a sentiment from Mama Elephant. 

 

Only two makes from me this week but I hope they give you some ideas for your own clockwork/time inspired creations!  The rest of the Less is More DT have more fab designs to share with you too.

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

 

Sarah x

Less is More #283

Hello!

We have a really fun Less is More challenge for you this week where we are looking for you to incorporate the colours of your kitchen in to your CAS design.  My kitchen is white with green walls and dark wood floor so that was my starting point.

Here I used a strip of wood patterned paper down the edge and teamed it with a very old stamp from Hero Arts which I inked in a couple of shades of green.  I combined it with a simple sentiment from Altenew. 

Next up my card is not quite so CAS but I couldn't resist the temptation to have another play with the fab new stamps from Uniko:

I lightly inked a panel and stamped the glorious tropical leaves in a range of greens and combined with a Uniko sentiment.  The June release from Uniko may be small but it is super cool - do check it out if you haven't already!

I ran out of time to make anything more this week but am really looking forward to seeing how your kitchen colours inspire your cards.  Check out the colour schemes that the fab DT have used over at Less is More :)

Less is More is being sponsored by Happy Little Stampers this month.

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Sarah x