Beer Monster

In the big craftroom clearout/move I discovered lots of bits and pieces where I had cut multiples and never used them, all of the supplies I used on this card are from that pile. They would have been wasted but now they are made into a bright and cheery card

Return of the stripes number 3

I went with the same design I made previously I just changed the hair colour and the stripe colour. Seeing them here I want to make more like this as they look so quick and easy even though they weren’t lol.

Return of the stripes number 2

Again I went with a straight look and again it was harder than the angle I normally use so I think it’s angles from now on lol. 

I do like the simplicity of this design though and the image does definitely take centre stage.

Return of the Stripes

You might have been expecting rainbow stripes but this time I went tonal and to match the image I coloured. I have been trying to get ahead in my card making and sometimes I feel like I am just making them in time so I need to try something different, no idea what that is but something needs to change.

Sorry that turned moany so back to the card, I went for a different way of using the stripes but not sure I will again as they have to be very straight and there is no margin for error lol.

Almost a return to layers

Once a year I go through my photos and draft posts and I try to add them all, normally I remember making the cards even but I don’t have any recollection of making this one lol. I know who I made it for and it’s definitely my card but the rest is a blank lol.

It does harken back to my patterned papers phase and makes me realise I need to revisit them and use them.

Even if I don’t remember it it’s still a cute card lol.

Fleur

Its that sketch again....I wish I could stop with these obsessions but I just can't. I think they calm me when life gets stressful and help me to make cards when I actually don't feel like doing anything so I am not going to be upset if I use one of them again I am going to embrace the fact I have made something and had fun lol.

Now sometimes you are looking for an image and have no idea what to use and then you spot the name of the image and you know you have to use it...this was that occasion, I was looking for an image for my friends daughter "Fleur" and I stumbled across this image from Pollycraft called (have you guessed yet lol) "Fleur" so it had to be printed and made into her card lol.\

Image: Fleur from Pollycraft

Paper: MFT

Card: Stampin Up

Dies: blueprints 29 from MFT

Rainbow backgrounds

Another set of cards made during lockdown and these all have several things in common, all the images were coloured in 2013..... yes you read that correctly 2013. I took only grey markers on holiday and sat and coloured these images. Since then they have sat in a box with a lot of other coloured images waiting patiently and now finally they have made it onto cards....woohoo.

I have been using up scraps of white card from wedding invites and using the direct to colour paper method, this time I used distress inks and I like these so much more than the oxides. I went with a rainbow colour scheme and managed to make 6 backgrounds and I have quite a bit left to make some more.

Some Odd Girl

Doodle Garden from MFT (retired)

The Greeting Farm

Pollycraft (non longer trading)

Ingredients
Distress inks: squeezed lemonade, shaded lilac, seedless preserves, festive berries, candied apple, abandoned coral, spiced marmalade, carved pumpkin, wild honey, mustard seed, blueprint sketch, wilted violet, picked raspberry, mowed lawn, lucky clover, twisted citron, peacock feathers, broken china, tumbled glass, salty ocean, spun sugar, worn lipstick
Sentiment: a little sentimental from Clearly Besotted

Monster Birthday Again

The faceted stencil has had another outing today, I am so liking the effect this creates and I tried another different colour combo. Other than the different colours this is almost the same card I created previously, well if it ain't broke don't fix it is my motto lol.

Ingredients
Image - from C C designs
Sentiment - monster sentiments from pollycraft
Stencil - faceted stencil from concord and 9th
Inks - salty ocean, mustard seed, hickory smoke and black soot all distress oxides
Dies - rounded rectangle stax and blueprint 31 both from MFT stamps

Copics
Yellow - Y17, 15, 13
Red - R24, 22
Blue - B05, 04, 02

Monster Pink Birthday

Day three of the 30 day challenge and I decided that I needed to colour the final monster from this set. I didn't originally plan to colour this pink but the final background using the faceted stencil was on my desk and it sort of just happened lol.

I used the same layout as on the previous card as it was all on my desk and I kind of like how these cards turned out. I hope as this blogpost is written in April that I have used the stencil a bunch more times lol

Ingredients
Image: Cc Designs Monster
Sentiment: Pollycraft (no longer trading)
Background: faceted turnabout stencil from Concord and 9th with spun sugar, tattered rose, worn lipstick and picked raspberry distress oxide inks.
Dies: blueprint 31 and rounded rectangle staxs both MFT
Card: Pink 65lb recollections from Michaels


Copics
Monster - R24, 22, N2, RV09, 06, 04, RV14, 13, 11
Tongue - R29, 24

Monster Birthday

The second background made with the stencil and the one I thought would be my favourite but isn't lol. I think my favourite is the liac, pink and grey one. Which is weird as they aren't my go to colours.

I have almost used all the monsters in this set now and he was coloured during the last 30 day colouring challenge, this image was day two and i am pleased he has made it onto a card already.  The blueprint die was already out and I was going to do a circle but the sentiment was too big for it and I think I prefer this layout.

Ingredients
Image: Cc Designs Monster
Sentiment: Pollycraft (no longer trading)
Background: faceted turnabout stencil from Concord and 9th with hickory smoke, peacock feathers, salted ocean and twisted citroen distress oxide inks.
Dies: blueprint 31 and rounded rectangle staxs both MFT
Card: Basic Grey from Stampin Up


Copics
Aqua - BG15, 13, 23, 11
Green - YG23, 03, 01, 00
Blue - B26, 24
Tongue - R37, 35

Monster Fun

This set by Gerda Steiner Designs is fabulous for masculine cards, be it for little or big boys it will always deliver a smile. 

To add to the fun I made this guy on an action wobble, my original idea was to make it look like the wobbling made him sick but I don't think thats how it ended up thankfully lol.

Ingredients
Image: "monster fun" Gerda Steiner Designs
Sentiment: "monster" Pollycraft (no longer trading)
Background: "splatter" Tim Holtz Stencil with Peacock Feathers, Teisted Citroen and Mowed Lawn distress inks
Card: "sour apple" MFT
Dies: Blueprints 31 from MFT

Copics

Horns - BG09, 07, Y17, 15

Monster - YG67, 17, 25, 23

Pollycraft challenge 7 - Harvest Colours & Sketch Saturday 275

Three challenges in one, well actually four although the fourth one is a personal challenge from the lovely Kay. Kay challenged me to paper piece/toll an image where there wasn't a tutorial to follow, I was apprehensive at the start but it is much easier than I thought and I can see myself using this method a lot.

Ok so not my normal colours but I enjoyed changing it up. I love autumn the colours, smells and crisp leaves underfoot, the promise of winter to come. The colours look brighter on the screen than in real life and match the paper a whole lot better.

Ingredients:
Image:"Monster Hugs" Pollycraft
Paper: "best of fall" summer driggs
Cardstock: Snippet folder (originally certificates)
Dies: Sentiment strips MFT stamps
Sentiment: See D by Paper mania

Copics:
Dad: E19, YR27, YR14, YR12, YG99, 97, 95, 93
Child: V17, 15, 14, YR27, 14

Challenges: Snippet Playground
Sketch Saturday 275
Pollycraft Challenge 7 - Harvest Colours

Pollycraft Challenge 6

I have finally managed to take part in this challenge, I love pollycraft images and have quite a few. I have made a halloween card, not something we tend to send in the UK but as it is my hubbie's favourite holiday I thought I would make at least one.

I have used all my halloween items too, I love the dripping punch but only ever seem to use it for halloween cards. This image has been coloured for a while so I don't have a list of the colours used, have been enjoying listing the colours recently, helps to jog my memory of colour combos I like.

Ingredients
Image: "Lil Spook" Swings and Slides collection by Pollycraft
Papers: Pink Petticoat
Card: black sparkly from snippet folder
Punch: Dripping goo by martha stewart
Brads: Walmart

Challenges: Snippet Playground
Pollycraft Challenge 6 - "for the kids"

Video Boy case'd

My mum asked me to make this card for my cousin, she remembered a card I made for someone else way back in 2011 and asked for the same. This makes making cards for someone else so much easier even if it does mean I don't get to be as creative. I made this in under an hour in fact the glossy accents took the longest and it is already in the post.

Ingredients
Image: "Video Boy" Mo's Digital Pencil
papers: "Extreme Boys' 300dpi (sorry link is disabled)
Cardstock: "New Leaf" Papertey ink and grey from snippets
Sentiment: Pollycraft freebie and "Boy Basics Game on" Papertrey Ink

Copics:
Skin: E11, E00, E000, R02
Hair: E21, 23, 25, 27, 29
Clothes: G40, 43, 46, N1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9
Accessories: R24, 27, 29, B32, 34, 35, 37, 39, YR04, 09,

Challenges: Snippet Playground

Monkey Business

So I needed a card fast and my printer is out of ink so I had to delve into my printed uncoloured images box and I found this cute chester retro image that has probably been in there for two years. I used him previously on this card and thought if it ain't broke why fix it and made an almost identical copy.

I hope the recipient doesn't notice that the green paper is upside down though...only noticed when I uploaded him...oh well never mind it is supposed to be handmade and unique lol.

I am entering Di's snippet playground, I have so missed playing along and hope there is room on the swings.

Ingredients

Image: "Retro Chester" Pollycraft

Papers: "The Boyfriend" Cosmo Cricket

Challenges: Snippet Playground

Hexagons everywhere

Well I have been using my new hexagon die and stamp set from Papertrey ink and am very impressed with both. For my first card I used patterned paper from the snippet pile and some green and red card, the green has been stamped with versamark so that it stood out a bit more, I have made several more of this style since and tried different looks as this one is a little dark for me. I used a greeting from Papertrey and embossed in white, I used (for the first time) an embossing pen to draw the lines and for a first attempt I quite like it, must remember to use the anti static bag though lol.

Ingredients

Image: Pollycraft "Chester with Cane"

Sentiment: Papertrey ink "think big favourites 20"

Papers: Nit Wit "Sugar Cookies"

Cardstock: Stampin Up "Real Red", Core'dinations green

Challenge: Snippet Playground

Edited: I have entered Sarn's Rudolph Challenge, thought it about time I get started lol.

Monkey DIY

I don't know about anyone else but the word Monkey always reminds me of the 70's BBC 2 TV series, where the monkey was magical and rode around on a cloud that he summoned by blowing on his fingers. Although it was badly dubbed and made absolutely no sense it was unmissable TV.

Anyway enough waffling back to the card, I printed this image ages ago and realised after I did I made him a bit big so he has sat in my image draw ever since. I was in a colouring mood and he was the first image I grabbed so he had to make it onto a card lol.

I have used left over papers from Echo Park and Sassy Designs, I don't normally combine papers but as both were sat together in the snippet draw and seemed to match perfectly I decided to give it a whirl.

Ingredients

Image: "DIY Chester" Pollycraft

Papers: "WoodWork" Sassy Designs and "This & That" Echo Park

Cardstock: Snippet folder

Ink: Gathered Twigs Distress Ink

Challenges: Snippet Playground
Cards for Men

If it Walks like a Duck and quacks like a Duck it must be Christmas

My nan always used to use that saying and it has sort of stuck with me over the years, so yesterday it was cold like December and it rained like December so I made some christmas cards lol.

I never spend as much time making a christmas card as I do one for a birthday, new baby etc as I know come January most will find their way to the bin. I still spend as much time colouring the images just go for a simpler way of putting it all together and this little card is no exception. I used everything from the snippet box except the image and it came together really quick too. I have about 6 of these gorgeous Chester images coloured ready to go, I bought quite a few in the closing down sale and printed them straight away and they have been sat patiently waiting to get made into cards ever since.

Ingredients

Image: "Chester Letter" Pollycraft

Papers: Winter Wonderland (was a freebie but the link no longer works)

Card: Stampin up "Real Red"

Dies: MFT Postage Die

Challenges: 

Snippet Playground

2 Sisters - Christmas

Allsorts - Red, White and Blue

Send a Smile 4 Kids - Christmas in July

Robot Balloon Boy

As soon as I saw this image I fell in love, I love robots especially cute one and this one is pretty cute. I wanted to make matching backing paper so I changed the colour of the image and randomly placed on a square and printed onto paperchase kraft paper. I wish I had added more robots now as it does look pretty uniform but I still like the look. I wanted a cas card so I added two chevrons cut with MFT dies and using stampin up cardstock. I think it still needs something else but will add that once I know who is going to be the lucky recipient.

Ingredients:

Image: Birdie Brown

Papers: Paperchase kraft card printed with robot by birdie brown

Cardstock: Real Red and Pacific Blue by Stampin up

Sentiment: Pollycraft

Pollycraft - So Sad

Hi everyone, pollycraft is closing and this is such sad news, I have bought quite a few of their digi stamps over the years and have loved colouring them so when they announced a closing down sale I had to get some. I bought 20 digis for £3.99, what an absolute bargain so if there are any you need I would get them now.

For this card I used Celeste Amberglow owl always love you, coloured with my copics to match these fab papers from Raspberry Road. I had an idea in mind for this card and for once it actually looked like I thought it would lol.
Cardstock is from my stash and the border is a MFT die and then I found a matching mat on my cricut elegant edges so very happy bunny.

The sentiment was stamped in brilliance chocolate ink but it didn't show up as much as I wanted to so I drew over it with chocolate copic spica much easier to see now.

Ingredients

Image: Pollycraft "Owl always Love You"

Brad: Stash

Cardstock: Papermill

Papers: Raspberry Road " Whoo Loves You"