Witching You A Spooky Halloween

I have a Halloween treat bag to share today...there'll be more of these coming over the next few weeks. This one is really simple...I recently picked up some new Halloween papers, and used one from the Echo Park 'The Apothecary Emporium' pad on this bag as a background for a Penny Black cat & mouse image (from the 'Spooky' set).

I coloured the image using waterolour pencils, then carefully cut it out. I added a sentiment (from the same Penny Black set) to the paper, distressed the edges a little, then matted it on to some black card before attaching it to my bag.

Challenges for this bag:

• Always Fun - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - All Creatures Great & Small
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

We Three Kings...

I have a Christmas card to share today...featuring a Penny Black stamp called 'We Three Kings'. I heat embossed it on black card using 'Copper Kettle' embossing powder from Personal Impressions. I didn't have any copper card to mat it on to, so I used more of the embossing powder on white card...just inking around the edges using Versamark Ink and coating it with the powder...I did a couple of layers to get an even coat. I stamped the matching sentiment along the bottom of my card blank, then added the image panel above.

Challenges for this card:

• CAS on Friday - Copper, Black & White
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional Christmas)
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Holly & the Ivy - Anything Goes
• Penny Black Inc - Creative Christmas
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas

Pastel Flowers

I have a really simple one layer card to share today, featuring stamps from the 'Doodled Flowers' set by Happy Little Stampers, and one from the 'Perfect Petals' set by Woodware. I coloured them in pastel shades using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment from the same Happy Little Stampers set.

Challenges for this card:

• Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with HLS Stamps
• Less is More - One Layer Florals
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Stamping Sensations - Something Beginning with B (Blooms)

Guest Designer - Fussy & Fancy Challenge

Today I'm excited to be sharing a guest designer card for the Fussy & Fancy Challenge that starts today. The theme is:

'White on White with a Splash of Colour'

This colour scheme screamed Christmas to me, so I had a rummage through my dies, and grabbed some plain white card. I started by cutting the frame using my Memory Box 'Tree Silhouette' die, then cut another piece of card to fit behind it, and embossed that using a Tim Holtz/Sizzix folder called 'Snowfall'. I then built up the scene by cutting some snowy hills using my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Borders'...although I used the non-stitched side. I cut a couple of reindeer using dies from the 'Winter Wonderland' set also by Tim Holtz/Sizzix and placed them on the scene before attaching it all to my card blank. Finally, I added a red pearl to give one of the reindeer a red nose for my 'splash of colour'.

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

• Allsorts - Create a Scene
• Crafty Friends - Embossing
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas
• Happy Little Stampers (Dies) - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from the awesome design team, please pop over to the Fussy & Fancy Challenge.

Five in a Row

I have a simple floral card to share today, featuring a Woodware stamp called 'Five in a Row'. I stamped it on to a snippet of white card, coloured the flowers using watercolour pencils, and added the sentiment that came with the image. I distressed the edges a little, then added the panel to my card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• CAS on Friday - Flowers
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Stamping Sensations - Something Beginning with B (Bright Blooms)
• Sweet Stampers - Bright Colours
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Thing Big and/or One Layer Card

It's the third Sunday on the month, so I'm back with some more inspiration for this month's Pile It On! Challenge...where the themes are:

'Think BIG!'

and/or

'One Layer Card'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Angie's Digital Stamps:

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

I picked a BIG Penny Black stamp called '...to you!' and stamped it directly on to my card blank to make a one layer card. I doodled a simple border using a black gel pen, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! Challenge - Think Big and/or One Layer Card
• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

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

PBSC September - Anything Goes (Or 'Sketch')...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:

'Anything Goes'
or
'Sketch'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I followed the sketch again...it's one of my 'go to' layouts anyway, but this time I made a Christmas card, featuring one of the adorable Penny Black snowmen...this one's called 'Skating Snowy'. I picked out some papers from a really old My Mind's Eye pad (called 'Wonderful Winter'), then coloured the snowman to match. I cut out the image using one of my circle Nesties, then distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• Addicted to Stamps - Christmas Comes Early
• Christmas with the Cuties - Snowmen
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Give a Crafter a Cookie - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes
• Penny Black Inc - Christmas
• Simply Create Too - Stitching
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

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

Patchwork Woodland Creatures

I have a set of cards to share today featuring animals from a set of Jennifer Ellory stamps (called 'Oscar the Owl & Pals') that originally were a craft magazine cover gift, but I picked up in a charity craft shop last month for the princely sum of 50p. I coloured the critters using watercolour pencils to match the snippets of 'Happy Day' papers (by My Mind's Eye). I cut the images out using one of my circle Nesties, then added them to some kraft card blanks, along with the snippets of paper and sentiments from the same stamp set.

Challenges for these cards:

• Animal Friends - In the Forest
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Cardmakers - All Creatures Great & Small
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Use Your Stuff - Animals

Goldstone & Silver Necklace

I have something a little different to share today...a simple beaded necklace...inspired by the 'Favourite Non-Card Project' challenge over at As You Like It. I'm mostly a paper crafter, although I do like to bake...and went through a period of making quite a bit of jewellery a few years ago (if you want to see some of my other makes click here). This necklace was really quick to make...it's a mixture of goldstone and silver 4mm round beads threaded on to Tiger Tail wire, and finished with an easy to open & close magnetic clasp. The goldstone beads are a beautiful dark blue colour with lots of glittery sparkles...I totally failed at getting a decent photo, but you might be able to see if you click to enlarge the photo.

Challenges for this necklace:

• As You Like It - Favourite Non-Card Project (Although I love baking (for the cakes you get to eat afterwards!) I've gone with beading, as I find it really relaxing, and they make great presents)

Family Home

Today's card features stamps from a set by Stampendous called 'Family Home', that I found in the 'Bargain Bin' of a lovely little craft shop last month on a visit to Bury St. Edmunds called Keep on Crafting...it's taken over the premises of another little gem...The Stamp Hut. I stamped a few of the 'house' stamps on to a piece of watercolour paper, joined them all together with a doodled 'road', then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment from the same stamp set, distressed the edges a little, and matted it on to a piece of yellow card before adding to a kraft DL card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Shopping Our Stash - Crazy for Colouring
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stamp It On
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stamp On It

ABC Christmas Challenge - S & T are for?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so that means that we have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today! I'm the host, and we have two themes:

'S is for Snow'

&

'T is for Teal'

Our sponsors this month are Wild Rose Studio



Prize - Winter Cottages A5 Stamp set


AND

Crafty Ribbons


Prize - a £10 Gift Voucher for Crafty Ribbons!

There's also a little prize from me:

On my 'S is for Snow' card, I combined snowmen from three different Penny Black stamp sets ('Snow Much Fun', 'Jolly Friends' and 'Holly-Jolly Christmas')...doodling some extra snowy ground to join them together. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added a Lili of the Valley sentiment.

For my 'T is for Teal' card, I started by stamping a sentiment (from the 'Everyday Messages' set by Happy Little Stampers) on to a piece of teal card using a white pigment ink, then heat embossing it using Sparkling Snow' embossing glitter by WOW. I then stamped and embossed snowflakes (an IndigoBlu stamp called 'Snowflake Lace') around the edges in the same way.

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

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - Three of Something (Three Snowmen on the first card)
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stamp It On
• 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.

Pile It On! Challenge - Think Big!

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

'Think BIG!'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Angie's Digital Stamps:

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

I picked one the largest single image stamps from my collection...the rather appropriately named 'Big Butterfly' by IndigloBlu. I stamped it on to some watercolour paper using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using 'Midnight Dream' embossing glitter from WOW. I then added a large sentiment (from the 'Everyday Messages' set by Happy Little Stampers....stamped in 'Onyx Black' Versafine Ink, and then heat embossed with some clear embossing powder. I watercoloured the butterfly image using 'Black Soot' and 'Chipped Sapphire' Distress Inks, then once it was dry splattered some of the same inks watered down over the top. I distressed the edges a little, then added the panel to a kraft card blank.

The embossing is so sparkly and pretty in real life...so difficult to photograph though, but you might just be able to see if you click to enlarge the photo below:

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Think Big
• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Things with Wings
• Always Happy Birthday - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes (Optional Butterfly)
• Shopping Our Stash - Bugs
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - I Spy Something Beginning with 'B' (Big Blue Butterfly)

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

PS - this is my second post today...I'm a guest designer this month for the Penny Black & More Challenge...scroll down, or click here if you missed that post.

Guest Designer - Penny Black & More Challenge!

This month, I'm a guest designer for the Penny Black & More Challenge..where the theme is:

'Make it Feminine'

I picked an image called 'Uplifting Occasion'...so cute...I just love the cat's expression! I coloured it using watercolour pencils to match the papers from the 'Paper Hearts' pad by Studio Calico. I distressed all of the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts, and I added a few adhesive pearls (from Hobbycraft).

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Something to Say
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from the awesome design team members, and to check out the fabulous prizes on offer this month, please pop over to the Penny Black & More Challenge.

PS - I'll be back later with my DT card for the Pile It On! Challenge, so please stop by.

PBSC September - Anything Goes (Or 'Sketch')

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

'Anything Goes'
or
'Sketch'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I followed the sketch...it's one of my 'go to' layouts...and used one of the stamps from the 'Jolly Friends' set. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle to the snow using a Wink of Stella pen. The papers and sentiment 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.

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

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Merry Christmas - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Goes

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