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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AAA Cards DT: Christmas pets in July (#219)

Posted on 10th July 2022 by perfectly4med

As previously mentioned, Christmas in July is a thing in the crafting community. This week at AAA Cards challenge blog, the theme is ‘anything CAS goes’ with the optional twist of Christmas (pets) in July. I’m not a fan of the whole Christmas thing, especially starting in July, and am renowned for being a little bah humbug about the whole thing! So this card suitably sums up my state of mind…

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LIM DT: Just one image (OLC)

Posted on 18th June 2022 by perfectly4med

It’s a challenge of ones at Less is More this week – just one image and just one layer. The theme forces a very much no-frills clean and simple card. I had to rummage in my stash again to find a suitable stamp. Some were too big for a C6 card blank, others might have been considered to be more than one image (I was particularly thinking along those lines when looking at collage stamps). Thus, here’s my clean and simple, just one image, one layer card:

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AAA Cards DT: Sketch and silhouette (#210)

Posted on 6th March 2022 by perfectly4med

This week’s clean and simple card challenge at AAA Cards is to use the sketch provided to inspire your own makes. There’s the added theme of ‘silhouette’ to throw into the mix. Here’s my design team card…

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LIM DT: Silhouette

Posted on 13th November 2021 by perfectly4med

This week’s theme at Less is More clean and simple challenge blog is ‘silhouette’. I considered a traditional take on the profile of a person but wasn’t particularly excited by that. Then I worked through all my stamps and came across a silhouette dragon, various cogs, flowers, and flourishes. One of the other design team members had used a floral theme, so that was out. Finally, I came across my well-used, but long-neglected, Stampscapes stamps from way back in the 1990s and decided they were perfect for the challenge:

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LIM DT: Purple and Yellow

Posted on 2nd October 2021 by perfectly4med

We’ve reached ‘colours’ on our rotating challenge themes at Less is More and this time around it is purple and yellow. For those unfamiliar with the challenge, it is to make a card or project that is clean and simple – there must be lots of clear and clean space around whatever elements you’re using. Here’s the card I made for the design team inspiration:

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LIM DT: CASe Card

Posted on 24th July 2021 by perfectly4med

Lots of abbreviations today in my post title: LIM – Less is More, a challenge blog for CAS – clean and simple cards or projects. DT is short for design team – a number of crafters who publish inspiration for the challenges every fortnight. Finally, we have CASe which isn’t really an abbreviation as such but comes to mean copy elements/everything from a starter card. This time, Elaine has given us our starter for ten with a lovely watercoloured rose theme. Alongside is my take on her card…

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LIM DT: Sea Creatures

Posted on 1st May 2021 by perfectly4med

Challenge time again at Less is More, and this time it’s a theme: sea creatures. Strangely, despite searching through 20 years of collected stamps, magazine freebies and digistamps, I couldn’t find any images of sea creatures. Not even a fish. Then I remembered a logo I created for our craft business that ran for 10 years as part of a craft club… The Manic Stamper. It only took a little adjustment to make this sea creature inspired birthday card for the avid rubber stamper:

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LIM DT: One Layer Card – Flowers

Posted on 20th February 2021 by perfectly4med

We’re still celebrating 10 years of Less is More Challenges with loads of prizes up for grabs. All you need to do is make a clean and simple card or project featuring ‘flowers’ on just one layer – few or no embellishments, large areas of white space but no adding any layers (e.g. whole card die cuts) to the card. Fuller instructions are here. Enter it into the challenge and you’ll be in with a chance. Here’s my take on the theme:

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LIM DT: Festive OLC

Posted on 21st November 2020 by perfectly4med

Another challenge is live at Less is More. This time it is a one layer card with the theme ‘festive’. As before, one layer cards mean just that: no hiding behind layered papers or mats, perfect printing first time and minimal embellishments. Even die cuts aren’t allowed as they are an added layer. I normally paper-piece the stamp I chose to use, so that was not an option in a one layer card. Instead, I went with some colouring-in:

I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black using a stamp platform, and then again with Versamark as I then decided to heat emboss the outline with clear gloss to make it stand out a little. I then coloured in with ProMarkers adding lots of layers and then highlights with a correction pen and Posca markers. Finally, I added some stickles and liquid pearls to give a little more interest to the card.