Less is...a pain in the proverbial

This morning I decided, in my wisdom, that it would be fun to join in with a blog challenge.  I only get to play occasionally and, because 'Bloglovin' had put up Simply Less Is More , that became the challenge of choice.  Today's 'Less is More' challenge is predominantly black.  Simples!   I'd already seen Jen Nelson's entry as I am a huge fan of her blog.  She makes Clean and Simple look so easy.  This should be a walk in the park! Yeah, right!

Well, I started by looking for the perfect stamp - and I found it, really quickly.  It was a parcel that had come as part of a set free with some magazine purchased long ago and I'd never gotten around to using.  It was a simple image that wouldn't need colouring and would be perfect in black ink on white card.  OK, let's stamp. And I did - about a dozen times!  Finally, I managed to stamp an image I was happy with.  Yippee!  Next, in order to add a little detail to the card I decided to emboss a diamond pattern on my card blank.  My main idea involved a square embossed in the centre of my card blank.  Guess how easy that turned out to be, not!
Anyway, I persevered.  After several attempts I got one I was happy with.  Fabulous.  I picked up the finished result to take a photograph and...managed to put an inky mark on the side of the card. GRRRR!  I couldn't believe it.  Oh well, if at first you don't succeed etc, etc.

Having struggled to get my square panel in the centre on my first attempt I got wise and decided a matted panel would do just as well.  After all, I had matted the stamped image onto black.  I was just carrying on the theme.  I had seen a card with a negative sentiment in a black panel and thought it would look different on my second attempt. So I cut out the 'Congratulations' word from my Tattered Lace word dies and started to fiddle with all the little bits...which turned out to be far more of a faff than I thought it was going to be. So hay ho, I gave up and stuck the sentiment on.  I finished off the stamp with a single red gem stone to add a little something and I had my finished card...which looked a lot more complicated than I had intended, GRRR!

So, I went back to my first attempt.  I thought, if I turned it around and added some ribbon and a bow, I would hide the inky spot and get away with it.  However, it now looked unbalanced so I added another ribbon and bow to the top of the card to balance it up.  Stuck a couple of red gems on to key it all in and had a nice card for the challenge.  But it wasn't what I had originally intended, GRRR!

So, I went back to the drawing board.  I embossed the whole front of the card so it could be seen more easily and added my matted, stamped image with just a single red gem.  There, simples!

But, do you know what, despite the frustration of not getting it right first time.  I actually enjoyed my morning and I finally ended up with three similar cards which all fit the criteria and which, in the end, I actually liked. So here they are.

Take your pick folks.  In the end, I really couldn't decide.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

It's all too easy to dream

Wow, get me!  Blogging more than once in twelve months!  It'll never last.  I'm always much more interested in making my cards than photographing and uploading them.  However, due to the recent spell of inclement weather I found I was spending more time at my desk than I was getting ideas for.  Now this is usually an excuse to spend hours on end on Facebook and Pinterest - well, more hours on end than the usual ones. As this was the case I decided to upload some photos and get them on my Facebook page (which also gets woefully neglected, hence only 62 likes at the time of posting).  One of my recent makes did make me smile and I hope it will make you smile too.

The image can be found here at Make it Crafty.  It made me smile because my blog isn't the only thing that gets neglected in favour of crafting.  Unfortunately, I have a pile of ironing you would need Sherpas to get to the top of.  I bought the backing papers with this stamp in mind but I don't think it really made much difference as you can't really see the surf boards on it.  I will admit to never having surfed - nor have I ever really wanted to as most days I can fall over on solid ground never mind anything else.  Patrick did have a couple of lessons in his younger days though.

Not a brilliant photo but it was the best I could find.

Thanks for reading

Love Dawn x

Getting Krafty

Normally I'm a straightforward white or cream card sort of Girl.  I rarely use coloured cardstock - although I have tonnes of it.  My style is pretty easy to spot.  I like to stitch a border.  If I stamp an image I almost always cut it out and give it dimension with silicone glue.  I never make a one layer card and even my clean and simple cards take some doing but I fancied a change.

Now I am a bit of a blog stalker and I do have favourite blogs that I swoon over regularly.  I get jealous of how other card makers can make a clean and simple card which appears so effortless and when I try it it just looks unfinished.  One of my all time favourite blog crushes has to be The Tiny Blue Butterfly .  Jen Nelson's cards are awesome and I'd love to be as talented as she is. I love the way she stamps onto Kraft cardstock and it always looks effective.  I really liked a card she created in September for her post Goodbye Old Friend .  It was so simple but I loved it and it inspired me to try something a little bit 'not me'.

OK, technically it's not a real one layer card because I added buttons and paper pieced the ribbon and tag but it is clean and simple.

And I know it's 'not me' because Patrick came in and saw it and asked me if I'd bought it!  Oh can you imagine the shame - me buying a card! OK, so I will admit to buying one for my nephew earlier this month but that was my mother's fault for not reminding me in time.  She knows I'm rubbish at remembering important things like that and a card for a 19 year old lad is not something I can shove together at the last minute.  If you know anyone that can let me know and, if they have a blog, I'll gladly stalk that one too.

Thanks for Reading

Love Dawn x

Growing up is optional

I am afraid I have been seriously neglecting this blog - I have to admit to preferring crafting to blogging.  However, I had a lovely comment from a reader recently and they have encouraged me to carry on.

My crafting goes in stages as I obsess with one style after another.  Sometimes it's decoupage, sometimes die cutting and sometimes stamping - both digital stamps and normal stamps.  At the moment my current obsession is digistamps and I have purchased several recently.  One of my favourite companies has got to be Dr Digi's House of Stamps .  They aren't really your usual cute and cuddly (of which I have many) and I've found them a refreshing change.  My current favourite is Mobility Malcolm .

I know that growing old is something that we all have to do, and I'm far too close to a big birthday to be kidding myself.  However, I don't intend to go down without a fight.  My intention is to grow old disgracefully and I'd like to think that Malcolm feels the same way.

Here is what I did with him, I hope you like it:

Incidentally, I found Dr Digi's whilst looking for a Basket Ball image for Patrick's birthday this year and, as promised, I did find out what colours Miami Heat played in.

Slam Dunk Duncan

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

My Baby Boy is all Grown Up

Well, if anything is going to make me feel my age it'll be my teenage son - who enjoyed yet another birthday this week. And, as this was the case, I would have to come up with a suitable birthday card with which to impress him.  That shouldn't be a problem, he's a sporty type and a typical teenager.  However, I've pretty much covered all the cricket based card images over the years (Patrick's a wicket keeper for one junior and two local senior sides).  So, what other options did I have?

What you have to realise is that we aren't a typical British sporting family (apart from cricket, obviously).  We don't do football in our house...well not the British sort anyway.  We're American football fans.  Both my boys (husband and son) are Seattle Seahawk fans.  Myself, I'm a New Orleans Saints fan.  Sunday nights, during the season, can be very interesting in our house!  Especially the Sunday night a while back when their team knocked my team out of the playoffs.

Anyway, I figured this year I would have to try an American Football card and I knew just the image to do it with.  Bugaboo Digistamps have a fabulous American Football Kid so it had to be done.  This is the result done in Seattle Seahawk playing strip colours

I'm still getting used to colouring with Promarkers.  What do you think?

How am I doing?

Needless to say, my son was really pleased with it.  He was even more pleased with the Russell Wilson players jersey he got for his present (even though it's in the away strip colours).

Here's what he looked like at 5.30am on his birthday

Oh, he also likes Basketball so his other present was tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters.  I wonder...maybe next years card?  What colours do Miami Heat play in?

Thanks for reading

Love Dawn x

The Brother-in-Law Card

I can't believe that it is over a month since I posted!  Where does the time go?  Anyway, as this is now the case I can, at last, show you the card I made for my Brother-in-Law, John.  John is a huge fan of motorcycle racing and it is his birthday tomorrow.  Now I do have various sheets of decoupage with motorcycle images on.  I'm sure, if I looked hard enough, I also have a couple of rubber stamps with motorcycles on.  However, and anyone who knows John I'm sure will agree, I think I found the perfect image at Kenny K downloads

She's called Roxie Racer.

Happy Birthday John

Thanks for reading

Love Dawn x

Aren't Men a Pain...

...to make cards for.  It's much easier, I find, to create something pretty for a female but, just lately, I've had to put on my thinking cap and do several.  I particularly liked the challenge of the 'non sporting' man.  How awkward are they! Here are a few that I have come up with.

 using an image from Mo's Digital Pencil

Using a decoupage sheet I'd bought ages ago

Using Kanban card toppers

Using a pyramage sheet I downloaded years ago

(Sorry the site has disappeared so I can't link it)

Using a sticker from a sheet that was given to me years

ago and that I never thought I'd use

I'm really pleased with the results.  They are also a little different from my usual fair as I've only used one digistamp.  I have got another one up my sleeve for my brother in law using an image from Kenny K . I'm not posting it yet as it's not his birthday but if you want to have a look at the image I'm using click on the link and scroll down to Racy Roxie.  Some images are just perfect for particular men and this one ticks all the boxes for John.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x