Thinking of You

Today's card was made for a special bloggy buddy of mine. I stamped 'Summer Weeds' (by Woodware) in Versamark Ink on three different colours of card, before heat embossing them using clear embossing powder. I inked around the edges using 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink, then distressed them a little too. I stamped the sentiment (from a little Studio G set) in 'London Fog' Memento Ink on to some torn vellum paper...heat embossing it to stop it from smudging.

Challenges for this card:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Stamping Mad
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Pink Elephant - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

And before I go...just a quick reminder that I have some candy on offer at the moment...it closes on Saturday...click here to enter the draw.

Pile It On! Challenge - Hearts and/or Flowers

We have a new Pile It On! Challenge starting today, with a theme of:

'Hearts and/or Flowers'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Digital Delights:

Prize - $5 Gift Certificate!

I went for hearts and flowers...using little flowers cut using a die from my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' set to make a heart shape...adding little pearls to the centre of each flower.

And another view:

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Hearts & Flowers
• Bunny Zoe's - Hearts
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Pretty Pearls
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley - Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Any Holiday (Valentine's)
• Little Red Wagon - No Words
• My Craft Creations - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Pink Elephant - Love
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Hearts
• Sweet Stamps - Hearts
• That Craft Place - Love/Valentine
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Hearts

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

Just a quick reminder...I have candy on offer at the moment...click here to find out more.

ABC Christmas Challenge - B is for...

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

'B is for Bows, Bunting or Baking'

(Or all three if you feel like it!)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Sami Stamps:

Prize - $12 Gift Certificate to spend at Sami Stamps!

I couldn't resist using one of the new Penny Black stamps I got for Christmas...this one is 'What a Snow!' which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I added a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Merriest Wishes' set, and some Baker's twine tied in a bow.

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

• Addicted to Stamps - Winter
• Completely Christmas - Make it Cute
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Colour It
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Winter Stamping
• Sketchy Colours - Turquoise & Red

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge. Oh...and one more thing before I go...I have some candy on offer at the moment...click here to check it out.

It's Candy Time!

So...I finally managed to get some candy together to celebrate (very belatedly!) my blog's sixth birthday...and my 2000th blog post. I have a couple of prizes on offer...one Christmas...and one non-Christmas...each consisting of a paper pad, a Lili of the Valley rubber stamp, and a Lili of the Valley Art Pad:

So, if you fancy one of these prizes, simply mention my candy on your blog (side-bar is fine), with a link back to me, then leave me a link to your blog with the widget below. The linky will close at 6pm (GMT) on Saturday 31st January 2015...good luck!

Ruffles - A Present for You!

I have birthday card for a little boy to share today...using 'Ruffles - A Present for You!' by Helz Cuppleditch. The papers are from a pad by Michaels called 'Recollections...and are kind of glittery. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens, The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts, I used a Nestie to cut the star, and my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet die to cut the number.

Challenges for this card:

• Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Birthdays
• Inky Chicks - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Stripes
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - It's a Guy Thing
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Bebunni Bunny!

I have an ultra simple card to share today...using some Bebunni stamps that came free with a craft magazine recently. I simply stamped the large bunny and a sentiment from the set on to a piece of card, coloured the image using watercolour pencils, added a doodled border, then mounted it on to my card blank...simples!

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - New & Cute (The stamps are new)
• Chocolate Coffee & Cards - No Circles
• Crafty Calendar - What's New? (The stamps are new)
• Cute Card Thursday - What's New? (The stamps are new)
• Inky Impressions - Something New (The stamps are new)
• Shopping Our Stash - Something New (The stamps are new)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Something New (The stamps are new)
• Top Tip Tuesday - Keep It Simple

Pile It On! Challenge - Edible

We have a new Pile It On! Challenge starting today....and the theme is:

'Edible'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Bugaboo Stamps

Prize - 7 Digi Stamps of the winner's choice!

