PBSC February - Anything Goes (Optional 'Romance')...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

'Romance'

We're currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

I picked a cute pup from the 'Critter Party' set (an oldie, but a goodie), and stamped him directly onto a kraft card blank. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Furry Friends' set by Funky Fossil.

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

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• As You Like It - Cute or Elegant (Cute for me...especially Penny Black critters - they were what got me into cardmaking)
• CAS on Friday - Cute
• Crafty Calendar - Love is in the Air
• Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes
• I Spy with My Little Eye - Something You Love (Penny Black critters, CAS one layer cards, kraft card)
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - No Designer Papers
• The Male Room - CAS

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

Moose & Bear

I have a couple of Christmas cards to share today, made using die sets by Elizabeth Craft Designs, that I picked up in a charity shop yesterday. I used snippets of kraft and white card to cut the pieces of both animals, with tiny bits of grey and black card for eyes, paws, ears and nose), then inked around the edges using Distress Inks ('Brushed Corduroy' and 'Gathered Twigs' for the Moose, and 'Hickory Smoke' for the Polar Bear) to add some definition. I embossed squares of kraft and white card for simple backgrounds using embossing folders from Couture Creations (for the Christmas trees behind the Moose), and Sizzix (for the snowflakes behind the polar bear). I stamped sentiments (using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz) onto snippets of kraft and white card, then distressed all of the edges before assembling.

Here's a better look at the two cards:

Challenges for these cards:

• Allsorts - Embossing (Second card only)
• Can You Handle the Pressure? - Die Cuts
• Cardz for Guys - Monochrome (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Dies & Punches
• Peace on Earth - Anything Christmas Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (First card only)

Christmas Hats

Today's card features a couple of the critters from the 'Christmas Hats' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I stamped them, along with one of the sentiments from the set, onto watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a piece of paper from the 'Merry & Bright' pad by Craft Sensations...distressing the edges and adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - C & D are for? (Cats & Dogs)
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Red
• Little Red Wagon - Seeing Red
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Stitching

Bah! Humpug!

Today's card features a cute Pug stamp that I picked up in a charity shop over Christmas...it's from a set by Crafter's Companion called 'Bah! Humpug!'. I stamped it, along with the sentiment from the set, onto watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'Merry & Bright' pad by Craft Sensations. I distressed all of the edges a little, and matted the image onto some red card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Guest Designer - Seize the Birthday Challenge (CAS + Dies)

I'm back with another Surprise Party Guest card for the Seize the Birthday Challenge.

The theme this fortnight is:

Any regular visitors to my blog will know that I'm a stamper at heart, but I do have a little collection of dies, and this theme was the perfect excuse to dust off a set of cupcake dies (by Marianne Designs) that I have had for a very long time! I cut the 'cupcake case' from a snippet of spotty paper from the 'Happy Colours' pad from The Works, and the 'frosting' and 'cherry' from snippets of papers from the 'North Country' pad by Prima Marketing. I assembled the cupcake on a piece of kraft card using 3D foam pads of varying thickness to add dimension, then added some adhesive pearl 'sprinkles'. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the Hero Arts 'Cupcakes' stamp set, then distressed the edges of the kraft panel before adding it to a matching kraft card blank.

For more inspiration from the fabulous Design Team, please pop over to the Seize the Birthday Challenge!

ABC Christmas Challenge - C & D are for?

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

'C is for Crimson' (Red)

&

'D is for Ding Dong' (Bells)

The prize for the lucky winner is this stamp and coordinating die set:

For my 'C is for Crimson' card, I picked a cute Penny Black stamp called 'Jolly Xmas Kitty'. I stamped him directly onto a white card, along with a sentiment (also by Penny Black), then coloured him using watercolour pencils...giving him a 'Crimson' hat.

For my 'D is for Ding Dong' card, I used stamps from a Sheena Douglas stamp set called 'A Little Bit Festive Silver Bells'. I stamped the image and sentiment onto a panel on navy blue card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using 'Metallic Silver' embossing powder from WOW, before adding it to a DL white card blank.

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

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Allsorts - Anything Goes (First card only)
• CAS on Friday - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes (First card only)

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

All That Glitters is Snow

I have a simple Christmas card to share today...made using a couple of dies that I picked up from a charity shop over Christmas. The dies are both by Memory Box, a plain bauble (Classic Ornament) and a co-ordinating fancier die (Snowflake Ornament) that can be layered over the top. I cut the plain one from a snippet of silver glitter card, and the snowflake one from a snippet of dark blue mirror card, then layered them up for the full effect. I cut a thin strip of silver mirror card to make a 'string' to hang the bauble from, and added it to a piece of plain white card. I stamped a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion, then added the bauble. I distressed the edges of the card a little, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Sparkles Forum - Snowflakes
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Baubles

PBSC February - Anything Goes (Optional 'Romance')

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

'Romance'

We are currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

I used a cute hedgie stamp called 'The Park Bench Affair' to make an anniversary card. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Champagne Anniversary Silhouette' set by My Sentiments Exactly, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a piece of heart covered paper from the 'Vintage Dreams' pad by Craft Sensations...I distressed all of the edges, then matted the layers onto some red card before adding it to a white card blank.

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

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Love
• Creative Knockouts - Love/Valentine's/Anniversary
• Everybody Art - Hearts
• Fab 'N' Funky - Love is All Around
• Inkspirational - XOXO
• Little Red Wagon - Picturing Love
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Heart
• We Love Stamping - Hearts

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

Birthday Dog

Today's card features one of my all time favourite stamps...'Birthday Dog' by Penny Black. I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then used one of my circle Nesties to cut him out. I paired him with papers from the 'Party Day' pad by Crate Paper. I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Favourite Stamps
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Today's card features another charity shop find...an unmounted (and unbranded) rubber stamp of a wintry scene. I've searched, but can't find out exactly what it is, so if anyone recognises it, please do let me know in the comments. I stamped it onto a navy card blank using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I added a sentiment, heat embossing it in white to match, using one of the stamps from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafteer's Companion.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• CAS on Friday - Monochrome
• Christmas Kickstart - Christmas Sing-A-Long
• Krafty Chicks - Anything Goes with Embossing
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

February Desk Calendar

As it's the first of the month, I'm sharing my desk calendar for February today. I picked one of the cute images from the 'Every Which Way' set by Penny Black, stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then cut it out using one of my circle Nesties. For the background, I used snippets of heart covered papers from the 'Happy Colours' pad from The Works...distressing the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The little hearts were cut from a snippet of pink card using my Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts' die.

Challenges for this calendar:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Love & Romance
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Have a Heart
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - All You Need is Love
• We Love Stamping - Hearts

Sebastian

Today's card features a cute Whipper Snapper pup stamp called 'Sebastian' that I picked up from a charity shop over Christmas. I stamped him onto some watercolour paper, along with a sentiment using stamps from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. The spotty background papers are from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Favourite Die (Mine is my set of circle Nesties...simple but effective)
• Crafter's Cafe - One for the Boys
• Everybody Art - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Spots & Dots

Pastel Snowman

Today's card features a cute snowman from the 'Frosty Feathers' set by Penny Black that I received for Christmas. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Snow Bunnies' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used snippets of snowflake covered papers (from the 'Snowscape' pad by Woodware). I distressed all of the edges, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The blue and pink snippets behind the image are fairly tiny, but thankfully the snowman image covered the gap in the middle!

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Optional 'Snowman'
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Owl Family

Today's card features stamps from a set by Woodware Stamps called 'Owl Family' that I received as a Christmas gift. I stamped the image, and one of the sentiments from the set, onto watercolour paper, then coloured the owls using watercolour pencils. I paired it with a piece of paper from the 'Happy Watercolours' pad from The Works...distressing the edges before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Something Beginning with B (Birds on a Branch)
• Sweet Stampin' - Bright & Beautiful

Christmas Candlelight

I have a Christmas card to share today, made using one of the stamps from the Penny Black 'Candlelight' set that I got for Christmas. I stamped it onto a snippet of black card using Versamark ink, along with a sentiment using a stamp from an old Lili of the Valley set, then heat embossed them using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I coloured the image using Cosmic Shimmers watercolour paints, then matted it onto a snippet of gold mirror card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas/First Christmas
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Something Old, Something New (Old - sentiment stamp, New - bauble stamp)
• Little Red Wagon - Keep It Simple
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Stamping Sensations - Something Beginning with B (Branch & Bauble)

Guest Designer - Seize the Birthday Challenge (A Rainbow of Colours)

I'm back with another Surprise Party Guest card for the Seize the Birthday Challenge.

The theme this fortnight is:

I used my set of Die-namics 'Party Balloons' dies to cut balloons from snippets of card in rainbow colours. I doodled some 'strings' onto a white card blank, then added the balloons on top. I stamped a sentiment (using one of the stamps from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company), onto a snippet of white card, then added that over the balloon 'strings'.

For more inspiration from the fabulous Design Team, please pop over to the Seize the Birthday Challenge.

Guest Designer - I Spy with My Little Eye Challenge

Today, I'm excited to be sharing a Guest Designer card for Ellie's I Spy with My Little Eye Challenge.

The theme this month is:

'I Spy with My Little Eye...New Beginnings'

I went with 'New Baby' for my card, and picked a cute Penny Black stamp called 'Baby Hammock'. I stamped it onto some watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then used one of my Nesties to cut the circle shape. I paired it with papers from the 'Bumblebee Dance' pad from The Paper Boutique. I distressed the edges a little, added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen, then matted all of the layers onto some lilac card. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Art Impressions.

For more inspiration from Ellie and Pauline, please pop over to the Eye Spy with My Little Eye Challenge.

Bubble Twiggy Tree

Today's card features stamps from a lovely Woodware Stamps set that I won over at Pixie's Snippets Playground last week called 'Bubble Twiggy Tree'. I stamped the tree and a sentiment onto kraft card using Versamark ink, heat embossed them using white embossing powder, then coloured the 'bubbles' using red, green and blue glitter gel pens. I distressed the edges of the panel a little, then added it to a kraft card blank. 

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• As You Like It - Favourite Occasion (Christmas - making Christmas cards was what got me into stamping)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Emboss It
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Spots & Dots

This card was so quick and easy to make, so I made another while I had all the supplies out!

PBSC January - Anything Goes (Optional 'Something New')...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

'Something New'

(New Year, New House, New Job, New Baby, New Stash...)

We're currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

My 'Something New' is a stamp from the 'Frosty Feathers' set by Penny Black that I received as a Christmas gift. I stamped one of the snowmen and a sentiment from the set, directly onto a kraft card blank, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. 

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

• CAS on Friday - Snowman
• Crafty Calendar - Anything New
• Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes (Optional 'Snowman')
• Creative Knockouts - Something to Say
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• We Love Stamping - Something New

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - A & B are for?

It's the second Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...and today, we are starting our SEVENTEENTH(!!!) trip through the alphabet! I'm the host, and the themes are:

'A is for Anything Christmas Goes

&

'B is for Buildings'

The prize for the lucky winner is this stamp set & paper pad:

For my ' A is for Anything Christmas Goes' card, I used a lovely Personal Impressions stamp of a wintry village scene that I got for Christmas. I stamped it, and a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, onto a snippet of kraft card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using white embossing powder. I distressed the edges a little, then added it to a kraft card blank.

For my 'B is for Bright' card, I picked a cute Penny Black image called 'Bedecked Antlers' and stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour paper. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added a sentimentusing a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous. I paired it with papers from a Craft Sensations pad called (rather appropriately) 'Merry & Bright'...distressing the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I matted all of the layers onto bright green card, then added it to a white card blank.

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

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Cardz for Guys - Christmas Critters (Second card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - A & B (Second card only - A for Antlers & B is for Bright Colours)
• Creative Knockouts - Celebrations (Second card only)
• Fab 'N' Funky - Winter Wonderland (First card only)
• Peace On Earth - Anything Christmas Goes (Second card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays)  - Something New (First card only - new stamp)
• Sweet Stampin' - New (First card only - new stamp)
• We Love Stamping - Something New (First card only - new stamp)

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