PBSC #55 - Sketch! .... and some candy!!

Hello everyone, and welcome to week 55 of the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Some of you may just about have noticed that I've not been around for the past couple of weeks ..... I had to take a little bloggy break due to the fact that my department at work was having a re-org and I have had to apply for my job. After a lot of sweat and heartache, preparation, interview & presentation, the result is finally known ... and I'm very relieved to say I still have a job. However some of my colleagues are less fortunate right now and have got to go through the whole rigmarole again to try to secure a different job ... so right now I'm rooting for them.

Anyhow, I'm now trying to put all the stress behind me and get back in the bloggy saddle .. so here we are with a new card..... and what better way to start than with this week's PBSC, which is a fab sketch by Nat??

I'm sure you will love this sketch as much as the DT did .... and to be sure they have produced some wonderful cards to inspire you, so do pop over to their blogs for a look. Don't forget, to enter the challenge all you have to do is produce any project using the sketch, so long as we can see at least one Penny Black stamp or sticker somewhere on it!

As always we have got a great prize this week ... Dick at PB Stamps is giving a 15% off voucher to one lucky winner.

Before I get down to my card, I should say that I was gutted to miss the challenge's first birthday party two weeks ago ... so I have decided to have a belated celebration of my own!! I am offering a

mini candy

to one lucky winner which will consist of this week's card along with a small package of goodies .. now the contents are a secret but I can tell you that they include similar colours to the card -

pink and green

yay!

All you have to do to enter my candy is the following:

1. Enter this week's PBSC in the normal way, leaving a comment on the challenge blog with a link to your work.

2. ADDITIONALLY, leave a comment on this post with a link to your work, to let me know you would like to enter my candy :-)

I will choose my favourite entry next Saturday and post the results on my blog.

So without further ado, here's this week's effort!

Recipe:

Main image: Penny Black "Bundle of Wishes", coloured with watercolour pencils and decorated with Papermania gemstones, cut out using labels nesties and matted onto pink cardstock;

Sentiment: Whiff of Joy "Everyday Greetings";

Papers: BasicGrey "Sultry";

Supplies: Papermania patterned ribbons; Prima hydrangeas; sparkly brads by Doodlebug & Making Memories; green leaves cut from pearlised cardstock using Leone Em "Ash Family" punch

Here's another view of the card, in a lame attempt to show the sparkly gems and brads a bit more clearly.

Hope you all have a great weekend; and I look forward to seeing all your creations this week and entries for my candy!

Snowflake in the Sugar Bowl

This fortnight over at the Sugar Bowl, Challenge #11 is a fabulous sketch by Kathy. As soon as I saw it, the unusually drawn flowers made me think of poinsettas, and from there it was only a short leap of the imagination to pull out my current favourite SN stamp "Snowflake" and start making a Christmas card. As I am currently VERY behind on the "one Christmas card a week" vow this was an ideal opportunity!

I coloured "Snowflake" with watercolour pencils and sprinkled (liberally!) with glamour dust, and then matted her using my deckle rectangle nesties, which I edged with pearlescent ivy Brilliance ink. The sentiment is from a Woodware clear set, stamped onto card cut using my labels nesties. The green paper is by Daisy Bucket, but I have no clue what the red striped paper is as it was a scrap. White snowflake felt ribbon and silver gems are by Papermania, poinsettas and leaves are from the Prima Christmas Bubble. Finally the white swirl was cut from white glitter card using my swirls shapeabilities.

Here is a closer view which shows up the sparkle a bit better :-)

Now I must finish with a plea for mercy ... I copied down the sketch and realise I copied it down slightly incorrectly .. but I spent ages on the card and did it in good faith so I hope you'll be kind!

Hope you're all coping with being back at work after the bank holiday ... only 3 months to August bank hol, and then we'll all be thinking about Christmas cards lol!!

Penny Black Challenge #43 - Easter

Hi everyone, and welcome to week 43 of the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Thanks so much to all of you who entered last week - spring has now definitely sprung! ... and the weather has actually been a bit kinder for most of this week, although there's a bit of a nip in the air again today methinks!

Having started to get into the mood for spring, this week's challenge should hopefully take it up a level as the theme is

Easter

... so it's time to get out all those cute bunnies, chicks, images with eggs or anything else that you feel adequately sums up the season.

This week we have another fab prize for you that our wonderful DT member Jacqui has kindly donated - this brilliant transparent set of numbers.

So here's my card. I've seen this image on a few people's cards and adored it so much I just HAD to buy it last Saturday ... so of course I had to use it today!

I used:
Main image: Penny Black "Bunny Friends" coloured wtih watercoloru pencils and decorated with pearl gems;
Sentiment: Penny Black "Happy Easter";
Papers: My Mind's Eye, punched with Martha Stewart doily lace punch; pearlescent cardstock from papermania "Gemstones" pack;
Supplies: Prima flowers; Papermania pearl brad; Anita's ribbon; leaves punched with Leone Em Ash Branch punch; zoomz from my stash.

Hope you all have a fun weekend! ... and don't foget to take a look at the challenge blog to find out last week's winner and to see all the gorgeous cards from the DT who have been as busy as ... well ... bunnies !!

Penny Black Challenge #40 - Sketch

Wow this week has flown by, and here we are at Saturday again already, which of course means it's time for another Penny Black Saturday Challenge. As always thanks to everyone who got cooking with last week's recipe challenge - sorry I've been a bit bizzzzy this week so didn't manage to comment on everyone's creations but I'm sure they were as fab as usual :-)

This week we are very excited as we have got a fab sketch by our very own Tracie - we know people generally like to work with sketches and I'm sure you'll agree this one really hits the spot.

Don't forget to visit the challenge blog to see details of last week's prizewinner and all the wonderful cards created by the DT.

This week we also have a wonderful prize which is a $25 gift voucher from our sponsor Simon Says Stamp - so what are you all waiting for ??

Here is my effort - next Monday it is my mum & dad's 56th wedding anniversary, and luckily as my craft time has been very limited this week this sketch lent itself extremely well to making their card (phew!).

Recipe:

Image: Penny Black transparent set "Every Which Way" - hedgies coloured with watercolour pencils, roses decorated wtih glamour dust, and image matted onto pink pearlescent and silver holographic card;

Sentiment: rub on

Papers: Papermania "Exquisite" paper pac (a gift from my Secreat Santa :-) ) and silver printed vellum (cut with trusty MS doily punch!)
Supplies: Prima flowers; Papermania pearl brads; charm from Dolls Made Up; pearl gems from my stash.

And the inside ...


Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and look forward to actually seeing your creations this week!

4 into 1 does go!

I needed to make a "get well" card for a close friend who is having a knee op done next week, so looked around for some challenges to help me with some inspiration. I think I managed to fulfil 4 challenges with this card:


1. Colour create #4 - pink & grey, with the optional theme of cute and cuddly (well I think Ellie is exceptionally cute and cuddly, don't you?)
2. CCT # 49 - animal magic
3. Charisma Cardz #8 - Animals
4. Cupcake Craft Challenge #28 - sketch.


This is my first go at the Colour Create Challenge which I thought was Sunday, but I'm now hoping I'm not too late !! (eek!)

Recipe:
Main image and sentiment (inside) : Penny Black
Sentiment (outside): Cuttlebug diecut
Supplies: flowers - Prima; brads - Doodlebug sugar coated; charm - Dolls Made Up; paper and pearl gems from my stash.
Silver card border cut with my new Martha Stewart doily punch.

The inside follows the outside layout fairly closely.

I hope that this will cheer my friend up while she is laid up and that she'll soon be back to full fitness.

Have a good weekend and thanks for looking.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #38

Good morning, and welcome once again to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. It was wonderful to see everyone's "get well" cards last week - what a fantastic selection as always. Don't forget to visit the challenge blog to see who has won Carole's gorgeous selection of ribbons.

I haven't had much time for crafting this week as I've been both busy and slightly under the weather with a cold; but I couldn't resist making my DT card for this week's challenge as the theme is

Something you can eat

... and eating always works for me lol! I actually have several PB stamps which would fit the bill, but I decided to base my whole card around a gorgeous piece of ribbon I bought from Penrith Crafts on a craft retreat last autumn. I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to bring it into play ... so this challenge made me think the time has come!

I used the discontinued PB stamp "Sweet Slumber" which I had to pay somewhat over the odds to buy off ebay after previously using RAK images - it is coloured with a mix of watercolour pencils and Cosmic Shimmers to give the box a twinkly look! I cut the image out using my labels nesties and matted at an angle onto some unusual "distressed" gold and brown metallic card. The papers are individual sheets from a broken up stack but I believe they are K&Co. - I inked and distressed the edges with walnut stain & antique linen distress inks.... I fondly imageined that it might give an impression of choccy stains!! Flowers are all Prima and pearl brads are by Papermania; and the sentiment is also by PB.

Had another go at decorating the inside, and you can probably just about see that I have used my new martha Stewart doily edge punch for the first time - woo hoo!

As always we have got a fab priz on offer this week for one lucky winner, which is 2 fantastic sheets of stickeroos kindly donated by Tracie. These really are just the business if you need to make a card quickly, and PB stickers really are great quality!

Please do pop over to the other DT members' blogs as they have produced a mouthwatering assortment of cards on this theme - looking forward to seeing all your "recipes" lol!

Magnolia vs Stampavie #14 - Colour Challenge

Well I'm sitting here this morning feeling a bit sorry for myself as I woke up feeling shivery, achey and full of cold, so I have taken the day off sick to dose up, nap and recuperate. Before doing that I thought I would just load up the card I made last night before the lurgy set in .. for the first time in a long while I have taken part in the Magnolia versus Stampavie Challenge, which this week is a colour combo.

Loved the look of this colour combination so had a root through my stash to see what I could find - not sure how exactly I have managed to match up the shades, but this is the best I could produce with available supplies.

Recipe:

Image: Sarah Kay "Precious Moments" coloured with watercolour pencils, and edges distressed with Walnut Stain and Antique Linen distressed inks;

Sentiment (inside): Penny Black;

Paper: BasicGrey "Two Scoops", with the edges distressed as above;

Flowers: Prima and Papermania;

Lace: RAK from Cathy;

Charm: Dolls Made Up

Buttons, gems and brads from my stash.

Here's a pic of the inside - couldn't seem to get the light right on this one so it is a bit dark.

Just off to get my feet up now and get some rest! Hope the DT over at MmvS will get to see this card as I can't see Mr Linky ... this seems to be a problem on a number of challenge blogs for Vista users - anyone else have this problem?

Have a great day.

I have also realised in the nick of time (which I didn't previously in my befuddled state) that this card fits the theme and timing of this week's Secret Crafter Challenge #19 which is Spring has Sprung ... so I hope it is ok to enter it for that too :-)

Penny Black Challenge #36 - Sketch by Natalie

Hello everyone, and welcome again to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge - week 36. Well I have to say what a fantastic response to last week's challenge of romance ... and what a romantic lot you all are!! We were thrilled by the wonderful array of romantic cards, so don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog to see who has won the prize

This week's challenge is a brilliant sketch by Natalie - the DT loved working with this and we hope you will too. You can see the fantastic DT examples on the challenge blog as well as details of this week's prize - hope you will take a peek. Don't forget that the only rule is that you must have PB image (stamp or stickeroo) somehere on your creation.

Here is my interpretation.

Recipe:

Main image: PB "Crossing bridges" coloured with watercolour pencils;

Sentiment: PB transparent set "Salutations";

Papers: Imaginisce;

Flowers: Prima hydrangea petals ;

Ribbon: Hobbycraft;

Brads: Papermania and Doodlebug sugar coated;

Charm: Dolls Made Up.

You won't see any interior pics of this card for two reasons: I only finished the outside at gone midnight, and I hadn't a scrap of the paper left (though I really NEED to get some more LOL!)

Have a great weekend, and looking forward to seeing all your creations.

Strictly Come Challenging!

I managed to fit in a bit of a craft sesh yesterday evening, but haven't had chance to upload anything until now as I have just got back from a trip to see "Strictly Come Dancing - The Live Tour" at the M.E.N. Arena - what a fab show!! my feet still haven't stopped tapping, but I'll try to get my fingers into gear to type up this post. I'd also like to start by apologising for the photos ... I have decided to start taking better resolution pics with my digital camera instead of my camera phone , but unfortunately having spent a while loading them onto the PC I encountered some problems with my editing software, so it's back to the camera phone pics for now, so in the meantime please do bear with me ...

My first card was inspired by Friday Sketchers #36 - the whole thing revolved round the need for a slider or buckle, as I had only one suitable thing in the house and it was bright pink!!! (though I must say not as bright in comparison to the papers as it looks in the photo!)

I loved this sketch, and thought I would also like to tie the card in to a few other challenges , namely ....

One Stop Craft Challenge #13 - which this week is charmed - hopefully you can just about see the little heart charm dangling from the flowers. I have been thinking a bout getting into using charms for a while, and last week ordered my first several sets from ebay ... so they will now be appearing regularly lol!

Charisma Cardz Challenge #3 is Love - well this card is really to send love to a friend, so I hope that counts.

I am still feeling enthusiastic about decorating the insides of my cards, even moreso because I have discovered it gives me much more opportunity to use my neglected sentiment stamps.

Recipe:
Stamps: WOJ "Melinda Blowing Kisses" (image kindly given to me by Cathy) - coloured with watercolour pencils & decorated with Papermania gems and Stickles; ge studio clear stamps sentiment(outside); Hero Arts sentiment(inside); distressed swirls stamped with free stamp from craft magazine.
Papers: BasicGrey "Sugared"
Supplies: Prima flowers; Papermania pearl brads; ribbon & slider from M&S; Leone Em Ash Branch punch; charm from ebay.

My second card is for the Sugar Bowl Challenge #2, which is three - you have to use three patterned papers and three types of embellishments. I received this gorgeous new Sugar Nellie image last week from my friend Helen, and when I saw this paper pack I just felt they went so well together... so I decided to make a wallet where I could use two papers on the front and a third different one inside. I was also inspired by the sentiment, which was part of a pack my frined Lil brought me back from America. My three types of embllishment are flowers, brads and ribbon - I was desperate to use another of my charms but managed to resist this time lol!


Recipe:

Stamps: Sugar Nellie "Talking to the birds" - cloured with watercolourpencils, decorated with Stickles; sentiment by Character Constructions
Papers: Papermania "Venetian Skies"
Supplies: flowers & pearl brads by Papermania; ribbon from Hobbycraft.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend - I've already spent so long sorting this post out i've no more time for blog-hopping but will be back tomorrow.

Penny Black Challenge #33 - Frame It!

Well this week has absolutely whizzed by ... unfortunately no time for crafting since last weekend what with one thing and another. One exception ... of course I couldn't miss making my DT card for this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Thanks once more to everyone who "got dotty" last week - we are all overwhelmed and thrilled by the huge response we are now getting, and love seeing the huge variety of inspirational cards.
This week our theme is Frame It - as usual you can interpret this any which way so long as you include at least one Penny Black stamp or stickeroo in your design. As usual the DT has been busy, so hope you will pop over to their blogs to take a look at their gorgeous efforts.


And we have a fabulous prize for you this week, sponsored by Tab from 7KidsCollegeFunds. For one lucky winner chosen at random a $15 gift certificate to be spent at the online shop, and for each entrant to this week's challenge a 10% discount....use Code PB 10 at checkout. This offer runs from 24th - 31st January.


Here is my card for this week - apologies for the poor picture quality but the light was really bad. Also we have recently bought a new scanner, and I'm hoping to get a grip of that before long so I can get better resolution on the pics. But in the meantime:

Recipe:
Image: PB "Hedgehog Joy" coloured with watercolour pencils;
Sentiment: Stamps Away;
Paper: BasicGrey "Sugared";
Pink cardstock: embossed with Cuttlebug "Bloom Dots" folder;
Flowers: Prima & W H Smith;
Ribbon & charm : from my stash

Inside:
Image: PB transparent set "Hugs"
Sentiment: PB

Have a good weekend everyone !

PBSC #32 - Let's Get Dotty!

Happy weekend everyone and welcome again to another week of the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Thankyou so much to everyone who entered last week's pink & brown challenge - obviously a lot of you are lovin' that colour scheme and the entries were amazing! As ever, don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog to check who won the prize.

This week we would just like to say

Let's get dotty!

Now this may be easier for some of us than others - in my case it was difficult to notice the difference lol!! We look forward to seeing your interpretations, and as usual the DT have been dotting the i's and crossing the t's (sorry, couldn't resist that!) to produce an amazing set of cards, so please do check them out.

This week we have another super prize kindly donated by Kath: a 6 x 6 paper pack by Paper Cellar, and a pack of Black Magic by Core'dinations.

Here's my card for this week.

The main image is PB "Light the Night" coloured with watercolour pencils and decorated with glamour dust and Papermania gems; sentiment is PB "..To you" with part of the message masked so it would fit on my nestie shape; paper and pearlised black card were cut with my new "Curved rectangle" nesties and the card then embossed wtih Cuttlebug Swiss Dots; dotty sticky ribbon is by DCWV; flowers are all Prima except for the large pink one which was part of a gift wrapping (I think from Lorraine); sparkly brads by Doodlebug and charm from my stash. I'm still trying to decorate the card insides ... will try to get a bit more adventurous as I get into it! (the sentiment inside is also by PB)