Expressive Poppies

Today's card features a Penny Black stamp called 'Expressive'. I stamped it slightly off the edge of a piece of watercolour paper, then coloured the flowers using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp, then lightly distressed the edges before adding it to kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Sentiment or Not? (Whilst it's handy to have some cards without sentiments stashed away just in case, I feel that most of the time a card doesn't look 'finished' without one)
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Fur, Feathers & Flowers
• We Love Stamping - Nature

Jolly Snowman

Today's card features a cute Penny Blac stamp called 'Jolly Snowman'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used papers from the 'Back to Basics Christmas' pad by Dovecraft...distressing the edges, then adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Inspired by 'Frosty the Snowman'
• C.R.A.F.T. - Cute
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas

ABC Christmas Challenge - L & M are for?

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

'L is for Lights'

&

'M is for Music'

Please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge for details of this month's prize.

For my 'L is for Lights' card, I used an old Penny Black stamp called 'Brightest Xmas'...stamping it directly onto a kraft card blank. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. Finally, I added some Glossy Accents to the light bulbs.

For my 'M is for Music' card, I used stamps from an old set by Lili of the Valley called 'Carol Singers'. With a bit of masking, I managed to squeeze in all of the critters, then filled in the gaps in the snowy ground, and any missing details using a black gel pen. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Caroling Chicks' set by Stamping Bella. I lightly distressed the edges, then added it to a kraft DL card blank.

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

• Christmas Kickstart - Christmas Critters (Second card only)
• Crafty Calendar - Add a Sentiment (Second card only)
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes (First card only)
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Add the Word Merry (First card only)
• Stamping Sensations - Our Furry Friends (Second card only)
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity (Second card only)
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes (First card only)

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

Moo Birthday

Today's card features a Penny Black cow stamp that I picked up in a charity shop over the half-term break called 'Moo Birthday'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations...distressing the edges, then adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - What Makes You Happy? (Penny Black stamps)
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Masculine

PBSC June - Anything Goes (Optional 'Stitching')

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

'Stitching'

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

I picked a chicken stamp to use on my card...this one is called 'Cluck, Cluck, Cluck!'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I used lots of snippets of papers from an old Craft Sensations pad called 'Bright Freshness' to make a 'patchwork'  background...distressing all of the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I matted the image and background onto some orange card, then added it to an 8x8 card blank.

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

• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

For more inspiration, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Les Chiens

Today's card features all of the dogs from a set of stamps by Katzelkraft called 'Les Chiens'. I stamped them onto a piece of watercolour paper, with a little bit of masking, then added a sentiment using stamps from the 'Graffiti Alphabet' set by Paper Smooches. I coloured the dogs using watercolour pencils, then added it to a kraft card blank. 

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - D is for Dogs
• Crafty Catz - Make Us Smile
• Creative Inspirations - One for the Boys
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Masculine
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Masculine
• Stamping Sensations - Our Furry Friends

Modern Florals

Today's card is unusual for me in that there's no stamping involved. Instead, I used a set of floral dies by Sizzix, called 'Modern Florals' as the focal point. I cut the flowers from snippets of watercolour effect paper from the 'Watercolour Feelings' and 'Happy Watercolours' pads from The Works, and 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations. I embossed a pice of white card using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder, then lightly distressed its edges. I assembled the flowers, then layered them on to the embossed card, adding a sentiment cut from silver mirror card using an unbranded die, before adding it all to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - No Stamping
• Addicted to CAS - Floral
• CAS on Friday - Embossing
• Cut It Up - Send Me Flowers
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday

 

June Desk Calendar

As it's the start of a new month, today I'm sharing my desk calendar page for June. This month, I picked one of the cute pup stamps from the 'Man's Best Friend' set by Penny Black. I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. For the background, I used a couple of snippets of papers from the 'Here & There' pad by Studio Calico, using one of my 'Grassy Edges' dies (by Die-namics) to cut the green one. I cut the fence from a snippet of white card using another Die-namics die, 'Picket Fence', layered it all up, matting it onto a snippet of kraft card, then added it to my calendar.

Challenges for this calendar:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Our Furry Friends

Ice Christmas

Today's card features an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Ice Christmas'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, drew a line for the horizon, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz, then carefully cut around the top of the image. I layered it over a piece of snowy paper from the 'Snowscape' pad by Woodware, then matted it onto some navy card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Let's Party!

Today's card features a Crafter's Companion stamp called 'Let's Party!' from the 'Everyday with Barkley' collection. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used papers from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels (found at TK Maxx). I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Cardz for Guys - Shades of Blue
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Patterned Papers
• Daring Cardmakers - Masculine
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Boys, Boys, Boys

Sketched Flowers

Today's card features one of my favourite floral stamps called 'Sketched Flowers' by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, along with a sentiment using a Hero Arts stamp that I found in a charity shop at the weekend. I watercoloured the image using lots of Distress Inks (Mustard Seed, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet, Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, Festive Berries, Picked Raspberry, Pine Needles, Evergreen Bough & Cracked Pistachio), then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this catrd: 

• Addicted to CAS - Birthday
• C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Flowers
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Bright & Cheerful

Guest Designer - Rudolph Days Challenge

Today I'm excited to be sharing a Guest Designer card for the Rudolph Days Challenge, where the theme is, as always:

'Anything Christmas Goes'

I've used a Penny Black stamp called 'Hand-mailed', stamping it onto watercolour paper, and extending the line for the snowy ground using a black gel pen. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of the image. I layered it over a piece of 'snowy sky' paper from an unnamed pad from The Works, adding a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Wintertime Messages' set by Hero Arts. I matted it onto a piece of red card before adding it to a white card blank.

