Pink and Brown

This is a card I created using a digi stamp buy Julia Spiri.  I coloured her using Polychromos pencils.

The background papers are from a pad that I got from The Works for next to nothing, and they are really good quality for the price.  The flowers are due cut and I added some Distress Ink to the edges of the petals to age them a bit.  I added gems and pearls in the centre of the flowers to finish them off.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Through the Purple Haze - anything goes.
Cute Card Thursday - anything goes.
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes.

Monster Birthday

I hope everyone had  a good Christmas.  It's been a bit of a strange one for me this year as both boys are in high school, so we didn't have the usual excitement about Father Christmas and opening presents.  In fact, we woke up before them!

This is a card that I made for my nephew's 3rd birthday.  I made it using a digi stamp by Pink Gem Designs, which I coloured with Polychromos pencils.  I used a mixture of bright patterned papers and added some pieces of paper straw whcih I moade into candles.

This was a really fun card to make!

Sian.

Moonfloower Digistamps: Gigi Gift

Good morning everyone!  Today I am sharing a card I've made using this lovely "Gigi Gift" digi stamp by Moonflower Digistamps.

I coloured her using Polychromos pencils.  I wanted to keep the image as the main focus on this card, so I have kept the rest of it quite simple, layering my image onto patterned papers and adding some flower trim and die cut flowers.  The papers are by First Edition.

I loved colouring the hair and folds on this one.

You can find this image in the Moonflower shop, here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/486618882/gigis-gift?ref=shop_home_active_1

Have a great Christmas everyone.  I will be back blogging in 2017!

Sian.

Moonflower Digistamps: Snowflake Fairy

Hello everyone.  I'm really excited to annouce that I am now on the design team for Moonflower Digistamps.  There are some really beautiful images to work with!

Today I am sharing a card I've made using the lovely Snowflake Fairy image, one of my favourite Moonflower stamps  (I have lots of favourites).  You can find her here:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/258378830/snowflake-fairy?ref=shop_home_active_44

I've coloured her using Polychromos pencils.  I have also used a Crystal Clear Spectrum Noir glitter pen on the wings, although sadly the shimmery effect does not show up well on the picture, and have glittered the snowflakes and tiara using Stickles glitter glue.

The papers I've used on this card are some freebies from Crafter's Companion.  I can't remember which magazine they came from, but they are beautiful colours.  I have also used die cut silver flourishes white snowflakes.  The snowflakes are glittered with Stickles.

I hope you like her!


Sian. xx

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

C.R. A. F. T. Challenge - Winter
Simply Papercraft - Anything goes
The Crazy Challenge - Ice Cold

Tags

Hello everyone.  I have been quite productive recently, but unfortunately I have very few things that I can share.  This is for various reasons - I have been making commissioned cards and cards for family which I can't post yet in case they are seen by the recipients, and design team projects that are not yet due to go live.

The photo on the left shows some Christmas tags that I've made.  My original plan was to make all of my tags this year, but I left it a bit too late and these are the only ones I managed to make!  I always find that I am really busy this time of year.  I ended up having to buy some tags yesterday.

Anyway, I will be back again before Christmas as I have couple more things in the pipeline which I will be able to share soon.

I'm off to do some wrapping now.

Sian. xx

Cardz 4 Galz: Anyone for Cocktails?

Hello everyone!  There is a new challenge today at Cardz 4 Galz on the theme of "Anyone for Cocktails?"  I didn't have anything in my stash for this one, so unfortuanteldy (ha ha!)  I had to buy a new digi stamp.  This is a digi stamp by Pink Gem Designs called "Cocktail Emma", and I think she's great!

I decided to go with shades of pink on this one, because I wanted to match the cherries.  I coloured the image with Polychromos pencils, and glittered her jewellery with Stickles.  I used Ranger Glossy accents on the glass to give it a shiny 3D appearance. For the background I used some papers by Craftwork Cards layered onto some dark pink and grey card.  Because the image is quite large on this card, I wanted to keep the embellishments simple, so I just added two Card Candi dots and some flower trim across the middle.  I thought the sentiment "Party time!" was appropriate for this card.

