We Three Kings...

I have (yet) another Christmas card to share today...featuring a Penny Black stamp called 'We Three Kings'. I started by blending Distress Inks on to a piece of wet watercolour paper (Mowed Lawn, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Festive Berries & Chipped Sapphire), then once it had dried, I stamped the image stamp in Versamark and heat embossed it using 'Kettle Copper' embossing powder. I stamped the matching sentiment on to a piece of torn vellum in black Stazon,

Challenges for this card:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Inspired by a Christmas Song (We Three Kings)
• CAS on Sunday - Christmas
• Gem of a Challenge - Inspired by a Christmas Carol or Song (We Three Kings)
• Less is More - Numbers
• Simon Says Stamp - Christmas

Festive Friends

I have another simple Christmas card to share today...this one's a one layer card for this week's Less is More's 'Santa' theme. The image is 'Festive Friends' by Sugar Nellie, and the sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.

Challenges for this card:

• Cutie Pie - Simply Cute & Christmassy
• Less is More - One Layer Card - Santa
• Simon Says Stamp - Christmas
• Sugar Bowl Challenge - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Wrap Up Warm

 

Christmas Tree Cupcake

Another Christmas card today...using a stamp that I've had for absolutely ages, but can't remember using...called 'Christmas Tree Cupcake' by Indigo Blu. I simply coloured it using watercolour pencils, fussy cut it out, then popped it onto a card blank using 3D foam pads, adding a sentiment from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stamper's Anonymous. I added some sparkle to the star and the cherries/baubles...but you'll have to take my word for it as I couldn't manage to get it to show in any photos!

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Christmas Trees
• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything Goes
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - CAS with Food or Drink
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Red & Green
• Fab 'N Funky - CAS
• Jingle Belles - Food & Drink
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes

Pile It On! Challenge - Any Holiday

We have another fun Pile It On! Challenge starting today...and the theme is:

'Any Holiday'

Our sponsor this week is Doodle Pantry:

Prize - 3 Digital Images of the winner's choice!

I picked Christmas as my holiday...and made a white on white card using various dies to create a winter scene. I embossed the background using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' folder to look like falling snow, then built up the scene using my Memory Box 'Tree Silhouette', Lawn Fawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Border' (without the stitched edging), and Die'sire's 'Reindeer' dies. I added a stamped sentiment (from the Tim Holtz 'Scribbly Christmas' set for Stampers Anonymous) and a little red adhesive pearl to Rudolph's nose! 

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Any Holiday (Christmas)
• Alphabet Challenge - Tis the Season
• Come & Get It - Winter Holiday
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafting for All Seasons - Embossing
• Cut it Up - Inspired by a Book, Movie or Song (Winter Wonderland/& Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer)
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Embossing

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

Autumnal Notecard Set

I picked up a set of patterned blank cards by My Mind's Eye in TKMaxx a few weeks ago, and thought that they'd be perfect for making sets of notecards by adding a simple decoration. I used a range of Penny Black stamps and used my Nesties to cut circle shapes to stamp them on. There were ten different designs of card, and I used two different sizes of circle, with ten different images (two of each) to make a set of twenty cards. This is part of my birthday gift to my Nan...it's her 96th birthday tomorrow...and she likes to write notes to people, so I made sure that there were plenty in there! I made a simple box to put them in...I picked a piece of My Mind's Eye paper (from the 'Stella & Rose - Mabel' pad) in similar colours, and again used a Penny Black image to decorate.

Here are the cards all laid out...click the photo for a closer look:

Challenges for this set:

• Creative Insprations - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Birds/Animals
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - W is for...

We have another fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Samantha is the host and the theme is:

'Wild Thing'

Our sponsor for this challenge is our very own Lacey's Stamp & Create store:

Prize - 3 Wags 'N Whiskers digital stamps!

I picked a Penny Black reindeer stamp to use on my card called 'Deer in Skates'...pretty wild hey?! I used scraps of Prima papers (from the 'North Country' pad)...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 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz/Sizzix.

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

• Christmas Cards - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Christmas Critters
• Papertake Weekly - Christmas Criters
• Pixie's Snippet's Playground - Snippets
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Sketch #294

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

Burst into Bloom

I'm taking a break from Christmas cards today...and have a Birthday card to share. I used one of the Woodware 'Singles' stamps called 'Burst into Bloom'. I coloured it using watercolour pencils...then added some sparkle to the flowers using a Wink of Stella pen. I doodled a simple border, then added a sentiment (from the 'Cupckes' set by Hero Arts.

Challenges for this card:

• Corrosive - Add a Sentiment
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Dies/Punches

It's the first Saturday of the month...so that means it's time for a new Penny Black Saturday Challenge...and this month the theme is:

'Dies and/or Punches'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I picked a cute hedgie image from the 'Christmas Critters' set...coloured it using watercolour pencils, then carefully around it. I created a wintry scene for my hedgies to sledge in using a couple of tree dies from my Sizzix/Hero Arts 'Reindeer' set (the papers are My Mind's Eye 'Winter Wonderland' and 'Chevrons') and my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Borders'. The snowy sky is 'Falling Snow' by Simon Says Stamp and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Trees' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous. 

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

• Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Travel/Transport
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Winter
• Fab 'N Funky - Dies and/or Punches
• Penny Black & More - Anything Christmas
• Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes

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

Cute Christmas

More Christmas cards today...I'm replenishing my stock after my card box got raided during a visit to my parents' house last week! These ones are nice and simple (and flat for cheap postage!) and use images from the 'Jolly Friends' and 'Joy to the World' sets. I coloured them using watercolour pencils, then layered them on top of some card embossed using Sizzix folders. The sentiment stamps are from the 'Scribbly Christmas Trees' set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous

Here's a closer look at the two cards:

Challenges for these cards:

• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stamps - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Welcome Party

I have another Christmas card to share today...featuring an idea for using my Memory Box 'Grand Merry Christmas Script' die that  I *borrowed* from Bonnie. I used a cute Penny Black stamp from the 'Joy to the World' set, which I coloured using watercolour pencils...paper piecing their clothing from scraps of 'Winter Wonderland' papers (by My Mind's Eye).

Challenges for this card:

• Animal Friends - Hats, Scarves or Gloves
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Less is More - Paper Piecing
• Penny Black & More - Anything Christmas
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Snippets

Pile It On! Challenge - No Rectangles

We have another fun Pile It On! Challenge starting today...and the theme is:

'No Rectangles'

Our sponsor this week is Sweet Pea Stamps:

Prize - 4 digi images of the winner's choice!

I used my largest scalloped Nestie die to make a cute circle card...featuring a little Penny Black snowman from the 'Jolly Friends' set. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle to the snow using a Wink of Stella pen. For the background, I embossed the pink card using a Cuttlebug snowflake folder, then distressed the edges a little and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die, and the adhesive pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - No Rectangles
• 4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Pick a previous theme (I chose 'Snowman' from July 2015)
• ABC Challenge - U for Unlimited
• Allsorts - Christmas
• Card Mania - Use a Stamp or Digi
• Crafty Creations - Colourful
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T.- Shaped Cards
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Christmas
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Christmas/Winter
• Penny Black & More - Anything Christmas
• Ribbon Girls - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Dies and/or Punches
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Not a Square
• Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas

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

Happy Halloween!

I have one last Halloween treat bag to share today...this one is a teeny tiny one...the recipient is on a diet, so I only included tiny treats! The cute spider is from the 'Be Very Scared' set by Penny Black...I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added some googly eyes on top of his spectacles. The papers are from the 'Who-hooligans!' collection by Bo Bunny...I've had these papers for years, and these were the last few snippets...just the right size for a little treat bag...so I'll need to pick up some new ones for next year! I inked around the edges using 'Black Soot' Distress Ink, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Creative Knockouts - Halloween
• Little Red Wagon - Halloween Creatures
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Snippets

Snowy & Sparkly

I have a set of Christmas cards to share today...all made from a piece of inky blue, sparkly snowflake covered panel that I made. I started by stamping and heat embossing a Hero Arts Snowflakes' stamp on plain white card using Versamark Ink and white embossing powder. Then I blended several colours of Distress Ink over the top (Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon, Pine Needles & Cracked Pistachio), before spritzing with 'Baby's Breath' Shimmerz paint to make it nice and sparkly. I added a Lili of the Valley stamped sentiment...although I didn't manage to capture the sparkle in any of my photographs, so you'll just have to take my word for it!

For the first two cards, I followed the sketch over at Jingle Belles...cutting the curved panels using my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside Border' dies, and adding some die cut snowflakes (cut using a Memory Box die, then coated with sparkle using a Wink of Stella pen, with an adhesive pearl in the centre).

Challenges for these cards:

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Resist Embossing
• Clear It Out - Christmas Cards & Die Cuts
• Dream Valley - Blue
• Jingle Belles - Sketch
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Blue & White

For the second two cards, I followed this week's Less is More sketch, simply cutting a pennant shape.

Challenges for these cards:

• Crafty Friends - Your Favourite Colour
• Fab 'N Funky - Christmas
• Less is More - Sketch
• Time Out - Christmas

Cat in the Hat

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...using another Penny Black image (from the 'Spooky' set). The papers are from the 'Spider's Web' collection by My Mind's Eye...I inked the edges using 'Black Soot' Distress Ink, then used my distressing tool before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug. The cobweb was cut using a Memory Box die.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Come & Get It - Use Orange
• Gem of a Challenge - Too Cute to Spook
• Inky Chicks - Halloween
• Inky Impressions - Halloween
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Halloween
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - V is for...

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

'V is for Very Cute'

Our sponsor this time is Zlatoena's Designs:

Prize - 2 images of the winner's choice!

I have sooooo many cute Christmas stamps...so it was difficult to decide which to choose for my card...in the end I settled for one by Lili of the Valley called 'Snowman - Top Hat', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Bundled Up' pad by Crate Paper...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The sentiment was cut from one of the other papers in the pad, and the adhesive pearls are from Hobbycraft.

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

• As You Like It - Brights or Pastels (Brights for me...they're just so happy!)
• Christmas Cards - Anything Goes
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Any Holiday (Christmas)
• Holly Jolly Christmas - Snowmen
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas
• Simply Create Too - Baby It's Cold Outside
• Sparkles Forum Christmas - Distress It
• Whimsy Inspires - Fall Colours or Christmas

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

PS - we also have a DT call going on at the moment...so don't forget to check that out too!

Purple & Green...but Not Halloween!

I have an inky kind of card to share today...using one of my favourite flowery stamps 'Agapanthus Clusters' by Stampendous. I inked it up using Distress Inks (Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord, Wilted Violet & Forest Moss), then stamped it on to dampened card a couple of times. Once the card had dried, I went back and stamped over the top to give a crisper image. I inked around the edges using 'Old Paper' Distress Ink, then distressed the edges slightly. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, and the adhesive pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes (Twist of Birthdays)
• Aud Sentiments - Birthday Sentiment
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Stamp
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Shopping Our Stash - Go Paperless
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Throwback (I picked the 'For the Love of Plants' challenge from June 2015)
• Without Words - Purple & Green (No Halloween)

Witchy Mouse

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...using another of the cute images from the 'Be very scared!' set by Penny Black. I combined it with some spotty paper is from the 'Breeze' pad by My Mind's Eye and some Core'dinations 'Black Magic' card, that I'd embossed using a Cuttlebug Pumpkin folder, then sanded to reveal the orange core. I inked all of the edges using 'Black Soot' Distress Ink, then distressed the edges a little before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and  black gel pen.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Halloween
• Allsorts - Purple, Orange & Black
• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Halloween
• Crafter's Cafe - Purple, Orange & Black and/or Ghosts
• Crafty Catz - Monsters (Spooky or Cute)
• Fantasy Stampers - Animal Antics
• Fussy & Fancy - Orange, Black & Purple
• Gem of a Challenge - Too Cute to Spook
• Moving Along with the Times - Halloween
• That's Crafty - Haunted Halloween
• The Stamping Boutique - Halloween

Christmas Tags

I have a set of simple Christmas tags to share today...using a set of stamps from Papermania. I simply stamped them on to kraft tags using black ink, then added some highlights using a white gel pen, and a Wink of Stella pen. Then I replaced the string on the tags with some red and white baker's twine. These were really quick and simple to make...there are twenty in total.

Challenges for these tags:

• Allsorts - All Sentimental
• Christmas Stampin' - Set of Tags
• Inky Impressions - Tags
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Wrap It up

Count Catular

I have another Halloween treat bag to share today...using another Penny Black image...this one's from the 'Be Very Scared' set. The papers are a mixture of  'Whoo-ligans' by Bo Bunny and 'Boo to You!' by My Mind's Eye...I inked all of the edges using 'Black Soot' Distress Ink. I lightly distressed them, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. I added a few bats cut using a Memory Box die.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• Corrosive - The Dark Side
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting for All Seasons - Bags &Boxes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Monster Mash
• The Male Room - Halloween

Pile It On! Challenge - Fabric, Lace or Ribbon

We have a new Pile It On! Challenge starting today...and the theme is:

'Fabric, Lace or Ribbon'

We are sponsored for this challenge by My Besties:

Prize - 3 Images from the October Prize Pack!

I picked ribbon to use on my card, and paired it with a cute Lili of the Valley image (called 'Penguin Presents'), which I coloured using watercolour pencils, and some My Mind's Eye papers (from the 'Now & Then' pad). I distressed the edges of the papers, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The snowflake was cut using a Memory Box die ('New Castle Snowflake'), and is held in place using an American Crafts glitter brad. The spotty ribbon is also by American Crafts, and the adhesive pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Fabric, Lace or Ribbon
• 4 Crafty Chicks - Pearls
• As You Like It - Monochrome or Colour (Colour for me...pastels, brights...I love them all!)
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
• Crafty Ribbons - Christmas Dies
• Creative Card Crew - Ribbon
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes with Spots and/or Stripes
• Fab & Funky - Make It Square
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Favourite Cutting Tool (My Cuttlebug!)
• Love to Scrap - Ribbon or Lace
• Sparkles Forum - Pearls and/or Lace
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Dies & Punches

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

PS - if you like making Christmas cards, you may be interested in the DT Call that's just started over at the ABC Christmas Challenge.