ABC Christmas Challenge - N & O are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...I'm the host, and the themes are:

'N is for Non-Christmas Stash'

&

'O is for One Layer Cards'

This is the prize for the lucky winner:

For my 'N is for Non'Christmas Stash' card, I picked one of the cats from the 'Jazzy Cats' set by Penny Black. I stamped him onto a snippet watercolour paper, added a sentiment from the 'Joy to the World' set (also by Penny Black). I used one of my circle Nesties to cut him out, and cut a matching scalloped circle mat from a snippet of kraft card. The papers are also from 'Non-Christmas' pads, but in Christmassy colours...the light green and red stripey papers are snippets from the 'Party Day' pad by Crate Paper, and the dark green snippet is from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations. I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and white gel pen.

For my 'O is for One Layer Card' card, I used a Penny Black chicken stamp called 'Carolers'. I stamped it directly onto a kraft card blank, added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

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

• Christmas Kickstart - Spots, Dots & Circles (First card only)
• Inkspirational - Three of a Kind (Second card only)
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes (Second card only)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (First card only)
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July (Second card only)

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

Burst into Bloom Thank You

I have a simple 'Thank You' card to share today. The floral stamp is called 'Burst into Bloom' by Woodware Stamps. I stamped it onto a piece of smooth white card, along with a sentiment stamp from the 'Brushstroke Expressions' set by My Favorite Things, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I matted it onto a piece of pink card, distressing the edges a little, before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Thank You
• CAS on Friday - Botanical
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Sending Flowers
• Stamping Sensations - Summer Flowers

PBSC July - Anything Goes (Optional 'On or In the Water')

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

'On or In the Water'

We are currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

I have a few 'watery' stamps in my Penny Black collection, and picked 'Fish Are Jumpin'' to use on my card. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using stamps from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. The background paper is from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations...I distressed the edges a little, 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:

• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Little Red Wagon - Bold/Bright Colours
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - In the Water

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

Par Avion

I have a Christmas card to share today...featuring a cute Penny Black chicken stamp called 'Par Avion'. I stamped it directly onto a kraft DL card blank, along with a sentiment from an old Lili of the Valley set, then coloured it using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - F is for Feathers
• Creative Knockouts - Christmas in July
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas in July
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

July Desk Calendar

As it's the first of the month, I'm sharing my desk calendar page for July. The image is from the 'Cheering Critters' set by Penny Black...I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. For the background, I used snippets of patterned paper from three diffferent pads...the 'cloudy sky' is from the 'Cut & Paste - Charm' pad by My Mind's Eye, the checked yellow 'cornfield' is from an unnamed pad from The Works, and the spotty grey 'tarmac' is from the 'Breeze' pad also by My Mind's Eye. I distressed the edges a little before matting it onto a snippet of kraft card and adding it to my calendar.

Challenges for this calendar:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Santa Paws!

Today's card features one of the critters from the 'Christmas Hats' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I stamped him onto watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I embossed a piece of watercolour effect paper (from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations) using a snowflake embossing folder from Crafter's Companion, then sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core. I stamped a sentiment (from the 'Furry Christmas' set also by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company) onto a snippet of white hammer card, then tore along the top edge, and layered it over the embossed background. I matted it onto some red card, then added the pup on top using 3D foam pads.

Challenges for this card:

• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes (Optional 'Cats and/or Dogs')
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Watercolour Snowflakes

I have a Christmas card to share today...made using a lovely snowflake stamp from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour effect paper from the 'Happy Watercolours' pad from The Works using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it in white. I tore around the edge of the snowflake image, then added it to a white linen card blank. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Anything CAS Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Christmas in June
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Surf's Up!

Today's card is a Summer-themed card, but made using a Christmas stamp called 'Snowboard Ride' by Penny Black. He usually wears a Santa hat, so I masked that off before I inked the stamp, stamped it onto watercolour paper. I drew on the top of his head using a black gel pen, before carefully cutting him out. For the 'sea', I took a piece of blue watercolour effect paper (from the 'Happy Watercolours' pad from The Works) and trimmed it to the width of my card base, then tore it a couple of times to create the white 'surf', then layered them up at the bottom of the card blank. I added a stamped sentiment (using a stamp from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts), then placed my snowboarding surfing chicken on the waves.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Water
• Allsorts - Seaside
• Creative Knockouts - Summer Fun
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Vacation
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Kraft
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Fun in the Sun

Ice Cream Cone

Today's card was inspired by the recent hot weather and features an ice cream cone made from lots of little snippets of card. I cut the 'cone' freehand from a snippet of kraft card, then embossed it using a Sizzix/BasicGrey 'Plaid' embossing folder to make it look like a waffle cone. I cut the 'scoops' of ice cream from snippets of different coloured card using one of the dies from a set of cupcake dies by Marianne Designs, then embossed them using my Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder. I used 3D foam pads to attach it all to a DL card blank...using thicker pads in the centre of each piece to give it some dimension. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• CAS on Friday - Summer
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Embossing
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets

PBSC June - 'Anything Goes' (Optional 'Stitching')...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

'Stitching'

We're currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

I picked one of the images from the 'Snow Much Fun' set to use on my card. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, along with a sentiment using a stamp from an old Lili of the Valley set, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used papers from the 'Back to Basics Christmas' pad by Dovecraft. I distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

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

Twiggy Trees

Today's card features some Woodware Christmas tree stamps - 'Mini Tall Twiggy Tree' and 'Mini Wide Twiggy Tree'. I inked them with some bright shades of Distress Ink (Wilted Violet, Twisted Citron & Picked Raspberry), and stamped them onto a DL white linen card blank. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Very Merry Christmas' set by Hero Arts...inking it with 'Blueprint Sketch' Distress Ink.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Photo Inspiration
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes
• We Love Stamping - Nature

Dotty Flowers

Today's card features flowers from a set of Woodware stamps called 'Dotty Flowers'. I stamped them directly onto a kraft card blank using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment embossed in gold to match using one of the stamps from the 'Signature Greetings' set by Memory Box.

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - E is for Embossing
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Fur, Feathers & Flowers
• The Flower Challenge - Add Embossing
• We Love Stamping - Nature

Expressive Poppies

Today's card features a Penny Black stamp called 'Expressive'. I stamped it slightly off the edge of a piece of watercolour paper, then coloured the flowers using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp, then lightly distressed the edges before adding it to kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Sentiment or Not? (Whilst it's handy to have some cards without sentiments stashed away just in case, I feel that most of the time a card doesn't look 'finished' without one)
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Fur, Feathers & Flowers
• We Love Stamping - Nature

Jolly Snowman

Today's card features a cute Penny Blac stamp called 'Jolly Snowman'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used papers from the 'Back to Basics Christmas' pad by Dovecraft...distressing the edges, then adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Inspired by 'Frosty the Snowman'
• C.R.A.F.T. - Cute
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas

ABC Christmas Challenge - L & M are for?

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

'L is for Lights'

&

'M is for Music'

Please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge for details of this month's prize.

For my 'L is for Lights' card, I used an old Penny Black stamp called 'Brightest Xmas'...stamping it directly onto a kraft card blank. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils. Finally, I added some Glossy Accents to the light bulbs.

For my 'M is for Music' card, I used stamps from an old set by Lili of the Valley called 'Carol Singers'. With a bit of masking, I managed to squeeze in all of the critters, then filled in the gaps in the snowy ground, and any missing details using a black gel pen. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Caroling Chicks' set by Stamping Bella. I lightly distressed the edges, then added it to a kraft DL card blank.

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

• Christmas Kickstart - Christmas Critters (Second card only)
• Crafty Calendar - Add a Sentiment (Second card only)
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes (First card only)
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Add the Word Merry (First card only)
• Stamping Sensations - Our Furry Friends (Second card only)
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity (Second card only)
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes (First card only)

For more inspiration, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Moo Birthday

Today's card features a Penny Black cow stamp that I picked up in a charity shop over the half-term break called 'Moo Birthday'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations...distressing the edges, then adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - What Makes You Happy? (Penny Black stamps)
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Masculine

PBSC June - Anything Goes (Optional 'Stitching')

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

'Stitching'

We are currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

I picked a chicken stamp to use on my card...this one is called 'Cluck, Cluck, Cluck!'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I used lots of snippets of papers from an old Craft Sensations pad called 'Bright Freshness' to make a 'patchwork'  background...distressing all of the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I matted the image and background onto some orange card, then added it to an 8x8 card blank.

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

• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

For more inspiration, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Les Chiens

Today's card features all of the dogs from a set of stamps by Katzelkraft called 'Les Chiens'. I stamped them onto a piece of watercolour paper, with a little bit of masking, then added a sentiment using stamps from the 'Graffiti Alphabet' set by Paper Smooches. I coloured the dogs using watercolour pencils, then added it to a kraft card blank. 

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - D is for Dogs
• Crafty Catz - Make Us Smile
• Creative Inspirations - One for the Boys
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Masculine
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Masculine
• Stamping Sensations - Our Furry Friends

Modern Florals

Today's card is unusual for me in that there's no stamping involved. Instead, I used a set of floral dies by Sizzix, called 'Modern Florals' as the focal point. I cut the flowers from snippets of watercolour effect paper from the 'Watercolour Feelings' and 'Happy Watercolours' pads from The Works, and 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations. I embossed a pice of white card using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' embossing folder, then lightly distressed its edges. I assembled the flowers, then layered them on to the embossed card, adding a sentiment cut from silver mirror card using an unbranded die, before adding it all to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - No Stamping
• Addicted to CAS - Floral
• CAS on Friday - Embossing
• Cut It Up - Send Me Flowers
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday

 

June Desk Calendar

As it's the start of a new month, today I'm sharing my desk calendar page for June. This month, I picked one of the cute pup stamps from the 'Man's Best Friend' set by Penny Black. I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. For the background, I used a couple of snippets of papers from the 'Here & There' pad by Studio Calico, using one of my 'Grassy Edges' dies (by Die-namics) to cut the green one. I cut the fence from a snippet of white card using another Die-namics die, 'Picket Fence', layered it all up, matting it onto a snippet of kraft card, then added it to my calendar.

Challenges for this calendar:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Our Furry Friends

Ice Christmas

Today's card features an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Ice Christmas'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, drew a line for the horizon, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz, then carefully cut around the top of the image. I layered it over a piece of snowy paper from the 'Snowscape' pad by Woodware, then matted it onto some navy card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes