PBSC September - Anything Goes (Optional 'Use a Die')

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

'Use a Die'

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

I picked a Penny Black die to use on my card, and started by cutting the 'Immense Joy' from a snippet of bright red card. I then used the die to cut the centre of the 'O' from a snippet of white card, then stamped my Penny Black 'Jingle Friends' stamp onto that, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I made a simple background by embossing a piece of white card using a snowflake embossing folder from Sizzix, then matted it onto a piece of bright red card. I added the die cut on top, inserting the coloured image into the centre of the 'O', then added it to a white card blank.

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

• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes with an Embossing Folder
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - R & S (R is for Rudolph & S is for Santa)
• Christmas Kickstart - Reindeer Games
• Creative Moments - Make it Cute
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stamp It
• Sweet Stampin' - Use a Die Cut

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

Succulents

Today's card features one of the stamps from the 'Happy Together' set by Penny Black. I stamped it directly onto a kraft card blank, along with a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Go To Words' set from Visible Image, then coloured it using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stamp It

September Desk Calendar

As it's the first day of a new month, I'm sharing my desk calendar page for September. This means 'back to school' for me (I'm a music teacher), so I picked a cute Penny Black hedgie stamp called 'Scooting Along'... who, with his balloon removed, looks like he could be on his way to school with his satchel slung over his shoulder! I stamped him (minus his balloon) onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then cut it out using one of my circle Nesties. For the background, I used snippets of patterned papers from the 'Awesome Boy' pad from Recollections/Michaels (found at TKMaxx). I distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, then matted it onto a snippet of kraft card before adding it to the calendar.

Challenges for this calendar:

• Allsorts - All Creatures Great & Small
• As You Like It - Favourite Wild Animal (Hedgehog - I went with a cute (and non-scary!) animal - I'd be happy to welcome them into my garden, although I think they're probably put off by our urban foxes!)
• Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Use a Die Cut

Festive Foliage

I have another Christmas card to share today, featuring a background stamp I got from a charity shop at the weekend. It's by Chloe Creative Stamps, and is called 'Festive Foliage Background'. I stamped it onto teal card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using 'Metallic Platinum Sparkle' embossing glitter from WOW. I stamped a sentiment, using a stamp from a Colorado Craft Company set, onto a strip of vellum using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using silver embossing powder. I tore the edges of the vellum, then added it over the top of the embossed background, matting it all onto a piece of silver mirror card before adding it to a DL card blank.

It's not very easy to see, but the background is super sparkly in real life!

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Fluffles Noel

I have a Christmas card to share today, made using some more charity shop purchases...a Stampendous woodmounted stamp called 'Fluffles Noel', and some BasicGrey 'Figgy Pudding' papers. I stamped the image onto a snippet of watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I distressed all of the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, before layering it up onto a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - All Creatures Great & Small
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Lots of Layers
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Together

Today's card features a floral Penny Black stamp called 'Together'. I inked it up using Distress inks (Chipped Sapphire, Uncharted Mariner and Mermaid Lagoon for the flowers, and Lucky Clover and Forest Moss for the leaves and stems), then spritzed it with a little water before stamping it onto a piece of watercolour paper. I added a sentiment, using one of the stamps from the 'Signature Greetings' set by Memory Box, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - Flowers
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• We Love Stamping - Summer Blooms

Rudolph & Friends

I have (yet!) another Christmas card to share today...this one features a cute Woodware stamp called 'Rudolph & Friends' that I got recently from a charity shop. I stamped it onto a DL kraft card blank, then coloured it using watercolour pencils, but without using any water. It's a huge stamp - I have quite a few this size from Woodware, and it's always a bit tricky to figure out where a sentiment might fit, but as I don't think you'd mistake this for anything other than a Christmas card, I left this one with just the image.

Challenges for this card:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Christmas Kickstart - Friendship
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes

Jingle Friends

I have another Christmas card to share today, featuring another Penny Black stamp, called 'Jingle Friends', that I received for my birthday earlier this month. I stamped it onto a piece of smooth white card, along with the sentiment from the set, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. I matted the layer onto a piece of bright red card, before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Everybody Art - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Masculine
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Little Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

A Winter Scene

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring two different types of embossing. I started by stamping an old Hero Arts stamp called 'A Winter Scene' onto a snippet of kraft card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, heat embossing that in white to match. I used a Sheena Douglas 'Holly' embossing folder to emboss another snippet of kraft card, then distressed the edges a little before layering it onto a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Embossing
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes

Garden Naptime

Today's card features another charity shop stamp. It wasn't in any branded packaging, but I recognised it as an old Popcorn the Bear stamp, which Google tells me is from a set called 'Father's Day'. I stamped it onto a piece of watercolour paper, along with a sentiment, using a stamp from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Alphabet Challenge - H is for Horticulture (although he is not currently gardening, the pots & tools indicate that gardening was recently happening!)
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Getting Ready

I have a Christmas card to share today, made using stamps from a Penny Black set called 'Getting Ready', that I got for my birthday last week. I stamped them onto watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I distressed the edges a little, then added it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas

PBSC August - Anything Goes (Optional 'Things with Wings')

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

'Things with Wings'

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

I picked stamps from the 'Social Butterfly' set to use on my card, and started by watercolouring a simple background using 'Uncharted Mariner' and 'Forest Moss' Distress Inks on some watercolour paper. Once dry, I stamped the butterflies and a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Brushstroke Expressions' set from My Favorite Things, using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using 'Metallic Gold' embossing powder from WOW. I matted it onto a piece of teal card, distressing the edges a little, then added it to a white card blank.

Here's a better angle showing the shine on the gold embossing:

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

• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes (Optional 'Summer Vibes')
• I Spy With My Little Eye - Something with Wings
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Summer Blues

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

Best Friends

Today's card features a cute Penny Black stamp called 'Best Friends' that I got for my birthday earlier this week. I stamped it onto a piece of watercolour paper, along with 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 paired it with papers from the 'Happy Watercolours' pad from The Works. I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I matted the image and bottom layer onto some bright blue card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Favourite Colouring Medium (Watercolour pencils - so quick and easy to use)
• Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes (Optional 'Summer Vibes')
• Daisy Chain - Animals
• Time Out - Pick (at least) Two (Birthday, Stitching & Floral)
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas challenge - P, Q & R are for?

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

'P is for Penguins'

'Q is for Quartet' (Four of Something)

&

'R is for Rectangles'

The prize for the lucky winner is this Sheena Douglas 'Baubles Baby' festive embossing folder:

For my 'P is for Penguins' card, I used an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Penguin Pals'. I stamped it onto a piece of watercolour paper, added a sentiment from the 'It's Penguinning' set by Crafter's Companion, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I used papers from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad from Craftwork Cards for the background...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug.

For my 'Q is for Quartet' card, I combined four robin stamps from Penny Black sets - 'Christmas Hugs', 'Snow Much Fun' and 'Jolly Friends'. I stamped them onto a piece of watercolour paper, used a black fine liner to draw draw the 'ground', then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

For my 'R is for Rectangles' card, I started by stamping one of the images from the Penny Black 'Candlelight' set onto a rectangle of black card using Versamark ink, then I heat embossed it using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the Funky Fossil 'Festive Phrases' set, embossing that in gold to match, then I watercoloured the image using Cosmic Shimmers watercolours. I matted the panel onto a rectangle of gold mirror card, before adding it to a DL card blank.

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

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Third card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - P & Q (P is for Penguins) (First card only)
• I Spy With My Little Eye - Something with Wings (Second card only)
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Clean & Simple (Third card only)

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

Wonderful Woodland Box Card

I have another box card to share today, made using another stamp and die set from Crafter's Companion that I got from a charity shop at the same time as the set I used on this card. This set is called 'Wonderful Woodland', and had an awful lot of stamped elements, so I used some to decorate the front of this card, rather than trying to cram them all inside! I started by stamping all of the critters and accessories onto snippets of watercolour paper, then cutting them out using the matching dies, before colouring them using watercolour pencils. I cut the main pieces for the box card from bright blue card, and a dark green card for the images to 'stand' on. I decorated the back panel using a piece of paper from a magazine freebie pad called 'Let's Fly Away', then assembled the card. On the inside of the front flap, I layered a couple of snippets of plain card (using the aperture die from the set to cut the light blue piece), adding a sentiment using a stamp from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company.

Here's a close-up of the inside scene:

For the front of the card, I layered up more snippets of plain coloured card, again using the aperture die to cut the light blue piece, then added some of the critter and accessories, plus a few clouds cut from a snippet of white hammer card using my Memory Box 'Puffy Clouds' dies.

Challenges for this card:

• A Cut Above - Anything Goes Using a Die Cut
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Fun Folds
• Cut It Up - Add a Sentiment
• Just Us Girls - Dies
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Happy Birthday

Frosty the Snowman

Today's card features a cute Snowman stamp from Funstamps. I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used snowflake papers from an unnamed Christmas pad from The Works (the aqua one) and the 'Snowscape' pad from Woodware (the pink one). 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
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Pretty Lovely

Today's card features stamps from a Mama Elephant set called 'Pretty Lovely', which I won recently over at Pixie's Snippets Playground. I stamped them onto a piece of smooth white card, then used watercolour pencils to colour the flowers and outline sentiment. I distressed the edges a little, then added it to a matching purple card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• CAS on Friday - Flowers
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Feminine
• NBUS - Anything Goes (The stamps are all new)
• We Love Stamping - Summer Blooms

August Desk Calendar

Today, I'm sharing my desk calendar page for August. As it's my birthday month, I picked a cute image from the Penny Black 'Good Times' set of two celebrating pups. I stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then cut it out using one of my oval Nesties. For the background, I used snippets of papers from the 'My Girl' pad by American Crafts...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this calendar:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Stripes or Chevrons

PBSC August - Anything Goes (Optional 'Things with Wings')

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

'Things with Wings'

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

I picked a cute chicken stamp called 'Best of Luck!' for my card, stamping it onto watercolour paper, then colouring it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with snippets of papers from a really old My Mind's Eye pad called 'Indie Chic - Saffron'. I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company.

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

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• I Spy With My Little Eye - Something With Wings
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stitch It
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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

Birthday Bears Box Card

I have something a little different to share today...it's a box card, made using a Gemini/Crafter's Companion stamp and die set called 'Birthday Bears Box Card', that I picked up in a charity shop last weekend. I started by stamping all of the little bears and other images onto snippets of watercolour paper, then used their co-ordinating dies to cut them out, before colouring them using watercolour pencils. There were paper templates in the set for cutting all of the pieces of the box card, and I decided to cut the main card parts from light blue card, and the little strips for the images to 'stand' on from light green card. I added a piece of cloudy sky paper (from a magazine freebie pad called 'Let's Fly Away') to the back panel, then assembled the card. On the inside of the front flap, I added a snippet of lilac card, then the die cut from the 'window', with a stamped sentiment, using a stamp from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Here's a close-up of the 'Birthday Bears':

They look to me, like they're throwing a surprise party, so I used my Paper Smooches 'Gaffiti Alphabet' stamps to stamp 'Surprise' onto a snippet of the blue card, then added it on top of a piece of lilac card embossed using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder:

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes Using an Embossing Folder
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Optional 'Square Card & Non-white Base'
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes