Less is More – A Last Minute Quickie

I’m sorry for not being around in blogland for a couple of weeks; somehow there always seems to be more to do at this time of year than at any other!

This is my last minute entry into this week’s Less is More challenge, which is on the theme of ‘Monochrome’. I used a stamp set by Kanban, inked with Distress Ink, in Stormy Skies, by Ranger. The white ink that I used to stamp on the navy blue Bazzill card is by Elzybells, and is one of the best white ink pads that I’ve found.

Thank you for taking the time to pop in to take a peek at my card.

Maria xx

Less is More – 13 – Lucky Dip!

This week’s challenge at Less is More is quite an easy one. The theme is ‘Lucky Dip’, and you can choose to make a Congratulations card or a Thank you one – or both, as I did!

Here is my first card. I used a much-loved stamp by Stampers Anonymous. I stamped the image in black ink, and masked off the surrounding area before applying chalks in royal blue and purple to colour the background. I used a sentiment by Stampin’ Up, and added a few purple gemstones to the design, just to make it ‘ping’ a little. 

My second card is made in a similar way, but I used Versamark, instead of black ink, to stamp the design. I used the same chalks and, as you can see, the Versamark really absorbs the colours to define the image. The sentiment is part of a larger one in a Hobby Art clear stamp sentiment set. I masked off  the part of the stamp that I didn’t want before inking it, then removed the mask and stamped the sentiment onto the card.

I think that I prefer the first card more; somehow it seems more complete to me. It was fun to use the ‘Versamark with chalks’ technique again, though. My chalks have been sadly neglected, and I’d forgotten what a lovely soft effect they create on a plain white card. I will definitely be using them more often for the LIM challenges.

Thanks for all your lovely comments last week; I appreciated each and every one.

Maria xx

Less is More – 12 – Off Centre

 

The challenge at Less is More this week is on the theme of  ‘Off Centre’. I’ve had this Stampin’ Up stamp set for a few weeks, and I thought that I would ink it up for my entry.  I used Marvy markers directly on the stamp, and spritzed it with a little water before stamping. The sentiment is also from the same ‘Just Believe’ set. I used a freebie designer paper to frame the stamped images, and highlighted the flowers with a little crystal glitter. Here is my finished card…

Thank you very much for the lovely comments that you’ve left for me in the past few weeks; they are very much appreciated. I look forward to visiting your blogs in the near future, if I haven’t done so already.

Maria xx

Less is More – Acetate

This week’s Less is More challenge is to use acetate on your cards. I’ve never been very enthusiastic about acetate, but I had a particular stamp, uninked for ages, that was crying out to be used with a particular technique on the stuff. My neglected stamp is ‘Vogue Silhouette’ by Stamps Happen Inc. I stamped the image on the sheet of acetate with Ranger’s Archival black ink, then turned it over, and applied Art Quest’s Duo Embellishing Adhesive to the back of the dress. The glue starts off white, and becomes colourless and tacky when dry. When the glue became tacky, I sprinkled a good helping of variegated green gilding flakes (available from Crafty Notions) onto the back of the dress, and brushed off the excess back into its container, to use again. An anti-static cloth is useful at this stage, but a used dryer sheet is an excellent substitute, should you not have a cloth. Carefully wipe off the loose gilding flakes from the acetate – yes, it gets everywhere!

I used a creamy card with a golden sheen for my background, and randomly coloured a panel in the same card with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Tumbled Glass, Scattered Straw and Crushed Olive in a size to match the the frame of the stamped image.  I stuck the panel to the front of the card, using the stamped acetate as a guide.  After folding the acetate to form a jacket over the card, I stuck the two together at the back of the card, near to the folded edge. I felt that the card needed something extra to finish it off, so I added the thin bronze grosgrain ribbon and bow  to the front, and that seemed to do the trick. I also added a piece of the ribbon on the back of the card, which also served to disguise the double-sided tape that I’d used to stick the card and the acetate together.

So here is the finished card.  It’s a shame that the sparkle of the gilding flakes, and the sheen of the card, don’t show up very well in the photo.

I’m finding the LIM challenges tremendous fun to follow, and now that I have three under my belt, I guess that I can call myself a ‘Limette’, which is what Mandi and Chrissie call the challenge participants and blog folllowers.  Well girls, this was a fab challenge, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next week!

Thanks for taking a peep at my card, and I hope to ‘see’ you again soon!

Maria xx

Less is More, Week 9 – A Touch of Red

I’m a little late with my card for this week’s Less is More challenge, which is to use ‘A Touch of Red’ on your card.  I’m  finding these cards a bit of a challenge in themselves, but I do love the CAS look, so I shall persevere! As always, the girls at LIM have given us fab examples, and the cards entered so far are all gorgeous. I used Stampin’ Up stamps on my card, the berries and leaves are coloured with Promarkers, and the sentiment is by Hero Arts.

Thanks for visiting!

Maria xx

Less is More

I have just discovered a new challenge blog that is just right for me at the moment.  I love making fussy, highly-detailed cards, but sometimes simple cards can be good too, plus they are so much less time-consuming if you are short of time! I would recommend looking at the Less is More blog if you’d like an idea for a quick, but elegant, card. All the examples and the challenge entries that I have seen have been gorgeous.

Here is my take on the latest challenge, which is a sketch for a tall, skinny card of DL proportions.

The bunting stamp is by Molly Blooms, and coloured with Promarkers, and the sentiment disc is by Craftwork Cards.  Everything else is from my scrap box.

Thanks for visiting!

I’m Back!

Hi All,

Sincere apologies to the readers who follow my blog – if any of you are still out there! After a long absence from blogging, because of a few health and family issues, I’m now back to making a few cards and what not. I hope to be able to share my art work with you again from here onwards. I’m aiming to enter a few challenges, and perhaps show off any cards that I have placed on Ebay. I have always loved to work with fabric, and I hope to show you some of my fabric and mixed-media work from now on, too.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope that you’ll come back often.

Maria xx

Pocket Full of Posies Challenge # 6

This time the Pocket Full of Posies challenge theme is ‘Floral Fantasy’, and our sponsors for this fortnight are Craft Brulee.

Here is my card for the challenge. The image is one of Sugar Nellie’s gorgeous Leanne Ellis designs, which I’ve coloured with Promarkers. The beautiful lace and lollipop flower are from Craft Brulee, and the other flowers are from my local craft shop.

I must apologise for the lack of blog posts recently: I’ve not been very well, but I hope to get back to blogging more regularly soon – I hope you’ll bear with me!

Thank you for visiting and taking a look at my card.

Mxx

DT Call @ Pocket Full of Posies

If you love using flowers of all kinds on your creations, you may be interested in the Design Team call at Pocket Full of Posies. There are five DT posts to be filled, so check out the blog, and get in touch with Sandie or Jan if you’re as florally obsessed as we are!

Mxx

Pocket Full of Posies Challenge #5

The theme for the Pocket Full of Posies theme for this fortnight is ‘Winged Things’, and our generous sponsors for this challenge are Whimsy Stamps, who are going to give our lucky winner no less than five gorgeous digital images of their choice from their online shop!

Here is my card, made, of course, with a delightful Whimsy Stamps image. She has been coloured with Promarkers, and the Designer Papers that I used are by Basic Grey.  The cute velvety butterfly is by Flora Doodles, sentiment by Hero Arts, and the rest is from my stash.

 I do hope that you’ll come and play in our latest challenge; I’m sure that you’ll agree that the prize is well worth it!

Mxx