Leap Frog

I'm back with the bright colours today...these papers are from a Heidi Grace pad I got ages ago at TKMaxx...I added so faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The froggy is 'Leap for Joy' by Penny Black...and, as I always think he should be looking at something, I added a bee from the 'Every Which Way' set (also by Penny Black). The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts and the ribbon is from Fantastic Ribbons.

Challenges for this card:

• Digi Doodles - Pink & Green
• Fab 'N' Funky - Leap
• Paper Sundaes - Green or Good Luck
• Papercraft Star - Frogs
• Papertake Weekly - Sketch 
• Stamp with Fun - Pink & Green
• Sweet Stampin' - Nature, Bugs & Bees

Shades of Pumice Stone

After yesterday's highly saturated coloured cards, I've toned it down today for Less Is More's 'Neutrals' challenge. I stamped 'Agapanthus Clusters' (by Stampendous) in 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink, then 'coloured in' the outline flowers with more 'Pumice Stone' using my waterbrush. For the strip along the bottom, I lightly blended a little 'Pumice Stone' on to white card, then stamped my 'Circular Design' background stamp (by Penny Black) in...yes, you've guessed it...'Pumice Stone'. The sentiment stamp (from a little Wild Rose Studio set) was stamped in Memento 'Rich Cocoa'...just for a change...and the button twine (just seen...it doesn't contrast too well against the stamping) is from the Ribbon Girls.

Challenges for this card:

• Clean & Simple - Sketch
• Less is More - Neutrals
• Squiggles & Giggles - White Space

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Green for Go!

It's Kate's turn to choose the theme of the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge this week, which is:

'Green for Go!'

Well, St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner :0)

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

The prize for the lucky winner is a £10 voucher to spend in the Crafter's Companion store!

I've used an adorable Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Lucky Cats', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Marjolaine' pad by BasicGrey...I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers were cut using my 'Tattered Florals' die, and I used my Cuttlebug 'Perfect Paisley' folder for the embossing. The sparkly brad is by American Crafts, and the little sentiment is a Wild Rose Studio stamp.

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

• Card Makin' Mamas - Green
• Everybody Art - Monochrome
• Papercrafting Journey - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - Lucky
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Bingo (I used Flowers-Polkadots-Die Cuts)
• Sundays with Crissy - Animals

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - CASE IT (Domi)

As it's the first Saturday of the month, our Penny Black Saturday Challenge is another 'CASE IT' challenge this week...we want you to take inspiration from Domi's adorable card:

We have two wonderful sponsors for this challenge:

 

From Penny Black Inc

And from the Ribbon Girl

I took my inspiration from the circular shape, and the purple & blue colour combo. I cut my card using Nesties from Core'dinations card...cutting two full circles, then sticking them together at the top, with a little fold in the one on the back so that it stands up nicely. I embossed the blue card using my Cuttlebug 'Flower Fantasy' folder, and a cute little button border folder from the 'Just My Type' set. The flowers were cut using my 'Tattered Florals' die, and I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the border. I sanded over all the edges and the embossing...and I almost forgot...the adorable wee hedgie is from the 'Critter Party' set

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

• Crafty Catz - Punches & Dies
• Crafty Sentiments - Shaped Cards
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• My Mum's Craft Shop - Throw Us Some Shapes
• My Time To Craft - Circle Circus
• Paper Sundaes - Circles

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - D is for...

I have another card for our current ABC Christmas Challenge today, where the theme is:

'D is for Distressing'

We have two fabulous sponsors for this challenge:

Prize - a $10 voucher to spend in the Sweet Stamps store!

and

Prize - 3 digis of the winner's choice from Karen's Doodles!

I'm used another Penny Black stamp...this one is called 'Carollers'...love PB chickens! I stamped on to kraft card, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. The papers are new...I know, I know...surely the last thing I need is more paper...but I popped to Hobbycraft on Sunday morning to as I was out of foam pads...and they'd moved everything round...so I ended up traipsing round the whole shop trying to find them...and whilst I was searching for the foam pads, I discovered all of the clearance stuff left over from the post-Christmas sales had been dumped on some shelves at the back...and peeking out of the bottom of one of the piles of (mostly) tat, I spied a My Mind's Eye 12x12 glitter paper pad ('I Believe')...the cover was a little ripped, but the papers were all fine...and it was reduced to £4.99...so it just had to come home with me ;0)
I distressed all of the edges with 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink, and then my distressing tool...adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The snowflake was cut using my Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die, and the sparkly brad is by American Crafts.

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

• Christmas Cards - Music
• Crazy Challenge - Anything Goes
• Love to Create - Stitching
• One Stop - Colour on Kraft
• Top Tip Tuesday - Stitching

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Boo Boo Bear

Whilst tidying my messy stamped image box at the weekend...I came across 'Boo Boo Bear' (by Whipper Snapper)...and thought he was too sweet to leave uncoloured...I don't know anyone in need  of a 'Get Well' card at the moment...and not that I want to wish an illness upon anyone, it's always good to have one in your stash just in case! For the background, I embossed Core'dinations card using my Cuttlebug 'Kassie's Brocade', 'Perfect Paisley' and 'Victoria' folders...sanding over the surface to reveal the core. I distressed the edges a little, and cut some matching flowers using my 'Tattered Florals' die...embossing them using my 'D'Vine Swirls' folder. The sentiment stamp is by Personal Impressions, and the brads are BasicGrey.

Challenges for this card:

• Card Positioning Systems - Sketch
• Challenge Up Your Life - Get Well Soon
• Moving Along with the Times - Lots of Layers
• Raise the Bar - Purple Green & ? (I chose blue)

Make a Wish

I have another 'masculine' card today...inspired by the 'Use your scraps' challenge over at Less Is More. I have quite a few paper pads...ok..rather a lot...and I keep every tiny little scrap...'cos you never now when it's going to be just the right colour/size/pattern for something or other! lol Anyway...I raided my little BasicGrey 'Archaic' pad...I've had it for years, and there aren't any full size sheets left...just scraps...of varying sizes...and cut a few stars shapes using my Nesties. I inked the edges with a little 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink, and doodled border with a black gel pen. The letters are cut from a sticker set by Pebbles Inc that has been in my stash for ages...the words were not anything I'd ever use...so I thought I'd cut them up.

Challenges for this card:

• BasicGrey - Seeing Stars (The papers are from the 'Archaic' pad)
• Less is More - Use your Scraps
• Papertake Weekly - Krafty

Pile It On Challenge - Make It a Fun Fold

It's time for a new challenge over at Pile It On! And our theme this week is:

'Make it a Fun Fold'

Try something other than a normal single fold card...for example, an easel card, gatefold, tri-fold, shutter card or step card.

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

The prize is a $15 voucher to spend in the wonderful Simon Says Stamp store!

I decided to make a centre-step card as it's been a while since I made one. The image is 'Celebration Chicken' by Whipper Snapper, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are all from the '72 & Sunny' pad by We R Memory Keepers...I distressed all of the edges with ink, then doodled a border using a black gel pen to save matting and layering. The letters are stamps from the Hero Arts 'Patterned Alphabet' set...stamped on to some of the orange spotty paper, and the stars were cut using my Nesties...and all popped up on 3D foam pads.

Here are the challenges I've Piled On:

• Pile It On! - Make it a Fun Fold
• 2 Sisters - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Free & Easy
• Corrosive - Another Dimension
• Crafty Creattions - Fancy Folds
• Crazy Challenge - Use a Die Cut
• Cute Card - Things with Wings
• Delightful - Use Patterned Papers
• Do You Stack Up - Distress
• Simon Says Stamp - Three Different Papers
• Stamp with Fun - Shapes
• Sweet Stampin' - It's a Man Thing

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

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - White on White

We have a brand new Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge for you today...where the theme is:

'White on White'

(You may use colour on your image, if you wish, but the rest of the card should be white)

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

The prize is a $15 voucher for Heather's Hobbie Haven!

