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Saturday, 31 December 2016

Favourite Five Cards of 2016

Today I'm sharing my favourite five cards of 2016...I always thought that I was a patterned paper fiend...but there's not a scrap to be seen of any of my picks! As with my favourite five Christmas cards post, I've linked to the original post for each of these cards, so you can click through for any more detail should you want.

Floating By
This one was made for a very good friend of mine...I just love the bright & cheerful colours!

Blast Off!
This one was actually made for the daughter of the recipient of my first choice...it took me absolutely ages, but I love how it turned out.

Butterfly Birthday
I was bound to like this one...it was made for the PBSC where we were challenged to use our favourite technique, so there are lots of my favourites all on one card!

Balloon Trios
These were actually really quick to make...I discovered 'ink smooshing' this year, and it's featured on quite a few cards, but I chose this one because I like the 'doodly' sentiment and strings.

Sweet!
This card copies a technique I used on a card that featured in my 2013 favourites of making a lollipop out of Baker's twine...I used pastel twine this time, and love the way the colours look against the kraft card.

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Friday, 30 December 2016

Skating Snowy

I'm starting a new Christmas card tally in my sidebar for next Christmas(!!), and this is the first card to make it in. I received some new Penny Black stamps for Christmas...including this little 'Skating Snowy', so it would have been rude not to ink them up and play! I coloured him using watercolour pencils then cut him out using one of my trusty Nestie circle dies and combined him with papers from a really old My Mind's Eye pad called 'Wonderful Winter'...I re-discovered this in my paper stash a couple of weeks ago and have fallen in love with it all over again! I cut out some of the larger snowmen from a snippet of one of the papers...I thought that Snowy might like some company! I added some faux stitching and a sentiment from a set by Lili of the Valley.


Challenges for this card:
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Thursday, 29 December 2016

Jazzy Cats Party

I have a card featuring another new (to me) stamp set today...feline rather than canine though(!)...in the form of Penny Black's 'Jazzy Cats'. I imagined that these critters might be having some kind of New Year Soirees, so stamped them to make a little scene. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment made using Paper Smooches 'Graffiti' alphabet stamps. I added a couple of snippets of paper (from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michales) along the top and bottom of my card blank, then added the image panel mounted on 3D foam tape.


Challenges for this card:


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Wednesday, 28 December 2016

Harry the Dog

Another dog themed card today...this one features 'Harry the Dog' by Whipper Snapper. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then combined him with some papers from the 'Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels (picked up at TK Maxx). I added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.


Challenges for this card:


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Tuesday, 27 December 2016

Crazy Dogs!

I was the lucky recipient of lots of crafty presents this Christmas...so, yesterday I had to have a little play! I think Santa must have known that I'd been hankering after Tim Holtz's 'Crazy Dogs' stamp set since they came out! I couldn't decide which one to use first, so I stamped, coloured and cut them all out! I made a set of masculine birthday cards, adding a snippet of paper (from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels - found at TK Maxx), and a piece of kraft card stamped with a paw print background stamp (from Hobbycraft) in Versamark Ink, then heat embossed in clear powder. I added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, and sentiments from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual.




Challenges for these cards:


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Saturday, 24 December 2016

Favourite Five Christmas Cards 2016

It's become somewhat of a tradition to share our favourite five Christmas cards of the year each Christmas Eve...and although Debby isn't hosting a linky fest this year...I'm still going to share mine today. I made 92 Christmas cards this year...quite a lot less than last year's total, but I still have a surplus! These are my picks (I've linked each one to the original post for the full details of each card):

These took me quite a while to make and didn't go entirely according to plan...but I love the result!

I made quite a lot of cards similar to this one...the 'Falling Snow' background stamp from Simon Says Stamp combined with WOW 'Sparkling Snow' embossing powder creates a perfect background for all my Christmas critters...and I love the bright colours on this card.

A set of really quick and simple cards made to use up some scraps of smooshed Distress Ink watercolour paper...but I love the way they turned out.

This one was quite fiddly to do...but really effective...and a great way of using up more scraps of watercolour paper coloured with smooshed Distress Inks!

I simply had to choose a Penny Black card...and this one is a recent make with lots of fun jolly snowmen...and that background stamp again!

Oh...just one more thing before I go...here's this year's Christmas cake:
Frosty the Snowman being attacked by a gang of giant robins ;0)

Merry Christmas everyone!
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Thursday, 22 December 2016

Butterfly Notecard Set

I have a simple set of notecards to share today...they're a Christmas gift for my Nan...she always needs lots of these.


I stamped various butterflies (from the 'Social Butterfly' set by Penny Black and 'Pen Pattern Butterflies' by Stampendous and simple messages from the Paula Pascual 'Big Messages' set in 'Smokey Gray' Versafine Ink. I added some colour using Distress Inks (Pumice Stone (for their bodies), Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Seedless Preserves, Broken China & Cracked Pistachio). There are four different designs:





Challenges for these notecards:
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Monday, 19 December 2016

Christmas Gift Boxes

I have a set of simple Christmas boxes to share today...made using my We R Memory Keepers punch board and a selection of My Mind's Eye glittery papers (from the 'Countdown to Christmas', 'Wonderful Winter' and 'Believe' pads). The boxes measure 4x4x4 inches, and were each made from a single sheet of 12x12 paper.


I made some matching tags from snippets of the same papers, adding a Christmas tree shape cut using one of the dies from the 'Reindeer' stamp and die set by Hero Arts & Sizzix to a plain kraft tag. I filled the boxes with some little treats, then decorated them using some simple ribbons that I think came from Lidl...maybe last Christmas.


Challenges for these gift boxes:
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Saturday, 17 December 2016

PBSC December - Winter or Christmas...More Inspiration!

It's the third Saturday of the month, so that means it's time for some more inspiration for this month's Penny Black Saturday Challenge...where the theme is:

'Winter or Christmas'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:
Prize - a $20 voucher!

I created a wintry scene using the snowmen from the 'Snow Much Fun' set...I stamped them all on to a large piece of white card...adding the snowy ground between them using a black gel pen. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then fussy cut around the top edge. I heat embossed my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp on a larger piece of navy card using WOW 'Sparkling Snow' embossing powder, then added my snowmen on top...not forgetting the middle one's juggling snowballs! The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.


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

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.
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Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Quality Street Wreath

I have a decorative item to share today...a Quality Street chocolate wreath! I make a couple of these every year...one for my house, and one for my parents...and they're super simple to do. I have a couple of polystyrene wreath shapes (from the Range years ago), and go to town with my hot glue gun, trying to cram on a whole tub of chocolates on each one (they're decorated on the back too).


Challenges for this wreath:


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Sunday, 11 December 2016

Pile It On! Challenge - Any Holiday or Celebration

We have a fun new Pile It On! Challenge starting today...this one is a special challenge running for four weeks, so there's plenty of time to play along! We have a super simple theme too:

'Any Holiday or Celebration'

Our sponsor for this month is Bugaboo Stamps:
Prize - 7 Digi Stamps of the Winners Choice!

I used a Bugaboo Stamp image called 'Snowball Penguins' which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are by Sandylion...they're really old (I think I've had them since before I started blogging!), and I have no idea what the name of the collection they're from might be called. I inked the edges of everything using 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Joy to the World' set by Penny Black. I did add a load of sparkle to the snowballs using a WInk of Stella pen...but I couldn't get it to show up in the photo.


Here are the challenges I've piled on:


For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On! Challenge.
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Friday, 9 December 2016

Foxy Christmas

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring a stamp from a new Penny Black set called 'Snow Much Fun'. I coloured the fox using watercolour pencils, then fussy cut him out. I made a simple wintry background using my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp (heat embossed in WOW 'Sparkling Snow' embossing powder), and a couple of snippets of white card cut using my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside' border dies. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.


Challenges for this card:


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Wednesday, 7 December 2016

ABC Christmas Challenge - Y & Z are for...

We have another fun ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Samantha is the host and the themes are:

'Y is for Yikes!' & 'Z is for Zoom!'

Yes...that's right, we have two themes for this challenge!
After seven trips through the alphabet, we're changing things up in 2017, and are breaking you all in gently with a practice run for the last challenge this year. We will still be using the alphabet as the inspiration for our challenges, but will be switching to a monthly challenge, so each month will have more than one theme. You can use either or all of the themes..make a project for both or combine them in one...the choice is yours! Remember that we do not have a limit on the number of times you can enter each of our challenges, or the number of challenges you can combine with ours! Our challenges will start on the first Wednesday of each month, and will end on the last day of the month, so you'll have plenty of time to play along! We will also continue to have lots of fabulous prizes on offer...with multiple winners each month!

Our sponsor for this challenge is East Wind:
Prize - 3 Digital Images!

I went with the 'Z is for Zoom' theme and as my stash of Christmas cards is looking quite healthy, I made a set of decorative fridge magnets using images of Penny Black critters zooming around! The magnets are from Ikea...they're meant for putting photos in, but I simply cut some white card to the correct size. I stamped the critters (Ice Dance Dog, Snowboard Ride & Deer in Skates) on to the card, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added a simple doodled border before sliding them into the plastic magents.


I'm also entering these magnets into the following challenges:


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

at 16 comments:

Monday, 5 December 2016

Snowy Winter Nights

I was the lucky winner of a Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) Challenge a little while ago...and my parcel of goodies arrived at the end of last week...happy mail...yippee! Among the things I spent my gift voucher on, were a couple of Hero Arts stamps - 'Snowy Winter Nights' and 'Collage Music Background'...and I've combined them on these cards:


I started by stamping the background stamp on to white card using 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink...then stamped the snowy woodland scene over the top in Memento 'Nautical Blue' ink. I trimmed them down, then distressed the edges a little, and matted the panels on to plain white card. I embossed the sentiments in white...this one is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous:


And the sentiment on this one is from a set by Lili of the Valley:


Challenges for these cards:


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Saturday, 3 December 2016

PBSC December - Winter or Christmas

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

'Winter or Christmas'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:
Prize - a $20 voucher!

I picked a cute little stamp from the 'Jolly Friends' set which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I added lots of sparkle to the snowy ground with some Stickles, and some little baubles on the tree with some liquid pearls. 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 stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.


I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:
For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.
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