AAA Cards DT: 1/9th ± gnomes #225

Posted on 2nd October 2022 by perfectly4med

A tough challenge this week at AAA Cards blog – 1/9th. The idea is that all the elements on the card fit into a rectangle only 1/9th of the card area. Up to now, I’ve met the challenge following the guide image on the blog, which is in a grid pattern. This time, I’ve used a rectangle across the page in a landscape format 1/9th the height of the card. Within it, I have drawn and coloured my gnomes along with trees – all of which together look suspiciously like a Christmas card. Given at the time of making and writing the temperature here in Leicester is a roasting 39ºC, it was the furthest thing from my mind!

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LIM DT: Friendship (for World Cardmaking Day)

Posted on 24th September 2022 by perfectly4med

Apparently, World Cardmaking Day is held every first Saturday of October and is dedicated to those that prefer to make cards rather than buy them. In honour of this, the latest challenge at Less is More is to make a CAS card on the theme of friendship. I made the following card, and I’m not sure I like it! I think that the blue shading around the top and bottom of the rose detracts from the clean and simple aesthetic.

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AAA Cards DT: Colour theme ± dots #224

Posted on 18th September 2022 by perfectly4med

A new challenge has just been published over at the AAA Cards challenge blog. This time, it is to create a clean and simple card using a colour theme set by a photo with the optional extra of using dots. I picked out the primary four colours from the inspiration photo and spent a bit of time matching them to archival ink colours before stamping them onto white card using the same dotty stamp. Now, I usually avoid layers on my CAS cards, but most guidelines specify no or few layers so I feel I can get away with two. I like the individual pieces’ drop shadows and the depth they provide.

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LIM DT: Black and white colour scheme

Posted on 10th September 2022 by perfectly4med

This ended up being a fast and simple card once I had chosen the stamps! The challenge over at Less is More for the next fortnight is to create a clean and simple card using just black and white. I was tempted to add shades of grey as shadows and to add some depth but decided it wouldn’t meet the challenge.

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AAA Cards DT: No layers sympathy card #223

Posted on 4th September 2022 by perfectly4med

Here’s a clean and simple card design for a no layer sympathy card. It’s the latest theme over at AAA Cards. No layers means exactly that – all the elements need to be on the card blank, no matting and no embellishments (which count as a layer). They are one of the trickiest challenges to do. My card is just about the simplest I have made!

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LIM DT: Use Vellum

Posted on 27th August 2022 by perfectly4med

The recipe challenge this week over at Less is More is to use vellum in your clean and simple card design/make. One of the trickiest things is to find a means of attaching it to the card without the glue showing as a darker area given its translucency. I’ve got around this by taping a fold-over flap to the inside of the card. I found the flower in a long-neglected box of Pergamano parchment craft. I mounted it on black to get the right contrast for the white of the stretched vellum. The sentiment is stamped in white pigment ink several times to get it opaque.

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AAA Cards DT: Moodboard #222

Posted on 21st August 2022 by perfectly4med

Yet another challenge at AAA Cards this week! The theme this time is a moodboard (shown below) with the optional twist of it being a get well card. For those unfamiliar with making a clean and simple card from a moodboard, you can choose any element to base your design on, e.g. colours. I’ve taken inspiration from the bottle in the bottom middle image and found a never been used stamp in my stash to match:

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LIM DT: Favourite Flower – a OLC

Posted on 13th August 2022 by perfectly4med

Just in case you need reminding, OLC stands for ‘one layer card’ where you aren’t allowed to use any layers other than the cardstock that forms the card itself. It’s the latest challenge over at Less is More, along with the theme of your favourite flower. Die cuts are out, as are most embellishments so it’s a difficult challenge. I don’t particularly have a favourite flower, but I do have a favourite daisy stamp so I went with that!

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AAA Cards DT: Small and few #221

Posted on 7th August 2022 by perfectly4med

A little challenge over at AAA Cards this fortnight, with the main theme being ‘small and few’. The optional twist is to add (lady)bugs to your clean and simple card design. Here’s my take on the theme:

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LIM DT: Butterflies

Posted on 30th July 2022 by perfectly4med

Over at Less is More, there’s a new theme challenge for your clean and simple cards/makes – ‘butterflies’. Clean and simple means minimal layers, and lots of blank space, drawing attention to the stamping/colouring/sentiment. Here’s my one layer take on the theme, using watercolour pencils and a bit of distress ink over a mask to get the blue band across the middle:

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