Less is More - anything goes - on the way to 1,000?

This week the Limettes are trying for 1,000 entries to Less Is More and they have helped us by making it an Anything Goes (clean & simple) week.  Here's a second card from me to add to the total.  It's a masculine card using a Stampin' Up set that has just been discontinued and I think it's fab for masculine cards. Mandi, Lady Limette herself, runs a Stampers 6 Club and my Stampin' Up fix arrives really quickly each month, great fun, if you're thinking of joining don't hesitate:).  Both images are stamped off the page, I stamped the inner dial a second time (well ok it came off a reject lol!) and gave it a brad and then some silicon glue to raise it up. I wasted some time trying to add wide stripy grosgrain ribbon which just didn't work, so I abandoned that and used a punch instead, also SU and to be discontinued. Matted onto dark brown to show the punch then on to a Kraft card.
My card is for:
Less is More - anything c&s
Wee Memories - no patterned paper
Prairie Fairies - masculine
Totally Papercrafts - clean & simple
Cards for Men - anything but square

Stamp Addicts!

I've been keeping a secret for a few days but today I'm so happy to be able to tell you that I've been accepted on to the Design Team for Stamp Addicts!  I've only managed to get across to their fab shop once (so far!) but always enjoy a bit of retail therapy at their stand at stamping shows.  My card is made with Crazy Birthday a fun new release.  It's coloured with Copics then lots of Distress Inks which are also on the embossed Tim Holtz wall.  Tapestry stamps of leaves edge the image and the grass is an MS punch.  Can't wait to show you more Stamp Addict stuff:).

I'm entering my card for:
Divas by Design - birthdays
Dude Time Doodles - make it sporty
Anything Goes - birthdays
Cards for Men - anything goes
Crazy Challenge - movies - I think this chap has watched Rambo too many times:)
Sparkles Forum - one for the boys
Pollycraft - distressing

Inky

 

I've unpacked from the Quilt Show, bought a new washing machine (sigh) which arrived at 7.15 this morning and am making an attempt at resuming normal service with my Less is More cards for this week.  We're using ink and making one layer cards.  I may try and do something new later in the week but for now I've two cards using a favourite technique of making backgrounds with my duster brushes and inks.

First card uses Distress and Adirondack inks with a mask for the sun and torn paper for the hills.  Stamps are Stampin' Up.  Second card is almost the same as some I made last Christmas, a great quick easy card that is light to post.  Edges of card masked off before inking, then Tim Holtz trees added and given some Stickles baubles.  I put a Stickles dot on the "i" of the sentiment, looks better irl than on the picture.

My cards are entered for:
Less is More - one layer inky
Cute Card Thursday - clean and simple
Cards for Men - anything goes - pheasant card

Phindy's Place Challenge #63 - Buttons

Welcome to this weeks Phindy's Place Challenge, this week we'd like you to use some buttons on your card or creation.  As my card needed to go in the post, I've used faux buttons made using a punch that I bought at Newbury Art Stamps, I hope I'm forgiven :).  I used the very cute and adorable Giddyup image for my card and gave him a red, white and blue with a touch a Kraft colourscheme.  The triangles are embossed then Distress inked, sentiment is Lili of the Valley.
My card is for the following challenges:
Sketch'n'Stash Challenge - sketch (new stash is punch, DP is very old stash!)
Cards for Men - Wild West
Your Next Stamp - button it up
Papertake Weekly - anything goes plus optional buttons
One Stitch at a Time - use a digi
Stamp Scrap & Doodle - stars and stripes

Some Neglected Stash for a Sunday

 Happy Mothering Sunday to all Mums everywhere.  I'm having a quiet day without either son as one is still at University and the other has just started a part-time job and is at work.  Before he went he presented me with a large bottle of "Mother's Ruin" - gin - in this case a blackcurrant gin that is my favourite ever tipple:).

I've finished up a card for the Sketch 'n' Stash Challenge, really the only new stash is the baker's twine, but this is a "neglected" card even though it's not stash as such...  I stamped and watercoloured a seaside scene with my Hobby Arts Scene-It stamps but it just didn't look quite right and it's sat on my desk for months.  Yesterday I trimmed out large swathes of scene by using a Nestie circle on it and I'm much happier with it now and it has made it into a card.

