CAS-ual Fridays 45 & Less is More 60

It's so nice to be making cards again after a couple of busy weeks.  I made two cards for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge "The Bold and the Beautiful."  We were asked to combine a pastel color (or colors) with black.

I also made this first card for Less is More 60, which is to combine three past challenges on one card.   I used week 5 (pastels), week 38 (polka dots), and week 56 (scraps).  This 'dot flower' by Ditto/Studio G fit the bill for polka dots and the strips of paper along the bottom were pulled from my overflowing scrap bin.  The ink is VersaMagic chalk ink 'lulu lavender.'

For my second card I chose to use black ink on a pastel card base.  I rarely use a colored card base, and pastels only if making a baby card, so this was a change for me.  The stamps are from a Fiskars set I got on clearance that I quite like.   I had been wanting to use the little border stamp in the set to create a larger patterned block. I found this stamp quite easy to line up and I really like the way it looks stamped repeatedly. The panel is popped up on dimensionals.

 

Thanks for your visit today. 

Supplies:

Paper: PTI white, spring rain, scraps from scrap box

Ink: Memories black, VersaMagic lulu lavender, Memories black

Stamps: Ditto/Studio G, Fiskars floral flair

OLW 84 & Less is More 60

Last night I made a card - what a treat that was!  :)  Having missed the last two One-Layer Wednesdays and the last Less is More, I was determined to participate this week.  The One-Layer Wednesday Challenge is to make a one layer card using pink and orange.  I chose to use my only butterfly set, Hero Arts Designer Butterflies. 

 

Placement of the butterflies along the left edge was inspired by Gayatri's Inspired by Pinterest challenge.  The Less is More challenge this week is to combine three past challenges.  The three challenges I chose are: one layer off the edge (week 6), butterflies (week 16), and things that move (week 29). 

Gayatri's Pinterest Inspiration:

Less is More 58

Less is More Challenge 58 is a script challenge: use any text (in addition to the sentiment) on a one-layer card.  I chose to use this lovely Hero Arts butterfly with ferns stamp.  I do not know what language this is, but I do believe these characters qualify as text.  Hopefully Lady LIM and Diva LIM will agree. :)

I stamped the image using a homemade Lego positioner (Thank you, Chrissie!) before masking and sponging a little bit of color.  Then I colored the butterfly with Prismacolor pencils.  I also added some Sakura sparkle to the butterfly, which doesn't show in the photo. 

Supplies:

Paper: PTI white

Stamps: Hero Arts ferns and butterflies, PTI sentiment

Ink: Memories black

Other: Prismacolor pencils, Sakura clear star pen

Less is More - Neutrals

I'm just popping in with one more card for the Less is More neutral challenge.  My dad had surgery yesterday and I wanted to make a card to send to him.  Neutrals were a perfect choice for a masculine card.  

I paper pieced this comfy armchair, which is a free digi from Jane's Doodles, using patterned paper from my scrap box.  I tried two different layouts to see which I liked best.  I thought about adding a tiny button to the pillow and grounding the first chair with an oval stamp, but the button seemed too large and the oval seemed too small. :)

Less is More: Neutrals!

The challenge at Less is More is to use neutrals (white to black and any shades of beige, brown, or grey).  Oh, I love me some neutrals.  I do love color, too, but there is something so soothing about shades of brown and so classic about white and black together.  I got a little carried away.

I made three cards using Hero Arts Just Saying Hi and Brilliance lightning black ink.  I have been loving this ink lately; it has a great shimmer to it. I used the same basic layout for all three cards.   The first two are on PTI vintage cream and the third is on PTI rustic white

Then I decided to play a little bit with tea dye distress ink.  I have admired so many beautiful cards made with Stampin' Up's French Foliage set, so when Lynn at The Mango Boys and Me listed her set for sale, I snatched it right up.  It is just gorgeous.  This started out as a one layer card using masking.  I didn't like how the sentiment stamped in distress ink, so I cut it down and matted it onto a new card base.

Finally, I took the one-layer card I had made for this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge and turned it into a two-layer card.  I had made a boo boo on the backside of the card, so it needed to be cut down and matted.  It uses Close to My Heart stamps.

Liebster Award

Over the last couple of weeks, not one but three lovely bloggers have honored me with the Liebster award.  All three of these ladies have blogs that continually inspire me, and it makes me very happy that they in turn like to visit me here. :)  

Check out their beautiful blogs:

Michelle at Amusing Michelle

Barb at Kinsale Creations

Jess at Playing with Paper

 

What is the Liebster Blog award?  Here is a quick explanation.  "Liebster" is German for 'dearest.'  The award is a 'share-the-love' arrangement, given to inspirational bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (based on Google followers).

Here's the to-do list of any Liebster award recipient:
1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you
2. Reveal your five blogger picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog (see above)
4. Hope that those you award forward it to their favorite bloggers

I always feel a little bit funny about blog awards and I find it so difficult to pick just five great blogs.  In fact, I have been remiss about acting upon a blog award left for me by the amazing Kim of Joyful Creations with Kim from last spring. 

I do feel blessed to have "met" so many people around the world who share a love of this craft. It's a wonderful community we are a part of. Here are five blogs, in no particular order, that I highly recommend you visit, if you haven't already:

Judy at Judy's Card Corner

Bonnie at Stamping with Klass

Lynne at Cards from Lynne's Loft

Tracy at Created by Tracy

Deborah at Deb's Gems

One Layer Wednesday 81

I love the One-Layer Wednesday challenge at Styles Ink this week.  Make a one layer card using a cream card base, black ink, and just a hint of bling.  I think that's the perfect recipe for a beautiful card. :)

Sometimes I spend forever on one-layer cards, but this was one of those rare cards that just came together super fast.  I used a Close to My Heart set that I picked up at a friend's garage sale last summer.  The ink is Brilliance lightning black, so it has a fabulous shimmer to it that looks lovely against the cream base.  I added two little pearls for my bit of bling.

Please excuse the blurry pictures.  I'm going to have to see about setting up a light box of some kind to improve my photographs.  

Supplies:
Stamps: Close to My Heart Treasures
Paper: PTI vintage cream
Ink: Brilliance lightning black
Others: Recollections pearls