Just Us Girls - Stencil Week

Hello folks!

Here's a simple card for Just Us Girls' stencil challenge and the Tic Tac Toe challenge:

 

I'm still playing with my new gel plate but I'm definitely finding that less is more and prefer the more muted backgrounds. When they're too vibrant and busy I just haven't a clue what to do with them!  The one above is the second pull (see, even learning the lingo) which left more white space. 

I stamped over the stencilled print (stencilled with Funky Fossil's Forest Foliage) with Altenew's Leaf Clusters - I really like how the stencilling still shows through the stamped image. The sentiment's from Ink to Paper. 

I've used the centre, horizontal line over at Tic Tac Toe - the sentiment's embossed and there's a scattering of gold sequins on the leave. 

Happy stamping!

Claire

Weekend Tri-fector

Hi folks,

It's been a productive weekend for a change and I've managed to get three cards done for a variety of challenges. Amazing what you can do when it's a long weekend and one kid's sick and having to self-isolate whilst waiting for Covid results. (Negative thankfully.)

The first is for Altenew's June Inspiration challenge:

I wasn't sure about these colours together but I really like how it's turned out - I watercolored some Floral Motifs  and arranged them in a die cut window, bordered by some Gold Foil Washi Tape.  The sentiment's from Beautiful Day. 

 

My second card's for a couple challenges - CASology, where the cue card is 'strength' and Less is More which has a pale blue and yellow colour challenge:

There's that Stamplorations butterfly die cut again - I'm amazed it isn't blunt it's been used so much. 

I stencilled a distress ink circle in Tumbled Glass, then stencilled over the top with a leaf stencil from Funky Fossil.  The sentiment's from MFT. 

I used the same layout for my last card which was meant to be for MFT's sketch and colour challenge - until I realised I'd actually missed one of the elements from the sketch. I honestly think I'm coming down with dementia...I've been doing that a lot recently.  So this one is just featuring the colours from challenge #167 with one of the cute gnomes from Hanging with my Gnomies.  This little Gnomie is my absolute favourite..perfect for the MFT sentiment!

Enjoy the rest of the week and happy stamping!

Claire

CAS on Friday - Guest Designer

Hello folks,

I'm chuffed to bits to be Guest Designer over at CAS on Friday today. They have another great clean and simple challenge for you with the theme of 'Autumn':

 

I used some Autumn inspired distress inks for my card, sponging them over a Funky Fossil leaf stencil, with a sentiment from Tailored Expressions. The Stamplorations butterfly die cut has been embossed with gold embossing powder. 

Hope you get time to get the inks out over the weekend!

Claire 

Less is More: Olive and Tangerine

Hello, hello,

I've had a few guest designer stints in the last few months so haven't had the chance to play around with some new stuff sitting in my stash. Sarah from Funky Fossil very kindly sent me a couple of her stencils recently so I've been having a play with Forest Foliage for the latest Less is More challenge - to use olive and tangerine:

I stencilled a large panel using some distress inks, then cut it down using some of MFT's Mod Rectangles. I matted part of the panels with black card stock to make them pop against the white, then added a leaf sprig and sentiment from Altenew. Not sure about this one - I've never been a big fan of olive but I guess the bright mandarin cheers it up a bit!

Enjoy your week!

Claire x

Plenty of CAS

Hello folks!

It's CAS all the way with these three cards. First up are a couple I've made for Darnell's Twofer challenge. The theme is pets so I used Your Next Stamp's goldfish from Keepin' it Reel and a sentiment from Fishy Fun. I think most people have probably owned a goldfish once in their lifetime - normally won at the fair and then flushed down the toilet a couple of months later when it's found floating at the top of the fish tank - or was that only mine?

I'm also popping the first one over to Addicted to Cas where the theme is bubbles. I stencilled some circles over the inked backgound and added plenty of glossy accents to create a shiny bubble effect:

The second one is quite similar but I've stencilled with texture paste behind the stitched frame using one of Sarah G's stencils that she kindly sent me a couple of weeks ago. Check out her other designs here - I've used Geo Circles:

Next up is Less is More's latest challenge which is to bring something back. I really enjoyed this and  went right back to when I first started cardmaking and bought Stampin' Up's Stem Silhouettes. Remember that set?

I kept it very simple and embossed the stem against the inked background using copper embossing powder. I'd forgotten how much I liked this set and it felt good to ink it up after years of non-use - having said that, it made me remember why I don't like using wood mounted stamps as I can't see where I'm positioning the stamp. (And I'm way too lazy to use a stamp-a-ma-jig!)

That's it for now, hope you get the chance to get inky this weekend!

Claire x