Less is More: Music

I'm popping in with a quick card for the current Less is More challenge, which is to make a clean and simple card with the theme of music.  While there's always a lot of music in our house, I don't have a lot of musically themed stamps.  I do have a Recollections musical background stamp that I wanted to use.  The trick was how to use it in a way that was clean and simple.  Stamping the entire background across a card wouldn't leave very much white space.

I had no plan in mind and decided to just play around and see what happened.  Kind of fun to do that!  I cut a Nestie out of PTI rustic white cardstock and stamped the background across it.  Then I used the same ink (Versamagic Sahara Sand) to sponge around the edges. I stamped an old Memory Box bird and branch stamp and added a little button and sheer ribbon treatment at the top. 

 

I tried the card two ways - first on a standard size card with a little sentiment tucked under the corner and then centered on a square card.  While I like both, I find myself drawn more to the first one, which surprised me. My picture of it didn't turn out very clear; the sentiment is "Every day is a gift."

I love having my girls home from school with me.  We've been having lots of crafty fun together.  Yesterday we tried our hands at making homemade snow globes.  They turned out so cute that we've decided to make some more today. :)

I hope that wherever you are and however you celebrate the winter holidays, you are enjoying time with family and friends and sneaking in a little crafty time, too.  It's been fun "meeting" people around the world since I started this little blog last February.  Thank you for taking the time to visit me.

Merry Christmas!

Ann

Supplies:

Paper: PTI rustic white

Stamps: Recollections background, Memory Box bird and nest, PTI sentiment

Ink: VersaMagic Sahara Sand, ColorBox Chalk chestnut roan

Let it Snow

I've made another entry for the Less is More "Let it Snow" challenge.  I combined it with the One Layer Wednesday Challenge at Simplicity which is to make a one layer card that feels peaceful.  We don't get a lot of snow here in Western Washington, but when it does snow, I always think there is something so peaceful about those lovely white flakes gently falling from the sky.

Because I don't have a lot of time this week and I really liked the way my previous cards for Less is More turned out, I used the same stamps and layout.  I have been having so much fun with these Martha Stewart snowflake stamps.  This time I used white ink on kraft, which feels soft and peaceful to me.  I stamped the card quickly enough, and then fiddled with the bow for 45 frustrating minutes.  Needless to say, I wasn't feeling very peaceful by the time I was done.  I scratched the bow and just tied a simple knot, which I like better anyway! :)

Since the Less is More challenge is "Let it Snow," I thought I would share two of the cards my 5 and 9-year old girls made this weekend for their teachers' Christmas gifts.  I found a pack of white buttons in different sizes and we decided they would make perfect snowmen.  They turned out so cute!

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft (my last sheet - horror!)

Stamps: Martha Stewart, Hero Arts sentiment

Ink: Color Box frost white

Less is More and CFC 31

The challenge at Less is More is to make a one-layer card with the theme 'Let it Snow.'  I combined it with the CAS-ual Fridays challenge, 'In the Mist,' thinking that snowflakes and misting would go well together. 

I created a very subtle misted background using water with just a drop of two of acrylic paint added to it.  On the blue card I added clear rhinestones to the center of the snowflakes.  On the purple card I added some ultra-fine transparent glitter.

Neither the misting or the sparkle show up well in the photograph, as it was quite dreary here when taking these pictures.

Thanks for taking the time to visit during this busy time of year.  I've been behind in my commenting this week and hope to catch up in the next day or two.

Supplies:
Stamps: Martha Stewart, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink: Versamagic, Memento
Paper: PTI white
Other: transparent glitter, rhinestones, acrylic paint

CAS-ual Fridays 30

It's a tic-tac-toe board at CAS-ual Fridays this week, and participants get to choose their favorite rows to work with.  I chose the middle vertical row: polka dots, kraft, and orange. 

