Yellow birdie

There's a challenge at Paper Smooches Sparks, which I haven't been entering because I haven't got many of their stamps - soon to be rectified by a delivery from the postman in the next couple of days ;) 

But Paper Smooches generously provide free digi stamps, and this is my first venture into digi stamping.  This week it's a picture challenge:

The bird is the free digi sentiment coloured with water soluble pencils, and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches Simply Said stamped with Versamark and white embossed.

Silver Holly

Penny Black are having a Cute to Elegant week, with a chance every day to win a giveaway.

They're also providing a sketch if you want to play along each day.  This is Monday's sketch which I thought I would use for the Dynamic Duos colour challenge of Navy and Silver:

I stamped the Brush Holly 2789J with Versamark and embossed with silver, and sponged the surrounding area with Faded Jeans distress ink.  I masked the base card and stamped the berry branch (from 30-136 A Wish for Peace) with Faded Jeans, and added sponging, then sponged a layer of Faded Jeans above. The silver strip is double-sided tape with Mega Flakes added to it.  The sentiment is from 30-087 Winter Wonders.

Christmas Tag Trio

I've been having a tag fest.  This first one is for the CASology challenge, the cue word for which is:

He looks like he's gobbled all the chocolates up, and is regretting it.

Once I'd made the first one, I wanted to use my other stamps in the same range.  This one looks like he's already had the contents of the bottle, and he's very merry!  I'm linking this one to Heather's One Layer Wednesday gift tags challenge.

And I think this one must be getting a CD for Christmas!  I've used the colour scheme from The Play Date Cafe for the tags so I'll link this third one to their challenge.

All the images are from Ann-ticipations.  The sentiment on the first one is from Clearly Besotted, and on the others from Paula Pascual, stamped in Memento London Fog.

Silver Snowflakes

I got some Mega Flake as part of a subscription gift to a magazine, for use with Flitter Glu, and does it flitter!!  It's lighter than glitter, and you just daren't breathe when you're using it for fear of decorating the walls with it.  You're supposed to make an inkpad with the Flitter Glu on Phat Foam, use that to stamp your image then coat the image with the Mega Flake, but I improvised.  I didn't want complete coverage with Mega Flake, so I stamped the image with Versafine Smokey Gray then dotted the image with a glue pen, and added the Mega Flake when the glue had dried.  No cleaning of messy stamps afterwards, no hardening Phat Foam pad.  Works for me.

The challenge at CASual Fridays is Winter Blues:

The challenge at The Paper Players is to create a CAS project with silver or gold:

And the first challenge for Addicted to CAS is still open, so this is my second entry:

The image is Penny Black, and the sentiment is Anita's.

Two Cheers

This is my second post today.  Click here or scroll down for my snowman card.

The challenge at A Blog Named Hero is to give one of your cards a second chance by remaking it in your current style.

Here's my original card:

And here's my new version:

I tend not to use as many background papers now, which is a shame considering the amount that I have accumulated.  But I'm sure they'll come into their own again.  My other new trend is that I've started to use sketches, which I'd always avoided before.  As in this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

The image stamp is from Stamps Happen, and Cheers is from Rubber Stampede.

My Favourite Snowman

I've got quite a few snowman stamps (haven't we all?), but this one is my favourite.  I love the sketchiness of the image, the expression on his face, and the movement of him trying to catch his hat in the wind.  And what about those mittens joined with cord?  Hands up who had a set of those threaded through the sleeves of your winter coat when you were a child? Hands up who still has?

The Black Tie challenge at Dynamic Duos this week is Marina Mist and Basic Black, together with a snowman for dessert.

The new challenge on the block is Addicted to CAS, and the theme for their first challenge is:

The snowman image is from Printworks, and the sentiment is from Paper Salon.

Deco 50

The challenge at CR8FN is to use plum gold and tan:

Sometimes you just have to use Peel Offs!

The Art Deco lady image is a freebie from a magazine, stamped in Versamark Onyx Black, coloured with Tombows, and Suze Weinberg Puttin' On The Glitz Grape glitz glue added to the belt fronds.  The numbers are die cut with Sizzix Roundabout, the rest is Peel Offs.