Seize the Birthday #334 Add a Sentiment Strip

 Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for another Seize The Birthday Challenge.  

Jules is our host for this challenge and her chosen Topping is to 'Add a Sentiment Strip'.

I used the beautiful Altenew Arch of Flowers Stamp, Die and Stencil set and Altenew Inks to to create the flowers. The sentiment is from Altenew One-Go Birthday Greetings.

You can see more from our  Surprise Party Guest,  Stacey from Stacey's Creative Corner,  our Guest Designer Chris from Crispy Creations and the rest of the team at  Seize the Birthday Challenge blog.

I hope you'll find time to join us. Remember, the topping is optional, so if you prefer Anything Goes, that's fine,  so long as it's birthday themed. 

   Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

CAS MIX UP SEP '26 WATERCOLOUR - SUNFLOWER

Hi there Crafty Friends. It's time for a new challenge at CAS Mix Up and this month is all about Watercolour and Sunflowers.  Don't forget to keep it Clean & Simple.

I used my favourite Sunflower stamp from Penny Black Stamps. I stamped and gold embossed and used Altenew Watercolour paints. 

Our talented Guest Designer is Barbara, from My Creative Room. 

You can see Barbara's gorgeous card and 

get more wonderful inspiration from our Design Team at our blog. 

I hope you'll check us out and join in at

CAS Mix Up Challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

TIME OUT #321 THEME CHALLENGE

 Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for a new challenge at Time Out and this time it is a Theme Challenge - The Movies. 

I used some gorgeous stamps from Stamping Bella and some patterned paper to create a scene based on the movie - Julie & Julia. The sentiment is from Poppystamps and I used Copic Markers for the colouring. 

Think about:

🎞️ Your favorite movie

🎭 A beloved character

🍿 Things you’d see in a movie theater

🎬 The behind-the-scenes world of a movie set

✨ Your favorite animated film

❤️ A live-action classic

🎄 A favorite holiday movie

👻 A spooky favorite

🌟 Or anything else that makes you think, “That belongs in a movie!”

You get the picture! 😉

Our wonderful sponsor is Stamplorations.  The challenge winner as chosen by the Design Team will receive a  $25 Store Credit as a prize from  Stamplorations.

Our wonderful Guest Designer is Kim Heggins of kimheggins on Instagram and Cupcakes, Cards And Kim.  You can see Kim's gorgeous card and more inspiration from our  fabulous  DT at the TIME OUT CHALLENGES blog. 

I hope you'll  have the opportunity to join in the fun and enter our challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

Seize the Birthday #333

 Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for another Seize The Birthday Challenge.  

JoAnn is our host for this challenge and her chosen Topping is for us to 'No Stamping/Die-Cuts Only'.   

If however you are not in to our 'toppings' option, you can make any kind of  Birthday Card.

I made a watercolour background with Nuvo Shimmer Powders on Baohong 300gsm Hot-pressed Watercolour Paper. When dry, it was embossed with an Altenew Embossing Folder. 

You can see more from our talented Surprise Party Guest, Lynda and the rest of the team at  Seize the Birthday Challenge blog.

I hope you'll find time to join us. Remember, the topping is optional, so if you prefer Anything Goes, that's fine,  so long as it's birthday themed. 

   Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

Time Out Challenge #320 Photo Inspiration

 Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for a new challenge at Time Out and this time it is a Photo Inspiration Challenge. The gorgeous photo of a Church was taken by our team-mate Kate.

I made a watercolour background for the stained glass and the frame is from Mama Elephant, called Pop Up Trellis Bloom.

The sentiment stamp/Die is from The Greetery. 

Photo Credit: Katherine Lesh - Inside Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia - 

                                            Barcelona, Spain - September 15, 2025

Our wonderful sponsor is Topflight Stamps.  The challenge winner as chosen by the Design Team will receive a  $25 Store Credit as a prize from  Topflight Stamps.

You can see more inspiration from our  fabulous GDT Jane Taylor of Purplejet  ,  and the rest of our DT at the TIME OUT CHALLENGES blog. 

I hope you'll  have the opportunity to join in the fun and enter our challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

SEITHE BIRTHDAY #332 funny/pun-ny

 Hi there Crafters! It's Jenny here and I'm so happy to be hosting this challenge for Seize the Birthday. 

I recently went in search for Birthday stamps that make fun of our age, because that's now my demographic! I found this stamp from Unity Stamp Co (Party Pup) and just had to have it.

I was in the mood for Paper-Piecing and thought this grungy paper was just perfect. I think it's an old 

Christy Tomlinson design from American Crafts. The stamp is from Unity Stamp Co.

You can see more from our talented Surprise Party Guest, Cassandra as well as Lynda our wonderful Guest Designer and the rest of the team at  Seize the Birthday Challenge blog.

I hope you'll find time to join us. Remember, the topping is optional, so if you prefer Anything Goes, that's fine,  so long as it's birthday themed. 

   Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

TIME OUT #319 PICK TWO

 Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for a new challenge at Time Out. We want you to Pick (at least) Two from the following prompts:- Monochrome, Geometric, Floral, Stitching (faux or real), birthday and CAS.

My Picks are:- Monochrome, Floral, Faux Stitching & Birthday.

The background was made with Distress Oxide Inks and an eEmbossing Folder from Spellbinders. I used the debossed side. The sweet girl is a stamp from Unity Stamps and was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and fussy-cut. The sentiment is from Altenew. 

Our wonderful sponsor, Newton's Nook, is generously offering a $25.00 store credit as a prize for our Challenge Winner, who will also get an invitation to join us as Guest Designer for a future challenge.

We have the wonderful  Heather Heroldt of Handmade by Heather  joining us as Guest Designer. You can see Heather's beautiful card and more from our Design Team at Time Out Challenges blog.

                        Now it's your turn - I hope you have the opportunity to join in our challenge.

                    Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

CAS Mix Up August '26 - Stencil

 Hi there Crafty Friends.  It's time for a new CAS Mix Up Challenge.

This month is a Stencil themed challenge. Viv is our host and the prompt is 'Stencil on Patterned Paper'. There are some links to video tutorials on the CAS MIX UP blog. Please be sure and keep your card designs Clean and Simple.

I made variations withe same patterned paper and stencils, but the first has more stencilled detail. 

I used a mask for the foliage and then a script and pattern stencil. 

The dragonfly die is from Penny Black Stamps. 

The stencils are from Crafters Workshop and Trinity Stamps. 

I just used the mask and a touch of script for this one and added the stamped sentiment.

There are links to some videos on the CAS Mix Up blog, which explain how to do this technique. 

Our Design Team have

some wonderful inspiration for you.

I hope you'll check us out and join in at

CAS Mix Up Challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

Penny Black Saturday Challenge AUG '26

  Hey there Crafty Friends! It's the first Saturday of the month, so we have a new Penny Black Saturday Challenge up on the blog. 

Our theme this month is 'ANYTHING GOES or the optional twist 'THINGS WITH WINGS'.

I used the Penny Black Tulip die again paired it with Penny Black Double Frames to make a bold card adding tiny wings  my fave little  PB Butterfly die as the finishing touch.

You can see more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team at our blog. 

I hope you have the opportunity to join in our challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

Seize the Birthday #331- Square Card + Non-white base

Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for another Seize The Birthday Challenge.

Glenda is our host for this challenge and her chosen "Topping" option this time is...make a square card (any size) with a non white base.  If you are not in to our "toppings" option, you can make any kind of  Birthday Card. 

I decided to use up some pretty patterned paper from my stash and pair it with a stamped flower.

Stamp: Simon Says Stamp Wild & Free

Paper: Kaisercraft

You can see more from our talented Surprise Party Guest Lynda from Loopy-Loo Cards and the rest of the Design Team at  the Seize the Birthday Challenge blog.

I hope you'll find time to join us. Remember, the topping is optional, so if you prefer Anything Goes, that's fine,  so long as it's birthday themed. 

   Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

TIME OUT CHALLENGE #318 INSPIRED by ... Mother Nature

 Hi there Crafty Friends! A new challenge has begun at Time Out. We want you to make a card 'Inspired by Mother Nature'.

I used stamps from a few different companies to create my Mother Nature inspired card.

The Honey Jar and Bee stamps are from the Greetery.

The gingham background was made with a stamp from Hello Bluebird.

The Blossoms and Berries stamps are from Pinkfresh Studio

You can see more inspiration from our talented Guest Designer, ................,  and the rest of our fabulous DT at the TIME OUT CHALLENGES blog. 

I hope you have the opportunity to join in our challenge.

 Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

CAS Mix Up reminder - Eclipse Card

 Hi there Crafty Friends. Did you see that the CAS Mix Up Challenge has started up again after a 4 year break. Our theme this month is 'ECLIPSE Cards'  (Mixed Media, nclude stamping & CAS).

This time I  used a very old stamp from Hero Arts (Dogwood Flower) and number dies from Spellbinders to create my eclipse. The sentiment is from Penny Black Stamps.

I stamped the flowers using karin Markers direct to stamp and blended. Then I die cut the '70' a couple of times, once from the stamped card and from scrap, to create dimension. 

This time I  used a very old stamp from Hero Arts (Dogwood Flower) and number dies from Spellbinders to create my eclipse. The sentiment is from Penny Black Stamps.

I stamped the flowers using karin Markers direct to stamp and blended. Then I die cut the '70' a couple of times, once from the stamped card and from scrap, to create dimension. 

There are links to some videos on the CAS Mix Up blog, which explain how to do this technique. 

Our Design Team have

some wonderful inspiration for you.

I hope you'll check us out and join in at

CAS Mix Up Challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE JUL'26 Reminder

 It's the 3rd Saturday of the month, so it's time to remind you about  Penny Black Saturday Challenge.  This month our theme is 'ANYTHING GOES' or Optional: 'On the Move'

My card falls under the 'Anything Goes' category...

I used snippets from my stash to create this card. 

I coloured the vase with Prismacolor Pencils and the flowers have been water-coloured. 

Stamps: Penny Black Garden Trio and Handpicked

You can see more inspiration from our talented Design Team at our blog. 

I hope you have the opportunity to join in our challenge.

                               Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)