Poinsettia Bauble

Today's card features another charity shop find. I have no idea of the brand of the bauble stamp, as it was not in it's original packaging, but is unmounted grey rubber, and if anyone recognises it, please let me know in the comments what it is! ***Edit - Thanks so much to Lynn for letting me know that it's by Creative Expressions...and is called 'Mini Floret Bauble'.*** I stamped it on to black card using Versamark Ink, then drew a 'thread' for it to hang from using my Versamark pen, before heat embossing it all using 'Metallic Gold' embossing powder from WOW. I used a couple of Cosmic Shimmers mica pigments to add some colour to the flowers and leaves, and a simple sentiment (from the 'Many Blessings' set by Hero Arts), also heat embossed in gold. I matted the embossed panel on to some gold mirror card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Friends - Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Stamp Act
• Stamping Sensations - Christmas Celebrations
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes
• We Love Stamping - Christmas

PBSC November - Anything Goes (Optional 'Embellish It')

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

'Embellish It'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I picked one of the cute puppy images from the 'Good Times' set...stamping them directly on to a kraft card blank, along with one of the sentiments from the set. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added a big bow made from some rainbow striped ribbon.

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

• CCEE Stampers - Dogs
• Happy Little Stampers (Birthday) - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Critters

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

November Desk Calendar

Today I'm sharing my desk calendar page for November. I used a cute pup image from the Penny Black 'Good Times' set, stamped on to watercolour paper, coloured using watercolour pencils, then cut into a circle shape using one of my Nesties. I paired him with snippets of papers from the Dovecraft 'Tea House' pad...distressing the edges a little and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this calendar:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes

Happy Halloween!

Today I'm sharing my final Halloween treat bag of the spooky season...they have all been delivered, so I hope that the recipients are tucking into their treats! This one features one of the critters from the Penny Black 'Be Very Scared' set. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then used my Nesties to cut out the circles. I paired him with papers from the 'Hocus Pocus' pad by Taylored Expressions...I've had these for years, but they're finally nearing the end...I used the last full sheet on this project, and a couple of snippets...distressing the edges, adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens, before matting on to snippets of bright green card.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Allsorts - Let's Celebrate - Any Special Occasion
• C.R.A.F.T. - Halloween
• Cut It Up - Halloween
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (Optional 'Halloween')
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Halloween
• Use Your Stuff - Halloween

Birthday Wishing

Today's card features another of this week's charity shop finds...it wasn't in the original packaging, but I recognised the adorable Anita Jeram (for the Colorado Craft Company) illustrations, so couldn't resist this set, called 'Birthday Wishing'. I stamped the bunny and the little guinea pig/hamster (not sure which he is?!) directly on to a kraft card blank, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then coloured them using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - A Favourite Technique (Colouring on kraft)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Kraft')
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

 

Winter Penguin

Today's card features another of this week's charity shop finds...it's an old wood mounted Hero Arts stamp called 'Winter Penguin'. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion, then matted the image on to a snippet of turquoise card, distressing the edges a little, before adding it to a card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Favourite Christmas Image or Animal (Penguins...I have quite the collection of penguin stamps, and picked up two more in charity shops this week...I can't help it, they always look so happy!)
• CASology - Cozy
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Feature a Creature
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Winter Village

Today's card features a Christmas stamp that I picked up in a charity shop yesterday. I was intrigued, as I'd not seen it before, and it described itself as a 3D stamp, and is called 'Winter Village' by Spellbinders. I inked it up with 'Chipped Sapphire' Distress Ink and stamped it directly on to a white card blank...not really the right type of ink to use, as it didn't give me a very crisp image, but I'm away from home, and that's what I have with me.  Anyway, it still does give a 3D effect, but I shall have to try again with some more inks when I get home. I simply added a sentiment from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Christmas Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Sketched Flowers

I have a birthday card to share today, made using stamps from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped the flowers and one of the sentiments from the set on to watercolour paper using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using 'Metallic Gold Rich' embossing powder from WOW. I watercoloured the flowers using Cosmic Shimmers pigments mixed with a little water, and once dry, splattered some of the gold pigment over the top.