A local beekeeper generously gave me some beeswax recently, and my two Girl Scout troops melted it down and hand-dipped beautiful beeswax candles.  I wanted to make a special thank you card for him.  It was a bit tricky to make a masculine card using flowers and bees, and I wouldn't normally do such a thing.  However, seeing as Henri is a beekeeper and I was thanking him for beeswax, I felt the flowers and bees would be appropriate.

I used kraft card stock and a piece of fairly rustic polka dotted orange paper from my scrap bin to paper piece the flower.  The stem is also paper pieced using a scrap of dark green polka dotted paper.  Frankly, the bee is just too darn cute to be masculine, but how could I leave her off?  :)

Together with the notes my Girl Scouts made for Henri, I think this will be quite a nice thank you for a special gift.  Thanks for visiting today!

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft, scraps from scrap bin

Stamps: Hero Arts be happy, PTI mega mixed messages

Ink: Memories black

Barbles Challenge & Make-it Monday

Barb, from the beautiful blog Kinsale Creations, is hosting an inspiration challenge this month based on this beautiful photograph from her friend's wedding reception.  I was inspired by the black and white damask table runner and the touches of green from the granny smith apples and hydrangeas.  I was inspired to make two cards for her challenge.  Pop over to visit her blog and play along if you get the chance.

 

I used a beautiful ruffled green Offray ribbon and the pleated ribbon technique from PTI's Make-it Monday challenge.  I stamped the bottom of the panel with PTI damask designs and then pleated the ribbon above the stamped section.  The sentiment is Hero Arts and I added a few Recollections gems.

 For the second card, I stamped damask designs on the bottom portion of the card base.  This ribbon is flat in the middle and ruffled on the edges, so I ran it across the card and placed a narrow black ribbon on the flat part.  The sentiment is Hero Arts in a PTI fillable frames stamp and die.

I made both cards into Christmas cards, since that is what I'm working on these days.  I've finished my cards for the year, although I may make a few more for various challenges.  The vast majority are non-traditional colors, which has made my card-making fun and interesting.

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:
Paper: PTI
Stamps: PTI damask designs, fillable frames, Hero Arts sentiments
Ink: Memories black
Other: Offray ribbon, Recollections gems

Christmas Cards with Bling

We've returned from a lovely family Thanksgiving having stuffed ourselves silly with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie!  I'm heading into a busy week and won't have a lot of time for card-making, so I worked into the wee hours last night to play along with Less is More and CAS-ual Fridays.  I went a little crazy with the Less is More challenge, a bit of bling, and made five very simple Christmas cards to complete my collection for the year.  Now I've just got to write them, stamp and address them, and pop them into the mail. 

The first two cards use a Martha Stewart snowflake stamp set and were inspired by this card I saw on Pinterest and this old sketch at Clean and Simple Stamping.  If the snowflakes were a little bit lower, I think it would be pretty with a sheer organza ribbon at the top, but I don't happen to have any at the moment.

The next two cards use the fabulous sketch at CAS-ual Fridays.  For the first card I used the same Martha Stewart snowflakes and the second card uses Hero Arts Merriest Christmas Wishes.  The little star gems are by Recollections.

Finally, I used these tiny Recollections flowers to make this super simple Christmas card.  I simply added a big pink gem to the center of each.  I do like red and pink together for Christmas.

Well, if you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. :)  I had fun playing with bling last night, and I'm thrilled to report that my Christmas cards are very nearly finished.  Most years, I would just be getting started.  What a refreshing change!

Sketch Inspiration:

PDCC 108 & SSD 102

I've had the gorgeous, rich colors from the current PlayDate Cafe Challenge in my head for the last few days.  I knew I wanted to use them but wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

On Sunday my kids dragged out a tub of artificial flowers that we have on hand for craft projects.  With the flowers, some vases, a play cash register, play money, and signs, they turned our living room into a flower shop and were at it for several hours.  While "shopping" I noticed a baggie of beautiful, velvety maroon and copper colored flowers that had been taken apart.  A year or so ago I had purchased a few stems from the craft store and made flower hair clips for the girls.  These were the leftovers, and they were the perfect colors for the PDC Challenge.

I used them along with the fabulous sketch at Skipping Stones Design, which I flipped upside down, to make this card:

I used my glue gun to put a few of the flowers together and added buttons and embroidery floss.  Then I took a scrap of vintage cream cardstock and sponged color around the edges.  This was my first time EVER using distress ink.  I have one ink pad (tea dye) that I had purchased to make pirate treasure maps with the kids.  I received some very helpful tips about distress inks from some fellow bloggers on yesterday's post, and I'm eager to get more and really start experimenting!

After sponging the edges, I stamped a Recollections musical background  and added a Hero Arts sentiment in the top corner.  Then I simply stuck on the flowers and was done.  I think this is very different from the cards I usually make, but I sure enjoyed myself and it came together surprisingly quickly. 

Beautiful Inspiration:

Supplies:

Paper: PTI scarlet jewel, vintage cream

Ink: tea dye distress ink, ColorBox chestnut roan chalk ink

Stamps: Recollections musical background, Hero Arts sentiment

Less is More 42

This week the ladies at Less is More have challenged us to make a clean and simple card featuring a silhouette.  I recently bought this stamp of the three wise men on coupon at Michaels, so I had something new to play with.  Otherwise it would have been a much loved tree stamp, my only other silhouette.  

I first made a one-layer card using masking and sponging. It took some fiddling to get it right.  I started by masking the top and bottom of the inked area, but found I didn't like the defined edge along the top.  I then masked only the bottom and liked that much better.  I masked a moon for the initial sponging, and then removed it and sponged just a bit of color across it.  When I stamped the image, I was concerned about the stars across the face of the moon.  I could have done some fancy masking to leave the palm leaves but remove the stars on the moon, but instead I am choosing to not let it bother me. :)

 

 For my second card, I simply cut out the sponged and inked panel, matted it on navy cardstock, and mounted it on a white card base. I added a Hero Arts sentiment in black.

Now for a question.  I've noticed that many people who ink backgrounds do so using distress inks.  I use an old Colorbox multi-color pad of pigment inks, as that is what I have that works best.  However, I've been so impressed with the cards I've seen using distress inks that I'm thinking of asking Santa for some.  Are people using the ink pads or the bottles of liquid ink, and are people using sponge daubers or brayers?  Are there any tricks I need to know for blending them?   If you have any opinions about distress inks, I'd love to hear them!  Thanks so much.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white, navy from scrap box
Stamps:  Stampendous traveling far, Hero Arts sentiments
Ink: Color Box pigment inks, Memories black

ColourQ Challenge 111

A quick post to enter this card in the ColourQ Challenge before it ends.  I used a flower from Stampin'Up Best Blossoms and a PTI sentiment and leaf.

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft and white, orange from scrap box

Stamps: Stampin' Up best blossoms, PTI mega mixed messages, turning a new leaf

Ink: Versacoor

CPS 244

Good Morning!

I'm just popping in with a quick card I made using the sketch at Card Positioning Systems. I really liked the simplicity of the sketch this week.  I flipped the sketch for my card.  I used two strips of patterned paper across the top and an AMuse stamp.  While I'm a clean and simple gal at heart, it really felt like it was missing something, so I added the ribbon between the two red strips of patterned paper.  Better, although now that I'm looking at it I'm not so sure about the bling.  That may have to come off! :)

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft, PTI white, Colorbok patterened paper

Stamps: AMuse

Ink: Brilliance coffee bean

Other: ribbon from stash, prismacolor pencils, bling from stash

Less is More 41

It's a one layer challenge at Less is More this week and the theme is leaves.  I love nature images and have accumulated a number of leaf stamps, but I decided to use this delicate leafy branch from PTI's Turning a New Leaf set.  I used it recently on these cards for a PTI background building challenge, and I loved it.  I don't know why I've neglected it in the past.

I masked a horizontal panel and sponged it with a variety of browns and purplish reds.  The branch itself is rock-n-rolled in Memento potters clay and rich cocoa .  Then I simply pulled back the masks and stamped my sentiment.  I thought I might add a few pearls or rhinestones, but it just wasn't working for me. 

Supplies:

Stamps: PTI turning a new leaf, communique curves sentiments

Ink: Memento, Colorbox

Paper: PTI white

PDCC 107

This is my second post on this rainy Saturday, which is unusual for me.  However, my husband announced that he was taking our daughters out to the movies.  Going to the movies is a special treat around here, so you can be sure our girls were literally jumping with excitement. 

I spent my time making this card for the Play Date Cafe Color Splash Challenge - white, black, and a splash of orange.  I recently picked up these gorgeous paper flowers by Recollections, and I knew I wanted to use them.  I had originally intended to do some stamping on the bottom portion of the card using PTI Damask Designs, but it was just too busy for my liking.  Instead I used an embossed panel to add texture but leave the focus on the flowers.  I added ribbon, a sentiment, and tucked in a few leafy bits from a Sizzix branch die.

Supplies:

Paper: PTI white

Stamp: PTI damask designs sentiment

Ink: Brilliance graphite black

Others: Cuttlebug Morrocan screen EF, ribbon from stash, Sizzix branch die, Recollections flowers

Make It Monday 40 and CFC 28

I've been playing with the featured technique at PTI's Make It Monday, which is to use reverse applique on your card.

I found a small scrap of kraft cardstock, used a PTI apple die to cut three apples, and placed some very old scraps of plaid paper behind the openings.  Over the summer my 6-year old was chasing our dog through the house (big no-no!) when they knocked my sewing machine off the table and onto the floor.  It's not worth the cost of fixing it and I haven't replaced it yet, so no machine sewing for me today.  Instead I pierced holes around each apple using a straight pin.  I distressed the edges of both the kraft panel and the green mat and added brads to the corners.

 

My second card is for both Make It Monday and CAS-ual Fridays, which is to use a tag.  I cut the tag with a Sizzxx die.  The actual die is much longer, but by rolling it partway through my Cuttlebug and then back out, I was able to make it the size I wanted it. For this card, I pierced holes around the apple and hand-stitched with green embroidery floss.  I added a button and more green floss at the top of the tag to finish it.  

Both of these cards ended up having a 'country flavor' which is unusual for me.  I think it was the apples and the stitching that sent me in that direction! :)  At any rate, they will be handy to have when teacher appreciation week rolls around.

It was fun to experiment with new-to-me techniques (the reverse applique, paper piercing, and stitching), and I know I will use them again in the future.  Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft, green and patterned scraps from scrap box

Stamps: PTI Communique Curves sentiment

Ink: Versamagic hint of pesto

Others: brads from stash, PTI apple die, button from stash, embroidery floss, Sizzix texture plate, Sizzix tag die

Less is More 40 and CFC27

I adore red and orange together, so I was tickled when I saw that the color challenge at Less is More is, in fact, red and orange!  The challenge is in honor of Firework Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, in the UK.

Red and orange can be so dramatic, so I thought they would work well for the PTI Mehndi Medallion images.  I have used this layout many times in the past, with a red card base and a thin orange mat.  I just love it.  The placement of my large medallion and sentiment is very similar to Susan Rahaila's card in this post. 

For the next card I pulled out my Hero Arts leaf prints set.  I love these leaves.  I simply stamped a panel of leaves, matted it in orange and placed it on a red card base.  I used PTI fillable frames for the sentiment and popped it up on dimensionals.

