ABC Christmas Challenge - S is for...

We have another fun ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Mandy is the host, and the theme is:

'S is for Sew What?'

(Real or Faux Stitching)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Freckled Fawn:

Prize - $15 Gift Certificate!

I've used a Stampendous stamped image called 'Bethlehem Nights'...I stamped it using Memento 'Nautical Blue' ink, then heat embossed it using clear embossing powder. I added a little colour to the buildings, stars and clear patches of sky using watercolour pencils. I distressed the edges a little, then matted it on to some matching blue card, adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Christmas
• Everybody Art - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Song (O Little Town of Bethlehem)
• Jingle Belles - O Little Town of Bethlehem
• My Time to Craft - Stitching
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Bethlehem Night

I've been hunting for a deep navy blue inkpad to use with my Stampendous 'Bethlehem Night' stamp ever since I got it...and I think that I've finally found one! I picked up 'Nautical Blue' a couple of weeks ago...and it's a lovely dark blue colour...just right for a mid-night sky! For this card, I simply stamped the image on to white card, then layered up some embossed card ('Swiss Dots' & 'D'Vine Swirls' Cuttlebug folders)...I used a lawn fawn 'Stitched Hillside' border die to cut the curve.

Challenges for this card:

• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N Funky - Christmas
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Any Holiday
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamp + Fun = Creativity - Embossing
• That Craft Place - Anything Goes

I have candy on offer at the moment...you can find it here.

Valentine's in Pink & Grey

Today's card was inspired by the 'pink & grey' colour combination of this weeks' Less is More challenge. I'm not really a 'pink' person, but I thought that the colours would suit a Valentine's card. I picked some papers from the 'Paper Hearts' pad by Crate Paper, and cut some hearts using my Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts die. I distressed the edges of the papers, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Art, stamped in Memento 'London Fog' ink.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Love is all Around
• Crafty Cardmakers - Love, Love, Love
• Creative Knockouts - Hearts
• Less Is More - Pink & Grey
• Pink Elephant - Be My Valentine

Bicycle Notecards

I've been super busy the last couple of weeks...it's been exam and Christmas concert season...so I've not had that much time for crafting or blogging...so am posting a project that has been in my drafts folder for a couple of months, that I never got round to blogging. I found a few others too that have been there for much longer than that and forgotten about, so I'll blog those soon too as a change from the last-minute Christmas things I'm making. Today's project is a set of bicycle themed notecards...made using Hero Arts & Hobbycraft bike stamps, simply stamped on to 4x4 card blanks in brown ink, together with a Papermania sentiment stamp.

Challenges for these cards:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - One Layer Cards
• A Little Bit Crafty - Anything but Christmas
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything but Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Transportation

Back to School...On Your Bike!

I'll warn you now that today's post is rather long...with quite a few photos too...as I've been busy making a 'back to school' gift for my flatmate. He recently started his own business and one of the thing he does is run cycling training sessions and bike clubs in schools. In the few months since he started the business it's grown much more quickly than expected, and it's looking like the coming term might be quite manic! He's not an organised person by nature, but he does like to make lists, so I've decorated a notebook for him to keep all his school 'To Do' lists in, with a matching 'Good Luck' card:

The plain kraft notebook was from Paperchase...I simply covered it using some bicycle covered paper (from the 'Cool Summer' collection by Carta Bella)...inking (with 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink) and doodling around the edges...then added some lettering (cut using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet)...then I gave it  couple of coats of a satin varnish to help make it a bit more durable:

I decorated the back too...cutting the corners out using one of my circle Nesties:

It has a piece of elastic to keep it closed:

I made the matching card in the same way using a 4x4 kraft card blank from Hobbycraft...and obviously without the varnish!

And I couldn't resist making a matching tag and some quick bicycle wrapping paper by stamping on some parcel paper using my Hero Arts 'Classic Bike' stamp and 'Rich Cocoa' Memento Ink. I also stamped a little bike on the envelope...and attached the tag to the parcel using some twine from American Crafts:

Challenges for these items:

• Allsorts - Focal Sentiments (Card only)
• Aud Sentiments - Any Sentiment (Card Only)
• Card Crafter's Circle - For the Boys
• Craft Your Passion - Office Suplies (Notebook only)
• Crafting for all Seasons - Tags (Tag only)
• Crafty Ribbons - Back to School
• Cut It Up - Back to School Altered Notebook (Notebok only)
• Delightful - Die Cuts/Punches
• Fussy & Fancy - Back to School
• Love to Create - Back to School
• Pink Elephant - Back to School
• Shopping Our Stash - For the Boys
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Back to School
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Back to School

Now I just need to get myself ready for the new school term!

Pencil Sketch Flowers

More CAS cards from me today...this time a couple of flowery one layer cards using a some of my favourite Hero Arts stamps, and a technique that I spotted on this card in the Hero Arts Flickr group. I stamped the floral stamps ('Blooming Meadows' & 'Garden Bouquet') in 'London Fog' Memento ink, then coloured over the top using my watercolour pencils...although I didn't add any water...and it sort of looks like a pencil sketch. I did the white one first, then wondered what it would look like on kraft...I also stamped the sentiment (from the 'Wonderful' set by Penny Black) in grey...I thought that black might look too harsh...but once it dried it almost disappeared on the kraft!

Challenges for these cards:

• Crafting for All Seasons - Floral Delight (Both cards)
• Creative Inspirations - Let's Get Krafty (Just the card on the right)
• Cupcake Craft - Get Your Kraft On (Just the card on the right)
• Cute Card Thursday - Something Borrowed (I 'borrowed' the idea for stamping in grey then colouring over with pencils to give a 'sketch' effect from this card I spotted in the Hero Arts group on Flickr)
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Freestyle
• Moving Along with the Times - Let's Get Krafty (Just the card on the right)