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

• Fab 'N' Funky - Add a Sentiment
• Jingle Belles - Animal Antics
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Bright & Cheerful

For more inspiration, please pop over to the Rudolph Days Challenge.

A Winter Scene

I have a pair of Christmas cards to share today, made using a Hero Arts stamp I picked up in a charity shop called 'A Winter Scene'. I stamped it onto white and kraft card blanks using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using 'Midnight Dream embossing glitter from WOW on the white card, and a white embossing powder on the kraft card. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous...stamping it in black on the white card, and heat embossing it in white to match the image on the kraft card.

Here are some close-ups:

Challenges for these cards:

• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspiration - The Great Outdoors
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Guest Designer - Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge

And, I'm back with another Guest Designer post...this one is for Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge, where the theme this fortnight is as always:

'Anything Goes'

I started with a piece of paper from the 'Ink Drops Vivid' pad from Craft Consortium, then stamped my 'Floral Garden' stamp from Simon Says Stamp onto it using Versamark ink, and then heat embossing it in white. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Brushstroke Expressions' set by My Favorite Things', heat embossing in white to match. I distressed the edges, then added it to a white card blank.

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

• Everybody Art - Birthday
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes (Optional 'Florals')
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Flowers

For more inspiration, please pop over to the Penny's paper Crafty Challenge blog.

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', where the theme for this month's challenge is:

'I Spy With My Little Eye...At Least One Butterfly'

I have a number of butterfly stamps, and picked my 'Big Butterfly' stamp by Stampendous, and a set of stamps from Papermania's 'Urban Stamps' range simply called 'Butterflies' to use for my card. I stamped them onto watercolour paper using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Signature Greetings' set by Memory Box, heat embossing it in gold to match. I used (quite a lot of ) Distress Inks to watercolour the butterflies (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Crackling Campfire, Festive Berries, Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio, Salvaged Patina & Gathered Twigs), then splattered it with a little gold mica pigment (from a Cosmic Shimmers set) mixed with water. Once dry, I matted it onto some gold mirror card, distressing the edges, before adding it to a white card blank.

It's always tricky to capture the shine in a photo, but the gold is really pretty in real life:

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

• AAA Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• AAA Cards - Birthday
• Aud Sentiments - Watercolouring + a Sentiment
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Things with Wings
• Stamping Sensations - Feminine

For more inspiration from Ellie and Pauline, please pop over to Ellie's 'I Spy With My Little Eye' Challenge.

 

Celebration Song

Today's card features a Penny Black mouse stamp called 'Celebration Song'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. The stamp is fairly large, so I made an A5 sized card...picking a couple of papers from the 'Geometrie' pad by Foila Paper for the background. I distressed all of the edges, added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug, then matted the layers on to black card before adding adding it all to the card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Knockouts - Real or Faux Stitching
• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Have a MICE Day
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• We Love Stamping - Four-legged Friends

PBSC May - Anything Goes (Optional 'Monochrome')...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

'Monochrome'

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

I used another Penny Black floral stamp...this one is called 'Blossom Branch'. I stamped it directly onto a kraft card blank using Verssamark ink, then heat embossed it in white. I added a sentiment from the 'Beautiful Blessings 2' set by My Favorite Things...heat embossing it in white to match the flowers.

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

• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Sparkles Forum - Flowers
• Stamping Sensations - Feminine
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Flowers

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - J & K are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...I'm the host, and the themes are:

'J is for Jingle Bells'

&

'K is for Kraft'

The prize for the lucky winner is these Woodware stamp sets:

For my 'J is for Jingle Bells' card. I used an unbranded bell stamp...heat embossing it using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW on plain black card. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, heat embossing it in gold to match, then used one of my circle Nesties to cut it out. For the background, I heat embossed a 'Holly Background' stamp from Kirtsy Wiseman using more gold embossing powder on black card. I matted that onto some gold mirror card, added  it to a white card blank then popped the 'Jingle Bells' on top.

For my 'K is for Kraft' card, I picked one of the bears from the 'Beary Merry Christmas' set by Funky Fossil, and stamped it directly on to a kraft card blank, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then coloured it using watercolour pencils.

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

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Second card)
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Optional 'Embossing') (First card)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes (First card)
• Jingle Belles - Jingle Bells (First card)
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes (Second card)
• Neglected Stuff - Anything Goes (The holly background on the first card is much neglected - this is only the second time I've used it since I got it in January 2020!)

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