Butterfly Gift Bag

I'm taking a little break from blogging Christmas cards to share a decorated gift bag and tag that I made to match this card. I stamped the 'Big Butterfly' stamp (by IndigoBlu) several times on to a plain kraft bag using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them with 'Midnight Dream' embossing glitter by WOW. I did the same on a plain kraft tag, adding a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set).

Challenges for this bag & tag:

• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Happy Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Take Flight
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

O Christmas Tree

I have some more Christmas cards to share today...inspired by one of Kristina Werner's cards from her Holiday Card Series for this year. I loved the effect of the gold embossed tree popping through the dark green watercolouring...you can find Kristina's original card here. I started by heat embossing trees from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set bv Tim Holtz on to watercolour paper using gold embossing powder. I then watercoloured over the top of them using Distress Inks (Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Evergreen Bough, Pine Needles, Iced Spruce & Black Soot), starting with the lightest green in the centre, and working out to black around the edges. I added a few layers of colour, drying in between using my heat gun. I then inked around the edges with some Versamark Ink, and heat embossed them using 'Metallic Gold Sparkle' powder from WOW. I kept the cards really simple, just adding a sentiment from the same stamp set.

Here's a close-up of one of the cards...you can really see the sparkle:

Challenges for these cards:

• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Embossing Delight
• Cute Card Thursday - Sparkles
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes (Optional Gold)
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

Ice Christmas

I have another Christmas card to share today...this one uses a Lili of the Valley image called 'Ice Christmas' that I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Christmas Cheer' pad by Lily Bee Designs...I distressed all of the edges then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Pollycraft for C. C. Designs.

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - P is for Penguins
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes
• Fussy & Fancy - Things with Wings
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Colour It

Watercolour Snowflakes

I have another couple of Christmas cards to share today...featuring stamps from the 'Delicate Snowflakes' set by Stampendous. I heat embossed them using clear embossing powder on watercolour paper, along with a sentiment (from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous). I then watercoloured lightly over the top of the snowflakes using Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet & Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks. I distressed the edges a little, then added the watercolour panels to some kraft card blanks.

Challenges for these cards:

• As You Like It - CAS or F&F (None of my cards are ever really fancy, but I particularly love making more CAS cards for Christmas...quicker and easier to mass produce, and cheaper to post too!
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes
• Holly & the Ivy - Anything Goes
• Lil Red Wagon - Distress (I used Distress Inks, and lightly distressed the edges)

What a Snow!

After a brief slow-down to make some Halloween goodies, I'm firmly back into Christmas card making this week! Today's card features a cute Penny Black image called 'What a Snow!', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. For the background, I heat embossed the top and bottom of the front of my kraft card blank using 'Metallic Gold Sparkle' embossing glitter from WOW. I then added a piece of patterned paper from a Stampin' Up! pad over the top, and a strip of kraft card stamped with my Simon Says Stamp 'Abstract Triangles' stamp, and heat embossed in more sparkly gold. I added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a gold gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Traditional Christmas Colours
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Animals
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Merry Christmas - Anything Goes
• Penny Black Inc - Holiday Cards
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Antics

Pile It On! Challenge - Use Mostly Black, Purple & Orange and/or Fantasy

It's the third Sunday of the month, so I have another project for this month's Pile It On! Challenge, where the themes are:

'Use Mostly Black, Purple & Orange'

(Your creation does not to be Halloween themed)
and/or
'Fantasy'

Our sponsor this month is Ike's Art:

Prize - $15 store voucher!

I used the colour combination to make one final Halloween treat bag...again using a Penny Black image (from the 'Be Very Scared' set), which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Apothecary' pad by Echo Park...I distressed the edges a little, then addedsome faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The make of the sentiment stamp is unknown.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Use Mostly Black, Purple & Orange and/or Fantasy
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Animal Friends - Autumn/Halloween
• Aud Sentiments - Halloween/Fall Sentiment
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Crafty Friends - Circles
• Everybody Art - Bags/Boxes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Antics
• Sweet Stampers - Autumn or Halloween
• Sweet Stampin' - Chevrons or Stripes
• That's Crafty - Spookalicious

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

PBSC October - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spooky Colours')...More Inspiration!

It's the third Saturday of the month, so I'm back with some more inspiration for this month's Penny Black Saturday Challenge...where the theme is:

'Anything Goes'
or
'Spooky Colour Combination'
(Choose at least two from Black, Orange, Purple & Green)

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used the 'spooky' colours to make another Halloween treat bag. The image is from the 'Spooky' set, and is coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Hocus Pocus' pad by Taylored Expressions...I added some simple doodled borders using black and white gel pens. The googly eyes are from Hobbycraft.

