Birthday Bears Box Card

I have something a little different to share today...it's a box card, made using a Gemini/Crafter's Companion stamp and die set called 'Birthday Bears Box Card', that I picked up in a charity shop last weekend. I started by stamping all of the little bears and other images onto snippets of watercolour paper, then used their co-ordinating dies to cut them out, before colouring them using watercolour pencils. There were paper templates in the set for cutting all of the pieces of the box card, and I decided to cut the main card parts from light blue card, and the little strips for the images to 'stand' on from light green card. I added a piece of cloudy sky paper (from a magazine freebie pad called 'Let's Fly Away') to the back panel, then assembled the card. On the inside of the front flap, I added a snippet of lilac card, then the die cut from the 'window', with a stamped sentiment, using a stamp from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Here's a close-up of the 'Birthday Bears':

They look to me, like they're throwing a surprise party, so I used my Paper Smooches 'Gaffiti Alphabet' stamps to stamp 'Surprise' onto a snippet of the blue card, then added it on top of a piece of lilac card embossed using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder:

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes Using an Embossing Folder
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Optional 'Square Card & Non-white Base'
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Woodland Sprigs

Today's card features stamps from a Woodware set called 'Woodland Sprigs'. I started by stamping a Hero Arts 'Music Background' stamp onto a snippet of kraft card using 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink. Once dry, I stamped the 'sprigs' over the top using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using 'Gold Pearl' embossing powder from WOW. I used an old die from my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet set to cut the sentiment from gold mirror card, then added it over the top. I matted the panel onto a piece of gold mirror card, distressing the edges, before adding it to a kraft DL card blank.

This angle shows the gold embossing a little better:

Challenges for this card:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Cut It Up - Make Your Own Background
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Polar Pals

Today's card features an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Polar Pals'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of the image. For the background, I embossed a piece of watercolour effect paper from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder, then lightly sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz, then layered the image over the background before matting it onto a snippet of purple card, lightly distressing all of the edges, and adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas in July
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Four-legged Friends
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July

ABC Christmas Challenge - N & O are for?

It's the second Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...Lynda is the host, and the themes are:

'N is for No Stamping'

&

'O is for Once in Royal David's City (Buildings)'

The prize for the lucky winner is the matching stamp & die from Your Next Stamp

For my 'No Stamping' card, I started by cutting a couple of baubles from snippets of watercolour effect papers (from the 'Pastel Watercolours' pad from The Works) using my Memory Box 'Classic Ornament' die, then cut the 'Snowflake Ornament' die from snippets of silver mirror card to layer over the top. I embossed another piece of the watercolour paper using an old Cuttlebug folder and matted it onto some more silver mirror card. I cut a sentiment from silver mirror card using my Poppy Stamps 'Folk Merry Christmas' die, then added it all to the embossed background using a couple of little strips of mirror card to 'hang' the ornaments.

For my 'Once in Royal David's City (Buildings)' card, I picked another Christmas Carol themed stamp - 'Bethlehem Nights' by Stampendous. I stamped it onto smooth white card using a Versafine pigment ink in dark blue called 'Twilight'. I stamped it several times to get a really clear image, then heat embossed it using 'Midnight Dream' embossing glitter from WOW. I matted it onto a snippet of navy card, then added it to a white card blank.

The card is really sparkly, and a gorgeous mix of colours, but a real pain to photograph!

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

• A Cut Above - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Allsorts - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - M, N & O (O is for Ornaments) (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Creative Knockouts - Christmas in July (First card only)
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Monochrome (Second card only)
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July (Second card only)

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

PBSC April - Anything Goes (Optional 'Pastel Colours')...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

'Pastel Colours'

We're currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

For my card, I picked a cute cat image from the 'Christmas Hugs' set for my card, and stamped it onto watercolour paper, along with a sentiment (using a stamp from the 'Christmas Hats' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company), then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a snowflake covered paper (from the 'Christmas' pad by Craft Sensations, and a couple of snippets of plain-ish papers from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad, also by Craft Sensations. I embossed the plain-ish papers using snowflake embossing folders from Cuttlebug and Sizzix, then lightly sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core. I distressed the edges a little, then layered everything up on a white card blank.

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

• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - That Song ('Joy to the World')

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

February Desk Calendar

As it's the first of the month, I'm sharing my desk calendar for February today. I picked one of the cute images from the 'Every Which Way' set by Penny Black, stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then cut it out using one of my circle Nesties. For the background, I used snippets of heart covered papers from the 'Happy Colours' pad from The Works...distressing the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The little hearts were cut from a snippet of pink card using my Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts' die.

Challenges for this calendar:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Love & Romance
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Have a Heart
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - All You Need is Love
• We Love Stamping - Hearts

Favourite Five Christmas Cards 2025

Today, as has become traditional, I'm sharing my favourite five Christmas cards of the year. I made slightly more cards this year - 88, compared to 81 last year. Each photo is linked to the original blog post, so if you would like any more details, please click through.

The first card is from February, and uses a 'new to me' time (the lovely large Penny Black 'Joy' die) that I've used several times this year. I particularly like using the central aperture for a scene/sentiment.

Penny Black critters continue to be my most used stamps, and this chicken, used on this card from March, always makes me smile!

I made several cards using this technique on black card - I love the way the mica pigments show up when used as a watercolour paint, this card from August also makes use of one of my many charity shop crafty finds this year!

Coming a close second to the Penny Black critters, are the Anita Jeram animal stamps, like the bunny stamp used on this card from October. I also love making embossed backgrounds, and used a layout similar to this on many cards this year.

