Always and Forever

The challenge at Less is More this week is

RECIPE

3 - 2 - 1

My recipe is 3 gems, 2 words, 1 heart.

The wording stamps are from Printworks Q012 Always & Forever, and the heart stamp is a freebie from Craft Stamper Magazine.

This is an upcyled card.  It started life as a very CAS card - the top panel was the original front of the card, with the heart and words at bottom right.  After our anniversary (well I couldn't just throw it away, could I?) I cut it down, matted it onto black then back onto a 6x6 card, and added the 3 gems for this challenge.  I might give this version to him next year, what do you think ;)

DIY Stripes

I've made two cards from the same home-made stamps:

 This one is for 365 Cards, CASual Fridays and CR84FN, details and links further down,

and this one is for OLW103, hosted this week by Karen, to add scoring to your card (you can just make the score lines out above and below the stripes).

I wanted to use stripes for a challenge at 365 Cards Day 180 - Stand-out Stripes.  I don't have any stripy stamps so, following on from my success in making circle and ring stamps from foam, I made my own stripe stamps from foam.

Then I thought I would make it into stripy flag bunting for the CASual Fridays Banners and Flags challenge:

CFC67:  Create a Clean And Simple project that features banners or flags.

using the colour scheme from CR84FN61, which is:

I cut strips of different widths and lined 3 of the strips on one acrylic block and two on another acrylic block, sticking them with Pritt Stick, so that I could ink one set in tan and the other set in aqua, like so:

Then I stamped onto cream card.  I like that grungy, uneven finish.

I then overstamped with the flag stamp (freebie from Craft Stamper Magazine), cut them out and made them into a banner.

I'd trimmed the blue foam stripes because that block was slightly smaller and the foam was overhanging.  So when I came to stamp the OLW card, the tan reached the sides of the card, but the aqua didn't.  But I quite like it!

The Celebrate stamp and the Happy Birthday stamp are both from Fiskars Make a Wish Quotes.

Classy

I made this card for three challenges, but I missed the deadline on one (The Paper Players, CAS paper piecing).  Fortunately another challenge came up that fitted in very nicely.  But then as I was typing this blog, I realised that my card didn't meet the criteria for one of the challenges, because I can't count (Less is More, 3-2-1 Recipe: my recipe was 3 pearls, 2 stamps, 1 paper piece.  Well no, actually, because I used 3 stamps.  Doh.  I even used 3 inks.)

So we're back to two challenges.  Still with me?

Lawn Fawn - make your own patterned paper using stamps - I used SP & Company Little Floral Background.

Dynamic Duos monochromatic colour combo challenge:

Fortunately, black/white are also allowed.

Coco Chanel's words of wisdom are from Kanban, and the dress stamp is from Creative Stamping RN94G.

I'm off to make a 3-2-1 card now!

Kraft-y Case

I wanted to case this card from Ardyth of Maskerade, but I didn't have any circle stamps.

Ardyth suggested checking large alphabet stamps for 'O's but my 'O's were like thOse you get in a serif font.  Then I had a brainwaive - I'll make my own foam stamps from circle nesties.  Knowing that I wouldn't get the rings exact when I was cutting them, I deliberately (honest!) offset them to give them a retro feel.

(OK, I admit.  It was only deliberate after the fact!)

I decided to use white StazOn so that it would show on the kraft.  I hadn't used it for quite some time...  Yup, dry as a bone, and no re-inker in sight.  So I used Brilliance Moonlight White and I'm really pleased with the density of the white.  Because Brilliance scored on that, I used Brilliance Graphite Black, and didn't bother to check whether my StazOn black is still any good.

The solid black dots are Hero Arts LL890 Box of Dots, all the other dots/circles are die cut from foam. It's Your Birthday is also Hero Arts.  Ooh - that means I can enter it for the August contest, Clean and Simple Stamping!

I'm also entering it into A Blog Named Hero challenge to use kraft.

OLW102

When I grow up I want to be able to watercolour properly.  Until then I'll just get messy and who cares if I don't get the colours or shading quite right.  Artistic licence.  Just squint.

The challenge at One Layer Wednesday, hosted this week by the very talented Ardyth, is:

Make a one layer card inspired by your favourite school subject. 

My favourite subjects at school were English, French and Art.  Difficult to choose.  It would have been easier to name my least favourite subject: Physics - but then who would want to make a card related to Physics?

So I've gone with Art.  In my Art lessons the drawing came easier than the painting for me.  And although I painted this image (with Distress Inks), I certainly didn't draw it.  That was some fella called Leonardo. (Actually, he could do the Physics as well!)

Judikins JK2539H Architectural Studies stamped in Memento London Fog and coloured with Distress Inks

Happy Birthday from Woodware FRCL069 Large & Small Greetings, stamped in Versamark Black Onyx.