Finally, I thought I should have a card that had a little more white space (or in this case red space!) since this is for Less is More.  I also wanted to play along with the CAS-ual Fridays challenge this week, which is to make a CAS card with an element hanging over the edge.  I used a PTI tag-its set for my stamps, and stamped the circle in a Nestabilities die.  I initially used a traditional banner extending over the edge, but I didn't care for it.  I went back and cut the ends of my banner using the same Nestie, rolling it partway through the Cuttlebug just enough to cut the end.  I like how the shape of the end of the banner mirrors the shape of the sentiment panel.  I used a 4.25 inch square card so that it would fit in a standard envelope for easy mailing.  Just being practical. :)

Well, I could have kept on going with these fabulous colors, but the mess I've created must be cleaned up.  It was sure fun to indulge in a morning of card-making!  Thanks for stopping by to visit.

Supplies:

Paper: PTI

Ink: Brilliance pearlescent rust, pearlescent poppy

Stamps: PTI Mehndi medallion, fillable frames, Tag-its, communique sentiments

OLW 71: Tag- You're It!

The one-layer challenge at Styles Ink is to make tags.  This was a great opportunity to make some Christmas tags.  The tag is a Sizzix die.  I used all AMuse images and Hero Arts sentiments.  My favorite by a long shot is that gorgeous poinsettia stamped in Staz-on blazing red.  Love that stamp. :)

PTI Make-it Monday #39

The challenge at Capture the Moment is multi-stamp background building.  I've been mulling this over all week, and this is what I've come up with.  I used a leaf stamp from Turning a New Leaf and a tiny flower from Tag-Its #3.

I was planning to use red and white on kraft, but at the last minute I decided to see what it would look like with a more rustic red, so I used red brick.  This is almost a brownish red, and I think this card would be appropriate for Thanksgiving, but because I'm full on into my Christmas cards, I went with Christmas!

When I finished, I still wanted to see what it would look like with a brighter red, so I made another using Brilliance rocket red for the flowers.  Two more Christmas cards checked off this list! :)

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft, white, rustic cream

Stamps: PTI turning a new leaf, tag-its 3, fillable frames, mega mixed messages

Ink: Versamagic red brick, Brilliance white, rocket red

Other: ribbon and twine from stash, PTI fillable frames die

Less is More 39

I was somewhat stumped by the Less is More challenge to use stars.  I don't have a lot of star stamps, just an odd assortment of little stars that are parts of larger sets.  I ultimately decided to use this little Studio G Christmas stamp, which I've had for quite a while but never used.

Some time ago I picked up a pack of Sizzix texture plates on clearance at Michaels for 97 cents.  I wasn't sure if they would work in my Cuttlebug, but at 16 cents a plate it was a no brainer.  Of course they do work, and I used the dot daisy plate to emboss a white background panel.  I added one tiny rhinestone to the center of the star for a bit of sparkle.

My kids are thrilled that our gray, rainy weather has gone away and the sun has come out just in time for trick-or-treating tonight.  They will be donning their Gryffindor robes and ringing doorbells as Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. 

Happy Halloween!

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white, scraps from bin
Stamps: Studio G
Ink: Brilliance graphite black
Other: Sizzix dot daisy texture folder

One Layer Wednesday 70

Susan's one-layer challenge this week is to make a red and white card.  I adore her card with its beautiful red snowflakes, and the other thumbnails are beautiful, as well.  What a simple and gorgeous color scheme this is!

I masked a vertical panel along the left side of my card and stamped the largest image from PTI Damask Designs to create a pattern.  Then I peeled back the post-its and stamped a Hero Arts sentiment.  Sounds simple, but it took five tries to get a card that I was happy enough to post.  I love one-layer cards, but the slightest shaky hand can ruin the whole card! 

I loved Susan's card, as well as Karen's challenge card, so I decided to CASE them both.  I love how the images are stamped within an area defined by the border stamp.  I didn't have a Christmas stamp that seemed appropriate, but these flower stamps in red make me think of starlight mints.  I tried a bit of red bling in the center of the large flowers, but it seemed to be too much.  Thank you to both Susan and Karen for the inspiration.

Supplies:

Stamps:PTI damask designs, Hero Arts sentiment, Martha Stewart flowers

Ink: Stazon blazing red (damask card), Brilliance rocket red

Paper: PTI white