Monograms - Less is More Week 20

Last week was the first time I didn't manage to get an entry in for the Less is More Challenge, so I was determined not to miss this week's. The theme is "Monogram". Bit of a tricky one, this! I only have one truly monogram stamp, the "D" by Stampers Anonymous. I set to work with it, stamping it on to a Nestie-cut circle with a scallop border, and carefully colouring it in. Then I went off to do something else before I mounted it on to a card. When I came back I decided to have a quick look at the other entries before I finished off my card. Imagine my surprise when I saw that entry No. 40, by Nellie, had  used not only the same stamp, but the same colours too! Spooky or what?! I hadn't seen Nellie's before I made mine. Here's mine, just so you can compare! (I'm not entering it!)

So, what else to do instead? A bit of lateral thinking was called for. This was the result:

Self explanatory, I think! (Eiffel Tower - Clarity Stamp; Arc de T - unknown; Paris minus the P! - from a Clear Choice set, Nestie rectangle.) Strictly speaking, a monogram shouldn't be part of a word, but it seemed to need the "aris" to balance the P, which looked as though it might topple over otherwise! So I'm hoping Chrissie & Mandi will let me get away with it!

Vintage with a heart

That's the title of the June Challenge at Crafty Individuals Blog, and what a great theme! I've used their gorgeous ladies in hats for my card, and kept the embellishments simple so as not to detract from the lovely image.

I stamped it on to Papermania printed paper (having slightly distressed the edges of the paper) and coloured it with Promarkers, which I also used to colour the Martha Stewart punched border, the sheer ribbon (just visible under the strip of lace), and the paper which I matted the image with. I love how you can use Promarkers to co-ordinate everything! And that's about it.

Now off to see what the Less is More ladies have got for us this week!

Shades of purple

The monochrome look is one which I rather like, so I was pleased to see that it is the theme for Week 18 of the Less is More Challenge.  I used an old favourite stamp and an old favourite technique to make my card.

I stamped the poppy (Stampin' Up) with Dusty Concord Distress Ink, and then pulled out the colour from the outline with a paintbrush and plain water to colour the image. I cut it out with a Nestie Labels 4 and mounted it with foam pads. The sentiment is one I've had for many years. I think the company which made it was V.I.P., sadly no longer trading, I believe.

I spent half term up in Dumfriesshire. Apart from visiting my daughter and family, I was also there to do some preparatory work for the new job I will be starting in September. I still can't quite believe that, from then on, my drives to work will be through beautiful countryside, instead of being stuck in traffic going into the city. I daresay there will still be hold-ups, but I think I can cope with the odd tractor or herd of cows....!

Less is More Week 17 - Pick a Square!

Been away all week, but just time to squeeze in an entry for Week 17 of the Less is More Challenge. The theme this week is a recipe - the sketch is divided into four outer squares and a centre square and the design has to occupy just one of those squares. I chose to go for bottom left, and this is the result!

Both flower and sentiment are by Hobby Art, and I added a little colour to the flowers with watercolour pencils. I was very short of time, so had to keep it simple, but that's the beauty of the Less is More concept!

I'm really sorry I don't have time to leave many comments at the moment. We have so much to do before our move north. But I do try and get a quick look at as many entries as I can. They are all superb, and wonderfully inspiring.

Sir Stampalot June Challenge

Well, it's the first of the month again, and time for a new Stampalot Challenge! For June we have a photo (see right) as inspiration. It can be interpreted in any way you like! I would have liked to have come up with something really creative and abstract, but in the end I couldn't resist another opportunity to use the gorgeous Crafty Individuals poppy field stamp! I coloured it with watercolour pencils except for the poppies, for which I used Promarkers to make them stand out. The background is a paper napkin, and the sentiment is by Prickly Pear.

A good tip for using napkins is to separate the layers (they usually have two or three) and use only the top (printed) layer. This will be quite thin, and almost impossible to put glue on without tearing it, so put the glue on the base card instead and gently smooth the napkin over it. (A Xyron machine is perfect for this if you have one.)

As usual, there's a fantastic prize on offer this month!

So if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning the goodies, check out the samples by my talented teamies on the Challenge Blog, and get those entries in! Can't wait to see them!



Butterflies!

Less is More has my favourite subject for Week 16's challenge - Butterflies! Great, I thought! But since butterflies tend to make an appearance on many of my cards, even if only tiny, coming up with something I haven't already done before wasn't so easy! Fortunately I hadn't yet got round to using my new Aspects of Design Framie 5 stamps bought a while ago from The Stamp Man, so this was the ideal opportunity.

Very simple, just cut out the stamped image with the matching Nestie (Labels 5) and coloured it with Cosmic Shimmer paints. Added the sentiment (Inkylicious).  Then stamped a flight of Crafty Individuals butterflies across the bottom.

Card number 2 is already in the making!

Less is More Week 15

This week's challenge at Less is More is for a one-layer card with embossing. I decided to use the embossing as a resist, which is one of my favourite techniques.

This is the first version of my card.

I stamped the grasses (Chocolate Baroque) with Versamark ink, embossed them with clear powder, and then sponged over them with Versacolor inks. The sentiment is by Prickly Pear, and it's one of my newest stamps. It really appeals to me. However, when I'd finished the card, I thought the sponging looked a bit messy. So I made another version, this time using a Nesties Label 10 as a stencil.

Now I can't decide which I prefer! The stencilled version is much tidier and more defined, but somehow it doesn't seem to fit quite so well with the sentiment, which suggests a free spirit! If I had to choose now, I'd probably stick with the first one. What do you think?

Little post with big news!

I said a few posts ago that I was busy! Well, when I was up in Dumfriesshire recently it was for an informal interview to discuss job possibilities. And the result was that from the end of August I will hopefully be working there as a peripatetic singing tutor in schools! Which means that in three months' time, our long-held dream of moving to live in Scotland, close to our daughter and family, will be coming true!

Needless to say, I am going to have very little spare time between now and September! We've got to get our house sorted out and sold (which will be a mammoth task - scary!), not to mention house hunting up north. I will be keeping up my DT commitments, and hopefully managing an entry for Less is More as often as I can, but I probably won't get to go blog visiting or commenting as often as I'd like to, so I hope you'll bear with me on that score!

The only drawback of a move north would seem to be the lack of good craft shops in the Dumfries area. But, given the current extent of my stash, maybe that's no bad thing.........

More Wow!

The white-on-white challenge this week at Less is More has really appealed to me, so I've made two more cards! For the first one I've made an arrangement of punched flowers and leaves on a Nestie lace circle, with a punched butterfly and white pearls for the flower centres. Recently I was given a complete set of alphabet punches, so I used those to make the word "Spring".

I was quite pleased with it, but then I wondered whether it might be a bit too fancy for Less is More, so I made another which is much more clean and simple.

This has a Marianne die-cut flourish with a Martha Stewart punched butterfly, and the same punched letters as the previous card. I think I actually prefer this one.

I've really enjoyed making all these white-on-white cards, but I'm feeling the need for a bit of colour now, so that will probably be the last one for the time being!

White on White

White on white is something I've never tried before. I don't know why not, because I really like the look of it. Anyway, it's the theme for Week 14 of Less is More. Two days in to the challenge and there are already lots of stunning entries, so on with the thinking cap!

White on white is all about texture, so it could have been tempting to go a bit overboard with it, but bearing in mind the clean and simple nature of LIM, this is what I came up with.

I dry-embossed the iris (American Traditional Stencils) and created a frame for it from two Nesties. Part embossed the base card with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder, scored two lines below that with my Scor-Pal, attached a Nestie label with sheer white ribbon, and added a peel-off greeting.

I was reasonably pleased with the result, and it's whetted my appetite for more WoW, so if I get time there may be another entry forthcoming!

I've gained a couple of new followers this weekend, so hello and welcome to them, and thanks to everyone who looks at my blog, and for all your lovely comments. I do appreciate them all.