My final card is a recent one from earlier this month, and again features some Penny Black critters, and lots of lovely papers!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter Friend

I have a Christmas card to share today, made using stamps from the 'Snow Bunnies' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I stamped the image onto watercolour paper, added one of the sentiments from the set, then extended the snowy ground to the edges using a black gel pen. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of the image. For the background, I embossed a piece of watercolour effect paper, from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations, using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder, then lightly sanded over the raised areas before layering the image on top. I matted it onto some navy card, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• Christmas Kickstart - Snow Alert
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Embossing')
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Getting Ready for Christmas

Guest Designer - The Male Room Challenge

Today, I'm excited to be sharing a Guest Designer card for the Male Room Challenge, where the theme this month is:

'For a Baby Boy'

I picked a cute Penny Black image called 'Baby Hammock', stamped it onto watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I cut the circle shape using one of my Nesties, then cut a matching scalloped circle mat from kraft card. The papers are from the 'Vintage Dreams' pad by Craft Sensations...I embossed the plain one using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder, then distressed all of the edges, before adding faux stitching using my CutterBee and a black gel pen, and matting the layers onto more kraft card.

For more inspiration from the wonderful Design Team, please pop over to the Male Room Challenge. 

Ice Cream Cone

Today's card was inspired by the recent hot weather and features an ice cream cone made from lots of little snippets of card. I cut the 'cone' freehand from a snippet of kraft card, then embossed it using a Sizzix/BasicGrey 'Plaid' embossing folder to make it look like a waffle cone. I cut the 'scoops' of ice cream from snippets of different coloured card using one of the dies from a set of cupcake dies by Marianne Designs, then embossed them using my Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder. I used 3D foam pads to attach it all to a DL card blank...using thicker pads in the centre of each piece to give it some dimension. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• CAS on Friday - Summer
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Embossing
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets

Modern Florals

Today's card is unusual for me in that there's no stamping involved. Instead, I used a set of floral dies by Sizzix, called 'Modern Florals' as the focal point. I cut the flowers from snippets of watercolour effect paper from the 'Watercolour Feelings' and 'Happy Watercolours' pads from The Works, and 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations. I embossed a pice of white card using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder, then lightly distressed its edges. I assembled the flowers, then layered them on to the embossed card, adding a sentiment cut from silver mirror card using an unbranded die, before adding it all to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - No Stamping
• Addicted to CAS - Floral
• CAS on Friday - Embossing
• Cut It Up - Send Me Flowers
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday

 

Blue Baubles

Today's card features a Cuttlebug embossing folder that I picked up in a charity shop earlier this week. I used it to emboss a piece of blue paper from the 'Over the Rainbow' pad by Craft Consortium. I distressed the edges a little, then lightly sanded over the raised areas to reveal the white core. I heat embossed a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous and white embossing powder, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'Shades of Blue')
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Winter Blues
• The Male Room - Monochrome

Sleeping Under Flowers

Today's card features a House Mouse stamp by Stampabilities called 'Sleeping Under Flowers' that my Mum picked up recently in a charity shop. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a piece of purple paper from the 'Over the Rainbow' pad by Craft Consortium. I cut four squares, then used a couple of Cuttlebug embossing folders to emboss it. I sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core, distressed the edges, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, then matted it all on to a piece of kraft card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Stamping or Digi? (Definitely stamping - I love to have a rummage through my stamps, picking out what I want to use - looking through file names on my laptop just isn't the same!)
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes Using Embossing Folders (Optional 'Something Beginning with F' - Flowers)
• Fab 'N' Funky - Stitching (Real or Faux)
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spring Flowers')
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes

PBSC February - Anything Goes (Optional 'Hearts')

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

'Hearts'

We are currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

I used this challenge as an opportunity to decorate my desk calendar page for February...and picked some cute heart carrying hedgies from the 'Every Which Way' set. I stamped them on to a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut them out. For the background, I used a snippet of heart covered paper from the 'Happy Colours' pad from The Works, distressing the edges a little and matting it on to a snippet of kraft card. I added a heart cut using my Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts' die, then layered the hedgies on top.

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

• Creatalicious - Love is in the Air
• Cut It Up - Have a Heart
• Krafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Have a Heart
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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

Witchy Mouse Treat Bag

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...featuring one of the spooky critters from the 'Be Very Scared!' set. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then cut the circle shape using one of my Nesties. The papers are from the 'Apothecary Emporium' pad by Echo Park...I used a 'Pumpkin' embossing folder by Cuttlebug to emboss the orange paper, then lightly sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.

Challenges for this treat bga:

• Creative Knockouts - Halloween/Fall
• Fab 'N' Funky - Autumn/Halloween
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Spooky and/or Add Some Purple
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Halloween or Colours of Halloween

PBSC August - Anything Goes (Optional 'Flowers')...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

'Flowers'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

For the floral element on my card, I used the Penny Black 'Together' stamp...inking it using Distress Inks (Mermaid Lagoon, Uncharted Mariner, Chipped Sapphire, Mowed Lawn & Forest Moss) and stamping it on to watercolour a few times...with some second generation stamping to add some depth...definitely inspired by my favourite pick from last month's challenge - this card by Bonnie! I heat embossed a sentiment from the 'Go To Words' set by Visible Image using metallic gold embossing powder, then added the '90' using numbers cut from snippets of gold mirror card using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet dies. I mixed some gold Cosmic Shimmers pigment with a little water, then splattered it over the top, before distressing the edges, and matting it on to some gold mirror card, and adding it to a white A5 card blank.

You can see the gold splatter a little better form this angle:

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

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Sparkle & Shine
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Sparkle & Shine
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Summer in the Garden')

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