Mothers Day card

 

 Hi There,

 I'm Popping in to share the card I made for my mum in law for Mothers day this Sunday. She'll be 99 years old in July and, although she now in a care home, she's both physically and mentally very well.

I used a stencil from Honey Bee Stamps with Nuvo embellishment mouse on the card base.

The stamp is Lush Peonies from Pinkfresh Studio coloured with various marker pens

The sentiment is from an old Flourishes stamp set now retired cut out with a banner from Catherine Pooler

 

Thanks for popping in

Less is More #494 Hello Sunshine

 Hello There,

I'm back with my DT card for this fortnights Less is More challenge,

It's a one layer card challenge too so don't forget lots of clean space and so layers.

As it's mid October and getting cooler and rainier by the day in UK it didn't seem right to have an actual sunshiney card

so I compromised with a gorgeous Sunflower or two.

The stamp is from Globeland, bought through Amazon. I used a part of it for this card.

Coloured with a mix of Promarkers and Spectrum Noir pens.

The sentiment is from a set by Flourishes, now retired.

Please check out the rest of the DT on the Less is More blog for lots of inspiration.

Thanks for popping in

Less is More #489

 Hello there,

We have a fabulous new challenge for you at Less is More,

Use this gorgeous photograph for your inspiration, we can't wait to see your entries.

For my first card I used Gerbera Daisy stamp by Flourishes (no longer trading) stamped across the top corner and coloured with marker pens.

The sentiment is from Visible Image.

My second card is a Popcorn the Bear stamp from Crafters Companion also coloured with marker pens.

The sentiment is by Papertrey Ink

Please check out the inspiration on the blog from the design team.

Thanks for popping in

Less is More # 475

 Hello there LIMettes,

It's time for another challenge at Less is More and it's the dreaded one layer challenge.

So, something a little bit different this time. I have to admit that I cannot draw to save my life so this really was a challenge for me. But then, after some thought I decided to go nice and simple ( I can easily relate to simple :)

A ruler and a good fine liner pen makes all the difference. I know it's not pretty or artistic but it serves it's purpose and I'm quite pleased with it and myself.

I drew the frame first then used a couple of post it notes to mask off one side and the bottom before stamping the flowers.

The flower stamp is one of my oldest and still favourite sets, Gerbera Daisy by Flourishes.

I coloured the flowers with various markers in autumn colours.

The sentiment is also very old and is from Papertrey Inc.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your creations for this challenge and don't forget to chack out the blogs of the other DT's

Thanks for popping in

Less is More # 458

 Hello there,

We're back!

Welcome to our first challenge of 2022. 

While we are sad to see Sharon, Anita and Izzy say goodbye to us, we are so pleased that Kylie has stepped up as our leader to keep Less is More going. Thank you Kylie.

We have a DT call this month too so please check the blog for information.

It's also our 11th birthday month which is why we're asking you to celebrate with us with your birthday designs. 

I used some small pieces of card from my snippets box ( I am getting through them, slowly) to make the balloons. All the patterns are The Lovely Studio and I've gone with the brightest colours I could find.

The balloon die is ( I think) from Amazon.

The letter dies are from Yvonnes Crafts

The sentiment stamp is by Flourishes.

I've added some flat back pearls for decoration.

Please check out the challenge blog for more fabulous inspiration and don't forget the DT call.

Thanks for popping in

Less is More #454 Autumnal

 Hello there,

It's Less is More day and this time we have the dreaded one layer card challenge. I'm sure most of you are experts at OLC by now but for those of you who are new  to this, there is some fabulous inspiration over on the blog.

So, our cue word is Autumnal which  means beautiful rich colours, autumn flowers and falling leaves.

 

For my card I chose to use this Sunflower stamp from Flourishes. Sunflowers remind me that, although Winter is on it's way, Mother Nature still finds ways to bring us sunshine.

The sentiment stamp is Papertrey Autumn Abundance set. 

I coloured the flower in a mix of Promarkers and Spectrum Noir pens.

Thank you for popping in.

Less is More #448

 Hello there,

 

 

Time for a brand new challenge at Less is More and this time it's a lovely one.

It's Teamie  Elaine's birthday this month so she has chosen a gorgeous card for us to case.

You have lots of choices with this card. There's the rose's, the colour and/or the tiling. Or you can put you're own interpretation on it. We can't wait to see your creations.

I chose to use this stamp, Zinnia's from Flourishes for my CASE, mainly because of the variety of oranges and golds they come in.

I stamped the image twice and coloured each flower separately making sure I got the right colour on the right flower. Once coloured I cut the base one with a stitched square die and adhered it to my card.

I cut a rectangle from the second image and carefully placed it over the first so that all the petals met.

The sentiment is a stamp from Visible Image.

I kept it to the one 'tile' and concentrated on the colours for my card but check out the other DT on the Less is More blog for some fabulous inspiration.

Stamps...Flourishes, Visible Image

Dies...Die-namics, Spellbinders

Less is More # 437

 Hello there,

We're still celebrating our 10th birthday over at Less is More.

We've had enough chocolate to warrant slackening our waistbands so now we need FLOWERS. Who doesn't love a beautiful floral bouquet or a pretty pot plant for a birthday?

It is a one layer challenge this time though so remember, lots of white space and no embellishments 

I've used a stamp from Flourishes (now retired) called Spring Bouquet. In these these dull, grey, cold and rainy days I need reminding that spring is just around the corner.

I coloured the image with a mix of Promarkers and Spectrum Noir pens.

The sentiment is a stamp from Papertrey.

We have lots of lovely sponsors with fabulous prizes  to help us celebrate our birthday. Please pop along and join in, check out the DT for some gorgeous inspiration.

Thanks for popping in x

Less is More #425 Summer Flowers

Hello there,

It's Saturday and that means it's time for our new challenge at Less is More

A nice warm summery one this time.

I have two cards to share with you,

 I love colour and this Flourishes Gerbera Daisy stamp just cries out for the brightest colours.
It's one of my favourite stamps and it's so versatile, I use it more than any other stamp I think.
I stamped it sideways on and then masked it off and stamped again at an angle to make the flowers fit, ( does that make sense?)
Then I simply coloured it with a mix of Promarkers and Specrum Noir pens.
The sentiment is from a set by Marion Emberson Designs

For my second card I've toned things down a bit with pastel colours.
This is another Flourishes stamp, Orchids and again you get to have free reign over colours.

I stamped and coloured the image before cutting it out with a stitched recangle die. I cut another rectangle slightly bigger and matted them up with foam pads.
I had a little accident when stamping the sentiment onto the card base so had to stamp again onto a mat to cover it. Luckily it was easily solved.

I bought these stamps back in the days when I made fussy cards, long before I discovered CAS but I think both designs show that even though they might be a bit twee, they can still be CAS.

Please check out the other DT posts and give them some love and take some inspiration.

Less is More # 421 Borders

Hi there,

It's Less is More Day, 
and this time we have a lovely easy challenge for you

This is my take on it,

I used a border embossing folder from Crafters Companion that my lovely friend Carol gave me ages ago and I have never used before now. Certainly will again.
The flowers were made using a punch and finished off with a pearl centre
The sentiment is from a set called Orchids by Flourishes.

Please check out the challenge blog, there's some fabulous inspiration from the DT

Thanks for popping in x

20th Wedding Anniversary

Hi there,

It's my eldest daughter Cheryl and her husband Darren's 20th wedding anniversary tomorrow (wednesday).

I woke up with this design on my mind one day last week so just ran with it. I really wish it was that easy all the time.
Started by making a circle mask from a piece of scrap copy paper and stamped the script lightly to give it a slightly distressed look, then embossed in gold EP.
I sponged some TH berry red distress ink onto a piece of white card leaving enough space to fit the flower die so the heads were coloured but the stems stayed white and die cut them.
The heart is diecut from an off cut of red pearl card and I've used a small circle die to slot the flower stems into.
I used another tiny piece of red pearl card for the sentiment and numbers.

I'm really pleased with this one and how easy it all went together.


Script stamp- Indigo Blu
Heart die- Sizzix
Circle die- Spellbinders
Flowers- Amazon
Numbers die -Yvonnes Crafts
Sentiment- Flourishes

Timeout challenge # 158

Hi there,

I'm popping in today to share my very late entry in the latest Timeout Challenge

We are asked to use lots or a little purple with the option twist of friendship.
The purple ribbon represents Epilepsy awareness.

I thought I'd challenge myself and colour my image with watercolour paints. Lets just say, I need a lot more practice.

I bought the flower stamp at a craft fair years ago and there was no name with it so I can't give credit.

I coloured it with Twinkling H2O's so it's got a little sparkle. 

I tried to be clever and get the darker purple to bleed into the paler but it didn't quite work out.

The sentiment is by Flourishes.

Thanks for popping in X

Perfectly CaS #6

Hello there,

My card today is for the current challenge at Perfectly Cas

I've used Inkadinkado circle stamps with Versa color inks in Magenta, Marigold and Lime.
Flowers dies are by Simply Graphic cut from scraps of white card
Sentiment is from Flourishes stamped in Versamark onyx and raised onfoam pads


Thanks for popping in x

Happy 9th Birthday Less is More

Hi there,

Yes, this week it's 9 years since the very first Simply Less is More challenge.
I joined in then and, although I had a bit of gap a couple of years ago, I'm still looking forward to our now fortnightly challenges.

This time the theme is

so a small image and very little else.

This is what I came up with,

 I struggled to find a stamp small enough but came across this very old stamp set from Elusive Images.

Stamped in Versafine black and embossed in clear EP.
The sentiment is from a small set by Flourishes.
The close up shows my rubbish attempt at water colouring with DI. It looks a bit better in real life.

And get this,  even though it's not one layer week this is a one layer card...go me lol.

So, seeing as it's 9 years since the start of this challenge blog I've had a scroll through past entries and found my first less is more card.

Funnily enough this one also has a stamped image from Elusive Images and a sentiment from the same Flourishes set.

I'm also entering this card into the Perfectly CaS challenge which is a one layer card.

Thanks for popping in x