We Three Kings...

I have another Christmas card to share today...featuring the 'We Three Kings' stamp by Penny Black. I found this stamped and embossed image in my image box...already partly coloured using (I think) metallic markers (by Dovecraft?)...I added some gold to their beards using a Cosmic Shimmer pigment mixed with water, then matted it on to some gold mirror card. I simply stamped the matching sentiment stamp along the bottom.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Three of Something (Kings)
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Gold or Silver

Curly Christmas

See...I told you I had more Christmas cards to share! These two were really simply to make...I embossed my Woodware 'Curly Christmas' stamp in gold on black card...then used Cosmic Shimmer pigments mixed with water to colour them in. I matted the panels on to gold card, then on to black card blanks.

They're really shimmery in real life...

Challenges for these cards:

• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N Funky - Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Black, White & a Pop of Colour

We have another fun Pile t On! Challenge starting today...and the theme is:

'Black, White & a Pop of Colour'

I picked a much neglected Hero Arts stamp to use on my card...it's called 'Flourish Tree with Stars'...and stamped it in Versamark ink on black card along with a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then heat embossed them in white. For my 'pop' of colour, I painted the stars and little circles using Cosmic Shimmer pigments mixed with  little water. I the doodled a simple border using a white gel pen. 

The camera kind of washed out my 'pop' of colour...but the colours I used were red:

...and green:

The red & green are also nice and shimmery in real life too!

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Black, White & a Pop of Colour
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Use a Sentiment
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Add Some 'Pop' (A 'pop' of colour)
• Creative Knockouts - Embossed Delight
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Christmas Trees
• Moving Along with the Times - Embossing

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

Smooshed Sparkly Snowflakes

I have a couple more cards made using the 'smooshing' technique. I liked the colours on this blue inky butterfly card that I bloggged last week so much, that I 'smooshed' a couple more pieces of watercolour paper in the inks before I cleaned everything up. I stamped and embossed some Hero Arts snowflakes in white on one of the pieces, and created these two cards:

I simply trimmed a couple of squares from the sheet, matted them on to plain white card, and added a Lili of the Valley sentiment. I also spritzed the blue panels with a spray made from silver Cosmic Shimmer pigment mixed in water...they're really sparkly in real life, but despite taking the below photo in bright sunlight, I couldn't really get it to show up on camera.

Challenges for this card:

• CAS on Sunday - Winter
• Clear it Out - Winter & Snowflakes
• Come & Get It - Embossing
• Creatalicious - Snowflakes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Embossing
• Sparkles Forum - Monochrome Blues
• The Stamping Boutique - Winter

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for...

It's time for not just a new ABC Christmas Challenge...but the start of a brand new alphabet! That's right...we're starting our seventh (!!!) trip through the alphabet...and we have a nice & easy theme for you:

'A is for Anything Goes!'

(Well, anything Christmas, that is!)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Sami Stamps:

Prize - $12 Gift Certificate!

I had another play with the oil pastels that I received for Christmas...and cased this card by Kristina Werner. However, things didn't go entirely to plan...and despite carefully ensuring that all of the edges of my masking tape were firmly secured, my watercolours seeped underneath it, so that when I removed the tape once the paint had dried, instead of the crisp straight lines that Kristina had...my trees all had fluffy edges! Nevermind...I actually kind of like how they turned out, although I had to trim one of the pieces down, as the paint had leaked too much. I doodled on some decorations...adding a touch of gold using some Cosmic Shimmer pigment mixed with water. I added a sentiment (from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous), then matted them on to gold & green.

Here are some close-ups of the two cards:

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

• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• That Craft Place - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Blue & Silver Snowflakes

I have a couple more Christmas cards to share today...using a piece of inky card that I'd intended to use for the background on another card, but I smudged the edge! I blended various blue Distress Inks (Broken China, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans & Chipped Sapphire) over a piece of white card, then spritzed it with a silver Cosmic Shimmer spray...it's really sparkly in real life, but I couldn't get it to show in the photographs. Then, I stamped a little snowflake (from the 'Jolly Friends' set by Penny Black) and embossed it in silver over the top. I cut the panel up, and used it to make two cards...edging the panels using a silver marker pen, adding a die cut snowflake (Memory Box 'Castle Snowflake') a silver pearl and Lili of the Valley sentiments:

Challenges for these cards:

• Addicted to CAS - Blue
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Use some Silver
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Less is More - Sprays/Mists
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Burst into Bloom

I have another pair of cards for you today...using another new stamp...this one is called 'Burst into Bloom' by Woodware. On the first card, I heat embossed it in silver, then coloured the flowers and leaves using Cosmic Shimmer pigments. I added a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set)...also heat embossed...and matted it onto some silver card.  

