Penny black winter bough

This weekend it was time to bring out one of my all time favourite stamps. It is the penny black winter bough and it has been used countless times for cards, tags, wrapping paper, you name it!

I had a couple of goes at what you can see turned out to be pretty similar cards. I started by inking the background with Tim Holtz bundled sage distress ink, then worked in to it with some Nick Bantock sapmoss green. 

I wanted that splattered effect in the ink (as inspired by the The funkie junky tag #5) I don't own a proper spritzer so in desperation I hunted through the cupboards and settled upon, well, um... Dettol. Yep, not only do we have a Christmas card, but now it has that pine fresh smell of anti-anti-bac too!!

Anyway, it did the job nicely, I spritzed it and dabbed off the excess with kitchen paper.

Next I repeat stamped the winter bough in sapmoss green, overlapping it slightly to create a bigger branch. I spritzed the whole thing again, this time with smooch spritz and added garnet liquid pearls. To add another layer to the inking I added some little silver stars and snowflakes with the card-io winter flurry set in versa colour silver. The sentiment stamp was free with creative stamping #27.

This card is destined for the following challenges;

The craft barn My world record would have to be 'most unusual product used on a card!!!'

The funkie junky - check out their boutique here

Stamping sensations festive foliage

Simon says stamp something beginning with N is 'Noel'

Casology - Give. Well Christmas is all about giving isn't it?

Quilting, and a little break from Christmas cards!

I've made this card for my neighbours birthday this week. She is really in to her garden and in to crafting including sewing. I tied the themes together and came up with this. The papers are from magenta. I added fake stitching with a fineliner and extra details with liquid pearls and glossy accents. I went round the edges of the butterfly with a craft knife so as to be able to lift the wings up. The sentiment is from clarity stamps.

I'd like to enter this in to the My time to craft quilt it challenge.

Little Claire's

It really is high time I posted this card as I made it a while back now. The colours are quite subtle and haven't photographed well unfortunately. I keep thinking at some point I'll find better light and get a decent photo but it hasn't happened and now there's only a short time till the challenge closes that I made it for!

I used a tri fold card as my base. I stamped my favourite little Claire's stamp ( the butterfly tree) on to paper and then traced it on to parchment using a white gelly roll pen. I coloured the back of the parchment using Pergamano pens and affixed it via a tab to the fold in the card.

The right hand panel was made by stamping the cat from the butterfly tree. (When the card is fully closed it looks like one image). I stamped the butterflies from the tree on a scrap of parchment and cut out using a butterfly punch. I stuck them with a tiny bit of glossy accents and added pewter liquid pearls. Finally I stamped the sentiment which came from the same little Claire's stamp set.

This card is for this months little Claire's challenge Favourite stamp

One snowy night...

When crafty ribbons announced this weeks challenge as monochrome or mono colour I immediately thought of those snowy scenes at night where the snow is so bright that the night sky no longer looks black but goes that magical navy colour that only happens with snow.

I decided to try and create a paper crafted version of that scene using a memory box die, navy and white bazzill card and a sentiment that came free with this months creative stamping magazine. I used card-io winter flurry snowflakes and stars then finished with different textured white and silver ribbons, dots of white liquid pearls and frosted lace stickles.

Challenges I would like to enter;
Crafty ribbons - monochrome
Simon says stamp - the letter N
The craft barn - fireworks (loosely!)
The funky junkie tag 7 (inspired by the colours and snow)
Allsorts- ribbons and bows

Feeling fiery!

A bit of clean and simple card making for me tonight. I used a mixture of versa colour and distress inks on a waterproof surface, spritzed them with a little water and 'smooshed'. I used the resulting print to cut out two circles and lots of stars with Woodware punches and arranged them to suit a sketch from freshly made sketches. I stamped art impressions happy birthday sentiment and foiled the bottom with distress look gold foil from stix 2.

This card is destined for the following challenges;

Freshly made sketches

The craft barn - firework
Less is more- fire

Countdown to christmas

I am a complete Christmas- aholic and usually start getting set for the Christmas season around September. This year however my hubby and I are trying to chill out a bit on it and have promised ourselves not to get too excited too early and cause 'excess-Christmas-itis!'
Of course the exception to this rule is card making and present buying because it just makes good sense to be well prepared with those.
This little Christmas card is stamped with a penny black stamp and coloured with promarkers. I added glossy accents to the baubles to give them a bit of shine.  I embossed some red bazzill card with a sizzix Christmas embossing folder. I lightly sanded the top to bring out the greeting and glittered the corner with stickles. The other embossing folder in the set was the stockings which I used to emboss some scraps of Christmas papers. I then cut out the stockings and 'hung' them on red and white twine.

This card is destined for the following challenges;
Penny black - anything christmas
Allsorts- Christmas
Penny Black Saturday- embossing
Simon says stamp - glossy

Walking in a Winter wonderland

Yep, I'll be singing that from today until Christmas now!

Today I'm sharing with you my snowman card. The stamps used are all by card-io and the inks are versa colour. I found some scraps of card in my stash that I had previously die cut snowflakes from. I used the holes that had been left behind as a stencil and inked them with a mix of blue inks applied with a dry baby wipe. I stamped more snowflakes over the top and dotted some of them with liquid pearls. I stamped the snowman and lamp on an oval and inked in my usual way. I also stamped up the winter wonderland message on a rectangle. I assembled the whole card adding navy ribbons and more liquid pearls as embellishments.

I'd like to enter this card in to the following challenges;
Crafty ribbons - snowman
Penny black at allsorts - Christmas
Allsorts- Christmas
Create and craft - ribbon or twine