With love at Christmas

I spent most of yesterday working on some DT projects for this week...but, I did find time to make a couple of challenge cards too. This one uses one of my favourite Penny Black stamps...'Wishes for Kisses'. The papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye, the sentiment is a Lili of the Valley stamp, and I cut the snowflakes using Cuttlebug dies, then coated them with Glamour Dust.

Challenges for this card:

• Sketch Saturday - Sketch
• Charisma Cardz - With love at Christmas
• Crafty Catz - Spots & Stripes
• Crazy4Challenges - Square Cards

Just Cute Bears & Friends - Black, White & One Other Colour

This week's Just Cute Bears & Friends Challenge is a colour combo:

'Black, White & One Other Colour'

I've used pink as my extra colour...inspired by the funky papers from the 'Rose Tinted Christmas' pad by DCWV. As I also wanted to try and keep my image mainly those three colours too, I've not used a bear this week, but a cute Penny Black cow stamp called 'Bedecked Antlers'. I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the scalloped border, and myCuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die for the snowflakes, which I then coated with Glamour Dust.

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

• Sketchy Thursday - Sketch
• Crafty Ann's - Non-traditional Christmas colours
• Penny Black @ Allsorts - It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

For more inspiration, please check out the fabulous cards by my lovely Just Cute Bears & Friends Challenge DT buddies.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge

It's Bridget's turn to choose the theme of the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge, and she has chosen a colour combo of:

'Red & Gold'

I've used it to make a Christmas card...surprise, surprise! lol

The image is 'Henry Mouse with Bauble' by Whiff of Joy, which I coloured with watercolour pencils, and then cut out using Nesties (available here at the Secret Crafter). I used my Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystals' folder (available here at the Secret Crafter) to emboss gold card for the background. The snowflakes were cut using Cuttlebug dies, and then coated with Glamour Dust.

I added a generous layer of Glossy Accents (available here at the Secret Crafter) to Henry's bauble...here's a close-up:

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

• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch
• C.R.A.F.T. - Dry Embossing
• Whiff of Joy - Christmas
• Wild Orchid Craft - Classic Christmas

For more inspiration, please check out the fabulous samples by my lovely Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge DT buddies.

Funky Christmas

A quick post from me...have to dash out to work, but before I do...here's another Christmas card...I'm sure you're all sick of them by now! lol
I've used an adorable Lili of the Valley bear called 'Present Pile', and fab funky papers from the the 'Colourful Christmas' collection by My Mind's Eye. I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the border, and the spotty ribbon is by Anita's.

Challenges for this card:

• Taylored Expressions - Sketch
• Everybody Art - Untraditional Christmas
• Incy Wincy - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - W is for...

It's Annie's turn to host the ABC Christmas Challenge this fortnight, and she has chosen the theme of:

'W is for Winter Wonderland'

(optional extra of 'All White')

We are sponsored for this Challenge by Simon Says Stamp...and the prize is a $15 gift certificate...and they'll pay the shipping too!

Thw 'Winter Wonderland' theme conjurred up images of snow and snowmen for me...so I've used a cute Prairie Fairy digi stamp called 'Snow Friends' on my card. I love all white cards (especially for Christmas), so I went with optional extra, but decided to try something a little different and inked the edges of all the layers with an icy blue to add definition. I used the following Cuttlebug folders for the embossing: 'Swiss Dots', 'Ice Crystals', 'Snowflakes' and 'Snow Dots'. The large snowflake was cut using my Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die, then coated with Glamour Dust.

I'm also going to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Friday Sketchers - Sketch (I've rotated it)
• Craft Your Days Away - All White
• Critter Challenge - Christmas
• DCD Christmas Club - Use a Christmas Digi
• Fussy & Fancy - Winter Wonderland
• Simon Says Stamp - All White

My lovely ABC Christmas Challenge DT buddies...including our three lovely new members Carissa, Delphine & Dorte, and equally lovely guest designers Paula & Tanja...have really excelled themselves this week, so please stop by the challenge and check out their fabulous cards!

Cuttlebug Spot - Invitations

This week at the Cuttlebug Spot, the theme of our challenge is:

'Thanksgiving Dinner Invites'

As we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK, I've made my invitations for a Christmas dinner & drinks party. I've gone for a snowflake theme...mainly as an excuse to use my absolute favourite embossing folder...'Snowflakes'! I used the largest of my  large scalloped circle Nesitess to cut the cards, then added an embossed panel in duck egg blue which I'd edges with Glamour Dust. I cut some snowflakes using my Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' and 'Snowflakes' dies, then coated them in Glamour Dust too, before attaching them to the invites. I printed the invitation part on ordinary copier paper, then cut them out using Nesties, before attaching them to the insides...I've opened one of the invites up in the photo below so you can see:

Here's a close-up of one of the invitations, so you can see all the sparkle:

For more inspiration, please check out the fabulous samples by my lovely Cuttlebug Spot DT buddies.

Party Cat...again!

I know I used him recently...but I love this little cat (from the 'Bubbly' set by Penny Black)...he has such a great expression on his face! lol Anyway...I was going to use 'Birthday Dog' for this card...but then I found these papers I wanted to use (from the 'Max & Whiskers' pad by BasicGrey)...and one of them...just perfect for one of the challenges I'm entering this into with it's zig-zag pattern...was covered in cats!!! I coloured my image with watercolour pencils, and added Glossy Accents to his balloons, although it doesn't show up very well in the photo. I used a Nestie to cut the star, and colour tinted some white pieces of card candy with a chalk inkpad to match the brown tones in the papers.

Challenges for this card:

• Crazy4Challenges - Sketch
• Cards for Men - Anything Goes 
• Crafty Sentiments - Male
• Penny Black Saturday - Zig-zags & Triangles
• Paper Sundaes - For the boys

Pile It On! Challenge - Beary Good Friends

The theme of week's Pile It On! Challenge is:

'Beary Good Friends'

In other words...a bear and a friend!

We our sponsored for this challenge by Purple Panda Designs.

I've used an adorable Sarah Kay image (sent to me by my lovely ABC Christmas DT buddy Lacey), called 'My Sweet Lili' to make a Christmas card. I watercoloured her to match the 'Figgy Pudding' papers by BasicGrey. I embossed the gold strip with my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, and cut some more snowflakes using a Cuttlebug die from some deep red card...adding small pearls to their centres. I'm not sure where the lace is from...I think I received in a RAK.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:
Pile It On! - Beary Good Friends
BasicGrey - Sketch
Allsorts - Gold, Cream & a hint of Red
Crazy Challenge - Tons of Shapes (Square, Rectangle, Circle & Snowflake)
Digi Doodles - Anything Goes
Incy Wincy - Lace & Pearls
One Stop Craft - Anything Goes

For more inspiration please check out the fab creations by my Pile It On! DT buddies.

Inside & Out

This is the card I've made for my Nan's birthday next month, to go with the boxed set of Penny Black cards I shared on Thursday. I've used several more Penny Black images...all hedgehogs this time...on a gatefold card. The ones on the front are from the 'Critter Party' set. The papers are from the freebie 'Quite Contrary' pad by My Mind's Eye, and the sentiment is a stamp from the CCSR set by Papermania. I distressed all of the edges with my distressing tool, and added some ribbon to the front of the card to keep it closed.

Here's a better view of the front of the card:

I used more papers from the same pad to decorate the inside...and another Penny Black image...'Party Pooped!':

Challenges for this card:

• Pollycraft - Sketch (for the front of the card)
• Midnight Madness - Sketch (used the simple version for the inside of the card)
• Caarvarks - Inside & Out

I'll be back later with my DT card for this week's Pile It On! Challenge...

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Anything that flies!

It's Wendy's turn to choose the theme for this week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge, and she has chosen:

'Anything that flies!'

We are sponsored this month by Some Odd Girl, and they very genersously sent the DT some images to work with this week. I chose 'Witchy Tia'. I coloured her with watercolour pencils, and added some Glossy Accents to her eyes (available here at the Secret Crafter). I used Nesties (available here at the Sceret Crafter) to cut out the image and mat. The papers are from the 'Boo to You!' collection by My Mind's Eye, and I distressed all of the edges before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The little bats and sentiment are from a pack of confetti I got from The Works.

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

• Truly Scrumptious - Sketch
• Crafty Catz - Hallowe'en
• Crafty Creations - Hallowe'en or Autumn
• Daring Cardmakers - Trick or Treat
• Little Red Wagon - Hallowe'en 
• PaperPlay - A haunting we will go

Christmas Sledging

Today's card features the other new Secret Crafter Manga stamp...this one's called 'Christmas Sledging'...don't they look like they're having fun!? This stamp (as well as the 'Christmas Angel' I featured on Wednesday) is available to download here from the Secret Crafter.

The papers I've used are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye...I think is my all time favourite paper pad...such delicious colours...and all glittery too...perfect! The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley, and I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch along the bottom of the mat under the image. The snowflakes were ut using a Cuttlebug die, and then glittered with Glamour Dust, and I added a touch of sparkle to the image with Stickles.

Challenges for this card:

• Sketch Saturday - Sketch
• Papertake Weekly - Sparkly & Bright
• Allsorts - Spots & Stripes
• Bee Crafty - Christmas using a Digi image
• Creative Card Crew - Let's Punch It 
• Paper Sundaes - Natural Woman
• Simon Says Stamp - Punch 'em 
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Let's Get Punchy
• Stampavie & More - Christmas

Penny Black Card Set

I'll warn you now...this is a long post...with lots of photos.

It's my Nan's birthday next month, and this is the present I've made to give her. It's a set of simple Penny Black cards, with various greetings on, in a decorated box. The image I've used on the box is called 'Gifts for You', and the papers are from the 'Kioshi' pad by BasicGrey. I distressed all of the edges and added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The flowers are by Prima, and the brads are Papermania.

Here's a view of the top of the box:

And from the side, so that you can see it really is a box:

Here's a sneak peek at the contents:

For the cards, I kept them really simple, and stamped directly on to the card blank, then coloured the images with watercolour pencils, and added a sentiment. The images are all from clear stamp sets by Penny Black, and the sentiments are from various sets/manufacturers...I'll list them under the individual photos. I made 20 cards in total...there's 2 each of 10 designs:

Images: from the 'Critter Party' and 'Hugs' PB sets

Sentiments: from the 'Critter Party' PB set and CCSR set by Papermania

Images: from the 'Micey Nice Day' and 'Wonderful' PB sets

Sentiments: from the CCSR set by Papermania and the 'Wonderful' PB set

Images: from the 'Micey Nice Day' and 'Bubbly' PB sets

Sentiments: from the CCSR set by Papermania and the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp

Images: from the 'Wonderful' and 'Bubbly' PB sets

Sentiments: Hero Arts WM stamp and from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts

Images: from the 'Hugs' and 'Wonderful' PB sets

Sentiments: from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp and the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts

Challenges for these items:

• Friday Sketchers - Sketch (for the box lid)
• Charisma Cardz - Match Master (for the set of cards)
• Sweet Stampin' - Anything but a card (the box)
• Wild Orchid Crafts - Pastel Colours
• Fab'n'Funky - Clean & Simple (thanks for the tip off Jenny!)

Phew...see I told you it was a long post! lol

Christmas Angel

I've used one of the new Secret Crafter Manga stamps on today's card...she's called 'Christmas Angel'...isn't she adorable!? I've already seen a couple of cards in blogland made with her, so it would seem that you agree with me, but it you've haven't snapped her up (and there's another fabulous new image too, which I'll be featuring on a card on Friday) she's available to download here from the Secret Crafter.

I've kept my card really simple, using plain card embossed with my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' and 'Ice Crystals' folders. The snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die, and the sentiment is from a set by Lili of the Valley. I added Glamour Dust to the fairy's wings, star and eyelids, as well as around the edges of all the layers.

Challenges for this card:

• Sweet Stop - Sketch
• Colour Create - Purple, Aqua & White
• Crafty Ann's - Ribbon, Gems & at least one embellishment made from paper (the snowflakes) 
• Creative Cottage - Embossing
• Totally Gorjuss - Sparkle

Spooky!!!

I've been having another play with my Penny Black 'Spooky' stamps...have really enjoyed making Hallowe'en cards this year...it's the first time I've had any proper 'Hallowe'en' images, and it certainly makes it easier! lol
The orange and black papers are from the 'Boo to You!' collection by My Mind's Eye, and the purple piece of card has been embossed with my Cuttlebug 'Skeleton Scrolls' folder. I distressed all of the edges with black ink, and then added a few pieces of bat and spider shaped Hallowe'en confetti that I found in The Works yesterday.

Challenges for this card:

• Corrosive - Hallowe'en
• C.R.A.F.T. - Spooky
• Crazy4Challenges - Hallowe'en
• Creative Inspirations (Wed) - Spooky
• Dutch Dare - Hallowe'en
• Penny Black Saturday - Spooky Nights
• Raise the Bar - Orange, Black & Purple

Cuttlebug Spot - Anything Fall

The theme of this week's Cuttlebug Spot Challenge is:

'Anything Fall'

Here in the UK, the leaves have all started to turn the most glorious colours...so that's what inspired my card.

I made the leaves using some freebie digi stamps I found on Tiffany Doodles. I printed them on to plain white card, then cut them all out. I used chalk inkpads to colour the leaves, then I embossed them with the follwing Cuttlebug folders: 'Spots & Dots'; 'Kassie's Brocade'; 'Textile'; and 'Perfect Paisley'. Using one of my circular Nesties as a guide, I created a wreath with the leaves, sticking them to the card with 3D foam pads. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp.

For more autumnal inspiration, please check out the fabulous creations by my lovely Cuttlebug Spot DT buddies.

Just Cute Bears & Friends - Sketch by Me

Before I get on to this fortnight's challenge, I have some exciting news about our challenges. As of this week, we are changing our name to the Just Cute Bears & Friends Challenge...so now you can use any of your cute animal stamps on your entries.

The challenge this fortnight is a sketch by me:

I've used an adorable Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Little Star' on my card. I coloured it with watercolour pencils, then added some Glamour Dust to the star, and the fur trim on his hat. The papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' glitter stack by My Mind's Eye. I cut the snowflakes using a Cuttlebug die...then spinkled them with more Glamour Dust.

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

• Delightful  - It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas
• Lili of the Valley - Winter Fun
• Teddy Stampers - Anything Goes

For more inspiration, please visit the Just Cute Bears & Friends blog.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Manga

The theme of this week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge is:

'Manga'

Which gives us the perfect opportunity to showcase some of the Secret Crafter's own Manga stamps. I've used the digital version of 'Bird Fairy' (she's also available as a clear polymer stamp), to make a Christmas card. The papers are from the 'Tis the Season' collection by Bo Bunny, and I distressed all of the edges with my distressing tool, then added some faux stitching with my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The snowflakes were cut using Cuttlebug dies, and the image was cut out using a circle Nestie (available here at the Secret Crafter). I used Stardust Stickles (available here at the Secret Crafter) to add some sparkle to the snowflakes, and the fur trim on Bird Fairy's dress.

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

• Crafter's Companion - Sketch
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Distressing & Stitching
• Stamp Something - October Digi Day

Today sees the release of two fabulous new Secret Crafter Manga stamps...with a Christmas theme:

'Christmas Sledging'

'Christmas Angel'

Both of the new digital stamps are now available to buy from the Secret Crafter.

For more Manga inspiration, please check out the fabulous samples by my lovely Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge DT buddies.

Woo-hoo!!

Half-term is finally here...andI'm off to (hopefully) sunny Norfolk today to spend the week at my parents' house.No card from me today...but as I'm on me half-term hols, I'm sure there'll be plenty to show you next week...and I'll be back tomorrow with my DT card for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge.