30 January 2016

Week 261 Lucky Dip

As you are no doubt aware, our sponsor this month is Kylie from


 and as we have 5 Saturdays in this month she is she has kindly agreed to be our
 Guest Designer for this week's challenge!

You may know that Kylie is Australian so in her honour, the challenge is entitled
DOWN UNDER

You may interpret this challenge in any way you choose, but should the link be tenuous,
we would like you to explain the connection to the theme.

We ask that you keep your submission Clean and Simple with lots of white space and
please refer to the guidelines at the top of the blog.

Here's Kylie's super fun, cute and 'outside the box' take on the challenge!

Kylie

 ... and here's what the rest the DT came up with

Sarah

Well my idea of Australia (Down Under) is just One BIG Beach!
So my card uses the Clearly Besotted: On The Beach set, with a sentiment from 
Design a Tree and the Rounded Tag die, also CBS. The die-cut sun is from Lil'Inkers 
and distress inks to create the 'sea' with a  torn frothy / wavy edge. 
The flip-flops are watercoloured with Distress inks and drizzled with glossy accents
and I couldn't resist adding a couple of sequins for added sparkle.

Anita

After struggling with ideas I decided on a surfing theme.  I didn't have anything resembling a surfboard so I popped into MS Word, created an elongated oval with two vertical lines going down the centre, printed it on some patterned paper (Echo Park) and....voila, one surfboard!  I then made a beach scene using a variety of dies.  The sky, sea, sand and sun all started from round dies (MFT) which I then cut using scallop dies (Clearly Besotted) to create the layered up scene.  I nestled the surfboard in between the sand layers, with the top popped up on 3D foam, then adhered the whole circular scene to the card base slightly overlapping the edge, then trimmed off the excess.  I then manipulated the sentiment stamp by Happy Little Stampers into a curve on my acrylic block before stamping around the curve. 

Anne

Kangaroos cut from Silhouette files and inked with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. 
 Freeform cut hillside.  Computer generated sentiment cut with a SU die.
This is simply a copyright free kids colouring page which I downloaded and coloured with alcohol pens. It's accompanied it with a sentiment from HLS Bold Birthday Sentiments and framed it by cutting some card with stitched dies. I don't have a square large enough for the front of this sized card so I used a rectangle and extended the cut to make a square.


We hope you have a blast with this one! Tip out that stash and see what you find!
We can't wait to see your inspiration!


***

29 January 2016

ShowCASe #259

Morning LIMettes ... it's Friday and time for another ShowCASe

We set you all a pretty tough task with the Kissing Technique
 but you weren't stuck or fazed for long and we were delighted with your
 creations and especially those, new to the technique, who persevered
 admirably to produce some AMAZING and unique creations! 

You are all winners and deserve a HUGE slap on the back!
and here goes with our showCASe choices in order of entry ...


Kissing taken to a new level here! Not only striking, CAS and gorgeous vibrant 
colours but those 'kissed' florals are set with dimension too!


Kissed with sheer class and elegance here! A wonderful image of glamour!
Showing lots of that clean white space which we love too.


Crisp and clean stamping, perfect choice of stamps and 
a striking CAS layout to boot!


We're sure you'll agree these are spectacular ShowCASe cards and worthy
of our praise. Congratulations Ladies!


Please take our ShowCASe badge from the top of the page with
our thanks and we hope you'll display it with pride on your blogs.

There's still time to enter our current challenge which is to use a 
 SILHOUETTE 

You have until 10pm GMT this evening so you need to be quick before
our new challenge starts tomorrow at 8am GMT and we hope you'll join us then!





23 January 2016

Week 260 Recipe

 Hi LIMettes we have a fun challenge this week.

Our Recipe is for  you to include a 
 SILHOUETTE 
in your creations.

Remember those Clean and Simple Rules... if you are at all uncertain,
do take a peek at the Guidelines at the top of the page!

This week Anne is taking a well earned week off to celebrate her birthday which to
be honest she keeps very close to her chest but we're sure she'd love your best wishes!
EDIT: Anne has decided to 'join the silhouette party' after all!
Please check out her adorable card below:


Here are the Design Team's creations and as ever we would like to encourage you to
visit their individual blogs, where there are nearly always additional cards to
inspire you ... plus they appreciate a friendly comment too!


