Autumn Is A Second Spring

I found this gorgeous embossed and blended background with gold splatters in my background box, so I made this with the inspiration of a few challenges out there with Autumn themes and/or colors:

The Card Concept #181 - Colors Of Fall

I was inspired to make a mixed media card using all those gorgeous colors of all of those gorgeous leaves. My die cut leaf with the sentiment mimics the lighter colors among the darker ones in the photo.

Fusion - Coloru Palette Autumn Leaves

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #493

Paper Craft Crew #487

BE you TIFUL

Time Out Challenge #183 begins today, and challenge is for us to be DIFFERENT. This could be interpreted in many ways like stepping out of your comfort zone in your card making style, clothing style, food that is different for you to eat, etc. Use your imagination and show us your being different in your creation for this challenge. Have fun!

Our challenge runs from Thursday, March 11th to Wednesday, March 24th. Our wonderful sponsor is Funky Fossil Designs. Challenge winner will receive at $15.00 gift voucher to the Funky Fossil Designs Shop.

Our Guest Designer for this challenge is Lisa Petrella of Paper Mountain Parcels. Lisa is a very talented card maker whose style is largely CAS and often reflects her life as a Coloradan in her creations. Treat yourself to a visit to her wonderful blog, and show her some love. You will be full of inspiration after your visit.

To create my card, I stepped out of my comfort zone once again as I have been trying to do more of lately in my cards. Funky Fossil Designs lends encouragement to me for that purpose. I took one of the gel press backgrounds that I had created with Distress Oxide Inks, stamped an image from Funky Fossil Lotus Reflections stamp set directly onto it with VersaFine Onyx Black ink, and heat embossed it with clear EP. I stamped the lotus flower onto a scrap from a different gel press panel, heat embossed it with clear EP, fussy cut it out and popped it up on top of the lotus flower image on the larger stamped image. I die cut the panel with Spellbinders Hemstitch dies, and added a sentiment from the same stamp set and heat embossed it with Rose Gold EP to go with the rose colored lotus flower. I mounted the top panel on a black card base, and my card was complete.

This one is in honor of women everywhere. I have been enjoying working with my students to raise awareness of the awesome power of women in the world. I asked my Kinder students today to tell the class about a woman in their lives they'd like to honor. One little girl raised her hand, pointed at me and said, "you". Made me a little misty, I must say!

Please hop on over to the Time Out Challenge Blog to see the wonderful creations that Karen and the Design Team came up with to inspire you. Come play with us!

I'm also playing at:

Watercooler Wednesday #311 - All Things Feminine

Just Add Ink - Shades Of Green

Fusion Card Challenge - Green

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Use Something Green

My Time To Craft #452 - Make It Feminine

Sending All My Love

I am excited to have some extra time today to play a few challenges. I made this card for the CAS Mix Up June Challenge - Embossed Vellum. I must say that I made many purchases since the quarantine began on March 13, so I decided I had better ink some of them up and justify my expenditures! 

I love this Pinkfresh Studio set - Forever In Our Hearts - that was created to honor the son of Lea Lawson, Marketing Director of Pinkfresh. Baby Lawson died in the NICU. Losing a baby, a child or a pregnancy is excruciating painful, and a kind of loss that is often misunderstood and difficult for other people to acknowledge. I know from experiencing several losses myself, that this is a pain like no other. People don't know what to say, and they often say the stupidest things that only create more sadness and often anger. This set is perfectly beautiful and I am so grateful to Pinkfresh for creating it. In honor of baby Layton, my Mara, Ben and Grace, all of the beautiful little souls who left the world far too early, and those who love them... this one is for you.

I'm also playing at:

Krafty Chicks Challenge #512 - Clean And Simple

Addicted To Stamps And More #394 - Clean And Simple

Fusion - Butterfly

Moving Along With The Times - Things With Wings

Never Before Used Schtuff #15

Forever In Our Hearts stamps and die

Music and Rythm

It's time for a new challenge at Time Out!!! Time Out Challenge #161 is a theme challenge - The Arts. Music is my art of choice.

We are generously sponsored by Birch Press Design.

Music is the first thing that came to mind when I thought about what to make for this challenge. I grew up in a family of singers, played piano, fronted a rock band... I love theater, dance, art museums - you name it. This one is right up my alley!

To create my card, I used a PTI set that I have had in my stash for many years - Rhythm and Soul. I stamped the guitar, watercolored it with Zigs and fussy cut it out. I popped it up on a Memory Box die cut - Virtuoso Music. The sentiment is also from the Rythm and Soul stamp set. I splattered some Heidi Swap gold color shine around the  images.

Please hop on over to the Time Out Blog to see the wonderful creations that our Design Team came up with to inspire you. Come play with us!

I'm also playing at:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Spritz and Splatter

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use Dies or Punches

Fusion - Sketch

Bunny Family 4

I used Oh Bunny stamps and dies to make a family Easter card this year as I had some time to do It. I love the images in this set. The funny thing is that my twin sons are way taller than me and one is a little taller than my very tall husband. The scale is a little off, but you get the picture... LOL. I also used Paper Smooches Botanicals 3 stamps and dies, Lawn Fawn Scalloped Rectangle Stackable dies, and MFT Fishtail Flags Die-namics. I made and mailed a bunch of these to send Easter smiles from a distance.

I'm playing at:

Watercooler Wednesday #266 - All About Occasions

Fusion - Gnomes

Inspire. Create #066 - Easter

Inspire Create

Global Design Project #235 Spring / Easter

Love You To Pieces

It's that time of year when love is in the air! I recently participated in a teacher auction at the school in which I work. Teachers were asked to come up with something for parents to bid on as part of a fundraiser. I offered a card making class which was won by a mom of a crafty seventh grade girl. She and four of her friends got to make 3 cards designed by yours truly. I did the class today. The prep was sooooooo much work, but the girls loved it. This is one of the three. It was inspired by THIS card by my teammate at Time Out, Lisa Kind.

We used Funky Fossils Designs Four Hearts Stencil and Simon Says Stamp Hey Love stamps to create this valentine. This one is going to my husband.

I'm playing at:

The Card Concept #128

I took my inspiration for my clean and layered card  from the black/white/red/kraft color scheme, hearts and stripes.

The Male Room #129 - Heart You

Die Cut Divas - Hearts and Flowers

Always Fun Challenges #149 - Love/Valentine Day

Fusion - Valentine

PINspirational #257

You Brighten My Day

It's time for a new challenge at Less Is More.

So think sunlight, moonlight, starlight, electric light etc

Our wonderful and talented Guest Designer is Visible Image Design Team Member

Veerle  Morels from A Colored Mind. 

Sponsor - Visible Image

For my card, I used Paper Smooches We Totally Click lamp image and sentiment along with Altenew's Warp Speed Stencil.

Please head on over to the Less Is More Challenge Blog and see what the Design Team and our wonderful Guest Designer has created. We hope you'll feel inspired to play along with us to share your creations and a chance to win.

To be eligible for showCASe and PRIZE WINNER choices you will need to carefully follow the guidance on our GLOSSARY OF TERMS and our HOW TO PLAY pages.Your design should feature lots of clean / white / blank / non patterned / non textured space.

Our Facebook page for regular updates can be found HERE as well as our Instagram page HERE and if you add your cards to Instagram do tag us in your post using @lessismorechallenge so that we can hop along and 'like' your creations.

I'm also playing at:

Allsorts Challenge #513 - Use Yellow

Fusion Card Challenge - Create

SSS Wednesday Challenge

Fusion #3 Valentine

The weather is crazy here in the northeastern part of the US. I work in a school and we had both Monday and today as snow days. More storms coming on the weekend.  I spent Monday making Valentines. How fun. Every year I vow make a slew of them and I never do. The snow has given me time to get lovey dovey, and this is one of the cards I made.

The inspiration was this week's Fusion Challenge #3. I really love the concept of the choice of photo, sketch or both to create something. I ended up using the photo and am happy with the way it came out.

Thank you for stopping in. Hope you are warm where you are.