Less is More # 452, Hexagons

 Hello there,

We have a fun challenge for you at Less is More today,

Lots of scope for your creativity with this one, we can't wait to see what you come up with.

For my first card I went obvious with a Bee theme.

A really simple design using Spellbinders Hexagon dies.

I started by making a panel for the front of my card and cutting a hexagon just right if centre.

I found a piece of thin card that I'd printed the honeycomb pattern  from The Lovely Studio onto, in my snippets box and placed it on the card base under my cutout.

I then cut two hexagons from the same piece of card and placed them alongside the cutout using foam pads.

I stamped, coloured and fussy cut the little bee, from a set from The Works, added some Glamour Dust to his wings and adhered him with a small foam pad.

The sentiment is PC generated and yes it is wonky. I think the die slipped when cutting it out and I didn't have time to do it again. Please don't judge me :)

My second card was made for my son's birthday which he celebrated recently.

I've used the football theme and the colours of his favourite team, Hull City FC, who play in black and amber.

I started with a stencil from Studio 75 and black ink. The hexagons are Spellbinders again cut from amber card. 

I stamped and heat embossed a football from a very old Stampman set and cut that out with the smallest hexagon die.

The sentiment is PC generated (straight this time)

Thank you for popping in

Less is More #451 Sparkle

 Hello there,

Well September already, where is this year going? But it is Saturday and time for our latest challenge at Less is More

and this time we want to see your creations sparkle.

We have the lovely and very talented Viv of Daizy-Mae designs as our guest designer for this challenge.

Please check out her blog and give her some love.

 Just the one card from me this time,

My first thought for this challenge was a Christmas card but I thought that would be the obvious choice and wanted to do something a little bit different. After a lot of thought I decided on this Dragonfly die.

I managed to find a piece of card that I'd previously smooshed in pink and blue DI and luckily the colours lined up beautifully with the die.

I added some Glamour Dust to the wings and some tiny gem stones to the body for extra sparkle.

I used a brick stencil and some decorative chalk for the background.

The sentiment is from a Christmas stamp set but it fit perfectly for this challenge.

Die- Amazon

Stencil- Studio 75

Stamp- Winnie & Walter, Sentimental Winter.

We are looking forward to seeing your creations, who doesn't love a bit of bling

Thanks for popping in.

Less is More #444, Favourite Technique

 Hello there,

It's a bank holiday weekend in the UK so a perfect time to get crafting and join in with our new challenge at Less Is More. Hopefully the weather is going to improve too. I think Spring forgot to turn up this year.

We want you to share your passion. The one technique that you use most simply because you love it.

My favourite technique changes depending on my mood but at the moment I'm using stencils more and more. I'm building quite a collection and have been trying different methods of using them. I do love texture and the effects different products give. My first card is made using Embellishing Mousse.

Get me being all trendy with a slimline card.

I've used this gorgeous Teal coloured card with Gold Nuvo Embellishing Mousse. I think it looks quite opulant and also shows that Cas doesn't have to be white.

The Stencil is a cheap one I found on Amazon.

The sentiment, also from Amazon is die cut in gold mirror card

My next one is using a Snowflake Stencil from Funky Fossil.

I've used homemade texture paste and embossed it with two tone Moonglow EP in blue/gold.

 

My last card is also using homemade texture paste with a heart stencil from Studio 75. I sprinkled this one with very pale pink glitter.

 The word die is from Dieversions triple layered in pink card.

Homemade texture paste is really easy and cheap to make.

1/4 cup of talcum powder ( I use baby powder because it smells lovely)

1 TBS cheap uPVA glue

1 TBS white acrylic paint

Some water.

Mix together adding small amounts of water until the paste has the consistancy of toothpaste.

Keep in an air tight jar and it lasts for a good few weeks.

I hope I've given you some ideas. Please check out the other DT members blogs for some fabulous inspiration.

Thanks for popping in.

Less is More #439 Inking

 Hello there,

We have a fab new challenge for you at Less is More 

today,

 

(inking a masked area on your card, using inked die cuts, inking the edges of your card etc etc)

Just remember to leave it clean and simple with lots of 'white' space. 

Well that's me settled comfortably in my happy place. I love playing with inks and getting messy. Trying different techniques and experimenting. So much so that I got a teeny bit carried away. Be warned, it could be a long post.

The more cards I made, the more I realised I had an unintentioned theme going on, so I'm calling them seasons. You'll see why.

 

 Spring is finally here and the gardens are showing off with their new shoots and blooms. 

I started with a brickwork stencil from Studio 75 and used Versacolor sandbeige with a touch of Antique linen DI on the edges.

The plants are a mix of Simply Graphic and Amazon dies cut from some card that I smooshed in Twinkling H2O's in different shades of green.Luckily I'd left some white card at the top so could place the flower on the 'clean' bit. I then coloured it with a Promarker.

The sentiment is from Avery Elles simple sentiments stamped in white ink onto black card.

 

 I'm calling this one summer because I think the circles look  like bubbles and they remind me of all the summers with my three kids and later with the grandkids chasing bubbles around the garden. Such a simple way to have fun but there's nothing lovelier than hearing little ones giggling is there?

I found this technique on Pinterest Here.

I had to have a  bit of practice to get it right but it's a super effect I think.

I made a mask from a piece of scrap card, cutting two circles, one slightly smaller than the other, witth dies. Then simple sponge just along the edge with your inks.

I used Versacolor inks in Orchid, Cyan and Lime moving the mask around so the colours were at different place.

Both the sentiment stamp and word die are from Avery Elle.

 

Ofcourse after summer comes Autumn. I quite like Autumn, especially the lovely warm colours when the leave start to change and the Dahlias are in flower.This one makes me think of sunsets while the days are still quite long.

For this card I smooshed Mustard Seed, Ripe Persimmon and Spiced Marmalade DI. I love the way the colours settle after smooshing, giving different depths of colour around the card.

Once dry I cut the card with a stitched square die from Die-namics then stamped the branch and bird from Inkadinkado in Versamark Onyx black ink.

Sentiment again from Avery Elle

 

 And then it's Winter again. Short days, long dark nights and it's cold. But then, if we're lucky, we get snow and the world becomes a magical place.

This one began as a scrap of white card and a stencil of small circles from Alexandra Renke. I sponged some white pigment ink through the stencil and then left it a couple of hours to dry.

Once dry I sponged Broken China, Tumbled Glass and a tiny bit of wilted Violet DI over a large part of the card. The white pigment ink shows through the DI faintly and I'm hoping it looks a bit like snow.

Once done I cut out a stitched circle with a Die-namics die.

Added the branch cut from white card with a Memory Box die and the bird ( Amazon)

The sentiment is Mama Elephant, Holiday Messages.

I hope I've given you a bit of inspiration and I can't wait to see what you come up with. I might even steal some of your ideas, with permission ofcourse.

Thanks for popping in x

 

Less is More # 426 Doodles

Hi there,

It's Less is More day once again this time we have a recipe.

We would love to see your creations using Doodles on your cards.

Unfortunately my artistic talents are so abysmal I can't even make a decent doodle by hand. Honestly, I'm rubbish and I have tried. I did have a stamp set that would have been perfect but I gave it away when I had a purge a couple of years ago ( never again) so I thought I would have to download a digi doodle. Luckily I had a good look through all my stamps and found this one that I bought from the Works ages ago and promptly forgot about .

I started by stamping a single bee, made a mask with a post it and used a hexagon stencil from Studio 75 to sponge some DI for the background.
I stamped my image and coloured it with Promarkers before cutting it out with a Spellbinders Hexagon die and mounting it using foam pads.
The sentiment is PC generated.
I finished with a bit of colour on my single bee and that's it. Quick and easy

Please check out the inspiration from the rest of the team on the blog. We look forward to seeing your creations.

Thanks for popping in x

Less is More # 406

Hello there,

I'm back with my entry for the latest challenge at Simply Less is More which is a colour challenge.

I've been really busy this last week with commissions and family cards which has given me some time to think about how to use the challenge.

It was during a conversation mid week when someone pointed out that my newest Gt grand daughter was a rainbow baby. I'm sure you all know but for those who don't, a rainbow baby is one born after the loss, through miscarriage, still birth or early death of a baby. 

Actually my eldest grand daughter, my gt grand daughters mum is also a rainbow baby so I've used that for my design. Rainbow babies are extra special.

I started with a heart stencil from Studio 75 and used a piece of scrap card with a die cut heart over the top.

I then used Versa colour inks in Orchid, Marigold, Canary, Lime, Cyan and Heliotrope.

The words dies are from Brittania dies cut from silver mirror card.

Thanks for popping in x