A Present

Today's card features a cute Penny Black bear stamp called 'A Present'. 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 bear using watercolour pencils. I stamped the image again on to snippets of spotty paper from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations, then added some shading using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut them out and used them to paper piece the gift box and ribbon. I matted the panel on to a snippet of teal card, distressing the edges, the added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Dots

Sweater Weather

I have a Christmas card to share today...featuring a cute polar bear in his Christmas jumper from the 'Beary Merry Christmas' set by Funky Fossil. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I added some strips of washi tape to a kraft card blank for a simple background, then added the bear on top using 3D foam pads. The sentiment is from the same stamp set as the bear.

Challenges for this card:

• Cutie Pie - Pink & Pretty
• Everybody Art - Sweater Weather
• Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes

Cat in the Hat Treat Bag

I have another Hallowe'en treat bag to share today...featuring a cute Wizard cat stamp from the Penny Black 'Spooky!' set. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. The papers are all by Carta Bella...I think from the 'Spooky' and 'Happy Haunting' collections...but I only have snippets left, with not much info on them. 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 bag:

• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Fur or Feathers
• I Spy with My Little Eye - Something Magical
• Little Red Wagon - Black, White & One Other Colour (I went with Orange)
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Optional 'Hallowe'en'
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Use Patterned Paper
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

Goofy Ghoul Treat Bag

I have a Hallow'een treat bag to share today...fetauring a cute little Penny Black stamp set that I got for my birthday a couple of months ago called 'Goofy Ghoul'. I stamped the ghost and hedgehog on to snippets of watercolour paper, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut them out. I made a simple spooky background for them using a piece of star covered paper (it's from an old 12x12 sheet, and I can't remember the brand), some dies...'Silhouette Tree' by Memory Box (with the borders cut off), and 'Grassy Edge' dies by Die-namics, and some snippets of black card. I layered everything up, matted it on to some more black card, then added it to a kraft gift bag.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spooky')
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Use Patterned Paper

ABC Christmas Challenge - U & V are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Carol is the host, and the themes are:

'U is for Unusual Christmas Colours'

&

'V is for Velvet'

The prize for the lucky winner is a die and pack of embellishments:

For my 'Unusual Christmas Colours' card, I picked a cute Woodware stamp called 'Snowman Family', stamping it on to watercolour paper along with a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then distressed the edges a littlebefore adding it to a kraft DL card blank.

For my 'Velvet' card, I picked one of the die cut coloured panels by Lili of the Valley that have been lurking in my stash for years...this one is from the 'Traditional Christmas' set. I trimmed it down (mainly to remove the rounded corners, then distressed the edges before matting it on to some teal card. For the background, I used some even older snippets of BasicGrey 'Figgy Pudding' papers...distressing the edges of those too, before adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, and matting them on to more teal card. For the velvet element, I added some coordinating strips of velvet ribbon.

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

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Snowmen (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes (Second card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Use Patterned Paper (Second card only)

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

Hedge Delivery

Today's card features a cute Penny Black hedgehog stamp called 'Hedge Delivery'. I stamped it on to a snippet of white card, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment, using a stamp from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I used my CutterBee Bug to pierce a simple border, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Cardz for Guys - Wheels
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

PBSC October - Anything Goes (Optional 'Cute or 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

'Cute or Spooky'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I went 'Cute AND Spooky' and picked one of the stamps from the 'Spooky' stamp set, stamping it on to a some watercolour paper along with a sentiment (using a stamp from the 'Be Very Scared' set). I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then used one of my circle Nesties to cut the circle shape. The cobweb paper is from the 'Apothecary Emporium' pad by Echo Park, and I'm not sure what brand the skull paper is...it's a snippet of a 12x12 sheet I've had for years. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and balck and white gel pens, before matting them on to some purple card. The kraft treat bag is from Hobbycraft.

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

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - All Stitched Up
• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Stamps
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

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

O Christmas Tree

Today's card was inspired by the 'Watercolour' themed challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. I CASEd some of my own cards, masking a triangle shape on some watercolour paper, wetting the area inside the tape with clean water, and blending various shades of green watercolour paint on to it. Once dry, I removed the tape, then used a black gel pen to doodle some strings of ornaments, colouring them in using a gold sparkly gel pen. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then matted the panel on to some gold mirror card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Watercolour
• AAA Cards - Anything CAS Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft Christmas - Christmas Trees
• Piece on Earth - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Christmas or Winter Cards
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Use the Word Christmas
• The Male Room - Trees

October Desk Calendar

As it's the first of the month, I'm sharing my desk calendar page for October today. I picked one of the images from the 'Be Very Scared' stamp set (by Penny Black), stamped it on to watercolour paper, and added a little bat from the 'Goofy Ghoul' set (also by Penny Black). I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then cut the circle shape using one of my Nesties. For the background, I used snippets of papers by Carta Bella, from the 'Spooky' and 'Haunted' collections...at least I think that's what they're called, I've had these for years, and there aren;'t many bits left with the branding on! I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black & white gel pens before matting it on to a snippet of kraft card, and adding it to the calendar (from the Paper Mill).

Challenges for this calendar:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - Include an Animal
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Pixies Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Friendship

Today's card features a cute Penny Black dog stamp called 'Friendship'. I stamped it directly on to a kraft card blank, added a sentiment using stamps from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Masculine
• Alphabet Challenge - M is for Masculine
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Transport

Thank You Tags

Today, I'm sharing a set of tags that a friend of mine asked me to make. She is organising a party for her Mother-in-law's 90th birthday, and wanted some personalised tags to put on the goody bags for attendees to take home. The bags they're going on, are kraft brown, with a sprinkling of gold starts, and after a little bit of back and forth with prototype designs, we settled on a pearlised gold tag layered over a kraft tag (both cut using a stitched border tag die). On the gold tags, I stamped a 'Thank You' sentiment (using a stamp from the 'Heartfelt Messages' set by Hero Arts) in black ink, then heat embossed it using clear embossing powder (to stop it from smudging), then used one of the dies from the 'Snowy Stars' set by Tim Holtz/Sizzix to cut out the star shape. On the kraft tags, is a simple printed 'Thank You' message. I made 30 of each in total...so had a little production line going, and although my friend is going to assemble them with some sparkly gold twine, I did one just to demonstrate.

Although I don't have any of the actual gift bags they'll be going on, here it is being modelled on a plain kraft bag.

Challenges for these tags:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Tags

Christmas Pup

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring one of the critters from the 'Christmas Hats' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, extended the 'snowy ground' using a black gel pen, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment, usina a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymoous, then carefully cut around the top edge. For the background, I embossed a piece of watercolour effect paper, from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations using a 3D embossing folder from the 'Glittering Snowflakes' collection by Crafter's Companion. I lightly sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core, then layered it behind the image. I matted it all on to some navy card, then added it to the card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Cardz for Guys - Embossing
• Christmas Kickstart - Embossing Folders
• Christmas with the Cuties - Feature a Creature
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Inkspirational - Headwear
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Glittering Flowing Flowers N Leaves

Today's card features a Hero Arts background stamp called 'Flowing Flowers N Leaves'. I stamped it on to black card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using a couple of different WOW embossing glitters (Magical Mauve & Emerald City). I trimmed it into a square, then matted it on to some gold mirror card, before adding it to a white card blank. The sentiment is an old woodmounted stamp...also by Hero Arts...I heat embossed it using gold embossing powder, then matted it on to some more gold mirror card, before adding it to the card.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - Background Focus
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Embossing Delight
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Make Your Own Background

PBSC September - Anything Goes (Optional 'Anything but Square')...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

'Anything but Square'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I made a diamond fold card this time. The shape always reminds me of a Christmas cracker, so I picked a cute kitty stamp from the 'Joy to the World' set, stamping him on to a snippet of watercolour paper, colouring him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cutting him out. I used snippets of Christmas tree covered paper, from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye, to decorate the sides, then cut a circle of the same paper, using one of my Nesties, matting it on to some more green card, cut into a scalloped circle using another of my Nesties. Finally, I added the cute kitty on top, popped up on some 3D foam pads.

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

• As You Like It - Favourite Die (My circle Nesties...I've had them for since before I started my blog (in 2008!) and they're my most used dies...I'd never be able to cut such a neat circle without them!)
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes
• Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• The Male Room - Fun Folds

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

Fishing!

Today's card features a Penny Black stamp called 'Fishing!'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, added a sentiment using stamps from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used snippets of papers from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Michaels (found at TKMaxx), distressing the edges and adding faux stitching my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, then matting them on to some kraft card. I added the image on top, then placed it all on to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'Something Fishy')
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Birthday or Anniversary
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Sew What?
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

Suspenseful Music

Today's card features a cute Penny Black stamp called 'Suspenseful Music'. I stamped it directly on to a kraft card blank, then added a sentiment from the 'Hedgie Harmony' set...also by Penny Black. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Just a Note
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - CAS
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Four-legged Friends
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Animal Magic')

Bauble Balance

I have a Christmas card to share today...featuring a cute little elf stamp from Penny Black called 'Bauble Balance'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, along with the matching sentiment, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. As the image is fairly large, I used a single piece of patterned paper from the 'Silver Bells' pad by Kaisercraft...distressing the edges and adding faux stitching. Once assembled, I added a generous coating of  'Diamond' Stickles to the elf's baubles to match the ones on the paper behind.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas with the Cuties - Elves/Gnomes/Fairies
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Ho Ha Ha!
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stamp It
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Hand Coloured Images')

Guest Designer - Seize the Birthday Challenge

Today, I'm excited to share that I'm a Surprise Party Guest at the Seize the Birthday Challenge!

If you're new to their challenges, they have an optional 'Topping' theme, which this fortnight is:

But, if the 'Topping' isn't sparking those creative juices, there's always the option to enter an 'Anything Goes' Birthday card!

When I made my card, I was away from home with limited stash...and without anything suitably stripey! I put my thinking cap on, and decided to try making my own stripes using Distress Inks on watercolour paper. I used masking tape to mask a strip on the watercolour paper, then painted stripes of Distress Ink in varying thickness down the page. Once dry, I removed the masking tape, added a stamped sentiment, using a stamp from the 'Signature Greetings' set by Memory Box, then distressed the edges a little. I picked an image from the 'Cheerful Critters' set by Penny Black...stamping it on to watercolour paper, and colouring it using a mixture of watercolour pencils, and the same Distress Inks I used for the stripes. I carefully cut out the image, then added it on top of the striped panel using 3D foam pads before adding it to a kraft card blank.

For more inspiration, from the fabulous design team, please pop over to the Seize the Birthday Challenge. Thanks for inviting me to your party!

ABC Christmas Challenge - S & T are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Lynda is the host, and the themes are:

'S is for Stencils'

&

'T is for Traditional Christmas Colours'

The prize for the lucky winner is these Avery Elle dies:

I don't often use stencils, so don't have that many, but I do have a lovely snowflake one (from Creative Expressions), that was the starting point for my card. I picked a piece of lilac watercolour effect paper (from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations), and blended a white pigment ink over the stencil. The stencil is DL sized, so I had to do it in two stages to cover the whole piece of paper...then, as it didn't show up as clearly as I'd hoped, I sprinkled some 'Diamond White' embossing powder (from WOW) over the top, then set it using my heat gun. I used a Creative Expression die to cut the sentiment...cutting a couple from white snippets, and layering them up with one cut from purple mirror card over the top. I matted the snowflake panel on to some more of the purple mirror card, then added it to a white card blank.

Another angle:

For my 'Traditional Christmas Colours' card, I picked a Woodware Christmas tree stamp, that I got for my birthday. I stamped it on to black card, along with one of the sentiments from the same Woodware set, then heat embossed it all in gold. I used Cosmic Shimmers mica pigments mixed with a little water to watercolour the tree in traditional red and green, then matted the gold panel on to some gold mirror card before adding it to a card blank.

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

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Trees and/or Barns (Second card only)
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stamp It
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stamp It

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