Pile It On! Challenge - Flag Colours

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

'Flag Colours'

(Use the colours of your national flag on your project)

Our sponsor this week is A Day for Daisies

Prize - 3 Images of the winner's choice!

I'm from the UK, so my flag colours are red, white & blue. I picked some papers from an older pad in my stash...'Madison' by Penny Black, and a cute Christmas stamp by Lili of the Valley called 'Christmas Bunnies - Stocking' - that's an older one too, and sadly no longer available. I coloured the image to match the papers, using watercolour pencils, then distressed the edges, and added some faux stitching to the papers using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The snowflakes were cut using Marianne Designs and Cuttelbug dies...I layered them up and added a little adhesive pearl to the centre.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Flag Colours (United Kingdom - Red, White & Blue)
• Bunny Zoes - Furry Friends
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Stockings
• Clear It Out - Your Style (Cute & Distressed) & Your Favourite Stash (Pretty papers...I have so many!)
• Crafty Creations - Red, White & Blue
• Fab 'N Funky - Christmas
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Any Holiday (Christmas)
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Use a Die Cut
• Moving Along with the Times - Sewing & Stitching
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Dies & Punches
• Time Out - Photo Inspiration (Chevrons)

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - M is for...

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

'M is for Magical'

(Either feature some magical creatures or a magical sentiment)

We are sponsored for this challenge by Shape EZ

Prize - 2 Templates of the winner's choice!

I picked a sentiment including the word 'magic' (from a set by Three Bugs in a Rug) and a cute Lili of the Valley stamp simply called 'Santa'...I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, and added some sparkle to the snow with some Stickles. The papers are from the 'Merry Little Christmas' 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.

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

• Allsorts - Use a Stamp
• Completely Christmas - Make it Square
• Fussy & Fancy - Distressed
• Sketchy Colors - Sketch
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Christmas Animals
• That Craft Place - Layers
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Top Tip Tuesday - Name that Tune ('Santa Claus is Coming to Town')

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

Snowy & Sparkly

Have a Christmas card to share today...using some old favourite Cuttlebug products. The large snowflake was cut using my 'Ice Crystal' die, and the smaller ones using a die from the 'Winter' set. I added a pearl to their centres and coated them with Stickles glitter glue. I used my 'Swiss Dots' folder to emboss the background, and the sentiment stamp is from a Lili of the Valley set. I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the diagonal border...I added little pearls on each of the cut out diamonds.

Challenges for this card:

• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Pearls
• Corrosive - Leave a Little Sparkle
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Embossing
• Everybody Art - Snowflakes in Summer
• Incy Wincy - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Cardstock
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch #274

Mouse Candle

Today's card features a cute little Bugaboo Stamps mouse called 'Mouse Candle'. I coloured him using watercolour pencils to match the papers (a mixture of My Mind's Eye 'Merry Little Christmas' and Pebbles Inc 'Yours Truly'). I distressed the edges of the papers a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Impressions - Anything Goes with Layers
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Stitching
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Favourite Product or Technique (Faux stitching)
• Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch #273

ABC Christmas Challenge - L is for...

I have another card...well, cards actually...for our current ABC Christmas Challenge, where the theme is:

'L is for Lyrics'

(Make a card inspired by the lyrics of a Christmas carol/song)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Freckled Fawn

Prize - $15 Gift Card!

I was very generously sent some goodies to play with by Freckled Fawn...and I picked out some cute little wooden birds and musical notes (from the 'Wood Chips - Birds' set)...and took my inspiration from 'The Twelve Days of Christmas - Two Turtle Doves'. I coated the birds and notes with Versamark Ink, them heat embossed them using gold powder. I used tiny little kraft A7 card blanks (from Hobbycraft)...adding a strip of washi tape for the birds to stand on, and a Lili of the Valley sentiment.

Here's a better look at one of the cards;

Challenges for these cards:

• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Sparkle & Sprinkle - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Par Avion

Another simple card today...I seem to be going through a bit of a 'clean & simple' phase at the moment! This one features some Penny Black chickens...the stamp is called 'Par Avion'...simply coloured using some watercolour pencils...and  Lili of the Valley sentiment.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Cards - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Inky Impressions - Something's in the Air
• Little Red Wagon - Old MacDonald had a Farm
• Penny Black & More - Wings

Pile It On! Challenge - Houses/Homes

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

'Houses/Homes'

Our sponsor this week is Fresh Brewed Designs:

Prize - tbc

My card is ultra simple...I used a Cuttlebug die (from the 'Winter' set) to cut out the house...then cut out the roof section again from some corrugated card packaging, layered it over the top, and added a scrap of red card for the doorknob. I popped the house up on 3D foam pads, and added a sentiment from a little set by OneFourZero.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile it On! - Houses/Homes
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Clean & Simple
• That Craft Place - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Top Tip Tuesday - Cut it Out
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Clean & Simple

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - L is for...

We have a new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...the theme is:

'L is for Lyrics'

(Make a card inspired by the lyrics of a Christmas carol/song)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Freckled Fawn

Prize - $15 Gift Card!

I picked a Penny Black stamp called 'Carollers'...I took my inspiration from 'The 12 Days of Christmas'...these are the '3 French Hens' ha ha! I also thought that perhaps they might be singing 'Deck the Halls'...hence my sentiment (from a Lili of the Valley set). I simply added a few strips of musical washi tape from Freckled Fawn as a background.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Craft your Passion - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Old MacDonald
• Penny Black & More - Wings

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

Sunset Meadows

I have an inky card to share today...inspired by the Sunset' prompt for this week's Less is More Challenge. I started by masking off the bottom of a piece of card using a torn piece of card, then stamped and embossed my Blooming Meadows stamp across the centre. The I blended various colours of Distress Ink over the top to create a sunset effect (from the top down - Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade and Festive Berries). I then inked the edges using 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink, and added a sentiment (from the 'Social Butterfly' set by Penny Black).

Challenges:

• Artistic Stamper - Summer
• Cute Card Thursday - Summer Colours
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Summer Colours
• Less is More - Sunset
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - For the Love of Plants

Pile It On! Challenge - For or Featuring a Man

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

'For or Featuring a Man'

Our sponsor this week is Dr Dig'is House of Stamps:

Prize - 2 digis of the winner's choice!

This is the card I've made for my Dad for Father's Day...he's recently taken up fishing, so I thought that this image was appropriate! It's from an old Papermania set called 'Stamping for Him', that my Mum picked up in a charity shop. I coloured some of the image using watercolour pencils, and then paper-pieced his clothes. The papers are all from the 'Here & There' pad by Studio Calico...I doodled some simple borders, and then added a sentiment from the Hero Arts 'Sentiments' set.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - For or Featuring a Man
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Corner - Just for Dad
• Fab 'N Funky - Checks
• Inky Impressions - For a Man
• Love to Scrap - Father's Day/Masculine
• My Time to Craft - Male
• One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes
• Open Minded Crafting - Doodle
• Paper Creator Crafts - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Masculine
• Simply Create Too - Masculine

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - White on White

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:

'White on White'

(Colour on image only)

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I've used a fairly large stamp on my card called 'By the cartful', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used several Cuttlebug embossing folders...'Swiss Dots', 'D'Vine Swirls' and 'Happy Birthday'...and simply added a sentiment (from the Hero Arts 'Cupcakes' set).

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

• Clear it Out - Anything Goes 
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Animal Birthday
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Moo'd Swing!

Today's card is a really simple one, featuring a cow stamp from Whipper Snapper called 'Moo'd Swing'...I love the expression on her face! I coloured her using watercolour pencils, then added a Papermania sentiment (from the 'Stamping for Him' set).

Challenges for this card:

• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Less is More - Two or Four Legs
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Birthdays

For Dad...

I have a couple of items to share today...both for my Dad...a wine bottle tag/giftcard holder for his birthday...and a gift tag for his Father's Day present. On the wine bottle tag/giftcard holder...I used a cute Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Mr Fixit' and papers from the 'Here & There' pad by Studio Calico. I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts, and the letters were cut using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet dies. I cut the hole for the bottle top using one of my Nesties...and created a pocket on the back to hold a giftcard...but I forgot to photograph that...ooops!

I mad e a simple tag to go on his Father's Day present using one of my oldest Penny Black stamps...'Present Pile'...and papers from the same Studio Calico pad. I inked around the edge of the paper using 'Tea Dye' Distress Ink, and 'fussy cut' the chicken image. I used some multicoloured twine (from TK Maxx) to tie around the gift.

Challenges for these items:

• ABC Challenge - K for Kritters
• C.R.A.F.T. - Father's Day/Male
• Crafty Cardmakers - Stitching (on the bottle tag)
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Pink Elephant - Masculine Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Father's Day/Special Man