LIM_054 - CAS OLW Valentine's

I've made a valentine's card AND submitting to both LIM Challenge 54 (stripes) and OLW 78 (circles).

3 "stripes" have been embossed on;  very subtle, I know!  I had to a closeup photo to show 'em.

Circles are more obvious: punched out and the dots on the DSP.  The hole is actually Susan's idea and I quote:

you CAN punch/die-cut a circle out of the front of your card. That's not adding a layer. 

So punch I did! and it's still one layer.

I sponged around the hole on my first attempt and it just looked 'dirty'.  I'm sticking to the simplicity of this one.  For good measure, I added a little bow - Stampin Up's Baja Breeze seam binding to match the sentiment; gotta love SU coordination. :)

Hubby will love this one.  He better!

OLW 66 - one layer wonder

Another challenge I haven't done for a while is OLW and this week (OLW66), Susan's challenge is fascinating. That is, we were to go to Janelle's blog and find inspiration there. Ha! The wealth. The treasure. The variety! You have been warned.

I actually ended up with 2.  Here they are:

Card 2

Card 1

The deets (all Stampin Up)

Card 1
stamps: Sweet Summer (SAB set), Short & Sweet
Inks: Black, Regal Rose, Marina Mist + markers: Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
Punch: 1 3/4" scallop for the clouds

Card 2
stamps: Boho Backgrounds (retired), Bring on the cake
inks: Regal Rose, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirrouette + markers: Cherry Cobbler (centre of main image)

Card 2 was inspired by this:

It's not a one-layer card. Just look at the bottom of the card.  I think the punched edge with the underlay is really cool.

I tried to re-create that using a mask (recognise the  fancy favour die cut?) and brayered (yes, used a brayer!) on the ligher pink before stamping on the background stamp.

For the main image, I stamped first in Regal Rose then sponged the edges with the darker Rich Razzleberry and the middle (covered mostly by the rhinestone) with the Cherry Cobbler marker.

I also scored the 3 lines and added the pearls.  I skipped the twine - wouldn't look right on my one layer wonder. :-)

All up, I did a pretty good job methinks. ha ha.

cheers all.

OLW 62 - Make it personal

I haven't played with the OLW crowd for a while and it's about time I did!  Susan's OLW challenge #62 is to make it personal - my kind of crafting as mentioned here and I really needed to make this (read more below).

I like OLW challenges because of the focus on simplicity and design, CAS-style.  There are no prices or badges or anything like that.  The community is great and friendly and truly talented; not that I'm saying I am. :-)  Plenty of pure CAS inspiration there, let me tell ya.

'Nuff prologue, here's my card:

All products from Stampin Up.

Stamps: Bring on the Cake, A Slice of life
ink: Basic Black
various markers

This is my 2nd attempt and design - 1st one obviously failed (ha ha).  I had a few other design themes in mind but this one is okay so will go with it.  I decided not to go OC about the colouring and lining up as it looks more handmade and less contrived....more fun, in a way, too.

The personal bit - this card is for my younger brother whose birthday is on next week.  It is rather cheeky to tease him about the number of candles because I certainly have 1 more than him this year, and every year for that matter (if cheeky is your thing, you might care to check out another of my challenge-entry cards here).  Because it is for my brother, I restrained myself from putting on some sparklies (dang).

Cheers.

OLW 59 - OLC thank you card

It's been weeks since I played with OLW and challenge 59 (especially the post by Susan) lured me back. Seriously, that lady can write.  And yes, she stamps really well, too.

Here's my entry:

As soon as I saw the grid of glass jars on the photo, I knew which stamp set to use: Stampin Up Apple Blossoms.  The grid of circles have been heat embossed though it probably didn't make any visual difference but there is a "roughness" about it that adds dimension to an OLC.

If you look closely, there are spots of shimmery silver.  I'd like to say that was intentional but to be honest, they're a serendipitous accident as I was battling with the SU Smooch Spritz in silver which I used for this card (and what a challenge that was).  I actually think the misty effect on this card is better. :)

There you have it.

simply Less is More #19 - OLC Framed

Finally got around to making my Simply Less is More #19 entry - OLC framed.  Been away over the long weekend and have been catching up ever since.

Right, quick post so I can have some time to go visiting the undoubtedly great work of the other LIMettes.

Here's mine:

I've said it before and I'll say it again - making OLCs is hard work!!! There's no room to hide 'mistakes'.  This is my second attempt and I can tell you, "aargh" and "gah" were constantly uttered.  Still, I'm smiling now because I've left it well enough alone, i.e. I've declared it done.

I do like layering inks on and nothing like an OLC to to get that going.  You wouldn't think there's so much product on this but so it is. Here are the deets:

inks: 
TH Distress inks - Old Paper, Shabby Shutters, Broken China; Stampin Up Soft Suede, Versamark
stamps all from SU: 
SAB Bliss (butterfly), Teeny Tiny Sentiments, French Foliage (so faint you can hardly see the script but the raindrops are fab, don't you think?)
others: 
Perfect Pearls (sprayed on from a mini mister to echo the raindrops), gorgeous gorgeous DMC metallic floss, 1/8" circle punch


The floss would not stay still and was so hard to knot (slippery stuff) so I used a technique I learned from Jennifer McGuire. Punch a small hole through which the 2 ends go through and get knotted - after you wrap the floss around, that is. This works really well with ribbons and especially on a scrapbooking layout. That string will not move.

Cheers all.

OLW 55 - Cats and Dogs on a square

Combining challenges again today. This time for OLW hosted by Jennifer with the theme of Cats and Dogs as well as Simply Less is More on Pick a Square (my 2nd!).


I'm posting this quick as this card is about to go to a friend who lent me a book.

I again used the thumping technique that Chrissie mentioned for this LIMette challenge.  I used Stampin Up Blushing Bride ink pad and Regal Rose marker.  As you can see, I made two very similar cards - well the stamps were out! :-)

My challenge entry is the second one I made and this time, I spritz it slightly with glimmer mist (home-made with Stampin Up shimmer paint and isopropyl alcohol in a mini-mister).  I quite prefer this more mottled look. What do you think?

This was such fun to do. I do love this dog image. Both heart and dog belong to a clear stamp set which, unfortunately, I've got no more details on...sorry.

simply Less is More #17 - Pick a square

Simply Less is More has a new fun challenge - Pick a Square.  Lots of white space this week. I was much inspired by Chrissie's thumping technique. With new techniques, I usually think "I'd better try that some time". Well, this time, I decided, "I better try it right NOW!"


So here's my entry - completely and unashamedly fashioned after Chrissie's - including the Baja Breeze colour (best form of flattery right?). I went for a more subtle contrast using Marina Mist and it still looks mottled.  This thumping thing is going to be part of my regular repertoire methinks (so thanks Chrissie).

Still on the subtle side, I used a clear Spica pen to add just a hint of sparkle to echo the silver embossing. I had to edge this Stampin Up Upsy Daisy stamp a bit to the left so as not to go over the square too much....needs a bit more height I think.


There is so much white space here I feel like I need to add something but that would break the guidelines. I'm leaving it as is.


Maybe I should have another go.


Thanks again to all those who leave comments and tips. 


cheers, 
Malyn

Chrissie's inspirational card

OLW 52 - Circles

Susan is hosting this week's OLW challenge and the theme is circles. I love circles and so was rather stuck with what to do: stamp, emboss, draw/scribble, mask, implied? Choices, choices going round and round my head.

Here's what I came up with in the end:

super-simple and super quick.

stamp: Stampin Up So Happy for you
ink: SU Basic Black, Distress Inks: Shabby Shutters, Tumbled Glass
other: SU Top Note, at you Spica pen clear (real good for just a touch of sparkle without the mess, fuss and wait)

Happy Mother's Day 

to all of us fortunate enough to have kids - 

and to our mums fortunate enough to have us. :-)

It just dawned on me that it must be OLW's birthday - 52 weeks! Well done and Happy Birthday. Long may this challenge continue.

OLW 51 - 3 of a kind

Jennifer is hosting this week's OLW with a really fun 3-of-a-kind challenge. Ideas have been floating in my head for a few days now and with one last dose of inspiration (will tell you in a minute), finally got everything down on paper...3x!

et voila

yes, deserves a close-up and here's one

The deets (all Stampin Up again - wow, 3rd all-SU for challenges in a row)

stamp: Pocket Silhouette

ink: Regal Rose, Peach Parfait, Tempting Turquoise

Stampin write markers: Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Cherry Cobbler (for the glorious aqua-red combo and because I don't actually have a TTurquoise marker)

punch: Ornament XL punch

More deets...

A fellow LIMette, Vicky (aka Crafting Clare), inspired me 2x yesterday. (1) to finally create a blog page to collate great ideas which will grow over time and (2) use the ornament punch as a vase. Because this entry is for an OLC challenge, I had to innovate via masking and sponging (see my post-it masks photo below). Nevertheless, the original idea is most definitely Clare's. As an aside and in case you've missed the hint - the inspiration is from a fellow LIMette, i.e. a member of the wonderful Simply Less is More challenge community.

All up, it took less than half an hour to make all 3 cards. I chose not to put any sentiment at all; maybe I'll  change my mind later but for now, I really wanted to just see the flowers and the vase.

So happy.

simply Less is More #12 - off centre

I love symmetry - to my detriment sometimes - so this week's Simply Less is More challenge was a fun challenge. For what is creativity but edging out of the norm? Well, that's one form of creativity anyway.

Here's my entry which happens to be a birthday card for a friend. It's got a few elements but I think it's still fairly CAS.

This time, all products are from Stampin Up

cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pear Pizazz, Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry
Stamps: French Foliage, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Inks: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze, Old Olive

While the Northern Hemisphere is finally enjoying spring, we're well into Autumn so this card is appropriate. The raindrops image is just adorable and so had to use them, too - well, actually, it's been rather wet here in Sydney and so even those are appropriate.  Truth be told, those raindrops convinced me to get this new SU set.

I've got a ton of things to do but I'd go visiting the LIM community first. See you around! And if you do happen to stop by here, I'd love to hear from you...please leave a comment.

cheers,
Malyn

OLW 50 - old stamps

I have a lot of old stamps so OLW 50 hosted by Susan was a good excuse to dig them out.  But why stop with old stamps when I've got other stuff that needed to be dug out as well, e.g. Perfect Pearls.

Here's my first attempt which I'm not altogether happy with, hence more attempts. Regardless, I like the 'idea' of this and so even if it's a 'reject', it's up here anyway.


This is an old feather stamp I haven't used for about a year. I thought it would look good with different coloured Perfect Pearls and maybe in the hands of a much better crafter, it would have.  :-) The Thanks stamp is another oldie from Heidi Swapp - well, actually, it's a much bigger clear stamp of which I just inked the thanks bit.

Here's a close up of the feather.

The bottom corner was coloured using coordinating Tim Holtz distress inks in my fave colours: Shabby Shutters and Broken China, and then sprayed with perfect pearls (from a mini mister).

Here are a couple of other attempts using Perfect Pearls and this time, using a retired Stampin Up set - Good Things Grow; well, just one from the set. Sentiment is also from another SU set.

The problem with glimmery effects is that it's so hard to take a photo of. A close-up shows the glimmer but the details of the dandelion are practically invisible.

The last photo is of a card using the rock-and-roll technique (SU Baja Breeze and Marina Mist) - no Perfect Pearls but a touch of embossing for a bit of texture.

That's all from me for OLW. Thanks for stopping by and have a glimmery day!

cheers,
Malyn

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone.

Here's a one-layer Easter card I just made. It's dual purpose: it serves both as a Scrapbook Boutique challenge entry as well as a card to give to my daughter.

I had a lot of fun making this as the image is really rather cute. I also had a few simple techniques going including masking and sponging.

stamp: Clear Dollar Stamps Critter Log set

Stampin Up inks: Black (great for being waterproof), Baja Breeze, Choc Chip

Stampin Up Wonder Crayons: Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Espresso, Wild Wasabi

Cuttlebug embossing folder

There you have it. Real quick, simple and OLC.

Happy Easter!

