Great Catch!

Today's card features a cute Happy Hopper stamp from Stampendous called 'Great Catch!'. I stamped him onto kraft card, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'What This!' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Addicted to CAS - Birthday
• CAS on Friday - Animals
• Cardz for Guys - CAS
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Cute Creatures

Favourite Five Cards 2025

As has become traditional on New Year's Eve, I'm sharing my favourite five cards of this year. As I look back through my blog posts, I always find it interesting to see if any themes have emerged in my cardmaking over the course of the year. Whilst there are still plenty of cute critter cards, I used more die cuts this year, and my cards have become increasingly clean and simple.

All of the photos are linked to the original blog post, so please click through for more information.

My first card is from February, and features (unusually for me) die cuts as the main focus. I love the modern shape of these floral dies...and they're great for using up little snippets of card & paper!

My second card is from May, and features several things that I love (and usually make it onto at least one of my favourite cards each year) - Distress inks, gold embossing and the big butterfly stamp!

My next card is actually a bookmark...I'm an avid reader, and always like to have plenty of bookmarks handy...and they're a great way to use up offcuts of card! This one features a favourite floral stamp, and Cosmic Shimmers that I've used many times this year.

Of course, there's a Penny Black image amongst my favourites, and the next card, from August, features a 'new to me' stamp called 'Surprise!' I also love the colour in these floral papers.

My final card is from November, and although I've made a lot of one layer cards this year, I love the effect the added layer gives on this CAS card.

I'm going to link up this post over at Ellie's I Spy With My Little Eye - Favourite Creations of the Year.

I posted my Favourite Five Christmas Cards here last week, if you'd like to take a look.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has visited and taken the time to comment on my blog this year - I wish you all the very best for the New Year!

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.

Have Your Cake & Eat it Too!

Today's card features House Mouse stamps from a set by Stampendous called 'Birthday Splash'. I stamped the image and one of the sentiments onto a snippet of watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I cut the circle shape using one of my Nesties, then cut a matching scalloped circle mat from some aqua coloured card. I paired it with papers from the 'Geometrie' pad by Folia Paper...distressing all of the edges, before adding faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• As You Like It - Favourite Die (My circle Nesties - such a simple shape, but I could never cut one so neat by hand!)
• Crafty Calendar - Lots of Layers
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes (Optional 'Birthdays')
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Guest Designer - I Spy With My Little Eye Challenge

Today, I'm excited to be sharing a Guest Designer card for Ellie's 'I Spy With My Little Eye Challenge', where the theme for this month's challenge is:

'I Spy With My Little Eye...At Least One Butterfly'

I have a number of butterfly stamps, and picked my 'Big Butterfly' stamp by Stampendous, and a set of stamps from Papermania's 'Urban Stamps' range simply called 'Butterflies' to use for my card. I stamped them onto watercolour paper using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them using metallic gold embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Signature Greetings' set by Memory Box, heat embossing it in gold to match. I used (quite a lot of ) Distress Inks to watercolour the butterflies (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Crackling Campfire, Festive Berries, Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio, Salvaged Patina & Gathered Twigs), then splattered it with a little gold mica pigment (from a Cosmic Shimmers set) mixed with water. Once dry, I matted it onto some gold mirror card, distressing the edges, before adding it to a white card blank.

It's always tricky to capture the shine in a photo, but the gold is really pretty in real life:

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

• AAA Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• AAA Cards - Birthday
• Aud Sentiments - Watercolouring + a Sentiment
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Things with Wings
• Stamping Sensations - Feminine

For more inspiration from Ellie and Pauline, please pop over to Ellie's 'I Spy With My Little Eye' Challenge.

 

Happy Bee-Day!

Today's card features one of the cute critters from the 'Happy Day' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I stamped him onto a snippet of watercolour paper, added a fun sentiment using a stamp by Stampendous, then coloured him using watercolour pencils. I paired him with a snippet of floral paper from the 'Watercolour Feelings' pad from The Works, distressing the edges and adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes
• Ellibelles Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Birthday
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Happy Birthday

Pansy Spray

Today's card features another floral stamp that I got for Christmas called 'Pansy Spray' by Stampendous. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Go To Words' set by Visible Image, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - CAS
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'Anything but Square')

Easter Hares Easter Treat Bag

I have another Easter treat bag to share today...this one features a cute Happy Hoppers stamp called 'Easter Hares'. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I paired it with papers from the 'Charming' pad by My Mind's Eye...distressing all of the edges, then adding some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Egg-cellent Easter Sentiments' set by C. C. Designs.

Challenges for this treat bag:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Easter/Spring
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• House Mouse & Friends - All Stitched Up
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Spring/Easter

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! Lynda is the host, and the themes are:

'E is for Embossing'

'F is for Faux'

&

'G is for Gingerbread'

The prize for the lucky winner is these fab stamp sets:

For my 'E is for Embossing' card, I used a Penny Black stamp called 'Warm Reception'...stamping it on to a piece of kraft card using Versamark ink, then heat embossing it using white embossing powder. I added a heat embossed sentiment (from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp), then inked around the edges with the Versamark ink pad and heat embossed that in white too before adding it to a kraft card blank.

FOr my 'F is for Faux' card...I went with faux stitching on some papers from the 'Pure Frozen' pad from Poundland...distressing the edges before adding the stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. The snowflakes are a Stampendous stamp set called 'Delicate Snowflakes'...I stamped them on to snippets of navy, turquoise and aqua card using Versamark ink, then heat embossed them in white before cutting them out using the matching dies. I layered them up using 3D foam pads, then added them to the front of the card. The sentiment stamp is from an old Lili of the Valley set.

I really struggled with the 'G is for Gingerbread' theme...but eventually found some paper with little gingerbread men on...it was a freebie from a magazine years ago...but just the job for this! I matted a strip of the patterned paper on to some gold mirror card, and placed it down one side of a card blank, then cut the sentiment (using a Creative Expressions die) from some more mirror card, then added that over the top.

Challenges for these cards:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Monochrome') (First card only)
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes (First card only)
• Jingle Belles - Use Dies (Second card only)
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes (Second card only)
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment (Third card only)
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Embossing (First card only)

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

ABC Christmas Challenge - P, Q & R are for?

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

'P is for Presents'

'Q is for Quick'

&

'R is for Robins

This is the prize on offer for one lucky winner:

On my 'P is for Presents' card, I used a die set by Poppy Stamps called 'Abundant Gifts' and snippets of red and white card to make a CAS card. I followed the sketch from this week's AAA Cards Challenge, flipping it so that my presents were lined up along the bottom edge of the card. I added a sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Scribbly Christmas' set by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, heat embossing it in white.

For my 'Q is for Quick' card, I stamped my 'Bethlehem Nights' stamp (by Stampendous) on to a snippet of smooth white card using Versafine 'Twilight Ink', then simply trimmed it, then added it to a navy card blank using 3D foam.

Finally, on for my 'R is for Robins' card, despite the fact that I have quite a few robin stamps, I used a stamp that isn't supposed to be robins at all, it's 'Caroling Chicks' by Stamping Bella. I stamped it directly on to a kraft card blank, along with the sentiment from the set, then coloured the 'chicks' to look like 'robins' using watercolour pencils.

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

• AAA Cards - Sketch (First card only)
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes (Third card only)
• My Time to Craft - Shades of Blue (Second card only)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets (First card only)
• Sweet Stampin' - Inspired by a Book/Song/Film (Second card only - 'O Little Town of Bethlehem')
• Time Out - Monochromatic (Second card only)

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

Cake Nibbler

I have a simple one layer card to share today...featuring a 'Happy Hopper' stamp from Stampendous called 'Cake Nibbler'. I stamped him on to a kraft card balnk, along with a sentiment from another Stampendous 'House Mouse' set called 'Birthday Splash', then coloured him using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• House Mouse & Friends - Anything Goes (Optional 'Celebrate It')
• Less is More - Anything CAS
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday - Anything Birthday Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Birthday Cupcakes

Today's card features a stamp from a Stampendous' set called 'Birthday Cupcake' that I picked up in a charity shop. I stamped the image directly on to a card blank, along with a sentiment from the 'Go To Words' set by Visible Image, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. I added some 'Diamond' Stickles to the frosting for a touch of sparkle.

Challenge for this card:

• AAA Birthday - Monochrome
• AAA Cards - Small & Few + Baked Goods
• Creative Inspirations - Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle
• Little Red Wagon - Let's Eat!
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

Balancing Act

I have a simple one layer card to share today, that features a much neglected Whipper Snapper stamp called 'Balancing Act'. I stamped it directly on to a kraft card blank, then coloured it using watercolour pencils. The sentiment stamp is from the House Mouse 'Birthday Splash' set by Stampendous.

Challenges for this card:

• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Anyhting Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

PBSC July - Anything Goes (Optional 'Spots and/or Stripes')...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 Goes'
or

'Spots and/or Stripes'

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

Prize - a $20 voucher!

I used some really old stash to make my card...digging a stamped image out from the bottom of the box called 'Aftermath'. I had stamped this image at a craft retreat back in 2009, using a stamp that my lovely friend Uma had brought with her...so it's been waiting very patiently for it's turn! Keeping with the 'old' theme, I paired it with papers from the 'Penny Lane' pad by My Mind's Eye that, according to my blog, I last used in 2011!!! 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 House Mouse 'Birthday Splash' set by Stampendous.

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

• Creative Knockouts - Celebrations
• Dream Valley - All Occasions
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Stamps + Fun = Creativity - Birthday
• We Love Stamping - Anything Stamped

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