Make My Monday: Victorian Romance

Good morning!  This week's challenge at Make My Monday is Victorian Romance.  I struggled a bit with this one as it's not my usual kind of thing!

I used some DoCrafts Botanicals papers that I've had a for a while.  The central rose is from the set, as are the papers used for the background and the large heart.

I distressed the edges of the background paper and the large heart using my scissors and then inked around the edges of all of the paper elements using Distress Inks.

I used various pieces of lace, which I also distressed.  I did this by putting some Distress inks onto a craft sheet then spraying with water and dipping the lace in.  All in all, I'm quite pleased with how this turned out given that it's not my usual kind of thing.  I hope I've done the theme justice.

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

Sian.  xx

Cardz 4 Galz: Inspired by a Song

Hello again.  This morning I am sharign my DT card for Cardz 4 Galz.  This week's challenge is "Inspired by a song".  I wanted to create something bright and summery, so this card is inspired by the song "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".

I used a digi stamp by Saturated Canary, which I coloured with Polychromos pencils.  I layered my image onto patterned papers and added die cut shells, flowers and anchor.

The "life is good" sentiment is from a Tim Holtz Ideaology pad.

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

Sian.  xx

Moonflower Digistamps: Peony Maiden

Good morning.  Today I am sharing a card I made using the beautiful new Peony Maiden from Moonflower Digistamps.  You can find her in the Moonflower shop here:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/528483393/peony-maiden?ref=shop_home_active_15

I hope you like her!  I coloured her with Polychromos pencils.

I layered her onto some patterned papers and added some die cut flowers.

I hope you like her!

Sian.  xx

Cardz 4 Guyz: Favourite Colour Combination

Good morning!  We have a nice easy challenge for you this week at Cardz 4 Guyz - to use your favourite colour combination.

I am a big fan of bright colours (I think a part of me has never grown up), and one of my favbourite colour combinations for male cards is orange and turquoise.  I decided to make a boy's birthday card, using these great stamps by Woodware.

I coloured the monsters with Polychromos Pencils and cut them out.  Then I layered some pattermned papers onto the card, tearing a hole in the top layer so it would look like the monsters had torn their way through.  I added the bold Happy Birthday die cuts as I thought a bold sentiment would look good with the bright colours, and as a finishing touch I added the candles which are paper straws with patterned paper flames.

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

Sian.  xx

Some Messy Stamping

One thing I really miss these days is getting messy.  As I work full time in a job where inky hands are frowned upon and I don't have a specific art/craft area, I find it difficult to do messy things.

However, when I went to Happy Stampers at Port Sunlight a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't resist buying some stamps from Visible Image, and in my opinion these HAVE to be done in a messy, inky style.  The background on the top card was done using Distress Inks and Distress Oxide, with the notes stamped in white Stazon, then I stamped the main image and sentiment over the top.

For the bottom card I created the background using Distress Spray Stains and mica sprays, then stamped the fish.  I stamped the jellyfish onto the background then stamped them on white and carefully cut out the bodies.  I coloured the bubbles with white gel pen.

I stamped the sentiment on white card, cut it out and stuck it on, and drew black lines around it to make it stand out.

I had a lot of fun doing these!

Sian.  xx

Make My Monday: Sugar and Spice

Good morning!  Today's challenge at Make My Monday is Sugar and Spice.  You can use of theme of either sweet and sugary or hot and spicy.  I decided to try and incorporate a bit of both in my card!

I made this card using a digi stamp by Redonkadoodles called Birthday Cake Surprise.  I coloured her with Polychromos Pencils and layered her onto patterned papers.  Then I added some stars which I die cut from soem of the same papers.

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

Sian.  xx

Moonflower Digistamps: Lust

Today I am sharing a card I made using this beautiful image by Moonflower Digistamps.  The image is called Lust, and is available in the Moonflower shop here:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/279310804/lust?ref=shop_home_active_8

I coloured her using Polychromos pencils and layered her onto patterned papers, adding a ribbon and paper flowers to embellish.

You can find more inspiration from Moonflower Digistamps on the Moonflower Blog, or in the Moonflower Facebook Group. 

Sian.  xx

Cardz 4 Galz: Add Some Texture

This week's challenge at Cardz 4 Galz is to add some texture.

For my DT card, I have used a lovely James Bear stamp by Lili of the Valley and coloured him with Polychromos pencils.

For my texture I added some purple mesh and some gauze, and I embellished my card with die cut butterflies.

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

Sian. xx

Cardz 4 Guyz: Jungle Fun

Good morning.  This week's challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz is Jungle Fun.

I decided to use this gorilla stamp for my card, which I have had in my stash for a few years.  It's one of my favourites for male cards, and I still love it.

I stamped the gorilla twice, and coloured one with warm greys and one with cool greys, using Polychromos pencils.  I added some leaves around the edges, which are from the same stamp set, and which I also coloured with my pencils.

I matted and layered my card onto green card and patterned papers, and added some die cut vines.

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

Sian.  xx

Cardz 4 Guyz: Inspired by a Book, Film or Piece of Music

Hello everyone.  This morning I am sharing my design team card for Cardz 4 Guyz.  This week's challenge is to make  a card inspired by a book, film, or piece of music.

I chose to be inspired by the film Pirates of the Caribbean because it was a good excuse to use one of my favourite stamps, this James Bear stamp by Lili of the Valley.

I coloured my stamped image with Polychromos pencils and matted and layered him onto Kraft card and patterned papers.  I kept my embellishments simple, using some pearls and a die cut anchor, and added a printed sentiment.

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

Sian.  xx

Make My Monday: May Flowers

Good morning!  Today's challenge at Make My Monday is May Flowers.  I don't usually make sets of cards, but I went a bid mad die cutting hexagons, so I had more than enough and decided to make a set of two cards.

I decided on quite a simple design for these cards, using hexagons that I die cut from patterned papers and some die cut flowers. 

The papers are from the Mulberry Kisses pad by First Edition, and the flower dies are by Crafter's Companion.  I die cut the flowers from white card, shaped them and inked the edges.

Finally I added the sentiments, which I stamped in grey ink, as I thought black would be a bit too bold with the soft colours of the papers.

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

Sian.  xx