Xmouse Ornament

Another stamp that I haven't used for ages. I should really put myself on a stamp buying ban until I've made cards with all my neglected stamps, but we all know that won't happen.

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Xmouse Ornament!'
Papers - First Edition 'Silent Night'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Lace and a pearl

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas
Penny Black Saturday - Anything goes
Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas goes
Crafty Catz - Anything goes
Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas goes
Crafty Creations - Anything goes
The Merry Christmas Challenge - Anything goes + Christmas
The Corrosive Challenge - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - Patterned paper

ABC Christmas Challenge - C & D

Time for another challenge over at the ABC Christmas Challenge and Wilma is the host this month. The themes are -

'C for Clean' 

  and 

'D for Distress' 

You can choose to do one or both themes, or even combine them. It's up to you.

Our sponsor this month is -

Lawn Fawn

and the prize is a £25 gift certificate

My 'C for Clean' card

Image stamp - Lili Of The Valley 'Party Pup'
Sentiment stamp - Elzybells
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils

 

Incy Wincy Designs - Clean and simple
Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas
Sweet Stampin' - Anything but a birthday 
Crimbo Crackers - Anything goes

My 'D for Distress' card 

Image stamp - Lili Of The Valley 'Ho Ho Ho!'
Papers - Basic Grey 'Marjolaine'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Poppy Crafts 'Ho Ho Ho' word die and Tim Holtz 'Weathered Wood' Distress Ink

 

As You Like It - Favourite way to add stitching (with a pen - either a black fineliner or white gel pen - as it's so much easier, and quicker, than using a sewing machine)
Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas
The Holly And Ivy Christmas - Anything Christmas
Crafty Calendar - Two or more layers

Party March

This card feels like a bit of a blast from the past. I've used a stamp that I've had for a very long time, but not used for ages, and papers that were my favourite brand years ago.

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Party March'
Sentiment stamp - Paula Pascual 'Big Sentiments'
Papers - Basic Grey 'Offbeat' and 'Oliver'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Cuttlebug 'Allegro' embossing folder and pearls

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Crafty Calendar- Two or more layers
Penny Black Saturday - Anything goes
Crafty Catz - Anything goes
As You Like It - Favourite way to add stitching (faux with a pen as it's much neater than my 'real' stitching, and there's also a lot less swearing doing it that way)
Cute Card Thursday - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - Patterned paper
Cardz 4 Guyz - Music
Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Little Miss Muffet - Anything goes
Crafty Creations - Anything goes
The Crafty Addicts - Anything goes
Creative Inspirations - Something new (the papers)
Pile It On - 3D embellishments (the pearls)

I want to ride my bicycle

The sketch I used on this card was for a Sketch Saturday challenge, but it's taken me so long to get around to taking a photo and uploading it that they're onto a new challenge. My get-up-and-go always seems to get-up-and-disappear in January.

I've used mainly new crafty stuff on this card. The stamp (new to me) and papers were bought from a certain auction site - I couldn't believe it when I found someone selling older Basic Grey paper pads, which were my absolute faves in the past, and I might just go back and buy some more! The die used for the flower was a Christmas present

Image stamp - Penny Black '...For A Spin'

Papers - Basic Grey 'Olivia'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils

Extras - Sizzix 'Tattered Florals by Tim Holtz' Bigz die, pearls and twine

 

The Corrosive Challenge - Anything goes

My Time To Craft - Something new (the stamp and papers)

Crafty Catz - Anything goes

Little Miss Muffet - Anything goes

Cute Card Thursday - Something new (the stamp and papers)

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes

Crafty Creations - Anything goes

Craftaholics R Us - Patterned paper

Dragonfly Dreams - Anything goes

Penny Black And More - Something new (stamp and papers)

Penny Black Saturday - Anything goes

As You Like It - Anything goes

Creative Inspirations - Something new (stamp and papers)

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - Patterned paper

ABC Christmas Challenge - A & B

It's the first Wednesday of the month (and of 2018, how did that happen?) which means a new challenge over at the ABC Christmas Challenge and this time Helen is the host. This month the themes are -   

'A for Antlers' 

 and  

'B for Birds' 

We have two sponsors this month, and they are -

Wild Orchid Crafts

the prize is an £20 gift voucher code

and

Neat & Tangled

the prize is a $25 gift certificate

There's also a prize from Helen

My 'A for Antlers' card

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Reindeer Pup'
Papers - Nitwit Collections 'Ginger Fellas' digi papers
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Spellbinders Nestabilities oval die and Washi tape

 

Little Miss Muffet - Anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - Anything goes
Sweet Stampers - Anything goes
That's Crafty - Anything goes
Crafty Creations - Anything goes
Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas goes
Penny Black Saturday - Winter or Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - Use patterned paper

My 'B for Birds' card

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Xmas Wait!'
Papers - First Edition 'Merry Little Christmas'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Spellbinders Nestabilites circle dies, Glossy Accents, Glamour Dust and gems

 

The Merry Christmas Challenge - Anything goes + Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas
Creative Craft Cottage - Anything goes
My Time To Craft - Christmas time
Fussy And Fancy Friday - Christmas
Dream Valley - Christmas
Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Creative Inspirations - Something new (the stamp is a recent purchase and the papers were a Christmas present)
Jingle Belles - Look what Santa brought me (the papers)

ABC Christmas Challenge - W & X

Time for another challenge over at the ABC Christmas Challenge and this time Carissa is the host. This month the themes are -

'W for White  

and  

'X for X marks the spot'.  

Our sponsor this month is -

Wild Rose Studio

and the prize is an A5 clear stamp set 'Winter Cottages'

There's also a prize from Carissa

My 'W for White' card. Not a particularly good photo I'm afraid, but it's the best of a bad bunch. I simply layered up die cuts from a Spellbinders '2012 Snowflake Pendant' set and then added pearls. I say "simply", but I'd forgotten how hard it was to get the card out of those dies! Not to mention also having to poke out the wee bits that stay stuck in the small holes. I eventually had a bit of success by using greaseproof paper between the card and dies, but I'm getting myself some of that ejection/quick release foam as soon as is humanly possible!

Crafty Creations - Anything goes
Crafting From The Heart - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas
Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas goes
The Corrosive Challenge - Anything goes
The Holly And Ivy Christmas - Anything Christmas goes

My 'X for X marks the spot' card

Image stamp - Lili Of The Valley 'My Snowman Friend'
Sentiment stamp - Lili Of The Valley
Papers - Make & Create 'Trendy Blue Lifestyle'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Papermania 'Bare Basics' wooden button, Baker's Twine and Stickles 'Icicle' glitter glue

 

Crafty Friends - Cute
Creative Craft Cottage - Use a sentiment
Through The Purple Haze - Untraditional Christmas colours
Little Miss Muffet - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Christmas
Creative Inspirations - Sparkle
The Merry Christmas Challenge - Anything goes + Christmas
The Crafty Addicts - Anything goes/Christmas

'Tis the season to be jolly...

..fa la la la la, la la la la. Not long to go now! Just under nine weeks, or almost exactly two months. I'm not sure which of those sounds worse, the time's just whizzing by, eek!

 

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Xmas Treat!'
Sentiment stamp - Lili Of The Valley 'Christmas Grungy Messages' set
Papers - Crafter's Companion 'Just For Men - Urban Collection'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Card Candi

Crafting From The Heart - Anything goes
Christmas Card Challenges - Anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas
Crafty Friends - Cute
Creative Craft Cottage - Use a sentiment
Through The Purple Haze - Untraditional Christmas colours
Little Miss Muffet - Anything goes
Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Christmas
Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas goes
The Corrosive Challenge - Anything goes

Not a Christmas card!

Just in case anyone was wondering, here's proof that I do sometimes make non-Christmas cards. This one was for my mum, for her recent birthday. I think she was happy to get a card I made because for the past few years it's been shop-bought for birthdays, Mother's Days and Christmases and she's really missed getting cards with her beloved Penny Black hedgies on them.

Image stamp - Penny Black 'For You!!'
Sentiment - My own
Papers - First Edition 'Blank Canvas'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Spellbinders Nestabilities circle dies and pearls

Crafting From The Heart - Anything goes
Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Crafty Catz - Anything goes
Crafty Creations - Anything goes
The Corrosive Challenge - Anything goes
Crafty Friends - Anything goes
Penny Black Saturday - Lace and/or pearls
Through The Purple Haze - Anything goes
Craft Rocket - Birthday or Pretty Pinks

ABC Christmas Challenge - U & V

Time for another challenge over at the ABC Christmas Challenge. Carol is our host and this month the themes are -

'U for Unlimited' (Anything Christmas)  

and  

'V for Vibrant'.

Our sponsor this month is -

Freckled Fawn

The prize is a $15 gift card

There's also a prize from Carol

My 'U for Unlimited' card. I bought the stamp with a voucher I recently won on another blog challenge, and of course had to get the die to go with it. The three wee snowmen would have come in handy for the 'T for Trio' theme of our last challenge but I got them too late.

  

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Snow Family'
Papers - Penny Black 'Festive & Frosty'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Penny Black Creative Die 'Snow Family Cut Out' and gems

Crafting From The Heart - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra - Anything Christmas
The Sisterhood Of Crafters - Use your dies
The Holly And Ivy Christmas - Anything Christmas goes
Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - Anything goes

My 'V for Vibrant' card. I looked through my (ever growing) stash of papers and couldn't find any that I would really class as vibrant, so I had to get messy with distress inks.

 

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Deer In Skates!'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Spellbinders Nestabilities circle die, Penny Black Creative Die 'Frosty's Snow, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mowed Lawn, Spiced Marmalade, Seedless Preserves, Festive Berries and Peacock Feathers), Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystals' embossing folder, unknown Cuttlebug embossing folder, Glossy Accents, Glamour Dust and a pearl

Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas goes
The Crazy Challenge - Add an animal
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas
Creative Inspirations - Anything goes
The Merry Christmas Challenge - Anything goes + Christmas
Christmas With The Cuties - Christmas animals
Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas

Penny Black And More GDT

I was lucky enough to win both a prize and a GDT spot on the Penny Black And More challenge in August. The theme this month is 'Close To Nature' and here's my card.

 

Image stamp - Penny Black 'Fish Are Jumpin'
Papers - First Edition 'New Leaf'
Colouring medium - Prismacolour Premier soft core pencils
Extras - Twine

Crafty Catz - Anything goes
The Male Room - Anything goes
Crafty Creations - Anything goes
Craftaholics R Us - Anything goes
The Crazy Challenge - Add an animal