Blue & White Henry

It's a Christmas card today...featuring 'Henry with Bauble' by Whiff of Joy...I coloured him with watercolour pencils, then added Glossy Accents to the bauble...can't get enough of that this week! I used my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' and 'Ice Crystals' folders for the embossing, and cut the snowflake using my Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die. The sparkly brad is by American Crafts, the ribbon from Poppicrafts, and I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the border.

Here's a close-up of the Glossy Accents on the bauble:

Challenges for this card:

• Cards for Men - No Design Papers
• CES - Embossing
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Ribbon 
• Top Tip Tuesday - Ribbon
• Whiff of Joy - Sketch (which I've flipped)
• Winter Wonderland - Blue & White

Birthday Monkeys!

I've used another neglected stamp on today's card...this one is 'Birthday Monkeys' from Stampavie. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added Glossy Accents to the balloons. The papers are from the 'Boo to You!' collection by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The stars were cut using Nesties, and the sentiment is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Here's a close-up of the Glossy Accents on the balloons:

Challenges for this card:

• Birthday Sundaes - Masculine
• Charisma Cardz - Boy Oh Boy!
• Cupcake Craft - Zesty Colour Combo (Orange, Yellow, Green & White)
• Everybody Art - Sketch
• Simon Says Stamp - Stars & Stripes
• Wags N' Whiskers - Stitches

In the Pink!

Whilst stamping some images last weekend, I came across the adorable 'Boo Boo Bear' (by Whipper Snapper), who hasn't seen ink in a while so I thought I'd stamp him...I don't know anyone in need of a 'Get Well Soon' card, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared! I coloured him using watercolour pencils, and added a sentiment from the CCSR set by Papermaina, before cutting him out using one of my 'Lacey Circle' Nesties. The papers are from the 'Oh La La (for Her)' collection by My Mind's Eye, and I distressed the edges before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The flowers are by Prima, the gem brads are from Craft Obsessions, and the adhesive pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafts & Me - Gems & Pearls
• Crafty Creations - Get Well
• Create4Fun - Sketch (which I've flipped)
• Stamp Something - Something Sentimental
• Stampavie & More - Pink
• Totally Papercrafts - Pink & Girly

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Clean & Simple

This week it's Kelly's turn to set the theme of the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge, and she has chosen:

'Clean & Simple'

As it's the last challenge of the month, it's your last chance to be included for the draw for the prize from our fabulous sponsor The Stamping Boutique.

I decided not to stamp an image for my card, and used die cuts instead. The cupake is made using a set of Marianne Designs Creatables dies (available here at the Secret Crafter) and BasicGrey 'Hopscoth' papers). I embossed the chocolate coloured icing using my Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder (available here at the Secret Crafter). I mounted it on to a circle cut from My Mind's Eye 'Penny Lane' paper using one of my circular Nesties (available here at the Secret Crafter), added a strip of My Mind's Eye 'Wild Asparagus' paper across the centre, and a few adhesive pearls (available here at the Secret Crafter). The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

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

• Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes
• Digi Doodles - Anything Goes
• My Time To Craft - Die Cuts

For more inspiration, please visit the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - One for the Girlies

This week at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, our theme is:

'One for the Girlies'

And, we have not one, but two fabby sponsors:

15% off lifetime discount voucher for the PB Stamps Store

and

Four rolls of gorgeous ribbon (of the winner's choice) from Fantastic Ribbons!

For my card, I used an adorable mouse image from the 'Micey Day' set, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Hopscotch' pad, and I distressed the edges (using scissors as I still can't find my distressing tool!), before adding faux stitching with my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the Hero Arts 'Anytime Messages' set, the flowers & pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts, and the brads are by BasicGrey.

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

• Fab 'n' Funky - Cute & Cuddly
• Papertake Weekly - Pale, Pretty Pastels

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - K is for...

It's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge, and this time it's Lacey's turn to host. The theme for the challenge is:

'K is for Kids & Kraft'

With an optional extra to make a giftcard/holder.

We have not one, but two fabulous sponsors for this challenge:

Digital Delights

Winner will receive 3 digital stamps of their choice.

and

Karen's doodles

Winner will receive 3 digital stamps of their choice.

Ok, so on to my card...I made an ordinary card, but if you fancy trying a giftcard/holder, Lacey has made a fabulous tutorial showing how she made her project, which you can find on the ABC Christmas Challenge blog. The adorable image I used is 'Stuck up the chimney Santa' by Digital Delights, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are both by DCWV, from the 'Christmas Wishes' and 'Christmas' stacks. I distressed the edges a little (using my scissors again, as I still can't find my distressing tool!), then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Scallops
• Crafty Sentiments - Kid's Cards
• Creative Inspirations (Wednesdays) - Christmas in May
• My Time To Craft - Use a Die Cut
• Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Sketch
• Wags N' Whiskers - Circles

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, and our fabulous Guest Designers, and of course for Lacey's fabulous tutorial, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

P...P...Pick Up a Penguin

Do they still make Penguin chocolate bars??? I couldn't resist that title for this post...as I've used a cute little Digistamp Boutique penguin called 'Waddle Francis' on today's card. I coloured him with watercolour pencils, to match the colours of the My Mind's Eye 'Countdown to Christmas' papers. I thought I'd try a different (for me) shape of easel card...using just one normal square card blank with the image popping up above the fold, and I quite like it...certainly quicker to make than a traditional easel card.  I used a Penny Black sentiment popped up on 3D foam pads to hold the card up, and added a few pieces of Card Candi, and a piece of ribbon from my stash.

Challenges for this card:

• Paper Sundaes - Pop it up
• Prairie Fairy - More than one fold
• Totally Papercrafts - Don't be square
• Winter Wonderland - P is for... (Penguin)

Cupcake Mice

I love this Penny Black stamp...it's from the 'Critter Party' set...and I think that the expression of the mouse in the middle is just adorable. I coloured it with watercolour pencils to match the pink and brown papers, which are from the 'Hopscotch' pad by BasicGrey, and added a sentiment from the same Penny Black set. I embossed a strip of the plain brown paper from the pad with my Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder, and sanded over the surface to reveal the white core. I inked all of the edges, added a couple of flowers (by Prima & Poppicrafts), an American Crafts sparkly brad, some lace from Hobbycraft, and some chocolate coloured adhesive pearls (from Wild Orchid Crafts).

Challenges for this card:

• Birthday Sundaes - Pearls & Lace
• CES - Embellish It (Flowers, Pearls, Lace & Brad)
• Corrosive - Cupcakes
• Crafter's Companion - Girl's Birthday
• Creative Card Crew - Cute & Girly
• Creative Inspirations (Sundays) - No cook Cupcake Recipe
• Creative Inspirations (Wednesdays) - Lace & Pearls
• Sew Many - Flowers & Lace

Pile It On! Challenge - Beary Good Friends

This week's Pile It On!Challenge is:

'Beary Good Friends'

(In other words, we'd like to see at least one bear on your projects)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Stamp Fairy:

I have quite a few bear stamps in my collection, and decided to ink up this adorable Lili of the Bear called 'Deckchair Dreaming', as I hadn't used him in a while...I love the way he looks like he's having a 'post picnic' snooze! I coloured him using watercolour pencils to match the blues and greens of the BasicGrey papers I wanted to use...from the 'Kioshi' and 'Offbeat' pads. I distressed all of the edges using my scissors (I can't find my distressing tool...eeeeek!...so if anyone sees it let me know!), then added faux stitching around the edges of the papers using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. Oh, just in case anyone's interested, the 'kraft' card blank is by Papermania...it's a little darker than the Bazzill 'kraft' I used to mat the image on to, but inking the edges helps to disguise that!

Here are the challenges that I've Piled On!:

• Pile It On! - Beary Good Friends
•  BasicGrey - Mix & Match (Kioshi & Offbeat papers)
• Crafts & Me - Anything Goes (Optional extra 'Kraft')
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fridays - Summertime
• Cupcake Craft - In the Garden
• Lili of the Valley - Here Comes Summer
• Oldie, but a Goodie - Teddy Bear's Picnic (I bought this stamp last summer)
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything Goes
• Stampavie & More - Summer
• Stamptacular Sunday - Bear Necessities
• Sweet Stampin' - In the Garden
• Sweet Stop - Sketch with a Masculine Spin
• Truly Scrumptious - Anything Goes

For more inspriation from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Pile It On! Challenge.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Anniversary

**Please scroll down for my Penny Black Saturday Challenge DT project**

This week, it's Kate's turn to set the theme for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge, and she has chosen:

'Anniversary'

My card is for a golden wedding anniversary. I cut the hearts using the Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts' die, embossing the solid one with the Cuttlebug 'Kassie's Brocade' folder, and mounted them on to circles cut with Nesties (available here at the Secret Crafter). I used my Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' (available here at the Secret Crafter) and 'Swiss Dots' (available here at the Secret Crafter) folders to emboss the background. I matted everything on to gold mirror card, and then added a simple piece of gold satin ribbon, and a few gold adhesive pearls to finish.

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

• Digi Doodles - Embossing
• If the Shoe Fits...Scrap It! - Clean & Simple

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Fussy & Fancy

As an antidote to last week's 'Clean & Simple' challenge, this week at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, we want you to get:

'Fussy & Fancy'

The prize for this challenge is this gorgeous stamp:

Donated by my lovely DT buddy Pauline.

I've used one of the adorable hedgie's from the 'Wonderful' set by Penny Black, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are all by My Mind's Eye, the patterned ones are from the 'Penny Lane' collection, and the solid colours are the reverse sides of sheets from the '29th Street Market' collection. I used my Cuttlebug 'Victoria' folder for the embossing, sanding lightly over the raised pattern, and then distressed all of the edges a little. The sentiment is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts, the flowers are Prima, the brads are BasicGrey, and the adhesive pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

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

Celebrate in Style!

I have another Less is More card today...this one's a little different from my first one...but the embossing element is similar. I used the dotty border folder from my Cuttlebug 'Just My Type' set along the bottom edge of the card, then scored two horizontal lines above, stamping a sentiment from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts in between them. The image is 'Birthday Cupcake'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils, then added a touch of sparkle to the icing with some Stickles. The number stamps are from the 'Whimsical Months' set by Hero Arts...and in case you're wondering about the number, this card is for one of my flatmates, who is 30 today.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Cardmakers - Embossing
• C.R.A.F.T. - Happy Birthday
• Incy Wincy - Clean & Simple
• Less is More - One Layer Card + Embossing
• Simon Says Stamp - Sparkle & Shine

Coming Your Way!

I'm feeling Christmassy again today...this time I've used a Penny Black stamp called 'Coming Your Way'...ooooh I do hope so with all those lovely parcels! :0)
I coloured the image using watercolour pencils to match the blues & browns of the My Mind's Eye 'Festive Frost' papers. I distressed all of the edges, using inks and my distressing tool...then added some faux stitching to the papers with my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The sentiment is from a little Studio G set, and the little chocolate coloured pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Challenges for this card:

• Moving Along with the Times - 2 'Bs' (Mine are Blue & Brown) 
• PaperPlay - Anything Goes
• Sketchy Colours - Sketch
• Winter Wonderland - Presents

Since I've featured a Christmas card today, I thought I'd remind you about our ABC Christmas Challenge 'J is for Joy Fold Card' challenge...there's some more inspiration on the blog today...so why not pop over there to check it out.

Goodwill Blog Hop Candy Winner!

I'm back with the winner of my Goodwill Blog Hop candy...Mr Random.Org has chosen:

 

Woo-hoo Dorte...that's you!

Please email me to claim your prize!

Thank you to everyone who supported us in our efforts to promote the wonderful work that Goodwill stores do by joining in our little 'Hop'.

Cluck, Cluck, Cluck...

Today's card features the stamp 'Cluck, Cluck, Cluck...' by Penny Black...I have a bit of a thing for Penny Black chickens...and I always seem to use them for 'Things with Wings' challenges, when most of the the other entries feature elegant butterflies and fairies! lol
I coloured it using watercolour pencils, to match the bold coours of the We R Memory Keepers 'Hippity Hoppity' papers. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts, the flowers are a mixture of Wild Orchid Crafts & Poppicrafts, and the glittery brad is by American Crafts.

Challenges for this card:

• Corrosive - Birthdays
• Dutch Dare - Winged Things
• Paper Sundaes - Birthdays
• Scrapbook Sisters - Birds
• Sweet Stampin' - Sketch or Spots, Stripes & Sparkle (I went for Spots, Stripes & Sparkle)

Oh, and I'll crank up Mr Random.Org to choose the winner of my Goodwill Blog Hop candy when I get home from work this afternoon.

Agapanthus Clusters

This is my first attempt at a card for this week's Less is More Challenge, where the theme is to make a one layer card featuring embossing (the other one will appear on my blog later in the week). I went for dry embossing, using the dotty border folder from the 'Just My Type' set by Cuttlebug (I extended it a bit by overlapping and running through my Cuttlebug again), and scoring a couple of lines on my scoring board. The flower image is 'Agapanthus Clusters' by Stampendous, which I stamped in 'Faded Jeans' Distress Ink, watercolouring the outline flowers with the same ink. The sentiment stamp is by Whiff of Joy, and is also stamped in 'Faded Jeans'.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Card Crew - Flowers
• Delightful - Flowers
• Everybody Art - Flowers
• Less is More - One Layer Card + Embossing
• Top Tip Tuesday - Flowers

In the Snow

I've used another of the images I stamped when I visited Kaz last month on today's card...this cutie is 'James the Bear - In the Snow' by Lili of the Valley. The paper is by Sandylion, and was a charity shop find by my Mum...if you're a charity shopper, you might like to know that there's still time to join me (and some of my crafty friends) in showing your support by joining in with our Goodwill blog hop which ends tonight...all you need to do is comment on each stop to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes...there's some candy along the way too (including on my blog)...the hop starts here. Ok, I used my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder on white card (just seen behind the bear), added a couple of snowflakes cut using Marianne Designs and Cuttlebug dies, ribbon from my stash, and a few pieces of Card Candi. I distressed all of the edges with ink and my distressing tool, and added some faux stitching to the patterened paper using my CutterBee bug and a white gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Bah! Humbug! - Snowflakes
• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Stitching
• Crafty Calendar - Teddy Bears
• Craft Your Days Away - White plus one other colour (I chose teal)
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Distressing
• Sweet Sketch Wednesday - Sketch

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Sketch by Jane

It's Jane's turn to set the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge this week, and she's created this fabulous sketch for us all to use:

I used it to make the card I sent to my brother for his 30th birthday today. The image is 'Moodles - Hugo Pressie' by Pollycraft, which I coloured using watercolour pencils, and then cut out using one of my circular Nesties (available here at the Secret Crafter). The papers are by We R Memory Keepers from the '72 & Sunny' and 'Hippity Hoppity' pads. I distressed the edges, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white pen. I cut the stars using my Nesties, my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet for the numbers, and added a few pieces of Card Candi to finish.

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

• Cute Card Thursday - Distressing
• Pollycraft - Boyz to Men
• Sew Many - Anything Goes
• Stamp Something - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Clean & Simple

After last week's 'Distressing' themed challenge, it's time for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge to get:

'Clean & Simple'

Our sponsor this week is 1-2-3 Stitch!, and the prize is a $20 voucher to spend in their store!

(I've just been to have a look...and they have lots of lovely goodies in there...including Penny Black stamps...of course...so I don't think the lucky winner will have trouble spending their prize!)

So, here's my project:

Well, actually that's just the box I made to put them in...made very quickly using my scoring board, and then decorated with some 'Swiss Dots' embossed card, and gold satin ribbon. 

This is what's inside (click the photo for a larger view):

It's a set of simple, single layer cards for various occasions, with decorated envelopes, to give as a gift. I've used a mixture of wood mounted and stamps from several 'T for Transparent' sets. Here are some close-ups (I've listed the products used underneath each photo) :

Images: 'Critter Party' & 'Micey Nice Day' sets (Penny Black)

Sentiments: 'Critter Party' and 'Wonderful' sets (Penny Black)

Envelopes: 'Jolly Friends' set (Penny Black)

Images: 'Gifts for You!' & 'Dream a Dream' (Penny Black)

Sentiments: 'Sending Sunshine' set (Simon Says Stamp)

Envelopes: 'Bubbly' set (Penny Black)

Images: 'Wonderful' set (Penny Black)

Sentiments: 'Anytime Messages' set (Hero Arts) & 'Sending Sunshine' set (Simon Says Stamp)

Envelopes: 'Bubbly' set

Images: 'Bubbly' set & 'To Cake Moment' (Penny Black)

Sentiments: 'Anytime Messages' & WM (Hero Arts)

Envelopes: 'Wonderful' set (Penny Black)

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