HAPPY NEW KITCHEN

Hello.
At the beginning of January my daughter and sil got the builders in.
They've knocked some walls down and created a fabulous new kitchen/dining space.
It hasn't been easy for them, trying to work from home with 
no heating downstairs (through all that snowy weather)
no cooker or kitchen tap.
the roof leaked (twice) - 
basically everything that could go wrong, did go wrong...
but hooray!
It's almost done.

Here's the card I made for them.

I love this cute little stamp and die set,
and i'm starting to think it will be more versatile than I first thought.
Win. Win.

The cupboards and counters were easily made with pieces of card,
and I found the chevron design online,  to match the tiles they have.

I can't wait til the family can actually get together - 
we are going to have one amazing party in the new space.

Challenge

Addicted to Stamps and More

lawn fawn - sprinkled with joy + add on die set

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Hello.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

This year I've foregone the usual hearts and flowers card,

for a more graphic and masculine style.

It took a while to stamp the sentiment, using those individual letters,
and I just had to hope it would all fit on the card.
Then I spent the longest time, searching for the 'a', that I managed to drop on my craft room floor!
I was lucky that I got to it before the dog did!!   :-)

Challenge
Allsorts

Week 611 Masculine Theme

mft - mini well connected alphabet, four legged friends
copics

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Hello.

I'm sharing a quick CAS card today, for the CASology Challenge.

The theme is 'envelope' so I scoured my stash for an envelope stamp,
and was happy to find one in my favourite bear set.

I used a craft knife to cut a little strip into my bear,
so that I could push the envelope into it and it would look like he was holding it.

Challenge

CASology

sugarpeadesigns, hey winter - coloured with copics
lawn fawn sentiment, year two
altenew inks - sea breeze, turqoise, tide blue, starlight
thelovelystudio - geometric digi paper

BUN IN THE OVEN

Hello.
Eek! Our daughter is expecting her baby in a few weeks time.
Our first grandchild.
I'm not going to lie - it's been very tough not seeing her in person - 
she only lives 13 miles away, but visits are a no no, and have been for some time.
Thank goodness for video calls. 

I really couldn't resist these stamp and die sets from lawn fawn -

sprinkled with love, and bun in the oven.

The sets combine to create this sweet little oven, with an opening door.
It looks complicated, but it's really easy to put everything together.

Challenges

Watercooler Wednesday

lawn fawn - sprinkled with love and bun in the oven
coloured with copics

CAKE IS THE ANSWER

Hello.
Can you believe that Less is More is 10 years old this month? 
I can remember when it started and how scary it was to make a clean and simple card :-)

The theme this fortnight is 'chocolate', so I cooked up this chocolate/raspberry cake for them.

With CAS cards I'm always fighting the urge to just add a little more - 
this time it was sequins - and I managed to stop myself  :-)

Challenge

Less is More 

Happy Birthday and Congrats to all the LIM team.
Thanks for a fabulous challenge and for all your wonderful inspiration
xxx

Just for fun I searched my blog for Less is More,
and found  THIS POST
My card for their very first challenge back in Feb 2011  :-)
It did make me cringe! I think my colouring and placement skills have

come on a bit since then!

hero arts - birthday cake layering, eat cake all day
copics     thelovelystudio - plain background paper

SHAKER HEART

Hello.
I went a bit OTT with this card.
I think I was dazzled by the sequins :-)

The little striped die really lends itself to be used for a shaker card, and i filled it with pretty sequins.
This is for my mum, who has Alzheimer's, so I know she will love the bright colours and the shaker element.

Challenge

Inspired By Challenges

I was inspired by the hearts, and the little flowers and leaves.

mft - peekaboo striped heart die

lawn fawn - penelope's blossoms
sentiment - altenew, hug me
avery elle postage stamp die
geometric background - thelovelystudio

GIVE A DOG A BONE

Hello.
I am a sucker for doggy stamps.
So I couldn't resist this guy, from the awesome Anita Jeram.

I kept him simple, with just a touch of Copic colouring.
Then I masked him and added the ray of light background.

Thanks to Nancy at CAS Mix Up, I discovered that you can heat emboss with distress ink and clear embossing powder.
 I kind of like the glossy, crinkly look I got.

Challenges

CAS Mix Up 

Addicted to Stamps & More

colorado craft company - christmas presents

mft stencil - ray of light
distress ink - tumbled glass
copics

 

BRIGHT BLOOMS

Hello.
I needed some bright blooms today to lift my spirits.
Anyone else?

I chose my zig water colour brush markers for these blooms - because,
although I'm not very good with them, I do love the bright, vibrant colour they produce.
Not sure what's happened with the photos -IRL the red/pink bloom is more blended than it looks here! 

Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday

WWC307 Heidi's Challenge
Anything Goes with a Feminine Twist

the stamp market - florally fun
zig clean color real brush markers
sentiment - mft 'sew much cuteness'

SORRY BIRD

Hello.
Just a quick card to share with you today, using one of my favourite stamp sets.

I found this heat embossed background in my scraps box,
so I just had to add some stamped blooms and my happy bird.
Usually I give this bird a much bolder, graphic look, but I tried to soften it here - I think it works.

Challenge

Inspired By

I was inspired by the bird with florals
and the colour scheme

background stamp - mft lace, white heat embossed on blue card
avery elle - postage stamp die
wplus9 - happy birds (coloured with copics), feathers and florals, and unforgettable
inks - altenew, rouge, crimson, blush, turqoise, tide blue

SENDING RAINBOW HUGS

Hello.
I dream of having a rainbow of gorgeous cardstock.
You know the type - where each and every colour has a pretty name - 
like bubblegum, or chocolate chip, or pickled onion   :o)
But it's kind of hard to get hold of here in the uk, and a little beyond my budget
(unless you know different).
So, for now, I'm using cheap multi-coloured packs and trying hard to match the colours.
This combo was a rare win.

I got a load of tips from watching this video from the amazing Jennifer McGuire.
And, whilst I don't have a stand alone strip die, I managed to use a diagonal sentiment coverplate die. 

Challenge

Freshly Made Sketches

the stamp market - hi die and florally fun
sentiment - altenew, hug me
mft - stitched scallop edge rectangle die

LAYERED BOUQUET

Hello.
Usually, after the holidays, my crafting mojo takes a nose dive,
and I struggle to create anything.
But right now I'm having fun in my craft room, and trying some new (to me) techniques.

I love this colour combo of turquoise and purple, from the Inkspirational challenge photo.
I've used my new blending brushes with a striped stencil for the background,
Then added the blooms - no need for me to try and create a bouquet here - it's all done for me with this Pink Fresh Studio set.

I was going to add a sympathy sentiment, but someone swiped the stamp from my craft table and gave it a good chew!

As acetate was on my table, from making an ink blending mat a couple of days ago, I decided to try and stamp and heat emboss it, with black embossing powder.
Wow! It creates a beautiful raised, super glossy sentiment, that you can add anywhere on your card. I'll definitely be doing this again.

Hmmm - those stamps must be tasty.
Does he look sufficiently guilty?

Challenge

Inkspirational

PinkFresh Studio - layered bouquet, stamped with distress ink wilted violet, altenew ultra violet, versacolo celadon and green leaf
Clearly Besotted striped stencil, inked with distress ink peacock feathers
Sentiment - simon says stamp thoughtful messages
mft - stitched rectangle scallop edge dies