Less is More - Week 52

Less is More time again and this week it's a sketch ...

We would like the card to be

• rectangular
• in landscape orientation
• with the band remaining in a vertical position 

As it's a very simple sketch,  we would like it to remain as is without any rotation of either the card or the vertical band.

I masked and inked a panel with Spiced Marmalade, Crushed Olive and Barn Door DI's
Swirl stamp is Kanban inked in Versafine Black Onyx and clear embossed
Sentiment is a magazine freebie
Butterfly punch is Martha Stewart,  punched from inked card, with a touch of stickles

Thanks Mandi and Chrissie for not stressing us out too much this week!

Have a great week everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Suze xx

Medieval Illumination

Nearly threw a wobbly when I saw the challenge Von has chosen this week over at Just for Fun - "Medieval" - the days of Knights, Maidens, Dragons and Merlin!

After a bit of thought and head scratching I decided to doodle an illuminated letter ...

I used gold acrylic paint and promarkers.

It's no masterpiece and not very elaborate - but then again - it is "Just for Fun"!

Thanks for taking the time to visit.

Suze xx

Clean and Simple Art Nouveau

A couple of weeks ago I bought some beautiful Rennie Mackintosh stamps in the Chocolate Baroque sale.  I've inked them up today and make a card for two challenges ...

Less is More - "Cut it Out" (show some kind of hole or aperture in your card), and
Just for Fun - "Art Nouveau"

Stamp is Chocolate Baroque Mackintosh Baubles - inked in Versafine and coloured with Promarkers
Aperture and circular frame cut with Nesties
Font is Nouveau, downloaded free from Da Font

Thanks for taking the time to visit - wishing you all a great week.

Suze xx

Getting Confident With Colour

I'm not very confident when it comes to using bright or bold colours but I always really love other people's work when they create something bright and cheerful.  So, inspired by the current Colour Wheel Tag Challenge over at The Craft Barn ... I've had a go ...

• I made an inky background using Distress Inks (Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade & Crushed Olive)
• Image and swirls are from PaperArtsy Tops & Tails 1
• Sentiment is from Wendy Vecchi 'I am my Art' stamps
• I then coloured vellum with green & red Promarkers and paper pieced the wings and swirls
• Some faux blanket stitching
• Mounted onto some orange cardstock sponged with Spiced Marmalade

Thanks for taking the time to visit - hope you're having a colourful day!

Suze xx

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Chinese New Year falls on the 23rd January and it's going to be the Year of the Dragon.

Many of you know that I love all things oriental so I've made a tag with several challenges in mind:

The Craft Barn - Colour Wheel Tag Challenge (I've gone for complimentary colours)
Pan Pastel UK Challenge - Anything Goes
Gingersnap Creations - GC134 Spicy Supply Challenge - Ribbon
The Stamp Man Challenge - Use Red

Background - Antique Linen & Peeled Paint Distress Stains
Bamboo stamp (Inkadinkado) inked in Memento Bamboo Leaves
Dragon stamp (make unknown) inked in Versafine Satin Red
Sentiment - printed on PC
Chinese 'double happiness' ribbon & red satin ribbon
Small Chinese coin

So to all those who celebrate - "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Gong See Fa Chai) - I believe the translation is "I wish that you will be prosperous".

Thanks for visiting.

Suze xx

Deco Fun

This week's challenge over at Just for Fun is the glamorous era of "Art Deco".

I don't have any suitable stamps but rummaging through my piles of "stuff" I found some saved wrapping paper with art deco ladies on it, so I've made a little taggie card thing ...

Silver Miri, black & red card, font was downloaded free from Da Font

Thanks for visiting and if you fancy joining in the fun and trying something different, pop on over to the JFF blog.

Suze xx

A little Birdie

Gee, where did last week go, I haven't posted anything since last week's LIM Challenge.

Onwards and upwards then to this week's challenge - a one layer week with a theme of "Birds".


Looking through my stamps I've actually got quite a lot of bird images but of course it was a case of choosing 'exactly' the right one and finding a sentiment to go with it.

It's just a little 4x4" card ...

Bird Stamp Inkadinkado, inked with Memento Paris Dusk & Clear Embossed
Sentiment Hero Arts inked with Versafine Satin Red
Heart coloured with Berry Promarker, Glossy Accents and a little bling

Thanks for popping in - have a great week.

Suze xx

A touch of Purple

The challenge this week at Less is More is 'Predominantly Purple' and over at the Craft Room Challenge their theme is 'Clean and Simple' ...


I can hardly believe this myself, but this is actually the first time I've made a card with distressed edges (hope it still qualifies for LIM!).  I just thought the stamp suited the distressed style.

Crafty Individuals Stamp CI-121
Sentiment is Hero Arts
Dusty Concord Distress Ink (inked first with Versamark to get a crisper image)
Sakura clear star pen
The purple card is actually a good match for the ink but looks a bit 'bluey' in the photo.

Have a great week everyone - thanks for popping in!

Suze xx

Pain Free Waxing!

Hello all you lovely bloggers,

I've made a little hanging ornament which fits two challenges ...

Gingersnap GC130 - Spicy Supply Challenge - Wax, and
Just for Fun - Looking to the Past, 60's & 70's

My inspiration came from my daughter who had to design some 'Peace' posters for her art homework.

Peace symbol coloured with wax crayons, edged in silver pen
Silver card, recycled from a box of choccies (ooh, wonder who ate all those!)
Sun Rays embossing folder
Tim Holtz Vintage Market Die

I've never used wax in my art before and I did search the web for some ideas but as I don't have any fancy melting pots or craft irons I just decided to do a bit of colouring!

It's also been a while since I took part in the JFF challenge, the end of last year was just a bit too hectic,  but hopefully that's me back into the normal swing of things now.

Thanks for visiting,

Take Care
Suze xx

'building' the foundations of an art journal

I decided a couple of months ago (after seeing lots of fabulous journalling from other bloggers) that I would start an art journal in 2012.  How fantastic then that The Craft Barn have posted their first art journal challenge.

The theme is BUILDINGS, and after a lot of thought I decided to do a house using bright colours (not usually "me"!)

I bought myself an A5 journal (as I thought trying to fill an A4 page would be a bit daunting) but oh my, I really haven't a clue what I'm doing! 

I'm a bit embarrassed to show you this page - 'cause I feel it's a bit naive and childlike (and nothing like what everyone else has done) - does it look like a 46 year old woman has done this!  So I'm calling it a "foundation" page - I can really only build upwards from here ....

I used Derwent Inktense pencils to colour it in but maybe I should have used another medium as the texture of the paper has left it looking a bit light and patchy, I really wanted it to look more vibrant.

EDIT: Thanks to Isabelle's comment I did a bit of research and  found the pencils I used are water based, so I went over them with a water brush which produced a much more vibrant colour ... not sure which I prefer ...

If I've time I might have another go!

Thanks for stopping by to visit (and I welcome any constructive criticism!)

Suze xx

Welcome 2012

Happy New Year everyone, 

I made so many new friends in blogland who gave me such inspiration and kind words in 2011.  I'd like to wish you all health and happiness for 2012 ... here is a little New Years card for you ...

Of course I scheduled this post 'cause goodness knows what time I got to bed this morning!

Suze xx