Big Butterfly

I have a card to share today that features possibly the least imaginatively named stamp I own...'Big Butterfly' by Stampendous. I stamped it on to some watercolour paper using Versamark Ink, the heat embossed it using 'Midnight Dream' embossing glitter by WOW. I used some Distress Inks (Chipped Sapphire. Broken China & Gathered Twigs) to watercolour the wings...then splattered some of the same inks over the top. I added a sentiment from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, distressed the edges a little, then added it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Things with Wings
• Moving Along with the Times - Things with Wings
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stamp It
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stamp It

Winter Wonderland

I've used another birthday present on today's card...it's a Penny Black die called 'Xmas Tree Border'. I loved the design of the sample card on the packaging...so basically copied that! I cut a couple of rows of trees from snippets of green card...then used my Lawn Fawn 'Hillside Border' dies to cut some snowy slopes from snippets of white card, and a new (to me) Poppy Stamps 'Curious Fawn' die to cut the little deer from a snippet of kraft card. I stamped a sentiment (from the 'Merriest Christmas' set by Hero Arts) on to a piece of paper from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations), then layered all of the die cut pieces over the top.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Dies) - Anything Goes with Dies
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Dies as the Main Focus

Burst into Bloom

I have a simple one layer birthday card to share today...featuring a Woodware stamp called 'Burst into Bloom'. I stamped it on on to a kraft card blank using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it in white, along with a sentiment from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts. I coloured the flowers using watercolour pencils...but without adding water.

Challenges for this card:

• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Flowers
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Happy Father's Day!

I'm sharing the Father's Day card I made for my Dad today...I know it's a little early, but he won't see on here. I used a Lili of the Valley image called 'Mr Fixit', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I paired it with snippets of papers from the 'Blue Floral' pad by My Mind's Eye. I added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Always Fun - For Dad
• Animal Friends - Bears
• Cardz for Guyz - Father's Day
• Crafty Cardmakers - Masculine
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Masculine
• Sweet Stampin' - Father's Day

ABC Christmas Challenge - L & M are for?

We have another fun ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...I'm the host, and we have two themes this month:

'L is for Little'

&

'M is for Masking'

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

For my 'L is for Little' card...I used a 4 inch square card blank...and an old Hero Arts stamp called 'Winter Pup'. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I used a snippet of tartan paper (from the 'Chalkboard Christmas' pad by Craftwork Cards) as a background...with some faux stitching...and popped the pup on top using 3D foam pads.

I combined several Penny Black critter stamps for my 'M is for Masking' card...the mice in the parcel are from the 'Christmas Hugs' set, the other two mice are from the 'Jolly Friends' set, and the robin is from the 'Wintertime Cheer' set. I coloured them using watercolour pencils to match the pastel shades of the paper from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad by Craftwork Cards. I added some faux stitching, and a sentiment (from a set by Pollycraft for C. C. Designs).

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

• CAS Christmas - Gifts (Just the second card)
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Christmas Goes
• Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• My Time to Craft - Use Kraft (Just the first card)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - 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.

Tiger Lily Two Ways

I have a couple of simple birthday cards to share today that feature a stamp I picked up in  charity shop last week...it's called 'Tiger Lily' by Penny Black. I stamped it on to a couple of pieces of watercolour paper...one landscape, and the other portrait...and coloured the flowers using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment to each (from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, and the 'Butterflies' set by Happy Little Stampers), then distressed the edges a little before adding them to kraft card blanks.

Challenges for these cards:

• AAA Cards - Happy Birthday
• Aud Sentiments - Nature & a Sentiment
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Blooms, Butterflies and/or Bugs
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Birthday Dog

I have a birthday card to share today featuring one of my oldest and most favourite stamps...'Birthday Dog' by Penny Black. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, and paired him with some Poundland papers (from the 'Let's Celebrate' pad).  I distressed the edges a little and added a sentiment from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Your Favourite Stamp

Blooms & Stars

I have a couple of simple one layer cards for the current Less is More Challenge to share today, where the theme is 'CAS Embossing (Less than 1/3 of card)'. In my first card, I heat embossed my Hero Arts 'Blooming Meadows' stamp along the bottom of a kraft card blank with a Simon Says Stamp sentiment (from the 'Handwritten Borders' set) above using clear embossing powder.

On my second card, I heat embossed one of the stamps from my Lawn Fawn 'Starry Backdrops' set using 'Metallic Gold Sparkle' embossing powder by WOW along one side of a kraft card blank, then added a sentiment from another Lawn Fawn set ('Upon a Star') along the bottom...heat embossing the word star in more of the gold.

Challenges for these cards:

• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - May Showers & Flowers (First card only)
• Less is More - CAS Embossing (Less than 1/3 of card)
• Stamping Sensations - In an English Country Garden (First card only)
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

In the Shed

I have a masculine birthday card to share today...featuring an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'In the Shed', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'Prince Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels (found at TK Maxx). I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Father's Day/Male
• Crafty Cardmakers - Birthdays
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - In an English Country Garden (I'm sure you'd find a shed in most English gardens!)

