Outline Snowflakes

Today's card features a Simon Says Stamp background stamp called 'Outline Snowflakes'. I stamped it onto a piece of black card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using metallic silver embossing powder from WOW, the coloured it using Cosmic Shimmers watercolours. I heat embossed a sentiment, using a stamp from the 'Festive Phrases' set from Funky Fossil, on some more black card, then used one of my Circle Nesties to cut it out. I cut a mat from some silver mirror card using the matching scalloped circle die, then added it onto the background, matting that onto some more silver mirror card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Cut It Up - Emboss It
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Make Your Own Background
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes

Sketched Flowers

Today's card features a lovely floral stamp from Simon Says Stamp called 'Sketched Flowers'. I stamped it onto a piece of kraft card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I added a sentiment, using one of the stamps from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, embossing that in white too, then coloured the flowers using watercolour pencils. I distressed the edges, then added it to a kraft card blank. 

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Colour Challenge
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Fabulous Florals
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Flowers

 

Ice Cream Mouse

Today's card features an old Stampavie stamp by Tina Wenke called 'Ice Cream Mouse'. I stamped him onto watercolour paper, along with a sentiment, using one of the stamps from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used papers from an unbranded pad called 'Ice Cream Sundae', which was originally a magazine freebie, but I got it from a charity shop. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Summer Sunshine
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Use a Colouring Medium
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Four-legged Friends
• We Love Stamping - Summertime

Deckchair Dreaming

I have a summery card to share today, featuring a cute Lili of the Valley bear stamp called 'Deckchair Dreaming'. I stamped it onto a snippet of smooth white card, then added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then used my CutterBee Bug to pierce a simple border, before adding it to white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Summer Fun
• Everybody Art - Summertime
• Fab 'N' Funky - Something Beginning with B (Bear on the Beach)
• I Spy with My Little Eye - Something By the Sea
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - At the Beach
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Vacation

Snowflake Edges

I have a pair of simple Christmas cards to share today, made using stamps from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped the borders, with one of the sentiments in between, onto smooth white card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it all using metallic silver embossing powder. I coloured the snowflakes using mica pigments mixed with a little bit of water, then distressed the edges before adding them to card blanks.

The snowflakes are really shiny in real life, but terrible to photograph:

Challenges for these cards:

• As You Like It - Simple or Fussy (Simple for me - especially Christmas cards so that they are cheaper to post!)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Clean & Simple
• Krafty Chicks - CAS

Floral Garden

Today's card features a lovely stamp from Simon Says Stamp called 'Floral Garden'. I stamped it, and a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Go To Words' set by Visible Image, onto smooth white card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it all using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. The floral stamp is huge - there's quite a large portion below the section shown on my card. I coloured the image using a mixture of mica pigments and Cosmic Shimmers watercolour paints. I distressed the edges a little before adding it to a card blank.

It's super shiny - this is what it looks like when the light hits it:

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - In the Garden
• Creative Knockouts - Embossing Delight
• Seize the Birthday - Make a Spring Garden
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Bright & Cheerful
• Stamping Sensations - Inspired by Nature

Favourite Five Cards 2025

As has become traditional on New Year's Eve, I'm sharing my favourite five cards of this year. As I look back through my blog posts, I always find it interesting to see if any themes have emerged in my cardmaking over the course of the year. Whilst there are still plenty of cute critter cards, I used more die cuts this year, and my cards have become increasingly clean and simple.

All of the photos are linked to the original blog post, so please click through for more information.

My first card is from February, and features (unusually for me) die cuts as the main focus. I love the modern shape of these floral dies...and they're great for using up little snippets of card & paper!

My second card is from May, and features several things that I love (and usually make it onto at least one of my favourite cards each year) - Distress inks, gold embossing and the big butterfly stamp!

My next card is actually a bookmark...I'm an avid reader, and always like to have plenty of bookmarks handy...and they're a great way to use up offcuts of card! This one features a favourite floral stamp, and Cosmic Shimmers that I've used many times this year.

Of course, there's a Penny Black image amongst my favourites, and the next card, from August, features a 'new to me' stamp called 'Surprise!' I also love the colour in these floral papers.

My final card is from November, and although I've made a lot of one layer cards this year, I love the effect the added layer gives on this CAS card.

I'm going to link up this post over at Ellie's I Spy With My Little Eye - Favourite Creations of the Year.

I posted my Favourite Five Christmas Cards here last week, if you'd like to take a look.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has visited and taken the time to comment on my blog this year - I wish you all the very best for the New Year!

Little Snowy Gift Tag

I have a little gift tag to share today...featuring a Penny Black snowman stamp from the 'Holly Jolly' set. I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of the image. I stamped my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp onto a kraft tag using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I added the snowman to the tag, then carefully trimmed the excess before adding some pink baker's twine to attach it to the gift.

