All Wrapped Up?

Well...these gifts are, but I still have lots to do! Most of it I won't be showing on here...don't want people to get a sneak peek...but I do have a couple of posts planned for later this week. Today, I'm sharing some gift wrapping...well a couple of little tags...they're really very simple...I covered the tags (bought from a little stationers) with some white card embossed with my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, then added a tree cut from silver card, using a die from my Sizzix/Hero Arts 'Reindeer' combo set, then embossed with my 'Swiss Dots' folder. The 'tinsel-ly' twine is from Ikea.

See, I told you they were simple...here's a photo of them attached to their gifts:

I always like to wrap everything in kraft parcel paper...and just use different ribbons (the ribbon on these was from Tescos last Christmas) to 'pretty' them up.

ABC Christmas Challenge - S is for...

I have another card for our current ABC Christmas Challenge today, where the theme is:

'S is for Shaped Cards...with Swirls, Spots or Stripes'

(By 'shaped' we mean any shape but square or rectangle)

We have two fabulous sponsors for this challenge...which means two wonderful prizes for two lucky people!

Simon Says Stamp

The prize is a $15 gift certificate to spend in the Simon Says Stamp Store.

and

Karen's Doodles

The prize is 3 Karen's Doodles digi stamps of the winner's choice.

I went with a star shaped card this time, cutting the shapes using my Nesties...I had to draw around the outside of the largest die and then cut by hand for the green stars - there are two...glued at the top to form the card. I used my Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder to emboss the red card...sanding over the surface to reveal the coloured core. The tree is a Marianne Designs Creatables die...cut from more Core'dinations card, the brad is from Tescos, and the wee mouse is from the 'Holly Jolly' set by Penny Black.

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

• Bah! Humbug! - Swirls
• Papertake Weekly - Creature Comforts
• Stamp with Fun - Anything Goes
• Totally Gorjuss - Not Square

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Clean & Simple Christmas

I've been meaning to use this stamp that my Mum found in a charity shop for ages...it's called 'Lines of Pines' by Penny Black. I stamped it (and the Lili of the Valley sentiment) using Versamark, then heat embossed it with opaque white powder. In keeping with the simplicity of the image, I've gone for a clean & simple style of card...a bit different from my usual style! They are A6 sized cards, with the fold at the top...been ages since I made a card in a shape other than square! lol I used my 'Swiss Dots' Cuttlebug folder to emboss above and below the sentiment, and then added some pom pom trim from Tescos.

Challenges for these cards:

• Clean & Simple Stamping - Sketch
• Corrosive - Red & White for Christmas (obviously just the card on the left...)
• Crafts & Me - Moody Blues (just the card on the right...)
• Creative Fridays - Chistmas Songs (Mine's 'Oh Christmas Tree')
• Die Cut Dreams - Seeing Triple
• Papertake Weekly  - Christmas but with NO Red or Green (obviously just the blue card...lol)
• Penny Black Saturday - Stamp on anything other than white card
• Raise the Bar - Trees
• Simon Says - Christmas but with NO Red or Green (obviously just the blue card...lol) 
• Stamptacular Sunday - Blue Christmas (just the card on the right) 
• Your Next Stamp - CAS Christmas

Recipe Challenge Blog Hop

The Cuttlebug Spot is taking part in a recipe challenge blog hop this weekend, with three other blogs. The idea is that pick up an 'ingredient' at each of the blogs with which to create a project.

The first stop is Sassy Lil Sketches, where you will find a sketch to follow...it's quite a detailed one, and was designed for a scrapbook layout, but I've used it to make a card...just to show it is possible! lol

Instead of two photos, I've used two small Penny Black images (from the 'Christmas Critters' and 'Holly Jolly' sets), with papers from the '29th Street Market' collection by My Mind's Eye.

The next stop is ScrapFIT...who are asking you to use 3 of something...I've used three snowflakes, cut using a Cuttlebug die.

Then it's on to Crop Suey...for Ink, Paint, Mist or all three! I used ink to distress the edges of the images and sentiment.

After that you head to Scrap Tiffany to pick up some lace...mine's from Hobbycraft.

And finally, you reach the Cuttlebug Spot where you add...what else...but Embossing! I used my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder to emboss the little mosaic of papers behind the images, sanding the raised areas to add definition.

And here's the card I 'cooked' up:

The pompom trim along the top was from Tescos last Christmas...it was with the giftwrap, and the sentiment is a Penny Black stamp.

For more information, and details of the prizes on offer...please visit the Cuttlebug Spot.

Cat up a tree!

I think I must be slacking...it's already Thursday, and this is my first Christmas card of the week! lol The cute image is from the 'Holly Jolly' set by Penny Black, and the papers are from the 'Eskimo Kisses' pad by BasicGrey. I distressed all of the edges, and added some faux stitching to the papers using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The baubles have been 'Stickled', and I replaced the star on top of the tree with a star shaped brad from Tescos. The small green brads are by Dovecraft, and the ribbon is from Poppicrafts.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Sketch
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Distressing & Stitching
• Bah! Humbug! - Favourite Cuties
• BasicGrey - Sparkle
• DCD Christmas Club - 3 Papers, 2 Ebellishments (Brads & Ribbon), 1 Image
• Incy Wincy - Something 'faux' (mine's stitching)

ABC Christmas Challenge - L is for...

 This fortnight's ABC Christmas Challenge is hosted by Lols...and the theme is:

'L is for Lights'

...with the optional extra of Christmas Trees

 

 Well, as I was unable to find an image with any Christmas lights on...I decided to 'adapt' one of my Christmas tree images (this one is from the 'Holly Jolly' set by Penny Black) with some cute little lights. They came on a string, but I cut them up and poked the string through holes I made on the image, then fixed them in place with tape on the back. Here's a close up:

 

The sparkly papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye, the snowflake was cut using my Cuttlebug  'Ice Crystal' die, which I then stamped with Versamark ink, and coated with holographic embossing powder. I added some star shaped bards (from Tescos) to the tops of the trees on the bottom section of the card to hold my easel part up, and the sentiment stamp is by Paper Makeup. 

Here's a side view, so that you can see the dimension of those lights...this is one card that will be delivered by hand this Christmas! lol

 

I followed the sketch from Eat, Sleep Stamp for the top part of my card, and  I'm also going to enter it into the 'Pimp your card' challenge over at Sweet Stampin'.

My lovely DT buddies have created some fabulous cards for this challenge...you can see them all on the ABC Christmas Challenge blog.

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Guest Designer Card

Here's the second of my four guest designer cards for the Papertake Weekly Challenge...where the theme this week is:

'Buttons, Bows, Brads & Bling!'

You can use any combination of these...or all four if you're feeling brave, like I was! lol

I decided to make a Christmas card...still managing to get at least one a week done...and went with an image from the 'Holly-Jolly' set by Penny Black. I added a star shaped brad (from Tecsos) to the top of the tree, and some Flowersoft 'snow' with some Glamour Dust mixed in for extra sparkle underneath the tree. The sparkly papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' collection by My Mind's Eye, the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly, the buttons are from my stash, and the ribbon is from Poppicrafts.


For more inspiration there are some fabulous cards by the regular design team over on the Papertake Weekly Challenge...and details of this week's prize.

I {heart} Christmas!

I'm back with a Christmas card this morning...for a few challenges: the sketch is from Christmas Stampin' All Year Long; I followed the Simon Says Stamp Challenge 'Recipe' of '3 embellishments, 2 papers and 1 image'; and the 'Animals' theme of the Creative Inspirations Challenge. The image is from the 'Holly-Jolly' set by Penny Black...I watercoloured it, then added some glitter to the baubles, and replaced the star on the top of the tree with a brad. The sentiment stamp is also by Penny Black...I masked off the heart before stamping and embossing, then added the heart-shaped brad in it's place (both brads are from Tesco). My third embellishment is the gold ribbon (wrapped around the middle strip, behind the sentiment). My two papers are actually both sides of a double-sided Cosmo Cricket paper (from the 'Be Good' range)...I hope that counts...and I used my 'Snowflakes' folder to emboss the plainer side.

Birthday Dog

I've managed to fit 5 challenges on this card: the Mojo Monday sketch; Allsorts Challenge's 'Boy's Cards' theme; Creative Inspiration's 'Blue & Brown' colour combo; Our Creative Corner's 'Stars & Stripes' forever theme; and Pile it On's 'Birthday' challenge...phew! I've used 'Birthday Dog' by Penny Black...I use him a lot for boy's cards. The Papers are by BasicGrey's 'Granola' (stripey paper), and 'Archaic' (spotty paper) pads. I used my Cuttlebug 'Happy Birthday' folder on the plain blue card, then sanded it to make the embossed text stand out. The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts (from the 'Anytime Messages' set), the gold stars are brads (from Tesco) and the brown 'ribbon' (it's more of a fabric really) I bought from Penrith Crafts at the craft retreat last month.


Make sure you enter my candy...if you haven't already done so :0)

Allsorts Challenge - Guest Designer Card

I was thrilled last week to see that I'd won the guest designer spot on the Allsorts Challenge for the next two weeks...ok, so I know it was picked by Random.org, but I was still excited! lol

Anyway, this week's challenge has been set by Lisa, and is a 'Recipe':

3 Flowers, 2 Papers and 1 Ribbon (plus image & sentiment)

I picked a Rachelle Anne Miller stamp ('Rainy Days') that hasn't seen any ink in a while to use for my card, and watercoloured it to match these yummy My Mind's Eye papers ('Adore'). The sentiment stamp is by Whiff of Joy...and it goes perfectly with this image. I layered up my three flowers (from Poppicrafts), attaching them with a Papermania pearl brad, and used my ribbon to tie a bow around the centre of the card. The finishing touch was a small heart-shaped brad (from Tesco).


Make sure you go and check out the cards by the Design Team...I just know that they'll have cooked up some really delicious creations! lol

Night Before Xmas

It was my last day of school yesterday, so what have I made on the first day of my summer holiday? A Christmas card of course! lol
I used the Midnight Madness sketch for the layout, and have managed to combine it with a few other challenge themes too: Cute Card Thursday's 'Christmas in July'; Our Creative Corner's 'Pets' theme; and the 'Furry Things' One Stop Craft Challenge. The image is 'Night Before Christmas' by Penny Black, and the papers are from the 'Christmas Wishes' stack by DCWV. The 'furry' snowball trim is from Tescos, and the buttons (which I coated with clear nail varnish, then sprinkled with glamour dust) are from Poppicrafts.

Our Creative Corner with a Spoon Full of Sugar

There's a fab sketch on the Our Creative Corner Challenge blog this week...nice and uncluttered...perfect for guys cards. I've also used a couple of dies (star and circle Nesties) on this, so I'm also entering this for the 'To Die For' challenge over on the Spoon Full of Sugar blog. I've used 'Birthday Dog' by Penny Black as the main image, with papers by BasicGrey ('Archaic' and 'Granola' pads). The sentiment stamp is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, and the star shaped brad is from Tesco.

Colour Create Challenge #4

The colour combination for this week's Colour Create Challenge is 'Pink & Grey'...not a combination I'd used before, and after a rootle through my stash, I couldn't even find any suitable papers! Now, I'm a bit of a paper addict, and I honestly thought I'd got all eventualities covered! lol So, I decided not to use any patterned paper at all...shock horror!...and have used a couple of shades each, of pink and grey card. I ran a piece of each colour through my Cuttlebug, with the 'Swiss Dots' and 'Spots & Dots' folders, to add some texture. My main image is by 'Henry - Celebrating Mouse' by Whiff of Joy - I usually colour him brown, but I think he looks good in grey too. The optional extra this week is 'Cute & Cuddly'...well Henry is definitely cute, and he's cuddling a cupcake...
I've combined him with a sentiment from the Hero Arts 'Cupcakes' set, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, the grey brads are by Papermania, the heart-shaped brad is from Tescos, and the lace is from Hobbycraft.

BasicGrey Challenge #23

There's a choice of colour combos for this week's BasicGrey Challenge, and I've gone for Pink & Brown, so I could use this gorgeous Penny Black image ('Sweet Slumber') that I received in the post yesterday from my lovely friend Carol. The papers are a mixture of 'Blush' and 'Two Scoops', with one having been embossed with the Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, the flowers are from Poppicrafts (I think), and the cute little heart brad is from Tescos.