I've used a cute bear image from Bugaboo Stamps called 'Lil Bear - Cake'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Blue Floral' pad by My Mind's Eye...I doodled some simple borders around the edges. I used my Die-namics 'Balloons' dies to cut the balloon shapes...then tied some Baker's twine around the bottoms of them, attaching them to the card using a brad. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Big Sentiments' set by Paula Pascual, and I used a Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet die to cut the number.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Edible
• Card's Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Clear It Out - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Polka Dots
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creative Card Crew - For a Child
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Use a Number
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
• My Craft Creations - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes/Party
• Simply Create Too - Let's Celebrate
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Wags 'n Whiskers - Anything Goes

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

Penny Black Calendar 2

I have another of the Paper Mill Shop's 'Create a Calendars' to show you today. It's quite similar to the one I shared last week...using lotsmore Penny Black stamps, and some of my favourite papers. Again, I kept everything really simple, just using papers..no embellishments, as I didn't want them to end up too bulky (or heavy!)...I won't list all the different stamps & papers used, but if you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll recognise my favourites! :0)

Challenges for this calendar:

• Crafty Sentiments - New Beginnings
• Crafting When We Can - Anything but a Card
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Something New (New Year!)
• Sweet Stamps - Something New (New Year!)

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for...

We have a new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...we're starting our sixth run through the alphabet! It's my turn to host, and we have a nice & easy theme for you (with an optional extra if you fancy a tougher challenge!):

'A is for Anything Goes'

(Optional Extra - Antlers)

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

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

I used a cute Penny Black stamp called 'Reindeer Antlers'....which I coloured using watercolour pencils. For the background, I embossed some blue paper using a Sizzix folder...sanding over the raised areas to reveal the white core...and cut a few trees using a Marianne Designs die. I layered a white one behind the stripey green one (paper from the 'Merry Little Christmas' pad by My Mind's Eye) to look like snow on the branches...and a kraft one at the back to give the tree a brown trunk. The sentiment is a Lili of the Valley stamp.

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

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas
• Love to Create - Anything Goes
• Stamp & Create - Winter Wonderland

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

Polar Bears

I have another Christmas card to share today...using another new stamp...this one is from the 'Christmas Outdoors' set by Penny Black. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then inked around the edges using ''Stormy Sky' Distress Ink. I simply matted the image on to some white card, and added a Lili of the Valley sentiment...I'm trying to keep as many of my cards as flat as possible this year, so no embellishments on this one.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Cold & Frosty Colours
• Completely Christmas - Anything Goes with New Year's Resoltions (Mine is to make as many 'flat' Christmas cards as possible this year in order to cut down my postage costs next Christmas!)
• Corrosive - Shiny & New (New Stamp)
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Clean & Simple
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Something New (New Stamp)
• My Time to Craft - All Things New (New Stamp)
• Open Minded Crafting - New Year's Resolutions (To make as many 'flat' Christmas cards as possible to save on postage next Christmas!)

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'
(NewYear, New Baby, New Home, New Job, New Stash, New Technique...) 

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I was a lucky girl this Christmas, and received a few new Penny Black stamps...and picked one of those to try a new (to me) technique. The stamp is 'We Three Kings'...and I stamped it in Versamark, then embossed it in gold on the black card. I used Cosmic Shimmer pigments mixed with a little water to colour the image...I love the way the colours stand out against the black...they have a lovely metallic finish too. All I did then was stamp the co-ordinating sentiment stamp along the bottom of my card blank, then mat the image on to some gold card.

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

• CAS on Sunday - Christmas
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes

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

Penny Black Calendar 1

Every year, I decorate a few of the Paper Mill Shop's 'Create a Calendars' to give as Christmas presents...usually using lots of Penny Black stamps. I managed to photograph two of them before I gave them away...and am sharing the first one today. I kept everything really simple, just using papers..no embellishments, as I didn't want them to end up too bulky (or heavy!)...I won't list all the different stamps & papers used, but if you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll recognise my favourites! :0)

Challenges for this calendar:

• Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Last Minute Gifts
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Happy New Year
• Shopping Our Stash - Three or More Patterned Papers
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes