PBSC December - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter Wonderland')...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:

'Anything Goes'

or

'Winter Wonderland'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

The stamp I used on my card is called 'Warm Reception'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper using 'Smoky Grey' Versafine ink, along with a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stamnpers Anonymous. I added some sparkle to the snow on the trees, roof and ground using a Wink of Stella pen, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

The touch of sparkle is really pretty in real life...but virtually possible to capture in a photo:

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Aud Sentiments - Non-traditional Christmas Colours and/or Winter & a Sentiment
• Little Red Wagon - Merry Christmas
• Peace on Earth - Anything Christmas
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter')
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas Creations
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter')

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge!

Reindeer Wrap

I was fairly sure that I had enough wrapping paper left over from previous Christmases, and that I didn't need to buy any more, but on closer inspection, there wasn't as much as I thought, so I picked up some rolls of kraft paper decorated with gold reindeer from Tesco. I chose that particular pattern because I thought that I had a reindeer die in a Tim Holtz/Sizzix set that would match really well for making some gift tags. I cut the tag shapes using a die from an unbranded set, then cut the reindeer out of pearlised gold card using the largest die from the 'Winter Wonderland' set. I added the deer using 3D foam pads, then used some gold twine to attache the tags to the wraped presents.

Here's a photo of one of the tags in situ:

Challenges for the tags:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Cut It Up - Use One or More Die Cut
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - It's a Wrap
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesdays) - Use Dies

Quality Street Wreath

Todays, I'm sharing my 'Quality Street' wreath. I make one of these every year...a much nicer way to give the chocolates! I made the first one in 2012, and the polystyrene wreath shape I used then is still going strong! I use a hot glue gun to attach the sweets to the wreath shape...I'm still not a fan of the paper wrappers - the old foil and cellophame ones were so much prettier...and each year there's more and more yellow!

Challenges for this wreath:

• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Optional 'Christmas/New Year')
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Beginning with W (Wreath)
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Gifts

Penguin Pals

Today's card features an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Penguin Pals'. I stamped it on to kraft card blank, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Snow Much Fun' set by Crafter's Companion.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Brrrr!
• As You Like It - Anything Christmassy
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Time to Be Merry
• My Time to Craft - Something Snow-related
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Holly Jolly Christmas

Today's card features a cute Penny Black image called 'Holly Jolly Christmas'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then distressed the edges a little before placing it on a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Christmas Wrap Up
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas

ABC Christmas Challenge - Y & Z are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today, our last of the year...Marie is the host, and the themes are:

'Y is for Your Favourite Colours'

&

'Z is for Zoo Animals'

The prize for the lucky winner is this three piece gingerbread ornament die set!

My favourite colour is blue...I love pretty much any shade of blue from duck egg to navy and everything in between, so I picked a piece of snowflake covered paper from the 'Pure Frozen' pad from Poundland, with many different blues on as my starting point. I stamped my favourite snowman ('Snowy' by Penny Black) on to a snippet of watercolour paper, used a black gel pen to extend the snowy ground, coloured him using watercolour pencils then carefully cut around the top of the image. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then placed 'Snowy' on to the background. I matted it on to a snippet of teal card, then added it to a white card blank.

For my 'Zoo Animals' card, I had pretty limited options, but one thing I have a fair collection of penguin stamps, so I picked the one with the most penguins...'Penguin Parade' stamp by Woodware. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then added a sentiment using a stamp from a set by Crafter's Companion called 'It's Penguinning'. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft DL card blank.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas') (Second card only)
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes (Optional 'Monochrome') (First card only)
• Cutie Pie - Cute Christmas (Second card only)
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas Animals (Second card only)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (First card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Winter Blues (First card only)
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter') (First card only)
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter') (First card only)

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Little Christmas Boxes

I have some little Christmas gift boxes to share today. Every year I make some of these using a We R Memory Keepers punchboard that I picked up in TKMaxx...it's proved to be a really useful little gadget, and can make a variety of sized/shaped boxes. The papers I used, were, I think from Lidl orignally, although I got them from a charity shop. They're an odd size, so I trimmed them to a 9 inch square, then used the board to make the boxes in a 3.5 x 3.5 x 2.75 size. The boxes don't require any adhesive, but once folded and filled, I tied some gold and silver metallic ribbon around each one purely for decoration.

Challenges for these boxes:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Gift Box/Bag
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes (Optional 'Christmas')
• My Time to Craft - Anything but a Card
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

PBSC December - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter Wonderland')

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

'Anything Goes'

or

'Winter Wonderland'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

For my card, I started by stamping one of the cute snowmen from the 'Snow Much Fun' set on to a snippet of watercolour paper. I used a black gel pen to draw a line for the snowy ground, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then carefullyn cut around the top of the image. For the background, I stamped my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp on to a kraft card blank using Versamark ink, then heat embossed in white, before adding the snowman over the top.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Let it Snow
• Krafty Chicks - Stamps
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Feature a Christmas Song/Carol ('Winter Wonderland')
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter')
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Winter')

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

St. Nick & Rudolph

Today's card features a couple of the stamps from the 'St. Nick' set by Jane's Doodles. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment made using stamps from the same set, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I doodled a simple border using a black gel pen, then matted it on to some red card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Anything CAS (Optional 'Christmas/Winter')
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Christmas Kickstart - Anything Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Christmas Characters
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

December Desk Calendar

The start of a new month means a new page in my Penny Black desk calendar. For December, I used a couple of cute bird stamps from the 'Snow Much Fun' & 'Wintertime Cheer' set, stamping them on to a snippet of watercolour paper, before colouring them using watercolour pencils, and cutting the circle shape using one of my Nesties. I paired it with snippets of papers from the 'Season's Greetings' pad from Poundland...distressing all of the edges, and adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. 

Challenges for this calendar:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Alphabet Challenge - R is for Round
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Time to Paw-ty!!!

Today's card features three of the pups from a set of stamps by Katzelkraft called 'Les Chiens'. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, along with sentiments from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for Colorado Craft Company. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added the panel to a DL kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Happy Birthday
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Anything Goes

Puppy Christmas

Today's card features a couple of puppies from the Penny Black 'Christmas Hugs' set. I stamped them on to snippets of watercolour paper, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then carefulyl cut them out. For the background, I matted a snippet of 'snowy sky' paper from the 'Christmas' pad by Craft Sensations on to some red card. I stamped a sentiment. using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous on to a snippet of white card, tore the top edge of it, then added that over the top of the snowy paper. I added the puppies popped up on 3D foam pads, then a little gold star cut using a die from the 'Snowy Stars' set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix (left over from making these tags), before placing it all on to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - 'Tis the Season
• Creative Moments - Winter
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Dotty Flowers

Today's card features some Woodware stamps from a set called 'Dotty Flowers'. I stamped them using Versamark ink directly on to a kraft card blank, then heat embossed them using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp, embossed in gold to match.

As always, it's tricky to capture the shine in a photo, but here's an attempt!

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
• Creatalicious - Thanks
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Thank You
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Sparkle & Shine

Floral Bauble

I have another Christmas card to share today...featuring a gorgeous bauble stamp that I picked up in a charity shop. It was not in its original packing, and had no markings on it, but a Google image search tells me that is by Creative Expressions, and is called 'Floral Bauble'. I stamped it on to back card using Versamark ink, then used a Versamark pen to draw a 'string' for it, before heat embossing it using silver embossing powder from WOW. I added bow from the 'Bubble Mini Baubles' set by Woodware...embossing it using 'Magical Mauve' embossing glitter also by WOW. I heat embossed a sentiment, using a stamp from the same Woodware set, heat embossing that in silver too. I coloured the bauble using Cosmic Shimmers mica pigments mixed with a little water, then matted the black panel on to some silver mirror card, before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Ornament
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Daring Cardmakers - Sparkle
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Moving Along with the Times - Sparkle
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Embossing
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Sparkle & Shine
• Sparkles Forum - Christmas Florals

We Three Kings

Today's card features a Penny Black Christmas stamp called 'We Three Kings'. I stamped it, along with the matching sentiment, on to black card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using gold embossing powder from WOW. I coloured it using Cosmic Shimmers pigments mixed with a little water, then splattered some of those same colours around the edges. Once dry, I matted the panel on to some gold mirror card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Christmas Kickstart - Wise Men Three
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Embossing
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Sparkle & Shine
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

Guest Designer - I Spy with My Little Eye...

Today, I'm delighted to be sharing a Guest Designer card for Ellie's 'I Spy with My Little Eye' challenge, where this month the theme is:

'Christmas'

Any regular visitors to my blog will know I love making Christmas cards (I make them all year round), so this theme is right up my street! I picked a cute Penny Black image to use (from the 'Wintertime Cheer' set)...stamped it on to watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut it out. For the background, I heat embossed my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp on a kraft card blank using white embossing powder. I trimmed a snippet of white card to the width of the card blank, tore the top edge to give a soft 'snow' effect, then added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Christmas Hats' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I placed that along the bottom edge of the card, then added the critters on top using 3D foam pads.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Peace on Earth - Anything Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Embossing
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Christmas')

For more inspiration from Ellie & Pauline, please pop over to the 'I Spy with My Little Eye' Challenge - thanks for having me ladies!

Birthday Carolers

I have a birthday card to share, made using a Penny Black Christmas stamp called 'Carolers'. I stamped the chickens directly on to a card blank, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Critter Concert' set by Lawn Fawn, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - Quick & Easy
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Fan 'N' Funky - Music to my Ears
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

PBSC November - Anything Goes (Optional 'Make a Scene')...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:

'Anything Goes'

or

'Make a Scene'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used a cute Penny Black hedgie stamp called 'Ballooning!!' that I picked up in a charity shop recently...stamping him on to watercolour paper and colouring him using watercolour pencils before carefully cutting him out. I used snippets of card and some dies to create a background scene for him. The hills were cut using some of my 'Stitched Hillside Borrders' die by Lawn Fawn, and the sun and cloud dies are from the 'Rainbow' set by Sweet Dixie...another charity shop find. I layered all the pieces up, matted it on to a piece of kraft card, before popping the hedgie on top using 3D foam pads, and adding it to a white card blank. The sentiment stamp is from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Landscapes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - W & X are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Fabiola is the host, and the themes are:

'W is for Watercolour'

&

'X is for Xylophone'

(Photo Inspiration!)

The prize for the lucky winner is this gift certificate:

For my 'W is for Watercolour' card, I used stamps from a Woodware set called 'Sketchy Pure Branch'. I inked the two branch stamps using three shades of green Distress Inks (Evergreen Bough, Pine Needles & Forest Moss), spritzed then with a little water, then stamped each several times on to watercolour paper, inking again each time before stamping. I then spritzed it all with some more water, and allowed the inks to bleed into each other to create a watercolour effect. Once dry, I mixed gold and red Cosmic Shimmers mica pigments with water, then splattered those over the branches, and added a die cut sentiment...cut from a snippet of gold mirror card using a Creative Expressions die. I matted the watercolour panel on to some more gold mirror card...distresssing the edges a little before adding it to a card blank.

For my 'X is for Xylophone card, I took inspiration from the bear shape, and picked a Little of the Valley stamp called 'James the Bear - Little Star'. I stamped him on to a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. For the background, I took inspiration from the multicoloured bars on the glockenspiel, and picked a piece of watercolour effect paper from the 'Pastel Watercolours' pad from The Works. I embossed it using the 'Jolly Christmas' embossing folder by Couture Creations, then matted it on to a snippet of black card before adding it to a card blank. I stamped a sentiment (from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous) on to a teeny snippet of black card using white pigment ink, then added that and James the Bear on to the background using 3D foam pads.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'Christmas' - First card only)
• Aud Sentiments - Glitter and/or Christmas & a Sentiment (First card only)
• Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Incy Wincy - Anything Goes (Optional 'Christmas Card with Handmade Background' - Second card only)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (Second card only)
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Christmas' - First card only)

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.