Cardz 4 Guyz: Tag it

Good morning!  Today's challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz is Tag it.

I created both the main background of my card and the tags with Kraft card using a mixture of acrylic paints, distress inks and stamping.  I started off with the acrylic paint, which is an off white shade.  I put paint on various objects such as bubble wrap and lids from glue and paints and stamped it onto the card, and also applied some paint through sequin waste.

I waited for the paint to dry (that was the hard part) and then blended distress inks onto the card and the tags, then I created a layer of stamping using coordinating distress inks.  Finally I stamped the main image onto the top tag using memento ink, which gives better coverage over the acrylic paint.

I matted and layered all of the elements onto blue card , punched holes in the tags and added eyelets, added some jute twine through the tops of the tags and then arranged everything on the card.  Finally, I cut the small stars from blue and Kraft card and arranged them and added them to the card.

I hope you can join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz.

Sian.  xx

Moonflower Digistamps: Lilly the Cat Fairy

Hello everyone!  Today I am sharing my latest DT card for Moonflower Digistamps.  This is Andreia's new image Lilly the Cat Fairy.  You can find her in the the Moonflower shop here:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/510689611/lilly-the-cat-fairy?ref=shop_home_active_15

This is a lovely image to work with.  I've really enjoyed colouring her, especially her hair and dress.  She is so beautiful!

I coloured the image using Polychromos pencils.  I wanted to ensure that the image was the main focus of this card, so I stuck her onto a die cut frame and layered her onto patterned paper.  I embellished the card with paper flowers and added a bit of glitter to Lilly's wings and to the flowers (a fairy needs to have fairy dust).

You can see more creations using Moonflower Digistamps on the Moonflower blog by clicking the link above, or at the Moonflower Facebook Group.

I hope you like her!

Sian.  xx

Cardz 4 Guyz: Under Water

Good morning!  This is my DT card for this week's Cardz 4 Guyz.  The challenge this week is under water.  I  used some brilliant digi stamps by Vera Lane Studios for this one, and coloured them using watercolour pencils. 

the sea behind this fish and the happy birthday sentiment was created using alcohol inks on shiny card. 

The bubbly background was created by dry embossing using an embossing folder by Crafter's Companion, and I rubbed some different coloured Brilliance inks over it to give more of a watery effect.  As final touch I added some sparkly mesh and some shells which are from the same digi stamp set as the fish, and which I also coloured with watercolour pencils.

I hope you can join us this week at Cardz 4 Guyz.

Sian.  xx

Make My Monday

Hello everyone.  This is my DT card for this week's challenge at Make My Monday.  When I saw this challenge them I thought it would be a good opportunity to use these Crazy Birds stamps by Tim Holtz.  I coloured them with Polychromos pencils and added die cut party hats. 

The background papers are from the Up, up and away pad by First Edition.   I have lots of First Edition papers.  They are a bit pricey, but sooo lovely.

I die cut the circle in the midde and inked around the edges with Distress Ink.

I didn't use much in the way of embellishments on this card - just the little blue circles at the corners and a piece of chiffon ribbon.

I hope you can join us this week at Make My Monday.

Sian.  xx

Cardz 4 Galz: Cardz 4 Teenz

Good morning.  Today's challenge at Cardz 4 Galz is Cardz 4 Teenz: to make a card for a teenage girl.  I have used a digi stamp by Pink Gem Designs for this one, and have coloured her with Polychromos pencils.

I used patterned papers from the Mulberry Kisses pad by First Edition for the background and layered them onto purple pearlescent card.

The butterflies are stamped and coloured with watercolour pencils.  I also added a bit of Stickles glitter glue to the butterflies to give them some sparkle.

I hope you can join us for this week's challenge at Cardz 4 Galz.

Sian. xx

Cardz 4 Guyz: No Patterned Paper

Good morning!  It's time for a new challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz, and this week's challenge is to create a card without using any patterned paper.  I am a big lover of patterned papers, so it's unusual for me to create cards without using them (well, usually anyway - I seem to have been doing a few lately).

I started with some white card that I inked using distress inks in various brown shades and then splashed soem water over it.  I dried it with a heat gun and then stamped a brick background and then the cogs in a darker brown over the top.  I matted this onto brown card and stuck it onto my card blank.

Next I created the centre rectangle by dry embossing it using an embossing folder and then rubbing distress inks over it. 

I then coloured the two digi images using Polychromos pencils.  (These are from the Steampunk Men set by The Octopode Factory - I like a bit of weird!)  I cut them out and stuck them onto the embossed background.  The cogs at the corners are die cut.  I wanted to cut them from copper card, but I didn't have any, so I used some brown shades of alcohol ink on gold card, which I think I prefer anyway as it give a grungy look which is more in fitting with the rest of the card.

The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz Idea-ology pad and says "life was meant for a great adventure".

I hope you can join us for this week's Cardz 4 Guyz challenge.

Sian.  xx

Moonflower Digistamps: Exotic Beauty

Good morning everyone.  Today I am sharing some cards I've made using a beautiful image by Moonflower Digistamps.  She's called Exotic Beauty and can be found in the Moonflower shop here:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/272173500/exotic-beauty?ref=shop_home_active_35.

I have created two different cards because I wanted to see what this image would look like with different skintones and hair colours.  I think she works really well in both colourways.  This is a really versatile image.

Both versions are coloured using Polychromos pencils, and I've used patterned papers, die cuts and paper flowers.

Cardz 4 Guyz: Love You!

Love is in the air once again today, this time at Cardz 4 Guyz where the theme is Love You!  I always find male Valentine's cards quite tricky because I don't want them to be too cute or soppy (most of the men I know wouldn't appreciate it!)  So I have tried to create a very masculine looking Valentine's card which nevertheless gets the message across.

I created this card using a variety of techniques (and no patterned paper - unusual for me!)  I started off using a Kraft card blank and created my bottom layer by applying Versamark ink through a stencil and then applying mica powders in various metallic shades.  Then I applied some more Versamark around the edges and embossed using Wow! embossing powders.

For the square in the middle I used a piece of black card which I dry embossed using an embossing folder and then wiped over a Versamark inkpad so that the ink was picked up by the raised areas.  Then I applied mica powers and embossed around the edges in the same way as the lower level . 

I die cut the heart and the squiggles using dies from the Entwined collection by Leonie Pujol and embossed them using different colours of Wow! embossing powder.  I wrapped some squiggles around the heart and stuck it into the middle of the card, then wrapped some of the squiggles around each other and attached them at the corners.  Finally I added the sentiment "I'm happiest when I'm with you" which is from a Tim Holtz Ideaology pad.

I look forward to seeing everyone's creations at this week's Cardz 4 Guyz challenge.

Sian.  xx

Make My Monday: Shimmer and Shine

Hi everyone.  I had the honour of choosing this week's theme at Make My Monday.  I chose the theme of shimmer and shine, the idea being to create something using products that make it shimmer, shine, sparkle etc.  You can use anything you like that creates shimmer, shine or sparkle.

I have not used any patterned papers on this card, which is unusual for me.  Instead I opted for maximum shimmer and shine by creating my own backgrounds.  I created the main background to the card using Distress Spray Stains and mica sprays, then sprinkled it with some Wow! embossing powders which I set with a heat gun.  I used pearlescent teal card for matting and layering. 

I created the panel to the left of the card using alcohol inks and then layered a strip of sparkly silver mesh over the top of it. 

The main image on my card is a digi stamp by Julia Spiri, and I coloured her with Polychromos pencils added some Wow! embossing powder to her tail using a Versamark pen and added some Stickles glitter glue  to her tail, eyelids and to the bubbles.  Then I inked around the edges of the image with Versamark and embossed with Wow! embossing powders in various colours, sprinkling some of the embossing powders inwards from the edges for added sparkle and shine.  I die cut the shells and starfish using some nautical dies by Marianne Designs then inked them with Versamark and embossed them in various colours of Wow! embossing powders.  Finally I added some very shimmery pearls.

Shimmery/shiny/sparkly items used:

Mica sprays
Pearlescecnt card
Wow! embossing powers (various colours)
Stickles glitter glue
Silver sparkly mesh
Shimmery stick-on pearls

I hope you can join us this week at Make My Monday.

Sian. xx

Cardz 4 Galz: Love is in the Air

Hello everyone.  With Valentine's Day coming up, love is in the air today at Cardz 4 Galz.  This is my DT card, which I created using die cutting and embossing.  I started by die cutting the hearts from red pearlescent paper, then embossed the outside frame of the big heart and the whole of the smaller hearts with Wow! Embossing Powders.  (I love them because they are much more interesting than ordinary embossing powders).

I created the white panel behind the hearts by dry embossing using an embossing folder and created some matting and layering using the embossed panel and some pink and red card.  I added a strip of patterned paper (layered onto red card) across the bottom.

Next I took my die cut hearts and stuck them onto the card, starting with the largest heart.  I reinserted the smaller hearts from the middle of the large heart without embossing them, to create some contrast, then layered the slightly smaller heart so it overlapped.  I stuck some smaller hearts at the corners.  I added the sentiment "I love us" which is from a Tim Holtz Ideology set, and which I think it perfect for a Valentine's card.  Finally I added a ribbon bow and some small pearls at the opposite corners to the hearts.

I hope that you are able to join us for this week's Cardz 4 Galz challenge.

Sian.  xx