More, Less is More

After taking part in my first Less is More Challenge over the weekend I was a bit inspired to create a few more clean and simple (CAS) cards. Here are the results

Just simple masking, distress inks and stamping.

Thanks for looking

Donna x

Less is More Challenge

I thought I would have a go at a challenge to work the old grey matter, now you may have noticed that a lot of my cards are very inky and not much white space showing, so this challenge is ideal for me - Less is More, and the challenge is a clean and simple card based on a sketch, details can be found here.

Here is my submission:

A very simple card using just one layer, masking and if you take a closer look the flower has Cosmic Shimmer pearl PVA added for a finishing touch

Thanks for looking.

Donna x

It didn't fly away

For those of you who have been following my blog (there is at least one of you out there....isn't there??) a few weeks ago you may have seen a purple (that colour again!) half finished butterfly card on my desk (WOYWW) so rather than throw it away (which had been my intention) and after some lovely comments, I decided to have another look at it and decided it wasn't that bad after all. So I added a bit more colour (purple of course), then as I had used a standard dye base ink rather than my beloved distress inks, the blending wasn't that good so to disguise it add an extra dimension I spritz it with water to remove some of the colour.

The grungy corners are from Sheena Douglass, the square in the middle is from the same stamp plate and should also be a corner but I decided to make it into a square frame. The butterfly and swirl are both from Kaisercraft.

The butterfly was actually a leftover from a project I did in July:

Bye for now

Donna x

Whats on Your Workdesk? Wednesday #225

Good morning, very organised this week, after a whole day of crafting on Saturday with friends and family (you know who you are!) and after managing to make cards on the Sunday while watching the Grand Prix (which is becoming quite boring at the moment with that pesky German wining all the time!) I have managed to blog two posts in between WOYWW's, although I still haven't unpacked everything from my suitcase from my hols the other week - its only clean summer clothes, probably won't need them now anyway!

Here is what I have been working on this week:

and as a special treat, here are other views of my craft room (told you I was organised this week - well when it comes to crafting anyway)




sort of organised

This is the wall behind me - its a very small craft room

No this is not my music collection but CD cases containing some of my stamps, I prefer the unmounted stamps as you a) get more for your money, b) get stamps with a similar theme, c) they are easier to store than wooden stamps.

Here is a close up of what I have been working on:

I've been inspired by Sheena Douglass on Create and Craft and her new oriental stamps, as mine haven't arrived yet I went through my stash and found these. The main flower is stamped and embossed on acetate, painted on the back using red acrylic paint then covered (on the back) with gold leaf. The red background started life as a plain old piece of white cardstock (Centura pearl of course), coloured in distress ink (fired brick I think with a bit of aged mahogany) then stamped with water to remove the colour. The white "scroll" is vellum stamped in the same stamp as the background, and I made the "coin" by triple embossing a bit of card in gold and then stamped into it while still hot, I rubbed on a bit of black stazon to make it look a bit old.

You may be just be able to see the small butterfly next to the card, this is a left over from another project I did a few weeks ago as part of a submission to become a design team member for a stamp (and more) manufacturer. Haven't heard anything yet but I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for looking, off for a snoop around the other desks now

Donna x

Causing a Scene

Hi

Had a few crafty friends and family over on Saturday for a whole day of crafting. I didn't get to make a lot but we had a great laugh as usual. As my brother got his keys to his new flat we (my crafty friends also know by little bro) all decided to make him a "New Home" card. I made mine out of a Stampscapes piece I started a while ago (see previous WOYWW post here). Here is the finished piece:

The moon is a bit wonky but I think the overall affect is OK. This was done on glossy card but I think I prefer doing these of matt stock (I use Centura Pearl after Sheena Douglass recommended it, haven't looked back since). I'm loving these stampscapes stamps so when asked to make a leaving card for a male work colleague (we all know how hard it is to make men's cards!) I decided to make another one:

Here's a bit of a closer look:

 

 



Hope he likes it.

Thanks for looking

Donna x

Butterfly blue

Hi

Just a quick post to show you my latest creation I made for my sister-in-law's birthday. Its quite a simple design, just using one ink colour (Peacock feathers by Tim Holtz), a flower stamp from Creative Expressions and a gorgeous sentiment from Indigo Blu.

 

 

The coloured strip also has pro markers "airbrushed" on to it, then water splashed on it to remove some of the colour (perhaps not such a simple design after all). Here's a closer look:

 

 

 

The butterflies are die cut and coloured with distress inks.

 

 

Hope you like it

 

Bye for now

 

Donna x

 

WOYWW

Good Morning, no WOYWW last week as I was on my hols in the lovely Cornwall, so no crafting for a whole week, so making up for it this weekend with a whole day crafting with a couple of my sisters (I know they'll both get excited when they get a mention!), my mom and two very good friends, its all happening this Saturday so hopefully lots to show you next week.

Anyway back to my workdesk at the moment, sorry its a bit blurred (but it is early in the morning!),



my messy (but sort of organised) desk

As you can see I have been working on a stampscapes scene. Previously I have done them on normal card but I thought I would try it on glossy, hence all my whispers inks are out, which I bought years ago but haven't got around to using them. Here's a closer look:

I love these stamps, this one isn't quite finished, I think it needs to be a bit darker round the edges, but not a bad start.

Bye for now

Donna x

WOYWW

Hi

I thought I'd have a go at WOYWW (What's on your workdesk? Wednesday - for those who think I've gone mad with my post title). I've always liked looking at other peoples desks to see what they've been up to, I'm a bit nosey like that, its like walking around the streets at this time of the year when people are putting lights on in their front rooms but not shutting the curtains! Anyway here's what I've got on it today:


A bit messy, but I wouldn't be a proper crafter if it wasn't

As you can see I have a few things on the go, the purple (that colour again) arrangement is a thought I'd had about using up some butterflies I had left over from another project (you can just see the rest behind the distress ink), but I don't really like it and as the butterfly isn't stuck down I may do something else with it. The main piece on the craft sheet, and the bits on the RHS are water colour paper backgrounds made with distress ink, that's not quite worked out either, so I'll put it away in my "bits" drawer and perhaps try again with it another time. There's always loads of unfinished bits lying around that I don't really like at the time, some get transformed into other things, the rest end up in the bin, after all its only a bit of card

Perhaps it will be a bit more exciting next time.

Going to have a nosey at everyone else's desks now

Bye for now

Donna

Purple Pasion

Hi

Here is my latest creation in my favourite colour for card making, not sure why I always end up making purple cards, maybe its stems from my love of Prince in my younger days (and still do really).

The stamps are from Clearly Inspired and I've used dusty concord distress ink



just embossed in white

I like to edge my cards, with this one used a black fine liner



 

 

Hope you like this card, its one of my favourite techniques - just building up a picture with only my inks and stamps.

 

On a bit of a roll at the moment with the number of cards I'm producing, but off on my hols next week so I need to get all the cards done for the all birthdays while I'm away, I usually leave everything 'till the last minute and pray that the post only takes one day to get there!

 

Bye for now

 

Donna x

No stamps were harmed in the making of this card

Hi

Today I have made a card without using my stamps. I made this background a while ago using my Gelli plate and then added the skull using black acrylic and a Andy Skinner stencil. I have finally made this up into a birthday card, I should add a sentiment somewhere but I think it will ruin the effect.

Not a conventional subject matter for a birthday card but I think my 20 something nephew will like it



  Picture isn't great but now the nights are getting longer I'll be taking more pictures in the evening, I don't get up early enough to take them in the morning before work - yes I unfortunately work full time, so not very much time for crafting, never mind only 20ish years before I retire!

Bye for now

Donna x