Sunday, March 10, 2013

Dots and Stripes

It's the second Saturday in March so that means its a OLC challenge over at Less Is More.  The theme this week is Dots and Stripes. 

Below are my two submissions and for once I get to say I LOVE how they turned out.


I used Distress Stains Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters for the dots.  The stripes came from a super old SU stamp set called Perfect Plaids. I used the regular Distress ink pads to stamp out the lines.  The sentiment is PTI, but I lost the insert long ago so I don't know the name of the set.  On both cards I stamped out the sentiment and had clear embossing powder at the ready so that I could make the sentiment pop.  The green sentiment is actually Kiwi Kiss and the aqua is Tempting Turquoise.  In the picture the sentiments seem a bit pale but to the naked eye they are darker and of course have a wonderful glossy finish.  Maybe that's why the sentiments seem so light n the picture; the light is reflecting off the gloss.  Oh well. 
 
The dots were made using a 6x6 template by Crafters Workshop called Mini Swiss Dot.  I used repositionable tape to hold the template mask in place and then lightly dabbed the Distress Stains over the template.  I practiced on some scraps first and discovered that not a lot of pressure was needed or else the stain seeped under the template making awkward blobs and not dots. 

I think I like the dots on the Kiwi Kiss card more, but regardless both came out exactly as I planned.  Yay!!!
































Now for some fun.  I struggled with last weeks challenge.  It was after making more than a half dozen cards that I realized that I rarely join in on color challenges because they are even harder than OLC!!!  I think it's the balance that I struggle with, maybe I try too hard to have an even amount of the colors when really, it only needs to be represented.  I think that is why the final card is my favorite, it just has a splash of each.   Anyway below is a quick shot of a couple of the work areas in my craft room.  I call the picture LIM109 Fallout!!  This is what happens when I can't get anything to turn out the way I envision it; disaster!  The only things that should be in that section are; the box of dies (behind the bigshot), the Bigshot, the paper cutter, the tall box in the corner and that little box to the right, under the wall shelf, which has some cling stamps in it.  Everything else you see there was pulled while I attempted to accomplish that challenge.  Some have natural talent, and some of us (me) have to work at it.  LOL!!!



Thank you for stopping by.
Carole

Friday, March 8, 2013

Less is More Color Challenge

This is my submission for this weeks Less Is More challenge which was a color inspiration utilizing one of Design Seeds color palettes. 



It's really overcast today so my pictures are not very good.  There is a bit of script in Pink Pirouette behind the sentiment die cut.  It looks really pretty in real life. 


Below are more than a few that are ok, but not really what I had envisioned.  The card I started with is the Thank You card using Lacy & Lovely by SU.  But there are about a million cards with that design, and I think I can say that with confidence even without looking in the SCS gallery.  :)




The next one was inspired by a Viva la Verve sketch challenge from a few weeks back. I used Creamy Caramel on this one but the stamped sentiment looks almost gray on my computer.  I think it's the poor lighting today.  :(





 

These last two were my first tries, but they didn't turn out very well.  In fact they look nicer in the picture than they do in real life.  haha



So that's it; or at least the ones that were actually finished and not tossed before they were completed.  I think there are three more in the trash.  I really liked the colors but just couldn't seem to make it work. 

Thank you for stopping by.