It's Snowy!

I have another Christmas card to share today...using another older Penny Black stamp...this one is 'Snowy', and I was inspired to ink him up by my lovely bloggy buddy Squirrel, and her 'Snow-vember' challenge. I paired him with some papers from the 'Bundled Up' pad by Crate Paper...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and  black gel pen. The sentiment was cut out from one of the sheets of paper in the pad.

Challenges for this card:

• Craft Your Passion - Baby it's Cold Outside
• Moving Along with the Times - Inspired by a Song (Frosty the Snowman)
• My Craft Creations - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Pink Elephant - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Squirrel's Snow-vember Challenge

ABC Christmas Challenge - X is for...

We have a new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...it's my turn to host, and the theme is:

'X is for Xmas Music'

(Feature some music paper on your project...if you don't have any, try Google Images)

We are sponsored for this challenge by Zlatoena's Designs:

Prize - 2 Digital Images of the winner's choice!

I made my own music paper using a Hero Arts background stamp on kraft card. The image is 'Carollers' by Penny Black, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I added a doodled border, and a Studio G sentiment...and then a few jingle bells tied on to some Baker's twine.

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

• Crafting When We Can - Clean & Simple
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Any Holiday
• Less is More - Jingle All the Way

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

Carolling Mice

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...well on my blog at least...I have more Christmas cards to share this week...all using old favourite Penny Black stamps. The one on today's card is from the 'Christmas Critters' set...which I coloured using watercolour pencils, adding some Stickles to the snowy ground. The papers are from the 'Merry Little Christmas' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The snowflake was cut using a Memory Box die...and is held in place using a BasicGrey brad...the pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Modern or Traditional Christmas (Modern - love using a more modern colour scheme)
• Everybody Art - Circles
• Inky Impressions - Pearls
• Stamping Boutique - Non-traditional Christmas Colours

Pile It On! Challenge - Recycle/Upcycle Something

This week at the Pile It On! Challenge, we're challenging you to:

'Recycle/Upcycle Something'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Bugaboo Stamps:

Prize - 7 Bugaboo Stamps Digi Images!

My recycled item is a cereal box:

I used the reverse side of the packaging for 'kraft' card.

I stamped and heat embossed in white some Hero Arts background stamps (Magical, Snowflakes & Chevrons) on my 'kraft' card. The image is a Sugar Nellie stamp called 'Festive Friends'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils...the sentiment stamp is from a Lili of the Valley set, and the gems are from Paperchase.

Here are the challenges I piled on:

• Pile It On! - Recycle/Upcycle Something
• Allsorts - No Design Papers
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Snow People
• Clear It Out - Anything Goes
• Completely Christmas - Embossing
• Crafty Catz - Winter Theme
• Delightful - Gems
• Dream Valley - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Kraft & One Other Colour
• Little Red Wagon - Layer It Up
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch #337
• Sparkles Monthly - Santa
• Stampavie & More - Anything Goes
• That Craft Place - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Sentiments

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

Winter Bunnies

I have another Christmas card to share today...using some more papers from the 'Bundled Up' pad by Crate Paper, but this time a Lili of the Valley image called 'Winter Bunnies'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils, adding some Stickles to the snowy ground. The snowflake is a Memory Box die cut, and the sentiment is also a Lili of the Valley stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Go Green
• Crafty Sentiments - 2 or More Design Papers
• Cute Card Thursday - Red & Green
• Delightful - Any Holiday
• Love to Create - Make it for Christmas
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch #336

Wishes for Kisses

I have a Christmas card to share today, using an old favourite Penny Black stamp called 'Wishes for Kisses' which I coloured using watercolour pencils...adding some sparkle to the snowy ground with some Stickles. The papers are from the 'Bundled Up' pad by Crate Paper...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment was cut from one of the sheets of paper in the pad, the snowflake is a Memory Box die, and the brads are BasicGrey.

Challenges for this card:

• Animal Friends - It's cold
• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Favourite Holiday (Christmas)
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafty Catz - Christmas is Coming
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Cutie Pie - Festive Furry Friends
• Inky Impressions - Animals
• Papertake Weekly - 2 or 4 Legs
• Sweet Stampin' - Dies
• Top Tip Tuesday - 3 or More Papers

Bicycle Giftwrap

I've just discovered a few draft posts that I'd forgotten about...so I thought I'd share one of them with you today. This is the wrapping paper for my flatmate's birthday present...I love using simple brown parcel paper to wrap gifts and dressing it up, either by using pretty ribbons, or washi tape...or (as in this case) by using stamps. I stamped my Hero Arts 'Bicycles' set using black ink randomly all over the paper, then made a matching tag using one of the bikes, and a Studio G sentiment, inking around the edges with 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink (to match his birthday card)...attaching it with some black and white baker's twine.

