Sunday 31 December 2017

Birthday Buddies

I have a simple little card to share today using stamps from a new stamp set called 'Birthday Buddies'. I did a bit of masking to fit all of the critters on, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I added some strips of washi tape along the top and bottom edges of my card base before mounting the stamped panel on top using 3D foam pads. The sentiment stamp is from the same stamp set.


Challenges for this card:

Friday 29 December 2017

Tattered Christmas

I used some more new goodies on today's cards...a set of Tim Holtz stamps (for Stampers Anonymous) called 'Tattered Christmas'. I used three of the larger stamps, along with a coordinating sentiment, for the main focus of each card, and some of the smaller images in the set to make my own background 'papers'. I stamped the background images in white pigment ink on to plain coloured card, then heat embossed them using clear embossing powder to give a slightly faded look. I coloured the larger images using watercolour pencils, then distressed all of the edges a little before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.




Challenges for these cards:


Thursday 28 December 2017

Sparkly Big Butterflies

I've been playing with some lovely new crafty goodies...and made a trio of cards using the 'Big Butterfly' stamp from Stampendous. I had a quick 'Google' for inspiration, and found this beautiful card by Chrissie...which I totally had to CASE! I stamped the butterfly on to some watercolour paper in Versamark Ink, using my Tim Holtz stamping platform and new 'Creative Corners' from Misti. I then heat embossed in various embossing glitters from WOW. I watercoloured each butterfly using complimentary colours of Distress Ink, then added a sentiment stamp from a magazine freebie set, using Memento 'Smokey Gray' ink. (I've listed the embossing powders & Distress Ink colours used underneath each card).


Embossing glitter: 'Under the Sea' by WOW
Distress Inks: Tumbled Glass, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, Gathered Twigs & Black Soot


Embossing Glitter: 'Gold Metallic Sparkle' by WOW
Distress Inks: Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy, Tea Dye & Gathered Twigs


Embossing Glitter: 'Vintage Peacock' by WOW
Distress Inks: Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers, Gathered Twigs & Black Soot

Challenges for these cards:

Tuesday 26 December 2017

Simple Stamped Butterfly Notecards

I have some simple stamped notecards to share today...these were Christmas gifts, so it's safe to show them on here now! I used the 'Pen Pattern Butterflies' set by Stampendous...stamping each one in several similar shades of Distress Inks. I used my Tim Holtz stamp platform which made mass production easy! There are four of each butterfly in each colour-way...making two sets of 24 notecards in total!


(Distress Inks: Antique Linen, Scattered Straw & Wild Honey)


(Distress Inks: Spiced Marmalade & Fired Brick)


(Distress Inks: Dusty Concord, Wilted Violet & Seedless Preserves)


(Distress Inks: Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon & Broken China)

I bundled each set of notecards together with their envelopes, and tied them securely with some multicoloured twine.


Challenges for these notecards:


Sunday 24 December 2017

Sparkly Snowflakes

Even though all of my Christmas cards for this year have been written and sent...I couldn't resist making another...so I'm going to start my Christmas Card Tally for 2018 with this one! I followed the sketch over at Less is More...stamping 'Detailed Snowflakes' (by Stampendous) in white pigment ink, then heat embossed them using 'Sparkling Snow' embossing powder by WOW...they're really sparkly in real life, but I couldn't get it to show in the photo. I added a sentiment from the 'Merriest Wishes' set by Hero Arts.


Challenges for this card:
It's tradition on Christmas Eve to share my Christmas cake...


The icing is covered with edible glitter...it's super sparkly!


And before I go...I'd like to wish all of my lovely blog visitors & followers a Very Merry Christmas!

Saturday 23 December 2017

Quality Street Wreath

I have something a little bit different to share today...a Quality Street chocolate wreath! I make  couple of these every Christmas...gluing a whole tub of chocolates to a polystyrene ring...this is the sixth year I've done it, and I'm still reusing the original rings! They're so simple to make, and a more interesting way to give chocolates as a gift!


Challenges for this wreath:


Thursday 21 December 2017

Snowflake Gift Bag

I'm just popping on the share a simple decorated Christmas gift bag. The bag came from Hobbycraft...and I stamped snowflakes from the 'Detailed Snowflakes' set by Stampendous using white pigment ink all over the front. I used my Woodware ribbon slot punch to punch holes at the top, then threaded some ribbon (from TKMaxx) through, tying it in a bow to close it, then added one of these gift tags.


Challenges for this bag:


Sunday 17 December 2017

Pile It On! Challenge - Non-traditional Christmas Colours and/or Snowmen

It's the third Sunday of the month, so that means that we have more inspiration for this month's Pile It On! Challenge and an additional theme:

'Non-traditional Xmas Colours'
and/or
'Add a Snowman'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Crafty Sentiments:
For prize details, please visit Pile It On!

I combined a few stamps from the 'Holly-Jolly' set by Penny Black to create a little wintry scene, which I coloured using watercolour pencils - I added some sparkle to the snow & stars using a Wink of Stella pen, but you can't really see it in the photograph. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, then matted the panel on to a snippet of pink card to co-ordinate with the snowman's sled. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.


Here are the challenges I've piled on:


For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On! Challenge.

Saturday 16 December 2017

PBSC December - Winter or Christmas...More Inspiration!

It's the third Saturday of the month, so that means it's time for some more inspiration for this month's Penny Black Saturday Challenge...where the theme is:

'Winter or Christmas'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:
Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used 'What a Snow!' to make a Christmas card for my Mum to give to her Mum. It's quite a large stamp, so I made an A5 sized card. The papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' and 'Countdown to Christmas' pads by My Mind's Eye...I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle using some Stickles. I cut a couple of snowflakes using dies from  set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix...then added some glitter to those too before layering them up. The Christmas sentiment is from a set by Pollycraft for C C Designs, and the 'Mum' stamp is by Clearly Besotted.


I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:
For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Thursday 14 December 2017

Christmas Gift Boxes

I have some Christmas gift boxes to share today...made using my We R Memory Keepers punch board. I used sheets of 12x12 My Mind's Eye papers (from the 'Wonderful Winter', 'Countdown to Christmas' and 'I Believe' pads), I made the largest size, and the boxes measure 4x4x4 once assembled. I love this board...it's so easy to use...once you cut your paper to the correct size, there's no other measuring or cutting to do...and you don't even need to use any adhesive (although you could do, but I quite like that the boxes will store completely flat should you (or the recipient) want to recycle them!). I simply tied some festive ribbons around the boxes to finish. I will probably add a tag to each one...but they're still on my list of 'things to do'!


Challenges for these boxes:

Sunday 10 December 2017

Snow Gift Tags

I don't think I'm done with Christmas cards just yet, but I have some Christmas gift tags to share instead today. I started by cutting snowflakes in some kraft tags using dies from a set by Tim Holtz/Sizzix. I then stamped a sentiment above...I picked a couple by Hero Arts (from the 'Very Merry Christmas' and 'Winter Wishes' sets). I cut matching tags from red card to layer behind the kraft ones, then joined them together using some red & white baker's twine.


These were really quick to do, so I made a big pile:


Challenges for these tags:


Friday 8 December 2017

Snowy Winter Nights

I have a few Christmas cards to share today...the stamp I used is called 'Snowy Winter Nights' by Hero Arts. I stamped it in Versamark Ink on plain white card, then heat embossed it using 'Vintage Peacock' embossing powder by WOW. I added a sentiment (from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonmous), then distressed the edges a little.


The embossing powder is a really pretty mixture of teal and black glitter...beautiful in real life, but so tricky to capture in a photo...but I tried my best!


Challenges for these cards:


Wednesday 6 December 2017

ABC Christmas Challenge December - Y & Z are for?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so that means it's time for a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge...it's our last challenge for the year, and Samantha is the host. The themes for December are:

'Y is for Yummy'
&
'Z is for Zentangle'

Our sponsors for this challenge are:

Prize - £10 Voucher!

and:

Prize - £10 Voucher!

I made a card for each of the two themes...for my 'Y is for Yummy' card, I picked an IndigoBlu stamp called 'Christmas Tree Cupcake'. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut it out. I popped it on my card blank using some 3D foam pads, then added some sparkle using Stickles. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.


I'm also entering this cards into the following challenges:
On my 'Z is for Zentangle' card, I drew some simple triangular 'tree' shapes using a green metallic gel pen, then filled them in using a different doodle for each one. The sentiment (again from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set) is heat embossed in red.


I'm also entering this cards into the following challenges:
For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Sunday 3 December 2017

Pile It On! Challenge December - Non-traditional Xmas Colours

It's the first Sunday of the month, so that means that we have a fun new Pile It On! Challenge starting today...the theme is:

'Non-traditional Xmas Colours'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Crafty Sentiments:
For prize details, please visit Pile It On!

I found some snippets of brightly coloured patterned papers (all by My Mind's Eye...from the 'Merry Little Christmas' (pink & blue) and the 'Ooh La La (for Her)' (orange) pads). I cut some simple tree shapes using dies from the 'Reindeer' stamp & die set by Hero Arts & Sizzix...adding another tree cut from kraft card behind the paper for the brown 'trunk'. I made a simple background from snippets of white card...using my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder for the embossing. I used one of my 'Stitched Hillside Borders' dies to cut the curved ground, then cut it into a circle shape using one of my Nesties. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.


Here are the challenges I've piled on:


For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On! Challenge.

Saturday 2 December 2017

PBSC December - Winter or Christmas!

It's the first Saturday of the month, so that means it's time for a new Penny Black Saturday Challenge...the theme this month is:

'Winter or Christmas'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used my 'Before the Snow' stamp to create a couple of simple wintry cards. I inked the stamp using various shades of green Distress Ink (Forest Moss, Peeled Paint & Pine Needles), then spritzed it with a little water, before stamping directly on to some kraft card blanks. I dotted some Versamark Ink over the trees, then heat embossed it using 'Sparkling Snow' embossing powder by WOW. I cut the 'snow drifts' from an offcut of white card using one of my 'Stitched Hillside Border' dies (by Lawn Fawn), and added a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.


I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:
For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.