Snowflake Edges

I have a simple one layer Christmas card to share today, made using one of the stamps from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped it along the folded edge of a smooth white card blank using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it using white embossing powder. I blended 'Broken China' Distress Ink over the top of the embossed area, then once dry added a stamped sentiment using one of the stamps from the 'Festive Phrases' set by Funky Fossil.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Gals Corner - Fill in the Blank 'Snow.....' (Snowflakes)
• Little Red Wagon - A is for Anything Goes
• Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Peace on Earth Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Snowflakes
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Optional 'CAS')

Sweater Weather

I have a Christmas card to share today...featuring a cute polar bear in his Christmas jumper from the 'Beary Merry Christmas' set by Funky Fossil. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I added some strips of washi tape to a kraft card blank for a simple background, then added the bear on top using 3D foam pads. The sentiment is from the same stamp set as the bear.

Challenges for this card:

• Cutie Pie - Pink & Pretty
• Everybody Art - Sweater Weather
• Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes

Have a Tweet Day

Today's card features one of the cute bird stamps from 'The Tweets' set by Funky Fossil. I stamped it directly on to a card blank, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then coloured the birds using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Addicted to CAS - Pun
• As You Like It - Layers or Not (Despite by fairly substantial patterned paper collection, I find myself making more one layer cards at the moment...nice & cheap to post!)
• CAS on Friday - Feathered Friends
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Stamp It
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Stamp It
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes (Optional 'Animal Magic')

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Guest Designer

A little while ago I was picked as the winner of a 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge, and as a result, I'm joining them as a Guest Designer for this week's challenge, where the theme is:

I'm rather partial to a snowman (in fact there was another snowman card in my previous blog post), and picked this adorable Penny Black one called 'Sweet Snowman' to use from my collection. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, then added a sentiment using a combination of stamps from the 'Beary Merry Christmas' set by Funky Fossil, and the 'Snow Bunnies' set by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils, then matted it on to a couple of layers of coordinating card, distressing the edges a little, before adding it to a card blank.

For more inspiration from the lovely Design Team, please pop over to the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. Thanks for having me!

Beary Merry Christmas

I have a couple of Christmas cards to share today, made using a couple of the bear stamps from the 'Beary Merry Christmas' set BY Funky Fossil and lots of paper snippets! I started by making the backgrounds...sticking snippets of watercolour effect paper (from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations, and the 'Watercolour Feelings' pad from The Works) to snippets of plain white card. I then trimmed them down to square of the edges, before running them through my Cuttlebug, embossing them with snowflakes and Christmas trees. I stamped the bears on to snippets of watercolour paper, coloured them to match their backgrounds using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut them out. I heat embossed one of the sentiments from the stamp set in white on snippets of black card, then added those and the bears on to the backgrounds using 3D foam pads. I matted both on to more black card before adding them to white card blanks.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Challenges for these cards:

• As You Like It - Bugs, Feathers or Fur (Fur for me - I'm not fussing what sort of furry critter, but I'd sooner have something furry, than creepy-crawly or anything that flies!)
• Christmas With the Cuties - CAS
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Ellibelles Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes
• Jingle Belles - Leftovers (I save every off-cut of pretty paper...no matter how small...I can always find some use for them!)
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes (Just the panda card)

Stay Curious!

Today's card features a cute little dog stamp by Anita Jeram for the Colorado Craft Company called 'Stay Curious!'. I stamped it, along with it's matching sentiment, on to a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured it using watercolour pencils, then distressed the edges and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I used a fun 'Bones' stencil from Funky Fossil for the background, inking directly on to a kraft card blank using 'Pumice Stone' Distress Ink.

Challenges for this card:

• As You Like It - Favourite Cats or Dogs (Dogs for me - growing up we always had a dog or dogs...mostly Golden Retrievers, which is why I nearly always colour dog images this way)
• Cutie Pie - Something Beginning with B (Bones (and Bottom!))
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Simon Says Stamp (Mondays) - Add a Sentiment
• Sparkles Forum - One for the Boys

Polar Pair

Today's card features an old Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Polar Pair'. I stamped it directly on to a white card blank, added a sentiment from the 'Beary Merry Christmas' set by Funky Fossil, then coloured the image using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Alphabet Challenge - Holidays (I went with Christmas)
• Christmas with the Cuties - Festive Bears
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Christmas
• Little Red Wagon - Something You Love (CAS Christmas cards - cheap to post!)
• My Time to Craft - CAS Style Layout
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Christmas in July

Sweater Weather

Today's card features another of the cute bears from the 'Beary Merry Christmas' set by Funky Fossil. I stamped him on to a snippet of watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I stamped one of the sentiments from the set on to a kraft card blank, then added the bear above using 3D foam pads.

Challenges for this card:

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Colour an Image
• Addicted to CAS - Critter
• C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

Tweetheart

Today's card features another couple of the cute bird stamps from 'The Tweets' set by Funky Fossil. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, along with one of the sentiments from the set, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I distressed the edges a little, then added it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafts Galore - Anything Goes
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Moodboard Inspiration

Guest Designer - Rudolph Days Challenge!

Today I'm sharing a card for a Guest Designer spot over at the Rudolph Days Challenge!

For my card, I used some of the stamps from a set by Funky Fossil called 'Beary Merry Christmas. I stamped them on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I doodled a simple border using a black gel pen, then added the panel to a DL kraft card blank.

For more inspiration, please pop over to the Rudolph Days Challenge - thanks Helen for inviting me to join you this month!

The Tweets

Today's card features one of the quirky stamps from a set by Funky Fossil called 'The Tweets', that I got with a prize I won over at the AAA Cards Challenge recently. I stamped it on to watercolour paper, then coloured them using watercolour pencils. I added a sentiment from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches, then distressed the edges a little before adding it to a kraft card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
• As You Like It - With or Without Words (With for me...I especially like a good 'punny' sentiment!)
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art - Use Your Most Recently Acquired Stash
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Sparkles Forum - Funny/Puns
• We Love Stamping - Anything Goes

I Ruff You!

Today's card features a cute little pup from an old Penny Black clear stamp set called 'Critter Party'. I stamped him on to a snippet of watercolour card, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out. I made a simlpe background by heat embossing a heart background stamp in white on a snippet of blue watercolour effect paper (from the 'Mystery Marbles' pad by Craft Sensations). I distressed the edges a little, then added the pup on top using some 3D foam pads. The sentiment is from the 'Furry Friends' set by Funky Fossil.

Challenges for this card:

• AAA Cards - CAS (Optional 'Love is the Air')
• Allsorts - January Blues
• Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets
• The Sisterhood of Crafters - Winter Blues

Big Bauble

I have another Christmas card to share today...this one features a huge bauble stamp from the Colorado Craft Company. I stamped it off the edge of a black piece of card, using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using meatllic gold embossing powder from WOW. I heat embossed a sentiment, from the 'Festive Phrases' set by Funky Fossil, in matching gold, then watercoloured some of the elements on the bauble using Cosmic Shimmers mica pigments. I matted the black panel on to some gold mirror card, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Less is More - Anything CAS
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Get Ready for Christmas

Shimmering Snowflakes

Today's card features a Simon Says Stamp background stamp, coloured using some Cosmic Shimmers watercolour paints that I picked up yesterday in a charity shop. I stamped the 'Outline Snowflakes' stamp on to black card using Versamark Ink, heat embossed it using 'Metallic Silver' embossing powder from WOW, then coloured it using the Cosmic Shimmers watercolour paints. I heat embossed a sentiment (from the 'Festive Phrases' set by Funky Fossil) in matching silver, then matted everything on to silver mirror card, then on to a white card blank.

The paints are really shimmery in real life...so therefore a nightmare to get a decent photo of!

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Craft Creations - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes (Optional 'Christmas in July')
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Christmas in July
• Happy Little Stampers (Watercolour) - Christmas
• Sparkles Forum - Christmas in July
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July

Snowflake Edges

I have another Christmas card to share to share today...featuring one of the stamps from the 'Snowflake Edges' set by Simon Says Stamp. I used my Time Holtz stamping platform to stamp it in the corners of a square of navy card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed using 'Silver Pearl' embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment using a stamp from the 'Festive Phrases' set by Funky Fossil, embossing that in silver to match. I then matted it on to some silver mirror card before adding it to a matching navy card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Fab 'N' Funky - Use a Sentiment
• Krafty Chicks - Any Occasion
• Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

Snowman

I have a simple one layer Christmas card to share today, featuring an old Lili of the Valley stamp called simply 'Snowman'. I stamped him directly on to a kraft card blank, along with a sentiment stamp from the 'Festive Phrases' set by Funky Fossil, then coloured him using watercolour pencils.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Krafty Chicks - Any Occasion
• Polkadoodles - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment

Black & Gold Sketchy Sprigs

I have a Christmas card to share today...made using a Woodware foliage stamp called 'Sketchy Sprigs'. I used my Tim Holtz stamping platform to repeat stamp it on black card using Versamark Ink, then heat embossed it using 'Metallic Gold Rich' embossing powder from WOW. I added a sentiment (from the Festive Phrases' set by Funky Fossil) in the centre, heat embossing that in gold to match. I matted the panel on to some gold mirror card, then added it to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Five of Something or Lots of Gold
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Little Red Wagon - Flora or Fauna
• Rudolph Days - Anything Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Add a Sentiment
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Stamped

Pink Christmas

I have another Christmas card to share today...again featuring a charity shop find...a set of clear 'Snowflakes' stamps by Personal Impressions. I stamped the snowflakes in Versamark Ink on to a piece of pink watercolour effect paper (from the 'Watercolour Feelings' pad from The Works), using my stamping platform so that I could simply rotate the paper 180° and reproduce the design, then heat embossed them in white. I then stamped the sentiment (from the 'Festive Phrases' set) in the centre, again heat embossing it in white. I distressed the edges a little, then added the panel to a white card blank.

Challenges for this card:

• Christmas Craft Creations - Pink
• Creatalicious - Anything Goes
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Emboss It
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Stamped

Guest Designer - We Love Stamping

Today I'm sharing another Guest Designer card, this time for the We Love Stamping Challenge, where the theme for this month's challenge is:

'Anything Stamped'

(Optional 'Add a Stencil')

I have a few stencils...but hardly ever think to use them, so this was the 'kick up the bum' I needed! The stencil I picked is called 'Bones' by Funky Fossil. I laid the stencil over a kraft card blank, then used masking tape to create a strip across the middle, then sponged white pigment ink through the stencil. Once dry, I used it as a background for a cute Whipper Snapper pup called 'Birthday Beagle'. I stamped him on to watercolour paper, coloured him using watercolour pencils, then carefully cut him out...adding him over the top of the stencilled background using 3D foam pads. The sentiment is from the 'Birthday Buddies' set by Paper Smooches.  

For more inspiration from the fabulous Design Team, and all of the details of this month's wonderful prize, please pop over to the We Love Stamping Challenge.

Baubles Flourish

I have another one layer Christmas card to share today...this time I tried out a version of a technique I spotted on this fabulous card by Loll. She used gilding flakes, and I don't have any of those, but I do have lots of lovely metallic embossing glitters from WOW, so thought I'd see it I could do something similar with those. What a liked most about Loll's card was the mixture of different metals...not something I ever think to do, but on this card I managed to combine five different colours of the metallic sparkle embossing glitters (Gold, Fool's Gold, Silver, Platinum & Brass). The stamp I chose is called 'Baubles Flourish' by Indigo Blu. I stamped it on to a black card blank using Versamark Ink, then sprinkled a little of each of the embossing glitters over the image until it was all covered. I then did the same with the sentiment (from the 'Festive Phrases' set by Funky Fossil).

Rather disappointingly, all of the different colours of embossing glitter aren't showing up terribly well in the photographs...but I promise you, that in real life it does look really rather pretty - will definitely give it another go.

Challenges for this card:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Celebrations
• Krafty Chicks - All Occasions
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes
• Stamping Sensations - Add Some Sparkle