LIM : Card No 5

Woohoo!  Number 5 for the Less is More challenge….done!  And who’d have thunk this would have been the hardest one for me!

I’m not entirely sure I’ve done this justice…but I have agonised over what to do for this square, and in the end I’ve just gone simple!  I love this stamp from Fun and Fast Notes and it’s perfect as we head into wedding season *claps hands excitedly*.  I have used this colour combo before…it’s Baja Breeze and Cherry Cobbler.   I’ve coloured it in using my water brush and inks…which works very well….just hope you can’t see the inky finger prints!! LOL!

Post Entry Note: So after the comments on my card, I just had to try again! I do know what Mandi means and I wasn’t entirely happy with the the card above so here’s card no5, take 2  (I’m not obsessed you understand!!):

I’ve kept the same colour scheme, but this time I have stamped the image 3 times and decoupaged it.  I’ve stood the cakes on a ribbon strip and added a bow to one side. 

 

 

 

Here’s a close-up of the image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that’s definitely it!  Here’s a recap of my other 4 cards:

 

I’ve really enjoyed this challenge and will carry on with this fantastic CAS idea of Picking a Square.  Chrissie, Mandi…it’s been absolutely fab!!  And I’ve loved looking at all the other entries!  They’ve all been sooo great.  And now I’m off to comment on the latest ones .

Thanks for reading

BFN
Linda
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A big thanks to Lowdham!

Well, I can’t believe it!!  I missed a day blogging!  But hopefully I can be forgiven…I was pretty tired after the day at the Craft Fayre!!  But what a friendly bunch!  And the World’s End Inn is such a lovely place to eat….or just have a drink.  Highly recommended!!  So thanks to Lucy, Sue and Andrea for organising it.  And “Hi” to my new friend Karen from Little Owls Nest!  We had such a laugh! 

Here’s a quick picture of my stall before kick off….

 

 

 

 

 

…and some goodies I may have purchased (ahem!)

So once again….a big thank you to everyone I met…and I’ll let you know when the orders are in.

BFN
Linda
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LIM: Card No 4.

Ok…this is the last one for today.  I will complete the set by the end of the Less is More challenge though!!  This is the last corner so another “up in the air thing” is needed.  Now those who read my blog will know I’m going through my butterfly stage.  Soooo…..

My sister, Sarah, lives over in Colorado and I miss her everyday.  Butterflies remind me of her…and no, not because she’s a butterfly head (that’s definitely me in this family!!) but because she’s a fan too.  So this card is for her…The Silver Butterfly, my hero and mentor since birth….so she’s recently let me know . 

Love yer, Sis!  Now get on Skype and give me a buzz!!

So 4 down 1 to go….but I have to sort my stuff for tomorrow’s Craft Fayre at the World’s End Inn, Lowdham.

Thanks for looking

BFN
Linda
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LIM: Card No 3

Now some people might say I get fixated on a theme.  Not so long back it was the ‘Just Believe’ stamp set.  I’ve got another Less is More card.  I can’t help it….I think Chrissie and Mandi’s challenge to ‘pick a square’ is fab.  There are 5 squares to choose from, so I have to complete the set!

And here’s card number 3…

I’ve used the ‘All in the Family’ and ‘I {Heart} Hearts’ stamp sets to create a hot air balloon.  Hope you got that!  I’ve actually seen the very talented Julie Kettlewell do something similar to this in her Valentine class.  So I’ve CASE’d the idea.

Right, that’s 3 down, 2 to go!  I still need to finish off my ‘Just Believe’ cards before tomorrow’s Craft Fayre….back later

Thanks for reading
BFN
Linda
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LIM–Pick a Square Take 2

So I’ve had another go at the Less is More Challenge this week.  We’ve been challenged to Pick a Square and leave lots of white space.  My first card seemed a bit of a cop out because I’ve made that style before…although I did like it…so here’s my second card:

This time I’ve used the ‘I {Heart} Hearts’ stamp set and stamped three hearts in Real Red, Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie.  I’ve cut them out and stuck them overlapping on the bottom right corner (just in case you could tell – LOL) and because it’s hearts I’ve made this an anniversary card.
I do like this style….think I’m going to make a card for each of the corners and the middle too!  Just in time for my Craft Fayre  on Monday.  Hope the weather improves!!!

