Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Shape Up for Spring

This week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge theme has been set by Tracie, which is:

'Shape Up for Spring'

Any shape but square/rectangular with a spring theme

Our sponsor for this challenge is the fabulous:

The prize is a £10 gift voucher to spend in the Lili of the Valley online store!

I've used a cute little Penny Black stamp from the '12 Days of Christmas' set...he's supposed to represent '6 geese a-laying'! I cut my card using my Blossom Nesties...I cut two full shapes, then attached them together at the top to make my card. I layered up a few circles/blossom shapes...embossing the yellow layer with my 'Budding Vine' folder by Craft Concepts. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, and the brads are BasicGrey.

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

• Charisma Cardz - Easter
• Fab 'N' Funky - Easter
• Fussy & Fancy - Anything but Square/Rectangle
• Oldie but a Goodie - Easter (I've had this stamp for at least two years)
• Papercraft Star - Easter with a Duck, Chick or Egg
• Paper Sundaes - Spring Blossoms
• Scrapbook Sisters - Easter
• Shopping Our Stash - Circles or Dots

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Sing-A-Long

This week at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, we're asking you to:

'Sing-a-long'

We wan't to see cards inspired by songs or music based images on your cards

We don't have a sponsor for this challenge, so instead, we're offering the lucky winner the opportunity to join us as a guest designer for the month of May!

My card is inspired by 'Let's Go Fly a Kite' (from Mary Poppins)...and I've used an adorable teddy stamp called 'Fly with me'. As the image is so large, I kept the rest of the card really simple, embossing some Core'Dinations card using my Cuttlebug 'Diamond Plate' folder. The sentiment was done on computer.

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

• CAS-ual Fridays - Song Title ('Let's Go Fly a Kite!' from Mary Poppins)
• Cupcake Crafts - The Sound of Music  ('Let's Go Fly a Kite! from Mary Poppins) 
• Whimsy Inspires - No Patterned Paper

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - F is for...

Guess what? I have another Christmas card for you today! It's for our current ABC Christmas Challenge, where the theme is:

'F is for Furry and/or Feathered Friends'

Feature an animal or bird on your Christmas project...simples!

We have two amazing sponsors for this challenge:

Lili of the Valley

The prize from Lili of the Valley is a £10 gift voucher to spend in their online store!

Our second sponsor is:

Bugaboo Stamps

The prize from Bugaboo Stamps is 7 free digis!

So, on to my card...I've used one of my favourite Lili of the Valley James the Bear stamps...'Little Star'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils, adding a little sparkle to his star with a Sakura Stardust pen. The papers are both My Mind's Eye (from the 'Countdown to Christmas' and 'Believe' pads)...I inked the egdes using 'Picket Fence' Distress Stain. The snowflakes were cut using Marianne Designs and Cuttlebug dies, and the sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley. 

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

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Use Patterned Papers
• Craft Your Passion - Monochrome
• Crazy Challenge - Add a Sentiment
• Dutch Dare - Cute & Cuddly
• Lili's Little Fairies - Sketch

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

Christmas Pringle

I have another Christmas card to share today...don't say I didn't warn you! This one uses a Sugar Nellie stamp called 'Pringle'...he's not really a Christmas image...but his present doesn't have to just be for birthdays. I coloured him with watercolour pencils, then stamped around the edges using a My Paper World snowflake stamp in 'Stormy Sky' Distress Ink...then blended a little of the same ink over the top. The papers are from the 'Festive Frost' collection by My Mind's Eye...I inked and distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The snowflakes were cut from kraft card using Marianne Designs and Cuttlebug dies...I inked the edges of those too..then added a some adhesive pearls, and lace.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Crafting - Use a non-Christmas Image
• Lollipop Crafts - Anything Goes
• One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes
• Sugar Bowl - Sketch (and optional 'Spots & Dots' theme)
• Totally Stampalicious - Critters

A Very Wordy Christmas

I'm afraid my blog's going to look a bit Christmassy this week...this is the first of three Christmas cards I'll be showing you over the next few days! I started off by masking off a strip across my card, and blending 'Stormy Sky' Distress Ink over it. I then stamped a Christmas text background stamp (by My Paper World) in Memento 'London Fog' ink over the top. After I removed the masks, I stamped a sentiment (by Penny Black) and a few silvery pearls (from Wild Orchid Crafts).

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Less is More - Combine Three Previous Challenge Themes (I've used: 28 - Use Ink; 58 - Script; and 59 - Masking)

Pile It On! Challenge - For a Man

The theme of this week's Pile It On! Challenge is:

'For a Man'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Dude Time Doodles:

The prize is a $10 Gift Certificate to spend at Dude Time Doodles.

I've used an image that has been hiding...already coloured...in my image box for absolutely ages...it's a stamp by Toodles & Binks called 'Adam - You're so tweet!'. I think it came with a matching sentiment stamp, but I made my own on computer for this card. I kept the card really simple, embossing a couple of pieces of card using my Sizzix/BasicGrey 'Plaid' folder, then added a button threaded on to some button twine from the Ribbon Girls.

Here are the challenges I've Piled On!:

• Pile It On! - For a Man
• Cards for Men - Cheeky Chappy
• Craft Your Days Away - Just for Men/Boys with Buttons
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Do You Stack Up - Plaid
• Little Red Wagon - Clean & Simple
• Love to Create - Anything Goes
• One Stop Craft - Clean & Simple
• Paper Playtime - For the Guys + a Sentiment
• Pollycraft - Checks
• Scrapbook Sisters - Anything Goes
• Stampin for the Weekend - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes
• Totally Papercrafts - Humour
• Whimsy Inspires - Anything Goes

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

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Vintage/Shabby Chic

It's Tamara's turn to choose the theme of the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge this week, which is:

'Vintage/Shabby Chic'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

The prize is a $15 voucher for Heather's Hobbie Haven!

Vintage is not really my thing...but I found these old BasicGrey 'Figgy Puddings' papers in my stash, and thought they'd fit the bill. I embossed the plain one using my Sizzix/BasicGrey 'Snowglobe' folder...lightly sanding over the surface. The big bauble and letters are from the same BasicGrey paper pack, and the seam binding ribbon is from the Ribbon Girls. I inked around all of the edges using 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink, and added a few adhesive pearls.

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

• Christmas Inspirations - Embossing
• Creative Card Crew - Vintage

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Easter Eggstravaganza

It's time for a new Penny Black Saturday Challenge...and this week the theme is:

'Easter Eggstravaganza'

We have a brand new sponsor for this challenge:

With this fabulous prize:

I've used a fairly new (to me) stamp on my card called 'Spring Chick', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Hippity Hoppity' pad by We R Memory Keepers, the sentiment stamp is also by Penny Black, the flowers are from WIld Orchid Crafts, and the brads are BasicGrey.

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

• Anything Goes - Easter
• Crafty Ann's - Spring into Spring
• Crafty Catz - Spring is in the Air
• Creative Stamp Friends - Spring
• Dream Valley - Easter
• Fairy Fun Fridays - Spring Fling 
• Moving Along with the Times - Easter Wishes
• Paper Sundaes - Photo Inspiration
• Papercraft Star - Spring
• Simply Create Too - Easter
• Sweet Stamps - Easter
• Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Sketch

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - F is for...

It's my turn to host the ABC Christmas Challenge this week...and I've picked a nice easy theme this time:

'F is for Furry and/or Feathered Friends'

Basically...feature an animal or bird on your Christmas project :0)

We have two amazing sponsors for this challenge:

Firstly, we welcome a brand new sponsor to our challenge:

Lili of the Valley

The prize from Lili of the Valley is a £10 gift voucher to spend in their online store!

Our second sponsor is one of our regulars:

Bugaboo Stamps

The prize from Bugaboo Stamps is 7 free digis!

I got a bit carried away, and made two cards this week...the first one uses 'Christmas Bunnies - Robin' by Lili of the Valley. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added some Diamond Stickles to the snow and the fur trim on the bunny's hat. The sparkly papers are from the 'Believe' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The snowflakes were cut using Cuttlebug and Marianne Designs dies, and the buttons are from a pack from the 'Neighbourwood' collection.

Challenges for this card:

• Card Makin' Mamas - Buttons
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Buttons
• Friday Sketch - Sketch
• Papertake Weekly - Bingo (Die cuts-Free-Glitter) 
• Shopping Our Stash - Buttons and/or Bows
• Stamptacular Sunday - Cute as a Button (I've used 2 buttons)

The image on my second card is 'Winter Birds - Snowman' by Bugaboo Stamps, and is again coloured using watercolour pencils with Diamond Stickles on the snow. I used more My Mind's Eye papers...this time from the 'Countdown to Christmas' pad...doodling borders using a black gel pen. The snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die...then coated with more Stickles. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Three Bugs in a Rug, the glittery brads are by American Crafts, and the gingham ribbon is from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - Christmas Animals
• Crimbo Crackers - Cute
• Gem of a Challenge - Sketch
• Incy Wincy - Things with Wings
• Kaboodles Doodles - Cute
• Pink Elephant - Get Krafty

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

Cuttlebug Spot Challenge - Child's Card with Animals

We have a brand new challenge starting over at the Cuttlebug Spot today...the theme is:

'A Child's Card featuring an Animal'

I've used a couple of little cheeky monkeys on my card....they're a Stampavie stamp by Rachelle Anne Miller called 'Birthday Monkeys'. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added Glossy Accents to the balloons. I used my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' and 'Spots & Dots' folders for the embossing. The sentiment staamp is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

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

• 2 Sisters - Spots & Dots
• Birthday Sundaes - Animals
• Challenge Up Your Life - Zoo Animals
• Crazy Challenge - Go Green
• Cute Card Thursday - Happy Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp - Bit 'O Green
• Squiggles & Giggles - Birthday Bash
• Sweet Stop Sketches - Sketch with a Spin 
• Totally Papercrafts - For a Male
• Whimsy - Embossing

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

Aqua Sundial

I didn't think I was going to enter this week's Less is More Challenge...masking really isn't my thing...I  usually find it really fiddly cutting out the masks...but thought I'd have a go anyway, and chose an image that wouldn't be too tricky to cut out. I stamped my Penny Black 'Sundial' stamp first, then overstamped my Hero Arts 'Music Background' stamp in 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink, once I'd masked it off. I used 'Tumbled Glass' Distress Ink and silver and green Cosmmic Shimmer pigments to colour the flower (although the shimmer doesn't show up too well in the photo). I blended a little more of the 'Pumice Stone' ink around the edges, then added some adhesive pearls (from Wild Orchid Crafts) before matting it on to some aqua coloured card.

Challenges for this card:

• Do You Stack Up - Favourite Colour (Mine's aqua blue)
• Less is More - Masking
• Ribbon Girls - Aqua & White (I used some of the beige from the photo inspiration too)
• Simon Says Stamp & Show - Handmade Backgrounds

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Doilies

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

'Doilies'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

With a prize of three digis of the winner's choice from the Stamping Boutique!

I've used some both new and neglected goodies on this card...the image stamp...'Little Girls - Swing Time' by Lili of the Valley...hadn't seen ink in almost a year...and the papers (My Mind's Eye 'So Sophie - Graceful'), the little sentiment stamp (from the 'Mini Messages' set by Hero Arts) and the doily (from a local cook shop) are all new. I distressed all of the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The flowers were cut using my 'Tattered Florals' die.

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

• Digi Doodles - People
• Dutch Dare - Dots & Stripes
• My Time to Craft - Doilies & Flowers
• Paper Sundaes - Feminine Flair
• Papertake Weekly - Mum's or Girly
• Scrapbook Sisters - Sympathy/Thinking of You

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - This, That & the Other

We have a nice & easy challenge for you this week over at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where our theme is:

'This, That & the Other'

(In other words...Anything Goes!)

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

The prize is this gorgeous Penny Black stamp:

I've used a new stamp on my card...it's called 'Garden Visit'...and I thought that this little sentiment stamp (from the 'Mini Messages' set by Hero Arts) went perfectly with it. The sparkly papers are from the '72 & Sunny' pad by We R Memory Keepers...I added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen.

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

It's a wrap!

I got my beads out last weekend, and made another 'wrap' bracelet...although this one only goes around the wrist once.

I used Indian Agate beads with a few fancy silver beads placed at random (all 8mm). The cord is brown waxed linen, and the pretty button came from a seller on ebay. Here's what it looks like on:

After a really foggy start here in London, it's turned into a beautiful day...but I've woken up with a stinking cold and a sore throat, so I won't be venturing far....even though it is my day off! Oh well, hope you're all enjoying the same lovely weather wherever you are!

ABC Christmas Challenge - E is for...

I have another Christmas card for you today...this is for our current ABC Christmas Challenge, where the theme is:

'E is for Evergreen'

Feature some traditional Christmas foliage...think trees, holly & mistletoe.

We have two wonderful sponsor's for this challenge:

Simon Says Stamp

Prize is a $15  voucher to spend in the Simon Says Stamp store

and

In2Stamps

Prize is a 10 Euro voucher to spend at In2Stamps

After last week's CAS card, I've gone for cute this time...using a Penny Black image from the 'Holly-Jolly' set, which I coloured using watercolour pencils, adding some 'Diamond' Stickles to the baubles. The glittery papers are from the 'Believe' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Glitter
• Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Sketch