Another Winter Wonderland

I am so in love with the Penny Black Stamp I used in the following card and I know it will be used frequently.

I used Penny Black  'Dressed in Snow' and added another tree in the background using a stamp from 'Prancers'.
The deer and the birds are made with IO dies - I layered a black and white deer to make it stand out. The sentiment and the snowman are from Papertrey Ink 'In the Meadow' - I white embossed the snowman on black card.  The snow in the foreground was laid on thick and adhered with a tacky glue to give it a textured look. To finish I added some snow to the trees with gel pen and layered with the striped paper and white backing card.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Winter or Christmas

Christmas/Winter Holidays

I was inspired by the texture

Challenge me a Christmas Card

Hi there. Today I'm delighted to be joining my friend Michelle Lupton,of 'Handmade by Michelle'  to make a card for her 'Challenge Me a  Christmas card' series. 

Last year Michelle asked her Facebook friends to set her a challenge to make a Christmas card with a specific theme, or technique, or product to use. She had so much fun last year, that she's doing it again  this year and has asked some of her crafty friends to collaborate with her. 

Our specific theme today is 'A Year of Travel'. When I got this theme from Michelle, I thought "ok, that is a challenge" and it definitely wasn't what I was expecting! However, if it wasn't challenging, it wouldn't be a challenge and we can interpret it any way we like.  So this is my take on it.... 

To begin I sponged distress inks on to watercolour paper and spritzed. When dry,  I stamped the the world map several times,  gold embossed and then die cut the baubles (christmas ornaments).  I chose the 'Passport Stamps' embossing folder
for the the background as I thought it fitted the theme. To finish I stamped and die cut the sentiment and assembled it all, adding the red bows for a more 'Christmas-y' feel.

This card is for my daughter, who is jetting off on her first solo overseas holiday in January!
Here is the inside of the card

And then, because I embraced the theme I couldn't stop at one ...

I couldn't get a good pic of this one - it's red not orange! The die cut and embossing folder are from Kaisercraft.

Thanks so much Michelle, for asking me to join in this fun challenge. If you haven't seen Michelle's card yet, then you should check it out here.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Clean & Layered

Guest Designing for Craft Stamper

I'm very excited to be a guest designer this month for the Craft Stamper Take it, Make it challenge.
I was awarded this guest spot after winning the October challenge.

This challenge is always 'Anything Goes', so long as there is some stamping in the project and there is a wonderful prize for a random winner as well a chance to be chosen designer winner and get published. So go on - give it a go! You can find all the details here.

Here is my card...

I began by stamping Penny Black's 'Restful'.  I used archival grey ink for the foreground and black for the background -  my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform made it easy to do this. Next I added some pine trees in background using stamps from Penny Black 'Prancers'.  I sponged the background with distress inks and went over this with a damp brush , also adding the Tumbled Glass shading to the snow. The snow flakes, from Kaisercraft 'Christmas Winter Frosted Snowflakes' were stamped with  white ink and white embossed and the sentiment stamped in black. . The deer is also from Kaisecraft,from a die/stamp set called 'Traditional Christmas'. I added some snow with a white gel pen and sponged the edges of the panel with Antique Linen for a more vintage look. Finally I decided to add some more critters, so I stamped the rabbit and squirrel from Papertrey Ink 'In the Meadow'. The panel was then mounted on a black base card.


Thanks so much for visiting and I always love to read your comments. You can see more inspiration from the Design Team over at the Craft Stamper blog. 

Non Traditional Christmas Colours

Hello there. Has anyone else suddenly gone in to panic mode? I can't believe how fast December is going and I just realised I need to make some lists to make sure I'm ready for the big day. We're spending Christmas at our beach house, so I'm also thinking about all the crockery/glasses etc I will need to transport there. It will be easier in future years - the first time is the trickiest.

Today I'm sharing a card I made whilst I was in relaxation mode a couple of weeks ago at our beach house.

SSS Monday Icy Inspiration

Retro Christmas

This is a quick post to share a card I made for The Card Concept challenge. 

I was tring to decide what to make, when I came across this striped paper in my stash and thought it would suit the theme.
I used a Memory Box die for the bauble, the paper is from Pink Paislee and the sentiment is from Kaisercraft. I think this card can be described as CAS style.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Traditional Christmas Card

Wo it's the 3rd of December! Where did November go???

Today I'm sharing a card with traditional red and green colours for a change!

The beautiful candles stamp is from STAMPlorations and the background die and paper and sentiment are from Kaisercraft.
I 'coloured' the candles with  white Wink of Stellar for some shimmers and the foliage with Zig Makers. I used glitter pen on the flame. the ribbon and bling are also from Kaisercraft.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Anything Goes

A Deer Little Tag

Here is a cute tag I made on the weekend, using MFT Dienamic tag die and tthe deer and bird dies are from Impression Obsession.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

IO  Challenge

Penguin Snowglobe

I'm not done with penguins yet! This is using the the set from Impression Obsession again.

                                               I'm entering the following challenges:-

Catch Up

Hi there. I've just returned fro 5 days at our beach house, mostly on my own. So although I haven't been posting here, I have been having lots of fun crafting. I have posted many of my creations on Instagram, but here are a few of them...

You can see more of my creations on Instagram.

MFT Blueprints Tag

Another quick post. I have another tag to share for the 25 Days of Christmas Tags.

To begin I die cut 2 tags with MFT's Blueprints Tag Builder 5 from patterned paper.  I found the chipboard christmas tree in my stash and decided to cover with white ink and emboss with a pearl powder. The sentiment from MFT 'Deer Friends' was stamped and clear embossed and the heart and top of tag from the same die set as tags.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

I was inspired again by Jo Neville's tag from day 1 of the 25 days of Christmas Tags 

Pretty Blooms

I made this card a while a go, when I was having a few crafty days on my own at our beach house. I just remembered I haven't shared it, so here it is...

I stamped the flowers and coloured with Copic Markers. The oval die is from MFT Die. I think the paper is from Lawn fawn, but not 100%. The stamps are from STAMPlorations Dee's Artsy Impressions 'Blooming Buds'.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Sorry no brown on my card!

Penguin Shaker

As I sit here making Christmas cards and tags, the sun is shining and the air is sultry! I know we've all been conditioned to think of Christmas with with snowy scenes, but of course in many parts of the world it far from true.

Having spent a few Christmases in the UK, with my Husband's family and enjoying a wintry holiday, every other year we spend Christmas at home, I wish I was in Scotland! Maybe next year, because my daughter has applied to do exchange in Glasgow, so if that happens, I'm sure we will visit her at Christmas.

So in the meantime, I'll turn on the air-conditioner and keep creating cards and tags, reminiscent of a Winter Wonderland:)

I've used a new Impression Obsession stamp called 'Penguins skating' - I'm a bit penguin obsessed at the moment, so you'll be seeing lots more in my blog!  The shaker pouch and window are from MFT.

I'm still struggling with shaker cards, but I figure if I keep practising, it will become easier. I think beads work better with these pouches, because, even though I used an anti-static powder, the sequins and snow bits still stick.

                                      I'm entering the following challenges:-

Penguins are skating

Anything goes + Christmas

Craft Stamper Win!

Today I'm very excited, because last month I won the Craft stamper Take it, Make it Challenge, which means I get my card published in their magazine - yay!

There are other bonuses to winning this challenge, one of them being a write up in the Craft Stamper blog, which goes live today and next month I get a Guest designer spot - yay again!!


This is the winning card...

I was so excited to win with this card, because I do struggle with shaker cards, so now I'm feeling encouraged to make more!

The original post here will show you more details.

It's easy to play along in the Take it, Make it challenge as it is always Anything goes (with stamping).

Here is a card to show my thanks...

I used the L Letterpress to make this card and then coloured the flower and leaves with Zig Markers.
I used watercolour paper which is quite thick. It's hard to see the impression in this pic, but it's so pretty!
The silver is my favourite of letterpress inks.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:-