The strip is My Mind's Eye 29th Avenue DP, sentiment is Elusive Images embossed in red, baker's twine is from Quixotic Paperie and I dry embossed a swirly white panel.

My card is for the following challenges:
Sketch'n'Stash - sketch
Tellen's Place - embossing
Totally Papercrafts - one for the boys
Stamping Vacation - pick 3 from a list (I chose circle, dry embossing, sentiment)
Sentimental Sundays - let's get wet
Cards for Men - embossing

Last minute card

A quick, clean and simple card for one of DH's friends - last minute  - but I'm quite pleased with it.  Art Impressions stamp, Distress Inked background and used my Swirls embossing folder twice on the card.
Card is for the following challenges:
Cards for Men - Christmas
Allsorts - anything goes
Fussy & Fancy Friday - show us some snow
Stamptacular Sunday - Tree-mendous

One Layer for Woodware

I'm enjoying playing with One-layer cards still, having been inspired by my blogging friend Chrissie.  I happened to notice that Woodware's challenge this week is a One Layer Card and I got out my lovely clear set of Woodware deer and winter trees.  I think these may be discontinued now, they are a couple of years old, but they do make lovely sccenes!  I masked off the top & bottom of a long thin card and used inks and duster brushes as well as a torn paper mask for hills and sky, then I stamped the deer and trees in Paris Dusk Memento ink and the fence in Adirondack Aubergine.  The sentiment is a Kaisercraft one.
I'm also entering A Spoonful of Sugar's Anything Goes Challenge and  Cards for Men - Christmas Cards.

Delightful donkeys

 

We've had many pets over the years, but one that Geoff has always held out against is a donkey :(.  I think a donkey would look perfect alongside my Norwegian Fjord horse (and of course the Welsh pony) but hey, sometimes you can't get everything in life!  So of course I fell for the donkey image on the new Joann Sheen DVD by Glynn Williams and had to make a card with it!  There are special decoupage images on the CD but I simply printed out 3 times and made my own decoupage.  I followed the sketch at Pear Tree Designs, adding a leaf border cut with my new MS punch that I bought at the NEC.  The sentiment is a Personal Impressions stamp, DP is Papermania and I used my first ever MS punch to make a scalloped border underneath, I think it's called Baroque and it doesn't have the markings to line up that are on the current punches.  A piece of raffia and some green gems finished it off, hope you like my donkey card.

My card is for the following challenges:

Pear Tree Designs - sketch

Cards for Men - animals, I've kept it un-fussy and used raffia not a ribbon bow so it can be a man card

CD Sunday Challenge - the natural world

Craft Your Passion - 2 of anything (2 donkeys)

Lexi's Creations - anything goes

Crazy4Challenges - square cards

Raise the Bar - scallops and curves

Stamp Insanity -punch drunk - used 2 border punches

PS I have candy - do please join me and play along here

Get Well Wishes

I'm sneaking in a second card today; please scroll down if you're looking for my Cooking it up with Katie card:).  This is a Get Well card for a dear friend who is faced with the frightening diagnosis of a brain tumour.  Because of a shooting accident many years ago that has left tiny fragments of metal in his eye, he can't have the scans that will give a quick answer to his symptoms.  John loves his racing and, to date, his finest hour was as part of a syndicate that won the Derby, hence the horse theme.
I've used the sketch from Cute Card Thursday for my layout and again I've been persevering with my brayer.  The yellow green streak across the moon was not intentional but in the end I decided it was all part of the scene!  Mare and foal is the first stamp I ever bought, when I found Lavinia Designs at the NEC and fell in love with her style of working.  The tree stamp is also a Lavinia Designs stamp.  DP is My Minds Eye and there are peel-offs in the corners, something I don't make a lot of use of.

My card is also for Cards for Men - anything goes and The Stamp Man - cards for men.

Autumn is on the way

Good grief it was cold this morning!  It may still be August according to the calender but it's get the woolies out time here.  This is another card from my class with Jenny Mayes, this was our first, "warm-up" card.  which again uses her SceneIt stamps.  This is very simple, though we used 6 different tiny stamps to build the scene would you believe!  Watercoloured with Tombow pens and mounted onto embossed card. It's a classic summer's end scene, hope you like it:).

This card is for the following challenges:
Totally Papercrafts  - clean & simple
Pile it On - farewell to Summer
Papertake Weekly - just the one (one piece of cardstock added to image)
Cards for Men - long Summer Days