LIM Week 8 - Sketch

Hooray, I've finished the marking and managed to find time to do some crafting tonight. I've made my card following the sketch for Less is More and here it is. I do love this challenge and I fully expect to find in excess of 200 entries when I finally link this card.

I love to visit other people's blogs to comment on the card but there are just too many now to get around, so I limit myself otherwise I'd spend all night surfing and do zero crafting.

The specification was for a DL card which I am not normally drawn to but I did like the finished card.

The cardstock is pale blue, from Paper Mill and I've used one of my favourite spotty ribbons which I get from my local craft shop - Sunrise Crafts.

The doily and circle are cut using Nellie Snellen dies and the sentiment is one of the Lily of the Valley stamps I bought at the NEC this weekend.

The little hearts were punched from the same cardstock as the base and glittered. I also put a little glitter rim on the sentiment mat.

Not long now until the end of term and skiing in America. Can't wait.



Gina x

Christmas tree

I've had a bit of a struggle to get any crafting done this week. I spent all of Saturday at the NEC, buying lots of new stash, but I haven't yet managed to play with any of it.

However, I have managed to make a Christmas tree card for this week's Bah! Humbug! challenge which also meets the criteria for CHNC's 'square card' challenge.

I've chosen the daylight photo even though it doesn't show the glitter on the tree very well because the colours are more true to life.

Materials used were: paper from Artylicious 'Season's Greetings CD; tree stamp by Personal Impressions coloured in Ruby promarker; gems from Paperchase and ribbon from my stash. The die cut is Spellbinders labels A, extended in length and distressed with Barn Door DI.

Off now to mark more GCSE coursework. :-(

Gina x

What a challenge

Not my best card ever...

This week the 'challenge' at Less is More is entitled 'Masculine' and I'm sure Mandi and Chrissie knew just how difficult a challenge this would be.

I have made this card with a stamp from clarity stamps and I'm ashamed to admit it but this is the first ink it has seen. Its coloured in with pro markers in petrol blue, red, ice grey 1, ginger, raw sienna and sandstone.

The one thing I'm not too happy about is that the Neenah card is a more creamy white than the base card. I did try it on a brown base but liked that even less, so this is my best effort. Any suggestions about getting a good white base card to match Neenah card will be gratefully received.

Gina x

Christmas Cones

My card this week has lots of pine cones on - I always think that pine cones are part of Christmas - I've even had pine scented candles.

Unusually for me, I've managed to make a card that hits three challenges, so this card is being linked to Bah! Humbug! - use metallic, CHNC - use silver and I've based the design on the lovely Jingle Belles sketch drawn by Allison Fillo.

When I was taking the photograph, I realised that the pine cones looked better the other way up.

Too late to change it now, I'll have to try to remember next time. Mind you, the sketch looks interesting upside down so I might give that a try on something else.

Stamp by Elusive Images - which may be available again soon through Chocolate Baroque. Keep an eye on Glenda's blog to catch the launch of the new company. Papers from my stash.

See you next week.

Gina x

Less is More - Off the edge

My final post of the day is to share the card I have done for week 6 of Less is More. The challenge this week is to make a one layer card, with part of the stamping going off the edge.

The design was roughed out first and then I printed the sentiment straight onto the card.

The next stage was to stamp the butterfly - part of the Elusive Images Patchwork Butterfly themeplate.

Next, I masked off the butterfly and stamped the flower - again Elusive Images - I think its from Big Flowers.



After that I had to mask off the flower as well and add the flourishes - from Elusive Images Patchwork Butterfly again.

I didn't colour it in at first and tried out a couple of colour schemes. I finally decided on subtle colours but with added glitter on the flower centre and in patches on the butterfly wings.

This definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone but I am quite pleased with the end result.

See you next week.

Gina x

Jingle Belles - Cool Yule

My second post for this morning is for the Jingle Belles challenge. This week is a colour challenge to use kraft, white and pale blue.

I enjoyed this challenge and quite like the finished card.

 I think it might be better with something else on the left hand side but I'm not quite sure what.

Papers from Artilicious Season's Greetings CD.


Hugs,

Gina x

Bah! Humbug! Use an aperture

Just a quick post this morning to share my aperture card for this week's Bah! Humbug! challenge.

I've gone with a contemporary lavender colour scheme for this one.

The papers, sentiment and topper are all from Artilicious CDs - backing paper is Essence of Nature, topper and sentiment are both from Season's Greetings.

I've added copper perfect pearls and glitter to the wings, but I haven't decided yet whether to emboss around the aperture.




Hugs,

Gina x

Less is More 5 - Use pastels

Things are quite busy for me at the moment, but I love the Less is More challenge so much that I can always find time. This week the challenge was to use pastels. I have made quite a simple card but I just can't get a decent photo of it. This is the best one I managed.

The cardstock is white linen and the punched shapes are in pastel pink lustre. I scored a couple of lines - which you can barely see - and added gems to the centre of each 'daisy'. the sentiment was done on the computer.

Thank you everyone for your comments, I do love receiving them and try to get around as many blogs to comment back as I can and visit many others too - there are some fantastic cards out there. I don't think I'll quite manage the 125 plus that have participated this week though, so sorry if I miss you.

Gina x

Jingle Belles - Home for the Holidays

One of the main things about Christmas - particularly when my son was small - was going to the forest to choose the Christmas tree. For the Jingle Belles challenge this week, I have made a forest card.

The trees are from Clarity stamps and the backing paper was distressed and stamped with chipped sapphire, stormy sky and bundled sage distress inks. The central motif is embossed in white EP. 

Off now to think of what to do for the Less is More challenge - use pastels.

Gina x

Bah! Humbug! Emboss

A very quick post today, here is my card for Bah! Humbug! challenge 9 - embossing.

Also, thank you Hazel for telling me about your new challenge blog CHNC so I'm also linking there.

Not identical to, but inspired by one made by Eileen of Ikki's Cuttlebug Cupboard.

I love this design, its so simple and easy to make but truly stunning in real life.

Materials used:
White linen cardstock
Gold mirri card
160gsm bright white paper
Marianne creatables snowflake die
Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder
Crafts Too you - Christmas greetings embossing folder
Gem brad

Thanks for the idea Ikki,
Gina x

Jingle belles - text me

I tried out so many ideas this week before I settled on my card for the Jingle Belles challenge.
I printed out Frosty the snowman lyrics with the idea to use that as a background but then I remembered my lovely frosted lace paper that was a download from Glenda Waterworth (found here) and decided now was the time to use it.

I sprayed the sheet with sunlight mist cosmic shimmer then outlined the lace pattern with a quickie glue pen and added glitter.

I teamed it with some stripy paper from a scrap pad then pulled out my old snowman stamp and coloured it in seasonal blues and reds.

The image and mount are die cut using spellbinders labels C and the sentiment is made using publisher.

After stitching around the edge I mounted it all on a 6in square linen card.

Looking at the picture I can see that the central image is a bit wonky - they must be on a hill - hehe.

I've discovered that these challenges get harder as the weeks go by. I want to do something new but haven't got the stash to bring it off.

See you next week.

Gina x