To Cake Moment

Today's card is clean & simple...although I did get a little inky :0)
The wee hedgie is called 'To Cake Moment' by Penny Black, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The paper is from the 'Max & Whiskers' pad by BasicGrey, and the sentiment is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Recipe for the Boys
• Crazy4Challenges - Men
• Cupcake Craft - Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!
• Incy Wincy - Masculine
• Papertake Weekly - Dads & Lads
• Sweet Stampin' - Food
• Sweet Stop - Sketch

Swiss Ribbon

I had a little play at the weekend with some of the lovely goodies I won recently...and made a Christmas card using some of the yummy Dovecraft 'Christmas Fancy' papers. The image is a House Mouse stamp called 'Swiss Ribbons', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I distressed the edges with ink and my scissors, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen, and a few adhesive gems.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Card - Sketch
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Sparkle
• House Mouse & Friends - Jewels
• Totally Stampalicious - Anything Goes

Ice Cream Sundae

I don't actually like ice cream, but I do like this cute little mouse (he's 'Mouse Holding Ice Cream' by Tina Wenke for Stampavie)...and to my shame, I think I've only used him once since I won him last year. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, and added Glossy Accents to the cherry on top, and the glass sundae dish. The summery coloured papers are from the 'Hippity Hoppity' pad by We R Memory Keepers, and the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.

Challenges for this card:

• Card Positioning Systems - Sketch
• Simon Says Stamp - Let's Get Fruity (There is a cherry on top, and a banana underneath all that icecream! lol)
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Here Comes Summer
• Totally Papercrafts - Summer

Cats like Felix...

The stamp I've used on this card is another of my Mum's charity shop finds...it's by Personal Impressions, but doesn't seem to have a name. I'm ashamed to say that I've had it for almost a year, but this is the first time it's seen any ink, but I thought it would be perfect for this week's Less is More Challenge of 'In the Frame' on a one layer card. I added a small Penny Black sentiment in the frame (from the 'Christmas Critters' set), and coloured it all with watercolour pencils,

Challenges for this card:

• Card Makin' Mamas - With or For a Child (Mine is for a child)
• Christmas Stampin' - For a Child
• Less is More - One Layer Card & In the Frame

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Male Cards

***Please scroll down for my Penny Black Saturday Challenge DT Card***

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This week, it's Wendy's turn to set the theme of the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge, and she has chosen:

'Male Cards'

Perfect, with Father's Day just around the corner in the UK.

I've used a Whipper Snapper stamp called 'Doggy Pile' on my card, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I used three Cuttlebug folders ('Swiss Dots', 'Happy Birthday'& 'Diamond Plate') on plain papers from the BasicGrey 'Max and Whiskers' pad (available here at the Secret Crafter)...sanding over the raised areas to reveal the white core. I distressed the edges of everything with 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink (available here at the Secret Crafter)

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

• Birthday Sundaes - Anything Goes
• Cupcake - Things with Tails
• Digi Doodles - No Backing Papers
• Fab 'N' Funky - Men
• Fussy & Fancy - Man or Boy
• The Stamp Man - Boys & Men
• Wags 'N Whiskers - One for the Boys

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - One for the Guys

This week at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, the theme is:

'One for the Guys'

Perfect...with Father's Day next weekend here in the UK.

The prize for the lucky winner is this adorable stamp:

Generously donated by ex-PBSC DT member Carole.

I've used one of my oldest Penny Black stamps...'Fetching Slippers'...on my card...together with some doggy paper from the Max & Whisker's pad by BasicGrey. I distressed all of the edges using inks and scissors (still can't find my distressing tool...think I may have to admit defeat & buy another!), and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. I cut the lettering using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet, and added a bone shape charm tied on to some string.

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

• C.R.A.F.T. - Father's Day
• Craft Us Crazy - Father's Day/Masculine Colours
• Crazy - Father's Day
• Creative Inspirations (Sundays) - Father's Day
• Creative Inspirations (Wednesdays) - Card for Dad
• Delightful - Father's Day
• PaperPlay - Father's Day
• Sew Many - Father's Day

For more inspiration form my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Look what I got in the mail...

Last weekend I won two candies...one from Lynsey on the Winter Wonderland 2nd Birthday Blog Hop...and Karita's Party Bag Candy from Sketch Saturday's 3rd Birthday Blog Hop! Must be my lucky week! :0)

Lynsey's goodies (on the left) arrived yesterday...and Karita's stunning party bag (on the right...there are much better photos here on her blog) full of arrived today...thank you so much girls...I'm really looking forward to having a play! :0)

That's all from me today...I'll be back in the morning with my DT cards for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, and Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Winter Blues

It's still Christmas on my blog...lol...this is the last one...at least for this week! I had a play with some Distress Inks to make the backing papers on this card...blending 'Faded Jeans', 'Tumbled Glass' and Chipped Saphire' on hammer textured white card. I then used my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' and 'Snowflakes' folder to emboss it, sanding over the raised areas, and distressing the edges with my scissors, to reveal the white core. The image is 'James the Bear - In the Snow' by Lili of the Valley, which I coloured using watercolour pencils, then cut out with one of my 'Lacey Circles' Nesties.

Challenges for this card:

• Bling It On - Embossing 
• Crafts & Me - Stamp Something
• Crafty Hazelnut's Cristmas - Wintertime Blues
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Distress
• Lili of the Valley - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - L is for...

It's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...and this time Lols is hosting...and the theme is:

'L is for Love'

She's chosen a very festive colour combination for you to use too:

We have two fabby sponsors for this challenge:

Simon Says Stamp are offering one lucky entrant a $15 voucher to spend in their store:

AND:

Stamp Fairy are offering one lucky entrant 3 digis (of their choice) from their store.

We have some of the Stamp Fairy DT guest designing for this challenge...and...if that wasn't enough inspiration for you, we have not one, not two, but three new design team members...our lovely guest designers for May...Carol, Heidi and Miria...were just too good to let go, so we asked them to stay...and they all said yes...yippee!!!

Ok...so on to my card...I thought this Whiff of Joy image 'Love Birds' was just perfect for the theme, and I coloured them with watercolour pencils, to look like robins for our colour theme. I added a Lili of the Valley sentiment (from this set) embossed in silver. The red & green papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye, matted on to silver mirror card, and I used my faithful Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die for the snowflake.

Other challenges:

• Bah! Humbug! - Surprise, Surprise (Choose your own theme)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes 
• Crafty Calendar - Things with Wings
• Creative Card Crew - Wings
• My Time to Craft - Wildlife Reserve 
• Paper Sundaes - Let's Get Sentimental
• Sketchy Thursday - Sketch

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies...and the Stamp Fairy girls...please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

White Christmas

I'll warn you now...this is the first of three Christmas cards I'm uploading this week...eek...don't know what came over me...must have been a reaction to all the sun at the end of last week! I've used 'Snowy' by Penny Black, coloured with watercolour pencils, and then gone Cuttlebug crazy on white card for the background. I used my 'Swiss Dots', 'Snowflakes' and 'Ice Crystals' folders for the embossing, and cut the snowflakes using Cuttlebug and Marianne Designs Creatables dies. The sentiment is from a Lili of the Valley set.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - All White
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes
• Lollipop Crafts - Inspired by a Song (Mine's 'White Christmas')
• Sparkles Christmas - Snowmen

Dog Tags

A couple of quick tags for you today...these are to go on my Dad's birthday, and Father's Day presents...so I made them while I was staying with my parents last week, so I could leave the gifts all ready to go. The blank tags are from WHSmith, and I added a piece of card which I embossed with my Cuttlebug 'Stars' and 'Spots & Dots' folders, and a Penny Black dog image...the one on the left is called 'For You', and the one on the right is from the 'Bubbly' set. I added a sentiment from the 'Critter Party' set to the birthday tag, and lettering cut using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet to the Father's Day one...and then some seam binding ribbon to each to attach them to the gifts.

Challenges for these tags:

• Craft Your Days Away - Father's Day/Special Man
• Moving Along with the Times - No Designer Paper
• Simon Says Stamp -Father's Day/Male

Pile It On! Challenge - Summer Heaven

This week at the Pile It On! Challenge, our theme is:

'Summer Heaven'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Sassy Cheryl's:

Please visit Pile It On! for details of the prize.

I've used a digi stamp from Sassy Cheryl's on my card...it's called 'Lets Take a Dip'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The sparkly papers I used are from the '72 & Sunny' pad by We R Memory Keepers, as is the glittered tag, which I threaded on to some rainbow ribbon from Hobbycraft.

