ABC Christmas Challenge - A & B are for?

It's the second Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...and today, we are starting our SEVENTEENTH(!!!) trip through the alphabet! I'm the host, and the themes are:

'A is for Anything Christmas Goes

&

'B is for Buildings'

The prize for the lucky winner is this stamp set & paper pad:

For my ' A is for Anything Christmas Goes' card, I used a lovely Personal Impressions stamp of a wintry village scene that I got for Christmas. I stamped it, and a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, onto a snippet of kraft card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using white embossing powder. I distressed the edges a little, then added it to a kraft card blank.

For my 'B is for Bright' card, I picked a cute Penny Black image called 'Bedecked Antlers' and stamped it onto a snippet of watercolour paper. I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then added a sentimentusing a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous. I paired it with papers from a Craft Sensations pad called (rather appropriately) 'Merry & Bright'...distressing the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I matted all of the layers onto bright green card, then added it to a white card blank.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Cardz for Guys - Christmas Critters (Second card only)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - A & B (Second card only - A for Antlers & B is for Bright Colours)
• Creative Knockouts - Celebrations (Second card only)
• Fab 'N' Funky - Winter Wonderland (First card only)
• Peace On Earth - Anything Christmas Goes (Second card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays)  - Something New (First card only - new stamp)
• Sweet Stampin' - New (First card only - new stamp)
• We Love Stamping - Something New (First card only - new stamp)

For more inspiration, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - Y & Z are for?

We have a fun new ABC Christmas Challenge starting today...Helene is the host, and the themes are:

'Y is for Yummy'

&

'Z is for Zebra'

(Stripes and/or Black & White)

The prize for the lucky winner is these Chocolate Baroque and Woodware stamps:

For my 'Y is for Yummy' card, I used a Christmas Pudding stamp from Personal Impressions, stamping it onto a snippet of watercolour paper, along with a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used snippets of pudding-covered paper from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad by Craftwork Cards, trimming them into squares. I distressed all of the edges, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, then matted the pudding image onto a snippet of kraft card, then the paper squares onto some pink card before adding it to a kraft card blank.

For my 'Z is for Zebra' card, I went with the 'Stripes' option, choosing a piece of silver stripey paper from the 'Silent Night' pad by First Edition for my background, and matted it onto some silver mirror card. I took one of the 'plainish' pieces of paper from the same pad, and stamped the largest snowflake from a Stampendous set called 'Delicate Snowflakes' onto it using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using metallic silver embossing powder from WOW. Using the matching die, I cut out the snowflake, then added it onto the stripey background using some 3D foam pads.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• Addicted to CAS - Metallic (Second card only)
• Allsorts - Anything Goes (First card only)
• CAS on Friday - (Second card only)
• Christmas Kickstart - Anything Christmassy (First card only)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Creative Inspirations - 'Tis the Season (First card only)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (First card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Use Dies (Second card only)

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

Mugs of Joy

I have a set of Christmas cards to share today, made using a new Penny Black stamp set called 'Mugs of Joy' that I got for my birthday recently. I stamped each of the four mugs on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. For the background, I used a piece of watercolour effect paper from the 'Pastel Watercolours' pad from The Works...it's a 12x12 sheet, but had four separate squares on the sheet each with slightly different colours. I heat embossed snowflakes in white, using stamps from the 'Snowflakes' set by Personal Impressions, and 'Wintertime Messages' set by Hero Arts on to each square. I distressed all of the edges, then matted the images and backgrounds on to coordinating pastel card, before adding a sentiment to each using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

Challenges for these cards:

• Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Stamped
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Goes

Guest Designer - 52 Christmas Card Throwdown

Today I'm excited to be sharing a Guest Designer card for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. The theme of their challenge thi week is:

I don't all that mant suitable images in my (vast) collection of Christmas stamps, and as I'd just uploaded a candy cane card when I was invited to Guest Deisgn for this challenge, I picked a 'Christmas Pudding' stamp by Personal Impressions to use. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, then coloured the pudding using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad by Craftwork Cards...distressing the edges a little, then adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

For more inspiration from the fabulous design team, please pop over to the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - thanks for inviting me!

ABC Christmas Challenge - E, F & G are for?

