From All of Us

I've used a new stamp on today's card...it's called 'From All of Us' by Lili of the Valley...so cute! I simply coloured the image using watercolour pencils, added some strips of Papermania Washi tape for the bacground, a couple of pieces of Card Candi, and doodled some borders...very quick!

Challenges for this card:

• Created with Love - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Stamping
• Cute Card Thursday - Something New
• Dream Valley - No Designer Paper
• Lili of the Valley - Anything Goes
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch #204
• Totally Gorjuss - Furtastic

Wishes for Kisses

I have a Christmas card to share today...using an image that I'd coloured before last Christmas, but not got round to using...it's 'Wishes for Kisses' by Penny Black. The papers are from the 'Winter Wishes' collection by Echo Park...I distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley, and the snowflakes were cut using Cuttlebug and Marianne Designs dies.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Cards - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N Funky - Feature a Sentiment
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Winter Snowflakes
• Sweet Stampin' - Stitching
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Sketch

Crafty Little Fairies Challenge - Sport

This week at the Crafty Little Fairies, our challenge is all about:

'Sport'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Little Claire...and this fab set of stamps is the prize:

The sport I've gone for is cycling...not that this cute little chap ('Hedgie Delivery' by Penny Black) looks like he's competing! I used papers from the 'Here & There' pad by Studio Calico to create a scene...distressing the edges a little and adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I used Nesties to cut the circles, my Memory Box 'Puffy Clouds' die for the clouds, and the sentiment is from the 'Anytime Messages set by Hero Arts.

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

• Bunny Zoe's - Stitching
• Charisma Cardz - Boys
• Dream Valley - Boys/Men
• Gem of a Challenge - For the Boys
• Seize the Birthday - Colouring (I use watercolour pencils)
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Happy Birthday
• Sweet Stampin' - Your Favourite Style (Cute...with a little distressing & stitching)

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Crafty Little Fairies Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - B is for...

We have a new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Samantha is the host, and the theme is:

'B is for Bare Essentials'

(Use the bare minimum of embellishments)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Care2Stamp:

Prize: a $15 gift code!

I made an ultra bare CAS card...I experimented with stamping in water over Distress Inks to create a snowy background. I blended various shades of blue ink (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky & Chipped Saphire) on to white card, then spritzed my snowflake stamps ('Snow Swirl' by Stampendous and 'Snowflakes' by Hero Arts) with plain water before stamping. I stamped the 'Snow Swirl' again in black...adding a Penny Black sentiment, then spritzed over it all with 'Baby's Breath' Cosmic Shimmer.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Shades of Blue
• Delightful - Brrr (Anything Winter)
• Emergency Crafters - Cold (Blue/Snowflakes)
• Kaboodles Doodles - Use Blue
• Sweet Stamps - Anything Goes

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

Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - Recycled

We have a new Oldie but a Goodie Challenge starting today...and this fortnight the theme is:

'Recycle'

The prize for this challenge is some gorgeous flowers:

I recycled some gift tags that I'd made to go on Christmas presents:

And turn them into toppers for some simple Christmas cards:

I used strips of washi tape (from Hobbycraft), as a background for a snowflake cut from glittery felt using my old faithful Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die...adding a pearl in their centres. Once I'd cut the tags apart, and mounted them on to my mini card blanks, I doodled a simple border, and added a Lili of the Valley sentiment.
I'm also entering these cards into the following challenge:

• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Oldie but a Goodie Challenge.

Pile It On! Challenge - Wood

It's time for a new challenge over at Pile It On! and this week the theme is:

'Wood'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

A Day for Daisies

Prize: a $12 Gift Certificate!

I've used a new stamp on my card...it's a woodgrain background stamp from a set of two by Tim Holtz/Stamper's Anonymous that I picked up in TKMaxx earlier this week from the Clearance section...for the bargainous price of £3.99! I stamped it in three colours of Distress Inks (Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves & Mowed Lawn) on to white card, then blended the same ink lightly over the top...and around the edges of the three panels. I cut hearts using my Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts' die from some offcuts, and mounted then on to the panels using 3D foam pads. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Arts.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Wood
• Addicted to CAS - New (New Stamp)
• Aud Sentiments - Any Sentiment
• CAS-ual Fridays - Colour Blocks
• Crafting for All Seasons - Bright & Beautiful
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Creative Craft - New (New Stamp)
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Clean & Simple
• My Time to Craft - All About the Love
• Papertake Weekly - New Stash (New Stamp)
• Penny Black & More @ Allsorts - Love is in the Air
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - Valentine's Day/Hearts
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Use Something New (New Stamp)
• Squirrel & the Fox - Show Off Your New Stuff (New Stamp)
• Stamping Boutique - Valentine's
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Whimsy Inspires - Something New (New Stamp)

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

Sunset Meadows

I have an 'inky' card to share today...I played with some of my Distress Inks (Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick), blending them over a piece of white card with the bottome masked off using a piece of scrap card with a torn edge to create the background. I then stamped one of my favourite stamps ('Blooming Meadows' by Hero Arts) over the top a few times in black before removing the mask, and adding the sentiment (from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Arts).

Challenges for this card:

• Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes
• Fussy & Fancy - Monochrome
• Inky Chicks - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - All Purpose Card
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Stamping with the Dragon - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Top Tip Tuesday - Clean & Simple
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Anything Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Monochrome

Crafty Little Fairies Challenge - Kraft

This week at the Crafty Little Fairies Challenge, our theme is:

'Kraft'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

Delicious Doodles

 Prize: 4 Delicious Doodles images of the winner's choice!

I went a bit 'kraft' crazy...and used it for all of the elements on my card...even stamping and watercolouring my image (an un-named dog stamp by Home & Heart' that I received for Christmas) on kraft! For the background layers, I continued the doggy theme, using a Crafts Too 'Bone & Paw Prints' embossing foder, and Hobbycraft 'Paw Print' background stamp...stamped in 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink. I stamped my sentiment (from a Studio G set) onto a strip of kraft die cut tickets (by Craftwork Cards), then doodled a simple border, and inked around the edges of everything using more 'Brushed Corduroy' ink. I found a little bone shaped button in my stash, and tied that on using some button twine (from the Ribbon Girl).

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

• Card Makin' Mamas - Anything Goes
• Crafty Calendar - Let's Celebrate
• Heck of a Challenge - New (New stamp)
• Just for Fun - New (New stamp)
• Sweet Stamps - Kraft Paper

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Crafty Little Fairies Challenge.
 

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for...

It's time for a brand new ABC Christmas Challenge, and this time I'm hosting..again! We're about to embark on our fifth trip through the alphabet...so we're back at the start with a nice easy theme for you:

'A is for Anything Christmas'

We have a wonderful sponsor for this challenge:

The prize is 7 digis from Bugaboo Stamps for one lucky winner!

The stamp I used on my card was a Christmas present from my lovely ABC Christmas Challenge DT buddy & friend Samantha....thank you...I love it! It's called Ice Dance Bunnies' by Nellie Snellen...so cute! The papers are from the 'Winter Wonderland' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little before adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I added a sentiment (from the 'Jolly Snowmen' set by Woodware) and a couple of die cut trees (cut using a Marianne Designs die).

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

• Animal Friends - Punches & Dies
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Christmas
• Crafting When We Can - Outside
• Gem of a Challenge - New (New stamp)
• Jingle Belles - Old & New (Old - papers & tree die...New - bunny stamp)
• Stamp & Create - Winter Wonderland
• Sweet Stampin' - Sports/Fitness

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

Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - New Beginnings

We have a new Oldie but a Goodie Challenge starting today...the theme is:

'New Beginnings'

Our lovely Francesca is providing the prize...I don't have a photo yet, so will add it later

 I'm celebrating the beginning of the 'New Year' by showing you another one of the calendars I decorated for a Christmas gift...it's become a kind of tradition that I make a few of these for Christmas gifts (you can see the one I made for my Mum here).I get the blank calendars from the Paper Mill Shop (if you fancy making one of these for yourself...they're now half price):

I used all Penny Black stamps...but the papers are a real mixture (American Crafts, BasicGrey, Crate Paper, First Edition, My Mind's Eye, Penny Black, Pink Paislee, CRaft Creations, Raspberry Road & We R Memory Keepers!)...I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a gel pen:

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

• Corrosive - New Beginnings 
• Cut It Up - New Year (I used my Nesties to out most of the images)
• Simply Create Too - Anything Goes
• Totally Papercrafts - New Beginnings

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Oldie but a Goodie Challenge.
 

Pile It On Challenge! - Just Because...

It's time for a brand new challenge over at Pile It On!...and this week the theme is:

'Just Because'

Our sponsor this week is:

Prize - a $10 gift certificate to spend at Inky Impressions!

I used a flowery stamp from Hero Arts and Distress Inks to make my card. I inked up the stamp Silhouette Flowers' using 'Forest Moss', 'Peeled Paint', 'Salty Ocean', 'Stormy Sky' & 'Faded Jeans'...then misted it with water to blend the colours together before stamping. The sentiment is from the CCSR set by Papermania.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Just Because
• Card & Scrap - Flowers
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes
• Creative Craft - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes
• Squirrel & the Fox - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes 

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - New

It's the first Saturday of the month...so that means it's time for a new Penny Black Saturday Challenge...and this month the theme is

'New!' 
(New Year...New Home...New Job...New Stash)

As usual, we have some fabulous prizes on offer from our lovely sponsors:

The Ribbon Girl:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I went with 'New Year' and am showing you the calendar that I decorated for my Mum...it's become a kind of tradition that I make a few of these for Christmas gifts...I get the blank calendars from the Paper Mill Shop (if you fancy making one of these for yourself...they're now half price):

Of course I used all Penny Black stamps...but the papers are a real mixture (American Crafts, Crate Paper, First Edition, My Mind's Eye, Penny Black, Pink Paislee, Raspberry Road & We R Memory Keepers!):

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

• Crafting When We Can - Countdown or Calendar
• Crazy Challenge - Happy New Year

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