I love all white cards...a great way to show off your embossing folders! I used my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' and 'Kassie's Brocade' and Craft Concepts 'Butterflies' folders to make the background...distressing the edges a little to add definition to the layers. The flower stamp is 'Irises' by Penny Black, which I stamped using the watercolour technique with my 'Forest Moss' and 'Dusky Concord' Distress Inks. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, and I cut the numbers using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet dies.

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

• Incy Wincy - Birthday
• Lollipop Crafts - Anything Goes

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Sketch by Nat

It's time for a new Penny Black Saturday Challenge, and this week we have a fabby sketch by our lovely Nat:

 

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

 

And the prize is 4 rolls of ribbon of the winner's choice!

I've used a stamp I got in the post Christmas sales on my card...it's called 'Spring chick'...perfect for Easter cards. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, and paired it with some zingy coloured papers from the 'Hippity Hoppity' pad by We R Memory Keepers. I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts, the strip across the bottom is also from the WRMK pad, and the flowers were cut using my Tattered Florals die.

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

• Crafts & Me - Shades of Spring
• Crafty Catz - Eye Spy Something Beginning with...B (Bunny)
• Simon Says Stamp - Use 3 Papers
• The Stamp Man - Colours of Easter/Spring

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - D is for...

We have a brand new ABC Christmas Challenge for you today...Samantha is the host...and the theme she has chosen is:

'D is for Distressing'

We have two fabulous sponsors for this challenge:

Prize - a $10 voucher to spend in the Sweet Stamps store!

and

Prize - 3 digis of the winner's choice from Karen's Doodles!

I've used one of my favourite Christmas Penny Black stamps on my card...'Wishes for Kisses'...so cute! I coloured it using watercolour pencils...co-ordinating the hedgie's scarf with the colours of Core'dinations card I used for the background. I embossed the card using a mixture of Cuttlebug and Sizzix/BasicGrey folders...then sanded lightly over the surface to reveal the core. I then distressed all of the edges using my distressing tool. The sentiment is a Lili of the Valley stamp.

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

•  Allsorts - Free & Easy
• Christmas Challenges (With Sketches) - Sketch 
• Christmas Inspirations - Anything Goes
• One Stop Craft - Make your own background
• Winter Wonderland - Christmas Card

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, and some wonderful guest designers, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Cuttlebug Spot Challenge - Spring is in the Air

We have a brand new challenge for you over at the Cuttlebug Spot today...where the theme is:

'Spring is in the Air!'

What do you think of when you think of Spring?

Well...I think bunnies...and that makes me think 'Easter'...so I've used a couple of adorable Penny Black bunnies (part of the 'Bunny Friends' stamp) and some brightly coloured We R Memory Keepers papers (from the 'Hippity Hoppity' pad) to make my first Easter card of the year. I distressed the edges a little..then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. I used my 'Tattered Florals' die to cut the flowers in mmy 'Bug...and attached them using BasicGrey brads. The sentiment stamp is from the Hero Arts 'Sentiments' set.

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

• 2 Sisters - Stitching
• Card Crafter's Circle - Die Cuts
• Craft Us Crazy - Favourites (This stamp is one of my favourite PBs...and I just love these papers and faux stitching - can't sew for toffee! lol)
• Crafty Ann's  - Bold & Bright
• Crafty Catz - Favourite Things (This stamp is one of my favourite PBs...and I just love these papers and faux stitching - can't sew for toffee! lol)
• Do You Stack Up? - Layers
• Papercrafting Journey - Cute
• PaperPlay - Critters
• Simply Create - Add Sunshine
• Truly Scrumptious - All Creatures Great & Small

For more inspiration from mmy lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Cuttlebug Spot. 

Spike!

Half-term is over   :0(   so I'm back to early starts again...this chap is 'Spike' from Pollycraft...I coloured him using watercolour pencils, and couldn't resist adding some Glossy Accents to his eye! As this is a boy's card, I've kept it really simple...the papers are from the '72 & Sunny' pad by We R Memory Keepers, and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Card Makin' Mama's - Happy Birthday
• CES - Spots & Dots
• Dream Valley - Just for Men
• My Time to Craft - Bring on the Cake
• One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi...or Not (I did)
• Paper Sundaes - Birthdays
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Masculine Birthday

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Bingo!

