PBSC March - Anything Goes (Optional 'On The Farm')...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

'On the Farm'

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

This time, I picked a stamp called '...in a spin!', which features a cow and a couple of chickens riding a bicycle! I stamped it on to watercolour paper, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual, then coloured itusing watercolour pencils. I paried it with some fun floral papers from the 'Watercolour feelings' pad from The Works...distressing all of the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CuttterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Monochrome or Colourful (I always find it easier to match papers to my colouring when I use lots of colours...at least some of them will go!)
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes (Optional 'Anything That Flies')

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

Good Luck Cats

Today's card features another old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Good Luck Cats'. I stamped it, along with a sentiment from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual', on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'Party Day' pad by Crate Paper, distressing the edges, and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Aud Sentiments - Glitter & Bling or St Patrick's/Green & a Sentiment
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Just Us Girls - Green
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - A Bit O' Green
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesdays) - A Bit O' Green
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Shades of Green

ABC Christmas Challenge - E, F & G are for?

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

'E is for Embossing'

'F is for Focal Sentiments'

&

'G is for Girls'

The prize for the lucky winner is a gift certificate to the winner's favourite online store!

For my 'E is for Embossing' card, I used stamps from the 'Festive Flurries - Baubles & Bows' set by Creative Expressions. I stamped them on to navy card using Versamark ink, theen heat embossed them using white embossing powder. I distressed the edges a little, then added the embossed panel to a white card blank.

For my 'Focal Sentiments' card, I used my large 'Joy' die from Penny Black, cutting it from some purple mirror card. I layered it over a piece of purple snowflake covered paper from the 'Snowscape' pad by Woodware, then stamped a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion in the centre of the 'O'. I distressed the edges a little, added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, matted it on to some purple card, before adding it to a white card blank.

For my 'G is for Girls' card, I inked up an old Lili of the Valley stamp from a set called 'Skating Along', stamping it on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from the same set, before colouring it using watercolour pencils and matting it on to some silver mirror card. I paired it with papers from the 'Glittering Snowflakes' pad by Crafter's Companion and the 'Silver Bells' pad by Kaisercraft...lightly distressing all of the edges before assembling the card.

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

• Christmas Kickstart - Not the Norm (Second card only)
• C.R.A.F.T. - Seasons/Weather (Second card only)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Add a Sentiment') (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes (Third card only)
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes (Third card only)
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes (First card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stitching (Second card only)

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

Birthday Beagle

Today's card features an old (and neglected - last inked in 2023!) Whipper Snapper stamp called 'Birthday Beagle'. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches. I added piece of stripey blue & green paper (from the 'Party Day' pad by Crate Paper) to a card blank, then layered the image on top - having added faux stitch to both layers using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Knockouts - Birthday Wishes
• Inkspirational - CAS
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Little Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Neglected Stuff - Anything Goes (The stamp is neglected - last inked in 2023!)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stitching

Getting Ready

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring an Anita Jeram stamp called 'Getting Ready'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, adding a sentiment from another Anita Jeram/Colorado Craft Company stamp set called 'Christmas Hats', then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a stocking covered paper from the 'Santa's List' pad by Kaisercraft, distressing the edges, and matting on to sopme red card before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Bonnet Bunny

I have a Spring themed card to share today, featuring an old Penny Black stamp called 'Bonnet Bunny'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Watercolour Feelings' pad from The Works...I distressed all the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Your Favourite Technique (Faux Stitching)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stitching
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Hello Spring')
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Hello Spring')

Birthday Dog

Today's card features another old favourite stamp by Penny Black...'Birthday Dog'. I stamped him on to a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I made the rainbow background, by attaching snippets of brightly coloured card to a scrap of paper, then trimming them into a rectangle, before embossing them using a 'Bone & Paw Prints' embossing folder by Crafts Too. I added the embossed panel to a white card blank, stamped simple sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, before adding the pup on top using 3D foam pads.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - Masculine
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Use Embossing Folders (Optional 'Masculine')
• Little Red Wagon - B is for Birthday
• Moving Along With the Times - Pets
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets

Present Pile

I have a simple one layer card to share today, made using an old Penny Black chicken stamp called 'Present Pile' that I hadn't inked in a while. I stamped it on to a kraft card blank, along with a sentiment from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Anything CAS Goes
• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'CAS')
• Krafty Chicks - Masculine
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

 

PBSC March - Anything Goes (Optional 'On the Farm')

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

'On the Farm'

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

I picked a little sheep stamp called 'Butterflies & Ewe', and stamped it on to a snippet of watercolour paper. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut out the image. For the background, I used a piece of cloudy sky paper from a pad called 'Let's Fly Away' that I picked up in a charity shop, but I think it was originally a magazine freebie, then layered a picket fence, cut from a snippet of brown card using a Die-namics die, with some grass cut using another Die-namics die and a snippet of paper from the 'Over the Rainbow' pad by Craft Consortium layered over the top. I added the sheep and her butterflies, before matting it on to a snippet of kraft card and adding it to my desk calendar.

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

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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

Spring Flowers

Today's card features a floral stamp by Crafter's Companion called 'Spring Flowers' that I picked up in a charity shop last week. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a piece of paper from the 'Watercolour Feelings' paper pad from The Works. I distressed all of the edges, matting the layers on to snippets of pink card, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'For the Girls')
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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 on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from another Anita Jeram set, 'Furry Christmas', then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I distressed the top and bottom edges, then added it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Pet
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesday) - Cute & Cuddly
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'CAS')

Lovely Bubbly

Today's card is in honour of the 500th(!) challenge over at Pixie's Snippets Playground - congratulations Di & Sarn! So, with the 'Celebratory' theme in mind, I picked a Penny Black image called 'Lovely Bubbly'....stamping it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used snippets of papers from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens. I cut a 'Celebrate' sentiment using a Clearly Besotted die from a snippet of gold mirror card, then layered it on top of the image, then matted that on to another snippet of gold mirror card before assembly the card.

As is always the way with anything shiny, it's a real pain to photograph, but here's a slightly different angle - I promise that the sentiment is much clearer to read in person!

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets & 'Celebration' Theme
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Cute & Cuddly
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Drinks

Blue Baubles

Today's card features a Cuttlebug embossing folder that I picked up in a charity shop earlier this week. I used it to emboss a piece of blue paper from the 'Over the Rainbow' pad by Craft Consortium. I distressed the edges a little, then lightly sanded over the raised areas to reveal the white core. I heat embossed a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous and white embossing powder, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'Shades of Blue')
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Winter Blues
• The Male Room - Monochrome

Merrymaking

Today's card features a Penny Black Christmas stamp called 'Merrymaking'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I matted it on to a snippet of red card, distressing all of the edges a little, before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• I Spy With My Little Eye - No Designer Paper
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Cute & Cuddly

Sleeping Under Flowers

Today's card features a House Mouse stamp by Stampabilities called 'Sleeping Under Flowers' that my Mum picked up recently in a charity shop. 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 image using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a piece of purple paper from the 'Over the Rainbow' pad by Craft Consortium. I cut four squares, then used a couple of Cuttlebug embossing folders to emboss it. I sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core, distressed the edges, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, then matted it all on to a piece of kraft card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Stamping or Digi? (Definitely stamping - I love to have a rummage through my stamps, picking out what I want to use - looking through file names on my laptop just isn't the same!)
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes Using Embossing Folders (Optional 'Something Beginning with F' - Flowers)
• Fab 'N' Funky - Stitching (Real or Faux)
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spring Flowers')
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes

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

'Hearts'

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

This time, I picked a cute pup from the 'Every Which Way' set...stamping him on to watercolour paper and colouring him using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Funny Farm' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then used one of my circle Nesties to cut him out. For the background, I used a 'Hearts' embossing folder from Hobbycraft to emboss a piece of paper from the 'Happy Colours' pad by Craaft Sensations...sanding over the raised areas to reveal the white core. I distressed all of the edges a little, then added it to a kraft card blank.

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

• Crafty Calendar - Hearts
• Creative Inspirations - Love is in the Air
• My Time to Craft - Hearts
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - Love Song
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Valentine's, Wedding or Romance')
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Red or Pink

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

Winter Friend

I have a simple one layer Christmas card to share today...made using stamps from the 'Just Add Snow' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Comnpany. I stamped the image directly on to a krafrt card blank, then used a black gel pen to extrend the 'snowy ground' to reach the edges of the card. I added a sentiment from the same stamp set, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Friends
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Just Us Girls - Friend
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'CAS')

ABC Christmas Challenge - C & D are for?

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

'C is for Cute'

&

'D is for Die Cuts'

The prize for the lucky winner is these adorable stamps:

I have an abundance of 'Cute' Christmas stamps...but had to use this one that I just got by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company called 'Furry Christmas'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. As it's such a large image, I decided to leave it at that, and simply distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

For my 'Die Cuts' card, I used another new to me item...this fabulous 'Joy' die by Penny Black. I cut it from gold mirror card, added it to a piece of watercolour paper, then stamped a sentiment in the centre of the 'O', using one of the stamps from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion. I used my Tim Holtz 'Holiday Greens,Mini' dies to cut some foliage from snippets of green card, then placed them around the 'O' shape to turn it into a wreath. I distressed the edges, then added the panel to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for these cards:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Use a Die') (Second card only)
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Creative Moments - Cute (First card only)
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes (First card only)

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

You Put a Song in My Heart!

Today's card features one fo the stamps from the 'Jazzy Cats' set by Penny Black. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I stamped an old Hero Arts/BasicGrey music background stamp on to some blue watercolour effect paper (from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations) using 'Twilight' Versafine ink, which is a really lovely dark blue colour. I used one of my Nesties to cut the circle shape, then distressed all of the edges before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'Romance and/or Music')
• Aud Sentiments - Love & a Sentiment
• C.R.A.F.T. - Love
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Love/Valentine's/Anniversary/Wedding
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Love is in the Air
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Love')
• Sweet Stampin' - Love