ABC Christmas Challenge - K is for...

We have a new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Michelle is the host, with a theme of:

'K is for Kiss Sentiment'

If, like me, you're thinking 'Eeek! I don't have a suitable sentiment!'...then have no fear...Annette is here! She has come to your rescue and made a gorgeous sentiment that you can grab from the ABC Christmas Challenge blog to use on your entry! Thanks Annette! 

We are sponsored for this challenge by Kenny K Digital Downloads:

Prize - 3 Digital Images!

I picked a Penny Black stamp called 'Wishes for Kisses' to use on my card...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Christmas Fancy' pad...I added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The hearts are washi tape that I got from Freckled Fawn...the background of the tape is clear, so you can still see the papers through it. As I didn't have a suitable sentiment (or the means to print out Annette's fabby one when I was making my card) I used my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet dies to cut some Xs for kisses :0)

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

• Christmas Cards - Anything Goes
• Completely Chirstmas - Anything Goes
• Creative Corner - Cute Critters
• Creative Knockouts - Colouring Show-Off
• Moving Along with the Times - Snow Cute
• Sketchy Colours - Sketch
• Stampavie & More - Christmas in May

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

Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - Filigree

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

'Filigree'

The prize for this challenge is:

Tonic Studios Die Set 'Be Mine'

My intial thought when I saw the theme of this challenge was 'Eeeek!'...but then I remembered that I had a couple of fancy butterfly dies that would pass for 'filigree'! I started by stamping my Stampendous 'Agapanthus Clusters' and Hero Arts sentiment stamps in black ink, then blended Distress Inks over the top (Shaded Lilac, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans & Chipped Sapphire). I then stamped some flourishes from the 'Fantastic Flourishes' set by Hero Arts in water...splattered some water over the top...then gave the whole thing a generous spritzing of 'Baby's Breath' Cosmic Shimmerz. I used a Joy Crafts die to cut the butterfly from navy blue card...then daubed some 'Picket Fence' Distress Stain over the edges, before spritzing it with some more of the Cosmic Shimmerz.

Here's a close-up of the 'filigree' butterfly:

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

• Allsorts - Happy Birthday
• Charisma Cardz - May Flowers
• Crazy Challenge - Bingo (Pearls - Flower - Die Cut)
• Inky Impressions - Bingo (Die Cut - Stamp - Flowers)
• Less is More - Include a Die Cut

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

Celebration Chicken!

It's my Dad's birthday in a couple of weeks' time, so I thought I'd make his birthday card while I'm visiting my parents so that I could leave it here. He has a bit of a thing about chickens...so I inked up my much neglected 'Celebration Chicken' stamp (by Whipper Snapper) to go on his card...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are a mixture of Studio Calico 'Here & There' and Crate Paper 'Party Day'...I inked around the edges using 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink, before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the edge of the border, the star was cut using one of my Nesties, and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Animal Friends - Birthday
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Boys
• Love to Create - Cute with Punches & Dies
• Paper Crafting Journey - For that Special Man
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simply Create Too - Father's Day/For a Man 
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch #311
• Wags 'N Whiskers - For the Boys

Pile It On! Challenge - Use Metal

This week's Pile It On! Challenge is to use:

'Metal'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Add a Little Dazzle:

Prize a $25 Gift Certificate!

The DT were each sent some gorgeous metal sheets to play with by our generous sponsor...Add a Little Dazzle...I used mine to make a piece of wall art. I used my Memory Box 'Darla Butterfly' to cut shapes from the sheets of metal, then embossed them using an assortment of Cuttlebug and Craft Concepts folders. I mounted the butterflies on to a piece of white card using 3D foam pads, then placed it in a shadow box (from The Range).

Apologies for the reflections on the glass...this was really tricky to photograph! 

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Use Metal
• 4 Crafty Chicks - No Stamping
• Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
• Crafting for All Seasons - Things with Wings
• Craftitude - Use a Die
• Crafty Catz - Embossing
• Crafty Girls - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Embossing & Bling
• Dream Valley - Things with Wings
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Whimsy Inspires - Two or More Die Cuts

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

Simple Gift Tag

Work has been rather busy this half-term, and I keep getting behind with my blogging...but it's half-term next week...so hopefully I'll have some time to play! Anyway...I made this tag to go on the present I gave my brother for his birthday last week. I started with a plain luggage tag (from Hobbycraft), and added some strips of washi tape (from Freckled Fawn, Hobbycraft & Tiger) to make a colourful background. I cut a star shape using one of my Nesties, then embossed it using my Cuttlebug 'Spots & Dots' folder...then attached a hand cut banner shape stamped with a Studio G sentiment using a staple. I inked around the edges of everything using a little 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink. I picked up the multicoloured twine in TKMaxx...but it has no brand on it.

Challenges for this tag:

• Aud Sentiments - Bingo (Die Cuts - Two Word Sentiment - Embossing)
• Corrosive - Banner Day
• Creative Inspirations - Birthdays
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Embossing

Bicycle Thanks

My flatmate asked me to make a bicycle themed 'Thank You' card earlier this week to give to one of the teachers that has helped him run the activities this year at one of the 'Biking Schools' that his new company  (The Bicycle Society) runs. As usual...it was a last minute request, so I kept it clean & simple...using a similar idea to this piece of wall art that I made a few months ago. The bicycles are a mixture of Hero Arts ('Bicycles' and 'Classic Bike') and Avery Elle ('Roll with It') stamps...I stamped them in a few different colours of Distress Inks, then added a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'What a Life' set), and a simple doodled border.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Sentiments - Inspired by a Song ('Bicycle Race' by Queen)
• Inky Chicks - CAS
• Penny Black & More @ Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stamps - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - J is for...

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

'J is for Jolly Elf'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

Wild Orchid Crafts:

Prize - a £10 Gift Voucher!

I've used an image from Meljen's called 'Cocoa Christmas Fairy'...although with her pointy ears I think she looks quite elf-ish! I coloured her using watercolour pencils to match the sparkly papers from the 'Countdown to Christmas' pad by My Mind's Eye. I simply added some doodled borders using a black gel pen.

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

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Santa/Elves etc
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Christmas
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - Anniversary

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

'Anniversary'

I've used an old Penny Black image called 'Furry Embrace' that was sent to me several years ago in an image swap. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then inked around the edges using 'Old Paper' and 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Inks. The papers are from the 'Indie Chic' pad by My Mind's Eye...I inked the edges using more 'Brushed Corduroy' ink, then distressed the edges of everything using my distressing tool, before adding some faux stitching with my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is by Lili of the Valley...I used one of my 'Lacey Circles' Nesties to cut it out...then added some adhesive pearls (from Hobbycraft).

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

• Created with Love - For the Love of Critters
• Cute Card Thursday - Paw Pals
• Penny Black & More @ Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

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

Pile It On! Challenge - Fuzzy

This week's Pile It On! Challenge theme is:

'Fuzzy'

(Think fuzzy animals or fuzzy textures)

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

Stitchy Bear's Digital Outlet

Prize - $10 Gift Voucher

I went with 'fuzzy' texture...and cut a few snowflakes from some fuzzy felt using my Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die. I attached these to my card sing some BasicGrey brads in coordinating colours. I kept my card really simple...just adding a doodled border.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Fuzzy
• Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
• Completely Christmas - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley - Anything Goes
• Krafty Hands - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Totally Gorjuss - Don't Be Square
• Whimsy Inspires - Two or More Die Cuts

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Your Favourite PB Stamp

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:

'Your Favourite Penny Black Stamp' 

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

The Ribbon Girl:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

Wow...it was so hard to choose a favourite from all of my lovely Penny Black stamps...but in the end I settled for one of my most versatile stamps. It's called 'Bunny Friends'...I just love how it can be used for all sorts of occasions...as a whole stamp...or I like to stamp just a couple of the bunnies...or even just one. This time I've used the whole stamp...just adding a simple sentiment (from the 'Hello Friend' set) and a doodled border, to make the image the main focus.

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

• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything but Square
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• That Craft Place - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Crafty Little Fairies Challenge - In the Garden

Starting today, the Crafty Little Fairies Challenge is going monthly...which means that there's plenty of time for you to play along! Both teams of fairies have joined together, so there's lots of inspiration for you...and there will be even more prizes on offer for each challenge...so more opportunities for you to win!

The theme of the challenge for May is:

'In the Garden'

We have lots of fabulous sponsors this month:

The Ribbon Girl:

Marianne Designs

Little Claire Stamps

Delicious Doodles

Handy Hippo

I've used a Lili of the Valley stamp called 'In the Shed'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The glittery papers are from the 'Charming' pad by Michaels...I doodled some borders using a white gel pen. The sentiment stamp is also by Lili of the Valley, the flowers are by Prima, and are held in place using a BasicGrey brad. 

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes with Patterned Paper
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Crazy Challenge - Stripes
• Created with Love - In the Garden
• Inky Impressions - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes & an Embellishment
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - At Least Two Layers

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