Global Warming

Just had a fabulous few days away in London where it was the hottest weekend of the year so far (30-32 degrees), unlike home where it was 19 degrees and raining heavily.  For once, we were in the right place!

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is:

CFC66:  Create a project featuring something you might see in or at the ocean

The challenge for ColourQ #151 is:

And the challenge at Less is More is to incorporate:

Tearing

This can be in any form, but, as subtle or as bold as you like!

The cool dude is All Night Media 328D Penguin Holiday stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and coloured with Tombows.
Torn paper used to mask beach and sea using Tumbled Glass and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks which, although they are the right colours, have turned out quite paler because of the sponging.
Enjoy Life from Darkroom Door DDRS036 stamped in Memento London Fog.

Just a few quick photos from the weekend jaunt:

Stray dog seen in Covent Garden.  I love original street theatre!

Foot tunnel across the Thames, Royal Borough of Greenwich.  It took about 8 minutes to walk through, to get to this view:

The blue behind the Queen's House is the Olympic Equestrian venue.

Animal Antics

It's a while since I've needed to make birthday cards for babies or toddlers, so it was lovely to make one for my friend's little boy Henry, who happens to have the same birthday as my hubby.

The challenge at Simon Says is, appropriately, Animal Antics.

Penny Black stamps: Longing and Roar stamped in Versamark Onyx Black and coloured with Tombows.
Lettering is Sizzix Sizzlits Girls are Weird.
No. 1 is cut from a template.
Happy Birthday is from Craftwork Cards.

Blue Marabou

The challenge at Less is More this week is to make a one layer card featuring

 FUR or FEATHERS.  

Didn't see anything in the small print that it still had to be attached to its original owner ;)

The challenge at One Layer Wednesday, hosted this week by the Queen of Masked Sponging, Heather Telford, is to use blue in your card.  Luckily, marabou feathers come in just about any colour, once they've parted company with their host.

The stamp is F6202 Chic Marabou Bag by Impression Obsession, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, then chalked with Pebbles Inc Pearlescent Chalks.
The sentiment is from Hobby Art.

RIC#17

This is the inspiration photo for Runway Inspired Challenge #17:

I wanted to keep as much white space as possible around the outside of the image to reflect the white space in the photo.  For my first attempt I white-embossed the image and water coloured with Distress Inks but it wasn't a good move because of the detail on the stamp, so I stamped it in Versamark Onyx Black and coloured with Tombows, and matted the panel onto another white panel, then mounted it onto the card with pop dots.

Sketched Butterfly - Stampendous D112
With Love - Marion Emberson Designs PICSA6183

CASology School Challenge

Woohoo! I'm very honoured to be guest designer for the fabulous CASology challenge blog this week after this card was selected as the winner for the Bird challenge.

For this week's challenge the cue word is

You may have heard my groan from all the way across the pond, as I don't have any - I mean ANY - school-themed stamps.  After a few quick breaths from a brown paper bag, I trawled through my catalogue of stamps to see what I could utilise.

The frame reminded me of the old-style wall-mounted blackboards, so I backed it with black card and stamped the sentiment with Brilliance Moonlight White to resemble chalk.  Who remembers chalk whizzing across the classroom when the teacher caught you messing around?  No?  Just me then.

The ruled paper is from Papermania Happy Days Journalling Cards set
Stampington P2069 Large Wooden Frame stamped in Versamagic Jumbo Java
Hero Arts E1306 Best Wishes stamped in Brilliance Moonlight White
XO from Woodware FRCL069 Large & Small Greetings stamped with Colorbox Catseye Old Rose

Waste Not, Want Not

After I'd made my floral chevrons for this card, I still had the background stamp fully inked, and I wasn't going to waste it.  So I misted it with water then stamped it off twice.  This is the first of the two stamp-offs.

The challenge at CR84FN is to use the following colours.  Since I already had the blue and the green, I just needed to introduce a bit of grape in the form of the flower, the bling and the sentiment.

Rubber Stampede 3255R Signature Background stamped in Impress Cerulean Blue and Chartreuse
Rubber Stampede 2845D Whimsical Happy Birthday stamped in Duo Daubers Heliotrope

Pond Life

The cue word at CASology this week is:

The colours for this week's ColourQ challenge are just right:

And the challenge at CASual Fridays is:

CFC65: Create a Clean And Simple Square shaped card

The image is Impression Obsession, stamped with Versafine Onyx Black and coloured with Tombows, and a little Stickles Crystal added to the wings.  The sentiment is Paper Artsy Urban Snapshots, StageLights 4, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.

