Val by Mo Manning

My latest DT make for Mo's digital pencil is this fun card using Val. I've had her siting there waiting to be coloured up for some time. Mo really does make designing easy with the ready coloured heart and sentiment included.

Gnome Alone by Mo Manning

Anyone who knows me well knows I love Tomte Gnomes and this cutie from Mo Manning is called Gnome Alone. Now I know he's supposed to be a Christmas image but I think he works perfectly fine for this scenario too. I love an image that has multiple uses.

I created the background paper on my computer, it's pretty easy as it's just a coloured text box with text. I love to do this occasionally as it adds another dimension to your card.

Urchin with Bird by Mo Manning

This little cutie is Mo's Urchin with Bird and is perfect for a chilly Melbourne winter vibe. I die cut some Birch Tree's using a die from La-La Land Crafts and added a little more detail to them. An embossed snow falling background and snow drifts came together with the trees for a perfect background for her.

Mermaid and Starfish by Mo Manning

This week I've coloured up Mo's adorable Mermaid and Starfish image. She's such a sweetheart and I loved doing her in a mix of pink and green. I have used clear Wink of Stella on her tail and some of the headpiece to add a subtle glitter to her, but the chipboard sentiment is fully glittered - as am I now LOL.

Until next time

Christmas in July with Mo Manning

This week I thought I had a FABULOUS idea to use a number of Mo's "Little Elves" to create a pop up card. Well I have to say it didn't go to plan! Yes I created a pop up card, but I hated it! It was clunky and didn't fold down nicely. The elves also warped a little when it was folded as I had them hanging! What to do???

I decided I had to re-purpose the embossed card and  images I had coloured. In the end I created what is now one of my favourite Christmas cards of all time!!! The disaster was well worth sharing to show that there is often a fix in crafting!

The images I used can be found in Mo's shop in the Retiring Images section and have always been some of my favourites!

Wrinkles by Mo Manning

I just love this image by Mo Manning - he's just perfect for a men's card, or a woman's! His name is Wrinkles and I popped him onto simple layout to let him stand out.

Winter Raccoon by Mo Manning

Today is the first day of Winter here in Australia so Winter Raccoon by Mo Manning was the perfect choice of image for me to use. 

I decided to use him in a little pop up box I saw recently during my time on Pinterest. This is the first time I've made one of these and I think it needs "tweaking" a little to perfect it - but it was so much fun and looks adorable when it's opened up and the raccoon rises up. I know I'm going to give another one of these a go at some stage! Here's the link to the tutorial I followed if you want to try one for yourself - let me know if the link doesn't work for you.

I decided to use a belly band around my pop up box rather than a ribbon, and the added decorative panels also strengthened the sides of the outer box.

Peggy by Mo Manning

This sweet little image is called Peggy by Mo Manning. She comes with 3 sentiments which go well with her Little Miss Innocent look - "If all else fails, ask Grandma / Grandpa / Dad". I decided to colour in the white cut border around the image in black to make her pop a little more.

I used an AALL & Create background stamp and added some colour to tie it in with the image. I finished it off with some dewdrop gems - there are a few covering the pink spots in the stamped background but this hasn't photographed well. They look amazing IRL though. All in all a simple card, but I am very happy with it.

Danica by Mo Manning

This gorgeous image is called Danica. I've seen her coloured up in lots of different ways and she never fails to look amazing. My choice was to create a sequined party dress for her. I love the cool blues against the black. She's definitely ready to celebrate a special occasion.

Baby Girl-s by Mo Manning

By request from my daughter who has friends who are at that stage of having babies - meaning I need to replenish my stash of baby cards. This gorgeous little girl is called Baby Girl-s by Mo Manning.

For this card I layered up a lot of digital elements and then overlaid the image onto to them to make a single layered topper. This means the finished card will be much cheaper to post, something we need to think about these days with postage prices going up again!