Chrissie
Here is a stamp from Rubber Stampede, which has been in my stash for quite some time,
matched with a sentiment from Lili of the Valley. I used the same MFT pierced square
 to cut both mounts, shortening the upper one to fit, so that the widths of each of the
panels are exactly the same. It's odd how I like a sense of order on my cards
whereas my craft room is usually in a state of total chaos!


Sarah

This one uses a stamp by Inkylicious called Toadstool Fairy plus
a sentiment from Clearly Besotted: Say it in Style. Having placed a circle of 
masking paper onto a panel of watercolour card I've inked and blended
various blue distress inks, whilst trying to keep the top left slightly in shadow. 
Once I removed the mask I smeared a little ink over the 'moon' and flicked 
some water onto the 'sky' to create a 'starry' effect. To finish some sparkly sequins
 from Pretty Pink Posh - just because I can't resist a bit of fairy sparkle!


Anita

I used a circular mask and blended the sun with Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold and Abandoned Coral.  I then stamped the bird 
and branch silhouette, from Christmas Scenery 2 by Card-io in black ink. 
 Next I embossed the sentiment, from April Showers by Clearly Besotted, 
in white onto a strip of black cardstock, adhered this and then 
added some smooth clear gems to finish.


Anne

 Dogs are a Silhouette design store file, computer generated sentiment (cookiesandcream font) and some Xcut diecut hearts with Glossy Accents added.


We hope you have some fun with this one we can't wait to see
how you interpret the challenge this week.

***





22 January 2016

ShowCASe #258

Hello Limettes it's ShowCASe time!

following the One Layer With a Flourish challenge.

We had many stunning cards entered for this one;
 it was such a shame not to be able to consider all of them for the 
ShowCASE due to them not being one layer cards or following the theme. 

 Please do read the guidelines before you submit your creations and
should you need further explanation on a particular rule or challenge
 don't be shy email us or pop a comment on the blog!
We are only too happy to help

So onto our showCASe cards, in order of entry. We're sure you'll agree 
these ladies have pushed the boundaries of talent yet again!  


 Perfect multiple stamping and embossing of the flourish,
with a nicely balanced layout on the card.


Very clever combination of stamps, they look like they belong together! 
 Really effective colours. 



  Super inky background to set off a lovely flourish, 
very CAS and so effective.


We hope you agree with our fabulous selection here and huge 
Congratulations Ladies!

Please take our ShowCASe badge from the top of the page with
our thanks and we hope you'll display it with pride on your blogs.

There's still time to enter our current challenge which is all about KISSING!
With stamps! You have until 10pm GMT this evening.

Our new challenge starts tomorrow at 8am GMT and we hope you'll join us then!

16 January 2016

Week 259 Theme

For our theme this week we have a technique for you to try. 
KISSING TECHNIQUE
(It's using stamps so don't get too excited!)

It may be new to some of you, so just in case here is a brief set of instructions.
  • Choose a solid stamp and a decorative one
  • Ink the solid stamp in a lightish colour and the decorative one in a deeper shade
  • Stamp the decorative one onto the solid one as in 'kissing'
  • Stamp the solid stamp onto the card!

Here's what we came up with and hope you feel inspired to play along

Inked up a SU solid stamp called Flower Accent with Memento Cantaloupe and overstamped with a Paper Artsy script stamp and Memento Ladybug.  Cut the flowers out and added to a circle embossed with a Cuttlebug script folder, edged with Cantaloupe.  I bought the sentiment a few years back at the NEC, brand says Different Colors.


For this I chose a solid heart stamp from Stampin' Up and a flourish stamp from Stamplorations.
 I inked the heart stamp with Memento Summer Sky and the flourish with Ranger,
 Blue Ribbon,Dye ink, then stamped the flourish onto the heart. 
This was then stamped onto card, cut out and twinkled with Glamour Dust.
The swirl is from Sizzix and the leaves from All Occasion dies.
I believe the sentiment is from Tattered Lace.


Sarah
It's bitterly cold and crisp where I am today and certainly looking more like
Christmas than a few weeks ago so that's my theme - no harm in being organised eh!
I've used the Jingle Bells set from Uniko for my bells and sentiments and 'kissed' 
those bells with a Clearly Besotted Building Block set to make Harlequin ones! 
The other stamps to accessorise are from Uniko: Balloon Bash
and to finish a gem and touch of glossy accents.