I'm also entering this treat bag into the following challenges:

• City Crafter - Halloween
• Creative Knockouts - Black, Purple, Orange & Green
• Everybody Art - Bags & Boxes
• My Time to Craft - Halloween or Cats
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Antics

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

Cozy Winter Owl

I have another simple Christmas card to share today. This one features a cute little owl digi image from Meljens called 'Cozy Winter Owl', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I added some sparkle to the snow on the branch using a Wink of Stella pen, and a sentiment from a stamp set by Lili of the Valley. The backing paper is from the 'Silent Night' pad by First Edition...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Christmas
• Alphabet Challenge - O is for Owls
• Crafting form the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Digi Do
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Antics
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Xmas Pilgrims

I have a simple little Christmas card to share today...featuring an older Penny Black stamp called 'Xmas Pilgrims'. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils and added it to my card blank over the top of a couple of strips of washi tape (which I think came from Hobbycraft). The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes
• Daring Cardmakers - Pets
• Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes
• My Time to Craft - Kraft
• Penny Black Inc - Holidays Cards
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Count Cat-ular Treat Bag

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...using a Penny Black image from the 'Be Very Scared' set, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the Taylored Expressions 'Hocus Pocus' pad. I doodled some simple borders using a white gel pen. The sentiment stamp was  charity shop find, and I'm not sure of the brand as it has no markings on it.

Challenges for this bag:

• Always Fun - Lots of Layers
• Aud Sentiments - Halloween or Fall Sentiment
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Halloween
• Cute Card Thursday - Halloween
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Cute Spooks
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything but a Card
• Use Your Stuff - Halloween/Fall

Birthday Stars

I have a really simple card to share today, inspired by the current Less is More Challenge, where the theme is to CASE this card:

I used the layout, and colours, but instead of die cuts, kept my card one layer by stamping and heat embossing. The sentiment stamps are from the 'Everyday Messages' set by Happy Little Stampers, and are embossed using 'Coral Reef' embossing glitter by WOW, and the stars are from the 'Magical Christmas' set by Creative Expressions, embossed in 'Metallic Gold Sparkle' embossing glitter, again by WOW.

Challenges for this card:

• Always Happy Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with HLS Stamps
• Less is More - CASE
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Use Mostly Black, Purple & Orange

We have a fun new Pile It On! Challenge starting today, with a spooky colour combination as our theme:

'Use Mostly Black, Purple & Orange'

(Your creation does not to be Halloween themed)

Our sponsor this month is Ike's Art:

Prize - $15 store voucher!

I used the colours to make a Halloween treat bag...and picked some fab papers from the 'Hocus Pocus' pad by Taylored Expressions, and a cute Penny Black cat image from the 'Spooky' set. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, added a sentiment (no idea of the brand of the stamp...I picked it up for 50p in a charity shop a little while ago), then cut it out using one of my Nesties. I added some simple doodled borders to all of the layers using black and white gel pens, and a couple of die cut cobwebs (cut using a Memory Box die).

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Use Mostly Black, Purple & Orange
• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Always Fun - Dies & Punches
• Aud Sentiments - Two Word Sentiment
• Crafty Friends - Use More than Die
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Sparkles Forum - Dies and/or Punches

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

PBSC October - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spooky Colour Combo')

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
'Spooky Colour Combination'
(Choose at least two from Black, Orange, Purple & Green)

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used all of the colours on my Halloween treat bag...and picked one of the images from the 'Be Very Scared' set to go along with some fab Taylored Expressions papers (from the 'Hocus Pocus' pad). I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then distressed all of the edges of everything and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.

I'm also entering this treat bag into the following challenges:

• Animal Friends - Fall or Halloween
• Cut It Up - Halloween
• Gem of a Challenge - Halloween
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• That's Crafty - Spookalicious

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - U & V are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Lisa is the host, and the themes are:

'U is for Upon'

&

'V is for Very Quick'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

All Dressed Up

Prize - Two Digis of the Winner's choice!

There's also a little prize from Lisa:

I made a card for each of the two themes...my 'U is for Upon' card features a non-Christmas stamp set called 'Wish Upon a Star' by Lawn Fawn. I won the stamp set over at Pixie's Snippets Playground last week and couldn't wait to use it, so combined it with a snowy background to make a Christmas card. I stamped the animals on to a snippet of white card, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut them out. I stamped the shooting star from the set on to blue card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using 'Metallic Gold Sparkle' embossing glitter by WOW. I placed a mask over the star, then stamped my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp over the top, using Versamark Ink, and heat embossed it using 'Snow Sparkle' embossing glitter, also by WOW. I used another snippet of white card to cut the snowy ground (using a Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Border' die, adding a sentiment form the same stamp set along the bottom. I layered everything up, then matted it on to a piece of gold mirror card.

My 'V is for Very Quick' card is also very simple...I simply stamped a large Woodware stamp (simply called 'Christmas Trees'), and it's matching sentiment using Versamark Ink on to teal card, then heat embossed them using 'Metallic Silver Sparkle' embossing glitter by WOW.

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

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• As You Like It - Favourite Season (Winter - I love crisp, cold weather & bundling up in lots of layers!)
• Crafting form the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Let it Snow! (Just the first card)
• Merry Christmas - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (Just the first card)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Anything Goes

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

Pumpkin Kitty

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...this time I've used an image from the Penny Black 'Be Very Scared' set - I love the cat's worries expression! I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then cut it out using one of my circle Nesties. I made the background by stamping my Simon Says Stamp 'Abstract Triangles' background stamp on to a piece of black card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using 'Halloween' embossing glitter from WOW.

It's so difficult to capture the sparkle in a photograph...but here's a better view:

Challenges for this bag:

• City Crafter - Pet Company
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Cut It Up - Bags or Boxes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes