Favourite Five Cards 2018

Today, I'm sharing my favourite (non-Christmas) cards of the year...I've included links back to the original blog posts, so please click through for the full info on any of the projects.

Crazy Dogs
I love these little weirdos...and picked up the matching die set this year to make my life a little easier! I love to group them all together as I find it impossible to choose just one to use!

Sorry I Forgot
This card is a bit fussier than my usual style, but I love the combination of colours.

Blossom Branch
This Penny Black stamp is one of my favourites of the year, and I experimented with several different ways of using it, but this simple coloured pencils on kraft technique is my favourite.

Uplifting Occasion
Of course, there had to be a Penny Black critter in among my favourites...and although pink is not one of my favourite colours, I can't help but smile at the expression on this kitty's face!

Big Blue Butterfly
Finally, another of my most used stamps of the year...a huge butterfly by Stampendous, combined with another of my favourites...a sparkly embossing glitter by WOW, and in my favourite colour too!

Before I go, I'd like to wish all of my lovely blog visitors a very Happy and Crafty New Year! See you in 2019!

Sorry I Forgot!

Today's card featured a rather neglected elephant stamp by Rachelle Anne Miller for Crafter's Companion called 'Sorry I Forgot'. I coloured it using watercolour pencils to match some papers that came in a bag of mixed papers from a charity shop...no idea what brand/collection. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The flowers are by Prima, and are held in place using some BasicGrey brads. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts...and it's been in my stash for so long, that I'm not sure where the lacy ribbon is from.

Challenges for this card:

• Animal Friends - Elephants
• Craftaholics R Us - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Birthday
• Ribbon Girls - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

PBSC January - Anything Goes...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'

(In fact, all of our challenges will now be 'Anything Goes', but from next month we will have an additional optional theme for those of you that like a prompt)

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I've used a new (to me) stamp that I found in a charity shop recently...called 'Uplifting Occasion!'. I coloured it using watercolour pencils to match the colours in the papers...they're from the 'Vintage Charm' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitches using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are by Prima, and the brads are BasicGrey.

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

• Craftaholics R Us - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - In Stitches
• Cute Card Thursday - Something Fun
• Fab 'N' Funky - Girly
• Fussy & Fancy - Distress It
• Penny Black & More - Something New (The stamp is new...to me)
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

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

Spring Swing

Today's card features a cute little Lili of the Valley bunny...the stamp is called 'Spring Swing', so I guess I'm a season behind! I picked some papers from the 'Vintage Charms' pad by My Mind's Eye, and coloured the image to match, using watercolour pencils. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are really old Prima ones, and are held in place using BasicGrey brads, and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Come & Get It - Just Add Flowers
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything with Flowers

Guest Designer - Addicted to Stamps

Today I'm sharing a Guest Designer card for the Addicted to Stamps blog. I was the lucky winner of the a Scrapbook Stamps Society Challenge last month, and have used one of the stamps I received as my prize on my card...it's called 'Tootsie Paints a Flower'. I coloured her using watercolour pencils, to match the papers from the 'Stella & Rose - Mabel' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment is from a set by Lili of the Valley, the flowers are by Prima, and are held in place using some BasicGrey brads.

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

• Crafty Calendar - Flowers
• Crazy Challenge - Birthday
• Cute Card Thursday - Brads
• Simply Create Too - Use a Digi Stamp
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Brads

Guest Designer - Pixie's Snippets Playground

I was thrilled to be asked by the lovely Di to guest design for Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge this week! I have a mountain of snippets...which despite my best efforts, seems to get bigger the more I craft...so this is one of my favourite challenges to play along with!

For my project, I decorated an Easter treat bag and used lots of snippets from my 'Now & Then' paper pad by My Mind's Eye. I used some of those long thin snippets you get when you cut a full sheet down to make a background, and a really teeny tiny snippet for some paper piecing. I distressed all of the edges of the papers, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The image is 'Spring Chick' by Penny Black...I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then paper pieced the egg shell...adding a little shading with a pencil. The sentiment is from the 'Egg-cellent Easter Sentiments' set by Amy R/C. C. Designs...I stamped & matted that on snippets too. I added a mixture of co-ordinating paper flowers (by Prima, papermania & Poppicrafts), held in place with BasicGrey brads.

I'm also entering this treat bag into the following challenges:

• Alphabet Challenge - B is for Bunnies
• Animal Friends - Sping/Easter
• Come & Get It - In the Garden
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Add Flowers)
• Little Red Wagon - Egg-cellent
• Penny Black & More - Spring

For more snippets inspiration...pop over to Di's blog where she'll be sharing her picks from the last Pixie's Snippets Playground challenge.

Butterfly Bear

This is the Mother's Day card I made for my Mum to give to her Mother...and it features a cute Lili of the Valley stamp called 'James Butterflies'. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils to match the papers from the 'Indie Chic - Nutmeg' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Papermania and Prima, the brad is by BasicGrey and the sentiment is from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Lili of the Valley
• Cute Card Thursday - For Mother/Ladies Only
• Dream Valley - Lots of Layers
• Gem of a Challenge - 3Bs (Bear, Blooms & Brad)
• Heartful Stamping - Animals
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - For a Special Lady/Girl
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Celebrating Women
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Gift Wrapped

Today's card features some more of the My Mind's Eye '29th Street Market' papers that I re-discovered a couple of weeks ago. I paired them with an adorable Lili of the Valley image called 'Gift Wrapped' that I coloured using watercolour pencils. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I added a little sentiment (from a Wild Rose Studio set) and some Prima flowers, held in place using a BasicGrey brad.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Hearts and/or Flowers
• Alphabet Challenge - X Marks the Spot (Spots or Dots)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Use Three Design Papers)
• Creative Knockouts - Flower Power
• Ribbon Girls - Anything Goes Cards
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Use Your Favourite Tool (CutterBee Bug for making holes for faux stitching)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Cute
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Throwing Daisy Petals

I have something a little bit more fussy for you today...this card uses a cute House Mouse image (called 'Throwing Daisy Petals') and papers from the My Mind's Eye 'Indie Chic - Nutmeg' pad. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, and distressed all of the edges a little before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual, and the flowers are a mixture of Prima and Poppicrafts...held in place using a BasicGrey brad.

Challenges for this card:

• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Floral/Anything Birthday
• Shopping our Stash - April Fool (Hidden element or use a faux technique  - I used faux stitching)
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

PBSC April - Showers

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:

'Showers'

(Think rain, umbrellas, wellies or wedding or baby showers)

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I went for a shower of flowers...and used 'Rainin' Daisies' on my card. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, and combined it with papers from the 'Indie Chic - Saffron' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed the edges of the papers a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Prima and Poppicrafts, the brads are BasicGrey and the sentiment stmap is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes using the Optional Sketch
• Moving Along with the Times - Girly
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• That's Crafty - Bold & Beautiful

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

Penny Black Saturday Challenge Reminder - Easter

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:

'Easter'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I decorated another Easter treat bag...this time using a couple of the bunnies from the 'Bunny Friends' stamp, and paper from the 'Farmhouse' pad by Crate Paper. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and white gel pen. The flowers are by Prima, and are held in place using BasicGrey brads and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Egg-cellent Eatser Sentiments' set by Amy R/C C Designs.

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

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes (Twist of Easter)
• Crafty Creations - Spring Fever
• Crazy Challenge - Flowers
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes (Spring has Sprung)
• Cute Card Thursday - Easter
• Inky Chicks - Happy Easter
• Moving Along with the Times - In the Garden
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Cute & Cuddly
• Whimsy Inspires - Spring Colours or Easter

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

Honey Bunny

I have another Easter treat bag to share today...featuring an old Pollycraft image called 'Kiki - Honey Bunny', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Farmhouse' pad by Crate Paper...I 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 'Egg-cellent Easter Sentiments' set by AmyR/C C Designs, the flowers are a mixture of Papermania and Prima, and are held in place using a BasicGrey brad.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Allsorts - Spring is in the Air
• Clear it Out - Anything Goes & Patterned Paper Over a Year Old ( I bought these in 2013)
• C.R.A.F.T. - Easter/Spring
• Crafty Sentiments - Easter
• Creative Corner - Hoppy Easter
• Creative Inspirations - Pretty Projects
• The Stamping Boutique - Countdown to Spring

I have candy on offer at the moment...you can find it here...you'll need to be quick though, it ends tonight.

James & Butterflies

Today's card features a cute Lili of the Valley stamp called 'James - Butterflies', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Indie Chic (Nutmeg)' pad by My Minds Eye...I embossed the plain papers using my Craft Concepts 'Butterflies' and Darice 'Quilt' embossing folders...then sanded over the top to reveal the white core. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Papermania, Poppicrafts & Prima, and are held in place using a BasicGrey brad. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual.

Challenges for this card:

• Cute Card Thursday - Florals
• Little Red Wagon - Furry Friends
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Furry Friends
• Whimsy Inspires - Anything Goes

***Edited to add...once I hit publish I noticed that this is my 2222nd published blog post - cool or what?! I meant to have some candy on offer to celebrate my blog's 7th birthday back in September, but missed that (oops!), so have been waiting for another milestone to celebrate...I think that this qualifies, so I shall get a little something sorted out this weekend.***

Penny Black Saturday Challenge Reminder - Use Red and/or Hearts

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:

'Use Red and/or Hearts'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

This time I've just hearts...and picked a sweet mouse stamp (called 'Gifts for You!') to make a Mother's Day card. The papers are from the 'Paper Hearts' pad by Crate Paper...I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Papermania, Poppicrafts and Prima...held in place using a BasicGrey brad. The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts, and the adhesive pearls are from Hobbycraft.

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

• Aud Sentiments - Cute & a Sentiment
• Creative Knockouts - In Stitches
• Stampavie & More - Hearts (on the green paper)

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

Upcycled Gift Bag

I have an 'upcycled' gift bag to share today...it's from L'Occitane...I think it must be one of their Christmas gift bags, but I didn't use it at Christmas and put it aside for something else as I thought that it was pretty. Anyway, I'm using it to wrap my Mum's Mother's Day gift...I added a cute little Penny Black mouse (from the 'Hello Friend' set), some paper flowers (a mixture or Prima and Poppicrafts) held in place using BasicGrey brads, and personalised it using lettering cut from snippets of card (using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet)...all in co-ordinating shades of blue.

Challenges for this bag:

• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Personalise It
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Recycle or Upcycle

Guest Designer - Cheerful Sketches

I have another guest designer card to share today...this time for the Cheerful Sketches Challenge.

Here's the sketch to use this month:

There are lots of fabulous sponsors for this month's challenge, including Marianne Designs, Di's Digis, Hobbyshoppie, Bugaboo Stamps and My Besties.

I've used an image from Bugaboo Stamps called 'Clyde Get Well', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Stella & Rose - Mabel' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Papermania and Prima, and the brads are BasicGrey.

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

• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Make it Colourful
• Stamping Sensations - Sew Special

For more inspiration from the fab DT and some other guest designers, please pop over to the Cheerful Sketches Challenge.

Happy Birthday Mum!

It's my Mum's birthday today...and this is the card that I made for her. I've used an older Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Gift Wrapped', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Indie Chic' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts 'Cupcakes' set, the flowers are by Prima, and the brad is BasicGrey.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Bingo (Brads - Die Cuts - Stitching)
• Crafty Catz - Two or More Patterned Papers
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Pets
• In the Pink - Celebration
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes with Optional Bunny Rabbit
• Penny Black & More - Birthdays
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Pretty in Pink
• Sweet Stamps - Pink

James & Butterflies

I have a card using a cute Lili of the Valley stamp...'James & Butterflies'...that I've had for quite some time, but to my shame I think that this weekend saw it's first inking! I combined him with some Spring-y coloured papers (from the 'Sweet Girl' by Crate Paper), and some Prima flowers that have been in my stash for years! The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes set by Hero Arts, and the brads are by BasicGrey.

Challenges for this card:

• Animal Friends - Happy Birthday
• Digi Sketch - Furry Friends
• Pink Elephant - Pastel Colours
• Ribbon Girls - Pastel Colours
• Simon Says Stamp - Happy Birthday
• Sparkles Forum - Teddy Bears

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Spring Blooms

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:

'Spring Blooms'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

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

• 2 Cute Ink - Spring
• Dream Valley - Mother's Day
• Inky Chicks - Flowers
• Penny's Paper Crafting - One for the Girls
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Special Lady
• Stamp & Create - Is it Spring yet?
• That Craft Place - Mother's Day
• The Ribbon Girls - Flowers
• The Stamping Boutique - More than One Layer

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