Pile It On! Challenge - Recycle/Upcycle Something

This week at the Pile It On! Challenge, we're challenging you to:

'Recycle/Upcycle Something'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Bugaboo Stamps:

Prize - 7 Bugaboo Stamps Digi Images!

My recycled item is a cereal box:

I used the reverse side of the packaging for 'kraft' card.

I stamped and heat embossed in white some Hero Arts background stamps (Magical, Snowflakes & Chevrons) on my 'kraft' card. The image is a Sugar Nellie stamp called 'Festive Friends'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils...the sentiment stamp is from a Lili of the Valley set, and the gems are from Paperchase.

Here are the challenges I piled on:

• Pile It On! - Recycle/Upcycle Something
• Allsorts - No Design Papers
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Snow People
• Clear It Out - Anything Goes
• Completely Christmas - Embossing
• Crafty Catz - Winter Theme
• Delightful - Gems
• Dream Valley - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Kraft & One Other Colour
• Little Red Wagon - Layer It Up
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch #337
• Sparkles Monthly - Santa
• Stampavie & More - Anything Goes
• That Craft Place - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
• Winter Wonderland - Sentiments

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

Rudolph!

I had a go at some fingerprint art yesterday, inspired by this week's Less is More Challenge, and made a couple of cards. On this one, I turned my thumbprint (inked with 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink) into a reindeer, by doodling some antlers, and adding a couple of googly eyes, and a large red gem for a nose. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Inspirations - Your Favourite Occasion (Christmas!)
• Inky Chicks - Christmas in July
• Jingle Belles - Shopping Our Stash (The googly eyes and gem are at least 2 years old)
• Less is More - Adapt a Fingerprint
• Shopping Our Stash - Christmas (The googly eyes and gem are at least 2 years old!)

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!

Pile It On! Challenge - Bling

This week at Pile It On! our challenge is all about:

'Bling'

We are sponsored this week by:

Floppy Latte's Digital Designs

Prize - $6 Gift Voucher to spend at Floppy Latte Digital Designs!
(Or $10 if the winner used a Floppy Latte image!)

I cheated a little bit on my card, and used one of the Lili of the Valley pre-coloured die cut images (from the 'Beary Christmas' set) ...so all I had to do to it was add a little bit of glitter to the snow, and trim it down. I used some very old (and long discontinued) My Mind's Eye papers ('29th Street Market') for the background...I only had scraps left, so created a patchwork effect...distressing the edges, and adding faux stitching. I used Marianne Designs and Cuttlebug dies for the snowflakes, adding some large gems (from Paperchase) to their centres...and a few adhesive pearls in the other corners.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Bling
• Charisma Cardz - 3, 2, 1 (3 Types of Embellishment, 2 Papers, 1 Image)
• Crafty Friends - Bling
• Daring Cardmakers - Forgotten Treasures (The Papers...I've had these for years...thought they'd all gone, but found just enough little scraps for this card!)
• Gem of a Challenge - Teddies
• Holly Jolly Christmas - Snow
• Inky Chicks - Anything Goes
• Lili's Little Fairies - 1 Image, 2 Papers, 3 Embellishments (Gems, Pearls & Snowflakes)
• Squirrel & the Fox - Christmas in July
• Winter Wonderland - 3 Snowflakes (2 of them are layered up), 2 Papers, 1 Image

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

Floral Notepads

I'm into Christmas gift making mode at the moment...and today have a few quick & easy notepads to share today. I got the blank kraft notepads from Paperchase (they're A7 in size, with elastic to keep them closed), and simply stamped using the watercolour technique with various colours of Distress Inks.

Stamps used (L-R): 'Agapanthus Clusters (Stampendous); 'Blooming Meadows' (Hero Arts); and 'Irises' (Penny Black).

Challenges for these items:

• Corrosive - Anything, except Christmas
• Digi Doodles - Nature
• Just Some Lines - Homemade Gift
• Totally Papercrafts - Anything, but Christmas

ABC Christmas Challenge - Y is for...

I can't believe that we've reached the penultimate ABC Christmas Challenge of the year...and it's Lols' turn to choose the theme, which is:

'Y is for Yule Tide'

Here's some info on Yule Tide from my lovely DT buddy Annie:

Yule Tide, the darkest time of the year when we wait for the old solar year to pass in order to celebrate the birth of a new sun. It takes about 3 days after the Winter Solstice, the longest darkest night of the year, before the days gradually start to lengthen again and the celebrations can begin in earnest – and can carry on for almost a month! There are many folk traditions from earlier times that are now incorporated into the more modern Christmas and New Year celebrations, but in villages across Northern Europe and Scandinavia many of the old traditions survive as we wish you all a “God Jul!”

The tradition of decking the halls with boughs of holly is reminiscent of the pre-Christian times when the evergreens in the depths of winter represented life and the red berries the seeds of life to come. Candles were associated with the Roman festival of Saturnalia when Ops, the wife of Saturn, was remembered with the giving of gifts as a token of love and respect on her sacred day of 20^th December. All over Northern Europe and Scandinavia candles are lit, especially on the night of the Winter Solstice, in celebration of old customs and beliefs that still linger.

So, as the old solar year passes and we start anew, we remember our ancient past and celebrate the Yule Tide with the giving of gifts, lighting of candles and decorating our homes with greenery. We celebrate with family and friends, giving thanks for the feast at our table that was raised and grown in and from the earth nurtured by the rain and the sun. We toast to a new year and a new growing season and hope that the new sun will shine, the rains be gentle, the winds soft and the earth rich and abundant once again. Wassail!

So with this in mind, we're asking you to include one (or a combination, if you like) of the following on your project:

Holly & Berries

or

Red & Green

or

Candles

We are sponsored by our lovely teamie Lacey from Wags 'n Whiskers and she will be giving one lucky entrant this fab prize!!

4 of their most popular Christmas digital stamps!!

Ok, so on to my card. I've used the colour scheme of 'Red & Green', with this fab Penny Black image and sentiment from the 'Holly-Jolly' set. I coloured the image with watercolour pencils, and added some 'Tiara' Stickles to the star, and Glossy Accents on the baubles. The papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' glitter pad by My Mind's Eye, I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the border, and the Large red gems are from Paperchase. I'm not sure where the gold ribbon came from...it was buried in my messy ribbon bag!

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

• Friday Sketchers - Sketch
• Daring Cardmakers - Spotty Stripy Christmas
• Digi Doodles - Red & Green
• Totally Gorjuss - Oh Christmas Tree!

For more inspiration, please check out the fabulous creations by my lovely ABC Christmas Challenge DT buddies.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Sparkle & Shine

This week it's my turn to choose the theme for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenges, and I have chosen:

'Sparkle & Shine'

Well...glitter says Christmas to me...so I've used one the latest Secret Crafter manga digi stamps...'Christmas Sledging' on my card. I coloured it with watercolour pencils, then added Glossy Accents (available here at the Secret Crafter) to the eyes, and 'Crystal' Stickles (available here at the Secret Crafter) to the snow. The glittered papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye...and to add even more sparkle, I glittered all of the edges with Glamour Dust, and some gems from Paperchase.

I'm also going to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Papertake Weekly - Sketch
• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Stripes
• Crafts & Me - Glitter
• Stamp Something - November Digi Day
• Winter Wonderland - Winter Sports

For more inspiration, please check out the fabulous samples by my lovely Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge DT buddies.

ABC Christmas Challenge - V is for...

It's Samantha's turn to host the ABC Christmas Challenge this week, where we have reached the letter 'V'...she has gone with a 'Vertical' theme...and has designed two fabulous sketches for us to use:

Sketch 1:

Sketch 2:

...and we'd love to see you  add as many other 'V's as you can to your creations too!

We are sponsored for this challenge by Pink Cat Studio...and the prize is 5 digi stamps!
They have also very generously given the DT some adorable images to play with! :0)

I've used 'Penguin Candy Cane Swing' (by Pink Cat Studio) on my card...he's 'Very' cute! I coloured him with watercolour pencils to match the 'Vibrant' colours of my 'Wonderful Winter' glitter papers by My Mind's Eye. To echo the 'Vertical' lines on the Sketch (I used Sketch 1), I have 'Vertical' stripes, and 'Vertical' spots! I made it 'Very' glittery by adding Glamour Dust around the edges of all the papers and the image, and a few acrylic gems (from Paperchase).

I'm also going to enter this card into the follwing challenges:

• Crafty Ann's - Digi plus favourite colouring medium
• Top Tip Tuesday - 'Anything Goes'...and my 'Top Tip' is to get ahead for Christmas by Joining us at the ABC Christmas Challenge! :0)

If you're a little 'Vexed' by our 'V' challenge...you can find lots more 'Very' inspiring projects from the rest of the DT at the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Stamp with Stampavie Challenge #39

There's a fab sketch for this week's Stamp with Stampavie Challenge, which I've used to make my Christmas card for this week, using this really cute 'Teddy Bear' stamp by Rachelle Anne Miller. The paper is by My Mind's Eye ('Festive - Frost'), the sentiment stamp is by Three Bugs in a Rug, I embossed the white strip with the Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, and the gems are from Paperchase.

I also received this lovely award from Helen, who is one of my most regular visitors - thanks for thinking of me, and thanks for all of the lovely comments you leave me! :0)

As I received and passed this award on a few days ago...I won't this time.