Less is More is 7!

Good morning!

At Less is More this month we're celebrating...it's our 7th Birthday!  Over on the main challenge blog there's a bumper post telling you all about it, so for all the details please do pop over there.

In a nutshell, as it's our birthday month we are celebrating with two challenges, two sponsors, we have prizes and also have some familiar faces back with us to celebrate, as well as our sponsor Guest Designers so please do check it out and follow all the links to see more details of all their fabulous creations.

The first challenge for this month is a theme and here are the details...

Our sponsor for this first challenge of February is the awesome Uniko so don't forgot you have to play along for a chance to win the monthly prize.

I did have a bit of a panic when I saw this challenge as I have almost nothing to fit this theme in my stash but I luckily found a free stamp set with a magazine only last week which was perfect for the challenge...and then also DID find a few bits within my stash that could work too.  And amazingly, I've made six cards for you, I just couldn't stop!


Card One

I die cut a circle off the edge of a white cardstock panel and then ink blended the card base in the area to show through the aperture.  I placed the panel over the base and stamped the musical image through the aperture onto the blended area.  The sentiment was then stamped onto the panel which was adhered flat.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Candied Apple, Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: Hero Arts - Infinity Circle Dies
• Stamps: Sheena Douglass - The Music and Dance Collection (free with magazine)

Challenge entries:

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #204 - Get Inky/Messy



Card Two

This has got to be one of the quickest cards I've ever made!  I embossed the card base with a square die and then used another die from the same set to cut out the pierced square.  The sentiment and note were stamped and the small panel popped up on 3D foam.  The embossed card base can be seen more clearly below...

Materials used:

• Die: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square Stax
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Scrumptious Sentiments; Sheena Douglass - The Music and Dance Collection (free with magazine)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Camelia

Challenge entries:

Freshly Make Sketches - Challenge #322





Card Three

A panel of white cardtock was blended at the top with blue ink and a cloud stencil.  Then the branch, bird, music notes and sentiment were simply stamped to create the scene.  The panel was popped up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stencil: MFT - Mini Cloud Edges
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass; Altenew - Espresso, Sand Dunes, Rocky Shore, Industrial Diamond; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - So Tweet, Love Blossoms; Lawn Fawn - Happy Wedding (notes)

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes



Card Four

This was super easy.  On a panel of white cardstock I masked a horizontal strip and blended the four colours of Distress Ink.  The images were simply stamped in black before mounting the panel on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers, Blueprint Sketch, Wilted Violet; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Sheena Douglass - The Music and Dance Collection (free with magazine)

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #277 - Make Your Mark (ink blending/sponging)




Card Five

I stamped the music score image onto a panel and then the sentiment above.  The holly was stamped in green pigment ink and I added some enamel dots for the berries.  The panel was foam mounted.  Yay, another Christmas 2018 card in the bag!

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Background Builder; Christmas Sparkle (free with a magazine)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Evergreen
• Accents: Doodlebug Sprinkles - Ladybug

Card Six

This is my least favourite of my six cards but I thought I'd share it with you anyway.  The music score, another stamp from the free set, was stamped on a panel of white cardstock which I then die cut with a landscape die.  I manipulated the sentiment to follow the curve before stamping it above.  I adhered some stripey paper to the card base and the panel flat over the top before colouring the flowers with Zig markers.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Sheena Douglass - The Music and Dance Collection (free with magazine); SP & Co - Just a Note
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Patterned Paper: Pebbles - Sunny Side
• Coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Thank you SO much if you made it to the end.  I hope you'll feel inspired to play along, and don't forget that our challenges now run for two weeks so there's more time for you to link up.

My teamies have some great projects being shared over at LIM and to see more, and from our guests, just follow each of their links.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Seize the Birthday - Surprise Party Guest! (Week 4)

Good afternoon!

I'm happy to be back sharing a card for another week of my Surprise Party Guest role at Seize the Birthday.  I love the theme this week as it meant I had to use something I neglect to use far too often!

Every week at Seize the Birthday is Anything Goes as long as it's a birthday theme.

And some weeks there are also optional Toppings

And this week's Topping option is...

Two Patterned Papers

I had fun using two co-ordinating papers from the same paper pad here...

I adhered a strip of the floral paper directly to the card base.  I then adhered the polka dot paper over this which had been die cut with a stitched edge die.  This was then stamped with a bold happy birthday sentiment which was heat embossed in white.  I wasn't sure about the placement of the sentiment at first but I now quite like the quirky angles! :)

Materials used:

• Patterned Paper: Pebbles - Sunny Side
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Basic Edges
• Stamps: Uniko - All Occasion Sentiments #2
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White

I hope you get a chance to play along with this one, it's a great way to use some of those lovely papers that seem to get left in a cupboard or drawer and forgotten about!

Oh, and I hope you all have a fantastic Easter weekend.  This is a scheduled post so right now I'll be leaping out of the office looking forward to four days off work...bliss!