It's the second Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge! Carol is the host, and the themes are:

'E is for Elves'

'F is for Food'

&

'G is for Gold'

Here's the prize on offer for the lucky winner:

For my 'Elf' card, I used a Penny Black stamp called 'Bauble Balance', which I stamped on to watercolour paper, along with the sentiment that came in the set, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added some sparkle to the baubles using a Wink of Stella pen, then distressed the edges and added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, before adding the panel to a kraft card blank.

For my 'Food' card, I picked a Christmas pudding stamp from Personal Impressions, stamping it directly on to a kraft card blank, and colouring it using watercolour pencils. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.

On my 'Gold' card, I used an old Papermania stamp called 'Bauble Decoration', stamping it on to cream card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossing it using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. The sentiment is part of the stamp, so nothing else needed - perfect for quick cards. I matted the panel on to some gold mirror card, then added it to a cream DL card blank.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Christmas with the Cuties - Something with a Sentiment (First card only)
• Happy Little Stampers (Christmas) - Anything Christmas Goes
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Emboss It (Third card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Slimline Cards (Third card only)
• The Holly & the Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

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

Pink Christmas

I have another Christmas card to share today...again featuring a charity shop find...a set of clear 'Snowflakes' stamps by Personal Impressions. I stamped the snowflakes in Versamark Ink on to a piece of pink watercolour effect paper (from the 'Watercolour Feelings' pad from The Works), using my stamping platform so that I could simply rotate the paper 180° and reproduce the design, then heat embossed them in white. I then stamped the sentiment (from the 'Festive Phrases' set) in the centre, again heat embossing it in white. I distressed the edges a little, then added the panel to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Craft Creations - Pink
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Emboss It
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Stamped

Owl & Butterfly

Today's card features some charity shop finds...a Personal Impressions stamp set called 'Owl & Butterfly' and a Stamps by Chloe paper pad called (I think) 'Swirls & Foil', that I thought matched fairly well. I stamped the butterlies on to a snippet of pink-ish paper from a Craft Sensations pad using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed them using WOW 'Metallic Silver' embossing powder. I then stamped the swirl from the set around the edges, again embossing in silver. I ditressed the edges a little, then matted the layers on to silver mirror card.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Corrosive - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Cute and/or Pastel Colours
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - Y & Z are for?

It's the first Wednesday of a new month, so that means it's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge! I'm the host, and the themes are:

'Y is for Yummy'

(show us some food)

&

'Z is for Zigzags'

Here's the prize on offer for the lucky winner:

For my 'Y is for Yummy' card, I went with lots of Christmas puddings! The main image is a Personal Impressions stamp, which I stamped on to watercolour paper, along with a sentiment from the Woodware 'Foxy Christmas' set, then coloured using watercolour pencils. I paired it with some paper from the 'Peppermint Forest' pad by Craftwork Cards, distressing the edges a little and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

On my 'Z is for Zigzags' card, I used the fox from the 'Foxy Christmas' Woodware Stamps set...stamping him on to watercolour paper, and colouring him using watercolour pencils. I found a sparkly sheet of zigzag paper in a pad by Recollections/Michaels (found at TKMaxx) called 'Simply Stated'. I distressed the edges a little, then matted everything on to some red card.

I'm also entering these cards into the following challenges:

• Allsorts - Hand Stamped or Digital Image
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes
• My Time to Craft - Stitching (First card only)
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Sparkle Mode (Second card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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

Christmas Pudding!

I have a Christmas card to share today...using a 'new to me' stamp that I received for Christmas. It's by Personal Impressions...and although it doesn't have a name on it, I think we'll call it 'Christmas Pudding'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I found a piece of pudding covered paper in my Craftwork Cards 'Peppermint Forest' pad, so used that as a simple background. I added a sentiment (from the 'Scribbly Trees' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous), then distressed the edges a little, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Something New (New Stamp)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Something New (New Stamp)

Boo Boo Bear

Today's card is another quick and simple one layer number...this time I've used a Whipper Snapper stamp called 'Boo Boo Bear' and a sentiment by Personal Impressions.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Get Well Soon
• Crafty Calendar - Bears
• Creative Inspirations - CAS
• Kaboodles Doodles - ANything but Square
• Less is More - One Layer Card & Get Well Soon

PS - I have candy on offer at the moment...click the photo to find out more:

Little Boxes

Happy New Year everyone...and what better way to start the New Year, than with a Christmas card?! I've used another new stamp...'Presents' background stamp by Personal Impressions...but as it took so long to colour, I thought I'd make it the main feature! The sentiment stamp is from the 'Holly-Jolly' set by Penny Black.

I stamped the image a second time, and cut out and popped up on 3D foam some of the presents in the foreground:

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Goes 
• Crafty Sentiments - New (New stamp)
• Little Red Wagon - Boxing Day (Feature a Box) 
• Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
• Totally Gorjuss - New! (The stamp is new)

Boo Boo Bear

Whilst tidying my messy stamped image box at the weekend...I came across 'Boo Boo Bear' (by Whipper Snapper)...and thought he was too sweet to leave uncoloured...I don't know anyone in need  of a 'Get Well' card at the moment...and not that I want to wish an illness upon anyone, it's always good to have one in your stash just in case! For the background, I embossed Core'dinations card using my Cuttlebug 'Kassie's Brocade', 'Perfect Paisley' and 'Victoria' folders...sanding over the surface to reveal the core. I distressed the edges a little, and cut some matching flowers using my 'Tattered Florals' die...embossing them using my 'D'Vine Swirls' folder. The sentiment stamp is by Personal Impressions, and the brads are BasicGrey.

Challenges for this card:

• Card Positioning Systems - Sketch
• Challenge Up Your Life - Get Well Soon
• Moving Along with the Times - Lots of Layers
• Raise the Bar - Purple Green & ? (I chose blue)

Cats like Felix...

The stamp I've used on this card is another of my Mum's charity shop finds...it's by Personal Impressions, but doesn't seem to have a name. I'm ashamed to say that I've had it for almost a year, but this is the first time it's seen any ink, but I thought it would be perfect for this week's Less is More Challenge of 'In the Frame' on a one layer card. I added a small Penny Black sentiment in the frame (from the 'Christmas Critters' set), and coloured it all with watercolour pencils,

Challenges for this card:

• Card Makin' Mamas - With or For a Child (Mine is for a child)
• Christmas Stampin' - For a Child
• Less is More - One Layer Card & In the Frame

Boo Boo Bear

I've used another of my new Whipper Snapper stamps ('Boo Boo Bear') on this card...it's a 'Get Well' card...I haven't made it for anyone in particular...but Boo Boo's so cute...I just had to use him! lol
I followed this week's Papertake Weekly Challenge sketch, and have added a spot of faux-stitching, so am also entering this for the Creative Inspirations Challenge. The paper is by K&Co ('Classic K - Margo'), and I embossed the green card using the Cuttlebug 'Spots & Dots' and one of the 'Just my Type' (the 'stitching' effect one) border folders. The sentiment stamp is by Personal Impressions.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 37

The theme for this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge is 'Get Well Soon', and I'm sure that at this time of year, we probably all know someone who's feeling a little under the weather. Stealing an idea from a couple of my favourite bloggers, Jo and Tara, I've used a Christmas stamp ('Xmouse Ornament!') for my image, masking off the snowflake before I stamped it, then adding a couple of Prima flowers in it's place. The paper is by Sandylion, the sentiment stamp is by Personal Impressions, and the lace is from Hobbycraft. I ran the blue panel through the Cuttlebug, with the 'Perfect Paisley' folder, then rubbed over the surface with my Versamark pad to highlight the detail, and then added a few adhesive pearls to the corners to finish it off.

4 Challenges in 1!

I've managed to combine 4 challenges in this card - a new record for me! I've used Murmur's fab sketch for Friday Sketchers for the layout, Secret Crafter's 'Cute as a button' and Cupcake Craft 'Spots & Dots' themes, and it also fits the bill of 'A card for a Child' for the Spoon Full of Sugar challenge this week, as I've made this to send to Cathy's little girl, Ellie, who is having her tonsils out later this month. I've used a Rachelle Ann Miller image, spotty paper by Papermania ('Sweet Nothings'), cute brads by Around the Block ('Simply Said', that I won on a Cupcake Craft Challenge), Prima flowers, A sentiment stamp by Personal Impressions, a couple of buttons from my stash, and a selection of pastel cardstock, all embossed with my 'Swiss Dots' folder.