OLW 46 - Use Eggs

OLW Challenge #46 is to use eggs. I've got one stamp set (from Clear Dollar Stamps, quite possibly retired) with eggs in it and I have never used them before - have used other stamps in that set though... a lot. Anyway, Susan said that it doesn't have to be about Easter as long as there are eggs.

Well, here it is. It's not an Easter card. In fact, I'll probably use it as a birthday card for a bub turning one next month.

 I used Stampin Up inks and wonder crayons in Crumb Cake and Baja Breeze. I've just got the crayons so it's the first time I've used them. They are so wonderful and perfect for the effect I wanted to achieve here.

In homage to Susan's feature technique today, I also put some Dazzling Diamonds glitter as highlights, applied with a glue pen. :-)

I had the urge to add a touch of ribbon and that teeny weeny Stampin Up 1/8" taffeta ribbon in Marina Mist evokes a sense of flight - perfect for the sentiment. I think so anyway.

So what do you think?

OLW 45 - what the hex?

OLW45 challenge is hosted by Styles Ink this week and the theme is Dutch hex. I thought, yay, a chance to try making round cards for the first time. Please click on given challenge link to read more about hex signs and view the beautiful samples and entries. I've been meaning to do this for a few days but got sidetracked by another challenge which took much longer than anticipated.

Here's my entry using the Stampin Up Sweet Summer set with Pear Pizazz and Cherry Cobbler inks.

For this card, the stamp-a-ma-jig was my friend. Even with it, it was still a challenge - sometimes I forget the orientation of my stamp. I used nesties to cut up 2 large circles. Well, that's actually not so true because I cut heaps (look at some of my rejects below).

The difficulty for me with CAS cards, and especially OLC, boils down to good design and plenty of patience. There is absolutely nowhere to hide and nothing to hide mistakes with (you know, cover with a bling or something?). One of my rejects was nearly finished when I botched up (did you hear me say aaaargh? or did I say, "what the hex?"). FYI, it's the top right in the picture below.

I wanted to make my husband onewith specific symbols (stars and hearts) and colours (red and orange) as per hex designs. After a few botched attempts, I gave up and moved on to what I eventually ended up with. I actually started this on a smaller card and it was OK but looked a bit cramped - not enough white space?

some of my rejects on the foreground

C'est tout. Thanks for visiting. Leave some love if you can. Cheers.

OLC week 6 - Off the edge

Week 6 Challenge over at Simply Less is More is "Off the edge".  My first thought was to use SU's medallion stamp - it just lends itself to this.

BUT... with these inspiration cards from the talented duo at SLiM, I changed my mind.

I was tempted to use the dress stamp from Inkadinkadoo but I've done that for a challenge before, not OLC, but a challenge anyway..

Here are what I came up instead. I still had the dress thing going but I "made" it myself. :-)

stamps: SU Bliss, Just Believe
inks: SU Baja Breeze, Marina Mist (marker)
bling: Dazzling Diamonds

I thought the sentiment was so appropriate - I had to believe there is a dress in the Bliss set and so there was ( a couple even)!

I started with this (left).  I only used the bottom half of the butterfly. I thought the angle of the  dress was a bit "severe". That is, I intended to have the dress a little bit more upright.  So, I started on another card (right). For a bit of a change, I decided to use the whole butterfly stamp. Position of the sentiment is relatively the same for both cards. I stamped the half-butterfly on the 2nd card first. With the more symmetrical 1st card, I thought I had to do a whole butterfly. Then, I decided to stamp a few more...off the edge as well.

While the 1st one was initially a "mistake", I think I like it more. My daughter can't choose between the two and is asking me to show her how I did it (not hard really, with the help of post-it note masks and a stamp-a-ma-jig)...and perhaps some imagination...

some things have to be believed to be seen.

Here are a few more photos of the details.

Enjoy!

Feel free to copy and improve. :-)

update:

Jo asked about the stamp-a-ma-jig. It's a stamp positioner. Mine is from Stampin Up. There are other brands out there. I've seen one made out of Lego bricks even. I like my SU one so happily recommend it.

Lots of tutorials out there on how to use it. Here's a link to a  really quick one.

