LIM turns 2

It seems like forever since I've made a card, but it's only been a few weeks! :)

I couldn't miss this week's LIM challenge to use kraft and cream, as they are celebrating their second anniversary as a challenge blog.  I'm just squeaking in at the last hour. :)  Less is More was one of the first challenges (along with One-Layer Wednesdays) that I participated in, and it continues to be my favorite.

I've made three cards this week using Hero Arts dogwood.  This is a very large stamp so it was tricky to create cards with white space, but I had it in my mind that I wanted to use this stamp with a kraft-colored ink on cream cardstock, and I wasn't going to do anything else!

I've used my last sheets of PTI vintage cream cardstock on these cards, and am now left with just bits and pieces in my scrap box.  Ink is VersaMagic Sahara Sand and Wheat.

Thanks for looking.  Happy Birthday, LIM, and here's to many more! 

Ann

Less is More 102

It's a tricky one at Less is More this week.  The challenge is a one-layer card with a sports or exercise theme.  I couldn't think of a single sports or exercise image in my collection besides a bicycle.  However, I do have a little set from Amuse called sports words.  It has a single star image and a variety of sports-related sentiments such as go team, way to go, and super star.

I made two small notecards.  For the first card I repeated one sentiment (Way to go!) several times creating three lines of text across the card.   On the second card I lined up three different sentiments to create my lines of text.  Using a gridded block made pretty quick work of this.  I stamped the star image in Memento cantaloupe, which I love.

It just so happens that my soon to be 11-year old daughter is playing basketball this winter for the first time ever, so one of these cards will be for her.  I think it can be scary to try something new, especially as one gets older.  We're proud of her for stretching herself quite a bit with this.  Most of the girls on her team were new, too, so she didn't feel way behind.  Unfortunately, though, they're playing some very experienced teams.  They had their first game last Saturday and they lost big time, as in 64-4! They sure learned a lot, though. :)

Thanks for your visit!

Ann

Less is More 101

Just popping in with a couple of cards for Less is More 101.  I missed a lot of the challenges in December, and am determined to do better in January!  The theme is black and white with a touch of another color.

For my first card I stamped a flower from Hero Arts lotus leaves in Memento tuxedo black ink.  I matted the panel with a scrap of black paper and added a satiny ribbon in a beautiful maroon for my splash of color.  I finished it off with a sentiment from PTI communique curves.

I'm not as happy with my second card.  It was getting late and I rushed to finish.  I'll probably go back and rework this at some point.  Flowers from PTI floral frenzy are stamped on a die from Sizzlits decorative label set #4.  I added yellow flower centers and yellow brads for my touch of color.

Thanks for your visit today.

Ann

Christmas Cards

I stayed up far too late last night making Christmas cards.  I haven't had a lot of crafty time lately, but I do need to get my Christmas cards finished.

I used several challenges for inspiration.  I loved the sketch at RetroSketches this week, and combined it with the red and green challenge at Less is More, which I've missed for the last two weeks.  :(  I used a Studio G sentiment that I picked up for 50 cents and stamped it in red and green. I used a patterned paper from my scrap bin for the background pieces and a tiny gem to finish it off.

I used the same sketch to make another Christmas card in white and purple.  This uses a Hero Arts dove and more paper from my scrap bin.

Finally, one last red and green card using a Hero Arts ornament.  This card also fits the challenge at Addicted to CAS, where the code word is bauble. I felt this card was turning out rather boring, but I didn't want to scrap it altogether.  I threw a bow on it and popped up the main panel.  It's a little better, although still not my favorite.

I don't often use red and green for Christmas cards.  I think one reason is that I just like non-traditional Christmas cards.  Another reason is that I don't have any perfect Christmas ink.  For these cards I used Memento bamboo leaves for the green.  On the first card I used ladybug red and the last card uses rhubarb stalk.

I recently bought a large Memento ink pad in cottage ivy, thinking it would be the perfect Christmas green.  I haven't made a single card with it, as it doesn't stamp well.  It appears blotchy.  If anyone has a recommendation for good Christmas colored inks, I'm all ears! :)

Have a great day!

Ann

Less is More and One-Layer Wednesday

I'm sharing two one-layer cards this morning.  I made the first for Less is More 93, where the theme is houses.  I stamped this lovely Northwoods winter scenery stamp and added some very soft color with Prismacolor pencils.  After masking the image, I sponged some soft blue ink on the hillsides and in the sky.  A Sakura pen added some sparkle to finish it off. 

My second card is for One-Layer Wednesday 113 where the challenge is to use dark red, green, and yellow/gold on a one-layer card.  I used Paper Smooches gently seasoned.  This is my first Paper Smooches set and I love the tree combined with the polka dots.  So fun!

It's been lovely this long weekend to find some crafty time.  I hope that wherever you are in the world, you are finding some time to create, too!

Ann

One More

for Less is More 91. 

I loved Chrissie's sketch this week and couldn't help making one more card.  Three squares of pink papers from my scrap box, a Hero Arts poppy stamp, and some Prismacolor pencils.

Thanks for visiting!

Ann

Less is More 91

It's a rainy Halloween in Northwest Washington.  We're quite used to trick-or-treating in the rain around these parts!  I found a little bit of time the other night to make a couple of cards for Less is More 91, which is a sketch challenge from Chrissie.

For the first card I stamped a cheap Studio G stamp onto PTI rustic white cardstock and a piece of patterned paper from my scrap box.  I paper pieced the leaves and cut the squares out before mounting them on a rustic white card base.  It was a little blah, so I added some random bling.  Unusual for me, but I quite like the results.  The sentiment is from PTI lovely layers; I've used it quite a lot.

I rotated the sketch for my second card.  I embossed Hero Arts woodland scene in clear before sponging over the top with blues and purples.  I cut the scene into three divisions and mounted them on blue cardstock.  The sentiment is from Penny Black.

Our thoughts are with all those along the Eastern Seaboard who are dealing with the aftermath of Sandy.

Thanks for your visit today.

Ann

PDC 154 and Less is More 90

Well! It's been a while.

I wanted to play along with the third anniversary challenge at Play Date Cafe.  The color combo was tricky and I had a hard time pinpointing the colors of flame, grape, and mulberry.  I found a few that worked for me and used my favorite SU French foliage leaf.  Again.  I know!  I love this leaf.

This is also my entry for Less is More 90, with the theme of autumn.  I stamped a background of leaves across the main panel.  I really like the unexpected pop of purple in the leaves.  I hope it's not too busy for Less is More.  Fingers crossed. :)  Also, my white space is not white.  I rarely use a colored card base, but I like it on this card.

Thanks for dropping in.  I'm slowly working on getting caught up on my commenting.  Life has been crazy.

Ann

Color Inspiration:

Thinking of You

Last night before bed I made a fast one-layer card for this week's Dynamic Duos and CASology challenges.  It was simple to combine orange and green with leaves to make a quick fall card.  I masked a panel and stamped my favorite leaf from SU French Foliage, using the rock and roll technique to add a bit of green along the leaf edges. This was a five-minute card, which doesn't happen very often for me. :)

I also decided to share one last Less is More card using silver that I didn't post yesterday.  I hadn't decided if I liked it or not, but this morning I decided that I do! :)  I punched flowers out of a shimmery silver paper to create a Christmas wreath.  I've seen a lot of wreaths made out of punched shapes lately, and I wanted to give it a try.  I tried it with a sentiment, too, but prefer it without.

Yesterday morning while tromping about in the woods with my dog, I was surprised by this lovely owl as it swooped down right in front of us.  It drifted up into a tree where it stayed long enough for some pictures.

Thanks for your visit today.

Ann

Inspiration:

Less is More: Silver

The challenge at Less is More is to use silver.  Saturday night I made several Christmas cards, but am just now getting around to posting them.  For my cards, I chose to I emboss in silver on black cardstock.  I had several sheets of beautiful, heavy silver cardstock and this was the perfect opportunity to use it.

I'm partial to the first two cards with the large tree images in silver.  I left a wide silver mat around the edges and stamped my sentiment on the inside.  I felt a sentiment on the outside would detract from the beauty and simplicity of the images.

Thanks for visiting.

Ann

Less is More 87

Lucky Dip week at Less is More has us making love and marriage-themed cards.  I don't have much in the way of wedding stamps, so I went through my stamps looking for general stamps that I thought I could use for a wedding card.  That was kind of a fun exercise in and of itself. 

One of the sets I pulled out was PTI lovely layers.  I was thinking of going with a classic black and white color scheme and  decided to use the lovely layers dies instead of the stamps themselves.  I pulled out scraps from my scrap bin and experimented with different combinations.  I ended up layering black, silver, and vellum and finishing it off with a bit of bling.

I wanted to keep the finished card clean and simple for the challenge, but it looked too plain just adhered to a card base.  I cut a circle from another piece of cardstock and popped it up on foam tape to act as a frame.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Thanks for visiting!

Ann

CASology & Less is More

This week, I combined the CASology "shoe" challenge with the Less is More take three challenge.  For the shoe challenge, I used these baby booties, the only shoe stamps I own.  I used these shoes on my youngest daughter's birth announcements seven years ago and I don't think I've used them since.

The Less is More challenge is to combine three past challenges.  I chose the following challenges:

Week 5 : pastels
Week 68: baby or child
Week 12: off-center
Week 34: sketch 3 also works, I think

I used a Close to My Heart stamp set called argyle backgrounds to stamp the strips that hang behind the shoes.  I first made this card using different colors of inks for each element.  I much prefer it monochromatic, so I made one in light blue and one in lavender.

Unfortunately, I had a terrible time photographing these.  The pastel colors look very washed out and the baby booties don't stand out enough.  They do look much better in real life. :) 

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white
Stampes: All Night Media, Close to My Heart argyle backgrounds, PTI sentiment
Ink: memento lulu lavender,  VersaMagic Sea Breeze

Less is More 85

The challenge at Less is More is to incorporate an oval somewhere in your design.  I had lots of ideas; unfortunately I don't have any tools or dies that cut ovals and my freehand ovals leave something to be desired. :)

I decided to go a different route and use my Amuse skinny oval stamp.  I have used it often to ground images such as chairs and animals.  For this card, I chose to use it as a base for this festive birthday cake.  I'm not sure of the brand, although I do know it was an inexpensive acrylic stamp from Michaels.

I used a strip of designer paper from My Mind's Eye on each card and added a simple sentiment tag.  On the vertical card I also popped up the birthday cake and colored the flames with a silver gel pen.

My posts have been pretty random these days.  Thank you so much for popping in to say hello when I do make it into blogosphere. :)

Ann

LIM 84 & OLW 105

Just popping in with a quick card for Less is More 84 and One Layer Wednesday 105.  The challenge at Less is More is to make a one layer card with foliage.  The OLW challenge has a theme of autumn.  The two fit perfectly together and this is the card I came up with.

I think the stamp is Inkadinkado.  Paper is PTI kraft and inks are Memento rhubarb and VersaMagic jumbo java and pumpkin spice.  Sentiment is Studio G.

Thanks for your visit. :)

Ann

Less is More and ColourQ

I'm sharing cards for two different challenges today.

First up is the card I've made for Less is More 83, where the challenge is to use brown and pink.  I've used PTI out on a limb with Memento rich cocoa and Victorian velvet distress ink.  I added liquid pearls to the center of each blossom.  I tried both a cream and a brown card base, and can't decide which I prefer.  Opinions?

Second, I've made a card using the absolutely gorgeous color palette from ColourQ 153.  Isn't this beautiful?

I used PTI floral frenzy to stamp a background pattern around my sentiment.  For colors I've used Memento rich cocoa and cantaloupe, VersaMagic pink grapefruit, and ColorBox robin's egg.  These colors make me so happy. :)

Thanks for visiting today!

Ann

Less is More 82 & Retrosketches 26

I found some crafty time late last night and made a card for Less is More 82 and Retro Sketches 26.  It's a 3-2-1 challenge at Less is More and for my card I chose to use 3 colors, 2 flowers, and 1 word (or bow).

I loved the simplicity of the sketch at Retro Sketches this week and I think I've managed to link it in time.  The last two cards I made for RetroSketches didn't make the deadline. :)

Thanks for your visit today!

Ann

Retro Sketches #26