ABC Christmas Challenge - January 2017...A & B are for?

Over at the ABC Christmas Challenge, we're starting our eighth trip through the alphabet today...with two letters:

'A is for Anything Goes'

AND

'B is for Things Beginning with B'

We have two amazing sponsors this month:

Sami Stamps

Prize - a $12 Gift Certificate!

AND

Wild Orchid Crafts

Prize - a £10 gift certificate!

And...that's not all...there's also a little prize from me too:

Two Docrafts Christmas stamps!

I made a card for each of the two themes this month...I had lots of lovely new stamps for Christmas...including the new 'Wintertime Cheer' set by Penny Black...and used some of the stamps on my cards. On the first card...for 'Anything Goes'...I used a sweet image of a ct & mouse hurrying along, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I used some really old papers (from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye)...distressing the edges, and adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Pollycraft for CC Designs.

On my second card...for 'Things Beginning with B'...I couldn't resist this little pup riding on his tractor! I coloured him brown, and gave him a blue tractor...and a pile of presents wrapped in blue in his little trailer! I also coloured a couple of little birdie stamps from the set, and coloured them to look like robins...then fussy cut all of the images. I created a snowy background for them by smooshing lots of shades of blue Distress Inks on watercolour paper (Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Broken China, Salty Ocean & Chipped Sapphire), then heat embossed my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp using WOW 'Sparkling Snow' embossing powder over the top. I cut the snowy ground using a Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside' border die...adding a sentiment from a Lili of the Valley set.

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

• Allsorts - Something New (The image stamps)
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Something New (The image stamps)
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Something New (The image stamps)
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Start Afresh (Use something new - the image stamps)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - 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.