Told you I'd be making more...

I had so much fun making the beaded wrap bracelets that I uploaded last week, that I made another last Saturday afternoon whilst watching the tennis on TV. This time I used a mixture of 4mm turquoise and silver round beads, making it long enough to wrap around my wrist 4 times.

I'm getting neater...and quicker...and I've bought some more gemstone beads, in various different colours...as I'm planning to make some more of these over the summer holiday...only a couple more weeks to go...can't wait! Anyway, if fancy trying this technique, here's a link to the tutorial I used.

ABC Christmas Challenge - M is for...

I've got a 'Mid-way Reminder' card for our current ABC Christmas Challenge for you today, where the theme is:

'M is for Monochrome'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

With a fantastic prize of 4 Wags 'n Whiskers digi stamps!

On the card I made last week, I used my favourite colour...blue, and this time I've used one of my least favourite colours....pink! The image is from the 'Jolly Friends' set by Penny Black - I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added some 'Crystal' Stickles to the snow. The papers are from a Heidi Grace pad (sorry...it doesn't seem to have a name on it) - I distressed the edges, and added some faux stitching with my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. I used my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder for the embossing, sanding over the raised area to reveal the white core, then added a few pieces of Card Candi.

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

• Charisma Cardz - White & ? (Mine's obviously pink!)
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch
• Winter Wonderland - Pretty in Pink

There's more inspiration from some of my lovely DT buddies over on the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Igloo for Two!

I'm hoping that this icy Christmas card will help cool us down! lol
The adorable image is 'Igloo for Two' by Lili of the Valley (from my lovely friend Kaz), which I coloured using watercolour pencils, before adding some 'Crystal' Stickles to the snow. The papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye, and I cut the snowflakes using Marianne Designs Creatables and Cuttlebug dies...covering them with more Stickles.

Challenges for this card:

• Bah! Humbug! - Penguins
• Christmas Cards - Die Cuts
• Crafty Cardmakers - Spots & Stripes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Crazy4Challenges - Sketch
• Sweet Stampin' - Something Old, Something New (The papers are from last year, and the image is new...stamped for me by my lovely friend Kaz)
• Totally Papercrafts - Spots & Stripes

...to You!

Phew...what a scorcher yesterday was!!! I spent part of the day crafting...with my fan blowing those bits you peel off the back of foam pads everywhere! lol
The image on this card is '...for You!' by Penny Black...a nice big stamp, perfect for using on men's cards, so you don't need to add much else! I used my nuch neglected Cuttlebug 'Stars' folder for the embossing, and cut the stars using my Nesties.

Challenges for this card:

• Birthday Sundaes - Stars & Stripes
• Card Makin' Mamas - Red, White & Blue
• Cards for Men - Stars
• Craft Us Crazy - Red, White & Blue
• Die Cut Dreams - Red, White & Blue
• PaperPlay - Staars & Stripes
• Sketchy Thursday - Sketch
• Stamp Something - 4th July/Celebration Somethings
• Stamptacular - Stars & Stripes

Golden Wedding

One of my Aunts and Uncles are celebrating their Golden Wedding anniversary later this year, and I've been asked to make a couple of cards to send to them (the first one I made is here). When I saw the sketch for this week's Less is More challenge, I immediately thought of using it for another anniversary card. I cut the hearts from an antiqued gold card (from Paperchase) using my Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts' die, and embossed the solid hearts using my Cuttlebug 'Victoria' folder. I used cream linen card for my card base, embossed a strip of the 'offcut' with my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' folder, and used more of the gold card behind it...having punched the edges with my EK Success 'Scalloped Dimaonds' border punch. The sentiment is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Dutch Dare - Clean & Simple
• Less is More - Sketch
• Little Red Wagon - Anniversary
• Moving Along with the Times - Clean & Simple

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Embossing

Please scroll down for my Penny Black Saturday DT post :0)

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

'Embossing'

(This can be wet or dry)

I've gone for dry embossing...'cos I loves me Cuttlebug! ;0)

I love the effect you get from using the embossing folders on plain white card, so used my 'Snowflakes' folder to make Christmas card...well, there's only 6 months to go! The image is 'Christmas Bunnies - Robin' by Lili of the Valley, which I coloured using watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle with 'Crystal' Stickles. To add definition to the layers, I distressed the edges using my scissors.

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

• Crafty Sentiments - Monochrome
• Everybody Art - Anything Goes
• Lili of the Valley - Sketch
• Scrapbook Sisters - Anything Goes
• Sew Many - Dry Embossing

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Stitch It Up!

