Let's Party!

Today's card features a Crafter's Companion stamp called 'Let's Party!' from the 'Everyday with Barkley' collection. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used papers from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels (found at TK Maxx). I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Cardz for Guys - Shades of Blue
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Patterned Papers
• Daring Cardmakers - Masculine
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Boys, Boys, Boys

Together Tag

I have another tag to share today...this time for my Mum's birthday gift. This time I stamped a Penny Black floral stamp called 'Together' onto a kraft tag using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment using stamps from the 'It's Your Day' set also by Penny Black and some gold twine to attach it to the gift.

Here's a picture of it 'in situ'...the lovely gold twill tape was the very last bit from a very long roll found many years ago at TKMaxx:

Challenges for this tag:

• Aud Sentiments - Embossing and/or Flowers + Sentiment
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Tag It!
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Birds, Animals, Flowers & Nature')

Oh...and here's a photo of the cake I made for my Mum...it's Biscoff flavoured...yum!

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - J & K are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...I'm the host, and the themes are:

'J is for Jesus'

&

'K is for Kings'

The prize for the lucky winner is this Paper Boutique stamp set & Hobbycraft snowflake die set:

For my 'J is for Jesus' card, I used a cute Penny Black stamp called 'The Manger', stamping it on to watercolour paper, then colouring it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from a couple of different Craft Sensations pads ('Fresh Florals' and 'Vintage Dreams'), and one from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels (found at TK Maxx). I distressed all of the edges a little, then added a sentiment using  stmp from an old Lili of the Valley set.

I used another Penny Black stamp on my 'K is for Kings' card...this one is called 'We Three Kings'. I stamped it, along with the matching sentiment, on to black card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using 'Metallic Gold' embossing powder from WOW. I watercoloured the image using Cosmic Shimmers mica pigments mixed with a little water, then matted it on to gold mirror card before adding it to a card blank.

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

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

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

Gift Tags

Today I'm sharing the gift tags I made for this year's Christmas presents. I used a couple of different wrapping papers, both kraft with white trees on (bought from TK Maxx last year), so I designed the tags to match. The trees are a stamp from a set by Hero Arts/Sizzix called 'Reindeer'...I stamped them on to snippets of kraft card using a white pigment ink, then once dry, cut them out using the matching die. I stamped a sentiment (from an old Lili of the Valley set) on to the tags (using the same white ink), then added the trees popped up on 3D foam pads. I was using various red and white ribbons to tie around the gifts, so added some matching Baker's twine to attach the tags.

Here's one of the tags in situ:

Challenges for these tags:

• As You Like It - Anything Goes (I love to make co-ordinating tags for the gifts I give)
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - It's a Wrap
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas

PBSC June - Anything Goes (Optional 'Masculine')...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

'Masculine'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used the three dog stamps from the 'Doggone Sweet' set by Penny Black to make my Dad a Father's Day card. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Arts, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I used a piece of paper from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels (found at TKMaxx) for the background...distressing the edges a little, and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• Cardz for Guys - Father's Day
• Daring Cardmakers - Make it Masculine
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Masculine
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Stamped

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

Tags & Giftwrap

Today I'm sharing the simple gift tags I made to go on my gifts this year. I had picked up a couple of rolls of kraft paper with white Chritmas trees on in TKMaxx to wrpa the gifts, so hunted out a solid Christmas tree shaped stamp to make co-ordinating tags. I found one in an old Hero Arts & Sizzix stamps and die set called 'Reindeer', and stamped it on to some kraft tags using a white pigment ink...adding a sentiment to each (from a Lili of the Valley set), also in white. I had used an assortmet of red and white ribbons to tie around the gifts, so added some red and white twine to the tops of the tags. Here they are...you can see the two different wrapping paper designs underneath:

I also decorated a couple of kraft gift bags (I usually get the blank ones from Hobbycraft) to match...here's one with it's tag attached:

Challenges for these tags/bag:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Stamped
• Sweet Stampers - Anything Goes

PBSC July - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spots and/or Stripes')

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
'Spots and/or Stripes'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I picked a cute puppy image from a little clear stamp set called 'Friendship', which I stamped on to watercolour paper, coloured using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut out. I used a snippet of paper from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations for the 'sky', then tore strips of spotty paper (from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels - found at TKMaxx) for some 'ocean waves'. The stripey papers are also from the 'Prince Charming' pad.

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

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Optional 'Layers')
• Creative Knockouts - Outside Fun
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! 

Today I'm sharing some little Easter treat boxes I made for my family. I used papers from the 'Bright Freshness' pad by Craft Sensations, and my We R Memory Keepers punch board to make the boxes. I cut co-ordinating tags from snippets of brightly coloured card using an old Sizzix die, stamped an Easter greeting on one side (from the 'Everyday Sentiments' set by Hero Arts), them toed them around the boxes using some multicolour twine (from TKMaxx). I forgot to take a photo of them before I parcelled them up to post, so my Mum took this photo for me upon their arrival.

Challenges for these boxes:

• Crafty Calendar - Spring or Easter
• Everybody Art - Easter
• My Time to Craft - Easter
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Easter or Spring
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Easter or Spring

Little Boxes

I have a set of little Christmas gift boxes to share today, made using my We R Memory Keepers punch board. They're the largest size that the board can make...4x4 inches, and each one is made from a single piece of 12x12 paper (from a pad simply called 'Christmas' by Craft Sensations, that I bought at The Range in the sale just after last Christmas). I cut matching tags from another sheet of the paper (one covered in smaller square designs), using a Sizzix tag die, then attached them to the boxes using bakers twine.

Challenges for these boxes:

• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas, but NO Cards
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes

Christmas Gift Boxes

I have some little Christmas gift boxes to share today. They were made using my We R Memory Keepers punch board...and once assembled measure 4x4x4 inches. I make some of these every year, and this time I didn't have enough suitably thick 12x12 papers, so used sheets of American Crafts card, and then decorated them with snippets of papers from my 'Wonderful Winter' and 'Countdown to Christmas' pads by My Mind's Eye. I distressed the edges of the papers a little, then added some faux stitching using my Cutterbee Bug and a black gel pen. I made a small tag to match each one, decorating each with a matching piece of paper, then attached them to the boxes with some twine.

(Click the photos for a close-up view)

Challenges for these boxes:

• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Cardmakers - Christmas
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley - Christmas
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Wrap it Up
• That's Crafty - Anything Goes
• The Ribbon Girls - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Think Small and/or Coloured Pencils

It's the third Sunday of a new month, so that means we an additional theme for this month's Pile It On! Challenge. Our themes for April are:

'Think Small'
and/or
'Use Coloured Pencils'

Our sponsor for this challenge is A Day for Daisies:

Prize - 3 Images of the Winner's Choice!

I combined the themes and made a simple little gift tag for part of my brother's birthday present. The tag is from Hobbycraft and measures about 1.5 by 3 inches. I stamped a cute little Penny Black pup (called 'for you!') on to it, then coloured him using watercolour pencils...but without using water. I tied it to the present using some multicoloured twine (from TK Maxx).

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Think Small and/or Coloured Pencils
• Addicted to Stamps - Balloons/Bunting/Presents
• CCEE Stampers - Pets
• Fab 'N' Funky - Cute Critters
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

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

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:

• Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Use Your Stuff - Anything Goes

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:

• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Craftaholics R Us - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Anything but a Card
• Sweet Stampers - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Silly Birds!

Today's card was inspired by the 'Rainbow' challenge over at AAA Cards...and by this double rainbow that I could see from my craft room window:

I picked an image from Hambo Stamps called 'Silly Birds', and coloured them using watercolour pencils. I kept the layout of the card really simple...adding the image to a piece of kraft card stamped with a sentiment (from a set by Lili of the Valley), with some rainbow twine (from TKMaxx) wrapped around it, mounting the panel on to my card blank using 3D foam.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Rainbow
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Party Time)
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Daring Cardmakers - String Theory
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Spooky Treat Boxes

I have some more Halloween treat boxes to share today...to match this one that I made  couple of weeks ago.

Once again, I used my We R Memory Keepers punch board and some Core'dinations 'Black Magic' card. I used a 12x12 piece of card, and made the largest size of box (a 4x4 cube). I sanded the edges of the card to reveal the coloured core (they're all different)...then added some pieces of the same card embossed with a selection of 'spooky' embossing folders...I scuffed up the edges a little and then sanded over the raised surface to reveal the coloured core. I added a little tag made out of more of the same card...decorated each one with a different Penny Black image (from the 'Be Very Scared' & 'Spooky' sets) and tied them to the boxes using a variety of co-ordinating twine.

Here are some photos of each of the boxes...fist the 'white' one:

And...the embossing on the back:

'Yellow':

'Blue':

'Purple':

'Red':

And, finally...with their 'green' buddy:

I'm entering these treat boxes into the following challenges:

• Amusing - Halloween
• As You Like It - New or Old Stash (Old...I  find it terribly difficult to use my new stash...especially papers...and it's always lovely to discover forgotten gems amongst your old stash...like this Core'dinations card that I've had for several years...and these cute Penny Black stamps that I get out each Halloween)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Embossing)
• Crafty Creations - Not a Card
• Creative Inspirations - Halloween/Fall
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes (Pumpkins)
• Cut It Up - Pumpkins
• Cute Card Thursday - Halloween
• Daring Cardmakers - Add a Tag
• Fantasy Stampers - Halloween Fun
• Give a Crafter a Cookie - Photo Inspiration
• Inky Chicks - Too Cute to Spook
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Halloween
• Ribbon Girls - Use Any Image
• Shopping Our Stash - Halloween
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Treat Bags & Boxes
• Sparkles Forum - I Put a Spell on You
• Stampavie & More - Halloween
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Autumn/Halloween