Pick a Square for LIM Challenge

(Sorry! Just relinked this to the actual post!)

Yay, Saturday!  And another Less is More challenge!  Today Chrissie and Mandi have challenged us to

PICK A SQUARE

….so I’ve picked a corner.

I’ve also picked a petal .

I’ve used the Pick a Petal stamp set on the very beautiful Springtime Vintage paper and a greeting from Heard from the Heart.  Hmm….not sure if that sentiment extends too far!

I do love this set and indeed this card style….it’s not the first time I’ve tried this so I feel a bit of a cheat.  But with a day of crafting ahead there’s a chance I could try this again.

Hope you like it!  And I’m going to apologise beforehand….I am one of those people who currently can’t easily comment and my followers have disappeared!  Double whammy!!  What is going off with Blogger at the moment!!!

Thanks for looking. 

BFN
Linda
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p.s Please sponsor us in the RACE FOR LIFE

Early post, late night!

Well, I’m off for a night out with girl friends.  Actually…it’s a night in with girlfriends to plan the hen party of the forthcoming nuptials of Kelly.  Hmmmm….gonna have to think of some “games” to play.  Now…where dod I put that net curtain!

So…I meant to share this yesterday, but totally forgot! Now I’m sorry if you seen enough of the Just Believe….but I do have a plan for them that I will hopefully share over the weekend.  So here’s my latest card…

It’s using the same colour schemes as the previous card and that might give you a clue as to what my next plan is.  This time I’ve used the lovely sentiment from the set….and some things definitely do need to be seen to be believed….like me being ready in time to get to Kelly’s!!!  So I’m off!

Thanks for reading

BFN
Linda
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P.S…Don’t forget to visit our fundraising page

Alas, no card today….

….what with my crafty class and training run tonight I haven't had the time for more craft .

Thanks to everyone who has already sponsored us but I just wanted to remind you all about our Race for Life Venture!!

Here’s a picture of us on a training run….honest!  We have another group shot on our page too!  Very flattering!

  This is a really worthy cause and one I hope you’ll help by supporting us.  We have an official photographer on the day in the form of our mate Jen so you’ll be able to see all the evidence……looking forward to that!!  

So click our photo above or just go to OUR SPONSOR PAGE and add you support. 

Please feel free to leave a comment here too!

Thanks for reading

Linda

Flutterby Wednesday–Just Believe…

So continuing the theme of “Just Believe” I’m still working on my sample set using this lovely stamp set from Stampin’ Up!  So here’s my latest creation that I’m entering in Flutterby Wednesday’s Challenge to create a CAS card….right up my street .

Alas, it is yet another gloomy photo that I will swap out in the morning.

It’s a cute twisted easel card in Concord Crush and Crumb Cake.  I’ve stamped the foliage in Old Olive and the sentiment and Boho Blossoms are in Concord Crush…one of the In Color colours.  I’ve used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder too.  Hmmm….hope it’s still CAS!

The butterflies are from Butterfly Prints stamp set….just to finish it off! 
So I hope you like it….let me know what you think .

BFN
Linda
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WOYWW

YAY!  Another Wednesday another messy table!  So I'm sharing on WOYWW.

Everything a crafter needs…cuppa tea (lovingly made by craft-tolerant husband before he disappeared off to bed), tv remote and laptop to hand and of course the lovely Stampin’ Up stash!

Looks pretty much like last weeks! HAHAHA!

Watch for next post to see what I’ve been making

BFN
Linda
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Just Believe….

Ok…..so I didn’t make it for a training run today!  I’ll be fine come 5th June when I do the Race For Life….it’s the taking part that counts – right? But to help me in this believe, I’m making a set of “Just Believe” cards. That’ll definitely help!! *snigger*.  Please nip over to our fundraising page if you’d like to sponsor us!!!.

So here’s the first card using Just Believe from Stampin’ Up!  I’ve made it for the Crafty Pad challenge where you have to use Lace AND Bows – not just one or the other, but both!

I do like Early Espresso and Crumb Cake together!  With this I’ve used the Scallop edge punch, which mimics the lace perfectly.  The flowers are made using the Boho Blossom punch with a pearl accent in the middle.  In hindsight I maybe should have only used 3, but not to worry….