Here are the challenges I've Piled On!:

• Pile It On! - Summer Heaven 
• Bee Crafty - Summer's Here
• Crafter's Companion - Here Comes Summer
• Fab 'n' Funky - What 'eva'
• My Time to Craft - Very Funny
• Prairie Fairy - Summer Fun
• Stamp Something - Digi Day
• Sundays with Crissy - Here Comes the Sun
• Sweet Stampin' - Playing in the Summer Sun
• Truly Scrumptious - Summer Sparkle

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies...including our newest member Elizabeth...please visit the Pile It On! Challenge blog.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Photo Inspiration

*Please scroll down for my Penny Black Saturday Challenge DT Card*

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This week it's Tracie's turn to set the theme for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge...and she has chosen:

'Photo Inspiration'

I took my inspiration from the colours, and the floral pattern on the wallpaper. The image is 'Spring Swing' by Lili of the Valley, which I coloured using watercolour pencils, then cut out using one of my 'Deckled Rectangle' Nesties (available here at the Secret Crafter). The papers are from three different BasicGrey pads: 'Wisteria'; 'Sultry'; and 'Boxer'...and I used my Cuttlebug 'Flower Fantasy' folder for the embossing. I distressed all of the edges and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The flowers, are by Prima, the brads are Papermania, and the adhesive pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

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

• BasicGrey - Shabby Chic
• Creative Inspirations (Wednesdays) - Cute Bears/Animals Only
• Incy Wincy - Nature
• Lili of the Valley - Punches/Dies
• Papertake Weekly - Sketch (which I rotated 180 degrees)
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Flower Power
• Stamp with Fun - In the Garden
• Wild Orchid Crafts - Embossed Layers

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Doodlebug

The theme of this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge is:

'Doodlebug'

We'd like to see doodling on your cards.

We have a couple of fabulous prizes from our sponsors to tempt you:

 From Penny Black Inc:

4059K Hang on Edge

 And, from the Ribbon Girl:

5 packs of 10 metres of Bakers Twine

Plus any 2 packs of 10 metres of Button Twine from the website

I've gone ultra clean & simple with my card, using four little hedgies from the 'Any Which Way' set (of course by Penny Black)...I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then cut them out. I drew a frame with a fine liner pen, adding a little heart drawn to match those that the hedgies are holding. I stamped a sentiment from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp, then added a coating of Glossy Accents to all the hearts.

Here's a close-up of the image & doodles:

I'm also entering this card into the 'Frames & Borders' challenge on the Penny Black Inc blog and Filckr Group.

For more 'doodlicious' inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Pick a Square...Any Square

I've been dithering all week about which square to choose for the Less is More 'Pick a Square' challenge...but, I couldn't put it off any longer, and in the end went for the centre. I've used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps...'Dream a Dream', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I cut it out using one of mmy Nestie labels die, then before I removed the die, inked around the edges to create a sky effect with a blue chalk inkpad. The sentiment stamp is from the CCSR set by Papermania.

Challenges for this card:

• Less is More - Pick a Square
• Penny Black @ Allsorts - Your Favourite Stamp (How mean to make us choose just one...they're all my favourites!)
• Pollycraft - Teddy Bears

Up, Up & Away!

A sunny card for (hopefully!) sunny weather today. I've used a stamp from the 'Bubbly' set by Penny Black, which I coloured using watercolour pencils, added Glossy Accents to the balloons, then cut out. The papers from the '72 and Sunny' pad by We R Memory Keepers...I thought the cloud paper was just perfect to put behind the image...and it's glittery too! I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch on kraft card underneath the flowery piece, added a sentiment from the Penny Black 'Critter Party' set, and a couple of pieces of string.

Here's a close-up of the image:

Challenges for this card:

• Charisma Cardz - Something that Flies
• Crafts & Me - Punch it out! (I used a punch for the scalloped border on the kraft card)
• Cute Card Thursday - Embellish the Image (I used Glossy Accents on the balloons)
• Crazy Challenge - Pets
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch
• Totally Gorjuss - String

ABC Christmas Challenge - K is for...

I have a 'Mid-way Reminder' card today, for the current ABC Christmas Challenge, which is:

'K is for Kids & Kraft'

(Optional extra to make a giftcard holder)

Here's a reminder of the prizes on offer:

Digital Delights

Winner will receive 3 digital stamps of their choice.

and

Karen's doodles

Winner will receive 3 digital stamps of their choice.

On my card last week, I used an image from Digital Delights, so this time I've used one from our other sponsor, Karen's Doodles...it's called 'Bigsby Swinging Lights'. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added Glossy Accents to the light bulbs. I found some DCWV 'Christmas Wishes' paper with strings of ornaments on, which I thought matched the string of lights, so used that along with a sheet of text paper from the same stack. I inked the edges a little, and rounded a couple of the corners with my Woodware corner rounder punch...which had not seen daylight in such a long time! The 'kraft' card blank is by Papermania, I cut some snowflakes from some more kraft card using Marianne Designs Creatables and Cuttlebug dies, and the sparkly brad is by American Crafts.

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

• Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch

You can find more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies over on the ABC Christmas Challenge blog.