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 May - Anything Goes (Optional 'Make Your Own Background')...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
'Make Your Background'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used a stamp called 'Celebration Song' on my card...colouring it with watercolour pencils. As the image is fairly large, I made a simple background using a Hero Arts 'Music' background stamp...stamping it a couple of times on to a piece of kraft card. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• Crafter's Cafe - Things Beginning with M (Mice)
• Cute Card Thursday - Stitching
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stitches
• Sweet Stampers - Animals

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

Cheering Critters Twofer

I'm back with a couple more cards made with stamps from my new 'Cheering Critters' stamp set from Penny Black...when I saw that the Twofer Challenge prompt this month was 'Things with Wheels' I just had to ink up the cycling pups!

I used the one speeding along on his bike to make a birthday card. I created a background using various Hero Arts stamps ('Classic Bike' stamp, and the 'Bicycles' set), stamping them on to watercolour paper using Distress Inks (Fired Brick, Broken China, Spiced Marmalade & Lucky Clover). I used watercolour pencils to colour the image to match the background, distressed the edges and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts.

On my congratulations card, I used the same cycling pup alongside a couple of the other images, and sentiments from the 'Cheering Critters' set. Again, I coloured the images using watercolour pencils, but kept the card more CAS...just adding a faux stitching as before.

Challenges for these cards:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Birthday (First card only)
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Twofer - Things with Wheels

Gift Wrapped

I have a birthday card to share today...featuring an old Lili of the Valley image called 'Gift Wrapped'. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils to match the fresh Spring colours of the papers, from the 'Pretty Please' pad by My Mind's Eye, which were a charity shop find. I distressed all of the edges, 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:

• AAA Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Feminine or Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Happy Birthday
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Rainin' Daisies

I used another 'oldie but a goodie' stamp on today's card...'Rainin' Daisies' must be one of the first Penny Black stamps I bought...I've had it since before I started my blog, so it's been in my collection for well over 10 years! I coloured it using watercolour pencils to match the green shades in the papers, which are from the 'Charming' pad by Recollections/Michaels (found at TKMaxx). I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional Add a Sentiment)
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Going Round in Circles
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - April Flowers Bring May Flowers
• Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes

Burst into Bloom

I have another watercoloured card to share today...this one features another Woodware stamp ('Burst into Bloom') heat embossed on watercolour paper using white embossing powder. I watercoloured it using Distress Inks (Picked Raspberry, Dusty Concord, Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss, Stormy Sky & Faded Jeans), and added a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set), then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Cute Card Thursday - Flowers
• Daring Cardmakers - Flowers
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Anything Goes (Optional 'Bright')
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Beautiful Blooms
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Spring Mood Board
• Sparkles Forum - Flowers or Religious
• Stamping Sensations - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Easter Treat Boxes

I have some little Easter treat boxes to share today. They measure 4x4x4 inches, and were each made form a single sheet of 12x12 paper from the 'Bright Freshness' pad by Craft Sensations (they're double sided so even the inside is pretty!). I used my We R Memory Keepers punchboard to make the boxes...so quick and simple...when you make the largest size (like these are), there's no measuring or cutting at all...just some scoring and punching, then folding. I added a mini kraft tag (from Hobbycraft) to each one...stamping a Hero Arts sentiment on one side (from the 'Sentiments' set), then attaching them using baker's twine.

Challenges for these boxes:

• Always Fun - Easter
• Crafty Cardmakers - Easter
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Anything but a Card
• Creative Moments - Spring/Easter
• Use Your Stuff - Easter/Spring

Five in a Row

Today's card is a flowery one...the stamp is called 'Five in a Row' by Woodware, and I heat embossed in white on to a piece of watercolour paper, adding a sentiment (from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Arts) in black, and heat embossing that with clear embossing powder. I watercoloured the flowers using Distress Inks (Bundled Sage, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Stormy Sky, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Shaded Lilac, Tattered Rose & Victorian Velvet), giving a light wash of 'Stormy Sky' all over, fading it out towards the top of the paper. I lightly distressed the edges before adding the panel to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Less is More - Subtle Colours
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Beautiful Blooms
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - No Designer Papers
• Stamping Sensations - April Showers Bring May Flowers
• Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Lots of Layers

We have another fun Pile It On! Challenge starting today, and the theme this month is:

'Lots of Layers'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Angie's Digital Stamps:

Prize - 2 Images of the Winner's Choice!

I used a Penny Black image called 'To Cake Moment', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are all from the 'Bright Freshness' pad by Craft Sensations...I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Lots of Layers
• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Addicted to Stamps - Lots of Layers
• Always Fun - Happy Birthday
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Friends - Happy Birthday
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Moo Mania - Polkadots
• My Time to Craft - Easter or Hedgehogs
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Antics
• Simply Create Too - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes

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

PBSC April - 'Anything Goes' (Optional 'Fresh Spring Colours')

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
'Fresh Spring Colours'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used an image called 'Cheesecake Parade' and some papers from the Craft Sensations 'Bright Freshness' pad to make a Spring-y birthday card. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils to match the papers and added a sentiment from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

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

• Creative Inspirations - Easter Wishes and/or Animals
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Animal Antics
• Use Your Stuff - Fuzzy Wuzzy

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