This week, it's Janet's turn to choose the theme of the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge...which is:

'Let's play bingo!'

Choose three items in either a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

With a prize of three digis of the winner's choice from the Stamping Boutique!

I picked Glitter-Pearls-Leaves...and got inky with another of my new Penny Black stamps...this one's called 'Butterfly Suite'. I stamped it in black, then blended 'Faded Jeans', 'Pine Needles' and 'Evergreen Bough' Distress Inks over the top...then inked around the edges using 'Brushed Corduroy'. I then spattered some plain water, and inky water over the top, before sprizting the whole thing with a shimmer spray made using 'Soft Gold' Cosmic Shimmer pigment mixed with water. I used more 'Soft Gold' to paint around the edges...then went over that with 'Crystal' Stickles for more sparkle. I stamped the butterflies from the stamp again, then painted them using 'Bright Holly' and 'Soft Gold' pigments, then layered them on the image. This card is for my Aunt's 65th birthday next month, so I added some numbers cut using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet...which a distressed using more 'Soft Gold' pigment...and then added a few gold pearls (from Wild Orchid Crafts) to balance that out. The sentiment stamp is from the CCSR set by Papermania.  

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

• C.R.A.F.T. - No Designer Papers
• Flutterby - Anything with Wings
• Papercraft Star - Butterflies
• Simon Says Stamp & Show - Anything Goes

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Pearls & Lace

It's Saturday...and that means a brand new Penny Black Saturday Challenge...the theme this week is:

'Pearls & Lace'

The prize for this challenge is this adorable Mimi stamp:

Generously donated by ex-PBSC DT member Carole.

I've used one of the stamps from the 'Touch of Whimsy' set that I received recently as part of my prize in the Penny Black category of the Cardmaker of the Year competition on my card...I coloured it using watercolour pencils to match the blues & greens of the BasicGrey 'Marjolaine' papers. I distressed the edges a littel...then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. I used lace (from Hobbycraft) to form a scalloped border along the central strip...and added some blue adhesive pearls in a couple of the corners. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts...and I dissected a few flowers (Wild Orchid Crafts) so that I could place the different coloured petals behind it.

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

• Crafts & Me - Distressed 
• Cute Card Thursday - Flower Power
• Dutch Dare - Distressing
• Paper Sundaes - Sundae Bar (I chose Blue, Distressing & Pearls)
• Stamptacular Sunday - Pearls & Lace

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

Agapanthus Clusters

I've been getting inky again...inspired by a wonderful card here on Chupa's blog...which I stumbled upon whilst googling the other night. I loved her layout, and simple stamping with different shades of green, so I thought I'd CASE her card and play along with her weekly sketch challenge this week at the same time. I masked off a strip across the centre of a piece of card, then blended 'Stormy Sky' Distress Ink over it...fading out to one side. I then stamped 'Agapanthus Clusters' ( by Stampendous) over the top, in several shades of blue Distress Inks ('Faded Jeans', 'Stormy Sky' & 'Chipped Saphire'), and a sentiment from the Hero Arts 'Sentiments' set in black. I matted it on to some card tinted with more 'Stormy Sky' before adding it to my card blank.

 Challenges for this card:

• Digi Doodles - Anything Goes
• Sketchbook Saturday - Sketch #49

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

I've been playing with another of my new Penny Black stamps...this one is called 'Fly with me', and I coloured it using watercolour pencils. The papers are by We R Memory Keepers, from the 'Hippity Hoppity' and '72 & Sunny' pads...I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The sentiment is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts...the twine is from the Ribbon Girls, and the button is from my stash.

Challenges for this card:

• Aud Sentiments - Happy...
• Crafty Creations - Warm & Cuddly Teddy Bears
• Creative Card Crew - Masculine
• Here Come the Boys - Favourite Song ('Let's Go Fly a Kite' from 'Mary Poppins')
• Hotshot Crafts - Boys
• Penny Black @ Allsorts - Bingo (I used Kraft-Green-Blue)
• Ready Teddy Go - Stitching