Here it is on the present:

Challenges for this tag:

• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• I Spy With My Little Eye - Something Festive for Christmas
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Jingle Bells

I have another Christmas card to share today...this one is inspired by the Banner over at the Jingle Belles Challenge, which looks like this:

I started by stamping a large 'Jingle Bells' sentiment (using a stamp from a Colorado Craft Company set) in the centre of a piece of aqua coloured card, using a white pigment ink, then heat embossed it using 'Diamond White' embossing glitter from WOW. I then stamped snowflakes around the edges using stamps from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp using 'Speckled Egg' Distress Ink. Once dry, I stamped some more of the snowflakes over the top using white pigment ink, and embossing them with more 'Diamond White' embossing glitter. I distressed the edges, then matted it onto some teal card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Stamps
• Allsorts - Focal Sentiment
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Knockouts - Snow Much Fun
• Creative Moments - Add Some Sparkle
• Everybody Art - Glitter
• Fab 'N' Funky - Glitter
• Jingle Belles - Banner Inspired
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Expressive Poppies

Today's card features a poppy stamp from Penny Black called 'Expressive'. I stamped it onto black card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using 'Metallic Gold' embossing powder form WOW. I added a sentiment, using a stamp from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp, embossing it in gold to match, then painted the flowers using Cosmic Shimmers mica pigments mixed with a little water. I matted it onto some gold mirror card, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Clean & Simple
• Just Us Girls - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Thinking of You
• Sweet Stampin' - Red for Remembrance

Navy & Silver Snowflakes

Today's card features a sentiment stamp from a Colorado Craft Company set that I picked up in a charity shop last week. I stamped it onto navy card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using metallic silver embossing powder from WOW. I stamped snowflakes around the edge using stamps from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp, embossing them in silver to match. I matted it onto some silver mirror card, then added it to a white card blank.

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

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Quick Cards
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Snow
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Clean & Simple

Together

Today's card features a lovely Penny Black floral stamp called 'Together'. I inked it up using Distress Inks ('Uncharted Marine', 'Dusty Concord' and 'Rustic Wilderness'), spritzed it with a little water, then stamped it onto watercolour paper. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Clean & Simple

Dandelion Dreams

Today's card features a stamp from a set by Sentimentally Yours called 'Dandelion Dreams', which I picked up in a charity shop a couple of days ago. I stamped it onto a snippet of navy card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using silver embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment, using one of the stamps from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp, embossing it in silver to match. I matted the navy panel onto a snippet of silver mirror card, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Anything CAS
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Inkspirational - CAS (Optional 'Flowers')
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Sparkles Forum - CAS
• We Love Stamping - Flowers

Joyful Snowflakes

I have a Christmas card to share today. I started by stamping my Simon Says Stamp 'Outline Snowflakes' background stamp onto watercolour paper using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I wet the whole paper with some clean water, then loosely painted the background using 'Picked Raspberry', 'Wilted Violet' and 'Salty Ocean' Distress Inks, allowing the colours to blend. Once dry, I trimmed it into a square, and distressed the edges a little before adding it to a white card blank. I cut a sentiment using a Penny Black die called simply 'Joy' from a snippet of white card, and a couple of snowflakes using dies from the Tim Holtz/Sizzix 'Paper Snowflakes - Mini' set, then added those to the background.

Challenges for this card:

• Aud Sentiments - Tags and/or Christmas in July + Sentiment
• Crafty Gals Corner - _____________ in July (Christmas)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Use a Die Cut
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Embossing
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes

Sketched Flowers Bookmark

I have a bookmark to share today...made from a snippet of kraft card left over from making a square card blank from an A4 sheet of card. I trimmed it down a little, then stamped a music background stamp from Hero Arts onto it using 'Smokey Gray' Versafine ink. I then stamped my Simon Says Stamp 'Sketched Flowers' stamp over the top using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added stamped sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Sending Sunshine' set (also by Simon Says Stamp), embossing it in gold to match, then coloured the flowers using metallic watercolour paints in shades of pink and purple.

It's wonderfully shiny, but that makes it tricky to photograph, but here's another angle that shows the colours a little better:

Challenges for this bookmark:

• As You Like It - Favourite Non-Card Project (I often give books as gifts, and always like to make a bookmark to go with it)
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Fun with Paint
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Emboss It
• Stamping Sensations - Summer Flowers

Watercolour Snowflakes

I have a Christmas card to share today...made using a lovely snowflake stamp from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour effect paper from the 'Happy Watercolours' pad from The Works using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it in white. I tore around the edge of the snowflake image, then added it to a white linen card blank. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Winter Blessings' set by Crafter's Companion.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Anything CAS Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Christmas in June
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Expressive Poppies

Today's card features a Penny Black stamp called 'Expressive'. I stamped it slightly off the edge of a piece of watercolour paper, then coloured the flowers using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Sketched Flowers' set by Simon Says Stamp, then lightly distressed the edges before adding it to kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Sentiment or Not? (Whilst it's handy to have some cards without sentiments stashed away just in case, I feel that most of the time a card doesn't look 'finished' without one)
• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Fur, Feathers & Flowers
• We Love Stamping - Nature