Sympathy for Less is More

That is of course a sympathy card for the latest challenge at Less is More. I didn't set out to make a sympathy card, it just sort of evolved.  I decided to use a NBUS stamp from Visible Image and stamped in black and clear embossed it. I had intended adding some colour to the flower and making a birthday card.

However after I had done that I rather liked the look of it as it was and thought it would make a good sympathy card, and as I have sadly had to use a few just recently my supply did need topping up.

Challenges:

Less is More

NBUS

LIm - Festive

The last challenge of the year at Less is More is a one layer festive card. I used a Sweet Poppy snowflake stencil which I dabbed Versamark through  then added some WOW embossing powder. (Note to self: remove stencil befor adding embossing powder next time as it was a nightmare to get off the metal stencil!)

A simple sentiment completed the card. In real life it is very sparkly, hope you can  see it in the next photo.

As it is a brand new stencil I am going to share it with Darnell's NBUS Challenge.

OLC Christmas in July

The challenge at Less is More is for a one layer card. This phrase used to be one of dread but not any more. I actually like making one layer cards! The theme is Christmas in July so I had lots of stamps to choose from. Every year I buy some more even though I haven't used all the ones I've got. This year I am determined to be strong!

This one was a freebie last year. I coloured him with pencils and added some sparkle with a Nuvo glitter pen. As the stamp is  NBUS I'm going to share at the NBUS challenge as well.

Less is More - Colour challenge

Now that I have no DT commitments I've been finding it hard to come up with any inspiration for making cards. So this week I have trawled the challenge sites and made a list of some I want to enter.  Whether I manage them all is another matter!  I liked the sound of the colours that Less Is More want, fuschia, yellow and grey. They said flowers to me!

I used a NBUS stamp from Uniko and stamped it in Smoky Slate then coloured it with Copics. The sentiment is from a HLS set.

Splats!

 The current challenge at Less is More is to use scribbles splats and drips. As I had the Gorgeous Grunge set of stamps on my desk from another project I decided to make a card for the challenge.

Usually when I use these stamps I use dark colours but for this I picked three bright colours, and overlapped them slightly.The sentiment is from Visible Image and seemed quite appropriate for this strange time!

Tapestry Flowers

After making a succesful card with my peg stamps here I decided to have another go with them and this time used them for the current challenge at Less is More. When this challenge first started I used to enter regularly but haven't done so for a long time. The challenge this time is to use red, raspberry and grey.

 

I used Real Red and Raspberry Ripple ink for the flowers and grey for the leaves. The sentiment is, I think, a Joanna Sheen die which I cut three times and glued together.

Little Hearts!

I've cut it fine this week to make my DT card for Cardz for Galz. I normally like to have them made a few weeks in front if I can, bur having had some sort of bug, followed by two migraines, then a week full of appointments I've only just made it! And to be honest I had no idea what I was going to do, but inspiration came just as I was going to sleep last night. Fortunately I hadn't forgotten what it was when I woke up!

Earlier in the week I had pulled out a lot of Hearts and Valentine themed embellishments which were on my desk waiting for me to be inspired. The challenge being "Hearts Red, Pink and White". I've followed the sketch at Less is More and I have to say that I'm rather please with my quick five minute card ! I'm also going to enter this into the challenge at Use Your Stuff where they are looking for enamel dots.

Less is More - OLC Floral

It has been absolutely ages since I played at Less is More but as soon as I saw what the current challenge was I knew exactly what to do. I have taken inspiration from my duvet cover!

Unfortunately the card blank I used was very porous so the inky square is not as even as I would have liked.

Less is More - Yellow and Grey

This week the ladies at Less is More are asking for yellow and grey. It's quite a while since I joined in but as soon as I saw it I knew I had some cards left over from a Simon Says kit that would fit the bill.

I chose one that was definitely yellow and grey rather than yellow and black. The yellow is quite subtle though. I cut it with a Spellbinders dexkle edge rectangle die then mounted it on a small scalloped rectangle. To add a bit of interest I used my new Penny Black border die around the edge of the card blank.

LIM Teal

I know at the start of the year I said I was going to try and enter Less is More, more frequently. At first I did then fell by the wayside again!

This week there is a colour them and the ladies want "Mainly Teal".

I'm not sure whether this is  "cas"  enough, but I'm sure they will let me know if it isn't.

I used lots of bits out of the snippet box for this, in fact everything except the card blank. I think I made the little image when LIM had an ombre challenge a while back, then didn't use it.

Less is More - OLC

It's one layer week over at Less is More with a theme of favourite beverage. I was a bit limited in my choice of stamps for this one, but decided to use the mug from a Simon says Stamp set.

I stamped one mug then masked it off to add a second one, then added the smiley faces. I stamped the steam in Crumb Cake and coloured the coffee the same. I was then going to colour the mugs, butI was  finding it difficult to decide what colours to use  and actually it grew on me as it was, so I decided to leave well alone and definitely go for "less is more".

Less is More - Ombre

Yay!! I have a card for Less is More - that's two weeks running!! This week the ladies have asked for Ombre, which is a technique I've not used before.

So I inked a piece of white card with several blue inks, this is the second attempt. On the first I had a go at flicking water on it and dabbing it off with a piece of kitchen towel, but I think I was a bit heavy handed with the flicking as it looked a smudgy mess!. I stamped the flowers from Serene Silhouettes with black archival ink and then added the vertical sentiment.

Seeing Stars!

I'm determined this year to enter a few more challenges.When Less is More first started I was a regular there, entering most weeks but just lately it has become very sporadic! So this week I have a card for it -yay! Mind you I made it on Monday and have only just found time to photograph and blog it.

The theme is "Dimennsion". I used embossing paste through a stencil and added a couple of embossed lines top and bottom to edge the panel. Then I added some colour by using a red copic on the stars. With hindsight I think I preferred it all white, but don't think it would have photograhed very well!
I'm also taking this to Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge where the key word is Stencil.

Peacock Colours for LIM

A couple of weeks ago the challenge at  Less is More was Exotic and I set out to make a card for it using this hummingbird stamp from the SU set Picture Perfect. The card never got made because I didn't like any of the ink combinations I used as they all ended up looking muddy! So this week I decided to try again as the recipe is to use Peacock colours which I thought suitable for the hummingbird. This time I was much happier with the finishd image .

I fussy cut the bird out and stuck it to a textured card blank, then added part of a die cut which I colored with some new Sharpie pens I got yesterday in W H Smith as they had them on offer. I really don't need any more pens (sigh!) The sentiment is a peel off colored with the Sharpies.

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LIM -Use a Sticker

I think like most of us I bought lots of stickers and peel offs when I first started making cards. Nowadays they are very rarely used, but this week the challenge at Less is More is to use them, or at least one!

This is the card I made using a very small snowman and Christmas tree. The background is a piece of a Brusho experiment and the snowy ground is made with some white glitter tape that I cut into a hilly shape. I added some liquid pearl dots for the falling snow and a dark blue frame. The sentiment is of course another peel off. Then I thought I'd make some more as I had all the stickers out.

This one is very simple a glittery snowflake on a snippet of embossed pale blue card that was lurking in my scraps box.

Less is More entry Two!

The link up at Less Is More  wouldn't let me link two entries from one post!

So my second card was supposed to be really simple and easy! Not so. After numerous stamping attempts I eventually got one I was satisfied with. The stamp set is from Clarity and embossed with WOW sparkly gold embossing powder.

 Now that I've got the stamps aligned on the Misti I intend to make a few more in different colours. I've also upcycled some of the failures, but you'll have to wait till Rudolph Day to see that one.
 

Less is More - French OLC!!

This week is the dreaded One Layer challenge at Less is More with a French theme.  I eventually ended up with two cards after a number of failures. My first one was using a set of stamps bought quite a long time ago and never used. I embossed a rectangular frame with a Creative Expressions die but unfortunately it partly cut through. As I had already stamped the Sacre Coeur de Montmartre and added some colour I didn't want to redo it, so held it together on the back with removable tape, with the idea of later mounting it onto another card. Then I realised there was some inky smudges so covered them with the Paris stamp and some hand drawn birds!!

The link up won't let me use the same link twice so my second card is in the next post!
 

Blooming Birthday for Less is More

Less is More has had a two week challenge this time while some of the ladies were away having fun at a stamping retreat, and I'm still only joining in at the last minute! The theme is "Texture" and it took me some time to come up with something.

Although it doesn't show up well in the photo the texture is on the flowers. They are liberally covered
With glossy accents.
 

Less is More - Pop!

I'm rushing in at the last minute to join in at Less is More this week where the the challenge is "Pop".I originally thought of ballooons but as I was sorting some stamps out I came across this NBUS stamp from Little Claire and thought they could be bottles of champagne or sparkling wine.

I coloured the bottles with Copics and used a L'il Inkers stitched rectangles die to cut it out, then mounted it on to another red pearlescent paper square. The paper was a backing sheet from a Clarity stencil!   The "cheers" stamp is retired SU.
 

Less is More - OLC At Sea

I made this card a few days ago for this week's LIM challenge but have only just got round to uploading it. We had a few ups and downs this week - Roy managed to move his neck awkwardly with the result we had to have an unanticipated trip to the chiropractor followed by an unexpected visit from a friend from France.

Anyway on to the card I used a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I stamped the waves with Adirondack Denim and the boats with black Versafine. I was going to paper piece them but wasn't sure that it would qualify as one layer, so coloured them instead with Spectrum Noir pencils.

I'm entering this as well into the following challenges which all have a "sea" theme.

Shopping our Stash
Make My Monday