Just a Note

This CAS card has been somewhat troublesome in the making! The brief over at Less is More challenge was for a One Layer Card with the theme of 

Splatters

But... the "one layer" didn't register in my brain and I made a panel before attaching it to a blank card.

Now, "splatters" is one of my fortes, although they are of the unintentional sort, so..... this is my 4th attempt.

I applied Brusho paint medium to a feather stencil then over stamped  the matching feather ( HOTP) with black Versafine. The intentional splatters are from a set of Ink Splats by Visible Image. The sentiment came free with a magazine, as did the feather stamp and stencil. 

Phew ... off to the empty the waste paper bin!

By the Sea

I have a passion for puffins so this evening my OH and I set off to visit  Fowlsheugh RSBP reserve, which is about 20 miles from us, in the hope of seeing some of these beautiful birds. The sun was shining but it was very windy. Being so close to the cliff edge, I was more than a little nervous. Unfortunately, although we witnessed thousands of birds returning to the cliff  face for the night, we thought that we had not seen any puffins.  It wasn't until we got home and looked at the photos that we discovered that we had indeed captured a couple.  (top left!!)

I don't have any puffin stamps but , staying with the watery theme, I rediscovered a fish that, until now, was unused. This has become the focal point for my entry to this week's Less is More sketch challenge.

The diagonal element was achieved by hand embossing bubbles from an embossing folder. A bit tricky but it achieved the desired effect. I coloured the fish with Crafters Companion watercolour pens and finished with CC clear sparkle pen.  This was then cut out and using 3D foam pads, attached it to the card.

Less is More Challenge 274

This week's  Less is More challenge is to use -


            Designer paper in a CAS style.

I've been busy in the greenhouse this week - trying to make up for lost time because of  the recent poor weather - so I haven't had too much time for crafting.


Happily, I had just finished this card that I think fits the bill. 

The spotted paper is an offcut that has been lurking in my " still useful" box.
Other items used- embossed panel; Clearly Besotted stamps and dies; Personal Impressions sentiment; bakers twine; 3D foam pads; clear gems.







          

                                                        

                           

Quick and Easy Card

I recently had to produce a card at short notice for an almost forgotten birthday. I can't rely on my memory any more so I should really write a list.

This card fitted the bill. The bunting stamp came from a set by Anna Griffin and the sentiment is one from Clearly Besotted.

Perhaps I should make some more as I think that it would be suitable for either sex or any age group. That would save a similar panic in the future!

Less is More Challenge - Thank You

The title of this blog looks as if I'm thanking Less is More.  I was going to change it but it occurred to me that I do have to thank Chrissie and her team for bringing back my mojo from where it was hiding. 


                                                    The  ONE LAYER theme 

this week is 

                                          THANK YOU! 

 

I have been (yet again) sorting out my stamps.  I really enjoy doing this because I forget what I own!  I came across a Hero Arts set - Scattered Leaves- that I hadn't used at all. I noticed that one of the leaves had a "Thank You" dictionary definition on the surface so I decided that this would perfect for the focus of my design for this challenge.

 

Accurate positioning was crucial in my design so I used my Fiskars stamp press to align the 3 leaves. I bought this from the internet and when it arrived I thought that it was grossly overpriced for what it was but I have found it invaluable - especially for lining up texts. 

The blue and purple inks are part of a collection of Duo Daubers that must be over 12yrs old. I am astounded that the ink is still wet!

 

The sentiment is from Stampin Up. The card blank is 6" by 6"

 

 

Black Birds in the Sky

It's sketch time over at  Less is More this week.

 

I am not too good at thinking outside the box with sketches. I tend to stick to the same layout. Some crafters are very inventive with their interpretations and there are quite a few in this week's submissions to date.

 

Here is my card.

The chalks and the Spellbinders circle die were still on my desk from a previous challenge entry so I started there.  I really love the Clarity hummingbirds stamps (there are more than this one). The title of this post may be misleading but there is a space between the words and I have used Black Versafine ink to stamp!
 

I stamped the wing twice more and cut them out to add to the impression of flight. I then die cut a circle from card and used the aperture as a mask before applying chalk to create the sky. I then ran a pen around the aperture to link the two birds together.

I photographed the card in the garden (between showers) and looked up to see a buzzard circling above. As I had the camera in my hand, I took a picture.  Too far away to be clear but lovely to see anyway.

 



 



 

A Far Away Friend

A friend recently moved permanently to Harris in the Outer Hebrides. She was married on a beach there a couple of years ago.  How romantic is that?  I have seen many photos of the beautiful scenery that she wakes up to every morning.  I hope to visit her some day.







So when I saw the latest challenge at Addicted to CAS was.....

....I decided to play along and use Harris as my inspiration.

I used a brayer to apply Distress Inks ( Scattered Straw, Peacock Feathers, Peeled Paint) for the sand, sea and land, tearing paper to  delineate each section. I lightly applied D I Stormy Skies with a sponge to create the sky. The card that was used is from  Clarity Stamp which has a shiny surface and takes to ink well.  The finished image was mounted on to a 6" by 6" textured card.  No sentiment this time.

Up and Away

Such a lovely day here in Aberdeen.  I have been taking some photos in the garden that I will share with you. (The crocuses were photographed a couple of weeks ago).

I set out to make a one layer card today that would be suitable for the Less is More 166 challenge.
The colour challenge this month is:

A Touch Of Turquoise

 

I am also submitting it  to Virginia's View Challenge blog which requires the use of a stencil.

 

I had a die-cut that I had cut from card using my Silhouette so decided that I would use it as a stencil to create a background. The butterfly was stamped first before covering with a mask.  I used a natural sponge to lightly apply Peacock Feathers Distress Ink when the stencil was in place.

Sentiment - from a Hero Arts set.
Butterfly - from a Martha Stewart set

 

Round Again!

I promised myself that I would use the stamp that was the focus of my Less is More Week 165 Challenge entry again before it went back into the drawer.

This time I chose to stamp the image 3 times before paper-piecing with striped paper from a K & CO pad. I have never entered 2 cards in the same week before but...... here goes.

Less is More week 164 Challenge

It has been a long time since I entered a challenge so I thought that I would try to get back in gear and join my favourite  over at  Less is More blog.

This week the theme is to include      THREE  of something on your cards.

I chose a butterfly stamp from a Martha Stewart set that I recently rediscovered. This was stamped three times on card and then masked them before applying Peacock Feathers Distress Ink with Cut n Dry foam. I then spritzed water over the inked area to add texture.
I embossed couple of lines below and stamped the Hero Arts sentiment in the blank space.

I added a touch of glitter to the butterflies' wings but this has not shown up in the photos.

Another requirement for this week's challenge is to visit and comment on three other participants. 
 I'm now off to complete this pleasurable task!

 

To have and to hold..

Still Juggling!!!!

A friend asked  to see some wedding cards. Instant panic! The last wedding cards I had made were given to her from myself and other friends for her own wedding last summer.  So I went into overdrive.  

I made some of my white on white cards that I have shown here previously - slight variations of course. Then I came across a Prim Poppy Memory Box die that I bought at the NECC back in November last year. Unused of course.

This is the first card that I made.  

 I used old gold card for the base and to cut the die.  The text was printed on to pearlised gold cream card which I line embossed around the edges.

I am so happy with it that I will make some more so that I am not caught short again.  I'm on a roll.

My stash of cards is now much depleted because I took about 80 to the local Shelter shop last week.  To be honest, they were mostly cards that I had made in previous years and not representative of the card that I produce now. My only hope is that they will raise some money for a very worthy cause.

In the Pink

I'm falling behind with challenges at the moment because I now have four craft fairs to prepare for.

However, I couldn't resist joining with the Less is More colour challenge.

This week it is PINK

I have had roll of  pink Washi tape for a few weeks now just asking to be used.   

When I thought of "pink", lipstick came to mind and I knew that I had a "kiss" stamp.   

 The sentiment XOXO  is "urban speak" for hugs and kisses so it all sort of came together.

.

My friend, Susy, and I are flying down to Birmingham on Friday to spend two days at the NEC .  I'm sure that there will be a large selection of Washi tapes to choose from.......and lots more temptation!

Flying High

As today is Halloween, I was all prepared for the door bell ringing tonight and hearing those words "Trick or Treat?"  *
But sadly, they never came.  This could be because there are very few children who now live near us.  Changed days from 25 years ago when it was mostly a young family neighbourhood.  The other reason could be that parents are afraid let their children out of their sight.  A sad reflection on society today.  I suppose I would feel the same if I had young ones.

* I have to mention that, "when I was young", this night was the opportunity to  ask for "A penny for the guy?"  This money was then used to buy fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night on the 5th November.( A long held tradition that has been taken over?)

And here endeth the history lesson.


The challenge this week over at Less is More involves using a sketch.

 

I used Post- it notes  to mask the background areas to be coloured.  Out came the brayer and Distress Inks. I'm getting braver with my brayer!  The bird stamp is one that I bought from Clarity Stamp recently.    I used an embossing board and tool to create debossed lines either side of the stamped area.

 

I am a little disappointed that the colours in the photo are not really true.  The inks used were Broken China, Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint.  The middle colour is reall a pale green. ( I'm sure that there are many of you out there who know their Distress Inks off by heart.

I have been playing about with the settings on our new camera - I really need to go on a course. I have found lots of advice online but there is nothing like face to face tuition.  In the meantime I will plough my way through the manual.

Kraft Card

This is a very quick post to upload my entry to the CAS-ual Friday challenge.

 "Craft on" is my mantra as I am sure that it is for many more of you out there.  

The design for this card was adapted from the wedding stationery that I was involved in making this summer.  The stamps are by Anna Griffin and I can say that I have got my money's worth from them already. I stamped the bunting on to patterned papers before cutting them out and paper piecing. I resisted the urge to paper piece the birthday stamp too.

All Square

I have the results of much messed up stamping on my desk at the moment.  Another challenge will be to recycle them into finished cards.  Where there is a will there is a way.  

This is the final - unsmudged and (almost) correctly stamped - article made for ONE LAYER WEDNESDAY 110 challenge being hosted this week by Heather Telford. 

The challenge was to use SQUARES in the design. I spent most of last night searching through my stamp collection looking for inspiration.  I finally decided that I would use a foam alphabet stamp set.  Of course I found it impossible to use the stamps individually and get them positioned in a straight line.  I eventually used double-sided tape to stick them to an acrylic block so that I could stamp them all at once.  I remembered while doing this that I had used this method with these same stamps but in a square design
last Christmas. Not a case of "Great minds think alike" but rather that of "One mind thinks twice"!!

From here, I used red and green Promarkers and a gold pen to colour.  To be honest I did get as far as this with a previous card but I failed at the last hurdle because I stamped the sentiment at the bottom of the card. It just didn't look right.  Will need to go back and find one of Susan's posts about positioning.

A Single Red Heart

Chilly out today!  I wore my  wool coat so the weather must be turning! Never mind, the changing seasons always bring inspiration to us crafters.

The above is a random observation and bears no relation to the rest of this post.  I do usually try to provide a crafty link to my ramblings but ....not this time.

EMBOSSING - the dry type - is one of the first things that I tried when I started making cards.  My husband made me a light box using a deep box frame purchased from Ikea and a light bulb.  I loved it. I have many brass stencils that I laboriously traced with a ball tool. 

 Then along came embossing folders to use with die cutting machines.  I have a fairly large collection but, I'm ashamed to say, I have used very few of them.  I was recently inspired by some fellow bloggers who have created amazing cards incorporating these folders. 

When I saw the CAS-UAL FRIDAYS challenge for this week I thought that this would be an opportunity to use one of my virgin embossing folders.   

I am also entering it into the Let's Craft and Create fortnightly challenge where the requirement is to add dimension to a project. So I think that this qualifies.  Discovered this challenge via Suze Bains's blog.

The heart cut out was made with a Sizzix punch tool. ( previously unused too!) I positioned a piece of red card on the base card beneath the heart before mounting the embossed panel on to 3D foam pads. Just finished off with the help of a Quickie Glue pen and some fine glitter to trace the letters and the edge of the cut out heart.

Things With Wings

I came across this site while blog hopping. A fellow Less is More Challenge entrant also takes part in the Top Tip Tuesday challenge which, by coincidence, also had wings as a theme. (I love the tutorials here - check them out).
I also discovered the Stamp Man Challenge where the theme for October is Butterflies, Birds and Bees.  So I will enter the following card for both.

I decided to enter and use the same Clarity stamp as I did for Less is More.(see previous post)

I am totally enamoured with this Clarity hummingbirds stamp and intend to use it several more times very soon. Sorry!!

I created the background with my brayer using Distress Ink. I applied the ink to my Splodge Mat which gives you better control of the ink when applied to the card. (I have linked to their site because as this is a new product, it may not be known to you)   I got a bit more confident and was able to create some subtle cloud shapes. 

I used a Versafine inkpad to stamp the image. The bottom bird was then stamped on to white card and embossed with clear powder before cutting out and adding to  the card with 3D foam pads. From there it was a simple mat and layer with black card on to a 15cm by 15cm card blank.

Very happy with the result!!
 

Wings

Wings is the theme for this week's One Layer challenge  over at Less is More and, as I had spent quite a lot of money in the Clarity Stamp sale last weekend, I though that I could take this opportunity to justify my splurge. (not withstanding that I  have a number of stamps that would have suited without my recent purchases)

I have wanted this hummingbirds stamp for a while and I just couldn't resist the half price tag. 

I have used IndigloBlu Flitterglu and Morris Dance Mega Flakes to produce the image.  I love this technique. I am always amazed at the detail achieved.  The shimmer produced has not been picked up with the camera.  I will try again.


Having watched Barbara Gray yesterday on Create and Craft, I was inspired to get out the brayer and Splodge Mat.  I cut a square mask slightly smaller than the 15cm by 15cm card so that I could create a border.  I edged this with a gold pen to give definition.

The sentiment was stamped using Dew Drop Brilliance inkpad. (Lightning Black)

Another Leafy Challenge

I suppose that it is understandable that leaves are a popular choice for the subject of challenges across crafty blogland at this time of the year.   It has rained all day today and I can see that I have a challenge of another kind to contend with when I look out at the garden.  Leaves....everywhere!!

I much prefer to concentrate on the challenge set by CASology this week.

 

Now, I could have used the card in my previous post to meet the requirements of this challenge but  I enjoyed the process so much that I decided to make another card.

 

I used Debbi Moore's Metal Magic which acts like UTEE.  I applied two coats of Versamark and two layers of Metal Magic; heating between layers before stamping into the molten medium with the leaf stamp.  I added some colour with Letraset alchohol inks to the impression then matted and layered this on to bronze and black card.  The base card is 6" by 6" (15cm by 15cm)

Falling Leaves

Although I have been retired for over a year from my post in education, I still work in a few schools on a voluntary basis. This is something that I must admit that I do for selfish reasons - I feel that it is a privilege to work with children and I am  now delighted to do this without having to experience the local politics and stress that most in the sector have to endure on a daily basis.  A bit like being a grandparent - all the fun but able to go home and have a cup of tea in peace (or craft) at the end of the day!!

 Today I was with a class at their "Forest School" session.  We were...wait for it.... building nests!

This is my group after completing their nest and taking the opportunity to try it out. Who says learning has to happen in the classroom!







As you can imagine, there were copious amounts of leaves lying on the ground that the children used to good effect to make their nest comfortable.  This inspired me when I returned home to search out a leaf stamp and a pot of Debbie Moore's Silver Metal Magic.

 I knew that the challenge this week at Less is More was to use SILVER as a colour so I decided to combine these two elements to produce this card.

Metal Magic is a coarse embossing powder that can be stamped into when heated to create a "metal" embellishment. I was worried that I would melt the stamp (Free from Craft Stamper mag) in the process but it remains unaffected.