Christmas Robins

Today's card features a couple of recent charity shop finds...a cute Wild Rose Studio stamp called 'Christmas Robins' and some papers from a pad by Craftwork Cards called 'Festive Chalkboard'. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then added a Lili of Valley sentiment, before distressing all of the edges, and adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and black and white gel pens.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas with the Cuties - Something Beginning with B (Birds)
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampers - Stitched (my stitching is faux)

Snow Family

I have a simple one layer Christmas card to share today, featuring a Wild Rose Studio stamp called 'Snowmen', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Tattered Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

Challenges for this card:

• Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes & a Sentiment
• Cardz for Guyz - Snowmen
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Inspirations - Feeling Festive
• Creative Knockouts - Christmas Delight
• Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Anything Christmas
• Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes

Snow Family

Today's card features another charity shop find...it's called 'Snowmen' by Wild Rose Studio. I stamped it directly on to my card blank, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added a couple of Lili of the Valley sentiments to make a simple one layer card.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Little Miss Muffet Customer Appreciation Day

I have something a little different to share today...I was a winner over at Little Miss Muffet Stamps Challenge a little while ago, and was asked to take part in their Customer Appreciation Day Celebrations. Well, that day is today!

There are lots of new images in the Little Miss Muffet Stamps Shop....with free gifts and stamps too! 

I've made a card using a cute Claribella image called 'Clarabella Says'...with a space for you to add any sentiment you like. In order to make the image the main feature of the card, I printed Claribella a couple of times...flipping her to make a mirror image. I used a piece of flowery paper (by Sandylion) for a simple background...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I coloured the images using watercolour pencils to match the colours in the paper, and added a little sentiment to each of Calribella's signs (from a set by Wild Rose Studio).

For more sample projects, and all of the information on the exciting Customer Appreciation Day offers...please pop over the Little Miss Muffet Shop.

Toby with Gift

I have a simple card to share today featuring a Wild Rose Studio stamped image called 'Toby with Gift', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I used a couple of papers from the 'Floral Blue' pad by My Mind's Eye. I added some doodled borders using a black gel pen, and a sentiment from a set by Lili of the Valley.

Challenges for this card:

• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - All Creatures Great & Small
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Happy Birthday

Pile It On! Challenge - Primary Colours

It's the first Sunday of the month, so we have a fun new Pile It On! Challenge starting today! The theme this month is:

'Primary Colours'

Our sponsor for this challenge is KennyK Stamps:

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

(NB - The KennyK Stamps shop has closed it's doors, but is sponsoring our challenge one last time)

I had a rummage through my paper pads for some primary coloured papers, and found the perfect ones in my Penny Black 'Madison' pad. I picked a cute Wild Rose Studio stamp to go with them called 'Bella in Car', and coloured it using watercolour pencils. 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 'Wonderful' set by Penny Black.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Primary Colours
• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• 4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
• Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes
• Crafty Girls Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Create Playground - Anything Goes
• Deep Ocean - Lots of Layers
• Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On! Challenge...we're also on the lookout for some new DT members - you can find all the information on that there too!

Girl & Snowman

I received a couple of adorable Wild Rose Studio Christmas stamps last week as part of a prize from a challenge win, and couldn't resist inking them up at the weekend. The one I've used on this card is called 'Girl & Snowman'...I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle using a Wink of Stella pen. I found a piece of star covered paper that matched the snowman's scarf in my 'Happy Day' pad by My Mind's Eye...and used a piece behind my image. I distressed the edges then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I added a snippet of pink polkadot ribbon, and a sentiment from a set by Lili of the Valley.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to Stamps - Pastel Colours
• Card Mania - Pastel Colours
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes
• Creative Corner - Girly Fun
• Fairytale - Your First or Last Stamp (This is my most recent stamp)
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes (Optional Twist - Stars)
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Ribbon Girls - Anything Goes (Cards)
• Winter Wonderland - Ribbon or Lace

Birthday Dog...Pretty in Pastels

This is the first of three cards I made last weekend featuring my favourite stamp...'Birthday Dog' by Penny Black. Usually he ends up on masculine cards...but this time I thought I'd pair him with some pretty pastel papers (from the 'Happy Day' 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 little set by Wild Rose Studio, and the adhesive pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Aud Sentiments - Animals & a Sentiment
• Cheerful Sketches - Sketch
• Penny Black & More - Favourite Stamp ('Birthday Dog' by Penny Black...he was one of the first PB stamps I bought, is probably my most used, and remains a firm favourite) 
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - 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

Butterfly Stamped Giftwrap

It was my Aunt's birthday a couple of days ago...so I made some simple stamped gift wrap for her presents. I used stamps from the 'Social Butterfly' set by Penny Black...and 'Wilted Violet' Distress Ink on kraft paper, gift bag and tag...it matches the card I made for her...but I haven't blogged that yet! The sentiment stamp is from a little set by Wild Rose Studio, and the twine is by DoCrafts.

Challenges for these items:

• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

PBSC October - Autumn/Fall Colours...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:

'Autumn/Fall Colours'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

This time, I picked some papers from the Penny Black 'Madison' pad, and paired them with some of the cute little puppy stamps from the 'Man's Best Friend' set. I coloured the images using watercolour pencils, then added a little sentiment from a Wild Rose Studio set. I doodled some simple borders using a black gel pen.

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

• Crafty Cardmakers - Birthdays
• Crafty Friends - Autumn Colours
• Dream Valley - One for the Boys
• Penny Black & More - Autumn
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Stamping Sensations - Autumn

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

Dog-gone It! Dad!

I have a simple little Father's Day gift tag to share today...it's doggy themed to match the card I made to go with it. This cute little chappie is from the 'Man's Best Friend' set by Penny Black...I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then fussy cut him out. I covered a plain kraft gift tag using some sky blue card, then used one of my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Border' dies and a Memory Box 'Puffy Clouds' die to create a little scene to place him in. The sentiment stamps are from the 'You & I' set by Clearly Besotted and a little set by Wild Rose Studio.

I attached it to a ktaft paper gift bag that I'd decorated by stamping a Hobbycraft paw print background stamp in Versamark Ink all over.

Challenges for this tag:

• Catch the Bug - Masculine
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Animal Magic
• Crafty Cardmakers - For a Special Man
• Crafty Creations - Tic-Tac-Toe (Sentiment-Image-Tag)
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Make It Masculine
• Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies
• Little Red Wagon - Tag, You're It!
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Father's Day/For a Guy
• The Male Room - Father's Day

Bella in Car

I've used another new stamp on today's card...this one is 'Bella in Car' by Wild Rose Studio...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Now & Then' 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 stamp is from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything but Christmas
• Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• That's Crafty - Anything Goes
• The Stamping Boutique - Anything Goes

Toby with Flowers

I have a quick and simple card to share today...I made it a couple of weeks ago along with this card using the same layout. The image is 'Toby with Flowers' by Wild Rose Studio, which I coloured using watercolour pencils then fussy cut out. I added some strips of washi tape (from Freckled Fawn, Papermania & Tiger) and a sentiment stamp from the 'Handwritten Borders' set by Simon Says Stamp.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - No Design Papers
• Alphabet Challenge - Quick & Simple
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - Q is for...

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

'Q is for Quantum Leap'

(Travel back in time and pick one (or some!) of the themes of this years' previous challenges)

I decided to see how many of this years' challenge themes I could combine on my card for this challenge...I managed: C for Colourful; D for Die Cuts; G for Glitter; I for I Love You; M for Magical; & P for Polkadots! The cute kitty is 'Angel Cat' by Penny Black...I coloured him using watercolour pencils, and added lots of sparkle to his wings using Stickles. The papers are from the 'Bundled Up' pad by Crate paper...I distressed the edges a little, then used my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. Th snowflake was cut using a Memory Box die...it's held in place using a American Crafts glitter brad, and I made it sparkly using a Sakura Stardust pen. The sentiment stamp is from a little set by Wild Rose Studio.

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

• ABC Challenge - P is for Pink
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Snowflakes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Use Something Old (The stamp is several years old)
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas Animals 
• Holly Jolly Christmas - Snowflakes & Sparkle
• In the Pink - Anything Pink
• Papertake Weekly - Dies
• Shopping Our Stash - Layers

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

Crafty Little Fairies Challenge - Spots & Stripes

This month's Crafty Little Fairies Challenge is all about:

'Spots & Stripes'

We have lots of lovely sponsors for this challenge:

The Ribbon Girl:

Marianne Design:

Iva Nova Chest:

Handy Hippo:

Crafty Ribbons:

I used some spotty & stripey papers from the 'Ooh La La (for Her)' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed the edges a little using my distressing tool, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The image is 'Lucky Cats' by Lili of the Valley, and the sentiment stamp is from a little set by Wild Rose Studio.

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

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Freestyle
• Sketch Saturday - Any Sketch of Your Choice (I picked #250)
• Shopping Our Stash - Critters

• Totally Gorjuss - Stitching

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Crafty Little Fairies Challenge.

Bella & Butterfly

I've used a new stamp on today's card and is called 'Bella with Butterfly' by Wild Rose Studio...it was a birthday gift from my lovely friend Pauline...thanks so much...I love it! The papers I've used are from the 'Hopscotch' pad by BasicGrey...I distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The pleated ribbon is from the Ribbon Reel and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• BasicGrey - Anything Goes
• Shopping Our Stash - Use a Sketch (I used the one from Sketch Saturday)
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch
• Squiggles & Giggles - Colour Board Inspiration

Shades of Pumice Stone

After yesterday's highly saturated coloured cards, I've toned it down today for Less Is More's 'Neutrals' challenge. I stamped 'Agapanthus Clusters' (by Stampendous) in 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink, then 'coloured in' the outline flowers with more 'Pumice Stone' using my waterbrush. For the strip along the bottom, I lightly blended a little 'Pumice Stone' on to white card, then stamped my 'Circular Design' background stamp (by Penny Black) in...yes, you've guessed it...'Pumice Stone'. The sentiment stamp (from a little Wild Rose Studio set) was stamped in Memento 'Rich Cocoa'...just for a change...and the button twine (just seen...it doesn't contrast too well against the stamping) is from the Ribbon Girls.

Challenges for this card:

• Clean & Simple - Sketch
• Less is More - Neutrals
• Squiggles & Giggles - White Space

Fergus with Cupcake

The adorable stamp I've used on this card was a present from my lovely friend Samantha for my birthday last week...he's called 'Fergus with Cupcake' by Wild Rose Studio. I coloured him with watercolour pencils to match the 'Archaic' papers by BasicGrey...although his bright red cherry doesn't really go! I distressed all of the edges with inks & my distressing tool, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment is from a little Studio G set, and the sparkly brads are by American Crafts.

Challenges for this card:

• Birthday Sundaes - At least 3 Brads
• Cards for Men - Anything Goes
• Cupcake Craft - Sketch
• Here Come the Boys - Critters
• Pink Elephant - Stitching
• Pollycraft - Distressing
• Sew Many - 3 or more Brads
• Stamp & Create - Critters

Patriotic CAS

Here's my attempt at this week's Less Is More challenge, where the theme is 'Colours of your Country'...I'm from the UK, so my colours are Red, White & Blue. My card is very simple...a couple of 'snippets' of '360 Degrees' paper by Pink Paislee (it's 2 smaller pieces mounted together on a strip of card...the join is hidden behind the flower), a flower cut from wrapping paper (it's a 'handmade' type of paper that I got from Ikea years ago...) using my 'Blossom' Nesties held in place with a Papermania brad, and a Wild Rose Studio stamped sentiment.

Challenges for this card:

• Ellephantastic - Layers (the flower has 5 layers)
• Less is More - Colours of your country (I'm in the UK, so Red, White & Blue)
• Jules' Crafty Snippet Challenge - although using just these tiny snippets is not going to help reduce my snippet mountain!