Simply Less is More # 249

Hello There !

Horrible, miserable weather here again, I`ve forgotten what the sunshine looks like. Perfect excuse for crafting though.

It`s colour week at Simply Less is More and this time we are asked to create a clean and simple card using the colours of FIRE.
I`ve been making batches of Christmas cards this week so these colours threw me a bit. However, seeing as they are my favourite colours it didn`t take too long to change tack.

 Apologies for the fuzzy picture, I would have retaken it but the light is terrible now.
I started by inking up a rectangle of white card with various inks.
I then cut out the ` Celebrate` die , by Die-versions once in white card and again in gold mirror card and adhered them together. ( I use double sided tape on the back of the top die cut when cutting )
The stars are by Sizzix and cut out of gold mirror card and gold glitter card .

Thanks for popping in...Lynne xxx 

Simply Less is More

Hello There !

Well autumn is certainly in full swing now. We have dull, miserable, damp weather at the moment but when the sun does decide to show it`s face...WOW, the trees around our house glow like fire.I`ll try to take a photo if the sun shines again before the leaves fall.

We have a sketch to follow for this weeks challenge at Simply Less is More,

I do love a sketch but it took a while to come up with a design I was happy with. This is what I made,

I cut a strip of striped card and made a fishtail using the corner of a square nestie die
I then made a mask from a postit the same size so I could stamp my design in the correct place.
I used stamps from Artemio and Kaisercraft stamped in Versacolor Orange and Versafine black.
Then I put my die cut banner in place.
I cut out the Celebrate with a Die-versions die 3 times in orange card and placed one atop the other for some depth.

Every tuesday I visit my dad . He`s 83 now and although still fit as a fiddle ( besides the creaky knees and the stiff back) I `do` for him. We sit for an hour putting the world to rights and then he goes off to visit mum in the home and do some shopping while I get on with cleaning a still clean from last week house. He usually gets back just as I`m finishing and we complain about the state of the world for a few more minutes.
A few weeks ago as he came in he asked me if I wanted a Holly bush for the garden because he`d just pulled one up from his. Never one to say no to a freebie I went to find this `bush` and this is what I found

if you look very carefully you might just about see it, I was expecting something at least 2 feet high lol. I put it in a pot for a couple of days but it`s planted in the garden now and seems to be doing well. At least I haven`t killed it lol.

Thanks for popping in...Lynne xxx

Simply Less is More # 231

Hello There!

A really quick post from me today I`m afraid.
As it`s the first saturday of the month, it`s a colour challenge over at Simply Less is More and as it`s also the 4th July the colours are RED, WHITE and BLUE.

I think Mr Mojo must have been scared off by the thunder storms we had during the night but I managed to come up with this card,

Papers are Pink Petticoat Stars from the Vintage Rose collection and Pinstripes.
The Tag die is Die-namics
Star die is Sizzix
Celebrate Die is Die-versions cut out 3 times and stacked.
I`ve added a tiny piece of ribbon to the tag ( cut from the shoulder of a blouse)

The thunder woke me up at 3:30 this morning so now I`m off for a nanna nap :D

Thanks for popping in...Lynne xxx

Simply Less is More # 209

Hi there,
Long post warning!!!

Well I missed the last two challenges at Simply Less is More. Although I started cards for both weeks, life just got in the way and they didn`t get posted. So I was determined to join in ths week no matter what.
As it`s a 5 saturday month we have a Lucky Dip with the title LITTLE ONES. This could mean babies, children, small animals or tiny elements on our cards.
I`ve chosen to make a baby card.

I used a Memory Box Stencil and some homemade embossing paste for the background ( I`ll give you the recipe at the end of this post)
I cut out two tags using a Die- namics die from patterned paper and white vellum and tied them with some pink twine.
The BABY die is from Die- Versions cut from pink paper. I used Chrissie`s tip of backing the paper with double sided tape before cutting, sooo much easier for sticking down.
To finish I added two tiny butterflies with teeny gems.

Well, call me cheapskate all you like but I do like a cheaper version of some things .Embossing Paste is so expensive but I love the effect and have tried in the past to make my own from an online recipe but wasn`t too impressed. The other day while browsing Pinterest I found another recipe and this one is fabulous. It uses talc so is much whiter and is so easy to make.
All you need is...
1/4 cup of talc ( I used baby talc)
1 tbsp craft glue ( cheap PVA works great)
1 tbsp white Acrylic paint
A little water
Plastic spoon or similar for stirring.

Just mix the ingrediants together then add a tiny bit of water until you get the consistancy of toothpaste.
The best thing is, it smells gorgeous even when dry.
Once I`d tried it I thought about colouring it so bought some more paint, thinking that if it didn`t work, I`d probably use the paints anyway.
I started with 3 main colours.

 
I chose these colours because from them I can mix, Green, Orange and possibly purple/ lilac and ofcourse they can all be mixed with varying amounts of white for different shades.
The baby card I made today is white with a tiny amount of Rose Madder.
Just need some more stencils now and there`ll be no stopping me.

Really quick Ruby update;
The bacterial infection has all gone now although there is still some fungal infection on Ruby`s liver and spleen but the anti fungal meds are dealing with that. She was hoping to come home on wednesday but had a sudden tiny spike in her temperature, 38.1%, and if it goes above 38% it means more bloods and cultures have to be taken. It is such a pain but then it`s not worth risking so hopefully she will be home either today or tomorrow. Then we can have Christmas Yippee!

Thanks for sticking with me, I know it was a long one today...Lynne xxx

Pixies crafty snippets wk 130

Hi There!

Before I start...Is anyone elses blogger playing up? In the list of all the blogs I follow I`m only getting one at a time. with the `View More` button under it but that doesn`t work. I`ve tried rebooting and gone to another pc but it`s still the same.
So frustrating !!!

Anyway I`m popping in with a couple of cards for the playground over at Pixies Crafty Snippets.

His and Hers Fanciful Feathers.
The bits of card are off cuts from other projects. The panels have been embossed with a Swiss Dots folder and the banner I`ve made by using a corner of a square nestie..
The papers for `hers` are from 2 Crafty Impressions paper packs ( I only know that because I tucked the snippets back inside the packs lol)
The feathers are cut using Fanciful Feathers die from Wplus9.
The Celebrate ( Die-versions) is cut from a very tiny piece of silver glitter card.
I`ve added white Pearl Maker to decorate the feathers and a small heart shaped gem.
`His` papers are from 2 Papermania Capsule packs, a brown one and a very old yellow/orange one.
The Celebrate for this one is from the same snippet as the orange feather.
I`ve used small brown pearls to decorate the feathers.

I must say I was chuffed to bits to see I`d won the gorgeous little duck stamp in last weeks challenge especially after the cufuffle I caused at the duck pond. Thank you Di and thank you all for your lovely comments.

Thanks for popping in...Lynne xxx