Pile It On! Challenge - Beverages and/or Food

I'm back with some more inspiration for this month's Pile It On! Challenge where the themes are:

'Beverages'
and/or
'Food'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Bugaboo Stamps:

Prize - 4 Digi Stamps of the Winner's Choice!

I went with the 'Food' option this time, making a birthday card featuring a House Mouse stamp called 'Birthday Cupcake' which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I added some little adhesive pearl 'sprinkles' to the frosting, and a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Anytime Messages' set). The papers are snippets from the 'Tea House' pad by Dovecraft...I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Beverages and/or Food
• Allsorts - Happy Birthday
• Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Pastel Colours
• Everybody Art - Lace or Pearls
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Feminine or Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stitches

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

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'
(New Year, New Baby, New Home, New Job, New Stash...)

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I went with 'New Year', and my project for this challenge is a 2019 Penny Black calendar. I buy a few of the blank 'Create a Calendars' from Paper Mill Direct to decorate and give as Christmas presents each year, and this is the one I made for my Mum. They still have some available here if you fancy making yourself one. I used a variety of Penny Black stamps and papers from lots of different manufacturers...far too many to list, but I did manage to use up lots of snippets! Here's a look at each of the months:

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

• Alphabet Challenge - S is for Stitching (my stitching is faux)
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - New (New Year)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Something New (New Year)

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

Little Star

I have a simple little Christmas card to share today...featuring an old James the Bear stamp by Lili of the Valley, called 'Little Star'. I coloured him using watercoour pencils, adding some gold to his star using a gel pen, then carefully cut him out. I added some strips of gold and red washi tape (by Dovecraft & Hobbycraft) to a white card blank, then popped James the Bear on top using 3D foam pads. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - CAS Christmas
• CAS on Friday - Washi Tape
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - All That Glitters is Gold

Flowers All Over

Today's card features another charity shop find...the stamp is an old Dovecraft one, from the Kate Knight collection. I stamped it on to watercolour paper using Distress Inks (Wild Honey, Tattered Rose, Milled Lavender & Tumbled Glass), then gave it a spritz with some water to soften the stamping a little. I then stamped some more flowers over the top using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using 'Kaleidoscope' power by Stampendous. I heat embossed a sentiment (from the 'Doodled Flowers' set by Happy Little Stampers) in white on a snippet of black card. I distressed all of the edges a little, and matted the flowery panel on some more black card.

It's so difficult to get the embossed flowers to show...in real life they're multicoloured and super sparkly!

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Flowers All Over
• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Distressing
• That's Crafty - Close to Nature
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Use Your Stuff - Anything Goes (Add a Sentiment)

PBSC May - Anything Goes (Or Use Your Favourite PB Stamp)

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
'Use Your Favourite Penny Black Stamp'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

My all time favourite Penny Black stamp is also one of the first ones I bought, long before I started blogging...it's 'Birthday Dog'! I'm not sure how long exactly I've had him, but definitely more than ten years...and he's still one of my most used stamps. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then fussy cut him out. I made a simple background by adding a couple of strips of washi tape (by Dovecraft), and a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Anytime Messages' set), then added 'Birthday Dog' popped up on some 3D foam pads.

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

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• As You Like It - Favourite Animal (Dog - we had lots of dogs as I was growing up, and I have a soft spot for Penny Black ones too)
• Creative Inspirations - Clean & Simple or Fussy & Fancy
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Magic
• Use Your Stuff - Free Week

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

Breakfast in Bed!

Today's card is a simple little one...I just wanted to use the last little pup from the new 'Good Times!' set by Penny Black. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then cut a circle using one of my Nesties. I found a snippet of Dovecraft 'Tea House' paper that matched with his tray of goodies, 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 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Food & Drink
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - 3D Embellishments and/or Stickers or Washi Tape

It's the third Sunday of the month, so that means we have some more inspiration and an additional theme for this month's Pile It On! Challenge where the themes are:

'3D Embellishments'

and/or

'Stickers or Washi Tape'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Freckled Fawn

Prize - $15 Gift Certificate!

I picked a few rolls of washi tape from my collection, and coloured a Penny Black image ('Skating Snowy') to match the red and turquoise. I added a strip of each of the washi tapes (from Hobbycraft & Dovecraft...I think) across my card blank, then the image over the top...having pierced a few holes in each corner. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - 3D Embellishments and/or Stickers or Washi Tape
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Crafty Girls Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Outdoor Fun
• The Male Room - Sport/Winter Olympics
• Winter Wonderland - Anything Goes

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

PBSC November - Thank You...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:

'Thank You'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I picked one of the cute hedgies from the 'Wonderful' set...and paired him with some papers from the 'Tea House' pad by Dovecraft. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is also by Penny Black.

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

• Come & Get It - Thank You
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Fussy & Fancy - Thanks
• Penny Black & More - Flower Power
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - It's a Stitch Up

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

Pile It On! Challenge - Scales/Feathers and/or No Patterned Papers

It's the third Sunday of the month, so we have more inspiration and a bonus theme for this month's Pile It On! Challenge. The themes this month are:

'Feathers and/or Scales'
&
No Patterned Paper
(You can do either or...or combine the themes for more fun!)

Our sponsor this month is Ike's Art:

Prize - $15 voucher to spend in Ike's Art Store!

I went with feathers again...and used an 'oldie but a goodie' from Penny Black called 'Present Pile', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I fussy cut the chicken, then made a simple background for her adding strips of washi tape (from Dovecraft & Tiger) to a square of plain white card. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Feathers/Scales and/or No Patterned Papers
• CAS on Friday - Use Pencils or Markers
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Clean & Simple
• That's Crafty - Fly Away

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

Birthday Dog with Washi

I have another 'Birthday Dog' card to share today...this time a more CAS number featuring some fun washi tape (from Dovecraft & Freckled Fawn). I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then doodled a simple border using a black gel pen...adding a couple of strips of washi tape bunting. I placed a couple of strips of the stripey washi tape on to my kraft card blank, then popped the image panel on top using 3D foam tape. The sentiment is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts...I didn't centre it very well, so added the exclamation marks using a black gel pen to even it out.

Challenges for this card:

• CAS on Sunday - Critters
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Favourite Stamp ('Birthday Dog' by Penny Black...he was one of the first PB stamps I bought, is probably my most used, and remains a firm favourite) 
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Ribbon Girls - Use Any Image
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Happy Cow!

I have a quick little CAS card to share today...featuring a happy little chap from Hambo Stamps called 'Happy Cow', which I coloured using watercolour pencils, then fussy cut out. I added a couple of strips of Woodware washi tape to my card blank, a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Anytime Messages' set, and then my cow popped up on 3D foam pads.

Challenges for this card:

• Cardz for Guyz - No Patterned Papers
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Masculine

Froggy Cheats

I have a couple of really quick cards to share today. Inspired by this week's 'Stickers' challenge over at Less is More, I hunted out an old sheet of Penny Black Stickeroos called 'Pond-side Celebrations'. I stuck the frog stickers on to some scraps of white card, then carefully cut around them, then mounted them on to my cards using 3D foam. I found some washi tapes in co-ordinating colours, and simply added a few strips behind the images, and stamped sentiments from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for these cards:

• As You Like It - Favourite Shaped Card Base (Tent-folded A6...I used to be all about square cards, but I've come back to this size/shape of card (which I used lots when I first started card-making) recently...I think I find the 'white space' less intimidating on this shape when I make CAS cards!)
• Less is More - Stickers/Sticky Labels/Peel Offs
• Little Red Wagon - Happy Birthday
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - N is for...

We have another fun ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...I'm the host and the theme is:

'N is for No Rules!'

(In other words...Anything Goes!)

We are sponsored for this challenge by Bugaboo Stamps:

Prize - 7 Digis of the winner's choice!

I've used a old Whiff of Joy image on my card called 'Wee & Reindeer' which after a brief search back through through my blog posts, I discovered I hadn't used since August 2013! So it was about time that it saw some ink! I coloured the image using watercolour pencils and combined it with papers from the 'Tea House' pad by Dovecraft, and 'Bundled Up' pad by Crate Paper. I distressed all of the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The little sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

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

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Christmas Cards - Anything Goes
• Come & Get It - Christmas in July
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Vintage or Anything Goes
• Craft Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Christmas Colours
• Inky Chicks - Christmas in Summer
• One Crazy Stamper - Christmas in July
• Penny Black & More - Anything Goes with a Stamp
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - Christmas in July
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Snowflakes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Cupcake Mice

I have a super simple card to share today...using a cute little Penny Black mice stamp from the 'Party Critters' set. I coloured the mice using watercolour pencils, then added a sentiment from the same stamp set, before cutting the image out using one of my circle Nesties. The paper is from the 'Tea House' pad by Dovecraft...I distressed the edges then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. To finish, I added a few pieces of pink Craftwork Cards Card Candi.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Favourite Die & Why? (My Nestie circle dies are my favourite and most used dies - I'd never be able to cut a perfect circle without them!
• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Use a Die Cut
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippet's Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Magic

PBSC June - Birthdays & Blog Hop...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...we're celebrating our 8th birthday, so as well as our usual challenge, we're having a fun blog hop too!

The theme of this month's challenge is...of course:

'Birthdays!'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

In addition, there are some fabby little prizes on offer on some of the stops on the 'hop'...I have a cute kitty cling stamp as a blog prize for one lucky commenter on my blog:

To be in with a chance of winning, please leave a link to your entry for this month's PBSC 'Birthdays' challenge with the linky at the bottom of my blog hop post along with a comment to let me know that you 'hopped by'!

I picked one of my oldest (and most used) Penny Black stamps for today's card...'Birthday Dog!'. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then fussy cut him out. I added a few strips of washi tape (by Dovecraft) to my card blank, then added Birthday Dog over the top popped up on 3D foam pads, and a sentiment (from the 'Critter Party' set also by Penny Black).

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

• ABC Challenge - J is for Just as You Like
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Daring Cardmakers - Man's Best Friend
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Magic
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, and a complete list of the blog hop links, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.