Less is more - yellow

Opening the page today over at Less is More this week is like opening the door into a sunny, spring garden! This is because it's a colour challenge this week, and the girls have chosen 'Yellow'.

I have to say that at first I though 'Mmmmmm, not sure about this one...' but then I got cracking and suddenly realised that I should feature more yellow in my cards as its so bright and cheery.

Here's my first little offering, made with Art Journey (thanks for the correction Paula) inchies and Distress inks. After creating the background with Scattered Straw and a touch of Victorian Velvet, I stamped in Versafine and embossed with clear powder. This stuck to the black ink and the Distress inks and created a really lovely effect.
I've only recently discovered inchies but I can see that I'm likely to become an inchy-addict as they are so much fun. Expect to see more inchies appearing here in subsequent posts... you have been warned!

If you're looking for my Blogcandy post please click here.

I'm running in the Telford Race for Life at the end of the month and am looking for Blogging buddies to sponsor me just £1. Anyone who sponsors me will go into the draw to win a £25.00 voucher for BunnyZoe's Crafts. I'm running in memory of my beautiful friend Shell who lost her battle with Ovarian Cancer in March aged only 38 years old.
Thanks to some wonderful Bloggy mates we've already raised £17.00 - you rock girls, love you!

But remember, as the lovely twinkly-eyed Dale Winton would say 'you've got to be in it to win it' so why not have a go? You'll be donating to Cancer Research AND you might win £25.00 worth of crafting goodies.

You can click on Dale's picture to go straight to the sponsorship page I share with my teamies...

Happy crafting everyone!

Race for Life Blogcandy!

Anyone who visited my blog in early April will have read this post about the loss of my dear friend Shell. I still cannot believe that this wonderful, vibrant, warm hearted and witty woman is no longer with us.

In memory of Shell, I’ll be joining a small group of her family and friends to run the Race for Life in Telford on Sunday 27th May.

I was deeply touched by how many of you left kind and supportive comments on my blog or took the time to email after reading about Shell. I especially have to say thank you to Jo C-S for her lovely emails and for planting the seed of this idea in my head.

For anyone not in the know The Race for Life raises money for Cancer Research UK, who leads the world in finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Every two minutes someone in the UK is told they have cancer. Cancer Research UK is entirely funded by the public and needs our support to help them continue their work to help more people survive this terrible disease.

As I have just celebrated my third Blogoversary it seems a great opportunity to thank my lovely blogging buddies for their friendship and to raise some money in memory of Shell. So I’m offering all you lovely girlies the chance to win a £25.00 gift voucher to spend over at Bunnyzoescrafts, which is one of my most favourite crafting websites.

To enter the blogcandy draw all I ask is that you follow this link and 'sponsor' me by donating £1.00 via the Grice’s Girls Race for Life fundraising page.

Please leave a message on the site which includes the phrase ‘Jo’s friend...’ and your Blogging name, and then come back and leave me a comment to enter the draw.

To donate £1.00 you’ll need to scroll down the donations/fundraising page and type in your amount. If you wish to make a larger donation that’s great, but please don’t feel that it is necessary as there will only be one entry into the draw per person. You can pay by credit card or Paypal and don’t forget to click Gift Aid if you are a UK resident.

The fundraising page was set up by Shell’s close friend Karen, so you won’t see my name there except as a participant. If you have any queries or problems, please get in touch via my email address.

I’ll announce the lucky winner of the £25.00 gift voucher following the event and if you fabulous girlies would please blog about this and/or post a link to this post on your side bars I’d really appreciate your help and support.

Here's a picture of Shell, yours truly, Nade and Gay propping up our Mobile Library about 10 years ago.

A very big and heartfelt thank you to you all.

The number three

It will be my beautiful niece's 3rd birthday next week and, like the besotted Auntie that I am, I've made her a card!

If any of you hadn't guessed this digi is by the fabulous Krista over at Saturated Canary. She's called 'Ellie's birthday' and I love her sweet expression and that fact that she has not one but two balloons!     As you can see I had myself a little paper piecing festival putting this together... I LOVE paper piecing sooooo much.The papers are all from Echo Park's gorgeous Springtime collection.

I produced the big number 3 on my PC using word art and then cut it out. I think the dots are a bit heavy but hey ho! I'm sorry about the rubbish pictures of the cards but the light isn't too good today.

I'm linking up to the following challenges:
Digital tuesday Challenge - Bugs and Blooms
Oldie but a Goodie - Die cuts and punches (using the first edge punch I purchased)
Saturated Canary Challenge #16 - Happy Birthday

Have a great weekend everyone, and please look out for my belated Blogoversary Candy which is coming soon...

More Less is More....

Perhaps that post title should read further Less is More!

Well good morning bloggers, it's another soggy day here in Birmingham, UK. If it rains much more I'll have to buy the cat a boat.

Here is another offering for the current sketch challenge over at Less is More. I love this stamp from Stampendous which I found on eBay recently. The image is taken from one of my favourite paintings by John William Waterhouse called 'The Soul of the Rose'.

I stamped in Versafine and embossed with clear powder before colouring with Promarkers. The sentiment is one that I had made a few years ago. Unfortunately, it fell off the block onto the page so it looks a little thicker at one end than it should.

So what does a cat do when he can't go outside? He makes himself comfy by my craft table and snoozes the day away... not a bad old life is it?

Happy crafting everyone!

Less is more

It's a sketch week over at Less is More so I thought I'd give it a go.
Sadly, my first offering for this challenge is a sympathy card that I needed to send to my Mom's friend, who has just lost her sister.
I decided to rotate the sketch (hope this is allowed) as I wanted to 'square-up' the centre of the card.

I used a Hero Arts shadow stamp for the background and then the delightful Pocketful O' Posies (also Hero Arts) to stamp the flowers in Versamark. I added some Diamond Lace Stickles to highlight the leaves and flowers, but this doesn't really show up in the photograph. The pictures look rather pale, thankfully the card looks better in real life.

So I'm back to the craftroom now to try out my second idea for these perfect CAS sketches...

Sweet Simplicity - final day.

It's a truly grotty morning. What has happened to the April showers??? It's more like the April monsoon season!
So, here are my final two CAS cards...

The first card was made using a template and Distress Ink. Then I got busy with a Hero Arts script stamp to create some depth. The sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink set that I've been using all week. I have to be honest and admit that I've lost the packaging from the dandelion stamp - but isn't it a beauty!

The second card was created using a butterfly shape from a pack of 10 plastic templates that were given away by Paper Craft Inspirations years and years ago. I found the templates in my stash and had a eureka moment. Because the templates are plastic they're perfect for using again and again, and can be rinsed under the tap afterwards. I couldn't resist adding a little bling as a finishing touch. This card was so quick and easy to make that it's real production line stuff, and could be used for multiple-makes such as wedding or party invitations.

So thanks for sharing this little CAS journey with me. Sometimes a change of creative direction can be very refreshing and satisfying - so why not give it a go? It certainly beats watching the rain!

Happy crafting everyone!