Destination London

London is certainly the place to be at the moment!  We're having a few days there soon and I'm looking forward to visiting Greenwich, a part of London I've never been to.  Our preferred mode of travel will be the Tube, not taxis!

I originally intended to add some red and blue in the background, but then decided I liked it monochrome, apart from the yellow light on top of the taxi.

The theme at One Layer Wednesday this week, hosted by Cheryl, is transportation;
The theme at Lawnscaping is

and the theme at A Blog Named Hero is Freestyle.

Taxi (stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and coloured with Black Soot Distress Ink), Big Ben and phone box (stamped in Versafine Smokey Gray) are from Papermania's Portobello Road Vintage set PMA907126.

Destination is from Clear Choice Stamps MIN-CCS103, stamped in Versafine Black Onyx.

Wasabi Butterfly

The challenge at Dynamic Duos this week is bold and sassy, and the two colours are:

I stamped the bubble wrap (Kaisercraft CS753) with Versamark and heat-embossed with white embossing powder.  I then masked the area and applied Spiced Marmalade distress ink over the whole area, rubbing off the excess with a tissue.  The Indigo Blu butterfly is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black onto patterned paper and cut out.  Happy Birthday is from Hero Arts CL139 Birthday Messages, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.

Round Vase Daisies

This is my second post of the day, both for Less is More Blue & Green and
A Blog Named Hero Freestyle.

Click here or scroll down for the other card.

So this is the card I made while I was making up my mind about the other card.  But then I decided to enter both cards.

Stamp - FRB011 Round Vase Daisies coloured with Tombows.

Floral Chevrons

The challenge at Less is More this week is Blue & Green, and A Blog Named Hero is Freestyle.

Once I'd made this card, I couldn't decide whether I liked it.  Now I like it.  I think.

I inked up a floral background stamp with blue and green die inks, then kissed the chevron stamp onto the background stamp, and stamped it off onto white card, cleaned the chevron stamp then repeated.  Then I cut out the chevrons and flipped one of them, and stuck them down with pop dots.  They needed lifting from the base card to be effective.

Then, (I can't believe I did it) I dismembered a stamp!  "It's your birthday" is all one stamp but I wanted to split it to get more flexibility from it.  I suppose I could have masked it as required, but I took the plunge and dissected it instead.

Floral background stamp - Rubber Stamped 3255R Signature Background stamped in Impress Chartreuse and Cerulean Blue
Chevron stamp - Lawn Fawn
It's your birthday stamp - Hero Arts CG275 Birthday
Flowers and brad from stash.

Dragonfly

The challenge at CASual Fridays this week is:

CFC64: Clean And Simple projects featuring things you'd see in the sky

so I thought I would make a card with a dragonfly, using the colour scheme from Play Date Cafe challenge #143.

Cherry...Mint Julep...Jade

I decided to use my Cuttlebug dragonfly die and embossing set, and started trawling the internet for some inspiration.  That's when I discovered that my dragonfly set is actually a build-a-flower set.  Well, there you go!  Undaunted by this minor technicality, I made my dragonfly.

I made the red dots with a Dotta-Riffic marker pen from Zig, using less and less pressure as I worked down the tail.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts CL139 Birthday Messages.

Hello Birdy

This is my second post of the day.  Click here or scroll down for my Sparkly Flowers post.

What can I say?  Sorry, probably.

But I like him, he cracks me up.  He's definitely a him, because when I tried to add a bow in the topknot to glam him/her up a bit, it just looked wrong.

The cue word at CASology this week is

Well, he is a bird.  And those are his own eyes, he doesn't need googly eyes (but sometimes I give him googly eyes for the fun of it).

444F Emu by Stamp It.
Sentiment is from Paper Smooches.

Sparkly Flowers

I seem to be on a run of flower cards at the moment.  ColourQ's challenge #148 is this juicy palette:

And today is the last day for the July Penny Black Saturday Challenge, so I've used this Penny Black stamp 3867K Constellations, coloured with Tombows and finished it off with Stardust Stickles for some sparkle.

Button Flowers

Second post from me today.  For CASual Fridays challenge, click here or scroll down.

The challenge for Dynamic Duos this week is monochromatic using hues of brown, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake.  I'd give the espresso to anyone, but you'd have to fight me for the cake.

The challenge at Young Crafters Unite (I do qualify, y'know, honest - it's in the small print) is to use buttons.  (I'm just waiting for the Inlinkz tool to appear on the post before I can link it).

This flower set and the buttons were the perfect match for me.  I thought about putting twine through the holes, but they look like faces, so I wanted to leave them as they are.

Flower stamp set is Sassafras Lass Blooms N' Stalks, and Happy Birthday ribbon slider is, appropriately enough, SSC057 Ribbon Sliders from Stampendous.