STAMPlorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop

Hi there friends, I'm here with a bonus post on behalf of Less is More as we have been invited to participate in the 
STAMPlorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop
Shery of STAMPlorations along with her team of designers have got together with a whole party of uber talented designers to create projects that express gratitude and thanks. I am delighted to support Shery and the team  in this thoughtful and thankful initiative using products by STAMPlorations. 
I do hope you'll pop over to the main Less is More blog HERE as there's a link to all the designers taking part as well as a link to enter your own projects and be in with a chance of some prizes!

So if you have some STAMPloration goodies in your stash why not join us!
To be honest I don't own that many items by them apart from a few stencils so I grabbed this gorgeous circular one and blended Distress inks in some Autumnal tones including a little pinky purple for Halloween time! I decided to slice the stencilled panel in half for added interest and adhered it to my card base on fun foam with a strip of gold glitter card between. The circles were then drizzled with glamour dust and a die-cut sentiment by WPlus9

I hope you feel inspired to play along and don't forget to check out

my teamies creations over at Less is More HERE

As always thanks for calling by and I'll catch up with you again soon!

Less is More #301

Hi there crafty buddies it's time to introduce our latest challenge over at  Less is More and if you haven't come from the main blog then please  head over as there's loads of news and gossip as well as it being the  start of a new month with the return of one of our superb sponsors!
Being the first challenge of the month it's 'Colour' time and we've chosen a duo of lucious Purple & Gold
I've got 3 examples for you today but one's a 'twofer' - if that makes sense  so here goes with 'twofer number 1' ...

I was so inspired by all the incredible makes with acetate and vellum a few  weeks ago that I simply had to have a go at a floating sentiment! That's  definitely a new one on me and I love the effect. I started out by die-cutting the Tilda Flower by Memory Box in both purple and gold cardstock then  replaced the positive bits in the opposite colours, Both the die-cut 'Christmas' and the 'it's' sentiments are by Clearly Besotted!
It's a Holiday theme at Addicted to Stamps and More  so I'm heading there with this one!
Which leads me onto 'twofer number 2' ...

The opposite colour-way with a heat embossed sentiment by Uniko from the Simply Said Christmas set and a couple of sequins from my stash.
... over at STAMPlorations CAS challenge it's, by coincidence, Purple so I'm zipping this one in there!

Last but not least I've gone all geometric with this superb multi-facetted stamp by 

Winnie & Walter, heat embossed with WOW pale gold EP, inlaid die-cut 'Smile' 

sentiment by Lil' inker and a heat embossed 'it's your birthday' sentiment by Clearly 

Besotted. A couple more sequins and stars for that added glitz and glam.

The theme over at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge 

this week is Thinking of You so I'd like to pop this one in there.

As always my super talented and awesome bunch of teamies have worked

their magic to inspire you with more cards so please pay them a visit, you'll

find all the links on the main blog HERE

Our sponsor for this month is Seven Hills Crafts 

so do please play along each week to be in with a chance of a prize.

Thanks as always for calling by. I hope you have a fun weekend

and I'll be back tomorrow with the latest challenge details for

AAA CAS Cards.

Less is More #299

Hi there LIMettes, are you ready for this week's challenge? I hope so! It's recipe week at Less is More and we'd like you to Use Acetate or Vellum

This one uses Pure Florals: Poinsettia and Simply Said Christmas by Uniko;

the sentiment and poinsettia are both heat embossed using WOW rich pale gold

and the inlaid frame die is by Paper Smooches.

I'd like to enter this for a couple of challenges too

 Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Emboss on Vellum Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge - Embossing    

            

and another entry for the Flower Challenge - Anything Goes with flowers

Here I've used some snowflake patterned acetate which is adhered

between the card stock at the top and bottom of the card.

The tree landscape die is from Clearly Besotted with the sentiment from

Happy Little Stampers - Christmas sentiments set. I've added a touch

of Tumbled Glass distress ink behind the acetate as the sky.

It's Anything Goes over at Addicted to Stamps and More

so I'd like to head over there with this card.

... and my last one has gone all pink! The reason is ... I'd like to link it up at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Think Pink

I discovered the hearts border die in my stash which is how this card started

plus my Mum asked me for an Anniversary card! That's all it takes eh!

Then thinking pink I've torn strips of mottled pink and white vellum, overlapped

it and adhered it to a piece of card stock. Added some pink sequins and a few

embossed chevrons from Happy Little Stampers Mix Mash in Ranger Silver Platinum to

 tone in with the sentiment from Avery Elle which is heat embossed in the same. 

As always thanks for visiting my blog today and I'll be back tomorrow

morning with the latest challenge info for AAA Cards - hope to catch you then!

Less is More #298

Hi friends are you ready for another challenge over at Less is More?

It's our THEME week and we've chosen 

Incy Wincy Spiders or Insects!

Now there's no need to go Halloween on this one but in the absence

of suitable insects and particularly spiders other than in Halloween 

sets I decided to go with that occasion. Fortunately my nieces and

nephews are still of an age where they'll accept Halloween Cards!

I think!!! Especially the sort with spiders!

This one uses the stitched filmstrip die by Pretty Pink Posh 

and I've re-cut it in the orange, green and purple (typically for Halloween)

to add my spiders web and spiders to each aperture. The card looked

a little bland when I'd finished so I decided to grab a stencil I've just

purchased by Tim Holtz and ink it through with Hickory Smoke Distress ink.

I still wasn't happy to decided to go full on distressing up the edges instead

then adding a few extra webs. The Happy sentiment is by Happy Little Stampers

and the reset of the images are by Clearly Besotted 'Halloween Spirit'

The theme over at CASology this week is 'Spooky' so I'd like to pop this card in there!

This one uses the 'In Print' set by Clearly besotted but couldn't resis

adding googlie eyes to the fingerprint spider! The sentiment is from

the Out of This World set also by Clearly Besotted and I was attempting

to CASE one of Jennifer McGuire's recent techniques shown HERE but

think I've not quite got my spacing right ... more practice needed!

So that's all of mine but please head over to the main blog HERE 

where there's links to my fellow teamies blogs and cards.

I'm sure they'd love a visit and they've worked their usual magic on 

the theme to inspire you!

Have a fab week and as always thanks for calling by my blog.

Less is More #296

Morning friends I'm here with my Less is More post today as we start a  new month, new challenge and new sponsor or should I say returning sponsor!  The super generous Dies To Die For are back to sponsor our challenges this month so be sure to enter each week to be in with a shout of a prize! I'm relying on Mr Blogger again today as I'm heading down to the Happy Stampers  Festival at Port Sunlight so if you're lucky enough to be attending then please  pop along to the Uniko stand as I'll be helping Bev there! So before I forget it's Colour Week and we've chosen Lilac and Turquoise as our colour combo for this week! It's also RELEASE day at Uniko so I've another post (all being well) going live in an hour featuring the new sets! Hope you'll pop back then! BUT ... for your eyes only I've got an early sneaky peep at the small Christmas Sparkle set

I've stamped the images using Colorbox pigment inks then embossed with Hero Arts 

Sparkle Clear EP. The sentiment is embossed in silver to tone with the glittery strip  

down the left hand side and a couple of matching sprinkles by Doodlebug to finish.

Recipe:

Stamps: Altenew Beautiful Day 

I have wanted this set for ages, well since it was released and kept

putting it off and putting it off until so many super talented crafters

kept showing off with it that I could resist it no longer. 

All the stamped images including the sentiment are from the set 

and I've used Altenew Inks to stamp the florals too.

I'd like to pop this one in at the Simon Says Stamp - 

Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes 

Don't forget to head over to the Less is More blog HERE where my fellow teamies have worked their little socks off  again and created some awesome cards!

Less is More #294

Morning LIMettes are we happy it's Saturday again?
I'm hoping Mr Blogger is going to play fair this weekend as this is a scheduled post!  Our baby daughter has all grown up and we're taking her to start her first year  at university today - not too far away thankfully! So while you are reading this  I'm either on the road to Liverpool or running late frantically trying to cram all  of her 'essential' belongings into the car! 
Ok! Let's get to the task in hand which is to introduce our challenge for the week  at Less is More and it's Theme week - we've chosen Diamonds! WOW!
I've excelled myself this week and have 3 cards to share with you

Recipe:

Stamps: Lil'Inkers set 'Girl's Best Friend'

Dies: MFT Die-Namics Basic Stitched Border and Stitched Square dies

plus Waffle Flower sentiment strips.

Distress Inks: Shaded Lilac & Blueprint Sketch

WOW Metallic Silver Sparkle embossing powder

I'm heading over to Addicted to Stamps and More with this one

to enter their Anything Goes Challenge!

Recipe:

Stamps: Lawn Fawn 'Happy Wedding'

Dies: Lawn Fawn Scripty Congrats & WPlus9 Heart stax

WOW Metallic Silver Sparkle Embossing powder

I'd like to enter this card over at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge

where it's Clean and Simple this week!

 

Recipe:

Sparkly Design paper from my stash

Hand made diamond shapes

Stamps: Lil Inker 'Girls Best Friend' & 

Clearly Besotted It's Your Time

I hope you feel inspired to play along with us and I can't wait to 

see lots of sparkle, glitz, glamour and shine on your cards this week.

There's plenty of stunning examples by my fellow teamies over on 

the LIM blog HERE so please pay them a visit if you have time.

As always thanks for visiting my blog today and I'll catch up again soon!

Altenew Ultimate Challenge Blog Hop

Hello there friends, today I'm here with a different kind of post for  Less is More

as we are taking part in a HUGE challenge blog hop in association with Altenew  and 17 other challenge blogs. The idea (thought up by May Park of Altenew)  is a celebration of crafting challenge blogs which bring together a whole community  of crafty folk, sharing our hobby, techniques, talents and above all enjoyment of all things crafty. What's more the timing is just perfect as a pre-celebration for  the World Cardmaking Day in October.
Here's my card using the gorgeous painted butterflies set by Altenew,  inks by Altenew and sentiment from Magnolias for her ... also by Altenew!