Anita

I stamped the solid images, the balloons from Whole Lotta Happy by Wplus9, with the lightest shades and then inked up a circles background stamp by Pink Cat Studio with the darker co-ordinating shades.  These were 'kissed' together, stamped, and then die cut with the co-ordinating balloon die.  I stamped the balloon strings, from Balloon Bash by Uniko, on a white cardstock panel and adhered the balloons flat to this.  I added the fun style sentiment and then popped the panel up on 3D foam.


We hope you love this 'kissing' technique, especially if you are new to it! 
... and we can't wait to see your designs throughout the week.
Please remember to keep to our Clean and Simple guidelines as shown
at the top right of the blog page plus the guidelines tab at the top.


***




15 January 2016

ShowCASe Week 257


Good morning, LIMettes!

Well, for our first challenge of 2016 you certainly didn't disappoint.
We had a terrific number of entries and who knew that NEUTRALS could be so versatile and beautiful?

You certainly didn't make it easy for us to decide on our showCASe this week, but after lots of thought and a serious amount of swooning, here are our choices.

In order of entry:



We thought Karen's sympathy card was just beautiful.  The soft grey cardstock combined with the cluster of die cut vellums is just divine.



We loved this design and crisp, clean stamping.  The use of the deep brown tones really adds a touch of style and class.



We were blown away by the superb use of coloured pencils on the dark grey base.  The light and shade achieved here is exquisite.


So there you have it, three very different but fantastic and worthy winners of our showCASe this week, and we hope you agree.  Congratulations, ladies, and we would be honoured if you would like to take our showCASe badge from the top of the page and proudly display it on your personal blogs with our thanks.

There is still time to enter our current One Layer 'Flourish' challenge, you have until 10pm GMT today.  And don't forget, we'll be back to announce our next challenge tomorrow morning.
We hope to you'll pop by and join us! 

09 January 2016

Week 258 - One Layer

It's
One Layer Card
 time again and we are continuing the New Year with a 
Flourish
So we'd like to see a flourish somewhere on your creation.
Don't forget to leave that all important white space and remember...
no additional layers and very minimal embellishments (if any).

Anita

With February not far away I decided to go with a Valentine's Day theme. 
 I stamped the main image, from Modern Flower Flourish by Inkadinkado, off the top edge of the card base then found a stamp which co-ordinated perfectly, from Penny Black Salutations set, and used part of this to create the vertical line of dots to suspend my die cut heart, which was cut from a scrap of deep red cardstock using a mini heart from Lawn Fawn.  I then added some Wink of Stella for some shimmer, stamped the sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Happy Anniversary set and finished by adding some clear smooth gemstones to the centres of the flowers.

Anne

I have used a Katzelcraft tree stamp which I chose for all the flourishes and twirls.  When I thought about it, a tree should flourish too...  I extended the roots to the edge of the card with a Pigma pen, coloured the leaves with Copics ans added a Winnie & Walter sentiment in Memento Pear.

For this card I embossed the rectangle and the stamped the HLS (our sponsor this month)
script stamp within it, overstamping with a beautiful flourish from Stamplorations.
The sentiment is from the same HLS set and the lower flourish from the Stamploraton set.
The black was stamped in black and embossed clear and the white was stamped with
Versamark and embossed in WOW Seafoam white EP.

Sarah

Using the Butterfly Birthday stamp set here from our sponsor this month,
Happy Little Stampers! I started out by stamping the butterfly and sentiment
in Ranger dye ink before heat setting with clear EP. Next I masked the butterfly
plus the top panel and inked up the With a Flourish stamps from Clearly Besotted
in Versamark ink before heat treating with the same EP from Hero Arts.
Next emboss resist sponging ... love my distress inks and here it's Tumbled Glass,
Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch before finish with a few enamel dots and gems.


We hope you have fun with your flourishes this week and we can't wait to
see your designs. It's easy to get carried away but don't forget to stick to the One Layer!
and please try to visit a few of your fellow LIMettes with some
friendly feedback along the way - it's always good to have a comment or two!





08 January 2016

ShowCASe Weeks 255 & 256


One week into the New Year and we're straight back to it at 
Less is More!

It's time to announce our ShowCASe from the 'double-week'
homespun challenge! We did think this one would get you baffled but
as always you ROCK! A gallery of fabulousness and festive treats to
make our task all the more difficult!

So here goes in order of entry ...


What a brilliant stamp set for this challenge teamed with a fun and perfect sentiment. 
Crisp and clean lines, delightfully embossed and an awesome layout!



Now this one is taking 'homespun' to another level!
How awesome is this gorgeous knitting on cocktail sticks -
it's hard enough keeping the stitches on proper needles but hey!
We were literally speechless with delight over this one!



Totally FAB-u-l-o-u-s! This one had us thinking
'now why didn't we think of that!'
Perfectly homespun in every way. Clean and Simple!


There were so many wonderful creations for us to swoon over and we 
truly appreciate you taking the time to play along, especially with all the
other chores over the festive season - you are all winners!

We're sure you'll agree these ladies are well worthy of our final 
ShowCASe of 2015! Congratulations and please take your
ShowCASe badge from the page at the top to display on your blogs
with our thanks and appreciation!

There's still a little time to enter our 'Neutrals' colour challenge
which closes at 10.00pm GMT this evening but if you run out of time ...
we'll be back with a brand new challenge for you to get your teeth into 
tomorrow at 8.00 am GMT - we hope you'll join us then!






06 January 2016

December Winner

Morning Limettes and a Very Happy New Year to all!

Now we may have skipped seamlessly into 2016 
BUT
we still need to announce our winner for December 2015!

Our generous sponsor for December was Dies to Die For


and ... drum roll please!
Our lucky winner for this one is 

Joanne

Joanne is a constant LIMette and never ceases to amaze with
her beautiful works of art and super talented twists on our challenges.
She's always there with a friendly smile and encouragement in the 
comment line-ups which we love to see. Team Spirit goes a long way
and I'm sure you'll agree she's a very worthy winner.

We love your work Joanne and hope you'll continue to enter our challenges.

Congratulations on being our December 2015 winner and please contact us
by email for details of how to claim your prize.
LIM2011@gmx.com

What's more there's a winner's badge waiting for you to collect
from the page at the top of the blog! We hope you'll display it 
on your blog with pride and our sincere thanks!



02 January 2016

Week 257 Colour

Today we are at the start of a New Year, with a new challenge and a new sponsor!
We are delighted to welcome Kylie from 
as our New Sponsor for 2016

For the first colour challenge of the year we have chosen 
NEUTRALS
So we would love to see, creams, beiges, greys etc as the colourways of your creations.


Kylie
has kindly offered to be our Guest Designer this month and here is her first contribution.

Kylie has made this super CAS card using some of her fabulous stamps, do check out her online shop!


Kylie produces a great range of stamps and embellishments with a selection of fab dies in the offing too!
So check it out!

Here are the cards from the rest of the DT

Sarah


I started out by stamping my teddy bear from Uniko: Sweet Baby then watercoloured 
him with Distress inks. Next up I masked him and placed the My Favourite Things:
 Concentric Circles stencil over the top add some interest with glittered paste. 
To finish the sentiment and die-cut 'baby' are both from a new set  
from Clearly Besotted: New Baby (Xmas pressie from the kids!)



I used Neenah Desert Storm cardstock for the base and panel here.  All the foliage stamps are from the Meadow Breeze set by Inkylicious.  The flowers in the foreground were heat embossed using Wow! Opaque Bright White powder and the ferns behind were stamped using Versa Color ink in Umber and Pinecone (stamped off first to appear paler).  The sentiment was also stamped using Pinecone ink, this from Clearly Besotted's Many Messages set.



This card uses shades of grey!  The SU butterfly is white embossed onto textured grey cardstock and I've inked it with DI Hickory Smoke


Here is a simple card with a scrap of paper from Pink Petticoat, surrounded by a stitched frame made from Simon Says Stamp die-cuts and accompanied by a Marianne flower and a sentiment from Happy Little Stampers!
***


01 January 2016

Last ShowCASe for 2015

Last ShowCASe for 2015 
and 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Let's hope that 2016 brings lots of good things for you all!

Here is our last ShowCAse from our 2015 challenges
 in which we are delighted to feature


Clean and simpleness personified! Just fabulous!


Look at this darling little chap... lovely detail yet still Clean and Simple!

Such fabulous colouring effects and a perfect subject for our challenge!

Well done everyone, and thanks so much for your participation!
Please take the ShowCASe badge from the page at the top and we hope everyone will join us tomorrow for a new challenge... it's a new month, a new year and a new sponsor!

Join us then!