Variations on a theme ...

Doubt and indecision seem to be my first and second name at the moment!  This is the second week that I've made two cards for the "Less is More" challenge because I've been unable to decide which one works and which one is indifferent.  It's Lucky Dip week and the chosen theme is the song title "I do like to be beside the seaside" - I love spending time at the seaside just sitting and contemplating!

I don't have a great deal else to say other than, here they are:

The hut has been coloured with Inktense pencils and the bunting with distress inks

I've popped the image up with dimensional adhesive

This is the second one:

The beach hut has been stamped and paper pieced, the bunting is distress inked

The image has been popped onto the card base using dimensional adhesive

Enjoy!

Sunshine and Showers ...

I'm coming to the end of the school summer holidays in less than a week I will be back at work! I've had a very mixed break with some highlights and some very low ones added to which I have not managed to do all I had hoped to do.

The weather seems to be reflecting my mood with sunshine replaced with heavy rain - Monday was a complete and utter wash out but I guess it is to be expected as it was a public holiday. Anyway today has been more successful as I have managed to create a card which fits a couple of challenges.

With the rain and sunshine of a late British summer there is a positive as we do get some stunning rainbows - it is the colours of the rainbow that has inspired this card.

The layout is based on the current sketch challenge at STAMPlorations


I'm also entering the challenge at Mixed Media Card Challenge where the theme is Summer.  I thought I might also try the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - this is a new challenge for me and the current theme is Stencils with modelling paste.

I used the following:

Golden Gel Medium - Light Molding Paste
Tim Holtz Harlequin Stencil
STAMPlorations stamp sets - Grunge Floral Strips and Subway Art Builders: DARE
Distress Inks - Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers
Memento Ink - Grape Jelly

Enjoy!

Two for one ...

Indecision has led to this post of two cards using the same image presented slightly differently - I couldn't decide which I preferred so I will leave it up to you to decide!!

I came across this embroidery image of a rudbeckia when I was sorting out my craft area and thought it would make a lovely image for a card.  The first one I stitched was straight onto a piece of textured cardstock using one strand of embroidery silk.  I then cropped the image layered it on kraft card added a sentiment then mounted it with dimensional adhesive.

The layout is based on this week's sketch challenge at "Less is More" -


For the second card I painted a light water colour wash across the piece of card before stitching the image.  The difference is very subtle:

Enjoy!

Summer Snowflakes ...

I know it is still only August but I am determined to get ahead with my Christmas cards - I'm happy with this card and it is likely to be the second design that I will use this year.

The design, layout and colour scheme is based on the challenge at TIMEOUT to CASE designer Anita's card:



I am in awe of Anita's designs her cards are absolutely stunning, it really is worth taking the time to pop across and have a look at her blog you will not be disappointed.

This is what I came up with:

I hope I have done justice to Anita's design.

I used the following:

Uniko Studio Stunning Snowflakes
Distress Inks - Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers and Tumbled Glass
Heat it up Embossing Powder

I will also enter the Uniko Studio challenge - special occasion.

Enjoy!

Paper Elephants ...

It has been so long since a posted to my blog that I've almost forgotten where to begin!!  I've been away this past week visiting family in Lincolnshire, there has not been much time for crafting although I did teach my mum a couple of new techniques.

Since my return I've managed to create two cards - one which I am sharing today and the other you will have to wait to see for a couple of weeks.

I've returned to paper piecing for this card - it is ages since I've used this technique and I had forgotten how much I enjoy doing it, so you may see more!  This week's challenge at "Less is More" is ANIMAL - I was excited as I have just got a new stamp set that I wanted to try out.  So here's the card:

The elephant on the right is pale pink

I used:
Altenew stamp set - Ori Kami
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Designer Papers
Grey Embroidery Silk

I will also enter the challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More where the theme is Clean and Simple.

Enjoy!

Holly leaves ...

I've just returned from a short break in Bruges with my daughter with just enough time to do the washing and shopping before heading off to Lincolnshire for a week with my parents!  

I have found a little time to create a couple of cards for this week's "Less is More" challenge - this week is One Layer card with the theme of 'Foliage'.  I thought I would create a Christmas wreath but I don't own a holly stamp!!  I guess I could have used my holly stencil but it would have been a very, very large card!  So instead this is the card I created:

This is a small (4 inches) square card.  I used Grunge paste coloured with peeled paint distress ink and coloured three pearls with Spectrum Noir markers to create the berries and stamped the sentiment in Versafine Onyx black ink. I quite like the simplicity of the design so may be making more to send this Christmas.  I hope the pearls count as minimal embellishment as far as the challenge at "Less is More" is concerned.

Enjoy!

Christmas in August ...

Plan ahead seems to be the mantra for producing Christmas cards!

I'm in Bruges at the moment on a short break with my daughter so I have scheduled this post - so if all goes according to plan it should be mid morning on Friday!

If you follow my blog or the Craft Stamper Magazine Blog you may remember that I won the June Take It, Make It challenge, something I am very proud of as the card represented a departure from my usual style.  As a winner I was invited to be on the Guest Designer Team for the August challenge.  The challenge was launched at the start of the month and the idea is to create a card using any technique that has featured in the Craft Stamper magazine since the start of the year.

My first problem was which technique should I use!  I have been toying with an idea for my Christmas cards and the more I thought about it the more I realised that the concept was ideal for this opportunity - so out came the stamps and the inks.  I chose the Repeat Stamping Technique as showcased by Lydia Brooke Evans in the March Issue.  As I will be making a number of these cards I have tried them out in different colours - you should be able to see a black and white version on the Craft Stamper Blog.  These are the second and third versions:

I used

Clearly Besotted Stamps
Simon Says Stamps
Distress Inks
Stampin Up Inks

This is the card that I won the original challenge with:


Enjoy!

Framed Gerbera ...

My second post of the day and this one has to be quick.  The idea was inspired by the current sketch challenge at STAMPlorations (see the sketch below).  I had stamped and coloured the image previously (here) but hadn't actually created a card from it but now I have!

I extended the stencilled splodges onto two frames created using Sizzix dies and then layered the frames with dimensional adhesive.

This is the STAMPloration sketch:



I am also going to enter the Uniko Studio Challenge where Anything Goes.

Enjoy!

Summer colours ...

Sunglasses might be needed for looking at some elements of this post!  If I had to describe my style of cardmaking I would probably choose Clean and Simple (CAS) as my approach tends to be minimalist - a little stamping, some colouring and very often monchrome.  This card is anything but, I have used nearly every product that I own (including some I don't remember buying!!)  I have to admit to being in awe of the mixed media artists that I follow and dream of being able to create an Art Journal. 

I think that one problem I have is that I don't always have the patience to wait for things to dry ... something that I now realise is essential when working with mixed media.  I thought if I worked on two projects at the same time as one was drying I could add to the other and this is how I end up with this:

To me this reflects the colour of summer

JOFY flowers combined from different sets

I've been working on this card since the new challenge at "The Mixed Media Card Challenge" was announced on the 1st August - the theme is Summer, the first thoughts I had were of summer meadows and clean clear colours.

When I started I did not have much of an idea as to the final design so I just kind of let it evolve. My understanding of mixed media (apart from the obvious of using a variety of techniques and products) is to build up layers of interest, dimension and texture - this card certainly has a lot of layers some of which are not obvious!

I started with a piece of cream cardstock and base coated it with gesso, then added stamped pieces of tissue, followed by layers of colour using gelatos (funnily enough I thought this was Italian Ice Cream) plus a touch of distress inks.  As the background began to build I needed to find images to act as the focal point - JOFY stamps seemed to provide the answer.  I added some detail to the background using texture paste through some stencils before spritzing with some shimmer mist.  I stamped and heat embossed the two large 'flowers' on the background and also on a spare piece of card.  The smaller flower heads were stamped onto some scraps of watercoloured card as was the sentiment.  Finally out came the glue and the whole thing was assembled!!

If you have made it this far - thank you for reading!  I have experienced a number of problems along the way but not enough to put me off trying again and no doubt again!  Any hints and suggestions you would care to make by way of a comment would be really appreciated.

Here are most of the items  I used:

Faber Castell Gelatos
Distress Inks
Cosmic Shimmer Vintage Mist
Versamark
The Crafters Workshop Stencil - Mini Chickenwire reversed
PaperArtsy - JOFY Stamp Sets 09 and 11
Gesso

Enjoy!

Butterfly splashes ...

When I woke up this morning I was determined to get on with some jobs that I needed to do before I started crafting!  I managed to get some done but then the heavens opened and it absolutely chucked it down, the rain was bouncing off the pavements.  So after lunch I had no choice but to get crafting (I guess I could have done the ironing!).

I've been trying out a lot of techniques recently and decided that today I would use some of the backgrounds I have created to make a card for a couple of challenges.  This week's challenge at "Less is More" is a colour challenge - this was my starting point and I added in the theme for the TIME OUT challenge of "Celebration with the optional twist of butterflies".  This is the card:

The butterflies were stamped on watercolour card that I had already coloured with splashes of green, yellow and turquoise artists inks, then cut out and any white space filled with distress ink. On the card base I coloured a small swatch of yellow and then mounted the butterflies in a group - I only stuck them at the bottom of the wings so that they have some dimension to them. The sentiment is from a sheet of rub ons.

I am entering the following challenges:
"Less is More"


TIME OUT Challenges - Celebration with the optional twist of Butterflies
Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes

I used:
Uniko Studio - English Country Garden - Butterflies
Memento Dandelion Ink
Distress Ink - Peacock Feathers
Versafine Onyx Black
Windsor and Newton Inks - Canary Yellow, Emerald, Apple Green and Viridian
Woodware Watercolour Cardstock

Edit:  Just popped by to add that I will also enter the challenge at Uniko Studio where anything goes - thanks for the suggestion Bev! Enjoy!