To find out more details, how to play, what you can win etc. please  head over to our Less is More blog HERE or the Altenew blog HERE

I hope you'll feel inspired to dust off those Altenew sets, get stamping and join in the fun! As always thanks so much for visiting my blog today!

Less is More #293

Hi friends, can you believe it's Saturday again?

Whoa where has that week gone?

So it's that 'dreaded' ONE Layer card week over at Less is More

but hopefully you won't find it too bad as we've chose the theme

Your Favourite Flower and as there's so many floral images out there

to use there must be quite a few favourites. Here's mine and I just adore

lillies! Sadly I tend to restrict them to outdoors as their scent

triggers my asthma if they are in a vase inside.

First up using the Layered Lily set from Altenew and a fun 

sentiment from Winnie & Walter

The challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday this week is 

Stamp-It so I'd like to head over there with this one

Next up using a sentiment from this month's sponsor (Happy Little Stampers)

from the Fun Birthday Sentiments set. The lilies are from a Clearly Besotted

set called Forgive Me.

I hope you feel inspired to play along with us this week and don't forget to 

check out the fabulous designs by my fellow teamies at Less is More.

Thanks so much for calling by.

Less is More #292

Hello friends, time to announce another new challenge for this week from Less is More and we are back round to 'colour week'
We've chosen Peacock Feathers as the colour combo and in case you're stuck there's plenty of stunning images on google images or pinterest to inspire.
First up and I have to admit I almost fell over when hubby bought a craft magazine  for me a few weeks ago! The shock ... not only as he'd taken it upon himself to buy the  magazine but there was also a freebie stamp set featuring a peacock! Whoa!  He's no idea what challenges I play along with so couldn't understand my delight!
Here's the card and I'd like to zip it across to the Delightful Darnell's latest  NBUS challenge as it's never been used before!!! It was a dream pleasure to meet Darnell IRL in July at the Happy Little Stampers Retreat in the UK and I'm amazed that she took it upon herself to travel so many miles alone to  meet up with a whole load of crafty buddies! You're Simply Awesome Darnell!

So first up I die-cut my watercolour cardstock with a WPlus9 border die, 

inked up the image using Versamark then heat-embossed with gold EP.

Coloured with Zig Clear Brush pens and a mini sentiment from Uniko.

I'd also like to pop this one in at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday challenge

 as it's an Anything Goes Challenge over there this week!

This one uses the WPlus9 Fanciful Feathers stamps and dies. I've used a teal card base as that seemed ideal in terms of my view of peacock feathers. The die-cut feathers were inked with ... you guess Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers and I've created a tone on tone  background for added interest using Hero Arts Clear EP.
I'd like to head over to Addicted to Stamps and More with this one where it's Clean and Simple for their current challenge.


As always there's more fantastic inspiration by my fellow teamies  over on the main blog HERE as well as their individual blogs.
Plus as it's the first of the month we have a new sponsor ... well I should say a 'returning' one - it's Happy Little Stampers

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoy the challenge.

Less is More #291

Morning crafty friends it's that time again on a Saturday!  Yep time to announce our latest challenge over at 
Less is More
It's recipe week and we'd like you to use a sticky label, sticker or peel-off on your creations. I'm not sure about you but I have tonnes of those  silver and gold peel-offs; in fact it makes me want to cry thinking how much I've spent on them over the years and they sit in a drawer ...  until TODAY that is!
But first up I created by own sticker using an Avery mailing label!

Using the Lawn Fawn: Flying By set I stamped the paper aeroplanes

onto my label then coloured with Promarkers before 'sticking them to the 

the card base. Then with a stitched cloud border die from Mama Elephant

I created a 'cloudy' sky for them to fly above! The sentiment is from the

same set and I added a strip of washi tape with a sliver of black card stock

at the base of the card.

Over at Time Out Challenges this week they are casing an awesome card

by Julia Altermann (Just One More Card) and her idea inspired my card

so I'd like to head over there with this one! The aeroplane theme got me 

thinking, I stuck to the same sentiment as Julia and added the striped

washi tape to the base of my card to 'match' Julia's background!

Next up I went for the peel-offs and decided to go with a Christmassy 

theme ... I could really do with using a few more of these as this is one

of the first Christmas cards I've made this year so I'm going to have to get

myself organised pretty quickly otherwise it'll be shop-bought all the way!

I've dry-embossed my card base with a snowfall embossing folder before

creating a mini snow scene using Zig Clear Brush pens for the sky and glitter

card for the snow. The snowman and 'flakes' are peel-offs along with the sentiment.

The cue word over at CASology this week is 'Fun' and I can't think of

much that beats Christmas-time, building snowmen with the kids and

 snowball fights for fun! Or how about translucent snowmen where you can 

see the sky through their fat round tummies or blue snow perhaps!!! 

So I'd like to pop this card into their challenge plus it's 

back around to the 'holiday' theme at Addicted to Stamps & More 

and I'd like to stop by that challenge with my card too!

As always my teamies have worked their sticker magic talents with 

this challenge so please head over to the LIM blog HERE where there's

links to their personal blogs too. 

I hope you feel inspired to play along with us this week and as always

thanks for stopping by - it's always a pleasure to read your comments too.