Miniful

Today's card features another stamp I picked up last week in a charity shop...'Miniful' by Penny Black. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I was away from home with a fairly limited selection of my stash, so coloured the mini to match the papers in the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Compamy.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Birthdays) - Anything Birthday Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Cat in a Hat Treat Bag

I have one last Halloween treat bag to share today...featuring a cute cat image from the 'Spooky' set by Penny Black. I stamped him on to watercoour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils, before cutting out the circle shape using one of my Nesties. I paired him with papers from the 'Spooky Spectacular' pad from Paper Mill Direct.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Four-legged Critter')
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes (Optional 'It's Alive!')
• Little Red Wagon - Trick or Treat
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Spooky
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Autumn Colours')
• Sweet Stampin' - All Hallows' Eve

Holly & Baubles

I have a pair of Christmas cards to share today, made using a couple of stamps that I picked up earlier this week in a charity shop...'Holly Spray' by Funstamps, and an unmarked wood mounted bauble stamp. I stamped them both on to black card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using silver embossing powder from WOW. I added heat embossed sentiments (using stamps from the 'Wintertime Messages' set by Hero Arts), then watercoloured the images using Cosmic Shimmers pigments. I matted the panels on to some silver mirror card, then added them to white card blanks.

Here's a closer look at both cards:

Challenges for these cards:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Christmas Flowers/Foliage (Just the 'Holly' card)

Vine Scroll Bookmarks

I had a rather successful trip to a lovely charity craft shop yesterday, and one of the things I picked up was a set of two stamps by Hero Arts called 'Two Vine Scrolls'. I did a bit of 'test' stamping, and tured the results into a couple of bookmarks. The stamps are sort of positive and negative images...for the one on the left, I stamped it on to watercolour paper using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it in gold before adding a watercolour wash of Distress Inks (Broken China, Chipped Sapphire and Dusty Concord). For the one on the right, I inked the stamp using the same Distress Inks, and stamped it on to smooth card...I stamped it a couple of times to get a full impression, but there's a distressed effect to the 'solid' area, so it looks a little like my stamping was rubbish! I then heat embossed it using clear embossing powder before watercolouring the flowers using Cosmic Shimmers pigments. I trimmed the panels down, distressed the edges a little, then backed them with some kraft card.

Challenges for these bookmarks:

• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Crafters Cafe - Flowers
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

PBSC October - Anything Goes (Optional 'Halloween Bingo')...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

'Halloween Bingo':

(Pick a column, row, diagonal, four corners or full house if you're feeling brave!)

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

This time, I decided to use the four corners on the bingo card, but actually ended up using all but two squares! The trick or treating cat is from the 'Be Very Scared' set...I stamped him, along with a sentiment from the 'Spooky' set...on to some watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then used one of my Nesties to cut the circle shape. I used papers from the 'Raven' pad by Glitz for the background, distressing the edges a little, and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• C.R.A.F.T. - Halloween/Autumn Colours
• Crafty Calendar - Autumn/Halloween Colours
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Lots of Layers')
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Sparkles Forum - Things that go Bump in the Night!
• Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Orange and/or Black
• We Love Stamping - Moodboard

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

Ice Dance Dog

I have a Christmas card to share today...featuring an old Penny Black image called 'Ice Dance Dog'. I stamped him directly on to a card blank, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I paper pieced his scarf with a snippet of plaid paper from the 'Jolly Santa' pad from The Works. I added another snippet of the same paper along the top edge of the card...I used one of my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Borders' dies to cut the curve...with a sentiment (from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous) heat embossed on to it in white.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Ten Lords-A-Leaping (For a Male)
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Christmas Goes
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Sweet Stampin' - Gingham/Tartan/Plaid
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Haunted House Treat Bag

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today, featuring one of the critters from the 'Spooky' set by Penny Black. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, thencarefully cut him out. I made an embossed background using embossing folders and Core'dinations card. The haunted house one is by Cuttlebug (I picked it up in a charity shop a couple of months ago) and the 'Spider Web' one is by Tim Holtz for Sizzix. I sanded over the raised areas to reveal the core, then distressed the edge a little, before layering it all up, and adding the kitty on top.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Optional 'Add Some Texture')
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Optional 'Halloween')
• Creative Inspirations - Autumn or Halloween
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Pink Christmas

I have a Christmas card to share today...and went for (mostly) pink in honour of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month...even though I really don't like pink! The image is from the 'Joy to the Wrold!' set by Penny Black...I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I embossed a piece of watercolour effect paper (from the 'Watercolour Feelings' pad from The Works) using my Simon Says Stamp 'Mod Trees Background' stamp and some 'Emerald City' embossing glitter from WOW. I distressed all of the edges, and matted the image and background on to some green card. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Christmas Sparkle' set by Woodware Stamps.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Kickstart - Cat Lovers Christmas
• Christmas with the Cuties - Something Shiny
• C.R.A.F.T. - Non Traditional Christmas Colours
• Cutie Pie - Think Pink
• Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Christmas

Witchy Mouse Halloween Treat Bag

I have a Halloween treat bag to share today, using an image from the 'Be Very Scared' set by Penny Black. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pecnils, then cut it out using one of my Nesties. For the background, I used papers from the 'Hocus Pocus' pad by Taylored Expressions...I doodled some simple borders using a white gel pen, then matted everything on to black card, and added it to a kraft bag.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• We Love Stamping - Moodboard

ABC Christmas Challenge - U & V are for?

It's the second Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge! I'm the host, and the themes are:

'U is for Use it Up'

&

'V is for Vertical'

The prize for the lucky winner of this challenge is this 'Cozy Christmas' 6x6 paper pad & snowflake die set:

For my 'U is for Use It Up' card, I decided to make a card using just die cuts, and picked some scraps of card and patterned paper from my stash to use:

I trimmed the 'snowy' paper (from the 'Christmas' pad by Craft Sensations) to fit an A6 card blank, then used my Penny Black 'Xmas Tree Border' die to cut a couple of rows of trees from the two green card scraps. I inked the tops of them a little (to tone down the bright green!) using 'Forest Moss' Distress Ink, then layered them on to the snowy blackground. I used my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Borders' dies to cut the snowy grouns from the scrap of white card, then inked the top of those with a little 'Salty Ocean' Distress Ink, before adding them to the card. I cut a little deer (using one of the dies from the Tim Holtz/Sizzix 'Winter Wonderland' set) from the snippet of kraft card, then inked him using 'Tea Dye' Distress Ink and added him to the scene. Finally, I cut the sentiment using the remaining scrap of white card using a Memory Box die, then added it to the snowy sky.

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

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Happy Little Stampers (Dies) - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (First card only)

For my 'V is for Vertical' card, I used a Woodware stamp called 'Robin Stack' to make a DL sized card. I stamped the robins on to a piece of watercolour paper, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I doodled a simple border, then added the panel to a kraft card blank.

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

• Fab 'N' Funky - Show Us Some Colouring (Second card only)
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes (Second card only)

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

Autumn Sketched Flowers

Today's card features an a favourite floral stamp called 'Sketched Flowers' by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped it directly on a kraft card blank using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it in white, along with a sentiment from the 'Signature Greetings' set by Memory Box. I coloured the flowers in an assortment of Autumnal colours using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - N is for Nature
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Colours of Autumn')
• Little Red Wagon - Fall Colours
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Autumn Colours')
• Sweet Stampin' - Autumn
• The Flower Challenge - Anything Goes

PBSC October - Anything Goes (Optional 'Halloween Bingo')

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

'Halloween Bingo':

(Pick a column, row, diagonal, four corners or full house if you're feeling brave!)

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used three of the Halloween Bingo elements (Patterned Papers - Penny Black Stamped Image - Not a Card) to decorate a treat bag for Halloween. The image is from the 'Be Very Scared'...I stamped it on to watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then cut the oval shape using one of my Nesties. The papers from the Echo Park 'The Apothecary Emporium' pad...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.

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

• As You Like It - Favourite Halloween or Fairies (Halloween for me...I'm not really a fairy kind of girl, and anyway this treat bag will soon be filled with chocolate!)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Die Cuts/Punches/Stencils
• Dream Valley - Anything but Birthday
• We Love Stamping - Halloween Moodboard

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

Hedgie Harmony

I have a simple one layer card to share today, made using some of the stamps from the Penny Black 'Hedgie Harmony' set. I stamped them directly on to a card blank, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Stamp Acts
• Less is More - Music
• Moving Along with the Times - Anything Goes

A Wish & a Kiss

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring a cute duck image by Penny Black called 'A Wish & a Kiss'. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils.I paired it with papers from the 'Jolly Santa' pad from The Works...distressing the edges, and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Two or More Paper
• I Spy with My Little Eye - Something On or From a Farm
• Little Red Wagon - Layers
• My Time to Craft - Two or More Papers
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

October Desk Calendar

As it's the first of the month, I'm sharing the October page of my Paper Mill desk calendar. The stamps I used this month are from the 'Spooky!' set by Penny Black. I stamped them directly on to the calendar, then coloured them using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this calendar:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes