Less is More - Week 23 - OLC

Hello there

Glad to report things are starting to get back to normal here, Emily is fully recovered from the viral infection and back to her normal self.  So I got a chance to make a card yesterday evening as she slept soundly through the night for the first time in a week.  She got 11 hours, bliss!

My card is for the current Less is More challenge, which I missed last week as I didn't get a chance to craft while Emily was ill.  This week Mandi and Chrissie have set the challenge of a One Layer Card featuring something with legs!  Well I will no doubt come back to this again and try something more arty - but my first thought was this:

The little girl does actually have legs in the stamp, but I thought it looked quite good with her at the bottom of the card, so I just stamped off the edge.

The stamp is a Kanban one which I coloured in with a mixture of Prisma and WHSmith artist pencils.  The greeting is part of another sentiments stamp set.

This is not my original attempt at this card, that one I had coloured in only with Prisma pencils.  I don't think you can see from the picture but I've added a touch of 3d gloss to the buttons on the phone and when I did this originally the gloss smeared.  So I re-stamped and coloured again, using my WHSmith pencils and that card I ruined by smudging the sentiment.  So as not to waste it I put a Craftwork Cards sentiment over the smudge - therefore making it ineligible for this weeks' LiM.  So I set about again stamping and colouring again, this time I got the card above.

The difference in the look of the images, using the different pencils, is really interesting.  I thought anyway, I might just be being a bit geeky here!  I thought I'd pop up the other cards so you can see what I mean.

Just with Prismas:

Everything, apart from the skin tones, with WHSmith Artist pencils:

I must admit I really like the way this one has turned out, but know it can't go into the challenge as it has the 3d greeting on.

So glad to be able to participate in LiM again, really missed it last week and off now to say hello on Mandi and Chrissie's blogs and have a look see at everyone elses entries.

Sarah

Where is the time going?

Hi Blogland

Another huge gap between posts!  Things have just been so hectic at home that I'm not getting on at all, I'm not really even making that many cards.  I've had to concentrate on producing a dozen thank you cards for the birthday presents that Emily received, and that's all I've done!  I've even missed a couple of challenges I would normally take part in.

After feeling that things were back to normal last week, this week Emily goes and catches a viral infection which means a week off nursery so everything grinds to a halt at home.

I have enough trouble looking after just one child andI take my hat of to those of you who juggle family and work and craft - I can only do family at the mo!  How on earth do those of you with more than one child cope with the pulling in all directions when one is ill?

Most of the last week Em has been asleep on my lap, then sleeping badly and so we are all having disturbed nights - I feel like the clock has re-wound 3 1/2 years and am as shattered as when she was a tiny baby.

Anyway, she is on the mend (I know that as she was particularly 'challenging' to put it nicely today!) and hopefully craft will resume next week once she is back at nursery.  If only she would sleep through as well, I'd get my evenings back also.

So the cardage is pretty slim at the mo and thought, just so you knew I hadn't popped my clogs, that I'd show the Thank you cards I made.

I used a Sugar Nellie, Rachelle Anne Miller stamp - Duck in Boots on an A6 card. To keep it simple I just stamped and coloured, with my Prismas, directly onto the card.  Then for interest I varied the colour of the ducks bib, boots and flower.  I also stuck a small button into the middle of each flower and that's it really.  As simple and easy as possible - although I did personalise grandads' card!

Hope you are all keeping well and major apologies for lack of commenting, third time lucky in saying this, hope all back to normal next week.

Sarah

Less is More - Week 21 - Sketch

Hello everyone

I'm back, just!  I think I've waffled enough in other posts about our little holiday, daughters birthday and party - so no waffle now just card.

I had a sneaky look at last weeks LiM challenge and, to be honest, I am glad I was away!  A monogram on your card - I just wouldn't have been able to work that one out.  Well done to those of you who managed it - and with such flair as well.

Still a busy week here, made a cake yesterday which was delivered today for the school fair that my daughter's nursery is attached to and am off there shortly to help put the stalls out.  Then will go have a look around after Em comes out of nursery.

So this is just a flyer of a card to join in with the LiMettes - really didn't want to miss two weeks.

So card:

Trying to show the depth on the card:

Struggled slightly with the sketch, until I had this idea.  I remember in one of the previous challenges someone had only coloured in a part of the stamp - spot colour I think someone called it?  I liked the idea and filed it away under inspiration, here it is being inspiration.  The placement of the circles could've been better, but I don't think they make an unusable card.

Details:
The Stamp Barn image, coloured with Primas.  The base image was left uncoloured and the coloured image was die cut out with Nesties, then 3d fixers to give a bit of dimension.  That's it really.

Sorry Mandi and Chrissie I haven't made it to your blogs this time, I know next week will be better and I'll be back into routine properly.

Best wishes all, I'm hoping the rain holds off here so that we aren't running from stall to stall in the rain!

See you next time

Sarah