Blossom Branch

I have couple of cards using my Penny Black 'Blossom Branch' stamp...I love this stamp, and am enjoying trying out lots of different techniques with it. This time, I stamped the image using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I then stamped a sentiment (from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts) in black ink, then heat embossed that using clear embossing powder. I made a couple of identical panels, and blended different combinations of Distress Inks over the top of the embossing on each, before distressing the edges a little, and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

I went for pastel shades on one of the cards using the colours Tattered Rose, Scattered Straw & Bundled Sage.

And gave the other a more tropical feel using Seedless Preserves, Salty Ocean & Peacock Feathers.

Challenges for these cards:

• CCEE Stampers - Blooming Flowers
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Cardmakers - Embossing
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - In the Garden
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Holidays and/or Lots of Layers

It's time for some more inspiration for this month's Pile It On! Challenge...where the theme's are:

'Holidays'

(No Birthdays)

and/or

Lots of Layers

Our sponsor this month is Gerda Steiner Designs

Prize - $15 Store Coupon!

I went with 'Christmas' again, as my 'holiday'...and combined it with lots of layers of papers from the 'Pure Frozen' pad from Poundland. The image is 'Teddy & Penguin' by Lili of the Valley, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from a set also by Lili of the Valley.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Holidays and/or Lots of Layers
• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On! Challenge.

PBSC June - Anything Goes (Or Masculine)...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
'Masculine'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I've made another masculine card...but, this one's more suitable for a little boy. The stamp I've used is called 'Party Animals'...it's a recent charity shop find...and I coloured it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the American Crafts 'Star Shine' pad. I added a sentiment from a Lili of the Valley set, then doodled some simple borders using a black gel pen.

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

• Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - For a Male 
• Sweet Stampers - Animals
• The Male Room - Little Boys

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

Henry Mouse Skiing

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring an 'oldie but a goodie' from Whiff of Joy called 'Henry Mouse Skiing', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are form the 'Frost and Snow' pad by Crafty Creations. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and  black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Stamper - Colour it Blue
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes (Optional Winter Fun)
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Masculine
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Holidays (Christmas)
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

Hello Friend

I have a really simple card to share today, featuring Penny Black stamps. The cute hedgehog image is called 'Garden Visit'...I drew a simple border, then added more grass to meet the edges, and coloured it using watercolour pencils. The sentiment is from the 'Hello Friend' set.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Less is More - Friendship
• Penny Black & More - In the Garden
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

House Mouse & Friends Challenge - Guest Designer

I'm back with another guest designer card for the House Mouse & Friends Challenge today.

The fortnightly challenges are always 'Anything Goes'...but if you want more of a challenge, there's an optional theme, which this time is:

'Birthdays'

I used an image called 'Balloon Trio', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'My Girl' pad by American Crafts. I added a sentiment (from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts), and some simple doodling using a black gel pen.

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

• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from the awesome design team, please pop over to the House Mouse & Friends Challenge.

Tropical

I have a couple of cards to share today using a new (to me) background stamp by WOW called 'Tropical'. I started by stamping it on to watercolour paper using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed using white embossing powder. On one card I painted the individual flowers using Distress Inks (Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet & Seedless Preserves & Salty Ocean), and on the other I blended the same colours of Distress Inks over the top. I distressed the edges, and added a sentiment (from the 'Doodled Flowers' set by Happy Little Stampers).

Here are a couple of close-ups of the two cards:

Challenges for these cards:

• Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Photo Inspiration
• Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes (Use a Real Stamp)
• Little Red Wagon - Flowers
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - All Things Bright & Beautiful
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - L & M are for?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so that means that we have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today! I'm the host, and we have two themes:

'L is for Love'

&

'M is for Mice'

Our sponsor this month is Wild Rose Studio:

One lucky entrant will win a Festive Florals 6x6 Paper Pad and a Teddy Baubles Clear Stamp!

There's also a little prize from me too...a Lili of the Valley Christmas stamp:

I made a card for each of the two themes...although both cards feature mice. They're from a set of House Mouse stamps by Joanna Sheen called 'Feathered Hugs' that I picked up in a charity shop recently. On my 'L is for Love' card I used the image called 'Hugging Bird', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from a My Mind's Eye pad called 'Floral - Blue'...not Christmassy, but the colours matched! I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

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

• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

On my 'M is for Mice' card, I used an image called 'Swiss Ribbon', which I again coloured using watercolour pencils. This time I used papers from 'The Candy Cane' flowers and paper pad by Craftwork Cards (another charity shop find!), adding distressing and faux stitching as on the first card. The sentiment stamp I used on this one is from a set by Pollycraft for C. C. Designs.

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

• Christmas with the Cuties - Festive Furry Friends
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Presents

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

Birthday Fishes

I have a simple little 'fishy' card to share today...featuring stamps from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches. I started by painting an 'underwater' background by painting Distress Inks on a piece of damp watercolour paper. I used a few shades of blue...working down from lightest to darkest (Salty Ocean, Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon & Chipped Sapphire), then dried it using my heatgun. I splattered it with a little water...to make some little 'air bubbles', then doodled a simple border. I stamped the fishes on to some more watercolour paper, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut them out. I popped them on to my card using 3D foam pads, and added a matching sentiment from the same stamp set.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Sea
• CAS Watercolour - Ocean
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Friends - Happy Birthday
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - All Things Bright & Beautiful
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Holidays

We have a fun new Pile It On! Challenge starting today...and the theme is:

'Holiday'

(No Birthdays)

Our sponsor this month is Gerda Steiner Designs

Prize - $15 Store Coupon!

I went with 'Christmas' as my holiday...and picked a cute Mulberry Wood image from Crafter's Companion called 'Wish Upon a Star' that I picked up recently in a charity shop. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils and added sentiment from the 'Tattered Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous. The paper is from the 'Christmas Cheer' pad by LilyBee Designs...I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Holidays (Christmas)
• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafty Calendar - Three of Something (Owls & Stockings)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Girls Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes (Optional Animals)
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Holidays (Christmas)
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On! Challenge.

PBSC June - Anything Goes (Or Masculine)

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 Your Favourite Penny Black Stamp'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

It's my Dad's birthday next weekend, so I went with the optional 'Masculine' theme, and made him a card and matching gift tag using pups from the 'Good Times!' set. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, them carefully cut them out. I used a pawprint background stamp (from Hobbycraft) to create the backgrounds. I stamped on to the kraft card for a subtle effect, and on to some watercolour paper that I'd coloured by blending Distress Inks (Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon & Mowed Lawn)...I stamped on this using 'Rich Cocoa' Memento Ink, then heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches...I heat embossed it in white on dark brown card. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I attached the pups and sentiments using 3D foam pads.

Here's a close-up of the card:

And of the tag:

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

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Always Happy Birthday - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - ATC, Tag or Bookmark (Just the tag)
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Masculine
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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

Snow Family

Today's card features another charity shop find...it's called 'Snowmen' by Wild Rose Studio. I stamped it directly on to my card blank, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added a couple of Lili of the Valley sentiments to make a simple one layer card.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Crazy Dogs!

I have a Tim Holtz 'Crazy Dogs' card to share today...I find it difficult to choose just one or two dogs from this set, so always end up using all of them! I usually make a set of cards, but this time I squeezed them all on to one card! I started by stamping three of the dogs on to a large piece of watercolour paper, adding a sentiment (from the 'Everyday Sentiments' set by Happy Little Stampers). I stamped the other dogs on to snippets of watercolour paper, then cut them out using the matching 'Crazy Dogs' dies. I coloured all of the the dogs using watercolour pencils, then added the die cut dogs to the main panel using 3D foam pads. I distressed the edges of the panel a little, then added it to an A5 card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Masculine Birthday (This is for Mum to give to my Dad)
• AAA Cards - Birthdays
• As You Like It - Flora or Fauna (I do love flowers...but can't resist a cute animal stamp (or 6!) and always have lots of fun colouring them!)
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Masculine (This is for Mum to give to my Dad)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - More than One Stamp

House Mouse & Friends Challenge - Guest Designer

I'm back with another guest designer card for the House Mouse & Friends Challenge today.

The fortnightly challenges are always 'Anything Goes'...but if you want more of a challenge, there's an optional theme, which this time is:

'Use Dies'

I recently picked up a couple of Joanna Sheen House Mouse stamps sets in a charity shop...they were new and hadn't even been trimmed and mounted on to foam - what a lucky find! I've used one of the stamps from the 'Birthdays - Cake' set on this card...a little Googling, revealed that this stamp individually is called 'Eat Your Cake & Nap Too'! I coloured it using watercoour pencils, then added a sentiment from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual. The papers are from the 'Happy Day' pad by My Mind's Eye...I used one of my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside' border dies to cut the curve in the larger pieces, and a little triangle die (from a  'Speech Bubbles' die set by Craft Asylum/Sizzix) to make the bunting. I distressed all of the edges, the added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• Creative Knockouts - Furry Friends
• Gem of a Challenge - Three of Something (Three flags in the bunting)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (I used some really teeny snippets for the bunting)
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes (Optional Patterned Paper)

For more inspiration from the awesome design team, please pop over to the House Mouse & Friends Challenge.

Have a Hoot at Christmas

I have a simple little Christmas card to share today featuring a stamp I picked up in a charity shop...it's by Joanna Sheen. I coloured 'Hoot' using watercolour pencils, then cut him out using one of my circle Nesties. I embossed a piece of green card using a Tim Holtz/Sizzix embossing folder, then distressed all of the edges a little. The sentiment stamp came in the set with 'Hoot'.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes
• Crafty Cardmakers - Things with Wings
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional Christmas)
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas
• Merry Monday - Add Candy Canes, Cookies or Sweets
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas

Cupcake Mice

I have a simple little birthday card today that features one of the stamps from the 'Critter Party' set by Penny Black. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then added the sentiment from the set underneath and cut it out using one of my circle Nesties. I paired it with a snippet of paper from the 'Here is Happy' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed all of the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Happy Birthday
• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• CAS on Friday - Birthday
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Winter Wonderland Whiteout

I have an 'all white' Christmas card to share today...featuring some new Christmas tree dies by Happy Little Stampers, and lots of snippets of white card. I made a snowy background by embossing some plain white card using my Sizzix/Tim Holtz 'Snowfall' embossing folder, then cut a curve using one of my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside' border dies. I stamped the sentiment (from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous) on to the curved section, then added the trees. I distressed the top and bottom edges a little, then added it to my card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Dies) - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Inspired by a Song (Winter Wonderland)
• Winter Wonderland - Christmas in the Snow