Before I get on to this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge...I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of you who helped us celebrate our 3rd birthday last week, by showcasing all your favourite 'pesky critters'...it seems as if you all love them as much as we do!

And guess what??? There was a prize hidden on my blog!!! 

Kath tells me it was the yummy goodies from the Ribbon Girl...

I used Random.Org to choose the winner from the comments on my post for last week's challenge:

And, after double and triple checking...I can announce that winner of those goodies is:

Brenda B

Congratulations!!! Please email Kath to claim your prize.

Ok, so on to this week's challenge...the theme is:

'Stitch It Up'

(In other words we'd like to see stitching...real or faux...on your projects)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Crimson Cloud.

And the fabby prize:

Penny Black 3944H - '365'

I've used faux stitching on my card...I pierce holes using my CutterBee Bug before drawing in the 'stitches' with a white gel pen...makes it look quite realistic, and much easier than real sewing! The image I've used is part of the 'Bunny Friends' stamp....I masked off the other bunnies before I inked up the stamp. The papers and brads are all from the 'Hello Luscious' collection by BasicGrey...I distressed the edges using my scissors...and the flowers are by Prima.

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

• Crafts & Me - Stitches
• Stamp with Fun - Sketch
• Totally Stampalicious - Something Old & Something New (The stamp is old...and the papers are new)

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - M is for...

It's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...and this time Delphine is our host...and the theme is:

'M is for Monochrome'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

With a fantastic prize of 4 Wags 'n Whiskers digi stamps!

I dug out an 'Angel Henry Mouse' image (by Whiff of Joy) that had been sitting in my image box for ages for this challenge...I coloured him using watercolour pencils, added some sparkle to his wings and halo using a clear Sakura Stardust pen, then carefully cut him out using one of my Nesties...making sure I didn't chop off his tail! I decidied to go for shades of blue (my favourite colour)...and used Core'dinations card...embossing it using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots', 'Snow Dots' and 'Snowflakes' folders, sanding over the raised areas to reveal the coloured core. I lightly distressed the edges, and added some snowflakes cut using Marianne Designs Creatables and Cuttlebug dies.

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

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes
• Craft Your Days Away - Monochrome
• Crafty Ann's - Christmas in June
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Christmas Wings
• Creative Craft - Make your own Papers
• Cupcake Craft - Sketch
• Jingle Belles - All Bundled Up (3 or more layers)

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Gifts for You!

I'm back with a card today...using one of my favourite Penny Black stamps - 'Gifts for You!' The papers are by BasicGrey - the pink one is from the 'Sultry' pad, and the green one is from the 'Lemonade' pad...I tried to create a patchwork effect pattern using triangles - a great way of making your scraps go further! I distressed the edges a little, and then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• BasicGrey - Pink, Lime & Kraft
• Charisma Cardz - Pink & Green
• C.R.A.F.T. - Stitching
• Creative Inspirations (Sundays) - Stitching
• Digi Doodles - Stitching
• Penny Black Inc - Triangles

Beaded Wrap Bracelets

I hadn't done any beading in a while, and I'd seen a tutorial here for a beaded wrap bracelet that I wanted to try, so I had a little play yesterday afternoon. I used a smaller size of bead than in the tutorial, and made a longer length so that it would wrap around my wrist twice.

4mm Chrysocolla beads

4mm Black/Brown Agate beads

The first one took me a couple of hours, but the second one was quicker...it was a bit fiddly at first, but easy once you know how. I can see myself making lots of these with different coloured gemstones!

Pile It On! Challenge - Show Us Some Metal

This week at the Pile It On! Challenge, we want you to:

'Show Us Some Metal'

(Use brads, charms, eyelets etc on your projects)

Our sonsor for this challenge is: 

Prize - $15voucher to spend in their store!

For the 'metal' element on my card, I've used brads (by BasicGrey) and a lovely flower shaped spacer (I think I was sent this this as a gift) which I flattened using a hammer ;0)

The image is 'Gift Wrapped' by Lili of the Valley, which I coloured using watercolour pencils, and then cut out. The paper are from the 'Hippity Hoppity' pad by We R Memory Keepers, the sentiment stamp is form the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts, and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts & Poppicrafts.

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

• Pile It On! - Show Us Some Metal
• Delightful - Anything Goes
• Just Some Lines - Spots & Dots
• Simon Says Stamp - Bingo (Flowers, Brad, Sentiment)
• Stampavie & More - Butterflies
• Sweet Stampin' - Things with Wings
• Top Tip Tuesday - Open Theme
• Totally Papercrafts - Die cuts & Punches

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

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Household Items

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

'Household Items'

We'd like to see images of things you'd find around the house on your projects.

After much head scratching over this one, I finally settled on the Penny Black image 'Here's Looking at You'...because if you're as blind as I am, glasses are definitely something you'd find laying around the house! I coloured it using watercolour pencils, and added Glossy Accents to the lenses. The papers are from the 'Wisteria' pad by BasicGrey, the sentiment is from a Studio G set, and the gold pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

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

•  Stamp Something - Pretty Papers

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Pesky Critters!

This week we have an extra special Penny Black Saturday Challenge for you...because the PBSC is 3 years old today!!!

The theme for this week's challenge is:

'Pesky Critters'

So, show us your adorable Penny Black critters.

We have a mega stash of fabulous prizes from our lovely regular sponsors to help us celebrate:

From Penny Black Inc - A Penny Black Stamp

From PB Stamps - A 'T for Transparent' set of the winner's choice

From 1-2-3- Stitch! - A $20 Voucher

From The Ribbon Girl - A bundle of goodies including: Divine Twine, Seam Binding Ribbon, Buttons, Organza & Satin Ribbon, and Hat Pins

And, from Fantastic Ribbons - a gorgeous mixture of designer ribbons in a special dispenser box!

Phew...what a lot of lovely prizes!!!

But...there's a catch...they're hidden on the DT members' blogs...and we're not telling you which ones! ;0)

So...in order to win, as well as entering this week's challenge, you need to 'hop' around all of my lovely DT buddies' blogs, and leave them some love...and don't forget to leave me a comment too...because...you never know???

Ok...so on to my card...I had a rummage through my stamped images box for some 'peksky critters'...and I thought that these cute little mice playing on the typewriter fitted the bill. The stamp is called 'Cheesecake Message'...I added a sentiment and paw prints from the 'Micey Day' set. The papers and the die cut border are from the 'Ooh La La (for Him)' collection...I distressed the edges a little, and added faux stitching. The seam binding ribbon and yellow flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, the spotty flower is from a Making Memories pack, the brads are BasicGrey, and the Card Candi was 'custom coloured' using a chalk inkpad.

For more inspiration...and the chance to win one of the fabulous prizes on offer this week...please visit my lovely Penny Black Saturday Challenge DT buddies...here are the links to all their blogs:

Ali

Beth

Debby

Domi

Helen (me)

Jenny

 Kath

 Liz

Pauline

Oh...and don't forget to enter the challenge too!

Sunshine...this way!

What an awful morning! It's been tipping it down here for the last few hours, so I'm hoping that this card will bring some sunshine my way! The image is 'Deckchair Dreaming' by Lili of the Valley...and I think that this little chap has been out in the sun for a while judging by the way that the tide is coming in underneath his chair! The papers are from the '72 & Sunny' pad by We R Memory Keepers, as is the die cut sunshine banner.

Challenges for this card:

• Anything Goes - Here comes Summer
• For Fun - Summer
• Lili of the Valley - Bring on the Music (My song is 'Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside')
• PaperPlay - At the Beach
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Splish, Splash
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch

To Cake Moment

Today's card is clean & simple...although I did get a little inky :0)
The wee hedgie is called 'To Cake Moment' by Penny Black, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The paper is from the 'Max & Whiskers' pad by BasicGrey, and the sentiment is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Recipe for the Boys
• Crazy4Challenges - Men
• Cupcake Craft - Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!
• Incy Wincy - Masculine
• Papertake Weekly - Dads & Lads
• Sweet Stampin' - Food
• Sweet Stop - Sketch

Swiss Ribbon

I had a little play at the weekend with some of the lovely goodies I won recently...and made a Christmas card using some of the yummy Dovecraft 'Christmas Fancy' papers. The image is a House Mouse stamp called 'Swiss Ribbons', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I distressed the edges with ink and my scissors, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen, and a few adhesive gems.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Card - Sketch
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Sparkle
• House Mouse & Friends - Jewels
• Totally Stampalicious - Anything Goes

Ice Cream Sundae

I don't actually like ice cream, but I do like this cute little mouse (he's 'Mouse Holding Ice Cream' by Tina Wenke for Stampavie)...and to my shame, I think I've only used him once since I won him last year. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, and added Glossy Accents to the cherry on top, and the glass sundae dish. The summery coloured papers are from the 'Hippity Hoppity' pad by We R Memory Keepers, and the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.

Challenges for this card:

• Card Positioning Systems - Sketch
• Simon Says Stamp - Let's Get Fruity (There is a cherry on top, and a banana underneath all that icecream! lol)
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Here Comes Summer
• Totally Papercrafts - Summer