LIM55 - Punches or Die Cuts

The Less is More challenge this week is to make a card(s) using punches or die cuts.  Wow...how simple is that!  After last weeks efforts to make a card with stripes, this one should be so simple!  I have tons of punches...and dies...what to do...what to do??!

To go off on a side note for a minute...  Usually, when I make cards for a challenge, I attempt to make a card that I know I will use soon or at least in the near future.  Somehow, I've managed to accumulate quite a stash of cards and I'm fairly certain that I'll never use all of them...and I keep making them too!  So, I asked my daughter-in-law who works as a social worker at a nursing home, if the people at the nursing home would be able to use some of these cards.  She was so excited to get them and assured me that everyone would be thrilled to have some cards to send out!  My cleaning up of my craft room accomplished two things...I got my room clean and thinned down the number of cards I have on hand...and I provided some cards to people who don't have the ability to go to the store to buy cards!  Makes me happy!

I made this first card using a white card base.  I embossed a white piece to pop over the front of the card.  The tag is a Spellbinder die that I also pop dotted on top of the embossed piece.  The flowers are punches and I added a liquid pearl center to each flower as well as a little white doodling.  The sentiment is from a very old stamp I had in my stash (I think it is SU).  Made this card for a friend who had open heart surgery this week.  Very simple...with just a pop of color...and I used a die and a punch!

This next card was made using a heart die from Memory Box.  When I ordered the die, I had no idea it was so large.  I don't know if it's just my cuttlebug, but I have a lot of trouble getting the Memory Box dies to cut all the way through.  Seems like I have to run it through my machine 4 or 5 times and use shims to get a clean cut.  I used a red card base, then cut off the front of the red and used a punch for the scalloped border.  I added a layer of white behind the red and stamped the PTI sentiment on the white in SU Real Red.  The heart is pop dotted (and that was difficult since the cuts are so thin!).  I also added a strip of white paper just above the red scalloped edge...it just needed something there!

This card was super quick and simple.  The banners are Lifestyle dies as is the line they are hanging from.  I pop-dotted each of the flags and added a touch of white faux stitching to each of the banners.  The sentiment is from PTI.  

This last card is one I made just because I wanted to used the new SU pear stamp! LOVE this stamp!!  I also wanted to try to make a border with a punch, and I used a MS border punch for this border.  I simply cut a one inch strip and punched down either side of it.  I see I was slightly off...but I'll try not to stress over it! LOL! I stamped the pear with Memento cocoa brown, then cut it out with an oval Spellbinder die.  While it was still in the die, I sponged it with DIs.  I cut a scalloped oval with the same size Spellbinder die in green and used it to back the oval die cut.  The sentiment is from PTI and was stamped in the same brown.  The card base is a yellow...not nearly as gold as it looks here.

Thought I'd share a layout too...This one is a photo of my hubby and his two younger brothers...taken sometime around 1950.

I used a mix of G45 papers (A proper gentleman, Times Nouveau, Playtimes Past, and Botanicabella). I think they all blend together well. Title work was cut with QK - Fiesta and Lemonade. The diamonds were also cut with a QK die. I added lots of doodling and did quite a bit of layering. Journaling is tucked behind the photo with the domino as a pull and reads: 

The three Goetter boys…all dressed up in their choir robes, singing and posing for a photo. I don’t know for sure, but based on the stories I’ve been told…these three were definitely NOT choirboys! 

Whew...are you still hanging in there?  Thanks a million for stopping by! I truly appreciate all you comments! Until next time...

Hugs!