You can join in the Cardz 4 Galz challenge here:  http://cardz4galz.blogspot.co.uk/.  I look forward to seeing everyone's creations.

Sian.

Make My Monday: Show me a Snowman

Good morning!  This week's challenge at Make My Monday is "Show me a Snowman".  I have decided to show you a whole family of them!

The image I used for this card is a digi stamp by Digi Stamp Boutique, and I coloured it with Polychromos pencils.  When I coloured it I thought it looked like a snowman family portrait, so the first thing I did was put it in a frame,which I die cut from pearlescent blue card.

I layered the framed portrait onto patterned papers and a die cut lace background.  (The patterned papers are by Lili of the Valley and are unfortunately discontinued, so I won't be able to get any more).

I then added some die cut snowflakes, which I glittered using Stickles glitter glue.  I also added some glitter on the white parts of the snowmen's hats.  As a final touch, I added some tiny punched snowflakes around the top and sides of the card, which I punched from white pearlescent paper.

I hope you can join us for this week's challenge.

Sian.

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Craft Rocket Challenges - Winter time
Sweet Stampin' - Let it snow
Crafting with Dragonflies - Whatever the weather
Challenge Up Your Life - Snowflakes

Brrr! Icy Christmas

My second upload for today is a wintery Christmas card.  I think this one has a really cold feel to it. 

I used a digi stamp by Digi Stamp Boutique for this card.  I love this cute image!  I coloured it using Polychromos pencils (my medium of choice at the moment - I am using them so much I am going to need some new ones soon!)

The background papers I have used on this card were a bargain from Poundland.  I saw them mentioned somewhere and was lucky enough to get there before they had all gone.  I have got five different pads and I really like them all.  They are really good quality for a pound as well.  They are about 6" x 8" and there are 32 sheets to a pad, but I reckon you will have to be really quick to find any still left, as I first saw somebody post about these about a week ago.

I kept the embellishments to a minimum on this one, as I wanted the image to be the main feature, so I just added some wooden snowflakes and a few pearls.  As this is a Christmas card it had to have soem glitter, so I glittered the snowflakes, parts of the hat and scarf and bits of the sea with crystal Stickles.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Allsorts - anything Christmas
Challenge up Your Life - snowflakes
Inkspirational - word prompt "CHILL"
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - got the blues
Creative Corner Challenges - winter
Dream Valley Challenges - winter animals

Preparing for the New Year

I have made something other than a card!  This is a calendar that I have made using a digi stamp by Dr Digi.  I have coloured it using Polychromos pencils.  I layered my image onto patterned papers (these are by First Edition).  I didn't want this one to be too girly, hence the use of green and blue. I added eyelets at the top and added a loop of chiffon ribbon for hangign it with.  I also added some matching ribbon and a bow across the middle.

I attached the mini calendar at the bottom so that it clightly overlapped the bottom of the main rectangle, and then finally I added some die cut flowers.  I inked the edges of the flowers and curled the petals to make them look more realistic, and added some pearl centres. 

I hope you like it!

I would like to enter my calendar in the following challenges:

Crafty Friends - Blossom (use flowers)
Crafting with Friends - anything goes
PDE Linky Party - anything but a card
C.R.A.F.T Challenges - not a card
Addicted to Stamps and More - anything goes
Critters and Creatures Linky Party - anything goes with a critter.

Cardz 4 Galz: A Snowman (or two)

Good morning!  Today's new challenge on Cardz 4 Galz is "a snowman".  I've used two here, and a cat.  This is a digi stamp by Digi Stamp Boutique, which I've coloured using Polychromos pencils. 

I started with a fancy edged card blank in order to create a lacy effect around the edges with the snowflakes.  I created a layered background, but I think this one would have worked just as well with a plain pearlescent blue background.

I then added a layer of die cut snowflakes on top.  I layered my coloured image on top of the snowflakes, and then added another layer of snowflakes (this is a VERY snowy card), finally adding the sentiment.  I glittered the word "Joy", and the white bits on the characters' hats, and I also glittered all of the snowflakes.  It took a while, and it's a very sparkly card, but snow is supposed to glitter, so it would be wrong not to! 

I hope you can join us for this week's challenge.

Sian.

Make My Monday: CAS Christmas

Hello everyone!  This week's challenge at Make My Monday is CAS (clean and simple) Christmas.  I have to say, it panicked me slightly when I realised I would have to do a CAS card.  I don't do CAS!

Anyway, I hope you like my card.  I started by stamping the snowflakes in Versamark ink.  This was easier said than done  for a couple reasons.  Firstly, Versamark ink is not very easy to see and we do not have good light at this time  of  year.  Secondly, the only snowflake background stamp I have is quite small, and it's also a wooden stamp, so I could not see where I was stamping.  I got around this by drawing a pencil line and stamping three times, lining my stamp up each time with the pencil line.  I had to guess where the side of the stamp was, but fortunately I managed to get this right. 

Next I embossed the snowflakes using a clear sparkle embossing powder (sadly the sparkle doesn't really show up in the picture).  Then I painted over the snowflakes using Twinkling H2Os in shades of blue and purple.  This is a beautiful, shimmery watercolour paint.  Again, the shimmer doesn't show up too well in the picture.  As you can see, the embossed snowflakes created a really good resist effect, and I just rubbed over them with a tissue once the paint was dry to bring out the shine. 

I then attached a die cut snowflake, which I glittered with Stickles glitter glue, stamped the sentiment underneath the painted panel in black archival ink, and added some blue gems to the centres of the die cut snowflake and the larger background snowflakes.  Given that CAS is not my usual style, I'm quite pleased overall with how this has turned out.

I hope you can join us for this week's Make My Monday challenge!

Sian. xx

Winter Ink

Two in one day today!  I hadn't got inky for a while, so decided to create a card using Distress Inks (and no patterned papers, which is unusual for me!)

I started with a dry embossed background, which I embossed using an embossing folder.  I inked the background using Distress Inks in shades of blue and grey.  For my other layers, the bottom panel was created by heat embossing with a clear, sparkly emossing powder then inking over the top for a resist effect, the strip across the middle was dry embossed, and the sentiment was inked in the same colours as the other layers.

For the main image, I firstly stamped a snowflake pattern in Versamark, inked over the top of it with Distress Inks and spritzed it with water.  I dried the water off using a heat gun.  This gave a subtle snowflake background as the ink stuck more on the Versamark so did not lighten as much with the water.  Sadly this does not show up well on the photo, but you may be able to see it if you double click to see the larger version. 

My next step was to stamp the main image.  This is a stamp by Crafty Individuals and I stamped it with black Memento ink.  I then added some more blue ink to the buildings to give more of a silhouette effect and added some highlighting on the side facing to moon with a white gel pen.  I wanted the moon to look white, so I took some of the ink off by wetting it and then dabbing with a tissue.  I added a bit of gllitter glue to the moon and the larger stars. 

As a final touch I added some glittered die cut snowflakes to my card.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

The Sisterhood of Crafters - up, up and away (anything that flies)
The Crafty Addicts - anything goes/winter blues
Simply Papercraft - anything goes
Crafting with Friends - anything goes
Creative Corner - anything goes

White Christmas

Hello everyone!  Today I am sharing a card I made using white on white.  I have seen some beautiful white on white cards over the last couple of weeks and felt inspired to try it (although I don't think mine is as good as some of the cards I've seen).

The bottom layer of my card is dry embossed using an embossing folder.  I then created the square in the centre by stamping the snowflakes in Versamark an embossing with a sparkly clear embossing powder (unfortunately this effect does not show up very well on the photo).  I then layered some die cut snowflakes, glittered the top layer with Stickles and added a gem in the centre.  I added some more die cut snowflakes in the corners and around the edges of the card, which I also glittered.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Inkspirational Challenges - word prompt: chill
Craft Rocket Challenges - white on white
Crafting with Dragonflies - white on white
A Snowflake's Promise - anything goes
Unicorn Challenge Blog - snow/snowflakes

Christmas Pud

Hello everyone!  Today I am sharing a card I made using a very cute Bebunny stamp by Crafter's Companion.

I coloured the stamped image with Polychromos pencils and carefully cut it out.  I then die cut a circle and rubbed some gold gilding wax around the edges.  I layered my stamped image onto the circle and then created some background layering using patterned papers and a paper doily.  The papers are from the Jingle all the Way pade by First Edition.

The holly in the corners is also stamped and coloured with Polychromos pencils. I stamped the sentiment onto a die cut circle and added the gingham bow.  The ribbon is a really good match for the papers, which surprised me, as I never seem to have one that's just right!  As a finishing touch, I added some Glossy Accents to the holly berries, both on my main image and on the holly in the corners.

White and Bright

I have been making a lot of Christmas Cards lately so yesterday I felt like having a bit of a change.  Since it rained all day here and was dull and miserable, I decided to create something bright and cheerful. 

I created the background using an embossing folder and layered a die cut trellis over the top.  The trellis die is one of the new Intricut dies by Hobbycraft, and as you can see it cuts really fine.  I think I will have to get some more of these!

To create the panel, I stamped my image with Versamark and heat embossed the stamped image using white embossing powder.  (This is a stamp by Crafty Individuals).  Then I used Cosmo Cricket Swatch Sticks over the top so that the embossed image created a resist effect.  I layered the panel over a ribbon and added a large ribbon bow. 

I die cut the flowers and tinted them a bit using Polychromos Pencils which I blended using a Promarker blender pen, and added some stick on pearls to the centres.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Cats - Anything goes
Crafty Ribbons challenge - Flowers and pearls
Perfectly Created Chaos - Heat Embossing.

Cardz 4 Galz: Contemporary Christmas

The card I am sharing today is my DT card for this week's challenge at Cardz 4 Galz.  This week's theme is Contemporary Christmas.  Normally I make Christmas cards that are kind of contemporary but with a touch of traditional, but I wanted to make sure there was nothing traditional about this one.  I also wanted to make sure it was very feminine, since it is for Cardz 4 Galz, so I opted for soft pastel colours.

I started off with a white background which I embossed using a snowflake embossing folder and layered onto lilac card.  I then die cut the baubles from printed papers (these are Crafter's Companion papers that came with a recent edition of Crafts Beautiful magazine).  The die is by Spellbinders.

I layered the baubles onto turquoise card and attached ribbons to 'hang' them from.  I then attached the baubles to the background using foam pads and looped to ribbons over the top of the lilac card, fastening them on the back.  I stamped the 'Deck the Halls' sentiment using Brilliance ink, layered it onto lilac card and attached it at the corner, and finally I finished my card off with some turquoise chiffon ribbon and a handmade bow.

I look forward to seeing everyone's creations for this week's challenge!

Sian. xx

Make My Monday: Get Well

This is my DT card for this week's challenge at Make My Monday.  The theme for this challenge is "Get Well".  I've chosen to make my card using this stamp by Kanban, because I think it's really cute.  I've coloured it with Polychromos pencils.

The background papers are from the Mulberry Kisses pad by First Edition, and I've added some paper flowers.  The flowers were created using a Crafter's Companion flower die then I shaped them using an embossing tool and inked the edges.  Finally I added some stick on pearls for the centres.

It's taken me a while, but...

Well, I haven't had much time for crafting this weekend, so I thought I'd share some photos of what I've been doing instead.  Some of you will know that over the last 6 years I have been doing a degree in psychology.  This is why my blog has a big gap with no (or very few) posts.  I studied whilst working full time and looking after my two boys, a huge task which left me with very little time for anything else!  I am pleased so say that I have now finished.  I officially graduated at the end of July with First Class Honours, but my ceremony was not until Friday.

These are some of the unofficial photos. Friday was a very special day.

To anyone who is considering studying later in life, I woud say do it - it's never too late, but don't go into it thinking it will be easy.  I have had some very tough times over the last few years.  My eldest son, now 14, said to me recently "I'm definitely going to university when I finish school because I don't want to have to do it the way you've done it.  It's too hard."  I hope he follows through on that because he's right, but at the same time, if he

decides he's not ready at that time I can totally understand, and he won't get any pressure from me!

The Open University has been brilliant throughout.  I can't fault them and it's been a brilliant experience.  Now I just need to decide what to do next!

Christmas Snow

Today I am sharing a Christmas card that I made using this lovely Barkley stamp by Crafter's Companion.  I am not a dog person, but I love these stamps.  I coloured the image using Polychromos Pencils.

The background papers are from the Blissful Blizzard pad by Fancy Pants Designs.  I did something a bit different here by using circles for my background layering, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. 

I embellished my card with various different die cut snowflakes and glittered the snowflakes and parts of the stamped image using Stickles glitter glue.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge
Crafty Catz
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Get Creative Challenges

Christmas Post

I know it's still only October, but since most of my cards take around 2 hours to make (especially where colouring is involved), it's important to start early if I want all of my cards to be handmade.

This card was made using a Barkley stamp by Crafter's Companion, which I stamped onto a die cut circle.  I coloured it with Polychromos pencils (I am liking the pencils a lot more than the markers at the moment).  I hand stitched around the edges of the circle and layered it onto different sized snowflakes so that they stick out around the edges (I did this by drawing around the circle initially and sticking the snowflakes so that they partially overlapped the edges of the circle.   I layered this onto red card and patterned papers and added snowflakes, sparkly gems and pearls at the corners to finish it off.

It doesn't show up well in the picture, but I glittered all of the snowflakes, the snow on top of the post box and the falling snow in the stamped image.  I used Stickles glitter glue for this.  I like it much better than loose glitter because it's a lot less messy.  Whenever I use loose glitter I end up finding bits of it everywhere for weeks, including in my hair and stuck to my arms, legs and face! 

Cardz 4 Galz: Fantasy

This is my Design Team card for the current challenge at Cardz 4 Galz, which is fairytale/fantasy.

I created this card using some fairy house stamps I have by Lavinia Stamps.  I created the background to the main picture with distress inks and various bits of masking (the houses, the sun and hills).  I then spritzed it with some mica sprays to add some sparkle (although this doesn't show up well on the photo), and coloured the houses using pearly watercolours.  I also aded some white highlighting and glitter.  For the background I used patterned paper and heat embossed the corners with gold embossing powder.  To embellish I added paper flowers with button centres and die cut dragonflies.  The sentiment 'don't forget to fly' is from the Tim Holtz Ideology "small Talk" pad.

Happy Halloween

Well, I am still busy with painting and decorating, so even though I have the week off work I have not had much time to make anything.  We are doing the hall and stairs, so it's a bit of a mammoth task.  Five days in and I am finally beginning to stop aching! 

Anyway, I did get a bit of free time this afternoon.  This little lady has been sitting around on a corner of my desk fully coloured and waiting to be made into something for a few weeks now, and I looked at her today and decided she needed to be made into a Halloween card. 

The image is a digi stamp from the Ickyinks collection by Polkadoodles, and her name is Oddella.  I coloured her with Polychromos pencils.  The papers are from the Gorjuss collection by Santoro.  I added some ants and a spider, which are plastic Halloween toys.  The sentiment is printed, and I dripped on some Fired Brick Distress ink, which I think is a really good blood red colour.

I don't tend to make many Halloween cards.  However, my eleven yeard old son is a bit halloween obsessed, so we do tend to do other things - Halloween cupcakes, bat cookies, decorations and costumes complete with face paint (I LOVE doing face paint.  I'm always amazed at how different you can make someone look) - so I will try and find time next week to share some of our creations on here.

A Quick Christmas Card

I have been very busy over the last few days, decorating and doing the wrong kind of painting.  I am feeling my age, as I am aching everywhere, and this did not happen when I did painting and decorating when I was younger!

As you can imagine, this has not left me much time for making things, but I did manage to make this Christmas card.  The image I've used here is a freebie that I downloaded some time ago.  I have it credited to Kasjan's Scrapblogg, but I have no idea whether or not it is still available.  I coloured it using Polychromos pencils.

The background papers I used on this card are from the Jingle All the Way pad by First Edition.  Hopefully I will have more time to create (and more things to share) soon.

Make My Monday: I Put a Spell on You

I am very excited to announce that as from today I am a member of the design team for the Make My Monday craft challenge blog.  The Theme for this week's challenge is 'I Put a Spell on You' (Halloween), and this is my first DT card.

For someone who has a love of all things macabre, I have a distinct lack of halloweeny things in my craft stash, so I had to get creative for this one.

The image is a stamp by Sweet Pea Stamps, and I coloured her using Polychromos Pencils I carefully cut her out and layered her onto a circle of green card which I stamped with spiderwebs and stitched around the edge in black thread.  The pumpkin paper layered behind is paper that I've had since my very early days of crafting (too many years ago to mention)  It started out as plan white paper with orange pumpkins, but I thought it was boring so I inked it with distress inks in shades of orange and sprayed it with a gold mica spray.  The purple paper behind is from a lovely pad that I was fortunate to be able to pickup at Poundland (I doubt  they were on the shelves for very long), and I have also sprayed that with gold mica spray.  The sentiment is printed, and I inked the background with distress inks and sprayed it with water.  To finish it off, I added a plastic spider and some black lace along the bottom.

Sian.

Traditional Christmas

I have been creating Christmas cards again (well, it is only just over 2 months to go now).  This time I thought I would try something a bit different, using the stamp and poinsettia scoring boards that came with this month's Papercraft Inspirations magazine.  This is not my usual style at all, but I do enjoy going out of my confort zone from time to time.  I think it's turned out quite classy.

I stamped the sentiment onto a white die cut oval and coloured it with Polychromos pencils, then layered it onto a die cut scalloped oval.  I created the poinsettias using the scoring board, rubberd soem gold gilding wax over them and along the edges and layered them up.  I added some micro beads to the centres.  I then layered everything onto patterned paper, added a large gold bow and added somm glitter glue to the sentiment, finisihing it off with two little gold pearls at the corners.

Time Flies

I haven't been very productive over the last week, as I've had a nasty cold.  I have however managed a couple of cards this weekend, including this one which I've made for the current Cardz 4 Guyz challenge, Time Flies.

The image is a digi stamp by Bloobell Stamps called Steam Punk, and I thought he would be great for this challenge.  I colured him using Polychromos pencils.  I layered the image onto patterned paper and a strip of card which I embossed using an embossing folder.  The cogs are X-cut dies.

Cardz 4 Galz Challenge: Use at Least one Die

This is my DT card for this week's challenge at Cardz 4 Galz, which is to use at least one die.  As you can see I have used lots of dies to make this card!

I stamped the sentiment onto a die cut circle and used lots of die cut flowers around the circle and in the corners of the card.  I cut away half of the front of the card and embossed the remaining half using an embossing folder.  I added some matting and layering underneath (inside the card), which has the added advantage of adding some stability.  this means that even though I have cut away part of the front, the card still stands up.  I fininshed off the flowers with pearl centres.
  
I think this is the first time I have used a sentiment as the main focus on one of my cards!

I look forward to seeing everyone's entries for the challenge!

Make My Monday: Photo Inspiration

This week's challenge on Make my Monday is to make something inspired by the photo on the right.  I think the photo is stunningly beautiful, so couldn't resist having a go at this!

The picture below is my creation.  I created the background using distress inks in shades of orange, red and black, with a die cut circle masking the moon.  I then lightly inked over part of the moon to give it a bit more depth.  The cat is a Craft Stamper freebie from a while back, and I can't remember where I got the owl.  I was initally planning to stamp the branches, but I couldn't find a stamp in my stash that was right for this, so I painted them freehand using acrylic.  I added some highlighting to the branches once they were dry using a Sakura Stardust pen, so that it looks like the moonlight is reflecting off them.

The image is the main focal point, so I decided to keep the rest of the card simple so as not to detract from it.  I layered the image onto black and then white card, and embossed some light red card using an embossing folder to use for the main card background, then layered it onto black card on a white card blank.

I thought that the image looked rather halloweeny, which isn't really what I was looking for with this, but it fits with the time of year, so I'm happy.  I ddin't want it to be a halloween card though, so I added the inspirational quote "life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful", which is from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk pad.  I think it makes the perfect finishing touch!

I hope you like my creation.

Sian.

Blossoms

Today I am sharing a card I have made using a beautiful digi stamp by Connie Fong Art.  I have coloured her using Polychromos pencils.  The background papers were from The Works - they seem to have quite a lot of nice papers at the moment, at really good prices.  The blossom dies that I have used to embellish this card are by Spellbinders.  The photo doesn't show it well, but I have added some glitter glue to the centres of the die cut blossoms and the flowers on the main image and have used some Glossy Accents on her eyes and mouth.

I hope you like it!

Sian.

Black Magic

I have made this card for the current Fantasy Stampers challenge, the theme of which is Black Magic.  The aim is to use black as the focal point of your work.  I would also like to enter it into the current Make My Monday challenge, which is no patterned paper.

I created both the background and the butterfly by stamping in Versamark ink on black card and brushing over with mica powders  I then matted and layered it onto purple card.  I used foam pads behind the square and the butterfly to give it some dimension, but I don't think this comes through well in the photo.  I wanted to keep this quite simple so as not to detract from the background so I added a bit of glitter to the butterfly, some purple gems and a large purple bow.  The sentiment, 'use your wings' is from the Tim Holtz Ideaology 'Small Talk' sticker pad, which has some lovely inspirational quotes.  The flower stamp used for the background is one that I've had for a long time, which came free with Craft Stamper Magazine.  I can't remember what brand the butterfly stamp is, but I do remember that I got it at the first ever craft show I went to, so it's quite old!

I always have difficulty photographing black cards and this one is no exception.  It's also a lot more shimmery in real life because again this is hard to capture in a photograph

Getting Inky

I don't often get the inks out these days, partly because I craft in a corner of the lounge, and when I make a mess I have to clear it up, and partly because I work full time in the kind of job where inky fingers are frowned upon, so I need to try and confine my inky time to when I know I will have a couple of days for the ink to wash off (it doesn't come off easily, especially when it gets under my nails).

This is a card I made at the weekend.  the stamp I used is by Crafty Individuals.  I created layers by stamping over the image with a snowflake background in Versamark ink and embossing the snowflakes with clear embossing powder, then inking over it with distress inks.  I added a few highlights with white gel pen to make the deer stand out a bit.  I  distressed the edges of the image and the papers with scissors and Distress Inks and added kraft card behind.  The papers used on this card are from the Bobunny Sleigh Ride collection.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crazy 4 Challenges - Forest Friends
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

It's too Early! (Christmas in January)

I was looking through photos on my phone tonight and came across some Christmas cards that I made at the beginning this year, when I must have had a short break in my studies, so I have decided to share them.  This top card was made using a digi stamp by Digi Stamp Boutique.  I coloured it with Promarkers.  The background papers are by First Edition and I added some die cut snowflakes.

 The second card was created using an image by Di's Digi Stamps.  This is one of my favourite Christmas Digi Stamps.  I coloured it with Promarkers, and added a die cut landscape at the bottom.  I also added some timy red gems as lights on the trees.

 For this third card I decided to do something a bit different.  With all the pink, this is far more girly than my usual style.  The image is by Digi Stamp Boutique, and I coloured it with Promarkers.

This final card was made using another Digi Stamp Boutique image coloured with Promarkers.  The background papers are by First Edition, and I embellished it with some bits that have been hanging around in my craft stash for a few years.

Blue Christmas

Today I am sharing some more of my Christmas cards.  I have a tendency to use of a lot of traditional christmas colours on my cards (red, green, white), so I have been trying to get out of the rut a bit and use some different colours.  These are some cards I have made using a blue theme.  The top card was made using a digi stamp from Di's Digi Stamps, which I have coloured with Polychromos pencils (my favourite colouring medium at the moment).  I have also used patterned papers.  These are from the Frosty Christmas pad by Lili of the Valley.  I have also added die cut snowflakes.  As it is a Christmas card I have of course also added glitter (I use Stickles glitter glue because it is nice and easy)!

The second card was made using the free snow globe stamp that came with this month's Quick Cards Made Easy magazine.  I decided that I wanted to have a 'working' snow globe, so this is a shaker card.  The deer stamp was also part of the free set that came with the magazine and I coloured it with Polychromos pencils.  I layered the patterned paper onto blue card, then stamped the snow globe onto it.  Then I die cut a circle in the middle of the globe and stuck acetate behind it.  I stamped the background onto a spearate piece of card and coloured it then added double sided sticky foam around the window.  Finally I added some white glitter in the circle created by the foam tape and stuck the background onto it.  I have added some wooden snowflakes to embellish it.  Both the snowflakes and the papers are from Hobbycraft.

By the time Christmas comes around I may actually have managed to make enough cards this year to give everyone handmade ones, which will be nice.

Christmas Again!

I have been busy making Christmas cards over the last few weeks.  It's nice to finally have time.  This is a card that I made using the Hollyanna digi stamp from Lacy Sunshine.  I have coloured her using Polychromos pencils.  I have hand stitched around the edge of the main image and added die cut holly and a stamped sentiment. 

I am entering this card in the Addicted to Stamps and More challenge, where this week's challenge is holiday I am hoping to join lotsmore challenges once I get properly back into the swing of things!

Exciting Times

I am so excited!  As of today I will be a design team member on the Cardz 4 Galz challenge blog.  You can check it out from the link above or in my sidebar.  So far I have seen some fun challenges and a variety of great talent.

This is my first DT card, for today's theme which is fall colours.  I hope you like it!.

I have used a Gorjuss stamp by Santoro, which I thought would be perfect for this colour scheme because of the foxes.  I stamped the image in brown ink on kraft card and coloured it with Polychromos pencils.  I hand stitched around the edges of the circle and also added some thread through the buttons that I used as centres for the flowers to tie it all together.  The papers I have used are from the First Edition Desert Blooms pad.

An Easel Card

This is another family birthday card, this time for my mum. Myself, my dad, brother and mum all have  birthdays in September, so it was always a busy (and expensive) month in our house when I was growing up.  Actually, it's still an expensive month!  Thankfully my boys' birthdays are a bit more spread out (although the months coincide with two of my nephews).

This was my first ever attempt at an easel card.  The image is a digi stamp by Julia Spiri, and I  coloured it using Polychromos pencils.

I also used a variety of die cut flowers and butterflies on this.  The flower dies are clever.  They cut in strips and then they can be rolled up and the petals spread out.  I got these a while ago and unfortunately can't remember what brand they are.  I am going to have to start keeping bits of packaging!

The printed papers are by First Edition, and I also made a matching box since there was no way this one was going to fit into an envelope.  It's made from a 7 inch pizza style box which my 6 inch card with embellishments fits into nicely on a bed of pink tissue paper. 

Ouch!!

I'm feeling a bit fed up today.  I had a wisdom tooth removed last Tuesday, and despite folllowing the aftercare instructions to the letter, it has become infected.  I won't bore everyone with the details, but after a visit to the (very kind and sympathetic) dentist today, I am extremely tired but hopefully now on the mend (although my mouth trastes of iodine and I'm stuck on a soup and smoothie diet for a few days).

Today I am sharing a birthday card that I made for my brother.  I made it a couple of weeks ago but I had to wait until after his birthday to share it.

This was made using a digi stamp by Dr Digi, which I coloured using Polychromos pencils.  I distressed the edges of the papers using scissors and added some distress ink around the edges.

These are two "his and hers" cards that I made using Polkadoodles digi stamps.  The images are coloured with promarkers and I have matted and layered patterned papers for the background.

I am a big fan of bright colours!

Today I am sharing a card I made a while ago.  The dragonfly is a Sheena Douglass die cut, and I have also added a die cut background and flowers.

The background behind the dragonfly was created using inks and layered stamping, and I used mica powders on the dragonfly to make it shimmer.

Pink

In the interests of showing more of my recent work on my blog (and to match the new background), I am posting one more card today.

This is a card that I made using a Saturated Canary digi stamp, coloured with Polychromos pencils.

I love this image because it reminds me of what I was like as a girl.  My mum would try and make me look pretty, but I preferred boots and messy hair.

The butterfly dies are by Marianne Designs.

Bright and Cheerful

Hello again.  Today I have decided to share one of the cards I made recently.  This was a birthday card I made for one of my son's friends using a digi stamp by Dr Digi, which I coloured using Promarkers.  The die cut branch is from a Spellbinders set which includes cherry blossoms.

I have a few works in progress at the moment, and lots of recent work to share too, so watch this space!