Less is More - Challenge #313 - 'Balloons'

Mojo still on walkabout and as yet no inspiration even for my Snippets card make for Sunday! But, I had spotted that the current Less is More Challenge is 'Balloons', still no mojo though, sigh.

Sitting here doing some Playground commenting I happened to look up at a small set of shelves above my desk (it's really a very large spice rack with metal rods across the front to hold the spice jars in place, which works brilliantly for small crafting items). It currently houses Martha Stewart punches along the top (they're square and chunky so don't fall off or overbalance!) a lot of my SU punches, a few bottles of glue and spray and a handful of wooden stamps that I swop about as the mood takes me. This is a photo from 2011, things look very different now but it gives you an idea what I'm chuntering on about. The Martha Stewart punches are still there though :)

Anyhow, I spotted a little wooden Teddy Bear stamp I'd popped on there a while ago (possibly thinking about making 'Parsnip' monochrome cards) and low and behold, Teddy was holding a balloon! Happy dance here - and this is what I made, apologies in advance for the quality of the photo, I'm not sure we saw a break in the clouds all day when I made this:

I used:

- 4.25" x 5.5" white card blank, tent style

- a further piece of the same white card stock, onto which I stamped the Teddy, using Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink

- the stamp is a wooden one (made by DoCrafts in the 'Forever Friends' series - dated 2008) so I placed/stamped it as close as possible to where I wanted it onto the piece of white card

- only then did I use a Lil- Inkers 'Stitched Rectangle' die to die cut the panel - just a little tip but it did save me getting out the Stamp-a-ma-jig :)

- then I stamped the sentiment using Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink, the Misti and a sentiment from the Paper Smooches 'Sentiment Sampler' set. I deliberately chose that particular sentiment as I wanted to send a hug to someone special - plus I loved how the letter 'S' almost follows the curve of Teddy's outline. Little things please little minds as my Granny used to say!

- then I coloured Teddy and his balloon using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils and very deliberately didn't do any blending (ie. using solution) other than just with the pencils as I wanted to pencil stroke to be slightly seen)

- next cut a piece of white fun foam slightly smaller than the image panel and glued it and the panel to the card front

- final touch, three iridescent sequins - to just break up what I thought looked like too big an expanse of white!

Don't know about you, I use sequins here and there quite lot on CAS cards and will be a bit lost when that particular 'fad' moves on. Oh, it already did? Really, so soon? Just shows - tail end Charlie as usual here!

You know what, I think it really is time to make a little batch of cards in monochrome as I mentioned further up - just add some colour to the balloon only perhaps and there could be a few gift cards to enclose with Playground prizes! So that's ONE idea in the pot to cook away :)