OLW 44 - Marta's Pinterest

OLW Challenge #44 is all about finding inspiration from Marta's boards via a blogger named Marta, who also has an awesome blog: MartaWrites.com.


There's plenty of inspiration there, for sure. I made one quickly and, personally, I don't think it's good enough for a challenge entry but a challenge it was. See, here's my inspiration - lovely "chandeliers" made of scallops of paper layered on a sphere.


I asked myself if it was at all possible to replicate the effect on a 1-layer card. I also wanted to use more of my Stampin Up stuff. A challenge with layers, now who could resist that? :-)


Here's what I've done. I could probably do it better but decided if I was to do another one, I might as well choose another bit of inspiration from Marta's boards - there are so many after all.

stamps: SU A to Z, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
inks: SU Basic Grey, Soft Blue (marker), Cherry Cobbler (marker), DI Antique Linen


The "how" bit...


I created a circular mask using a nestie and post-it. I also created another mask using the SU slit punch and folded it over to create a scallop. Each scallop was stamped separately so the lines are all at different angles. I shaded the "shadows" with the blue marker and sponged the whole circle with the DI for added definition. Finally, I drew on the string and stamped "thinking of you" on 2 lines.


Ta da. It's CAS. It's OLC.


This isn't a good photo - night-time here and even with a flash, it's just not looking right. However, I couldn't wait to share. Tragic, huh?


Thanks for visiting and double-thanks for leaving a comment. You know I love them, right?


cheers,
Malyn

OLW 43 - Shimmer

Susan is hosting OLW 43 with the challenge of creating an OLC with shimmer - no glitter or bling. I opted for Twinkling H2Os, having just dug them out for my PDCC70 entry last week.

This time, I'm using various shades of pink and green. I decided to create two at a time - a crafter friend said it's a time-efficient way of doing it. True enough and also, you've got one at the ready should you make mistakes. :-)

Here are the two, slightly different. I embossed the card (Cuttlebug) and painted on with Twinkling H2Os. The embossing already has a water-colour effect to it. As such, my colouring is also watercolour-y - almost wet on wet. I even painted on a shimmery 'ribbon'...just for fun.

colours used: Chiffon pink, Blushing rose, Lemongrass, Irish mist, Solar gold

I positioned the 'ribbon' for this one slightly higher than the other and chopped off the rest of the card. It just didn't look balanced with so much white space at the bottom.

I considered painting the background a bit of blue but, obviously, decided not to. Doing OLC challenges is making me appreciate the beauty of untouched and deliberate white space.

I've added a couple of close-ups in the hope of showing the shimmer. Shimmer really doesn't photograph well, especially on a grey day like today. Actually, the shimmery colours here are helping brighten my day.

Anyway, which one is better of the 2: cropped or not cropped.

OLW 42 - I've got the music in me

Jennifer set this music-themed challenge for a one-layer card (OLC) and I just couldn't resist doing it...even though I'm running out of time!

This bird with notes was my first idea. Notes are SU roller stamp, rolled over the card with a circle mask. Then I created a black rim around it with the idea of stamping the bird over a smaller circle mask. I tried this a couple of times and failed! In the end, I stamped the bird separately and mounted over the circle. Not an OLC but too good to throw away, IMO.

I changed tack completely and went for different stamps and sentiment altogether. The theme of laughter as music is very different from all the other entries so far. I thought, why not? Get it out there. :-)

stamps:
G-clef (very old Inkadinkadoo rubber stamp), Laugther (Clear Dollar Stamps), Laugh often (?). Actually the laugh often was stamped separately as the stamp itself reads "Live well, laugh often, love much" but, given the theme, I trimmed the others off

inks:
Versafine Black and red, Stampin up Basic black marker

I think this design and colours are reminiscent of Broadway posters. Don't you think?

I liked the mix of stamps so much that I made a couple more and played a little with the design.  OLC can be so challenging!!!! Anyway, here's another one with often on the other side. I actually think it makes the G-clef look like an S so you read it as Laugh Soften or Laughs often. Though I like this more visually, I don't like the effect on reading the sentiment.

Which do you like better?