Snowfield Friends

I have another one layer card to share today...this time a Christmas one made using stamps from the 'Snowfields Friends' set by Penny Black. I combine a few of the stamps, with a little masking, to create a little scene, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The sentiment is from the same stamp set.

Challenges for this card:

• CAS on Friday - Animals
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Sketched Flowers

Today's card is a simple one layer number, featuring one of my favourite floral stamps...'Sketched Flowers' by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped it over the edge of the bottom of a red card blank, using Versamark Ink, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then heat embossed them using white embossing powder. I added a touch of colour using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - One Layer Cards
• Allsorts - Beautiful Blooms
• Always Fun - One Layer Cards
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Favourite Stamps
• We Love Chocolate Baroque - Feminine

Les Chiens

Today's card features all of the dogs from the 'Les Chiens' set by Katzelkraft. There was a bit of masking involved to get them all in one scene, even with the large A5 size of the card. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils...adding a bone (from the same stamp set) suspended above them. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley - Four-legged Friends
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Woodland Sprigs

Today's card features some more new stamps...the 'Woodland Springs' set by Woodware. I stamped them on to watercolour paper using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using white embossing powder. I watercoloured over the top using the following Distress Inks: Speckled Egg, Evergreen Bough, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers & Iced Spruce. I distressed the edges of the panel, then matted it on to black card before adding it to my card blank. The sentiment is an old Hero Arts stamp, and is also heat embossed in white.

Challenges for this card:

• C.R.A.F.T. - New (New stamps)
• Cute Card Thursday - Birthdays
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Make Your Own Background

Little Snowy

Today's card features the same background stamp I used on my last card, but this time I heat embossed it on kraft card in white to make a snowy sky. The little snowman is from the 'holly-jolly' set by Penny Black...I stamped him on to watercolour paper, drew a line for the snowy ground, then coloured him using watercolour pencils before carefully cutting around the top of the image. I added him over the top of the snowy background, matted it on to a snippet of white card, then on to a kraft card blank. The sentiment stamp is from a set by the Colorado Craft Company and is heat embossed in white.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Snow
• Cardz 4 Guyz - Let it Snow
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Optional 'Use Kraft')
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Make Your Own Background
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Blue & Gold

Today's card features new (to me) stamps from the 'Background Meadows' set by Viva Decor. I started by stamping the 'bubbly' background stamp on to watercolour paper using 'Stormy Sky' Distress Ink, then once dry, I stamped the floral stamp over the top using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it with 'Metallic Gold' embossing powder from WOW. I trimmed down the panel, matted it on to some gold card, then added it to a white card blank, and finished the card with a gold heat embossed sentiment (from the 'Go To Words' set by Visible Image).

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Something New (New Stamps)
• Crafter's Cafe - New (New Stamps)
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Make Your Own Background
• Sweet Stampin' - Thank You
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
  

Sending Hedgehugs

Today's card is rather unseasonal, with a distictly 'Autumnal' feel! The adorable hedgehog is from the same 'Woodland Animals' set (by Crafter's Companion) as this fox I shared last week. I started by stamping the leaves (from the same set), then masked them before stamping the hedgehog. I added a sentiment (also from the same stamp set), then coloured the image using watercolour pencils and cut it out using one of my Nesties. I paired it with papers from the Paper Addicts 'Lost Forest' pad by Trimcraft (found at Poundland). I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Friendship
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Layer It Up

PBSC January - Anything Goes (Optional 'Something New')...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
'Something New'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used stamps from a new set called 'Snowfield Friends' that I received for Christmas. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, with a little masking, to create a wintry scene, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added some Glossy Accents to the baubles on the tree, and a sentiment that came in the set. I distressed the edges a little, before matting it on to some aqua card, and then on to a kraft card blank.

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

• Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes + a Sentiment
• Crafty Calendar - Make it Cute
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley - Winter/Snow
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

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

Sunset Meadow

Today's card features a couple of items that I received for Christmas...a floral stamp from a set called 'Background Meadow' by Viva Decor, and a new colour of Distress Ink called 'Crackling Campfire'. I started by blending Distress Inks (Wild Honey, Crakling Campfire, Fired Brick & Dusty Concord) on to a snippet of white card to create a sunset effect, then stamped the flowers over the top using black ink...stamping several times to get a really crisp black silhouette. I distressed the edges a little, then added a die cut sentiment (cut using a die from my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet set), before adding the panel to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Something to Say
• Happy Little Stampers (Dies) - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Thank You
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Woodland Friends

Today's card features more new stamps...from a set called 'Woodland Animals' from the 'Woodland Friends' range by Crafter's Companion. I stamped the fox image on to my kraft card blank, then made a mask for him/her using a Post-It, then stamped the tree stump behind him/her. I added one of the sentiments that came in the set, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Always Fun - Something New
• C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Animal Antics
• Moving Along with the Times - New
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Something New
• The Male Room - Animals

Snow Friends

Today's card features something new...the 'Christmas Sentiment Background' stamp by Chloe Creative Stamps that I received for Christmas...paired with something old...a digi stamp by Prairie Fairy called 'Snowman Friends' that I won in 2010. I stamped the background stamp on to a snippet of paper from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations using white pigment ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of it, before adding it over the top of the embossed background. I matted it all on to a snippet of lilac card before adding it to my card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Crazy for Challenges - Something New
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - New Products
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Something New
• Sweet Stampers - Snow/Winter

Gnomes

I have a set of three simple birthday cards to share today...made using a set of stamps I received for Christmas called 'Gnomes' by 2 Jays. I stamped them all on to watercolour paper, coloured them sing watercolour pencils, then carefully cut them out. I embossed snippets of navy card using embossing folders by Sizzix (Chevrons) and Cuttlebug (Zig Zag & Spots & Dots) to make simple backgrounds, then added the gnomes on top using 3D foam pads. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for these cards:

• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Shopping Our Stash - What's New?
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - New Products 
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Something New

ABC Christmas Challenge - A & B are for?

Over at the ABC Christmas Challenge, we're starting our eleventh (!) trip through the alphabet...I'm the host, and the themes for this month are:

'A is for Advent'
&
'B is for Bells'

There are a couple of prizes on offer for two lucky winners:

Kaisercraft 'Jingle Bells' & 'Home for Christmas' stamp sets:

I took the traditional colours of advent (purple & pink) as my inspiration for my first card, and used Distress Inks in shades of those colours (Tattered Rose, Seedless Preserves & Dusty Concord) to ink up three of the tree stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous. Once stamped I used a wet paintbrush to blend out the colours a little. The sentiment stamp is from the same set...but I inked it in two separate parts so that I could place the words in the spaces between the trees. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen before matting it on to some coordinating pink and purple card.

The bell stamp used on my second card is an old one by Docrafts simply called 'Christmas Bells'. I stamped it on to red card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using metallic gold embossing powder by WOW. I cut a circle around the image, and then a scalloped circle mat from gold card using some of my Nesties, adding some foliage cut from more gold card using a die from the 'Holiday Greens Mini' set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix. The sentiment is from the same set used on my previous card, and was heat embossed in gold.

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

• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - Holidays
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

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

Deco Roses

I have a couple of cards to share today, made using a stamp I received for Christmas called 'Deco Roses' by Woodware. I stamped it on to black card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed one using Metallic Silver, and the other Metallic Gold embossing powders by WOW. I used metallic watercolour paints to colour the images...trying to create a stained glass effect. I added sentiments from the 'Go To Words' set by Visible Image, heat embossed in the same colours, then matted the panels on to silver and gold mirror card before adding them to black card blanks.

Here are some close-ups:

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Emboss
• CAS on Friday - Best Wishes (just the second card)
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - New/Unused Product
• Sweet Stampin' - New 
• Use Your Stuff - All About the New
• We Love Chocolate Baroque - Feminine

PBSC January - Anything Goes (Optional 'Something New')

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
'Something New'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I went with 'New Year' and am sharing the Penny Black calendar that I made for my Mum for Christmas. I buy a couple of the Paper Mill 'Create a Calendar' blanks every year to decorate for gifts...and always use Penny Black images exclusively...as I have so many! 

I make each panel A6 size...so it could easily be recycled on to a card once the calendar is finished, and keep the panels as flat as possible. I find these are also a great opportunity to use up lots of snippets of patterned papers!

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

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

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