Forgotten Friday 6

I can hardly believe it is time for Forgotten Friday again - where do the days go??  This time Judith has made a beautiful tag using some forgotten embellishments and other items - do go and have a look.  Her post has reminded me that I have tons of similar items which seem to have accumulated over the years and which at the time seemed like  'must have' purchases.  I will have to have a look through the boxes to see what I might use for a future entry into this challenge.

In the meantime I've used a stamp set from Stampin Up which I've had a while and although I do use the flower from time to time, this is the first outing for the word stamp.  The flower has been stamped onto Kraft card (a favourite at the moment) and coloured with Polychromos pencils.  Background paper is from my stash but I'm afraid I cannot remember where it came from - it is actually a nicer shade of green that it looks in the picture. I've also used a Martha Stewart punch, a Nestabilities shape, some ribbon and pearls. I had intended using a 'forgotten' butterfly punch but it seems to have gone into hiding (sulking maybe) so I used a Marianne die instead.

Eastern Grasses

There was an excellent tutorial on the Less is More blog this week explaining how to use text boxes in Microsoft Word to produce interesting sentiments for cards and although I had to persevere to make it work in my version of the programme I think I may have cracked it.  All that remains now is to write it down somewhere safely so that I have it to refer to when I try to do this again some time in the future.  This card has the sentiment printed directly from the computer and the stamped grasses (Elusive Images Eastern Grasses Set) were done in black on a separate strip of card, sponged with Distress Ink.  I'm getting to like this type of card but get the feeling that some folks might feel they should be paying less for this simple style what do you think??

Less is More Week 3

The theme for the Less is More challenge this week is Spring and they have also provided a great tutorial on writing sentiments using Microsoft Word - I couldn't get it to work exactly as they did but of course different versions of Word have slightly different features but I will persevere to see if I can get it all to happen as it should.  I did print my wording directly onto a DL card which is a first for me although I often make sentiments using the computer and either punch them or die cut them to use.  The daffodils were stamped using a Hero Arts stamp which I've had for many years but can't remember when it was last used - I had to have a search for it as I knew it was somewhere in my stamp collection.  Colouring was done using Polychromos pencils and the image was simply layered with two Nestabilities die cuts - I managed to resist the urge to add a few pearls although I was tempted!!  This 'Less is More' style is proving to be such a challenge for me but it is good to step outside the comfort zone and try different styles and ideas.

It occurs to me that this card would also fit the criteria for the Forgotten Friday challenge so do go and check this out too and maybe think about taking part in this fairly new challenge.

Bah Humbug challenge 7

The challenge at Bah Humbug this week is to use a DVD or CD in some way to make something, not necessrily a card.  I chose to make a card and have coloured an old CD using alchol ink in Cranberry and Butterscotch with a touch of gold from a Cryla gold pen.  I cut a gold shape using a Marianne die, put it in the centre and added a circle of background paper and a ready made poinsettia flower.  Background paper is from Papermania and I cut corners using  Stampin Up and EK Success punch and added gems. 

In doing this card which is quite three dimensional in the centre I've discovered a drawback with my new scanner.  I replaced my old one very recently because the glass was beginning to get marked and had also gone sort of 'milky' around the edges (it was really quite old) and treated myself to a new one only to discover that if I scan anything which is particularly three dimensional the whole background of the card is out of focus.  I had to resort to taking a photograph of the card which is fine when the light is reasonable but is going to be a bit of a pain in poor lighting conditions.  I tried increasing the resolution in the scanner but to no avail - if anyone knows a solution to this problem I would be grateful.

Forgotten Friday 5

I made this card for Judith's Forgotten Friday Challenge but I guess she must be busy today as she hasn't posted yet.  I'm putting the card up anyway and will link it to her later.  This stamp is from an A4 floral plate of unmounted Elusive Images stamps which I've had for a very long while but as far as I can remember I've never actually used this particular one.  I decided to stamp it onto Kraft card and colour with Polychromos pencils, simply added some background paper by Papermania I think, a matching ribbon and stamped greeting on a Stampin Up punched shape.

Butterflies and Flowers

I used an X-cut cut and emboss folder for this card (very similar I think to the new Cuttlebug ones) which I've not tried yet.  The only instructions on the packaging are for the 'bug' and as I use a Big shot I had to do a bit of trial and error, eventually deciding I needed to use some card shim to get the levels right because one layer on the multi platform was too thick to go through and the next layer let it go through without cutting or embossing.  I sponged it with Distress ink and then added some flowers and  leaves (X-cut punch for leaves). The butterflies were cut using  Marianne dies.  I had to add some lace, pearls and glitter - the sentiment was layered up using punches from Stampin Up.

Less is More Week 2

The challenge on Less is More this week is to make a single layer card  using flowers or trees in the minimilast style which is proving a bit daunting for some of us according to various comments. I must say it is a bit scary to stamp  several times directly onto a card knowing that you can't cover up any odd marks or mistakes with a strategically placed flower or butterfly - go on you know we've all done it sometimes!!!  My choice this week was to work on kraft card with white and brown.  The circle was stamped using pigment ink and once dry was overstamped with a flower in brown Memento ink; the message was also stamped in the same ink.  The circle and flower were both from Elusive Images Retro Vases and Flowers stamp set and the greeting was an unmounted one but I can't remember the source.