It's always so difficult to photograph shimmery/sparkly things, but here's a photo from another angle:

Challenges for this card:

• Flower Challenge - Add a Sentiment
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Happy Little Stampers (Birthday) - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes

 

Mice Treats

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...featuring another spooky Penny Black critter, this time from the 'Be Very Scared' set. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then used one of my Nesties to cut the circle shape. The papers are from the 'Raven' pad by Glitz...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Creative Inspirations - Autumn or Halloween
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Halloween/Spooky
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Spooky
• Sweet Stampers - Autumn or Halloween

Embossed Thanks

I have a set of simple embossed thank you cards that I've made to give as a gift to share today. I picked sheets of watercolour effect papers from the 'Watercolour Feelings' pad from The Works, and 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations, and embossed them using Cuttlebug, Craft Concepts and Couture Creations embossing folders. I lightly distressed the edges, added a simple die cut sentiment (cut using one of my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet dies, from snippets of white card), then added the embossed panels to some A6 card blanks. I made two of each colour & embossed design, so there are twelve in total:

Challenges for these cards:

• Allsorts - Add a Sentiment
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Daring Cardmakers - Make Your Own Background
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets

PBSC October - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spooky')...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

'Spooky'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I picked a cute little mouse image from the 'Be Very Scared' set and used it to decorate a Halloweem treat bag. I stamped the mouse on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then cut out the fircle shape using one of my Nesties. The papers are from the 'Spooky' collection by Carta Bella...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.

I'm also entering this treat bag into the following challenges:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Gift Box or Bag
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Black, Orange & Purple')
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Photo Inspiration
• Sweet Stampin' - Anything but Birthday

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - U & V are for?

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

'U is for Unusual Christmas Colours'

&

'V is for Velvet'

There is a surprise gift from Wilma on offer for the lucky winner:

Inspired by more traditional Halloween colours, I picked orange and purple as the main colours for my 'Unusual Christmas Colours' card. I used a Crafter's Companion die called 'Cascading Snowflakes' to cut the snowflake panel from purple card, then layered that over an orage card blank. I cut a sentiment from a snippet of pink card using a Creative Expressions die, then added that over the top.

I  knew I had some velvet ribbons in my stash, and after a good rummage, found a few different colours which happened to be a fairly good match for the papers in the 'Mistletoe' pad by Craftwork Cards. I paired them with a Lili of the Valley pre-coloured image (from the 'Christmas Cuties' set), distressing the edges and adding soe faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Friends - More Than One Die (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

For more inspiration, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Snowy

Today's card features an old favourite...'Snowy' by Penny Black. I stamped him on to some watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I added a few strips of washi tape (can't remember where they're from - sorry!), and a sentiment (from the 'Joy to the World' set also by Penny Black), then added Snowy over the top using 3D foam pads.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Washi Tape
• The Male Room - Clean & Simple
• Winter Wonderland - Let It Snow

Simple Embossed Christmas

I have a set of simple one layer heat embossed Christmas cards to share today. I used image stamps my Marianne Designs (the 'Bauble Border') and Chocolate Baroque (the reindeer is from the 'Damask Reindeer' set), stamping them directly on to my card blanks using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using metallic WOW embossing powders...silver on the blue cards, and gold on the red and green. I added matching heat embossed sentiments, from the 'Very Merry Christmas' set by Hero Arts, and the 'Festive Panel' set by Woodware.

Challenges for these cards:

• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Embossing
• Krafty Chicks - Stamp Act
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Vampire Cat Treat Bag

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...again, I used a Penny Black critter from the 'Spooky' set. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils, before cutting out the circle shape using one of my Nesties. The papers are unbranded, and I've had them so long I can't remember where I got them from! I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Crafty Calendar - Halloween
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Spooky Halloween
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stitch It

Dawn Loves Her Doggie

Today's card features a Stamping Bella image called 'Dawn Loves her Doggie'. I stamped it directly on to a kraft card blank, along with a sentiment from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, then coloured it using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Optional 'For a Friend')
• Less is More - Friendship
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Guest Designer - AAA Cards Challenge!

A couple of months ago I was picked as one of the favourites of a challenge over at AAA Cards, and asked to guest design for a future challenge which starts today. The game this week is 1/9th with optional 'Gnomes':

I decided to go with the optional 'Gnomes' theme, as I have a set of cute little gnome stamps by 2 Jays. I stamped one of the gnomes directly on to a kraft card blank, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment (from the Woddware 'Hanging Basket' set).

For more inspiration from the wonderful AAA Cards design team, please pop over to their challenge - thanks for having me!

PBSC October - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spooky')

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

'Spooky'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I picked a spooky image from the 'Be Very Scared' set to decorate the October page of my desk calendar. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then cut it into a circle using one of my Nesties. For the background, I used papers from the 'Spooky Spectacular' pad from Paper Mill Direct. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen.

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

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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