The greeting is from the ‘Just Believe’ stamp set too.  I’ve inked the edges and backed it it on to crumb cake.  I’ve added a bow…and a bit of colour too (not too much mind)….and there we have it!  I hope you like it….and if I finish any more tonight I’ll post them too!
BFN
Linda
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CASE Card from Training

Evening all…..late posting again today!  Having spent a small fortune at the garden centre yesterday I thought I’d best get my pots planted up so I’ve had a rather blustery evening in the garden.

But there is never a night where I won’t want to craft so I’m just settling down to work on some samples for a Bank Holiday craft fayre (check out my events page for details).  I might be up for some time yet! LOL!

In the meantime, I’ve CASE’d a card from Victoria's quarterly Training session.

It’s using the very beautiful Springtime Vintage papers, the Four Frames stamp set and of course one of the new square lattice embossing folder - all available in the Stampin’ Up Mini Catalogue (see my side bar to peruse ).  This colour combo features a lot in my card making too….Crumb Cake and Baja Breeze.

So I hope you like it….and I hope you’ll be able to come back and have a look at the samples I’m making for the Fayre.

Thanks for looking

BFN
Linda
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And the winners of the Stampin’ Up goodies are…..

Well we’re a little later than 5pm.  An impromptu trip to the garden centre and my in laws got in the way, but we’ve carried out the draw under strict conditions (well, we put all the tickets in a cup and let Annie and Max draw the tickets out) and the winners are:

LOUISA
for the level 1 hostess gift

JENNY
for the £15 of free merchandise

Congratulations girls!!  Could you let me know what extra goodies I’m adding to the order as soon as possible!!

Thank for everyone who placed orders…..they should be here by the end of the week.

BFN
Linda
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Clean and Simple Sketch Week

Morning all!!!  Quite a breezy day today so alas it seems that crafting time must be sacrificed to the great god of the “Good day for getting your washing dry”. *sigh*

 

So I’ve quickly made a card for the Clean and Simple Stamping Challenge.  They have a sketch this week which you’d think would make things easier but I also struggle with them!!

 

So here it is:

The colours are Wild Wasabi and Early Espresso and yes….I’ve used butterflies again!  I promise…I will get over this Butterfly stage soon….(maybe!) . The butterfly in Early Espresso is from Butterfly Prints.

I’ve embossed Whisper White with Polka Dots and inked the edges with ink and added a gem trail for the butterfly.  I’ve used the scallop trim punch on Wild Wasabi and rolled it with the Funky Forest wheel in Versamark to give it a monochromatic look. Cool, eh!!

Finally added linen thread and stamped a Happy Birthday greeting.  Nice and simple!

Hope you like it. 

BFN
Linda
X

LIM Butterflies

Now those that follow my blog will know that I have a butterfly thing going off at the moment.  So how excited was I to turn on this morning to find Chrissie and Mandi have set us a wonderful Butterflies challenge over on Less is More!!  Yay!!!!  I don’t think you can ever make too many butterfly cards! 

I’ve made this card using the very beautiful Manhattan Flowers embossing folder from Stampin’ Up! I’ve embossed it on to vellum then glammed it up by going over the embossing with a glue pen and sprinkling it with glitter.  I’ve added a whisper white fancy bow then matted it on to some vanilla coloured card -  oh…and added a sentiment from the Butterfly Prints stamp set.  Such a sweet sentiment too!

Then using my much-used Beautiful Wings embosslit, I’ve cut and embossed butterflies in white and arranged them around the flowers.  I think it looks elegant!

My four-year-old daughter has been playing along too…she’s a very pink and glittery girl….and has a very pick and glittery card to match!

Thanks for looking and for all the encouraging comments last week.  There were some fabulous entries again….I could spend all week looking!

BFN
Linda
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An Actual CAS-ual Friday

Woohooo!  Thanks to my mum for CASually mentioning that she needed a special 80th birthday card for tomorrow I’ve actually made the CAS-ual Friday’s challenge….on a Friday!  YAY!

So today’s challenge is:     Bring the Bling

I’ve been using the very blingy Rhinestones from Stampin’ Up! and my embellishment of the moment (day, week, month, foreseeable future)… THE BUTTERFLY!!!

 

I’ve gone with pastels and used some pretty flowery paper I’ve had in my stash forever!  I’ve printed a greeting and matted, layered and 3d’d it on to the top corner of the card and die cut the birthday lady’s name on to the bottom corner.

Then I’ve arranged the butterflies, made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit from Stampin’ Up, around the greeting and the name.

Finally – I’ve added the bling!  Bling for heads, bling for bodies and bling for trails!!  Well, it is a super, special birthday afterall!

I hope Mary likes it!  But I’d love to know what all you CAS lovers think.

Thanks for stopping by

BFN
Linda
X

In the Pink…for Race for Life!!

Today we (myself and 3 friends) have taken the plunge and signed up for the Race For Life!  Sounds crazy given that we only have 3 weeks to train!!! But such a worthy cause and one that I have supported since losing a friend to cancer nearly 8 years ago.  So to mark the occasion, I’ve gone Pink!!

 

Good luck, Louisa, Sanj and Pam!  I’ll be right there with you!! 

Please visit our page and SPONSOR  US!

 

 

As you can see….I’ve been playing with my Big Shot tonight.  I’ve embossed Melon Mambo with Vintage Wallpaper and Crumb Cake with dots.  I’ve layered them up and added a Springtime Vintage flower using the Pick a Petal Stamp set….all from Stampin’ Up!  Now is a good time to have a look at my Virtual Party. If you order before Sunday, you may be the winner of the hostess gift or free merchandise.

And as I’m feeling in the Pink tonight, I’ve also made this cute card.  This time I’ve used the Daisies #2 die and dotty folder to make a very pink birthday card.

I’m entering this in the following challenges:

Charisma Cardz – Pink
Design By Divas – One for the girls
Craft Us Crazy – Favorite Embellishment

 

Hope you like it .

BFN
Linda
X

Flower Challenges…

Here’s a quick lesson for you all….BACK UP YOUR DATA because retrieving files from corrupted disks takes away serious crafting time!!!!  Grrrr!!!

So…gripe over…its taken a little longer than I wanted to but I’ve made a card a flowery card especially for the challenge over on Papertake Weekly.

Papertake Weekly have a Bloom and Grow challenge and want to see something floral this week, but there are lots of flower challenges out there this week so I’ve also entered this in the following :

Cupcake Challenge – In the Garden
Crafty Creations – Something with Flowers
Delightful Challenges – Flowers
Flutterby Wednesday – Open/ Sketch

I’ve used the very flowery Springtime Vintage papers from Stampin’ Up with an image from the beautiful ‘Just Believe’ stamp set.  I’ve trimmed the card using Boho Blossoms and Beautiful Wings butterflies…just for a change .

Well…I hope you like my late card!  Off to put my gear away now….but before I do…thought I’d share the state of my creativity with WOYWW on the Stamping Ground:

I sooo need a craft room!!!

BFN
Linda
X

One For The Kids

Ok, this week it’s ‘One for the kids’ over on Top Tip Tuesday and a card for a baby/child on The Tuesday ThrowDown.  As my two youngest always love stampin’ animals and colouring them in…from bugs to dinosaurs… a cute,little woodland creatures got to be a winner….right?  And I’ve combined this with a technique I’ve been wanting to try for ages .

This stamp is from the Fast and Fun Notes Stamp set.  It’s a cute image of a hedgehog with a butterfly on its nose.   I’ve stamped this image once onto Whisper White and cut the it out.  Then I’ve reversed it to give him a little mate facing him nose to nose. 
Clever, aye .

And here’s the top tip how to do it.  I’ve inked the stamp up and laid it on the table.  Then using my brayer (available from Stampin’ Up!) I’ve rolled it across the stamp, then straight away rolled the brayer on to fabulous Whisper white card, thus transferring the image. Woo hoo! It worked first time…although I do recommend you only try this with Whisper White card.  It’s sooo smooth you can’t go wrong!

I’ve used River Rock, Cherry Cobbler and Marina Mist for the butterflies made with Beautiful Wings embosslit and added a Happy Birthday greeting from one of the other stamps from the same set.

I’ve made this as a 15cm square card, but I think it might have been better as an A6.  I’ll give that a go next I think.  So I hope you like it.  Let me know what you think….
Thanks for reading
BFN
Linda
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