A Winter Scene

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring two different types of embossing. I started by stamping an old Hero Arts stamp called 'A Winter Scene' onto a snippet 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 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, heat embossing that in white to match. I used a Sheena Douglas 'Holly' embossing folder to emboss another snippet of kraft card, then distressed the edges a little before layering it onto a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Embossing
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas challenge - P, Q & R are for?

It's the second Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...I'm the host, and the themes are:

'P is for Penguins'

'Q is for Quartet' (Four of Something)

&

'R is for Rectangles'

The prize for the lucky winner is this Sheena Douglas 'Baubles Baby' festive embossing folder:

For my 'P is for Penguins' card, I used an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Penguin Pals'. I stamped it onto a piece of watercolour paper, added a sentiment from the 'It's Penguinning' set by Crafter's Companion, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I used papers from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad from Craftwork Cards for the background...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug.

For my 'Q is for Quartet' card, I combined four robin stamps from Penny Black sets - 'Christmas Hugs', 'Snow Much Fun' and 'Jolly Friends'. I stamped them onto a piece of watercolour paper, used a black fine liner to draw draw the 'ground', then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

For my 'R is for Rectangles' card, I started by stamping one of the images from the Penny Black 'Candlelight' set onto a rectangle of black card using Versamark ink, then I heat embossed it using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the Funky Fossil 'Festive Phrases' set, embossing that in gold to match, then I watercoloured the image using Cosmic Shimmers watercolours. I matted the panel onto a rectangle of gold mirror card, before adding it to a DL card blank.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Third card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - P & Q (P is for Penguins) (First card only)
• I Spy With My Little Eye - Something with Wings (Second card only)
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Clean & Simple (Third card only)

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

Frosty the Snowman

Today's card features a cute Snowman stamp from Funstamps. I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used snowflake papers from an unnamed Christmas pad from The Works (the aqua one) and the 'Snowscape' pad from Woodware (the pink one). I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Present Pile

I have a Christmas card to share today, featuring an old Lili of the Valley penguin stamp called 'Present Pile'. I stamped him onto a snippet of smooth white card, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of the image. I added a sentiment, using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then layered it over a snippet of paper from the 'Pastel Watercolours' pad from The Works. I matted it onto a piece of bright pink card, distressing all of the edges, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Kickstart - Presents
• Crafter's Cafe - Christmas in July
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• I Spy With My Little Eye - Something with Wings
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July

Polar Pals

Today's card features an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Polar Pals'. I stamped it onto watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of the image. For the background, I embossed a piece of watercolour effect paper from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder, then lightly sanded over the raised areas to reveal some of the white core. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz, then layered the image over the background before matting it onto a snippet of purple card, lightly distressing all of the edges, and adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Christmas in July
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Four-legged Friends
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July

Crazy Dog

Today's card features one of the 'Crazy Dog' stamps from Tim Holtz's set for Stampers Anonymous. It's been a while since I last used him, and even longer since I used the matching dies, so I inked him up and stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then used his matching die to cut him out. For the background, I used a snippet of paper from an old Core'dinations card pad from Tim Holtz's collection. I embossed it using my Crafts Too 'Bone & Paw Print' embossing folder, then lightly sanded over the raised surface to reveal some of the kraft core. I added it to a snippet of kraft card, matted onto a piece of navy card, distressing all of the edges, then added the pup on top using 3D foam pads. I stamped a sentiment, using stamps from the Paper Smooches 'Birthday Buddies' set, onto snippets of watercolour paper, then added those using more 3D foam pads.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• Crafty Calendar - Happy Birthday
• Cut It Up - Critters
• Just Us Girls - Long-neglected Dies (The dog die was last used in 2021!)
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Neglected Stuff - Anything Goes (The stamp & matching die were last used in 2021!)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets

Sledging Buddies

Today's card features a cute Penny Black stamp from the 'Holly-Jolly' set. I stamped it onto a piece of watercolour paper, along with a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a 'Holly' embossing folder from Sizzix to emboss a piece of plain white card. I distressed all of the edges, then matted the image and embossed background onto some red card before adding it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - CAS
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Snowman
• We Love Stamping - Wildlife

Nutcrackers

Today's card features a 'Nutcracker' stamp and die set from Crafter's Companion, that I won a little while ago over at the Snippets Playground. I stamped the Nutcracker three times onto snippets of plain white card, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then used the matching die to cut them out. I stamped a sentiment onto a white card blank using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then added the Nutcrackers using 3D foam pads.

Challenges for this card:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Jolly Snowman

I have a Christmas card to share today, which features a cute Penny Black stamp called 'Jolly Snowman'. I stamped him onto watercolour paper, added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Merry & Bright' pad from Craft Sensations...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Winter Village Scene

Today's card features a set of scenic border dies from the 'Contemporary Christmas' collection by Crafter's Companion that I got recently from a charity shop. I used them, along with my 'Mountain Tops' dies by Taylored Expressions, and my 'Houses on a Hill' die from Your Next Stamp, and lots of snippets of plain white card to make a wintry scene. I layered all of the elements over a piece of white card embossed using my 'Falling Snow' embossing folder from Tim Holtz/Sizzix, using some 3D foam pads to add dimension

All white cards are always tricky to photograph, but here's another view:

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Embossing
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Moose & Bear

I have a couple of Christmas cards to share today, made using die sets by Elizabeth Craft Designs, that I picked up in a charity shop yesterday. I used snippets of kraft and white card to cut the pieces of both animals, with tiny bits of grey and black card for eyes, paws, ears and nose), then inked around the edges using Distress Inks ('Brushed Corduroy' and 'Gathered Twigs' for the Moose, and 'Hickory Smoke' for the Polar Bear) to add some definition. I embossed squares of kraft and white card for simple backgrounds using embossing folders from Couture Creations (for the Christmas trees behind the Moose), and Sizzix (for the snowflakes behind the polar bear). I stamped sentiments (using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz) onto snippets of kraft and white card, then distressed all of the edges before assembling.

Here's a better look at the two cards:

Challenges for these cards:

• Allsorts - Embossing (Second card only)
• Can You Handle the Pressure? - Die Cuts
• Cardz for Guys - Monochrome (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Dies & Punches
• Peace on Earth - Anything Christmas Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (First card only)

ABC Christmas Challenge - A & B are for?

It's the second Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...and today, we are starting our SEVENTEENTH(!!!) trip through the alphabet! I'm the host, and the themes are:

'A is for Anything Christmas Goes

&

'B is for Buildings'

The prize for the lucky winner is this stamp set & paper pad:

For my ' A is for Anything Christmas Goes' card, I used a lovely Personal Impressions stamp of a wintry village scene that I got for Christmas. I stamped it, and a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, onto a snippet of kraft card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using white embossing powder. I distressed the edges a little, then added it to a kraft card blank.

For my 'B is for Bright' card, I picked a cute Penny Black image called 'Bedecked Antlers' and stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour paper. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added a sentimentusing a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous. I paired it with papers from a Craft Sensations pad called (rather appropriately) 'Merry & Bright'...distressing the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I matted all of the layers onto bright green card, then added it to a white card blank.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Cardz for Guys - Christmas Critters (Second card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - A & B (Second card only - A for Antlers & B is for Bright Colours)
• Creative Knockouts - Celebrations (Second card only)
• Fab 'N' Funky - Winter Wonderland (First card only)
• Peace On Earth - Anything Christmas Goes (Second card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays)  - Something New (First card only - new stamp)
• Sweet Stampin' - New (First card only - new stamp)
• We Love Stamping - Something New (First card only - new stamp)

For more inspiration, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Flowering Christmas Tree

Today's card features a lovely Memory Box die that I picked up in a charity shop just before Christmas, called 'Flowering Christmas Tree'. I cut the tree twice, once from a snippet of dark green card, and once from a snippet of red card. I carefully trimmed all of the flowers from the red version, then placed them onto the green die cut. I added the 'tree' to a card blank, then stamped a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Just Us Girls - Use Dies
• Little Red Wagon - Use The Force (I used die cuts)
• Moving Along with the Times - Use Stencils and/or Dies
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Something New (The die is new (to me))
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment 

Woodland Winter Wonderland

Today's card features a lovely woodland die called 'Birch Tree Forest' by Creative Expressions that I got from a charity shop earlier this week. I used it along with a few other dies (one of the 'Hillside Borders' dies from Lawn Fawn, and a couple of the deer from the 'Winter Wonderland' set by Tim Holtz/Sizzix), to create a wintry woodland scene. I cut all the die cuts from snippets of plain white card, then layered them over another snippet of white card embossed using my Tim Holtz/Sizzix 'Snowfall' embossing folder, before adding it all to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Pick a Previous Technique (May - Use Die Cuts/Punches)
• Allsorts - Create a Scene
• Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Winter Animals
• Cut It Up - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas Goes

Favourite Five Christmas Cards 2025

Today, as has become traditional, I'm sharing my favourite five Christmas cards of the year. I made slightly more cards this year - 88, compared to 81 last year. Each photo is linked to the original blog post, so if you would like any more details, please click through.

The first card is from February, and uses a 'new to me' time (the lovely large Penny Black 'Joy' die) that I've used several times this year. I particularly like using the central aperture for a scene/sentiment.

Penny Black critters continue to be my most used stamps, and this chicken, used on this card from March, always makes me smile!

I made several cards using this technique on black card - I love the way the mica pigments show up when used as a watercolour paint, this card from August also makes use of one of my many charity shop crafty finds this year!

Coming a close second to the Penny Black critters, are the Anita Jeram animal stamps, like the bunny stamp used on this card from October. I also love making embossed backgrounds, and used a layout similar to this on many cards this year.

My final card is a recent one from earlier this month, and again features some Penny Black critters, and lots of lovely papers!

Merry Christmas everyone!

PBSC December - Anything Goes (Optional 'Snow/Snowmen')...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'

or

'Snow/Snowmen'

We're currently without a sponsor, so this challenge is just for fun.

My all-time favourite snowman is 'Snowy' by Penny Black, so I just had to use him for my card. I stamped him onto watercolour paper, extended the line for the 'snowy ground' on either side of him using a black gel pen, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I paper-pieced his hat and scarf using a snippet of paper from the 'Fresh Florals' pad by Craft Sensations, adding some shading using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut around the top of the image. For the background, I used a piece of snowy paper from an unnamed pad from The Works, then layered Snowy over the top. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, and some snowflakes, cut using some of the 'Paper Snowflakes Mini' dies by Tim Holtz/Sizzix, then matted it onto some teal card before adding it to a card blank.

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

• Creative Knockouts - 'Tis the Season
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Love Those Pretty Papers - Anything Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Anything Christmas
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Snowmen
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas

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

Christmas Joy

I have a CAS Christmas card to share today...made using my Penny Black 'Immense Joy' die. I cut three 'Joy' sentiments from snippets of plain white card, then layered them up for some dimension, and added them to a white card blank. I cut a snowflake, using one of the dies from the 'Paper Snowflakes Mini' set by Tim Holtz and Sizzix, then added it to the centre of the 'O' using a 3D foam pad.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - Anything CAS (Optional 'White on White')
• Addicted to CAS - Christmas
• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• CAS on Friday - Snowflake
• Krafty Chicks - CAS
• Little Red Wagon - Christmas Cards
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Anything Christmas

Christmas Boxes

Every year, I make some little gift boxes for family members using a We R Memory Keepers punch board that I picked up in TKMaxx. This year, I used 12x12 papers from a Make & Create pad from The Works (I really wish that they'd name these!) to make the largest size (4x4x4). They don't require any glue/tape and simply fold together - so quick to make! I cut some simple gift tags using an old Sizzix Bigz die from some snippets of silver glitter card, then added a snowflake (cut from matching plain card using dies from a Tim Holtz/Sizzix set called 'Paper Snowflakes Mini'), and attached them to the boxes using some white organza ribbon.

Challenges for these boxes:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Alphabet Challenge - R is for Ribbon
• As You Like It - Anything Festive
• Creative Moments - It's a Wrap!
• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Wrap It Up
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas