Penny Black and More at Allsorts - February Challenge

Good morning,

It's a white morning here in Warwickshire and I can see the sledge that Santa accidentally left behind at Christmas when he delivered the presents is going to be put to good use today.

It's also the first Sunday of the month which means it is time for another challenge from Penny Black and More at Allsorts. 

We have a colour bingo theme for you this month:-

I chose yellow/white/black for my card.

I have used two Penny Black stamps, one for flower and background called "Sundial" 4159K and the sentiment called "Special Time" 4174H. The butterfly is cut and embossed using a Cuttlebug set. I've sprayed "Pearl" Glimmer Mist over the flower and butterfly and finally I added pearls from my stamps and some SU ribbon.

We had an amazing number of entries last month, thank you to everyone for your support. I hope you can join us this month.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black and More - Love and Hearts

Good morning,

It's time for our January challenge at Penny Black and More @ Allsorts and our theme this month is:_

"Love and Hearts"

Here's the ingredients I used for this card:-

Main Image:- Penny Black "Imagine" 3694K

"love" sentiment:- Penny Black clear stamp set "Hugs" 30-020

Heart Spellbinder Nestabilities dies

"Lady Bug" memento ink

Pearlecent card

Embroidery thread

Coloured pencils

I hope Hubby doesn't come looking at my blog as I'm hoping to give him this card for Valentine's day. 

Happy New Year!

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black and More at Allsorts "Happy Birthday" challenge

Good morning!

It's the first Sunday of the month and time for another challenge at Penny Black and More. Thank you to everyone who joined us during November, we were overwhelmed by all the fabulous entries.

This month our theme is "Happy Birthday". I've been so buy making Christmas cards that I found making this card a nice change.

The Penny Black image I have used is called "Crossing Bridges!" 3206J and the sentiment is also by Penny Black from the clear set called "Critter Party" 30-013.

I hope you can join us this month.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

p.s. Thank you for all the kind comments regarding my Grandfather. I truly appreciate them all.

Penny Black & More "The Christmas DT Challenge"

Good morning and welcome to the second DT challenge at Penny Black and More. Our lovely leader Brenda sent each of the Design Team two almost identical kits (just the papers differed, although they were from the same packs) to make up into cards.

We showed your our first cards on 16th October (you can see mine here). Today we are showing you the cards we made with the Christmas Kits. You can see the kit we were sent on the main challenge blog.

I have used a Penny Black image called "Gathering" 3882K. I stamped it directly onto coloured paper so that it matches in with the colour theme of the card.

We have added a special prize to the challenge blog:-

A winner will be selected from all new followers joining up between 17th and the next challenge on 4th December.

Don't forget, you have until 30th November to enter our current challenge where the theme is "All Creatures Great and Small". You no longer have to use a Penny Black image (although there is an extra prize draw for those of you who do), just make sure you use a rubber stamp. We have a brilliant selection of prizes this month which you can see here.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black and More at Allsorts November challenge

Good morning,

Welcome to the November Penny Black and More at Allsorts challenge. Not only do we have a new name, we also have a new start date for the challenge which will be the first Sunday of each month.

The "AND MORE" which has been added to the challenge name means that you can now use other images as well as, or instead of, Penny Black images, although there will be an extra, special prize for entries which use Penny Black images. The DT will continue to use Penny Black images on their inspiration projects.

Ooh, I nearly forgot, don't forget to watch out for our "Who's in the Spotlight" feature each month - it could be you!

Now, onto our theme for November which is:-

"All Creatures Great and Small".

I have used a cute hedgehog from the Penny Black clear set called "Tiny Wishes" 30-036 and the sentiment is from the Penny Black clear set called "Enjoy" 30-024.

We have an awesome array of prizes this month:-

I hope you like the changes we have made to the challenge and that you are inspired to join us this month.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black at Allsorts "THE DT CHALLENGE"

Good morning,

Brenda, our lovely leader at Penny Black at Allsorts, set the DT a challenge this month.

Brenda sent us all a matching kit to create our project (some of us got different papers but they were from the same pack).

Here's what I made:-

I used the Penny Black stamp "Mixed Media" 4037K.

This is the first time I have used seam binding and I loved it! I inked mine up with Tim Holtz Distress Ink and slip-stitched along one side and then pulled the stitching to make the first frilled layer of my flower. I also inked the white flower to make the centre.

The butterfly is cut from the backing paper and coated with glossy accents. I backed the gap the butterfly left in the paper with a leftover piece of the main stamped image.

Thank you Brenda for setting the DT this challenge, it was great fun!

I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black at Allsorts - news of some exciting changes

Hello everybody, I have some exciting news to share with you.

• There are going to be a few changes to the Penny Black at Allsorts challenge, but Penny Black and the Design Team think they are going to make it even better than before and allow lots more of you to join in.


• We are opening up the challenge entry criteria and starting with our November challenge you will be able to use any stamp on your work, although strictly no digi images.

• There will still be lots of prizes on offer and all eligible entries will go into the draw, plus there will be an additional prize each month for entries using a Penny Black stamp or stickeroo.

• And if that's not enough, we are having a “Who’s in the Spotlight” feature every month. The DT will be keeping an eye open as they go on their rounds and about the 20th of each month we will feature two entries which stand out to us. Those entries will be able to display our special logo and will be invited to write a short bio about their crafting journey which will be published on our blog.

• There will be a slight change to our name to take account of these changes and in future we will be know as ‘Penny Black and more at Allsorts’.

Over the next couple of weeks the information on the challenge sidebar will be updated to list dates of the next few challenges so you can easily check what is happening when, but I can tell you that the next challenge will start on 6th November and the current one will run until midnight GMT on 31st October. 

Now you may wonder why we are making these changes and think we have fallen out of love with our precious Penny Black stamps, but nothing could be further from the truth and the DT will all continue to use them on their DT work.

But we do realise that not everybody is lucky enough to own Penny Black stamps and has been prevented from joining in previously.So we hope the changes will make it easier for more of you to join in the fun and also have the opportunity to win the stamps on offer from Penny Black and our other sponsors so you can start your very own Penny Black collection.

I will be back in a few days with another post showing you a special project I have made. All the DT were set a special challenge to see what we would come up with.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge "Photo Inspiration"

Good morning, It's first October and time for another challenge at Penny Black at Allsorts.

This month we have a photo inspiration challenge for you.

Just looking at this photo makes me feel good!

Here's my interpretation of the theme.

I have used Tim Holtz Distress Inks to colour the background and also for the stamping.

The tree is Penny Black "Fantasy" 3880K, the blue leaves on the background are Penny Black "Foliage" 30-024. The sentiment and the green leaves at the bottom are both from the Penny Black clear set "Enjoy".

I hope you are inspired to join us and I look forward to seeing your creation if you do.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Snow Kiss

Good morning,

Here's a card I made using my goodies from Handy Hippo (details in last post).

I stamped Penny Black Circles and Lines (40-084) onto turquoise card using "Whipped Cream" ink from Elzybells (sadly no longer in existence) and heat embossed with clear embossing powder, then I inked over with "Faded Jeans" and "Pine Needles" distress inks, and blended the inks using a baby wipe. Next I coloured between some of the lines with "Powder Blue" and "Soft Green" Promarkers.

I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts "Sending Holiday Cheer" (CL464) with versamark and heat embossed with Stampendous fine white embossing powder.

The image is "Snow Kiss" by Penny Black (4099K). I coloured the image with Promarkers and cut out Mimi and the Polar bear, then I stamped the image again in black and glued on the coloured pieces. The borders and "snow" are made from Twinklets Diamond Dust adhered with tacky glue. I love the effect of the Twinklets but the bits of glass get everywhere!

The snowflake is made using a Marianne Createables snowflake (LR0124) for the base with a smaller, Martha Stewart punched snowflake, for the middle.

It makes me feel a bit cold looking at this card! Hubby said last night that snow was forecast within the next three weeks. I do hope the forecast is wrong.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Lily Pad Cards "Resist" challenge

Good evening,

Here is another Christmas card and this is my favourite one so far. I have made this for the Lily Pad Cards "Simon Says Presents a Resist Challenge".

I stamped Hero Arts Cling Snowflake Circle (CG100) in versamark onto white cardstock and heat embossed using Stampendous Fine White ebmossing powder. Next I inked over with Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Chipped Sapphire".

The snowman is by Penny Black from the "Jolly Friends" transparent stamp set (30-058). I've coloured him with alcohol markers and added Glossy Accents to his nose and the berries and Glamour Dust to his bobble. The snow at the bottom is made using Diamond dust Twinklets.

I made a frame using classic circle and lace circle nestabilities and sandwiched the image between the frame and a base card made using two lace circle nestabilities.

I can't wait to make this card again! It's not often that I want to make the same card twice.

I hope you have had a good start to your week.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Some boy cards

Good morning,

Here are some cards I have made for male relatives who have birthdays this month.

I've just realised that I have used Penny Black stamps for all of them.

Enjoy your day.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black "Gossamer"

Good afternoon,

I've made a card using a stamp that I had on my wish list for a very long time. It's by Penny Black and is called "Gossamer" (3865K).

I've kept the card very simple and coloured the image with pencils.

Thank you for visiting.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black at Allsorts September Challenge - "Get Ahead for Christmas"

It's time for the September Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge.

Our theme this month is:-

"GET AHEAD FOR CHRISTMAS"

I've used two Penny Black Stamps. The wreath is a wood mounted stamp called "Adornment" (3996J) and the robin is from a clear set called "Jolly Friends" (30-058).

Here's a glittery close up! Christmas Red stickles on the wreath and Glamour Dust on the robin.

I hope you are inspired to join us with your Penny Black Christmas creations.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black - Tender Showers

Good evening,

Here's a card I have made for the My Time to Craft Challenge where the theme is "In Full Bloom".

I've used a Penny Black image called "Tender Showers" (2875K) which I've coloured with Copic Ciaos. I've added a little Fimo bee to cover up a grey splodge on the paper - I think it looks cute! The sentiment is from Cuddly Buddly and the papers are Echo Park "Country Drive". I am being really good and making myself use these papers rather than hiding them away in a cupboard for "best" which is what I tend to do with a lot of my stash and then never end up using it!

I decided to challenge myself when colouring this image - the challenge I set myself was to pick Copic colours that I don't usually use. I seem to have favourites from all the colour groups and neglect 75% of my collection. It was fun to use different colours and I'm really pleased I did.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Hugs and best wishes Clare xx

Brother's Birthday Card

Good afternoon,

Here's my entry for the Cards for Men Challenge #16 "Clean and Simple"

I bought the Penny Black "12 Days of Christmas" (30-016) clear stamp set just for this image to use on men's cards. It's perfect for my brother who's not into sports but loves his music.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black Saturday Challenge "Anything Goes"

Good afternoon,

The theme at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge is "Anything Goes".

I've made a Christmas card to enter into the challenge, using a stamp from the Penny Black clear set called "Jolly Friends" (30-058). I swapped the tree on the stamp for a Marianne die cute tree. The Papers are from a Dovecraft pad called "Let it Snow".

Have a lovely weekend!

Hugs and best wishes, Clare x

Penny Black at Allsorts - August DT

Good morning!

It's 1st of August which means it's time for another challenge at Penny Black at Allsorts.

Our theme this month is:-

Free and Easy (Anything goes)

I've chosen from my favourite range of Penny Black stamps, the florals. This image is called "Tigress" (3817K). I've coloured it with Copic Ciaos and added some Black Diamond stickles glitter glue. To take the white glare away from the card I sponged around the edges with Spun Sugar distress ink.

The Penny Black sentiment is called "Special Time" (4174H) and I've stamped it onto vellum with Versafine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

I hope you are able to join us this month!

Hugs and best wishes, Clare xx

Penny Black Saturday "Bunting"

Good morning,

The challenge at Penny Black Saturday this week is "Bunting". Goodness me, what problems I had making bunting, I kept cutting out the wrong shaped triangle, but I got there in the end!

I used an image and sentiment from the Penny Black clear set "Tiny Wishes" 30-026. I've used Copic Ciaos to colour.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Hugs and best wishes.

Clare x

Christmas Card for the Simon Says Challenge

Good afternoon,

I've just heard that the Simon Says Challenge are hoping to get 1000 entries to their challenge this week. If they do they are offering a second $50 prize to spend in their shop.

The challenge theme is "Anything Goes" and I am entering this simple Christmas card.

I'm making batches of Christmas cards using images from the Penny Black "Mimi's Christmas" set (30-061) to use for my son to send to his schoolfriends (the girls, I'll make differents ones for the boys).

I've coloured Mimi with pencils and added Perfect Pearls in Pearl, Glamour Dust and Glossy Accents to give the sparkle and shine that children love.

Good luck Simon Says Challenge, I hope you reach 1000!

Hugs and best wishes.

Clare xx

Penny Black at Allsorts - "Flower Power"

Just a quick reminder about our monthly challenge at Penny Black at Allsorts, where our theme is "Flower Power". You still have over two week's to enter and because this month is our first birthday we have a total of SEVEN prizes on offer, including our special birthday quiz prizes.

I've used Penny Black Day Dreams (3947K) for my card. I've coloured it with Aquamarkers and added some stickles glue for a bit of sparkle!

The background has also been made using Aquamarkers.

 I scribbled with them onto a waterproof sheet and sprayed them with Pearl Glimmer Mist. Then I put my glossy cardstock onto the ink and gently swooshed it to pick up all the ink. I also used a bit of scrunched up paper towel to pick up ink and fill in any gaps. 

I rather like the effect of this background technique with the Aquamarkers.

Have a lovely day whatever you are doing!

Hugs and best wishes.

Clare xx