Challenges for this card:

• Everybody Art - Embossing
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Homegrown Summer
• Sparkle 'N Sprinkle - Anything Goes

On the second card, I stamped the flower in black directly on to my card blank, then embossed it using clear powder, before colouring it using watercolour pencils. I used the same Hero Arts sentiment stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Inspirations - Flowers
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Summer Flowers

ABC Christmas Challenge - H is for...

We have anew ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Dorte is the host, and the theme is:

'H is for Happy Christmas/Happy Holidays Sentiment'

If you don't have anything suitable, my lovely teamie Samantha has created some freebie sentiments for you to download and use :0)

We are sponsored for this challenge by our very own Lacey and her Stamp & Create Store:

Prize - a $20 gift certificate for Stamp & Create!

I made a couple of simple cards using a inked up off-cut of card...one of those bits you get when you cut a square card from a piece of A4. I 'splodged' various shades of blue Distress Inks on to a messy mat (Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky & Chipped Sapphire) then spritzed my piece of card with water before laying it on the inks. I dried it using my heat gun, then heat embossed the snowflakes (a Hero Arts stamp) using white embossing powder. Finally, I spritzed over the top using some gold Cosmic Shimmer pigment mixed in a spray bottle with a little water.

I used a strip of the inked card on the first card...simply adding a 'Happy Christmas' sentiment (from the Woodware 'Bubble Tree' set) underneath:

On the second card, I cut the card down into three squares...again adding the same sentiment:

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

• Cute Card Thursday - Blue
• Incy Wincy - Embossing Wet or Dry (The snowflakes are heat embossed)
• Rudolph Days - Anything Goes
• Sparkle N Sprinkle - Anything Goes
• Stampavie & More - Favourite Colours (My favourite colour is blue)

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

Curly Christmas

I have a card using another new stamp today...this one is called 'Curly Christmas' by Woodware, and was a Christmas gift that I'm just getting round to trying. I stamped it directly on to my card blank, adding one of the smaller words from the set above, then simply added some colour to the lettering using watercolour pencils...the gold stars were coloured using a Cosmic Shimmer pigment.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Only Words
• Crafter's Cafe - One Layer Card & Use Red
• C.R.A.F.T. - Clean & Simple
• Whimsy Inspires - Use a Sentiment

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - New...

It's the first Saturday of the month...so that means it's time for a new Penny Black Saturday Challenge...and this month the theme is:

'New'
(NewYear, New Baby, New Home, New Job, New Stash, New Technique...) 

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I was a lucky girl this Christmas, and received a few new Penny Black stamps...and picked one of those to try a new (to me) technique. The stamp is 'We Three Kings'...and I stamped it in Versamark, then embossed it in gold on the black card. I used Cosmic Shimmer pigments mixed with a little water to colour the image...I love the way the colours stand out against the black...they have a lovely metallic finish too. All I did then was stamp the co-ordinating sentiment stamp along the bottom of my card blank, then mat the image on to some gold card.

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

• CAS on Sunday - Christmas
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes

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

Hallowe'en Tag

I have my version of Tim Holtz's October tag for his 12 Tags of 2014 to share with you today...

I didn't really have any of the products he used...but just fancied having one last play with my Hallowe'en stash before I tidied it away for another year...so improvised rather a lot!

I started by stamping my spider (from the Penny Black 'Be very scared!' set), then I used a Tim Holtz texture fade to emboss the background...blending Distress Inks over the top (Spiced Marmalade, Crushed Olive & Seedless Preserves). I then spritzed  over the top with some 'Antique Gold' Cosmic Shimmer pigment mixed with water in a mini mister. I distressed the edges a little, then inked the edges with 'Black Soot' Distress Ink. My pumpkins are also a Penny Black stamp (from the 'Spooky' set...I coloured then using watercolour pencils, then coated the with Glossy Accents before cutting them out, inking the edges with more 'Black Soot' and mounting them using 3D foam pads. The lettering was done using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet, the little spider charm (there's a pumpkin on the other side) is from a My Mind's Eye die cut elements sheet, and the twine is from the Ribbon Girls.

Here's a shot under artificial light showing the gloss and shimmer:

Challenges for this tag:

• Crafting for All Seasons - Tag It
• Crafty Sentiments - Trick or Treat/Something Sweet
• Crazy Challenge - Spooky Nights
• Crazy4Challenges - Photo Inspiration
• Dream Valley - Halloween
• Gem of a Challenge - Halloween
• Inky Impressions - Halloween
• Simply Create Too - Shop in Your Craft Room (Everything I've used on this tag is at least a year old...some of the things I've had for more then five years!)
• Stampavie & More - Not a Card
• Sweet Stampin' - Anything but a Card
• Sweet Stamps - Spooky
• That Craft Place - Halloween

Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - Filigree

We have a new Oldie but a Goodie Challenge starting today...the theme is:

'Filigree'

The prize for this challenge is:

Tonic Studios Die Set 'Be Mine'

My intial thought when I saw the theme of this challenge was 'Eeeek!'...but then I remembered that I had a couple of fancy butterfly dies that would pass for 'filigree'! I started by stamping my Stampendous 'Agapanthus Clusters' and Hero Arts sentiment stamps in black ink, then blended Distress Inks over the top (Shaded Lilac, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans & Chipped Sapphire). I then stamped some flourishes from the 'Fantastic Flourishes' set by Hero Arts in water...splattered some water over the top...then gave the whole thing a generous spritzing of 'Baby's Breath' Cosmic Shimmerz. I used a Joy Crafts die to cut the butterfly from navy blue card...then daubed some 'Picket Fence' Distress Stain over the edges, before spritzing it with some more of the Cosmic Shimmerz.

Here's a close-up of the 'filigree' butterfly:

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

• Allsorts - Happy Birthday
• Charisma Cardz - May Flowers
• Crazy Challenge - Bingo (Pearls - Flower - Die Cut)
• Inky Impressions - Bingo (Die Cut - Stamp - Flowers)
• Less is More - Include a Die Cut

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Oldie but a Goodie Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - B is for...

We have a new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Samantha is the host, and the theme is:

'B is for Bare Essentials'

(Use the bare minimum of embellishments)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Care2Stamp:

Prize: a $15 gift code!

I made an ultra bare CAS card...I experimented with stamping in water over Distress Inks to create a snowy background. I blended various shades of blue ink (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky & Chipped Saphire) on to white card, then spritzed my snowflake stamps ('Snow Swirl' by Stampendous and 'Snowflakes' by Hero Arts) with plain water before stamping. I stamped the 'Snow Swirl' again in black...adding a Penny Black sentiment, then spritzed over it all with 'Baby's Breath' Cosmic Shimmer.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Shades of Blue
• Delightful - Brrr (Anything Winter)
• Emergency Crafters - Cold (Blue/Snowflakes)
• Kaboodles Doodles - Use Blue
• Sweet Stamps - Anything Goes

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

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Distressing

Today sees the last ever Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge...after four years of challenges we're closing our doors...and for one last time, it's Wendy...aka the Secret Crafter...who has chosen the theme...which is:

'Distresssing'

We have no sponsor this week...but we hope you'll join us one last time just for fun :0)

I've used some of the stamps from the new Penny Black set...'A Bright Tomorrow'...to make a Christmas gift tag. I started by heat embossing the swirly snowflake in white...then blended 'Stormy Sky', 'Faded Jeans', 'Evergreen Bough' and 'Pine Needles' Distress Inks over the top. I then stamped some of the other snowflakes from the set around the edges in 'Faded Jeans', and added the sentiment. I inked around the edges using 'Brushed Corduroy'...then spritzed 'Soft Gold' Cosmic Shimmer over the top for a little bit of sparkle.

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

• Delightful - Distressed

For more inspriation from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Make Your Own Backing Papers

This week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, we're asking you to:

'Make your own backing papers'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

Creations by AR

Prize - 2 Templates of the Winner's Choice!

The DT have aall been working with templates from Creation by AR...I'm using the 'Ornament Box Set'. The set comes with two different sized templates...I used the larger one, printing the 'box' part on to kraft card, and the bits for decorating on to white card. After cutting out all the pieces, I started decorating. I used Distress Inks (Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Evergreen Bough and Pine Needles) to colour the card, then stamped a snowflake design (a Hero Arts cling stamp called simply 'Snowflakes') in Faded Jeans (on the main bauble) and Pine Needles (on the tag). For the band around the centre, I used a couple of stamps from the new 'A Bright Tomorrow' set by Penny Black...embossing them in white. I spritzed the whole lot with some 'Soft Gold' Cosmic Shimmer pigment mixed into water before I assembled it...it's lovely and sparkly in real life...but not so much in the photo. The tag was not part of the template...I just cut a plain circle with one of my Nesties.

The template was really easy to use...and the instructions very clear...with handy step-by-step photos. There's plenty of space for a lovely gift...here's a side view:

I decorated teh back too...just the same as the front:

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

• C.R.A.F.T. - Box 
• Crafty Ann's - Christmas in August
• Totally Stampalicious - Favourite Colour Combo (Blue & Green) 

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.