Just Married!

Some good friends of mine are getting married next month, so I thought I'd better make a card for them! It's not going to be a traditional white wedding, so I didn't want to make a typical white card. I decided to make a 'wedding cake' from some snippets of patterned papers (from the 'Yours Truly' pad by Pebbles Inc). I distressed the edges of the papers, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I added some adhesive pearls around the centre of each tier if the 'cake' and a paper flower to the top. The sentiment is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Pearls or Gems (I'm not really one for 'bling' but I do like adding pearls to dress things up a little)
• Come & Get It - Use Two or More Designer Papers
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - CAS or Fussy & Fancy (CAS)
• Fussy & Fancy - Celebration
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simply Create Too - Wedding
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Scraps & Offcuts

We have another fun new Pile It On! Challenge starting today...and the theme is:

'Use Scraps & Offcuts'

Our sponsor this month is Fresh Brewed Designs:

Prize - 3 Digi Stamps of the winner's choice!

I used scraps of Halloween papers to create a patchwork effect on a treat bag...the papers are the remnants of some My Mind's Eye 'Boo to You!' and 'Spider's Web' collections that I've had for years. I distressed the edges using some 'Black Soot' Distress Ink, and my distressing tool, then added some stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black & white gel pens. The little tag is from an accessories sheet that came with some of the papers...I added  couple of stamped sentiments from the Penny Black 'Spooky' set and ties it to the bag using some black & white Baker's twine. Once I'd filled the bag with treats, I tied the handles together using some offcuts of ribbon.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Use Scraps & Offcuts
• Fab 'N' Funky - Celebrate Halloween
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Freestyle
• My Time to Craft - Autumn Colours or Halloween
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• That's Crafty - Halloween
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Spooky Treat Boxes

I have some more Halloween treat boxes to share today...to match this one that I made  couple of weeks ago.

Once again, I used my We R Memory Keepers punch board and some Core'dinations 'Black Magic' card. I used a 12x12 piece of card, and made the largest size of box (a 4x4 cube). I sanded the edges of the card to reveal the coloured core (they're all different)...then added some pieces of the same card embossed with a selection of 'spooky' embossing folders...I scuffed up the edges a little and then sanded over the raised surface to reveal the coloured core. I added a little tag made out of more of the same card...decorated each one with a different Penny Black image (from the 'Be Very Scared' & 'Spooky' sets) and tied them to the boxes using a variety of co-ordinating twine.

Here are some photos of each of the boxes...fist the 'white' one:

And...the embossing on the back:

'Yellow':

'Blue':

'Purple':

'Red':

And, finally...with their 'green' buddy:

I'm entering these treat boxes into the following challenges:

• Amusing - Halloween
• As You Like It - New or Old Stash (Old...I  find it terribly difficult to use my new stash...especially papers...and it's always lovely to discover forgotten gems amongst your old stash...like this Core'dinations card that I've had for several years...and these cute Penny Black stamps that I get out each Halloween)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Embossing)
• Crafty Creations - Not a Card
• Creative Inspirations - Halloween/Fall
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes (Pumpkins)
• Cut It Up - Pumpkins
• Cute Card Thursday - Halloween
• Daring Cardmakers - Add a Tag
• Fantasy Stampers - Halloween Fun
• Give a Crafter a Cookie - Photo Inspiration
• Inky Chicks - Too Cute to Spook
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Halloween
• Ribbon Girls - Use Any Image
• Shopping Our Stash - Halloween
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Treat Bags & Boxes
• Sparkles Forum - I Put a Spell on You
• Stampavie & More - Halloween
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Autumn/Halloween

Heffalump Birthday

Today's card features a cute elephant stamp by Rachelle Anne Miller (for Crafter's Companion). I coloured him using watercolour pencils to match the papers from the 'Wildflowers pad by My Mind's Eye. I inked all of the edges using 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink, then distressed the edges a little, before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are by Dovecraft, the brad is BasicGrey, the sentiment stamp is from the 'Critter Party' set by Penny Black, and the twine is from the Ribbon Girls.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Birthdays
• Crafty Creations - All Creatures Great & Small
• Creative Knockouts - Tic-Tac-Toe (Stamp - Distressing - Flowers)
• Incy Wincy - All or Nothing (I went for lots of layers on this one)
• My Time to Craft - Zoo Animals
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Christmas Mouse Ornaments

I have another Christmas card to share today...this one is using a digi image from Bugaboo Stamps called 'Christmas Mouse Ornaments'. I coloured him using watercolour pencils...then added some sparkle to the baubles using a Sakura gel pen. The papers are from a pad by Pebbles called 'Yours Truly'...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The snowflake was cut using a Memory Box die...I also made that sparkly using the same gel pen. The twine is from the Ribbon Girls, and the brad is BasicGrey

Challenges for this card:

• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Use a Die Cut
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Ornaments
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafter's Cafe - Animal Antics
• Crafty Creations - Spots
• Everybody Art - Pearls
• Inky Chicks - Stitching
• Whimsy Inspires - Colour an Image
• Winter Wonderland - It's a Stitch Up!

Pile It On! Challenge - Dies and/or Punches

This week at the Pile It On! Challenge, we want to see you use your:

'Dies and/or Punches'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Doctor Digi's House of Stamps:

Prize - 2 digis of the winner's choice!

I've made this card for the daughter of a friend of mine who will be turning two at the end of next week...using a cute Lili of the Valley stamp called 'The Lost Balloon'...she has a 'bit of a thing' for bunnies...and it's perfect for combining with my Die-namics 'Balloons' die. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils to match the papers ('Bake a Cake' by Jennifer Ellory that came free with a craft magazine), and doodled some simple borders around everything using a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts, I used my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet dies to cut the number '2', the twine is from the Ribbon Girls, and the brad (tethering the die cut balloons to the card) is by BasicGrey.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Dies/Punches
• Animal Friends - Birthday
• As You Like It - Lines or No Lines (Definitely lines...so much easier to colour!)
• Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes Plus a Sentiment
• Cards Galore Encore - Make a Card
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafty Calendar - Add a Sentiment
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creative Corner - Animal Fun
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Pink Elephant - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp - Happy Birthday
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Cupcake Mice

I dug out an old favourite Penny Black stamp set ('Party Critters') at the weekend...I love these cute little mice. I combined them with a cupcake embossing folder by Craft Concepts, some twine from the Ribbon Girls, and some adhesive pearls.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to Stamps - Celebration
• Allsorts - Cakes/Cupcakes
• Chocolate Coffee & Cards - Something Yummy to Eat or Drink
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Embossing
• Little Red Wagon - All Tied Up!
• Papertake Weekly - Happy Anything
• Top Tip Tuesday - Buttons or Bows

Bunny Friends Easter Treat Bag

I have something a little more seasonal to show you today...an Easter treat bag using a couple of bunnies from the the 'Bunny Friends' stamp by Penny Black (I masked off the others before inking the stamp). The papers are form a pad by Dovecraft called 'Tea Shop'...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are really old, (I've had them since before I started blogging...so long in fact that the shop I bought them from has been closed for years!) and camd from Poppicrafts...they're held in place using BasicGrey brads. The twine is from the Ribbon Girls.

Challenges for this bag:

• Allsorts - Spring is in the Air
• As You Like It - Favourite Anything but a Card (I love decorating these treat little treat bags for all sorts of occasions)
• Crafty Calendar - Add Some Metal (The Brads)
• Crafty Sentiments - Spring Colours
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Put a Bow On
• Creative Inspirations - Something Old (The flowers...I've had these since before I started blogging over six years ago!)
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes/Spring Greens
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Show Us Your Bunnies
• Penny Black & More - Blossoms & Bows

Pile It On! Challenge - Add a Bow

We have  new Pile It On! Challenge starting today...the theme is a nice and easy one:

'Add a Bow'

Our sponsor this week is Paper Sweeties:

Prize - $20 Gift Certificate!

The image on my card is 'Boo Boo Bear' by Whipper Snapper...so cute! I coloured him using watercolour pencils, and used papers from the 'Paper Hearts' pad by Crate Paper...distressing the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Big Messages' set by Paul Pascual, the pearls are from Hobbycraft, and the Baker's twine is from the Ribbon Girls.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Add a Bow
• 4 Crafty Chicks - Hand Coloured Images
• Bunny Zoe's - Hearts
• Cards Galore Encore - Use a Stamp or Digi
• Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Hearts
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Pastels
• Simply Create Too - Valentine's Day or Use Hearts
• Sweet Stampin' - Add a Heart
• That's Crafty - Animal Magic

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - B is for...

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

'B is for Bows, Bunting or Baking'

(Or all three if you feel like it!)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Sami Stamps:

Prize - $12 Gift Certificate to spend at Sami Stamps!

I couldn't resist using one of the new Penny Black stamps I got for Christmas...this one is 'What a Snow!' which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I added a Hero Arts sentiment (from the 'Merriest Wishes' set, and some Baker's twine tied in a bow.

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

• Addicted to Stamps - Winter
• Completely Christmas - Make it Cute
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Colour It
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Winter Stamping
• Sketchy Colours - Turquoise & Red

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge. Oh...and one more thing before I go...I have some candy on offer at the moment...click here to check it out.

My Favourite Five Cards of 2014

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope that 2015 treats you all well!

I thought I'd start the new year by reviewing last year's makes...so I'm playing along with my lovely bloggy buddy Debby and sharing my favourite five creations of 2014:

I'm starting with the card I made for my Mum's birthday back in April...I love the papers on this one...and of course those cute LotV bears!

My second card was a bit of an inky experiment...but I like the way it turned out!

My next card features a person...which any regular visitor to my blog will tell you is a rare occurrence...I just find animals so much easier to colour...but I like the bright summery colours on this  card.

My fourth creation is a notebook I made for myself...well, I just to include a Penny Black image somewhere in my selection...and this is by far the most used item I made last year...love the colours & distressing too!

Lastly, I have a piece of wall art I made using lots of bicycle stamps...I share a flat with a bike obsessive and made this to go on our shared office/craft room wall along with some others...but he liked it so much that it ended up in the living room! I had  to include it in my favourites for last year, as I love looking it every day...it was well worth the 3 and bit hours I spent stamping it!

I linked all of the photos to the original blog posts, so please click through for all of the information. I'm off to have a snoop around everybody else's favourites...

Hide-Out!

I've used another new stamp on today's card...it's called 'Hide-out!'...of course by Penny Black. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, to match the 'Vintage Charm' papers by My Mind's Eye...then inked around the edges of everything using 'Old Paper' Distress Ink. I distressed the edges a little, then used my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen to add some faux stitching. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual, the twine is from The Ribbon Girls, and the pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• A Crafty Mess - Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Freestyle (No Christmas!)
• Little Red Wagon - Happy Birthday
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Sketch Wednesday - Sketch #39
• That's Crafty - Anything Goes

Simple Notecards & Box

I have another post from my drafts folder for you today...this is a set of simple notecards that I made a as birthday gift a couple of months ago. I used papers from the 'Recollections' pad by Michaels (the green & brown ones) and the 'Indie Chic' pad by My Mind's Eye (the pink & orange ones)...inking around the edges using 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiments are from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual.

I made a matching little box & tag to present them in:

Challenges for these notecards:

• Clear It Out - Anything Goes
• Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Anything Goes
• Sparkles Monthly - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - X is for...

We have a new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...it's my turn to host, and the theme is:

'X is for Xmas Music'

(Feature some music paper on your project...if you don't have any, try Google Images)

We are sponsored for this challenge by Zlatoena's Designs:

Prize - 2 Digital Images of the winner's choice!

I made my own music paper using a Hero Arts background stamp on kraft card. The image is 'Carollers' by Penny Black, which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I added a doodled border, and a Studio G sentiment...and then a few jingle bells tied on to some Baker's twine.

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

• Crafting When We Can - Clean & Simple
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Any Holiday
• Less is More - Jingle All the Way

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