Less is More Week 15, Take 2

I've already submitted an entry with dry embossing, but I was inspired by all the heat embossed beauties on Less is More Week 15 to dig out my embossing supplies. They've not been used in years, and I discovered that even my old Top Boss embossing ink pad still has some juice left in it!

I have long been wanting to try the resist method of embossing and then sponging ink over the top. I stamped my Inkadinkado trees stamp twice across the card base and embossed it in copper. Then I masked it off with post-its and sponged the panel in oranges, browns, and yellow.


For my last two cards, I was inspired by this card of Heather T.'s. I love her yummy pink panel with white and black flowers. I masked off a panel and embossed my flowers in white (I don't have any clear EP, but I must get some!). For the first card I sponged oranges and pinks, and on the second card I went with straight pink. Finally, I stamped more flowers over the top in Stazon black and added a sentiment.


I love how these turned out. There are so many possibilities that I want to try, but I had to call it good at 3 cards. You can be sure I'll be playing around with this in the future with snowflakes and fall leaves, but I needed some spring flowers in my life since the weather hasn't been cooperating!

Thank you, LIMettes, for all the inspiration!

One Layer Wednesday 53

The challenge at Styles Ink for One Layer Wednesday is to make a new home card using two colors of ink. Sounds easy enough, but this card was a real struggle for me and I'm still not entirely happy with it. I've fiddled enough, though. Time to be done with it and move on!



I didn't think I had any house stamps but I discovered this little Studio G dollar stamp that I've never used. It's a really sweet image, and it actually stamps well, too. It's quite small, so I made a smaller sized notecard. I made a little sentiment on the computer since I didn't have any stamps that would work. I stamped a hill and sponged some green and blue ink for grass and sky. Finally, I colored the house with colored pencils and rounded the corners.

Less is More 15

We've had a busy weekend but I managed to make a few cards last night. The challenge for this week at Less is More is to use either heat embossing or dry embossing on a one layer card. I chose to use dry embossing and pulled out my Cuttlebug to make this one layer card with a simple ribbon treatment. I believe ribbon is okay on a one-layer card, but if not, I'm sure someone will set me straight! :)



I'm off now to have a peek at some of the other submissions. From first glance, it looked like a lot of people chose heat embossing. Heat embossing was the first thing I did as a stamper, and I haven't done it in years. I wonder if embossing powders have a shelf life. Mine must be about 14 years old!

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white, spring rain
Sentiment Stamps: PTI, Studio G
Others: Cuttlebug embossing folders, ribbon

Less is More 14

This week at Less is More the challenge is to make a clean and simple, white on white card. No color, except possibly outlines. Looking at the other submissions was very inspiring - so many beautiful and elegant cards with lovely textures.

My card is very clean and simple, perhaps too simple, really. I used the same basic layout as last week, replacing the papers with white and the apples with flowers. I added a big bit of bling in the center of each flower. I rarely use gems on my cards, and I never use the big ones, so it was kind of fun!


All of the sparkly gems were calling to me, so while I had my supplies out I had to make one with a bit of color in the center just for fun. I was inspired by this card, where Susan used big blue gems with what I think is the same flower punch. I tried several colors, but I love bright blue and white together, so I used blue in the end and added a sentiment in Brililance Mediterranean Blue.


Supplies:
Paper: PTI White
Stamps: PTI sentiment
Ink: Brilliance Mediterranean Blue
Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, flower punch, gems

One Layer Wednesday 52

Susan's One Layer Wednesday for this week is called 'round and round.' She wants us to use circles in some way on our one layer cards. I immediately thought of this Hero Arts stamp called dots and circles that I purchased on clearance last fall. It worked well to make these super simple cards. I made one horizontal and one vertical and added a bit of bling for fun.



Supplies:
Paper: PTI white
Stamps: Hero Arts dots and circles, PTI sentiments
Ink: Memento Bahama blue

Less is More 13

Two posts in one day is a miracle around here. Even though I made these yesterday, I had to post my One Layer Wednesday first since time was running out! Week 13 at Less is More is a Lucky Dip Week - make a thank you or congratulations card.

In the United States this week is teacher appreciation week, so I set about making thank you cards for my daughters' teachers. I purchased this apple punch last fall on clearance, thinking it would be great for teacher thank you cards. Too bad I didn't make my cards then! Instead I waited until the Monday of the start of teacher appreciation week. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!


For the first card I went with a simple layout featuring a raised panel of 3 punched apples in red, yellow, and green. I included a strip of ribbon and a sentiment. I'm pleased with the pop of colors on white card stock. It feels very clean and bright.

For my second card I stamped a random alphabet background using my Versamagic stamp pad onto the kraft card base. I saw this technique used somewhere, possibly on PaperTrey Ink. I randomly placed clear letter stamps on my acrylic block and stamped onto the kraft. By arranging them on the block first and then stamping just once, it went very quickly. Then I filled in the gaps with other letters since my block was not quite as large as the card base. I used some very old scraps of red and green patterned paper from my scrap box for the apples.

I'm pleased with both of these cards and hope my girls' teachers will like them. I taught school for 8 years before my kids came along, and I always appreciated handwritten notes and cards from my students and their parents more than anything else. It's nice to feel appreciated.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI kraft and white, scraps from scrap box
Stamps: PTI sentiment, AMuse clear alphabet stamps
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent ivy and rocket red
Other: apple punch, ribbon

One Layer Wednesday 51

I am just barely squeaking in for this week's One Layer Wednesday at Styles Ink! I love this week's challenge to make three different one-layer cards using the same image stamp. I chose a flower image from PTI's floral fusion #1.

My first card is my favorite. I stamped a frame and then masked it to stamp a flower background in pink, green, and yellow. I love this bright, happy color combination! Finally I stamped a crooked sentiment in the frame.


For my second card I stamped the flowers in red and added the stems and leaves. I finished it off with a sentiment and a little gingham ribbon.


I used kraft for the third card and I really had to whip this one out in a rush. The clock was ticking! I embossed the bottom portion of the card with my Cuttlebug, stamped the flowers and the sentiment, and added a ribbon. I'll definitely tweak this last card a bit.


Stamps: PTI
Ink: Memento
Other: Cuttlebug, ribbon from stash