Challenges for this giftwrap:

• Allsorts - Anything but a Card
• As You Like It - Favourite gift wrapping (Brown paper...because you can dress it up in so many ways)
• Aud Sentiments - Sentiment on a Tag
• Craft Your Passion - Something Beginning with B (Bicycles)
• Crafting for All Seasons - Birthdays
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N Funky - Happy Birthday

ABC Christmas Challenge - W is for...

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

'W is for All White'

We are sponsored for this challenge by our very own Lacey's Stamp & Create store:

Prize - $20 Gift Certificate!

I used dies to create a wintery scene for my card...the trees are a Marianne Designs die, the fence is a die by Die-namics, and the reindeer is a Die'sires die from Crafter's Companion. I embossed the background to look like a snowy sky (using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' folder), and tore some strips of card for the snowy ground.

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

• Bunny Zoe's - Snow
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - No Patterned Papers
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Christmas
• Jingle Belles - The Great Outdoors
• Love to Create - Anything Goes
• My Craft Creations - Anything Goes
• That Craft Place - Anything Goes

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

Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - Handmade Embellishments

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

'Handmade Embellishments'

I used a Marianne Designs die to cut a felt snowflake...which is held in place using a gemstone brad from Craft Obsessions. The image is 'Snowman' by Lili of the Valley...which I coloured using watercolour pencils...adding some sparkle to the snow using some Stickles. For the background, I embossed some plain white card using a Sizzix embossing folder. The twine is from the Ribbon Girls.

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

• CAS on Sunday - Ribbon or Twine
• Completely Christmas - Anything Goes with Blue
• C.R.A.F.T. - Winter
• Crafty Calendar - Christmas
• Creative Corner - Christmas
• Ideas to Inspire - Christmas
• Pink Elephant - CAS
• Ribbon Girls - Lovely Lili Christmas Card
• Stamping Sensations - Simply Christmas
• Winter Wonderland - Snowmen
• Without Words - Preparing for Christmas

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

Pile It On Challenge - A Special Occasion

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

'A Special Occasion'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

Add  Little Dazzle:

Prize - $25 Gift Certificate!

My special occasion is a 100th birthday! This card is for a friend of my Nan's, who celebrates her 100th birthday on the same day as my Nan turns 95! I stamped my Hero Arts 'Garden Weeds' stamp using the watercolour technique and Distress Inks, then blended 'Old Paper' over the top to create an aged look...inking around the edges using 'Brushed Corduroy' ink. The sentiment is from the 'Big Sentiments' set by Paul Pascual, and I used my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet to cut the numbers.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Special Occasion (100th Birthday!)
• A Little Bit Crafty - CAS
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Number It
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Crafty Little Fairies Challenge - Not a Square

We have a new Crafty Little Fairies Challenge starting today...and the theme is:

'Not a Square'

As usual we have lots of lovely prizes on offer from our fabulous sponsors:

The Ribbon Girl

DRS Designs Rubber Stamps

Marianne Design

Crafty Ribbons

I've made a little rocker card...using the largest of my scalloped circle Nesties...and a cute little dog stamp called 'Christmas Puppy'. The papers are from the 'Christmas in the Country' pad by Papermania...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

I stamped the puppy a few times, so that I could layer him up:

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

• Christmas Cards - No Embellishments
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley - Getting Ready for Christmas
• Sweet Stampin' - Shaped Cards

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

Guest Designer - Penny Black & More

I was picked to be the Guest Designer for this month's Penny Black & More Challenge...where the theme is a nice and easy one:

'Anything Goes'

So there's really no excuse not to play along!

As usual, there will be some fabulous prizes on offer from Penny Black Inc:

The card I've made is for my Nan's 95th birthday later this month...the image is called 'Well Wishers'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Vintage Charms' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The ruffle is pleated seam binding ribbon attached with double sided tape, the pearls are from Hobbycraft, and the sentiment stamp is from a set by Papermania.

Please pop over to the Penny Black & More Challenge for lots of lovely inspiration from the fabulous design team.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - All Wrapped Up

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:

'All Wrapped Up' 

(We want to see coats, hats, scarves & gloves)

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I picked a stamp from the 'Joy to the World' set...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Blitzen' pad by Bo Bunny...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from a Lili of the Valley set, the tree is a Marianne Designs die, the snowflake is a Memory Box die, and the pearl brad is from Craft Obsessions.

I'm also entering this treat bag into the following challenges:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Aud Sentiments - Two or Three Word Sentiment
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N Funky - Christmas
• Moving Along with the Times - Winter
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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