Tuesday 29 November 2016

Aiming to Please!

I have another Christmas card to share today...featuring a cute Penny Black teddy stamp called 'Aiming to Please!'. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle to the snowy ground with Stickles. 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 black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.


Challenges for this card:

Sunday 27 November 2016

Pile It On! Challenge - Two Patterns or Patterned Papers

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

'Use Two Patterns or Patterned Papers'

Our sponsor this month is Sami Stamps:
Prize - 3 Digi Stamps of the Winner's Choice!

In a bid to try and reduce my paper stash, I picked a couple of co-ordinating snippets of patterned papers to use on my card. The stripey one is from the 'Yours Truly' pad by Pebbles Inc, and the snowflake one is from the 'Bundled Up' pad by Crate Paper. I used them along the edges of my card blank, then added my image and sentiment on a panel over the top popped up on 3D foam pads. The image is 'Ice Dance' dog by Penny Black, and is coloured using watercolour pencils. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley, and I used one of my Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside' border dies to cut the curved edge.


Here are the challenges I've piled on:


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

Wednesday 23 November 2016

ABC Christmas Challenge - X is for...

It's time for another fun ABC Christmas Challenge...this time Lisa is the host, and the theme is:

'X is for Criss-Cross'
Simply make an 'X' shape somehow on your project

Our sponsor for this challenge is Fred She Said:
Photobucket
Prize - $10 Gift Certificate!

I went for a patterned paper from a freebie set by Raspberry Road that has a 'criss-cross' checked pattern...and used it to paper piece 'Snowy' by Penny Black. I stamped him directly on to my card blank, then coloured him lightly using watercolour pencils. The sentiment is from the 'Very Merry Christmas' set by Hero Arts.


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


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

Monday 21 November 2016

Scribbly Christmas...Again!

You may have seen this rather purple card that I posted a couple of weeks ago...in which case I apologise for copying my own card...but this time in shades to turquoise and teal...my favourite colours! I used exactly the same technique...heat embossing using sparkly silver powder on a snippet of watercolour paper 'smooshed' with Distress Ink (Peacock Feather, Mermaid Lagoon, Broken China & Cracked Pistachio). The tree and sentiment stamps are from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz and the embossing powder is 'Metallic Silver Sparkle' by WOW. I also inked around the edge of the image with some Versamark Ink, and heat embossed that too, before matting it on to a snippet of silver mirror card.


Sparkly cards are always so difficult to photograph...but here's a photo that manages to capture a little of the sparkle:


Challenges for this card:

Saturday 19 November 2016

PBSC November - Anything but a Card...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 but a Card'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:
Prize - a $20 voucher!

This time, I've made a set of dog themed fridge magnets using 'Contented' and a couple of puppies from the 'Man's Best Friend' set. The fridge magnets came in a set of three from Ikea...and measure 3 inches square...perfect for lots of Penny Black's cute animals! I simply stamped the dogs onto plain white card, coloured them using watercolour pencils, then added a doodled border. Here they are on my fridge:


I'm also entering these fridge magnets into the following challenges:


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

Thursday 17 November 2016

Glittering Gifts

Today's card features a critter from the 'Joy to the World' set by Penny Black, coloured using watercolour pencils. I gave the parcel he's holding a generous coating of glitter...then matted him on to some red glitter card. For the background, I added a snippet of glittery paper (from the 'Special Delivery' pad by Helz Cuppleditch)...I used a Lawn Fawn 'Stitched Hillside' border die to cut the curve along the bottom. The sentiment stamp is from a set by Lili of the Valley.


Challenges for this card:


Tuesday 15 November 2016

Literally Giant!

I have a simple little one layer card for this week's 'Books/Literature' challenge over at Less is More to share today. I didn't think I had any suitable stamps, but then remembered this adorable Penny Black stamp called 'Literally Giant!' featuring some cute wee mice writing what will no doubt be a best seller! I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then added some inky footprints to the pages.


Challenges for this card:

Sunday 13 November 2016

Pile It On! Challenge - Thankful/Thank You

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

'Thankful/Thank You'

Our sponsor this month is Sami Stamps:
Prize - 3 Digi Stamps of the Winner's Choice!

I used some Tim Holtz butterfly dies ('Detailed Butterflies') to make a simple thank you card. I cut the plain butterfly shape from a snippet of watercolour paper coloured with Autumnal colours of 'smooshed' Distress Inks (Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade & Fired Brick) then gave it a coating of sparkle using a Wink of Stella pen. I cut the more detailed butterfly from a snippet of kraft card, then layered it over the top. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Handwritten Borders' set by Simon Says Stamp.


Here are the challenges I've piled on:
This was so quick and easy to make, that I made another in a different colourway using more snippets:


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

Thursday 10 November 2016

Christmas Wreath

I have another Christmas card to share today...featuring a lovely new (to me) die set by Tim Holtz called 'Holiday Greens, Mini' that I picked up as part of a prize I won at That's Crafty a couple of weeks ago. I cut an assortment of 'greenery' from watercolour paper covered with 'smooshed' Distress Inks in various shades of green, then assembled them into a wreath shape, adding a few adhesive pearls and a little gingham ribbon bow. I attached it to my card using 3D foam pads, just adding a simple stamped sentiment (from the 'Merriest Wishes' set by Hero Arts).


Challenges for this card:


Wednesday 9 November 2016

ABC Christmas Challenge - W is for...

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

'W is for Wishes'
(Include the word 'wish/wishes' on your project)

Our sponsor for this challenge is Wild Rose Studio:

The prize is this fab die:
I picked a 'Christmas Wishes' sentiment from a Pollycraft set for C. C. Designs...and paired it with a cute Lili of Valley James the Bear stamp called 'Present Pile'. I stamped him using Versafine 'Smokey Gray' (or rather 'Smoky Grey' in English English!) ink for a softer almost pencil effect. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, the distressed the edge a little. I covered a panel of plain card with strips of snowflake covered washi tape for the background, then layered it all up.


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


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

Monday 7 November 2016

Scribbly Christmas

I have a Christmas card inspired by Less is More's 'Purple & Gold' colour combination to share today. I had some scraps of smooshed ink watercolour paper...including this purple one made using Dusty Concord, Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch & Seedless Preserves Distress Inks. I stamped one of the trees from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous in Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using WOW 'Metallic Gold Sparkle' powder. I inked around the edge of the panel using Versamark Ink, then added more of the embossing powder, before matting it on to a snippet of gold mirror card. I decided to go for a matching purple card base...and heat embossed a sentiment from the same stamp set in matching gold sparkly powder.


It's always really difficult to photograph shiny/sparkly cards...but you can see the glittery embossing a bit better in the photo below:


Challenges for this card:

Saturday 5 November 2016

PBSC November - Anything but a Card!

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

'Anything but a Card'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:
Prize - a $20 voucher!

I made a set of Christmas gift tags using an assortment of Penny Black critters...there's a mixture of creatures from various transparent stamp sets, and a few wood-mounted stamps too. I kept the design really simple...stamping and heat embossing my Simon Says Stamp 'Falling Snow' background stamp on some plain kraft tags in WOW 'Sparkling Snow' embossing powder. Then added the watercoloured critters at the bottom...I extended or added a snowy ground to each, then fussy cut them out...and added some festive red & white Baker's twine to each one. 


Here's a closer look at them all:






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


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

Thursday 3 November 2016

Watercolour Flowers

Today's card features my favourite colour...teal/turquoise blue...or rather 'Peacock Feathers' Distress Ink...with just a hint of 'Mermaid Lagoon'. I started by stamping flowers from the 'Spring Flowers' set by Honey Doo Crafts in Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them in white. I started with the larger flowers...then masked them before adding the slightly smaller ones in between to create a ring. I then added the sentiment (from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts) in the centre..also heat embossing it so that I could watercolour over the top without risking it smudging. I gave a light wash of the 'Peacock Feather' over the whole card, then used it to colour the flowers...adding a little'Mermaid Lagoon' to their centres. Before mounting th panel on to my card, I inked around the edges with a little more 'Pracock Feathers' for more definition.


This card is for my Nan's birthday later this month...I stamped some simple gift wrap so that her present would match:


Challenges for this card:

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Butterfly Birthday

This card is in the same style as these Christmas cards that I shared last week...in fact I made them at the same time...but chose to use a butterfly die (from a set by Stampendous) rather than a Christmas one to go over the 'smooshed' inky background. The Distress Ink colours used on this card were: Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch & Seedless Preserves. I popped the die cut panel up on 3D foam pads over the inky background, and added a sentiment (from the 'Handwritten Borders' set from Simon Says Stamp)...I only inked the sentiment part of the stamp.


Just like the Christmas cards, I was able to get two cards out of the inky background:


Challenges for these cards: