PBSC August - Anything Goes (Optional 'Flowers')

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

'Anything Goes'

or

'Flowers'

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used a stamp that I picked up in a charity shop earlier this week called 'Pansy Bunny'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then used one of my Nesties to cut the circle shape. For the background, I used some floral papers from a Violet Studio pad...distressing the edges, and adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen, before matting on to kraft card. Inspired by the cards of my lovely DT buddy Lorraine, I added a die cut picket fence (cut using a Die-namics die), and a few paper flowers held in place using BasicGrey brads.

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

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Four-legged Friends
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

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

Bunny Friends Birthday

I have a birthday card to share today...featuring my Penny Black 'Bunny Friends' stamp, which I used recently on an Easter treat bag...but as I only used a couple of the bunnies on that, I wanted to ink it all up this time. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils...adding a sentiment from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts. I paired it with papers from the 'Bright Freshness' pad by Craft Sensations...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The paper flowers have been in my stash for years...so long in fact that the store I bought them from (Poppicrafts) has been closed for at least a decade!

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Real Animals
• Everybody Art - Chickens/Ducks/Bunnies
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Happy Birthday
• Stamping Sensations - I love... (Penny Black critters, pretty papers & faux stitching)
• We Love Stamping - Stamp of the Moment (this is an 'oldie but a goodie', and it always comes out at this time of year...I've used it twice in the last week!

Easter Hares

I have an Easter card to share today, featuring a Happy Hoppers stamp called 'Easter Hares'...stamped on to watercolour paper and coloured using watercolour pencils. I paired it with snippets of papers from the 'Pretty Please' pad by My Mind's Eye...distressing all the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I added a couple of really old Poppicrafts paper flowers, held in place with a BasicGrey brad, and a sentiment from the 'Egg-cellent Easter Sentiments' set by C. C. Designs.

Challenges for this card:

• Always Fun - Spring
• Animal Friends - Rabbits
• Creative Knockouts - Spring is in the Air
• Cute Card Thursday - Spring Fever
• Cutie Pie - Bunnies & Blooms
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Spring is on it's Way
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Two or More Patterned Papers
• Sweet Stampers - Easter or Spring

James Butterflies

Today's card features an old Lili of the Valley bear image called 'James - Butterflies'. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I layered up some papers from the 'Spring Freshness' pad by Craft Sensations to make the background...distressing the edges a little, then adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I added a couple of paper flowers (from Poppicrafts many, many years ago!), layered up and held in place using a BasicGrey brad, and a die cut fence, cut using my Die-namics 'Picket Fence' die.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Summer Colours
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

James - Butterflies

I recently spent a happy afternoon having a good sort through all of my stamps, re-discovering some old favourites, and even managing to find some that I was prepared to part with...they all got donated to the Big C charity, who have a couple of warehouse type shops in Norfolk that sell craft supplies (among a few other things). I always love having a rummage through all of the baskets of goodies...particularly the stamps...when I'm visiting my parents. I love it as you never know what you might find...last time I visited, I had really good luck, and found eight lovely stamps to bring home, including a couple of fab woodmounted Penny Blacks ('Everest Next?' and 'Jonquil'...that one will appear on my blog next Saturday), for the grand total of £1.50 - all of their woodmounted stamps are 'buy one get one free'! Chances are if you seen me mention any of the stamps I've used on my cards as 'charity shop finds', that's where I got them. 

Anyway, today's card features one of the stamps I 're-discovered' in my stash, an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'James - Butterflies'. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I paired him with papers from a pad that I found at one of the Big C shops...'Addison' by K&Co. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are also very old...from Poppicrafts, and held in place using a BasicGrey brad.

Challenges for this card:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• Cards Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Patterned Papers

Guest Designer - Pixie's Snippets Playground

I was thrilled to be asked by the lovely Di to guest design for Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge this week! I have a mountain of snippets...which despite my best efforts, seems to get bigger the more I craft...so this is one of my favourite challenges to play along with!

For my project, I decorated an Easter treat bag and used lots of snippets from my 'Now & Then' paper pad by My Mind's Eye. I used some of those long thin snippets you get when you cut a full sheet down to make a background, and a really teeny tiny snippet for some paper piecing. I distressed all of the edges of the papers, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The image is 'Spring Chick' by Penny Black...I coloured it using watercolour pencils, then paper pieced the egg shell...adding a little shading with a pencil. The sentiment is from the 'Egg-cellent Easter Sentiments' set by Amy R/C. C. Designs...I stamped & matted that on snippets too. I added a mixture of co-ordinating paper flowers (by Prima, papermania & Poppicrafts), held in place with BasicGrey brads.

I'm also entering this treat bag into the following challenges:

• Alphabet Challenge - B is for Bunnies
• Animal Friends - Sping/Easter
• Come & Get It - In the Garden
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes (Add Flowers)
• Little Red Wagon - Egg-cellent
• Penny Black & More - Spring

For more snippets inspiration...pop over to Di's blog where she'll be sharing her picks from the last Pixie's Snippets Playground challenge.

PBSC February - Try Something New

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:

'Try Something New'
(Try a new technique...or maybe use some new craft supplies)

As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch:

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used some papers from a new pad...I got them for Christmas, but while I'm happy to ink up new stamps right away...I struggle to make that first cut into a new paper pad! The pad is from The Works..and is simply called 'Pretty Pastels':

I paired the papers with 'Bun Bun'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the brad is by BasicGrey.

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

• Creative Knockouts - Birthday Wishes
• Heartful Stamping - Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper - Birthdays
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Pets Corner

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

Pile It On! Challenge - Die Cut Embellishments

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

'Die Cut Embellishments'

Our sponsor this month is Dr Digi's House of Stamps:

Prize - 2 digis of the winner's choice!

The image on my card is a Whipper Snapper stamp called 'Honey Bunny'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Happy Day' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I used a lovely new die from a JustRite set called 'Stitched Ovals & Vines' that my lovely bloggy buddy Samantha sent to me for my birthday last week for my die cut embellishments...cutting the swirls from snippets of card, and adding them underneath a couple of flowers (from the long since closed Poppicrafts) all held in place using a BasicGrey brad. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Die Cut Embellishments
• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional Birthdays)
• Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Crazy Challenge - Birthday Card
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Sparkles Forum - Lots of Layers
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Boo Boo Bear

My Nan fell and cracked her hip a few days ago, so I made her a card to cheer her up whilst she's in hospital recovering. The image is 'Boo Boo Bear' by Whipper Snapper, and is coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Bloom' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are from (the long since gone) Poppicrafts, and are held in place using a BasicGrey brad. The sentiment is from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual, and the pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes (Twist of Flowers)
• Bunny Zoe's - Lovely Layers
• Card Mania - Flowers
• Crafty Cardmakers - Stitching
• Gem of a Challenge - Flowers
• Incy Wincy - Touchy Feely (Add Texture)
• Little Red Wagon - Blooming Fun

Throwing Daisy Petals

I have something a little bit more fussy for you today...this card uses a cute House Mouse image (called 'Throwing Daisy Petals') and papers from the My Mind's Eye 'Indie Chic - Nutmeg' pad. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, and distressed all of the edges a little before adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual, and the flowers are a mixture of Prima and Poppicrafts...held in place using a BasicGrey brad.

Challenges for this card:

• Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
• Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Floral/Anything Birthday
• Shopping our Stash - April Fool (Hidden element or use a faux technique  - I used faux stitching)
• Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

PBSC April - Showers

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:

'Showers'

(Think rain, umbrellas, wellies or wedding or baby showers)

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I went for a shower of flowers...and used 'Rainin' Daisies' on my card. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, and combined it with papers from the 'Indie Chic - Saffron' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed the edges of the papers a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Prima and Poppicrafts, the brads are BasicGrey and the sentiment stmap is from the 'Cupcakes' set by Hero Arts.

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

• Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes
• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes using the Optional Sketch
• Moving Along with the Times - Girly
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• That's Crafty - Bold & Beautiful

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

Dream a Dream

This is the Mother's Day card that I made for my Mum...it's safe to blog it now! I used a Penny Black image called 'Dream a Dream' which I coloured using watercolour pencils, and papers from the 'Indie Chic - Nutmeg' pad by My Mind's Eye. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CuterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Sentiments' set by Hero Arts, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, the brad is BasicGrey and the adhesive pearls are from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Feminine 
• Card Mania - Polkadots and/or Stripes
• Crafty Calendar - Mother's Day
• Cute Card Thursday - Mother's Day
• Dream Valley - Mother's Day
• Fantasy Stampers - Mum
• Penny Black & More - Feature a Creature

I have candy on offer at the moment...you can find it here.

PBSC March - Easter

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:

'Easter'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

1-2-3 Stitch!:

Prize - a $20 voucher

I decorated an Easter treat bag, and used 'Spring Chick' coloured using watercolour pencils together with some papers from the 'Party Girl' pad by American Crafts. I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are really old...they're from Poppicrafts and are held in place using a BasicGrey brad. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Egg-cellent Easter Sentiments' set by Amy-R/C C Designs.

I'm also entering this gift bag into the following challenges:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - Easter
• ABC Challenge - C is for Cute
• Animal Friends - Easter
• Aud Sentiments - Easter or Spring
• Crafty Catz - Use Three Different Papers
• Crafty Sentiments - Spring
• Creative Corner - Bunnies Everywhere
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Feathers or Fur
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Think Spring
• Time Out - Easter or Spring

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, and our wonderful guest designer Stephanie, please pop over to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Oh...and I have some candy on offer at the moment...you can find it here.

James & Butterflies

Today's card features a cute Lili of the Valley stamp called 'James - Butterflies', which I coloured using watercolour pencils. The papers are from the 'Indie Chic (Nutmeg)' pad by My Minds Eye...I embossed the plain papers using my Craft Concepts 'Butterflies' and Darice 'Quilt' embossing folders...then sanded over the top to reveal the white core. I distressed all of the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Papermania, Poppicrafts & Prima, and are held in place using a BasicGrey brad. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Big Messages' set by Paula Pascual.

Challenges for this card:

• Cute Card Thursday - Florals
• Little Red Wagon - Furry Friends
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Furry Friends
• Whimsy Inspires - Anything Goes

***Edited to add...once I hit publish I noticed that this is my 2222nd published blog post - cool or what?! I meant to have some candy on offer to celebrate my blog's 7th birthday back in September, but missed that (oops!), so have been waiting for another milestone to celebrate...I think that this qualifies, so I shall get a little something sorted out this weekend.***

Upcycled Gift Bag

I have an 'upcycled' gift bag to share today...it's from L'Occitane...I think it must be one of their Christmas gift bags, but I didn't use it at Christmas and put it aside for something else as I thought that it was pretty. Anyway, I'm using it to wrap my Mum's Mother's Day gift...I added a cute little Penny Black mouse (from the 'Hello Friend' set), some paper flowers (a mixture or Prima and Poppicrafts) held in place using BasicGrey brads, and personalised it using lettering cut from snippets of card (using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet)...all in co-ordinating shades of blue.

Challenges for this bag:

• Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Personalise It
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Snippets
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Recycle or Upcycle

Pile It On! Challenge - Animals Dressed Up!

We have a new Pile It On! Challenge starting today, with a really fun theme:

'Animals Dressed Up!'

Our sponsor for this challenge is QKR Stampede:

I picked a stamp by Penny Black called 'Bee Costume!' which I coloured using watercolour pencils...adding some sparkle to his wings using a Sakura Stardust pen. I paired it with papers from the 'Breeze' pad by My Mind's Eye...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and  black gel pen. The cute 'happy bee-day' sentiment stamp is by Stampendous, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, and are held in place using tiny BasicGrey brads.

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Animals Dressed Up
• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Use a Sentiment
• Crafty Catz - Flowers
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Fussy & Fancy - Birthdays
• Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Summer Flowers
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday (Things that fly)
• Sister Act Cards - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Spots and/or Stripes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

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

Spring Chick Easter Treat Bag

I have another Easter treat bag to share today...using another Penny Black stamp called 'Spring Chick'. I picked some older papers...from the 'Tea Party' pad by Dovecraft...I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are really old (I bought them before I started blogging), and are held in place with a BasicGrey brad. The little adhesive pearls and bag are from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this bag:

• Bunny Zoe's - Spring Colours
• Creative Knockouts - In Stitches
• Everybody Art - Something Old (I've had the flowers since before I started blogging...so they're at least 6 1/2 years old!)
• Little Red Wagon - Cute, Cute Cute!
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - B is for... (Bunnies, Blooms, Brad & Bag)
• Stampavie & More - Easter
• Sweet Sunday Sketch - Pick a Previous Sketch (I used #243)
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Ready for Spring

Bunny Friends Easter Treat Bag

I have something a little more seasonal to show you today...an Easter treat bag using a couple of bunnies from the the 'Bunny Friends' stamp by Penny Black (I masked off the others before inking the stamp). The papers are form a pad by Dovecraft called 'Tea Shop'...I distressed the edges, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are really old, (I've had them since before I started blogging...so long in fact that the shop I bought them from has been closed for years!) and camd from Poppicrafts...they're held in place using BasicGrey brads. The twine is from the Ribbon Girls.

Challenges for this bag:

• Allsorts - Spring is in the Air
• As You Like It - Favourite Anything but a Card (I love decorating these treat little treat bags for all sorts of occasions)
• Crafty Calendar - Add Some Metal (The Brads)
• Crafty Sentiments - Spring Colours
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Put a Bow On
• Creative Inspirations - Something Old (The flowers...I've had these since before I started blogging over six years ago!)
• Creative Moments - Anything Goes/Spring Greens
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Show Us Your Bunnies
• Penny Black & More - Blossoms & Bows

Nellie the Elephant...

It was my birthday at the weekend...and I was lucky to receive a few new crafty goodies to play with...and I've used one of my new stamps on today's card...it's a Rachelle Anne Miller stamp called 'Sorry I forgot' (by Crafter's Companion). I coloured the image using watercolour pencils to match the 'Blue Floral' papers (by My Mind's Eye). I distressed the edges of everything a little, then added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The flowers are a mixture of Prima, Wild Orchid Crafts, Poppicrafts and Papermaina, and are held in place using BasicGrey brads. I used my E K Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the border, and the sentiment stamp is from the 'Wonderful' set by Penny Black.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafter's Cafe - Lots of Layers
• Crafty Creations - Flower Power
• Crafty Girls - Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Delightful - Anything Goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Blogiversary #4 Freestyle
• Love to Create - Inspired by a Song/Movie/Book (Song - 'Nellie the Elephant')
• Penny's Paper Crafting - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Scratched Up
• Squirrel & the Fox - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Crafty Little Fairies Challenge - Summer Fun!

We have a new Crafty Little Fairies Challenge starting today, with a theme of:

'Summer Fun!'

We have lots of lovely sponsors:

The Ribbon Girl:

Prize - £10 Gift Voucher!

Whiff of Joy:

Prize - Stamp of Winner's Choice!

Delicious Doodles:

Prize - 4 Digis of the Winner's Choice!

Little Claire:

Stamp & Create:

Prize - $20 Gift Voucher!

I picked a Stampavie stamp by Sarah Kay to use on my card called 'Olivia and her Kittens Kiki & Sugar'. Like them, I like to get out in the garden in the summer...not to actually garden...but I do like to enjoy the fruits of other people's gardening efforts! I coloured the image using watercolour pencils to match the My Mind's Eye 'Indie Chic' papers. I distressed all of the egdes, then inked them using 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, the flowers are a mixture of Prima and Poppicrafts, the brads are BasicGrey, and the twine is by Papermania.

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

• Allsorts - Summer Girls
• Chocolate Coffee & Cards - Summer Days
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Summer or Winter
• Creative Corner - Flowers
• Cutie Pie - Girls, Girls, Girls
• Fussy & Fancy - Summertime
• Love to Create - 3 or More Design Papers
• Papercrafting Journey - Flower Power
• Pink Elephant - Anything Goes
• Sweet Stampin' - Summer Fun
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Summer Fun

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Crafty Little Fairies Challenge.