"Bloom & Grow" with Marianne Design Divas

Today sees the launch of our 2nd Marianne Design Divas challenge.  Last month's debut challenge was a huge success and we hope that you can play along again.  All you have to do is follow the monthly theme and use Marianne Creatables  products on your artwork.  These can be the gorgeous dies (my absolute fave), stamps, patterned paper to name but a view - just list what Marianne D product you have used.   

This month's theme is:-

Bloom & Grow

Show us your flowers

and we are sponsored by Cuddly Bunny Crafts this month with an superb prize! Cuddly Bunny stocks a vast range of Marianne's products.

I took my inspiration from Sue Roddis of Jabberwocky Fame who does marvellous things with old books and things....Sue kindly said I could take inspiration from her work - I always appreciate Sue's work though generally she is much more eclectic than me who tends to stick with her vintage shabby look - so my take is this:-

The pages have been folded, inked and then glued in places. Now for the deep part - the idea is that my garden is growing from the book - as I do believe that young people need education to bloom and grow and where better to get education than from a book....my husband said he got my thinking but I am not sure lol:-

I have cut Marianne's branch garden flourish and various flower dies from K&Co Ancestry paper.  The flowers were inked around the edges with distress inks, layered and secured by a brad and then spritzed lightly with water to get that shabby crumpled look.....My word "bloom" was stamped using Papermania alphabet stamps again onto K&Co paper.

The young lady is from a Marianne Creatable Die sheet of vintage images and works wonderfully with the back panel which I have covered with Marianne Creatable patterned paper from the vintage range.  Paperartsy text added.  

I hope you like my take on the theme and hope I have inspired you to play along with us Marianne Design Divas - I hope so as dont forget there is a fabulous prize on offer from this month's sponsor, Cuddly Bunny Crafts-  

Marianne D products used are:-  Dies; Branch Garden LR0151, Small Butterfly LR0153 and Florals LR0106 & LR0107.  Marianne D glossy vintage image and pretty papers from "Songbook".

I am entering my altered book into the following challenges:-

Everybody Art Challenge - "Flowers"

Craft Room Challenge - "Home Decor"

Seen as this is sat on my mantlepiece I think it can be considered as home decor!

Suzanne ~x~