Pickle with Gift

Today's card features yet another recent charity shop stamp find...I think I hit the jackpot last week! This one is by 'Pickle with Gift' by Wild Rose Studio. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I used a piece of patterned paper from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad by Craftwork Cards for a simple background...distressing the edges a little, and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Everest Next?

Today, I'm sharing a simple bookmark I that made using another charity shop find...an adorable Penny Black micec stamp called 'Everest Next?'. I stamped it on to a snippet of kraft card, then coloured the mice using watercolour pencils...but didn't add water...then used a corner rounder punch to round off the corners. So cute! I actually made another of these for my mum.

It's already been put into use in my current read:

Challenges for this bookmark:

• Animal Friends - Mice
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Birdhouses & Robins

I have a couple of Christmas cards to share today...using a couple of stamps I found in a charity shop. They're both by Lili of the Valley, and feature birdhouses & robins. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils...adding a touch of sparkle to the tinsel on the first card using some 'Tiara' Stickles. On both cards, I made a simple background by embossing snippets of green card using a holly embossing folder (by Sizzix), and matted the images on to snippets of red card. I distressed all of the edges a little, and added a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

'Birdhouse and Robins'

'Christmas Robins'

Challenges for these cards:

• Christmas with the Cuties - Anything Christmas Goes
• Crafty Cardmakers - Embossing
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Optional 'Embossing')
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Christmas Goes (Optional 'Wings')
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment

Just for You

Today's card is a simple one layer number, featuring one of the cute mice from the 'Just for You' set by Penny Black. I stamp him directly on to a kraft card blank, then coloured him using watercolour pencils (but without using any water). The sentiment stamp is from a set that came free with a craft magazine.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - Cute
• AAA Cards - One Corner
• Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes & a Sentiment
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - No Digis
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment

Strawberry Kisses Christmas

I have a couple of simple Christmas cards to share today, featuring stamps from the 'Strawberry Kisses' Christmas collection by Crafter's Companion that I picked up recently in a charity shop. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I matted them on to snippets of red glitter card, then on to my card blanks.

'Happy Christmas'

'What a Cracker'

Challenges for these cards:

• Always Fun - Animals
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Cute Card Thursday - Square
• Jingle Belles - Red
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Succulents

Today's card is a simple one layer number, featuring a Penny Black succulent stamp from the 'Happy Together' set. I stamped it directly on to my kraft card blank, then coloured it using watercolour pencils...but without adding any water. The sentiment stamp is from a set that came free with a craft magazine. 

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Anything Goes
• Less is More - More (but still CAS)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Penguin Pals

I have a Christmas card to share today featuring an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Penguin Pals'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, along with a Lili of the Valley sentiment, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad by Craftwork Cards...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Cards Galore Encore -  Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Dream Valley - Hand Coloured Image
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes (Optional 'Wings')
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Two or More Patterned Papers
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes

Airborne

Today's card features a Penny Black image called 'Airborne'. I stamped it on to a snippet of watercolour paper, then coloured just the dog in the basket using watercolour pencils, and carefully cut him out. I stamped it again on to a snippet of blue spotty paper (from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels, added the dog on the top, then paper pieced his balloons using snippets of paper from the 'Here is Happy' pad by My Mind's Eye.

Challenges for this card:

• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Alphabet Challenge - Anything You Wish
• As You Like It - Favourite Animal (Dogs...spectifically Golden Retrievers as my childhood was spent in the company of several of these lovely creatures)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Critters')
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Two or More Patterned Papers

PBSC February - Anything Goes (Optional 'Love is in the Air')...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
'Love is in the Air'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

My card is a simple one layer number...featuring a cute hedgie couple from the 'Every Which Way' set. I stamped them directly on to a kraft card blank, along with a sentiment stamp from the same set, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils...but without adding any water.

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

• Always Fun - Love/Valentine Day
• Aud Sentiments - Love/Valentine Sentiment
• CAS on Friday - Love
• Crafty Cardmakers - Love is All You Need
• Cute Card Thursday - CAS
• Dream Valley - Love
• Fab 'N' Funky - Love, Love, Love
• My Time to Craft - Love Me Do

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

Burgundy & Gold Sketched Flowers

Today's card is another one layer number...this time featuring one of my current favourite stamps...'Sketched Flowers' by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped it on a burgundy card blank, along with a sentiment from the set, using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using 'Rich Metallic Gold' embossing powder from WOW. I coloured the flowers in shades of red and pink using watercolour pencils...but didn't add any water.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Sentiments - Use Red
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Show Me Your White Space
• Stamping Sensations - Feminine
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Cupcake Mice

Today's card features an image from a really old Penny Black set called 'Critter Party'. I stamped the mice directly on to my card blank, along with a sentiment from the same set, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I added some sparkle to the cupcake frosting with some Stickles.

Challenges for this card:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Animal Friends - Mice
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Cutie Pie - Cute & Cuddly Animals
• Penny Black & More - Animals, Birds & Butterflies
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Every Which Way

I have a simple one layer card to share today...featuring one of the cute critters from the 'Every Which Way' set by Penny Black. I stamped the image directly on to a kraft card blank, then coloured it using watercoloure pencils (but without adding any water). The sentiment stamp is from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp.

I added some Glossy Accents to the little heart shaped bubbles:

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Up to One Third (Optional 'Hearts')
• Allsorts - Add a Heart
• Less is More - Less (Tiny & Few)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - With Love
• Sweet Stampin' - Love

Burgundy & Platinum Christmas

I have a couple of simple embossed Christmas cards to share today made using two of the lovely stamps I received from Di as one of the lucky prize winners of the Snippets Playground Grand Holiday Giveaway. I stamped them on to burgundy card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using Metallic Platinum Sparkle embossing glitter from WOW. I trimmed the panels down, then added them to matching burgundy card blanks.

'Santa's Visit' (Sweet Dixie):

'Merry Christmas' (Sweet Dixie):

Challenges for these cards:

• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Embossing')
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - C & D are for?

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

'C is for Cats'

&

'D is for Dogs'

There are a couple of surprise prizes from Wilma for two lucky winners!

I made a card for each of the two themes even though I have plenty of Christmas stamps with both cats and dogs on...more cards for the box! On my 'Cats' card, I used a Penny Black image from the 'Christmas Hugs' set. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils...adding some sparkle to the snowy ground using a Wink of Stella pen. I used a piece of patterned paper from the 'Festive Chalkboard' pad by Craftwork Cards for the background...distressing the edges a little, and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

On my 'Dogs' card, I used a stamp that I picked up recently in a charity shop called 'Just for You' from the 'Strawberry Kisses' collection by Crafter's Companion. Again, I stamped it on to watercolour paper, and coloured it using watercolourpencils, then carefully cut it out. I mounted it on to my card blank using 3D foam pads, then added a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

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

• Always Fun - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Christmas Goes
• Jingle Belles - Three of Something (2nd card only - three gifts)
• Penny Black & More - Animals, Birds & Butterflies
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes

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

Wise Words

Today's card features a stamp I picked up in a charity shop by Rachelle Anne Miller for Crafter's Companion called 'Wise Words'. I stamped the owls on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I paired the image with papers from the 'Animal Antics' 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:

• Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Animals, Birds & Butterflies
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

PBSC February - Anything Goes (Optional 'Love is in the Air')

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
'Love is is the Air'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I picked a cute hedgie image from the 'Christmas Hugs' set to use to make a Christmas card with the optional 'Love is in the Air' theme. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added some Stickles beneath their feet for a little icy sparkle. I paired it with papers from the 'Bundled Up' and 'Paper Hearts' pads by Crate Paper...distressing the edges a little, then adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment is from a set by Lili of the Valley. 

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Hearts
• Daring Cardmakers - Layer it Up
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - All Loved Up
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Time Out - Affectionate

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