Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Your Favourite Colour ombo

This week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long we're asking you to make a Christmas project using:

'Your Favourite Colour Combination'

Our sponsor this week is Bugaboo Stamps:

With a fabulous prize:

My favourite colour is blue...all shades really, but especially teal/aqua...and it's one I like to use on my cards quite a lot, particularly with brown, so that's the colour combination I used for my card today. The cute 'lil birdie stamp from is from Bugaboo called 'Winter Birds - Scarf'...I coloured him using watercolour pencils in my favourite teal and brown colours. For the background, I usind a couple of embossing folders...'Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' and Sizzix 'Snowflakes'. I cut more snowflakes using Marianne Designs and Cuttlebug dies...then layered them up and gave them a generour coating of Stickles...there's a little pearl in the centres of them too, but I not sure you can make them out in amongst all that glitter! I added more pearls to the corners, and glitter to the snow on the image too.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - No Patterned Paper
• Crafty Ribbons - Christmas
• Hooked on Craft - Christmas with NO Red or Green 
• Sparkles Christmas - Contemporary Colour Combination
• Totally Stampalicious - Anything Goes 

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.

Flowery Notelet Set & Birthday Card

I have a birthday card and notelet set to share today...I made this last week for my Nan's birthday which is later this month. I've used some of my favourite flowery stamps ('Garden Bouquet' & 'Blooming Meadows' by Hero Arts, and 'Agapanthus Clusters' by Stampendous) and the watercolour technique with Distress Inks, to make a really simple set...

For the birthday card, I used 'Blooming Meadows'...inked in too many colours of Distress Inks to remember. For the background I embossed plain white card with a couple of Cuttlebug folders (the ever faithful 'Swiss Dots' and 'Kassie's Brocade'). The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts...and I added a piece of green twill (by October Afternoon) to make it look like a rosette. To take the edge of all the white, I inked everything with 'Old Paper' Distress Ink.

The 'notelets' are little 4x4 card blanks from Papermania...my Nan likes writing to people...but doesn't like to have too much space to fill! I made a simple box, and used 'Garden Bouquet' inked in all the same colours as on the birthday card on the outside...

The notelets inside use all three flowery stamps, but this time I used single colours for the flower parts of the stamp on each card (far too time consuming to do them in multicolour, as I made 12 of these!) Again I inked around the edges using 'Old Paper'...here's a photo of them all:

Challenges for this set:

• Anything Goes - Anything Goes 
• C.R.A.F.T. - Birthdays
• Creative Inspirations - Let's Celebrate
• Creative Stamp Friends - Clean & Simple
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch (Birthday card only)

ABC Christmas Challenge - V is for...

It's time for a brand new ABC Christmas Challenge, and this week Miria is the host, with a theme of:

'V is for Vibrant Colours'

We have two wonderful sponsors for this challenge:

Crop Stop

 Prize - a $15 Gift Certificate to spend at Crop Stop!

and:

Wild Rose Studio

 2 Wild Rose Studio stamps of the winner's choice!

I've used a stamp and die set called 'Reindeer' by Hero Arts & Sizzix to make my card (available here at Crop Stop)...and lots...and lots of vibrantly coloured card! For the background I used lots of different embossing folders to add some texture...'Swiss Dots', 'Snowflakes', 'D'Vine Swirls', 'Spots & Dots' (all Cuttlebug), 'Hexagon Illusion' (by Craft Concepts) and 'Snowglobe' (by Sizzix/BasicGrey). The trees were cut with dies from the same set as the stamps...I made the snow for the little scene by tearing white card, then adding glitter to the torn edges before layering up. I added a few adhesive gems to the tops of the trees, and some lettering cut using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet.

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

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Die Cuts & Punched Pieces
• Crafty Ann's - Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut's - No Patterned Paper
• Do You Stack Up - Embossing
• Dream Valley - Glitter & Bling
• Jingle Belles - Holiday Creatures
• Love to Create - Lots of Layers
• Willow Sketchie - Sketch & Christmas in October 

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

Oldie but a Goodie - Spots & Stripes

This fortnight at the Oldie but a Goodie Challenge, I've picked the theme, which is:

'Spots & Stripes'

Our sponsor for this challenge is Crafty Sentiments:

 

I've a cute penguin image from Crafty Sentiments called 'Christmas Penguin', which I coloured using watercolour pencils...adding sparkle to the ice with some Stickles. The spotty and stripey papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye...this card measures just 4x4 inches...so I was able to make use of some of my scraps on it!

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

• Challenges for Everybody - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Animals
• Friday Sketch - Sketch 

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Oldie but a Goodie Challenge.

Hallowe'en Treats!

I have a couple of Hallowe'en 'matchbox' style treat boxes to share today...I found a template here which I used for the measurements...they're actually quite big...not matchbox sized at all! The images are from the 'Spooky' and 'Be very scared' sets by Penny Black...and were coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Whoo-ligans' collection by Bo Bunny, the googly eyes are by Craft Planet, and the little bats and spiders were in packs of Hallowe'en 'confetti' that I got in Poundland a couple of years ago.

I've crammed them full of Hallowe'en treats:

Challenges for these boxes:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Hallowe'en
• Crafty Creations - Hallowe'en Spooks
• Cute Card Thursday - Something Scary!
• Inky Impressions - Fall or Hallowe'en
• Moving Along with the Times - Too Cute to Spook!
• My Mum's Craft Shop - So Spooky!
• My Time to Craft - Hallowe'en
• One Stop Craft - Hallowe'en

Pile It On! Challenge - Birthday Card for a Man

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

'Birthday Card For a Man'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Dude Time Doodles:

The prize is a $10 Gift Certificate to spend at Dude Time Doodles.

I've used my trusty Penny Black 'Birthday Dog' stamp...love using him for male birthday cards...coloured using watercolour pencils.The papers are from the 'Archaic' pad by BasicGrey...I've had this for so long...and it's almost all used up...but there's probably a couple more cards left in it. I distressed the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Birthday Card for a Man
• 2 Sisters - Fall or Hallowe'en Colours
• Allsorts - In Stitches
• BasicGrey - Anything Goes ('Archaic' papers)
• Card Makin' Mamas - Anything Goes
• Cards for Men - Sketch
• Crafty Catz - Male Cards
• Creative Stamp Friends - Men's Cards
• Little Red Wagon - Olive, Rust, Kraft & Brown
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - What's Cooking?/Something to Eat
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Fall Colours

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On! Challenge.
 

Batty Treat Holders

I have a couple of batty little Hallowe'en treat holders to show you today...for the one on the right I followed this tutorial...adding some googly eyes, a brad for a nose, and some hand drawn fangs...the one on the left is a simple pillow box...but I cut some more wings from the template for the fist 'bat' and added them along with another 'face'. They're filled with little chocolate pumpkins and spiders....click the photo for a better view.

Challenges for these treat holders:

• Charisma Cardz - Don't Be Square!
• Corrosive - Treat Containers
• Creative Inspirations - Hallowe'en
• Kaboodles Doodles - Trick or Treat
• Pink Elephant - Hallowe'en
• Stamping with the Dragon - Anything but a Card 
• Top Tip Tuesday - Hallowe'en 
• Totally Gorjuss - Things with Wings
• Totally Papercrafts - Spooky Hallowe'en

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Circles

This week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long our challenge theme is:

 'Circles'

Our sponsor this week is:

Meljen's Designs: 

Prize: 4 (non-coloured) images from Meljen's Designs!

I've used a jolly Santa image from Meljens Designs on my card...which I coloured using watercolour pencils...then added some Stickles for a touch of sparkle. The papers are from the 'Blitzen' pad by Bo Bunny...I distressed the edges then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Reindeer' stamp & die set by Hero Arts/Sizzix, the twine is by Dovecraft, the sparkly bells are from Hobbycraft, the snowflake is a Cuttlebug die and the sparkly brad is by American Crafts.

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

• Delightful - Stitching
• Holly Jolly Christmas - Here Comes Santa Claus
• Stampavie & More - Stitching
• Totally Gorjuss - Bling
• Whimsy Inspires - Sparkly

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.

Little Witch

The cute little witch stamp I used on this card was a birthday gift from my lovely friend Uma...she's from Sweetpea Stamps...but after much searching, I still don't know what she's called...so I'll call her 'Little Witch' for now. I coloured her using watercolour pencils, the cut her out using one my 'Deckled Rectangle' Nesties. For the background, I embossed the card using a spider's web folder by Tim Holtz/Sizzix, and a pumpkin folder by Cuttlebug. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Celebrate Everyday' set by Hero Arts, and I added a little 'spider' to one of the cobwebs using a black pearl for the body, and drawing on the legs with a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Mess - Hallowe'en
• Crazy4Challenges - Orange, Black & Purple
• Creative Fridays - Hallowe'en
• Just Some Lines - Hallowe'en
• Love to Create - Pumpkins
• One Sweet Challenge - Hallowe'en
• Papercraft Star - Witches
• Raise the Bar - Witches
• Seems a Little Sketchy - Sketch
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Hallowe'en
• Sweet Stampin' - Hallowe'en

ABC Christmas Challenge - U is for...

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

'U is for...Up to You!'

That's right...anything Christmassy goes!!

We have two wonderful sponsors for this challenge:

Our very own Lacey, with her awesome Stamp & Create store!

 The prize is a whopping $25 gift certificate - wowee!

and:

Meljen's Designs: 

Prize: 4 (non-coloured) images from Meljen's Designs!

This time I've made an ornament using papers in shades of blue from the 'Maddison' pad by Penny Black:

I sort of followed this tutorial...but used one of my Nestie circles to cut out all of the circles from my patterned paper...then made an equilateral triangle template from some scrap card, and drew round it on the back of each circle, so I'd know where to fold. Before gluing the whole thing together, I added co-ordinating brads (by BasicGrey) to the top and bottom, attaching a piece of blue and white Baker's Twine (from the Ribbon Girls) to the top one for hanging it on the tree.

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

• Inky Impressions - Anything but a Card
• Winter Wonderland - Anything but a Card

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

Garden Bouquet

I had a little break yesterday from making Christmas and Hallowe'en cards to make a birthday card for my Aunt. I started by inking a white piece of card with 'Old Paper' Distress Ink...then stamping a Hero Arts music background stamp in Old Paper over the top...I wiped some of the ink off before stamping to create a distressed effect. I then used the watercolour technique to stamp the Hero Arts 'Garden Bouquet' over the top in 'Dusty Concord' and 'Forest Moss' Distress Inks. I embossed the purple Core'dinations card using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' folder...then sanded over the dots a little. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Cupcakes' set (also by Hero Arts), the lace is from Hobbycraft, and the pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafts & Me - Lace & Pearls
• Critter - Embossing
• Daring Cardmakers - Don't Worry, Be Happy
• Gem of a Challenge - Flowers
• Lollipop Crafts - Happy Birthday
• Sketch Saturday - Sketch
• Stamptacular Sunday - No Rules

CAS Cut-out Christmas

More Christmas cards for you today...these ones were super quick to make...and make use of the 'negative' part of a die cut layered over some 'Swiss Dots' embossed and sanded Core'dinations card.

On the first card, I used the tree dies from the 'Reindeer' stamp and die set by Hero Arts & Sizzix, and a sentiment from the 'Celebrate Everyday' set by Hero Arts:

On the second card, I used my Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die and a sentiment from the 'Joy to the World' set by Penny Black. On both cards the white card on top is popped up on 3D foam pads...which I think you can just about tell in the photo below:

Challenges for these cards:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Dry Embossing
• Challenges for Everybody - Anything Goes
• Charisma Cardz - Clean & Simple
• Hiding in my Craftroom - Die Cuts
• J&C Creations - Contemporary Christmas

The Snowman

I have a Christmas card for you this afternoon...using a sweet Lili of the Valley 'Snowman' stamp...which I coloured using watercolour pencils, then added some Stickles glitter glue to the snow, and some Glossy Accents to the baubles. The papers are from the 'North Country' pad by Prima...I inked the edges using 'Stormy Sky' Distress Ink, then distressed them a little using my distressing tool, before adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen (which looks like it needs replacing...I can hardly see the stitches!). The sentiment stamp is from the 'Joy to the World' set by Penny Black.

Challenges for this card:

• CCEE Stampers - Wintry with a Snowman
• Fussy & Fancy - Anything Goes
• Lili's Little Fairies - Anything Goes 
• One Stop Craft - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stop Sketches - Sketch with a Spin (My card is inspired by 'The Snowman' by Raymond Briggs)

Spooked Cat

Another Hallowe'en card for you today...using yet another Penny Black image...this one's from the 'be very scared!' set. For the background I embossed Core'dinations card using a Tim Holtz/Sizzix spooky text folder, and Cuttlebug sweetie one...sanding over the surface to reveal the core.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafting for All Seasons - Spooky
• Crafty Catz - Hallowe'en
• Cutie Pie - Hallowe'en
• Forever Friends (Fortnightly) - Hallowe'en
• Shopping Our Stash - Trick OR Treat?

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Traditional Colours

This week at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long, we want to see the traditional Christmas colour combination of:

'Red & Green' 

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

Limited Runs Digital

(Not sure what the prize is at the time of writing, so I'll update this when I find out.)

I've used a cute snowman image from our sponsor Limited Runs Digital called 'Snowman #1' on my card...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. For the background, I embossed red & greed Core'dinations card using my Sizzix/BasicGrey 'Snowglobe' and Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' embossing folders...sanding lightly over the surface to reveal the core. The stripey ribbon is from Hobbycraft.

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

• CCEE Stampers - Christmas with a Snowman
• Totally Papercrafts - Christmas...9 Weeks and Counting!
• Totally Stampalicious - Christmas

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.

Hey Pumpkin!

Boo! Bet you didn't expect to be seeing me at this time of night? I've been busy working all day...and am only just finding the time now to write the post for this cute Hallowe'en card I made last weekend. The kitty and sentiment stamp is from the 'be very scared!' set by Penny Black. The pumpkin embossing folder is by Cuttlebug, and the spider's web one is by Sizzix/Tim Holtz.

Challenges for this card:

• Card Makin' Mamas - Spooky
• Dream Valley - Hallowe'en
• Fab 'n' Funky - Orange, Black & ? (I chose Green)
• Kaboodles Doodles - Pumpkin Patch
• Papercraft Star - Hallowe'en Pumpkin
• Papertake Weekly - Fright night
• Paper Playtime - Boo
• Simply Create - Pumpkins
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Spooky

I'll be back in the morning with my DT card for Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.